himself volubly to Gleeson upon the follies of generosity.

"First you gave the whole show away, then you gave half the tucker, and
now, here, you've given the horses and bridles. Why didn't you chuck in
the saddles? What's the good of them now? Why didn't you ask them if
they wouldn't be tired riding bare-backed all the way?" he grumbled to
Gleeson.

"It was all that smoke you gave them when they came up," Peters said,
with a twinkle in his eye.

"Well, what if they do get ahead of us? Tap is on the claim, and----"
Gleeson began.

"Tap? Yes. Will he collar my horse?" Walker snarled.

"He'll keep your claim, and that's better. Anyhow, _they_ can't find the
field till we're there; so hurry along with breakfast. There's the last
of the mob on the move."

While they had been bemoaning the robbery, of which they were satisfied
as soon as they saw the bridles were gone, Tony had wandered up the
creek watching the tracks the horses had made the night before. They
were still some miles from the field, and he had all the native
objection to walking while there was a chance of having a horse to ride.
He followed the track until he found the hobbles lying on the bank of
the creek, and the hoof-marks, with the footprints of a man beside them,
going from the stream and from the direction of the field. He saw where
another man's footprints joined them, and then only the marks of the
horses, going down the hill, were visible.

Hastening back to the camp, he reached there just as the last of the
fossickers, moving away from the fire, gave rise to Gleeson's remark.

"Some one's lifted the horses in the night and ridden them down the
hill," he explained, as he came up. "Here's the hobbles, and the tracks
are quite plain. There were two men, and they led two of the horses. I
followed their track a quarter of a mile down the slope, and it was
still showing clear."

Gleeson looked up quickly.

"They're old tracks you saw," he said.

"They're fresh tracks; the ground is still moist where it's turned up,"
Tony retorted.

"What did they want to go down the hill for? That ain't the way to the
field, and we told every one where it was," Walker put in.

"Anyway, that's where they're gone," Tony replied. "If you don't believe
it, go and look for yourself. I'm ready for breakfast."

Further news came to them as they were finishing the meal, for the
advance guard of the detachment Barber and Tap had met on the road
arrived at the