Part 14 (1/2)

All of us went back to our ca ourselves and divide shares I could hardly believeleft at the caot there that night it was late enough After tea father and I and Ji over e should do and wondering whether ere going to get clean aith our share of thetouch, and noout so easy, just as if they was our own cattle Won't there be a jolly rohen it's all out, and the Momberah people miss their cattle?' (more than half 'em was theirs)

'And when they muster they can't be off seein' they're some hundreds short'

'That's what's botherin'flash with it all It'll draw assin' about this big sale, and all that, till people's set on to ask where the cattle come from, and what not'

'I don't see as it makes any difference,' I said 'Soive the brands and receipts just the saht there was a cross look about it, we'd have had to take half h Starlight's working the oracle with those swells, and no mistake'

'Yes, but that ain't all of it,' says the old ot to look at what co took They'll rake all the colonies to get hold of hiain, partic'ler as he sold for near three hundred pound'

'Wewith the money,' said Ji to what they fetched to-day

It'll be a short life and alicks like this What'll we tackle next--a bank or Governood spell, if you've any sense,' growled father

'It'll give us all we know to keep dark when this thing gets into the papers, and the police in three colonies are all in full cry like a pack of beagles The thing is, what'll be our best dart now?'

'I'll go back overland,' says he 'Starlight's going to take Warrigal with him, and they'll be off to the islands for a turn If he knohat's best for him, he'll never come back These other chaps say they'll separate and sell their horses when they get over to the Murray lon, and work their way up by degrees Which way are you boys going?'

'Jim and I to Melbourne by next steamer,' I said 'May as well see a bit of life noe're in it We'll coe faces'

'All right,' says father, 'they won't knohere I'o bail, and the sooner you clear out of Adelaide the better

News like ours don't take long to travel, and you ht be nabbed very simple One of ye write a line to your mother and tell her where you're off to, or she'll be frettin' herself and the gal too--frettin' over what can't be helped But I suppose it's the natur' o' so-up next day All the sale ht He cashed the cheques and drew the lot in notes and gold--such a bundle of 'eht them out to us at the caht of us that had to share and share alike How much do you think we had to divide? Why, not a penny under four thousand pounds It had to be divided aht of us That came to five hundred a man A lot of money to carry about, that was the worst of it

Next day there was a regular split and squander We didn't wait long after daylight, you bet Father was off and well on his way before the stars were out of the sky He took Warrigal's horse, Bilbah, back with hiether, and couldn't take horses with therained var to blubber when he saw father leading hio neither at first; pulled back, and snorted and went on as if he'd never seen only one ot vexed at last and ave hi back much after that

The three other chaps went their own road They kept very dark all through I know their na the as due for a little fun

We'd never been in a big town before, and it was sorand quite as Melbourne or Sydney, but there's soreat wide streets, planted with trees; lots of steady-going German farons The woet brown and scorched up in no tiood looks to lose; leastways none we ever saw

We could always tell the Ger the road fro outside the door If it was an Englishman or an Australian, you'd see where they'd throwed out the teapot leavings; if it was a Ger They drink their own sour wine, if their vines are old enough to make any, or else hop beer; but they won't lay out theireither, and not far wrong Then the sea! I can see poor old Jim's face now the day ent down to the port and he seen it for the first ti waterhole at last,' he said 'Don't it ht from here where we stand to the other side of the world? It's a long way across'

'Jim,' says I, 'and to think we've lived all our lives up to this time and never set eyes on it before Don't it seeu? I wonder we stayed in it so long'

'It's not a bad place, though it is rather slow and wired in soht be sorry we ever left it yet When does the steao to Melbourne?'

'The day after to-lad to be clear off; won't you?'

We went to the theatre that night, and amused ourselves pretty well next day and till the time came for our boat to start for Melbourne We had altered ourselves a bit, had our hair cut and our beards triht fresh clothes, and ith this, and the feeling of being in a new place and having more money in our pockets than we'd ever drearifiedourselves in the glass that we hardly knew ourselves We had to change our names, too, for the first tirain than you'd think, for all ere a couple of cattle-duffers, with a warrant apiece sure to be after us before the year was out