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diff --git a/40848.txt b/40848.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 26597da..0000000 --- a/40848.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5503 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Gully of Bluemansdyke, by A. Conan Doyle - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Gully of Bluemansdyke - And Other stories - -Author: A. Conan Doyle - -Release Date: September 23, 2012 [EBook #40848] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GULLY OF BLUEMANSDYKE *** - - - - -Produced by Jen Haines, Suzanne Shell and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - - -Transcriber's Note: - -This is an ASCII version of the text file. There is also a version -of this file available with all diacritics left in. In this file the -following replacements have been made: - - ['a] replaces a with acute accent - ['e] replaces e with acute accent - [''a] relaces a umlaut - [''o] replaces o umlaut - [''u] replaces u umlaut - [`a] replaces a with grave accent - [`e] replaces e with grave accent - [^a] replaces a with circumflex accent - [^e] replaces e with circumflex accent - [^o] replaces o with circumflex accent - [ae] is the ae ligature - [oe] is the oe ligature - 29[deg] replaces 29 followed by the degree symbol - - - - - THE GULLY OF BLUEMANSDYKE, - AND OTHER STORIES. - - - A small Edition of this Book was published - in 1889, under the Title of "Mysteries and - Adventures." - - - THE GULLY OF - - BLUEMANSDYKE, - - AND OTHER STORIES. - - - By A. CONAN DOYLE, - - - _Author of "Micah Clarke," "The White Company," - "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes," &c._ - - - LONDON: - WALTER SCOTT, LTD., 24 WARWICK LANE, - PATERNOSTER ROW - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - PAGE - - THE GULLY OF BLUEMANSDYKE 7 - - THE PARSON OF JACKMAN'S GULCH 50 - - MY FRIEND THE MURDERER 79 - - THE SILVER HATCHET 114 - - THE MAN FROM ARCHANGEL 144 - - THAT LITTLE SQUARE BOX 188 - - A NIGHT AMONG THE NIHILISTS 226 - - - - -_THE GULLY OF BLUEMANSDYKE._ - -A TRUE COLONIAL STORY. - - -Broadhurst's store was closed, but the little back room looked very -comfortable that night. The fire cast a ruddy glow on ceiling and walls, -reflecting itself cheerily on the polished flasks and shot-guns which -adorned them. Yet a gloom rested on the two men who sat at either side -of the hearth, which neither the fire nor the black bottle upon the -table could alleviate. - -"Twelve o'clock," said old Tom, the storeman glancing up at the wooden -timepiece which had come out with him in '42. "It's a queer thing, -George, they haven't come." - -"It's a dirty night," said his companion, reaching out his arm for a -plug of tobacco. "The Wawirra's in flood, maybe; or maybe their horses -is broke down; or they've put it off, perhaps. Great Lord, how it -thunders! Pass us over a coal, Tom." - -He spoke in a tone which was meant to appear easy, but with a painful -thrill in it which was not lost upon his mate. He glanced uneasily at -him from under his grizzled eyebrows. - -"You think it's all right, George?" he said, after a pause. - -"Think what's all right?" - -"Why, that the lads are safe." - -"Safe! Of course they're safe. What the devil is to harm them?" - -"Oh, nothing; nothing, to be sure," said old Tom. "You see, George, -since the old woman died, Maurice has been all to me; and it makes me -kinder anxious. It's a week since they started from the mine, and you'd -ha' thought they'd be here now. But it's nothing unusual, I s'pose; -nothing at all. Just my darned folly." - -"What's to harm them?" repeated George Hutton again, arguing to convince -himself rather than his comrade. "It's a straight road from the diggin's -to Rathurst, and then through the hills past Bluemansdyke, and over the -Wawirra by the ford, and so down to Trafalgar by the bush track. -There's nothin' deadly in all that, is there? My son Allan's as dear to -me as Maurice can be to you, mate," he continued; "but they know the -ford well, and there's no other bad place. They'll be here to-morrow -night, certain." - -"Please God they may!" said Broadhurst; and the two men lapsed into -silence for some time, moodily staring into the glow of the fire, and -pulling at their short clays. - -It was indeed, as Hutton had said, a dirty night. The wind was howling -down through the gorges of the western mountains, and whirling and -eddying among the streets of Trafalgar; whistling through the chinks in -the rough wood cabins, and tearing away the frail shingles which formed -the roofs. The streets were deserted, save for one or two stragglers -from the drinking shanties, who wrapped their cloaks around them and -staggered home through the wind and rain towards their own cabins. - -The silence was broken by Broadhurst, who was evidently still ill at -ease. - -"Say, George," he said, "what's become of Josiah Mapleton?" - -"Went to the diggin's." - -"Ay; but he sent word he was coming back." - -"But he never came." - -"An' what's become of Jos Humphrey?" he resumed, after a pause. - -"He went diggin', too." - -"Well, did he come back?" - -"Drop it, Broadhurst; drop it, I say," said Hutton, springing to his -feet and pacing up and down the narrow room. "You're trying to make a -coward of me! You know the men must have gone up country prospectin' or -farmin', maybe. What is it to us where they went? You don't think I have -a register of every man in the colony, as Inspector Burton has of the -lags." - -"Sit down, George, and listen," said old Tom. "There's something queer -about that road; something I don't understand, and don't like. Maybe you -remember how Maloney, the one-eyed scoundrel, made his money in the -early mining days. He'd a half-way drinking shanty on the main road up -on a kind of bluff, where the Lena comes down from the hills. You've -heard, George, how they found a sort of wooden slide from his little -back room down to the river; an' how it came out that man after man had -had his drink doctored, and been shot down that into eternity, like a -bale of goods. No one will ever know how many were done away with there. -_They_ were all supposed to be farmin' and prospectin', and the like, -till their bodies were picked out of the rapids. It's no use mincing -matters, George; we'll have the troopers along to the diggin's if those -lads don't turn up by to-morrow night." - -"As you like, Tom," said Hutton. - -"By the way, talking of Maloney--it's a strange thing," said Broadhurst, -"that Jack Haldane swears he saw a man as like Maloney with ten years -added to him as could be. It was in the bush on Monday morning. Chance, -I suppose; but you'd hardly think there could be two pair of shoulders -in the world carrying such villainous mugs on the top of them." - -"Jack Haldane's a fool," growled Hutton, throwing open the door and -peering anxiously out into the darkness, while the wind played with his -long grizzled beard, and sent a train of glowing sparks from his pipe -down the street. - -"A terrible night!" he said, as he turned back towards the fire. - -Yes, a wild, tempestuous night; a night for birds of darkness and for -beasts of prey. A strange night for seven men to lie out in the gully at -Bluemansdyke, with revolvers in their hands, and the devil in their -hearts. - - * * * * * - -The sun was rising after the storm. A thick, heavy steam reeked up from -the saturated ground, and hung like a pall over the flourishing little -town of Trafalgar. A bluish mist lay in wreaths over the wide track of -bushland around, out of which the western mountains loomed like great -islands in a sea of vapour. - -Something was wrong in the town. The most casual glance would have -detected that. There was a shouting and a hurrying of feet. Doors were -slammed and rude windows thrown open. A trooper of police came -clattering down with his carbine unslung. It was past the time for Joe -Buchan's saw-mill to commence work, but the great wheel was motionless, -for the hands had not appeared. - -There was a surging, pushing crowd in the main street before old Tom -Broadhurst's house, and a mighty clattering of tongues. "What was it?" -demanded the new-comers, panting and breathless. "Broadhurst has shot -his mate." "He has cut his own throat." "He has struck gold in the clay -floor of his kitchen." "No; it was his son Maurice who had come home -rich." "Who had not come back at all." "Whose horse had come back -without him." At last the truth had come out; and there was the old -sorrel horse in question whinnying and rubbing his neck against the -familiar door of the stable, as if entreating entrance; while two -haggard, grey-haired men held him by either bridle, and gazed blankly at -his reeking sides. - -"God help me," said old Tom Broadhurst; "it is as I feared!" - -"Cheer up, mate," said Hutton, drawing his rough straw hat down over his -brow. "There's hope yet." - -A sympathetic and encouraging murmur ran through the crowd. - -"Horse ran away, likely." - -"Or been stolen." - -"Or he's swum the Wawirra an' been washed off," suggested one Job's -comforter. - -"He ain't got no marks of bruising," said another, more hopeful. - -"Rider fallen off drunk, maybe," said a bluff old sheep-farmer. "I kin -remember," he continued, "coming into town 'bout this hour myself, with -my head in my holster, an' thinking I was a six-chambered -revolver--mighty drunk I was." - -"Maurice had a good seat; he'd never be washed off." - -"Not he." - -"The horse has a weal on its off fore-quarter," remarked another, more -observant than the rest. - -"A blow from a whip, maybe." - -"It would be a darned hard one." - -"Where's Chicago Bill?" said someone; "he'll know." - -Thus invoked, a strange, gaunt figure stepped out in front of the crowd. -He was an extremely tall and powerful man, with the red shirt and high -boots of a miner. The shirt was thrown open, showing the sinewy throat -and massive chest. His face was seamed and scarred with many a conflict, -both with Nature and his brother man; yet beneath his ruffianly exterior -there lay something of the quiet dignity of the gentleman. This man was -a veteran gold-hunter; a real old Californian 'forty-niner, who had left -the fields in disgust when private enterprise began to dwindle before -the formation of huge incorporated companies with their ponderous -machinery. But the red clay with the little shining points had become to -him as the very breath of his nostrils, and he had come half-way round -the world to seek it once again. - -"Here's Chicago Bill," he said; "what is it?" - -Bill was naturally regarded as an oracle, in virtue of his prowess and -varied experience. Every eye was turned on him as Braxton, the young -Irish trooper of constabulary, said, "What do you make of the horse, -Bill?" - -The Yankee was in no hurry to commit himself. He surveyed the animal for -some time with his shrewd little grey eye. He bent and examined the -girths; then he felt the mane carefully. He stooped once more and -examined the hoofs and then the quarters. His eye rested on the blue -wheal already mentioned. This seemed to put him on a scent, for he gave -a long, low whistle, and proceeded at once to examine the hair on either -side of the saddle. He saw something conclusive apparently, for, with a -sidelong glance under his shaggy eyebrows at the two old men beside him, -he turned and fell back among the crowd. - -"Well, what d'ye think?" cried a dozen voices. - -"A job for you," said Bill, looking up at the young Irish trooper. - -"Why, what is it? What's become of young Broadhurst?" - -"He's done what better men has done afore. He has sunk a shaft for gold -and panned out a coffin." - -"Speak out, man! what have you seen?" cried a husky voice. - -"I've seen the graze of a bushranger's bullet on the horse's quarter, -an' I've seen a drop of the rider's blood on the edge of the -saddle--Here, hold the old man up, boys; don't let him drop. Give him a -swig of brandy an' lead him inside. Say," he continued, in a whisper, -gripping the trooper by the wrist, "mind, I'm in it. You an' I play this -hand together. I'm dead on sich varmin. We'll do as they do in Nevada, -strike while the iron is hot. Get any men you can together. I s'pose -you're game to come yourself?" - -"Yes, I'll come," said young Braxton, with a quiet smile. - -The American looked at him approvingly. He had learned in his wanderings -that an Irishman who grows quieter when deeply stirred is a very -dangerous specimen of the genus _homo_. - -"Good lad!" he muttered; and the two went down the street together -towards the station-house, followed by half-a-dozen of the more resolute -of the crowd. - - * * * * * - -One word before we proceed with our story, or our chronicle rather, as -every word of it is based upon fact. The colonial trooper of fifteen or -twenty years ago was a very different man from his representative of -to-day. Not that I would imply any slur upon the courage of the latter; -but for reckless dare-devilry and knight-errantry the old constabulary -has never been equalled. The reason is a simple one. Men of gentle -blood, younger sons and wild rakes who had outrun the constable, were -sent off to Australia with some wild idea of making their fortunes. On -arriving they found Melbourne by no means the El Dorado they expected; -they were unfit for any employment, their money was soon dissipated, and -they unerringly gravitated into the mounted police. Thus a sort of -colonial "Maison Rouge" became formed, where the lowest private had as -much pride of birth and education as his officers. They were men who -might have swayed the fate of empires, yet who squandered away their -lives in many a lone wild fight with native and bushranger, where -nothing but a mouldering blue-ragged skeleton was left to tell the tale. - - * * * * * - -It was a glorious sunset. The whole western sky was a blaze of flame, -throwing a purple tint upon the mountains, and gilding the sombre edges -of the great forest which spreads between Trafalgar and the river -Wawirra. It stretched out, a primeval, unbroken wilderness, save at the -one point where a rough track had been formed by the miners and their -numerous camp-followers. This wound amid the great trunks in a zigzag -direction, occasionally making a long detour to avoid some marshy hollow -or especially dense clump of vegetation. Often it could be hardly -discerned from the ground around save by the scattered hoof-marks and an -occasional rut. - -About fifteen miles from Trafalgar there stands a little knoll, well -sheltered and overlooking the road. On this knoll a man was lying as the -sun went down that Friday evening. He appeared to shun observation, for -he had chosen that part in which the foliage was thickest; yet he seemed -decidedly at his ease, as he lolled upon his back with his pipe between -his teeth, and a broad hat down over his face. It was a face that it was -well to cover in the presence of so peaceful a scene--a face pitted with -the scars of an immaterial smallpox. The forehead was broad and low; one -eye had apparently been gouged out, leaving a ghastly cavity; the other -was deep-set, cunning, and vindictive. The mouth was hard and cruel; a -rough beard covered the chin. It was the cut of face which, seen in a -lonely street, would instinctively make one shift the grasp of one's -stick from the knob end to the ferrule--the face of a bold and -unscrupulous man. - -Some unpleasing thought seemed to occur to him, for he rose with a curse -and knocked the ashes out of his pipe. "A darned fine thing," he -muttered, "that I should have to lie out like this! It was Barrett's -fault the job wasn't a clean one, an' now he picks me out to get the -swamp-fever. If he'd shot the horse as I did the man, we wouldn't need a -watch on this side of the Wawirra. He always was a poor white-livered -cuss. Well," he continued, picking up a gun which lay in the grass -behind him, "there's no use my waiting longer; they wouldn't start -during the night. Maybe the horse never got home, maybe they gave them -up as drowned; anyhow it's another man's turn to-morrow, so I'll just -give them five minutes and then make tracks." He sat down on the stump -of a tree as he spoke and hummed the verse of a song. A sudden thought -seemed to strike him, for he plunged his hand into his pocket, and after -some searching extracted a pack of playing cards wrapped in a piece of -dirty brown paper. He gazed earnestly at their greasy faces for some -time. Then he took a pin from his sleeve and pricked a small hole in the -corner of each ace and knave. He chuckled as he shuffled them up, and -replaced them in his pocket. "I'll have my share of the swag," he -growled. "They're sharp, but they'll not spot that when the liquor is in -them. By the Lord, here they are!" - -He had sprung to his feet and was bending to the ground, holding his -breath as he listened. To the unpractised ear all was as still as -before--the hum of a passing insect, the chirp of a bird, the rustle of -the leaves; but the bushranger rose with the air of a man who has -satisfied himself. "Good-bye to Bluemansdyke," said he; "I reckon it -will be too hot to hold us for a time. That thundering idiot! he's -spoilt as nice a lay as ever was, an' risked our necks into the bargain. -I'll see their number an' who they are, though," he continued; and, -choosing a point where a rough thicket formed an effectual screen, he -coiled himself up, and lay like some venomous snake, occasionally -raising his head and peering between the trunks at the reddish streak -which marked the Trafalgar Road. - -There could be no question now as to the approach of a body of horsemen. -By the time our friend was fairly ensconced in his hiding-place the -sound of voices and the clatter of hoofs was distinctly audible, and in -another moment a troop of mounted men came sweeping round the curve of -the road. They were eleven all told, armed to the teeth, and evidently -well on the alert. Two rode in front with rifles unslung, leisurely -scanning every bush which might shelter an enemy. The main body kept -about fifty yards behind them, while a solitary horseman brought up the -rear. The ranger scanned them narrowly as they passed. He seemed to -recognise most of them. Some were his natural enemies the troopers; the -majority were miners who had volunteered to get rid of an evil which -affected their interests so closely. They were a fine bronzed set of -men, with a deliberate air about them, as if they had come for a purpose -and meant to attain it. As the last rider passed before his hiding-place -the solitary watcher started and growled a curse in his beard. "I know -his darned face," he said; "it's Bill Hanker, the man who got the drop -on Long Nat Smeaton in Silver City in '53; what the thunder brought him -here? I must be off by the back track, though, an' let the boys know." -So saying, he picked up his gun, and with a scowl after the distant -party, he crouched down and passed rapidly and silently out of sight -into the very thickest part of the bush. - - * * * * * - -The expedition had started from Trafalgar on the afternoon of the same -day that Maurice Broadhurst's horse, foam-flecked and frightened, had -galloped up to the old stable-door. Burton, the inspector of -constabulary, an energetic and able man, as all who knew him can -testify, was in command. He had detached Braxton, the young Irishman, -and Thompson, another trooper, as a vanguard. He himself rode with the -main body, grey-whiskered and lean, but as straight in the back as when -he and I built a shanty in '39 in what is now Burke Street, Melbourne. -With him were McGillivray, Foley, and Anson of the Trafalgar force, -Hartley the sheep-farmer, Murdoch and Summerville, who had made their -pile at the mines, and Dan Murphy, who was cleaned out when the clay of -the "Orient" turned to gravel, and had been yearning for a solid square -fight ever since. Chicago Bill formed the rear-guard, and the whole -party presented an appearance which, though far from military, was -decidedly warlike. - -They camped out that night seventeen miles from Trafalgar, and next day -pushed on as far as where the Stirling Road runs across. The third -morning brought them to the northern bank of the Wawirra, which they -forded. Here a council of war was held, for they were entering what -they regarded as enemy's country. The bush track, though wild, was -occasionally traversed both by shepherds and sportsmen. It would hardly -be the home of a gang of desperate bushrangers. But beyond the Wawirra -the great rugged range of the T['a]pu mountains towered up to the clouds, -and across a wild spur of these the mining track passed up to -Bluemansdyke. It was here they decided at the council that the scene of -the late drama lay. The question now was what means were to be taken to -attack the murderers; for that murder had been done no man doubted. - -All were of one mind as to what the main line of action should be. To go -for them straight, shoot as many as possible on sight, and hang the -balance in Trafalgar: that was plain sailing. But how to get at them was -the subject of much debate. The troopers were for pushing on at once, -and trusting to Fortune to put the rangers in their way. The miners -proposed rather to gain some neighbouring peak, from which a good view -of the country could be obtained, and some idea gained of their -whereabouts. Chicago Bill took rather a gloomy view of things. "Nary -one will we see," said he; "they've dusted out of the district 'fore -this. They'd know the horse would go home, and likely as not they've had -a watch on the road to warn them. I guess, boys, we'd best move on an' -do our best." There was some discussion, but Chicago's opinion carried -the day, and the expedition pushed on in a body. - -After passing the second upland station the scenery becomes more and -more grand and rugged. Great peaks two and three thousand feet high rose -sheer up at each side of the narrow track. The heavy wind and rain of -the storm had brought down much _d['e]bris_, and the road was almost -impassable in places. They were frequently compelled to dismount and to -lead the horses. "We haven't far now, boys," said the inspector -cheerily, as they struggled on; and he pointed to a great dark cleft -which yawned in front of them between two almost perpendicular cliffs. -"They are there," he said, "or nowhere." A little higher the road became -better and their progress was more rapid. A halt was called, guns were -unslung, and their pistols loosened in their belts, for the great gully -of Bluemansdyke--the wildest part of the whole T['a]pu range--was gaping -before them. But not a thing was to be seen; all was as still as the -grave. The horses were picketed in a quiet little ravine, and the whole -party crept on on foot. The Southern sun glared down hot and clear on -the yellow bracken and banks of fern which lined the narrow winding -track. Still not a sign of life. Then came a clear low whistle from the -two advanced troopers, announcing that something had been discovered, -and the main body hurried up. It was a spot for deeds of blood. On one -side of the road there lowered a black gnarled precipice, on the other -was the sullen mouth of the rugged gully. The road took a sharp turn at -this spot. Just at the angle several large boulders were scattered, -lining and overlooking the track. It was at this angle that a little bed -of mud and trampled red clay betokened a recent struggle. There could be -no question that they were at the scene of the murder of the two young -miners. The outline of a horse could still be seen in the soft ground, -and the prints of its hoofs as it kicked out in its death-agony were -plainly marked. Behind one of the rocks were the tracks of several feet, -and some pistol wadding was found in a tuft of ferns. The whole tragedy -lay unclosed before them. Two men, careless in the pride of their youth -and their strength, had swept round that fatal curve. Then a crash, a -groan, a brutal laugh, the galloping of a frightened horse, and all was -over. - -What was to be done now? The rocks around were explored, but nothing -fresh discovered. Some six days had elapsed, and the birds were -apparently flown. The party separated and hunted about among the -boulders. Then the American, who could follow a trail like a bloodhound, -found tracks leading towards a rugged pile of rocks on the north side of -the gully. In a crevice here the remains of three horses were found. -Close to them the rim of an old straw hat projected through the loose -loam. Hartley, the sheep-farmer, sprang over to pick it up; he started -back in the act of stooping, and said in an awe-struck whisper to his -friend Murphy, "There's a head under it, Dan!" A few strokes of a spade -disclosed a face familiar to most of the group--that of a poor -travelling photographer well known in the colony by the _sobriquet_ of -"Stooping Johnny," who had disappeared some time before. It was now in -an advanced stage of putrefaction. Close to him another body was -discovered, and another beside that. In all, thirteen victims of these -English Thugs were lying under the shadow of the great north wall of the -Bluemansdyke gully. It was there, standing in silent awe round the -remains of these poor fellows, hurried into eternity and buried like -dogs, that the search-party registered a vow to sacrifice all interests -and comforts for the space of one month to the single consideration of -revenge. The inspector uncovered his grizzled head as he solemnly swore -it, and his comrades followed his example. The bodies were then, with a -brief prayer, consigned to a deeper grave, a rough cairn was erected -over them, and the eleven men set forth upon their mission of stern -justice. - - * * * * * - -Three weeks had passed--three weeks and two days. The sun was sinking -over the great waste of bushland, unexplored and unknown, which -stretches away from the eastern slope of the T['a]pu mountains. Save some -eccentric sportsman or bold prospector, no colonist had ever ventured -into that desolate land; yet on this autumn evening two men were -standing in a little glade in the very heart of it. They were engaged -tying up their horses, and apparently making preparations for camping -out for the night. Though haggard, unkempt, and worn, one still might -recognise two of our former acquaintances--the young Irish trooper and -the American Chicago Bill. - -This was the last effort of the avenging party. They had traversed the -mountain gorges, they had explored every gully and ravine, and now they -had split into several small bands, and, having named a trysting-place, -they were scouring the country in the hope of hitting upon some trace of -the murderers. Foley and Anson had remained among the hills, Murdoch and -Dan Murphy were exploring towards Rathurst, Summerville and the -inspector had ascended along the Wawirra, while the others in three -parties were wandering through the eastern bushland. - -Both the trooper and the miner seemed dejected and weary. The one had -set out with visions of glory, and hopes of a short cut to the coveted -stripes which would put him above his fellows; the other had obeyed a -rough wild sense of justice; and each was alike disappointed. The horses -were picketed, and the men threw themselves heavily upon the ground. -There was no need to light a fire; a few dampers and some rusty bacon -were their whole provisions. Braxton produced them, and handed his share -to his comrade. They ate their rough meal without a word. Braxton was -the first to break the silence. - -"We're playing our last card," he said. - -"And a darned poor one at that," replied his comrade. - -"Why, mate," he continued, "if we did knock up agin these all-fired -varmin, ye don't suppose you and I would go for them? I guess I'd up an' -shove for Trafalgar first." - -Braxton smiled. Chicago's reckless courage was too well known in the -colony for any words of his to throw a doubt upon it. Miners still tell -how, during the first great rush in '52, a blustering ruffian, relying -upon some similar remark of the pioneer's, had tried to establish a -reputation by an unprovoked assault upon him; and the narrators then -glide imperceptibly into an account of Bill's handsome conduct towards -the widow--how he had given her his week's clean-up to start her in a -drinking shanty. Braxton thought of this as he smiled at Chicago's -remarks, and glanced at the massive limbs and weather-beaten face. - -"We'd best see where we are before it grows darker," he said; and -rising, he stacked his gun against the trunk of a blue gum-tree, and -seizing some of the creepers which hung down from it, began rapidly and -silently to ascend it. - -"His soul's too big for his body," growled the American, as he watched -the dark lithe figure standing out against the pale-blue evening sky. - -"What d'ye see, Jack?" he shouted; for the trooper had reached the -topmost branch by this time, and was taking a survey of the country. - -"Bush, bush; nothing but bush," said the voice among the leaves. "Wait a -bit, though; there's a kind of hill about three miles off away to the -nor'-east. I see it above the trees right over there. Not much good to -us, though," he continued, after a pause, "for it seems a barren, stony -sort of place." - -Chicago paced about at the bottom of the tree. - -"He seems an almighty long time prospectin' it," he muttered, after ten -minutes had elapsed. "Ah, here he is!" and the trooper came swinging -down and landed panting just in front of him. - -"Why, what's come over him? What's the matter, Jack?" - -Something was the matter. That was very evident. There was a light in -Braxton's blue eyes, and a flush on the pale cheek. - -"Bill," he said, putting his hand on his comrade's shoulder, "it's about -time you made tracks for the settlements." - -"What d'ye mean?" said Chicago. - -"Why, I mean that the murderers are within a league of us, and that I -intend going for them. There, don't be huffed, old man," he added; "of -course I knew you were only joking. But they are there, Bill; I saw -smoke on the top of that hill, and it wasn't good, honest smoke, mind -you; it was dry-wood smoke, and meant to be hid. I thought it was mist -at first; but no, it was smoke. I'll swear it. It could only be them: -who else would camp on the summit of a desolate hill? We've got them, -Bill; we have them as sure as Fate." - -"Or they've got us," growled the American. "But here, lad, here's my -glass; run up and have a look at them." - -"It's too dark now," said Braxton; "we'll camp out to-night. No fear of -them stirring. They're lying by there until the whole thing blows over, -depend upon it; so we'll make sure of them in the morning." - -The miner looked plaintively up at the tree, and then down at his -fourteen stone of solid muscle. - -"I guess I must take your word for it," he grumbled; "but you are -bushman enough to tell smoke from mist, and a dry-wood fire from an open -one. We can't do anything to-night till we feel our way, so I allow we'd -best water the horses an' have a good night's rest." - -Braxton seemed to be of the same mind; so after a few minutes' -preparation the two men wrapped themselves in their cloaks, and lay, two -little dark spots, on the great green carpet of the primeval bush. - -With the first grey light of dawn Chicago sat up and roused his comrade. -A heavy mist bung over the bushland. They could hardly see the loom of -the trees across the little glade. Their clothes glistened with the -little shining beads of moisture. They brushed each other down, and -squatted in bush fashion over their rough breakfast. The haze seemed to -be lifting a little now; they could see fifty yards in every direction. -The miner paced up and down in silence, ruminating over a plug of -"Barrett's twist." Braxton sat on a fallen tree sponging and oiling his -revolver. Suddenly a single beam of sunshine played over the great blue -gum. It widened and spread, and then in a moment the mist melted away, -and the yellow leaves glowed like flakes of copper in the glare of the -morning sun. Braxton cheerily snapped the lock of the pistol, loaded it, -and replaced it in his belt. Chicago began to whistle, and stopped in -the middle of his walk. - -"Now, young un," he said, "here's the glass." - -Braxton slung it round his neck, and ascended the tree as he had done -the night before. It was child's-play to the trooper--a splendid -climber, as I can testify; for I saw him two years later swarming up the -topmost backstay of the _Hector_ frigate in a gale of wind for a bet of -a bottle of wine. He soon reached the summit, and shuffling along a -naked branch two hundred feet from the ground, he gained a point where -no leaves could obstruct his view. Here he sat straddle-legged; and, -unslinging the glass, he proceeded to examine the hill, bush by bush and -stone by stone. - -An hour passed without his moving. Another had almost elapsed before he -descended. His face was grave and thoughtful. - -"Are they there?" was the eager query. - -"Yes; they are there." - -"How many?" - -"I've only seen five; but there may be more. Wait till I think it out, -Bill." - -The miner gazed at him with all the reverence matter has towards mind. -Thinking things out was not his strong point. - -"Blamed if I can help you," he said apologetically. "It kinder don't -come nat'ral to me to be plottin' and plannin'. Want o' eddication, -likely. My father was allowed to be the hardest-headed man in the -States. Judge Jeffers let on as how the old man wanted to hand in his -checks; so he down an' put his head on the line when the first engine as -ran from Vermont was comin' up. They fined him a hundred dollars for -upsettin' that 'ere locomotive; an' the old man got the cussedest -headache as ever was." - -Braxton hardly seemed to hear this family anecdote; he was deep in -thought. - -"Look here, old man," said he; "sit down by me on the trunk and listen -to what I say. Remember that you are here as a volunteer, Bill--you've -no call to come; now, I am here in the course of duty. Your name is -known through the