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diff --git a/old/69315-0.txt b/old/69315-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index d4bed68..0000000 --- a/old/69315-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,10922 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of In search of fortune, by Gordon -Stables - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: In search of fortune - A tale of the old land and the new - -Author: Gordon Stables - -Release Date: November 8, 2022 [eBook #69315] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Al Haines - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN SEARCH OF FORTUNE *** - - - - - - - -[Illustration: Cover art] - - - -[Frontispiece: "John Gilpin's ride was nothing to it. Scallowa -stopped short at the gate, but the boy flew over." _p._ 68.] - - - - _In Search of Fortune._ - - A TALE OF THE OLD LAND AND THE NEW. - - - BY - - GORDON STABLES, M.D., C.M. - (_Surgeon Royal Navy_), - - AUTHOR OF "IN THE DASHING DAYS OF OLD;" "EXILES OF FORTUNE;" - "FOR ENGLAND, HOME, AND BEAUTY;" - ETC. ETC. - - - NEW EDITION. - - - _LONDON:_ - JOHN F. SHAW AND CO., - 48, PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C. - - - - - UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME. - - - HEARTS OF OAK .. .. .. By Dr. Gordon-Stables. - FOR, ENGLAND, HOME, AND BEAUTY .. .. .. Dr. Gordon Stables. - EXILES OF FORTUNE .. .. .. Dr. Gordon Stables. - IN SEARCH OF FORTUNE .. .. .. Dr. Gordon Stables. - TWO SAILOR LADS .. .. .. Dr. Gordon Stables. - IN THE DASHING DAYS OF OLD .. .. .. Dr. Gordon Stables. - FACING FEARFUL ODDS .. .. .. Dr. Gordon Stables. - GRAHAM'S VICTORY .. .. .. G. Stebbing. - THE TWO CASTAWAYS .. .. .. Lady F. Dixie. - HONOURS DIVIDED .. .. .. W. C. Metcalfe. - ON TO THE RESCUE .. .. .. Dr. Gordon Stables. - BEL-MARJORY. A Tale of Conquest .. .. .. L. T. Meade. - EUSTACE MARCHMONT .. .. .. E. Everett-Green. - A TRUE GENTLEWOMAN .. .. .. Emma Marshall. - THE END CROWNS ALL. A Story of Life .. .. .. Emma Marshall. - BISHOP'S CRANWORTH .. .. .. Emma Marshall. - FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM .. .. .. Andrew Reed. - CITY SNOWDROPS .. .. .. M. E. Winchester. - COUNTESS MAUD .. .. .. Emily S. Holt. - HER HUSBAND'S HOME. A Tale .. .. .. E. Everett-Green. - IDA VANE. A Tale of the Restoration .. .. .. Andrew Reed. - ONE SNOWY NIGHT .. .. .. Emily S. Holt. - FOR HONOUR NOT HONOURS .. .. .. Dr. Gordon Stables. - WINNING AN EMPIRE .. .. .. G. Stebbing. - A REAL HERO .. .. .. G. Stebbing. - A TANGLED WEB .. .. .. Emily S. Holt. - DOROTHY'S STORY .. .. .. L. T. Meade. - BEATING THE RECORD .. .. .. G. Stebbing. - BRITAIN'S QUEEN .. .. .. T. Paul. - THE FOSTER-SISTERS .. .. .. L. E. Guernsey. - A KNIGHT OF TO-DAY .. .. .. L. T. Meade. - NEVER GIVE IN .. .. .. G. Stebbing. - EDGAR NELTHORPE .. .. .. Andrew Reed. - MARION SCATTERTHWAITE .. .. .. M. Symington. - - LONDON: JOHN F. SHAW & CO., 48, PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - -Book I. - -_AT BURLEY OLD FARM._ - -CHAPTER - - I. "Ten To-morrow, Archie" - II. A Chip of the Old Block - III. A Day of Adventure - IV. In the Old Castle Tower - V. "Boys will be Boys" - VI. "Johnnie's got the Grit in Him" - VII. "They're up to some Black Work to-night" - VIII. In the Widow's Lonely Hut - IX. The whole Yard was ablaze and burning fiercely - X. "After all, it doesn't take much to make a Man Happy" - - -Book II. - -_AT THE GOLDEN GATES._ - - I. Spoken like his Father's Son - II. "Keep on your Cap. I was once a Poor Man myself" - III. "Something in Soap" - IV. "The King may come in the Cadger's Way" - V. Bob's Story: Wild Life at the Diggings - VI. A Miner's Marriage - VII. Mr. Winslow in a different Light - - -Book III - -_IN THE WILD INTERIOR._ - - I. "In this New Land of Ours" - II. Burley New Farm - III. Runaway Stock--Bivouac in the Bush--Night Scene - IV. A Wild Adventure--Archie's Pride receives a Fall - V. Round the Log-fire--Hurricane Bill and the - 'Tiger' Snake--Gentleman Craig's Resolve - VI. At Findlayson's Farm--The great Kangaroo Hunt--A - Dinner and Concert - VII. A New Arrival - VIII. The Stream of Life flows quietly on - IX. "I'll write a letter Home" - X. Rumours of War - XI. The Massacre at Findlayson's Farm - XII. On the War Trail - XIII. Chest to Chest with Savages--How it all ended - - - - -IN SEARCH OF FORTUNE. - - - -Book I. - - -CHAPTER I. - -"_TEN TO-MORROW, ARCHIE._" - -"So you'll be ten years old to-morrow, Archie?" - -"Yes, father; ten to-morrow. Quite old, isn't it? I'll soon be a -man, dad. Won't it be fun, just?" - -His father laughed, simply because Archie laughed. - -"I don't know about the fun of it," he said; "for, Archie lad, your -growing a man will result in my getting old. Don't you see?" - -Archie turned his handsome brown face towards the fire, and gazed at -it--or rather into it--for a few moments thoughtfully. Then he gave -his head a little negative kind of a shake, and, still looking -towards the fire as if addressing it, replied: - -"No, no, no; I don't see it. Other boys' fathers may grow old; mine -won't, mine couldn't, never, never." - -"Dad," said a voice from the corner. It was a very weary, rather -feeble, voice. The owner of it occupied a kind of invalid couch, on -which he half sat and half reclined--a lad of only nine years, with a -thin, pale, old-fashioned face, and big, dark, dreamy eyes that -seemed to look you through and through as you talked to him. - -"Dad." - -"Yes, my dear." - -"Wouldn't you like to be old really?" - -"Well----," the father was beginning. - -"Oh," the boy went on, "I should dearly love to be old, very old, and -very wise, like one of these!" Here his glance reverted to a -story-book he had been reading, and which now lay on his lap. - -His father and mother were used to the boy's odd remarks. Both -parents sat here to-night, and both looked at him with a sort of fond -pity; but the child's eyes had half closed, and presently he dropped -out of the conversation, and to all intents and purposes out of the -company. - -"Yes," said Archie, "ten is terribly old, I know; but is it quite a -man though? Because mummie there said, that when Solomon became a -man, he thought, and spoke, and did everything manly, and put away -all his boy's things. I shouldn't like to put away my bow and -arrow--what say, mum? I shan't be altogether quite a man to-morrow, -shall I?" - -"No, child. Who put that in your head?" - -"Oh, Rupert, of course! Rupert tells me everything, and dreams such -strange dreams for me." - -"You're a strange boy yourself, Archie." - -His mother had been leaning back in her chair. She now slowly -resumed her knitting. The firelight fell on her face: it was still -young, still beautiful--for the lady was but little over thirty--yet -a shade of melancholy had overspread it to-night. - -The firelight came from huge logs of wood, mingled with large pieces -of blazing coals and masses of half-incandescent peat. A more -cheerful fire surely never before burned on a hearth. It seemed to -take a pride in being cheerful, and in making all sorts of pleasant -noises and splutterings. There had been bark on those logs when -first heaped on, and long white bunches of lichen, that looked like -old men's beards; but tongues of fire from the bubbling, caking coals -had soon licked those off, so that both sticks and peat were soon -aglow, and the whole looked as glorious as an autumn sunset. - -And firelight surely never before fell on cosier room, nor on cosier -old-world furniture. Dark pictures, in great gilt frames, hung on -the walls, almost hiding it; dark pictures, but with bright colours -standing out in them, which Time himself had not been able to dim; -albeit he had cracked the varnish. Pictures you could look -into--look in through almost--and imagine figures that perhaps were -not in them at all; pictures of old-fashioned places, with quaint, -old-fashioned people and animals; pictures in which every creature or -human being looked contented and happy. Pictures from masters' hands -many of them, and worth far more than their weight in solid gold. - -And the firelight fell on curious brackets, and on a tall -corner-cabinet filled with old delf and china; fell on high, -narrow-backed chairs, and on one huge carved-oak chest that took your -mind away back to centuries long gone by and made you half believe -that there must have been "giants in those days." - -The firelight fell and was reflected from silver cups, and goblets, -and candlesticks, and a glittering shield that stood on a sideboard, -their presence giving relief to the eye. Heavy, cosy-looking -curtains depended from the window cornices, and the door itself was -darkly draped. - -"Ten to-morrow. How time does fly!" - -It was the father who now spoke, and as he did so his hand was -stretched out as if instinctively, till it lay on the mother's lap. -Their eyes met, and there seemed something of sadness in the smile of -each. - -"How time does fly!" - -"Dad!" - -The voice came once more from the corner. - -"Dad! For years and years I've noticed that you always take mummie's -hand and just look like that on the night before Archie's birthday. -Father, why----" - -But at that very moment the firelight found something else to fall -upon--something brighter and fairer by far than anything it had lit -up to-night. For the door-curtain was drawn back, and a little, wee, -girlish figure advanced on tiptoe and stood smiling in the middle of -the room, looking from one to the other. This was Elsie, Rupert's -twin-sister. His "beautiful sister" the boy called her, and she was -well worthy of the compliment. Only for a moment did she stand -there, but as she did so, with her bonnie bright face, she seemed the -one thing that had been needed to complete the picture, the centre -figure against the sombre, almost solemn, background. - -The fire blazed more merrily now; a jet of white smoke, that had been -spinning forth from a little mound of melting coal, jumped suddenly -into flame; while the biggest log cracked like a popgun, and threw -off a great red spark, which flew halfway across the room. - -Next instant a wealth of dark-brown hair fell on Archie's shoulder, -and soft lips were pressed to his sun-dyed cheek, then bright, -laughing eyes looked into his. - -"Ten to-morrow, Archie! Aren't you proud?" - -Elsie now took a footstool, and sat down close beside her invalid -brother, stretching one arm across his chest protectingly; but she -shook her head at Archie from her corner. - -"Ten to-morrow, you great big, big brother Archie," she said. - -Archie laughed right merrily. - -"What are you going to do all?" - -"Oh, such a lot of things! First of all, if it snows----" - -"It is snowing now, Archie, fast." - -"Well then I'm going to shoot the fox that stole poor Cock Jock. Oh, -my poor Cock Jock! We'll never see him again." - -"Shooting foxes isn't sport, Archie." - -"No, dad; it's revenge." - -The father shook his head. - -"Well, I mean something else." - -"Justice?" - -"Yes, that is it. Justice, dad. Oh, I did love that cock so! He -was so gentlemanly and gallant, father. Oh, so kind! And the fox -seized him just as poor Jock was carrying a crust of bread to the old -hen Ann. He threw my bonnie bird over his shoulder and ran off, -looking so sly and wicked. But I mean to kill him! - -"Last time I fired off Branson's gun was at a magpie, a nasty, -chattering, unlucky magpie. Old Kate says they're unlucky." - -"Did you kill the magpie, Archie?" - -"No, I don't think I hurt the magpie. The gun must have gone off -when I wasn't looking; but it knocked me down, and blackened all my -shoulder, because it pushed so. Branson said I didn't grasp it tight -enough. But I will to-morrow, when I'm killing the fox. Rupert, -you'll stuff the head, and we'll hang it in the hall. Won't you, -Roup?" - -Rupert smiled and nodded. - -"And I'm sure," he continued, "the Ann hen was so sorry when she saw -poor Cock Jock carried away." - -"Did the Ann hen eat the crust?" - -"What, father? Oh, yes, she did eat the crust! But I think that was -only out of politeness. I'm sure it nearly choked her." - -"Well, Archie, what will you do else to-morrow?" - -"Oh, then, you know, Elsie, the fun will only just be beginning, -because we're going to open the north tower of the castle. It's -already furnished." - -"And you're going to be installed as King of the North Tower?" said -his father. - -"Installed, father? Rupert, what does that mean? - -"Led in with honours, I suppose." - -"Oh, father, I'll instal myself; or Sissie there will; or old Kate; -or Branson, the keeper, will instal me. That's easy. The fun will -all come after that." - -* * * * * * - -Burley Old Farm, as it was called--and sometimes Burley Castle--was, -at the time our story opens, in the heyday of its glory and beauty. -Squire Broadbent, Archie's father, had been on it for a dozen years -and over. It was all his own, and had belonged to a bachelor uncle -before his time. This uncle had never made the slightest attempt to -cause two blades of grass to grow where only one had grown before. -Not he. He was well content to live on the little estate, as his -father had done before him, so long as things paid their way; so long -as plenty of sleek beasts were seen in the fields in summer, or -wading knee-deep in the straw-yard in winter; so long as pigs, and -poultry, and feather stock of every conceivable sort, made plenty of -noise about the farm-steading, and there was plenty of human life -about, the old Squire had been content. And why shouldn't he have -been? What does a North-country farmer need, or what has he any -right to long for, if his larder and coffers are both well filled, -and he can have a day on the stubble or moor, and ride to the hounds -when the crops are in? - -But his nephew was more ambitious. The truth is he came from the -South, and brought with him what the honest farmer-folks of the -Northumbrian borders call a deal of new-fangled notions. He had come -from the South himself, and he had not been a year in the place -before he went back, and in due time returned to Burley Old Farm with -a bonnie young bride. Of course there were people in the -neighbourhood who did not hesitate to say, that the Squire might have -married nearer home, and that there was no accounting for taste. For -all this and all that, both the Squire and his wife were not long in -making themselves universal favourites all round the country-side; -for they went everywhere, and did everything; and the neighbours were -all welcome to call at Burley when they liked, and had to call when -Mrs. Broadbent issued invitations. - -Well, the Squire's dinners were truly excellent, and when afterwards -the men-folk joined the ladies in the big drawing-room, the evenings -flew away so quickly that, as carriage time came, nobody could ever -believe it was anything like so late. - -The question of what the Squire had been previously to his coming to -Burley was sometimes asked by comparative strangers, but as nobody -could or cared to answer explicitly, it was let drop. Something in -the South, in or about London, or Deal, or Dover, but what did it -matter? he was "a jolly good fellow--aye, and a gentleman every -inch." Such was the verdict. - -A gentleman the Squire undoubtedly was, though not quite the type of -build, either in body or mind, of the tall, bony, and burly men of -the North--men descended from a race of ever-unconquered soldiers, -and probably more akin to the Scotch than the English. - -Sitting here in the green parlour to-night, with the firelight -playing on his smiling face as he talked to or teased his eldest boy, -Squire Broadbent was seen to advantage. Not big in body, and rather -round than angular, inclining even to the portly, with a frank, rosy -face and a bold blue eye, you could not have been in his company ten -minutes without feeling sorry you had not known him all his life. - -Amiability was the chief characteristic of Mrs. Broadbent. She was a -refined and genuine English lady. There is little more to say after -that. - -But what about the Squire's new fangled notions? Well, they were -really what they call "fads" now-a-days, or, taken collectively, they -were one gigantic fad. Although he had never been in the -agricultural interest before he became Squire, even while in city -chambers theoretical farming had been his pet study, and he made no -secret of it to his fellow-men. - -"This uncle of mine," he would say, "whom I go to see every -Christmas, is pretty old, and I'm his heir. Mind," he would add, "he -is a genuine, good man, and I'll be genuinely sorry for him when he -goes under. But that is the way of the world, and then I'll have my -fling. My uncle hasn't done the best for his land; he has been -content to go--not run; there is little running about the dear old -boy--in the same groove as his fathers, but I'm going to cut out a -new one." - -The week that the then Mr. Broadbent was in the habit of spending -with his uncle, in the festive season, was not the only holiday he -took in the year. No; for regularly as the month of April came -round, he started for the States of America, and England saw no more -of him till well on in June, by which time the hot weather had driven -him home. - -But he swore by the Yankees; that is, he would have sworn by them, -had he sworn at all. The Yankees in Mr. Broadbent's opinion were far -ahead of the English in everything pertaining to the economy of life, -and the best manner of living. He was too much of a John Bull to -admit that the Americans possessed any superiority over this tight -little isle, in the matter of either politics or knowledge of -warfare. England always had been, and always would be, mistress of -the seas, and master of and over every country with a foreshore on -it. "But," he would say, "look at the Yanks as inventors. Why, sir, -they beat us in everything from button-hook----Look at them as -farmers, especially as wheat growers and fruit raisers. They are as -far above Englishmen, with their insular prejudices, and insular -dread of taking a step forward for fear of going into a hole, as a -Berkshire steam ploughman is ahead of a Skyeman with his wooden -turf-turner. And look at them at home round their own firesides, or -look at their houses outside and in, and you will have some faint -notion of what comfort combined with luxury really means." - -It will be observed that Mr. Broadbent had a bold, straightforward -way of talking to his peers. He really had, and it will be seen -presently that he had, "the courage of his own convictions," to use a -hackneyed phrase. - -He brought those convictions with him to Burley, and the courage also. - -Why, in a single year--and a busy, bustling one it had been--the new -Squire had worked a revolution about the place. Lucky for him, he -had a well-lined purse to begin with, or he could hardly have come to -the root of things, or made such radical reforms as he did. - -When he first took a look round the farm-steading, he felt puzzled -where to begin first. But he went to work steadily, and kept it up, -and it is truly wonderful what an amount of solid usefulness can be -effected by either man or boy, if he has the courage to adopt such a -plan. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -_A CHIP OF THE OLD BLOCK._ - -It was no part of Squire Broadbent's plan to turn away old and -faithful servants. He had to weed them though, and this meant -thinning out to such an extent that not over many were left. - -The young and healthy creatures of inutility had to shift; but the -very old, the decrepit--those who had become stiff and grey in his -uncle's service--were pensioned off. They were to stay for the rest -of their lives in the rural village adown the glen--bask in the sun -in summer, sit by the fire of a winter, and talk of the times when "t -'old Squire was aboot." - -The servants settled with, and fresh ones with suitable "go" in them -established in their place, the live stock came in for reformation. - -"St. Mary! what a medley!" exclaimed the Squire, as he walked through -the byres and stables, and past the styes. "Everything bred anyhow. -No method in my uncle's madness. No rules followed, no type. Why -the quickest plan will be to put them all to the hammer." - -This was cutting the Gordian-knot with a vengeance, but it was -perhaps best in the long run. - -Next came renovation of the farm-steading itself; pulling down and -building, enlarging, and what not, and while this was going on, the -land itself was not being forgotten. Fences were levelled and carted -away, and newer and airier ones put up, and for the most part three -and sometimes even five fields were opened into one. There were -woods also to be seen to. The new Squire liked woods, but the trees -in some of these were positively poisoning each other. Here was a -larch-wood, for instance--those logs with the long, grey lichens on -them are part of some of the trees. So closely do the larches grow -together, so white with moss, so stunted and old-looking, that it -would have made a merry-andrew melancholy to walk among them. What -good were they? Down they must come, and down they had come; and -after the ground had been stirred up a bit, and left for a summer to -let the sunshine and air into it, all the hill was replanted with -young, green, smiling pines, larches, and spruces, and that was -assuredly an improvement. In a few years the trees were well -advanced; grass and primroses grew where the moss had crept about, -and the wood in spring was alive with the song of birds. - -The mansion-house had been left intact. Nothing could have added -much to the beauty of that. It stood high up on a knoll, with rising -park-like fields behind, and at some considerable distance the blue -slate roofs of the farm-steading peeping up through the greenery of -the trees. A solid yellow-grey house, with sturdy porch before the -hall-door, and sturdy mullioned windows, one wing ivy-clad, a broad -sweep of gravel in front, and beyond that, lawns and terraces, and -flower and rose-gardens. And the whole overlooked a river or stream, -that went winding away clear and silvery till it lost itself in -wooded glens. - -The scenery was really beautiful all round, and in some parts even -wild; while the distant views of the Cheviot Hills lent a charm to -everything. - -There was something else held sacred by the Squire as well as the -habitable mansion, and that was Burley Old Castle. Undoubtedly a -fortress of considerable strength it had been in bygone days, when -the wild Scots used to come raiding here, but there was no name for -it now save that of a "ruin." The great north tower still stood firm -and bold, and three walls of the lordly hall, its floor green with -long, rank grass; the walls themselves partly covered with ivy, with -broom growing on the top, which was broad enough for the half-wild -goats to scamper along. - -There was also the donjon keep, and the remains of a _fosse_; but all -the rest of this feudal castle had been unceremoniously carted away, -to erect cowsheds and pigstyes with it. - - "So sinks the pride of former days, - When glory's thrill is o'er." - - -No, Squire Broadbent did not interfere with the castle; he left it to -the goats and to Archie, who took to it as a favourite resort from -the time he could crawl. - -But these--all these--new-fangled notions the neighbouring squires -and farmers bold could easily have forgiven, had Broadbent not -carried his craze for machinery to the very verge of folly. So they -thought. Such things might be all very well in America, but they -were not called for here. Extraordinary mills driven by steam, no -less wonderful-looking harrows, uncanny-like drags and drilling -machines, sowing and reaping machines that were fearfully and -wonderfully made, and ploughs that, like the mills, were worked by -steam. - -Terrible inventions these; and even the men that were connected with -them had to be brought from the far South, and did not talk a homely, -wholesome _lingua_, nor live in a homely, wholesome way. - -His neighbours confessed that his crops were heavier, and the cereals -and roots finer; but they said to each other knowingly, "What about -the expense of down-put?" And as far as their own fields went, the -plough-boy still whistled to and from his work. - -Then the new live stock, why, type was followed; type was everything -in the Squire's eye and opinion. No matter what they were, horses, -cattle, pigs, sheep, and feather-stock, even the dogs and birds were -the best and purest of the sort to be had. - -But for all the head-shaking there had been at first, things really -appeared to prosper with the Squire; his big, yellow-painted wagons, -with their fine Clydesdale horses, were as well known in the district -and town of B---- as the brewer's dray itself. The "nags" were -capitally harnessed. What with jet-black, shining leather, -brass-work that shone like burnished gold, and crimson-flashing -fringes, it was no wonder that the men who drove them were proud, and -that they were favourites at every house of call. Even the bailiff -himself, on his spirited hunter, looked imposing with his whip in his -hand, and in his spotless cords. - -Breakfast at Burley was a favourite meal, and a pretty early one, and -the capital habit of inviting friends thereto was kept up. Mrs. -Broadbent's tea was something to taste and remember; while the cold -beef, or that early spring lamb on the sideboard, would have -converted the veriest vegetarian as soon as he clapped eyes on it. - -On his spring lamb the Squire rather prided himself, and he liked his -due meed of praise for having reared it. To be sure he got it; -though some of the straight-forward Northumbrians would occasionally -quizzingly enquire what it cost him to put on the table. - -Squire Broadbent would not get out of temper whatever was said, and -really, to do the man justice, it must be allowed that there was a -glorious halo of self-reliance around his head; and altogether such -spirit, dash, and independence with all he said and did, that those -who breakfasted with him seemed to catch the infection. Their farms -and they themselves appeared quite behind the times, when viewed in -comparison with Broadbent's and with Broadbent himself. - -If ever a father was loved and admired by a son, the Squire was that -man, and Archie was that particular son. His father was Archie's -_beau ideal_ indeed of all that was worth being, or saying, or -knowing, in this world; and Rupert's as well. - -He really was his boys' hero, but behaved more to them as if he had -been just a big brother. It was a great grief to both of them that -Rupert could not join in their games out on the lawn in summer--the -little cricket matches, the tennis tournaments, the jumping, and -romping, and racing. The tutor was younger than the Squire by many -years, but he could not beat him in any manly game you could mention. - -Yes, it was sad about Rupert, but with all the little lad's suffering -and weariness, he was such a sunny-faced chap. He never complained, -and when sturdy, great, brown-faced Archie carried him out as if he -had been a baby, and laid him on the couch where he could witness the -games, he was delighted beyond description. - -I'm quite sure that the Squire often and often kept on playing longer -than he would otherwise have done just to please the child, as he was -generally called. As for Elsie, she did all her brother did, and a -good deal more besides, and yet no one could have called her a tom -girl. - -As the Squire was Archie's hero, I suppose the boy could not help -taking after his hero to some extent; but it was not only surprising -but even amusing to notice how like to his "dad" in all his ways -Archie had at the age of ten become. The same in walk, the same in -talk, the same in giving his opinion, and the same in bright, -determined looks. Archie really was what his father's friends called -him, "a chip of the old block." - -He was a kind of a lad, too, that grown-up men folks could not help -having a good, romping lark with. Not a young farmer that ever came -to the place could have beaten Archie at a race; but when some of -them did get hold of him out on the lawn of an evening, then there -would be a bit of fun, and Archie was in it. - -These burly Northumbrians would positively play a kind of pitch and -toss with him, standing in a square or triangle and throwing him hack -and fore as if he had been a cricket ball. And there was one very -tall, wiry young fellow who treated Archie as if he had been a sort -of dumb-bell, and took any amount of exercise out of him; holding him -high aloft with one hand, swaying him round and round and up and -down, changing hands, and, in a word, going through as many motions -with the laughing boy as if he had been inanimate. - -* * * * * * - -I do not think that Archie ever dressed more quickly in his life, -than he did on the morning of that auspicious day which saw him ten -years old. To tell the truth, he had never been very much struck -over the benefits of early rising, especially on mornings in winter. -The parting between the boy and his warm bed was often of a most -affecting character. The servant would knock, and the gong would go, -and sometimes he would even hear his father's voice in the hall -before he made up his mind to tear himself away. - -But on this particular morning, no sooner had he rubbed his eyes and -began to remember things, than he sprang nimbly to the floor. The -bath was never a terrible ordeal to Archie, as it is to some lads. -He liked it because it made him feel light and buoyant, and made him -sing like the happy birds in spring time; but to-day he did think it -would be a saving of time to omit it. Yes, but it would be cowardly, -and on this morning of all mornings; so in he plunged, and plied the -sponge manfully. He did not draw up the blinds till well-nigh -dressed. For all he could see when he did do so, he might as well -have left them down. The windows--the month was January--were hard -frozen; had it been any other day, he would have paused to admire the -beautiful frost foliage and frost ferns that nature had etched on the -panes. He blew his breath on the glass instead, and made a clean -round hole thereon. - -Glorious! It had been snowing pretty heavily, but now the sky was -clear. The footprints of the wily fox could be tracked. Archie -would follow him to his den in the wild woods, and his Skye terriers -would unearth him. Then----the boy knelt to pray, just reviewing the -past for a short time before he did so, and thinking what a deal he -had to be thankful for; how kind the good Father was to have given -him such parents, such a beautiful home, and such health, and -thinking too what a deal he had to be sorry for in the year that was -gone; then he gave thanks, and prayer for strength to resist -temptation in the time to come; and, it is needless to say, he prayed -for poor invalid Rupert. - -When he got up from his knees he heard the great gong sounded, and -smiled to himself to think how early he was. Then he blew on the -pane and looked out again. The sky was blue and clear, and there was -not a breath of wind; the trees on the lawn, laden with their weight -of powdery snow, their branches bending earthwards, especially the -larches and spruces, were a sight to see. And the snow-covered lawn -itself, oh, how beautiful! Archie wondered if the streets of heaven -even could be more pure, more dazzlingly white. - -Whick, whick, whick, whir--r--r--r--r! - -It was a big yellow-billed blackbird, that flew out with startled cry -from a small Austrian pine tree. As it did so, a cloud of powdery -snow rose in the air, showing how hard the frost was. - -Early though it was--only a little past eight--Archie found his -father and mother in the breakfast-room, and greetings and blessings -fell on his head; brief but tender. - -By-and-bye the tutor came in, looking tired; and Archie exulted over -him, as cocks crow over a fallen foe, because he was down first. - -Mr. Walton was a young man of five or six and twenty, and had been in -the family for over three years, so he was quite an old friend. -Moreover, he was a man after the Squire's own heart; he was manly, -and taught Archie manliness, and had a quiet way of helping him out -of every difficulty of thought or action. Besides, Archie and Rupert -liked him. - -After breakfast Archie went up to see his brother, then downstairs, -and straight away out through the servants' hall to the barn-yards. -He had showers of blessings, and not a few gifts from the servants; -but old Scotch Kate was most sincere, for this somewhat aged spinster -really loved the lad. - -At the farm-steading he had many friends to see, both hairy and -feathered. He found some oats, which he scattered among the last, -and laughed to see them scramble, and to hear them talk. Well, -Archie at all events believed firmly that fowls can converse. One -very lovely red game bird, came boldly up and pecked his oats from -Archie's palm. This was the new Cock Jock, a son of the old bird, -which the fox had taken. The Ann hen was there too. She was bold, -and bonnie, and saucy, and seemed quite to have given up mourning for -her lost lord. Ann came at Archie's call, flew on to his wrist, and -after steadying herself and grumbling a little because Archie moved -his arm too much, she shoved her head and neck into the boy's pocket, -and found oats in abundance. That was Ann's way of doing business, -and she preferred it. - -The ducks were insolent and noisy; the geese, instead of taking -higher views of life, as they are wont to do, bent down their stately -necks, and went in for the scramble with the rest. The hen turkeys -grumbled a great deal, but got their share nevertheless; while the -great gobbler strutted around doing attitudes, and rustling himself, -his neck and head blood-red and blue, and every feather as stiff as -an oyster-shell. He looked like some Indian chief arrayed for the -war-path. Having hurriedly fed his feathered favourites, Archie went -bounding off to let out a few dogs. He opened the door and went -right into their house, and the consequence was that one of the -Newfoundlands threw him over in the straw, and licked his face; and -the Skye terriers came trooping round, and they also paid their -addresses to him, some of the young ones jumping over his head, while -Archie could do nothing for laughing. When he got up he sang out -"Attention!" and lo and behold the dogs, every one looking wiser than -another, some with their considering-caps on apparently, and their -heads held knowingly to one side. - -"Attention!" cried the boy. "I am going to-day to shoot the fox that -ran off with the hen Ann's husband. I shall want some of you. You -Bounder, and you little Fuss, and you Tackler, come." - -And come those three dogs did, while the rest, with lowered tails and -pitiful looks, slunk away to their straw. Bounder was an enormous -Newfoundland, and Fuss and Tackler were terriers, the former a Skye, -the latter a very tiny but exceedingly game Yorkie. - -Yonder, gun on shoulder, came tall, stately Branson, the keeper, clad -in velveteen, with gaiters on. Branson was a Northumbrian, and a -grand specimen too. He might have been somewhat slow of speech, but -he was not slow to act whenever it came to a scuffle with poachers -and this last was not an unfrequent occurrence. - -"My gun, Branson?" - -"It's in the kitchen, Master Archie, clean and ready; and old Kate -has put a couple of corks in it, for fear it should go off." - -"Oh, it is loaded then--really loaded!" - -"Aye, lad; and I've got to teach you how to carry it. This is your -first day on the hill, mind, and a rough one it is." - -Archie soon got his leggings on, and his shot-belt and shooting-cap -and everything else, in true sportsman fashion. - -"What!" he said at the hall door, when he met Mr. Walton, "am I to -have my tutor with me _to-day_?" - -He put strong emphasis on the last word. - -"You know, Mr. Walton, that I am ten to-day. I suppose I am -conceited, but I almost feel a man." - -His tutor laughed, but by no means offensively. - -"My dear Archie, I _am_ going to the hill; but don't imagine I'm -going as your tutor, or to look after you. Oh, no! I want to go as -your friend." - -This certainly put a different complexion on the matter. - -Archie considered for a moment, then replied, with charming -condescension: - -"Oh, yes, of course, Mr. Walton! You are welcome, I'm sure, to come -_as a friend_." - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -_A DAY OF ADVENTURE._ - -If we have any tears all ready to flow, it is satisfactory to know -that they will not be required at present. If we have poetic fire -and genius, even these gifts may for the time being be held in -reservation. No "Ode to a Dying Fox" or "Elegy on the Death and -Burial of Reynard" will be necessary. For Reynard did not die; nor -was he shot; at least, not sufficiently shot. - -In one sense this was a pity. It resulted in mingled humiliation and -bitterness for Archie and for the dogs. He had pictured to himself a -brief moment of triumph when he should return from the chase, bearing -in his hand the head of his enemy--the murderer of the Ann hen's -husband--and having the brush sticking out of his jacket pocket; -return to be crowned, figuratively speaking, with festive laurel by -Elsie, his sister, and looked upon by all the servants with a feeling -of awe as a future Nimrod. - -In another sense it was not a pity; that is, for the fox. This sable -gentleman had enjoyed a good run, which made him hungry, and as happy -as only a fox can be who knows the road through the woods and wilds -to a distant burrow, where a bed of withered weeds awaits him, and -where a nice fat hen is hidden. When Reynard had eaten his dinner -and licked his chops, he laid down to sleep, no doubt laughing in his -paw at the boy's futile efforts to capture or kill him, and promising -himself the pleasure of a future moonlight visit to Burley Old Farm, -from which he should return with the Ann hen herself on his shoulder. - -Yes, Archie's hunt had been unsuccessful, though the day had not -ended without adventure, and he had enjoyed the pleasures of the -chase. - -Bounder, the big Newfoundland, first took up the scent, and away he -went with Fuss and Tackler at his heels, the others following as well -as they could, restraining the dogs by voice and gesture. Through -the spruce woods, through a patch of pine forest, through a wild -tangle of tall, snow-laden furze, out into the open, over a stream, -and across a wide stretch of heathery moorland, round quarries and -rocks, and once more into a wood. This time it was stunted larch, -and in the very centre of it, close by a cairn of stones, Bounder -said--and both Fuss and Tackler acquiesced--that Reynard had his den. -But how to get him out? - -"You two little chaps get inside," Bounder seemed to say. "I'll -stand here; and as soon as he bolts, I shall make the sawdust fly out -of him, you see!" - -Escape for the fox seemed an impossibility. He had more than one -entrance to his den, but all were carefully blocked up by the keeper -except his back and front door. Bounder guarded the latter, Archie -went to watch by the former. - -"Keep quiet and cool now, and aim right behind the shoulder." - -Quiet and cool indeed! how could he? Under such exciting -circumstances, his heart was thumping like a frightened pigeon's, and -his cheeks burning with the rush of blood to them. - -He knelt down with his gun ready, and kept his eyes on the hole. He -prayed that Reynard might not bolt by the front door, for that would -spoil his sport. - -The terrier made it very warm for the fox in his den. Small though -the little Yorkie was, his valour was wonderful. Out in the open -Reynard could have killed them one by one, but here the battle was -unfair, so after a few minutes of a terrible scrimmage the fox -concluded to bolt. - -Archie saw his head at the hole, half protruded then drawn back, and -his heart thumped now almost audibly. - -Would he come? Would he dare it? - -Yes, the fox dared it, and came. He dashed out with a wild rush, -like a little hairy hurricane. "Aim behind the shoulder!" Where was -the shoulder? Where was anything but a long sable stream of -something feathering through the snow? - -Bang! bang! both barrels. And down rolled the fox. Yes, no. Oh -dear, it was poor Fuss! The fox was half a mile away in a minute. - -Fuss lost blood that stained the snow brown as it fell on it. And -Archie shed bitter tears of sorrow and humiliation. - -"Oh, Fuss, my dear, dear doggie!" he cried, "I didn't mean to hurt -you." - -The Skye terrier was lying on the keeper's knees and having a snow -styptic. - -Soon the blood ceased to flow, and Fuss licked his young master's -hands, and presently got down and ran around and wanted to go to -earth again; and though Archie felt he could never forgive himself -for his awkwardness, he was so happy to see that Fuss was not much -the worse after all. - -But there would be no triumphant home-returning; he even began to -doubt if ever he would be a sportsman. Then Branson consoled him, -and told him he himself didn't do any better when he first took to -the hill. - -"It is well," said Mr. Walton, laughing, "that you didn't shoot me -instead." - -"Ye--es," said Archie slowly, looking at Fuss. It was evident he was -not quite convinced that Mr. Walton was right. - -"Fuss is none the worse," cried Branson. "Oh, I can tell you it does -these Scotch dogs good to have a drop or two of lead in them! It -makes them all the steadier, you know." - -About an hour after, to his exceeding delight, Archie shot a hare. -Oh joy! Oh day of days! His first hare! He felt a man now, from -the top of his Astrachan cap to the toe caps of his shooting-boots. - -Bounder picked it up, and brought it and laid it at Archie's feet. - -"Good dog! you shall carry it." - -Bounder did so most delightedly. - -They stopped at an outlying cottage on their way home. It was a -long, low, thatched building, close by a wood, a very humble dwelling -indeed. - -A gentle-faced widow woman opened to their knock. She looked scared -when she saw them, and drew back. - -"Oh!" she said, "I hope Robert hasn't got into trouble again?" - -"No, no, Mrs. Cooper, keep your mind easy, Bob's a' right at present. -We just want to eat our bit o' bread and cheese in your sheeling." - -"And right welcome ye are, sirs. Come in to the fire. Here's a -broom to brush the snow fra your leggins." - -Bounder marched in with the rest, with as much swagger and -independence as if the cottage belonged to him. Mrs. Cooper's cat -determined to defend her hearth and home against such intrusion, and -when Bounder approached the former, she stood on her dignity, back -arched, tail erect, hair on end from stem to stern, with her ears -back, and green fire lurking in her eyes. Bounder stood patiently -looking at her. He would not put down the hare, and he could not -defend himself with it in his mouth; so he was puzzled. Pussy, -however, brought matters to a crisis. She slapped his face, then -bolted right up the chimney. Bounder put down the hare now, and gave -a big sigh as he lay down beside it. - -"No, Mrs. Cooper, Bob hasn't been at his wicked work for some time. -He's been gi'en someone else a turn I s'pose, eh?" - -"Oh, sirs," said the widow, "it's no wi' my will he goes poachin'! -If his father's heid were above the sod he daren't do it. But, poor -Bob, he's all I have in the world, and he works hard--sometimes." - -Branson laughed. It was a somewhat sarcastic laugh; and young Archie -felt sorry for Bob's mother, she looked so unhappy. - -"Aye, Mrs. Cooper, Bob works hard sometimes, especially when settin' -girns for game. Ha! ha! Hullo!" he added, "speak of angels and they -appear. Here comes Bob himself!" - -Bob entered, looked defiantly at the keeper, but doffed his cap and -bowed to Mr. Walton and Archie. "Mother," he said, "I'm going out." - -"Not far, Bob, lad; denner's nearly ready." - -Bob had turned to leave, but he wheeled round again almost fiercely. -He was a splendid young specimen of a Borderer, six feet if an inch, -and well-made to boot. No extra flesh, but hard and tough as copper -bolts. "Denner!" he growled. "Aye, denner to be sure--taties and -salt! Ha! and gentry live on the fat o' the land! If I snare a -rabbit, if I dare to catch one o' God's own cattle on God's own -hills, I'm a felon; I'm to be taken and put in gaol--shot even if I -dare resist! Yas, mother, I'll be in to denner," and away he strode. - -"Potatoes and salt!" Archie could not help thinking about that. And -he was going away to his own bright home and to happiness. He -glanced round him. at the bare, clay walls, with their few bits of -daubs of pictures, and up at the blackened rafters, where a cheese -stood--one poor, hard cheese--and on which hung some bacon and -onions. He could not repress a sigh, almost as heartfelt as that -which Bounder gave when he lay down beside the hare. - -When the keeper and tutor rose to go, Archie stopped behind with -Bounder just a moment. When they came out, Bounder had no hare. - -Yet that hare was the first Archie had shot, and--well, he had meant -to astonish Elsie with this proof of his prowess; but the hare was -better to be left where it was--he had earned a blessing. - -The party were in the wood when Bob Cooper, the poacher, sprang up as -if from the earth and confronted them. - -"I came here a purpose," he said to Branson. "This is not your wood; -even if it was I wouldn't mind. What did you want at my mother's -hoose?" - -"Nothing; and I've nothing to say to ye." - -"Haven't ye? But ye were in our cottage. It's no for nought the -glaud whistles." - -"I don't want to quarrel," said Branson, "especially after speakin' -to your mother; she's a kindly soul, and I'm sorry for her and for -you yoursel', Bob." - -Bob was taken aback. He had expected defiance, exasperation, and he -was prepared to fight. - -Archie stood trembling as these two athletes looked each other in the -eyes. - -But gradually Bob's face softened; he bit his lip and moved -impatiently. The allusion to his mother had touched his heart. - -"I didn't want sich words, Branson. I--may be I don't deserve 'em. -I--hang it all, give me a grip o' your hand!" - -Then away went Bob as quickly as he had come. - -Branson glanced at his retreating figure one moment. - -"Well," he said, "I never thought I'd shake hands wi' Bob Cooper! No -matter; better please a fool than fecht 'im." - -"Branson!" - -"Yes, Master Archie." - -"I don't think Bob's a fool; and I'm sure that, bad as he is, he -loves his mother." - -"Quite right, Archie," said Mr. Walton. - -Archie met his father at the gate, and ran towards him to tell him -all his adventures about the fox and the hare. But Bob Cooper and -everybody else was forgotten when he noticed what and whom he had -behind him. The "whom" was Branson's little boy, Peter; the "what" -was one of the wildest-looking--and, for that matter, one of the -wickedest-looking--Shetland ponies it is possible to imagine. -Long-haired, shaggy, droll, and daft; but these adjectives do not -half describe him. - -"Why, father, wherever----" - -"He's your birthday present, Archie." - -The boy actually flushed red with joy. His eyes sparkled as he -glanced from his father to the pony and back at his father again. - -"Dad," he said at last, "I know now what old Kate means about 'her -cup being full.' Father, my cup overflows!" - -Well, Archie's eyes were pretty nearly overflowing anyhow. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -_IN THE OLD CASTLE TOWER._ - -They were all together that evening in the green parlour as usual, -and everybody was happy and merry. Even Rupert was sitting up and -laughing as much as Elsie. - -The clatter of tongues prevented them hearing Mary's tapping at the -door; and the carpet being so thick and soft, she was not seen until -right in the centre of the room. - -"Why, Mary," cried Elsie, "I got such a start, I thought you were a -ghost!" - -Mary looks uneasily around her. - -"There be one ghost, Miss Elsie, comes out o' nights, and walks about -the old castle." - -"Was that what you came in to tell us, Mary?" - -"Oh, no, sir! If ye please, Bob Cooper is in the yard, and he wants -to speak to Master Archie. I wouldn't let him go if I were you, -ma'am." - -Archie's mother smiled. Mary was a privileged little parlour maiden, -and ventured at times to make suggestions. - -"Go and see what he wants, dear," said his mother to Archie. - -It was a beautiful clear moonlight night, with just a few white -snow-laden clouds lying over the woods, no wind and never a hush save -the distant and occasional yelp of a dog. - -"Bob Cooper!" - -"That's me, Master Archie. I couldn't rest till I'd seen ye the -night. The hare----" - -"Oh! that's really nothing, Bob Cooper!" - -"But allow me to differ. It's no' the hare altogether. I know where -to find fifty. It was the way it was given. Look here, lad, and -this is what I come to say, Branson and you have been too much for -Bob Cooper. The day I went to that wood to thrash him, and I'd hae -killed him, an I could. Ha! ha! I shook hands with him! Archie -Broadbent, your father's a gentleman, and they say you're a chip o' -t' old block. I believe 'em, and look, see, lad, I'll never be seen -in your preserves again. Tell Branson so. There's my hand on't. -Nay, never be afear'd to touch it. Good-night. I feel better now." - -And away strode the poacher, and Archie could hear the sound of his -heavy tread crunching through the snow long after he was out of sight. - -"You seem to have made a friend, Archie," said his father, when the -boy reported the interview. - -"A friend," added Mr. Walton with a quiet smile, "that I wouldn't be -too proud of." - -"Well," said the Squire, "certainly Bob Cooper is a rough nut, but -who knows what his heart may be like?" - -Archie's room in the tower was opened in state next day. Old Kate -herself had lit fires in it every night for a week before, though she -never would go up the long dark stair without Peter. Peter was only -a mite of a boy, but wherever he went, Fuss, the Skye terrier, -accompanied him, and it was universally admitted that no ghost in its -right senses would dare to face Fuss. - -Elsie was there of course, and Rupert too, though he had to be almost -carried up by stalwart Branson. But what a glorious little room it -was when you were in it! A more complete boy's own room could -scarcely be imagined. It was a _beau ideal_; at least Rupert and -Archie and Elsie thought so, and even Mr. Walton and Branson said the -same. - -Let me see now, I may as well try to describe it, but much must be -left to imagination. It was not a very big room, only about twelve -feet square; for although the tower appeared very large from outside, -the abnormal thickness of its walls detracted from available space -inside it. There was one long window on each side, and a chair and -small table could be placed on the sill of either. But this was -curtained off at night, when light came from a huge lamp that -depended from the ceiling, and the rays from which fought for -preference with those from the roaring fire on the stone hearth. The -room was square. A door, also curtained, gave entrance from the -stairway at one corner, and at each of two other corners were two -other doors leading into turret chambers, and these tiny, wee rooms -were very delightful, because you were out beyond the great tower -when you sat in them, and their slits of windows granted you a grand -view of the charming scenery everywhere about. - -The furniture was rustic in the extreme--studiously so. There was a -tall rocking-chair, a great daïs or sofa, and a recline for -Rupert--"poor Rupert" as he was always called--the big chair was the -guest's seat. - -The ornaments on the walls had been principally supplied by Branson. -Stuffed heads of foxes, badgers, and wild cats, with any number of -birds' and beasts' skins, artistically mounted. There were also -heads of horned deer, bows and arrows--these last were Archie's -own--and shields and spears that Uncle Ramsey had brought home from -savage wars in Africa and Australia. The daïs was covered with bear -skins, and there was quite a quantity of skins on the floor instead -of a carpet. So the whole place looked primeval and romantic. - -The bookshelf was well supplied with readable tales, and a harp stood -in a corner, and on this, young though she was, Elsie could already -play. - -The guest to-night was old Kate. She sat in the tall chair in a -corner opposite the door, Branson occupied a seat near her, Rupert -was on his recline, and Archie and Elsie on a skin, with little Peter -nursing wounded Fuss in a corner. - -That was the party. But Archie had made tea, and handed it round; -and sitting there with her cup in her lap, old Kate really looked a -strange, weird figure. Her face was lean and haggard, her eyes -almost wild, and some half-grey hair peeped from under an -uncanny-looking cap of black crape, with long depending strings of -the same material. - -Old Kate was housekeeper and general female factotum. She was really -a distant relation of the Squire, and so had it very much her own way -at Burley Old Farm. - -She came originally from "just ayant the Border," and had a wealth of -old-world stories to tell, and could sing queer old bits of ballads -too, when in the humour. - -Old Kate, however, said she could not sing to-night, for she felt as -yet unused to the place; and whether they (the boys) believed in -ghosts or not she (Kate) did, and so, she said, had her father before -her. But she told stories--stories of the bloody raids of long, long -ago, when Northumbria and the Scottish Borders were constantly at -war--stories that kept her hearers enthralled while they listened, -and to which the weird looks and strange voice of the narrator lent a -peculiar charm. - -Old Kate was just in the very midst of one of these when, twang! one -of the strings of Elsie's harp broke. It was a very startling sound -indeed; for as it went off it seemed to emit a groan that rang -through the chamber, and died away in the vaulted roof. Elsie crept -closer to Archie, and Peter with Fuss drew nearer the fire. - -The ancient dame, after being convinced that the sound was nothing -uncanny, proceeded with her narrative. It was a long one, with an -old house in it by the banks of a winding river in the midst of woods -and wilds--a house that, if its walls had been able to speak, could -have told many a marrow-freezing story of bygone times. - -There was a room in this house that was haunted. Old Kate was just -coming to this, and to the part of her tale on which the ghosts on a -certain night of the year always appeared in this room, and stood -over a dark stain in the centre of the floor. - -"And ne'er a ane," she was saying, "could wash that stain awa'. -Weel, bairns, one moonlicht nicht, and at the deadest hoor o' the -nicht, nothing would please the auld laird but he maun leave his -chaimber and go straight along the damp, dreary, long corridor to the -door o' the hauntid room. It was half open, and the moon's licht -danced in on the fleer. He was listening--he was looking----" - -But at this very moment, when old Kate had lowered her voice to a -whisper, and the tension at her listeners' heart-strings was the -greatest, a soft, heavy footstep was heard coming slowly, painfully -as it might be, up the turret stairs. - -To say that every one was alarmed would but poorly describe their -feelings. Old Kate's eyes seemed as big as watch-glasses. Elsie -screamed, and clung to Archie. - -"Who--oo--'s-- Who's there?" cried Branson, and his voice sounded -fearful and far away. - -No answer; but the steps drew nearer and nearer. Then the curtain -was pushed aside, and in dashed--what? a ghost?