eal bull-dog courage--three to one, an' me the littlest
of the lot, bar one. Oh, it's grand. It pays a man to keep his mouth
shut, when he comes to Timber Town with money in his pocket."

The eyes of the spectators began to turn angrily upon Lichfield and
Garsett, who, looking guilty as thieves, stood uneasy and apart; but
Scarlett stepped forward, and was about to speak in self-defence, when
Mr. Crewe offered to explain the situation.

"I ask you to listen to me for one moment," he said; "I ask you to take
my explanation as that of a disinterested party, a mere looker on. These
three gentlemen"--he pointed to the three euchre players--"were having a
game of cards, quite a friendly game of cards, in which a considerable
sum of money was changing hands. My friend Scarlett, here, was looking
on with me, when for some cause a quarrel arose. Next thing, the
gentleman here on the sofa was attacking his opponents in the game with
an empty bottle--you can see the pieces of broken glass amongst the
cards upon the floor. Now, a bottle is a very dangerous weapon, a very
dangerous weapon indeed; I might say a deadly weapon. Then it was that
Mr. Scarlett interfered. He pulled off our friend, and was attacked--I
saw this with my own eyes--attacked violently, and in self-defence he
struck this gentleman, and inadvertently stunned him. That, I assure
you, is exactly how the case stands. No great damage is done. The
difference is settled, and, of course, the game is over."

"An' '_e_," said the digger, raising himself to a sitting posture, "'_e_
shook me for five quid. The wily ol'e serpint. 'E never done nothin'--'e
only shook me for five quid."

"Count the money into three equal parts, landlord," said the Father of
Timber Town. "It's perfectly true, I _did_ relieve the gentleman of five
pounds; but it was the result of a bet, of a bet he himself insisted on.
He would have made it even heavier, had I allowed him. But here is the
money--he can have it back. I return it. I bet with no man who begrudges
to pay money he fairly loses; but I have no further dealings with such a
man."

"Oh, you think I want the blanky money, do you?" cried the digger.
"You're the ol'e gen'leman as is said to own the crimson town, ain't
you? Well, keep that five quid, an' 'elp to paint it crimsoner. _I_
don't want the money. _I_ can get plenty more where it came from, just
for the pickin' of it up. You keep it, ol'e feller, an' by an' by I'll
come and bu