from the fact of his never, in all his life, being able to pay a debt until it had been doubled by law expenses. He generally used to know when any suspicious-looking strangers were en-route to Westernport through some friends who occupied stations upon the road, and (as he significantly expressed himself,) "got time to clear out," if he surmised, as was often really the case, that the parties were bent on serving him with a writ, a summons, or on transacting similar law business. Many a time, after due deliberation, and generally at the proper season, Dodge would be seen leaving his station, mounted on his faithful steed with a tether rope neatly coiled upon its neck, and followed by his dogs; a blanket strapped on the top of a well-filled kangaroo-skin knapsack, indicated that the wary old fellow had been signalised "not to be at home;" and if any doubt yet remained, it would be entirely removed on finding that, previous to leaving, he collected all his cattle and drove them leisurely through a mountain gorge opening into some fine pasture land, the existence of which was only known by a few. Many were the desperate straits to which he had been reduced, but his genius as often triumphed.
Whilst the party sailed down the creek, the amusing Mr. Dodge recounted several of his hair-breadth 'scapes. The following he told with great gusto, but we must take leave to present it to the reader in our own way.
An advertisement appeared in the Melbourne papers as follows:—"If Mr. Giles Dodge, squatter, of Westernport, or else-where, will wait upon J. Nailem, Esq., Solicitor, Melbourne, he will hear of something to his advantage. N.B. The melancholy duty which devolves upon the advertiser, in having to make known to Mr. Dodge his severe bereavement in the demise of a near relative, will, he trusts, be somewhat mitigated by further intelligence which he is prepared to communicate." A
