very different. The poor ol' feller 'ad
been poisoned, missy; the doctor said 'e must a' bin dead twelve hours
when the Bowens found 'im. Everything of value was gone from the hut
along with his mate, old Harris--the black-hearted villain he must be!"

"Why, do they think he killed the other man?" Norah asked.

"Seems pretty certain, missy," Blake replied. "In fact, there don't seem
the shadder of a doubt. He was comin' straight from the hut when the
Bowens met 'im--an' he'd cleared out the whole place, gold an' all. Oh,
there ain't any doubt about Mr. Harris bein' the guilty party. The only
thing doubtful is Mr. Harris's whereabouts."

"Have the police been looking for him?" asked Norah.

"Huntin' high an' low--without any luck. He seems to have vanished off
the earth. They've bin follerin' up first one clue and then another
without any result. Now the last is that he's been seen somewhere the
other side of your place, an' two troopers have gone out to-day to see
if there's any truth in the rumour."

"I think it's awfully exciting," Norah said, "but I'm terribly sorry for
the poor man who was killed. What a wicked old wretch the other must
be!--his own mate, too! I wonder what he was like. Did you know him?"

"Well, I've seen old Harris a few times--not often," Blake replied.
"Still, he wasn't the sort of old man you'd forget. Not a bad-looking
old chap, he was. Very tall and well set up, with piercin' blue eyes,
long white hair an' beard, an' a pretty uppish way of talkin'. I don't
fancy anyone about here knew him very well--he had a way of keepin' to
himself. One thing, there's plenty lookin' out for him now."

"I suppose so," Norah said. "I wonder will he really get away?"

"Mighty small chance," said Blake. "Still, it's wonderful how he's
managed to keep out of sight for so long. Of course, once in the bush it
might be hard to find him--but sooner or later he must come out to some
township for tucker, an' then everyone will be lookin' out for him. They
may have got him up your way by now, missy. Is your Pa at home?"

"He's coming home in a day or two," Norah said; "perhaps to-morrow. I
hope they won't find Harris and bring him to our place."

"Well, it all depends on where they find him if they do get him," Blake
replied. "Possibly they might find the station a handy place to stop at.
However, missy, don't you worry your head about it--nothing for you to
be frightened about."

"Why, I'm not frightened,"