"I thought of requesting you two gentlemen to volunteer your services as my aids, and if you comply, I will see that government is informed of the fact, and that you receive some substantial reward."
"In making the request I suppose that you think we shall be the means of enlisting a large portion of the American population of Ballarat into the service of the crown?"
The commissioner acknowledged, after some hesitancy, that such was his calculation.
"We shall have to decline your flattering offer," Fred said, firmly. "We have no desire to incur the hatred of the miners of Ballarat by appearing as oppressors. If you proposed an expedition against bushrangers we should be happy to comply with your wishes. As it is, we cannot."
The commissioner did not say a single word. He bowed rather stiffly, and then turned and left the store, and the next moment we heard him urging his horse through the street as though he was in a hurry to reach a certain point without loss of time.
CHAPTER LXXXI.
STEEL SPRING IN THE FIELD.—ATTEMPT OF THE COMMISSIONER TO CONFISCATE OUR HORSES.
"I don't want to be severe in my language," Mr. Brown said, as he listened to the receding steps of the commissioner, "but in my opinion a more thorough d——d scoundrel don't exist than that same commissioner, who just set a trap for you, and caught nothing."