but he hasn't done much here yet. Twice he has come in
contact with the pair, and each time they have got ahead of him. He
stops everyone else from doing anything. I offered to go out with a
dozen men and scour the range, but he wouldn't hear of it--that was
before he was cornered at Taloona."

"Don't you worry," Brennan replied. "The sub-inspector knows what he is
doing."

He passed away from the group and the men turned to Gale.

"That's what I don't follow," one of them said. "The chap must be hiding
somewhere with that white horse of his. Why not scour the range for
him?"

"Brennan told me he didn't believe there was a white horse--that it was
all a yarn," another exclaimed.

"Well, I saw it," Gale retorted. "I saw it on the Taloona road. I'd have
gone after it only I was in a buggy and it vanished into the bush."

"Is the range the only place you'd look, Mr. Gale?" one of the men
asked.

"No," Gale replied. "I'd look there first, and then I'd go the other
way."

"Taloona way?"

"Well, not far off."

"That's what I think," the man went on. "Old Crotchety takes the loss of
his money too quietly to please me. He's a pretty fly old chap and does
not stop at a trifle to get his own back."

"Like he did when he fired you out, Davy," someone exclaimed, and there
was a general laugh, for the story of how Davy had been sent about his
business at a moment's notice by Dudgeon was one of the stock anecdotes
of the district.

"Oh, that's as it may be," Davy retorted, "but I know too much about the
old man to trust him very far."

"Do you think he's the Rider?" Gale exclaimed.

"No, but he may know who the Rider is--there are plenty of men who'd do
the job for a round sum down."

"But how about Eustace?"

"Oh, well, that would be a bit of luck to get him to join. They may have
thrown him over when he was no more use to them, and then there may
have been a row and somebody's gun may have gone off a bit too soon.
You never know. But anyhow, I'm with you when you say things look as if
they are getting too much for the police to handle."

"That's all very fine, Davy, but what I'd like to know is why the old
man got shot? Did he pay a man to do that?"

"Of course he didn't," Davy exclaimed. "I had a yarn with one of the
troopers about that. He told me what the sub-inspector said in his
report. Maybe that's something you don't know."

It was, and the attention of the group concentrated on Davy, much to his
s