--no, only honest -great Bounder. - -Bounder had found out there was something going on, and that Fuss was -up there, and he didn't see why he should be left out in the cold. -That was all; but the feeling of relief when he did appear was -unprecedented. - -Old Kate required another cup of tea after that. Then Branson got -out his fiddle from a green baize bag; and if he had not played those -merry airs, I do not believe that old Kate would have had the courage -to go downstairs that night at all. - -Archie's pony was great fun at first. The best of it was that he had -never been broken in. The Squire, or rather his bailiff, had bought -him out of a drove; so he was, literally speaking, as wild as the -hills, and as mad as a March hare. But he soon knew Archie and -Elsie, and, under Branson's supervision, Scallowa was put into -training on the lawn. He was led, he was walked, he was galloped. -But he reared, and kicked, and rolled whenever he thought of it, and -yet there was not a bit of vice about him. - -Spring had come, and early summer itself, before Scallowa permitted -Archie to ride him, and a week or two after this the difficulty would -have been to have told which of the two was the wilder and dafter, -Archie or Scallowa. They certainly had managed to establish the most -amicable relations. Whatever Scallowa thought, Archie agreed to, and -_vice versa_, and the pair were never out of mischief. Of course -Archie was pitched off now and then, but he told Elsie he did not -mind it, and in fact preferred it to constant uprightness: it was a -change. But the pony never ran away, because Archie always had a bit -of carrot in his pocket to give him when he got up off the ground. - -Mr. Walton assured Archie that these carrots accounted for his many -tumbles. And there really did seem to be a foundation of truth about -this statement. For of course the pony had soon come to know that it -was to his interest to throw his rider, and acted accordingly. So -after a time Archie gave the carrot-payment up, and matters were -mended. - -It was only when school was over that Archie went for a canter, -unless he happened to get up very early in the morning for the -purpose of riding. And this he frequently did, so that, before the -summer was done, Scallowa and Archie were as well known over all the -countryside as the postman himself. - -Archie's pony was certainly not very long in the legs, but -nevertheless the leaps he could take were quite surprising. - -On the second summer after Archie got this pony both horse and rider -were about perfect in their training, and in the following winter he -appeared in the hunting-field with the greatest _sang-froid_, -although many of the farmers, on their weight-carrying hunters, could -have jumped over Archie, Scallowa, and all. The boy had a long way -to ride to the hounds, and he used to start off the night before. He -really did not care where he slept. Old Kate used to make up a -packet of sandwiches for him, and this would be his dinner and -breakfast. Scallowa he used to tie up in some byre, and as often as -not Archie would turn in beside him among the straw. In the morning -he would finish the remainder of Kate's sandwiches, make his toilet -in some running stream or lake, and be as fresh as a daisy when the -meet took place. - -Both he and Scallowa were somewhat uncouth-looking. Elsie, his -sister, had proposed that he should ride in scarlet, it would look so -romantic and pretty; but Archie only laughed, and said he would not -feel at home in such finery, and his "Eider Duck"-as he sometimes -called the pony--would not know him. "Besides, Elsie," he said, -"lying down among straw with scarlets on wouldn't improve them." - -But old Kate had given him a birthday present of a little Scotch -Glengarry cap with a real eagle's feather, and he always wore this in -the hunting-field. He did so for two reasons; first, it pleased old -Kate; and, secondly, the cap stuck to his head; no breeze could blow -it off. - -It was not long before Archie was known in the field as the "Little -Demon Huntsman." And, really, had you seen Scallowa and he -feathering across a moor, his bonnet on the back of his head, and the -pony's immense mane blowing straight back in the wind, you. would -have thought the title well earned. In a straight run the pony could -not keep up with the long-legged horses; but Archie and he could dash -through a wood, and even swim streams, and take all manner of short -cuts, so that he was always in at the death. - -The most remarkable trait in Archie's riding was that he could take -flying leaps from heights: only a Shetland pony could have done this. -Archie knew every yard of country, and he rather liked heading his -Lilliputian nag right away for a knoll or precipice, and bounding off -it like a roebuck or Scottish deerhound. The first time he was -observed going straight for a bank of this kind he created quite a -sensation. "The boy will be killed!" was the cry, and every lady -then drew rein and held her breath. - -Away went Scallowa, and they were on the bank in the air, and landed -safely, and away again in less time that it takes me to tell of the -exploit. - -The secret of the lad's splendid management of the pony was this: he -loved Scallowa, and Scallowa knew it. He not only loved the little -horse, but studied his ways, so he was able to train him to do quite -a number of tricks, such as lying down "dead" to command, kneeling to -ladies--for Archie was a gallant lad--trotting round and round -circus-fashion, and ending every performance by coming and kissing -his master. Between you and me, reader, a bit of carrot had a good -deal to do with the last trick, if not with the others also. - -It occurred to this bold boy once that he might be able to take -Scallowa up the dark tower stairs to the boy's own room. The -staircase was unusually wide, and the broken stones in it had been -repaired with logs of wood. He determined to try; but he practised -riding him blindfolded first. Then one day he put him at the stairs; -he himself went first with the bridle in his hand. - -What should he do if he failed? That is a question he did not stop -to answer. One thing was quite certain, Scallowa could not turn and -go down again. On they went, the two of them, all in the dark, -except that now and then a slit in the wall gave them a little light -and, far beneath, a pretty view of the country. On and on, and up -and up, till within ten feet of the top. - -Here Scallowa came to a dead stop, and the conversation between -Archie and his steed, although the latter did not speak English, -might have been as follows: - -"Come on, 'Eider Duck'!" - -"Not a step farther, thank you." - -"Come on, old horsie! You can't turn, you know." - -"No; not another step if I stay here till doomsday in the afternoon. -Going upstairs becomes monotonous after a time. No; I'll be shot if -I budge!" - -"You'll be shot if you don't. Gee up, I say; gee up!" - -"Gee up yourself; I'm going to sleep." - -"I say, Scallowa, look here." - -"What's that, eh? a bit of carrot? Oh, here goes!" - -And in a few seconds more Scallowa was in the room, and had all he -could eat of cakes and carrots. - -Archie was so delighted with his success that he must go to the -castle turret, and halloo for Branson and old Kate to come and see -what he had got in the tower. - -Old Kate's astonishment knew no bounds, and Branson laughed till his -sides were sore. Bounder, the Newfoundland, appeared also to -appreciate the joke, and smiled from lug to lug. - -"How will you get him down?" - -"Carrots," said Archie; "carrots, Branson. The 'Duck' will do -anything for carrots." - -The "Duck," however, was somewhat nervous at first, and half-way -downstairs even the carrots appeared to have lost their charm. - -While Archie was wondering what he should do now, a loud explosion -seemed to shake the old tower to its very foundation. It was only -Bounder barking in the rear of the pony. But the sound had the -desired effect, and down came the "Duck," and away went Archie, so -that in a few minutes both were out on the grass. - -And here Scallowa must needs relieve his feelings by lying down and -rolling; while great Bounder, as if he had quite appreciated all the -fun of the affair, and must do something to allay his excitement, -went tearing round in a circle, as big dogs do, so fast that it was -almost impossible to see anything of him distinctly. He was a dark -shape _et preterea nihil_. - -But after a time Scallowa got near to the stair, which only proves -that there is nothing in reason you cannot teach a Shetland pony, if -you love him and understand him. - -The secret lies in the motto, "Fondly and firmly." But, as already -hinted, a morsel of carrot comes in handy at times. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -"_BOYS WILL BE BOYS._" - -Bob Cooper was as good as his word, which he had pledged to Archie on -that night at Burley Old Farm, and Branson never saw him again in the -Squire's preserves. - -Nor had he ever been obliged to compeer before the Squire -himself--who was now a magistrate--to account for any acts of -trespass in pursuit of game on the lands of other lairds. But this -does not prove that Bob had given up poaching. He was discreetly -silent about this matter whenever he met Archie. - -He had grown exceedingly fond of the lad, and used to be delighted -when he called at his mother's cottage on his "Eider Duck." There -was always a welcome waiting Archie here, and whey to drink, which, -it must be admitted, is very refreshing on a warm summer's day. - -Well, Bob on these occasions used to show Archie how to make flies, -or busk hooks, and gave him a vast deal of information about outdoor -life and sport generally. - -The subject of poaching was hardly ever broached; only once, when he -and Archie were talking together in the little cottage, Bob himself -volunteered the following information: - -"The gentry folks, Master Archie, think me a terrible man; and they -wonder I don't go and plough, or something. La! they little know -I've been brought up in the hills. Sport I must hae. I couldna live -away from nature. But I'm never cruel. Heigho! I suppose I must -leave the country, and seek for sport in wilder lands, where the man -o' money doesn't trample on the poor. Only one thing keeps me here." - -He glanced out of the window as he spoke to where his old mother was -cooking dinner _al fresco_--boiling a pot as the gipsy does, hung -from a tripod. - -"I know, I know," said Archie. - -"How old are you now, Master Archie?" - -"Going on for fourteen." - -"Is that all? Why ye're big eno' for a lad o' seventeen!" - -This was true. Archie was wondrous tall, and wondrous brown and -handsome. His hardy upbringing and constant out-door exercise, in -summer's shine or winter's snow, fully accounted for his stature and -looks. - -"I'm almost getting too big for my pony." - -"Ah! no, lad; Shetlands'll carry most anything." - -"Well, I must be going, Bob Cooper. Good-bye." - -"Good-bye, Master Archie. Ah! lad, if there were more o' your kind -and your father's in the country, there would be fewer bad men -like--like me." - -"I don't like to hear you saying that, Bob. Couldn't you be a good -man if you liked? You're big enough." - -The poacher laughed. - -"Yes," he replied, "I'm big enough; but, somehow, goodness don't -strike right home to me like. It don't come natural--that's it." - -"My brother Rupert says it is so easy to be good, if you read and -pray God to teach and help you." - -"Ah, Master Archie, your brother is good himself, but he doesn't know -all." - -"My brother Rupert bade me tell you that; but, oh, Bob, how nice he -can speak. I can't. I can fish and shoot, and ride 'Eider Duck;' -but I can't say things so pretty as he can. Well, good-bye again." - -"Good-bye again, and tell your brother that I can't be good all at -one jump like, but I'll begin to try mebbe. So long." - -* * * * * * - -Archie Broadbent might have been said to have two kinds of home -education; one was thoroughly scholastic, the other very practical -indeed. The Squire was one in a hundred perhaps. He was devoted to -his farm, and busied himself in the field, manually as well as -orally. I mean to say that he was of such an active disposition -that, while superintending and giving advice and orders, he put his -hand to the wheel himself. So did Mr. Walton, and whether it was -harvest-time or haymaking, you would have found Squire Broadbent, the -tutor, and Archie hard at it, and even little Elsie doing a little. - -I would not like to say that the Squire was a radical, but he -certainly was no believer in the benefits of too much class -distinction. He thought Burns was right when he said-- - - "A man's a man for a' that." - - -Was he any the less liked or less respected by his servants, because -he and his boy tossed hay in the same field with them? I do not -think so, and I know that the work always went more merrily on when -they were there; and that laughing and even singing could be heard -all day long. Moreover, there was less beer drank, and more tea. -The Squire supplied both liberally, and any man might have which he -chose. Consequently there was less, far less, tired-headedness and -languor in the evening. Why, it was nothing uncommon for the lads -and lasses of Burley Old Farm to meet together on the lawn, after a -hard day's toil, and dance for hours to the merry notes of Branson's -fiddle. - -We have heard of model farms; this Squire's was one; but the -servants, wonderful to say, were contented. There was never such a -thing as grumbling heard from one year's end to the other. - -Christmas too was always kept in the good, grand old style. Even a -yule log, drawn from the wood, was considered a property of the -performances; and as for good cheer, why there was "lashins" of it, -as an Irishman would say, and fun "galore," to borrow a word from -beyond the Border. - -Mr. Walton was a scholarly person, though you might not have thought -so, had you seen him mowing turnips with his coat off. He, however, -taught nothing to Archie or Rupert that might not have some practical -bearing on his after life. Such studies as mathematics and algebra -were dull, in a manner of speaking; Latin was taught because no one -can understand English without it; French and German -conversationally; geography not by rote, but thoroughly; and -everything else was either very practical and useful, or very -pleasant. - -Music Archie loved, but did not care to play; his father did not -force him; but poor Rupert played the zither. He loved it, and took -to it naturally. - -Rupert got stronger as he grew older, and when Archie was fourteen -and he thirteen, the physician gave good hopes; and he was even able -to walk by himself a little. But to some extent he would be "Poor -Rupert" as long as he lived. - -He read and thought far more than Archie, and--let me whisper it--he -prayed more fervently. - -"Oh, Roup," Archie would say, "I should like to be as good as you! -Somehow, I don't feel to need to pray so much, and to have the Lord -Jesus so close to me." - -It was a strange conceit this, but Rupert's answer was a good one. - -"Yes, Archie, I need comfort more; but mind you, brother, the day may -come when you'll want comfort of this kind too." - -* * * * * * - -Old Kate really was a queer old witch of a creature, superstitious to -a degree. Here is an example: One day she came rushing--without -taking time to knock even--into the breakfast parlour. - -"Oh, Mistress Broadbent, what a ghast I've gotten!" - -"Dear me!" said the Squire's wife; "sit down and tell us. What is -it, poor Kate?" - -"Oh! Oh!" she sighed. "Nae wonder my puir legs ached. Oh! sirs! -sirs! - -"Ye ken my little pantry? Well, there's been a board doon on the -fleer for ages o' man, and to-day it was taken out to be scrubbit, -and what think ye was reveeled?" - -"I couldn't guess." - -"Words, 'oman; words, printed and painted on the timmer--'_Sacred to -the Memory of Dinah Brown, Aged 99._' A tombstone, 'oman--a wooden -gravestone, and me standin' on't a' these years." - -Here the Squire was forced to burst out into a hearty laugh, for -which his wife reprimanded him, by a look. - -There was no mistake about the "wooden tombstone," but that this was -the cause of old Kate's rheumatism one might take the liberty to -doubt. - -Kate was a staunch believer in ghosts, goblins, fairies, kelpies, -brownies, spunkies, and all the rest of the supernatural family; and -I have something to relate in connection with this, though it is not -altogether to the credit of my hero, Archie. - -Old Kate and young Peter were frequent visitors to the room in the -tower, for the tea Archie made, and the fires he kept on, were both -most excellent in their way. - -"Boys will be boys," and Archie was a little inclined to practical -joking. It made him laugh, so he said, and laughing made one fat. - -It happened that, one dark winter's evening, old Kate was invited up -into the tower, and Branson with Peter came also. Archie volunteered -a song, and Branson played many a fine old air on his fiddle, so that -the first part of the evening passed away pleasantly and even merrily -enough. Old Kate drank cup after cup of tea as she sat in that weird -old chair, and, by-and-by, Archie, the naughty boy that he was, led -the conversation round to ghosts. The ancient dame was in her -element now; she launched forth into story after story, and each was -more hair-stirring than its predecessor. - -Elsie and Archie occupied their favourite place on a bear's skin in -front of the low fire; and while Kate still droned on, and Branson -listened with eyes and mouth wide open, the boy might have been -noticed to stoop down, and whisper something in his sister's ear. - -Almost immediately after a rattling of chains could be heard in one -of the turrets. Both Kate and Branson started, and the former could -not be prevailed upon to resume her story till Archie lit a candle -and walked all round the room, drawing back the turret curtains to -show no one was there. - -Once again old Kate began, and once again chains were heard to -rattle, and a still more awesome sound followed--a long, low, -deep-bass groan, while at the same time, strange to say, the candle -in Archie's hand burnt blue. To add to the fearsomeness of the -situation, while the chain continued to rattle, and the groaning now -and then, there was a very appreciable odour of sulphur in the -apartment. This was the climax. Old Kate screamed, and the big -keeper, Branson, fell on his knees in terror. Even Elsie, though she -had an inkling of what was to happen, began to feel afraid. - -"There now, granny," cried Archie, having carried the joke far -enough, "here is the groaning ghost." As he spoke he produced a pair -of kitchen bellows, with a musical reed in the pipe, which he -proceeded to sound in old Kate's very face, looking a very -mischievous imp while he did so. - -"Oh," said old Kate, "what a scare the laddie has given me. But the -chain?" - -Archie pulled a string, and the chain rattled again. - -"And the candle? That was na canny." - -"A dust of sulphur in the wick, granny." - -Big Branson looked ashamed of himself, and old Kate herself began to -smile once more. - -"But how could ye hae the heart to scare an old wife sae, Master -Archie?" - -"Oh, granny, we got up the fun just to show you there were no such -things as ghosts. Rupert says--and he should know, because he's -always reading--that ghosts are always rats or something." - -"Ye maunna frichten me again, laddie. Will ye promise?" - -"Yes, granny, there's my hand on it. Now sit down and have another -cup of tea, and Elsie will play and sing." - -Elsie could sing now, and sweet young voice she had, that seemed to -carry you to happier lands. Branson always said it made him feel a -boy again, wandering through the woods in summer, or chasing the -butterflies over flowery beds. - -And so, albeit Archie had carried his practical joke out to his own -satisfaction, if not to that of every one else, this evening, like -many others that had come before it, and came after it, passed away -pleasantly enough. - -* * * * * * - -It was in the spring of the same year, and during the Easter -holidays, that a little London boy came down to reside with his aunt, -who lived in one of Archie's father's cottages. - -Young Harry Brown had been sent to the country for the express -purpose of enjoying himself, and set about this business forthwith. -He made up to Archie; in fact, he took so many liberties, and talked -to him so glibly, and with so little respect, that, although Archie -had imbued much of his father's principles as regards liberalism, he -did not half like it. - -Perhaps, after all, it was only the boy's manner, for he had never -been to the country at all before, and looked upon every one--Archie -included--who did not know London, as jolly green. But Archie did -not appreciate it, and, like the traditional worm, he turned, and -once again his love for practical joking got the better of his -common-sense. - -"Teach us somefink," said Harry one day, turning his white face up. -He was older, perhaps, than Archie, but decidedly smaller. "Teach us -somefink, and when you comes to Vitechapel to wisit me, I'll teach -you summut. My eye, won't yer stare!" - -The idea of this white-chafted, unwholesome-looking cad, expecting -that _he_, Squire Broadbent's son, would visit him in Whitechapel! -But Archie managed to swallow his wrath and pocket his pride for the -time being. - -"What shall I teach you, eh? I suppose you know that potatoes don't -grow on trees, nor geese upon gooseberry-bushes?" - -"Yes; I know that taters is dug out of the hearth. I'm pretty fly -for a young un." - -"Can you ride?" - -"No." - -"Well, meet me here to-morrow at the same time, and I'll bring my -'Duck.'" - -"Look 'ere, Johnnie Raw, ye said '_ride_,' not '_swim_.' A duck -teaches swimmin', not ridin'. None o' yer larks now!" - -Next day Archie swept down upon the Cockney in fine form, meaning to -impress him. - -The Cockney was not much impressed; I fear he was not very -impressionable. - -"My heye, Johnnie Raw," he roared, "vere did yer steal the moke?" - -"Look you here, young Whitechapel, you'll have to guard that tongue -of yours a little, else communications will be cut. Do you see?" - -"It _is_ a donkey, ain't it, Johnnie?" - -"Come on to the field and have a ride." - -Five minutes afterwards the young Cockney on the "Eider Duck's" back -was tearing along the field at railway speed. John Gilpin's ride was -nothing to it, nor Tam O'Shanter's on his grey mare, Meg! Both these -worthies had stuck to the saddle, but this horseman rode upon the -neck of the steed. Scallowa stopped short at the gate, but the boy -flew over. - -Archie found his friend rubbing himself, and looking very serious, -and he felt happier now. - -"Call that 'ere donkey a heider duck? H'm? I allers thought heider -ducks was soft! - -"One to you, Johnnie. I don't want to ride hany more." - -"What else shall I teach you?" - -"Hey?" - -"Come, I'll show you over the farm." - -"Honour bright? No larks!" - -"Yes; no larks!" - -"Say honour." - -"Honour." - -Young Whitechapel had not very much faith in his guide, however; but -he saw more country wonders that day than ever he could have dreamt -of; while his strange remarks kept Archie continually laughing. - -Next day the two boys went bird-nesting, and really Archie was very -mischievous. He showed him a hoody-crow's nest, which he represented -as a green plover's or lapwing's; and a blackbird's nest in a -furze-bush, which he told Harry was a magpie's; and so on, and so -forth, till at last he got tired of the cheeky Cockney, and sent him -off on a mile walk to a cairn of stones, on which he told him crows -sometimes sat and "might have a nest." - -Then Archie threw himself on the moss, took out a book, and began to -read. He was just beginning to repent of his conduct to Harry Brown, -and meant to go up to him like a man when he returned, and crave his -forgiveness. - -But somehow, when Harry came back he had so long a face, that wicked -Archie burst out laughing, and forgot all about his good resolve. - -"What shall I teach you next?" said Archie. - -"Draw it mild, Johnnie; it's 'Arry's turn. It's the boy's turn to -teach you summut. Shall we 'ave it hout now wi' the raw uns? -Bunches o' fives I means. Hey?" - -"I really don't understand you." - -"Ha! ha! ha! I knowed yer was a green 'un, Johnnie. Can yer fight? -Hey? 'Cause I'm spoilin' for a row." - -And Harry Brown threw off his jacket, and began to dance about in -terribly knowing attitudes. - -"You had better put on your clothes again," said Archie. "Fight -_you_? Why I could fling you over the fishpond." - -"Ah! I dessay; but flingin' ain't fightin', Johnnie. Come, there's -no getting hout of it. It ain't the first young haristocrat I've -frightened; an' now you're afraid." - -That was enough for Archie. And the next moment the lads were at it. - -But Archie had met his match; he went down a dozen times. He -remained down the last time. - -"It is wonderful," he said. "I quite admire you. But I've had -enough; I'm beaten." - -"Spoken like a plucked 'un. Haven't swallowed yer teeth, hey?" - -"No; but I'll have a horrid black-eye." - -"Raw beef, my boy; raw beef." - -"Well; I confess I've caught a tartar." - -"An' I caught a crab yesterday. Wot about your eider duck? My heye! -Johnnie, I ain't been able to sit down conweniently since. I say, -Johnnie?" - -"Well." - -"Friends, hey?" - -"All right." - -Then the two shook hands, and young Whitechapel said if Archie would -buy two pairs of gloves he would show him how it was done. So Archie -did, and became an apt pupil in the noble art of self-defence; which -may be used at times, but never abused. - -However, Archie Broadbent never forgot that lesson in the wood. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -"_JOHNNIE'S GOT THE GRIT IN HIM._" - -On the day of his fight with young Harry in the wood, Archie returned -home to find both his father and Mr. Walton in the drawing-room alone. - -His father caught the lad by the arm. - -"Been tumbling again off that pony of yours?" - -"No, father, worse. I'm sure I've done wrong." - -He then told them all about the practical joking, and the _finale_. - -"Well," said the Squire, "there is only one verdict. What do you -say, Walton?" - -"Serve him right!" - -"Oh, I know that," said Archie; "but isn't it lowering our name to -keep such company?" - -"It isn't raising our name, nor growing fresh laurels either, for you -to play practical jokes on this poor London lad. But as to being in -his company, Archie, you may have to be in worse yet. But listen! I -want my son to behave as a gentleman, even in low company. Remember -that boy, and despise no one, whatever be his rank in life. Now, go -and beg your mother's and sister's forgiveness for having to appear -before them with a black-eye." - -"Archie!" his father called after him, as he was leaving the room. - -"Yes, dad?" - -"How long do you think it will be before you get into another scrape?" - -"I couldn't say for certain, father. I'm sure I don't want to get -into any. They just seem to come." - -"There's no doubt about one thing, Mr. Broadbent," said the tutor -smiling, when Archie had left. - -"And that is?" - -"He's what everybody says he is, a chip of the old block. -Headstrong, and all that; doesn't look before he leaps." - -"Don't _I_, Walton?" - -"Squire, I'm not going to flatter you. You know you don't." - -"Well, my worthy secretary," said the Squire, "I'm glad you speak so -plainly. I can always come to you for advice when----" - -"When you want to," said Walton, laughing. "All right, mind you do. -I'm proud to be your factor, as well as tutor to your boys. Now what -about that Chillingham bull? You won't turn him into the west field?" - -"Why not? The field is well fenced. All our picturesque beasts are -there. He is only a show animal, and he is really only a baby." - -"True, the bull is not much more than a baby, but----" - -The baby in question was the gift of a noble friend to Squire -Broadbent; and so beautiful and picturesque did he consider him, that -he would have permitted him to roam about the lawns, if there did not -exist the considerable probability that he would play battledore and -shuttlecock with the visitors, and perhaps toss old Kate herself over -the garden wall. - -So he was relegated to the west field. This really was a park to all -appearance. A few pet cattle grazed in it, a flock of sheep, and a -little herd of deer. They all lived amicably together, and sought -shelter under the same spreading trees from the summer's sun. The -cattle were often changed, so were the sheep, but the deer were as -much fixtures as the trees themselves. - -The changing of sheep or cattle meant fine fun for Archie. He would -be there in all his glory, doing the work that was properly that of -herdsmen and collie dogs. There really was not a great deal of need -for collies when Archie was there, mounted on his wild Shetland pony, -his darling "Eider Duck" Scallowa; and it was admittedly a fine sight -to see the pair of them--they seemed made for each other--feathering -away across the field, heading and turning the drove. At such times -he would be armed with a long whip, and occasionally a beast more -rampageous than the rest would separate itself from the herd, and, -with tail erect and head down, dash madly over the grass. This would -be just the test for Archie's skill that he longed for. Away he -would go at a glorious gallop; sometimes riding neck and neck with -the runaway and plying the whip, at other times getting round and -well ahead across the beast's bows with shout and yell, but taking -care to manoeuvre so as to steer clear of an ugly rush. - -In this field always dwelt one particular sheep. It had, like the -pony, been a birthday present, and, like the pony, it hailed from the -_Ultima Thule_ of the British North. If ever there was a demon sheep -in existence, surely this was the identical quadruped. Tall and -lank, and daft-looking, it possessed almost the speed of a red deer, -and was as full of mischief as ever sheep could be. The worst of the -beast was, that he led all the other woolly-backs into mischief; and -whether it proposed a stampede round the park, ending with a charge -through the ranks of the deer, or a well-planned attempt at escape -from the field altogether, the other sheep were always willing to -join, and sometimes the deer themselves. - -Archie loved that sheep next to the pony, and there were times when -he held a meet of his own. Mousa, as he called him, would be carted, -after the fashion of the Queen's deer, to a part of the estate, miles -from home; but it was always for home that Mousa headed, though not -in a true line. No, this wonderful sheep would take to the woods as -often as not, and scamper over the hills and far away, so that Archie -had many a fine run; and the only wonder is that Scallowa and he did -not break their necks. - -The young Chillingham bull was as beautiful as a dream--a nightmare -for instance. He was not very large, but sturdy, active, and strong. -Milk-white, or nearly so, with black muzzle and crimson ears inside, -and, you might say, eyes as well. Pure white black-tipped horns, -erect almost, and a bit of a mane which added to his picturesqueness -and wild beauty. His name was Lord Glendale, and his pedigree longer -than the Laird o' Cockpen's. - -Now, had his lordship behaved himself, he certainly would have been -an ornament to the society of Westfield. But he wouldn't or -couldn't. Baby though he was, he attempted several times to vivisect -his companions; and one day, thinking perhaps that Mousa did not pay -him sufficient respect, his lordship made a bold attempt to throw him -over the moon. So it was determined that Lord Glendale should be -removed from Westfield. At one end of the park was a large, strong -fence, and Branson and others came to the conclusion that Glendale -would be best penned, and have a ring put in his nose. - -Yes, true; but penning a Chillingham wild baby-bull is not so simple -as penning a letter. There is more _present_ risk about the former -operation, if not _future_. - -"Well, it's got to be done," said Branson. - -"Yes," said Archie, who was not far off, "it's got to be done." - -"Oh, Master Archie, you can't be in this business!" - -"Can't I, Branson? You'll see." - -And Branson did see. He saw Archie ride into the west field on -Scallowa, both of them looking in splendid form. Men with poles and -ropes and dogs followed, some of the former appearing not to relish -the business by any means. - -However, it would probably be an easier job than they thought. The -plan would be to get the baby-bull in the centre of the other cattle, -manoeuvre so as to keep him there, and so pen all together. - -This might have been done had Archie kept away, but it so happened -that his lordship was on particularly good terms with himself this -morning. Moreover, he had never seen a Shetland pony before. What -more natural, therefore, than a longing on the part of Lord Glendale -to examine the little horse _inside_ as well as out? - -"Go gently now, lads," cried Branson. "Keep the dogs back, Peter, we -must na' alarm them." - -Lord Glendale did not condescend to look at Branson. He detached -himself quietly from the herd, and began to eat up towards the spot -where Archie and his "Duck" were standing like some pretty statue. -Eating up towards him is the correct expression, as everyone who -knows bulls will admit; for his lordship did not want to alarm Archie -till he was near enough for the grand rush. Then the fun would -commence, and Lord Glendale would see what the pony was made of. -While he kept eating, or rather pretending to eat, his sly red eyes -were fastened on Archie. - -Now, had it been Harry Brown, the Whitechapel boy, this ruse on the -part of the baby-bull might have been successful. But Archie -Broadbent was too old for his lordship. He pretended, however, to -take no notice; but just as the bull was preparing for the rush he -laughed derisively, flicked Lord Glendale with the whip, and started. - -Lord Glendale roared with anger and disappointment. - -"Oh, Master Archie," cried Branson, "you shouldn't have done that!" - -Now the play began in earnest. Away went Archie on Scallowa, and -after him tore the bull. Archie's notion was to tire the brute out, -and there was some very pretty riding and manoeuvring between the two -belligerents. Perhaps the bull was all too young to be easily tired, -for the charges he made seemed to increase in fierceness each time, -but Archie easily eluded him. - -Branson drove the cattle towards the pen, and got them inside, then -he and his men concentrated all their attention on the combatants. - -"The boy'll be killed as sure as a gun!" cried the keeper. Archie -did not think so, evidently; and it is certain he had his wits about -him, for presently he rode near enough to shout: - -"Ease up a hurdle from the back of the pen, and stand by to open it -as I ride through." - -The plan was a bold one, and Branson saw through it at once. - -Down he ran with his men, and a back hurdle was loosened. - -"All right!" he shouted. - -And now down thundered Scallowa and Archie, the bull making a -beautiful second. - -In a minute or less he had entered the pen, but this very moment the -style of the fight changed somewhat; for had not the attention of -everyone been riveted on the race, they might have seen the great -Newfoundland dashing over the field, and just as Lord Glendale was -entering the pen, Bounder pinned him short by the tail. - -The brute roared with pain and wheeled round. Meanwhile Archie had -escaped on the pony, and the back hurdle was put up again. But how -about the new phase the fight had taken? - -Once more the boy's quick-wittedness came to the front. He leapt off -the pony and back into the pen, calling aloud, "Bounder! Bounder! -Bounder!" - -In rushed the obedient dog, and after him came the bull; up went the -hurdle, and off went Archie! But, alas! for the unlucky Bounder. He -was tossed right over into the field a moment afterwards, bleeding -frightfully from a wound in his side. - -To all appearance Bounder was dead. In an agony of mind the boy -tried to staunch the blood with his handkerchief; and when at last -the poor dog lifted his head, and licked his young master's face, the -relief to his feelings was so great that he burst into tears. Archie -was only a boy after all, though a bold and somewhat mischievous one. - -Bounder now drank water brought from a stream in a hat. He tried to -get up, but was too weak to walk so he was lifted on to Scallowa's -broad back and held there, and thus they all returned to Burley Old -Farm. - -So ended the adventure with the baby-bull of Chillingham. The ring -was put in his nose next day, and I hope it did not hurt much. But -old Kate had Bounder as a patient in the kitchen corner for three -whole weeks. - -* * * * * * - -A day or two after the above adventure, and just as the Squire was -putting on his coat in the hall, who should march up to the door and -knock but Harry Brown himself. - -Most boys would have gone to the backdoor, but shyness was not one of -Harry's failings. - -"'Ullo!" he said; for the door opened almost on the instant he -knocked, "Yer don't take long to hopen to a chap then." - -"No," said Squire Broadbent, smiling down on the lad; "fact is, boy, -I was just going out." - -"Going for a little houting, hey? I s'pose now you're Johnnie's -guv'nor?" - -"I think I know whom you refer to. Master Archie, isn't it? and -you're the little London lad?" - -"I don't know nuffink about no Harchies. P'r'aps it is Harchibald. -But I allers calls my friends wot they looks like. He looks like -Johnnie. Kinsevently, guv'nor, he _is_ Johnnie to me. D' ye twig?" - -"I think I do," said Squire Broadbent, laughing; "and you want to see -my boy?" - -"Vot I vants is this 'ere. Johnnie is a rare game un. 'Scuse me, -guv'nor, but Johnnie's got the grit in him, and I vant to say -good-bye; nuffink else, guv'nor." - -Here Harry actually condescended to point a finger at his lip by way -of salute, and just at the same moment Archie himself came round the -corner. He looked a little put out, but his father only laughed, and -he saw it was all right. - -These were Harry's last words: - -"Good-bye, then. You've got the grit in ye, Johnnie. And if hever -ye vants a friend, telegraph to 'Arry Brown, Esq., of Vitechapel, -'cos ye know, Johnnie, the king may come in the cadger's vay. Adoo. -So long, Blue-lights, and hoff we goes." - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -"_THEY'RE UP TO SOME BLACK WORK TO-NIGHT._" - -Another summer flew all too fast away at Burley Old Farm and Castle -Tower. The song of birds was hushed in the wild woods, even the -corn-crake had ceased its ventriloquistic notes, and the plaintive -wee lilt of the yellow-hammer was heard no more. The corn grew ripe -on braeland and field, was cut down, gathered, stocked, and finally -carted away. The swallows flew southwards, but the peewits remained -in droves, and the starlings took up their abode with the sheep. -Squires and sturdy farmers might now have been met tramping, gun in -hand, over the stubble, through the dark green turnip-fields, and -over the distant moorlands, where the crimson heather still bloomed -so bonnie. - -Anon, the crisp leaves, through which the wind now swept with harsher -moan, began to change to yellows, crimsons, and all the hues of -sunset, and by-and-by it was hunting-time again. - -Archie was unusually thoughtful one night while the family sat, as of -yore, round the low fire in the green parlour, Elsie and Rupert being -busy in their corner over a game of chess. - -"In a brown study, Archie?" said his mother. - -"No, mummie; that is, Yes, I was thinking----" - -"Wonders will never cease," said Rupert, without looking up. Archie -looked towards him, but his brother only smiled at the chessmen. The -boy was well enough now to joke and laugh. Best of signs and most -hopeful. - -"I was thinking that my legs are almost too long now to go to the -meet on poor Scallowa. Not that Scallowa would mind. But don't you -think, mummie dear, that a long boy on a short pony looks odd?" - -"A little, Archie." - -"Well, why couldn't father let me have Tell to-morrow? He is not -going out himself." - -His father was reading the newspaper, but he looked at Archie over -it. Though only his eyes were visible, the boy knew he was smiling. - -"If you think you won't break your neck," he said, "you may take -Tell." - -"Oh," Archie replied, "I'm quite sure I won't break my neck!" - -The Squire laughed now outright. - -"You mean you _might_ break Tell's, eh?" - -"Well, dad, I didn't _say_ that." - -"No, Archie, but you _thought_ it." - -"I'm afraid, dad, the emphasis fell on the wrong word." - -"Never mind, Archie, where the emphasis falls; but if you let Tell -fall the emphasis will fall where you won't like it." - -"All right, dad, I'll chance the emphasis. Hurrah!" - -The Squire and Mr. Walton went off early next day to a distant town, -and Branson had orders to bring Tell round to the hall door at nine -sharp; which he did. The keeper was not groom, but he was the -tallest man about, and Archie thought he would want a leg up. - -Archie's mother was there, and Elsie, and Rupert, and did Kate, and -little Peter, to say nothing of Bounder and Fuss, all to see "t' -young Squire mount." But no one expected the sight they did see when -Archie appeared; for the lad's sense of fun and the ridiculous was -quite irrepressible. And the young rascal had dressed himself from -top to toe in his father's hunting-rig--boots, cords, red coat, hat, -and all complete. Well, as the boots were a mile and a half too big -for him--more or less, and the breeches and coat would have held at -least three Archie Broadbents, while the hat nearly buried his head, -you may guess what sort of a guy he looked. Bounder drew back and -barked at him. Old Kate turned her old eyes cloudwards, and held up -her palms. Branson for politeness' sake tried not to laugh; but it -was too much, he went off at last like a soda-water cork, and the -merriment rippled round the ring like wild-fire. Even poor Rupert -laughed till the tears came. Then back into the house ran Archie, -and presently re-appeared dressed in his own velvet suit. - -But Archie had not altogether cooled down yet. He had come to the -conclusion that having an actual leg up, was not an impressive way of -getting on to his hunter; so after kissing his mother, and asking -Rupert to kiss Elsie for him, he bounded at one spring to Branson's -shoulder, and from this elevation bowed and said "good morning," then -let himself neatly down to the saddle. - -"Tally ho! Yoi--cks!" he shouted. Then clattered down the avenue, -cleared the low, white gate, and speedily disappeared across the -fields. - -Archie had promised himself a rare day's run, and he was not -disappointed. The fox was an old one and a wily one--and, I might -add, a very gentlemanly old fox--and he led the field one of the -prettiest dances that Dawson, the greyest-headed huntsman in the -North, ever remembered; but there was no kill. No; Master Reynard -knew precisely where he was going, and got home all right, and went -quietly to sleep as soon as the pack drew off. - -The consequence was that Archie found himself still ten miles from -home as gloaming was deepening into night. Another hour he thought -would find him at Burley Old Farm. But people never know what is -before them, especially hunting people. - -It had been observed by old Kate, that after Archie left in the -morning, Bounder seemed unusually sad. He refused his breakfast, and -behaved so strangely that the superstitious dame was quite alarmed. - -"I'll say naething to the ladies," she told one of the servants, -"but, woe is me! I fear that something awfu' is gain tae happen. I -houp the young laddie winna brak his neck. He rode awa' sae -daft-like. He is just his faither a' ower again." - -Bounder really had something on his mind; for dogs do think far more -than we give them credit for. Well, the Squire was off, and also Mr. -Walton, and now his young master had flown. What did it mean? Why -he would find out before he was many hours older. So ran Bounder's -cogitations. - -To think was to act with Bounder; so up he jumped, and off he -trotted. He followed the scent for miles; then he met an errant -collie, and forgetting for a time all about his master, he went off -with him. There were many things to be done, and Bounder was not in -a hurry. They chased cows and sheep together merely for mischief's -sake; they gave chase to some rabbits, and when the bunnies took to -their holes, they spent hours in a vain attempt to dig them out. The -rabbits knew they could never succeed, so they quietly washed their -faces and laughed at them. - -They tired at last, and with their heads and paws covered with mould, -commenced to look for mice among the moss. They came upon a wild -bees' home in a bank, and tore this up, killing the inmates bee by -bee as they scrambled out wondering what the racket meant. They -snapped at the bees who were returning home, and when both had their -lips well stung they concluded to leave the hive alone. Honey wasn't -very nice after all, they said. At sunset they bathed in a mill-dam -and swam about till nearly dusk, because the miller's boy was -obliging enough to throw in sticks for them. Then the miller's boy -fell in himself, and Bounder took him out and laid him on the bank to -drip, neither knowing nor caring that he had saved a precious life. -But the miller's boy's mother appeared on the scene and took the -weeping lad away, inviting the dogs to follow. She showered -blessings on their heads, especially on "the big black one's," as the -urchin called Bounder, and she put bread and milk before them and -bade them eat. The dogs required no second bidding, and just as -Bounder was finishing his meal the sound of hoofs was heard on the -road, and out bounced Bounder, the horse swerved, the rider was -thrown, and the dog began to wildly lick his face. - -"So it's you, is it, Bounder?" said Archie. "A nice trick. And now -I'll have to walk home a good five miles." - -Bounder backed off and barked. Why did his master go off and leave -him then? That is what the dog was saying. - -"Come on, boy," said Archie. "There's no help for it; but I do feel -stiff." - -They could go straight over the hill, and through the fields and the -wood, that was one consolation. - -So off they set, and Archie soon forgot his stiffness and warmed to -his work. - -Bounder followed close to his heels, as if he were a very old and a -very wise dog indeed; and harrying bees' hives, or playing with -millers' boys, could find no place in his thoughts. - -Archie lost his way once or twice, and it grew quite dark. He was -wondering what he should do when he noticed a light spring up not far -away, and commenced walking towards it. It came from the little -window of a rustic cottage, and the boy knew at once now in which way -to steer. - -Curiosity, however, impelled him to draw near to the window. He gave -just one glance in, but very quickly drew back. Sitting round a -table was a gang of half a dozen poachers. He knew them as the worst -and most notorious evil-doers in all the country round. They were -eating and drinking, and guns stood in the corners, while the men -themselves seemed ready to be off somewhere. - -Away went Archie. He wanted no nearer acquaintance with a gang like -that. - -In his way home he had to pass Bob Cooper's cottage, and thought he -might just look in, because Bob had a whole book of new flies getting -ready for him, and perhaps they were done. - -Bob was out, and his mother was sitting reading the good Book by the -light of a little black oil lamp. She looked very anxious, and said -she felt so. Her laddie had "never said where he was going. Only -just went away out, and hadn't come back." - -It was Archie's turn now to be anxious, when he thought of the gang, -and the dark work they might be after. Bob was not among them, but -who could tell that he would not join afterwards? - -He bade the widow "Good-night," and went slowly homewards thinking. - -He found everyone in a state of extreme anxiety. Hours ago Tell had -galloped to his stable door, and if there be anything more calculated -to raise alarm than another, it is the arrival at his master's place -of a riderless horse. - -But Archie's appearance, alive and intact, dispelled the cloud, and -dinner was soon announced. - -"Oh, by the way," said Archie's tutor, as they were going towards the -dining-room, "your old friend Bob Cooper has been here, and wants to -see you! I think he is in the kitchen now." - -Away rushed Archie, and sure enough there was Bob eating supper in -old Kate's private room. - -He got up as Archie's entered, and looked shy, as people of his class -do at times. - -Archie was delighted. - -"I brought the flies, and some new sorts that I think will do for the -Kelpie burn," he said. - -"Well, I'm going to dine, Bob; you do the same. Don't go till I see -you. How long have you been here?" - -"Two hours, anyhow." - -When Archie returned he invited Bob to the room in the Castle Tower. -Kate must come too, and Branson with his fiddle. - -Away went Archie and his rough friend, and were just finishing a long -debate about flies and fishing when Kate and Peter, and Branson and -Bounder, came up the turret stairs and entered the room. - -Archie then told them all of what he had seen that night at the -cottage. - -"Mark my words for it," said Bob, shaking his head, "they're up to -some black work to-night." - -"You mustn't go yet awhile, Bob," Archie said. "We'll have some fun, -and you're as well where you are." - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -_IN THE WIDOW'S LONELY HUT._ - -Bob Cooper bade Archie and Branson good-bye that night at the bend of -the road, some half mile from his own home, and trudged sturdily on -in the starlight. There was sufficient light "to see men as trees -walking." - -"My mother'll think I'm out in th' woods," Bob said to himself. -"Well, she'll be glad when she knows she's wrong this time." - -Once or twice he started, and looked cautiously, half-fearfully, -round him; for he felt certain he saw dark shadows in the field close -by, and heard the stealthy tread of footsteps. - -He grasped the stout stick he carried all the firmer, for the poacher -had made enemies of late by separating himself from a well-known gang -of his old associates--men who, like the robbers in the ancient -ballad-- - - "Slept all day and waked all night, - And kept the country round in fright." - - -On he went; and the strange, uncomfortable feeling at his heart was -dispelled as, on rounding a corner of the road, he saw the light -glinting cheerfully from his mother's cottage. - -"Poor old creature," he murmured half aloud, "many a sore heart I've -given her. But I'll be a better boy now. I'll----" - -"Now, lads," shouted a voice, "have at him!" - -"Back!" cried Bob Cooper, brandishing his cudgel. "Back, or it'll be -worse for you!" - -The dark shadows made a rush. Bob struck out with all his force, and -one after another fell beneath his arm. But a blow from behind -disabled him at last, and down he went, just as his distracted mother -came rushing, lantern in hand, from her hut. There was the sharp -click of the handcuffs, and Bob Cooper was a prisoner. The -lantern-light fell on the uniforms of policemen. - -"What is it? Oh, what has my laddie been doin'?" - -"Murder, missus, or something very like it! There has been dark -doin's in th' hill to-night!" - -Bob grasped the nearest policeman by the arm with his manacled hands. - -"When--when did ye say it had happened?" - -"You know too well, lad. Not two hours ago. Don't sham innocence; -it sits but ill on a face like yours." - -"Mother," cried Bob bewilderingly, "I know nothing of it! I'm -innocent!" - -But his mother heard not his words. She had fainted, and with rough -kindness was carried into the hut and laid upon the bed. When she -revived some what they left her. - -It was a long, dismal ride the unhappy man had that night; and indeed -it was well on in the morning before the party with their prisoner -reached the town of B----. - -Bob's appearance before a magistrate was followed almost instantly by -his dismissal to the cells again. The magistrate knew him. The -police had caught him "red-handed," so they said, and had only -succeeded in making him prisoner "after a fierce resistance." - -"Remanded for a week," without being allowed to say one word in his -own defence. - -The policeman's hint to Bob's mother about "dark doin's in th' hill" -was founded on fearful facts. A keeper had been killed after a -terrible melée with the gang of poachers, and several men had been -severely wounded on both sides. - -The snow-storm that came on early on the morning after poor Bob -Cooper's capture was one of the severest ever remembered in -Northumbria. The frost was hard too all day long. The snow fell -incessantly, and lay in drifts like cliffs, fully seven feet high, -across the roads. - -The wind blew high, sweeping the powdery snow hither and thither in -gusts. It felt for all the world like going into a cold shower-bath -to put one's head even beyond the threshold of the door. Nor did the -storm abate even at nightfall; but next day the wind died down, and -the face of the sky became clear, only along the southern horizon the -white clouds were still massed like hills and cliffs. - -It was not until the afternoon that news reached Burley Old Farm of -the fight in the woods and death of the keeper. It was a sturdy old -postman who had brought the tidings. He had fought his way through -the snow with the letters, and his account of the battle had -well-nigh caused old Kate to swoon away. When Mary, the little -parlour-maid, carried the mail in to her master she did not hesitate -to relate what she had heard. - -Squire Broadbent himself with Archie repaired to the kitchen, and -found the postman surrounded by the startled servants, who were -drinking in every word he said. - -"One man killed, you say, Allan?" - -"Ay, sir, killed dead enough. And it's a providence they caught the -murderer. Took him up, sir, just as he was a-goin' into his mother's -house, as cool as a frosted turnip, sir." - -"Well, Allan, that is satisfactory. And what is his name?" - -"Bob Cooper, sir, known all over the----" - -"Bob Cooper!" cried Archie aghast. "Why, father, he was in our room -in the turret at the time." - -"So he was," said the Squire. "Taken on suspicion I suppose. But -this must be seen to at once. Bad as we know Bob to have been, there -is evidence enough that he has reformed of late. At all events, he -shall not remain an hour in gaol on such a charge longer than we can -help." - -Night came on very soon that evening. The clouds banked up again, -the snow began to fall, and the wind moaned round the old house and -castle in a way that made one feel cold to the marrow even to listen -to. - -Morning broke slowly at last, and Archie was early astir. Tell, with -the Shetland pony and a huge great hunter, were brought to the door, -and shortly after breakfast the party started for B----. - -Branson bestrode the big hunter--he took the lead--and after him came -the Squire on Tell, and Archie on Scallowa. This daft little horse -was in fine form this morning, having been in stall for several days. -He kept up well with the hunters, though there were times that both -he and his rider were all but buried in the gigantic wreaths that lay -across the road. Luckily the wind was not high, else no living thing -could long have faced that storm. - -* * * * * * - -The cottage in which widow Cooper had lived ever since the death of -her husband was a very primitive and a very poor one. It consisted -only of two rooms, what are called in Scotland "a butt and a ben." -Bob had been only a little barefooted boy when his father died, and -probably hardly missed him. He had been sent regularly to school -before then, but not since, for his mother had been unable to give -him further education. All their support was the morsel of garden, a -pig or two, and the fowls, coupled with whatever the widow could make -by knitting ribbed stockings for the farmer folks around. Bob grew -up wild, just as the birds and beasts of the hills and woods do. -While, however, he was still a little mite of a chap, the keepers -even seldom molested him. It was only natural, they thought, for a -boy to act the part of a squirrel or polecat, and to be acquainted -with every bird's nest and rabbit's burrow within a radius of miles. -When he grew a little older and a trifle bigger they began to warn -him off, and when one day he was met marching away with a cap full of -pheasant's eggs, he received as severe a drubbing as ever a lad got -at the hands of a gamekeeper. - -Bob had grown worse instead of better after this. The keepers became -his sworn enemies, and there was a spice of danger and adventure in -vexing and outwitting them. - -Unfortunately, in spite of all his mother said to the contrary, Bob -was firmly impressed with the notion that game of every kind, whether -fur or feather, belonged as much to him as to the gentry who tried to -preserve them. The fresh air was free; nobody dared to claim the -sunshine. Then why the wild birds, and the hares and rabbits? - -Evil company corrupts good manners. That is what his copy-book used -to tell him. But Bob soon learned to laugh at that, and it is no -wonder that as he reached manhood his doings and daring as a poacher -became noted far and near. - -He was beyond the control of his mother. She could only advise him, -read to him, pray for him; but I fear in vain. Only be it known that -Bob Cooper really loved this mother of his, anomalous though it may -seem. - -Well, the keepers had been very harsh with him, and the gentry were -harsh with him, and eke the law itself. Law indeed! Why Bob was all -but an outlaw, so intense was his hatred to, and so great his -defiance of the powers that be. - -It was strange that what force could not effect, a few soft words -from Branson, and Archie's gift of the hare he had shot on his -birthday, brought about. Bob Cooper's heart could not have been -wholly adamantine, therefore he began to believe that after all a -game-keeper might be a good fellow, and that there might even exist -gentlefolks whose chief delight was not the oppression of the poor. -He began after that to seek for honest work; but, alas! people looked -askance at him, and he found that the path of virtue was one not -easily regained when once deviated from. - -His quondam enemy, however, Branson, spoke many a good word for him, -and Bob was getting on, much to his mother's delight and -thankfulness, when the final and crashing blow fell. - -Poor old widow Cooper! For years and years she had but two comforts -in this world; one was her Bible, and the other--do not smile when I -tell you--was her pipie. - -Oh! you know, the poor have not much to make them happy and to cheer -their loneliness, so why begrudge the widow her morsel of tobacco? - -In the former she learned to look forward to another and a better -world, far beyond that bit of blue sky she could see at the top of -her chimney on a summer's night--a world where everything would be -bright and joyful, where there would be no vexatious rheumatism, no -age, and neither cold nor care. From the latter she drew sweet -forgetfulness of present trouble, and happy recollections of bygone -years. - -Sitting there by the hearth all alone--her son perhaps away on the -hill--her thoughts used often-times to run away with her. Once more -she would be young, once again her hair was a bonnie brown, her form -little and graceful, roses mantling in her cheeks, soft light in her -eyes. And she is wandering through the tasselled broom with David by -her side. "David! Heigho!" she would sigh as she shook the ashes -from her pipie. "Poor David! it seems a long, long time since he -left me for the better land," and the sunlight would stream down the -big, open chimney and fall upon her skinny hands--fall upon the -elfin-like locks that escaped from beneath her cap--fall, too, on the -glittering pages of the Book on her lap like a promise of better -things to come. - -Before that sad night, when, while sitting up waiting for her son, -she was startled by the sudden noise of the struggle that commenced -at her door, she thought she had reason to be glad and thankful for -the softening of her hoy's heart. - -Then all her joy collapsed, her hopes collapsed--fell around her like -a house of cards. It was a cruel, a terrible blow. - -The policeman had carried her in, laid her on the bed with a rough -sort of kindness, made up the fire, then gone out and thought no more -about her. - -How she had spent the night need hardly be said; it is better -imagined. She had dropped asleep at last, and when she awoke from -fevered dreams it was daylight out of doors, but darkness in the hut. -The window and door were snowed up, and only a faint pale light -shimmered in through the chimney, falling on the fireless hearth--a -dismal sight. - -Many times that day she had tried to rise, but all in vain. The cold -grew more intense as night drew on, and it did its work on the poor -widow's weakened frame. Her dreams grew more bright and happy -though, as her body became numbed and insensible. It was as though -the spirit were rejoicing in its coming freedom. But dreams left her -at last. Then all was still in the house, save the ticking of the -old clock that hung against the wall. - -The Squire speedily effected Bob Cooper's freedom, and he felt he had -really done a good thing. - -"Now, Robert," he told him, "you have had a sad experience. Let it -be a lesson to you. I'll give you a chance. Come to Burley, and -Branson will find you honest work as long as you like to do it." - -"Lord love you, sir!" cried Bob. "There are few gentry like you." - -"I don't know so much about that, Robert. You are not acquainted -with all the good qualities of gentlefolks yet. But now, Branson, -how are we all to get home?" - -"Oh, I know!" said Archie. "Scallowa can easily bear Branson's -weight, and I will ride the big hunter along with Bob." - -So this was arranged. - -It was getting gloamed ere they neared the widow's lonesome hut. The -Squire with Branson had left Archie and Bob, and cut across the -frozen moor by themselves. - -"How glad my mother will be!" said Bob. - -And now they came in sight of the cottage, and Bob rubbed his eyes -and looked again and again, for no smoke came from the chimney, no -signs of life was about. - -The icicles hung long and strong from the eaves, one side of the hut -was entirely overblown with drift, and the door in the other looked -more like the entrance to some cave in Greenland north. Bad enough -this was; but ah, in the inside of the poor little house the driven -snow met them as they pushed open the door! It had blown down the -wide chimney, covered the hearth, formed a wreath like a sea-wave on -the floor, and even o'er-canopied the bed itself. And the widow, the -mother, lay underneath. No, not dead; she breathed, at least. - -[Illustration: "The icicles hung long and strong from the eaves; and -the door looked more like the entrance to some cave in Greenland -north. Bad enough this was; but ah, in the inside of the poor little -house the driven snow met them as they pushed open the door!"] - -When the room had been cleared and swept of snow; when a roaring fire -had been built on the hearth, and a little warm tea poured gently -down her throat, she came gradually back again to life, and in a -short time was able to be lifted into a sitting position, and then -she recognized her son and Archie. - -"Oh, mother, mother!" cried Bob, the tears streaming over his -sun-browned face, "the Maker'll never forgive me for all the ill I've -done ye." - -"Hush! Bobbie, hush! What, lad, the Maker no' forgive ye! Eh, ye -little know the grip o' His goodness! But you're here, you're -innocent. Thank Him for that." - -"Ye'll soon get better, mother, and I'll be so good. The Squire is -to give me work too." - -"It's o'er late for me," she said. "I'd like to live to see it, but -His will be done." - -Archie rode home the giant hunter, but in two hours he was once more -mounted on Scallowa, and feathering back through the snow towards the -little cottage. The moon had risen now, and the night was starry and -fine. He tied Scallowa up in the peat shed, and went in unannounced. - -He found Bob Cooper sitting before the dying embers of the fire, with -his face buried in his hands, and rocking himself to and fro. - -"She--just blessed me and wore away." - -That was all he said or could say. And what words of comfort could -Archie speak? None. He sat silently beside him all that livelong -night, only getting up now and then to replenish the fire. But the -poacher scarcely ever changed his position, only now and then he -stretched out one of his great hands and patted Archie's knee as one -would pet a dog. - -A week passed away, and the widow was laid to rest beneath the frozen -ground in the little churchyard by the banks of the river. Archie -went slowly back with Bob towards the cottage. On their way thither, -the poacher--poacher now no more though--entered a plantation, and -with his hunting-knife cut and fashioned a rough ash stick. - -"We'll say good-bye here, Master Archie." - -"What! You are not going back with me to Burley Old Farm?" - -Bob took a small parcel from his pocket, and opening it exposed the -contents. - -"Do you know them, Master Archie?" - -"Yes, your poor mother's glasses." - -"Ay, lad, and as long as I live I'll keep them. And till my dying -day, Archie, I'll think on you, and your kindness to poor poacher -Bob. No, I'm not goin' back to Burley, and I'm not going to the -cottage again. I'm going away. Where? I couldn't say. Here, -quick, shake hands, friend. Let it be over. Good-bye." - -"Good-bye." - -And away went Bob. He stopped when a little way off, and turned as -if he had forgotten something. - -"Archie!" he cried. - -"Yes, Bob." - -"Take care of my mother's cat." - -Next minute he leapt a fence, and disappeared in the pine wood. