'I see! And what had Pete to say when you told him your condition?'
'He said he was extremely sorry to hear it, and asked how he could help me.'
'And what answer did you give him?'
'I told him that he could best help me by finding something for me to do. I said I was not going to remain in the township idle, to be gaped at and talked about by everybody.'
'A very proper spirit. And I understand Pete said he would find you something?'
'Yes. He told me he had a mob of cattle then on the way to Sydney. He had had to put a man in charge who was not quite up to the work, and then he went on to say that if I liked to have the post I was welcome to it. He said he thought, if I looked sharp, I could catch them up by daybreak.'
'So you started off there and then to try and overtake them?'
'Not at once. I had on my best clothes, you see; so I went home again, crept in by a side window, changed my things, got a stock whip, packed a few odds and ends into a valise, and then rejoined Pete, who had a saddle-horse and a pack-horse waiting for me by the creek. Then off I went, and by riding hard caught the mob just as day was breaking.'
'Well, if that is exactly what happened,' said the worthy old lawyer, 'I really think I can get you off.'