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- border-color: #000000; - clear: both; } - </style> -</head> -<body> -<h1 class="pg">The Project Gutenberg eBook, Babes in the Bush, by Rolf Boldrewood</h1> -<p>This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States -and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no -restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it -under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this -eBook or online at <a -href="http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you are not -located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this ebook.</p> -<p>Title: Babes in the Bush</p> -<p>Author: Rolf Boldrewood</p> -<p>Release Date: February 13, 2016 [eBook #51209]</p> -<p>Language: English</p> -<p>Character set encoding: UTF-8</p> -<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BABES IN THE BUSH***</p> -<p> </p> -<h4 class="nf-center">E-text prepared by KD Weeks, MWS,<br /> - and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br /> - (<a href="http://www.pgdp.net">http://www.pgdp.net</a>)<br /> - from page images generously made available by<br /> - Internet Archive/American Libraries<br /> - (<a href="https://archive.org/details/americana">https://archive.org/details/americana</a>)</h4> -<p> </p> -<table border="0" style="background-color: #ccccff;margin: 0 auto;" cellpadding="10"> - <tr> - <td valign="top"> - Note: - </td> - <td> - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive/American Libraries. See - <a href="https://archive.org/details/babesinbush00boldrich"> - https://archive.org/details/babesinbush00boldrich</a> - </td> - </tr> -</table> -<p> </p> -<div class='tnotes'> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>Transcriber’s Note:</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c001'>Please -see the transcriber’s <a href='#endnote'>note</a> at the end of this text -for details regarding the handling of any textual issues encountered -during its preparation.</p> - -</div> -<hr class="full" /> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c002'> - <div><span class='xlarge'>BABES IN THE BUSH</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c002' /> -</div> -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_002.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c002' /> -</div> - -<div> - <h1 class='c003'>BABES IN THE BUSH</h1> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c000'> - <div><span class='small'>BY</span></div> - <div class='c000'>ROLF BOLDREWOOD</div> - <div class='c000'><span class='small'>AUTHOR OF</span></div> - <div><span class='small'>‘ROBBERY UNDER ARMS,’ ‘THE MINER’S RIGHT,’ ‘THE SQUATTER’S DREAM,’</span></div> - <div><span class='small'>‘A COLONIAL REFORMER,’ ETC.</span></div> - <div class='c004'><span class="blackletter">London</span></div> - <div class='c000'>MACMILLAN AND CO., <span class='sc'>Limited</span></div> - <div class='c000'><span class='small'>NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY</span></div> - <div class='c000'>1900</div> - <div class='c000'><span class='small'><em>All rights reserved</em></span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_v'>v</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CONTENTS</h2> -</div> - -<table class='table0' summary=''> - <tr><td class='c006' colspan='2'>CHAPTER I</td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'></td> - <td class='c008'>PAGE</td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>‘<span class='sc'>Fresh Fields—and Pastures New</span>’</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_1'>1</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr><td class='c006' colspan='2'>CHAPTER II</td></tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>The First Camp</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_21'>21</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr><td class='c006' colspan='2'>CHAPTER III</td></tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>The New Home</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_43'>43</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr><td class='c006' colspan='2'>CHAPTER IV</td></tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Mr. Henry O’Desmond of Badajos</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_59'>59</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr><td class='c006' colspan='2'>CHAPTER V</td></tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>‘<span class='sc'>Called on by the County</span>’</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_77'>77</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr><td class='c006' colspan='2'>CHAPTER VI</td></tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>An Australian Yeoman</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_93'>93</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr><td class='c006' colspan='2'><span class='pageno' id='Page_vi'>vi</span>CHAPTER VII</td></tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Tom Glendinning, Stock-rider</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_111'>111</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr><td class='c006' colspan='2'>CHAPTER VIII</td></tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Mr. William Rockley of Yass</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_125'>125</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr><td class='c006' colspan='2'>CHAPTER IX</td></tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Hubert Warleigh, Yr., of Warbrok</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_139'>139</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr><td class='c006' colspan='2'>CHAPTER X</td></tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>A Provincial Carnival</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_149'>149</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr><td class='c006' colspan='2'>CHAPTER XI</td></tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Mr. Bob Clarke schools King of the Valley</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_161'>161</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr><td class='c006' colspan='2'>CHAPTER XII</td></tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Steeplechase Day</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_173'>173</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr><td class='c006' colspan='2'>CHAPTER XIII</td></tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Miss Vera Fane of Black Mountain</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_189'>189</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr><td class='c006' colspan='2'>CHAPTER XIV</td></tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>The Duel</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_204'>204</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr><td class='c006' colspan='2'><span class='pageno' id='Page_vii'>vii</span>CHAPTER XV</td></tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>The Life Story of Tom Glendinning</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_220'>220</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr><td class='c006' colspan='2'>CHAPTER XVI</td></tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>‘<span class='sc'>So we’ll all go a-hunting to-day</span>’</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_238'>238</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr><td class='c006' colspan='2'>CHAPTER XVII</td></tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>The First Meet of the Lake William Hunt Club</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_251'>251</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr><td class='c006' colspan='2'>CHAPTER XVIII</td></tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>The Major discovers his Relative</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_265'>265</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr><td class='c006' colspan='2'>CHAPTER XIX</td></tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Black Thursday</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_282'>282</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr><td class='c006' colspan='2'>CHAPTER XX</td></tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>An Unexpected Development</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_296'>296</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr><td class='c006' colspan='2'>CHAPTER XXI</td></tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>A Green Hand</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_312'>312</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr><td class='c006' colspan='2'>CHAPTER XXII</td></tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Injun Sign</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_328'>328</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr><td class='c006' colspan='2'><span class='pageno' id='Page_viii'>viii</span>CHAPTER XXIII</td></tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>The Battle of Rocky Creek</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_339'>339</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr><td class='c006' colspan='2'>CHAPTER XXIV</td></tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Gyp’s Land</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_352'>352</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr><td class='c006' colspan='2'>CHAPTER XXV</td></tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Bob Clarke once more wins on the Post</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_366'>366</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr><td class='c006' colspan='2'>CHAPTER XXVI</td></tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>The Return from Palestine</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_387'>387</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr><td class='c006' colspan='2'>CHAPTER XXVII</td></tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>The Duel in the Snow</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_401'>401</a></td> - </tr> -</table> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_1'>1</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER I <br /> ‘FRESH FIELDS AND PASTURES NEW’</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>‘What letter are you holding in your hand all this time, my -dear?’ said Captain Howard Effingham to his wife during a -certain family council.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Really, I had almost forgotten it. A foreign postmark—I -suppose it is from your friend Mr. Sternworth, in Australia -or New Zealand.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Sternworth lives in New South Wales, not New Zealand,’ -returned he rather testily. ‘I have told you more than once -that the two places are a thousand miles apart by sea. Yes! -it is from old Harley. When he was chaplain to our regiment -he was always hankering after a change from routine duty. -Now he has got it with a vengeance. He was slightly eccentric, -but a better fellow, a stauncher friend, never stepped.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Don’t people go to Australia to make money?’ asked -Rosamond Effingham, a girl of twenty, with ‘eldest daughter’ -plainly inscribed upon her thoughtful features. ‘I saw in a -newspaper that some one had come home after making a -fortune, or it may have been that he died there and left it to -his relatives.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Sternworth has not made a fortune. He is not the man -to want one. Still, he seems wonderfully contented and raves -about the beauty of the climate and the progress of his colony.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Let me read his letter out,’ pleaded the anxious wife -softly, and, with a gesture of assent, the father and daughter -sat expectant.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Mrs. Effingham had the gift of reading aloud with effect, -which, with that of facile, clear-cut composition, came to her -<span class='pageno' id='Page_2'>2</span>as naturally as the notes of a song-bird, which indeed her -tuneful voice resembled.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘The letter is dated from Yass—(what a funny name! a -native one, I suppose)—in New South Wales, and June the -20th, 1834. Nearly six months ago! Does it take all -that time to come? What a long, long way off it must be. -Now then for the contents.</p> - -<p class='c010'>‘<span class='sc'>My dear Effingham</span>—I have not written for an age—though -I had your last in reply to mine in due course—partly -because, after my first acknowledgment, I had nothing -particular to say, nor any counsel to offer you, suitable for -the situation in which you appear to have landed yourself. -When you were in the old regiment you were always a bad -manager of your money, and the Yorkshireman had to come -to your assistance with his hard head more than once. I -thought all that sort of thing was over when you succeeded -to a settled position and a good estate. I was much put out -to find by your last letter that you had again got among the -shallows of debt. I doubt it is chronic with you. But it is -a serious matter for the family. If I were near you I would -scold you roundly, but I am too far off to do it effectually.</p> - -<p class='c011'>‘My reason for writing now—for I am too busy a man to -send the compliments of the season across the globe—is that -a tempting investment in land—a perfect gift, as the phrase -is—has come to my knowledge.</p> - -<p class='c011'>‘Now, I am not hard-natured enough to tempt you to -come here with your amiable wife, whose praises, not always -from yourself, I have often heard—[really, my dear, I had no -idea you paid me compliments in your letters to your friends]—and -your tenderly nurtured family; that is, if you can retain -your position, or one in any way approaching it. But I know -that the loss of fortune in the old country entails a more -complete stripping of all that men hold dear, than in this new -land, where aristocratic poverty, or rather, scantiness of money, -is the rule, and wealth, as yet, the exception.</p> - -<p class='c011'>‘I cannot believe that you are <em>totally</em> without means. -Here, cash is at a premium. Therefore, if you have but the -shreds and fragments of your fortune left, you may still have -capital available from the wreck sufficient to make a modest -venture, which I shall explain.</p> - -<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_3'>3</span>‘A family long resident near this rising town—say forty -or fifty miles distant—have been compelled, like you, to offer -their estate for sale. I will not enter into the circumstances -or the causes of the step. The fact that we are concerned -with is, that a valuable property—as fair judges consider -it—comprising a decent house and several thousand acres -of good land, may be bought for three or four thousand -pounds.</p> - -<p class='c011'>‘I do not hide from you that many people consider that -the present bad times are likely to last, even to become more -pressing. <em>I</em> fully expect a reaction. If you can do better -in any way I do not ask you for one moment to consider this -matter, much as I should like to see my old comrade and his -family here.</p> - -<p class='c011'>‘But if otherwise, and the melancholy life of the ruined -middle-aged Briton stares you in the face, I say boldly, do -not go to Boulogne, or other refuge for the shady destitute, -where a man simply counts the days which he must linger -out in cheap lodgings and cheese-paring idleness, but come -to Australia and try a more wholesome, more manly, if -occasionally ruder life. I know what you home-keeping -English think of a colony. But you may find here a career -for your boys—even suitable marriages for your girls, whose -virtues and accomplishments would doubtless invest them -with distinction.</p> - -<p class='c011'>‘If you can get this sum together, and a few hundreds to -have in your pocket at landing, I can guarantee you a -livelihood—you know my caution of old—with many of the -essentials, God forbid I should say <em>all</em>, of “the gentle life.” -Still, you may come to these by and by. The worst of my -adopted country is that there is a cruel uncertainty of -seasons, at times sore on man and beast. That you must -risk, like other people. If you come, you will have one friend -here in old Harley Sternworth, who, without chick or child, -will be proud to pour out whatever feelings of affection God -has given him, into the lap of your family. If you decide on -coming, send a draft for three thousand pounds payable to my -order at once. I will manage the rest, and have Warbrok -ready to receive you in some plain way on your arrival. So -farewell for the present. God bless you and yours, says -your old friend,</p> - -<div class='c012'><span class='sc'>Harley Sternworth.</span>’</div> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_4'>4</span>As the letter disclosed this positive invitation and plan of -emigration which, whether possible or impossible, was now -brought into tangible form, the clasp in which lay the father’s -hand and the daughter’s slightly tightened. Their eyes met, -their faces gradually softened from the expression of pained -endurance which had characterised them, and as the clear -tones of the reader came to an end, Rosamond, rising to her -feet, exclaimed, ‘God has sent us a friend in our need. If -we go to this far land we may work together and live and -love undivided. But oh, mother, it breaks my heart to -think of <em>you</em>. We are young, it should matter little to us; -but how will you bear to be taken away from this pleasant -home to a rude, waste country, such as Australia must be?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘My darling,’ said the matron, as she folded the letter -with an instinctive habit of neatness, and handed it to her -husband, ‘the sacrifice to me will be great, far greater than -at one time I should have thought it possible to bear. But -with my husband and children are my life and my true -dwelling-place. Where they are, I abide thankfully to life’s -close. Strength, I cannot doubt, will be given to us all to -bear our—our——’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Here the thought, the inevitable, unimaginable woe of -quitting the loved home of youth, the atmosphere of early -friendship, the intertwining ties of relationship, completely -overcame the courage of the speaker. Her eyes overflowed -as, burying her face in her husband’s arms, which were -opened to receive her, she wept long and silently.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘How could we think of such a thing, my darling, for one -moment?’ said Effingham. ‘It would kill you to part, at -one blow, from a whole previous existence. I hardly foresaw -what a living death it would be for you, more than all, to -leave England <em>for ever</em>. There is a world of agony in that -thought alone! I certainly gave Sternworth a full account -of my position in my last letters. It was a relief. He has -always been a true friend. But he has rashly concluded that -we were prepared to go to his wild country. It would be your -death-blow, darling wife; and then, what good would our -lives be to us? Some of our friends will help us, surely. -Let us live quietly for a year or two. I may get some -appointment.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘It relieves my bursting heart to weep; yet it will fit me -<span class='pageno' id='Page_5'>5</span>for future duty. No, Howard, we must not falter or draw -back. You can trust, I know, in Mr. Sternworth’s practical -wisdom, for you have a hundred times told me how far-seeing, -shrewd, and yet kindly he was. In his plan there is the -certainty of independence; together we can cheer each other -when the day’s work is done. As for living in England, -trusting to the assistance of friends, and the lingering uncertainty -of a provision from the Government, I have seen -too many families pitiably drifting towards a lower level. -There is no middle course. No! Our path has been -chosen for us. Let us go where a merciful Providence would -seem to lead us.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The fateful conference was ended. A council, not much -bruited about, but fraught with momentous results to those -yet unborn, in the Effingham family, and it may be to other -races and sections of humanity. Who may limit the effects -produced in the coming time, by the transplantation of but -<em>one</em> rarely endowed family of our upward-striving race?</p> - -<p class='c001'>Nothing remained but to communicate the decision of the -high contracting parties of the little state to the remaining -members. The heir was absent. To him would have been -accorded, as a right, a place in the parliament. But he was -in Ireland visiting a college chum, for whom he had formed -one of the ardent friendships characteristic of early manhood. -Wilfred Effingham was an enthusiast—sanguine and -impulsive—whose impulses, chiefly, took a good direction. -His heart was warm, his principles fixed. Still, so sensitive -was he to the impressions of the hour, that only by the -sternest consciousness of responsibility could he remain faithful -to the call of duty.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Devoted primarily to art and literature; sport, travel, and -social intercourse likewise put in claims to his attention and -mingled in his nature the impulses of a refined Greek with -the energy and self-denial of his northern race.</p> - -<p class='c001'>It must be confessed that these latter qualities were -chiefly in the embryonic stage. So latent and undeveloped -were they, indeed, that no one but his fond mother had fully -credited his possession of them.</p> - -<p class='c001'>But as the rounded limbs of the Antinous conceal the -muscles which after-years develop and harden, so in the -graceful physique and sensitive mind of Wilfred Effingham -<span class='pageno' id='Page_6'>6</span>lay hidden powers, which, could he have foreseen their future -exercise, would have astonished no one more than himself. -Such was the youth recalled from his joyous revel in the -Green Isle, where he had been shooting and fishing to his -heart’s content.</p> - -<p class='c001'>A letter from his mother first told that his destiny had -been changed. In a moment he was transformed. No -longer was he to be an enjoyer of the hoarded wealth of -art, letters, science, sitting on high and choosing what he -would, as one of the gods of Olympus. His lot, henceforth, -would be that of a toiler for the necessaries of life! It was -a shrewd blow. Small wonder had he reeled before it! It -met him without warning, unsoftened, save by the tender -pity and loving counsel so long associated with his mother’s -handwriting. The well-remembered characters, so fair in -delicate regularity, which since earliest schooldays had -cheered and comforted him. Never had they failed him; -steadfast ever as a mother’s faith, unfailing as a mother’s love!</p> - -<p class='c001'>Grown to manhood, still, as of old, he looked, almost at -weekly intervals, for the missive, ever the harbinger of home -love, the herald of joy, the bearer of wise counsel—never -once of sharp rebuke or untempered anger.</p> - -<p class='c001'>And now—to the spoiled child of affection, of endowment—had -come this message fraught with woe.</p> - -<p class='c001'>A meaner mind, so softly nurtured, might have shrunk -from the ordeal. To the chivalrous soul of Wilfred Effingham -the vision was but the summons to the fray, which bids -the knight quit the tourney and the banquet for the stern -joys of battle.</p> - -<p class='c001'>His nature, one of those complex organisms having the -dreamy poetic side much developed, yet held room for -physical demonstration. Preferring for the most part contemplation -to action, he had ever passed, apparently without -effort, from unchecked reverie and study to tireless bodily -toil in the quest of sport, travel, or adventure. Possessed of a -constitution originally vigorous, and unworn by dissipation, -from which a sensitive nature joined with deference to a -lofty ideal had hitherto preserved him, Wilfred Effingham -approached that rare combination which has ere now resulted, -under pressure of circumstance, in the hero, the poet, the -warrior, or the statesman.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_7'>7</span>He braced himself to withstand the shock. It was a -shrewd buffet. Yet, after realising its force, he was conscious, -much to his surprise, of a distinct feeling of exaltation.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I shall suffer for it afterwards,’ he told his friend Gerald -O’More, half unconsciously, as they sat together over a turf -fire which glowed in the enormous chimney of a rude but -comfortable shooting lodge; ‘but, for the soul of me, I can’t -help feeling agreeably acted upon.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Acted upon by what?’ said his companion and college -chum, with whom he had sworn eternal friendship. ‘Is it -the whisky hot? It’s equal to John Jameson, and yet it -never bothered an exciseman! Sure that same is amaylioratin’ -my lot to a degree I should have never believed -possible. Take another glass. Defy Fate and tell me all -about it. Has your father, honest man, discovered another -Roman tile or Julius Cæsar’s tobacco-pouch? [the elder -Effingham was an antiquarian of great perseverance], or have -ministers gone out, to the ruin of the country, and the -triumph of those villains the radicals? ’Tis little that ever -happens in that stagnant existence that you Saxons call -country life, barring a trifle of make-believe hunting and -shooting. Sure, didn’t me uncle Phelim blaze away into a -farmer’s poultry-yard in Kent for half-an-hour, and swear (it -was after lunch) that he never saw pheasants so hard to rise -before.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Thus the light-hearted Irishman rattled on, well divining, -for all his apparent mirth, that something more than common -had come in the letter, that had the power to drive the -blood from Wilfred’s cheek and set Care’s seal upon his brow. -That impress remained indelible, even when he smiled, and -affected to resume his ordinary cheerfulness.</p> - -<p class='c001'>At length he spoke: ‘Gerald, old fellow! there is news -from home which most people would call bad. It is distinct -of its kind. We have lost everything; are ruined utterly. -Not a chance of recovery, it seems. My dear mother bids -me understand <em>that</em> most clearly; warns me to have no hope -of anything otherwise. The governor has been hard hit, -it seems, in foreign bonds; Central African Railways, or -Kamschatka telegraph lines,—some of the infernal traps for -English capital at any rate. The Chase is mortgaged and -will have to go. The family must emigrate. Australia is to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_8'>8</span>be the future home of the Effinghams. This appears to be -settled. That’s a good deal to be hid in two sheets of note-paper, -isn’t it?’ And he tossed up the carefully directed -letter, caught it as it fell, and placed it in his pocket.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘My breath is taken away; reach me the whisky, if you -wish to save my life, or else it will be——’ (prompt measures -were taken to relieve the unfortunate gentleman, but without -success). ‘Wilfred, me dear fellow, do you tell me that -you’re serious? What will ye do at all, at all?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Do? What better men have had to do before now. -Face the old foe of mortals, Anagkaia, and see what she can -do when a man stands up to her. I don’t like the idea any -the worse for having to cross the sea to a new world, to find -a lost fortune. After all, one was getting tired of this sing-song, -nineteenth century life of fashionable learning, fashionable -play, fashionable work—everything, in fact, regulated by -dame Fashion. I shall be glad to stretch my limbs in -a hunter’s hammock, and bid adieu to the whole unreal -pageant.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Bedad! I don’t know. I’d say the reality was nearer -where we are, with all the disadvantages of good dinners, -good sport, good books, and good company. But you’re -right, me dear fellow, to put a bold face on it; and if you -have to take the shilling in the divil’s regiment, sure ye’ll die -a hero, or rise to Commander-in-Chief, if I know ye. But -your mother, and poor Miss Effingham, and the Captain—without -his turnips and his justice-room and his pointers and -his poachers, his fibulæ and amphoræ—whatever will he do -among blackfellows and kangaroos? My heart aches for ye -all, Wilfred. Sure ye know it does. If ye won’t take any -more potheen, let us sleep on it; and we’ll have a great day -among the cocks, if we live, and talk it over afterwards. -There never was that sorrow yet that ye didn’t lighten it if -ye tired your legs well between sun and sun!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>With the morrow’s sun came an unwonted calm and settled -resolve to the soul of Wilfred Effingham. Together, gay, staunch -Gerald O’More and he took the last day’s sport they were likely -to have for many a day. The shooting was rather above than -under the average, as if the ruined heir was willing to show -that his nerves had not been affected by his prospects.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I must take out the old gun,’ he said, ‘and keep up my -<span class='pageno' id='Page_9'>9</span>shooting. Who knows but that we may depend upon it for a -meal now and then in this New Atlantis that we are bound -for. But one thing is fixed, old fellow, as far as a changeable -nature will permit. I shall have to be the mainstay of my -father’s house. I must play the man, if it’s in me. No more -dilettantism, no more mediæval treasures, no more tall copies. -The present, not the past, is what we must stand or fall by. -The governor is shaken by all this trouble; not the best -man of business at any time. My dear mother is a saint <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>en -habit de Cour</em></span>; she will have to suffer a sea-change that might -break the hearts of ordinary worldlings. Upon Rosamond -and myself will fall the brunt of the battle. She has prepared -herself for it, happily, by years of unselfish care and thought. -I have been an idler and a loiterer. Now the time has come -to show of what stuff I am made. It will mean good-bye to -you, Gerald O’More, fast friend and <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>bon camarade</em></span>. We shall -have no more shooting and fishing together, no more talk -about art and poetry, no more vacation tours, no more -rambles, for long years—let us not say for ever. Good-bye to -my old life, my old Self! God speed us all; we must arm -and away.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I’d say you might have a worse life, Wilfred, though it -will come hard on you at first to be shooting kangaroos and -bushrangers, instead of grouse and partridges, like a Christian. -But we get used to everything, I am told, even to being a -land-agent, with every boy in the barony wondering if he -could tumble ye at sixty paces with the ould duck gun. -When a thing’s to be done—marrying or burying, standing -out on the sod on a foggy morning with a nate shot opposite -ye, or studying for the law—there’s nothing like facing it cool -and steady. You’ll write me and Hallam a line after you’re -landed; and we’ll think of ye often enough, never fear. God -speed ye, my boy! Sure, it’s Miss Annabel that will make -the illigant colonist entirely.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The friends parted. Wilfred lost no time in reaching -home, where his presence comforted the family in the midst -of that most discouraging state of change for the worse, the -packing and preparing for departure.</p> - -<p class='c001'>But he had utilised the interval since he left his friend by -stern self-examination, ending in a fixed, unalterable resolve. -His mother, his sisters, and his father were alike surprised at -<span class='pageno' id='Page_10'>10</span>his changed bearing. He had grown years older in a week. -He listened to the explanation of their misfortune from his -father with respectful silence or short, undoubting comment. -He confirmed the decision to which the family counsel had -arrived. Emigration to Australia was, under the circumstances, -the only path which promised reparation of the fortunes of the -house. He carefully read the letter from Mr. Sternworth, upon -which their fate seemed to hang. He cheered his mother by -expressing regret for his previous desultory life, asking her to -believe that his future existence should be devoted to the -welfare of all whom both held so dear.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘<em>You</em> have never doubted, my dearest mother,’ he said, -‘but that your heedless son would one day do credit to his -early teaching? I stand pledged to make your words good.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The arrival of the heir, who had taken his place at his -father’s right hand in so worthy a spirit, seemed to infuse -confidence into the other members of the family. Each and -all appeared to recognise the fact that their expatriation was -decided upon, and while lamenting their loved home, they -commenced to gather information about their new abode, -and to dwell upon the more cheering probabilities.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The family was not a small one. Guy Effingham was a high-spirited -schoolboy of fourteen, whose cricket and football engagements -had hitherto, with that amount of the humanities -which an English public schoolboy is compelled to master, under -penalties too dire for endurance, been sufficient to fill up his irresponsible -life. It was arranged that he was to remain at school -until the week previous to their departure. His presence at -home was not necessary, while his mother wished him to utilise -the last effective teaching which he was likely to have. To her -was committed the task of preparing him for his altered position. -Two younger daughters, with a boy and girl of tender years, -the darlings of the family, completed the number of the -Effinghams. The third daughter, Annabel, was the beauty -of the family. A natural pride in her unquestioned loveliness -had always mingled with the maternal repression of all save -the higher aims and qualities which it had been the fond -mother’s life-long duty to inculcate. Annabel Effingham had -received from nature the revival of the loveliness of some -ancestress, heightened and intensified by admixture of family -type. She was fair, with the bright colouring, the silken hair, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_11'>11</span>the delicate roseate glow which had long been the boast of -the women of her mother’s family—of ancient Saxon blood—for -many generations. But she had superadded to these -elements of beauty a classical delicacy of outline, a darker -shade of blue in the somewhat prouder eye, a figure almost -regal in the nobility of carriage and unconscious dignity of -motion, which told of a diverse lineage. Beatrice, the second -daughter of the house, had up to the present time exhibited -neither the strong altruistic bias which, along with the faculty -of organisation, characterised Rosamond, nor the universally -confessed fascination which rendered Annabel’s path a species -of royal progress. Refined, distinguished in appearance, as -indeed were all the members of the family, she had not as -yet developed any special vocation. In her appearance one -saw but the ordinary traits which stamp a highly cultured girl -of the upper classes. She was, perhaps, more distinctly -literary in her tastes than either of her sisters, but her reserved -habits concealed her attainments. For the rest, she appeared -to have made up her mind to the inevitable with less apparent -effort than the other members of the family.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What can it avail—all this grieving and lamenting?’ she -would say. ‘I feel parting with The Chase, with our relations -and friends—with all our old life, in fact—deeply and bitterly. -But that once admitted, what good end is served by repeating -the thought and renewing the tears? Other people are ruined -in England, and have to go to Boulogne and horrid continental -towns, where they lead sham lives, and potter about, unreal in -everything but dulness and poverty, till they die. We shall -go to Australia to <em>do</em> something—or not to do it. Both are -good in their way. Next to honest effort I like a frank -failure.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘But suppose we <em>do</em> fail, and lose all our money, and have -nothing to eat in a horrid new country,’ said Annabel, ‘what -<em>will</em> become of us?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Just what would become of us here, I suppose; we should -have to work—become teachers at a school, or governesses, -or hospital nurses; only, as young women are not so plentiful -in Australia as in England, why, we should be better paid.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh, but here we know so many people, and they would -help us to find pleasant places to live in,’ pleaded Annabel -piteously. ‘It does seem so dreadful to be ten thousand -<span class='pageno' id='Page_12'>12</span>miles away from your own country. I am sure we shall -starve!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Don’t be a goose, Annabel. How can we starve? First, -we have the chance of making money and living in plenty, if -not in refinement, on this estate that papa is going to buy. -And if that does not turn out a success, we must find you a -place as companion to the Governor-General’s wife, or as -nursery governess for <em>very</em> young children. I’ll become a -“school marm” at Yass—that’s the name—and Rosamond -will turn dressmaker, she has such a talent for a good fit.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh dear, oh dear! don’t talk of such dreadful things. -Are we to go all over the world only to become drudges and -work-women? We may as well drown ourselves at once.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘My child! my child!’ said a gentle voice. ‘What folly -is this? What are we, that we should be absolved from the -trials that others have to bear? God has chosen, for His -own good purpose, to bring this misfortune upon us. He -will give us strength to bear it in a chastened spirit. If we -do not bear it in a resigned and chastened spirit, we are untrue -to the teaching which we have all our lives affected to -believe in. We have all our part to perform. Let us have -no repining, my dearest Annabel. Our way is clear, and we -have others to think of who require support.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘But you <em>like</em> to be miserable, you know, mother; you -think it is God’s hand that afflicts you,’ sobbed the desponding -spoiled child. ‘I can’t feel that way. I haven’t your -faith. And it breaks my heart; I shall die, I shall die, I -know.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Pray, my darling, pray for help and grace from on high,’ -continued the sweet, sad tones of the mother, as she drew -her child’s fair head upon her lap, and passed her hand amid -‘the clustering ringlets rich and rare,’ while Beatrice sat -rather unsympathetically by. ‘You will have me and your -sisters to cheer you.’ Here the fair disconsolate looked distrustfully -at Beatrice.</p> - -<p class='c001'>By degrees the half-mesmeric, instinctive influence of the -loved mother’s pitying tones overcame the unwonted fit of -unreason.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I will try and be good,’ she murmured, looking up with -a soft light in her lovely eyes, ‘but you know I am a poor -creature at best. You must bear with me, and I will help as -<span class='pageno' id='Page_13'>13</span>much as I can, and try to keep from repining. But, oh, my -home, my home, the dear old place where I was born. How -dark and dreary do this long voyage and journey seem!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Have we not a yet longer voyage, a more distant journey -to make, my own one?’ whispered the mother, in accents -soft as those with which in times gone by she had lulled the -complaining babe. ‘We know not the time, nor the hour. -Think! If we do not prepare ourselves by prayer and faith, -how dark <em>that</em> departure will appear!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You are always good and kind, always right, mother,’ -said the girl, recovering her composure and assuming a more -steadfast air. ‘Pray for me, that I may find strength; but -do I not know that you pray for all of us incessantly? We -ought—that is—I ought to be better than I am.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Among the lesser trials which, at the time of his great -sorrow, oppressed Howard Effingham, not the least was the -necessity for parting with old servants and retainers. He was -a man prone to become attached to attendants long used to -his ways. Partly from kindly feeling, partly from indolence, -he much disliked changing domestics or farm labourers. -Accustomed to lean against a more readily available if not a -stronger support than his own, he was, in most relations of -life, more dependent than most men upon his confidential -servants.</p> - -<p class='c001'>In this instance, therefore, he had taken it much to heart -that his Scotch land-steward, a man of exceptional capacity -and absolute personal fidelity, having a wife also, of rare -excellence in her own department, should be torn from him -by fate.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Backed up by his trusty Andrew, with his admirable wife, -he felt as if he could have faced all ordinary colonial perils. -While under Jeanie Cargill’s care, his wife and daughters -might have defied the ills of any climate, and risked the -absence of the whole College of Physicians.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Andrew Cargill was one of those individuals of strongly -marked idiosyncrasy, a majority of whom appear to have been -placed, by some mysterious arrangement of nature, on the north -side of the Tweed. Originally the under-gardener at The Chase, -he had risen slowly but irresistibly through the gradations of -upper-gardener and under-bailiff to the limited order of land-steward -required by a moderate property. He had been a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_14'>14</span>newly-married man when he formed the resolution of testing -the high wages of the Southron lairds. His family, as also -his rate of wages, had increased. His expenses he had -uniformly restricted, with the thoroughness of his economical -forefathers. He despised all wasteful ways. He managed -his master’s affairs, as committed to his charge, with more -than the rigorous exactitude he was wont to apply to his own. -Gaining authority, by the steady pressure of unrelaxing forecast -habit of life, he was permitted a certain license as to advice -and implied rebuke. Had Andrew Cargill been permitted to -exercise the same control over the extra-rural affairs that he -was wont to use over the farm-servants and the plough-teams, -the tenants and the trespassers, the crops and the orchards, -the under-gardeners and the pineries, no failure, financial or -otherwise, would have occurred at The Chase.</p> - -<p class='c001'>When the dread disaster could no longer be concealed, it -is questionable whether Mr. Effingham felt anything more -acutely than the necessity which existed of explaining to this -faithful follower the extent, or worse, the cause of his misfortune. -He anticipated the unbroken silence, the incredulous -expression, with which all attempts at favourable explanation -would be received. Open condemnation, of course, was out -of the question. But the mute reproach or guarded reference -to his master’s inconceivable imbecility, which on this occasion -might be more strongly accented than usual, would be -hard to endure.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Mr. Effingham could not depute his wife, or one of the -girls, to convey the information to the formidable Andrew. -So he was fain to pull himself together one morning, and go -forth to this uncompromising logician. Having briefly related -the eventful tale, he concluded by dispensing with his faithful -servant, as they were going to a new country, and very probably -would never be able to employ servants again.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Having thrown down the bombshell, the ‘lost leader’ -looked fixedly at Andrew’s unmoved countenance, and awaited -the particular kind of concentrated contempt which he -doubted not would issue forth.</p> - -<p class='c001'>His astonishment was great when, after the hurried conclusion, -‘I shall miss you, Andrew, you may be sure, -more than I say; and as for Jeanie, I don’t know how the -young ladies and the mistress will get on without her,’ the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_15'>15</span>following words issued slowly and oracularly from Andrew’s -lips:—</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Ye’ll no miss me ava, Maister Effingham. Dinna ye -think that it’s a’ news ye’re tellin’ me. I behoved just to -speer a bit what garred the puir mistress look sae dowie and -wae. And the upshot o’ matters is that I’m gaun wi’ ye.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And your wife and children?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Ye didna threep I was to leave them ahint? Andra’ -Cargill isna ane o’ thae kind o’ folk, sae just tak’ heart, and -for a’ that’s come and gane ye may lift up your heid ance -mair; it’s nae great things o’ a heid, as the auld wife said o’ -the Deuk’s, but if Botany Bay is the gra-and country they ca’ it, -and the book-writers and the agents haena been tellin’ the -maist unco-omon set o’ lees, a’ may gang weel yet.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘But what’s put this in <em>your</em> head, of all people in the -world, Andrew?’ queried his master, becoming bold, like individuals, -or corporate bodies, of purely defensive ideas, after -observing tokens of weakness in the besieging force.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Weel, aweel, first and foremost, Laird, ye’ll no say that -we haena eaten your bread and saut this mony a year; -there’s been neither stint nor stay till’t. I hae naething to say -against the wage; aiblins a man weel instructed in his profession -should aye be worthy o’ his hire. Jeanie has been -just spoiled by the mistress—my heart’s sairvice to her and -the young leddies—till ilka land they were no in, wad -be strange eneugh to her, puir body. And the lang and -short o’ the hail matter is, that we loe ye and your bonnie -lads and lassies, Laird, sae weel that we winna be pairted -frae ye.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>As Mr. Effingham grasped the hand of the staunch, true -servitor, who thus stood by him in his need, under whose -gnarled bark of natural roughness lay hid so tender and true -a core, the tears stood in his eyes.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I shall never forget this, Andrew,’ said he; ‘you and -Jeanie, old friend, will be the comfort of our lives in the -land over-sea, and I cannot say what fresh courage your -determination has given me. But are you sure it will be for -your own advantage? You must have saved money, and -might take a farm and live snugly here.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I was aboot to acquent ye, Laird,’ said the conscientious -Scot, too faithful to his religious principles to take credit for -<span class='pageno' id='Page_16'>16</span>a disinterestedness to which he felt but partially entitled. -‘Ye’ll see, Laird, for ye’re weel acquent wi’ the Word, that the -battle’s no always to the strong, nor the race to the swift. Ye’ll -ken that, frae your ain experience—aweel, I winna just say -that neither’—proceeded Andrew, getting slightly involved -between his quotations and his determination to be ‘faithful’ -to his erring master, and by no means cloaking his sins of -omission. ‘I’ll no say but what ye’ve been lettin’ ither -folks lead ye, and throw dust in ye’re een in no the maist -wiselike fashion, as nae doot ye wad hae dune wi’ the tenants, -puir bodies, gin I had letten ye. But touchin’ my ain affairs, -I haena sae muckle cause to brag; for maybe I was unco -stiff-necked, and it behoved to chasten me, as weel’s yersell; -I hae tint—just flung awa’—my sma’ scrapin’s and savin’s, -these saxteen years and mair, in siccan a senseless daft-like -way too!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Here Andrew could not forbear a groan, which was echoed -by an exclamation from his master.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I am sincerely grieved—astonished beyond expression! -Why, Andrew, surely <em>you</em> have not been dabbling in stocks -and foreign loans?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Na—nae ga-amblin’ for <em>me</em>, Laird!’ replied Andrew -sourly, and with an accentuation which implied speedy -return to his ordinary critical state of mind; ‘but if I had -minded the Scripture, I wadna hae lost money and faith at -one blow. “Strike not hands for a surety,”’ it saith, ‘but I -trusted Geordie Ballantyne like a brither; my ain cousin, -twice removed. He was aboot to be roupit oot, stock and -lock, and him wi’ a hoosefu’ o’ weans. I just gaed surety to -him for three hunder pound!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You were never so mad—a prudent man like you?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And he just flitted to America, fled frae his ain land, his -plighted word, and left me to bear the wyte o’t. It’s nae -use greetin’ ower spilt brose. The money’s a’ paid, and -Andra’ Cargill’s as puir a man’s when he cam’ to The Chase, -saxteen years last Michaelmas. Sae, between the heart-break -it wad be to pairt wi’ the family, and the sair heart I hae -gotten at pairtin’ wi’ my siller, the loss o’ a friend—“mine -own familiar freend,” as the Psawmist says—as weel’s -the earnings o’ the maist feck o’ my days, at ae blast, -I hae settled to gang oot, Laird, to Austra-alia, and maybe -<span class='pageno' id='Page_17'>17</span>lay oot a wheen straight furrows for ye, as I did lang syne on -the bonnie holms o’ Ettrick.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Here Andrew’s voice faltered, and the momentous unprecedented -conversation ended abruptly.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The unfeigned delight with which his wife and daughters -received the news did much to reconcile Mr. Effingham to -his expatriation, and even went far to persuade him that he -had, in some way, originated the whole idea. Nor was their -satisfaction unfounded. Andrew, with all his apparent sternness -and occasional incivility, was shrewd, capable, and even -versatile, in the application of his industry and unerring -common sense to a wide range of occupations. He was the -ideal colonist of his order, as certain to succeed in his own -person as to be the most helpful and trustworthy of retainers.</p> - -<p class='c001'>As for Jeanie, she differed from her husband in almost -every respect, except in the cardinal virtues. She had been -a rustic celebrity in her youth, and Andrew occasionally -referred still, in moments of unbending, to the difficulties of -his courtship, and the victory gained over a host of rival -suitors. She still retained the softness of manner and tenderness -of nature which no doubt had originally led to the -fascination of her masterful, rugged-natured husband.</p> - -<p class='c001'>For the rest, Jean Cargill had always been one of those -servants, rare even in England, the land of peerless domestics, -whose loving, unselfish service knew no abatement in sickness -and in health, good fortune or evil hap. Her perceptive -tastes and strong sense of propriety rendered her, as years -rolled on, a trusted friend; an infinitely more suitable companion -for the mistress and her children, as she always called -them, than many a woman of higher culture. A tireless -nurse in time of sickness; a brave, clear-headed, but withal -modest and cautious, aid to the physician in the hour of -peril. She had stood by the bedstead of more than one -member of the family, in the dark hour, when the angel of -death waited on the threshold of the chamber. Never had -she slackened or faltered, by night or day, careless of food or -repose till the crisis had passed, and the ‘whisper of wings -in the air’ faded away.</p> - -<p class='c009'>Mrs. Effingham, with all her maternal fondness and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_18'>18</span>devotion, had been physically unable at times to bear up -against the fatigue of protracted watching and anxiety. She -had more than once, from sheer bodily weakness, been -compelled to abandon her post. But to Jeanie Cargill, sustained -by matchless love and devotion, such a thing had -never occurred. At noon or midnight, her hand was ever -ready to offer the needful food, the vital draught; her ear -ever watchful to catch the faint murmur of request; her eye, -sleepless as a star, was ever undimmed, vigilant to detect the -slightest change of symptom. Many nurses had been heard -of, seen, and even read of, in the domestic circles of Reigate, -but in the estimation of every matron capable of giving an -opinion, Jeanie Cargill, by countless degrees of comparison, -outshone them all.</p> - -<p class='c001'>That night, when Mrs. Effingham, as was her wont, sought -relief from the burden of her daily cares, and the crowding -anxieties of the morrow, ‘meekly kneeling upon her knees,’ -it appeared to her as if in literal truth the wind had been -tempered to the shorn lamb. That terrible travel into the -unknown, the discomforts and dangers of the melancholy -main, with the dreary waste of colonial life, would be quite -different adventures, softened by the aid and companionship -of everybody’s ‘dear old Jeanie.’ Her patient industry, her -helpful sympathy, her matchless loyalty and self-denial, would -be well-springs of heaven-sent water in that desert. Andrew’s -company, though not socially exhilarating, was also an invigorating -fact. Altogether, Mrs. Effingham’s spirits improved, -and her hopes arose freshly strengthened.</p> - -<p class='c001'>No sooner was it settled that Andrew and his fortunes -were to be wafted o’er the main, in the vessel which bore the -Effingham family, than, with characteristic energy, he had -constituted himself Grand Vizier and responsible adviser. -He definitely approved of much that had been done, and -counselled still further additions to the outfit. Prime and -invincible was his objection to leave behind a certain pet -‘Jersey coo,’ ‘a maist extraordinar’ milker, and for butter, -juist unco-omon. If she could be ta’en oot to thae parts, -she wad be a sma’ fortune—that is, in ony Christian land -where butter and cheese were used. Maybe the sea-captain -wad let her gang for the value o’ her milk; she -was juist in the height o’t the noo. It wad be a sin and a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_19'>19</span>shame to let her be roupit for half price, like the ither kye, -puir things.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Persistent advocacy secured his point. Daisy had been -morally abandoned to her fate; but Wilfred, goaded by -Andrew’s appeals, had an interview with the shipping clerk, -and arranged that Daisy, if approved of, should fill the place -of the proverbial milch cow, so invariably bracketed with the -‘experienced surgeon’ in the advertisements of the Commercial -Marine. Her calf also, being old enough to eat hay, -was permitted to accompany her.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Andrew also combated the idea that the greyhounds, or -at least a pair, should be left behind, still less the guns or -fishing-rods.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Wasna the Laird the best judge of a dog in the haill -country-side, and no that far frae the best shot? What for -suld he walk aboot the woods in Australia waesome and -disjaskit like, when there might be kangaroos, or whatna -kind o’ ootlandish game, to be had for the killing? Hoot, -hoot, puir Page and Damsel couldna be left ahint, nor the -wee terrier Vennie.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>There was more trouble with the greyhounds’ passage -than the cows, but in consideration of the large amount of -freight and passage-money paid by the family, the aristocratic -long-tails were franked. Andrew, with his own hands, packed -up the fowling-pieces and fishing-rods, which, with the exaggerated -prudence of youth, Wilfred had been minded to -leave behind, considering nothing worthy of removal that -would not be likely to add to their material gains in the ‘new -settlement.’ He had yet to learn that recreation can never -be advantageously disregarded, whether the community be -a young or an old one.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Little by little, a chain of slow yet subtle advances, by -which, equally with geologic alterations of the earth’s surface, -its ephemeral living tenants proceed or retrograde, effected -the translation of Howard Effingham, with wife and children, -retainers and household goods. Averse by nature to all -exertion which savoured of detail, reserving his energy for -what he was pleased to dignify with the title of great occasions, -as he looked back over the series of multitudinous -necessary arrangements, Howard Effingham wondered, in his -secret soul, at the transference of his household. Left to himself, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_20'>20</span>he was candid enough to admit, such a result could never -have been achieved. But the ceaseless ministration of Jeanie -and Andrew, the calm forethought of Mrs. Effingham, the -unsparing personal labour of Wilfred, had, in due time, -worked the miracle.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_21'>21</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER II <br /> THE FIRST CAMP</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>Whatever may be the loss or injury inseparable from misfortune, -no one of experience denies that the pain is lightened -when the blow has fallen. The shuddering terror, the harrowing -doubts, which precede an operation, far outrun the torture -of the knife. Worse a thousandfold to endure than actual -misery, poverty and disgrace, is the dull sense of impending -doom, the daily anxiety, the secret dread, the formless, unhasting, -unsparing terror, which each day brings nearer to the -victim.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Howard Effingham had, for weeks past, suffered the -torments of the lost. An unwise concealment of the coming -ruin which his reserved temperament forbade him to announce, -had stretched him upon the rack. The acute agony was -now past, and he felt unspeakably relieved as, with increasing -completeness, the preparations for departure were accomplished.</p> - -<p class='c001'>After the shock of the disaster he commenced the necessary -duties with an unwontedly tranquil mind. He had despatched -a bank draft for the amount mentioned by his friend and -counsellor the Rev. Harley Sternworth. Prior to this needful -act, he held various conferences with the trustees of Mrs. -Effingham’s settlement. In many instances such authorities -are difficult, even impracticable, to deal with, preferring the -minimum interest which can be safely procured in the matter -of trust money, to the slightest risk. In this instance, the -arbiter of destiny was an old gentleman, at once prudent yet -liberal-minded, who did not disdain to examine the arguments -in favour of the Australian plan. After reading Mr. Sternworth’s -<span class='pageno' id='Page_22'>22</span>letter, and comparing the facts therein stated with -colonial securities, to which he had access, he gave in his -adhesion to the investment, and converted his coadjutor, a -mild, obstinate personage, who could with difficulty be induced -to see any other investment legally open to them but the -‘sweet simplicity of the three per cents.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Long was the last day in coming, but it came at last. -Their stay in the old home was protracted until only time -was given for the journey to Southampton, where the staunch, -old-fashioned wool-ship lay, which was to receive their condensed -personal effects and, as it seemed to them, shrivelled-up -personalities.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Adieus were said, some with sore weeping and many -tears; some with moderate but sincere regret; some with -the half-veiled indifference with which any action not affecting -their own comfort, interest, or reputation is regarded by a large -class of acquaintances. The minor possessions—the carriages, -the horses, the library, the furniture—were sold. A selection -of the plainest articles of this last requisite, which, the freight -being wonderfully low, their chief adviser had counselled them -to carry with them, was alone retained.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘It will sell for next to nothing,’ his last letter had said, -‘judging from my experience after the regiment had “got the -route,” and you will have it landed here for less than the price -of very ordinary substitutes. Bring all the small matters you -can, that may be useful; and don’t leave the piano behind. -I must have a tune when I come to see you at Warbrok, and -hear Mrs. Effingham sing “Auld Robin Gray” again. You -recollect how our old Colonel broke down, with tears rolling -over his wrinkled cheeks, when she sang it?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>All was now over. The terrible wrench had been endured, -tearing apart those living fibres which in early life are entwined -around hearth and home. They had gazed in mournful -farewell upon each familiar thing which from childhood’s -hour had seemed a portion of their sheltered life. Like -plants and flowerets, no denizens of hothouse or simulated -tropic clime, but not the less carefully tended from harmful -extremes, climatic or social, had the Effingham family grown -and flourished. Now they were about to be abandoned to -the elemental forces. Who should say whether they would -wither under rude blasts and a fiercer sun, or, from natural -<span class='pageno' id='Page_23'>23</span>vigour and inherent vitality, burgeon and bloom beneath the -Southern heavens?</p> - -<p class='c001'>Of the whole party, she who showed less outward token of -sorrow, felt in her heart the most unresting anguish. To a -woman like Mrs. Effingham, reared from infancy in the -exclusive tenets of English county life, the idea of so comprehensive -a change, of a semi-barbarous migration, had been -well-nigh more bitter than death—but for one source of aid -and spiritual support, unendurable.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Her reliance had a twofold foundation. The undoubting -faith in a Supreme Being, who ordered aright all the ways of -His creatures, even when apparently remote from happiness, -remained unshaken. Firmly had she ever trusted in that God -by whom her former life had been guided. Events might -take a mysteriously doubtful course. But, in the wilderness, -under leafy forest-arches, beneath the shadow of the gathering -tempest, on land or ocean, she would trust in God and her -Redeemer. Steadfast and brave of mien, though with trembling -lip and sickened heart, she marshalled her little troop and -led them on board the stout ship, which only awaited the -morrow’s dawn to spread her wings and sweep southward—ever -southward—amid unknown seas, until the great island -continent should arise from out the sky-line, telling of a land -which was to provide them with a home, with friends, even -perhaps a fortune. What a mockery in that hour of utter -wretchedness did such hope promptings appear!</p> - -<p class='c001'>After protracted mental conflict, no more perfect system of -rest can be devised than that afforded by a sea-voyage. Anxiety, -however mordant, must be lulled to rest under the fixed conditions -of a journey, before the termination of which no battle -of life can be commenced, no campaign resumed.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Toil and strife, privation and poverty, labour and luck, all -the contending forces of life are hushed as in a trance. As -in hibernation, the physical and mental attributes appear to -rally, to recruit fresh stores of energy. ‘The dead past buries -its dead’—sorrowfully perchance, and with silent weeping. -But the clouds which have gathered around the spirit disperse -and flee heavenwards, as from a snow-robed Alp at morning -light. Then the roseate hues of dawn steal slowly o’er the -silver-pure peaks and glaciers. The sun gilds anew the dark -pine forest, the purple hills. Once more hope springs forth -<span class='pageno' id='Page_24'>24</span>ardent and unfettered. Endeavour presses onward to victory -or to death.</p> - -<p class='c001'>To the Effingham family came a natural surprise, that, -under their circumstances of exile and misfortune, any -cheerfulness could occur. The parents possessed an air of -decent resignation. But the younger members of the family, -after the first days of unalloyed wretchedness, commenced to -exhibit the elastic temperament of youth.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The seamanship displayed on the staunch sailing ship -commenced to interest them. The changing aspects of sea -and sky, the still noon, the gathering storm-cloud, the starry -midnight, the phosphorescent fire-trail following the night-path -of their bark—all these had power to move the sad hearts of the -exiles. And, in youth, to move the heart is to lighten the spirit.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Wilfred Effingham, true to his determination to deliver -himself over to every practical duty which might grow out of -their life, had procured books professing to give information -with regard to all the Australian colonies.</p> - -<p class='c001'>With difficulty he managed, after an extended literary tour -involving Tasmania, Swan River, and New Zealand, to distinguish -the colony to which they were bound, though he failed -to gather precise information regarding the district in which -their land was situated. He made out that the climate was -mild, and favourable to the Anglo-Saxon constitution; that -in mid-winter, flowering shrubs and delicate plants bloomed in -spite of the pretended rigour of the season; that the heat in -summer was considerable, as far as shown by the reading of -the thermometer, but that from the extreme dryness of atmosphere -no greater oppressiveness followed than in apparently -cooler days in other climates.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Here, mother,’ he said, having mastered the latter fact, -‘we have been unconsciously coming to the exact country -suited to your health and pursuits. You know how fond of -flowers you are. Well, you can have a winter garden now, -without the expense of glass or the trouble of hothouse flues; -while you can cheat the season by abstaining from colds, which -you could never do in England, you know.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I shall be happy to have a little garden of my own, my -son,’ she replied, ‘but who is to work in it? We have done -for ever, I suppose, with head and under gardeners. You and -Guy and everybody will always, I suppose, be at farm-work, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_25'>25</span>or herding cattle and sheep, busy from morning to dark. -How glad we shall be to see your faces at night!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘It does not follow,’ replied Wilfred, ‘that we shall never -have a moment to spare. Listen to what this author says: -“The colonist who has previously been accustomed to lead a -life, where intervals of leisure and intellectual recreation hold -an acknowledged place, must not consider that, in choosing -Australia for his home, he has forfeited all right to such -indulgences. Let him not think that he has pledged himself -to a life of unbroken toil and unremitting manual labour. On -the contrary, he will discover that the avocations of an -Australian country gentleman chiefly demand the exercise of -ordinary prudence and of those rudimentary business habits -which are easily acquired. Intelligent supervision, rather -than manual labour, is the special qualification for colonial -success; and we do not err in saying that by its exercise -more fortunes have been made than by the rude toils which -are supposed to be indispensable in the life of an Australian -settler.”</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘There, mother!’ said the ardent adventurer. ‘That writer -is a very sensible fellow. He knows what he is talking about, -for he has been ever so many years in Australia, and has been -over every part of it.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Well, there certainly seems permission given to us to have -a flower-garden for mamma without ruining ourselves or -neglecting our business,’ said Rosamond. ‘And if the climate -is so beautiful as they say, these dreadful February neuralgia-martyrdoms -will be things of the past with you, dearest old -lady.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘There, mother, what do you say to that? Why, you will -grow so young and beautiful that you will be taken for our -elder sister, and papa would be ashamed to say you are his -wife, only that old gentlemen generally marry young girls -nowadays. Then, fancy what a garden we shall have at The -Chase—we <em>must</em> call it The Chase, no matter what its present -name is. It wouldn’t feel natural for us to live anywhere but -at a Chase. It would be like changing our name.’</p> - -<hr class='c013' /> - -<p class='c001'>On board ship there is always abundant leisure for talk and -recreation, especially in low latitudes and half calms. The -Effinghams, after they had been a month out, began to feel -<span class='pageno' id='Page_26'>26</span>sensibly the cheering effects of total change of scene—the -life-breathing atmosphere of the unbounded sea. The demons -of Regret and Fear, for the most part, shun the blue wave and -lie in wait on land for unwary mortals. The ship was seaworthy -and spacious, the officers capable, the few passengers -passably agreeable. Gradually the tone was restored of -Captain Effingham’s nervous system. He ceased to repine -and regret. He even beheld some grains of hope in the -future, black as the outlook had until now appeared. While -the expression of sweet serenity and calm resignation which -ever dwelt upon the features of Mrs. Effingham became -heightened and assured under the concomitants of the voyage, -until she appeared to radiate peace and goodwill sufficient to -affect beneficially the whole ship’s company. As for the two -little ones, Selden and Blanche, they appeared to have been -accustomed since infancy to a seafaring life. They ran about -unchecked, and were in everybody’s way and every one’s affections. -They were the youngest children on board, and many -a rough sailor turned to look, with something like a glistening -in his eye, on the saucy brown-eyed boy, and the delicate -little five-year-old fairy, whose masses of fair hair floated in -the breeze, or were temporarily confined with an unwilling -ribbon.</p> - -<p class='c001'>It seemed but the lengthening limit of a dream when the -seaman at the good ship’s bow was commanded to keep a lookout -for land; when, yet another bright blue day, fading into -eve, and a low coast-line is seen, rising like an evening cloud -from out a summer sea.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Hurrah!’ said Wilfred Effingham, as the second mate -pointed out the land of promise, ‘now our life begins. We -shall belong to ourselves again, instead of being the indulgently -treated slaves—very well treated, I confess—but still the -unquestionable bond-slaves of that enlightened taskmaster, -Captain Henry Fleetby of the <cite>Marlshire</cite>.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘We have been very happy, my dear,’ said Mrs. Effingham, -‘happier than I should have thought possible in a ship, under -any circumstances. Let us hope our good fortune will continue -on land. I shall always look back to this voyage as the -most wonderful rest that our poor wounded hearts could have -enjoyed. Your papa looks quite himself again, and I feel -better than I have done for years. I shall remember our -<span class='pageno' id='Page_27'>27</span>captain, his officers, and his ship, with gratitude, as long as I -live.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I feel quite attached to the dear old vessel,’ said Annabel, -‘but we can’t go sailing about the world all our lives, like -respectable Flying Dutchmen. I suppose the captain must -turn us out to-morrow. Who would have thought we should -regret coming to the end of the voyage?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>How calm was that last day of the long, but not too long, -voyage, when they glided for hours on a waveless sea, by a -great wall of sandstone cliffs, which finally opened, as if by -magic, and discovered the portal of an Enchanted Haven! -Surely the prospect could not all be real, of this wondrous -nook, stolen from the vast, the limitless Pacific, in which -they discerned, through the empurpling eve, villas, cottages, -mansions, churches, white-walled and fantastic to their -eyes, girt with strange shrubs and stately forest trees of unknown -aspect. As the <cite>Marlshire</cite> floated to her anchorage, -threading a fleet of skiffs, which made the waters gay with -many a sail, the full heart of the mother and the wife overflowed.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Involuntarily a fervent prayer of thanksgiving went up to -that Being who had safely guarded them o’er the waste of -ocean; had permitted their entrance into this good land, -which lay ready to receive them in their need.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Passengers concluding a short voyage are nervously anxious -to land, and commence the frantic enjoyment of existence -on <span lang="la" xml:lang="la"><em>terra firma</em></span>. Not so with the denizens of the good ship -<cite>Marlshire</cite>, which had been their home and dwelling-place for -more than a quarter of a year. Having grown, with the -strange adaptiveness of our nature, to love the gallant bark, -you revere the captain, respect the first officer, and believe in -the second. Even the crew is above the average of the -mercantile Jack-tar novel. You will always swear by the old -tub; and you will not go on shore till to-morrow morning, if -then.</p> - -<p class='c001'>All things considered, the family decided to stay quietly -on board the <cite>Marlshire</cite> that night, so as to disembark in a -leisurely way in the morning, when they would have the day -before them in which to make arrangements.</p> - -<p class='c001'>They talked of staying quietly on board, but the excitement -of being so near the land was too much for them. The -<span class='pageno' id='Page_28'>28</span>unnatural quietude of the ship, the calm water of the bay, -the glancing lights, which denoted the thousand homes of -the city, the cries and sounds of the massed population of a -seaport, the warm midnight air, the woods and white beaches -which denoted the shore-line, the gliding harbour-boats, all -seemed to sound in one strangely distinct chorus: ‘Land, -land, land at last.’ All magically exciting, these sounds and -scenes forbade sleep. Long after the other members of the -family had gone below for the night, Wilfred and Rosamond -paced the deck, eagerly discussing plans for the future, and, -with the sanguine temper of youth, rapidly following each -freshly-formed track to fortune.</p> - -<p class='c001'>No one was likely to indulge in slumber after sunrise. A -babel of sounds announced that the unlading of cargo had -commenced. Their last ship breakfast prefaced the actual -stepping upon the friendly gangway, which now alone divided -them from the other side of the world. Before that feat was -performed, a squarely-built, grey-headed personage, in clerical -garb, but withal of a somewhat secular manner, walked -rapidly from the wharf to the deck and confronted the party.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Here you are at last, all safe and sound, Howard, my -dear fellow!’ said he, shaking hands warmly with Mr. -Effingham. ‘Not so much changed either; too easy-going -for that. Pray present me to Mrs. Effingham and the young -ladies. Your eldest son looking after the luggage?—proper -place for him. Allow me to take your arm, my dear madam, -and to conduct you to the hotel, where I have engaged -rooms for you. May as well set off—talk as we go along. -Only heard of the <cite>Marlshire</cite> being signalled the day before -yesterday. Came a long journey—slightly knocked up this -morning, but soon recovered—splendid climate—make a -young man of you, Earl Percy, in a year or two. We always -called him Earl Percy in the regiment, Mrs. Effingham. -Perhaps he told you. And all this fine family too—two, -four, six, seven. I can hardly credit my senses. Plenty of -room for them in this country—plenty of room—that’s one -thing.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘We have every reason to be thankful for the comfortable -way in which we have voyaged here,’ said Mrs. Effingham; -‘and now that you have so kindly come to meet us, I feel as -if half our troubles were over.’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_29'>29</span>‘Your troubles are just commencing, my dear madam, but -with Harley Sternworth’s help something may be done to -lighten them. Still I feel sure that these young ladies will -look upon difficulties in a sensible way, not expecting too -much, or being discouraged—just at first, you know.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Your country, my old friend, will have to look bad -indeed if my wife cannot find a good word to say for it,’ -said Mr. Effingham, roused to unwonted cheerfulness. ‘At -any rate, it suits you well; you look as hard as a west country -drover.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Never was better. Haven’t had a dose of medicine for -years. Ride fifty miles a day if necessary. Finest climate—finest -country—under the sun. Lots of parish work and -travelling, with a dash of botanising, and a pinch of geology -to fill up spare time. Wouldn’t go back and live in a country -town for the world. Mope to death.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>All this time the reverend gentleman was pressing forward -up a gentle incline, towards the lower end of George Street, -and after walking up that noble thoroughfare, and discreetly -refraining from mention of the buildings which ornament that -part of it, he turned again towards the water and piloted his -party successfully to Batty’s Hotel.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Here, my dear madam, you will find that I have secured -you pleasant apartments for a week or ten days, during which -time you will be able to recruit after the voyage, and do -justice to the beauties of the city. You are not going up -country at once. A few days’ leisure will be economy in the -end.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘So we are not to start off hundreds of miles at once, in a -bullock dray, as the captain told us?’ said Rosamond.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘No, my dear young lady, neither now nor, I hope, at -any time will such a mode of travelling be necessary. I -cannot say too much for your conveyance, but it will be fairly -comfortable and take you to your destination safely. After -that will commence what you will doubtless consider to be a -tolerably rough life. Yes—a rough life.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘These young people have made up their minds to anything -short of living like Esquimaux,’ said Mr. Effingham. -‘I don’t think you will frighten them. You and I saw -curious backwoods places when we were quartered in Canada, -didn’t we? You will hardly match them in Australia.’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_30'>30</span>‘Nothing to be compared to it,’ said Mr. Sternworth -earnestly. ‘We have no winter here, to begin with; that is, -none worth speaking about for cold. Moreover, the people -are intensely British in their manners and customs, in an -old-fashioned way. But I am not going to explain everything. -You will have to <em>live</em> the explanation, which is far -better than hearing it, and is sure to be retained by the -memory.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>It was decided that no move was to be made for the -interior until the baggage was landed, and arrangements made -for its safe carriage by dray.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘If you leave before all is ready,’ said their mentor, ‘you -run risk of the loss of a portion, by mistake or negligence; -and this loss may never be repaired. You will find your -furniture of immense value in the new abode, and will congratulate -yourself upon having brought it. It is astonishing -with what different eyes you look upon a table or sideboard -here and in England.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I was anxious to bring out some of our old possessions,’ -said Mrs. Effingham. ‘But I had hard work to persuade my -husband that we might not be able to procure such here. -Your advice was most opportune. I feel more pleased than -I can say that we were able to act upon it.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>At lunch they were joined by Wilfred, who had discovered -that there was no chance of all the furniture coming ashore -that day. He had arranged with the captain that Andrew -and his family should remain on board, as also Daisy the -cow, until everything was ready to load the drays with the -heavy baggage.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Andrew had expressed himself much pleased with the -arrangement, regarding the ship as ‘mair hamelike’ than the -busy foreign-looking city, to the inhabitants of which he did -not take kindly, particularly after an exploring stroll, which -happened to be on the Sunday after arrival.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘A maist freevolous folk, given up to mammon-worship -and pleesure-huntin’,—walkin’ in thae gairdens—no that -they’re no just by-ordinar’ for shrubs and floorin’ plants -frae a’ lands—walkin’ and haverin’ in the gairdens on the -Sawbath day, a’ smilin’ and heedless, just on the vairge o’ -happiness. Saw ye ever the like? It’s juist fearsome.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Upon the lady portion of the family, the city with its -<span class='pageno' id='Page_31'>31</span>shops, parks, and inhabitants made a more favourable impression.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Mr. Sternworth was untiring in showing them, in the -excursions which Mrs. Effingham and the girls made under -his guidance, the beauties of the city. They wandered much -in the lovely public gardens, to Mrs. Effingham’s intense -delight, whose love of flowers was, perhaps, her strongest -taste. They drove out on the South Head road, and duly -noted the white-walled mansions, plunged deeply in such -luxuriant flower-growth as the Northern strangers had rarely -yet beheld. Wonderfully gracious seemed the weather. It -was the Australian spring with air as soft and balmy as that -of Italy in her fairest hours.</p> - -<p class='c001'>How enjoyable was that halt between two stages of -existence! Daily, as they rose from the morning meal, they -devoted themselves to fresh rambles around the city, under the -chaperonage of the worthy person. They commenced to feel -an involuntary exhilaration. The pure air, the bright days, -the glowing sun, the pleasant sea-breeze, combined to cause -an indefinable conviction that they had found a region formed -for aid and consolation.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The streets, the equipages, the people, presented, it is -true, few of the contrasts, to their English experience, which a -foreign town would have afforded. Yet was there the excitement, -strong and vivid, which arises from the first sight of a -strange land and an unfamiliar people.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘This town has a great look of Marseilles,’ said Wilfred, -as they loitered, pleasantly fatigued, towards their temporary -home in the deepening twilight. ‘The same white, balconied, -terraced houses of pale freestone; the southern climate, the -same polyglot water-side population, only the Marseilles quay -might be stowed away in a hundred corners of this wonderful -harbour; and the people—only look at them—have a Parisian -tendency to spend their evenings in the streets. I suppose -the mildness of the climate tends to it.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘This kind of thing, I suppose, strikes you sharply at first,’ -said Mr. Sternworth; ‘but my eyes have become so accustomed -to all the aspects of my little world, that I cannot see -much difference between it and many English places I have -known in my day. The variations noted at first have long -since disappeared; and I feel as much at home as I used -<span class='pageno' id='Page_32'>32</span>to do at Bideford, when I was quartered there with the old -regiment.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘But surely the people must be different from what they -are in England,’ said Beatrice. ‘The country is different, -the trees, the plants—how beautiful many of them are!—and -the climate; surely all this must tend to alter the character or -the appearance of the people.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘It may in a few centuries have that effect, my dear young -lady,’ said the old gentleman, ‘but such changes are after the -fashion of nature’s workings, imperceptibly slow. You will -agree with me in another year, that many old acquaintances -in men and manners are to be met with out here, and the -rest present only outward points of divergence.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The days of restful peace had passed. The valuable -freight—to them invaluable—having been safely loaded, Mr. -Sternworth unfolded the plan which he had arranged for -their journey.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You are aware,’ he said, ‘that Warbrok Chase, as the -young ladies have decided to call your estate, is more than 200 -miles from Sydney. It lies 40 miles beyond Yass, which town -is distant 180 miles from the Metropolis. Now, although we -shall have railways in good time, there is nothing of the sort -yet, and the roads are chiefly in their natural state. I would -therefore suggest that you should travel in a roomy horse-waggon, -comfortably fitted up, taking a tent with you in -which to sleep at night. I have procured a driver well -acquainted with the country, who knows all the camps and -stopping-places, and may be depended upon to take you -safely to your journey’s end.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘No railways, no coaches,’ said Mr. Effingham; ‘yours is -rather a primitive country, Harley, it must be confessed; but -you know what is best for us all, and the weather is so mild -that none of us can suffer from the bivouac.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I should not have hazarded it if there had been any risk -to health,’ said the old gentleman, bowing courteously. ‘There -are coaches, however, and you might reach your destination in -four days, after hurried travelling. But the tariff is expensive -for so large a party; you would be crowded, or meet unsuitable -fellow-travellers, while you could take but little of your -luggage with you.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I vote for the overland journey,’ said Rosamond. ‘I am -<span class='pageno' id='Page_33'>33</span>sure it will be quite refreshingly eastern. I suppose Andrew -and Jeanie and poor dear Daisy and the dogs and everything -can go.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Everything and everybody you please but the heavy -luggage. Your servants will be able to sleep under a part of -the waggon-tilt, which will be comfortable enough at night. -The cow will give you milk for your tea. Even the greyhounds -may catch you a wallaby or two, which will come -in for soup.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘There could not be a better scheme,’ said Wilfred -exultingly. ‘My dear sir, you are a second father to us. -How long do you think it will take us to get to Warbrok -altogether?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You will have to make up your minds to ten or twelve -days’ travelling, I am afraid—say, twenty miles a day. I really -believe you will not find it tedious, but, as with your water -journey, get quite to like it. Besides, there is one grand -advantage, as far as the young ladies are concerned.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What is that?’ said Annabel, with added interest, but -somewhat doleful countenance. ‘Is there <em>any</em> advantage in -travelling like gipsies?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘It is this, then, my dear girls,’ said the old man, bending -upon them his clear, kindly beaming eyes, ‘that you will -make acquaintance with the rougher habitudes (and yet not -unduly so) of country life in Australia by this primitive -forest journeying. When you arrive at your destination you -will therefore be proportionately satisfied with your new -residence, because it will represent <em>a settled home</em>. Your daily -journey will by that time have become a task, so that you -will hail the prospect of repose with thankfulness.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Is that all?’ asked Annabel with a disappointed air. -‘Then we are to undergo something dreadful, in order that -something only disagreeable may not look so bad after it. -Is all Australian life like that? But I daresay I shall die -young, and so it won’t matter much. Is the lunch nearly -ready? I declare I am famishing.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Every one laughed at this characteristic sequence to Annabel’s -prophecy, and the matter of the march having been -settled, their friend promised to send up the waggon-driver -next morning, in order that the proper fittings and the lamps—indispensable -articles—and luggage might be arranged -<span class='pageno' id='Page_34'>34</span>and packed. A tent also was purchased, and bedding, -cooking utensils, provisions, etc., secured.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You will find Dick Evans an original character,’ said the -parson, ‘but I do not know any man in the district so well -suited for this particular service. He has been twenty years -in Australia, and knows everything, both good and evil, that -can be known of the country and people. He is an old -soldier, and in the 50th Regiment saw plenty of service. He -has his faults, but they don’t appear on the surface, and I -know him well enough to guarantee that you will be wholly -ignorant of them. His manners—with a dash of soldier -servant—are not to be surpassed.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>At an hour next morning so soon after dawn that Andrew -Cargill, the most incorruptible of early birds, was nearly caught -napping, Mr. Dick Evans arrived with two horses and his -waggon. The rest of the team, not being wanted, he had -left in their paddock at Homebush. He immediately placed -the waggon in the most convenient position for general -reference, took out his horses, which he accommodated with -nose-bags, and with an air of almost suspicious deference -inquired of Andrew what he could commence to do in the -way of packing.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The two men, as if foreseeing that possible encounters -might henceforth take place between them, looked keenly at -each other. Richard Evans had the erect bearing of which -the recipient of early drill can rarely divest himself. His wiry -figure but slightly above the middle height, his clean-shaved, -ruddy cheek, his keen grey eye, hardly denoted the fifty years -and more which he carried so lightly.</p> - -<p class='c001'>A faultless constitution, an open-air occupation with habits -of great bodily activity, had borne him scatheless through a -life of hardship and risk.</p> - -<p class='c001'>This personage commenced with a request to be shown -the whole of the articles intended to be taken, gently but -firmly withstanding any opinion of Andrew’s to the contrary, -and replying to his protests with the mild superiority of the -attendant in a lunatic asylum. After the whole of the light -luggage had been displayed, he addressed himself to the task -of loading and securing it with so much economy of space -and advantage of position, that Andrew readily yielded to -him the right to such leadership in future.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_35'>35</span>‘Nae doot,’ he said, ‘the auld graceless sworder that he -is, has had muckle experience in guiding his team through -thae pathless wildernesses, and it behoves a wise man to -“jouk and let the jaw gae by.” But wae’s me, it’s dwelling -i’ the tents o’ Kedar!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Dick Evans, who was a man of few words and strong in -the heat of argument, was by no means given to mixing up -discussion with work. He therefore kept on steadily with -his packing until evening, only requiring from Andrew such -help and information as were indispensable.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘There,’ said he, as he removed the low-crowned straw -hat from his heated brow, and prepared to fill his pipe, ‘I -think that will about do. The ladies can sit there in the -middle, where I’ve put the tent loose, and use it as a -sofy, if they’ve a mind to. I can pitch it in five minutes at -night, and they can sleep in it as snug as if they had a -cottage with them. You and your wife can have the body -of the waggon to yourselves at night, and I’ll sleep under -the shafts. The captain and the young gentlemen can have -all the room between the wheels, and nobody can want -more than that. I suppose your missis can do what cooking’s -wanted?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Nae doot,’ Andrew replied with dignity, ‘Mistress Cargill -wad provide a few bits o’ plain victual. A wheen parritch, -a thocht brose, wad serve a’ hands better than flesh meat, -and tea or coffee, or siccan trash.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Porridge won’t do for me,’ said the veteran firmly, ‘not -if I know it. Oatmeal’s right enough for you Scotchmen, -and not bad stuff either, <em>in your own country</em>, but beef and -mutton’s our tack in Australia.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And will ye find a flesher in this “bush,” as they ca’ it, -that we’ve to push through?’ demanded Andrew. ‘Wad it no -be mair wiselike to keep to victual that we can carry in our -sacks?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Get plenty of beef and mutton and everything else on the -road,’ said Mr. Evans, lighting his pipe and declining further -argument. ‘Don’t you forget to bring a frying-pan. I’ll take -the horses back to the paddock now and be here by daylight, -so as we can make a good start.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>It had been arranged by Mr. Sternworth that the boys, as -he called them, should set forth in the morning with Evans -<span class='pageno' id='Page_36'>36</span>and the waggon, as also Andrew and Jeanie, taking with -them the cow, the dogs, and the smaller matters which the -family had brought. No necessity for Captain Effingham -and the ladies to leave Sydney until the second day. He -would drive them in a hired carriage as far as the first camp, -which Evans had described to him.</p> - -<p class='c001'>They would thus avoid the two days’ travel, and commence -their journey after the expedition had performed its trial trip, -so to speak.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What <em>should</em> we have done without your kind care of -us?’ said Mrs. Effingham. ‘Everything up to this time has -been a pleasure trip. When is the hard life that we heard -so much of to begin?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Perhaps,’ said Rosamond, ‘Mr. Sternworth is going to -be like the brigand in the romances, who used to lure -persons from their homes. I have no doubt but that there -are “hard times” awaiting us somewhere or somehow.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘My dear young lady, let me compliment you on your -good sense in taking that view of the future. It will save -you from disappointment, and fill your mind with a wholesome -strength to resist adversity. You may need all your -philosophy, and I counsel you to keep it, like armour, -well burnished. I do not know of any evil likely to befall -you, but that you will have trouble and toil may be taken -as certain. Only, after a time, I predict that you will -overcome your difficulties, and find yourselves permanently -benefited.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The old gentleman, whose arrangements were as successfully -carried out as if he had been the commissary instead of -the chaplain of his former regiment, made his appearance on -the following day in a neat barouche drawn by a pair of -good-looking bay horses, and driven by a highly presentable -coachman.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Why, it might pass muster for a private carriage,’ said -Annabel. ‘And I can see a crest on the panels. I suppose -we shall never own a carriage again as long as we live.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘This <em>is</em> a private carriage, or rather was, once upon a -time,’ said Mr. Sternworth; ‘the horses and the coachman -belonged to it. Many carriages were put down last year, -owing to a scarcity of money, and my old friend Watkins here, -having saved his wages, like a prudent man, bought his -<span class='pageno' id='Page_37'>37</span>master’s carriage and horses, and commenced as cab -proprietor. He has a large connection among his former -master’s friends, and is much in demand at balls and other -festivities.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The ex-coachman drove them at a lively pace, but steadily, -along a macadamised turnpike road, not so very different -from a country lane in Surrey, though wider, and not confined -by hedges. The day was fine. On either side, after the -town was left behind, were large enclosures, wherein grazed -sheep, cattle, and horses. Sometimes they passed an orangery, -and the girls were charmed with the rows of dark green trees, -upon which the golden fruit was ripe. Then an old-fashioned -house, in an orchard, surrounded by a wall—wall and house -coloured red, and rusty with the stains of age—much like a -farmhouse in Hertfordshire. One town they passed was so -manifestly old-fashioned, having even <em>ruins</em>, to their delight -and astonishment, that they could hardly believe they were -in a new country.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Some one has been playing Rip Van Winkle tricks upon -us,’ said Rosamond. ‘We have been asleep a hundred years, -and are come back finding all things grown old and in -decay.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You must not forget that the colony has been established -nearly fifty years,’ said Mr. Sternworth, ‘and that these are -some of the earliest settlements. They were not always -placed in the most judicious sites; wherefore, as newer towns -have passed them in the race for trade, these have submitted -to become, as you see them, “grey with the rime of -years,” and simulating decay as well as circumstances will -permit.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Well, I think much more highly of Australia, now that I -have seen a <em>real</em> ruin or two,’ said Annabel decisively. ‘I -always pictured the country full of hideous houses of boards, -painted white, with spinach green doors and windows.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The afternoon was well advanced as the inmates of the -carriage descried the encampment which Mr. Evans had -ordered, with some assistance from his military experience. -So complete in all arrangements for comfort was it—not -wholly disregarding the element of romantic scenery—that -the girls cried aloud in admiration.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The streamlet (or creek) which afforded the needful water -<span class='pageno' id='Page_38'>38</span>meandered round the base of a crag, jutting out from a -forest-clothed hill. The water-hole (or basin) in the channel -of the creek was larger than such generally are, and reflected -brightly the rays of the declining sun. The meadow, which -afforded space for the encampment, was green, and fertile of -appearance. The waggon stood near the water; the four -horses were peacefully grazing. At a short distance, under a -spreading tree, the tent had been pitched, while before it -was a wood fire, upon which Jeanie was cooking something -appetising. Wilfred and his brother were strolling, gun in -hand, up the creek; the cow was feeding among the rushes -with great contentment; Andrew was seated, meditating, upon -a box which he had brought forth from the recesses of the -waggon; while Dick Evans, not far from a small fire, upon -which stood a camp-kettle at boiling-point, was smoking with -an air of conscious pride, as if not only the picturesque -beauty, but the personages pertaining to the landscape, -belonged to him individually.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I could not leave you more comfortably provided for,’ -said their ‘guide, philosopher, and friend.’ ‘Old Dick may be -trusted in all such matters as implicitly as the Duke of -Wellington. I never knew him at fault yet in this kind of -life.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You must positively stay and have afternoon tea with -us,’ exclaimed Annabel. ‘It is exactly five, and there is Dick -putting a tin cupful of tea into the teapot. What extravagant -people you colonists are! I never drank tea in the -open air before, but it seems quite the right thing to do. I -see Jeanie has made griddle-cakes, like a dear old thing. -And I know there is butter. I am so hungry. You <em>will</em> -stay, won’t you?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I think, sir,’ said the ex-family coachman, looking -indulgently at the special pleader, ‘that we shall have time -to get back to the Red Cow Inn to-night, after a cup of -tea, as the young lady wishes it. I’ll run you into town -bright and early to-morrow.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Very well then, Miss Annabel, I shall have the honour to -accept your invitation,’ bowed the old man. ‘I go away -more cheerfully than I expected, now that I leave you all so -comparatively snug. It will not be for long. Be sure that I -shall meet you on the threshold of Warbrok.’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_39'>39</span>The <em>al fresco</em> meal was partaken of with much relish, -even gaiety, after which civilisation—as personified by the -reverend gentleman and the carriage—departed. Annabel -looked after it ruefully, while Jeanie and Mrs. Effingham -took counsel together for the night. It was for the first time -in the family history. Never before had the Effinghams slept, -so to speak, in the open air. It was a novel adventure in -their uneventful lives—a marked commencement of their -colonial career. It affected them differently, according to -their idiosyncrasies. Rosamond was calmly resolute, Annabel -apprehensive, and Beatrice indifferent; the boys in high spirits; -Mr. Effingham half in disapproval, despondently self-accusing; -while Mrs. Effingham and Jeanie were so fully absorbed in -the great bedding question that they had no emotions to -spare for any abstract consideration whatever.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The moon, in her second quarter, had arisen lustrous in -the pure, dark blue firmament, fire-besprinkled with ‘patines -of bright gold,’ before this important matter (and supper) was -concluded. Then it was formally announced that the tent -was fully furnished, and had turned out wonderfully commodious. -The mattresses were placed upon a layer of ‘bush-feathers,’ -as Dick Evans called them, and which (the small -twigs and leaf-shoots of the eucalyptus) he had impressed -Wilfred and his brother to gather. There was a lantern -secured to the tent-pole, which lighted up the apartment; -and sheets, blankets, coverlets being brought forth, Annabel -declared that she was sure they would all sleep like tops, that -for her part she must insist on going to bed at once as the -keen air had made her quite drowsy. A dressing-table had -been improvised, chiefly with the aid of Mr. Evans’ mechanical -skill. When the matron and her daughters made their -farewell for the night, and closed their canvas portal, every one -was of the opinion that a high degree of comfort and effective -lodging had been reached.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Mr. and Mrs. Cargill and family retired to the inmost -recesses of the upper waggon, where the ends of the tilt, -fastened together, protected them. Mr. Effingham and his -sons joined Dick Evans at his briskly burning fire, where the -old man was smoking and occasionally indulging in a -refresher of tea as if he had no intention of going to bed till -he reached Warbrok.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_40'>40</span>‘We are having glorious weather to travel in, Evans,’ said -Mr. Effingham. ‘You have been in the service, Mr. Sternworth -tells me; what regiment?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I was in the old 50th for many a year, Captain,’ he -said, unconsciously standing erect and giving the salute. ‘I -served under Sir Hugh Gough in India, where I got this -slash from a Mahratta sabre. Didn’t seem a hard cut -neither; the fellow just seemed to swing his wrist, careless-like, -as he rode by, but it was nigh deep enough to take the -“wick” out of me. Their swords was a deal sharper than -ours, and their wooden scabbards kept ’em from getting -blunt again. I had a great argument with my sergeant about -it once,’ continued the old man. ‘I couldn’t a-bear to see -our poor chaps sliced up by them razor-edged tulwars, while -our regulation swords was a’most too dull to cut through a -quilted cotton helment. Ah! them was fine times,’ said the -old soldier, with so genuine a regret in his tones that -Howard Effingham almost believed he had, for the first time -in his life, fallen across a noble private, pleased with his -profession, and anxious to return to it.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I have rarely heard a soldier regret the army,’ said he. -‘But you still retain zeal for the service, I am pleased to -find.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Well, sir, that’s all very well,’ said the philosophical man-at-arms; -‘but what I was a-thinking of was the “loot.” It’s -enough to bring tears into a man’s eyes that served his Queen -and country, to think of the things as we passed over. Didn’t -Jimmy O’Hara and two or three more men of my company -get together once and made bold to stick up the priest of one -of them temples. No great things either—gold earrings and -bangles, and a trifle of gold mohurs, the priest’s own. There -was a copper-coloured, bronze-looking idol—regular heathen -god, or some such cretur—which the priest kept calling out -“Sammy” to, or “Swammi.” The ugly thing had bright glittering -eyes, and Jim wanted to get ’em out badly, but the priest -said, “Feringhee wantee like this?” and he picked up a bit of -glass, and smiled contempshus like. At last we left him and -“Swammi,” eyes and all. I don’t ever deserve to have a -day’s luck, sir, agin, as long as I live.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Why so?’ said Mr. Effingham, astonished at the high -moral tone, which he had not been used to associate with the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_41'>41</span>light infantry man of the period. ‘Not for taking the image -away, surely?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘No!’ shouted the old man, roused from his ordinary -respectful tone. ‘But for leavin’ him behind! That Sammy, -sir, was pure gold, and his eyes was di’monds, di’monds! -Think o’ that. We left a thousand pound a man behind, because -we didn’t know gold when we seen it. It will haunt -me, sir, to my dying day.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The boys laughed at the unsentimental conclusion of the -veteran’s tale. Their father looked grave.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I cannot approve of the plunder of religious edifices, -Evans; though the temptation was too great for soldiers, and -indeed for others in those days.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The chief personages having retired, Mr. Effingham and -his sons essayed to make their couch under the waggon.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘It is many a year since I had any experience in this kind -of thing,’ said he; ‘but, if I remember rightly, it was in Spain -that I bivouacked last. This locality is not unlike Estramadura. -That rocky ravine, with the track running down it, is -just where you would have expected to see the muleteer stepping -gaily along beside his mules singing or swearing, as the -case might be; and they do both with great vigour.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I remember Don Pedro, Captain,’ said Dick. ‘I mind -the wine-skins putty well too. It wasn’t bad stuff; but I -don’t know as dark brandy doesn’t come handier if ye wants -a stir up. But there’s one thing you can’t have forgot, -Captain, that beats this country holler.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You must mean the fleas,’ said Effingham; ‘<em>they</em> certainly -could not be surpassed. I hope you don’t mean to rival -them here.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Well, I don’t deny, Captain, that in some huts, where the -people aren’t particular, in a sandy country, in summer you -will find a few, and likewise them other reptiles, ’specially -where there’s pine slabs, but in a general way we’re pretty -clean in this country, and you’ve no call to be afeard to -tackle your blankets.