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -_THE WHOLE YARD WAS ABLAZE AND BURNING FIERCELY._ - -One year is but a brief span in the history of a family, yet it may -bring many changes. It did to Burley Old Farm, and some of them were -sad enough, though some were glad. A glad change took place for -instance in the early spring, after Bob's departure; for Rupert -appeared to wax stronger and stronger with the lengthening days; and -when Uncle Ramsay, in a letter received one morning, announced his -intention of coming from London, and making quite a long stay at -Burley, Rupert declared his intention of mounting Scallowa, and -riding over to the station to meet him. And the boy was as good as -his word. In order that they might be both cavaliers together, Uncle -Ramsay hired a horse at D----, and the two rode joyfully home side by -side. - -His mother did not like to see that carmine flush on Rupert's cheeks, -however, nor the extra dark sparkle in his eyes when he entered the -parlour to announce his uncle's arrival, but she said nothing. - -Uncle Ramsay Broadbent was a brother of the Squire, and, though -considerably older, a good deal like him in all his ways. There was -the same dash and go in him, and the same smiling front, unlikely to -be dismayed by any amount of misfortune. - -"There are a deal of ups and downs in the ocean of life," Archie -heard him say one day; "we're on the top of a big wave one hour, and -in the trough of the sea next, so we must take things as they come." - -Yes, this uncle was a seafarer; the skipper of a sturdy merchantman -that he had sailed in for ten long years. He did not care to be -called captain by anyone. He was a master mariner, and had an -opinion, which he often expressed, that plain "Mr." was a gentleman's -prefix. - -"I shan't go back to sea again," he said next morning at breakfast. - -"Fact is, brother, my owners think I'm getting too old. And maybe -they're right. I've had a fair innings, and it is only fair to give -the young ones a chance." - -Uncle Ramsay seemed to give new life and soul to the old place. He -settled completely down to the Burley style of life long before the -summer was half over. He joined the servants in the fields, and -worked with them as did the Squire, Walton, and Archie. And though -more merriment went on in consequence, there was nevertheless more -work done. He took an interest in all the boys' "fads," spent hours -with them in their workshop, and made one in every game that was -played on the grass. He was dreadfully awkward at cricket and tennis -however; for such games as these are but little practised by sailors. -Only he was right willing to learn. - -There was a youthfulness and breeziness about Uncle Ramsay's every -action, that few save seafarers possess when hair is turning white. -Of course, the skipper spent many a jolly hour up in the room of the -Castle Tower, and he did not object either to the presence of old -Kate in the chair. He listened like a boy when she told her weird -stories; and he listened more like a baby than anything else when -Branson played his fiddle. - -Then he himself would spin them a yarn, and hold them all enthralled, -especially big-eyed Elsie, with the sterling reality and graphicness -of the narrative. - -When Uncle Ramsay spoke you could see the waves in motion, hear the -scream of the birds around the stern, or the wind roaring through the -rigging. He spoke as he thought; he painted from life. - -Well, the arrival of Uncle Ramsay and Rupert's getting strong were -two of the pleasant changes that took place at Burley in this -eventful year. Alas! I have to chronicle the sad ones also. Yet -why sigh? To use Uncle Ramsay's own words, "You never know what a -ship is made of until stormy seas are around you." - -First then came a bad harvest--a terribly bad harvest. It was not -that the crops themselves were so very light, but the weather was -cold and wet; the grain took long to ripen. The task of cutting it -down was unfortunately an easy one, but the getting it stored was -almost an impossibility. At the very time when it was ripe, and -after a single fiercely hot day, a thunder-storm came on, and with it -such hail as the oldest inhabitant in the parish could not remember -having seen equalled. This resulted in the total loss of far more of -the precious seed, than would have sown all the land of Burley twice -over. - -The wet continued. It rained and rained every day and when it rained -it poured. - -The Squire had heard of a Yankee invention for drying wheat under -cover, and rashly set about a rude but most expensive imitation -thereof. He first mentioned the matter to Uncle Ramsay at the -breakfast-table. The Squire seemed in excellent spirits that -morning. He was walking briskly up and down the room rubbing his -hands, as if in deep but pleasant thought, when his brother came -quietly in. - -"Hullo! you lazy old sea-dog. Why you'd lie in your bed till the sun -burned a hole in the blanket. Now just look at me." - -"I'm just looking at you." - -"Well, I've been up for hours. I'm as hungry as a Caithness -Highlander. And I've got an idea." - -"I thought there was something in the wind." - -"Guess." - -"Guess, indeed! Goodness forbid I should try. But I say, brother," -continued Uncle Ramsay, laughing, "couldn't you manage to fall asleep -somewhere out of doors, like the man in the story, and wake up and -find yourself a king? My stars, wouldn't we have reforms as long as -your reign lasted! The breakfast, Mary? Ah, that's the style!" - -"You won't be serious and listen, I suppose, Ramsay." - -"Oh, yes; I will." - -"Well, the Americans----" - -"The Americans again; but go on." - -"The Americans, in some parts where I've been, wouldn't lose a straw -in a bad season. It is all done by means of great fanners and heated -air, you know. Now, I'm going to show these honest Northumbrian -farmers a thing or two. I----" - -"I say, brother, hadn't you better trust to Providence, and wait for -a fair wind?" - -"Now, Ramsay, that's where you and I differ. You're a slow Moses. I -want to move ahead a trifle in front of the times. I've been looking -all over the dictionary of my daily life, and I can't find such a -word as 'wait' in it." - -"Let me give you some of this steak, brother." - -"My plan of operations, Ramsay, is----" - -"Why," said Mrs. Broadbent, "you haven't eaten anything yet!" - -"I thought," said Uncle Ramsay, "you were as hungry as a Tipperary -Highlander, or some such animal." - -"My plan, Ramsay, is----" &c. &c. - -The two "&c. &c.'s" in the last line stand for all the rest of the -honest Squire's speech, which, as his sailor brother said, was as -long as the logline. But for all his hunger he made but a poor -breakfast, and immediately after he jumped up and hurried away to the -barn-yards. - -It was a busy time for the next two weeks at Burley Old Farm, but, to -the Squire's credit be it said, he was pretty successful with his -strange operation of drying wheat independent of the sun. His ricks -were built, and he was happy--happy as long as he thought nothing -about the expense. But he did take an hour or two one evening to run -through accounts, as he called it. Uncle Ramsay was with him. - -"Why, brother," said Ramsay, looking very serious now indeed, "you -are terribly down to leeward--awfully out of pocket!" - -"Ah! never mind, Ramsay. One can't keep ahead of the times -now-a-days, you know, without spending a little." - -"Spending a little! Where are your other books? Mr. Walton and I -will have a look through them to-night, if you don't mind." - -"Not a bit, brother, not a bit. We're going to give a dance -to-morrow night to the servants, so if you like to bother with the -book-work I'll attend to the terpsichorean kick up." - -Mr. Walton and Uncle Ramsay had a snack in the office that evening -instead of coming up to supper, and when Mrs. Broadbent looked in to -say good-night she found them both quiet and hard at work. - -"I say, Walton," said Uncle Ramsay some time after, "this is serious. -Draw near the fire and let us have a talk." - -"It is sad as well as serious," said Walton. - -"Had you any idea of it?" - -"Not the slightest. In fact I'm to blame, I think, for not seeing to -the books before. But the Squire----" - -Walton hesitated. - -"I know my brother well," said Ramsay. "As good a fellow as ever -lived, but as headstrong as a nor'-easter. And now he has been -spending money on machinery to the tune of some ten thousand pounds. -He has been growing crop after crop of wheat as if he lived on the -prairies and the land was new; and he has really been putting as much -down in seed, labour, and fashionable manures as he has taken off." - -"Yet," said Walton, "he is no fool." - -"No, not he; he is clever, too much so. But heaven send his pride, -honest though it be, does not result in a fall." - -The two sat till long past twelve talking and planning, then they -opened the casement and walked out on to the lawn. It was a lovely -autumn night. The broad, round moon was high in the heavens, -fighting its way through a sky of curdling clouds which greatly -detracted from its radiance. - -"Look, Walton," said the sailor, "to windward; yonder it is all blue -sky, by-and-by it will be a bright and lovely night." - -"By-and-by. Yes," sighed Walton. - -"But see! What is that down yonder rising white over the trees? -Smoke! Why, Walton, the barnyards are all on fire!" - -Almost at the same moment Branson rushed upon the scene. - -"Glad you're up, gentlemen," he gasped. "Wake the Squire. The -servants are all astir. We must save the beasts, come of everything -else what will." - -The farm-steading of Burley was built in the usual square formation -round a centre straw-yard, which even in winter was always kept so -well filled that beasts might lie out all night. To the north were -the stacks, and it was here the fire originated, and unluckily the -wind blew from that direction. It was by no means high; but fire -makes its own wind, and in less than half an hour the whole yard was -ablaze and burning fiercely, while the byres, stables, and barns had -all caught. From the very first these latter had been enveloped in -dense rolling clouds of smoke, and sparks as thick as falling -snowflakes, so that to save any of the live stock seemed almost an -impossibility. - -With all his mania for machinery, and for improvements of every kind -possible to apply to agriculture, it is indeed a wonder that the -Squire had not established a fire brigade on his farm. But fire was -an eventuality which he had entirely left out of his reckoning, and -now there was really no means of checking the terrible conflagration. - -As soon as the alarm was given every one did what he could to save -the live stock; but the smoke was blinding, maddening, and little -could be done save taking the doors off their hinges. - -Who knows what prodigies of valour were performed that night by the -humble cowmen even, in their attempts to drive the oxen and cows out, -and away to a place of safety? In some instances, when they had -nearly succeeded, the cattle blocked the doorways, or, having got out -to the straw-yard, charged madly back again, and prevented the exit -of their fellows. Thus several servants ran terrible risks to their -lives. - -They were more successful in saving the horses, and this was greatly -owing to Archie's presence of mind. He had dashed madly into the -stable for his pet Scallowa. The Shetland pony had never looked more -wild before. He sniffed the danger, he snorted and reared. All at -once it occurred to Archie to mount and ride him out. No sooner had -he got on his back than he came forth like a lamb. He took him to a -field and let him free, and as he was hurrying back he met little -Peter. - -"Come, Peter, come," he cried; "we can save the horses." - -The two of them rushed to the stable, and horse after horse was -bridled and mounted by little Peter and ridden out. - -But a fearful hitch occurred. Tell, the Squire's hunter, backed -against the stable door and closed it, thus imprisoning Archie, who -found it impossible to open the door. - -The roof had already caught. The horses were screaming in terror, -and rearing wildly against the walls. - -Peter rushed away to seek assistance. He met Branson, and in a word -or two told him what had happened. - -Luckily axes were at hand, and sturdy volunteers speedily smashed the -door in, and poor Archie, more dead than alive, with torn clothes and -bleeding face, was dragged through. - -The scene after this must be left to imagination. But the Squire -reverently and fervently thanked God when the shrieks of those -fire-imprisoned cattle were hushed in death, and nothing was to be -heard save the crackle and roar of the flames. - -The fire had lit up the countryside for miles around. The moonlight -itself was bright, but within a certain radius the blazing farm cast -shadows against it. - -Next morning stackyards, barnyards, farm-steading, machinery-house, -and everything pertaining to Burley Old Farm, presented but a -smouldering, blackened heap of ruins. - -Squire Broadbent entertained his poor, frightened people to an early -breakfast in the servants' hall, and the most cheerful face there was -that of the Squire. Here is his little speech: - -"My good folks, sit down and eat; and let us be thankful we're all -here, and that no human lives are lost. My good kinswoman Kate here -will tell you that there never yet was an ill but there might be a -worse. Let us pray the worse may never come." - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -"_AFTER ALL, IT DOESN'T TAKE MUCH TO MAKE A MAN HAPPY._" - -For weeks to come neither Uncle Ramsay nor Walton had the heart to -add another sorrow to the Squire's cup of misery. They knew that the -fire had but brought on a little sooner a catastrophe which was -already falling; they knew that Squire Broadbent was virtually a -ruined man. - -All the machinery had been rendered useless; the most of the cattle -were dead; the stacks were gone; and yet, strange to say, the Squire -hoped on. Those horses and cattle which had been saved were housed -now in rudely-built sheds, among the fire-blackened ruins of their -former wholesome stables and byres. - -One day Branson, who had always been a confidential servant, sent -Mary in to say he wished to speak to the Squire. His master came out -at once. - -"Nothing else, Branson," he said. "You carry a long face, man." - -"The wet weather and the cold have done their work, sir. Will you -walk down with me to the cattle-sheds?" - -Arrived there, he pointed to a splendid fat ox, who stood in his -stall before his untouched turnips with hanging head and dry, parched -nose. His hot breath was visible when he threw his head now and then -uneasily round towards his loin, as if in pain. There was a visible -swelling on the rump. Branson placed a hand on it, and the Squire -could hear it "bog" and crackle. - -"What is that, Branson? Has he been hurt?" - -"No, sir, worse. I'll show you." - -He took out his sharp hunting-knife. - -"It won't hurt the poor beast," he said. - -Then he cut deep into the swelling. The animal never moved. No -blood followed the incision, but the gaping wound was black, and -filled with air-bubbles. - -"The quarter-ill," said the cowman, who stood mournfully by. - -That ox was dead in a few hours. Another died next day, two the -next, and so on, though not in an increasing ratio; but in a month -there was hardly an animal alive about the place except the horses. - -It was time now the Squire should know all, and he did. He looked a -chastened man when he came out from that interview with his brother -and Walton. But he put a right cheery face on matters when he told -his wife. - -"We'll have to retrench," he said. "It'll be a struggle for a time, -but we'll get over it right enough." - -Present money, however, was wanted, and raised it must be. - -And now came the hardest blow the Squire had yet received. It was a -staggering one, though he met it boldly. There was then at Burley -Old Mansion a long picture gallery. It was a room in an upper story, -and extended the whole length of the house--a hall in fact, and one -that more than one Squire Broadbent had entertained his friends right -royally in. From the walls not only did portraits of ancestors bold -and gay, smile or frown down, but there hung there also many a -splendid landscape and seascape by old masters. - -Most of the latter had to be sold, and the gallery was closed, for -the simple reason that Squire Broadbent, courageous though he was, -could not look upon its bare and desecrated walls without a feeling -of sorrow. - -Pictures even from the drawing-room had to go also, and that room too -was closed. But the breakfast-room, which opened to the lawn and -rose gardens, where the wild birds sang so sweetly in summer, was -left intact; so was the dining-room, and that cosy, wee green parlour -in which the family delighted to assemble around the fire in the -winter's evenings. - -Squire Broadbent had been always a favourite in the county--somewhat -of an upstart and iconoclast though he was--so the sympathy he -received was universal. - -Iconoclast? Yes, he had delighted in shivering the humble idols of -others, and now his own were cast down. Nobody, however, deserted -him. Farmers and Squires might have said among themselves that they -always knew Broadbent was "going the pace," and that his new-fangled -American notions were poorly suited to England, but in his presence -they did all they could to cheer him. - -When the ploughing time came round they gave him what is called in -the far North "a love-darg." Men with teams of horses came from -every farm for miles around and tilled his ground. They had luncheon -in a marquee, but they would not hear of stopping to dinner. They -were indeed thoughtful and kind. - -The parson of the parish and the doctor were particular friends of -the Squire. They often dropped in of an evening to talk of old times -with the family by the fireside. - -"I'm right glad," the doctor said one evening, "to see that you don't -lose heart, Squire." - -"Bless me, sir, why should I? To be sure we're poor now, but God has -left us a deal of comfort, doctor, and, after all, it doesn't take -much to make a man happy." - -* * * * * * - -Boys will be boys. Yes, we all know that. But there comes a time in -the life of every right-thinking lad when another truth strikes home -to him, that boys will be men. - -I rather think that the sooner a boy becomes cognisant of this fact -the better. Life is not all a dream; it must sooner or later become -a stern reality, life is not all pleasant parade and show, like a -field-day at Aldershot; no, for sooner or later pomp and panoply have -to be exchanged for camp-life and action, and bright uniforms are -either rolled in blood and dust, or come triumphant, though -tarnished, from the field of glory. Life is not all plain sailing -over sunlit seas, for by-and-by the clouds bank up, storms come on, -and the good ship has to do battle with wind and wave. - -But who would have it otherwise? No one would who possesses the -slightest ray of honest ambition, or a single spark of that pride of -self which we need not blush to own. - -One day, about the beginning of autumn, Rupert and Archie, and their -sister Elsie, were in the room in the tower. They sat together in a -turret chamber, Elsie gazing dreamily from the window at the -beautiful scenery spread out beneath. The woods and wilds, the -rolling hills, the silvery stream, the half-ripe grain moving in the -wind, as waves at sea move, and the silvery sunshine over al. She -was in a kind of a daydream, her fingers listlessly touching a chord -on the harp now and then. A pretty picture she looked, too, with her -bonnie brown hair, and her bonnie blue eyes, and thorough English -face, thorough English beauty. Perhaps Archie had been thinking -something of this sort as he sat there looking at her, while Rupert -half-lay in the rocking-chair, which his brother had made for him, -engrossed as usual in a book. - -Whether Archie did think thus or not, certain it is that presently he -drew his chair close to his sister's, and laying one arm fondly on -her shoulder. - -"What is sissie looking at?" he asked. - -"Oh, Archie," she replied, "I don't think I've been looking at -anything; but I've been seeing everything and wishing!" - -"Wishing, Elsie? Well, you don't look merry. What were you wishing?" - -"I was wishing the old days were back again, when--when father was -rich; before the awful fire came, and the plague, and everything. It -has made us all old, I think. Wouldn't you like father was rich -again?" - -"I am not certain; but wishes are not horses, you know." - -"No," said Elsie; "only if it could even be always like this, and if -you and Rupert and I could be always as we are now. I think that, -poor though we are, everything just now is so pretty and so pleasant. -But you are going away to the university, and the place won't be the -same. I shall get older faster than ever then." - -"Well, Elsie," said Archie, laughing, "I am so old that I am going to -make my will." - -Rupert put down his book with a quiet smile. - -"What are you going to leave me, old man? Scallowa?" - -"No, Rupert, you're too long in the legs for Scallowa, you have no -idea what a bodkin of a boy you are growing. Scallowa I will and -bequeath to my pretty sister here, and I'll buy her a side-saddle, -and two pennyworth of carrot seed. Elsie will also have Bounder, and -you, Rupert, shall have Fuss." - -"Anything else for me?" - -"Don't be greedy. But I'll tell you. You shall have my tool-house, -and all my tools, and my gun besides. Well, this room is to be -sister's own, and she shall also have my fishing-rod, and the book of -flies that poor Bob Cooper made for me. Oh, don't despise them, they -are all wonders!" - -"Well really, Archie," said Elsie, "you talk as earnestly as if you -actually were going to die." - -"Who said I was going to die? No, I don't mean to die till I've done -much more mischief." - -"Hush! Archie." - -"Well, I'm hushed." - -"Why do you want to make your will?" - -"Oh, it isn't wanting to make my will! I am--I've done it. And the -'why' is this, I'm going away." - -"To Oxford?" - -"No, Elsie, not to Oxford. I've got quite enough Latin and Greek out -of Walton to last me all my life. I couldn't be a doctor; besides -father is hardly rich enough to make me one at present. I couldn't -be a doctor, and I'm not good enough to be a parson." - -"Archie, how you talk." - -There were tears in Elsie's eyes now. - -"I can't help it. I'm going away to enter life in a new land. Uncle -Ramsay has told me all about Australia. He says the old country is -used up, and fortunes can be made in a few years on the other side of -the globe." - -There was silence in the turret for long minutes; the whispering of -the wind in the elm trees beneath could be heard, the murmuring of -the river, and far away in the woods the cawing of rooks. - -"Don't you cry, Elsie," said Archie. "I've been thinking about all -this for some time, and my mind is made up. I'm going, Elsie, and I -know it is for the best. You don't imagine for a single moment, do -you, that I'll forget the dear old times, and you all? No, no, no. -I'll think about you every night, and all day long, and I'll come -back rich. You don't think that I won't make my fortune, do you? -Because I mean to, and will. So there. Don't cry, Elsie." - -"I'm not going to cry, Archie," said Rupert. - -"Right, Rupert, you're a brick, as Branson says." - -"I'm not old enough," continued Rupert, "to give you my blessing, -though I suppose Kate would give you hers; but----we'll all pray for -you." - -"Well," said Archie thoughtfully, "that will help some." - -"Why, you silly boy, it will help a lot." - -"I wish I were as good as you, Rupert. But I'm just going to try -hard to do my best, and I feel certain I'll be all right." - -"You know, Roup, how well I can play cricket, and how I often easily -bowl father out. Well, that is because I've just tried my very -hardest to become a good player; and I'm going to try my very hardest -again in another way. Oh, I shall win! I'm cocksure I shall. Come, -Elsie, dry your eyes. Here's my handkie. Don't be a little old -wife." - -"You won't get killed, or anything, Archie?" - -"No; I won't get killed, or eaten either." - -"They do tell me," said Elsie--"that is, old Kate told me--that the -streets in Australia are all paved with gold, and that the roofs of -the houses are all solid silver." - -"Well, I don't think she is quite right," said Archie, laughing. -"Anyhow, uncle says there is a fortune to be made, and I'm going to -make it. That's all." - -* * * * * * - -Archie went straight away down from that boy's room feeling every -inch a man, and had an interview with his father and uncle. - -It is needless to relate what took place there, or to report the -conversation which the older folks had that evening in the little -green parlour. Both father and uncle looked upon Archie's request as -something only natural. For both these men, singular to say, had -been boys once themselves; and, in the Squire's own words, Archie was -a son to be proud of. - -"We can't keep the lad always with us, mother," said Squire -Broadbent; "and the wide world is the best of schools. I feel -certain that, go where he will, he won't lose heart. If he does, I -should be ashamed to own him as a son. So there! My only regret is, -Ramsay, that I cannot send the lad away with a better lined pocket." - -"My dear silly old brother, he will be better as he is. And I'm -really not sure that he would not be better still if he went away, as -many have gone before him, with only a stick and a bundle over his -shoulder. You have a deal too much of the Broadbent pride; and -Archie had better leave that all behind at home, or be careful to -conceal it when he gets to the land of his adoption." - -The following is a brief list of Archie's stock-in-trade when he -sailed away in the good ship _Dugong_ to begin the world alone: 1. A -good stock of clothes. 2. A good stock of assurance. 3. Plenty of -hope. 4. Good health and abundance of strength. 5. A little nest -egg at an Australian bank to keep him partly independent till he -should be able to establish a footing. 6. Letters of introduction, -blessings, and a little pocket Bible. - -His uncle chose his ship, and sent him away round the Cape in a good -old-fashioned sailing vessel. And his uncle went to Glasgow to see -him off, his last words being, "Keep up your heart, boy, whatever -happens; and keep calm in every difficulty. Good-bye." - -Away sailed the ship, and away went Archie to see the cities that are -paved with gold, and whose houses have roofs of solid silver. - - - - -Book II. - - -CHAPTER I. - -"_SPOKEN LIKE HIS FATHER'S SON._" - - "Cheer, boys, cheer, no more of idle sorrow, - Courage, true hearts shall bear us on our way; - Hope flies before, and points the bright to-morrow, - Let us forget the dangers of to-day." - - -That dear old song! How many a time and oft it has helped to raise -the drooping spirits of emigrants sailing away from these loved -islands, never again to return! - -The melody itself too is such a manly one. Inez dear, bring my -fiddle. Not a bit of bravado in that ringing air, bold and all -though it is. Yet every line tells of British ardour and -determination--ardour that no thoughts of home or love can cool, -determination that no danger can daunt. - -"Cheer, boys, cheer." The last rays of the setting sun were lighting -up the Cornish cliffs, on which so few in that good ship would ever -again set eyes, when those around the forecastle-head took up the -song. - -"Cheer, boys, cheer." Listen! Those on the quarterdeck join in the -chorus, sinking in song all difference of class and rank. And they -join, too, in that rattling "Three times three" that bids farewell to -England. - -Then the crimson clouds high up in the west change to purple and -brown, the sea grows grey, and the distant shore becomes slaty blue. -Soon the stars peep out, and the passengers cease to tramp about, and -find their way below to the cosily-lighted saloon. - -Archie is sitting on a sofa quite apart from all the others. The -song is still ringing in his head, and, if the whole truth must be -told, he feels just a trifle down-hearted. He cannot quite account -for this, though he tries to, and his thoughts are upon the whole -somewhat rambling. They would no doubt be quite connected if it were -not for the distracting novelty of all his present surroundings, -which are as utterly different from anything he has hitherto become -acquainted with as if he had suddenly been transported to another -planet. - -No, he cannot account for being dull. Perhaps the motion of the ship -has something to do with it, though this is not a very romantic way -of putting it. Archie has plenty of moral courage; and as the ship -encountered head winds, and made a long and most difficult passage -down through the Irish Sea, he braced himself to get over his morsel -of _mal de mer_, and has succeeded. - -He is quite cross with himself for permitting his mind to be tinged -with melancholy. That song ought to have set him up. - -"Why should we weep to sail in search of fortune?" - -Oh, Archie is not weeping; catch him doing anything so girlish and -peevish! He would not cry in his cabin where he could do so without -being seen, and it is not likely he would permit moisture to appear -in his eyes in the saloon here. Yet his home never did seem to him -so delightful, so cosy, so happy, as the thoughts of it do now. Why -had he not loved it even more than he did when it was yet all around -him? The dear little green parlour, his gentle lady mother that used -to knit so quietly by the fire in the winter's evenings, listening -with pleasure to his father's daring schemes and hopeful plans. His -bonnie sister, Elsie, so proud of him--Archie; Rupert, with his pale, -classical face and gentle smile; matter-of-fact Walton; jolly old -Uncle Ramsay. They all rose up before his mind's eye as they had -been; nay but as they might be even at that very moment. And the -room in the tower, the evenings spent there in summer when daylight -was fading over the hills and woods, and the rooks flying wearily -home to their nests in the swaying elm trees; or in winter when the -fire burned brightly on the hearth, and weird old Kate sat in her -high-hacked chair, telling her strange old-world stories, with -Branson, wide-eyed, fiddle in hand, on a seat near her, and -Bounder--poor Bounder--on the bear's skin. Then the big kitchen, or -servants' hall--the servants that all loved "master Archie" so -dearly, and laughed and enjoyed every prank he used to play. - -Dear old Burley! should he ever see it again? A week has not passed -since he left it, and yet it seems and feels a lifetime. - -He was young a week ago; now he is old, very old--nearly a man. -Nearly? Well, nearly in years; in thoughts, and feelings, and -circumstances even--quite a man. But then he should not feel -down-hearted for this simple reason; he had left home under such -bright auspices. Many boys run away to sea. The difference between -their lot and his is indeed a wide one. Yes, that must be very sad. -No home-life to look back upon, no friends to think of or love, no -pleasant present, no hopeful future. - -Then Archie, instead of letting his thoughts dwell any longer on the -past, began at once to bridge over for himself the long period of -time that must elapse ere he should return to Burley Old Farm. Of -course there would be changes. He dared say Walton would be away; -but Elsie and Rupert would still be there, and his father and mother, -looking perhaps a little older, but still as happy. And the burned -farm-steading would be restored, or if it were not, it soon should be -after he came back; for he would be rich, rolling in wealth in fact, -if half the stories he had heard of Australia were true, even -allowing that _all_ the streets were not paved with gold, and _all_ -the houses not roofed with sparkling silver. - -So engrossed was he with these pleasant thoughts, that he had not -observed the advent of a passenger who had entered the saloon, and -sat quietly down on a camp-stool near him. A man of about forty, -dressed in a rough pilot suit of clothes, with a rosy weather-beaten -but pleasant face, and a few grey hairs in his short black beard. - -He was looking at Archie intently when their eyes met, and the boy -felt somewhat abashed. The passenger, however, did not remove his -glance instantly; he spoke instead. - -"You've never been to sea before, have you?" - -"No, sir; never been off the land till a week ago." - -"Going to seek your fortune?" - -"Yes; I'm going to make my fortune." - -"Bravo! I hope you will." - -"What's to hinder me?" - -"Nothing; oh, nothing much! Everybody doesn't though. But you seem -to have a bit of go in you." - -"Are you going to make yours?" said Archie. - -The stranger laughed. - -"No," he replied. "Unluckily, perhaps, mine was made for me. I've -been out before too, and I'm going again to see things." - -"You're going in quest of adventure?" - -"I suppose that is really it. That is how the story books put it, -anyhow. But I don't expect to meet with adventures like Sinbad the -Sailor, you know; and I don't think I would like to have a little old -man of the sea with his little old legs round my neck." - -"Australia is a very wonderful place, isn't it?" - -"Yes; wonderfully wonderful. Everything is upside-down there, you -know. To begin with, the people walk with their heads downwards. -Some of the trees are as tall as the moon, and at certain seasons of -the year the bark comes tumbling off them like rolls of shoeleather. -Others are shaped like bottles, others again have heads of waving -grass, and others have ferns for tops. There are trees, too, that -drop all their leaves to give the flowers a chance; and these are so -brilliantly red, and so numerous, that the forest where they grow -looks all on fire. Well, many of the animals walk or jump on two -legs, instead of running on four. Does that interest you?" - -"Yes. Tell me something more about birds." - -"Well, ducks are everywhere in Australia, and many kinds are as big -as geese. They seem to thrive. And ages ago, it is said by the -natives, the moles in Australia got tired of living in the dark, and -held a meeting above-ground, and determined to live a different mode -of life. So they grew longer claws, and short, broad, flat tails, -and bills like ducks, and took to the water, and have been happy ever -since. - -"Well, there are black swans in abundance; and though it is two or -three years since I was out last, I cannot forget a beautiful bird, -something betwixt a pheasant and peacock, and the cock's tail is his -especial delight. It is something really to be proud of, and at a -distance looks like a beautiful lyre, strings and all. The cockatoos -swarm around the trees, and scream and laugh at the lyre-bird giving -himself airs, but I daresay this is all envy. The hen bird is not a -beauty, but her chief delight is to watch the antics and attitudes of -her lord and master as he struts about making love and fun to her -time about, at one moment singing a kind of low, sweet song, at -another mocking every sound that is heard in the forest, every noise -made by man or bird or beast. No wonder the female lyre-bird thinks -her lord the cleverest and most beautiful creature in the world! - -"Then there is a daft-looking kingfisher, all head and bill, and -wondering eyes, who laughs like a jackass, and makes you laugh to -hear him laugh. So loud does he laugh at times that his voice drowns -every other sound in the forest. - -"There is a bird eight feet high, partly cassowary partly ostrich, -that when attacked kicks like a horse or more like a cow, because it -kicks sideways. But if I were to sit here till our good ship reached -the Cape, I could not tell you about half the curious, beautiful, and -ridiculous creatures and things you will find in Australia if you -move much about. I do think that that country beats all creation for -the gorgeousness of its wild birds and wild flowers; and if things do -seem a bit higgledy-piggledy at first, you soon settle down to it, -and soon tire wondering at anything. - -"But," continued the stranger, "with all their peculiarities, the -birds and beasts are satisfied with their get-up, and pleased with -their surroundings, although all day long in the forests the -cockatoos, and parrots, and piping crows, and lyre-birds do little -else but joke and chaff one another because they all look so comical. - -"Yes, lad, Australia you will find is a country of contrarieties, and -the only wonder to me is that the rivers don't all run up-hill -instead of running down; and mind, they are sometimes broader at -their sources than they are at their ends." - -"There is plenty of gold there?" asked Archie. - -"Oh, yes, any amount; but----" - -"But what, sir?" - -"The real difficulty--in fact, the only difficulty--is the finding of -it." - -"But that, I suppose, can be got over." - -"Come along with me up on deck, and we'll talk matters over. It is -hot and stuffy down here; besides, they are going to lay the cloth." - -Arrived at the quarter-deck, the stranger took hold of Archie's arm, -as if he had known him all his life. - -"Now," he said, "my name is Vesey, generally called Captain Vesey, -because I never did anything that I know of to merit the title. I've -been in an army or two in different parts of the globe as a free -lance, you know." - -"How nice!" - -"Oh, delightful!" said Captain Vesey, though from the tone of his -voice Archie was doubtful as to his meaning. "Well," he added, "I -own a yacht, now waiting for me, I believe, at the Cape of Good Hope, -if she isn't sunk, or burned, or something. And your tally?" - -"My what, sir?" - -"Your tally, your name, and the rest of it?" - -"Archie Broadbent, son of Squire Broadbent, of Burley Old Farm, -Northumberland." - -"What! you a son of Charlie Broadbent? Yankee Charlie, as we used to -call him at the club. Well, well, well, wonders will never cease; -and it only shows how small the world is, after all." - -"And you used to know my father, sir?" - -"My dear boy, I promised myself the pleasure of calling on him at -Burley. I've only been home for two months, however; and I -heard--well, boy, I needn't mince matters--I heard your father had -been unfortunate, and had left his place, and gone nobody could tell -me whither." - -"No," said Archie, laughing, "it isn't quite so bad as all that; and -it is bound to come right in the end." - -"You are talking very hopefully, lad. I could trace a resemblance in -your face to someone I knew the very moment I sat down. And there is -something like the same cheerful ring in your voice there used to be -in his. You really are a chip of the old block." - -"So they say." And Archie laughed again, pleased by this time. - -"But, you know, lad, you are very young to be going away to seek your -fortune." - -"I'll get over that, sir." - -"I hope so. Of course, you won't go pottering after gold!" - -"I don't know. If I thought I would find lots, I would go like a -shot." - -"Well, take my advice, and don't. There, I do not want to discourage -you; but you better turn your mind to farming--to squatting." - -"That wouldn't be very genteel, would it?" - -"Genteel! Why, lad, if you're going to go in for genteelity, you'd -best have stayed at home." - -"Well, but I have an excellent education. I can write like -copper-plate. I am a fair hand at figures, and well up in Latin and -Greek; and----" - -"Ha! ha! ha!" Captain Vesey laughed aloud. "Latin and Greek, eh? -You must keep that to yourself, boy." - -"And," continued Archie boldly, "I have a whole lot of capital -introductions. I'm sure to get into a good office in Sydney; and in -a few years----" - -Archie stopped short, because by the light that streamed from the -skylight he could see that Captain Vesey was looking at him -half-wonderingly, but evidently amused. - -"Go on," said the captain. - -"Not a word more," said Archie doggedly. - -"Finish your sentence, lad." - -"I shan't. There!" - -"Well, I'll do it for you. You'll get into a delightful office, with -mahogany writing-desks and stained glass windows, Turkey carpet and -an easy-chair. Your employer will take you out in his buggy every -Sunday to dine with him; and after a few years, as you say, he'll -make you a co-partner; and you'll end by marrying his daughter, and -live happy ever after." - -"You're laughing at me, sir. I'll go down below." - -"Yes, I'm laughing at you, because you're only a greenhorn; and it is -as well that I should squeeze a little of the lime-juice out of you -as anyone else. No, don't go below. Mind, I was your father's -friend." - -"Yes," pouted poor Archie; "but you don't appear to be mine. You are -throwing cold water over my hopes; you are smashing my idols." - -"A very pretty speech, Archie Broadbent. But mind you this--a hut on -solid ground is better far than a castle in the air. And it is -better that I should storm and capsize your cloud-castle, than that -an absolute stranger did so." - -"Well, I suppose you are right. Forgive me for being cross." - -"Spoken like his father's son," said Captain Vesey, grasping and -shaking the hand that Archie extended to him. "Now we know each -other. Ding! ding! ding! there goes the dinner-bell. Sit next to -me." - - - - -CHAPTER II - -"_KEEP ON YOUR CAP. I WAS ONCE A POOR MAN MYSELF._" - -The voyage out was a long, even tedious one; but as it has but little -bearing on the story I forbear to describe it at length. - -The ship had a passenger for Madeira, parcels for Ascension and St. -Helena, and she lay in at the Cape for a whole week. - -Here Captain Vesey left the vessel, bidding Archie a kind farewell, -after dining with him at the Fountain, and roaming with him all over -the charming Botanical Gardens. - -"I've an idea we'll meet again," he said as he bade him adieu. "If -God spares me, I'll be sure to visit Sydney in a year or two, and I -hope to find you doing well. You'll know if my little yacht, the -_Barracouta_, comes in, and I know you'll come off and see me. I -hope to find you with as good a coat on your back as you have now." - -Then the _Dugong_ sailed away again; but the time now seemed longer -to Archie than ever, for in Captain Vesey he really had lost a good -friend--a friend who was all the more valuable because he spoke the -plain, unvarnished truth; and if in doing so one or two of the young -man's cherished idols were brought tumbling down to the ground, it -was all the better for the young man. It showed those idols had feet -of clay, else a little cold water thrown over them would hardly have -had such an effect. I am sorry to say, however, that no sooner had -the captain left the ship, than Archie set about carefully collecting -the pieces of those said idols and patching them up again. - -"After all," he thought to himself, "this Captain Vesey, jolly fellow -as he is, never had to struggle with fortune as I shall do; and I -don't think he has the same pluck in him that my father has, and that -people say I have. We'll see, anyhow. Other fellows have been -fortunate in a few years, why shouldn't I? 'In a few years?' Yes, -these are the very words Captain Vesey laughed at me for. 'In a few -years?' To be sure. And why not? What is the good of a fortune to -a fellow after he gets old, and all worn down with gout and -rheumatism? 'Cheer, boys, cheer;' I'm going in to win." - -How slow the ship sailed now, apparently; and when it did blow it -usually blew the wrong way, and she would have to stand off and on, -or go tack and half-tack against it, like a man with one long leg and -one short. But she was becalmed more than once, and this did seem -dreadful. It put Archie in mind of a man going to sleep in the -middle of his work, which is not at all the correct thing to do. - -Well, there is nothing like a sailing ship after all for teaching one -the virtue of patience; and at last Archie settled down to his sea -life. He was becoming quite a sailor--as hard as the wheel-spokes, -as brown as the binnacle. He was quite a favourite with the captain -and officers, and with all hands fore and aft. Indeed he was very -often in the forecastle or galley of an evening listening to the -men's yarns or songs, and sometimes singing a verse or two himself. - -He was just beginning to think the _Dugong_ was Vanderdecken's ship, -and that she never would make port at all, when one day at dinner he -noticed that the captain was unusually cheerful. - -"In four or five days more, please God," said he, "we'll be safe in -Sydney." - -Archie almost wished he had not known this, for these four or five -days were the longest of any he had yet passed. He had commenced to -worship his patched-up idols again, and felt happier now, and more -full of hope and certainty of fortune than he had done during the -whole voyage. - -Sometimes they sighted land. Once or twice birds flew on board--such -bright, pretty birds too they looked. And birds also went wheeling -and whirring about the ship--gulls, the like of which he had never -seen before. They were more elegant in shape and purer in colour -than ours, and their voices were clear and ringing. - -Dick Whittington construed words out of the sound of the chiming -bells. Therefore it is not at all wonderful that Archie was pleased -to believe that some of these beautiful birds were screaming him a -welcome to the land of gold. - -Just at or near the end of the voyage half a gale of wind blew the -ship considerably out of her course. Then the breeze went round to -fair again, the sea went down, and the birds came back; and one -afternoon a shout was heard from the foretop that made Archie's heart -jump for very joy. - -"Land ho!" - -That same evening, as the sun was setting behind the Blue Mountains, -leaving a gorgeous splendour of cloud-scenery that may be equalled, -but is never surpassed in any country, the _Dugong_ sailed slowly -into Sydney harbour, and cast anchor. - -At last! Yes, at last. Here were the golden gates of the El Dorado -that were to lead the ambitious boy to fortune, and all the pleasures -fortune is capable of bestowing. - -Archie had fancied that Sydney would prove to be a very beautiful -place; but not in his wildest imaginings had he conjured up a scene -of such surpassing loveliness as that which now lay before him, and -around him as well. - -On the town itself his eye naturally first rested. There it lay, -miles upon miles of houses, towers, and steeples, spread out along -the coast, and rising inland. The mountains and hills beyond, their -rugged grandeur softened and subdued in the purple haze of the day's -dying glory; the sky above, with its shades of orange, saffron, -crimson, opal, and grey; and the rocks, to right and left in the -nearer distance, with their dreamy clouds of foliage, from which -peeped many a lordly mansion, many a fairy-like palace. He hardly -noticed the forests of masts; he was done with ships, done with -masts, for a time at least; but his inmost heart responded to the -distant hum of city life, that came gently stealing over the waters, -mingling with the chime of evening bells, and the music of the happy -sea-gulls. - -Would he, could he, get on shore to-night? "No," the first officer -replied, "not before another day." - -So he stood on deck, or walked about, never thinking of food--what, -is food or drink to a youth who lives on hope?--till the gloaming -shades gave place to night, till the southern stars shone over the -hills and harbour, and strings upon strings of lamps and lights were -hung everywhere across the city above and below. - -* * * * * * - -Now the fairy scene is changed. Archie is on shore. It is the -forenoon of another day, and the sun is warm though not uncomfortably -hot. There is so much that is bracing and invigorating in the very -air, that he longs to be doing something at once. Longs to commence -laying the foundation-stone of that temple of fortune which--let -Captain Vesey say what he likes--he, Archie Broadbent, is bent upon -building. - -He has dressed himself in his very English best. His clothes are new -and creaseless, his gloves are spotless, his black silk hat -immaculate, the cambric handkerchief that peeps coyly from his -breast-pocket is whiter than the snow, his boots fit like gloves, and -shine as softly black as his hat itself, and his cane even must be -the envy of every young man he meets. - -Strange to say, however, no one appears to take a very great deal of -notice of him, though, as he glances towards the shop-windows, he can -see as if in a mirror that one or two passengers have looked back and -smiled. But it couldn't surely have been at him? Impossible! - -The people, however, are apparently all very active and very busy, -though cool, with a self-possession that he cannot help envying, and -which he tries to imitate without any marked degree of success. - -There is an air of luxury and refinement about many of the buildings -that quite impresses the young man, but he cannot help noticing that -there is also a sort of business air about the streets which he -hardly expected to find, and which reminds him forcibly of Glasgow -and Manchester. He almost wishes it had been otherwise. - -He marches on boldly enough. - -Archie feels as if on a prospecting tour--prospecting for gold. Of -course he is going to make his fortune, but how is he going to begin? -That is the awkward part of the business. If he could once get in -the thin end of the wedge he would quickly drive it home. - - "There is nothing like ambition - If we steer a steady course." - - -Of course there isn't. But staring into a china-shop window will do -him little good. I do not believe he saw anything in that window -however. Only, on turning away from it, his foot goes splash into a -pool of dirty water on the pavement, or rather on what ought to be a -pavement. That boot is ruined for the day, and this reminds him that -Sydney streets are not paved with gold, but with very unromantic -matter-of-fact mud. Happy thought! he will dine. - -The waiters are very polite, but not obsequious, and he makes a -hearty meal, and feels more at home. - -Shall he tip this waiter fellow? Is it the correct thing to tip -waiters? Will the waiter think him green if he does, or green if he -doesn't? - -These questions, trifling though they may appear, really annoyed -Archie; but he erred on the right side, and did tip the waiter--well -too. And the waiter brightened up, and asked him if he would like to -see a playbill. - -Then this reminded Archie that he might as well call on some of the -people to whom he had introductions. So he pulled out a small bundle -of letters, and he asked the waiter where this, that, and t'other -street was; and the waiter brought a map, and gave him so many hints, -that when he found himself on the street again he did not feel half -so foreign. He had something to do now, something in view. Besides -he had dined. - -"Yes, he'd better drive," he said to himself, "it would look better." -He lifted a finger, and a hansom rattled along, and drew up by the -kerb. He had not expected to find cabs in Sydney. His card-case was -handy, and his first letter also. - -He might have taken a 'bus or tram. There were plenty passing, and -very like Glasgow 'buses they were too; from the John with the -ribbons to the cad at the rear. But a hansom certainly looked more -aristocratic. Aristocratic? Yes. But were there any aristocrats in -Sydney? Was there any real blue blood in the place? He had not -answered those questions to his satisfaction, when the hansom stopped -so suddenly that he fell forward. - -"Wait," he said to the driver haughtily. - -"Certainly, sir." - -Archie did not observe, however, the grimace the Jehu made to another -cabman, as he pointed over his shoulder with his thumb, else he would -hardly have been pleased. - -There was quite a business air about the office into which the young -man ushered himself, but no one took much notice of him. If he had -had an older face under that brand-new hat, they might have been more -struck with his appearance. - -"Ahem! Aw!