'You have! you mean to say it? We've got them! We've beatenthem!' He had an extraordinary way of taking your help forgranted. 'The miner chaps, mostly English and Welsh, went mad overthe poor aged showman, and made him so wealthy that in sheergratitude he drank himself to death.'

He strode up and down in high excitement and in such evidentdelight that I felt pledged to my best effort.

'Well,' I exclaimed, 'first the poster. We must beat them in that.'

He brought me large sheets of brown paper, and after two hours'hard work I had half a dozen pictorial showbills done in gorgeouscolours and striking designs. They were good, if I do say itmyself.

The turkey, the magic lantern, the Punch and Judy show were allthere, the last with a crowd before it in gaping delight. A fewexplanatory words were thrown in, emphasising the highly artisticnature of the Punch and Judy entertainment.

Craig was delighted, and proceeded to perfect his plans. He hadsome half a dozen youthful men, four youthful ladies, and eight or tenmatrons, upon who he could depend for help. These he organisedinto a vigilance committee charged with the duty of preventingminers and lumbermen from getting away to Slavin's. 'The criticalmoments will be immediately before and after dinner, and then againafter the show is over,' he explained. 'The first two crises mustbe left to the care of Punch and Judy, and as for the last, I amnot yet sure what shall be done'; but I saw he had something inside hishead, for he added, 'I shall look at Mrs. Mavor.'

'Who is Mrs. Mavor?' I asked. But he made no reply. He was a bornfighter, and he put the fighting spirit into us all. We sometimes were boundto win.