301:106,00@@@@@| 301:106,00[A ]| We, members of the police force of Victoria, are, I think, a little ~~ a very 301:106,00[A ]| little ~~ less despised in this year of grace, eighteen hundred and sixty-five, 301:106,00[A ]| than we were when I first donned the uniform twelve years ago. 301:106,00[A ]| I was a "Cadet" then, and now I am a ~~ ; but I dare say you do not 301:106,00[A ]| care much what I am, so I may go on with my adventures. 301:106,00[A ]| Well then, although we may be, on the whole, a little more thought of 301:106,00[A ]| than we were, I do not know that we are any better off as a body. 301:106,00[A ]| No*one can deny that we get less pay at any rate, and just as little thanks 301:106,00[A ]| for our trouble; witness the names they called us about those bushranging 301:106,00[A ]| affairs, but I suspect they will let us alone about that now. 301:106,00[A ]| Strange scenes during the licence hunting, eh? but it was nasty work 301:106,00[A ]| that; work that I do not like to speak of, nor is it necessary that I should. 301:106,00[A ]| There are many incidents connected with the force, quite amusing and 301:106,00[A ]| interesting enough to relate without going back to the despicable days of 301:106,00[A ]| the "traps." 301:106,00[A ]| Poor devils, the name has stuck to them yet, and a sore point it is, I can 301:106,00[A ]| assure you. 301:106,00[A ]| There was another arrangement by which we were treated very badly. I 301:106,00[A ]| allude to the making us act the parts of common spies and informers in 301:106,00[A ]| "sticking up and causing to be stuck up," and so bringing beneath the 301:106,00[A ]| lash of the law, persons who sold or permitted to be sold on their premises 301:106,00[A ]| spirituous liquors without Her Majesty's license thereto. 301:106,00[A ]| Dirty work was that too: work which reflected little credit upon all concerned 301:106,00[A ]| in it, and which placed us sometimes in positions tbe most uninviting 301:106,00[A ]| and derogatory to the dignity of a preserver of Her Majesty's peace; that is, 301:106,00[A ]| if he is supposed to have any of that ~~ at times, rather expensive article. 301:106,00[A ]| In connection with this branch of our service I recollect some incidents 301:106,00[A ]| that may while away the time and will, I have no doubt, be remembered by 301:106,00[A ]| some of my mates, as they had many a laugh at my expense at the time 301:106,00[A ]| of their occurrence. 301:106,00[A ]| Eight years ago, then, I was stationed within two miles of diggings, where 301:106,00[A ]| many large nuggets had been turned up, but where the fine gold was so scarce 301:106,00[A ]| that a poor man had no chance. The consequence was that it never was a 301:106,00[A ]| large rush, the diggers being limited to those who could afford to wait for 301:106,00[A ]| weeks or months on the chance of finding a "big one." The camp had 301:106,00[A ]| been originally in what had appeared the most convenient locality, but the 301:106,00[A ]| richness of distant gullies had led the population away from its neighbourhood, 301:106,00[A ]| and at the time I write of, it stood, as I have said, at the inconvenient 301:106,00[A ]| distance of two miles from the nearest tent. 301:106,00[A ]| The camp consisted of a single wooden sided, iron roofed erection, so 301:106,00[A ]| familiar to the many; and its only occupants were myself and a foot constable, 301:106,00[A ]| who spent most of his time lying upon the grass under a tree smoking. 301:106,00[A ]| I often wondered how Jerry managed to exist at all; read he did not, and 301:106,00[A ]| think I am sure he could not, for his brains, poor fellow were not overladen 301:106,00[A ]| with intellectual power. He and I got on very well together, however. 301:106,00[A ]| I was in charge of the station, and allowed him to do just as he liked, while 301:106,00[A ]| I did as I liked myself, and neither of us reported the other. 301:106,00[A ]| My first act on coming to these diggings was one not at all likely to impress 301:106,00[A ]| the general public favourably. I received orders to "stick up" all stores 301:106,00[A ]| and shanties that sold grog without a license, and although I much disliked 301:106,00[A ]| the work of a "dirty informer," and foresaw the consequences of my 301:107,00[A ]| becoming one, I could not avoid it ; my instructions were strict, and so my 301:107,00[A ]| first step was to find a man willing, for a bonus of ten pounds, five on 301:107,00[A ]| engagement, and five on conviction, to do what nothing but "duty" would 301:107,00[A ]| have obliged me to do myself. 301:107,00[A ]| For two or three days I lounged about with my eyes open and my mouth 301:107,00[A ]| too, for in my anxiety to make myself agreeable, I am afraid I over did it; 301:107,00[A ]| and, indeed, it is useless to deny that I felt mean enough even in the prospect 301:107,00[A ]| of such a job, to feel grateful to any honest man who met me with a friendly 301:107,00[A ]| greeting. At length, with great perspicuity, I settled on my man ~~ a low 301:107,00[A ]| sneaking*looking wretch ~~ and after engaging him to do some fencing at the 301:107,00[A ]| camp, I sounded him on the point and he agreed to be my fellow-informer ~~ 301:107,00[A ]| two witnesses in these affairs being required by law. 301:107,00[A ]| The next day he commenced fencing, and during the week which followed 301:107,00[A ]| there were many opportunities, without arousing suspicions, of doing the 301:107,00[A ]| business; and we succeeded in drinking nobblers and not paying for them 301:107,00[A ]| at seven or eight different stores and shanties. Of course I summoned them 301:107,00[A ]| all, and plenty of black looks I got in consequence. 301:107,00[A ]| However, the day came, and we were all at the court house, some twenty 301:107,00[A ]| or thirty miles from the diggings at which I was stationed, and which I will 301:107,00[A ]| call the Gully*Diggings. There we were I say, the summonees looking as 301:107,00[A ]| black as midnight; and I, with note-book in hand, feeling anything but 301:107,00[A ]| comfortable, and peering anxiously at the door for my expected witness. I 301:107,00[A ]| might have looked till now, I expect, with the same success, for he never 301:107,00[A ]| came, having levanted with the five pounds and left me to do the dirty work 301:107,00[A ]| myself. Of course all the cases fell to the ground, and I was covered with 301:107,00[A ]| ridicule. Some of the rowdy characters "Joed" me the next day when I 301:107,00[A ]| returned to the Gully; but two or three of the more respectable storekeepers 301:107,00[A ]| only laughed at the whole affair ~~ "shouted" for me to my heart's content, 301:107,00[A ]| taking out the worth of the trouble to which I had put them in the most 301:107,00[A ]| unbounded "chaff." Many were the inquiries made as to whether I had 301:107,00[A ]| heard from my mate yet, and how the fence was getting on, but fortunately I 301:107,00[A ]| am an easy tempered chap, and it does not pay to indulge in sensitive feelings 301:107,00[A ]| in the force, so I lived it down. 301:107,00[A ]| To one of these parties, however, it will be necessary to refer more 301:107,00[A ]| particularly. His name was "Larry;" Larry what, I do not know; it was 301:107,00[A ]| the only name he had, his place being invariably denominated "Larry's." 301:107,00[A ]| This Larry kept a grog shanty of the lowest description, which was 301:107,00[A ]| frequented by all the old hands in the neighbourhood. He himself was 301:107,00[A ]| ostensibly a digger, while the woman who lived with him, took in washing, as 301:107,00[A ]| a simple blind, no doubt, for in those days their grog trade must have been 301:107,00[A ]| a paying one. 301:107,00[A ]| It was certainly my interest to keep on friendly terms with Larry's household, 301:107,00[A ]| as there was one or two of its frequenters over whose movements I was 301:107,00[A ]| anxious to keep an observant eye, for reasons best known to myself and to 301:107,00[A ]| the Government*Gazette. 