settlement; you were a marked man when I was in the -nursery. Now, Bill, it's a big thing I am going to ask you. If you and I -go in and take these men, it will be another feather in your cap, and in -yours only. What do men know of Jack Braxton, the private of police? -He'd hardly be mentioned in the matter. Now, I want to make my name this -day. We'll have to secure these men by a surprise after dusk, and it -will be as easy for one resolute man to do it as for two; perhaps -easier, for there is less chance of detection. Bill, I want you to stay -with the horses, and let me go alone." - -Chicago sprang to his feet with a snarl of indignation, and paced up and -down in front of the fallen trees. Then he seemed to master himself, for -he sat down again. - -"They'd chaw you up, lad," he said, putting his hand on Braxton's -shoulder. "It wouldn't wash." - -"Not they," said the trooper. "I'd take your pistol as well as my own, -and I'd need a deal of chawing." - -"My character would be ruined," said Bill. - -"It's beyond the reach of calumny. You can afford to give me one fair -chance." - -Bill buried his face in his hands, and thought a little. - -"Well, lad," he said, looking up, "I'll look after the horses." - -Braxton wrung him by the hand. "There are few men would have done it, -Bill; you are a friend worth having. Now, we'll spend our day as best we -can, old man, and lie close till evening; for I won't start till an hour -after dusk; so we have plenty of time on our hands." - -The day passed slowly. The trooper lay among the mosses below the great -blue gum in earnest thought. Once or twice he imagined he heard the -subterranean chuckle and slap of the thigh which usually denoted -amusement on the part of the miner; but on glancing up at that -individual, the expression of his face was so solemn, not to say -funereal, that it was evidently an illusion. They partook of their -scanty dinner and supper cheerfully and with hearty appetites. The -former listlessness had given place to briskness and activity, now that -their object was in view. Chicago blossomed out into many strange -experiences and racy reminiscences of Western life. The hours passed -rapidly and cheerily. The trooper produced a venerable pack of cards -from his holster and proposed euchre; but their gregariousness, and the -general difficulty of distinguishing the king of clubs from the ace of -hearts, exercised a depressing influence upon the players. Gradually the -sun went down on the great wilderness. The shadow fell on the little -glade, while the distant hill was still tipped with gold; then that too -became purplish, a star twinkled over the T['a]pu range, and night crept -over the scene. - -"Good-bye, old man," said Braxton. "I won't take my carbine; it would -only be in the way. I can't thank you enough for letting me have this -chance. If they wipe me out, Bill, you'll not lose sight of them, I -know; and you'll say I died like a man. I've got no friends and no -message, and nothing in the world but this pack of cards. Keep them, -Bill; they were a fine pack in '51. If you see a smoke on the hill in -the morning you'll know all's well, and you'll bring up the horses at -once. If you don't, you'll ride to Fallen Pine, where we were to -meet,--ride day and night, Bill,--tell Inspector Burton that you know -where the rangers are, that Private Braxton is dead, and that he said -he was to bring up his men, else he'd come back from the grave and lead -them up himself. Do that, Bill. Good-bye." - -A great quiet rested over the heart of that desolate woodland. The croak -of a frog, the gurgle of a little streamlet half hidden in the long -grass--no other sound. Then a wakeful jay gave a shrill chatter, another -joined, and another; a bluefinch screamed; a wombat rushed past to gain -its burrow. Something had disturbed them; yet all was apparently as -peaceful as before. Had you been by the jay's nest, however, and peered -downwards, you would have seen something gliding like a serpent through -the brushwood, and caught a glimpse, perhaps, of a pale, resolute face, -and the glint of a pocket-compass pointing north-by-east. - - * * * * * - -It was a long and weary night for Trooper Braxton. Any moment he might -come on an outpost of the rangers, so every step had to be taken slowly -and with care. But he was an experienced woodman, and hardly a twig -snapped as he crawled along. A morass barred his progress, and he was -compelled to make a long detour. Then he found himself in thick -brushwood, and once more had to go out of his way. It was very dark here -in the depth of the forest. There was a heavy smell, and a dense steam -laden with miasma rose from the ground. In the dim light he saw strange -creeping things around him. A bushmaster writhed across the path in -front of him, a cold, dank lizard crawled over his hand as he crouched -down; but the trooper thought only of the human reptiles in front, and -made steadily for his goal. Once he seemed to be pursued by some animal; -he heard a creaking behind him, but it ceased when he stopped and -listened, so he continued his way. - -It was when he reached the base of the hill which he had seen from the -distance that the real difficulty of his undertaking began. It was -almost conical in shape, and very steep. The sides were covered with -loose stones and an occasional large boulder. One false step here would -send a shower of these tell-tale fragments clattering down the hill. The -trooper stripped off his high leather boots and turned up his trousers; -then he began cautiously to climb, cowering down behind every boulder. - -There was a little patch of light far away on the horizon, a very -little grey patch, but it caused the figure of a man who was moving upon -the crest of the hill to loom out dim and large. He was a sentry -apparently, for he carried a gun under his arm. The top of the hill was -formed by a little plateau about a hundred yards in circumference. Along -the edge of this the man was pacing, occasionally stopping to peer down -into the great dusky sea beneath him. From this raised edge the plateau -curved down from every side, so as to form a crater-like depression. In -the centre of this hollow stood a large white tent. Several horses were -picketed around it, and the ground was littered with bundles of dried -grass and harness. You could see these details now from the edge of the -plateau, for the grey patch in the east had become white, and was -getting longer and wider. You could see the sentry's face, too, as he -paced round and round. A handsome, weak-minded face, with more of the -fool than the devil impressed on it. He seemed cheerful, for the birds -were beginning to sing, and their thousand voices rose from the bush -below. He forgot the forged note, I think, and the dreary voyage, and -the wild escape, and the dark gully away beyond the T['a]pu range; for his -eye glistened, and he hummed a quaint little Yorkshire country air. He -was back again in the West Riding village, and the rough boulder in -front shaped itself into the hill behind which Nelly lived before he -broke her heart, and he saw the ivied church that crowned it. He would -have seen something else had he looked again--something which was not in -his picture: a white passionless face which glared at him over the -boulder, as he turned upon his heel, still singing, and unconscious that -the bloodhounds of justice were close at his heels. - -The trooper's time for action had come. He had reached the last boulder; -nothing lay between the plateau and himself but a few loose stones. He -could hear the song of the sentry dying away in the distance; he drew -his regulation sword, and, with his Adams in his left, he rose and -sprang like a tiger over the ridge and down into the hollow. - -The sentry was startled from his dream of the past by a clatter and a -rattling of stones. He sprang round and cocked his gun. No wonder that -he gasped, and that a change passed over his bronzed face. A painter -would need a dash of ultramarine in his flesh-tints to represent it -now. No wonder, I say; for that dark active figure with the bare feet -and the brass buttons meant disgrace and the gallows to him. He saw him -spring across to the tent; he saw the gleam of a sword, and heard a -crash as the tent-pole was severed, and the canvas came down with a run -upon the heads of the sleepers. And then above oaths and shouts he heard -a mellow Irish voice--"I've twelve shots in my hands. I have ye, every -mother's son. Up with your arms! up, I say, before there is blood upon -my soul. One move, and ye stand before the throne." Braxton had stooped -and parted the doorway of the fallen tent, and was now standing over six -ruffians who occupied it. They lay as they had wakened, but with their -hands above their heads, for there was no resisting that quiet voice, -backed up by the two black muzzles. They imagined they were surrounded -and hopelessly outmatched. Not one of them dreamed that the whole -attacking force stood before them. It was the sentry who first began to -realise the true state of the case. There was no sound or sign of any -reinforcement. He looked to see that the cap was pressed well down on -the nipple, and crept towards the tent. He was a good shot, as many a -keeper on Braidagarth and the Yorkshire fells could testify. He raised -his gun to his shoulder. Braxton heard the click, but dared not remove -his eye or his weapon from his six prisoners. The sentry looked along -the sights. He knew his life depended upon that shot. There was more of -the devil than the fool in his face now. He paused a moment to make sure -of his aim, and then came a crash and the thud of a falling body. -Braxton was still standing over the prisoners, but the sentry's gun was -unfired, and he himself was writhing on the ground with a bullet through -his lungs. "Ye see," said Chicago, as he rose from behind a rock with -his gun still smoking in his hand, "it seemed a powerful mean thing to -leave you, Jack; so I thought as I'd kinder drop around promiscus, and -wade in if needed, which I was, as you can't deny. No, ye don't," he -added, as the sentry stretched out his hand to grasp his fallen gun; -"leave the wepin alone, young man; it ain't in your way as it lies -there." - -"I'm a dead man!" groaned the ranger. - -"Then lie quiet like a respectable corpse," said the miner, "an' don't -go a-squirmin' towards yer gun. That's ornary uneddicated conduct." - -"Come here, Bill," cried Braxton, "and bring the ropes those horses are -picketed with. Now," he continued, as the American, having abstracted -the sentry's gun, appeared with an armful of ropes, "you tie these -fellows up, and I'll kill any man who moves." - -"A pleasant division of labour, eh, old Blatherskite," said Chicago, -playfully tapping the one-eyed villain Maloney on the head. "Come on; -the ugliest first!" So saying, he began upon him and fastened him -securely. - -One after another the rangers were tied up; all except the wounded man, -who was too helpless to need securing. Then Chicago went down and -brought up the horses, while Braxton remained on guard; and by mid-day -the cavalcade was in full march through the forest _en route_ for Fallen -Pine, the rendezvous of the search-party. The wounded man was tied on to -a horse in front, the other rangers followed on foot for safety, while -the trooper and Chicago brought up the rear. - - * * * * * - -There was a sad assemblage at Fallen Pine. One by one they had dropped -in, tanned with the sun, torn by briers, weakened by the poisonous -miasma of the marshlands, all with the same tale of privation and -failure. Summerville and the inspector had fallen in with blacks above -the upper ford, and had barely escaped with their lives. Troopers Foley -and Anson were well, though somewhat gaunt from privation. Hartley had -lost his horse from the bite of a bushmaster. Murdoch and Murphy had -scoured the bush as far as Rathurst, but without success. All were -dejected and weary. They only waited the arrival of two of their number -to set out on their return to Trafalgar. - -It was mid-day, and the sun was beating down with a pitiless glare on -the little clearing. The men were lying about on the shady side of the -trunks, some smoking, some with their hats over their faces and half -asleep. The horses were tethered here and there, looking as listless as -their masters. Only the inspector's old charger seemed superior to the -weather--a shrewd, _blas['e]_ old horse, that had seen the world, and was -nearly as deeply versed in woodcraft as his master. As Chicago said, -"Short of climbin' a tree, there weren't nothin' that horse couldn't -do; an' it would make a darned good try at that if it was pushed." Old -"Sawback" seemed ill at ease this afternoon. Twice he had pricked up his -ears, and once he had raised his head as if to neigh, but paused before -committing himself. The inspector looked at him curiously and put his -meerschaum back into its case. Meerschaums were always a weakness of -poor Jim Burton's. "Demme it, sir," I have heard him say, "a gentleman -is known by his pipe. When he comes down in the world his pipe has most -vitality." He put the case inside his uniform and went over to the -horse. The ears were still twitching. - -"He hears something," said the inspector. "By Jove, so do I! Here, boys, -jump up; there's a body of men coming!" Every man sprang to his horse's -head. "I hear hoofs, and I hear the tramp of men on foot. They must be a -large party. They're heading straight for us. Get under cover, boys, and -have your guns loose." The men wheeled right and left, and in a very few -moments the glade was deserted. Only the brown barrel of a gun here and -there among the long grass and the ferns showed where they were -crouching. "Steady, boys!" said Burton; "if they are enemies, don't fire -till I give the word. Then one by one aim low, and let the smoke clear. -Rangers, by Jove!" he added, as a horseman broke into the clearing some -way down, with his head hanging down over his horse's neck. "More," he -growled, as several men emerged from the bush at the same point. "By the -living powers, they are taken! I see the ropes. Hurrah!" And next moment -Braxton and Chicago were mobbed by nine shouting, dancing men, who -pulled them and tugged at them, and slapped them on the back, and -dragged them about in such a way, that Maloney whispered with a scowl-- - -"If we'd had the grit to do as much, we'd have been free men this day!" - -And now our story is nearly done. We have chronicled a fact which we -think is worthy of a wider circulation than the colonial drinking-bar -and the sheep-farmer's fireside, for Trooper Braxton and his capture of -the Bluemansdyke murderers have long been household words among our -brothers in the England of the Southern seas. - -We need not detail that joyful ride to Trafalgar, nor the welcome, nor -the attempt at lynching; nor how Maloney, the arch criminal, turned -Queen's evidence, and so writhed away from the gallows. All that may be -read in the colonial press more graphically than I can tell it. My -friend Jack Braxton is an officer now, as his father was before him, and -still in the Trafalgar force. Bill I saw last in '61, when he came over -to London in charge of the barque of the _Wellingtonia_ for the -International Exhibition. He is laying on flesh, I fear, since he took -to sheep-farming; for he was barely brought up by seventeen stone, and -his fighting weight used to be fourteen; but he looks well and hearty. -Maloney was lynched in Placerville--at least so I heard. I had a letter -last mail from the old inspector; he has left the police, and has a farm -at Rathurst. I think, stout-hearted as he is, he must give a little bit -of a shudder when he rides down to Trafalgar for the Thursday market, -and comes round that sharp turn of the road where the boulders lie, and -the furze looks so yellow against the red clay. - - - - -_THE PARSON OF JACKMAN'S GULCH._ - - -He was known in the Gulch as the Reverend Elias B. Hopkins, but it was -generally understood that the title was an honorary one, extorted by his -many eminent qualities, and not borne out by any legal claim which he -could adduce. "The Parson" was another of his _sobriquets_, which was -sufficiently distinctive in a land where the flock was scattered and the -shepherds few. To do him justice, he never pretended to have received -any preliminary training for the ministry or any orthodox qualification -to practise it. "We're all working in the claim of the Lord," he -remarked one day, "and it don't matter a cent whether we're hired for -the job or whether we waltzes in on our own account," a piece of rough -imagery which appealed directly to the instincts of Jackman's Gulch. It -is quite certain that during the first few months his presence had a -marked effect in diminishing the excessive use both of strong drinks -and of stronger adjectives which had been characteristic of the little -mining settlement. Under his tuition, men began to understand that the -resources of their native language were less limited than they had -supposed, and that it was possible to convey their impressions with -accuracy without the aid of a gaudy halo of profanity. - -We were certainly in need of a regenerator at Jackman's Gulch about the -beginning of '53. Times were flush then over the whole colony, but -nowhere flusher than there. Our material prosperity had had a bad effect -upon our morals. The camp was a small one, lying rather better than a -hundred and twenty miles to the south of Ballarat, at a spot where a -mountain torrent finds its way down a rugged ravine on its way to join -the Arrowsmith River. History does not relate who the original Jackman -may have been, but at the time I speak of the camp it contained a -hundred or so adults, many of whom were men who had sought an asylum -there after making more civilised mining centres too hot to hold them. -They were a rough, murderous crew, hardly leavened by the few -respectable members of society who were scattered among them. - -Communication between Jackman's Gulch and the outside world was -difficult and uncertain. A portion of the bush between it and Ballarat -was infested by a redoubtable outlaw named Conky Jim, who, with a small -gang as desperate as himself, made travelling a dangerous matter. It was -customary, therefore, at the Gulch, to store up the dust and nuggets -obtained from the mines in a special store, each man's share being -placed in a separate bag on which his name was marked. A trusty man, -named Woburn, was deputed to watch over this primitive bank. When the -amount deposited became considerable, a waggon was hired, and the whole -treasure was conveyed to Ballarat, guarded by the police and by a -certain number of miners, who took it in turn to perform the office. -Once in Ballarat, it was forwarded on to Melbourne by the regular gold -waggons. By this plan, the gold was often kept for months in the Gulch -before being despatched, but Conky Jim was effectually checkmated, as -the escort party were far too strong for him and his gang. He appeared, -at the time of which I write, to have forsaken his haunts in disgust, -and the road could be traversed by small parties with impunity. - -Comparative order used to reign during the daytime at Jackman's Gulch, -for the majority of the inhabitants were out with crowbar and pick among -the quartz ledges, or washing clay and sand in their cradles by the -banks of the little stream. As the sun sank down, however, the claims -were gradually deserted, and their unkempt owners, clay-bespattered and -shaggy, came lounging into camp, ripe for any form of mischief. Their -first visit was to Woburn's gold store, where their clean-up of the day -was duly deposited, the amount being entered in the store-keeper's book, -and each miner retaining enough to cover his evening's expenses. After -that all restraint was at an end, and each set to work to get rid of his -surplus dust with the greatest rapidity possible. The focus of -dissipation was the rough bar, formed by a couple of hogsheads spanned -by planks, which was dignified by the name of the "Britannia drinking -saloon." Here, Nat Adams, the burly bar-keeper, dispensed bad whisky at -the rate of two shillings a noggin, or a guinea a bottle, while his -brother Ben acted as croupier in a rude wooden shanty behind, which had -been converted into a gambling hell, and was crowded every night. There -had been a third brother, but an unfortunate misunderstanding with a -customer had shortened his existence. "He was too soft to live long," -his brother Nathaniel feelingly observed on the occasion of his funeral. -"Many's the time I've said to him, 'If you're arguin' a pint with a -stranger, you should always draw first, then argue, and then shoot, if -you judge that he's on the shoot.' Bill was too purlite. He must needs -argue first and draw after, when he might just as well have kivered his -man before talkin' it over with him." This amiable weakness of the -deceased Bill was a blow to the firm of Adams, which became so -short-handed that the concern could hardly be worked without the -admission of a partner, which would mean a considerable decrease in the -profits. - -Nat Adams had had a roadside shanty in the Gulch before the discovery of -gold, and might, therefore, claim to be the oldest inhabitant. These -keepers of shanties were a peculiar race, and, at the cost of a -digression, it may be interesting to explain how they managed to amass -considerable sums of money in a land where travellers were few and far -between. It was the custom of the "bushmen," _i.e._ bullock drivers, -sheep tenders, and the other white hands who worked on the sheep-runs up -country, to sign articles by which they agreed to serve their master for -one, two, or three years at so much per year and certain daily rations. -Liquor was never included in this agreement, and the men remained, per -force, total abstainers during the whole time. The money was paid in a -lump sum at the end of the engagement. When that day came round, Jimmy, -the stockman, would come slouching into his master's office, -cabbage-tree hat in hand. - -"Morning, master!" Jimmy would say. "My time's up. I guess I'll draw my -cheque and ride down to town." - -"You'll come back, Jimmy." - -"Yes, I'll come back. Maybe I'll be away three weeks, maybe a month. I -want some clothes, master, and my bloomin' boots are well-nigh off my -feet." - -"How much, Jimmy?" asks his master, taking up his pen. - -"There's sixty pound screw," Jimmy answers thoughtfully; "and you mind, -master, last March, when the brindled bull broke out o' the paddock. -Two pound you promised me then. And a pound at the dipping. And a pound -when Millar's sheep got mixed with ourn;" and so he goes on, for bushmen -can seldom write, but they have memories which nothing escapes. - -His master writes the cheque and hands it across the table. "Don't get -on the drink, Jimmy," he says. - -"No fear of that, master," and the stockman slips the cheque into his -leather pouch, and within an hour he is ambling off upon his long-limbed -horse on his hundred mile journey to town. - -Now Jimmy has to pass some six or eight of the above-mentioned roadside -shanties in his day's ride, and experience has taught him that if he -once breaks his accustomed total abstinence, the unwonted stimulant has -an overpowering effect upon his brain. Jimmy shakes his head warily as -he determines that no earthly consideration will induce him to partake -of any liquor until his business is over. His only chance is to avoid -temptation; so, knowing that there is the first of these houses some -half mile ahead, he plunges into a by-path through the bush which will -lead him out at the other side. - -Jimmy is riding resolutely along this narrow path, congratulating -himself upon a danger escaped, when he becomes aware of a sunburned, -black-bearded man who is leaning unconcernedly against a tree beside the -track. This is none other than the shanty-keeper, who, having observed -Jimmy's man[oe]uvre in the distance, has taken a short cut through the -bush in order to intercept him. - -"Morning, Jimmy!" he cries, as the horseman comes up to him. - -"Morning, mate; morning!" - -"Where are ye off to to-day then?" - -"Off to town," says Jimmy sturdily. - -"No, now--are you though? You'll have bully times down there for a bit. -Come round and have a drink at my place. Just by way of luck." - -"No," says Jimmy, "I don't want a drink." - -"Just a little damp." - -"I tell ye I don't want one," says the stockman angrily. - -"Well, ye needn't be so darned short about it. It's nothin' to me -whether you drinks or not. Good mornin'." - -"Good mornin'," says Jimmy, and has ridden on about twenty yards when -he hears the other calling on him to stop. - -"See here, Jimmy!" he says, overtaking him again. "If you'll do me a -kindness when you're up in town I'd be obliged." - -"What is it?" - -"It's a letter, Jim, as I wants posted. It's an important one too, an' I -wouldn't trust it with every one; but I knows you, and if you'll take -charge on it it'll be a powerful weight off my mind." - -"Give it here," Jimmy says laconically. - -"I hain't got it here. It's round in my caboose. Come round for it with -me. It ain't more'n quarter of a mile." - -Jimmy consents reluctantly. When they reach the tumble-down hut the -keeper asks him cheerily to dismount and to come in. - -"Give me the letter," says Jimmy. - -"It ain't altogether wrote yet, but you sit down here for a minute and -it'll be right," and so the stockman is beguiled into the shanty. - -At last the letter is ready and handed over. "Now, Jimmy," says the -keeper, "one drink at my expense before you go." - -"Not a taste," says Jimmy. - -"Oh, that's it, is it?" the other says in an aggrieved tone. "You're too -damned proud to drink with a poor cove like me. Here--give us back that -letter. I'm cursed if I'll accept a favour from a man whose too almighty -big to have a drink with me." - -"Well, well, mate, don't turn rusty," says Jim. "Give us one drink an' -I'm off." - -The keeper pours out about half a pannikin of raw rum and hands it to -the bushman. The moment he smells the old familiar smell his longing for -it returns, and he swigs it off at a gulp. His eyes shine more brightly, -and his face becomes flushed. The keeper watches him narrowly. "You can -go now, Jim," he says. - -"Steady, mate, steady," says the bushman. "I'm as good a man as you. If -you stand a drink, I can stand one too, I suppose." So the pannikin is -replenished, and Jimmy's eyes shine brighter still. - -"Now, Jimmy, one last drink for the good of the house," says the keeper, -"and then it's time you were off." The stockman has a third gulp from -the pannikin, and with it all his scruples and good resolutions vanish -for ever. - -"Look here," he says somewhat huskily, taking his cheque out of his -pouch. "You take this, mate. Whoever comes along this road, ask 'em what -they'll have, and tell them it's my shout. Let me know when the money's -done." - -So Jimmy abandons the idea of ever getting to town, and for three weeks -or a month he lies about the shanty in a state of extreme drunkenness, -and reduces every wayfarer upon the road to the same condition. At last -one fine morning the keeper comes to him. "The coin's done, Jimmy," he -says; "it's about time you made some more." So Jimmy has a good wash to -sober him, straps his blanket and his billy to his back, and rides off -through the bush to the sheep-run, where he has another year of -sobriety, terminating in another month of intoxication. - -All this, though typical of the happy-go-lucky manners of the -inhabitants, has no direct bearing upon Jackman's Gulch, so we must -return to that Arcadian settlement. Additions to the population there -were not numerous, and such as came about the time of which I speak were -even rougher and fiercer than the original inhabitants. In particular, -there came a brace of ruffians named Phillips and Maule, who rode into -camp one day and started a claim upon the other side of the stream. -They outgulched the Gulch in the virulence and fluency of their -blasphemy, in the truculence of their speech and manner, and in their -reckless disregard of all social laws. They claimed to have come from -Bendigo, and there were some amongst us who wished that the redoubted -Conky Jim was on the track once more, as long as he would close it to -such visitors as these. After their arrival the nightly proceedings at -the "Britannia Bar" and at the gambling hell behind became more riotous -than ever. Violent quarrels, frequently ending in bloodshed, were of -constant occurrence. The more peaceable frequenters of the bar began to -talk seriously of lynching the two strangers who were the principal -promoters of disorder. Things were in this unsatisfactory condition when -our evangelist, Elias B. Hopkins, came limping into the camp, -travel-stained and footsore, with his spade strapped across his back and -his Bible in the pocket of his moleskin jacket. - -His presence was hardly noticed at first, so insignificant was the man. -His manner was quiet and unobtrusive, his face pale, and his figure -fragile. On better acquaintance, however, there was a squareness and -firmness about his clean-shaven lower jaw, and an intelligence in his -widely-opened blue eyes, which marked him as a man of character. He -erected a small hut for himself, and started a claim close to that -occupied by the two strangers who had preceded him. This claim was -chosen with a ludicrous disregard for all practical laws of mining, and -at once stamped the new-comer as being a green hand at his work. It was -piteous to observe him every morning as we passed to our work, digging -and delving with the greatest industry, but, as we knew well, without -the smallest possibility of any result. He would pause for a moment as -we went by, wipe his pale face with his bandanna handkerchief, and shout -out to us a cordial morning greeting, and then fall to again with -redoubled energy. By degrees we got into the way of making a -half-pitying, half-contemptuous inquiry as to how he got on. "I hain't -struck it yet, boys," he would answer cheerily, leaning on his spade, -"but the bed-rock lies deep just hereabouts, and I reckon we'll get -among the pay gravel to-day." Day after day he returned the same reply -with unvarying confidence and cheerfulness. - -It was not long before he began to show us the stuff that was in him. -One night the proceedings were unusually violent at the drinking saloon. -A rich pocket had been struck during the day, and the striker was -standing treat in a lavish and promiscuous fashion, which had reduced -three parts of the settlement to a state of wild intoxication. A crowd -of drunken idlers stood or lay about the bar, cursing, swearing, -shouting, dancing, and here and there firing their pistols into the air -out of pure wantonness. From the interior of the shanty behind there -came a similar chorus. Maule, Phillips, and the roughs who followed them -were in the ascendant, and all order and decency was swept away. - -Suddenly, amid this tumult of oaths and drunken cries, men became -conscious of a quiet monotone which underlay all other sounds and -obtruded itself at every pause in the uproar. Gradually first one man -and then another paused to listen, until there was a general cessation -of the hubbub, and every eye was turned in the direction whence this -quiet stream of words flowed. There, mounted upon a barrel, was Elias B. -Hopkins, the newest of the inhabitants of Jackman's Gulch, with a -good-humoured smile upon his resolute face. He held an open Bible in his -hand, and was reading aloud a passage taken at random--an extract from -the Apocalypse, if I remember right. The words were entirely irrelevant, -and without the smallest bearing upon the scene before him; but he -plodded on with great unction, waving his left hand slowly to the -cadence of his words. - -There was a general shout of laughter and applause at this apparition, -and Jackman's Gulch gathered round the barrel approvingly, under the -impression that this was some ornate joke, and that they were about to -be treated to some mock sermon or parody of the chapter read. When, -however, the reader, having finished the chapter, placidly commenced -another, and having finished that rippled on into another one, the -revellers came to the conclusion that the joke was somewhat too -long-winded. The commencement of yet another chapter confirmed this -opinion, and an angry chorus of shouts and cries, with suggestions as to -gagging the reader, or knocking him off the barrel, rose from every -side. In spite of roars and hoots, however, Elias B. Hopkins plodded -away at the Apocalypse with the same serene countenance, looking as -ineffably contented as though the babel around him were the most -gratifying applause. Before long an occasional boot pattered against the -barrel, or whistled past our parson's head; but here some of the more -orderly of the inhabitants interfered in favour of peace and order, -aided curiously enough by the afore-mentioned Maule and Phillips, who -warmly espoused the cause of the little Scripture-reader. "The little -cuss has got grit in him," the latter explained, rearing his bulky -red-shirted form between the crowd and the object of its anger. "His -ways ain't our ways, and we're all welcome to our opinions, and to sling -them round from barrels or otherwise, if so minded. What I says, and -Bill says, is, that when it comes to slingin' boots instead o' words -it's too steep by half; an' if this man's wronged we'll chip in an' see -him righted." This oratorical effort had the effect of checking the more -active signs of disapproval, and the party of disorder attempted to -settle down once more to their carouse, and to ignore the shower of -Scripture which was poured upon them. The attempt was hopeless. The -drunken portion fell asleep under the drowsy refrain, and the others, -with many a sullen glance at the imperturbable reader, slouched off to -their huts, leaving him still perched upon the