“I knew that the business was unsuited for one of my restless disposition, and I should have left and sought my fortune in other parts of the world without a parent’s sanction, had I not been bound to my place with chains stronger than iron, and with all my firmness I could not break them.”

The robber paused for a moment, and while I wiped the moisture from his brow I thought a tear fell upon the cloth.  He soon recovered his voice, however, and continued:—­

“Owing to the position in which my father moved in society, I was treated by my employers, the eminent bankers, B——­ & Brothers, with considerable favor; and was often invited to the house of the senior member of the firm.  Mr. B——­ was a widower, but had an only child who presided over his palace, situated away from the noise and confusion of London, at the West End.

“Miss Julia B——­ was just one year younger than myself; and both of us being motherless was in a measure the reason why we so soon became on intimate terms.  I know not how it happened, but I had not seen the lady more than twice before I felt that if I could not possess her, I did not care to live.  Her father, who was subject to attacks of the gout, which frequently confined him to the house for weeks, often desired my presence to receive his instructions, and I never left his apartment without trying to see the object of my passion.

“You smile,” the robber continued, as he caught my glance at his bearded face, blackened skin, and hard hands.  “I was not always as I am now, and once would hardly let the sun touch my cheek, for fear it should mar its whiteness; Many years have passed since then.”

The bushranger paused and remained silent for such a length of time that I feared his spirit was passing away; but after a while he rallied, and continued:—­

“I will not tell how I contrived, by one pretext and another, to get speech with Julia, and how rejoiced I felt to see that my arrival was hailed with real satisfaction by the fair girl; nor need I tell how we had stolen interviews, and exchanged vows, and swore to be true to each other, until one day we were surprised by Mr. B——­, who, pale with rage and indignation, ordered me from the house, and his daughter to her room.

“I left his presence without a word, and for two days I did not go near the banking house; but when I did, I was ordered to the presence of the man who of all others I dreaded most to see.

“For three years I have roamed the plains of Australia, and dared death in a hundred different ways, but I never felt so timid as when I was called before that weak, old man, whom I could have struck senseless with a blow, and crushed as easily as I and my gang have crushed an escort with gold dust under their charge.

“I was received with a lowering brow, and an expression that boded me no good, and I nerved myself for harsh words and reproaches, determined, let him say what he pleased, I would not lose my temper.