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-
-.. meta::
- :PG.Id: 44369
- :PG.Title: Pals
- :PG.Released: 2013-12-08
- :PG.Rights: Public Domain
- :PG.Producer: Al Haines
- :DC.Creator: Joseph Bowes
- :MARCREL.ill: John Macfarlane
- :DC.Title: Pals
- Young Australians in Sport and Adventure
- :DC.Language: en
- :DC.Created: 1910
- :coverpage: images/img-cover.jpg
-
-====
-PALS
-====
-
-.. clearpage::
-
-.. pgheader::
-
-.. container:: coverpage
-
- .. vspace:: 3
-
- .. figure:: images/img-cover.jpg
- :align: center
- :alt: Cover art
-
- Cover art
-
- .. vspace:: 4
-
-.. container:: frontispiece
-
- .. _`With incredible difficulty Yellow Billy managed to pass his whip thong twice round the brute's neck`:
-
- .. class:: center bold white-space-pre-line
-
- [Frontispiece: With incredible difficulty Yellow Billy
- managed to pass his whip thong twice round the brute's
- neck—*See p.* `188`_. (missing from book)]
-
-.. vspace:: 4
-
-.. container:: titlepage center white-space-pre-line
-
- .. class:: x-large
-
- PALS
-
- .. class:: large
-
- YOUNG AUSTRALIANS
- IN SPORT AND ADVENTURE
-
- .. vspace:: 2
-
- .. class:: medium
-
- BY
-
- .. class:: large
-
- JOSEPH BOWES
-
- .. vspace:: 3
-
- .. class:: center medium
-
- *WITH EIGHT FULL-PAGE COLOURED ILLUSTRATIONS
- BY JOHN MACFARLANE*
-
- .. vspace:: 3
-
- .. class:: medium
-
- LONDON: JAMES GLASS
- 28 NEWGATE STREET
- 1910
-
-.. vspace:: 4
-
-.. class:: center large bold
-
- CONTENTS
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-.. class:: noindent small
-
- CHAP.
-
-.. class:: noindent white-space-pre-line
-
-I. `By Way of Introduction`_
-II. `The Bushrangers`_
-III. `A Desperate Encounter`_
-IV. `The Great Match`_
-V. `The Big Flood`_
-VI. `On the Face of the Waters`_
-VII. `The Death of the Forest Monarch`_
-VIII. `What the Tree held`_
-IX. `The Rescue`_
-X. `The Return`_
-XI. `The Breaking Up`_
-XII. `Down the River`_
-XIII. `Off for the Holidays`_
-XIV. `Christmas Fun and Frolic`_
-XV. `A Bush Ride and its Consequences`_
-XVI. `The Dingo Raid`_
-XVII. `Dingo *v.* Emu: A Fight to a Finish`_
-XVIII. `The Chase and its Sequel`_
-XIX. `Concerning Wild Horses`_
-XX. `The Brumby Hunt`_
-XXI. `The Warrigal's Strategy`_
-XXII. `How Yellow Billy broke the Warrigal`_
-XXIII. `A Day's Shoot`_
-XXIV. `The Corrobberie`_
-XXV. `In the Bushrangers' Caves`_
-XXVI. `The Explorers`_
-XXVII. `A Respite`_
-XXVIII. `The Camp by the Sea`_
-XXIX. `At the Mercy of the Sea-Tiger`_
-XXX. `In and About the Camp`_
-XXXI. `Off to the Gold Diggings`_
-XXXII. `How they struck Gold`_
-XXXIII. `Bullion and Bushranger`_
-
-.. vspace:: 4
-
-.. class:: center large bold
-
- LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-.. class:: noindent
-
-`With incredible difficulty Yellow Billy managed to pass his whip
-thong twice round the brute's neck`_ (missing from
-book) . . . *Frontispiece*
-
-.. vspace:: 1
-
-.. class:: noindent
-
-`Suddenly the Forest Monarch topples, lurches, staggers and falls
-with a mighty crash`_
-
-.. vspace:: 1
-
-.. class:: noindent
-
-`The neighbours saw, far out on the wild, wreckage-strewn waters,
-a tiny boat with four slight figures`_
-
-.. vspace:: 1
-
-.. class:: noindent
-
-`The emu failed to elude the panther-like spring`_
-
-.. vspace:: 1
-
-.. class:: noindent
-
-`Retreating one moment and advancing the following, uttering
-war-cries`_
-
-.. vspace:: 1
-
-.. class:: noindent
-
-`The huge brute lashed the water into foam, and swam round
-and round in a circle`_
-
-.. vspace:: 1
-
-.. class:: noindent
-
-`"We've struck it rich, I do believe," cried the stockman`_
-
-.. vspace:: 1
-
-.. class:: noindent
-
-`Behind the lantern came a voice that more than the lantern, or
-even pistol, cowed them: "*Stop! Hands up!*"`_ (missing from book)
-
-.. vspace:: 4
-
-..
-
- | The grey gums by the lonely creek
- | The star-crowned height,
- | The wind-swept plain, the dim blue peak,
- | The cold white light,
- | The solitude spread near and far
- | Around the camp-fire's tiny star,
- | The horse-bell's melody remote,
- | The curlew's melancholy note,
- | Across the night.
- |
- | GEORGE ESSEX EVANS
-
-.. vspace:: 4
-
-.. _`BY WAY OF INTRODUCTION`:
-
-.. class:: center x-large bold
-
- PALS
-
-.. vspace:: 3
-
-.. class:: center large bold
-
- CHAPTER I
-
-.. class:: center medium bold
-
- BY WAY OF INTRODUCTION
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-.. class:: small
-
-"Happy season of virtuous youth, when shame is still an impassable
-barrier, and the sacred air cities of hope have not shrunk into the mean
-clay hamlets of reality; and man by his nature is yet infinite and
-free."—CARLYLE.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-"Comin' over to-night, Tom?"
-
-"By jings! I'd like to, Joe, but dad said this morning
-he was going to shell corn to-night. You know what that
-means. What's on?"
-
-"Oh! Sandy's stayin' in for the night; so I thought of
-gettin' Jimmy Flynn an' Yellow Billy so's we could have
-bushrangers, an' stick up the coach by moonlight. If
-they can't come, Sandy an' I'll go 'possumin' in the
-slaughter-house paddock."
-
-"I say! what a jolly lark the bushranging'd be. How'd
-you manage it, Joe?"
-
-"We've planned that out all right. We'd get Jimmy
-Flynn's billy-goat cart an' the billies. He'd be mailman,
-an' it'd be gold-escort day. Yellow Billy'd be the trooper;
-he's got a pistol, you know. He'd ride the roan steer
-he's broken in. Then you, Sandy, an' I'd be Ben Bolt's
-gang. We'd do a plant in a lonely spot along the road
-an' surprise 'em. I'd tackle Billy, you'd look after
-Jimmy, Sandy 'd collar the mailbags and gold boxes, and
-then scoot with the loot. I think it'd be better to shoot
-Billy, so's to make it a bit more real; that's what Ben
-Bolt'd do."
-
-"But, Joe, where'd we get the guns?"
-
-"I'd get father's. You'd have to make believe with a
-nulla-nulla. We could stick a boomerang in our belts, it'd
-look like pistols in the dark."
-
-"But I say, Joe, ole chap, you wouldn't really shoot
-Billy?" said Tom in a tone that savoured both of fear
-and scepticism.
-
-"You're a precious muff, Hawkins! I was just kidding
-you. No, you stupid, it's all gammon. The noise the
-powder 'll make 'll scare the seven senses outer Billy."
-
-"By golly! it'll be crummie enough. Put it off till
-to-morrow, Joe, an' I'll come."
-
-"Can't be done, my boy. Sandy'll not be here, for one
-thing. Besides, I have to pull father down to Yallaroi
-Bend to-morrow. It's his service night there. Sorry you
-can't come, Tom. We'll have to do our best without you."
-
-"Oh Moses! to think that I can't join!" groaned Tom.
-"Look here, Joe, I—I'll do a sneak. I'll be here somehow,
-you may bet your Sunday breeks," continued the eager
-lad, as he stepped into the little "flat-bottom" boat which
-had brought him over.
-
-"Joe!" he shouted when he had rowed some distance
-from the shore. "I'll give a cooee if I can get, an' two
-cooees if the way's blocked. So don't start till you hear."
-
-"Right-o!"
-
-The place where these boys lived, moved, and had their
-being was a district famed for its fertility, on one of the
-northern rivers in New South Wales.
-
-The river itself had many of the elements of nobility
-and beauty as, taking its rise in the snowy heights of the
-New England ranges, it clove its way eastward, finally
-debouching into the blue waters of the Pacific. The
-river-flats formed magnificent stretches of arable lands; too
-rich, indeed, for such cereals as wheat and oats, for
-their rank growth rendered them liable to the fatal rust.
-
-Here, however, was the home of the maize, the
-pumpkin, the sweet potato, the orange, the lemon, the
-plantain. Here too, the natural sequence, in a way, of
-the prolific corn and the multitudinous pumpkin, were
-reared and flourished the unromantic pig.
-
-Fed on pumpkins, with skim milk for beverage, topped
-off with corn, the Australian grunter—whether as
-delicious, crisp bacon, or posing as aristocratic
-ham—produces flesh with a flavour fit to set before a king.
-
-Away from the river-flats the land becomes undulating
-and ridgy, and well grassed for cattle runs. In the scrub
-belts, running back from the river and its affluents into
-the hilly country, are to be found valuable timbers, hard
-and soft; especially that forest noble, the red cedar.
-
-Cattle runs of large extent exist in the back-blocks,
-formed in the early days by that class of men to whom
-Australia owes so much; the men who to-day are vilified
-by those not worthy to black their boots: the hardy,
-adventurous, courageous, indomitable pioneer, who more
-often than not laid down his life and his fortune in the
-interest of Colonial expansion and occupation.
-
-At intervals along the river-banks are small settlements,
-dignified by the name of townships. Tareela, the
-principal village, skirted both sides of the river, and was
-connected by a ferry. Here were located the Government
-offices for the district, together with the stores, hotels,
-school, etc.
-
-Joe Blain, the minister's son, was the leader of the
-village lads. He had two pals, who were inseparable from
-him: Sandy M'Intyre, the squatter's son, whose father
-owned Bullaroi, a cattle station situated a few miles from
-the town, and Tom Hawkins, a farmer's son, the youngest
-of the trio. These boys gave tone and direction to the
-fun and frolic of the settlement. Of them it is sufficient
-to say at present that they were not pedestal lads.
-
-At this time a noted bushranger and his mate were
-raiding the settlements. All police pursuit was futile,
-owing to the resourcefulness of the 'rangers. They had a
-keen knowledge of the open country and the mountain
-ranges. Furthermore, they were generally mounted on
-blood horses, usually "borrowed" from the surrounding
-station studs.
-
-These men had many sympathisers among the lawlessly
-inclined, and, strange to say, among law-abiding settlers.
-The "bush-telegraph" was an institution in those days.
-Certain friends of the 'rangers kept them posted up in
-the movements of the police, sometimes by word of mouth,
-at others by writings on paper or bark, which were
-deposited in rock crevices or in tree hollows, known only
-to the initiated. Sometimes a young lad, or even a girl,
-would ride scores of miles across country to give them
-warning.
-
-The police were not wanting in bush lore or courage,
-and in the end invariably ran their quarry to earth. But
-an outlaw often had a long career in crime, owing to the
-aid given, ere he was trapped. Thanks to closer
-settlement, the advance of education, and the general use of
-the electric telegraph, bushranging has become a matter
-of history. The species is now to be found only in the
-stage melodrama, the itinerating waxwork show, or
-embalmed in literature.
-
-
-
-
-
-.. vspace:: 4
-
-.. _`THE BUSHRANGERS`:
-
-.. class:: center large bold
-
- CHAPTER II
-
-
-.. class:: center medium bold
-
- "THE BUSHRANGERS
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-.. class:: noindent small
-
-"*Poins*: Tut! our horses they shall not see. I'll tie them in the
-wood; our visors we will change after we leave them; and, sirrah, I
-have cases of buckram for the nonce to immask our noted outward
-garments.
-
-.. class:: noindent small
-
-"*Prince*: But I doubt they will be too hard for us."
-
-.. class:: small
-
-SHAKESPEARE, Henry IV.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-
-After leaving Tom Hawkins, or, to put it more correctly,
-after Tom had paddled away in his punt, Joe Blain
-proceeded to look up Jimmy Flynn, the blacksmith's
-apprentice, and Yellow Billy, a half-caste youth, whose
-father followed the occupation of a timber-getter in the
-ranges. Yellow Billy was generally employed as yard
-boy at the Travellers' Best Inn, and a rough time he
-often had, especially when the timber-getters were
-dissolving their hard-earned gold in alcohol.
-
-One of Billy's duties was to milk the cows and tend the
-calves. Among the latter was a yearling steer, which he
-broke in and rode on the quiet. Many an hour's frolic
-the boys had in the moonlight in riding the steer. This
-animal had a good slice of the rogue in its composition,
-with a propensity for buck-jumping. When in a certain
-mood it would be as stubborn as a donkey and as savage
-as a mule.
-
-After standing, say for some minutes, never budging, in
-spite of thwackings and tail-twistings, it would suddenly
-take to buck-jumping. Oh, my, couldn't it buck! Woe
-betide the unlucky rider when it was in this mood. Torn
-from his hold—a rope round its brisket—one moment
-behold him sprawling over its back, the next whirling through
-space, finally deposited with more force than elegance on
-the turf. All this, however, was great fun for the boys,
-who encouraged the brute in its bucking moods, each
-mounting in turns, to lie prone sooner or later on mother
-earth, amid the uproarious laughter of his fellows.
-
-Billy was the exception. He was a born rider. Unable
-to shift him from its back, the brute became quite docile
-in his hands, and kept its tricks for the others.
-
-Jimmy and Billy were ready and willing to fill their
-parts in the bill. The former, at "knock off," went out to
-the town common to round his goats, and Billy promised
-to be ready, "steered," so to speak, by the time appointed.
-
-The road fixed upon was the track that led out from the
-township to a large sawmill, distant about six miles. It
-was a solitary road, passing through a scrub-belt, crossing
-several minor creeks, threading its way over a rocky
-ridge, winding through a rather wild defile, and ending at
-the mill; the sort of place, indeed, to present numerous
-opportunities for the criminal enterprise on hand. A
-spot where one could get "nice and creepy," as Joe said to
-Yellow Billy, much to that young man's disquiet.
-
-The plan of campaign was simple enough. Joe, Tom,
-and Sandy were to set out as soon as possible after
-sundown and choose their spot for attack; while Jimmy was
-to drive the Royal Billy-goat Mailcart, with Trooper Yellow
-Billy a little in advance, as per custom.
-
-The embryo bushrangers, unfortunately, had only one
-horse between them; the one Sandy rode to school. Mr. Blain's
-horse, on which the boys counted, was being used by
-the minister to take him to a moonlight service some
-distance out from the river. It was settled, therefore, that
-the three boys should bestride Sandy's stout cob, which was
-well able to carry these juvenile desperadoes.
-
-"Mother!" shouted Joe, as he strode into the house in
-the late afternoon, from the wood-pile, where he had been
-chopping the next day's supply, "we're going to have
-grand fun to-night."
-
-"What sort of fun, my son?"
-
-"Bushranging along the sawmill road. Can I go
-mother? We've got such a grand plot."
-
-"Well, I don't mind; but don't be out late."
-
-"S'pose I can have the gun?"
-
-"The g-u-n!"
-
-"Yes, mother. No need to fear. It's all play."
-
-"Well, don't load it."
-
-"Only with powder to make a bang."
-
-"I don't like the idea, my boy. Gun accidents often
-happen in play. You remember Jim Andrews——"
-
-"Oh yes, mother, but that's different! It was loaded."
-
-In the end, owing to the boy's importunity, Mrs. Blain
-reluctantly consented.
-
-Early tea being duly dispatched, the boys made the
-necessary preparations for their dark deed. Joe produced
-a pair of knee-boots, the some time property of his
-father. He made them fit by sticking rags into the toes.
-He thrust his trousers' legs into the boot-tops, and wound
-a red scarf round his waist, through which he stuck a
-boomerang and nulla-nulla. A 'possum-skin cap adorned
-his head. His final act was to fasten on a corn-tassel
-moustache, and to strap his gun across his back. The
-broad effect of the costume was to make this youthful
-outlaw a cross, as it were, between Robinson Crusoe and
-a Greek brigand.
-
-Indeed he quite terrified his two sisters, as he suddenly
-entered the sitting-room to the accompaniment of a
-blood-curdling yell. This the girls match with a shriek that
-wakes up the sleeping baby, bringing the mother in with
-a rush.
-
-For a moment Mrs. Blain, seeing Joe in the half-light,
-thought some ruffian had entered.
-
-"It's very thoughtless and wrong of you, Joe, to frighten
-your sisters. I—I—I'm quite angry with you——"
-
-"Very sorry, mater," said Joe, with a serio-comic air. "I
-only meant to give them a start."
-
-The girls, however, began to laugh, Joe looked such an
-oddity. They turned the tables on him by quizzing him
-most unmercifully. At last our young hero was very glad
-to beat a retreat to the backyard, where he found Sandy
-busy in saddling the horse.
-
-Joe's confederate had roughened himself as much as
-circumstances permitted. In lieu of a skin cap he tied a
-big handkerchief round his hat, and stuck a couple of
-turkey-tail feathers through it. He had manufactured a
-brace of pistols out of short lengths of bamboo, with
-corn-cobs, stuck in bored holes at an angle, to form the stocks.
-These, with a boomerang and nulla-nulla slung at either
-side, and a short spear fixed in his belt at the back and
-standing over his head, made him in appearance more
-like a red Indian than a Colonial free-booter.
-
-"All ready, Hawkeye?"
-
-"Yes, ole pal. The mustang is waiting, and the brave
-will vault into the saddle at Thundercloud's word of
-command," answered Hawkeye in bastard Cooperese.
-Fenimore of that ilk was Sandy's favourite author.
-
-"Hast thou heard the signal of Red Murphy?" said
-Joe, falling into the strain of speech.
-
-"No, Thundercloud. No sound from our brither of
-the hither shore hath been borne on the wings of the wind
-across the——"
-
-"Oh, stow that rot, Sand—Hawkeye! I wonder?——"
-
-"Yon's the cry of the chiel," broke in the would-be
-brave, as at that moment the cooee of Tom Hawkins,
-alias Red Murphy, rose in the still air, faint from the
-distance, but distinct.
-
-"A single cooee! Rippin! he's comin'. Let's mount
-and wait at the landing."
-
-Hardly had the boys reached the river-bank ere Red
-Murphy appeared, attired much as the others, with the
-addition of an old blunderbuss belonging to his father.
-
-"It's all right, boys! Hurroar! Dad broke the handle
-of the corn-sheller this evening, and sent me over with
-it to the blacksmith's. I'm to wait till it's mended.
-Wait a jiff an' I'll be with you," cried he, as he ran to the
-smithy, returning as fast as his legs could bring him, with
-the news that the broken handle could not be repaired
-under three hours owing to other urgent work.
-
-Joe rapidly detailed the plan, informing Tom, at the
-same time, that his name and character were to be that
-of Red Murphy, one of the blood-thirstiest and most
-rapacious cut-throats in the Colonies.
-
-
-
-
-
-.. vspace:: 4
-
-.. _`A DESPERATE ENCOUNTER`:
-
-.. class:: center large bold
-
- CHAPTER III
-
-
-.. class:: center medium bold
-
- A DESPERATE ENCOUNTER
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-.. class:: small
-
-"*Falstaff*: I am a rogue if I were not
-at half-sword with a dozen of them
-two hours together. I have 'scaped by miracle.
-I am eight times thrust
-through the doublet; four through the hose; my buckler cut through;
-my sword hacked like a handsaw *ecce signum*.
-I never dealt better since
-I was a man; all would not do."—SHAKESPEARE, *Henry IV*.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-Joe had barely made his explanations before the
-rumbling of the approaching cart was heard. It was the
-Royal Mail starting on its adventurous trip.
-
-"Time to be off, pals!" cried the leader. "Now then,
-Hawkeye, whip 'em up."
-
-Off started the trio, Thundercloud, Hawkeye, and Red
-Murphy; each delivering a blood-curdling yell which
-rang up and down the street, as they passed through it
-at a smart canter. It had never fallen to the lot of horse,
-before, to bear upon its back at the same time three
-such ferocious outlaws, bent on so diabolical an errand.
-Behind them, and at a slower pace, came the Royal Mail
-goatcart, drawn by four strong billies, skilfully driven
-by coachman Jimmy, and attended by Trooper Billy
-astride his cud-chewing steed.
-
-After leaving the township the road skirted the river
-for a mile or so, then, crossing a plank bridge, bore away
-to the hills. The silver moon shone from the clear sky
-through the pure air, making the tree shadows as they
-lay across the road to resemble fallen timber. The
-nocturnal 'possum, having ventured to the ground to feed
-upon the tender grass, scudded up the trees, frightened
-by the rumbling vehicle and the baaing steeds. The
-thud of paddy-melon[#] and wallaby could be distinctly
-heard, as they smote the earth in their jumping
-movements; while from the heights of some lofty tree the
-mopoke[#] tolled his mournful cry.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-.. class:: noindent small
-
-[#] "Paddy-melon," a small marsupial or pouch-bearing mammal.
-
-.. class:: noindent small
-
-[#] "Mopoke," the Australian crested goat-sucker.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-The coach had now passed the three-mile creek, and
-still there was no sound of disturbing element. The
-coachman and trooper, having intelligence to the effect
-that the 'rangers were "out," and had threatened to "stick"
-up the gold-escort, were on the *qui vive*. They surmised
-that the attack would come in the scrub-belt, and about
-the spot where the creek intersected. Here the tall,
-overhanging trees, interlaced as they were with a thick
-vinous growth, effectually barred the moon's rays.
-
-It was the ideal spot for ambush, and the hearts of the
-boys beat faster, and a nervous apprehension amounting
-to fear seized them, as they passed among the shadows.
-Everything had a distorted appearance, and again and
-again they trembled, as it were, on the verge of attack.
-They had chatted freely until the darkness of the
-scrub closed in upon them. Under its oppression, and
-by reason of the dread uncertainty, what had before
-seemed to be only a prime lark now presented itself as
-a grim reality.
-
-They drove on slowly now, conversing only in whispers,
-for the night silences, the deepening shadows, and the
-unseen before them, all contributed to the mental mood
-which affected the boys. The creek banks and bed, save
-for a solitary moon-ray which silvered the rippling water,
-were enwrapped in thick darkness. Pulling up at the
-brink, the boys held a short conversation.
-
-"Goin' ter cross, Jimmy?"
-
-"I—I—s'pose so, Billy. Measly black ahead, ain't it?"
-
-"You're not frightened, are you?"
-
-"Wot! me? No fear! Y'are yourself!"
-
-"I like that! Wot's to be frightened of?"
-
-Yet the boys, if truth be told, were a good deal alarmed
-by the unwonted darkness and stillness.
-
-"Well, s'pose we'd better be gettin' on. Don't care how
-soon we git outer this hole. You cross ahead, Billy, an' do
-a bit o' scoutin'. I'll wait here till you git up the bank
-on the other side."
-
-Yellow Billy didn't like the prospect, and would have
-proposed turning back, but was afraid of being called a
-coward. Therefore, despite an apprehension of the
-darkness, accentuated by his aboriginal strain, and very much
-against his will, the half-caste plunged down the creek
-bed, and mounted the other side without let or hindrance,
-greatly to his surprise and relief.
-
-But where are the 'rangers?
-
-Of them the darkness gave no token and the silence is
-unbroken. Jimmy had some difficulty in getting his
-leaders to tackle the creek. It was only after he left the
-cart, seized their heads, and half-dragged them into the
-water that he effected his purpose. The scrub thinned
-out shortly after passing the creek, and the spirits of the
-boys rose with the increasing moonlight.
-
-"They missed a grand charnce at the crick, Billy!"
-
-"By dad, they did that! I wonder where they are.
-P'raps they've given us the slip."
-
-The road took a sudden turn just here, leading over a
-rocky ridge. At a farther sharp turn, under the lee of a
-bank, a big log lay across the road.
-
-"Hello, here's a go, Jimmy! You'll have to drive
-round. No! you can't do that. Wait a moment an'
-I'll——"
-
-"Bail up!"
-
-The cry, crisp and startling, rang out, as three figures
-darted from the shadow of a huge tree which stood near.
-Thundercloud, the leader of the band of bushrangers,
-pointed his gun at the driver. Hawkeye made a dash at
-the trooper, while Red Murphy seized hold of the leading
-billies.
-
-"Hands up!" cried Thundercloud in the highest style
-of bushranging. "Your money or your life!"
-
-Trooper Billy was not disposed to yield without a
-struggle, and at the first cry he whipped out his pistol,
-firing at his aggressor point blank, missing the leader but
-hitting his confederate, Hawkeye, who tumbled down with
-a loud squeal, as unlike an Indian war-whoop as it is
-possible to imagine. Simultaneously, Thundercloud
-discharged his gun at Jimmy the coachman, who, instead of
-putting his hands up at the challenge, began to lash the
-billies, and had just turned them off the log, when—pop,
-crash! went the two weapons.
-
-And now the unforeseen occurred. The steer and the
-billies bolted! Down the ridge and along the road they
-dashed at breakneck speed; the steer roaring and kicking,
-the four strong billies baaing, and neither driver nor
-rider could control the brutes. Away they scurried along
-the rough bush-track, the cart bumping and rocking over
-the ruts; every jump of the trap bringing a fresh bleat
-from the fear-stricken goats.
-
-After racing along for nearly a mile and finding his
-steed unmanageable, getting frightened too, Yellow Billy
-slipped over the stern, and by good luck dropped upon
-his feet. It was different with Jimmy, who gallantly hung
-on to the billies. The creek was what he most feared, and
-it was very close now. He had, however, got a pull on
-the beasts, and they were slackening a little, but, as
-ill-luck would have it, on going down a gully one of the
-wheels caught a tree root, and in a jiffy capsized the cart,
-sending the driver head over heels into a clump of
-bracken.
-
-The incident gave fresh impetus to the runaways, who
-rushed on baaing; dashing at length down the steep
-incline of the creek, the cart righted itself as it tumbled
-adown the gradient. They tore over the stream and up
-the bank, finally leaving the track, and getting boxed up
-in the scrub.
-
-After lying in a stunned condition for a few minutes,
-Jimmy scrambled up. But the moment he put his weight
-on his right foot he let out a yell, caused by the terrific
-pain that shot through his ankle. It was unbearable, and
-he tumbled down in an almost fainting condition.
-
-Meanwhile the outlaws stood aghast at the unexpected
-and startling turn of events. Thundercloud was the first
-to recover his speech.
-
-"Great Cæsar! who would have dreamt of a bolt?
-Just listen to the brutes!" as the animals tore along,
-baaing and roaring in a way possible only to frightened
-billies and calves.
-
-"I—I—didn't know he'd loaded his pistol. I—I—I
-thought for sure I was a goon coon," gasped Hawkeye, who,
-after lying for a minute under the impression that he was
-mortally wounded, got up, rubbing his face and head,
-half terrified as his hands became wet with flowing blood,
-and only reassured after Joe had declared that the blood
-was from his nose. As a matter of fact, he had sustained
-a smart blow upon his prominent feature with the pistol
-wad; his cheeks, also, were scorched with the powder
-flare.
-
-Red Murphy, who had just grasped the billies' heads
-when the guns were fired, was thrown down in their mad
-rush, and had his shins severely barked on the rocky
-ground.
-
-"Drat the brutes! Oh, I say, here's a go! Listen to
-the beggars! Ain't they footin' it?"
-
-"To horse! to horse, pals!" cried Thundercloud, making
-hasty strides to a patch of scrub where they had tied up
-the horse. In a few seconds the three were mounted and
-away with a swinging canter, adding their yells to the
-cries of the beasts. They were soon up to the spot where
-Jimmy had come to grief, when, thundering down the
-gully, the horse made a shy at the prostrate coachman,
-shooting off Thundercloud and Red Murphy. They
-scrambled up quickly, none the worse for their spill.
-Hawkeye immediately reined in his steed and rejoined
-his dismounted companions.
-
-The boys were greatly concerned to find Jimmy in this
-condition. The affair began to assume a serious aspect.
-They were no longer outlaws and police: they were pals,
-and Jimmy was suffering intense pain from his sprained
-ankle. After a short consultation the boy was placed on
-the horse, which was led by Sandy. The others followed
-behind, making a somewhat mournful spectacle. In due
-course they reached the goatcart, now in possession of
-Yellow Billy, who had disentangled the team and was
-waiting for the others to come along. The steer
-meanwhile continued his career at headlong speed, until he
-pulled up at the milking yards in an exhausted condition.
-Mrs. Blain, as the hours sped by, began to get concerned
-at the non-return of the boys. Concern deepened
-into anxiety. She became a prey to evil imaginings, as
-do all our dear mothers. They are lost! ... Some dreadful
-accident has happened! ... That gun! ... Their legs, arms,
-necks, are broken! And so on and on, running over the
-whole gamut of catastrophy.
-
-She goes out to scan the streets, and listens with
-strained ears for some enheartening sound of footsteps.
-Lights are out in the village. Even the dogs are sleeping.
-No shuffle of advancing feet; no rattle of wheels as they
-grind in the ruts: no sound, indeed, is borne upon the
-night wind save the mystic noises of the flowing river,
-which fill the air with a deep undertone. Above this, at
-intervals, come the splashing sounds of the jumping fish;
-the smooth splash of the falling mullet, the tail flutter of
-the rising perch. The wood-duck's soft quack-quack, and
-the red-bill's chuckle, are to be heard as they move among
-the sedges. No landward sound!
-
-Stay! a dark shadow swiftly steals along the earth like
-a spirit of evil omen, and passes through the house, across
-the street, as it strikes the walls. While from above
-comes a wail as that of a lost soul.
-
-The poor woman quivers and shivers at the unwonted
-sight and sound. She knows not that the apparition is
-the shadow of a black swan, which is sailing high up in
-the heavens; it crosses the moon, and utters its melancholy
-note as it wings its flight to the feeding grounds. The
-mother is now on the outskirts of the town, under the
-shadows of the trees. Every leaf is a tongue; every
-tongue whispers—Something! which dries the throat and
-fills the ears with heart-thumps. "Why did I? ... That
-gun! ... What will father? ... Why don't they
-come? ... Which track? ... Hark! Yes, 'tis the
-galloping hoofs ... Oh, God! it is the steer! ...
-Riderless! ... This way, then.... On, on, on! ... At
-last! ..."
-
-"Cheer up, mother ... no harm done ... Jimmy had
-a bit of a buster an' sprained his ankle.... Scold us,
-mother, but—don't cry!"
-
-The hour is verging on midnight as five weary lads,
-four billies, one horse, and one thankful woman straggled
-into the silent township. All romance, for the moment,
-had gone out of bushranging.
-
-
-
-
-
-.. vspace:: 4
-
-.. _`THE GREAT MATCH`:
-
-.. class:: center large bold
-
- CHAPTER IV
-
-
-.. class:: center medium bold
-
- THE GREAT MATCH
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-..
-
- | "God bless the grilling days of cricket!
- | They're gone but I shall bless them ever,
- | For good it is to guard a wicket
- | By sudden wrist and big endeavour."
- | NORMAN GALE.
- |
- | "There's a breathless hush in the close to night,
- | Ten to make and the match to win,
- | A bumping pitch and a blinding light,
- | An hour to play and the last man in."
- | HENRY NEWBOLT.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-"Hawkins, stand out!"
-
-"Please, sir, I wasn't doin' nothin'!"
-
-"No, you wasn't doin' nothin', but you have been
-talking all morning, you tiresome boy! Write out
-'disobedient' three hundred times after school."
-
-The fact is, Tom was relating the bushranging episode
-to a schoolmate, and, like Tom Sawyer, he "laid over"
-considerably in his recital. While in the act of enlarging
-he was brought to book in this peremptory fashion by the
-master, and had to do penance with as little relish as
-most boys.
-
-"Sorry you can't come out and play, Tom," said Joe
-Blain, poking his head into the empty schoolhouse after
-dismissal.
-
-"It's a beastly shame! What are you fellows up to?"
-
-"Goin' to practise for the Dingdongla match. After
-that we'll have a swim."
-
-"Oh, rot it!" grunted the chagrined prisoner.
-
-"Say, Tom, don't forget to come along to-night an' help
-pick the team."
-
-"I'll be there, never fret."
-
-"Well, so-long. Wire in, and keep your pecker up."
-
-Dingdongla was an up-river settlement; Tareela a
-down-river town. The latter named was the older and
-more substantial place, being the headquarters of the
-shipping. As a consequence it was instinct with the
-superior air generally to be met with in places of
-metropolitan pretensions. In schools, too, the down-river
-town had the advantage. Its school building was of sawn
-timber, with a shingle roof. Furthermore, it possessed two
-teachers, and pine desks. While, on the other hand, the
-up-river academy was constructed of roughly adzed slabs
-and a bark roof.
-
-For the Dingdonglas to be thrashed in cricket by the
-Tareelians was not considered to be a disgrace. *Per
-contra*, their victory was a splendid achievement, and a
-great humiliation to their opponents. The latter was fairly
-beaten by the former last season, and naught would restore
-their prestige save the administration of an unmitigated
-licking. So, at least, thought the match Committee, as they
-conned names, and analysed the merits of the candidates
-on the name list.
-
-Needless to say, Joe, Tom, and Sandy headed the list of
-certainties. Yellow Billy came next; for though a very
-irregular attendant at school, he was a tremendous swiper
-when he got his eye in. Billy had dragged more than
-one match out of the fire.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-Saturday morning broke fair. Shortly after an early
-breakfast a cavalcade of about twenty youthful horsemen,
-followed by two teachers in a gig, were scampering along
-the bush road to Dingdongla, distant about nine miles up
-the river. Oh, the merry, merry days of youth! Those
-are the days of the superlative mood.
-
-It was a merry, roaring, romping, racing crowd of
-youngsters that tore along the bush track. They jumped
-fallen timber and gullies; chased the flying marsupial;
-and spurted in couples for short lengths. There were
-minor accidents, 'tis true. Pincher Putnan's horse, in a
-fit of pig-jumping, broke a girth, sending Pincher and
-saddle to mother earth. Yellow Billy's half-broken
-brumby fairly bolted in a race, cleared off the road, and
-rushed through a belt of timber at breakneck speed,
-towards his native haunts in the Nulla ranges. It was
-only the superb horsemanship of the half-caste that saved
-him from being dashed against the trees in the headlong
-flight.
-
-In due time Dingdongla is reached. The horses are
-turned out in a maize stubble paddock, where is a fine
-picking, and the boys stroll on to the ground to have
-a look at the pitch.
-
-"Whatyer think of the pitch, Joe?"
-
-"You'll have to keep your eye skinned for shooters
-Rody. The ball'll keep very low. Must keep a straight
-bat and forward play."
-
-The stumps, like much of the material, were home-made.
-The Dingdonglas had only one "spring handle"; the others
-were chopped out of beech boards. The Tareelians were
-not much better off for material. They, it is true, had
-two "spring handles,"—more or less battered,—and
-could boast a pair of wicket gloves, but for the rest
-were like their opponents, sans leggings and gloves.
-That, however, was a small item; for every boy who
-possessed boots doffed them, rolling his trouser legs to
-the knees and his shirt sleeves to the elbows.
-
-"Got all your men, Wilson?" said Joe to the
-Dingdonglas' captain.
-
-"Yes, they're all here. May as well toss for innin's, Joe."
-
-"Right you are," responds Joe, ejecting a jet of saliva
-on a piece of flat wood. "Shall I toss, or you?"
-
-"You toss, Joe."
-
-"Call you!" cried Blain, tossing the board with a twirl
-skywards. "Wet or dry?"
-
-"Wet!" called Wilson, as the wood spun in the air.
-
-"Dry!" exclaimed Joe, as it lay on the ground with its
-dry side uppermost. "We've won, and go in."
-
-"Tom," said he a moment later, "you and Yellow Billy
-go in first, an' you take the strike."
-
-The batsmen were soon in their places, and the Dingdongs
-in the field. The innings opened fairly well for the
-Tareelians. Yellow Billy got quickly to work, and laid
-on the wood to some purpose; Tom playing carefully
-the while.
-
-Facing the Dingdonglas' swift bowler, after a smart
-short-hit run Billy sent a well-pitched ball for four,
-a rattling, straight-hit drive. But in trying to repeat
-the stroke off the next ball he misjudged, and, skying the
-sphere, was easily caught.
-
-"One wicket for twenty!" of which the half-caste
-contributed fifteen.
-
-After this the troubles of the batsmen set in. The
-Dingdongs were strong in bowling talent, and possessed
-a local Spofforth, whose lightning deliveries shot and
-kicked in a marvellous fashion. Joe, going in fifth man,
-stayed the "rot" for a while, but was foolishly run out
-by his mate.
-
-The Tareelians were all out in an hour for the small
-total of forty-seven. If the down-river boys were
-despondent over this score, the up-rivers were correspondingly
-jubilant. Going to the wickets with plenty of
-confidence, they rattled up ninety-nine before the last
-wicket fell; the captain carrying out his bat for a
-well-earned forty-two.
-
-Adjournment for lunch was now made. We call
-it lunch by courtesy. It was a big bush feed. This
-repast was served in the schoolhouse, the rough desks
-being converted into tables, which were literally covered
-with good things.
-
-The Dingdonglas' mothers were determined that, whoever
-won, the boys of both sides should have a rippin' feed.
-A stuffed sucking-pig, whose savoury odour filled the
-room, lay at one end. Roast wild duck and a cold
-pigeon-pie balanced it at the other. An immense round of
-spiced beef, standing in the centre of the long table,
-seemed to say: "You may cut and come again." Potatoes
-and pumpkins smoked in big tin bowls, and
-all the available space was filled with cakes, puddings,
-and pies. Needless to say, the onslaught was terrific.
-They were all sloggers at tuck. Meats, puddings, cakes,
-tea, and ginger-beer disappeared like magic.
-
-All good things mundane, however, come to an end;
-especially when the good thing happens to be a dinner.
-And now, after divers whisperings and nudgings, up stood
-Captain Joe, amid the cheers of his side.
-
-Joe was silent a moment, nervously looking up and
-down the board, and heartily wishing himself at the
-bottom of the deep blue sea. "Mr. Chairman" (addressing
-the local schoolmaster), "I—we—that is—us fellows
-from Tareela asked me to tell you—I mean to say,
-that—that—that—a—it gives us much pleasure—er—er—oh,
-hang it all!—I—I mean—er—this is the jolliest blow in the
-way of tuck we've ever had." Joe subsided to the rattle
-of the knives on the bare board. As soon as the noise
-ceased, Tom Hawkins jumped up and called: "Three
-cheers for the Dingdonglas!" which were heartily given.
-
-Half an hour's lounge, and the battle began afresh.
-
-"We've got fifty-two to wipe out before we start even,
-boys. We can do it, and score plenty more to win the
-game, if we keep our heads. Anyway, we must have
-a big try. Billy an' I'll go in first; Tom next, and then
-Pincher. The order of the rest of you depends on the
-way things turn out."
-
-"Look here, Billy," continued the captain, as the two
-batsmen walked to the wickets. "They've got two
-slashing bowlers, but if we can manage to knock 'em out
-they've no one else of much account. Get your eye well
-in before you do any slogging."
-
-"All right, Joe! Do me best."
-
-"Your best means steady play and a big score. I'll
-take the strike."
-
-If Joe was nervous in public speech it was not
-observable in action. He played Ginger Smith's fast
-deliveries with confidence, punishing the loose balls and
-blocking the straight ones. Billy, too, was playing with
-unwonted caution, and the score, though slowly, was
-surely mounting up; until after half an hour's play it
-stood at twenty-five, with no wickets down. There were
-no boundaries, and every hit was run out.
-
-"Oh, glory, what a swipe!"
-
-Yellow Billy had got hold of one of Ginger's leg balls
-with a mighty lunge. The ball seemed as if it would
-go on for ever, and finally rolled into a gutter. They ran
-six for it.
-
-There was great cheering among the Tareelians.
-Mr. Simpson, who umpired, forgot for a moment his
-impartial office. Flinging his hat into the air, he cried,
-"Bravo, Billy!"
-
-"Thirty-one an' none out. Only twenty-one to get level!"
-
-The boys were now scoring faster; singles, twos, threes
-were coming with great rapidity. Joe made his first
-four, a sweet, square cut.
-
-"Forty-nine an' no wickets down!"
-
-Joe faced the new bowler. The local demon had
-begun to bowl wildly, and was relieved.
-
-"They'll never bowl them!" cried young Ben Wilde, as
-Joe took block for the new-comer—a lad with a reputation
-for slow left-hand twisters. The first ball was pitched on
-the leg stump; just the ball for Joe's favourite leg glance.
-
-It went for two.
-
-"Only one to make us even!" shouted Tom to his
-captain. The second ball was pitched in exactly the
-same spot, and Joe proceeded to treat it in the same
-fashion. The sphere, however, had a little more twist on
-it than its predecessor, and, breaking on to the left bail,
-flicked it off.
-
-There was a great chorus of disappointment among the
-Tareelians, and hearty cheers from their opponents, as
-the captain's wicket fell. His twenty-one, got by true
-cricket, was worth twice that number by reason of the
-spirit of confidence he had infused.
-
-Billy and Tom carried the score to seventy-three, when
-the latter was caught for ten. Pincher fell a victim to a
-very simple ball from an under-hand lob bowler, after
-making seven. Sandy gave the bowlers some trouble,
-and got into double figures before he retired. All this
-while Billy was scoring well, and, when Sandy's wicket
-fell, had made fifty runs. All the boys scored less or
-more; and when the innings closed had compiled a total
-of one hundred and thirty-seven, of which Billy made
-seventy-one and not out. This was a grand achievement,
-and the half-caste was carried off the ground amid great
-applause.
-
-This left the Dingdongs eighty-six runs to win, which
-they failed to do by seventeen runs, Sleepy Sam stumping
-no less than three off young Ben's slow lobs.
-
-There was great cheering as the victorious cricketers
-rode in the dusk of the evening through the main street
-of Tareela, after a grand day's fun.
-
-
-
-
-
-.. vspace:: 4
-
-.. _`THE BIG FLOOD`:
-
-.. class:: center large bold
-
- CHAPTER V
-
-
-.. class:: center medium bold
-
- THE BIG FLOOD
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-..
-
- | "The day is cold and dark and dreary;
- | It rains, and the wind is never weary;
- | The vine still clings to the mouldering wall;
- | But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
- | And the day is dark and dreary."
- | LONGFELLOW.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-Drip, drip, drip!
-
-Croak, croak, c-r-o-a-k!
-
-Quack-quack, quack-quack!
-
-"Heigho!" grunted Tom Hawkins, as he turned over
-sleepily in bed. "Is it ever goin' to stop rainin'?"
-
-For some days a steady rain had been falling, soaking
-the ground. Every gully was a rivulet, and every
-depression a lake.
-
-"Tom!" cried a feminine voice from an interior room.
-"Get up!"
-
-"Bother those frogs an' ducks!" muttered the lad, full
-of sleep in the grey of the early morning. "Like ter
-choke 'em! waking fler——"
-
-"Tom!" cried a masculine voice, as a hand rattled the
-door of the lad's bedroom, and a boot gave a drum-like
-accompaniment on the lower panel. "Git up this minit
-an' run the cows in, or I'll——"
-
-But Tom had jumped out of bed as nimbly as one of
-the frogs, between whose croak and his father's bass
-voice he seemed unable, in his sleepy condition, to
-discriminate.
-
-"All right, father! I'm dressing," shouted Tom, as the
-word "dowsing" fell on his ear. There had been times in
-master Tom's past when a sudden application of cold
-water was deemed necessary to expedite his slow movements.
-
-"Dad's too mighty smart! Thought I'd nick him with
-that button," growled Tom, as he stuck his legs into his
-pants; said button being an iron tee snip, fastened so as
-to act as a bolt.
-
-"Jemima! ain't it dark! Must be very early," muttered
-the reluctant boy, as he strove to lace his boots.
-"Drat it! Shan't wear 'em; too wet."
-
-"My crikey!" cried he as he stood outside. "Must
-have been rainin' cats an' dogs, an' lakes an' seas."
-
-His moleskins were rolled up to his thighs, while a
-cornsack, hooded at the bottom, and stuck on to his head
-like a nun's veil, gave him fair protection from the
-driving showers.
-
-"I wonder if it's goin' to be a flood?" The thought
-was not unpleasant to the lad. It produced, indeed, a
-certain exaltation of spirits, forcibly expressed in Tom's
-vernacular by, "Ge-willikins! but won't we have fun!"
-
-Heavily laden clouds, in interminable succession, were
-drifting from the sea, forming, as they swung overhead
-in batches, an endless series of smart showers. It had
-been an exceptionally wet week, and for the preceding
-twenty-four hours had rained without ceasing.
-
-The cows depastured in a paddock that ran back from
-a creek to the timbered country. The creek itself was
-bank high and running strongly. It was only by climbing
-along the branches of a dead limb, which spanned the
-water, that Tom managed to reach the kine.
-
-It was no small task to get them to face the stream.
-Small as was the creek in width, it was deep enough to
-make a swim, and the roaring, turbid, and muddy stream
-frightened the creatures. But for the fact that the
-calves were in a pen at the milking yard all Tom's
-efforts would have been futile. Their mooing and baaing,
-however, made a loud appeal to the maternal breast.
-Finally, when the old red poley, the mother of twins,
-made a plunge, the rest followed.
-
-During the morning the river rose steadily, and large
-quantities of drift-wood passed down the stream. With
-the rubbish was a good deal of heavy timber, and—what
-Tom had predicted—pumpkins. This was an indication
-that the river up-stream had overflowed its banks in
-places, and was sweeping the low-lying farm lands. Tom
-spent the morning in fishing out the floating vegetables
-that came within reach of his hooked pole. Meanwhile
-the rain continued, and looked as though it might last for
-forty days and nights.
-
-"I'll pull over to the township this afternoon,"
-remarked Mr. Hawkins at the midday meal. "I'm anxious
-about this rise. Looks as if we're goin' to have an old
-man flood. Might get some information about the state
-of things up-river. If I leave it till to-morrow 'twill be
-a tough job gettin' acrost, as the timber's comin' down
-pretty thick now, an'll be worse by an' by."
-
-"Be sure'n bring tea and flour back with you. No
-knowing how long the rise'll last."
-
-"Can I go with you, father?"
-
-"Yes; I'll require you to steer. It'll be a pretty stiff
-job, I reckon."
-
-The crossing was not without peril. The current ran
-fierce and strong. The landing-place on the other side
-was protected, in a measure, by a headland up-stream.
-Out from the influence of that, however, the boatmen
-felt the full force of the current. The water seethed and
-foamed. The violence of its rush created great
-whirlpools, which accentuated the difficulty of keeping the
-boat's head up-stream. Logs and driftwood patches had
-to be dodged, and, what with fighting the current and
-outflanking the timber, by the time the river was crossed
-the boat had drifted quite half a mile down-stream. On
-gaining the other side they found a shore eddy, in which
-they were able to paddle up-stream with ease, until they
-came to a point of land about two hundred yards below
-the town wharf. As they lost the eddy here, and would
-have to encounter the full force of the flood when round
-the point, Mr. Hawkins wisely determined to tie up the
-boat in the slack water.
-
-When Hawkins arrived at the store, where many of
-the townsfolk had congregated, he was informed that
-news had been brought down by the mailman that
-morning to the effect that heavy rains were falling at
-the head of the river, and that when the New England
-waters came down in full force the river might rise to
-the "high flood" marks.
-
-Cooees could now be heard from the settlers in the
-low-lying portions, adjacent to the township. They
-proceeded from those who had neglected to move before
-being surrounded, and who were without boats. The
-police were busily engaged in rescuing families by boat.
-Many townsfolk were engaged on the same merciful
-errand.
-
-All through the day the waters, fed by the flooded
-creeks, continued to rise, and as evening approached
-anxiety deepened. Things were so serious that
-Mr. Hawkins, whose farm, be it said, was situated on
-comparatively low-lying lands, acting upon the advice of his
-friends, returned home almost at once. After hoisting
-the most valuable of his possessions to the rafters, and
-securing them there, he returned to the township with
-his family; gaining it as dusk was deepening into dark.
-The family was distributed among neighbours, Tom and
-one of his sisters being quartered at Mr. Blain's.
-
-A group of men and boys throughout the day had lined
-the bank of the river, in the vicinity of the Government
-wharf, which was submerged. They were engaged in
-gauging its rate of advance by pine laths scaled to
-inches.
-
-Towards evening the wind, veering from east to south-east,
-increased in violence. Laden with torrential showers,
-it smote the earth in great gusts, streaming through roofs
-and walls, and taxing the ingenuity of housekeepers to
-find dry spots for beds.
-
-The wind and flood waters, travelling in opposite
-directions, conflicted with great violence. The roaring,
-boastful wind, as it lashed the racing, defiant waters into
-angry waves, and the universe-filling sounds of the
-seething, surging flood-waters, as they wrestled with
-and overbore all opposing forces, made storm music,
-compared with which the artifices of man touch the
-infinitely puny. Darkness and the blinding rain had
-driven most of the river watchers indoors. A few,
-however, braved the elements, among them the minister
-and the lads.
-
-Whatever effect the flood may have had on others, the
-dominant feeling in Mr. Blain's mind was that of solicitude.
-As the rain continued, deep concern merged into alarm.
-There were few on the river who knew as intimately as
-he the general havoc of a flood. The executive head of
-the Flood-relief Committee for many years, he had been
-the chief instrument in administering doles to flood
-victims. In many cases the utmost relief was as a drop
-of succour in the ocean of need.
-
-"If the rise continues for another twenty-four hours, as
-it is doing now, it will beat the 'sixty-four flood, and, if so,
-God help our down-river friends," remarked the minister
-after examining Joe's gauge by the aid of a lantern.
-
-The '64 flood was the highest known to white men up
-to the present. The settlers still retained a vivid
-recollection of its disastrous effects. Luckily, the township
-covered a piece of high ground, and though the low
-parts were covered in a moderate flood, the higher
-portions were some feet above the highest flood-mark. It
-was in the farming settlements that danger lurked.
-
-"If this yere flood beats 'sixty-four, it'll be as you
-say, Parson; good-bye to many up-river an' down-river folk."
-
-Mr. Blain's words had impressed both men and boys.
-Suddenly Joe, who was in the midst of the group, sang
-out lustily—
-
-"Hurrah! wind's changed!"
-
-"What's that?" shouted back Mr. Blain excitedly.
-
-"Don't you feel it?" cried the boy, as he swung his
-arms windmill fashion.
-
-"Yes; thank God! The lad's right," continued he.
-"The wind's chopping. Don't you feel it, men?
-Ah! there's a decided puff from the north-east."
-
-"Take my word for it," said the ferryman, an old sailor,
-"the wind'll be blowing west afore morning."
-
-"Pray God it may!" ejaculated the minister, and many
-a silent prayer was uttered.
-
-"Now, boys, let us return home. We can do no good
-standing here. We'll come back in an hour or so."
-
-"Listen!" exclaimed Tom, as the boys splashed through
-the water on their way home. Laying his hand on Joe's
-shoulder, he cried, "Do you hear that?"
-
-"Don't hear anything but the roar of the river," replied
-Joe, as he stood in a listening attitude. "What was it?"
-
-"Hark! there it is again. A cooee. Seems to come
-from up the river, near the Bend. Some un's in trouble."
-
-"Now, boys, make haste and get in out of the rain,"
-cried Mr. Blain, who had hurried along.
-
-"Some one's crying out for help at the Bend," shouted Joe.
-
-The minister paused on hearing this. A moment later
-the cry came out of the night: faint, because of the
-distance and the turmoil of sounds, yet clear and convincing.
-
-"Great God! some poor soul in dire straits, and no
-help possible before morning!"
-
-It would have been worse than madness to attempt
-any rescue till daylight. To traverse the flood, even in
-daytime, anywhere near the Bend, were a hazardous
-experiment, owing to the enormous vortices caused by
-the current striking a high bluff on the near side, at
-the elbow. The waters whirled like a merry-go-round
-under full steam, and boiled with an upward heave, in
-a fashion similar to the mud springs of Tiketere. None
-but the stoutest boat and most experienced rowers could
-dodge these seething cauldrons, which caught into their
-cold and cruel embrace trees, fencing, stock; anything
-material, in fact. The heaviest logs and tree-lengths
-were as wisps of straw under the influence of the mighty
-suction. To attempt the traverse at night were as
-foolhardy and impossible as that of shooting Niagara in an
-open boat.
-
-A little group stood with the Blains, listening to the
-weird cry.
-
-"Who d'yer think it c'd be, sir?" said one of the
-men, turning to the minister.
-
-"Not any of the Bend families. We had word this
-afternoon saying that they had retreated to the high
-land before the waters reached them. God help the
-poor soul, whoever it is, for vain is the help of man!"
-
-Throughout the live-long night the cry went up at
-intervals, like that of the minute-gun of a distressed
-vessel. Shortly before daybreak it ceased.
-
-No man or woman in the township slept that night.
-A strict watch was kept on the river, so as to be ready
-for any emergency. The waters continued to advance,
-but at a much slower rate. Men and women cudgelled
-their brains to individualise the wailing cry. Most were
-agreed that it was a woman's cry, though some held it
-to be that of a child. Sometimes the voice was ghoulish,
-and made the flesh to creep and the heart to flutter.
-Then an intensely human note would prevail, full of
-anguish and terror, and women wept and stopped their
-ears, while strong men choked in the throat.
-
-They would go out at intervals and send back a
-heartening cry; it was all that could be done. There
-were many others throughout that fearful night who
-were engulfed in the flood, in various parts of the river,
-and, swan-like, wailed their death-song in the wild waste.
-
-Shortly after midnight the rain ceased, and the wind,
-which had been chopping and changing for the past few
-hours, settled finally in the west. This proved a
-conspicuous advantage. It no longer checked the
-flood-waters as when in the east, and there was now good
-hope that they would recede ere long, as the rise was
-almost imperceptible.
-
-.. _`Suddenly the Forest Monarch topples, lurches, staggers and falls with a mighty crash`:
-
-.. figure:: images/img-032.jpg
- :align: center
- :alt: "Suddenly the Forest Monarch topples, lurches, staggers and falls with mighty crash."
-
- "Suddenly the Forest Monarch topples, lurches, staggers and falls with mighty crash."—*See p.* `43`_.
-
-When day had dawned a wild, weird scene was revealed.
-The town had become an island. On all sides the
-flood-waters stretched out, covering gardens and farms, and
-completely blotting out the fair landscape. On the
-riverside the turgid stream tore along in its hurry, bearing
-on its dirty, foam-crested bosom, as its spoils, the
-household gods, farm stock, and produce of many a settler.
-Horses, cattle, pigs, goats, dogs, fowls: these, swept off
-by the encroaching waters, and carried over fences into
-the stream, struggled, vainly for the most part, in the
-rapid, death-dealing current. Haystacks, barns,
-wood-frame buildings intact, floated in the torrential waters,
-sooner or later crashing into the great trees that bore
-down-stream, making utter shipwreck.
-
-
-
-
-
-.. vspace:: 4
-
-.. _`ON THE FACE OF THE WATERS`:
-
-.. class:: center large bold
-
- CHAPTER VI
-
-
-.. class:: center medium bold
-
- ON THE FACE OF THE WATERS
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-.. class:: small
-
-"The floods have lifted up, O Lord,
-the floods have lifted up their
-voice; the floods lift up their waves."—Ps. xciii. 3.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-"Where's the dad, girls?" shouted Joe Blain early in the
-morning, after the events recorded in the previous chapter,
-dashing into the room as he yelled.
-
-"Here!" came a voice from the back verandah.
-Running to the spot indicated by the monosyllable,
-the lad in breathless accents delivered himself to his
-paternal relative in this fashion—
-
-"Please, dad, can Tom, Billy, Jimmy, and I have the
-boat to paddle out on the back-water?"
-
-"Um—er—well, as long as you keep in the slack
-water I suppose you may; but be very careful, my boy."
-
-"Yes, dad; we'll be careful enough. It's all slack
-water you know, 'cept where the river water comes in;
-but that's a long way up, an' we'll be paddlin' mostly
-about this end of the slack."
-
-An explanation is needed here in order that the reader
-may intelligently follow the course of events (some of
-them dramatic enough, and even tragic) which transpired
-in the course of this eventful cruise.
-
-It has already been stated that the flood waters so
-surrounded Tareela as to convert the township into an
-island. It was so practically. Accurately speaking it
-formed a peninsula, with the narrowest of necks. On
-the river side there was a broad expanse of boiling,
-foaming, hurrying waters, narrowing here and there,
-where the banks rose above their usual height, but
-stretching far and wide where the river-flats intervened;
-sometimes touching the horizon, as it were. On the other
-side lay a body of water, as far removed from motion as
-the tumultuous stream was instinct with it. There it
-lay, a wide extent of placid, coffee-coloured water, broken
-at its surface by fence tops, belts of trees, and partially
-submerged houses. This great stretch was almost currentless,
-and the débris that floated on its bosom appeared
-stationary; though, as a matter of fact, there was a
-slight outward drift.
-
-The secret of its placidity lay in the fact that the
-river waters, when they reached a certain height, backed
-up a blind gully that ran almost parallel with the stream
-for some distance, then swerved from the river, and
-widened out till it became a depression of considerable
-magnitude. This, in turn, merged into a swamp,
-contiguous to the township on its western side. Low-lying
-and occupied lands surrounded the swamp for some
-distance. The town end of these flats, which the river
-water backing up through the gully had submerged,
-making a long reach of stagnant waters, formed the area
-of the boys' row.
-
-The minister's boat was a light yet staunchly built
-vessel, and belonged to the skiff variety. Her capabilities
-were to be put to the utmost test. Several of the town
-boats were moving on the face of the still waters, their
-occupants busily engaged in capturing the flotsam. The
-owners of houses, in particular, were anxiously conning
-their submerged property, or gathering together floating
-domestic articles. In this way a good deal of house
-property was recovered.
-
-The boys found enjoyment in the novelty of the cruise.
-They pulled two oars, taking turns at the rowing. Of the
-non-rowers, one acted as steersman and the other as
-bowman for the capture of the flood spoils. Several
-melons and pumpkins were picked up, but they were not
-troubling about these. For one reason, they did not want
-to be encumbered with spoil of that kind, and for another
-they were keen on pulling about the flooded houses.
-Their chief and most interesting rescue was a cat and
-two kittens, which had found an ark of refuge on a barn
-door.
-
-"I say, boys, we'll have a go at these oranges," said Joe,
-who was steering, as they were passing a small orangery
-which was half submerged. This proposal received hearty
-and unanimous assent. Accordingly Joe selected the
-most promising tree, and deftly ran alongside its outer
-branches.
-
-"Look out for snakes!" cried he.
-
-There was abundant cause for warning, for each tree
-contained a number of serpents, some of which are very
-deadly. These reptiles were flooded out of their holes in
-the ground, and from hollow logs and stumps, and made
-for the trees or any floating timber that offered refuge.
-Fortunately the snakes were more or less benumbed with
-the cold, consequently they were the reverse of lively.
-Had it been otherwise, to have made fast to the tree
-would have been foolhardy to a degree.
-
-Agreeably to Joe's warning, every eye was skinned and
-on the look out. Indeed, the tree was fairly swarming
-with snakes of many sorts and sizes; though for the most
-part they consisted of "tree" and "carpet" varieties;
-one of the latter, lying across the top, being fully ten feet
-in length. These two mentioned varieties are not venomous.
-The farmers, for the most part, look with a friendly
-eye upon the carpet species; so called by reason of its
-tawny and black markings. The carpet snake in summer
-time is the best of all mousers and ratters. It winds its
-sinuous way into places impossible to even puss or terrier;
-and is always a welcome visitor to settlers' barns. There
-it becomes a pet, and will live on terms of friendship with
-its primal foe.
-
-There were snakes of a very different order in the
-orange tree. Among them the "tiger," most aggressive
-and poisonous of all the genus. There were also specimens
-of the black and the brown snakes. All these are cobras,
-and therefore very deadly.
-
-The snakes, as related, were all more or less torpid
-with cold, and not pugnaciously inclined. The boys,
-however, were very careful not to disturb them. There
-was plenty of golden fruit upon the tree, and it was
-in prime condition. The fruit was neatly cut off the
-stems by strokes of the paddle blade. When a sufficient
-quantity was thus plucked, and lay bobbing in the water,
-they were poked out from the tree by the same means,
-and secured. The boat lay off a little distance from
-the tree while the crew indulged in a feed of the
-luscious fruit. A visit was then paid to a plantain
-grove, and a quantity, both of green and ripe fruit, was
-secured.
-
-"Where away now, Joe?" said Tom Hawkins, who was
-crouched in the bow.
