ch the food thus opportunely prepared, but the rest
of us showed no such signs of delicacy, for in a twinkling our knives
were out and cutting huge slices of the beef. The smell was very
provoking of hunger, and so Smith thought, for he apparently could stand
abstinence no longer. He joined us in our attack, and muttered as he did
so:

"I don't see why the rest of you should fill up, while I starve;
although I still contend, that to tie the poor things up and let them
die such a death was cowardly and mean."

And always after that, if Smith wished to express the very quintessence
of brutality and meanness, he would refer to the death of his favorites.

Our dinner was soon despatched, and once more we shouldered our arms,
and under the direction of Steel Spring, skirted along the edge of the
forest in quest of the lair of the bushrangers. We had proceeded but a
mile or two when we saw the three men left in charge of the horses,
galloping along apparently in search of us; and when they discovered
that we were alive, and but little the worse for our fiery siege, their
astonishment knew no bounds.

They stated that the flames had lighted up the country for miles in
extent, and that they had tried to raise a party of miners, on their way
to Melbourne, to come to our assistance; but that fear of being robbed
or losing their lives prevented them. In fact, every one they had spoken
to had construed the fire into a ruse of the bushrangers to entrap
people, and would not believe that a large police force was in the
woods, and surrounded by fire on all sides.

We gladly mounted our animals, for the men had taken the precaution, by
the advice of the old convict's daughter, to bring our own horses with
the rest; and then mounted Steel Spring behind Maurice, first taking the
precaution of tying them together for fear of mistakes, as we told the
former, and not from any doubts of his honesty--an admission which made
the fellow grin until his huge mouth expanded from ear to ear.

The balance of our company was served in the same way, and after a sharp
gallop of fifteen minutes, Steel Spring intimated that we had better
dismount and approach the remainder of the distance with less noise if
we wished to be successful in our designs. His advice was taken; when
leaving two men to attend to the horses, we went forward at a brisk
walk, and soon found an entrance to the forest that apparently had been
long in use.

"This is the spot,"