374 The Trotter. 



"Yes," I answered, "I should think so; and Sam West and 

 Morgan Rattler, too." 



"Come in! come in! all of you," said the old man 5 and turning 

 to me, said, "I'll introduce you to an old friend." 



He took us into his little parlour, where over the mantelpiece 

 hung the very portrait of old Morgan which I had seen at the Grange 

 the last and only time I was there. 



I recognised the horse at once, and when I turned round and 

 looked the old man well over, I had no difficulty in recognising in 

 him the once renowned and notorious Sam West. He was, of 

 course, considerably aged, for he was getting on then for seventy. 

 But the beautiful climate of Australia suited him, and his years sat 

 lightly on him. He had bought a bit of land, built himself a little 

 house, and was passing the few remaining years of a wild and 

 stormy life happily and quietly in growing pumpkins and breeding 

 Cochin-Chinas. 



I soon told him who I was, and it was a jovial meeting. No fear 

 of our breakfast now such a silvery round of cold beef! The old 

 gentleman carved at a side table, and his knife and fork knew no 

 rest for the first twenty minutes. 



"It does me good to see you chaps eat," said he, as he filled our 

 plates for the third time ; adding, " don't be offended when I tell 

 you that when first I saw you I took you for three bushrangers, 

 and little did I think that a man lay there who had once beaten 

 old Morgan." 



He could not do enough for us. Did we want money? would 

 we have a dozen pumpkins ? anything he had we were welcome 

 to, except old Morgan's picture. Before leaving, he beckoned me 

 out of the room, and when I got into the passage, he eyed me in- 

 tently from top to toe, and at last broke out 



" You don't mean to say you are going into Melbourne in that 

 state ! Oh, dear ! if any of the old friends at home could see you 

 now. Don't you think" and here he paused as if not liking to go 

 on " a suit of my clothes would fit you ?" 