-
-"I vote," replied the one addressed, who in this, as in
-everything else, was leader of the band,—"I vote we
-pull up opposite Commodore Hill and have a look at the
-river." The boy forgot for the moment the promise made
-to his father to keep mainly about the town end of the
-back-water.
-
-Commodore Hill was well up the river, and on the other
-side. The flooded gully by which the water obtained
-entrance, it has been explained, ran parallel with the
-river for some distance; in some places being not more
-than a few yards therefrom. The boys were curious to
-see the river stretch above the Bend; also to note the
-numbers of flooded-out settlers who might be camped in
-that vicinity. Accordingly the boat's bow is turned, and
-her course shaped in that direction. By this time the
-river had fallen several feet, and, as a consequence, there
-was an outward drift of the slack waters, making a gentle
-current.
-
-"'Member, Joe, what your dad said about takin' the
-boat into the stream."
-
-"Think I've forgot, stupid!"
-
-"Thought I'd remind you, anyhow," replied the
-bowman. As a matter of fact, Tom had an uneasy feeling
-that his mate would not be content when they got to
-the mouth to remain there without having a dash at the
-stream.
-
-"Listen to me; I ain't goin' to run any risks. We
-won't go to the mouth entrance. What we'll do is this:
-work up to the swamp end, have a look round, and come
-back again."
-
-With this defined object in view the boat continued
-its voyage, helped by the current, which, the farther
-up they proceeded, became stronger, as was to be
-expected.
-
-But one thing had happened of which the boys were
-in entire ignorance. And this particular happening was
-to produce startling and unexpected effects. At a certain
-spot in the gully, and at a point where it began to
-deviate from the general stream, there was a branch
-gully, which bore inwards to within a few yards of the
-river's brink. When the water was at its highest in
-the river, that in the lagoon was much higher at this
-point, inasmuch as the back-water was at the same
-level as at the entrance, some two miles higher up;
-the difference in height being the river's fall in that
-distance. Roughly speaking, the water there was about
-ten feet higher than that in the river.
-
-The rush of the stream on the river side had caused
-the bank to give way about this point during the night,
-and the lagoon, or back-waters, forced themselves into
-the river through the new channel, which widened
-considerably as a consequence. On nearing this place the
-boys became conscious of a quickening of the current.
-
-"My golly, Joe! this big current," said Yellow Billy,
-who, with Jimmy, was at the oars. "Must be goin' twenty
-mile."
-
-"Twenty mile! you goose. We're goin' six or seven
-and that's mighty fast."
-
-"I say, Joe," called Jimmy a second later, the boys
-having ceased rowing, for there was no further need,
-"bes' run her ashore, or we'll be carried out. By gosh,
-she's tearing away!"
-
-"All right, mates, keep cool. There's the old mahogany
-ahead, we'll tie up there; we'll be there in a minute."
-
-Yes, the boys would need all their coolness, for Joe
-was reckoning without up-to-date knowledge, and that
-made all the difference in the world. Rounding a clump
-of trees at this moment, or ever they were aware the
-boat fairly sucked into the channel of furiously rushing
-and tumultuously heaping waters that were finding their
-level by the newly made short-cut.
-
-"Oh! oh! I—I say!" shouted Tom. "We're being
-swept into the river! Back water!"
-
-Joe, quicker than the others, had hit the situation,
-and turned the boat's nose to a clump of bushes, but
-before the rowers could pick up their oars to help him
-the boat had swept past. Tom, it is true, made a frantic
-grasp at the bough, but the way on the boat was so strong
-that the branch, when the full force of the current bore
-on her at her momentary check, snapped like a pipe-stem,
-and the little craft was fair in the turgid stream, which
-had now the velocity of a water-race. The incident of
-the half-arrest, however, had turned her head up-stream,
-which was a providential thing. The river break-away
-was at most three hundred yards away. To turn the
-boat into the perpendicular sides of the channel was
-to court destruction; for, be it said, the maddened waters
-had excavated the banks until they rose sheer from the
-water's edge.
-
-The necessities of the case came like an inspiration
-to Joe. The boat was drifting, as we have said, stern
-first, the advantage of which will be seen. Save Joe,
-whom the sense of responsibility braced to immediate
-action, the boys were speechless with consternation.
-One look at their blanched faces was sufficient. They
-were certainly alive to the dangers of the situation.
-
-"Pull, boys! pull with all your might! We'll keep
-her head up. This'll check her speed a bit. It'll give
-her steerage way too, and save her gettin' broadside on."
-
-The pullers put every ounce of strength into their
-strokes, and this was very helpful. The final rush into
-the cross-current was a most critical moment, and might
-easily have resulted in disaster. This was averted only
-by Joe's coolness and dexterity.
-
-"Oars out!" cried he as the boat swept into the angry
-and turbulent river. Save for shipping some water, and
-drenching the crew with spray, the little craft weathered
-the river plunge. An involuntary "Oh!" came from
-the boys as the boat shot the rapids and soused into
-the river. Immediately she came under the influence
-of two currents; that going outward from the chute,
-and the swift down-river stream.
-
-This effect was to take them instantly well out
-toward the centre of the flood, with a strong drift which
-carried the boat into the vicinity of the Bend. The
-river bend gave the current a direction which set across
-to the other side. This diagonal movement was accelerated
-by the chute waters, which retained their impetus,
-in a measure, for a considerable distance.
-
-Downward then, and cross-wise to the northern bank,
-the frail craft sped, the sport and play of the watery
-element. Dangers stood, or rather, drifted thick around
-the adventurers. Picture for a moment a tiny vessel,
-some fifteen feet over all, whose timbers are of the
-proverbial egg-shell thickness, shot into an angry, bubbling
-cauldron, whose tumultuous waters heaved and swirled,
-hissed and roared, in inarticulate sound and motion.
-
-That, in itself, were an experience of sufficient
-magnitude to quicken the blood, test the nerves, and try the
-courage of the hardiest waterman. Add to the perils
-of that situation a thousand floating dangers, any one of
-which might crush that tiny, drifting cockle-shell out of
-existence, and you have the position which faced and
-surrounded the affrighted lads on the demon-ridden waters.
-
-
-
-
-
-.. vspace:: 4
-
-.. _`THE DEATH OF THE FOREST MONARCH`:
-
-.. class:: center large bold
-
- CHAPTER VII
-
-
-.. class:: center medium bold
-
- THE DEATH OF THE FOREST MONARCH
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-..
-
- | "There's the white-box and pine on the ridges afar,
- | Where the iron-bark, blue-gum, and peppermint are;
- | There's many another, but dearest to me,
- | And king of them all is the stringy-bark tree."
- | HENRY LAWSON.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-As several years had intervened between the present and
-the last flood of considerable dimension, every creek, gully,
-and river-flat of the upper reaches were contributing
-their quota of fallen timber, which in the interval had
-encumbered the earth. In addition, the flood-waters had
-torn many a giant eucalyptus, roots and all, from its
-earthhold, and had borne it on its heaving and rebellious
-bosom, a mere plaything of its vengeful humour.
-
-Up to the present a monarch of the forest, whose
-rugged bole bears indubitable evidence of its antiquity,
-stands skywards with its head in the clouds. The
-Philistines are upon it. Its innumerable roots, lateral
-and vertical, hold with frantic clutch to mother earth, as
-it grimly wrestles with its Gargantuan foe. But the
-earth, which for years innumerable has mothered the
-forest lord, furnishing his daily portion of meat and drink,
-nourishing and cherishing him till he bulks in girth and
-height as Saul among the prophets, proving faithful in
-every tussle with wind and flood heretofore, now turns
-traitor. The soil dissolves in the swirling waters as they
-ravish the earth. Above and underneath the roots it
-melts, and is carried away in the thickening stream. The
-hold of the old monarch is weakening. His limbs are
-trembling. His strong body, that has withstood the
-pressure of a thousand fights with the hereditary foe,
-vibrates and sways now, as his remorseless antagonist
-grips him in cruel embrace.
-
-.. _`43`:
-
-His old comrades higher up, who have fallen earlier in
-this battle of giants, come drifting along, battered and
-torn; veritable shipwrecks, dismantled and broken. One
-floating leviathan, flood-driven, sweeps onward full upon
-his writhing form ... a violent shock and shudder that
-runs from root to topmost leaf ... a last wrestle, strong,
-heroic, and pitiful! ... Then, betrayed and spent,
-under the last straw, as it were, of the fateful impact of
-his wrecked mate—now converted into a battering-ram—the
-grand old hero-king yields. His foe has sought and
-found, like one in the olden time, his vulnerability in his
-heel. Overborne at last, but not yet broken, he shakes
-his lofty head in the quiver of mortal spasm. Suddenly
-he topples, lurches, staggers, and falls with a mighty
-crash, which is, indeed, a resounding death-cry. Striking
-the enemy with a last, concentrated, savage blow, he
-splits her bosom, and sends great spurts of her muddy
-blood, spray-like, a hundred feet in air. But the wound
-heals as speedily as delivered, and from thence he passes
-quickly, in company with his defeated brothers, an inert
-mass of strewn wreckage, to form, farther down upon the
-skurrying waters, a floating barricade of death-dealing
-timbers. And so on and on, till the blue sea is reached,
-where it is heaved to and fro, a rudderless hulk upon the
-bosom of the ocean; until it is stranded at last as flotsam
-and jetsam upon the beach.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-By skilful manipulation of oars and rudder the boys
-managed to evade the timber masses. The numerous
-whirlpools constituted a great danger. Once or twice
-they were almost sucked under as they circled in a
-vortex. Their position was extremely perilous. The
-greatest danger lay from contact with the isolated logs
-and tree-trunks that sped down with great velocity,
-appearing and disappearing in the vicious eddies, rotating
-with the swirling stream, and popping up porpoise-like in
-unexpected quarters. On one occasion, in dodging a mass
-of driftwood, they ran right on to a big tree. Fortunately
-the tree was sinking at the time of impact under the
-influence of an under-current, and, at Joe's sharp
-command, the rowers rushed the boat across the submerged
-tree-bole. Scarcely had they crossed the line ere the
-submarine monster rolled upward, till at least half its
-length was out of the water. It was a narrow squeak.
-To have been caught on its rising movement would have
-meant utter shipwreck.
-
-It has been stated that owing to the river bend, and
-from other causes, the current set diagonally across to the
-other side. Drawing thus towards the farther shore, the
-boat's crew neared a timbered point, below which the
-water expanded over the low-lying country for miles.
-So far only the thickly fringed timber belts could be
-seen. It was questionable if they could find any dry
-earth. In all likelihood, however, even should there not
-be any landing-place, they would find protection from the
-current behind the thick wood. As they got close in to
-the scrubby portion the boys saw, to their great
-disappointment, that the land was still submerged. They
-had hoped to find a patch of earth. All they can do now
-is to shelter behind the timber.
-
-"Pull, boys, pull hard!" cried Joe, the while he turned
-the boat's nose towards a rear clump. His quick eye
-discerned an eddy formed by a point higher up. Rowing
-into this, the boat was eased in its downward track, and
-after getting well in behind the clump they were able
-to make headway against the stream, finally fastening to
-a big she-oak almost in still water. Here they were
-out of the tract of the current and the perils of the
-driftwood.
-
-What a relief to the half-dazed and frightened boys!
-
-Captain Joe, be it said, though fearful enough while in
-the roaring waters, kept all his wits about him. Often as
-his heart jumped into his mouth he as quickly swallowed
-it again. More than once his resourcefulness saved the
-boat from certain disaster.
-
-"Thank God!" exclaimed he, as Tom tied the painter
-to a strong limb, and the boat rode easy.
-
-"It was a touch and go, lads. Don't cry, Jimmy!" as
-that lad, yielding to a feeling of reaction, burst into tears.
-Tom was not much better, and furtively wiped his eyes
-under the pretence of blowing his nose. In a few minutes
-the boys were themselves again. The roar and rush of
-the waters filled their oars and souls as they lay at anchor.
-So deafening were the sounds that it was only by shouting
-they could hear one another.
-
-Stretching inland, and reaching to the distant hills,
-nothing was to be seen but a waste of waters, with here
-and there a bushy hillock, a miniature island. What
-remained of the settlers' houses looked like so many
-Noah's arks. Moving figures could be seen on one which
-lay a long way off. They were the unfortunate owners,
-who, by delaying their retreat until too late, were driven
-on to the very ridge pole for safety. Fortunately they
-were in still water; so at least it seemed from the
-distance; consequently their position was not alarming.
-Tree marks showed the river to be falling at a fairly rapid
-rate.
-
-"Now then, boys, let's hold a council of war!"
-
-"Wot's that, Joe?"
-
-"It's what they say in soldiering when the generals get
-into a fix," chipped in Tom.
-
-"Oh, gollies! let us get home as quick as possible. If we
-don't they'll think we're drownded an'——"
-
-"Look here, Jimmy, stow that rot! If we start talking
-in that fashion, we'll get unnerved. Billy, you first! Tell
-us what you think about the situation."
-
-"Long's we're here we're safe. There's a 'possum
-in the spout above us. I'll climb up and get 'im for tucka."
-
-"We can't cook 'possum in the boat, Billy. No dry
-wood; no matches. You're right enough about safety,
-though. These trees have borne the brunt of the flood
-stream at its highest, and things are getting easier.
-Jimmy, what do you think of it?"
-
-"I—I—I dunno. Oh, my poor m-other!" cried Jimmy,
-whose emotions again overpowered him.
-
-"Didn't I tell you to stow that water-cart business?
-Dry up, or I'll jolly well tan your hide for you, you soft
-milksop!"
-
-Joe's severity was partly assumed. He was fighting
-himself about home thoughts. He knew the folly of
-giving way at this crisis to such a natural sentiment.
-
-"You, Tom! You've a notion, I'm sure," said Joe to his
-chum.
-
-"My opinion, chaps, is that we ought to be very thankful
-for bein' where we are, an' stay here a bit anyways.
-It'd be madness to attempt to recross the river. What's
-to prevent us pullin' over there?" pointing to a hillock
-nearly a mile away inland.
-
-"Tom's right, boys. We must make up our minds,
-hard as it is, to camp on this side to-day. It'd be easy
-enough to do as Tom says, row over to that island.
-Supposin', though, the water went down a lot during the
-night; we might have to drag the boat over a lot of mud
-to get to the river-bank to-morrow. Bes' stay where
-we——"
-
-"S-s-h! Listen a moment, Joe," interjected Tom from
-the bow of the boat. "What noise's that?"
-
-"Don't hear anythin' 'cept the river. What sort o'
-noise, Tom?"
-
-"I heered it, Joe," said Yellow Billy. "Bear cryin',
-I bin thinkin'. Heer it now."
-
-All the boys could hear the sounds now, faint enough,
-yet distinct above the flood roar.
-
-"Bear, I 'speck! Have a good look round, boys."
-
-All eyes were bent in the direction of the sound. They
-scanned the trees for that strange, pouch-bearing—half
-bear, half sloth—animal called the native bear. Strictly
-speaking, it is neither bear nor sloth, being a perfectly
-harmless, tailless marsupial of the koala genus. Its cry
-is intensely, and often pathetically, human.
-
-For some time the search was unrewarded; while ever
-and anon a cry, strangely like an infant's wail, came to
-the ears of the searchers.
-
-"P'r'aps, after all, it's only the wind in the river oaks;
-or is it a——"
-
-"Look, boys! look, look!" cried Tom excitedly. "What's
-that over at the edge of the timber, up there in a fork?"
-
-"Whereaway, Tom?"
-
-"See the clump beyond the back-water, out in the
-stream?"
-
-"M—y-e-s, I see. Why, yes, my word! I do believe
-it's a——"
-
-
-
-
-
-.. vspace:: 4
-
-.. _`WHAT THE TREE HELD`:
-
-.. class:: center large bold
-
- CHAPTER VIII
-
-
-.. class:: center medium bold
-
- WHAT THE TREE HELD
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-..
-
- | "Thereafter grew the wind; and chafing deaths
- | In distant waters, sent a troubled cry
- | Across the slumbrous forest; and the chill
- | Of coming rain was on the sleeper's brow."
- | HENRY KENDALL.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-"James!" exclaimed Mrs. Blain to her husband during
-this eventful morning, "it's dinner-time and those lads
-are not back. I hope nothing has happened."
-
-"What do you expect could have happened, you dear
-old fidget? I'm going to the post, however, and I'll have a
-look round."
-
-Could Mr. Blain have beheld the lads at this particular
-time, the calm of his deep nature would have been broken
-up in a fashion rare to his experience; for at this moment
-the boat and its occupants are being borne on the rapids,
-presently to be flung upon the riotous and foam-crested
-waves of the river.
-
-In moving along the street the minister met several
-persons who had been out on the back-water during the
-morning. All had seen the boys at one time or another.
-One of the latest in, who had been farther up than most
-of the others, had passed the boys on his return not long
-before. They were then heading up the swamp way.
-
-"Don't fear, Mr. Blain, the boys know how to take
-care of themselves. Dinner's calling 'em loudly enough
-by this time, I wager ye."
-
-Dinner-time came and went, but no boys. As the
-afternoon wore on the mother's fears deepened until they
-became well-nigh unendurable. The minister, rowed by two
-of the neighbours, set out to find the truants and fetch
-them back.
-
-"Don't lose faith, dear! They're up to some prank,
-the thoughtless scamps! I'll fetch them home none the
-worse, to laugh at your fears."
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-Following Tom's index-finger, the boys fastened their
-eyes upon a clump of river oaks that stood on the edge
-of the woods.
-
-High up in a fork of one of the largest trees, they
-could see what looked at first like a huge bundle of
-clothes fluttering in the wind. After a short while the
-bundle seemed to take a somewhat definite shape.
-
-"What in the name of goodness is it all? Seems like
-a lot of old clothes jammed in the tree forks. Are you
-sure that the squall, or squeak, or squeal, or whatever it
-was, came from that direction?"
-
-"Yes, I think so," replied Tom. "Listen, there it's
-again!" A thin, treble cry rose faintly above the din of
-the flood waters.
-
-"See a woman's foot!"
-
-The speaker was the half-caste, whose eyesight, owing
-to his half-wild nature, was much keener than his fellows'.
-
-"A woman's foot, Billy! What do you mean? You
-don't mean to say really, that——!"
-
-"See hand too! Look along bark. See fingers!"
-
-Thus directed, the three boys looked, and saw, though
-but indistinctly, what appeared to be a hand grasping
-the tree-trunk, a foot, also, was revealed at intervals by
-the fluttering garment.
-
-After a short, staring silence, a flood of mental light
-broke upon Joe. "I see now. Why, it's the poor soul we
-heard cooeeing last night!"
-
-Yes, there had been plenty of speculation in the village
-as to who it could be, and exactly where the voice came
-from. None of those who heard the piteous wail that was
-borne across the floods in the black and wild darkness of
-that night would forget it for many a long day to come.
-
-The mystery is now solved. The boys are horror-stricken
-at the sight and its sequent thought. They are now
-convinced that a woman is fixed in the tree. Without
-reasoning the matter out, they identify her as the one
-whose cry over night produced such a sensation in the
-township, and to locate which the police boat with a strong
-crew had started out at daybreak, but without success.
-
-*Is she alive or dead*? The strange cry did not
-seem to be that of a woman. There was something so
-eerie, so shocking in the thought, that the lads were
-fear-possessed for some moments. Joe, as usual, recovered
-himself first.
-
-"It's a woman sure enough! It's a human being, at
-any rate. An', boys, we've got to rescue her if she is alive.
-The cry can only come from her, I'm sure, so that there
-must be some life left still. How to do it I can't just
-see at this moment. We must think a bit."
-
-Think a bit they did. Camped as they were at the
-lower end of the timber, it would be a matter of
-comparative ease to work up through the trees in the slack
-water, till they arrived opposite to the clump that stood
-out in the stream. There the real difficulties would
-begin. The rush of waters was still so strong, and the
-space for the play of the boat so small, that it became
-evident the rescue would be accompanied by some
-alarming risks.
-
-One of two things must be done: either wait until the
-waters receded sufficiently to enable the rescuers to wade
-to the clump, or make an immediate dash.
-
-"How long d'you think it'd be before we could wade
-across, Joe?"
-
-"Dunno, Billy. Beckon there's eight or nine foot of
-water out there. Might be less. At any rate it'd be
-hours."
-
-"Hours!" cried Tom. "An' s'posin' that poor creature's
-still alive?"
-
-"That settles it!" exclaimed Joe, rising in his seat in
-excitement. "Boys, what's to be done must be done
-quickly."
-
-Seemingly all were agreed. At least no objection was
-offered to this proposal, or, rather, mandate. So it was
-resolved, after some cogitation, to pull the boat through
-the timber to a point some distance higher up than the
-isolated clump. From thence the course would be
-outwards until the river current was met; an estimated
-distance of a hundred yards. The boat was to be headed
-against the current when in the stream influence. A
-vigorous row would be necessary to neutralise the current,
-to be modified so as to allow the craft to drift slowly
-down-stream. Then, when opposite the clump, a dash for
-the tree whereon the unfortunate woman was lying was
-to be made.
-
-Inasmuch as this tree was almost in the centre of the
-group, and the stream still ran with violence, it was easy
-to see that without skilful management, and some luck,
-the boat might be stove in against a tree-bole; or, worse
-still, might be impaled upon a submerged snag. Any
-accident, such as missing way at a critical moment, or the
-snapping of an oar blade, might be fraught with the most
-disastrous consequences.
-
-During the short conference Jimmy Flynn had kept
-silence. Towards the end, as Joe set forth the attendant
-dangers, he became considerably perturbed. After sundry
-wrigglings and contortions, rubbing of hands and licking
-of lips, these visual twistings found voice.
-
-"I say, Joe! don't—er—yer think that—er—we'd better
-wait a bit?"
-
-"Why?" chorused the boys.
-
-"Oh—I—I dunno. Well—er—p'raps some other boat'll
-come over from the township d'reckly an'—an'——"
-
-"And s'pose no boat comes along?"
-
-"Well, then, I—I—er—vote—that we—er——"
-
-"By jing! Jimmy," interposed Tom, with a jeer,
-"who'd 'a' thought you'd 'a' showed the white feather!"
-
-"White feather yourself, Hawkins!" returned the
-fearful but now angry boy.
-
-"Jimmy!" broke in Yellow Billy unexpectedly, for as
-a rule the half-caste was taciturn—the taciturnity of
-modesty in his case. Billy, while carrying some of the
-defects of aboriginal descent, was a kind-hearted and
-easily contented lad. "Jimmy!" said he, in a soft, quiet
-tone, "s'pose your mother was over there?"
-
-Jimmy Flynn, who was sitting with a sullen, hang-dog
-expression, quivered as though he had received an
-electric shock. There was within him a consciousness of
-the truth of Tom's term. He was a coward, and the very
-notion of it angered him, and at the same time made him
-resentful. He shrank from the undertaking. None of
-the boys were in love with it, for that matter. Jimmy
-only, among the four, allowed his fear to overmaster him.
-
-These few words of Billy, uttered in a quiet, even tone,
-went straight to the boy's heart. His sullen brows lifted.
-The angry resentment which had disfigured his face
-vanished. Straightening his bent figure, he seized the
-oar lying by his side. Then, squaring his shoulders, as he
-inclined forward to grip the water, he said quietly, "Let
-her go."
-
-Immediately on releasing the boat Joe steered her in a
-semicircular course, keeping out back where the standing
-timber was thinnest. The boys pulled slowly, for there
-was always the danger of snags. They were in fairly
-slack water, and so had no need to exert themselves;
-besides which, it were wise to husband their strength for
-the supreme moment.
-
-Tom and Jimmy, both expert oarsmen, were the rowers.
-Yellow Billy was stationed in the bow, with instructions
-to keep a keen look out for snags. He was armed with
-a stout pole in order that he might fend the boat on any
-critical occasion, or when the rudder might be inoperative.
-It formed a very useful instrument in Billy's practised
-hands, and enabled him to ward off the craft from many
-dangers that did not appear until the boat was almost
-upon them. As it was there were several ominous
-scrapes, as the boat rasped over submerged branches.
-Fortunately they reached the point determined upon
-without any accident.
-
-They paused here a moment before leaving the slack
-water for the swiftly running stream.
-
-"Now, boys," said Joe, after a brief survey, "sit steady,
-and pull for all you're worth. Mind you, no flurry.
-Keep an even stroke. Got the painter coiled, Billy?"
-
-"All right, Joe."
-
-"Pull then, boys, and stick to it like grim death to a
-diseased nigger."
-
-The boat having got good way on, Joe headed her
-out a little, when she immediately encountered the
-current.
-
-"Lay to it, my lads, lay to it!"
-
-The boys "lay to" with such vigour that the rapid
-current was counterbalanced, and she hung in the stream,
-neither making headway nor drifting.
-
-"Easy a little, my hearties! We must let her drift
-down gradually. Mustn't let her get out of hand,
-though."
-
-In swinging the boat into the channel Joe kept her
-nose up-stream, and as near the slack water as possible.
-The boys easing a trifle at Joe's command, the current
-became the stronger of the two forces, and the little craft
-drifted slowly. Blain eagerly scanned the clump for an
-opening. This cluster, it may be remarked, was about
-two hundred yards long and fifty or so wide. In some
-parts the timber was thickly scattered, in others the trees
-were bunched together.
-
-The boat is now about fifty yards above the tree
-containing the supposed woman.
-
-"That's right, chaps, keep up as you're doin'! We
-must drift very slowly lest we miss the chance of popping
-in. It's too thick to venture in here. It's thinnin' out,
-though," exclaimed Joe, as the boat neared the point
-abreast the tree.
-
-"Here's an opening, I do believe. Be ready, Billy!
-Pull, lads! pull, pull! Look out all!"
-
-The boat lay anglewise, so that the current worked
-upon her quarter. Seeing a fair opening, Joe urged the
-rowers to do their utmost. So hard did they pull that
-the current, playing upon her quarter as she hung a few
-minutes stationary, forced her through the gap and
-towards the tree. The manoeuvre was splendidly executed.
-The boat was now within five yards or so of the tree, the
-boys putting every ounce of strength into their strokes.
-A minute or less now and they will either be fast to the
-tree or drifting down on to a solid block of timber just
-below.
-
-Yellow Billy, who had crouched in the bow, now rose
-up quietly, rope in hand, ready to act promptly in the
-decisive moment. By good fortune a limb projected
-about five feet above the water, and branched out some
-distance from the tree. Joe worked the boat straight
-up-stream, and then called on the rowers to ease the
-barest trifle. The craft swung very slowly down, until
-she was fairly under the limb.
-
-"Sling the painter over the branch an' make fast,
-Billy!" cried Joe, as the stern drifted under. "Pull now,
-you beggars, a last spurt!"
-
-Billy whipped the rope round the limb, and made fast
-in a flash; the rowers, by a few desperate strokes, keeping
-the boat stationary.
-
-"Hold her there a second. Let the loop lie loose an'
-edge it to the trunk, Billy!"
-
-Joe thus worked the boat over until she was just at the
-rear of the tree.
-
-"Ease her off gently now, boys. Steady still! A
-wrench might snap the painter."
-
-The boys accordingly eased off gradually, and finally
-stopped.
-
-"Two of you come aft, it'll ease the strain."
-
-This done, the boat, which by burying her nose deep in
-the water was straining heavily on the rope, trimmed
-herself, and offered but the minimum resistance to the
-racing waters.
-
-The tree-bole, which presented a somewhat broad
-surface, divided the waters, creating a narrow zone of
-neutral water in its wake. In this eddying area the boat
-rode securely, making it an easy matter for the bowman
-to keep her nose up against the tree.
-
-And now each boy bent an upward glance to the fork.
-
-
-
-
-
-.. vspace:: 4
-
-.. _`THE RESCUE`:
-
-.. class:: center large bold
-
- CHAPTER IX
-
-
-.. class:: center medium bold
-
- THE RESCUE
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-..
-
- | "Souls that have toil'd, and wrought, and thought with me—
- | Death closes all: but something ere the end,
- | Some work of noble note, may yet be done,
- | Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods."
- | TENNYSON'S *Ulysses*.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-Fortunately the she-oak was one of the largest of its
-kind, and forked out into four branches twenty feet or so
-from the ground. This formed a rough cage, in which
-one could be held very securely if not comfortably.
-
-In this fork, partially covered with a blanket, was
-huddled the form of a human creature, presumably a
-woman; one hand stretched along the trunk as in
-a painful grip, the legs hanging loosely. There was no
-movement of limb or body. What if she were dead?
-
-A sudden chill accompanied this thought. The situation
-was decidedly uncanny, and bred awesome, not to
-say fearsome, feelings.
-
-Four boys in a boat! Out on the flood-wastes, and in
-a particularly perilous position! The insistent noises of
-the rushing tide; the hollow moan of the wind in the
-foliage of the she-oaks; shut out from all help; missed
-now at home, and *that thing above*!
-
-All these combined to create a creeping chill in each
-boy, which in a manner half-paralysed them.
-
-Joe, as usual, recovered more quickly than the others.
-Gazing at the object above awhile, and then examining
-the trunk of the tree with his eyes, he broke the spell of
-silence.
-
-"Take my place, Tom. Some un's got to go at once to
-that poor soul aloft. Pray God we're in time to save her.
-Keep her up tight against the trunk, Jimmy, an' I'll
-swing on to the limb."
-
-Suiting his action to the word, Joe clambered on to the
-limb, and from thence proceeded to climb the tree.
-
-The woman was fixed at the junction of the forks, and
-her feet and legs hung loosely down on each side of a
-minor fork. One arm, as before described, was wound
-round the main limb, while the other firmly grasped her
-breast. Her head was supported in the V of a branch.
-
-On mounting to the spot, Joe raised himself higher by
-grasping two of the tree-forks, and, twisting his legs
-round the trunk, steadied himself while he gazed into the
-face of the dead. It was the first time in his life that he
-had looked upon death. The set expression that met his
-gaze, so full of anguish, so pitifully pleading, fairly
-shocked him out of his self-possession. Little wonder at
-his turning sick and faint. He clutched the branch
-frantically as he swayed a moment, and beads of cold
-sweat stood thick upon his forehead. Indeed, so near
-fainting was he that his sight began to fade, and the
-whole world receded from him. Strange noises buzzed in
-his ears. Bringing all the reserve forces of his will to the
-front, he was beginning to gain the ascendency over his
-weakness, when a strange cry startled him into full
-consciousness.
-
-"Why! she's not dead after all, thank God!" The
-thought of life made all the difference to Joe. In a
-moment his vision is as clear as ever, and his spirits rise
-high at the sounds of life. "Yes, see!" whispered the
-lad, "there's a movement of the breast. Hurrah, boys!"
-
-cried he to his comrades, looking down and waving with
-one hand at the same time. "She's not dead after all!"
-
-The boys at this set up a hearty shout indicative of
-their relief and joy.
-
-"Oh yes!" he muttered reassuringly to himself as he
-took the second look, "the poor creature's alive. Her
-eyes are half open. Her chest is heaving. Wake up,
-ma'am! Rescue is at hand. Me an' the boys in the
-boat below are goin' to take you down an' row you across
-to the township."
-
-The woman made no response to this appeal and plan
-of salvation. "Is she really alive?" The eyes are half
-closed and seemingly peering; the form is rigid, the face
-immobile. There was naught of that expression in this
-countenance that Joe, from hearsay, was wont to associate
-with death—the peace that passeth understanding. Yet
-as the lad gazed at this apparently inanimate object there
-was a movement of the body. The blanket, bunched into
-many folds across the breast, stirred visibly.
-
-Again that eerie, inarticulate cry!
-
-Disengaging one hand from the tree, the boy stretched
-it forth to the woman's breast, which, covered as it was
-with the clothes, had all the seeming of life and
-movement.
-
-Joe was in the very act of removing a fold of the
-blanket, when suddenly, and without the slightest warning,
-there rose up into the lad's face an angry, hissing,
-venomous snake, the deadliest of its kind. Its beady
-eyes glittered; its forked tongue shot in and out with
-inconceivable rapidity; its sibilant hiss was accompanied
-with a musky odour, sickening in the extreme; its head
-and body for half its length were erect, and bent forward
-from the neck, vibrating and swaying in a rhythmic
-movement. The reptile was within striking distance. In
-another second that almost invisible death-stroke will be
-dealt; invisible, that is, by reason of its lightning-like
-speed.
-
-But this deadly intention is defeated by an involuntary
-movement on Joe's part. This young man, for the
-briefest of brief moments, clung to the tree with a rigid
-grasp; eyes staring in amazement and terror, with mouth
-wide open in automatic gape. Any attempt to defend
-himself were useless in the most absolute sense of that
-term. In another tick, before he can move a hand, these
-poison fangs will be deep buried in his horror-stricken
-face, so temptingly near. The only hope for the lad lay
-in doing a disappearing trick. And this happened. Had
-it been premeditated, however swiftly, the time taken to
-make up his mind, and to telegraph the resolution formed
-in the brain to the nerve cells and muscles, would have
-been sufficient for the lightning stroke to fall.
-
-What really happened was this: the apparition of the
-red-bellied, black snake simply petrified Joe. An awful,
-blood-curdling, hair-raising, galvanic shock of abject
-terror, contradictory as it may seem, paralysed the lad.
-Simultaneously with that he is falling through space, an
-inert mass, to be soused into the water with a splash that
-sent the spray flying over the boat's crew.
-
-At the moment of the splash, Joe's mind, will, and
-nerve were restored to their normal activity. The
-instinct of self-preservation, so strong in all healthy
-natures, especially boys', did for the lad in an infinitesimal
-fraction of time as much and as effectively as though he
-had taken, say, half an hour to plan his procedure.
-
-He had, however, in escaping Scylla fallen into
-Charybdis. As soon as Joe reached the water he made
-for the boat. Fortunately he did not fall into it, or this
-story might never have been told. He fell into the
-stream, some two or three yards away from the skiff.
-Quickly as he was carried down-stream he managed by
-violent efforts to reach the boat at the stern. Tom
-clutched him frantically by the shirt collar, enabling the
-swimmer to get his hands on the gunwale. Joe, thus
-helped, clambered into the boat or ever the boat's crew
-had recovered from their consternation.
-
-"Oh, Moses!" exclaimed, or rather gasped, he,
-"that—was—a go. Whew!"
-
-"My goodness! How'd yer come to fall kersplosh like
-that?"
-
-"Why!" pointing up. "See! there's the beast. See
-him crawling out there?"
-
-The boys, looking up, descried the snake winding its
-sinuous way along a lateral bough that grew up above
-the forks. The disturbed and excited snake, having
-reached the limb, wound its course till it reached a
-clump of bushy branches on the limb's extremity. On
-this it coiled itself, save the head and neck, which stood
-erect in vigilant attitude.
-
-"Oh, crikey! was that *there* on—in the body's—the
-woman's body?"
-
-"Yes, Jimmy; right in the blanket on her breast.
-'Twas that brute moving under the blanket that I thought
-was *her* breathing. Oh, my!" again exclaimed the youth,
-with a shudder, as he thought of the imminence of the
-danger which confronted him a moment before.
-
-"Is—it—her—dead, Joe?" asked Tom after an interval
-of silence.
-
-"No doubt of it, boys."
-
-"Wonder if the snake bit her?"
-
-"May have. Anyway the poor thing is dead all right."
-
-"What's bes' thing to do now?"
-
-"W-e-ll, I d-o-n't know——"
-
-Again that shrill wailing cry!
-
-"*Can't* be the woman!" said Joe excitedly. "Why,
-she's as dead as a herrin'!"
-
-"I have it, boys!" shouted Tom, as he jumped up
-excitedly and cut a caper. "It's the darned ole cat!"
-
-A look of great relief passed over each countenance
-at the thought.
-
-Tom, meanwhile, lifted up the locker lid, disclosing
-the rescued cat, which, together with her two bairns,
-were stowed in the locker shortly after being saved from
-the flood. The animals were snuggled together on a
-cornsack, and looked the very picture of contentment.
-The kittens were dining baby fashion, and the mother's
-purr declared the very excess of maternal rapture.
-
-On seeing the boys, pussy gave a low, affectionate
-miaow, and made a sympathetic movement of the tail,
-as if to say: "Thank you a thousand times, young
-gentlemen, for the good deed which we never, never
-shall forget." And then, motherlike, proceeded to "lick"
-her offspring.
-
-"It's not the cat, Tom."
-
-"Well, what on earth, water, or air is it?"
-
-The mystery is insoluble. As the boys look down
-upon the happy and contented felines, they one and all
-reject Tom's confident affirmation of a moment before.
-If not the cat, what then?
-
-Again the tiny, shrill cry arose, but not from the cat's
-mouth. It came from the tree above, and as the startled
-youths looked up they saw the overhanging end of the
-blanket agitated.
-
-"Why, why—the poor thing must really be alive after
-all, chaps. There's something more up there than I've
-discovered; so here's up again!"
-
-Acting on this impulse, Joe again ascended the tree.
-Those below watched intently, their feelings strained to
-the utmost tension. As soon as our hero got to his
-former position in the forks, he received another shock.
-It was sudden as the other, but not so disastrous. An
-inarticulate and involuntary cry brought fresh alarm to
-his pals, who all the while were staring up, too frightened
-to ask any questions. The boy, despite the second shock,
-still clung to the tree. The woman was dead beyond all
-doubt, but death is counterbalanced by life. A brief
-and astonished survey, and the boy leans over the limb
-and speaks quietly to those below—
-
-"The woman's dead, boys, but *there's a baby here*. It's
-tied to her breast. It's alive!"
-
-Just then, as if to demonstrate the truthfulness of
-the statement, the babe lifted up its voice once more
-in a feeble cry. The scene in that tree Joe never will
-forget; the like he will not see again though he rival
-Methuselah in age. The only thing he can yet see is a
-little hand and arm, which have wriggled from the
-covering. Moving cautiously along the branch to the
-converging point, leaning on one fork, and placing his
-feet against another so as to stiffen himself, the boy was
-able to use his two hands. He first, and not without an
-inward tremor, removed the dead hand which lay upon
-the blanket, the stiffened fingers still clutching the
-clothes and holding them to the breast. The last thought
-and the last act of the exhausted and dying woman was
-to succour and to defend her little one.
-
-Straightening the arm so that it lay by her side, Joe
-opened the blanket from where the little hand stuck
-up. There, on the breast of the dead, she lay, a
-sweet-faced baby girl! The little one's face was puckered up,
-'tis true, and there were tears upon her pale cheeks.
-The cries and tears were not the symbols of pain, they
-were those of hunger. Joe could plainly see that all
-the mother's thoughts were for the child. It was snugly
-folded in the blanket end; then tied to her waist by a
-handkerchief passed round the body. The remainder of
-the blanket was then arranged so as to thoroughly
-protect the child from the inclement weather.
-
-Untying the handkerchief, the lad folded it in a
-peculiar fashion like as he had seen the black gins do.
-Carefully lifting the babe, he laid it in the widest part,
-made it secure to the body under the arms, and placed it
-on his back, bringing the ends of the wrapper together.
-round his neck.
-
-This done, he prepared for the descent. It was easily
-accomplished, even with the incumbrance of the child.
-Landing safely in the boat, which was kept well up to
-the tree, Joe placed her in the stern on the locker seat,
-where the little one lay squirming and crying piteously.
-
-The news of the baby variously affected the boys.
-Jimmy Flynn, whose baby sister had died a few
-months before, looked very tenderly upon this nameless
-waif.
-
-"Make a place on the floor for it, Joe," said he. "It'll
-lie there more comfortably, an' it'll be more like a cradle."
-
-The advice was good. The coats, which the boys shed
-soon as they entered upon the expedition in the
-morning, made a soft bed for the little one. The wee
-mite was evidently about nine months old. For all its
-adventure and exposure it seemed to have suffered little,
-and now in its cry is only voicing the pleadings of its
-empty stomach. It was adequately, though very plainly
-dressed, and through all the rain of the preceding night
-had kept dry. Fortunately, too, the snake which had
-been curled up in one of the blanket folds had not come
-into actual contact with the child. There were only two
-things required to bring it to a condition of happy
-contentment: nursing and feeding.
-
-Capable as this quartet of Australian lads were in
-many ways, in this they were novices. So it was with a
-look of ashamed helplessness that they gazed at the new
-passenger, as she lay in the bottom of the boat on her
-back, kicking her heels in the air at a great rate, and
-doubling her dimpled hands first into her eyes and then
-into her mouth. The cry went forth without ceasing, its
-only variation being the peculiar noise caused by an
-intermittent sucking of her diminutive fists.
-
-By a happy thought of Jimmy the hunger difficulty was
-overcome. The boys had picked up a fine lot of oranges,
-as well as some dozens of plantains, in the back-water.
-After they had eaten a quantity they stowed the balance
-away in the bow locker, and completely forgot them in
-the exciting events which followed. Jimmy suddenly
-remembered the fruit. Selecting a fine specimen, he
-quickly peeled and quartered it. Then, seeding some of
-the quarters, he put one in baby's fist, guiding the same
-to her mouth. The sweet, juicy orange was simply
-nectar to the famished child. It sucked as only a
-hunger-bitten baby can. The boys were highly amused at the
-way in which she mouthed the skin, and the difficulty
-Jimmy encountered in unlocking her little fingers
-order to substitute a full for an empty quarter. It
-indeed a happy solution; an admirable recipe for tears
-and squalls. As long as baby had an orange quarter it
-was peaceful. After a little while Jimmy took the little
-one on his knee, giving furtive glances towards the
-others as he did so. The boys, however, under all
-the sad circumstances forebore to chaff. Substituting,
-at length, a ripe plantain for an orange section, the
-babe was taken to the seventh heaven of gastronomic
-bliss.
-
-.. _`The neighbours saw, far out on the wild, wreckage-strewn waters, a tiny boat with four slight figures`:
-
-.. figure:: images/img-064.jpg
- :align: center
- :alt: "The neighbours saw, far out on the wild, wreckage-strewn waters, a tiny boat with four slight figures."
-
- "The neighbours saw, far out on the wild, wreckage-strewn waters, a tiny boat with four slight figures."—*See p.* `69`_
-
-And the while above them in the she-oak, whose
-thread-like leaves make mournful music to the wind, lies
-the mother who has sacrificed her life for that of the babe.
-There is no doubt of this. The poor woman must have
-been exposed to the winds and waves long before she
-reached the tree refuge. How she got there was never
-known. She had almost denuded herself to protect the
-babe. Little wonder that at some moment of that awful
-night vigil the vital spark should have quitted its
-terror-haunted tenement.
-
-
-
-
-
-.. vspace:: 4
-
-.. _`THE RETURN`:
-
-.. class:: center large bold
-
- CHAPTER X
-
-
-.. class:: center medium bold
-
- THE RETURN
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-..
-
- | "See the conquering hero comes!
- | Sound the trumpet, beat the drums."
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-After baby's hunger was satisfied the boys' attention was
-given to their immediate surroundings.
-
-"What are we goin' to do about *her*?" asked Tom,
-pointing upward as he spoke.
-
-"It's simply impossible for us to do anything. If she
-were alive we would take any risk. But as things are it
-is beyond our power to shift the body, it is jammed so
-tightly. The only thing left for us to do is to inform the
-police when we get to the other side."
-
-"What'll we do now, Joe?"
-
-"Get back to our former anchorage first. River's goin'
-down pretty fast, I reckon; and it'll be all dry about here
-before morning if it recedes at the same rate. The current
-is not nearly so strong as it was when we came over, and
-that will make it easier for us to get out of the clump.
-There's no need for us to go back by the same course.
-We can take a slant across to that red gum, and when
-we're there we're out of the stream."
-
-The exit from the cluster of trees was very well managed,
-and in a few minutes from the time of casting adrift from
-the she-oak the boat was out of the clump and across the
-narrow stream into the slack water. They continued on
-to their former camping place, and hitched on to the tree.
-
-This gallant attempt at rescue, though not
-accomplishing what was in the minds of the boys, was not
-altogether a failure. Indeed, it was the reverse of that.
-Though but little time is consumed in reading the account
-of this episode, it covered a goodly portion of the day. By
-the time the boys had made fast to their former anchorage,
-the slanting sun-rays proclaimed the advance of eventide.
-
-"Let's have a confab, chaps, on what's best to be done.
-I don't s'pose any of us is wanting to stick here all night.
-What d'you say, Tom?"
-
-"I say pull over to the hillock on the other side of the
-slack. See! the water's retreated from the high ground.
-We could camp there, I dare say, easy enough, and get
-home early to-morrow morning. I don't think we ought
-to tackle the river to-night. I bet you it'd be a measly,
-tricky trip. So I vote to do as I said."
-
-"What d'you say, Billy?"
-
-"I say same as Tom. Plenty dry land over there.
-Might get matches in that house behind the hill. I'll pull
-'possum outa spout, an' we'll roast 'im an' make bully
-feed."
-
-Billy, as indeed were all the boys, was beginning to feel
-desperately hungry.
-
-"What have you got to say, Jimmy?"
-
-Jimmy Flynn, who had been gazing wistfully across
-the flood waters, turned round slowly as Joe put the
-question to him. "Oh, Joe! can't we get home to-night?
-The river isn't so bad as when we crost up at the Bend.
-There's not nearly so much timber goin' down now. 'Sides,
-it's easier crossing down here to what it was above. I
-give a straight vote for—home!"
-
-"Bravo! Well done, Jimmy! You're a brick. It's
-just the word, an' we're the coves to do it. It's my vote
-too, my hearties. We've half an hour of sun left: say
-an hour before it's right dark. I reckon 'twill be about
-two mile an' a half from here to Tareela. It won't be
-near as difficult as up by the Bend. Yes, we'll do it, boys;
-an' the sooner the better. Then there's the blessed little
-baby, you know! Some of us would have to mind her in
-the night, an' what about your beauty sleep then? I
-reckon the kiddie would be too much for the whole boilin'
-of us. And I've a notion that too much fruit'll be worse
-for her than none at all. S'pose she gets the jim-jams!
-And, lastly, as father says when he's preaching, what
-about the old folks at home?"
-
-There was no need to say anything further.
-
-"I'm game, for one," said Tom.
-
-"I'm game, for two," said Billy.
-
-"I'm game, for three," said Jimmy.
-
-"Put me down for the fourth," said Joe.
-
-"Now, boys, that's settled. We'll tackle the river
-straight away; for better or for worse, as dad says in the
-marriage ceremony. And I say, chaps, let's ask God to
-help us."
-
-Though there was no audible form of expression, the
-spirit of prayer was in each boy's heart. He who sat
-above the floods heard and answered.
-
-"Billy and Jimmy are to take the oars. We want the
-best men at the paddles. Now then, Tom, let the painter
-go an' keep the pole handy for driftwood."
-
-The painter is slipped, and the boat's head is turned
-riverwards. She is soon out of the slack, and feels the
-full force of the flood. The starting-point was nearly a
-mile and a half above the township, so that there was a
-liberal margin for drift. The river was quite a mile wide.
-There was still a quantity of driftwood, and many
-difficulties beset them which made delicate steering and
-skilful management incumbent. When they had travelled
-about half the distance, Tom, who was eagerly conning the
-other shore, gave a shout, pointing at the same time to
-a headland above the village.
-
-"Some 'un's waving! See 'em, over there!"
-
-Mrs. Blain was the first to spy the advancing boat.
-The boys' mothers had been trapsing the lagoon shore and
-river-side for hours, in a semi-demented manner. The
-minister and the others had returned after a fruitless
-errand. The police, with a strong crew in the Government
-whale-boat, were scouring the shores in the vicinity of the
-Bend, and had not returned. The disappearance of the
-boys had seemed most mysterious until the break-away
-was discovered. Then the accident as it really happened
-was immediately conjectured. The profoundest sensation
-was created in the village, for the boys were dearly loved
-by all.
-
-The feelings of the poor parents may be but faintly
-imagined. Great was the relief, therefore, when Mrs. Blain,
-whose eyes were devouring the flood waters in her
-frantic eagerness to discover some hopeful sign, suddenly
-screamed out in an alarming manner, gesticulating wildly
-as she did so, and acting to outward seeming in a frenzied
-fashion. Other searchers, scattered along the river-bank,
-hearing the piercing cry, and seeing the untoward gestures
-of the joy-possessed woman, came running towards her,
-thinking for the moment that she had lost her reason.
-
-"See, see!" screamed she, pointing to a distant spot on
-the waters. "They're saved, they're saved! God be
-praised, our lovely boys are returning all safe; yes, one,
-two, three, four—the darlings."
-
-.. _`69`:
-
-Looking in the direction indicated, the neighbours saw,
-far out on the wild, impetuous, wreckage-strewn waters,
-a tiny boat with four slight figures running the blockade;
-threading their course between the thousand objects which
-intervene and threaten destruction.
-
-The good news is now shouted from end to end of the
-township, and in a few minutes the river-bank is lined
-with exultant and yet anxious spectators. For the joy of
-the discovery of the lads is almost quenched at times by
-sights of the perils of the passage.
-
-The mothers of Joe, Tom, and Jimmy are grouped
-together, wrought up to such a pitch of anxiety as to be
-well-nigh silent. They noted every danger and counted
-every oar-stroke. The gallant rowers lifted their blades
-in the twilight, as the last rays sparkled on the flowing
-waters. Beyond a landward look the boys had no time
-to bestow upon the excited spectators. Eye and mind, in
-close conjunction, are continuously engaged in evading
-danger and maintaining the boat's position.
-
-"We'll make the point," exclaimed Joe, after an
-interval of silence. "We'll make the point, all right.
-Keep her steady, lads," turning the boat's nose, as he
-spoke, well up stream, at an angle inclining shorewards.
-"Now, pull like a prize crew for five minutes an' we're
-there. We're out of the driftwood as it is."
-
-The rowers needed no further stimulus. They bent to
-the oars like old salts.
-
-"Capital! just the stroke! Keep it up! Hear 'em
-cheering!"
-
-The cheering spurred on the boys, and in less than five
-minutes they landed in the midst of a wildly excited and
-loud-cheering crowd. And wasn't there a hugging and
-kissing, and hand-shaking and back-slapping!
-
-Just as the women were up to their necks in it, to use
-a homely figure, some one happened to glance at the boat.
-The glance extorted a scream.
-
-"A baby, a darling baby! See, see, see! a little baby
-in the boat!"
-
-A moment's dazed surprise, and every one crowded to
-the boat. Joe, who had not moved far from the boat's
-nose, and who only waited for the violence of the
-welcome to abate a little that he might call attention to
-the precious freight, waved the jostling crowd back, and
-in a few words related the incident of the rescue.
-
-A great wave of feeling passed over the crowd as he
-spoke. The women wept copiously as the scene was
-conjured us, and strong men unconsciously shed briny
-tears as the story reached its culminating point of the
-discovery of the helpless and orphaned babe, bound to
-the dead breast of her who had thus made the great
-sacrifice of motherhood.
-
-While Joe was reciting the story of the rescue, Jimmy
-Flynn held on to his mother's arm and whispered excitedly
-into her ear. The narrator had hardly finished ere
-Mrs. Flynn stepped forward to his side and faced the crowd.
-Ordinarily, this woman was undemonstrative and shy.
-Now she is unconscious of any timidity. The moment
-was an inspired one; to produce which Jimmy's whisperings
-had played an important part.
-
-"Mr. Blain, and friends all, give me the darling baby.
-It'll take the place of the one God took from me last
-month. The clothes'll fit——"
-
-The bereft mother could get no further. Any woman
-who has lost a child will tell you why.
-
-"My friends, you all know Mrs. Flynn, as I know her.
-If it were a matter of choosing between you, I should
-still say that no one in the town is better fitted for the
-sacred duty of mothering this little flood-driven stranger.
-None of us can say to whom the child belongs; whether
-there is a father or near relations. But until it is claimed
-by those who can prove the right to do so, the very best
-of all possible arrangements, and one I regard as
-providential, will be for Mrs. Flynn to take this baby to
-nourish and cherish it."
-
-The murmurs of assent were unanimous. Joe, without
-any more delay, stepped into the boat, and, picking up
-the child—which all this time looked round, wondering in
-its baby way at this ado—put the little one into its
-foster-mother's hands.
-
-The river baby was evidently delighted beyond measure
-to receive a warm motherly embrace; judging, at any rate,
-by the way it gooed and crowed.
-
-As soon as she could get through the admiring throng,
-Mrs. Flynn hastened home, and before long the baby,
-washed and dressed anew, was filling its "little Mary"
-with sweet new milk.
-
-
-
-
-
-.. vspace:: 4
-
-.. _`THE BREAKING UP`:
-
-.. class:: center large bold
-
- CHAPTER XI
-
-
-.. class:: center medium bold
-
- THE BREAKING-UP
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-..
-
- | "With trumping horn and juvenile huzzas,
- | At going home to spend their Christmas days,
- | And changing Learning's pains for Pleasure's toys."
- | TOM HOOD.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-Out through the gateway of the National School, on one
-sultry afternoon in late December, tumbled a pack of noisy
-boys and scarcely less noisy girls; the while they kicked
-up a fine dust, yelling in an uproarious fashion. Were
-you, a stranger, to ask the cause of this demonstration
-of voice and capering limbs, you would be answered by a
-score of voices in rousing chorus—
-
- | "Hip, hip, hurray for Christmas Day!
- | School's broke up, hip, hip, hurray!"
- |
-
-However strongly one might be disposed to question
-the quality of the couplet as he listened to the trumpetings
-of this cluster of children, he would cheerfully admit
-the gusto of the proceedings as the juveniles issued
-pell-mell.
-
-If truth be told, the master was no less pleased than the
-youngsters when the actual moment of dismissal came.
-Like all schools, this particular one was infected for weeks
-previously with a spirit of restlessness, which made it
-well-nigh impossible to secure the undivided attention of
-the children. There was no disposition for serious study,
-and Simpson, who was a wise teacher, attempted no
-coercive measures. Natural history was presented in its
-most attractive forms. Grammar and arithmetic were for
-the most part tabooed, and instead of puzzling refractory
-brains with arithmetical and grammatical abstractions, the
-children lived in the jungles of India, crossed Sahara, took
-a trip to the Booties, wandered into Arctic circles, or,
-what was equally exciting, made transcontinental trips in
-company with Sturt, Burke and Wills, Leichhardt, and
-other great Australian explorers.
-
-Many were the schemes unfolded and plans laid by the
-boys during the last schooldays. The holidays would not
-be an undiluted playtime to any one of the boys. Many
-of the lads would work hard on the farms; their parents,
-bearing in mind the old adage of Satan and idle hands,
-will take good care to anticipate the sinister designs of
-that interfering old gentleman. The wood pile stood as
-an unfailing object of labour. Sheds were awaiting the
-whitewash brush. Fowl houses loomed expectant.
-Fences demanded attention. These, and many other
-duties about house and farm, were put off till the
-"holidays."
-
-There were other anticipations, however, far more
-highly coloured and bewitching than these. Charm the
-schoolboy never so wisely, his thoughts, with a dogged
-obstinacy or triumphant breakaway, return to the
-delectable things of the groves, streams, mountains, and
-plains. Horse, gun, dog, rod, bat, duck, quail, pigeon;
-perch, bream, mullet; kangaroo, wallaby, dingo, brumby,
-scrubber! These are the sources and instruments of
-pleasure; things that people the imagination, and make an
-earthly paradise.
-
-Sobering down, after an unusual indulgence in larks to
-mark the auspicious event, Joe, Tom, and Sandy, separating
-from the others, sauntered to the slip-rail entrance of
-the school horse-paddock. Joe and Tom, at the express
-request of Mrs. M'Intyre, are to spend the holidays with
-Sandy on the station. Here all kinds of fun and alluring
-adventure are promised the lads. How well that promise
-was redeemed let the sequel bear witness.
-
-"Now then, you fellows, don't forget that you are to be
-at Bullaroi on the morning of Christmas Eve without fail."
-
-"I say, ole boss, what does eve mean?"
-
-"Eve! Why, a—er—short for evening, I s'pose. What
-makes you ask, Joe?"
-
-"Well, if Christmas Eve is evening, how can we be
-there in the mornin'?—you savee?"
-
-"You're mighty smart, Blain, but did you ever know
-an evening that didn't have a morning to it?"
-
-"Oh—ah—yes, I see. We're to come out on the
-morning of the evening. Sure it's an Irishie ye ought
-to be instead of a Scotchie."
-
-"Scotchie or no Scotchie," replied Sandy, who was
-the essence of good-humour, "ye're not to be later than
-ten o'clock of the forenoon of the day before Christmas.
-There! Will that fit you, you pumpkin-headed son of
-a bald-bellied turnip?"
-
-"Thanks, M'Intyre; I'm sure my father'll be delighted
-when I tell him the respectful titles you've given him,"
-returned Joe, with mock sarcasm.
-
-"He'll no dispute the title of his son's head, anyhow,"
-flung back the Scotch lad, as, bridle in hand, he strolled
-on to round up his steed.
-
-This parthian shot nettled Joe, but the answer he
-would have given remained unuttered, for at this
-moment his eldest sister appeared and beckoned to him
-in an emphatic manner, at the same time calling upon
-him to hurry. So, contenting himself with levelling
-Midshipman Easy's masonic sign at the retreating lad, he
-hurried along towards his sister.
-
-"Father wants you to go down the river with him in
-the boat."
-
-"Where's it to?"
-
-"Down to Beacon Point. Tom Tyler's had a bad
-accident, and they've sent for the doctor; but he's away.
-He was called out to a bad case at Dingo Creek head
-station, and is not expected to be back till midday
-to-morrow. So they've asked father to go down, and
-you've to hurry along. Father's waiting down at the
-boat for you."
-
-Mr. Blain was waiting at the boat with everything
-that was required for the trip. As soon as the lad was
-in, he pushed off, and, taking the stern oar, with Joe at
-the bow, father and son started on their twelve-mile
-pull.
-
-In answer to the boy's question the minister gave some
-details of the accident, and, further, informed the lad that
-it was his intention to call at Mrs. Robinson's, distant
-about five miles from Tareela.
-
-They had now settled down to a steady stroke, and as
-the sun was on its westering wheel, and the sting out
-of its slanting rays, the row became enjoyable. Mr. Blain
-was a sort of newsletter to the settlers, and in his
-trips up-stream and down-stream was frequently hailed
-and made the target of questioning from the riverbank.
-
-Robinsons' was reached a little before sunset, where
-they were made abundantly welcome. Some years
-previously Mr. Robinson met his death by one of those
-accidents all too common in new settlements. Felling
-scrub timber is a risky performance. It so happened
-that in felling a stout fig tree, Robinson failed to notice
-some lawyer vines that, hanging from the high branches,
-had attached themselves to the bare limbs of an adjacent
-dead tree.
-
-Standing at the base and watching the toppling fig
-tree, as it slowly swayed preparatory to its final crash,
-he was unaware that the cable-like vines were retarding
-its progress. Gathering way, however, the falling tree
-brought a strain upon the vine, and tore away a heavy
-limb of the dead tree. This falling upon the axe-man,
-killed him instantly.
-
-The widow was blest with a family of boys and girls
-who were true grit. Misfortune breaks some people—it
-makes others. The latter was the truth in this case.
-
-In all the trying times Mrs. Robinson underwent, the
-minister was her friend and counsellor.
-
-
-
-
-
-.. vspace:: 4
-
-.. _`DOWN THE RIVER`:
-
-.. class:: center large bold
-
- CHAPTER XII
-
-
-.. class:: center medium bold
-
- DOWN THE RIVER
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-..
-
- | "When the full moon flirts with the perigee tide,
- | On a track of silver away we ride,—
- | Oh, glorious times we have together,
- | My boat and I in the summer weather."
- | ELLA WHEELER WILCOX.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-The boat was sighted from Robinsons' some time before
-its nose grated on the shingle at the landing-place.
-
-Isaac, the younger son, a giant in stature and a prime
-favourite with Joe, was at the landing-stage. Seizing
-the bow what time it touched land, he half lifted, half
-dragged the boat two-thirds of her length out of the
-water, and made her fast to an old stump.
-
-"Mother's so glad you've come, sir. She wants to talk
-with you about that boy of Maguire's, who's bin givin' us
-a lot of trouble."
-
-"Won't be able to stay long, Ike. We've got to be
-at Beacon Point to night. We just put in for a cup of tea
-and a bite. Mother's inside, I suppose? I'll go in and
-have a chat with her."
-
-"You'll find her in the kitchen, sir. When we saw
-you roundin' Piccaniny Point we knew you'd be here for
-tea, and mother's lookin' after things."
-
-"I hope she won't go to any trouble. A mouthful is
-all we want."
-
-"Well, you know mother, sir. She feels that nothin'
-is near good enough."
-
-"Any pancakes for tea, Ike?"
-
-"Pancakes! Why, of course. That's what mother's
-makin' now. She knew that'd be the first thing you'd be
-askin' fur, Joe."
-
-"Rather, Ike!" said Joe, pursing his mouth and drawing
-in his breath with the peculiar, half-whistling, unwriteable
-sound which boys instinctively make when visions of
-goodies arise. More especially when such goodies come
-within measurable distance of consumption.
-
-Master Joe had a healthy boy's appetite. The rowing
-exercise gave additional spice to his hunger. Pancake
-was at that moment the gate of entry to the boy's very
-material heaven.
