verandah, where he had been lying. Bless you! he knew something was up.
Just like a Christian he was, and nothing never happened that dad was in
as he wasn't down to.

'May as well stop till morning, dad,' says Jim, as we walked up to the
yard.

'Not another minute,' says the old man, and he whips the bridle out of
Jim's hand and walks over to the old mare. She lifts up her head from
the dry grass and stands as steady as a rock.

'Good-bye,' he says, and he shook hands with both of us; 'if I don't see
you again I'll send you word if I hear anything fresh.'

In another minute we heard the old mare's hoofs proceeding away among
the rocks up the gully, and gradually getting fainter in the distance.

Then we went in. Mother and Aileen had been in bed an hour ago, and all
the better for them. Next morning we told mother and Aileen that father
had gone. They didn't say much. They were used to his ways. They never
expected him till they saw him, and had got out of the fashion of asking
why he did this or that. He had reasons of his own, which he never told
them, for going or coming, and they'd left off troubling their heads
about it. Mother was always in dread while he was there, and they were
far easier in their minds when he was away off the place.

As for us, we had made up our minds to enjoy ourselves while we could,
and we had come to his way of thinking, that most likely nothing was
known of our being in the cattle affair that Starlight and the boy had
been arrested for. We knew nothing would drag it out of Starlight about
his pals in this or any other job. Now they'd got him, it would content
them for a bit, and maybe take off their attention from us and the
others that were in it.

There were two days to Christmas. Next day George and his sister would
be over, and we all looked forward to that for a good reminder of old
times. We were going to have a merry Christmas at home for once in a
way. After that we would clear out and get away to some of the far out
stations, where chaps like ourselves always made to when they wanted to
keep dark. We might have the luck of other men that we had known of,
and never be traced till the whole thing had died out and been
half-forgotten. Though we didn't say much to each other we had pretty
well made up our minds to go straight from this out. We might take up a
bit of back country, and put stock on it with some of the money we had
left. Lots of men had begun that way that had