room on the ground; one of the party, however,
keeping watch in case the blacks should return, though it was not at all
likely they would do that.

Before sunrise the shepherd and his new mate got up to dig a grave for
the murdered man, in which we saw him placed before we started. We
then, having breakfasted, continued our route, Mr Piatt accompanying
us, as, for a couple of miles or so, our roads lay in the same
direction. He had come away without his rifle, or arms of any
description, excepting his heavy riding-whip, and he declared that they
were unnecessary; for the blacks, he said, would never venture to attack
a well-mounted man, and as for bushrangers, when there was no booty to
be obtained they were not likely to interfere with him. He had ridden
about the country in all directions, and except when hunting a kangaroo
or emu, he had never had to fire a shot.

"But with a mob of savage blacks in the neighbourhood, it would be more
prudent to be armed," I observed.

"My horse-whip will soon send them to the rightabout, should any of them
venture to come near me," he answered laughing. "However we have got
half a dozen rifles at the head station, and as soon as I get back I'll
arm each man and we'll quickly drive the remainder of the mob from the
neighbourhood. Depend upon it if any are remaining they'll clear out
fast enough when they find we are after them."

We soon got over the two miles the overseer was to accompany us. He
then, thanking us for the service we had rendered his people, turned off
to the right. He was still in sight, when we heard him shout, and I saw
that he was galloping along with uplifted whip as if to strike some
object on the ground. Supposing that he had called us, we rode towards
him. Just then I saw a tall black man spring up from behind a bush and,
with axe in hand, attack the overseer, who, it appeared to me, was in
great danger of being killed; but as the savage was about to strike, the
lash of the whip caught his arm and wrenched the weapon out of his hand.

The black, uttering a cry of disappointed rage, bounded away and a
moment after was lost to sight among the scrub. On getting near to
Piatt we saw two more natives on the ground, the one a youth badly
wounded, the other a _gin_, old and wrinkled, apparently the mother of
the lad.

"I would not have attempted to strike them, had I seen that one was a
woman and that the lad was wounded," said the overseer, as he poi