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I’m glad to hear it, Evans,’ said Effingham, yawning. ‘I -have no doubt that your camp is always fit for inspection. -I think we may say good-night.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Between the keen air of the forest, and the unwonted -exercise, a tendency to drowsiness now set in, which Mr. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_42'>42</span>Effingham and his sons discovered by the time that the -blankets were drawn over them. The sides of their apartment, -represented by the wheels of the waggon, were covered -by the canvas tilt, the ceiling was low but sufficient. It was -the ideal chamber in one respect. Ventilation was unimpeded, -while shelter was secured.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_43'>43</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER III <br /> THE NEW HOME</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>When Wilfred awoke from deep untroubled slumber, the sun -seemed gazing at the encampment with haughty, fixed regard, -as of a monarch, enthroned upon the summit of the purple -mountain range.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Unwitting of the lengths (fortunately) to which the unsparing -archer could go in Southern lands, he essayed to -commence dressing.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Rising hurriedly, he was reminded by a tap on the head -from the axle-tree that he was in a bedroom of restricted -accommodation. More guarded in his after-movements he -crawled outside, first placing on the dewy grass a rug upon -which to stand. He commenced his toilette, and cast a comprehensive -glance around.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The first thing he saw was the upright form of Richard -Evans, who, returning from a search after his hobbled -horses, drove them before him towards the camp, at the -same time smoking his pipe with a serene and satisfied air. -The morning was chilly, but he had not thought a coat -necessary, and in a check shirt and moleskin trousers -calmly braved an atmosphere not much above forty degrees -Fahrenheit.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘This must be a fine climate,’ said Wilfred to his father. -‘We shall be well wrapped up till breakfast time, at any rate, -and yet that old buffer is wandering about in his shirt-sleeves -as if he were in Naples.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘He is pretty hard-bitten, you may depend,’ said Mr. -Effingham. ‘I think some of our old “die-hards” are as -tough samples of humanity as could anywhere be met. I do -<span class='pageno' id='Page_44'>44</span>not uphold the British soldier as a model, but they were men -in my time, beyond any manner of doubt.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Dick marched up his team to the waggon, whence the -lodgers had by this time issued—Andrew to make a fire -near the tent, and Jeanie to penetrate that sacred enclosure, -and presumably to act as tire-woman in the interior.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The shafts, which had served Dick as a sleeping apartment -during the night, aided by a shroud of tarpaulin, were -uplifted, and bagging being thereon stretched, were converted -into a manger for the chaff and maize, which the horses -quickly commenced to consume.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Presently Jeanie issued from the tent, and finding the -camp-kettle boiling, proceeded to make tea. Andrew, in the -meantime, milked the cow. The gridiron was brought into -requisition, and certain mutton chops broiled. Eventually -Mrs. Effingham and her daughters issued from the tent, -fresh and dainty of aspect as if they had just left their bedrooms -at The Chase. Then the day commenced, and also -breakfast.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Good-morning, O mother! Hail, O tender maidens! -What do you think of camping out?’ was Wilfred’s greeting, -‘Have you been sitting up weeping, or did you forget everything -till daylight, as we did?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘We all slept like tops,’ said Annabel. ‘I never was -so sleepy in my life. I was almost off before I could undress. -I think it’s splendid. And oh! what is there for -breakfast?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Grilled chops, smoking cups of tea, with bread and butter, -constituted the repast. Worse meals have been eaten. The -appetites were, like the travellers, highly respectable. By -the time the meal was finished, Mr. Richard Evans had -harnessed his team, and bringing himself up to the attitude -of ‘attention,’ requested to know when the ladies would like -to make a start.</p> - -<p class='c001'>After consultation, it was notified to their guide and -courier that as soon as the tent was struck and the baggage -packed, every one would be ready.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The troops being in high health and spirits, in a comparatively -short space of time the march was resumed. -Wilfred and Guy walked ahead, fowling-piece in hand. -Andrew drove the cow, which followed quietly in the rear. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_45'>45</span>The coupled greyhounds looked eagerly around, as if sensible -that they were now in hunting country. They were with -difficulty restrained when a wallaby, in two bounds, crossed -the road and disappeared in an adjoining scrub.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The dry air was pure and fresh, the unclouded sky blue -as a sapphire dome, the winding forest road free from all -impediment but an occasional ledge of sandstone. If there -is any portion of the day ‘when the poor are rich in spirits -and health,’ when the heart of youth stirs, when age is -soothed with dreams of happiness, it is in that sweetest hour -which follows the early morning meal in rural Australia. -Dawn is austere, mid-day often sultry, but nowhere will he, -whose heart and intelligence respond alike gratefully to that -charmed time, find its inspirations more invigorating than -in the early summer of Australia. Then the fortunate -traveller experiences coolness without cold, and warmth -without the heat which produces lassitude.</p> - -<p class='c001'>As the waggon rolled easily along, the horses stepping -cheerily on the track, the wayfarers paced over the unwonted -herbage with an alertness of mien which would have suggested -a very different history.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘How lovely the shrubs are that we see in all directions!’ -said Mrs. Effingham. ‘What should we have given for that -golden flowering mimosa at The Chase, or this blue-leaved, pink -pointed tree, which I suppose must be a young eucalyptus. -Here they are so common that no one heeds them, and yet -there are rare plants enough to set up a dozen greenhouses.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Everything is so utterly different,’ said Rosamond. ‘I -am most agreeably surprised at the landscape. What -erroneous ideas one has of far countries! I suppose it is -because we seldom feel sufficient interest to learn about -them thoroughly. I pictured Australia a sandy waste, with -burned-up reedy grass, and a general air of the desert. Now, -here we have woods, a pretty little brook rippling by, rocks -and hills, and in the distance a mountain. I could make -quite an effective sketch.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘The country isn’t all like this, Miss,’ said Dick Evans, -with a deferential air. ‘If you was to go two or three -hundred miles into the bush, there’s no timber at all; you’ld -find it all sand and salt-bushes—the curiousest place ever -you see.’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_46'>46</span>‘How can it be the “bush,”’ inquired Wilfred, ‘if there -are no trees? But we are not going so far, at any rate.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Finest grazing land out,’ said Richard the experienced. -‘All the stock rolling fat—no trouble in looking after ’em. -If I was a young gentleman, that’s the place I’d make for. -Not but what Warbrok’s a pleasant spot, and maybe the -young ladies will like it better than the plains.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I fancy we all shall, Richard,’ said Rosamond. ‘The -plains may be very well for sheep and cattle, but I prefer a -woodland country like this. I suppose we can have a garden -there?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Used to be the best garden in all the country-side, Miss, -but the Warleighs were a wild lot; they let everything go to -wrack. The trees and bushes is mostly wore out, but the -sile’s that good, as a handy man would soon make it ship-shape -again.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What are we to do for lunch?’ said Annabel, with some -appearance of anxiety. ‘If we are to go on roaming over -the land from sunrise to sunset without stopping, I shall die -of hunger—I’m sure I shall. I keep thinking about those -cakes of Jeanie’s.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘My dear child,’ said her mother, ‘I daresay we shall -manage to feed you and the rest of the flock. I am pleased -to find that you have such a famous appetite. To be sure, -you have not stopped growing yet, and this fresh air acts as -a tonic. So far, we must not complain of the climate.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘It’s only a few miles furder on, ma’am, to the King -Parrot Waterhole, where we can stop in the middle of the -day, and have a bit to eat if the young ladies is sharp-set. I -always stop on the road and feed my horses about twelve -o’clock. And if the young gentlemen was to walk on, they -might shoot a pair of ducks at the waterhole, as would come -in handy for the pot.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>When about mid-day they reached the King Parrot Waterhole, -a reed-fringed pool, about as large as their English -horse-pond, they found Wilfred in possession of a pair of the -beautiful grey-breasted wood-ducks (<em>Anas Boscha</em>), a teal, -with chestnut and black feathers and a brilliant green neck, -also a dark-furred kangaroo, which Dick pronounced to be a -rock wallaby.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Australia isn’t such a bad place for game,’ said Guy. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_47'>47</span>‘We found the ducks swimming in the pool, three brace -altogether, and “Damsel” caught this two-legged hare, as she -thought it, as it was making up that stony hill. <em>I</em> like it -better than Surrey.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘We shall find out ever so many interesting things,’ said -Rosamond. ‘I shall never feel thankful enough to that good -old Professor Muste for teaching me the small bit of botany -that I know. Now, look at this lovely Clianthus, is it not -enough to warm the heart of a Trappist? And here is that -exquisite purple Kennedya, which ought, in an Australian -novel, to be wreathed round the heroine’s hat. Do my eyes -deceive me, or is not that a white heath? I must dig it up.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I believe, Rosamond, that you could comfort yourself on -Mount Ararat,’ said Annabel. ‘Why, it will be <em>ages</em> before -those ducks can be picked and roasted. Oh, Jeanie, Jeanie, -can’t we have them before tea-time? I wish I had never -seen them.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘If you like, you can help me take off the feathers, and -spare Jeanie’s everlastingly busy fingers,’ said Beatrice.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Here Annabel looked ruefully at her tiny, delicate hands, -with a child’s pout.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh, it’s no use looking at your pretty hands,’ said the -more practical Beatrice. ‘This is the land of work, and all -who can’t make themselves useful will be treated like the -foolish virgins in the parable. It always makes me smile -when that chapter is read. I can fancy Annabel holding out -her lamp, with an injured expression, saying, “Well, nobody -told me it was time to get ready.”’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Beatrice, my daughter,’ said Mrs. Effingham gravely, -‘sacred subjects are not befitting matter for idle talking; dispositions -vary, and you may remember that Martha was not -praised for her anxiety to serve.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>At mid-day the kettle bubbled on the fire, kindled by the -ever-ready Richard, cakes and sandwiches were handed round, -the tea—thanks to Daisy—was gratefully sipped.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The sun shone brightly on the green flat, where the horses -grazed in peace and plenty. The birds chirped and called at -intervals; all Nature seemed glad and responsive to the joyous -season of the southern spring.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Thus their days wore on, in peaceful progression, alike free -from toil, anxiety, or adventure. The daily stage was accomplished, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_48'>48</span>under Dick’s experienced direction, without mistake -or misadventure. The evening meal was a time of rest and -cheerful enjoyment, the night’s slumbers refreshing and unbroken.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What a delightful country this is! I feel quite a new -creature, especially after breakfast,’ exclaimed Annabel one -morning. ‘I could go on like this for months, till we -reached the other side of the continent, if there is any other -side. Will it be as nice as this, I wonder, at Malbrook, or -Warbrok, or whatever they call it? Warbrok Chase won’t -look so bad on our letters, when we write home. I must send -a sketch of it to cousin Elizabeth, with a bark cabin, of -course. She will never believe that we have a real house to -live in among the backwoods. What sort of a house is it, -Dick? Is it thatched and gabled and damp and delightful, -with dear little diamond casements like the keeper’s lodge, -or is it a horrid wooden barn? Tell me now, there’s a dear -old man!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘We shall be there, Miss, the day after to-morrer, please -God,’ responded Dick with respectful solemnity. ‘Parson -Sternworth said I was to say nought about the place, but let -it come on you suddent-like. And I’m a man as is used to -obey orders.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Very well, you disagreeable old soldier,’ said the playful -maiden. ‘I’ll be even with you and the parson, as you call -him. See if I don’t.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Sorry to disobleege you, Miss Anniebell,’ said the -veteran, ‘but if my old General, Sir Hugh Gough, was to -come and say, “Corporal Richard Evans, hand me over the -chart of the country,” I should have to tell him that he -hadn’t got the counter-sign.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And quite right too, Evans,’ interposed Mr. Effingham, -‘to keep up your good old habits in a new country. -Discipline is the soul of the army.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I was allers taught <em>that</em>, sir,’ replied Dick, with an air of -military reminiscence which would have befitted a veteran of -the Great Frederick. ‘But when we reaches Warbrok my -agreement’s out with the Parson, and Miss can order me -about all day.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>In spite of Annabel’s asseverations that the party would -never reach the spot indicated, and that she believed there -<span class='pageno' id='Page_49'>49</span>never was any such place, but that Dick would lead them -into a trackless forest and abandon them, the journey ended -about the time specified. A rugged track, indeed, one afternoon -tried their patience. The horses laboured, the docile -cow limped and lagged, the girls complained, while Andrew’s -countenance became visibly elongated.</p> - -<p class='c001'>At length Dick Evans’s wooden facial muscles relaxed, as -halting on the hardly-gained hill-top he pointed with his -whip-handle, saying simply, ‘There’s Warbrok! So the -young ladies and gentlemen can see for theirselves.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>How eagerly did the whole party gaze upon the landscape, -which now, in the clear light of the Southern eve, lay softly -in repose before them!</p> - -<p class='c001'>The character of the scenery had changed with the -wondrous suddenness peculiar to the land in which they had -come to dwell. A picture set in a frame of forest and -unfriendly thickets! Now before their eyes came with -magical abruptness a vision of green slopes, tall groves, and -verdurous meadows. It was one of nature’s forest parks. -Traces of the imperfect operations of a new country were -visible, in felled timber, in naked, girdled trees, in unsightly -fences. But nature was in bounteous mood, and had -heightened the contrast with the barren region they had over-passed, -by a flushed abundance of summer vegetation. -This lavish profusion of herb and leaf imparted a richness of -colouring, a clearness of tone, which in a less favourable -season of the year Warbrok must perceptibly have lacked.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh, what a lovely, lovely place!’ cried Annabel, transported -beyond herself as she stood on tip-toe and gazed -rapturously at the scene. ‘Those must be the Delectable -Mountains. Dick, you are a Christian hero [the old man -smiled deprecatingly], I forgive you on the spot. And there -is the house, a <em>real</em> house with two storeys—actually two—I -thought there were only cottages up the country—and an -orchard; and is that a blue cloud or the sea? We must -have turned round again. Surely it can’t be <em>our lake</em>? -That would be too heavenly, and those glorious mountains -beyond!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘That’s Lake William, miss, called after His Gracious -Majesty King William the Fourth,’ explained Dick, accurate -and reverential. ‘Fourteen miles long and seven broad. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_50'>50</span>You’ll find the house big enough, but it’s a long way from -being in good order; and it’s a mercy there’s a tree alive in -the orchard.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh, never mind, we’ll soon put things to rights, won’t -we, mamma? And what splendid creatures those old trees -will be when they come out in leaf. I suppose it’s too early -in the spring yet?’ continued she.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Dead—every one of ’em, miss,’ explained their conductor. -‘They’ve been ring-barked, more’s the pity. They -was beauties when I knowed ’em fust, before the blessed -tenants was let ruinate everything about the place. I -wonder there’s a stone of the house standing, that I do. -And now, sir, we’ll get on, and the young ladies can -have tea in their own parlour, if my old woman’s made a -fire, accordin’ to orders.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The hearts of the more reflective portion of the party -were too full for comment, so Annabel’s chatter was allowed -to run on unchecked. A feeling of despondency had been -gradually stealing over Howard Effingham and his wife, as -for the two last stages they had pictured to themselves the -toil of building up a home amid the barren solitudes, such -as, in their innocence, they thought their new property -might resemble. Now, here was a spot in which they -might live out their lives with cheerful and contented minds, -thankful that ‘their lines had fallen in pleasant places’; -having reason to hope that their children might dwell in -peace and prosperity after them.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘We can never be sufficiently grateful to your dear old -friend,’ said Mrs. Effingham. ‘If he had not in the first place -written you that letter, Howard, and afterwards acted upon -his opinion so boldly, what might have been our fate?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘He always used to look after me when we were in the -regiment,’ said her husband acquiescingly; ‘I daresay he’ll -find a similar pleasure in taking charge of us now. -Fortunately for you and the girls, he never married.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>A few miles only needed to be traversed before Mr. Evans -triumphantly drove his team through the gate of the -dilapidated garden fence surrounding the front of a large -old-fashioned stone mansion, with wide verandah and lofty -balcony, supported upon freestone pillars. A stout, elderly -woman of decided aspect opened the creaking hall door, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_51'>51</span>and casting a searching glance at Mr. R. Evans, made the -strangers welcome.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I’m sure I’m very glad to see you, my lady,’ said she, -bobbing an antiquated curtsey, ‘and you, sir, and the young -ladies and gentlemen. I’ve done all I could to clean up the -old barrack of a house; it was that lonesome, and made me -frighted with ghosts, as I thought I’d never live to see you -all; and Dick here, I knew there was no certainty of, as -might have gone to Timor, or the Indies, and never let on a -word about it. Please you to come in, my lady.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘My old woman’s temper is none of the best, Captain,’ -said Dick, stating the fact with philosophical calmness, ‘but -I’ll warrant she’s cleaned up as much as any two, and very -bad it wanted it when Parson Sternworth brought us over.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Now that a nearer view was afforded of the demesne and -dwelling, it was evident that the place had been long -abandoned to natural decay and sordid neglect. The fences -were rotten, gapped, or fallen; the orchard, though the aged -trees were high out of the reach of browsing cattle, had been -used as a convenient species of stock paddock; the climbers, -including a magnificent bignonia and a wistaria, the great -laterals of which had erstwhile clothed the verandah pillars -with beauty and bloom, were broken and twisted. In the -rear of the building all the broken bottles and bones of the -land appeared to be collected; while, with windows broken, -shutters hanging on a single hinge, doors closing with difficulty, -or impossible to open, all things told of the recklessness -of ruined owners.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Still, in despite of all deficiencies, the essentials of value -could not be overlooked. The house, though naked and -desolate of aspect, was large and commodious, promising in -its shingled roof and massive stone walls protection against -the heat of summer, the cold of winter. The deep black -mould needed but ordinary culture to respond generously. -The offices might be mouldering and valueless, but the <em>land</em> -was there, thinly timbered, richly grassed, well adapted for -stock of all kinds. And though the gaunt limbs of the -girdled trees looked sadly unpicturesque between the front of -the house and the lake shore, some had been left untouched, -and the grass was all the more richly swarded. The lake -itself was a grand indisputable fact. It was deep and fresh, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_52'>52</span>abounding in water-fowl, a priceless boon to dwellers in a -climate wherein a lack of rivers and permanent reservoirs is -unhappily a distinguishing characteristic.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Let it not be supposed that Wilfred and his mother, the -girls and Jeanie were outside the house all this time. Very -promptly had Dick unloaded the household stores, pressing -all able-bodied persons, including his wife, into the service, -until the commissariat was safely bestowed under shelter. -His waggon was taken to the rear, his horses unharnessed, -and he himself in a marvellously short space of time enjoying -a well-earned pipe, and advising Andrew to bestow Daisy’s -calf in a dilapidated but still convertible calf-pen, so that his -mother might graze at ease, and yet be available for the family -breakfast table in the morning.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘The grass here is fust-rate,’ he said, in a tone of explanation -to Andrew. ‘There’s been a lot of rain in spring. It’s -a pity but we had a few good cows to milk. It would be -just play for you and me and the young master in the -mornings. Teach him to catch hold like and learn him the -use of his hands.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘<em>Him</em> milk!’ exclaimed Andrew, in a tone of horrified -contempt. ‘And yet—I dinna say but if it’s the Lord’s will -the family should ha’ been brocht to this strange land, it may -be no that wrang that he should labour, like the apostles, -“working with his hauns.” There’s guid warrant for’t.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Meanwhile, inside the house important arrangements were -proceeding. The sitting-room, a great, bare apartment, had -an ample fireplace, which threw out a genial warmth from -glowing logs. There was a large, solid cedar table, which -Mrs. Evans had rubbed and polished till the dark red grain -of the noble wood was clearly visible. Also a dozen <em>real</em> -chairs, as Annabel delightedly observed, stood around, upon -which it was possible to enjoy the long-disused comfort of -sitting down. Of this privilege she promptly availed herself.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The night-draperies were disposed in the chief bedchamber, -though until the arrival of the furniture it was apparent that -the primitive sleeping accommodation of the road would -need to be continued. Mr. Effingham and his sons were -luxuriously billeted in another apartment, where, after their -axle-tree experiences, they did not pity themselves.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Andrew and his family were disposed of in the divisions -<span class='pageno' id='Page_53'>53</span>of the kitchen, which, in colonial fashion, was a detached -building in the rear. Mr. and Mrs. Evans had, on their -previous entry on the premises, located themselves in an -outlying cottage (or hut, as they called it), formerly the abode -of the dairyman, where their possessions had no need of -rearrangement. Even the dogs had quarters allotted to them, -in the long range of stabling formerly tenanted by many a -gallant steed in the old extravagant days of the colony, when -unstinted hospitality and claret had been the proverbial rule -at Warbrok.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh dear!’ exclaimed Annabel from her chair, ‘what a -luxurious feeling it is to be once more in a <em>home</em> of one’s -own! Though it’s a funny old place and must have been -a tempting refuge for ghosts wandering in search of quarters. -And then to think that to-morrow morning we shall not have -to move on, for ever and ever. I was beginning to get the -least bit tired of it; were not you, mamma? Though I -would have died sooner than confess it.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Words cannot describe how thankful I am, my dear -child,’ said her mother, ‘that we have had the good -fortune to end this land journey so well. It is the first one -of the kind I ever undertook, and I trust it will be the last. -But let us remember in our prayers to-night <em>whose</em> hand has -shielded us from the perils of the deep, and whatever -dangers we may have escaped upon the land.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I feel as if we had all been acting a charade or -an extended <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>tableau vivant</em></span>,’ said Rosamond. ‘Like you, -Annabel, dear, I am not sorry that the theatricals are over, -though the play has been a success so far. It has no more -nights to run, fortunately for the performers. Our everyday -life will commence to-morrow. We must enter upon it in a -cheerful, determined spirit.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I cannot help fancying,’ said Beatrice, ‘that colonial -travellers enjoy an unnecessary amount of prestige, or some -experiences must differ from ours. We might have had -a Dick who would have lost his horses or overturned the -waggon, and bushrangers (there <em>are</em> bushrangers, for I saw -in a paper that Donohoe and his gang had “stuck-up,” -whatever that means, Mr. Icely’s drays and robbed them) -might have taken us captive. We have missed the romance -of Australian life evidently.’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_54'>54</span>Howard Effingham felt strangely moved as he walked -slowly forth at dawn. He watched the majestic orb irradiate -the mist-shrouded turrets of the great mountain range which -lay to the eastward. Endless wealth of colour was evoked -by the day-god’s kiss, softly, stealingly, suffusing the neutral-tinted -dome, then with magical completeness flashing into -supernal splendour. The dew glistened upon the vernal -greensward. The pied warbler rolled his richest notes in -flute-like carol. The wild-fowl, on the glistening mirror of -the lake, swam, dived, or flew in playful pursuit. The -bracing air was unspeakably grateful to Howard Effingham’s -rurally attuned senses. Amid this bounty of nature in her -less sophisticated aspects, his heart swelled with the thought -that much of the wide champaign, the woodland, and the -water, over which his eye roamed wonderingly, called him -master. He saw, with the quick projection of a sanguine -spirit, his family domiciled once more with comfort and -security. And not without befitting dignity, so long -despaired of. He prized the ability to indulge again the -disused pursuits of a country life. Though in a far land, -among strange people, separated by a whole ocean from the -scenes of his youth and manhood, he now felt for the first -time since the great disaster that contentment, even happiness, -was possible. Once more he felt himself a country -gentleman, or at the least an Australian squire. With -the thought he recalled the village chimes in their lost -home, and his wife’s reference of every circumstance of life -to the special dispensation of a benign, overruling Providence -occurred to him. With unconscious soliloquy he exclaimed, -‘I have not deserved this; God be merciful to me a sinner!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Dick Evans, with his horses, now appeared upon the scene, -bells, hobbles, and all. He bore every appearance of having -been up at least two hours.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What a wonderful old fellow that is!’ said Wilfred, who -had joined his father; ‘day or night seems alike to him. -He is always hard at work at something or other—always -helpful and civil, apparently good at a score of trades, yet -military as a pipe-clayed belt. Mr. Sternworth admitted that -he had faults, but up to this time we have never discovered -them.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘If he has none, he is such an old soldier as I have never -<span class='pageno' id='Page_55'>55</span>met,’ said his father mildly. ‘Longer acquaintance will, I -suppose, abate his unnatural perfection. But, in any case, -we must keep him on until we are sufficiently acclimatised to -set up for ourselves.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Quite so, sir! We cannot have our reverend mentor -always at beck and call. We want some one here who knows -the country and its ways. Guy and I will soon pick up the -lie of the land, as he calls it, but at present we are all raw -and ignorant together.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Then we had better engage him at once. I suppose he -can tell us the proper wages.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Very possibly; but now I think of it, sir, hadn’t you -better delegate the executive department to me? Of course -to carry out your instructions, but you might do worse than -appoint me your responsible minister.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘My boy!’ said Effingham, grasping his son’s hand, ‘I -should have made the suggestion if you had not anticipated -me. I cheerfully yield the management to you, as you will -have the laborious part of the work. Many things will need -to be done, for which I am unfit, but which you will -gradually master. I fully trust you, both as an example to -Guy and Selden, and the guardian of your mother and sisters.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘As God will help me in my need, they will need no -other,’ replied the eldest son. ‘So far I have led a self-indulgent -life. But the spur of necessity (you must admit) -has been wanting. Now the hour has come. You never -refused me a pleasure; trust me to fulfil every duty.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I never have doubted it, my boy! I always knew that -higher qualities were latent in your nature. As you say, the -hour has come. We were never laggards when the trumpet-call -sounded. And now, let us join the family party.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>As they reached the house, from which they had rambled -some distance, the sun was two hours high, and the smoke -issuing from the kitchen chimney denoted that culinary -operations were in progress. At that moment a serviceable-looking -dogcart, drawn by a wiry, roan horse, trotted briskly -along the track from the main road, and in drawing up, -displayed in the driver the welcome presentment of the Rev. -Harley Sternworth.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘How do, Howard? How are you, Wilfred, my boy? -Welcome to Warbrok—to Warbrok Chase, that is. I shall -<span class='pageno' id='Page_56'>56</span>learn it in time. Very proper addendum; suits the country, -and gratifies the young ladies’ taste. Thought I’d catch -you at your first breakfast. Here, Dick, you old rascal—that -is, you deserving veteran—take Roanoke.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The somewhat decided features of the old army chaplain -softened visibly as, entering the bare uncarpeted apartment, -he descried Mrs. Effingham and her daughters sitting near -the breakfast table, evidently awaiting the master of the -house. His quick eye noticed at once the progress of -feminine adaptation, as well as the marked air of comfort -produced with such scanty material.</p> - -<p class='c001'>He must surely have been gratified by the sensation he -produced. The girls embraced him, hanging upon his -words with eagerness, as on the accents of the recovered -relative of the melodrama. Mrs. Effingham greeted him with -an amount of warmth foreign to her usual demeanour. The -little ones held up their faces to be kissed by ‘Uncle Harley.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘We are just going to have our first breakfast,’ said -Annabel. ‘Sit down this very minute. Haven’t we done -wonders?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Indeed, by the fresh, morning light, the parlour already -looked homelike and attractive. The breakfast table, -‘decored with napery,’ as Caleb Balderstone phrased it, -had a delicately clean and appetising appearance. A -brimming milk jug showed that the herbage of Warbrok -had not been without its effect upon their fellow-passenger -from the Channel Islands. A goodly round of beef, their -last roadside purchase, constituted the <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>pièce de résistance</em></span>. -A dish of eggs and bacon, supplied by Mrs. Evans, whose -poultry travelled with her everywhere, and looked upon the -waggon as their home, added to the glory of the repast. A -large loaf of fresh bread, baked by the same useful matron, -stood proudly upon a plate, near the roadside tea equipage, -and a kettle like a Russian <em>samovar</em>. Nor was artistic ornamentation -wholly absent. Annabel had fished up a broken -vase from a lumber room, which, filled with the poor remnants -of the borders, ‘where once a garden smiled,’ and supplemented -with ‘wild buttercups and very nearly daisies,’ -as she described the native flora, made an harmonious -contribution.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Before commencing the meal, as Mr. Effingham took his -<span class='pageno' id='Page_57'>57</span>seat at the head of his own table once more, humble as were -the surroundings, his wife glanced at the youngest darling, -Blanche. She ran across to a smaller table covered with a -rug, and thence lifting off a volume of some weight, brought -it to their guest. His eyes met those of his old comrade -and of her his life’s faithful companion. The chaplain’s -eyes were moistened, in despite of his efforts at composure. -What recollections were not summoned up by the recurrence -of that simple household observance? His voice faltering, -at first, with genuine emotion, Harley Sternworth took the -sacred volume, and read a portion, before praying in simple -phrase, that the Great Being who had been pleased to lead -the steps of His servants to this far land, would guide them -in all their ways, and prosper the work of their hands in -their new home. ‘May His blessing be upon you all, and -upon your children’s children after you, in this the land of -our adoption,’ said the good priest, as he arose in the midst -of the universal amen.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Do you know that it was by no means too warm when I -left Yass at daylight this morning? This is called a hot -climate. But in our early summer we have frosts sometimes -worthy of Yorkshire. Yesterday there was rather a -sharp one. We shall have rain again soon.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh, I hope not,’ said Annabel. ‘This is such lovely, -charming weather. So clear and bright, and not at all too -warm. I should like it to last for months.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Then, my dear young lady, we should all be ruined. -Rain rarely does harm in this country. Sometimes there -are floods, and people who live on meadowlands suffer. -But the more rain the merrier, in this country at least. It -is a land of contradictions, you know. Your Lake William, -here, will never overflow, so you may be easy in your minds, -if it rains ever so hard.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And what does my thoughtful young friend, Rosamond, -think of the new home?’ inquired the old gentleman, looking -at her with affectionate eyes.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘She thinks, Uncle Sternworth, that nothing better for -us all could have been devised in the wide world, unless -the Queen had ordered her Ministers to turn out Sir Percy -de Warrenne and put us in possession of Old Court. Even -that, though Sir Percy is a graceless kinsman, might not -<span class='pageno' id='Page_58'>58</span>have been so good for us, as making a home for ourselves -here, out of our own heads, as the children say.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And you are quite satisfied, my dear?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘More than satisfied. I am exulting and eager to begin -work. In England I suffered sometimes from want of -occupation. Here, every moment of the day will be well -and usefully employed.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And Miss Beatrice also approves?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘<em>Miss</em> Beatrice says,’ replied that more difficult damsel, -who was generally held to be reserved, if not proud, ‘she -would not have come to Australia if it could have been -helped. But having come, supposes she will not make more -useless lament than other people.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Beatrice secretly hates the country, I know she does,’ -exclaimed Annabel, ‘and it is ungrateful of her, particularly -when we have such a lovely place, with a garden, and a -lake, and mountains and sunsets, and everything we can -possibly want.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I am not so imaginative as to expect to live on mountains -and sunsets, and I must confess it will take me a long -time to become accustomed to the want of <em>nearly</em> all the -pleasures of life, but I suppose I shall manage to bear up my -share of the family burdens.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You have always done so hitherto, my dear,’ said Mrs. -Effingham; ‘but you are not fond of putting forward your -good deeds—hardly sufficiently so, as I tell you.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Some one has run away with Beatrice’s share of vanity,’ -said Rosamond. ‘But we must not stay talking all the morning. -I am chief butler, and shall have to be chief baker too, -perhaps, some day. I must break up the meeting, as every -one has apparently breakfasted.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And I must have a serious business conversation with -your father and Wilfred,’ said Mr. Sternworth. ‘Where is -the study—the library, I mean? Not furnished yet! Well, -suppose we adjourn to the ex-drawing-room. It’s a spacious -apartment, where the late tenant, a practical man, used to -store his maize. There is a deal table, for I put it there -myself. Guy, you may as well ask Dick Evans to show you -the most likely place for wild-fowl. Better bring chairs, -Wilfred. We are going to have a “sederunt,” as they say in -Scotland.’</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_59'>59</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER IV <br /> MR HENRY O’DESMOND OF BADAJOS</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>‘Now, Howard, my young friend!’ said the worthy man, as -they settled themselves at a small table, near a noble mantelpiece -of Australian gray marble, curiously marked with the -imprints of the fossil encrinite, ‘I address you as I used to do -in our army days, for, with regard to money matters, I feel -sure you are as young as ever. In the first place, I must -render an account of my stewardship. Observe, here is the -conveyance to you and your heirs for ever of the estate of Warbrok, -a Crown grant to Colonel Rupert Falkland Warleigh, late -of Her Majesty’s 80th Regiment, dated as far back as 1805, -comprising 5174 acres, 1 rood, 3 perches, by him devised in -equal shares to his sons—Randal, Clement, and Hubert. It -was not entailed, as were most of the early grants. They fell -away from the traditions of the family, and lived reckless, -dissipated lives. Their education was neglected—perhaps -not the best example exhibited to them by the old Colonel—he -was always a gentleman though—what wonder the poor -boys went wrong? They came to be called the “Wild Warleighs -of Warbrok.” At last the end came. Hopelessly in -debt, they were forced to sell. Here are their signatures, -duly attested. Your purchase money, at the rate of 10s. per -acre—a low price, but ready money was very scarce in the -colony at the time—amounted to £2587:5s., mentioned as -the consideration. Out of your draft for £3000 remained, -therefore, £412:15s.; expenses and necessary farm work -done, with wages to Dick Evans and his wife, have amounted -to £62:7s. This includes the ploughing and sowing of a -paddock—a field you would call it—of 20 acres of wheat, as -<span class='pageno' id='Page_60'>60</span>the season had to be availed of. I hand you a deposit -receipt for £350:8s., lodged to your credit in the Bank of -New Holland, at Yass, where I advise you to place the rest -of your capital, and I thereby wash my hands of you, pecuniarily, -for the present.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘My dear old friend,’ said Effingham, ‘it is not for the -first time that you have pulled me through a difficulty, -though never before did we face one like this. But how -comes it that I have money to receive? I thought the draft -of £3000 would barely suffice to pay for the estate.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You must know that I transacted this piece of business -through a solicitor, a shrewd man of business, who kept my -counsel, making no sign until the property was put up to -auction. The terms being cash, he had a decided advantage, -and it was not known until after the sale, for whom he had -purchased. So the Warleighs having retired, we must see -what the Effinghams will make of it.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘There will be no riotous living, at any rate,’ said Wilfred; -‘and now, as you have done with the Governor, please advise -me as to our future course. I am the duly-appointed overseer—I -believe that is the proper title—and intend to begin -work this very day.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Couldn’t do better. We may as well call Dick Evans -into council. He was hired by me at 18s. per week, with -board and lodging. For this wage he engaged to give his -own and wife’s services, also those of his team and waggon. -The wages are under the ordinary rate, but he explained that -his horses would get fat here, and that he liked being -employed on a place like Warbrok, and under an ex-officer in -Her Majesty’s service. I should continue the engagement -for a few months, at all events; you will find him most -useful.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Up to this time he has been simply perfect,’ said Wilfred. -‘It’s a pleasure to look at such an active worker—so respectful, -too, in his manner.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Our experience of the Light Infantry man, Howard,’ said -Mr. Sternworth, ‘must prevent us from fully endorsing Wilfred’s -opinion, but Dick Evans is a good man; at all country -work better, indeed, than most of his class. Let us hear -what he says.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Probably anticipating some such summons he was not far -<span class='pageno' id='Page_61'>61</span>off, having returned from showing Guy a flock of wild-fowl. -He walked into the room and, saluting, stood at ease, as if -such a thing as a chair had never been by him encountered -in the whole course of existence.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Corporal Evans!—pshaw! that is, Dick,’ said the worthy -ex-military priest, ‘I have sent for you to speak to Captain -Effingham, and Mr. Wilfred, who is to be farm manager and -stock overseer. I have told them that you are the very man -for the place, when you behave yourself.’ Here the keen -grey eyes looked somewhat sternly at Mr. Evans, who put on -a look of mild surprise. ‘Are you willing to hire for six -months at the same rate of wages, with two rations, at which -I engaged you? You will work your team, I know, reasonably; -and Mrs. Evans will wash and help the ladies in any -way she can?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Well, Mr. Chaplain, the wages is not too high,’ replied -Evans, ‘but I like the place, and my horses knows the run, -and does well here. <em>You</em> know I like to serve a gentleman, -’specially one that’s been in the service. I’ll stay on at the -same rate for six months.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Well, that’s settled. Now, let us have a talk about requirements. -How to use the grass to the best advantage?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘There’s no better place in the country-side for dairying,’ -said Dick, addressing himself to his clerical employer, as alone -capable of understanding the bearings of the case; ‘it’s a -wonderful fine season, and there’s a deal of grass going to -waste. There’s stray cattle between here and the other end -of the lake as will want nothing better than to clear it -all off, as they’re used to do, if we’re soft enough to let ’em. -Many a good pick they’ve had over these Warbrok flats, and -they naturally looks for it again, ’specially as there’s a new -gentleman come as don’t know the ways of the country. -Now, what I should do, if I was the master, would be to buy -two or three hundred mixed cattle—there’s a plenty for sale -just now about Yass—and start a dairy. We might make as -much butter between now and Christmas as would pay -middlin’ well, and keep other people’s cattle from coming on -the place and eating us out of house and home, in a manner -of speakin’.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Good idea, Richard,’ said Mr. Sternworth; ‘but how about -the yard and cowshed? It’s nearly all down, and half-rotten. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_62'>62</span>Mr. Effingham doesn’t want to engage fencers and splitters, -and have all the country coming here for employment.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘There’s no call for that, sir,’ said the many-sided veteran. -‘I had a look at the yard this morning. If I had a man to -help me for a fortnight I’ll be bound to make it cattle-proof -with a load of posts and rails, that I could run out myself, -only we want a maul and wedges.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I’ll be your man,’ said Wilfred, ‘if that’s all that’s necessary. -I may as well learn a trade without delay. Andrew -can help, too, I daresay.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘<em>He’s</em> not much account,’ quoth Dick disdainfully. ‘He -thinks he knows too much already. These new hands—no -offence to you, sir—is more in the way than anything else. -But if you’ll buckle to, sir, we’ll soon make a show.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I know a stock agent who can get the exact cattle you -want,’ said Mr. Sternworth. ‘He told me that Mr. O’Desmond -had a hundred young cows and heifers for sale. They are -known to be a fine breed of cattle.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘The best in the country,’ said Dick. ‘Old Harry -O’Desmond never had any but right down good horses, -cattle, and sheep at Badajos, and if we give a little more for -them at the start it will be money saved in the end. He’s -the man to give us an extra good pick, when he knows -they’re for an officer and a gentleman.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Our friend Richard has aristocratic notions, you observe,’ -said the parson, smiling. ‘But Harry O’Desmond is just the -man to act as he says. You will do well to treat with him.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Only too happy,’ said Effingham. ‘Everything arranges -itself with surprising ease, with your aid. Is this kind of -settling made easy to go on for ever? It was almost a pity -we took the voyage at all. You might have made our -fortunes, it seems to me, as a form of recreation, and left us -to receive the profits in England.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And how am I to be paid, you heedless voluptuary, may -I ask, if not by the presence of your charming family? Since -I’ve seen them I wouldn’t have had the colony lose them for -twice the value of the investment. Besides, seriously, if the -seasons change or a decline takes place in the stock market -you’ll need all <em>your</em> brains and Wilfred’s to keep the ship -afloat. Never lose sight of the fact that this is an uncertain -land, with a more uncertain climate.’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_63'>63</span>‘It’s all right if you don’t overstock, sir,’ spoke the practical -Richard. ‘But Mr. Sternworth’s right. I mind the ’27 -drought well. We was forced to live upon kangaroo soup, -rice, and maize meal, with marshmallers and “fat hen” for a -little salad. But they say the climate’s changed like, and -myster than it used to be.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Climates <em>never</em> change in their normal conditions,’ said -Sternworth positively. ‘Any assertion to the contrary is -absurd. What has been will be again. Let us make such -provision as we can against droughts and other disasters, and -leave the rest to Providence, which has favoured this land and -its inhabitants so far.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘The fences seem dilapidated. Ought they not to be -repaired at once?’ said Wilfred.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘By degrees, all in good time,’ said the old gentleman -testily. ‘We must not go deeply into “improvements,” as -they are called here, lest they run away with our money at -the commencement of affairs. Dick will explain to you that -the cattle can be kept in bounds without fencing for a time. -And now I feel half a farmer and half an exhausted parson. -So I think I must refresh myself with another look at the -lady part of the establishment, have a mouthful of lunch, and -start for home.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘It’s a murder you didn’t take to farming, sir, like Parson -Rocker,’ said Dick, with sincere regret in his tones. ‘You’d -ha’ showed ’em whether sojer officers can’t make money, -though the folks here don’t think so.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I have my own work, Richard,’ said the old gentlemen. -‘It may be that there is occasionally rather more of the -church militant about me than is prudent. But the town -and neighbourhood of Yass will be the better for old Harley -Sternworth’s labours before we say farewell to one another.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I can now leave you all with perfect confidence,’ he said -after lunch, as Dick Evans brought Roanoke and the dogcart -to the door. ‘The next time I come I must bring an old -friend to pay his respects, but that will not be till the furniture -has arrived. I foresee you will make astonishing changes, -and turn The Chase into the show mansion of the district. -I must bring you some of my <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">“Souvenirs de Malmaison”</span> and -“Madame Charles.” “The Cloth of Gold” and others I see -you have. I am prouder of my roses than of my sermons, I -<span class='pageno' id='Page_64'>64</span>think. I don’t know which require most care in pruning. -Good-bye, my dear friends!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The roan tossed his head, and set off at such a pace along -the grass-grown track which led to the main ‘down the -country’ road, as the highway from Yass to Sydney was -provincially termed, that it was easy to see he had been making -a calculation as to the homeward route. The girls looked -after the fast-receding vehicle for a while before recommencing -their household tasks. Howard Effingham and his wife -walked to and fro along the pleasant sun-protected colonnade -of the south verandah. When they separated, little had been -said which was free from praise of their tried friend, or from -thankfulness to the Almighty Disposer of events, who had -shown them His mercy in the day of need.</p> - -<p class='c001'>This eventful colloquy concluded, settled daily employment -commenced for all the denizens of The Chase. They -rose early, and each one attended to the duties allotted by -special arrangement. Breakfast over, Wilfred shouldered an -axe and marched off with Dick Evans to some forest tree, -to be converted into posts and rails for the fast-recovering -dairy-yard.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Andrew had betaken himself to the renovation of the -orchard and garden with grateful persistence, as he recalled -his earlier feats at the English home of the family, duly -thankful for the opportunity of exercising his energies in a -direction wherein he could show himself capable.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘It’s gra-and soil,’ he was pleased to observe, ‘and I hae -nae doot whatever that I shall be able to grow maist unco-omon -vegetables, gin I had some food—that is, manure—to gie the -puir things. The trees are sair negleckit and disjaskit, but -they’ll come round wi’ care and the knife. The spring is a -thocht advanced, as that auld carle Evans has gi’en me to -understand. I winna say he’s no auld farrand wi’ a’ the -“bush” ways, as they ca’ them, but he’s an awfu’ slave o’ -Satan wi’ his tongue—just fearsome. But gin ye’ll put me a -fence round this bit park, Maister Wilfred, I’ll show yon folks -here that auld Andrew Cargill can grow prize kail in baith -hemispheres.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘We are going to split some palings before we are done,’ -said Wilfred, smiling at the old man’s rounding off of his -sentence. ‘Then we’ll pull this old fence down and take in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_65'>65</span>more ground, so that you may exercise your landscape gardening -talent.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘This bit garden will keep my body employed and my -thochts frae unprofitable wanderings, brawly, during this season -o’ inexperience. Ye see, Maister Wilfred, it wadna become -me, as a pairson o’ reflection, to da-ash presumptuously into -a’ matters o’ practice, but they canna haud me to obsairve -and gather up the ootcome of thae bush maitters, and bide -my time a wee, till the day comes when I can take my place -at the laird’s right hand ance mair.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘No one will be better pleased than I shall be, Andrew,’ -said Wilfred, heartily grasping the hand of his faithful servitor. -‘I’ll no deny that he kens maist things befitting a dweller -in the wilderness. The de’il’s aye guid at gifts to his ain -folk. But, wae’s me, he’s lightsome and profane abune a’ -belief.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The great event of the year, after all, was the arrival of -the drays with the heavy luggage and the furniture reserved -from sale.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Joy and thankfulness all too deep for words greeted the -welcome wains, promptly unladen, and their inestimable -contents brought into the shelter of the wide verandah -before unpacking.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I never could have believed,’ said Mrs. Effingham, ‘that -anything in Australia could have had the power to afford me -so much pleasure. The refurnishing of our house at The -Chase never produced half such pleasure as I now feel at -the prospect of seeing the old tables and chairs, the sideboard, -and my dear old davenport again.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And the piano!’ cried Annabel. ‘What a luxury to us, -who have been tuneless and songless all these months! Even -the morning “scales” would have been better than nothing. -I shall really go in for steady practising—I know I never did -before. There is nothing like being starved a little.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Starving seems to agree with you in a bodily sense,’ said -<span class='pageno' id='Page_66'>66</span>Rosamond, ‘if I may judge from certain alterations of dresses. -But you are right in believing that it gives a wonderful relish -for mental food. Look at these two lovely boxes of books. -The library was sold, but here are many of our old favourites. -How I shall enjoy seeing their faces again!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I am certain Jeanie must have <em>stolen</em> a quantity of things -after the sale,’ asserted Beatrice, who had been examining -the externals of the packages; ‘bedding and curtains, and -every kind of thing likely to be useful. I expect my room -will be so like the one at the old Chase that I shall never -find out the difference of a morning, till I go downstairs and -see the verandahs.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘There are no verandahs in England,’ said Guy, who was -one of the ‘fatigue party,’ as Dick expressed it. ‘They -ought to take a hint from the colonies—stunning places they -make on a wet day, or a hot one, I can tell you.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Where shall we tek this sideboard, mem?’ said Dick -Evans, with his ultra-respectful, family-servant intonation.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Into the dining-room, of course,’ screamed the delighted -Annabel. ‘Why, <em>every</em> room in the house will be furnished -more or less; it will be quite a palace.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Willing hands abounded, Mr. Evans in person superintending -the opening of the cases, taking care to draw nails in -order to fit the boards for future usefulness, so that, very -shortly, the whole English shipment was transferred to its -final Australian resting-place.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Robinson Crusoe, when he had made the last successful -raft-passage and transhipment from the Guinea trader before -she went down, could not have been more grateful than our -deported friends when the litter and the cases and Dick and -Andrew were cleared off, and they were free to gloat over their -precious property.</p> - -<p class='c001'>How different the rooms looked! There was an air of -comfort and refinement about the well-preserved furniture -which was inexpressibly comforting to the ex-dwellers in tents. -The large rooms looked perhaps a shade too bare, but in -warm climates an Indian non-obtrusion of upholstering is -thought becoming. The well-remembered tones of the piano, -which glorified an unoccupied corner of the drawing-room, -echoed through that spacious apartment, now provided with -a carpet almost as good as new, which Jeanie’s provident -<span class='pageno' id='Page_67'>67</span>care had abstracted from the schoolroom at The Chase. -The dear old round table was there, ‘out of mother’s morning-room; -the engravings from father’s study, particularly those -favourite ones of “The fighting Temeraire” and “Talavera”—all -were here. When the climbers grew up over the verandah -pillars, shading the front windows with the purple masses of -the wistaria, there might be a prettier room in Sydney, but in -the bush they were sure it was unsurpassed.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Nor were Andrew and Jeanie devoid of personal interest -in the arrival of the treasure-waggons. Certain garden tools -and agricultural implements, dear to Andrew’s practical soul, -now gladdened his eyes, also a collection of carefully packed -seeds. Besides all these, a rigorously select list of necessaries -in good order and preservation, once the pride of his snug -cottage, came to hand. For days after this arrival of the -Lares and Penates, the work of rearrangement proceeded -unceasingly. Mrs. Effingham and Rosamond placed and -replaced each article in every conceivable position. Annabel -played and sang unremittingly. Jeanie rubbed and polished, -with such anxious solicitude, that table and chair, wardrobe -and sideboard, shone like new mahogany. Beatrice had -possessed herself of the bookcase, and after her morning -share of housekeeping work was performed, read, save at -dinner, without stopping until it was time to go for that -evening walk which the sisters never omitted.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Once it fell upon a day that a gentleman rode up in -leisurely fashion towards the entrance gate. He was descried -before he came within a hundred yards, and some trepidation -ensued while the question was considered as to who should -take his horse, and how that valuable animal should be -provided for.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Mr. Effingham, Guy, and Wilfred were away at the stock-yard, -which by this time was reported to be nearly in a state -of efficiency. Andrew had disappeared temporarily. The -gentleman, for such plainly was his rank, was a stalwart, -distinguished-looking personage, sitting squarely, and with -something of military pose in his saddle. He was mounted -upon a handsome, carefully-groomed hackney. He reined -up at the dilapidated garden fence, and after looking about -and seeing no appearance of an entrance gate, as indeed that -portal had been long blocked up by rails, gathered up his -<span class='pageno' id='Page_68'>68</span>reins, and clearing the two-railed fence with practised ease, -rode along the grass-grown path to the front door of the house. -At the same moment Dick Evans, who had just arrived with -a load of palings, appeared from the rear, and took his horse.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The stranger briskly dismounted, and knocked at the hall -door with the air of a man who was thoroughly acquainted -with the locale. He bowed low to Mrs. Effingham who -opened it.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Permit me to make myself known as Henry O’Desmond, -one of your neighbours, my dear madam,’ said he, with the high-bred -air of a man of the world of fashion, who possesses also the -advantage of being an Irishman. ‘I presume I am addressing -Mrs. Effingham. I have anticipated the proper time for -paying my respects; but there has been a matter of business -named by my agent, in which I hope to be able to serve -Captain Effingham. He is quite well, I trust?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Mrs. Effingham explained that her husband had been -perfectly well that morning; furthermore, if Mr. O’Desmond -would give them the pleasure of his company to lunch, he -would be enabled to make his acquaintance.</p> - -<p class='c001'>That gentleman bowed with an air of heartfelt gratitude, -and asserted that it would give him the sincerest gratification -to have such an opportunity of meeting Captain Effingham, -to which he had looked forward, since hearing of the good -fortune that was about to befall the district, from his respected -friend the Rev. Mr. Sternworth.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Being introduced to the young ladies, Mr. O’Desmond, a -handsome, well-preserved man, promptly demonstrated that -he was capable of entertaining himself and them until -his host should think fit to arrive. Indeed, when Mrs. -Effingham, who had left the room for reasons connected with -the repast, returned, having captured her husband, and -superintended his toilet, she found her daughters and their -guest considerably advanced in acquaintance.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh, papa,’ said Annabel, ‘Mr. O’Desmond says there’s -such a lovely view about ten miles from here—a ravine full -of ferns, actually <em>full</em> of them; and a waterfall—a real one! -It is called Fern-tree Gorge; and he has invited us all to a -picnic there some day.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Very happy to make Mr. O’Desmond’s acquaintance,’ -said Effingham, advancing with a recollection of old days -<span class='pageno' id='Page_69'>69</span>strong upon him. ‘We are hardly aware yet in what -consists the proper proportion of work and play in Australia; -and in how much of the latter struggling colonists can -indulge. We shall be very grateful for information on the -subject.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And right welcome you are, my dear sir, to both, -especially to the latter. They’ll tell you that Harry O’Desmond -is not unacquainted with work during the twenty -years he has spent in this wild country. But for fun and -recreation he’ll turn his back on no man living.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Here is my lieutenant, and eldest son; permit me to -introduce him. He is burning to distinguish himself in the -practical line.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Then he couldn’t have a better drill instructor than my -old acquaintance, Dick Evans—wonderfully clever in all bush -work, and scrupulous after his own fashion. But, see here -now, I came partly to talk about cows, till the young ladies -put business clean out of my head. I’m told you want to -buy cattle, Mr. Wilfred; if you’ll mount your horse and take -old Dick with you to-morrow morning, he’ll show you the -way to Badajos, and I’ll pick you the best hundred cows this -day in the country.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>This was held to be an excellent arrangement, and lunch -being now proclaimed, a temporary cessation of all but -society talk took place. Every one being in the highest -spirits, it was quite a brilliant symposium. It was a novel -luxury to be again in the society of a pleasant stranger, well -read, travelled, and constitutionally agreeable. O’Desmond -sketched with humour and spirit the characteristic points of -their nearest neighbours; slightly satirised the local celebrities -in their chief town of Yass; and finally departed, -having earned for himself the reputation of an agreeable, -well-bred personage; a perfect miracle of a neighbour, when -ill-hap might have made him equally near and unchangeably -disagreeable.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What a delightful creature!’ said Annabel. ‘Didn’t -some one say before we left home that there were no gentlemen -in Australia—only “rough colonists”? I suppose that -English girls will call us “rough colonists” when we’ve been -here a few years. Why, he’s like—oh, I know now—he’s -the very image of the Knight of Gwynne. Fancy lighting on -<span class='pageno' id='Page_70'>70</span>a facsimile of that charming old dear—of course Mr. Desmond -is not nearly so old. He’s not young though, and takes -great care of himself, you can see.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘He’s not so <em>very</em> old, Annabel,’ said Beatrice mischievously. -‘That is the kind of man I should advise you to marry. -Not a foolish boy of five-and-twenty.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Thank you, Beatrice,’ said Annabel, with dignity. ‘I’ll -think over it and let you know. I don’t think it’s probable I -should ever marry any one only a little older than myself. -What could he know? I should laugh at him if he was -angry. But Wilfred is going over to Badajos, or whatever is -the name of the O’Desmond’s place, to-morrow, so he can -bring us back a full, true, and particular account of everything, -and whether Rosamond, or you, dear, would be the -fitter helpmate for him. I’m too young and foolish at -present, and might be more so—that is, foolish, not young, -of course.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I notice that the air of this climate seems to have a -peculiar effect upon young people’s tongues,’ said the soft -voice of Mrs. Effingham. ‘They seem to run faster here than -in England.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Mr. Desmond’s property, Badajos, was nearly twenty -miles from Warbrok Chase. As it had been clearly settled -that Wilfred should go there on the following day, arrangements -had to be made. Dick must accompany him for the -double purpose of confirming any selection of cattle. That -veteran cheerfully endorsed the idea, averring that now the -yard was all but finished, and the fencing stuff drawn in, -leave of absence could be well afforded. He therefore put -on a clean check shirt, and buckled a pea-jacket in front of his -saddle, which he placed upon his old mare, and was ready -for the road.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Provided with a stock-whip, taken from his miscellaneous -possessions, with lighted pipe and trusty steed, his features -wore the expression of anticipated happiness, which distinguishes -the schoolboy out for a holiday. He passed -Andrew Cargill with an air of easy superiority, as that conscientious -labourer, raising his moistened brow as he delved -at the long-untilled beds, could not refrain from a look of -astonishment at this new evidence of universal capacity, as -he marked Dick’s easy seat and portentous whip.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_71'>71</span>He muttered, ‘I wadna doot but that the auld graceless -sorrow can ride through braes and thickets, and crack yon -muckle clothes-line they ca’ a stock-wheep like ony lad. The -de’il aye makes his peets o’ masterfu’ men, wae’s me.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>A difficulty arose as to Wilfred’s steed. Mr. Sternworth -had declined the delicate task of remount agent. Thus The -Chase was temporarily unprovided with horseflesh. However, -Dick Evans was not a man to be prevented from carrying -out a pleasant expedition for want of a horse to ride. Sallying -out early, he had run in a lot of the ownerless animals, always -to be found in the neighbourhood of unstocked pastures. -Choosing from among them a sensible-looking cob, and putting -Wilfred’s English saddle and bridle on him, he led him up to -the garden gate, where he stood with his ordinary air of deep -respectability.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I was just wondering how in the world I was to get a -horse,’ said Wilfred. ‘I see you have one. Did you borrow, -or buy, or steal one for my use?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I’ve been many a year in this country, Mr. Wilfred, -without tekkin’ other people’s property, and I’m too old to -begin now. But there’s 2C on this chestnut pony’s near -shoulder. I’m nigh sure it’s Bill Chalker’s colt, as he lost -two years ago, and told me to keep him in hand, if ever I -came acrost him.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Then I may ride him without risk of being tried for -horse-stealing, or lynched, if they affect that here,’ said -Wilfred gaily. ‘I shouldn’t care to do it in England, I -know.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Things is quite different on the Sydney Side,’ said Mr. -Evans with mild dogmatism.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Wilfred did not consider this assertion to be conclusive, -but time pressing, and the ready-saddled horse inviting his -approval, he compounded with his conscience by taking it -for granted that people were not particular as to strayed -horses. The fresh and spirited animal, which had not been -ridden for months, but was (luckily for his rider) free from -vice, snorted and sidled, but proceeded steadily in the main. -He soon settled down to the hand of a fair average horseman.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Noticing fresh objects of interest in each flowering shrub, -in the birds that flew overhead, or the strange animals that -ever and again crossed their path, about each and all of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_72'>72</span>which his retainer had information to offer, the time did not -hang heavily on hand. They halted towards evening before -a spacious enclosure, having passed through which, they -came upon a roomy cottage, surrounded by a trim orchard, -and backed up by farm buildings.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Here’s Badajos, Mr. Wilfred,’ said his guide. ‘And a -better kept place there ain’t in the whole country side.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Welcome to Badajos, Mr. Effingham,’ said the proprietor. -‘William, take this gentleman’s horse; you know your way, -Dick. We’ll defer business till the morning. I have had -the cattle yarded, ready for drafting; to-morrow you can -choose the nucleus of a good herd. I shall be proud to put -you in the way of cattle-farming in the only true way to -succeed—by commencing with females of the right kind.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>As Wilfred followed his entertainer into the house, he -felt unaffectedly surprised at the appearance of elegance -mingled with comfort which characterised the establishment. -The rooms were not large, but arranged with an attention of -detail which he had not expected to find in a bush dwelling. -The furniture was artistically disposed. Books and periodicals -lay around. High-class engravings, with a few oil-paintings, -which recalled Wilfred Effingham’s past life, hung -on the walls. Couches and lounges, of modern fashion, -looked inviting, while a Broadwood piano stood in the corner -of the drawing-room, into which he followed his host.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I am a bachelor, more’s the pity,’ said Mr. O’Desmond; -‘but there’s no law against a little comfort in the wilderness. -Will you take some refreshment now? Or would you like to -be shown to your room?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Wilfred accepted the latter proposal. In a very comfortable -chamber he proceeded to divest himself of the traces of -the road, after a leisurely and satisfactory fashion. He had -barely regained the drawing-room, when a gong sounded with -a melodiously reminiscent clang.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The dinner was after the fashion of civilised man. Soup -and fish, fresh from a neighbouring stream, with meritorious -entrées and entremets, showed skill beyond that of an -ordinary domestic. While the host, who had sufficiently -altered his attire for comfort, without committing the <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>bêtise</em></span> -of out-dressing a guest, as he recommended a dry sherry, or -passed the undeniable claret, seemed an embodied souvenir -<span class='pageno' id='Page_73'>73</span>of London, Paris, Vienna, of that world of fortune and -fashion which Wilfred was vowed to forsake for ever. -Next morning the sun and Mr. W. Effingham arose simultaneously. -Dick Evans had anticipated both, and was -standing at ease near the stable.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘This place is worth looking at, sir. You don’t see -nothing to speak of out of order—tidy as a barrack-yard.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Wonderfully trim and orderly was the appearance of all -things. The enclosure referred to was neatly gravelled, and -showed not a vagrant straw. The garden was dug, raked, -and pruned into orderly perfection. The servants’ quarters, -masked by a climber-covered trellis, were ornamental and -unostentatious. The dog-kennels, tenanted by pointers, -greyhounds, collies, and terriers, were snug and spacious. -The stables were as neat as those of a London dealer. It -was a show establishment.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Mr. O’Desmond’s servants must be attached to him, to -work so well,’ said Wilfred.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Humph!’ replied the veteran, ‘he makes ’em toe the -line pretty smart, and quite right too,’ he added, with a grim -setting of his under jaw. ‘He was in the colony afore there -was many free men in it. Shall we walk down to the milking-yard, -sir?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The full-uddered shorthorn cows, with their fragrant -breath and mild countenances, having been admired in their -clean, paved milking-yard, a return was made towards the -cottage. As they neared the garden, O’Desmond rode -briskly up to the stable door, and dismounting, threw the -reins to a groom, who stood ready as a sentinel.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘The top of the morning to you, Mr. Effingham; I trust -you slept well? I have had a canter of a few miles, which -will give me an appetite for breakfast. I rode over to the -drafting-yards, to make sure that the cattle were there, -according to orders. Everything will be in readiness, so -that you can drive easily to Warbrok to-night. You can -manage that, Dick, can you not?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Easy enough, if you’ll send a boy with us half-way, Mr. -O’Desmond,’ replied Dick. ‘You see, sir, Mr. Effingham’s -rather new to cattle-driving, and if the young heifers was to -break back, we might lose some of them.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Quite right, Dick; you are always right where stock are -<span class='pageno' id='Page_74'>74</span>concerned—that is, the driving of them,’ he added. ‘I look -to you to stay with Mr. Effingham till his dairy herd is -established. I shall then have the pleasure of adding his -name to that of the many gentlemen in this district whose -fortunes I have helped to make.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Quite true, sir,’ assented Dick heartily. ‘The Camden -sheep and the Badajos cattle and horses are known all over -the country by them as are judges. But you don’t want me -to be praising on ’em up—they speak for themselves.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Breakfast over, as faultless a repast as had been the -dinner, it became apparent that Mr. O’Desmond held punctuality -nearly in as high esteem as comfort. His groom -stood ready in the yard with his own and Wilfred’s horses -saddled, the shining thorough-bred, which he called his -hackney, offering a strong contrast to the unkempt though -well-conditioned animal which his guest bestrode.</p> - -<p class='c001'>As they rode briskly along the winding forest track, Wilfred, -observing the quality of his host’s hackney, the silver -brightness of his bit and stirrup-irons, the correctness of his -general turn-out, remembering also the completeness of the -establishment and the character of the hospitality he had -enjoyed, doubted within himself whether, in course of time, -the owner of Warbrok Chase might ever attain to such a -pinnacle of colonial prosperity.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘How incredible this would all appear to some of my -English friends!’ he thought. ‘I can hardly describe it without -the fear of being supposed to exaggerate.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Here we are,’ said O’Desmond, reining up, and dismounting -at a substantial stock-yard, while a lad instantly -approached and took his horse. ‘I have ordered the heifers -and young cows to be placed in this yard. We can run them -through before you. You can make your choice, and reject -any animals below the average.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘They look rather confused at present,’ answered Wilfred; -‘but I suppose Dick here understands how to separate them.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I’ll manage that, never you fear, sir—that is, if you and -Mr. O’Desmond have settled about the price.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I may state now,’ remarked that gentleman, ‘that the -price, four pounds per head, mentioned to me on your -account by your agent is a liberal one, as markets go. I -shall endeavour to give you value in kind.’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_75'>75</span>‘It’s a good price,’ asserted Dick; ‘but Mr. O’Desmond’s -cattle are cheaper at four pounds all round than many -another man’s about here at fifty shillings. If he lets me -turn back any beast I don’t fancy, we’ll take away the primest -lot of cattle to begin a dairy with as has travelled the line -for years.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I will give you my general idea of the sort of cattle I -prefer,’ said Wilfred, not minded to commence by leaving the -<em>whole</em> management in any servant’s hands, ‘then you can -select such as appear to answer the description.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘All right, sir,’ quoth Mr. Evans, mounting the fence. ‘I -suppose you want ’em large-framed cattle, good colours, -looking as if they’d run to milk and not to beef, not under -three, and not more than five year old, and putty quiet in -their looks and ways.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘That is exactly the substance of what I was going to say -to you,’ said Wilfred, with some surprise. ‘It will save me -the trouble of explaining.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘We may as well begin, sir,’ said Dick, addressing himself -to the proprietor. Then, in quite another tone, ‘Open the -rails, boys; look sharp, and let ’em into the drafting-yards.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The cattle were driven through a succession of yards after -such a fashion that Wilfred was enabled to perceive how the -right of choice could be exercised. By the time the operation -was concluded he felt himself to be inducted into the -art and mystery of ‘drafting.’ Also, he respected himself as -having appreciably helped to select and separate the one -hundred prepossessing-looking kine which now stood in a -separate yard, recognised as his property.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You will have no reason to be dissatisfied with your -choice,’ said O’Desmond. ‘They look a nice lot. I always -brand any cattle before they leave my yard. You will not -object to a numeral being put on them before they go? It -will assist in their identification in case of any coming back.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Coming back!—come back twenty miles?’ queried Wilfred, -with amazement. ‘How could they get back such a -distance?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Just as you would—by walking it, and a hundred to the -back of that. So I think, say, No. 1. brand—they are <span class='fss'>A1</span> -certainly—will be a prudent precaution.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Couldn’t do a better thing,’ assented Dick. ‘We’ll brand -<span class='pageno' id='Page_76'>76</span>’em again when we go home, sir; but if we lost ’em anyway -near the place, they’d be all here before you could say Jack -Robinson.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>A fire was quickly lighted, the iron brands were heated, -the cows driven by a score at a time into a narrow yard, and -for the first time in his life Wilfred saw the red-hot iron -applied to the hide of the live animal. The pain, like much -evil in this world, if intense, was brief; the cows cringed -and showed disapproval, but soon appeared to forget. The -morning was not far advanced when Wilfred Effingham found -himself riding behind a drove, or ‘mob’ (as Dick phrased -it), <em>of his own cattle</em>.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘There goes the best lot of heifers this day in the country,’ -said the old man, ‘let the others be where they may. Mr. -O’Desmond’s a rare man for givin’ you a good beast if you -give him a fair price; you may trust him like yourself, but -he’s a hard man and bitter enough if anybody tries to take -advantage of him.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And quite right too, Dick. I take Mr. O’Desmond to -be a most honourable man, with whom I shouldn’t care to -come to cross purposes.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘No man ever did much good that tried that game, sir. -He’s a bad man to get on the wrong side of.’</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_77'>77</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER V <br /> ‘CALLED ON BY THE COUNTY’</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>When the important drove reached Warbrok, great was the -excitement. Wilfred’s absence was the loss of Hamlet from -the play; his return the signal for joy and congratulation. -The little commonwealth was visibly agitated as the tired -cattle trailed along the track to the stock-yard, with Dick -sitting bolt upright in his saddle behind them, and Wilfred -essaying to crack the inconveniently long whip provided for -him.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The girls made their appearance upon the verandah; -Andrew looked forth as interested, yet under protest. Guy -walked behind, and much admired the vast number and -imposing appearance of the herd; while Captain and Mrs. -Effingham stood arm in arm at a safe distance appreciating -the prowess of their first-born.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Now, sir,’ quoth the ready Dick, ‘we’ll put ’em in the -yard and make ’em safe to-night; to-morrow, some one will -have to tail ’em.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Tail them?’ said Wilfred. ‘Some of their ears have -been scolloped, I see; but surely it is not necessary to cut -their tails in a hot climate like this?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘S’cuse me, sir,’ said Dick respectfully, ‘I wouldn’t put -the knife to them for pounds; “tailing” means shepherdin’.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And what does “shepherding” mean? I thought -shepherds were only for sheep?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Well, sir, I never heerd talk of shepherdin’ at home, but -it’s a currency word for follerin’ anything that close, right -agin’ their tails, that a shepherd couldn’t be more careful -with his sheep; so we talk of shepherdin’ a s’picious c’rakter, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_78'>78</span>or a lot of stock, or a man that’s tossicated with notes stickin’ -out of his pocket, or a young woman, or anything that wants -lookin’ after very partickler.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Now I understand,’ said Wilfred. ‘It’s not a bad word, -and might be used in serious matters.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘No mistake about that, sir. Now the yard’s finished -off and topped up, we’ll soon be able to make a start with -the dairy. There’ll be half-a-dozen calves within the week, -and more afore the month’s out. There’s nothin’ breaks in -cows to stop like their young calves; you’ll soon see ’em -hanging about the yard as if they’d been bred here, ’specially -as the feed is so forrard. There’s no mistake, a myst season -do make everything go pleasant.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>When the cattle were in the yard, and the slip rails made -safe by having spare posts put across them, Wilfred unsaddled -his provisional mount and walked into the house in a satisfactory -mental condition.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘So, behold you of return!’ quoted Rosamond, running -to meet him, and marching him triumphantly into the dining-room, -where all was ready for tea. ‘The time has been -rather long. Papa has been walking about, not knowing -exactly what to do, or leave undone; Guy shooting, not -over-successfully. The most steadily employed member of -the household, and the happiest, I suppose, has been Andrew, -digging without intermission the whole time.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I wish we could dig too, or have some employment -found for us,’ said Annabel; ‘girls are shamefully unprovided -with real work, except stocking-mending. Jeanie won’t let -us do anything in the kitchen, and really, that is the only -place where there is any fun. The house is so large, and -echoing at night when the wind blows. And only think, we -found the mark of a pistol bullet in the dining-room wall -at one end, and there is another in the ceiling!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘How do you know it was a pistol shot?’ inquired Wilfred. -‘Some one threw a salt-cellar at the butler in the good old -times.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Perhaps it was fired in the good old times; perhaps it -killed some one—how horrible! Perhaps he was carried out -through the passage. But we know it was a shot, because -Guy poked about and found the bullet flattened out.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Well, we must ask Evans; very likely old Colonel -<span class='pageno' id='Page_79'>79</span>Warleigh fired pistols in his mad fits. He used to sit, they -say, night after night, drinking and cursing by himself after -his wife died and his sons left him. No one dared go near -him when his pistols were loaded. But we need not think -of these things now, Annabel. He is dead and gone, and -his sons are not in this part of the country. So I see you -have had flower-beds made while I was away. I declare -the wistaria and bignonia are breaking into flower. How -gorgeous they will look!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Yes, mamma said she could not exist without flowers -any longer, so we persuaded Andrew, much against his will,—for -he said “he was just fair harassed wi’ thae early -potatoes,”—to dig these borders. Guy helped us to transplant -and sow seeds, so we shall have flowers of our own -once more.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘We shall have everything of our own in a few years if -we are patient,’ said Wilfred; ‘and you damsels don’t want -trips to watering-places, and so on. This life is better than -Boulogne, or the Channel Islands, though it may be a trifle -lonely.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Boulogne! A thousandfold,’ said Rosamond. ‘Here we -have life and hope. Those poor families we used to see -there looked liked ghosts and apparitions of their old selves. -You remember watching them walking down drearily to see -the packet come in—the girls dowdy or shabby, the old -people hopeless and apathetic, the sons so idle and lounging? -I shudder when I think how near we were to such horrors -ourselves. The very air of Australia seems to give one fresh -life. Can anything be finer than this sunset?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>In truth, the scene upon which her eyes rested might -have cheered a sadder heart than that of the high-hearted -maiden who now, with her arm upon her brother’s shoulder, -directed his gaze to the far empurpled hills, merging their -violet cloud masses and orange-gold tints in the darkening -eve. The green pastures, relieved by clumps of heavy-foliaged -trees, glowed emerald bright against the dark-browed mountain -spur. The dying sun-rays fell in fire-flakes of burning -gold on the mirrored silver of the lake. Wrapped in soft -tremulous mist lay the hills upon the farther shore, vast with -the subtle effect of limitless distance. At such times one -could dream with the faith of older days—that Earth, the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_80'>80</span>universal mother, loved her children, and breathed forth in -growth of herb and flower her smiling welcome.</p> - -<p class='c001'>That night, as the Effinghams sat around their table, an -unconscious feeling of thankfulness swelled each heart. The -parents saw assurance of a well-provided suitable home for -the little troop, the probable disbanding of which had cost -such sad forebodings. The sons, strong in the faith of youth, -saw a future of adventure, well-rewarded labour, perhaps -brilliant success. The girls felt that their lives would not -be henceforth deprived of the social intercourse which had -once been an ordinary condition of existence.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘How did you fare at Mr. O’Desmond’s, my son? What -kind of an establishment does he keep?’ inquired Mrs. -Effingham.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You will all be rather astonished,’ answered Wilfred -mysteriously. ‘What should you think, Annabel? You are -a good hand at guessing.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Let me think. He is very aristocratic and dignified, yet -he might live in a hut. Men are so independent of rooms -or houses, almost of looking-glasses. Now a woman in a -poky little place always shows it in her dress. I should say -he lives in a comfortable cottage, and has everything very -complete.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And you would be right. We shall have to mind our -manners and dinners when he comes again. He lives like a -club bachelor, and is as well lodged as—let us say—a land -steward on an absentee nobleman’s estate.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You must be romancing, Wilfred,’ said Beatrice. ‘Where -could he get the luxuries that such a great man as you have -described could procure? What a wonderful difference a few -thousand miles makes! We think ourselves not so much -worse, essentially, than we were in England; but we must be -deteriorating.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Don’t talk nonsense, my dear Beatrice,’ said Rosamond. -‘Is it not a little vulgar to attach so much weight to externals? -As long as we are doing our duty, why should -there be any deterioration? It will be our own fault if we -adopt a lower level of manners.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh, but how can any one expect to be the same in -colonial society?’ exclaimed Annabel. ‘See how insignificant -even the “best people” are out here. Why, I was reading -<span class='pageno' id='Page_81'>81</span>yesterday about a “country baronet,” and even a “well-meaning, -unfashionable countess,” being looked down upon—positively -laughed at—in England. Now think what -tremendous potentates they would be out here! I’m sure -that proves what I say.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Your propositions and proofs are worthy of one another, -my dear,’ said Wilfred. ‘But as to society, I shan’t be sorry -when more of our neighbours call.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Now that the house is fit to receive them I shall be -pleased, my dear son, to see the people of the land. I am -sure I hope there are some nice ones.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Wilfred rose early next morning to indulge himself with -another look at the new cattle. He was only just in time, -as Dick had breakfasted, caught his horse, and was about -to let out the imprisoned drove.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I’ll tail ’em for the first few days, sir,’ he said, ‘till I -give ’em the way of camping under them big trees near the -little swamp. It will make a first-rate camp for ’em, and -learn ’em to run handy to the place. After that we must -get some sort of a lad to foller ’em. It won’t pay you to -keep me at blackfellow’s work.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What’s that?’ inquired Wilfred.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Why, simple work like this, that any black boy could -do, if he didn’t give his mind to ’possums. Besides, we -wants a horse-yard, and a bit of a paddock, and another -field cleared, to plough for next year.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘That seems a good deal of work to carry on, Richard. -Won’t it take more hands? Remember, we must go economically -to work. My father is by no means a rich man.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘That’s quite right, sir; no one should run themselves -out of pocket, high or low. But if we had some one to go -with these cows till the calves come, and that won’t be long, -you and I could do what work I’ve chalked out.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Why should not Guy “tail” the cows, as you call it?’ -suggested Wilfred, pleased with the idea that they would be -able to provide labour from their own community. ‘It would -do him no harm.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Perhaps the young gentleman mightn’t like it,’ said Dick, -with deep respect. ‘It’s dull work, every day, like.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh, he <em>must</em> like it!’ decided Wilfred, with the despotic -elder brother tone. ‘We have come out here to work, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_82'>82</span>he must take his share. He may find it dull for a time; -but he can shoot a little and amuse himself, as long as he -doesn’t come home without them, like Little Bo-peep. What -would a boy cost?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘About six or eight shillings a week, and his rations, sir, -which would come to as much again. But the young master -needn’t stay out after four o’clock.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Then we make a saving at once of say sixteen shillings -a week. Guy never earned so much in his life before. He -will be quite proud of his value in the labour market. You -and I can begin splitting and fencing at once.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘But we shall want some more cattle, sir,’ suggested Dick.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘More cattle!’ said Wilfred in amazement, to whom a -hundred head was an awe-striking number. ‘What for?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Why, to eat! It don’t do to buy meat every time you -want a roast or a steak. Cheapest to kill your own. If -we was to buy a mob of common cattle, they’d cost nothing -to speak of; the bullocks soon fatten, and the cows would -breed you up a fair mixed herd in no time.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Well, but we have these cattle you have just let out,’ -pleaded Wilfred, looking admiringly at the red, white, and -roan shorthorn crosses, which, spreading over the rich -meadow, were feeding quietly, as if reared there.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Them’s all very well, sir; but it’ll be years before you -kill a bullock out of that lot; they’ve got to come, all in -good time. But the quiet steers, and the worst of the cows, -in a mixed herd, will be fat before you can look round, in -a season like this, and your beef won’t cost you above a -penny a pound.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>It was decided that Guy was to ‘tail’ or herd the new -cows at present. Upon this duty being named to him, he -made no objection—rather seemed to like it.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I suppose as long as I don’t lose them I can do anything -I like,’ he said; ‘hunt ’possums, shoot, ferret out ferns -for Rosamond, or even read.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘The more you lets the cattle alone the better, Mr. Guy,’ -said Dick. ‘As long as they don’t sneak away from you, -you can’t take it too easy. There’s fine feed all roads now, -and after the first hour or two they’ll fill theirselves and lie -down like working bullocks. But you’ll want a horse.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘That I shall,’ said the boy, beginning to take up the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_83'>83</span>fashions of the bush, and to rebel at the idea of going on -foot, as if mankind was a species of centaur.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Must have more horses too, sir,’ announced Dick, with -a calm air of ask and have.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘How many?’ returned Wilfred uncomplyingly; ‘it -seems we shall want more horses—we haven’t any, certainly—more -cattle, more tillage, more yards, more paddocks; -it will soon come to wanting more money, and where to get -<em>that</em> I don’t know.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Horses are dirt cheap, sir, just now, and can’t be done -without, nohow. You’ll want a cob for the Captain to potter -about on, a couple of hacks for yourself, one apiece for Mr. -Guy and the young ladies—they’d like a canter now and -then afore Christmas. I hear Mick Donnelly’s selling off, -to clear out for Monaro. You couldn’t do better than ride -over and see his lot; they’ll be pretty sure to live on our -grass, if any of the neighbours gets ’em, and you may as well -have that profit out of ’em yourself.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The conversation having come to an end, Mr. Evans -was about to move after his cattle, now indulging in a -pretty wide spread, when a horseman joining them, greeted -Wilfred.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Good-morning, sir,’ said the stranger, with loud, peculiar, -but not unpleasant voice, having a note of culture too. -‘Glad to make your acquaintance; Mr. Effingham, I believe? -We’re neighbours, on the south, about ten miles from -Benmohr. You haven’t seen a chestnut pony about, branded -2C? He used to run here in Hunt’s time. Why, hang me! -if he isn’t coming up to show himself!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The chestnut pony which had borne Wilfred so successfully -in the journey for the new cattle now trotted up, -having followed Evans’s mare, to which animal he had -attached himself, after the manner of horses, prone to contract -sudden friendships.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Wilfred, about to disclaim any knowledge of the strange -gentleman’s chestnut, not dreaming that the estray which -had come in so handily could be his property, and as yet not -given to reading at a glance 2C or other hieroglyph, felt -rather nonplussed, more especially when he noticed the -stranger’s eye attracted to the saddle-mark on the pony’s -fat back.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_84'>84</span>‘I must confess to having ridden your horse, if he be -so, a short journey. We were not aware of his ownership, -and I had no horse of my own. I trust you will forgive the -liberty.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘He <em>has</em> rather nice paces. How did you like him?’ -inquired the stranger urbanely, much as if he had a favour -conferred upon him. ‘I’ll run him into the yard now with -your permission, and lead him home.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Pray come in, and allow me to introduce you to my -people,’ said Wilfred, satisfied, from the stranger’s bearing, -that he was a desirable acquaintance. ‘With the exception -of Mr. O’Desmond, from whom I bought these cattle, we -have not seen a neighbour yet.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Know them all in time,’ said the stranger; ‘no great -shakes, some of them, when you <em>do</em> know them. My name’s -Churbett, by the bye—Fred Churbett, of The Oaks; cattle -station on Banksia Creek, used to be called She-oak Flat—had -to change it. Nice cattle O’Desmond let you have; -got good stock, but makes you pay for them.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘How you have improved the old place!’ continued Mr. -Churbett, as they approached the house. ‘Who would -believe that so much could have been made of it? Never -saw it in the palmy days of Colonel Warleigh, though. Seems -to have run in the military line of ownership. The old boy -kept up great state. Four-in-hand always to Yass, they say. -Coachman, butler, lots of servants—convicts, of course. Awful -temper; cursed freely, drank ditto. Sons not behindhand, -improved upon the paternal sins—gambling, horse-racing, Old -Harry generally. Had to clear out and sell. Great pull for -the district having a family straight from “home” settled -in it.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I trust the advantage will be mutual,’ said Wilfred. ‘We -hope to be neighbourly when we are quite settled. But you -will understand that it has taken us a little time to shake -down.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Thought of that,’ said Mr. Churbett, ‘or should have -had the pleasure of calling before. Trotted over to look up -master “Traveller” for the muster, or should have waited -another week.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Mr. Churbett’s horses having been disposed of, he was -duly introduced. He proved if anything a greater success -<span class='pageno' id='Page_85'>85</span>than Mr. O’Desmond. He was musical, and the sight of the -piano immediately brought up talk about the last opera he -had heard in London. He was also a great reader, and -after touching upon half a score of authors, promised to -bring over a new book which he had just got up from town.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Really,’ said Annabel innocently, ‘this is a surprise. -I never dreamed of getting a new book in the bush. Why, -it only came out just before we left. I was longing to read -it; but, of course, we were too miserable and worried. How -can it have got here so quickly?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Just the same way that we did, I suppose,’ said Beatrice—‘in -a ship. You forget the time that has passed since we -landed.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Still, it is a pleasant surprise. I shouldn’t wonder, perhaps -we may get some new music soon. But I should as -soon have thought of a book-club in the moon.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Talking of book-clubs,’ said Churbett, ‘we are trying to -get up one; I hope you will join. With twelve members, and -a moderate subscription, we can import a very fair lot of books -every year. A brother of mine in London can choose them -for us; I am to be librarian. The books are divided into -sets, which each subscriber sends on in turn.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Annabel clapped her hands. ‘How delightful! Wilfred, -of course, will join. Fancy, dear, <em>clean</em> new books every -month. Really, life is becoming quite intoxicating, and I -thought we should die of dulness and ennui.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘No; did you, though?’ echoed Mr. Churbett compassionately. -‘I confess to feeling inclined to cry when I came -up to Murson Creek and saw the hut I was to live in for the -first year. But one’s feelings get wonderfully altered after a -while.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And are you <em>quite</em> resigned, that is contented, to give up -operas and picture galleries, clubs and travel, all the pleasant -parts of English life?’ asked Rosamond.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘It <em>was</em> hard at first, Miss Effingham; but here I have -independence, with the prospect of a fortune. In England -such was not the case, particularly the independence. Operas -and other memories recall a fairy realm which I may yet -re-enter. Meantime, I ride about all day, work now and -then, smoke and read at night, and if not exactly happy, am -decently cheerful.’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_86'>86</span>‘What the world calls pleasure you never see, I suppose?’ -said Beatrice philosophically.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Do we not? I forgot one compensation in our virtuous, -self-denying lives. Once a year, at least, we have races in -Yass, which is our metropolis. Then we all meet together, -as a solemn, social obligation. Pilgrimage to Mecca, and so -on. Very few true believers absent. Balls, picnics, any -amount of dancing, flirtation, what not. Enough to last for -the rest of the year. After a week or two we go home -sorrowfully, staying at each other’s houses on the way, to let -down the excitement by degrees.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Where do the ladies come from?’ asked Annabel. ‘I -suppose there are very few?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Very few!’ said Mr. Churbett in tones of horror. ‘<em>Ever</em> -so many. Is it possible you have never heard, even in -Europe, of the beautiful Miss Christabel Rockley, the -fascinating Mrs. Snowden, the talented Mrs. Porchester? -Ladies! They abound, or how should we remain civilised? -Yass is well known to be the home of all the graces. Could -O’Desmond retain his <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>grand seigneur</em></span> air but for the -advantage of refined association? I wish I could take you -round, Miss Effingham, on an introductory tour. What a -book we could write of our experiences!—“Travels and -Sketches in the Upper Strata of the Social System of the -Yass District, by Miss Annabel Effingham, illustrated by F. -Churbett, F.R.Y.A.S.S., Fellow of the Royal Yass Analytical -Squatting Society,” reads well.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Quite delicious,’ said Annabel. ‘But everything that is -nice is improper, so, of course, I shouldn’t be let go. Not -even Rosamond, who is prudence personified. I’m afraid -there is no more liberty for poor women in a new country -than an old one. That <em>is</em> the bell—I was sure of it. Mr. -Churbett, allow me to invite you to dinner—an early one, -which is about the extent of my privileges.