barrel. Finding himself -alone with the more orderly of the spectators, the little man rose, -closed his book, after methodically marking with a lead pencil the exact -spot at which he stopped, and descended from his perch. "To-morrow -night, boys," he remarked in his quiet voice, "the reading will commence -at the 9th verse of the 15th chapter of the Apocalypse," with which -piece of information, disregarding our congratulations, he walked away -with the air of a man who has performed an obvious duty. - -We found that his parting words were no empty threat. Hardly had the -crowd begun to assemble next night before he appeared once more upon the -barrel and began to read with the same monotonous vigour, tripping over -words, muddling up sentences, but still boring along through chapter -after chapter. Laughter, threats, chaff--every weapon short of actual -violence--was used to deter him, but all with the same want of success. -Soon it was found that there was a method in his proceedings. When -silence reigned, or when the conversation was of an innocent nature, the -reading ceased. A single word of blasphemy, however, set it going again, -and it would ramble on for a quarter of an hour or so, when it stopped, -only to be renewed upon similar provocation. The reading was pretty -continuous during that second night, for the language of the opposition -was still considerably free. At least it was an improvement upon the -night before. - -For more than a month Elias B. Hopkins carried on this campaign. There -he would sit, night after night, with the open book upon his knee, and -at the slightest provocation off he would go, like a musical box when -the spring is touched. The monotonous drawl became unendurable, but it -could only be avoided by conforming to the parson's code. A chronic -swearer came to be looked upon with disfavour by the community, since -the punishment of his transgression fell upon all. At the end of a -fortnight the reader was silent more than half the time, and at the end -of the month his position was a sinecure. - -Never was a moral revolution brought about more rapidly and more -completely. Our parson carried his principle into private life. I have -seen him, on hearing an unguarded word from some worker in the gulches, -rush across, Bible in hand, and perching himself upon the heap of red -clay which surmounted the offender's claim, drawl through the -genealogical tree at the commencement of the New Testament in a most -earnest and impressive manner, as though it were especially appropriate -to the occasion. In time an oath became a rare thing amongst us. -Drunkenness was on the wane too. Casual travellers passing through the -Gulch used to marvel at our state of grace, and rumours of it went as -far as Ballarat, and excited much comment therein. - -There were points about our evangelist which made him especially fitted -for the work which he had undertaken. A man entirely without redeeming -vices would have had no common basis on which to work, and no means of -gaining the sympathy of his flock. As we came to know Elias B. Hopkins -better, we discovered that in spite of his piety there was a leaven of -old Adam in him, and that he had certainly known unregenerate days. He -was no teetotaler. On the contrary, he could choose his liquor with -discrimination, and lower it in an able manner. He played a masterly -hand at poker, and there were few who could touch him at "cut-throat -euchre." He and the two ex-ruffians, Phillips and Maule, used to play -for hours in perfect harmony, except when the fall of the cards elicited -an oath from one of his companions. At the first of these offences the -parson would put on a pained smile and gaze reproachfully at the -culprit. At the second he would reach for his Bible, and the game was -over for the evening. He showed us he was a good revolver shot too, for -when we were practising at an empty brandy bottle outside Adams' bar, he -took up a friend's pistol and hit it plumb in the centre at twenty-four -paces. There were few things he took up that he could not make a show at -apparently, except gold-digging, and at that he was the veriest duffer -alive. It was pitiful to see the little canvas bag, with his name -printed across it, lying placid and empty upon the shelf at Woburn's -store, while all the other bags were increasing daily, and some had -assumed quite a portly rotundity of form, for the weeks were slipping -by, and it was almost time for the gold-train to start off for Ballarat. -We reckoned that the amount which we had stored at the time represented -the greatest sum which had ever been taken by a single convoy out of -Jackman's Gulch. - -Although Elias B. Hopkins appeared to derive a certain quiet -satisfaction from the wonderful change which he had effected in the -camp, his joy was not yet rounded and complete. There was one thing for -which he still yearned. He opened his heart to us about it one evening. - -"We'd have a blessing on the camp, boys," he said, "if we only had a -service o' some sort on the Lord's day. It's a temptin' o' Providence to -go on in this way without takin' any notice of it, except that maybe -there's more whisky drunk and more card-playin' than on any other day." - -"We hain't got no parson," objected one of the crowd. - -"Ye fool!" growled another, "hain't we got a man as is worth any three -parsons, and can splash texts around like clay out o' a cradle? What -more d'ye want?" - -"We hain't got no church!" urged the same dissentient. - -"Have it in the open air," one suggested. - -"Or in Woburn's store," said another. - -"Or in Adams' saloon." - -The last proposal was received with a buzz of approval, which showed -that it was considered the most appropriate locality. - -Adams' saloon was a substantial wooden building in the rear of the bar, -which was used partly for storing liquor and partly for a gambling -saloon. It was strongly built of rough-hewn logs, the proprietor rightly -judging, in the unregenerate days of Jackman's Gulch, that hogsheads of -brandy and rum were commodities which had best be secured under lock and -key. A strong door opened into each end of the saloon, and the interior -was spacious enough, when the table and lumber were cleared away, to -accommodate the whole population. The spirit barrels were heaped -together at one end by their owner, so as to make a very fair imitation -of a pulpit. - -At first the Gulch took but a mild interest in the proceedings, but when -it became known that Elias B. Hopkins intended, after reading the -service, to address the audience, the settlement began to warm up to the -occasion. A real sermon was a novelty to all of them, and one coming -from their own parson was additionally so. Rumour announced that it -would be interspersed with local hits, and that the moral would be -pointed by pungent personalities. Men began to fear that they would be -unable to gain seats, and many applications were made to the brothers -Adams. It was only when conclusively shown that the saloon could contain -them all with a margin that the camp settled down into calm expectancy. - -It was as well that the building was of such a size, for the assembly -upon the Sunday morning was the largest which had ever occurred in the -annals of Jackman's Gulch. At first it was thought that the whole -population was present, but a little reflection showed that this was not -so. Maule and Phillips had gone on a prospecting journey among the -hills, and had not returned as yet; and Woburn, the gold-keeper, was -unable to leave his store. Having a very large quantity of the precious -metal under his charge, he stuck to his post, feeling that the -responsibility was too great to trifle with. With these three exceptions -the whole of the Gulch, with clean red shirts, and such other additions -to their toilet as the occasion demanded, sauntered in a straggling line -along the clayey pathway which led up to the saloon. - -The interior of the building had been provided with rough benches; and -the parson, with his quiet, good-humoured smile, was standing at the -door to welcome them. "Good morning, boys," he cried cheerily, as each -group came lounging up. "Pass in! pass in. You'll find this is as good a -morning's work as any you've done. Leave your pistols in this barrel -outside the door as you pass; you can pick them out as you come out -again; but it isn't the thing to carry weapons into the house of peace." -His request was good-humouredly complied with, and before the last of -the congregation filed in there was a strange assortment of knives and -firearms in this depository. When all had assembled the doors were shut -and the service began--the first and the last which was ever performed -at Jackman's Gulch. - -The weather was sultry and the room close, yet the miners listened with -exemplary patience. There was a sense of novelty in the situation which -had its attractions. To some it was entirely new, others were wafted -back by it to another land and other days. Beyond a disposition which -was exhibited by the uninitiated to applaud at the end of certain -prayers, by way of showing that they sympathised with the sentiments -expressed, no audience could have behaved better. There was a murmur of -interest, however, when Elias B. Hopkins, looking down on the -congregation from his rostrum of casks, began his address. - -He had attired himself with care in honour of the occasion. He wore a -velveteen tunic, girt round the waist with a sash of china silk, a pair -of moleskin trousers, and held his cabbage-tree hat in his left hand. He -began speaking in a low tone, and it was noticed at the time that he -frequently glanced through the small aperture which served for a window, -which was placed above the heads of those who sat beneath him. - -"I've put you straight now," he said, in the course of his address; -"I've got you in the right rut, if you will but stick in it." Here he -looked very hard out of the window for some seconds. "You've learned -soberness and industry, and with those things you can always make up any -loss you may sustain. I guess there isn't one of ye that won't remember -my visit to this camp." He paused for a moment, and three revolver shots -rang out upon the quiet summer air. "Keep your seats, damn ye!" roared -our preacher, as his audience rose in excitement. "If a man of ye -moves, down he goes! The door's locked on the outside, so ye can't get -out anyhow. Your seats, ye canting, chuckle-headed fools! Down with ye, -ye dogs, or I'll fire among ye!" - -Astonishment and fear brought us back into our seats, and we sat staring -blankly at our pastor and each other. Elias B. Hopkins, whose whole face -and even figure appeared to have undergone an extraordinary alteration, -looked fiercely down on us from his commanding position with a -contemptuous smile on his stern face. - -"I have your lives in my hands," he remarked; and we noticed as he spoke -that he held a heavy revolver in his hand, and that the butt of another -one protruded from his sash. "I am armed and you are not. If one of you -moves or speaks, he is a dead man. If not, I shall not harm you. You must -wait here for an hour. Why, you _fools_" (this with a hiss of contempt -which rang in our ears for many a long day), "do you know who it is that -has stuck you up? Do you know who it is that has been playing it upon you -for months as a parson and a saint? Conky Jim, the bushranger, ye apes! -And Phillips and Maule were my two right-hand men. They're off into the -hills with your gold---- Ha! would ye?" This to some restive member of -the audience, who quieted down instantly before the fierce eye and the -ready weapon of the bushranger. "In an hour they will be clear of any -pursuit, and I advise you to make the best of it and not to follow, or -you may lose more than your money. My horse is tethered outside this door -behind me. When the time is up I shall pass through it, lock it on the -outside, and be off. Then you may break your way out as best you can. I -have no more to say to you, except that ye are the most cursed set of -asses that ever trod in boot-leather." - -We had time to endorse mentally this outspoken opinion during the long -sixty minutes which followed; we were powerless before the resolute -desperado. It is true that if we made a simultaneous rush we might bear -him down at the cost of eight or ten of our number. But how could such a -rush be organised without speaking, and who would attempt it without a -previous agreement that he would be supported? There was nothing for it -but submission. It seemed three hours at the least before the ranger -snapped up his watch, stepped down from the barrel, walked backwards, -still covering us with his weapon, to the door behind him, and then -passed rapidly through it. We heard the creaking of the rusty lock, and -the clatter of his horse's hoofs as he galloped away. - -It has been remarked that an oath had for the last few weeks been a rare -thing in the camp. We made up for our temporary abstention during the -next half-hour. Never was heard such symmetrical and heartfelt -blasphemy. When at last we succeeded in getting the door off its hinges -all sight of both rangers and treasure had disappeared, nor have we ever -caught sight of either the one or the other since. Poor Woburn, true to -his trust, lay shot through the head across the threshold of his empty -store. The villains, Maule and Phillips, had descended upon the camp the -instant that we had been enticed into the trap, murdered the keeper, -loaded up a small cart with the booty, and got safe away to some wild -fastness among the mountains, where they were joined by their wily -leader. - -Jackman's Gulch recovered from this blow, and is now a flourishing -township. Social reformers are not in request there, however, and -morality is at a discount. It is said that an inquest has been held -lately upon an unoffending stranger who chanced to remark that in so -large a place it would be advisable to have some form of Sunday service. -The memory of their one and only pastor is still green among the -inhabitants, and will be for many a long year to come. - - - - -_MY FRIEND THE MURDERER._ - - -"Number 43 is no better, Doctor," said the head-warder in a slightly -reproachful accent, looking in round the corner of my door. - -"Confound 43!" I responded from behind the pages of the _Australian -Sketcher_. - -"And 61 says his tubes are paining him. Couldn't you do anything for -him?" - -"He's a walking drug shop," said I. "He has the whole British -pharmacop[oe]ia inside him. I believe his tubes are as sound as yours -are." - -"Then there's 7 and 108, they are chronic," continued the warder, -glancing down a blue slip of paper. "And 28 knocked off work -yesterday--said lifting things gave him a stitch in the side. I want you -to have a look at him, if you don't mind, Doctor. There's 31, too--him -that killed John Adamson in the _Corinthian_ brig--he's been carrying on -awful in the night, shrieking and yelling, he has, and no stopping him -neither." - -"All right, I'll have a look at him afterwards," I said, tossing my -paper carelessly aside, and pouring myself out a cup of coffee. "Nothing -else to report, I suppose, warder?" - -The official protruded his head a little further into the room. "Beg -pardon, Doctor," he said, in a confidential tone, "but I notice as 82 -has a bit of a cold, and it would be a good excuse for you to visit him -and have a chat, maybe." - -The cup of coffee was arrested half-way to my lips as I stared in -amazement at the man's serious face. - -"An excuse?" I said. "An excuse? What the deuce are you talking about, -McPherson? You see me trudging about all day at my practice, when I'm -not looking after the prisoners, and coming back every night as tired as -a dog, and you talk about finding an excuse for doing more work." - -"You'd like it, Doctor," said Warder McPherson, insinuating one of his -shoulders into the room. "That man's story's worth listening to if you -could get him to tell it, though he's not what you'd call free in his -speech. Maybe you don't know who 82 is?" - -"No, I don't, and I don't care either," I answered, in the conviction -that some local ruffian was about to be foisted upon me as a celebrity. - -"He's Maloney," said the warder, "him that turned Queen's evidence after -the murders at Bluemansdyke." - -"You don't say so?" I ejaculated, laying down my cup in astonishment. I -had heard of this ghastly series of murders, and read an account of them -in a London magazine long before setting foot in the colony. I -remembered that the atrocities committed had thrown the Burke and Hare -crimes completely into the shade, and that one of the most villainous of -the gang had saved his own skin by betraying his companions. "Are you -sure?" I asked. - -"Oh yes, it's him right enough. Just you draw him out a bit, and he'll -astonish you. He's a man to know, is Maloney; that's to say, in -moderation;" and the head grinned, bobbed, and disappeared, leaving me -to finish my breakfast and ruminate over what I had heard. - -The surgeonship of an Australian prison is not an enviable position. It -may be endurable in Melbourne or Sydney, but the little town of Perth -has few attractions to recommend it, and those few had been long -exhausted. The climate was detestable, and the society far from -congenial. Sheep and cattle were the staple support of the community; -and their prices, breeding, and diseases the principal topic of -conversation. Now as I, being an outsider, possessed neither the one nor -the other, and was utterly callous to the new "dip" and the "rot" and -other kindred topics, I found myself in a state of mental isolation, and -was ready to hail anything which might relieve the monotony of my -existence. Maloney, the murderer, had at least some distinctiveness and -individuality in his character, and might act as a tonic to a mind sick -of the commonplaces of existence. I determined that I should follow the -warder's advice, and take the excuse for making his acquaintance. When, -therefore, I went upon my usual matutinal round, I turned the lock of -the door which bore the convict's number upon it, and walked into the -cell. - -The man was lying in a heap upon his rough bed as I entered, but, -uncoiling his long limbs, he started up and stared at me with an -insolent look of defiance on his face which augured badly for our -interview. He had a pale set face, with sandy hair and a steelly-blue -eye, with something feline in its expression. His frame was tall and -muscular, though there was a curious bend in his shoulders, which almost -amounted to a deformity. An ordinary observer meeting him in the street -might have put him down as a well-developed man, fairly handsome, and of -studious habits--even in the hideous uniform of the rottenest convict -establishment he imparted a certain refinement to his carriage which -marked him out among the inferior ruffians around him. - -"I'm not on the sick-list," he said gruffly. There was something in the -hard, rasping voice which dispelled all softer allusions, and made me -realise that I was face to face with the man of the Lena Valley and -Bluemansdyke, the bloodiest bushranger that ever stuck up a farm or cut -the throats of its occupants. - -"I know you're not," I answered. "Warder McPherson told me you had a -cold, though, and I thought I'd look in and see you." - -"Blast Warder McPherson, and blast you, too!" yelled the convict, in a -paroxysm of rage. "Oh, that's right," he added, in a quieter voice; -"hurry away; report me to the governor, do! Get me another six months -or so--that's your game." - -"I'm not going to report you," I said. - -"Eight square feet of ground," he went on, disregarding my protest, and -evidently working himself into a fury again. "Eight square feet, and I -can't have that without being talked to and stared at, and--oh, blast -the whole crew of you!" and he raised his two clenched hands above his -head and shook them in passionate invective. - -"You've got a curious idea of hospitality," I remarked, determined not -to lose my temper, and saying almost the first thing that came to my -tongue. - -To my surprise the words had an extraordinary effect upon him. He seemed -completely staggered at my assuming the proposition for which he had -been so fiercely contending--namely, that the room in which we stood was -his own. - -"I beg your pardon," he said; "I didn't mean to be rude. Won't you take -a seat?" and he motioned towards a rough trestle, which formed the -headpiece of his couch. - -I sat down rather astonished at the sudden change. I don't know that I -liked Maloney better under his new aspect. The murderer had, it is -true, disappeared for the nonce, but there was something in the smooth -tones and obsequious manner which powerfully suggested the witness of -the Queen, who had stood up and sworn away the lives of his companions -in crime. - -"How's your chest?" I asked, putting on my professional air. - -"Come, drop it, Doctor, drop it!" he answered, showing a row of white -teeth as he resumed his seat upon the side of the bed. "It wasn't -anxiety after my precious health that brought you along here; that story -won't wash at all. You came to have a look at Wolf Tone Maloney, forger, -murderer, Sydney-slider, ranger, and Government peach. That's about my -figure, ain't it? There it is, plain and straight; there's nothing mean -about me." - -He paused as if he expected me to say something; but as I remained -silent, he repeated once or twice, "There's nothing mean about me." - -"And why shouldn't I?" he suddenly yelled, his eyes gleaming and his -whole satanic nature reasserting itself. "We were bound to swing, one -and all, and they were none the worse if I saved myself by turning -against them. Every man for himself, say I, and the devil take the -luckiest. You haven't a plug of tobacco, Doctor, have you?" - -He tore at the piece of "Barrett's" which I handed him as ravenously as -a wild beast. It seemed to have the effect of soothing his nerves, for -he settled himself down in the bed, and reassumed his former deprecating -manner. - -"You wouldn't like it yourself, you know, Doctor," he said; "it's enough -to make any man a little queer in his temper. I'm in for six months this -time for assault, and very sorry I shall be to go out again, I can tell -you. My mind's at ease in here; but when I'm outside, what with the -Government, and what with Tattooed Tom of Hawkesbury, there's no chance -of a quiet life." - -"Who is he?" I asked. - -"He's the brother of John Grimthorpe; the same that was condemned on my -evidence, and an infernal scamp he was too! Spawn of the devil, both of -them! This tattooed one is a murderous ruffian, and he swore to have my -blood after that trial. It's seven year ago, and he's following me yet; -I know he is, though he lies low and keeps dark. He came up to me in -Ballarat in '75; you can see on the back of my hand here where the -bullet clipped me. He tried again in '76, at Port Philip, but I got the -drop on him and wounded him badly. He knifed me in '79 though, in a bar -at Adelaide, and that made our account about level. He's loafing round -again now, and he'll let daylight into me--unless--unless by some -extraordinary chance some one does as much for him." And Maloney gave a -very ugly smile. - -"I don't complain of _him_ so much," he continued. "Looking at it in his -way, no doubt it is a sort of family matter that can hardly be -neglected. It's the Government that fetches me. When I think of what -I've done for this country, and then of what this country has done for -me, it makes me fairly wild--clean drives me off my head. There's no -gratitude nor common decency left, Doctor!" - -He brooded over his wrongs for a few minutes, and then proceeded to lay -them before me in detail. - -"Here's nine men," he said, "they've been murdering and killing for a -matter of three years, and maybe a life a week wouldn't more than -average the work that they've done. The Government catches them and the -Government tries them, but they can't convict; and why?--because the -witnesses have all had their throats cut, and the whole job's been very -neatly done. What happens then? Up comes a citizen called Wolf Tone -Maloney; he says, 'The country needs me, and here I am.' And with that -he gives his evidence, convicts the lot, and enables the beaks to hang -them. That's what I did. There's nothing mean about me! And now what -does the country do in return? Dogs me, sir, spies on me, watches me -night and day, turns against the very man that worked so hard for it. -There's something mean about that, anyway. I didn't expect them to -knight me, nor to make me Colonial Secretary; but, damn it, I did expect -that they would let me alone!" - -"Well," I remonstrated, "if you choose to break laws and assault people, -you can't expect it to be looked over on account of former services." - -"I don't refer to my present imprisonment, sir," said Maloney, with -dignity. "It's the life I've been leading since that cursed trial that -takes the soul out of me. Just you sit there on that trestle, and I'll -tell you all about it; and then look me in the face and tell me that -I've been treated fair by the police." - -I shall endeavour to transcribe the experiences of the convict in his -own words, as far as I can remember them, preserving his curious -perversions of right and wrong. I can answer for the truth of his facts, -whatever may be said for his deductions from them. Months afterwards, -Inspector H. W. Hann, formerly governor of the gaol at Dunedin, showed -me entries in his ledger which corroborated every statement. Maloney -reeled the story off in a dull, monotonous voice, with his head sunk -upon his breast and his hands between his knees. The glitter of his -serpent-like eyes was the only sign of the emotions which were stirred -up by the recollection of the events which he narrated. - - * * * * * - -You've read of Bluemansdyke (he began, with some pride in his tone). We -made it hot while it lasted; but they ran us to earth at last, and a -trap called Braxton, with a damned Yankee, took the lot of us. That was -in New Zealand, of course, and they took us down to Dunedin, and there -they were convicted and hanged. One and all they put up their hands in -the dock, and cursed me till your blood would have run cold to hear -them, which was scurvy treatment, seeing that we had all been pals -together; but they were a blackguard lot, and thought only of -themselves. I think it is as well that they were hung. - -They took me back to Dunedin gaol, and clapped me into the old cell. The -only difference they made was, that I had no work to do, and was well -fed. I stood this for a week or two, until one day the governor was -making his round, and I put the matter to him. - -"How's this?" I said. "My conditions were a free pardon, and you're -keeping me here against the law." - -He gave a sort of a smile. "Should you like very much to go out?" he -asked. - -"So much," said I, "that, unless you open that door, I'll have an action -against you for illegal detention." - -He seemed a bit astonished by my resolution. "You're very anxious to -meet your death," he said. - -"What d'ye mean?" I asked. - -"Come here, and you'll know what I mean," he answered. And he led me -down the passage to a window that overlooked the door of the prison. -"Look at that!" said he. - -I looked out, and there were a dozen or so rough-looking fellows -standing outside in the street, some of them smoking, some playing cards -on the pavement. When they saw me they gave a yell, and crowded round -the door, shaking their fists and hooting. - -"They wait for you, watch and watch about," said the governor. "They're -the executive of the vigilance committee. However, since you are -determined to go, I can't stop you." - -"D'ye call this a civilised land," I cried, "and let a man be murdered -in cold blood in open daylight?" - -When I said this the governor and the warder and every fool in the place -grinned, as if a man's life was a rare good joke. - -"You've got the law on your side," says the governor; "so we won't -detain you any longer. Show him out, warder." - -He'd have done it too, the black-hearted villain, if I hadn't begged and -prayed and offered to pay for my board and lodging, which is more than -any prisoner ever did before me. He let me stay on those conditions; and -for three months I was caged up there with every larrikin in the -township clamouring at the other side of the wall. That was pretty -treatment for a man that had served his country! - -At last, one morning, up came the governor again. - -"Well, Maloney," he said, "how long are you going to honour us with your -society?" - -I could have put a knife into his cursed body, and would, too, if we had -been alone in the bush; but I had to smile, and smooth him and flatter, -for I feared that he might have me sent out. - -"You're an infernal rascal," he said; those were his very words to a man -that had helped him all he knew how. "I don't want any rough justice -here, though; and I think I see my way to getting you out of Dunedin." - -"I'll never forget you, governor," said I; and, by God, I never will. - -"I don't want your thanks nor your gratitude," he answered; "it's not -for your sake that I do it, but simply to keep order in the town. -There's a steamer starts from the West Quay to Melbourne to-morrow, and -we'll get you aboard it. She is advertised at five in the morning, so -have yourself in readiness." - -I packed up the few things I had, and was smuggled out by a back door -just before daybreak. I hurried down, took my ticket, under the name of -Isaac Smith, and got safely aboard the Melbourne boat. I remember -hearing her screw grinding into the water as the warps were cast loose, -and looking back at the lights of Dunedin, as I leaned upon the -bulwarks, with the pleasant thought that I was leaving them behind me -for ever. It seemed to me that a new world was before me, and that all -my troubles had been cast off. I went down below and had some coffee, -and came up again feeling better than I had done since the morning that -I woke to find that cursed Irishman that took me standing over me with a -six-shooter. - -Day had dawned by that time, and we were steaming along by the coast, -well out of sight of Dunedin. I loafed about for a couple of hours, and -when the sun got well up some of the other passengers came on deck and -joined me. One of them, a little perky sort of fellow, took a good long -look at me, and then came over and began talking. - -"Mining, I suppose?" says he. - -"Yes," I says. - -"Made your pile?" he asks. - -"Pretty fair," says I. - -"I was at it myself," he says; "I worked at the Nelson fields for three -months, and spent all I made in buying a salted claim which busted up -the second day. I went at it again, though, and struck it rich; but when -the gold waggon was going down to the settlements, it was stuck up by -those cursed rangers, and not a red cent left." - -"That was a bad job," I says. - -"Broke me--ruined me clean. Never mind, I've seen them all hanged for -it; that makes it easier to bear. There's only one left--the villain -that gave the evidence. I'd die happy if I could come across him. There -are two things I have to do if I meet him." - -"What's that?" says I carelessly. - -"I've got to ask him where the money lies--they never had time to make -away with it, and it's _cach['e]d_ somewhere in the mountains--and then -I've got to stretch his neck for him, and send his soul down to join the -men that he betrayed." - -It seemed to me that I knew something about that _cach['e]_, and I felt -like laughing; but he was watching me, and it struck me that he had a -nasty, vindictive kind of mind. - -"I'm going up on the bridge," I said, for he was not a man whose -acquaintance I cared much about making. - -He wouldn't hear of my leaving him, though. "We're both miners," he -says, "and we're pals for the voyage. Come down to the bar. I'm not too -poor to shout." - -I couldn't refuse him well, and we went down together; and that was the -beginning of the trouble. What harm was I doing any one on the ship? All -I asked for was a quiet life, leaving others alone, and getting left -alone myself. No man could ask fairer than that. And now just you listen -to what came of it. - -We were passing the front of the ladies' cabins, on our way to -the saloon, when out comes a servant lass--a freckled currency -she-devil--with a baby in her arms. We were brushing past her, when she -gave a scream like a railway whistle, and nearly dropped the kid. My -nerves gave a sort of a jump when I heard that scream, but I turned and -begged her pardon, letting on that I thought I might have trod on her -foot. I knew the game was up though, when I saw her white face, and her -leaning against the door and pointing. - -"It's him!" she cried; "it's him! I saw him in the court-house. Oh, -don't let him hurt the baby!" - -"Who is it?" asks the steward and half-a-dozen others in a breath. - -"It's him--Maloney--Maloney, the murderer--oh, take him away--take him -away!" - -I don't rightly remember what happened just at that moment. The -furniture and me seemed to get kind of mixed, and there was cursing, and -smashing, and some one shouting for his gold, and a general stamp round. -When I got steadied a bit, I found somebody's hand in my mouth. From -what I gathered afterwards, I conclude that it belonged to that same -little man with the vicious way of talking. He got some of it out again, -but that was because the others were choking me. A poor chap can get no -fair-play in this world when once he is down--still I think he will -remember me till the day of his death--longer, I hope. - -They dragged me out into the poop and held a damned court-martial--on -_me_, mind you; _me_, that had thrown over my pals in order to serve -them. What were they to do with me? Some said this, some said that; but -it ended by the captain deciding to send me ashore. The ship stopped, -they lowered a boat, and I was hoisted in, the whole gang of them -hooting at me from over the bulwarks. I