"I reached towards the gun, and considered that I should but do my duty in slaying him as he lay; but other thoughts succeeded, and I now thank God that my hands are not stained with the blood of a man who trusted to my goodness of heart. I fell asleep during my meditations, and when I awoke, Darnley was still sleeping in front of the cold fireplace.
"I moved about the room as gently as possible, and tried to avoid awakening him; but while I was endeavoring to kindle a fire, he suddenly started up, his countenance inflamed with passion, and his deep-set eyes glaring like those of a tiger.
"'I'll never be taken alive,' he shouted, throwing his huge form upon mine, and crushing me to the ground with his weight, while his hand sought my throat which was compressed in his grasp until my eyes started nearly from their sockets.
"In his half-awakened madness I should have been strangled, had it not been for my dog, that flew at his leg, and inflicted a savage bite that caused Darnley to relinquish his hold and turn upon the brute; but by the time that he had staggered to his feet, he awakened to his situation, and became calm and penitent, and asked my pardon a dozen times for his mistake. I forgave him, but resolved to keep at a respectful distance the next time he slept.
"I gave him a hearty breakfast, and when he got ready to leave placed a pair of sheep-skin shoes upon his feet; but all my arguments did not induce him to accept of the garments that belonged to me, as he feared that in case he was taken they would be traced and involve me in trouble. It was considerate in him certainly, but from that day to this he has baffled all attempts at capture; but how much longer he will be permitted to go at large is only known to God."
"And did he ever pay you another visit at the hut?" I asked, as Smith paused.
"Quite frequently; but he always came alone, and would not allow one of the gang whom he gathered about him to molest my flocks. I saw him on my last trip to the mines, and he tried to bribe me to purchase him a pair of revolvers; but I refused, and he left me without a word of reproach."
It was nearly four o'clock when Smith finished his account of the bushranger; and as the heat was not so oppressive as at noon, we decided to travel eight or ten miles farther that evening, before we camped for the night.