OR THE
QUEENSLAND SQUATTER.
A NOVEL.
BY COLIN MUNRO.
IN THREE VOLUMES.
VOL III.
LONDON:
T. C. NEWBY,
30 WELBECK STREET, CAVENDISH SQUARE.
MDCCCLXII.
EDINBURGH:
PRINTED BY THE CALEDONIAN PRESS,
"The National Institution for Promoting the Employment of Women in theArt of Printing."
SOUTH SAINT DAVID STREET.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER I.
CHAPTER II.
CHAPTER III
CHAPTER IV.
CHAPTER V.
CHAPTER VI.
CHAPTER VII.
CHAPTER VIII.
CHAPTER IX.
CHAPTER X.
CHAPTER XI.
CHAPTER XII.
CHAPTER XIII.
CHAPTER XIV.
CONCLUSION.
[1]
FERN VALE.
"What sport shall we devise, here in this garden,
To drive away the heavy thought of care?"
Richard II., Act 3, Sc. 4.
Three days after that to which we broughtdown our narrative in the last chapter themorning broke calmly and serenely over thewooded wastes of the bush; and while thepleasant zephyr of the morning tempered therays of the sun, as he sped his course to thezenith, a happy party of equestrians mighthave been seen cantering by the bridle pathbetween Strawberry Hill and Brompton. That[2]party consisted of our friends, Mrs., Miss, andTom Rainsfield, and the Fergusons, accompaniedby their black boy Joey. The van wasled by the first named lady, accompanied byWilliam Ferguson, while the others followedriding two abreast, having paired off in amanner most congenial to themselves. Therear was brought up by Joey and William'sdogs, who coursed through the bush in seemingdelight at the prospect of wearing off alittle of the rust that had grown on them fromtheir late inertness.
They had ridden for nearly four hours whenthey slackened their speed a little as the noon-daysun became more powerful; while, at thatmoment, they came to a beautiful little spotwhere a grassy slope terminated in a lagoon,whose waters appeared to the travellers clearand refreshingly cool. Here Mrs. Rainsfielddrew up her horse, and proposed a halt fortiffin; which being generally assented to, theparty dismounted. The bridles of their horsesbeing each fastened round a tree, some refreshments[3]were produced by Tom from his valise;and the friends sat down in a shady spot onthe green sward, and partook with that heartyzest that can only be appreciated by thosewho have been similarly situated.
When perfectly refreshed they proceeded ontheir way, and arrived at Brompton before theclose of the evening. There they were hospitablyreceived by