le
enough of that she had for her share. By and by father walks outside
with us, and we had a long private talk.

It was a brightish kind of starlight night. As we walked down to the
creek I thought how often Jim and I had come out on just such a night
'possum hunting, and came home so tired that we were hardly able to pull
our boots off. Then we had nothing to think about when we woke in the
morning but to get in the cows; and didn't we enjoy the fresh butter
and the damper and bacon and eggs at breakfast time! It seems to me
the older people get the more miserable they get in this world. If they
don't make misery for themselves other people do it for 'em; or
just when everything's going straight, and they're doing their duty
first-rate and all that, some accident happens 'em just as if they was
the worst people in the world. I can't make it out at all.

'Well, boys,' says dad, 'you've been lucky so far; suppose you had a
pretty good spree in Melbourne? You seen the game was up by the papers,
didn't you? But why didn't you stay where you were?'

'Why, of course, that brought us away,' says Jim; 'we didn't want to
be fetched back in irons, and thought there was more show for it in the
bush here.'

'But even if they'd grabbed Starlight,' says the old man, 'you'd no call
to be afeard. Not much chance of his peaching, if it had been a hanging
matter.'

'You don't mean to say there ain't warrants against us and the rest of
the lot?' I said.

'There's never a warrant out agin any one but Starlight,' said the old
man. 'I've had the papers read to me regular, and I rode over to Bargo
and saw the reward of 200 Pounds (a chap alongside of me read it) as is
offered for a man generally known as Starlight, supposed to have left
the country; but not a word about you two and me, or the boy, or them
other coves.'

'So we might as well have stayed where we were, Jim.' Jim gave a kind
of groan. 'Still, when you look at it, isn't it queer,' I went on, 'that
they should only spot Starlight and leave us out? It looks as if they
was keepin' dark for fear of frightening us out of the country, but
watching all the same.'

'It's this way I worked it,' says father, rubbing his tobacco in his
hands the old way, and bringing out his pipe: 'they couldn't be off
marking down Starlight along of his carryin' on so. Of course he drawed
notice to himself all roads. But the rest of us only come in with
the mob, and soon as they was sold stash