ly reason why he should be here,
except his own obstinacy, if you'll excuse my saying so. He was remanded
this morning; but Mr. Cross of Strathavon, who signed the warrant
yesterday, and came over for the examination this forenoon, not only
wanted to take bail, but offered to find it himself. Wanted to carry him
off in his own buggy, he did! But Mr. Rigden said here he was, and here
he'd stick until his fate was settled. Would you like to see him now?"

"Presently," repeated Moya. "I want to hear more; then I may have
something to tell you. When and where did this death occur, and what
made you so sure that it was the dead man who came to Eureka? You will
understand my questions in a minute."

"Only I must answer them first," said the sergeant, smiling. "I am to
give myself clean away, am I?"

"We must all do that sometimes, Sergeant Harkness. It will be my turn
directly. Let us trust each other."

Harkness looked into her candid eyes, calmer and more steadfast for
their recent tears, and his mind was made up.

"I'll trust you," he said; "you may do as you like about me. Perhaps you
yourself have had the wish that's father to the thought, or rather the
thought that comes of the wish and nothing else? Well, then, that's
what's been the matter with me. The moment I heard of that old rascal's
escape, like every other fellow in the force, I yearned to have the
taking of him. Of course it wasn't on the cards, hundreds of miles
up-country as we are here, besides being across the border; yet when
they got clear away, and headed for the Murray, there was no saying
where they might or might not cast up. Well, it seems they never reached
the Murray at all; but last week down in Balranald I heard a rum yarn
about a stowaway aboard one of the Echuca river-steamers; they never
knew he was aboard until they heard him go overboard just the other side
of Balranald. Then they thought it was one of themselves, until they
mustered and found none missing; and then they all swore it was a log,
except the man at the wheel who'd seen it; so I pretended to think with
the rest--but you bet I didn't! I went down the river on the off-chance,
but I never let on who I hoped it might be. And what with a swaggy whose
swag had been stolen, and his description of the man who he swore had
stolen it, I at last got on the tracks of the man I've lost. He was
said to be an oldish man; that seemed good enough; they were both of
them oldish men, the two