our Pa," said Brownie,
unconscious of anything peculiar in her remark. "I don't know that real
anxiety mayn't help her, Master Jim. And any'ow, it don't seem to me
we've the right to keep it from her, them bein', as it were, that
partickler much to each other. Take my tip, an' you tell her."

"What do you think, Wally?"

"I'm with Brownie," said Wally, unexpectedly. "It's awful to see Norah
lying there all day, never saying a word, and this'll rouse her up when
nothing else would." So Jim had yielded to the weight of advice, and
had gone slowly up to tell Norah they could not find David Linton.

"Can't find him?" she echoed, "but isn't he at Killybeg?"

"He left there yesterday morning," Jim answered. "A telegram came from
him last night, and it was important--something about cattle--so I sent
Burton into Cunjee with it--Killybeg's on the telephone now, you know,
and Burton could ring him up from the post office. But the Darrells
were astonished, and said he'd left there quite early, and meant to
come straight home."

"Well?" Norah was white enough now.

"Well, I got worried, and so did Murty; because you know there isn't
any stopping place between here and Killybeg when you come across the
ranges. And Monarch's pretty uncertain--in rough country, especially. So
I got Murty and Wally to go out at daylight this morning, taking the
straight line to the Darrells, and they picked up his tracks pointing
homewards about five miles from the Billabong boundary. Murty made
Monarch's shoes himself, and he could swear to them anywhere. They
followed them awhile, and they came to a place where the ground was
beaten down a lot, as if he'd had trouble with Monarch; I expect
something scared him, and he played the fool. But after that the tracks
led on to some stony rises, and they lost them; the ground was too
hard. They could only tell he'd gone right off the line to Billabong."

"Jim! Do you think--? Oh, he couldn't be hurt! Monarch would never get
rid of him."

"He'd stick to Monarch as long as the girth held and Monarch stood up,"
Jim said, "but it's rough country, and a young horse isn't handy on
those sidings. Of course it may be all right; but if so, why wasn't he
home twenty-four hours ago?"

"Have you done anything?"

"Been out all day," Jim said. "Murty sent Wal. straight home while he
went on looking, and we went back with three of the men. But you know
what that country is, all hills and gullies, and the scrub