ans who were engaged in tunnelling, bad characters, red-hot
tempered, but good workers when sober. This was indeed a piece of luck. I
asked him if he could guide me to their tent. That was more difficult. He
was not sure; but he knew where the ganger who was in charge of the
tunnelling party hung out, and he would probably know their whereabouts.

I went back to where I had left my horse, got a pair of handcuffs I had
brought with me, and took one of the stirrup leathers off my saddle. When
I returned the ganger had been found and took us towards the portion of
the camp where the two men shared one of the dirtiest of tents I had ever
seen. By this time dawn was just breaking. I arranged with the ganger--he
was a good sort--that on arrival at the tent I would go inside and would
hold the two of them up. As they would be most probably in a heavy sleep
this would be a simple matter. Then, having handcuffed one, I would make
secure the other one's hands behind his back with the stirrup leather and
march them off to Adelaide; but in case anything went wrong inside and I
called out he was to rush in to my help. He agreed. I slipped out my
revolver, asked the ganger to hold up the lantern he was carrying so that
I could see inside the tent when I opened the tattered flap, and, raising
it, slipped inside. I had to stoop nearly double, the tent being very
low, and I could just see with the aid of the ganger's lantern.

A more filthy place is difficult to imagine. On very low stretchers
covered with rags by way of bedclothes lay the two men, one on each side
of me, with their heads towards the entrance to the tent. They were
sleeping heavily. I turned first towards the man on my right and suddenly
dropped heavily on him with my right knee on his chest, and before he
awoke to his senses I had him handcuffed. I turned over to the other one,
who was just trying to sit up, apparently dazed. I threw the stirrup
leather, the end of which I had passed through the buckle, making a noose
of it, over his head, and pulling at the end of it with all my might, I
backed out of the tent, dragging him after me. It was all done in a
minute, and I had them both bagged. The ganger was quite delighted as he
took hold of the stirrup leather to make the man secure while I went in
to pull out his handcuffed mate. This was easily done under the
persuasion of my revolver.

By the time they were both outside the tent they were wide awake. We made
them si