Part 56 (1/2)

They went slowly on till sunset, when Nic drew rein, and sat gazing at the large orange ball sinking away beyond the mountains

”So beautiful!” he said, forced into ad; ”and poor Leather lying there handcuffed and waiting to be flogged”

He leaped from his horse and threw the rein over its head

”There!” he cried, patting the soft arched neck, ”eat away, old chap

You needn't be o and leave poor Leather like this”

He threw hirass to think--to try and ed their way overhead back to their roosting places, and here and there the kangaroos and their an to steal out of the woodland shelters they had affected through the heat of the day, to lope about like huge hares, look around for danger, and then begin to browse

At first the only idea that would come to the boy was that he would wait there till daybreak, and then ride the three or four miles he had co there in good ti made for punishment he would ride boldly up and make a final appeal to Mr Dillon to either let Leather off or to defer everything till the doctor returned

”Poor Leather!” he said to himself: ”he'll see that I have not deserted hi away upon the rich grass, but keeping close at hand, as if liking itsits head now and then to whinny softly

The sun had gone down, and the glorious tints were dying out on and beyond the rey of the west, which rapidly grew of a dark purple, lit up again with a war like a dazzling spot of silver hung high in the heavens

Soon after, it would have been dark but for the glorious display of golden stars which now encircled the vast arch overhead, far more beautifully in that clear air than Nic ever remembered to have seen at home

And all this splendour of the heavens made him the more miserable, for it seeht to be dark and store cries, wails, and chuckling noises reached his ears, led with the whirr and whizz of crickets and the soft pipe and croak of frogs in and about a water-hole not far away

Once or twice, half startled, Nic thought he saw dusky, shadowy figures stealing along, and his heart beat fast; but he soon told himself that it was all fancy, for if any one had approached the horse would have been alarrass contentedly, its loud puff of breath hich it bleay insects upon the grass sounding regular in its intervals

It was restful lying there, but Nic's faintness increased, and he was glad to pick a few leaves and blades of grass to chew and keep down the faht-ti he had deterht, he would wait for another hour or two and ride back to the Wattles and set Leather free

For he knehereabouts the convict was imprisoned The man who attended to Sorrel had said it was behind the house Then what could be easier than to ride round, and, close up, find which was the big shed, and give Leather a signal; and then, with one working outside, the other in, it would be easy enough Why, if he could not get the wooden bar ahich these big sheds were side, stand on the saddle, and reot hunger, low of exultation which caive up and think that all was over

”More ways of killing a cat than hanging it,” he said, with a little laugh, and lying upon his back in a thoroughly restful position he set himself to watch the stars, till all at once they turned blank, and he leaped to his feet in alarm and went to pat his horse

”That won't do,” heonBut I couldn't have slept for ht have been two or three hours, for aught he could have told; but as it was he had not been asleep aback into wakefulness, and, determined now not to run any ainst its flank and thinking of what a great solitary place he was in, and how strange it seemed for that vast country to have so few inhabitants

His aim was to wait until everybody would be asleep at the Wattles, and then ride softly up, when he felt that there would be light enough for his purpose, which ought not to take long

The tiht start, and after seeing that the bridle was all right he proceeded to tighten the girths But Sorrel had been pretty busy over that rich grass, and Nic found that if he did anything to those girths he ought to let the the horse affectionately, ”eating away like that and enjoying yourself when your master starves”

The horse whinnied

”Ah! don't do that,” said Nic in alar”

Heno difficulty, for the horse went over the saain Then Nic drew rein and walked on and on till he thought he must have missed the place in the dark; but all at once below hiht move for a few moments, and disappear