he went to
look after your horse. He takes as much care of that animal as if
it were a child."

"I hope they won't find him in the stable, and cut his throat,"
Reuben said. "He is wonderfully faithful and attached to me. I
would not have harm come to him, for anything.

"Now, I will go upstairs and reconnoitre. Now those fellows have
left off knocking at the door, they are a good deal more dangerous
than when they were kicking up all the row."

"Mind how you show yourself, captain, as likely enough one of them
is on the watch, expecting that we should be sure, sooner or later,
to take a look out of that window. So keep well back. The night is
pretty light, so I expect you will be able to make them out."

"Can we get a view of the stable from that window?"

"Yes," Dick replied, "I rather had that in my mind's eye, when I
put the stable up. It's always a good thing, men knowing that their
master can have an eye upon them, when they least expect it. Why do
you ask?"

"Because if the window commands the stable door, we can prevent
them getting the horses out."

"Yes," Dick said, "after losing two in that last affair, it would
be a serious matter to have the rest of them carried off."

Reuben went up the stairs and made his way towards the window,
standing a short distance back. He could see no one moving about in
the yard, and he was about to move close to it, when a tremendous
crash took place below, followed by loud shouts. He ran downstairs
again.

The bush rangers had moved round to the back of the house and,
there picking up a young tree which had been brought in, to saw up
into billets for firewood, they used it as a battering ram against
one of the shutters; and at the very first blow broke it off its
hinges, and then made a rush at the window. Two shots rang out
almost together; and then, firing a hasty volley into the window,
the bush rangers began to climb in. But by this time Reuben had
arrived, and the sharp cracks of his pistols rang out.

"They have got the police here!" one of the men exclaimed, as he
caught a sight of Reuben's uniform.

"Draw off, lads, I expect it's that accursed captain," another
voice exclaimed. "He's always riding about, with nobody but that
black fellow with him. He has got to go down, that fellow has, or
he will give us no end of trouble; but draw off from that window,
for a moment."

"What will they do next, I wonder?" Dick Caister said as, leaving
the two hands to