saw the man I spoke of tying up -his hand though, and I felt that things might be worse. - -I changed my opinion before we got to the land. I had reckoned on the -shore being deserted, and that I might make my way inland; but the ship -had stopped too near the Heads, and a dozen beach-combers and such like -had come down to the water's edge, and were staring at us, wondering -what the boat was after. When we got to the edge of the surf the -coxswain hailed them, and after singing out who I was, he and his men -threw me into the water. You may well look surprised--neck and crop into -ten feet of water, with shark as thick as green parrots in the bush, and -I heard them laughing as I floundered to the shore. - -I soon saw it was a worse job than ever. As I came scrambling out -through the weeds, I was collared by a big chap with a velveteen coat, -and half-a-dozen others got round me and held me fast. Most of them -looked simple fellows enough, and I was not afraid of them; but there -was one in a cabbage-tree hat that had a very nasty expression on his -face, and the big man seemed to be chummy with him. - -They dragged me up the beach, and then they let go their hold of me and -stood round in a circle. - -"Well, mate," says the man with the hat, "we've been looking out for you -some time in these parts." - -"And very good of you too," I answers. - -"None of your jaw," says he. "Come, boys, what shall it be--hanging, -drowning, or shooting? Look sharp!" - -This looked a bit too like business. "No you don't!" I said. "I've got -Government protection, and it'll be murder." - -"That's what they call it," answered the one in the velveteen coat as -cheery as a piping crow. - -"And you're going to murder me for being a ranger?" - -"Ranger be damned!" said the man. "We're going to hang you for peaching -against your pals; and that's an end of the palaver." - -They slung a rope round my neck and dragged me up to the edge of the -bush. There were some big she-oaks and blue-gums, and they pitched on -one of these for the wicked deed. They ran the rope over a branch, tied -my hands, and told me to say my prayers. It seemed as if it was all up; -but Providence interfered to save me. It sounds nice enough sitting here -and telling about it, sir; but it was sick work to stand with nothing -but the beach in front of you, and the long white line of surf, with the -steamer in the distance, and a set of bloody-minded villains round you -thirsting for your life. - -I never thought I'd owe anything good to the police; but they saved me -that time. A troop of them were riding from Hawkes Point Station to -Dunedin, and hearing that something was up, they came down through the -bush, and interrupted the proceedings. I've heard some bands in my time, -Doctor, but I never heard music like the jingle of those traps' spurs -and harness as they galloped out on to the open. They tried to hang me -even then, but the police were too quick for them; and the man with the -hat got one over the head with the flat of a sword. I was clapped on to -a horse, and before evening I found myself in my old quarters in the -city gaol. - -The governor wasn't to be done, though. He was determined to get rid of -me, and I was equally anxious to see the last of him. He waited a week -or so until the excitement had begun to die away, and then he smuggled -me aboard a three-masted schooner bound to Sydney with tallow and hides. - -We got fair away to sea without a hitch, and things began to look a bit -more rosy. I made sure that I had seen the last of the prison, anyway. -The crew had a sort of an idea who I was, and if there'd been any rough -weather, they'd have hove me overboard like enough; for they were a -rough, ignorant lot, and had a notion that I brought bad luck to the -ship. We had a good passage, however, and I was landed safe and sound -upon Sydney Quay. - -Now just you listen to what happened next. You'd have thought they would -have been sick of ill-using me and following me by this time--wouldn't -you, now? Well, just you listen. It seems that a cursed steamer started -from Dunedin to Sydney on the very day we left, and got in before us, -bringing news that I was coming. Blessed if they hadn't called a -meeting--a regular mass meeting--at the docks to discuss about it, and I -marched right into it when I landed. They didn't take long about -arresting me, and I listened to all the speeches and resolutions. If I'd -been a prince there couldn't have been more excitement. The end of it -all was that they agreed that it wasn't right that New Zealand should be -allowed to foist her criminals upon her neighbours, and that I was to be -sent back again by the next boat. So they posted me off again as if I -was a damned parcel; and after another eight hundred mile journey I -found myself back for the third time moving in the place that I started -from. - -By this time I had begun to think that I was going to spend the rest of -my existence travelling about from one port to another. Every man's hand -seemed turned against me, and there was no peace or quiet in any -direction. I was about sick of it by the time I had come back; and if I -could have taken to the bush I'd have done it, and chanced it with my -old pals. They were too quick for me, though, and kept me under lock and -key; but I managed, in spite of them, to negotiate that _cach['e]_ I told -you of, and sewed the gold up in my belt. I spent another month in -gaol, and then they slipped me aboard a barque that was bound for -England. - -This time the crew never knew who I was, but the captain had a pretty -good idea, though he didn't let on to me that he had any suspicions. I -guessed from the first that the man was a villain. We had a fair -passage, except a gale or two off the Cape; and I began to feel like a -free man when I saw the blue loom of the old country, and the saucy -little pilot-boat from Falmouth dancing towards us over the waves. We -ran down the Channel, and before we reached Gravesend I had agreed with -the pilot that he should take me ashore with him when he left. It was at -this time that the captain showed me that I was right in thinking him a -meddling, disagreeable man. I got my things packed, such as they were, -and left him talking earnestly to the pilot, while I went below for my -breakfast. When I came up again we were fairly into the mouth of the -river, and the boat in which I was to have gone ashore had left us. The -skipper said the pilot had forgotten me; but that was too thin, and I -began to fear that all my old troubles were going to commence once -more. - -It was not long before my suspicions were confirmed. A boat darted out -from the side of the river, and a tall cove with a long black beard came -aboard. I heard him ask the mate whether they didn't need a mud-pilot to -take them up the reaches, but it seemed to me that he was a man who -would know a deal more about handcuffs than he did about steering, so I -kept away from him. He came across the deck, however, and made some -remark to me, taking a good look at me the while. I don't like -inquisitive people at any time, but an inquisitive stranger with glue -about the roots of his beard is the worst of all to stand, especially -under the circumstances. I began to feel that it was time for me to go. - -I soon got a chance, and made good use of it. A big collier came athwart -the bows of our steamer, and we had to slacken down to dead slow. There -was a barge astern, and I slipped down by a rope and was into the barge -before any one had missed me. Of course I had to leave my luggage behind -me, but I had the belt with the nuggets round my waist, and the chance -of shaking the police off my track was worth more than a couple of -boxes. It was clear to me now that the pilot had been a traitor, as -well as the captain, and had set the detectives after me. I often wish I -could drop across those two men again. - -I hung about the barge all day as she drifted down the stream. There was -one man in her, but she was a big, ugly craft, and his hands were too -full for much looking about. Towards evening, when it got a bit dusky, I -struck out for the shore, and found myself in a sort of marsh place, a -good many miles to the east of London. I was soaking wet and half dead -with hunger, but I trudged into the town, got a new rig-out at a -slop-shop, and after having some supper, engaged a bed at the quietest -lodgings I could find. - -I woke pretty early--a habit you pick up in the bush--and lucky for me -that I did so. The very first thing I saw when I took a look through a -chink in the shutter was one of these infernal policemen standing right -opposite, and staring up at the windows. He hadn't epaulettes nor a -sword, like our traps, but for all that there was a sort of family -likeness, and the same busybody expression. Whether they'd followed me -all the time, or whether the woman that let me the bed didn't like the -looks of me, is more than I have ever been able to find out. He came -across as I was watching him, and noted down the address of the house in -a book. I was afraid that he was going to ring at the bell, but I -suppose his orders were simply to keep an eye on me, for after another -good look at the windows he moved on down the street. - -I saw that my only chance was to act at once. I threw on my clothes, -opened the window softly, and, after making sure that there was nobody -about, dropped out on to the ground and made off as hard as I could run. -I travelled a matter of two or three miles, when my wind gave out; and -as I saw a big building with people going in and out, I went in too, and -found that it was a railway station. A train was just going off for -Dover to meet the French boat, so I took a ticket and jumped into a -third-class carriage. - -There were a couple of other chaps in the carriage, innocent-looking -young beggars, both of them. They began speaking about this and that, -while I sat quiet in the corner and listened. Then they started on -England and foreign countries, and such like. Look ye now, Doctor, this -is a fact. One of them begins jawing about the justice of England's -laws. "It's all fair and above-board," says he; "there ain't any secret -police, nor spying, like they have abroad," and a lot more of the same -sort of wash. Rather rough on me, wasn't it, listening to the damned -young fool, with the police following me about like my shadow? - -I got to Paris right enough, and there I changed some of my gold, and -for a few days I imagined I'd shaken them off, and began to think of -settling down for a bit of a rest. I needed it by that time, for I was -looking more like a ghost than a man. You've never had the police after -you, I suppose? Well, you needn't look offended, I didn't mean any harm. -If ever you had you'd know that it wastes a man away like a sheep with -the rot. - -I went to the opera one night and took a box, for I was very flush. I -was coming out between the acts when I met a fellow lounging along in -the passage. The light fell on his face, and I saw that it was the -mud-pilot that had boarded us in the Thames. His beard was gone, but I -recognised the man at a glance, for I've a good memory for faces. - -I tell you, Doctor, I felt desperate for a moment. I could have knifed -him if we had been alone, but he knew me well enough never to give me -the chance. It was more than I could stand any longer, so I went right -up to him and drew him aside, where we'd be free from all the loungers -and theatre-goers. - -"How long are you going to keep it up?" I asked him. - -He seemed a bit flustered for a moment, but then he saw there was no use -beating about the bush, so he answered straight-- - -"Until you go back to Australia," he said. - -"Don't you know," I said, "that I have served the Government and got a -free pardon?" - -He grinned all over his ugly face when I said this. - -"We know all about you, Maloney," he answered. "If you want a quiet -life, just you go back where you came from. If you stay here, you're a -marked man; and when you are found tripping it'll be a lifer for you, at -the least. Free trade's a fine thing, but the market's too full of men -like you for us to need to import any!" - -It seemed to me that there was something in what he said, though he had -a nasty way of putting it. For some days back I'd been feeling a sort -of home-sick. The ways of the people weren't my ways. They stared at me -in the street; and if I dropped into a bar, they'd stop talking and edge -away a bit, as if I was a wild beast. I'd sooner have had a pint of old -Stringybark, too, than a bucketful of their rotgut liquors. There was -too much damned propriety. What was the use of having money if you -couldn't dress as you liked, nor bust it properly? There was no sympathy -for a man if he shot about a little when he was half-over. I've seen a -man dropped at Nelson many a time with less row than they'd make over a -broken window-pane. The thing was slow, and I was sick of it. - -"You want me to go back?" I said. - -"I've my orders to stick fast to you until you do," he answered. - -"Well," I said, "I don't care if I do. All I bargain is that you keep -your mouth shut, and don't let on who I am, so that I may have a fair -start when I get there." - -He agreed to this, and we went over to Southampton the very next day, -where he saw me safely off once more. I took a passage round to -Adelaide, where no one was likely to know me; and there I settled, -right under the nose of the police. I've been there ever since, leading -a quiet life, but for little difficulties like the one I'm in for now, -and for that devil, Tattooed Tom of Hawkesbury. I don't know what made -me tell you all this, Doctor, unless it is that being kind of lonely -makes a man inclined to jaw when he gets a chance. Just you take warning -from me, though. Never put yourself out to serve your country; for your -country will do precious little for you. Just you let them look after -their own affairs; and if they find a difficulty in hanging a set of -scoundrels, never mind chipping in, but let them alone to do as best -they can. Maybe they'll remember how they treated me after I'm dead, and -be sorry for neglecting me. I was rude to you when you came in, and -swore a trifle promiscuous; but don't you mind me, it's only my way. -You'll allow, though, that I have cause to be a bit touchy now and again -when I think of all that's passed. You're not going, are you? Well, if -you must, you must; but I hope you will look me up at odd times when you -are going your round. Oh, I say, you've left the balance of that cake of -tobacco behind you, haven't you? No; it's in your pocket--that's all -right. Thank ye, Doctor, you're a good sort, and as quick at a hint as -any man I've met. - - * * * * * - -A couple of months after narrating his experiences, Wolf Tone Maloney -finished his term, and was released. For a long time I neither saw him -nor heard of him; and he had almost slipped from my memory, until I was -reminded, in a somewhat tragic manner, of his existence. I had been -attending a patient some distance off in the country, and was riding -back, guiding my tired horse among the boulders which strewed the -pathway, and endeavouring to see my way through the gathering darkness, -when I came suddenly upon a little wayside inn. As I walked my horse up -towards the door, intending to make sure of my bearings before -proceeding further, I heard the sound of a violent altercation within -the little bar. There seemed to be a chorus of expostulation or -remonstrance, above which two powerful voices rang out loud and angry. -As I listened, there was a momentary hush, two pistol shots sounded -almost simultaneously, and, with a crash, the door burst open, and a -pair of dark figures staggered out into the moonlight. They struggled -for a moment in a deadly wrestle, and then went down together among the -loose stones. I had sprung off my horse, and, with the help of -half-a-dozen rough fellows from the bar, dragged them away from one -another. - -A glance was sufficient to convince me that one of them was dying fast. -He was a thick-set, burly fellow, with a determined cast of countenance. -The blood was welling from a deep stab in his throat, and it was evident -that an important artery had been divided. I turned away from him in -despair, and walked over to where his antagonist was lying. He was shot -through the lungs, but managed to raise himself upon his hand as I -approached, and peered anxiously up into my face. To my surprise I saw -before me the haggard features and flaxen hair of my prison -acquaintance, Maloney. - -"Ah, Doctor!" he said, recognising me. "How is he? Will he die?" - -He asked the question so earnestly that I imagined he had softened at -the last moment, and feared to leave the world with another homicide -upon his conscience. Truth, however, compelled me to shake my head -mournfully, and to intimate that the wound would prove a mortal one. - -Maloney gave a wild cry of triumph, which brought the blood welling out -from between his lips. "Here, boys," he gasped to the little group -around him. "There's money in my inside pocket. Damn the expense! Drinks -round. There's nothing mean about me. I'd drink with you, but I'm going. -Give the Doc. my share, for he's as good----" Here his head fell back -with a thud, his eye glazed, and the soul of Wolf Tone Maloney, forger, -convict, ranger, murderer, and Government peach, drifted away into the -Great Unknown. - - * * * * * - -I cannot conclude without borrowing the account of the fatal quarrel -which appeared in the columns of the _West Australian Sentinel_. The -curious will find it in the issue of the 4th of October 1881:-- - -"Fatal Affray.--W. T. Maloney, a well-known citizen of New Montrose, and -proprietor of the Yellow Boy gambling saloon, has met with his death -under rather painful circumstances. Mr. Maloney was a man who had led a -chequered existence, and whose past history is replete with interest. -Some of our readers may recall the Lena Valley murders, in which he -figured as the principal criminal. It is conjectured that, during the -seven months that he owned a bar in that region, from twenty to thirty -travellers were hocussed and made away with. He succeeded, however, in -evading the vigilance of the officers of the law, and allied himself -with the bushrangers of Bluemansdyke, whose heroic capture and -subsequent execution are matters of history. Maloney extricated himself -from the fate which awaited him by turning Queen's evidence. He -afterwards visited Europe, but returned to West Australia, where he has -long played a prominent part in local matters. On Friday evening he -encountered an old enemy, Thomas Grimthorpe, commonly known as Tattooed -Tom of Hawkesbury. Shots were exchanged, and both men were badly -wounded, only surviving a few minutes. Mr. Maloney had the reputation of -being, not only the most wholesale murderer that ever lived, but also of -having a finish and attention to detail in matters of evidence which has -been unapproached by any European criminal. _Sic transit glori[^a] -mundi!_" - - - - -_THE SILVER HATCHET._ - - -On the 3rd of December 1861, Dr. Otto von Hopstein, Regius Professor of -Comparative Anatomy of the University of Buda-Pesth, and Curator of the -Academical Museum, was foully and brutally murdered within a stone-throw -of the entrance to the college quadrangle. - -Besides the eminent position of the victim and his popularity amongst -both students and townsfolk, there were other circumstances which -excited public interest very strongly, and drew general attention -throughout Austria and Hungary to this murder. The _Pesther Abendblatt_ -of the following day had an article upon it, which may still be -consulted by the curious, and from which I translate a few passages -giving a succinct account of the circumstances under which the crime was -committed, and the peculiar features in the case which puzzled the -Hungarian police. - -"It appears," said that very excellent paper, "that Professor von -Hopstein left the University about half-past four in the afternoon, in -order to meet the train which is due from Vienna at three minutes after -five. He was accompanied by his old and dear friend, Herr Wilhelm -Schlessinger, sub-Curator of the Museum and Privat-docent of Chemistry. -The object of these two gentlemen in meeting this particular train was -to receive the legacy bequeathed by Graf von Schulling to the University -of Buda-Pesth. It is well known that this unfortunate nobleman, whose -tragic fate is still fresh in the recollection of the public, left his -unique collection of medi[ae]val weapons, as well as several priceless -black-letter editions, to enrich the already celebrated museum of his -Alma Mater. The worthy Professor was too much of an enthusiast in such -matters to intrust the reception or care of this valuable legacy to any -subordinate; and, with the assistance of Herr Schlessinger, he succeeded -in removing the whole collection from the train, and stowing it away in -a light cart which had been sent by the University authorities. Most of -the books and more fragile articles were packed in cases of pine-wood, -but many of the weapons were simply done round with straw, so that -considerable labour was involved in moving them all. The Professor was -so nervous, however, lest any of them should be injured, that he refused -to allow any of the railway employ['e]s (_Eisenbahn-diener_) to assist. -Every article was carried across the platform by Herr Schlessinger, and -handed to Professor von Hopstein in the cart, who packed it away. When -everything was in, the two gentlemen, still faithful to their charge, -drove back to the University, the Professor being in excellent spirits, -and not a little proud of the physical exertion which he had shown -himself capable of. He made some joking allusion to it to Reinmaul, the -janitor, who, with his friend Schiffer, a Bohemian Jew, met the cart on -its return and unloaded the contents. Leaving his curiosities safe in -the store-room, and locking the door, the Professor handed the key to -his sub-curator, and, bidding every one good evening, departed in the -direction of his lodgings. Schlessinger took a last look to reassure -himself that all was right, and also went off, leaving Reinmaul and his -friend Schiffer smoking in the janitor's lodge. - -"At eleven o'clock, about an hour and a half after Von Hopstein's -departure, a soldier of the 14th regiment of J[''a]ger, passing the front of -the University on his way to barracks, came upon the lifeless body of -the Professor lying a little way from the side of the road. He had -fallen upon his face, with both hands stretched out. His head was -literally split in two halves by a tremendous blow, which, it is -conjectured, must have been struck from behind, there remaining a -peaceful smile upon the old man's face, as if he had been still dwelling -upon his new arch[ae]ological acquisition when death had overtaken him. -There is no other mark of violence upon the body, except a bruise over -the left patella, caused probably by the fall. The most mysterious part -of the affair is that the Professor's purse, containing forty-three -gulden, and his valuable watch have been untouched. Robbery cannot, -therefore, have been the incentive to the deed, unless the assassins -were disturbed before they could complete their work. - -"This idea is negatived by the fact that the body must have lain at -least an hour before any one discovered it. The whole affair is wrapped -in mystery. Dr. Langemann, the eminent medico-jurist, has pronounced -that the wound is such as might have been inflicted by a heavy -sword-bayonet wielded by a powerful arm. The police are extremely -reticent upon the subject, and it is suspected that they are in -possession of a clue which may lead to important results." - -Thus far the _Pesther Abendblatt_. The researches of the police failed, -however, to throw the least glimmer of light upon the matter. There was -absolutely no trace of the murderer, nor could any amount of ingenuity -invent any reason which could have induced any one to commit the -dreadful deed. The deceased Professor was a man so wrapped in his own -studies and pursuits that he lived apart from the world, and had -certainly never raised the slightest animosity in any human breast. It -must have been some fiend, some savage, who loved blood for its own -sake, who struck that merciless blow. - -Though the officials were unable to come to any conclusions upon the -matter, popular suspicion was not long in pitching upon a scapegoat. In -the first published accounts of the murder the name of one Schiffer had -been mentioned as having remained with the janitor after the Professor's -departure. This man was a Jew, and Jews have never been popular in -Hungary. A cry was at once raised for Schiffer's arrest; but as there -was not the slightest grain of evidence against him, the authorities -very properly refused to consent to so arbitrary a proceeding. Reinmaul, -who was an old and most respected citizen, declared solemnly that -Schiffer was with him until the startled cry of the soldier had caused -them both to run out to the scene of the tragedy. No one ever dreamed of -implicating Reinmaul in such a matter; but still, it was rumoured that -his ancient and well-known friendship for Schiffer might have induced -him to tell a falsehood in order to screen him. Popular feeling ran very -high upon the subject, and there seemed a danger of Schiffer's being -mobbed in the street, when an incident occurred which threw a very -different light upon the matter. - -On the morning of the 12th of December, just nine days after the -mysterious murder of the Professor, Schiffer the Bohemian Jew was found -lying in the north-western corner of the Grand Platz stone dead, and so -mutilated that he was hardly recognisable. His head was cloven open in -very much the same way as that of Von Hopstein, and his body exhibited -numerous deep gashes, as if the murderer had been so carried away and -transported with fury that he had continued to hack the lifeless body. -Snow had fallen heavily the day before, and was lying at least a foot -deep all over the square; some had fallen during the night, too, as was -evidenced by a thin layer lying like a winding-sheet over the murdered -man. It was hoped at first that this circumstance might assist in giving -a clue by enabling the footsteps of the assassin to be traced; but the -crime had been committed, unfortunately, in a place much frequented -during the day, and there were innumerable tracks in every direction. -Besides, the newly-fallen snow had blurred the footsteps to such an -extent that it would have been impossible to draw trustworthy evidence -from them. - -In this case there was exactly the same impenetrable mystery and absence -of motive which had characterised the murder of Professor von Hopstein. -In the dead man's pocket there was found a note-book containing a -considerable sum in gold and several very valuable bills, but no attempt -had been made to rifle him. Supposing that any one to whom he had lent -money (and this was the first idea which occurred to the police) had -taken this means of evading his debt, it was hardly conceivable that he -would have left such a valuable spoil untouched. Schiffer lodged with a -widow named Gruga, at 49 Marie Theresa Strasse, and the evidence of his -landlady and her children showed that he had remained shut up in his -room the whole of the preceding day in a state of deep dejection, caused -by the suspicion which the populace had fastened upon him. She had heard -him go out about eleven o'clock at night for his last and fatal walk, -and as he had a latch-key she had gone to bed without waiting for him. -His object in choosing such a late hour for a ramble obviously was that -he did not consider himself safe if recognised in the streets. - -The occurrence of this second murder so shortly after the first threw -not only the town of Buda-Pesth, but the whole of Hungary, into a -terrible state of excitement, and even of terror. Vague dangers seemed -to hang over the head of every man. The only parallel to this intense -feeling was to be found in our own country at the time of the Williams -murders described by De Quincey. There were so many resemblances between -the cases of Von Hopstein and of Schiffer that no one could doubt that -there existed a connection between the two. The absence of object and of -robbery, the utter want of any clue to the assassin, and, lastly, the -ghastly nature of the wounds, evidently inflicted by the same or a -similar weapon, all pointed in one direction. Things were in this state -when the incidents which I am now about to relate occurred, and in order -to make them intelligible I must lead up to them from a fresh point of -departure. - -Otto von Schlegel was a younger son of the old Silesian family of that -name. His father had originally destined him for the army, but at the -advice of his teachers, who saw the surprising talent of the youth, had -sent him to the University of Buda-Pesth to be educated in medicine. -Here young Schlegel carried everything before him, and promised to be -one of the most brilliant graduates turned out for many a year. Though a -hard reader, he was no bookworm, but an active, powerful young fellow, -full of animal spirits and vivacity, and extremely popular among his -fellow-students. - -The New Year examinations were at hand, and Schlegel was working -hard--so hard that even the strange murders in the town, and the general -excitement in men's minds, failed to turn his thoughts from his studies. -Upon Christmas Eve, when every house was illuminated, and the roar of -drinking songs came from the Bierkeller in the Student-quartier, he -refused the many invitations to roystering suppers which were showered -upon him, and went off with his books under his arm to the rooms of -Leopold Strauss, to work with him into the small hours of the morning. - -Strauss and Schlegel were bosom friends. They were both Silesians, and -had known each other from boyhood. Their affection had become proverbial -in the University. Strauss was almost as distinguished a student as -Schlegel, and there had been many a tough struggle for academic honours -between the two fellow-countrymen, which had only served to strengthen -their friendship by a bond of mutual respect. Schlegel admired the -dogged pluck and never-failing good temper of his old playmate; while -the latter considered Schlegel, with his many talents and brilliant -versatility, the most accomplished of mortals. - -The friends were still working together, the one reading from a volume -on anatomy, the other holding a skull and marking off the various parts -mentioned in the text, when the deep-toned bell of St. Gregory's church -struck the hour of midnight. - -"Hark to that!" said Schlegel, snapping up the book and stretching out -his long legs towards the cheery fire. "Why, it's Christmas morning, old -friend! May it not be the last that we spend together!" - -"May we have passed all these confounded examinations before another one -comes!" answered Strauss. "But see here, Otto, one bottle of wine will -not be amiss. I have laid one up on purpose;" and with a smile on his -honest South German face, he pulled out a long-necked bottle of Rhenish -from amongst a pile of books and bones in the corner. - -"It is a night to be comfortable indoors," said Otto von Schlegel, -looking out at the snowy landscape, "for 'tis bleak and bitter enough -outside. Good health, Leopold!" - -"_Lebe hoch!