-
-"Tea won't be ready fur a few minutes, Joe. Let's go
-down to the barn. I was just goin' to rub some more
-mixture inter the skins when I seen your boat roundin'
-the point. Sorry you're goin' on, my son. When I seen
-you on the river I ses to meself, ses I, 'By George! Joey
-an' I'll have a great night at the 'possums.' I wish to
-goodness you'd been stayin'. There'll be a grand moon ter
-night, an it's very temptin'."
-
-"By gum, ain't it just! It'd be simply, rippin'.
-'Member last time I was down? That was a grand bit
-of sport we had. Forty-seven was it, or forty-nine? I
-know it took a dashed long time to skin 'em."
-
-"Forty-seven it was. We'd do over fifty to-night."
-
-"Well, as mother says, 'What can't be cured must be
-endured.' By dad! that's a grand wallaby skin! Where'd
-you get it?"
-
-"Got it larst night." Ike had the Colonial drawl to
-perfection. "I was up at the top end of the scrub
-cultivation paddick, mooseying around after some cockatoos
-that'd bin skinnin' the corn. It was just about dusk,
-an' I was waitin' in the corner for the cockies, as I knew
-they'd soon be leavin' fur their roosts, an' my bes' charnse
-at 'em was on the wing. They're so 'tarnal cute, yer know,
-yer carn't git 'em on the corn."
-
-"I know. Didn't I try my best to stalk 'em the last
-time I was down, Ike! I got three altogether, you
-'member, an' you said it'd be a crest apiece to take home
-to the girls."
-
-"Waal, as I was sayin', I'd sarcumvented the ole boss
-cockie, which was keeping watch in the dead gum-tree
-that stood in the middle of the patch, an' was posted in
-the middle of the corner expectin' them ter fly over every
-minit. But ole Pincher, who was chevyin' about, starts
-this ere boss outer the pumpkin vines; they're death on
-pumpkins, yer know. The dorg made a dash at 'im, an',
-by jings! he did streak. Greased lightnin' wasn't in it
-with 'im. I tried to draw a bead on 'im, but, what with
-the dusk an' the bushes an' stumps, I couldn't get a good
-line. I banged away one barril, but was yards off, I
-reckon.
-
-"Pincher, he disappeared in a brace of shakes, an' I
-made sure the vermin ud get through a 'ole in the fence.
-I was makin' for 'ome, 'cause the cockies, yer know, 'ad
-all gone. All of a suddent I heers a yelp, an' knew ole
-Pinch 'ad somehow 'eaded 'im. Reckon 'e missed the 'ole,
-or the dorg'd never got near 'im. Anyhow, 'e was
-a-streakin' a bit now, an' Pinch at 'is 'eels. He was makin'
-fur the maize agen. I lined 'im this time all right, though
-it was a longish shot; about sixty-five I reckon; an'
-dropped 'im clean at the very edge."
-
-"It's a prime pelt, anyway."
-
-"Yaas, 'e was a grand ole buck fur a wally; about the
-biggest I've got this season."
-
-"How many skins have you taken, Ike?"
-
-"Two more'n I'd 'ave six dozen."
-
-"Gettin' a good price for 'em?"
-
-"Waal, Jack Croft, 'e offered me nine shillin' a dozen
-fur 'em. There are about twenty kangaroos among 'em.
-Jack reckoned it was a stiff price, an' 'e sed 'e'd not offer
-anythin' near it but fur the kangaroo skins, which 'e 'ad
-a fancy fur."
-
-"Old Jack can put it on, you know."
-
-"Oh, I know Jack all right! Me an' 'im's 'ad dealin'
-afore. Jacky's not too bad, but 'e knows 'ow to draw
-the long bow. Anyway, ole Eb Dowse's boat'll be along
-nex' week. He's sent word ter say as 'e'd do a deal
-with me fur 'em."
-
-"Better wait an' see what Eb'll shell out for 'em, Ike, I
-reckon. German Harry, up the river, says he can always
-knock a shillin' a dozen more out of Eb than Jack."
-
-"I ain't hurryin', Joe."
-
-Just then the welcome supper cooee reached their ears.
-The boys lost no time in getting to the supper-table.
-Joe instinctively eyed the contents. Cold streaky bacon;
-a big dish of fried pumpkin and potatoes; a mountain
-of home-made bread, sliced; a basin of prime butter;
-Cape gooseberry jam galore, and amber-tinted honey in
-the comb. What more could any hungry lad desire?
-
-Mary Robinson, a great tease, caught Joe's glance,
-and said, with an amused smile, "No pancakes to-night, Joe."
-
-Joe was abashed for the fraction of a second. Quickly
-rallying, he laughingly said, "Tell another, Mary, while
-your mouth's hot."
-
-"Very well, my boy! If you don't believe me ask
-our black tom-cat. He chased a mouse into the batter
-and upset the bowl; so there!"
-
-"Mary, Mary!" remonstrated Mrs. Robinson. "There's
-only a grain of truth in the pound of fiction she's giving
-you, Joe. The cat, it is true, did chase a mouse; but
-it did not jump into the batter, nor was the bowl
-upset. The pancakes are cooked, with currans in 'em;
-just the sort you like; and they're keeping hot by the fire."
-
-"Thanks awfully, Mrs. Robinson; I believe *you* anyway.
-As for Mary, she's like Sandy M'Intyre's old,
-toothless sheep-dog."
-
-"How's that, Joe?" interjected Ike.
-
-"Bark's worse than her bite."
-
-"My stars! what originality, what refinement!
-Sandy's razor is not in it with master Joe Blain for
-sharpness. I'll remember this, though, the next time you
-ask me to go out to the scrub with you for passion fruit.
-Anyhow, there's no resemblance between you and Sandy's
-wonderful barker."
-
-"*Indeed!*"
-
-"No; your bark's noisy enough, but your bite's a
-hundred times worse—especially when pancakes are
-about."
-
-With this "Roland" Mary ran out to the kitchen
-to get the teapot.
-
-Joe made a royal repast, topping off with the hot
-pancakes at a rate which caused his father to dryly
-remark: "Too much pancake won't help the boat along,
-my boy."
-
-Tea finished, the visitors prepare to continue their
-voyage. With Ike's powerful assistance the boat is
-shoved into the water, and her nose pointed down-stream.
-In due time Beacon Point is reached.
-
-
-
-
-
-.. vspace:: 4
-
-.. _`OFF FOR THE HOLIDAYS`:
-
-.. class:: center large bold
-
- CHAPTER XIII
-
-
-.. class:: center medium bold
-
- OFF FOR THE HOLIDAYS!
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-.. class:: small
-
-"Boyhood is the natural time for abundant play and laughter, without
-which rarely does high health touch young cheeks with its rose-bloom,
-or knit bones strongly for the fighting and the toiling that awaits
-them."—JOSEPH H. FLETCHER.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-"Now then, Norah, look slippy with breakfast! It's
-half-past six, an' Sandy's to be here at seven. Said he'd
-leave the station at five with the spare horse for me."
-
-"Begorrah! at the rate breakfast's cookin' it'll be
-midnight before it's ready. 'Tis the bastliest wood that
-niwer was."
-
-"Time the fish was fryin', Norah."
-
-"Fish, bedad! For two pins ye wuddent have anny
-fish. The thrubble Oi've had wid thim! Phwat for did
-youse lave thim in the bag all night? If ye'd put thim
-out on the dish, ye spalpeen, Oi'd have seen thim and
-claned thim long ba-fore Oi wint to bed. 'Sted of which
-it's tuk me two morchial hours to scale the brutes, they
-was that dry and hard. Be Saint Pathrick, they scales
-was loike porky-pine's pricklies!"
-
-"Sorry, Norah; my fault as usual," remarked Joe
-good-humouredly. "Father called out to turn the horse from
-the lucerne just as I reached the back door. So I threw
-the bag down on the steps to chase the moke, an' clean
-forgot 'em when I came back."
-
-"Well, Oi'll forgive ye wanst more, which makes about
-a million tousandth toime; but, moind ye, 'tis——"
-
-"All serene, Norah! Oh, I say, Norry, I'd nearly
-forgotten it! Paddy Lacey asked me yesterday to tell
-you that they want you to go to the Hibernian picnic on
-Boxing Day. They've chartered the *Firefly*, an' are goin'
-down to the Bar."
-
-"God's truth! 'tis only gammoning me ye are, Masther
-Joe. It's a young thrick ye be, indade, with yure
-Hayburnion picnacs."
-
-"It's as true as true, Norah. No make-up this time.
-An' oh! I say, d'you know what Jimmy Flynn tole Tom
-Hawkins?"
-
-"Nawthin' good, bedad!"
-
-"Ain't it! Well, opinions differ. At any rate he was
-goin' to set a line on Friday night, an' as he was roundin'
-the point he hears somewheres ahead of him a noise
-between a smack an' a crack. Then comes a bit of
-a squeal, an' a woman's voice sings out: 'Don't,
-stop it!' Then there was another smack-crack, an'
-just as he got round the corner he sees a couple,
-for all the world like you and Paddy, sittin' on a log.
-No, 'twas Paddy that was on the log, an' you were on
-Paddy's——"
-
-"Ye loi-in spalpeen! Oi'll pull yure tongue from
-betune yure teeth," screamed Norah, as, blushing furiously,
-she chased the nimble Joe out of the kitchen right into
-the arms of Sandy M'Intyre, as he was coming up the
-back doorstep.
-
-"Hello, Sandy!"
-
-"Hello, Joe! What's row inside? Norah givin' you
-the rounds of the kitchen as usual, eh?"
-
-"Only jiggin' her about Paddy Lacey, an' got her *paddy*
-up a bit. You're up to time, Sandy, ole man. By jing!
-I see you've brought Curlew in. Am I to ride him? My
-word! it is good of your governor to let me. I thought
-you'd a brought the piebald."
-
-"So I intended, but he was limpin' when he was run
-into the stockyard; so father says, 'Take Curlew.'"
-
-Curlew was Mr. M'Intyre's favourite horse, and Joe
-was highly honoured in being allowed to ride this
-mettlesome but lovely paced steed.
-
-Just then breakfast appeared. After a substantial meal
-Joe brought out his father's valise and strapped it to the
-saddle.
-
-"All ready, Sandy? Good-bye, mother. Good-bye,
-father. Good-bye, girls!"
-
-And so, with kisses and cautions from the family, the
-boys mounted their steeds and cantered down the street
-to the punt, on their way to Bullaroi, as Mr. M'Intyre's
-station was called.
-
-Across the river the boys were joined by Tom Hawkins,
-who was to accompany them. Tom, who was mounted
-on a brisk pony, greeted them with a cheery cry as the
-punt reached the shore. A jollier trio of young
-Australians could not be found than this chattering, capering
-band, who on that brilliant morning raced along the bush
-track.
-
-Plans of fun and frolic were projected during the ride,
-including astounding adventures that would have taken
-half a year to carry out. In anticipation the lads were
-already having tip-top fun. Tom's riotous imagination,
-especially, made the spoils of the gun, the rod, and the
-chase to assume brobdingnagian proportions.
-
-In due course they pulled up at the slip-rails marking
-the Bullaroi boundary line. Thence to the white gate
-seen in the distance, and which fronted the homestead,
-a mad race ensued. In this Curlew was first, the rest
-nowhere. Indeed, Curlew became so excited by the gallop
-and the shrill shoutings of the riders that Joe, who had
-made no attempt to pull him till the horse was almost on
-the gate, found it impossible to stop his steed, which was
-full of running. Before the boy fully realised it, Curlew
-was soaring through the air, clearing the gate by at least
-a couple of feet. Joe, parting from the "pigskin," was
-sailing through space on his own account, leaving a foot
-or two between his sit-down and the saddle seat.
-
-Joe, though a fair rider, was not a practised
-steeple-chaser. He was not a horseman, as were Sandy and Tom,
-who were to the manner born. Little wonder, then, that
-his heart rose with the horse and his rider, and for some
-brief moments palpitated furiously in his mouth. That
-mysterious and natural law of the universe called
-gravitation was on hand, however, and saved the situation.
-
-Curlew's hoofs struck the ground on the descending
-curve as lightly as a cat. Joe's legs, which in this aerial
-flight had assumed the shape of an inverted V, came plop
-into the saddle at the right moment. But his body was
-thrown forward, his hands clutching frantically at the
-horse's neck and mane. In this condition, unable to
-recover his equilibrium, with but the loss of his hat, the
-rider is carried over the intervening distance to the
-stables, amid loud laughter from the station people, who
-had been attracted by the shouting of the boys.
-
-Sandy cleared the gate in pursuit of Joe, but failed
-to catch him. Tom was obliged to haul up and open the
-gates, as the jump was too high for his pony. Thus the rider
-of Curlew came in a winner, and all three dismounted
-amid laughter and teasings.
-
-"Weel, Joseph, my lad," said Mr. M'Intyre, who
-possessed a pawky humour, "Johnny Gilpin couldna hae
-done the trick better. You kep' up wi' Curlew, anyway.
-I thocht he was goin' to leave ye behind. Ma certie
-it's deeficult to say which is the winner, you or the horse.
-We'll juist ca' it neck an' neck."
-
-"Take no heed to him, Joe," said Mrs. M'Intyre. She
-saw through the lad's apparent good-humour a sense of
-humiliation at his unhorsemanlike entry. "You did well
-to stick to him, not knowing his intention. But come
-away in, boys; ye'll be ready for something to eat after
-that ride. We're right glad to see you. Sandy was so
-excited last night at the prospect of your coming that I
-am sure he didn't sleep a wink. Why, he had the horses
-saddled at dawn, and was off without a bite if I hadn't
-stopped him and made him drink a cup of coffee."
-
-The day was a busy one on the station. Every one
-was engaged in finishing off jobs and cleaning up. For
-during Christmas week, and until after New Year's Day,
-only that which was absolutely necessary in the way of
-work was expected.
-
-During the previous week drafting and mustering had
-been the all absorbing work on the run. That finished,
-and a mob of "fats" despatched overland to Maitland to
-catch the Christmas market, the last few days were
-occupied in culling "boilers" and in branding calves.
-On this particular day all the available hands were
-engaged in tidying up; the whitewash bucket being in
-great request.
-
-Willy and Jacky, the aboriginal boys, together with an
-Irish lad,—Norah's brother, in fact,—were enrolled as
-whitewash artists. Their special work consisted in converting
-dingy looking hen-roosts, dog-kennels, pigsties, milking
-sheds, and the like into a brilliant white. Meanwhile two
-of the men, with rough brooms made of stiff brushes, were
-sweeping the ground within a fair radius of the house.
-
-Inside, the housework was prosecuted with great vigour.
-Two gins were set to work with the scrubbing brush;
-while in the kitchen, where Mrs. Mac and the two elder
-daughters were domiciled, Christmas cooking went on
-apace. There was, indeed, such a weighing of flour and
-raisins, such a slicing of candied peel, such a dressing
-of flesh and fowl as to make Ah Fat, the cook, fairly
-amazed, and to wonder how in the name of Confucius the
-oven was to stand the cooking strain that was being
-brought upon it. While from the kitchen an odoriferous
-perfume was wafted across the yard, assaulting all noses,
-and breeding high anticipation, most pleasurable from
-the standpoint of creature comforts.
-
-Mr. M'Intyre, no patron of idleness either in man or boy,
-took the lads early in the day into the harness room, and
-set them to the task of cleaning the saddle and harness
-ware. Saddles, girths, bridles, various sets of light and
-heavy harness, required attention. All leather was to be
-well cleaned and oiled, stirrups and bits to be burnished,
-and broken straps to be repaired.
-
-The pals threw themselves, *con amore*, into the work.
-It was hard to say which moved the more briskly, tongues
-or hands. The afternoon was well advanced before the
-last piece of steel and electro silver was polished, the last
-girth and surcingle refitted, and the whole placed on their
-respective brackets. This task finished, the boys felt that
-they had earned the promised reward—a glorious swim.
-Within a couple of hours of sunset the whole of the
-outside work was accomplished, and, for the time being, each
-employé was a free agent.
-
-The homestead faced a large affluent of the river, which
-was known as Crocodile Creek. Why the creek was so
-named was a sort of a mystery. No species of the saurian
-tribe was ever known to infest its waters. The name may
-have been given to it through some fancied resemblance
-in its course to the aforesaid reptile.
-
-Crocodile Creek formed a fine frontage to Bullaroi run,
-being distant from the homestead about a quarter of a
-mile. Immediately opposite, the creek widened out into
-a fine sheet of water some three miles long, and varying
-in width from one hundred to one hundred and fifty
-yards. There was a particular spot which stood about seven
-or eight feet above the water. Here Mr. M'Intyre had a
-spring-board constructed. The water was fully twelve feet
-deep at the jump off, and, added to other advantages,
-formed an ideal spot for bathing purposes.
-
-Having finished their allotted tasks, the lads came
-bounding out of the harness-room and across the yard to
-the house, shouting, as they capered, "Who's for a swim?" The
-stockmen certainly looked, and no doubt felt, that the
-one thing above all others necessary for their ease and
-comfort after the stable and the house-yard cleaning
-operations was a plunge into the cool, sweet waters of
-the creek. If they were semi-black by reason of their
-employment, it was no less true that the black boys,
-Willy and Jacky, were semi-white.
-
-Dennis Kineavy, the Irish lad, was the "broth of a
-bhoy," and all three were cram full of impishness. No
-sooner were the finishing touches of whitewash decoration
-given, than Denny, sneaking up behind Willy and Jacky,
-who stood off a little from the hen-roost admiring their
-artistic handicraft—with capacious brush well charged
-with the sediment of his bucket—smote them in quick
-succession across the bare shoulders and breech, and then,
-with an Irish yell, darted round the stable.
-
-Surprised for the moment, but nothing loath, the black
-boys snatched their buckets, wielded their brushes, and,
-shouting their native war-cry, dashed off in hot pursuit;
-Denny dodged them successfully for a while, but was at
-length outflanked, and then ensued a battle royal which
-only ceased when the supplies of ammunition (whitewash)
-were exhausted.
-
-It was at the tail-end of the fray that Sandy and his mates
-came racing along with the cry of, "Swim O! Swim O!"
-
-Boys and men, black and white, were all ready and
-willing, nay, eager, for a jolly bogey.[#] There was a rush
-by the whites for towels; then, in quick procession, the
-motley band made for the water.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-.. class:: noindent small
-
-[#] "Bogey," native name for bathe.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-After a plunge and a short swim to get rid of the dust
-and muck, an impromptu carnival was arranged. First
-of all came the long dive. This meant a run along the
-spring-board and a dive straight out. The diver in
-each case, when reaching the surface, had to tread
-water, keeping as nearly as possible to the spot of
-emergence.
-
-Tom Hawkins led off, the others followed in order at
-twenty seconds' interval. The blacks, by reason of their
-native abilities in this direction, were made to do the
-dive with arms interlocked, Siamese twin fashion. The
-darkies were the whippers-in of this diving procession.
-Tom, who led off, faltered in his stride when leaving the
-spring-board. He rose to the surface at about thirty feet
-from the bank. Joe, who followed, dived a good ten feet
-farther out than Tom. Sandy, however, when he shot up
-through the water, was fully fifty feet from the shore.
-Both of the stockmen beat Joe, but were behind Sandy.
-
-Then came the blacks, side by side. With an even,
-measured, and springy stride they raced down the board,
-which was wide enough to admit of this manoeuvre. They
-took the water without a splash, like a pair of frogs,
-leaving scarce a ripple. It was naturally thought that by
-being coupled in this way matters would be evened. It
-was the general opinion that they would fail to reach
-Sandy's limit, and probably not get beyond Joe's. The
-boys eagerly awaited their reappearance, watching the
-water closely for some sign. After what appeared to be
-an interminable period they were startled by a double
-cooee, and, lo! the twins, so to speak, had risen at least
-twenty feet beyond Sandy, or seventy feet from the shore.
-
-Somersault diving followed the long distance trial.
-In thia Harry the stockman, who had been a circus
-rider and acrobat in his youthful days, outshone all the
-others.
-
-Then came the exciting game of "catch the devil." Willy
-was chosen devil. It was his business to dive off
-the spring-board and run the gauntlet, the others being
-scattered in the water. To catch the aboriginal seemed
-a comparatively easy matter, all things considered. He
-was, however, a superb swimmer and trickster, diving
-and dodging like a cormorant. A dozen times
-surrounded, he marvellously eluded his pursuers. The game
-was at its height, and there was no knowing how long
-the "devil" would remain at large, when the station bell
-rang out a lusty summons to supper.
-
-This brought the carnival to an instant conclusion.
-And now each swimmer scrambled for the shore, and
-soon the whole company, with clean bodies and healthy
-appetites, were hieing along the track. When the boys
-reached home they found a new arrival in the person of a
-young Englishman. This gentleman was out on a business
-tour, and, being anxious to see something of station
-life, was recommended to Mr. M'Intyre by a mutual friend.
-Mrs. M'Intyre's hospitality was proverbial, and Neville,
-for such was the "new chum's" name, was heartily made
-welcome.
-
-The day had been a long one, and, supper ended, the
-boys were quite resigned to go to bed, or at least to the
-bedroom. The noises therefrom, after their retirement,
-were very suggestive of prime larks, and continued long
-after lights were out. The pals were domiciled, to their
-great delight, in a big spare room, which contained a
-double bed and a single one. Joe and Tom shared the
-former, while Sandy camped on the latter, which was,
-indeed, his stretcher brought in for the occasion.
-
-Silence reigned supreme at length within, and without
-was broken only by the hoarse croaking of the frogs, an
-occasional call from a night owl, and the weird wail of
-the curlew.
-
-
-
-
-
-.. vspace:: 4
-
-.. _`CHRISTMAS FUN AND FROLIC`:
-
-.. class:: center large bold
-
- CHAPTER XIV
-
-
-.. class:: center medium bold
-
- CHRISTMAS FUN AND FROLIC
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-..
-
- | "It was the time when geese despond
- | And turkeys make their wills;
- | The time when Christians to a man
- | Forgive each other's bills.
- | It was the time when Christmas glee
- | The heart of childhood fills."
- | BRUNTON STEPHENS.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-Daylight had barely broken. The only stir in the
-household is that produced by Joe, whose slumber had
-been disturbed by the persistent crawling of flies across
-his face.
-
-There are three things in animated nature which run
-each other very closely for the supremacy in downright
-tenacity to purposeful cussedness. Pig, Hen, Fly—these
-three! And of the three, the cussedest and most
-exasperatingly tenacious to its rooted purpose of squeezing
-in between one's eyelids, sinking a well in the corner
-of one's eye, or climbing the inside walls of one's nose, is
-the Australian species of the common house-fly.
-
-It is possible at times to circumvent the "gintilman
-wot pays the rint," and persuade him to return through
-the same hole in the fence which gave him escape, by
-appearing to be anxious to drive him out on to the plain.
-That is pig strategy; or rather, strategy with a pig. He
-is beaten, so to speak, by the law of contrairy. When all
-resources fail in persuading the hen that the flour-bin, or
-the linen basket, is not specially constructed to suit her
-convenience in the daily duty of egg producing, one can
-at the last resort requisition the services of Madame la
-Guillotine.
-
-But neither strategy nor tactics, neither force nor fraud,
-avail anything when the early fly, with recruited energies
-and fiendish intent, starts on her mission of seeking whom
-and what she may annoy. She—it is quite safe to put
-the insect in the feminine gender—can be neither coaxed,
-persuaded, shoo'd, deceived, frightened, nor driven from
-her prey. The fly always wins—in the end.
-
-Driven from Blanket Bay on this eventful Christinas
-morning by the incorrigible fly, Joe proceeded at once to
-reverse the Golden Rule, and promptly made war upon
-his mates on that morning which, of all the days in the
-year, makes for peace and goodwill among men.
-
-Tom had sought refuge from the fly in the bed-clothes,
-and muffled nasal monotones made a sonorous chorale.
-On the other hand, Sandy, impervious to all impious fly
-assaults, lay on his back, mouth wide open, breathing
-heavily and steadily. Sandy was of the pachydermatous
-order. Neither mosquito nor fly troubled him. The
-flies evidently found his eyes to be a dry patch, while
-they were unable to obtain a permanent foothold at his
-nostrils owing to the intermittent, horse-like snorts which
-blew them as from the mouth of a blunderbuss. But they
-heavily fringed his mouth, eating with manifest relish
-their bacilli breakfast.
-
-In a jiffy the bed-clothes are whipped off the slumbering
-lads, and in less than no time the latter, pillows in hand,
-make common cause against the aggressor. Joe puts
-up a gallant fight, but the odds are too much for him;
-he is driven into a corner at last and unmercifully
-pelted.
-
-This prelude to the day's enjoyment concluded, the
-pals jump into their clothes and proceed to execute the
-second item on the day's programme, namely, a horseback
-scamper through the bush before breakfast.
-
-Oh, the glory of it! Out from the confines of four
-walls into the open spaces of the world when night is
-merging into day; to move in the dawn of a new day;
-to stand enwrapped in its pearl-grey mantle ere the
-mounting sun has turned its soft shades to rosy brilliance;
-to inhale the spicy breeze which, during the night watches,
-having extracted the perfumes of the forest flowers, comes
-heavily freighted o'er gully and range, and diffuses the
-sweet odours as the reward of the early riser. And then—to
-watch the daily miracle of sunrise!
-
- | "See! the dapple-grey coursers of the morn
- | Beat up the light with their bright silver hoofs
- | And chase it through the sky."
- |
-
-Sandy, on old Rufus, kept for that work, soon
-rounds-up and yards several steeds from the horse-paddock.
-From these three are picked and saddled; and ere the
-rising sun has walked "o'er the dew of yon high eastern
-hills," the lads are scampering through bush and brake,
-o'er dale and hill. They chivy the silent kangaroo
-through the lush grass; have a glorious burst after a
-belated dingo; rouse screaming parrots and paroquets
-from their matutinal meal off the honey blossoms of box
-and apple trees; pulling up at last on the summit of a
-dome-shaped, treeless hill, from whence, with the bloom
-of the morning still upon it, the landscape extends in a
-vast stretch of undulation, broken at irregular intervals
-by silver ribbons of creek and river.
-
-Belts of scrub and forest, rich pasturages and arable
-lands, are dotted here and there, with minute spots from
-which rise slender threads of smoke indicating settlers'
-houses; while away in the background are the purple
-hills and the blue mountains.
-
-Boys are not usually considered to be impressionable
-creatures on the æsthetic side of things. Herein we
-wrong them. They may not attitudinise, nor spout
-poetry when under the supreme touches of nature, for
-the boy is too natural to be theatrical. But, without
-doubt, the morning and evening glories of dear old
-mother earth do touch their sense of beauty; and though
-these impressions may seem to be effaced by other and
-more sordid things, nevertheless they linger through the
-long years, called up from time to time in sweet
-association with days that are no more.
-
-The lads, while they rested their steeds, stood in silent
-and wondering gaze, broken at last by Tom, who, pointing
-across the intervening spaces to the broadest of the
-many silver threads, exclaimed, "Tender's Tareela!" Many
-miles away, as the crow flies, lay the river village,
-a small cluster of dots, a few of which glistened in the
-sunlight. These shining spots indicated the "superior"
-houses that sported corrugated iron roofs, new in those
-days. For the most part the "roof-trees" were shingle
-or bark.
-
-And now, homeward bound, the horsemen slither down
-the hillside, plunge into a pine scrub, to emerge therefrom
-on the border of a small plain, and chase a mob of
-brumbies grazing thereon. They, with snorting nostrils
-and waving manes, headed by a notorious grey stallion—of
-whom more anon—dash up a ravine into the fastnesses
-of the scrub, and, though followed some distance by the
-reckless riders, vanish from sight with a celerity possible
-only to wild bush-horses.
-
-Skirting now the banks of the Crocodile, they disturb
-flocks of teal, widgeon, water-hen, and other aquatic
-birds. At length they give a view halloo, for the old
-homestead is in sight. This scares a flock of cockatoos
-that are camping in the river gums, after an early
-morning's poaching expedition to the adjacent maize-fields,
-and brings out the station dogs with a babble of
-barking, as they pound up the track with a final spurt.
-
-"Breakfast ready, Ah Fat?" sings out Sandy, as the
-boys come rushing into the kitchen from the stables.
-
-"Leddy? Tes, allee globble upee! Missee say no kleep
-anyling for bad boy. Lockee allee glub." Ah Fat's
-twinkling, humorous eyes redeemed his hatchet face and
-stolid countenance.
-
-"It's all right, fellows. He's only pokin' borak at us,"
-said Sandy, giving the Celestial a familiar slap. "Come
-along, I'm as hungry as a hunter. They've only started,
-I know."
-
-The family were seated, heads were bent, and
-Mr. M'Intyre was saying the long Scotch grace, when the
-boys burst into the room with a fine clatter. The rude
-intrusion brought a severe remonstrance from that
-gentleman when the exercise was concluded.
-Mrs. M'Intyre—always ready to defend the boys and to
-champion them, to condone their faults and to extol
-their virtues, in which she was wise or otherwise, as the
-reader may decide—broke in with a Christmas greeting.
-For a minute there was a fusillade of "Merry Christmas
-to you and many of them!"
-
-"Now, boys, take your seats before breakfast's cold."
-
-On proceeding to their places the boys stood stock still,
-for there, resting against their respective chairs, stood
-three brand-new, double-barrel shot-guns.
-
-"Weel, bairns!" exclaimed Mr. M'Intyre, with quiet
-amusement, surveying the amazed boys as they gazed at
-the weapons. "What are ye frichtened at? Is it
-snakes y're lukin' upon? Why dinna ye sit doon to
-yure food?"
-
-"Oh, father! mother!" cried Sandy at last, picking up
-his gun, pleasure beaming from his face. "This is what
-Harry meant when he said last night he'd brought out a
-parcel from the town that'd come by steamer." Then
-with a rush, Joe and Tom at his heels, he danced round
-the abashed Scotchman, and gave him a hug, repeating the
-dose with interest on Mrs. M'Intyre. It was hard for
-the boys to settle down to breakfast and dislodge their
-eyes from the weapons. What their souls coveted most
-was a gun. The clamant claims of hunger, however, are
-not to be disregarded; so, stacking their guns in a corner,
-the boys did ample justice to a generous meal.
-
-"Did you have a pleasant ride this morning, boys?"
-inquired Mrs. M'Intyre. "You've not been out on the
-run before, Tom, have you?"
-
-"No, ma'am. We'd a good time, though!"
-
-"How far did you go, Sandy?"
-
-"To the top of Bald Hummock, mother."
-
-"Splendid view from the top, is it not, Joe?"
-
-"Not bad, Mrs. M'Intyre."
-
-"That's a negative descreeption o' ane o' the graundest
-sichts the hale deestric' can boast," said Mr. M'Intyre,
-with emphasis.
-
-Joe became conscious of the banality.
-
-"An' why did ye no' tak' Mr. Neville wi' you, boys?
-Ye did wrang no' to invite him to ride wi' you. I think
-ye owe him an apologee, Saundy."
-
-"I'm very sorry," said the lad, turning in some confusion
-to Mr. Neville. "If I'd thought——"
-
-"Oh, I shouldn't have dreamed of going out at such
-an early hour, my lad," replied Neville loftily. He had a
-somewhat affected accent and a superior air. "I nevvah
-exert myself before breakfast. Besides, I am not sure
-that I should find a safe escort in a parcel of—er—schoolboys.
-With the young ladies, now," he continued, fixing
-his monocle and bestowing a patronising stare upon
-Sandy's sisters, Maggie and Jessie, "I—I—should be
-delighted to go for a bush ride, as I think these equestrian
-expeditions are called in Awestralia, in the cool of the
-afternoon."
-
-"We don't call them even bush rides out here,
-Mr. Neville," answered Jessie saucily. She resented
-patronage. "We call 'em spins. Boys, I vote we all go for a
-spin this afternoon. Let's ride as far as Ben Bolt's cave.
-It'll be something interesting to show Mr. Neville.
-Ben Bolt's a famous bushranger hereabouts, you know,
-and the cave is a favourite rendezvous for his gang, as
-well as a safe hiding-place. At least, it was so until a
-few months ago, when the police and black trackers
-discovered it, and nearly nabbed him. Fancy having a
-bushranger's camp on the Bullaroi boundary! But Ben
-never uses it now. So let's ride out to it. Are you
-game, boys?"
-
-"Game!" snorted Sandy. "What's to be game about?
-The main thing is, will Mr. Neville care for an
-eighteen-mile spin? If not, we could go for a short ride down
-the Crocodile."
-
-"Please don't question my ability, boy!" retorted the
-new chum, who resented the implication contained in
-Sandy's remark. "I find," continued he, addressing his
-host, "you good people out heah seem to think that
-Awestralia is the only place where horseback riding is
-indulged in——"
-
-"We ride steers also, an' billies too," slyly interjected
-Joe, with a wink at the girls.
-
-"And we read that they ride donkeys and—er—hobby-horses
-in England," chipped in Jessie, whose eyes
-sparkled with mischief.
-
-"Good for you, ole Jess! Let 'em bring out their
-English fox-hunters an' steeple-chasers that they brag
-so much about, and we'll give 'em a dingo run, or a go at
-cutting out scrubbers,[#] an' see how they'd be with their
-pretty coats an' breeches, at the tail of the hunt!"
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-.. class:: noindent small
-
-[#] Wild, unbranded cattle, frequenting scrub country,
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-"Are ye addressing the English nation or oor guest,
-Saundy?"
-
-M'Intyre could be caustic when he willed. He had
-no liking for Australian blow, and hit at it as he would hit
-at a snake, whenever occasion arose. He now turned the
-laugh against his son, Jess laughing loudest of all.
-
-"It's settled, then, that we ride out to the cave this
-afternoon?" said Maggie, with an inquiring eye on
-Neville.
-
-"I'm shore 'twill be a pleasant jaunt, Miss M'Intyre,"
-replied the Englishman. "I shall have pleasure in acting
-as your escort. But this—er—famous—er—notorious—er—highwayman,
-is it—er—safe? I mean—er—I'm
-thinking of the—er—ladies, you know."
-
-"What's to be afraid of?" quoth Jessie. To her, risk
-meant spice, an added zest. Her whole heart went out
-to the life of the open air and the pleasures of the chase.
-Her greatest delight was in a mad scamper through the
-bush behind the dogs, in the kangaroo hunt.
-
-"Don't be alarmed, Mr. Neville; Mag and I'll protect
-you should the—er—famous—notorious—bushranger—highwayman
-turn up," went on the audacious minx. "I'd
-dearly love to see Ben Bolt. I think he's a lot better
-than many who run him down. Oh my! wouldn't it
-be fun if we surprised him in the cave? I'd——"
-
-"Stop, Jess; cease your blether!" said Mr. M'Intyre
-sternly. "The mon may no' be as black as he's pented,
-but he's no' an honest mon. Misguided he may be to an
-extent, and no' a'thegither answerable for some of the
-steps in his doonward career, but a creeminal for a' that,
-whom the country were weel rid o'. But as for the
-reesk, there's na reesk in ridin' to the cave. The
-Sub-Inspector telt me a few days ago that Ben Bolt's gone
-o'er the border. News is to hand to the effect that he
-stuck up a Chinaman on the Brisbane road. So the
-cave's safe enough."
-
-"That's settled, then," broke in Maggie. "If we leave
-here about four o'clock 'twill be early enough, and will
-give us plenty of time to get back by dark."
-
-"Maidie, my pet," said Mrs. M'Intyre to her little
-three-year-old, a dainty, precocious miss, "what are
-you staring at? It's rude to stare at any one like that."
-
-"Oh, muzzer!" exclaimed the child, turning her bright
-eyes mother-wards for a moment and then fixing them
-with a fascinated gaze upon the Englishman.
-
-"What is it that interests you, little girl?" remarked
-Neville in a patronising tone. "Is it the colour of my
-tie?"
-
-Maidie shook her curly head, and, without removing
-her eyes from Mr. Neville's face, leaned towards Jessie,
-who sat next to her, and whispered, "The genkilmun's
-got somesin' on his fevvers."
-
-Suspended from the tip of one of Neville's incipient
-moustaches was a yellow string of egg-yolk. Jess had
-observed this for some time, with a tendency to hilarity
-whenever it caught her eye. Maidie's comical description
-added fuel to the fire of the girl's merriment, sending
-her into convulsive laughter. She answered looks of
-interrogation by pointing to the dangling egg thread,
-and saying as well as circumstances permitted, "Maidie
-says—ha—ha—ha!—that Mr. Fevv—he—he—he!—Mr. Neville's
-got egg on his—fev—feathers." This explanatory
-and ludicrous mixture created a general explosion
-among the young folk. The situation, however, was
-promptly ended by Mrs. M'Intyre, who discreetly rose on
-seeing that the guest did not join in the general laugh.
-
-There was nothing much for the men-folk to do; but
-the boys were burning to try their new fowling-pieces,
-The squatter, seeing their intent, directed them to use
-their skill on the cockatoos and king parrots that were
-devastating the maize crop.
-
-These birds, especially the former, proved wily customers,
-so that not many opportunities offered for testing the
-guns. Enough was done, though, to prove that the guns
-were no "slouches," and great things were predicted
-when the lads should "know" their respective weapons.
-
-"Whatyer think of the new chum, Joe?" said Sandy
-to Blain, as they sat on a log under a low-spreading
-wattle tree, on the look out for a flying shot.
-
-"Goes thirteen to the dozen, ole man, don't he?
-Knows a lot more'n us, he reckons, and can't help
-showin' it."
-
-"Yes, he can't stand us chaps at no price. By George!
-Jess's got his measure, and Mag too, for that matter.
-They'll take his nibs down a peg or two before he goes,
-I bet tuppence."
-
-"Little Maidie fitted him all right," chipped in Tom.
-"Fevvers—ha—ha!—yes, goose feathers."
-
-It was evident that the visitor was not in favour with
-the young people. He had struck a false note. No one
-can be quicker than boys to detect superciliousness and
-to resent it. The patronising air is to them the
-unforgivable sin. Henceforth Neville went by the name
-of "Fevvers" among the boys, to the great amusement
-of the girls, who, unfortunately for the Englishman, had
-assigned him a place in prig-dom.
-
-Neville, it must be confessed, was a bit of a prig; but
-at heart he was not at all a bad fellow, and there came
-a time not far ahead when respect supplanted contempt
-in the pals, and the ridiculous nickname was dropped;
-while he on his part discontinued the use of the irritating
-comparison, "the way we do things in England," which
-at the beginning he was for ever introducing.
-
-The household was enjoying a siesta after the typical
-Christmas dinner which was partaken of at midday. Stillness
-reigned within the house, save the cracking of house
-timbers under the influence of the heat. This seductive
-calm and the sweet sleep of the girls was at length
-rudely broken by Sandy, who in the exercise of a
-brother's privilege shook the door violently as he
-shouted, "Now then, lazies, get up and dress! It's
-half-past three."
-
-"Bother you, Sandy, you *are* a nuisance!" sleepily
-complained Jessie. "I—I—was having *such* a lovely
-dream. Neptune was just on the heels of a blue flyer,[#]
-and I was galloping alongside him. The chase led us
-to Blind-fall Gully, and we three took the jump together,
-and were almost landed on the other side when you
-thumped the door. I thought at first it was the thud of
-Kangie's tail, but no! there she was flying through——"
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-.. class:: noindent small
-
-[#] Maiden kangaroo, a very fast runner.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-"That comes of eating too much plum-duff an' mince-pie,
-my girl. But I say, you two, look slippy, or you'll
-be too late. I told Jacky to saddle Nigger for you, Jess.
-What'll you take, Mag? Rainbow or Sultan? They're
-both up."
-
-"Don't care, Sandy. I'll take Sultan, I think. No,
-I'll take Rainbow. Wait a moment, p'r'aps——"
-
-"Oh! stop your silly nonsense. I'll put the saddle on
-Sultan," shouted the impatient boy, as he made off
-through the house to the stockyard.
-
-"Say, Sandy!" cried out Jess, who was now wide
-awake. "Have you roused Mr.—er—Fevvers yet?"
-
-"'Ssh! mother'll hear you," exclaimed the boy warningly,
-as he returned to the door. "He didn't have a snooze.
-Says it's unbusinesslike to sleep in the daytime. Says
-they never do that in England. England be blowed, say
-I. An' whatyer think? Harry offered him the loan
-of his leggin's, but he wouldn't have 'em. Says they
-smell of the stockyard, ha—ha! Says they don't wear
-'em in England. Listen! He's got on a pair of white
-duck britches, an' my crikey! they won't be white any
-longer. He asked Harry for his fourteen-foot stockwhip.
-Says he was told an 'Awestralian' horse would never
-budge without one. Only dad was there I'd 'a' put his
-saddle on Dick Swiveller, an' by jing! we'd 'a' had some
-sport. We'll knock fun out of him as it is, I reckon.
-But look alive, girls, or y'll be left behind."
-
-
-
-
-
-.. vspace:: 4
-
-.. _`A BUSH RIDE AND ITS CONSEQUENCES`:
-
-.. class:: center large bold
-
- CHAPTER XV
-
-
-.. class:: center medium bold
-
- A BUSH RIDE AND ITS CONSEQUENCES
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-..
-
- | "Then hey for boot and horse, lad!
- | And round the world away;
- | Young blood will have its course, lad!
- | And every dog his day."
- | KINGSLEY.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-The weather in Australia at Christmas is not ideal for
-riding parties. Midsummer heat and dust, together with
-hordes of flies, largely countervail the delights of the
-saddle.
-
-The enthusiastic party that cantered along the tracks
-leading from the Bullaroi homestead on this particular
-Christmas, with one exception, made small bones about
-either dust or heat. Neville, however, was irritated by
-the dust which the horses' feet knocked up. Nor would
-he seek alleviation as did the others by leaving the track
-at every opportunity. The victim of prejudice and
-conventionality, expressed in terms of cussedness, he
-obstinately stuck to the dusty track. The boys and Jessie
-frisked here and there, making short cuts, jumping
-gullies and logs, and generally enjoying themselves.
-They raised, it is true, clouds of dust, to the annoyance
-of the new chum, as they pounded along the track on
-their return to the others, after having forged ahead
-some distance; behaving, in short, like gambolling dogs.
-Mag would have dearly loved the frolic, but hospitality's
-demands made it imperative that she—the eldest—should
-partner the guest.
-
-Neville was no rider. His knowledge of the ways of the
-horse was of the most elementary kind. Had he had the
-common sense to have admitted that palpable fact, many
-of his painful experiences, and indeed tortures, would
-have been minimised, if not altogether avoided.
-
-Like all inexperienced riders, he responded to every
-movement of the horse. He had no sense of balance.
-He held the reins shoulder high, and was for ever
-jerking them. When his body was not stiffly straight it
-inclined forward. The inevitable result was made
-abundantly manifest in chafed limbs and aching bones. With
-Neville, as with most new-chum riders, the trousers legs
-*would* work up from the bottom, displaying a section of
-calf, to the great amusement of the boys, who baa'd most
-vehemently at such times.
-
-This, however, must be reckoned for grace in Neville:
-he made no complaint, nor admitted any discomfort. He
-was forward in his criticisms of the boys' style of riding:
-their seats were un-English and cowboy.
-
-No greater contrast between the riders could well
-be imagined than that which the new chum and the
-pals presented. Theirs was to the manner born, to be
-confounded neither with cowboy nor military. While
-there is an utter absence of stiffness in the Australian
-style, there is at the same time nothing bordering on
-the truculent as affected by the cowboy. The movements
-are willowy and rhythmic. Horse and man are one and
-indivisible. This means to both the minimum of work
-with the maximum of ease.
-
-How far removed from this attainment was poor
-Neville! His figure was of the ramrod pattern for the
-first few miles—ultra military, so to speak. His feet,
-well through the stirrups, inclined outwards at a sharp
-angle; his left arm, held at right angle as rigid as a
-semaphore, gripped the reins; while his right clutched
-the stockwhip with tenacious grasp. The steed, a fair
-pacer in experienced hands, in his became a veritable
-jogger. He rose and fell in springless fashion with every
-motion of the horse.
-
-It was not in Neville's power to maintain that iron
-rigidity, and so he gradually inclined forward. His back
-became bowed, and his nose at times was in imminent
-danger of the horse's head. His arms, too, hung listlessly
-at either side, until at last his appearance resembled
-nothing so much as a doubled-up Guy Fawkes perched
-on a rail. Yet his dogged spirit, essentially British, half
-courage, half cussedness, bore him up.
-
-Nearing the caves, the party, with the exception of
-Neville and his companion, raced ahead, and by the time
-that the latter arrived were cooling off beneath the shade
-of some coolibahs.
-
-And now disaster of such a character as to shake from
-him the last remains of superiority and propriety,
-overwhelming him in the depths of humiliation, overtook
-poor Neville. These mortifying results were brought
-about by his attempted gallantry.
-
-The selected camp, as related, was beneath the grateful
-shade of a cluster of coolibah[#] trees that grew on the
-banks of a mountain stream, close to the mouth of the
-caves. Seeing that Maggie was about to dismount
-unassisted, the youth exclaimed in eager tones, "Wait
-a moment, Miss M'Intyre!" and so saying, threw
-himself from his horse in order to do the gallant by
-helping his companion down, "as they do in England."
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-.. class:: noindent small
-
-[#] Water gum trees.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-Sad to say, however, so cramped and stiff were his
-limbs, especially his nether extremities, that the instant
-he touched ground his legs doubled in a powerless
-condition, and he fell prone to the earth. Unfortunately,
-the ground at the spot where he tumbled down began
-to slope towards the creek. In his frantic efforts to rise
-quickly to his feet he overbalanced himself, and began
-to roll down the incline. He saved himself for a second,
-and the impending disaster might have been averted
-but for the confounded stockwhip, which led to his
-undoing in a most effectual way. This weapon, which
-he still held in his clenched right hand, got entangled
-with his legs by some means, lasso fashion, bringing
-him smartly to the ground again in a fresh attempt to
-rise. The sloping bank at this point became almost
-precipitous: with a rapid turn over-and-over, he rolled
-down the steep gradient, crashed through an undergrowth
-of bushes and bracken that fringed the perpendicular
-bank of the creek, and shot out into its clear, deep
-waters.
-
-This unrehearsed performance, taking less time to
-act than to relate, brought a powerful shriek from
-Maggie, who, arrested in her intention to dismount
-unaided by Neville's proffered aid, beheld from her
-horse the undignified collapse of her escort, with its
-quickly succeeding acts of comedy and tragedy.
-
-The others, who were witnesses of this performance,
-hugely enjoyed it, giving a loud hurrah as the new chum
-splashed into the creek. There was one exception.
-Sandy, who was on his way to the creek with the billy
-can, and who realised in a moment that the discomfited
-Englishman had fallen into a deep pool,—the very spot
-where he had often fished for big perch,—threw away the
-billy and rushed to the spot where the unfortunate man
-had fallen in. Only that day had Neville declared that
-"my water exercises have been confined to the house bath."
-
-Beyond the agitated surface there were no signs of
-their visitor in the water. Without pause, the lad took a
-header to the bottom, which was at least ten feet from the
-top, discerned the sunken man kicking and clawing,
-hauled him to the surface, and towed him to the bank.
-Here willing hands were ready to grip the victim of this
-misadventure and pull him to land.
-
-As soon as he was dragged to safety, the cause of his
-abject helplessness in the water was revealed. The
-stockwhip had so encircled his legs as to prevent the free use
-of them, besides which the shock of the whole accident
-had to an extent numbed his senses.
-
-In sooth he was a sorry sight as he lay on the turf.
-The immersion did not cover more than half a minute;
-it was long enough, though, to take him to the verge
-of unconsciousness and to fill his lungs and stomach
-with water. The boys speedily unwound the whip, and
-subjected Neville to some rough but wholesome treatment,
-during which process the water was rapidly ejected
-from his interior regions.
-
-The girls, as soon as Neville was landed, discreetly
-withdrew. Merriment had dissolved into pity.
-
-"Poor Mr. Neville! I'm *so* sorry. Isn't it a shame, Mag?"
-
-"Seems like a dream; it all happened so quickly and
-unexpectedly. I'm afraid father'll be very angry about it.
-The poor fellow was going to be so gallant, too. 'Permit
-me to assist you,' he said, and the next moment——"
-
-Here the whole scene comes up so vividly and comically
-that, strive as she may, Maggie cannot withhold laughter
-of a somewhat hysterical kind. And so, between laughter
-and tears, the two girls superintended the billy-boiling
-and tea-making business.
-
-Meanwhile the lads, stripping Neville under the lee
-of the bank, wrung his clothes, and then re-dressed him,
-bringing him up to the fire little the worse for his cold
-douche. The girls quickly recognised the finer qualities
-of Neville's character, which broke through the crust of
-his artificiality in the hour of adversity.
-
-"I'm very sorry to have caused this trouble, Miss
-M'Intyre. No one's to blame but myself. Your brother
-and his mates have been exceedingly kind to me. Indeed, I
-owe a debt to your brother that I can never repay, for
-without doubt he saved my life. I was utterly helpless
-with that wretched whip curled around me."
-
-Indeed, it was true. The accident might easily have
-had a fatal termination, and the thought of it (for all that
-Neville cut such a grotesque figure in his shrunken
-clothes) drove the last remains of latent hilarity away.
-Maggie assured the forlorn-looking youth that no thanks
-were due to any one; that all deplored the accident,
-and were thankful that the finale inclined rather to
-the comic than the tragic.
-
-"Take this pannikin of hot tea, Mr. Neville. Father
-says that whisky's not in it with tea for recruiting one's
-jaded energies."
-
-As there was no need for starting on the return ride
-awhile, the three boys, leaving the girls and Neville at
-the camp, proceeded to the caves.
-
-The caves, three in number, were connected with one
-another by narrow entrances. The outermost one had
-an inlet through a narrow crevice. This opening was
-concealed from the casual eye by a sentinel-like boulder
-which stood directly opposite, and about eighteen inches
-in advance of the wall of rock. It was a squeeze
-for any one above the average size to get through.
-
-Before its occupation by the bushrangers the outer
-cave, by evident signs, formed a favourite wallaby
-haunt. These had been disturbed and hunted by the
-bushrangers, who from time to time, according to
-police report, used it as a hiding-place. They had often
-lain there when the district was filled with troopers.
-On one occasion, as was afterwards known, Ben Bolt
-and his mate, a youth of eighteen years, lay concealed
-for weeks. The boy had been badly wounded in the
-thigh during a brush with the police in the New
-England ranges. Ben Bolt, who was passionately
-attached to him, by incredible labour and consummate
-skill—for the pursuing police were on their tracks
-all the time—brought his wounded mate to the caves
-in order that he might lie in safety until his sores
-were healed.
-
-Sandy was the only one of the lads who knew anything
-about the caves. In company with his father he had
-visited them a few weeks previously. He therefore
-acted as a guide to the party.
-
-The fissure, a mere crack in the limestone rock,
-extended in tortuous fashion for some distance.
-Lengthening out and making a curve, it suddenly
-broadened into a chamber of respectable dimensions.
-At the entrance of the crevice Sandy had lit a candle,
-one being sufficient for the cramped passage. Before
-entering the cave proper, all three candles brought for
-that purpose were lit.
-
-The cave was bat-inhabited. Large numbers of these
-uncanny creatures, which were clinging to the roof and
-sides, disturbed and dazzled by the light, flew about
-in aimless fashion, often striking the boys in their
-uncertain flight. Numbers of them fastened on to
-their clothes and limbs with their claw-like pinions.
-
-Joe and Tom, to whom this was a new experience,
-were uneasy and a good bit scared. Their nervousness
-increased when the fluttering nocturnals more than once
-extinguished the lights.
-
-"You must do as I do, boys!" sang out Sandy,
-who was in advance, as they walked cautiously over
-the uneven and stone-littered floor. Sandy had
-removed his hat and held it over the candle. This,
-while it darkened all above, gave ample light on the
-floor space, and protected the candle from the nocturnals.
-The others thereupon followed suit, and soon reached
-the opening on the opposite side that led to the second
-chamber.
-
-This narrow passage made a stiff ascent for some
-yards, inclining to the left, and then extending like
-a funnel. Sandy was proceeding very cautiously, for
-the opening into the interior cave was made at about
-ten feet from its floor. A rough ladder of lawyer
-vines hung from the opening in the wall to the
-basement. Down this the boys speedily slipped, and
-found themselves in a dome-like space, bigger by far
-than any room, barn, or church that they had seen.
-The atmosphere was very chill, and the continual
-drip of falling water made a monotonous sound. A
-narrow, clear stream of running water flowed along
-one side, disappearing in a floor crack near the far
-corner.
-
-Contrary to what one would have expected, the
-lime crystals were few, and for the most part small;
-not to be mentioned in the same breath with the
-matchless statuary of the far-famed Jenolan Caves.
-On the ground, however, were some interesting
-stalagmites, whose grotesque figures highly amused the
-boys. At the first sight, though, a fearsome feeling
-possessed them. They were children of the sun, and
-this new and cryptic experience in the cold, dark, vaulted
-chamber quickened their pulses and shortened their
-breaths.
-
-Everything seemed to have a ghostly appearance to
-the pals. It was a fitting abode for spectral creatures,
-and they had a feeling that at any moment such might
-appear. This sensation, however, was of short duration.
-A few minutes' familiarity with their surroundings
-dissipated it, and the lads moved freely in their
-investigations.
-
-"Didn't you say there was another cave adjoining this,
-Sandy?"
-
-"Yes, I'll show it to you in a few minutes."
-
-While the question was being asked and answered,
-Sandy was peering into a crevice immediately behind a
-huge stalagmite, and in a dark corner of the cave.
-
-"This looks as if it might open out somewhere, but the
-opening's jammed with a big limestone boulder."
-
-"Let's have a pull at it," said Tom, as he leaned forward
-to take hold of a projecting point.
-
-"No go, Tom. Look at its weight! See how tightly
-it's wedged! You'll never budge that. It'll need a
-crowbar to shift it. Come along, boys, and we'll take a
-peep at the other cave, just to say we've seen it; then
-we must make tracks back."
-
-Sandy, however, bore in mind this sealed chamber
-which was destined later to yield important and
-far-reaching results. He made for a low, narrow aperture in
-the wall, at a far corner, which opened directly into a
-vault-like ceil—a small bedroom or pantry, as the case
-might be.
-
-"Here's where the rangers camped," said Sandy, when
-the boys had struggled through. "Here's their beds, an'
-there's where they had their fire."
-
-A couple of sheets of stringy-bark, placed stretcher-fashion
-on crossed sapling frames, formed the sleeping-bunks
-of the outlaws. On these were placed a quantity
-of bracken which made a comfortable resting-place for
-men who more often than not slept upon the ground.
-
-"I say, Sandy," remarked Joe, after standing a moment
-in deep thought, "this is an all-right place for hidin' in,
-but where'd they keep the mokes? That's what beats me."
-
-"It beats more'n you. It beats father. It beats the
-police. Yes, they can't get a clue. Must have had the
-horses handy, too; for when the police got into the cave
-the time they tracked 'em here, the rangers couldn't have
-been gone more'n a few minutes, 'cause a fire was still
-burning in Ben Bolt's room, as they call it. The bobbies
-have searched inside and outside and all over the ridge
-for another opening, but can't find it."
-
-"They've clean bunged the p'lice, the cute beggars!"
-exclaimed Tom, with a grin. "Wonder if they'll ever
-come back again. Ole Ben's a game un. They say he
-wears a reversible suit of different colours. An'
-sometimes he straps up a leg an' fastens a wooden peg on it
-an' stumps along, led by a dog on a string like a blind
-beggar."
-
-"He's always bluffin' the police, anyway," said Joe.
-"The Sub-Inspector was at our place about a month ago,
-telling father how he an' the others were fooled not so
-long ago."
-
-"Tell us, Joe."
-
-"Well, 'twas like this. A bushman on a piebald horse
-rode up to the police camp out Kean's swamp way,
-bearing a note from Sub-Inspector Garvie, ordering them to
-cross the ranges an' get into Walcha secretly, as he
-possessed reliable information to the effect that Ben Bolt
-intended to stick up the bank two days later.
-
-"It appears this same man called at the Sub's quarters
-earlier in the day, who was laid up with a sprained leg.
-This chap told how he'd been in Ben Bolt's company
-two nights previously. The ranger and his mate—the
-same boy as was wounded—came upon him as he
-lay by his fire in the evening, and asked permission to
-camp alongside. They pretended to be stockmen in
-search of strayed heifers, and made out that they had
-come across their tracks just at nightfall. As it was a
-goodish way to the station, they would be glad to sleep
-by his fire and get after the cattle at dawn.
-
-"The man said that as soon as he spotted 'em he knew
-'em, but he was too frightened to let on. He gave 'em
-some grub, an' then lay down in his blanket. As soon as
-they had scoffed the prog they lay down too, on the off
-side of the fire.
-
-"The man didn't go to sleep, though he pretended
-to. By an' by the two men began to talk in low tones.
-He could hear 'em, though, pretty well, and found out
-that they were goin' to stick up the Walcha bank. The
-date they named was four days from that night.
-Although the chap lay as if he were dead he didn't sleep
-a wink. Just before daylight the coves saddled their
-horses, which had been short-hobbled, and singing out,
-'So-long,' they galloped off.
-
-"'And what prompted you to bring this information?'
-said the Sub.
-
-"'Well, if you cop the rangers,' he answered, 'I shall
-expect something substantial for supplying these particulars.'
-
-"'As for that, you'll get your share. And now you
-can do something further that'll help you in the matter
-of reward. Take this note to Sergeant Henessey, who is
-camping with four police and a tracker in the foothills,
-at the head of Kean's swamp.'
-
-"The Sub-Inspector, who had hastily written a note
-of instruction to the Sergeant, handed it to the man,
-who said his name was Sam Kelly. Sam promised to
-deliver it by daybreak; which he did. As soon as the
-Sergeant read it, he roused up the men, and after a hasty
-meal it was 'Saddle up.' A few minutes later the
-troopers were on their way to cop the rangers. Now
-listen: that very day, towards evening, the Port
-Macquarie mail was stuck up!"
-
-"My eye!" said Sandy, "weren't the p'lice sold! Fancy
-ole Ben goin' into the lion's den with his information
-an' then takin' the letter out to the camp, an' none of
-'em cute enough to twig 'im! He's a downy cove is Ben.
-Ain't he, Joe?"
-
-"They say," concluded Joe, "that the piebald he
-rode was his favourite horse, the blood-bay he calls
-Samson."
-
-"But how was it he turned him piebald?"
-
-"*Painted patches of pipeclay on him!*"
-
-"Now, then," exclaimed Sandy, pulling out his watch,
-"we've only a few minutes left, an' we mustn't be late,
-as Mr. Neville won't be able to ride fast."
-
-"Poor old Fevvers!" exclaimed Tom reminiscently.
-"This hasn't been much of a treat for him."
-
-
-
-
-
-.. vspace:: 4
-
-.. _`THE DINGO RAID`:
-
-.. class:: center large bold
-
- CHAPTER XVI
-
-
-.. class:: center medium bold
-
- THE DINGO RAID
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-..
-
- | "What's up, old horse? Your ears you prick,
- | And your eager eyeballs glisten.
- | 'Tis the wild dog's note, in the tea-tree thick,
- | By the river to which you listen.
- |
- | \* \* \* \* \*
- |
- | Let the dingo rest, 'tis all for the best;
- | In this world there's room enough
- | For him and you and me and the rest,
- | And the country is awful rough."
- | ADAM LINDSAY GORDON.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-"Here's a fine how-d'ye-do!" exclaimed Mr. M'Intyre
-wrathfully, as he strode into the house, one hot morning
-shortly after the events recorded in the previous chapter.
-"Why sic rubbish were ever created passes
-understanding!"
-
-The irate squatter, contrary to his usual habit, clattered
-through the hall and out on to the front verandah,
-slamming the door most vigorously as he made his
-exit.
-
-"Whatever's stung dad this morning, Jess?" remarked
-Maggie to her sister, as their excited parent made his
-noisy intrusion.
-
-"Something bad, you may be sure, to cause dad to
-parade in that fashion. I expect the blacks have been
-performing. They madden father at times by their 'want
-o' intellect,' as he calls it."
-
-"I'll—I'll cut the livers out o' them, the sneakin'
-hounds! Rot 'em, I'll pizen every faither's son o' the
-dirty vermin!"
-
-"Oh, father!" cried Jessie, "you surely are not going
-to poison the poor things?"
-
-"Pizen 'em, that am I! Pizen's ower guid for them,
-thieving brutes that they are! 'Puir things,' as you
-ca' the wretches," continued he sarcastically, "I'll hae the
-life o' the hale o' them, if it tak's a' the pizen in Tareela!"
-barked the exasperated man.
-
-"Then you're no father of mine!" blazed out Jessie.
-"What have the poor boys done that you should
-threaten such dreadful——"
-
-"W-h-a-t!"
-
-"Why, poor Willy and Jacky: what have they done
-that you should——"
-
-"What on earth is the lassie haverin' aboot?" roared
-Mr. M'Intyre to Maggie.
