Although they had no fear of
the return of the natives, Reuben thought it only prudent to keep
watch, and each of the party had half an hour on sentry duty.

The day was just beginning to break, when the man on guard
exclaimed:

"I can hear the trampling of horses!"

The news brought everyone to their feet, and in a few minutes the
two constables and Jim rode up, driving before them the horses of
the rest of the party.

"Well done, Jim!" Reuben exclaimed. "Now, the first thing, get one
of the water skins off."

One of the skins was unfastened in a minute and, after copious
draughts, everyone felt refreshed and ready for work again.

"We cannot start for a few hours," Reuben said. "The horses must
have come over forty miles, and won't be fit to travel till the
afternoon; fortunately there is plenty of grass for them in the
bottom. And now that my thirst is allayed, I begin to discover that
I am hungry."

There was a general chorus of assent. The fire was made up again.
The men went down to the bottom, and killed and brought up a sheep;
and all were soon engaged in making up for their twenty-four hours'
fast.

In the afternoon a start was made; but although they travelled all
night, they did not reach the stream until the following afternoon,
as they were obliged to accommodate their pace to that of the
sheep. The following morning Reuben rode forward to the
settlements, leaving Mr. Blount, with two of his friends, to come
on with the flock at his leisure.

At the first farm he reached Reuben heard that, as he feared, the
bush rangers had taken advantage of so many of the settlers being
away to recommence their attacks. At the first two houses they
visited, they had found the inmates on the watch, and had moved off
without making any attack. At the third they had surprised and
killed a settler, his wife, and two hired men, and had sacked and
burned the house. Reuben learned that some of the police had gone
off in pursuit.

Leaving his horse to the care of the settler, Reuben borrowed a
fresh animal and rode off to the scene of the outrage, which was
some thirty miles distant. Just as he arrived there he met the
party of eight police, who had been in pursuit of the bush rangers,
and they reported that they had lost all trace of them.

For the next two or three weeks Reuben did not return to his
headquarters, spending the time in riding from station to station,
with a small party of police, and urging upon