_" replied his companion. "It is a comfort indeed to forget -sphenoid bones and ethmoid bones, if it be but for a moment. And what -is the news of the corps, Otto? Has Graube fought the Swabian?" - -"They fight to-morrow," said Von Schlegel. "I fear that our man will -lose his beauty, for he is short in the arm. Yet activity and skill may -do much for him. They say his hanging guard is perfection." - -"And what else is the news amongst the students?" asked Strauss. - -"They talk, I believe, of nothing but the murders. But I have worked -hard of late, as you know, and hear little of the gossip." - -"Have you had time," inquired Strauss, "to look over the books and the -weapons which our dear old Professor was so concerned about the very day -he met his death? They say they are well worth a visit." - -"I saw them to-day," said Schlegel, lighting his pipe. "Reinmaul, the -janitor, showed me over the store-room, and I helped to label many of -them from the original catalogue of Graf Schulling's museum. As far as -we can see, there is but one article missing of all the collection." - -"One missing!" exclaimed Strauss. "That would grieve old Von Hopstein's -ghost. Is it anything of value?" - -"It is described as an antique hatchet, with a head of steel and a -handle of chased silver. We have applied to the railway company, and no -doubt it will be found." - -"I trust so," echoed Strauss; and the conversation drifted off into -other channels. The fire was burning low and the bottle of Rhenish was -empty before the two friends rose from their chairs, and Von Schlegel -prepared to depart. - -"Ugh! It's a bitter night!" he said, standing on the doorstep and -folding his cloak round him. "Why, Leopold, you have your cap on. You -are not going out, are you?" - -"Yes, I am coming with you," said Strauss, shutting the door behind him. -"I feel heavy," he continued, taking his friend's arm, and walking down -the street with him. "I think a walk as far as your lodgings, in the -crisp frosty air, is just the thing to set me right." - -The two students went down Stephen Strasse together and across Julien -Platz, talking on a variety of topics. As they passed the corner of the -Grand Platz, however, where Schiffer had been found dead, the -conversation turned naturally upon the murder. - -"That's where they found him," remarked Von Schlegel, pointing to the -fatal spot. - -"Perhaps the murderer is near us now," said Strauss. "Let us hasten on." - -They both turned to go, when Von Schlegel gave a sudden cry of pain and -stooped down. - -"Something has cut through my boot!" he cried; and feeling about with -his hand in the snow, he pulled out a small glistening battle-axe, made -apparently entirely of metal. It had been lying with the blade turned -slightly upwards, so as to cut the foot of the student when he trod upon -it. - -"The weapon of the murderer!" he ejaculated. - -"The silver hatchet from the museum!" cried Strauss in the same breath. - -There could be no doubt that it was both the one and the other. There -could not be two such curious weapons, and the character of the wounds -was just such as would be inflicted by a similar instrument. The -murderer had evidently thrown it aside after committing the dreadful -deed, and it had lain concealed in the snow some twenty m[`e]tres from the -spot ever since. It was extraordinary that of all the people who had -passed and repassed none had discovered it; but the snow was deep, and -it was a little off the beaten track. - -"What are we to do with it?" said Von Schlegel, holding it in his hand. -He shuddered as he noticed by the light of the moon that the head of it -was all dabbled with dark-brown stains. - -"Take it to the Commissary of Police," suggested Strauss. - -"He'll be in bed now. Still, I think you are right. But it is nearly -four o'clock. I will wait until morning, and take it round before -breakfast. Meanwhile, I must carry it with me to my lodgings." - -"That is the best plan," said his friend; and the two walked on together -talking of the remarkable find which they had made. When they came to -Schlegel's door, Strauss said good-bye, refusing an invitation to go in, -and walked briskly down the street in the direction of his own lodgings. - -Schlegel was stooping down putting the key into the lock, when a strange -change came over him. He trembled violently, and dropped the key from -his quivering fingers. His right hand closed convulsively round the -handle of the silver hatchet, and his eye followed the retreating -figure of his friend with a vindictive glare. In spite of the coldness -of the night the perspiration streamed down his face. For a moment he -seemed to struggle with himself, holding his hand up to his throat as if -he were suffocating. Then, with crouching body and rapid, noiseless -steps, he crept after his late companion. - -Strauss was plodding sturdily along through the snow, humming snatches -of a student song, and little dreaming of the dark figure which pursued -him. At the Grand Platz it was forty yards behind him; at the Julien -Platz it was but twenty; in Stephen Strasse it was ten, and gaining on -him with panther-like rapidity. Already it was almost within arm's -length of the unsuspecting man, and the hatchet glittered coldly in the -moonlight, when some slight noise must have reached Strauss's ears, for -he faced suddenly round upon his pursuer. He started and uttered an -exclamation as his eye met the white set face, with flashing eyes and -clenched teeth, which seemed to be suspended in the air behind him. - -"What, Otto!" he exclaimed, recognising his friend. "Art thou ill? You -look pale. Come with me to my---- Ah! hold, you madman, hold! Drop that -axe! Drop it, I say, or by heaven I'll choke you!" - -Von Schlegel had thrown himself upon him with a wild cry and uplifted -weapon; but the student was stout-hearted and resolute. He rushed inside -the sweep of the hatchet and caught his assailant round the waist, -narrowly escaping a blow which would have cloven his head. The two -staggered for a moment in a deadly wrestle, Schlegel endeavouring to -shorten his weapon; but Strauss with a desperate wrench managed to bring -him to the ground, and they rolled together in the snow, Strauss -clinging to the other's right arm and shouting frantically for -assistance. It was as well that he did so, for Schlegel would certainly -have succeeded in freeing his arm had it not been for the arrival of two -stalwart gendarmes, attracted by the uproar. Even then the three of them -found it difficult to overcome the maniacal strength of Schlegel, and -they were utterly unable to wrench the silver hatchet from his grasp. -One of the gendarmes, however, had a coil of rope round his waist, with -which he rapidly secured the student's arms to his sides. In this way, -half pushed, half dragged, he was conveyed, in spite of furious cries -and frenzied struggles, to the central police station. - -Strauss assisted in coercing his former friend, and accompanied the -police to the station; protesting loudly at the same time against any -unnecessary violence, and giving it as his opinion that a lunatic asylum -would be a more fitting place for the prisoner. The events of the last -half-hour had been so sudden and inexplicable that he felt quite dazed -himself. What did it all mean? It was certain that his old friend from -boyhood had attempted to murder him, and had nearly succeeded. Was Von -Schlegel then the murderer of Professor von Hopstein and of the Bohemian -Jew? Strauss felt that it was impossible, for the Jew was not even known -to him, and the Professor had been his especial favourite. He followed -mechanically to the police station, lost in grief and amazement. - -Inspector Baumgarten, one of the most energetic and best known of the -police officials, was on duty in the absence of the Commissary. He was a -wiry little active man, quiet and retiring in his habits, but possessed -of great sagacity and a vigilance which never relaxed. Now, though he -had had a six hours' vigil, he sat as erect as ever, with his pen behind -his ear, at his official desk, while his friend, Sub-inspector Winkel, -snored in a chair at the side of the stove. Even the inspector's usually -immovable features betrayed surprise, however, when the door was flung -open and Von Schlegel was dragged in with pale face and disordered -clothes, the silver hatchet still grasped firmly in his hand. Still more -surprised was he when Strauss and the gendarmes gave their account, -which was duly entered in the official register. - -"Young man, young man," said Inspector Baumgarten, laying down his pen -and fixing his eyes sternly upon the prisoner, "this is pretty work for -Christmas morning; why have you done this thing?" - -"God knows!" cried Von Schlegel, covering his face with his hands and -dropping the hatchet. A change had come over him, his fury and -excitement were gone, and he seemed utterly prostrated with grief. - -"You have rendered yourself liable to a strong suspicion of having -committed the other murders which have disgraced our city." - -"No, no, indeed!" said Von Schlegel earnestly. "God forbid!" - -"At least you are guilty of attempting the life of Herr Leopold -Strauss." - -"The dearest friend I have in the world," groaned the student. "Oh, how -could I! How could I!" - -"His being your friend makes your crime ten times more heinous," said -the inspector severely. "Remove him for the remainder of the night to -the---- But steady! Who comes here?" - -The door was pushed open, and a man came into the room, so haggard and -careworn that he looked more like a ghost than a human being. He -tottered as he walked, and had to clutch at the backs of the chairs as -he approached the inspector's desk. It was hard to recognise in this -miserable-looking object the once cheerful and rubicund sub-curator of -the museum and privat-docent of chemistry, Herr Wilhelm Schlessinger. -The practised eye of Baumgarten, however, was not to be baffled by any -change. - -"Good morning, mein herr," he said; "you are up early. No doubt the -reason is that you have heard that one of your students, Von Schlegel, -is arrested for attempting the life of Leopold Strauss?" - -"No; I have come for myself," said Schlessinger, speaking huskily, and -putting his hand up to his throat. "I have come to ease my soul of the -weight of a great sin, though, God knows, an unmeditated one. It was I -who---- But, merciful heavens! there it is--the horrid thing! Oh, that I -had never seen it!" - -He shrank back in a paroxysm of terror, glaring at the silver hatchet -where it lay upon the floor, and pointing at it with his emaciated hand. - -"There it lies!" he yelled. "Look at it! It has come to condemn me. See -that brown rust on it! Do you know what that is? That is the blood of my -dearest, best friend, Professor von Hopstein. I saw it gush over the -very handle as I drove the blade through his brain. Mein Gott, I see it -now!" - -"Sub-inspector Winkel," said Baumgarten, endeavouring to preserve his -official austerity, "you will arrest this man, charged on his own -confession with the murder of the late Professor. I also deliver into -your hands Von Schlegel here, charged with a murderous assault upon -Herr Strauss. You will also keep this hatchet"--here he picked it from -the floor--"which has apparently been used for both crimes." - -Wilhelm Schlessinger had been leaning against the table, with a face of -ashy paleness. As the inspector ceased speaking, he looked up excitedly. - -"What did you say?" he cried. "Von Schlegel attack Strauss! The two -dearest friends in the college! I slay my old master! It is magic, I -say; it is a charm! There is a spell upon us! It is--Ah, I have it! It -is that hatchet--that thrice accursed hatchet!" and he pointed -convulsively at the weapon which Inspector Baumgarten still held in his -hand. - -The inspector smiled contemptuously. - -"Restrain yourself, mein herr," he said. "You do but make your case -worse by such wild excuses for the wicked deed you confess to. Magic and -charms are not known in the legal vocabulary, as my friend Winkel will -assure you." - -"I know not," remarked his sub-inspector, shrugging his broad shoulders. -"There are many strange things in the world. Who knows but that----" - -"What!" roared Inspector Baumgarten furiously. "You would undertake to -contradict me! You would set up your opinion! You would be the champion -of these accursed murderers! Fool, miserable fool, your hour has come!" -and rushing at the astounded Winkel, he dealt a blow at him with the -silver hatchet which would certainly have justified his last assertion -had it not been that, in his fury, he overlooked the lowness of the -rafters above his head. The blade of the hatchet struck one of these, -and remained there quivering, while the handle was splintered into a -thousand pieces. - -"What have I done?" gasped Baumgarten, falling back into his chair. -"What have I done?" - -"You have proved Herr Schlessinger's words to be correct," said Von -Schlegel, stepping forward, for the astonished policemen had let go -their grasp of him. "That is what you have done. Against reason, -science, and everything else though it be, there is a charm at work. -There must be! Strauss, old boy, you know I would not, in my right -senses, hurt one hair of your head. And you, Schlessinger, we both know -you loved the old man who is dead. And you, Inspector Baumgarten, you -would not willingly have struck your friend the sub-inspector?" - -"Not for the whole world," groaned the inspector, covering his face with -his hands. - -"Then is it not clear? But now, thank Heaven, the accursed thing is -broken, and can never do harm again. But see, what is that?" - -Right in the centre of the room was lying a thin brown cylinder of -parchment. One glance at the fragments of the handle of the weapon -showed that it had been hollow. This roll of paper had apparently been -hidden away inside the metal case thus formed, having been introduced -through a small hole, which had been afterwards soldered up. Von -Schlegel opened the document. The writing upon it was almost illegible -from age; but as far as they could make out it stood thus, in medi[ae]val -German-- - -"Diese Waffe benutzte Max von Erlichingen um Joanna Bodeck zu ermorden, -deshalb beschuldige Ich, Johann Bodeck, mittelst der macht welche mir -als mitglied des Concils des rothen Kreuzes verliehan wurde, dieselbe -mit dieser unthat. Mag sie anderen denselben schmerz verursachen den sie -mir verursacht hat. Mag Jede hand die sie ergreift mit dem blut eines -freundes ger[''o]thet sein. - - "'Immer [''u]bel--niemals gut, - Ger[''o]thet mit des freundes blut.'" - -Which may be roughly translated-- - -"This weapon was used by Max von Erlichingen for the murder of Joanna -Bodeck. Therefore do I, Johann Bodeck, accurse it by the power which has -been bequeathed to me as one of the Council of the Rosy Cross. May it -deal to others the grief which it has dealt to me! May every hand that -grasps it be reddened in the blood of a friend! - - "'Ever evil, never good, - Reddened with a loved one's blood.'" - -There was a dead silence in the room when Von Schlegel had finished -spelling out this strange document. As he put it down Strauss laid his -hand affectionately upon his arm. - -"No such proof is needed by me, old friend," he said. "At the very -moment that you struck at me I forgave you in my heart. I well know that -if the poor Professor were in the room he would say as much to Herr -Wilhelm Schlessinger." - -"Gentlemen," remarked the inspector, standing up and resuming his -official tones, "this affair, strange as it is, must be treated -according to rule and precedent. Sub-inspector Winkel, as your superior -officer, I command you to arrest me upon a charge of murderously -assaulting you. You will commit me to prison for the night, together -with Herr von Schlegel and Herr Wilhelm Schlessinger. We shall take our -trial at the coming sitting of the judges. In the meantime take care of -that piece of evidence"--pointing to the piece of parchment--"and, while -I am away, devote your time and energy to utilising the clue you have -obtained in discovering who it was who slew Herr Schiffer, the Bohemian -Jew." - -The one missing link in the chain of evidence was soon supplied. On the -28th of December the wife of Reinmaul the janitor, coming into the -bedroom after a short absence, found her husband hanging lifeless from a -hook in the wall. He had tied a long bolster-case round his neck and -stood upon a chair in order to commit the fatal deed. On the table was a -note in which he confessed to the murder of Schiffer the Jew, adding -that the deceased had been his oldest friend, and that he had slain him -without premeditation, in obedience to some incontrollable impulse. -Remorse and grief, he said, had driven him to self-destruction; and he -wound up his confession by commending his soul to the mercy of Heaven. - -The trial which ensued was one of the strangest which ever occurred in -the whole history of jurisprudence. It was in vain that the prosecuting -council urged the improbability of the explanation offered by the -prisoners, and deprecated the introduction of such an element as magic -into a nineteenth-century law-court. The chain of facts was too strong, -and the prisoners were unanimously acquitted. "This silver hatchet," -remarked the judge in his summing up, "has hung untouched upon the wall -in the mansion of the Graf von Schulling for nearly two hundred years. -The shocking manner in which he met his death at the hands of his -favourite house steward is still fresh in your recollection. It has come -out in evidence that, a few days before the murder, the steward had -overhauled the old weapons and cleaned them. In doing this he must have -touched the handle of this hatchet. Immediately afterwards he slew his -master, whom he had served faithfully for twenty years. The weapon then -came, in conformity with the Count's will, to Buda-Pesth, where, at the -station, Herr Wilhelm Schlessinger grasped it, and, within two hours, -used it against the person of the deceased Professor. The next man whom -we find touching it is the janitor Reinmaul, who helped to remove the -weapons from the cart to the store-room. At the first opportunity he -buried it in the body of his friend Schiffer. We then have the attempted -murder of Strauss by Schlegel, and of Winkel by Inspector Baumgarten, -all immediately following the taking of the hatchet into the hand. -Lastly, comes the providential discovery of the extraordinary document -which has been read to you by the clerk of the court. I invite your most -careful consideration, gentlemen of the jury, to this chain of facts, -knowing that you will find a verdict according to your consciences -without fear and without favour." - -Perhaps the most interesting piece of evidence to the English reader, -though it found few supporters among the Hungarian audience, was that of -Dr. Langemann, the eminent medico-jurist, who has written text-books -upon metallurgy and toxicology. He said-- - -"I am not so sure, gentlemen, that there is need to fall back upon -necromancy or the black art for an explanation of what has occurred. What -I say is merely a hypothesis, without proof of any sort, but in a case -so extraordinary every suggestion may be of value. The Rosicrucians, to -whom allusion is made in this paper, were the most profound chemists of -the early Middle Ages, and included the principal alchemists whose names -have descended to us. Much as chemistry has advanced, there are some -points in which the ancients were ahead of us, and in none more so than -in the manufacture of poisons of subtle and deadly action. This man -Bodeck, as one of the elders of the Rosicrucians, possessed, no doubt, -the recipe of many such mixtures, some of which, like the _aqua tofana_ -of the Medicis, would poison by penetrating through the pores of the -skin. It is conceivable that the handle of this silver hatchet has been -anointed by some preparation which is a diffusible poison, having the -effect upon the human body of bringing on sudden and acute attacks of -homicidal mania. In such attacks it is well known that the madman's rage -is turned against those whom he loved best when sane. I have, as I -remarked before, no proof to support me in my theory, and simply put it -forward for what it is worth." - -With this extract from the speech of the learned and ingenious -professor, we may close the account of this famous trial. - -The broken pieces of the silver hatchet were thrown into a deep pond, a -clever poodle being employed to carry them in his mouth, as no one would -touch them for fear some of the infection might still hang about them. -The piece of parchment was preserved in the museum of the University. As -to Strauss and Schlegel, Winkel and Baumgarten, they continued the best -of friends, and are so still for all I know to the contrary. -Schlessinger became surgeon of a cavalry regiment; and was shot at the -battle of Sadowa five years later, while rescuing the wounded under a -heavy fire. By his last injunctions his little patrimony was to be sold -to erect a marble obelisk over the grave of Professor von Hopstein. - - - - -_THE MAN FROM ARCHANGEL._ - - -On the fourth day of March, in the year 1867, I being at that time in my -five-and-twentieth year, I wrote the following words in my note-book, -the result of much mental perturbation and conflict:-- - -"The solar system, amidst a countless number of other systems as large -as itself, rolls ever silently through space in the direction of the -constellation of Hercules. The great spheres of which it is composed -spin and spin through the eternal void ceaselessly and noiselessly. Of -these one of the smallest and most insignificant is that conglomeration -of solid and of liquid particles which we have named the earth. It -whirls onwards now as it has done before my birth, and will do after my -death--a revolving mystery, coming none know whence, and going none know -whither. Upon the outer crust of this moving mass crawl many mites, of -whom I, John McVittie, am one, helpless, impotent, being dragged -aimlessly through space. Yet such is the state of things amongst us -that the little energy and glimmering of reason which I possess is -entirely taken up with the labours which are necessary in order to -procure certain metallic disks, wherewith I may purchase the chemical -elements necessary to build up my ever-wasting tissues, and keep a roof -over me to shelter me from the inclemency of the weather. I thus have no -thought to expend upon the vital questions which surround me on every -side. Yet, miserable entity as I am, I can still at times feel some -degree of happiness, and am even--save the mark!--puffed up occasionally -with a sense of my own importance." - -These words, as I have said, I wrote down in my note-book, and they -reflected accurately the thoughts which I found rooted far down in my -soul, ever present and unaffected by the passing emotions of the hour. -Every day for seven months I read over my words, and every day when I had -finished them I said to myself, "Well done, John McVittie; you have said -the thought which was in you. You have reduced things to their least -common measure!" At last came a time when my uncle, McVittie of -Glencairn, died--the same who was at one time chairman of committees of -the House of Commons. He divided his great wealth among his many nephews, -and I found myself with sufficient to provide amply for my wants during -the remainder of my life, and became at the same time owner of a bleak -tract of land upon the coast of Caithness, which I think the old man must -have bestowed upon me in derision, for it was sandy and valueless, and he -had ever a grim sense of humour. Up to this time I had been an attorney -in a midland town in England. Now I saw that I could put my thoughts into -effect, and, leaving all petty and sordid aims, could elevate my mind by -the study of the secrets of nature. My departure from my English home was -somewhat accelerated by the fact that I had nearly slain a man in a -quarrel, for my temper was fiery, and I was apt to forget my own strength -when enraged. There was no legal action taken in the matter, but the -papers yelped at me, and folk looked askance when I met them. It ended by -my cursing them and their vile, smoke-polluted town, and hurrying to my -northern possession, where I might at last find peace and an opportunity -for solitary study and contemplation. I borrowed from my capital before -I went, and so was able to take with me a choice collection of the most -modern philosophical instruments and books, together with chemicals and -such other things as I might need in my retirement. - -The land which I had inherited was a narrow strip, consisting mostly of -sand, and extending for rather over two miles round the coast of Mansie -Bay, in Caithness. Upon this strip there had been a rambling, grey-stone -building--when erected or wherefore none could tell me--and this I had -repaired, so that it made a dwelling quite good enough for one of my -simple tastes. One room was my laboratory, another my sitting-room, and -in a third, just under the sloping roof, I slung the hammock in which I -always slept. There were three other rooms, but I left them vacant, -except one which was given over to the old crone who kept house for me. -Save the Youngs and the McLeods, who were fisher-folk living round at -the other side of Fergus Ness, there were no other people for many miles -in each direction. In front of the house was the great bay, behind it -were two long barren hills, capped by other loftier ones beyond. There -was a glen between the hills, and when the wind was from the land it -used to sweep down this with a melancholy sough and whisper among the -branches of the fir trees beneath my attic window. - -I dislike my fellow-mortals. Justice compels me to add that they appear -for the most part to dislike me. I hate their little crawling ways, -their conventionalities, their deceits, their narrow rights and wrongs. -They take offence at my brusque outspokenness, my disregard for their -social laws, my impatience of all constraint. Among my books and my -drugs in my lonely den at Mansie I could let the great drove of the -human race pass onwards with their politics and inventions and -tittle-tattle, and I remained behind stagnant and happy. Not stagnant -either, for I was working in my own little groove, and making progress. -I have reason to believe that Dalton's atomic theory is founded upon -error, and I know that mercury is not an element. - -During the day I was busy with my distillations and analyses. Often I -forgot my meals, and when old Madge summoned me to my tea I found my -dinner lying untouched upon the table. At night I read Bacon, Descartes, -Spinoza, Kant--all those who have pried into what is unknowable. They -are all fruitless and empty, barren of result, but prodigal of -polysyllables, reminding me of men who while digging for gold have -turned up many worms, and then exhibit them exultantly as being what -they sought. At times a restless spirit would come upon me, and I would -walk thirty and forty miles without rest or breaking fast. On these -occasions, when I used to stalk through the country villages, gaunt, -unshaven, and dishevelled, the mothers would rush into the road and drag -their children indoors, and the rustics would swarm out of their -pot-houses to gaze at me. I believe that I was known far and wide as the -"mad laird o' Mansie." It was rarely, however, that I made these raids -into the country, for I usually took my exercise upon my own beach, -where I soothed my spirit with strong black tobacco, and made the ocean -my friend and my confidant. - -What companion is there like the great restless, throbbing sea? What -human mood is there which it does not match and sympathise with? There -are none so gay but that they may feel gayer when they listen to its -merry turmoil, and see the long green surges racing in, with the glint -of the sunbeams in their sparkling crests. But when the grey waves toss -their heads in anger, and the wind screams above them, goading them on -to madder and more tumultuous efforts, then the darkest-minded of men -feels that there is a melancholy principle in Nature which is as gloomy -as his own thoughts. When it was calm in the Bay of Mansie the surface -would be as clear and bright as a sheet of silver, broken only at one -spot some little way from the shore, where a long black line projected -out of the water looking like the jagged back of some sleeping monster. -This was the top of the dangerous ridge of rocks known to the fishermen -as the "ragged reef o' Mansie." When the wind blew from the east the -waves would break upon it like thunder, and the spray would be tossed -far over my house and up to the hills behind. The bay itself was a bold -and noble one, but too much exposed to the northern and eastern gales, -and too much dreaded for its reef, to be much used by mariners. There -was something of romance about this lonely spot. I have lain in my boat -upon a calm day, and, peering over the edge, I have seen far down the -flickering ghostly forms of great fish--fish, as it seemed to me, such -as naturalists never knew, and which my imagination transformed into the -genii of that desolate bay. Once, as I stood by the brink of the waters -upon a quiet night, a great cry, as of a woman in hopeless grief, rose -from the bosom of the deep, and swelled out upon the still air, now -sinking and now rising, for a space of thirty seconds. This I heard with -my own ears. - -In this strange spot, with the eternal hills behind me and the eternal -sea in front, I worked and brooded for more than two years unpestered by -my fellow-men. By degrees I had trained my old servant into habits of -silence, so that she now rarely opened her lips, though I doubt not that -when twice a year she visited her relations in Wick, her tongue during -those few days made up for its enforced rest. I had come almost to -forget that I was a member of the human family, and to live entirely -with the dead whose books I pored over, when a sudden incident occurred -which threw all my thoughts into a new channel. - -Three rough days in June had been succeeded by one calm and peaceful -one. There was not a breath of air that evening. The sun sank down in -the west behind a line of purple clouds, and the smooth surface of the -bay was gashed with scarlet streaks. Along the beach the pools left by -the tide showed up like gouts of blood against the yellow sand, as if -some wounded giant had toilfully passed that way, and had left these red -traces of his grievous hurt behind him. As the darkness closed in, -certain ragged clouds which had lain low on the eastern horizon -coalesced and formed a great irregular cumulus. The glass was still low, -and I knew that there was mischief brewing. About nine o'clock a dull -moaning sound came up from the sea, as from a creature who, much -harassed, learns that the hour of suffering has come round again. At ten -a sharp breeze sprang up from the eastward. At eleven it had increased -to a gale, and by midnight the most furious storm was raging which I -ever remember upon that weather-beaten coast. - -As I went to bed the shingle and sea-weed was pattering up against my -attic-window, and the wind was screaming as though every gust were a -lost soul. By that time the sounds of the tempest had become a lullaby -to me. I knew that the grey walls of the old house would buffet it out, -and for what occurred in the world outside I had small concern. Old -Madge was usually as callous to such things as I was myself. It was a -surprise to me when, about three in the morning, I was awoke by the -sound of a great knocking at my door and excited cries in the wheezy -voice of my housekeeper. I sprang out of my hammock, and roughly -demanded of her what was the matter. - -"Eh, maister, maister!" she screamed in her hateful dialect. "Come doun, -mun; come doun! There's a muckle ship gaun ashore on the reef, and the -puir folks are a' yammerin' and ca'in' for help--and I doobt they'll a' -be drooned. Oh, Maister McVittie, come doun!" - -"Hold your tongue, you hag!" I shouted back in a passion. "What is it to -you whether they are drowned or not? Get back to your bed and leave me -alone." I turned in again, and drew the blankets over me. "Those men out -there," I said to myself, "have already gone through half the horrors of -death. If they be saved they will but have to go through the same once -more in the space of a few brief years. It is best, therefore, that they -should pass away now, since they have suffered that anticipation which -is more than the pain of dissolution." With this thought in my mind I -endeavoured to compose myself to sleep once more, for that philosophy -which had taught me to consider death as a small and trivial incident in -man's eternal and ever-changing career, had also broken me of much -curiosity concerning worldly matters. On this occasion I found, however, -that the old leaven still fermented strongly in my soul. I tossed from -side to side for some minutes endeavouring to beat down the impulses of -the moment by the rules of conduct which I had framed during months of -thought. Then I heard a dull roar amid the wild shriek of the gale, and I -knew that it was the sound of a signal-gun. Driven by an uncontrollable -impulse, I rose, dressed, and, having lit my pipe, walked out on to the -beach. - -It was pitch dark when I came outside, and the wind blew with such -violence that I had to put my shoulder against it and push my way along -the shingle. My face pringled and smarted with the sting of the gravel -which was blown against it, and the red ashes of my pipe streamed away -behind me dancing fantastically through the darkness. I went down to -where the great waves were thundering in, and, shading my eyes with my -hand to keep off the salt spray, I peered out to sea. I could -distinguish nothing, and yet it seemed to me that shouts and great -inarticulate cries were borne to me by the blasts. Suddenly as I gazed I -made out the glint of a light, and then the whole bay and the beach were -lit up in a moment by a vivid blue glare. They were burning a coloured -signal-light on board of the vessel. There she lay on her beam ends -right in the centre of the jagged reef, hurled over to such an angle -that I could see all the planking of her deck. She was a large, -two-masted schooner, of foreign rig, and lay perhaps a hundred and -eighty or two hundred yards from the shore. Every spar and rope and -writhing piece of cordage showed up hard and clear under the livid light -which sputtered and flickered from the highest portion of the -forecastle. Beyond the doomed ship out of the great darkness came the -long rolling lines of black waves, never ending, never tiring, with a -petulant tuft of foam here and there upon their crests. Each as it -reached the broad circle of unnatural light appeared to gather strength -and volume, and to hurry on more impetuously until, with a roar and a -jarring crash, it sprang upon its victim. Clinging to the weather -shrouds I could distinctly see some ten or twelve frightened seamen, -who, when their light revealed my presence, turned their white faces -towards me and waved their hands imploringly. I felt my gorge rise -against these poor cowering worms. Why should they presume to shirk the -narrow pathway along which all that is great and noble among mankind has -travelled? There was one there who interested me more than they. He was -a tall man who stood apart from the others, balancing himself upon the -swaying wreck as though he disdained to cling to rope or bulwark. His -hands were clasped behind his back, and his head was sunk upon his -breast; but even in that despondent attitude there was a litheness and -decision in his pose and in every motion which marked him as a man -little likely to yield to despair. Indeed, I could see by his occasional -rapid glances up and down and all around him that he was weighing every -chance of safety; but though he often gazed across the raging surf to -where he could see my dark figure upon the beach, his self-respect, or -some other reason, forbade him from imploring my help in any way. He -stood, dark, silent, and inscrutable, looking down on the black sea, and -waiting for whatever fortune Fate might send him. - -It seemed to me that that problem would very soon be settled. As I -looked, an enormous billow, topping all the others, and coming after -them, like a driver following a flock, swept over the vessel. Her -foremast