abouts.
Herrets then made application to the police office, but was curtly
informed that the police had something to attend to besides hunting
after men's wives.

Desperate with rage, and vowing all sorts of vengeance upon the frail
woman, the baffled husband once more sought our store and implored our
aid. He even offered a considerable sum of money if we would unite with
him and make search for her; but we refused his money, and declined for
a long time to interfere, until at length his importunities caused us to
yield, and after we extracted promises that he would be likely to keep,
we concluded to help him.

We sent the young husband back to his tent, and bade him make
arrangements to be gone at least two days, and to bring back with him
some article of clothing that had belonged to the runaway. He obeyed our
instructions, and by the time he had returned our three horses were
saddled and ready for a start. We lost no time in getting under way, and
in less than an hour we were seven miles from Ballarat, on the road to
Melbourne, the nearest city that the runaways could reach. Sydney we
considered as out of the question, for its distance of five hundred
miles was not likely to attract travellers who were journeying for speed
and flying for safety.

We pushed on, stopping only long enough to make inquiries of men on the
road, and at length we got on the trail of the fugitives. They were
travelling on horseback, like ourselves, but were mounted on worthless
animals, that threatened to break down at every step; so we were told.
The last farmer that gave us information said that he had spoken to
them, and supplied them with bread, and that he did not think they were
more than ten miles in advance of us.

This information gave us renewed life, and we spurred on until our
horses were in a foaming sweat; and just as we began to think that the
runaways had diverged from the beaten path, we caught sight of them
riding along as leisurely, and with as munch independence, as man and
wife.

Herrets rushed forward, and uttered oath after oath as he caught sight
of his wife, while the latter applied her riding whip to the sides of
her steed, in the vain endeavor to escape; but finding that we gained on
her and her paramour, she suffered her horse to fall into a walk, and
apparently took no further notice of us.

Not so with her companion, whose name was Delvin, a young and
good-looking fellow; and had we not been present, he