The heat had now grown insufferable, and the silence down the gully that of death--so complete, that when, as Katie lay there with her head upon Murray's breast, she started and laughed a little happy-sounding laugh, it seemed to be repeated from the mountain side. "There, there!" she muttered gently; "I can sleep now; but it was terrible--yes, it was terrible--such dreams are bad. Poor Ned! his face all crimsoned, and his hands blackened with powder. But he was fighting for me--for me whom he loves--and--Yet did they not kill him?--did they not leave him in the burning--Ned!" she added, starting, as it were, into sensibility again, and gazing at him with terror-stricken eyes, "what was it? What did it mean? Was it real?" Then she trailed off again into a broken incoherent murmur, now lifting her parched lips to his, then hiding her face in her hands; but these fits of delirium were succeeded by moments of calm. Hour after hour, Murray crouched there--alone now, he told himself, for poor Katie's mind seemed to have passed away. She had borne up bravely, but her sufferings had been greater than she could bear; and Murray knew that if the prayed-for help came not soon, there would be nothing for him to do but to meet the bullets ready for his breast, for all would be over, and the tragedy of Golden Gap complete. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ STORY THREE, CHAPTER FIFTEEN. SEEKING AID. Slowly up the sheep-track toiled the minister's pony with its sad burden. Seeing how painful was any attempt at consolation to the stricken woman, Mr Meadows dropped behind, thoughtfully gazing around from time to time, and whenever from a turn of the road there was a view of the rifled hut, pausing to take a long and sorrowful look at the ruins of the once happy home. But not once did he draw the attention of Mrs Lee to the scene. How he thought of the quiet Eden-like aspect of the place as he had descended that toilsome way; the picturesque house, with its sheep and cattle dotted about; but now, though the scene was the same, and a clump of trees often hid from view the ruined house, yet how changed all seemed to his weary gaze! Catching the pony's bridle, when he had regained his place by its side, he began to try and hurry its pace, but without effect. Making, therefore, a virtue of necessity, they trudged slowly on until, with a sigh of relief, the ravine which led over the summit was reached, the view of Golden Gap shut out, and the next valley beginning to open before them. What should he do? Go from station to station, telling the terrible news, and summoning the settlers to take arms for the purpose of crushing an enemy that might assault each farm in turn, or hurry on to the settlement at Kaitaka Bay, and there spread the alarm?