“Here, Julia, lift him up till I catch hold of his collar, and I’ll pull him up in front of me on the saddle, and hold him that way.”

Julia, with many stifled moans, raised the body from the ground, Nosey reached down and grasped the shirt collar, and thus the two managed to place the swag across the saddle.  Then Nosey made a second start, carefully balancing the body, and keeping it from falling with his right hand, while he held the bridle with his left.

The funeral procession slowly wound its way in a westerly direction among the black rocks over the softest and smoothest ground to avoid making any noise.  There was no telling what stockman or cattle-stealer the devil might send at any moment to meet the murderer among the lonely Rises, and even in the darkness his horrible burden would betray him.  Nosey was disturbed by the very echo of his horse’s steps; it seemed as if somebody was following him at a little distance; perhaps Julia, full of woman’s curiosity; and he kept peering round and looking back into the darkness.  In this way he travelled about a mile and a half, and then dismounting, lowered the body to the ground, and began to look for some suitable hiding place.  He chose one among a confused heap of rocks, and by lifting some of them aside he made a shallow grave, to which he dragged the body, and covered it by piling boulders over and around it.  He struck several matches to enable him to examine his work carefully, and closed up every crevice through which his buried treasure might be visible.

The next morning Nosey was astir early.  He had an important part to act, and he was anxious to do it well.  He first examined the axe and cleaned it well, carefully burning a few of Baldy’s grey hairs which he found on it.  Then he searched the floor for drops of blood, which he carefully scraped with a knife, and washed until no red spot was visible.  Then he walked to Baldy’s and pretended to himself that he was surprised to find it empty.  What had happened the previous night was only a dream, an ugly dream.  He met an acquaintance and told him that Baldy was neither in his hut nor with his sheep.

The two men called at old Sharp’s hut to make enquiries.  The latter said, “I seen Baldy’s sheep yesterday going about in mobs, and nobody to look after them.”  Then the three men went to the deserted hut.  Everything in it seemed undisturbed.  The dog was watching at the door, and they told him to seek Baldy.  He pricked up his ears, wagged his tail, and looked wistfully in the direction of Nosey’s hut, evidently expecting his master to come in sight that way.