They got ready to move at seven, the boys having made sure of a bath first. They were not destined to proceed far, however. About ten o'clock, as they were skirting the woods, six men on horseback rode out from the leafy covert. They seemed inclined to dispute the passage of the party.
"What can they want?" ejaculated Harry, with a startled look.
"I expect they are bushrangers," said Obed.
CHAPTER X. — FLETCHER TURNS UP AGAIN.
Harry didn't need to be told that bushrangers in Australia correspond to bandits in Italy and highwaymen in other countries. The escaped convicts and desperate characters who are naturally attracted to a new country, readily adopted the wild and lawless life of the bushrangers. Stories of their outrages were common enough, and among the dangers apprehended in a journey to or from the mines, that of meeting with a party of this gentry was perhaps the most dreaded.
Though Obed Stackpole betrayed no emotion, but was outwardly quiet, his heart sank within him when he saw the bushrangers strung along the road.
"I guess our trip to the mines must be given up," said he in a low voice to Harry.
Meanwhile Harry had been scanning the faces of the men who confronted them, and made a surprising discovery.