301:107,00[A ]| To Larry's young woman then, I weekly carried my washing, calling 301:107,00[A ]| regularly for the same, while I used every means of ingratiating myself with 301:107,00[A ]| the occupants of the shanty; succeeding at length in making myself rather 301:107,00[A ]| a favourite with some, I have reason to believe, but entirely failing with the 301:107,00[A ]| master of the establishment. 301:107,00[A ]| Larry evidently viewed me with suspicion and ill-concealed dislike, and 301:107,00[A ]| I many a time caught his black looks fixed upon me with such an expression 301:107,00[A ]| as led me to suppose that if I calculated upon a friend in him I 301:107,00[A ]| reckoned sadly without my host. With Ellen, however, I was successful, 301:107,00[A ]| and I have no doubt that the little extra attention which she bestowed upon 301:107,00[A ]| me in the way of getting up my linen with great care, giving an extra polish 301:107,00[A ]| to the tumbler ere she mixed carefully my favourite drink, went a good way 301:107,00[A ]| in confirming the dislike of her amiable partner towards my humble self, 301:107,00[A ]| although he did not recognise the prudence of expressing it more openly. 301:107,00[A ]| Ellen was a young and goodlooking woman, the mother of a baby that she 301:107,00[A ]| carried almost constantly in her arms, serving customers and even preparing 301:107,00[A ]| the meals with the other, as is often the custom of women with fretting infants. 301:107,00[A ]| I have often thought it a pity that the poor girl's lot should have been cast 301:107,00[A ]| among such rascals, to whom she was much superior in many respects, 301:107,00[A ]| having been, I should judge from her appearance and manner, a servant in 301:107,00[A ]| some honest household; while Larry and his mates were of the very offscourings 301:107,00[A ]| of humanity. Poor Ellen, simple minded, and always I think a little 301:107,00[A ]| weak headed, was daily becoming reduced more and more to the level of 301:107,00[A ]| those around her. She was getting more and more addicted to the cursed 301:107,00[A ]| liquor amongst which she lived; and it at length became no uncommon 301:107,00[A ]| thing to see her staggering up the street still carrying the unfortunate child, 301:107,00[A ]| with its clothes, as well as her own, the picture of neglect and untidiness. 301:107,00[A ]| At the distance of perhaps a mile from Larry's, at the very further end of 301:107,00[A ]| the diggings, was another shanty to which I shall be obliged to introduce my 301:107,00[A ]| readers; with what hesitancy and dislike they may be able to judge when 301:107,00[A ]| they read further. 301:107,00[A ]| A man does not like to blow much about circumstances and places in 301:107,00[A ]| connection with which he has made an ass of himself, but occasionally it is 301:107,00[A ]| beneficial to sacrifice one's little touchiness, so here goes. 301:107,00[A ]| This other shanty then, was kept with an air of respectability that did not 301:107,00[A ]| belong to the calling, by a brother and sister; the brother digging during 301:107,00[A ]| the day, the sister minding the house. The sister was ~~ ; bah! I need not 301:107,00[A ]| describe her. I thought her perfection in every way; and to make a long 301:107,00[A ]| story short, fell over head and heels in love with her, making of myself the 301:107,00[A ]| veriest spooney that ever disgraced the silver striped arm of Her*Majesty's 301:107,00[A ]| blue police jacket. I saw the foolery of the course I was pursuing, but at 301:107,00[A ]| last we settled it all comfortably thus. After a little time I was to resign, 301:107,00[A ]| marry my inamorata, and keep a shanty myself for all I knew; nothing of 301:107,00[A ]| that sort troubled me; only let me become the happy possessor of my angel, 301:107,00[A ]| and everything else might go to old Nick, Her*Majesty's police into the 301:107,00[A ]| bargain! 301:107,00[A ]| With such feelings as these, it is no wonder that I set public opinion at 301:107,00[A ]| defiance, and day after day was I to be seen in all the paraphernalia of 301:107,00[A ]| my mighty office, riding down to "Mack's Shanty," at the door of which 301:107,00[A ]| my charger remained tied up, while I basked in the smiles of beauty within, 301:107,00[A ]| to the detriment I do believe of my beauty's trade in grog. 301:107,00[A ]| Did not I think something of myself ~~ idiot that I was ~~ when, after 301:107,00[A ]| bestowing extreme attention upon my accoutrements, I maccassared my soft 301:107,00[A ]| curls, mounted my well groomed animal and cantered along with my cap 301:107,00[A ]| cover as white as the driven snow; my boots shining like mirrors, every 301:107,00[A ]| buckle about me "polished up to the nines," the palm of my left hand hand laid 301:107,00[A ]| so gracefully, and with an air so 9de=gage=, upon my left thigh as it rested on 301:107,00[A ]| the saddle. Well, I was young you know, and I do not think even now that 301:107,00[A ]| I am at all a bad looking chap, quite the contrary indeed. 301:107,00[A ]| One evening ~~ it was Saturday by*the*bye ~~ I started as usual for the 301:107,00[A ]| accustomed spot. On my way I had to pass a crushing machine, the company 301:107,00[A ]| connected with which I happened to be on very friendly terms with. In 301:107,00[A ]| galloping past I was called upon to stop, in order to admire some splendid 301:107,00[A ]| pieces of quartz that had just been raised from the shaft. They were richly 301:107,00[A ]| impregnated with gold, and, it was calculated, would go a hundred ounces to 301:107,00[A ]| the ton. The shareholders were, of course, in high spirits at such a "rise," 301:107,00[A ]| although it appeared as if the rich stone was only a patch ~~ no indication of 301:107,00[A ]| its continuance being visible. However, it was a great lift to pushing men, 301:107,00[A ]| there being about half a ton of it, in seven or eight solid pieces, thrown out 301:107,00[A ]| at one blast; so congratulating them on their luck, I went on my way. 301:107,00[A ]| Having fastened my horse as usual to one of the poles of the "fly," I spent 301:107,00[A ]| some time with Miss*Mac, and at last, the hour being a late one, I was 301:107,00[A ]| obliged to tear myself away. 301:107,00[A ]| It was a pity I had not done so a little earlier, for when I went out into the 301:107,00[A ]| dark I found that my charger was gone, loosened on purpose I had no doubt, 301:107,00[A ]| and I felt in about as pretty a mess as my worst enemy could have wished 301:107,00[A ]| me. 301:107,00[A ]| It was a dark night, and no tent near, and it was entirely useless my doing 301:107,00[A ]| anything else but walking home, which I did in a humour which my readers 301:107,00[A ]| can, I dare say, imagine. My reveries on the way were not very agreeable 301:107,00[A ]| either you may depend upon it. That the horse would turn up somewhere I 301:107,00[A ]| had no doubt, but that it would be in some way to secure me as much disgrace 301:107,00[A ]| as possible I also felt convinced, as it must have been taken from 301:107,00[A ]| anything but a friendly feeling towards myself. 