----" Archie began. - -"One minute, sir," said the clerk nearest him. "Fives in forty -thousand? Fives in forty are eight--eight thousand." - -The clerk advanced pen in mouth. - -"Do you come from Jenkins's about those bills?" - -"No, I come from England; and I've a letter of introduction to your -_master_." Archie brought the last word out with a bang. - -"Mr. Berry isn't in. Will you leave a message?" - -"No, thank you." - -"As you please." - -Archie was going off, when the clerk called after him, "Here is Mr. -Berry himself, sir." - -A tall, brown-faced, elderly gentleman, with very white hair and -pleasant smile. He took Archie into the office, bade him be seated, -and slowly read the letter; then he approached the young man and -shook hands. The hand felt like a dead fish's tail in Archie's, and -somehow the smile had vanished. - -"I'm really glad to see your father's son," he said. "Sorry though -to hear that he has had a run of bad luck. Very bad luck it must be, -too," he added, "to let you come out here." - -"Indeed, sir; but I mean to make my for----that is, I want to make my -living." - -"Ay, young man, living's more like it; and I wish I could help you. -There's a wave of depression over this side of our little island at -present, and I don't know that any office in town has a genteel -situation to offer you." - -Archie's soul-heat sank a degree or two. - -"You think, sir, that----" - -"I think that you would have done better at home. It would be cruel -of me not to tell you the truth. Now I'll give you an example. We -advertised for a clerk just a week since----" - -"I wish I'd been here." - -"My young friend, you wouldn't have had the ghost of a chance. We -had five-and-thirty to pick and choose from, and we took the -likeliest. I'm really sorry. If anything should turn up, where -shall I communicate?" - -Where should he communicate? And this was his father's best friend, -from whom the too sanguine father expected Archie would have an -invitation to dinner at once, and a general introduction to Sydney -society. - -"Oh, it is no great matter about communicating, Mr. Berry; aw!--no -matter at all! I can afford to wait a bit and look round me. -I--aw!--good morning, sir." - -Away stalked the young Northumbrian, like a prince of the blood. - -"A chip of the old block," muttered Mr. Berry, as he resumed his desk -work. "Poor lad, he'll have to come down a peg though." - -The cabby sprang towards the young nob. - -"Where next, sir?" - -"Grindlay's." - -Archie was not more successful here, nor anywhere else. - -But at the end of a week, during which time he had tried as hard as -any young man had ever tried before in Sydney or any other city to -find some genteel employment, he made a wise resolve; viz., to go -into lodgings. - -He found that living in a hotel, though very cheerful, made a -terrible hole in his purse; so he brought himself "down a peg" by the -simple process of "going up" nearer the sky. - -Here is the explanation of this paradox. It was Archie's custom to -spend his forenoons looking for something to do, and his evenings -walking in the suburbs. - -Poor, lonely lad, that never a soul in the city cared for, any more -than if he had been a stray cat, he found it wearisome, -heart-breaking work wandering about the narrow, twisting streets and -getting civilly snubbed. He felt more of a gentleman when dining. -Afterwards his tiredness quite left him, and hope swelled his heart -once more. So out he would go and away--somewhere, anywhere; it did -not matter so long as he could see woods, and water, and houses. Oh, -such lovely suburban villas, with cool verandahs, round which -flowering creepers twined, and lawns shaded by dark green waving -banana trees, beneath which he could ofttimes hear the voices of -merry children, or the tinkle of the light guitar. He would give -reins to his fancy then, and imagine things--such sweet things! - -Yes, he would own one of the biggest and most delightful of these -mansions; he should keep fleet horses, a beautiful carriage, a -boat--he must have a boat, or should it be a gondola? Yes, that -would be nicer and newer. In this boat, when the moonlight silvered -the water, he would glide over the bay, returning early to his happy -home. His bonnie sister should be there, his brother Rupert--the -student--his mother, and his hero, that honest, bluff, old father of -his. What a dear, delightful dream! No wonder he did not care to -return to the realities of his city life till long after the sun had -set over the hills, and the stars were twinkling down brighter and -lovelier far than those lights he had so admired the night his ship -arrived. - -He was returning slowly one evening and was close to the city, but in -a rather lonely place, when he noticed something dark under the shade -of a tree, and heard a girl's voice say: - -"Dearie me! as missus says; but ain't I jolly tired just!" - -"Who is that?" said Archie. - -"On'y me, sir; on'y Sarah. Don't be afear'd. I ain't a larrikin. -Help this 'ere box on my back like a good chummie." - -"It's too heavy for your slight shoulders," quoth gallant Archie. "I -don't mind carrying it a bit." - -"What, a gent like you! Why, sir, you're greener than they make 'em -round here!" - -"I'm from England." - -"Ho, ho! Well, that accounts for the milk. So 'm I from Hengland. -This way, chummie." - -They hadn't far to go. - -"My missus lives two story up, top of a ware'us, and I've been to the -station for that 'ere box. She do take it out o' me for all the -wage. She do." - -Archie carried the box up the steep stairs, and Sarah's mistress -herself opened the door and held a candle. A thin, weary-looking -body, with whom Sarah seemed to be on the best and most friendly -terms. - -"Brought my young man," said Sarah. "Ain't he a smartie? But, -heigho! so green! You never!" - -"Come in a minute, sir, and rest you. Never mind this silly girl." - -Archie did go in a minute; five, ten, ay fifteen, and by that time he -had not only heard all this ex-policeman's wife's story, but taken a -semi-attic belonging to her. - -And he felt downright independent and happy when next day he took -possession. - -For now he would have time to really look round, and it was a relief -to his mind that he would not be spending much money. - -Archie could write home cheerfully now. He was sure that something -would soon turn up, something he could accept, and which would not be -derogatory to the son of a Northumbrian squire. More than one -influential member of commercial society had promised "to communicate -with him at the very earliest moment." - -But, alas! weeks flew by, and weeks went into months, and no more -signs of the something were apparent than he had seen on the second -day of his arrival. - -Archie was undoubtedly "a game un," as Sarah called him; but his -heart began to feel very heavy indeed. - -Living as cheaply as he could, his money would go done at last. What -then? Write home for more? He shuddered to think of such a thing. -If his first friend, Captain Vesey, had only turned up now, he would -have gone and asked to be taken as a hand before the mast. But -Captain Vesey did not. - -A young man cannot be long in Sydney without getting into a set. -Archie did, and who could blame him. They were not a rich set, nor a -very fast set; but they had a morsel of a club-room of their own. -They formed friendships, took strolls together, went occasionally to -the play, and often had little "adventures" about town, the -narratives of which, when retailed in the club, found ready -listeners, and of course were stretched to the fullest extent of -importance. - -They really were not bad fellows, and would have done Archie a good -turn if they could. But they could not. They laughed a deal at -first at his English notions and ideas; but gradually Archie got over -his greenness, and began to settle down to colonial life, and would -have liked Sydney very much indeed if he had only had something to do. - -The ex-policeman's wife was very kind to her lodger. So was Sarah; -though she took too many freedoms of speech with him, which tended to -lower his English squirearchical dignity very much. But, to do her -justice, Sarah did not mean any harm. - -Only once did Archie venture to ask about the ex-policeman. "What -did he do?" - -"Oh, he drinks!" said Sarah, as quietly as if drinking were a trade -of some kind. Archie asked no more. - -Rummaging in a box one day, Archie found his last letter of -introduction. It had been given him by Uncle Ramsay. - -"You'll find him a rough and right sort of a stick," his uncle had -said. "He was my steward, now he is a wealthy man, and can knock -down his cheque for many thousands." - -Archie dressed in his best and walked right away that afternoon to -find the address. - -It was one of the very villas he had often passed, in a beautiful -place close by the water-side. - -What would be his reception here? - -This question was soon put at rest. - -He rang the bell, and was ushered into a luxuriously-furnished room; -a room that displayed more richness than taste. - -A very beautiful girl--some thirteen years of age perhaps--got up -from a grand piano, and stood before him. - -Archie was somewhat taken aback, but bowed as composedly as he could. - -"Surely," he thought, "she cannot be the daughter of the rough and -right sort of a stick who had been steward to his uncle. He had -never seen so sweet a face, such dreamy blue eyes, or such wealth of -hair before. - -"Did you want to see papa? Sit down. I'll go and find him." - -"Will you take this letter to him?" said Archie. - -And the girl left, letter in hand. - -Ten minutes after the "rough stick" entered whistling "Sally come up." - -"Hullo! hullo!" he cried, "so here we are." - -There he was without doubt--a big, red, jolly face, like a full moon -orient, a loose merino jacket, no waistcoat or necktie, but a -cricketer's cap on the very back of his bushy head. He struck Archie -a friendly slap on the back. - -"Keep on yer cap," he shouted, "I was once a poor man myself." - -Archie was too surprised and indignant to speak. - -"Well, well, well," said Mr. Winslow, "they do tell me wonders won't -never cease. What a whirligig of a world it is. One day I'm -cleanin' a gent's boots. Gent is a capting of a ship. Next day -gent's nephew comes to me to beg for a job. Say, young man, what'll -ye drink?" - -"I didn't come to _drink_, Mr. Winslow, neither did I come to _beg_." - -"Whew--ew--ew," whistled the quondam steward, "here's pride; here's a -touch o' the old country. Why, young un, I might have made you my -under-gardener." - -The girl at this moment entered the room. She had heard the last -sentence. - -"Papa!" she remonstrated. Then she glided out by the casement window. - -Burning blushes suffused Archie's cheeks as he hurried over the lawn -soon after; angry tears were in his eyes. His hand was on the -gate-latch when he felt a light touch on his arm. It was the girl. - -"Don't be angry with poor papa," she said, almost beseechingly. - -"No, no," Archie cried, hardly knowing what he did say. "What is -your name?" - -"Etheldene." - -"What a beautiful name! I--I will never forget it. Good-bye." - -He ran home with the image of the child in his mind--on his brain. - -Sarah--plain Sarah--met him at the top of the stairs. He brushed -past her. - -"La! but ye does look glum," said Sarah. - -Archie locked his door. He did not want to see even Sarah--homely -Sarah--that night. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -"_SOMETHING IN SOAP._" - -It was a still, sultry night in November. Archie's balcony window -was wide open, and if there had been a breath of air anywhere he -would have had the benefit of it. That was one advantage of having a -room high up above the town, and there were several others. For -instance, it was quieter, more retired, and his companions did not -often take him by storm, because they objected to climb so many -stairs. Dingy, small, and dismal some might have called it, but -Archie always felt at home up in his semi-attic. It even reminded -him of his room in the dear old tower at Burley. Then his morsel of -balcony, why that was worth all the money he paid for the room -itself; and as for the view from this charming, though -non-aristocratic elevation, it was simply unsurpassed, -unsurpassable--looking far away over a rich and fertile country to -the grand old hills beyond--a landscape that, like the sea, was still -the same, but ever changing; sometimes smiling and green, sometimes -bathed in tints of purple and blue, sometimes grey as a sky o'ercast -with rain clouds. Yes, he loved it, and he would take a chair out -here on a moonlight evening and sit and think and dream. - -But on this particular night sleep, usually so kind to the young man, -absolutely refused to visit his pillow. He tried to woo the goddess -on his right side, on his left, on his back; it was all in vain. -Finally, he sat bolt upright in his little truckle bed in silent -defiance. - -"I don't care," he said aloud, "whether I sleep or not. What does it -matter? I've nothing to do to-morrow. Heigho!" - -Nothing to do to-morrow! How sad! And he so young too. Were all -his dreams of future fortune to fade and pass away like this--nothing -to do? Why he envied the very boys who drove the mill wagons that -went lazily rolling past his place every day. They seemed happy, and -so contented; while he--why his very life--had come to be all one -continued fever. - -"Nothing to do yet, sir?" It was the ordinary salutation of his -hard-working mite of a landlady when he came home to his meal in the -afternoon. "I knows by the weary way ye walks upstairs, sir, you -aren't successful yet, sir." - -"Nothink to do yet, sir?" They were the usual words that the slavey -used when she dragged upstairs of an evening with his tea-things. - -"Nothink to do," she would say, as she deposited the tray on the -table, and sank _sans ceremonie_ into the easy-chair. "Nothink to -do. What a 'appy life to lead! Now 'ere's me a draggin' up and down -stairs, and a carryin' of coals and a sweepin', and a dustin' and a -hanswering of the door, till, what wi' the 'eat and the dust and the -fleas, my poor little life's well-nigh worrited out o' me. Heigho! -hif I was honly back again in merrie England, catch me ever goin' to -any Australia any more. But you looks a borned gent, sir. Nothink -to do! My eye and Betty Martin, ye oughter to be 'appy, if you -ain't." - -Archie got up to-night, enrobed himself in his dressing-gown, and -went and sat on his balcony. This soothed him. The stars were very -bright, and seemed very near. He did not care for other -companionship than these and his own all-too-busy thoughts. There -was hardly a sound to be heard, except now and then the hum of a -distant railway train increasing to a harsh roar as it crossed the -bridge, then becoming subdued again and muffled as it entered woods, -or went rolling over a soft and open country. - -Nothing to do! But he must and would do something. Why should he -starve in a city of plenty? He had arms and hands, if he hadn't a -head. Indeed, he had begun of late to believe that his head, which -he used to think so much of, was the least important part of his -body. He caught himself feeling his forearm and his biceps. Why -this latter had got smaller and beautifully less of late. He had to -shut his fist hard to make it perceptible to touch. This was worse -and worse, he thought. He would not be able to lift a fifty-six if -he wanted to before long, or have strength enough left to wield a -stable broom if he should be obliged to go as gardener to Winslow. - -"What next, I wonder?" he said to himself. "First I lose my brains, -if ever I had any, and now I have lost my biceps; the worst loss -last." - -He lit his candle, and took up the newspaper. "I'll pocket my pride, -and take a porter's situation," he murmured. "Let us see now. -Hullo! what is this? 'APPRENTICE WANTED--the drug trade--splendid -opening to a pushing youngster.' Well, I am a pushing youngster. -'Premium required.' I don't care, I have a bit of money left, and -I'll pay it like a man if there is enough. Why the drug trade is -grand. Sydney drug-stores beat Glasgow's all to pieces. Druggists -and drysalters have their carriages and mansions, their town and -country houses. Hurrah! I'll be something yet!" - -He blew out the candle, and jumped into bed. The gentle goddess -required no further wooing. She took him in her lap, and he went off -at once like a baby. - -Rap--rap--rap--rap! - -"Hullo! Yes; coming, Sarah; coming." - -It was broad daylight; and when he admitted Sarah at last, with the -breakfast-tray, she told him she had been up and down fifty times, -trying to make him hear. Sarah was given to a little exaggeration at -times. - -"It was all very well for a gent like he," she said, "but there was -her a-slavin' and a-toilin', and all the rest of it." - -"Well, well, my dear," he cut in, "I'm awfully sorry, I assure you." - -Sarah stopped right in the centre of the room, still holding the -tray, and looked at him. - -"What!" she cried. "Ye ain't a-going to marry me then, young man! -What are ye my-dearing me for?" - -"No, Sarah," replied Archie, laughing; "I'm not going to marry you; -but I've hopes of a good situation, and----" - -"Is that all?" Sarah dumped down the tray, and tripped away singing. - -Archie's interview with the advertiser was of a most satisfactory -character. He did not like the street, it was too new and out of the -way; but then it would be a beginning. - -He did not like his would-be employer, but he dared say he would -improve on acquaintance. There was plenty in the shop, though the -place was dingy and dirty, and the windows small. The spiders -evidently had fine times of it here, and did not object to the smell -of drugs. He was received by Mr. Glorie himself in a little back -sanctum off the little back shop. - -The premium for apprenticing Archie was rather more than the young -man could give; but this being explained to the proprietor of these -beautiful premises, and owner of all the spiders, he graciously -condescended to take half. Archie's salary--a wretched pittance--was -to commence at once after articles were signed; and Mr. Glorie -promised to give him a perfect insight into the drug business, and -make a man of him, and "something else besides," he added, nodding to -Archie in a mysterious manner. - -The possessor of the strange name was a queer-looking man; there did -not appear much glory about him. He was very tall, very lanky, and -thin, his shoulders sloping downwards like a well-pointed pencil, -while his face was solemn and elongated, like your own, reader, if -you look at it in a spoon held lengthways. - -The articles were signed, and Archie walked home on feathers -apparently. He went upstairs singing. His landlady ran to the door. - -"Work at last?" - -Archie nodded and smiled. - -When Sarah came in with the dinner things she danced across the room, -bobbing her queer, old-fashioned face and crying-- - - "Lawk-a-daisy, diddle-um-doo, - Missus says you've got work to do!" - - -"Yes, Sarah, at long last, and I'm so happy." - -"'Appy, indeed!" sang Sarah. "Why, ye won't be the gent no longer!" - -Archie certainly had got work to do. For a time his employer kept -him in the shop. There was only one other lad, and he went home with -the physic, and what with studying hard to make himself _au fait_ in -prescribing and selling seidlitz powders and gum drops, Archie was -pretty busy. - -So months flew by. Then his long-faced employer took him into the -back premises, and proceeded to initiate him into the mysteries of -the something else that was to make a man of him. - -"There's a fortune in it," said Mr. Glorie, pointing to a bubbling -grease-pot. "Yes, young sir, a vast fortune." - -"What is the speciality?" Archie ventured to enquire. - -"The speciality, young sir?" replied Mr. Glorie, his face relaxing -into something as near a smile as it would permit of. "The -speciality, sir, is SOAP. A transparent soap. A soap, young sir, -that is destined to revolutionise the world of commerce, and bring my -star to the ascendant after struggling for two long decades with the -dark clouds of adversity." - -So this was the mystery. Archie was henceforward, so it appeared, to -live in an atmosphere of scented soap; his hope must centre in -bubbles. He was to assist this Mr. Glorie's star to rise to the -zenith, while his own fortune might sink to nadir. And he had paid -his premium. It was swallowed up and simmering in that ugly old -grease-pot, and except for the miserable salary he received from Mr. -Glorie he might starve. - -Poor Archie! He certainly did not share his employer's enthusiasm, -and on this particular evening he did not walk home on feathers, and -when he sat down to supper his face must have appeared to Sarah quite -as long and lugubrious as Mr. Glorie's; for she raised her hands and -said: - -"Lawk-a-doodle, sir! What's the matter? Have ye killed anybody?" - -"Not yet," answered Archie; "but I almost feel I could." - -He stuck to his work, however, like a man; but that work became more -and more allied to soap, and the front shop hardly knew him any more. - -He had informed the fellows at the club-room that he was employed at -last; that he was apprenticed to the drug trade. But the soap -somehow leaked out, and more than once, when he was introduced to -some new-comer, he was styled-- - -"Mr. Broadbent," and "something in soap." - -This used to make him bite his lips in anger. - -He would not have cared half so much had he not joined this very -club, with a little flourish of trumpets, as young Broadbent, son of -Squire Broadbent, of Burley Old Castle, England. - -And now he was "something in soap." - -He wrote home to his sister in the bitterness of his soul, telling -her that all his visions of greatness had ended in bubbles of rainbow -hue, and that he was "something in soap." He felt sorry for having -done so as soon as the letter was posted. - -He met old Winslow one day in the street, and this gentleman grasped -Archie's small aristocratic hand in his great brown bear's paw, and -congratulated him on having got on his feet at last. - -"Yes," said Archie with a sneer and a laugh, "I'm 'something in -soap.'" - -"And soap's a good thing I can tell you. Soap's not to be despised. -There's a fortune in soap. I had an uncle in soap. Stick to it, my -lad, and it'll stick to you." - -But when a new apprentice came to the shop one day, and was installed -in the front-door drug department, while he himself was relegated to -the slums at the back, his cup of misery seemed full, and he -proceeded forthwith to tell this Mr. Glorie what he thought of him. -Mr. Glorie's face got longer and longer and longer, and he finally -brought his clenched fist down with such a bang on the counter, that -every bottle and glass in the place rang like bells. - -"I'll have the law on you," he shouted. - -"I don't care; I've done with you. I'm sick of you and your soap." - -He really did not mean to do it; but just at that moment his foot -kicked against a huge earthenware jar full of oil, and shivered it in -pieces. - -"You've broke your indenture! You--you----" - -"I've broken your jar, anyhow," cried Archie. - -He picked up his hat, and rushing out, ran recklessly off to his club. - -He was "something in soap" no more. - -He was beggared, but he was free, unless indeed Mr. Glorie should put -him in gaol. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -_THE KING MAY COME IN THE CADGER'S WAY._ - -Mr. Glorie did not put his runaway apprentice in gaol. He simply -advertised for another--with a premium. - -Poor Archie! His condition in life was certainly not to be envied -now. He had but very few pounds between him and actual want. - -He was rich in one thing alone--pride. He would sooner starve than -write home for a penny. No, he could die in a gutter, but he could -not bear to think they should know of it at Burley Old Farm. - -Long ago, in the bonnie woods around Burley, he used to wonder to -find dead birds in dark crannies of the rocks. He could understand -it now. They had crawled into the crannies to die, out of sight and -alone. - -His club friends tried to rally him. They tried to cheer him up in -more ways than one. Be it whispered, they tried to make him seek -solace in gambling and in the wine-cup. - -I do not think that I have held up my hero as a paragon. On the -contrary, I have but represented him as he was--a bold, determined -lad, with many and many a fault; but now I am glad to say this one -thing in his favour: he was not such a fool as to try to drown his -wits in wine, nor to seek to make money questionably by betting and -by cards. - -After Archie's letter home, in which he told Elsie that he was -"something in soap," he had written another, and a more cheerful one. -It was one which cost him a good deal of trouble to write; for he -really could not get over the notion that he was telling white lies -when he spoke of "his prospects in life, and his hopes being on the -ascendant;" and as he dropped it into the receiver, he felt mean, -demoralized; and he came slowly along George Street, trying to make -himself believe that any letter was better than no letter, and that -he would hardly have been justified in telling the whole truth. - -Well, at Burley Old Farm things had rather improved, simply for this -reason: Squire Broadbent had gone in heavily for retrenchment. - -He had proved the truth of his own statement: "It does not take much -in this world to make a man happy." The Squire was happy when he saw -his wife and children happy. The former was always quietly cheerful, -and the latter did all they could to keep up each other's hearts. -They spent much of their spare time in the beautiful and romantic -tower-room, and in walking about the woods, the grounds, and farm; -for Rupert was well now, and was his father's right hand, not in the -rough-and-tumble dashing way that Archie would have been, but in a -thoughtful, considering way. - -Mr. Walton had gone away, but Branson and old Kate were still to the -fore. The Squire could not have spared these. - -I think that Rupert's religion was a very pretty thing. He had lost -none of his simple faith, his abiding trust in God's goodness, though -he had regained his health. His devotions were quite as sincere, his -thankfulness for mercies received greater even than before, and he -had the most unbounded faith in the efficacy of prayer. - -So his sister and he lived in hope, and the Squire used to build -castles in the green parlour of an evening, and of course the absent -Archie was one of the kings of these castles. - -After a certain number of years of retrenchment, Burley was going to -rise from its ashes hike the fabled phoenix--machinery and all. The -Squire was even yet determined to show these old-fashioned farmer -folks of Northumbria "a thing or two." - -That was his ambition; and we must not blame him; for a man without -ambition of some kind is a very humble sort of a clod--a clod of very -poor clay. - -But to return to Sydney. - -Archie had received several rough invitations to go and visit Mr. -Winslow. He had accepted two of these, and, singular to say, -Etheldene's father was absent each time. Now, I refuse to be -misunderstood. Archie did not "manage" to call when the ex-miner was -out; but Archie was not displeased. He had taken a very great fancy -for the child, and did not hesitate to tell her that from the first -day he had met her he had loved her like his sister Elsie. - -Of course Etheldene wanted to know all about Elsie, and hours were -spent in telling her about this one darling sister of his, and about -Rupert and all the grand old life at Burley. - -"I should laugh," cried Archie, "if some day when you grew up, you -should find yourself in England, and fall in love with Rupert, and -marry him." - -The child smiled, but looked wonderfully sad and beautiful the next -moment. She had a way like this with her. For if Etheldene had been -taken to represent any month of our English year, it would have been -April--sunshine, flowers, and showers. - -But one evening Archie happened to be later out in the suburbs than -he ought to have been. The day had been hot, and the night was -delightfully cool and pleasant. He was returning home when a tall, -rough-looking, bearded man stopped him, and asked "for a light, old -chum." Archie had a match, which he handed him, and as the light -fell on the man's face, it revealed a very handsome one indeed, and -one that somehow seemed not unfamiliar to him. - -Archie went on. There was the noise of singing farther down the -street, a merry band of youths who had been to a race meeting that -day, and were up to mischief. - -The tall man hid under the shadow of a wall. - -"They're larrikins," he said to himself, and "he's a greenhorn." He -spat in his fist, and kept his eye on the advancing figures. - -Archie met them. They were arm-in-arm, five in all, and instead of -making way for him, rushed him, and down he went, his head catching -the kerb with frightful force. They at once proceeded to rifle him. -But perhaps "larrikins" had never gone to ground so quickly and so -unexpectedly before. It was the bearded man who was "having his -fling" among them, and he ended by grabbing one in each hand till a -policeman came up. - -[Illustration: "Down went Archie, his head catching the kerb with -frightful force. They at once proceeded to rifle him. But larrikins -had never gone to ground so quickly before. It was the bearded man -who ended by grabbing one in each hand till a policeman came up."] - -Archie remembered nothing more then. - -When he became sensible he was in bed with a bandaged head, and -feeling as weak all over as a kitten. Sarah was in the room with the -landlady. - -"Hush, my dear," said the latter; "you've been very ill for more than -a week. You're not to get up, nor even to speak." - -Archie certainly did not feel inclined to do either. He just closed -his eyes and dozed off again, and his soul flew right away back to -Burley. - -"Oh, yes; he's out of danger!" It was the doctor's voice. "He'll do -first-rate with careful nursing." - -"He won't want for that, sir. Sarah here has been like a little -mother to him." - -Archie dozed for days. Only, whenever he was sensible, he could -notice that Sarah was far better dressed, and far older-looking and -nicer-looking than ever she had been. And now and then the -big-bearded man came and sat by his bed, looking sometimes at him, -some times at Sarah. - -One day Archie was able to sit up; he felt quite well almost, though -of course he was not really so. - -"I have you to thank for helping me that night," he said. - -"Ay, ay, Master Archie; but don't you know me?" - -"No--no. I don't think so." - -The big-bearded man took out a little case from his pocket, and -pulled therefrom a pair of horn-bound spectacles. - -"Why!" cried Archie, "you're not----" - -"I am, really." - -"Oh, Bob Cooper, I'm pleased to see you! Tell me all your story." - -"Not yet, chummie; it is too long, or rather you're too weak. Why, -you're crying!" - -"It's tears of joy!" - -"Well, well; I would join you, lad, but tears ain't in my line. But -somebody else will want to see you to-morrow." - -"Who?" - -"Just wait and see." - -Archie did wait. Indeed he had to; for the doctor left express -orders that he was not to be disturbed. - -The evening sun was streaming over the hills when Sarah entered next -day and gave a look towards the bed. - -"I'm awake, Sarah." - -"It's Bob," said Sarah, "and t'other little gent. They be both -a-comin' upstairs athout their boots." - -Archie was just wondering what right Sarah had to call Bob Cooper by -his Christian name, when Bob himself came quietly in. - -"Ah!" he said, as he approached the bed, "you're beginning to look -your old self already. Now who is this, think you?" - -Archie extended a feeble white hand. - -"Why, Whitechapel!" he exclaimed joyfully. "Wonders will never -cease!" - -"Well, Johnnie, and how are ye? I told ye, ye know, that 'the king -might come in the cadger's way.'" - -"Not much king about me now, Harry; but sit down. Why I've come -through such a lot since I saw you, that I begin to feel quite aged. -Well, it is just like old times seeing you. But you're not a bit -altered. No beard, or moustache, or anything, and just as -cheeky-looking as when you gave me that thrashing in the wood at -Burley. But you don't talk so Cockneyfied." - -"No, Johnnie; ye see I've roughed it a bit, and learned better -English in the bush and scrub. But I say, Johnnie, I wouldn't mind -being back for a day or two at Burley. I think I could ride your -buck-jumping 'Eider-Duck' now. Ah, I won't forget that first ride, -though; I've got to rub myself yet whenever I think of it." - -"But how on earth did you get here at all, the pair of you?" - -"Well," said Harry, "that ain't my story 'alf so much as it is Bob's. -I reckon he better tell it." - -"Oh, but I haven't the gift of the gab like you, Harry! I'm a slow -coach. I am a duffer at a story." - -"Stop telling both," cried Archie. "I don't want any story about the -matter. Just a little conversational yarn; you can help each other -out, and what I don't understand, why I'll ask, that's all." - -"But wait a bit," he continued. "Touch that bell, Harry. Pull hard; -it doesn't ring else. My diggins are not much account. Here comes -Sarah, singing. Bless her old soul! I'd been dead many a day if it -hadn't been for Sarah." - -"Look here, Sarah." - -"I'm looking nowheres else, Mister Broadbent; but mind you this, if -there's too much talking, I'm to show both these gents downstairs. -Them's the doctor's orders, and they've got to be obeyed. Now, -what's your will, sir?" - -"Tea, Sarah." - -"That's right. One or two words at a time and all goes easy. Tea -you shall have in the twinkling of a bedpost. Tea and etceteras." - -Sarah was as good as her word. In ten minutes she had laid a little -table and spread it with good things; a big teapot, cups and saucers, -and a steaming urn. - -Then off she went singing again. - -Archie wondered what made her so happy, and meant to ask her when his -guests were gone. - -"Now, young Squire," said Harry, "I'll be the lady; and if your tea -isn't to your taste, why just holler." - -"But don't call me Squire, Harry; I left that title at home. We're -all equal here. No kings and no cadgers. - -"Well, Bob, when last I saw you in old England, there was a sorrowful -face above your shoulders, and I'll never forget the way you turned -round and asked me to look after your mother's cat." - -"Ah, poor mother! I wish I'd been better to her when I had her. -However, I reckon we'll meet some day up-bye yonder." - -"Yes, Bob, and you jumped the fence and disappeared in the wood! -Where did you go?" - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -_BOB'S STORY: WILD LIFE AT THE DIGGINGS._ - -"Well, it all came about like this, Archie: 'England,' I said to -myself, says I, 'ain't no place for a poor man.' Your gentry people, -most o' them anyhow, are just like dogs in the manger. The dog -couldn't eat the straw, but he wouldn't let the poor hungry cow have -a bite. Your landed proprietors are just the same; they got their -land as the dog got his manger. They took it, and though they can't -live on it all, they won't let anybody else do it." - -"You're rather hard on the gentry, Bob." - -"Well, maybe, Archie; but they ain't many o' them like Squire -Broadbent. Never mind, there didn't seem to be room for me in -England, and I couldn't help noticing that all the best people, and -the freest, and kindest, were men like your Uncle Ramsay, who had -been away abroad, and had gotten all their dirty little meannesses -squeezed out of them. So when I left you, after cutting that bit o' -stick, I made tracks for London. I hadn't much money, so I tramped -all the way to York, and then took train. When I got to London, why -I felt worse off than ever. Not a soul to speak to; not a face I -knew; even the bobbies looking sour when I asked them a civil -question; and starvation staring me in the face." - -"Starvation, Bob?" - -"Ay, Archie, and money in my pocket. Plenty o' shilling dinners; -but, lo! what was one, London shilling dinner to the like o' me? -Why, I could have bolted three! Then I thought of Harry here, and -made tracks for Whitechapel. I found the youngster--I'd known him at -Burley--and he was glad to see me again. His granny was dead, or -somebody; anyhow, he was all alone in the world. But he made me -welcome--downright happy and welcome. I'll tell you what it is, -Archie lad, Harry is a little gentleman, Cockney here or Cockney -there; and deep down below that white, thin face o' his, which three -years and over of Australian sunshine hasn't made much browner, Harry -carries a heart, look, see! that wouldn't disgrace an English Squire." - -"Bravo, Bob! I like to hear you speak in that way about our friend." - -"Well, that night I said to Harry, 'Isn't it hard, Harry,' I says, -'that in this free and enlightened land a man is put into gaol if he -snares a rabbit?' - -"'Free and enlightened fiddlestick!' that was Harry's words. 'I tell -ye what it is, Bob,' says he, 'this country is played out. But I -knows where there are lots o' rabbits for the catching.' - -"'Where's that?' I says. - -"'Australia O!' says Harry. - -"'Harry,' says I, 'let us pool up, and set sail for the land of -rabbits--for Australia O!' - -"'Right you are,' says Harry; and we pooled up on the spot; and from -that day we haven't had more'n one purse between the two of us, have -we, Harry?" - -"Only one," said Harry; "and one's enough between such old, old -chums." - -"He may well say old, old chums, Archie; he may well put the two olds -to it; for it isn't so much the time we've been together, it's what -we've come through together; and shoulder to shoulder has always been -our motto. We've shared our bed, we've shared our blanket, our -damper and our water also, when there wasn't much between the two of -us. - -"We got helped out by the emigration folks, and we've paid them -since, and a bit of interest thrown in for luck like; but when we -stood together in Port Jackson for the first time, the contents of -our purse wouldn't have kept us living long, I can assure you." - -"'Cities aren't for the like of us, Harry,'" says I. - -"'Not now,'" says Harry. - -"So we joined a gang going west. There was a rush away to some place -where somebody had found gold, and Harry and I thought we might do as -well as any o' them. - -"Ay, Archie, that was a rush. 'Tinklers, tailors, sodjers, sailors.' -I declare we thought ourselves the best o' the whole gang, and I -think so still. - -"We were lucky enough to meet an old digger, and he told us just -exactly what to take and what to leave. One thing we _did_ take was -steamboat and train, as far as they would go, and this helped us to -leave the mob a bit in the rear. - -"Well, we got high up country at long last----" - -"Hold!" cried Harry. "He's missing the best of it. Is that fair, -Johnnie?" - -"No, it isn't fair." - -"Why, Johnnie, we hadn't got fifty miles beyond civilization when, -what with the heat and the rough food and bad water, Johnnie, my -London legs and my London heart failed me, and down I must lie. We -were near a bit of a cockatoo farmer's shanty." - -"Does it pay to breed cockatoos?" said Archie innocently. - -"Don't be the death o' me, Johnnie. A cockatoo farmer is just a -crofter. Well, in there Bob helped me, and I could go no farther. -How long was I ill, Bob?" - -"The best part o' two months, Harry." - -"Ay, Johnnie, and all that time Bob there helped the farmer--dug for -him, trenched and fenced, and all for my sake, and to keep the life -in my Cockney skin." - -"Well, Harry," said Bob, "you proved your worth after we got up. You -hardened down fine after that fever." - -Harry turned towards Archie. - -"You mustn't believe all Bob says, Johnnie, when he speaks about me. -Bob is a good-natured, silly sort of a chap; and though he has a -beard now, he ain't got more 'n 'alf the lime-juice squeezed out of -him yet." - -"Never mind, Bob," said Archie, "even limes and lemons should not be -squeezed dry. You and I are country lads, and we would rather retain -a shade of greenness than otherwise; but go on, Bob." - -"Well, now," continued Bob, "I don't know that Harry's fever didn't -do us both good in the long run; for when we started at last for the -interior, we met a good lot of the rush coming back. There was no -fear of losing the tracks. That was one good thing that came o' -Harry's fever. Another was, that it kind o' tightened his -constitution. La! he could come through anything after that--get wet -to the skin and dry again; lie out under a tree or under the dews o' -heaven, and never complain of stiffness; and eat corn beef and damper -as much as you'd like to put before him; and he never seemed to tire. -As for me, you know, Archie, I'm an old bush bird. I was brought up -in the woods and wilds; and, faith, I'm never so much at home as I am -in the forests. Not but what we found the march inland wearisome -enough. Worst of it was, we had no horses, and we had to do a lot of -what you might call good honest begging; but if the squatters did -give us food going up, we were willing to work for it." - -"If they'd let us, Bob." - -"Which they didn't. Hospitality and religion go hand in hand with -the squatter. When I and Harry here set out on that terribly long -march, I confess to both of ye now I didn't feel at all certain as to -how anything at all would turn out. I was just as bad as the young -bear when its mother put it down and told it to walk. The bear said, -'All right, mother; but how is it done?' And as the mother only -answered by a grunt, the young bear had to do the best it could; and -so did we. - -"'How is it going to end?' I often said to Harry. - -"'We can't lose anything, Bob,' Harry would say, laughing, 'except -our lives, and they ain't worth much to anybody but ourselves; so I'm -thinkin' we're safe.'" - -Here Bob paused a moment to stir his tea, and look thoughtfully into -the cup, as if there might be some kind of inspiration to be had from -that. - -He laughed lightly as he proceeded: - -"I'm a bad hand at a yarn; better wi' the gun and the 'girn,' Harry. -But I'm laughing now because I remember what droll notions I had -about what the Bush, as they call it, would be like when we got -there." - -"But, Johnnie," Harry put in, "the curious thing is, that we never -did get there, according to the settlers." - -"No?" - -"No; because they would always say to us, 'You're going Bush way, -aren't ye, boys?' And we would answer, 'Why, ain't we there now?' -And they would laugh." - -"That's true," said Bob. "The country never seemed to be Bush enough -for anybody. Soon's they settled down in a place the Bush'd be -farther west." - -"Then the Bush, when one is going west," said Archie, "must be like -to-morrow, always one day ahead." - -"That's it; and always keeping one day ahead. But it was Bush enough -for us almost anywhere. And though I feel ashamed like to own it -now, there was more than once that I wished I hadn't gone there at -all. But I had taken the jump, you see, and there was no going back. -Well, I used to think at first that the heat would kill us, but it -didn't. Then I made sure the want of water would. That didn't -either, because, one way or another, we always came across some. But -I'll tell you what nearly killed us, and that was the lonesomeness of -those forests. Talk of trees! La! Archie, you'd think of Jack and -the beanstalk if you saw some we saw. And why didn't the birds sing -sometimes? But no, only the constant bicker, bicker of something in -the grass. There were sounds though that did alarm us. We know now -that they were made by birds and harmless beasts, but we were all in -the dark then. - -"Often and often, when we were just dropping, and thought it would be -a comfort to lie down and die, we would come out of a forest all at -once, and feel in a kind of heaven because we saw smoke, or maybe -heard the bleating o' sheep. Heaven? Indeed, Archie, it seemed to -be; for we had many a kindly welcome from the roughest-looking chaps -you could possibly imagine. And the luxury of bathing our poor feet, -with the certainty of a pair of dry, clean socks in the mornin', made -us as happy as a couple of kings. A lump of salt junk, a dab of -damper, and a bed in a corner made us feel so jolly we could hardly -go to sleep for laughing. - -"But the poor beggars we met, how they did carry on to be sure about -their bad luck, and about being sold, and this, that, and t'other. -Ay, and they didn't all go back. We saw dead bodies under trees that -nobody had stopped to bury; and it was sad enough to notice that a -good many of these were women, and such pinched and ragged corpses! -It isn't nice to think back about it. - -"Had anybody found gold in this rush? Yes, a few got good working -claims, but most of the others stopped till they couldn't stop any -longer, and had to get away east again, crawling, and cursing their -fate and folly. - -"But I'll tell you, Archie, what ruined most o' them. Just drink. -It is funny that drink will find its way farther into the bush at -times than bread will. - -"Well, coming in at the tail o' the day, like, as Harry and I did, we -could spot how matters stood at a glance, and we determined to keep -clear of bush hotels. Ah! they call them all hotels. Well, I'm a -rough un, Archie, but the scenes I've witnessed in some of those -drinking houffs has turned my stomach. Maudlin, drunken miners, -singing, and blethering, and boasting; fighting and rioting worse -than poachers, Archie, and among them--heaven help us!--poor women -folks that would melt your heart to look on. - -"'Can we settle down here a bit?' I said to Harry, when we got to the -diggings. - -"'We'll try our little best, old chum,' was Harry's reply. - -"And we did try. It was hard even to live at first. The food, such -as it was in the new stores, was at famine price, and there was not -much to be got from the rivers and woods. But after a few months -things mended; our station grew into a kind o' working town. We had -even a graveyard, and all the worst of us got weeded out, and found a -place there. - -"Harry and I got a claim after no end of prospecting that we weren't -up to. We bought our claim, and bought it cheap; and the chap we got -it from died in a week. Drink? Ay, Archie, drink. I'll never -forget, and Harry I don't think will, the last time we saw him. We -had left him in a neighbour's hut down the gully dying to all -appearance, too weak hardly to speak. We bade him 'good-bye' for the -last time as we thought, and were just sitting and talking like in -our slab-hut before turning in, and late it must have been, when the -door opened, and in came Glutz, that was his name. La! what a sight! -His face looked like the face of a skeleton with some parchment drawn -tight over it, his hollow eyes glittered like wildfire, his lips were -dry and drawn, his voice husky. - -"He pointed at us with his shining fingers, and uttered a low cry -like some beast in pain; then, in a horrid whisper, he got out these -words: - -"'Give me drink, drink, I'm burning.' - -"I've seen many a sight, but never such a one as that, Archie. We -carried him back. Yes, we did let him have a mouthful. What -mattered it. Next day he was in a shallow grave. I suppose the -dingoes had him. They had most of those that died. - -"Well, by-and-by things got better with Harry and me; our claim began -to yield, we got dust and nuggets. We said nothing to anybody. We -built a better sort of shanty, and laid out a morsel of garden, we -fished and hunted, and soon learned to live better than we'd done -before, and as we were making a bit of money we were as happy as -sandboys. - -"No, we didn't keep away from the hotel--they soon got one up--it -wouldn't have done not to be free and easy. But we knew exactly what -to do when we did go there. We could spin our bits o' yarns, and -smoke our pipes, without losing our heads. Sometimes shindies got up -though, and revolvers were used freely enough, but as a rule it was -pretty quiet." - -"Only once, when that Little fellow told you to 'bail up.'" - -"What was that, Harry?" asked Archie. - -"Nothing much," said Bob shyly. - -"He caught him short round the waist, Johnnie, and smashed everything -on the counter with him, then flung him straight and clear through -the doorway. When he had finished he quietly asked what was to pay, -and Bob was a favourite after that. I reckon no one ever thought of -challenging him again." - -"Where did you keep your gold?" - -"We hid it in the earth in the tent. There was a black fellow came -to look after us every day. We kept him well in his place, for we -never could trust him; and it was a good thing we did, as I'm going -to tell you. - -"We had been, maybe, a year and a half in the gully, and had got -together a gay bit o' swag, when our claim gave out all at once as 't -were--some shift o' the ground or lode. Had we had machinery we -might have made a round fortune, but there was no use crying about -it. We quietly determined to make tracks. We had sent some away to -Brisbane already--that we knew was safe, but we had a good bit more -to take about us. However, we wouldn't have to walk all the way -back, for though the place was half-deserted, there were horses to be -had, and farther along we'd manage to get drags. - -"Two of the worst hats about the place were a man called Vance, and a -kind of broken-down surgeon of the name of Williams. They lived by -their wits, and the wonder is they hadn't been hanged long ago. - -"It was about three nights before we started, and we were coming home -up the gully. The moon was shining as bright as ever I'd seen it. -The dew was falling too, and we weren't sorry when we got inside. -Our tame dingo came to meet us. He had been a pup that we found in -the bush and brought up by hand, and a more faithful fellow never -lived. We lit our fat-lamp and sat down to talk, and a good hour, or -maybe more, went by. Then we lay down, for there was lots to be done -in the morning. - -"There was a little hole in the hut at one end where Wango, as we -called the wild dog, could crawl through; and just as we were dozing -off I heard a slight noise, and opened my eyes enough to see poor -Wango creeping out. We felt sure he wouldn't go far, and would rush -in and alarm us if there were the slightest danger. So in a minute -more I was sleeping as soundly as only a miner can sleep, Archie. -How long I may have slept, or how late or early it was, I couldn't -say, but I awoke all at once with a start. There was a man in the -hut. Next minute a shot was fired. I fell back, and don't remember -any more. Harry there will tell you the rest." - -"It was the shot that wakened me, Archie, but I felt stupid. I -groped round for my revolver, and couldn't find it. Then, Johnnie, I -just let them have it Tom Sayers's fashion--like I did you in the -wood, if you remember." - -"There were two of them?" - -"Aye, Vance and the doctor. I could see their faces by the light of -their firing. They didn't aim well the first time, Johnnie, so I -settled them. I threw the doctor over my head. His nut must have -come against something hard, because it stilled him. I got the door -opened and had my other man out. Ha! ha! It strikes me, Johnnie, -that I must have wanted some exercise, for I never punished a bloke -before as I punished that Vance. He had no more strength in him than -a bandicoot by the time I was quite done with him, and looked as limp -all over and just as lively as 'alf a pound of London tripe. - -"I just went to the bluff-top after that, and coo-eed for help, and -three or four right good friends were with us in as many minutes, -Johnnie. - -"We thought Bob was dead, but he soon spoke up and told us he wasn't, -and didn't mean to die. - -"Our chums would have lynched the ruffians that night. The black -fellow was foremost among those that wanted to. But I didn't like -that, no more did Bob. They were put in a tent, tied hand and foot, -and our black fellow made sentry over them. Next day they were all -gone. Then we knew it was a put-up job. Poor old Wango was found -with his throat cut. The black fellow had enticed him out and taken -him off, then the others had gone for us." - -"But our swag was safe," said Bob, "though I lay ill for months -after. And now it was Harry's turn to nurse; and I can tell you, -Archie, that my dear old dead-and-gone mother couldn't have been -kinder to me than he was. A whole party of us took the road back -east, and many is the pleasant evening we spent around our camp-fire. - -[Illustration: "A whole party of us took the road back east, and many -is the pleasant evening we spent around our camp fire."] - -"We got safe to Brisbane, and we got safe here; but somehow we're a -kind o' sick of mining." - -"Ever hear more of your assailants?" asked Archie. - -"What, the chaps who tried to bail us up? Yes. We did hear they'd -taken to bushranging, and are likely to come to grief at that." - -"Well, Bob Cooper, I think you've told your story pretty tidily, with -Harry's assistance; and I don't wonder now that you've only got one -purse between you." - -"Ah!" said Bob, "it would take weeks to tell you one half of our -adventures. We may tell you some more when we're all together in the -Bush doing a bit of farming." - -"All together?" - -"To be sure! D'ye reckon we'll leave you here, now we've found you? -We'll have one purse between three." - -"Indeed, Bob, we will not. If I go to the Bush--and now I've half a -mind to--I'll work like a New Hollander." - -"Bravo! You're a chip o' the old block. Well, we can arrange that. -We'll hire you. Will that do, my proud young son of a proud old -sire?" - -"Yes; you can hire me." - -"Well, we'll pay so much for your hands, and so much for your head -and brains." - -Archie laughed. - -"And," continued Bob, "I'm sure that Sarah will do the very best for -the three of us." - -"Sarah! Why, what do you mean, Bob?" - -"Only this, lad: Sarah has promised to become my little wife." - -The girl had just entered. - -"Haven't you, Sarah?" - -"Hain't I what?" - -"Promised to marry me." - -"Well, Mister Archie Broadbent, now I comes to think on't, I believes -I 'ave. You know, mister, you wouldn't never 'ave married me." - -"No, Sarah." - -"Well, and I'm perfectly sick o' toilin' up and down these stairs. -That's 'ow it is, sir." - -"Well, Sarah," said Archie, "bring us some more nice tea, and I'll -forgive you for this once, but you mustn't do it any more." - -It was late ere Bob and Harry went away. Archie lay back at once, -and when, a few minutes after, the ex-policeman's wife came in to see -how he was, she found him sound and fast. - -Archie was back again at Burley Old Farm, that is why he smiled in -his dreams. - -"So I'm going to be a hired man in the bush," he said to himself next -morning. "That's a turn in the kaleidoscope of fortune." - -However, as the reader will see, it did not quite come to this with -Archie Broadbent. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -_MINER'S MARRIAGE._ - -It was the cool season in Sydney. In other words, it was winter just -commencing; so, what with balmy air and beauty everywhere around, no -wonder Archie soon got well. He had the kindest treatment too, and -he had youth and hope. - -He could now write home to his parents and Elsie a long, cheerful -letter without any twinge of conscience. He was going to begin work -soon in downright earnest, and get straight away from city life, and -all its allurements; he wondered, he said, it had not occurred to him -to do this before, only it was not too late to mend even yet. He -hated city life now quite as much as he had previously loved it, and -been enamoured of it. - -It never rains but it pours, and on the very day after he posted his -packet to Burley he received a registered letter from his uncle. It -contained a bill of exchange for fifty pounds. Archie blushed -scarlet when he saw it. - -Now had this letter and its contents been from his father, knowing -all he did of the straits at home, he would have sent the money back. -But his uncle evidently knew whom he had to deal with; for he assured -Archie in his letter that it was a loan, not a gift. He might want -it he said, and he really would be obliging him by accepting it. -He--Uncle Ramsay--knew what the world was, and so on and so forth, -and the letter ended by requesting Archie to say nothing about it to -his parents at present. - -"Dear old boy," said Archie half aloud, and tears of gratitude sprang -to his eyes. "How thoughtful and kind! Well, it'll be a loan, and -I'll pray every night that God may spare him till I get home to shake -his honest brown paw, and thrust the fifty pounds back into it. No, -it would be really unkind to refuse it." - -He went straight away--walking on feathers--to Bob's hotel. He found -him and Harry sitting out on the balcony drinking sherbet. He took a -seat beside them. - -"I'm in clover, boys," he cried exultingly, as he handed the cash to -Bob to look at. - -"So you are," said Bob, reading the figures. "Well, this is what my -old mother would call a God-send. I always said your Uncle Ramsay -was as good as they make 'em." - -"It looks a lot of money to me at present," said Archie. "I'll have -all that to begin life with; for I have still a few pounds left to -pay my landlady, and to buy a blanket or two." - -"Well, as to what you'll buy, Archie," said Bob Cooper, "if you don't -mind leaving that to us, we will manage all, cheaper and better than -you could; for we're old on the job." - -"Oh! I will with pleasure, only----" - -"I know all about that. You'll settle up. Well, we're all going to -be settlers. Eh? See the joke?" - -"Bob doesn't often say funny things," said Harry; "so it must be a -fine thing to be going to get married." - -"Ay, lad, and I'm going to do it properly. Worst of it is, Archie, I -don't know anybody to invite. Oh, we must have a dinner! Bother -breakfasts, and hang honeymoons. No, no; a run round Sydney will -suit Sarah better than a year o' honeymooning nonsense. Then we'll -all go off in the boat to Brisbane. That'll be a honeymoon and a -half in itself. Hurrah! Won't we all be so happy! I feel sure -Sarah's a jewel." - -"How long did you know her, Bob, before you asked her the momentous -question?" - -"Asked her _what_?" - -"To marry you." - -"Oh, only a week! La! that's long enough. I could see she was true -blue, and as soft as rain. Bless her heart! I say, Archie, who'll -we ask?" - -"Well, I know a few good fellows----" - -"Right. Let us have them. What's their names?" - -Out came Bob's notebook, and down went a dozen names. - -"That'll be ample," said Archie. - -"Well," Bob acquiesced with a sigh, "I suppose it must. Now we're -going to be spliced by special license, Sarah and I. None of your -doing things by half. And Harry there is going to order the cabs and -carriages, and favours and music, and the parson, and everything -firstchop." - -The idea of "ordering the parson" struck Archie as somewhat -incongruous; but Bob had his own way of saying things, and it was -evident he would have his own way in doing things too for once. - -"And," continued Bob, "the ex-policeman's wife and I are going to buy -the bonnie things to-morrow. And as for the 'bobby' himself, we'll -have to send him away for the day. He is too fond of one thing, and -would spoil the splore." - -Next day sure enough Bob did start off with the "bobby's" wife to buy -the bonnie things. A tall, handsome fellow Bob looked too; and the -tailor having dona his best, he was altogether a dandy. He would -persist in giving his mother, as he called her, his arm on the -street, and the appearance of the pair of them caused a good many -people to look after them and smile. - -However, the "bonnie things" were bought, and it was well he had -someone to look after him, else he would have spent money uselessly -as well as freely. Only, as Bob said, "It was but one day in his -life, why shouldn't he make the best of it?" - -He insisted on making his mother a present of a nice little gold -watch. No, he _wouldn't_ let her have a silver one, and it _should_ -be "set with blue stones." He would have that one, and no other. - -"Too expensive? No, indeed!" he cried. "Make out the bill, master, -and I'll knock down my cheque. Hurrah! one doesn't get married every -morning, and it isn't everybody who gets a girl like Sarah when he -does get spliced! So there!" - -Archie had told Bob and Harry of his first dinner at the hotel, and -how kind and considerate in every way the waiter had been, and how he -had often gone back there to have a talk. - -"It is there then, and nowhere else," said Bob, "we'll have our -wedding dinner." - -Archie would not gainsay this; and nothing would satisfy the lucky -miner but chartering a whole flat for a week. - -"That's the way we'll do it," he said; "and now look here, as long as -the week lasts, any of your friends can drop into breakfast, dinner, -or supper. We are going to do the thing proper, if we sell our best -jackets to help to pay the bill. What say, old chummie?" - -"Certainly," said Harry; "and if ever I'm fool enough to get married, -I'll do the same kind o' thing." - -A happy thought occurred to Archie the day before the marriage. - -"How much loose cash have you, Bob?" - -"I dunno," said Bob, diving his hands into both his capacious -pockets--each were big enough to hold a rabbit--and making a -wonderful rattling. - -"I reckon I've enough for to-morrow. It seems deep enough." - -"Well, my friend, hand over." - -"What!" cried Bob, "you want me to bail up?" - -"Bail up!" - -"You're a downright bushranger, Archie. However, I suppose I must -obey." - -Then he emptied his pockets into a pile on the table--gold, silver, -copper, all in the same heap. Archie counted and made a note of all, -put part away in a box, locked it, gave Bob back a few coins, mostly -silver, and stowed the rest in his purse. - -"Now," said Archie, "be a good old boy, Bob; and if you want any more -money, just ask nicely, and perhaps you'll have it." - -There was a rattling thunder-storm that night, which died away at -last far beyond the hills, and next morning broke bright, and cool, -and clear. - -A more lovely marriage morning surely never yet was seen. - -And in due time the carriages rolled up to the church door, horses -and men bedecked in favours, and right merry was the peal that rang -forth from St. James's. - -Sarah did not make by any means an uninteresting bride. She had not -over-dressed, so that showed she possessed good taste. - -As for the stalwart Northumbrian, big-bearded Bob, he really was -splendid. He was all a man, I can assure you, and bore himself as -such in spite of the fact that his black broadcloth coat was rather -wrinkly in places, and that his white kid gloves had burst at the -sides. - -There was a glorious glitter of love and pride in his dark blue eyes -as he towered beside Sarah at the altar, and he made the responses in -tones that rang through all the church. - -After the ceremony and vestry business Bob gave a sigh of relief, and -squeezed Sarah's hand till she blushed. - -The carriage was waiting, and a pretty bit of a mob too. And before -Bob jumped in he said, "Now, Harry, for the bag." - -As he spoke he gave a look of triumph towards Archie, as much as to -say, "See how I have sold you." - -Harry handed him a bag of silver coins. - -"Stand by, you boys, for a scramble," shouted Bob in a voice that -almost brought down the church. - -"Coo--ee!" - -And out flew handful after handful, here, there, and everywhere, till -the sack was empty. - -When the carriages got clear away at last, there was a ringing cheer -went up from the crowd that really did everybody's heart good to hear. - -Of course the bridegroom stood up and waved his hat back, and when at -last he subsided: - -"Och!" he sighed, "that is the correct way to get married. I've got -all their good wishes, and they're worth their weight in gold, let -alone silver." - -The carriages all headed away for the heights of North Shore, and on -to the top of the bay, from whence such a glorious panorama was -spread out before them as one seldom witnesses. The city itself was -a sight; but there were the hills, and rocks, and woods, and the -grand coast line, and last, though not least, the blue sea itself. - -The breakfast was _al fresco_. It really was a luncheon, and it -would have done credit to the wedding of a Highland laird or lord, -let alone a miner and quondam poacher. But Australia is a queer -place. Bob's money at all events had been honestly come by, and -everybody hailed him king of the day. He knew he was king, and -simply did as he pleased. Here is one example of his abounding -liberality. Before starting back for town that day he turned to -Archie, as a prince might turn: - -"Archie, chummie," he said. - -"You see those boys?" - -"Yes." - -"Well, they all look cheeky." - -"Very much so, Bob." - -"And I dearly love a cheeky boy. Scatter a handful of coins among -them, and see that there be one or two yellow ones in the lot." - -"What nonsense!" cried Archie; "what extravagant folly, Bob!" - -"All right," said Bob quietly. "I've no money, but----" He pulled -out his splendid gold hunter. - -"What are you going to do?" - -"Why, let them scramble for the watch." - -"No, no, Bob; I'll throw the coins." - -"You have to," said Bob, sitting down, laughing. - -The dinner, and the dance afterwards, were completely successful. -There was no over-crowding, and no stuckupness, as Bob called it. -Everybody did what he pleased, and all were as happy and jolly as the -night was long. - -Bob did not go away on any particular honeymoon. He told Sarah they -would have their honeymoon out when they went to the Bush. - -Meanwhile, day after day, for a week, the miner bridegroom kept open -house for Archie's friends; and every morning some delightful trip -was arranged, which, faithfully carried out, brought everyone hungry -and happy back to dinner. - -There is more beauty of scenery to be seen around Sydney in winter -than would take volumes to describe by pen, and acres of canvas to -depict; and, after all, both author and artist would have to admit -that they had not done justice to their subject. - -Now that he had really found friends--humble though they might be -considered in England--life to Archie, which before his accident was -very grey and hopeless, became bright and clear again. He had a -present, and he believed he had a future. He saw new beauties -everywhere around him, even in the city; and the people themselves, -who in his lonely days seemed to him so grasping, grim, and -heartless, began to look pleasant in his eyes. This only proves that -we have happiness within our reach if we only let it come to us, and -it never will while we sit and sulk, or walk around and growl. - -Bob, with his young wife and Archie and Harry, made many a pilgrimage -all round the city, and up and through the sternly rugged and grand -scenery among the Blue Mountains. Nor was it all wild and stern, for -valleys were visited, whose beauty far excelled anything else Archie -had ever seen on earth, or could have dreamt of even. Sky, wood, -hill, water, and wild flowers all combined to form scenes of -loveliness that were entrancing at this sweet season of the year. - -Twenty times a day at least Archie was heard saying to himself, "Oh, -how I wish sister and Rupert were here!" - -Then there were delightful afternoons spent in rowing about the bay. - -I really think Bob was taking the proper way to enjoy himself after -all. He had made up his mind to spend a certain sum of money on -seeing all that was worth seeing, and he set himself to do so in a -thoroughly business way. Well, if a person has got to do nothing, -the best plan is to do it pleasantly. - -So he would hire one of the biggest, broadest-beamed boats he could -find, with two men to row. They would land here and there in the -course of the afternoon, and towards sunset get well out into the -centre of the bay. This was the time for enjoyment. The lovely -chain of houses, the woods, and mansions half hid in a cloudland of -soft greens and hazy blues; the far-off hills, the red setting sun, -the painted sky, and the water itself casting reflections of all -above. - -Then slowly homewards, the chains of lights springing up here, there, -and everywhere as the gloaming began to deepen into night. - -If seeing and enjoying such scenes as these with a contented mind, a -good appetite, and the certainty of an excellent dinner on their -return, did not constitute genuine happiness, then I do not know from -personal experience what that feeling is. - -But the time flew by. Preparations had to be made to leave this -fascinating city, and one day Archie proposed that Bob and he should -visit Winslow in his suburban villa. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -_MR. WINSLOW IN A DIFFERENT LIGHT._ - -"You'll find him a rough stick," said Archie. - -"What, rougher than me or Harry?" said Bob. - -"Well, as you've put the question I'll answer you pat. I don't -consider either you or Harry particularly rough. If you're rough -you're right, Bob, and it is really wonderful what a difference -mixing with the world has done for both of you; and if you knew a -little more of the rudiments of English grammar, you would pass at a -pinch." - -"Thank ye," said Bob. - -"You've got a bit of the bur-r-r of Northumbria in your brogue, but I -do believe people like it, and Harry isn't half the Cockney he used -to be. But, Bob, this man--I wish I could say gentleman--Winslow -never was, and never could be, anything but a shell-back. He puts me -in mind of the warty old lobsters one sees crawling in and out among -the rocks away down at the point yonder. - -"But, oh!" added Archie, "what a little angel the daughter is! Of -course she is only a baby. And what a lovely name--Etheldene! Isn't -it sweet, Bob?" - -"I don't know about the sweetness; there is a good mouthful of it, -anyhow." - -"Off you go, Bob, and dress. Have you darned those holes in your -gloves?" - -"No; bought a new pair." - -"Just like your extravagance. Be off!" - -Bob Cooper took extra pains with his dressing to-day, and when he -appeared at last before his little wife Sarah, she turned him round -and round and round three times, partly for luck, and partly to look -at him with genuine pride up and down. - -"My eye," she said at last, "you does look stunning! Not a pin in -sight, nor a string sticking out anywheres. You're going to see a -young lady, I suppose; but Sarah ain't jealous of her little man. -She likes to see him admired." - -"Yes," said Bob, laughing; "you've hit the nail straight on the head; -I am going to see a young lady. She is fourteen year old, I think. -But bless your little bobbing bit o' a heart, lass, it isn't for her -I'm dressed. No; I'm going with t' young Squire. He may be all the -same as us out here, and lets me call him Archie. But what are they -out here, after all? Why, only a set o' whitewashed heathens. No, I -must dress for the company I'm in." - -"And the very young lady?----" - -"Is a Miss Winslow. I think t' young Squire is kind o' gone on her, -though she is only a baby. Well, good-bye, lass." - -"Good-bye, little man." - -Etheldene ran with smiles and outstretched arms to meet Archie, but -drew back when she noticed the immense bearded stranger. - -"It's only Bob," said Archie. "Is your father in?" - -"Yes, and we're all going to have tea out here under the trees." - -The "all" was not a very large number; only Etheldene's governess and -father, herself, and a girl playmate. - -Poor Etheldene's mother had died in the Bush when she was little more -than a baby. The rough life had hardly suited her. And this child -had been such a little bushranger from her earliest days that her -present appearance, her extreme beauty and gentleness, made another -of those wonderful puzzles for which Australia is notorious. - -Probably Etheldene knew more about the blacks, with their strange -customs and manners, their curious rites and superstitions, and more -about the home life of wallabies, kangaroos, dingoes, birds, insects, -and every thing that grew wild, than many a professed naturalist; but -she had her own names, or names given by blacks, to the trees and to -the wild flowers. - -While Etheldene, somewhat timidly it must be confessed, was leading -big Bob round the gardens and lawns by the hand as if he were a kind -of exaggerated schoolboy, and showing him all her pets--animate and -inanimate--her ferns and flowers and birds, Winslow himself came upon -the scene with the _Morning Herald_ in his hand. He was dressed--if -dressing it could be called--in the same careless manner Archie had -last seen him. It must be confessed, however, that this -semi-negligent style seemed to suit him. Archie wondered if ever he -had worn a necktie in his life, and how he would look in a dress -suit. He lounged up with careless ease, and stuck out his great -spade of a hand. - -Archie remembered he was Etheldene's father, and shook it. - -"Well, youngster, how are you? Bobbish, eh? Ah, I see Ethie has got -in tow with a new chum. Your friend? Is he now? Well, that's the -sort of man I like. He's bound to do well in this country. You -ain't a bad sort yourself, lad; but nothing to that, no more than a -young turkey is to an emu. Well, sit down." - -Mr. Winslow flung himself on the grass. It might be rather damp, but -he dared not trust his weight and bulk on a lawn-chair. - -"So your friend's going to the Bush, and going to take you with him, -eh?" - -Archie's proud soul rebelled against this way of talking, but he said -nothing. It was evident that Mr. Winslow looked upon him as a boy. - -"Well, I hope you'll do right both of you. What prospects have you?" - -Archie told him how high his hopes were, and how exalted his notions. - -"Them's your sentiments, eh? Then my advice is this: Pitch 'em all -overboard--the whole jing-bang of them. Your high-flown notions sink -you English greenhorns. Now, when I all but offered you a position -under me----" - -"Under your gardener," said Archie, smiling. - -"Well, it's all the same. I didn't mean to insult your father's son. -I wanted to know if you had the grit and the go in you." - -"I think I've both, sir. Father--Squire Broadbent----" - -"Squire Fiddlestick!" - -"Sir!" - -"Go on, lad, never mind me. Your father----" - -"My father brought me up to work." - -"Tossing hay, I suppose, raking flower-beds and such. Well, you'll -find all this different in Australian Bush life; it is sink or swim -there." - -"Well, I'm going to swim." - -"Bravo, boy!" - -"And now, sir, do you mean to tell me that brains go for nothing in -this land of contrariety?" - -"No," cried Winslow, "no, lad. Goodness forbid I should give you -that impression. If I had only the gift of the gab, and were a good -writer, I'd send stuff to this paper" (here he struck the sheet that -lay on the grass) "that would show men how I felt, and I'd be a -member of the legislature in a year's time. But this is what I say, -lad, _Brains without legs and arms, and a healthy stomach, are no -good here_, or very little. We want the two combined; but if either -are to be left out, why leave out the brains. There is many an -English youth of gentle birth and good education that would make -wealth and honour too in this new land of ours, if he could pocket -his pride, don a workman's jacket, and put his shoulder to the wheel. -That's it, d' ye see?" - -"I think I do." - -"That's right. Now tell me about your uncle. Dear old man! We -never had a cross word all the time I sailed with him." - -Archie did tell him all, everything, and even gave him his last -letter to read. - -By-and-by Etheldene came back, still leading her exaggerated -schoolboy. - -"Sit down, Mr. Cooper, on the grass. That's the style." - -"Well," cried Archie, laughing, "if everybody is going to squat on -the grass, so shall I." - -Even Etheldene laughed at this; and when the governess came, and -servants with the tea, they found a very happy family indeed. - -After due introductions, Winslow continued talking to Bob. - -"That's it, you see, Mr. Cooper; and I'm right glad you've come to me -for advice. What I don't know about settling in Bushland isn't worth -knowing, though I say it myself. There are plenty long-headed -fellows that have risen to riches very quickly, but I believe, lad, -the same men would have made money in their own country. They are -the geniuses of finance; fellows with four eyes in their head, and -that can look two ways at once. But they are the exception, and the -ordinary man needn't expect such luck, because he won't get it. - -"Now there's yourself, Mr. Cooper, and your friend that I haven't -seen; you've made a lucky dive at the fields, and you're tired of -gold-digging. I don't blame you. You want to turn farmer in -earnest. On a small scale you are a capitalist. Well, mind, you're -going to play a game, in which the very first movement may settle you -for good or evil. - -"Go to Brisbane. Don't believe the chaps here. Go straight away up, -and take time a bit, and look round. Don't buy a pig in a poke. -Hundreds do. There's a lot of people whose interest is to sell A1 -claims, and a shoal of greenhorns with capital who want to buy. Now -listen. Maybe not one of these have any experience. They see -speculation in each other's eyes; and if one makes a grab, the other -will try to be before him, and very likely the one that lays hold is -hoisted. Let me put it in another way. Hang a hook, with a nice -piece of pork on it, overboard where there are sharks. Everyone -would like the pork, but everyone is shy and suspicious. Suddenly a -shark, with more speculation in his eye than the others, prepares for -a rush, and rather than he shall have it all the rest do just the -same, and the lucky one gets hoisted. It's that way with catching -capitalists. So I say again, Look before you leap. Don't run after -bargains. They may be good, but---- This young fellow here has some -knowledge of English farming. Well, that is good in its way, very -good; and he has plenty of muscle, and is willing to work, that is -better. If he were all alone, I'd tell him to go away to the Bush -and shear sheep, build fences, and drive cattle for eighteen months, -and keep his eyes wide open, and his ears too, and he'd get some -insight into business. As it is, you're all going together, and -you'll all have a look at things. You'll see what sort of stock the -country is suited for--sheep, or cattle, or both; if it is exposed, -or wet, or day, or forest, or all together. And you'll find out if -it be healthy for men and stock, and not 'sour' for either; and also -you'll consider what markets are open to you. For there'd be small -use in rearing stock you couldn't sell. See?" - -"Yes," said Bob; "I see a lot of difficulties in the way I hadn't -thought of." - -"Go warily then, and the difficulties will vanish. I think I'll go -with you to Brisbane," added Winslow, after a pause. "I'm getting -sick already of civilized life." - -Etheldene threw her arms round her father's neck. - -"Well, birdie, what is it? 'Fraid I go and leave you too long?" - -"You mustn't leave me at all, father. I'm sometimes sick of -civilized life. I'm going with you wherever you go." - -That same evening after dinner, while Etheldene was away somewhere -with her new friend--showing him, I think, how to throw the -boomerang--Winslow and Archie sat out in the verandah looking at the -stars while they sipped their coffee. - -Winslow had been silent for a time, suddenly he spoke. - -"I'm going to ask you a strange question, youngster," he said. - -"Well, sir?" said Archie. - -"Suppose I were in a difficulty, from what you have seen of me would -you help me out if you could?" - -"You needn't ask, sir," said Archie. "My uncle's friend." - -"Well, a fifty-pound note would do it." - -Archie had his uncle's draft still with him. He never said a word -till he had handed it to Winslow, and till this eccentric individual -had crumpled it up, and thrust it unceremoniously, and with only a -grunt of thanks, into one of his capacious pockets. - -"But," said Archie, "I would rather you would not look upon it as a -loan. In fact, I am doubting the evidence of my senses. You--with -all the show of wealth I see around me--to be in temporary need of a -poor, paltry fifty pounds! Verily, sir, this is the land of -contrarieties." - -Winslow simply laughed. - -"You have a lot to learn yet," he said, "my young friend; but I -admire your courage, and your generous-heartedness, though not your -business habits." - -Archie and Bob paid many a visit to Wistaria Grove--the name of -Winslow's place--during the three weeks previous to the start from -Sydney. - -One day, when alone with Archie, Winslow thrust an envelope into his -hands. - -"That's your fifty pounds," he said. "Why, count it, lad; don't stow -it away like that. It ain't business." - -"Why," said Archie, "here are three hundred pounds, not fifty pounds!" - -"It's all yours, lad, every penny; and if you don't put it up I'll -put it in the fire." - -"But explain." - -"Yes, nothing more easy. You mustn't be angry. No? Well, then, I -knew, from all accounts, you were a chip o' the old block, and there -was no use offending your silly pride by offering to lend you money -to buy a morsel of claim, so I simply borrowed yours and put it out -for you." - -"Put it out for me?" - -"Yes, that's it; and the money is honestly increased. Bless your -innocence! I could double it in a week. It is making the first -thousand pounds that is the difficulty in this country of -contrarieties, as you call it." - -When Archie told Bob the story that evening, Bob's answer was: - -"Well, lad, I knew Winslow was a good-hearted fellow the very first -day I saw him. Never you judge a man by his clothes, Archie." - -"First impressions certainly are deceiving," said Archie; "and I'm -learning something new every day of my life." - -* * * * * * - -"I am going round to Melbourne for a week or two, boys," said Winslow -one day. "Which of you will come with me?" - -"I'll stop here," said Bob, "and stick to business. You had better -go, Archie." - -"I would like to, if--if I could afford it." - -"Now, just look here, young man, you stick that eternal English pride -of yours in your pocket. I ask you to come with me as a guest, and -if you refuse I'll throw you overboard. And if, during our journey, -I catch you taking your pride, or your purse either, out of your -pocket, I'll never speak another word to you as long as I live." - -"All right," said Archie, laughing; "that settles it. Is Etheldene -going too?" - -"Yes, the child is going. She won't stay away from her old dad. She -hasn't a mother, poor thing." - -Regarding Archie's visit to Victoria, we must let him speak himself -another time; for the scene of our story must now shift. - - - - -Book III. - - -CHAPTER I. - -"_IN THIS NEW LAND OF OURS._" - -There was something in the glorious lonesomeness of Bush-life that -accorded most completely with Archie's notions of true happiness and -independence. His life now, and the lives of all the three, would be -simply what they chose to make them. To use the figurative language -of the New Testament, they had "taken hold of the plough," and they -certainly had no intention of "looking back." - -Archie felt (this too is figurative) as the mariner may be supposed -to feel just leaving his native shore to sail away over the broad, -the boundless ocean to far-off lands. His hand is on the tiller; the -shore is receding; his eye is aloft, where the sails are bellying out -before the wind. There is hardly a sound, save the creaking of the -blocks, or rattle of the rudder chains, the joyous ripple of the -water, and the screaming of the sea-birds, that seem, to sing their -farewells. Away ahead is the blue horizon and the heaving sea, but -he has faith in his good barque, and faith in his own skill and -judgment, and for the time being he is a Viking; he is "monarch of -all he surveys." - -"Monarch of all he surveys?" Yes; these words are borrowed from the -poem on Robinson Crusoe, you remember; that stirring story that so -appeals to the heart of every genuine boy. - -There was something of the Robinson Crusoe element in Archie's -present mode of living, for he and his friends had to rough it in the -same delightfully primitive fashion. They had to know and to -practise a little of almost every trade under the sun; and while life -to the boy--he was really little more--was very real and very -earnest, it felt all the time like playing at being a man. - -But how am I to account for the happiness--nay, even joyfulness--that -appeared to be infused in the young man's very blood and soul? Nay, -not appeared to be only, but that actually was--a joyfulness whose -effects could at times be actually felt in his very frame and muscle -like a proud thrill, that made his steps and tread elastic, and -caused him to gaily sing to himself as he went about at his work. -May I try to explain this by a little homely experiment, which you -yourself may also perform? See, here then I have a small disc of -zinc, no larger than a coat button, and I have also a shilling-piece. -I place the former on my tongue, and the latter between my lower lip -and gum, and lo! the moment I permit the two metallic edges to touch -I feel a tingling thrill, and if my eyes be shut I perceive a flash -as well. It is electricity pissing through the bodily medium--my -tongue. The one coin becomes _en rapport_, so to speak, with the -other. So in like manner was Archie's soul within him _en rapport_ -with all the light, the life, the love he saw around him, his body -being but the wholesome, healthy, solid medium. - -_En rapport_ with the light. Why, by day this was everywhere--in the -sky during its mid-day blue brightness; in the clouds so gorgeously -painted that lay over the hills at early morning, or over the wooded -horizon near eventide. _En rapport_ with the light dancing and -shimmering in the pool down yonder; playing among the wild flowers -that grew everywhere in wanton luxuriance; flickering through the -tree-tops, despite the trailing creepers; gleaming through the tender -greens of fern fronds in cool places; sporting with the strange -fantastic, but brightly-coloured orchids; turning greys to white, and -browns to bronze; warming, wooing, beautifying all things--the light, -the lovely light. _En rapport_ with the life. Ay, there it was. -Where was it not? In the air, where myriads of insects dance and -buzz and sing and poise hawk-like above flowers, as if inhaling their -sweetness, or dart hither and thither in their zigzag course, and -almost with the speed of lightning; where monster beetles go droning -lazily round, as if uncertain where to alight; where moths, like -painted fans, hover in the sunshine, or fold their wings and go to -sleep on flower-tops. In the forests, where birds, like animated -blossoms, living chips of dazzling colours, hop from boughs, climb -stems, run along silvery bark on trees, hopping, jumping, tapping, -talking, chattering, screaming, with bills that move and throats that -heave even when their voices cannot be heard in the feathered babel. -Life on the ground, where thousands of busy beetles creep, or play -hide-and-seek among the stems of tall grass, and where ants -innumerable go in search of what they somehow never seem to find. -Life on the water slowly sailing round, or in and out among the -reeds, in the form of bonnie velvet ducks and pretty spangled teal. -Life in the water, where shoals of fish dart hither and thither, or -rest for a moment in shallows to bask in the sun, their bodies all -a-quiver with enjoyment. Life in the sky itself, high up. Behold -that splendid flock of wonga-wonga pigeons, with bronzen wings, that -seem to shake the sunshine off them in showers of silver and gold, -or, lower down, that mob of snowy-breasted cockatoos, going somewhere -to do something, no doubt, and making a dreadful din about it, but -quite a sight, if only from the glints of lily and rose that appear -in the white of their outstretched wings and tails. Life everywhere. - -_En rapport_ with all the love around him. Yes, for it is spring -here, though the autumn tints are on the trees in groves and woods at -Burley. Deep down in the forest yonder, if you could penetrate -without your clothes being torn from your back, you might listen to -the soft murmur of the doves that stand by their nests in the green -gloom of fig trees; you would linger long to note the love passages -taking place among the cosy wee, bright, and bonnie parrakeets; you -would observe the hawk flying silently, sullenly, home to his castle -in the inaccessible heights of the gum trees, but you would go -quickly past the forest dens of lively cockatoos. For everywhere it -is spring with birds and beasts. They have dressed in their gayest; -they have assumed their fondest notes and cries; they live and -breathe and buzz in an atmosphere of happiness and love. - -Well, it was spring with Nature, and it was spring in Archie's heart. - -Work was a pleasure to him. - -That last sentence really deserves a line to itself. Without the -ghost of an intention to moralise, I must be permitted to say, that -the youth who finds an undoubted pleasure in working is sure to get -on in Australia. There is that in the clear, pure, dry air of the -back Bush which renders inactivity an impossibility to anyone except -ne'er-do-wells and born idiots. This is putting it strongly, but it -is also putting it truthfully. - -Archie felt he had done with Sydney, for a time at all events, when -he left. He was not sorry to shake the dust of the city from his -half-wellingtons as he embarked on the _Canny Scotia_, bound for -Brisbane. - -If the Winslows had not been among the passengers he certainly would -have given vent to a sigh or two. - -All for the sake of sweet little Etheldene? Yes, for her sake. Was -she not going to be Rupert's wife, and his own second sister? Oh, he -had it all nicely arranged, all cut and dry, I can assure you! - -Here is a funny thing, but it is also a fact. The very day that the -_Canny Scotia_ was to sail, Archie took Harry with him, and the two -started through the city, and bore up for the shop of Mr. Glorie. - -They entered. It was like entering a gloomy vault. Nothing was -altered. There stood the rows on rows of dusty bottles, with their -dingy gilt labels; the dusty mahogany drawers; the morsel of -railinged desk with its curtain of dirty red; there were the murky -windows with their bottles of crusted yellows and reds; and up there -the identical spider still working away at his dismal web, still -living in hopes apparently of some day being able to catch a fly. - -The melancholy-looking new apprentice, who had doubtless paid the new -premium, a long lantern-jawed lad with great eyes in hollow sockets, -and a blue-grey face, stood looking at the pair of them. - -"Where is your master, Mr.----?" - -"Mr. Myers, sir. Myers is my name." - -"Where is Mr. Glorie, Mr. Myers?" - -"D' ye wish to see 'm, sir?" - -"Don't it seem like it?" cried Harry, who for the life of him "could -not help putting his oar in." - -"Master's at the back, among--the soap." - -He droned out the last words in such a lugubrious tone that Archie -felt sorry for him. - -Just then, thinking perhaps he scented a customer, Mr. Glorie himself -entered, all apron from the jaws to the knees. - -"Ah! Mr. Glorie," cried Archie. "I really couldn't leave Sydney -without saying ta-ta, and expressing iny sorrow for breaking----" - -"Your indenture, young sir?" - -"No; I'm glad I broke that. I mean the oil-jar. Here is a sovereign -towards it, and I hope there's no bad feeling." - -"Oh, no, not in the least, and thank you, sir, kindly!" - -"Well, good-bye. Good-bye, Mr. Myers. If ever I return from the -Bush I'll come back and see you." - -And away they went, and away went Archie's feeling; of gloom as soon -as he got to the sunny side of the street. - -"I say," said Harry, "that's a lively coon behind the counter. Looks -to me like a love-sick bandicoot, or a consumptive kangaroo. But -don't you know there is such a thing as being too honest? Now that -old death-and-glory chap robbed you, and had it been me, and I'd -called again, it would have been to kick him. But you're still the -old Johnnie." - -* * * * * * - -Now if I were writing all this tale from imagination, instead of -sketching the life and struggles of a real live laddie, I should have -ascended into the realms of romance, and made a kind of hero of him -thus: he should have gone straight away to the bank when he received -that £50 from his uncle, and sent it back, and then gone off to the -bush with twopence halfpenny in his pocket, engaged himself to a -squatter as under-man, and worked his way right up to the pinnacle of -fortune. - -But Archie had not done that; and between you and me and the -binnacle, not to let it go any further, I think he did an extremely -sensible thing in sticking to the money. - -Oh, but plenty of young men who do not have uncles to send them -fifty-pound notes to help them over their first failures, do very -well without such assistance! So let no intending emigrant be -disheartened. - -Again, as to Winslow's wild way of borrowing said £50, and changing -it into £300, that was another "fluke," and a sort of thing that -might never happen again in a hundred years. - -Pride did come in again, however, with a jump--with a gay -Northumbrian bound--when Bob and Harry seriously proposed that -Johnnie, as the latter still called him, should put his money in the -pool, and share and share alike with them. - -"No, no, no," said the young Squire, "don't rile me; that would be so -obviously unfair to you, that it would be unfair to myself." - -When asked to explain this seeming paradox, he added: - -"Because it would rob me of my feeling of independence." - -So the matter ended. - -But through the long-headed kindness and business tact of Winslow, -all three succeeded in getting farms that adjoined, though Archie's -was but a patch compared to the united great farms of his chums, that -stretched to a goodly two thousand acres and more, with land beyond -to take up as pasture. - -But then there was stock to buy, and tools, and all kinds of things, -to say nothing of men's and boys' wages to be paid, and arms and -ammunition to help to fill the larder. - -At this time the railway did not go sweeping away so far west as it -does now, the colony being very much younger, and considerably -rougher; and the farms lay on the edge of the Darling Downs. - -This was a great advantage, as it gave them the run of the markets -without having to pay nearly as much in transit and freight as the -stock was worth. - -They had another advantage in their selection--thanks once more to -Winslow--they had Bush still farther to the west of them. Not -adjacent, to be sure, but near enough to make a shift of stock to -grass lands, that could be had for an old song, as the saying is. - -The selection was procured under better conditions than I believe it -is to be had to-day; for the rent was only about ninepence an acre, -and that for twenty years, the whole payable at any time in order to -obtain complete possession.* - - -* At present agricultural farms may be selected of not more than 1280 -acres, and the rent is fixed by the Land Board, not being less than -threepence per acre per annum. A license is issued to the selector, -who must, within five years, fence in the land or make permanent -improvements of a value equal to the cost of the fence, and must also -live on the selection. If at the end of that time he can prove that -he has performed the above conditions, he will be entitled to a -transferable lease for fifty years. The rent for the first ten years -will be the amount as at first fixed, and the rent for every -subsequent period of five years will be determined by the Land Board, -but the greatest increase that can be made at any re-assessment is -fifty per cent. - - -It must not be imagined that this new home of theirs was a land -flowing with milk and honey, or that they had nothing earthly to do -but till the ground, sow seed, and live happy ever after. Indeed the -work to be performed was all earthly, and the milk and honey had all -to come. - -A deal of the very best land in Australia is covered with woods and -forests, and clearing has to be done. - -Bob wished his busy little body of a wife to stay behind in Brisbane -till he had some kind of a decent crib, as he called it, ready to -invite her to. - -But Sarah said, "No! Where you go I go. Your crib shall be my crib, -Bob, and I shall bake the damper." This was not very poetical -language, but there was a good deal of sound sense about Sarah, even -if there was but little poetry. - -Well, it did seem at first a disheartening kind of wilderness they -had come to, but the site for the homesteads had been previously -selected, and after a night's rest in their rude tents and waggons, -work was commenced. Right joyfully too. - - "Down with, them! Down - With the lords of the forests." - - -This was the song of our pioneers. Men shouted and talked, and -laughed and joked, saws rasped and axes rang, and all the while duty -went merrily on. Birds and beasts, never disturbed before in the -solitude of their homes, except by wandering blacks, crowded -round--only keeping a safe distance away--and wondered whatever the -matter could be. The musical magpies, or laughing jackasses, said -they would soon settle the business; they would frighten those new -chums out of their wits, and out of the woods. So they started to do -it. They laughed in such loud, discordant, daft tones that at times -Archie was obliged to put his fingers in his ears, and guns had to be -fired to stop the row. So they were not successful. The cockatoos -tried the same game; they cackled and skraighed like a million mad -hens, and rustled and ruffled their plumage, and flapped their wings -and flew, but all to no purpose--the work went on. - -The beautiful lorries, parrakeets, and budgerigars took little notice -of the intruders, but went farther away, deserting half-built nests -to build new ones. The bonnie little long-tailed opossum peeped down -from his perch on the gums, looking exceedingly wise, and told his -wife that not in all his experience had there been such goings on in -the forest lands, and that something was sure to follow it; his wife -might mark his words for that. The wongawongas grumbled dreadfully; -but great hawks flew high in the air, swooping round and round -against the sun, as they have a habit of doing, and now and then gave -vent to a shrill cry which was more of exultation than anything else. -"There will be dead bones to pick before long." That is what the -hawks thought. Snakes now and then got angrily up, puffed and blew a -bit, but immediately decamped into the denser cover. - -The dingoes kept their minds to themselves until night fell, and the -stars came out; the constellation called the Southern Cross spangled -the heaven's dark-blue, then the dingoes lifted up their voices and -wept; and, oh, such weeping! Whoso has never heard a concert of -Australian wild dogs can have no conception of the noise these -animals are capable of. Whoso has once heard it, and gone to sleep -towards the end of it, will never afterwards complain of the harmless -musical reunions of our London cats. - -But sleep is often impossible. You have got just to lie in bed and -wonder what in the name of mystery they do it for. They seem to -quarrel over the key-note, and lose it, and try for it, and get it -again, and again go off into a chorus that would "ding doon" -Tantallan Castle. And when you do doze off at last, as likely as -not, you will dream of howling winds and hungry wolves till it is -grey daylight in the morning. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -_BURLEY NEW FARM._ - -There was so much to be done before things could be got "straight" on -the new station, that the days and weeks flew by at a wonderful pace. -I pity the man or boy who is reduced to the expedient of killing -time. Why if one is only pleasantly and usefully occupied, or -engaged in interesting pursuits, time kills itself, and we wonder -where it has gone to. - -If I were to enter into a minute description of the setting-up of the -stock and agricultural farm, chapter after chapter would have to be -written, and still I should not have finished. I do not think it -would be unprofitable reading either, nor such as one would feel -inclined to skip. But as there are a deal of different ways of -building and furnishing new places the plan adopted by the three -friends might not be considered the best after all. Besides, -improvements are taking place every day even in Bush-life. However, -in the free-and-easy life one leads in the Bush one soon learns to -feel quite independent of the finer arts of the upholsterer. - -In that last sentence I have used the adjective "easy;" but please to -observe it is adjoined to another hyphenically, and becomes one with -it--"free-and-easy." There is really very little ease in the Bush. -Nor does a man want it or care for it--he goes there to work. -Loafers had best keep to cities and to city life, and look for their -_little_ enjoyments in parks and gardens by day, in smoke-filled -billiard-rooms or glaringly-lighted music-halls by night, go to bed -at midnight, and make a late breakfast on rusks and soda-water. We -citizens of the woods and wilds do not envy them. We go to bed with -the birds, or soon after. We go to sleep, no matter how hard our -couches may be; and we do sleep too, and wake with clear heads and -clean tongues, and after breakfast feel that nothing in the world -will be a comfort to us but work. Yes, men work in the Bush; and, -strange to say, though they go there young, they do not appear to -grow quickly old. Grey hairs may come, and Nature may do a bit of -etching on their brows and around their eyes with the pencil of time, -but this does not make an atom of difference to their brains and -hearts. These get a trifle tougher, that is all, but no older. - -Well, of the three friends I think Archie made the best Bushman, -though Bob came next, then Harry, who really had developed his powers -of mind and body wonderfully, which only just proves that there is -nothing after all, even for a Cockney, like rubbing shoulders against -a rough world. - -A dozen times a week at least Archie mentally thanked his father for -having taught him to work at home, and for the training he had -received in riding to hounds, in tramping over the fields and moors -with Branson, in gaining practical knowledge at the barnyards, and -last, though not least, in the good, honest, useful groundwork of -education received from his tutor Walton. - -There was something else that Archie never failed to feel thankful to -heaven for, and that was the education his mother had given him. - -Remember this: Archie was but a rough, harum-scarum kind of a British -boy at best, and religious teaching might have fallen on his soul as -water falls on a duck's back, to use a homely phrase. But as a boy -he had lived in an atmosphere of refinement. He constantly breathed -it till he became imbued with it; and he received the influence also -second-hand, or by reflection, from his brother Rupert and his sister. - -Often and often in the Bush, around the log-fire of an evening, did -Archie speak proudly of that beloved twain to his companions. His -language really had, at times, a smack of real, downright innocence -about it, as when he said to Bob once: "Mind you, Bob, I never was -what you might call good. I said, and do say, my prayers, and all -the like of that; but Roup and Elsie were so high above me that, -after coming in from a day's work or a day on the hill, it used to be -like going into church on a week-day to enter the green parlour. I -felt my own mental weakness, and I tried to put off my soul's -roughness with my dirty boots in the kitchen." - -But Archie was now an excellent superintendent of work. He knew when -things were being well done, and he determined they should be. -Nothing riled him more than an attempt on the part of any of the men -to take advantage of him. - -They soon came to know him; not as a tyrant, but simply as one who -would have things rightly done, and who knew when they were being -rightly done, even if it were only so apparently simple a matter as -planting a fence-post; for there is a right way and a wrong way of -doing that. - -The men spoke of him as the young Boss. Harry being ignored in all -matters that required field-knowledge. - -"We don't want nary a plumbline," said a man once, "when the young -Boss's around. He carries a plumbline in his eye." - -Archie never let any man know when he was angry; but they knew -afterwards, however, that he had been so from the consequences. Yet -with all his strictness he was kind-hearted, and very just. He had -the happy gift of being able to put himself in the servant's place -while judging betwixt man and master. - -Communications were constantly kept up between the station and the -railway, by means of waggons, or drays and saddle-horses. Among the -servants were several young blacks. These were useful in many ways, -and faithful enough; but required keeping in their places. To be in -any way familiar with them was to lose their respect, and they were -not of much consequence after that. When completed, the homestead -itself was certainly not devoid of comfort, though everything was of -the homeliest construction; for no large amount of money was spent in -getting it up. A Scotchman would describe it as consisting of "twa -butts and a ben," with a wing at the back. The capital letter L, -laid down longways thus will give you some notion of its shape. -There were two doors in front, and four windows, and a backdoor in -the after wing, also having windows. The wing portion of the house -contained the kitchen and general sitting-room; the right hand -portion the best rooms, ladies' room included, but a door and passage -communicated with these and the kitchen. - -This house was wholly built of sawn wood, but finished inside with -lath and plaster, and harled outside, so that when roofed over with -those slabs of wood, such as we see some old-English church steeples -made of, called "shingles," the building was almost picturesque. All -the more so because it was built on high ground, and trees were left -around and near it. - -The kitchen and wing were _par excellence_ the bachelor apartments, -of an evening at all events. - -Every thing that was necessary in the way of furnishing found its way -into the homestead of Burley New Farm; but nothing else, with the -exception of that of the guests'-room. Of this more anon. - -The living-house was completed first; but all the time that this was -being built men were very busy on the clearings, and the sites were -mapped out for the large wool-shed, with huge adjoining yards, where -the sheep at shearing-time would be received and seen to. - -There were also the whole paraphernalia and buildings constituting -the cattle and horse-yards, a killing and milking-yard; and behind -these were slab huts, roofed with huge pieces of bark, rudely but -most artistically fixed, for the men. - -These last had fire-places, and though wholly built of wood, there -was no danger of fire, the chimneys being of stone. - -Most of the yards and outhouses were separate from each other, and -the whole steading was built on elevated ground, the store-hut being -not far from the main or dwelling-house. - -I hardly know what to liken the contents of this store, or the inside -of the place itself, to. Not unlike perhaps the half-deck or -fore-cabin of a Greenland ship on the day when stores are being doled -out to the men. Or, to come nearer home, if ever the reader has been -in a remote and rough part of our own country, say Wales or Scotland, -where gangs of navvies have been encamped for a time, at a spot where -a new line of railway is being pushed through a gully or glen. - -Just take a peep inside. There is a short counter of the rudest -description, on which stand scales and weights, measures and knives. -Larger scales stand on the floor, and everywhere around you are heaps -of stores, of every useful kind you could possibly name or imagine, -and these are best divided into four classes--eatables, wearables, -luxuries, and tools. - -Harry is at home here, and he has managed to infuse a kind of -regularity into the place, and takes a sort of pride in knowing where -all his wares are stored. The various departments are kept separate. -Yonder, for instance, stand the tea, coffee, and cocoa-nibs, and near -them the sugar of two kinds, the bags of flour, the cheeses (in -boxes), the salt (in casks), soda, soap, and last, but not least, the -tobacco and spirits; this last in a place by vtself, and well out of -harm's way. Then there is oil and candles--by-and-bye they will make -these on the farm--matches--and this brings us to the -luxuries--mustard, pepper of various sorts, vinegar, pickles, curry, -potted salmon, and meats of many lands, and bags of rice. Next there -is a small store of medicines of the simplest, not to say roughest, -sorts, both for man and beast, and rough bandages of flannel and -cotton, with a bundle of splints. - -Then comes clothing of all kinds--hats, shirts, jackets, boots, -shoes, &c. Then tools and cooking utensils; and in a private -cupboard, quite away in a corner, the ammunition. - -It is unnecessary to add that harness and horse-shoes found a place -in this store, or that a desk stood in one corner where account-books -were kept, for the men did not invariably pay down on the nail. - -I think it said a good deal for Sarah's courage that she came right -away down into the Bush with her "little man," and took charge of the -cooking department on the station, when it was little, if any, better -than simply a camp, with waggons for bedrooms, and a morsel of canvas -for gentility's sake. - -But please to pop your head inside the kitchen, now that the -dwelling-house has been up for some little time. Before you reach -the door you will have to do a bit of stepping, for outside nothing -is tidied up as yet. Heaps of chips, heaps of stones and sticks and -builders' rubbish, are everywhere. Even when you get inside there is -a new smell--a limy odour--to greet you in the passage, but in the -kitchen itself all is order and neatness. A huge dresser stands -against the wall just under the window. The legs of it are a bit -rough to be sure, but nobody here is likely to be hypercritical; and -when the dinner-hour arrives, instead of the vegetables, meat, and -odds-and-ends that now stand thereon, plates, and even knives and -forks, will be neatly placed in a row, and Sarah herself, her cooking -apron replaced by a neater and nattier one, will take the head of the -table, one of the boys will say a shy kind of grace, and the meal -will go merrily on. - -On a shelf, slightly raised above the floor, stand rows of clean -saucepans, stewpans, and a big, family-looking business of a -frying-pan; and on the wall hang bright, shining dish-covers, and a -couple of racks and shelves laden with delf. - -A good fire of logs burns on the low hearth, and there, among ashes -pulled on one side for the purpose, a genuine "damper" is baking, -while from a movable "sway" depends a chain and crook, on which -latter hangs a pot. This contains corned beef--very well, call it -salt if you please. Anyhow, when Sarah lifts the lid to stick a fork -into the boiling mess an odour escapes and pervades the kitchen quite -appetizing enough to make the teeth of a Bushman water, if he had -done anything like a morning's work. There is another pot close by -the fire, and in this sweet potatoes are boiling. - -It is a warm spring day, and the big window is open to admit the air, -else poor Sarah would be feeling rather uncomfortable. - -What is "damper"? It is simply a huge, thick cake or loaf, made from -extremely well-kneaded dough, and baked in the hot ashes of the -hearth. Like making good oat cakes, before a person can manufacture -a "damper" properly, he must be in a measure to the manner born. -There is a deal in the mixing of the dough, and much in the method of -firing, and, after all, some people do not care for the article at -all, most useful and handy and even edible though it be. But I -daresay there are individuals to be found in the world who would turn -up their noses at good oat cake. Ah, well, it is really surprising -what the air of the Australian Bush does in the way of increasing -one's appetite and destroying fastidiousness. - -But it is near the dinner-hour, and right nimbly Sarah serves it up; -and she has just time to lave her face and hands, and change her -apron, when in comes Bob, followed by Archie and Harry. Before he -sits down Bob catches hold of Sarah by both hands, and looks -admiringly into her face, and ends by giving her rosy cheek a kiss, -which resounds through the kitchen rafters like the sound of a -cattle-man's whip. - -"I declare, Sarah lass," he says heartily, "you are getting prettier -and prettier every day. Now at this very moment your lips and cheeks -are as red as peonies, and your eyes sparkle as brightly as a young -kangaroo's; and if any man a stone heavier than myself will make bold -to say that I did wrong to marry you on a week's courtship, I'll kick -him over the river and across the creek. 'For what we are about to -receive, the Lord make us truly thankful. Amen.' Sit in, boys, and -fire away. This beef is delightful. I like to see the red juice -following the knife; and the sweet potatoes taste well, if they don't -look pretty. What, Sarah, too much done? Not a bit o' them." - -* * * * * * - -The creek that Bob talked about kicking somebody across was a kind of -strath or glen not very far from the steading, and lying below it, -green and luxuriant at present. It wound away up and down the -country for miles, and in the centre of it was a stream or river or -burn, well clothed on its banks with bush, and opening out here and -there into little lakes or pools. This stream was--so old Bushmen -said--never known to run dry. - -[Illustration: "In the centre of the glen was a stream, well clothed -on its banks with bush, and opening out here and there into little -lakes or pools."] - -In the winter time it would at times well merit the name of river, -especially when after a storm a "spate" came down, with a bore -perhaps feet high, carrying along in its dreadful rush tree-trunks, -rocks, pieces of bank--everything, in fact, that came in its way, or -attempted to withstand its giant power. "Spates," however, our -heroes hoped would come but seldom; for it is sad to see the ruin -they make, and to notice afterwards the carcases of sheep and cattle, -and even horses, that bestrew the haughs, or banks, and give food to -prowling dingoes and birds of the air, especially the ubiquitous crow. - -The ordinary state of the water, however, is best described by the -word stream or rivulet, while in droughty summers it might dwindle -down to a mere burn meandering from pool to pool. - -The country all around was plain and forest and rolling hills. It -was splendidly situated for grazing of a mixed kind. But our three -friends were not to be content with this, and told off the best part -of it for future agricultural purposes. Even this was to be but a -nucleus, and at this moment much of the land then untilled is -yielding abundance of grain. - -Not until the place was well prepared for them were cattle bought and -brought home. Sheep were not to be thought of for a year or two. - -With the cattle, when they began to arrive, Winslow, who was soon to -pay the new settlement a visit, sent up a few really good stockmen. -And now Archie was to see something of Bush-life in reality. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -_RUNAWAY STOCK--BIVOUAC IN THE BUSH--NIGHT SCENE._ - -Australian cattle have one characteristic in common with some breeds -of pigeons, notably with those we call "homers." They have extremely -good memories as to localities, and a habit of "making back," as it -is termed, to the pastures from which they have been driven. This -comes to be very awkward at times, especially if a whole herd decamps -or takes "a moonlight flitting." - -It would be mere digression to pause to enquire what God-given -instinct it is, that enables half-wild cattle to find their way back -to their old homes in as straight a line as possible, even when they -have been driven to a new station by circuitous routes. Many other -animals have this same homing power; dogs for example, and, to a -greater extent, cats. Swallows and sea-birds, such as the Arctic -gull, and the albatross, possess it in a very high degree; but it is -still more wonderfully displayed in fur seals that, although -dispersed to regions thousands and thousands of miles away during -winter, invariably and unerringly find their road back to a tiny -group of wave and wind-swept islands, four in number, called the -Prybilov group, in the midst of the fog-shrouded sea of Behring. The -whole question wants a deal of thinking out, and life is far too -short to do it in. - -* * * * * * - -One morning, shortly after the arrival of the first great herd of -stock, word was brought to head-quarters that the cattle had escaped -by stampede, and were doubtless on their way to the distant station -whence they had been bought. - -It was no time to ask the question, Who was in fault? Early action -was necessary, and was provided for without a moment's hesitation. - -I rather think that Archie was glad to have an opportunity of doing a -bit of rough riding, and showing off his skill in horse management. -He owned what Bob termed a clipper. Not a very handsome horse to -look at, perhaps, but fleet enough and strong enough for anything. -As sure-footed as a mule was this steed, and as regards wisdom, a -perfect equine Solomon. - -At a suggestion of Bob's he had been named Tell, in memory of the -Tell of other days. Tell had been ridden by Archie for many weeks, -so that master and horse knew each other well. Indeed Archie had -received a lesson or two from the animal that he was not likely to -forget; for one day he had so far forgotten himself as to dig the -rowel into Tell's sides, when there was really no occasion to do -anything of the sort. This was more than the horse could stand, and, -though he was not an out-and-out buck-jumper, nevertheless, a moment -after the stirrup performance, Archie found himself making a voyage -of discovery, towards the moon apparently. He descended as quickly -almost as he had gone up, and took the ground on his shoulder and -cheek, which latter was well skinned. Tell had stood quietly by -looking at him, and as Archie patted him kindly, he forgave him on -the spot, and permitted a remount. - -Archie and Bob hardly permitted themselves to swallow breakfast, so -anxious were they to join the stockmen and be off. - -As there was no saying when they might return, they did not go -unprovided for a night or two out. In front of their saddles were -strapped their opossum rugs, and they carried also a tin billy each, -and provisions, in the shape of tea, damper, and cooked corned beef; -nothing else, save a change of socks and their arms. - -Bob bade his wife a hurried adieu, Archie waved his hand, and next -minute they were over the paddocks and through the clearings and the -woods, in which the trees had been ring-barked, to permit the grass -to grow. And such tall grass Archie had never before seen as that -which grew in some parts of the open. - -"Is it going to be a long job, think you, Bob?" - -"I hardly know, Archie. But Craig is here." - -"Oh, yes, Gentleman Craig, as Mr. Winslow insists on calling him! -You have seen him." - -"Yes; I met him at Brisbane. And a handsome chap he is. Looks like -a prince." - -"Isn't it strange he doesn't rise from the ranks, as one might say; -that he doesn't get on?" - -"I'll tell you what keeps him back," said Bob, reining his horse up -to a dead stop, that Archie might hear him all the easier. - -"I'll tell you what keeps him back now, before you see him. I -mustn't talk loud, for the very birds might go and tell the fellow, -and he doesn't like to be 'minded about it. He drinks!" - -"But he can't get drink in the Bush." - -"Not so easily, though he has been known before now to ride thirty -miles to visit a hotel." - -"A shanty, you mean." - -"Well, they call 'em all hotels over here, you must remember." - -"And would he just take a drink and come back?" - -Bob laughed. - -"Heaven help him, no. It isn't one drink, nor ten, nor fifty he -takes, for he makes a week or two of it." - -"I hope he won't take any such long rides while he is with us." - -"No. Winslow says we are sure of him for six months, anyhow. Then -he'll go to town and knock his cheque down. But come on, Craig and -his lads will be waiting for us." - -At the most southerly and easterly end of the selection they met -Gentleman Craig himself. - -He rode forward to meet them, lifting his broad hat, and reining up -when near enough. He did this in a beautifully urbane fashion, that -showed he had quite as much respect for himself as for his employers. -He was indeed a handsome fellow, and his rough Garibaldian costume -fitted him, and set him out as if he had been some great actor. - -"This is an awkward business," he began, with an easy smile; "but I -think we'll soon catch the runaways up." - -"I hope so," Bob said. - -"Oh, it was all my fault, because I'm boss of my gang, you know. I -ought to have known better, but a small mob of stray beasts got among -ours, and by-and-by there was a stampede. It was dirty-dark last -night, and looked like a storm, so there wouldn't have been an ounce -of use in following them up." - -He flicked his long whip half saucily, half angrily, as he spoke. - -"Well, never mind," Bob replied, "we'll have better luck next, I've -no doubt." - -Away they went now at a swinging trot, and on crossing the creek they -met Craig's fellows. - -They laid their horses harder at it now, Bob and Archie keeping a bit -in the rear, though the latter declared that Tell was pulling like a -young steam-engine. - -"Why," cried Archie at last, "this beast means to pull my arms out at -the shoulders. I always thought I knew how to hold the reins till -now." - -"They have a queer way with them, those bush-ranging horses," said -Bob; "but I reckon you'll get up to them at last." - -"If I were to give Tell his head, he would soon be in the van." - -"In the van? Oh, I see, in the front!" - -"Yes; and then I'd be lost. Why these chaps appear to know every -inch of the ground. To me it is simply marvellous." - -"Well, the trees are blazed." - -"I've seen no blazed trees. Have you?" - -"Never a one. I say, Craig." - -"Hullo!" cried the head stockman, glancing over his shoulder. - -"Are you steering by blazed trees?" - -"No," he laughed; "by tracks. Cattle don't mind blazed trees much." - -Perhaps Bob felt green now, for he said no more. Archie looked about -him, but never a trail nor track could he decipher. - -Yet on they rode, helter-skelter apparently, but cautiously enough -for all that. Tell was full of fire and fun; for, like Verdant -Green's horse, when put at a tiny tree trunk in his way, he took a -leap that would have carried him over a five-bar-gate. - -There was many a storm-felled tree in the way also and many a dead -trunk, half buried in ferns; there were steep stone-clad hills, -difficult to climb, but worse to descend, and many a little rivulet -to cross; but nothing coidd interfere with the progress of these -hardy horses. - -Although the sun was blazing hot, no one seemed to feel it much. The -landscape was very wild, and very beautiful; but Archie got weary at -last of its very loveliness, and was not one whit sorry when the -afternoon halt was called under the pleasant shade of trees, and -close by the banks of a rippling stream. - -The horses were glad to drink as well as the men, then they were -hobbled, and allowed to browse while all hands sat down to eat. - -Only damper and beef, washed down by a billyful of the clear water, -which, strange to say, was wonderfully cool. - -When the sun was sinking low on the forest-clad horizon, there was a -joyful but half-suppressed shout from Craig and his men. Part of the -herd was in sight, quietly browsing up a creek. - -Gentleman Craig pointed them out to Archie; but he had to gaze a -considerable time before he could really distinguish anything that -had the faintest resemblance to cattle. - -"Your eye is young yet to the Bush," said Craig, laughing, but not in -any unmannerly way. - -"And now," he continued, "we must go cautiously or we spoil all." - -The horsemen made a wide detour, and got between the bush and the -mob; and the ground being favourable, here it was determined to camp -for the night. The object of the stockmen was not to alarm the herd, -but to prevent them from getting any farther off till morning, when -the march homewards would commence. With this intent, log fires were -built here and there around the herd; and once these were well alight -the mob was considered pretty safe. All, however, had been done very -quietly; and during the live-long night, until grey dawn broke over -the hills, the fellows would have to keep those fires burning. - -Supper was a more pleasing meal, for there was the addition of tea; -after which, with their feet to the log fire--Bob and Craig enjoying -a whiff of tobacco--they lay as much at their ease, and feeling every -whit as comfortable, as if at home by the "ingleside." Gentleman -Craig had many stories and anecdotes to relate of the wild life he -had had, that both Archie and Bob listened to with delight. - -"I'll take one more walk around," said Craig, "then stretch myself on -my downy bed. Will you come with me, Mr. Broadbent?" - -"With pleasure," said Archie. - -"Mind how you step then. Keep your whip in your hand, but on no -account crack it. We have to use our intellect versus brute force. -If the brute force became alarmed and combined, then our intellect -would go to the wall, there would be another stampede, and another -long ride to-morrow." - -Up and down in the starlight, or by the fitful gleams of the log -fires, they could see the men moving like uneasy ghosts. Craig spoke -a word or two kindly and quietly as he passed, and having made his -inspection, and satisfied himself that all was comparatively safe, he -returned with Archie to the fire. - -Bob was already fast asleep, rolled snugly in his blanket, with his -head in the hollow of his upturned saddle; and Archie and Craig made -speed to follow his example. - -As for Craig, he was soon in the land of Nod. He was a true Bushman, -and could go off sound as a bell the moment he stretched himself on -his "downy bed," as he called it. - -But Archie felt the situation far too new to permit of slumber all at -once. He had never lain out thus before; and the experience was so -delightful to him that he felt justified in lying awake a bit, and -looking at the stars. The distant dingoes began to howl, and more -than once some great dark bird flew over the camp, high overhead, but -on silent wings. - -His thoughts wandered away over the thousands and thousands of miles -that intervened between him and home, and he began to wonder what -they were all doing at Burley; for it would be broad daylight there, -and very likely his father was trudging over the moors, or through -the stubbles. But dreams came and mingled with his waking thoughts -at last, and were just usurping them all when he became conscious of -the approach of stealthy footsteps. - -He lay perfectly still, though his hand sought his ready revolver; -for stories of black fellows stealing on out-sleeping travellers -began to crowd through his mind, and being young to the Bush, he -could not prevent that heart of his from throbbing uneasily and -painfully against his ribs. - -How did they brain people, he was wondering, with a boomerang or -nullah? or was it not more common to spear them? - -But, greatly to his relief, the figure immediately afterwards -revealed itself in the person of one of the men, silently placing an -armful of wood on the half-dying embers. Then he silently glided -away again, and next minute Archie was wrapt in the elysium of -forgetfulness. - -The dews lay all about, glittering in the first beams of the sun, -when he awoke, feeling somewhat cold and considerably stiff; but warm -tea and a breakfast of wondrous solidity soon put him all to rights -again. - -Two nights after this the new stock was safe in the yards; and every -evening before sundown, for many a day to come, they had to be -"tailed," and brought within the strong bars of the rendezvous. - -Branding was the next business. This is no trifling matter with old -cattle. With the calves indeed it is a bit troublesome at times, but -the grown-up ones resent the adding of insult to injury. It is no -uncommon thing for men to be severely injured during the operation. -Nevertheless the agility displayed by the stockmen and their -excessive coolness is marvellous to behold. - -Most of those cattle were branded with a "B.H.," which stood for Bob -and Harry; but some were marked with the letters "A.B.," for -Archibald Broadbent, and--I need not hide the truth--Archie was a -proud young man when he saw these marks. He realized now fully that -he had commenced life in earnest, and was a squatter, not only in -name, but in reality. - -The fencing work and improvements still went gaily on, the ground -being divided into immense paddocks, many of which our young farmers -trusted to see ere long covered with waving grain. - -The new herds soon got used to the country, and settled down on it, -dividing themselves quietly into herds of their own making, that were -found browsing together mornings and evenings in the best pastures, -or gathered in mobs during the fierce heat of the middle-day. - -Archie quickly enough acquired the craft of a cunning and bold -stockman, and never seemed happier than when riding neck and neck -with some runaway semi-wild bull, or riding in the midst of a mob, -selecting the beast that was wanted. And at a job like the latter -Tell and he appeared to be only one individual betwixt the two of -them, like the fabled Centaur. He came to grief though once, while -engaged heading a bull in as ugly a bit of country as any stockman -ever rode over. It happened---- Next chapter, please. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -_A WILD ADVENTURE--ARCHIE'S PRIDE RECEIVES A FALL._ - -It happened--I was going to say at the end of the other page--that in -a few weeks' time Mr. Winslow paid his promised visit to Burley New -Farm, as the three friends called it. - -Great preparations had been made beforehand because Etheldene was -coming with her father, and was accompanied by a black maid. Both -Etheldene and her maid had been accommodated with a dray, and when -Sarah, with her cheeks like ripe cherries, and her eyes like sloes, -showed the young lady to her bedroom, Etheldene was pleased to -express her delight in no measured terms. She had not expected -anything like this. Real mattresses, with real curtains, a real -sofa, and real lace round the looking-glass. - -"It is almost too good for Bush-life," said Etheldene; "but I am so -pleased, Mrs. Cooper; and everything is as clean and tidy as my own -rooms in Sydney. Father, do come and see all this, and thank Mrs. -Cooper prettily." - -Somewhat to Archie's astonishment a horse was led round next morning -for Etheldene, and she appeared in a pretty dark habit, and was -helped into the saddle, and gathered up the reins, and looked as calm -and self-possessed as a princess could have done. - -It was Gentleman Craig who was the groom, and a gallant one he made. -For the life of him Archie could not help envying the man for his -excessive coolness, and would have given half of his cattle--those -vith the bold "A.B.'s" on them--to have been only half as handsome. - -Never mind. Archie is soon mounted, and cantering away by the young -lady's side, and feeling so buoyant and happy all over that he would -not have exchanged places with a king on a throne. - -"Oh, yes," said Etheldene, laughing, as she replied to a question of -Archie's, "I know nearly everything about cattle, and sheep too! -But," she added, "I'm sure you are clever among them already." - -Archie felt the blood mount to his forehead; but he took off his -broad hat and bowed for the compliment, almost as prettily as -Gentleman Craig could have done himself. - -Now, there is such a thing as being too clever, and it was trying to -be clever that led poor Archie to grief that day. - -The young man was both proud and pleased to have an opportunity of -showing Etheldene round the settlement, all the more so that there -was to be a muster of the herds that day, and neighbour-squatters had -come on horseback to assist. This was a kind of a love-darg which -was very common in Queensland a few years ago, and probably is to -this day. - -Archie pointed laughingly towards the stock-whip Etheldene carried. -He never for a moment imagined it was in the girl's power to use or -manage such an instrument. - -"That is a pretty toy, Miss Winslow," he said. - -"Toy, do you call it, sir?" said this young Diana, pouting prettily. -"It is only a lady's whip, for the thong is but ten feet long. But -listen." - -It flew from her hands as she spoke, and the sound made every animal -within hearing raise head and sniff the air. - -"Well," said Archie, "I hope you won't run into any danger." - -"Oh," she exclaimed, "danger is fun!" And she laughed right merrily, -and looked as full of life and beauty as a bird in spring-time. - -Etheldene was tall and well-developed for her age, for girls in this -strange land very soon grow out of their childhood. - -Archie had called her Diana in his own mind, and before the day was -over she certainly had given proof that she well merited the title. - -New herds had arrived, and had for one purpose or another to be -headed into the stock yards. This is a task of no little difficulty, -and to-day being warm these cattle appeared unusually fidgety. Twos -and threes frequently stampeded from the mob, and went determinedly -dashing back towards the creek and forest, so there was plenty of -opportunities for anyone to show off his horsemanship. Once during a -chase like this Archie was surprised to see Etheldene riding neck and -neck for a time with a furious bull. He trembled for her safety as -he dashed onwards to her assistance. But crack, crack, crack went -the brave girl's whip; she punished the runaway most unmercifully, -and had succeeded in turning him ere her Northumbrian cavalier rode -up. A moment more and the bull was tearing back towards the herd he -had left, a stockman or two following close behind. - -"I was frightened for you," said Archie. - -"Pray, don't be so, Mr. Broadbent. I don't want to think myself a -child, and I should not like you to think me one. Mind, I've been in -the Bush all my life." - -But there was more and greater occasion to be frightened for -Etheldene ere the day was done. In fact, she ran so madly into -danger, that the wonder is she escaped. She had a gallant, -soft-mouthed horse--that was one thing to her advantage--and the girl -had a gentle hand. - -But Archie drew rein himself, and held his breath with fear, to see a -maddened animal, that she was pressing hard, turn wildly round and -charge back on horse and rider with all the fury imaginable. A turn -of the wrist of the bridle hand, one slight jerk of the fingers, and -Etheldene's horse had turned on a pivot, we might almost say, and the -danger was over. - -So on the whole, instead of Archie having had a very grand -opportunity for showing off his powers before this young Diana, it -was rather the other way. - -The hunt ended satisfactory to both parties; and while Sarah was -getting an extra good dinner ready, Archie proposed a canter "to give -them an appetite." - -"Have you got an appetite, Mr. Broadbent? I have." - -It was evident Etheldene was not too fine a lady to deny the -possession of good health. - -"Yes," said Archie; "to tell you the plain truth, I'm as hungry as a -hunter. But it'll do the nags good to stretch their legs after so -much wheeling and swivelling." - -So away they rode again, side by side, taking the blazed path towards -the plains. - -"You are sure you can find your way back, I suppose?" said Etheldene. - -"I think so." - -"It would be good fun to be lost." - -"Would you really like to be?" - -"Oh, we would not be altogether, you know! We would find our way to -some hut and eat damper, or to some grand hotel, I suppose, in the -Bush, and father and Craig would soon find us." - -"Father and you have known Craig long?" - -"Yes, many, many years. Poor fellow, it is quite a pity for him. -Father says he was very clever at college, and is a Master of Arts of -Cambridge." - -"Well, he has taken his hogs to a nice market." - -"But father would do a deal for him if he could trust him. He has -told father over and over again that plenty of people would trust him -if he could only trust himself." - -"Poor man! So nice-looking too! They may well call him Gentleman -Craig." - -"But is it not time we were returning?" - -"Look! look!" she cried, before Archie could answer. "Yonder is a -bull-fight. Whom does the little herd belong to?" - -"Not to us. We are far beyond even our pastures. We have cut away -from them. This is a kind of no-man's land, where we go shooting at -times; and I daresay they are trespassers or wild cattle. Pity they -cannot be tamed." - -"They are of no use to anyone, I have heard father say, except to -shoot. If they be introduced into a herd of stock cattle, they teach -all the others mischief. But see how they fight! Is it not awful?" - -"Yes. Had we not better return? I do not think your father would -like you to witness such sights as that." - -The girl laughed lightly. - -"Oh," she cried, "you don't half know father yet! He trusts me -everywhere. He is very, very good, though not so refined as some -would have him to be." - -The cows of this herd stood quietly by chewing their cuds, under the -shade of a huge gum tree, while two red-eyed giant bulls struggled -for mastery in the open. - -It was a curious fight, and a furious fight. At the time Archie and -his companion came in sight of the conflict, they had closed, and -were fencing with their horns with as much skill, apparently, as any -two men armed with foils could have displayed. The main points to be -gained appeared to be to unlock or get out of touch of each other's -horns long enough to stab in neck and shoulder, and during the time -of being in touch to force back and gain ground. Once during this -fight the younger bull backed his opponent right to the top of a -slight hill. It was a supreme effort, and evidently made in the hope -that he would hurl him from a height at the other side. But in this -he was disappointed; for the top was level, and the older one, -regaining strength, hurled his enemy down the hill again far more -quickly than he had come up. Round and round, and from side to side, -the battle raged, till at long last the courage and strength of one -failed completely. He suffered himself to be backed, and it was -evident was only waiting an opportunity to escape uncut and -unscathed. This came at length, and he turned and, with a cry of -rage, dashed madly away to the forest. The battle now became a -chase, and the whole herd, holloaing good luck to the victor, joined -in it. - -As there was no more to be seen, Archie and Etheldene turned their -horses' heads homewards. - -They had not ridden far, however, before the vanquished bull himself -hove in sight. He was alone now, though still tearing off in a -panic, and moaning low and angrily to himself. - -It was at this moment that what Archie considered a happy inspiration -took possession of our impulsive hero. "Let us wait till he passes," -he said, "and drive him before us to camp." - -Easily said. But how was it to be done? They drew back within the -shadow of a tree, and the bull rushed past. Then out pranced knight -Archie, cracking his stock whip. - -The monster paused, and wheeling round tore up the ground with his -hoofs in a perfect agony of anger. - -"What next?" he seemed to say to himself. "It is bad enough to be -beaten before the herd; but I will have my revenge now." - -The brute's roaring now was like the sound of a gong, hollow and -ringing, but dreadful to listen to. - -Archie met him boldly enough, intending to cut him in the face as he -dashed past. In his excitement he dug his spurs into Tell, and next -minute he was on the ground. The bull rushed by, but speedily -wheeled, and came tearing back, sure now of blood in which to dip his -ugly hoofs. - -Archie had scrambled up, and was near a tree when the infuriated -beast came down on the charge. Even at this moment of supreme danger -Archie--he remembered this afterwards--could not help admiring the -excessively business-like way the animal came at him to break him up. -There was a terrible earnestness and a terrible satisfaction in his -face or eyes; call it what you like, there it was. - -Near as Archie was to the tree, to reach and get round it was -impossible. He made a movement to get at his revolver; but it was -too late to draw and fire, so at once he threw himself flat on the -ground. The bull rushed over him, and came into collision with the -tree-trunk. This confused him for a second or two, and Axchie had -time to regain his feet. He looked wildly about for his horse. Tell -was quietly looking on; he seemed to be waiting for his young master. -But Archie never would have reached the horse alive had not brave -Etheldene's whip not been flicked with painful force across the -bull's eyes. That blow saved Archie, though the girl's horse was -wounded on the flank. - -[Illustration: "Archie never would have reached the horse alive had -not brave Etheldene's whip been flicked with painful force across the -bull's eyes. That blow saved Archie, though the girl's horse was -wounded on the flank."] - -A minute after both were galloping speedily across the plain, all -danger over; for the bull was still rooting around the tree, -apparently thinking that his tormentors had vanished through the -earth. - -"How best can I thank you?" Archie was saying. - -"By saying nothing about it," was Etheldene's answer. - -"But you have saved my life, child." - -"A mere bagatelle, as father says," said this saucy Queensland -maiden, with an arch look at her companion. But Archie did not look -arch as he put the next question. - -"Which do you mean is the bagatelle, Etheldene, my life, or the -saving of it?" - -"Yes, you may call me Etheldene--father's friends do--but don't, -please, call me child again." - -"I beg your pardon, Etheldene." - -"It is granted, sir." - -"But now you haven't answered my question." - -"What was it? I'm so stupid!" - -"Which did you mean was the bagatelle--my life, or the saving of it?" - -"Oh, both!" - -"Thank you." - -"I wish I could save Gentleman Craig's life," she added, looking -thoughtful and earnest all in a moment. - -"Bother Gentleman Craig!" thought Archie; but he was not rude enough -to say so. - -"Why?" he asked. - -"Because he once saved mine. That was when I was lost in the Bush, -you know. He will tell you some day--I will ask him to. He is very -proud though, and does not Like to talk very much about himself." - -Archie was silent for a short time. Why, he was wondering to -himself, did it make him wretched--as it certainly had done--to have -Etheldene look upon his life and the saving of it as a mere -bagatelle. Why should she not? Still the thought was far from -pleasant. Perhaps, if he had been killed outright, she would have -ridden home and reported his death in the freest and easiest manner, -and the accident would not have spoiled her dinner. The girl could -have no feeling; and yet he had destined her, in his own mind, to be -Rupert's wife. She was unworthy of so great an honour. It should -never happen if he could prevent it. Suddenly it occurred to him to -ask her what a bagatelle was. - -"A bagatelle?" she replied. "Oh, about a thousand pounds. Father -always speaks of a thousand pounds as a mere bagatelle." - -Archie laughed aloud--he could not help it; but Etheldene looked -merrily at him as she remarked quietly, "You wouldn't laugh if you -knew what I know." - -"Indeed! What is it?" - -"We are both lost!" - -"Goodness forbid!" - -"You won't have grace to say to-day--there will be no dinner; that's -always the worst of being lost." - -Archie looked around him. There was not a blazed tree to be seen, -and he never remembered having been in the country before in which -they now rode. - -"We cannot be far out," he said, "and I believe we are riding -straight for the creek." - -"So do I, and that is one reason why we are both sure to be wrong. -It's great fun, isn't it?" - -"I don't think so. We're in an ugly fix. I really thought I was a -better Bushman than I am." - -Poor Archie! His pride had received quite a series of ugly falls -since morning, but this was the worst come last. He felt a very -crestfallen cavalier indeed. - -It did not tend to raise his spirits a bit to be told that if -Gentleman Craig were here, he would find the blazed-tree line in a -very short time. - -But things took a more cheerful aspect when out from a clump of trees -rode a rough-looking stockman, mounted on a sackful of bones in the -shape of an aged white horse. - -He stopped right in front of them. - -"Hillo, younkers! Whither away? Can't be sun-downers, sure--ly!" - -"No," said Archie; "we are not sundowners. We are riding straight -home to Burley New Farm." - -"'Xcuse me for contradicting you flat, my boy. It strikes me ye -ain't boss o' the sitivation. Feel a kind o' bushed, don't ye?" - -Archie was fain to confess it. - -"Well, I know the tracks, and if ye stump it along o' me, ye won't -have to play at babes o' the wood to-night." - -They did "stump it along o' him," and before very long found -themselves in the farm pasture lands. - -They met Craig coming, tearing along on his big horse, and glad he -was to see them. - -"Oh, Craig," cried Etheldene, "we've been having such fun, and been -bushed, and everything!" - -"I found this 'ere young gent a-bolting with this 'ere young lady," -said their guide, whom Craig knew and addressed by the name of -Hurricane Bill. - -"A runaway match, eh? Now, who was in the fault? But I think I -know. Let me give you a bit of advice, sir. Never trust yourself -far in the Bush with Miss Ethie. She doesn't mind a bit being lost, -and I can't be always after her. Well, dinner is getting cold." - -"Did you wait for us?" said Etheldene. - -"Not quite unanimously, Miss Ethie. It was like this: Mr. Cooper and -Mr. Harry waited for you, and your father waited for Mr. Broadbent. -It comes to the same thing in the end, you know." - -"Yes," said Etheldene, "and it's funny." - -"What did you come for, Bill? Your horse looks a bit jaded." - -"To invite you all to the hunt. Findlayson's compliments, and all -that genteel nonsense; and come as many as can. Why, the kangaroos, -drat 'em, are eating us up. What with them and the dingoes we've -been having fine times, I can tell ye!" - -"Well, it seems to me, Bill, your master is always in trouble. Last -year it was the blacks, the year before he was visited by -bushrangers, wasn't he?" - -"Ye--es. Fact is we're a bit too far north, and a little too much -out west, and so everything gets at us like." - -"And when is the hunt?" - -"Soon's we can gather." - -"I'm going for one," said Etheldene. - -"What you, Miss?" said Hurricane Bill. "You're most too young, ain't -ye?" - -The girl did not condescend to answer him. - -"Come, sir, we'll ride on," she said to Archie. - -And away they flew. - -"Depend upon it, Bill, if she says she is going, go she will, and -there's an end of it." - -"Humph!" That was Bill's reply. He always admitted he had "no great -fancy for womenfolks." - - - - -CHAPTER V - - _ROUND THE LOG-FIRE--HURRICANE BILL AND THE - TIGER-SNAKE--GENTLEMAN CRAIG'S RESOLVE._ - -Kangaroo driving or hunting is one of the wild sports of Australia, -though I have heard it doubted whether there was any real sport in -it. It is extremely exciting, and never much more dangerous than a -ride after the hounds at home in a rough country. - -It really does seem little short of murder, however, to surround the -animals and slay them wholesale; only, be it remembered, they are -extremely hard upon the herbage. It has been said that a kangaroo -will eat as much as two sheep; whether this be true or not, these -animals must be kept down, or they will keep the squatter down. -Every other species of wild animal disappears before man, but -kangaroos appear to imagine that human beings were sent into the bush -to make two blades of grass grow where only one grew before, and that -both blades belong to them. - -The only people from Burley New Farm who went to the Findlayson -kangaroo drive were Harry, Archie, and Etheldene, and Craig to look -after her. Mr. Winslow stopped at home with Bob, to give him advice -and suggest improvements; for he well knew his daughter would be safe -with Gentleman Craig. - -It was a long ride, however, and one night was to be spent in camp; -but as there was nothing to do, and nothing in the shape of cattle or -sheep to look after, it was rather jolly than otherwise. They found -a delightful spot near a clear pool and close by the forest to make -their pitch on for the night. - -Hurricane Bill was the active party on this occasion; he found wood -with the help of Harry, and enough of it to last till the morning. -The beauty, or one of the beauties, of the climate in this part of -Australia is, that with the sun the thermometer sinks, and the later -spring and even summer nights are very pleasant indeed. - -When supper was finished, and tea, that safest and best of -stimulants, had been discussed, talking became general; everybody was -in good spirits in the expectation of some fun on the morrow; for a -longish ride through the depth of that gloomy forest would bring them -to the plain and to Findlayson's in time for a second breakfast. - -Hurricane Bill told many a strange story of Australian life, but all -in the way of conversation; for Bill was a shy kind of man, and -wanted a good deal of drawing-out, as the dog said about the badger. - -Archie gave his experiences of hunting in England, and of shooting -and fishing and country adventure generally in that far-off land, and -he had no more earnest listener than Etheldene. To her England was -the land of romance. Young though she was, she had read the most of -Walter Scott's novels, and had an idea that England and Scotland were -still peopled as we find these countries described by the great -wizard, and she did not wish to be disillusioned. The very mention -of the word "castle," or "ruin," or "coat of mail," brought fancies -and pictures into her mind that she would not have had blotted out on -any account. - -Over and over again, many a day and many a time, she had made Archie -describe to her every room in the old farm; and his turret-chamber -high up above the tall-spreading elm trees, where the rooks built and -cawed in spring, and through which the wild winds of winter moaned -and soughed when the leaves had fallen, was to Etheldene a veritable -room in fairy-land. - -"Oh," she said to-night, "how I should love it all! I do want to go -to England, and I'll make father take me just once before I die." - -"Before ye die, miss!" said Hurricane Bill. "Why it is funny to hear -the likes o' you, with all the world before ye, talkin' about dying." - -Well, by-and-by London was mentioned, and then it was Harry's turn. -He was by no means sorry to have something to say. - -"Shall I describe to you, Miss Winslow," he said, "some of the wild -sights of Whitechapel?" - -"Is it a dreadfully wild place, Mr. Brown?" - -"It is rather; eh, Johnnie?" - -"I don't know much about it, Harry." - -"Well, there are slums near by there, miss, that no man with a black -coat and an umbrella dare enter in daylight owing to the wild beasts. -Then there are peelers." - -"What are peelers? Monkeys?" - -"Yes, miss; they are a sort of monkeys--blue monkeys--and carry -sticks same as the real African ourangoutangs do. And can't they use -them too!" - -"Are they very ugly?" - -"Awful, and venomous too; and at night they have one eye that shines -in the dark like a wild cat's, and you've got to stand clear when -that eye's on you." - -"Well," said Etheldene, "I wouldn't like to be lost in a place like -that. I'd rather be bushed where I am. But I think, Mr. Brown, you -are laughing at me. Are there any snakes in Whitechapel?" - -"No, thank goodness; no, miss. I can't stand snakes much." - -"There was a pretty tiger crept past you just as I was talking -though," she said with great coolness. - -Harry jumped and shook himself. Etheldene laughed. - -"It is far enough away by this time," she remarked. "I saw something -ripple past you, Harry, like a whip-thong. I thought my eyes had -made it." - -"You brought it along with the wood perhaps," said Craig quietly. - -"'Pon my word," cried Harry, "you're a lot of Job's comforters, all -of you. D'ye know I won't sleep one blessed wink to-night. I'll -fancy every moment there is a snake in my blanket or under the -saddle." - -"They won't come near you, Mr. Brown," said Craig. "They keep as far -away from Englishmen as possible." - -"Not always," said Bill. "Maybe ye wouldn't believe it, but I was -bitten and well-nigh dead, and it was a tiger as done it. And if I -ain't English, then there ain't an Englishman 'twist 'ere and -Melbourne. See that, miss?" He held up a hand in the firelight as -he spoke. - -"Why," said Etheldene, "you don't mean to say the snake bit off half -your little finger?" - -"Not much I don't; but he bit me on the finger, miss. I was a -swagsman then, and was gathering wood, as we were to-night, when I -got nipped, and my chum tightened a morsel of string round it to keep -the poison away from the heart, then he laid the finger on a stone -and chopped it off with his spade. Fact what I'm telling you. But -the poison got in the blood somehow all the same. They half carried -me to Irish Charlie's hotel. Lucky, that wasn't far off. Then they -stuck the whiskey into me." - -"Did the whiskey kill the poison?" said Archie. - -"Whiskey kill the poison! Why, young sir, Charlie's whiskey would -have killed a kangaroo! But nothing warmed me that night; my blood -felt frozen. Well, sleep came at last, and, oh, the dreams! 'Twere -worse ten thousand times than being wi' Daniel in the den o' lions. -Next day nobody hardly knew me; I was blue and wrinkled. I had aged -ten years in a single night." - -"I say," said Harry, "suppose we change the subject." - -"And I say," said Craig, "suppose we make the beds." - -He got up as he spoke, and began to busy himself in preparations for -Etheldene's couch. It was easily and simply arranged, but the -arrangement nevertheless showed considerable forethought. - -He disappeared for a few minutes, and returned laden with all the -necessary paraphernalia. A seven-foot pole was fastened to a tree; -the other end supported by a forked stick, which he sharpened and -drove into the ground. Some grass was spread beneath the pole, a -blanket thrown carefully over it, the upturned saddle put down for a -pillow, and a tent formed by throwing over the pole a loose piece of -canvas that he had taken from his saddle-bow, weighted down by some -stones, and the whole was complete. - -"Now, Baby," said Craig, handing Etheldene a warm rug, "will you be -pleased to retire?" - -"Where is my flat candlestick?" she answered. - -Gentleman Craig pointed to the Southern Cross. - -"Yonder," he said. "Is it not a lovely one?" - -"It puts me in mind of old, old times," said Etheldene with a sigh. -"And you're calling me 'Baby' too. Do you remember, ever so long ago -in the Bush, when I was a baby in downright earnest, how you used to -sing a lullaby to me outside my wee tent?" - -"If you go to bed, and don't speak any more, I may do so again." - -"Good-night then. Sound sleep to everybody. What fun!" Then Baby -disappeared. - -Craig sat himself down near the tent, after replenishing the fire--he -was to keep the first watch, then Bill would come on duty--and at -once began to sing, or rather 'croon' over, an old, old song. His -voice was rich and sweet, and though he sang low it could be heard -distinctly enough by all, and it mingled almost mournfully with the -soughing of the wind through the tall trees. - -"My song is rather a sorrowful ditty," he had half-whispered to -Archie before he began; "but it is poor Miss Ethie's favourite." But -long before Craig had finished no one around the log fire was awake -but himself. - -He looked to his rifle and revolvers, placed them handy in case of an -attack by blacks, then once more sat down, leaning his back against a -tree and giving way to thought. - -Not over pleasant thoughts were those of Gentleman Craig's, as might -have been guessed from his frequent sighs as he gazed earnestly into -the fire. - -What did he see in the fire? _Tableaux_ of his past life? Perhaps -or perhaps not. At all events they could not have been very -inspiriting ones. No one could have started in life with better -prospects than he had done; but he carried with him wherever he went; -his own fearful enemy, something that would not leave him alone, but -was ever, ever urging him to drink. Even as a student he had been -what was called "a jolly fellow," and his friendship was appreciated -by scores who knew him. He loved to be considered the life and soul -of a company. It was an honour dearer to him than anything else; but -deeply, dearly had he paid for it. - -By this time he might have been honoured and respected in his own -country, for he was undoubtedly clever; but he had lost himself, and -lost all that made life dear--his beautiful, queenly mother. He -would never see her more. She was dead, yet the memory of the love -she bore him was still the one, the only ray of sunshine left in his -soul. - -And he had come out here to Australia determined to turn over a new -leaf. Alas! he had not done so. - -"Oh, what a fool I have been!" he said in his thoughts, clenching his -fists until the nails almost cut the palms. - -He started up now and went wandering away towards the trees. There -was nothing that could hurt him there. He felt powerful enough to -grapple with a dozen blacks, but none were in his thoughts; and, -indeed, none were in the forest. - -He could talk aloud now, as he walked rapidly up and down past the -weird grey trunks of the gum trees. - -"My foolish pride has been my curse," he said bitterly. "But should -I allow it to be so? The thing lies in a nutshell. I have never yet -had the courage to say, 'I will not touch the hateful firewater, -because I cannot control myself if I do.' If I take but one glass I -arouse within me the dormant fiend, and he takes possession of my -soul, and rules all my actions until sickness ends my carousal, and I -am left weak as a child in soul and body. If I were not too proud to -say those words to my fellow-beings, if I were not afraid of being -laughed at as a coward! Ah, that's it! It is too hard to bear! -Shall I face it? Shall I own myself a coward in this one thing? I -seem compelled to answer myself, to answer my own soul. Or is it my -dead mother's spirit speaking through my heart? Oh, if I thought so -I--I----" - -Here the strong man broke down. He knelt beside a tree-trunk and -sobbed like a boy. Then he prayed; and when he got up from his knees -he was calm. He extended one hand towards the stars. - -"Mother," he said, "by God's help I shall be free." - -* * * * * * - -When the morning broke pale and golden over the eastern hills, and -the laughing jackasses came round to smile terribly loud and terribly -chaffingly at the white men's preparation for their simple breakfast, -Craig moved about without a single trace of his last night's sorrow. -He was busy looking after the horses when Etheldene came bounding -towards him with both hands extended, so frank and free and beautiful -that as he took hold of them he could not help saying: - -"You look as fresh as a fern this morning, Baby." - -"Not so green, Craig. Say 'Not so green.'" - -"No, not so green. But really to look at you brings a great big wave -of joy surging all over my heart. But to descend from romance to -common-sense. I hope you are hungry? I have just been seeing to -your horse. Where do you think I found him?" - -"I couldn't guess." - -"Why in the water down yonder. Lying down and wallowing." - -"The naughty horse! Ah, here come the others! Good morning all." - -"We have been bathing," said Archie. "Oh, how delicious!" - -"Yes," said Harry; "Johnnie and I were bathing down under the trees, -and it really was a treat to see how quickly he came to bank when I -told him there was an alligator taking stock." - -"We scared the ducks though. Pity we didn't bring our guns and bag a -few." - -"I believe we'll have a right good breakfast at Findlayson's," said -Craig; "so I propose we now have a mouthful of something and start." - -The gloom of that deep forest became irksome at last; though some of -its trees were wondrous to behold in their stately straightness and -immensity of size, the trunks of others were bent and crooked into -such weird forms of contortion, that they positively looked uncanny. - -Referring to these, Archie remarked to Craig, who was riding by his -side: - -"Are they not grotesquely beautiful?" - -Craig laughed lightly. - -"Their grotesqueness is apparent anyhow," he replied. "But would you -believe it, in this very forest I was a week mad?" - -"Mad!" - -"Yes; worse than mad--delirious. Oh, I did not run about, I was too -feeble! but a black woman or girl found me, and built a kind of bark -gunja over me, for it rained part of the time and dripped the rest. -And those trees with their bent and gnarled stems walked about me, -and gibbered and laughed, and pointed crooked fingers at me. I can -afford to smile at it now but it was very dreadful then; and the -worst of it was I had brought it all on myself." - -Archie was silent. - -"You know in what way?" added Craig. - -"I have been told," Archie said, simply and sadly. - -"For weeks, Mr. Broadbent, after I was able to walk, I remained among -the blacks doing nothing, just wandering aimlessly from place to -place; but the woods and the trees looked no longer weird and awful -to me then, for I was in my right mind. It was spring--nay, but -early summer--and I could feel and drink in all the gorgeous beauty -of foliage, of tree flowers and wild flowers, nodding palms and -feathery ferns; but, oh! I left and went south again; I met once -more the white man, and forgot all the religion of Nature in which my -soul had for a time been steeped. So that is all a kind of -confession. I feel the better for having made it. We are all poor, -weak mortals at the best; only I made a resolve last night." - -"You did?" - -"Yes; and I am going to keep it. I am going to have help." - -"Help!" - -"Yes, from Him who made those stately giants of the forest and -changed their stems to silvery white. He can change all things." - -"Amen!" said Archie solemnly. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - - _AT FINDLAYSON'S FARM--THE GREAT KANGAROO - HUNT--A DINNER AND CONCERT._ - -Gentleman Craig was certainly a strange mortal; but after all he was -only the type of a class of men to be found at most of our great -universities. Admirable Crichtons in a small way, in the estimation -of their friends--bold, handsome, careless, and dashing, not to say -clever--they may go through the course with flying colours. But too -often they strike the rocks of sin and sink, going out like the -splendid meteors of a November night, or sometimes--if they continue -to float--they are sent off to Australia, with the hopes of giving -them one more chance. Alas! they seldom get farther than the cities. -It is only the very best and boldest of them that reach the Bush, and -there you may find them building fences or shearing sheep. If any -kind of labour at all is going to make men of them, it is this. - -Two minutes after Craig had been talking to Archie, the sweet, clear, -ringing notes of his manly voice were awaking echoes far a-down the -dark forest. - -Parrots and parrakeets, of lovely plumage, fluttered nearer, holding -low their wise, old-fashioned heads to look and listen. Lyre-birds -hopped out from under green fern-bushes, raising their tails and -glancing at their figures in the clear pool. They listened too, and -ran back to where their nests were to tell their wives men-people -were passing through the forest singing; but that they, the cock -lyre-birds, could sing infinitely better if they tried. - -On and on and on went the cavalcade, till sylvan beauty itself began -to pall at last, and no one was a bit sorry when all at once the -forest ended, and they were out on a plain, out in the scrub, with, -away beyond, gently-rising hills, on which trees were scattered. - -The bleating of sheep now made them forget all about the gloom of the -forest. They passed one or two rude huts, and then saw a bigger -smoke in the distance, which Bill told Archie was Findlayson's. - -Findlayson came out to meet them. A Scot every inch of him, you -could tell that at a glance. A Scot from the soles of his rough -shoes to the rim of his hat; brown as to beard and hands, and with a -good-natured face the colour of a badly-burned brick. - -He bade them welcome in a right hearty way, and helped "the lassie" -to dismount. - -He had met "the lassie" before. - -"But," he said, "I wadna hae kent ye; you were but a bit gilpie then. -Losh! but ye have grown. Your father's weel, I suppose? Ah, it'll -be a while afore anybody makes such a sudden haul at the diggin' o' -gowd as he did! But come in. It's goin' to be anither warm day, I -fear. - -"Breakfast is a' ready. You'll have a thistle fu' o' whiskey first, -you men folks. Rin butt the hoose, my dear, and see my sister. Tell -her to boil the eggs, and lift the bacon and the roast ducks." - -He brought out the bottle as he spoke. Both Harry and Archie tasted -to please him. But Craig went boldly into battle. - -"I'm done with it, Findlayson," he said. "It has been my ruin. I'm -done. I'm a weak fool." - -"But a wee drap wadna hurt you, man. Just to put the dust out o' -your wizzen." - -Craig smiled. - -"It is the wee draps," he replied, "that do the mischief." - -"Well, I winna try to force you. Here comes the gude wife wi' the -teapot." - -"Bill," he continued, "as soon as you've satisfied the cravins o' -Nature, mount the grey colt, and ride down the Creek, and tell them -the new chums and I will be wi' them in half an hour." - -And in little over that specified time they had all joined the hunt. - -Black folks and "orra men," as Findlayson called them, were already -detouring around a wide track of country to beat up the kangaroos. - -There were nearly a score of mounted men, but only one lady besides -Etheldene, a squatter's bold sister. - -The dogs were a sight to look at. They would have puzzled some -Englishmen what to make of them. Partly greyhounds, but larger, -sturdier, and stronger, as if they had received at one time a cross -of mastiff. They looked eminently fit, however, and were with -difficulty kept back. Every now and then a distant shout was heard, -and at such times the hounds seemed burning to be off. - -But soon the kangaroos themselves began to appear thick and fast. -They came from one part or another in little groups, meeting and -hopping about in wonder and fright. They seemed only looking for a -means of escape; and at times, as a few rushing from one direction -met others, they appeared to consult. Many stood high up, as if on -tiptoe, gazing eagerly around, with a curious mixture of bewilderment -and fright displayed on their simple but gentle faces. - -They got small time to think now, however, for men and dogs were on -them, and the flight and the murder commenced with a vengeance. -There were black fellows there, who appeared to spring suddenly from -the earth, spear-armed, to deal terrible destruction right and left -among the innocent animals. And black women too, who seemed to revel -in the bloody sight. If the whites were excited and thirsty for -carnage, those aborigines were doubly so. - -Meanwhile the men had dismounted, Archie and Harry among the rest, -and were firing away as quickly as possible. There is one thing to -be said in favour of the gunners; they took good aim, and there was -little after-motion in the body of the kangaroo in which a bullet had -found a billet. - -After all Archie was neither content with the sport, nor had it come -up as yet to his _beau ideal_ of adventure from all he had heard and -read of it. The scene was altogether noisy, wild, and confusing. -The blacks gloated in the bloodshed, and Archie did not love them any -the more for it. It was the first time he had seen those fellows -using their spears, and he could guess from the way they handled or -hurled them that they would be pretty dangerous enemies to meet face -to face in the plain or scrub. - -"Harry," he said after a time, "I'm getting tired of all this; let us -go to our horses." - -"I'm tired too. Hallo! where is the chick-a-biddy?" - -"You mean Miss Winslow, Harry." - -"Ay, Johnnie." - -"I have not seen her for some time." - -They soon found her though, near a bit of scrub, where their own -horses were tied. - -She was sitting on her saddle, looking as steady and demure as an -equestrian statue. The sunshine was so blinding that they did not at -first notice her in the shade there until they were close upon her. - -"What, Etheldene!" cried Archie; "we hardly expected you here." - -"Where, then?" - -"Following the hounds." - -"What! into that mob? No, that is not what I came for." - -At that moment Craig rode up. - -"So glad," he said, "to find you all here. Mount, gentlemen. Are -you ready, Baby?" - -"Ready, yes, an hour ago, Craig." - -They met horsemen and hounds not far away, and taking a bold detour -over a rough and broken country, at the edge of a wood, the hounds -found a "forester," or old man kangaroo. The beast had a good start -if he had taken the best advantage of it; but he failed to do so. He -had hesitated several times; but the run was a fine one. A wilder, -rougher, more dangerous ride Archie had never taken. - -The beast was at bay before very long, and his resistance to the -death was extraordinary. - -They had many more rides before the day was over; and when they -re-assembled in farmer Findlayson's hospitable parlour, Archie was -fain for once to own himself not only tired, but "dead beat." - -The dinner was what Harry called a splendid spread. Old Findlayson -had been a gardener in his younger days in England, and his wife was -a cook; and one of the results of this amalgamation was, dinners or -breakfasts either, that had already made the Scotchman famous. - -Here was soup that an epicure would not have despised, fish to tempt -a dying man, besides game of different kinds, pies, and last, if not -least, steak of kangaroo. - -The soup itself was made from the tail of the kangaroo, and I know -nothing more wholesome and nourishing, though some may think it a -little strong. - -While the white folks were having dinner in-doors, the black fellows -were doing ample justice to theirs _al fresco_, only they had their -own cuisine and menu, of which the least said the better. - -"You're sure, Mr. Craig, you winna tak' a wee drappie?" - -If the honest squatter put this question once in the course of the -evening, he put it twenty times. - -"No, really," said Craig at last; "I will not tak' a wee drappie. -I've sworn off; I have, really. Besides, your wife has made me some -delightful tea." - -"Weel, man, tak' a wee drappie in your last cup. It'll cheer ye up." - -"Take down your fiddle, Findlayson, and play a rattling strathspey or -reel, that'll cheer me up more wholesomely than any amount of 'wee -drappies.'" - -"Come out o' doors then." - -It was cool now out there in Findlayson's garden--it was a real -garden too. His garden and his fiddle were Findlayson's two fads; -and that he was master of both, their present surroundings of fern -and flower, and delicious scent of wattle-blossom, and the charming -strains that floated from the corner where the squatter stood were -proof enough. The fiddle in his hands talked and sang, now bold or -merrily, now in sad and wailing notes that brought tears to even -Archie's eyes. Then, at a suggestion of Craig's, Etheldene's sweet -young voice was raised in song, and this was only the beginning of -the concert. Conversation filled up the gaps, so that the evening -passed away all too soon. - -Just as Findlayson had concluded that plaintive and feeling air "Auld -Robin Gray," a little black girl came stealthily, silently up to -Etheldene, and placed a little creature like a rabbit in her lap, -uttering a few words of Bush-English, which seemed to Archie's ear -utterly devoid of sense. Then the black girl ran; she went away to -her own camp to tell her people that the white folks were holding a -corroboree. - -The gift was a motherless kangaroo, that at once commenced to make -itself at home by hiding its innocent head under Etheldene's arm. - -The party soon after broke up for the night, and next day but one, -early in the morning, the return journey was commenced, and finished -that night; but the sun had gone down, and the moon was shining high -and full over the forest, before they once more reached the clearing. