rising, and were awakened by the
violent baying of Rover, and loud shouts of "Kill him! kill him!"

The cries were near our premises, and we lost no time in throwing on our
clothes and seeking to investigate the matter. A crowd of people were
hurrying towards the banks of the river, or rather what was a river in
the wet season, for at the present time there was not water enough in
its bed to quench the thirst of a bird, and we joined them without
delay.

"What is the matter?" I asked of one excited individual, who appeared
more anxious to get in at the death than his companions.

"Darned if I know. I heard the cry of 'Kill him,' and I suppose somebody
has been stealing something. Don't bother me with questions, for I want
to be in at the death."

Another wild shout from the crowd in front hastened our movements, and
Fred and myself threw ourselves into the excited mass, and strove to
gain a place where we could afford some help to the thief, in case the
confusion was occasioned by one. By struggling desperately we managed to
got into the centre of the crowd, and saw that a young man was in the
custody of two miners, and that they were disposed to take summary
vengeance upon the fellow for the alleged crime of stealing their dust,
which they had concealed in their tent. All this was told to us in the
space of a few seconds' time, and meanwhile the air was filled with
cries of "Kill him," "Lynch him," "Hang him," "Let's stone him to
death," &c.

The young fellow was terribly frightened, and was begging for mercy in
the most piteous tones, and appealing to those by whom he was surrounded
to save him, for he was innocent of the crime, and never stole a dollar
in his life. There was something in the lad's face that convinced me
that he spoke the truth, yet we did not like to interfere and get the
wrath of the ruffians turned upon ourselves, and yet we did not care to
stand idly by and witness the ill-treatment of a boy, who seemed unused
to the rough scenes of the mines. Each of his captors had a hand upon
his collar, and even during the excitement I could not help contrasting
the fineness of his skin with the horny, leather-colored skin of his
accusers.

"So help me Heaven, gentlemen, I never stole any thing in my life,"
cried the lad; and his voice was soft, and so different from those by
whom he was surrounded, I was convinced he belonged to some aristocratic
family, and had sliced to Australia in search of fortune