301:107,00[A ]| A nice job indeed! Pretty information I should be obliged to give Mr%*Inspector 301:107,00[A ]| in a day or two at latest, if the animal was not found. 301:107,00@a | "Sergeant*** , of the *** Division begs to report for the information of Inspector***, 301:107,00@a | that on the evening of the ***th instant, as he was indulging himself in the 301:107,00@a | tent known as Mac's grog shanty, his horse, the property of Her*Majesty's Government, 301:107,00@a | which had been tied up at said shanty for the space of five 301:107,00@a | hours without either food or water, was stolen." ~~ 301:107,00[A ]| That would look well, 301:107,00[A ]| would not it? Faith, I stood a pretty fair chance now of getting clear of the 301:107,00[A ]| jacket, without the trouble of resigning at all; or, perhaps, as a mark of 301:107,00[A ]| great leniency, I should be put on "Escort duty," to which are consigned all 301:107,00[A ]| the unfavoured ones in the service. 301:107,00[A ]| It is fortunate that I have since repented of all the evil thoughts in which 301:107,00[A ]| I indulged during my three miles tramp in the dark; for I swore enough of 301:107,00[A ]| oaths internally to have swamped the most buoyant vessel that ever floated. 301:107,00[A ]| Not much sleep did I get that night you may guess; and at the first dawn I 301:107,00[A ]| was up, to try and find out something of the affair. 301:107,00[A ]| I walked out to the stable with some faint hope of finding the missing 301:107,00[A ]| animal there, and there he was sure enough, standing as quiet and as unconcernedly 301:107,00[A ]| as if he had not been the occasion of the slightest trouble in the 301:107,00[A ]| world. I was glad to perceive that nothing was broken; the saddle, I could 301:107,00[A ]| see when I removed it, had been ridden upon, for there were marks of dusty 301:107,00[A ]| trousers or something of the sort upon it, and two or three scratches upon 301:107,00[A ]| the leather~~ 301:107,00@a | the branches of some bush, 301:107,00[A ]| thinks I; and 301:107,00@a | "Ah my lads," 301:107,00[A ]| said 301:107,00[A ]| I to myself, 301:107,00@a | "let me find you out, that is all!" 301:107,00[A ]| Well, I went back to my room, and busied myself in removing from my 301:107,00[A ]| boots some of the mud with which my pedestrianism in the dark had plentifully 301:107,00[A ]| bespattered them, while my mate prepared breakfast; shortly after 301:107,00[A ]| which we heard the gallop of a horse approaching the camp, and Driscol ~~ one 301:107,00[A ]| of the shareholders I mentioned ~~ came in. 301:107,00[A ]| He had come to give information of a robbery the night before; after the 301:107,00[A ]| men had knocked off work at the machine, the tool chest (to which had 301:107,00[A ]| been consigned the quartz I had been admiring) was broken open, and 301:107,00[A ]| every one of the specimens abstracted. 301:107,00@w | "Too bad, was not it?" 301:107,00[A ]| Driscol asked 301:107,00@w | "two hundred pounds worth." 301:107,00[A ]| I promised to attend to the matter immediately on getting my breakfast, 301:107,00[A ]| and Driscol left. 301:107,00[A ]| Not a word had I said about the temporary loss of my steed, not likely, but 301:107,00[A ]| now the conviction that had before taken possession of my mind, namely, 301:107,00[A ]| that Larry had something to do with its abduction, strengthened considerably, 301:107,00[A ]| and I said to myself, 301:107,00@a | "whoever took my horse took the specimens;" 301:107,00[A ]| and I 301:107,00[A ]| went out to examine, under a new light, my saddle and accoutrements. 301:107,00[A ]| Oh, it was quite evident ~~ dusty bags had been on my saddle, and sharp 301:107,00[A ]| corners of quartz had scratched it; and in case there might be anything 301:107,00[A ]| dubious about the matter, on unbuckling the holster pipes, I found a piece of 301:107,00[A ]| the identical stone, containing gold, which had undoubtedly been placed there 301:107,00[A ]| on purpose to make a perfect laughing-stock of me. They had actually used 301:107,00[A ]| my horse for the purpose of conveying to a place of safety the stolen 301:107,00[A ]| property! 301:107,00[A ]| I felt furious; but knowing there would be no good done without a great 301:108,00[A ]| amount of dissimulation, I removed every trace from the leather, and held my 301:108,00[A ]| tongue. 301:108,00[A ]| Every search was made about the machine premises, but unsuccessfully as 301:108,00[A ]| to the finding of any traces sufficient to throw the shadow of a suspicion upon 301:108,00[A ]| any person. The tool chest had been forced open with an old pick belonging 301:108,00[A ]| to the works, and on the dry hard floor no trace of footsteps remained to give 301:108,00[A ]| the slightest clue; and so, with the offer of a reward posted up in every 301:108,00[A ]| direction, the thing to all appearances ended; ~~ the shareholders leaving in 301:108,00[A ]| my hands the attempt to solve the matter, pretending at the same time that 301:108,00[A ]| they had given up all hope of a capture, so as to lull the watchfulness of 301:108,00[A ]| any neighbouring participators in the robbery. 301:108,00[A ]| The next day I called at Larry's with my washing, and found that worthy 301:108,00[A ]| busy in some little carpentry about the bar. He appeared on particularly 301:108,00[A ]| good terms with himself, and indeed with me, for he "shouted," ~~ an unusual 301:108,00[A ]| thing with him ~~ and I, of course, returned the compliment. We discussed 301:108,00[A ]| the robbery, and I hinted to him my suspicion that the chap who played me 301:108,00[A ]| the trick about the informing business was very likely to know something 301:108,00[A ]| about it, as he knew the premises, etc% 301:108,00[A ]| Larry said it might be so, and promised to keep his eyes open. 301:108,00@a | So will I, Larry, 301:108,00[A ]| thinks I, and so I did. It takes very little to hang a 301:108,00[A ]| man; and before I left the place I had gained a clue, which, though slight in 301:108,00[A ]| itself was of the very greatest service to me in the affair. It was a raw sort 301:108,00[A ]| of a day, and Larry had on an old worn monkey jacket. On his turning his 301:108,00[A ]| back, to replace upon the shelf a bottle, I noticed a rent under the arm and 301:108,00[A ]| slightly behind it, a small piece of green stuff, that had every appearance of 301:108,00[A ]| having inserted itself during the pressure of the wearer upon some bush. 301:108,00[A ]| I managed before he turned to gain possession of it, and shortly after left the 301:108,00[A ]| shanty. 