-
-"The blacks, father. Didn't you say that you were
-going to poison them? But I don't believe it for a——"
-
-"The blacks! Wha's talkin' o' blacks? It's the
-reds, the blessed dingoes, wha've been playin' havoc wi'
-the calves. The blacks? Ma certie!" continued he, as
-the humour of the situation seized him, forcing a smile.
-Turning to his daughter, he exclaimed, "Ye're a fine
-bairn, I maun say, to be accusin' yer ain faither o' *black*
-murder!"
-
-"Forgive me, dad!" cried the impulsive girl, as she
-threw her arms round his neck; "I never thought of the
-dingoes. I—I—I made sure the black boys had been up
-to tricks, and never dreamed——"
-
-"There, there, that's enough, my lassie! It's a case of
-'misunderconstumbling,' as Denny Kineavy would say.
-But it's enough to make ane feel wild and gingery. Eleeven
-fine yearlin's killed! It's the wantonness mair than the
-actual loss that vexes me: though the latter is bad
-enough, for some o' the best, of course, are sacrificeed to
-their slaughterin' instincts."
-
-That evening, in conference with his chief stockman,
-Mr. M'Intyre laid his plans for the extermination of the
-pack of dingoes which had just given an exhibition of
-their destructive powers. In this particular instance the
-brutes had driven a number of yearling calves, weaners,
-into a blind gully. Having boxed them up in this *cul de
-sac*, the rapacious dogs found them an easy prey.
-
-The Australian wild dog is a combination of several
-very excellent qualities—from the canine standpoint,
-that is. He possesses more sagacity than any other wild
-thing of the bush. Keen of sight, quick at scent, subtle
-of wit, noiseless in tread and bark, tenacious to rooted
-purpose, he pursues and stalks his quarry, whether bird
-or beast, with all the odds in his favour.
-
-There he stands, this indigenous dog, with a great,
-broad forehead, his eyes narrowing in sinister expression;
-well set in body, showing big sinews and a good muscular
-development; strong jaws, with teeth like ivory needles;
-white in paw and tail-tip, bright yellow everywhere else,
-save the chocolate-coloured streak running along the spine
-from neck to tail. There he stands: but that is a figure
-of speech, for a more restless animal than this same dog
-does not exist.
-
-Australian cattle-dogs have a world reputation, and
-the very best are they which by crossing inherit a strain
-of dingo nature. That which makes the dingo so hated
-by stock owners—who pursue him relentlessly—is the
-killing lust which possesses him. Were he to simply kill
-for food, and be satisfied with a victim that would furnish
-enough for present needs, settlers would be far more
-tolerant of him. The plain truth about him is that his
-predatory instinct is so strong as to practically intoxicate
-him. The sight of a flock of sheep or a bunch of calves
-makes him "see red," and then he simply runs amok.
-One snap—he does not bite in the ordinary sense—of his
-steel-like jaws is enough. The mouthful of flesh and
-muscle is torn out in an instant, and the victim
-invariably dies of shock. One dingo in a sheepfold will kill
-fifty sheep in a few minutes.
-
-These dogs are more troublesome in bad than in good
-seasons. When the cattle get low in condition and
-weak, they become a comparatively easy prey, then the
-cunning of the dingoes becomes manifest. They will
-select their victim and drive it towards a water-hole or
-swamp. In dry times these are mere puddles and
-exceedingly boggy. The object of the canine drovers is to
-reduce the bullock to helplessness by bogging it. The
-drive will sometimes take hours, and no experienced
-drover could do the work more cleverly. Finally, when
-their quarry is down in the mire and practically helpless,
-he is tackled and bitten to death. In good seasons, when
-the cattle are strong, Mr. Dingo, save for an occasional
-foray on the calves, has to content himself with his
-natural diet—kangaroos, 'possums, and emus.
-
-Fortunately, there was at the station at this time an
-eccentric bushman who combined the work of horse-breaking
-and dingo-trapping. Nosey George was reputed
-to have a sense of smell equal to that of the dingo itself.
-Certainly, his slouching gait made it often appear as if he
-were "nosing" the tracks of the game. But in truth he
-owed his prowess as a trapper to a pair of eyes that
-knew no dimness. At first sight of Nosey, one saw
-nothing but his nose. But when you noticed his eyes
-you forgot the nose, and lived in the presence of a pair of
-eyes that sparkled like diamonds, or as searchlights that
-permitted nothing to escape their scrutiny.
-
-Nosey's feats of tracking were really marvellous. On
-one occasion he got on to the trail of a dingo bitch which
-had raided his hen-roost, and followed it for twelve miles,
-mostly through scrubby and rocky country that was
-criss-crossed with innumerable tracks of bush vermin.
-For all that, this human sleuth-hound tracked Mrs. Dingo
-to a cave in the mountains where she had five pups,
-and returned with six scalps.
-
-The dingo trapper rode out early the next morning in
-company with Harry the stockman and the boys to the
-scene of the slaughter, there to devise means, for which
-he had received *carte blanche* from Mr. M'Intyre, for the
-capture of the raiders.
-
-The weaners' paddock was about three miles from the
-house, and had an area of five thousand acres. Most of
-the enclosure consisted of plain, but a corner of it
-contained a belt of scrub; and it was in this corner, where
-the weaners camped for warmth in the night-time, that
-the drive and slaughter had been made. The beasts,
-most of them, lay huddled, showing evidence of mangling;
-others had struggled out of the gully into the scrub.
-After gazing awhile at the slain, Tom Hawkins broke the
-silence—
-
-"I say, Nosey, ain't this a go? Poor brutes!"
-
-"Here, you kid," cried the trapper, turning sharply on
-Tom, "who gave you leave to call me names? Like
-yer blessed cheek! How'd yer like me ter call yer
-monkey-face? If yer had a decent nose, I'd tweak it fer yer."
-
-Nosey, who was very sensitive on this question of
-nickname, and had had many a fight over the same, made
-such a menacing move towards Tom that the lad shrank
-back in fear.
-
-"That'll do, George," said Sandy. "Leave the boy
-alone. He didn't mean anything. It's what everybody
-calls you."
-
-"I'm not goin' to let brats of boys miscall me, anyhow.
-Don't know why the boss sent you blokes, for all the
-good y'are!" growled the grumpy, cross-grained, but not
-really bad-hearted old man. "Youse better be keepin'
-quiet, anyways, till me an' Harry has a look round."
-
-"Let him be," whispered Harry. "If you get his
-dander up he's as likely as not to chuck the whole blame
-thing. He always jibs at that name; carn't stand it
-from kids nohow."
-
-Nosey, or to be respectful, George, now proceeded to
-examine the surroundings of the carcasses. Bending
-forward until his protuberant nose almost touched the
-earth, the trapper moved his eyes swiftly, now concentrating
-on twig or grass-blades, now wildly roving and
-all-comprehensive. The rest of the party were following at
-his heels, when he turned round and fiercely waved them
-back.
-
-"All right, Nos—George!" sang out Joe. "I see; you
-want to keep the tracks clear. We'll stay here till you've
-finished."
-
-Drawing on one side, the group watched the proceedings
-with great interest. The ground was hard and stony;
-quite unimpressionable and barren of sign to the pals'
-untutored sight, yet to this man of the woods, who was
-ignorant of the alphabet, the rough earth surface was
-all-revealing, and made known to him in unmistakable
-characters the story of the attack.
-
-Having at length concluded his investigations, the
-trapper straightened his back and moved to where the
-others stood. Producing his knife and a plug of tobacco,
-he began to shred a pipeful, making no remark to the
-expectant onlookers.
-
-"Reckon we'll have to drag it out o' the old un," said
-Harry to Joe in a low tone. Then raising his voice, the
-stockman began to question the man.
-
-"Had a good look round, George?"
-
-Nod.
-
-"Ain't missed anything worth seeing, I bet?"
-
-Head-shake.
-
-"Whatyer make of it?"
-
-"Razorback pack," replied the old man of frugal
-speech, as he cleaned out his pipe.
-
-"Razorback pack? You surely don't mean it! Why,
-that is a matter of twelve mile or so!"
-
-"Suppose it is; what of that?"
-
-"Oh, I say!" exclaimed Harry dubiously, yet not
-wishful to offend the old man's susceptibilities. "Of
-course you know best, George. How many of 'em do
-you consider they'd be?"
-
-"Five dorgs an' two bitches."
-
-"Good gracious, Nosey!" cried Tom the unlucky, the
-next moment beating a rapid retreat as the dog-trapper
-made a vicious dart at his caudal appendage, finally
-coming to grief over a fallen log which lay in the line of
-retreat. The pursuing foe, even, had to stop and join in
-the laugh raised at the ludicrous figure which Tom cut as
-he lay, head down, heels up.
-
-"Beg pardon, George!" he cried breathlessly the next
-moment, as he recovered his original position. "It slipped
-out, old fellow. I—I didn't mean it."
-
-"Come, now, George, that's handsome. You must
-accept the apology," interjected Joe.
-
-The trapper nodded assent, and the incident passed.
-
-"How *do* you know what pack it is, George? Blest if
-I can understand how you find out all these things! First
-you tell us the sex an' then where they come from."
-
-"Tell it by their paws."
-
-"By their paws! How on earth can you tell they've
-come all the way from Razorback by their paw marks?
-Mightn't it be the turkey scrub lot?"
-
-"It carn't be, an' isn't, 'cause I knows the pack."
-
-"How's that?"
-
-"Got two of the vermin in the traps six months ago
-over at the mountains, an' a cove wot got away left two
-toe nails of his near hind-foot in the trap."
-
-"Too fly for poison, eh?"
-
-"'Twould be a waste of good strychnine over the
-rubbage," replied the trapper, waxing more communicative.
-"They know a bait better than a Christun.
-'Sides, I tried them over at Razorback. Got plenty o'
-cats, gohanners, an' crows; an', be gosh! laid out one of
-my own cattle puppies, but ne'er a dingo."
-
-"The traps'll fetch 'em, won't they, George?"
-
-George returned no answer, but "smoled" a cryptic
-smile. Mounting their steeds, the party turned in the
-direction of home. Mr. M'Intyre received the trapper's
-report without interruption, and then consulted as to the
-best way to work their destruction.
-
-"Hunting them is out of the question," said the
-squatter in reply to a remark of his son that it would
-be grand sport hunting them. "We'd only ruin the
-horses in that country and miss most o' the dingoes.
-Na! the traps are the best an' safest. If ony ane can catch
-'em in that fashion, George is the mon. I leave the hale
-matter in his hands. He kens best what to do to
-circumvent the brutes; so go your own way to work,
-George. What aboot traps? Have ye enough?"
-
-"Got seven or eight, dunno for sure. Ought to have
-a dozen."
-
-"Varra weel; ane o' the laddies will ride to Tareela
-and get ither fower."
-
-Accordingly, Joe and Tom mounted their horses and
-rode into the store for the additional traps.
-
-A dog-trap, it should be explained, is simply an
-enlarged spring rat-trap, with extra strong jaws and
-saw-like teeth. These instruments of capture weigh
-about ten pounds, and are planted in likely spots. The
-native dog is an exceedingly suspicious animal. His
-reasoning faculty is large. A mere glance at his head
-will convince one as to his capacity, and those who have
-had to do with him count him as the slimmest of the slim.
-Hence, only by outmatching him in cunning may his
-adversary succeed. In this Nosey George was an adept, and
-Mr. M'Intyre did not overstate the facts when he declared
-no one to be capable of matching the dog-trapper in the
-art of setting lures.
-
-The pals readily obtained leave to accompany the
-trapper next morning to watch the proceedings, on the
-understanding that they were in no way to interfere with
-him. Each lad had a pair of traps slung across his horse's
-withers, and George carried the balance on the neck and
-croup of his steed. They made their way to the weaners'
-paddock, and after a brief inspection of the carrion the
-trapper declared that there had been no return of the dogs.
-
-"I didn't expect them larst night," remarked George.
-"They're like the blacks, can eat enough at one meal to
-do 'em fur days. A gorge is Chrismus to 'em."
-
-"What do you intend doing with the dead beasts, George?"
-
-"Leave 'em be, o' course. They'll help me more than
-anythin' else. Dogs'll come again to get another feed
-or two; an' as boss's took the weaners away to a safe
-paddock, they'll go fur these dead uns like winkie—likes
-'em a bit high, in fact. Supposin' we burn these wretches,
-the vermin'll keep about their own haunts. They're
-out of their beat when they come over here, while they
-knows every stick an' stone of their run. Consequently,
-it gives me a better charnse with 'em on unfamiliar
-ground."
-
-So saying, the cunning hunter proceeded to carry out
-his plan. The dingo has a well-defined method of
-carving his veal, so to speak. The hide of the animal is
-not uniformly thick. The softest and tenderest part is
-that underneath and between the thighs. The ravager,
-therefore, attacks this tenderest and most susceptible
-part. He tears a big hole through the skin and into the
-flesh in a short time, and literally eats his way into the
-body; until, when he and his fellow-feasters have finally
-finished, and cleaned paws and jaws with that
-self-provided serviette the tongue, nothing of the animal
-remains but the skin and bones—always providing that
-no foe appears to stay proceedings against the gourmands.
-This finish, of course, entails several feasts when the
-course happens to be a bullock, or, as in the present case,
-toothsome veal.
-
-The trapper proceeded to lay a trap facing the torn
-portion of each carcass—that, of course, being the place
-of attack on each occasion of the canines' visits. After a
-careful consideration of the ground surrounding each
-beast, he dug a hole in the earth and then placed a trap
-in it. He next produced some sheets of the inner bark
-of the ti tree, which is as flexible as paper and softer.
-A sheet of this is laid over the gaping jaws of the trap,
-which is, of course, properly set. The "jaws" are now
-level with the ground. Over this fine earth is sprinkled
-until all appearance of the trap is hidden. The superfluous
-soil is now removed with care, and the surroundings
-are made to look as natural as possible. This in itself is
-a work of art; for the slightest appearance of disturbance
-or make-up alarms the wary dingo, and nullifies the
-trapper's design.
-
-There is one thing, however, that Nosey George had
-not reckoned upon when starting his operations—the
-number of carcasses to be treated. It will be remembered
-that eleven animals were slaughtered in the dingo raid.
-This would mean the use of eleven traps, were every
-animal to be used as a lure. But it is contrary to the
-design of the trapper to use up all his traps in the
-vicinity of the beasts. Some are to be set along the line
-of approach. A number of carcasses, therefore, must be
-removed. With the help of the boys, five of the beasts
-are dragged about two hundred yards away, put in a heap,
-covered with dry wood, and then burned.
-
-This left the trapper with several traps to use in other
-directions. Having laid six traps in the vicinity of the
-calves, he proceeded to follow up the tracks of the dogs.
-The first gin was laid in a soft patch of ground directly
-in their footmarks. This he continued at intervals, until
-the last one was placed at a spot about two miles
-distant.
-
-"How many dingoes do you think you'll nab, George?"
-exclaimed Tom, as the party rode homewards in the
-late afternoon.
-
-"Tell you when I visit the traps termorrer, boy."
-
-"I say three," judged the judicious Joe.
-
-"I say one," opined the cautious Sandy.
-
-"I say the whole bloomin' lot," loudly proclaimed the
-sanguine Tom.
-
-"I say, wait," drily remarked the wise trapper.
-
-The trapper's prophecy was justified; for, on a visit to
-the traps in the early morning by the expectant and
-impatient boys, in the company of Nosey George, to the
-surprise and disgust of these same youngsters, not a trap
-was sprung.
-
-The trapper, who while examining the ground had
-maintained a sphinx-like attitude, broke silence at length
-under a fusillade of questions.
-
-"Yees want ter know, does youse, why it is no dog's
-copp'd? Simple enough. Dogs didn't come."
-
-
-
-
-
-.. vspace:: 4
-
-.. _`DINGO *V.* EMU: A FIGHT TO A FINISH`:
-
-.. class:: center large bold
-
- CHAPTER XVII
-
-
-.. class:: center medium bold
-
- DINGO *V.* EMU: A FIGHT TO A FINISH
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-..
-
- | "Afar I mark the emu's run;
- | The bustard slow, in motley clad;
- | And, basking in his bath of sun,
- | The brown snake on the cattle-pad,
- | And the reddish black
- | Of a dingo's back
- | As he loit'ring slinks on my horse's track."
- | GEORGE ESSEX EVANS.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-The next morning's visit told another tale.
-
-The dingoes, having recovered from their surfeit,
-hunger-induced, made a second nocturnal trip to the
-feeding-grounds. Cunning and wary as they habitually
-are, they fell, some of them at least, before the wiles
-of the trapper. Four of their number paid the death
-penalty. Two female dogs were caught in the traps set
-about the calves. The trapped animals had not moved
-any great space.
-
-It should be said that the traps are not fastened to
-the spot whereon they are laid; because, were they
-stationary, the dingo, especially the dog dingo, in his
-frantic efforts to escape, and by reason of his great
-strength, will frequently save his life at the expense of
-his paw. That dog, it is safe to say, will never be
-trapped again; as on the principle of, once bitten twice
-shy, he will ever eschew the most deftly constructed
-device of man.
-
-.. _`The emu failed to elude the panther-like spring`:
-
-.. figure:: images/img-128.jpg
- :align: center
- :alt: "The emu failed to elude the panther-like spring."
-
- "The emu failed to elude the panther-like spring."—*See p.* `134`_.
-
-On the other hand, should there be no fastening, a
-strong dog will carry a trap for miles, especially if caught
-by the hind-leg. In order to remedy this, a device,
-similar to that which sailors use, called a sea anchor,
-is attached. A block of wood not too heavy is tied to
-the trap by a chain or a piece of wire. This acts as
-a check to the animal, besides leaving a broad trail that
-is easily followed up.
-
-When the trapped dingoes were approached they set
-up a dismal howling, which turned to a vigorous snapping
-with their teeth; the while they tore the earth with their
-paws in vain efforts to escape.
-
-"Put the poor wretches out of their pain," cried Sandy,
-after watching the agonised efforts of the canines for a
-few seconds.
-
-The trapper, armed with a heavy "nulla-nulla,"
-dispatched the brutes, and scalped them; for the district
-Stock Board, to induce their extermination, gave £1 per
-scalp, and experienced trappers like Nosey George did
-well at times. They concluded that there was at the
-least one other victim; for while the bitches were
-snapping and howling, answering howls of rage and
-sympathy could be heard in the distance along the trail.
-
-The next act was to cremate the slain, which was
-speedily done. After this the group proceeded to follow
-the track along which the other snares were secreted.
-The very first trap contained a dog. It was set in the
-centre of a soft depression, at the edge of the scrub belt
-on the farther side. The dog had dragged the trap about
-three hundred yards, when the "anchor," fouling in some
-saplings, his retreat was stopped. The beast was
-immediately brained and scalped, and the body flung into a
-clump of bushes.
-
-There was still another victim. The farthest out trap
-was gone. Nothing was to be seen but the trap-hole.
-George, however, was soon upon the trail. The country
-here was fairly open, and offered little obstruction to
-the determined dog. The track led on and on with little
-deviation until a course of three miles or so had been
-traversed. It now curved outward and down toward a
-patch of scrub. Nosey suddenly stopped and pointed to
-the ground.
-
-"What's up, George?" exclaimed Joe, who stood
-nearest the trapper.
-
-"Look an' see fur y'reself."
-
-Bending over, Joe saw in a sandy patch the deep
-impress of the toes of a large bird.
-
-"I can't make it out. What in thunder is it? Far
-too big for a crow; bigger even than an eagle or a
-bustard."
-
-"As big as two eagles, young mutton-head," declared
-the old tough. "Tell 'im, Sandy."
-
-"Why, you greeney; that's an emu track!"
-
-"Emu!" shouted Joe in great excitement. "It's the
-first time I ever saw an emu track. What an enormous
-foot he must have."
-
-"Ye'd know it, me boy, if ivver ye got a kick," grunted
-the trapper. "I've seen them break a dog's leg like a
-carrot."
-
-"Blest if I don't think he's follerin' up the dingo!"
-continued Joe.
-
-"Just wot 'e *is* a-doin' of," answered the man. "These
-'ere emus is more curious nor a woman."
-
-Joe now remembered Sandy relating how his father
-used to lure the emu he was stalking within shot of his
-fowling piece, by lying flat, and slowly waving his
-handkerchief from the point of his ram-rod; or even
-doubling his leg as he lay breast downward, and elevating
-his hat on the foot thus raised. With slow and hesitating
-yet irresistible steps, fascinated by the mysterious object,
-or a victim to curiosity, the bird would approach to its
-undoing.
-
-This particular emu was no stranger to the dingoes,
-nor they to him. Never before, though, had he beheld a
-dingo with such an appendage, or in such difficulties.
-The unwonted appearance of the canine furnishes the
-bird with an unusual sensation, and queries in rapid
-succession flit through its brain. "What on earth is
-the matter with the limping, whimpering brute? What
-is that object trailing behind the horrid creature? Let
-me draw near and behold this great sight!" Fate has
-delivered his old-time enemy into his hands. That
-lolling, swollen tongue, those blood-shot eyes, that
-painful whimper, the wild despairing glances; all these
-loudly proclaim his downfall. "Well, what matter!
-He's getting his punishment now. What is there to
-prevent me wiping out old scores?"
-
-And so, with cautious yet confident step the huge bird,
-second in size only to the ostrich, strode on at a short
-distance behind his enemy; and in a few minutes both
-are swallowed up in the scrub. The huntsmen follow
-well on the heels of the animals.
-
-"I wonder if the bird's still following?" asked Tom.
-
-"Soon see," answered the trapper, carefully examining
-the ground. "Not a quarter of an hour since he passed
-this spot: must be in the scrub still."
-
-A minute or so brought them to the edge of the scrub.
-Pushing along, they were soon enwrapped in its gloom.
-Following the advice of George, the boys tied their horses
-to saplings at the outskirts of the belt, and proceeded on
-foot. Suddenly the trapper, who was leading, stopped dead
-in his tracks, and uttered a warning note in a low voice.
-Motioning the pals to remain where they were, he
-noiselessly moved forward, and was soon lost in the thick
-foliage ahead.
-
-"Wonder why ole Nosey made us stay back?" muttered
-Tom, after the lads had stood silently awhile. "What
-can be in the air, now?"
-
-"Hist!" exclaimed Sandy in a whisper; "he's returning."
-
-At this moment the trapper reappeared.
-
-"Follow as quiet as mice, an' ye'll see summat like wot
-ye've ne'er seed afore." There was an unusual gleam
-in the man's eye as he made this deliverance.
-
-Cautiously and silently the party moved Indian fashion
-through the wood. After going in this way a hundred
-paces or so the hunter stopped again, and beckoned the
-boys, indicating a stealthy approach. Very gingerly they
-trod until they were abreast the man. Following his
-muttered directions and example, they quietly parted the
-intervening brushwood.
-
-It was an unique sight on which their eyes fastened;
-one they would not readily forget. Beyond them was a
-small natural clearing, such as often occurs in the densest
-scrub.
-
-It was circular in form, and about fifty yards in
-diameter. Here, almost in the centre of the clearing,
-the bird had bailed up the beast. Curiosity in the emu
-had grown into anger, and was at a white heat, judging
-from the manner in which it pirouetted and menaced the
-dog, keeping up the while an incessant gabble. The
-gabble, rightly interpreted, declared that the time of
-vengeance was at hand. The fates were thanked for
-being so kind as to furnish this fitting opportunity for
-paying off old scores: "Here, you sneaking thief and
-flying murderer, stop! It's you and I for it now; so, off
-with your coat and roll up your sleeves!"
-
-Nor was Master Dingo disinclined to accept the
-challenge thrown down by the strutting bird. Weary as
-he was and full of pain, he was in no humour to eat
-humble-pie, or to fly before another foe. His warring
-instincts rose to the gage of his hereditary enemy. Many
-of his kind were scarred with wounds from the terrible
-emu kick, or deep score made by the horny toe of this
-formidable antagonist.
-
-Nor could he retreat, if so inclined: behind him, to a
-certainty, was the monstrous biped; far more to be feared
-than this animated piece of impertinence, whose wicked
-eye squinted and winked in defiance.
-
-Forgotten in a moment is all fear, whether of the
-visible bird or the invisible pursuers. Handicapped as he
-is, and goaded by his pain and shameful condition, the
-dingo fires the first shot, as it were, by making a sudden
-jump at the emu's throat, narrowly missing it, and still
-more narrowly missing the leg stroke of the bird as it
-made its counter-stroke.
-
-Both bird and beast are practised in all the arts and
-devices of animal warfare. Each knows the tactics of the
-other. But for the disability of the dog through the
-tenacious trap the chances would be in his favour; but
-his exhaustion and encumbrance give the odds to the
-other. Still, he makes a gallant fight, and the bird needs
-all its wits and agility to escape his savage snaps, one of
-which, had he been able to lay hold, would tear out the
-neck from throat to breast.
-
-The combat was at its height between these gladiators
-when the pursuers sighted them. The boys hold their
-breath in fair amazement as they eagerly watch the two
-figures in the sunlit arena struggling for the mastery. So
-engrossed are the combatants that the spectators may
-come out into the open and surround them, for all the
-notice that will be taken of them. As it is, the boys'
-astonishment is quickly transmuted into animal excitement
-and battle-lust. They take sides, and cheer, now the
-beast and now the bird.
-
-.. _`134`:
-
-But the end comes quickly and tragically enough. The
-pace of the conflict tells terribly upon the dingo. He is
-now weakening fast; can hardly see, so bloodshot are his
-eyes. Yes, he can hold out but little longer. Realising
-this, he fights purely on the defence for breath. Then,
-concentrating all his energies in one last irresistible
-stroke, he springs, arrow-like, and this time strikes fair
-on the bullseye—the neck of his adversary. The emu
-had failed to elude the panther-like spring. But now the
-counter-stroke!
-
-When the dingo's fangs close vice-like upon the emu's
-throat the bird's fate is irrevocably sealed. The jugular
-vein is torn out with a mouthful of flesh and muscle,
-and the skin is stripped to the bosom. What time
-this savage and fatal stroke is given the vengeful bird,
-by one terrific downward blow of its powerful leg and
-toes, disembowels the hanging dog; and then with a
-lightning side-stroke, delivered full on the forehead of the
-prone beast, smashes in its skull. A vain attempt to
-crow a note of victory; a few short, uncertain, rotatory
-movements, life-blood gushing the while from its severed
-jugular, then a collapse, falling across the body of its
-slain adversary!
-
-Which of the two is the victor?
-
-The surprise of the boys, at the sudden and bloody
-termination of the fight, may be better imagined than
-described. They stared aghast for some moments at the
-spectacle, too dazed to move or speak. Even the
-hardened bushman, George, was moved.
-
-"Well, of all the fights I ever seed, this licks creation;
-it's better nor cock-fightin'. Be gosh, 'twas a grand fight
-to a finish!"
-
-The trapper now busies himself with the scalping-knife,
-and, as the boys stand around, a feeling of sadness
-rises within as they contemplate the slain.
-
-"Poor brutes!" said Sandy feelingly, "I've a notion,
-lads, that they deserved a better fate."
-
-"The boss wouldn't agree to that as fur as the dorgs is
-concerned. As fer the emu, he's neither good nor bad,"
-grunted the old man.
-
-"Well, after all," broke in Joe, "it's their nature, as
-old Simpson is always preaching to us in school. They're
-not to blame for following their instincts. By jings! there's
-no coward's blood in these poor brutes,—they're as
-brave as brave."
-
-But such moralising was beyond Nosey George.
-
-"Emus is sight enough in a way, an' only eats grass an'
-roots,—but dingos! they're vermin, an' any death's good
-enough fur them. By the hokey!" exclaimed he as he
-looked at the trap; "I'm blamed if here isn't the blessed
-paw!"
-
-It was true. The wretched beast's foot was evidently
-so lacerated and broken by its efforts to escape, and in
-dragging the trap, that when it made the last and fatal
-spring the imprisoned paw parted from the leg in the
-very act, and that severance enabled it to reach the emu's
-neck. Having secured the trap and the scalp, the group
-retraced their steps to where they had hitched the horses.
-
-The haul proved successful beyond measure. To secure
-four dingoes in one scoop was a great stroke of luck. Not
-so much luck, on reflection, as skilful management. An
-amateur might have set a hundred traps with seeming
-skill and not have bagged a dog. No one save a trapper
-like George could trap with any degree of certainty.
-
-"I s'pose you'll bag the balance to-night," remarked
-Tom to the trapper when they had remounted.
-
-"No jolly fear! Never catch any more along this line."
-
-"How's that?"
-
-"Why, d'yer think a dingo's no sense? Be gosh! all
-the calves in creation wuddent tempt what's left of the
-vermin to come along this track again. Wish we'd a' got
-the old dog, though."
-
-"What are you going to do next?" inquired Tom.
-
-"Fust an' foremost thing is to collect the traps, then
-we'll burn the weaners."
-
-"Won't you try for the other dogs?"
-
-"My oath, won't I?"
-
-"Give us your programme, George, there's a good fellow."
-
-"I'll try 'em about Razorback with the traps, as soon
-as they've quietened down a bit. They've been scared
-out of their precious wits by this 'ere business."
-
-In due time the party arrived at the homestead.
-Mr. M'Intyre expressed his gratification at the result of the
-trapper's work, and praised his skill. He further bade
-George continue his work until the beasts were
-exterminated, promising him a liberal reward should he
-achieve this end.
-
-The boys related with great gusto, to an almost
-incredulous household, the particulars of the fight to a
-finish.
-
-The trapper fixed his camp in the hills, and employed
-his best endeavours to trap the remaining dingoes with
-but partial success, securing one only. The old dingo,
-which on a former occasion had left two of his claws in a
-trap, and now had received this additional fright through
-the ensnarement of his comrades, was not to be lured by
-any device, however crafty. George, who knew their run
-intimately, surrounded them with traps. 'Twas all in
-vain, set them never so wisely.
-
-This defiance and immunity irritated the old man
-beyond endurance, and he swore by all the dignities to
-get their scalps, if it took him till the crack of doom.
-
-As he was camped on the ranges, in the vicinity of
-Razorback, his weekly ration was taken out to him by
-the boys, who were keen on this matter. They had been
-out twice with the rations, and now were being sent out
-the third time. What befel them on that trip will be
-related in the next chapter.
-
-
-
-
-
-.. vspace:: 4
-
-.. _`THE CHASE AND ITS SEQUEL`:
-
-.. class:: center large bold
-
- CHAPTER XVIII
-
-
-.. class:: center medium bold
-
- THE CHASE, AND ITS SEQUEL
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-..
-
- | "A southerly wind and a cloudy sky,
- | Proclaim a hunting morn;
- | Before the sun rises away we go,—
- | The sleep of the sluggard we scorn."
- | OLD SONG.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-"Now then, sleepies,—up you get!" cried Sandy in the
-early morning, as he performed his usual preliminary of
-whipping off the bed-clothes from the sleepy-headed Joe
-and Tom.
-
-"Sun's laughing at you through the windows. Come,
-Master Hawkins!" cried he with a grin as he tumbled
-that grunting individual on to the floor, piling the
-bed-clothes on top of him, and then seating himself on the
-wriggling pile. "If soft measures won't avail I am
-prepared to adopt severe ones."
-
-Tom, now thoroughly aroused, and as peppery as you
-like, shouted and yelled and writhed, getting his arm at
-last round his persecutor, the laughing Sandy, and by
-a violent effort pulling him on to the broad of his back,
-thus reversing their positions.
-
-"You red-headed Scotchman, I'll teach you meddle
-with—" pommel—"me again"—pommel, pommel.
-
-Here a cold douche arrested the uplifted arm of the
-irate Tom, and took his breath for a moment, as it
-descended upon the prone bodies, accompanied by sundry
-"ouchs" and shrill yells. As the boys scrambled to their
-feet they joined forces and rushed the dodging Joe, who,
-after a few ineffectual dives, was caught and jolly well
-punched.
-
-The usual early morning diversion ended, the lads, rosy
-with health and brimming over with animal spirits—the
-essence of good nature for all their rough play—dressed
-with haste and made for the stockyard, to pick their steeds.
-
-This occupied their time till the seven o'clock breakfast,
-after which they secured from the storeman the rations
-for the trapper.
-
-"Now Sandy, my boy, ye'll no forget to tell George
-what I named at breakfast."
-
-"M-yes, about the dingoes, father?"
-
-"No, stupid. Didna I ask you to tell him that, dingoes
-or no dingoes, he is to come next week at the latest, to
-handle the colts?"
-
-"Oh yes, dad, I won't forget. I expect he'll growl a bit,
-as he's mad on getting the dogs and the reward. He's
-quite cranky over it."
-
-"He'll come richt enough if ye gie him my order."
-
-The trapper's camp, as previously stated, was situated
-about eleven miles from the homestead. Four miles or
-so from home the track roughened, and became what is
-known as broken country, all hills and gullies, for the
-most part very rocky, and heavily wooded in places.
-
-The boys' progress was but slow, owing to the nature of
-the ground, and it took them nearly three hours to reach
-the camp, which they found unoccupied. After cooeeing
-in vain for the absentee, they proceeded to light a fire in
-order to boil the billy, spreading the substantial lunch
-which Mrs. M'Intyre had furnished them.
-
-"Bother old Nosey; wish he'd turn up!" exclaimed
-Sandy, when the boys had finished their repast. "We
-can't go till he comes. There'd be no end of a row if we
-went home without delivering the message."
-
-"Oh, he'll be here before long," interjected Joe. "I
-vote we do a camp in the shade for an hour or two; it's
-hot enough to fry a steak."
-
-This was good advice, and the boys made themselves as
-comfortable as circumstances permitted under the shade
-of the trees. So the hours passed without any sign of the
-trapper.
-
-"Well, I declare," exclaimed Tom for the twentieth
-time in the course of the last hour, "it's too bad of Nosey.
-I'm full up of waitin' here with nothing to do. Can't you
-leave a message somehow for the ole cuss?"
-
-"How is it to be done, Hawkins?"
-
-"Oh bother! write a note, of course."
-
-"Well, you are a greeney, Tom. Where's the pen, ink,
-and paper to come from?"
-
-"Why, hasn't ole Nosey——?"
-
-"Old Nosey, be hanged! Of course he hasn't, any more
-than he's got a dress suit and a toilet mirror."
-
-"I've got a pencil," said Joe, feeling in his pocket.
-
-"No good in the world; where's the paper to come
-from; an' supposin' we had pens, ink, paper, blotting-pads,
-writing desks, and whatever else you like to name
-in the scribbling line, what good 'ud it all be?"
-
-"Meaning——?"
-
-"Meanin' this, you dunderheads—it's got to be read."
-
-"Well?"
-
-"Well!—of all the thick-heads, muddle-pates, soft-uns,
-hodges, and idiots that ever I came across——!"
-
-"Here, draw it mild, young porridge-pot. There's two
-to one against you: mind that, you red herring!"
-
-"I'll *mind* more than that, if I am the son of a Scot, which
-is no great disgrace, after all," replied Sandy jeeringly.
-"But look here and listen, chiels. I'll tell you a story—
-
-"Once upon a time, when pigs were called swine an'
-monkeys chewed tobacco, there lived a bully English
-captain, the commander of a man o' war. This frigate,
-sailing up the channel on her return from foreign parts,
-sighted a French ship, not more'n about twice her size.
-Instead of closing with the Frenchy slap bang, an' givin'
-her what-for, she turned tail an' showed her a clean pair
-of heels. This outrageous proceeding on the part of a
-British sea-dog demanded instant investigation, and so
-the jolly captain was promptly court-martialled. After
-the case had been put by the prosecuting officer, and not
-denied by the prisoner, he was asked by the president of
-the court why he did not engage the enemy. The captain,
-in reply, said that he had ten reasons. 'Name them,'
-says the boss officer. 'The first is: I had no powder;
-it was all used up.' 'Enuf sed,' sings out the judge.
-'We don't want the other nine. You're discharged, my
-man, without a stain on your character.'"
-
-"Oh, that's all right for a yarn," cried Joe; "but I
-want to know what it's got to do with your father's
-message to Nosey?"
-
-"Just as much as it's got to do with the grass of a duck
-in a forty-acre paddock," jeered Sandy.
-
-"It's a story with a moral, boys; and as Captain Kettle—no,
-I mean Cuttle, says in that book of Dickens, the
-moral of the story lies in the application."
-
-"Apply it, my wise man."
-
-"Here then: old Nosey has ten reasons for not gettin'
-a written message."
-
-"Name the first!"
-
-"He can't read."
-
-"Now then, Joe," said Tom, turning to that worthy,
-"what's the verdict of the court?"
-
-"I s'pose we'll have to discharge the prisoner without a
-character," replied Joe with a wink.
-
-"Blow these bally flies!" cried Tom, after an interval.
-"They're here in millions. Faugh!—splutter—there's
-one down my jolly throat. Say, Joe, what are you goin'
-to do?"
-
-"Boil the billy," replied that youth laconically. "May
-as well do something, an' kill time."
-
-So the hours sped until the sun was well on its descending
-curve in the late afternoon. Their patience was now
-thoroughly exhausted in waiting for the trapper. They
-canvassed the reasons for his non-appearance, until they
-were mortally sick of discussing the subject.
-
-"Tell you what, boys, message or no message, Nosey or
-no Nosey," cried Sandy at last, "we must make tracks for
-home. We are not to blame for old George's absence.
-They'll be wondering what's become of us. It'll take us
-all our time to get there before dark as it is. At the
-worst, we'll have to come out to-morrow."
-
-It took but a few minutes after this to secure the
-horses, saddle them, call the dog which had accompanied
-them to heel, and set out on the return journey.
-
-After jogging briskly for a couple of miles or so the
-cattle dog, a strong wiry hound and a noted warrior
-among his species, began to sniff about, uttering a series of
-low, short barks.
-
-"Hello, Brindle, what's up? Got 'possum scent?
-Bandicoot, I 'spect. Fetch him, boy!"
-
-Just at this moment Brindle made a dash forward,
-what time a big dog-dingo started out from under an old
-log a hundred yards or so ahead. The route taken by
-the chase lay up a long gully. This gully was, more
-correctly speaking, a depression, lacking abrupt and
-precipitous sides, and was comparatively free from rocks.
-
-The boys hesitated a moment, but the temptation was
-too strong. Joe, clapping his spurs to his steed's sides,
-started off with a clatter, the others following pell-mell.
-The gully was long and winding, and to this, for some
-reason, the dingo stuck. The hunters now began to gain
-a little on the beast, and were in full sight, the cattle
-dog just holding his distance. At length the gully
-petered out at the base of a ridge, over which the quarry
-sped, the dog and boys in full chase. The other side of
-the ridge was more precipitous, and covered with bracken
-and stunted bushes. Down this the pursuit thundered,
-Joe in the lead and well to the cattle dog's heels: the
-dingo leading by not more than seventy yards. So
-absorbed was the boy in the hunt that he remained in
-ignorance of a calamity that was even now happening to
-one of his mates.
-
-Tom's horse, in bounding down the ridge, and when
-close to the bottom, put his foot in a wombat's[#] hole
-that was hidden by bracken. Over came horse and rider,
-Tom striking the ground on head and shoulder, while
-Sandy, who was about a length behind, narrowly averted
-collision with the fallen steed and boy. As quickly as
-possible he pulled up his galloping animal, shouting out
-as he did so to Joe, who was too far away and too much
-engrossed in the chase to hear the call.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-.. class:: noindent small
-
-[#] Wombat—-a burrowing marsupial.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-Returning to the collapsed pair, Sandy jumped off and
-lifted Tom's head, for the lad lay stiff. His appearance
-frightened the boy as he lay still and death-like. To his
-great joy, however, on feeling Tom's wrist, Sandy detected
-a feeble pulse-beat. Laying his stricken mate gently
-down in the bracken, he made a hasty examination of his
-head. It bore no trace of wound, save some gravel
-scratches and a nasty bruise under the left eye. The
-relieved boy hurried to the bottom of the ridge, where by
-good hap was a rill of water. Filling his hat he returned
-and laved the brow and wrists of his companion. After
-some twenty minutes or so Tom began to stir, and
-quickly regained consciousness. No bones were broken,
-but the boy was badly shaken, and all thoughts of further
-pursuit were out of the question. The horse, by a
-miracle, was without hurt.
-
-"You're a lucky beggar, Tom," said Sandy, after a few
-minutes. "From the way you crashed down I made
-sure every blessed bone in your body was broken. How
-do you feel now, ole boss?"
-
-"Oh, I'm all right," replied Tom feebly. "Shoulder's
-the worst. It's not dislocated, but it pains a lot. Phew! but
-it does hurt when I move it. I expect it felt the full
-force of the tumble. But—where's Joe?"
-
-"Joe's ahead. Goodness only knows where he's got to
-by now. He hasn't a ghost's show of getting the dingo if
-he makes for the hills."
-
-"I tell you what," continued the boy; "we'll get off
-home as soon as you feel fit. It's no use waiting for Joe.
-He can easily catch us. You'll have to go slow, old man,
-you know."
-
-This was true, for Tom's shoulder was in an agony of
-ache, which the movement of the horse, after they had
-mounted, intensified to an almost unbearable degree.
-
-It was long after dark ere the pair sighted the
-homestead lights. They had not been overtaken by Joe, much
-to their surprise. They were met at the slip-rails by
-Harry and Jacky, who had just been dispatched to look
-for them, as the family were getting uneasy at their
-prolonged absence. The men returned with the lads to
-the house. Beyond a severe word to Sandy for being
-tempted to pursue the impossible when on the homeward
-track, the squatter justified their act of returning from the
-camp; also in not waiting for Joe.
-
-"I expect the rascal will turn up in a few minutes. His
-horse would soon be knocked up in that country, and he
-would therefore be unable to catch you after he abandoned
-the dingo. The cheek of you boys, to think you could run
-it down in that country!"
-
-The minutes sped without sight or sound of the huntsman.
-Anxiety deepened in the women; the men, too,
-became uneasy.
-
-"Some one ought to go after the lad," broke in the
-perturbed mother, at length. "The poor laddie must
-have met trouble. His horse has knocked up. Perhaps
-he has lost himself. Perhaps he——!"
-
-"Perhaps nothing of the kind has happened, except
-that the horse may have knocked up. You women will
-always jump to the worst conclusions. Willy, you and I'll
-ride back a bit; come you too Sandy, if you're not too
-tired."
-
-Mr. M'Intyre feared more than he showed. It would
-be easy enough after all, he reflected, for a boy who was
-ignorant of the lay of the country and who had no
-experience in bush travelling, to lose his way. He
-determined, therefore, to take his son with him, so that
-he might lead them to the spot where the accident
-occurred, if it were necessary. Accordingly the three
-set off on the track. Fortunately it was moonlight and
-clear, so that they were able to make good headway
-through the bush.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-It is time, however, to return to Joe. That ardent
-hunter had followed the chase for some distance ere he
-missed his pals. What with the severity of the pace and
-the increasing roughness of the course, its twistings and
-turnings, all his attention was focussed on the quarry.
-If he did think at all of his companions, it was to picture
-them following close behind. But in the heat of the chase
-he had little thought for others. When it did dawn upon
-him that he had outdistanced his companions, as happened
-eventually, he attributed little importance to that. They,
-no doubt, had good reason for slackening their pace. His
-horse, as he well knew, had a dash of speed denied to
-theirs. Maybe their steeds had caved in. Anyhow, he
-was having a glorious time, and "the finish" was touched
-with roseate hues to his imagination.
-
-His horse was justifying the reputation given of him to
-Joe by Harry, the stockman, one day when they were
-discussing the relative merits of their mounts.
-
-"For a hack," that worthy had remarked, "there's
-nothing on the run equal to the little thing you're ridin'.
-With a light weight up like yourself she can show a dash
-of foot an' staying powers that'll take a tremendous lot of
-lickin'."
-
-This was a just criticism, as events were proving.
-Still, the pace was beginning to tell, and Joe was forced
-to ease the mare somewhat, even at the risk of losing
-sight of the quarry. The rough ridges, too, made the
-going to be precarious.
-
-Things were as bad with Master Dingo, however. The
-pursuit was hot enough to extend him to the fullest. He
-was always in view, and could not shake off the foe. As
-long as he remained in sight it was impossible to resort to
-any trick by which he might gain time or wind. The
-ordinary pace of the dingo when on the chase may be
-described as a lope. This can be kept up the live-long
-day, and thus wear down the fleetest victim. To keep
-extended at full gallop in this unwonted fashion is not at
-all to the dingo's liking, and the sooner he can reach the
-distant scrub, which is his objective, the better pleased he
-will be. The cattle dog, though not ordinarily a hunter,
-is strong and tough, and possessed of a good pair of
-bellows. He started the game with the utmost alacrity,
-and now continues it with the greatest vim and
-determination.
-
-So the chase continues, and is now but little more than
-a mile from the scrub belt which fringes the base of the
-hills. To this ark of safety, therefore, the dingo strains
-every muscle, and seizes every small advantage which his
-instinct discerns. No less strenuous is the cattle dog.
-He has the staying powers of his class, and he too runs
-to win. In this way the pursued and pursuers hurry-skurry
-over bush and brake, over stony ridges and across
-intersecting gullies.
-
-Within half a mile of the scrub the country flattens out,
-and this gives an advantage to the cattle dog, who closes
-up. Joe's horse is now in distress. The course has been
-long and rough, the pace severe, and the grass-fed steed
-is weakening, can make no headway, is indeed losing in
-the race. The lad sees this, and chevies the dog on, for
-he can plainly mark now that unless the chase be ended
-on this side of the scrub all hope must be abandoned,
-Oh, to win! A supremely glorious thing were he to
-achieve the impossible! There are chances. Lots of
-things might happen yet. On, on, good doggie! Catch
-him, Brindle! Hurrah, Brindle is closing; is surely
-creeping up!
-
-They are now about three hundred yards from the
-timber belt, and the dingo is slowly but surely being
-overhauled. Visions of the scalp as a proud trophy fill
-the boy's imagination. If only Brindle may seize his
-victim and hold him till he rides up and gives the brute
-its quietus with the stirrup iron! Brindle is now not
-more than four lengths behind, and the beasts are still a
-hundred yards from the scrub.
-
-"On then, doggie: catch him: hold him!" shouts Joe
-across the widely intervening distance. The voice is borne
-faintly to the dog's ears, and nerves him to heroic effort
-in this the final stage of the struggle, the last lap, so to
-speak. Breath is too precious to be wasted in answering
-cry, but the spurt of the hound speaks volumes: "I shall
-catch him, master, never fear: I am gaining; but ''twill be
-on the post."
-
-Both dogs, wild and domestic, are stretched to their
-fullest extent. It is the crowning burst. They are
-labouring heavily, staggering, and rolling in their stride.
-The pace is slow but hard. It is a question of endurance.
-Every ounce of strength in each body is laid under
-contribution. Once within the scrub the chances in favour
-of the dingo will immediately increase a hundredfold, for
-in doubling and dodging through the densely timbered
-belts the native dog has no equal.
-
-Only thirty yards now lie between the dingo and his
-salvation—the good thick scrub that will swallow him
-up; but—the breath of the pursuer blows hot upon him.
-Throwing his head over his shoulder for the fraction of a
-second, the desperate beast sees that only by a miracle
-can he escape. The adversary is upon his quarters, and
-in another second the brute's fangs will be buried in his
-back. It is a supreme moment. Now or never! Making
-a super-canine effort, the fear-stricken thing draws away
-from its enemy in the last dozen strides. Saved, saved!
-Alas, alas! Right at the very fringe, and within a single
-step of safety, he tumbles in a heap, and with a convulsive
-gasp rolls over and gives up the ghost: the prolonged
-exertions have broken his heart.
-
-You can work your will on the hunted one now,
-Brindle: no need to fear the vicious snap that was
-reserved for you should the worst happen. But the
-dog's instincts inform him that all power of resistance
-has gone from that mute and still form; indeed, he has
-no strength to worry should the call be made: the last
-spurt has left him without a vestige of strength. And
-so, when Joe appeared upon the scene a few minutes
-later, it was to behold the motionless dingo, and by his
-side, with lolling tongue and cavernous mouth, the panting
-and exhausted Brindle.
-
-In a moment the boy has slid from his horse, and is
-dancing a grotesque fandango, expressive of his unbounded
-joy. But, when in a calmer moment he understood the
-tragedy of it from the dingo's side of things, a feeling
-of compassion possessed him, yet joy persisted. "He's a
-noble fellow, and has given me the grandest sport I've
-ever had. I'm sorry, and yet I'm glad," quoth the lad.
-"What'll old Nosey say to this! My stars, ain't the boys
-out of it! Wonder where the poor beggars have got to.
-Hope nothing's happened to them. Poor beast!"
-apostrophising the dingo, "you made a royal struggle and
-deserved to escape, but the fates were against you. And
-you, good old Brindle; my word, you've covered yourself
-with glory, sir! Poor fellow, you are done up; can only
-blink your pleasure; can't wag even the tip of your tail.
-Good doggie, I'm proud of you!"
-
-"I'm blest if I don't skin the dingo," exclaimed he, after
-a moment's pause. "I'll keep it as a trophy. Something
-to look at in after years when I'm a grey-beard,"
-chuckled the youth. So saying, he whipped out his
-knife. Joe had never before skinned a dingo, but as he
-had performed that office on many a wallaby and 'possum
-he was fairly expert, and in a few minutes had achieved
-his object. Rolling the pelt in the approved manner,
-the youth bound it with a stout piece of cord which he
-extracted from his pocket, and fastened it to the saddle
-ring.
-
-"Next thing's to get some water. My word! I'm as
-dry as leather, an' could drink a tank dry. The animals,
-too, are clean done up, an' I'll get nothing out of them
-unless they have water. Good gracious! why—the sun's
-down, an' it'll soon be dark."
-
-Not until this moment did the young hunter realise
-his position. "Must be miles and miles off the track,"
-muttered he as he took a brief survey of his surroundings.
-"I'll have to make tracks with a vengeance! Won't do
-to be nipped here. Let's see; yes, the way back is across
-that flat for a certainty, and then over yon stony ridge.
-Beyond that we bend to the right till we reach a rocky
-creek." In this way the hunter strove to recall the
-innumerable bends and curves taken in the chase. "Ah,
-here's the moon rising: good old moon!"
-
-Joe had plenty of heart, nerve, and resource. His
-good spirits were proverbial. Yet the situation was not
-at all inviting. Fourteen miles or so from home on the
-eve of night. A complete stranger to this rough and
-trackless region, and his horse badly used up! These
-were things calculated to try the nerves and tax the
-courage of the benighted youth.
-
-He made small bones of these, however, and started
-off at a slow pace on his return. The dog had recovered
-sufficiently to drag himself along at the horse's heels.
-The boy eagerly scanned the country for signs of water
-for this would afford the greatest relief to man and beasts:
-all of whom felt an intolerable thirst. At last they dropped
-across a small pool in a stony creek, to their great
-delight.
-
-Both horse and dog drank as if they would never stop.
-This, the boy felt, would be bad for the animals, and he
-sought to stay them. He with difficulty checked the
-horse, but the dog would not quit lapping until he was
-as tight as the proverbial drum. Joe himself drank
-sparingly, and then moved onward. The dog soon began
-to vomit, and appeared to be on the verge of collapse.
-So after vain waiting and entreaty the lad was forced to
-leave it behind, in the hope that it would recover during
-the night, when he had small doubt as to its ability to
-find its way home. The horse went easier, now that she
-had assuaged her thirst. All light had vanished save
-that of the moon, which shed an uncertain light, making
-puzzling shadows on the rough ground.
-
-"It's time I was at the head of the long gully,"
-muttered the lad. "From there it's only a mile or so
-to the home track. Get up Jill, and moosey along. The
-other chaps are home by this time I expect, and they're
-wondering what's become of me."
-
-Strange to say, the long gully refused to appear, until
-it dawned on Joe at last that he was off the track. None
-but those who have experienced it can understand the
-weird feeling that possesses one in the dawn of that
-consciousness. To be in the lonely Australian bush,
-where the silence is an oppression, is something like
-being cast adrift in mid-ocean on a raft, with nothing
-in sight save the wild waste of waters.
-
-That he had lost his bearings became increasingly
-evident to the wanderer as he moved along. He became
-a prey to disquieting qualms and the creeping chill of
-apprehension. Gruesome accounts of the fate of lost
-travellers had often been related at the home fireside, and
-these memories awoke in his mind.
-
-"I'm off the track all right; still, I'm sure to cut
-across the Razorback trail; it'll lie over in that
-direction." After a pause he determined to adhere to the
-way that he had been pursuing for some little while. On
-then "breast forward." There is no semblance of a track,
-and presently the lad gets into very difficult country.
-It would be bad enough to travel through in daylight,
-but now the trouble is accentuated; yet the boy, with
-strong faith in his ultimate emergence from this chaos,
-bravely faces the situation. Up hill, down dale,
-across gullies, forcing the patches of scrub, slithering
-down ridges, going on hands and knees, ever and
-anon, to feel for the hoof-prints on what appeared
-to be the longed-for track—an unceasing march goes on.
-
-At last the mare, completely done up, comes to grief
-over a tree root, and tumbles to mother earth. The
-rider rises, unhurt; not so the mare, who has strained
-her fetlock. What is to be done now? It is a serious
-mischance, and the boy feels the gravity of the situation.
-The only thing to be done is to relieve his steed of
-saddle and bridle, cache his accoutrements, and trudge
-along on foot.
-
-"Might have been worse," sighed the philosophic lad.
-"Poor Jill! I don't like leaving you; but it won't be
-for long, my beauty. Your master will send some one
-to look after you to-morrow. To-morrow!—Why, it
-must be past midnight now! Good-bye, Jill."
-
-On speeds the gallant youth, whistling and singing
-snatches as he tramps the interminable bush. "Might
-be worse," he reiterates in thought. There's a chill in
-the midnight air, and the walk will warm him nicely.
-On, then, through the still hours! Not even the hollow
-note of the night-owl or the familiar thump made by
-the feeding marsupial breaks the monotony of silence.
-No sound, indeed, save the crunching of the traveller's
-boots on the rough ground. How long drawn out the
-day has been. It seems an eternity since he dowsed
-Tom and Sandy on the bedroom floor. Lucky beggars,
-they are snug and sound under the blankets, dreaming
-the happy dreams of youth; while he, Joe Blain, is
-tramp, tramp, tramping. At length the thought of his
-comrades' sweet repose fills him with longing for rest and
-sleep.
-
-"How long ago it is since I broke my fast? Must
-be eight, ten, twelve hours; yes, twelve mortal hours!
-Eat! Oh, for a slice of damper and salt junk! That
-were a feed if you like. Puddings, tarts, cakes! Bah!
-Gimme a slice (thick) of Nosey's damper, an' a slab of
-that corn-beef."
-
-What a sinking seems to fill his being! How heavy
-his boots have grown! How steep those everlasting
-ridges have become! How lovely to crouch down on
-that patch of bracken—for five minutes only! He must
-stop and rest awhile; not to lie and sleep: just to get
-his wind and ease his tired limbs. Shall he——? But
-no! he must first cut the track—then! His limbs are
-trembling; he must not stand still, or he will fall. On,
-on—to the station track! Onward, then, creeps the
-tottering, stumbling lad. Whistle and song have long
-ceased. Fatigue reigns supreme, and sheer weariness
-confuses his brain, and bears heavily on will. Mechanically
-now, the dear lad staggers over the pathless waste.
-
-But see! Yes, there is a change. What is that line
-ahead? Is it on the ground or in the air? It rises and
-falls in the moonlight, but still persists. The ground, too,
-is getting smoother. The ridges have disappeared.
-Hurrah! Is not this the end? A few steps more now,
-and—the station track!
-
-On trudges the lost boy with rising hope. But, alas! the
-line thickens, darkens, deepens, until it stands out
-solid, an impregnable scrub. How weird it all is; how
-awful! In a moment the benighted lad is stripped of
-hope. He is frightened beyond words. With a momentary
-strength born of despair the wretched youth coasts
-the dismal scrub, seeking an opening in vain. Suddenly
-he stumbles over a soft, dark mass, and falls to the
-ground. Putting out a hand instinctively, he touches
-the substance. Great Cæsar, it is the dingo! Yes, it
-has happened to poor Joe Blain as it has to many a one
-more experienced in the ways of the bush—he has
-circled!
-
-This shock is the last blow. Nature is drained of her
-resources and can hold out no longer. The lad sinks
-back into a half-swoon, which presently merges into
-a dreamless sleep.
-
-.. vspace:: 1
-
-.. class:: center white-space-pre-line
-
- \* \* \* \* \*
-
-.. vspace:: 1
-
-"Joe, old fellow, wake up! Wake up, I say; Joe—Joe—d'ye
-hear?"
-
-"W-w-w-what is it? Drat you, lemme lone. 'Snot
-mornin'. There's goo-good fler, so s-s-sleep——"
-
-Joe Blain, eyes sealed, dead with sleep, rolls over on
-the ground, and never was any creature more gently
-rocked in the arms of Morpheus than he.
-
-Another voice now breaks the silence, sharp and
-penetrating.
-
-"Hi! hi! there, you sleepy lubber. Are ye going to
-lie there all day? Rouse up, laddie!"
-
-This imperative speech was accompanied by vigorous
-shakings and rollings.
-
-"Well, well," grunted the half-awakened boy, "sounds
-like Mr. M'Intyre's voice. Never knew him to come
-into the room be-before. Wish they'd leave us alone.
-Can't open"—and the next moment Joe had relapsed
-into sleep. Only for a moment, though. The next he
-was taken neck and crop, lifted to his feet, and shaken
-violently, what time a voice rasped his ear drum: "Wake
-up, wake up, ye young Rip Van Winkle!"
-
-Opening his eyes, the dazed Joe starts at the unwonted
-scene. He is not in his bedroom, then! What on earth
-has happened? Who are these that surround him?
-Why—he's in the bush! And then the truth dawns
-upon the weary and weakened lad; he was really lost,
-and—thank God he is found!
-
-He greets the squatter with a wan smile, and, with the
-grace characteristic of the boy, begins to thank him.
-But Mr. M'Intyre, patting him affectionately on the
-back while supporting him with his arm, extracts the
-cork of a pocket flask with his teeth, and puts it to the
-lad's mouth.
-
-"Tak' a pu' at this, ma laddie; it'll revive ye wonderfu'."
-
-The brandy worked wonders on the boy, so unaccustomed
-to it.
-
-"We—we ran the dingo down, sir—Jill and Brin—why,
-here's ole Brindle! Left him at the water-hole; too sick
-to follow. The horse too——"
-
-"Horse's all right, Joe. We picked her up at the
-water-hole, where we'll leave her for a few days, as she's
-limping badly. Can you sit on the saddle before me?" Joe
-is sure he can, and no time is lost in starting
-homewards. M'Intyre, to whom the country was an open
-book, knew a short cut that would take them home
-in ten miles.
-
-During the ride Joe recited his experiences to the
-squatter, who in return related how Willie had picked
-up the tracks, sighting first the horse and then the dog,
-and followed the trail till they came upon the sleeping
-lad.
-
-It was a weary but not unhappy boy who reached the
-homestead at length. The household, duly apprised
-by Willy, who had ridden on ahead, were in readiness
-to cheer the conquering hero.
-
-
-
-
-
-.. vspace:: 4
-
-.. _`CONCERNING WILD HORSES`:
-
-.. class:: center large bold
-
- CHAPTER XIX
-
-
-.. class:: center medium bold
-
- CONCERNING WILD HORSES
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-..
-
- | "Now welcome, welcome, master mine,
- | Thrice welcome to the noble chase:
- | Nor earthly sport, nor sport divine,
- | Can take such honourable place."
- | *Ballad of the Wild Huntsmen.*
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-"Where's Floss and Jeannie, Harry? Don't see 'em in
-the yard this morning."
-
-"No, sir, they didn't come in with the others."
-
-"Hoo's that, mon?"
-
-"I harsk'd Jacky about 'em when he yarded the others,
-an' he said they wasn't with the rest. Too lazy, I bet, to
-look after 'em."
-
-"But I dinna see Tallboy or Dolly, eyther," said the
-squatter as he peered through the rails at the horses.
-
-"I speck they're with the mares down by the dam, or
-p'raps campin' on the box ridge."
-
-"Weel, see that they're no missed the morn. Here
-you, Jacky," to the black boy; "come along here."
-
-"What's matter, Boss?"
-
-"What for you bin no yard all yarraman?"[#]
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-.. class:: noindent small
-
-[#] Yarraman—native name for horse.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-"Bail me see some, Boss."
-
-"You bin getting lazy. I'll hae to gie you a taste o'
-the stock whip."
-
-"Me no 'fraid you, Boss," replied the black with a grin.
-"You not like my ole boss, Cap'n White. Him murry
-quick with whip. Sandy bin tellin' me you only gammon."
-
-"See that you drive in every hoof to-morrow morning,
-or, Sandy or no Sandy, ye'll get a surprise, my boy."
-
-"I cam across some brumby tracks yesterday aifternoon
-in the springers' paddock," continued the squatter
-to Harry, the head stockman. "Meant to hae spoken
-aboot it afore."
