I assured the man that the money should be forthcoming; and just then the shrill notes of a trumpet were heard outside, followed by the roll of a drum.

“You must leave instantly,” cried Captain Fitz, hurriedly.  “The prisoners are about to be led out.”

We rushed towards Fred, gave him a hearty shake of our hands, whispered a few words of encouragement, and then were compelled to leave the building.

“Pass this way, gentlemen,” the captain said; “I’ll escort you through the lines, as you might find some difficulty in answering the sentry’s challenges.”

We followed the kind-hearted officer, and were soon outside the lines, when we thanked him for his kindness.

“Some other time we will talk of the matter,” he answered.  “I must now hasten back to my command; but one word before we part.  Don’t think that all British officers resemble Colonel Kellum.  Now, I will thank you for the overcoats, or my brother officers will scold worse than a dragoon.  Adieu.  We shall meet in Melbourne.”

He disappeared in the darkness, and we walked silently to the store, where we found Smith, who was so overcome by the arrest of Fred that he had drank six or seven glasses of whiskey, and announced his intention of continuing to imbibe until he was lost to all reason.  A few words of comfort, however, and an announcement that we should leave for Melbourne in the morning, and require him to look after the store until our return, sobered him, and he vowed not to touch another glass of spirits until Fred was released.

Mr. Brown promised to accompany me, and before morning we packed up our clothes, and at daylight we were on our way in the stage, rolling along at the rate of ten miles an hour; and in two days after leaving the mines we were in Melbourne, and closeted with Murden, who proved himself our friend in adversity, as he was in prosperity.

“I will do all that I can,” he said, after listening to our story.  “The commissioner has so magnified matters that the governor and council really think a most formidable insurrection has occurred, and that he has displayed great power in putting it down.  To make the affair as complicated as possible, the governor seems to think that the Americans were at the head of the conspiracy, and have urged the English on to action.  I, of course, know better, and will endeavor to have him put right on the subject.”

Murden appointed an interview in the afternoon, and then left us to lay our case before a few of the most influential members of the council, while we visited old acquaintances, and explained to Smith’s wife, who was living in a very pleasant house in the city, the reason why her husband would not return for a week or two.  The lady was heartily glad to see me, and at her request Mr. Brown and myself took up our quarters in her house during our stay in the city.

In the afternoon we called on Murden, and found that he had accomplished his object.  The governor, on his representations, had ordered a discharge to be immediately made out, and sealed by the broad seal of the colony, and intimated that a most thorough investigation should be instituted regarding the conduct of both the commissioner and Colonel Kellum at Ballarat.