301:108,00[A ]| I was not long in examining my acquisition, and found it was a scrap of 301:108,00[A ]| tea-tree scrub; but this was in itself no trifle, for there was only one patch of 301:108,00[A ]| that scrub within a distance of miles, it being at least two miles away from 301:108,00[A ]| the nearest part of the gully. It was a place upon which I had dropped in 301:108,00[A ]| some of my kangaroo hunting excursions, and one in which Larry, who was 301:108,00[A ]| no sportsman, and owned no cattle of any descripion, could have no 301:108,00[A ]| reasonable business. 301:108,00[A ]| I went straight to the camp and then across the bush to the tea-tree scrub 301:108,00[A ]| patch; and riding round it, cautiously though, and where my track would 301:108,00[A ]| not be likely to be noticed, I came upon a sort of opening through the thick 301:108,00[A ]| bushes. My horse seemed to know it, and of course he did, so I gave him 301:108,00[A ]| the reins, until he brought me to the bed of a creek, where, under the 301:108,00[A ]| heavy branches of an old gumtree that hung over the steep bank, I found a 301:108,00[A ]| carefully concealed "drive," and at the end of the drive, among many other 301:108,00[A ]| articles, were the identical specimens, still remaining in the bags in which 301:108,00[A ]| they had been removed. 301:108,00[A ]| This was a grand affair for me, and I was soon galloping home, so that I 301:108,00[A ]| might think quietly upon what would be the best course to pursue. Of course, 301:108,00[A ]| I had no doubt that Larry was the man now, but to bring it home to him was 301:108,00[A ]| my business, as well as to recover the stolen property. 301:108,00[A ]| For two or three nights then was my animal tied as usual to the shanty of 301:108,00[A ]| my lady love, while my mate spent his nights in watching near the "plant" 301:108,00[A ]| in the scrub. At length he was rewarded. Larry began to be off his guard 301:108,00[A ]| and anxious to break up the stone, so as to render the gold available. 301:108,00[A ]| One night we let him hammer away in peace; the next we went together, 301:108,00[A ]| and after an hour's watch, during which period Larry hammered away 301:108,00[A ]| regularly and contentedly, we discharged a revolver in front of the drive, 301:108,00[A ]| and seized the gentleman as he rushed from his place of concealment. 301:108,00[A ]| He was an active powerful fellow, but two to one, he had no chance, and 301:108,00[A ]| we clapped the handcuffs on him in a trice. 301:108,00@a | "Now, my clever fellow," 301:108,00[A ]| said I, 301:108,00@a | "you shall go to the lockup on the 301:108,00@a | horse that you found so convenient the other night and believe me, I am 301:108,00@a | prouder to see you there than if you were ten bags of specimens;" 301:108,00[A ]| and so I was, for I had a personal down on the rascal himself. 301:108,00[A ]| To make a long story short, Larry was convicted, and sentenced to seven 301:108,00[A ]| years on the roads, and I was at liberty to prosecute again my 9affaire*de*coeur. 301:108,00[A ]| Well, the said 9affaire does not end at all to my credit; but never mind, it is 301:108,00[A ]| like taking a dose of physic ~~ down with it. 301:108,00[A ]| One evening, after having been away for several days finishing off the 301:108,00[A ]| Larry concern, careless of the condition of Her*Majesty's charger, off I started 301:108,00[A ]| to my charmer's residence, full of delight at my recovered liberty. 301:108,00[A ]| Hallo! the tent was gone ~~ not a vestige of the spot to me so sacred was 301:108,00[A ]| left, save indeed the remnants of a pipeclayed chimney, and a number of 301:108,00[A ]| bottles scattered about. 301:108,00[A ]| Whatever was up? I had parted with her only a few days before, giving 301:108,00[A ]| her the last of my last month's pay to settle some pressing account or other, 301:108,00[A ]| as I had often been happy to do before, and now she was gone! 301:108,00[A ]| I turned my horse's head campwards, and dreading the quizzing I was sure 301:108,00[A ]| to get if I asked any questions up the street, I galloped home across the bush. 301:108,00[A ]| Jerry was lying as usual under the tree, and the broad grin with which he 301:108,00[A ]| greeted my unusual return struck me as significant. 301:108,00@a | "What has become of the Macs, Jerry?" 301:108,00[A ]| The loud guffaw which served as Jerry's reply, I fancy I hear yet, and 301:108,00[A ]| do not want to hear again, at my expense at any rate; but the amount of 301:108,00[A ]| the matter was that Miss*Mac was not Miss*Mac at all, but the mistress of 301:108,00[A ]| her 9soi-disant brother, and they had not gone off without making a complete 301:108,00[A ]| laughing-stock of me all over the gully. Nay, Miss*Mac had not hesitated to 301:108,00[A ]| tell all my friends of our intended marriage-arrangements, and laughed until 301:108,00[A ]| the tears ran down her cheeks at the bare idea of marrying a "green downy-faced 301:108,00[A ]| trap!" 301:108,00[A ]| That cured me; for, as I caressed my delicate moustache, with the twirl of 301:108,00[A ]| which macassar had so much to do, I felt that a woman who could ridicule 301:108,00[A ]| that was not worth ~~ . Well, I got over it at any rate, after chaff enough to 301:108,00[A ]| make me more cautious in future. 301:108,00[A ]| As a wind-up to this episode, I may mention the fate of poor Ellen. One 301:108,00[A ]| day I went to look after her a bit ~~ the neighbours having raised suspicions of 301:108,00[A ]| her sanity ~~ and found her dancing idiotically before her child, which she had 301:108,00[A ]| hung up to the tie-beam of the tent, and whose black and distorted features 301:108,00[A ]| seemed to afford her the most satisfactory amusement. The child was quite 301:108,00[A ]| dead, and some months after Ellen died herself, the inmate of the hospital of an 301:108,00[A ]| asylum, another victim to the curse of intemperance so prevalent in our colony. 302:220,00@@@@@| 302:220,00[A ]| There are many who recollect full well the rush at Chinaman's*Flat. It 302:220,00[A ]| was in the height of its prosperity that an assault was committed upon a 302:220,00[A ]| female of a character so diabolical in itself, as to have aroused the utmost 302:220,00[A ]| anxiety in the public as well as in the police, to punish the perpetrator 302:220,00[A ]| thereof. 