Part 17 (1/2)

”Were the scoundrels ever caught?” inquired Ned

”Yes, they were eventually caught and hanged,” was the reply ”They troubled that region for some time The inhabitants dared not pursue theh all wanted to be rid of them

Fourthese robbers, dead or alive, and with the proe reward It was impossible to keep their errand a secret, and none of the people dared give them any assistance in consequence of their dread of what the bushrangers ht do if they heard of it I know of one instance where these fourand supper He dared not let his faed the, and with his own hands carried the food to them for their supper”

”And did these four ?” queried Harry

”Not by anythe road, when they suddenly found theht followed as a matter of course, and every one of the four was killed When the corpses were discovered, one of theh he had died in the act of begging forin a wound in his breast, and evidently the bushrangers put it there, to show that in this instance, at least, their object was revenge and not plunder

”That the bushrangers were a bad lot,” continued the gentleman, ”no one will deny, but in many instances they showed chivalry and appreciation of bravery It was rare, indeed, that they ill-treated women or children, and it was also very rarely the case that they coe This led a good ht of dashi+ng heroes than that of downright criminals You have probably heard of Captain Melville, have you not?” he asked, turning to Harry and Ned

The youths nodded, and said the naer was familiar to them

”Well, it once happened,” said their informant, ”that Captain Melville had in his power a man whom, of all others, he hadin the police force, at that tied in pursuit of the robber, whom he declared he would take alive or dead This officer was riding one day alone and slightly ar The police uniform readily told the rank of the officer, and it happened that Melville and several of his men were familiar with the officer's face

”He was immediately surrounded and disarmed; his hands were tied behind his back, and his captives took him triumphantly to their caon wheel while his captors held a counsel to decide what to do with hie, and when Melville came near hi him at the time when he was defenseless and alone

”Melville beca towards his prisoner, he placed a loaded revolver at his head and said, 'Say another word and I'll blow your brains out'

”'You dare not do it,' replied the officer, and he looked with an unflinching eye at the robber

”Melville's eyes glared, and probably the slightest show of fear on the part of the officer would have provoked a fatal shot

”Melville held the pistol at the prisoner's head for a few seconds and then lowered it, saying, as he did so, 'You are too brave a man to be shot,' and then he turned and walked away The officer afterwards ed to escape and reach Melbourne safely The supposition is that he was assisted in escaping by one of the bushrangers as tired of life on the road and desirous of leaving it The officer was able to promise hi the latter's escape”

”That reo,” said Harry

”A lawyer in Australia was once defending a ood Ignoring this, he land waiting to celebrate Christuilty, however, and the judge, after sentencing him, remarked that the learned counsel would have his wish; the convicted client was going to the sa sentences

Their Christmas would be passed under the sa the course of the evening, but we have no rooiven, the youths looked at their watches and were surprised to find the hour so late

They immediately retired to their room and slept soundly, or at least Ned did Harry said he was disturbed soers, unruly cattle, and horses, and of being lost in the bush

Evidently the disturbance was not serious, as he was out at an early hour with Ned to investigate the place and learn the peculiarities of an up-country station in Australia Here is what he wrote concerning what he saw and heard before the announcehts and sounds were not altogether unlike those of a farland, but there were reater size of the station A farround would be considered a large one This station covers an area ten miles square, or one hundred square miles They have five thousand head of cattle upon it and more than one hundred horses Most of the cattle, in fact, nearly all of them, are fully half wild The domesticated ones comprise a few yokes of oxen and a small herd of milch cows, and even the cows are nowhere near as taland We went out to thethree or four cohich had been driven in from the paddock Not one of the creatures would stand quietly to be milked, as a well-mannered cow should do, and each one had to be driven, led, or pulled into a fra like the frahly secured in this ith one fore leg tied up so that she could not lift either of her hind legs, theman, proceeded to milk the aniht up and put through the same process

”I asked if they had any cows that would stand peaceably and sub process They answered me that they had such cows occasionally, but not often; and the man hom I talked seemed to be rather proud of the circuh-spirited than American ones

”The stock for their daily rounds Some fifty or sixty horses had been driven in froh for five times their number

A man went into the yard to select his horse for the day's riding, and having singled out the animal, he made several ineffectual atteroup, it divided and started off for a different part of the yard Then the man was joined by another, and the horses at once concluded that it was ti bridled and saddled, and one after another they were led out of the yard as soon as this operation was complete

”One of the stocko in there and get a horse

”I replied that I had heard too many stories of the character of Australian horses to induce me to make the attempt

”You are very wise not to do so,” he answered ”They would have fun with you by the hour, and then you would not be able to lay hands on one of thereen hand, we have a jolly tioes inside with one of the black boys, and between theet a horse off into a corner Then the new chum takes his bridle over his ar to him all the ti, and you ht as well talk to the surf on the sea-coast as to one of theets up to within about four feet of the horse's neck, the beast spins around on his hind legs, and is off like a shot He kicks and prances, and so to hi'