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Mr. Churbett accepted the invitation, as he no doubt -would have acceded to any proposition emanating from the -speaker even less manifestly beneficial. He kept the whole -party amused, and lingered until he declared he should have -to gallop Grey Surrey all the way home to get there before -dark.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘He’s like me,’ he explained, upon being charged with -<span class='pageno' id='Page_87'>87</span>cruelty; ‘he only does a day’s work now and then, and he -doesn’t mind it when it does come.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Resisting all invitation to stop for the night, on the plea -that the effort necessary in his case must be made some -time and might as well be undergone now, he departed in -the odour of high consideration, if not of sanctity.</p> - -<p class='c001'>In order that no opportunities might be lost, Wilfred commenced -the habit of rising at dawn and joining Dick at the -stock-yard, where the old man had initiated a dairy, with the -aid of the few cows of the O’Desmond brand which had -produced calves. Here he was attended by Andrew, who -sturdily proceeded to take his share of the work, in spite of -Dick’s sarcastic attitude. He evidently considered the dairy -to be his province, and regarded Andrew as an interloper.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Na, na, Maister Wilfred,’ said Andrew, ‘I hae been -acquent in my time wi’ a’ manner o’ kye, and had a collie -following me these thretty years. It’s no because we’re in -a new land that I’m to turn my back on ilka occupa-ation -that will bring in profit to the laird and his bairns. Jeanie -can mak’ as sweet butter as ever a gudewife in Lothian, and -we hae to depend maistly on the butter-keggies, for what I see.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You’ll find that garden of yours, when the weeds come -up, quite enough for one, I’m thinking. There’s enough of -us here, if Mr. Wilfred takes to it kind, as he seems to do. -But if you’re such a dab hand at milking, you can tek that -red cow that’s come in this morning.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And a gra-and show o’ milk she has,’ quoth Andrew, ‘maist -unco-omon!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Dick commenced, with a stolid expression, to arrange the -slip-rails, which apparently took time to adjust. Andrew, -meanwhile, proud of the opportunity of exhibiting his familiarity -with the art and science of milking, moved the red cow -into one of the bails, or stalls, in which cows are ordinarily -milked in Australia.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Sitting upon a three-legged stool, he commenced his -ancient and classical task. He had succeeded in, perhaps, -drawing a pint from the over-full udder of the red cow aforesaid, -when she suddenly raised her hind leg and caught him -with such emphasis that man and milk, pail and stool, went -clattering down into the corner of the yard.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Gude save us!’ exclaimed Andrew, picking himself up, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_88'>88</span>and rubbing his person, while he collected all that was recoverable -of the scattered properties. ‘What garred the fell -beastie act sae daft-like. I hae milket a hunner coos, and -ne’er was whummled like yon.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Perhaps they was Scotch cows, and understood your talk, -Mr. Cargill,’ said Dick, with great politeness, covering a grim -enjoyment; ‘but in this country we mostly <em>leg-ropes</em> cows -when we bail ’em up, for fear of accidents.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Weel, I winna say that these queys, being brocht up in a -mair savage fashion than in bonnie Scotland, wadna need -head and heel fastenings. But, ma certie, they would glower -in my part of the country, gin ye tied a coo’s leg like a thrawn -ox at the smithy.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I suppose “we must do at Rome, etc.,” and all the rest -of it, Andrew,’ said Wilfred. ‘Here, Dick, make a beginning -with your cow, and Andrew and I will put a leg-rope -on this one. Never too late to mend. I’ll back Andrew to -hold his own yet in the milking-yard, or anywhere else.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Old Dick, having satisfied his grudge by compassing the -downfall of Andrew, whom he had shrewdly guessed never -to have been accustomed to a leg-rope, condescended to -instruct Wilfred in the proper way to knot it. The cows were -eventually milked <span lang="la" xml:lang="la"><em>secundum artem</em></span>, and when the full buckets, -foaming over with creamy fluid, stood on a bench outside -the yard, Wilfred saw with distinct gratification the first dividend -from the cattle investment.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘We must calculate now, Andrew,’ he said, as they walked -over to the house, ‘how much butter can be made from the -milk of these cows. It is a small matter, of course; but -multiplied by ten—as we shall have at least fifty cows in -milk, Dick says, before Christmas—it will not be so bad.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘After conseederin’ the matter maist carefully,’ said -Andrew, ‘I am free to give it as ma deleeberate opeenion -that gin the pasture keeps aye green and plenteous we -may mak’ baith butter and cheese o’ the best quality. As -to price, I canna yet say, havin’ nae knowledge o’ the -mairkets.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Well, we have made a beginning, Andrew, and that is a -great matter. If we can only pay current expenses, without -employing more hands, we shall be doing well, I consider.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘We must work gey and close at the first gang aff, Maister -<span class='pageno' id='Page_89'>89</span>Wilfred, and then dinna ye fear. Wi’ the Lord’s blessing, -we’ll be spared to set up our horn on high, as weel as thae -prood Amalekites, that have had the first grip o’ this gra-and -Canaan. I was doon yestreen and lookit at the field o’ -victual—the paddock, as yon auld carle ca’s it. It’s maist -promising—forbye ordinar’—maist unco-omon.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Among the list of indispensable investments which Dick -Evans had urged upon Wilfred, but which he had not at -present thought it necessary to undertake, were another lot -of cattle, a dozen horses (more or less), and some kind of -taxed cart, or light vehicle. Apparently these would be -advantageous and profitable, but Wilfred had determined to -be most sparing in all outlay, lest the reserve fund of the -family should come to a premature end.</p> - -<p class='c001'>On this day it seemed that the advanced guard of the -neighbouring gentry had commenced to lay formal siege to -Warbrok Chase. On his return to the house in the afternoon, -Wilfred descried two good-looking horses hanging up -to the garden fence, and upon entering the sitting-room beheld -their owners in amicable converse with his mother and -sisters. He was promptly introduced to Mr. Argyll and Mr. -Charles Hamilton. Both men were well, even fashionably -dressed, and bore about them the nameless air which stamps -the holder of a degree in the university of society.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘We should have called before,’ said Mr. Argyll, a tall -fair-haired man, whose quick glancing blue eye and mobile -features betrayed natural impetuosity, kept under by training; -‘but my partner here is such an awfully hard-working -fellow, that he would not quit the engineering with which he -was busied, to visit the Queen of Sheba, if she had just -settled in the neighbourhood.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I was not aware,’ said Mr. Hamilton coolly, and with an -air of settled conviction upon his regular and handsome -features, ‘of the extent of my sacrifice to duty. I may -venture to assure Mrs. Effingham that my neighbourly duties -for the future will not be neglected.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I hope not,’ said Mrs. Effingham; ‘for, now that the -excitement of settling in such a very different world has -passed away, we begin to feel rather lonely—may I say -dull?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘No, mamma,’ said Rosamond, ‘you must not say that. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_90'>90</span>We are all so fully occupied, from morning to dusk, that we -have no time to be dull.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh, but we cannot get on without society,’ remarked -Annabel. ‘I feel in the highest spirits as long as there is so -much to do, that there is no time for thinking; indeed, I -hate to have a moment to myself. But in the afternoons, -when papa and the boys are out, I begin to realise our solitary -position, and the feeling becomes oppressive.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Very naturally too,’ said Mr. Argyll. ‘But as yet you -have no idea of the social resources which you will be able -to draw upon when you are acquainted with everybody.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And who is everybody?’ asked Beatrice. ‘How can we be -sociable if people don’t come to see us? Suppose you tell -us who are the nice people of the district, and we shall be -able to enjoy them in anticipation.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You will see most of them within the month; but I -shrink from describing them. Charles, you are afraid of -nobody, suppose you give us a <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>catalogue raisonné</em></span>.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Certainly, if Miss Effingham wishes it,’ assented Mr. -Hamilton, who had the imperturbable look which goes with -a temperament difficult to surprise or intimidate. ‘I shall -have great pleasure in trotting out our friends for her information. -We have been here only three years, so in case of -mistakes you must be considerate.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh, we shall be most discreet,’ said Annabel; ‘besides, -we have no acquaintance yet to chatter to—that’s the best -guarantee for prudence.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I think I may take your solemn affirmation not to betray -me,’ said Mr. Hamilton, looking admiringly into Annabel’s -lovely eyes, ‘and even then I would face the risk. First, -there is Captain Snowden with his wife. He was in the -navy, I think; he has rather more of the sailor about him -than—what shall I say?—the courtier, though he can be very -agreeable when he likes. Madame is extremely lady-like, -clever, travelled, what not. You must see her and judge for -yourself.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Are there any more ladies?’ asked Rosamond. ‘They -possess an absorbing interest for us.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Ever so many more,’ laughed Hamilton. ‘Mrs. Porchester, -who is rather a “blue”; Mrs. Egremont, who is a -beauty; the Misses Carter, who are good-nature itself. The -<span class='pageno' id='Page_91'>91</span>others, I think, you must find out by degrees. In Yass there -are some very nice families, particularly that of Mr. Rockley. -He is the leading merchant in these parts, and rules like a -benevolent despot. His wife is hospitable and amiable -beyond compare; his daughter, Miss Christabel, dangerously -beautiful. I <em>must</em> leave something to the imagination.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I assure you we are most grateful to you as it is,’ said -Mrs. Effingham. ‘It is really encouraging to find that there -are so many charming people in the neighbourhood. We -should hardly consider them in the same county at home; -but here they don’t seem to mind riding any distance.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I am mistaken,’ said Hamilton, ‘if you do not find people -riding wonderful distances to visit Warbrok. We are less -than twenty miles away, I am thankful to say, so you will see -us as often as you care for. By the way,’ turning to Wilfred, -‘did I hear you say you were going to Donnelly’s sale? -If you buy stock there, you had better stay a night at -Benmohr on your return. It is just a fair stage.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Thanks. I shall be most happy. Do you think it a good -idea to invest at Donnelly’s?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘If I were in your place I should buy all his cattle and a -few horses. They can’t fail to be a profitable purchase, as you -seem to have any amount of grass. But we must be going. -We shall expect you at Benmohr the day after the sale. Mrs. -Effingham, I shall do myself the honour of another visit, after -you have been able to verify my portraitures.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What gentlemanlike young men!’ said Mrs. Effingham, -when the guests were fairly away. ‘I am so sorry that your -papa was out. He would have been so pleased. Mr. Argyll -seems so clever, and Mr. Hamilton is very handsome—both -wonderfully well dressed for the bush.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I should say Mr. Argyll was disposed to be sarcastic,’ said -Rosamond; ‘and I am mistaken if he has not a fierce -temper. He told us he was a Highlander, which accounts -for it.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Mr. Hamilton is one of the nicest-looking men I have -seen for a long time,’ said Annabel; ‘what splendid eyes he -has! He is very particular about his gloves too; gives time -and reflection to his toilet, I should say.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I have heard Dick say that he is the hardest-working -squatter in the district,’ said Wilfred. ‘He is devoted to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_92'>92</span>ploughing, digging, navvy-work, horse-breaking—“all manner -of slavery,” as Dick says.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Who would have thought it!’ exclaimed Mrs. Effingham -in tones of astonishment. ‘From his appearance I should have -thought that he was afraid to soil those white hands of his.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘The best-dressed people are not the most backward at -work or fighting,’ said Wilfred.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘But how <em>can</em> he keep his hands white,’ inquired Annabel -with a great appearance of interest, ‘if he really works like a -labourer?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Perhaps he works in gloves; a man can get through a -great deal of work in a pair of old riding-gloves, and his -hands be never the worse. There is something about those -two men that I like extremely. Mr. Argyll puts me in mind -of Fergus MʻIvor with that fiery glance; he looks as if he had -a savage temper, well held in.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘They are both very nice, and I hope you will make real -friends of them, Wilfred,’ said Mrs. Effingham. ‘Might I -also suggest that, as it is evidently practicable to dress like a -gentleman and work hard, a certain young man should be -more careful of his appearance?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I deserve that, I know, old lady,’ said her son laughingly; -‘but really there is a temptation in the wilderness to costume -a little. I promise you to amend.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Our circle of acquaintance is expanding,’ said Beatrice; -‘certainly it has the charm of variety. Mr. O’Desmond is -Irish, Mr. Churbett from London, our last visitors Scots—one -Highland, one Lowland. All differing among themselves -too. I am sure we shall be fully occupied; it will be a task -of some delicacy <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>tenir de salon</em></span>, if we ever have them here -at a party.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘A party!’ said Mrs. Effingham; ‘don’t think of it for -<em>years</em> to come, child. It would be impossible, inappropriate -in every way.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘But there’s no harm, mamma, surely, in <em>thinking</em> of it,’ -pleaded Annabel. ‘It encourages one to keep alive, if -nothing else.’</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_93'>93</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER VI <br /> AN AUSTRALIAN YEOMAN</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>A week of laborious work preceded the day when circumstances -permitted Wilfred and his serving-man to ride forth for -the purpose of attending the sale of Mr. Michael Donnelly’s -stock and effects. Formerly known as ‘Willoughby’s Mick,’ he -had, during an unpretending career as stock-rider for that -gentleman, accumulated a small herd of cattle and horses, -with which to commence life on a grazing farm near Yass. -Here, by exercise of the strictest economy as to personal -expenses, as well as from the natural increase of stock, he -had, during a residence of a dozen years, amassed a considerable -property. Yet on his holding there was but scant -evidence of toil or contrivance. A few straggling peach -trees represented the garden. The bark-roofed slab hut -which he found when he came had sufficed for the -lodging of himself and wife, with nearly a dozen children. -The fences, not originally good, were now ruinous. The -fields, suffered to go out of cultivation, lay fallow and -unsightly, only half-cleared of tree-stumps. The dress of this -honest yeoman had altered for the worse since the hard-riding -days of ‘Willoughby’s Mick.’ The healthy boys and -girls were more or less ragged; the younger ones barefooted. -The saddles and cart harness were patched with raw hide, or -clumsily repaired. The cow-shed was rickety; the calves -unsheltered. Yet with all this apparent decay and disorder, -any one, judging from appearances, who had put down -Michael Donnelly as an impoverished farmer, would have -been egregiously deceived. His neighbours knew that his -battered old cabbage-tree hat covered a head with an -<span class='pageno' id='Page_94'>94</span>unusual amount of brains. Uneducated and bush-bred, -he possessed intuitive powers of calculation and forecast -frequently denied to cultured individuals. Early in life he -had appropriated the fact, that in this land of boundless -pasturage, profitable up to a certain point, without the -necessity of one <em>farthing</em> of expenditure, the multiplication of -stock was possible to any conceivable extent. Once make a -commencement with a few cows, and it was a man’s own -fault if he died without more cattle than he could count. -Hadn’t Johnny Shore begun that way? <em>Walked</em> over to -Monaro with half-a-crown in his pocket. He saved his wages -for a few years and got the needful start.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Become a capitalist, his instincts revolted against spending -money needlessly, when every pound, often less, would buy -a cow, which cow would turn into fifty head of cattle in a -few years. ‘What could a man do that would pay him half -as well? Why employ labour that could be done without? -It was all very well for Mr. Willoughby, who had raised his -wages gradually from twenty pounds per annum and one -ration. Mr. Willoughby was a gentleman with a big station, -and threw his money about a bit; but why should he, Mick -Donnelly, go keeping and feeding men to put in crops when -farming didn’t pay? Therefore his fields might lie fallow -and go out of cultivation.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>His boys were getting big lumps of fellows, old enough to -help brand and muster. The girls could milk, and break in -the heifers, as well as all the men in the country. His wife -could cook—there wasn’t much of that; and wash—it didn’t -fatigue her; and sweep—that process was economised—as -well as ever. Any kind of duds did for working people, as -long as they went decent to chapel on Sundays. That they -had always done and would do, please God. But all other -occasions of spending money were wasteful and unnecessary.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The sole expenses, then, of this large family were in the -purchase of flour, tea, sugar, and clothes, none of which -articles came to an extravagant sum for the year. While -the sales were steady and considerable, Mick and his sons -drove many a lot of cattle, fat or store, to the neighbouring -markets. The profits of the dairy in butter and bacon, the -representatives of which latter product roamed in small herds -around the place, paid all the household expenses twice over; -<span class='pageno' id='Page_95'>95</span>while the amount of his credit balance at the Bank of New -Holland in Yass would have astonished many a tourist who -watched Mick smoking on his stock-yard rails, or riding an -unshod mare down the range after a mob of active cattle.</p> - -<p class='c001'>But now a more ambitious idea was evolved from the -yeoman’s slowly maturing, but accurate mental processes. -He had been noting the relative scale of outlay and income -of a neighbouring sheep-farmer. After certain cautious -comparisons, he fixed the conclusion that, other things being -equal, sheep would pay him better than cattle. He heard -from an old comrade of the forced sale of a sheep station in -the then half-explored, unstocked district of Monaro, lying -between the Great Range and the Snowy River. His offer -of cash, at a rate far from remunerative to the late owner, -had been accepted.</p> - -<p class='c001'>That part of his plan settled, he sold his freehold to a -neighbouring proprietor who was commencing to found an -estate, receiving rather more than double his original -purchase money. Stock being at a reasonable price, -Donnelly determined to sell off the whole of his possessions, -merely reserving his dray, team, and a sufficiency of -saddle-horses for the family. His herd had become too -numerous for the run. His boys and girls would make -shepherds and shepherdesses for a while—by no means a -picturesque occupation in Australia, but still profitable as -of old. He would be enabled to continue independent of -hired labour. He trusted to the duplication of stock to -do the rest. Hence the clearing-off sale, which a number -of farmers in the neighbourhood were likely to attend, and -to which Wilfred and his chief servitor were at present -wending their way.</p> - -<p class='c001'>On this occasion Wilfred had resisted the idea of mounting -any of the strayed horses, still numerous upon the enticing -pastures of Warbrok. Having unwittingly placed himself in -a false position, he was resolved not to repeat the impropriety.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Mr. Churbett had behaved most courteously,’ he said; -‘but it might have been otherwise. I was not aware that -it was other than a colonial custom. There must be no -more mistakes of this kind, Dick, or you and I shall quarrel. -Go to one of the nearest farmers and see if you can hire -me a decent hack.’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_96'>96</span>So Dick, though chafing at the over-delicacy which led -his master to pay for a mount while available steeds were -eating his grass, proceeded to obey orders, and shortly -returned with a substantial half-bred, upon which Wilfred -bestowed himself.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Dick Evans was always in good spirits at the prospect of -a cruise in foreign parts. Mrs. Evans, on the other hand, -was prone to dwell upon the unpleasant side of domestic -matters. Her habit of mind had doubtless resulted in the -philosophic calm with which her husband bore his frequent, -and occasionally protracted, absences from the conjugal -headquarters. As before, he mounted his old mare with a -distinct air of cheerfulness.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘The dairy work will get along all right for a day or two, -sir,’ he said. ‘Old Andy begins to be a fairish milker—he -was dead slow at first—and Mr. Guy’s a great help bailin’ -up. There’s nothing brisks me up like a jaunt somewheres—I -don’t care where it is, if it was to the Cannibal Islands. -God Almighty never intended me to stop long in one place, -I expect.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘A rolling stone gathers no moss, Dick,’ said Wilfred. -‘You’ll never save up anything if you carry out those ideas -always.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I don’t want to save nothing, sir. I’ve no call to keep -money in a box; I can find work pretty well wherever I go -that will keep me and my old woman in full and plenty. -I’m safe of my wages as long as I can work, and when I -can’t work no more I shall die—suddent like. I’ve always -felt that.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘But why don’t you get a bit of land, Dick, and have a -place of your own? You could easily save enough money -to buy a farm.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Bless your heart, sir, I wouldn’t live on a farm allers, -day in, day out, if you’d give me one. I should get that -sick of the place as I should come to hate the sight of it. -But hadn’t you better settle with yourself like, sir, what -kind of stock you’re agoin’ to bid for when we get to Mick’s? -There’ll be a lot of people there, and noise, and perhaps a -little fighting if there’s any grog goin’, so it’s best to be ready -for action, as old Sir Hugh Gough used to tell us.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Mr. Churbett and Mr. Hamilton thought I should buy -<span class='pageno' id='Page_97'>97</span>all the mixed cattle, as many of them would be ready for -the butcher before winter.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘So they will, sir, or my name’s not Richard Evans, twice -corporal in the old 50th, and would have been sergeant, if -I’d been cleverer at my book, and not quite so clever at the -canteen. But that’s neither here nor there. What I look -at is, they’re all dairy-bred cattle, and broke in close to your -own run, which saves a power of trouble. If you can get -a hundred or two of ’em for thirty shillings or two pound -a head, they’ll pay it all back by next season—easy and -flippant.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Finishing up with his favourite adjective, which he used -when desirous of showing with what ridiculous ease any given -result might be obtained, Mr. Richard Evans lighted his pipe -with an air of assurance of success which commenced to -infect his employer.</p> - -<p class='c001'>About mid-day they reached the abode of Michael Donnelly, -Esq., as such designated by the local papers, who -‘was about to submit to public competition his quiet and -well-bred herd of dairy cattle, his choice stud, his equipages, -farming implements, teams, carts, harness, etc., with other -articles too numerous to mention.’ Other articles there were -none, except he had decided to sell the olive branches. -Wilfred was shocked at the appearance of the homestead -of this thriving farmer. The falling fences, the neglected -orchard, the dilapidated hut, the curiously patched and -mended stock-yard, partly brush, partly of logs, with here -and there a gap, secured by a couple of rude tree-forks, with -a clumsy sapling laid across—all these did not look like the -surroundings of a man who could give his cheque for several -thousand pounds. However, the personal appearance of -Mick himself, an athletic, manly, full-bearded fellow, as also -that of his family, was decidedly prepossessing. They were -busily attending to the various classes of stock, with much -difficulty kept apart for purposes of sale. Whatever else -these Australian Celts lacked, they had been well nourished -in youth and infancy. A finer sample of youthful humanity, -physically considered, Wilfred had never seen. The lack of -order everywhere visible had in no way reacted upon their -faculties. All their lives they had known abundant nutriment, -unrestricted range. Healthful exercise had been theirs, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_98'>98</span>congenial labour, and diet unstinted in the great essentials. -Few other considerations had entered into the family councils.</p> - -<p class='c001'>And now they were about to migrate, like the world’s -elder children, to a land promising more room. Then, as -now, a higher life was possible, where the sheep and the -oxen, the camels and the asses, would enjoy a wider range. -The sale over, they would once more resume that journey -which, commencing soon after the marriage day of Michael -Donnelly and Bridget Joyce, was not ended yet.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Wilfred Effingham was soon confirmed in his opinion that -he had done well to attend. Many of the neighbouring -settlers were there, as well as farmers and townspeople from -Yass, brought together by the mysterious attraction of an -auction sale. One of the townspeople, asking first if he was -Mr. Effingham of Warbrok, put into his hand a note which -ran as follows:—</p> - -<p class='c010'>‘<span class='sc'>My dear Wilfred</span>—I thought you were likely to be at -Donnelly’s sale, so I send you a line by a parishioner of mine. -I have made inquiries about the stock, and consider that -you could not do better than buy as many of the cattle as -you have grass for. They are known to be quiet, having -been used to dairy tending, and are certain to increase in -value and number, as you have so much grass at Warbrok. -Price about two pounds. A few horses would not be superfluous, -and there are some good ones in Donnelly’s lot, or -they would hardly have stood his work. Mention my name -to Mick, and say he is to let you down easy. I have -had a touch of rheumatism lately—<span lang="la" xml:lang="la"><em>et ego in Arcadia</em></span>—there’s -no escape from old age and its infirmities in any -climate, however good, or I’d have looked you up before now. -Tell your father I’m coming over soon.—Always yours -sincerely,</p> - -<div class='c012'><span class='sc'>Harley Sternworth</span>.’</div> - -<p class='c009'>The hour of sale having arrived, and indeed passed, the -auctioneer, who had driven out from Yass for the purpose, -commenced his task, which he did by climbing on to the -‘cap’ of the stock-yard and rapping violently with a hammer-handled -hunting-crop. A broad-chested, stout-lunged, florid -personage was Mr. Crackemup, and if selling by auction -deserved to be ranked as one of the fine arts, he was no mean -professor.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_99'>99</span>‘Ladies and gentlemen!’ he shouted. ‘I say ladies, for I -notice quite a number of the fair sex have honoured me with -their presence. Let me mention, in the first place, that the -owner of this valuable stock we see before us has resolved to -leave this part of the country. Yes, my friends, to leave -Gumbaragongara for good and all! Why do I mention this -fact—why do I dwell upon it? Because, ladies and gentlemen, -it makes all the difference as to the <span lang="la" xml:lang="la"><em>bona fide</em></span> nature of -the sale which we are met together to-day to celebrate—that -is—a—to carry out—according to these written conditions. -My principal, Mr. Donnelly, with the shrewdness which has -characterised him through life, seized upon this view of the -case. “If I leave the country bodily,” he said to me, “and -sell the stock for what they’ll fetch, no one can say that I -went away and took the best with me.” No, ladies and -gentlemen, Mr. Donnelly departs to-morrow for Monaro, -taking only a dray and team, with a few riding-horses, so -that all his well-bred, quiet, beautiful herd of dairy cattle, -selected with great care from some of the best herds in the -colony [here divers of the audience grinned irreverently], I -shall have the honour of submitting to public competition -this day.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘The first lot, ladies and gentlemen, is No. 1. Generally -so, isn’t it? Ha! ha! One hundred and fifty-four cows -and heifers, all broken to bail; most of them with calves at -foot, or about to—to—become mothers.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Mr. Crackemup was a man of delicate ideas, so he -euphemised the maternal probabilities.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Any one buying this choice lot, with butter at a shilling, -and cheese not to be bought, buys a fortune. I will sell a -“run out” of twenty head, with the option of taking the -lot. “Fifteen shillings a head”—nonsense; one pound, -twenty-two and six, twenty-five-thank you, miss; thirty shillings, -thirty-five, thirty-seven and six-thank you, sir. One -pound seventeen and sixpence, once; one pound seventeen -and sixpence, twice; for the third and last time, one pound -seventeen shillings and sixpence. Gone! What name shall -I say, sir? “Howard Effingham, Warbrok Chase.” Twenty -head. Thank you, sir.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>At this critical moment the voice of Dick Evans was -heard by Wilfred, in close proximity to his ear: ‘Collar the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_100'>100</span>lot, sir; they’re dirt cheap; soon be in full milk. Don’t let -’em go.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I believe,’ said Wilfred, raising his voice, ‘that I have the -option of taking the whole.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Quite correct, sir; but if I might advise——’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I take the lot,’ said Wilfred decisively.</p> - -<p class='c001'>And though there was a murmur from the crowd, and one -stalwart dame said, ‘That’s not fair, thin; I med sure I’d get -a pen of springers myself,’ the auctioneer confirmed his right, -and the dairy lot became his property.</p> - -<p class='c001'>It turned out, as is often the case, that the first offered -stock were the most moderate in price. Many of the buyers -had been holding back, thinking they would go in lots of -twenty, and that better bargains might be obtained. When -they found that the stranger had carried off all the best dairy -cows, their disappointment was great.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Serves you right, boys,’ was heard in the big voice of the -proprietor; ‘if you had bid up like men, instead of keeping -dark, you’d have choked the cove off taking the lot. Serves -you all dashed well right.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The remaining lots of cattle consisted of weaners, two and -three-year-old steers and heifers. Of fat cattle the herd had -been pretty well ‘scraped,’ as Donnelly called it, before the -sale. For most of these the bidding was so brisk and spirited -that Wilfred thought himself lucky in securing forty steers at -twenty-five shillings, which completed his drove, and were -placed in the yard with the cows.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Then came the horses; nearly a hundred all told—mares, -colts, fillies, yearlings, with aged or other riding-horses. -These last Donnelly excused himself for selling by the statement -that if he took them to Monaro half of them would be -lost trying to get back to where they had been bred, and -that between stock-riders and cattle-stealers his chance of -regaining them would be small.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘There they are,’ he said; ‘there’s some as good blood -among them as ever was inside a horse-skin. They’re there -to be sold.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The spirit of speculation was now aroused in Wilfred, or -he would not have bought, as he did, half-a-dozen of the -best mares, picking them by make and shape, and a general -look of breeding. They were middle-sized animals, more -<span class='pageno' id='Page_101'>101</span>like Arabs than the offspring of English thoroughbreds, but -with a look of caste and quality, their legs and feet being -faultless, their heads good, and shoulders fair. They fell to -a bid of less than ten pounds each, and with foals at foot, -Wilfred thought they could not be dear.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Them’s the old Gratis lot,’ said Mr. Donnelly. ‘I -bought ’em from Mr. Busfield when they was fillies. You -haven’t made a bad pick for a new hand, sir. I wish you -luck with ’em.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I hope so,’ said Wilfred. ‘If you breed horses at all, -they may as well be good ones.’ As he turned away he -caught the query from a bystander—</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Why, you ain’t going to sell old Barragon?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Yes, I am,’ said Mick, who was evidently not a man of -sentiment; ‘all fences in the country wouldn’t keep him -away from these parts. He’s in mostly runs near the lake, -and eats more of that gentleman’s grass than mine. He -don’t owe me nothin’.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You buy that horse, sir,’ said Dick, who was acting the -part of a moral Mephistopheles. ‘He’s as old as Mick, very -near, and as great a dodger after cattle. But you can’t throw -him down, and the beast don’t live that can get away from -him on a camp.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Wilfred turned and beheld a very old, grey horse cornered -off, and standing with his ears laid back, listening apparently -to Mr. Crackemup’s commendations.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Here you have, ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Donnelly’s -favourite riding-horse Barragon, an animal, he informs me, -that has done some of the most wonderful feats ever credited -to a horse in any country—some exploits, indeed, which he -scarcely likes to tell of. [‘I’ll be bound he don’t,’ drawled -out a long, brown-faced bystander.] You have heard the -reasons assigned for disposing of him here, rather than, as of -course he would prefer to do, still keeping him attached to -the fortunes of the family. His instinct is so strong, his intelligence -so great, ladies and gentlemen, that he would -unerringly find his way back from the farthest point of the -Monaro district. What shall I say for him?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘May as well have him, sir,’ said his counsellor. ‘He’ll -go cheap. He’ll always stick to the lake; and if any one else -gets him, they’ll be wanting us to run him in, half the time.’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_102'>102</span>Wilfred looked at the horse. The type was one to which -he had not been accustomed—neither a roadster, a hunter, -a hackney, nor a harness horse—he was <span lang="la" xml:lang="la"><em>sui generis</em></span>, the -true Australian stock-horse, now rarely seen, and seldom up -to the feats and performances of which grizzled veterans of -the stock-whip love to tell.</p> - -<p class='c001'>No one with an eye for a horse could look at the war-worn -screw without interest. A long, low horse, partaking -more of the Arab type than the English, he possessed the -shapes which make for endurance, and more than ordinary -speed. The head was lean and well shaped, with a well-opened, -still bright eye. The neck was arched, though not -long; but the shoulder, to a lover of horses, was truly magnificent. -Muscular, fairly high in the wither, and remarkably -oblique, it permitted the freest action possible, while -the rider who sat behind such a formation might enjoy a -feeling of security far beyond the average. Battered and -worn, no doubt, were the necessary supports, by cruelly -protracted performances of headlong speed and wayfaring. -Yet the flat cannon-bones, the iron hoofs, the tough tendons, -had withstood the woeful hardships to which they had been -subjected, with less damage than might have been expected. -The knees slightly bent forward, the strained ligaments, -showed partial unsoundness, yet was there no tangible -‘break down.’ What must such a horse have been in his -colthood—in his prime?</p> - -<p class='c001'>A sudden feeling of pity arose in Wilfred’s heart as he -ran his eye critically over the scarred veteran. At a small -price he would, no doubt, be a good investment, old as he -was. He would be reasonably useful; and as a matter of -charity one might do worse alms before Heaven than save -one of the most gallant of God’s creatures from closing his -existence in toil and suffering. Mick’s neighbours not -being more sentimental than himself, Wilfred found himself -the purchaser of the historical courser at a price considerably -under five pounds.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘By George! I’m glad you’ve got him, mister,’ said Mr. -Donnelly, with vicarious generosity. ‘I’m not rich enough -to pension him, and the money he’s fetched, put into a cow, -will be something handsome in ten years. But he’s a long -ways from broke down yet; and you’ll have your money’s -<span class='pageno' id='Page_103'>103</span>worth out of him, with luck, before he kicks the bucket. -You’d better ride him home, and I’ll send my boy Jack with -you as far as Benmohr. He’ll lead Bob Jones’s moke, that -you rode here, and leave him in Argyll and Hamilton’s -paddock till he’s sent for. You’d as well get off with your -mob, if you want to get to Benmohr before dark.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Wilfred recognised the soundness of this advice, and in -a few minutes afterwards found himself upon Barragon. -While Dick Evans promptly let out the cattle, Jack Donnelly, -a brown-faced young centaur, riding a half-broken colt, and -leading his late mount, commanded two eager cattle dogs -to ‘fetch ’em up.’ The drove went off at a smart pace, and -in five minutes they were out of sight of the yard, the farm, -and the crowd, jogging freely along a well-marked track, -which Dick stated to be the road to Benmohr.</p> - -<p class='c001'>This cheerful pace was, however, not kept up. The -steers at the ‘head’ of the drove were inclined to go even -too fast. It was necessary to restrain their ardour. The -cows and calves became slow, obstinate, and disposed to -spread, needing all the shouting of Dick and young Donnelly, -as well as the personal violence of the latter’s dogs, to keep -them going. Wilfred rejoiced that he had obeyed the -impulse to possess himself of old Barragon, when he found -with what ease and comfort he was carried by the trained -stock-horse in these embarrassing circumstances. Finally -the weather changed, and it commenced to rain in the face -of the cortège. Dick once or twice alluded to the uncertainty -which would exist as to their getting all the cattle -again if anything occurred to cause their loss this night. -Lastly, just as matters began to look dark, Wilfred descried -Benmohr.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The ‘semi-detached’ cottage which did duty as a spare -bedroom had an earthen floor, and was not an ornate -apartment; still, a blazing fire gave it an air of comfort after -the chill evening air. Needful toilet requisites were provided, -and the manifest cleanliness of the bed and belongings -guaranteed a sound night’s rest.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Upon entering the cottage, along a raised stone causeway, -pointed out by Mr. Hamilton, Wilfred found his former -acquaintance Mr. Argyll, and Mr. Churbett, with a -neighbour, who was introduced as Mr. Forbes. The table -<span class='pageno' id='Page_104'>104</span>was already laid, and furnished with exceeding neatness for -the evening meal. A glowing fire burned in the ample stone -chimney, and as the three gentlemen rose to greet him, -Wilfred thought he had never seen a more successful union -of plainness of living, with the fullest measure of comfort.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You have made the port just in time,’ remarked Argyll; -‘the rain is coming down heavily, and the night is as black -as a wolf’s throat. You seem to have bought largely at -Donnelly’s sale.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘All the dairy cows and heifers, and a few steers for -fattening,’ answered Wilfred. ‘I suppose we might have -had some trouble in collecting them if they had got away -from us to-night.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘So much that you might have never seen half of them -again,’ said Mr. Churbett promptly. ‘You would have been -hunting for them for weeks, and picked them up “in twos -and threes and mobs of one,” as I did my Tumut store -cattle, that broke away the first night I got them home.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Wilfred felt in a condition to do ample justice to the -roast chicken and home-cured ham, and even essayed a -shaving of the goodly round of beef, which graced one end -of the table. After concluding with coffee, glorified with -delicious cream, Wilfred, as they formed a circle round the -fire, came to the conclusion, either that it was the best -dinner he had eaten in the whole course of his life, or else -that he had never been quite so hungry before.</p> - -<p class='c001'>In despite of Mrs. Teviot’s admonitions, none of the party -sought their couches much before midnight. There was a -rubber of whist—perhaps two. There was much general -conversation afterwards, including literary discussion. One -of the features of the apartment was a well-filled bookcase. -Finally, when Mr. Hamilton escorted Wilfred to his chamber, -he said, ‘You needn’t bother about getting up early to-morrow. -Trust old Dick to have the cattle away at sunrise; -he and the boy can drive them easily now, till you overtake -them. We breakfast about nine o’clock, and Fred Churbett -will keep you company in lying up.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The night was murky and drizzling; the morning would -probably resemble it. Wilfred was tired. He knew that -Dick would be up and away with the dawn. He himself -wished to consult his new friends about points of practice -<span class='pageno' id='Page_105'>105</span>germane to his present position. On the whole he thought -he could safely take Mr. Hamilton’s advice.</p> - -<p class='c001'>His slumbers that night, in bed-linen fragrant as Ailie -Dinmont’s, were deep and dreamless. Surely it could not -have been morning, it was so dark, and still raining, when -he heard knocking at a window, and a voice thrice repeat -the words, ‘Maister Hamilton, are ye awauk?’ but the words -melted away—a luxurious drowsiness overpowered his senses. -The rain’s measured fall and tinkling plash changed into the -mill-wheel dash of his childhood’s wonder in Surrey. When -he awoke, the sky was dark, but there was the indefinable -sensation that it was not very early. So he dressed, and -beholding a large old pair of ‘clodhoppers’ standing temptingly -near, he bestowed himself in them and cautiously made -towards the milking-yard. He looked across to the enclosure -where his cattle had been during the previous night. -It was a smooth and apparently deep sea of liquid mud, so -sincerely churned had it been during the wet night. He -felt grieved for the discomfort of the poor cattle, but relieved -to know that they had been hours before on the grass, and -were well on their way to Warbrok Chase.</p> - -<p class='c001'>At the milking-yard he saw a sight which had never -before met his eyes. The morning’s work had apparently -been just completed. Argyll was walking towards the dairy, -a pisé building with thick, earthen walls. He carried two -immense cans full to the brim with milk. Hamilton was -wading through the yard behind about sixty cows and calves, -which were stolidly ploughing through a lake of liquid mud. -As they quitted the rough stone causeway, they appeared to -drop with reluctance into a species of slough. An elderly -Scot, approaching the type of Andrew Cargill, was labouring, -nearly knee-deep, solemnly after. He and Mr. Hamilton -were splashed from head to foot; it would have been a -delicate task to recognise either. The latter, coming to a -pool of water, deliberately walked in, thus purifying both -boot and lower leg.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Muddy work, this milking in wet weather,’ said he -calmly, scraping a piece of caked mud about the size of a -cheese-plate from the breast of his serge shirt. ‘It would -need to pay well, for it <em>is</em> exceedingly disagreeable.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Very much so, indeed, I should think,’ assented Wilfred, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_106'>106</span>rather shocked. ‘I had no idea that dairy work on a large -scale could be so unpleasant.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Ours is perhaps more mud-larking than most people’s,’ -said Mr. Hamilton reflectively, ‘chiefly from the richness of -the soil, so we endure it. But you must look into the cheese-room—the -bright side of the affair financially.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Wilfred was much impressed with the dairy, a substantial, -thatched edifice, having a verandah on four sides. The -pisé walls—nearly two feet thick—were of earth, rammed in -a wooden frame after a certain formula.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Here is the best building on the station,’ said his guide. -‘We reared this noble pile ourselves, in the days of our -colonial inexperience, entirely by the directions contained -in a book, with the aid of old Wullie and our emigrant -labourers. After we became more “Australian” and “less -nice” we took to slabs. It was quicker work, but our -architecture suffered.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>In one portion of this building were rows of milk-vessels, -while ranged on shelves one above another, and occupying -three sides of the building, were hundreds of fair, round, -orthodox-looking cheeses, varying in colour from pale yellow -to orange. They presented an appearance more akin to -a midland county farm than an Australian cattle-station.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘There, you see the compensation for early rising, wet -feet, and mud-plastering. We have a ready sale for twice -as many cheeses as Mrs. Teviot can turn out, at a very -paying price. Her double Stiltons are famed for their -richness and maturity. We pay a large part of the station -expenses in this way; besides, what is of more importance, -improving the cattle, by keeping the herd quiet and promoting -their aptitude to fatten.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You have no sheep, I think?’ inquired Wilfred.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘No; but we breed horses on rather a large scale. I must -show you my pet, Camerton, by and by. Now I must -dress for breakfast, for which I daresay you are quite ready.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>After a reasonable interval the partners appeared neatly -attired, though still in garments adapted for station work. -It was an exceedingly cheerful meal, the proverbial Scottish -breakfast, admitted to be unsurpassable—devilled chicken -and grilled bones, alternated with the incomparable round of -beef, which had excited Wilfred’s admiration on the preceding -<span class='pageno' id='Page_107'>107</span>day. Piles of boiled eggs, and <em>such</em> a jug of cream! fresh -butter, short-cake, and the unfailing oatmeal porridge completed -the fare, to which Wilfred, after his observations and -inquiries, felt himself fully qualified to do justice.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Well, Charles,’ said Mr. Churbett, desisting from a sustained -attack upon the toast and eggs, ‘how do you feel -after your day’s work? What an awful number of hours -you have been up and doing! That’s what makes you so -frightfully arrogant. It’s the comparison of yourself with -ordinary mortals like me, for instance, who lie in bed.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You certainly do take it easy, Master Fred,’ returned -Hamilton, ‘to an extent I cannot hope to imitate. Every -man to his taste, you know. You have a well-grassed, well-watered, -open country at The She-oaks; once get your cattle -there and they are no trouble to look after. Nature has -done so much that I am afraid—as in South America—man -does very little.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Shows his sense,’ asserted Mr. Churbett calmly. ‘Don’t -you be imposed upon, Effingham, by these people here; -they have a mania for bodily labour, and all sorts of unsuitable -employment. I didn’t come out to Australia to be a -navvy or a ploughman; I could have found similar situations -at home. I go in for the true pastoral life—an Arab steed, -a tent, cool claret, and a calm supervision of other men’s -labours.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Did the Sheik Ibrahim drink claret, or go to the theatre, -leaving his flocks and herds to the Bedaween?’ said Mr. -Forbes. ‘Some people appear to be able to combine the -pleasures of all religions with the duties of none.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Smart antithesis, James,’ said Churbett approvingly. -‘I’ll take another cup of tea, please, to keep. I’m going to -read Sydney Smith in the verandah after breakfast. Yes, -I <em>am</em> proud of that theatre exploit. Few people would have -nerve for it.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You would have needed all your nerve if you had found -a hundred and fifty fat cattle scattered and gone next -morning,’ said Mr. Forbes, a quietly sarcastic personage.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘But they were <em>not</em> gone, my dear fellow; what’s the use -of absurd suppositions? We got back before daylight. Not -a beast had left the camp. Now there are a great many -people who would never have thought of doing that.’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_108'>108</span>‘I should say not,’ said Hamilton. ‘Fred, your natural -advantages will be the death of you yet. Come with me, -Effingham, if you want to see the dam and the old horse. -They are our show exhibits, and we are rather proud of them.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Walking through the garden to the lower end of the slope -upon which the homestead of Benmohr was built, Wilfred -saw that the course of the creek, dignified with the name of -a river, had been arrested by a wide and solid embankment, -half-way up the broad breast of which a sheet of deep, clear -water came, while for a greater distance than the eye could -reach along its winding course was a far-stretching reservoir, -lake-like, reed-bordered, and half-covered with wild-fowl.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Here you see our greatest difficulty, Effingham, and our -greatest triumph. When we took up this run a shallow -stream ran in winter and spring, but in summer it was -invariably dry. This exposed us to expense, even loss. So -we resolved to construct a dam. We did so, at some cost in -hired labour; a spring flood washed it away. Next year we -tried again, and the same result followed. Then the neighbours -pitied and “I told you so’d” us to such an extent that -we felt that dam <em>must</em> be made and rendered permanent. -We had six months’ work at it last summer; during most of -the time I did navvy work, wheeling my barrow up and down -a plank like the others. It was a stiff job. I invented -additions, and faced it with stone. That fine sheet of water -is the result of it; I believe it will stand now till the millennium, -or the alteration of the land laws.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I quite envy you,’ said Wilfred. ‘A conflict with natural -forces is always exciting. I am quite of your opinion; the -great advantage of this Australian life is that a man enjoys -the permission of society to work with his hands as well as -his head.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Leaving the water for an isolated wooden building in the -neighbourhood of the offices, Mr. Hamilton opened the -upper half of a stable-door and discovered to view a noble, -dark chestnut thoroughbred in magnificent condition.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Here is one of my daily tasks,’ said he, removing the -gallant animal’s sheet and patting his neck. ‘In this case -it is a labour of love, as I am passionately fond of horses, -and have a theory of my own about breeding which I am -trying to carry out. Isn’t he a beauty?’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_109'>109</span>Wilfred, looking at the satin skin of the grand animal -before him, thought he had rarely seen his equal.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You observe,’ said Hamilton, ‘in this sire, if I mistake -not, characteristics not often seen in English studs. Camerton -combines the perfect symmetry, the beauty and matchless -constitution of the desert Arab with the size and bone of the -English thoroughbred.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘He does give me that idea, precisely,’ said Wilfred. -‘Wonderful make and shape. His back rib has the cask-like -roundness of the true Arab; and what legs and feet! -Looking at him you see an enlarged Arab.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘His grand-dam was a daughter of The Sheik, an Arab -of the purest Seglawee strain of the Nejed, imported from -India many years ago by a cavalry officer, whose charger he -was. He has besides the Whisker, Gratis, and Emigrant -blood. In him we have at once the horse of the new and -of the old world—the size and strength of the Camerton -type, the symmetry of the Arab, and such legs and feet as -might have served Abdjar, the steed of Antar.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>When they re-entered the cottage they saw Mr. Churbett, -who had intended to go home that morning, but finding the -witty Canon such pleasant reading, thought he would start -in the afternoon, finally making up his mind to stay another -day and leave punctually after breakfast. There was nothing -to do—he observed—and no one to talk to, when he did get -home, so there was the less reason for haste.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You had better stay, Fred, and go with me to Yass,’ -suggested Argyll. ‘I am going there next week, and I daresay -you have some business there.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I believe I have; indeed, I know that I have been putting -off something old Billy Rockley blew me up about last month, -and I’ll go in with you and get it over. But I won’t stay -now. I’ll go to-morrow, or my stock-rider will think I’m -lost and take to embezzling my bullocks, instead of stealing -my neighbour’s calves, which is his duty to do. One must -keep up discipline.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>After lunch Wilfred mounted his ancient charger and -departed along the track to Warbrok, Mr. Churbett volunteering -to show him the way past divers snares for the unwary, -yclept ‘turn-off’ roads.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘These two fellows,’ said he, ‘have no end of what they -<span class='pageno' id='Page_110'>110</span>call duties to perform before nightfall, and can’t be spared -of course; but I can spare myself easily, and give Duellist -exercise besides.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Presently Mr. Churbett, who was a very neat figure, -having assumed breeches and boots, appeared mounted -upon a magnificent bay horse, the finest hackney, in appearance, -which Wilfred had yet seen. A bright bay with black -points, showing no white but a star in the centre of his -broad forehead; he stood at least fifteen hands three inches -in height, with all the appearance of high caste and courage. -As they started he showed signs of impatience, and then, -arching his neck, set off at a remarkably fast walk, which -caused Barragon’s stock-horse jog to appear slow and ungraceful.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What a glorious hackney!’ said Wilfred, half enviously. -‘Did you breed him?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘No, don’t breed horses; too much expense and bother. -Fools breed—that is, enthusiasts—and wise men buy. He’s -a Wanderer, bred by Rowan of Pechelbah. Got him rather -cheap about six months ago; gave five-and-twenty pounds -for him. The man that <em>did</em> breed him, of course, couldn’t -afford to ride him; thought he had others as good at home, -which I take leave to doubt.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I should think so! What a price for a horse of his -figure—five years old, you say, and clean thoroughbred. A -gift! Is he fast?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Pretty well. I shall run him for the Maiden Plate at -Yass Races. And now, do you see that turn-off road? Well, -don’t turn off; by and by you will come to another; follow -it, and you will have no further chance of losing your way. -I’ll say good-afternoon.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>His amusing friend turned, and as Duellist’s hoofs died -away in the distance, Wilfred took the old horse by the -head and sent him along at a hand-gallop, only halting -occasionally until, just as the dusk was impending, the -far-gleaming waters of the lake came into view. Dick had -arrived hours before, and had all his charge secured in the -now creditable stock-yard. The absentee was welcomed with -enthusiasm by the whole family, who appeared to think he -had been away for months, to judge by the warmth of their -greetings.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_111'>111</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER VII <br /> TOM GLENDINNING, STOCK-RIDER</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>‘Come in at once, this moment, and tell us all about everybody,’ -said Annabel; ‘tea is nearly ready, and we are -hungry for news, and even just a little gossip. Have you enjoyed -yourself and seen many new people? What a fine -thing it is to be a man!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I have seen all the world, like the little bird that flew -over the garden wall. I have enjoyed myself very much, -have bought a few horses and many cattle, also spent a -very pleasant evening at Benmohr. Where shall I begin?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh, about the people of course; you can come to the -other things later on. People are the only topics of interest -to us. And oh, what do you think? We have seen -strangers too. More wonderful still, a lady. What will you -give me if I describe her to you?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Don’t feel interested in a sketch of a lady visitor,’ said -Wilfred. ‘A description of a good cheese-press, if you -could find one, would be nearer the mark.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You would not speak in that way if you had seen Mrs. -Snowden,’ said Rosamond, ‘unless you are very much -changed.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘She is a wonder, and a paragon, of course; did she -grow indigenously?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘She’s so sweet-looking,’ said Annabel impetuously; ‘she -rode such a nice horse too, very well turned out, as you -would say. She talks French and German; she has -travelled, and been everywhere. And yet they have only a -small station, and she sometimes has to do housework—there -now!’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_112'>112</span>‘What a wonderful personage! And monsieur—is he -worthy of so much perfection?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘He’s a gentlemanlike man, rather good-looking, who made -himself agreeable. Rosamond has been asked to go and stay -with them. Really, the place seems <em>full</em> of nice people. Did -you see or hear of any more?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Yes; now I come to think of it, I heard of two more, -great friends of Argyll and Hamilton and of Mr. Churbett, -whom I saw there. Their names are D’Oyley; Bryson, the -younger brother, is a poet; at any rate these are some of his -verses which Mr. Churbett handed to me <span lang="la" xml:lang="la"><em>apropos</em></span> of our lives -here, shutting out all thoughts but the austerely practical. -Yes; I haven’t lost them.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘So you talk of cheese-presses and bring home poetry! Is -that your idea of the practical? I vote that Rosamond reads -them out while we are having tea. Gracious! Ever so many -verses.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘They seem original; and not so many of one’s neighbours -could write them in any part of the world,’ said Rosamond. -‘I will read them out, if Annabel will promise not to interrupt -in the midst of the most pathetic part.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I am all attention,’ said Annabel, throwing herself into an -easy-chair. ‘I wonder what sort of a man Mr. D’Oyley is, -and what coloured eyes he has. I like to know all about -authors.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Never saw him; go on, Rosamond,’ said Wilfred, and the -elder sister, thus adjured, commenced—</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>A FRAGMENT</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in2'>Deem we our waking dreams</div> - <div class='line in2'>But shadows from the deep;</div> - <div class='line'>And do the offspring of the mind</div> - <div class='line in2'>In barrenness descend</div> - <div class='line in2'>To an eternal sleep?</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in2'>Each print of Beauty’s feet</div> - <div class='line in2'>Leads upward to her throne;</div> - <div class='line'>For every thought by conscience bless’d,</div> - <div class='line in2'>Benignant virtue yields</div> - <div class='line in2'>A jewel from her zone.</div> - <div class='line'>* * * * *</div> - <div class='line in2'><span class='pageno' id='Page_113'>113</span>The rainbow hath its cloud,</div> - <div class='line in2'>The seasons gird the sphere,</div> - <div class='line'>We know their time and place, but thou,</div> - <div class='line in2'>Whence art thou, Child of Light,</div> - <div class='line in2'>And what thy mission here?</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in2'>Like meteor stars that stream</div> - <div class='line in2'>Adown the dark obscure,</div> - <div class='line'>Didst thou descend from angel homes,</div> - <div class='line in2'>To bless with angel joys</div> - <div class='line in2'>Abodes less bright and pure?</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in2'>Thy beauty and thy love</div> - <div class='line in2'>May mortal transports share,</div> - <div class='line'>Aspire with quivering wings to reach</div> - <div class='line in2'>The spirits of thy thought</div> - <div class='line in2'>That breathe celestial air.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in2'>Thou art no child of Earth.</div> - <div class='line in2'>Earth’s fairest children weep</div> - <div class='line'>That o’er affection’s sweetest lyre,</div> - <div class='line in2'>By phantom minstrels stirred,</div> - <div class='line in2'>Unhallowed strains will sweep.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in2'>While zephyr-wings may guard,</div> - <div class='line in2'>The rose its bloom retains;</div> - <div class='line'>The autumn blast o’er sere leaves wails;</div> - <div class='line in2'>Upon the naked stem</div> - <div class='line in2'>The thorn alone remains.</div> - <div class='line'>* * * * *</div> - <div class='line in2'>The sun-rays scattered far</div> - <div class='line in2'>Seek now the parent breast,</div> - <div class='line'>In gentler glory gathering o’er</div> - <div class='line in2'>The floating isles that speck</div> - <div class='line in2'>The landscape of the West.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in2'>Mute visitants! their smiles</div> - <div class='line in2'>A fleeting welcome bear,</div> - <div class='line'>Light on thy form the glad beams play,</div> - <div class='line in2'>And mingling with its folds</div> - <div class='line in2'>Curl down thy golden hair.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in2'>Methinks, as standing thus</div> - <div class='line in2'>Against the glowing sky,</div> - <div class='line'>That shadowy form, faint-tinged with gold,</div> - <div class='line in2'>And raptured face, recall</div> - <div class='line in2'>A dream of days gone by.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in2'><span class='pageno' id='Page_114'>114</span>Glimpses of shadows past,</div> - <div class='line in2'>That boyhood’s mind pursued,</div> - <div class='line'>In curious wonder shaping forth</div> - <div class='line in2'>Its visions of the pure,</div> - <div class='line in2'>The beautiful, the good.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in2'>Till, like the moon’s full orb</div> - <div class='line in2'>Above the silent sea,</div> - <div class='line'>One Form expanding bright arose,</div> - <div class='line in2'>And fancy’s mirror showed</div> - <div class='line in2'>An image like to thee.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in2'>Of headlong hopes that spurned</div> - <div class='line in2'>The curb of destiny,</div> - <div class='line'>When my soul asked what most it craved,</div> - <div class='line in2'>Still, still, the mirror showed</div> - <div class='line in2'>An image like to thee.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c001'>‘I think they are beautiful and uncommon,’ said Annabel -decidedly; ‘only I don’t understand what he means.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Obscurity is a quality he has in common with distinguished -latter-day poets,’ said Wilfred. ‘Commencing with the ideal, -he has finished with the real and personal, as happens much -in life. I think “A Fragment” is refined, thoughtful, and -truly poetic in feeling.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘So do I,’ agreed Rosamond. ‘Mr. Bryson D’Oyley is no -every-day squatter, I was going to say, but as all our neighbours -seem to be distinguished people, we must agree that he is fully -up to the average of cattlemen, as they call themselves.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I <em>must</em> tell Mrs. Snowden about the cheese-press simile. -You will be ready to commit suicide after you have seen her.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Then I must keep out of her way. Rosamond, suppose -you sing something. I have not heard a piano since I left.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Mrs. Snowden tried it, and sang <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">“Je n’aimerai, jamais.”</span> -Her voice was not wonderful, but it is easy to see what -thorough training she has had.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘There is a forfeit for any one who mentions Mrs. Snowden -again this evening,’ said Mrs. Effingham. ‘We must not -have her spread out over our daily life, fascinating as I grant -her to be. Beatrice and Annabel have been learning a new -duet, which they will sing after Rosamond. I think you will -like it, and this is such a charming room to sing in.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘That’s one advantage belonging to this old house,’ said -Rosamond, ‘our music-room is perfect. It is quite a pleasure -<span class='pageno' id='Page_115'>115</span>to hear one’s voice in it; and when we <em>do</em> furnish the dining-room, -if we are ever inclined to give a party—a most unlikely -thing at present—it is large enough to hold all the people in -the district.’</p> - -<hr class='c013' /> - -<p class='c001'>During the following week the men of the family occupied -themselves in branding and regulating the new cattle. A -portion of these, having young calves at foot, were at once -amalgamated with the dairy herd. This being accomplished, -it was apparent that some division must be made between the -old and the new cattle. There were too many of them to be -mixed up in one herd, and the steers, in close quarters, were -not good for the health of the cows and smaller cattle. From -all this it resulted that the oracle (otherwise Dick), being -consulted, made response that a stock-rider must be procured -who would look after all the cattle, other than the milch kine, -and ‘break them into the Run.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Wilfred was inclined to be opposed to this project, but -reflected that if any were lost, it would soon amount to -more than a man’s wages; also, that the labour of the dairy, -with the rapid increase of the O’Desmond cattle, was -becoming heavier, and required all Guy’s and Andrew’s -attention to keep it in order.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘For what time would a stock-rider be required?’ he -asked.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Why, you see, sir,’ said Dick, ‘these here cattle, if -they’re not watched for the next three months, may give us -the slip, and be back among the ranges, at Mick’s place, -where they was bred, afore you could say Jack Robinson. -You and I couldn’t leave the dairy, and the calves coming so -fast, if we was never to see ’em again.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I understand,’ said Wilfred; ‘but how are we to pick -up a stock-rider such as you describe? I suppose we shall -have to pay him forty or fifty pounds a year.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I don’t know as we should, sir. There’s a man, if we -could get hold on him, as would jest do for the work and -the place. I heard of him being in Yass last week, finishing -his cheque, and if you’ll let me away to-morrow, I’ll fetch -him back with me next day, most likely. He’ll come -reasonable for wages; he used to live here, in the old -Colonel’s time, and knows every inch of the country.’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_116'>116</span>‘Very well, Dick, you can go. I daresay we can manage -the dairy for a day.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>On the next morning, after milking-time, Mr. Richard -Evans presented himself in review order, when, holding his -mare by the bridle, he asked for the advance of two pounds -sterling, for expenses, and so on.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You see, I want a pair of boots, Mr. Wilfred, and I may -as well get ’em in Yass while I’m about it.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh, certainly,’ assented Wilfred, thinking that he never -saw the veteran look more respectable. ‘The air of -Warbrok agrees with you, Dick; I never saw you look -better.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Work allers did agree with me, sir,’ he answered modestly, -unhitching his bridle with a slight appearance of haste, as -Mrs. Evans came labouring up and glanced suspiciously -at the notes which he placed in his pocket.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I hope he’ll look as well when he comes back,’ said she, -with a meaning glance; ‘but if he and that old rascal Tom -gets together, they’ll ——’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Never you mind, old woman,’ interrupted Dick, riding -off, ‘you look after them young pigs and give ’em the skim -milk reg’lar. Tom Glendinning and I’ll be here to-morrow -night, if I can find him.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Mrs. Evans raised her hand in what might be accepted -as a warning or a threatening gesture, and Wilfred, wondering -at the old woman’s manner, betook himself to his daily -duties.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘A grumbling old creature,’ he soliloquised. ‘I don’t -wonder that Dick is glad to get away from her tongue. -She ought to be pleased that he should have a holiday -occasionally.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>On the morning following Richard Evans’s departure, -extra exertion was entailed upon Wilfred and Guy, as also -upon Andrew Cargill, by reason of their having to divide -the milking of his proportion of the cows among them. As -Dick was a rapid and exhaustive operator, his absence was -felt, if not regretted. As they returned from the troublesome -task, a full hour later than usual, Wilfred consoled -himself by the thought that the next day would find this -indispensable personage at his post.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I wadna hae thocht,’ confessed Andrew, ‘that the auld, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_117'>117</span>rough-tongued carle’s absence could hae made siccan a -camstairy. But he’s awfu’ skeely wi’ thae wild mountain -queys, and kens brawly hoo tae daiker them. It’s no said -for naught that the children o’ the warld are wiser in their -generation than the children o’ licht. He’ll be surely back -the morn’s morn.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Explaining Dick’s eminence in the milking-yard by this -classification, and undoubtedly including himself in the -latter category, Andrew betook himself to an outer apartment, -where the scrupulous Jeanie had provided full means -of ablution.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The next day passed without the appearance of the confidential -retainer. Another, and yet another. In default -of his aid, Wilfred exerted himself to the utmost and succeeded -in getting through the ordinary work; yet a sense -of incompleteness pervaded the establishment. Ready-witted, -tireless, and perfect in all the minor attainments of -Australian country life, Dick was a man to be missed in a -hundred ways in an establishment like Warbrok Chase.</p> - -<p class='c001'>New cows had calved and required milking for the first -time. One of them had shown unexpected ferocity; indeed, -knocking over Andrew, and disabling his right arm.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘The old fellow may have had an accident,’ suggested -Mr. Effingham; ‘I suppose such things occur on these -wild roads; or he <em>may</em> have indulged in an extra glass or -two.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I said as much to that old wife of his,’ said Wilfred, -‘but she grumbled something about the devil taking care of -his own; he would be back when he had had his “burst”—whatever -that means—and that he and that old villain -Tom Glendinning would turn up at the end of this week or -next, whenever their money was done.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Why, if there isn’t old Dick coming along the road now,’ -said Guy; ‘that’s his mare, anyhow, I know the switch of her -tail. There’s a man on a grey horse with him.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>In truth, as the two horsemen came nearer along the -undulating forest road, it became apparent that their regretted -Richard, and no other, was returning to his family -and friends. His upright seat in the saddle could be -plainly distinguished as he approached on the old bay mare. -The London dealer’s phrase of a ‘good ride and drive -<span class='pageno' id='Page_118'>118</span>horse’ held good in her case, as she came along at her -usual pace of a quick-stepping walk, with her head down -and her hind legs brought well under her at every stride. -The other horseman rode behind, not caring apparently to -quicken the unmistakable ‘stockman’s jog’ of his wiry, high-boned -grey horse. His lounging seat was in strong contrast -to his companion’s erect bearing, but it told of the stock-rider’s -long days and nights passed in the saddle. Not -unlike the courser of Mazeppa was his hardy steed in more -than one respect.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Shaggy and swift and strong of limb,</div> - <div class='line'>All Tartar-like he carried him.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c001'>The Arab blood, which old Tom’s charger displayed, prevented -any particular shagginess; but in the bright eye, the -lean head, the sure unfaltering step, as well as in the power -of withstanding every kind of climate, upon occasion, upon -severely restricted sustenance, ‘Boney’ might have vied with -the Hetman’s, or any other courser that</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in9'>... grazed at ease</div> - <div class='line'>Beside the swift Borysthenes.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c001'>Such in appearance, and so mounted, were the horsemen -who now approached. Their mode of accost was characteristic. -Dick rode up straight till within a few paces of his -employer, when he briskly dismounted, and stood erect, -making the ordinary salute.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The effects of the week’s dissipation were plainly visible -in the veteran’s countenance, gallant as were his efforts to -combine intrepidity with the respectful demeanour of discipline. -A bruise under one eye, with other discolorations, -somewhat marred the effect of his steady gaze, while a -tremulous muscular motion could not be concealed.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘How is this, Evans?’ said his commander; ‘you have -broken your leave, and put us to much inconvenience; -what have you been doing with yourself all this time?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Got drunk, Captain!’ replied the veteran, with military -brevity, and another salute of regulation correctness.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I am sorry to hear it, Richard,’ said Mr. Effingham. -‘You appear to have had a skirmish also, and to have -<span class='pageno' id='Page_119'>119</span>suffered in engagement. I daresay it will act as a caution -to you for the future.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Did me a deal of good—begging your honour’s pardon—though -I didn’t ought to have promised to come back next -day. I was that narvous at breakfast afore I went that I -couldn’t scarce abear to hear the old woman’s voice. I’ll be -as right as a Cheshire recruit till Christmas now. But I’ve -done the outpost duty I was told off for, and brought Tom -Glendinning. He’s willin’ to engage for ten shillin’ a week -and his keep, and his milkin’s worth that any day.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The individual addressed moved up his elderly steed, -and touching his hat with a faint flavour of the gentleman’s -servant habitude long past, fixed upon the group the -gleaming eyes which surmounted his hollow cheek. The -face itself was bronzed, well-nigh blackened out of all resemblance -to that of a white man. Trousers of a kind of -fustian, buttressed with leather under the knees and other -places (apparently for resisting the friction involved by a life -in the saddle), protected his attenuated limbs. The frame -of the man was lean and shrunken. He had a worn and -haggard look, as if labour, privation, and the indulgence of -evil passions had wrecked the frail tenement of a soul. Yet -was there a wiry look about the figure—a dauntless glitter -in the keen eyes which told that their possessor could yet -play a man’s part on earth before he went to his allotted -place. A footsore dog with a rough coat and no particular -tail had by this time limped up to the party and lay down -under the horses’ feet.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Are you willing to engage with me on the terms mentioned -by Richard Evans?’ asked Mr. Effingham. ‘You are -acquainted with this place, I believe?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I was here,’ answered the ancient stock-rider, ‘when the -Colonel first got a grant of Warbrok from the Crown. A lot -of us Government men was sent up with the overseer, Ben -Grindham, to clear a paddock for corn, where all that horehound -grows now. We had a row over the rations—he -drove us like niggers, and starved us to boot (more by -token, it’s little we had to ate)—and big Jim Baker knocked -his head in with an axe, blast him! He was always a fool. -I seen him carried to the old hut where you see them big -stones—part of the chimney, they wor.’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_120'>120</span>‘Good heavens!’ said Wilfred. ‘And what was done?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Jim was hanged, all reg’lar, as soon as they could get -him back to Sydney. We was all “turned in to Government,”’ -said the chronicler. ‘After a bit, the Colonel got me back for -groom, so I stayed here till my time was out. I know the -old place (I had ought to), every rod of it, back to the big -Bindarra.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You can milk well, I believe?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘He can do most things, sir,’ said Dick, comprehensively -guaranteeing his friend, and mounting his mare, he motioned -to the old fellow, who had just commenced to emit a derisive -chuckle from his toothless gums, to follow him. ‘If you’ll -s’cuse us now, sir, we’ll go home and get freshened up a -bit. Tom won’t be right till he’s had a sleep. He’s -hardly had his boots off for a week. You’ll see us at the -yard in the morning all right, sir, never fear.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Well, I’m glad you’ve come back, Dick,’ said Guy; -‘we’ve missed you awfully. The heifers are too much for -Andrew. However, it’s all right now, so the sooner you get -home and make yourself comfortable the better.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>This suggestion, as the ancient prodigals ambled away -together, caused old Dick to grin doubtfully. ‘I’ve got to -have it out with my old woman yet, sir.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Whatever might have occurred in the progress of a difficult -explanation with Mrs. Evans, the result was so far -satisfactory that on the following morning, when Wilfred -went down to the milking-yard, he found the pair in full -possession of the situation, while the number of calves in -companionship with their mothers, as well as the state of -the brimming milk-cans, testified to the early hour at which -work had commenced.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Dick had regained his easy supremacy, as with a mixture -of fearlessness and diplomacy he exercised a Rarey-like influence -over the wilder cows, lately introduced to the milking-yard.</p> - -<p class='c001'>His companion, evidently free of the guild, was causing -the milk to come streaming out of the udder of a newly -calved heifer, as if by the mere touch of his fingers, the -bottom of his bucket rattling the while like a small-sized -hailstorm.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Greeting the old man cheerfully, and making him a compliment -<span class='pageno' id='Page_121'>121</span>on his milking, Wilfred was surprised at the alteration -in his appearance and manner.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The half-reckless, defiant tone was replaced by a quiet -bearing and respectful manner. The expression of the -face was changed. The eyes, keen and restless, had lost -their savage gleam. An alert step, a ready discharge of -every duty, with the smallest details of which he seemed -instinctively acquainted, had succeeded the lounging bearing -of the preceding day. Wilfred thought he had never seen a -man so markedly changed in so short a time.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You both seem improved, Dick. I suppose the morning -air has had something to do with it.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Yes, sir—thank God,’ said he, ‘I’m always that fresh after a -good night’s sleep, when I’ve had a bit of a spree, that I could -begin again quite flippant. Old Tom had a goodish cheque -this time, and was at it a week afore I came in. <em>He looked</em> -rather shickerry. But he’s as right as a toucher now, and -you won’t lose no calves while <em>he’s</em> here, I’ll go bail. He -can stay in my hut. My old woman and he knowed one -another years back, and she’ll cook and wash for him, though -they do growl a bit at times.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>It soon became apparent, making due deductions for -periodical aberrations, that Mr. Effingham possessed in Dick -Evans and Tom Glendinning two rarely efficient servitors. -They knew everything, they did everything; they never -required to be reminded of any duty whatsoever, being apparently -eager to discover matters for the advantage of the -establishment, in which they appeared to take an interest not -inferior to that of the proprietor. Indeed, they not infrequently -volunteered additional services for their employer’s -benefit.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The season had now advanced, until the fervid height of -midsummer was near, and still no hint of aught but continuous -prosperity was given to the emigrant family.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Though the sun flamed high in the unspecked firmament, -yet from time to time showers of tropical suddenness kept -the earth cool and moist, refreshing the herbage, and causing -the late-growing maize to flourish greenly, in the dark -unexhausted soil. Their wheat crop had been reaped with -but little assistance from any but the members and retainers -of the family. And now a respectable stack occupied -<span class='pageno' id='Page_122'>122</span>jointly, with one of oaten hay, the modest stack-yard, or -haggard, as old Tom called it.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The cheese operations developed, until row upon row of -rich orange-coloured cheeses filled the shelves of the dairy.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The garden bore token of Andrew’s industry in the -pruned and renovated fruit trees, which threw out fresh -leaves and branches; while the moist open season had been -favourable to the ‘setting’ of a much more than ordinary -yield of fruit. The crops of vegetables, of potatoes, of other -more southern esculents looked, to use Andrew’s phrase, -‘just unco-omon.’ Such vegetables, Dick confessed, had not -been seen in it since the days of the Colonel, who kept two -gardeners and a spare boy or two constantly at work. -Gooseberries, currants, and the English fruits generally, were -coming on, leading to the belief that an extensive jam manufacture -would once more employ Jeanie and the well-remembered -copper stew-pan—brought all the way from -Surrey.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The verandah was once more a ‘thing of beauty’ in its -shade of ‘green gloom.’ The now protected climbers had -glorified the wreathed pillars; again gay with the purple -racemes of the Wistaria and the deep orange flowers of the -<span lang="la" xml:lang="la"><em>Bignonia venusta</em></span>. The lawn was thickly carpeted with -grass; the gravelled paths were raked and levelled by -Andrew, whenever he could gain an hour’s respite from -dairy and cheese-room.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The increase of the cattle had been of itself considerable, -while the steers of the Donnelly contingents fattened on the -newly matured grasses, which now commenced to send forth -that sweetest of all summer perfumes, the odour of the new-mown -meadows.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The small but gay parterres, which the girls and Mrs. -Effingham kept, with some difficulty, free from weeds, were -lovely to the eye as contrasted with the bright green sward -of the lawn.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The wildfowl dived and flew upon the lake, furnishing -forth for a while—as in obedience to Mr. Effingham’s wishes -a close season was kept—unwonted supplies to the larder.</p> - -<p class='c001'>All the minor living possessions of the family appeared to -bask and revel in the sunshine of the general prosperity. -The greyhounds, comfortably housed and well fed, had -<span class='pageno' id='Page_123'>123</span>reared a family, and were commencing to master the science -of killing kangaroos without exposing themselves to danger.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The Jersey cow, Daisy, had produced a miniature copy of -herself, in a fawn-coloured heifer calf, while her son, ‘The -Yerl of Jersey,’ as Andrew had christened him, had become -a thick-set, pugnacious, important personage, pawing the -earth, and bellowing unnecessarily, as if sensible of the -exalted position he was destined to take, as a pure bred -Jersey bull, under two years of age, at the forthcoming Yass -Agricultural Show.</p> - -<p class='c001'>As the days grew longer, and the daily tasks of labour -became less exciting in the neighbourhood, as well as at -Warbrok Chase, much occasional visiting sprang up. The -stable was once more capable of modest entertainment, though -far from emulating the hospitalities of the past, when, in the -four-in-hand drag of the reigning regiment, the fashionables -of the day thought worth while to rattle over the unmade -roads for the pleasure of a week’s shooting on the lake by -day, with the alternative of the Colonel’s peerless claret by -night. Andrew’s boy, Duncan, a solemn lad of fourteen, -whom his occasionally impatient sire used to scold roundly, -was encouraged to be in attendance to receive the stranger -cavalry.</p> - -<p class='c001'>For one afternoon, Fred Churbett’s Grey Surrey, illustrious -as having won the Ladies’ Bag two years running at the -Yass Races, and, as such, equal in provincial turf society to a -Leger winner, would canter daintily up to the garden gate, -followed perhaps at no great interval by Charlie Hamilton’s -chestnut, Red Deer, in training for the Yass Maiden Plate, -and O’Desmond’s Wellesley, to ensure whose absolute safety -he brought his groom. On the top of all this Captain -and Mrs. Snowden would arrive, until the dining-room, half -filled with the fashion of the district, did not look too large -after all.</p> - -<p class='c001'>By degrees, rising to the exigencies of his position, -Wilfred managed to get hold of a couple of ladies’ horses, -by which sensible arrangement at least three of the family -were able to enjoy a ride together, also to return Mrs. -Snowden’s call, and edify themselves with the conversation -of that amusing woman of the world.</p> - -<p class='c001'>And the more Mr. Effingham and his sons saw of the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_124'>124</span>men composing the little society which shared with them -the very considerable district in which they resided, the -more they had reason to like and respect them.</p> - -<hr class='c013' /> - -<p class='c001'>The blessed Christmastide was approaching. How -different was it in appearance from the well-remembered -season in their own beloved home! A thousand reminiscences -came rushing across the fields of memory, as the -Effinghams thought of the snow-clad hedges, the loaded -roofs, the magical stillness of the frost-arrested air. Nor -were all the features of the season attractive. Heavy wraps, -closed doors, through which, in spite of heaped-up fires, -keen draught and invisible chills would intrude; the long -evenings, the dark afternoons, the protracted nights, which -needed all the frolic spirits of youth, the affection of home -life, and the traditional revelry of the season to render -endurable.</p> - -<p class='c001'>How different were all things in this strange, far land!</p> - -<p class='c001'>Such soft airs, such fresh, unclouded morns, such far-reaching -views across the purple mountains, such breeze-tossed -masses of forest greenery, such long, unclouded days -were theirs, in this the first midsummer of what Annabel -chose to call ‘Australia Felix.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I should have just the same feeling,’ she said, ‘if I lived -in the desert under favourable circumstances. Not the -horrid sandy, simoomy part of it, of course. But some of -those lovely green spots, where there is a grey walled-in -town, an old, old well, thousands of years old, and such -lovely horses standing at the doors of the tents. Why can’t -we have our horses broken in to stand like that, instead -of having to send Duncan for them, who takes hours? And -then we could ride out by moonlight and <em>feel</em> the grand -silence of the desert; and at sunset the grey old chiefs and -the maidens and the camels and the dear little children -would come to the village well, like Rebekah or Rachel—which -was it? I shall go to Palestine some day, and be a -Princess, like Lady Hester Stanhope. This is only the first -stage.’</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_125'>125</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER VIII <br /> MR. WILLIAM ROCKLEY OF YASS</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>Upon his next visit to The Chase, which took place shortly -after this conversation, the Reverend Harley Sternworth was -accompanied by a pleasant-looking, alert, middle-aged personage, -who, descending from the dog-cart with alacrity, was -introduced as Mr. William Rockley of Yass.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Bless my soul!’ said this gentleman, looking eagerly -around, ‘what a fine property! Never saw it look so well -before. I’m delighted to find it has got into such good -hands; neglected in Colonel Warleigh’s time, even worse -since by rascally tenants. Nearly bought it myself, but -couldn’t spare the money. Splendid investment; finest land -in the whole district, finest water, finest grass. I ought to -know.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘It is most gratifying to hear a gentleman of your experience -speak so highly of Warbrok,’ said Mr. Effingham. -‘Our good friend here has been the making of our fortunes.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Just like him! just like him!’ said the new-comer, -lighting a cigar and puffing out smoke and sentences with -equal impetuosity. ‘Always attending to other people’s -business; might have made his own fortune, two or three -times over, if he’d taken my advice.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I know some one else who is tarred with the same brush,’ -returned the parson. ‘Who bought in young Harding’s -place the other day, when his mortgagee sold him up, and -re-sold it to him on the most Utopian terms? But shouldn’t -you like to walk round while you smoke your cigar this -morning? We can pay our respects to the ladies afterwards.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Just the very thing. Many a time I’ve been here in the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_126'>126</span>old days. What a change! What a change! Bless my -soul, how well the garden looks; never expected to see it -bloom again! And the old house!—one would almost think -Mrs. Warleigh was alive.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘The best of wives and mothers,’ said Mr. Sternworth -with feeling. ‘What a true lady and good Christian she -was! If she had lived, there would have been a different -household.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Daresay, daresay,’ said Mr. Rockley meditatively. ‘Precious -rascals, the sons; hadn’t much of a chance, perhaps. -Wild lot here in those days, eh? So I see you have had -that mound moved from the back of the cellar.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘We couldn’t think what it was,’ said Mr. Effingham. -‘The excavation must have been made long ago.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Not heard the story, then? Wonderful how some secrets -are kept. Never mind, Sternworth, I won’t tell Captain -Effingham the <em>other</em> one. Randal Warleigh, the eldest son, -was one of the wildest devils that even <em>this</em> country ever saw. -Clever, handsome, but dissipated; reckless, unprincipled, in -fact. Old man and he constantly quarrelling. Not that the -Colonel was all that a father should have been, but he drank -like a gentleman. Never touched anything before dinner. -He finished his bottle of port then, and sometimes another, -but no morning spirit-drinking. Would as soon have smoked -a black pipe or worn a beard. It came to this at last, that -when he went away he locked up sideboard and cellar, forbidding -the housekeeper to give his sons any liquor.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘The Colonel left home for a week in Yass, when Randal -arrived with some cattle and two fellow-roysterers. No grog -available. Naturally savage. Swore he would burn the old -rookery down before he would submit to be treated so. -Behaved like a madman. Ordered up his men, got picks -and shovels, dug a tunnel under the cellar wall, and helped -himself, <span lang="la" xml:lang="la"><em>ad libitum</em></span>, to wine and spirits.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘The governor’s a soldier,’ he said; ‘I’ve given him a -lesson in civil engineering. Here’s his health, boys!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What an outrage!’ said Mr. Effingham.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You would have said so if you had seen Warbrok when -the old gentleman returned. Every soul on the place—all -convict servants in those days—had been drunk for a week. -Cellar half-emptied, house in confusion. Randal and his -<span class='pageno' id='Page_127'>127</span>friends had betaken themselves, luckily, the day before, to -the Snowy River, or there might have been murder done. -As it was——’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I think we may spare our friend any more chronicles of -the good old times, Rockley; let us go down and see the -dairy cows, those that Harry O’Desmond sold him.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘All right!’ said his friend good-humouredly, accepting -the change of subject. ‘I daresay Harry O’ had his price, -but they <em>are</em> the best cattle in the country.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Mr. Rockley was equally hearty and complimentary as to -the live stock. Didn’t think he had ever seen finer cows, -finer grass; he believed Mr. Effingham, if he went on as he -was doing, would make a fortune by dairying. If old Colonel -Warleigh had not been ignorant of rural matters, and his -elder sons infernal low-lived scoundrels, a fortune would have -been made before at Warbrok. Nothing could have prevented -that family from becoming rich, with this estate for -a home farm, and two splendid stations on Monaro, but -the grossest mismanagement, incompetence, and vicious -tendencies—he might say depravity—of course, he meant -on the part of the young men. The Colonel was indiscreet—in -fact, a d——d old fool—but everybody respected him.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The three gentlemen completed the round of the establishment, -during which progress their mutual friend had -praised the stock-yard, the wheat stack, the lake, the garden, -and had pretty well exhausted his cigar-case. It was high -noon in Warbrok, and the shelter of the broad verandah, -which he eulogised by declaring it to be the finest verandah -he had ever been under in his life, was distinctly grateful.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Upon his introduction to Mrs. Effingham and the young -ladies, he was afflicted with an inability to express adequately -his respectful admiration of the whole party. Everything -elicited a cordial panegyric. It was apparent, even without -the aid of a few guarded observations from Harley Sternworth, -that Mr. Rockley’s compliments arose from no weak -intention of flattery, no foolish fondness or indiscriminate -praise. It was simply the outpouring of a spring of benevolence -which brimmed over in an important organ, which, -for greater convenience in localising the emotions, is known -as the heart. Longing to do good to all mankind, with -perceptions of rare insight and keenness, much of Mr. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_128'>128</span>Rockley’s philanthropy was necessarily confined to words. -But when the opportunity arrived of translating good wishes -into good deeds, few—very few—of the sons of men embarked -in that difficult negotiation with half the pleasure, patience, -and thoroughness of William Rockley.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The friends had not intended to stay the night, the time -of a business man being limited, but upon invitation being -pressingly made, first by Mrs. Effingham and then by the -young ladies, one after another, Mr. Rockley declared that -he couldn’t resist such allurements, but that they must make -a cruelly early start and get back to Yass to breakfast next -day. He believed they would see him there often. Mrs. -Rockley had not had the pleasure of calling upon Mrs. -Effingham, because she had been away in Sydney visiting -her children at school, as well as an aunt who was very ill—was -always ill, he added impatiently. But she would -drive over and see them, most likely next week; and whenever -Mrs. Effingham and the young ladies came to Yass, or -the Captain and his sons, they must make his house their -home—indeed, he would be deeply offended if he heard of -their going to an hotel.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Well, really I’m afraid——’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘My dear sir,’ interrupted Mr. Rockley, ‘of course you -meant what you said about the need of recreation for young -people. Your sons have not had any since you came here, -except an odd slap at a flock of ducks—and these Lake -William birds are pretty shy. Then the ladies have hardly -seen any one in the district, except the half-dozen men that -have been to call. Don’t you suppose it’s natural that they -should like to know the world they’ve come to live in?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘We are such a large party, Mr. Rockley,’ said Mrs. -Effingham, who felt the necessity of being represented at -this important council. ‘It is extremely kind of you, -but——’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘But look here, Mrs. Effingham,’ interrupted Mr. Rockley -with fiery impatience, so evidently habitual that she could -not for a moment consider it to be disrespectful, ‘don’t -you think it probable, in the nature of things, that you may -visit Yass—which is your county town, remember—at the -time of the races? All the world will be going. It’s a time -of year when there is nothing to do—as the parson here will -<span class='pageno' id='Page_129'>129</span>tell you. There will be balls, picnics, and parties for the -young ladies—everything, in fact. <em>You must go</em>, you see -that, surely? You’ll be the only family of position in the -country-side that won’t be there. And if you go and don’t -make my house your home, instead of a noisy, rackety -hotel, why—I’ll never speak to one of you again.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Here Mr. Rockley closed his rapidly delivered address, -with a look of stern determination, which almost frightened -Mrs. Effingham.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You will really offend my good friend and his most -amiable and hospitable lady if you do not accept his invitation,’ -said Mr. Sternworth. ‘It is hardly an ordinary -race-meeting so much as a periodical social gathering, of -which a little racing (as in most English communities, and -there never was one more thoroughly British than this) is -the ostensible <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>raison d’être</em></span>.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Well, Howard, for the young people’s sake, we really -must think of it,’ said Mrs. Effingham, answering, lest her -husband, in distrust of a colonial gathering, might definitely -decline. ‘There will be time enough to apprise Mrs. Rockley -before the event.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘My wife will write to you when I get home,’ said Mr. -Rockley, ‘and explain matters more fully than I can do.—Everything -goes off pleasantly at our annual holiday, doesn’t -it, Harley?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘So much so, that in my office of priest I have never had -occasion to enter my protest. The people need a respite -from the toils and privations of their narrow home world, -almost more than we do.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The evening passed most pleasantly. The parson and -the soldier talked over old army days. While Mr. Rockley, -who had been a squatter before finally settling down at -Yass as principal merchant and banker, gave Wilfred and -Guy practical advice. Then he assured Mrs. Effingham that -at any time when she or the young ladies required change, -they had only to write to Mrs. Rockley—or come, indeed, without -writing—and make their house a home for as long as -ever it suited them. Subsequently he declared that he had -never heard any music in the least degree to be compared -to the duet which Rosamond and Annabel executed for his -especial benefit. He charmed Mrs. Effingham by telling -<span class='pageno' id='Page_130'>130</span>her that her son Wilfred was the most promising and -sensible young man he had ever noticed as a beginner in -the bush, and must infallibly do great things. Lastly, he -begged that he might be provided with a cup of coffee at -daylight, as, if he and Mr. Sternworth were not at Yass by -breakfast-time, dreadful things might happen to the whole -district. Annabel declared that she would get up and make -it for him herself. Their visitors then retired for the night, -all hands being in a high state of mutual appreciation.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Your friend seems a most genial and sterling person, -Harley,’ said Mr. Effingham, as they indulged in a final -stroll up the verandah, after the general departure. ‘Is he -always so complimentary?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘He can be extremely the reverse, upon occasion; but -he is, perhaps, the man of all others in whose good feeling -I have the most undoubting faith. Under that impetuous, -explosive manner, the outcome of a fervid, uncompromising -nature, he carries an extraordinary talent for affairs, and one -of the most generous hearts ever granted to mortal man. -He has the soul of the Caliph Haroun Alraschid, and has -secretly done more good deeds, to my knowledge, in this -district than all the rest of us put together. His correct -taste has enabled him to appreciate all my dear children -here. From this time forth you may reckon upon a powerful, -untiring friend in William Rockley.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I know <em>one</em> friend, Harley,’ said Effingham as their hands -met in a parting grasp, ‘who has been more than a brother -to me in my hour of need. We can never divide the gratitude -which is your due from me and mine.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Pooh! pooh! a man wants more friends than one, -especially in Australia, where a season of adversity—which -means a dry one—may be hanging over him; and a better -one than William Rockley will be to you, henceforth, no man -ever saw or heard of. Good-night!