efore him. "At a pinch,
I'd say fourscore, sir; but I don't think a man could do more than that
properly, from what I know, and from what I've heard."

"You'll do, my man," said Mr Ramsay, looking well pleased, "make my
interest yours, and yours shall be mine. Mr Thompson, my agent at
Melbourne, tells me that he has engaged you and your family for fifty
pounds a year, and all found. Your eldest lads will soon learn how to
make themselves useful, and so will that lassie there, while your wife
will keep your hut when you are out with the sheep. You will stay here
for a few weeks to learn our ways, and then I will send you up in charge
of an out-station. To-morrow you will begin work, for we have plenty
for you to do."

"Thank ye, sir; I'll do my best to serve you, and so will my wife and
children," answered Joseph, in a hearty voice which showed that he
purposed to do what he said.

Joseph and his family were at once placed in possession of a vacant hut.
It was a rough-looking place, but served well for that fine climate.
The frame was of wood, with slab walls, and was roofed with sheets of
bark from a tree called the "stringy-bark tree." It was divided into
two parts. The bedsteads were rough frames with hides stretched on
them, but there were good beds and pillows stuffed with short wool, of
which no one could complain. A table, and some stools and benches, with
a cupboard and plenty of shelves and hooks was all the furniture they
found in the hut. Joseph and Sam went off to the storekeeper, to get
their rations, and came back with a fine supply of everything they
wanted.

That evening, as Joseph Rudge and his family sat round the table at
supper, he thanked God heartily for having brought them into a good
country, and placed them in the hands of a kind and just master. This
was the character Dick Boyce and his mate had given of Mr Ramsay, as
they travelled up with the dray from Melbourne.

The next day, Joseph set to work with his shears, with Sam to help him.
He did not shear so many sheep as the contract shearers, but he sheared
well, leaving none of the bottom wool, and his employer was perfectly
satisfied. He got through two score the first day; two and a half the
next; and three the next. He observed one man who sheared no less than
six score in one day, but Joseph on his way home to dinner observed that
much of the bottom wool--the most valuable in a fleece--remained on the
sheeps' backs. He to