im may be long time before he find
dem, dar no saying how long. Captain wish Jim to go?"

"Well, Jim, I don't want you to go; that is to say, I should miss
you very much; but if you could find out the haunts of these
scoundrels, you would be doing me a very great service, as well as
the people of all the stations."

"Jim no care about oder people," the black said. "He care for de
captain, and will go out and try and find tracks."

"Be careful, Jim, and don't get into trouble with them. If you were
to fall into their hands, and they were to find out you were
connected with the police, they would shoot you like a dog."

"Dey won't find out. White man not understand. Black fellow all one
to him. You hab no fear for Jim. Who look after hoss, while Jim
away?"

"I shall appoint one of the policemen as my orderly, Jim, and he
will look after him."

Jim made a contemptuous gesture, to signify that he had little
confidence in the power of any white man to look after Tartar. For
the rest of the evening Jim was occupied in cooking, and in the
morning he was gone.

A week later, Reuben was among the outlying stations again. He had
heard nothing of the bush rangers, and no fresh attacks had been
made by them, since that upon Dick Caister's station.

One evening, just as he had gone up to bed, he was roused by a
sharp knocking at the door of the house in which he was stopping.
The settlers had grown cautious now, and an upper window was
opened, and Reuben heard the questions, "Who is there?" and "What
is it?"

"Is Captain Whitney here?"

"Yes, do you want him?"

"Yes, I want to see him directly."

In a minute, Reuben had opened the door.

"I am Captain Whitney," he said. "What is it?"

"I am glad I have found you, sir. They told me at the next station
you were here yesterday, but they did not know whether you were
here now.

"Well, sir, I am shepherding some twenty miles away; and this
afternoon, just as I had got back to my hut, in runs a black
fellow. It is a lonely spot, and I reached for my gun, thinking
there was more of them, when he said:

"'No shoot, me friend. Me sarve Captain Whitney of de police. You
know him?'

"I said I had heard your name.

"'You know where he is?' the black asked.

"I said I did not know for certain; but that when my mate went in
for grub, two days before, he had heard say that you had been along
there that morning.

"The black said: 'Good. You run and find him.'

"'Than