evening they rode back to the station with the glad news.

"But wouldn't it have been very awkward for them if the blacks had come
while we were away, father?" Nic ventured to ask on their way back.

"Yes, but they would have shut themselves in at once," said the doctor;
"two of the men would have been with them, and the other would have
followed us, firing signals as he came. If the danger had been
imminent, he would have seized the first horse and galloped over to Mr
Dillon's station."

"I see," said Nic.

"It's mutual help out here, Nic. If one station is in danger, those
nearest are always ready to gallop to its help."

Then came days and weeks of busy life, with Nic finding little time for
amusement, but enjoying the novelty of his new career. There were long
rides to drive in cattle; visits to be paid to flocks miles away from
the station; messages to be taken to Samson, Brookes, or Leather, who in
turn were far away with the roaming sheep or oxen; and the boy was joked
at home by mother and sisters for the way he ate, slept, and seemed to
expand.

During this period he saw little of Leather, and the incident of the
injured sheep and Brookes's apparent enmity toward the convict was for
the time forgotten, these two rarely being together.

Still, at different times Nic could not help noticing what a rooted
dislike there was in the regular men against their convict
fellow-servant, even old Samson shaking his head and expressing his
belief that the station would be far better without "such as he."

"I don't want to be hard on anything 'cept blight, Master Nic," said the
old man one day; "but it comes nat'ral to a man to feel shy of a gaol
bird who may rise agen you at any time and take to the bush."

"Oh, but Leather is not that sort of man, Sam," said Nic.

"Ah, that's very nice, young gentleman; but you don't know, and I don't
know. All I say is if there's a bull about on that side o' the fence
it's best to walk on this."

"But the bull may not mean to do you harm, Sam."

"P'r'aps not, sir; but bulls have mad fits now and then, so does
convicts. I've know'd two stations 'tacked and every one killed, and
they said it was the blacks; but they very soon found that it warn't,
for in each case a lot had escaped from the chain gang, took to the
bush, and every 'signed servant as they come across jyned 'em."

"That's very horrible," said Nic. "And what became of them?"

"Ah, you may well say that,