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -_A NEW ARRIVAL._ - -Winslow made months of a stay in the Bush, and his services were of -great value to the young squatters. The improvements he suggested -were many and various, and he was careful to see them carried out. - -Dams were made, and huge reservoirs were dug; for, as Winslow said, -their trials were all before them, and a droughty season might mean -financial ruin to them. - -"Nevertheless," he added one day, addressing Bob, "I feel sure of -you; and to prove this I don't mind knocking down a cheque or two to -the tune of a thou or three or five if you want them. - -"I'll take bank interest," he added, "not a penny more." - -Bob thanked him, and consulted the others that evening. True, -Archie's aristocratic pride popped up every now and then, but it was -kept well under by the others. - -"Besides, don't you see, Johnnie," said Harry, "this isn't a gift. -Winslow is a business man, and he knows well what he is about." - -"And," added Bob, "the fencing isn't finished yet. We have all those -workmen's mouths to fill, and the sooner the work is done the better." - -"Then the sheep are to come in a year or so, and it all runs away -with money, Johnnie. Our fortunes are to be made. There is money on -the ground to be gathered up, and all that Winslow proposes is -holding the candle to us till we fill our pockets." - -"It is very kind of him," said Archie, "but----" - -"Well," said Bob, "I know where your 'buts' will end if you are not -careful. You will give offence to Mr. Winslow, and he'll just turn -on his heel and never see us again." - -"Do you think so?" - -"Think so? Yes, Archie, I'm sure of it. A better-hearted man -doesn't live, rough and all as he is; and he has set his mind to -doing the right thing for us all for your sake, lad, and so I say, -think twice before you throw cold water over that big, warm heart of -his." - -"Well," said Archie, "when you put it in that light, I can see -matters clearly. I wouldn't offend my good old Uncle Ramsay's friend -for all the world. I'm sorry I ever appeared bluff with him. So you -can let him do as he pleases." - -And so Winslow did to a great extent. - -Nor do I blame Bob and Harry for accepting his friendly assistance. -Better far to be beholden to a private individual, who is both -earnest and sincere, than to a money-lending company, who will charge -double interest, and make you feel that your soul is not your own. - -Better still, I grant you, to wait and work and plod; but this life -is almost too short for much waiting, and after all, one half of the -world hangs on to the skirts of the other half, and that other half -is all the more evenly balanced in consequence. - -I would not, however, have my young readers misunderstand me. What I -maintain is this, that although a poor man cannot leave this country -in the expectation that anybody or any company will be found to -advance the needful to set him up in the business of a squatter, -still, when he has worked hard for a time, beginning at the lowermost -ring of the ladder, and saved enough to get a selection, and a few -cattle and sheep, then, if he needs assistance to heave a-head a bit, -he will--if everything is right and square--have no difficulty in -finding it. - -So things went cheerily on at Burley New Farm. And at last Winslow -and Etheldene took their departure, promising to come again. - -"So far, lads," said Winslow, as he mounted his horse, "there hasn't -been a hitch nowheres. But mind keep two hands at the wheel." - -Mr. Winslow's grammar was not of the best, and his sentences -generally had a smack of the briny about them, which, however, did -not detract from their graphicness. - -"Tip us your flippers, boys," he added, "and let us be off. But I'm -just as happy as if I were a father to the lot of you." - -Gentleman Craig shook hands with Mr. Winslow. He had already helped -Etheldene into her saddle. - -Archie was standing by her, the bridle of his own nag Tell thrown -carelessly over his arm; for good-byes were being said quite a mile -from the farm. - -"I'll count the days, Etheldene, till you come again," said Archie. -"The place will not seem the same without you." - -Craig stood respectfully aside till Archie had bade her adieu, then, -with his broad hat down by his side, he advanced. He took her hand -and kissed it. - -"Good-bye, Baby," he said. - -There were tears in Etheldene's eyes as she rode away. Big Winslow -took off his hat, waved it over his head, and gave voice to a -splendid specimen of a British cheer, which, I daresay, relieved his -feelings as much as it startled the lories. The "boys" were not slow -in returning that cheer. Then away rode the Winslows, and presently -the grey-stemmed gum trees swallowed them up. - -* * * * * * - -Two whole years passed by. So quickly, too, because they had not -been idle years. Quite the reverse of that, for every day brought -its own duties with it, and there was always something new to be -thought about or done. - -One event had taken place which, in Bob's eyes, eclipsed all the -others--a little baby squatter saw the light of day. But I should -not have used the word eclipsed. Little "Putty-face," as Harry most -irreverently called her, did not eclipse anything; on the contrary, -everything grew brighter on her arrival, and she was hailed queen of -the station. The news spread abroad like wildfire, and people came -from far and near to look at the wee thing, just as if a baby had -never been born in the Bush before. - -Findlayson dug the child with his forefinger in the cheek, and nodded -and "a-goo-ed" to it, and it smiled back, and slobbered and grinned -and jumped. Findlayson then declared it to be the wisest "wee vision -o' a thing the warld ever saw." Sarah was delighted, so was the -nurse--a young sonsy Scotch lass brought to the station on purpose to -attend to baby. - -"But," said Findlayson, "what about bapteezin' the blessed wee -vision." - -"Oh," said Bob, "I've thought of that! Craig and I are going to -Brisbane with stock, and we'll import a parson." - -It so happened that a young missionary was on his way to spread the -glad tidings among the blacks, and it did not need much coaxing on -Bob's part to get him to make a detour, and spend a week at Burley -New Farm. So this was the imported parson. - -But being in Brisbane, Bob thought he must import something else, -which showed what a mindful father he was. - -He had a look round, and a glance in at all the shop windows in Queen -Street, finally he entered an emporium that took his fancy. - -"Ahem!" said Bob. "I want a few toys." - -"Yes, sir. About what age, sir?" - -"The newest and best you have." - -"I didn't refer to the age of the toys," said the urbane shopkeeper, -with the ghost of a smile in his eye. "I should have said, Toys -suitable for what age?" - -"For every age," replied Bob boldly. - -The shopkeeper then took the liberty of remarking that his visitor -must surely be blessed with a quiverful. - -"I've only the one little girl," said Bob. "She fills the book as -yet. But, you see, we're far away in the Bush, and baby will grow -out of gum-rings and rattles, won't she, into dolls and dung-carts? -D' ye see? D' ye understand?" - -"Perfectly." - -It ended in Bob importing not only the parson in a dray, but a box of -toys as big as a sea-chest, and only Bob himself could have told you -all that was in it. That box would have stocked a toyshop itself and -Harry and Archie had the grandest of fun unpacking it, and both -laughed till they had to elevate their arms in the air to get the -stitches out of their sides. - -The amusing part of it was that innocent Bob had bought such a lot of -each species. - -A brown paper parcel, for example, was marked "1 gross: gum-rings." - -"That was a job lot," said Bob, explaining. "I got them at a -reduction, as the fellow said. Besides, if she has one in each hand, -and another in her mouth, it will keep her out of mischief for a -month or two to begin with." - -There was no mistake about it, baby was set up; for a time, at all -events. - -Not only did visitors--rough and smooth, but mostly rough--come from -afar, but letters of congratulation also. Winslow said in a letter -that Etheldene was dying to come and see "the vision," and so was he, -though not quite so bad. "Only," he added, "as soon Eth is finished -we'll both run up. Eth is going to Melbourne to be finished, and I -think a year will do the job." - -"Whatever does he mean," said stalwart Bob, "by finishing Eth, and -doing the job?" - -"Why, you great big brush turkey," said Sarah, "he means finishing -her edication, in coorse!" - -"Oh, I see now!" said Bob. "To be sure; quite right. I say, Sarah, -we'll have to send "the vision" to a slap-up lady's school one of -these days, won't us?" - -"Bob," replied Sarah severely, "tell that lazy black chap, Jumper, to -dig some potatoes." - -"I'm off, Sarah! I'm off!" - -Both Harry and Archie had by this time become perfect in all a -squatter's art. - -Both had grown hard and hardy, and I am not sure that Harry was not -now quite as bold a rider as Archie himself, albeit he was a Cockney -born, albeit he had had to rub himself after that first ride of his -on Scallowa, the "Eider Duck." - -Well, then, both he and Archie were perfectly _au fait_ at cattle -work in all its branches, and only those who have lived on and had -some interest in farming have an idea what a vast amount of practical -work breeding cattle includes. One has really to be -Jack-of-all-trades, and a veterinary surgeon into the bargain. - -Moreover, if he be master, and not merely foreman, there are books to -be kept; so he must be a good accountant, and a good caterer, and -always have his weather eye lifting, and keeping a long look-out for -probable changes in the markets. - -But things had prospered well at Burley New Station. One chief -reason of this was that the seasons had been good, and that there was -every prospect that the colony of Queensland was to be one of the -most respected and favourite in the little island. - -For most of his information on the management of sheep, Archie and -his companions were indebted to the head stockman, Gentleman Craig. -He had indeed been a Godsend, and proved himself a blessing to the -station. It is but fair to add that he had sacredly and sternly kept -the vow he had registered that night. - -He did not deny that it had been difficult for him to do so; in fact -he often referred to his own weakness when talking to Archie, whose -education made him a great favourite and the constant companion of -Craig. - -"But you don't feel any the worse for having completely changed your -habits, do you?" said Archie one day. - -Craig's reply was a remarkable one, and one that should be borne in -mind by those teetotallers who look upon inebriety as simply a -species of moral aberration, and utterly ignore the physiology of the -disease. - -"To tell you the truth, Mr. Broadbent, I am both better and worse. I -am better physically; I am in harder, more robust, muscular health; -I'm as strong in the arms as a kicking kangaroo. I eat well, I sleep -fairly well, and am fit in every way. But I feel as if I had passed -through the vale of the shadow of death, and it had left some of its -darkness on and in my soul. I feel as if the cure had mentally taken -a deal out of me; and when I meet, at Brisbane or other towns, men -who offer me drink I feel mean and downcast, because I have to refuse -it, and because I dared not even take it as food and medicine. No -one can give up habits of life that have become second nature without -mental injury, if not bodily. And I'm more and more convinced every -month that intemperance is a disease of periodicity, just like gout -and rheumatism." - -"You have cravings at certain times, then?" - -"Yes; but that isn't the worst. The worst is that periodically in my -dreams I have gone back to my old ways, and think I am living once -again in the fool's paradise of the inebriate; singing wild songs, -drinking recklessly, talking recklessly, and looking upon life as but -a brief unreality, and upon time as a thing only to be drowned in the -wine-cup. Yes, but when I awake from these pleasantly-dreadful -dreams, I thank God fervidly I have been but dreaming." - -Archie sighed, and no more was said on the subject. - -Letters came from home about once a mouth, but they came to Archie -only. Yet, though Bob had never a friend to write to him from -Northumbria, nor Harry one in Whitechapel, the advent of a packet -from home gave genuine joy to all hands. - -Archie's letters from home were read first by Archie himself, away -out under the shade of a tree as likely as not. Then they were read -to his chums, including Sarah and Diana. - -Diana was the baby. - -But they were not finished with even then. No; for they were hauled -out and perused night after night for maybe a week, and then -periodically for perhaps another fortnight. There was something new -to talk about found in them each time; something suggesting pleasant -conversation. - -Archie was often even amused at "his dear old dad's" remarks and -advice. He gave as many hints, and planned as many improvements, as -though he had been a settler all his life, and knew everything there -was any need to know about the soil and the climate. - -He believed--_i.e._, the old Squire believed--that if he were only -out among them, he would show even the natives* a thing or two. - - -* Natives = White men born in the Bush. - - -Yes, it was amusing; and after filling about ten or twelve -closely-written pages on suggested improvements, he was sure to -finish up somewhat as follows in the postscript: - -"But after all, Archie, my dear boy, you must be very careful in all -you do. Never go like a bull at a gate, lad. Don't forget that -_I_--even _I_--was not altogether successful at Burley Old Farm." - -"Bless that postscript," Archie would say; "mother comes in there." - -"Does she now?" Sarah would remark, looking interested. - -"Aye, that she does. You see father just writes all he likes -first--blows off steam as it were; and mother reads it, and quietly -dictates a postscript." - -Then there were Elsie's letters and Rupert's, to say nothing of a -note from old Kate and a crumpled little enclosure from Branson. -Well, in addition to letters, there was always a bundle of papers, -every inch of which was read--even the advertisements, and every -paragraph of which brought back to Archie and Bob memories of the -dear old land they were never likely to forget. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -_THE STREAM OF LIFE FLOWS QUIETLY ON._ - -One day a grand gift arrived from England, being nothing less than a -couple of splendid Scotch collies and a pair of Skye terriers. They -had borne the journey wonderfully well, and set about taking stock, -and settling themselves in their new home, at once. - -Archie's pet kangaroo was an object of great curiosity to the Skyes -at first. On the very second day of their arrival Bobie and Roup, as -they were called, marched up to the kangaroo, and thus addressed him: - -"We have both come to the conclusion that you are something that -shouldn't be." - -"Indeed!" said the kangaroo. - -"Yes; so we're going to let the sawdust out of you." - -"Take that then to begin with!" said Mr. Kangaroo; and one of the -dogs was kicked clean and clear over a fern bush. - -They drew off after that with their tails well down. They thought -they had made a mistake somehow. A rabbit that could kick like a -young colt was best left to his own devices. - -The collies never attempted to attack the kangaroo; but when they saw -the droll creature hopping solemnly after Archie, one looked at the -other, and both seemed to laugh inwardly. - -The collies were placed under the charge of Craig to be broken to -use, for both were young, and the Skyes became the vermin-killers. -They worked in couple, and kept down the rats far more effectually -than ever the cats had done. They used to put dingoes to the rout -whenever or wherever they saw them; and as sometimes both these game -little animals would return of a morning severely bitten about the -face and ears, it was evident enough they had gone in for sharp -service during the night. - -One curious thing about the Skyes was, that they killed snakes, and -always came dragging home with the loathsome things. This was very -clever and very plucky; nevertheless, a tame laughing-jackass that -Harry had in a huge cage was to them a pet aversion. Perhaps the -bird knew that; for as soon as he saw them he used to give vent to a -series of wild, defiant "ha-ha-ha's" and "hee-hee-hee's" that would -have laid a ghost. - -The improvements on that portion of Burley New Farm more immediately -adjoining the steading had gone merrily on, and in a year or two, -after fencing and clearing the land, a rough style of agriculture was -commenced. The ploughs were not very first-class, and the horses -were oxen--if I may make an Irish bull. They did the work slowly but -well. They had a notion that every now and then they ought to be -allowed to go to sleep for five minutes. However, they were easily -roused, and just went on again in a dreamy kind of way. - -The land did not require much coaxing to send up crops of splendid -wheat. It was a new-born joy to Bob and Archie to ride along their -paddocks, and see the wind waving over the growing grain, making the -whole field look like an inland sea. - -"What would your father say to a sight like that?" said Bob one -morning while the two were on their rounds. - -"He would start subsoiling ploughs and improve it." - -"I don't know about the improvement, Archie, but I've no doubt he -would try. But new land needs little improving." - -"Maybe no; but mind you, Bob, father is precious clever, though I -don't hold with all his ways. He'd have steam-ploughs here, and -steam-harrows too. He'd cut down the grain to the roots by -steam-machines, or he'd have steam-strippers." - -"But you don't think we should go any faster?" - -"Bob, I must confess I like to take big jumps myself. I take after -my father in some things, but after my Scottish ancestors in others. -For instance, I like to know what lies at the other side of the hedge -before I put my horse at it." - -The first crops of wheat that were taken off the lands of Burley New -Farm were gathered without much straw. It seemed a waste to burn the -latter; but the distance from the railway, and still more from a -market-town, made its destruction a necessity. - -Nor was it altogether destruction either; for the ashes served as a -fertilizer for future crops. - -As things got more settled down, and years flew by, the system of -working the whole station was greatly improved. Bob and Harry had -become quite the home-farmers and agriculturists, while the cattle -partially, and the sheep almost wholly, became the care of Archie, -with Gentleman Craig as his first officer. - -Craig certainly had a long head on his broad shoulders. He did not -hesitate from the first to give his opinions as to the management of -the station. One thing he assured the three friends of: namely, that -the sheep must be sent farther north and west if they were to do well. - -"They want higher and dryer ground," he said; "but you may try them -here." - -I think at this time neither Bob nor Archie knew there was anything -more deadly to be dreaded than foot-rot, which the constant attention -of the shepherds and a due allowance of blue-stone, served out from -Harry's stores, kept well under. - -They gained other and sadder experience before very long, however. - -At first all went as merrily as marriage bells. The first -sheep-shearing was a never-to-be-forgotten event in the life of our -Bushmen. - -The season was October--a spring month in Australia--and the fleeces -were in fine form, albeit some were rather full of grass seed. They -were mostly open, however, and everyone augured a good clip. - -Sarah was very busy indoors superintending everything; for there was -extra cooking to be done now. Wee Diana, who had developed into -quite a Bush child, though a pretty one, toddled about here, there, -and everywhere; the only wonder is--as an Irishman might say--that -she did not get killed three or four times a day. Diana had long -since abjured gumrings and rattles, and taken to hoops and whips. -One of the collie dogs, and the pet kangaroo, were her constant -companions. As previously stated, both collies had been sent to -Craig to be trained; but as Bounce had a difference of opinion with -one of the shepherds, he concluded he would make a change by the way -of bettering himself, so he had taken French leave and come home to -the steading. He would have been sent off again, sure enough, if he -had not--collie-like--enlisted Sarah herself on his behalf. This he -had done by lying down beside little Diana on the kitchen floor. The -two kissed each other and fell asleep. Bounce's position was assured -after that. - -Findlayson, who did not mean to commence operations among his own -fleeces for another month, paid a visit to Burley, and brought with -him a few spare hands. Harry had plenty to do both out of doors and -in his stores; for many men were now about the place, and they must -all eat and smoke. - -"As sure as a gun," said Findlayson the first morning, "that -Joukie-daidles o' yours 'ill get killed." - -He said this just after about three hundred sheep had rushed the -child, and run over her. It was the fault of the kangaroo on one -hand, and the collie, Bounce, on the other. Findlayson had picked -her off the ground, out of a cloud of dust, very dirty, but smiling. - -"What is to be done with her?" said Bob, scratching his head. - -"Fauld her," said Findlayson. - -"What does that mean?" - -Findlayson showed him what "faulding" meant. He speedily put up a -little enclosure on an eminence, from which Diana could see all -without the possibility of escaping. So every day she, with her dog -and the pet kangaroo, to say nothing of a barrow-load of toys, -including a huge Noah's ark, found herself happy and out of harm's -way. Diana could be seen at times leaning over the hurdle, and -waving a hand exultingly in the air, and it was presumed she was -loudly cheering the men's performance; but as to hearing anything, -that seemed utterly out of the question, with the baa-ing and maa-ing -of the sheep. - -When the work was in full blast it certainly was a strange sight, and -quite colonial. Archie had been at sheep-shearings before at home -among the Cheviot Hills, but nothing to compare to this. - -There was, first and foremost, the sheep to be brought up in batches -or flocks from the distant stations, men and dogs also having plenty -to do to keep them together, then the enclosing them near the -washing-ground. The dam in which the washing took place was lucidly -well filled, for rain had fallen not long before. Sheep-washing is -hard work, as anyone will testify who has tried his hand at it for -even half a day. Sheep are sometimes exceedingly stupid, more -particularly, I think, about a time like this. The whole business is -objected to, and they appear imbued with the idea that you mean to -drown them, and put every obstacle in your way a stubborn nature can -invent. - -The sheep, after being well scrubbed, were allowed a day to get dry -and soft and nice. Then came the clipping. Gentleman Craig was -stationed at a platform to count the fleeces and see them ready for -pressing, and Archie's work was cut out in seeing that the fellows at -the clipping did their duty properly. - -It was a busy, steaming time, on the whole, for everybody, but merry -enough nevertheless. There was "lashins" of eating and drinking. -Findlayson himself took charge of the grog, which was mostly rum, -only he had a small store of mountain dew for his own special -consumption. - -Harry was quite the Whitechapel tradesman all over, though you could -not have told whether the grocer or butcher most predominated in his -appearance. - -The clipping went on with marvellous speed, a rivalry existing -between the hands apparently; but as they were paid by the number of -fleeces, there was evident desire on the part of several to sacrifice -perfection to rapidity. - -When it was all over there was still a deal to be done in clearing up -and getting the whole station resettled, one part of the resettling, -and the chief too, being the re-establishing of the sheep on their -pasturage after marking them. - -The wool was pressed into bales, and loaded on huge bullock-waggons, -which are in appearance something between an ordinary country -wood-cart and a brewer's dray. The road to the distant station was -indeed a rough one, and at the slow rate travelled by the bullock -teams the journey would occupy days. - -Craig himself was going with the last lot of these, and Archie had -started early and ridden on all alone to see to business in Brisbane. - -He had only been twice at the town in the course of three years, so -it is no wonder that now he was impressed with the notion that the -well-dressed city folks must stare at him, to see if he had any -hay-seed in his hair. - -Winslow was coming round by boat, and Etheldene as well; she had been -at home for some time on a holiday. - -Why was it, I wonder, that Archie paid a visit to several outfitters' -shops in Brisbane, and made so many purchases? He really was well -enough dressed when he entered the town; at all events, he had looked -a smart young farmer all over. But when he left his bedroom on the -morning of Winslow's arrival, he had considerably more of the English -Squire than the Australian Squatter about his _tout ensemble_. But -he really looked a handsome, happy, careless young fellow, and that -bit of a sprouting moustache showed off his good looks to perfection. -He could not help feeling it sometimes as he sat reading a paper in -the hotel hall, and waiting for his friends, and was fool enough to -wonder if Etheldene would think him improved in appearance. - -But Archie was neither "masher" nor dandy at heart. He was simply a -young man, and I would not value any young man who did not take pains -with his personal appearance, even at the risk of being thought proud. - -Archie had not long to wait for Winslow. He burst in like a fresh -sea-breeze--hale, hearty, and bonnie. He was also a trifle better -dressed than usual. But who was that young lady close by his left -hand? That couldn't be--yes, it was Etheldene, and next moment -Archie was grasping a hand of each. - -Etheldene's beauty had matured; she had been but a girl, a child, -when Archie had met her before. Now she was a bewitching young lady, -modest and lovely, but, on the whole, so self-possessed that if our -hero had harboured any desire to appear before her at his very best, -and keep up the good impression by every means in his power, he had -the good sense to give it up and remain his own natural honest self. - -But he could not help saying to himself, "What a wife she will make -for Rupert! And how Elsie will love and adore her! And I--yes, I -will be content to remain the big bachelor brother." - -There was such a deal to ask of each other, such a deal to do and to -say, that days flew by before they knew where they were, as Winslow -expressed it. - -On the fifth day Gentleman Craig arrived to give an account of his -stewardship. - -Etheldene almost bounded towards him. - -But she looked a little shy at his stare of astonishment as he took -her gloved hand. - -"Baby," he exclaimed, "I would hardly have known you! How you have -improved!" - -Then the conversation became general. - -When accounts were squared, it was discovered that, by the spring -wool, and last year's crops and bullocks, the young squatters had -done wonderfully well, and were really on a fair way to wealth. - -"Now, Archie Broadbent," said Winslow that night, "I am going to put -you on to a good thing or two. You are a gentleman, and have a -gentleman's education. You have brains, and can do a bit of -speculation; and it is just here where brains come in." - -Winslow then unfolded his proposals, which were of such an inviting -kind that Archie at once saw his way to benefit by them. He thanked -Winslow over and over again for all he had done for him, and merely -stipulated that in this case he should be allowed to share his plans -with Bob and Harry. - -To this, of course, Winslow made no objection. - -"As to thanking me for having given ye a tip or two," said Winslow, -"don't flatter yourself it is for your sake. It is all to the memory -of the days I spent as steward at sea with your good old uncle. Did -you send him back his fifty pounds?" - -"I did, and interest with it." - -"That is right. That is proper pride." - -Archie and the Winslows spent a whole fortnight in Brisbane, and they -went away promising that ere long they would once more visit the -station. - -The touch of Etheldene's soft hand lingered long in Archie's. The -last look from her bonnie eyes haunted him even in his dreams, as -well as in his waking thoughts. The former he could not command, so -they played him all kinds of pranks. But over his thoughts he still -had sway; and whenever he found himself thinking much about -Etheldene's beauty, or winning ways, or soft, sweet voice, he always -ended up by saying to himself, "What a love of a little wife she will -make for Rupert!" - -One day, while Archie was taking a farewell walk along Queen Street, -glancing in here and there at the windows, and now and then entering -to buy something pretty for Sarah, something red--dazzling--for her -black servant-maid, and toys for Di, he received a slap on the back -that made him think for a moment a kangaroo had kicked him. - -"What!" he cried, "Captain Vesey?" - -"Aye, lad, didn't I say we would meet again?" - -"Well, wonders will never cease! Where have you been? and what have -you been doing?" - -"Why I've gone in for trade a bit. I've been among the South Sea -Islands, shipping blacks for the interior here; and, to tell you the -truth, my boy, I am pretty well sick of the job from all I've seen. -It is more like buying slaves, and that is the honest truth." - -"And I suppose you are going to give it up?" - -The captain laughed--a laugh that Archie did not quite like. - -"Yes," he said, "I'll give it up after--another turn or two. But -come and have something cooling, the weather is quite summery -already. What a great man you have grown! When I saw you first you -were just a----" - -"A hobbledehoy?" - -"Something like that--very lime-juicy, but very ardent and sanguine. -I say, you didn't find the streets of Sydney paved with gold, eh?" - -"Not quite," replied Archie, laughing as he thought of all his misery -and struggles in the capital of New South Wales. - -"But," he added, "though I did not find the streets paved with gold, -I found the genuine ore on a house-top, or near it, in a girl called -Sarah." - -"What, Archie Broadbent, you don't mean to say you're married?" - -"No; but Bob is." - -"What Bob? Here, waiter, bring us drinks--the best and coolest you -have in the house. Now, lad, you've got to begin at the beginning of -your story, and run right through to the end. Spin it off like a -man. I'll put my legs on a chair, smoke, and listen." - -So Archie did as he was told, and very much interested was Captain -Vesey. - -"And now, captain, you must promise to run down, and see us all in -the Bush. We're a jolly nice family party, I can assure you." - -"I promise, my boy, right heartily. I hope to be back in Brisbane in -six months. Expect to see me then." - -They dined together, and spent the evening talking of old times, and -planning all that they would do when they met. - -Next day they parted. - -* * * * * * - -The end of this spring was remarkable for floods. Never before had -our heroes seen such storms of ram, often accompanied with thunder -and lightning. Archie happened to be out in the forest when it first -came on. - -It had been a hot, still, sulphurous morning, which caused even the -pet kangaroo to lie panting on his side. Then a wind came puffing -and roaring through the trees in uncertain gusts, shaking the hanging -curtains of climbing plants, rustling and rasping among the side-long -leaved giant gums, tearing down tree ferns and lovely orchids, and -scattering the scented bloom of the wattle in every direction. - -With the wind came the clouds, and a darkness that could be felt. - -Then down died the fitful breeze, and loud and long roared and -rattled the thunder, while the blinding lightning seemed everywhere. -It rushed down the darkness in rivers like blood, it glanced and -glimmered on the pools of water, and zigzagged through the trees. -From the awful hurtling of the thunder one would have thought every -trunk and stem were being rent and riven in pieces. - -Tell--the horse--seemed uneasy, so Archie made for home. The rain -had come on long before he reached the creek, but the stream was -still fordable. - -But see! He is but half-way across when, in the interval between the -thunder peals, he can hear a steady rumbling roar away up the creek -and gulley, but coming closer and closer every moment. - -On, on, on, good Tell! Splash through that stream quicker than ever -you went before, or far down the country to-morrow morning two -swollen corpses will be seen floating on the floods! - -Bewildered by the dashing rain, and the mist that rose on every side, -Archie and his trusty steed had but reached high ground when down -came the bore. - -A terrible sight, though but dimly seen. Fully five feet high, it -seemed to carry everything before it. Alas! for flocks and herds. -Archie could see white bodies and black, tumbling and trundling along -in the rolling "spate." - -The floods continued for days. And when they abated then losses -could be reckoned. Though dead cattle and sheep now lay in dozens -about the flat lands near the creek, only a small percentage of them -belonged to Burley. - -Higher up Findlayson had suffered, and many wild cattle helped to -swell the death bill. - -But it was bad enough. - -However, our young squatters were not the men to sit down to cry over -spilt milk. - -The damage was repaired, and the broken dams were made new again. -And these last were sadly wanted before the summer went past. For it -was unusually hot, the sun rising in a cloudless sky, blazing down -all day steadily, and setting without even a ray being intercepted by -a cloud. - -[Illustration: "Bush fires were not now infrequent. One of the -strangest sights in connection with it was the wild stampede of the -panic-stricken kangaroos and bush horses."] - -Bush fires were not now infrequent. While travelling in a distant -part of the selection, far to the west, in company with Craig, whom -he had come to visit, they were witnesses to a fire of this sort that -had caught a distant forest. Neither pen nor pencil could do justice -to such a scene. Luckily it was separated from the Burley estate by -a deep ravine. One of the strangest sights in connection with it was -the wild stampede of the panic-stricken kangaroos and bush horses. - -To work in the fields was now to work indeed. Bob's complexion and -Archie's were "improved" to a kind of brick-red hue, and even Harry -got wondrously tanned. There was certainly a great saving in clothes -that year, for excepting light, broad-brimmed hats, and shirts and -trousers, nothing else was worn by the men. - -But the gardens were cool in the evening, in spite of the midday -glare of the sun, and it was delightful to sit out in the open for an -hour or two and think and talk of the old country; while the rich -perfume of flowers hung warm in the air, and the holy stars shimmered -and blinked in the dark blue of the sky. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -"_I'LL WRITE A LETTER HOME._" - -The summer wore away, autumn came, the harvest was made good, and in -spite of the drought it turned out well; for the paddocks chosen for -agricultural produce seldom lacked moisture, lying as they did on the -low lands near the creek, and on rich ground reclaimed from the scrub. - -Our Bushmen were congratulating themselves on the success of their -farming; for the banking account of all three was building itself, so -to speak, slowly, but surely. - -Archie was now quite as wealthy as either of his companions; for his -speculations, instigated by his friend Winslow, had turned out well; -so his stock had increased tenfold, and he had taken more pasture to -the westward and north, near where Bob's and Harry's sheep now were; -for Craig's advice had been acted on. - -None too soon though; for early in the winter an old shepherd arrived -in haste at the homesteading to report an outbreak of inflammatory -catarrh among the flocks still left on the lower pastures. - -The events that quickly followed put Archie in mind of the "dark -days" at Burley Old Farm, when fat beasts were dying in twos and -threes day after day. Sheep affected with this strange ailment lived -but a day or two, and the only thing to do was to kill them on the -very first symptoms of the ailment appearing. They were then just -worth the price of their hides and tallow. - -Considering the amount of extra work entailed, and the number of -extra hands to be hired, and the bustle and stir and anxiety caused -by the outbreak, it is doubtful if it would not have been better to -bury them as they fell, skin and all. - -This was one of the calamities which Winslow had pointed out to -Archie as likely to occur. But it was stamped out at last. The -sheep that remained were sent away to far-off pastures; being kept -quite separate, however, from the other flocks. So the cloud passed -away, and the squatters could breathe freely again, and hope for a -good lambing season, when winter passed away, and spring-time came -once more. - -"Bob," said Archie one evening, as they all sat round the hearth -before retiring to bed, "that fire looks awfully cosy, doesn't it? -And all the house is clean and quiet--oh, so quiet and delightful -that I really wonder anyone could live in a city or anywhere near the -roar and din of railway trains! Then our farm is thriving far beyond -anything we could have dared to expect. We are positively getting -rich quickly, if, indeed, we are not rich already. And whether it be -winter or summer, the weather is fine, glorious sometimes. Indeed, -it is like a foretaste of heaven, Bob, in my humble opinion, to get -up early and wander out of doors." - -"Well," said Bob, "small reason to be ashamed to say that, my boy." - -"Hold on, Bob, I'm coming to the part I'm ashamed of; just you smoke -your pipe and keep quiet. Well, so much in love am I with the new -country that I'm beginning to forget the old. Of course I'll -always--always be a true Englishman, and I'd go back to-morrow to lay -down my life for the dear old land if it was in danger. But it -isn't, it doesn't want us, it doesn't need us; it is full to -overflowing, and I daresay they can do without any of us. But, Bob, -there is my dear old father, mother, Elsie, and Rupert. Now, if it -were only possible to have them here. But I know my father is wedded -to Burley, and his life's dream is to show his neighbours a thing or -two. I know too that if he starts machinery again he will be -irretrievably lost." - -Archie paused, and the kangaroo looked up into his face as much as to -say, "Go on, I'm all attention." - -"Well, Bob, if I make a pile here and go home, I'll just get as fond -of Burley as I was when a boy, and I may lose my pile too. It seems -selfish to speak so, but there is no necessity for it. So I mean to -try to get father to emigrate. Do you think such a thing is -possible, Bob?" - -"It's the same with men as with trees, Archie. You must loosen the -ground about them, root by root must be carefully taken up if you -want to transplant them and you must take so much of the old earth -with them that they hardly know they are being moved. Sarah, bring -the coffee. As for my own part, Archie, I am going back; but it is -only just to see the old cottage, the dear old woods, and--and my -mother's grave." - -"Yes," said Archie, thoughtfully. "Well, root by root you said, -didn't you?" - -"Aye, root by root." - -"Then I'm going to begin. Rupert and Elsie will be the first roots. -Roup isn't over strong yet. This country will make a man of him. -Bob and you, Harry, can go to bed as soon as you like. I'm going out -to think and walk about a bit. Stick another log or two on the fire, -and as soon as you have all turned in I'll write a letter home. I'll -begin the uprooting, though it does seem cruel to snap old ties." - -"Well," said Harry, "thank goodness, I've got no ties to snap. And I -think with you, Archie, that the old country isn't a patch on the -new. Just think o' the London fogs. You mind them, Sarah." - -"I does, 'Arry." - -"And the snow." - -"And the slush, 'Arry." - -"And the drizzle." - -"And the kitchen beetles, boy. It would take a fat little lot to -make me go back out o' the sunshine. Here's the coffee." - -"Keep mine hot, Sarah." - -Away went Archie out into the night, out under the stars, out in the -falling dew, and his kangaroo went jumping and hopping after him. - -The sky was very bright and clear to-night, though fleece-shaped, -snow-white clouds lay low on the horizon, and the moon was rising -through the distant woods, giving the appearance of some gigantic -fire as its beams glared red among the topmost branches. - -There was the distant howling or yelling of dingoes, and the low, -half-frightened bleat of sheep, and there was the rippling murmur of -the stream not far off, but all else was still. - -It was two hours before Archie found his way back. The kangaroo saw -him to the door, then went off to curl up in the shed till the hot -beams of the morning sun should lure him forth to breakfast. - -And all alone sat Archie, by the kitchen table, writing a letter home -by the light of candles made on the steading. - -It was very still now in the house--only the ticking of the clock, -the occasional whirr of some insect flying against the window, -anxious to come into the light and warmth and scratching of the young -man's pen. - -Surely the dog knew that Archie was writing home, for presently he -got slowly up from his corner and came and leant his head on his -master's knee, in that wise and kindly way collies have of showing -their thoughts and feelings. Archie must leave off writing for a -moment to smooth and pet the honest "bawsent" head. - -Now it would be very easy for us to peep over Archie's shoulder and -read what he was writing, but that would be rude; anything rather -than rudeness and impoliteness. Rather, for instance, let us take a -voyage across the wide, terribly wide ocean, to pay a visit to Burley -Old Farm, and wait till the letter comes. - -* * * * * * - -"I wonder," said Elsie with a gentle sigh, and a long look at the -fire, "when we may expect to hear from Archie again. Dear me, what a -long, long time it is since he went away! Let me see, Rupert, it is -going on for six years, isn't it?" - -"Yes. Archie must be quite a man by now." - -"He's all right," said the Squire. - -"That he is, I know," said Uncle Ramsay. - -"He's in God's good hands," said the mother, but her glasses were so -moist she had to take them off to wipe them; "he is in God's good -hands, and all we can do now is to pray for him." - -Two little taps at the green-parlour door and enter the maid, not -looking much older, and not less smart, than when last we saw her. - -"If you please, sir, there's a gentleman in the study as would like -to see you." - -"Oh," she added, with a little start, "here he comes!" - -And there he came certainly. - -"God bless all here!" he cried heartily. - -"What," exclaimed the Squire, jumping up and holding out his hand, -"my dear old friend Venturesome Vesey!" - -"Yes, Yankee Charlie, and right glad I am to see you." - -"My wife and children, Vesey. Though you and I have often met in -town since my marriage, you've never seen them before. My brother, -whom you know." - -Vesey was not long in making himself one of the family circle, and he -gave his promise to stay at Burley Old Farm for a week at least. - -Rupert and Elsie took to him at once. How could they help it? a -sailor and gentleman, and a man of the world to boot. Besides, -coming directly from Archie. - -"I just popped into the house the very morning after he had written -the letter I now hand to you," said Captain Vesey. "He had an idea -it would be safer for me to bring it. Well, here it is; and I'm -going straight away out to the garden to smoke a pipe under the moon -while you read it. Friend as I am of Archie's, you must have the -letter all to yourselves;" and away went Vesey. - -"Send for old Kate and Branson," cried the Squire, and they -accordingly marched in all expectancy. - -Then the father unfolded the letter with as much reverence almost as -if it had been Foxe's Book of Martyrs. - -Every eye was fixed upon him as he slowly read it. Even Bounder, the -great Newfoundland, knew something unusual was up, and sat by Elsie -all the time. - - -ARCHIE'S LETTER HOME. - -"MY DEAREST MOTHER,--It is to you I write first, because I know that -a proposal I have to make will 'take you aback,' as my friend Winslow -would say. I may as well tell you what it is at once, because, if I -don't, your beloved impatience will cause you to skip all the other -parts of the letter till you come to it. Now then, my own old mummy, -wipe your spectacles all ready, catch hold of the arm of your chair -firmly, and tell Elsie to 'stand by'--another expression of -Winslow's--the smelling-salts bottle. Are you all ready? Heave oh! -then. I'm going to ask you to let Rupert and Elsie come out to me -here. - -"Have you fainted, mummy? Not a bit of it; you're my own brave -mother! And don't you see that this will be only the beginning of -the end? And a bright, happy end, mother, I'm looking forward to its -being. It will be the reunion of us all once more; and if we do not -live quite under one roof, as in the dear old days at Burley Old -Farm, we will live in happy juxtaposition. - -"'What!' you cry, 'deprive me of my children?' It is for your -children's good, mummy. Take Rupert first. He is not strong now, -but he is young. If he comes at once to this glorious land of ours, -on which I am quite enthusiastic, he will get as hardy as a New -Hollander in six months' time. Wouldn't you like to see him with -roses on his face, mother, and a brow as brown as a postage stamp? -Send him out. Would you like him to have a frame of iron, with -muscles as tough as a mainstay? Send him out. Would you like him to -be as full of health as an egg is full of meat? and so happy that he -would have to get up at nights to sing? Then send him here. - -"Take poor me next. You've no notion how homesick I am; I'm dying to -see some of you. I am making money fast, and I love my dear, free, -jolly life; but for all that, there are times that I would give up -everything I possess--health, and hopes of wealth--for sake of one -glance at your dear faces, and one run round Burley Old Farm with -father." - -This part of Archie's letter told home. There were tears in Mrs. -Broadbent's motherly eyes; and old Kate was heard to murmur, "Dear, -bonnie laddie!" and put her apron to her face. - -"Then," the letter continued, "there is Elsie. It would do her good -to come too, because--bless the lassie!--she takes her happiness at -second-hand; and knowing that she was a comfort to us boys, and made -everything cheery and nice, would cause her to be as jolly as the -summer's day is long or a gum tree high. Then, mother, we three -should work together with only one intent--that of getting you and -father both out, and old Kate and Branson too. - -"As for you, dad, I know you will do what is right; and see how good -it would be for us all to let Roup and Elsie come. Then you must -remember that when we got things a bit straighter, we would expect -you and mother to follow. You, dear dad, would have full scope here -for your inventive genius, and improvements that are thrown away in -England could be turned to profit out here. - -"We would not go like a bull at a gate at anything, father; but what -we do want here is machinery, easily worked, for cutting up and -dealing with wood; for cutting up ground, and for destroying tree -stumps; and last, but not least, we want wells, and a complete system -of irrigation for some lands, that shall make us independent to a -great extent of the sparsely-failing rains of some seasons. Of -course you could tell us something about sheep disease and cattle -plague, and I'm not sure you couldn't help us to turn the wild horses -to account, with which some parts of the interior swarm." - -Squire Broadbent paused here to exclaim, as he slapped his thigh with -his open palm: - -"By St. Andrews, brother, Archie is a chip of the old block! He's a -true Broadbent, I can tell you. He appreciates the brains of his -father too. Heads are what are wanted out there; genius to set the -mill a-going. As for this country--pah! it's played out. Yes, my -children, you shall go, and your father will follow." - -"My dear Elsie and Rupert," the letter went on, "how I should love to -have you both out here. I have not asked you before, because I -wanted to have everything in a thriving condition first; but now that -everything is so, it wants but you two to help me on, and in a year -or two---- Hurrah! for dad and the mum! - -"Yes, Elsie, your house is all prepared. I said nothing about this -before. I've been, like the duck-bill, working silently out of -sight--out of your sight I mean. But there it is, the finest house -in all the district, a perfect mansion; walls as thick as Burley Old -Tower--that's for coolness in summer. Lined inside with -cedar--that's for cosiness in winter. Big hall in it, and all the -rooms just _fac-simile_ of our own house at home, or as near to them -as the climate will admit. - -"But mind you, Elsie, I'm not going to have you banished to the Bush -wilds altogether. No, lassie, no; we will have a mansion--a real -mansion--in Sydney or Brisbane as well, and the house at Burley New -Farm will be our country residence. - -"I know I'll have your answer by another mail, and it will put new -life into us all to know you are coming. Then I will start right -away to furnish our house. Our walls shall be polished, pictures -shall be hung, and mirrors everywhere; the floors shall glitter like -beetles' wings, and couches and skins be all about. I'm rather lame -at house description, but you, Elsie, shall finish the furnishing, -and put in the nicknacks yourself. - -"I'm writing here in the stillness of night, with our doggie's head -upon my knee. All have gone to bed--black and white--in the house -and round the Station. But I've just come in from a long walk in the -moonlight. I went out to be alone and think about you; and what a -glorious night, Rupert! We have no such nights in England. Though -it is winter, it is warm and balmy. It is a delight to walk at night -either in summer or winter. Oh, I do wish I could describe to you my -garden as it is in spring and early summer! That is you know, our -garden that is going to be. I had the garden laid out and planted -long before the house was put up, and now my chief delight is to keep -it up. You know, as I told you before, I went to Melbourne with the -Winslows. Well, we went round everywhere, and saw everything; we -sailed on the lovely river, and I was struck with the wonderful -beauty of the gardens, and determined ours should be something like -it. And when the orange blossom is out, and the fragrant verbenas, -and a thousand other half-wild flowers, with ferns, ferns, ferns -everywhere, and a fountain playing in the shadiest nook--this was an -idea of Harry's--you would think you were in fairyland or dreamland, -or 'through the looking-glass,' or somewhere; anyhow, you would be -entranced. - -"But to-night, when I walked there, the house--our house you -know--looked desolate and dreary, and my heart gave a big -superstitious thud when I heard what I thought was a footstep on the -verandah, but it was only a frog as big as your hat. - -"That verandah cost me and Harry many a ramble into the scrub and -forest, but now it is something worth seeing, with its wealth of -climbing flowering plants, its hanging ferns, and its clustering -marvellous orchids. - -"Yes, the house looks lonely; looks haunted almost; only, of course, -ghosts never come near a new house. But, dear Elsie, how lovely it -will look when we are living in it! when light streams out from the -open casement windows! when warmth and music are there! Oh, come -soon, come _soon_! You see I'm still impulsive. - -"You, Elsie, love pets. I daresay Bounder will come with you. Poor -Scallowa! I was sorry to hear of his sad death. But we can have all -kinds of pets here. We have many. To begin with, there is little -Diana, she is queen of the station, and likely to be; she is -everybody's favourite. Then there are the collies, and the kangaroo. -He is quite a darling fellow, and goes everywhere with me. - -"Our laughing jackass is improving every day. He looks excessively -wise when you talk to him, and if touched up with the end of a brush -of turkey's feathers, which we keep for the purpose, he goes off into -such fits of mad hilarious, mocking, ringing laughter that somebody -has got to pick him up, cage and all, and make all haste out of the -house with him. - -"We have also a pet bear; that is Harry's. But don't jump. It is no -bigger than a cat, and far tamer. It is a most wonderful little -rascal to climb ever you saw. Koala we call him, which is his native -name, and he is never tired of exploring the roof and rafters; but -when he wants to go to sleep, he will tie himself round Sarah's -waist, with his back downwards, and go off as sound as a top. - -"We have lots of cats and a cockatoo, who is an exceedingly -mischievous one, and who spends most of his life in the garden. He -can talk, and dance, and sing as well. And he is a caution to -snakes, I can tell you. I don't want to frighten you though. We -never see the 'tiger' snake, or hardly ever, and I think the rest are -harmless. I know the swagsmen, and the sundowners too, often kill -the carpet snake, and roast and eat it when they have no other sort -of fresh meat. I have tasted it, and I can tell you, Rupert, it is -better than roasted rabbit. - -"I'm going to have a flying squirrel. The first time I saw these -creatures was at night among the trees, and they startled me--great -shadowy things sailing like black kites from bough to bough. - -"Kangaroos are cautions. We spend many and many a good day hunting -them. If we did not kill them they would eat us up, or eat the -sheep's fodder up, and that would be all the same. - -"Gentleman Craig has strange views about most things; he believes in -Darwin, and a deal that isn't Darwin; but he says kangaroos first got -or acquired their monster hindlegs, and their sturdy tails, from -sitting up looking over the high grass, and cropping the leaves of -bushes. He says that Australia is two millions of years old at the -very least. - -"I must say I like Craig very much. He is so noble and handsome. -What a splendid soldier he would have made! But with all his -grandeur of looks--I cannot call it anything else--there is an air of -pensiveness and melancholy about him that is never absent. Even when -he smiles it is a sad smile. Ah! Rupert, his story is a very -strange one; but he is young yet, only twenty-six, and he is now -doing well. He lives by himself, with just one shepherd under him, -on the very confines of civilisation. I often fear the blacks will -bail up his hut some day, and mumkill him, and we should all be -sorry. Craig is saving money, and I believe will be a squatter -himself one of these days. Etheldene is very fond of him. Sometimes -I am downright jealous and nasty about it, because I would like you, -Rupert, to have Etheldene for a wife. And she knows all about the -black fellows, and can speak their language. Well, you see, Rupert, -you could go and preach to and convert them; for they are not half so -bad as they are painted. The white men often use them most cruelly, -and think no more of shooting them than I should of killing an old -man kangaroo. - -"When I began this letter, dearest Elsie and old Roup, I meant to -tell you such a lot I find I shall have no chance of doing--all about -the grand trees, the wild and beautiful scenery, the birds and beasts -and insects, but I should have to write for a week to do it. So pray -forgive my rambling letter, and come and see it all for yourself. - -"Come you must, else--let me see now what I shall threaten. Oh, I -have it; I won't ever return! But if you do come, then in a few -years we'll all go back together, and bring out dad and the dear -mummy. - -"I can't see to write any more. No, the lights are just as bright as -when I commenced; but when I think of dad and the mum, my eyes will -get filled with moisture. So there! - -"God bless you all, all, from the mum and dad all the way down to -Kate, Branson, and Bounder. - -"ARCHIE BROADBENT, C.O.B. - -"p.s.