d man muttered he kept on acting. Taking some fresh water,
he bathed the convict's temples and tried hard to revive him.

"Give you a clean face if it don't give you a clean character, my lad.
I don't like you because you're a convict, that's all. You're a good,
manly sort o' chap, and if you'd ha' been a honest man I should ha' said
you were as good a fellow to work as ever was. Nothing never comes
amiss to you, and you and me never had a word in our lives. But you see
you are one of the gang and a blackguard and a thief; not as you was
ever a blackguard here, nor stole so much as one o' my taters, which I
will say has been big enough and fine enough to tempt any man as was
digging 'em, as you was. I know they tempted me, Leather, for I took a
dozen nubbly ones and roasted 'em three at a time in a bit o' fire as
Bungarolo made for me; but then I did grow them taters and had a sort o'
right in 'em."

Old Sam left off talking to the insensible man, and looked at him
anxiously as he kept on bathing his face.

"I don't want to be hard on you, my lad, even if you are a convict.
`Temptation sore long time you bore,' p'r'aps before you took it, and
your head maybe wasn't as strong as your hands. But I say, are you
a-coming to? None o' that nonsense! Here! Hi! Leather! Don't die!
Don't be so stoopid as that just for a whack on the head as'll heal up
in a fortnit."

He gave the insensible man a shake in his excitement, but it made no
impression.

"What am I to do? If I goes and tells 'em at the house it'll frighten
the women, and they can't do no good. They'd want to burn feathers
under his nose. Here, Leather, rouse up, man; don't be a fool! D'yer
hear? Wait till you get back to town, where you can be buried properly;
don't die here!"

Sam began to mop and splash the water almost frantically, as the
motionless features before him seemed to grow hard and stem.

"Well, I thought you had more good stuff in you, Leather--that I did,"
said the old man piteously. "I don't wish no harm to nobody, but I wish
to goodness you were old Brookes lying here instead o' yourself, for
he's the wiciousest warmint as ever lived. I never see things go so
orkard: it's worse than locusts or blight. Master going off like that,
too, just when he's wanted. Poor lad! and I can't do nothing for you,
or I would. There, I don't care what you done, Leather," he said,
"convict or no convict, I forgive you, whatever you did, and