'that you'll neither sell him, nor lend him, nor
give him away as long as you live.'

'Oh! you don't mean it,' says the girl, jumping up and clapping her
hands; 'I'd sooner have him than anything I ever saw in the world. Oh!
I'll take such care of him. I'll feed him and rub him over myself; only
I forgot, I'm not to have him before you're dead. It's rather rough on
you, isn't it?'

'Not a bit,' says Starlight; 'we must all go when our time comes. If
anything happens to me soon he'll be young enough to carry you for years
yet. And you'll win all the ladies' hackney prizes at the shows.'

'Oh! I couldn't take him.'

'But you must now. I've promised him to you, and though I am a--well--an
indifferent character, I never go back on my word.'

'Haven't you anything to give me, Captain?' says Bella; 'you're in such
a generous mind.'

'I must bring you something,' says he, 'next time we call. What shall it
be? Now's the time to ask. I'm like the fellow in the "Arabian Nights",
the slave of the ring--your ring.' Here he took the girl's hand, and
pretending to look at a ring she wore took it up and kissed it. It
wasn't a very ugly one neither. 'What will you have, Bella?'

'I'd like a watch and chain,' she said, pretending to look a little
offended. 'I suppose I may as well ask for a good thing at once.'

Starlight pulled out a pocket-book, and, quite solemn and regular, made
a note of it.

'It's yours,' he said, 'within a month. If I cannot conveniently call
and present it in person, I'll send it by a sure hand, as they used to
say; and now, Jim, boot and saddle.'

The horses were out by this time; the groom was walking Rainbow up and
down; he'd put a regular French-polish on his coat, and the old horse
was arching his neck and chawing his bit as if he thought he was going
to start for the Bargo Town Plate. Jonathan himself was holding our two
horses, but looking at him.

'My word!' he said, 'that's a real picture of a horse; he's too good for
a--well--these roads; he ought to be in Sydney carrying some swell about
and never knowing what a day's hardship feels like. Isn't he a regular
out-and-outer to look at? And they tell me his looks is about the worst
of him. Well--here's luck!' Starlight had called for drinks all round
before we started. 'Here's luck to roads and coaches, and them as lives
by 'em. They'll miss the old coaching system some day--mark my word.
I don't hold with these railways they're talkin' about