it would be a good thing if the whole district were to turn
out, and go right into the heart of the black country, and give
them a lesson."

"From what I hear," Reuben said, "it will be next to impossible for
us to find them. The country is so vast, and covered with bush,
that there would be no searching it. They have no fixed villages,
and the want of water would render it impossible for us to go very
far. But the worst point would be that they all seem to be well
informed as to what is going on. I suppose they get warnings from
the native herdsmen and servants, and if we were all together to
enter their country, we must leave the stations unprotected, and we
should find them in ashes, on our return."

"Yes, that is true," the settler said. "I suppose it couldn't be
done. But it's anxious work sleeping here, night after night, with
one's rifle by one's bedside, never certain at what hour one may be
woke by the yelling of the blacks. But they are not as bad as the
bush rangers. If the blacks can but drive off your cattle, they are
contented. You have got nothing else that is much use to them. The
bush rangers don't want your cattle, beyond a head or two for
present use; but they want everything else you've got, and whether
you like it or not is quite immaterial to them. Thank God I have
got no money in the place, and I and my three men can make a pretty
good fight of it. But I pity the men with wives and daughters."

"Well, I hope we shall soon put a stop to it," Reuben said
cheerfully. "We will give them a lesson if we catch them, you may
be quite sure."

"I hope so," the settler said. "But you folks have been mighty
unlucky, lately. Never seem to have been at the right place at the
right time. Not that I am surprised at that, in such a district;
but somehow they never come up with the fellows, afterwards."

"No, they seem to have had bad luck," Reuben agreed. "I hope we
shall do better now."

Three days after his return from his last visit of inspection of
his district, a settler rode, at full speed, up to the station.

"Captain," he said--for although Reuben had no right to that title,
he was always so called by the settlers--"the blacks have been down
at my place. They have killed my two shepherds, and driven off the
sheep."

"Sergeant O'Connor, turn out the men at once," Reuben shouted. "See
that their ammunition is all right, and let each man take a water
skin and four days' provisions in his haversack.