-
-"They're a rare nuisance, they brutes! There maun
-be a gap in the dog-leg fence at the far side for 'em to
-ha'e got in. You'd better tak' Jacky and Denny at once,
-and mak' the fence secure. That pack o' rubbage'll be
-doing a lot o' mischief among the springers wi' their
-galloping. Ye'd better go across by the horse-paddock,
-an' see if ye can get a sicht o' the mares. It's almost as
-near as the other track."
-
-"All right, Boss. Jacky, you go to Ah Fat an' tell 'im
-to put up some grub. Git the billy an' tots, an' bring 'em
-along. Tell Denny I want 'im. He's working in the
-garden."
-
-"Oh, I say," bawling after the retreating boy; "tell
-Denny to git the small cross-cut, an' a couple o' tommies,
-an' a bit o' wire to do the mendin' with. Slither away,
-now, ye son of a black buck!"
-
-In a few minutes the men are on their way through
-the horse-paddock to the slip-rails in the far corner, to
-carry on the repairing work in the springers' enclosure.
-
-It may be explained to the uninitiated that the horse-paddock
-is that nearest the homestead, where the station
-horses in use are kept; a larger or smaller mob according
-to requirements. These are yarded at daylight every
-morning. When the horses required for the day's work
-are selected the balance are turned loose for the day.
-The springers' paddock, reserved for the breeding cows,
-was a large one; one of the best on the run, in fact.
-The men as they rode along kept a sharp look-out for
-the missing steeds. Separating as they neared the dam—which
-was a large sheet of water backing up in the gullies
-for a mile or so—they rode on either side, coming
-together at the box-tree ridge where the slip-rails were
-located. No sign of the horses!
-
-"Strange, chaps! Wonder where they can be. Floss
-an' Dolly are fair terrors for hidin'. But—hello! there's
-the slip-rails down!"
-
-Sure enough, the two topmost rails were down. Who
-could have done it?
-
-The mystery is soon solved; the ground on the outside
-being trampled with horse hoofs. It told its tale of cause
-and effect quickly enough to these bushmen.
-
-"The blessed brumbies hev got in an' coaxed 'em out,
-sure enough. It's the warrigal's[#] mob for a quid. Fifty
-of 'em, if there's a hoof.
-
-
-[#] Warrigal—wild, savage; applied indifferently by the natives to
-animals and men.
-
-
-"How d'yer think they horses got the rails down, Harry?"
-
-The speaker was Denny Kineavy, who was a new chum
-at this kind of work.
-
-"Why, it's the ole warrigal's work o' course. Trust 'im fur
-findin' out a way o' gettin' up a flirt with the ladies. He's
-the cutest cuss in Australia, bar none. Full o' blood he
-is too. New Warrior strain outer a great arab mare of
-Kurnel Dumaresque. I know 'im well, fur I was with
-Captain White just after he'd bought both dam an' foal
-from the ole Kurnel; or rather, I should say, Dumaresque
-swopped 'em fur a stud Hereford 'e was terribly struck on.
-
-"Yes; he was allus a wild un. My word, you should
-'a' seen 'im as a yearling! Allus leadin' the other
-youngsters into mischief; breakin' into the lucem paddocks,
-an' chasin' the dorgs till they was in mortial terror of 'im;
-gettin' mad fits among the horses; kickin' an' squealin'
-an' chiveyin' em', till one day the Captain gits in a
-towerin' rage an' says to me an' one-eyed Bob, who was
-workin' fur 'im then: 'Run in that dad-busted, bloomin'
-brute an' fix 'im; it's the only way ter take the divvil
-outer 'im.'
-
-"You see, 'e was a grand, upstandin' beast as a colt, an'
-the Captain wunst thought to have 'im fur stud purposes,
-fur all 'e was a mix breed; but 'e soon seed that was
-outer the question.
-
-"Well, as I was sayin', the Captain orders me an'
-one-eyed Bob to yard 'im. 'Twarn't no easy job nuther, I
-tell you; for the brute soon cottoned what we was up
-to. At larst, after a lot of trouble, we yards 'im, and
-with 'im a couple o' colts an' a lot er fillies. Bob threw
-the lasso a dozen times afore 'e noosed 'im, cause 'e kept
-dodgin' in an' out among the fillies. It was the deuce's
-own job to separate 'em.
-
-"At larst, I say, Bob fixed 'im, an' didn't 'e perform.
-Howe'er, Bob 'olds 'im, an' I gits 'old of the slack to give
-a turn round the post, so's ter bring 'im up. But all of
-a suddent 'e makes a mad rush at Bob, sendin' 'im
-sprawlin' with three ribs broke; whisks the rope outer
-my hands, an' streaked fur the slip-rails—six on 'em
-there wor—an' by 'evans! jumps like a cat at 'em;
-comin' down with 'is belly on top, smashin' the rail, but
-fallin' on the outside; never, of course, breakin' 'is bloomin'
-neck—an' galloped orf like mad.
-
-"Must 'a' bin red mad sure enuff, fur 'e broke through
-the wire fence the Cap had round 'is 'orse-paddock; and
-that's the larst we seen of 'im fur months.
-
-"Then one day I was on the out station, lookin' after
-some steers, when I come acrost 'im in a mob of
-brumbies he'd chummed up with. 'E was 'aving a pretty
-rough time of it, I could see; fur there was a couple o'
-stallions in the mob as wasn't agreeable fur 'is company
-in the 'arem; an that's 'ow we come ter git 'im a few years
-after, I 'spect."
-
-"Thin you did git hould iv th' grey divvil?" exclaimed
-Denny.
-
-"Yes; we got 'im all right. But, look here, chaps, no
-time's to be lost. These beggars may be still in the
-paddock. If not, they've got out the way they came in, an'
-are 'eadin' fur the ranges. We'll cut across to the north
-end where the fence crosses Rocky Crick. I 'spect that's
-where they've broken in. It looked a bit shaky a fortni't
-ago, as I come by. I don't think they've got in at the
-dog-leg end, that the Boss spoke about. Anyhow, we'll
-try the Crick fust."
-
-A sharp ride of about four miles brought the men to
-the spot indicated by Harry. It was a rocky bit of
-country, and sure enough they found the "shaky" post
-and rails lying on the ground. The immediate cause of
-this was a big limb of a dry stringy-bark tree, which had
-fallen upon the weak spot and smashed it down. The
-horse tracks about the spot showed conclusively that the
-mob had gone in and out by this means.
-
-According to Jacky, the black boy, the inward tracks
-were about three days old; the outward, a few hours.
-Without doubt, the brumbies had "nosed" the rails to
-which the mares had been attracted by their neighings,
-early in the night. Then in the dawning of the morning
-they had moved out to one of their haunts in the
-ranges.
-
-"The only thing now is to get back an' tell the Boss.
-'E'll be mad when he knows, you bet; thinks no end o'
-Floss an' Jeannie. Put up the rails, boys, quick an'
-lively." In a few minutes the men had fixed up the
-broken panels securely, and then rode homewards.
-
-"Saay, Harry, me bhoy, how'd yees yard th' ould stag,
-as ye was sayin' when ye was talkin' forninst th'
-slip-raales?
-
-"Wasn't an old stag then, an' isn't now, fur that matter,
-the brute's in 'is prime yet. Let's see, 'e's risin' 'leven
-now, an' we got 'im just afore I left the Captain fur
-the Boss here. Lemme think. Yes, it's just over five
-year ago; he'd be about six, then. Fur all his tricks,
-the two stallions had driven 'im off their beat. 'E'd got
-a couple o' mares, though, an' kep' 'em in the range
-country on the out-station; but it was all of an accident
-that we got 'im.
-
-"One day me an' the Captain was ridin' through the
-run, havin' a good look at the stock; fur we had a
-notion of cuttin' out a mob o' fats. Well, as I was
-sayin', we was ridin' along the back part of the run,
-an' we came acrost a couple o' brumbies, each with a
-foal. 'Stead o' scootin', as they does in giniral, the mares
-galloped in a circle, but didn't clear.
-
-"'It's mighty strange,' ses the Captain. 'What are
-they 'angin' about fur, an' where's their mate? Never
-seed 'em parted afore.' 'It is strange,' ses I; 'an' there's
-only one thing to account fur it, an' that is the cove's
-about sumwheres 'andy.'
-
-"We moved on to a rocky gully that opens out on
-to a big plain. At one place a log fence runs acrost
-to keep the stock in. Bymby we comes plump onter
-it, an', great gosh alive! if there weren't the grey. 'E
-seed us as soon as we spotted 'im, an' set up a great
-squealin' an' pawin', but cuddn't get away. There 'e
-was, like a bandicoot in a V-trap. 'E was caught by the
-off hind-leg, between two big logs that lay clost
-together. 'E was jammed tight enough. Wunder was
-'e didn't break a leg.
-
-"When the Cap saw the fix 'e was in, didn't 'e just cuss
-fur joy. Then 'e sends me back to the hut, about two
-mile away, fur ropes, an' ole Jack the keeper. Well, I
-streaked fur the hut, you bet, an' was there less'n no time.
-Soon me an' Jack, with two green 'ide lassoes an' an
-'emp one, also a axe, was on the spot.
-
-"When the 'orse sees the ropes 'e yelled, an' roared,
-an' pawed, an' snapped 'is teeth, fur all the world like a
-trapt dingo. An', wud you believe it? *the blarmy mares
-hadn't follered us up*! There they was just ahind us,
-whinneying and screamin'; their way o' swearing an'
-cussin' I s'pose. Wish-I-may-die if we didn't have to
-put the stock whip on 'em to roust 'em away.
-
-"'How are yer goin' ter manage 'im,' ses I to the Cap
-when I comes up with the things.
-
-"'I'll soon let yer see,' ses 'e. 'Fust of all we'll pass
-a rope round 'is free 'ind-leg well up on to the shank.
-Then we'll put another on the front fetlock an' acrost 'is
-flanks.'
-
-"Well, it took us a goodish bit to fix 'im up. I forgot
-ter say that we tied the third rope round 'is neck, an'
-that was no easy job, fur every time the Cap threw the
-lasso he'd dodge it with 'is 'ed like a fightin' kangaroo.
-But, ter make a long story short, when we'd roped 'im, we
-levered one of the logs with saplin's so's ter git 'is other
-leg free. Then, didn't 'e play up! But by the time we'd
-given 'im arf a dozen falls, an' two o' them riglar croppers,
-'e seed it was no use, throws up the sponge, an' comes
-along quietly.
-
-"We didn't give 'im any charnse, you bet, as 'e was
-such a sly demon. So we got 'im ter the stockyard at the
-'ead station, a matter o' thirteen mile or so. We put 'im
-in the crush fust, then got a 'evvy 'alter on 'im, an' tied
-it to 'is front off leg so's 'e cuddent jump; in that way
-we fixed 'im fur the night.
-
-"Early nex' morning, just as I was thinkin' o' gittin'
-up, there comes a tremenjious 'ammerin' an' bangin' at
-the door, shoutin' out sumthin' I cuddent understand.
-I jumps up an' opens the door, an' there was ole Jack
-singin' out an' makin' a great fluster.
-
-"'What in thunder's the matter, Jack?' ses I.
-
-"'Warrigal's gone!' ses 'e, all tremblin' like. 'Cleared
-right out in the night.'
-
-"Off I rushes ter the yards, an' sure enuff, the beast
-had cleared; yet the rails was up.
-
-"''Ow the dickens 'e got out, Jack?' ses I, lookin'
-round. Presently I comes ter the slip-rails, an' soon spots
-'ow 'e done it. I'm blest if the ole cuss didn't lay down
-ter it at the rails an' 'riggled 'is way out sideways. You
-cud see the ground all tore up by 'is 'oofs as 'e inched 'is
-way out. There was a knot at the lower side o' the rail,
-an' it was covered with 'air an' blood, which shows what
-a tight squeeze it was."
-
-"But 'ow the blazes did he gat out iv th' pathock whin
-he was knee-haltered?"
-
-"Like enuff 'e worked 'is 'edstall off as 'e 'riggled
-through. We thought we'd made it tight enuff fur
-anythin'. Anyways 'e cleared, an', what's more, 'e an' the
-mares moved off the run an' wasn't 'eard of fur long, then
-'e was found bossin' a mob on Bullaroi."
-
-By this time the men had reached the homestead.
-Leaving the others at the stockyard, Harry proceeded to
-the house to break the bad news to the owner.
-
-The squatter was greatly put out by the turn the
-affair had taken. Two of the horses were brood mares
-on which he set a high value, and for which he had given
-a big price. They were full of breeding, having the
-famed Gemma di Vergi strain on the sire's side. The
-occurrence was no less than a calamity in more ways
-than one.
-
-Their location was in difficult country, and with such
-a rogue as the grey outlaw to lead and direct, the job
-of rescue seemed by no means easy or certain. Mr. M'Intyre,
-however, was determined to regain his mares,
-and at the same time to capture or destroy that equine
-demon. One thing in his favour was the fact that in
-midsummer there was a scarcity of water in the ranges,
-and their run, for a while, at any rate, must be in and
-about the foot-hills.
-
-As was usual in those days, the neighbouring station-holders
-were invited to join in the brumby hunt, which
-is, as a rule, the most exciting, and, at times the most
-dangerous, sport that Australia can furnish, keenly
-relished by bushmen.
-
-The brumby is no more a native Australian horse than
-the mustang is a native American horse; that is to say,
-it is not indigenous to the country. Brumbies are the
-descendants of imported horses which have escaped into
-the bush and bred there.
-
-When Australian settlements were confined to the
-barest fringe of the continent, it was very common for
-stock, both horses and cattle, to stray from the settled
-areas into the great wilderness beyond.
-
-An historic illustration is to be found in the genesis
-of colonial expansion. When the first expedition sailed
-from England, not only were officials, soldiers, and
-convicts shipped; but also an assortment of domestic
-animals to furnish the requirements of the penal colony
-proposed to be established on the shores of Botany Bay.
-
-As the cattle in the new settlements increased, many
-beasts strayed beyond the borders of the occupied country
-to the interior forests and plains; and before very long
-"brumbies" (wild horses) and "scrubbers" (wild cattle)
-covered large tracts, often to the great annoyance of the
-advancing line of settlers.
-
-
-
-
-
-.. vspace:: 4
-
-.. _`THE BRUMBY HUNT`:
-
-.. class:: center large bold
-
- CHAPTER XX
-
-
-.. class:: center medium bold
-
- THE BRUMBY HUNT
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-..
-
- | "Like a wintry shore that the waters ride o'er,
- | All the lowlands are filling with sound;
- | For swiftly we gain where the mobs of the plain
- | Like a tempest are tearing the ground!
- | And we'll follow them hard to the rails of the yard,
- | Over gulches and mountain-tops grey,
- | Where the beat and the beat of our swift horses' feet
- | Will die with the echoes away."
- | HENRY KENDALL.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-"How many are coming to the hunt to-morrow, dad?"
-
-"About a score all told, my son. That is," continued the
-speaker somewhat inconsequently, "if they a' turn up."
-
-"Gills coming, ain't they?"
-
-"Yes; the old man, son, and ane o' the stockmen'll
-be here this evening, so as to be ready for the early stairt
-the morn's morn. That reminds me, I've no telt your
-mother. They'll be here aboot supper-time."
-
-"Captain White coming, I s'pose?"
-
-"If he's above ground. We'd best coont 'em up.
-Get a bit o' paper, Saundy, and pit doon the names.
-Then we'll ken for sure."
-
-"Ready, father."
-
-"Pit doon oor ain lot first. Mysel', you, Hairry, the
-blacks, Denny, the bullock driver, the ration carrier,
-Redgate and Broon from the oot-station, Joe, Tom,
-N-eville—I suppose. Hoo mony's that?"
-
-"Thirteen."
-
-"So mony's that? At that rate we'll hae ower a score.
-Weel, that's a' the better. Let's see, noo: pit doun the
-Gill lot, that's three more. Then there's Captain White.
-Old Dumaresque says he'll be along, but I dinna reckon
-on him, so you needna coont him in. White's going to
-bring twa men wi' him. And, m-yes, there's Davison
-o' the bank, and Dickson the lawyer. Told 'em the
-other day I'd let 'em know. They'll need to be here
-the nicht, too. We'd better send Willy in wi' a message
-at once. That's a' noo I think. Hoo mony does that
-tot up?"
-
-"Twenty-one not counting the Colonel."
-
-"Weel, I hope they'll turn up, that's a'."
-
-"I say, father, could Jimmy Flynn an' Yellow Billy come?"
-
-"Eh? Weel, I—I dinna ken. Can they ride?"
-
-"Ride? Listen to him! Why, Yellow Billy's the boss
-rider among the boys. You know his steer——"
-
-"Ah weel," said Mr. M'Intyre laughingly, "we'll hae
-'em. Send word by the boy."
-
-Accordingly, the invitation was taken to the four
-Tareelians. Gill and party turned up about dark, and
-shortly after them the town lot, all of whom were
-welcomed by their hospitable host.
-
-M'Intyre had made extensive preparations for the
-hunt. There are various methods for trapping wild
-horses. The one in vogue at Bullaroi and the surrounding
-stations was that called the "wing" trap. This
-consists, first of all, in determining the usual brumby
-run. The next work, and an important one, is the
-building of yards in a locality specially selected, the
-object being to get as near as possible to the natural
-line of the horses' travel when stampeded.
-
-The yards must be well constructed, with a high, strong
-fence, having an open mouth so wide as to give the
-hunted steed no suspicion of running into a trap. The
-upper and nether lips of this mouth, after running
-parallel a short distance, gradually converge to the
-throat, as it were, finally meeting, and forming a
-cul-de-sac.
-
-From the mouth extremity a vast roll of canvas, or,
-rather, calico strips about six inches wide, is made fast
-to one of the fence terminals, and from there, at a slight
-outward angle, is often taken for miles, being secured at
-intervals to trees or stakes which are driven into the
-ground. The wing is fixed breast high. This, to the
-inexperienced, seems but a flimsy obstacle; but the calico
-barrier, frail as it appears, acts as an effectual boundary.
-Brumbies are both timid and suspicious, and very rarely
-charge a wing. When driven on to one they wheel
-either to right or left, with never a thought of breaking
-through or jumping it.
-
-The strategy of the "drive" is to station men at
-intervals from the terminal point of the wing; each
-man is armed with a heavy stock whip, a cruel enough
-weapon in the hands of an adept. Others are left at
-the trap-yard mouth on the outward side, concealed as
-a rule, and ready to dart out and head the mob should
-it scent danger when nearing the opening. The remainder
-of the men proceed to locate and enflank the mob, and
-drive them in the given direction. This, often, is a very
-difficult matter, and sometimes the best laid scheme is
-defeated by a determined and irresistible rush of the mob
-in the teeth of their assailants.
-
-Premising the "round up" and drive to be successful
-as far as the wing, the wing supports wheel them in the
-right direction; then close in and pass to the outside to
-strengthen the flank men, who now form a parallel line
-with the racing brumbies. Thus, with the calico wing
-on one side, a living, whip-cracking, yelling cordon on
-the other, and a harrying force behind, the spectacle is
-as brilliant and as exciting as Australia can furnish in
-the line of sport.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-At sunrise, on a glorious morning in mid January, the
-Bullaroi party, well mounted, wend their way to the
-appointed rendezvous, from whence the amalgamated
-forces are to proceed to the brumby grounds.
-
-The men and boys are variously mounted. All the
-horses, however, are used to stock work; some of them,
-within certain limits, being as intelligent as the men who
-bestride them. Many of them are what is known as
-"camp horses"; that is, horses trained for mustering and
-cutting out work on the cattle camp. Quick to wheel,
-to dodge, to out-manoeuvre the charging bullock, and even
-to divine the enemy's intention; skilful in wedging
-through a pack; ready to advance backwards, so to
-speak, and to use heels when head and shoulders unavail;
-needing scarce any control, and with a keen zest for the
-work, the camp horse is an invaluable auxiliary on a
-cattle run.
-
-Both M'Intyre and Gill were specially well mounted
-on favourites of the above-named variety. The price of
-each was regarded by its rider as beyond rubies. Both
-men were strong-boned, grizzled, and expert bushmen,
-with not a superfluous ounce of flesh on their bodies.
-Neville was of the company. He had learned many
-things in the intervening days; the first, and most
-essential, was that England could furnish no precedent
-to Australia in things that are peculiar to station life.
-He gradually dropped his pet phrase, "The way we do
-things in England." The scales had fallen from his eyes
-concerning many things "Colonial."
-
-Mr. M'Intyre, who liked him, paid him no little
-attention. He rode out on the run with him, giving
-common-sense hints in his dry way, from time to time,
-which his guest was ready enough to take. He learned to
-ride fairly well, and, after many mortifying failures, could
-crack a stock whip without entangling it in the horse's legs.
-
-Mr. M'Intyre was dubious about Neville going. The
-Englishman, however, was so set on joining the cavalcade
-that to object seemed discourtesy. All hints of the
-danger attached to this expedition were scouted. So, on
-this eventful morning, mounted on his host's favourite
-hack, Curlew, the visitor formed one of the company.
-
-The others need no description. With spirits mounting
-high in anticipation they pass over open plain, through
-brigalow scrub, along box ridges, and across country on a
-ten-mile spin to a spot on Rocky Creek called the Glen—a
-place already decided upon. As there was no knowing
-to what extent the powers of both men and horses would
-be tried during the day, the journey was made at a
-moderate speed, so as to spare them for the arduous task
-of the drive.
-
-The pals, on this occasion six in number, were
-compelled to curb their tendencies to fun and frolic; though
-there were some very tempting and well-nigh irresistible
-inducements to spurts as the game rose or
-scudded before them. Inviting jumps, too, lured them;
-but high jump or low jump, kangaroo or emu, charm
-they never so wisely, are resisted.
-
-But their tongues are uncurbed. How they did chatter,
-to be sure! It did the older members good to hear their
-gay and joyous prattle. Their views of life in general, and
-brumby hunting in particular, were novel and unconventional.
-They settled everything touching the day's
-proceedings, from the place of the "find" to the number
-yarded. All that the warrigal might do, and all that
-they would positively do to circumvent him, together
-with many other things, were discussed with the
-self-confidence of youth.
-
-In due time the Glen is reached, and the Bullaroi party
-find that they are first upon the scene.
-
-"Off saddles all o' you. Must ease the horses a' we
-can. Saundy, you and the boys mak a fire and get the
-billy going. Denny, bring the tucker-bag from the
-pack-saddle. Mr. Neville, what in the name of common-sense
-are ye tying yure nag to that dead tree for?"
-
-"What's wrong with it, sir?"
-
-"What's richt wi' it, mon?"
-
-"I—I—don't know what you mean."
-
-"Boss means yer a fool ter tie the moke up in the
-blazing sun," said Harry in an undertone, as he passed by
-the new chum. "Put 'im under a shade tree same as the
-rest of us."
-
-"Beg pardon, yes—er—I see," answered he, mortified
-for a moment, as he moved from the leafless trunk to
-a clump of currajongs, whose thick foliage effectually
-screened the sun's rays.
-
-"Wot sort of a bloke's that 'ere cove?" asked Jimmy
-Flynn of Tom Hawkins. "He's a regular greeny, ain't he?"
-
-"Oh, a good enough sort!" replied Tom. "He's new,
-but he's a learner. He picks up pretty fast, considering.
-You should 'a' seen him when he came here first; my
-word, he was a greenhorn then!"
-
-"Here's the Captain, father!" sang out Sandy, as three
-men cantered up the track.
-
-"Guid-day, White! Guid-day, men! Glad to see you.
-Off saddle and join us in a tot o' tea and a bite."
-
-"Good-day, M'Intyre! By George! you've got quite a
-troop, man. Day, Dickson! Day, Davidson! What on
-earth do you townies think you're going to do? Stand
-a good chance, Dickson, of cracking your skull and
-spilling all that legal soph—I mean lore, that's bottled up
-there. Oh, I say, Mac, old Dumaresque's coming along,"
-rattled on the Captain.
-
-"I'll believe it when I see him, no' afore. The auld
-boy's better at hame when this wark's on."
-
-"Well, all I know is that he sent me word last night
-by one of the men, and cautioned me to be sure and tell
-you."
-
-"If he comes he comes, and if he disna he'll no' be
-much missed. Noo, boys, bring in the tea!"
-
-"By Jove! M'Intyre, your wife's a sensible woman:
-this is the sort of grub to work on. Last month I was
-over at the Glenormiston mustering. De Little asked me
-to join him at midday after a heavy morning's work, and
-as I was as hungry as ten hunters I readily consented.
-What d'ye think he produced from his tucker-bag?
-Some lettuce sandwiches, no less; and cream puffs! De
-Little's as good as gold, you know, so I couldn't refuse to
-take some; but, I give you my word, I strolled over to his
-men as soon as I could get away decently, and got a slice
-of beef and a chunk of damper."
-
-"Hoo's De Little getting on?"
-
-"Well, between you and me and the billy-can, he's no
-more cut out for a squatter than for an archangel.
-Pity he ever left London. He'd be more at home in
-Rotten Row. Hello! here's the old Colonel and two
-boys. Seeing will dissipate even your scepticism, Mac."
-
-Dumaresque was a choleric but plucky old superannuated
-Indian officer, who on his retirement came over
-to Australia and purchased a small cattle run, living
-bachelor fashion. He was now quite old, yet fancied
-himself equal to any toil. To hint at his age infirmities
-was to raise a very sirocco of indignant language.
-
-"Hello, Cornel! wha'd 'a' thocht that you——"
-
-"Stop, M'Intyre, stop! I know right well, sir, what
-you are going to remark. If you, sir, look upon a bit of
-a brumby hunt as an extraordinary thing, let me inform
-you that to me 'tis but a trifle. Why, man, when I was
-stationed on the northern frontier——"
-
-"Yes, yes, Dumaresque," broke in the Captain, who
-knew the other's weakness, "we're all delighted to see
-you. Just in time for a pannikin of tea and a mouthful.
-Here you, Dick, Tom, Harry, one of you, take the
-Colonel's horse."
-
-A few minutes later the men filed out of the Glen, and
-proceeded along the creek to a spur in the foot-hills.
-Then they left the water-shed, crossing the spur, from
-which they continued up a grassy valley which extended
-nearly three miles before it broadened out into an open
-plain, lightly timbered at the upper or ridge side, but
-perfectly treeless at its other extremity.
-
-Two-thirds of the way up the valley, in a belt of box
-trees, was the trap-yard. The trap mouth, before
-described, extended across the belt to the outermost verge.
-
-After a short inspection of the yard the calico wing
-was fixed. It was attached to the terminal post of the
-yard mouth, nearest to the ridge that skirted the valley
-on the top side. From thence it was taken in a straight
-line on the ridge side of the valley, until the plain was
-reached. From this point, inclining slighting outward and
-made fast at short intervals, it extended right across the
-plain, ending in a clump of iron-barks.
-
-"Noo, men, ye'll jist hae a wee bit grub and then we'll
-stairt."
-
-The meal was soon dispatched, and a short consultation
-ensued. M'Intyre apportioned the men their places. Six,
-under Gill, were located in the iron-bark clump. Five
-others were sent back to the trap-yard, two miles distant,
-to assigned duty there. The remaining sixteen were to
-execute the task of first "feeling" the enemy; then of
-outflanking them; and, finally, directing the stampede.
-
-
-
-
-
-.. vspace:: 4
-
-.. _`THE WARRIGAL'S STRATEGY`:
-
-.. class:: center large bold
-
- CHAPTER XXI
-
-
-.. class:: center medium bold
-
- THE WARRIGAL'S STRATEGY
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-..
-
- | "Hast thou given the horse his might?
- | Hast thou clothed his neck with the quivering mane?
- |
- | \* \* \* \* \*
- |
- | The glory of his snorting is terrible.
- | He paweth in the valley and rejoiceth in his strength.
- | He goeth out to meet the armed men.
- | He mocketh at fear and is not dismayed.
- |
- | \* \* \* \* \*
- |
- | He smelleth the battle afar off:
- | The thunder of the captains, and the shouting."
- | JOB.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-"Noo, men, we'll be on the move."
-
-The leader sprang to his horse and directed him on to
-the plain.
-
-"Where do you expect to pick 'em up, Mac?"
-
-"Micht sicht them at ony minute, maybe no' for hours;
-maybe no' at a', Captain."
-
-"Willy and Jacky, you gang on aheed and keep your
-een weel peeled for signs. No sae fast, lads; mustna spoil
-the sport at the stairt. Let the blacks get weel aheed.
-We maun sicht them afore they tak alairm, or it'll be a
-hopeless stern chase."
-
-Joe, Tom, and Sandy, greatly to their delight, were
-with the "flying column." Yellow Billy was with the
-trap contingent, while Jimmy Flynn was stationed with
-Mr. Gill in the iron-bark clump. Neville, at his earnest
-request, was given a place with Mr. M'Intyre.
-
-As soon as he touched the myall country, the leader
-cautiously skirted it, until the party were well out and
-away from the range of hills that continued on the eastern
-side. He then took an inward course, and made a slant
-which carried them back to the foot-hills.
-
-So far there was neither sight nor sound of the mob, nor
-were there any indications of their presence at any recent
-date. From the range base another tack was taken, which
-brought them upon the edge of a scrub that had wedged
-itself into the plain. By this time the column had
-covered a lot of ground.
-
-"We'll fringe the timber for a while, and then, if we've
-nae luck, we'll hae to divide; half to go into the ranges,
-and the other to keep richt along the plain. Keep
-weel in, lads, we'll cut that pint," continued the leader,
-as the men moved on through the outer fringe of
-scrub; while out on the plain, which was dotted with
-rosewood and myall clumps, the black boys moved with
-lithe and stealthy movements.
-
-"Father, I hear a whistle!"
-
-"Hist, men! quiet all o' ye!"
-
-"There it's again!" exclaimed Sandy after a moment's
-silence, as a low whistle came from the plain. "That's
-Jacky's whistle, dad, sure enough. I'd know it among
-a thousand——"
-
-"A' richt, my boy. Jacky's got something. We'll
-move oot quietly and see."
-
-Wheeling to the right, the column soon arrived at the
-spot indicated by Jacky's whistle. The black boy stood
-by the side of his horse, pointing to some fresh droppings
-and to numerous hoof-tracks.
-
-"What is it, Jacky?" exclaimed Mr. M'Intyre as the
-men rode up.
-
-"Blendy brumby bin here, Boss, few minutes ago."
-
-The tracks and signs were so fresh that, as the black
-said, it was only the question of a few minutes since they
-occupied the spot.
-
-"Most fortunate we've got ahint them. They're near
-by. At ony moment we micht sicht them. Ye'll fa' into
-a doubble column, men. Captain, ye'll tak seeven men
-and I'll keep the ithers. We'll hae twa columns a hunder
-yairds apairt."
-
-In this fashion the men proceeded slowly, with a
-black boy ahead of each column as a scout, and following
-the tracks of the brumbies. As predicted, in a few minutes
-Willy held up a warning hand.
-
-The columns quickly closed up to the scouts, and their
-leaders saw, through the willow-like branches of a myall
-clump, the long-sought-for mob. The horses were standing
-close together in an expectant attitude. Their suspicions
-were aroused. Though they had not scented the wind of
-their pursuers, nevertheless, with that wonderful *something*
-so common in wild things, they *felt* the enemy's presence.
-
-The intervening distance was about three hundred
-yards. According to arrangement, each column opened
-out at its head, with the object of outflanking the horses.
-Silently the columns wheeled to the left and right sharply,
-and then moved forward. While in the act of executing
-this tactic their presence was detected, and scanned in a
-moment. Then, with a snort, or rather a fusilade of
-snorts and neighs, heads erected, manes and tails streaming,
-away flew the alarmed steeds; and in swift pursuit,
-maintaining their formation, the men followed.
-
-There was no intention of unduly alarming the brumbies,
-therefore all shoutings and stock-whip crackings were
-restrained. And now the hunters begin to feel the ardour
-of the chase, both horses and men; for so eager were the
-station horses to join in the hunt that the riders were
-obliged to take a double pull on them.
-
-Neville, in the excitement of the raid, forgot the orders,
-and broke his line, making a rush for the tail of the flying
-mob. The Captain, however, nipped his intention in the
-bud with a few red-hot expletives, ordering the Englishman
-back to his place in the line.
-
-The brumbies, when started, were about eight miles from
-the wing, and headed directly for it, going off from the jump
-with a fine burst. The wily warrigal, however, was not going
-to be run off his legs in a spurt; in a short time the
-breakneck pace is moderated, and the straggling mob close up.
-
-The horsemen hung on the flanks of the galloping steeds,
-steadying into an accommodating pace, and, as previously
-directed, making a semicircle, whose points extended
-beyond the sides of the retreating animals. The station
-mares were in the mob, capering for the moment as wildly
-as any in their company. Tallboy lagged somewhat in the
-rear. He had evidently received scant courtesy from the
-brumbies. It was observed that his heart was not in this
-matter. Had they wished, the horsemen could easily have
-cut him out of the mob.
-
-The flying steeds—about fifty, young and old—had
-covered about two-thirds of the distance to the terminal
-point of the wing, and had not once swerved from this
-direction. The men were in high glee. So far it was
-nothing more than an exhilarating gallop, and they kept
-up the formation beautifully. The horses, too, although
-the day was very hot, had not yet shown any sign of
-distress. It was a different thing with some of the hunted
-animals, however. There were some very old stock among
-the mares. The pace and the heat combined were telling
-heavily upon them, and they that rode could read.
-
-One of these was a chronic "roarer," and her distressed
-gasps were plainly heard above the thunder of the hoof.
-Two of the mares began to lag in a palpable manner,
-despite the encouraging whinneying of the stallion, as he
-turned from side to side with a troubled look.
-
-They who belittle the intelligence of animals, and treat
-them as lacking heart and soul, can have had little
-experience of their nature and ways. The old sheik of
-the wilderness was full of concern for his many wives.
-Love, despite all that the poets may say, is not blind; it
-is open-eyed and alert. Had he been alone the warrigal
-would have snorted at his foes with the utmost disdain, and
-led them such a dance as not all their imaginings had ever
-conceived. But, alas! some at least of his faithful ones
-would be overtaken; were even now in peril. Desertion?
-Never!
-
-Rescue! but how? Yes; he will plan, he will outwit.
-He will use strategy against strategy, and at once, by
-which he may draw these merciless foes from the weaklings
-and give them an opportunity of escape.
-
-Quickening his pace, he raced along, closely followed by
-his company—save some half-dozen of the more exhausted
-mares, who were now widely separated from their mates.
-Then, wheeling sharply, the flying squadron dashed across
-the plain towards the foot-hills in a furious gallop.
-
-Divining his altered tactics, the Captain and M'Intyre
-increased their speed, taking no notice of the hindermost
-horses, and closely watching the head and ruck of the
-flying squadron.
-
-On, on! in mad gallop, whip and spur going freely
-now, sped the hunted and the hunters; and as they
-suddenly dashed across the face of the Captain's column, it
-seemed as if nothing human could stay their flight. The
-bold Captain and his men, however, nothing daunted nor
-surprised, wheeled a little more to the left, having some
-advantage in being well out, as well as being high up on
-the brumbies' flanks.
-
-"Now, boys," cried Captain White, "head 'em, rush
-'em!" Saying which, he rode straight for the stallion's
-head—who was leading—with four men pounding at
-his heels. It was a splendid attempt to head the mob,
-and succeeded save with one exception. That exception
-was the warrigal!
-
-The bunch of men hurled themselves on the leader,
-and had he not swerved there would have been a terrific
-impact, which might have spelled disablement or death
-to more than one. When a man's blood is up in riotous
-chase he joyously challenges death in ways that chill him
-to the bone in cool blood.
-
-The grey demon, however, swerved to the right with
-tremendous speed, and the Captain crossed his course
-within a couple of feet of his stern; his only revenge
-being a savage cut with his whip across the retreating
-animal's flanks. But if the men's rush failed with the
-leader, they stopped the stampede of his immediate
-followers.
-
-Floss and Jeannie, who were hard on the heels of the
-warrigal, were intercepted and turned. The stock whips,
-cracking like a blaze of musketry, played upon the ruck
-of the confused animals in merciless fashion, scoring
-their flanks and ribs. In a few seconds they were driven,
-pell-mell, back to the line of retreat. In the meantime
-those immediately behind the mob, and those on the
-right flank, kept the balance going and together. Thus
-the defeated ones regained their fellows, discomforted,
-and not a little cowed, in their leaderless condition.
-
-And what of the warrigal?
-
-To continue the chase of him were only to knock the
-horses up in fruitless pursuit. No! he must be
-abandoned. With liberty uncurtailed let him roam the wilds,
-fancy free. The station runaways remain, as well as
-others that will be of value and service.
-
-So wisely reasoned man, but not so the warrigal.
-Foiled in his purpose, regardless of his own pursuit,
-the great equine leader wheeled in a wide circle, uttering
-the while shrill neighs to attract his consorts. 'Tis
-for naught, however, that he utters challenge to his
-enemies and appeal to his mates. The stockmen have
-ringed the mob, and now at a slower pace they continue
-the drive; the men opening out, and keeping abreast the
-leading horses.
-
-And now the iron-bark clump is near at hand. To
-this the enraged stallion gallops. The wing men, on the
-alert, watch this last manoeuvre, and line out to intercept
-him should he make for the hills. Such was not his
-intention, though; and their appearance only accelerates
-the execution of his determination, which was simply
-to regain his companions; this he did with a rush, no
-one saying nay.
-
-M'Intyre and his men were careful not to push the
-driven beasts, but were content to let them make the
-pace. And now at a swinging canter—old mares well
-up, despite all fatigue—-they struck the clump, and passed
-the point to which the wing extended. The wing men,
-joining in the cavalcade by orders of their leader, pass to
-the right flank and reinforce the drivers there.
-
-They are now within half a mile of the trap. At a
-preconcerted signal the men close up, and amid an
-unceasing fusilade of stock-whip crackings the beasts
-are hustled, the rear men flogging up the lagging ones.
-
-The calico wing acts effectually on the one side,
-allowing a strong line to form up on the other. Barring
-accidents, the hunt is as good as finished; for in a moment
-or two the horses will be entering the trap mouth.
-
-The outlaw is leading the mob in a direct line for the
-yard. But, stay! His keen eyes sight the fence. *It is
-a trap*! Past adventures flood his recollection and shape
-judgment and determination. Inside the trap, death
-or slavery! Outside, liberty!
-
-Is it too late? No! By the ashes of his fathers he
-will elude his would-be captors! His faithful spouses,
-naught, alas! will save them. Let those who dare follow
-him! Away, then!
-
-With a wild rush, when within some two hundred
-yards of the trap mouth, he turns swiftly to the right
-at a tangent, so as to head his enemies and cut away on
-the outside of the fence.
-
-The gallant grey well deserves his freedom. His
-courage, devotion, and intelligence should surely prevail
-upon the men. But the pursuers were not indulging
-in any sentiment just then, and as soon as his last tactic
-was revealed the race of interception was begun. He
-might yet have escaped, for he was full of running, but,
-alas! the unseen foe!
-
-The five men detailed at the trap mouth, were grouped
-thereat, just behind a cluster of silver wattles, ready for
-any emergency. It seemed to them that their services
-would not be required.
-
-But, see! the warrigal!
-
-There is no time to reason. In a flash they streak out
-from cover and ride straight at the flying barb. Something
-must happen. The fearful impact, narrowly escaped
-but an hour ago, occurs. There is no attempt on either
-side to avoid the issue. With a mighty bound and a
-savage snap of his teeth the warrigal flings himself at
-the foremost, bringing horse and rider down with a crash,
-both lying motionless upon the plain.
-
-At the same moment, and scarce a length behind, came
-Yellow Billy. His attempt to head the runaway was
-blocked by the impact of the steeds. Too near to swerve,
-his horse struck the leading beast on the hind-quarters
-at the moment of the crash, adding to the confusion, and
-coming down a cropper.
-
-Staggered by the violent collision, the stallion is brought
-to a sudden stop, but not to the ground. And now an
-astounding thing happens. Yellow Billy, while falling
-with his steed, to save himself from the warrigal's feet
-clutched frantically at that animal's mane, and, by a
-clever vault, to the amazement of his comrades, sprang
-upon the outlaw's back.
-
-It would be hard to say if at that particular moment
-the horse himself was cognisant of the act. The pause
-covered but the fraction of a second. With a bound he
-leaped the fallen bodies, and, there being no one in front
-to stay him, tore off in a direction that skirted the trap
-fence.
-
-
-
-
-
-.. vspace:: 4
-
-.. _`HOW YELLOW BILLY BROKE THE WARRIGAL`:
-
-.. class:: center large bold
-
- CHAPTER XXII
-
-
-.. class:: center medium bold
-
- HOW YELLOW BILLY BROKE THE WARRIGAL
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-.. class:: small
-
-"The snorting of his horses is heard from Dan:
-at the sound of the
-neighing of his strong ones the whole
-land trembleth."—JEREMIAH.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-The tragic ending of the last rush held all breaths
-for some brief moments. Such a contretemps had never
-happened before. It beat all previous experiences. The
-vanishing horse and rider seemed a wild fantasy of
-the brain, that passes like the breaking of a soap-bubble.
-There, before their very eyes, lay the slain; the victims
-of the mad charge.
-
-Several of the men dash after the desperate horse and
-his acrobatic rider. Simultaneously, a small group of
-men—among the foremost is Mr. Gill—rush to the
-fallen men and beasts.
-
-Dick Gill, his son, who lies across his horse, was
-known as a fearless and somewhat reckless rider. At
-the critical moment, with the lust of the chase upon
-him, the lad made a mad dash for the racing steed.
-To swerve him he instinctively felt would be a vain
-attempt. "I'll ride the beggar down!" With naught
-of tremor, but with a disdainful scorn of consequence,
-hawk-like he swooped upon his quarry.
-
-But, as we have seen, the outlaw had his own resolves.
-These, alas! more than defeat the object of the horseman.
-The warrigal's last hope trembled in the balance. A
-narrow gap of open space, and—liberty! This way
-then, with slap-dash speed!
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-We have already related the countervailing efforts
-to stay that rush: how that hidden horsemen flash
-from their ambush; how that one, a little in advance,
-moved to the strike with tornado-like velocity. Then
-Greek met Greek. Comes the inevitable, the sickening
-thud; and then—oblivion! Come running men who
-lift young Dick with all the gentleness of women, and
-bear him to the shade trees.
-
-Yellow Billy's horse lies stone dead with broken neck.
-Dick's, with broken back, vainly strives to rise. Its
-great brown eyes look round with painful entreaty
-that sends Harry silently to the camp for a rifle, and
-then the handsome filly joins her companion in the
-happy hunting grounds.
-
-Meanwhile, under the shade trees, Dick Gill lies,
-the image of death. An examination reveals a fractured
-forearm; while a blue-black bruise on the right temple,
-as big as a crown-piece, attests the violence of the
-blow. The general verdict is that Dick, the life
-and soul of his company, will never more crack joke,
-sing song, or join in the merry chase; and so the
-conclusion is, dead, or as good as dead—a distinction with
-a slight difference.
-
-There were two, however, who clung to some shreds of
-hope; the father of the boy and the Colonel: the latter
-with obstinacy and emphasis.
-
-"I've seen 'em on the frontier far worse than your boy,
-Gill, and get better. The lad's stunned with that dickens
-of a blow; but he'll rally directly and be as spry as ever."
-
-"Poor Dick is alive yet; of that I feel sure, even
-though I cannot detect any pulsation. What the issue
-may be, Dumaresque, neither you nor——"
-
-"Tut, tut, man! he's young, and as tough as leather.
-Neck's all right. Keep up heart, old man. I'll trot
-down to the yards and see what they're doing to the
-brumbies."
-
-With that the old officer, whose words were braver
-than his heart, strode to the yard, where all the
-others had congregated, save Joe and Sandy, who
-were in the rear-guard when the accident happened;
-and who, chilled at heart and filled with apprehension—all
-zest in sport gone—remain by the side of their
-companion.
-
-When the warrigal broke, the others of the mob were
-in full gallop, being rushed by the men. They are
-subjected to a battery of flogging whips, and swept into
-the trap-yard; down the converging sides of this they
-hustle, only to find an impasse. There they huddle, a
-compact mass of sweating, shivering, and cowed brutes.
-
-The horsemen form a line across the way of retreat,
-until half a dozen wires are stretched. The rest is a
-matter of detail which expert bushmen make small
-bones about. When all is secure the men inside cut
-out selected horses under the direction of Mr. M'Intyre,
-who, with those not actively employed in the arena,
-occupies a place on the rails. The brumbies designed
-for use are thrown and branded, etc., then haltered
-and made fast to the rails. The station runaways
-were secured early in the proceedings, which, from
-first to last, consume a couple of hours. The final
-act is one of horse massacre; all the discarded stock
-are shot down. It is cold-blooded but necessary work,
-for brumbies are rightly regarded as a pest on a run.
-
-By this time the sun is well down in the west, and
-having finished their work at the yards, the men repair
-to the camp for a bite and a drink.
-
-To their great surprise and delight they find Dick
-Gill "nather dead nor spachless," as Denny Kineavy
-put it.
-
-While his father and the boys anxiously watched him,
-hoping against hope for signs of life, the unconscious
-lad suddenly stretched his limbs and opened his eyes,
-as one just awaking from a sound sleep.
-
-The as-good-as-dead youth sat up in wonderment,
-falling back in pain and weakness the next moment.
-A wave of joy surged through Gill's heart at this
-manifestation of life. "God be thanked for His mercies!"
-he exclaimed. Putting an arm under the sick boy's
-shoulders, and carefully raising his head, he held the
-Colonel's brandy flask to his lips. "You've had a
-spill, that's' all. A bit of a knock-out. Your left
-arm is broken, and there's a nasty bruise on your
-forehead. Sip a little of this spirit; it'll brace you up."
-
-A pull at the flask revived the youth, and he pillowed
-his head on his father's arm, who laved the bruised
-head with cold water. This greatly helped in the
-work of restoration. By the time the men had finished,
-Dick was able to sit up, and expressed a desire to
-have a look at the brumbies. Beyond acute pain in
-head and arm the lad seemed but little affected. He
-enjoyed a feed with the men, and especially was he
-grateful for a pannikin of tea. Good billy tea is
-better for the tired feeling than all the grog ever
-invented.
-
-After a short consultation it was decided that Dick
-and his father, with Sandy, should proceed to a selector's
-house about three miles distant. They would be sure
-to get the loan of Mrs. Mulvaney's spring-cart, and by
-that means reach Bullaroi. This was carried out despite
-Dick's protests that he was fit to start on another brumby
-drive.
-
-What of Yellow Billy and the bolting warrigal! Have
-they been forgotten? Not by long chalks!
-
-As soon as Mr. M'Intyre had selected the horses that
-were to be saved and used, he left the other work to the
-Captain, and, accompanied by Jacky, started off on the
-tracks of the outlaw. Before long they met some of the
-pursuers returning. Their horses were knocked up, and
-they had failed to trace the runaway. "Deeficult as the
-country may be," mused Mr. M'Intyre, "Jacky's equal
-to onything in the trackin' line. It's only a maitter o'
-time when we'll run 'em doon."
-
-There was much speculation at the camp over the fate
-of the half-caste. It did not lean to pessimism, though
-jeremiads were uttered by some. The pals, who knew
-Billy's ability better than the others, had unlimited faith
-in their mate. Whatever happened to the steed, the
-boy would turn up safe and sound. The steer rider, in
-their opinion, could ride bare-back the toughest outlaw
-that ever sniffed the wind. "You'll see," said Tom
-confidently to the Captain, "Billy'll more'n hold his
-own."
-
-"Didn't youse tell us the other day thet at your gra-at
-billy-horse-ma-ale-robbery, the steer slung the yallar
-bhoy——"
-
-"Oh!" retorted Tom pettishly, "that was only——"
-
-Just then the returning men rode up. They had no
-good news to relate, but said that by Mr. M'Intyre's
-orders all were to proceed to the Glen, and if the missing
-boy was not brought in before dark they were to disperse.
-Let us now follow the fortunes, or misfortunes, of Billy.
-
-As soon as he found himself astride the warrigal, the
-yellow boy held fast with knees and hands, the stock whip
-over his shoulder trailing in a long line behind the flying
-pair. To stick on the racing horse was a comparatively
-easy thing to Billy, unless, indeed, some fiendish trick
-should unseat him. But to guide the scurrying brute,
-unbitted, unreined, were as impossible as to turn and
-check a Mont Blanc avalanche.
-
-The first instinct of the horse upon escaping from the
-trap-yard was to dismount his rider by violent means,
-but there are eager pursuers on the track—so away!
-
-He rounds the trap fence, bolts down the grassy valley
-apace, twists up a gully with a swerve that almosts
-unseats Billy, dashes into Glen Creek, and mounts the bank
-to enter a defile. The first shock over, the half-caste
-begins to realise his position. For a moment a pang of
-fear seizes him, and some of the dread possibilities of the
-ride dawn upon him. This soon yields to a different
-sensation as they rush through space.
-
-There is that in the half-wild nature of the lad which
-goes out in unconscious sympathy for the bestridden
-beast. Despite the mutual antagonism, which, after all,
-is not that of hate, there is in some way a sense of
-kinship. Wild answers to wild. Man nature comes thus
-into close gripping quarters with horse nature. There
-is no intervening saddle. Flesh mates with flesh, and
-spirit answers to spirit. Whose, then, shall be the
-victory? The strains of many generations of desert lords
-is in the quadruped. But what of the biped? A curious
-admixture of blood there! On the white side are the
-well salted strains, which hark away back to the old
-Vikings. On the other and darker, the stream points
-backwards to the misty past, when his ancestors, subtle
-and slim, moved southward from the older civilisations
-of the north, and swarmed the valleys of the Ganges
-and the Indus, fighting for a foothold.
-
-Is not this a challenge to the latent forces in the wild
-blood of the human? It riots through the youth's veins,
-giving vim and sparkle to his courage. Who shall win
-the lordship? Away then, and away!—through the
-mountain pines till clothes are mere shreds, and breast
-and thighs are torn and blooded with innumerable scores;
-slithering down the gorges to the accompaniment of
-rattling stones; jumping fallen timber, and smashing
-through the undergrowth, till all pursuit has faded
-away—the infuriated steed holds his course. On, on! ever
-up to the inaccessible heights.
-
-But, has the half-breed been doing nothing save
-holding on, meanwhile?
-
-.. _`188`:
-
-With incredible difficulty, owing to the mad career of
-the horse over the wilds, Yellow Billy has managed to
-pass his whip thong twice round the brute's neck. This,
-knotted together, forms just the sort of hold-fast the
-boy has been accustomed to on his steer rides. The
-grip gives him a great advantage.
-
-But the horse is now scrambling up a gully, which
-becomes sharper and steeper as he advances, merging
-into a deep gorge at last, with precipitous sides and
-frowning, unscalable face. A cul-de-sac, indeed! Even
-this the indomitable warrigal essays. Again and again
-does he rush the battlements, and mount some distance;
-only to tumble back with sobbing breath but dauntless
-energy.
-
-Cannot Yellow Billy now dismount in safety?
-
-As easily, oh, reader, as one might slip off a rocking-horse.
-
-Why not, then, fling himself off; abandon the desperado,
-and be thankful for life and limb?
-
-What! Billy show the white feather? Billy throw
-away his chance of the honour and glory of capture
-thus? Not for all the wealth of Australia! This is the
-most ecstatic moment of his existence.
-
-Foiled in his attempt to scale the heights, Bucephalus
-begins to think more seriously of the foe upon his back.
-Were he dislodged, what might not become possible?
-Here then!
-
-So began the battle royal between these well-mated
-antagonists, to be fought to a finish, there, on that small
-patch of earth in the rocky fastness; with none in the
-arena to interfere or to applaud. None, indeed, to witness,
-save the rock wallaby perched high on a beetling crag,
-who may have moralised on the unwonted spectacle of
-the whirling grey-and-brown mass of flesh and blood
-below. Higher still, wheeling in mid-air, is an eagle
-hawk, who keenly watches the solitary duel down there,
-with unwinking eyes of insatiable greed; caring not a
-doit which wins the mastership, so that the issue may
-provide a fit object for tearing talons and lacerating beak.
-
-But below there!
-
-The warrigal, with bloodshot eyes flaming in rage and
-malice, ears set back, head and neck well down between
-the forelegs, back arched like a bent bow, bucks and
-squeals, kicks and twists. Forward, backward, sideward;
-round and round; up and down; now in the middle of the
-patch; now trying to rub the boy against the rough sides
-of the rocky canon, but all in vain. Not even the young
-Mazeppa, lashed to the wild horse, was more securely
-bound than was Billy to his steed.
-
-There he is; Yellow Billy! Behold him!
-
-Grasping with both hands the encircling stock whip,
-head and shoulders inclined backwards, his knees grip
-the horse's sides like a vice. The horse's hoarse neighs
-are answered with shrill shouts. And so, amid battle-cries,
-dust and flying pebbles, sweat and foam, with
-evolutions to which those of the circus ring were flat
-and monotonous, the tug of war for supremacy between
-man and beast goes on.
-
-Presently, however, the bucking desperado moderates.
-There is a lull. He shifts from side to side, making at
-the same time a slow gyral movement. Is this premonitory
-of collapse? He is blowing like the proverbial
-grampus, and ejecting steam from quivering nostrils like
-an exhaust pipe. The sweat flows from neck, belly,
-and flanks to the ground in streams. Spasmodic sobs
-like those of a broken-hearted child send shudder after
-shudder through his whole frame. See! his head is
-hanging upon his breast; the symbol of despair. Yes! he
-is done, conquered! He is broken. Well done,
-Billy! But the most dangerous moment of Billy's
-existence is at hand.
-
-Suddenly rushing backwards, the demon rears and
-throws himself to the ground, almost turning a complete
-somersault in the act. Crash! down come body and hoofs
-and—Billy. The boy is taken unawares, and can do
-little to avert the consequences of this trick. Still, the
-little saves him. When, in the fraction of a second, he
-sees the inevitable, a spasmodic jerk flings him just
-beyond the horse's legs, which are working like the
-arms of a windmill. Scarce has the animal regained his
-feet ere, with panther-like spring, the half-caste is
-reseated. Again the horse is down, but now he is
-weakening—is rapidly nearing the limit of endurance.
-All the reserves have been called up.
-
-Again, behold! a rapid change of tactics. The outlaw
-whips round his head with open mouth and snaps at the
-rider's leg. Again and again, on both sides, and it is only
-by the utmost dexterity that the lad escapes. This, more
-than anything else, begets fear; for Billy, like the horse,
-is fast tiring. With despair in his eyes the boy looks
-round him for help, and catches sight of the whip handle,
-which is hanging, with some two feet or more of thong,
-from where it is tied to the neck. In a trice his knife
-is out and the thong is severed near the knot. This
-end, coiled round his hand, becomes a weapon of offence.
-A loaded stock-whip handle is as formidable as an
-Irishman's shillelah. And now every snap is met with a
-cruel smack, and this not for long can even the warrigal
-stand. Yellow Billy does more, he rains blows upon the
-steed's shoulders and head with such severity as almost
-to paralyse the brute. The end is coming fast now.
-Worn, blown, trembling with weakness, dazed, the battle
-has indeed turned.
-
-There is a point in horse-nature up to which no man
-may call himself master. In some animals it lies low
-down. In others, the warrigal, to wit, it is placed at
-the apex of his mettlesome temper. Let that point in
-mastery be taken by the adversary and all is yielded.
-That citadel stormed, there is naught left but the white
-flag. The independence once surrendered is never
-regained. In other words, once the complete master,
-always the master.
-
-See now the lord of the wilderness! the equine
-conjurer of tricks! There he stands with shrunken form,
-drooping head, lack-lustrous eyes, motionless and clinging
-tail, subservience incarnate: fit statue of unconditional
-surrender! The struggle has been gallant, heroic,
-prolonged; the capitulation is complete. A well planted
-blow, now, between the ears, and that noble creature;
-that thing of bone and muscle, of arching neck and
-glossy coat; that creature of will and courage, which
-made him emperor among his kind by right of merit—with
-a stride worthy the envy of Lucifer! Just one
-blow in the right spot—he staggers, trembles, and falls.
-
-Yellow Billy is standing at the horse's head. 'Twas
-a glorious ride, a royal fight, a grand victory. Nothing
-is left now but—pity! And so, with soft and cheery
-word, rubbing the nostrils, wiping the drying sweat,
-massaging the trembling limbs, the boy is mercifully
-engaged when footsteps are heard, and in a moment
-the squatter, Jacky, and a couple of men ride on to
-the battle-field.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-Darkness is mantling the earth, and the men at the
-Glen camp have all gone, save a few, including the boys
-and Neville, who are still anxiously waiting. The striking
-of iron on the flints of the creek-bed breaks the dismal
-silence, as a group of horsemen steal out of the surrounding
-gloom, and stand half-revealed in the light of the camp
-fire. Yellow Billy is perched on the croup behind one
-of the men, while, with a stock whip converted into a
-halter, Jacky leads the bone and soul sore warrigal, who,
-in this abject spectacle, drinks the cup of humiliation
-to its bitterest dregs.
-
-
-
-
-
-.. vspace:: 4
-
-.. _`A DAY'S SHOOT`:
-
-.. class:: center large bold
-
- CHAPTER XXIII
-
-
-.. class:: center medium bold
-
- A DAY'S SHOOT
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-..
-
- | "Alas! that, when the changing year
- | Brings round the blessed day,
- | The hearts of little native boys
- | Wax keen to hunt and slay,
- | As if the chime of Christmas time
- | Were but a call to prey."
- | BRUNTON STEPHENS.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-"S-a-n-d-e-e! S-a-n-d-e-e!"
-
-"H-e-ll-o! H-e-ll-o!"
-
-"Where—are—you?"
-
-"Down—here."
-
-"Where's here?"
-
-"Find—out!"
-
-"Where's that horrid Sandy, Joe?" exclaimed Jessie
-M'Intyre to Joe Blain, as she came out into the back yard,
-shortly after breakfast, one fine morning a few days after
-the brumby hunt.
-
-"Can't split on me mates, Jess."
-
-"You're a nasty, good-for-nothing boy, Joe Blain: that's
-what I think of *you*, and I don't care if you *do* know it."
-
- | "Tweedlum, tweedlum, tweedlum twee,
- | The cat and the rat ran up the tree,"
-
-quoth Joe, as he capered about just out of reach of the
-girl, who chased him round the room with a broom.
-
-It so happened that as Joe was dancing past the
-kitchen window, Ah Fat the cook was in the very act of
-throwing out a dish of kitchen slops, and the contents
-struck him fair on the head and shoulders.
-
-This unintended but well-delivered blow came so
-swiftly and so unexpectedly that for the moment Joe
-was stupefied, gasping and spluttering between wind and
-water, so to speak. He cut so ludicrous a figure that
-Jessie had to fairly hold her sides with laughter.
-Meanwhile the innocent Ah Fat stood gazing at the spectacle
-in amazement.
-
-"Oh, Missee Joe, I welly solly. Me neffer see you when
-me tlew um——"
-
-"You jolly Chinaman!" cried Joe, in great wrath.
-"You—you—yellow joss!"
-
-With that the irate boy jumped through the window
-and vigorously assaulted the cook with hands and feet.
-
-"Oh!—Missee Joe—welly solly. O—h! Oh, Clismus!
-O-u-c-h!"
-
-At first genuine sorrow controlled the Celestial. And
-indeed the onset was so furious and determined that the
-Chinaman had enough to do in fending blows, and was
-not a little alarmed. But when Joe, in closing, clutched
-him by the head, and essayed to unwind his pig-tail,
-alarm yielded to horror at this unexpected indignity.
-An ominous glitter came into his eye, and a string of
-curses in his native tongue flew from the angry heathen.
-
-The boy, having loosened the tail, wound a coil of it
-round his hand, and began to give fierce tugs. Passion
-in an Oriental may take any turn. A passion-fired
-Chinaman, however well-disposed and peaceably inclined
-at other times, will wreak his vengeance regardless of
-moral issues. With a yell of mingled pain and rage the
-maddened man executed a Chinese edition of Jiu-jitsu,
-sending his youthful antagonist whirling through the air,
-to come down with a rattling bump that shook the breath
-from his body. Fortunately for Joe, the part of his
-anatomy which bore the brunt of the contact was that
-least susceptible to damage.
-
-This act would have been followed by one severer still
-had not Mrs. M'Intyre at that moment run into the
-kitchen, and, seeing the fallen boy at the mercy of the
-rage-possessed Chow, who was in the act of assault and
-battery, made for the man with a shrill scream, and
-hauled him off the prostrate lad. All the while, John
-Chinaman was in a state of wild excitability, sending
-forth a torrential stream of pidgin-English.
-
-Joe tumbled to his feet none the worse for the bout
-save a bruise or two. The sight of Ah Fat with
-flowing pig-tail and grotesque gesticulation sent the lad
-into fits of laughter. This only the more incensed his
-adversary, who made another effort to get at him,
-being hardly prevented by Mrs. M'Intyre. In this
-hilarity Joe was joined by Jess, who had followed her
-mother and stood first in terror, but now with hearty
-laughter.
