one day, as he concluded a letter to his mother, "I
believe the mail leaves to-day for England, and these letters ought to
be in Adelaide by three o'clock. You shall ride in with them, and bring
me out a `Reporter.' By the way, isn't there any one in the old country
you would like to write to yourself? Perhaps you do write, only I've
never noticed you doing so!"

The colour flushed up into Jacob's face, as he replied, with some
confusion and hesitation,--

"Well, you see, sir--why--I'm not so sure--well--truth to tell, in the
first place, I'm not so much of a scholar."

"Ah, exactly," said his master; "but that need be no hindrance. I shall
be very glad to write for you, if you don't want to send any secrets,
and you'll only tell me what to say."

Jacob got very uneasy. The tears came into his eyes. He did not speak
for several minutes. At last he said, with much emotion,--

"'Deed, sir, and you're very kind; but there's none as I care to write
to gradely. There's them as should be all the world to me, but they're
nothing to me now. I can't tell you just what it is; but it's even as
I'm saying to you. There's one as I should have liked--ah, well--she'll
be better without it. Thank you, sir; you're very kind indeed, but I
won't trouble you."

Frank saw that there was a secret; he had therefore too much delicacy of
feeling to press Jacob any further; so he merely said,--

"Well, at any time, if you like me to write home, or anywhere else for
you, I shall be glad to do so. And now you'd better be off. Take
little Silvertail; a canter will do her good. I shall ride Roderick
myself up through the gully. You may tell Mrs Watson not to bring tea
in till she sees me, as I may be late."

Jacob was soon off on his errands, and his master proceeded slowly up
the hilly gorge at the back of his house.

"There's some mystery about Jacob," he said to himself; as he rode
quietly along; "but I suppose it's the case with a great many who come
to these colonies. `Least said, soonest mended,' is true, I fancy, in a
great many cases."

It was a lovely afternoon. The sun was pouring forth a blaze of light
and heat, such as is rarely experienced out of tropical countries. And
yet, when the heat was most intense, there was an elasticity about the
air which prevented any feeling of oppression or exhaustion.

The road wound up through quaint-looking hills, doubled one into
another, like the upturned knuckles of so