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>So passed the happy days of the first early summer-time -at Warbrok—days which knew no change until the great -festival of Christmas approached, which closes the year in -all England’s dependencies with hallowed revelry and -honoured mirth. Christmas was imminent. The 20th of -December had arrived; a day of mingled joy and sorrow, -as more freshly, vividly came back the buried memories of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_131'>131</span>old days, the echo of the lost chimes of English Christmas -bells. But in spite of such natural feelings, the advent of -Christmas was not suffered to pass without tokens of gladness -and services of thanksgiving.</p> - -<p class='c001'>It had been decided to invite Messrs. Hamilton and -Argyll, with Mr. Churbett and Mr. Forbes, to join the -modest family festivities on this occasion. Old Tom had -been duly despatched with the important missives, and the -invitations were frankly accepted.</p> - -<p class='c001'>On the 24th of December, therefore, late in the afternoon, -which is the regulation hour for calling in Australian -country society, the visitor being aware that he is expected -to stay all night, and not desiring, unless he is <em>very</em> young, to -have more than an hour to dispose of before dinner, the -gentlemen aforesaid rode up. They had met by appointment -and made the expedition together.</p> - -<hr class='c013' /> - -<p class='c001'>‘Fancy this being Christmas Day!’ exclaimed Annabel, as—the -time-honoured greetings being uttered—the whole -party disposed themselves comfortably around the breakfast-table. -‘And what a lovely fresh morning! Not a hot-wind -day, as old Dick said it would be. It makes me shiver when -I think of how we were wrapped up this time last year.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Are you certain it <em>is</em> Christmas, Miss Annabel?’ said -Fred Churbett; ‘I doubt it, because of the absence of holly -and snow, and old women and school children, and waits -and the parish beadle—all the belongings of our forefathers. -There <em>must</em> be some mistake. The sun is too fast, depend -upon it. I must write to the <cite>Times</cite>.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Old Dick brought a load of scarlet-flowering bushes from -the hills yesterday,’ said Rosamond, ‘with which he solemnly -decorated his hut and our verandah pillars. He wished to -make Andrew a present of a few branches as a peace-offering, -but he declined, making some indignant remark about Prelatism -or Erastianism, which Dick did not understand.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>At eleven o’clock <span class='fss'>A.M.</span> a parade of the ‘full strength of -the regiment,’ as Effingham phrased it, was ordered. Chairs, -with all things proper, and a reading-desk, had been arranged -on the south side of the wide verandah.</p> - -<p class='c001'>To this gathering-point the different members of the -establishment had been gradually converging, arrayed in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_132'>132</span>garments, which, if varying from the fashion-plates of the -day, were neat, suitable, and of perfect cleanliness. Mrs. -Evans’s skill as a laundress, which was in the inverse ratio to -her mildness of disposition, enabled Dick to appear in white -duck trousers and a shirt-front which distanced all rivalry. -They contrasted strongly with the unbroken tint of brick-dust -red presented by his face and throat, the latter encircled by -an ancient military stock. Mrs. Evans was attired with such -splendour that it was manifest she had sacrificed comfort to -fashion.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Old Tom’ had donned, as suitable for the grandeur and -solemnity of the occasion, a well-worn pair of cord breeches, -the gift of some employer of sporting tendencies, which, ‘a -world too wide for his shrunk shanks,’ were met at the knee -by carefully polished boots, the long-vanished tops being replaced -by moleskin caps. A drill overshirt, fastened at the -waist with a broad leather belt, from which depended a -tobacco-pouch, completed this effective costume. The iron-grey -hair was carefully combed back from his withered -countenance; his keen eyes gleamed from their hollow orbits, -imparting an appearance of mysterious vitality to the ancient -stock-rider.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Andrew and Jeanie, of course, attended, the latter dressed -with the good taste which always characterised her, and the -former having in charge the sturdy silent Duncan, with their -younger offspring. Of these, Jessie bade fair to furnish a -favourable type of the ‘fair-haired lassie’ so frequently met -with in the ballads of her native land, while Colin, the second -boy, was a clever, confident youngster, in whose intelligence -Andrew secretly felt pride, though he repressed with outward -sternness all manifestations of the same.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Andrew himself, it must be stated, appeared under protest, -holding that ‘thae Yerastian, prelatic festivals,’ in his opinion, -‘were no warranted by the General Assembly o’ the Kirk o’ -Scotland, natheless, being little mair than dwellers in the -wilderness, it behoved a’ Christians, though they should be -but a scattered remnant in the clefts o’ the rocks, to agree -in bearing testimony to the Word.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Across the broad verandah the members of the family, -with their visitors, were seated, behind them the retainers. -A table covered with a cloth was placed before Mr. Effingham, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_133'>133</span>with the family Bible and a prayer-book of the Church -of England.</p> - -<p class='c001'>As he made commencement, and with the words, ‘When -the wicked man turneth away,’ the congregation stood up, it -was a matter of difficulty with Mrs. Effingham to restrain her -tears. How the well-remembered sentences seemed to smite -the rock of her well-guarded emotions as with the rod of the -Prophet! She trembled lest the spring should break forth -from her o’erburdened heart, whelming alike prudence and -the sense of fitness. The eyes of the girls were dewy, as -they recalled the white-robed, long-remembered pastor, the -ivy-covered church, storied with legend and memorial of -their race, the villagers, the friends of their youth, the unquestioned -security of position, long guaranteed by habit and -usage, apparently unalterable. And now, where stood they, -while the sacred words proceeded from the lips of the head -of the household, whom they had followed to this far land?</p> - -<p class='c001'>In a ‘lodge in the wilderness,’ a speck in a ‘boundless -contiguity of shade,’ with its unfamiliar adjuncts and a -company of strangers—pilgrims and wayfarers—even as they. -For a brief interval the suddenly realised picture of distance -and isolation was so real, the momentary pang of bitterness -so keenly agonising, that more than one sob was heard, while -Annabel, whose feelings were less habitually under control, -threw her arms round Jeanie’s neck (who had nursed her as -a babe) and wept unrestrainedly.</p> - -<p class='c001'>No notice was taken of this natural outburst of emotion. -Jeanie, with unobtrusive tenderness and unfailing tact, -comforted the weeping girl. Solemnly the words of the -service sounded from her father’s lips, while the ordinary -responses concealed the occasional sobs of the mourner for -home and native land. She had unconsciously translated -the unspoken words of more disciplined hearts.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Gradually, as the service continued, the influences of the -scene exercised a healing power upon the group—the fair, -golden day, the tender azure of the sky, the wandering breeze, -the waters of the lake lapping the shore, the whispering of -the waving trees, even the hush of</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Beautiful silence all around,</div> - <div class='line'>Save wood-bird to wood-bird calling,</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_134'>134</span>commenced insensibly to soothe the hearts of the exiles. -Gradually their faces recovered serenity, and as the repetitions -of belief and trust, of submission to a Supreme Benevolence, -were repeated, that ‘peace which passeth all understanding,’ -an indwelling guest with some, a memory, a long-forgotten -visitant with others, appeared for a space to have -enveloped the little company on that day assembled at -Warbrok.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The simply-conducted service was verging on conclusion -when a stranger appeared upon the track from the high road. -In bushman’s dress, and carrying upon his back the ordinary -knapsack (or ‘swag’) of the travelling labourer, he strode -along the path at a pace considerably higher in point of -speed than is usual with men who, as a class, being confident -of free quarters at every homestead, see no necessity for haste. -A tall, powerfully-built man, his sun-bronzed countenance -afforded no clue to his social qualification.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Halting at the garden gate, he stood suddenly arrested as -he comprehended the occupation of the assembled group. -He looked keenly around, then easing the heavy roll by a -motion of his shoulders, awaited the final benediction.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What is your business with me?’ said Mr. Effingham, -closing his book, and regarding with interest the stranger, -whose bold dark eyes roved around, now over the assembled -company, now over the buildings and offices, and lastly -settled with half-admiration, half-diffidence, on the bright -faces of the girls. ‘I have no employment here at present. -Perhaps you would like to stay to-night. You are heartily -welcome.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Come along o’ me, young man,’ interposed Dick Evans, -as promptly divining the wayfarer’s habitudes. ‘Come along -o’ me; you’ll have a share of our Christmas dinner, and you -might come by a worse.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘All right,’ replied the stranger cheerfully, and with a nod -of acknowledgment to Mr. Effingham he jerked back his -personal effects into their position and strode after his interlocutor, -who, with old Tom Glendinning, quitted the party, -leaving Mrs. Evans to follow at her convenience.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Fine soldier that man would have made,’ said Mr. -Effingham, as he marked the well-knit frame, the elastic -step of the stranger. ‘I wonder what his occupation is?’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_135'>135</span>‘Horse-breaker, bullock-driver, station hand of some sort,’ -said Argyll indifferently. ‘Just finished a job of splitting, -probably, or is bringing his shearing cheque to get rid of in -Yass.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘He appeared to have seen better days, poor fellow,’ -said Mrs. Effingham, ever compassionate. ‘I noticed a -wistful expression in his eyes when he first came up.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I thought he looked proud and disdainful,’ said Annabel, -‘and when old Dick said “come along,” I half expected him -to reply indignantly. But he went off readily enough. I -wonder if he’s a gentleman in disguise?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Or a bushranger,’ suggested Churbett. ‘Donohoe is -“out” just now, and is said to have a new hand with him. -These gentry have been occasionally entertained, like angels, -unawares.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What a shocking idea!’ exclaimed Annabel. ‘You have -no sentiment, Mr. Churbett. How would <em>you</em> like to be -suspected by everybody if you were reduced to poverty? He -is very handsome, at any rate.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Fred would be too lazy to walk, that is one thing certain, -Miss Annabel,’ said Hamilton. ‘He would prefer to take the -situation of cook or hut-keeper at a quiet station, where there -were no children. Fancy his coming up, touching his hat -respectfully, and saying, “I suppose you haven’t a berth about -the kitchen as would suit a pore man, Miss?”’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Here the speaker gave so capital an imitation of Mr. -Churbett’s accented tone in conversation that everybody -laughed, including the subject of the joke, who said it was -just like Hamilton’s impudence, but that <em>other</em> people -occasionally had mistakes made as to their station in life. -What about old MʻCallum sending him and Argyll to pass -the night in the men’s hut?</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘The old ruffian!’ said Argyll, surprised out of his usual -serenity, ‘I had two minds to knock him down; another, to -tell him he was an ignorant savage; and a fourth, to camp -under a gum-tree.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What did you do finally?’ asked Rosamond, much interested. -‘What an awkward position to be placed in.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘The night happened to be wet,’ explained Hamilton; -‘we had ridden far, and were <em>so</em> hungry—no other place -of abode within twenty miles; so—it was very unheroic—but -<span class='pageno' id='Page_136'>136</span>we had to put our pride in our pockets, and sleep, or -rather <em>stay</em>, in an uncomfortable hut, with half-a dozen farm-servants.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What a bore!’ said Wilfred. ‘Did he know your names? -It seems inconceivable.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘The real truth was,’ said Mr. Churbett, volunteering an -explanation, ‘that the old man, taking umbrage somewhere -at what he considered our friend Hamilton’s superfine -manners and polite habit of banter, had vowed to serve him -and Argyll out if ever they came his way. This was how -he carried out his dark and dreadful oath.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What a terrible person!’ exclaimed Annabel, opening -her eyes. ‘Were you very miserable, Mr. Hamilton?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Sufficiently so, I am afraid, to have made our friend -chuckle if he had known. We had to ride twenty miles -before we saw a hair-brush again, and Argyll, I must say, -looked dishevelled.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>A simultaneous inclination to laughter seized the party, as -they gazed with one accord at Argyll’s curling locks.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I should think that embarrassments might arise,’ said -Mr. Effingham, ‘from the habit of claiming hospitality when -travelling here. There are inns, I suppose, but they are -infrequent.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Not so many mistakes are made as one might think,’ -explained Churbett. ‘Squatters’ names are widely known, -even out of their districts, and every one accepts a night’s -lodging frankly, as he expects to give one in return.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘But how can we know whether the stranger be a gentleman, -or even a respectable person?’ said Mrs. Effingham. -‘One would be so sorry to be unkind, and yet might be led -into entertaining undesirable guests.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Every gentleman should send in his card,’ said Argyll, -‘if he wishes to be received, or give his name and address to -the servant. People who will not so comply with the usages -of society have no right to consideration.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘But suppose people are not well dressed,’ said Wilfred, -‘or are outwardly unlike gentlemen, what are you to do? It -would be annoying to make mistakes in either way.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘When people are not dressed like gentlemen,’ said -Hamilton, ‘you may take it for granted that they have -forfeited their position, or are contented to be treated as -<span class='pageno' id='Page_137'>137</span>steerage passengers, so to speak. In such cases the safer -plan, as far as my experience goes, is to permit them to -please themselves. I had a good look at our friend yonder, -as he came up, and I have a shrewd suspicion that he -belongs to the latter category.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Poor young man!’ said Mrs. Effingham. ‘Couldn’t anything -be done for him? Think of a son of ours being placed -in that position!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘He is making himself comfortable with old Dick Evans, -most likely, however unromantic it may appear,’ said -Churbett. ‘He will enjoy his dinner—I daresay he hasn’t -had many good ones lately—have a great talk with Dick and -the old stock-rider, and smoke his pipe afterwards with much -contentment.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘But a <em>gentleman</em>, if he be a gentleman, never could lower -himself to such surroundings, surely?’ queried Rosamond. -‘It is not possible.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh yes, it <em>is</em>,’ said Beatrice. ‘Because, you remember, -Sergeant Bothwell was more comfortable in the butler’s room -with old John Gudyill than he would have been with Lady -Bellenden and her guests, though she longed to entertain -him suitably, on account of his royal blood.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Miss Beatrice, I congratulate you on your familiarity with -dear Sir Walter,’ said Argyll. ‘It is a case perfectly in point, -because Francis Stewart, otherwise Bothwell, had at one -time mixed in the society of the day, and must have had the -manners befitting his birth. Nevertheless in his lapsed -condition he preferred the <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>sans gêne</em></span> of his inferiors. There -are many such in Australia, who “have sat at good men’s -feasts,” but are now, unfortunately, more at ease in the -men’s hut.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Of course you’ve heard of Carl Hotson, the man they -used to call “the Count”?’ said Hamilton. ‘No? He -lived at Carlsruhe, on the other side of the range, near the -Great South Gap, where every one was obliged to pass, and -(there being no inn) stay all night. Now “the Count” was a -fastidious person of literary tastes. He chafed against entertaining -a fresh batch of guests every night. “Respectable -persons—aw—I am informed, but—aw—I don’t keep an -hotel!” Unwilling to be bored, and yet anxious not to be -churlish, he took a middle course. He invented “the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_138'>138</span>stranger’s hut,” which has since obtained in other parts of -the country.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Whatever was that?’ asked Guy.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘He had a snug cottage built at a short distance from -the road. Into this dwelling every traveller, without -introduction, was ushered. A good dinner, with bed and -breakfast, was supplied. His horse was paddocked, and in -the morning the guest, suitably entertained, but ignorant of -the personnel of the proprietor, as in a castle of romance, was -free to depart.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And a very good idea it was,’ said Mr. Effingham. ‘I -can imagine one becoming tired of casual guests.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Some people were not of that opinion,’ said Mr. Forbes, -‘declaring it to be in contravention of the custom of the -country. One evening Dr. Portman, an elderly gentleman, -of majestic demeanour, came to Carlsruhe. He relied on -a colonial reputation to procure him unusual privileges, but -not receiving them, wrote a stiff note to Mr. Hotson, regretting -his inability to thank him personally for his peculiar hospitality, -and enclosing a cheque for a guinea in payment of -the expense incurred.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What did “the Count” say to that?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘He was equal to the occasion. The answer was as -follows:—</p> - -<p class='c010'>‘<span class='sc'>Sir</span>—I have received a most extraordinary letter signed -J.D. Portman, enclosing a cheque for one guinea. The latter -document I have transmitted to the Treasurer of the Lunatic -Asylum.—Obediently yours,</p> - -<div class='c012'><span class='sc'>Carl Hotson</span>.’</div> - -<p class='c009'>The Christmas dinner, which included a noble wild -turkey, a fillet of veal, a baron of beef, with two brace of -black duck, as well as green peas, cauliflowers, and early -potatoes from the now productive garden, was a great success. -Cheerful and contented were those who sat around the -board. Merry and well-sustained was the flow of badinage, -which kept the young people amused and amusing. In the -late afternoon the guests excused themselves, and left for -home, alleging that work commenced early on the morrow, -and that they were anxious as to the results of universal -holiday-making.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_139'>139</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER IX <br /> HUBERT WARLEIGH, YR., OF WARBROK</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>Next morning early, Mr. Effingham was enjoying the fresh, -cool air when Dick marched up to him.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Well, Evans,’ said Effingham, ‘Christmas Day is over. -Tell me, were you able to abstain?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Believe me, I got drunk, sir,’ answered the veteran, ‘but -I’m all right now till New Year’s Day.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I am afraid that your constitution will suffer, Evans, if -you continue these regular—or rather irregular—excesses.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Can’t say for that, sir. Been drunk every Christmas since -the year as I ’listed in the old rigiment; but I wanted to -tell you about that young man as was in our hut last night. -Do you know who he is, sir?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘No, indeed, Evans! I suspected he was no ordinary -station-hand.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Well, no, sir; that’s the youngest of the old Colonel’s -sons. Him as they used to call “Gyp” Warleigh. He was -allers fond of ramblin’ and campin’ out, from a boy, gipsy -fashion. When the Colonel died, he went right away to some -of the far-out stations beyond Monaro, and never turned up -for years. Old Tom knowed him at once, but didn’t let on.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Poor fellow! How hard that he should have come back -to his father’s house penniless and poorly clad. I wonder if -we could find him employment here?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘H—m! I don’t know, sir; we haven’t much to keep -hands goin’ at this season, but you can see him yourself. I -daresay he’ll come up to thank you afore he goes.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Dick’s conjecture proved true, inasmuch as before the -breakfast bell rang the prodigal walked up to the garden gate.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_140'>140</span>This time he underwent a more careful examination, the -result of which was to impress the master of the house in a -favourable manner. Though dressed much as before, there -was some improvement in his appearance. He came forward -now, with the advantage conferred by rest and good entertainment. -His regular features, as Mr. Effingham now -thought, showed plainly the marks of aristocratic lineage. -The eyes, especially, were bold and steadfast, while his figure, -hardened by the toils of a backwoods life, in its grand outline -and muscular development, aroused the admiration of a -professional connoisseur. The bronzed face had lost its -haggard expression, and it was with a frank smile that he -raised his hat slightly and said, ‘Good-morning, sir. I have -come to thank you for your kindness and hospitality.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I am pleased to have been enabled to afford it,’ said the -master of the establishment; ‘but is there nothing more that -I can do for your father’s son?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The man started; a frown set the lower part of his face -in rigid sternness. After a moment’s pause the cloud-like -expression cleared, and with softened voice he said:</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I see they have told you. I thought the old stock-rider -knew me; he was here before we lived at Warbrok. Yes, -it is all true. I am Hubert Warleigh.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Mr. Effingham’s impulsive heart was stirred within him, -at these words, to a degree which he himself would hardly -have admitted. The actual presentment of this cadet of an -old family—once the object of a mother’s care, a mother’s -prayers—fallen from his position and compelled to wander -over the country, meanly dressed and carrying a burden in -this hot weather, touched him to the heart. He walked up -to the speaker, and laying his hand upon his arm, said in -tones of deep feeling:</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘My dear fellow, will you let me advise you, as I should -thank any Christian man to do for my son in like need? Stay -with us for a time. I may be able to assist you indirectly, if -not otherwise. At the worst, the hospitality of this house—of -your old home—is open to you as long as you please to -accept it.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You are kind—too kind, sir,’ said the wanderer, while his -bold eyes softened, and for a moment he turned his face -towards the lake. ‘The old place makes me feel like a boy -<span class='pageno' id='Page_141'>141</span>again. But it will never do—<em>it’s too late</em>. You don’t know -the ways of this country yet, and you might come to repent -being so soft—I mean so good-natured.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I will take the risk,’ persisted Effingham. ‘Let me see -you restored to your proper standing in society, and following -any occupation befitting a gentleman, and I shall hold myself -fully repaid.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The stranger smiled, half-sadly, half-humorously, as he -seated himself on a fence-rail.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘That is not so easy as you think, sir,’ he said. ‘Though -there’s very few people in this country would bother about -trying. When a fellow’s been rambling about the bush, -working and living with the men, for years and years, it is not -so easy to turn him into a gentleman again. Worst of all -when he’s come short of education, and has half-forgotten -how to behave himself before ladies. Ladies! I swear, when -I saw your daughters, looking like rosebuds in the old -verandah, I felt like a blackfellow.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘That a feeling of—of rusticity—would be one of the -consequences of a roving life, I can understand; but you are -young—a mere boy yet. Believe one who has seen something -of the world, that the awkwardness you refer to would soon -disappear were you once more among your equals.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Too late—too late!’ said the man gloomily. ‘Gyp -Warleigh must remain in the state he has brought himself -to. I know him better than you do, worse luck! There’s -another reason why I’m afraid to trust myself in a decent -house.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Good heavens!’ said Effingham. ‘Then what is that? -You surely have not——’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Taken to the bush? Not yet; but it’s best to be straight. -I learned the trick of turning up my little finger too early and -too well; and though I’m right enough for months when I’m -far in the bush, or have had a spell of work, I’m helpless -when the drinking fit comes on me. I <em>must</em> have it, if I was -to die twenty times over. And the worst of it is, I can feel -it coming creeping on me for weeks beforehand; I can no -more fight it off than a man who’s half-way down a range can -stop himself. But it’s no use talking—I must be off. How -well the old place looks! It’s a grand season, certainly.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You have had adventures here in the old days,’ said -<span class='pageno' id='Page_142'>142</span>Effingham, willing to lead him into conversation. ‘Had you -a fight with bush-rangers in the dining-room ever?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Then the bullet-marks <em>are</em> there yet?’ said the stranger -carelessly. ‘Well, there was wild work at Warbrok when that -was done, but bushrangers had no say in it. It was the old -governor who blazed away there. He was always a two-bottle -man, was the governor, and after poor mother died he scarcely -ever went to bed sober. Randal and Clem were terrible wild -chaps, or they might have kept matters together. I was the -youngest, and let do pretty much as I liked. I never learned -anything except to read and write badly. Always in the men’s -huts, I picked up all the villainy going before I was fourteen. -But about those bullet-marks in the wall.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I feel deeply interested, believe me; and if you would -permit me to repair the neglect you have experienced, something -may yet be done.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You don’t know men of my sort, Captain, or you wouldn’t -talk in that way. Not that I haven’t a feeling towards you -that I’ve never had since poor mother died, and told me to -be a good boy, as she stroked my hair for the last time. But -how could I? What chance is there for a lad in the bush, -living as we did in those days? I remember Randal’s coming -home from Bathurst races—he’d go any distance to a race -meeting. He was like a madman. It was then that the -row came about with the governor, when they nearly shot one -another.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Nearly shot one another! Good heavens! How <em>could</em> -that happen?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘After the cellar racket Randal had the sense to stay -away at Monaro and work at our station there for months. -He could work when he liked, and a smarter man among -stock never handled a slip-rail. But he had to come home -at last. The governor talked to him most polite. Hoped -he’d stay to dinner. He drank fair; they were well into the -fourth bottle when the row began. He told us afterwards -that the old man, instead of flying into a rage, as usual, was -bitter and cool, played with him a bit, but finished up by -saying that “though it was the worst day’s work he ever did -to come to this accursed country, he hardly expected his -eldest son would turn out a burglar and a thief.”</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Randal was off his head by this time—been ‘a bit on’ -<span class='pageno' id='Page_143'>143</span>before he came—swore he wouldn’t stand that from any man, -not even his own father. The old man glared at him like a -tiger, and fetching out the loaded duelling pistols, which -people always had handy in those days, gave him one, and -they stood up at different ends of the long room.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘We heard the shots and rushed in. There was Randal -holding on by the wall, swaying about, and, pointing to the -ceiling, saying, as well as he could, “Fired in the air! -by ——! fired in—the—air!” Sure enough, there was the -mark of his bullet in the ceiling, but the <em>other one</em> had hit the -wall, barely an inch from Randal’s head.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What an awful affair! How your father must have -rejoiced that he was spared the guilt of such a crime.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I don’t know about that; all he <em>said</em> next day was, that -his hand must have been shaky, or he would have rid the -world of an infernal scoundrel, who had disgraced his family -and was no son of his. He never spoke to him again.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Miserable father—lost son! What became of your -brothers, may I ask, since you have told me so much?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Randal was in a vessel coming back from Adelaide with -an exploring party. He’d been lushing pretty heavy, and -they thought he must have gone overboard one night in a fit -of the horrors. Anyhow, he was never seen alive afterwards. -Poor Clem—he wasn’t half as bad as Randal, only easy -led—died at the Big River: was shepherding when we last -heard of him. I’m all that’s left of the Warleighs. Some fine -day you’ll hear of me being drowned crossing a river, or -killed by the blacks, or broke my neck off a horse; and a -good job too. I must be off now. It’s years since I’ve said -as much to any one.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘But why—why not stay and commence a happier career? -Scores of men have done so, years after your age. You will -have encouragement from every member of my family.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Family!’ answered the outcast, with a bitter smile. -‘Am I fit to associate with <em>ladies</em>? Why, even while I’m -speaking to you I can hardly open my mouth without an -oath or a rough word. No! It might have been once; it’s -years too late now. But I thank you all the same; and if -ever a chance comes in my way of doing your people a good -turn, you may depend your life on Gyp Warleigh. Good-bye, -sir!’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_144'>144</span>As he rose to his feet, squaring his shoulders and towering -to the full height of his stature, Mr. Effingham instinctively -held out his hand. Closing his own upon it for one moment -in an iron grasp, the wanderer strode forth upon his path, -and was lost behind a turn in the timber.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Howard Effingham returned to his household filled with -sad thought. He had seen ruined men of all sorts and -kinds before; had known many who, with every social aid -and endowment, had chosen to tread the path of degradation. -But there was, to his mind, an element of unusual pathos in -this acquiescent yet resentful debasement of a noble nature. -In the hall he met Wilfred and Guy. Contrasting their frank, -untroubled countenances with that of the ill-fated son of his -predecessor his heart swelled with thankfulness.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What a long talk you have been having with our dark -friend,’ said Wilfred. ‘Does he want a situation as stock-rider? -or has he a project requiring the aid of a little capital? -He doesn’t look like an enthusiast.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Nor is he one,’ answered the father briefly. ‘He is an -unhappy man, whom you will compassionate when I tell you -that he is Hubert Warleigh—the Colonel’s youngest son.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Good heavens!’ cried Wilfred. ‘Who said there was no -romance in a new country? I thought he was a fine-looking -fellow, with something uncommon about him. What a -history!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What a dreadful, what an astonishing thing!’ exclaimed -Annabel, who, having an appetite for novelty, and -seldom being so absorbed in her household duties as to -escape early notice of such, had joined the group. ‘To -think that that sunburned, roughly-dressed man, carrying a -bundle with his blanket and all kinds of things, should be a -gentleman, the son of an old officer; just like Wilfred and -Guy here! To be sure, he <em>was</em> handsome, in spite of his -disguise; and did you notice what splendid black eyes he had? -Poor fellow, poor fellow! Why didn’t you make him stay, -papa?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘My child! I did try to persuade him; I promised to see -what we could do for him. My heart yearned to the youngster, -thinking that if, in the bounds of possibility, any child of mine -was in such evil case, so might some father’s heart turn to -him in his need. But he only said it was too late, with a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_145'>145</span>kind of proud regret. Yet I think he was grateful, for he -wrung my hand at parting, said it had done him good to -speak with me, and if he could ever do us a service I might -count upon him.’</p> - -<hr class='c013' /> - -<p class='c001'>In the dreamy days of the late summer one and all derived -great solace and enjoyment from the Lake William Book Club, -now become, thanks to Mr. Churbett’s brother in London, a -working institution. That gentleman had forwarded a well-selected -assortment, comprising the newest publications of the -day, in various departments of literature, not forgetting a -judicious sprinkling of fiction. The books brought out by the -family, neither few nor of humble rank, had been read and -re-read until they were known by heart. This fresh storehouse -of knowledge was, for the first time in their lives, truly -appreciated.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Mr. Churbett had employed himself in his solitary hours -in covering with strong white paper and carefully entitling -each volume. These he divided into ‘sets,’ comprising, say, -a modicum of history, travel, biography, or science, with a -three-volume novel. The sets being duly numbered, a sketch -circuit was calculated, and proper arrangements made. He, -for instance, forwarded a set to Benmohr, whence they were -enjoined to forward them at the expiration of a month to The -Chase; at the same time receiving a fresh supply from headquarters. -O’Desmond sent them on to the Snowdens, to be -despatched by them to Mr. Hampden at Wangarua. So it -came to pass that when the twelfth subscriber forwarded the -first-mentioned set to its original dwelling-place at Mr. Churbett’s, -the year had completed its cycle, and each household -had had ample, but not over-abundant, time to thoroughly -master the contents of their dole of literature.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The autumn month of March was chiefly characterised by -the rural population of the district, as being the season in -which was held the Annual Yass Race Meeting. This -tournament was deservedly popular in an English-speaking -community. There was no wife, widow, or maid, irrespectively -of the male representatives, who did not feel a -mild interest in the Town Plate, the delightfully dangerous -Steeplechase, and finally in the ‘Ladies’ Bag.’ This thrilling -<span class='pageno' id='Page_146'>146</span>event comprised a collection of fancy-work—slippers, embroidered -smoking-caps, and gorgeous cigar-cases, suitable -for masculine use or ornament.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The coveted prize was fabricated by the fair hands of the -dames and damsels of the district. The race was confined -to amateurs, and those only were permitted to compete who -had received invitations from the Secretary of the Ladies’ -Committee.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Great interest was taken, it may be supposed, in the -carrying-off of this trophy, and many a youthful aspirant -might be seen ‘brushing with hasty step the dew away,’ as -he reviewed at dawn his training arrangements with a face -of anxiety, such as might become the owner of a Derby -favourite.</p> - -<p class='c001'>By direct or devious ways the echoes of battle-cries, proper -to the approaching fray, commenced to reach The Chase. -Faintly interested as had been the family in the probable -pleasures of such an assemblage, they could not remain -wholly insensible. With each succeeding week tidings and -murmurs of the Carnival swelled into sonorous tone. One -day a couple of grooms, leading horses sheeted and hooded, -of which the satin skins and delicate limbs bore testimony -to their title to blue blood, would pass by on their way to -Yass; or Mr. Churbett would ride over with the latest -news, declaring that Grey Surrey was in such condition -that no horse in the district had a chance with him, though -Hamilton’s No Mamma had notoriously been in training -for a month longer. Also, that the truly illustrious steeplechaser, -The Cid, had been stabled at Badajos for the -night; but that, in his opinion, he could not be held at his -fences, and if so, St. Andrew would make such an exhibition -of him as would astonish his backers and the Tasmanian -division generally. Then Mrs. Snowden would arrive to -lunch, and among other items of intelligence volunteer the -information that the ball, which the Racing Club Committee -was pledged to give this year, would exceed in magnificence -all previous entertainments. Borne on the wings of the -weekly post there came a missive from Mrs. Rockley, reminding -Mrs. Effingham of her promise to come and bring -her daughters for the race week, assuring her that rooms at -Rockley Lodge awaited them, and that wilful child Christabel -<span class='pageno' id='Page_147'>147</span>was prepared to die of grief in the event of anything preventing -their having the pleasure of their company.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Then Bob Clarke was, after all, to ride The Cid. He -was the only man that could hold him at his fences. So -there would be such a set-to between him and St. Andrew, -with Charlie Hamilton up, as had never been seen in the -district. The western division were going to back The -Cid to the clothes on their back. Hamilton was a cool -hand across country, and a good amateur jock wherever -you put him up, but Bob Clarke, who had had his early -training among the stiff four-railers and enclosed pasture-lands -of Tasmania, was an extraordinary horseman, and had -a way of getting a beaten horse over his last fences which -stamped him as the man to put your money on.</p> - -<p class='c001'>It was not in human nature altogether to disregard current -opinions, which, in default of more important public events, -swayed the pastoral community as well as the dwellers in -the rural townships. The Effinghams gradually abandoned -themselves to the stream, and decided to accept Mrs. -Rockley’s invitation for the lady part of the family. To -this end Wilfred made a flying visit to the town, where he -had been promptly taken in custody by Mr. Rockley and -lodged in safe keeping at his hospitable mansion.</p> - -<p class='c001'>He returned with what Beatrice called a rose-coloured -description of the whole establishment; notably of the -marvellous beauty of Christabel Rockley, the only daughter.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Why, you haven’t seen girls for I don’t know how long,’ -said Annabel, ‘except us, of course—and you don’t see any -beauty in fair people—so how can you tell? The first young -woman with a pale face and dark eyes is a vision of loveliness, -of course. Wait till <em>we</em> go to Yass, and you will hear -a proper description.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Women are always unsympathetic about one another,’ he -retorted. ‘That’s the reason one can hardly trust the best -woman’s portrait of her friend.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And men are so credulous,’ said Beatrice. ‘I wonder -any sensible woman has the patience to appropriate one. -See how they admire the merest chits with the beauty of a -china doll, and so very, <em>very</em> little more brains. There is a -nice woman, I admit, here and there, but a man doesn’t -know her when he sees her.’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_148'>148</span>‘All this is premature,’ said the assaulted brother, trying -to assume an air of philosophical serenity. ‘I know nothing -about Miss Christabel save and except that she is “beautiful -exceedingly,” like the dame in Coleridge. But you will find -Mr. Rockley’s the nicest house to stay in, or I much mistake, -that you have been in of late years, and, in a general way, -you will enjoy yourselves more than you expect.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I expect <em>great things</em>,’ said Annabel, ‘and I intend to -enjoy myself immensely. Fancy, what a pleasure it will be -to me to see quantities of new people! Even Rosamond -confessed to me that she felt interested in our coming -glimpse of Australian society. We <em>have</em> been a good deal -shut up, and it will do us good; even Beatrice will fall -across a new book or a fresh character to read, which -comes to much the same thing. I prefer live characters -myself.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And I prefer the books,’ said Beatrice; ‘there’s such a -dreadful amount of time lost in talking to people, very often, -about such wretched commonplaces. You can’t skip their -twaddle or gossip, and you can in a book.’</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_149'>149</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER X <br /> A PROVINCIAL CARNIVAL</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>The last week of March at length arrived, by which time the -nights had grown perceptibly colder, and the morning air -was by no means so mild as to render wraps unnecessary.</p> - -<p class='c001'>No rain had fallen for some weeks, though before that -time there had been a succession of showers; so that, there -being no dust, while the weather was simply perfect, the grass -green, and the sky cloudless, a more untoward time might -have been selected for recreation.</p> - -<p class='c001'>It was indeed the carnival of a community of uncompromising -toilers, as were, in good sooth, the majority of the inhabitants -of the town and district of Yass.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Not without misgiving did Wilfred consent to leave the -homestead entirely to itself. Yet he told himself that, while -the farm and dairy were in the hands of such capable persons -as Dick Evans, old Tom, and Andrew, without some -kind of social or physical earthquake, no damage could -occur.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Dick, in spite of his love of excitement, did not care to -attend this race meeting. Aware of his weakness, he was -unwilling to enter on a fresh bout of dissipation before the -effects of the last one had faded from recollection. ‘I looks -to have a week about Michaelmas,’ said he, as gravely as if -he had been planning a hunting or fishing excursion, ‘then -I reckon to hold on till after harvest, or just afore Christmas -comes in. Two sprees a year is about the right thing for a -man that knows himself. I don’t hold with knockin’ about -bars and shanties.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Crede old Tom, the last Yass races had chiefly impressed -<span class='pageno' id='Page_150'>150</span>themselves on his mind as a festivity wherein he spent -‘thirty-seven pounds ten in six days, and broke his collar-bone -riding a hurdle race. Whether he was getting older he -could not say, but he felt as if he did not care to go in just -now. He was going to keep right till next Christmas, when, -of course, any man worth calling a man would naturally go -in for a big drink.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>For far other reasons, and in widely differing language, -did Andrew Cargill protest his disinclination to join revelries -which, based on the senseless sport of horse-racing, he felt to -be indefensible, immoral, and worthy only of the heathen, -who were so unsparingly extirpated by the children of Israel. -‘I haena words to express my scorn for thae fearless follies, -and I thocht that the laird and the mistress wad ha’ had mair -sense than to gang stravaigin’ ower the land like a wheen -player-bodies to gie their coontenance to siccan snares o’ -Beelzebub. It’s juist fearsome.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Conflict of opinion in this case resulted in similarity of -action, inasmuch as the two unregenerates, conscious that -their hour was not yet come, conducted themselves with the -immaculate propriety nowhere so apparent as in those -Australian labourers who are confessedly saving themselves -up for a ‘burst.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Nothing could have been descried upon this lower earth -more deeply impressive than the daily walk of these two ancient -reprobates, as Andrew, in his heart, always designated them.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The sun never saw them in bed. Old Tom had his -morning smoke while tracking the nightly wandering dairy -cows long before that luminary concerned himself with the -inhabitants of the district. As day was fairly established, the -cows were in the yard, and the never-ending work of milking -commenced. Andrew’s northern perseverance was closely -taxed to keep pace in the daily duties of the farm with these -two swearing, tearing old sinners.</p> - -<p class='c001'>All preliminaries having been concluded, which Mrs. -Effingham declared fell but little short of those which preceded -their emigration, the grand departure was made for -their country town in what might justly be considered to be -high state and magnificence.</p> - -<p class='c001'>First of all rode Rosamond and Beatrice on their favourite -palfreys. Touching the stud question, Wilfred and Guy had -<span class='pageno' id='Page_151'>151</span>gradually developed the love of horses, which is inseparable -from Australian country life. The indifferent nags upon -which the girls had taken their early riding lessons had, by -purchase or exchange, been replaced by superior animals. -Rosamond, whose nerve was singularly good, and whose -‘hands’ had reached a finish rarely accorded to the gentler -sex, was the show horsewoman of the family, being entrusted -with the education of anything doubtful before the younger -girls were suffered to risk the mount. She rode a slight, -aristocratic-looking dark bay, of a noble equine family, which, -like themselves, had not long quitted the shores of Britain. -Discharged from a training-stable upon the charge of unfitness -to ‘stay,’ he had fallen into unprofessional hands, from which -Wilfred had rescued him, giving in exchange a fat stock-horse -and a trifle more ‘boot’ than he was ready to acknowledge. -He had been right in thinking that in the delicate head, the -light arched neck, the rarely oblique shoulder, the undeniable -look of blood, he saw sufficient guarantee for a peerless light-weight -hackney. This in despite of a general air of height rather -than stability, which caused the severe critics of Benmohr -and The She-oaks to speak of him as being unduly ‘on the -leg.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>There are some metals which compensate in quality for lack -of weight and substance; so among horses we find those which, -indomitable of spirit and tireless of muscle, are capable of -wearing out their more solidly-built compeers. To such a -class belonged ‘dear Fergus,’ as Rosamond always called the -matchless hackney with which Wilfred had presented her. -Gay and high-couraged, temperate, easy, safe, fast, with a -walk and canter utterly unapproachable, the former, indeed, -assimilating to the unfair speed of a ‘pacer,’ while the latter -was free, floating, graceful, and elastic as that of the wild -deer, he was a steed to dream of, to love and cherish in life, -to mourn over in death. Many an hour, in the gathering -twilight, by the shores of the lake, had Rosamond revelled in, -mounted upon this pink of perfection, when Wilfred jumped -upon a fresh horse after his day’s work and called upon his -sister to come for her evening ride. How anxiously, after -the lingering, glaring afternoon, did Rosamond watch for the -time which brought the chief luxury of the day, when she -lightly reined the deer-like Fergus as he sped through -<span class='pageno' id='Page_152'>152</span>the twilight shadows, over the greensward by the lake -shore.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Beatrice had also her favourite, which, though of different -style and fashion, was yet an undeniable celebrity. A small -iron-grey mare, scarce above pony height, was Allspice, with -a great flavour of the desert-born, from which she traced her -descent, in the wide nostril, high croup, and lavish action. -Guy picked her up at a cattle muster, where he was amazed -at seeing the ease with which she carried a thirteen-stone -stock-rider through the ceaseless galloping of a day’s ‘cutting-out.’ -Asking permission to get on her back, he at once -discovered her paces, and never rested till he had got her in -exchange for a two-year-old colt of his own, which had -attracted the attention of Frank Smasher, the stock-rider in -question. Frank, returning with him to Warbrok, roped the -colt, the same day putting the breaking tackle on him, and -within a week was cutting out cattle, on the Sandy Camp, -with no apparent inferiority to the oldest stock-horse there.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Whether Allspice had been broken in after this Mexican -fashion is not known, but as she could walk nearly as fast as -Fergus, trot fourteen miles an hour, and canter ‘round a -cheese-plate,’ if you elected to perform that feat, we must -consider that she was otherwise trained in youth, or inherited -the talent which dispenses with education. The light hand -and light weight to which she was now subjected apparently -suited her taste. After a few trials she was voted by the -family and all friendly critics to be only inferior to the -inimitable Fergus.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Mr. Churbett had volunteered to come over the evening -before and accompany the young ladies, as otherwise Guy -would have been their only cavalier, Wilfred being absorbed -in the grave responsibility of the dogcart and its valuable -freight.</p> - -<p class='c001'>This sporting vehicle contained Mrs. Effingham and -Annabel, together with an amount of luggage, easily calculable -when the possibility of a few picnics, a couple of balls, -and any number of impromptu dances are mentioned. Mr. -Effingham also, and his sons, found it necessary upon -this occasion to look up portions of their English outfit, -which they had long ceased to regard as suited for familiar -wear.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_153'>153</span>The light harness work of the family had been hitherto -performed by a single horse, a sensible half-bred animal, and -a fair trotter withal. On this occasion Wilfred had persuaded -himself that a second horse was indispensable. After -divers secret councils among the young men, it ended in -Mr. Churbett’s Black Prince, the noted tandem leader of the -district, being sent over. He was docile, as well as distinguished-looking, -so all went well, in spite of Mrs. Effingham’s -doubts, fears, and occasional entreaties, and Annabel’s -plaintive cries when a nervous ‘sideling’ was passed, or a -deeper creek than usual forded.</p> - -<hr class='c013' /> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh, what a pretty place Rockley Lodge is—a nice, roomy -bungalow; and how trim the garden looks!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Apparently inhabited,’ said Annabel, ‘and rather affected -by visitors, I should say. I can see horses fastened to the -garden fence, a carriage at the door, and a dogcart coming -round from the back, as well as two side-saddle horses. So -this is Mr. Rockley’s place! He said it was just a little way -from the town; and there—Mr. Churbett and Rosamond -are turning in at the entrance gate.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Duellist, having gone off in his training, thereafter not -unwillingly retained for hackney purposes, evidently knew -his way to the place, for he marched off at once, along the -track which turned to the white gate. Followed by the -tandem, with Beatrice and Guy bringing up the rear, the -whole party drew up before the hall door.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Mr. Churbett, giving his horse to a hurried groom, who -made his appearance from the offices, assisted Rosamond to -dismount, by which time a youthful-looking personage, -whom the Effinghams took to be Miss Christabel, but -who turned out to be her mother, advanced with an air of -unfeigned welcome, and greeted the visitors.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Mr. Churbett, introduce me at once. I am afraid you -are all very tired. Come in this moment, my dear girls, and -rest yourselves; we must have no talking or excitement until -dinner-time. Mr. Effingham, I count upon you; Mr. Rockley -charged me to tell you that he had asked Mr. Sternworth to -meet you. Mr. Churbett, of course you are to come, and -bring the two young gentlemen. Perhaps we might have a -little dance, who knows? You can go now. Mr. Rockley -<span class='pageno' id='Page_154'>154</span>had rooms and loose boxes kept for you at the Budgeree, or -you wouldn’t have had a hole to put your head in; what do -you think of that?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Mr. Churbett, much affected by his narrow escape of -arriving in Yass and finding every room and stall appropriated, -with no more chance of a lodging than there is in -Doncaster on the Leger day, moved on, leading Fergus, and -murmuring something about Rockley being a minor Providence, -and Mrs. Rockley all their mothers and aunts rolled -into one. He recovered his spirits, however, as was his -wont, and caracolled ahead on Duellist, leading the way -into a large stable-yard, around which were open stalls and -loose boxes, apparently calculated for the accommodation of -a cavalry regiment.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘This is the Budgeree Hotel, and a very fair caravanserai -it is. Jim, look alive and take off the tandem leader. -Joe, I want a box for Duellist. Bowcher, this is Captain -Effingham of Warbrok, and these young gentlemen his sons; -did Mr. Rockley order rooms for them and me?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Mr. Rockley, sir. Yes, sir. He come down last week -on purpose to see if I’d kep’ rooms for Mr. Argyll and Mr. -Hamilton, as the place was that full, and like to be fuller; -and then he asked if your rooms was took, and the Captin’s -and two young gents’, and when I said they wasn’t, he went -on terrible, as it was just like you, and ordered ’em all right -off, besides four stalls and a box.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Ah, well, it’s all right, Bowcher. Mr. Rockley knows my -ways. I wonder you hadn’t sense enough to keep rooms for me -and my friends, as I told you I was coming. Town very full?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Never see anythink like it, sir. Horses coming from all -directions, and gents from Hadelaide, I should say. Least-ways, -from all the outside places. They’re that full at the -Star, as they have had to put half the horses in the yard, -and rig up stalls timpry like.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Ha! that’s all very well; but don’t try that with Black -Prince or these ladies’ horses, or they’ll kick one another sky -high.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>While this conversation was proceeding, Mr. Effingham -and his sons had been ushered upstairs, where, at the extreme -end of a long corridor, the Captain was provided with a -reasonable bedroom, enjoying a view of the town and surrounding -<span class='pageno' id='Page_155'>155</span>country. Wilfred and Guy had to content themselves -with a smaller double-bedded apartment, the waiter -apologising, as everything, to the attics, was crammed full, -and visitors hourly, like crowds at the theatre, turned away -from the doors. Slight inconveniences are not dwelt upon -in the ‘brave days when we were twenty-one.’ So they -cast their modest wardrobes on the beds, and tried to realise -the situation.</p> - -<p class='c001'>This was a marked divergence from the circumstances -of their mode of life for the past year. It appeared that -every room on both sides of the corridor was tenanted by -at least one person of an emotional and vociferous nature.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Boots were carried to the staircase and hurled violently -down, accompanied by objurgations. Friendly, even confidential, -conversations were carried on by inmates of contiguous -apartments. Inquiries were made and answered as -to who were going to dine at Rockley’s or Bower’s; and one -gentleman, who had come in late, publicly tossed up as to -which place he should go uninvited, deciding by that ancient -test in favour of a certain Mr. Bower, apparently of expansive -hospitality.</p> - -<p class='c001'>In addition to the dinner-chart, much information was -afforded to such of the general public as had ears, as to the -state and prospects of the horses interested in the coming -events. Senator had a cough; and there were rumours about -the favourite for the Leger. St. Maur and the Gambiers had -come in, and brought a steeplechaser, which Alec was to ride, -which would make Bob Clarke’s Cid go down points in the -betting. Mrs. Mortimer had arrived and those pretty girls -from Bunnerong. The fair one would be the belle of the -ball. ‘No!’ (in three places) was shouted out, ‘Christabel -Rockley was worth a dozen of her,’ and so on. Mr. Effingham -began to consider what his position would be if he should -have to listen to a discussion upon the merits of his daughters. -This complication happily did not arise, the tide of mirthful -talk flowing into other congenial channels.</p> - -<p class='c001'>It must be confessed that if the company had been -charged for the noise they made, the bill would have been -considerable. But after all, the speakers were gentlemen, -and their unfettered speech and joyous abandon only reminded -Effingham of certain old barrack days, when the untrammelled -<span class='pageno' id='Page_156'>156</span>spirit of youth soared exultingly free, unheeding of the shadow -of debt or the prison bars of poverty.</p> - -<p class='c001'>In due time the splashing, the dressing, and the jesting -were nearly brought to an end. Leaving Fred Churbett to -follow with Guy, Mr. Effingham and his heir departed to -Rockley House.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘There <em>is</em> something exhilarating, after all, in dressing -for dinner,’ said he. ‘After the day is done it is befitting -to mingle with pleasant people and drink your wine in -good society. It reminds one of old times. My blood is -stirred, and my pulses move as they have not done since -I left England. Change is <em>the</em> great physician, beyond all -doubt.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I did not think that I should have cared half as much -about these races,’ said Wilfred. ‘I had doubts about coming -at all, and really I don’t think I should have done so but for -the girls and my mother. It is sure to do them good. But -after all, Dick and Tom, not to speak of Andrew, are equal to -more than the work they have to do at present, and I suppose -one need not be always in sight of one’s men.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Rockley Lodge was profusely lighted. From the murmur -of voices and rustle of dresses there appeared to be a large -number of persons collected in the drawing-room, redolent of -welcome as it ever was.</p> - -<p class='c001'>As they entered the house a voice was heard, saying, in -tones not particularly modulated, ‘Order in dinner; I won’t -wait another moment for any man in Australia.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Effingham recognised his late visitor in the speaker, who, -arrayed in correct evening costume, immediately greeted him -with much deference, mingled with that degree of welcome -usually accorded to a distinguished, long-absent relative.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘My dear Captain Effingham, I am proud to see you. -So you’ve found your way to Yass at last. Hope to see you -here often. St. Maur, let me make you known to Captain -Effingham. I heard him mention having met your brother -in India. Bob Clarke; where’s Bob Clarke? Oh, here he -is. You’ll know one another better before the races are -over. Christabel, come here; what are you going away for? -Mr. Wilfred Effingham you know, Mr. Guy you never saw; -capital partners you’ll find them, I daresay. Is the dinner -coming in, or is it not? [this with a sudden change of voice]. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_157'>157</span>Mr. Churbett not come? Wait for Fred Churbett, the most -unpunctual man in New South Wales! I’ll see him——’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Fortunately for Mr. Rockley’s ante-dinner eloquence the -necessity for finishing this sentence was obviated by the -appearance of the butler, who announced dinner, after which -Mr. Rockley, saying, ‘Captain Effingham, will you take in -Mrs. Rockley? I see your friend Sternworth has just made -his way in with Fred Churbett; it’s well for them they -weren’t ten minutes later,’ offered his arm to Mrs. Effingham, -and led the way with much dignity.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The room was large, and the table, handsomely laid and -decorated, looked as if it was in the habit of being furnished -for a liberal guest list. There could not have been less than -thirty people present, exclusive of the six members of Mr. -Rockley’s own family. Their friends Hamilton and Argyll -were there, as also Mr. St. Maur, a tall, aristocratic-looking -personage from the far north; Mr. Clarke, a pleasant-faced, -frank youngster, whom everybody called Bob; Mr. and Mrs. -Robert Malahyde, and other prepossessing-looking strangers, -male and female; and lastly, their old friend Harley Sternworth.</p> - -<p class='c001'>What warmth, friendliness, cordiality, pervaded the entertainment! -All apparently felt and talked like near relations, -between whom had never arisen a question of property or -precedence.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Mrs. Rockley, her daughter, and nieces were lively and -unaffected, and beyond all comparison considerately hospitable. -Rosamond and her sisters, dressed, for the first time -since their arrival, in accordance with the laws of fashion as -then promulgated, looked, to the eyes of their fond parents -and brothers, as though endowed with fresh beauty and a -distinction of air hitherto unmarked.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The dinner was in all respects a success—well served, -well cooked; and as Mr. Rockley was severe as to his taste -in wines, that department fully satisfied a fastidious critic, -as was Howard Effingham. Messrs. Churbett, Argyll, and -Hamilton, as habitués, had numberless jokes and pleasantries -in common with the young ladies, which served to elicit -laughter and general merriment; while Hampden, St. Maur, -the parson, and Mr. Rockley in turn diverged into political -argument, in which their host was exceptionally strong.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_158'>158</span>When they entered the drawing-room, to which Fred -Churbett, Bob Clarke, and others of the <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>jeunesse dorée</em></span>, who -cared little for port or politics, had retreated in pursuance -of a hint from Mrs. Rockley, they were surprised to find that -spacious apartment wholly denuded of its carpet and partially -of its furniture. There was but little time to express the -feeling, as a young lady seated at the piano struck up a waltz -of the most intoxicating character, and before Mr. Rockley -had time to get fairly into another argument with the parson, -the room was glorified with the rush of fluttering garments, -and the joyous inspiration of youthful sentiment.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Everybody seemed to like dancing, and no more congenial -home for the graces Terpsichorean than Rockley Lodge -could possibly be found. The host, who was not a dancing -man, smoked tranquilly in the verandah, much as if the -entertainment were in a manner got up for his benefit, and -had to be gone through with, while he from time to time -debated the question of State endowments with Sternworth, -or that of non-resident grants from the Crown with John -Hampden, who was characteristically inflexible but nonaggressive.</p> - -<p class='c001'>What with their neighbours Argyll and Hamilton, Ardmillan, -Forbes, and Neil Barrington, the ever-faithful Fred -Churbett, and divers newly-formed acquaintances who had -arrived during the evening, the Miss Effinghams found so -many partners that they scarcely sat down at all. Mr. St. -Maur, too, perhaps the handsomest man of the party, singled -out Beatrice and devoted himself to her for the greater part -of the evening. During the lulls, music was suggested by -Mrs. Rockley, who was ever at hand to prevent the slightest -<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>contretemps</em></span> during the evening. Rosamond and Beatrice -were invited to play, and finally Annabel and Beatrice to -sing.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Beatrice was one of the most finished performers upon -the pianoforte that one could fall across, outside professional -circles; many of them even might have envied her light, -free, instinctively true touch, her perfect time, her astonishing -execution. Her voice was a well-trained contralto. When -she sang a world-famed duet with Annabel, and the liquid -notes—clear, fresh, delicately pure as those of the mounting -skylark—rose in Annabel’s wondrous soprano, every one was -<span class='pageno' id='Page_159'>159</span>taken by storm, and a perfect chorus of admiration assured -the singers that no such performance had been heard in the -neighbourhood since a time whereof the memory of man -runneth not to the contrary.</p> - -<p class='c001'>It must not be supposed that Wilfred Effingham permitted -much time to elapse before he took measures which resulted -in an improvement of his recent acquaintance with Miss -Christabel Rockley. He had seen many girls of high claim -to beauty in many differing regions of the old world. He -had walked down Sackville Street, and sauntered through -the great Plaza of Madrid, bought gloves in Limerick, and -lace in the Strada Reale; but it instantly occurred to him -that in all his varied experiences he had never set eyes -upon so wondrously lovely a creature as Christabel Rockley. -Her complexion, not merely delicate, was wild-rose tinted -upon ivory; her large, deep-fringed eyes, dark, melting, -wondering as they opened slowly, with the half-conscious -surprise of a startled child, reminded him of nothing so -much as of the captured gazelle of the desert; her delicate, -oval face, perfect as a cameo; her wondrous sylph-like figure, -which swayed and glided in the dance like a forest nymph -in classic Arcady; her rosebud mouth, pearly teeth, her -childish pout smiling o’er gems—pearls, if not diamonds; -how should these angel-growth perfections have ripened in -this obscure outpost of Britain’s possessions? He was -startled as by a vision, amazed. He would have been hopelessly -subjugated there and then had he not been at that -time such a philosophical young person.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Lovely as was the girl, calculated as were her unstudied -graces and matchless charms to enthral the senses and drag -the very heart from out of any description of man less congenial -than a snow-drift, Wilfred Effingham escaped for the -present whole and unharmed.</p> - -<p class='c001'>At the same time he enjoyed thoroughly the gay tone and -joyous feelings which characterised the whole society, and -insensibly caught, in spite of his ever-present feeling of -responsibility, the contagion of free and careless mirth.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Dance succeeded dance, the quick yet pleasantly graduated -growth of friendly intimacy arose under the congenial conditions -of gaiety unrestrained and mingled merriment, till, -soon after midnight, the joyous groups broke up.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_160'>160</span>Mr. Rockley suddenly intimated that, as they would have -a long day at the races next day, and the ladies would need -all their rest after the journey some of them had made, to -withstand the necessary fatigues, he thought it would be -reasonable, yes, he <em>would</em> say he thought it would occur to -any one who was not utterly demented and childishly incapable -of forethought, that it was time to go to bed.</p> - -<p class='c001'>This deliverance decided the lingering revellers; adieus -were made with much reference to <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">‘au revoir,’</span> one of those -comprehensive phrases into which our Gallic friends contrive -to collect several meanings and diverse sentiments.</p> - -<p class='c001'>At the Budgeree Hotel a desultory conversation was kept -up for another hour between such choice spirits who stood -in need of the ultimate refreshment of a glass of grog and a -quiet pipe; but the wonders and experiences of the day had -so taxed the energies of Mr. Effingham and his sons that -the latter fell asleep before Fred Churbett had time to offer -six to four on St. Andrew for the steeplechase, or Hamilton -to qualify young Beanstalk’s rapturous declaration that -Christabel Rockley looked like a real thorough-bred angel, -and that there wasn’t a girl from here to Sydney fit to hold -a candle to her.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_161'>161</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XI <br /> MR. BOB CLARKE SCHOOLS KING OF THE VALLEY</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>The eventful day at length arrived. How many hundreds -would have been disappointed if it had rained! From the -sporting squatters, who looked out of window to see if the -weather was favourable for Harlequin or Vivandière, to the -farmer’s son, busy at sunrise grooming his unaccustomed -steed, and pulling the superfluous hair from that grass-fed -charger’s mane and tail, while his sister or cousin danced -with joy, even before she donned the wide straw hat and -alpaca skirt, with the favourably disposed bow of pink or -blue ribbon, in which to be beautiful for the day.</p> - -<p class='c001'>And what more innocent pleasure? So very seldom -comes it in the long months of inland farming life, that no -moralist need grudge it to his fellow-creatures for whom fate -has not provided the proverbial silver spoon. That brown-cheeked -youngster believes that his bay Camerton colt, -broken in by himself, will make a sensation on the course; -perhaps pull off a ten-pound sweep in the Hurry-scurry Hack-race -(post entry), and he looks forward with eager anticipation -to the running for the Town Plate and the steeplechase. -Besides, he has not been in town since he took in the last -load of wheat. It is slow at home sometimes, though there -is plenty of work to do; and he has not seen a new face or -heard a new voice since he doesn’t know when.</p> - -<p class='c001'>In sister Jane’s heart, whose cheek owns a deeper glow -this morning, what unaccustomed thoughts are contending -for the mastery.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Will it not be a grand meeting, with ever so many more -people there than last year? And the gentlefolks and the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_162'>162</span>young ladies, she does like so to see how they dress and how -they look. It is worth a dozen fashion books. Such fun, -too, is a sweeping gallop round the course, and to feel the -breeze blow back her hair. Everything looks splendid, and -the lunch in the pavilion is grand, and every one so polite. -Besides, there is Ben Anderson that she knows “just to speak -to”; she saw him at a school feast last year, and he is certainly -<em>very</em> nice looking; he said he would be sure to be at the -Yass races. She wonders whether he <em>will</em> be there; nobody -wants him, of course, if he likes to stay away—but still he -<em>might</em> come; his father has a farm away to the westward.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>So the rhythm of human life, hope or fear, love or doubt, -curiosity or sympathy, chimes on, the same and invariable -in every land, in every age.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Thanks to the occasionally too fine climate of Australia, -‘the morning rose, a lovely sight,’ and if the sun flashed not -‘down on armour bright,’ he lit up a truly animated scene. -Grooms, who long before day had fed and watered their -precious charges, were now putting on the final polish, as if -the fate of Europe depended upon the delicate limbs and -satin-covered muscles. Owners, backers, jockeys, gentlemen -riders, all these were collecting or volunteering information; -while the ordinary business of the town—commercial, civil, -or administrative—was suffered to drift, as being comparatively -unimportant.</p> - -<p class='c001'>At an hour not far from nine o’clock the guests under the -hospitable roof of the Budgeree Hotel were assembled at the -breakfast-table. What a meal! What a feast for the gods -was that noble refection! What joyous anticipation of -pleasure was on all sides indulged in! What mirthful conversation, -unchecked, unceasing! There had been, it would -seem, a dinner and a small party at Horace Bower’s, and, -strange to say, every one had there enjoyed themselves much -after the same fashion as at Rockley’s. Bower had been in -great form—was really the cleverest, the most amusing fellow -in the world. Mrs. Bower was awfully handsome, and her -sister, just arrived from Sydney, was a regular stunner, would -cut down all before her. Mrs. Snowden had been there too—smartest -woman in the district; seen society everywhere—and -so on.</p> - -<p class='c001'>A race day owns no tremendous possibilities, yet is there -<span class='pageno' id='Page_163'>163</span>a savour of strife and doom mingled with the mimic warfare. -Many a backer knows that serious issues hang upon the -favourite’s speed and stamina; on even less, on chance or -accident. The steeplechase rider risks life and limb; it <em>may</em> -be that ‘darkness shall cover his eyes,’ that from a crushing -fall he may rise no more.</p> - -<p class='c001'>These entanglements weighed not in any wise upon the -soul of Wilfred Effingham, as he arose with a keener sense of -interest and pleasure in expectation than had for long -greeted his morning visions. His responsibilities for the -day were bounded by his vehicle and horses, so that his -family should be safely conveyed to and from the course. -Mrs. Effingham had at first thought of remaining quietly in -the house, but was reassured by being told that the course -was a roomy park, that the view of the performances was -complete, that the carriages and the aristocracy generally -would be provided with a place apart, where no annoyance -was possible; that the country people were invariably well-behaved; -and that if she did not go, her daughters would -not enjoy themselves, and indeed thought of remaining away -likewise. This last argument decided the unselfish matron, -and in due time the horses were harnessed, the side-saddles -put in requisition, and after a decent interval Black Prince -was caracolling away in the lead of the dogcart, and Fergus -exhibiting his paces among a gay troop of equestrians, which -took the unused, but all the pleasanter, road to the racecourse.</p> - -<p class='c001'>At this arena it was seen that the stewards had been -worthy of the confidence reposed in them. A portion of the -centre of the course had been set apart for the exclusive -use of the carriages and their occupants. Not that there -was any prohibition of humbler persons; but, with instinctive -propriety, they had apparently agreed to mass themselves -upon a slight eminence, which, behind the Grand Stand, a -roomy weather-board edifice, afforded a full view of the proceedings.</p> - -<p class='c001'>In the centre enclosure were shady trees and a sward of -untrampled grass, which answered admirably for an encampment -of the various vehicles, with a view to ulterior lunching -and general refreshment combinations at a later period of -the day.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_164'>164</span>Here all could be seen that was necessary of the actual -racing, while space was afforded for pleasant canters and -drives between the events, round the inner circle of the -course; and indeed in any direction which might suit the -mirth-inspired members of the party. The view, too, Mrs. -Effingham thought, as she sat in Mrs. Rockley’s phaeton, in -which a seat of honour had been provided for her, was well -worth a little exertion. The park-like woodlands surrounded -three sides of the little amphitheatre, with a distant dark -blue range amid the dusk green forest tints; while on the -south lay a great rolling prairie, where the eye roved -unfettered as if across the main to the far unknown of the -sky-line. Across this glorious waste the breeze, at times, -blew freshly and keen; it required but little imagination on -the part of the gazers to shadow forth the vast unbroken -grandeur, the rippling foam, the distant fairy isles of the -eternal sea.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Without more than the invariable delay, after twelve -o’clock, at which hour it had of course been advertised in -the <cite>Yass Courier</cite> of the period that the first race would -punctually commence, and after sharp remonstrance from -Mr. Rockley, who declared that if he had a horse in the -race he would start him, claim the stakes, and enter an -action against the stewards for the amount, a start <em>was</em> -effected for the St. Leger. This important event brought -six to the post, all well bred and well ridden. Wilfred -thought them a curiously exact reproduction of the same -class of horses in England.</p> - -<p class='c001'>His reflections on the subject were cut short by a roar -from the assemblage as the leading horses came up the -straight in a close and desperate finish. ‘Red Deer—Bungarree—<em>no</em>! -Red Deer!’ were shouted, as Hamilton’s -chestnut and a handsome bay colt alternately seemed to -have secured an undoubted lead. The final clamour -resolved itself into the sound of ‘Red Deer! <em>Red Deer!!</em>’ as -that gallant animal, answering to the last desperate effort of -his rider, landed the race by ‘a short head.’ Hamilton’s -early rising and months of sedulous training had told. It -was a triumph of condition.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Much congratulation and hand-shaking ensued upon this, -and Wilfred commenced to feel the uprising of the partisan -<span class='pageno' id='Page_165'>165</span>spirit, which is never far absent from trials of strength or -skill. He had more than once flushed at disparaging -observations touching the studs in his immediate neighbourhood, -at gratuitous assertions that the Benmohr horses were -not to be spoken of in the same day as So-and-so’s whatsyname -of the west, or another proprietor’s breed in the north, and -so on. Now here was a complete answer to all such, as -well as a justification of his own opinion. He had determined -not to risk a pound in the way of betting, holding the -practice inexpedient at the present time. But the thought -did cross his brain that if he had taken the odds more than -once pressed upon him, he might have paid his week’s -expenses as well as confuted the detractors of the Benmohr -stud. This deduction, <span lang="la" xml:lang="la"><em>ex post facto</em></span>, he regarded as one of the -wiles of the enemy, and scorned accordingly.</p> - -<p class='c001'>He found the party more disposed to take a canter, after -the enforced quietude of the last hour, than to remain -stationary, so possessing himself of Guy’s hack, whom he -placed temporarily in charge of the dogcart, taking off the -leader as a precautionary measure, he rode forth among the -gay company for a stretching canter round the course, which -occasionally freshened into a hand-gallop, as the roll of -hoofs excited the well-conditioned horses.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The Town Plate—a locally important and much-discussed -event—having been run, and won, after an exciting struggle, -by Mr. O’Desmond’s Bennilong, a fine old thoroughbred, -who still retained the pace, staying power, and ability to -carry weight, which had long made him the glory of the -Badajos stud and the pride of the Yass district, preparations -for lunch on an extensive scale took place.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The horses of the different vehicles, as well as the -hackneys, were now in various ways secured, the more -provident owners having brought halters for the purpose. -Mrs. Rockley and Mrs. Bower, with other ladies, had -arranged to join forces in the commissariat department, the -result of which was a spread of such comprehensive dimensions -that it required the efforts of the younger men for -nearly half an hour to unpack and set forth the store of -edibles and the array of liquors of every kind and sort.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Rich and rare the viands were,</div> - <div class='line in2'>Diversified the plate,</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_166'>166</span>inasmuch as each family had sent forth such articles as, while -available for immediate use, would cause less household -mourning if reported wounded or missing. But the great -requisities of an <span lang="la" xml:lang="la"><em>al fresco</em></span> entertainment were fully secured. -An ample cold collation, with such relays of the beloved -Bass and such wines of every degree as might have served -the need of a troop of dragoons. The last adjuncts had been -forwarded by the male contingent, under a joint and several -responsibility.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Eventually the grand attack was commenced by the -impetuous Rockley, who, arming himself with a gleaming -carver, plunged the weapon into the breast of a gigantic -turkey, in the interests of Mrs. Effingham, who sat on his -right hand.</p> - -<p class='c001'>After this <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>assaut d’armes</em></span> the fray commenced in good -earnest. The ladies had been provided with seats from the -vehicles, overcoats, rugs, and all manner of envelopes, which -could be procured, down to a spare suit of horse-clothing. -Shawls and cloaks were brought into requisition, but the -genial season had left the sward in a highly available -condition, and with a cool day, a pleasant breeze, the shade -of a few noble eucalypti, fortunately spared, nothing was -wanting to the arrangements. As the devoted efforts of the -younger knights and squires provided each dame and damsel -with the necessary aliment, as the champagne corks commenced -to fusilade with the now sustained, now dropping -fire of a brisk affair of outposts, the merry interchange of -compliments, mirthful badinage, and it may be eloquent -glances become no less rapid and continuous.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Our Youth! our Youth! that spring of springs.</div> - <div class='line'>It surely is one of the blessedest things</div> - <div class='line in8'>By Nature ever invented!</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c001'>sang Tom Hood, and who does not echo the joyous, half-regretful -sentiment. How one revelled in the$1‘$2’$3at the casual concourse of youthful spirits, where -the poetic sentiment was inevitably heightened by the mere -proximity of beauty. Surely it is well, ere the bright sky of -youth is clouded by Care or gloomed by the storm-signal of -Fate, to revel in the sunshine, to slumber in the haunted -shade. So may we gaze fondly on our chaplet of roses, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_167'>167</span>withered, alas! but fragrant yet, long ere the dread summons -is heard which tells that life’s summer is ended, and the -verdant alleys despoiled.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Another race or two, of inferior interest, was looked for, -and then the party would take the road for town, concluding -the day’s entertainment with a full-sized dance at the expansive -abode of Mr. Rockley, which would combine all -contingents.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The next day’s more exciting programme included the -steeplechase, to be run after lunch. In this truly memorable -event some of the best cross-country horses in Australia were -to meet, including those sensational cracks, The Cid and -St. Andrew, each representing rival stables, rival colonies. -The former with Bob Clarke up, the latter with Charles -Hamilton; each the show horseman of his district, and -backed by his party to the verge of indiscretion.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The less heroic melodramas having been acted out with -more or less contentment to performers, there was a general -return to boot and saddle, previous to the leisurely progress -homeward from the day’s festivities. This, as the hours were -passing on towards the shadowy twilight, was not one of the -least pleasant incidents of the day’s adventures.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The road skirted the great plain which bounded the -racecourse, and as the westering sun flamed gorgeous to his -pyre, fancy insensibly glided from the realism of the present -to the desert mysteries of the past.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh, what a sunset!’ said Christabel Rockley, whom -fate and the impatience of her horse had placed under -the control of Mr. Argyll. ‘How grand it is! I never see -sunset over the plains from our verandah without thinking -of the desert and the Israelites, camels, and pillared palaces. -Is it like that? How I <em>should</em> love to travel!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘The desert is not so unlike that plain, or any plain in -Australia,’ explained Argyll (who had seen the Arab’s camel -kneel, and watched the endless line of the Great Caravan -wind slowly over the wind-blown hollows), ‘inasmuch as it -is large and level; but the vast, awe-striking ruins, such as -Luxor or Palmyra—records of a vanished race—these we can -only dream of.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh, how wonderful, how entrancing it must be,’ said -Miss Christabel, ‘to see such enchanted palaces! Fancy us -<span class='pageno' id='Page_168'>168</span>standing on a fallen column, in a city of the dead, with those -dear picturesque Arabs. Oh, wouldn’t it be heavenly! And -you must be there to explain it all to me, you know!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>As the girl spoke, with heightened colour, and the eager, -half-girlish tones, so full of melody in the days of early -womanhood, as the great dark eyes emitted a wondrous -gleam, raised pleadingly to her companion’s face, even the -fastidious Argyll held brief question whether life would not -be endurable in the grand solitudes of the world, ‘with one -(such) fair spirit to be his minister.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘My dear Miss Christabel,’ he made answer, ‘I should be -charmed to be your guide on such an expedition. But if -you will permit me to recommend you a delightful book, -called——’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Here he was interrupted by the deeply-interested fair one, -who, pointing with her whip to the advanced guard of the -party, now halted and drawn to the side of the road, said -hurriedly, ‘Whatever <em>are</em> they going to do, Mr. Argyll? Oh, -I see—Bob Clarke’s going to jump King of the Valley -over Dean’s fence. It’s ever so high, and the King is -such a wretch to pull. I hope he won’t get a fall.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>This seemingly abrupt transition from the land of romance -to that of reality was not perhaps so wide a departure in the -spirit as in the letter. The age of chivalry is <em>not</em> past; -but the knights who wear khaki suits in place of armour, -and bear the breech-loader in preference to the battle-axe, -have to resort to means of proving their prowess before their -ladies’ eyes other than by splintering of lances and hacking -at each other in the sword-play of the tournament.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The King of the Valley was a violent, speedy half-bred. -His owner was anxious to know whether he was clever enough -over rails, to have a chance for the coming steeplechase. -An unusual turn of speed he undoubtedly possessed, and, if -steadied, the superstition was that the King could jump -anything. But the question was—so hot-blooded and -reckless was he when he saw his fence—could he be -controlled so as to come safely through a course of three -miles and a half of post and rail fencing, new, stiff and -uncompromising?</p> - -<p class='c001'>To the cool request, then, that he would give him a -schooling jump over Dean’s fence, which some men might have -<span class='pageno' id='Page_169'>169</span>thought unreasonable, Bob Clarke, with a smile of amusement, -instantly acceded, and making over his hackney to a friend, -mounted the impatient King, shortened his stirrups, and -then and there proceeded to indulge him with the big fence.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Then had occurred the sudden halt and general attitude -of expectation which Miss Rockley had noted, and with -which she had so promptly sympathised. Bob Clarke was -a slight, graceful youngster, with regular features, dark hair -and eyes, and a mild expression, much at variance with -the dare-devilry which was his leading characteristic. -Passionately fond of field sports, he had ridden more steeplechases, -perhaps, than any man in Australia of his age. He -had been carried away ‘for dead’ more than once; had -broken an arm, several ribs, and a collar-bone—this last more -than once. These injuries had taken place after the horse -had fallen, for of an involuntary departure from the saddle -no one had ever accused him.</p> - -<p class='c001'>As he gathered up his reins and quietly took the resolute -animal a short distance back from the fence, unbroken -silence succeeded to the flow of mirthful talk. The fence -looked higher than usual; the close-grained timber of the -obstinate eucalyptus was uninviting. The heavy posts and -solid rails, ragged-edged and sharply defined, promised no -chance of yielding. As the pair had reached the moderate -distance considered to be sufficient for the purpose, Bob -turned and set the eager brute going at the big dangerous -leap. With a wild plunge the headstrong animal made as -though to race at the obstacle with his usual impetuosity. -Now was seen the science of a finished rider; with lowered -hand and closely fitting seat, making him for a time a part -of the fierce animal he rode, Bob Clarke threw the weight of -his body and the strength of his sinewy frame into such a -pull as forced the powerful brute to moderate his pace. -Such, however, was his temper when roused, that the -King still came at his fence much too fast, ‘reefing’ with -lowered head and struggling stride—an unfavourable state of -matters for measuring his distance. As he came within the -last few yards of the fence more than one lady spectator -turned pale, while a masculine one, <span lang="it" xml:lang="it"><em>sotto voce</em></span>, growled out, -‘D——n the brute! he’ll smash himself and Bob too.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>As the last half-dozen strides were reached, however, the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_170'>170</span><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>rusé</em></span> hero of many a hard fought fray ‘over the sticks,’ -suddenly slackening his grasp of the reins, struck the King -sharply over the head with his whip, thus causing him to -throw up his muzzle and take a view of his task. In the -next moment the horse rose from <em>rather</em> a close approach, -and with a magnificent effort just cleared the fence. A cheer -from every man present showed the general relief.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh, how beautifully he rides!’ said the fair Christabel, -whose cheek had perhaps lost a shade of its wild-rose tint. -‘No one looks so well on horseback as Mr. Clarke. Don’t -you think he’s very handsome?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Not a bad-looking young fellow at all, and certainly -rides well,’ said Argyll, without enthusiasm. ‘I daresay he -has done little else all his lifetime, like your friends the -Arabs. Watch him as he comes back again.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The margin by which he had escaped a fall had been -estimated by the experienced Bob, who, taking advantage -of a field heavy from early ploughing, gave King of the -Valley a deserved breather before he brought him back.</p> - -<p class='c001'>By the time they were within a reasonable distance of the -fence, the excited animal had discovered that he had a -rider on his back. As he came on at a stretching gallop, he -was seen to be perfectly in hand. Nearing the jump, it -surprised no experienced spectator to see him shorten stride -and, ‘taking off’ at the proper distance, sail over the stiff top -rail, ‘with (as his gratified owner said) a foot to spare, and -Bob Clarke sitting on him, with his whip up, as easy as if he -was in a blooming arm-chair.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘There, Champion,’ said the victor as he resumed his -hackney. ‘He can jump anything you like. But if you -don’t have a man up who can hold him, he’ll come to grief -some day.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>A few trials and experiments of a like nature were indulged -in by the younger cavaliers before they reached town, -most of which were satisfactory, with one exception, in -which the horse by a sudden and wily baulk sent his rider -over the fence, and calmly surveyed the obstacle himself.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Another dance, at which everybody who had been at the -races, and who was <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>du monde</em></span>, finished worthily the day so -auspiciously commenced. Wilfred Effingham, who had -declared himself rather fatigued at the first entertainment, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_171'>171</span>and had at that festival asserted that it would do for a -week, now commenced to enjoy himself <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>con amore</em></span>—to sun -himself in the light of Christabel Rockley’s eyes, and to -<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>badiner</em></span> with Mrs. Snowden, as if life was henceforth to be -compounded of equal quantities of race meetings by day and -dances by night.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I suppose you are a little tired, Miss Rockley,’ he said, -‘after the riding and the picnic and the races; it <em>is</em> rather -fatiguing.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Tired!’ echoed the Australian damsel in astonishment. -‘Why should I be tired? What is the use of giving in -before the week is half over? I shall have lots of time to -rest and enjoy the pleasure of one’s own society after you -have all gone. It will be dull enough then for a month or -two.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘But are there any more festivities in progress?’ he asked -with some surprise.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Any more? Why, of course, lots and quantities. You -English people must be made of sugar or salt. Why, there’s -the race ball to-morrow night, at which <em>everybody</em> will be -present—the band all the way from Sydney. The race -dinner the next night—only for you gentlemen, of course, -<em>we</em> shall go to bed early. Then Mrs. Bower’s picnic on -Saturday, with a dance here till twelve o’clock—I must get -the clock put back, I think. And Sunday——’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Sunday! haven’t you any entertainment provided for -Sunday?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Well, no; not exactly. But everybody will go to -church in the morning, and Mr. Sternworth will preach us -one of his nice sensible sermons—they do me so much good—about -not allowing innocent pleasures to take too great -hold upon our hearts. In the afternoon we are all going for -a long, long walk to the Fern-tree Dell. You’ll come, won’t -you? It’s such a lovely place. And on Monday——’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Of course we shall begin all over again on Monday; -keep on dancing, racing, and innocently flirting, like inland -Flying Dutchmen, for ever and ever, as long as we hold -together. Isn’t that the intention?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Now you’re beginning to laugh at me. It will be serious -for some of us when you all go away. Don’t you think so, -now?’ (Here the accompaniment was a look of such distracting -<span class='pageno' id='Page_172'>172</span>pathos that Wilfred was ready to deliver an address -on ‘Racing considered as the chief end of man,’ without -further notice.) ‘No; on Monday morning you are all to -pay your bills at the Budgeree—those that have money -enough, I mean; not that it matters—Bowker will wait for -ever, they say. Then you go back to your stations, and -work like good boys till the next excuse for coming into -Yass, and that finishes up the week nicely, doesn’t it?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘So nicely that I believe there is a month of ordinary -life compressed into it—certainly as far as enjoyment -goes. I shall never forget it as long as I live—never forget -some of the friends I have made here during the brightest, -happiest time of my life, especially——’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Look at that ridiculous Mr. Tarlton dancing the <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>pas -seul</em></span>!’ exclaimed Miss Christabel, not quite disposed to enter -upon Wilfred’s explanation of his sensations. ‘Do you know, -I think quadrilles are rather a mistake after all. I should -like dances to be made up of nothing but valses and galops.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Life would be rather too rapid, I am afraid, if we carried -that principle out. Don’t you think Mrs. Snowden is looking -uncommonly well to-night?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘She always dresses so well that no one looks better.’</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_173'>173</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XII <br /> STEEPLECHASE DAY</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>In despite of the mirthful converse continued around him, -during the small hours, and the complicated condition of his -emotions, Wilfred Effingham slept so soundly that the breakfast -bell was needed to arouse him. He felt scarcely eager -for the fray; but after a shower-bath and that creditable -morning meal ever possible to youth, his feelings concerning -the problems of life and the duties of the hour underwent a -change for the better.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Charles Hamilton, Bob Clarke, and the turf contingent -generally had been out at daylight, personally inspecting the -steeds that were to bear them to victory and a modest raking -in of the odds or otherwise. How much ‘otherwise’ is there -upon the race-courses of the world! How often is the -favourite amiss or ‘nobbled,’ the rider ‘off his head,’ the -certainty a ‘boil over’! Alas, that it should be so! That -man should barter the sure rewards of industry for the -feverish joys, the heart-shaking uncertainties, the death-like -despair which the gambling element, whether in the sport -or business of life, inevitably brings in its train!</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Why, this <em>is</em> life,’ sneers the cynic; ‘you are describing -what ever has been, is, and shall be, the worship of the great -god “Chance.” The warrior and the statesman, the poet -and the priest, the people especially, have from all time -placed their lives and fortunes on a cast, differently named, -it is true. And they will do so to the end.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Such causticities scarcely apply to the modest provincial -meeting which we chronicle, inasmuch as little money changed -hands. What cash was wagered would have been treated -<span class='pageno' id='Page_174'>174</span>with scorn by the layers of the odds and inventors of ‘doubles,’ -those turf triumphs or tragedies. Nevertheless, the legitimate -excitement of the steeplechase, three and a half miles over -a succession of three-railed fences, with the two ‘hardest’ -men in the Southern District up, would be a sight to see.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Independently of the exciting nature of the race, an intercolonial -element was added. Bob Clarke and his steed were -natives of Tasmania; the cool climate and insular position -of which have been thought to be favourable to human -and equine development. Much colour for the supposition -was recognised by the eager gazers of Mr. Bob Clarke and -his gallant bay, The Cid.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The former was evidently born for a career of social -success. Chivalrous and energetic, with a bright smile, a -pleasant manner, his popularity was easy of explanation.</p> - -<p class='c001'>In a ball room, where his modesty was in the inverse ratio -to his iron-nerved performances across country, he was a -rival not to be despised. Among men he was voted ‘an out-and-out -good fellow,’ or a gentlemanlike, manly lad, from -whatever side emanated the criticism.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The Cid was a grand horse, if not quite worthy of the -exaggerated commendation which his admirers bestowed. -A handsome, upstanding animal, bright bay, with black -points, he had a commanding-looking forehand, ‘that you -could hardly see over,’ as a Tasmanian turfite observed, -besides a powerful quarter, with hips, the same critic was -pleased to observe, ‘as wide as a fire-place.’ In his trials -he was known to have taken leaps equal in height to anything -ever crossed by a horse. But a stain in his blood -occasionally showed out, in a habit of baulking. Of this -peculiarity he gave no notice whatever, sometimes indulging -it at the commencement, sometimes at the end of a race, -to the anguish of well-wishers and the dismay of backers. -A determined rider was therefore indispensable. As on -this occasion the only man in the country-side ‘who could -ride him as he ought to be ridden,’ according to popular -belief, was up, who had also trained him for this particular -race, little apprehension was felt as to the result.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Not less confident were the friends of St. Andrew, a -different animal in appearance, but of great merit in the eyes -of judges. Not so large as his celebrated antagonist, he had -<span class='pageno' id='Page_175'>175</span>the condensed symmetry of the racehorse. Boasting the -blue blood of Peter Fin (imported) on his mother’s side, -his Camerton pedigree on the other, entitled him to be -ticketed ‘thorough-bred as Eclipse.’ A compact and level -horse, with the iron legs of the tribe, every muscle stood out, -beautifully developed by a careful preparation. His dark -chestnut satin coat, his quiet, determined air, the unvarying -cleverness with which he performed in private, together with -the acknowledged excellence of his rider, rendered the -Benmohr division confident of victory.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The others which made up the race were fine animals, -but were not entrusted to any great extent with the cash or -the confidence of the public. Of these the most formidable -was a scarred veteran named Bargo, who had gone through -or over many a fence in many a steeplechase. His rider -being, like himself, chiefly professional, they were both undoubted -performers. But though the old chaser would -refuse nothing, his pace had declined through age. It was -understood that he was entered on the chance of the two -cracks destroying each other, in which case Bargo would -be a ‘moral.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The remaining ones, with the exception of King of the -Valley, were chiefly indebted for their entry to the commendable -gallantry of aspiring youth. It was something to -turn out in ‘the colours’ and other requisites of costume -before an admiring crowd; something, doubtless, to see a -cherry cheek deepen or pale at the thought of the chances -of the day; something to try a local favourite in good -company. All honour to the manly and honest-hearted -feeling!</p> - -<p class='c001'>Of these, briefly, it may be stated that Currency Lass -was a handsome chestnut mare with three white legs, and -much of the same colour distributed over her countenance. -She was fast, and jumped brilliantly, if she could be prevailed -upon not to take off too near to her fences, or ridiculously -far off, or to pump all the breath out of her body by unnecessary -pulling. The regulation of these tendencies -provided a task of difficulty for the rider.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Wallaby and Cornstalk were two useful, hunter-looking -bays, which would have brought a considerably higher price -in the old land than they were ever likely to do here.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_176'>176</span>The course had been arranged so that the horses should -start near the stand, and going across country take a -circuitous course, but eventually finishing at the stand after -negotiating a sensational last fence. This was not thought -to be good management, but the enclosures admitted of no -other arrangement.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The morning’s racing having been got through, everybody -adjourned to lunch, it being decided that <em>the</em> important -event should take place at three o’clock, after which the -excitement of the day might be considered to be over. In spite -of the approaching contest, which doubtless contained an -element of danger, as it was known that the riders of the -two cracks would ‘go at each other for their lives,’ not -less than the usual amount of mirth and merriment was -observable. The two chief actors were altogether impervious -to considerations involving life and limb, although they -had seen and suffered what might have made some men -cautious.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Bob Clarke had been more than once ‘carried away for -dead’ from under a fallen horse, while Charles Hamilton had -won a steeplechase after having employed the morning in -tracking a friend who had gone out to ‘school’ a young -horse, and whom the search-party discovered lying dead -under a log fence.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The ladies exhibited a partisanship which they were at no -pains to conceal. Bets (in gloves) ran high; while the danger -of the imminent race rendered a fair cheek, here and there, -less brilliant of hue, and dimmed the sparkle of bright eyes.