other, and
about their deadly feud.

But the captain strode down the room, just as though he owned Mr. and
Miss Sharman and every boy in the school, and he raised his voice
somewhat as he repeated his statement about his grandson, "John Brown."

"And if you'll kindly excuse Cyril, I'll take him with me," said Mr.
Bruce quietly, continuing his sentence, just as if no interruption had
occurred at all.

In the playground Cyril received his commands, glad indeed to have them
to execute instead of the arithmetic lesson and play-hour which the
ordinary happenings of life would have brought about.

"Go into the bush," said his father, "and search there for her. Look
everywhere where you are accustomed to play. She may have fallen down
somewhere and hurt herself."

"Yes, father," said the boy obediently. "How'd it be to see if she's
fallen in the creek?"

His father gave him an angry look.

"Afterwards go home," he said. "Let the creek alone, and don't talk such
folly--Betty is more than five. Tell your mother I'm going to give it
into the hands of the police."

Cyril went into the bush--not very far--because the growth was thick,
and he had a great dread of snakes.

"S'pose I were bitten," he said, "and I just had to stay here by myself
and die! Wonder where Betty is; it's very silly of her to go and lose
herself like this. _I_ never lose myself at all."

He came to a two-rail fence, and climbed up and sat on one of its posts,
and then he looked around as far as the bush would let him see.

"It's better to keep near a fence," he said. "Then if a bull comes,
you're safe. If he jumped over I could roll under, and we could keep
doing it, an' he couldn't catch me.... 'Tis silly of Betty to get lost.
_I_ wouldn't get lost. You never know how many bulls and things there
are about."

He looked round again, and then he climbed down and ran back to the
road.

"I'll go home now," he said, "I can't find Betty anywhere. I've looked
and looked. And school will be out soon, and how do I know Arthur
Smedley took his lunch to-day; he might be coming home."

Whereat this valiant youth looked over his shoulder, and saw the boys
running out of the school gate. So he took to his heels and ran home as
fast as ever he could.

CHAPTER XVII

IN THE CITY

The fortune seekers were set down at a street corner near the Quay at
half-past six.

When it had come to the matter of crossing the harbour, from the
Northern Shore