.
Fergus was making an immediate note in his pocketbook when a hand fell
on his shoulder.

"Would ye like the half o' yon?" inquired a voice in his own tongue; and
there at his elbow stood an elderly gentleman, whose patriarchal beard
hid half the buttons of his alpaca coat, while a black skull-cap sat
somewhat jauntily on his head.

"What do you mean?" said Fergus, bluntly, for the old gentleman stood
chuckling gently in his venerable beard.

"To lay a hold of him," replied the other, "with the help o' some
younger and abler-bodied man; and you're the very one I want."

The raw youth stared ingenuously.

"But what can you know about me?"

"I saw ye land at the wharf," said the old gentleman, nodding his
approval of the question, "and says I, 'That's my man,' as soon as ever
I clapped eyes on ye. So I had a crack wi' the captain o' yon steamer;
he told me you hadna a billet, but were just on the lookout for the best
ye could get, an' that's all he'd been able to get out o' ye in a five
days' voyage. That was enough for me. I want a man who can keep his
tongue behind his teeth, and I wanted you before I knew you were a
brither Scot!"

"Are you a squatter, sir?" the young man asked, a little overwhelmed.

"No, sir, I'm branch manager o' the Bank o' New South Wales, the only
bank within a hunder miles o' where we stand; and I can offer ye a
better billet than any squatter in the Colony."

"Indeed? I'm sure you're very kind, sir, but I'm wanting to get on a
station," protested Fergus with all his tact. "And as a matter of fact,
I have introductions to one or two stations further back, though I saw
no reason to tell our friend the skipper so."

"Quite right, quite right! I like a man who can keep his tongue in its
kennel!" cried the bank manager, rubbing his hands. "But wait while I
tell ye: ye'd need to work for your rations an any station I ever heard
tell of, and I keep the accounts of enough to know. Now, with me, ye'd
get two pound a week till your share o' the reward was wiped off; and if
we had no luck for a year you'd be no worse off, but could go and try
your squatters then. That's a promise, and I'll keep it as sure as my
name's Andr' Macbean!"

"But how do you propose to catch this fellow, Mr. Macbean?"

The bank manager looked on all sides, likewise behind the tree, before
replying under his breath: "By setting a wee trap for him! A bank's a
bank, and Stingaree hasna stuck one up since he took to h