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh, I <em>hope</em> no one will get hurt,’ said Christabel Rockley; -‘these horrid fences are so high and stiff. Why can’t they -have all flat races? They’re not so exciting, certainly, but -then no one can get killed.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Accidents occur in these, you know,’ said Mrs. Snowden, -philosophically; ‘and, after all, if the men like to run a little -risk while <em>we</em> are looking on, I don’t see why we should -grudge them the pleasure.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘It seems very unfeeling,’ says the tender-hearted damsel. -‘I shall feel quite guilty if any one is hurt to-day. Poor Mrs. -Malahyde, Bob Clarke’s sister, is dreadfully anxious; the -tears keep coming into her eyes. She knows how reckless -he can be when he’s determined to win.’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_177'>177</span>‘I fancy Mr. Hamilton’s St. Andrew will win,’ said Mrs. -Snowden; ‘he is better bred, they say, and he looks to me -so well-trained. What do you think, Mr. Effingham?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I am a thick and thin supporter of the Benmohr stable,’ -said Wilfred. ‘The Cid is a grand horse, but my sympathies -are with St. Andrew.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I’ll bet a dozen pairs of gloves The Cid wins,’ said Miss -Christabel impetuously, looking straight at Mrs. Snowden. -‘He can beat anything in the district when he likes; Mr. -Hamilton rides beautifully, but Bob can make <em>any</em> horse win.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘My dear child, you are quite a “plunger,”’ said Mrs. -Snowden. ‘Doubtless, they will cover themselves with glory. -I’m afraid they can’t both win.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>At this moment one of the heroes joined the speakers, -sauntering up with a respectful expression of countenance, -proper to him who makes a request of a fair lady.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Miss Christabel, I have come to ask you to give me one -of your ribbons for luck. I see Miss Effingham has decorated -Hamilton. It’s only fair that I should have a charm too.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Here it is, if you care for it, Bob!’ said the girl, hastily -detaching a ‘cerise’ knot from her dress, while her varying -colour told how the slight incident touched an unseen chord -beneath the surface; ‘only I wish you were not going to ride -at all. Somebody will be killed at these horrid steeplechases -yet, I know.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Why, you’re nearly as bad as my sister,’ said the youthful -knight reassuringly, and giving his fair monitress an unnecessary -look of gratitude, as Wilfred thought. ‘I shan’t -let her come on the course next time I ride. There’s the -saddling bell. We’ll see whether the pink ribbon or the blue -goes farthest.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The arrangements had been made with foresight, so that -beyond the customary galloping across the course for a -surcingle at the last moment by a friend in the interests of -Currency Lass, a proceeding which aroused Mr. Rockley’s -wrath, who publicly threatened her rider that he would bring -the matter before the Turf Club, little delay was caused. At -length all preliminaries were complete, and high-born St. -Andrew passed the stand, shining like a star, with Charles -Hamilton, in blue and gold, utterly <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>point devise</em></span>, on his -back. Horse and rider seemed so harmonious, indeed, that -<span class='pageno' id='Page_178'>178</span>a ringing cheer burst from the crowd, and all the throats -whose owners inhabited the hills and vales south of the -Great Lake shouted themselves hoarse for St. Andrew and -Mr. Hamilton.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘He’s as fit as hands can make him,’ said one of this -division—a groom of O’Desmond’s. ‘There’s few of us can -put on the real French polish like Mr. Hamilton; he’s a -tiger to work, surely; and the little ’oss is fast. I know his -time. If that Syd, or whatever they call him, licks ’im -to-day, he’ll have his work to do. My guinea’s on St. -Andrew.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘He’s a good ’un, and a stayer,’ said the man who stood -next to him in the closely-packed temporary stand; ‘but -there’s a bit of chance work in a steeplechase. The Cid’s -a trimmer on the flat, or cross the sticks, but you can’t -depend on him. I wouldn’t back him for a shillin’ if young -Clarke wasn’t on him. But he’s that game and strong in the -saddle, and lucky, as my note would be on a mule if he was -up. Here he comes!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>As he spoke, The Cid came by the post at speed, ‘a pipe-opener’ -having been thought necessary by his master, and -as the grand horse extended himself, showing the elastic -freedom of his magnificent proportions, with the perfection -of his rider’s seat and figure, standing jockey-like in his saddle, -moveless, and with hands down, it was a marvel of equestrian -harmony.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The roar of applause with which the crowd greeted the -exhibition showed a balance of popularity in favour of horse -and rider as the long-repeated cheers swelled and recommenced, -not ending indeed until the pair came walking -back, The Cid raising his lofty crest, and swinging his head -from side to side, as he paced forward with the air of a -conqueror.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh, what lovely, lovely creatures!’ said Annabel -Effingham, who had never been to a race meeting before. -‘I had no idea a horse could be so beautiful as St. Andrew -or The Cid. Why can’t they both win? I hope Mr. Hamilton -will, I’m sure, because he’s our neighbour; but I shall be -grieved if The Cid loses. How becoming jockey costume is! -And what a lovely jacket that is of Mr. Clarke’s! If I were -a man I should be passionately fond of racing.’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_179'>179</span>‘Bob’s a great deal too fond of it,’ said Mrs. Malahyde, -a bright-eyed matron of seven- or eight-and-twenty. ‘I wish -you girls would combine and make him promise to give it up. -I can’t keep away when he’s going to ride, but it’s all agony -with me till I see him come in safe.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘When you look at it in that way,’ assented Annabel, ‘it -certainly doesn’t seem right, and it’s unfair of us to encourage -it. What a pity so many nice things are wrong!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘They’re off!’ said Miss Christabel, who had been eagerly -watching the proceedings, during which the other performers -had severally displayed themselves, receiving more or less -qualified ovations, and then finally been taken in charge -severely by Mr. Rockley as far as the distance post. ‘They’re -off! Oh, don’t say a word till they’re over the first fence!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>All the horses of the little troop had sufficient self-control -to go ‘well within themselves’ from the start except King of -the Valley and Currency Lass. The mare’s nervous system -was so shaken by the thunder of the horse-hoofs and the -shouting of the crowd at her introduction to society, that she -pulled and tore, and ‘took it out of herself,’ as her rider, Billy -Day, afterwards expressed himself, to that extent, that he felt -compelled to let her have her head, with a lead over the first -fence.</p> - -<p class='c001'>This barrier she at first charged at the rate of a liberal -forty miles an hour, with her head up, her mouth open, and -such an apparently reckless disregard of the known properties -of iron-bark timber, that Billy’s friends began to cast -about for a handy vehicle, as likely to be in immediate demand -for ambulance work. But whether from the contrarieties said -to govern the female sex, or from some occult reason, -Currency Lass no sooner had her own way than she displayed -unexpected prudence. She slackened pace, and cocking her -delicately-pointed ears, rewarded her rider’s nerve and patience -by making a magnificent though theatrical jump, and being -awfully quick on her legs, was half-way to the next fence -before another had crossed the first.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh, what a lovely jump Currency Lass took!’ said one -of the young ladies, ‘and what a distance she is in front of -all the rest. Do you think she will win, Mr. Smith? How -slowly all the others are going.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘There’s plenty of time,’ said the critic of the sterner sex. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_180'>180</span>‘She’s a clever thing, but she can’t stay the distance. Ha! -very neatly done indeed. That’s what I call workmanlike. -Cornstalk baulks—well done—good jump! All over the -first fence, and no one down.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>These latter remarks were called forth by seeing St. -Andrew, The Cid, and Bargo charge the fence nearly in -line, the latter rather in the rear, and go over with as little -haste or effort as if it had been a row of hurdles. Wallaby -hit the top rail hard, but recovered himself, and Cornstalk, -after baulking once, was wheeled short, and popped over -cleverly, without losing ground.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The same style of performance was repeated with so little -variation for the next half-dozen leaps, that the eager public -began to look with favour upon the enthusiastic Currency -Lass, still sailing ahead with undiminished ardour, and flying -her leaps like a deer. The sarcastic inquiry, ‘Will they ever -catch her?’ commenced to be employed, and the provincial -prejudice in favour of a true bushman and a country-trained -horse, ‘without any nonsense about her,’ began to gather -strength.</p> - -<p class='c001'>But at this stage of the proceedings it became apparent -that the struggle between the two cracks could not longer be -postponed. With one bound, as it appeared to the spectators, -St. Andrew and The Cid were away at speed, their riders -bearing themselves as if they had only that moment started -for the race.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘They’re at one another now,’ said Argyll to O’Desmond. -‘We shall see how the Camerton blood tells in a finish.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Don’t you think Charlie’s making the pace too good?’ -said Mr. Churbett. ‘I wanted him to wait till he got near -the hill, but he said he thought the pace would try The Cid’s -temper, and half a mistake would make him lose the race.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘They’re both going too fast now, in my opinion,’ said -Forbes. ‘One of them will have a fall soon, and then the -race is old Bargo’s, as sure as my name’s James.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh, what a pretty sight!’ said Mrs. Snowden, as a large -fence in full view of the whole assemblage was reached.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The native damsel was still leading, but the distance had -visibly decreased which separated her from the popular -heroes. All three horses were going best pace, and as the -mare cleared the fence cleverly, but with little to spare, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_181'>181</span>pressed by The Cid and St. Andrew, as they took the jump -apparently in the same stride, a great cheer burst from the -crowd.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Well done, Bargo!’ shouted the complimentary crowd, in -high good-humour, as the old horse came up, quietly working -out his programme, and topping the fence with but little -visible effort, followed his more brilliant leaders. The others -were by this time considerably in the rear, but took their -jumps creditably still. The next fence was known to be the -most dangerous in the whole course. The ground was -broken and stony, the incline unpleasantly steep, and a small -but annoying grip caused by the winter rains interfered with -the approach. In the hunting field it would have been -simply a matter for careful riding. But here, at the speed -to which the pace had been forced, it was dangerous.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Why don’t they pull off there?’ muttered Mr. Rockley, -virtuously indignant. ‘No one but a madman would go over -ground like that as if they were finishing a flat race. That -fellow Hamilton is as obstinate as a mule. I know him; he -wouldn’t pull off an inch for all the judges of the Supreme -Court.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I’m afraid Bob Clarke won’t,’ said John Hampden; ‘that’s -the worst of steeplechasing, the fellows <em>will</em> ride so jealous. -Well done, The Cid! By Jove! the mare’s down! and—yes—no!—St. -Andrew too. Don’t be frightened, anybody,’ -as more than one plaintive cry arose from among the carriages -on which the ladies stood thickly clustering. ‘Both men up, -and no harm done. Hamilton’s away again, but it’s The -Cid’s race.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>These hurried observations, made for the benefit of the -visibly distressed <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>clientèle</em></span> of Hamilton, were called forth by -the most sensational proceedings which had obtained yet.</p> - -<p class='c001'>As the two rivals came down the slope at the highly -improper pace alluded to, they overtook Currency Lass at -her fence, which confused that excitable animal. Getting -her head from her rider, who had been prudently steadying -her across this unpleasant section, with the idea that he would -be unaccompanied till he was clear of it, she went at the fence -with her usual impetuosity. A gutter threw her out a little; -it may be that her wind had failed. It is certain that, taking -off too closely to the stiff fence, she struck the top rail with -<span class='pageno' id='Page_182'>182</span>tremendous force, the impetus casting her rolling over on her -back into the adjoining paddock, while her rider, fortunately -for him, was ‘sent rods and rods ahead of her’ (as a comrade -described it), and so saved from being crushed under the -fallen horse. The mare rose to her legs trembling and half -stunned, glared for one moment at surrounding objects, and -then went off at full speed, with flapping stirrups and trailing -reins. The Cid had sailed over the fence a yard to the left -of her, and was going at his ease, with nothing near him.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Where, then, was St. Andrew? He had also come to -grief.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Putting his foot on a rolling stone, he had been unable to -clear his leap, though he made a gallant effort. Striking -heavily, he went down on the farther side.</p> - -<p class='c001'>His rider, sitting well back, and never for one instant -losing his proverbial coolness, was able to save him as much -as, under the circumstances, a horse can be saved. Down -on nose and knee only went the good horse, his rider falling -close to his shoulder, and never relinquishing the reins. -Both were on their feet in an instant, and before the crowd -had well realised the fact, or the ‘I told you so’ division had -breath to explain why St. Andrew <em>must</em> fall if the pace was -kept really good, Charlie Hamilton was in the saddle and -away, with his teeth set and a determination not to lose the -race yet, if there was a chance left. Bargo came up with -calculated pace and line, and performed his exercise with the -same ease and precision as if he had been practising at a -leaping bar. Cornstalk baulked again, and this time with -sufficient determination to lose him half a mile. Wallaby -gave his rider a nasty fall, breaking his collar-bone and preventing -further efforts. While King of the Valley, going -reasonably up to this stage, overpowered his rider at last, and -hardly rising at his fence, rolled over, and did not rise. He -had broken his neck, and his rider was unconscious for twelve -hours afterwards. The race therefore lay between The Cid, -St. Andrew, and the safe and collected Bargo, coming up -<span lang="la" xml:lang="la"><em>pedo claudo</em></span>, and with a not unreasonable chance, like Nemesis, -of appearing with effect at the close of the proceedings.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The next marked division of the course was known as ‘the -hill,’ an eminence of no great altitude between two farms, but -possessing just sufficient abruptness to make the fence a more -<span class='pageno' id='Page_183'>183</span>than average effort. This ‘rise,’ as the country people called -it, lay about three-quarters of a mile from home, and the horse -that first came down the long slope which led towards the -winning-post, divided from it but by several easy fences, had -a strong chance of winning the race.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Before The Cid reached the base of this landmark, still -keeping the pace good, but going comparatively at his ease, -it was apparent that Hamilton, who had been riding St. -Andrew for his life, and had indeed resolved to tax the -courage and condition of the good horse to the last gasp, was -closing in upon his leader. ‘Sitting down’ upon his horse, -Charles Hamilton extorted praise from the assemblage by the -determination with which he fought a losing race. He was -well seconded by the son of Camerton, as, extending himself -to the utmost, he flew fence after fence as if they were so -many hurdles.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What a pity poor St. Andrew came down at that abominable -place!’ said Annabel. ‘I really believe he might have -won the race. He was not so far behind Mr. Clarke when -he disappeared behind the hill.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘He’s only playing with him, I’m afraid,’ said Mr. Hampden -kindly. ‘Hamilton and his horse deserve to win, but -that fall made too great a difference between horses so evenly -matched.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘The Cid’s heart’s not in the right place,’ here broke in -an admirer of Miss Christabel’s, who had been cut down by -the fascinating Bob. ‘You know that, Hampden. I saw -him refuse and lose his race, which he had easy in hand, at -Casterton. He might baulk at that sidling jump behind the -hill yet. It’s a nasty place.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I believe he will too,’ said Fred Churbett, staunch to -the Benmohr colours. ‘We ought to see them soon now; -they’re a long time coming. Take all the odds you can get, -Miss Annabel.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Will <em>you</em> take seven to four, Churbett?’ said Mr. Hampden. -‘I know The Cid’s peculiarities, but I’ll back him out, -and my countryman, Bob Clarke, as long as there is a Hereford -at Wangarua.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Done!’ said the friendly Fred; ‘and “done” again, Mr. -Hampden,’ said Bob’s rival.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Just as the words were finished a great shout of ‘St. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_184'>184</span>Andrew wins, Benmohr for ever!’ arose from the country -people as <em>one horse</em> was seen coming down the long, green -slope. On the rider could plainly be discovered the blue -and golden colours of Charles Hamilton.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Baulked, by Jove! the sidling fence was too much for -him; thought Bob was sending him along too fast. Deuced -uncertain brute; not the real thing; never could stay; -nothing like the old Whisker and Camerton strain. Here -comes Bargo! By Jove! Hurrah!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Such comments and condemnations were freely expressed -as St. Andrew came sailing along. The concluding cheer, -however, was evoked by the apparition of a second horse -which followed St. Andrew with a flogging rider, who was -evidently making his effort. It immediately became apparent -that this was Bargo, whom his rider was ‘setting to with,’ -believing that the tremendous pace which St. Andrew had -sustained for the last part of the race must now tell upon -him. Where, then, was The Cid? Where, indeed? His -admirers were dumb; his opponents jubilant. It is the way -of the world.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Where’s your seven to four now, Mr. Hampden?’ said -the youthful partisan.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Possibly quite safe; never be quite certain till the -numbers are up. Here comes The Cid at last; Bob’s not -beaten yet.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Another sustained shout from the excited crowd showed -what a new element of interest this apparition of the lost -horseman had added to the race. Bargo, carefully saved, -and comparatively fresh, sorely pressed the gallant St. -Andrew, whose bolt was nearly shot. Still, struggling -gamely to keep his lead, and well held together, he had -crossed the third fence from home before he was challenged -by Bargo.</p> - -<p class='c001'>But down the hill, at an awful pace, ridden with the -desperation of a madman, came The Cid. Bob Clarke, with -cap off and reckless use of whip and spur, could not have -increased the pace by one single stride had he been going -for a man’s life. Had a doomed criminal been standing on -the scaffold, ready for the headsman’s axe, did the reprieve of -the old romances not be displayed in time, not another -second could The Cid have achieved.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_185'>185</span>‘He’ll do it yet if they’re not too close at the last fence,’ -said Hampden, with his usual calmness. ‘I never knew The -Cid baulk <em>twice</em> in one race, and he has a terrible turn of -speed for a short finish. Bob’s in earnest, I should say.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>That fact was doubted by none who saw him that day. -His face was pale; his eyes blazed with a flame which few -had ever seen who looked upon the handsome features and -pleasant smile of Robert Clarke. The excitement became -tremendous. The ladies made emotional remarks—some of -pity for his disappointment, some of sympathy with his probable -hurts, if he had had a fall. All joined in reprobating -the unlucky Cid.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Christabel Rockley alone said no word, but her fixed eyes -and pale cheek showed the absorbing interest which the -dangerous contest, now deepening to a possible tragedy, had -for her.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The furious pace appeared not to interfere with The Cid’s -wondrous jumping powers. At the speed he was driven at -his fences he must have gone over or through them. He -seemed to prefer the former, and cheer after cheer broke the -unusual silence as high in air was seen the form of horse and -rider, as every fence was crossed but the last, and perhaps the -stiffest, a hundred yards from home.</p> - -<p class='c001'>St. Andrew and Bargo were now neck and neck, stride and -stride. The indomitable chestnut had begun to roll; the -stout but not brilliant Bargo was at his best. As they near -the last fence it is evident that The Cid, still coming up with -a ‘wet sail,’ is overhauling the pair. The question is, -whether St. Andrew is not too near home.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The anxiety of the crowd is intense, the breathless -suspense of the friends of the rival stables painful, the -fielders are at the acme of excited hope and fear, when -St. Andrew and Bargo, closely followed by The Cid, rise at -this deciding leap. The chestnut just clears it, with nothing -to spare; Bargo, overpaced, strikes heavily, and rolls in the -field beyond; Bob Clarke charges the panel on the right like -a demon, and, after a deadly neck-and-neck struggle with St. -Andrew, who still has fight left, outrides him on the post.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The conclusion of this ‘truly exciting race, covering with -glory all concerned therein,’ as the local journal phrased it, -was felt to be almost too solemn a matter for the usual hackneyed -<span class='pageno' id='Page_186'>186</span>congratulations. The overwrought emotions of the -young ladies rendered a prompt adjournment necessary to -side-saddles and vehicles, which, after refreshment supplied -to the protagonists, were made ready for the homeward route. -Bob Clarke received a congratulatory glance from Christabel -Rockley, which no doubt helped to console him, as did such -guerdon many a good knight of old, for the dust and dangers -of the tourney.</p> - -<p class='c001'>His sister, Mrs. Malahyde, who could hardly have been -said either to have seen or enjoyed the thrilling performance, -for ‘mamma was lying down crying in the bottom of the dogcart -all the time,’ as her little daughter testified, now arranged -her bonnet and countenance, and expressed her heartfelt -thanks for Bob’s safety.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Charles Hamilton received assurances from the ladies -generally, and particularly from his neighbours of The Chase, -that his courage and perseverance had been to them astonishing, -and beyond all praise; while St. Andrew, beaten only by -a head, after all his gallant endeavours to repair ill-luck, was -lauded to the skies.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Poor dear fellow!’ said Annabel. ‘I wonder if horses -ever feel disappointed. He does droop a little, and it was -wicked of you to spur him so, Mr. Hamilton. Now that -naughty Cid goes swinging his head about as if he was quite -proud of himself. How <em>he</em> has been spurred! Dear me!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Yes, and well flogged,’ said one of the Hobart division. -‘Bob said when he baulked behind the hill he could have -killed him. However, it will do him good. He took his -last fences as if he would never refuse again as long as he -lived.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I will just say this, as my calm and deliberate opinion, -and I should like to hear any man contradict me,’ said -Mr. Rockley, ‘that there never was a race better ridden -in the colony than Hamilton’s on St. Andrew. If he hadn’t -made that mistake at the stony creek he <em>must</em> have had the -race easily. His recovering his place was one of the best bits -of riding I ever saw.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh, of course; but if The Cid hadn’t baulked, <em>he</em> would -have come in as he liked. Suppose we get them to run it -over again to-morrow as a match for a hundred. I’ll put a -tenner on The Cid.’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_187'>187</span>‘The race is run, Mr. Newman, and that’s enough,’ said -Rockley decisively; ‘quite enough danger for one year. -The next thing is to get back to Yass in time to dine comfortably, -and see that everything is ready for the race ball to-night.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>This sensible advice, which, like the suggestions of royal -personages, savoured somewhat of a command, was duly -acted upon, and in a short time the greater part of the -company, who intended to recompense themselves for the -fatiguing emotions of the day by the fascinations of the -night, took the homeward road, leaving ‘The Hack Stakes’ -and the ‘Scurry’ (post entry) to be run without them. There -was ample time. The afternoon was mild and fair of aspect; -a friendly breeze, sighing over the plain, had come wandering -up from the south. The equestrian portion of the company -formed themselves unconsciously into knots and pairs.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Bob Clarke, having shifted into mufti, was lounging homeward -on a well-bred hackney on the offside of Christabel -Rockley’s Red King, whose arching neck he felt impelled -to pat, while he replied to the eager questioning of the fair -rider. Her cheeks were brilliant again with youth’s bright -tints, and her eyes glittered like imprisoned diamonds beneath -her tiny lace veil.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I hope you sympathise with me, Miss Effingham,’ said -Hamilton, as they rode in advance of the rest of the party, a -position to which Fergus’s extraordinary walking powers -generally promoted him. ‘Bob is receiving the victor’s meed -from Miss Christabel—how happy they both look!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I really do, sincerely,’ said Rosamond, ignoring the -episodical matter. ‘It must be most provoking to have one’s -prize wrested away in the moment of victory. But every one -saw what a gallant struggle you and St. Andrew made. Were -you hurt at all when you fell?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I shall be pretty stiff to-morrow,’ he answered carelessly; -‘but I have had no time to think about it. I thought my -arm was broken, as it was under St. Andrew’s shoulder. It -is all right, though numbed for a while. I am inwardly very -sore and disgusted, I don’t mind telling you. That tall -fellow, Champion, and Malahyde, with all the Tasmanians, -will crow so.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘It can’t be helped, I suppose,’ said Rosamond soothingly. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_188'>188</span>‘Mr. Hampden, at least, did not show any disposition to do -so, for he praised your riding and St. Andrew’s good finish -warmly. He said all steeplechases were won either by luck, -pluck, a good horse, or good riding, and that you had all but -the first requisite.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Hampden is a good fellow and a gentleman,’ said the -worsted knight, rather consoled, ‘and so is Bob Clarke. If -one has done one’s best, there is no more to be said. But I -had set my heart on winning this particular race. Heigh-ho! -our pleasure week is coming to an end.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Yes; to-night, the ball; to-morrow, the Ladies’ Bag and -a picnic. We are all off home on Monday. I shall not be -sorry, though I have enjoyed myself thoroughly; every one -has been so pleasant and friendly, and Mrs. Rockley kind -beyond description. I never had so much gaiety in so short -a time. But I shall be pleased to return to our quiet life -once more.’</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_189'>189</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XIII <br /> MISS VERA FANE OF BLACK MOUNTAIN</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>After a due amount of dining and dressing, the former -performed by the male and the latter by the feminine portion -of the gathered social elements, ‘The great Terpsichorean -event, which marked this most harmonious Turf reunion, -was inaugurated with <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>éclat</em></span>,’ as the editor of the <cite>Yass Standard</cite> -(in happy ignorance of the illegal arrangement which divers -magnates, chiefly being Justices of the Peace, were at that very -hour transacting) described it in the following Monday’s issue.</p> - -<p class='c001'>All the bachelors, and not a few of the married men, had -quarters at the Budgeree Hotel, so that they had no unnecessary -fatigue to undergo, but were enabled to present -themselves in the grand ballroom of that imposing building -nearly as soon as it was ascertained that the Rockley contingent, -which apparently combined everybody’s favourite partner, -had arrived.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The brass band included a wandering minstrel from the -metropolis, whose aid, both instrumentally and in the selection -of dance music, proved truly valuable. The invitations, -owing to the liberal views of Mr. Rockley, had been -comprehensive, taking in all the townspeople who could by -any chance have felt aggrieved at being left out.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The ball was opened by a quadrille, in which Mrs. Rockley -and Hampden took part, while Rockley, with deferential demeanour, -led out Mrs. Effingham, who consented on that -occasion only to revive the recollections of her youth. Mrs. -Snowden and Argyll, Hamilton and Rosamond Effingham, -with other not less distinguished personages, ‘assisted’ at this -opening celebration.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_190'>190</span>After this ceremonious commencement the first waltz took -place, in which Wilfred found himself anticipated as to a -dance with Christabel Rockley, who, with an utterly bewildering -look, regretted that she was engaged to Bob Clarke. -That heroic personage swiftly whirled away with the goddess -in his arms, leaving Wilfred more annoyed than he liked to -confess, and divided in his resolutions whether to stay at home -and work austerely, avoiding the lighter amusements, or to -buy the best horse in the Benmohr stud, train him at The -Chase, and ride against Bob Clarke for his life at the next -meeting. He had called up sufficient presence of mind to -place his name again on Miss Christabel’s very popular card, -rather low down, it is true, but still available for a favourite -waltz, in which Fred Churbett had promised to assist with -his cornet, and Hamilton with his Sax-horn, a new instrument, -believed to be the combination of all sweet and -sonorous sounds possible to the trumpet tribe.</p> - -<p class='c001'>But all inappropriate thoughts were driven out by the -next partner, a striking-looking girl, to whom he was introduced -by Mr. Rockley, very properly doing duty as chief -steward.</p> - -<p class='c001'>This young lady’s name was stated to be Vera Fane, with -great clearness of intonation. He further volunteered the -information that she was the daughter of his old friend, Dr. -Fane, and (in what was meant to be a whisper) ‘as nice a -girl as ever you met in your life.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The young lady smiled and blushed, but without discomposure, -at this evidence of the high value at which she was -rated.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Rather too good to be true, don’t you think?’ she said, -with a frank yet modest air. ‘I ought to declare myself -much honoured, and all the rest of it. But you know Mr. -Rockley’s warm-hearted way of talking, and I really think he -believes every word of it. He has known me from a child. -But I apologise, and we’ll say no more about it, please. -Very good racing there seems to have been. I was <em>so</em> sorry, -in despair I may say, to miss the steeplechase.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Then you only came in to-day?’ asked Wilfred. ‘How -was that? I didn’t think any lady in the district could -have forgone the excitement. It seems to rank with the -miracle plays of the Middle Ages.’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_191'>191</span>‘Or rather the masques and tournaments of those of -chivalry. But I was away from home, and had to ride a -long way for the ball and the Ladies’ Bag to-morrow.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I am afraid you must be tired. How far have you come -to-day?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Really,’ said the young lady, with some hesitation, ‘I -must plead guilty to having ridden fifty miles to-day. I am -afraid it shows over-eagerness for pleasure, and dear old Mr. -Sternworth might scold me, if he was not so indulgent to -what he calls “the necessities of youth.” But our home is a -lonely spot, and I have so <em>very</em> little change.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Fifty miles!’ said Wilfred, in astonishment. ‘And do you -really mean to say that you have ridden that immense -distance, and are going to dance afterwards? It will kill -you.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You must be thinking of young ladies in England, Mr. -Effingham,’ said the girl, with an amused look; ‘not but -what some of them rode fair distances for the same reasons -a hundred years ago, papa says. I daresay I shall feel tired -on Sunday; but, as I’ve ridden ever since I could walk, it is -nothing so very wonderful. You mustn’t think me quite an -Amazon.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘On the contrary,’ said Wilfred, looking at the girl’s -graceful figure, and recognising that air of refinement which -tells of gentle blood, ‘I am lost in astonishment only. You -look as if you had made a start from “The Big House” with -the rest of Mrs. Rockley’s flock. But we must join this -waltz, if you don’t mind, or your journey will have been in -vain.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Miss Fane smiled assent, and as they threaded the lively -maze, practically demonstrated that she had by no means -so overtired herself as to interfere with her dancing. -Wilfred immediately established her among the half-dozen -perfections he had discovered in that line. There was, -moreover, a frank, unconcealed enjoyment of the whole -affair, which pleased her partner. Her fresh, unpremeditated -remarks, showing original thought, interested him; so much -so, that when he led her to a seat beside her chaperon, -having previously secured a second dance at a later period -of the evening—and the <em>very last</em>—even Sir Roger de Coverley—the -bitterness of soul with which he had seen Christabel -<span class='pageno' id='Page_192'>192</span>Rockley borne off by the all-conquering Bob Clarke, was -considerably abated. He would have been incensed if any -one had quoted <span lang="la" xml:lang="la">‘<em>surgit amari aliquid</em></span>,’ nevertheless; if one -may so render the cheerful bard, ‘some charming person -generally turns up, with power to interest.’ It would not -have been so far inapplicable to his, or indeed to the (comparatively) -broken hearts of most of us.</p> - -<p class='c001'>By the time the dance of dances had arrived, when he -was privileged to clasp the slight waist and gaze into the -haunting eyes of the divine Christabel, he was conscious of a -more philosophical state of mind than in the beginning of -the evening. Nevertheless, the mystic glamour of beauty -came over him, fresh and resistless, as the condescending -charmer let her witching orbs fall kindly on his countenance, -smiled merrily till her pearly teeth just parted the rosy lips, -and blushed enchantingly when he accused her of permitting -Bob Clarke to monopolise her. She defended herself, however, -in such a pleading, melodious voice; said it was cruel in -people to make remarks, altogether looking so like a lovely -child, half penitent, half pouting, that he felt much minded -to take her in his arms and assure her of his forgiveness, -promising unbounded confidence in her prudence, and -obedience to her commands for the time to come.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘There will be some more excitement, do you know, for -the Ladies’ Bag to-morrow,’ said the enchantress. ‘Mr. -Churbett’s Grey Surrey may not win it, after all. Bob told -me that a horse of Mr. Greyford’s, that nobody knows about, -has a chance. He’s suspected of having been in good company -before. Won’t it be fun if he wins, though I shall be -sorry for Mr. Churbett. Only Mr. Greyford can’t get a -gentleman rider the proper weight. What is yours?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Really,’ said Wilfred, ‘I’m not sure to a few pounds. -But why do you ask?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Don’t you see? If you’re not under eleven stone, you -can ride him. We can’t let any one in without an invitation -received before the race. You had one, I know.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh yes, I believe so; but I never thought of riding.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Well, but you <em>can</em> ride, of course. Now, if you’re the -proper weight, you might ride Mendicant for Mr. Greyford; -it would do him a service, and make the race better fun. -Besides, all the girls would like to see you ride, I know.’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_193'>193</span>‘Would <em>you</em> take any interest in my winning, Miss -Rockley? Say the word, and I will do that or anything else -in the wide world.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh, I daresay; just as if you cared what <em>I</em> thought. -Now there’s Vera Fane, that papa introduced you to, she -would be charmed to see you win it. Oh, I know——’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘But yourself? Only say the word.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Then <em>do</em> ride—there, don’t look at me like that, or -you’ll have mamma thinking I’m ill and knocked up with -excitement; and if she begins to say I look pale, papa’s -capable of carrying me off before the ball’s over.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Wilfred, thus adjured, veiled the ardent fire of his glances, -and then and there pledged himself to ride Mr. Greyford’s -Mendicant for the Ladies’ Bag, and to win, if Miss -Rockley would only back him, which she promised to do.</p> - -<p class='c001'>It was surprising how much more interest Wilfred took in -the coming contest, now that he was about to guide one of -the chariot racers, to disperse <span lang="la" xml:lang="la"><em>pulverem Olympicum</em></span> in his -own person. He danced perseveringly with all the partners -suggested to him, covering himself with glory in the eyes of -Mr. Rockley. He had another and yet another dance with -Miss Fane, being much gratified at the interest she expressed -concerning the coming race. He made the acquaintance, -too, of Mr. Greyford.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘<span lang="la" xml:lang="la"><em>Re</em></span> Mendicant, he’s a lazy beggar,’ said that gentleman -frankly, ‘but well-bred, and can come at the finish if he -likes. I had given up the idea of starting him for want of a -jock, but I shall be happy if you will ride him for me. We’ll -go halves in this wonderful bag if Mendicant pulls it off.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>And so the great race ball was relegated to the limbo of -dead joys and pleasures, to that shadow-land where the -goblets we have quaffed, the chaplets which wreathed our -brows, the laughter that kindled our hearts, the hands that -pressed, the hearts—ah me!—that throbbed, have mostly -departed. There do they lie, fair, imperishable, awaiting -but the blast of the enchanted horn to arise, to sparkle and -glow, to thrill once more. Or has the cold earth closed -remorselessly, <em>eternally</em>, over our joys and those who shared -them, never again to know awakening till Time shall be no -more?</p> - -<p class='c001'>Much must be conceded to the influence of the Australian -<span class='pageno' id='Page_194'>194</span>climate or to the embalming influences of active pleasure-seeking, -which seems to possess an Egyptian potency for -keeping its votaries <span lang="la" xml:lang="la"><em>in statu quo</em></span> while engaged in the worship -of the goddess. Whatever may have been the secret of unfailing -youth, most of the race meeting constituents seemed -to possess it, as they turned out after breakfast on Friday -morning, apparently ready to commence another week’s -racing by day, and dancing by night, if the gods permitted.</p> - -<p class='c001'>About a dozen horses were qualified to start for the -Ladies’ Bag. Hamilton had one, Forbes had one, Bob -Clarke (of course) another, so that the two stables would -again be well represented. O’Desmond, who did not ride -himself, had a likely young horse in, and there were several -others with some sort of provincial reputation. There was -the great Grey Surrey, and lastly that ‘dark,’ unassuming, -dangerous Mendicant of Greyford’s with Mr. Wilfred Effingham -up.</p> - -<p class='c001'>That gentleman had never ridden a race before, but was -a fair cross-country rider before he saw Australia, and since -then the riding of different sorts of horses had, of course, -tended to improve both seat and hands. He was aware of -the principles of race-riding, and though Bob Clarke, -Hamilton, Forbes, and Churbett had semi-professional skill, -he yet trusted, with the befitting courage of youth, to hold -his own in that tilt-yard.</p> - -<p class='c001'>He had borrowed a set of colours, and looking at himself -in the glass arrayed as in the traditional races of England, -was not dissatisfied with his appearance. He found himself -wondering whether he should be regarded with indulgence -by the critical eyes of Miss Christabel, or indeed the penetrating -orbs of Miss Fane. Was there a chance of his -winning? Would it not be a triumph if, in spite of the consummate -horsemanship of Hamilton and Bob Clarke, the -reputation of Grey Surrey, he should win the prize? The -thought was intoxicating. He dared not indulge it. He -partially enveloped himself in an overcoat, which concealed -the glories of his black and scarlet racing-jacket, the only -silken garment which the modern cavalier is permitted to -wear (how differently they ruffled it in the days of the second -Charles!), and hied him to the course.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Here he was met by congratulations on all sides.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_195'>195</span>‘Glad to see you’ve taken to the amateur jock line, -Effingham,’ said Churbett. ‘There’s a world of fun in it, -though it involves early rising. It’s awfully against the -grain with me, but I assure you I look forward to it every -year now. It <em>compels</em> me to take exercise.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘That view of racing never struck me before,’ said Wilfred. -‘But when we’re at Yass, you know, one must follow the -fashion.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Especially when certain people look interested. Aha! -Effingham, you’re an awfully prudent card; but we’re all -alike, I expect.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Pooh, pooh! why shouldn’t I take a turn at the pigskin -as well as you and the others?’ said Wilfred, evading the -impeachment; ‘and this sort of thing is awfully catching, -you know.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Very catching, indeed,’ assented Mr. Churbett. ‘Is that -Miss Fane on the brown horse next to Mrs. Snowden? -Ladylike-looking girl, isn’t she? Suppose we go and get a -bet out of her?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Following up this novel idea they rode over to the little -group, where Mr. Churbett was assailed with all sorts of -compliments and inquiries about the state and prospects of -Grey Surrey.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I think the articles should have been selected with -reference to your complexion, Mr. Churbett,’ said Mrs. -Snowden; ‘you seem so certain of carrying it off. I know -blue is your favourite colour, and I made my smoking-cap -and slippers of the last fashionable shade on purpose.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Always considerate, Mrs. Snowden,’ said the object of -this compliment, as a smile became general at this allusion -to Fred’s auburn-tinted hair. ‘You must have been thinking -of Snowden, who resembles me in that way, and the -<em>very</em> early days when you used to work slippers for him.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Really I forget whether I ever did much in that line for -Snowden. It must have been centuries ago.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh, but I don’t agree with that at all,’ said the fair -Christabel. ‘Suppose some one with dark hair wins it, -then he would have to go about with all sorts of unbecoming -trash. Let every one be guided by their own taste.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I daresay a few trifles that will look well on Bob Clarke -will be found in the bag,’ said Hamilton. ‘I heard something -<span class='pageno' id='Page_196'>196</span>about a gorgeous crimson and gold smoking-cap. I -wonder if anybody has been studying <em>my</em> complexion? If -Effingham wins, you will all be thrown out.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Then you <em>are</em> going to ride, Mr. Effingham?’ said the -fair Christabel, with a smile so irresistible that it fully repaid -him for his troubles and misgivings. ‘I am sure I hope -you will win, though I’m afraid, between Grey Surrey, No -Mamma, and Bolivar, you haven’t a good chance.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I wouldn’t be too certain about that,’ said Miss Fane, -who had recognised Wilfred with a pleasant, cordial greeting, -and whom he thought looking uncommonly well in her habit, -and indisputably well mounted. ‘Don’t be alarmed by these -great reputations. A little bird told me about Mendicant, -and I’ll take the odds (in gloves), which are eight to one, I -believe, that he’s first or second.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>This daring proposal brought rejoinders and wagers upon -the head of the fair turfite, who quietly accepting a few of -the latter, declared that her book was full, but was not to be -dislodged from her position.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Wilfred felt much encouraged, and proportionately grateful -to the fair friend who had stood by him and his unknown -steed. So he registered a vow to remember her in the future—to -like and respect and approve of her—in short, to pay -her all those guarded tributes which men in early life keep -for the benefit of women they admire, trust, and look up to, -but alas! do not love.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Among his few well-wishers must be classed Wilfred’s -sisters and mother, who, honestly pleased to see him ‘respeckit -like the lave,’ as Andrew would have said, secretly thought -that he looked handsomer and better turned out when -mounted than almost anybody else in the race—in fact, -nearly as well as Bob Clarke. But even these partial critics -could not assert to themselves, when they saw Master Bob -come sailing past the stand upon Bolivar, a dark bay thoroughbred, -looking like a brown satin angel (Bolivar, not Bob), -as one enthusiastic damsel observed, that he equalled in -appearance and get-up that inimitable workman. Still, he -looked very nice, they lovingly thought, and of Wilfred’s -clear complexion, brown hair, well-knit frame, and animated -countenance other fair spectators held a like opinion.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Grey Surrey came next, ‘terrible’ for a mile, and owing -<span class='pageno' id='Page_197'>197</span>to his Arab ancestry, a better stayer than might have been -thought from his violent manners. His rider’s admirably -fitting nether garments, the wrinkles of his boots, the shading -of his tops, were accurate to a degree. His bright blue -colours had many a time been in the van. Kindly and -affable in the widest sense, with a vein of irresistible comic -humour, he was the most popular squatter in his district—a -man of whom none thought evil—to whom none would -dream of doing harm more than to the unweaned child. -To a rare though not too sedulously cultivated intellect -Fred Churbett joined the joyous disposition of a moderate -viveur, the soul of a poet, and the heart of a woman. But -the gold held not the due proportion of alloy—too often, -alas! the case with the finer natures.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The comprehensive cheer which the whole assemblage -instinctively gave showed their appreciation. From the -crowd (not so many as on the previous day, but still were -the people not wholly unrepresented) rose cries of ‘Well done, -Mr. Churbett! Hope you’ll win again. Grey Surrey and -The She-oaks for ever!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>And as the silky flowing mane glistened in the sun, while -the proud favourite arched his neck and with wide nostril -and flashing eye trod the turf with impatient footstep, as -might his Arab ancestors have spurned the sands of Balk or -Tadmor, every friend he had on the course, which comprehended -all the ladies, all the gentlemen, all the respectable -and most of the disrespectable persons, thought that if Fred -Churbett and Grey Surrey did not win yet another victory, -there must be something reprehensible about turf matters -generally.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Probably, in order that the ladies might have a liberal -allowance of sport in recompense for their contributions, and -partly in compliance with the undeveloped turf science of -the day, the fashion of ‘heats’ had always been the rule of -this race. Thus, when Grey Surrey came in leading by a -length, with Bolivar and No Mamma racing desperately for -second place, every one of experience stated that the third, -or even the fourth, would be the deciding heat if Bolivar or -No Mamma was good enough to ‘pull it off’ from the -brilliant Surrey. Wilfred had adopted the advice he had -received from Mr. Greyford, and while keeping a fair place, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_198'>198</span>had taken care to save his sluggish steed. He nevertheless -managed to come through the ruck without apparent effort -during the last part of the running, and finished an unpretending -fifth.</p> - -<p class='c001'>On delivering over his horse to Mr. Greyford’s trainer, he -was gratified to find that he had won that official’s unqualified -approval by his style of riding. ‘There isn’t a mark on him, -sir,’ he said; ‘and that’s the way to take him for the first -couple of heats. Mendicant’s a lazy ’oss, and an uncommon -queer customer to wind up. But if Surrey don’t win the -next heat—and I think Mr. Forbes’s No Mamma will give -him all he can do to get his nose in front—it’s this old -duffer’s race, as safe as if the rest was boiled.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘But how about Bolivar?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Well, sir, Bolivar and No Mamma are a-cuttin’ their own -throats the way they’re a-bustin’ theirselves for second place, -and if you go at whatever wins the third heat from <em>the</em> jump, -and take it easy the next ’un, you’ll have this ’ere bag to a -moral.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Returning from this diplomatic colloquy to the vortex of -society, Wilfred found himself to be already an object of -interest in sporting circles. Much advice was tendered to -him, and counsels offered as to his future plan of action, but -as these were mostly contradictory, he thought himself -justified in holding his tongue and abiding by the professional -opinion of the stable.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Before the final heat he found Fireball Bill walking the -veteran up and down, with a serious and thoughtful countenance. -‘Look ’ere, sir, don’t you make too sure of this ’ere -’eat afore you’ve won it. The old ’oss seems right enough; -he’s bound to win if he stands up, but I don’t like the way he -puts down that near foreleg. It’s allers been a big anxiety -to me. He might go away as sound as a roach and crack -up half-way round. But you make the pace from the jump, -and keep ’em goin’, or else one on ’em ’ll do yer at the -bloomin’ post.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What chance is there of that?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Every chance, sir. You mind me. I’m a man as has -follered racing since I was the height of a corn-bin, and -I knows the ways on ’em. Mr. Clarke ain’t easy beat, nor -Mr. Hamilton neither. They’ll go off steady, yer see, as if -<span class='pageno' id='Page_199'>199</span>there was no use tryin’ to pass yer, along o’ their havin’ -busted their ’orses in them ’eats as went afore.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And a very natural idea. It seems a pity to knock them -about, after all they’ve done.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘We’ve got <em>to win this race</em>, sir, and a race ain’t won till -the numbers is up. Now, Mr. Bob Clarke’s dart is jest this. -If he sees you don’t keep the old ’orse on his top, he and Mr. -Hamilton will wait on yer, savin’ their own ’orses till they -come to the straight. Then they’ll go at you with a rush, -and there’s no hamatoor in Australia can take as much out -of a horse in the last ten strides as Bob Clarke. <em>You’re</em> -caught afore the old ’orse can get on to his legs, and the -race is snatched out of the fire by nothin’ but ridin’ and -head-work, and we’re—smothered!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Beaten and laughed at! I understand clearly, Bill. I -shall always think you have had more to do with the winning -of the race than I have.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘That’s all right, sir, but keep it dark. All this is confidential-like -between the trainer and the gen’leman as rides. -There goes the bell again. I can hear Mr. Rockley cussin’ -all the way from where he stands. Here’s your ’orse, sir; -you’ve got to win, or kill him!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Delivering over the unsuspecting Mendicant with this -sound professional but scarcely humane injunction, Fireball -Bill gazed after his charge, and scrutinised the leg he -suspected him of ‘favouring.’ ‘He’s right!’ he finally exclaimed, -after anxious deliberation; ‘but if I hadn’t primed -the cove, ’e’d a’ lost that race, sure’s my name’s William -Scraper.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Wilfred rode on his way in dignified fashion, as befitting -the position of probable winner, but in his heart a feeling of -thankfulness to the old trainer by whose advice he had -escaped a catastrophe. What a mortification it would have -been; how the vane of public opinion would have veered -round! He trembled to think of it; and as he drew up -after the others, he hardened his heart, resolved that no -artifice of the turf should mar his triumph that day.</p> - -<p class='c001'>His rivals went off with an assumption of indifference, -as if merely going round for form’s sake; but he took the -old horse by the head and sent him away as if he was riding -against Time from end to end. His two chief antagonists—for -<span class='pageno' id='Page_200'>200</span>O’Desmond had very properly withdrawn his colt—waited -at a reasonable rate of speed until it became apparent -that Mendicant’s rider had no intention of altering his pace. -Then they set to, and by the way they came up, showed how -accurate was Fireball Bill’s calculation.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Suddenly, and without a sign of premeditation, Bob -Clarke took his horse by the head, and with one of his -many desperate efforts, sent him up so suddenly to the flank -of Mendicant, that Wilfred thought the race was lost in good -earnest.</p> - -<p class='c001'>But as he heard the approaching hoofs, he too commenced -to ‘do the impossible,’ and found that, though -nearly level, Bolivar was unable to improve his position, -while Mendicant, answering whip and spur, gradually drew -in advance, as the winning post and the judge’s stand (and, -as it seemed to Wilfred, half Yass at gaze) came to meet him. -A few strides, a deafening shout, a rally of whips, and the -race is over. But the long, lean head had never been overlapped; -and as he pulls up, head down and distinctly -‘proppy,’ half-a-dozen men struggle for the honour of leading -Mendicant into the weighing-yard, and his rider knows -that he has won. Bolivar, with distended nostril and -heaving flank, follows next, with Bob Clarke sitting languidly -on his back, and looking nearly as exhausted as his horse; -while No Mamma, eased at the distance, drags in, as if she -had had enough of it for some time to come. Wilfred takes -his saddle and mechanically goes to scale. ‘Weight!’ says -Mr. Rockley decisively, and all is over.</p> - -<p class='c001'>In all turf contests, bitter disappointments, deep and -lasting mortifications, sharpened by loss and inconvenience, -occur. But when there comes a real triumph, the sweets -of success are rich of flavour.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Wilfred was the hero of the occasion, Fortune’s latest -favourite, impossible to be deposed until next year. No -newer victor could therefore take away the savour and -memorial of his triumph, as, to a certain extent, he had now -done from Bob Clarke.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Such is the inconsistency of human nature that, although -the steeplechase required about ten times the amount -of horsemanship, besides nerve, experience, and a host of -qualities unneeded in a flat race, Wilfred found himself the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_201'>201</span>observed of all observers, and could not but discern that his -rivals were temporarily in the shade.</p> - -<p class='c001'>He lost no time in bestowing himself into his ordinary -raiment and joining the homeward-bound crowd, secure of -the smiles which ladye fair never refuses to bestow upon the -knight who has worthily done his devoir.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Christabel Rockley congratulated him warmly upon his -good fortune, and then turned to console Bob Clarke, a -process which apparently involved more time and explanation, -so much so that Wilfred changed his locale, under -pretence of looking after his mother and sisters, and soon -found himself in more sympathetic company.</p> - -<p class='c001'>He saw that Miss Fane had become a great friend and -associate of his sister Rosamond, so quickly are lifelong -alliances cemented among young ladies. Mrs. Snowden was -also in the neighbourhood, and among them he was flattered -to his heart’s content.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I was sure you were going to win it from the first,’ said -Mrs. Snowden, as if stating an incontestable fact. ‘I said to -Mrs. Rockley, “How cool Mr. Effingham looks! Depend -upon it, he has ridden in good company before.”’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I never bet anything more substantial than gloves,’ said -Miss Fane, with a gleam of mischief in her eyes; ‘but I can -quite understand the gambling spirit now. I longed to put -a five-pound note papa gave me at parting on Mendicant. -Dreadfully wicked, wasn’t it? But I should have won fifty -or sixty pounds, perhaps a hundred. I have made a small -fortune, however, in gloves.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I shall always think that you were the cause of my -winning, Miss Fane,’ said Wilfred, looking most grateful. -‘No one else believed in me, except these girls here,’ looking -at his sisters.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘We are prejudiced,’ said Rosamond, ‘and will remain -so to the end of the chapter. But I thought you were -fighting against odds, with such champions as Mr. Hamilton -and Mr. Clarke. Now you have won the tilt and are the -favoured knight. Is the queen of beauty to give you the -victor’s wreath?—and who is she?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh, Christabel the peerless, of course,’ said Miss Fane. -‘And I think her the prettiest creature in the world—that -is, for a dark beauty, of course,’ looking at Annabel, who -<span class='pageno' id='Page_202'>202</span>now came up. ‘It’s a case of honours divided, all the men -say.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I wonder how we shall settle down in our peaceful -homes again,’ said Beatrice, ‘after all these wild excitements -and thrilling incidents. I feel as if we were leaving the first -or second volume of a novel.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Why the first or second,’ said Miss Fane, ‘and not the -third?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Because there’s no possibility of our story being complete -in one volume. There are materials for romances here, -but the <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>dénouement</em></span> is wanting. Every one will go home -again on Monday; the actors and actresses will throw on -their wrappers, the lights will be put out, the theatre shut -up, and no piece announced until next year. There is -something theatrical about all pleasure. This indeed is -real melodrama, with plenty of scene-shifting, comedy in -proper proportion, leading actors, and a hint of tragedy in -the last act.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>For the Effinghams this had been a completely new experience. -Without complications of the affections, except in -Wilfred’s case, a wider estimate of Australian country life had -been afforded to them. Besides the squirearchy of the land, -they had met specimens of the best of the younger sons whom -England’s ancient houses still send, year by year, to carry -her laws, her arts, her ambition, and her energy to the most -distant of her possessions. These include, literally, the -ends of the earth, where they may aid in the heroic work of -colonisation, planting the germs of nations, and raising the -foundations of empires. Such men they had among their -immediate neighbours. Still it was pleasant to know that -others of the same high nature and standard of culture, the -Conquistadors of the South, were distributed over the entire -continent.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Moreover, they had fallen across several perfect feminine -treasures, as Annabel declared them to be—friends and -acquaintances, most rare and valuable. Nothing could have -exceeded the hospitality and thoughtful kindness of the -ladies of the Rockley family. Mrs. Rockley had been -unwearied in providing for the comfort of her guests, and in -that congenial employment partaking as well in her own -person of a reasonable share of the pleasures of the continuous -<span class='pageno' id='Page_203'>203</span><span lang="la" xml:lang="la"><em>festa</em></span>, underwent such fatigue, that nothing but an unruffled -temper, with great natural advantages of constitution, prevented -her from breaking down hopelessly before the week -was over. As it was, though there was a slight look of -weariness, an air of responsibility, in the morning, the least -occasion sufficed to bring the ever-cordial smile to the kind -face, when all gravity of mien instantly disappeared.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_204'>204</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XIV <br /> THE DUEL</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>In Ireland’s good old days, before the decline of unlimited -hospitality and claret, debt, duelling, and devilment generally, -when the Court of Encumbered Estates was not, the whole -duty of man apparently being transacted with an enviable -scorn of ready-money payments, no doubt exists, that after -such a race week as we have essayed to recall, more than one -gentleman’s hackney would have gone home without him, -unless the pistol practice was worse than usual.</p> - -<p class='c001'>As it was, a contretemps <em>did</em> occur, which could not be -settled without the intervention of seconds. These gentlemen -decided that a meeting must take place. It chanced -after this wise. As will happen in all lands, there had arisen -a veiled but distinct antagonism between two men who -aspired to social leadership. These were William Argyll and -John Hampden.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The former, haughtily impatient of opposition, was prone -to follow out likes and dislikes, with the enthusiasm of his -Highland blood. Culture, travel, and the drill of society had -but modified his natural temperament. Under provocation it -was as untamed as that of any son of MacCallum Mohr who -had never quitted the paternal glen. He undervalued -the opinions of his Australian-born neighbours who had not, -like himself, enjoyed the advantages of travel. Hasty in -word or deed, habituated to high consideration from the -dwellers near his paternal estate, he was careless to a fault -about giving offence.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Hampden, though a proud and self-respecting man, was -singularly imperturbable of demeanour. Open-minded, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_205'>205</span>generous, interested in every idea calculated to advance the -welfare of his native land, his position was high and unquestioned. -In his own part of the country he was respected -by his equals and reverenced by his inferiors to a degree -uncommon, but by no means unknown in Australia. The -people were much in the habit of resorting to him for aid or -counsel in their difficulties. And whatever Mr. Hampden -said in such cases carried with it the weight and authority -of law. His decisions, indeed, were more often quoted, -more rarely disputed, than those of any bench of magistrates -in the land.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Although cautious in forming his opinions and chary of -expressing them, John Hampden was noted as one who -never gave back an inch from any position which he -assumed. This trait chafed the choleric Argyll, who had -also a considerable ‘following’—admirers of his attainments, -and dominated by his unrelaxing though generous despotism. -It therefore happened that, in public matters, Argyll and -Hampden were mostly observed to take different sides.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Before the race meeting there arose a dispute, common -enough in those days, between the stock-riders of the two -establishments as to the ownership of certain calves at the -annual muster of Mount Wangarua. Some ill-considered -remarks of Argyll’s, reflecting on Hampden’s management, -were repeated with additions. Allusion had been made to -‘indiscriminate branding,’ than which nothing could have -been more uncalled for. A scrupulously exact man in such -matters, many a poor man had reason to bless the day when -his few head of strayed cattle found their way into the herds -which bore the J.H. brand. Rarely was it placed on an -animal without satisfactory proof of ownership. However, -‘accidents will occur in the best regulated (cattle) families,’ -and so had come to pass the mistake, fully explained afterwards, -upon which Argyll had commented unfavourably.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The opportunity afforded for withdrawing his hasty expressions -was not availed of. So after a formal interview, the -alternative was reached which, by the laws of society in -that early day, compelled a resort to the pistol.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Of course, this ultimatum, though known to a few -intimate friends, was carefully concealed from the general -public. The rivals met without suspicious coldness, were -<span class='pageno' id='Page_206'>206</span>seen at the ordinary gatherings, and bore themselves as -became the average pleasure-seekers of the hour. But the -meeting had been fixed for the Monday following the race -week, and it was agreed that the principals, with their seconds, -should visit a certain secluded spot on the homeward route -of Hampden’s party, and there arrange their difficulty.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Both men were known to be good shots; with rifle and -pistol (not yet had Colonel Colt impressed his revolving -signet on the age) Hampden was known to have few equals. -But no surprise was manifested when it was announced on -the eventful Monday that Hampden and his friend Neville, -together with Forbes, Argyll, and Churbett, had departed at -daylight and taken the same road. Every one was in the -confused state of mind which is prone to succeed a season -of indulgence. There were bills to pay, clothes to pack, -resolutions as to improvement to be made by those who had -exceeded their usual limit in love, loo, or liquor. So that, -except an expression of astonishment that any reason whatever -should have had power to take Fred Churbett out of -his bed at such an abnormal hour, little was said.</p> - -<p class='c001'>As they rode through the silent streets of the sleepy town, -a moaning breeze betokened that the exceptionally fine -weather they had enjoyed was about to change for the -worse.</p> - -<p class='c001'>To Fred Churbett, as he rode along with a young surgeon -impressed in case of accident, the day seemed chilly, the -fitful wind boding, the darkening sky gloomy and drear. -‘What if one of these men, in all the pride of manhood, so -lately rejoicing in the sport in which they had been jointly -engaged, should never leave the Granite Glen alive? -What a mockery was this life of ours! And for what? for -a careless word—a hasty jest—for this might a man go down -to the dark unknown, with all his sins upon his head. -A melancholy ending to their pleasant days and joyous -nights!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>These cheerless meditations were probably compounded -in equal proportions of bilious indigestion and natural regret. -Fred’s inner man had come off indifferently under a regimen -of late hours and mixed refreshments; so much so, that he -had professed his intention, when he returned to the peaceful -shades of The She-oaks, ‘to lie on his back for a month -<span class='pageno' id='Page_207'>207</span>and live on blue-pill.’ Such thoughts would not have -occurred to him had he been engaged as principal. But as -a mere spectator of a mortal combat they were impressively -urgent.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Besides all this, Hampden was a married man—had a -wife and half-a-dozen boys and girls at Mount Wangarua. -When he thought that a messenger might ride up through -the far-famed meadows, where the white-faced Herefords lay -thick on the clover sward the summer through, to tell the -expectant wife that the husband—the father, the pattern -country gentleman—would return no more! Fred felt as if -he must strike up everybody’s sword, as in old melodramas, -and call upon them in the name of God and man to desist -from a deed at once puerile and immoral.</p> - -<p class='c001'>But like a dream when morning breaks, and princess -and noble, castle and dragon flee into the shadow-land, -whence they came, so his purpose vanished into thin air, as -they suddenly debouched upon the Granite Glen, and he -saw by the set faces of the men, as they dismounted, how -unavailing would be all interference.</p> - -<p class='c001'>With sudden revulsion of feeling, he prepared to act his -part. Motioning the young surgeon to follow him to the little -creek which rippled plaintively over the grey blocks, shaded -by the funereal, sighing casuarina, they took charge of the -horses of the combatants. Forbes and Neville each produced -one of the oblong cases ‘which no gentleman could be without’ -in those days. Twelve paces were stepped by Forbes, -in deference to his similar experiences. The principals took -their ground.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Fred Churbett scanned narrowly, at the moment, the -faces he knew so well. On Argyll’s he saw the look of -vehement resolve which he had seen a hundred times -before, while his eyes glowed with angry light. Fred knew -that whenever any one alluded to Hampden’s alleged expression, -‘that he was a hot-blooded Highlander, accustomed -to rule semi-savages, and who did not know how to conduct -himself among gentlemen,’ or words to that effect, Argyll -could not be held accountable for his actions. When the -passion fit was over, a more accomplished, courteous gentleman -did not live—generous to a fault, winning, nay, fascinating, -of manner to all with whom he came into contact.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_208'>208</span>Hampden’s face, on the other hand, bore its usual serious -expression, with no shadow of change o’er the mild, contemplative -gaze. He looked, as he always appeared to those -who knew him, as if he were thinking out the subject -on hand with painstaking earnestness in the interests of -truth.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Duels were always rare in Australia. Now they are unknown. -Society appears to manage without them in disputes -affecting the honour of individuals. Whether manners -have suffered in consequence, is a point upon which opinions -have differed. It had so chanced that Hampden had never -stood ‘on the ground’ before, although in skirmishes with -the wild tribes of his native land it was well known that his -cool intrepidity and unerring aim had more than once saved -life.</p> - -<p class='c001'>On this occasion an observer of character might have -believed that he was more closely occupied in analysing his -own and his adversary’s sensations than in attending to his -personal interest.</p> - -<p class='c001'>That opinion would have been modified, when the critic -observed him raise his hand with quiet precision at the -signal. He fired with instinctive rapidity, and at the falling -handkerchief two reports rang out.</p> - -<p class='c001'>As each man preserved his position unaltered, a sigh of -relief broke from Fred Churbett. The features of Hampden -had not in the slightest degree altered their expression. The -eager observer even thought he detected a tendency to the -slow, humorous smile which was wont to be his substitute -for laughter, as Argyll threw down his weapon with a hasty -exclamation, while a red line on his pistol arm showed that -the accuracy of Hampden’s aim had not been altered by the -nature of his target.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You are hit, Argyll?’ said Churbett, starting forward. -‘For God’s sake, stop this mummery! I know Hampden -regrets anything inconsiderate he may have said.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The brow of Argyll was black with suppressed fury.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘A d——d graze, can’t you see, sir?’ he said, as he -reluctantly pulled up his coat-sleeve for the inspection of the -surgeon. ‘The matter cannot stop here. An apology at this -stage would be absurd. I am in Mr. Forbes’s hands, I -believe.’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_209'>209</span>That gentleman had already walked gravely forward to -meet Mr. Neville, who, with equal seriousness of demeanour, -conferred with his antagonistic diplomate. Words were exchanged, -ending with an ominous shaking of the head on -Forbes’s part. The seconds, having courteously bowed, departed -to their former positions. There they placed pistols -in the hands of the opponents, and took their stations. -Even at this stage the manner of the two men remained -as essentially apart as their constitutions. Argyll stood -chafing with impatience, while Hampden’s eyes wandered -calmly over the whole scene—the valley, the little stream, the -threatening sky—as if considering the chances of the season.</p> - -<p class='c001'>As the pistols were handed to them, Argyll took his -weapon with a quick gleam of the eye, which spoke of inward -strife, while Hampden accepted his mechanically and proceeded -to gaze fixedly at Argyll, as if prepared to give the -matter his serious attention.</p> - -<p class='c001'>At the signal he raised his hand as before, but one report -only startled the birds on the adjacent tree-tops. Hampden -held his pistol in the steady hand which so few had ever -known to swerve from a deadly aim, and then, elevating the -muzzle, fired carelessly into space.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘We should have improved in our shooting,’ he said, ‘as -we went on; Argyll’s second shot was not so wide as the -first. He has spoiled my coat collar.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘By Jove!’ ejaculated Neville, ‘rather a near thing. This -must end the matter; I’ll be no party to another shot.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I have no objection to state <em>now</em>,’ said Hampden, ‘that -I regret the expressions used by me. I beg unreservedly to -withdraw them.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>After a short colloquy between Argyll and Forbes, the -latter came forward, and with great precision of intonation -thus delivered himself.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I have much pleasure in stating, on the part of my -principal, that while accepting Mr. Hampden’s handsome -apology and retractation, he desires to recognise cordially his -generous behaviour.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Only the Spartan laws of the duello, inexorably binding -upon all men soever of a certain rank in society, prevented -Fred Churbett from throwing his hat into the air at this -termination of the affair.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_210'>210</span>As each party moved off in opposite directions, after -Argyll had, rather against his will, submitted to having his -arm bandaged, <span lang="la" xml:lang="la"><em>secundum artem</em></span>, Hampden said to Neville:</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What mockeries these affairs are! I could have shot -Argyll “as dead as a herring.” It’s better as it is, though.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘It’s a good thing his last shot wasn’t an inch or two -<em>inside</em> your collar instead of out,’ said Neville gravely. -‘After all, as you say, these things are mockeries, and worse. -Suppose he <em>had</em> drilled you, and I was on my way to tell Mrs. -Hampden that her husband would never return to her?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘But <em>you</em> wouldn’t be able to have given the sad intelligence, -old fellow,’ said Hampden; ‘you would have been -fleeing from justice, or surrendering yourself. Deuced troublesome -affair to all concerned, except the departed. But a -man must live or die, in accordance with the rules of society. -After all, there’s nearly as much chance of breaking one’s -neck mustering over that lava country of ours as being -snuffed out in this way. Life’s a queer lottery at best.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘H—m, ha!’ said Neville, ‘great deal to be got out of -the subject; don’t feel in the humour for enlarging on it -just now. What a good fellow that Churbett is! He had -a mind to read the Riot Act himself.’</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>An angry man ye may opine,</div> - <div class='line'>Was he, the proud Count Palatine!</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c001'>And dire would have been the wrath of our provincial -potentate, William Rockley, had he but known on Sunday -morning what deeds were about to be enacted within his -social and magisterial jurisdiction.</p> - -<p class='c001'>No sympathy had he, a man of strictly modern ideas, with -what he called the mediæval humbug of duelling. He looked -upon the policeman as the proper exponent of such proceedings. -Could he have but guessed where this discreditable -anachronism, according to his principles, was being perpetrated, -all concerned would have found themselves in the -body of Yass gaol, in default of sufficient sureties to keep -the peace. The news, however, did not leak out until afterwards, -owing to the discretion of the persons concerned, and -the fortunate absence of serious results. When it did become -matter of public comment, his imperial majesty was furious. -He abused every one concerned in unmeasured terms; swore -<span class='pageno' id='Page_211'>211</span>he would never speak to Argyll or Forbes again, and would -have Hampden struck off the Commission of the Peace. As -for Fred Churbett, he considered him the worst of the lot, -because of his deceitful, diabolical amiability, which permitted -him to assist in such infamous bloodthirsty designs unsuspectedly. -Not one of them should ever darken his doors -again. He would never subscribe another shilling to the -Yass Races; indeed, he believed he would sell out, wind up -his business, and leave that part of the colony altogether.</p> - -<p class='c001'>However, not receiving intimation of this infraction of the -law until matters were somewhat stale, the <span lang="la" xml:lang="la"><em>status in quo</em></span> was -undisturbed. The whole of the company, with the exception -of the few who were in the secret, were similarly innocent; -so the air remained unclouded. An afternoon walk to -Fern-tree Hollow, a shady defile which lay a couple of miles -from the town, was the accepted Sunday stroll.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Every one turned up to say farewell, thinking it a more -suitable time than on the hurried, packing, saddling, harnessing-up, -bill-paying morrow. Then once more the work of -the hard world would recommence. The idyll had been -sung to the last stanza. The nymphs would seek their -forest retreats, the listening fauns would disappear amid the -leaves. The rites of that old world deity ‘Leisure,’ now -sadly circumscribed, had been honoured and ended. This -was the last day, almost the last hour, when Phyllis could be -expected to listen to soft sighings, or Neæra to be seen in -proximity to the favouring shade.</p> - -<p class='c001'>As they strolled homewards, in the evening, with a troubled -sunset and a cooler breeze, as if in sympathy with the imminent -farewell, the scraps of conversation which might have -been gathered were characteristic. Something more than -half-confidences were occasionally interchanged, and semi-sentimental -speculations not wholly wanting.</p> - -<p class='c001'>At the close of the evening, and the end of the stroll, -every one, of course, went to the Maison Rockley, and comforted -their souls with supper, Sunday being an early dinner -day, as in all well-regulated British families. Conversations -which had not been satisfactorily concluded had here a -chance of definite ending, as the guests somehow seemed -unwilling to separate when the probability of meeting again -was uncertain or remote.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_212'>212</span>With the exception of a little music, there was no attempt -at other than conversational occupation, which indeed appeared -to suffice fully for the majority of the guests. And -though ordinary topics gradually introduced themselves, and -Rockley, in the freedom of the verandah, reiterated his -opinions to Mr. Effingham upon the iniquities of the land -law, a subdued tone pervaded, half unconsciously, the various -groups, as of members of one family about to separate for a -hazardous expedition.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I feel terribly demoralised,’ said Mrs. Snowden, ‘after all -this dissipation; it is like a visit to Paris must have been to -Madame Sevigné, after a summer in the provinces. Like -her, we shall have to take to letter-writing when we go home -to keep ourselves alive. The poultry are my great stand-by -for virtuous occupation. They suffer, I admit, from these -fascinating trips to Yass; for the last time I returned I -found two hens sitting upon forty-five eggs. Now what -philosophy could support that?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Whose philosophy, that of the hens?’ inquired Hamilton, -who, with his observant companion, had been mildly reviewing -the confidentially occupied couples. ‘It looks to me -like a case of overweening feminine ambition on their part.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘It was all the fault of that careless Charlotte Lodore -who was staying with me—a cousin of mine, and a dreadful -girl to read. She was so deeply interested in some new book -that she left the poor fowls to their own devices, and never -thought about adjusting their “clutches”—that’s the expression—until -I returned. If you could have seen our two -faces as we gazed at the pile of addled eggs you would have -been awed. I <em>was</em> so angry.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>As for Wilfred, he concluded an æsthetic conversation with -Miss Fane by trusting that she would be enabled to accept -his mother’s invitation, and pay them a visit at Warbrok -Chase before the winter set in.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Nothing would give me greater pleasure, really,’ said she, -‘but I seldom manage to leave home, except to see a relation -in Sydney, or when our good friends Mr. and Mrs. -Rockley insist on my coming here. But for them, papa -would hardly consent to my visiting in the country at all.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>There was evidently some constraint in the manner of -the girl’s explanation, and Wilfred did not press for the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_213'>213</span>solution, trusting to time and the frank candour with which -every one discussed every other person’s affairs in the neighbourhood.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Miss Fane took an opportunity of quitting her seat and -joining Mrs. Effingham and Beatrice, with whom, much to -Wilfred’s satisfaction, she maintained a friendly and confidential -talk until the little party commenced to disperse. -He discovered at the same time that Christabel Rockley and -Bob Clarke had exhausted their powers of mutual fascination -for the present, so he could not forgo the temptation -of hastening, after the manner of moths of all ages, to -singe his wings in a farewell flutter round the fatal Christabel. -That enchantress smiled upon him, and rekindled his regrets -with a spare gleam or two from out her wondrous eyes, large -as must have been the consumption of soul-felt glances -during the evening; yet such is the insatiable desire for -conquest that she listened responsively to his warm acknowledgments -of the pleasure they had enjoyed during the -week, nearly all of which was attributable to the great kindness -of Mrs. Rockley and the hospitality of her father. ‘He -should <em>never</em> forget it. The remembrance would last him all -his life,’ and so on, and so on.</p> - -<hr class='c013' /> - -<p class='c001'>On Monday morning business in its severest sense set -in for the world of Yass, its belongings, and dependencies. -Before dawn all professionals connected with race-horses -were hard at work with the silent energy which characterises -the breed. Jockeys and trainers, helpers and boys, were -steadily employed, each in his own department, strapping, -packing, or saddling up with a taciturn solemnity of mien, -as if racing had been abolished by Act of Parliament, and -no further rational enjoyment was to be hoped for in a -ruined world. Correspondingly, the tide of labour and rural -commerce swelled and deepened. Long teams of bullocks -slowly traversed the main street, with the heavy, indestructible -dray of the period, filled with loads of hay, wheat, -maize, oats, or flour. Farmers jogged along in spring-carts, -or on rough nags; the shops were open and busy, while the -miscellaneous establishment of Rockley and Company, which -accommodated with equal ease an order for a ton of sugar or -a pound of nails, a hundred palings, or sawn timber for a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_214'>214</span>bridge, was, as usual, crowded with every sort of client and -customer, in need of every kind of merchandise, advice, or -accommodation.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Shortly after breakfast, therefore, Black Prince pranced -proudly up before his wheeler to the door of Rockley House, -looking—but by no means likely to carry out that impropriety—as -if he was bent upon running away every mile of -the homeward journey. Portmanteaus and, it must be admitted, -parcels of unknown size and number (for when did -women ever travel forth, much less return, without supplementary -packages?) were at length conveniently bestowed.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Adieus and last words—the very last—were exchanged -with their kind hostess and her angelic daughter, who had -vowed and promised to visit The Chase at an early period. -Rockley had betaken himself to his counting-house hours -before. Fergus and Allspice were once more honoured with -the weight of their respective mistresses, and the little -cortège departed. Our cavalier had, we know, been prevented -by a pressing engagement from accompanying them -on the homeward route; but it was not to be supposed that -two young ladies like Rosamond and Beatrice were to be -permitted to ride through the forest glades escorted merely -by relations. Most fortunately Mr. St. Maur happened to -be visiting his friend O’Desmond, combining business and -pleasure, for a few days. As his road lay past The Chase, -he was, of course, only too happy to join their party.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Annabel Effingham thought that Bertram St. Maur was -perhaps the prince and seigneur of their by no means undistinguished -circle of acquaintances. A tall, handsome -man, with a natural air of command, he was by Blanche and -Selden, immediately after they had set eyes on him, declared -to be the image of a Norman King in their History of England, -and invested accordingly with grand and mysterious -attributes. A well-known explorer, in the first days of his residence -in Australia he had preferred the hazards of discovery -to the slower gains of ordinary station life. He was therefore -looked upon as the natural chief and leader in his own -border district, a position which, with head and hand, he was -well qualified to support.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The homeward journey was quickly performed, a natural -impatience causing the whole party to linger as little as -<span class='pageno' id='Page_215'>215</span>possible on the road. Once more they reached the ascent -above their home, from which they could look down upon the -green slopes, the tranquil lake, the purple hills, of the well-known -landscape. The afternoon had kept fine; the change -from the busy town, the late scene of their dissipation, was -not unpleasing.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I am pleased to think that you young people have enjoyed -yourselves,’ said Mrs. Effingham, ‘and so, I am sure, has papa. -It has been a change for him; but, oh, if you knew how -delighted I am to see home again!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘So am I; so are we all,’ said Annabel. ‘I for one will -never say a word against pleasure, for I have enjoyed myself -tremendously. But “enough is as good as a feast.” We -have had a grand holiday, and like good children we shall go -back cheerfully to our lessons—that is, to our housekeeping, -and dear old Jeanie.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Your mother is right in thinking that I enjoyed myself,’ -said Mr. Effingham. ‘I found most pleasant acquaintances, -and had much interesting talk about affairs generally. It -does a man good, when he is no longer young, to meet men -of the same age and to exchange ideas. But I must say that -the pleasure was of an intense and compressed description; it -ought to last you young people for a year.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘<em>Half a year</em>,’ said Annabel, ‘I really think it might. <em>We</em> -met improving acquaintances too,—though I am popularly -supposed not to care about sensible conversation,—Miss Fane, -for instance. We shared a room, and I thought her a delightful, -original, clever creature, and so good too. Can’t we -have her over here, mamma? She lives at a place called -Black Mountain, ever so far away, and can hardly ever leave -home, because she has little brothers to teach, and all the -housekeeping to do. I am sorry she is so far off.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘So am I, Annabel. We should all like to see more of -her.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I think that there were an unusual number of pretty girls,’ -continued Annabel. ‘As for Christabel Rockley, I could -rave about her as much as if I were a man. She is a lovely -creature, and as good-natured and unselfish as a child.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I must say,’ said Mr. Effingham, ‘that for hospitality in -the largest sense of the word, I never saw anything to surpass -that of our friends. I knew Ireland well when I was young, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_216'>216</span>but even that proverbially generous land seems to me to be -outdone by our Australian friends.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I hope Jeanie will have a nice dinner for us,’ said -Annabel. ‘But we need never be afraid of the dear old -thing not doing everything she ought to have done. She -knew we were coming home to-day, and she will be ready and -prepared for a prince, if we had picked up a stray one at Yass. -Home, sweet home! How glad I am! There is nothing -like dissipation for making one feel truly virtuous.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Of a truth, there is always something sacred and precious -connected in the minds of the widely scattered families of the -Anglo-Saxon race about the very name of ‘home!’ There -was no one of the Effinghams whose heart was not stirred as -they rode and drove up to the hall door, and saw the kindly, -loving face of Jeanie, the seriously satisfied countenance of -Andrew, and even the silent Duncan, quite excited for him, -as he stood ready to assist with the horses. The garden in -the neighbourhood of the entrance gate was trim and neat, -while showers had preserved the far-stretching verdure which -glorifies the country in whatever hemisphere. No great time -was consumed in unsaddling. Guy personally superintended -the stabling of St. Maur’s horse, while Wilfred conducted -him to one of the spare rooms. Dick Evans, always handy -in emergencies, turned up in time to dispose of the tandem. -And in less than half an hour Effingham and his new -acquaintance were walking up and down the verandah awaiting -the dinner-bell, much refreshed and comforted, and in a -state of mind fitted for admiring the landscape.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘How fortunate you seem to have been in falling across -such a family residence,’ said St. Maur. ‘You might have -been for years in the country and never heard of anything -half so good. What a lovely view of the lake; and first-class -land, too, it seems to be.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘We owe our good fortune in great part, or I may say -altogether, to my old friend Sternworth. But for him we -should never have seen Australia, or have been stumbling -about in the dark after we did come here. And if it were -possible to need any other aid or advice, I feel certain Mr. -Rockley would insist on giving it. I must say that the soil -of Australia produces more friends in need to the square mile -than any other I know.’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_217'>217</span>‘It may be overrated in that respect,’ said St. Maur, -smiling; ‘but you are in no danger of overrating Rockley’s -benevolence or his miraculous ways and means of carrying -out his intentions. As for Mr. Sternworth, he is the “Man -of Ross”—or rather of Yass—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>To all the country dear,</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c001'>and passing rich on not exactly ‘forty pounds a year,’ but -the Australian equivalent. If he introduces any more such -desirable colonists we must have him made rural Dean. You -are satisfied with your investment, I take it?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘So much so, that I look forward with the keenest relish -to the many changes and improvements [here his visitor gave -a slight involuntary motion of dissent] which I trust to carry -out during the next few years. Everything is reassuring in -a money-making aspect, so I trust not to be indiscreet in -developing the property.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘My dear sir, nothing can be more proper than that we -should carry out plans for the improvement of our estates, -after they have shown annual profit balances for years. But to -spend money on improvements in Australia <em>before</em> you have -a reserve fund is—pardon my frankness—held to be imprudent.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘But surely a property well improved must pay eventually -better than one where, as at present, all the stock are permitted -to roam almost in a state of nature?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘When you come to talk of stock paying, my dear sir, you -must bear in mind that it is not the finest animal that yields -the most profit, but the one on which, at a saleable age, you -have <em>expended the least money</em>.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The evening passed most pleasantly, with just sufficient -reference to the experiences of the week to render the conversation -entertaining. In the morning their guest departed, -and with him the last associations of the memorable race -meeting, leaving the family free to pursue the calm pursuits -of their ordinary life.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Wilfred found himself freshly invigorated and eager to take -up again occupations connected with the policy of the -establishment. He praised Dick Evans and old Tom warmly -for the exact order in which he found all departments, not -forgetting a word of approval for Andrew, of whose good -<span class='pageno' id='Page_218'>218</span>conduct, however, he was assured under all possible circumstances.</p> - -<p class='c001'>As the season passed on, it seemed as though the family -of the Effinghams had migrated to one of the poets’ isles—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in4'>Happy with orchard lawns,</div> - <div class='line'>Where never wind doth blow or tempest rave—</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c001'>so flawless were all the climatic conditions, upon which their -well-being depended.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Pleasant it was, after the day’s work was done, when the -family gathered round the substantial fire which, red-glowing -with piled-up logs, thoroughly warmed but did not oppressively -heat the lofty room. Then came truly the season of</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Rest, and affection, and stillness.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c001'>Although a certain reaction was apparent after the -stupendous adventures and experiences of the race meeting, -yet moderate social intercourse survived. Mr. Churbett -was the first of the personages from the outer world who -presented himself, and the historiette of the duel having -leaked out, he had to undergo a grave lecture and remonstrance -from Mrs. Effingham, which, as he said afterwards, -reminded him so of his own mother that it brought the -tears into his eyes.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Mr. Argyll, luckily for his peace of mind, had occasion to -go to Sydney, otherwise, not to mention chance reviewers -and critics, it is hard to imagine how he could have protected -himself against the uncompromising testimony which -Mrs. Teviot felt herself compelled to take up against him.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Spillin’ the bluid o’ the Lord’s anointed; no that Maister -Hampden was mair than a magistrate, but still it is written, -‘they bear not the sword in vain.’ And oh, it’s wae to -think if Hampden’s bullet had juist gane thro’ the heart o’ -Maister Argyll, and his mither, that gracious lady, wearyin’ -for him by the bonny hills o’ Tarbert! And that Maister -Churbett, I wadna hae thocht it. I could fell him.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Howard Effingham, in a general way, disapproved of -duelling, but as a soldier and a man of the world was free -to confess that, as society was constituted, such an ultimatum -could not be dispensed with. He was happy to hear no -casualty had occurred. His own opinion, judging from what -he had seen of colonial society, was that the men composing -<span class='pageno' id='Page_219'>219</span>it were an exceptionally reasonable set of people, whose lives, -from circumstances, were of exceptional value to the community -at large as well as to their families. In the older -countries of Europe, where duelling had formerly flourished, -the direct converse of this proposition often obtained. He -believed that in course of time the practice of duelling would -become so unnecessary, even unfashionable, as to be practically -obsolete.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Mr. Hampden did not belong to their ‘side of the -country’ (or neighbourhood); thus he was necessarily left -to receive his share of admonition from his wife, and such -of his personal friends who cared to volunteer reproof or -remonstrance. There were those who smiled sardonically at -this view of the case.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_220'>220</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XV <br /> THE LIFE STORY OF TOM GLENDINNING</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>During one of the long rides which Wilfred was obliged to -take from time to time with Tom Glendinning, it occurred -to him to ask about his previous history. The old man -was unusually well; that is, free from rheumatism and -neuralgia. The demons which tortured his irritable temper -were at rest. For a wonder, Tom was communicative.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Sure there’s little use in knowin’ the finds and the kills -and blank days of a toothless old hound like meself. I’m -broken-mouthed enough to know better; but the oulder some -gets, the wickeder they are. Maybe it’s because there’s little -hope for them. I was born in the north of Ireland, where -my people was dacent enough. Linen factories they had—no -less. My great grandfather came from Scotland, my -father was dead, and my uncle that I lived with was the -sourest old miser that ever the Black North turned out. -I was a wild slip of a youngster always, like a hawk among -barn-door fowl. My mother came from the West. It was -her blood I had, and it ran too free and merry in thim days. -She was dead too, but I loved her people. I liked the -sporting notions of ’em, and took to their ways, their fights, -their fairs and the very brogue, just to spite my uncle and -his canting breed.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I hated everything they liked, and liked everything they -hated. I was flogged and locked up for runnin’ away from -school. Why should I stay in and larn out of a dog’s-eared -book when the hounds met within five Irish miles of me? -I was always with them when I could slip off—sleepin’ in -the stables, helpin’ the grooms, doin’ anything so they’d let -<span class='pageno' id='Page_221'>221</span>me stay about the stables and kennel. I could ride any -hunter they had at exercise and knew every fox-covert in the -neighbourhood, every hare’s form, besides being able to tie -a fly and snare rabbits. When I was twelve years old I ran -away and made my way down to Mayo, to my mother’s -people—God be with them all their days! I was happy -then.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I suppose you were, indeed,’ said Wilfred.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Why wouldn’t I be? My mother’s brother was but a -small farmer, but he was a king’s ayqual for kind-heartedness, -divilment and manliness. He could follow the hounds on -foot for a ten-mile run. He was the best laper, wrestler, -hurler, and stick-fighter in the barony. The sort of man I -could have died for. More by token, he took to me at once -when I stumbled in sore-footed and stiff like a stray puppy. -I was the “white-headed boy” for my dead mother’s sake.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You had all you could wish for, then.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I had. I was a fool, too, but sure I didn’t know it. -’Tis that same makes all the differ. The Squire took a -fancy to me, after I rode a five-year-old for him over the -ox-fences one day. I was made dog-boy, afterwards third -whip; and sure, when I had on the cord breeches and the -coat with the hunt button, I was prouder than the king. -There was no divilment in all the land I wasn’t in; but I -didn’t drink in thim days, and I knew my work well. Whin -I was twenty-two a fit took me to go to Belfast and see the -ould place again.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Did you wish to ask for your uncle’s blessing?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Not if I was stritched for it! But my cousin Mary! -sure I could never get her out of my head, and thim black -eyes of hers. She kissed me the night I ran away, and the -taste of her lips and the sweet look of her eyes could never -lave me. I can see her face now. I wonder where is she? -And will I see her again when I go to my place!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The old man turned away his head; his voice was still -for some moments. Were there tears in those evil-glowing -eyes, that never lowered before mortal man or quailed under -the shadow of death? Who shall say? Wilfred played with -his bridle-rein. When the henchman spoke next he gazed -resolutely before him, towards the far purple mountain peak; -his voice once more was strong and clear.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_222'>222</span>‘Whin I seen her again she was a woman grown, but -her eyes were the same, and her heart was true to the wild -boy that was born to ruin all that was nigh or kind to -him. The old man scowled at me. There was little love -between us.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘“So you’ve grown into a useless man instead of a disobedient -lad,” he said. “Why didn’t ye stay among the -rebels and white-boys of the West? It’s the company that -fits ye well; you’ll have the better chance of being hanged -before you’re older. Change your name before it’s a by-word -and a disgrace to honest folks.”</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I swore then I’d make him repent his words, and that if -I was hanged my name should be known far and wide. I -went back to the wild West. But if I did I gave him good -raison to curse me to his dyin’ day. I soothered over Mary -to marry me, and the day after we were well on the way to -Athlone.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Surely then you had a happy life before you, Tom?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘True for you. If I wasn’t happy, no man ever was. But -the divil was too strong in me. I was right for the first year. -I loved my work with the hounds, and the master—rest his -sowl—used to say there wasn’t a whip west of Athlone could -hold a candle to me. He gave me a snug cottage. Mary -was a great favourite entirely with the ladies of the house. -For that year—that one blessed year of my life—I was free -from bad ways. Within the year Mary had a fine boy in her -arms—the moral of his father, every one said—and as she -smiled on me, I felt as if what the priest said about being -good and all the rest of it, might be true, after all.