all
the brands, about a dozen, in the pen of steers he bought, and described
them one by one. One brand, he said, was like a long-handled shovel. It
turned out to be--D. [*] TD--Tom Dawson's, of Mungeree. About a hundred of
his were in the mob. They had drawn back for Mungeree, as was nearly all
frontage and cold in the winter. He was the worst witness for us of the
lot, very near. He'd noticed everything and forgot nothing.

* In the original text, the horizontal bar is represented by
a capital "I" rotated 90 degrees, and a bit lower than
centre--but from the description, '--D' may be better, where
the '--' represents the upright of the T in TD.--A. L.,
1997.--

'Do you recognise either of the prisoners in the dock?' he was asked.

'Yes; both of 'em,' says he. I wish I could have got at him. 'I see the
swell chap first--him as made out he was the owner, and gammoned all
the Adelaide gentlemen so neat. There was a half-caste chap with him as
followed him about everywhere; then there was another man as didn't talk
much, but seemed, by letting down sliprails and what not, to be in it.
I heard this Starlight, as he calls hisself now, say to him, "You
have everything ready to break camp by ten o'clock, and I'll be there
to-morrow and square up." I thought he meant to pay their wages. I never
dropped but what they was his men--his hired servants--as he was going
to pay off or send back.'

'Will you swear,' our lawyer says, 'that the younger prisoner is the man
you saw at Adelaide with the cattle?'

'Yes; I'll swear. I looked at him pretty sharp, and nothing ain't likely
to make me forget him. He's the man, and that I'll swear to.'

'Were there not other people there with the cattle?'

'Yes; there was an oldish, very quiet, but determined-like man--he had a
stunnin' dorg with him--and a young man something like this gentleman--I
mean the prisoner. I didn't see the other young man nor the half-caste
in court.'

'That's all very well,' says our lawyer, very fierce; 'but will you
swear, sir, that the prisoner Marston took any charge or ownership of
the cattle?'

'No, I can't,' says the chap. 'I see him a drafting 'em in the morning,
and he seemed to know all the brands, and so on; but he done no more
than I've seen hired servants do over and over again.'

The other witnesses had done, when some one called out, 'Herbert
Falkland,' and Mr. Falkland steps into the court. He walks in quiet and