302:220,00[A ]| The case was placed in my hands, and as it presented difficulties so great 302:220,00[A ]| as to appear to an ordinary observer almost insurmountable, the overcoming of 302:220,00[A ]| which was likely to gain approbation in the proper quarter, I gladly accepted 302:220,00[A ]| the task. 302:220,00[A ]| I had little to go upon at first. One dark night, in a tent in the very centre 302:220,00[A ]| of a crowded thoroughfare, a female had been preparing to retire to rest, her 302:220,00[A ]| husband being in the habit of remaining at the public-house until a late hour, 302:220,00[A ]| when a man with a crape mask ~~ who must have gained an earlier entrance ~~ 302:220,00[A ]| seized her, and in the prosecution of a criminal offence, had injured and 302:220,00[A ]| abused the unfortunate woman so much that her life was despaired of. 302:220,00[A ]| Although there was a light burning at the time, the woman was barely able 302:220,00[A ]| to describe his general appearance; he appeared to her like a German, had 302:220,00[A ]| no whiskers, fair hair, was low in stature, and stoutly built. 302:220,00[A ]| With one important exception, that was all the information she was able to 302:220,00[A ]| give me on the subject. The exception, however, was a good deal to a 302:220,00[A ]| detective, and I hoped might prove an invaluable aid to me. During the 302:220,00[A ]| struggle she had torn the arm of the flannel shirt he wore, and was under a 302:220,00[A ]| decided impression that upon the upper part of the criminal's arm there was 302:220,00[A ]| a small anchor and heart tattooed. 302:220,00[A ]| Now, I was well aware that in this colony to find a man with a tattooed 302:220,00[A ]| arm was an every*day affair, especially on the diggings, where, I dare say, 302:220,00[A ]| there is scarcely a person who has not come in contact more than once 302:220,00[A ]| or twice with half a dozen men tattooed in the style I speak of ~~ the 302:220,00[A ]| anchor or heart, or both, being a favourite figure with those "gentlemen" 302:220,00[A ]| who are in favour of branding. 302:220,00[A ]| However, the clue was worth something, and even without its aid, not more 302:220,00[A ]| than a couple of weeks had elapsed when, with the assistance of the local 302:220,00[A ]| police, I had traced a man bearing in appearance a general resemblance to 302:220,00[A ]| the man who had committed the offence, to a digging about seven miles from 302:220,00[A ]| Chinaman's*Flat. 302:220,00[A ]| It is unnecessary that I should relate every particular as to how my suspicions 302:220,00[A ]| were directed to this man, who did not live on Chinaman's Flat, and 302:220,00[A ]| to all appearances, had not left the diggings where he was camped since he 302:220,00[A ]| first commenced working there. I say "to all appearances," for it was with a 302:220,00[A ]| certain knowledge that he had been absent from his tent on the night of the 302:220,00[A ]| outrage that I one evening trudged down the flat where his tent was pitched, 302:220,00[A ]| with my swag on my back, and sat down on a log not far from where he had 302:220,00[A ]| kindled a fire for culinary or other purposes. 302:220,00[A ]| These diggings I will call McAdam's. It was a 1arge and flourishing goldfield, 302:220,00[A ]| and on the flat where my man was camped there were several other 302:220,00[A ]| tents grouped, so that it was nothing singular that I should look about for a 302:220,00[A ]| couple of bushes, between which I might swing my little bit of canvas for 302:220,00[A ]| the night. 302:220,00[A ]| After I had fastened up the rope, and thrown my tent over it in regular 302:220,00[A ]| digger fashion, I broke down some bushes to form my bed, and having 302:220,00[A ]| spread thereon my blankets, went up to my man ~~ whom I shall in future 302:220,00[A ]| call "Bill" ~~ to request permission to boil my billy on his fire. 302:220,00[A ]| It was willingly granted, and so I lighted my pipe and sat down to await 302:220,00[A ]| the boiling of the water, determined if I could so manage it to get this suspected 302:220,00[A ]| man to accept me as a mate before I lay down that night. 302:220,00[A ]| Bill was also engaged in smoking, and had not, of course, the slightest 302:220,00[A ]| suspicion that in the rough, ordinary*looking digger before him he was contemplating 302:220,00[A ]| the "make-up" of a Victorian detective, who had already made 302:220,00[A ]| himself slightly talked of among his comrades by one or two clever 302:220,00[A ]| captures. 302:220,00@b | "Where did you come from mate?" 302:220,00[A ]| inquired Bill, as he puffed away 302:220,00[A ]| leisurely at a cutty. 302:220,00@a | "From Burnt*Creek," 302:220,00[A ]| I replied, 302:220,00@a | "and a long enough road it is in such 302:220,00@a | d*** hot weather as this." 302:220,00@b | "Nothing doing at Burnt*Creek?" 302:220,00@a | "Not a thing ~~ the place is cooked." 302:220,00@b | "Are you in for a try here, then?" 302:220,00[A ]| he asked, rather eagerly I thought. 302:220,00@a | "Well, I think so; is there any chance do you think?" 302:220,00@b | "Have you got a miner's right?" 302:220,00[A ]| was his sudden question. 302:220,00@a | "I have," 302:220,00[A ]| said I taking it out of my pocket, and handing the bit of parchment 302:220,00[A ]| for his inspection. 302:220,00@b | "Are you a hatter?" 302:220,00[A ]| inquired Bill, as he returned the document. 302:220,00@a | "I am," 302:220,00[A ]| was my reply. 302:220,00@b | "Well, if you have no objections then, I do not mind going mates with 302:220,00@b | you ~~ I have got a pretty fair prospect, and the ground is going to run rather 302:220,00@b | deep for one man, I think." 302:220,00@a | "All right." 302:220,00[A ]| So here was the very thing I wanted, settled without the slightest 302:220,00[A ]| trouble. 302:220,00[A ]| My object in wishing to go mates with this fellow will, I dare say, readily 302:220,00[A ]| be perceived. I did not wish to risk my character for 'cuteness by arresting 302:220,00[A ]| my gentleman, without being sure that he was branded in the way described 302:220,00[A ]| by the woman, and besides, in the close supervision which I should be able 302:220,00[A ]| to keep over him while working together daily, heaven knows what might 302:220,00[A ]| transpire as additional evidence against him, at least so I reasoned with 302:220,00[A ]| myself; and it was with a partially relieved mind that I made my frugal 302:220,00[A ]| supper, and made believe to "turn in", fatigued, as I might be supposed to 302:220,00[A ]| be, after my long tramp. 302:220,00[A ]| But I did not turn in, not I, I had other objects in view, if one may be said 302:220,00[A ]| to have an object in view on one of the darkest nights of a moonless week~~ 302:220,00[A ]| for dark enough the night in question became, even before I had finished my 302:220,00[A ]| supper, and made my apparent preparations for bed. 302:220,00[A ]| We were not camped far enough from the business part of the rush to be 302:220,00[A ]| very quiet, there was plenty of noise ~~ the nightly noise of a rich gold-field ~~ 302:220,00[A ]| came down our way, and even in some of the tents close to us, card-playing, 302:220,00[A ]| and drinking, and singing, and laughing, were going on; so it was quite easy 302:220,00[A ]| for me to steal unnoticed to the back of Bill's little tent, and, by the 302:220,00[A ]| assistance of a small slit made in the calico by my knife, have a look at what 302:220,00[A ]| my worthy was doing inside, for I was anxious to become acquainted with 302:220,00[A ]| his habits, and, of course, determined to watch him as closely as ever 302:220,00[A ]| I could. 