As Willie Dennis and his friends drew nearer to the house they saw their first conjecture was wrong and that something serious had taken place during their absence.

As they reined in their horses Constable Doonan said,—

'Let me go in first,' and, drawing his revolver, he walked cautiously into the house.

There he saw the black gin huddled up in the corner, a pool of blood round her and a bullet wound in her head.

'Sal!' he shouted. 'Sal, where are you?'

There was no answer, everything was ominously quiet.

Willie Dennis and Silas Dixon followed the constable, and were horrified at what they saw.

'There has been a desperate scene here,' said Doonan, 'and Sal is gone. They may have taken her away. We must send a messenger at once for your father, my lad.'

'I'll go,' said Willie. 'I am a light weight and can ride fast. You and Silas must search for Sal.'

'That will be the best plan,' said Doonan.

'I'll start now,' said Willie. 'We can clear up here when we return.'

'We must leave everything as it is until I have made my report to Sergeant Machinson,' said the constable. 'He will have to make a move against Dalton's gang this time.'

Willie was soon on his way to Barragong, his blood boiling with rage at the outrage that had been committed at Wanabeen, and he wondered what had become of Sal.

In the meantime, Constable Doonan and Silas Dixon were scouring the country in search of the missing woman.

At the hut where Dalton and his men had been in hiding Doonan examined the place and found the members of the gang had been concealed there.

'They must have seen you and Willie ride away,' he said; 'and in that case they would have a long start of us.'

They camped out that night near a creek, and ate the food they had brought away with them from Wanabeen. They were used to roughing it and to lie on the bare ground with the saddle for a pillow.

They were astir early in the morning, and rode round in a wide circle, looking for tracks or any signs of Sal. At last Constable Doonan thought he saw an object lying on the ground which resembled a human being. It was too far distant for him to discover clearly, but he knew it was not an animal. He rode towards it, and, with a shout of joy, roused Sal, who was still asleep where she had fallen, and at the same time it recalled Silas Dixon.

When Sal saw who it was she could hardly believe in her good fortune. At first she thought it was Rodney Shaw who had overtaken her.

Doonan was off his horse and at her side very quickly, and knelt down to support her, for she was still very weak. He moistened her lips from his flask, and, when she had recovered somewhat, questioned her.

Sal gave him a brief account of all that had taken place, and when Doonan heard who was the instigator of the outrage he could hardly credit it.

'Rodney Shaw!' he exclaimed. 'A man in his position! He must be mad. Rich man as he is, he shall suffer for it, Sal. He need not think he can do as he pleases, even in this lonely place. I pity him when he gets into Jim Dennis's clutches; he'll about settle him.'

He put Sal on his horse and walked by her side. They had several miles to go before reaching Wanabeen.

'Who was it shot the black gin?' asked Doonan.

'Abe Dalton. The other men were outside, he was alone in the house. I heard her cry out when he lashed her with his whip, then followed the shot, and she cried no more. Dalton killed her,' said Sal.

'He shall swing for it,' said the constable, savagely.

They proceeded for some distance in silence, and then Doonan said, in a tone of admiration,—

'You were clever to escape from Cudgegong, Sal.'

'I meant to get away somehow. Had I not escaped I would have killed myself rather than be in Shaw's power. He is a wicked man.'

'There are not many worse,' said Doonan. 'I never had much opinion of him, but I did not think he was such an out-and-out "rotter."'

Next morning the party arrived from Barragong, accompanied by Adye Dauntsey, Sergeant Machinson and half a dozen mounted police.

When Jim Dennis heard how Abe Dalton had acted, and that Sal had been taken to Cudgegong, his whole body trembled with rage and excitement.

Had he not been persuaded to act otherwise, he would at once have ridden to Cudgegong and, taking the law into his hands, have called Rodney Shaw to account.

Both Dr Tom and the police magistrate, however, restrained him.

'Leave it to me,' said Adye Dauntsey. 'I'll see they all meet with their deserts.'

'If Sergeant Machinson had done his duty this would not have happened, and poor Ned Glenn would have been alive.'

Dr Tom's dog Baalim caught sight of the dead woman and howled piteously, and the sound was so weird it started them all.

The police magistrate questioned Sal as to what had taken place, also Constable Doonan, Willie Dennis and Silas Dixon. He took their depositions and then called Sergeant Machinson on one side.

'We must act at once, sergeant. The sooner the better,' he said. 'Dalton and his gang ought to have been rooted out of Barker's Creek years ago. I am afraid there has been some neglect of duty here. Take my advice and make up for it now by extra vigilance and alertness in securing these men. You understand me. I have no wish to do you an injustice or injury, but I must report this matter as I see it. Let your conduct now wipe out any defects of the past, and then all will be well. I shall state what I think in my report, and I hope I may be able to add something to the effect that any mistakes you have made in the past have been amply atoned for by your activity and bravery at Barker's Creek.'