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And what made the change, Tom?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘The ould story—restlessness, bad company, and saycret -societies. I got mixed up in one, that I joined before I was -married, more for the fun of the night walks and drillin’s and -rides than anything else. The oath once taken—a terrible -oath it was, more by token—I thought shame of breakin’ it. -It’s little I’d care <em>now</em> for a dozen like it. The end of it was, -one night I must go off with a mob of young fools, like -myself, to frighten a strong farmer who had taken the land -over a poor man’s head. I didn’t know then that the best -kindness for a strugglin’ holder there, was to hunt him out -of the overstocked land to this place, or America, or the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_223'>223</span>West Indies. Anyhow, we burned a stack. After I left, -the boys were foolish and bate him. He took to his bed -and died—divil mend him! Two days afterwards I was -arrested on a warrant, and lodged in the county gaol. ’Twas -the first time I heard a prison lock turn behind me. Not -the last, by many a score times.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I had no chance at the Assizes. A girl swore to me as -Huntsman Tom. Five of thim was hanged. I got off with -transportation. I was four miles away whin they were heard -batin’ Doran. I asked the Judge to hang me with the rest. -He said it couldn’t be done. Mary came every day to see -me, poor girleen; she liked to show me the boy; but I could -see her heart was broke, though she tried to smile—such a -smile—for my sake. I desarved what I got, maybe. But if -I’d been let off then, as there’s a God in heaven I’d have -starved rather than have done a wrong turn agin as long as -I lived. If them judges knew a man’s heart, would they let -one off, wonst in a way? Mary was with me every day, wet -or dry, on board the prison ship till she sailed. Is there -angels come to hell, I wonder, to see the wretches in torment? -If they do, they’ll look like <em>her</em>, as she stood on the deck and -trembled whin the chained divils that some calls men filed -by. She looked at me with her soft eyes, till I grew mad, -and told her roughly to go home and take the child with -her. Then she dropped on her knees and cried, and kissed -my hands with the irons on them and the face of me, like a -madwoman. She lifted the baby to me for a minute, and -it held out its hands. I kissed its wheeshy soft face, and -she was gone out of my sight—out of my life—for ever.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘How did you like the colony?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Well enough at the first. I worked well, and did what -I was tould. It was all the relafe there was. I made sure I -should get my freedom in a few years. The first letther I -got was from my old uncle. Mary was dead! He said -nothin’ about the child, but he would bring it up, and -never wished to hear my name again. This changed me -into a rale divil, no less. All that was bad in me kem out. -I was that desperate that I defied the overseers, made friends -with the biggest villians among the prisoners, and did everything -foolish that came into my head. I was punished, and -the worse I was trated the worse I grew. I was chained -<span class='pageno' id='Page_224'>224</span>and flogged and starved and put into dark cells. ’Tis -little satisfaction they got of me, for I grew that savage and -stubborn that I was all as one as a wild baste, only wickeder. -If ye seen my back now, after the triangles, scarred and -callused from shoulder to flank! I was marked out for -Norfolk Island; ye’ve heard tell of that place?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Wilfred nodded assent.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘That <em>hell</em>!’ screamed the old man, ‘where men once -sent never came back. Flogged and chained; herded like -bastes, when the lime that they carried off to the boats burned -holes in their naked flesh, wading through the surf with it! -But I forgot, there was <em>one</em> way to get back to Sydney.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And what way was that?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You could always <em>kill</em> a man—one of your mates—only -a prisoner—sure, it couldn’t matter much!’ said the old man -with a dreadful laugh; ‘but ye were sent up to Sydney in the -Government brig, and tried and hanged as reg’lar as if ye wor -a free man and owned a free life. There was thim there -thin that thought the pleasure trip to Sydney and the comfort -of a new gaol and a nate condimned cell all to yourself, -well worth a man’s blood, and a sure rope when the visit was -over. Ha! ha!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>He laughed long and loud. The sound was so unnatural -that Wilfred fancied if their talk had occurred by a lonely -camp in a darksome forest at midnight, instead of under the -garish light of day, he might have imagined faint unearthly -cries and moans strangely mingled with that awful laughter.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Thim was quare times; but I didn’t go to ‘the island -hell’ after all. An up-country settler came to the barracks -to pick a groom, as an assigned servant—so they called us. -He was a big, bold-lookin’ man, and as I set my eyes on him, -I never looked before me or on the floor as most of thim did.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘“What’s that man?” he said. “I like the look of him; -he’s got plenty of devil in him; that’s my sort. He can ride, -by the look of his legs. I’m just starting up-country.”</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘They wouldn’t give me to him at first; said I was too -bad to go loose. But he had friends in high places, and they -got me assigned to him. Next day we started for a station. -When I felt a horse between my legs I began to have the -feelings of a man again. He gave me a pistol to carry, too. -Bushrangers wor on the road then, and he carried money.’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_225'>225</span>‘“You can fight or not, as you like, Tom,” he said, “if we -meet any of the boys; but if you show cur, back you go to the -barracks.”</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘“Sooner to hell,” says I. I felt that I would go through -fire and water for him. He trated me liked a <em>man</em>!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And did you meet any bushrangers?’ said Wilfred.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘We did then—the Tinker’s gang—three of them, and a -boy. They bailed us up in a narrow place. I took steady -aim and shot the Tinker dead. As well him as me—not -that I cared a traneen for my life. My master dropped a -second man; the other one and the boy bolted for their -lives.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘“Well done, Tom!” says my master, when it was all over. -“You were a good cavalry man lost”—he was in the Hussars, -no less, at home. “We don’t part asy, I can tell you. You -deserve your freedom, and you’ll get it.”</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘He was betther than his word. I got a conditional -pardon, not to go beyond the colonies. Sure I had little -taste for lavin’ them. I stayed with him till he died; the -next place I went to was Warbrok, as I tould ye the first -day I seen you.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Did you ever hear what became of your child?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Ne’er a one of me knows, nor cares. If he’s turned out -well, the less he knows of me the better. If he’s gone to the -dogs, there’s scoundrels enough in the country already. -But I nigh forget tellin’ ye, I made money once by dalin’ in -cattle, and every year I sent home £50, thinkin’ it might do -good to the child.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And do you know if it went safe?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Sure I got a resate for every pound of it, just as if a -lawyer had written it, thankin’ me, but never sayin’ a word -about the boy, but that it would be used for his larning.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And what made you leave it off?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I didn’t lave it off. They sent back the last of it without -a word or message. That made me wild, and I started -drinkin’, and never cried crack till it was gone. I began to -wander about and take billets as a stock-rider. ’Tis the way -I’ve lived iver since. If it wasn’t for the change and wild -life now and thin—fightin’ them divils of blacks, gallopin’ -after wild cattle, and campin’ out where no white man had been -before—I’d been dead with the drink long ago. But something -<span class='pageno' id='Page_226'>226</span>keeps me; something tells me I can’t die till I’ve seen -one from the ould country. Who it is, I can’t tell. Sometimes -I see Mary in my drames, holdin’ up the child like -the last day I seen her. I’d have put a bullet through me, -when I was in “the horrors,” only for thim drames. I shall -go when my time comes. It’s little I’d care if it was in the -night that’s drawin’ on.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Here he rode on for some minutes without speaking, then -continued in an altered voice:</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘See here now, Mr. Wilfred, it’s little I thought to say to -mortial man the things I’ve let out of my heart this blessed -day. But my feeling to you and your father is the same as I -had to my first master—the heavens be his bed! If he’d -always been among such people here—rale gintry—that -cared for him and thought to help him, Tom Glendinning -would maybe have been a different man. But the time’s -past. I’m like a beaten fox, nigh run down; and I’ll never -die in my bed, that much I know. You won’t spake to -me agen about this. My heart’s burstin’ as it is; and—I’ll -maybe drop—if it comes on me again—like it—does—now——’</p> - -<p class='c001'>He pressed his hand closely, fiercely, upon the region of -the heart. He grew deadly pale, and shook as if in mortal -agony; his face was convulsed as he bowed himself upon -the saddle-bow, and Wilfred feared he was about to fall from -his horse. But he slowly regained his position, and quivering -like one who had been stretched upon the rack, guided -his horse along the homeward path.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘’Tis spasms of the heart, the doctor tould me it was,’ he -gasped at length. ‘They’d take me off some day, before you -could light a match, “if I didn’t keep aisy and free from -trouble,”’ he said. ‘Maybe they will, some day; maybe something -else will be too quick for them. It’s little I care. -Close up, Mr. Wilfred, we’re late for home, and I’d like to -regulate thim calves before it’s dark.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Much Wilfred mused over the history of the strange old -man who had now become associated with their fortunes.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What a life!’ thought he. ‘What a tragedy!’ How -changed from the days when he followed the Mayo hounds; -reckless then, perhaps, and impatient of control, but an unweaned -child in innocence compared to his present condition. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_227'>227</span>And yet he possessed qualities which, under different treatment -might have led to honour and distinction.</p> - -<hr class='c013' /> - -<p class='c001'>As far as personal claims to distinction were concerned, -few districts in which the Effinghams could have been -located, would have borne comparison with the vicinity of -Lake William. It abounded, as we have told, in younger sons -of good family, whom providence would appear to have thus -guided but a few years before their own migration. This -fortunate concurrence they had themselves often noted, and -fully did they appreciate the congenial companionship.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Besides the local celebrities, few tourists of note passed -along the southern road without being intercepted by the -hospitality of one or other household. These captives of -their bow and spear were shared honourably. When the -Honourable Cedric Rotherwood, who had letters to Mr. -Effingham, was quartered for a month at The Chase, fishing, -shooting, and kangaroo-hunting, the Benmohr men and their -allies were entreated to imagine there was a muster at The -Chase every Saturday, and to rendezvous in force accordingly. -A strong friendship accordingly was struck up between the -young men. The Honourable Cedric was only five-and-twenty, -and years afterwards, when Charlie Hamilton went -home with one station in his pocket, and two more paying -twenty per cent per annum upon the original outlay, his -Lordship, having then come into his kingdom, had him -down at Rotherwood Hall, and gave him such mounts in -the hunting field, and such corners in the battues, not to -mention a run over to his Lordship’s deer forest in the Highlands, -that Charlie, on befitting occasions, refers to that -memorable visit with enthusiasm (and at considerable length, -say his friends) even unto this day.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Against this court card, socially marked for the Effinghams’ -fortune, one day turned up a couple of trumps, which -might be thought to have made a certainty of the odd trick -in favour of Benmohr. Charles Hamilton, coming home -after a day’s ploughing, found two strangers in the sitting-room, -one of whom, a quiet plainly dressed personage, shut -up a book at his entrance, and begged to introduce his -friend and travelling companion, Major Glendinning, ‘who (his -own name Kinghart) had brought a letter from a mutual -<span class='pageno' id='Page_228'>228</span>friend, he believed, Mr. Machell of Langamilli. The Major -had been good enough to accompany him, being anxious to -see the country.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Delighted to see you, I’m sure,’ said Hamilton, pocketing -the letter unread. ‘I hope Mrs. Teviot gave you some -refreshment. I seldom come home before dark, now the -days are getting short.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘The old lady did the honours, I assure you,’ said the -Major, ‘but we preferred awaiting dinner, as we had tiffin on -the road. As for Kinghart, he found an old edition in your -book-case which was meat and drink to him.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘In that case, if you will allow me, I will ask you to -excuse me till the bell rings, as dressing is a serious business -after my clay furrows.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Hamilton had time to look at Willie Machell’s letter, in -which he found Mr. Kinghart described as an out-and-out -brick, though reserved at first, and unreasonably fond of -books. Played a goodish game of whist, too. Henry Kinghart -was brother to the famous clergyman and writer of that -name, and was so deuced clever that, if there had been any -material for fiction in this confounded country, which there -was not, he shouldn’t be surprised if he wrote a book himself -some day. As for the Major, he was invaluable. He -(Machell) had met him at the Australian Club, and brought -him up forcibly from Sydney. He was the best shot and -horseman he ever saw, and fought no end with his regiment -of Irregular Horse in India. Siffter, N.I., who denied everybody’s -deeds but his own, admitted as much. Relative in -Australia—cattle-station manager or something—that he -wanted to look up. He (Hamilton) was not to keep them -all the winter at Benmohr, as he (Machell) was deucedly dull -without them.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Mr. Kinghart fully answered his warranty, inasmuch as -he volunteered little in the way of remark, and fastening -upon one or two rare books in the Benmohr collection, -hardly looked up till Mrs. Teviot came in with the bedroom -candles. The Major seemed indisposed to literature, but -had seen so much, and indeed had transacted personally -so large a share of modern history in Indian military service, -that Hamilton, who, like most Scottish gentlemen, had a -brother in the line there and several cousins in the Civil -<span class='pageno' id='Page_229'>229</span>Service, was deeply interested. He had been in every battle -of note since the commencement of the Mahratta war, and</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>A scar on his brown cheek revealed</div> - <div class='line'>A token true of ‘Moodkee’ field.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c001'>Without a shade of self-consciousness he replied to Hamilton’s -eager questionings, whom he found to be (from his brother’s -letters) accurately informed about the affairs of Northern India.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Unfortunately for Mr. Kinghart’s studies, Neil Barrington -and Bob Ardmillan turned up next morning—two men who -would neither be quiet themselves, nor suffer other mortals to -enjoy repose. Part of the day was spent in shooting round -the borders of the dam, when the Major topped Ardmillan’s -bag, who was considered the crack shot of the neighbourhood. -In the afternoon, there being many horses, colts and others, -in the stables, Neil proposed an adjournment to the leaping-bar, -an institution peculiar to Benmohr, for educating the inexperienced -steeds to jump cleverly with the aid of a shifting -bar enwrapped in brambles.</p> - -<p class='c001'>At this entertainment the Major showed himself to be no -novice, riding with an ease of seat and perfection of hand, to -which, doubtless, years of pig-sticking and tent-pegging had -contributed.</p> - -<p class='c001'>In the evening whist was suggested, when Mr. Kinghart -showed that his studies had by no means prevented his paying -due attention to an exacting and jealous mistress. The -exigencies of the game thawed his reserve, and in his new -character he was pronounced by the volatile Neil and the -shrewd satirist Bob Ardmillan to be a first-rate fellow. He -displayed with some dry humour the results of a habit of -close observation; in addition, a chance allusion served to -reveal such stores of classical lore, that Argyll’s absence was -deplored by Neil Barrington, who believed that his friend, -who was always scolding him for not keeping up his classics, -would have been for once out-quoted.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Of course such treasures of visitors could not be allowed -to lie hid, and after a few allusions to the family at The -Chase had paved the way, Mr. Kinghart and the Major were -invited to accompany Hamilton on a visit (which he unblushingly -asserted to be chiefly on business) to that popular -homestead on the next ensuing Saturday.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_230'>230</span>The Effingham family were devoted admirers of the elder -and Kinghart, had but recently read and discussed <cite>Eastward -Ho</cite>, <cite>Dalton</cite>, <cite>Rocke</cite> and other products of the large, loving mind -which was then stirring the hearts of the most generous -portion of English society. It may be conjectured with what -secret triumph, veiled under an assumption of formal politeness, -Hamilton introduced Major Glendinning and Mr. -Henry Kinghart.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Will you think me curious if I ask whether you are -related to the Rector of Beverly?’ inquired Rosamond soon -after preliminaries had come to an end. ‘You must pardon -our enthusiasm, but life in the provinces seems as closely -concerned with authors as with acquaintances or friends, -almost more so.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘My brother Charles would feel honoured, I assure -you, Miss Effingham, if he knew the interest he has aroused -in this far-off garrison of the Norseman he so loves to -celebrate,’ said the stranger, with a pleasant smile. ‘I wish, -for a hundred reasons, that he could be here to tell you so. -How he would enjoy roaming over this land of wonders!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Rosamond’s eyes sparkled with an infrequent lustre. -Here was truly a miraculous occurrence. A brother—actually -a brother—of the great, the noble, the world-renowned -Charles Kinghart, with whose works they had been -familiar ever since they could read; most of whose characters -were to them household words!</p> - -<p class='c001'>Certainly there was nothing heroic about the personnel of -their literary visitor—an unobtrusive-looking personage. But -now that he was decorated with the name of Kinghart, -glorified with the reflected halo of genius, there was visible to -the book-loving maiden a world of distinction in his every -gesture and fragment of speech.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Then Major Glendinning, too, a man whom few would -pass without a second glance. Slightly over middle height, -his symmetrical figure and complete harmony of motion -stamped him as one perfected by the widest experiences of -training and action. ‘Soldier’ was written emphatically by -years of imprint upon the fearless gaze, the imperturbable -manner, the bronzed cheek, and accurate but unostentatious -dress. A man who had shouldered death and had mocked -danger; who had actually shed blood in action—‘in single -<span class='pageno' id='Page_231'>231</span>fight and mixed array’ (like Marmion, as Annabel said). -Not in old, half-forgotten days, like their father, but in <em>last -year’s</em>, well-nigh last month’s, deadly picturesque strife, of -which the echoes were as yet scarcely silent. Annabel and -Beatrice gazed at him as at a denizen of another planet, and -left to Rosamond the more rare adoration which exalts the -image of the scholar to a higher pedestal than that of the -warrior.</p> - -<p class='c001'>There was, however, a sufficing audience and ample -appreciation for both the recent lions, who were by no -means suffered by their original captors to roar softly or feed -undisturbed. Before sitting down to the unceremonious -evening meal, Charles Hamilton begged Mrs. Effingham to -defer leaving the drawing-room for a few moments while he -made a needful explanation.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You will not be surprised to hear, Mrs. Effingham,’ he -commenced, with an air of great deference, ‘that Mr. -Kinghart shares his distinguished brother’s views as to our -duties to the (temporarily) lower orders, and the compulsion -under which the nobler minds of the century lie, to advance -by personal sacrifice the social culture of their dependents, -more particularly in the colonies, where (necessarily) the -feelings are less sensitive. Mr. Kinghart, therefore, declines -to partake of a meal in any house, unless the servants are -invited to share the repast.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What nonsense!’ said the gentleman referred to, rather -hastily; ‘but I daresay you recognise our friend’s vein of -humour, Mrs. Effingham.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘It’s all very well, Kinghart,’ replied Hamilton gravely; -‘but I feel pained to find a man of your intellect deserting -his convictions when they clash with conventionalities. You -know the Rector’s opinions as to our dependents, and here -you stand, ashamed to act up to the family principles.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘My dear fellow, of course I support Charles’s gallant -testimony to the creed of his Master, but he had no “colonial -experience,” whereas I have had a great deal, which may -have led me to believe that I am the deeper student of human -nature. I don’t know whether I need assure Mrs. Effingham -that she will find me outwardly much like other people.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘How few beliefs shall I retain henceforth,’ said Hamilton -sorrowfully.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_232'>232</span>‘Putting socialism out of the question,’ said Mr. Kinghart, -‘I shall always regret that Charles did not avail himself of an -opportunity he once had to visit Australia. He would have -been charmed beyond description.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I’m sure <em>we</em> should have been, only to see him,’ said -Beatrice; ‘but I don’t know what we should have had to -offer in exchange for what he would have to forgo.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You are leaving out of the question the fact of my -brother’s passionate love of geology, botany, and adventure. -The facts in natural history to which even my small researches -have led are so wonderful that I hesitate to assert them.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘How fascinating it must be,’ said Rosamond, ‘to be able -to walk about the earth and read the book of Nature like a -scroll. You and our dear old Harley seem alike in that -respect. I look upon you as magicians. You have the -“open sesame,” and may find the way to Ali Baba caverns -full of jewels.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘This last is not so wildly improbable, though you over-rate -my attainments,’ said their visitor, with a quiet smile. -‘I have certainly found in this neighbourhood indications of -valuable minerals, not even excluding that Chief Deputy of -the Prince of the Air—Gold.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Why, Kinghart, you are as mad as Mr. Sternworth,’ said -Hamilton. ‘All <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>savants</em></span> have a craze for impossible discoveries. -How <em>can</em> there be gold here?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I took Mr. Hamilton to be a gentleman of logical mind,’ -said the Englishman quietly. ‘Why should not the sequences -from geological premisses be as invariable in Australia as in -any other part of the globe. The South Pole does not -invert the principle of cause and effect, I presume.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I did not mean that,’ explained Hamilton, with something -less than his ordinary decisiveness, ‘but there seems -something so preposterous in a gold-field in a new country -like this.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘It is not a new country, it is a very old one; there was -probably gold here long before it was extracted from Ophir. -But your men, in digging holes yesterday for the posts of -that new hut, dislodged fragments of hornblendic granite -slightly decomposed and showing minute particles of gold. -I had not time to examine them, but I noted the formation -accurately.’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_233'>233</span>‘What then?’ said his male hearers in a kind of chorus.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What then? Why, it follows inexorably that we are standing -above one of the richest goldfields in the known world!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘But assuming for a moment, which God forbid,’ said -Hamilton, ‘that gold—<em>real</em> gold—in minute quantities could -be extracted from the stone you picked up, does it follow -that rich and extensive deposits should be contiguous?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘My dear Hamilton, you surely missed the geological -course in your college studies! Gold once found amid -decomposed hornblendic granite, in alluvial drifts in company -with water-worn quartz, has <em>never</em> failed to demonstrate itself -in wondrous wealth. In the Ural Mountains, in Mexico, -and most likely in King Solomon’s time, there were no <em>little</em> -mines where once this precise formation was verified.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I devoutly trust that it may not be in our time,’ said -Argyll. ‘What a complete overturn of society would take -place; in Australia, of all places! I should lose interest in -the country at once.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘There might be inconvenience,’ said Mr. Kinghart -reflectively, ‘but the Anglo-Saxon would be found capable of -organising order. We need not look so far ahead. But of -the day to come, when the furnace-chimney shall smoke on -these hillsides, and miles of alluvial be torn up and riddled -with excavations, I am as certain as that Glossopteris, of -which I have seen at least three perfect specimens in shale, -denotes coal deposits.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘We must buy you out, Kinghart, that is the whole of it,’ -said Ardmillan, ‘and direct your energies into some other -channel. If you go on proving the existence of gold -and black diamonds under these heedless feet of ours the -social edifice will totter. Hamilton will abandon his -agriculture, Argyll his stock-keeping, Churbett his reading -and early rising, Mrs. Teviot will leave off cheese-making, -Forbes will cease to contradict—in short, the whole Warbrok -and Benmohr world will come to an end.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘It is a very pleasant world, and I am sorry to have -hinted at the flood which will some day sweep over it,’ said -Mr. Kinghart; ‘but what is written is written, and indelibly, -when the pages are tables of stones, set up from the foundation -of the world.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Most enjoyable and still well remembered were the days -<span class='pageno' id='Page_234'>234</span>which followed this memorable discussion. A succession of -rides, drives, and excursions followed, in which Mr. Kinghart -pointed out wonders in the world of botany, which -caused Rosamond to look upon him as a sage of stupendous -experiences.</p> - -<p class='c001'>To Howard Effingham the presence of Major Glendinning -was an unalloyed pleasure. Familiar chiefly with service in -other parts of the world, he was never tired of listening or -questioning. Varied necessarily were incidents of warfare -conducted against the wild border tribes of Hindostan with -her hordes of savage horsemen. Such campaigns necessarily -partook of the irregular modes of combat of the foe. Without -attaching importance to his own share of distinction, -their guest permitted his hearers to learn much of the -picturesque and splendid successes of the British arms in the -historic land of Ind.</p> - -<p class='c001'>For himself, his manner had a strange tinge of softness -and melancholy. At one time his mien was that of the -stern soldier, proud of the thoroughness with which a band -of marauders had been extirpated, or the spirit of a dissolute -native ruler broken. Scarcely had the tale been told when -a settled sadness would overspread his face, as if in pity for -the heathens’ spoil and sorrow. To his hearers, far from -war’s alarms, there was a strong, half-painful fascination in -these tales of daring, heightened by the frequent presence of -death in every shape of hot-blooded carnage or military -execution.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘How difficult it is to imagine,’ said Beatrice one day, -suddenly arousing herself, after staring with dilated eyeballs -at the Major, who had been recounting a realistic incident -for Guy’s special edification (how the Ranee of Jeypore had -hanged a dozen of his best troopers, and of the stern -reprisal which he was called upon to make), ‘that you, -actually sitting here quietly with us, are one and the same -person who was chief actor in these fearful doings. What a -wonderful change it must be for you.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Let me assure you,’ said the Major, ‘that it is a most -pleasant change. I am tired of soldiering, and my health is -indifferent. I almost think that if I could fish out this old -uncle of mine, I should be content to settle in the bush, and -take to rural life for the rest of my days.’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_235'>235</span>‘Don’t you think you would find it awfully dull?’ said -Annabel; ‘you would despise all our life so much. Unless -there happened to be an outbreak of bushrangers, you might -never have a chance of killing any one again, as long as you -lived.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I could manage without that excitement. I have had -enough, in all conscience, to last a lifetime. The climate of -your country suits us old Indians so well. If I were once -fairly established, I think I could rear horses and cattle, -especially the former, with great contentment.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘There is no one of your name in this part of the country,’ -said Guy, ‘except our old stock-rider, Tom. He’s such a -queer old fellow. I remember asking him what his surname -was one day, and he told me it was Glendinning. He’s -away now, mustering at Wangarua.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘It is not an uncommon name where my family lived,’ -said the Major. ‘I should like to see him if he is a namesake. -He may have heard of the person I am in search of.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The whole party was extremely sorry to permit their -guests to depart; but after a few days spent in luxurious -intercourse, during which sight-seeing and sport were organised -day by day, and every imaginable book and author reviewed -with Mr. Kinghart in the evening, while Guy had fully made -up his mind to go to India, and had got up Indian history -from the Mogul dynasty to the execution of Omichund, a -parting had to be made. It was only temporary, however, -as Mr. Kinghart had promised to visit an old schoolfellow -long settled at Monaro, and after a fortnight’s stay had -promised to return this way with the Major before they -said farewell finally. At Warbrok Chase there was great -dismay at the inevitable separation.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I declare,’ said Annabel, ‘that I begin to doubt whether -it is prudent to make such delightful acquaintances. One is -so dreadfully grieved when they depart. It is much better -to have everyday friends, who can’t run away, isn’t it?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And who mightn’t be much missed if they did; quite so, -Miss Annabel,’ said Forbes, to whom this lament was made.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh, of course <em>you</em> are different at Benmohr and just -about here. We are all one family, and should be a very -united one if Mr. Churbett would leave off teasing me about -what silly people say, and Mr. Forbes would give up his -<span class='pageno' id='Page_236'>236</span>sarcasms, Mr. Hamilton his logic, Mr. Argyll his tempers, and -so on. How I could improve you all, to be sure! But I -mean friends—that is, strangers—like Mr. Kinghart and -Major Glendinning, that are birds of passage. I can’t -explain myself; but I’m sure there’s something true and new -about the idea.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘It may be quite true that young ladies prefer recently -acquired friends to those of long standing, but I am afraid it -is not altogether new in the history of the sex,’ said Mr. -Forbes. ‘Still I think I understand you, Miss Annabel. -Which of the illustrious strangers do <em>you</em> chiefly honour with -your regrets, Miss Beatrice?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I mourn over Mr. Kinghart,’ said Beatrice, with instinctive -defensive art. ‘He is a library that can talk, and yet, like a -library, prefers silence. I wonder if one would ever get tired -of listening to him, and having everything so delightfully explained. -He is sarcastic about women, too. Perhaps he has -been ill-treated by some thoughtless girl. I should like to -wither her.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Why don’t you comfort him, Beatrice? Your love for -reading would just suit, or perhaps not suit,’ said Annabel. -‘You would have to toss up which was to order dinner or -make tea. I can see you both sitting in easy-chairs, with -your foreheads wrinkled up, reading away the whole evening. -I wonder if two poets or two authors ever agreed in married -life? Of course, he might scratch out her adjectives, or she -might sneer at his comic element. But, do you know, a -thought strikes me. Don’t you see a likeness to some one -in the Major that you’ve seen before? I do, and it haunts -me.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘No, I never saw any one the <em>least</em> like him; his expression, -his figure, his way of walking, riding, and talking are quite -different from other people. How a man’s life moulds him! -I am sure I could tell what half the men I see have been or -<em>not</em> been, quite easily, by their appearance and ways.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘But did you notice his eyes?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Well, they are soft, and yet piercing, which is unusual; -but that is all.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘On second thoughts I won’t say, lest I might be thought -less sensible even than I am. I have no capital to fall back -upon in that respect.’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_237'>237</span>‘You do say such odd things, my dear Annabel. I think -you ought to get on with our last duet. You only half know -your part.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>That a certain reaction follows hard upon the most unalloyed -pleasure is conceded. The dwellers at The Chase -recognised a shade of monotony, even of dulness, falling -upon their uneventful lives as the friends and visitors -departed.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_238'>238</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XVI <br /> ‘SO WE’LL ALL GO A-HUNTING TO-DAY’</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>The cheering results of this season of prosperity were not -without effect upon the sanguine temperament of Howard -Effingham. Prone to dismiss from his mind all darkly-shaded -outlines, he was ever eager to develop projects which -belong to the enjoyments rather than to the acquisitions -of life. Few human beings had commenced with a smaller -share of foresight. <em>He</em> required no exhortation to refrain -from taking heed for the morrow and its cares. For him -they could hardly be said to exist, so little did he realise in -advance the more probable evils.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The time had arrived, in his opinion, to dwell less fixedly -upon the problem of income. The greater question of -cultured living could no longer be neglected. All danger -of poverty and privation overtaking the family being removed, -Mr. Effingham for some time past had devoted his mind to -the assimilation of the lives of himself and his neighbours to -those of the country gentlemen of his own land. Something -he had already effected in this way. He had received a -shipment of pheasants and partridges, which, in a suitable -locality, were making headway against their natural enemies. -Much of his time was spent, gun in hand, clearing the -haunts of the precious Gallinæ from the unsparing dasyurus -(the wild cat of the colonists), while Guy’s collection of -stuffed hawks had increased notably. Orders had been given -to shoot every one that could be seen, from the tiny merlin, -chiefly devoted to moths and grasshoppers, to the wedge-tailed -eagle eight feet between the wings, discovered on a -mighty iron-bark tree, thence surveying the bright-plumaged -<span class='pageno' id='Page_239'>239</span>strangers. Hares, too, and rabbits had been liberated, of -which the latter had increased with suspicious rapidity.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Coursing, fishing, shooting, all of a superior description, -Howard Effingham now saw with prophetic vision established -for the benefit of his descendants at The Chase. They -would be enabled to enjoy themselves befittingly in their -seasons of leisure, and cadets of the House, when they visited -England, would not have to blush for their ignorance of the -out-door accomplishments of their kinsfolk. In imagination -he saw</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>The merry brown hares come leaping</div> - <div class='line'>Over the crest of the hill,</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c001'>or starting from their ‘forms’ in the meadows which bordered -the lake. He saw the partridge coveys rise from the stubbles, -and heard once more the whirr of the cock pheasant as he -‘rocketted’ from the copse of mimosa saplings. He saw -carp, tench, and brown trout in the clear mountain streams, -and watched far down the Otsego ‘laker’ in the still depths -of their inland bay. At the idea of these triumphs, which -long years after his bones rested in an exile’s grave, would -be associated with the name of Howard Effingham, his heart -swelled with proud anticipation. But there was one deficiency -as yet unfilled; one difficulty hitherto not confronted. Much -had been attempted, even something done. Why should he -not be more nobly daring still? Why not organise that sport -of kings, that eminently British pastime, nowhere enjoyed in -perfection, hitherto, outside of the ‘happy isles’? <em>Why not -go in for fox-hunting?</em> Could its transplantation be possible?</p> - -<p class='c001'>True, the gladdening variety of pasture and plough, -meadow and woodland, over which hound and horse sweep -rejoicingly in Britain, was not possible in the neighbourhood. -Hedges and ditches, brooks and banks, as yet gave not -change and interest to the programme while educating horse -and rider. Still, he would not despair.</p> - -<p class='c001'>In the pensive, breezeless autumn, or the winter mornings, -when the dew lay long on the tall grass, and the soft, hazy -atmosphere gradually struggled into the brilliant Australian -day, could there be better scenting weather? Would not -the first cry of the hounds, as a dozen couples, to begin with, -hit off the scent of a dingo or a blue forester, sound like a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_240'>240</span>forgotten melody in his ears? There would be an occasional -fence to give the boys emulative interest; for the rest, a -gallop in the fresh morn through the park-like woodlands, or -even across the spurs of the ranges, would be worth riding a -few miles to enjoy. All the neighbours—now making money -fast and not indisposed for amusement—would be glad to -join. A better lot of fellows no Hunt ever numbered amongst -its subscribers. Subscription? Well, he supposed it must -be so. It would be a proprietary interest, and he was afraid -Wilfred would object to the whole burden of maintenance -falling upon the resources of The Chase.</p> - -<p class='c001'>This brilliant idea was not suffered to lapse for want of -expansion. Energetic and persistent in the domain of the -abstract or the unprofitable, Howard Effingham at once -communicated with a few friends. He was surprised at the -enthusiasm which the project evoked. A committee was -formed, comprising the names of the Benmohr firm, Churbett, -Ardmillan, Forbes, and the D’Oyleys, besides Robert Malahyde, -a neighbour of Hampden’s and an enthusiastic sportsman. -Never was a more happy suggestion. It pleased everybody. -O’Desmond declared that the very idea recalled ‘The Blazers’; -he felt himself to be ten years younger as he put down -his name for a handsome subscription on the spot. Fred -Churbett had always known that Duellist was thrown away -as a hackney; and now that there was something more to be -jumped than the Benmohr leaping-bar, did not care how -early he got up. This announcement was received with -shouts of incredulous laughter.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Wilfred alone was not enamoured of this new project. -He foresaw direct and, still more serious, indirect expenses. -It was no doubt a great matter to have even the semblance -of the Great English Sport revived among them. Still, -business was business. If this sort of thing was to be -encouraged, there was no knowing where it would stop. He -himself would be only too glad to have a run now and then, -but his instinctive feeling was that he would be better -employed attending to his cattle and consolidating the -prosperity, which now seemed to be flowing in with a steady -tide.</p> - -<p class='c001'>In truth, of late, affairs had commenced to take a most -encouraging, even intoxicating turn for the better. The -<span class='pageno' id='Page_241'>241</span>whole trade of the land—pastoral, commercial, and agricultural—was -in a satisfactory condition, owing chiefly to -unprecedentedly good seasons. All the Australian colonies, -more particularly New South Wales, have within them -elements of vast, well-nigh illimitable development. Nothing -is needed but ordinary climatic conditions to produce an -amount of material well-being, which nothing can wholly -displace. The merchants of the cities, the farmers of the -settled districts, the squatters of the far interior, were alike -prospering and to prosper, it seemed, indefinitely. The -export trade, Mr. Rockley assured him, had increased -astonishingly, while the imports had so swelled that England -would soon have to look upon Australia as one of her best -customers.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘So you are going to have a pack of foxhounds in your -neighbourhood, Mr. Effingham?’ said Mrs. Rockley. ‘I think -it a splendid idea. Chrissie and I will ride over and see one -of your meets, if you ask us.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Then did Wilfred begin solemnly to vow and declare that -the chief reason he had for giving the idea his support was, -that perhaps the ladies at Rockley Lodge might be induced -to attend a meet sometimes; otherwise, he confessed he -thought it a waste of money.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh, you mustn’t be over-prudent, Mr. Effingham. Mr. -Rockley says you Lake William people are getting alarmingly -rich. You must consider the unamused poor a little, you -know. It is a case of real distress, I assure you, sometimes -in Yass when all you men take fits of hard work and staying -at home. Now hunting is such a delightful resource in -winter time.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Every one in our neighbourhood has joined,’ said Wilfred, -‘but we shall want more subscriptions if we are to become a -strong Hunt club.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Put me down,’ said Mr. Rockley. ‘I haven’t much time, -but I might take a turn some day. Hampden, the Champions, -Malahyde, Compton, and Edward Bellfield are most eager. -Bob Clarke wrote forwarding their subscriptions, though they -live rather far off. They hope to have a run now and -then for their money.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I think I shall ask your father to let me work him a pair -of slippers,’ said Miss Christabel, ‘or an embroidered waistcoat, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_242'>242</span>if he would like it better. He deserves the thanks of -every girl in the district for his delightful idea and his spirited -way of carrying it out. I hope some of us won’t take to -riding jealous, but I wouldn’t answer for it if ever Mrs. -Snowden and I get together. I’ll tell you who could cut us -both down.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And who may that be?’ asked Wilfred.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Why, Vera Fane, of course. Didn’t you know that she -rode splendidly? When she was quite a little child she used -to gallop after the cattle at Black Mountain, where they live, -and they say, though she is very quiet about it, that she can -ride <em>anything</em>.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What sort of a place is this Black Mountain? It hasn’t -altogether a sound of luxury.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh, it’s a terrible place, I believe, for poor Vera to have -to live in always,’ said the good-natured Christabel. ‘They -say it is as much as you can do to ride there, it’s so rough, -and they had to pack all their stores, I believe, till the new -road was made. And they’re very poor. Mr. Fane is one of -those men who never make money or do anything much -except read all day. If it wasn’t for Vera, who teaches her -brothers (she’s the only girl), and keeps the accounts, and -looks after the stores, and manages the servants, and does a -good deal of the housework herself, the whole place would go -to ruin.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Apparently, if such a good genius was to be withdrawn; -but why doesn’t her father sell out and go away? There are -plenty of other stations to be got in more habitable places.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh, his wife is buried there—no wonder she died, poor -thing. He won’t hear of leaving the place; and I really -believe, lonely as it is, that Vera likes it too. She is a -wonderful girl, always teaching herself something, when she -isn’t darning stockings, or cooking, or having a turn at the -wash-tub, for Nelly Jones, who stayed with her one summer, -told me that they lost their servant once, and Vera <em>did everything</em> -for a month. Sometimes she gets out, as she did to -the races last year, and she enjoys that, as you may believe.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I hope she does,’ said Wilfred reflectively. ‘I thought -her a very nice girl, but I had no idea she was such a -paragon.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘She’s a grand girl, and an ornament to her sex,’ said Mr. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_243'>243</span>Rockley suddenly. ‘I couldn’t have believed such a woman -was possible, but I stopped there a week once, weatherbound. -All the creeks were up, and as you had to cross the river about -fifty times to get out of the confounded hole, I was bound to -let the water go down. I should have hanged myself looking -at old Fane’s melancholy phiz and listening to the rain, if it -hadn’t been for Miss Fane. But I’ll tell you all about her -another time. I must be off now. You’ll stay to dinner? -I’ll find you here, I suppose, when I come back.’</p> - -<hr class='c013' /> - -<p class='c001'>If Howard Effingham could only have bent his mind with -the same unflagging perseverance to matters of material -advantage that he devoted to the establishment of the Lake -William Hunt, he would have been a successful man in any -country. Never would he have needed to quit his ancestral -home.</p> - -<p class='c001'>In some enterprises everything appears to go contrary from -the commencement. Hindrances, breakdowns, and mortifications -of all kinds arise, as it were, out of the earth. On the -other hand, occasionally, it appears as though ‘the stars in -their courses fought <em>for</em> Sisera.’ The Hunt scheme had its -detractors, who looked upon it as unnecessary and injurious, -if, indeed, it were not also impossible. These amiable -reviewers were discomfited. The sportsmen communicated -with proved sympathetic. All sent a couple or two of hounds, -above the average of gift animals; and one gentleman, relinquishing -his position of M.F.H. in Tasmania, shipped the -larger portion of his pack, firmly refusing to accept remuneration. -He further stated that he should feel amply compensated -by hearing of their successful incorporation in the Hunt of so -well known a sporting centre as that of Lake William.</p> - -<p class='c001'>A kennel had been put up, of course, by Dick Evans. He -had the dash and celerity of a ship carpenter, ensuring stability, -but avoiding precision, the curse of your average mechanic. -His colleague, old Tom, who grumbled at most innovations, -was, wonderful to relate, in a state of enthusiasm.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Everybody in the district had a couple of hunters, it seemed, -which he desired to get into condition, a task for which there -had never before been sufficient inducement. Stalls and -boxes were repaired, and the tourist through the famed -district which lay around Lake William was enabled to report -<span class='pageno' id='Page_244'>244</span>that nowhere in Australia had he seen such an array of well-bred, -well-conditioned horses.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Eventually, all necessary preparations were completed. -Ten or twelve couple of hounds had been got together, had -been regularly exercised, and, thanks to old Tom’s efficient -services as whip, persuaded to confine themselves to one -kangaroo at a time, also to follow the scent in early morn -with a constancy truly remarkable, considering the characters -which they mostly enjoyed. So forward were all things, so -smoothly had the machinery worked, that after several -councils of war a day was at length fixed for the formal -establishment of the ‘Lake William Hunt Club.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Notices and invitations were sent out in all directions. -Even here fortune favoured them. It so happened that -Hampden and St. Maur, with the Gambiers and a few more -<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>esprits forts</em></span>, had business (real, not manufactured) which compelled -their presence within such distance as permitted -attendance. John Hampden was supposed to ride to hounds -in such fashion that he had few equals. Formerly, in -Tasmania, a Master of Hounds himself, his favourite hunter, -The Caliph, was even now a household word.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Such a glorious season, too! Why does not Nature more -frequently accommodate us with such easy luxuries—weather -wherein every one is prosperous, easy of mind, and, as a -natural consequence, charitably disposed? Everybody’s stock -was looking well. Prices were high and rising. There was -a report gaining ground of rich lands having been discovered -and settlements formed in the far south. That fact meant -increased demand for stock, and so tended to make all things -more serene, if possible. Nobody was afraid to leave home, -no bush fires were possible at this time of year, the stock were -almost capable of minding themselves, and if a man had a -decent overseer, why, he might go to England without imprudence. -Such was the wondrous concurrence of fortune’s -favours.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The great and glorious day arrived. Following the run -of luck which had marked the whole enterprise, its beauty -would have rejoiced the heart of any M.F.H. in the three -kingdoms.</p> - -<p class='c001'>As the party commenced to assemble on the green knoll -which lay in front of the garden fence in view of the lake, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_245'>245</span>all connoisseurs united in the verdict that there could not -have been invented a better scenting day. There had been -rain lately, and during the night anxiety had been felt lest -a downpour might mar the enjoyment of the unprecedented -pastime.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Too kind, however, were the elements. The hazy dawn -had gradually yielded to a sunrise toned by masses of slowly -moving soft grey clouds. The air, saturated with moisture, -became mild and spring-like as the morning advanced. The -wind changed to a few points nearer west and gradually lulled -to an uncomplaining monotone. The thick, green, glistening -sward, though reasonably damp, was firm and kindly in the -interests of the contending coursers. It was a day of days, -a day of promise, of fullest justification of existence. In such -a day hope returns to each heart, strong and triumphant; -care is a lulled and languid demon, and sorrow an untranslated -symbol.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Nearly all the ladies who were to assist at the grand -ceremonial had ridden or driven over the night before. -Warbrok was nearly as fully occupied as Rockley Lodge had -been at the races. It was many a day since the old walls -had included so large and mirthful a party, had listened to -such joyous babble, had echoed to like peals of innocent -laughter.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Of course, the fair Christabel and her mother were early -invited guests. They had brought a girl cousin. Mrs. -Snowden had also asked leave to bring a friend staying with -her at the time. Miss Fane had, of course, been entreated -by Mrs. Effingham to be sure to come, but that young lady -had written, sorrowfully, to decline as Dr. Fane was absent -on business. A postscript, partially reassuring, stated that -he was expected home the next day, and if the writer could -possibly manage it she might ride part of the way to Warbrok -and join some friends who were to come to the breakfast. -But this was a hazardous supposition, too good to come off. -Deep regret was expressed at The Chase on the receipt of -this note, but the world went on nevertheless, as it does in -default of all of us.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Can I essay to describe the array of dames and demoiselles, -knights and squires and retainers, yeomen, men-at-arms, and -others of low degree, who, on that ever-memorable autumn -<span class='pageno' id='Page_246'>246</span>morn, trampled the green meadow in front of old Warbrok -House? Many a day has passed since the shadows of the -waving forest trees flecked the greensward, since the hillside -resounded to horse-hoof and jingling bridle, while mirthful -words and silvery laughter blended ever and anon with the -unaccustomed bay of the foxhound.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Ah me! Of the manly forms and bold, eager brows of -those who kept tryst that day, how many have gone down -before the onset of battle, the arrow of pestilence, the -thousand haps of a colonist’s life? The stark limbs are -bowed, the bold eyes dimmed, the strong hearts tamed by -the slow sorcery of Time—even of those o’er whom the -forest tree sighs not, or the wild wave moans no requiem.</p> - -<p class='c001'>How many of that fair company have ridden away for -ever into the Silent Land! What bright eyes have forgotten -to shine! How many a joyous tone is heard no more!</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>The halls her bright smile lighted up of yore,</div> - <div class='line in2'>Are lonely now!</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c001'>Gone to the Valhalla, doubtless, are many brave souls of -heroes; but in the good year of grace eighteen hundred and -thirty-six the chances of life’s battle sat but lightly on the -gallant troop that reined up at the first meet at Warbrok -Chase. Many a goodly muster of the magnates of the land -had been held in that home of many memories ere this; -but never within the ken of the oldest chronicler had -anything occurred so successful, so numerously attended, of -such great and general interest to the district or neighbourhood.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Resolved that all the concomitants and accessories should -be as thoroughly English as could in any way be managed, -Howard Effingham had personally superintended the details -of a Hunt breakfast, such as erstwhile he had often enjoyed -or dispensed within the bounds of Merrie England.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>North and south, and east and west,</div> - <div class='line in2'>The ‘visitors’ came forth,</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c001'>as though minded to give the Squire of Warbrok—a name -by which Howard Effingham was commencing to be known -in the neighbourhood—a substantial acknowledgment of the -interest taken by the country-side in his highly commendable -<span class='pageno' id='Page_247'>247</span>enterprise. The younger squatters, then, as now, the aristocracy -of the land, mustered gallantly in support of the hereditary -pastime of their order. A list might be attempted, were it -only like the names of the ships in Homer’s <cite>Iliad</cite>, some day to -be read to curious listening ears by one unknowing of aught -save that such, in the dear past, were the names of heroes.</p> - -<p class='c001'>But no thought of the irony of fate fell darkly on the merry -party issuing from The Chase to greet the Badajos and Benmohr -contingents, as they came up from opposite directions. -With Harry O’Desmond rode a tall man in a green hunting -frock, whose length of limb and perfect seat showed off the -points of an inestimable grey of grand size and power, whom -all men saw at once to be The Caliph, well known on both -sides of the Straits. It was in truth John Hampden’s famous -hunter, a very Bayard among horses, at whom no horse-loving -junior could look without tears in his eyes.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Of that party also were the Gambiers—Alick, Jimmy, and -Jack—with their friend Willie Machell. A trio of cheerful -hard-riding young squatters, having made names for themselves -as leading dare-devils where anything dangerous was to be done -with the aid of horse-flesh. Their ‘Romeo’ five-year-olds, -with matchless shoulders, but imperfect tempers, carried them -admirably. Will Machell was a tall, mild, gentlemanlike, -musical personage, by no means so ‘hard’ as his more robust -friends. He would be available as a chaperon for the -feminine division, as he did not intend to do more than -canter a mile or two after the throw-off.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Came from the broad river-flats and forest parks of the -Murray, Claude Waring and his partner Rodder, the former -tall, dark, jovial; the latter neat, prudent, and fresh-coloured.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Came from the volcanic cones and scoria-covered plateaus -of Willaree the broad frame and leonine visage of Herman -Bottrell. He was well carried by his square-built ambling -cob, while beside him on a dark bay five-year-old, with the -blood of Tramp in his veins, sat the well-known figure of -‘Dolly’ Goldkind, a man who in his day had shared the costliest -pleasures of the <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>haute volée</em></span> of European capitals. Commercial -vicissitudes in his family had forced him to importune -fortune afresh in the unwonted guise of an Australian squatter. -She had, in this instance, not disdained to ‘favour the brave,’ -and Dolly was now in a fair way to see the pavement of the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_248'>248</span>Faubourg St. Germain once yet again, and to bask amid the -transient splendour of the Tuileries. He had faced gallantly -his share of uncongenial solitude, unadorned Nature, and rude -surroundings, always awaiting, with the philosophy born of -English steadfastness, and Parisian <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>insouciance</em></span>, the good time -coming.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Came Bernard Wharton, bronzed by the fierce unshadowed -sun of that dread waste where clouds rarely linger or the -blessed rains of heaven are known to fall. His last whoo-hoop -had been heard in his own county, in the ancestral land. His -blue eye was bright, and his smile ready, as though he had -known naught but lightsome toil and the sport of his -Northamptonshire forefathers.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Ardmillan, Forbes, and Neil Barrington, with all the -‘Benmohr mob,’ as they were familiarly called, were in the -vanguard. Neil Barrington possessed one valuable attribute -of the horseman, inasmuch as he was ready, like Bob Clarke, -to ride anything and at anything. No man had ever seen -Neil decline a mount or a fence, however unpromising. But -his skill was inferior to his zeal, usually provoking comment -from the bystanders.</p> - -<p class='c001'>On one of these occasions, when he had hit a top rail very -hard in an amateur steeplechase, an expostulatory friend said, -‘Why don’t you lift your horse, Neil?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Lift, be d——d!’ replied the indignant Neil; ‘I’ve enough -to do to stick on.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>However, being muscular, active, and fearless, Neil’s star -had hitherto favoured him, so that he was generally well up -at the finish.</p> - -<p class='c001'>One needs a staunch horse for ‘cutting out’ work, but the -great raking Desborough which Bob Clarke brought with him -was surely too good to be knocked about in the Benmohr -bogs and volcanic trap ‘rises’ at a muster, while his condition -savoured more of the loose-box than the grass paddock. Bob -was one of those fortunate individuals that every one everywhere, -male and female, gentle and simple, is glad to welcome. -So there was no dissentient to the view of duty he had -adopted but Mr. Rockley. And though that gentleman stated -it as his opinion that Master Bob would have been better at -home minding his work if he ever intended to make money, -he extended the right hand of fellowship to him, and was as -<span class='pageno' id='Page_249'>249</span>gracious as all the world and distinctly the world’s wife (and -probably daughter) was wont to be.</p> - -<p class='c001'>There were those who thought that Christabel Rockley’s -eyes glowed with a deeper light after Bob’s coming was -announced. But such an occasion would have brightened -the girl’s flower-like face even if Bob had been doomed to eat -his heart the while in solitude and disappointment on the far -Mondarlo Plain.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘None of the ladies who belonged to “our set,” and could -ride at all, were absent,’ Neil Barrington remarked, ‘except -Miss Fane; and it was a beastly shame she was prevented -from coming—most likely by that old Turk of a father of hers. -It was a real pleasure to see her ride, and now they were all -done out of it.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Just as Neil had concluded his lamentation for Vera Fane, -who had won his heart by comforting him after one of his -tumbles, saying that she never saw any one who rode so -straight without turning out a horseman in the end, the -Granville party, who had a long distance to come, made their -appearance through the trees of the north gully, and there, -on the well-known bonnie brown Emigrant, between Jack -Granville and his sister Katie, was Vera Fane, or the evil one -in her sweet guise.</p> - -<p class='c001'>So the grateful Neil was appeased, and straightway modified -his language with respect to Dr. Fane’s parental shortcomings; -while Wilfred Effingham, who never denied his -interest in the young lady—chiefly, he avowed, as a study of -character—felt more exhilarated than he could account for. -The Granvilles were congratulated, first of all upon their own -appearance, and assured they were not at all late (Rockley -had been devoting them to the infernal deities for the last -half-hour), then upon their thoughtful conduct in bringing -Miss Fane.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Deal of trouble, of course,’ quoth Jack Granville. ‘Miss -Fane is one of that sort, ain’t she? She rode over with a -small black boy for an escort, and roused us up about midnight. -Nearly shot her, didn’t I, Katie?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I’m afraid I frightened you,’ said Miss Fane, with an -apologetic expression, ‘but papa had only just come home -from Sydney. I knew if I missed this eventful day I should -never have such another chance, so I lifted up Wonga by his -<span class='pageno' id='Page_250'>250</span>hair, poor child, to wake him, and then started off for a night -ride.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>There was no time for further amenities, as the Master, -triumphant and distinguished in the eyes of the Australian-born -portion of the Hunt, gorgeous in buckskins, accurate top-boots, -and a well-worn pink, moved off with fourteen couple -of creditable foxhounds. A very fair, even-looking lot they -were admitted to be. Old Tom had proved an admirable -whip, displaying a keenness in the vocation which verified the -tales with which he had regaled his acquaintances as to feats -and frolics with the Blazers in the historic County Galway, in -the kingdom of Long Ago.</p> - -<p class='c001'>A roan cob, with a reputation for unequalled feats in the -jumping line, had, after many trials, been secured by Wilfred -as a ‘safe conveyance’ for his father. He was, indeed, an -extraordinary animal; the sort that some elderly gentlemen -are always talking about and never seem able to get.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Wallaby was a red roan, low set, of great power and -amazing activity. ‘He could jump anything,’ his former -owner declared, ‘and was that fond of it, as you could lead -him up to this ’ere three-railed fence with a halter and he’d -clear it and jump back without pulling it out of your hand.’ -This he proceeded to do before Wilfred and his father, after -which there was no question as to his cross-country capability.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Not above 14 hands 2 inches in height, with short legs, -his neat head and neck, with sloping shoulders and short -back, ranked him as fit to carry a bishop or a banker in -Rotten Row. His thighs and gaskins showed where the -jumping came from. Besides these excellences, he was -quiet, fast, and easy in his paces; so that Mrs. Effingham -and the girls had no anxiety about the head of the house -when so mounted.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_251'>251</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XVII <br /> THE FIRST MEET OF THE LAKE WILLIAM HUNT CLUB</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>‘What a delightful sight!’ said Miss Fane to Rosamond; ‘and -how glad I am that I was so determined to come. I have -rather a craze for horses, I know, but doesn’t it look magnificent. -What an array! Everybody within a hundred miles -must be here. I feel as if I could go out of my senses with -excitement. This is strictly between ourselves. But of -course you have seen far larger fields.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I was too young before I left home for much in the -hunting way,’ said Rosamond, ‘but I was taken to see a -throw-off now and then on the first day of the season.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What was it like? A much finer sight than this?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘We cannot, of course, compete in appointments—the -Hunt servants so neatly got up; the huntsman such a picture, -with his weather-beaten face, and the whips so smart and -trim. Then the grey-haired squires on their favourite hunters -give such a tone to the affair. But we have good horses out -to-day, including yours and mine, which would not be -unnoticed, even that dear Fergus. He wonders what it is -all about.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And the scenery and the belongings?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Well, a lawn in front of a grand historic mansion that -has been besieged more than once since the Wars of the -Roses must have the <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>pas</em></span> over anything in Australia. Still, -as for scenery, it was often tame, and scarcely came up to -that.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Here she pointed with her whip as the hounds spread -eagerly over a grassy flat immediately beneath them. They -had been for some time imperceptibly ascending a slope.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_252'>252</span>The mists which had shrouded the mountain-tops had -rolled back, and a panorama of grand and striking beauty -stood revealed. Westward lay the lake, a silver sheet, amid -the green slopes which marked its shores. On the south -rose sheer and grim the enormous darkened cone which -terminated the mountain range which they had approached. -The released effulgence of the morning sun magically transfigured -to purple masses the outline of the curving ridge, -before crowning it with a tremulous aureole. Trending -westerly, the level ground increased in width, until, but -for its groves of eucalyptus, it might have been dignified by -the name of plain. This gradually merged into a region of -park-like forest.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What a charming place for a gallop!’ said Christabel -Rockley. ‘I do so hope the fox, or whatever he is, will be -found here. I should not be afraid to ride fast over this nice, -clear country.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘It is almost too easy,’ said Miss Fane, drawing her bridle-rein, -as she watched old Tom closely. ‘I like forest and -range work, I must confess. But we must look out, or the -hounds will be away, and we shall be left lamenting like so -many Lord Ullins.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The girl’s instinct had not deceived her. She had ridden -many a day at her father’s side, when the shy cattle of a -neglected herd, ready for headlong speed at the snapping of -a twig, needed quick following to live with. Keeping her -eye on old Tom, she had noted the signs of an approaching -start.</p> - -<p class='c001'>A leading hound ran along a cattle track, and giving -tongue, went off at score. Three or four comrades of position -followed suit, and in the shortest possible time the whole -pack was away, running with a breast high scent.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘The black dingo for a thousand,’ said old Tom to the -Master, as he hustled Boney alongside of the roan cob. -‘I seen Hobart Gay Lass put up her bristles the minit -she settled to the scent. It’s a true tongue the slut has, and -I’ll back her against ’ere a dog of the English lot, though -there’s good hounds among them. We’ll have the naygur -to-day, if there’s vartue in a good scent and a killing pack.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Then you know him, Tom?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘By coorse, I do; he killed Strawberry’s calf, and didn’t -<span class='pageno' id='Page_253'>253</span>I go down on my two knees and swear I’d have the heart’s -blood of him.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Then how did you manage to lay the hounds on him -here—I thought he was a lake dog?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Divil a doubt of it; but I seen him here one day, just -under the range, pinning a “joey,” and I kept lavin’ a bit -of mate for him, just to make him trot over regular—maybe -a bullock’s heart or a hock of a heifer’s calf, maybe a bird -I’d shot. Dingoes is mortial fond of birds. I seen his -tracks here yesterday, and med sure he’d be here wonst -more, for the last time, and here he is forenint us now—glory -be to God!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Then he’s safe to be a straight goer?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘It’s twelve mile to the lake, and he’ll make for the little -rise, where there’s rocks, just before you come to Long -Point. If he’s pushed there, he’ll maybe turn to the Limestone -Hill, at the back of the big house, where there’s caves—my -curse on thim—and then good-bye.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘This is pretty country, if there was more fencing,’ said -the Master. ‘Perhaps it is as well, though, as there are so -many ladies out. The hounds are running like smoke.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The nature of the ground at this point of the hunt was -such as to admit of all being reasonably well up. True, the -pack went at considerable speed. The scent was burning, -and there were no small enclosures, as in ‘Merrie England,’ -to check the more delicate damsels or inexperienced horsemen. -The sward was sound and firm, the tall-stemmed -eucalypti stood far apart in the southern forest-park. Bob -Clarke and the Benmohr division, Hampden and the Gambiers, -rode easily in front. Rosamond, Miss Rockley, Miss -Fane, and a few other ladies, who were exceptionally well -mounted, had no difficulty in keeping their places.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘So this is fox-hunting!’ said Miss Fane. ‘That is, so -far as we can have the noble sport without the fox. It -is nice to see the hounds running so compactly. And I -like the musical composite cry with its harmonies and -variations.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘This dingo,’ said Wilfred, who had established himself -at her bridle-rein, ‘is running very straight and fast. If he -makes for the range behind the house, we shall see him and -have a little fencing too.’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_254'>254</span>‘I don’t object to a jump or two,’ said the young lady, -‘if they are not too stiff. This is the sort of pace that -enables one to look about. But I should like to see the -hounds work a little more.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>While this conversation was proceeding, every one was at -their ease, and voted the sport most delightful. The front -rankers were sailing along, while the hounds were carrying a -good head and forcing Master Dingo along at a pace which prevented -him from availing himself of one or two hiding-places.</p> - -<p class='c001'>However, just as Rosamond had compared herself to the -Landgrave, in the German ballad, sweeping on in endless -chase, with a horseman on either hand—St. Maur on the -right on a coal-black steed, and Fred Churbett on the left -on the rejoicing Duellist—wondering how long they were -going to have such a pleasant line of country, through which -Fergus was luxuriously striding as if he had commenced the -first part of a fifty-mile stage, the scene changed. The confident -pack checked, and commenced a circular performance -which betrayed indecision, if not failure of scent.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What’s the matter?’ said Miss Fane. ‘Is the whole -thing over? Was the dingo a myth?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘We have overrun the scent, Miss Fane,’ said Wilfred with -dignity. ‘The hounds have checked, but we shall hit it off -again in a few minutes.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>He had hardly finished speaking when Miss Fane, who, -if it was her first day after hounds, had ‘kept her side’ -well up for many a day in early girlhood, ‘when they wheeled -the wild scrub cattle at the yard,’ took her horse by the head, -with a rapid turn towards two couple of hounds that she -had descried racing down the side of a creek. A neat jump, -following old Tom over the narrow but deep water-course -at a bend, placed her on easy terms with the pack. A new -line of country lay spread out before them at right angles to -their late course.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The hounds had now settled again to the scent. Another -‘blind’ creek, waterless, but respectable in the jumping way, -lay in front. At this Miss Fane’s horse went so fast and took -so extensive a fly, that Wilfred felt himself compelled to be -hard on his Camerton chestnut and ride, if he intended to -keep his place in the front alongside of this ‘leading lady,’ -as Miss Fane’s nerve and experience entitled her to become.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_255'>255</span>But the rest of the field were not doomed to defeat and -extinction, although Miss Fane’s knowledge of emergencies -had enabled her to fix the moment when the scent was -recovered.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Scarcely did the hounds swing to their line, for the dingo -had turned, at right angles, in the creek, and so occasioned -the outrunning of the scent, when Forbes, Ardmillan, Neil -Barrington, and Fred Churbett were seen coming up hand -over hand. Miss Effingham’s ‘dear Fergus’ was slipping -along with his wonted graceful ease, and permitting the -interchange of a few sentences with Mr. Churbett, who rode -at her bridle-rein. Hampden, with whom was Beatrice, on -Allspice, was riding wide of the hounds, but only waiting for -serious business to show what manner of work he and The -Caliph were wont to cut out for themselves. Bob Clarke, -wonderful to relate, was <em>not</em> among the first flight. It could -not have been the fault of Desborough—faster than any horse -in the hunt—and as to jumping, why, he had a man on his -back who was a sufficient answer to any reflections on that -score.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘May I niver be d——d!’ exclaimed old Tom, ‘if the -varmint isn’t going straight for the paddock! One would -think he was a rale fox, to see the divilment of him. Sure it -must be the hounds puts them up to all the villainy. Well, -the bigger the lape, the more divarshion.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Satisfying himself with this view of the matter, old Tom -watched with interest the field gradually approaching a large -outer paddock, which lay at some distance from the house. -It was the ordinary two-railed fence of the colonists, and -though fairly stiff, not formidable to any one who intended -going.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The hounds slipped quietly under the lower rail, and in -another moment were racing, unchecked, along the flat which -it enclosed. But with the field, this obstacle commenced to -alter the state of matters.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The first flight, it is true, came rattling round a point of -timber at any number of miles an hour, when they encountered -this obstacle, to the sardonic entertainment of Tom Glendinning, -who had eased his horse to see the effect. Wilfred -and Miss Fane were still leading when the line of fence -suddenly appeared. Wilfred, from his knowledge of the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_256'>256</span>country, was aware that it was coming, and had prepared his -companion for it.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘It is not very high,’ she said. ‘We are going so charmingly -that I could not bear to be stopped. Emigrant here’—and -she fondly patted the dark brown neck of the adamantine -animal she rode—‘is good for anything in a moderate way.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘It is scarcely four feet,’ said Wilfred, ‘but don’t go at it -if you are not quite sure. We can go round.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I’m not going round, I can promise you,’ said the girl, -with a clear light glowing in her steadfast eyes. ‘Oh, here -it is. Two-railed fences are not much. Besides, we are leading, -and must show a good example.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Whereupon Emigrant’s head was turned towards the -nearest panel. The well-bred horses quickened their speed -slightly; Emigrant shook his arched neck as both cleared -the rail with little more trouble than a sheep-hurdle. As -they alighted on the sound greensward, Miss Fane was -sitting perfectly square with her hands down, just a little backward -in her seat, but without the slightest sign of haste or -discomposure.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Well done,’ said Wilfred. ‘Prettily jumped. Emigrant -has been at it before.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘He has been at most things,’ said Miss Fane, looking -fondly at her experienced palfrey. ‘He had all kinds of work -before I managed to make private property of him; but -nobody rides him but me now, and I think I shall manage to -keep his old legs right for years to come.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The next advancing pairs were not quite so secure of their -horses’ abilities, and a slight uncertainty took place. It was -all very well for Miss Fane to say the fence was not much; -but rails are rails. When they happen to be new and unyielding, -though scarcely four feet in height, a mistake causes -a severe fall. There is no <em>scrambling</em> through an Australian -fence, as a rule. It must be jumped clean or let alone.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Fergus, the unapproachable, was in good sooth no great -performer over anything stiff. Peerless as a hackney in all -other respects, he was not up to much across country; nor -had he been required hitherto, in the houndless state of the -land, to do aught in that line. Nevertheless, Rosamond, -fired by the example of Miss Fane, and inspirited by the -apparent ease with which Emigrant negotiated the obstacle, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_257'>257</span>would have doubtless run the risk, trusting to Fergus’s -gentlemanlike feeling to see her safe. But all risk of danger -was obviated by Bob Clarke’s promptitude.</p> - -<p class='c001'>That chivalrous youth, knowing all about Red King, as -indeed he did about every horse in the land, was aware that -he was a difficult horse to ride at timber. ‘Handsome as -paint,’ was the general verdict, but he needed two pairs of -hands in company.</p> - -<p class='c001'>On this occasion the fact of there being other ambitious -animals in front, and the ‘great club of the unsuccessful’ in -his rear, had roused his temper.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The fair Christabel was by no means deficient in courage, -but to-day Red King had been too much for her. He had -fretted himself into foam, and her pretty hands were sore with -holding the ‘reefing’ horse, whose mouth became more and -more callous.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Don’t you ride him at that fence, Miss Christabel,’ said -Bob, in a tone of entreaty. ‘He’ll go through it as sure as -you’re alive. I know him.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The girl’s face grew a shade paler, but she set her teeth, -and, pointing with her whip to Miss Fane, who was sailing -away in ease and luxury on the farther side, said, ‘I <em>must</em>; -they’re all going at it.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Very well,’ said he—mentally reprobating Red King’s -mouth and temper, and it may be the obstinacy of young -women—‘keep behind me, and we’ll be next.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Upon this the wily Bob shot out from the leading ranks, -closely followed by the wilful Christabel, whose horse, indeed, -left her no option. Sending Desborough at a hog-backed -rail at the rate of forty miles an hour, with a reprehensibly -loose rein, that indignant animal declined to rise, and, chesting -the rail, snapped it like a reed. As Master Bob lay back -in the saddle with his head nearly on his horse’s tail, he had -the pleasure of seeing Christabel pop pleasantly over the -second rail, followed by the other ladies, excepting Mrs. -Snowden, who faced the unbroken fence with considerable -resolution. As for the attendant cavaliers, they negotiated it -pleasantly enough, with the exception of a baulk or two and -one fall. Indeed, another rail gave way soon after, making a -gap through which the rear-guard, variously mounted and -attired, streamed gallantly.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_258'>258</span>As for Bob Clarke, Red King had managed to run up to -Desborough—(great turn of speed that old King)—and he -fancied he saw in the marvellous eyes a recognition of his -unusual mode of easing a stiff leap.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The next happened to be one rare in Australia, having its -origin in Mr. Effingham’s British reminiscences. A fence -was needed in the track of a marshy inlet from the lake. A -ditch with a sod wall thrown up on the farther side made a -boundary sufficing for all the needs of an enclosure, yet -requiring no carriage of material.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘We need not make it quite so broad or deep,’ he said, ‘as -the ox fences in Westmeath; but if I can get a couple of -hedgers and ditchers, I shall leave my memorial here, to outlast -Dick’s timber skeletons.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Two wandering navvies, on the look-out for dam-making, -were fortunately discovered. The result of their labours was -‘The Squire’s Ditch,’ as the unusual substitute was henceforth -named. It certainly was a relief after the austerity of posts -and rails proper. In a few places the ditch had been filled -in and a partial gap made in the sod wall. At any rate horse -and rider would all go at it with light hearts. So, with the -exception of Wilfred and Miss Fane—the latter having picked -out the worst place she could see—everybody treated themselves -indulgently; hit the wall, or scrambled over the ditch, -just as their horses chose to comport themselves, and rode -forward rejoicing.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The hounds have now lengthened out, while their leaders -are racing, with lowered sterns, at a pace that leaves the -heavy brigade an increasing distance behind. The flat is -broken only by an occasional sedgy interval where the fall to -the lake has not been sufficient. For the same reason the -creek, or natural outlet of the watershed, is, though not very -wide, less unequal as to depth than are most Australian watercourses, -while the perpendicular banks show how the winter -rains of ages have channelled the rich black soil.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘We have something like a water-jump here,’ said Wilfred -to his companion, as they watched the hounds disappear -and climb up, giving tongue as they scour forward with -renewed energy. ‘It is not so very wide, but the sides are -steep. If your horse does not know that sort of jump, we -had better follow it down to the ford, near the lake.’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_259'>259</span>‘Black Mountain is full of small rivers and treacheries -of all sorts,’ said the girl. ‘A horse that can go there can go -anywhere, I <em>think</em>.’ Sending Emigrant at it pretty fast, he -lowered his head slightly and ‘flew it like a bird.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>By the time they approached the Deep Creek, as old Tom -averred it had been christened ever since he knew Warbrok, -the greater part of the field seemed aware that no common -obstacle was before them.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘See here now, Mr. Churbett,’ said old Tom. ‘It’s an ugly -lape unless you know where to take it, and some of the ladies -might get hurted. You make for the point half a mile down, -where ye see thim green reeds. There’s a little swamp fills -it up there, and ye can wade through easy. More by token, -I’m thinkin’, the hounds will turn to ye before ye cross the -three-railed fence into the horse paddock.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Mr. Churbett at once made sail for the point indicated, -successfully piloting, with Forbes and a few men who were -more chivalrous than keen, the feminine division. He was -followed by the greater portion of the rear-guard, who, seeing -that there was an obstacle to free discussion in front, wisely -turned when they did. Hamilton, Argyll, and Hampden -rode at the yawner with varied success.</p> - -<p class='c001'>As for Bob Clarke, seeing that it was impossible to adopt -his last method of simplifying matters, he persuaded Miss -Rockley to gallop up the creek with him, on the off-chance -of finding a crossing, which they did eventually, but so far -up that they were nearly thrown out altogether.</p> - -<p class='c001'>We cannot claim for the sheep-killing denizen of the -Australian waste, mysteriously placed on our continent a -century in advance of the merino, the wondrous powers of -Reynard the Great. But in the pace which enables him to -bring to shame an inferior greyhound, and in the endurance -which keeps him ahead of a fair pack of foxhounds, as well -as in his ardent love of poultry, he undoubtedly does resemble -‘the little tyrant of the fields.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The distance the black dingo had already come was considerable, -the pace decidedly good. The long slopes, all -with an upward tendency, began to tell. When the fence of -the home-paddock was reached, the farther corner of which -impinged upon a steep spur of the main range, the bolt of -the gallant quarry was nearly shot.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_260'>260</span>He was viewed by Tom crawling under the lower rail; an -enthusiastic view-holloa rang out from the old man. One -more fence and a kill was certain, unless his last effort sufficed -to land him within reach of one of the ‘gibbah-gunyahs’ (or -rock caves) which the aboriginals and their canine friends -had inhabited apparently from remote ages.</p> - -<p class='c001'>As the field ranged up to the horse-paddock fence, it was -seen to be by no means so moderate a task as the other post -and rails. Old Dick, who had superintended its erection, -had been careful that it should be one of the best pieces of -work in the district,—substantial, of full height, and with -solid posts nearly two feet in the ground. Hence it loomed -before the hunt fully four feet six inches in height, with top-rails -which forbade all chance of cracking or carrying out.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Fortunately for the ladies and a large proportion of the -sterner sex, who would have to ‘jump or go home,’ Wilfred -knew of ‘slip-rails’ a little more than a hundred yards -from where the quick eyes of old Tom had marked the dingo -steal through.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I have no doubt you would try it, Miss Fane,’ said Wilfred, -who marked with admiration the game sparkle in his -companion’s eye, as her gaze ranged calmly over the barrier; -‘but it is a high, stiff fence, and dangerous for a lady. At -any rate, as your temporary guardian, I must forbid your -taking it, if you would defer to my control.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Certainly, oh, certainly, and many thanks,’ said the -girl, blushing slightly; ‘it is very good of you to take care of -me. But what are we to do? We <em>can’t</em> miss the finish after -this delightful run.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Certainly not. Do you see the road to the right of us? -There is a slip-rail on the track, which I fancy will be patronised. -Follow me.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Slip-rails are contemned by advanced pastoralists, but -they stood the Lake William Hunt in good stead on this -occasion. As they rode to the opening, Miss Fane said:</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Pray leave the middle rail up. It will be the last jump, -and I daresay the other ladies will agree with me.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Very well,’ said Wilfred. ‘I need not get off.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Riding up to the fence, he lifted out the shifting end of -the stout round rail, and, allowing it to fall to the ground, -cantered back to his fair companion.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_261'>261</span>‘Now then,’ she said, ‘see how prettily you will take this, -Master Emigrant! It is quite stiff, though not very high.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>In truth the rail, as high as a sheep-hurdle, was slightly -hog-backed, and strong enough to have capsized a buffalo.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You will go first, of course,’ said Wilfred, turning his -horse’s head in the same direction.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The nice old hackney, albeit his best years had been -spent as a stock-horse amid the unfair country of the Black -Mountain run, was within a shade of thoroughbred. He -went at the jump with his hind legs well under him, and, -rising at exactly the proper moment, popped over with so -little effort or disturbance of seat that Miss Fane might have -held a glass of water in her whip-hand.</p> - -<p class='c001'>If she had turned her head she might not have been so -self-possessed; for, the moment her back was turned, Wilfred -Effingham, foreseeing that the talent would be sure to -ride this, the only sensational fence of the run, turned his -horse’s head to the big three-railer.</p> - -<p class='c001'>He rode an upstanding chestnut five-year-old, which he -had selected as a colt from the Benmohr stud. For some -time past he had employed himself in ‘making’ him, a -pleasant task to a lover of horses. He had given the resolute -youngster much schooling over logs, rails, and any kind of -fence which came handy, avoiding those which were not unyielding. -He was aware that no more dangerous idea can be -contracted by a timber-jumper, than that he can break -through anything, the first new fence that he meets being -likely fatally to undeceive him. He flattered himself that -Troubadour, from repeated raps, would take care to rise high -enough over any fence.</p> - -<p class='c001'>At the moment he set him going he saw Argyll and -Churbett, with Hampden, St. Maur, and all the ‘no denial’ -division converging on the slip-rails, having witnessed Miss -Fane’s disappearance through them.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Whether Troubadour was over-anxious to regain Emigrant, -cannot be known. But he went at the fence too fast, hit -the top-rail a tremendous bang, and rolled over into the -paddock, narrowly escaping a somersault across his master.</p> - -<p class='c001'>He, however, was lucky enough to be thrown, by the mere -impetus of the fall, clear of his horse. Jumping to his feet -with the alacrity of youth, he caught the bridle-rein of the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_262'>262</span>astonished Troubadour, who stood staring and shaking, just -in time to see The Caliph sail over the high fence with a -great air of ease and authority, followed by the others, among -whom Churbett’s horse hit the fence hard, ‘but no fall.’ -The ladies followed Miss Fane’s example and negotiated -the middle rail successfully, as Wilfred jumped into his -saddle, and sending his spurs into the unlucky Troubadour, -rejoined his charge without further delay.</p> - -<p class='c001'>That young lady had pulled up, and was looking at the -scene of the disaster with an anxious expression. Her face -had assumed a paler hue, and her hands fidgeted with the -bridle-rein.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I am <em>so</em> glad you are not hurt,’ she said. ‘I thought all -sorts of things till I saw you get up and mount.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Thank you very much,’ said Wilfred, with a grateful -inflection in his voice. ‘It was very awkward of Troubadour; -but accidents will happen, and it will teach him to -lift his legs another time. But we must ride for it now; -we have been in the front so far. Ha! the hounds are -turning to us; they will have Master Dingo before he reaches -the cliffs.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Another mile and the dark quadruped, still at a stretching -wolf-gallop, was decidedly nearer the leading hounds, -whose bristles began to rise, ominous of blood. Old Tom, -waving his cap, cheered them on as he rode rejoicingly forward -on the wiry, unflinching grey. Slower and more laboured -became the pace of the aboriginal canine. Before him was -the cliff, upon the lower tier of which, could he have crawled, -lay sanctuary. But in vain he scans eagerly the frowning -masses of sandstone, denuded by the storms of ages. In -vain he glances fiercely back at the remorseless pack, showing -his glittering teeth. His doom is sealed. With a half-turn -and a vicious snap, in which his teeth meet like a steel-trap -through Cruiser’s neck, he confronts destiny. The next -moment there is a confused heap of struggling, tearing hounds, -a few seconds of dumb, despairing resistance, and the -mothers of the herd are avenged.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Miss Fane turns away her head and joins the group of -‘first families,’ by this time enabled to be in respectably at -the death.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Old Tom in due time appeared with the brush of the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_263'>263</span>dingo, which he held on high for inspection. It was not -unlike that of the true Reynard, though larger and fuller. It -had also a white tag. The old man, advancing to Miss -Fane’s side, thus spoke:</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘The Masther said I was to give ye the brush, Miss; it’s -well ye desarve it. Sure I’d like to have seen ye with the -Blazers. My kind sarvice to ye, and wishin’ ye the hoith of -good fortune.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Well done, Tom!’ said Argyll, ‘you have made a very -neat speech; and we all congratulate Miss Fane upon her -very spirited riding to-day. As you say, she well deserves -the brush, and I hope she will grace many more of our -meets.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘We must send the “cap” round for the huntsman, Tom,’ -said Hampden, ‘who found such a straight-goer for the -first run of the Lake William Hounds, and hit off the scent -so neatly after the check.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>As he spoke he lifted it from the old man’s grey head, -and placing a sovereign in it, rode along the ranks. He -returned it with such a collection of coin as the old man, -long accustomed to cheques and ‘orders,’ had not seen for -years.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘It’s fortunate the fox—the dingo, I mean,’ said Wilfred, -‘chose to make for the cliffs, instead of the other end of the -lake. We should have had a terrible distance to ride home, -though not in the dark, as one often was in the old country. -Now, you must all come in, as we are so near The Chase. -We can put up everybody who hasn’t pressing work to do at -home.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The day was done. The hunt was over, with the first -pack of hounds that had ever been followed amid the green -pastures which bordered the Great Lake. It was by no -means the last. And indeed a hunter, bred and broken by -one of the very men who then aided to establish that -traditional sport, was fated, when shipped to England, to -be one of the few well up in the quickest thing that the -Pytchley saw that season, to be chronicled in Bell, and to -win enduring renown for Australian horses and Australian -riders. But that day, with much of Fate’s glad or sorrowful -doings, was far in the unborn future. So the band of -friends and neighbours returned to The Chase, pleased with -<span class='pageno' id='Page_264'>264</span>themselves, with the day, and the feats performed, and above -all, congratulating Squire Effingham upon the triumphant -opening meet of the season.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Not all the meets were so well attended. But the grand -fact remained that, at regular intervals, dawn saw the dappled -beauties trooping forth at the heels of old Tom and the -Master across the dewy meadows, beneath the century-old -trees of the primeval forest. Still rang out the music, dear -to Howard Effingham’s soul, when the scent lay well in the -soft, cloudy, autumnal mornings. Still were there, occasionally, -incidents of hunting spirit and feats of horsemanship -worthy of the traditional glories of the ne’er-forgotten Fatherland.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_265'>265</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XVIII <br /> THE MAJOR DISCOVERS HIS RELATIVE</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>After the inauguration, hunting became an organised and -well-supported recreation among the dwellers within the -influence of the social wavelets of the lake. The Benmohr -firm found, on the whole—though the stabling of hunters -was not unaccompanied by expense—that it brought their -stud prominently before the public. Hence they found -ready sale, at an ascending scale of prices, for all the colts -they could turn out. Strangers came for the hunting, and -made purchases. The hounds, too, meeting regularly once -a week during the winter months, exercised a repressive -influence upon the dingos, so much so, that M.F.H. (not -being a sheep-owner) began seriously to think of preserving -these much-maligned yet indispensable animals.</p> - -<p class='c001'>So widely spread and honourably mentioned was the fame -of the Lake William Hunt Club, that His Vice-regal Highness -the Governor himself more than once deigned to partake -of the hospitality of The Chase, bringing with him aides-de-camp -and private secretaries, pleasant of manner, and -refreshing as such to the souls of the daughters of the -house.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Meanwhile Wilfred worked away at the serious business -of the estate, only taking occasional interest in these extraneous -pleasures; grumbling, moreover, at the expense, -indirect or otherwise, that the kennel necessitated.</p> - -<p class='c001'>However, it must be said in justice to him, that it was -rarely he was betrayed into impatience with regard to an occupation -which, with other branches of acclimatised field sports, -had become the mainstay of his father’s interest in life.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_266'>266</span>‘Really,’ Mr. Effingham would say, ‘in a few years—say -about eighteen hundred and forty-five or thereabouts—I -believe we shall be nearly as secure of decent sport as -we were in old England. The Murray cod are increasing in -the lake. I have brown trout, dace, and tench in the little -river. There are almost too many rabbits; and as to hares, -pheasants, and partridges, we can invite half-a-dozen guns -next season, without fear of consequences. I have been -offered deer from Tasmania. With the inducement of a stag-hunt -and a haunch of venison, I don’t see why we -shouldn’t finish our season right royally. Depend upon it, -New South Wales only wants enterprise, in the department -of field sports, to become one of the finest countries under -the sun.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>There was no doubt that in the eyes of an observer -not endowed with the apprehensive temperament which -numbers so many successful men amongst its possessors, the -appearance of matters generally at The Chase justified -reasonable outlay.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Wilfred had made a few guarded investments—all successful -so far. What, for instance, could pay better than the -purchase of the quiet, dairy steers from the small farmers -in the autumn, when grass and cash were scarce, to fatten -them in the lake paddocks? Adjacent freeholds, from time -to time in the market, were added to the snug estate of The -Chase. True, he could not always find the cash at call for -these tempting bargains—(is there anything so enticing as -the desire to add farm to farm and house to house, as in the -old, old days of Judah?)—but Mr. Rockley was ready to -endorse his bill, which, with his credit at the Bank of New -Holland, was as good as cash.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Thus passed the time until the close of the hunting season, -before which Major Glendinning had returned and apparently -taken up his abode in the neighbourhood, in great request at -all the stations, and earning for himself daily the character of -a thorough sportsman. He purchased a couple of horses -from the Benmohr stud, on which, from time to time, he -performed such feats across country as caused it to be -surmised that, in the event of his settling in the neighbourhood, -Bob Clarke would find a rival.</p> - -<p class='c001'>He spoke highly of the standard as to blood and bone of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_267'>267</span>the horses bred in the district, openly stating that, in the -event of the proprietors being minded to establish a system of -shipment to India, they might expect extraordinary prices for -their best horses, while the medium ones would be worth -double or treble their colonial value.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Mr. Rockley, after reckoning up expenses, together with -the rather serious item of risk of loss on ship-board, decided -that there was a handsome margin. He finished by -declaring that in the following spring, which would be in -time for the cool season at Calcutta, he would send a dozen -horses of his own breeding, and join them in a cargo from -the district.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The idea was adopted. Preparations were made by -handling and stable-feeding as many of the saleable horses as -could be spared. O’Desmond was a warm supporter of the -movement. He offered to find from his long-established stud -fully half the number necessary for the undertaking. The -Major, who was compelled to revisit India once more, if but -for the last time, had agreed to accompany the emigrants, -and to see them safely into the stables of old Sheik Mahommed, -the great Arab horse-dealer.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Fancy getting a hundred or two for our colts!’ said -Hamilton. ‘Not more than they are worth when you come -to think of their breeding. I look upon the Camerton stock -as the very best horses in New South Wales, probably in -Australia. But of course we never expect more than a third -of such prices in these markets.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘The Major deserves a statue,’ said Argyll, ‘inscribed—<span lang="la" xml:lang="la">“Ad -centurionem fortissimum, qui, equis canibusque gaudens, -primus in Indis et in Nova Cambria erat.”</span>’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Very neat and classical,’ affirmed Fred Churbett. ‘I -intend to send Duellist. I should be sure to get three -hundred for him, shouldn’t I? He’s a sweet hack, but the -price <em>is</em> tempting. I daresay I could pick up another one up -to my weight.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘A horse of Duellist’s blood, size, and fashion would sell -for that sum any day in Calcutta,’ assented the Major. ‘He -would be a remarkable horse anywhere, and I need not tell -you, would fetch more as a park hack in London.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Would we were both there!’ murmured Fred softly. ‘I -fancy I see myself on him doing Rotten Row. I have half a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_268'>268</span>mind to go with you to Calcutta, Major. If the trade -develops we might make money a little faster than at -present, and have our fling in the old country before these -locks are tinged with grey,’ melodramatically patting his -auburn <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>chevelure</em></span>.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘It might be a desirable change,’ said Forbes. ‘Many -people are said to improve in appearance as they grow older.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘But not in mildness of disposition, James,’ retorted -Churbett. ‘A tendency to flat contradiction and aggressive -argument has rarely been known to abate with advancing -years. But this is wide of the Indian Remount Association. -I don’t see why we shouldn’t offer to ship and sell on commission. -Many people in the district breed a good nag and -don’t know what to do with him afterwards. Suppose we -consult the Squire about it. He’s not a business man, but -he knows India well.