Great hordes of travelling sheep laid waste a portion of the run, eating every available particle of herbage within a mile of either side of the road. At first Ernest was inclined to treat these devourers of every green (or dry) thing with consideration, but found that he would speedily possess a herd of cattle and no appreciable grass for them to eat if that policy was persevered with. So Mr. Banks had orders to ‘shepherd’ every lot through the run, and to describe the proprietor as a violent and ferocious person given to impounding and every legal oppression. With the colony of selectors amicable relations commenced to be endangered. Their cattle, having much increased, required a considerable range of pasture. Their owners commenced to grumble if the Rainbar cattle fed over their grazing rights, quite unconscious of their wholesale unnoticed trespass up to the present time. One of the conditional purchasers, indeed, after a brisk argument with Jack Windsor, informed that gentleman that grass was grass now, and that they intended to stand upon their rights. They were poor men, and couldn’t see that they were to starve their cattle for Mr. Neuchamp or Mr. Old-champ either. If he hadn’t expected to get some pull out of them, he would never have persuaded them to come there. They didn’t see as they owed him anything. This was one of the unkindest cuts of the very hard fortune of the hard season. Ernest felt the ingratitude of his ‘plantation’ settlers more deeply than any one of them could have supposed. To make matters pleasanter, he received a letter from Messrs. Oldstile and Crampton, informing him that his account was overdrawn, and that he could by no means have any more money until the credit side of his balance was substantially reinforced. He was commencing to fall upon evil days, certainly. What to do he did not exactly know. He was unwilling to write to Paul Frankston and state the case. It would have appeared like a simple asking for a loan. He was ready enough to accept Paul’s advice, friendship, and hospitality. He did not wish to be directly indebted to him for money. And yet, _quoi faire_, without an advance of some sort? For, even on cattle stations, where you are not always putting your hand into your pocket, as with sheep, various occasions for expenditure arise, and money is indispensable.