been frightened at the diggers. As far as we saw they were the
sensiblest lot of working men we ever laid eyes on; not at all inclined
to make a row for nothing--quite the other way. But the shutting off of
public-houses led to sly grog tents, where they made the digger pay a
pound a bottle for his grog, and didn't keep it very good either.

When the police found a sly grog tent they made short work of it, I
will say. Jim and I were close by, and saw them at the fun. Somebody had
informed on the man, or they had some other reason; so they rode down,
about a dozen troopers, with the Commissioner at their head. He went in
and found two casks of brandy and one of rum, besides a lot of bottled
stuff. They didn't want that for their own use, he believed.

First he had the heads knocked in of the hogsheads; then all the bottled
wine and spirits were unpacked and stowed in a cart, while the straw
was put back in the tent. Then the men and women were ordered to come
outside, and a trooper set fire to the straw. In five minutes the tent
and everything in it was a mass of flame.

There was a big crowd gathered round outside. They began to groan when
the trooper lit the straw, but they did nothing, and went quietly home
after a bit. We had the horses to see after next day. Just before
the sale began, at twelve o'clock, and a goodish crowd had turned up,
Starlight rides quietly up, the finest picture of a new chum you ever
set eyes on. Jim and I could hardly keep from bursting out laughing.

He had brought up a quiet cobby sort of stock horse from the Hollow,
plain enough, but a wonder to go, particularly over broken country. Of
course, it didn't do to bring Rainbow out for such work as this. For
a wonder, he had a short tail. Well, he'd squared this cob's tail and
hogged his mane so that he looked like another animal. He was pretty
fat, too.

He was dressed up to the nines himself, and if we didn't expect him we
wouldn't have known him from a crow. First of all, he had a thick rough
suit of tweed clothing on, all the same colour, with a round felt hat.
He had a bran new saddle and bridle, that hadn't got the yellow rubbed
off them yet. He had an English hunting whip in his hand, and brown
dogskin gloves. He had tan leather gaiters that buttoned up to his
knees. He'd shaved his beard all but his moustache and a pair of short
whiskers.

He had an eyeglass in his eye, which he let drop every now and then,
putting it up when he