Part 56 (1/2)

By your favour, once ilist of the world The Australian or American e efficiency in s with the fist of wickedness is, beyond all question, on the English side

'English fair play' is a fine expression It justifies the bashi+ng of the puny drapers' assistant by the big, hairy blacksmith; and this to the perfect satisfaction of both parties, if they are worthy the naentleman may take off his coat to the potsherd of the earth; and so excellent is his discrimination that the combat will surely end even as your novelist describes; siainst his God, when the divinity hits back

At the salishman, named Crooked-nosed Yorkey, and made in proportion, ever did, or ever will, suffer entleentleentleiven in charge; and it takes three policeen von Ense tells us how Continental gentleh, in 1815, to show off his bruising ability at the expense of a Viennese cabht, and certainly a -lish fair-play doesn't stand transplantation to Australia, except in patches of suitable soil

For instance, when bar-loafer meets pimp, at 1 a side, then coh saturnine, is very rarely quarrelsoilist; nevertheless, his foot on his native salt-bush, it is not advisable to assault him with any feebler weapon than rifle-and-bayonet There is a radical difference, without a verbal distinction, between his and the English to content himself with the weapons provided by nature; but the Southern barbarian prefers a natural product about three feet long, and the thickness of your wrist at the butt--his conception of fair-play being qualified by a fixed resolution to prove himself the better counterfeit

So Priestley, with a sinister glitter in his patient eyes, had reversed his whipstick, pliant end doard, and bent along the ground He knew the nature of seasoned pine A sharp jerk, and the whipstick would snap, supplying a nilla-nilla which would make him an over-match for a dozen Folkestones in rotation My hand was on Cleopatra's mane, and my off-foot clear of the stirrup; it would be a Christian act to save Foikestone from the father of a batin', and Priestley from that sterner father, namely, old father antic, the law But imminent as the collision seemed, it did n't co his co steadily northward through the narrow fringe of ti his eye, I saw a horse for the homestead at a walk

”Is that Arblaster, Collins?” deht my binocular to bear on the horsenal hialloped out into the plain, wheeled broadside on, and waved ed to a narrow line, and I returned to the buggy, followed, at a decent interval, by Nelson I was glad to see Priestley in the act of driving through the gate

”Coomery quietly ”You have my permission to follow this track to the Nalrooka boundary”----

”I hope I'll git some slant to do as much”----

”Silence!--But if you trespass on my feed or water, by God I'll prosecute you

Another thing Never in future load anything forwool And I may as arn you that every boundary man in my employ will be on the look-out for you froon to the boundary, and see that he keeps the track”--A frown gathered on the young fellow's face, reinforced by a burning blush as Montgomery went on--”Perhaps you scarcely expecteda bit in a season like this; yet I have no intention of crushi+ng a poor, decent, hard-working devil--that is, if he can add nineI have already given hi the run If he trespasses on feed or water-- if he does n't go straight on with his teaon--you and I may quarrel” Who was the spy? Ah! who is the ubiquitous station spy?

”Good-bye, Mr Montgo back to the station for your pocket-book?” he asked, with a glance out of the corner of his eye

”I find I've got it here all the ti too ested the squatter ”She won't be at all displeased to hear of it Good-bye, Collins Safe Jouain placed his glass in his eye, and stared at ly till we tore ourselves apart

Another ht, I could see Priestley and his guard of honour crawling toward the Faugh-a-ballagh Sand-hills, which lay two ate where we had parted They would reach the tank as twilightto have a drink of tea at Jack's hut

I'll be back in three or four hours Pity you're not allowed to loose-out, for there's a grand bit of crow's-foot round that pine tree in the hollow

Don't kindle a fire, unless you want to get lagged' And Priestley would get to the boundary by ten o'clock on theheaven that he had n't been escorted by Arblaster or Butler, and racking his invention to provide for the coomery would, within a week, know all the details of the trip (station-spy again), but, being a white man, he would silently condone Nelson's disobedience

One more little incident enlivened themy horses a half-ht I did n't look for anyin the address Rigby is a man who never writes except on his own account His way of acknowledging a letter is to pick up a newspaper, of perhaps around it, stamp and address it, and drop it in the nearest letter-box This paper, however, happened to be the latest available issue of a Melbourne daily, and contained a copious account of the regatta, followed by the coarsely-executed portrait of a young man, with the neck and shoulders--and, by one of Nature's sad, yet just, coe athlete

Rude as the engraving was, the subject of it at once suggested what the Life-assurance canvassers call an 'excellent risk'; and underneath ran the title: Mr RUDOLPH WINTERBOTTOM--STROKE OF THE WINNING CREW

An ensuing paragraph briefly sketched the hero's history, habits, and physical excellencies He enty-two years of age; had a good position in the NSW Civil Service; and was now on leave of absence He was a non-suished in alambol faculties which shoeak ave h Such is life

The cranky boundary rider's little weatherboard hut, standing just inside his horse-paddock fence, was neater than the average The ht showed that a radius of five or six yards from the door had been sith a brooarden-flowers, occupied the angle foralvanised bucket and basin on the bench by the door were conspicuously clean; and the lareen blind on the

A black-and-tan collie gave a few perfunctory barks as I drew near, whereupon Alf, with sleeves rolled up, and hands freshly blooded to the wrists, appeared at the door, and drew back on seeing ate, and he met me outside the hut; his hands washed, and his shi+rt-sleeves buttoned He stood by, scarcely speaking, whilst I introduced ave him his parcel and newspaper, and unsaddled my horses

Then I followed him into the hut, and he cleared away fro the day Sullenly he replenished the kettle, and put the fire together; then washed the table, and laid it for one

But the newspaper revelation, in giving me a turn, had turned me philosophic-side-upward; and I cared little for Alf's sullenness, provided he listened with attention to s

By the time he had poured out my tea, he was a vanquished uardedly coht froe Gate Still I was touched to observe that he kept his disfigured face averted as much as possible