to find that his "home" was only a mean-looking _rancho,_ with a ditch
round it, protecting some ploughed or dug-up ground, on which not one
green thing appeared. Mr. Winchcombe explained, however, that he had not
yet had time to cultivate much. "Only vegetables and such things, don't
you know," he said.

"I don't see them," I returned.

"Well, no; we had a lot of caterpillars and blister beetles and things,
and they ate everything up, don't you know," said he.

The room into which he conducted me contained no furniture except a
large deal table and some chairs; also a cupboard, a long mantelpiece,
and some shelves against the walls. On every available place were
pipes, pouches, revolvers, cartridge-boxes, and empty bottles. On the
table were tumblers, cups, a sugar-basin, a monstrous tin teapot, and
a demijohn, which I soon ascertained was half-full of Brazilian rum,
or cana. Round the table five men were seated smoking, drinking tea
and rum, and talking excitedly, all of them more or less intoxicated.
They gave me a hearty welcome, making me join them at the table, pouring
out tea and rum for me, and generously pushing pipes and pouches towards
me.

"You see," said Mr. Winchcombe, in explanation of this convivial scene,
"there are, altogether, ten of us settlers here going in for
sheep-farming and that sort of thing. Four of us have already built
houses and bought sheep and horses. The other six fellows live with
us from house to house, don't you know. Well, we've made a jolly
arrangement--old Cloud--Captain Cloud, don't you know, first suggested
it--and it is that every day one of the four--the Glorious Four we are