302:220,00[A ]| Well, the first specimen I had of his customs was certainly a singular one, 302:220,00[A ]| and was, it may be well believed, an exception to his general line of conduct. 302:220,00[A ]| Diggers, or any other class of men, do not generally spend their evenings in 302:220,00[A ]| cutting their shoes up into small morsels, and that was exactly what Bill was 302:220,00[A ]| busily engaged in doing when I clapped my eye to the hole. He had already 302:220,00[A ]| disposed of a good portion of the article when I commenced to watch him: 302:220,00[A ]| the entire "upper" of a very muddy blucher boot lying upon his rough 302:220,00[A ]| table in a small heap, and in the smallest pieces that one would suppose any 302:220,00[A ]| person could have patience to cut up a dry, hard, old leather boot. 302:220,00[A ]| It was rather a puzzler to me this, and that Bill was doing such a thing 302:220,00[A ]| simply to amuse himself was out of the question; indeed, without observing 302:220,00[A ]| that he had the door of his tent closely fastened upon a warm evening, and 302:220,00[A ]| that he started at the slightest sound, the instincts of an old detective would 302:220,00[A ]| alone have convinced me that Bill had some great cause indeed to make away 302:220,00[A ]| with those old boots; so I continued watching. 302:220,00[A ]| He had hacked away at the sole with an old but sharp butcher's knife, but 302:220,00[A ]| it almost defied his attempts to separate it into pieces, and at length he gave it 302:220,00[A ]| up in despair, and gathering up the small portions on the table, he swept 302:220,00[A ]| them with the mutilated sole into his hat, and opening his tent door, went 302:220,00[A ]| out. 302:220,00[A ]| I guessed very truly that he would make for the fire, and as it happened to 302:220,00[A ]| be at the other side of a log from where I was hiding, I had a good opportunity 302:220,00[A ]| of continuing my espial. 302:221,00[A ]| He raked together the few embers that remained near the log, and flinging 302:221,00[A ]| the pieces of leather thereon, retired once more into his tent, calculating, no 302:221,00[A ]| doubt, that the hot ashes would soon scorch and twist them up, so as to defy 302:221,00[A ]| recognition, while the fire he would build upon them in the morning would 302:221,00[A ]| settle the matter most satisfactorily. 302:221,00[A ]| All this would have happened just so, no doubt, if I had not succeeded in 302:221,00[A ]| scraping nearly every bit from the place where Bill had thrown them, so 302:221,00[A ]| silently and quickly, that I was in the shelter of my slung tent with my prize 302:221,00[A ]| and a burn or two on my fingers before he himself had had time to divest 302:221,00[A ]| himself of his garments and blow out the light. 302:221,00[A ]| He did so very soon, however, and it was long before I could get asleep. 302:221,00[A ]| I thought it over and over in all ways, and looked upon it in all lights that I 302:221,00[A ]| could think of, and yet, always connecting this demolished boot with the case 302:221,00[A ]| in the investigation of which I was engaged, I could not make it out at all. 302:221,00[A ]| Had we overlooked, with all our fancied acuteness, some clue which Bill 302:221,00[A ]| feared we had possession of, to which this piecemeal boot was the key? And 302:221,00[A ]| if so why had he remained so long without destroying it? 302:221,00[A ]| It was, as I said before, a regular puzzler to me, and my brain was positively 302:221,00[A ]| weary when I at length dropped off to sleep. 302:221,00[A ]| Well, I worked for a week with Bill, and I can tell you it was work I did not 302:221,00[A ]| at all take to. The unaccustomed use of tbe pick and shovel played the very 302:221,00[A ]| mischief with my hands; but, for fear of arousing the suspicions of my mate, 302:221,00[A ]| I durst not complain, having only to endure in silence, or as our Scotch friends 302:221,00[A ]| would put it, 302:221,00@z | "Grin and bide it." 302:221,00[A ]| And tbe worst of it was, that I was gaining 302:221,00[A ]| nothing ~~ nothing whatever ~~ by my unusual industry. 302:221,00[A ]| I had hoped that accidentally I should have got a sight of the anchor and 302:221,00[A ]| heart, but I was day after day disappointed, for my mate was not very regular 302:221,00[A ]| in his ablutions, and I had reckoned without my host in expecting that the 302:221,00[A ]| very ordinary habit of a digger, namely, that of having a "regular wash" at 302:221,00[A ]| least every Sunday, would be a good and certain one for exposing the brand. 302:221,00[A ]| But no, Bill allowed the Sunday to come and go, without once removing 302:221,00[A ]| what I could observe was the flannel shirt, in which he had worked all the 302:221,00[A ]| week; and then I began to swear at my own obtuseness ~~ 302:221,00@a | "the fellow must 302:221,00@a | be aware that his shirt was torn by the woman, of course he suspects that 302:221,00@a | she may have seen the tattooing, and will take blessed good care not to 302:221,00@a | expose it, mate or no mate," 302:221,00[A ]| tbought I; and then I called myself a donkey, 302:221,00[A ]| and during the few following days, when I was trusting to the chapter of 302:221,00[A ]| accidents, I was also deliberating on the "to be or not to be" of the question 302:221,00[A ]| of arresting him at once, and chancing it. 302:221,00[A ]| Saturday afternoon came again, and then the early knock-off time, and that 302:221,00[A ]| sort of quarter holiday among the miners, namely, four o'clock, was hailed 302:221,00[A ]| by me with the greatest relief, and it was with the full determination of never 302:221,00[A ]| again setting foot in the cursed claim that I shouldered my pick and shovel 302:221,00[A ]| and proceeded tentwards. 302:221,00[A ]| On my way I met a policeman, and received from him a concerted signal 302:221,00[A ]| that I was wanted at the camp, and so telling Bill that I was going to 302:221,00[A ]| see an old mate about some money that he owed me, I started at once. 302:221,00@w | "We have got something else in your line, mate," 302:221,00[A ]| said my old chum, Joe Bennet, 302:221,00[A ]| as I entered the camp, 302:221,00@w | "and one which, I think, will be a regular 302:221,00@w | poser for you. The body of a man has been found in Pipeclay*Gully, and we 302:221,00@w | can scarcely be justified by appearances in giving even a surmise as to how he 302:221,00@w | came by his death." 302:221,00@a | "How do you mean?" 302:221,00[A ]| I inquired. 302:221,00@a | "Has he been dead so long?" 302:221,00@w | "About a fortnight, I dare say, but we have done absolutely nothing as 302:221,00@w | yet. Knowing you were on the ground we have not even touched the body: 302:221,00@w | will you come up at once?" 302:221,00@a | "Of course I will!" 302:221,00[A ]| And after substituting the uniform of the force for the 302:221,00[A ]| digger's costume, in which I was apparelled, in case of an encounter with my 302:221,00[A ]| "mate," we went straight to "Pipeclay." 