snapped short off, and the men who clung to the shrouds were -brushed away like a swarm of flies. With a rending, riving sound the -ship began to split in two, where the sharp back of the Mansie reef was -sawing into her keel. The solitary man upon the forecastle ran rapidly -across the deck and seized hold of a white bundle which I had already -observed, but failed to make out. As he lifted it up the light fell upon -it, and I saw that the object was a woman, with a spar lashed across her -body and under her arms in such a way that her head should always rise -above water. He bore her tenderly to the side and seemed to speak for a -minute or so to her, as though explaining the impossibility of remaining -upon the ship. Her answer was a singular one. I saw her deliberately -raise her hand and strike him across the face with it. He appeared to be -silenced for a moment or so by this; but he addressed her again, -directing her, as far as I could gather from his motions, how she should -behave when in the water. She shrank away from him, but he caught her in -his arms. He stooped over her for a moment and seemed to press his lips -against her forehead. Then a great wave came welling up against the side -of the breaking vessel, and, leaning over, he placed her upon the summit -of it as gently as a child might be committed to its cradle. I saw her -white dress flickering among the foam on the crest of the dark billow, -and then the light sank gradually lower, and the riven ship and its -lonely occupant were hidden from my eyes. - -As I watched those things my manhood overcame my philosophy, and I felt -a frantic impulse to be up and doing. I threw my cynicism to one side as -a garment which I might don again at leisure, and I rushed wildly to my -boat and my sculls. She was a leaky tub, but what then? Was I, who had -cast many a wistful, doubtful glance at my opium bottle, to begin now to -weigh chances and to cavil at danger? I dragged her down to the sea -with the strength of a maniac, and sprang in. For a moment or two it was -a question whether she could live among the boiling surge, but a dozen -frantic strokes took me through it, half-full of water but still afloat. -I was out on the unbroken waves now, at one time climbing, climbing up -the broad black breast of one, then sinking down, down on the other -side, until looking up I could see the gleam of the foam all around me -against the dark heavens. Far behind me I could hear the wild wailings -of old Madge, who, seeing me start, thought no doubt that my madness had -come to a climax. As I rowed I peered over my shoulder, until at last on -the belly of a great wave which was sweeping towards me I distinguished -the vague white outline of the woman. Stooping over I seized her as she -swept by me, and with an effort lifted her, all sodden with water, into -the boat. There was no need to row back, for the next billow carried us -in and threw us upon the beach. I dragged the boat out of danger, and -then lifting up the woman I carried her to the house, followed by my -housekeeper, loud with congratulation and praise. - -Now that I had done this thing a reaction set in upon me. I felt that my -burden lived, for I heard the faint beat of her heart as I pressed my -ear against her side in carrying her. Knowing this, I threw her down -beside the fire which Madge had lit, with as little sympathy as though -she had been a bundle of faggots. I never glanced at her to see if she -were fair or no. For many years I had cared little for the face of a -woman. As I lay in my hammock upstairs, however, I heard the old woman, -as she chafed the warmth back into her, crooning a chorus of "Eh, the -puir lassie! Eh, the bonnie lassie!" from which I gathered that this -piece of jetsam was both young and comely. - - * * * * * - -The morning after the gale was peaceful and sunny. As I walked along the -long sweep of sand I could hear the panting of the sea. It was heaving -and swirling about the reef, but along the shore it rippled in gently -enough. There was no sign of the schooner, nor was there any wreckage -upon the beach, which did not surprise me, as I knew there was a great -undertow in those waters. A couple of broad-winged gulls were hovering -and skimming over the scene of the shipwreck, as though many strange -things were visible to them beneath the waves. At times I could hear -their raucous voices as they spoke to one another of what they saw. - -When I came back from my walk the woman was waiting at the door for me. -I began to wish when I saw her that I had never saved her, for here was -an end of my privacy. She was very young--at the most nineteen, with a -pale, somewhat refined face, yellow hair, merry blue eyes, and shining -teeth. Her beauty was of an ethereal type. She looked so white and light -and fragile that she might have been the spirit of that storm-foam from -out of which I plucked her. She had wreathed some of Madge's garments -round her in a way which was quaint and not unbecoming. As I strode -heavily up the pathway she put out her hands with a pretty childlike -gesture, and ran down towards me, meaning, as I surmise, to thank me for -having saved her, but I put her aside with a wave of my hand and passed -her. At this she seemed somewhat hurt, and the tears sprang into her -eyes; but she followed me into the sitting-room and watched me -wistfully. "What country do you come from?" I asked her suddenly. - -She smiled when I spoke, but shook her head. - -"Francais?" I asked. "Deutsch?" "Espagnol?"--each time she shook her -head, and then she rippled off into a long statement in some tongue of -which I could not understand one word. - -After breakfast was over, however, I got a clue to her nationality. -Passing along the beach once more, I saw that in a cleft of the ridge a -piece of wood had been jammed. I rowed out to it in my boat and brought -it ashore. It was part of the sternpost of a boat, and on it, or rather -on the piece of wood attached to it, was the word "Archangel," painted -in strange, quaint lettering. "So," I thought, as I paddled slowly back, -"this pale damsel is a Russian. A fit subject for the White Czar, and a -proper dweller on the shores of the White Sea!" It seemed to me strange -that one of her apparent refinement should perform so long a journey in -so frail a craft. When I came back into the house I pronounced the word -"Archangel" several times in different intonations, but she did not -appear to recognise it. - -I shut myself up in the laboratory all the morning, continuing a -research which I was making upon the nature of the allotropic forms of -carbon and of sulphur. When I came out at mid-day for some food, she was -sitting by the table with a needle and thread mending some rents in her -clothes, which were now dry. I resented her continued presence, but I -could not turn her out on the beach to shift for herself. Presently she -presented a new phase of her character. Pointing to herself and then to -the scene of the shipwreck, she held up one finger, by which I -understood her to be asking whether she was the only one saved. I nodded -my head to indicate that she was. On this she sprang out of the chair, -with a cry of great joy, and holding the garment which she was mending -over her head, and swaying it from side to side with the motion of her -body, she danced as lightly as a feather all round the room, and then -out through the open door into the sunshine. As she whirled round she -sang in a plaintive, shrill voice some uncouth, barbarous chant, -expressive of exultation. I called out to her, "Come in, you young -fiend; come in, and be silent!" but she went on with her dance. Then she -suddenly ran towards me, and catching my hand before I could pluck it -away, she kissed it. While we were at dinner she spied one of my -pencils, and taking it up she wrote the two words "Sophie Ramusine" upon -a piece of paper, and then pointed to herself as a sign that that was -her name. She handed the pencil to me, evidently expecting that I would -be equally communicative, but I put it in my pocket as a sign that I -wished to hold no intercourse with her. - -Every moment of my life now I regretted the unguarded precipitancy with -which I had saved this woman. What was it to me whether she had lived or -died? I was no young hot-headed youth to do such things. It was bad -enough to be compelled to have Madge in the house, but she was old and -ugly, and could be ignored. This one was young and lively, and so -fashioned as to divert attention from graver things. Where could I send -her, and what could I do with her? If I sent information to Wick it -would mean that officials and others would come to me, and pry, and -peep, and chatter--a hateful thought. It was better to endure her -presence than that. - -I soon found that there were fresh troubles in store for me. There is no -place safe from the swarming, restless race of which I am a member. In -the evening, when the sun was dipping down behind the hills, casting -them into dark shadow, but gilding the sands and casting a great glory -over the sea, I went, as is my custom, for a stroll along the beach. -Sometimes on these occasions I took my book with me. I did so on this -night, and stretching myself upon a sand-dune I composed myself to read. -As I lay there I suddenly became aware of a shadow which interposed -itself between the sun and myself. Looking round, I saw, to my great -surprise, a very tall, powerful man, who was standing a few yards off, -and who, instead of looking at me, was ignoring my existence completely, -and was gazing over my head with a stern set face at the bay and the -black line of the Mansie reef. His complexion was dark, with black hair -and short curling beard, a hawk-like nose, and golden earrings in his -ears--the general effect being wild and somewhat noble. He wore a faded -velveteen jacket, a red flannel shirt, and high sea-boots, coming -half-way up his thighs. I recognised him at a glance as being the same -man who had been left on the wreck the night before. - -"Hullo!" I said, in an aggrieved voice. "You got ashore all right, -then?" - -"Yes," he answered, in good English. "It was no doing of mine. The waves -threw me up. I wish to God I had been allowed to drown!" There was a -slight foreign lisp in his accent which was rather pleasing. "Two good -fishermen, who live round yonder point, pulled me out and cared for -me--yet I could not honestly thank them for it." - -"Ho! ho!" thought I, "here is a man of my own kidney. Why do you wish to -be drowned?" I asked. - -"Because," he cried, throwing out his long arms with a passionate, -despairing gesture, "there--there in that blue smiling bay lies my soul, -my treasure--everything that I loved and lived for." - -"Well, well," I said. "People are ruined every day, but there's no use -making a fuss about it. Let me inform you that this ground on which you -walk is my ground, and that the sooner you take yourself off it the -better pleased I shall be. One of you is quite trouble enough." - -"One of us?" he gasped. - -"Yes--if you could take her off with you I should be still more -grateful." - -He gazed at me for a moment as if hardly able to realise what I said, -and then, with a wild cry, he ran away from me with prodigious speed -and raced along the sands towards my house. Never before or since have I -seen a human being run so fast. I followed as rapidly as I could, -furious at this threatened invasion, but long before I reached the house -he had disappeared through the open door. I heard a great scream from -the inside, and, as I came nearer, the sound of the man's bass voice -speaking rapidly and loudly. When I looked in, the girl Sophie Ramusine -was crouching in a corner, cowering away, with fear and loathing -expressed on her averted face and in every line of her shrinking form. -The other, with his dark eyes flashing, and his outstretched hands -quivering with emotion, was pouring forth a torrent of passionate, -pleading words. He made a step forward to her as I entered, but she -writhed still further away, and uttered a sharp cry like that of a -rabbit when the weazel has him by the throat. - -"Here!" I said, pulling him back from her. "This is a pretty to-do! What -do you mean? Do you think this is a wayside inn or place of public -accommodation?" - -"Oh, sir," he said, "excuse me. This woman is my wife, and I feared -that she was drowned. You have brought me back to life." - -"Who are you?" I asked roughly. - -"I am a man from Archangel," he said simply: "a Russian man." - -"What is your name?" - -"Ourganeff." - -"Ourganeff!--and hers is Sophie Ramusine. She is no wife of yours. She -has no ring." - -"We are man and wife in the sight of Heaven," he said solemnly, looking -upwards. "We are bound by higher laws than those of earth." As he spoke -the girl slipped behind me and caught me by the other hand, pressing it -as though beseeching my protection. "Give me up my wife, sir," he went -on. "Let me take her away from here." - -"Look here, you--whatever your name is," I said sternly, "I don't want -this wench here. I wish I had never seen her. If she died it would be no -grief to me. But as to handing her over to you, when it is clear she -fears and hates you, I won't do it. So now just clear your great body -out of this, and leave me to my books. I hope I may never look upon your -face again." - -"You won't give her up to me?" he said hoarsely. - -"I'll see you damned first!" I answered. - -"Suppose I take her," he cried, his dark face growing darker. - -All my tigerish blood flushed up in a moment. I picked up a billet of -wood from beside the fireplace. "Go," I said, in a low voice; "go quick, -or I may do you an injury." He looked at me irresolutely for a moment, -and then he left the house. He came back again in a moment, however, and -stood in the doorway looking in at us. - -"Have a heed what you do," he said. "The woman is mine, and I shall have -her. When it comes to blows, a Russian is as good a man as a Scotchman." - -"We shall see that," I cried, springing forward, but he was already -gone, and I could see his tall form moving away through the gathering -darkness. - -For a month or more after this things went smoothly with us. I never -spoke to the Russian girl, nor did she ever address me. Sometimes when I -was at work at my laboratory she would slip inside the door and sit -silently there watching me with her great eyes. At first this intrusion -annoyed me, but by degrees, finding that she made no attempt to distract -my attention, I suffered her to remain. Encouraged by this concession, -she gradually came to move the stool on which she sat nearer and nearer -to my table, until, after gaining a little every day during some weeks, -she at last worked her way right up to me, and used to perch herself -beside me whenever I worked. In this position she used, still without -ever obtruding her presence in any way, to make herself very useful by -holding my pens, test-tubes, bottles, etc., and handing me whatever I -wanted, with never-failing sagacity. By ignoring the fact of her being a -human being, and looking upon her as a useful automatic machine, I -accustomed myself to her presence so far as to miss her on the few -occasions when she was not at her post. I have a habit of talking aloud -to myself at times when I work, so as to fix my results better in my -mind. The girl must have had a surprising memory for sounds, for she -could always repeat the words which I let fall in this way, without, of -course, understanding in the least what they meant. I have often been -amused at hearing her discharge a volley of chemical equations and -algebraic symbols at old Madge, and then burst into a ringing laugh when -the crone would shake her head, under the impression, no doubt, that she -was being addressed in Russian. - -She never went more than a few yards from the house, and indeed never -put her foot over the threshold without looking carefully out of each -window, in order to be sure that there was nobody about. By this I knew -that she suspected that her fellow-countryman was still in the -neighbourhood, and feared that he might attempt to carry her off. She -did something else which was significant. I had an old revolver with -some cartridges, which had been thrown away among the rubbish. She found -this one day, and at once proceeded to clean it and oil it. She hung it -up near the door, with the cartridges in a little bag beside it, and -whenever I went for a walk she would take it down and insist upon my -carrying it with me. In my absence she would always bolt the door. Apart -from her apprehensions she seemed fairly happy, busying herself in -helping Madge when she was not attending upon me. She was wonderfully -nimble-fingered and natty in all domestic duties. - -It was not long before I discovered that her suspicions were well -founded, and that this man from Archangel was still lurking in the -vicinity. Being restless one night, I rose and peered out of the window. -The weather was somewhat cloudy, and I could barely make out the line of -the sea and the loom of my boat upon the beach. As I gazed, however, and -my eyes became accustomed to the obscurity, I became aware that there -was some other dark blur upon the sands, and that in front of my very -door, where certainly there had been nothing of the sort the preceding -night. As I stood at my diamond-paned lattice still peering and peeping -to make out what this might be, a great bank of clouds rolled slowly -away from the face of the moon, and a flood of cold, clear light was -poured down upon the silent bay and the long sweep of its desolate -shores. Then I saw what this was which haunted my doorstep. It was he, -the Russian. He squatted there like a gigantic toad, with his legs -doubled under him in strange Mongolian fashion, and his eyes fixed -apparently upon the window of the room in which the young girl and the -housekeeper slept. The light fell upon his upturned face, and I saw once -more the hawk-like grace of his countenance, with the single -deeply-indented line of care upon his brow, and the protruding beard -which marks the passionate nature. My first impulse was to shoot him as -a trespasser, but as I gazed my resentment changed into pity and -contempt. "Poor fool," I said to myself, "is it then possible that you, -whom I have seen looking open-eyed at present death, should have your -whole thoughts and ambition centred upon this wretched slip of a girl--a -girl, too, who flies from you and hates you! Most women would love -you--were it but for that dark face and great handsome body of -yours--and yet you must needs hanker after the one in a thousand who -will have no traffic with you." As I returned to my bed I chuckled much -to myself over this thought. I knew that my bars were strong and my -bolts thick. It mattered little to me whether this strange man spent his -night at my door or a hundred leagues off, so long as he was gone by the -morning. As I expected, when I rose and went out there was no sign of -him, nor had he left any trace of his midnight vigil. - -It was not long, however, before I saw him again. I had been out for a -row one morning, for my head was aching, partly from prolonged stooping -and partly from the effects of a noxious drug which I had inhaled the -night before. I pulled along the coast some miles, and then, feeling -thirsty, I landed at a place where I knew that a fresh water stream -trickled down into the sea. This rivulet passed through my land, but the -mouth of it, where I found myself that day, was beyond my boundary line. -I felt somewhat taken aback when, rising from the stream at which I had -slaked my thirst, I found myself face to face with the Russian. I was as -much a trespasser now as he was, and I could see at a glance that he -knew it. - -"I wish to speak a few words to you," he said gravely. - -"Hurry up, then!" I answered, glancing at my watch. "I have no time to -listen to chatter." - -"Chatter!" he repeated angrily. "Ah, but there! You Scotch people are -strange men. Your face is hard and your words rough, but so are those of -the good fishermen with whom I stay, yet I find that beneath it all -there lies kind, honest natures. No doubt you are kind and good too, in -spite of your roughness." - -"In the name of the devil," I said, "say your say, and go your way. I am -weary of the sight of you." - -"Can I not soften you in any way?" he cried. "Ah, see--see here"--he -produced a small Grecian cross from inside his velvet jacket. "Look at -this. Our religions may differ in form, but at least we have some common -thoughts and feelings when we see this emblem." - -"I am not so sure of that," I answered. - -He looked at me thoughtfully. - -"You are a very strange man," he said at last. "I cannot understand you. -You still stand between me and Sophie. It is a dangerous position to -take, sir. Oh, believe me, before it is too late. If you did but know -what I have done to gain that woman--how I have risked my body, how I -have lost my soul. You are a small obstacle to some which I have -surmounted--you, whom a rip with a knife, or a blow from a stone, would -put out of my way for ever. But God preserve me from that," he cried -wildly. "I am deep--too deep--already. Anything rather than that." - -"You would do better to go back to your country," I said, "than to -skulk about these sand-hills and disturb my leisure. When I have proof -that you have gone away, I shall hand this woman over to the protection -of the Russian Consul at Edinburgh. Until then, I shall guard her -myself, and not you, nor any Muscovite that ever breathed, shall take -her from me." - -"And what is your object in keeping me from Sophie?" he asked. "Do you -imagine that I would injure her? Why, man, I would give my life freely -to save her from the slightest harm. Why do you do this thing?" - -"I do it because it is my good pleasure to act so," I answered. "I give -no man reasons for my conduct." - -"Look here!" he cried, suddenly blazing into fury, and advancing towards -me with his shaggy mane bristling and his brown hands clenched. "If I -thought you had one dishonest thought towards this girl--if for a moment -I had reason to believe that you had any base motive for detaining -her--as sure as there is a God in Heaven I should drag the heart out of -your bosom with my hands." The very idea seemed to have put the man in a -frenzy, for his face was all distorted and his hands opened and shut -convulsively. I thought that he was about to spring at my throat. - -"Stand off!" I said, putting my hand on my pistol. "If you lay a finger -on me I shall kill you." - -He put his hand into his pocket, and for a moment I thought that he was -about to produce a weapon too, but instead of that he whipped out a -cigarette and lit it, breathing the smoke rapidly into his lungs. No -doubt he had found by experience that this was the most effectual way of -curbing his passions. - -"I told you," he said in a quieter voice, "that my name is -Ourganeff--Alexis Ourganeff. I am a Finn by birth, but I have spent my -life in every part of the world. I was one who could never be still, nor -settle down to a quiet existence. After I came to own my own ship there -is hardly a port from Archangel to Australia which I have not entered. I -was rough and wild and free, but there was one at home, sir, who was -prim and white-handed and soft-tongued, skilful in little fancies and -conceits which women love. This youth by his wiles and tricks stole from -me the love of the girl whom I had ever marked as my own, and who up to -that time had seemed in some sort inclined to return my passion. I had -been on a voyage to Hammerfest for ivory, and coming back unexpectedly, -I learned that my pride and treasure was to be married to this -soft-skinned boy, and that the party had actually gone to the church. In -such moments, sir, something gives way in my head, and I hardly know -what I do. I landed with a boat's crew--all men who had sailed with me -for years, and who were as true as steel. We went up to the church. They -were standing, she and he, before the priest, but the thing had not been -done. I dashed between them and caught her round the waist. My men beat -back the frightened bridegroom and the lookers-on. We bore her down to -the boat and aboard our vessel, and then getting up anchor, we sailed -away across the White Sea until the spires of Archangel sank down behind -the horizon. She had my cabin, my room, every comfort. I slept among the -men in the forecastle. I hoped that in time her aversion to me would -wear away, and that she would consent to marry me in England or in -France. For days and days we sailed. We saw the North Cape die away -behind us, and we skirted the grey Norwegian coast, but still, in spite -of every attention, she would not forgive me for tearing her from that -pale-faced lover of hers. Then came this cursed storm which shattered -both my ship and my hopes, and has deprived me even of the sight of the -woman for whom I have risked so much. Perhaps she may learn to love me -yet. You, sir," he said wistfully, "look like one who has seen much of -the world. Do you not think that she may come to forget this man and to -love me?" "I am tired of your story," I said, turning away. "For my -part, I think you are a great fool. If you imagine that this love of -yours will pass away, you had best amuse yourself as best you can until -it does. If, on the other hand, it is a fixed thing, you cannot do -better than cut your throat, for that is the shortest way out of it. I -have no more time to waste on the matter." With this I hurried away and -walked down to the boat. I never looked round, but I heard the dull -sound of his feet upon the sands as he followed me. - -"I have told you the beginning of my story," he said, "and you shall -know the end some day. You would do well to let the girl go." - -I never answered him, but pushed the boat off. When I had rowed some -distance out I looked back and saw his tall figure upon the yellow sand -as he stood gazing thoughtfully after me. When I looked again, some -minutes later, he had disappeared. - -For a long time after this my life was as regular and as monotonous as -it had been before the shipwreck. At times I hoped that the man from -Archangel had gone away altogether, but certain footsteps which I saw -upon the sand, and more particularly a little pile of cigarette ash -which I found one day behind a hillock from which a view of the house -might be obtained, warned me that, though invisible, he was still in the -vicinity. My relations with the Russian girl remained the same as -before. Old Madge had been somewhat jealous of her presence at first, -and seemed to fear that what little authority she had would be taken -away from her. By degrees, however, as she came to realise my utter -indifference, she became reconciled to the situation, and, as I have -said before, profited by it, as our visitor performed much of the -domestic work. - -And now I am coming near the end of this narrative of mine, which I have -written a great deal more for my own amusement than for that of any one -else. The termination of the strange episode in which these two Russians -had played a part was as wild and as sudden as the commencement. The -events of one single night freed me from all my troubles, and left me -once more alone with my books and my studies, as I had been before their -intrusion. Let me endeavour to describe how this came about. - -I had had a long day of heavy and wearying work, so that in the evening -I determined upon taking a long walk. When I emerged from the house my -attention was attracted by the appearance of the sea. It lay like a -sheet of glass, so that never a ripple disturbed its surface. Yet the -air was filled with that indescribable moaning sound which I have -alluded to before--a sound as though the spirits of all those who lay -beneath those treacherous waters were sending a sad warning of coming -troubles to their brethren in the flesh. The fishermen's wives along -that coast know the eerie sound, and look anxiously across the waters -for the brown sails making for the land. When I heard it I stepped back -into the house and looked at the glass. It was down below 29[deg]. Then I -knew that a wild night was coming upon us. - -Underneath the hills where I walked that evening it was dull and chill, -but their summits were rosy-red and the sea was brightened by the -sinking sun. There were no clouds of importance in the sky, yet the dull -groaning of the sea grew louder and stronger. I saw, far to the -eastward, a brig beating up for Wick, with a reef in her topsails. It -was evident that her captain had read the signs of nature as I had done. -Behind her a long, lurid haze lay low upon the water, concealing the -horizon. "I had better push on," I thought to myself, "or the wind may -rise before I get back." - -I suppose I must have been at least half a mile from the house when I -suddenly stopped and listened breathlessly. My ears were so accustomed -to the noises of nature, the sighing of the breeze and the sob of the -waves, that any other sound made itself heard at a great distance. I -waited, listening with all my ears. Yes, there it was again--a -long-drawn, shrill cry of despair, ringing over the sands and echoed -back from the hills behind me--a piteous appeal for aid. It came from -the direction of my house. I turned and ran back homewards at the top -of my speed, ploughing through the sand, racing over the shingle. In my -mind there was a great dim perception of what had occurred. - -About a quarter of a mile from the house there is a high sandhill, from -which the whole country round is visible. When I reached the top of this -I paused for a moment. There was the old grey building--there the boat. -Everything seemed to be as I had left it. Even as I gazed, however, the -shrill scream was repeated, louder than before, and the next moment a -tall figure emerged from my door--the figure of the Russian sailor. Over -his shoulder was the white form of the young girl, and even in his haste -he seemed to bear her tenderly and with gentle reverence. I could hear -her wild cries and see her desperate struggles to break away from him. -Behind the couple came my old housekeeper, staunch and true, as the aged -dog, who can no longer bite, still snarls with toothless gums at the -intruder. She staggered feebly along at the heels of the ravisher, -waving her long, thin arms, and hurling, no doubt, volleys of Scotch -curses and imprecations at his head. I saw at a glance that he was -making for the boat. A sudden hope sprang up in my soul that I might be -in time to intercept him. I ran for the beach at the top of my speed. As -I ran I slipped a cartridge into my revolver. This I determined should -be the last of these invasions. - -I was too late. By the time I reached the water's edge he was a hundred -yards away, making the boat spring with every stroke of his powerful -arms. I uttered a wild cry of impotent anger, and stamped up and down -the sands like a maniac. He turned and saw me. Rising from his seat he -made me a graceful bow, and waved his hand to me. It was not a -triumphant or a derisive gesture. Even my furious and distempered mind -recognised it as being a solemn and courteous leave-taking. Then he -settled down to his oars once more, and the little skiff shot away out -over the bay. The sun had gone down now, leaving a single dull, red -streak upon the water, which stretched away until it blended with the -purple haze on the horizon. Gradually the skiff grew smaller and smaller -as it sped across this lurid band, until the shades of night gathered -round it and it became a mere blur upon the lonely sea. Then this vague -loom died away also, and darkness settled over it--a darkness which -should never more be raised. - -And why did I pace the solitary shore, hot and wrathful as a wolf whose -whelp has been torn from it? Was it that I loved this Muscovite girl? -No--a thousand times no. I am not one who, for the sake of a white skin -or a blue eye, would belie my own life, and change the whole tenor of my -thoughts and existence. My heart was untouched. But my pride--ah, there -I had been cruelly wounded. To think that I had been unable to afford -protection to the helpless one who craved it of me, and who relied on -me! It was that which made my heart sick and sent the blood buzzing -through my ears. - -That night a great wind rose up from the sea, and the wild waves -shrieked upon the shore as though they would tear it back with them into -the ocean. The turmoil and the uproar were congenial to my vexed spirit. -All night I wandered up and down, wet with spray and rain, watching the -gleam of the white breakers, and listening to the outcry of the storm. -My heart was bitter against the Russian. I joined my feeble pipe to the -screaming of the gale. "If he would but come back again!" I cried, with -clenched hands; "if he would but come back!" - -He came back. When the grey light of morning spread over the eastern sky -and lit up the great waste of yellow, tossing waters, with the brown -clouds drifting swiftly over them, then I saw him once again. A few -hundred yards off along the sand there lay a long dark object, cast up -by the fury of the waves. It was my boat, much shattered and splintered. -A little farther on, a vague, shapeless something was washing to and fro -in the shallow water, all mixed with shingle and with sea-weed. I saw at -a glance that it was the Russian, face downwards and dead. I rushed into -the water and dragged him up on to the beach. It was only when I turned -him over that I discovered that she was beneath him, his dead arms -encircling her, his mangled body still intervening between her and the -fury of the storm. It seemed that the fierce German Sea might beat the -life from him, but with all its strength it was unable to tear this -one-idea'd man from the woman whom he loved. There were signs which led -me to believe that during that awful night the woman's fickle mind had -come at last to learn the worth of the true heart and strong arm which -struggled for her