-
-"Joe Blain, get out of this kitchen this moment, you
-wicked boy! Be quiet, Ah Fat, or I'll call for one of the
-men! Stop laughing at once, Jess, you bold hussy, or I'll
-box your ears!"
-
-Both Joe and Jess disappeared in a flash, and this had
-the effect of calming the Chinaman, who told the tale to
-his mistress as well as his perturbed condition and broken
-English would allow.
-
-"Me thlo dirtee watah outa window. Joee comin'
-plast. Me no see him. Watah 'it 'im head and soljer.
-He jumpee tloo window, pullee hair, welly angly. Me
-get angly too, and thlo 'im down."
-
-"Quite true," said Joe, who suddenly appeared at the
-window. "It's all my fault. He didn't see me, I'm sure,
-when he pitched the stuff out. My paddy got up, an' I
-went for him like a terrier. I think the terrier's got the
-worst of it, eh, Ah Fat?"
-
-The quick acknowledgment of wrong produced an
-immediate effect on Ah Fat. There was a winning grace
-about Joe that few could withstand. Hitherto he had
-been the cook's favourite. And now, no sooner did he
-express his sorrow for the summary proceedings, and own
-his defeat, than the mantling frown of anger on the
-Chinaman's forehead vanished, and his dingy and stolid
-countenance lit up with a smile.
-
-"Me welly solly——"
-
-"Oh, stow that! No harm done. I'm off to get rid of
-this muck," cried Joe, as he disappeared from the window.
-A few moments later, Joe was in the act of passing this
-same opening to convey a message to Sandy, who was
-doing a job for his father in the carpenter's room, at the
-rear of the stables.
-
-The act was observed by Ah Fat, who made a rapid
-move to the window.
-
-"Hello, Joe!"
-
-"Hello, Ah Fat!"
-
-"Come here, Joe," said the Flowery-Lander, beckoning
-as he spoke.
-
-"No more soap-suds, Ah Fat?"
-
-"No mo dirtee watah," said he of the pig-tail
-grinningly. "See a-here, Joe"—displaying a jam pasty,
-hot from the oven. "You takee dis plastee. Stlawbelly
-jam, welly good."
-
-"By Cæsar! Ah Fat, you're no end of a brick!" cried
-Joe, as he received the peace-offering with eager hands
-and glistening eyes.
-
-"Saundy, ye scoondrel!" shouted he a moment later,
-bursting in upon Sandy, who was spoke-shaving a piece of
-timber designed for a swingle bar. "Didn't you hear
-Jess call you a few minutes ago?"
-
-"I did hear some sort of a cackling an' flustration.
-What's up?"
-
-"We've got to go an' shoot some ducks."
-
-"That all?"
-
-"That all, ye cauld-blooded Scotchman!"
-
-"An' when have we to go?"
-
-"Now, at once, immediately, if not sooner, ye spalpeen."
-
-"Ye're an odd mixture of Scotch an' Irish this morn,
-me hairy-breasted hero, an' a bad hand at either. But
-why all the hurry about the ducks?"
-
-"Your mother's just got word to say some chaps are
-coming out from Tareela to dinner this evening, an'
-they're sure to expect game."
-
-"All serene. Tom comin'?"
-
-"No, he ain't. He's out with Harry on the run.
-There's only you an' me for't."
-
-"I'll be with you in a jiff, my son. Just finishing this
-bar."
-
-"Where'll we go for the birds, Sandy?"
-
-"Up the creek, I s'pose. Too far out to the swamp if
-it's to-night they want them. There's a mob o' woods I'd
-like to get a smack at—the ones we saw when we were
-fishin'."
-
-"Jacky told me yesterday he saw 'em the other night
-roosting on the old dead gum just at the junction of
-Mosquito Crick an' the Crocodile. How far d'ye call that?"
-
-"'Bout three mile."
-
-"Your mother said we are to try and get some pigeons
-when we're out."
-
-"Used to be a lot o' pigeons in the scrub; but the
-last time Dickson and some other coves came out shooting,
-they went through the scrub, but didn't see a feather—so
-they said."
-
-"No good goin' there, then?"
-
-"Well, I don't know. We can give it a try, I s'pose.
-What's the time, Joe?"
-
-"Struck ten as I came along; so we'd bes' be off in
-less'n no time, sonny."
-
-In a few minutes the boys were loaded up with guns,
-ammunition, sculls, and the tucker bag. They decided to
-take the skiff and try their luck on the water, instead of
-stalking the game along the banks.
-
-"Don't be later than four o'clock. Try and be back
-before, if possible."
-
-"All serene, mother; we'll be back on time, luck or no
-luck."
-
-"We'll fetch you some shags anyhow for fish soup,"
-yelled back Joe as the lads walked briskly along.
-
-Sandy took the oars at the start, Joe sitting in the
-stern with his muzzle-loader. Breech-loaders were at
-that time a rarity in Australia. There were handicaps in
-shooting in those days of the muzzle-loader, the powder-horn,
-and the shot belt, when compared with the modern choke-bore,
-smokeless powder, etc. But there were compensations.
-Men were far more careful of their ammunition. Loading
-itself was an art in which the expert took considerable
-pride. To every novice the formula was carefully given
-by the senior—
-
- | "Ram your powder well, but not your lead,
- | If you want to kill dead."
- |
-
-But, beyond all other considerations, there was more
-of the element of sport in it. There was a greater call for
-skill. The very limitations of gunnery in those days put
-the game on a nearer footing of equality with the hunter.
-There were greater chances for the quarry, and therefore
-greater merit in the kill. These are the days of
-machinery, and even in gunnery there is a disposition to
-do the work by turning a handle—"pumping the lead
-into 'em," as the moderns put it.
-
-Sandy's father was the possessor of a renowned Joe
-Manton, and many were the tales told by the lad of his
-father's prowess and the wonderful distances at which
-this Joe Manton could kill.
-
-The creek on both sides was lined for the most part
-with rushes, weeds, and water-reeds, which afforded fine
-cover and food for the wild-fowl. It was possible to pass
-within short distances of the ducks in the rushes without
-being aware of their presence.
-
-"Keep your eyes skinned along here, Joe," remarked
-Sandy, after rowing some distance. "Might start a brace
-at any time."
-
-The words were hardly out of the boy's mouth when a
-bird rose out of the reeds with a great flutter. Joe's gun
-was up in a trice, and before it had flown a dozen yards,
-it fell into the water with a splash.
-
-"Good shot, Joe; but what's the use of wasting powder
-and shot over a red-bill? Thought you knew a coot from
-a duck."
-
-"Well—I—I'm blest! If I'm not a dumplin'-headed,
-double-dyed duffer! As if I hadn't shot tons of 'em.
-Well, well, well!"
-
-"It's not well at all," answered Sandy with a grin, as
-the boat glided past the beautiful glossy black and
-purple-hued bird, which, though edible enough, generally
-ran to toughness, and was not classed as game. Yet a
-plump red-bill that has fattened on the river-end patch
-of the settlers' maize is by no means to be despised.
-
-Joe quietly reloaded, and was doubly on the *qui vive*
-after the misadventure. He had his revenge before
-long, for on rounding the point they ran into a mob of
-teal which were camping on a shady mud-beach. The
-teal rose in a very alert fashion, flying back over the boat.
-Quickly turning, Joe poured the contents of right and
-left barrels into the retreating birds. Three of them
-soused into the water, two of which were stone-dead.
-The third, though badly wounded, was nevertheless
-exceedingly agile in dodging the boat by diving. After
-some trouble the boys managed to secure it, and so a
-good start towards a full bag was made.
-
-Then their luck departed for a while. Two or three
-pairs of black duck rose, but out of range.
-
-"Here, Sandy, let me take the oars and give you a
-spell," said Joe, after proceeding about two miles from the
-landing. The positions were reversed, and the boat sped
-on its way to the junction.
-
-"Pull easy, Joe," said Sandy, as that point came in
-sight. "There's a chance of the wood-duck on the spit.
-We mustn't miss this lot, anyway. You'd best land me
-here, ole man, an' I'll stalk 'em."
-
-Joe, whose back faced the spit, to coin an Irishism,
-turned round to survey the birds, which clustered thickly
-on the spit-end.
-
-"See 'em, Joe," said Sandy excitedly. "It's a grand
-mob. If I don't knock half a dozen, you may——"
-
-"Bag the whole bloomin' lot if you like, Sandy
-M'Intyre," replied the rower, who had been gazing
-intently on the birds, and now turned to his mate with
-an amused smile.
-
-"Why—why—whatcher mean?"
-
-"Mean! Mr. Alexander Duff M'Intyre, bushman,
-waterman, sportsman, and naturalist by profession, but
-only a Scotch mixture of bat an' mole for all that!
-Why——"
-
-"Do you mean to insinuate, Joe Blain, that yon's not
-a mob of wood-duck?"
-
-"Yes; and ready to swear to it till all's blue. I *did*
-think you knew the difference between a duck of any
-sort and a plover!"
-
-"You call 'em plov——?"
-
-Here one of the birds stretched its neck, flapped its
-wings, gave a hop and a short run, plover-ways, and
-finished with the typical harsh note.
-
-"Great Donald! you're right, man!" finished the boy,
-in a mortified tone and with a considerable amount of
-disgust.
-
-"Oh, well," he resumed, after a moment's silence, "a
-few plover won't come amiss, especially if we don't collar
-any more duck. Like 'em myself, grilled, as well as
-anything; they've such plump little breasts. Pull on, Joe."
-
-Joe made for the spit, coming in so quickly with a few
-quiet but vigorous strokes that Sandy was able to get in
-a pot and a flying shot, accounting for no fewer than five.
-
-"I vote," exclaimed that youth, when they had bagged
-the plover, "that we pull into the mouth of 'Skeeter
-Crick, tie up to the bank, an' stalk the crick for a mile or
-so; then we can cross over to the scrub by the old tree.
-We'll chance to get a pigeon or two, or I'm mistaken.
-P'r'aps we'll have better luck with the ducks on our way
-back. Never saw 'em so scarce on the Crocodile before."
-
-Accordingly, they landed a hundred yards or so up the
-creek, assailed the contents of the tucker bag, and then
-proceeded to skirt the right bank, on the look out for
-duck. A single bird, a very fine drake, fell to Joe's gun
-near the fallen log which bridged the narrow stream.
-This crossed, the boys entered into a belt of virgin scrub
-that extended back a mile or so from Crocodile Creek,
-abutting Mosquito Creek along its breadth.
-
-"We'd bes' separate, Joe," said Sandy, when they had
-gone a little distance into the jungle. "You keep on a
-few hundred yards, and then bear on the left towards the
-Crocodile. I'll make straight for there from here. It'll
-be hard if we don't account for a bird or two."
-
-The scrub was very thick and interwoven in places.
-It contained a number of native fig trees of great height
-and spread. These trees were in fruit, therefore there
-was a better chance of getting pigeon, some varieties of
-which are exceedingly fond of the native fig.
-
-The umbrageous trees formed a lofty canopy whose
-cool shades were very agreeable after a couple of hours
-on the water under a January sun. The lawyer and
-other cane vines hung from the great trees in long
-festoons, varying in thickness from ropes no thicker than
-one's little finger to the great cables extending downward
-from the huge limbs of the fig trees. Besides these
-growths were scrub bushes, many of which were covered
-with blossom, and still others with berries, blue and red.
-There were also spaces of bare ground, occupied only by
-giant fig and other columnar trees. These, by natural
-formation, made arched aisles, whose loftiness, lights,
-distances, and vistas constituted a grandeur, and even
-splendour, unapproached by any of the great cathedrals
-of earth. These, however ancient, are but things of
-yesterday when compared with nature's porticoes,
-cloisters, and altar spaces.
-
-The boys, however, took little heed of these things.
-They were in the scrub neither for architectural nor
-devotional purposes. Pigeons and other scrub game
-alone had any attractions for them.
-
-After separating they walked warily, listening with both
-ears and scanning with both eyes. Sounds there were in
-abundance. The ubiquitous minah, as the noisy and saucy
-soldier-bird is called, is as widespread as the gum tree itself.
-The thrush, though smaller than its English namesake, and
-with a differing note, is equally melodious. Then peculiar
-to scrub country are the musically metallic notes of the
-pretty but exceedingly coy bell-bird.
-
-Henry Kendal, the greatest of Australian nature poets,
-has limned it in song. Here is a stanza—
-
- | "The silver-voiced bell-birds, the darlings of daytime,
- | They sing in September their songs of the Maytime.
- | When shadows wax strong and the thunder-bolts hurtle,
- | They hide with their fear in the leaves of the myrtle;
- | They start up like fairies that follow fair weather,
- | And straightway the hues of their feathers unfolden
- | Are the green and the purple, the blue and the golden."
- |
-
-There is also the merry Coachman, who cracks his whip
-with his beak, so to speak, in such verisimilitude that
-the wandering new chum looks round eagerly for a coach-team.
-
-Added to these are the soft coo-coo of the doves and
-the stronger and booming note of the pigeon tribe. And
-beyond all these, the calls, chirpings, and chatterings of
-scores of feathered favourites. They who call the
-Australian bush songless libel it.
-
-The pigeon has a coo that is as monotonous and
-far-reaching as a fog horn. For this sound the boys are
-now cocking their ears. Presently the loved note reaches
-Sandy's ears: coo—coo—coo!
-
-"A wonga for a dollar, and where's one is sure to be
-another."
-
-To locate a pigeon by its note is often a most difficult
-thing in the scrub. It may be on the tree under which
-one happens to be standing, or hundreds of yards away.
-To run down a pigeon by its note is a work that needs
-experience and patience.
-
-Sandy listened intently, mind as well as ears working.
-"Not high up, that's certain. Seems to be right behind
-me. Bet tuppence he's on that white cedar," said the
-boy to himself after a further scrutiny in the supposed
-direction. Away in the locality indicated, distant a
-hundred yards or so, rising above a clump of myrtles, was
-a white cedar tree, its shining yellow berries revealing
-its presence as seen through the tree boles and shrubs.
-
-Stealthily moving through the undergrowth and timber,
-the lad cautiously advanced towards the cedar. Gaining
-the myrtle cluster, he was thereby screened to some
-extent even when viewed from above. Just then a coo
-gave him the location. Moving to the edge of the
-saplings, he now got a fair view of the tree beyond; and
-there, on a lateral limb, distant from him not more
-than thirty-five yards, sat a glorious wonga-wonga, the
-finest species of Australian pigeon, not to be beaten for
-table purposes throughout the wide world. The specimen
-before Sandy was a male bird as big as three ordinary
-pigeons.
-
-"That fellow's calling his mate, and she's not far off,
-by the way he's noddin' his head," surmised the youth.
-"Shall I pot him, or wait for his mate and cop 'em both?"
-
-The question was soon settled, for suddenly, and with a
-great whirr, the hen rose from the ground, or rather, tiny
-water pool: for she had been drinking and bathing and
-admiring her reflected image in the glassy water. Her
-return, alas! is the signal of death, for what time she
-alighted on the bough at her spouse's side, the remorseless
-hunter, with hasty but true aim, brought both fluttering
-to the ground.
-
-Their necks are wrung and they are bagged instanter,
-with a laconic but satisfied grunt from the sportsman:
-"Not so bad."
-
-At this moment a double shot broke on Sandy's ears.
-This was immediately followed by a deep, mellow sound
-that formed the common signal of the pals. Putting his
-two hands with hollowed palms together, conch-shell
-fashion, the boy raised them to his lips and blew a
-prolonged and resonant note followed by three short notes
-staccato, which conveyed to the other's ears the answer:
-"Heard you, am coming."
-
-"Joe wants me for something. Got into a covey of
-bronze-wings, or maybe a mob o' flocks," muttered the
-lad as he made in the direction of the sound.
-
-He soon espied his mate at the butt of an enormous
-fig tree, and signalled his advent. The moment Joe
-perceived Sandy he stooped down and picked up a couple of
-large black-looking birds, and waved them excitedly.
-
-"My word! ole Joe's run into a flock of turkeys.
-Hurrah! here's luck."
-
-Yes, Joe had been fortunate enough to "rise" a fine
-lot of tallagalla, to call them by their native name, better
-known as scrub turkey.
-
-Unlike the so-called turkey of the plains—which,
-indeed, is not a true turkey, but a bustard—the scrub
-turkey is true to its title, being seldom or never seen out
-of thickly wooded country. Its breeding home is a huge
-mound raised by scratching together the dry leaves and
-bits of rotten bark and wood. On the top of this elevation
-of débris the eggs are laid, some scores of them, and
-barely covered. As the birds use the same spot for many
-years, the nests become in time mounds of vast dimensions.
-Turkey nest, as it is called, becomes in time a rich
-compost of leaf-mould, and is eagerly sought for garden
-purposes.
-
-The bird itself is stronger in the legs than in the
-wings. Unless startled and rushed, it will not rise, but
-scuttles through the undergrowth with inconceivable
-speed, and he is a fortunate man who is able to draw a
-bead as it darts through the thousand obstacles of the
-scrub. Hence the necessity of a good dog to rush the
-birds pell-mell and startle them into immediate flight,
-when they almost invariably seek refuge in the trees
-near by.
-
-Joe, fortunately, heard the drumming and clucking of
-a turkey gobbler before he was seen of them. Moving
-with intense caution through the bush, which was very
-thick at this spot, he saw at last through the intervening
-leaves, on a patch of bare ground, scratching among the
-decayed vegetable matter for grubs, a flock of turkeys
-containing a score or more.
-
-They were exceedingly active, running hither and thither;
-many of them, just at the pullet stage, indulging in mimic
-warfare. The elder ones were busily engaged grubbing.
-Joe could easily have shot two or three of them as he
-stood an unseen watcher. There was a better way than
-that, however. Once "tree" them, and one could leisurely
-pick his birds. How are they to be got into the trees?
-He'll be his own dog.
-
-Bursting out from his cover with a hair-raising and
-blood-curdling yell, making at the same time a high
-jump and wildly waving his arms, the stalker rushed into
-the midst of the mob, catching, indeed, a young one by
-the leg, and generally making such a hullabaloo as to
-scare them into instant flight.
-
-It is a peculiarity of this bird, like that of its American
-brother, when once "treed," to remain there. Wanton
-shooters, taking advantage of this trait, will often shoot
-a flock right out.
-
-The birds put up by Joe, with one or two exceptions,
-flew into the trees surrounding them. The lad's first act
-was to slip a piece of string round the captured turkey's
-legs and swing it from a tree limb. This done, he took
-a couple of pot shots, bringing down a young gobbler each
-time. Having made sure of a brace, he signalled to his
-mate, as described.
-
-The shooters, with true sporting instinct, refrained
-both from wanton destruction and from shooting at the
-hens. They picked out half a dozen of the biggest males,
-leaving the others on their perches.
-
-Needless to say, the boys were greatly pleased with
-their success in the scrub. On their way home good
-fortune followed them. Though they did not sight the
-mob of woods, they surprised a pair, which they promptly
-secured. Though the bag could not be considered a big
-one for those days, it was a good one for variety.
-
-Greatly to Mrs. M'Intyre's delight, the boys reached
-home a little after three o'clock. During their absence of
-five hours they accounted for the following game: one
-black duck, two wood-duck, three teal, five spur-wing
-plover, six fat turkey gobblers, two plump pigeon, and
-the captured turkey.
-
-"You are dear, good boys," was Mrs. M'Intyre's
-comment as the game lay side by side on the bench at
-the rear of the kitchen. "What fine birds! what a lovely
-variety!"
-
-Mrs. Mac., while not an epicure, was a noted housewife,
-and dispensed hospitality in such a whole-hearted fashion
-and in such an acceptable manner that her dinners were
-things to be remembered with delight.
-
-"Go into the kitchen, boys, and get a snack: you'll be
-dying for something to eat. After you've finished you
-can bear a hand with the plucking and cleaning, as
-Denny's the only one about. Come here, Ah Fat! What
-do you think of the birds, Ah Fat?"
-
-"Dem welly good, missee."
-
-"Yes, they'll do very well. The boys'll clean them for
-you—at least the ones we're using to-night. We'll hang
-the rest. Let me see! they had better clean the pigeons
-and plover first. You can put them on to stew: we'll
-turn them into a game pie. Grill the teal, and roast a
-pair of ducks and two gobblers."
-
-"Allee lita, missee; I do 'em. That all? I mos go back
-an' look after puddens."
-
-Denny and the boys set to work on the fowl, and were
-soon feathers and down from head to foot.
-
-.. _`Retreating one moment and advancing the following, uttering war-cries`:
-
-.. figure:: images/img-208.jpg
- :align: center
- :alt: "Retreating one moment and advancing the following, uttering war-cries."
-
- "Retreating one moment and advancing the following, uttering war-cries."—*See p.* `219`_.
-
-"Tell me, Joe, me bhoy, did ye or Sahndy here shute
-the most b-i-rr-ds?"
-
-"Honours are easy, Denny."
-
-"Begorra! phwat th' divvil's thot?"
-
-"It means that each shot an equal quantity."
-
-"An e-qu-a-al quantitee! Be jabers, wheres did ye
-put 'em?"
-
-"Put what?"
-
-"Whoi, th' pair iv e-qu-a-al quan—— Be Saint Michael,
-it's a new sort iv a b-i-rr-d ye've shuted!"
-
-Denny was not so dense as he pretended to be.
-
-"You're a downy cove, Denny," laughed Joe, who caught
-a twinkle in the young Irishman's eye.
-
-"That's true for ye, Joe," retorted the wit, surveying
-himself; "but, bhoys, why doan't ye's take me wid youse?
-Sure an' it's a foine shot Oi am."
-
-"That's news, Denny. Didn't know you'd ever let off
-a gun."
-
-"Manny an' manny's th' wan Oi've seen me farther
-bang off, annyways. Did youse never hear tell iv me
-farther's shutin'? Shure he was a sealabrity in
-Killarney!"
-
-"Never. Tell us."
-
-"Well, la-ads, wan da' he was rowin' th' Dook iv
-Dublhin, who was a g-rr-a-at sport, on th' woild la-a-kes
-iv Killarney. They was lukin' for dooks."
-
-"Set a duke to catch a 'dook,' eh, Denny?"
-
-"Be aisy, Marsther Joe. It's th' flyin' dooks Oi'me
-dascribin'. Be jabers! farther rowed about a tousan'
-moile, and th' only dook th' g-rr-a-at mahn shuted was
-a gull, though they was there in g-rr-a-at mobs."
-
-"The gulls or the ducks, Denny?"
-
-"If you'd 'a' bin there they wud 'a' bin two gulls,
-annyhow, me mahn."
-
-"Good for you, Denny. Let him finish, Joe."
-
-"Well, shure, saays farther at last, ses he, 'If y're
-Riall Hoiness wud let me have wan shot, maybe Oi'd
-bring ye luck.' An' he did it. So farther, he gits th'
-Dook's big gun, an' th' Dook he tuk th' pathles, an' bynby
-they see a mob iv dooks all in a loine acrost th' boat's
-bows, saalin' for all th' warld loike th' owld loin-iv-batthle
-ships in th' pictures, stim an' starn.
-
-"'Howld aisy,' saays farther, ses 'e, whin they got abreast
-thim fowls. With that he pinted th' gun at th' la-adin'
-dook, an owld dr-a-ake be th' same token—pulled th'
-thrigger an' let her off. Wud ye bela-ave me, so quick
-was he that before all th' shot had got out iv th' way-pon
-he'd got her down to th' tail-most birr-d, an' betune you
-an' me an' little Garr-ge Washintong in th' Bible, ivry
-sowl iv thim dooks lay spaachless dead upon th' wather.
-Now thin, phwat div ye think iv that f'r shutin', ye
-gosoons?"
-
-"Think of it, Denny," said Maggie, who had been
-standing at the kitchen door, unobserved of the boys, an
-amused listener. "Why, you'll be writing a book one
-day that will put the Kybosh on Baron Munchausen."
-
-"Well, if iver Oi does, Miss Maggie," replied the
-incorrigible Irish boy, "Oi'll pit y'reself in as th' laaden
-acthress—Oi mane th' herr-owyne."
-
-"Maggie!"
-
-"Coming, mother."
-
-
-
-
-
-.. vspace:: 4
-
-.. _`THE CORROBBERIE`:
-
-.. class:: center large bold
-
- CHAPTER XXIV
-
-
-.. class:: center medium bold
-
- THE CORROBBERIE
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-..
-
- | "Deep in the forest depths the tribe
- | A mighty blazing fire have spread:
- | Round this they spring with frantic yells,
- | In hideous pigments all arrayed.
- |
- | \* \* \* \* \*
- |
- | One barred with yellow ochre, one
- | A skeleton in startling white,
- | Then one who dances furiously
- | Blood-red against the great fire's light.
- |
- | \* \* \* \* \*
- |
- | Like some infernal scene it is—
- | The forest dark, the blazing fire,
- | The ghostly birds, the dancing fiends,
- | Whose savage chant swells ever higher."
- | WILLIAM SHARP.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-"Jacky and Willy want to know if they can have some
-raddle,[#] whitning, and blue: can they, dad?"
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-.. class:: noindent small
-
-[#] Raddle: a red pigment used for marking sheep, etc.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-"They're very reasonable, I maun say. And what are
-they aifter noo, the scamps?"
-
-"Oh, I thought you knew, dad! There's going to be a
-grand corrobberie to-night. Old Tarpot has sent in a
-messenger for them to go out, and take this stuff with
-them, and——"
-
-"Precious cool cheek on the pairt of Tarpot, and o' the
-boys as weel. Why couldna they come oure and ask me
-properly?"
-
-"Dunno, dad."
-
-"It's the blacks' way all over, dad," said Maggie.
-
-"Dad, dad," interrupted Jessie, who was eagerly waiting
-a chance to get in a word, "you said, the last time there
-was a corrobberie, when you refused to let us go, that
-you would the next time. Now then, dado, you can't
-refuse to let us this time. Say you will. Ah, I know by
-your eyes you will say yes! You dear thing, it's worth a
-kiss and a hug."
-
-When the ardent girl had bestowed these filial pledges
-she turned round to Sandy and the others, out of whose
-sails she had taken the wind in a manner.
-
-"There now, young people, we are all going, for which
-I ought to be thanked. Only for my good memory, I'm
-afraid the dear man would have said no! wouldn't you,
-dadums? We'll make up a party, and Mr. Neville will, I
-am sure, be delighted at the exhibition."
-
-"My stars, Jess, but you're gettin' 'em bad! You will
-be applying for a school teacher's billet next. Such
-consideration for Mr. Neville, too! Why——"
-
-"Oh, brither mine, bless your poor thick skull; it's
-positively no use you trying to be funny—you simply
-can't. Oh, it'll be glorious fun," continued she, turning
-to the Englishman.
-
-"But, Miss Jessie, please! In the first place, what is
-this corbobbery? Is that the way it is pronounced?"
-
-"No, sir, it is not; though to be sure they do kick up a
-tremendous bobbery."
-
-"Well, whatever the name, I suppose it stands for an
-aboriginal ceremonial or pastime?" said Neville smilingly.
-
-"Exactly. Cor-rob-ber-ie is their Café Chautant, a
-free-and-easy; with this difference, though—all their
-performers appear in full dress; got up to kill by the aid
-of the tribe tonsorial artists and valets. The young bucks
-are perfect pictures, I do assure you; and as for the
-girls——"
-
-"Don't take any notice of the saucy kid, Mr. Neville,"
-broke in Sandy, who felt that he owed his young sister
-one. "She's only jigging you. It's their native dance
-and song by the firelight; she's right there. The men
-do the dancing, and the women simply play the music."
-
-"Music! I had no idea that they were——"
-
-"Musicians. Oh well, not exactly that. They beat
-time for the men. They, the men, are all painted up and
-armed. It's a sort of action song, but it's jolly fine, a
-tiptop sight, especially when there's a big mob of them.
-Sometimes four or five tribes get together for what they
-call the 'great corrobberie.' Then you see something;
-for there's generally ructions before they finish,
-particularly if there has been any grog in the camp. In that
-case they usually wind up with a fight, and then there's
-the killed and wounded to count when the cleaning-up's
-done. It's all right to-night, though. There will be only
-two tribes in it, and they've always been friendly. Would
-you like to come?"
-
-"Come! I wouldn't miss it for the world. Yes, you
-may reckon on me for one—that is, of course, if your
-father is agreeable for us to go."
-
-"I suppose, dad," said Sandy, turning to his father,
-"we may all go? It's to be held at the old spot."
-
-"Oh, weel, I suppose you'd think me hard-herted if I
-said no? I'll jist mak' one condeetion, and that is, dinna
-interfere wi' the blacks. You maunna mak' ony attempt
-to boss them. Let them cairry oot things in their ain
-way."
-
-"All serene, dad."
-
-"Can the boys have the whitnin' and other things from
-the store?" repeated Sandy.
-
-Consent is given, and the heart of Tarpot, the King of
-Bullaroi, is made glad with a goodly parcel of pigments.
-
-That night after tea the party, including Denny
-Kineavy, mount their steeds and ride out to the corrobberie
-grounds, a matter of three miles.
-
-It was situated on a lightly timbered box-tree flat,
-where a cleared space occurred forming a natural
-amphitheatre, wherein the aboriginal tribes foregathered
-periodically and disported themselves in their national
-characters and games at night time.
-
-The blacks make a distinction in these festivals. There
-is the corrobberie and the cobborn (or great) corrobberie.
-It was one of the former that the whites were to witness.
-The latter occurred only at long intervals, and was a time
-of feasting as well as amusement; both feasting and play
-being prolonged often for weeks, and generally attended
-by all the tribes within a radius of hundreds of miles.
-
-Each tribe would bring its song and dance (corrobberie),
-in many cases composed for the special occasion. This
-produced the exciting element of competition. A
-corrobberie of exceptional excellence would be learned by the
-other tribes, and on their return to their own country
-passed on to the surrounding tribes. Thus it happened
-sometimes that a corrobberie of singular merit travelled
-round and through the continent.
-
-These folk-songs were associated with the dances, and
-treated on elemental themes, as war, the chase, the feast,
-love, birth, death. Often some humorous theme would be
-introduced, causing immense fun. As a rule each tribe
-had clowns, whose grotesque attitude and voice intonations
-were mirth-provoking to a degree. The Australian native
-manifests a keen appreciation of a joke and has an inborn
-tendency to laughter.
-
-The preparations were far advanced by the time the
-station party arrived at the camp. The gins, to whom fell
-all labour of a manual sort, were lighting the fires, while
-the bucks were busy "dressing" for their parts.
-
-The girls remained in the clearing talking to some of
-the old gins, while the males proceeded to the outskirts
-of the forest, where the work of adorning went on apace.
-
-For this no pains were spared. The naked bodies of
-the dancers were treated by the tribe experts, and some
-fearfully and wonderfully startling effects were produced.
-Take His Majesty, Tarpot, as a sample. The ordinary
-court dress of the King consisted of a tattered police
-uniform, together with a crescent-shaped brass plate that
-adorned his breast, where it hung, suspended by a chain
-from his neck. The plate—presented to him on one
-occasion as a joke—bore upon it the inscription—
-
-.. vspace:: 1
-
-.. class:: center
-
- TARPOT, KING OF BULLAROI
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-But to-night Merri-dia-o is resplendent in a warrior's
-full rig. A hole bored through the cartilage of his nose
-peak displays the bone of an eagle's wing, about four
-inches long, the insignia of his maturity and dignity—his
-knighthood's spurs, so to speak.
-
-Behold, then, athwart his nose, the polished bone,
-gleaming like ivory against the ebony background! His
-grey hair is trussed up, forming a big top-knot, and is
-adorned with the sulphur-hued crest of the white cockatoo,
-also with turkey-tail feathers. Wound several times
-round his somewhat corpulent body is a belt of human
-hair. This serves to hold the boomerang and other short
-weapons. A dingo-tail skin, split up the middle to the
-brush, and bound round the forehead with the brush erect
-and plume-like, gives grace and height to the stature. But
-the body and limb painting is the principal part. Each
-tribe has its devices. Pigments are largely used. The
-greater the number of colours the more fantastic is the
-effect.
-
-When the boys strode up to the "dressing-room"
-where the tribe artiste were engaged, they found that
-most of the men had completed their adornments and
-were strutting about casting admiring or envious glances
-at one another. Merri-dia-o, however, was still in the
-hands of the dressers, and his markings were a triumph.
-Being a large-framed and portly fellow, he showed the
-designs to the best advantage. The colour scheme was
-brilliant, if nothing else. On his massive chest, which
-was whitewashed for a background, were drawn an emu
-and a kangaroo. The bird's plumage was bright blue,
-while the marsupial was as glaring as red ochre could
-make it. These cartoons covered breast and belly, the
-limbs being like animated barber's poles in red and white.
-On his back, upon a white ground, was coiled an enormous
-carpet snake, with erect head and protruding tongue.
-When seen in the corrobberie, armed with spears, shield,
-and boomerangs, this fantastic figure was without peer
-among the warrior-clowns, the whole effect being an
-extravaganza at once whimsical and wild.
-
-By the time these preparations were ended the great
-central fire was blazing furiously, fed as it constantly was
-from a dry tinder stack.
-
-The "orchestra," to the number of six, sat in a cluster
-behind the fire and beat time to the primitive measures.
-The musicians for the most part were old women, who
-were well-practised performers. Their instruments were
-as primitive as the songs they accompanied, consisting
-generally of a tightly folded opossum rug or a shield.
-These were operated upon by the palms of the hands or
-by sticks; a vigorous slapping of the thighs also gave
-variety to the combination. At any rate, a surprising din
-was raised.
-
-It has been stated that two tribes participated. The
-Ding-donglas were the guests of the Bullarois, who had
-provided a grand supper of fat grubs, native yams, and
-roast kangaroo for the festivities.
-
-According to immemorial precedence the visiting
-tribe "took the flure" first, and gave a most interesting
-and picturesque display. The subject of the corrobberie
-was an emu hunt, and was full of startling incident,
-presenting ludicrous aspects that created roars of laughter.
-The descriptive song was chanted in perfect time: a sort
-of runic lay, beginning in a low and monotonous key and
-gradually waxing louder as the chase progressed, finally
-ending crescendo in a cry of victory, what time the
-animal is overcome and slain.
-
-The spectators, black and white, applauded most
-generously, our old friends Jacky and Willy being
-among the loudest. The station boys were in no ways
-different from their brothers in get up. For the moment
-they had abandoned the role of station hands for that of
-barbaric magnificoes.
-
-The whites, especially the girls and Neville, who
-witnessed the spectacle for the first time, were delighted
-beyond measure. The silence following the huntsman's
-song was of short duration. The story-teller
-of the visiting tribe now advanced within the circle
-of light, and in sing-song tones recited one of their
-folklore stories.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-.. class:: center
-
- THE COCKATOO'S NEST.[#]
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-.. class:: noindent small
-
-[#] Tom Petrie's Reminiscences.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-Once upon a time there lived happily together on an
-island three young aborigines, a brother and two sisters.
-This land was not very far from the mainland, and the
-three often used to gaze across at the long stretch of land,
-and think of journeying forth from their island home to
-see what it was like over there. They felt sure they
-would find lots of things to eat. So one day by means of
-a canoe they really did cross over, and began without
-loss of time to seek for 'possums, native bears, and so
-forth. In this search round about they at length espied
-a hollow limb, which looked uncommonly like a place
-where a nest would be, and so, going into a scrub near by,
-they cut a vine for climbing up. Up went the youth, while
-his sisters waited beneath. When he had cut open the
-limb, he found to his great joy a cockatoo's nest with
-young birds in it, and these latter he proceeded to throw
-down one by one to his sisters, the fall to the ground
-killing the poor things.
-
-Now it so chanced that as the young fellow picked up
-the last little bird from the nest, a feather detached itself
-from its tail, and floating away on the air, at length
-settled fair on the chest of an old man asleep in a hut
-some distance away. This old man was really a ghost
-who owned the place, and the feather disturbed his rest
-and woke him up. Divining at once what was happening,
-he arose, and getting hold of a spear and a tomahawk,
-sallied forth to the tree, where he arrived before the
-young fellow had started to climb down. Seeing the
-birds dead, the old man was very angry, and said, "What
-business you take my birds? Who told you to come
-here?" He then commanded the tree to spread out and
-grow taller and taller, so that the young fellow could not
-get down, and, taking the dead birds, he put them in a
-big round dilly, and carried them to his hut.
-
-Although the old man did not wait, the tree did his
-bidding, becoming immediately very wide and tall, and
-the young fellow tried his best to come down, but could
-not. So at last he started to sing to the other trees all
-around to come to him, which they did; and one falling
-right across where he stood, he was able to get to the
-ground that way. Somehow, though, in coming down he
-got hurt, and the gins had to make a fire to get hot ashes
-in order to cover him up there. He lay covered up so for
-half an hour, at the end of which time he was all right
-again.
-
-Of course these three felt very indignant at the old
-man's behaviour, and they thirsted for revenge. So,
-calling all the birds of the air to them, they sought their
-assistance. These birds went in front, while the three
-cut their way through the thick scrub to the old man's
-hut; and ever as they went, to drown the noise of the
-cutting, the birds sang loudly, the wonga pigeon making
-a tremendous row with his waugh! waugh! waugh!
-When they had got nearly to the hut, the old man, who
-had been trying to make up for his disturbed sleep, heard
-the noise of the birds, and called crossly to them, "Here,
-what do you make such a noise for? I want to sleep!" But
-even as he spoke he was dozing, and presently went
-right off, suspecting nothing; and when the three reached
-the doorway, looking in, they saw him quite soundly
-sleeping. So the three clutched their weapons tightly,—the
-man his spear, and the women their yam sticks,—and
-advancing into the hut, they all viciously jobbed down at
-the old man, and lo! he was dead. His body was dragged
-forth and burned, and after the hut was robbed of the
-young cockatoos and all objects worthy of value it also
-was burned, and the three found their way back to the
-canoe, and departed home to their island laden with the
-spoil.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-.. _`219`:
-
-At the conclusion of the "yarn" the Bullarois retired
-to the trees fringing the clearing on the side directly
-opposite the audience. After a short harangue from
-Merri-dia-o, the braves, about twenty in number, fully
-armed and in their war-paint, issued from the forest,
-headed by their chief, shouting their battle-cry, gesticulating
-wildly, and making a great clatter with their weapons.
-Advancing upon the foe, now in line and now in sections,
-they battled with the enemy, crouching one moment
-behind their shields to receive the shower of imaginary
-spears thrown by their assailants, the next springing
-erect and casting, as it were, their weapons of offence.
-Following up this round, they bore upon the visionary
-foe and engaged in personal encounter. Retreating one
-moment and advancing the following, uttering war cries
-and fierce challenge, hurling coarse and stinging epithet,
-they gradually approached the fire; the gins meanwhile
-beat time, giving coherence and harmony to the
-bellicose proceedings.
-
-There was such reality in the battle-play, the men were
-so earnest, their cries so passionate, their taunts so bitter;
-in short, there was such a ring of sincerity, such a
-presentation of the actual, that the white spectators were
-carried away as in the drama when the master mummers
-live their parts.
-
-The boys were in a condition of exultancy. They were
-inspired by the martial display to a participation of
-fellow-feeling with the warring company. Neville, too, was
-fairly captured by this weird yet fierce and savage
-sham-fight. The thrill of combat held him so strongly that he
-could not refrain from leaping to his feet and yelling with
-the rest—urging them, indeed, to greater slaughter.
-
-It was different with the girls. Fear laid hold of them
-at the unwonted sight. At first they joined in the
-hurrahs, but when the fighters neared them, and it
-seemed, as was indeed the case, that the very actors
-were being carried away by frenzy and battle-lust, their
-tongues ceased and a cold chill of apprehension seized
-them.
-
-The warriors are now right up, fronting the fire. In
-a few minutes the grand finale will have been enacted,
-and the curtain rung down. Unfortunately, however, one
-of the young men has a quarrel with a youth belonging to the
-visiting tribe. In the culminating point of this sham fight
-he sees his enemy among the crowd of onlookers, and, urged
-by his excited feelings, he directs insulting remarks full at
-this man, who, running out into the clear space in front
-of the fighters, returns these with interest. This so
-enrages the Bullaroi youth that, darting from the ranks,
-he slings his spear full at the enemy, and transfixes him
-in the breast. Loud cries of consternation come from the
-women, and a moment's awful stillness from the men.
-Then, as if by magic, the Dingdonglas have risen in
-their wrath, arms in hand. The play has vanished, and
-downright fight and bloody battle ensues. Spears hurtle
-and boomerangs swish through the air; the crash of
-nulla-nulla on shields supplants the music of the orchestra,
-the while the gins flee in sheer terror from the bloody
-scene to their huts in the forest, rending the air with their
-shrill screams as they speed.
-
-But what of the whites?
-
-They stand a few moments horrorstruck at the raging
-human cyclone. At first the grim reality seemed unreal,
-just as previously the sham battle-action appeared real.
-Joe is the first to size up the situation. Not only are the
-blacks in blood-red earnest, but there is actual peril to
-the spectators. The combatants are surging to and fro
-in the strife of conflict, and circling as though in a vortex.
-At any moment the spectators might be drawn into the
-battle zone through the movements of the belligerents.
-
-"Come, Mag, Jess, quickly!" cries that youth, seizing
-the girls as he speaks and drawing them away. "The
-brutes are at it in real earnest. Come! we must bolt to
-the trees. Great Cæsar, look at that!" A spear whistled
-through the air and impaled itself in a tree near by.
-
-Just then, one of the fighters detached himself from
-the scrum and came bounding up to the little group, spear
-extended. As he seemed to be on hostile intent, the
-youths lined up in front of the girls, ready to defend them
-and grapple with the foe. On nearing, Sandy knew him
-to be Willy the station boy. Willy, loyal to the family,
-came to entreat them to leave the field. There was little
-fear of any direct attack upon them, though it were hard
-to say what turn the savage mind might take. The
-apparent danger was from fugitive spears and boomerangs.
-So Willy paused but to cry out, "Take 'em girls to
-horses: safe there; no safe here. Go!" and then skipped
-back to his band, throwing himself heart and soul into
-the fray. For the hour the boy was as great a savage as
-any of the young men of the tribe.
-
-The girls, now really terrified, need no pressure to leave;
-so they scurry from the field and reach their horses, some
-distance beyond spear reach. There they watch the tide
-of battle as it ebbs and flows until it dies, which it is not
-long in doing, from its very violence.
-
-When the casualties were reckoned it was found that
-most of the combatants had received bruises or gashes,
-limbs were broken, but the only fatalities were those
-of the lads who began the quarrel. Now that the fight
-is over, both sides settle down to supper in the best of
-humours. The slate has been cleaned in this primitive
-fashion, and now friendships are renewed over handfuls of
-luscious tree-grubs and hunches of roast kangaroo.
-To-morrow there will be weeping in common over the biers
-of the departed braves.
-
-"Well, Denny, what do you think of this dreadful
-corrobberie?" exclaimed Jessie to the Irish boy as they
-rode home about midnight.
-
-"Phwat div Oi think iv it, Miss Jassie? Whoi, it's
-been a lovely foight, shure. Och, they're the very divils
-ontoirely! Nivir seen sich a bit of divarsion since Oi
-left owld Oireland, bedad! Begorrah, it'd ta-ake owld
-Tipperary itself to bate it."
-
-"Do you know what I've been thinking of, Denny?"
-continued the mischievous girl.
-
-"Nawthin' but lovely thoughts, Miss Jassie."
-
-"You of course are the best judge, Denny, being an
-Irishman. What I was thinking was this: scratch an
-aboriginal, and you have an Irishman."
-
-"Och, dear-a-dear, Miss Jassie, to maline me poor
-counthrymen loike that! Troth, then," cried the lad, with
-a serio-comic air and the suspicion of a wink, "there's one
-thing indade which Irishmen have in common wid these
-poor naggurs."
-
-"What is that, Denny?"
-
-"We both suffer at the hands of Saxon landlords."
-
-And Jessie had no answer.
-
-
-
-
-
-.. vspace:: 4
-
-.. _`IN THE BUSHRANGERS' CAVES`:
-
-.. class:: center large bold
-
- CHAPTER XXV
-
-
-.. class:: center medium bold
-
- IN THE BUSHRANGERS' CAVES
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-..
-
- | "In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
- | A stately pleasure-dome decree,
- | Where Alph the sacred river ran
- | Through caverns measureless to man
- | Down to a sunless sea."
- | KUBLA KHAN.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-"Joe!"
-
-Silence.
-
-"J-o-o!"
-
-No answer.
-
-"J-o-o-o!"
-
-Profound stillness, broken only by a buzzing fly.
-
-"If you don't answer within five seconds, an' short
-ones at that, look out for squalls. You're only 'possumin',
-you rascal!"
-
-Presently a hurtling pillow, and not too soft a one
-either, struck Joe Blain, who lay flat on his back, with
-open mouth, closed eyes, and deaf ears. The missile hit
-him fair and square on the face, hermetically sealing his
-breathing apparatus for a moment.
-
-A muffled sound, a quick contortion of the body, and an
-instinctive clutch of the hands got rid of the obstruction,
-which in a twinkling described a trajectory that impinged
-on Tom's left ear.
-
-"Well, what's in the wind, now?" asked Joe, after
-this customary exchange of shots, which was an everyday
-occurrence.
-
-"I've an idea, Joe."
-
-"Howly Moses, you don't mean it! Terrible, terrible!
-Where did you catch it?"
-
-"Catch your grandmother's sister's cat! Only, you're
-such a numskull, I'd try an' put it in your head."
-
-"What! my grandmother's sister's——"
-
-"No, you ass; a simple idea!"
-
-"Then I'll bet tuppence it's simple enough, you goat!"
-
-After this complimentary interchange Tom proceeded:
-"When we went out to the caves the other day, we said
-we'd return before the holidays were ended, an' we've
-come to the larst day, ole man. Ding-bust it! we'll have
-to make for home to-morrer, an'——"
-
-"Ugh! don't mention it! Go on about the caves."
-
-"Well, then, that day we went out—— Oh Joey! shall
-we ever forget the sight of 'Fevvers' rollin'——?"
-
-"Look here, Hawkins, if you can't spit out that idea
-of yours quick an' lively, you'd better swallow it! If you
-think to waste my valuable time——"
-
-"Your time wasted! Pish! Listen, then. I vote we
-go out to the caves an' have a look round for the place
-where Ben Bolt kep' his horses. It'd be no end of a
-lark for us to find, after the police an' others have given
-it up. What say?"
-
-"There's not much in your notions, Hawkins, generally
-speaking; still, you've struck ile this time, sonny.
-Gewhillikins! it's all right. Let's have a talk with ole
-Sandy about it."
-
-"Oh, he's sure to be nuts on it! He's always talkin'
-about the mystery."
-
-"Up, guards, an' at 'em! as Cromwell sang out at the
-battle of Marathon," quoth Joe, in slight historical
-confusion, as he tumbled out of bed.
-
-They dressed quickly and then rushed out to find Sandy,
-who had risen earlier to yard the horses. Sandy was
-nothing loth. Indeed, he was as eager as the others, if
-not more so. He had often brooded over the puzzle, and
-discussed it at times with his mates, but oftener with
-himself. Like the others, he had theories.
-
-"I've got to take the harrow to the cultivation paddock
-after breakfast, an' then I'll be free."
-
-"Can't you take it now?" suggested Tom. "Good
-hour yet to breakfast. You'll have whips of time, an'
-we'll help you."
-
-Sandy was agreeable, and the boys soon hoisted the
-harrow on to the cart. They returned in good time for
-breakfast, and got Mr. M'Intyre's consent.
-
-"Best take us with you, Sandy."
-
-"Girls 'd only be in the way, Mag."
-
-"Thanks, me brither! Just wait till you ask me to cut
-your lunches!"
-
-"Oh, mother'll do that."
-
-"Yes; rin to your mither and hold on to her apron-strings.
-For selfishness and for cheek, commend me to a
-brother! You're all alike. I expect Tom and Joe are no
-better at home, for all they put on mighty innocent airs
-here," prattled the girl, in mock sarcasm.
-
-"I hope you'll count me in, boys?" said Neville. "I
-have intimated to Mrs. M'Intyre that I shall be forced
-to tear myself away from her unbounded hospitality,"—"Fevvers"
-was still a trifle stilted,—"but she will not
-hear of my leaving till the end of the week. You know,"
-he went on, "I did not have an opportunity—the last
-time I—er—we were out there—and——"
-
-"You lassoed an Englishman with a stock whip," broke
-in Jessie the tease.
-
-"And behaved like a brick," interposed Maggie, who
-noticed the involuntary wince on the part of the
-Englishman. This was, indeed, a sore spot; but he was growing
-rapidly in grace.
-
-Neville winced under Jess's sally, but took it in good
-part. "It's all part of the breaking-in process, Miss
-Jessie. I believe I can dismount now a little more
-gracefully. I shall be glad of an opportunity to see the
-famous bandit's caves. It will be something to relate in
-England."
-
-It did not take the boys long to get ready. Half an
-hour later the party was *en route* for the caves, determined
-to solve the puzzle.
-
-"You'll do nothing rash, boys?" said the careful mother
-at parting, "Have you enough candles?"
-
-"Plenty; also ropes and tucker. Don't worry about us,
-mother; we may not be back till near bedtime—depends
-on what luck we have."
-
-"You've got a scheme, Sandy, I s'pose?" remarked Joe,
-as they jogged along the road.
-
-"Yes, Joe, I've an idea; but of course only testing it
-will prove its worth. The caves are situated in a spur
-running north and south. The opening, we know, is on
-the east side. Nothing bigger than a wallaby or a dingo,
-save of course a man, can squeeze through that opening.
-Either there is another and separate cave adjacent, where
-the 'rangers stalled their horses, or there is an easier
-entrance somewhere in the spur that has a connection
-with the ones we have already visited."
-
-"You must remember, though, Sandy, that Inspector
-Garvie and his men spent days in searching the locality,
-an' how are we chaps to do in a day what they failed to
-do after several days, and with black trackers, too?"
-
-"I'm not likely to forget that."
-
-"I vote, then," said Joe, "we go straight to the caves
-an' explore 'em first."
-
-"It'd take us all day to search those ravines and bluffs
-on the west side," added Tom, "so I'm in favour of Joe's
-proposal."
-
-"I'm not sure that I should have a voice in this
-matter," spoke Neville. "You fellows will have to settle
-it between yourselves. Whatever you decide upon will
-be agreeable to me."
-
-"Matter's decided, then," answered Sandy. "Joe and
-Tom are for the caves direct. Honestly speaking,
-although I would dearly love a try at the western side,
-for I'm convinced that the outlet lies there, I think, on
-the whole, we'd better stick to the caves, giving them first
-show, anyhow."
-
-"Carried unanimously by a large majority, as Denny
-would say," cried Joe the spokesman.
-
-On arrival at the camping grounds, the place of the
-late serio-comic adventure, the explorers—for such we
-must call them—unsaddled, and short-hobbled their horses.
-
-"I vote," said Joe, "that we boil the billy an' have a
-go at the tuck before we tackle the caves. It'll be better
-than taking the prog with us, an' 'll save us coming out for
-lunch."
-
-"Agreed!" chorus the rest with a readiness and gusto
-which in matters of meat is almost an instinct of
-boyhood. Accordingly the wood is gathered, and ere long,
-with whetted appetites, they are absorbingly engaged on
-a substantial meal.
-
-"There are three things to remember, mates. First of
-all, the candles. We'll divide them equally, three apiece.
-Here's a box of matches for each. Father gave me a
-caution, about lights. We're to carefully watch the
-candles as we proceed through the passages. He says the
-poisonous gases collect in places that are not well
-ventilated, an' that means death in no time if we remain
-in such spots."
-
-"How'd we know, Sandy?"
-
-"I was just going to tell you. If we get into such
-places, father says, the candle will burn dimly, an' if it's
-very bad, will go out altogether. When we happen on
-such spots, if there are any, we are to retreat immediately;
-so don't forget, boys, should we be separated."
-
-"That," said Neville, "is most important." He related
-one or two incidents of fatal accidents in connection with
-English collieries through fire-damp. That danger, though,
-is seldom encountered in such caves as the boys were
-intent on exploring.
-
-"What's the third thing, Sandy?"
-
-"The third thing, Hawkins, is to make fast to this
-green-hide. It is twenty-five feet long, an' we'll tie on to
-it as we go through the passages. Father says there are
-often holes in the floors and very steep inclines. Best to
-be on the safe side, though I don't suppose we'll really
-need it."
-
-"I say," queried Neville, "hadn't we better take some
-stout cudgels with us, for fear of snakes and wild beasts?"
-
-"Happy thought, Mr. Neville. Not for wild beasts,
-though an old-man kangaroo can be as dangerous as a
-bear with his paws when he's bailed up by the dogs."
-
-"What about monkeys, then?"
-
-"Monkeys? We haven't any."
-
-"Well, I heard one of the travellers say, while he was
-having a feed at the men's hut, that he'd been engaged to
-go for a mob of monkeys."
-
-"Ha—ha—ha! Well, you are a——Why, the man
-was talking about sheep. Monkey is a pet name for
-them. We'll want some sticks, though, as well as
-the tomahawk."
-
-So saying, Sandy proceeded to hack at a cluster of
-gum saplings, and cut three waddies about five feet in
-length, and a fourth one eight feet long, and proportionately
-thick. Armed with these and carrying the other
-necessaries, including a billy of water and a snack of food,
-the exploration party proceeded to the cave entrance.
-
-After gaining access to the first cave, the boys allowed
-Neville a few minutes' pause to get at home with his
-surroundings, before going on to the second or cathedral
-chamber. They then pursued their way through the
-tortuous and difficult passage between the two chambers,
-till at length they arrived at the opening.
-
-"Hello!" exclaimed Sandy, who was in the lead, with
-an involuntary gasp.
-
-"What's up?" cried Joe, who was immediately behind him.
-
-"Why, ladder's gone!"
-
-"Jemima! you don't say so. Why—how——?"
-
-"It's gone, all right," replied the leader, as he peered
-by the light of his candle into the gloomy recesses of the
-cave. "Clean gone! Don't see it on the floor below,
-so it can't have dropped."
-
-Joe, squeezing abreast Sandy, and doubling the light
-power, added his eyes to those of his mate in the search.
-
-"No go," said he, after a keen but vain search. "Anyway,
-I can see how to get down easy enough." So saying,
-he placed his stick across the mouth of the passage,
-jamming it on either side into an interstice. "There!"
-he exclaimed, as he hung his weight upon the transverse
-beam, which, though bowing, did not crack when bearing
-his weight. "Let's put the rope round this, an' we'll slip
-down less'n no time."
-
-"Wait a jiffy, Joe," said Sandy, who had been critically
-eyeing the staff. "We'll make 'assurance doubly sure,'
-as your father said in his sermon last Sunday,"—poking
-his stick while he spoke, into the same cavities as the
-other occupied. "That will stiffen it. It's easy enough
-getting down: we could jump, for that matter. It's the
-getting up that's the problem. There, it's as stiff as a
-fire-bar now. Here's the first to go down."
-
-Holding the rope, the boy swung off, and was soon
-standing on the floor of the lower cave. The others
-followed rapidly. They could find no trace of the missing
-ladder. Not only was the ladder spirited away, there
-were other signs which showed that the caves had been
-entered since the last visit of the boys, and on proceeding
-to the third chamber, where the bushrangers slept, there
-were manifest signs of disturbance.
-
-"Some un's been here, that's certain."
-
-Sandy gave voice to the one opinion. The bark bunks
-occupied by the outlaws were thrown off their trestles to
-the ground. There was no gainsaying Sandy's statement.
-The situation was peculiar. The boys might well be
-pardoned for being a little fearsome and creepy under the
-circumstances.
-
-"I heard Dickson tell your father, Sandy, at the brumby
-hunt, that a party was comin' out from Tareela to visit
-the caves. P'r'aps it's them that have moved the ladder."
-
-"Don't think it could have been," persisted Joe.
-"There's no sign of their camp outside."
-
-"What about the 'rangers?"
-
-The thought was decidedly unpleasant, and when
-voiced it struck a chill in the hearts of all. As a
-matter of fact, the thought had lain in Sandy's mind
-from the time he missed the ladder.
-
-Ben Bolt was not a desperado of the Morgan or Kelly
-type—men who were conscienceless, treacherous, and full
-of the blood-lust. Many, indeed, of his acts of gallantry
-and open-hearted generosity, if theatrical, were nevertheless
-redeeming qualities in the old-time bushranger. A
-man of great resource and daring, a thorough bushman, a
-superb rider, mounted always on the finest of horses,—stud
-stock mostly, which he "lifted" from celebrated
-breeding stations,—the 'ranger was, in some respects, a
-picturesque figure, and had a most adventurous career.
-Often located and even sighted by the police, he was
-always able to make good his escape, either by bush
-strategy or by an amazingly daring piece of riding in
-rough country, at which even his intrepid pursuers,
-themselves accomplished horsemen, stood aghast.
-
-There was a spirit of romanticism about the fellow.
-His dress and appearance gave colour to that. He was
-passionately attached to his wife and children, and often
-incurred desperate risks in visiting them when
-"home-sickness" seized him. His house was ever under the
-surveillance of the police, who fondly hoped to catch him
-by that lure. Yet, though often within an ace of capture,
-he always escaped. Outwitting the subtlest efforts of the
-police, he was their despair. Though of a sanguine
-temperament, there were seasons when he was the victim
-of a black mood. At such times he was most dangerous
-and cruel.
-
-"It could hardly be Ben Bolt," said Sandy at length.
-"It's quite possible that the town party has been. How
-could Ben be here an' in Queensland?"
-
-"Well, what's next, Sandy?"
-
-"I'd like us to explore the opening in the passage first,
-Joe. Come, boys, let's shin up."
-
-This was speedily accomplished, and the pals proceeded
-to the spot that was in Sandy's eye, so to speak.
-
-"Here's the place I meant!" exclaimed he, when they
-had retraced their steps some distance through the
-passage. The opening, at first sight, appeared to be
-a deep recess. Upon close examination, however, it was
-found that the wall and the roof did not meet. There was
-a hole some two feet in diameter.
-
-"I spotted this when I came with father," explained
-the leader. "Now, if one of you fellows will give me a
-hoist, I'll get my head and shoulders into that opening
-above, and find out whether it's a chimney, or takes a
-turn and forms a passage."
-
-Accordingly Joe, stooping a little, received Sandy on
-his shoulders, by which he was able to rise into the hole.
-
-"Hurrah—hurrah!" he exclaimed a minute later. "It's
-a passage all right, boys. There's a sort of landing,
-anyway, and it looks as though there's a passage beyond.
-Hold steady, Joe, an' I'll try an' get my hands on the
-ledge."
-
-The boy made several efforts without avail, for he was
-an inch or so too low.
-
-"Step on my shoulders, Sandy." It was Neville who
-had placed himself alongside Joe. His shoulders were at
-least three inches higher. Thus raised, Sandy had no
-difficulty in grasping the ledge of the landing. Catching
-the lad's feet with his hands, Neville pushed the boy
-higher, and soon he worked his way on to the floor of the
-ceiling, as it were.
-
-This done, he proceeded to light his candle and explore,
-for it was impenetrably dark. Following the passage
-inwards, the boy advanced some distance. He found
-that it widened as he proceeded, and became easier to
-traverse.
-
-"I'd better return now for the other chaps," muttered
-the lad. Accordingly he retraced his steps and explained
-matters to the anxiously waiting group. By the aid of
-the green-hide lariat, the others were soon up with the
-leader on the landing.
-
-Here, then, was a new situation. In all probability the
-foot of man had never trodden this place. There were no
-traces of any living thing. It was in no light mood,
-therefore, that the boys made a start. Their position
-was unique and thrilled them. They might, in a literal
-way, bring to light the hidden things of darkness. Not
-for ages, or ever, in all likelihood, had those walls been
-lighted up and gazed upon. Whither would the pathway
-lead?
-
-Proceeding, they encountered no difficulty for some
-time, as the passage widened in places, enabling them to
-walk abreast. Soon, however, it began to contract, and
-in places it became a squeeze. The roof, too, dipped
-considerably, so that it could be touched by the extended
-hand.
-
-Sandy, who was still leading, began to experience a
-tired feeling. There was a peculiar sensation in his ears,
-and a tightening in the throat. After advancing a few
-steps farther he stumbled and almost fell. His candle,
-too, began to burn very dimly. His followers were
-experiencing similar feelings. In a moment the cause
-of this untoward feeling came flashing across his mind.
-
-Joe, behind him, cried out, "I say, Sand ... I'm
-gettin' ... short..."
-
-"Back, everybody! Fire-damp!" cried the leader in a
-raucous voice, after a violent effort.
-
-It was a narrow squeak. Though only a few minutes
-in the poisoned air, they were all on the verge of
-unconsciousness. Gasping, trembling, the sweat oozing from
-every pore, they struggled on until they reached the
-widened area of the passage, and then sank, exhausted,
-to the ground. Tom, who was at the tail of the procession
-was not so bad as the others, not having penetrated so far
-into the poison zone.