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>It was agreed that they should make up a party, consisting -of Forbes, Churbett, the Major, and Argyll, to ride over to -The Chase that afternoon. This was always a popular -proceeding if any colour of business, news, or sport could be -discovered for the visit.</p> - -<p class='c001'>As they were nearing the gate of the home-paddock, they -encountered Wilfred Effingham, accompanied by his old -stock-rider, bringing in a draft of cattle. They amused themselves -watching the efficient aid rendered by the dog, and -remarked incidentally the fiery impatience and clever horsemanship -of old Tom, who, roused by the difficulty of driving -some of the outlying younger cattle, was flying round the -drove upon old Boney at a terrific pace.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘How well that old vagabond rides!’ said Fred Churbett, -as Tom came racing down the range after a perverse heifer, -forcing her along at the very top of her speed, with Boney’s -opened mouth just at her quarter, at which, with ears laid -back and menacing teeth, he reached over from time to time, -the old man’s whip meanwhile rattling over her in a succession -of pistol-cracks, while he audibly devoted her to the infernal -deities.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘There, thin, may the divil take ye for a cross-grained, -contrairy, brindle-hided baste of a scrubber; may I niver if I -don’t have ye in the cask the first time yer bones is dacently -covered!’ he wrathfully ejaculated, as Boney stopped dead at -<span class='pageno' id='Page_269'>269</span>the rear of the drove, into which the alarmed heifer shot with -the velocity of a shell.</p> - -<p class='c001'>As they rode up to Wilfred and his man, Major Glendinning -addressed the old stock-rider:</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘By the way, Tom, do you happen to know any one of -your own name in this part of the country—or elsewhere in -the colony, as you have been such a traveller?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘The divil a know I know,’ replied Tom (who was in one -of his worst humours, and at such times had little control -over himself), ‘of any man but Parson Glendinning that lives -on the Hunter River, and he’s a Scotchman and never seen “the -black North” at all. But what raison have ye to ask <em>me</em>? -I’m Tom Stewart Glendinning, the stock-rider, and barrin’ -that I was “lagged” and was a fool to myself all my life -long, I’ve no call to be ashamed of my name, more than -another man.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>As he spoke the old man raised himself in his saddle and -looked steadily, even fiercely, into the eyes of his interlocutor, -who in turn, half astonished, half irritated at the old -man’s manner, frowned as he returned the gaze with military -sternness of rebuke.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Wilfred came up with the intention of rating his follower -for his acerbity, but as he marked the fixed expression of the -two men, something prevented him interposing. A similar -feeling took possession of the others, as they stopped speaking -and unconsciously constituted themselves an audience during -this peculiar colloquy. Did a shadow of doubt, a half-acknowledged -idea cross the minds of the spectators, as they -watched the two men whose paths in life lay so wide apart? -Was it the fire which burned with sudden glow, at that -moment, in the eyes of both speakers, as they confronted -each other, the chance similarity of their aquiline features, -closely compressd lips, and knitted brows? Whatever the -unseen influence, it was simultaneous, as it awed to silence -men, at no time easy to control, and placed them in a -position of mesmeric domination.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The Major rapidly, but with strangely husky intonation, -then said:</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Under that name did you send to Simon Glendinning, in -the county of Derry, certain sums of money?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I did thin; and why wouldn’t I, if it was my own? It -<span class='pageno' id='Page_270'>270</span>was asy made in thim days; the country was worth living in,—not -like now, overstocked with “jimmies” and foreign trash.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You sent that money, as I was informed,’ continued the -Major, persistently unheeding the old man’s petulance, ‘for -the benefit of a child, a nephew of your own, whom you -desired to provide for?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Nephew be hanged! The boy was <em>my son</em>, Owen Walter -Glendinning by name. Maybe he’s dead and gone this -many a day, for I niver heard tale or tidings of him since. -It’s as well for him and betther. ’Tis little use I see in -draggin’ on life in this world at all, unless you’ve great luck -intirely. But what call have ye to be cross-examinin’ me—like -a lawyer—about my family affairs, and what makes the -colour lave yer face like a dead man’s? Who are ye at all?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I am Owen Walter Glendinning! It was for me that -your money was used. I am—your—son!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>As he spoke an ashen hue overspread the bronzed cheek, -and the strong man swayed in his saddle as if he would -have fallen to the ground. His lips were clenched, and -every feature bore the impress of the agony that strains -nature’s every capacity. As for the spectators, they looked -upon the actors in this life drama, of which the catastrophe -had been so unexpectedly sprung upon them, with silent -respect accorded to those beyond human aid. Words would -have been worse than useless. They could but look, but -sit motionless on their horses, but school every feature to -passive recipiency, until the end should come.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘God in Heaven!’ cried the old man; ‘do you tell me -so? May the tongue be blistered that spoke the word! It -was a lie I tould you—lies—lies—I tell ye; sure ye don’t -belave a word of it?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Then he looked at the despairing face of the soldier with -wistful entreaty and bitter regret, piteous to behold.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘It is too late; it is useless to declare that you misled -me. You have betrayed the truth, which in pity for my -unworthy pride you attempt to conceal.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘It’s all a lie—a lie—a hellish lie!’ screamed the old -man, transported with rage and regret. ‘What you, my -son! You! Major Glendinning, a fine gintleman, and a -soldier every inch of ye, the ayquals of the best gintry in the -land and they proud of ye, the son of a drunken old convict -<span class='pageno' id='Page_271'>271</span>stock-rider! I tell ye it <em>can’t</em> be. I swear it’s a lie. I -knew the man ye spake of. He’s dead now, but he was -book-larned and come of an old family. I heard tell of -his sending home money to his nephew in the North, and -our names being the same I just said it out of divilment. -Sure I’d cut my throat if I thought I’d be the manes of -harmin’ ye. Why don’t ye curse me? Why don’t ye tell -thim gintlemen I’m a lyin’ old villain? They know me well. -Here, I’ll swear on my bended knees, by the blessed Virgin -and all the saints, there’s no word of truth in what I said.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>As old Tom raved, implored, and blasphemed, cursing at -once his own folly and evil hap, his face writhed with the -working of inward feeling. His features were deadly pale, -well-nigh livid; the tears ran down his furrowed cheeks, -while his eyes blazed with an unearthly light. As he fell on -his knees and commenced his oath of renunciation the calm -tones of the Major were again heard.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘All this is vain and useless. Get up, and listen to reason. -That you are my—my father, I have now not the slightest -reason to doubt. Your knowledge of the name, of the -annual sum sent, is sufficient evidence; if these facts were -not ample, the resemblance of feature is to me at this -moment, as doubtless to our good friends here, unmistakable. -Fate has brought about this meeting, why, I dare not -question. You are too excited to listen now’—here the -old man made as though he would burst in with a torrent -of imprecations on the childish absurdity of the speaker—‘but -we shall meet again before I leave for India.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘May we niver meet again on God’s earth! ’Tis yerself -that’s to blame if this divil’s blast gets out. Sure the -Benmohr gintlemen and Mr. Churbett won’t let on. Mr. -Wilfred’s close enough. Kape your saycret, and divil a soul -need hear of the sell ould Tom gave ye. My sarvice to ye, -Major!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Here the old man mounted and devoted his energies to -the cattle. Wilfred moved forward, by no means sorry that -the strange scene had concluded.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Look here, Effingham, I will ride on to The Chase and -make my adieus; as well now as another time. I return at -once to India. You understand my position, I feel sure.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>He rode forward with a more upright seat, a firmer hand -<span class='pageno' id='Page_272'>272</span>upon his bridle-rein, and that stern lighting of the eyes that -may be seen when, and when only—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Bridle-reins are gathered up,</div> - <div class='line in2'>And sabres blaze on high,</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c001'>ere each man spurs to the death feast, wherein his own name -has, perchance, been sounded on a shadowy roll-call by a -phantom herald.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Hamilton urged his horse alongside of the Major and -held out his hand. Their eyes met as each wrung the -proffered palm. But no word was spoken. Argyll and -Churbett rode slightly ahead. Before long they reached -the gate of The Chase, which, with its peculiar fastening, -their horses began to know pretty well, either sidling steadily -up or commencing to gambade at the very sight of it, in -token of detestation, as did Grey Surrey.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘It seems odd that I shall perhaps never see this house -again,’ said Major Glendinning, slowly and reflectively. ‘I -was beginning to be very fond of it, and had made up my -mind to buy a place for a stud farm and settle near it. But -why think of it now, or of anything else? “What is decreed -by Allah is decreed,” as saith the Moslem. Who am I to -complain of the universal fate?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>But as the strong man spoke there was an involuntary -tremor in his voice, a contraction of the muscles, as when -the dumb, tortured frame quivers under the surgeon’s knife.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh, how glad I am that you all came to-day,’ said -Annabel, as they walked in; ‘that is, if a girl is permitted -to express her pleasure at the arrival of gentlemen. Perhaps -I should have said “how fortunate a coincidence.” But, as -a fact, all our horses are in to-day, and we were just wondering -if we could make up a riding-party after lunch. Mr. -Churbett, I can order you to come, because you never have -any work to do; not like some tiresome people who <em>will</em> go -home late at night or early in the morning.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I never get credit for my labours, Miss Annabel. I’m -too good-natured and easily intimidated—by ladies. But -did you never hear of my memorable journey with cattle -from Gundagai to the coast, all in the depth of winter; and—and—in -fact—several other exploring enterprises?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What, really, Mr. Churbett? Then I recant. But I -<span class='pageno' id='Page_273'>273</span>thought you managed the station from your verandah, sitting -in a large cane chair, with a pile of books on the floor.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘An enemy hath done this,’ said Mr. Churbett impressively. -‘Miss Annabel, I never shall be exonerated till you -immortalise The She-oaks with your presence at a muster. -Then, and then only, can you dimly shadow forth the deeds -that the knight Frederico Churbetto, with his good steed -Grey Surrey, is capable of achieving.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘“I wadna doot,” as Andrew says; and indeed, Mr. -Churbett, I should like very much to see all the galloping -and watch you and your stock-riders at work. You must -ask mamma. Only, the present question is, can we have a -canter down to the lake side?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘We shall be truly thankful,’ said Hamilton. ‘I can -answer for it. We did not know the good fortune in store -for us when we started.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh, thanks, thanks! Consider everything nice said on -both sides. But what have you done to Major Glendinning? -He looks so serious.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh, he’s all right,’ said Hamilton, thinking it best to -suffer their friend to make his explanations personally. -‘Indian warriors, you know, are apt to suffer from old wounds. -Change of weather, I think.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Poor fellow!’ said Annabel. ‘It seems hard that if one -is not killed in battle, he should have to suffer afterwards. -However, we must cheer him up. I will go and put my -habit on.’</p> - -<hr class='c013' /> - -<p class='c001'>The afternoon was fine, so after a preliminary saddling-up, -the whole party filed off, apparently in high spirits. The -roads in one direction were always sound, while by ascending -slightly one of the spurs of the range a grand view was -always obtainable.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Rosamond rode foremost, as she generally did, by right of -the exceptional walking of Fergus. She was accompanied by -Forbes, whose hackney had been selected after great research, -his friends averred, in order that he might rank as the next -fastest pacer in those parts. Argyll and Wilfred brought up -the rear, occasionally joining company with Annabel and -Fred Churbett. The Major and Beatrice went next behind -the leaders. The couples preserved the order in which they -<span class='pageno' id='Page_274'>274</span>set out, with the exception of the inroad upon Fred and -Annabel’s eager colloquies, which were not deeply sentimental. -That amiable personage complained that no one scrupled -to break in upon his <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>tête-à-têtes</em></span>. He ‘thought he should -have to grow a moustache and call some one out, in order -to inspire respect.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Major Glendinning had made frequent visits to Warbrok, -and familiar intercourse having naturally resulted from his -intimacy with their friends at Benmohr, the family had come -to look upon him as one of their particular set. Of a -nature constitutionally reserved, and more specially self-contained -from long residence as a military autocrat in one -of the provinces of Northern India, he had read and thought -more deeply than men of his class are apt to do. In proportion, -therefore, to his general reticence was his satisfaction -in unlocking his stores of experience when he met with -congenial minds.</p> - -<p class='c001'>A few chance questions on the part of Beatrice Effingham, -after his first introduction to the family, had discovered -to him that she was better informed as to the administration -of Northern India than most people. Hence grew up -between them a common ground of interest in which he -could expatiate and explain. And his listener was never -tired of hearing from an eye-witness and an actor the -true story of the splendours and tragedies of that historic -land.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The real reason of this research, apart from the hunger -for literary pabulum, which at all times possessed Beatrice, -was an affectionate interest in the life of an uncle, who, -after entering upon a brilliant career, had perished through -the treachery of a native Rajah. His adventures had fascinated -the romantic girl from early childhood; hence she -had loved to verify every detail of the circumstances under -which the star of the ill-fated Raymond Effingham had -faded into darkness.</p> - -<p class='c001'>By those indescribable degrees of advance, of which the -heart can note the progress, but rarely the first approach, -a friendship between the Major and the thoughtful girl -became so apparent as to be the subject of jesting remark. -When, therefore, he had announced his intention of settling -in the neighbourhood, a thrill of unusual force invaded the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_275'>275</span>calm pulses of Beatrice Effingham. Had his retirement -from the service, from the profession he loved so well, some -reason in which her future was concerned? If so, if he -settled down on one of the adjoining properties, could any -union be more consonant with her every feeling, taste, and -aspirations than with one whom, in every way, she could so -fully respect and admire, whose deeds in that wonderland -of her fancies were written on the records of his country’s -fame? It was a dream too bright for reality. And though -it would occasionally disturb the even tenor of Beatrice’s -hours in the library, her well-regulated mind refused to dwell -upon possibilities as yet unsanctioned.</p> - -<p class='c001'>When, therefore, Major Glendinning promptly availed -himself of the opportunity afforded by the ride to the lake -to constitute himself her escort; when, after a few commonplace -observations, she observed that his countenance, though -more grave than was usual in her presence, had yet an expression -of fixed resolve, an indefinable feeling of expectation, -almost amounting to dread, took possession of her, and it was -with a beating heart and changing cheek that she listened.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I take advantage of this opportunity, Miss Beatrice, to -say the words which must be said before we part.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Part!’ said the girl, shaking in every limb, though she -bravely struggled against her emotions and tried to impart -firmness to her voice. ‘Then you are going to leave us for -India? Have you been ordered back suddenly?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘That is as it may be,’ said the soldier; and as he spoke -their eyes met. His face wore a look of unalterable decision, -yet so fraught was it with misery, even despair, that she instinctively -felt that Fate had dealt her a remorseless stroke. -‘I have heard this day,’ he continued, ‘what has altered the -chief purpose of my life—has killed my every hope. I return -to India by the next ship.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You have heard terribly bad news,’ she answered very -softly. ‘I see it in your face. I need not tell you how we -shall all sympathise with you; how grieved we shall be at -your departure.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Here the womanly instinct of the consoler proved stronger -than that of the much-vaunted ruler of courts and camps, -inasmuch as Beatrice lost sight of her personal feelings -in bethinking herself how she could aid the strong man, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_276'>276</span>whose features bore evidence of the agony which racked -every nerve and fibre.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I feel deeply grateful for your sympathy. I knew you -would bestow it. No living man needs it more. This -morning I rode out fuller of pleasant anticipation than I can -recall, prepared to take a step which I hoped would result -in my life’s happiness. I had arranged for an extension of -leave, after which I intended to sell out and live in this -neighbourhood, which for many reasons—for every reason—I -have found so delightful.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And your plans are altered?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>This query was made in tones studiously free from all -trace of interest or disapproval, although the beating heart -and throbbing brain of the girl almost prevented utterance.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I have this day—this day only—you will do me the -justice hereafter to believe—heard a statement, unhappily -too true, which clears up the mystery which has rested upon -me from my birth. That cloud has been removed. But -behind it lies a foul blot, a dark shadow of dishonour, which -I deemed could never have rested on the name of Walter -Glendinning.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Dishonour!’ echoed Beatrice. ‘Impossible! How can -that be?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘It is as I say—deep and ineradicable,’ groaned out the -unhappy man. ‘You will hear more from your brother. -All is known to him and your friends of Benmohr. Enough -that I have no personal responsibility. But it is a burden -that I must carry till the day of a soldier’s death. You -will believe me when I say that my honour demands that I -quit Australia—to me so dear, yet so fatal. The years that -may remain to me belong to my country.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I feel,’ said the girl, with kindling eye and a pride of -bearing which equalled his own, ‘that you are doing what -your high sense of honour, of duty, demands. I can but -counsel you to take them, for guide and inspiration. I know -not the doom which has fallen on you, but I can bid you -God-speed, and pray for you evermore.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You have spoken my inmost thoughts. God help us -that it should be so. But I were disloyal to every thought -and aspiration of my nature if I stooped to link the life of -another, as God is my witness and judge, to my tarnished -<span class='pageno' id='Page_277'>277</span>name. We must part—never, perhaps, to meet on earth—but, -Beatrice, dearest and only loved—may I not call you so?—I -who now look upon your face, and hear your voice for -the last time—you will think in your happy home of one -who tore the heart from his bosom, which a dark fate forbade -him to offer you. When you hear that Walter Glendinning -died a soldier’s death, give a tear to his memory—to his fate -who scorned death, but could not endure dishonour.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Neither spoke for some moments. The girl’s tears flowed -fast as she gazed before her, while both rode steadily onward. -The man’s form was bowed, and his set features wore the -livid aspect of him who has received a death-wound but -strives to hide the inward agony. Slowly, mechanically, they -rode side by side along the homeward track, in the rear of -the others until the entrance gate was reached. Then, as if -by mutual impulse, they turned towards each other, and -their eyes met in one long sorrowful glance. Such light has -shone in the eyes of those who parted ere now, sanctified by -a martyr’s hope—a martyr’s death.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘We shall meet,’ she said, ‘no more on earth; but oh, -if you value my love, cherish the thought of a higher life—of -a better world, where no false human pride, no barrier of -man’s cruelty or injustice may sever us. I hold the trust -which my heart, if not my lips, confessed. Till then, farewell, -and may a merciful God keep our lives unstained until -the day of His coming.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>She drew the glove from her hand hurriedly. It fell at -his horse’s feet. He dismounted hastily, and placed it in his -bosom, and raising her ice-cold hand to his lips, pressed it -with fervour. Then accompanying her to the hall door, he -committed her to the charge of Wilfred, who, with his mother -and sister, stood on the verandah, took a hurried leave of the -family, regretting that he was compelled, by sudden summons, -to rejoin his regiment, and with his friends, who with ready -tact made excuse for returning, took the familiar track to -Benmohr.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Few words were spoken on the homeward road, which was -traversed at a pace that tried the mettle of the descendants -of Camerton. That night the friends sat late, talking -earnestly. It was long after midnight before they separated. -On the following day Major Glendinning and his father met -<span class='pageno' id='Page_278'>278</span>at a spot half-way between The Chase and Benmohr, the -interview being arranged by Hamilton, who rode over and -persuaded the old man to accompany him. What passed -between them was never known, but ere that night was ended -the Major was far on his way to Sydney, which he reached in -time to secure a passage in the good ship <cite>Governor Bourke</cite>, -outward bound for China. In the course of the week Mr. -Effingham received a letter in explanation of the circumstances, -signed Owen Walter Glendinning, declaring his unworthiness -to aspire to his daughter’s hand, as well as his -inability to remain in the country after the mystery of his -birth had been so unexpectedly revealed to him. He held -himself pledged to act in the matter after the expiration of a -year in accordance with what Mr. Effingham, acting as the -guardian of his daughter’s happiness, might consider in the -light of an honourable obligation. A bank draft drawn in -favour of Thomas Stewart Glendinning was enclosed, with an -intimation that an annual payment would be forwarded for -his use henceforth during the writer’s life.</p> - -<hr class='c013' /> - -<p class='c001'>The first cloud which the Effinghams had descried since -their arrival in Australia had appeared in the undimmed -horizon. The breath of evil, which knows no bound nor -space beneath the sun, had rested on them. Habitually -taking deeper interest in the subjective issues of life than in -its material transaction, they were proportionately depressed. -All that maternal love and the most tender sisterly affection -could give was lavished upon the sufferer. Her well-disciplined -mind, strengthened by culture and purified by -religion, gradually acquired equilibrium. But it was long ere -the tranquil features of Beatrice Effingham recovered their -wonted expression; and a close observer could have detected -the trace of an inward woe in the depths of her erstwhile -clear, untroubled eyes.</p> - -<p class='c001'>In his answer to the letter which he had received, Mr. -Effingham ‘fully agreed with the course which his friend -had taken, and the determination which he had expressed. -Looking at the situation, which he deplored with his whole -heart, he was unable to see any other mode of action open -to him as a man of honour. Deeply prejudicial as had been -the issue to the happiness of his beloved daughter, he could -<span class='pageno' id='Page_279'>279</span>not ask him (Major Glendinning) to swerve by one hair’s-breadth -from the path which he had laid down for himself. -His wishes would be attended to with respect to the bank -draft forwarded for the use of the person named, but he -would suggest that Mr. Sternworth should be chosen as the -recipient of future remittances. He would, in conclusion, -wish him the fullest measure of success and distinction which -his profession offered, with, if not happiness, the inward -satisfaction known to those who marched ever in the vanguard -of honourable duty. In this wish he was warmly seconded -by every member of the family.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Old Tom, after notice of his intention to leave the employment, -presented himself before his master, dressed and -accoutred as for a journey, leading Boney and followed by -the uncompromising Crab. His effects were fastened in a -roll in front of his saddle, his coiled stockwhip was pendent -from the side-buckle. All things, even to the fixed look -upon the weather-beaten features, betokened a settled -resolution.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I’m going to lave the ould place, Captain,’ he said; ‘and -it’s sorry I am this day to quit the family and the lake and -the hounds, where I laid it out to lave the ould bones of me. -I’m wishin’ the divil betther divarshion than to bother with -the family saycrets of the likes o’ me. Sure he has lashins -of work in this counthry, without disturbin’ the last days of -poor ould Tom Glendinning—and he sure of me, anyhow. -My heart’s bruk, so it is.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Hush, Tom,’ said his employer. ‘We can understand -Major Glendinning’s feelings. But, after all, it is his duty -to acknowledge the ties of nature. I have no doubt that -after a time he will become—er—used to the relationship.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘D——n the relationship!’ burst out the old man -menacingly. ‘Ah, an’ sure I ax yer pardon, yer honour, -for the word; but ’tis wild I am that the Major, a soldier -and a rale gintleman every inch of him, that’s fought for the -Queen and skivered them infernal blackamoors in the Injies, -should be given out as the son of a blasted ould rapparee -like me. It was asy knowing when I seen that look on him -when he heard the name, but how could I drame that <em>my son</em> -could have turned into a king’s officer—all as one as the -best of the land? If I <em>had</em> known it for sartain, before he -<span class='pageno' id='Page_280'>280</span>axed me, I’d have lived beside him as a common stock-rider -for years, if he’d come here, and he’s niver have known no -more than the dead. It’s a burning shame and a sin, that’s -what it is!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘It may have been unfortunate,’ said Mr. Effingham; ‘but -I can never regard it as wrong that a father and a son should -come to know of the tie which binds them to each other.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And why not, I ask ye?’ demanded the old man -savagely. ‘What good has it done aither of us? It’s sent -<em>him</em> back, with a sore heart, to live among them black divils -and snakes and tigers, a murdtherin’ hot counthry it is by all -accounts, when he might have bought a place handy here -and bred horses and cattle—sure he’s an iligant rider and -shoots beautiful, don’t he now? I wonder did he take them -gifts after me?’ said the old man, with the first softened -expression and a half sigh. ‘Sure, if I could have plazed -myself <em>with lookin’ at him</em> and he not to know, I wouldn’t -say but that I might have listened to Parson Sternworth and—and—repinted,—yes, -repinted,—after all that’s come and -gone! And now I’m on the ould thrack agin, with tin -divils tearin’ at me, and who knows what will happen.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘There’s no need for you to lead a wandering life, or -indeed, to work at all, even if you leave the district,’ said -Mr. Effingham. ‘I have a sum in my hands, forwarded by -the Major, sufficient for all your wants.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I’ll not touch a pinny of it!’ cried out the old man; ‘sure -it’s blood money, no less, his <em>life</em>, anyway, that will pay for -this! Didn’t I see his eye, when he shook hands with me, -and begged my pardon for his pride, and asked me to bless -him—<em>me</em>!’—and here the old man laughed derisively, a -sound not pleasant to hear. ‘If there’s fighting where he’s -going, and he lives out the year, it will be because lead and -cowld steel has no power to harm a man that wants to die. -Mr. Effingham, I’ll never touch it; and why would I? -Sure the drink’ll kill me, fast enough, without help.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘But why go away? I am so grieved that, after your -faithful service, you should leave in such a state of mind.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Maybe I’ll do ye more sarvice before I die, but I must -get into the far-out runs, or I’ll go mad thinking of <em>him</em>. It -was my hellish timper that let the words out so quick, or he’d -never have known till his dying day. Maybe the rheumatiz -<span class='pageno' id='Page_281'>281</span>was to blame, that keeps burning in the bones of me like red-hot -iron, till I couldn’t spake a civil word to the blessed -Saviour Himself. Anyhow, it’s done now; but of all I ever -did—and there’s what would hang me on the list—I repint -over <em>that</em>, the worst, and will till I die. Good-bye, sir. God -bless the house, and thim that’s in it.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The old man remounted his wayworn steed with more -agility than his appearance promised, and taking the track -which led southward, went slowly along the road without -turning his head or making further speech. The dog rose to -his feet and trotted after him. In a few moments the -characteristic trio passed from sight.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Mysterious indeed are the ways of Providence!’ thought -Effingham, as he turned towards the house. ‘Who would -ever have thought that the fortunes of this strange old man -would ever have been associated with me or mine. I feel an -unaccountable presentiment, as if this incident, inexplicable -as it is, were but the forerunner of evil!’</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_282'>282</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XIX <br /> BLACK THURSDAY</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>Autumn and winter passed in the ordinary succession of -regular duties and peaceful employments, now become easy -and habitual. These the expatriated family had learned to -love. The departure of the old stock-rider was felt as a -temporary inconvenience, but the brothers with Dick Evans’s -aid and counsel felt themselves qualified to supply his place, -and decided not to employ a successor.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Guy, indeed, had grown into a stalwart youngster, taller -and broader than his elder brother; so much had the pure -air, the healthful bush life, the regular exercise and occasional -labour demanded by the station exigencies done for his -development. He was apt at all the minor rural accomplishments—could -ride the unbroken colts, which their own -stud now produced, and was well acquainted with the ways -and wanderings of outlying cattle. The lore of the Waste, -in which old Dick was so able an instructor, was now his. -He could plait a hide-rope, make bullock-yokes, noose and -throw the unbranded cattle, drive a team, split and put up -‘fencing stuff’; in many ways do a man’s work, when needed, -as efficiently as his preceptor. Dick prophesied that he -would become ‘a great bushman’ in years to come. Indeed, -by tales of ‘taking up new country’ and of the adventurous -branches of station life, he had fostered a thirst for more -extended and responsible action which gave his parents some -uneasiness.</p> - -<p class='c001'>He had begun to acquire the Australian boy’s contempt -for the narrow bounds involved by a residence on ‘purchased -land.’ He impatiently awaited the day when he should be -<span class='pageno' id='Page_283'>283</span>able to sally forth, with a herd of his own and the necessary -equipment, to seek his fortune amid romantic, unexplored wilds. -He began to lose interest in the daily round of home duties; -and though from long habit and an affectionate nature, as -yet dutifully obedient to his parents’ bidding, he more than -once confessed that he longed for independent action.</p> - -<hr class='c013' /> - -<p class='c001'>The season was ‘setting in dry.’ There had been no rain -for months. Around Lake William and near that wide -expanse of water an appearance of verdure was preserved -by the more marshy portion of the great flats. Amid these -the cattle daily revelled and fed. They might have been -seen grouped in large droves far out on the promontories, or -wading amid the shallowing reed-beds which fringed the -shore, long after the sun had set, and the breathless night, -boding of storms which came not, had closed in.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Among the neighbours this state of matters by no means -passed without observation and remark. Nought save -desultory discussion ensued. Except O’Desmond, no one -had been long enough in the colony to have had experience -of abnormal seasons. Curiously, he was the one who took the -more despondent view of matters, from which men augured ill.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I hope to heaven that we are not going to have a -repetition of 1827,’ he said; ‘one experience of that sort is -enough to last a man for his lifetime.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Was it so very awful?’ said Hamilton, the conversation -taking place at Benmohr, at which convenient rendezvous -Wilfred and Churbett had encountered that gentleman. ‘One -fancies that the ancient colonists were not fertile in expedients.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘No doubt we have much to learn from the accomplished -gentlemen who have done us the honour to invest in our -colony of late years,’ said O’Desmond grandly, with a bow of -the regency; ‘but if you had seen what I have, you would -not undervalue the danger. I don’t care to talk about it. -Only if this year ends badly, I shall leave Badajos to my old -couple and the overseer, muster my stock, and start into the -wilderness without waiting for another.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What direction shall you take?’ said Hamilton.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Due south, until I strike the head waters of the Sturt -and the Warburton. These I shall follow down, and make -my depôt wherever I discover a sufficiently tempting base.’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_284'>284</span>‘It has quite the heroic ring about it,’ said Wilfred. ‘But -for certain reasons, I would like to follow you. How about -provisions?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I take a year’s supply of rations and clothing. We drive -our meat before us.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And the blacks?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I know all that can be known about them,’ said O’Desmond. -‘They recognise chiefs among the white men. If -one does not fear them, they are to be dealt with like children.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You will find it hard to quit your pleasant life at Badajos -for the desert,’ said Wilfred.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Not at all; the sharper the contrast, the more easily is -the change made. Besides, on such occasions mine is a -well-organised expedition. I take my cook, my groom, my -four-in-hand. What do you say? Come with me for the -first week or two. I can promise you a chop broiled to perfection. -I must show you my “reversible griller,” of which I -am the proud inventor.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Here the door was loudly knocked at, and being opened -without further ceremony, disclosed the serious countenance -of Wullie Teviot, apparently out of breath.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Maister Hamilton and gentlemen a’,’ he said, ‘I’m no in -a poseetion to do my errand respectfully the noo, but hae -just breath to warn ye that there’s a muckle bush-fire comin’ -fast frae the direction o’ Maister Effingham’s. I trust we’ll -no be the waur o’t.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>This ended migratory speculations abruptly. Each man -started to his feet. Hamilton left the room to secure a horse -and order out his retainers, Wilfred to try and make out -whether the heavy spreading cloud on the horizon was across -his boundary.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I and my man will go with Hamilton,’ quoth O’Desmond. -‘Effingham had better make for home, and see how it is -likely to affect him.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Hamilton was dashing down the paddock on a bare-backed -horse by this time, to run up the hacks, and also one for the -spring-cart, to be loaded with spare hands for the scene of -action, besides that invaluable adjunct in a bush fire, a cask -of water.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I hardly like leaving,’ said Wilfred; ‘it looks selfish.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Don’t mind about the sentiment,’ said O’Desmond. ‘If -<span class='pageno' id='Page_285'>285</span>your run is afire you will need to help Dick Evans and his -party. I’ll be bound the old fellow is half-way there already. -He is not often caught napping.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Then Wilfred mounted too, and sped away, galloping -madly towards the great masses of ever-increasing smoke-cloud. -It proved to be farther off than he expected. He -had ridden far and fast, when he reached the border where -he could hear the crackling of the tender leaflets, and -watched the red line which licked up so cleanly all dry sticks -and bush, with every stalk and plant and modest tuft of -grass. He then found that the chief duty, not so much of -meeting the enemy, as of guiding and persuading him to turn -his fiery footsteps in a different direction, was being satisfactorily -performed by Richard Evans and his assistants. -Guy, in wild delight at being made lieutenant of the party, -was dashing ever and anon into the centre of the smoke and -flame, and dealing blows with his bough like a Berserker.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Head it off, lads,’ Dick was saying when Wilfred rode up. -‘It’s no use trying to stop it in the long grass; edge it off -towards the ranges. There it may burn till all’s blue.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Why, Dick,’ said he to his trustworthy veteran, ‘how did -you manage to get here so quickly? They’ve only just seen -it at Benmohr.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘They’ll find it out pretty quick, sir, if there’s a shift of -wind to-night. It don’t need much coaxing our way, but it -means Benmohr, with a southerly puff or two. If it gets into -that grassy bit by the old stock-yard, it will burn at the rate of -fifty mile an hour.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Hour after hour did they work by the line of fire, ere -Dick’s vigilance could permit any kind of halt or relaxation. -It was exciting, not unpleasant work, Wilfred thought, walking -up and down the red-gleaming line of tongues of fire which -licked up so remorselessly the tangled herbage, the lower -shrubs, the dead flower-stalks, and all scattered branches of -the fallen trees.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The night was dark, sultry, and still. As ever and anon -the fire caught some tall, dead tree, and running up it, seized -the hollow trunk, holding out red signals from each limb -and cavity, high up among the branches, the effect against -the sombre sky, the dull, massed gloom of the mountain, -was grandly effective. In the lurid scene the moving figures -<span class='pageno' id='Page_286'>286</span>upon whose faces the fierce light occasionally beat, seemed -weird and phantasmal. Patiently did the wary leader watch -the line of fire, which had been extinguished on the side -next to the lower lands, now casting back a half-burned log -far within the blackened area, and anon beating out insidious -tussocks of dried grass, ignited by a smouldering ember.</p> - -<p class='c001'>When once the defensive line had been subdued, it was -easily kept under by sweeping the half-burned grass and -sticks back from the still inflammable herbage into the bared -space now devoid of fuel. But care was still needed, as -ever and again a half-burned tree would crash down across -the line, throwing forth sparks and embers, or perhaps lighting -up a temporary conflagration.</p> - -<p class='c001'>All the night through, the men kept watch and ward beside -the boundary. The strangeness of the scene compensated -Wilfred and Guy for the loss of their natural rest as well as -for the severity of the exertion. As they watched the flame-path -hewing its way unchecked up the rugged mountain-side, -lighting up from time to time with wondrous clearness every -crag, bush, and tree, to the smallest twig—a nature picture, -clear, brilliant, unearthly, framed in the unutterable blackness -of the night, it seemed as if they were assisting at some -Walpurgis revel; as if in the lone woods, at that mystic hour, -the forms of the dead, the spectres of the past, might at any -moment arise and mingle with them.</p> - -<p class='c001'>As they lay stretched on the dry sward, in the intervals -of rest, they watched the gradual progress of the flame -through the rugged, chasm-rifted, forest-clothed mountain. -With every ascent gained, the flame appeared to hoist a -signal of triumph over the dumb, dark, illimitable forest -which surrounded them. Finally, when like a crafty foe it -had climbed to the highest peak, the fire, there discovering -upon a plateau a mass of brushwood and dry herbage, burst -out in one far-seen, wide-flaming beacon, at once a Pharos -and a Wonder-sign to the dwellers at a lower elevation.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The bush fire had been fought and conquered. It only -remained for Dick and a few to go back on the following -day and make sure that the frontier was safe; that no -smouldering logs were ready to light up the land again as -soon as the breeze should have fanned them sufficiently. -The main body of the fire had gone up the mountain range, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_287'>287</span>where no harm could be done; where, as Dick said, as soon -as the first rain came, the grass would be all up again, and -make nice, sweet picking for the stock in winter.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The Benmohr people had not been quite so lucky; the -wind setting in that direction, the flames had come roaring -up to the very homestead, burning valuable pasture and nearly -consuming the establishment. As it was, the garden gate -caught fire. The farm and station buildings were only preserved -by the desperate efforts of the whole force of the -place, led on by Argyll and Hamilton, who worked like -the leaders of a forlorn hope. After the fight was over and -the place saved, Charlie Hamilton, utterly exhausted with -the heat and exertion, dropped down in a faint, and had -to be carried in and laid on a bed, to the consternation -of Mrs. Teviot, who thought he was dead.</p> - -<p class='c001'>It was now the last week of March, and all things looked -as bad as they could be. Not a drop of rain worth mentioning -had fallen since the spring. The small rivers which ran -into Lake William had ceased to flow, and were reduced each -to its own chain of ponds. That great sheet of water was -daily receding from its shores, shallowing visibly, and leaving -islands of mud in different parts of its surface, unpleasantly -suggestive of total evaporation. Strange wild-fowl, hitherto -unknown in the locality—notably the ibis, the pelican, and -the spoonbill—had appeared in great flocks, disputing possession -with the former inhabitants. The flats bordering -upon the lake, once so luxuriantly covered with herbage, -were bare and dusty as a highroad. The constant marching -in and out of the cattle to water had caused them to be fed -down to the last stalk. Apparently there was no chance of -their renewal. The herd, though still healthy and vigorous, -was beginning to lose condition; if this were the case now, -what tale would the winter have to tell? The yield of milk -had so fallen off that merely sufficient was taken for the use -of the house. The ground was so hard that it was impossible -to plough for the wheat crop, even if there had been likelihood -of the plant growing after the seed was sown.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Andrew was clearly of the opinion that Australia much -resembled Judea, and that for some good reason the Lord -had seen fit to pour down His wrath upon the land, which -was now stricken with various plagues and grievous trials.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_288'>288</span>‘I’m no sayin’,’ he said, ‘that the sin o’ the people has -been a’thegither unpardonable and forbye ordinair’. There’s -nae doot a wheen swearin’ and drinkin’ amang thae puir -ignorant stock-riders and splitter bodies. Still, they’re for -the maist pairt a hard delvin’, ceevil people, that canna be -said to eat the bread o’ idleness, and that’s no wilfu’ -in disobeyin’ the Word, siccan sma’ hearin’ as they hae -o’t. I’m lyin’ in deep thocht on my bed nicht after nicht, -wearyin’ to find ae comfortin’ gleam o’ licht in this darkness -o’ Egypt.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘It’s a bad look-out, Andrew,’ said Guy, to whom Andrew -was confiding his feelings, as he often did to the lad when -he was troubled about the well-doing of the community. -‘And it will be worse if the cattle die after next winter. -Whatever shall we do? We shall never get such a lot of -nice, well-bred ones together again. What used the Jews to -do in a season like this, I wonder, for they got it pretty bad -sometimes, you know, when Jacob sent all his sons into -Egypt?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I mind weel, Maister Guy,’ said the old man solemnly. -‘And ye see he had faith that the Lord would provide for -him and his sons and dochters. And though they were sair -afflicted before the time of deliverance came, they were a’ -helped and saved in the end. He that brocht ye a’ here -nae doot will provide. Pray and trust in Him, Maister Guy, -and dinna forget what ye learned at your mither’s knee, -hinny, the God-fearin’ lady that she ever was. We must -suffer tribulation, doubtless; but dinna fear—oh, dinna lose -faith, my bairn, and we shall sing joyful songs i’ the ootcome!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>As the season wore on, and the rainless winter was succeeded -by the hopeless spring, with drying winds and cloudless -days, it seemed as if the tribulation spoken of by Andrew was -indeed to be sharp, to the verge of extermination.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Not only were great losses threatened by the destruction -of the stock, but the money question was commencing to -become urgent. For the past year no sales of stock had -been possible. Few had the means of keeping the stock they -were possessed of. They were not likely to add to their -responsibility by buying others, at however tempting a price. -As there was no milk, there was naturally no butter, cheese, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_289'>289</span>or the wherewithal to fatten the hogs for bacon. These -sources of income were obliterated. Having no produce to -sell, it became apparent that the articles necessary to be -bought were suddenly enhanced in value. Flour rose from -twelve and fifteen to fifty, seventy, finally, <em>one hundred pounds -per ton</em>. Not foreseeing this abnormal rise, Wilfred had sold -their preceding year’s crop, as usual, as soon as it reached a -better price than ordinary, merely retaining a year’s supply of -flour. That being exhausted, he was compelled, sorely -against the grain, to purchase at these famine rates. Rice, -which could be imported cheaply, was largely mingled with -the flour, as a matter of economy. The bread was scarcely -so palatable, but by the help of Jeanie’s admirable baking, -little difference was felt.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Mr. Rockley confided that he felt deeply reluctant to -charge him and other friends such high prices for the -necessaries of life. The difficulties of carriage, however, were -now amazing. Numbers of the draught cattle had perished, -and fodder was obliged to be carried by the teams on their -journeys, enhancing the cost indefinitely.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘The fact is,’ said that unreserved merchant, ‘I am losing -on all sides. The smaller farmers in my debt have no more -chance of paying me, before the rain comes, than if they were -in gaol. Everybody purchases the smallest quantity of goods -that they can do with, and I have great difficulty in buying -in Sydney at prices which will leave any margin of profit. -But you come in and dine with us this evening. I’ve got a -bottle of claret left, in spite of the hard times. And keep up -your spirits, my boy! We shall come out of this trouble as -we’ve done through others. This country wasn’t meant for -faint-hearted people, was it? If all comes right, we shall be -proud of having stuck to the ship manfully, eh? If not, it’s -better to give three cheers when she goes down, than to -whine and snivel. Come along in. I’ve done with business -for the day.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>And so Wilfred, who had ridden to Yass in a state of -despondency, went in and was comforted, as happened to him -many a time and often, under that hospitable roof. The -dinner was good though the times were bad, while Rockley’s -claret was unimpeachable, as of old. Mrs. Rockley and -Christabel were more than usually warm and sympathetic of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_290'>290</span>manner. As he sat in the moonlight with Rockley and the -ladies (who had joined them), and heard from his host tales -of previous hard seasons and how they had been surmounted, -he felt his heart stir with unwonted hope and a resolve to -fight this fight to the end.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I’ve seen these seasons before,’ said the energetic optimist, -‘and I’ve always remarked that they were followed by a period -of prosperity. Think of the last drought we had, and what -splendid seasons followed it! This looks as bad as anything -<em>can</em> look, but if I could get long odds, I wouldn’t mind betting -that before 1840 we’re crowded with buyers, and that stock, -land, and city property touch prices never reached before. -Look forward, Wilfred, my boy, look forward! There’s -nothing to be done without it, in a new country, take my -word.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You must admit that it’s hard to see anything cheering -just at present.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Not at all, not at all,’ said his host, lighting another -cigar. ‘Christabel, go in and sing something. It’s all a -matter of calculation. Say that half your cattle die—mind -you, you’ve no business to let ’em die, if you can help it—hang -on by your eyelids, that’s the idea—but say half of ’em -<em>do</em> die, why, the moment the rain comes the remainder are -twice as valuable as they were before, perhaps more than that, -if a new district is discovered. By the way, there <em>is</em> a report -of a new settlement down south; if it comes to anything, see -what a rush there’ll be for stock, to take over on speculation. -That’s the great advantage of a new country; if one venture -goes wrong, there are a dozen spring up for you to choose -from.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Do you think it would be a good idea to take away part -of the stock, and try and find a new station?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I really believe it would; and if I were a young man -to-morrow it’s the very thing that I would go in for. We -have not explored a tenth part of the boundless—I say boundless—pasture -lands of this continent. No doubt there are -millions of acres untouched, as good as we have ever -occupied.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘But are they not so far off as to be valueless?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘No land that will carry sheep or cattle, or grow grain, can -be valueless in Australia for the next century to come. And -<span class='pageno' id='Page_291'>291</span>with the increase of population, all outer territories will -assume a positive value as soon as the present depression is -over.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>While in Yass, Wilfred consulted their good friend and -adviser, Mr. Sternworth, who had indeed, by letter, when not -able to visit them personally, not ceased to cheer and console -during the disheartening season.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘This is a time of trial, my dear Wilfred,’ he said, ‘that -calls out the best qualities of a man, in the shape of courage, -faith, and self-denial. It is the day of adversity, when we are -warned not to faint. I can fully enter into your distress and -anxiety, while seeing the daily loss and failure of all upon -which you depended for support. It is doubly hard for you, -after a term of success and progress. But we must have faith—unwavering -faith—in the Supreme Ruler of events, and -doubt not—doubt not for one moment, my boy—but that we -shall issue unharmed and rejoicing out of this tribulation.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Among their neighbours, unusual preparations were made -to lighten the impending calamity. Unnecessary labourers -were discharged. The daily work of the stations was, in great -measure, done by the proprietors. The Teviots were the only -domestic retainers at Benmohr; they, of course, and Dick -Evans were a part of the very composition of the establishments, -and not to be dispensed with. The D’Oyleys discharged -their cook and stock-rider, performing these necessary -duties by turns, week alternate.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Fred Churbett retained his married couple and stock-rider, -declaring that he would die like a gentleman; that he could -pay his way for two years more; after which, if times did not -mend, he would burn the place down, commit suicide decently, -and leave the onus on destiny. He could not cook, neither -would he wash clothes. He would be as obstinate as the -weather.</p> - -<p class='c001'>O’Desmond made full preparations for a migration in -spring, if the weather continued dry and no rain fell in -September. There would be a slight spring of grass then, -rain or no rain. He would take advantage of it, to depart, -like a patriarch of old, not exactly with his camels and she-asses, -but with his cattle and brood mares, his sheep and his -oxen, his men-servants and his maid-servants—well perhaps -not the latter, but everything necessary to give a flavour of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_292'>292</span>true colonisation to the movement. And he travelled in good -style, with such observances and ceremony as surrounded -Harry O’Desmond in all that he did, and made him the -wonder and admiration of less favoured individuals.</p> - -<p class='c001'>He had his waggonette and four-in-hand, the horses of -which, corn-fed at the commencement, would, after they got -on to the grasses of the great interior levels, fare well and -indeed fatten on the journey. A roomy tent, as also a smaller -one for his body-servant, cook, and kitchen utensils, shielded -him and his necessaries from the weather. Portable bath and -dining-table, couch, and toilette requisites were available at -shortest notice; while a groom led his favourite hackney, upon -which he mounted whenever he desired to explore a mountain -peak or an unknown valley. The cottage was handed over to -the charge of the gardener and his wife, old servants of the -establishment. And finally, the long-expected rain not appearing -in September, he departed, like a Spanish conquistador -of old, to return with tales of wondrous regions, of dusky -slaves, of gold, of feather-crowned Caciques, and palm-fanned -isles, or to leave his whitening bones upon mountain -summit or lonely beach.</p> - -<p class='c001'>It was believed among his old friends that Harry O’Desmond -would either return successful, with hardly-won territory -attached to his name, or that he would journey on over the -great desert, which was supposed then to form the interior of -the continent, until return was hopeless.</p> - -<p class='c001'>His servants would be faithful unto death. None would -ever question his order of march. And if he were not successful -in founding a kingdom, to be worked as a relief province -for Badajos, he would never come back at all. Some day -there would be found the traces of a white man’s encampment, -amid tribes of natives as yet unknown—the shreds of -tents, the waggonette wheels, the scattered articles of plate, -and the more ordinary utensils of the white man. From -beneath a spreading tree would be exhumed the bones of the -leader of the party. Such would be the memorials of a -pioneer and explorer, who was never known to turn back or -confess himself unsuccessful.</p> - -<p class='c001'>As to the labour question, Dick Evans and his wife were -indispensable now, more than ever, as the brothers had resolved -not to remain <span lang="la" xml:lang="la"><em>in statu quo</em></span>. Wilfred had determined -<span class='pageno' id='Page_293'>293</span>to organise an expedition, and to take the greater part of the -herd with him. In such a case it would have been suicidal -to deprive themselves of Dick’s services, as, of course, he -would be only too eager to make one of the party. He -cheerfully submitted to a diminution of wages, stating that as -long as he and the old woman had a crust of bread and a -rag to their backs they would stand by the captain and the -family.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘If we could only get through the winter,’ he said, ‘I -shouldn’t have no fear but we’d box about down south with -the cattle till we dropped on a run for them. There’s a lot -of fine country beyond the Snowy, if we’d only got a road -over the mountains to it. But it’s awful rough, and the -blacks would eat up a small party like ours. I don’t hardly -like the thoughts of tacklin’ it. But what I’m afraid on is, -that if the winter comes on dry we’ll have <em>no cattle to take</em>. -They’re a-gettin’ desprit low now, and the lake’s as good as -dried up.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The outlook was gloomy indeed when even the sanguine -Dick Evans could make no better forecast. But Wilfred -was the sailing-master, and it did not become him to show -hesitation.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘We must do our best, and trust in God, Dick,’ he said. -‘This is a wonderful country for changes; one may come in -the right direction yet.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>As for Andrew and Jeanie, they would not hear of taking -any wages until times improved. They had cast in their lot -with the family, and Jeanie would stay with her mistress and -the girls, who were dear to her as her own children, as long -as there was a roof to shelter them.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Andrew fully recognised it as a ‘season of rebuke and -blasphemy.’ He who ordered the round world had, for inscrutable -reasons, brought this famine upon them. Like -the children of Israel, he doubted but they would have to -follow the advice given in 1 Kings xviii. 5: ‘And Ahab -said to Obadiah, Go into the land, unto all fountains of -water, and unto all brooks; peradventure we may find grass -to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the -beasts.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And did they?’ asked Guy.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Nae doot; as maist like we shall do gin we use the same -<span class='pageno' id='Page_294'>294</span>means as gracious Elijah. No that I’m free to testify that I -conseeder the slayin’ o’ the prophets o’ Baal a’thegither a -needcessity. It wad have been mair wiselike on the pairt o’ -Elijah to have disestablished their kirk and garred them -lippen a’ their days to the voluntary principle. But let that -flee stick to the wa’; dinna doot, laddie, that ae day the -heavens will be black wi’ clouds, and there will be a great -rain.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Perhaps the one of the whole party most to be pitied was -Howard Effingham. With the eagerness of a sanguine -nature, he had become fixed in the idea that the prosperity -with which they had commenced was to be continuous. Inspired -with that belief he had, as we have seen, commenced -to indulge himself with the reproduction, on a small scale, of -the pleasant surroundings of the old country. He had -fancied that the production of cattle, cheese, butter, bacon, -and cereals would go on almost automatically henceforth, with -a moderate amount of exertion on Wilfred’s part and of -supervision on his own. It was not in his nature to be -absorbed in the money-making part of their life; but in the -acclimatisation of birds, beasts, and fishes, in the organisation -of the Hunt Club, in the greyhound kennel, and in the stable -his interest was unfailing, and his energy wonderful.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Now, unfortunately, to his deep regret and mortification, -he saw his beloved projects rendered nugatory, worthless, and -in a manner contemptible, owing to this woeful season.</p> - -<p class='c001'>What was likely to become of the fish if the lake dried up, -as it showed every disposition to do? How was one to go -forth fowling and coursing when every spare moment was -utilised for some purpose of necessity?</p> - -<p class='c001'>As for the hounds, some arrangement would have to be -made about feeding and exercising these valuable animals. -The horseflesh was wanting, the time was not to be spared, -the meat and meal were not always forthcoming. Terrible to -imagine, the kennel was commencing to be an incubus and an -oppression!</p> - -<p class='c001'>In the midst of this doubt and uncertainty a letter came -from a well-known sportsman, Mr. Robert Malahyde, keenest -of the keen, offering to take charge of the hounds until the -season became more tolerable. His district was not so -unfavourably situated as the neighbourhood of Yass, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_295'>295</span>from his larger herds and pastures he would be able to -arrange the ‘boiler’ part of the management more easily than -Mr. Effingham.</p> - -<p class='c001'>A meeting of the subscribers was quickly called, when it -was agreed that the hounds be sent to Mummumberil till the -seasons changed.</p> - -<p class='c001'>As for the pheasants and partridges, which had flourished -so encouragingly during the first season, the curse of the time -had fallen even on them. The native cat (dasyurus) had increased -wonderfully of late. Berries and grass seeds were -scanty in this time of famine. In consequence, the survival -of the fittest, coupled with acts of highly natural selection, -ensued. The native cats selected the young of the exotic -birds, but few of the adult game seemed likely to survive this -drought.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_296'>296</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XX <br /> AN UNEXPECTED DEVELOPMENT</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>An expedition was to be organised in spring, and the stock -removed, no matter where. It would be the only chance for -their lives. As it was, the winter was fast coming upon them. -Every blade of the ordinary herbage had disappeared. The -nights commenced to lengthen. Frosts of unusual severity -had set in. Even now it seemed as if their last hope might -be destroyed and their raft dashed on the rocks ere it was -floated.</p> - -<p class='c001'>But one morning Dick Evans came up to Wilfred, sadly -contemplating the attenuated cows which now represented -the once crowded milking-yard. He was riding his old mare, -barebacked, with his folded coat for a saddle, and spoke with -unusual animation.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I believe we’re right for the winter after all, sir. I never -thought to see this, though old Tom told me he’d know’d it -happen once afore.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What do you mean?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Well, I took a big walk this morning to see if I could -find tracks of this old varmint. I thought she might be dead, -but I warn’t satisfied, so I took a regular good cruise. I -found some tracks by the lake, where I hadn’t been for some -time, and there sure enough I finds my lady, as snug as a -wallaby in a wheat patch. Look how she’s filled herself, sir.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Wilfred replied that the old mare appeared to have found -good quarters.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘When I got to the lake, sir, I was reg’lar stunned. It was -as dry as a bone, but through the mud there was a crop of -“fat hen” comin’ up all over, miles and miles of it, as thick -<span class='pageno' id='Page_297'>297</span>as a lucerne field on the Hunter. The old mare was planted -in a patch where it was pretty forrard. But it’s growin’ so’s you -can see it, and there’ll be feed enough in a week or two for all -our cattle and every hoof within twenty miles of the lake.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Wonderful news, Dick; and this “fat hen,” as you call -it, is good and wholesome food for stock?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Can’t beat it, sir; first-chop fattening stuff; besides, -there’s rushes and weeds growin’ among it. You may pound -it, we’ll have no more trouble with the cattle for the winter, -and they’ll be in good fettle to start south in the spring.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>This was glorious news. It was duly related at the breakfast-table, -and after that meal Wilfred and Guy betook themselves -to the lake. There they beheld one of Nature’s -wondrous transformations.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The great lake lay before them, dry to its farthermost -shore. The headlands stood out, frowning in gloomy protest -against the conversion of their shining sea into a tame -green meadow. Such, in good sooth, had it actually become. -Through the moist but rapidly hardening mud of the lake-surface -millions of plants were pushing themselves with vigour -and luxuriance, caused by the richness of the ooze from which -they sprang. Far as the eye could see, a green carpet was -spread over the lately sombre-coloured expanse. The leaves -of the most forward plants were rounded and succulent, while -nothing could be more grateful to the long-famished cattle -than the full and satisfying mouthfuls which were in parts of -the little bays already procurable.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Even now, guided by the mysterious instinct which sways -the hosts of the brute creation so unerringly, small lots had -established themselves in secluded spots, showing by their -improved appearance how unusual had been the supply of -provender.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What a wonderful thing,’ said Guy; ‘who would ever -have thought of the old lake turning into a cabbage-garden -like this? Dick says this stuff makes very good greens if -you boil it. Why, we can let Churbett and the Benmohr -people send their cattle over if it keeps growing—as Dick -says—till it’s as high as your head. But how in the world -did this seed get here? That’s what I want to know. The -lake hasn’t been dry for ten years, that’s certain, I believe. -Well, now, did this seed—tons of it—lie in the mud all that -<span class='pageno' id='Page_298'>298</span>time; and if not, how was it to be sowed, broadcast, after the -water dried up?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Who can tell?’ said Wilfred. ‘Nature holds her secrets -close. I am inclined to think this seed must have been in -the earth, and is now vivified by the half-dry mud. However -it may be, it is a crop we shall have good cause to -remember.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I hope it will pull us through the winter and that’s all,’ said -Guy. ‘I mustn’t be done out of my trip down south. I want -to find a new country, and make all our fortunes in a large -gentlemanlike way, like Mr. St. Maur told us of. You don’t -suppose he goes milking cows and selling cheese and bacon.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You mustn’t despise homely profits, Guy,’ said the elder. -‘Some of the largest proprietors began that way, and you -know that <span lang="la" xml:lang="la">“Laborare est orare,”</span> as the old monks said.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh yes, I know that,’ said the boy; ‘but there’s all -the difference between Columbus discovering America, or -Cortez when he climbed the tree in Panama and saw two -oceans, and being the mate of a collier. I must have a try -at this exploring before I’m much older. There’s such a lot -of country no one knows about yet.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You will have your chance, old fellow, and your triumph, -like others, I hope. But remember that obedience goes -before command, and that Captain Cook was a boy in a -collier before he became a finder of continents.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Wilfred found it necessary to ride over to Benmohr to -arrange definitely about the time of departure. He had -nearly reached the well-known gate when a horseman rode -forward from the opposite direction. He was well mounted, -and led a second horse, upon which was a pack-saddle. -Both animals were in better condition than was usual in this -time of tribulation.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Effingham was about to pass the stranger, whose bronzed -features, half concealed by a black beard, he did not recall, -when he reined his horses suddenly.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You don’t remember me, Mr. Effingham. I am on my -way to the old place. I’ve got something to tell you.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>It took more than another glance to enable him to -recognise the speaker, and then it was a half-instinctive guess -that prompted him to connect the bold black eyes and -swarthy countenance with Hubert Warleigh.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_299'>299</span>‘The same,’ said the horseman. ‘I saw you did not -know me; most likely took me for a station overseer or a -gentleman. I was a swagman when you saw me last, so I’m -getting on, you see.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I beg you a thousand pardons,’ said Wilfred, shaking -his hand cordially. ‘I did not know you at first sight; the -beard alters your appearance, you must admit. I hope you -are coming to stay with us. My father will be delighted to -see you. He often speaks of you.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I thank him, and you too. If <em>my</em> father had been like -him, I should have been a different man. But I had better -tell you my business before we go farther. They say you -are going to shift the cattle; is that true?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘We start almost at once. But we haven’t settled the -route.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘That’s just as well. I’ve found a grand country-side -away to the south, and came to show you the way—that is, -if you believe my story.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Look here,’ cried Wilfred excitedly, ‘come with me to -Benmohr to-night, and we’ll talk it over with Argyll and -Hamilton. We must hold a council over it. It’s near sundown, -and I intended to stay there.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Hubert Warleigh drew back. ‘I don’t know either -of them to speak to. The fact is, I have lived so much -more in the men’s huts than the masters’ until the last -few months, that I don’t fancy going anywhere unless I’m -asked.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Come as my friend,’ said Wilfred impetuously. ‘It is -time you took your proper position. Besides, you are the -bearer of good tidings—of news which may be the saving of -us all.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>He allowed himself to be persuaded. So the two young -men rode up to the garden gate, at which portal they were -met by Argyll. Ardmillan and Neil Barrington were playing -quoits on the brown lawn. Fred Churbett (of course) was -reading in the verandah.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Let me introduce my friend, Mr. Hubert Warleigh,’ said -Wilfred. ‘He has just come in from a journey, and I have -prevailed on him to accompany me.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Most happy to see you, Mr. Warleigh,’ said Argyll, with -cordial gravity. (He knew all about ‘Gyp’ Warleigh, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_300'>300</span>had probably said contemptuous things, but accepted Wilfred’s -lead, and followed suit.) ‘The man will take your horses. -Effingham, you know your way to the barracks.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Hubert Warleigh followed his newly-acquired comrade -into the building, where the appearance of matters indicated -that some of the other habitués had been recently adorning -themselves. Mrs. Teviot, however, promptly appeared on -the scene with half-a-dozen towels, and supplies of warm -water.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Weel, Maister Effingham, this is a sair time and a -sorrowfu’. To think o’ a’ the gentlemen gangin’ clean awa’, -and a’ the milch kye, puir things, into thae waste places o’ -the yearth, and maybe deein’ o’ drouth or hunger, and -naebody to hae a crack wi’ but thae fearsome saavages -‘It’s very hard upon all of us, Mrs. Teviot, but if it won’t -rain, what are we to do? We can’t stay at home and let -the cattle die. You know the Israelites used to take away -their beasts in time of famine, and they seem to have had -them pretty often.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘How do you do, Mrs. Teviot?’ said Warleigh. ‘How’s -Wullie this dry weather? I suppose you forget me staying -a night in the hut with old Tom Glendinning, three or four -years ago.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Gude sake, laddie!’ said the old woman in a tone of -deep surprise, ‘and is that you, clothed and in your right -mind, like the puir body in the Book? And has some one -casten oot your deevil? Oh, hinnie! but I’m a prood woman -the day to see your father’s son tak’ his place amang gentlefolk -ance mair. The Lord guide ye and strengthen ye in the -richt path! Man, ye lookit sae douce and wiselike, hoo was -I to ken ye, the rantin’ dare-deevil that ye were syne?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I have been living among the blacks, Mrs. Teviot,’ said -the prodigal, with a transient glance of humour in his deep -eye; ‘perhaps that may have improved me. But I am -going to try to be a gentleman again, if I don’t find it too -dull.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Aweel! The denner is dishen’ up the noo; dinna wait -to preen yersels ower muckle,’ added the good old dame as -she vanished.</p> - -<p class='c001'>In despite of her warning, her old acquaintance produced -several articles of raiment from the large valise, which had -<span class='pageno' id='Page_301'>301</span>been unstrapped from his led horse, and proceeded to change -his dress. When they walked into the house Wilfred thought -he had rarely seen a handsomer man.</p> - -<p class='c001'>His clear, bronzed complexion, his classically cut features, -his large dark eyes, with, what was then more uncommon -than is the case now, a bushy, coal-black beard, made the -effect of his countenance picturesque and striking in no -ordinary degree.</p> - -<p class='c001'>His tall and powerful frame, developed by toil and exercise -into the highest degree of muscular strength, was perfect in -its symmetry as that of a gladiator. His very walk showed -the effect of years of woodcraft, with the hunter’s lightness of -footstep, and firm, elastic tread. As he entered the dining-room -there was a look of surprise, even admiration, visible on -every face.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Mr. Warleigh,’ said Argyll, ‘allow me to make my friends -known to you. Hamilton, my partner—Ardmillan—Forbes—Neil -Barrington—Fred Churbett. Now, you are all -acquainted. Dinner and Mrs. Teviot won’t admit of further -formalities.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>In despite of his former preferences for humble companionship, -and his depreciation of his own manners and habitudes, -Wilfred was pleased and interested by the unaffected bearing -of his protégé during the dinner ceremony. He well knew -all the men present by reputation, though they had no -previous acquaintance with him, except, perhaps, as a stock-rider -on a cattle-camp.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Without attempting to assume equality of language or -mingle in discussion, for which his lack of education unfitted -him, he yet bore himself in such self-possessed if unpretending -fashion as impressed both guests and entertainers.</p> - -<p class='c001'>When the dinner was cleared away, and pipes were lit, -in accordance with the custom of bachelor households -(O’Desmond’s always honourably excepted), Wilfred Effingham -thought the time favourable for opening the serious -business of the evening.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I take it for granted,’ he said, ‘that we are all agreed -to start for “fresh fields and pastures new” in a few days. -Equally certain that we have not settled the route. Is that -not so? Then let me take this occasion of stating that Mr. -Warleigh has arrived from the farthest out station on the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_302'>302</span>south, and that he is in possession of valuable information as -to new country.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘By Jove!’ said Argyll, ‘that is the very thing we were -discussing when you rode up, and are as far from a decision -as ever. If Mr. Warleigh can give us directions, we ought to -be able to keep a course moderately well—I mean with the -aid of an azimuth compass.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Argyll would undertake to find the road to Heaven with -that compass of his,’ said Ardmillan.</p> - -<p class='c001'>When the laugh had subsided, which arose from this -allusion to a well-known habit of Argyll’s, who always carried -a compass with him—even to church, it was asserted—and -was wont to state that no one but an idiot could possibly -lose his way in Australia who had sense enough to comprehend -the points of that invaluable instrument—Hubert -Warleigh said quietly, ‘I’m afraid the road to my country is -a good deal like the road to h—ll, that is, in the way of -being the most infernal bad line for scrub, mountain, and -deep rivers I ever tackled, and that’s saying a good deal. -But I promised Captain Effingham to do him a good turn -when I got the chance, and when I heard of this dry season -I came prepared to show the way, if he liked to send his -stock over, and go myself. As you all seem to be in the -same box, equally hard up, I don’t mind acting as guide. -We’ll be all the better for going as a strong party, as the -blacks are treacherous beggars and the tribes strong.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘The road, you say, is as bad as bad can be,’ said Hamilton. -‘I suppose the good country makes up for it when you get -there?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I’ve seen all the best part of New South Wales,’ said the -explorer. ‘I never saw anything that was a patch on it before. -Open forest country, rivers running from the Snowy Mountains -to the sea, splendid lakes, and a regular rainfall.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘The last is better than all,’ said Hamilton. ‘One feels -tired of working up to a decent thing, and then having it -knocked down by a change of season. I, for one, will take -the plunge. I am ready to start at once for this interesting -country, where the rivers don’t dry up, the grass grows at -least once a year, and rain is not a triennial phenomenon.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘The same here!—and—I, and I,’ came from the other -proprietors.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_303'>303</span>‘I suppose there’s room enough for all of us; we needn’t -tread on each other’s toes when we reach the land of -promise?’ said Ardmillan.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Enough for the whole district of Yass and something to -spare,’ said their guest. ‘I was only over a portion of it, -but I could see no end of open country from the hill-tops. -It’s a place that will bear heavy stocking—thickly grassed -and no waste country to speak of. After you leave the -mountains, which are barren and rough enough, you drop -down all of a sudden upon thinly-timbered downs—marshy -in places, but grass up to your eyes everywhere.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I like that notion of marshes,’ said Fred Churbett -pensively. ‘I feel as I should enjoy the melody of the -cheerful frog again. His voice has been so long silent in -the land that I should hail him as a species of nightingale, -always supposing that he was girt by his proper surroundings -of the “sword-grass and the oat-grass and the bulrush by -the pool.”’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘How was it you managed to drop across this delightful -province, Warleigh?’ said Wilfred. ‘I should like to hear, -if you don’t mind telling us, how you crossed the mountains -towards the south. Old Tom and Dick Evans said they -were inaccessible; that there was no good country between -them and the coast.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Old Tom knew better,’ said their guest quietly. ‘We -had a long talk the last time I was at Warbrok; he said -then if any one could find a road for cattle the other side of -the Snowy River, after you pass Wahgulmerang, he was dead -certain there was any amount of fine country beyond, between -it and the coast.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘How did he get to know?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘It seems he was stock-keeping once on one of the -farthest out runs, and a mate of his, who was “wanted” for -some cross work or other, came along and asked him to put -him away for a bit, till the police got tired of hunting him. -The old man gave him some rations, and told him of a track -through the gullies, which took him to the leading spur, by -which, of course, he could get on to the table land. Only -an odd white man or so had ever been there. After a week -he got “tired of looking at forty thousand blooming mountains” -(as he told Tom afterwards), and being a resolute -<span class='pageno' id='Page_304'>304</span>chap, with gun and ammunition, he thought he would make -in towards the coast. Anyhow he was away all the winter. -When he came back he told Tom that he had dropped in -with a small tribe of blacks, who had taken to him. They -spent the winter by the side of a great lake, fishing and -hunting. There was plenty of fine grass country in all -directions when you got over the main range.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And why did he come away from Arcadia?’ asked -Argyll.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘From where?’ asked the unclassical narrator. ‘No; -that wasn’t the name. It was Omeo. A grand sheet of -water on a kind of hill-plain, with ranges all round, and one -tremendous snow-peak you could see from anywhere. Well, -he got tired of the whole thing—didn’t know when he was -well off, like most men of his sort—so he made tracks back -again. Old Tom didn’t believe all the story. But he -thought afterwards that there must be something in it, and -that it would be worth while some day to have a throw in -and find the lake at any rate.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Then we are to suppose that you made the attempt and -succeeded?’ said Ardmillan. ‘I confess that I envy you. -But how did you manage by yourself?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You remember the day I left your place?’ said Gyp -Warleigh, nodding to Wilfred. ‘I felt so savage and ashamed -of myself that I determined to do something, or get rubbed -out in the attempt. So I made through Monaro, crossed -the Snowy River near Buckley’s crossing, and made straight -for the foot of the big range. I was well armed, and had as -much rations as I could carry. I knew the blacks were bad, -but I had lived with more than one tribe, and thought I -could manage them. I set myself to track the man old -Tom spoke of. Of course, I’m a fair bushman,’ he added -gravely. ‘I’ve never done anything else much all my life, -so there’s no great credit in it.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Had you no compass with you?’ inquired Argyll. ‘No? -Then I differ from you in thinking there was nothing extraordinary -in the adventure. Not one man in ten thousand -would have risked it, or come out with his life.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What does a man want with a compass who can see the -sun now and then?’ asked the Australian. ‘He can steer by -the lie of the country, the course of the water, if he has -<span class='pageno' id='Page_305'>305</span>the bushman’s eye. I tracked up the old man’s mate, and -found his first camp on the table land. It was easy after -that. He couldn’t help but follow the leading range. It -wasn’t such rough country after the first day. Game was -plenty, so I lived well.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘How about the niggers?’ asked Churbett. ‘I should -have felt too nervous to sketch or make any use of my -opportunities. Fancy going to sleep at night and thinking -you mightn’t want any breakfast!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I had a better chance than most men. I’m half a blackfellow -myself in the way of knowing their language and -most of their ways. I did one of their old men a service, -and he taught me a secret that saved my life more than once. -Still, I didn’t want to run across them if I could help it.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I should have thought you couldn’t avoid them,’ said -Hamilton. ‘They are great trackers, and have eyes like -hawks.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I know that, but I could see their smokes a long way. -I lay by during the day and travelled late and early. One -day I climbed a tree on the top of a range, when I saw a -cluster of snowy mountains, and on the far side of them the -waters of a lake. I had found Omeo.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You must have felt like Columbus or Cortez gazing -upon the two oceans,’ said Ardmillan. ‘What a grand -sensation.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Columbus discovered America, didn’t he? The other -chap I don’t remember hearing about. Well, I partly discovered -Omeo, I suppose, and a bitter cold morning it was. -I crawled down to the shore, and before I got there could -see miles and miles of splendid open country, stretching -away to the west. There were no more mountains; and as -I pulled up next day, on the bank of a big river, I found -myself surrounded by a tribe of blacks.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘They slew you, of course,’ said Fred Churbett. ‘Lights -half turn, and slow music from the orchestra. What a -dramatic situation! If they didn’t do that, Warleigh, what -did they do?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘It was a close shave, I tell you,’ said the hero of the -adventure. ‘But they had just lost a fellow of about my -age; so they adopted me, as luck would have it. I could -patter their lingo a bit, for they talked a sort of Kamilaroi, in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_306'>306</span>which I could make myself understood. Anyhow I lived -three or four months with them, and wandered nearer the -coast. The country kept getting better, and the grass was -something to see after this brickfield of a place. Towards -spring my friends drew back to the Monaro side again, -and one fine day I gave them the slip, and here I am now, -good for the return trip. All I can do for any of you in the -way of showing new country, you’re welcome to. I’m bound -to Mr. Effingham and his father first of all. I’m their man -till the exploring racket’s finished.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Gentlemen,’ said Argyll, rising to his feet oratorically, -‘friends, countrymen, and fellow-pastoralists, I feel assured -that you are all grateful for the unexpected turn our plans -have taken, owing to the valuable information conveyed to -us this night by my gallant and honourable friend, Mr. -Hubert Warleigh. If he carries out his promise of acting -as guide to us as far as this fair unknown land, I know you -too well to think for one moment that he will be suffered -to confer this benefit upon us gratuitously, the power to do -which he has acquired at peril of his life. (Hear, hear.) I -beg to move that every man present at this meeting pledges -himself to contribute in kind, say at the rate of ten per cent -of his number, with the object of forming a herd with which -Mr. Warleigh may begin squatting life in the fine district he -has been fortunate enough to discover.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The proposition was carried by acclamation. Further -suggested by Neil Barrington, ‘that this meeting do drink Mr. -Warleigh’s health,’ and Mrs. Teviot appearing with the -‘materials,’ which included a bottle of Glenlivet, the suggestion -was forthwith carried out.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Mr. Warleigh quietly declined the cheering beverage, and -after a mild request that he would change his mind, no notice -was taken of the eccentric proceeding. When at a tolerably -late hour Wilfred and Hubert retired to the barracks, the -greatest unanimity prevailed. They were provided with a -goal and a guide. Nothing could be more satisfactory. -From the first they would have a course, and when the -difficulties of the road arose, they could, as a strong and -united band, overcome ordinary obstacles, and protect themselves -from known dangers.</p> - -<p class='c001'>On the following morning Wilfred returned to The Chase, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_307'>307</span>having persuaded his newly-acquired friend to accompany -him, not, however, without some difficulty.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You have no notion,’ he said, ‘how queer and strange -I felt at Benmohr last night. I am the equal of any man -there by birth, yet I could see that they were helping me -not to feel out of place, knowing what they did. I couldn’t -help thinking that I was like a stock-rider that comes in and -stands twisting his cabbage-tree hat before the master and -his friends, when he’s asked if everything will be ready for -the muster next day, and if he’ll have a glass of grog.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘But, my dear fellow, you could never look like that; -your appearance—excuse me for alluding to it—gives you a -great pull in society. After all, how many men are there -who have had every advantage that education can give -them, who chiefly hold their tongues, or say nothing worth -listening to when they do speak.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Ah, but they understand things if they don’t talk; a -poor ignorant devil like me, when he hears matters touched -on, as happened last night, without any of them intending -it, for they tried not to talk above me, knows no more than -the dead what they are at. I feel as if I could cut my -throat when it comes across me that, by other people’s -neglect and my own folly, I have lost the best part of my -birthright.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘There’s time yet,’ said Wilfred, deeply touched by the -sadness of the tone, in which this grand stalwart cadet of a -good house bewailed the fate which had reduced him, mentally, -to the condition of a bullock-driver.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You are young enough yet for anything; there is time -enough and to spare for you to improve yourself. So don’t -be downhearted. As I said before, your looks and your -family name will carry you through anything.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘If I thought so,’ said the younger son, ‘I might do something, -even now, to mend matters. And you really think that -a man of my age could make himself as good at books as -some of the men we have just met, for instance?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I <em>have</em> known men beginning late in life,’ said Wilfred, -‘who passed stiff examinations, and when they commenced -they could do little but read and write. Now you are steady -and have full control over yourself, have you not?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘God knows!’ said his companion drearily. ‘I won’t go -<span class='pageno' id='Page_308'>308</span>so far as that; but I haven’t touched a drop of anything since -your father shook hands with me at Warbrok, and I don’t -intend, for seven years at any rate. I knelt down as soon as -I was out of sight, and swore a solemn oath against anything -stronger than tea. And so far I’ve kept it.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Much surprised were all at The Chase when Wilfred and -his companion rode up, and after a hurried introduction, -passed on together to the former’s bedroom.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The young ladies endeavoured as much as possible to -prevent themselves from gazing too uninterruptedly at the -interesting quasi-stranger; but found it to be a difficult task.</p> - -<p class='c001'>In despite of the educational defects and social disabilities -of Hubert Warleigh, there was about him a grandly unconscious, -imperturbable expression, like that of an Indian chief, -which suited well his splendid figure and bronzed features. -He quietly addressed his host and answered a few questions -with but little change of countenance, and it was only after -an unusually playful sally on the part of Annabel that he -relaxed into a frank smile, which showed an unblemished set -of teeth, under his drooping moustache.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I feel as if he had been taken in battle, and we were -holding him in captivity,’ said that sportive maiden, after the -girls had retired to Mrs. Effingham’s room for their final -talk.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>‘All stern of look and strong of limb</div> - <div class='line in2'>The chieftain gazed around;</div> - <div class='line'>And silently they looked on him</div> - <div class='line in2'>As on a lion bound.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c001'>He has just that sort of air—very picturesque, of course—for -he is the handsomest man I ever saw; don’t you think -so, Rosamond? I suppose he can read and write? What -a cruel shame to have brought him up like that? Fancy -Selden reared in such a way, mamma?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I can hardly fancy such a thing, my dear imaginative -child,’ said the mother. ‘But how thankful we ought to be -that we have been able to keep dear Selden at school, even -in this trying time.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Mr. Effingham, who attributed the change which had -taken place in Hubert Warleigh’s habits in some measure to -his own exhortation, was very pleased and proud. He -welcomed the young man into his family circle with warmth, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_309'>309</span>and in every way endeavoured to neutralise the <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>gêne</em></span> of the -position by drawing him out upon topics in which his personal -experience told to advantage.</p> - -<p class='c001'>He constrained him to repeat the tale of his exploration, -and dwelt with great interest upon his sojourn with the -blacks, which, he said, deserved a place in one of Fenimore -Cooper’s novels.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Annabel wanted to know whether there were any young -men in the tribe who at all resembled Uncas. But Hubert -had never heard of Chingachgook or of his heroic son. -Magua and Hawkeye were as unknown to his unfurnished -mind as the personages of the Nibelungen-Lied. So they -were compelled to avoid quotations in their conversation, and -only to use the cheapest form of English which is made. It -was a matter of regret to these kind-hearted people when -they made any allusion which they perceived to be as the -word of an unknown tongue to the stranger within their -gates. His half-puzzled, half-pained look was piteous to see. -It was like that of some dumb creature struggling for speech, -or blindly feeling for a half-familiar object.</p> - -<p class='c001'>To the artless benevolence of youth it would have been -interesting to remedy the deficiencies of a nature originally -rich and receptive, but void and barren from lack of ordinary -culture. Mrs. Effingham, however, compelled to regard -things from a matron’s point of view, was not sorry to think -that this picturesque, neglected orphan would in a few days -quit their abode for a long journey.</p> - -<p class='c001'>As the time drew near, and preparations were proceeded -with, a great sadness commenced to overspread The Chase. -Wilfred had never been absent for any lengthened period -before, nor Guy for more than a week under any pretence whatever. -He was frantic with delight at the change of plan.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I’m so glad that “Gyp” Warleigh is going with us, even -if he hadn’t found this new district. Dick says he’s the best -bushman in the country, and can go straight through a scrub -and come out right the other side, without sun or compass -or anything, just like a blackfellow. You see what a place -I’ll have across the mountains after a year or two.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I wish it was not so far and so dangerous, my child, as -I am sure it must be,’ said Mrs. Effingham, stroking the -boy’s fair brow, as she looked sadly at the eager face, bright -<span class='pageno' id='Page_310'>310</span>with the unquestioning hopes of youth. ‘You will enjoy the -travel and adventure and even the risk, but think how -anxious your poor mother and sisters will be!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh, I’ll write by every chance,’ said Guy, anxious as a -page who sees the knights buckle on armour for the first -skirmish, not to be deprived of his share of the fray. ‘There -will be lots of opportunities by people coming back.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What! from a place just discovered?’ said his mother, -with a gentle incredulity.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Ah, but Dick says if it’s half as fine as Hubert Warleigh -calls it—not that he’s a man to say a word more than it -deserves—that it will be rushed like all new settlements with -hundreds of people, and there will be a town and a post-office -and all kinds of humbug in no time. People move -faster in Australia than in that slow old Surrey.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You mustn’t say a word against our dear old home, my -boy,’ said his mother, playfully threatening him, ‘or I shall -fear your being turned into a backwoodsman, or at any rate -something different from an English gentleman, and that -would break my heart. But I hope plenty of tradespeople -and farmers, and persons of all kinds, will come to your -Eldorado. It will make it all the safer, and more comfortable -for you all.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Farmers, mother!’ said the boy indignantly. ‘What are -you thinking of? We don’t want any poking farmers there, -taking up the best of the flats and the waterholes after we -have found the country and fought the blacks for them. We -can keep it well enough with our rifles. All I want is a good -large run, and not to see a soul near it except my own stock-riders -for years to come.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You are going to be quite a mediæval baron, Guy,’ said -Annabel, who had stolen up and taken his hand in hers, the -three hearts beating closely in unison. ‘I suppose you will -set up a dungeon for refractory vassals.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I am sure he will be a good boy, and remember his -mother’s teachings when she is far away,’ said the fond -parent, as the tears filled her eyes, looking at the fair, bright-eyed -face which she might never see more after the last wave -of her hand—the last fond, lingering farewell, which was so -soon to be.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Well it is for the young and strong, who go laughing and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_311'>311</span>shouting into the battle of life, as if there were no ambuscades, -defeats, weary retreats, or hopeless resistance. Well for the -sailor boy, who leaps on to the deck as if there were no wreck -or tempest, fatal mermaid or dead men’s bones, beneath the -smiling, inconstant wave! They have at least their hour of -hot-blooded fight and stubborn resistance to relentless -Destiny. But, ah me! how fares it with those who are left -behind, condemned to dreary watchings, for tidings that -come not—to sickening fears, that all too soon resolve themselves -into the reality of doom? These are the earth’s true -martyrs—the fond mother—the devoted wife—the loving -sisters—the saddened father. Theirs the torture and the -stake, sacrificed to which they are in some form or other, while -life lasts.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_312'>312</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XXI <br /> A GREEN HAND</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>Matters were well advanced for the road. The thousand-and-one -trifles that are so easily forgotten before the commencement -of a long journey, and so sorely missed afterwards, -were nearly completed under the tireless tendance of -Dick Evans. The three young men were chatting in the -verandah, after a long day’s drafting, when a strange horseman -came ‘up from the under world.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I wonder who it is,’ said Guy. ‘Not any of the Benmohr -people, for they have no time to spare until they come -to say good-bye. I should say all the other fellows were too -hard at work. It’s a chance if Churbett and the D’Oyleys -will be ready for a fortnight. He looks like a gentleman. It -must be a stranger.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘It is a gentleman, as you say,’ replied Hubert Warleigh, -‘and not long from home, by the cut of his jib.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘How can you tell?’ asked Wilfred. ‘He is a tall man -and has a gun, certainly, which last favours your theory.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I see,’ said Hubert, ‘a valise strapped to the back of -his saddle; holsters for pistols, and top-boots. He is a “new -chum,” safe enough; besides, when he got to the slip-rails, he -took the top one down first.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You must be right,’ said Wilfred, smiling. ‘I used to -disgrace myself with the slip-rail business. Who in the -world can it be? He has come at the wrong time for being -shown round, unless he wants an exploring tour.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The horseman rode up in a leisurely and deliberate -fashion; a tall, fresh-complexioned man, whose blue eyes -and dark hair reminded Wilfred of many things, and a half-forgotten -<span class='pageno' id='Page_313'>313</span>clime. The lower part of the stranger’s face was -concealed by a thick but not fully-grown beard; and as he -advanced, with a look of great solemnity, and inquired -whether he had the honour to see Mr. Wilfred Effingham, -that gentleman, for the life of him, could not remember -where he had set eyes upon him before.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘That is my name,’ said Wilfred. ‘Will you allow us to -take your horse, and to say that we are very glad to see you? -Guy, take this gentleman’s horse to the stable.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I thank you kindly. I believe that I have a letter of -introduction somewhere to you, sir, from an acquaintance -of mine in Ireland—a dissipated, good-for-nothing fellow, -one Gerald O’More. I thought it might be as useful in -Australia as the writing of a better man.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Gerald O’More was a friend of mine,’ said Wilfred -coldly, with a frown unseen by the stranger, busily engaged in -unfastening his multifarious straps and buckles. ‘There -must be some mistake about the reputation.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘It’s little matter,’ said the stranger coolly. ‘There’s -hundreds in Ireland it would suit to the letter, and proud of -it they’d be. Maybe it was Tom Ffrench I was thinking of—but -it’s all as one. It’s thinking he was of coming out here -himself, the same squireen.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I wish to Heaven he had,’ said Wilfred, with so hearty an -accentuation that the stranger raised his head, apparently struck -by the sudden emotion of his tone. ‘There is no man living -I would as soon see this moment.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘So this wild counthry hasn’t knocked all the heart out of -ye, Wilfred, me boy,’ said the stranger, holding out his hand, -while such a smile rippled over his face as only a son of mirth-loving -Erin can produce. ‘And so ye didn’t know your old -chum because he had a trifle of hair on his face, and he -coming ten thousand miles to make an afternoon call. I -trust the ladies are well this fine weather, and haven’t had -their bonnets spoiled by the rain lately.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Wilfred gazed for one moment at the now well-known -features, the bright fun-loving eyes, the humorous curves of -the lips, and then grasping both hands, shook them till his -stalwart visitor rocked again.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Gerald, old man!’ he exclaimed in tones of the wildest -astonishment, ‘is it you in the flesh? and how in the name -<span class='pageno' id='Page_314'>314</span>of everything magical did you ever manage to leave green -Rathdown and come out to this burned-up land of ours? -But you are as welcome as a week’s rain—I can’t say more -than <em>that</em>. To think that a beard should have altered your -face so! But I had no more thought of seeing you here -than our old host of Castle Blake.