"Nothing, my lord," replied Wilson. "The convicts must be several miles away."
"They cannot have been in sufficient force to attack us," added Mulready. "This Ben Joyce probably intended to recruit some bandits, like himself, among the bushrangers that wander at the foot of the Alps."
"Very likely, Mulready," replied Glenarvan. "These rascals are cowards. They know we are well armed, and are perhaps waiting for darkness to commence their attack. We must redouble our vigilance at nightfall. If we could only leave this marshy plain and pursue our journey towards the coast! But the swollen waters of the river bar our progress. I would pay its weight in gold for a raft that would transport us to the other side!"
"Why," said Wilson, "does not your lordship give us the order to construct this raft? There is plenty of wood."
"No, Wilson," answered Glenarvan; "this Snowy is not a river, it is an impassable torrent."
A pair of cassowaries proved that the presence of man did not disturb these peaceful solitudes.