whether "his spurs were getting rusty." The robbers were well-dressed and splendidly mounted. No doubt was entertained anywhere that they belonged to Gardiner's gang. A reward of £500 was offered by the Joint Stock Bank for the recovery of the cancelled notes. In recording the principal robberies committed at this time by bushrangers who were not known certainly to belong to the gang, I have necessarily omitted to mention the robberies effected by the gang itself. It is now, therefore, time to return to the beginning of the year and take up the history of the gang itself. On New Year's Day, 1863, races were being held at Brisbane Valley on the Fish River, when Frederick Lowry and John Foley made a daring attempt to stick up the crowd, numbering more than one hundred persons. A man named Foran refused to be tied when called on to come out and was immediately shot by Lowry. Although he was wounded in the lungs Foran rushed forward and grappled with Lowry. Several other men came to his assistance, and Lowry was overpowered, while Foley, who had been engaged in tying the men, jumped on his horse and got away. Lowry was locked up in a room behind the bar of the publican's booth, but the booth was a mere shell, and he contrived to escape before the police came. On February 27th Mr. Cirkel, publican at Stony Creek, Burrangong, was called out of his house and shot dead, after having been accused of having given information to the police. It was said that the men who committed this crime were Gardiner, Gilbert, O'Meally, and another whose name was not known. O'Meally was said to have fired the fatal shot. The party of bushrangers rode on to Mr. Myers Solomon's store at the "Big Wombat." Mr. Solomon, seeing them coming, attempted to run away, but was followed and brought back. A lad in the store vaulted over the counter and snatched a pistol from the belt of one of the bushrangers while the dispute was going on as to whether Solomon should be shot for attempting to "betray" them to the police. Another of the bushrangers immediately put his pistol to Mrs. Solomon's head and said to the boy, "If you fire I'll blow her brains out." The boy looked undecided. The bushranger cocked his pistol and swore that if the boy did not return the weapon he had taken the woman should die. The boy then stepped forward, laid the revolver on the counter, and said, "If it wasn't for Mrs. Solomon I'd stop your---- run anyhow." He was immediately knocked down and kicked.