-
-The pure air soon revived them. Their respiration,
-which was very laboured at first, improved as soon as
-the sweet, dry air entered their lungs, and ousted the
-putrid gas which had lodged there. A pull at the water-can,
-which fortunately they had brought with them, helped
-them a lot, and in a short time they were themselves again.
-
-"That ends chapter one," said Joe dryly. "Whereaway
-now, Captain?"
-
-"We've come to the end of our tether sudden enough,
-and with a vengeance. It'll be something, Mr. Neville,
-to tell 'em in England. Let us get back to the old passage.
-This is nothing but a death-trap."
-
-
-
-
-
-.. vspace:: 4
-
-.. _`THE EXPLORERS`:
-
-.. class:: center large bold
-
- CHAPTER XXVI
-
-
-.. class:: center medium bold
-
- THE EXPLORERS
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-.. class:: noindent small
-
-"'The best hearts, Trim, are ever the bravest,'
-replied my uncle Toby."—STERNE.
-
-.. vspace:: 1
-
-.. class:: noindent small
-
-"That's a valiant flea that dares eat his breakfast
-on the lip of a lion!"—SHAKESPEARE.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-"How quickly we ran into that poison-trap! No smell
-or anything to warn us," remarked Neville, when the
-normal condition of the lads was restored, "save a nauseous
-feeling which supervened."
-
-"Whatcher think made it hang like that, Mr. Neville?
-Seemed to me like an invisible fog that we suddenly
-encountered."
-
-"That is really what I believe it to be, Tom. I know
-from what I have read and heard, the gas is colourless
-and quite heavy. An uncle of mine is a colliery manager
-in Wales, and this fire-damp, or choke-damp, as it is
-sometimes called, is often fatal, because it fills the lungs
-so that no other air can enter, and in this way suffocates
-its victims. We were just on the fringe of it, I think.
-
-"As I was saying, this fire-damp, which is always
-much more dangerous after an explosion in the mines,
-is generally formed by the decomposition of certain
-substances in vegetable fibres, or in veins of carbonised
-mineral. That is why it is called carbonic acid gas. It
-is much heavier than the air. You remember the passage
-was contracted, and the air seems to have become
-impregnated at that particular place."
-
-"Well, whatever it is," said Joe, who had just made
-a few spasmodic heaves, "it's good enough to keep out
-of. Let's give the acid, or gas, or damp, or whatever it's
-called, leg bail."
-
-The party of defeated but not disgraced explorers now
-retraced their steps. Eagerly scanning the walls as they
-retreated for signs of diverging passages, they soon found
-themselves at the landing, whence they swung down into
-the blind alley that led to the main passage.
-
-"Sandy," said Joe, when the party had emerged, "give
-that passage a name. Leichhardt gave names, you know,
-to all the creeks, hills, and water-holes he discovered in
-his travels. I reckon yon's our discovery. Faugh!"
-ejecting a mouthful of saliva, "it tastes like rotten
-soda-water. Let's call the beastly place by a name that'll
-fit it."
-
-"Christen away."
-
-"Me! Well—er—how'd 'Poison Pot' do?"
-
-'"Death Trap' would be better," replied Sandy. So
-thought the others, and it was accordingly named "Death
-Trap Passage."
-
-"Now, chaps, let's get back to the cathedral. There's
-a likely spot there—that hole, I mean, where the boulder
-was jammed."
-
-"What's the time, Mr. Neville?" asked Joe, on arrival
-at the big chamber.
-
-"Quarter to one."
-
-"Why, we've hardly been three hours in! I made sure
-it was about six."
-
-"I vote we have a go at the prog," chipped in Tom.
-"It'll help to take the nasty taste away."
-
-"Good idea!" was the general verdict.
-
-The pals had lost a good deal of their natural spirits.
-Three hours groping in semi-darkness, with a throat full of
-choke-damp thrown in, was enough to stale the strongest;
-yet they had no thought of surrender. They were
-"baffled, to fight better."
-
-In a few minutes the outer entrance is gained, and in
-another five minutes they reach camp.
-
-The hot tea was particularly acceptable. Nothing in
-the wide world could have been more refreshing and
-stimulating. Billy-tea boiled with gum sticks, just so
-far sweetened as to countervail the natural roughness
-without impairing the aromatic flavour, stands at the
-head of all beverages—whether aerated, brewed, distilled,
-or concocted.
-
-"My word, this is bully tea, ain't it?" cried Tom,
-smacking his lips with satisfaction, after emptying his
-pannikin for the third time.
-
-Neville in particular—to whom the outing and the
-exploration was a new experience—felt, as he puffed at
-a cigar, the stirrings of a larger and a nobler nature than
-that which had hitherto exercised him. Business life
-seemed flat and stale compared with this al fresco
-existence.
-
-"Time to be goin' back again," said the practical Sandy,
-breaking in on a post-prandial reverie. "Gimme the
-tommie, Joe."
-
-Tomahawk in hand, the boy walked to the sapling
-clump, and selecting a stout specimen, vigorously attacked
-it with the weapon. From this he cut two six-foot
-lengths, sharpening the thicker ends, crowbar fashion.
-
-"What's that for, Sandy?"
-
-"To prise the boulder. They'll make capital levers."
-
-Armed with these additional implements, the lads
-returned to the caves, and in due course lowered
-themselves into the cathedral.
-
-The spot which Sandy had mentally marked as a likely
-one has already been described. It was a cleft in the
-floor at its junction with the wall, and immediately behind
-a huge stalagmite. It must have escaped the vigilant
-eyes of the professional trackers. The corner was a very
-dark one, and unless one looked closely behind the
-boulder the cleft would not be observed. Sandy had lit
-upon it in a promiscuous search, and was impressed by
-its possibilities as another outlet, or inlet, to other
-cavities.
-
-No sooner had the boys arrived at the spot, and Sandy
-had cast his eye upon it, than he exclaimed, "Somebody's
-been here!"
-
-"How d'yer know?"
-
-"This stone is not in the same position as when I last
-saw it."
-
-"Who could it 'a' been?"
-
-"Dunno. I'm crack sure, however, that this stone was
-not square down the other day. The flat of it was down
-and the point of it up. Now it's reversed. Besides, here
-are crowbar marks."
-
-"It'll be hard enough to get out—much harder than it
-would 'a' been if it hadn't been touched."
-
-"Must have been a strong chap that turned it!"
-
-"Strong? No one man could ever have done it! It
-would be difficult for two. Why, that stone's not a pound
-less than four hundredweight!"
-
-"Well, time's goin'," said Joe, "and what's done's done.
-Let's at it, Sandy. Up-end her, and throw her over on
-the floor."
-
-The lads vainly tried to insert the wooden bar.
-The cracks between the lid, so to speak, and the
-edge at the opening were not sufficiently wide to admit
-this.
-
-"It won't do," said Sandy after a while; "we're gettin'
-no forrader."
-
-"I suggest," interposed Neville, "that you widen the
-cracks."
-
-"How can we do that?"
-
-"Will you let me have a try?"
-
-"My!—rather. Anything to get the blame thing out."
-
-Neville picked up the tomahawk that was lying near
-at hand, and began striking the edges of the hole where
-Sandy had been prising.
-
-"That's the stitch!" cried Tom. "Well done, Mr. Neville!"
-
-The limestone readily yielded to Neville's strokes,
-and the crevice was soon wide enough to take in the
-thick end of the stout gum sapling.
-
-Sandy and Neville, taking a pull at the end, levered
-the stone high enough for Joe, who had the other bar
-ready to insert between the raised end and the floor stone.
-With this additional lever power the "stopper" was
-canted on one side, high enough to put the stone chocks
-in. Another application of the bars, with two boys
-hanging on each and pulling simultaneously, brought the
-"stopper out of the bottle," and toppled it over with
-a thud that shook the floor; bringing down a stalactite
-with a crash, fortunately without harm to the exploring
-party.
-
-Before venturing down, Joe, in whose mind an idea
-had been fermenting while the stone-raising business
-was being carried on, critically surveyed the stone
-"stopper."
-
-"Look here!" remarked he, "these are the marks of an
-iron crowbar. Whoever removed this had the proper
-tools for it. Whatcher make of that? That upsets the
-town party theory, don't it?"
-
-"It certainly makes the puzzle harder," said Neville.
-
-"Think so? Makes it easier to me," quoth Sandy.
-
-"How's that?"
-
-"Looks more'n more like Ben Bolt's work."
-
-"Think he's in there now?" exclaimed Tom, in an
-awed whisper.
-
-"No, I don't think that. But it shows me that he's
-knocking about here again, an' he's been in the caves
-quite recently."
-
-The boys looked into each other's faces, and felt—well,
-just as you would feel, brave reader, were you in the
-cavernous depths of earth, in the very haunts of
-proclaimed outlaws, not knowing at what moment they
-might spring upon you. Standing in the cold, damp, dim
-underground, at the mouth of an unknown passage, which
-might take you to the innermost den of the outlaws, could
-you contemplate advance without an attack of the creeps?
-The crevice, after going down sheer a few feet, turned
-on a level plane, right across the floor of the cathedral,
-in a westerly direction. How far could be known only
-by actual travel.
-
-"Come on, boys," said Sandy, after a moment's silence;
-"it's what we've come here for. I believe, for one, we're
-goin' to solve the mystery."
-
-One by one the lads dropped into the bottom of the
-well. The passage was of unequal width, but always wide
-enough to allow the party to proceed without squeezing,
-and had a fairly level floor. The floor, after extending
-two hundred paces or so in a westerly direction, began to
-decline somewhat sharply, and presently Sandy gave a
-warning shout—
-
-"Water ahead!"
-
-The others crowded round him as well as they could.
-There, at their very feet, was a pool of water of unknown
-depth.
-
-"Here's a go, chaps! Looks as if it might be a swim."
-
-The pool covered a fairly wide stretch, and was in a
-dip of the passage.
-
-"Don't think it's a swim myself," remarked Joe.
-"Let's take off our boots an' pants. I fancy we'll find it
-only a wade. We can move cautiously and test it with
-a bar as we proceed."
-
-The party did as suggested, and found to their satisfaction
-that the water did not rise above their knees; for
-none of them relished a swim in the icy water. After
-re-dressing, the company moved forward, and soon
-emerged into a spacious cavern that fairly sparkled with
-lime crystals. Little time, however, was spent in
-admiration. They moved across it in the same direction, and
-found two exits. After a short consultation, they decided
-to take the larger of the two passages, because it seemed
-to be a continuation of the old track. Just as they
-started, Tom, who was in the rear, on looking round, saw
-what appeared to be a bundle on the floor of the cave,
-some distance to the right.
-
-"Wait a moment," cried he, as he ran to the object.
-"Oh, I say, here's a find!"
-
-The others, who were in the entrance, backed out,
-and ran to his side. Tom held the old vine ladder in his
-hands.
-
-There was no longer any doubt. There could be only
-one conclusion. At the sight of this the boys had a bad
-attack of the creeps.
-
-"It's the 'rangers all right. They've slipped the police
-again." There seemed to be no alternative to this
-conclusion. "Seems to me," continued Joe, who was
-the quickest of the lot in reasoning out a thing, "that
-they've been back here again, and knowing that the
-bobbies'll be on the watch to trap 'em at this spot,
-they've locked up the house, in a way of speakin', an'
-thrown the key inside. I vote that we go on."
-
-No one said nay, and so the advance was made. The
-passage presented no serious obstacle, widening and
-narrowing at intervals, but never too narrow to proceed.
-As they were squeezing through a difficult place, Sandy
-again sounded the alarm.
-
-"What's up now?" said Joe, who was just behind.
-
-"'Nother big cave, an' a deep drop into it, same as the
-other. There's a bar across here where they've slung
-ropes. Undo the lasso, chaps."
-
-"Let's hope we're getting near the end of it."
-
-The speaker was Joe. The truth is, the work was
-most tiring in its nature, and the spirits of the party were
-yielding to a very uneasy feeling, despite Joe's plausible
-theories that the end might be the reverse of pleasant.
-Should Ben Bolt, after all, be in hiding, well—the worst
-might happen.
-
-Fixing the rope, they slipped down to the floor of the
-new cave. This, though not remarkable for beauty, was
-commodious enough, and had several outlets, in one of
-which there were indubitable evidences of the one-time
-presence of horses.
-
-"Hello! here's the stable," cried Tom, who was first in
-this recess.
-
-Sure enough in a vault-shaped but very roomy cavern,
-entered by a wide passage, was the robbers' stable.
-Several bundles of bush hay were stacked in one corner.
-A manure heap filled the other. All this pointed to a
-prolonged occupation. The idea of the robbers' presence
-had so materialised by these later evidences that the
-boys felt they might be confronted at any moment by the
-desperadoes.
-
-"What'll we do, Joe?" said Tom. "Slip quietly back
-again?"
-
-"Slip back again, after getting this far! Don't be
-frightened, Tom."
-
-"I'm not; y'are yourself."
-
-"Well," replied Joe, with a smile, "I'll not deny that
-I've felt like it more'n once. But there's one thing
-you've not noticed, chaps."
-
-"What's that?" chorused the group.
-
-"There's not been any horses here for weeks."
-
-"How d'yer know?"
-
-"No fresh droppings."
-
-That fact was indisputable, conclusive, and enheartening.
-It lifted a load of apprehension, to call it by
-no harder name; and now, with buoyant spirits, to
-which they had been strangers for some time, the boys
-continued the search. The end, indeed, was close at hand.
-
-"Look out sharply for tracks," was the command of
-the leader on leaving the stable, stooping low as he
-spoke, and eagerly scanning the floor. Hoof-prints were
-discovered and followed. They led to a corner of the
-big cave which narrowed at that point, and continued
-on as an opening. After going a few paces, Sandy called
-out, "Hurrah—hurrah! Light ahead!"
-
-Sure enough, a few yards farther the passage was
-lighted with natural rays that shot through a small
-opening some distance ahead. The party was exultant,
-and needed no telling that this was sunlight. In this
-subterranean fashion the explorers had traversed,
-mole-like, the range spur, and proved the theory of the dual
-entrance.
-
-Like as the exultation of Columbus when the first
-sight of the new world convinced him that he had solved
-the riddle of ages, or as Leichhardt felt when he and
-his dauntless band stood upon the shores of the great
-northern gulf, after having passed through the very heart
-of Australia's *terra incognita*, so did the breasts of these
-brave youths swell with the spirit of triumph when
-that ray of light revealed the joyful fact that they, a
-group of mere youngsters, had succeeded where the
-experts had failed.
-
-The whole company darted through the spacious passage
-to the opening. It was in the face of a cliff, and fully
-fifty yards from its sloping base. So steep was the cliff
-that, viewed from a distance, it appeared perpendicular;
-forbidding to anything save rock wallabies and—Ben Bolt.
-
-Its very roughness, however, made its ascent a
-possibility. Had it been a smooth face, no horse, however
-capable, could have climbed it. Ben Bolt was always
-able to achieve the possible. Many of his wild rides
-bordered on the miraculous. His personality magnetised
-his steeds. Wherever he led they would go, and so the
-steep ravine that rose from the rocky base to this
-entrance afforded a precarious footing for the outlaw's
-horses.
-
-"Now then, boys, before we go down, let's give a
-cheer," said Sandy. Led by the leader, the group signalled
-its victory—for such it was, and no mean one—by a
-rousing cheer that woke the echoes of the precipice and
-spread wave-like over the landscape beyond.
-
-It penetrated the ears of two men who were riding
-quietly in the bush that lay beyond the rocky plateau
-which formed the base of the cliffs.
-
-"What's that?" exclaimed the elder to the youth who
-rode at his side.
-
-"Sounds like a cheer," replied the youth. "Who can
-it be—traps?"
-
-Turning their horses' heads, they rode swiftly but
-silently to the edge of the scrubby timber which they
-were traversing. Halting just within the bushy barrier,
-they parted the leaves, and there, perched high up the
-cliff's side, were four youthful forms—the band of cave
-explorers.
-
-"Now, boys, we'll go back an' have another look round
-before we leave. Might find something belonging to Ben
-Bolt worth carryin' away. We can easily get out on
-this side, and cross the spur a little higher up, where
-the cliff runs out. 'Twon't take long neither! I
-say—won't we have a yarn to spin to-night!"
-
-But the unexpected is yet to happen. The company
-retraced their steps to the cave, and did a little
-exploration; finding nothing, however, but a couple of leather
-mail-bags and some opened letters—the remains of
-coach-robbery spoils.
-
-"This is the last one, mates," remarked Sandy, as the
-group entered the mouth of a passage. After traversing
-its course a little distance, it opened up into a small
-cave, twenty feet square. On one side of it were bunks
-similar to those in the other cave. While in the act of
-examining it, Joe fancied he heard a footfall. Stopping
-a moment to listen, he distinctly heard the sounds of
-stealthy footsteps.
-
-"'S-s-sh-h-h, boys! Some un's followin'!"
-
-At this startling statement the boys halted and turned
-round, to be confronted by two forms hardly distinguishable
-in the surrounding gloom. The pals gave a gasp of
-terror as the call peculiar to highwaymen smote their
-ears and they faced two weapons, levelled point blank.
-
-"Hands up!"
-
-Candles are dropped in sheer fright in an eye-wink,
-and hands go up in gross darkness.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-The sun had just set as the four youths, in company
-with two men, mounted their horses and took the track
-leading to Bullaroi. Strange to say, the lads showed no
-signs of fear, nor were they bound with cords.
-
-"By jingo!" cried Tom, who had just put his horse
-at a big log and cleared it in fine style, followed in
-order by Joe, Sandy, and Neville, "this is the grandest
-outin' I've ever had!"
-
-"It's a' very weel," answered Mr. M'Intyre, who with
-Denny Kineavy had been following the tracks of some
-strayed cattle which were making for the ranges, and
-were passing the cliff opening while the cave explorers
-were ringing the welkin with cheers, "but supposin'
-that instead o' us, it 'd really been the bushrangers
-returnin' and catcht ye trespassin'? What then, ma
-laddies?"
-
-This query raised visions of possibilities that sobered
-the vaulting spirits of the pals for some brief moments.
-Very thankful were they in a moment of reflection that
-they had been bailed up by a friendly enemy.
-
-"Heigho!"
-
-"What's matter, Joe?"
-
-"Fun's all over: measly school opens to-morrow!"
-
-
-
-
-
-.. vspace:: 4
-
-.. _`A RESPITE`:
-
-.. class:: center large bold
-
- CHAPTER XXVII
-
-
-.. class:: center medium bold
-
- A RESPITE
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-..
-
- | "Ah! those were the days of youth's perfect spring,
- | When each wandering wind had a song to sing,
- | When the touch of care and the shade of woe
- | Were but empty words we could never know,
- | As we rode 'neath the gum and the box trees high,
- | And our idle laughter went floating by."
- | GEORGE ESSEX EVANS.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-Joe little thought when making the melancholy statement,
-"measly school opens to-morrow," how prophetic the
-utterance was.
-
-The first words that greeted the party on their return
-to the homestead were: "School won't open for another
-three weeks; the town's full of measles."
-
-The pals tried hard to look sober and concerned as
-Mrs. M'Intyre dilated upon the nature of the epidemic.
-It was a vain attempt. To their credit be it said, they
-were very poor hypocrites. Whatever sorrow they might
-feel on account of their friends who were in the grip
-of the disease was more than counterbalanced by the
-blissful intimation that, owing to the epidemic which
-had unexpectedly broken out, the school authorities had
-resolved, for at least three weeks, to keep the school
-closed.
-
-"There's no going home at present, boys. I wouldn't
-dream of letting you return. I'll just write to your
-mothers to say I intend keeping you here, unless they
-want you particularly. I feel sure they will be thankful
-for your absence at such a time. So you'll have to
-make the best of it, boys. Are you sorry?"
-
-"Well—er—of course—I'm a——"
-
-"Yes—a—of course—you're—a—shedding tears at the
-thought of staying here another fortnight or so—aren't you,
-Joe? You and Tom do look as miserable as moulting fowls
-in wet weather at the bare thought of holiday extension."
-
-The lads burst out laughing at Jessie's sally, and
-declared that it was the crummiest news they had received
-during the holidays.
-
-"That's a' very weel, and ye needna fash, laddies,
-that you'll ootwear your welcome. But here's some news
-that may no' be so pleasant," said the squatter, who had
-been busy with his mail. "Here's a letter frae Inspector
-Garvie to say that Ben Bolt and his mate are in the
-deestric' again. He stuck up Dirrilbandie Station three
-days ago, drivin' a' the hands aboot the homesteed, along
-wi' Wilson and his faimily, into ane o' the men's huts,
-in which they were held by his youthfu' confederate
-while he ransacked the place."
-
-"Oh! the poor Wilsons! Did he hurt any of them? and
-did he get much?"
-
-In reply to a fusillade of questions from the excited
-household, M'Intyre stated that though Ben Bolt was in
-one of his black humours, was in fact on the point of
-shooting one of the men for cheeking his mate, and was
-only dissuaded from this atrocity by the pleading of
-Mrs. Wilson, no one was injured. He had taken a considerable
-amount of loot, however, in the shape of jewellery;
-also a pair of new improved revolvers, as well as three
-horses, one of them being Wilson's handsome chestnut
-gelding, the finest hack in the district, and for which
-he had a short time previously refused seventy pounds
-from the police authorities.
-
-There had been an outcry against the Government
-for not having provided a better class of mount for the
-troopers. Again and again the schemes of the police
-to capture the bushrangers in various parts of the
-colony failed, chiefly because they were out-classed in
-horse-flesh. A tardy Government, aroused at last to
-action by the clamour of the people, was doing its best
-to remedy this unequal condition.
-
-"I suppose, sir, the police are in full chase of the
-desperadoes?"
-
-"They're doin' their best, ye may be sure, Mr. Neville.
-Garvie has two pairties oot scoorin' the country, and is
-holdin' himsel' in readiness to move to ony pint at a
-moment's notice. As the scoondrels hae cut the Walcha
-telegraph line, the presumption is they will be raidin' the
-place, and Sergeant Hennessey is following up with the
-utmost speed. The Sub wants the loan o' Jacky or Willy,
-or both, as trackers, and to let him ken at aince should
-there be ony signs o' them on Bullaroi, 'specially aboot
-the caves."
-
-"Are you goin' to lend him the boys, father?"
-
-"Weel, it's very awkward, but I'll hae to assist the
-coorse o' juistice when ca'd upon. We maun dae oor
-pairt to catch the rascals."
-
-"Suppose you *had* tumbled across the 'rangers in the
-caves, boys?"
-
-"Well! an' s'p'osin' we had, Miss Jessie?" replied
-Tom, whose answer in tone and query suggested unspeakably
-bad things for the outlaws had they been unfortunate
-enough to meet the cave heroes.
-
-"Let me pit ye a sum in arithmeetic, Thomas,
-ma laddie; juist a sma' sum in proportion. If twa
-stock wheep hondles, pinted at fowr cave explorers,
-each wi' a lighted candle in his hand, would cause
-the said candles to drop to the flure and fowr pair
-o' hands to go up like a toy acrobat when ye pu' the
-strings, what attitudes would the aforesaid explorers
-strike if a pair o' rale loaded peestols had been
-presented?"
-
-"Tom is always a duffer at proportion," interjected
-Joe laughingly. "He has a trick of givin' answers that
-make Simpson sit up. To tell you the truth, sir, I don't
-think that the real article could have given us a greater
-shock. Speaking for myself, I confess that I've never
-had so bad an attack of the shakes before. My skin
-went goosey in a moment, an' my hair stood up like a
-hedgehog's spikes. I couldn't 'a' said a word for a
-hatful of sovereigns. You see, sir, *it was all very real
-to us for the moment*, and none of the others felt any
-better than myself, I bet tuppence."
-
-"Joe's quite right, sir. I had a most dreadful feeling
-as we stood there in the black darkness. It seemed as if
-a vast abyss had suddenly engulfed us and we were
-sinking to fathomless depths."
-
-"I'll back up Joe and Mr. Neville, dad. My word,
-when you spoke, it was as if some one had suddenly pulled
-me out of a dreadful nightmare."
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-The pals went to bed early, as they were tired out after
-the unwonted exertions of the day, but not to sleep.
-They were too excited for that.
-
-"I say, chaps," exclaimed Sandy, jumping out of bed
-after he had tossed about for a few minutes, dragging his
-stretcher alongside the bigger bed, "let's settle what we're
-goin' to do."
-
-"Was just thinking of doin' a sleep, Master M'Intyre,
-when you commenced to drag the jolly stretcher with
-enough noise to wake the seven sleepers. An' as for ole
-Tom, I fancied I heard a snore comin' through a hole
-in his pumpkin——"
-
-"Pumpkin yourself, Blain. I'm as wide awake as you,
-or that grinnin' ape Sandy."
-
-"How d'yer know I'm grinnin'?"
-
-"'Cause I can see your jolly teeth shinin' in the dark.
-But I say, ole chap, I'm on for a confab. Ouch! my legs
-*are* stiff. Wish I'd taken that hot bath your mother
-advised. Whatcher got in your ole noddle?"
-
-"Something big, mates, but the difficulty will be with
-mother. You see, now ole Ben's prowlin' about, mother'll
-be hard to persuade."
-
-"Well, tell us what's up your sleeve; we can discuss
-ways an' means after."
-
-"It's this: go on a campin' trip to the Bay, where
-there's grand fishin'; then go out to the gold-diggin's, an'
-put in a couple o' days with the fossikers."
-
-"Jemima! that'd be no end of a prime lark! It'd top
-off our stay here, wouldn't it, Tom?"
-
-"Susan Jane! it would that, Joe. My word, it'd be
-a scrumptious finish! but what charnce would we have of
-carrying it out?"
-
-"I don't think that either your Jemima or Susan Jane'll
-have much to do with it. Mother'll be the chief obstacle."
-
-"What about a tent, Sandy? We'd have to get one,
-wouldn't we?"
-
-"There'll be no trouble about that part of the business.
-There's a big drover's tent in the harness-room; 'sides,
-Harry has a small one he'd lend if necessary. Lemme
-see: what *would* we want? First an' foremost, a tent
-or tents, an' a packhorse to carry 'em an' the other things.
-Then plenty o' prog, o' course: fishing lines—there's
-tip-top schnapper-fishin' down the Bay, to say nothin' of
-jew, bream, an' whitin'. Then, the guns—we ought
-to get some good shootin'; both fur an' feather."
-
-"A fryin'-pan and a camp-oven 'ud come in handy,
-pannikins too, and some tin plates."
-
-"Yes, yes, we'll need those; at any rate, the fryin'-pan
-for the fish. Don't think there'll be any need to
-bother about a camp-oven: it's a plaguey thing to carry;
-we wouldn't use it 'cept for bread, an' we can make
-plenty of damper in the ashes. But I'll tell you what
-we must have, an' that's a couple o' small barrels an' a
-good few pounds o' salt."
-
-"Why, what for?"
-
-"Fish. We'll be down at the Bay pretty near a week,
-I reckon; an' as we'll catch whips o' fish, it'd be a fine
-chance to dry some, an' salt some as well. Mother's
-got two good barrels that hold about half-a-hundred-weight
-each; they're salmon casks. The salmon's all
-used, an' I reckon schnapper is as good as salmon any
-day. That reminds me we'll want three or four sheath-knives;
-they'll come in handy for scalin' an' splittin'
-the fish."
-
-"I say, Sandy, when'll we start?"
-
-"Start! Ah—well—we'll talk about that when we
-get leave—which, let me tell you, is pretty doubtful.
-'Twouldn't take long to get ready once we have
-permission: a day at most. I declare I'm gettin' sleepy.
-Good-night, chaps."
-
-The boys opened at short range during the breakfast
-hour the next morning. In other words, they pled most
-vigorously for permission to camp out for a week or so,
-according to the programme concocted the night previously.
-The chief objection lay in the reappearance of Ben Bolt
-in the district. It was all in vain that the boys insisted
-that even were the redoubtable 'ranger to visit their
-camp, which was most unlikely—he would not harm
-them: would, in fact, have no interest in bailing up a
-parcel of boys. Mr. M'Intyre showed palpable signs of
-yielding, and had it been left to him would have granted
-a reluctant permission. The insurmountable barrier, as
-indeed the boys knew beforehand, lay in Mrs. Mac's
-excessive fear. She held the fort, so to speak, against
-all comers.
-
-"I'm more sorry than I can tell you, boys, to say
-no, but nothing you could say would alter my mind.
-Neither Joe's mother nor Tom's would dream of letting
-them go camping out while those dreadful men are about."
-
-The pals felt the reasonableness of the refusal, and
-showed not a flicker of resentment, though of course their
-disappointment was keen.
-
-"I say, chaps, let's put in the mornin' fishin',"
-suggested Joe.
-
-The vote was unanimous, and in a few minutes, armed
-with rods and lines and a tomahawk—the latter for
-use in cutting grubs out of the honeysuckle trees—the
-boys were *en route* to some of the deep pools in the
-creek. They had a really good time with some giant
-perch. The dangling grubs formed an irresistible lure
-to these voracious denizens of the water-holes, and the
-fishermen had no reason to grumble at the result. On
-their return home to lunch they were dumbfounded with
-the news shouted out by Denny as soon as they were
-within speaking distance, "Owld Ben's dead!—shot by
-the p'lice in th' ranges."
-
-The whole household was greatly excited by the news,
-which had been brought by a stockman from Captain
-White's station. There seemed no reason to doubt the
-intelligence, which had come via the "bush
-telegraph." Hennessey's lot had picked up the 'rangers' tracks and
-partly surprised them in the mountains. The outlaws
-promptly but barely succeeded in getting away. They
-gradually drew away, however, from all save the Sergeant,
-who was on a new mount—one of the Tocal noted
-breed—which proved to be a "ringer."
-
-The leader and his companion, who was a light weight,
-tried every dodge to shake off the pursuit, and in this
-they were past masters; but they had to reckon with
-Hennessey, who was one of the finest troopers in the
-force—as dare-devil a rider as Ben Bolt himself.
-
-After some marvellous riding among the ravines and
-tangled mountain scrub—during which a few long-range
-shots had been exchanged—Hennessey began to draw
-upon the outlaws. Even that equine magician, Samson,
-was reaching his limits. The capture of this illusive
-freebooter seemed now a certainty, could the Sergeant
-hold out another ten minutes.
-
-He was now within a hundred yards of his man. He
-lagged a little behind his youthful mate, who was riding
-the chestnut gelding looted from Wilson's station. Had
-he wished he could have shot the 'ranger down; but
-being extremely anxious to capture him alive for the
-bigger reward, he refrained. The only advantage Ben
-Bolt possessed was an intimate knowledge of the ground,
-by which he often gained a bit. They were now racing
-up a steep ravine which presently terminated abruptly
-at a precipice. Down this the outlaws apparently flung
-themselves; or so it appeared to Hennessey.
-
-Arriving at the spot a few seconds later, the trooper
-perceived a winding, narrow pass. He was a stranger
-to the precipitous track, but both the bushrangers and
-their horses were familiar with it, for they slithered and
-scrambled down at breakneck speed: a single stumble,
-and man and horse would inevitably be dashed to pieces.
-In vain did the gallant Sergeant spur his steed towards
-the pass. His horse resolutely refused to face it. His
-chances of capture are fast diminishing to a vanishing
-point, as in a few minutes his prize will have escaped.
-
-The outlaws have now reached the comparatively even
-ground below, distant about five hundred yards from
-where the trooper stood gnashing his teeth in rage, and
-praying that they might break their necks before they
-reach the bottom. Fortune favoured them, however, and
-they might have made good their escape without further
-trouble. But, instead of galloping off to safe cover, they
-reined up their steeds, while Ben Bolt, standing in his
-stirrups, shouted at the top of his voice an insulting
-message for the Sub-Inspector, making at the same time
-an ironical bow.
-
-While this little piece of comedy was being enacted,
-and just as the bushranger was in the act of bowing,
-the Sergeant had dismounted. Swiftly throwing his rifle
-to his shoulder and adjusting his sights in an eye wink,
-he made a hasty but true shot. The outlaw had not
-finished his bow ere he toppled from his steed and lay
-prone, shot through the heart.
-
-Such was the news brought by the stockman, and
-accepted by the station folk.
-
-"Weel, it was bound to come sooner or later. It's what
-happens to a' law-breakers—simply the choice of bullet
-or rope. It's no' for us to ca' the unfortunate and
-misguided mon names. If a's true, he suffered a grave
-injuistice at the hands o' the police when but a youth,
-which embittered his whole life an' gave a moral twist
-to his actions. We maun leave him to Ane above wha
-mak's nae mis-judgments."
-
-
-
-
-
-.. vspace:: 4
-
-.. _`THE CAMP BY THE SEA`:
-
-.. class:: center large bold
-
- CHAPTER XXVIII
-
-
-.. class:: center medium bold
-
- THE CAMP BY THE SEA
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-..
-
- | "Bright skies of summer o'er the deep,
- | And soft salt air along the land,
- | The blue wave, lisping in its sleep,
- | Sinks gently on the yellow sand;
- | And grey-winged seagulls slowly sweep
- | O'er scattered bush and white-limbed tree,
- | Where the red cliffs like bastions stand
- | To front the salvos of the sea,
- | Now lulled by its own melody."
- | GEORGE ESSEX EVANS.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-"And now, boys, what about the camping-out project?
-I see no reason why you shouldn't carry out your little
-plan, now all danger's removed; indeed, I should love you
-to have the jaunt. Who were going?"
-
-The boys could hardly believe the good news, it was
-so sudden.
-
-"Us three, and Denny, if father could spare him,
-mother," was Sandy's remark.
-
-"Oh, ye can tak' the laddie. He's due for a holiday,
-onyway. So's Harry, for that matter. I can do wi'oot
-'em for a spell."
-
-Harry was nothing loth, and entered into the scheme
-with considerable enthusiasm. As an old bushman he
-was able to give good advice in the matter of camping-out
-requirements, and was later to render signal service by
-which a life was saved.
-
-Behold the party, early the next morning, accoutred
-and ready for the road; making, as they held their steeds,
-quite an imposing cavalcade. Two stout roadsters were
-requisitioned for packing purposes; for the maternal
-solicitude of Mrs. Mac was both prolific and varied,
-judged by the articles of food and service which she
-forced upon the travellers.
-
-The squatter's pawky humour found ample scope for
-indulgence. He expressed a hope that "the pairty would
-keep a guid look oot for traces o' the lost Leichhardt
-expeedetion; and look oot for alleegaitors when ye strike
-the Gulf o' Carpeentairia."
-
-The girls, too, indulged in good-humoured banter,
-raising hearty laughs against the boys, in which the
-victims joined as lustily as any.
-
-Said Maggie, striking a grandmotherly attitude,
-"There are three things I would warn you against, boys;
-damp socks, draughts, and earwigs. Don't leave out the
-flour when mixing the damper. Have you packed the
-tape measure, Sandy?"
-
-"Tape measure! What in the name of Madge Wildfire
-do you mean?"
-
-"Why," cried Jessie, breaking in, "to measure the
-giant jew fish that will snap Joe's line as he is in the
-very act of landing it."
-
-"Whatcher givin' us, Jess?"
-
-"It will also come in handy," continued the saucy girl,
-turning on Tom, "to record the girth, length, and throat
-capacity of the monster snake that you, Tom, are sure to
-see when roaming alone in the scrub."
-
-"That's one for your nob, Tom!"
-
-"Your turn next, Sandy," retorted that youth.
-
-"Then there's the 'old-man' kangaroo that me brither
-Sandy will shoot at, missing by 'just an hair's-breadth,'
-of course, and which he will declare—when he returns to
-camp—to be as 'high as one of those extinct mammals
-that Simpson has in his natural history book'; at any
-rate as 'big as Bullocky Bill's off side poler.'"
-
-"But, Miss Jessie, how wud th' bhoys put th' measure
-on th'——?"
-
-"As for Dennis Kineavy," continued the sprite, "he
-will be sure to run into a group of mermaa-des, when
-diving in the deep blue sa-ay, who will be discussing
-the all-important question of waist measurement. As
-Denny's an expert in fairies and hobgoblins, he will be
-appointed judge and referee."
-
-So, amid laughter and banter, and final good-byes, the
-gay party start for the Bay.
-
-Neville was prevented from joining them through
-important business interests in Sydney. The "call" of
-the bush, however, was strong and insistent, and, as he
-bade farewell, he announced his determination of
-returning at no long date to settle as a landholder.
-
-The road to the Bay passed within a short distance
-of the caves, and, despite the news of the tragic end of
-Ben Bolt, the lads, as they jogged past the neighbourhood,
-were unable to rid themselves of a feeling that the outlaw
-still lurked about his old haunt, and felt relieved when
-they had left this region behind them.
-
-The journey to the Bay proved uneventful save in one
-particular. In mounting a very steep incline, the cinch
-strap, that formed the final fastening of the pack on
-one of the animals, broke, whereupon the pack-saddle,
-being loosely girthed, worked backwards. Some of the
-contents, also, fell to the ground, frightening the horse,
-who bolted along the road, parting with sundry utensils
-and eatables, which lined the track for some distance
-at irregular intervals. The frightened steed was at length
-secured, the wreckage gathered and replaced—this time
-more securely—and the journey resumed.
-
-The Bay is reached without further mishap or adventure.
-After coasting it for some little space the party
-cast anchor, in seamen's parlance, on a miniature
-promontory which jutted for a furlong or so into the waters
-of the Bay, forming a grassy, treeless plateau throughout
-its area. The advantage of this site was apparent to
-the group of campers, inasmuch as the foreshores of
-the Bay were covered for the most part with a stunted
-scrub that extended to the beach. The advantage was
-twofold: it obviated the necessity of clearing a space
-for the tents, and it was comparatively free from bush
-vermin.
-
-To the southern part of the Bay, distant some six miles,
-was the Pilot Station; while towards the northern
-extremity, where a large creek debouched into the sea,
-was a camp of cedar-getters. Otherwise, in its shore
-vicinity, the Bay was uninhabited.
-
-Two hours of daylight yet remained, and the members
-of the party made instant preparation for pitching camp.
-The necessary tent poles and pegs were speedily secured
-from the neighbouring scrub, and, under the direction
-of the experienced stockman, willing hands are busily
-engaged in the erection.
-
-The bigger tent was set upon a ridge pole that rested
-in the forks of two upright saplings which had been
-firmly fixed in the ground. When the requisite number
-of pegs had been hammered into the ground, the tent
-was hauled taut by cords passed through eyelet holes
-at intervals along each side, and about thirty inches from
-the bottom. This under section of the tent assumed
-a perpendicular position, forming the walls, which were
-secured by the same method. This formed the pals'
-cover, while the smaller tent sufficed for the other two.
-A rough shed formed of four uprights, with a brushwood
-roof, held the provisions and saddles.
-
-So expeditiously were all these arrangements made
-that ere the darkness fell they were completed, and
-Denny—who was promoted to the responsible position of
-cook—was building a fire for tea-making purposes.
-Meanwhile the horses were led to a small, freshwater
-lagoon in the vicinity, where they were belled and
-short-hobbled, and left to browse on the succulent
-grass. The last act of preparation was that of cutting
-a quantity of gum bushes for bedding. No sweeter or
-healthier bed can be contrived than a layer of fragrant
-eucalyptus leaves. The beds had scarcely been made
-ere the welcome summons to supper came, in the Irish
-boy's best brogue: "Jintilmen, will yees come to ta-ay?"
-
-There is a charm peculiar to an evening meal taken
-in the open. The charm is heightened in the present
-instance by the contiguity of the sea. The youths dine
-to the musical accompaniment of the rolling waves, which
-strike the beach in deep, muffled thunder-tone, rising
-crescendo fashion as they race to a finish along the
-shelly incline. Then, landward, are the insistent noises
-of the things of the forest. Ever and anon the soft
-tinkle-tinkle of "The horse-bell's melody remote" is
-to be heard as the cropping animals move over the
-lush grass. The illimitable dome above is alive with
-sparkling lights. Thus an environment is created which
-gives a sacramental aspect to the feast. At least it
-forms a romantic picture which centres in the fire-lit
-faces of the happy, care-free youths.
-
-Supper ended, they eagerly discuss their projects, the
-while they clean their guns and fix the fishing tackle.
-
-On the morn, at earliest dawn, they will try likely spots
-for fish, and have a swim in the briny. And now the
-slow movements of the tongue, with frequent yawns,
-proclaim the nightly toll which nature is wont to exact.
-
-Ere the pale dawn is flushed the pals, sleep banished,
-half-dressed, tongues wagging, trudge along the beach to
-the rocky point of the promontory, stopping here and
-there at likely places to dig in the sand for whelks,
-which make capital bait. The water is fairly deep where
-the nose of the promontory marks the terminal point,
-and soon lines are unwound, hooks are baited, and
-practised hands fling the lead-weighted hempen cords far
-into the Bay. Fair success rewards their efforts. Sandy's
-line hardly reached the bottom ere he experienced the
-delightful thrill of a fierce tug, followed by a smart,
-strong rush which betokened a good fish. After a few
-minutes' play he landed a fine specimen of black bream,
-scaling over two pounds.
-
-Sandy and Tom had varying luck with black and
-white bream, and flat-head. Joe, however, was out of it.
-He did, indeed, have a gigantic bite soon after Sandy had
-captured his first fish. The line whizzed through his
-fingers with a rush that skinned them as he began to take
-a pull. When the line had reached its limit it snapped
-like a piece of pack-thread. The biter was either a
-young shark or a big jew fish. After this no fish troubled
-the boy. His mates struck their fish at frequent
-intervals, while his line remained motionless. After a
-time he wound up and left his companions. Retracing
-his steps some distance along the beach, he halted at a
-shelving rock that ran out into the water. It looked a
-likely spot, and he determined to try with a lighter line
-than the one he had been using. Baiting his hook with
-a soldier crab, he made a cast, and almost immediately
-had a bite, hauling in a black-back whiting. It was a
-good specimen, weighing at least a pound. He had
-good sport for about half an hour, catching in all about
-a dozen whiting and half a dozen soles.
-
-The sport began to slacken about an hour after sunrise,
-and the pals, having captured sufficient for the day's
-requirement, set to work and cleaned their catches.
-This task finished, they have a plunge in the sparkling
-and cool waters of the Bay.
-
-Meanwhile Harry attended to the horses, and did
-little jobs about the camp, whilst Denny devoted his
-attention to the preparation of the breakfast. The lads
-returned in due course with the spoils of the sea, and
-with appetites as keen as a razor. In a few minutes the
-pan is full of sizzling fish, which are presently transferred
-to a hot dish, and the pan is filled with a fresh lot.
-
-"Goin' to try 'nuther panful, Denny?" said Tom, when
-the second lot had been demolished.
-
-"Anuther pan! Howly Moses! div yees hear him!
-Och, thin, me bhoy, ye'd soon rise th' price ov fish. Not
-anuther scrap will Oi cook f'r yees. Oi've kep' th' rest
-f'r dinner? Sure, if we go on loike this 'twill be Fridah
-ivry da'; glory be!"
-
-The morning was devoted to a go-as-you-please
-programme, in which there was much disporting in the
-water; even the juvenile pastime of building castles in
-the sand was not considered *infra dig*.
-
-In the afternoon the whole party set out for Schnapper
-Point. It was on this spot that the fond expectations of
-the lads were centred. It was reputed to be the best
-fishing ground in the extensive Bay, and owed its name
-to the fact that school-schnapper frequented its vicinity.
-A schnapper trip—taken as a rule in a small steamer—is
-voted one of the finest outings by Australian sportsmen.
-This highly prized fish, be it said, is known variously,
-according to its age and changing habits. It often
-attains large dimensions, weighing up to thirty pounds.
-
-None of the party had previously visited the Point.
-Their great concern was to find out if suitable bait
-could be procured in its neighbourhood. The principal
-bait was a small species of whiting. These, they
-discovered, were to be obtained without much trouble on
-shelly patches along the beach.
-
-Early next morning the campers are astir, and busily
-engaged in necessary preparations. After a hearty
-breakfast, in which the corned round and the spiced beef
-are conspicuous features, behold the young sports jogging
-along the beach towards Schnapper Point. A stoppage
-is made at the whiting patch, where the fishermen are
-kept going for an hour with very fine lines. By this time
-they have secured about two hundred small fish as bait.
-
-And now, having arrived at the fishing ground, leaving
-Harry and Denny to attend to the horses, the pals, all
-eager for the promised sport, unwind their heavy
-schnapper lines, and prepare for the catch.
-
-It was agreed that the boys were to fish, while Harry,
-who voted fishing a bore, and was devoted to the gun,
-would scour the adjacent scrub for birds, and the forest
-beyond for kangaroo; Denny having promised the boys
-a "foine boilin'" of kangaroo-tail soup. To quote the
-actual words in which he preferred his request—"If
-Harry wud shute wan iv thim fellas as hops wid their
-ta-ales, and carries their childre in their pockets,[#] Oi,
-wud ma-ake sich a soup as niver was."
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-.. class:: noindent small
-
-[#] The natural pouch of the marsupial for bearing its young.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-The shooter, armed with a fowling-piece and a short
-rifle, after attending to the horses, disappeared in the
-scrub in search of game. Meanwhile the fishers, having
-cast their lines, assume an expectant attitude.
-
-To their great disappointment there are no bites; not
-even the stimulating nibble. The patience of these
-amateurs is sorely tried. A whole hour passes without
-the slightest sensation of a bite. Lines are cast and
-recast. The fishermen move to and fro, to no useful purpose.
-
-"Well, of all the rotten frauds of places for fishin', this
-takes the bun! Dash it! we'd better have stayed at the
-camp an' fished there. At least we'd——"
-
-"Howld yer whisht, bhoys!" said Denny in an excited
-whisper. "Oi'm jist goin' to git a boite; th' line's
-thrimblin' sure. Faith 'tis a Dutchman smellin' the ray-shons,
-Oi'm thinkin'."
-
-"It's not a schnapper, if that's what you mean by
-a Dutchman. No nibblin' about a schnapper, Denny.
-More likely a crab."
-
-"By Saint Michael! Joe, div yes call that a crab?
-Be dad, thin, it's a big sa-ay whale, or maybe one iv
-thim mare-mades Miss Jassie warned me aginst. Be th'
-hokey, th' loine's cuttin' me fingers!"
-
-The line, which for a minute or two had given faint
-twitches, and a few premonitory shakes, now suddenly
-whizzed through the Irish boy's fingers.
-
-"Take a pull on her, an' steady her!" cried Sandy.
-"You'll lose fish an' line, too, if you're not mighty smart."
-
-Denny thereupon made a "brake" of his fingers, which
-steadied the fish after it had run out about fifty yards or so
-of the line. He began to haul it as if it were attached to
-a sulky calf. The fish was a heavy one, and a fighter;
-but what Denny lacked in skill he made up in strength.
-Fortunately for the angler the line was stout and new, or
-it would surely have snapped in the struggle. By sheer
-strength the fish is drawn to land.
-
-
-
-
-
-.. vspace:: 4
-
-.. _`AT THE MERCY OF THE SEA-TIGER`:
-
-.. class:: center large bold
-
- CHAPTER XXIX
-
-
-.. class:: center medium bold white-space-pre-line
-
- AT THE MERCY OF THE SEA-TIGER:
- A NARROW SHAVE
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-The pals watched the seaman-like efforts of Denny to
-land his "sa-ay whale," or "mare-made," with great
-curiosity.
-
-"It's no schnapper, unless, maybe, a real boss 'un. More
-like a young shark," was the remark passed by Joe.
-
-Their curiosity is soon satisfied; the fish is now in the
-shallows, and the next moment is drawn to the water's
-brink. Denny has landed a monster sting-ray.
-
-It was the first of the kind the Irish boy had ever seen,
-and, as he pulled the struggling ray into the shallows and
-exposed its body, he was struck mute for a few seconds
-with astonishment, and not a little alarm, at its uncanny
-appearance. Dropping his line in the excitement, he half
-turned to the boys, and, pointing to the floundering fish,
-exclaimed, "Begorrah! 'tis th' div-vil himsilf. Saints
-presarve us, but if yen's not he'es ta-ale! Or, ma'be 'tis
-th' dhragon phwat Father Daly towld us about at Mass
-larsht Sun-day."
-
-"He'll be a drag-off in a moment," cried Joe, making
-a clutch at the line, for the brute was wriggling into the
-deeper water. The next minute the ray was smacking the
-earth with his flappers, and whipping it with his tail.
-
-"Phwat be th' crathure, anny ways, Sahndy?"
-
-"It's a stingaree, Denny. Mind you don't touch its tail,
-or you will find out to your cost that it's the dragon, black
-angel, an' 'th' owld bhoy,' all mixed up like an Irish
-stew. Run for the tommy, an' we'll whip it off."
-
-"And does it bite wid its ta-ale loike a schn-ake, bhoys?"
-
-"No, you precious duffer! it's got a spike near the tip
-that it rams into you like a needle, an' then look out!
-Yellow Billy trod on one once when he was havin' a bogey
-down below Tareela, in the river—they make a hole in the
-mud an' lie there—an', by jings! he was ravin' mad in
-twenty minutes. The doctor had to shove a syringe into
-his arm, and squirt laudnaum, or somethin', to quiet him
-down. There!" flourishing the tomahawk, "that's off,
-clean as a whistle!"
-
-"My word!" continued Sandy, a moment later, "we'll
-keep the tail for Harry. He promised Bill Evans, the
-jockey, to get one for him if he could. He's goin' to ride
-White's horse at the Armidale races, an' he's the laziest
-o' mokes he reckons. Bill says it'll be only by sheer
-floggin' that he'll fetch him along. Says if he only had
-a stingaree-tail whip[#] he could do the trick."
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-.. class:: noindent small
-
-[#] The sting-ray tail is sometimes used for this purpose.
-It is a cruel
-instrument of flagellation in the hands of an unfeeling rider.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-"This is not schnapper fishin'," interjected Joe. "My
-word! the stingaree'll make stunnin' bait. Put a bit on
-your hook, Denny, it may entice 'em."
-
-Sandy cut off a slice from the flapper and baited Denny's
-hook with it. The line had hardly reached the bottom
-ere it was seized by a fish—a monster. The fish did not
-rush, he bored; the resistance was of a sullen nature. Joe
-came to Denny's help, and between them they drew the
-fish to land. It proved to be a huge rock cod, or groper,
-as it is more commonly called, scaling close upon a
-hundredweight.
-
-"A jolly groper, by dad! We're in luck all right,"
-exclaimed Tom. "We'll have groper steak for supper
-to-night; besides, we can pickle one half of this cove and
-dry the other."
-
-Their luck had changed in more respects than one. The
-ray and the groper seemed to be avants courier for the
-school-schnapper, which now began to bite freely.
-
-For the next two hours the boys were kept well
-employed, landing near upon forty fish, varying from three
-to twelve pounds in weight. The tide now began to ebb,
-and after that there were no more bites. It was just as
-well, for by this time they had caught as many fish as they
-could cure. Counting the groper, they had nigh upon
-three hundredweight. The weight of these when scaled
-and cleaned would be reduced by at least one-fourth,
-leaving about two hundred and fifty pounds of choice fish.
-
-"What's bes' thing to do now, Joe?"
-
-"W-e-l-l—er—I dunno. Oh, I say, how'd a jolly swim
-go down?"
-
-"Spiffin'! A swim, a feed, an' then start cleanin' the
-fish an' gettin' 'em ready for smokin' an' saltin'. 'Bout
-noon I reckon it is."
-
-"Come on, Denny," cried Joe, as they walked down to
-a sloping beach a little back from the Point; "come an'
-have a dip in the briny."
-
-"Bedad, thin, that same will Oi not. 'Twu'd be threadin'
-on wan iv these stinkin'-rays Oi'd be. Oi can seem to feel
-th' brute's dirty pisen fangs already in me leg. No, no,
-thanks be, Oi'm not takin' th' wather tra-atement at
-prisint. Oi'll go an' start the foire so as to be ready f'r
-yees; that is, if th' sharks div not ma-ake mince-ma-ate
-of yees."
-
-Was it a premonition which caused a cold, tingling
-thrill to run along Joe's nervous system, from tip to toe;
-to be followed by the creeps, which made goose-flesh of
-his smooth skin? Disagreeable as the sensation is to the
-lad for the time, it lasts but for a moment, and in less
-than no time, so to speak, he is revelling in the glories
-of the crisp, emerald-tinted wavelets of the Bay.
-
-It should be stated that Schnapper Point did not extend
-into the Bay at right angles to the beach. It inclined
-northward, and at the spot where the boys were bathing
-was not more than two hundred yards from the beach.
-
-"Say, chaps," shouted Joe, who was some distance out,
-"I'm going to swim over to the main beach."
-
-So saying, he swam slowly towards the other side,
-enjoying to its fullest extent the luxury of the exercise.
-He had covered about a third of the distance when he
-heard a great commotion behind him.
-
-Denny, who had been attending to the fire, had his
-attention attracted by a moving object in the sea. Gazing
-intently thereon for a moment, he left his occupation and
-ran swiftly towards the boys.
-
-"Look, bhoys! look at that gra-ate fish sa-alin' in
-forninst the Point. Troth, it's a monsther groper, Oi'm
-thinkin'! Glory! but he'es a gra-ate big bullock-groper!"
-
-So saying, Denny came towards the boys with a puzzled
-air, as though his description of the object to which he
-was pointing did not exactly determine its species.
-
-"Whereaway, Denny?" exclaimed Sandy, who was
-paddling in the surf, standing up and gazing in the
-direction indicated. "A bullock-groper. That's a new
-creature surely. Never heard——Hello! why, it's a——
-Hi, hi! Joe! Joe!" shouted the lad in a wildly excited
-state. "Joe, there's a big shark roundin' the Point an'
-coming this way. Come back, quick! quick!"
-
-Joe, who was almost on a level with the water, was
-unable to locate the enemy as quickly as the others. It
-was not until he began to tread water that his eye caught
-the moving object. In a flash he realised his danger, for
-it was a large tiger-shark, the man-eater of the sea. Not
-even the man-eater of the jungle, roused through the
-blood-lust to a killing frenzy, could be more merciless to
-his victim than this cold-blooded, pitiless, silent tiger of
-the seas.
-
-Terrible as was the shock, his courage survived. He
-conned the situation, and formed his judgment in a moment.
-The shark was eighty yards or so above him, swimming
-parallel with Schnapper Point beach, and within thirty
-yards or so of it. As far as he could judge the fish was
-ignorant of his presence, but were he to return to his
-companions he could not expect to escape its vigilant eyes;
-would be crossing its bow, so to speak; and, were it in an
-attacking mood, would not have the ghost of a show.
-
-His only hope of escape lay in keeping along his course,
-getting to the farther shore in the smallest number of
-minutes possible. All this cogitation did not cover twenty
-seconds, and the boy resumed his swim with the utmost
-vigour.
-
-Had not something happened to divert the shark from
-its course nothing alarming would have occurred, for Joe
-was rapidly widening the distance, and every stroke was
-improving his chances. The boys on shore, with the hope
-of frightening the monster away altogether, began to make
-a great clatter; pelting the shark at the same time. No
-more fatal policy could have been adopted. The only result
-of their tactics was to divert the shark from its course,
-and to drive it out in the direction of their comrade.
-
-Almost as soon as the brute's course was changed it
-sighted the swimmer. This it indicated by giving two
-or three strong strokes with its powerful tail, and gliding
-at a rapid rate in the wake of the lad. Joe was made
-acquainted with this change of course by the frantic
-cries of his mates. Throwing his head over his shoulder
-for a moment, he saw the shark heading directly for him.
-He knew in that moment that unless the miraculous
-happened his hours were numbered, and in a few
-seconds—or minutes at most—his body would be mangled by
-this pitiless sea-tiger. Yet, although this terrible result
-appeared an absolute certainty to the fleeing youth, he
-did not lose his head, but swam with a strong and steady
-stroke. There is such a thing as hoping against hope.
-He would not surrender life; it must be torn from him.
-Joe's home upbringing, with his father's daily chapter
-and prayer, sent his thoughts heavenwards in this his
-moment of extreme peril: "What time I am afraid I
-will put my trust in Thee."
-
-Here was the situation. Joe was about sixty yards
-from the beach, while the relentless pursuer was within
-thirty yards of him. His mates were powerless to aid
-him, and were racing round to the spot where he intended
-to land as swiftly as their legs could carry them.
-
-The shark glided within a few yards of the lad, and
-then swam round him, while conning him. This the
-boy felt to be simply the preliminary, yet every stroke
-was taking him nearer the shore. The water should
-be even now shoaling. Might he dare to sound it? But,
-alas! the enemy seems to understand this, and gives
-a cunning look as it half-raises its body from the water,
-and scrutinises its helpless victim preparatory to making
-its final swoop.
-
-"God help me!" cries the youth, with a dry sob; his
-last moment has come. In that supreme moment—as
-in the case of drowning men—the whole past came
-before him. Home, parents, sisters, brothers, pals!
-There, almost within arm's-length, is his merciless foe;
-while there is still quite a stretch of water between him
-and the beach.
-
-The great, cold-blooded, insatiable fish is poised for
-the final spring. A single second now, and——
-
-.. _`271`:
-
-Instead of falling upon its victim, the huge brute
-lashed the water into foam, and swam round and round
-in a circle. What had really happened Joe knew not.
-He no longer swam shorewards, but, half stupefied,
-watched the "flurries" of the frenzied fish as it lashed
-the water in rage or pain.
-
-Then he heard a great splashing shorewards, and
-a voice shouting encouraging words. Turning in that
-direction, the boy beheld, with unutterable joy, Harry,
-rifle in hand, rushing through the water to him. In
-a few seconds the stockman is abreast Joe, the water
-being only up to his arm-pits. Pointing the rifle at the
-fish, which was circling in blind fashion, but a few
-yards off, the rifleman—for it was he, under God, who
-worked the miracle—drove a bullet through the shark's
-brain.
-
-"My word! 'twas a touch-and-go, old feller!"
-exclaimed the man, as he put an arm round the boy—who
-had, in a sense, collapsed—and drew him to the
-shore. "There now, Joey, me brave boy. Y're all right,
-ain't ye? Y're not the chap ter faint, I know. Here's
-the others," as the rest dashed up, breathless; the Irish
-boy fairly crying with excitement.
-
-They could do nothing for a while but look at Joe
-as he sat leaning against a mangrove—where Harry had
-placed him—making a brave but weak effort to smile.
-The reaction had set in, and the boy felt it was only
-by the most resolute exercise of his will that he kept
-from swooning.
-
-Tom, who was blowing like the proverbial grampus,
-stuttered at last: "Let's m-make tr-racks h-home, b-boys.
-I-I'd rather be b-b-bailed up by a thousand 'r-rangers,
-than w-w-w-one of th-hose sea-devils. Oh! the sight
-of the m-monster as he r-rose to make a d-dive at p-poor
-Joe! Y-yes, let's c-clear."
-
-"Clear, be hanged! What are you drivelling about,
-you jolly idiot?" It was just the tonic Joe needed.
-"We're not goin' to let a thing like this spoil our sport,
-not by a long shot. I'm all right. Was a bit knocked
-out for a few minutes, I will confess. Tell you what,
-boys; I'll never be nearer death till my last moment
-comes. That I am alive is due, first to God, an' then
-to ole Harry, here. 'Twas a great shot, that first one
-of yours. 'Nother second later an' 'twould have been
-too late. Ugh! don't believe I'll ever get the green
-glitter of the thing's eyes outer my mind. Tell you
-what, I'll jolly well punch the first cove that hints at
-goin' home. I vote we go back an' scale an' gut the
-jolly fish."
-
-"Bedad, thin, it's a plucky wan y'are, Joe, me bhoy!
-Y're th' mahn f'r me money ivry toime. But, ye'll not
-do a sthroke iv wark till yees have a feed. Faith, Oi'll
-do a sthreak an' get th' billy boilin' f'r a pipin' hot
-cup o' tay. It's what we all want; Joe in particular." Suiting
-his action to the word, the cook strode off in
-quick time to prepare the lunch.
-
-Meanwhile the dead shark had drifted into the
-shallows until it stranded on the beach. The party
-now made a closer examination of the brute. The first
-shot, fired from the bank as the creature raised itself,
-had caught it in the throat; the second passed through
-the eye to the brain.
-
-"Why, it's a tiger-shark!" exclaimed Harry; "twelve
-foot if he's an inch. Thought 'twas a blue-nose at fust;
-they're bad enough, but this joker's the worst kind that
-swims the sea. My word, Joe, it'd been all U P if
-this chap'd once got 'is teeth intil yer."
-
-"Budgeree, budgeree, you bin shootem shark? Him
-murry bad p-feller. Catchem plendy black p-feller;
-eaten. This p-feller live longa Point plendy years."
-
-.. _`The huge brute lashed the water into foam, and swam round and round in a circle`:
-
-.. figure:: images/img-272.jpg
- :align: center
- :alt: "The huge brute lashed the water into foam, and swam round and round in a circle."
-
- "The huge brute lashed the water into foam, and swam round and round in a circle."—*See p.* `271`_.
