ght away, galloping on the road to a
beautiful big house, and every room--_every_ one, Nobbles--me and you
will have for our own, and we'll never, never go back to the House
again, never till I'm a very old man with a white beard, and have to
lean very heavy on you, dear Nobbles; and then we'll come to make a
visit, and we'll come in the big front door, and sleep in the best
spare room, and I'll say, "This is where me and Nobbles lived when we
was waiting for father."'

Talking rather breathlessly in this fashion, Bobby trotted along the
road, perfectly oblivious of the fact that he was not allowed to wander
out on the high-road alone. His little heart was bent upon bringing
his long waiting to an end. There was no reason to his childish mind
why his father should not appear any day. Every day he expected him,
and it seemed a delightful and natural thing for him to be running
along to meet him. From a trot he soon subsided into a walk. It was a
hot day, the road was dusty, and few vehicles passed him. At length he
paused to rest, and it was at this juncture that some drovers, taking
some refractory cattle to market, came along behind him.

Bobby was in the act of picking a bracken fern from the hedge with
which to fan his face when he heard an alarmed shout. Turning his head
he saw that a young bull had broken loose from his captors and was
making a dash along the road towards him.

For an instant he did not realise his danger, then another shout from
the men, 'Get out of his way!' made him step aside. The bull had
caught sight of him and lowered his head with an angry bellow.

And then, to the horror and amazement of the drovers, they saw the
small child turn and walk into the middle of the road, where he stood
confronting the animal with upraised stick.

At this identical moment the hoot of a horn and whiz of a motor was
heard coming down the road. It slackened speed behind Bobby; then the
little fellow never quite knew what happened, but it swerved past him
and literally charged into the enraged bull, driving him into the
hedge. For an instant the car seemed as if it was going to overturn,
then it righted itself, and came to a standstill. Bobby was soon
surrounded by a good many people, and for a moment he was a little
dazed.

A gentleman was stooping over him, a tall man with very bright eyes, a
bronzed skin and short curly golden hair. He was the owner of the
motor; and the three cattle-drovers w