h treble, and the owner
of it wondered what made her voice sound so differently from its usual
hard, sharp tone.

"Jim, come here and see my brother. He, you, and Mary, and I are all
going down to the cubby house."

Suppressing a gasp of astonishment, the boy came to her to where Gerrard
and she were now sitting.

"Thomas, this is Jim."

Gerrard jumped up and held out his hand.

"How are you, Jim? Glad to see you," and he smiled into the boy's
sunburnt face. "By Jove! you are a big chap for a ten year old boy. What
are you going to be--soldier, sailor, tinker, tailor, eh?"

"I did want to be a sailor, sir; but now I'm going to be a stockman."

Gerrard smiled again, and surveyed the boy closely. He was rather tall
for his age, but not weedy, with a broad sturdy chest, and his face was
almost as deeply bronzed as that of Gerrard himself, and two big, honest
brown eyes met his gaze steadily and respectfully; the squatter took a
liking to him at once, as he had to his sister's child.

"Well, Jim, I'm going to stay here a week, and you'll have to tote me
around, and keep me amused--see? You and Mary between you."

"Yes, sir."

"Any fish in Marumbah River?"

"Lots and lots--two kinds of bream, Murray cod, jew fish, and speckled
trout, and awful big eels."

"Ha! that's good enough. Got fishing lines and hooks?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then bring 'em along. Where is Mary, Lizzie?"

"Here she is," and Mrs Westonley brought her forward, the child's eyes
dancing with pleasure; "she was too excited to eat any breakfast, until
I insisted. Thomas, they'll worry you to death. You don't know them."

Gerrard threw his feet up in the air, like a boy, and rapped his heels
together--"I'm fit for anything--from fishing to riding bull calves,
or cutting out a wild bees' nest from a gum tree a mile high. Oh! we're
going to have a high old time. I say, Mary, where's the invalid Bunny?"

"In the saddle-room."

"Then come along, and I'll prescribe for the poor, tailless gentleman,"
and he jumped to his feet. "We shall not be long, Lizzie--are you
ready?"

"I shall be in ten minutes, Thomas," and the children looked wonderingly
at her, for she actually smiled at them.

CHAPTER IV

A few days after the return of the owner of Marumbah Downs, he, with
Gerrard and the black stockman, Toby, were camped on the bank of a
creek about thirty miles from the head station. They had started out at
daylight to muster some of the outlyi