and guarded her so tenderly. Why else should her -little head be nestling so lovingly on his broad breast, while her -yellow hair entwined itself with his flowing beard? Why, too, should -there be that bright smile of ineffable happiness and triumph, which -death itself had not had power to banish from his dusky face? I fancy -that death had been brighter to him than life had ever been. - -Madge and I buried them there on the shores of the desolate northern -sea. They lie in one grave deep down beneath the yellow sand. Strange -things may happen in the world around them. Empires may rise and may -fall, dynasties may perish, great wars may come and go, but, heedless of -it all, those two shall embrace each other for ever and aye in their -lonely shrine by the side of the sounding ocean. I sometimes have -thought that their spirits flit like shadowy sea-mews over the wild -waters of the bay. No cross or symbol marks their resting-place, but old -Madge puts wild flowers upon it at times; and when I pass on my daily -walk, and see the fresh blossoms scattered over the sand, I think of the -strange couple who came from afar and broke for a little space the dull -tenor of my sombre life. - - - - -_THAT LITTLE SQUARE BOX._ - - -"All aboard?" said the captain. - -"All aboard, sir!" said the mate. - -"Then stand by to let her go." - -It was nine o'clock on a Wednesday morning. The good ship _Spartan_ was -lying off Boston Quay with her cargo under hatches, her passengers -shipped, and everything prepared for a start. The warning whistle had -been sounded twice, the final bell had been rung. Her bowsprit was -turned towards England, and the hiss of escaping steam showed that all -was ready for her run of three thousand miles. She strained at the warps -that held her like a greyhound at its leash. - -I have the misfortune to be a very nervous man. A sedentary literary -life has helped to increase the morbid love of solitude which, even in -my boyhood, was one of my distinguishing characteristics. As I stood -upon the quarter-deck of the Transatlantic steamer, I bitterly cursed -the necessity which drove me back to the land of my forefathers. The -shouts of the sailors, the rattle of the cordage, the farewells of my -fellow-passengers, and the cheers of the mob, each and all jarred upon -my sensitive nature. I felt sad too. An indescribable feeling, as of -some impending calamity, seemed to haunt me. The sea was calm, and the -breeze light. There was nothing to disturb the equanimity of the most -confirmed of landsmen, yet I felt as if I stood upon the verge of a -great though indefinable danger. I have noticed that such presentiments -occur often in men of my peculiar temperament, and that they are not -uncommonly fulfilled. There is a theory that it arises from a species of -second-sight--a subtle spiritual communication with the future. I well -remember that Herr Raumer, the eminent spiritualist, remarked on one -occasion that I was the most sensitive subject as regards supernatural -phenomena that he had ever encountered in the whole of his wide -experience. Be that as it may, I certainly felt far from happy as I -threaded my way among the weeping, cheering groups which dotted the -white decks of the good ship _Spartan_. Had I known the experience which -awaited me in the course of the next twelve hours, I would even then at -the last moment have sprung upon the shore, and made my escape from the -accursed vessel. - -"Time's up!" said the captain, closing his chronometer with a snap, and -replacing it in his pocket. "Time's up!" said the mate. There was a last -wail from the whistle, a rush of friends and relatives upon the land. -One warp was loosened, the gangway was being pushed away, when there was -a shout from the bridge, and two men appeared running rapidly down the -quay. They were waving their hands and making frantic gestures, -apparently with the intention of stopping the ship. "Look sharp!" -shouted the crowd. "Hold hard!" cried the captain. "Ease her! stop her! -Up with the gangway!" and the two men sprang aboard just as the second -warp parted, and a convulsive throb of the engine shot us clear of the -shore. There was a cheer from the deck, another from the quay, a mighty -fluttering of handkerchiefs, and the great vessel ploughed its way out -of the harbour, and steamed grandly away across the placid bay. - -We were fairly started upon our fortnight's voyage. There was a general -dive among the passengers in quest of berths and luggage, while a -popping of corks in the saloon proved that more than one bereaved -traveller was adopting artificial means for drowning the pangs of -separation. I glanced round the deck and took a running inventory of my -_compagnons de voyage_. They presented the usual types met with upon -these occasions. There was no striking face among them. I speak as a -connoisseur, for faces are a specialty of mine. I pounce upon a -characteristic feature as a botanist does on a flower, and bear it away -with me to analyse at my leisure, and classify and label it in my little -anthropological museum. There was nothing worthy of me here. Twenty -types of young America going to "Yurrup," a few respectable middle-aged -couples as an antidote, a sprinkling of clergymen and professional men, -young ladies, bagmen, British exclusives, and all the _olla podrida_ of -an ocean-going steamer. I turned away from them and gazed back at the -receding shores of America, and, as a cloud of remembrances rose before -me, my heart warmed towards the land of my adoption. A pile of -portmanteaus and luggage chanced to be lying on one side of the deck, -awaiting their turn to be taken below. With my usual love for solitude -I walked behind these, and sitting on a coil of rope between them and -the vessel's side, I indulged in a melancholy reverie. - -I was aroused from this by a whisper behind me. "Here's a quiet place," -said the voice. "Sit down, and we can talk it over in safety." - -Glancing through a chink between two colossal chests, I saw that the -passengers who had joined us at the last moment were standing at the -other side of the pile. They had evidently failed to see me as I -crouched in the shadow of the boxes. The one who had spoken was a tall -and very thin man with a blue-black beard and a colourless face. His -manner was nervous and excited. His companion was a short, plethoric -little fellow, with a brisk and resolute air. He had a cigar in his -mouth, and a large ulster slung over his left arm. They both glanced -round uneasily, as if to ascertain whether they were alone. "This is -just the place," I heard the other say. They sat down on a bale of goods -with their backs turned towards me, and I found myself, much against my -will, playing the unpleasant part of eavesdropper to their -conversation. - -"Well, Muller," said the taller of the two, "we've got it aboard right -enough." - -"Yes," assented the man whom he had addressed as Muller; "it's safe -aboard." - -"It was rather a near go." - -"It was that, Flannigan." - -"It wouldn't have done to have missed the ship." - -"No; it would have put our plans out." - -"Ruined them entirely," said the little man, and puffed furiously at his -cigar for some minutes. - -"I've got it here," he said at last. - -"Let me see it." - -"Is no one looking?" - -"No; they are nearly all below." - -"We can't be too careful where so much is at stake," said Muller, as he -uncoiled the ulster which hung over his arm, and disclosed a dark object -which he laid upon the deck. One glance at it was enough to cause me to -spring to my feet with an exclamation of horror. Luckily they were so -engrossed in the matter on hand that neither of them observed me. Had -they turned their heads they would infallibly have seen my pale face -glaring at them over the pile of boxes. - -From the first moment of their conversation a horrible misgiving had -come over me. It seemed more than confirmed as I gazed at what lay -before me. It was a little square box made of some dark wood, and ribbed -with brass. I suppose it was about the size of a cubic foot. It reminded -me of a pistol-case, only it was decidedly higher. There was an -appendage to it, however, on which my eyes were riveted, and which -suggested the pistol itself rather than its receptacle. This was a -trigger-like arrangement upon the lid, to which a coil of string was -attached. Beside this trigger there was a small square aperture through -the wood. The tall man, Flannigan, as his companion called him, applied -his eye to this and peered in for several minutes with an expression of -intense anxiety upon his face. - -"It seems right enough," he said at last. - -"I tried not to shake it," said his companion. - -"Such delicate things need delicate treatment. Put in some of the -needful, Muller." - -The shorter man fumbled in his pocket for some time, and then produced a -small paper packet. He opened this, and took out of it half a handful of -whitish granules, which he poured down through the hole. A curious -clicking noise followed from the inside of the box, and both the men -smiled in a satisfied way. - -"Nothing much wrong there," said Flannigan. - -"Right as a trivet," answered his companion. - -"Look out! here's some one coming. Take it down to our berth. It -wouldn't do to have any one suspecting what our game is, or, worse -still, have them fumbling with it, and letting it off by mistake." - -"Well, it would come to the same, whoever let it off," said Muller. - -"They'd be rather astonished if they pulled the trigger," said the -taller, with a sinister laugh. "Ha, ha! fancy their faces! It's not a -bad bit of workmanship, I flatter myself." - -"No," said Muller. "I hear it is your own design, every bit of it, isn't -it?" - -"Yes, the spring and the sliding shutter are my own." - -"We should take out a patent." - -And the two men laughed again with a cold, harsh laugh, as they took up -the little brass-bound package and concealed it in Muller's voluminous -overcoat. - -"Come down, and we'll stow it in our berth," said Flannigan. "We won't -need it until to-night, and it will be safe there." - -His companion assented, and the two went arm-in-arm along the deck and -disappeared down the hatchway, bearing the mysterious little box away -with them. The last words I heard were a muttered injunction from -Flannigan to carry it carefully, and avoid knocking it against the -bulwarks. - -How long I remained sitting on that coil of rope I shall never know. The -horror of the conversation I had just overheard was aggravated by the -first sinking qualms of sea-sickness. The long roll of the Atlantic was -beginning to assert itself over both ship and passengers. I felt -prostrated in mind and in body, and fell into a state of collapse, from -which I was finally aroused by the hearty voice of our worthy -quartermaster. - -"Do you mind moving out of that, sir?" he said. "We want to get this -lumber cleared off the deck." - -His bluff manner and ruddy, healthy face seemed to be a positive insult -to me in my present condition. Had I been a courageous or a muscular man -I could have struck him. As it was, I treated the honest sailor to a -melodramatic scowl, which seemed to cause him no small astonishment, and -strode past him to the other side of the deck. Solitude was what I -wanted--solitude in which I could brood over the frightful crime which -was being hatched before my very eyes. One of the quarter-boats was -hanging rather low down upon the davits. An idea struck me, and, -climbing on the bulwarks, I stepped into the empty boat and lay down in -the bottom of it. Stretched on my back, with nothing but the blue sky -above me, and an occasional view of the mizzen as the vessel rolled, I -was at least alone with my sickness and my thoughts. - -I tried to recall the words which had been spoken in the terrible -dialogue I had overheard. Would they admit of any construction but the -one which stared me in the face? My reason forced me to confess that -they would not. I endeavoured to array the various facts which formed -the chain of circumstantial evidence, and to find a flaw in it; but no, -not a link was missing. There was the strange way in which our -passengers had come aboard, enabling them to evade any examination of -their luggage. The very name of "Flannigan" smacked of Fenianism, while -"Muller" suggested nothing but Socialism and murder. Then their -mysterious manner; their remark that their plans would have been ruined -had they missed the ship; their fear of being observed; last, but not -least, the clenching evidence in the production of the little square box -with the trigger, and their grim joke about the face of the man who -should let it off by mistake--could these facts lead to any conclusion -other than that they were the desperate emissaries of some body, -political or otherwise, and intended to sacrifice themselves, their -fellow-passengers, and the ship, in one great holocaust? The whitish -granules which I had seen one of them pour into the box formed no doubt -a fuse or train for exploding it. I had myself heard a sound come from -it which might have emanated from some delicate piece of machinery. But -what did they mean by their allusion to to-night? Could it be that they -contemplated putting their horrible design into execution on the very -first evening of our voyage? The mere thought of it sent a cold shudder -over me, and made me for a moment superior even to the agonies of -sea-sickness. - -I have remarked that I am a physical coward. I am a moral one also. It -is seldom that the two defects are united to such a degree in the one -character. I have known many men who were most sensitive to bodily -danger, and yet were distinguished for the independence and strength of -their minds. In my own case, however, I regret to say that my quiet and -retiring habits had fostered a nervous dread of doing anything -remarkable, or making myself conspicuous, which exceeded, if possible, -my fear of personal peril. An ordinary mortal placed under the -circumstances in which I now found myself would have gone at once to the -captain, confessed his fears, and put the matter into his hands. To me, -however, constituted as I am, the idea was most repugnant. The thought -of becoming the observed of all observers, cross-questioned by a -stranger, and confronted with two desperate conspirators in the -character of a denouncer, was hateful to me. Might it not by some remote -possibility prove that I was mistaken? What would be my feelings if -there should turn out to be no grounds for my accusation? No, I would -procrastinate; I would keep my eye on the two desperadoes and dog them -at every turn. Anything was better than the possibility of being wrong. - -Then it struck me that even at that moment some new phase of the -conspiracy might be developing itself. The nervous excitement seemed to -have driven away my incipient attack of sickness, for I was able to -stand up and lower myself from the boat without experiencing any return -of it. I staggered along the deck with the intention of descending into -the cabin and finding how my acquaintances of the morning were occupying -themselves. Just as I had my hand on the companion-rail, I was -astonished by receiving a hearty slap on the back, which nearly shot me -down the steps with more haste than dignity. - -"Is that you, Hammond?" said a voice which I seemed to recognise. - -"God bless me," I said as I turned round, "it can't be Dick Merton! Why, -how are you, old man?" - -This was an unexpected piece of luck in the midst of my perplexities. -Dick was just the man I wanted; kindly and shrewd in his nature, and -prompt in his actions, I should have no difficulty in telling him my -suspicions, and could rely upon his sound sense to point out the best -course to pursue. Since I was a little lad in the second form at Harrow, -Dick had been my adviser and protector. He saw at a glance that -something had gone wrong with me. - -"Hullo!" he said, in his kindly way, "what's put you about, Hammond? You -look as white as a sheet. _Mal de mer_, eh?" - -"No, not that altogether," said I. "Walk up and down with me, Dick; I -want to speak to you. Give me your arm." - -Supporting myself on Dick's stalwart frame, I tottered along by his -side; but it was some time before I could muster resolution to speak. - -"Have a cigar," said he, breaking the silence. - -"No, thanks," said I. "Dick, we shall all be corpses to-night." - -"That's no reason against your having a cigar now," said Dick, in his -cool way, but looking hard at me from under his shaggy eyebrows as he -spoke. He evidently thought that my intellect was a little gone. - -"No," I continued; "it's no laughing matter, and I speak in sober -earnest, I assure you. I have discovered an infamous conspiracy, Dick, -to destroy this ship and every soul that is in her;" and I then -proceeded systematically, and in order, to lay before him the chain of -evidence which I had collected. "There, Dick," I said, as I concluded, -"what do you think of that? and, above all, what am I to do?" - -To my astonishment he burst into a hearty fit of laughter. - -"I'd be frightened," he said, "if any fellow but you had told me as -much. You always had a way, Hammond, of discovering mares' nests. I like -to see the old traits breaking out again. Do you remember at school how -you swore there was a ghost in the long room, and how it turned out to -be your own reflection in the mirror? Why, man," he continued, "what -object would any one have in destroying this ship? We have no great -political guns aboard. On the contrary, the majority of the passengers -are Americans. Besides, in this sober nineteenth century, the most -wholesale murderers stop at including themselves among their victims. -Depend upon it, you have misunderstood them, and have mistaken a -photographic camera, or something equally innocent, for an infernal -machine." - -"Nothing of the sort, sir," said I, rather touchily. "You will learn to -your cost, I fear, that I have neither exaggerated nor misinterpreted a -word. As to the box, I have certainly never before seen one like it. It -contained delicate machinery; of that I am convinced, from the way in -which the men handled it and spoke of it." - -"You'd make out every packet of perishable goods to be a torpedo," said -Dick, "if that is to be your only test." - -"The man's name was Flannigan," I continued. - -"I don't think that would go very far in a court of law," said Dick; -"but come, I have finished my cigar. Suppose we go down together and -split a bottle of claret. You can point out these two Orsinis to me if -they are still in the cabin." - -"All right," I answered; "I am determined not to lose sight of them all -day. Don't look hard at them, though; for I don't want them to think -that they are being watched." - -"Trust me," said Dick; "I'll look as unconscious and guileless as a -lamb;" and with that we passed down the companion and into the saloon. - -A good many passengers were scattered about the great central table, -some wrestling with refractory carpet-bags and rug-straps, some having -their luncheon, and a few reading and otherwise amusing themselves. The -objects of our quest were not there. We passed down the room and peered -into every berth; but there was no sign of them. "Heavens!" thought I, -"perhaps at this very moment they are beneath our feet, in the hold or -engine-room, preparing their diabolical contrivance!" It was better to -know the worst than to remain in such suspense. - -"Steward," said Dick, "are there any other gentlemen about?" - -"There's two in the smoking-room, sir," answered the steward. - -The smoking-room was a little snuggery, luxuriously fitted up, and -adjoining the pantry. We pushed the door open and entered. A sigh of -relief escaped from my bosom. The very first object on which my eye -rested was the cadaverous face of Flannigan, with its hard-set mouth and -unwinking eye. His companion sat opposite to him. They were both -drinking, and a pile of cards lay upon the table. They were engaged in -playing as we entered. I nudged Dick to show him that we had found our -quarry, and we sat down beside them with as unconcerned an air as -possible. The two conspirators seemed to take little notice of our -presence. I watched them both narrowly. The game at which they were -playing was "Napoleon." Both were adepts at it; and I could not help -admiring the consummate nerve of men who, with such a secret at their -hearts, could devote their minds to the manipulating of a long suit or -the finessing of a queen. Money changed hands rapidly; but the run of -luck seemed to be all against the taller of the two players. At last he -threw down his cards on the table with an oath and refused to go on. - -"No, I'm hanged if I do!" he said; "I haven't had more than two of a -suit for five hands." - -"Never mind," said his comrade, as he gathered up his winnings; "a few -dollars one way or the other won't go very far after to-night's work." - -I was astonished at the rascal's audacity, but took care to keep my eyes -fixed abstractedly upon the ceiling, and drank my wine in as unconscious -a manner as possible. I felt that Flannigan was looking towards me with -his wolfish eyes to see if I had noticed the allusion. He whispered -something to his companion which I failed to catch. It was a caution, I -suppose, for the other answered rather angrily-- - -"Nonsense! Why shouldn't I say what I like? Over-caution is just what -would ruin us." - -"I believe you want it not to come off," said Flannigan. - -"You believe nothing of the sort," said the other, speaking rapidly and -loudly. "You know as well as I do that when I play for a stake I like to -win it. But I won't have my words criticised and cut short by you or any -other man; I have as much interest in our success as you have--more, I -hope." - -He was quite hot about it, and puffed furiously at his cigar for a few -minutes. The eyes of the other ruffian wandered alternately from Dick -Merton to myself. I knew that I was in the presence of a desperate man, -that a quiver of my lip might be the signal for him to plunge a weapon -into my heart; but I betrayed more self-command than I should have given -myself credit for under such trying circumstances. As to Dick, he was as -immovable and apparently as unconscious as the Egyptian Sphinx. - -There was silence for some time in the smoking-room, broken only by the -crisp rattle of the cards as the man Muller shuffled them up before -replacing them in his pocket. He still seemed to be somewhat flushed and -irritable. Throwing the end of his cigar into the spittoon, he glanced -defiantly at his companion, and turned towards me. - -"Can you tell me, sir," he said, "when this ship will be heard of -again?" - -They were both looking at me; but though my face may have turned a -trifle paler, my voice was as steady as ever as I answered-- - -"I presume, sir, that it will be heard of first when it enters -Queenstown Harbour." - -"Ha, ha!" laughed the angry little man; "I knew you would say that. -Don't you kick me under the table, Flannigan; I won't stand it. I know -what I am doing. You are wrong, sir," he continued, turning to me; -"utterly wrong." - -"Some passing ship, perhaps," suggested Dick. - -"No, nor that either." - -"The weather is fine," I said; "why should we not be heard of at our -destination?" - -"I didn't say we shouldn't be heard of at our destination. No doubt we -shall in the course of time; but that is not where we shall be heard of -first." - -"Where then?" asked Dick. - -"That you will never know. Suffice it that a rapid and mysterious agency -will signal our whereabouts, and that before the day is out. Ha, ha!" -and he chuckled once again. - -"Come on deck!" growled his comrade; "you have drunk too much of that -confounded brandy-and-water. It has loosened your tongue. Come away!" -and taking him by the arm he half led him, half forced him out of the -smoking-room, and we heard them stumbling up the companion together, and -on to the deck. - -"Well, what do you think now?" I gasped, as I turned towards Dick. He -was as imperturbable as ever. - -"Think!" he said; "why, I think what his companion thinks--that we have -been listening to the ravings of a half-drunken man. The fellow stunk of -brandy." - -"Nonsense, Dick! you saw how the other tried to stop his tongue." - -"Of course he did. He didn't want his friend to make a fool of himself -before strangers. Maybe the short one is a lunatic, and the other his -private keeper. It's quite possible." - -"Oh, Dick, Dick," I cried; "how can you be so blind? Don't you see that -every word confirmed our previous suspicion?" - -"Humbug, man!" said Dick; "you're working yourself into a state of -nervous excitement. Why, what the devil do _you_ make of all that -nonsense about a mysterious agent which would signal our whereabouts?" - -"I'll tell you what he meant, Dick," I said, bending forward and -grasping my friend's arm. "He meant a sudden glare and a flash seen far -out at sea by some lonely fisherman off the American coast. That's what -he meant." - -"I didn't think you were such a fool, Hammond," said Dick Merton -testily. "If you try to fix a literal meaning on the twaddle that every -drunken man talks, you will come to some queer conclusions. Let us -follow their example, and go on deck. You need fresh air, I think. -Depend upon it, your liver is out of order. A sea-voyage will do you a -world of good." - -"If ever I see the end of this one," I groaned, "I'll promise never to -venture on another. They are laying the cloth, so it's hardly worth -while my going up. I'll stay below and finish my smoke." - -"I hope dinner will find you in a more pleasant state of mind," said -Dick; and he went out, leaving me to my thoughts until the clang of the -great gong summoned us to the saloon. - -My appetite, I need hardly say, had not been improved by the incidents -which had occurred during the day. I sat down, however, mechanically at -the table, and listened to the talk which was going on around me. There -were nearly a hundred first-class passengers, and as the wine began to -circulate, their voices combined with the clash of the dishes to form a -perfect Babel. I found myself seated between a very stout and nervous -old lady and a prim little clergyman; and as neither made any advances, -I retired into my shell, and spent my time in observing the appearance -of my fellow-voyagers. I could see Dick in the dim distance dividing his -attentions between a jointless fowl in front of him and a self-possessed -young lady at his side. Captain Dowie was doing the honours at my end, -while the surgeon of the vessel was seated at the other. I was glad to -notice that Flannigan was placed almost opposite to me. As long as I had -him before my eyes I knew that, for the time at least, we were safe. He -was sitting with what was meant to be a sociable smile on his grim -face. It did not escape me that he drank largely of wine--so largely -that even before the dessert appeared his voice had become decidedly -husky. His friend Muller was seated a few places lower down. He ate -little, and appeared to be nervous and restless. - -"Now, ladies," said our genial captain, "I trust that you will consider -yourselves at home aboard my vessel. I have no fears for the gentlemen. -A bottle of champagne, steward. Here's to a fresh breeze and a quick -passage! I trust our friends in America will hear of our safe arrival in -twelve days, or a fortnight at the very latest." - -I looked up. Quick as was the glance which passed between Flannigan and -his confederate, I was able to intercept it. There was an evil smile -upon the former's thin lips. - -The conversation rippled on. Politics, the sea, amusements, religion, -each was in turn discussed. I remained a silent though an interested -listener. It struck me that no harm could be done by introducing the -subject which was ever in my mind. It could be managed in an off-hand -way, and would at least have the effect of turning the captain's -thoughts in that direction. I could watch, too, what effect it would -have upon the faces of the conspirators. - -There was a sudden lull in the conversation. The ordinary subjects of -interest appeared to be exhausted. The opportunity was a favourable one. - -"May I ask, captain," I said, bending forward, and speaking very -distinctly, "what you think of Fenian manifestoes?" - -The captain's ruddy face became a shade darker from honest indignation. - -"They are poor cowardly things," he said, "as silly as they are wicked." - -"The impotent threats of a set of anonymous scoundrels," said a -pompous-looking old gentleman beside him. - -"Oh, captain!" said the fat lady at my side, "you don't really think -they would blow up a ship?" - -"I have no doubt they would if they could. But I am very sure they will -never blow up mine." - -"May I ask what precautions are taken against them?" said an elderly man -at the end of the table. - -"All goods sent aboard the ship are strictly examined," said Captain -Dowie. - -"But suppose a man brought explosives aboard with him?" said I. - -"They are too cowardly to risk their own lives in that way." - -During this conversation Flannigan had not betrayed the slightest -interest in what was going on. He raised his head now, and looked at the -captain. - -"Don't you think you are rather underrating them?" he said. "Every -secret society has produced desperate men--why shouldn't the Fenians -have them too? Many men think it a privilege to die in the service of a -cause which seems right in their eyes, though others may think it -wrong." - -"Indiscriminate murder cannot be right in anybody's eyes," said the -little clergyman. - -"The bombardment of Paris was nothing else," said Flannigan; "yet the -whole civilised world agreed to look on with folded arms, and change the -ugly word 'murder' into the more euphonious one of 'war.' It seemed -right enough to German eyes; why shouldn't dynamite seem so to the -Fenian?" - -"At any rate their empty vapourings have led to nothing as yet," said -the captain. - -"Excuse me," returned Flannigan, "but is there not some room for doubt -yet as to the fate of the _Dotterel_? I have met men in America who -asserted from their own personal knowledge that there was a coal torpedo -aboard that vessel." - -"Then they lied," said the captain. "It was proved conclusively at the -court-martial to have arisen from an explosion of coal-gas--but we had -better change the subject, or we may cause the ladies to have a restless -night;" and the conversation once more drifted back into its original -channel. - -During this little discussion Flannigan had argued his point with a -gentlemanly deference and a quiet power for which I had not given him -credit. I could not help admiring a man who, on the eve of a desperate -enterprise, could courteously argue upon a point which must touch him so -nearly. He had, as I have already mentioned, partaken of a considerable -quantity of wine; but though there was a slight flush upon his pale -cheek, his manner was as reserved as ever. He did not join in the -conversation again, but seemed to be lost in thought. - -A whirl of conflicting ideas was battling in my own mind. What was I to -do? Should I stand up now and denounce them before both passengers and -captain? Should I demand a few minutes' conversation with the latter in -his own cabin, and reveal it all? For an instant I was half resolved to -do it, but then the old constitutional timidity came back with redoubled -force. After all there might be some mistake. Dick had heard the -evidence, and had refused to believe in it. I determined to let things -go on their course. A strange reckless feeling came over me. Why should -I help men who were blind to their own danger? Surely it was the duty of -the officers to protect us, not ours to give warning to them. I drank -off a couple of glasses of wine, and staggered upon deck with the -determination of keeping my secret locked in my own bosom. - -It was a glorious evening. Even in my excited state of mind I could not -help leaning against the bulwarks and enjoying the refreshing breeze. -Away to the westward a solitary sail stood out as a dark speck against -the great sheet of flame left by the setting sun. I shuddered as I -looked at it. It seemed like a sea of blood. A single star was twinkling -faintly above our main-mast, but a thousand seemed to gleam in the water -below with every stroke of our propeller. The only blot in the fair -scene was the great trail of smoke which stretched away behind us like a -black slash upon a crimson curtain. It seemed hard to believe that the -great peace which hung over all Nature could be marred by a poor -miserable mortal. - -"After all," I thought, as I gazed upon the blue depths beneath me, "if -the worst comes to the worst, it is better to die here than to linger in -agony upon a sick-bed on land." A man's life seems a very paltry thing -amid the great forces of Nature. All my philosophy could not prevent my -shuddering, however, when I turned my head and saw two shadowy figures -at the other side of the deck, which I had no difficulty in recognising. -They seemed to be conversing earnestly, but I had no opportunity of -overhearing what was said; so I contented myself with pacing up and -down, and keeping a vigilant watch upon their movements. - -It was a relief to me when Dick came on deck. Even an incredulous -confidant is better than none at all. - -"Well, old man," he said, giving me a facetious dig in the ribs, "we've -not been blown up yet." - -"No, not yet," said I; "but that's no proof that we are not going to -be." - -"Nonsense, man!" said Dick; "I can't conceive what has put this -extraordinary idea into your head. I have been talking to one of your -supposed assassins, and he seems a pleasant fellow enough; quite a -sporting character, I should think, from the way he speaks." - -"Dick," I said, "I am as certain that those men have an infernal -machine, and that we are on the verge of eternity, as if I saw them -putting the match to the fuse." - -"Well, if you really think so," said Dick, half awed for the