ying me a large
percentage. The property is mine, and government cannot touch a penny of
it; yet I would willingly give all that I possess to be at liberty to
call myself a free man, and to know that I am no longer watched by those
in power. When I received my sentence I determined upon the course I
would adopt. I never murmured at my work, no matter how disagreeable it
was--I was respectful and obedient, and after a year's hardship I was
favorably reported at head quarters, and was then allowed to live with a
man who kept cattle, and had made a fortune as a drover. I served him
faithfully for two years, and upon his report I was allowed a ticket of
leave, and commenced business for myself. I am comparatively a free man;
but if any unfavorable report should be heard concerning me, farewell to
my present liberty. For five long years I should be used like a brute,
and before my term expired I should be in a felon's grave; for a man
must possess a constitution of iron to endure the tasks that are
inflicted upon a convict remanded back to the tender mercies of
overseers whose hearts are harder than the ball and chain which many of
their prisoners wear."

"And you really think that the relief you afford to those returned
miners will be heard of, and that it will mitigate your sentence?"

"Certainly. The poor fellows will go to the hospital, and while there I
shall be held in grateful remembrance. The physician will hear of my
name, and one of these days I hope to receive a full pardon. But whether
I do or not, I shall be conscious that I have done my duty, and in some
measure atoned for the crime that I committed."

Smith cracked his long whip to let the oxen know that he was not asleep,
and the cattle, rousing from their snail pace at the sound of the
scourge, accelerated their steps, and strained at their yokes as though
they would tear them from their necks.

We remained silent while getting over a mile of the dusty road; but, as
the oxen fell into their slow pace again, we renewed the conversation.

"You think that the system of letting convicts have leave tickets is a
good one, then?" we asked.

"In some cases I think that it works well; but all men are not alike,
and while some play the hypocrite and profess good conduct, others are
never allowed their liberty because they brood over their past life so
much that they never smile. They are marked as sullen and discontented,
and are worked until their spirits are b