--Do you know what C.O.B. means? It means Chip of the Old -Block. Hurrah!" - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -_RUMOURS OF WAR._ - -As soon as Squire Broadbent read his son's letter he carefully folded -it up, and with a smile on his face handed it to Rupert. And -by-and-bye, when Captain Vesey returned, and settled into the family -circle with the rest, and had told them all he could remember about -Archie and Burley New Farm in Australia, the brother and sister, -followed by Bounder, slipped quietly out and told old Kate they were -going to the tower. Would she come? That she would. And so for -hours they all sat up there before the fire talking of Archie, and -all he had done and had been, and laying plans and dreaming dreams, -and building castles in the air, just in the same way that young -folks always have done in this world, and will, I daresay, continue -to do till the end of time. - -But that letter bore fruit, as we shall see. - -Things went on much as usual in the Bush. Winter passed away, spring -came round and lambing season, and the shepherds were busy once more. -Gentleman Craig made several visits to the home farm, and always -brought good news. It was a glorious time in every way; a more -prosperous spring among the sheep no one could wish to have. - -On his last visit to the house Craig stayed a day or two, and Archie -went back with him, accompanied by a man on horseback, with medicines -and some extra stores--clothing and groceries, &c., I mean, for in -those days live stock was sometimes called stores. - -They made Findlayson's the first night, though it was late. They -found that the honest Scot had been so busy all day he had scarcely -sat down to a meal. Archie and Craig were "in clipping-time" -therefore, for there was roast duck on the table, and delightful -potatoes all steaming hot, and, as usual, the black bottle of -mountain dew, a "wee drappie" of which he tried in vain to get either -Craig or Archie to swallow. - -"Oh, by-the-bye, men," said Findlayson, in the course of the -evening--that is, about twelve o'clock--"I hear bad news up the hills -way." - -"Indeed," said Craig. - -"Aye, lad. You better ha'e your gun loaded. The blacks, they say, -are out in force. They've been killing sheep and bullocks too, and -picking the best." - -"Well, I don't blame them either. Mind, we white men began the -trouble; but, nevertheless, I'll defend my flock." - -Little more was said on the subject. But next morning another and an -uglier rumour came. A black fellow or two had been shot, and the -tribe had sworn vengeance and held a corroboree. - -"There's a cloud rising," said Findlayson. "I hope it winna brak -o'er the district." - -"I hope not, Findlayson. Anyhow, I know the black fellows well. I'm -not sure I won't ride over after I get back and try to get to the -bottom of the difference." - -The out-station, under the immediate charge of Gentleman Craig, was -fully thirty miles more to the north and west than Findlayson's, and -on capital sheep-pasture land, being not very far from the hills--a -branch ridge that broke off from the main range, and lay almost due -east and west. - -Many a splendidly-wooded glen and gully was here; but at the time of -our story these were still inhabited by blacks innumerable. Savage, -fierce, and vindictive they were in all conscience, but surely not so -brave as we sometimes hear them spoken of, else could they have swept -the country for miles of the intruding white man. In days gone by -they had indeed committed some appallingly-shocking massacres; but of -late years they had seemed contented to either retire before the -whites or to become their servants, and receive at their hands that -moral death--temptation to drink--which has worked such woe among -savages in every quarter of the inhabitable globe. - -As Archie and his companion came upon the plain where--near the top -of the creek on a bit of table-land--Craig's "castle," as he called -it, was situated, the owner looked anxiously towards it. At first -they could see no signs of life; but as they rode farther on, and -nearer, the shepherd himself came out to meet them, Roup, the collie, -bounding joyfully on in front, and barking in the exuberance of his -glee. - -"All right and safe, shepherd?" - -"All right and safe, sir," the man returned; "but the blacks have -been here to-day." - -"Then I'll go there to-morrow." - -"I don't think that's a good plan." - -"Oh! isn't it? Well, I'll chance it. Will you come, Mr. Broadbent?" - -"I will with pleasure." - -"Anything for dinner, George?" - -"Yes, sir. I expected you; and I've got a grilled pheasant, and fish -besides." - -"Ah, capital! But what made you expect me to-day?" - -"The dog Roup, sir. He was constantly going to the door to look out, -so I could have sworn you would come." - -The evening passed away quietly enough. - -Dwelling in this remote region, and liable at any time to be -attacked, Gentleman Craig had thought it right to almost make a fort -of his little slab-hut. He had two black fellows who worked for him, -and with their assistance a rampart of stones, earth, and wood was -thrown up, although these men had often assured him that "he," Craig, -"was 'corton budgery,' and that there was no fear of the black -fellows 'mumkill' him." - -"I'm not so very sure about it," thought Craig; "and it is best to be -on the safe side." - -They retired to-night early, having seen to the sheep and set a black -to watch, for the dingoes were very destructive. - -Both Craig and Archie slept in the same room, and they hardly -undressed, merely taking off their coats, and lying down on the rough -bed of sacking, with collie near the door to do sentry. - -They had not long turned in when the dog began to growl low. - -"Down charge, Roup," said Craig. - -Instead of obeying, the dog sprang to the door, barking fiercely. - -Both Archie and Craig were out of bed in a moment, and handling their -revolvers. Craig managed to quieten Roup, and then listened -attentively. - -The wind was rising and moaning round the chimney, but above this -sound they could hear a long-prolonged "Coo--oo--ee!" - -"That's a white man's voice," said Craig; "we're safe." - -The door and fort was at once opened, and a minute after five -squatters entered. - -"Sorry we came so late," they said; "but we've been and done it, and -it took some time." - -"What have you done?" said Craig. - -"Fired the woods all along the gullies among the hills." - -"Is that fair to the blacks?" - -"Curse them!" exclaimed the spokesman. "Why do they not keep back? -The law grumbles if we shoot the dogs, unless in what they please to -call self-defence, which means after they have speared our beasts and -shepherds, and are standing outside our doors with a nullah ready to -brain us." - -Craig and Archie went to the door and looked towards the hills. - -What a scene was there! The fire seemed to have taken possession of -the whole of the highlands from east to west, and was entwining wood -and forest, glen and ravine, in its snake-like embrace. The hills -themselves were cradled in flames and lurid smoke. The stems of the -giant gum trees alone seemed to defy the blaze, and though their -summits looked like steeples on fire, the trunks stood like pillars -of black marble against the golden gleam behind them. The noise was -deafening, and the smoke rolled away to leeward, laden with sparks -thick as the snow-flakes in a winter's fall. It was an appalling -sight, the description of which is beyond the power of any pen. - -"Well, men," said Craig when he re-entered the hut, "I don't quite -see the force of what you have done. It is like a declaration of -war, and, depend upon it, the black fellows will accept the -challenge." - -"It'll make the grass grow," said one of the men with a laugh. - -"Yes," said another; "and that grass will grow over a black man's -grave or two ere long, if I don't much mistake." - -"It wouldn't be worth while burying the fiends," said a third. -"We'll leave them to the rooks." - -"Well," said Craig, "there's meat and damper there, men. Stir up the -fire, warm your tea, and be happy as long as you can. We're off to -bed." - -Gentleman Craig was as good as his word next day. He rode away in -search of the tribe, and after a long ride found them encamped on a -tableland. - -As it turned out they knew him, and he rode quietly into their midst. - -They were all armed with spear, and nullah, and boomerang. They were -tattooed, nearly naked, and hideous enough in their horrid war-paint. - -Craig showed no signs of fear. Indeed he felt none. He told the -chief, however, that he had not approved of the action of the white -men, his brothers, and had come, if possible, to make peace. Why -should they fight? There was room enough in the forest and scrub for -all. If they--the blacks--would leave the cattle and flocks of the -squatters alone, he--Craig--could assure them things would go on as -happily as before. - -"And if not?" they asked. - -"If not, for one black man there was in the country, there were a -thousand white. They would come upon them in troops, even like the -locusts; they would hunt them as they hunted the dingoes; they would -kill them as dingoes were killed, and before long all the black -fellows would be in the land of forgetfulness. What would it profit -them then that they had speared a few white fellows?" - -Craig stayed for hours arguing with these wild men, and left at last -after having actually made peace with honour. - -The cloud had rolled away, for a time at all events. In the course -of a few days Archie and his man left on his return journey. -Findlayson made up his mind to go on with him to Burley New Farm; for -this Scot was very fond of an occasional trip eastwards, and what he -called a "twa-handed crack" with Bob or Harry. - -Everybody was glad to see him; for, truth to tell, no one had ever -seen Findlayson without a smile on his old-fashioned face, and so he -was well liked. - -Bob came galloping out to meet them, and with him, greatly to -Archie's astonishment, was what he at first took for a black bear. - -The black bear was Bounder. - -Archie dismounted and threw his arms round the great honest dog's -neck, and almost burst into tears of joy. - -For just half a minute Bounder was taken aback; then memory came -rushing over him; he gave a jump, and landed Archie on his back, and -covered his face and hair with his canine kisses. But this was not -enough. Bounder must blow off steam. He must get rid of the -exuberance of his delight before it killed him. So with a -half-hysterical but happy bark he went off at a tangent, and -commenced sweeping round and round in a circle so quickly that he -appeared but a black shape. This wild caper he kept up till nearly -exhausted, then returned once more to be embraced. - -"So they've come." It was all that Archie could say. - -Yes, they had come. Elsie had come, Rupert had come, Branson and -Bounder had come. - -And oh, what a joyful meeting that was! Only those who have been -separated for many long years from all they love and hold dear, and -have met just thus, as Archie now met his sister and brother, can -have any appreciation of the amount of joy that filled their hearts. - -The very first overflowing of this joy being expended, of course the -next thing for both Archie and the newcomers to say was, "How you've -changed!" - -Yes, they had all changed. None more so than Elsie. She always gave -promise of beauty; but now that Archie held her at arms' length, to -look at and criticise, he could not help exclaiming right truthfully: - -"Why, Elsie, you're almost as beautiful as Etheldene!" - -"Oh, what a compliment!" cried Rupert. "I wouldn't have it, Elsie. -That '_almost_' spoils it." - -"Just you wait till you see Etheldene, young man," said Archie, -nodding his head. "You'll fall in love at once. I only hope she -won't marry Gentleman Craig. And how is mother and father?" - -Then questions came in streams. To write one half that was spoken -that night would take me weeks. They all sat out in the verandah of -the old house; for the night was sultry and warm, and it was very -late indeed before anyone ever thought of retiring. - -Findlayson had been unusually quiet during the whole of the evening. -To be sure, it would not have been quite right for him to have put in -his oar too much, but, to tell the truth, something had happened -which appeared to account for his silence. Findlayson had fallen in -love--love at first sight. Oh, there are such things! I had a touch -of the complaint myself once, so my judgment is critical. Of course, -it is needless to say that Elsie was the bright particular star, that -had in one brief moment revolutionized the existence and life of the -ordinarily placid and very matter-of-fact Findlayson. So he sat -to-night in his corner and hardly spoke, but, I daresay, like Paddy's -parrot, he made up for it in thinking; and he looked all he could -also, without seeming positively rude. - -Well, a whole fortnight was spent by Archie in showing his brother -and sister round the station, and initiating them into some of the -mysteries and contrarieties of life in the Australian Bush. - -After this the three started off for Brisbane and Sydney, to complete -the purchase of furniture for Archie's house. Archie proved himself -exceedingly clever at this sort of thing, considering that he was -only a male person. But in proof of what I state, let me tell you, -that before leaving home he had even taken the measure of the rooms, -and of the windows and doors. And when he got to Sydney he showed -his taste in the decorative art by choosing "fixings" of an -altogether Oriental and semi-esthetic design. - -At Sydney Elsie and Rupert were introduced to the Winslows, and, as -soon as he conveniently could, Archie took his brother's opinion -about Etheldene. - -Very much to his astonishment, Rupert told him that Etheldene was -more sisterly than anything else, and he dare say she was rather a -nice girl--"as far as girls go." - -Archie laughed outright at Rupert's coolness, but somehow or other he -felt relieved. - -First impressions go a far way in a matter of this kind, and it was -pretty evident there was little chance of Rupert's falling in love -with Etheldene, for some time at least. - -Yet this was the plan of campaign Archie had cut out: Rupert and -Etheldene should be very much struck with each other from the very -first; the young lady should frequently visit at Burley New Farm, -and, for the good of his health, Rupert should go often to Sydney. -Things would progress thus, off and on, for a few years, then the -marriage would follow, Rupert being by this time settled perhaps, and -in a fair way of doing well. I am afraid Archie had reckoned without -his host, or even his hostess. - -He was not long in coming to this conclusion either; and about the -same time he made another discovery, very much to his own surprise; -namely, that he himself was in love with Etheldene, and that he had -probably been so for some considerable length of time, without -knowing it. He determined in his own mind therefore that he would -steel his heart towards Miss Winslow, and forget her. - -Before Elsie and Rupert came to settle down finally at the farm, they -enjoyed, in company with Mr. Winslow and his daughter, many charming -trips to what I might call the show-places of Australia. Sydney, and -all its indescribably-beautiful surroundings, they visited first. -Then they went to Melbourne, and were much struck with all the wealth -and grandeur they saw around them, although they could not help -thinking the actual state of the streets was somewhat of a reproach -to the town. They sailed on the Yarra-Yarra; they went inland and -saw, only to marvel at, the grandeur of the scenery, the ferny -forests, the glens and hills, the waterfalls and tumbling streams and -lovely lakes. And all the time Rupert could not get rid of the -impression that it was a beautiful dream, from which he would -presently awake and find himself at Burley Old Farm. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -_THE MASSACRE AT FINDLAYSON'S FARM._ - -By the time Elsie and Rupert had returned from their wanderings -winter was once more coming on; but already both the sister and -brother had got a complexion. - -The house was quite furnished now, guest-room and all. It was indeed -a mansion, though I would not like to say how much money it had cost -Archie to make it so. However, he had determined, as he said himself -to Bob, to do the thing properly while he was about it. - -And there is no doubt he succeeded well. His garden too was all he -had depicted it in his letter home. - -That Archie had succeeded to his heart's content in breaking ties -with the old country was pretty evident, from a letter received by -him from his father about mid-winter. - -"He had noticed for quite a long time," the Squire wrote, "and was -getting more and more convinced, that this England was, -agriculturally speaking, on its last legs. Even American inventions, -and American skill and enterprise, had failed to do much for the -lands of Burley. He had tried everything, but the ground failed to -respond. Burley was a good place for an old retired man who loved to -potter around after the partridges; but for one like himself, still -in the prime of his life, it had lost its charms. Even Archie's -mother, he told him, did not see the advisability of throwing good -money after bad, and Uncle Ramsay was of the same way of thinking. -So he had made up his mind to let the place and come straight away -out. He would allow Archie to look out for land for him, and -by-and-bye he would come and take possession. Australia would -henceforth reap the benefit of his genius and example; for he meant -to show Australians a thing or two." - -When Archie read that letter, he came in with a rush to read it to -Bob, Harry, and Sarah. - -"I think your father is right," said Bob. - -"I tell you, Bob, my boy, it isn't father so much as mother. The -dear old mummy speaks and breathes through every line and word of -this epistle. Now I'm off to astonish Elsie and Roup. Come along, -Bounder." - -* * * * * * - -Meanwhile Findlayson became a regular visitor at the farm. - -"Why," Archie said to him one evening, as he met him about the outer -boundary of the farm, "why, Findlayson, my boy, you're getting to be -a regular 'sundowner.' Well, Miss Winslow has come, and Craig is -with us, and as I want to show Branson a bit of real Australian -sport, you had better stop with us a fortnight." - -"I'll be delighted. I wish I'd brought my fiddle." - -"We'll send for it if you can't live without it." - -"Not very weel. But I've something to tell you." - -"Well, say on; but you needn't dismount." - -"Yes, I'll speak better down here." - -Findlayson sat up on top of the fence, and at once opened fire by -telling Archie he had fallen in love with Elsie, and had determined -to make her his wife. Archie certainly was taken aback. - -"Why, Findlayson," he said, "you're old enough to be her father." - -"A' the better, man. And look here, I've been squatting for fifteen -years, ever since there was a sheep in the plains almost. I have a -nice little nest egg at the bank, and if your sister doesna care to -live in the Bush we'll tak' a hoose in Sydney. For, O man, man, -Elsie is the bonniest lassie the world e'er saw. She beats the -gowan."* - - -* Gowan = mountain daisy. - - -Archie laughed. - -"I must refer you to the lady herself," he said. - -"Of course, man, of course-- - - "'He either fears his fate too much, - Or his deserts are small, - Who dares not put it to the test - To win or lose it all.'" - - -So away went Findlayson to put his fate to the test. - -What _he_ said or what _she_ said does not really concern us; but -five minutes after his interview Archie met the honest Scot, and -wondrously crest-fallen he looked. - -"She winna hae me," he cried, "but _nil desperandum_, that'll be my -motto till the happy day." - -The next fortnight was in a great measure given up to pleasure and -sport. Both Branson and Bounder received their baptism of fire, -though the great Newfoundland was wondrously exercised in his mind as -to what a kangaroo was, and what it was not. As to the dingoes, he -arrived at a conclusion very speedily. They could beat him at a -race, however; but when Bounder one time got two of them together, he -proved to everybody's satisfaction that there was life in the old dog -yet. - -Gentleman Craig never appeared to such excellent advantage anywhere -as in ladies' society. He really led the conversation at the -dinner-table, though not appearing to do so, but rather the reverse, -while in the drawing-room he was the moving spirit. - -He also managed to make Findlayson happy after a way. The Scotchman -had told Craig all his troubles, but Craig brought him his fiddle, on -which he was a really excellent performer. - -"Rouse out, Mr. Findlayson, and join the ladies at the piano." - -"But, man," the squatter replied, "my heart's no in it; my heart is -broken. I can play slow music, but when it comes to quick, it goes -hard against the grain." - -Nevertheless, Findlayson took his stand beside the piano, and the ice -thus being broken, he played every night, though it must be -confessed, for truth's sake, he never refused a "cogie" when the -bottle came round his way. Towards ten o'clock Findlayson used, -therefore, to become somewhat sentimental. The gentleman sat up for -a wee half hour after the ladies retired, and sometimes Findlayson -would seize his fiddle. - -"Gentlemen," he would say, "here is how I feel." - -Then he would play a lament or a wail with such feeling that even his -listeners would be affected, while sometimes the tears would be -quivering on the performer's eyelashes. - -At the end of the fortnight Findlayson went to Brisbane. He had some -mysterious business to transact, the nature of which he refused to -tell even Archie. But it was rumoured that a week or two later on, -drays laden with furniture were seen to pass along the tracks on -their way to Findlayson's farm. - -Poor fellow, he was evidently badly hit. He was very much in love -indeed, and, like a drowning man, he clutched at straws. - -The refurnishing of his house was one of these straws. Findlayson -was going to give "a week's fun," as he phrased it. He was -determined, after having seen Archie's new house, that his own should -rival and even outshine it in splendour. And he really was insane -enough to believe that if Elsie only once saw the charming house he -owned, with the wild and beautiful scenery all around it, she would -alter her mind, and look more favourably on his suit. - -In giving way to vain imaginings of this kind, Findlayson was really -ignoring, or forgetting at all events, the sentiments of his own -favourite poet, Burns, as impressed in the following touching lines: - - "It ne'er was wealth, it ne'er was wealth, - That bought contentment, peace, or pleasure; - The bands and bliss o' mutual love, - O that's the chiefest warld's treasure!" - -His sister was very straightforward, and at once put her brother down -as a wee bit daft. Perhaps he really was; only the old saying is a -true one: "Those that are in love are like no one else." - -* * * * * * - -It was the last month of winter, when early one morning a gay party -from Burley New Farm set out to visit Findlayson, and spend a week or -two in order to "'liven him up," as Harry expressed it. - -Bob was not particularly fond of going much from home--besides, -Winslow and he were planning some extensions--so he stopped on the -Station. But Harry went, and, as before, when going to the kangaroo -hunt, Gentleman Craig was in the cavalcade, and of course Rupert and -Elsie. - -It would have been no very difficult matter to have done the journey -in a single day, only Archie was desirous of letting his brother and -sister have a taste of camping out in the Bush. - -They chose the same route as before, and encamped at night in the -self-same place. - -The evening too was spent in much the same way, even to singing and -story-telling, and Craig's lullaby to Baby, when she and Elsie had -gone to their tent. - -Morning dawned at last on forest and plain, and both Harry and the -brothers were early astir. It would have been impossible to remain -asleep much after daybreak, owing to the noise of the birds, -including the occasional ear-splitting clatter of the laughing -jackasses. - -Besides, towards morning it had been exceedingly cold. The first -thing that greeted their eyes was a thorough old-fashioned hoar -frost, the like of which Archie had not seen for many a year. -Everything gleamed white almost as coral. The grass itself was a -sight to see, and the leaves on the trees were edged with lace. But -up mounted the sun, and all was speedily changed. Leaves grew -brightly green again, and the hoar frost was turned into glancing, -gleaming, rainbow-coloured drops of dew. - -The young men ran merrily away to the pool in the creek, and most -effectually scared the ducks. - -The breakfast to-day was a different sort of a meal to the morsel of -stiff damper and corned junk that had been partaken of at last -bivouac. Elsie made the tea, and Etheldene and she presided. The -meat pies and patties were excellent, and everyone was in the highest -possible spirits, and joyously merry. - -Alas! and alas! this was a breakfast no one who sat down to, and who -lives, is ever likely to forget. - -Have you ever, reader, been startled on a bright sunshiny summer's -day by a thunder-peal? And have you seen the clouds rapidly bank up -after this and obscure the sky, darkness brooding over the windless -landscape, lighted up every moment by the blinding lightning's flash, -and gloom and danger brooding all round, where but a short half-hour -ago the birds carolled in sunlight? Then will you be able, in some -measure, to understand the terribleness of the situation in which an -hour or two after breakfast the party found themselves, and the awful -suddenness of the shock that for a time quite paralyzed every member -of it. - -They had left the dismal depths of the forest, and were out on the -open pasture-land, and nearing Findlayson's house, when Craig and -Archie, riding on in front, came upon the well-known bobtailed -collie, who was the almost constant companion of the squatter. The -dog was alive, but dying. There was a terrible spear-gash in his -neck. Craig dismounted and knelt beside him. The poor brute knew -him, wagged his inch-long tail, licked the hand that caressed him, -and almost immediately expired. Craig immediately rode back to the -others. - -"Do not be alarmed, ladies," he said. "But I fear the worst. There -is no smoke in Findlayson's chimney. The black fellows have killed -his dog." - -Though both girls grew pale, there were no other signs of fear -manifested by them. If Young Australia could be brave, so could Old -England. - -The men consulted hurriedly, and it was agreed that while Branson and -Harry waited with the ladies, Archie and Craig should ride on towards -the house. - -Not a sign of life; no, not one. Signs enough of death though, signs -enough of an awful struggle. It was all very plain and simple, -though all very, very sad and dreadful. - -Here in the courtyard lay several dead natives, festering and -sweltering in the noonday sun. Here were the boomerangs and spears -that had fallen from their hands as they dropped never to rise again. -Here was the door battered and splintered and beaten in with -tomahawks, and just inside, in the passage, lay the bodies of -Hurricane Bill and poor Findlayson, hacked about almost beyond -recognition. - -In the rooms all was confusion, every place had been ransacked. The -furniture, all new and elegant, smashed and riven; the very piano -that the honest Scot had bought for sake of Elsie had been dissected, -and its keys carried away for ornaments. In an inner room, -half-dressed, were Findlayson's sister and her little Scotch maid, -their arms broken, as if they had held them up to beseech for mercy -from the monsters who had attacked them. Their arms were broken, and -their skulls beaten in, their white night-dresses drenched in blood. -There was blood, blood everywhere--in curdled streams, in great -liver-like gouts, and in dark pools on the floor. In the kitchen -were many more bodies of white men (the shepherds), and of the fiends -in human form with whom they had struggled for their lives. - -It was an awful and sickening sight. - -No need for Craig or Archie to tell the news when they returned to -the others. Their very silence and sadness told the terrible tale. - -Nothing could be done at present, however, in the way of punishing -the murderers, who by this time must be far away in their mountain -fastnesses. - -They must ride back, and at once too, in order to warn the people at -Burley and round about of their great danger. - -So the return journey was commenced at once. On riding through the -forest they had to observe the greatest caution. - -Craig was an old Bushman, and knew the ways of the blacks well. He -trotted on in front. And whenever in any thicket, where an ambush -might possibly be lurking, he saw no sign of bird or beast, he -dismounted and, revolver in hand, examined the place before he -permitted the others to come on. - -They got through the forest and out of the gloom at last, and some -hours afterwards dismounted a long way down the creek to water the -horses and let them browse. As for themselves, no one thought of -eating. There was that feeling of weight at every heart one -experiences when first awakening from some dreadful nightmare. - -They talked about the massacre, as they sat under the shadow of a gum -tree, almost in whispers; and at the slightest unusual noise the men -grasped their revolvers and listened. - -They were just about to resume their journey when the distant sound -of galloping horses fell on their ears. Their own nags neighed. All -sprang to their feet, and next moment some eight or nine men rode -into the clearing. - -Most of them were known to Craig, so he advanced to meet them. - -"Ah! I see you know the worst," said the leader. - -"Yes," said Craig, "we know." - -"We've been to your place. It is all right there with one exception." - -"One exception?" - -"Yes; it's only the kid--Mr. Cooper's little daughter, you know." - -"Is she dead?" cried Archie aghast. - -"No, sir; that is, it isn't likely. Mr. Cooper's black girl left -last night, and took the child." - -"Good heavens! our little Diana! Poor Bob! He will go raving mad!" - -"He is mad, sir, or all but, already; but we've left some fellows to -defend the station, and taken to the trail as you see." - -"Craig," said Archie, "we must go, too." - -"Well," said the first speaker, "the coast is all clear betwixt here -and Burley. Two must return there with the ladies. I advise you to -make your choice, and lose no time." - -It was finally arranged that Branson and one of the newcomers should -form the escort; and so Archie, Harry, and Craig bade the girls a -hurried adieu, and speedily rode away after the men. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -_ON THE WAR TRAIL._ - -Twelve men all told to march against a tribe consisting probably of -over a hundred and fifty warriors, armed for the fight, and -intoxicated with their recent success! It was a rash, an almost mad, -venture; but they did not for one moment dream of drawing back. They -would trust to their own superior skill to beat the enemy; trust to -that fortune that so often favours the brave; trusting--many of them -I hope--to that merciful Providence who protects the weak, and who, -in our greatest hour of need, does not refuse to listen to our -pleadings. - -They had ridden some little way in silence, when suddenly Archie drew -rein. - -"Halt, men!" he cried. "Halt for a moment and deliberate. Who is to -be the commander of this little force?" - -"Yourself," said Gentleman Craig, lifting his hat "You are boss of -Burley Farm, and Mr. Cooper's dearest friend." - -"Hear, hear!" cried several of the others. - -"Perhaps it is best," said Archie, after a moment's thoughtful pause, -"that I should take the leadership under the circumstances. But, -Craig, I choose you as my second in command, and one whose counsel I -will respect and be guided by." - -"Thank you," said Craig; "and to begin with, I move we go straight -back to Findlayson's farm. We are not too well armed, nor too well -provisioned." - -The proposal was at once adopted, and towards sundown they had once -more reached the outlying pastures. - -They were dismounting to enter, when the half-naked figure of a black -suddenly appeared from behind the storehouse. - -A gun or two was levelled at him at once. - -"Stay," cried Craig. "Do not fire. That is Jacoby, the black -stockman, and one of poor Mr. Findlayson's chief men. Ha, Jacoby, -advance my lad, and tell us all you know." - -Jacoby's answer was couched in such unintelligible jargon--a mixture -of Bush English and broad Scotch--that I will not try the reader's -patience by giving it verbatim. He was terribly excited, and looked -heart-broken with grief. He had but recently come home, having -passed "plenty black-fellows" on the road. They had attempted to -kill him, but here he was. - -"Could he track them?" - -"Yes, easily. They had gone away there." He pointed north and east -as he spoke. - -"This is strange," said Craig. "Men, if what Jacoby tells us be -correct, instead of retreating to their homes in the wilderness, the -blacks are doubling round; and if so, it must be their intention to -commit more of their diabolical deeds, so there is no time to be -lost." - -It was determined first to bury their dear friends; and very soon a -grave was dug--a huge rough hole, that was all--and in it the -murdered whites were laid side by side. - -Rupert repeated the burial-service, or as much of it as he could -remember; then the rude grave was filled, and as the earth fell over -the chest of poor old-fashioned Findlayson, and Archie thought of all -his droll and innocent ways, tears trickled over his face that he -made no attempt to hide. - -The men hauled the gates of a paddock off its hinges, and piled wood -upon that, so that the wandering dingoes, with their friends the -rooks, should be baulked in their attempts to gorge upon the dead. - -The blacks had evidently commenced to ransack the stores; but for -some reason or another had gone and left them mostly untouched. - -Here were gunpowder and cartridges in abundance, and many dainty, -easily-carried foods, such as tinned meats and fish, that the unhappy -owner had evidently laid in for his friends. So enough of everything -was packed away in the men's pockets or bags, and they were soon -ready once more for the road. - -The horses must rest, however; for these formed the mainstay of the -little expedition. The men too could not keep on all night without a -pause; so Archie and Craig consulted, and it was agreed to bivouac -for a few hours, then resume the journey when the moon should rise. - -Meanwhile the sun went down behind the dark and distant wooded hills, -that in their strange shapes almost resembled the horizon seen at sea -when the waves are high and stormy. Between the place where Archie -and his brother stood and the light, all was rugged plain and -forest-land, but soon the whole assumed a shade of almost blackness, -and the nearest trees stood up weird and spectre-like against the -sky's strange hue. Towards the horizon to-night there was a deep -saffron or orange fading above into a kind of pure grey or opal hue, -with over it all a light blush of red, and hurrying away to the -south, impelled by some air-current not felt below, was a mighty host -of little cloudlets of every colour, from darkest purple to -golden-red and crimson. - -There was now and then the bleating of sheep--sheep without a -shepherd--and a slight tinkle-tinkle, as of a bell. It was in -reality the voice of a strange bird, often to be found in the -neighbourhood of creeks and pools. - -Hardly any other sound at present fell on the ear. By-and-bye the -hurrying clouds got paler, and the orange left the horizon, and stars -began to twinkle in the east. - -"Come out here a little way with me," said Rupert, taking Archie by -the hand. - -When they had gone some little distance, quite out of hearing of the -camp, Rupert spoke: - -"Do you mind kneeling down here," he said, "to pray, Archie?" - -"You good old Rupert, no," was the reply. - -Perhaps no more simple, earnest, or heart-felt prayer was ever -breathed under such circumstances, or in such a place. And not only -was Rupert earnest, but he was confident. He spoke to the great -Father as to a friend whom he had long, long known, and One whom he -could trust to do all for the best. He prayed for protection, he -prayed for help for the speedy restoration of the stolen child, and -he even prayed for the tribe they soon hoped to meet in -conflict--prayed that the God who moves in so mysterious a way to -perform His wonders would bless the present affliction to the white -man, and even to the misguided black. - -Oh, what a beautiful religion is ours--the religion of love--the -religion taught by the lips of the mild and gentle Jesus! - -When they rose from their knees they once more looked skywards at the -stars, for they were brightly shining now; then hand-in-hand, as they -had come, the brothers returned to the camp. - -No log-fire was lit to-night. The men just lay down to sleep rolled -in their blankets, with their arms close by their saddle pillows, two -being told off to walk sentry in case of a sudden surprise. - -Even the horses were put in an enclosure, lest they might roam too -far away. - -About twelve o'clock Archie awoke from an uneasy dreamful slumber, -and looked about him. His attention was speedily attracted to what -seemed a huge fire blazing luridly behind the hills, and lighting up -the haze above with its gleams. Was the forest on fire again? No; -it was only moonrise over the woods. Ha awakened Craig, and soon the -little camp was all astir and ready for the road. Jacoby was to act -as guide. No Indian from the Wild West of America could be a better -tracker. - -But even before he started he told Craig the task would be an easy -one, for the black fellows had drunk plenty, and had taken plenty rum -with them. They would not go far, he thought, and there was a -probability that they would meet some of the band returning. Even in -the moonlight Jacoby followed the trail easily and rapidly. - -It took them first straight for the forest that had been burned -recently--a thoughtless deed on the part of the whites, that probably -led to all this sad trouble. - -There was evidence here that the blacks had gone into camp on the -very night of the massacre, and had held a corroboree, which could -only have been a day or two ago. There were the remains of the camp -fires and the trampled ground and broken branches, with no attempt at -concealment. There was a chance that even now they might not be far -away, and that the little band might come up with them ere they had -started for the day. But if they ventured to hope so, they were -doomed to disappointment. - -Morning broke at last lazily over the woods, and with but a brief -interval they followed up the trail, and so on and on all that day, -till far into the afternoon, when for a brief moment only Jacoby -found himself puzzled, having fallen in with another trail leading -south and west from the main track. He soon, however, discovered -that the new trail must be that of some band who had joined the -Findlayson farm raiders. - -It became painfully evident soon after that this was the correct -solution, for, going backwards some little way. Archie found a -child's shoe--one of a crimson pair that Bob had bought in Brisbane -for his little Diana. - -"God help her, poor darling!" said Archie reverently, as he placed -the little shoe in his breast pocket. When he returned he held it up -for a moment before the men, and the scowl of anger that crossed -their faces, and the firmer clutch they took of their weapons, showed -it would indeed be bad for the blacks when they met these rough -pioneers face to face. - -At sunset supper was partaken of, and camp once more formed, though -no fire was lit, cold though it might be before morning. - -The men were tired, and were sound asleep almost as soon as they lay -down; but Craig, with the brothers, climbed the ridge of the hill to -look about them soon after it grew dark. - -The camp rested at the entrance of a wild gully, a view of which -could be had, darkling away towards the east, from the hill on which -the three friends now found themselves. - -Presently Rupert spoke. - -"Archie," he said, "in this land of contrarieties does the moon -sometimes rise in the south?" - -"Not quite," replied Archie. - -"Look, then. What is that reflection over yonder?" Craig and Archie -both caught sight of it at the same time. - -"By Saint George and merry England!" Craig cried exultingly, "that is -the camp of the blacks. Now to find Diana's other shoe, and the dear -child herself wearing it. Now for revenge!" - -"Nay," said Rupert, "call it justice, Craig." - -"What you will; but let us hurry down." - -They stayed but for a moment more to take their bearings. The fire -gleams pointed to a spot to the south-east, on high ground, and right -above the gully, and they had a background of trees, not the sky. It -was evident then that the enemy was encamped in a little clearing on -a forest table-land; and if they meant to save the child's life--if -indeed she was not already dead--the greatest caution would be -necessary. - -They speedily descended, and a consultation being held, it was -resolved to commence operations as soon as the moon should rise; but -meanwhile to creep in the darkness as near to the camp as possible. - -But first Jacoby was sent out to reconnoitre. No cat, no flying -squirrel could glide more noiselessly through an Australian forest -than this faithful fellow. Still he seemed an unconsciously long -time gone. Just as Craig and Archie were getting seriously uneasy -the tinkle, tinkle of the bell-bird was heard. This was the signal -agreed upon, and presently after, Jacoby himself came silently into -their midst. - -"The child?" was Archie's first question. - -"Baāl mumhill piccaninny, belong a you. Pidney you." - -"The child is safe," said Craig, after asking a few more questions of -this Scotch Myell black. - -"Safe? and they are holding a corroboree and drinking. There is -little time to lose. They may sacrifice the infant at any time." - -Craig struck a light as he spoke, and every man examined his arms. - -"The moon will rise in an hour. Let us go on. Silent as death, men! -Do not overturn a stone or break a twig, or the poor baby's life will -be sacrificed in a moment." - -They now advanced slowly and cautiously, guided by Jacoby, and at -length lay down almost within pistol-shot of the place where the -horrid corroboree was going on. - -Considering the noise--the shrieking, the clashing of arms, the rude -chanting of songs, and awful din, of the dancers and actors in this -ugly drama--to maintain silence might have seemed unnecessary; but -these blacks have ears like wolves, and, in a lull of even half a -second, would be sharp to hear the faintest unusual noise. - -Craig and Archie, however, crept on till they came within sight of -the ceremonies. - -At another time it might have been interesting to watch the hideous -grotesqueness of that awful war-dance, but other thoughts were in -their minds at present--they were looking everywhere for Diana. -Presently the wild, naked, dancing blacks surged backwards, and, -asleep in the arms of a horrid gin, they discovered Bob's darling -child. It was well Bob himself was not here or all would quickly -have been lost. All was nearly lost as it was, for suddenly Archie -inadvertently snapped a twig. In a moment there was silence, except -for the barking of a dog. - -Craig raised his voice, and gave vent to a scream so wild and -unearthly that even Archie was startled. - -At once all was confusion among the blacks. Whether they had taken -it for the yell of Bunyip or not may never be known, but they -prepared to fly. The gin carrying Diana threw down the frightened -child. A black raised his arm to brain the little toddler. He fell -dead instead. - -[Illustration: "A black raised his arm to brain the little toddler. -He fell dead instead. Diana was saved! Craig's aim had been a -steady one. Almost immediately after a volley or two completed the -rout."] - -Craig's aim had been a steady one. Almost immediately after a volley -or two completed the rout, and the blacks fled yelling into the -forest. - -Diana was saved! This was better than revenge; for not a hair of her -bonnie wee head had been injured, so to speak, and she still wore the -one little red-morocco shoe. - -There was not a man there who did not catch that child up in his arms -and kiss her, some giving vent to their feelings in wild words of -thankfulness to God in heaven, while the tears came dripping over -their hardy, sun-browned cheeks. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -_CHEST TO CHEST WITH SAVAGES--HOW IT ALL ENDED._ - -No one thought of sleeping again that night. They went back for -their horses, and, as the moon had now risen, commenced the journey -in a bee line, as far as that was possible, towards Burley New Farm. - -They travelled on all night, still under the guidance of Jacoby, who -needed no blazed trees to show in which direction to go. But when -morning came rest became imperative, for the men were beginning to -nod in their saddles, and the horses too seemed to be falling asleep -on their feet, for several had stumbled and thrown their -half-senseless riders. So camp was now formed and breakfast -discussed, and almost immediately all save a sentry went off into -sound and dreamless slumber, Diana lying close to Craig, whom she was -very fond of, with her head on his great shoulder and her fingers -firmly entwined in his beard. - -It was hard upon the one poor fellow who had to act as sentry. Do -what he might he could scarcely keep awake, and he was far too tired -to continue walking about. He went and leant his body against a -tree, and in this position, what with the heat of the day, and the -drowsy hum of insects, with the monotonous song of the grasshopper, -again and again he felt himself merging into the land of dreams. -Then he would start and shake himself, and take a turn or two in the -sunshine, then go back to the tree and nod as before. - -The day wore on, the sun got higher and higher, and about noon, just -when the sentry was thinking or rather dreaming of waking the -sleepers, there was a wild shout from a neighbouring thicket, a spear -flew past him and stuck in the tree. Next moment there was a -terrible _melée_--a hand-to-hand fight with savages that lasted for -long minutes, but finally resulted in victory for the squatters. - -But, alas! it was a dearly-bought victory. Three out of the twelve -were dead, and three more, including Gentleman Craig, grievously -wounded. - -The rest followed up the blacks for some little way, and more than -one of them bit the dust. Then they returned to help their fellows. - -Craig's was a spear wound through the side, none the less dangerous -in that hardly a drop of blood was lost externally. - -They drew the killed in under a tree, and having bound up the wounds -of the others, and partly carrying them or helping them along, they -resumed the march. - -All that day they dragged themselves along, and it was far into the -early hours of morning ere they reached the boundaries of Burley New -Farm. - -The moon was shining, though not very brightly, light fleecy clouds -were driving rapidly across the sky, so they could see the lights in -both the old house and in the lower windows of Archie's own dwelling. -They fired guns and coo-ee-ed, and presently Bob and Winslow rushed -out to bid them welcome. - -Diana went bounding away to meet him. - -"Oh, daddy, daddy!" she exclaimed, "what a time we've been having! -but mind, daddy, it wasn't all fun." - -Bob could not speak for the life of him. He just staggered in with -the child in his arms and handed her over to Sarah; but I leave the -reader to imagine the state of Sarah's feelings now. - -Poor Craig was borne in and put to bed in Archie's guest room, and -there he lay for weeks. - -Bob himself had gone to Brisbane to import a surgeon, regardless of -expense; but it was probably more owing to the tender nursing of -Elsie than anything else that Craig was able at length to crawl out -and breathe the balmy, flower-scented air in the verandah. - -One afternoon, many weeks after this, Craig was lying on a bank, -under the shade of a tree, in a beautiful part of the forest, all in -whitest bloom, and Elsie was seated near him. - -There had been silence for some time, and the girl was quietly -reading. - -"I wonder," said Craig at last, "if my life is really worth the care -that you and all the good people here have lavished on me?" - -"How can you speak thus?" said Elsie, letting her book drop in her -lap, and looking into his face with those clear, blue eyes of hers. - -"If you only knew all my sad, sinful story, you would not wonder that -I speak thus." - -"Tell me your story: may I not hear it?" - -"It is so long and, pardon me, so melancholy." - -"Never mind, I will listen attentively." - -Then Craig commenced. He told her all the strange history of his -early demon-haunted life, about his recklessness, about his struggles -and his final victory over self. He told her he verily did believe -that his mother's spirit was near him that night in the forest when -he made the vow which Providence in His mercy had enabled him to keep. - -Yes, it was a long story. The sun had gone down ere he had finished, -a crescent moon had appeared in the southern sky, and stars had come -out. There was sweetness and beauty everywhere. There was calm in -Craig's soul now. For he had told Elsie something besides. He had -told her that he had loved her from the first moment he had seen her, -and he had asked her in simple language to become his wife--to be his -guardian angel. - -That same evening, when Archie came out into the garden, he found -Elsie still sitting by Craig's couch, but her hand was clasped in his. - -Then Archie knew all, and a great, big sigh of relief escaped him, -for until this very moment he had been of opinion that Craig loved -Etheldene. - -* * * * * * - -In course of a few months Squire Broadbent was as good as his word. -He came out to the new land to give the Australians the benefit of -his genius in the farming way; to teach Young Australia a thing or -two it had not known before; so at least he thought. - -With him came Mrs. Broadbent, and even Uncle Ramsay, and the day of -their arrival at Brisbane was surely a red-letter day in the annals -of that thriving and prosperous place. - -Strange to say, however, none of the squatters from the Bush, none of -the speculating men, nor anybody else apparently, were very much -inclined to be lectured about their own country, and the right and -wrong way of doing things, by a Squire from the old country, who had -never been here before. Some of them were even rude enough to laugh -in his face, but the Squire was not offended a bit. He was on far -too good terms with himself for that, and too sure that he was in the -right in all he said. He told some of these Bush farmers that if -_they_ did not choose to learn a wrinkle or two from him _he_ was not -the loser, with much more to the same purpose, all of which had about -the same effect on his hearers that rain has on a duck's back. - -To use a rather hackneyed phrase, Squire Broadbent had the courage of -his convictions. - -He settled quietly down at Burley New Farm, and commenced to study -Bush life in all its bearings. It soon began to dawn upon him that -Australia was getting to be a great country, that she had a great -future before her, and that _he_--Squire Broadbent--would be -connected with it. He was in no great hurry to invest, though -eventually he would. It would be better to wait and watch. There -was room enough and to spare for all at Archie's house, and that all -included honest Uncle Ramsay of course. He and Winslow resumed -acquaintance, and in the blunt, straightforward ways of the man even -Squire Broadbent found a deal to admire and even to marvel at. - -"He is a clever man," said the Squire to his brother; "a clever man -and a far-seeing. He gets a wonderful grasp of financial matters in -a moment. Depend upon it, brother, he is the right metal, and it is -upon solid stones like him that the future greatness of a nation -should be founded." - -Uncle Ramsay said he himself did not know much about it. He knew -more about ships, and was quite content to settle down at Brisbane, -and keep a morsel of a 20-tonner. That was his ambition. - -What a delight it was for Archie to have them all round his -breakfast-table in the green-parlour at Burley New Farm, or seated -out in the verandah all so home-like and happy. - -His dear old mummy too, with her innocent womanly ways, delighted -with all she saw, yet half afraid of almost everything--half afraid -the monster gum-trees would fall upon her when out in the forest; -half afraid to put her feet firmly to the ground when walking, but -gathering up her skirts gingerly, and thinking every withered branch -was a snake; half afraid the howling dingoes would come down in force -at night, as wild wolves do on Russian wastes, and kill and eat -everybody; half afraid of the most ordinary good-natured-looking -black fellow; half afraid of even the pet kangaroo when he hopped -round and held up his chin to have his old-fashioned neck stroked; -half afraid--but happy, so happy nevertheless, because she had all -she loved around her. - -Gentleman Craig was most deferential and attentive to Mrs. Broadbent, -and she could not help admiring him--indeed, no one could--and quite -approved of Elsie's choice; though, mother-like, she thought the girl -far too young to marry yet, as the song says. - -However, they were not to be married yet quite. There was a year to -elapse, and a busy one it was. First and foremost, Craig took the -unfortunate Findlayson's farm. But the old steading was allowed to -go to decay, and some one told me the other day that there is now a -genuine ghost, said to be seen on moonlight nights, wandering round -the ruined pile. Anyhow, its associations were of far too terrible a -character for Craig to think of building near it. - -He chose the site for his house and outbuildings near the creek and -the spot where they had bivouaced before the murder was discovered. -It was near here too that Craig had made his firm resolve to be a -free man--made it and kept it. The spot was charmingly beautiful -too; and as his district included a large portion of the forest, he -commenced clearing that, but in so scientific and tasteful a manner -that it looked, when finished, like a noble park. - -During this year Squire Broadbent also became a squatter. From -Squire to Squatter may sound to some like a come-down in life; but -really Broadbent did not think so. - -He managed to buy out a station immediately adjoining Archie's, and -when he had got fairly established thereon he told his brother Ramsay -that fifteen years had tumbled off his shoulders all in a -lump--fifteen years of care and trouble, fifteen years of struggle to -keep his head above water, and live up to his squiredom. - -"I'm more contented now by far and away," he told his wife, "than I -was in the busy, boastful days before the fire at Burley Old Farm; -so, you see, it doesn't take much in this world to make a man happy." - -Rupert did not turn squatter, but missionary. It was a great treat -for him to have Etheldene to ride with him away out into the bush -whenever he heard a tribe had settled down anywhere for a time. -Etheldene knew all their ways, and between the two of them they no -doubt did much good. - -It is owing to such earnest men as Rupert that so great a change has -come over the black population, and that so many of them, even as I -write, sit humbly at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in their right -mind. To quote the words of a recent writer: "The war-paints and -weapons for fights are seen no more, the awful heathen corroborees -have ceased, the females are treated with kindness, and the -lamentable cries, accompanied by bodily injuries, when death -occurred, have given place to Christian sorrow and quiet tears for -their departed friends." - -It came to pass one day that Etheldene and Archie, towards the end of -the year, found themselves riding alone, through scrub and over -plain, just as they were that day they were lost. The conversation -turned round to Rupert's mission. - -"What a dear, good, young man your brother is, Archie!" said the girl. - -"Do you really love him?" - -"As a brother, yes." - -"Etheldene, have him for a brother, will you?" - -The rich blood mounted to her cheeks and brow. She cast one -half-shy, half-joyful look at Archie, and simply murmured, "Yes." - -It was all over in a moment then. Etheldene struck her horse lightly -across the crest with the handle of her stock-whip, and next minute -both horses were galloping as if for dear life. - -When Archie told Rupert how things had turned out, he only smiled in -his quiet manner. - -"It is a queer way of wooing," he said; "but then you were always a -queer fellow, Archie, and Etheldene is a regular Bush baby, as Craig -calls her. Oh, I knew long ago she loved you!" - -At the year's end then both Elsie and Etheldene were married, and -married, too, at the same church in Sydney from which Bob led Sarah, -his blushing bride. It might not have been quite so wild and daft a -wedding, but it was a very happy one nevertheless. - -No one was more free in blessing the wedded couples than old Kate. -Yes, old as she was, she had determined not to be left alone in -England. - -We know how Bob spent his honeymoon. How were the new young folks to -spend theirs? Oh, it was all arranged beforehand! And on the very -morning of the double marriage they embarked--Harry and Bob going -with them for a holiday--on board Captain Vesey's pretty yacht, and -sailed away for England. Etheldene's dream of romance was about to -become a reality; she was not only to visit the land of chivalry, but -with Archie her husband and hero by her side. - -The yacht hung off and on the shore all day, as if reluctant to leave -the land; but towards evening a breeze sprang up from the west, the -sails filled, and away she went, dancing and curtseying over the -water like a thing of life. - -The sunset was bewitchingly beautiful; the green of the land was -changed to a purple haze, that softened and beautified its every -outline; the cloudless sky was clear and deep; that is, it gave you -the idea you could see so far into and through it. There was a flush -of saffron along the horizon; above it was of an opal tint, with here -and there a tender shade of crimson--only a suspicion of this colour, -no more; and apparently close at hand, in the east, were long-drawn -cloudlets of richest red and gold. - -Etheldene looked up in her husband's face. - -"Shall we have such a sky as that to greet our arrival on English -shores?" she said. - -Archie drew her closer to his side. - -"I'm not quite sure about the sky," he replied, shaking his head and -smiling, "but we'll have a hearty English welcome." - -And so they had. - - - -FINIS. - - - - - - - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN SEARCH OF FORTUNE *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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