y their comrades, and tell the short story of their
siege. But there was no time to lose, if we desired to capture the
bushrangers; so, leaving the horses in charge of one man, we joined
Smith, and finding that his prisoners were safe, left them in charge of
the dog, and then walked rapidly in the direction of the gang, still
swilling from the rum keg.

They did not suspect our presence, although we heard a number of calls
for their chief, and a few drunken surmises as to the reason of his long
absence; and in the midst of their discussion, the loud voice of Murden
rang out,--

"Surrender, villains, you are surrounded!"

We could hear them start to their feet, and search for their guns, and
then whisper together; and then a deep-toned voice exclaimed,--

"Who asks us to surrender?"

"The police of Melbourne!" cried Murden.

"Curse the police of Melbourne! Come, my hearties, let's give it to the
fools!"

An irregular discharge of half a dozen muskets followed his words, and a
man at my side was struck down, and wounded terribly. He was shot
through the heart, and died instantly.

Their firing revealed their position, and we saw that they were
determined to rush to close quarters, and try the odds, drunk as they
were. Murden no longer hesitated.

"Give them a volley, my men," he cried; and the police, enraged at the
loss of a comrade, poured in a murderous discharge from their carbines.

Yells and imprecations followed, and loud above the groans we could hear
one or two shouting that they would surrender, and begging the police
not to fire again. Murden granted their prayer, and when daylight made
its appearance, the dead bodies of four bushrangers, and three mortally
wounded, were lying by that quiet stream, the waters of which received
their blood, and bore it to the ocean.

CHAPTER XII.

DISCOVERY OF A MASONIC RING.--FUNERAL PYRE OF BLACK DARNLEY.

Knowing the treacherous character of the bushrangers, Murden would not
allow one of his men to venture to the assistance of the wounded
robbers. He formed a circle around them, and with carbines on the cock,
his force waited until daylight before relieving their wants.

In vain Fred and myself offered to venture among the wounded, and take
to them water. Murden would not listen to the proposal for a moment; not
that he was naturally hard-hearted, but he knew the men whom he had to
deal with better' than ourselves; and he imagined that we should get a