's such
an old duffer to blow.'

'He was nearly telling the sergeant he'd seen a better horse lately here
than his famous chestnut Marlborough, only Bella trod on his toe, and
told him the cows was in the wheat. Of course Goring would have dropped
it was Rainbow, or some well-bred horse you chaps have been shaking
lately.'

'You're a regular pearl of discretion, my dear,' says Starlight, 'and
it's a pity, like some other folks, you haven't a better field for the
exercise of your talents. However, that's very often the way in this
world, as you'll perhaps find out when you're old and ugly, and the
knowledge can't do you any good. Tell us all you heard about the coach
accident.'

'My word! it was the greatest lark out,' says Maddie. She'd twice the
fun in her the other had, and was that good-tempered nothing seemed to
put her out. 'Everybody as come here seemed to have nothing else to talk
about. Those that was going to the diggings, too, took it much easier
than those that was coming away.'

'How was that?'

'Well, the chaps that come away mostly have some gold. They showed us
some pretty fair lumps and nuggets, I can tell you. They seemed awfully
gallied about being stuck up and robbed of it, and they'd heard yarns of
men being tied to trees in the bush and left there to die.'

'Tell them for me, my fair Madeline, that Starlight and Company don't
deal with single diggers; ours is a wholesale business--eh, Dick? We
leave the retail robbery to meaner villains.'

We had the horses that quiet by this time that we could drive them the
rest of the way to the Turon by ourselves. We didn't want to be too big
a mob at Barnes's house. Any one might come in accidental, and it might
get spread about. So after supper Warrigal was sent back; we didn't want
his help any more, and he might draw attention. The way we were to take
in the horses, and sell them, was all put up.

Jim and I were to drive them the rest of the way across the ranges to
the Turon. Barnes was to put us on a track he knew that would take us in
all right, and yet keep away from the regular highway. Starlight was to
stay another day at Barnes's, keeping very quiet, and making believe, if
any one came, to be a gentleman from Port Phillip that wasn't very well.
He'd come in and see the horses sold, but gammon to be a stranger, and
never set eyes on us before.

'My word!' said Barnes, who just came in at the time, 'you've made talk
enough for all the countr