istened attentively, but did n't join
in. The parson jerked his arms encouragingly at them, which only made
them the more uneasy. They did n't understand. He snapped his arms
harder, as he lifted his voice to the rafters; still they only stared.
At last Dad thought he saw through him. He bravely stood up and looked
hard at the others. They took the hint and rose clumsily to their
feet, but just then the hymn closed, and, as no one seemed to know
when to sit again, they remained standing.

They were standing when a loud whip-crack sounded close to the house,
and a lusty voice roared:

"Wah Tumbler! Wah Tumbler! Gee back, Brandy! Gee back,
you----!----!!----!!!"

People smiled. Then a team of bullocks appeared on the road. The
driver drawled, "Wa-a-a-y!" and the team stopped right in front of the
door. The driver lifted something weighty from the dray and struggled
to the verandah with it and dropped it down. It was a man. The
bullock-driver, of course, did n't know that a religious service was
being conducted inside, and the chances are he did n't much care. He
only saw a number of faces looking out, and talked at them.

"I've a ---- cove here," he said, "that I found lying on the ----
plain. Gawd knows what's up with him--I don't. A good square feed is
about what he wants, I reckon." Then he went back for the man's swag.

Dad, after hesitating, rose and went out. The others followed like a
flock of sheep; and the "shepherd" brought up the rear. Church was
out. It gathered around the seeming corpse, and stared hard at it. Dad
and Dave spoke at the same time.

"Why," they said, "it's the cove with the bear-skin cap!" Sure enough
it was. The clergyman knelt down and felt the man's pulse; then went
and brought a bottle from his valise--he always carried the bottle, he
said, in case of snake-bite and things like that--and poured some of
the contents down the man's throat. The colour began to come to the
man's face. The clergyman gave him some more, and in a while the man
opened his eyes. They rested on Dad, who was bending benignly over him.
He seemed to recognise Dad. He stared for some time at him, then said
something in a feeble whisper, which the clergyman interpreted--"He
wishes you--" looking at Dad--"to get what's in his swag if he dies."
Dad nodded, and his thoughts went sadly back to the day he turned the
poor devil out of the barn.

They carried the man inside and placed him on the so