Page 72 - An Australian Lassie

quite white and held his head very high.

And Mr. Sharman drew back nervously, for he, like most other people, knew all about the relationship of
these two men to each other, and about their deadly feud.

But the captain strode down the room, just as though he owned Mr. and Miss Sharman and every boy in the
school, and he raised his voice somewhat as he repeated his statement about his grandson, "John Brown."

"And if you'll kindly excuse Cyril, T'll take him with me," said Mr. Bruce quietly, continuing his sentence, just
as if no interruption had occurred at all.

Tn the playground Cyril received his commands, glad indeed to have them to execute instead of the arithmetic
lesson and play-hour which the ordinary happenings of life would have brought about.

"Go into the bush," said his father, "and search there for her. Look everywhere where you are accustomed to
play. She may have fallen down somewhere and hurt herself."

"Yes, father," said the boy obediently. "How'd it be to see if she's fallen in the creek?"

His father gave him an angry look.

"Afterwards go home," he said. "Let the creek alone, and don't talk such folly--Betty is more than five. Tell
your mother T'm going to give it into the hands of the police."

Cyril went into the bush--not very far--because the growth was thick, and he had a great dread of snakes.

"S'pose T were bitten," he said, "and T just had to stay here by myself and die! Wonder where Betty is; it's very
silly of her to go and lose herself like this. I never lose myself at all."

He came to a two-rail fence, and climbed up and sat on one of its posts, and then he looked around as far as
the bush would let him see.

"Tt's better to keep near a fence," he said. "Then if a bull comes, you're safe. Tf he jumped over T could roll
under, and we could keep doing it, an' he couldn't catch me.... 'Tis silly of Betty to get lost. I wouldn't get lost.
You never know how many bulls and things there are about."

He looked round again, and then he climbed down and ran back to the road.

"T'll go home now," he said, "T can't find Betty anywhere. T've looked and looked. And school will be out soon,
and how do T know Arthur Smedley took his lunch to-day; he might be coming home."

Whereat this valiant youth looked over his shoulder, and saw the boys running out of the school gate. So he
took to his heels and ran home as fast as ever he could.