with the help of a crutch-handled stick. ' I
say, Missis, Missis, here's Dick, here's Two-
handed Dick.'

This was uttered in a shrill, hysterical sort
of scream. Out came ' Missis ' at the top of
her speed, and began hugging Dick as he was
getting off his horse, her arms reached a little
above his waist, laughing and crying, both at
the same time, while her husband kept
fast hold of the Stockman's hand, muttering,
' Lord, Dick, I'm so glad to see thee.'
Meanwhile the dogs barking, and a flock of
weaned lambs just penned, ba'aing, made such
a riot, that I was fairly bewildered. So,
feeling myself one too many, I slipped away,
leading off both the horses to the other side
the hut, where I found a shepherd, who
showed me a grass paddock to feed the nags
a bit before turning them out for the night.
I said to him, ' What is the meaning of all
this going on between your mate and his
wife, and the big Stockman? '

' The meaning, Stranger; why, that's Two-
handed Dick, and my mate is little Jemmy
that he saved, and Charley Anvils at the
same time, when the Blacks slaughtered the
rest of the party, near on a dozen of them.'

On returning, I found supper smoking on
the table, and we had made a regular ' Bush '
meal. The Stockman then told my adventure,
and, when they had exchanged all the news,
I had little difficulty in getting the hut-
keeper to the point I wanted; the great
difficulty lay in preventing man and wife
from telling the same story at the same time.
However, by judicious management, I was
able to gather the following account of Two-
handed Dick's Fight and Ride.

'When first I met Dick he was second
Stockman to Mr. Ronalds, and I took a shepherd's
place there; it was my second place in
this country, for you see I left the Old Country
in a bad year for the weaving trade, and was
one of the first batch of free emigrants that
came out, the rest were chiefly Irish. I found
shepherding suit me very well, and my Missis
was hut-keeper. Well, Dick and I got very
thick; I used to write his letters for him,
and read in an evening and so on. Well,
though I undertook a shepherd's place I soon
found I could handle an axe pretty well.
Throwing the shuttle gives the use of
the arms, you see, and Dick put into my
head that I could make more money if I
took to making fences; I sharpening the
rails and making the mortice-holes, and
a stranger man setting them. I did several
jobs at odd times, and was thought very
handy. Well, Mr. Ronalds, during the time
of the great, drought five years ago,
determined to send up a lot of cattle to the
North, where he had heard there was plenty
of water and grass, and form a Station there.
Dick was picked out as Stockman; a
young gentleman, a relation of Mr. Ronalds,
went as head of the party, a very foolish,
conceited young man, who knew very little of
Bush life, and would not be taught. There
were eight splitters and fencers, besides
Charley Anvils, the blacksmith, and two
bullock drivers.

' I got leave to go because I wanted to see
the country and Dick asked. My missis
was sorely against my going. I was to be
storekeeper, as well as do any farming; and
work if wanted.

' We had two drays, and were well armed.
We were fifteen days going up before we got
into the new country, and then we travelled
five days; sometimes twenty-four hours without
water; and sometimes had to unload the
drays two or three times a day, to get over
creeks. The fifth day we came to very fine
land; the grass met over our horses' necks,
and the river was a chain of water-holes, all
full, and as clear as crystal. The kangaroos
were hopping about as plentiful as rabbits in
a warren; and the grass by the river side
had regular tracks of the emus, where they
went down to drink.

' We had been among signs of the Blacks
too, for five days, but had not seen anything
of them, although we could hear the devils
cooing at nightfall, calling to each other. We
kept regular watch and watch at first—four
sentinels, and every man sleeping with his gun
at hand.

'Now, as it was Dick's business to tail (follow)
the cattle, five-hundred head, I advised him
to have his musket sawed off in the barrel, so
as to be a more handy size for using on horse-
back. He took my advice; and Charley
Anvils made a very good job of it, so that he
could bring it under his arm when hanging
at his back from a rope sling, and fire with
one hand. It was lucky I thought of it, as it
turned out.

' At length the overseer fixed on a spot for
the Station. It was very well for water and
grass, and a very pretty view, as he said, but
it was too near a thicket where the Blacks
would lie in ambush, for safety. The old
Bushmen wanted it planted on a neck of land,
where the waters protected it all but one
side, and there a row of fence would have
made it secure.

' Well, we set to work, and soon had a lot
of tall trees down. Charley put up his forge
and his grindstone, to keep the axe sharp,
and I staid with him. Dick went tailing the
cattle, and the overseer sat on a log and
looked on. The second day a mob of Blacks
came down on the opposite side of the river.
They were quite wild, regular myals, but
some of our men with green branches, went
and made peace with them. They liked our
bread and sugar; and after a short time we
had a lot of them helping to draw rails, fishing
for us, bringing wild honey, kangaroos,
rats, and firewood, in return for butter and
food, so we began to be less careful about our
arms. We gave them iron tomahawks, and
they soon found out that they could cut out
an opossum from a hollow in half-an-hour