ation of the holiday, and now were sleeping off the effects,
so that I had it all to myself, and spite of the havoc wrought by the
diggers, the gully was pretty still. We were all camped on the flat that
bordered the banks of the creek, and away beyond on all sides stretched
the hills, standing out clearly now in the brilliant morning sunlight,
range upon range, in a series of blue ridges, till they faded away in
the bluer distance. The Union Jack--emblem of authority-floated from the
staff in front of the Commissioner's tent, and from my outlook I could
see the sunlight gleaming on the carbines of the troopers who stood
sentry over the gold tent, and digger as I was, and sworn foe to all
troopers, the sunbeams on those carbine barrels gave me a comfortable
sense of security, for (for the first time in our diggings' experience)
my mate and I had lodged a little chamois leather bag full of gold dust
and small nuggets--part of the fortune which we trusted in days to come
was to take us back to the old land--with the Commissioner, and I was
glad to feel in those wild times that he was fully alive to the nature
of his trust. Having satisfied myself as to the safety of my property, I
re-entered the tent and roused out my mate.

"Rouse out, Dick, old man! Merry Christmas to you, my boy! Merry
Christmas, and many of 'em!"

Dick turned over sleepily, rubbed his eyes, and went through exactly the
same performance I had done, before he could rouse himself sufficiently
to accompany me across the hills to another creek, where, the bottom
being of bed rock, the crystal water was still pure and unsullied by the
digger's desecrating hand. Our dip was refreshing; we could only find
time for it on Sundays and holidays such as this, and probably we
appreciated it all the more for its rarity. Our toilet was simplicity
itself. We each arrayed ourselves in a red flannel shirt and moleskin
trousers, clean to-day in honour of Christmas, tucked into our high
boots, while a slouch hat and a revolver in the belt completed the
costume. On our return I proceeded to prepare breakfast, while Dick
looked after the sick boy. Breakfast was not sumptuous; all my energies
were reserved for dinner, and Dick had to make out as best he might on
damper left from the night before, and the cold remains of a nondescript
joint of mutton. He came back just as I had got the rough meal ready,
reporting poor Wilson as a little better and awfully hungry. Then
he tip