-
-The group, which had been intently gazing at the
-carcass, turned round in a startled manner on bearing
-these guttural sounds. Immediately behind them was
-a cluster of aboriginals, five in number, who had stolen
-silently upon the scene.
-
-"Hello, Cock-eye! that you?" cried Harry, as he
-surveyed the blacks. "Where you bin sittin' down, eh?"
-
-"Cedar Crik. We bin come longa here get fis' for
-choppers."
-
-"Oh, the timber-getters, hey! Well, you seem ter
-know this ole boss. You bin see 'im afore?"
-
-"Plendy times. Bin often try catch 'im. He kill-ee
-mine sister. He too much lika dingo; no take bait."
-
-"Well, you can git even with this joker, Cock-eye.
-He eat your people; now you chaps gobble 'im up."
-
-The blacks are inordinately fond of shark's flesh,
-and—cannibal as this sea-tiger is—no question of sentiment
-may stand between these primitive men and a gorge.
-
-"I say, Harry, cut that dorsal fin off for me, there's
-a good man, before these niggers tackle it. I'd like to
-keep that."
-
-After a considerable amount of hacking, the stockman
-managed to separate the fin, and, leaving the blacks in
-undisturbed possession of the carcass, they returned to
-the Point, to feed, and to finish their work.
-
-
-
-
-
-.. vspace:: 4
-
-.. _`IN AND ABOUT THE CAMP`:
-
-.. class:: center large bold
-
- CHAPTER XXX
-
-
-.. class:: center medium bold
-
- IN AND ABOUT THE CAMP
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-..
-
- | "O mellow air! O sunny light!
- | O Hope and Youth that pass away!
- | Inscribe in letters of delight
- | Upon each heart one golden day—
- | To be there set
- | When we forget
- | There is a joy in living yet!"
- | G. E. EVANS.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-The fish cleaning occupied the best part of the afternoon;
-and when the party reached camp, about sunset, they
-were dog-tired; inclined for little else than supper and
-sleep.
-
-"But you haven't told us how it came to pass that you
-were just on the spot to prevent the shark scoffing Joe,"
-exclaimed Tom to Harry. "We didn't expect you back
-for hours."
-
-"Niver had such a thing 'appen afore, I give yer my
-word. Lost me way in the dashed scrub; carn't understand
-it nohow. As a rule yer carn't lose me in a scrub;
-can feel me way be day or night. Instinct, they calls it.
-Ole Dumaresque says ter me one day, when we'd bin
-ridin' fer hours through heavy pine country after some
-strayed heifers, gettin' caught in the dark long afore we
-makes the homestead: 'How do you manage to tack an'
-criss-cross this beastly country without track or compass;
-not even a star to guide you? It fair beats me, my man.
-Why, I'd 'a' bin lost a dozen times over but fer you. You
-always seem ter be goin' wrong, yet always come out
-right.'
-
-"'Carn't explain it, sir,' ses I. 'I jist do it.
-
-"'It's all instinct,' ses 'e. 'It's like wot the dingoes an'
-blacks 'ave.'
-
-"Instinct or no instinct, I got bushed all right ter day.
-There's something erbout it I carn't understand. 'Twasn't
-that I was careless, an' takin' no notice. I 'ad worked
-through the scrub a distance of four mile or so when, all
-of a suddent, I ses ter meself, ses I, 'Where the dickens
-am I?' Well, as soon as I put the question to meself I
-knows I was bushed, an' fer the fust time in me life I
-begins ter feel quite creepy like. I didn't know which
-way ter go. At larst I starts out in a direction that
-seemed the likeliest, but, somehow, I cud make no
-headway. Something seemed ter clog me feet, an' I was allers
-gettin' mixed up with vines an' brushwood.
-
-"'Dash it all,' ses I, 'this won't do. Don't believe I'm
-goin' the right way, after all. Believe this ere way's
-leadin' me back to the Bay, an' I wants ter git through
-this blarmy scrub ter the forest, fer 'oppers' tails. I'll
-righterbout face, danged if I won't!' So round I turns,
-an' as soon as I started I got on fust clarss. Didn't git
-mixed up an' stumble as afore, but gits through the
-brushwood as slick as a bandicoot. 'Mus' be nearly
-through the belt,' ses I, after goin' fer an' hour or so.
-'Mus' git the rifle ready, fer I might sight a kangy any
-moment now.' So I unslings the rifle from me back an'
-puts the gun in its place, an' stops a minit ter load 'er—the
-rifle I mean. I'd jist finished when I heers voices
-shoutin', an' then a great yellin', as if somethin' orful was
-'appenin'. So orf I rushes through the scrub, an' comes
-out on the beach. I was knocked inter a heap, I gives
-yer me word; fer there before me was the sea, an' I
-thought I was on t'other side of the scrub altogether.
-Then, in a flash, I sees wot was really 'appenin'. Jist
-afore me very eyes was Joe. He was strugglin' in the
-water not more'n a hundred yards away, an' that 'er
-brute seemed as if it was jist a-fallin' on 'im. Why, I
-fired the rifle a'most without pintin' it. Somethin'
-seemed ter say, 'If yer waits ter aim yell be too late.' Be
-gosh! I'm thinkin' 'twas the Almighty Hisself directed
-that shot."
-
-"If ye'd not losht your enstink, as ye calls it, ye'd be
-moiles an' moiles awa-ay at th' toime th' shark was goin'
-to gobble Joe up, wuddent ye?"
-
-"In course I wud."
-
-"Well, don't ye think th' good God had a hand in
-losin' ye in th' scrub?"
-
-"It's wot yer father'd call an answer ter prayer," replied
-the stockman, turning to Joe as he spoke.
-
-By this time the camp-fire—around which the group
-had been sitting—was burning low, and the party was
-quite ready for bed after the exciting and tirng
-adventures of the day.
-
-The campers were astir at an early hour next morning,
-to make the final preparations for curing the fish. After
-filling both barrels, there was a quantity available for
-smoking. To carry out this object a sapling frame, about
-four feet square and seven feet high, was constructed, and
-enclosed with bushes, leaving an opening at the top and
-bottom. The fish were hung by stout cords, and a fire
-kindled on the earth inside the curing shed. Some green
-wood was used with the dry, to produce a fair, volume of
-smoke; and so the curing went on apace.
-
-Leaving Denny in charge of the camp, the others spent
-the afternoon shooting over a chain of lagoons that lay
-back from the beach a couple of miles or so. The ducks
-were plentiful, and they returned to the camp well laden.
-They passed the two following days shooting and fishing,
-both fins and feathers being exceedingly plentiful. By
-this time they judged the fish to be cured, and packed it
-in a maize bag.
-
-"Tell you what, boys! S'pose we ride over to the Pilot
-Station to-day? It'll be a change, won't it?"
-
-The others received Joe's suggestion with ready
-approval, and before long were racing along the beach
-towards the Pilot Station. This was situated at the
-mouth of the river, and consisted of the residences of the
-pilot and the boat's crew.
-
-It should be said that at the mouth of every Australian
-river flowing into the Pacific is a sand-bar. These sand
-barriers frequently shift their position, owing to tidal and
-other ocean influences. This makes entrance and exit to
-be a somewhat dangerous proceeding, and many a craft
-has come to grief on these treacherous sands. To reduce
-this danger to a minimum a pilot station exists at each
-river entrance. The pilot is generally a sea-captain with
-a large experience of these treacherous bars. It is his
-duty, weather permitting, to take daily soundings so as
-to locate the exact position of the bank, and by means of
-signals to apprise incoming and outgoing vessels of the
-position and depth of water on the bar; also, when
-required, to pilot the vessel over the dangerous spot.
-
-Captain Craig, the pilot, was an old salt, with nearly
-half a century's experience of the eastern rivers of
-Australia. He received the boys very kindly, and, after
-offering them refreshment, took them to the signal station
-and look-out. When he had explained the methods of
-signalling, he allowed them to look through a very fine
-telescope. He was justly proud of this instrument, it
-having been presented to him by a company of passengers
-for his gallantry and seamanship in extricating his vessel
-from a rocky shore in a hurricane.
-
-The time had now arrived for taking the bar soundings.
-Much to the boys' delight Captain Craig invited them to
-accompany him in the life-boat, and a few minutes later
-the crew were pulling the party from the miniature cove
-to the bar.
-
-The water here, owing to the bar formation, was
-generally in a turbulent condition. Although it was a
-calm day, they found the boat exceedingly lively as she
-moved to and fro over the bar while soundings were being
-taken. They experienced sundry disagreeable qualms,
-and a certain screwed-up feeling in the region of the
-"bread-basket." The clacking tongues of the youngsters
-grew suspiciously quiet, and Tom's ruddy cheeks paled to
-an exceedingly bilious complexion. Had you quizzed
-these boys upon their sickly looks, they would have
-protested with might and main against the insinuation of
-mal-de-mer. Nevertheless they were mighty glad when
-the pilot, after half an hour's sounding, having
-accomplished his purpose, turned the boat's nose in the
-direction of home. Once out of the troubled waters, the
-sick feeling passed away, and at the solicitation of the
-lads "for a pull," the pilot good-naturedly allowed them to
-row to the landing-place.
-
-Before leaving, the pals recited the story of the shark
-adventure, ending in the death of the tiger shark.
-Captain Craig listened with great interest, and not a little
-excitement, to this narration.
-
-"You have had the narrowest of escapes, Joe Blain,
-and have very much to be thankful for," exclaimed he.
-"That shark was a most notorious character. He has
-roamed the Bay for years and years, and has destroyed
-many human lives. Innumerable efforts for his capture
-have been put forth by the fishermen, and by my own
-men, but in vain. Often sighted and fished for, he has
-resisted the many lures set for him. Again and again,
-when enclosed in their nets, he has broken through, and
-has long been their despair. Now, however, thanks to a
-good Providence, and to the clever shot of your friend
-here, this dreadful man-eater has been removed." Advancing
-to the stockman, the pilot shook him warmly
-by the hand, and thanked him in the name of the community.
-
-As the party rode home in the cool of the evening, they
-decided to break camp next morning, in order to carry
-out their original intention of paying a visit to the old
-diggings.
-
-
-
-
-
-.. vspace:: 4
-
-.. _`OFF TO THE GOLD DIGGINGS`:
-
-.. class:: center large bold
-
- CHAPTER XXXI
-
-
-.. class:: center medium bold
-
- OFF TO THE GOLD DIGGINGS
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-..
-
- | "The mountain air is cool and fresh,
- | Unclouded skies bend o'er us,
- | Broad placers, rich in hidden gold,
- | Lie temptingly before us."
- | SWIFT.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-Tents were struck, and the campers' impedimenta securely
-fastened to the pack-saddles, in the grey dawn of the
-following morning—the party having breakfasted by
-starlight.
-
-The gold diggings about to be visited was situated in
-the ranges, equi-distant from Bullaroi and the Bay. The
-route from the Bay lay along the homeward track as far
-as the caves. At this point the trail turned due
-north—winding among the rugged country to the site of the
-mining camp, which, in its palmy days, covered a flat
-that lay between some precipitous hills and a swiftly
-flowing mountain stream.
-
-The diggings in question was deserted, save by a few
-fossikers, or gully-rakers, as they were generally
-called—men who earned a precarious living by following up the
-dry gullies, and picking out wash dirt from between the
-rocks; or else dry-blowing likely spots of the surface.
-The lure of gold—so common to all—fed the imagination
-of these men. They became nomads; lived in the most
-primitive ways; faced and endured untold hardships;
-and, if not cheerful, were always hopeful. They saw
-visions and dreamed dreams—of gold. The years passed,
-age pressed heavily, eyesight grew dim, and limbs palsied
-with weakness: but even when broken down and encompassed
-with infirmity, their very senility sustained its
-spirits upon visions of the rich find that was surely
-coming—to-morrow.
-
-When the diggings "broke out," and the rush "set in,"
-the flat was white with tents, the population running
-into four figures. It was an alluvial diggings; that is,
-the gold was washed from the earth, and not crushed
-from the quartz. In the flush days of Rocky Gully, rich
-"pockets" of gold were struck, and huge fortunes made.
-Life then, in the character of its splendours and pleasures,
-was barbaric. Lucky diggers, with the spending lust upon
-them, ordered champagne baths, lit their pipes with
-five-pound notes, shod their horses with plates of gold,
-squandered their suddenly acquired riches on camp
-wantons, and among the harpies of the gambling hells.
-There were many exceptions to this foolish course, 'tis
-true; but such is the mental intoxication consequent
-upon a lucky find, and the sudden acquisition of wealth,
-that the majority of lucky diggers succumb, and in a few
-weeks or months, shorn of their possessions, either blow
-out their brains in remorse, or challenge fortune once
-more upon the same or some other goldfield.
-
-Rocky Gully was now a worked-out diggings, and its
-population had long ago drifted away to other fields.
-Naught remained to remind one of its glory now but a
-few tumbledown houses, and the wood skeletons of iron
-buildings, together with countless heaps of empty tins
-and other refuse. Naught, that is, save a dozen or so
-of fossikers, who were distributed over the field; each
-having his area, into which the others never intruded.
-
-How was it, then, that the Bullaroi party should have
-included a trip to the deserted mining camp in their
-programme of sport and adventure? There was nothing
-inviting in the region so far as game was concerned; nor
-was there the rough excitements of a live diggings.
-The truth is, it was the outcome of a suggestion of Harry.
-The stockman had a yarn he was very fond of relating,
-which included some tragic incidents associated with
-Rocky Gully. As a youth he lived there in its "boom"
-days, and towards the close of his stay there he was
-mates with Humpy Bob. Humpy Bob was an eccentric
-character, well known on a dozen goldfields, whose
-shrewdness as a gold finder was countervailed by his
-incredible folly in spending his riches. On one occasion,
-when he had struck a "pocket," from which he drew
-over a thousand ounces, he began a carouse which
-continued until the last penny was spent.
-
-As illustrative of his folly during that spree, he
-purchased a general store for the sum of one thousand
-pounds. The same evening, in company with the drunken
-guests of a champagne party he had given, he proceeded
-to the store, deliberately fired it, and, with the other
-banqueters, stripped stark naked, danced a wild
-corrobberie while it burned.
-
-Bob sober was the antithesis of Bob drunk. Abstemious,
-taciturn, industrious, solitary, with a genius
-for divining likely places, he followed the pursuit of
-gold: seldom failing to earn good wages; often winning
-handsome profits; occasionally making a pile.
-
-Humpy's end came suddenly and tragically; and of
-this Harry was a witness.
-
-The two men were driving a tunnel at a likely spot in
-the bank of a blind gully about three miles from the main
-camp. They worked in relays, and had driven in about
-a score of yards, when Harry suggested shoring it with
-saplings for safety. Humpy Bob, however, who was
-always running risks, made light of the suggestion.
-They had just struck a vein of promising stuff, which
-gave "prospects" of several grains to the dish. When
-it was Bob's turn to go on, Harry again suggested shoring
-up certain loose spots; especially one near where he had
-been picking, for there had been a small fall during his
-shift. This the other would not consent to, though his
-partner pleaded earnestly.
-
-"There's a hundred to one chances against there being
-anything serious, mate, and I'm not goin' to waste any
-time in propping up the blessed tunnel. It's not worth it.
-We'll most likely clean it out to-morrer. So-long!"
-
-So saying, the digger entered the drive, and was soon at
-his work. Harry, having nothing to do for a while, went
-to the tent and stretched himself on his bunk for a rest,
-intending to return in an hour or so to wheel out the
-mullock. Unfortunately he fell asleep, and hours passed
-by before he awoke. When he did, he jumped from his
-bunk and ran out to the drive, scolding himself for his
-negligence. The barrow was missing from its usual place,
-and, after a hasty search, the youth went to the tunnel's
-mouth and shouted to his mate. There was no response,
-nor were the usual pick sounds to be heard. The light
-was still burning at the end of the tunnel. Hastily
-traversing the drive in a half-stooping position, as indeed
-compelled by the size of the tunnel, the youth covered
-about half the distance when he stumbled over the
-barrow, severely barking his shins. Using hot language
-against the carelessness of his mate at leaving the barrow
-in such a place, and with a half fear at the unsatisfactory
-look of things, he scrambled up and went on towards the
-end of the tunnel. He had not taken more than two steps
-when he again stumbled; this time over a softer substance.
-It was his mate!
-
-Humpy Bob was lying unconscious, half-covered with
-a mass of fallen earth and rocks. Groping his way across
-this pile of débris, the excited and frightened youth
-reached the end of the drive, seized the light and returned
-to his mate.
-
-Tearing frantically at the soil and stones, he liberated
-old Humpy, and, as gently as possible, drew him to the
-tunnel mouth. Then dashing to the little stream below,
-he brought water in a billy, and made the customary
-attempts to restore his stricken mate to consciousness.
-His utmost attempts availed not. The vital spark had
-fled. Not all the resources of medicine or surgery could
-bring light into the half-closed eyes, or life into those
-rapidly stiffening limbs. Humpy Bob would never again
-unearth a nugget, rock a cradle, appraise the value of a
-prospect, or get on the "razzle-dazzle" and "paint the
-town red."
-
-It would seem that after working for a while, and
-making a heap of mullock, the digger had come out of
-the tunnel for Harry. Not seeing him about, the old man
-seized the barrow with the object of wheeling out some
-of the earth. He had loaded it, and was in the act of
-wheeling it along, when a mass of earth fell full upon his
-back, fracturing the spine.
-
-Harry was greatly affected by this sad occurrence; for
-Humpy Bob had many good points of character, and a
-strong attachment had grown up between them. As soon
-as his mate was buried, he left the goldfield, and got a job
-on one of the stations.
-
-He had often thought of revisiting this scene, for he
-had a feeling that good gold would be found there. Of
-late the desire to test the ground again had grown strong,
-and, when the project of the jaunt to the seaside was
-launched, he suggested a trip to the old diggings. The
-boys gladly fell in with the idea, for it furnished them
-with an item that gave additional spice to the outing.
-
-The journey to the diggings was necessarily slow. The
-pack-horses were heavily weighted by the extra burden of
-the fish, and the method of progress was that shuffling
-gait known as the "jog." Though monotonous and tiring
-to the rider, it is the easiest pace for the loaded animals,
-and one that can be kept up all day.
-
-"Seems a pity that we should cart this blessed fish to
-the diggings, Sandy. Wouldn't it be better to 'cache'
-it somewhere near the junction? It's giving the horses
-unnecessary work, in my opinion. Let's see, it's twelve
-miles to the junction, an' fifteen from there to Rocky
-Gully. Supposin' we planted the stuff in the scrub at the
-junction; it'd save thirty miles of hauling, an' be no end
-of a gain all round."
-
-"Good enough, Joe! What d'yer say, Harry? We
-could hide the barrels an' bag easy enough in the scrub."
-
-"M-yes, perhaps so. Come ter think of it, I'm not so
-sure. Barrels'd be all right, but 'twon't be the dingoes'
-fault if they don't root out the dried fish. Tell you what,
-boys, plant 'em in the caves!"
-
-"Good shot! The very thing the doctor ordered! The
-caves! yes. 'Twon't take us more'n a mile out of the way;
-an' 'twill be on the road to Bullaroi on the return trip.
-We can easily strike in on the west side of the cave
-ridge, and hide 'em in the stables. Nobody knows of that
-place but father an' the 'rangers; now poor ole Ben's
-shot——"
-
-"Maybe it's ha-aunted, bhoys. It's juist th' sphot
-owld Ben'd hide his sowl in, so as to frighten awa-ay th'
-p'lice whin they goes rummagin' about f'r booty; loike th'
-carr-sthle ghosts in th' owld conthry. Bedad, thin, Oi'll
-be expactin' t' see th' bowld raider comin' on us out iv
-th' dark, his face shinin' loike th' stuff phwat matches is
-made ov."
-
-"Brimstone an' treacle you're thinkin' of, ain't you,
-Denny? But, I say, chaps, it'll be better to hide 'em at
-the 'ranger's outlet; though it'll be the dickens own job
-to get the barrels into the cave up that slope. Wouldn't
-it be better, after all, to hide the stuff in the scrub, slinging
-the bag into a tree, high enough to be safe from the
-dingoes?"
-
-So it would, and have saved a most painful experience;
-but having started the idea of hiding the fish in the caves,
-it presented an attraction that the others would not
-surrender. It gave a flavour of romance to the act. Now
-that he was dead, the bushranger's hiding-place took on a
-new interest; and so it came to pass that Tom found
-himself in a minority of one.
-
-They found it a tough piece of work to get the barrels
-up the precipitous slope to the cave entrance. But, when
-the fish was at last stored in the forage chamber, as it
-was now called, and the party had remounted their horses,
-they could appreciate the advantage gained by relieving
-the pack-horses of so much dead weight.
-
-They now made more rapid headway, and struck an
-accommodation house, in the early afternoon, kept by one
-Jago Smith—an old acquaintance of Harry's.
-
-
-
-
-
-.. vspace:: 4
-
-.. _`HOW THEY STRUCK GOLD`:
-
-.. class:: center large bold
-
- CHAPTER XXXII
-
-
-.. class:: center medium bold
-
- HOW THEY STRUCK GOLD
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-..
-
- | "There's a bonny wee spot in the mountains I love,
- | Where the pine trees are waving o'erhead far above,
- | Where the miners are happy, kindhearted, and free;
- | And many come here from way over the sea.
- | There's gold in the mountain, there's gold in each glen,
- | The good time is coming, have patience, brave men;
- | Hold on to your ledges, and soon you will see
- | Both money and mills coming over the sea."
- | C. CRAWFORD.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-Jago Smith was an "old timer," as, in Colonial parlance,
-men with his past were called. A Londoner by birth, he
-was initiated when but a child into the arts and artifices
-of that profession which flourishes by the application of
-sleight-of-hand tricks to the pockets and purses of an
-unsuspecting public. In short, this London arab was a
-thief, belonging to just such a school as Dickens has
-portrayed in *Oliver Twist*.
-
-His career as a collector of "wipes" was brought to a
-summary end through being caught full-handed in a
-theatre crush. A "Children's Court," or a "First Offender's
-Act," was unknown in the early days of the nineteenth
-century; consequently young Jago Smith was had up
-before the magistrate, committed to the Assizes, convicted
-to the hulks, and ultimately transported to Botany Bay
-to serve a term of penal servitude.
-
-At a theatrical effort made by certain prisoners of
-histrionic talent at Sydney, at the tail-end of the
-eighteenth century, to which first Governor Philip
-and his wife were "graciously" invited, the following
-lines form part of the prologue composed for the
-occasion—
-
- | "From distant climes, o'er wide-spread seas, we come,
- | But not with much éclat or beat of drum.
- | True patriots all; for be it understood,
- | We left our country for our country's good.
- |
- | No private views disgraced our generous zeal,
- | What urged our travels was our country's weal,
- | And none can doubt, but that our emigration
- | Has proved most useful to the British nation."
- |
-
-Fourteen years' penal servitude for the theft of a few
-pocket-handkerchiefs! Such a sentence to-day would be
-regarded as a monstrous iniquity; it passed without
-comment in those days.
-
-But transportation was not an unmixed evil to Jago
-Smith. As early as 1793 schools were started at the
-penal settlement, under the impression that they would
-be the most likely means of effecting a reformation in
-the morals of youthful prisoners.
-
-Jago, with the consent of the master to whom he was
-assigned on landing, attended a night school, and gained
-some insight into the three R's.
-
-.. _`"We've struck it rich, I do believe," cried the stockman`:
-
-.. figure:: images/img-288.jpg
- :align: center
- :alt: "'We've struck it rich, I do believe,' cried the stockman."
-
- "'We've struck it rich, I do believe,' cried the stockman."—*See p.* `295`_.
-
-After a somewhat varied career, the ex-pickpocket,
-who had served his time, became a settler on Rocky
-Creek; and when the Rocky Gully gold rush set in he
-drove a very profitable trade with the diggers. In
-addition to raising cattle on his selection, Smith kept an
-accommodation house, where board and lodging was to be
-had. As the place was on the public road, about five
-miles from the diggings, it received much patronage.
-Jago was very proud of his signboard. It was an
-incontestable proof of his accomplishments in writing and
-spelling.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-.. class:: center white-space-pre-line
-
- ACKOMERDASHON FUR MAN
- AN BESTE SMALL BIER
- SOULED HEAR GORD SIVE TH
- E KWEEN J SMITH
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-As the party drew up to the hitching blocks, old Jago,
-who was lounging in an arm-chair in the verandah,
-hobbled out to the front, quietly surveying the group; to
-whom Harry addressed himself.
-
-"Good-evenin', Mister Smith. How are yer gettin' on
-these times?"
-
-"Not gettin' any younger, you may be sure. But who
-be you?"
-
-"Don't yer remember me, Jago?" replied the stockman,
-walking up to the old man.
-
-"Yes; I see who it is now. You be the boy wot worked
-with old Humpy, an' used ter stay here when Bob had an
-attack of the jim-jams."
-
-"The same, ole chap. We're goin' to put up here for
-the night, and intend goin' on to-morrer to where me an'
-Humpy worked when 'e was took. Got room for us, I
-s'pose?"
-
-"Plenty o' room, me lad. Not over rushed with
-travellers these times. Better take your 'orses round ter
-the back; ye'll find the saddle-room in the old plice, an'
-yer can turn the neddies inter the paddock. There's
-plenty o' grass fer 'em."
-
-The boys were ready for the supper of homely fare
-which awaited them at sunset. After supper, Harry and
-the old man got into a conversation, in which the former
-stated that he was determined to have a try at the old
-claim; for, though Humpy had put it about when working
-it that it was a "shicer," Harry, of course, knew differently.
-The gold-bearing stuff, it is true, was but a thin
-vein, but they expected it to develop into something
-better farther on. Old Jago informed him that no one
-had touched the spot, so far as he knew. Yes, he had some
-picks and shovels and prospecting dishes, which he had
-taken as payment at one time and another from hard-ups.
-Harry was welcome to make a selection.
-
-This the stockman did without any delay. He took
-from the curious assortment of diggers' tools two picks,
-two short-handled shovels, two prospecting dishes, the
-roller and handle of a windlass, a couple of buckets, some
-stout rope, a length of chain, a strong hook, a crowbar,
-and a pound or two of blasting powder.
-
-These he obtained as a loan, for Smith would not hear
-of pay. He viewed the whole thing in the light of a joke.
-The idea of Harry starting to work a claim with a parcel
-of kids who had never seen a gold shaft in their lives,
-with a time limit of three or four days at the most! The
-stockman was but humouring the fancies and ambitions
-of the kids. They, no doubt, expected to locate the
-golden nuggets in the same fashion that they would track
-a missing bullock on the bush, or run down a wild cat to
-its lair in a hollow log. Well, they would at least
-develop their arm muscles and have blistered hands to
-show their friends. So the old settler—who at the time
-of the rush had listened to the confident prediction of
-many a greenhorn, going post-haste to pick up the
-nuggets that were waiting for somebody to tumble over.
-Not so Harry; he, at least, was no greenhorn. He
-would give the abandoned workings a trial. It would be
-a novelty for the boys, and though they mightn't get
-anything to boast about, would, he was confident, get
-enough to give each member of the party a souvenir of
-the visit.
-
-Leaving the accommodation house after an early breakfast,
-the band of diggers, for such we must now call them,
-arrived at the old workings in a couple of hours, passing
-*en route* two or three fossikers who were working their
-shows. These ancients looked with a degree of astonishment
-upon this cluster of youths, whose very jauntiness
-was suggestive of a prime lark.
-
-Arrived at the diggings, the party had a good look
-round. Intense solitude reigned everywhere, and save
-for the heaps of rusty cooking utensils and other
-rubbish there was little to indicate that the place had once
-been a busy hive of life and energy. An old signboard,
-written by another hand than had done Jago Smith's, was
-seen nailed to a tree. Its language was simple and to
-the point.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-.. class:: center white-space-pre-line
-
- ROYAL HOTEL
- ALL DRINKS 6c.
-
-.. class:: center
-
- *N.B.—Clean Glasses*
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-Harry took a rapid survey of the situation. The
-place apparently had not been disturbed since the fatal
-accident. The old tent poles remained as he had left
-them, and there was no evidence of any one having
-camped there for years.
-
-Proceeding to the tunnel, which, as previously described,
-was driven into the perpendicular bank of a deep gully,
-things looked pretty much as they did on that fatal day,
-excepting that the earth had fretted away about the
-tunnel mouth, and, on venturing in a short distance, the
-man saw that the roof had broken down, completely
-blocking the mine.
-
-"Well, Harry," exclaimed Joe, when the leader emerged
-from the tunnel mouth, which the boys had been eagerly
-watching, "is it all clear? Did you go to the end?"
-
-Didn't git half-way. Tunnel's half blocked."
-
-"What a pity!" chorused the lads.
-
-"Dunno 'bout that; cause, yer see, it's proof ter me no
-one's bin interferin.'"
-
-"'Twon't be a heavy job to clear it out, will it?"
-continued Joe.
-
-"Carn't say; depends on the amount that's fallen.
-But 'tain't my notion ter use the tunnel at all. Yer see,
-it's this way: it may take us an hour or a day to clear the
-rubbage outer the tunnel. When we'd done that, we'd
-have ter do two other things afore we could tackle the
-wash-dirt. Fust an' foremost, there's plenty of foul air in
-the far end of the drive, like wot nearly pisened you
-coves in the caves. Let me tell you, it's hard work
-clearing the stinkin' air outer a tunnel. You can git it outer
-a shaft easy enough, by tyin' a bunch o' bushes onter a
-rope and running 'em up an' down; but it's mighty hard
-work clearin' a tunnel, an' orften a long job. Then,
-s'posin' we got it out, we'd have ter shore up the whole
-blessed length; for, let me tell you, I'm not goin' ter run
-any risks in this 'ere job. We've had fright enough over
-Joe an' the shark, an' I cuddent face the Boss an' the
-missus if anything happened to any of you here. Now,
-to shore up this blessed tunnel'd take a power of timber,
-an' ter git it an' fix it'd take a far longer time than
-we've got."
-
-"Oh, I say, Harry," cried Tom in tones of deep
-disappointment, voicing the feelings of the group of boy
-diggers, "don't tell us it's all a go, an' we're to return
-without havin' a try! Can't you find some other spot?"
-
-"Harry, ye spalpeen, Oi dhramed all laast night Oi was
-diggin' up gowlden prr-aties, an', ochone! Oi'd just stuck
-th' pick into a monsther iv a prr-atie, a ton weight at the
-laast, an' was tryin' me best to upind her wid a laver,
-whin owld Jago comes bangin' at th' dure. Begor! Oi
-was sweatin' loike a stoker whin th' owld mahn woke me.
-Jist give me wan little chanst, me bhoy, an' be Saint
-Michael Oi'll——"
-
-"Ye'll git yer charnse, Denny, never fret. They's more
-ways of killin' a pig besides chokin' 'im with a lump o'
-butter. It never was my plan, boys, ter use the ole
-tunnel. There's a better way nor that. When me an' ole
-Humpy drove in 'ere, we wus follerin' a lead, an' ye niver
-can tell 'ow far yer 'ave ter go: maybe a few feet, maybe
-a 'undered yards afore it opens out inter a body. So we
-did the right thing then. Now I propose ter put down
-a shaft, to tap the wash-dirt jist erbout the end of the
-tunnel, or, maybe, a little furder up nor that. I calkerlate
-we'll tap it in twenty feet or so. I know the clarss of
-country we'll have to go through. All this bank's wot we
-call 'made up.' It's a formation called pudden stone.
-It's formed o' river wash, an' is pretty pebbly. The
-pebbles is the plums. We'll go through it in a couple o'
-days at most, an' that'd give us two days more afore we
-need clear orf 'ome."
-
-The boys were delighted beyond measure at Harry's
-proposal, and set about rigging up the camp near the spot
-which the leader had selected to put down the shaft.
-
-While the pals were doing this, Harry and Denny set
-to work at sinking the shaft. So expeditious were they
-that by night they had sunk the hole about ten feet and
-had rigged up the windlass. All the boys had a turn at
-digging, which they enjoyed immensely because of the
-novelty of the work. Harry and Denny, however, did
-the main part, while the lads manned the windlass, and
-hauled up the stuff from time to time, as the buckets
-were filled.
-
-At daylight next morning the party were eating breakfast
-preparatory to a long day's work at the shaft. They
-had to do a good deal of blasting, for some of the stones
-were too heavy to haul up, and that consumed time. It
-was verging on evening when, clearing up a rather heavy
-blast, Harry, who had gone down to fill the bucket, cried
-out, "Haul up quick! we've broken through. Foul air!"
-
-On winding their comrade up, he declared that the
-blast had broken the ground into the tunnel, and that the
-foul air was coming freely into the bottom of the shaft.
-"We'll let it stay as it is till termorrer, an' then we'll
-clear it out."
-
-The pals went to sleep that night to dream about the
-El Dorado which, in their imagination, they had struck.
-The earliest dawn found them at the shaft's mouth.
-Harry tied several bushes to the end of the rope, and this
-was rapidly lowered and raised for about a couple of
-hours, the condition below being tested from time to time
-by a lighted candle placed in a bucket and lowered to the
-bottom. At last it remained alight, though it burned very
-feebly. About half an hour after this, the candle, on
-being sent below again, burned brightly.
-
-"It's all right, now, boys! We've got rid of the gas,
-that's a blessing. Lower away!" In a few seconds
-Harry was filling the buckets with the broken rock and
-earth. In a short time it was all cleared up, and the
-leader had started to drive along the line of the vein. He
-had not cut in more than a couple of feet when he threw
-down the pick and shouted up the shaft, "Hurroar, boys!
-I've struck a patch. Be gosh, it looks like a pocket!"
-
-The excitement above at this good news may be better
-imagined than described. The vein of wash-dirt suddenly
-expanded into a cube of about sixty buckets of auriferous
-earth. It was a genuine though small pocket. Whether
-rich or poor could be determined only by washing.
-
-Harry filled a bucket with the dirt, which was speedily
-hauled up. The next minute he was pulled to the surface,
-and, spreading the stuff on the ground, examined it. To
-the great delight of the pals, he picked out several
-large specks and a small nugget, scaling about half an
-ounce.
-
-.. _`295`:
-
-"It's all right, mates!" cried the stockman, now almost
-as excited as the boys. "We've struck it rich, I do
-believe. Sandy, me boy, git your nag an' a packhorse,
-an' streak fur Jago's as fast as yer can git, an' borry a
-cradle. It'd take too long ter pan this stuff—must have
-a cradle. But, look 'ere, don't give the show away. Tell
-'im I got a few specks from a bit o' stuff I came acrost,
-an' that I'm jist goin' ter give it a try. He'll most likely
-call me a big fool, an' don't yer conterdict 'im."
-
-A cradle, it may be said, is a machine on rockers for
-washing the auriferous earth. The machine is fed with
-the wash-dirt, a stream of water being poured on while it
-is rocked like a child's cradle. The heavy sand and
-gravel, together with the precious metal, sink to the bottom
-and are retained by the "ridges," whilst the earth and all
-light matter pass away with the water. It is finally
-treated in a dish so skilfully that only the pure metal is
-left.
-
-While Sandy is speeding off to Jago's the rest are busy
-picking the pocket and carrying it down to a flat by
-the side of the tiny stream which ran along the gully
-bottom. The work was hard, for the wash-dirt was
-heavy, and the buckets big; but they made fun of the
-hardships of bruised fingers and strained muscles, as
-they hauled the precious earth from the shaft mouth,
-and then humped it to the stream.
-
-They had not quite finished their work ere Sandy
-reappeared upon the scene with the cradle. Very little
-grass had grown during the performance of his task.
-
-Scarcely allowing themselves time to bolt down their
-midday meal, the party were grouped around the cradle,
-which Harry had fixed within a yard of the stream.
-The stockman soon made his dispositions of the forces.
-Joe and Tom are to lift the water and pour it on as
-required, while he and Sandy work the cradle. Denny
-is to feed the machine with the dirt.
-
-So the work of "washing up" started. Every now
-and then Harry stopped the work and "cleaned up" the
-cradle—that is, took out the heavy golden sand which
-was caught in the cross-bars of the machine and emptied
-it in a bag, to be "panned" later. From time to time the
-party were gladdened by the sight of large specks, and
-now and then a tiny nugget of some grains' weight. The
-gold, for the most part, however, was fine. The work
-went on continuously till night closed in upon them.
-Though dreadfully tired, they reluctantly abandoned their
-work for the day, and after supper threw themselves
-upon their primitive beds and slept the sleep of the just.
-
-"Be up betimes in the morning, boys," was Harry's
-last word.
-
-The party had to thank a pair of laughing jackasses[#]
-for their early waking. Perched on the limb of a tree
-close to the tent, they began their morning orisons at
-the first paling of the stars, making such a cachinnation
-as to cause Tom to fly out from his bunk, crying in
-startled tones, "Dressin', dad; goin' for the cows this
-minute." While Denny was disturbed sufficiently to turn
-over on his side, saying in sleepy tones, "Jist repa-ate
-they swa-ate wurrds agin, Bridget me darlin'! an' sa-ay
-ye—— Howly Moses, 'tis th' owld Johnny-axes at their
-thricks!"
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-.. class:: noindent small
-
-[#] Giant kingfisher.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-In a few minutes the fire is burning briskly, and as
-soon as breakfast is demolished the lucky diggers make
-their way to the gully to start operations. The work
-was a repetition of yesterday's, and, according to Harry's
-calculation, they would be finished by noon if they stuck
-well to the job; bullock teams couldn't have drawn them
-from it.
-
-After working for about an hour, Denny, who was
-shovelling the dirt, picked up a lump of rock, saying at
-the same time, "Oi'll pitch this awa-ay, annyways. It
-feels moighty heavy, though, for a sthone: 'tis as heavy
-as lead. Musha, but the sthones ar-re heavy hereabouts!"
-
-"Hey, you fool! don't throw that away. Let's see
-it," cried Harry, seizing the piece of rock, which was
-about the size of the lad's head. "Why, great jumpin'
-Jehosaphat! it's a bloomin' nugget. You precious
-duffer! if you'd thrown that away I'd 'a' pitched you down
-the shaft."
-
-The pals dropped their buckets and crowded round the
-leader as he held the lump with both hands.
-
-"See 'ere, this white rock's quartz, an' all these yaller
-veins is gold. It isn't wot you'd call a pure nugget,
-but by the weight of it I guess there's a power of the
-yaller stuff inside. 'Ere, Tom, streak up ter the tent fur
-a tommy an' we'll soon see."
-
-Furnished with the tomahawk, the stockman laid the
-quartz nugget on a flat stone that cropped out of the
-ground near by, and dealt vigorous blows upon it with
-the head of the weapon. In this way he crushed the
-quartz crystal sufficiently for them to see that the gold
-formed a mass in the centre.
-
-"That's all we'll do at present; we'll crush it out
-properly in a mortar when we get home. Guess there's
-full twenty ounces o' gold in 'er."
-
-There were no more such finds in the dirt, but the
-last few lots yielded a good deal of coarse gold, one piece
-weighing about four ounces.
-
-By nightfall they had washed out the bagged ore.
-There it lay on a cloth before the fire, a little heap of
-pure gold, and beside it the quartz nugget, so to call it.
-
-"Call me a frog-eater if there ain't full seventy ounces
-o' gold in that there lot—close on three 'undered pounds'
-worth!"
-
-
-
-
-
-.. vspace:: 4
-
-.. _`BULLION AND BUSHRANGER`:
-
-.. class:: center large bold
-
- CHAPTER XXXIII
-
-
-.. class:: center medium bold
-
- BULLION AND BUSHRANGER
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-..
-
- | "And if you doubt the tale I tell,
- | Steer through the South Pacific swell,
- | Go where the branching coral hives
- | Unending strife of endless lives,
- | Go where the rivers roll down through the sand
- | Under skies that are blue in a golden land."
- | KIPLING.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-"Pull up a moment, chaps. I want ter say a word afore
-we strike Jago Smith's—we'll sight it over the next ridge.
-No blabbin' erbout the gold. The ole cove's sure ter arsk
-erbout our luck. You keep mum, an' leave me ter answer
-'im. He's er good ernuff sort in hes way, is ole Jago,
-an' me an' 'im always got on well, as 'e sort er took a
-fancy ter me. All the same, 'im an' Ben Bolt is, or was
-great friends. That's why I steered clear o' the shootin
-the night we stayed there. 'E might 'a' cut up rusty,
-like. Many's the time 'e's planted the 'ranger when the
-p'lice 'as been 'ot on 'is trail. 'Twuddent s'prise me a
-bit if the kid that wus Ben's mate wus 'idin' somewheres
-erbout Jago's. 'E's several good plants. At any rate,
-there must be no blow. Bes' be on the safe side."
-
-In a few minutes the party sighted the accommodation
-house at a distance of a quarter of a mile or so. They
-could see the old man in the front, talking to a man
-who held a horse by the bridle. Even as the party
-sighted the pair they were themselves seen. After a few
-hasty words with Jago the horseman threw his bridle
-over the steed's neck, vaulted to the saddle, and rode
-away briskly.
-
-"By George, that 'ere cove's ridin' a good nag. See
-the style o' 'im! 'E's a beauty, 'e is; all muscle an' spirit.
-If ole Ben wusn't a goner, I'd say 'twas 'im on Samson;
-blamed if I wuddent."
-
-The mounted band have approached the house by this
-time. The owner stood awaiting them by the hitching
-posts. Saluting them as they rode up, he jeered
-good-humouredly—
-
-"I 'opes yer left a few specks fur them fossikers,
-gintilmin? 'Twud be too bad to scoop the pool an' leave
-the old uns nothin' but mullock heaps. At any rate,
-ye've brought back the tools—cradle an' all. Come now,
-'ow did the stuff pan out?"
-
-"I'll tell yer wot we did git, ole man, sore bones an'
-blistered 'ands. Blame me, but yer soon gits outer the
-diggin' business. Tried that bit o' stuff I come acrost,
-wot the kid tole yer erbout. Waal, speakin' in confidence,
-we didn't git ernuff ter hire a gold escort ter fetch it
-erlong. We did git a bit—ernuff ter make these young
-coves a breast-pin apiece. But let me tell yer, one of
-these days I'm comin' back ter have a good prospect.
-Keep it close, Smith; I don't want any of these blessed
-gully-rakers ter smell anythin'."
-
-"Dark it is, young feller. Yer can trust me fer not
-givin' the show away. Comin' in?"
-
-"No, we're makin' fer 'ome. Just tote the tools ter
-where youse got 'em, boys, an' then we'll be orf."
-
-The lads speedily discharged, and were in the saddle
-again. The party was moving off when Harry said to Jago—
-
-"Forgot ter arsk yer whether yer 'eered that Ben Bolt
-wus shot by Hennessey t'other day."
-
-"Yes, I 'eered it," replied Smith dryly.
-
-"Kid not collared yet?"
-
-"You're more likely ter 'eer about 'im than me: so-long."
-
-"Ole Jago's a deep un," soliloquised Harry as they rode
-along. "I forgot ter arsk 'im erbout the man we saw
-ridin' away as we came up," he remarked a few minutes
-later to Joe, who was riding at his side. "If that 'ere
-'orse 'e wus ridin' warn't Samson, I'm a greenhorn."
-
-"It might have been the young fellow that got away
-when Ben was shot. It struck me Jago was bluffin' you,
-Harry."
-
-"My word, Harry," said Tom, riding up on the other
-side, "you bluffed ole Jago over the gold."
-
-"Ain't so sure o' that," replied the stockman.
-
-"No one could have done it better," broke in Joe.
-"You circumnavigated the truth."
-
-"Don't know wot yer mean, my boy: unless it's
-somethin' in the circus line."
-
-"Not exactly that," replied Joe laughingly; "but it
-reminds me of an epitaph I heard about, that was stuck
-on a fellow's tombstone—
-
-.. vspace:: 1
-
-.. class:: center
-
-HE TRIED HARD NOT TO BE A LIAR."
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-"Wot I said about tacklin' that ground's true ernuff,
-anyways," replied the stockman, with a smile. "But
-erbout this gold: we'll go shares, o' course. We'll
-divide it up inter five equal lots when we get to
-Bullaroi."
-
-"No; that's not fair, Harry," said Sandy. "We must
-have a fair division."
-
-"Well, wot yer call a fair division, if that's not one?"
-said the man shortly.
-
-"If it was left to me to decide, I would give you half,
-to start with. It was your show. You did most of the
-work. We were more like wages men; so at the very
-least you should get half. Then I'd divide the other
-half among the rest of us in equal shares."
-
-"Sandy's right," broke in Joe. "As far as I'm concerned,
-Harry'll have the lot. I'd like him to take my whack,
-anyway, because——"
-
-"No, yer don't, Joe. I know wot yer goin' ter say.
-Think I'm mean ernuff ter take pay fer shootin' a jolly
-shark?"
-
-"Oh—I—didn't—mean—it—just——"
-
-"Joe meant it as a mark of gratitude, Harry. I think
-my way's best. Whatcher say?"
-
-"Agreed!" chorus the four.
-
-"Joe, me mahn," said Denny a little while later, as he
-and Blain were riding together, "cud ye tell me phwat
-me quarter ov a half ov th' gowld'll come to?"
-
-"Lemme see, seventy ounces; half o' that, thirty-five;
-quarter of thirty-five is eight an' three-quarter ounces:
-yes, your share is eight an' three-quarters, Denny."
-
-"Give it in pounds, plaase, Joe."
-
-"Pounds! Oh, I say, you've got me there. Well, let's
-see. What was it Harry said they'd give us per ounce at
-the bank?"
-
-"Three sivinteen an' a tanner, Joe, me bhoy. Oi tuk
-note ov that."
-
-"Yes, that was the price, I 'member. Eight and
-three-quarter times three seventeen six—er—lemme see,
-that'd be—eight threes twenty-four, twen—bother it, I
-mean eight times seventeen an' six, that's a hundred an'
-ninety—no, *that's* not it. Let me put it down in me
-mind—one, seven, six; that's right! Well, multiply it
-by eight, an' leave the quarters out for a bit. That's—why,
-it's three hundred an'—no, it can't be that much,
-surely? Bust it, if I only had a pencil an' a bit o' paper
-I'd soon tot it up. Try again. Eight into seventeen and
-six is—— Blest if it isn't an interest sum, after all,
-Denny; an' they always sew me up."
-
-"It's th' troth, Joe; it's th' most interastin' sum Oi
-iver heerd tell iv. Thry it agin, Marsther Joe; doan't let
-a little sum loike that ba-ate ye. 'Twas two hondered
-pounds ye said larrst. Make her go a little higher if yes
-can."
-
-"What! two hundred pounds! Murder! 'tis shillin's I
-was reckoning."
-
-"O-o-h!" exclaimed Denny, with a profound sigh.
-"Awaay goes me bright dra-ames! Sure, thin, 'twas
-buyin' th' owld family carr-sthle Oi was thinking ov, an
-makin' melyinaares o' me dear payrunts; maybe the
-Quaan wud be makin' me farther Lord Kineavy!"
-
-"Well, you are a cure, Denny. You'll have me addressin'
-you as the Honourable Dennis next. Oh, I say,
-didn't Harry say he wouldn't be surprised if the gold
-fetched four pounds an ounce, it was so rich? Well, let's
-reckon it at four quid. Eight fours are thirty-two—that's
-thirty-two pounds. The three-quarters of four
-pounds is three. Thirty-two and three are thirty-five;
-thirty-five pounds. There you are, ole boss, thirty-five."
-
-"Thirty-foive pounds! Begorrah! it's a bloomin'
-capertillist Oi am! Whoi, glory be! it'll do betther thin
-buyin' a rotten owld sthone carr-sthle made ov brick an'
-thatch; it'll pay for bringin' out me payrunts in th'
-emigrr-ashon ship. Be Saints Pathrick an' Michael, 'tis
-a happy bhoy Oi am at this moment! Phwat wid me
-savin's, an' Norah's, an' this haape ov gowld, Oi'll buy
-thim th' best cabin on th' boat, and so Oi will!"
-
-In due time the party arrived at the junction of the
-roads, and crossed the ridge to the cave entrance. After
-placing their horses in the patch of scrub near the road,
-they scrambled up to the opening. Lighting the candle,
-Sandy led the way to the forage chamber, where the fish
-was stored.
-
-"You don't feel so creepy, Denny, as when you were
-here last," said Tom to the Irish "boy, as they followed the
-others into the chamber.
-
-"It's thrue for ye, Tom. Owld Ben's not thrubblin' me
-to-da-ay. 'Tis only thinkin' ov me dear farther an'
-mauther comin' out on th' sa-ay Oi am. As for th'
-'ranger, he's as dead an' dhry by this toime as the smoked
-fish yonder."
-
-"Is he?" cried a loud voice from the rear.
-
-"Howly Moses! 'tis th' 'ranger's ghost," cried the Irish
-boy, as a bull's-eye flashed in his face, dazzling his eyes
-and confusing his mind. Terror-possessed by this ghostly
-manifestation—for he saw naught but a bright light,
-preceded by an awful voice—the boy bolted. He rushed
-towards the chamber exit, which he barely reached ere
-the sharp crack of a revolver sounded, what time the
-panic-stricken youth staggered forward, falling with a
-dull thud upon the stone floor.
-
-It need hardly be said that the other members of the
-group were startled out of speech and action. Not ten
-seconds elapsed between the cry of the man or ghost and
-the tragedy of the revolver shot and the fallen boy.
-
-The moment the boy fell the others ran towards him,
-but before they had taken three steps the light flashed on
-them and a revolver covered them. Behind the lantern
-came a voice that more than the lantern, or even pistol,
-cowed them: "*Stop! Hands up!*"
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-.. _`Behind the lantern came a voice that more than the lantern, or even pistol, cowed them: "*Stop! Hands up!*"`:
-
-.. class:: center bold white-space-pre-line
-
- [Illustration: Behind the lantern came a voice that
- more than the lantern, or even pistol, cowed them:
- "*Stop! Hands up!*" (missing from book)]
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-For the second time the hands of the boys went up at
-command. One thing was made quite clear, at any rate:
-this was no ghostly visitant. Ghosts didn't carry
-revolvers, nor was there long any mystery about this
-personage.
-
-"That young cove reckoned I was dead and dry as
-your smoked schnapper, did he? The young fool'll
-smoke and dry fast enough in the place I've sent him to.
-You infernal asses to come here! But you'll never live
-to tell any one; make up your minds to that."
-
-It was in truth the bushranger himself. Of that there
-could be no doubt. The news of his death was either
-a make-up or a gross exaggeration. Here he stood, in
-the flesh, in one of his most dangerous moods. A black
-fit was on him. Under its influence he was capable of
-almost any atrocity. The lads were horror-stricken.
-There, before them, lay the body of their comrade, the
-gay, witty, affectionate Denny, who but a few moments
-ago was in the seventh heaven of delight at the thought
-of bringing out his parents with the proceeds of his share
-of the gold; and now—it was too awful!
-
-"Look 'ere, Ben Bolt!" exclaimed Harry, after a few
-seconds' silence, "you've shot an innercent boy in cold
-blood. You've grossly belied your reputation that you
-never laid a hand on woman or child. We came here
-with no thought of spyin' upon yer, for we believed yer to
-be dead. In five minits we wud 'ave gone away with our
-fish, none the wiser for your presence. You've not the
-slightest justerfication fer takin' that life, an' if yer shoots
-me the next minit fer it, I tell yer to yer face ye're
-a blaggard an' coward, an' the pity is that the news of yer
-bein' shot wasn't true."
-
-Why Harry was not shot off-hand, it were hard to say.
-The bushranger was convulsed with rage: thrice he
-levelled his revolver at the brave man, and as often
-lowered it. At last, with a voice hoarse with passion, he
-said, "I'll send you along the road I've driven your
-mate, curse you! You think you're very game, but I'll
-take all that out of you before I've done with you. You'll
-be longing for your end hours before it comes....
-
-"Here, boy," continued he, pointing to Tom. "Take
-that green-hide and tie your mates as I tell you. Look
-sharp, or I'll lay you alongside your mate yonder."
-
-Thus dragooned, Tom securely tied his mates' hands
-behind their backs. As soon as this was accomplished,
-the outlaw, sticking his revolver in his belt, served Tom
-in the same way, and in addition trussed each victim.
-Having set them in a row like a group, of mummies, he
-addressed them—
-
-"You'll lie here for the present. I'll deal with you
-later. I've got a little job to do first. That fool
-Hennessey's coming out this way with a couple of troopers
-to trap me. 'Twasn't enough that he winged my mate,
-he's sworn to have me inside of the week. And I swear
-that I'll have him inside of six hours. I'm going out now
-to have a look round. If you coves try any of your tricks,
-I'll make hell for you. I shan't be far off, you may bet."
-
-So saying, the outlaw went out into the chamber where
-his horse was stabled, and led him along the passage to
-the cave entrance.
-
-"I say, Harry, it was Ben Bolt that we saw at ole
-Jago's this mornin'."
-
-"True. I cud 'ave taken me oath a'most that the
-'orse wus Samson, but I didn't git a fair view of the
-bloke's face. Yes, 'twor Ben that we saw. He must 'a'
-got 'is information erbout Hennessey from the ole man.
-It's wunnerful 'ow they does git the news. I 'ope 'e don't
-git er charnse ter draw er bead on Hennessey. He'll 'ave
-ter be mighty smart ter do it. But, dear! dear! on'y ter
-think of poor Denny lyin' over there—dead! I wish ter
-'evven 'e'd 'a' shot me instead. Wot'll your father an'
-mother say, Sandy? Poor Norah, too! It'll be the
-killin' of 'er."
-
-"Whisht, boys, spaake low: Oi'm not kilt ontoirely;
-only knocked spaachless. Oi'm betther nor tin dead
-Chinymen yit."
-
-It was the sweetest sound that ever ravished the ears
-of the boys. Here was the blissful fact—Denny was not
-dead; was very much alive. If the lads did not
-immediately cry out with joy it was because their joy was
-too deep for utterance.
-
-"Don't spaake or sthir awhoile till Oi see if th' coast's
-clear."
-
-Rising quietly to his feet, the Irish boy stole along the
-corridor that led to the mouth of the cave. After a hasty
-but keen survey of the immediate neighbourhood, he
-returned to his companions, knife in hand, and in a few
-minutes had freed them.
-
-"And are you not wounded, Denny? We never
-dreamed but that the villain had shot you dead. You lay
-just like a corpse. He was under that impression too, or
-he'd never have left you."
-
-"Yez see 'twas this way: Oi was fair flabbergasted
-whin th' blazin' light dazzled me oiyes. Oi made shure
-'twas th' 'ranger's ghost. Oi wud 'a' stood, but me ligs
-wuddn't. They sthreaked off loike a paddy-melon goes
-for a hole in th' fince—carryin' me body wid thim. Th'
-firsht thing Oi felt was a rock sthrikin' me fut, an' thin,
-begorra, somethin' whistled past me ear as Oi tumbled
-forrard, hittin' th' flure a nasty crack wid me head. Th'
-nixt thing Oi heard was owld Harry tongue-bangin' th'
-rapscallion ov a murtherer fur killin' me. 'Be jabers!'
-ses Oi to meself, 'he's kilt me ontoirely wid a shot from
-hes pisthol, if phwat me bowld frind ses be th' thruth.
-Go it, me brave bhoy! Tare an' ouns, but ye're givin'
-him th' coward's blow in foine style!'
-
-"Thin Oi sees him rope yez up loike dhrapery parr-sels,
-an', ses Oi, 'Jist wait till yez is gone, me hairr-y breasted
-sna-ake!' an' wid that Oi comes to me ray-son an' knows
-that Oi was not dead at all, at all. Oi was jist goin' to
-git up an' give him a bit iv me tongue, whin the thought
-comes—'Lie still, ye gossoon, till he goes an' ye can
-liberaate yer mates!' So now we'll be even wid th'
-omadhaun."
-
-"The quicker we're outer this the better!" exclaimed
-Harry, as soon as he was released. "There's no knowin'
-when the 'ranger'll return; if 'e finds us loose, 'e'll shoot
-us to a cert. What a pity we left our guns with the
-'orses! 'Ope 'e won't find 'em. It'll be risky goin' out,
-as we don't know where the feller is. 'E may be close
-by watchin' the 'ole. The bes' thing'll be for us ter
-make a dash ter the scrub as soon as we're outer the cave."
-
-"There's a much safer way than that," said Sandy.
-"We'll go out the way we came in when we first discovered
-this place. Lucky we brought a candle with us. Come
-along; every moment is precious."
-
-So saying, Sandy strode in advance, the others following
-closely at his heels. The party soon hit upon the
-passage leading to the cave opening on the other side of
-the ridge. In twenty minutes or so they were in the
-open.
-
-Their first act was to plunge into the thick bush. This
-shielded them from ordinary observation. After a short
-confab, they concluded that the wisest thing to do was to
-creep along in the thickest part, in the direction of the
-horses. They had hardly started when the sharp crack
-of a rifle broke upon their ears. Stopping short,
-they listened eagerly; with beating hearts, it must
-be confessed. Again and again, shots were fired; at
-last they heard the pounding of hoofs, rapidly nearing
-them.
-
-"'Ssh—don't move—they're on the hard road," said
-Harry to the nervously excited youths.
-
-The road passed the caves about two hundred yards
-from where the party lay. Presently, with increasing
-clatter, Ben Bolt rode furiously along, and after a
-minute's interval, Sergeant Hennessey, accompanied by
-two troopers, the Sergeant leading by about fifty yards.
-Just as he was in the act of passing, the officer took a
-snap-shot at the 'ranger. In a few minutes all sight
-and even sound of pursued and pursuers had gone.
-
-"No fear of Ben Bolt trubblin' us now fer a spell.
-'Ope Hennessey 'll nab 'im sure this time. Let's moosey
-erlong, lads."
-
-It didn't take the party long to pick up the steeds and
-load up the packhorses with the fish. The sun had
-barely set ere they were well on the last stage of the
-return journey.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-The M'Intyres are just concluding the evening meal.
-The conversation chiefly centres around the campers.
-Mrs. M'Intyre had given many a look along the track
-during the afternoon, in the hope of sighting the lads.
-The understanding when they left was that they were to
-return at the end of the second week. It was now
-Saturday evening.
-
-"I won't give them up till ten o'clock. I expect they
-have made a late start. Yes, Maggie, I own that I am a
-bit fidgety now that I've heard that Ben Bolt has been
-seen in the vicinity of the caves."
-
-"Weel, ye can juist ease yure mind on that pint, my
-dear, for the Sairgeant and a pairty o' troopers are
-patrolling in that direection, so that there's no' the
-sma'est pairtical o' reesk."
-
-"It was lucky for them, mummie, that they had started
-for their trip before the revised version of the engagement
-between the police and the bushrangers was published,
-for had you known of the mistake you would never
-have let the boys go. What are they going to do
-with the youth that Hennessey wounded? They say
-Ben Bolt's mad over it, and swears to have Hennessey's
-life."
-
-"The misguided lad wull be pit on his trial as sune as
-the wound on his thigh permeets."
-
-"Do you think they'll hang him, father?"
-
-"Nae, nae, they'll no' hang the chiel; he has never
-ta'en life, nor is he a hardened ruffian. He stairted this
-wild life 'for the fun o' it,' like mony another silly
-laddie. The Sairgeant tells me that Jock Smith, for that's
-his name, is gled to be captured. His eyes hae been
-opened to the folly and sin that are compreehended in
-sic a life. Insteed o' fun, he has encountered nought but
-hairdship and meesery. The misguided laddie wull hae
-plenty o' time for repentance."
-
-The evening calm is suddenly and noisily disturbed.
-The station dogs set up a great babble of barking, and
-Jessie, who had gone out to the front verandah, comes
-running in helter skelter and screaming—
-
-"Father, mother, hear the dogs! It's the boys, I bet
-tuppence. Hurrah! Hurrah!——"
-
-"Jessie, Jessie! you are certainly developing very——"
-
-Mrs. Mac is prosing without an audience, for the girls
-are flying along the track to the slip-rails, accompanied
-by the barking dogs.
-
-.. vspace:: 2
-
-It was verging on midnight when the Bullaroi household
-broke up. The adventures were told with a degree
-of modesty to an intensely interested and at times
-breathless company. The spoils of the sea and the spoils
-of the mine were displayed to the admiration of all.
-Mrs. M'Intyre gave high praise to the pals for their success as
-fish-curers; while the gold spoke for itself, needing no
-expert opinion.
-
-Mr. M'Intyre had the last word.
-
-"Ye've advanced a big step towards yure manhood,
-laddies, and I'm prood o' ye the nicht. Yure conduc'
-under they perils by sea and land is more precious by far
-that yon gleeterin' gowd. A guid name is raither to be
-chosen than great riches. Thank the Lord for a' His
-mercies! Guid-nicht, bairns."
-
-.. vspace:: 3
-
-.. class:: center
-
- "GOOD-NIGHT ALL."
-
-.. vspace:: 4
-
-.. class:: center small
-
- *Printed by* MORRISON & GIBB LIMITED, *Edinburgh*
-
-.. vspace:: 6
-
-.. pgfooter::
|