After concluding the burial of the men there was nothing for us to do but to sit down, light our pipes, and see the rain continue with unnatural fury.  The progress of the flames was completely checked, and we hoped that if the storm continued an hour longer we should be enabled to pick our way over the burned district, find something to eat, and then fall upon Nosey before he thought it time to look after us.

That he supposed we were dead there was but little cause to doubt, for he would not anticipate the earthing process, and would feel some astonishment to find that we had passed through the ordeal in safety.  At any rate, after we had concluded to proceed against him, we felt anxious to begin the good work, and have it off our minds.

The morning’s sun, however, soon dispersed the clouds and dried up the rain, and when we examined the burned district we were rejoiced to find that we could pass over the ground if our feet were protected with shoes, a precaution which none will omit if an Australian forest is to be visited.  In these important articles of clothing we were well supplied, and without delay we started.  Murden gave the word to move forward, but first impressed upon the minds of the men the necessity of caution in regard to the manner in which their guns were carried, for, as he quietly observed, “we have enemies to kill, and can’t afford to despatch each other.  A spark of fire is sufficient to ignite our powder, and then where should we be?”

We found his advice good, for sparks from half-burned trees were showered upon our heads as we carefully picked our way through stumps that were black and charred and still aglow.  On we went, as swift as possible, the soles of our shoes getting warmer and warmer each moment, until we feared that our feet would blister and burn with the exposure.  At length, however, we saw the spot where we had left the team, and with a wild shout of exultation we rushed for it, each man striving to be first in the race.

Smith, nimble of foot, and urged by anxiety for the loss of his cattle, outstripped us all; but the poor fellow’s face changed when he saw the wanton destruction of his property; for the bushrangers, not content with robbing our cart of every thing which it contained, had deliberately backed it into the fire, and the “body was completely burned off.  The wheels, however, were good, and so were its axletrees, and I knew that it would enable us to reach the mines with a little patching.  The most cruel part of the proceedings was the chaining of a yoke of oxen to huge trees and allowing them to die a lingering, terrible death.  The villains were not prompted to the deed by hunger, for their bodies remained untouched, burned to a crisp, apparently.

“If I had a bushranger within reach,” cried Smith, surveying the bodies of his favorites with almost tearful eyes, “I think that I should be tempted to roast him alive, as my poor oxen have been.  Why, of all the mean acts that the devils were ever guilty of, this is the meanest.”