302:221,00[A ]| The body had been left in charge of one of the police, and was still lying, 302:221,00[A ]| undisturbed in the position in which it had been discovered; not a soul was 302:221,00[A ]| about, in fact, the gully had been rushed and abandoned, and bore not the 302:221,00[A ]| slightest trace of man's handiwork, saving and except the miner's holes and 302:221,00[A ]| their surrounding little eminences of pipeclay, from which the gully was named. 302:221,00[A ]| And it was a veritable "gully," running between two low ranges of hills, which 302:221,00[A ]| hills were covered with an undergrowth of wattle and cherry trees, and scattered 302:221,00[A ]| over with rocks and indications of quartz, which have, I dare say, been fully 302:221,00[A ]| tried by this time. 302:221,00[A ]| Well, on the slope of one of the hills, where it amalgamated as it were 302:221,00[A ]| with the level of the gully, and where the sinking had evidently been 302:221,00[A ]| shallow, lay the body of the dead man. He was dressed in ordinary miner's 302:221,00[A ]| fashion, and saving for the fact of a gun being by his side, one might have 302:221,00[A ]| supposed that he had only given up his digging to lie down and die beside 302:221,00[A ]| the hole near which he lay. 302:221,00[A ]| The hole, however, was full of water~~ quite full; indeed the water was 302:221,00[A ]| sopping out on the ground around it, and that the hole was an old one was 302:221,00[A ]| evident, by the crumbling edges around it, and the fragments of old branches 302:221,00[A ]| that lay rotting in the water. 302:221,00[A ]| Close to this hole lay the body, the attitude strongly indicative of the 302:221,00[A ]| last exertion during life having been that of crawling out of the water hole, 302:221,00[A ]| in which indeed still remained part of the unfortunate man's leg. There 302:221,00[A ]| was no hat on his head, and in spite of the considerable decay of the body, 302:221,00[A ]| even an ordinary observer could not fail to notice a large fracture in the side 302:221,00[A ]| of the head. 302:221,00[A ]| I examined the gun; it was a double-barrelled fowling piece, and one 302:221,00[A ]| barrel had been discharged, while very apparent on the stock of the gun 302:221,00[A ]| were blood marks, that even the late heavy rain had failed to erase. In the 302:221,00[A ]| pockets of the dead man was nothing, save what any digger might carry ~~ 302:221,00[A ]| pipe and tobacco, a cheap knife, and a shilling or two, this was all; and 302:221,00[A ]| so leaving the body to be removed by the police, I thoughtfully retraced my 302:221,00[A ]| way to the camp. 302:221,00[A ]| Singularly enough, during my absence, a woman had been there, giving 302:221,00[A ]| information about her husband, on account of whose absence she was becoming 302:221,00[A ]| alarmed; and as the caution of the policeman on duty at the camp 302:221,00[A ]| had prevented his giving her any idea of the fact of the dead body having 302:221,00[A ]| been discovered that very day, I immediately went to the address which the 302:221,00[A ]| woman had left, in order to discover, if possible, not only if it was the missing 302:221,00[A ]| man, but also to gain any information that might be likely to put me upon 302:221,00[A ]| the scent of the murderer, for that the man had been murdered I had not the 302:221,00[A ]| slightest doubt. 302:221,00[A ]| Well, I succeeded in finding the woman, a young and decidedly good-looking 302:221,00[A ]| Englishwoman of the lower class, and gained from her the following 302:221,00[A ]| information: ~~ 302:221,00[A ]| About a fortnight before, her husband, who had been indisposed, and in 302:221,00[A ]| consequence not working for a day or two, had taken his gun one morning 302:221,00[A ]| in order to amuse himself for an hour or two, as well as to have a look at the 302:221,00[A ]| ranges near Pipeclay*Gully, and do a little prospecting at the same time. He 302:221,00[A ]| had not returned, but as he had suggested a possibility of visiting his brother 302:221,00[A ]| who was digging about four miles off, she had not felt alarmed until upon communicating 302:221,00[A ]| with the said brother she had become aware that her husband 302:221,00[A ]| had never been there. From the description, I knew at once that the remains 302:221,00[A ]| of the poor fellow lying in Pipeclay*Gully were certainly those of the missing 302:221,00[A ]| man, and with what care and delicacy I might possess I broke the tidings to 302:221,00[A ]| the shocked wife, and after allowing her grief to have vent in a passion of 302:221,00[A ]| tears, I tried to gain some clue to the likely perpetrator of the murder. 302:221,00@a | "Had she any suspicions?" 302:221,00[A ]| I asked; 302:221,00@a | "was there any feud between her 302:221,00@a | husband and any individual she could name?" 302:221,00[A ]| At first she replied 302:221,00@v | "no," 302:221,00[A ]| and then a sudden recollection appeared to 302:221,00[A ]| strike her, and she said that some weeks ago a man had, during the absence 302:221,00[A ]| of her husband, made advances to her, under the feigned supposition that 302:221,00[A ]| she was an unmarried woman. In spite of her decidedly repellent manner, 302:221,00[A ]| he had continued his attentions, until she, afraid of his impetuosity, had 302:221,00[A ]| been obliged to call the attention of her husband to the matter, and he, of 302:221,00[A ]| course feeling indignant, had threatened to shoot the intruder if he ever 302:221,00[A ]| ventured near the place again. 302:221,00[A ]| The woman described this man to me, and it was with a violent whirl of 302:221,00[A ]| emotional excitement, as one feels who is on the eve of a great discovery, that 302:221,00[A ]| I hastened to the camp, which was close by. 302:221,00[A ]| It was barely half-past five o'clock, and in a few minutes I was on my 302:221,00[A ]| way, with two or three other associates, to the scene of wbat I had no doubt 302:221,00[A ]| had been a horrible murder. What my object was there was soon apparent. 302:221,00[A ]| I had before tried the depth of the muddy water, and found it was scarcely 302:221,00[A ]| four feet, and now we hastened to make use of the remaining light of a long 302:221,00[A ]| summer's day in draining carefully the said hole. 302:221,00[A ]| I was repaid for the trouble, for in the muddy and deep sediment at the 302:221,00[A ]| bottom we discovered a deeply imbedded blucher boot; and I dare say 302:221,00[A ]| you will readily guess how my heart leaped up at the sight. 