y a girl. She turned in her saddle as she rode
past, and waved her hand to those on the verandah, and even on
Slaughter's face there came the suspicion of a smile.

"That's it," Cullen said, as he jerked his head in the direction of the
two riders.

"Wha--at?" every one but Slaughter exclaimed; and he, with the smile
growing grim on his face, remarked--

"I told yer."

"It's so," Cullen went on. "Sam Nuggan was in to-day with a chipped cog
off his reaper, and he says, 'Cullen,' he says, 'I've got it.' 'No!'
says I. 'Yes!' says he. 'It's all along of that yaller head and young
Dickson of Barellan.'"

The smith paused to push the glowing tobacco farther into the bowl of
his pipe; and his audience, listening intently, almost started at the
resounding smack Slaughter gave his thigh as he exclaimed--

"I told yer! Bli'me! I told yer."

"Go on, Bill," Marmot said impatiently. "Never mind the pipe. Let's have
the yarn."

"You've got it," Cullen answered, as he squatted down with his back
against one of the verandah posts, and puffed with almost aggressive
deliberation at his strong, coarse tobacco.

"Go on, go on," Marmot repeated. "That ain't no cause, the yaller head
and that cornstalk from the station. Tony ain't the lad to be put off
with that. Don't you believe it. There's more about the yarn. Give us
what Nuggan said."

The remainder of the expectant townsmen repeated the request loudly,
volubly, and picturesquely.

"Well, it's like this," Cullen at last went on. "Nuggan told me as man
to man, and now I tell you as man to man, too, and that's square."

"Oh, that's square," Marmot chimed in; and the others repeated the
formula.

"Well, you see, there's something that shouldn't be but is somehow about
Tony which no one quite knows what it is though they knows it shouldn't
be, and that's what Nuggan said," Cullen observed fluently but
obscurely.

"But what's that?" Marmot began as Cullen paused.

He held up his hand, with his pipe between the finger and thumb,
impressively, and Marmot stopped.

"You mean to say you ain't noticed it?" he asked, pointing his pipe-stem
at Marmot. "Nor you? Nor you? Nor you?" he continued slowly, as he swept
his arm round and covered each man in turn.

Slaughter was the only man who answered. He said--

"Yes; her yaller head's made all of you fools. I told 'em it was a
woman."

"It ain't that," Cullen went on seriously. "It's the likeness, the
likeness that ain't ther