't
go after him then. He galloped up to his own place and gave the alarm,
and then he and one of their men cleared out after the brute."

"Did they catch him?" Wally's eyes were dancing, and his sinker waved
unconsciously in the air.

"They couldn't see a sign of him," Jim said. "The road was a plain,
straight one--you chaps know it--the one we drove home on from the
train. No cover anywhere that would hide so much as a goat--not even
you, Wal! They followed it up for a couple of miles, and then saw that
he must have gone across country somewhere. There was mighty little
cover there, either. The only possible hiding-place was along the creek.

"He was pretty cunning--my word, he was! He'd started up the road--Len
had seen him--and then he cut over the paddock at an angle, back to the
creek. That was why they couldn't find any tracks when they started up
the creek from the road, and they made sure he had given them the slip
altogether.

"Len and the other fellow, a chap called Sam Baker, pegged away up the
creek as hard as they could go, but feeling pretty blue about catching
the swaggie. Len was particularly wild, because he'd made so certain he
could lay his hands on the fellow, and if he hadn't been sure, of course
he'd have stayed to help at the fire, and he didn't like being done out
of everything! They could understand not finding any tracks.

"'Of course it's possible he's walked in the water,' Baker said.

"'We'd have caught him by now if he had,' Len said--'he couldn't get
along quickly in the water. Anyhow, if I don't see anything of him
before we get to the next bend, I'm going back to the fire.'

"They were nearly up to the bend, and Len was feeling desperate, when he
saw a boot-mark half-way down the bank on the other side. He was over
like a shot--the creek was very shallow--and there were tracks as plain
as possible, leading down to the water!

"You can bet they went on then!

"They caught him a bit farther up. He heard them coming, and left his
swag, so's he could get on quicker. They caught that first, and then
they caught him. He had 'planted' in a clump of scrub, and they nearly
passed him, but Len caught sight of him, and they had him in a minute."

"Did he come easily?" asked Wally.

"Rather not! He sent old Len flying--gave him an awful black eye. Len
was, up again and at him like a shot, and I reckon it was jolly plucky
of a chap of Len's age, and I dare say he'd have had an awful hidin