st. Only twice had he manifested any attention to what was said on the
verandah when he was present. He had become animated and attentive when
the conversation turned on the fact that while Tony had ridden out to
Barellan to see Ailleen on his first return from the diggings, he had
neither gone out nor mentioned her name on his second return to the
township--the occasion of the great billiard contest. It was recalled by
some one how quickly he had come back from the one visit he had made,
and how short his answers had been to all questions put to him, and the
opinion which had been formed and was generally expressed was that the
cause of it all was young Dickson and the precedence he had taken over
Tony in the affections of Ailleen. When Slaughter heard that he had
sniffed, as he usually did before delivering himself of a sweeping
condemnation of all womankind, and looked round on his companions with
eyes that were peculiarly bright--but he said nothing.

The other occasion when he showed any interest in the conversation was
when it was said that Tony and his two mates on setting out for the
second time to the gold-fields had taken young Murray with them as well,
Dickson having paid for his share in the stores and tools of the party.
That piece of information had apparently affected Slaughter almost more
than the other, and although he had not spoken--as Smart put it, he
seemed to have swallowed his tongue--there had been a light in his eye
and an expression on his face that had escaped no one.

And yet none of them had had wit enough to understand the significance
of it all--until the bald fact of the revealed secret came to them.
Each one claimed then that he had seen, noted, and understood the
peculiarity of Slaughter's behaviour on the two occasions, but he had
held his peace lest he should be doing an injustice to a
fellow-townsman. Never before had Birralong been so unanimous in forming
an opinion nor so generous in respecting another's fair name. But lost
time was made up in the fulness of opportunity that was now offered.

The beginning of the story was vague and uncertain, and, as no
particular interest attached to it, it was practically left alone. The
interest of Birralong commenced with the alarm Murray and Murray's wife
experienced with regard to Nellie. With a big family and a small
selection, there was neither time nor inclination on their part to mince
matters, and Nellie had been questioned severely an