t their foot on a rein,
and take it off again, regular as if they knew all about it. We could
run full pelt and catch 'em all three in a minute's notice; old Rainbow
would hold up his head when he saw Starlight coming, and wait for him to
mount if there was a hundred horses galloping past. Lucky for him, he'd
done it scores of times; once on his back there was no fear of any
other horse overhauling him, any more than a coolie dog or a flying doe
kangaroo.

Pretty well settled it came to be amongst us that we should be well into
Queensland before the police were handy. Starlight and Jim were having a
pitch about the best way to get aboard one of these pearling craft, and
how jolly it would be. The captains didn't care two straws what sort
of passengers they took aboard so long as they had the cash and were
willing to give a hand when they were wanted.

We were just walking towards the horses to make a fresh start, when
Starlight puts up his hand. We all listened. There was no mistaking the
sound we heard--horses at speed, and mounted men at that. We were in a
sort of angle. We couldn't make back over the infernal boggy creek we'd
just passed, and they seemed to be coming on two sides at once.

'By----! they're on us,' says Starlight; and he cocks his rifle,
and walks over quite cool to the old horse. 'Our chance, boys, is to
exchange shots, and ride for it. Keep cool, don't waste your fire, and
if we can drop a couple of them we may slip them yet.'

We hadn't barely time to get to our horses, when out of the timber they
came--in two lots--three on each side. Police, sure enough; and meeting
us. That shook us a bit. How the devil did they get ahead of us after
the pace we'd ridden the last twenty-four hours, too? When they came
close we could see how it was, Sir Ferdinand and three troopers on one
side; Inspector Goring, with two more, on the left; while outside, not
far from the lead, rode Sir Watkin, the Braidwood black tracker--the
best hand at that work in the three colonies, if you could keep him
sober.

Now we could see why they took us in front. He had kept out wide when he
saw the tracks were getting hot, so as to come in on the road ahead of
us, and meet us full in the teeth.

He had hit it off well this time, blast him! We couldn't make back on
account of the creek, and we had double our number to fight, and good
men too, before we could break through, if we could do that.

Our time was come if we hadn't