moment by -the earnestness of my manner, "it is your duty to let the captain know -of your suspicions." - -"You are right," I said; "I will. My absurd timidity has prevented my -doing so sooner. I believe our lives can only be saved by laying the -whole matter before him." - -"Well, go and do it now," said Dick; "but for goodness' sake don't mix -me up in the matter." - -"I'll speak to him when he comes off the bridge," I answered; "and in -the meantime I don't mean to lose sight of them." - -"Let me know of the result," said my companion; and with a nod he -strolled away in search, I fancy, of his partner at the dinner-table. - -Left to myself, I bethought me of my retreat of the morning, and -climbing on the bulwark I mounted into the quarter-boat, and lay down -there. In it I could reconsider my course of action, and by raising my -head I was able at any time to get a view of my disagreeable neighbours. - -An hour passed, and the captain was still on the bridge. He was talking -to one of the passengers, a retired naval officer, and the two were deep -in debate concerning some abstruse point in navigation. I could see the -red tips of their cigars from where I lay. It was dark now--so dark that -I could hardly make out the figures of Flannigan and his accomplice. -They were still standing in the position which they had taken up after -dinner. A few of the passengers were scattered about the deck, but many -had gone below. A strange stillness seemed to pervade the air. The -voices of the watch and the rattle of the wheel were the only sounds -which broke the silence. - -Another half-hour passed. The captain was still upon the bridge. It -seemed as if he would never come down. My nerves were in a state of -unnatural tension, so much so that the sound of two steps upon the deck -made me start up in a quiver of excitement. I peered over the side of -the boat, and saw that our suspicious passengers had crossed from the -other side and were standing almost directly beneath me. The light of a -binnacle fell full upon the ghastly face of the ruffian Flannigan. Even -in that short glance I saw that Muller had the ulster, whose use I knew -so well, slung loosely over his arm. I sank back with a groan. It seemed -that my fatal procrastination had sacrificed two hundred innocent lives. - -I had read of the fiendish vengeance which awaited a spy. I knew that -men with their lives in their hands would stick at nothing. All I could -do was to cower at the bottom of the boat and listen silently to their -whispered talk below. - -"This place will do," said a voice. - -"Yes, the leeward side is best." - -"I wonder if the trigger will act?" - -"I am sure it will." - -"We were to let it off at ten, were we not?" - -"Yes, at ten sharp. We have eight minutes yet." There was a pause. Then -the voice began again-- - -"They'll hear the drop of the trigger, won't they?" - -"It doesn't matter. It will be too late for any one to prevent its going -off." - -"That's true. There will be some excitement among those we have left -behind, won't there?" - -"Rather! How long do you reckon it will be before they hear of us?" - -"The first news will get in in about twenty-four hours." - -"That will be mine." - -"No, mine." - -"Ha, ha! we'll settle that." - -There was a pause here. Then I heard Muller's voice in a ghastly -whisper, "There's only five minutes more." - -How slowly the moments seemed to pass! I could count them by the -throbbing of my heart. - -"It'll make a sensation on land," said a voice. - -"Yes, it will make a noise in the newspapers." - -I raised my head and peered over the side of the boat. There seemed no -hope, no help. Death stared me in the face, whether I did or did not -give the alarm. The captain had at last left the bridge. The deck was -deserted, save for those two dark figures crouching in the shadow of the -boat. - -Flannigan had a watch lying open in his hand. - -"Three minutes more," he said. "Put it down upon the deck." - -"No, put it here on the bulwarks." - -It was the little square box. I knew by the sound that they had placed -it near the davit, and almost exactly under my head. - -I looked over again. Flannigan was pouring something out of a paper into -his hand. It was white and granular--the same that I had seen him use in -the morning. It was meant as a fuse, no doubt, for he shovelled it into -the little box, and I heard the strange noise which had previously -arrested my attention. - -"A minute and a half more," he said. "Shall you or I pull the string?" - -"I will pull it," said Muller. - -He was kneeling down and holding the end in his hand. Flannigan stood -behind with his arms folded, and an air of grim resolution upon his -face. - -I could stand it no longer. My nervous system seemed to give way in a -moment. - -"Stop!" I screamed, springing to my feet. "Stop, misguided and -unprincipled men!" - -They both staggered backwards. I fancy they thought I was a spirit, with -the moonlight streaming down upon my pale face. - -I was brave enough now. I had gone too far to retreat. - -"Cain was damned," I cried, "and he slew but one; would you have the -blood of two hundred upon your souls?" - -"He's mad!" said Flannigan. "Time's up! Let it off, Muller." - -I sprang down upon the deck. - -"You shan't do it!" I said. - -"By what right do you prevent us?" - -"By every right, human and divine." - -"It's no business of yours. Clear out of this!" - -"Never!" said I. - -"Confound the fellow! There's too much at stake to stand on ceremony. -I'll hold him, Muller, while you pull the trigger." - -Next moment I was struggling in the herculean grasp of the Irishman. -Resistance was useless; I was a child in his hands. - -He pinned me up against the side of the vessel, and held me there. - -"Now," he said, "look sharp. He can't prevent us." - -I felt that I was standing on the verge of eternity. Half-strangled in -the arms of the taller ruffian, I saw the other approach the fatal box. -He stooped over it and seized the string. I breathed one prayer when I -saw his grasp tighten upon it. Then came a sharp snap, a strange rasping -noise. The trigger had fallen, the side of the box flew out, and let -off--_two grey carrier-pigeons_! - - * * * * * - -Little more need be said. It is not a subject on which I care to dwell. -The whole thing is too utterly disgusting and absurd. Perhaps the best -thing I can do is to retire gracefully from the scene, and let the -sporting correspondent of the _New York Herald_ fill my unworthy place. -Here is an extract clipped from its columns shortly after our departure -from America:-- - -"Pigeon-flying Extraordinary.--A novel match has been brought off, last -week, between the birds of John H. Flannigan, of Boston, and Jeremiah -Muller, a well-known citizen of Ashport. Both men have devoted much time -and attention to an improved breed of bird, and the challenge is an -old-standing one. The pigeons were backed to a large amount, and there -was considerable local interest in the result. The start was from the -deck of the Transatlantic steamship _Spartan_, at ten o'clock on the -evening of the day of starting, the vessel being then reckoned to be -about a hundred miles from the land. The bird which reached home first -was to be declared the winner. Considerable caution had, we believe, to -be observed, as British captains have a prejudice against the bringing -off of sporting events aboard their vessels. In spite of some little -difficulty at the last moment, the trap was sprung almost exactly at ten -o'clock. Muller's bird arrived in Ashport in an extreme state of -exhaustion on the following afternoon, while Flannigan's has not been -heard of. The backers of the latter have the satisfaction of knowing, -however, that the whole affair has been characterised by extreme -fairness. The pigeons were confined in a specially invented trap, which -could only be opened by the spring. It was thus possible to feed them -through an aperture in the top, but any tampering with their wings was -quite out of the question. A few such matches would go far towards -popularising pigeon-flying in America, and form an agreeable variety to -the morbid exhibitions of human endurance which have assumed such -proportions during the last few years." - - - - -_A NIGHT AMONG THE NIHILISTS._ - - -"Robinson, the boss wants you!" - -"The dickens he does!" thought I; for Mr. Dickson, Odessa agent of -Bailey & Co., corn merchants, was a bit of a Tartar, as I had learned to -my cost. "What's the row now?" I demanded of my fellow-clerk; "has he -got scent of our Nicolaieff escapade, or what is it?" - -"No idea," said Gregory: "the old boy seems in a good enough humour; -some business matter, probably. But don't keep him waiting." So -summoning up an air of injured innocence, to be ready for all -contingencies, I marched into the lion's den. - -Mr. Dickson was standing before the fire in a Briton's time-honoured -attitude, and motioned me into a chair in front of him. "Mr. Robinson," -he said, "I have great confidence in your discretion and common sense. -The follies of youth will break out, but I think that you have a -sterling foundation to your character underlying any superficial -levity." - -I bowed. - -"I believe," he continued, "that you can speak Russian pretty fluently." - -I bowed again. - -"I have, then," he proceeded, "a mission which I wish you to undertake, -and on the success of which your promotion may depend. I would not trust -it to a subordinate, were it not that duty ties me to my post at -present." - -"You may depend upon my doing my best, sir," I replied. - -"Right, sir; quite right! What I wish you to do is briefly this: The -line of railway has just been opened to Solteff, some hundred miles up -the country. Now, I wish to get the start of the other Odessa firms in -securing the produce of that district, which I have reason to believe -may be had at very low prices. You will proceed by rail to Solteff, and -interview a Mr. Dimidoff, who is the largest landed proprietor in the -town. Make as favourable terms as you can with him. Both Mr. Dimidoff -and I wish the whole thing to be done as quietly and secretly as -possible--in fact, that nothing should be known about the matter until -the grain appears in Odessa. I desire it for the interests of the firm, -and Mr. Dimidoff on account of the prejudice his peasantry entertain -against exportation. You will find yourself expected at the end of your -journey, and will start to-night. Money shall be ready for your -expenses. Good-morning, Mr. Robinson; I hope you won't fail to realise -the good opinion I have of your abilities." - -"Gregory," I said, as I strutted into the office, "I'm off on a -mission--a secret mission, my boy; an affair of thousands of pounds. -Lend me your little portmanteau--mine's too imposing--and tell Ivan to -pack it. A Russian millionaire expects me at the end of my journey. -Don't breathe a word of it to any of Simpkins's people, or the whole -game will be up. Keep it dark!" - -I was so charmed at being, as it were, behind the scenes, that I crept -about the office all day in a sort of cloak-and-bloody-dagger style, -with responsibility and brooding care marked upon every feature; and -when at night I stepped out and stole down to the station, the -unprejudiced observer would certainly have guessed, from my general -behaviour, that I had emptied the contents of the strong-box before -starting into that little valise of Gregory's. It was imprudent of him, -by the way, to leave English labels pasted all over it. However, I could -only hope that the "Londons" and "Birminghams" would attract no -attention, or at least that no rival corn-merchant might deduce from -them who I was and what my errand might be. - -Having paid the necessary roubles and got my ticket, I ensconced myself -in the corner of a snug Russian car, and pondered over my extraordinary -good fortune. Dickson was growing old now, and if I could make my mark -in this matter it might be a great thing for me. Dreams arose of a -partnership in the firm. The noisy wheels seemed to clank out "Bailey, -Robinson & Co.," "Bailey, Robinson & Co.," in a monotonous refrain, -which gradually sank into a hum, and finally ceased as I dropped into a -deep sleep. Had I known the experience which awaited me at the end of my -journey it would hardly have been so peaceable. - -I awoke with an uneasy feeling that some one was watching me closely; -nor was I mistaken. A tall dark man had taken up his position on the -seat opposite, and his black sinister eyes seemed to look through me and -beyond me, as if he wished to read my very soul. Then I saw him glance -down at my little trunk. - -"Good heavens!" thought I, "here's Simpkins's agent, I suppose. It was -careless of Gregory to leave those confounded labels on the valise." - -I closed my eyes for a time, but on reopening them I again caught the -stranger's earnest gaze. - -"From England, I see," he said in Russian, showing a row of white teeth -in what was meant to be an amiable smile. - -"Yes," I replied, trying to look unconcerned, but painfully aware of my -failure. - -"Travelling for pleasure, perhaps?" said he. - -"Yes," I answered eagerly. "Certainly for pleasure; nothing else." - -"Of course not," said he, with a shade of irony in his voice. -"Englishmen always travel for pleasure, don't they? Oh, no; nothing -else." - -His conduct was mysterious, to say the least of it. It was only -explainable upon two hypotheses--he was either a madman, or he was the -agent of some firm bound upon the same errand as myself, and determined -to show me that he guessed my little game. They were about equally -unpleasant, and, on the whole, I was relieved when the train pulled up -in the tumble-down shed which does duty for a station in the rising town -of Solteff--Solteff, whose resources I was about to open out, and whose -commerce I was to direct into the great world channels. I almost -expected to see a triumphal arch as I stepped on to the platform. - -I was to be expected at the end of my journey, so Mr. Dickson had -informed me. I looked about among the motley crowd, but saw no Mr. -Dimidoff. Suddenly a slovenly, unshaved man passed me rapidly, and -glanced first at me and then at my trunk--that wretched trunk, the cause -of all my woes. He disappeared in the crowd; but in a little time came -strolling past me again, and contrived to whisper as he did so, "Follow -me, but at some distance," immediately setting off out of the station -and down the street at a rapid pace. Here was mystery with a vengeance! -I trotted along in his rear with my valise, and on turning the corner -found a rough droschky waiting for me. My unshaven friend opened the -door, and I stepped in. - -"Is Mr. Dim----" I was beginning. - -"Hush!" he cried. "No names, no names; the very walls have ears. You -will hear all to-night;" and with that assurance he closed the door, -and, seizing the reins, we drove off at a rapid pace--so rapid that I -saw my black-eyed acquaintance of the railway carriage gazing after us -in surprise until we were out of sight. - -I thought over the whole matter as we jogged along in that abominable -springless conveyance. - -"They say the nobles are tyrants in Russia," I mused; "but it seems to -me to be the other way about, for here's this poor Mr. Dimidoff, who -evidently thinks his ex-serfs will rise and murder him if he raises the -price of grain in the district by exporting some out of it. Fancy being -obliged to have recourse to all this mystery and deception in order to -sell one's own property! Why, it's worse than an Irish landlord. It is -monstrous! Well, he doesn't seem to live in a very aristocratic quarter -either," I soliloquised, as I gazed out at the narrow crooked streets -and the unkempt dirty Muscovites whom we passed. "I wish Gregory or some -one was with me, for it's a cut-throat-looking shop! By Jove, he's -pulling up; we must be there!" - -We _were_ there, to all appearance; for the droschky stopped, and my -driver's shaggy head appeared through the aperture. - -"It is here, most honoured master," he said, as he helped me to alight. - -"Is Mr. Dimi----" I commenced; but he interrupted me again. - -"Anything but names," he whispered; "anything but that. You are too used -to a land that is free. Caution, oh sacred one!" and he ushered me down -a stone-flagged passage, and up a stair at the end of it. "Sit for a few -minutes in this room," he said, opening a door, "and a repast will be -served for you;" and with that he left me to my own reflections. - -"Well," thought I, "whatever Mr. Dimidoff's house may be like, his -servants are undoubtedly well trained. 'Oh sacred one!' and 'revered -master!' I wonder what he'd call old Dickson himself, if he is so polite -to the clerk! I suppose it wouldn't be the thing to smoke in this little -crib; but I could do a pipe nicely. By the way, how confoundedly like a -cell it looks!" - -It certainly did look like a cell. The door was an iron one, and -enormously strong, while the single window was closely barred. The floor -was of wood, and sounded hollow and insecure as I strode across it. Both -floor and walls were thickly splashed with coffee or some other dark -liquid. On the whole, it was far from being a place where one would be -likely to become unreasonably festive. - -I had hardly concluded my survey when I heard steps approaching down the -corridor, and the door was opened by my old friend of the droschky. He -announced that my dinner was ready, and, with many bows and apologies -for leaving me in what he called the "dismissal room," he led me down -the passage, and into a large and beautifully furnished apartment. A -table was spread for two in the centre of it, and by the fire was -standing a man very little older than myself. He turned as I came in, -and stepped forward to meet me with every symptom of profound respect. - -"So young and yet so honoured!" he exclaimed; and then seeming to -recollect himself, he continued, "Pray sit at the head of the table. -You must be fatigued by your long and arduous journey. We dine -_t[^e]te-[`a]-t[^e]te_; but the others assemble afterwards." - -"Mr. Dimidoff, I presume?" said I. - -"No, sir," said he, turning his keen grey eyes upon me. "My name is -Petrokine; you mistake me perhaps for one of the others. But now, not a -word of business until the council meets. Try your _chef's_ soup; you -will find it excellent, I think." - -Who Mr. Petrokine or the others might be I could not conceive. Land -stewards of Dimidoff's, perhaps; though the name did not seem familiar -to my companion. However, as he appeared to shun any business questions -at present, I gave in to his humour, and we conversed on social life in -England--a subject in which he displayed considerable knowledge and -acuteness. His remarks, too, on Malthus and the laws of population were -wonderfully good, though savouring somewhat of Radicalism. - -"By the way," he remarked, as we smoked a cigar over our wine, "we -should never have known you but for the English labels on your luggage; -it was the luckiest thing in the world that Alexander noticed them. We -had had no personal description of you; indeed we were prepared to -expect a somewhat older man. You are young indeed, sir, to be entrusted -with such a mission." - -"My employer trusts me," I replied; "and we have learned in our trade -that youth and shrewdness are not incompatible." - -"Your remark is true, sir," returned my newly-made friend; "but I am -surprised to hear you call our glorious association a trade! Such a term -is gross indeed to apply to a body of men banded together to supply the -world with that which it is yearning for, but which, without our -exertions, it can never hope to attain. A spiritual brotherhood would be -a more fitting term." - -"By Jove!" thought I, "how pleased the boss would be to hear him! He -must have been in the business himself, whoever he is." - -"Now, sir," said Mr. Petrokine, "the clock points to eight, and the -council must be already sitting. Let us go up together, and I will -introduce you. I need hardly say that the greatest secrecy is observed, -and that your appearance is anxiously awaited." - -I turned over in my mind as I followed him how I might best fulfil my -mission and secure the most advantageous terms. They seemed as anxious -as I was in the matter, and there appeared to be no opposition, so -perhaps the best thing would be to wait and see what they would propose. - -I had hardly come to this conclusion when my guide swung open a large -door at the end of a passage, and I found myself in a room larger and -even more gorgeously fitted up than the one in which I had dined. A long -table, covered with green baize and strewn with papers, ran down the -middle, and round it were sitting fourteen or fifteen men conversing -earnestly. The whole scene reminded me forcibly of a gambling hell I had -visited some time before. - -Upon our entrance the company rose and bowed. I could not but remark -that my companion attracted no attention, while every eye was turned -upon me with a strange mixture of surprise and almost servile respect. A -man at the head of the table, who was remarkable for the extreme pallor -of his face as contrasted with his blue-black hair and moustache, waved -his hand to a seat beside him, and I sat down. - -"I need hardly say," said Mr. Petrokine, "that Gustave Berger, the -English agent, is now honouring us with his presence. He is young, -indeed, Alexis," he continued to my pale-faced neighbour, "and yet he is -of European reputation." - -"Come, draw it mild!" thought I, adding aloud, "If you refer to me, sir, -though I am indeed acting as English agent, my name is not Berger, but -Robinson--Mr. Tom Robinson, at your service." - -A laugh ran round the table. - -"So be it, so be it," said the man they called Alexis. "I commend your -discretion, most honoured sir. One cannot be too careful. Preserve your -English _sobriquet_ by all means. I regret that any painful duty should -be performed upon this auspicious evening; but the rules of our -association must be preserved at any cost to our feelings, and a -dismissal is inevitable to-night." - -"What the deuce is the fellow driving at?" thought I. "What is it to me -if he does give his servant the sack? This Dimidoff, wherever he is, -seems to keep a private lunatic asylum." - -"_Take out the gag!_" The words fairly shot through me, and I started in -my chair. It was Petrokine who spoke. For the first time I noticed that -a burly stout man, sitting at the other end of the table, had his arms -tied behind his chair and a handkerchief round his mouth. A horrible -suspicion began to creep into my heart. Where was I? Was I in Mr. -Dimidoff's? Who were these men, with their strange words? - -"Take out the gag!" repeated Petrokine; and the handkerchief was -removed. - -"Now, Paul Ivanovitch," said he, "what have you to say before you go?" - -"Not a dismissal, sirs," he pleaded; "not a dismissal: anything but -that! I will go into some distant land, and my mouth shall be closed for -ever. I will do anything that the society asks; but pray, pray do not -dismiss me." - -"You know our laws, and you know your crime," said Alexis, in a cold, -harsh voice. "Who drove us from Odessa by his false tongue and his -double face? Who wrote the anonymous letter to the Governor? Who cut the -wire that would have destroyed the arch-tyrant? You did, Paul -Ivanovitch; and you must die." - -I leaned back in my chair and fairly gasped. - -"Remove him!" said Petrokine; and the man of the droschky, with two -others, forced him out. - -I heard the footsteps pass down the passage, and then a door open and -shut. Then came a sound as of a struggle, ended by a heavy, crunching -blow and a dull thud. - -"So perish all who are false to their oath," said Alexis solemnly; and a -hoarse "Amen" went up from his companions. - -"Death alone can dismiss us from our order," said another man further -down; "but Mr. Berg--Mr. Robinson is pale. The scene has been too much -for him after his long journey from England." - -"Oh, Tom, Tom," thought I, "if ever you get out of this scrape you'll -turn over a new leaf. You're not fit to die, and that's a fact." It was -only too evident to me now that by some strange misconception I had got -in among a gang of cold-blooded Nihilists, who mistook me for one of -their order. I felt, after what I had witnessed, that my only chance of -life was to try to play the _r[^o]le_ thus forced upon me until an -opportunity for escape should present itself; so I tried hard to regain -my air of self-possession, which had been so rudely shaken. - -"I am indeed fatigued," I replied; "but I feel stronger now. Excuse my -momentary weakness." - -"It was but natural," said a man with a thick beard at my right hand. -"And now, most honoured sir, how goes the cause in England?" - -"Remarkably well," I answered. - -"Has the great commissioner condescended to send a missive to the -Solteff branch?" asked Petrokine. - -"Nothing in writing," I replied. - -"But he has spoken of it?" - -"Yes: he said he had watched it with feelings of the liveliest -satisfaction," I returned. - -"'Tis well! 'tis well!" ran round the table. - -I felt giddy and sick from the critical nature of my position. Any -moment a question might be asked which would show me in my true colours. -I rose and helped myself from a decanter of brandy which stood on a side -table. The potent liquor flew to my excited brain, and as I sat down I -felt reckless enough to be half amused at my position, and inclined to -play with my tormentors. I still, however, had all my wits about me. - -"You have been to Birmingham?" asked the man with the beard. - -"Many times," said I. - -"Then you have of course seen the private workshop and arsenal?" - -"I have been over them both more than once." - -"It is still, I suppose, entirely unsuspected by the police?" continued -my interrogator. - -"Entirely," I replied. - -"Can you tell us how it is that so large a concern is kept so completely -secret?" - -Here was a poser; but my native impudence and the brandy seemed to come -to my aid. - -"That is information," I replied, "which I do not feel justified in -divulging even here. In withholding it I am acting under the direction -of the chief commissioner." - -"You are right--perfectly right," said my original friend Petrokine. -"You will no doubt make your report to the central office at Moscow -before entering into such details." - -"Exactly so," I replied, only too happy to get a lift out of my -difficulty. - -"We have heard," said Alexis, "that you were sent to inspect the -_Livadia_. Can you give us any particulars about it?" - -"Anything you ask I will endeavour to answer," I replied, in -desperation. - -"Have any orders been made in Birmingham concerning it?" - -"None when I left England." - -"Well, well, there's plenty of time yet," said the man with the -beard--"many months. Will the bottom be of wood or iron?" - -"Of wood," I answered at random. - -"'Tis well!" said another voice. "And what is the breadth of the Clyde -below Greenock?" - -"It varies much," I replied; "on an average about eighty yards." - -"How many men does she carry?" asked an an[ae]mic-looking youth at the -foot of the table, who seemed more fit for a public school than this den -of murder. - -"About three hundred," said I. - -"A floating coffin!" said the young Nihilist, in a sepulchral voice. - -"Are the store-rooms on a level with or underneath the state-cabins?" -asked Petrokine. - -"Underneath," said I decisively, though I need hardly say I had not the -smallest conception. - -"And now, most honoured sir," said Alexis, "tell us what was the reply -of Bauer, the German socialist, to Ravinsky's proclamation." - -Here was a deadlock with a vengeance. Whether my cunning would have -extricated me from it or not was never decided, for Providence hurried -me from one dilemma into another and a worse one. - -A door slammed downstairs, and rapid footsteps were heard approaching. -Then came a loud tap outside, followed by two smaller ones. - -"The sign of the society!" said Petrokine; "and yet we are all present; -who can it be?" - -The door was thrown open, and a man entered, dusty and travel-stained, -but with an air of authority and power stamped on every feature of his -harsh but expressive face. He glanced round the table, scanning each -countenance carefully. There was a start of surprise in the room. He was -evidently a stranger to them all. - -"What means this intrusion, sir?" said my friend with the beard. - -"Intrusion!" said the stranger. "I was given to understand that I was -expected, and had looked forward to a warmer welcome from my -fellow-associates. I am personally unknown to you, gentlemen, but I am -proud to think that my name should command some respect among you. I am -Gustave Berger, the agent from England, bearing letters from the chief -commissioner to his well-beloved brothers of Solteff." - -One of their own bombs could hardly have created greater surprise had it -been fired in the midst of them. Every eye was fixed alternately on me -and upon the newly-arrived agent. - -"If you are indeed Gustave Berger," said Petrokine, "who is this?" - -"That I am Gustave Berger these credentials will show," said the -stranger, as he threw a packet upon the table. "Who that man may be I -know not; but if he has intruded himself upon the lodge under false -pretences, it is clear that he must never carry out of the room what he -has learned. Speak, sir," he added, addressing me: "who and what are -you?" - -I felt that my time had come. My revolver was in my hip-pocket; but what -was that against so many desperate men? I grasped the butt of it, -however, as a drowning man clings to a straw, and I tried to preserve my -coolness as I glanced round at the cold, vindictive faces turned towards -me. - -"Gentlemen," I said, "the _r[^o]le_ I have played to-night has been a -purely involuntary one on my part. I am no police spy, as you seem to -suspect; nor, on the other hand, have I the honour to be a member of -your association. I am an inoffensive corn-dealer, who by an -extraordinary mistake has been forced into this unpleasant and awkward -position." - -I paused for a moment. Was it my fancy that there was a peculiar noise -in the street--a noise as of many feet treading softly? No, it had died -away; it was but the throbbing of my own heart. - -"I need hardly say," I continued, "that anything I may have heard -to-night will be safe in my keeping. I pledge my solemn honour as a -gentleman that not one word of it shall transpire through me." - -The senses of men in great physical danger become strangely acute, or -their imagination plays them curious tricks. My back was towards the -door as I sat, but I could have sworn that I heard heavy breathing -behind it. Was it the three minions whom I had seen before in the -performance of their hateful functions, and who, like vultures, had -sniffed another victim? - -I looked round the table. Still the same hard, cruel faces. Not one -glance of sympathy. I cocked the revolver in my pocket. - -There was a painful silence, which was broken by the harsh, grating -voice of Petrokine. - -"Promises are easily made and easily broken," he said. "There is but one -way of securing eternal silence. It is our lives or yours. Let the -highest among us speak." - -"You are right, sir," said the English agent; "there is but one course -open. He must be dismissed." - -I knew what that meant in their confounded jargon, and sprang to my -feet. - -"By Heaven," I shouted, putting my back against the door, "you shan't -butcher a free Englishman like a sheep! The first among you who stirs, -drops!" - -A man sprang at me. I saw along the sights of my Derringer the gleam of -a knife and the demoniacal face of Gustave Berger. Then I pulled the -trigger, and, with his hoarse scream sounding in my ears, I was felled -to the ground by a crashing blow from behind. Half unconscious, and -pressed down by some heavy weight, I heard the noise of shouts and blows -above me, and then I fainted away. - -When I came to myself I was lying among the _d['e]bris_ of the door, which -had been beaten in on the top of me. Opposite were a dozen of the men -who had lately sat in judgment upon me, tied two and two, and guarded by -a score of Russian soldiers. Beside me was the corpse of the ill-fated -English agent, the whole face blown in by the force of the explosion. -Alexis and Petrokine were both lying on the floor like myself, bleeding -profusely. - -"Well, young fellow, you've had a narrow escape," said a hearty voice in -my ear. - -I looked up, and recognised my black-eyed acquaintance of the railway -carriage. - -"Stand up," he continued: "you're only a bit stunned; no bones broken. -It's no wonder I mistook you for the Nihilist agent, when the very lodge -itself was taken in. Well, you're the only stranger who ever came out of -this den alive. Come downstairs with me. I know who you are, and what -you are after now; I'll take you to Mr. Dimidoff. Nay, don't go in -there," he cried, as I walked towards the door of the cell into which I -had been originally ushered. "Keep out of that: you've seen evil sights -enough for one day. Come down and have a glass of liquor." - -He explained as we walked back to the hotel that the police of Solteff, -of which he was the chief, had had warning and been on the look-out -during some time for this Nihilist emissary. My arrival in so -unfrequented a place, coupled with my air of secrecy and the English -labels on that confounded portmanteau of Gregory's, had completed the -business. - -I have little more to tell. My Socialistic acquaintances were all either -transported to Siberia or executed. My mission was performed to the -satisfaction of my employers. My conduct during the whole business has -won me promotion, and my prospects for life have been improved since -that horrible night, the remembrance of which still makes me shiver. - - -_Printed by_ WALTER SCOTT, _Felling, Newcastle-on-Tyne_. - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Gully of Bluemansdyke, by A. 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