r going back, that's the worst of it,' says
he. 'Good God! what fools, idiots, raving lunatics, we've all been!
Why, but for our own infernal folly, should we be forced to shun our
fellow-men, and hide from the light like beasts of prey? What are we
better? Better?--nay, a hundred times worse. Some day I shall shoot
myself, I know I shall. What a muff Sir Ferdinand must be, he's missed
me twice already.'

Here he rode on, and never opened his mouth again till we began to rise
the slope at the foot of Nulla Mountain. When the dark fit was on him
it was no use talking to him. He'd either not seem to hear you, or else
he'd say something which made you sorry for opening your mouth at all.
It gave us all we could do to keep along with him. He never seemed to
look where he was going, and rode as if he had a spare neck at any rate.
When we got near the pass to the mountain, I called out to him that he'd
better pull up and get off. Do you think he'd stop or make a sign he
heard me? Not a bit of it. He just started the old horse down when
he came to the path in the cliff as if it was the easiest road in the
world. He kept staring straight before him while the horse put down his
feet, as if it was regular good fun treading up rugged sharp rocks and
rolling stones, and turf wasn't worth going over. It seemed to me as if
he wanted to kill himself for some reason or other. It would have been
easy enough with some horses, but you could have ridden Rainbow down the
roof of a house and jumped him into the front balcony, I firmly believe.
You couldn't throw him down; if he'd dropped into a well he'd have gone
in straight and landed on his legs.

Dad was glad enough to see us; he was almost civil, and when he heard
that Rainbow had won the 'big money' he laughed till I thought he'd do
himself mischief, not being used to it. He made us tell him over again
about Starlight and I going to the ball, and our seeing Aileen and
Gracey there; and when he came to the part where Starlight made the
bride a present of a diamond ring I thought he never would have done
chuckling to himself. Even old Crib looked at me as if he didn't use to
think me much of a fellow, but after this racket had changed his mind.

'Won't there be a jolly row in the papers when they get all these
different characters played by one chap, and that man the Captain?' says
he. 'I knew he was clever enough for anything; but this beats all. I
don't believe now, Captain, you'll e