e you know that we have not been able to obtain any information
on the subject. A select few were admitted to see them; but they had no
formal trial, that I am aware of."

"You are right, they had no formal trial, and they did not deserve one.
The examination was secret, and even now not more than fifty people in
Melbourne know that the bushrangers are dangling by their necks in the
prison yard.

"All?" I cried, surprised at the secrecy which had been maintained.

"Not a man is now alive. They rightly merited their fate, for their
careers were stained with cruel crimes; and may God forgive them, for
man would not."

Murden wrung our hands, and the next instant he was galloping swiftly
towards Melbourne.

We resumed our journey, feeling somewhat saddened by the intelligence
which we had received; yet we felt that we had only done our duty in
assisting in the arrest of the robbers, and with this conviction, we
tried to banish the thoughts of their death.

We soon overtook Smith, who was mounted like ourselves, and through the
night we jogged along by his side, relieving the loneliness of the
journey with stories and reminiscences of our other expeditions.

It was just about daylight, on the morning of the fifth day from
Melbourne, and we were pressing the oxen to their utmost to reach a
camping ground before sunrise, when Rover, who had been jogging far in
advance of us, stopped suddenly before a thick clump of bushes, which
extended some ways along the roadside, and with an angry howl, remained
regarding some object which was concealed from our sight.

I called the animal, but he refused to move, and I began to suspect that
some kind of beast was concealed among the brush, and that he was too
formidable for the dog to attack alone. With this view, Fred and myself
unslung our rifles and examined the caps, and rode slowly forward. We
were not more than ten rods from the hound when we saw a spear whiz past
him, and enter the bushes on the other side of the road. We then knew
what was concealed; but whether the purpose was hostile or friendly, we
did not have an opportunity to ask, for we had barely time to call the
dog from such a dangerous locality, when another spear passed near our
heads.

"Turn back!" shouted Smith, who was jogging on with the cattle, a few
rods distant, and saw the whole transaction. "Turn back," he continued,
"or you are dead men."

We wheeled our horses and galloped from a place where not