from an adjacent station, were posted in a clump of dense scrub within a hundred yards of the supper ground, and, armed with drawn swords, on hearing the beginning of the mêlée, they were to rush out and make as much noise as they could. Aboutfive-and-thirtyof the wished-for strangers attended, and to Johnston's great satisfaction, "Ptolemy," "Booby" and "Bullet-Eye" were amongst them. They all eagerly squatted round the platters overflowing with the thin, sweet paste, and each fellow, with his pair of scooped black paws, lost no time in setting to work. The three principals happened to be nearly next to each other under a tree, and seemed quite proud of the attentions of the bushmen who stood like flunkies behind, but were rather considerably astonished when "Three" was ejaculated, and they found themselves not only roped, but half choked into the bargain. The troopers did their work cleverly, and immediately all the blackfellows were on their feet, and a loud yelling and shaking of weapons followed. The three savages, though unable to join in the chorus of howling, emitted deep convulsive grunts, and struggled like wild beasts; but the odds were desperately against them. A human being, though endowed with the strength of a Hercules, is heavily handicapped when a rope is twisted about his neck and the running knot in the hands of a vigorous antagonist. The sworded shepherds now appeared on the scene brandishing their flashing weapons and shouting with lungs of Boanergian strength. When the menacing mob of blackfellows beheld this unexpected reinforcement, they believed that others were following, and fleeing like a herd of scared kangaroos across the river, buried themselves in their native fastnesses. The prisoners were then hauled away (black in the face it would be superfluous to add), literally throttled, to the hut, and there tied up in supposed security. This happened on the 2nd November. About an hour after the tying-up, a blackfellow arrived at the hut, despatched from the runaway tribe as an emissary to the prisoners, charged to communicate to them the intelligence that it was intended to rescue them at daybreak. This fellow, however, probably in expectation of more "bubble-bubble," turned traitor to his trust, sought out Johnston, and conveyed an ambiguous warning in the phrase "to borac (not to) sleep that night." The hint was not thrown away on the experienced officer, who, thus forewarned, determined to be forearmed, and measures were taken to put the place in as effective a state of defence as possible. The party had about 120 rounds of ammunition, and were well supplied with rifles and pistols. These were loaded, the door secured, and some weak points in the frail bark fortress strengthened. By this time a relative of the deceased, with three or four other white men, arrived, and threw in their lot with the police. The defending force thus consisted of eight individuals, and they spent an anxious time of it until about 3 a.m., when the painful suspense was broken by a volley of yelling, and instantaneously the hut was rushed as if by a horde of screaming devils. It was assaulted front and rear, in fact all round, by fifty or sixty aboriginals, some of whom climbed up on the roof, and tried to tear off the bark covering. Johnston turned his attention to a chief of huge dimensions, and whilst in the act of reconnoitering, a spear perforated his jacket and within an inch of killing him. A Mr. Kirby fired in the direction whence the spear came, and a big blackfellow was afterwards found dead at the place. Another assailant from aloft had forced his way half down through the roof, when a bullet from Mr. G. S. Beveridge (brother to the murdered man) brought him toppling dead. The besieged kept upfiringwherever they thought a ball was likely to tell, and the unlooked-for warm reception so frightened the besieging force, that their zeal slackened by degrees, and as the morning got well advanced they beat a retreat over the river, killing one of the tethered horses. In addition to the immediate assailants, some 200 blacks were planted in the scrub, ready to cut off the yvhite men, who, they expected, would abandon the place when they found it attacked. So much was gleaned afterwards from a friendly native. The difficulty now was how to transmit the prisoners safely to Melbourne, through a country of hostile aborigines, in a secluded part ofthe bush, and 250 miles away. A mounted express was at once sent on a 75 mile trip for assistance, and before the close of the next day Johnston was joined by nine mounted volunteers. No time was lost ere making a start, and the party sustained no further molestation from the blacks. When the more dangerous part of the interior had been traversed, the amateur quota of the escort returned home, leaving the three troopers and three captives to go their way. Each trooper took charge of a prisoner, until about twenty miles from Melbourne, when Johnston and Dollard, taking their prisoners with them, set out in search of a drinkable waterhole, leaving Farrell and "Ptolemy" to wait their return at an appointed place. When "Ptolemy" found himself with only a single guard, he threw himself on the ground, pretended to be sick, and gave some pantomimic indications that he was going to