302:221,00[A ]| To old diggers, the task which followed was not a very great one; we had 302:221,00[A ]| provided ourselves with a "tub," etc%, and "washed" every bit of the mud 302:221,00[A ]| at the bottom of the hole. The only "find" we had, however, was a peculiar 302:221,00[A ]| bit of wood, which, instead of rewarding us for our exertions by lying like 302:221,00[A ]| gold at the bottom of the dish in which we "turned off," insisted upon floating 302:221,00[A ]| on the top of the very first tub, when it became loosened from its surrounding 302:221,00[A ]| of clay. 302:221,00[A ]| It was a queer piece of wood, and eventually quite repaid us for any trouble 302:221,00[A ]| we might have had in its capture. A segment of a circle it was, or rather a 302:221,00[A ]| portion of a segment of a circle, being neither more nor less than a piece 302:221,00[A ]| broken out of one of those old fashioned black wooden buttons, that are still 302:221,00[A ]| to be seen on the monkey-jacket of many an Australian digger, as well as 302:221,00[A ]| elsewhere. 302:221,00[A ]| Well, I fancied that I knew the identical button from whence had been 302:221,00[A ]| broken this bit of wood, and that I could go and straightaway fit it into its 302:221,00[A ]| place without the slightest trouble in the world ~~ singular, was it not? ~~ and 302:221,00[A ]| as I carefully placed the piece in my pocket, I could not help thinking to 302:221,00[A ]| myself 302:221,00@a | "Well, this does indeed and most truly look like the working of 302:221,00@a | Providence." 302:221,00[A ]| There are many occasions when an apparent chance has effected the unravelling 302:221,00[A ]| of a mystery, which but for the turning over of that particular 302:221,00[A ]| page of fatality, might have remained a mystery to the day of judgment, in 302:221,00[A ]| spite of the most strenuous and most able exertions. Mere human acumen 302:221,00[A ]| would never have discovered the key to the secret's hieroglyphic, nor placed 302:221,00[A ]| side by side the hidden links of a chain long enough and strong enough to 302:221,00[A ]| tear the murderer from his fancied security, and hang him as high as Haman. 302:221,00[A ]| Such would almost appear to have been the case in the instance to which I am 302:221,00[A ]| alluding, only that in place of ascribing the elucidation and the unravelling 302:221,00[A ]| to that mythical power chance, the impulse of some "inner man" writes 302:221,00[A ]| the word Providence. 302:221,00[A ]| I did not feel exactly like moralizing, however, when, after resuming my 302:221,00[A ]| digger's "make up," I walked towards the tent of the man I have called Bill. 302:221,00[A ]| No; I felt more and deeper than any mere moralist could understand. The 302:221,00[A ]| belief that a higher power had especially called out, and chosen, one of his 302:221,00[A ]| own creatures to be the instrument of his retributive power, has, in our 302:221,00[A ]| world's history, been the means of mighty evil, and I hope that not for 302:221,00[A ]| an instant did such an idea take possession of me. I was not conscious of 302:221,00[A ]| feeling that I had been chosen as a scourge and an instrument of earthly 302:221,00[A ]| punishment; but I did feel that I was likely to be the means of cutting 302:221,00[A ]| short the thread of a most unready fellow-mortal's life, and a solemn responsibility 302:221,00[A ]| it is to bring home to one's self I can assure you. 302:222,00[A ]| The last flush of sunlight was fading low in the west when I reached our 302:222,00[A ]| camping ground, and found Bill seated outside on a log, indulging in his 302:222,00[A ]| usual pipe in the greying twilight. 302:222,00[A ]| I had, of course, determined upon arresting him at once, and had sent two 302:222,00[A ]| policemen round to the back of our tents, in case of an attempted escape upon 302:222,00[A ]| his part; and now, quite prepared, I sat down beside him; and, after feeling 302:222,00[A ]| that the handcuffs were in their usual place in my belt, I lit my pipe and 302:222,00[A ]| commenced to smoke also. My heart verily went pit-a-pat as I did so, for, 302:222,00[A ]| long as I had been engaged in this sort of thing, I had not yet become 302:222,00[A ]| callous either to the feelings of a wretched criminal or the excitement 302:222,00[A ]| attendant more or less upon every capture of the sort. 302:222,00[A ]| We smoked in silence for some minutes, and I was listening intently to 302:222,00[A ]| hear the slightest intimation of the vicinity of my mates; at length Bill 302:222,00[A ]| broke the silence. 302:222,00@b | "Did you get your money?" 302:222,00[A ]| he inquired. 302:222,00@a | "No," 302:222,00[A ]| I replied, 302:222,00@a | "but I think I will get it soon." 302:222,00[A ]| Silence again, and then withdrawing the pipe from my mouth and quietly 302:222,00[A ]| knocking the ashes out of it on the log, I turned towards my mate and said, 302:222,00@a | "Bill, what made you murder that man in Pipeclay*Gully?" 302:222,00[A ]| He did not reply, but I could see his face pale and whiten in the grey dim 302:222,00[A ]| twilight, and at last stand out distinctly in the darkening like that of the 302:222,00[A ]| dead man we found lying in the lonely gully. 302:222,00[A ]| It was so entirely unexpected that he was completely stunned: not the 302:222,00[A ]| slightest idea had he that the body had ever been found, and it was on quite 302:222,00[A ]| nerveless wrists that I locked the handcuffs, as my mates came up and took 302:222,00[A ]| him in charge. 302:222,00[A ]| Rallying a little, he asked huskily, 302:222,00@b | "Who said I did it?" 302:222,00@a | "No person," 302:222,00[A ]| I replied, 302:222,00@a | "but I know you did it." 302:222,00[A ]| Again he was silent, and did not contradict me, and so he was taken to the 302:222,00[A ]| lock-up. 302:222,00[A ]| I was right about the broken button, and had often noticed it on an old 302:222,00[A ]| jacket of Bill's. The piece fitted to a nicety; and the cut-up blucher! 302:222,00[A ]| Verily, there was some powerful influence at work in the discovery of this 302:222,00[A ]| murder, and again I repeat that no mere human wisdom could have accomplished 302:222,00[A ]| it. 302:222,00[A ]| Bill, it would appear, thought so too, for expressing himself so to me, he 302:222,00[A ]| made a full confession, not only of the murder, but also of the other offence, 302:222,00[A ]| for the bringing home to him of which I had been so anxious. 302:222,00[A ]| When he found that the body of the unfortunate man had been discovered 302:222,00[A ]| upon the surface, in the broad light of day, after he had left him dead in 302:222,00[A ]| the bottom of the hole, he became superstitiously convinced that God himself 302:222,00[A ]| had permitted the dead to leave his hiding place for the purpose of bringing 302:222,00[A ]| the murderer to justice. 302:222,00[A ]| It is no unusual thing to find criminals of his class deeply impregnated 302:222,00[A ]| with superstition, and Bill insisted to the last that the murdered man was 302:222,00[A ]| quite dead when he had placed him in the hole, and where, in his anxiety to 302:222,00[A ]| prevent the body from appearing above the surface, he had lost his boot in 302:222,00[A ]| the mud, and was too fearful of discovery to remain to try and get it out. 302:222,00[A ]| Bill was convicted, sentenced to death, and hung; many other crimes 302:222,00[A ]| of a similar nature to that which he had committed on Chinaman's*Flat 302:222,00[A ]| having been brought home to him by his own confession.