The P.M. spoke kindly yet firmly, and Sergeant Machinson was well aware that much of his conduct in connection with Abe Dalton's gang would not bear investigation. He had sense enough to see that the course Mr Dauntsey advised him to take was the best. He knew he could trust the magistrate in every respect. He was surprised at his firmness on this occasion, because he had not 'put his foot down' before. Sergeant Machinson also knew that recent events could not be passed over, and that in future it would be impossible for him to shield Abe Dalton in any way. What he dreaded most was the thought of Dalton being taken alive, in which case he would be likely to 'let out' some curious business transactions in which the sergeant had been mixed up.

'It is very kind of you, Mr Dauntsey, and you may rely upon me to follow your advice to the best of my ability. I think you will have no cause to complain of me when all is over.'

'That's right, sergeant, the proper way to look at it. I am sure you and your men will do your duty. I am also sure of one other thing, that you will freely acknowledge you have done Jim Dennis a gross injustice. You can see now he has never had any dealings with Abe Dalton's gang, quite the reverse. The manly course for you to take is to tell Dennis you have been mistaken.'

Sergeant Machinson did not relish this, although he knew it was but just.

'I'll do it,' he said at last. 'He deserves it.'

Adye Dauntsey was well pleased that he had put matters on such a good footing before the attack on the camp at Barker's Creek commenced.

He knew there would be a desperate resistance and much danger, and he was resolved to share in it.

Sergeant Machinson went up to Jim Dennis and said,—

'May I have a word with you?'

Jim looked surprised, but replied,—

'If you wish; but you can have little to say to me that I shall be pleased to hear.'

This did not lighten the sergeant's task or make it more pleasant, but he resolved to go through with it.

'I wish to state that I have done you an injustice and that my suspicions have been unfounded. I am sorry for what has happened and I know you have had nothing whatever to do with Dalton's gang. I will do all in my power to bring them to justice for making this attack on your place, and I hope you will lend us a hand in securing them. It will be a tough struggle, and some of us may not come out of it alive. Will you shake hands?' said Sergeant Machinson.

Jim Dennis had a kindly nature. He shook the sergeant's hand heartily and said,—

'I like to hear a man own up when he has been in the wrong. You have been hard on me, sergeant, but we will forget that. I will help you all I can. I have a score to settle with Abe Dalton and Rodney Shaw; they can be classed together now.'

A council of war was held at Wanabeen, after things had been put fairly straight, at which Adye Dauntsey presided.

He thought they had better lose no time, but attempt to take Abe Dalton and his gang at once. 'They will not leave Barker's Creek,' he said. 'It is their only safe place. There are eight of the police and four of us, if Silas Dixon will join us.'

'Five,' said Willie, who was present. 'What about me?'

Adye Dauntsey smiled as he replied,—

'You must ask your father about that, Willie.'

'He can go with us if he wishes,' said Jim, looking at him admiringly.

'I can shoot well,' said the lad.

'You can,' said Dr Tom. 'You beat me at revolver practice the last time we met.'

'That settles it,' said the magistrate. 'We will include Willie. Now, how many men are there at Barker's Creek?'

'A score or more,' said Jim, 'and all desperate characters. We need not reckon the blacks.'

'They like a fight sometimes,' said Dr Tom.

'Dalton's men have ill-treated them. They are more likely to turn on his gang than attack us,' said Jim.

'That is probable,' said Dauntsey. 'What do you think, sergeant?'

'The best plan would be to surround the place to-night and attack them when there is light enough. If we can conceal ourselves, and they do not know of our presence, we might take them unawares. It is not probable, for they are sure to be on the watch, but it is just possible the rush could be made through the blacks' camp by four or five of us, and the remainder must ride straight for Dalton's house and the men's shanties. Of course, if they are prepared for the attack we can change our plans accordingly.'

'Constable Doonan and Dr Tom know the place very well,' said Jim Dennis. 'What do they think?'

'Sergeant Machinson's plan is all right,' said Dr Tom; 'but I think you may be quite sure they will be ready to receive us. Abe Dalton, when he considers it over, will know an attempt will be made to disperse his gang and he will not be caught napping.'

Constable Doonan agreed with Dr Tom and said,—

'When Rodney Shaw discovers Sal has escaped he may go to Barker's Creek to see Dalton. We might get him there, and if he is caught with the gang it will be the worse for him.'

'I cannot think whatever possessed him to commit such an act of criminal folly,' said Dauntsey. 'He can have hardly realised the consequences of his conduct.'

They finally resolved to go to Barker's Creek that evening and attempt to secure Dalton and his gang next day.

They had a tough task to accomplish, and they knew it, but they were all eager to match their strength against Dalton and his men.