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘True for you! What a brick he was! God be with -the days we spent there together, Will. Maybe we’ll see -them again, who knows? Didn’t I find my way here like an -Indian of the woods? ’Tis a great bushman I’ll make, entirely. -And, in truth, there’s no life would suit me better. An Irishman’s -a born colonist, half made before he leaves old Ireland. -Was that your young brother that I used to make popguns -for? What a fine boy he has grown!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Yes, that was Guy; he’s anxious, like you, to be a bold -bushman. Let me introduce my friend Mr. Warleigh, the -leader of an expedition we are all bound upon next week.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Very glad to meet Mr. Warleigh, I’m sure, and I hope -he’ll be kind enough to accept me as a supernumerary—cook’s -mate, or anything in the rough-and-ready line. I’m ready to -ship in any kind of craft.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You don’t mean to say you would like to go with us, -Gerald? We are bound for “a dissolute region, inhabited -by Turks,” as your illustrious countryman expressed it. For -Turks read blacks,—in their way just as bad.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Pardon me, my dear fellow, for the apparent disrespect; -but you don’t fancy people come out to this unfurnished -territory of yours to amuse themselves? What else did I -come for but to work and make money, do you suppose?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Now I won’t have any explanations till I’ve shown you -to my mother and the girls. How astonished they will -be!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>They were certainly astonished. So much so, indeed, that -Mr. O’More began to ask why it should be so much more -surprising that he came than themselves.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘But we were ruined,’ said Annabel, ‘and would not have -had anything to eat soon, or should have had to go to Boulogne—fancy -what horror!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And am I, Gerald O’More, such a degenerate Irish -gentleman that I can’t be ruined as nately and complately -as any ancestor that ever frightened a sub-sheriff?’ (Here -<span class='pageno' id='Page_315'>315</span>they all laughed at his serio-comic visage.) ‘In sober -earnest, I <em>was</em> ruined, not entirely by my own fault, but so -handily that when the old place was sold there was nothing -left over but the lodge at Luggie-law, where you and I used to -fish and shoot and drink potheen, Wilfred, in cold evenings.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Why not live there, then? I’m sure we were snug -enough.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Why not?’ said O’More—and as he spoke his features -assumed a sterner, more elevated expression—‘because I -wouldn’t turn myself into a poor gentleman, with a few hangers-on, -and a career contemptibly limited either for good or evil. -No! I’d seen many a good fellow, once the genial sportsman -and boon companion, change into the lounger and sot. So -I packed my gun and personal possessions, put the lodge in -my pocket, and here I am, with all the world of Australia -before me.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘A manly resolve,’ said Mr. Effingham, ‘and I honour -you for it, my dear boy. You find us in the midst of a -disastrous season, but those who know the land say that the -next change must be for the better. You will like all our -friends, and enjoy the free life of the bush before you are a -month at it. Australia is said, also—though we have not -found such to be the case lately—to be an easy country to -make money in.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘So I have found already,’ said O’More.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘How?’ said everybody in a breath. ‘You can’t have had -any experience in money-making as yet.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Indeed have I,’ said the newly-arrived one. ‘Why, the -first day I came to Sydney I bought a half-broke, well-bred -colt for a trifle, and as I came through Yass I exchanged him -for the horse I am now riding and a ten-pound note.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What a wonderful new chum you must be!’ said Guy -impulsively. ‘I’ve heard of lots that lost nearly all the cash -they had the first month, but never of one who made any. -You will be as rich as Mr. Rockley soon.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Amateur horse-dealing doesn’t always turn out so well. -But I always buy a good horse when I see him. I shall get -infatuated about this country; it suits me down to the -ground.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The evening was passed in universal hilarity. Mr. O’More’s -spirits appeared to rise in the inverse proportion to the distance -<span class='pageno' id='Page_316'>316</span>which separated him from the Green Isle. Every one was delighted -with his <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>naïveté</em></span> and resolves to do great things in the -way of exploration. The expedition he regarded as an -entertainment for his special benefit, declaring that if it had -not been finally settled he would have got one up on his own -account.</p> - -<p class='c001'>As good luck would have it, the Benmohr cattle escaped -from the mustering paddock after they had been collected, -and having ‘made back’ to fastnesses, which they had been -permitted to occupy in consideration of the season, took some -days in recapturing. So that yet another week of respite, to -everybody’s expressed disgust but secret relief, was granted. -Besides, Fred Churbett was not quite ready—he seldom was—and -the D’Oyleys were just as well pleased to scrape up a -few more of their outliers. There remained then ‘a little -season of love and laughter’ for Mr. Gerald O’More to utilise -in improving the acquaintance.</p> - -<p class='c001'>And he was just the man to do this. He won old Dick’s -good-will by the hearty energy with which he threw himself -into the small labours which, of course—for who ever knew -an overland journey quite provided for, or a ship’s cargo -stowed away, on the appointed day of its departure?—remained -to be got through. He had devoted himself <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>en amateur</em></span> to the -duties of third mate on the voyage out, and, being a yachtsman -of experience, entitled himself to the possession of a certificate, -should he ever require, as he thought seriously was on the -cards, to work his way home. In matters connected with -ropes and fastenings he showed an easy superiority. Sailors -are proverbially the most valued hands in Australia, from -their aptitude to make the best kind of bushmen. Their -adaptiveness to every kind of labour, grounded on the need -for putting out their strength at the orders of a despotic -superior, is a fine training for bush life. Having nautical -tendencies superadded to recent experiences, Gerald O’More -fulfilled these conditions, and was rated accordingly.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘He’s the makings of a fust-rate settler, that young gentleman -is,’ said Dick Evans. ‘He’s a man all over, and can -ketch hold anywhere. He’s got that pluck and bottom as he -don’t know his own strength.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>His exuberant spirits by no means exhausted themselves -during the labour of the day, when in check shirt and A.B. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_317'>317</span>rig he was in the forefront of the drafting, branding, loading, -or packing which still went on. In the evening, after a careful -toilette, he was equally tireless in his society duties, and -kept all the lady part of the family entertained by his varied -conversation, his songs, jokes, and tales of many lands. He -struck up a great alliance with Annabel, who declared that he -was a delightful creature, specially sent by Providence to raise -their spirits in this trying hour.</p> - -<p class='c001'>It was well enough to talk lightly of the Great Expedition, -but as the day approached for the actual setting out of the -Crusade, deep gloom settled upon the inmates of The Chase.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Wilfred Effingham had never before quitted home upon -any more danger-seeming journey than a continental trip or a -run over to Ireland. He was passionately devoted to his -mother and sisters, whom at that period of his life he regarded -as the chief repositories, not only of all the virtues, but of all -the ‘fine shades’ of the higher feminine character. By no -means deficient of natural admiration for the unrelated -daughters of Eve, he regarded his sisters with a love such as -only that relation can furnish. With them he was ever -thoughtful, fond, and chivalrous. For their comfort and -advantage he was capable of any sacrifice. Rosamond, -nearest to him in age, had been from childhood his close -companion, and for her he would have laid down his life. -These feelings were reciprocated to the fullest extent.</p> - -<p class='c001'>And now he was going away—the dutiful son, the fond -brother, the kindly, cheerful companion—away on a hazardous -journey into an unknown, barbarous region, exposed to the -dangers of Australian forest wayfaring. Guy, too, was on the -march—the frank, fearless boy, idolised, as is the younger son -ofttimes, with the boundless love with which the mother -strains the babe to her bosom.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>He was the last of all, yet none</div> - <div class='line in2'>O’er his lone grave may weep.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c001'>He was not the <em>very</em> last, Selden and Blanche coming after, -as was pointed out to Mrs. Effingham, when her tears flowed -at Selden’s accidental quotation from ‘The Graves of a Household,’ -for these lines referred to one beneath the lone, lone -sea, and even in the recesses of the bushland mourning over -his grave would be possible.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_318'>318</span>‘Oh, my darling,’ said the tender mother, ‘do not jest on -such a subject. How could I live were either of you to die -in the wilderness? Why did this terrible season come to rob -me of my sons? But promise me, promise me, both of you, -as you love your mother, not to run unnecessary risks. -Danger, ah me! I know there must be, but you will think of -your poor mother, and of your father and sisters, and not -needlessly court danger. Guy, you <em>will</em> promise me?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Don’t be so frightened, mother,’ said the younger son. -‘I won’t go running after risks and dangers. Why, it’s ten -to one nobody gets hurt. There are only blacks; and there’s -no water to drown us, that’s one consolation.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>When did generous youth perceive the possibility of -danger until forced upon him by sudden stroke of fate? -‘Whom the gods love die young’ is true in one sense, inasmuch -as they escape the melancholy anticipations which -cloud the joys of maturer life. For them trains never collide, -nor coaches upset; sword-strokes are parried, and bullets go -wide; ships founder not; disease is only for the feeble; they -are but the old who die!</p> - -<p class='c001'>Wilfred more truly understood the matron’s tender dread, -and her reasons.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Don’t fret, my darling mother,’ he said as he clasped her -hand, ‘I’ll look after Guy. You know he obeys me cheerfully, -so far; and you know I am pretty careful. I will see -he does nothing rash, and he will be always under my eye.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Remember, dear, I trust him to you,’ said Mrs. Effingham, -returning her son’s fond clasp, but not wholly reassured, -being of the opinion that what Wilfred considered careful -avoidance of danger other people characterised as unflinching -though not impetuous determination to get through or -over any given obstacle.</p> - -<hr class='c013' /> - -<p class='c001'>Off at last! The tearful breakfast is over. The long -string of cattle has poured out of the mustering paddock -gates, followed by Hubert Warleigh, with Duncan Cargill and -Selden, who were permitted to help drive during the first -stage; Mr. O’More, in cords and top-boots, with a hunting-crop -in his hand, wisely declining a stock-whip for the present. -His horse bears a cavalry headstall bridle, with a sliding -bridoon rein—‘handy for feeding purposes,’ he says. He -<span class='pageno' id='Page_319'>319</span>has yet to learn that, after a week’s cattle-driving, most horses -may be trusted to graze with the reins beneath their feet, -which they will by no means tread upon or run off with.</p> - -<p class='c001'>A couple of brown-faced youngsters, natives of Yass, have -been hired, as road hands and to be generally useful, for the -term of one year. These young persons are grave and silent -of demeanour; have been ‘among cattle’ all their lives, and -no exception can be taken to their horsemanship. They -afford an endless fund of amusement to O’More, who forces -them into conversation on various topics, and tries to imitate -their soft-voiced, drawling monotone.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Dick Evans drives the horse-dray, destined to go no -farther than the Snowy River, after which the camp equipment -will be carried on pack-horses, the road being closed -to wheels. They are now being driven with the cattle, -accoutred with their pack-saddles and light loads to accustom -them to the exercise.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Dick has had a characteristic parting with Mrs. Evans, -who saw him prepare to depart without outward show of -emotion.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Now mind you behave yourself, Evans, while you’re -away, and don’t be running off to New Zealand, or the -Islands, or anywheres.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘All right, old woman,’ said Dick, cracking his whip. -‘You’ll be so precious fond of me when I come back that we -shan’t have a row for a year afterwards.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘No fear; not if you was to stop away five year!’ retorted -his spouse, with decision. ‘Take care as I don’t marry again -afore you come back, if you hang it out too long.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Marry away and don’t mind me, old woman,’ returned -the philosophical Dick; ‘<em>I</em> shan’t interfere with the pore -feller. Leave us the old mare, that’s all. A good ’oss, that -you can’t put wrong in saddle or harness, ain’t met with every -day.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Here Mrs. Evans, seeing a smile on the faces of the -listeners, began to think she was occupying an undignified -position. Putting her apron to her eyes, with a feeble effort -at wiping a few tears away, she solemnly told her incorrigible -mate that she hoped God would change the wicked old heart -of him, as wasn’t thankful for a good wife, as had cooked and -worked for him, and been dragged about the country all these -<span class='pageno' id='Page_320'>320</span>years, and now to be told she was worse than a brute beast! -Here <em>real</em> tears came.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘The mare can hold her tongue, at any rate,’ quoth Dick; -‘and where’s the woman you can say as much of, barrin’ Mrs. -Wilson of Ours, as was born deaf and dumb? But come, I -didn’t mean to fret ye, and me on the march. Give us a buss, -old woman! Now we part all reg’lar and military like. You -know women’s not allowed with the rigiment in war time. -Mind you take care of the missus and the young ladies, and -keep a civil tongue in your head.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>With this farewell exhortation and reconciliation Dick -shook off his spouse, and walked briskly away by the side of -the team. The cattle, glad to feel themselves unchecked, -struck briskly along the track. Wilfred and Guy came up at -a hand-gallop, and took their places behind the drove. The -first act of the migratory drama was commenced, with all the -actors in their places.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The first day’s stage was arranged to reach only to a stock-yard -near Benmohr. It was a longish day’s drive, but, being -the first day from home, all the more likely to steady the -cattle. Having got so far, and secured them inside the rails, -with Dick and his team camped by the dam, Wilfred left Guy -in charge and rode over, with O’More and Hubert Warleigh, -to spend a last civilised evening at Benmohr. It was necessary -for the latter, now recognised as the responsible leader of -the expedition, to give Argyll, Hamilton, and the others instructions -as to the route.</p> - -<p class='c001'>A fair-sized party was assembled around that hospitable -board. All the men present had been actuated by the same -feelings, apparently, as themselves, viz. with a trustworthy -person in charge of the camp, they might as well enjoy themselves -once more at dear, jolly, old Benmohr.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Hech! sae ye’re here to look at a body ance mair, Maister -Effingham; and whatten garred you to list Maister O’More, -and him juist frae hame, puir laddie, to gang awa’ and be -killed by thae wild blacks?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I suppose you wouldn’t mind <em>my</em> being rubbed out, Mrs. -Teviot,’ said Hubert. ‘It’s only gentlemen from England -that are valuable. Imported stock, eh?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Noo, Maister Hubert, ye ken weel I wad be wae -eneugh if onything happened to yer ain sell, though ye hae -<span class='pageno' id='Page_321'>321</span>nae mither to greet for ye, mair’s the peety, puir lady! But -your hands can aye keep your heed; and they say ye can -haud ane o’ thae narrow shields and throw a spear as -weel’s ony o’ the blacks. They’ll no catch <em>you</em> napping; -but this young gentleman will maybe rin into ambushes and -sic-like, like a bird into the net o’ the fowler.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Then we must pull him out again,’ said Hubert gravely. -‘I hope you are not going to be rash, Mr. O’More. See how -you will be missed.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I am aware, as I have not had the good fortune to -live much in Australia,’ said Gerald, ‘that I must be made -of sugar or salt, warranted to melt at the first wetting. -But my hands have kept my head in an Irish fair, before -now; and I think half-a-dozen shillelahs at once must be -nearly as bad as a blackfellow’s club.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘They are deuced quick with the boomerang and nullah,’ -said Hubert; ‘you can hardly see the cursed things before -they are on to you.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And a barbed spear is worse than all the blackthorns in -Tipperary,’ said Wilfred; ‘so look out and don’t cast a gloom -over the party by your early death. Mrs. Teviot, give me a -parting kiss and your blessing, for that <em>is</em> the dinner-bell.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Maister Effingham!’ said the old dame, in accents of -such unfeigned surprise and disapproval that all three men -burst out laughing. ‘Eh, ye’re jist laughin’ at the auld -woman, ye bad laddie; but ye ken weel that ye hae my blessing; -and may the mercy and guidance o’ the Lord God of -Israel bring ye a’ safe hame to your freends and relations—my -gentlemen and a’, as I’m prayin’ for’t—and a bonnie day -it will be when we see ye a’ back again—no forgetten that -daft Neil Barrington, that gies me as muckle trouble as the -hail o’ ye pitten thegither.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>At the conclusion of this farewell ceremony with Mrs. -Teviot, who indeed took a most maternal interest in the whole -company, they hied themselves at once to the dining-room.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘So you are to join our party, Mr. O’More?’ said Hamilton. -‘You could not have come at a better time to understand -our bush life.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Awfully glad of the chance, I assure you,’ said that gentleman. -‘It was the hope of something of the sort that brought -me out. If this affair had not been on, I should have -<span class='pageno' id='Page_322'>322</span>fancied I had been induced to come to a new country under -false pretences.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Why so?’ asked Forbes.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Because you are all so unpardonably civilised. I expected -to sit upon wooden stools and eat biscuits and beef, -to sleep in the open air, and to be returning fire with my -pistols as I came up from the wharf. Instead of which (I -will take turkey, if you please) I find myself here, at The -Chase, and half-a-dozen other houses in the lap of luxury.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh, come!’ said Forbes deprecatingly, ‘are you not -flavouring the compliment a little too strongly?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I think Mr. O’More comes from the Emerald Isle,’ said -Ardmillan. ‘May I ask if you have ever kissed the Blarney -stone?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Of course; all Irishmen make a point of it. It abates -their naturally severe tendencies. But joking apart, all you -people live as well as most of us in the old country. Wilfred -here can bear me out. If claret was a little more fashionable, -I don’t see a pin to choose.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘There will be a change of fare when we’re on the road,’ -said Fred Churbett. ‘Who knows when we shall see pale ale -again? The thought is anguish; and those confounded -pack-horses carry so little.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘But think of the way we shall enjoy club breakfasts, -clean shirts, evening parties, and all that, when we <em>do</em> get -back,’ said Neil Barrington. ‘We shall be like sailors after a -three years’ cruise. I must say I always envied <em>them</em>.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I think, if the company is unanimous,’ said Hamilton, -‘that we might as well have a serious talk about the route. -Captain Warleigh, as we must now call him, will be off early -to-morrow, so the greater reason for proceeding to business.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I was going to remind you all,’ said Hubert, ‘that we -ought to agree about our plans. It’s plain sailing across -Monaro, though the feed is bad until we come to the Snowy -River. Of course, we all go on to-morrow.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Which way?’ asked Hamilton.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Past Bungendore, Queanbeyan, and Micalago. We cross -the Bredbo and the Eumeralla higher up, and go by the -Jew’s flat, and Coolamatong.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘We shall follow in a couple of days,’ said Argyll.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And I in three,’ said Forbes.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_323'>323</span>‘You needn’t follow in a string, unless you like,’ said their -guide; ‘the feed will be cut up if one mob after the other -goes over it. All the stock-riders hereabouts know the Monaro -country, so you can travel either right or left of me, as long -as you fetch up at Buckley’s Crossing, of the Snowy River.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What sort of a ford is it?’ inquired one of the D’Oyleys.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘It’s always a swim with the Snowy,’ said the captain, -‘summer and winter, and a cold one too, as I can witness. -But the grass is better, though rough, after you cross, and we -have an old acquaintance waiting there to join the party. -He knows the country well.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Who the deuce is he?’ said Argyll. ‘We shall be well -off for guides.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Not more than you will want, perhaps,’ said the leader. -‘We’re not over Wahgulmerang yet. But the man is old -Tom Glendinning—and a better bushman never saddled a -horse. He has been living for some time at one of the -farthest out stations, Ingebyra, and wants to join us. He asked -me not to mention his name till we had actually started.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘So,’ said Wilfred reflectively, ‘the old fellow is determined -to make his latter days adventurous. I see no -objection, do you, Argyll? He and his history will be -probably buried among the forests of this new country we -are going to explore.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘It cannot matter in any way,’ answered Argyll. ‘He -will, as you say, most likely never return to this locality.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Many of the old hands have histories, if it comes to -that,’ said Hubert, ‘and very queer ones too. But they -have paid the price for their sins, and old Tom won’t have -time to commit many more—if shooting an odd blackfellow -or two doesn’t count.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Have we any more general instructions to receive?’ inquired -Hamilton, who was, perhaps, the most practical-minded -of the party.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Only these: we must all be well armed. Pistols are -handy, and a rifle or a double barrel is necessary for every -man of the party. We <em>may</em> have no fighting to do; but -blacks are plentiful, big fellows, and fierce too. We must be -able to defend ourselves and more, or not a man will come -back alive. After we cross the Snowy River, I shall halt till -you all come up; then we can join the smaller mobs of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_324'>324</span>cattle, so as to be close together in case of trouble. Everything -will have to be packed from the Snowy; so it will be -as well not to take more than is required.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You are fully prepared for all the privations of the road, -Mr. O’More?’ asked Argyll. ‘They may strike you as severe -after your late life at headquarters.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘That is the very reason, my dear fellow. You surely -haven’t forgotten that when you were at home you fancied all -Australian life to be transacted in the wilderness. I expected -the wilderness; I demand the desert. With anything short -of the wildest waste I shall be disappointed.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘That’s the way to take it,’ said Fred Churbett. ‘I had all -those feelings myself when I arrived, but I was betrayed into -comfort when I bought The She-oaks, and have hardly gone -nearer to roughing it than a trip to the Tumut for store -cattle.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>There was a laugh at this, Fred’s tendency to comfort -being proverbial; though, to do him justice, he was capable -of considerable exertion when roused and set going.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Is this Eldorado of yours near the coast, Warleigh?’ -inquired Forbes. ‘If so, there will be sure to be good agricultural -land, and some kind of a township will spring up.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I believe there’s a passage from the lakes to the sea, -near which would be a grand site for a township. I hadn’t -time to look it out. It gave me all I knew to get back.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What does any one want a town for?’ growled Argyll. -‘Next thing, people will be talking about <em>farms</em>. Enough to -make one ill. Are we going to risk our lives and shed our -blood, possibly, for the benefit of storekeepers and farmers, -to spoil the runs after we have won them?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Don’t be so insanely conservative, Argyll,’ said Forbes. -‘Even a farmer is a man and a brother. We shall want -some one to buy our raw products and import stores. We -might as well give Rockley the office if we found a settlement. -<em>He</em> would do us no harm.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Here there was a chorus of approbation.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Of course I except Rockley—as good a fellow as ever -lived. But he holds peculiar views upon the land question, -and might induce others to come over on that confounded -farming pretence, which is the ruin of Australia.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘The country I can show you, if we reach it, is large -<span class='pageno' id='Page_325'>325</span>enough to hold all your stock and their increase for the -next twenty years, with half-a-dozen towns as big as Yass.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘If this be the case, the sooner we get there the better,’ -said Hamilton. ‘You start in earnest to-morrow, and we -shall follow the day after. I shall keep nearly parallel with -you. Ardmillan comes next, then Churbett, lastly the -D’Oyleys. We shall be the largest party, as to stock, men, -and horses, that has gone out for many a day.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘All the more reason why we should make our mark,’ -said O’More. ‘I wouldn’t have missed it for five hundred -pounds. I might have stayed in Ireland for a century -without anything of the kind happening. I feel like Raymond -of Antioch, or Godfrey of Bouillon. I suppose we -shan’t meet to drink success to the undertaking every night.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘This is the last night we shall have <em>that</em> opportunity,’ -said Argyll. ‘Here come the toddy tumblers. The night -is chilly, but it will be more so next week, when we are on -watch or lying under canvas in a teetotal camp.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘We can always manage a good fire, unless we are in -blacks’ country,’ said Hubert; ‘that is one comfort; there’s -any amount of timber; and you can keep yourselves jolly in -a long night by carrying firewood.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Long before daylight Hubert Warleigh arose and awakened -Wilfred. Their horses had been placed so as to be easily -procurable, and no delay took place. The stars were in -the sky. A faint, clear line in the east yet told of the -coming dawn, as the friends rode forth from Benmohr gate -and took the track to the scene of the last night’s camp.</p> - -<p class='c001'>When they reached the spot the sun had risen, and no -one was on the ground but Dick Evans, who was in a -leisurely way packing up the camp equipage, including the -tent and cooking utensils.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Here’s the breakfast, Mr. Wilfred,’ he said cheerily; ‘the -cattle’s on ahead. I kept back the corned beef, and here’s -bread and a billy of tea. You can go to work, while I finish -packing. I’ll catch up easy by dinner-time, though the -cattle’s sure to rip along the first few days.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘This is a grand institution,’ said Gerald. ‘I wouldn’t -say a toothful of whisky would be out of place, and the air -so fresh; but sure “I feel as if I could lape over a house this -minute,” as I heard a Connemara parlour-maid say once.’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_326'>326</span>‘Nothing is more appetising,’ said Wilfred, ‘than a genuine -Australian bush meal. A slice or two of meat, a slice of -fresh damper, and a pot of tea. You may travel on it from -one end of the continent to another.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘He was a great man that invented that same,’ said -O’More. ‘Would there be a little more tay in the canteen? -Beef and bread his unaided intellect might have compassed; -but the tay, even to think of that same in the middle of the -meal, required inspiration. When ye think of the portableness -of it too. It was a great idea entirely!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Bushmen take it morning, noon, and night,’ said Warleigh. -‘The doctors say it’s not good for us—gives us heartburn, -and so on. But if any one will go bail for a man who drinks -brandy and water, I’d stand the risk on tea.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘So I suspect. Even whisky, they do say, gets into the -head sometimes. I suppose you never knew a man to kill -his wife, or burn his house, or lame his child for life, <em>under -the influence of tay</em>?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>An hour’s riding brought them to the cattle, which had -just been permitted ‘to spread out on a bit of rough feed,’ -as the young man at the side next them expressed it. A -marshy creek flat had still remaining an array of ragged -tussocks and rushy growths, uninviting in ordinary seasons, -but now welcome to the hungry cattle. They found Guy -sitting on his horse in a leisurely manner, and keeping a -sharp look-out on the cattle.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What sort of a night had you?’ said Wilfred. ‘Were -they contented?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh, pretty fair. They roared and walked round at first; -then they all lay down and took it easy. Old Dick roused -us out and gave us our breakfast before dawn. We had the -horses hobbled short, and were on the road with the first -streak of light. This is the first stop we have made.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘That’s the way,’ said Hubert. ‘Nothing like an early -start; it gives the cattle all the better chance. Some of -these are very low in condition. When we get over the -Snowy, they’ll do better.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Shall we have a regular camp to-night,’ asked Guy, ‘and -watch the cattle?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Of course,’ said Hubert; ‘no more yarding. It is the -right thing after the first day from home.’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_327'>327</span>‘And how long will the watches be?’ asked Guy, with -some interest. ‘If I sleep as soundly as I did last night, I -shan’t be much good.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh, you’ll soon come to your work. Boys always sleep -sound at first, but you’ll be able to do your four hours without -winking before we’ve been a week on the road.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The ordinary cattle-droving life and times ensued from -this stage forward. They passed by degrees through the -wooded, hilly country which lies between Yass and Queanbeyan, -all of which was so entirely denuded of grass as to be -tolerably uninteresting.</p> - -<p class='c001'>By day the work was tedious and monotonous, as the -hungry cattle were difficult to drive, and the scanty pasture -rendered it necessary to take advantage of every possible -excuse for saving them fatigue.</p> - -<p class='c001'>At night matters were more cheerful. After dark, when -the cattle were hemmed in—they were tired enough to rest -peacefully—Guy had many a pleasant talk by the glowing -watch-fires. This entertainment came, after enjoying the -evening meal, with a zest which only youth and open-air -journeying combined can furnish.</p> - -<p class='c001'>As for Gerald O’More, he examined and praised and -enjoyed everything. He liked the long, slow, apparently -aimless day’s travel, the bivouac of the night, the humours -of the drovers. He ‘foregathered’ with all kinds of queer -people who visited the camp, and learned their histories. He -felt much disappointed that there were no wild beasts except -the native dog and native bear (koala), neither of which had -sufficient confidence in themselves to assume the offensive.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The next week was one of sufficient activity to satisfy all -the ardent spirits of the party. In the first place, the cattle -had to be driven across the river, the which they resisted with -great vehemence, never before having seen a stream of the -same magnitude. However, by the aid of an unlimited -quantity of whip-cracking, dogging, yelling, and shouting, the -stronger division of the herd was forced and hustled into the -deep, swift current. Here they bravely struck out for the -opposite side, and in a swaying, serpentine line, followed by -the weaker cattle, struggled with the current until they -reached and safely ascended the farther bank.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_328'>328</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XXII <br /> INJUN SIGN</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>Having crossed their Rubicon, and being fairly committed to -the task of exploration, a provisional halt was called, and -arrangement for further progress made. One by one the -other drovers arrived, and having successively swum the -river, guarded or ‘tailed’ their cattle until the plan of -campaign was fully matured.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Duncan Cargill was sent back with the team. The -contents of the waggon, which, in view of this stage, had been -economised as to weight, were distributed among the pack-saddles. -Such apportionment also took place among the -other encampments. Dick Evans as usual distinguished -himself by the neat and complete manner in which he arranged -his packs.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Wheeled carriages being impossible because of the -nature of the country, it is obvious that nothing but the -barest necessaries can be conveyed—flour, tea, sugar, -camp-kettles large enough to boil beef, billy-cans, frying-pans, -quart-pots, axes, and the ruder tools, with the blankets of the -party, are all that can be permitted. Meat—indifferent as to -quality, but wholesome and edible—they had with them. -Each man carried his gun, on the chance of a sudden attack -by blacks. It would be obviously unreasonable to ask the -enemy to wait until the pack-horses came up, even supposing -that guns could be safely carried in that fashion. So each -man rode with his piece slung carbine-fashion, and if he had -such weapon, his pistols in the holsters of the period.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Reasonable-sized, but by no means luxurious, tents were -carried, in which those who were off watch could repose, also -<span class='pageno' id='Page_329'>329</span>as shelter against rain, if such a natural phenomenon should -ever again occur in Australia.</p> - -<p class='c001'>A few days sufficed to make all necessary arrangements, -during which Hubert Warleigh’s prompt decisions extorted -universal respect.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘The country is partly open, as you see, for another -hundred miles,’ said he, ‘but after that, turns very thick and -mountainous. The Myalls will soon be on our tracks, and -may go for us any time. What we have to do, is to be -ready to show fight with all the men we can spare. The -feed’s mending as we go on.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Certainly it is,’ said Hamilton. ‘Our cattle are fresher -than they were a week since.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘My idea is to box the cattle into larger mobs, which will -give us more men to handle if we fight. We can draft them -by their brands when we get to the open country. The driving -will be much the same and the men less scattered about.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘A good proposal,’ said Argyll. ‘It will be more sociable, -and, as you say, safer in case of a surprise. But are you -certain of an attack? Will all these precautions be necessary?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I know more of the Myall blacks of this country than -most men,’ said Warleigh gravely. ‘You see, we are going -among strong tribes, with any amount of fighting men. Big, -well-fed fellows too, and fiercer the farther you go south.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘How do you account for that?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘The cold climate does it and the living. Fish and game -no end. It’s a rich country and no mistake. When you see -it, you won’t wonder at their standing a brush to keep it.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What infernal nonsense!’ said Argyll. ‘Just as if the -brutes wouldn’t be benefited by our occupation.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘They won’t look at it in that light, I’m afraid,’ said Fred -Churbett. ‘History tells us that all hill-tribes have exhibited -a want of amiability to the civilised lowland races. In -Scotland, I believe, to this day, the descendants of a rude -sub-variety of man pride themselves upon dissimilarity of -dress and manners.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What!’ shouted Argyll, ‘do you compare my noble -Highland ancestors with these savages, or the lowland -plebeians who usurped our rights? As well compare the -Norman noble with the grocer of Cheapside. Why——’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_330'>330</span>‘May not we leave the settlement of this question till we -are more settled ourselves?’ said Wilfred. ‘Our present -duty is to be prepared for our Australian Highlanders, who, -as Warleigh knows, have a pretty taste for ambuscades and -surprises.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>It was decided that Wilfred and the Benmohr men should -mix their cattle and take the lead, followed by Churbett and -the D’Oyleys, which, with Ardmillan’s and Neil’s, would -make three large but not unwieldy droves. It must be borne -in mind that five hundred head of cattle was considered a -large number in those primitive times, and that, although the -road was rough and the country mountainous, the added -number of stock-riders which the co-operative system permitted -gave great advantages in droving.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Fred Churbett and Gerald O’More struck up a great -intimacy, dissimilar as they were in temperament and constitutional -bias. The unflagging spirits and ever-bubbling -mirth of the Milesian were a constant source of amusement -to the observant humorist, while Fred’s tales of Australian -life were eagerly listened to by the enthusiastic novice.</p> - -<p class='c001'>For days they kept the track which led from one border -station to another, finding no alteration from their previous -experience of wayfaring. But one evening they reached a spot -where a dense and apparently interminable forest met, like a -wall, the open down which they had been traversing. ‘Here’s -Wargungo-berrimul,’ said Hubert Warleigh, ‘the last settled -place for many a day. We strike due south now, towards -that mountain peak far in the distance. A hundred miles -beyond that lies the country that is to make all our fortunes.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Wasn’t it here old Tom Glendinning was to join us?’ -said Wilfred.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Yes; it was here I picked up the old fellow as I came -back, with my clothes torn off my back, and very little in -my belly either. He swore he would be ready, and he is -not the man to fail in a thing of this sort. By Jove! here -the old fellow comes.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>A man on a grey horse came down the track which led -from the station huts to the deep, sluggish-looking creek. -Such a watercourse often follows the windings of the outer -edge of a forest, defining the geological formations with -curious fidelity.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_331'>331</span>A few minutes brought the withered features of the ancient -stock-rider into full view. He looked years older, and his -eyes seemed unnaturally bright. His figure was bowed and -shrunken since they had seen him last, but he still reined -the indomitable Boney with a firm bridle-hand; and not -only did Crab follow him, but two large kangaroo dogs, red -and brindled as to colour, followed at his horse’s heels.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘My sarvice to ye, Mr. Wilfred,’ he said, touching his hat -with a gesture of old days. ‘So ye were bet out of Lake -William and the Yass country at last. Well, ’tis a grand -place ye’re bound for now. To thim that gits there, it’s a -fortune—divil a less!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Very glad to have you again, Tom. I hope the country -will bear out its character. What a fine pair of dogs you -have there!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘’Tis thrue for ye, Master Wilfred; they’re fast and savage -divils—never choked a dingo. ’Tis little they care what -they go at, from a bull to a bandicoot, and they’d tear the -throat out of a blackfellow, all the same as an old-man -kangaroo.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Formidable animals, indeed,’ said Wilfred. ‘Gerald, -here are a couple of dogs warranted to fight like the bloodhounds -of Ponce de Leon.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘The situation is becoming dramatic,’ said O’More. ‘I -shouldn’t mind seeing the wild man of the woods coursed -by these fellows, if we could be up in time to stave off the -kill. But what splendid dogs they are! taller and more -muscular than the home greyhounds, with tremendous chests -and shoulders—very fine drawn too. They must have a cross -that I don’t know of.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Thrue for you, sir. I heard tell that their mother—a -great slut entirely—came from a strain of Indian dogs that -was brought to Ingebyra by the ould say-captain that took it -up. He said it was tigers they hunted in India.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Polygar dogs, probably,’ said Wilfred. ‘There is a fierce -breed of that name used by the Indian princes; the packs, -in their wild state, worry a tiger now and then. However -that may be, they are fine fellows. How did you get them, -Tom?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The old man attempted a humorous chuckle as he replied:</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Sure, didn’t they nearly ate the super himself last week, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_332'>332</span>and him comin’ in on foot after dark, by raison that his -horse knocked up at the four-mile creek. “Tom,” he says, -“as you’re goin’ out to this new country, you can take them -two infernal savages with you. I’d a good mind to shoot -the pair of them. But the blacks will likely kill the lot of -you, so it will save me the trouble.” “All right,” says I, “my -sarvice to ye, sir. Maybe we’ll show the warrigals a taste of -sport before they have the atin’ of us.” So here we are—ould -Tom Glendinning, Boney and Crab, Smoker and -Spanker—horse, fut, and dthragoons. ’Tis my last bit of -overlanding, I’m thinkin’. But I’d like to help ye to a good -run before I go, Mr. Wilfred, and lay me bones where ye’d -have a kind word and a look now and agen at the grave of -ould hunstman Tom.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The camp was always early astir. The later watchers -took good care to arouse the rest of the party at the first -streak of dawn. Dick Evans and Tom were by that time -enjoying an early smoke. Hubert Warleigh, tireless and -indefatigable, needed no arousing. In virtue of his high -office, he was absolved from a special watch, as more advantageously -employed in general supervision of the party.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Argyll, wonderful to relate—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Whose soul could scantly brook,</div> - <div class='line'>E’en from his King a haughty look,</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c001'>was so impressed by the woodcraft of this grand-looking, sad-voiced -bushman, that to the wild astonishment of his friends -he actually submitted to hear his opinions confuted.</p> - -<p class='c001'>As they plunged into the sombre trackless forest, where -the tall iron-bark trees, with fire-blackened stems, stood -ranked in endless colonnades, they seemed to be entirely at -the mercy of their lately-gained acquaintance. He it was -who rode ever in the forefront, so that the horsemen on the -right and left ‘lead’ could with ease direct their droves in -his track. He it was who decided which of two apparently -similar precipices would prove to be the ‘leading range,’ -eventually landing the party upon a grassy plateau, and not -in a horrible craggy defile. He it was who gauged to a -quarter of an hour the time for grazing, and so reaching a -favourable corner in time to camp. He saw the pack-saddles -properly loaded, apportioned the spare horses, and commanded -<span class='pageno' id='Page_333'>333</span>saddle-stuffing. Did a tired youngster feel -overcome by the desire of sleep, so strong in the lightly-laden -brain of youth, allowing his side of the drove to -‘draw out,’ he was often surprised on waking to see them -returning with a dark form pacing silently behind them. -Did a tricky stock-rider—for they were not all models of -Spartan virtue—essay to shirk his just share of work, he -found a watchful eye upon him, and perhaps heard a reminder, -couched in the easily comprehended language of ‘the droving -days.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Before they had been a week on the new division of their -journey, every one was fain to remark these qualities in their -leader.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I say, Argyll,’ said Fred Churbett, who, with Ardmillan -and Neil Barrington, had ridden forward from the rearguard, -leaving it to the easy task of following the broad trail of the -leading herd, ‘how about going anywhere with that compass -of yours? Could you steer us as Warleigh does through -this iron-bark wilderness?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I am free to confess, Fred, that it does good occasionally -to have the conceit taken out of one. You must admit, -however, that he has been over the ground before. Still, he -seems to have a kind of instinct about the true course when -neither sun nor landmarks are available, which travellers -assert only savages possess. You remember that dull, foggy -day? He had been away only an hour when he said we -were making a half-circle, and so it proved.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And the confounded scrub was so thick,’ said Ardmillan, -‘that I tore the clothes off my back hunting up a pack-horse. -But for the tracks, I knew no more than the dead where I -was.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘This half-savage life he has lived has developed those -instincts,’ said Churbett. ‘He could do a little scalping -when his blood was up, I believe. I saw him look at that -cheeky ruffian Jonathan as if he had a good mind to break -his neck. Pity he missed the education of a gentleman.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘He is ignorant, of course, poor chap, from no fault of -his own,’ said Argyll; ‘but he is not to be called vulgar -either. Blood is a great, a tremendous thing; though he -doesn’t know enough for a sergeant of dragoons, yet there is -a grand unconsciousness in his bearing and a natural air of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_334'>334</span>authority now that he is our commanding officer, which he -derives from his family descent.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>That night they reached the base of a vast range, which, -on the morrow, they were forced to ascend; afterwards, still -more difficult, to descend. This meant flogging the reluctant -cattle every step of the downward, dangerous track. Above -them towered the mountain; below them the precipice, stark -and sheer, three hundred feet to the granite boulders over -which the foaming Snowy rolled its turbulent course to the -iron-bound coast of a lonely sea.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Mr. Churbett and others of the party had a grievance -against Destiny, as having forced them from their pleasant -homes to roam this trackless wild, but no such accusation -was heard from the lips of Gerald O’More. His spirits -were at the highest possible pitch. Everything was new, -rare, and delightful. The early rising was splendid, -the droving full of enjoyment, the scenery enthralling, -the watching romantic, the shooting splendid, the society -characteristic. He made friends with all the men of -the party, but the chosen of his heart was old Tom, -who discovered that O’More had known of his old patron -in Mayo. He thereupon conceived a strong liking and -admiration for him, as a ‘rale gintleman from the ould -counthry.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Daily the old man recounted legends of the early days of -colonial life, and instructed him in the lore of the sportsmen -of the land. So when the cattle were ‘drawing along’ -quietly, or feeding under strict guardianship, Tom and he -would slip off with the dogs, which generally resulted in a -kangaroo tail baked in the ashes for the evening meal, a brush -turkey, or a savoury dish of ‘wallaby steamer’ for the -morning’s breakfast.</p> - -<hr class='c013' /> - -<p class='c001'>Wilfred’s watch was ended. He was anxious enough to -find his couch in the tent, where he could throw himself -down and pass instantly into the dreamless sleep which comes -so swiftly to the watcher. But he saw their leader move off -on his round, with his usual stately stride, as if sleep and -rest were superfluous luxuries.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The morn arose, tranquil, balm-breathing, glorious. As -the cattle followed the course of a stream through the still, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_335'>335</span>trackless forest, a feeling of relief, amounting to exhilaration, -pervaded the whole party. It was generally known that the -outskirts of the wilderness would be reached that evening—that -ere another day closed they might have a glimpse of -the long-sought land of promise.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Every one’s wardrobe was in a dilapidated and unsatisfactory -condition. The horses were jaded, the cattle leg-weary, the -men tired out, with the dismal monotony of the wilderness.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The stage of this day was unusually short; indeed, not -above half of the usual distance. The leader, Hubert, -wished the rearguard to close up, in case of accidents. In -the event of a surprise, they must have their whole available -force within call.</p> - -<p class='c001'>As is customary, there were dissentients. ‘Why lose half -a stage?’ ‘Why not send a scout forward? The wild men -of the woods might, after all, be peaceably inclined.’ This -last suggestion was Argyll’s, who, always impatient, could -with difficulty brook the slow, daily advance of the leading -drove. The impetuous Highlander, who had not hitherto -had experience of hand-to-hand fighting with the wild tribes -of the land, was inclined to undervalue the danger of an -attack upon a well-armed party.</p> - -<p class='c001'>But Hubert Warleigh, in this juncture, showed that he -was not disposed to surrender his rights as a duly appointed -leader. ‘I am sorry we don’t agree,’ he said; ‘but I take -my own way until we reach the open country. As to the -blacks, no man can say I was ever afraid of them (or of anything -else, for that matter), only I know their ways. You -don’t, of course, and I think it the right thing to be well -prepared. Old Tom saw a heavy lot of tracks yesterday—all -of fighting men too, not a gin or a picaninny among -them. He didn’t like the look of it. We must camp as -close as we can to-night, and keep a bright look-out, or -Faithfull’s men won’t be all they’ll have to brag about.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Argyll thought these were groundless fears; that they were -losing time by remaining in this hopeless wilderness longer -than was necessary. But he was outvoted by the others.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Meanwhile the first drove, after having been fed until -sundown, was camped in a bend of the sedgy creek, and the -usual watch-fires lighted. This spot was peculiarly suitable, -inasmuch as the long line of an outcrop of volcanic trap, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_336'>336</span>which ran transversely to the little watercourse, closed one -side of the half-circle. This was not, of course, an actual -fence, but being composed of stone slabs and enormous -boulders, did not invite clambering on by the footsore cattle.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The other contingent was camped a short distance in the -rear, in an angle of the lava country, also thickly timbered.</p> - -<p class='c001'>With the lighting of the watch-fires and the routine -attention to the ordinary duties of the camp, a more tranquil -spirit pervaded the party. Argyll’s impatience had subsided, -and, with his usual generosity, he had taken upon himself the -task of making the round of the camps, and seeing that the -order as to each man having his firearms ready, with a supply -of cartridges, was carried out. Fred Churbett grumbled a -good deal at having to take all this trouble for invisible or -problematical savages.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘By me sowl, thin, Mr. Churbett,’ said old Tom, ‘if ye -had one of their reed spears stickin’ into ye for half a day, as -I had wanst, you’ld never need twice tellin’ to have yer gun -ready, like me, night and day. ’Tis the likes of me knows -them, and if it wasn’t for Gyp Warleigh, it’s little chance some -of yees ’ud have to see yer friends agin.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Don’t you think he’s frightening us all?’ said Gerald -O’More, with a careless laugh. ‘They must be wonderful -fellows, by all accounts. They have no bows and arrows, not -even wooden swords, like Robinson Crusoe’s savages. Surely -they don’t hit often with these clumsy spears of theirs. -Warleigh’s anxiety is telling upon his nerves.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Old Tom glared wrathfully into the speaker’s eyes for a -little space before he answered; when he did, there was an -air of bitter disdain, rarely employed by the old man in his -intercourse with gentlemen.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Sure ye don’t know the man, nor the craytures yer -spakin’ about, half as well as ould Crab there. Why would ye, -indade, and ye jist out of the ship and with the cry of the -Castle Blake hounds still in yer ears. It’s yerself that will -make the fine bushman and tip-top settler in time, but yer -spoilin’ yerself, sir, talkin’ that way about the best bushman -between this and Swan River, I don’t care where the other is. -Take care of <em>yerself</em> then, Mr. O’More, when the spears -begin flyin’, and don’t get separated from the party, by no -manner of manes.’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_337'>337</span>‘You may depend upon me, Tom,’ said O’More, with a -good-humour that nothing was apparently able to shake. -‘My hands were taught to keep my head. I have been in -worse places than this.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Bedad, if ye seen a blackfellow steadyin’ his womrah to -let ye have a spear at fifty yards, or comin’ like a flash of -lightning at ye wid only his nullah-nullah, ye’d begin to doubt -if ye iver <em>wor</em> in a worse place.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘There’s something in this country that alters the heart of -an Irishman,’ said O’More, ‘or I’d never hear one talk of a -scrimmage with naked niggers as if it was a bayonet charge -at a breach.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘There’s Irishmen that’s rogues. I’m never the man to -deny there’s fools among them,’ said the old man sardonically. -‘Maybe we’ll know who’s right and who’s wrong by this time -to-morrow. My dogs has had their bristles up all day, and -there’s blacks within scent of us this blessed minit, if I know -a musk-duck from a teal.’</p> - -<hr class='c013' /> - -<p class='c001'>How fades the turmoil and distraction of daily thought -beneath the cool, sweet, starry midnight! As each man -paced between the watch-fires, gazing from time to time -towards the recumbent drove, the silent, dark, mysterious -forest, the blue space-eternities of the firmament, a feeling of -calm, approaching to awe, fell on the party. High over the -dark line of the illimitable forest rose towering snow-clad -pinnacles, ghostly in their pallid grandeur. The rivulet -murmured and rippled through the night-hush, plainly -audible in the oppressive silence.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘One would think,’ said Argyll to O’More, as they met on -one of their rounds by a watch-fire, ‘that this night would -never come to an end. What possesses me I can’t think, but -I have an uncanny feeling, as Mrs. Teviot would say, that I -cannot account for. If there was a ghost possible in a land -without previous occupation, I should swear that one was -near us this minute.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Do you believe in ghosts then?’ asked O’More.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Most certainly,’ said Argyll, with cheerful affirmation; -‘all Highlanders do. We have our family Appearance—a -spectre I should recommend no man to laugh at. But that -something is going to happen I will swear.’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_338'>338</span>‘What on earth <em>can</em> happen?’ said O’More. ‘If it be -only these skulking niggers, I wish to Heaven they would -show out. It would be quite a relief after all this humbug -of Warleigh’s and that old fool of a stock-rider.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘The old man’s no fool,’ said Argyll gravely; ‘and though -I felt annoyed with Warleigh to-day, I never have heard -a word against his courage and bushmanship. Here he -comes. By Jove! he treads as silently as the “Bodach Glas” -himself. What cheer, General?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Hubert held up a warning hand. ‘Don’t speak so loud,’ -he said; ‘and will you mind my asking you to stand apart -and to keep a bright look-out till daylight? Old Tom and -I and the dogs are agreed that the blacks are not far off. I -only hope the beggars will keep off till then. I intend to -get out of this tribe’s “tauri” to-morrow. In the meantime -have your guns handy, for you never can tell when a blackfellow -will make his dart.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I shouldn’t mind going into half-a-dozen with a good -blackthorn,’ said O’More. ‘It’s almost cowardly to pull -a trigger at naked men armed with sharp sticks.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Hubert Warleigh looked straight at O’More’s careless, -wayward countenance for a few seconds before he answered; -then he said, without sign of irritation:</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You will find them better at single-stick than you have -any idea of. You are pretty good all round, but you can’t -allow for their wild-cat quickness. As for the sharpened -sticks, as you call them, if you get one through you, you -won’t have the chance of saying where you would like -another. Don’t go too near the rocks; and if they make a -rush, we must stand them off on that she-oak hill.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And what about the cattle?’ asked Argyll.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Let them rip. Blacks can’t hurt them much. They -may spear a few, but we can muster every hoof again inside -of ten days. There are no other herds for them to mix with, -and they won’t leave the water far. I must move round -now, and see that the men are ready.’</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_339'>339</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XXIII <br /> THE BATTLE OF ROCKY CREEK</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>‘By Jove!’ said Argyll, ‘this looks serious. I must get away -to my fire. We <em>must</em> stick to his directions. I’m in good -rifle practice; they’ll remember me in days to come!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>As O’More shrugged his shoulders and moved off, a -shower of spears whistled through the air, while a chorus of -cries and yells, as though from a liberated Inferno, rang -through the woods along the line of the broken, stony -country, though no human form could be seen.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The commotion created by this sudden onslaught, in -spite of Hubert Warleigh’s precautions, was terrific. The -startled, frantic cattle dashed through the watch-fires, scattering -the brands and almost trampling their guardians underfoot. -Then the heavy-footed droves rolled away, madly -crashing through the timber, until the echo of their hoofs -died away in the distance. Several head, however, had -been mortally wounded, well-nigh transfixed in some cases. -They staggered and fell.</p> - -<p class='c001'>At the first surprise of the onset, guns were fired with an -instinctive desire of reprisal, but no settled plan of defence -seemed to be organised. Then amid the tumult was heard -the trumpet-like voice of Hubert Warleigh.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Every man to his tree; don’t fire till you are sure; look -out for the rocks! Keep cool. We have only to stand -them off for an hour. It’s near daylight.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>His words reassured all. And a shot which came from -his double-barrelled rifle apparently told, as a smothered yell -was heard from the cover.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Take that, ye murdtherin’ divils!’ said old Tom, who -<span class='pageno' id='Page_340'>340</span>had crawled behind a fallen log, and now raising himself, -poured three shots from a gun and a brace of horse-pistols -into the enemy. ‘I seen one of ye go down thin, and it’s -not the only one we’ll have this blessed night.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘There’s number two,’ said Gerald O’More, as he rolled -over a tall man with stripes of white and red pigment, who -had dashed out for an instant.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Well done, O’More!’ cried Hubert, with a cheery ring -in his voice. ‘Make as much noise as you like now, but -don’t give away a chance. Look out!’—as three spears -hissed dangerously close—‘you’ll be hit if you don’t mind, -and——’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Hang the brutes!’ shouted O’More. ‘We could charge -if we could only see them. What do you think of it, -Hamilton?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘We shall come out straight,’ said that gentleman, with -his customary coolness, ‘if we behave like disciplined troops -and not like recruits. Pardon me, O’More, but this impetuosity -is out of place. If one of us get hurt it may -demoralise the men and give the blacks confidence.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Never fear,’ said the excited young man. ‘It’s not the -front rankers that drop the fastest. By George!’ This -half-ejaculation was elicited by a spear-point which, passing -between the arm and body, grazed his side.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I told you so,’ said Hamilton. ‘Why the deuce can’t -you behave reasonably! These imps of darkness can see -us better than we see them. How they are yelling in the -rear!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘That’s to draw us off,’ said Gerald. ‘I won’t go behind -a tree now, if I was to be here for seven years. But that -spear didn’t come far. It’s one they throw with the hand—old -Tom taught me that much; I’ll have the scoundrel if I -see the night out.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>A sustained volley along the line from the main body of -stock-riders at the rear, headed by Ardmillan, Neil Barrington, -and Argyll, appeared to have told upon the enemy. -More than one dying yell was heard. The spears were less -constant, and though several blows and bruises had been -inflicted by thrown boomerangs and nullahs, no serious -casualty had occurred among the white men.</p> - -<p class='c001'>On the right wing of the advanced guard old Tom had -<span class='pageno' id='Page_341'>341</span>ensconced himself behind a huge fallen tree, which hid both -himself and his dogs. These last growled ominously, but -took no further part, as yet, in the fray.</p> - -<p class='c001'>From behind his entrenchment the old man fired rapidly, -from time to time loudly exulting, as a death-cry rang out on -the night air or a spear buried itself in the fallen tree.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Throw away, ye infernal black divils!’ shouted the old -man; and after the cautious stillness it was strange to hear -the reckless tones echoing through the forest shades. ‘I’ll -back the old single-barrel here against a scrubful of yees—always -belavin’ in a little cover.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Tek it cool, full-private Glendinning,’ said Dick Evans, -who had advanced in light-infantry skirmishing order from -the rear. ‘Not so much talking in the ranks, and mark -time when ye’re charging the inimy; it looks more detarmined -and collected-like—as old Hughie Gough used to -say. Please God, it’ll soon be daylight; perhaps they’d -gather thick enough then to let us go at ’em with the -bayonet like.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Maybe ye won’t be so full of yer pipeclay if ye gets one -of thim reed spears into ye—my heavy curse on them! Mr. -Hubert says he catched a sight of that divil’s-joynt of a -Donderah; the thribe says he was niver known to lave a -fight without a dead man’s hair.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘He don’t know white men yet,’ said Dick, ‘’ceptin’ he’s -sneaked on to a hut-keeper. He’ll be taken down to-night if -he don’t look out! Well done, Master Guy!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>This exclamation was due to the result of a snapshot -from Guy, who had drawn trigger upon a savage, who, -bounding forward, had thrown two spears with wonderful -rapidity, and bolted for his cover, his whole frame quivering -with such intensity of muscular action, that the limbs were -scarcely visible in the dim light. However, the keen eyes and -ready aim of youth were upon him; he reached the scrub -but to spring upward and fall heavily back, a dead man.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Although none of the whites had as yet been wounded, -while several of their savage enemies had been disabled or -killed outright, still the contest was unsatisfactory.</p> - -<p class='c001'>They were uncertain as to the number of their enemies, -who, concealed in the scrub, sent forth volleys of spears. -Occasionally an outburst of cries and yells arose, so fiendishly -<span class='pageno' id='Page_342'>342</span>replete with hatred, that the listeners in that sombre forest -involuntarily felt their blood curdle. For aught they knew, -the tribe might be gradually surrounding them. Indeed, -an attempt of this kind was made. But it was frustrated by -their watchful leader, who charged into the darkness with a -few picked men, and drove the wily savages back to the -main body.</p> - -<p class='c001'>On this occasion he had caught a glimpse of the giant -Donderah, whose cruelty had been a chronicle of the tribe.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I can’t make out where the big brute got to,’ he said to -old Tom, ‘or I should be easier in my mind. He’s a crafty -devil, though he’s so big and strong, and he has some superstition, -they told me, about never going out of a fight without -a death to his credit. He knows about me, too, though -we never met. It wasn’t his fault that I got back alive. A -black girl told me that. They named him after the mountain. -There’s not a blackfellow from here to the coast that can -stand before him, they say. If O’More doesn’t take care, -he’ll have him as sure as a gun. I have half a mind to see -if he has dropped flat in that stone gunya.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>It happened just then that one of the lulls, common in -savage warfare, took place. Hubert Warleigh flitted, noiseless -and shadow-like, to another part of the camp, lest a -diversion should be effected in a weaker spot.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Before changing position he gave instructions to old Tom, -whose practised eye and ear could be depended upon, and -whose distrust of the savage he knew to be proof against -apparent security.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I’ll be back soon,’ he said, ‘for if Donderah did not fall -back with the others, we are none of us too safe. I’ve known -him drag a man out, with half a tribe close to his heels.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Old Tom was much of the same opinion, for at the -border stations tales of the Myall blacks were told by the -aboriginals employed about the place. The exploits of the -Titanic Donderah, ‘cobaun big fellow and plenty boomalli -white fellow,’ had attained Homeric distinction.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The old man peered keenly through the dim glades, and -listened as he bent forward, still sheltered by his tree, and -resting one hand upon the neck of the dog Smoker, whose -low growling he strove to repress.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Bad scran to ye,’ he said, ‘do ye want every murdtherin’ -<span class='pageno' id='Page_343'>343</span>thief of the tribe to know the tree I’m under? Maybe <em>he’s</em> -not far off, and ye’re winding him. I never knew yer tongue -to be false, or I’d dhrive in the ribs of ye. Ha, ye big divil!’ -he screamed, ‘ye’re there afther all; ’twas a bould trick of ye -to hide in that stone gunya. Ye nearly skivered that gay -boy from the ould country. Holy saints! sure he’s a dead -man now! Was there ever such a gommoch!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>This uncomplimentary exclamation was called forth by -the apparition of a herculean savage, who leaped out of the -lava blocks of the rude, circular miami—a long-abandoned -dwelling-place, probably a century old, and but slightly raised -above the basaltic rocks of the promontory. Starting up, as -if out of the night, he flung two spears at the only white man -unsheltered. Like a diving seal he cast himself downwards, -and was again invisibly safe.</p> - -<p class='c001'>One of the javelins nearly made an end of Gerald O’More. -It was from such weapons, hurled with a sinewy arm, that the -half-dozen cattle in the camp had fallen. They found, -next morning, that a spear, piercing the flank, had gone <em>clean -through</em> an unlucky heifer, and passed out at the other side.</p> - -<p class='c001'>However that may have been, Gerald the Dauntless was -not the man to remain to be made a target of. Rushing -forward, with a shout that told of West of Ireland associations, -he charged the miniature citadel, determined to kill or -capture his enemy. Before he reached the apparently -deserted gunya, a dark form might have been observed by -eyes more keen for signs of woodcraft, to worm itself, serpentlike, -along the path which O’More trod heedlessly.</p> - -<p class='c001'>As if raised by magic from the earth, suddenly the huge -Donderah stood erect in his path, and with the bound of a -famished tiger, sprang within Gerald’s guard. The barrel of -his fowling-piece was knocked up, and with one tremendous -blow the Caucasian lay prone upon the earth. His foe -commenced to drag him within the circle of the (possibly) -sacrificial stones.</p> - -<p class='c001'>But before he could effect his purpose, a hoarse cry caused -the savage to pause and falter. Hubert Warleigh, with his -gun clubbed, was bounding frantically towards the triumphant -champion.</p> - -<p class='c001'>But the distance was against the white man, though his -panther-like bounds reduced the race to a question of seconds.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_344'>344</span>‘Hould on, Mr. Hubert!’ yelled old Tom, who had -quitted his coign of vantage, followed by the excited dogs, no -longer to be restrained. ‘Sure, we’ll have him, the murdtherin’ -thafe. The others is fell back, since thim two dropped to -Mr. Hamilton’s pay-rifle—more power to him. Here, boys! -hould him! hould him! Smoker! Spanker! soole him!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The old man yelled like a fiend; and as the startled -savage saw the grim hounds stretching to the earth in full -pursuit of him, he dropped his prey in terror of the unaccustomed -foe.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘At him, Spanker! hould him, Smoker!’ screamed the -old man, ‘tear the throat of him. Marciful Saver! did any -one ever see the like of that! But I’ll have the heart’s blood -of ye, if ye were the Diaoul out of h—l, this—night.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>This mixture of religious adjuration and profanity from -the lips of the excited old stock-rider was elicited by another -cast of the fatal dice.</p> - -<p class='c001'>As the brawny savage glanced at the dogs, which were -rapidly nearing him, and upon the powerful form of Hubert -Warleigh, who bade fair to challenge him before he could -reach his covert, loaded as he was, he unwillingly relinquished -his victim. With a couple of bounds he reached -the gunya, where, crouching behind the largest boulder, he -awaited the attack. But it was not like Hubert Warleigh to -leave the wounded man. Stooping for a moment, he raised -O’More in his arms, with a violent effort threw him across -his shoulder, and marched towards the encampment.</p> - -<p class='c001'>As he half turned in the effort, the savage raised himself -to his full height, and, poising a spear, stood for a moment as -if uncertain whether he should expend its force upon the old -stock-rider and his dogs or against his white antagonist.</p> - -<p class='c001'>At that moment a yell from the main body of blacks -showed that they had been forced to retreat. He was -therefore separated from his companions, towards whom the -wary stock-rider was advancing with a view of cutting him -off.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Look out!’ shouted the old man to Hubert, as he marked -the savage take sudden aim. ‘By——! he’ll nail you!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>At the warning cry Hubert swung half round, turning his -broad breast to the foe and shielding his unconscious burden -as best he might. The wild warrior drew himself back for -<span class='pageno' id='Page_345'>345</span>an instant, and then—like a cloth-yard shaft from a strong -yew bow—the thin, dark, wavering missile sped only too -truly. Deeply, venomously it pierced the mighty chest, beneath -which throbbed the true and fearless heart of Hubert -Warleigh. Freeing one hand, he broke the spear-shaft across -like a reed-stalk, and without stay or stagger strode forward -with his burden.</p> - -<p class='c001'>As the last battle scene was enacted, the dawn light struggled -through a misty cloud-rack, and permitted clearer view of -the tragedy to the rank and file of the expedition.</p> - -<p class='c001'>When the deadly missile struck their leader, a wild shout -broke from the whites, and a charge in line was made -towards the stone gunya, immediately in the rear of which the -main body of the natives had collected for a desperate stand.</p> - -<p class='c001'>As if in answer, a strange, unnatural cry, half human -only, burst upon their ears. They turned to behold a singular -spectacle. Carried away by his exultation at the triumph of -his aim and his revenge upon the foeman who had baulked -him of his prey, the champion of a primeval race lingered -ere he turned to flight in the direction of his companions.</p> - -<p class='c001'>He was too late. The bandogs of destiny were upon -him, grim, merciless, with red glaring eyes and gleaming -fangs. In his attention to his spear he had forgotten to pick -up his nullah-nullah (or club), with which he would have -been a match for any canine foe. A few frantic bounds -were made by the doomed quarry as the eager dogs looked -wolfishly up into his terror-stricken countenance. Another -step, and the red dog, springing suddenly, seized his throat -with unrelaxing grip, while Spanker’s sharp tusks sank into -his flank, tearing at the quivering flesh as he fell heavily upon -the earth.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Whoo-whoop, boys! Whoop!’ screamed old Tom, -breathless and excited to the blood-madness of the Berserker. -‘That’s the talk. Worry, worry, worry! good dogs, -good dogs! At him Spanker, boy, ye’re blood up to the -eyes. Stick to him, Smoker, throttle him like a dingo. How -the eyes of him rolls. Mercy be hanged!’ he replied in -answer to the protest of one of the men. ‘What mercy did -he show to Mr. Hubert, and him helpless, with that gossoon -in his arms? Maybe ye didn’t think of the harm ye were -doing, ye black snake that ye are,’ he continued, apostrophising -<span class='pageno' id='Page_346'>346</span>the writhing form, which the ruthless hounds dragged -to and fro with the ferocity of their kind; the brindle dog -revelling in the dreadful banquet, wherein his head was ever -and anon plunged to the glaring eyes, while the red hound -held his fell grip upon the lacerated throat.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Maybe it’s kind father to ye to dhrive yer spear through -any mortial craychur that belongs to a strange thribe, white -or black. There’s more like ye, that’s had betther tachin’, so -I’ll give ye a riddance out of yer misery. And it’s more than -ye’d do for me av ye had me lyin’ there under the fut of ye.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>With this closing sentiment, nearer to recognition of a -sable brother than he had ever been known to exhibit, the -old stock-rider raised his gun. ‘Come off, ye divils! d’ye hear -me, now?’ he said, striking the brindle dog heavily with his -gun, who then only drew off, licking his gory lips and looking -greedily at the bleeding form; while the red dog, more -obedient or less fell of nature, relinquished his hold at the -first summons.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Ye’ve had yer punishment, I’ll go bail, in this world, -whatever happens in the next,’ said the old man grimly, as -he pulled the trigger of his piece in a matter-of-fact manner. -The charge passed through the skull of the mangled wretch, -who, leaping from the earth and throwing out his arms in the -death agony, fell on his face with a crash.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘There’s an ind of ye,’ said the ruthless elder. ‘The -blood of a betther man will be cowld enough before the -day’s out. Come away, dogs, ye’ve had divarshion enough -for one huntin’. Sure, they’re far away—the black imps of -Satan,’ he said, as he listened intently to a distant chorus of -wailing cries. ‘It’s time to get the camp in order. I -wonder when we’ll git thim bullocks agin?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>It was indeed time to comply with the old man’s -suggestion. Leaving the quivering corpse, the men turned -away with a sense of relief, to commence their less tragic -duties. At the camp much was to be arranged; all disorder -was rife since the attack.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Huddled together were heaps of flour-bags, camp-kettles, -and pannikins. The tents were overthrown, torn, and bedraggled. -The frantic cattle had stampeded over the spot -chosen with circumspection by the cook, as the strewn débris -of beef and damper witnessed.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_347'>347</span>The horses were nearly all absent—some hobbled, some -loose. Not a hoof of the horned herd was to be seen. Everything -in the well-ordered camp, so lately presenting a disciplined -appearance, seemed to have been the sport of evil genii.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Worse a hundredfold than all, beneath a hastily pitched -tent, tended with anxious faces by his comrades, was stretched -a wounded man, whose labouring breath came ever thickly -and more blood-laden as the sun rose upon the battlefield, -which secured for the white man one of the richest provinces -of Australia. Yes! the stark limbs were feeble, the -keen eye was dim, the stout heart was throbbing wildly, or -feebly pulsating with life’s waning flame. Hubert Warleigh -lay a-dying! His hour was come. The hunter of the hills, -the fearless wood-ranger, was helpless as a sick child. The -weapon of his heathen foe had sped home.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Argyll, Hamilton, Ardmillan, and the others stood around -his rude pallet with saddened hearts. Each voice was -hushed as they watched the spirit painfully quitting the -stalwart form of him whom they had all learned to know -and to trust.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘We have bought our country dearly,’ said Wilfred, as a -spasm distorted the features of the dying man and caused -his strong limbs to quiver and writhe. Over his chest was -thrown a rug, redly splashed, which told of the death-wound, -from which the life-blood welled in spite of every attempt to -staunch it. Beside him sat Gerald O’More, buried in deepest -grief.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Better take the lie of the country from me,’ said the -wounded man feebly. ‘One of you might write it down, with -the bearings of the rivers, while my head keeps right. How -hard it seems! Just made a start for a new country and a -new life. And now to be finished off like this! The Warleigh -luck all over. I might have known nothing could -come of it, but——’ Here his voice grew choked and indistinct, -while from the saturated wrappings the blood -dripped slowly and with a dreadful distinctness upon the -earthen floor. A long pause. Again he held up his hand. -‘It will take every man that can be spared to get the -cattle and horses together again. A week ought to do it; -it’s easy tracking with no others about. You can knock up a -“break” to count through. Make sure you’ve got the lot -<span class='pageno' id='Page_348'>348</span>before you start away. Leave Effingham and Argyll with -me. I’ll tell them about the course; you’re near the open -country. I little thought when I saw it next I should be -—should be—like this.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>They obeyed the dying leader to the last. All left the -tent except Wilfred and Argyll. The success of the expedition -depended on the cattle being recovered without loss of -time. Though a monarch dies, the work of this world must -go on. Few indeed are they for whom the wheels of the -mighty machine can be stopped. Hubert Warleigh was the -last man to desire it.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘It’s no good stopping to “corroboree” over me,’ he -said, with a touch of humour lighting up the glazing eye. -‘It’s lucky you haven’t O’More to wake as well as me. You -won’t laugh at blacks’ weapons any more, eh, Gerald?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Small laughing will do me for many a day, my dear boy. -You have forgiven the rash fool that nearly lost his own life -and wasted that of a better man? I deserve all I’ve got. -But for you—cut off in the prime of your days, how shall -I ever forget it? Forgive me, Hubert Warleigh, as you hope -to be forgiven.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Here the warm-hearted passionate Milesian cast himself -on his knees beside the dying man, and burying his face in -his hands, sobbed aloud in an agony of grief and humiliation. -‘Don’t fret over it, O’More,’ said the measured tones of the -dying man. ‘It’s all in the day’s work. People always said -I’d be hanged, you know; but I’m going off the hooks -honourably, anyhow. <em>You</em> couldn’t help it; and, indeed, I -was away when you charged that poor devil Donderah. I’m -afraid old Tom’s dogs mauled him badly. But look here,’—turning -to Wilfred,—‘you get a pencil and I’ll show you -how the rivers run. There’s the Bogong Range—and -the three rivers with the best country in Australia between -them. When you come to the lower lakes, you can follow -them to the sea. There’s an outlet, but it’s choked up with -sand-bars. Somewhere near the mouth there’s a decent -harbour and a good spot for a township. It will be a big -one some day. Now you’re all right and can shift for yourselves. -Effingham, I want to say a word to you before I go.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Wilfred bent over him and O’More and Argyll left the -tent. ‘Come near me,’ he whispered, in tones which, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_349'>349</span>losing strength with the decay of life’s force, sounded hollow -and dull. ‘I feel it so hard and bitter to die. I should -have had a chance—my only chance—here, and as head -explorer I might have risen to a decent position. Such a -simple way to go under too. If that rash beggar hadn’t -mulled it with Donderah I should have been right. Some -men would have left him there. But I couldn’t do it—I -<em>couldn’t</em> do it.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Old Tom and his dogs avenged you,’ said Wilfred. -‘They ate Donderah alive almost, before the old man shot -him.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Poor devil!’ said the dying man; ‘so he came off worse -than I did. Old Tom wouldn’t show him much mercy. I -shan’t be long after him. Hang it! what a puff of smoke a -fellow’s life is when he dies young. It seems the other day -I was learning to ride at Warbrok, and Clem and Randal -coming home from the King’s School for the holidays. Well, -the three Warleighs are done for now. The wild Warleighs! -wild enough, and not a paying game either. But I’m running -on too fast about all these things, and my heart’s going, -I feel. Are you sure you’ve got the chart all right, with the -rivers and the lakes all correct—and the harbour——’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I think so. We can make our way to the coast now. -But why trouble yourself about such matters? Surely they -are trifles compared with the thoughts which should occupy -your last moments?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I don’t know much about that,’ said the stricken bushman, -raising himself for an instant and looking wistfully in his -companion’s face. ‘If a man dies doing his duty he may as -well back it right out. What gave me the only real help I -ever had? Your father’s kind words and your family’s kind -acts. They made a man of me. It’s on that road that I’m -dying now, respected as a friend by all of you, instead of like -a dog in a ditch or a “dead-house.” Now I have two -things to say before I go. I want you to have the best run. -It’s all good, but the best’s the best, and you may as well have -it. I was to have my pick.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Wilfred made a gesture of deprecation, but the other continued, -with slow persistence:</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You see where the second river runs into the third one? -The lake’s marked near it on the south. There’s an angle of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_350'>350</span>flat country there, the grandest cattle-run you ever set eyes -on. Dry, sheltered rises for winter; rich flats and marshes -for summer. Naturally fenced too. I christened it “The -Heart” in my own mind. It’s that shape. So you sit down -there, and leave Guy on it when you go home. He’ll do -something yet, that boy. He’s a youngster after my own -heart. And there’s one more thing—the last—the very -last.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Rest yourself, my dear fellow,’ said Wilfred, raising his -head and wiping the death-damp from his forehead, as his -eyes closed in a death-like faint. But the dying man raised -himself unsteadily to a sitting position. An unearthly lustre -gleamed in the dim eyes, the white lips moved mechanically, -as the words, like the murmur of the breeze-touched shell, -issued from them.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I told you I loved your sister Annabel. When I looked -at her I thought I had never seen a woman before. Tell her -she was never out of my head for one moment since the day -I first saw her. Every step I made since was towards a life -that should have been worthy of her. I would have been -rich for her, proud for her, even book-taught for her sake. I -was learning in spare moments what I should have known as -a boy. She might never have taken to me—most likely not; -but she would have known that she had helped to save a -man’s life—a man’s soul. Tell her that this man went to his -death, grieving most for one thing, that he should see her face -no more. And now, give me your hand, Wilfred, for Gyp -Warleigh’s time is up.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>He grasped the hand held out to him with a firm and -nervous clasp; then relinquishing it gradually, an expression -of peace and repose overspread his face, the laboured breathing -ceased. His respiration became more natural and easy, -but the ashen hue of his face showed yet more colourless and -grey. The tired eyes closed; the massive head fell back on -the pillow of rugs; the lower portion of the features relaxed; -a slight shiver passed over the frame. Wilfred bent closely, -tenderly, over the still face. The faithful spirit of the last -male heir of the house of Warleigh had passed away.</p> - -<p class='c001'>When the stock-riders returned that evening after the long -day’s tracking and heard of their leader’s death, many a wild -heart was deeply stirred. At day-dawn they dug him a deep -<span class='pageno' id='Page_351'>351</span>grave beneath a mighty spreading mountain ash, and piled -such a cairn above him that no careless hand could disturb -the dead. As they removed his clothes for the last sad -robing process, two small volumes fell from an inner pocket.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Ha!’ said Neil Barrington, ‘one of them is the book I -saw him poring over that day. I wonder whether it’s a -novel? By Jove, though, who’d have thought that? Why, -it’s an old History of England. The poor old chap was -getting up his education by degrees. It makes the tears -come into one’s eyes.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Here the good-hearted fellow drew his handkerchief across -his face.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_352'>352</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XXIV <br /> GYP’S LAND</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>The cattle were tracked down and regathered without difficulty. -In the virgin forest no slot but their own could possibly -exist. When they quitted the scene of their encounter, -the explorers passed into a region of grand savannahs and -endless forest parks, waving with luxuriant grasses. Each -day awakened fresh raptures of admiration. But the rudest -stock-rider never alluded to the ease with which they now -followed the well-fed herd, without a curse (in the nature of -an epitaph) upon those who had robbed them of a comrade -and a commander.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘A magnificent country,’ said Argyll, as on the third day -they camped the foremost drove on the bank of a broad river -in the marshy meadows, on which the cattle spread out, -luxuriating in the wild abundance of pasture; ‘and how -picturesque those snow-peaks; the groves of timber, sending -their promontories into the plains; the fantastic rocks! It -is a pastoral paradise. And to think that the only man of -our party who fell a victim should be poor Warleigh, the discoverer -of this land of promise!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘The way of the world, my dear fellow,’ said Ardmillan. -‘The moment a man gets his foot on the threshold of success, -Nemesis is aroused. Poor Gyp had been fighting against his -demon for years, and had reached the region of respectability. -He would soon have been rich enough to conciliate -Mrs. Grundy. She would have enlarged upon his ancient -birth, his handsome face and figure, with the mildest admission -that he had been, years ago, a little wild. Of course he -is slain within sight of his promised land.’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_353'>353</span>‘We had all got very fond of him, and that’s the truth,’ -said Hamilton. ‘He was the gentlest creature, considering -his tremendous strength—self-denying in every way, and so -modest about his own endowments. It was very touching to -listen to his regrets for the ignorance in which he had been -suffered to grow up. I had planned, indeed, to supply some -of his deficiencies after we were settled.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I should think so,’ said Fred Churbett. ‘I wouldn’t have -minded doing a little myself. I don’t go in for “moral -pocket-ankercher” business, but a man of his calibre was -better worth saving than a province of savages. Amongst us -we should have coached him up, in a year or so, fit to run for -the society little-go; and now to think that one of these -wretched anthropoids should have slain our Bayard!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What made it such a beastly shame,’ said Neil Barrington, -‘is that we shall all get “disgustingly rich,” as Hotson said, -and be known as the pioneers of Gyp’s Land (as the men -have christened the district), while the real hero lies in a half-forgotten -grave.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Time may make us as unthankful as the rest of the -world,’ said Wilfred. ‘We can only console ourselves with -the thought that we sincerely mourned our poor friend, and -that Hubert Warleigh’s memory will remain green, long after -recognition of his services has faded away. It has had a lasting -effect upon O’More. The poor fellow believes himself to -blame for the disaster. I have scarcely seen him smile -since.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘He’s a good, kind-hearted fellow,’ said Fred Churbett, -‘and I honour him for it. He told me that he never regretted -anything so much in his life as disregarding Warleigh’s advice -about the blacks. He said the poor chap made no answer -to some stupid remarks about being afraid of naked savages, -but smiled gravely, and walked away without another word. -Yet, to save O’More’s life, he gave his own!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Whom the gods love die young,’ said Hamilton. ‘Some of -us may yet have cause to envy him. And now, about the -choice of runs. How are we to arrange that?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘We are now in the good country,’ said Argyll. ‘Towards -the coast, we shall all meet with more first-class grazing land -than we know what to do with. I think no one should be -nearer than seven miles or more than ten miles from any -<span class='pageno' id='Page_354'>354</span>other member of the Association. I for one will go nearer -to the coast.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And I,’ said Fred Churbett, ‘will stay just where I am. -This is good enough for me, as long as I can defend myself -against the lords of the soil.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>There was no difficulty in locating the herds of the -association upon their ‘pastures new.’ In every direction -waved the giant herbage of a virgin wilderness. There were -full-fed, eager-running rivers, for which the melting snow at -their sources furnished abundant supplies. There were deep -fresh-water lakes, on the shores of which were meadows and -headlands rich with matted herbage.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Wild-fowl swarmed in the pools and shallows. Kangaroos -were so plentiful that old Tom’s dogs ‘were weary at eve -when they ceased to slay,’ and commenced to look with -indifference upon the scarcely-thinned droves. Timber for -huts and stock-yards was plentiful; so that axes, mauls, and -wedges were soon in full and cheerful employment. Each -squatter selected an area large enough for his stock for the -next dozen years, keeping sufficiently close to his friends for -visiting, but not near enough for complications. In truth, -the rivers and creeks were of such volume that they easily -supplied natural boundaries.</p> - -<p class='c001'>As for Wilfred and Guy, they carefully followed out the -instructions of their lost friend, until they verified the exact -site of the ‘run’ he had recommended to them. This they -discovered to be a peninsula. On one side stretched the -shore of a lake, and on the other a deep and rapid river flowed, -forming a natural enclosure many miles in extent, into which, -when they had turned their herd, they had little trouble in -keeping them safely.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘My word!’ said Guy, ‘this is something like a country. -Why, we have run for five or six thousand head, and not a -patch of scrub or a range on the whole lot of it. Splendid -open forest, just enough for shelter; great marshes and flats, -where the stock are up to their eyes in grass and reeds. When -the summer comes, it will be like a garden. It rains here -<em>every year</em> and no mistake.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘We are pretty far south,’ said Wilfred; ‘in somewhere -about latitude 37—no great distance from the sea. That -accounts for the climate. You can see by the blacks’ miamis, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_355'>355</span>which are substantial and covered with thatch, that a different -kind of dwelling-place is necessary, even for the aboriginals. -You will have to build good warm huts, I fancy, or the winter -gales and sleet-storms will perish you.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You let me alone for that!’ said the ardent youngster. -‘We shall have lots of time to work, as soon as the cattle are -broken in and the working bullocks get strong. Our drays -must come by sea; but sledges are all right for drawing split -stuff. I shall build on that bluff above the lake. We can -keep a good look-out there for the blacks, that they don’t -come sneaking up by day or night. Oh, how jolly it all is! -If I could forget about dear old Hubert, I should be perfectly -happy.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I suppose we shall have to choose a site for the township.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Township!’ said Guy. ‘What do we want with a beastly -township? Two public-houses and a blacksmith’s shop to -begin with! The next thing will be that they will petition -the Government to survey some land and cut it up in farms.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Well, that’s true,’ assented Wilfred, smiling at his impetuosity; -‘but we must not be altogether selfish. Remember, -there is a good landlocked harbour and a deep anchorage. -A township is morally certain to be formed, and we may as -well take the initiative. Besides, we promised Rockley to let -him know if there was any opening for a mercantile -speculation.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘That alters the matter,’ said Guy. ‘I would black old -Billy’s boots if he was short of a valet—not to mention kind -Mrs. Rockley, whom all the fellows would walk barefoot to -serve. I may be mistaken, but you’re rather sweet upon -Christabel, ain’t you? I’m not in the marrying line myself, -but I don’t know a prettier girl anywhere.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Pooh! don’t talk nonsense, there’s a good fellow,’ said -Wilfred with a dignified air. ‘There are miles of matters to -be thought about before anybody—dark or fair. But you are -right in your feelings about Rockley and his dear, kind wife, -which makes me proud of my junior partner. We shall want -somebody to buy and sell for us, to order our stores, etc.; -and as nothing can come from Sydney on wheels, we shall -have to get them from that new settlement they call Port -Phillip, that we heard at the “Snowy” they were making such -a talk about. We can’t escape a town; and as there is bound -<span class='pageno' id='Page_356'>356</span>to be a chief merchant, we had better elect our own King -William to that high office and dignity.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘With all my heart,’ said Guy; ‘only you frightened me at -first, talking about a town. We haven’t come all this way—through -those hungry forests and terrible cold rivers, not to -mention the blacks—to be crowded out of our runs, for -farmers.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You needn’t be alarmed, Guy. Remember, this district -is a very large one. You will have twenty years’ squatting -tenure, you may be sure, before an acre of your land is sold.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Guy was correct in his anticipations of the probability of -there being water-carriage before long. The surplus hands, -who were paid off and sent back to New South Wales, talked -largely, as is their wont, about the wonderful new district. -Port Phillip, just settled, had a staff of adventurers on hand, -ready for any kind of enterprise. Within a few weeks a brig, -with a reasonable supply of passengers, did actually arrive at -the little roadstead, which had already been dignified with -the title of The Port. There was the usual assortment of -alert individuals that invariably turn up at the last new and -promising settlement in Australia,—land speculators, storekeepers, -gentlemen of no particular calling, waifs and strays, -artisans and contractors. But among the babel of strange -tongues resounded one familiar voice, the resonant cheery -tones of which soon made themselves heard, to the great -astonishment and equal joy of such of the wayfarers as had -assembled at the disembarkation. Their old and tried friend, -Mr. William Rockley, once more greeted them in the flesh.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Well, here you all are, safe and sound, except poor Gyp -Warleigh!’ said that gentleman, after the ceremony of greeting -and hand-shaking had been most cordially performed. ‘Most -melancholy occurrence—terrible, in fact—heard of it at Port -Phillip—all the news there, of course—very rising place. Ran -down in the <em>Rebecca</em>, brig—nearly ran on shore too. Thought -I’d come on and see you all; find out if anything was to be -done. Nothing like first chance, at a new settlement, eh? -Queer fellow, our captain; too much brandy and water. -Catch me sailing with him after we get back.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Mr. Rockley added new life and vigour to the infant -settlement. His practical eye fixed upon a spot more suitable -for a township than The Port, which he disparaged as a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_357'>357</span>‘one-horse’ place, which would never come to much. Indifferent -anchorage, with no protection against south-east -gales. Might be made decent with a breakwater; but take -time—time. A few miles up the river—fine stream, deep -water, and good wharfage. He should run up a store, and -send down a cargo of odds and ends at once. Fine district—good -soil, splendid climate, and so on. Must progress—<em>must</em> -progress. Never seen finer grass, splendidly watered -too. You’ve fallen on your feet, I can tell you. All through -Gyp Warleigh too. Poor fellow!—awful pity!</p> - -<p class='c001'>Mr. Rockley borrowed a horse, rode inland and visited -the stations, being equally encouraging and sanguine about -their prospects. ‘<em>Can’t</em> go wrong; lots of fat cattle in a year -or two; make all your fortunes; can’t help it; only look out -for the rascally blacks; don’t allow yourselves to be lulled -into security; have a slap at you again some day, take my -word for it. Know them well; never trust a blackfellow; -always make him walk in front of you—can’t help using a -tomahawk if he sees a chance; keep ’em at arm’s length—no -cruelty—but make ’em keep their distance. Glorious -rains at Yass and all over New South Wales. Season changed -with a vengeance! Stock rising like mad; ewes two guineas -a head and not to be got. Cattle, horses, snapped up the -moment they’re offered. Everybody wild to bring stock -overland to Port Phillip. By Jove! that <em>is</em> a wonderful place -if you like; fine harbour—make half-a-dozen of Sydney—thirty -miles from the Heads to the town. Not so picturesque -of course; but splendid open country, plains, forests, and -fertile land right up to the town. Great place by and by. -Nothing but speculation, champagne, and kite-flying at -present. Bought town allotments; buy some more as we -go back. You’d better pick up two or three corner lots, -Wilfred, my boy. Money? Never mind <em>that</em>! I’ll find the -cash. Your security’s first-rate now, I can tell you.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>And so their guest rattled on, brimful of great ideas, large -investments, and goodwill to all men, as of yore.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Wilfred, who had indeed now no particular reason for -remaining, but on the contrary many motives to draw him -towards The Chase, was only too glad to avail himself of a -passage in the <cite>Rebecca</cite>, the truculent captain notwithstanding. -That worthy, who appeared to be a compound of sailor and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_358'>358</span>smuggler, with a dash of pirate, swaggered about the beach -for a few days, and after a comprehensive carouse with such -of his late passengers as he could induce to join him, -announced his intention of sailing next day—and did so.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Arrived at Melbourne, as the infant city had just been -christened, Wilfred was astonished at the life and excitement -everywhere discernible. On the flats bordering the river -Yarra Yarra had been hastily erected a medley of huts, -cottages, and tents, in which resided a miscellaneous rout -of settlers, storekeepers, speculators, auctioneers, publicans, -Government officials, artisans, and labourers.</p> - -<p class='c001'>He witnessed for the first time the initial stage of urban -colonisation. What he chiefly wondered at was the restless -energy, the sanguine spirits, the dauntless courage of the -miscellaneous host employed in founding the southern -metropolis.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The situation had been well chosen. The river which -bisected the baby city, though not broad, was yet clear, deep, -and, as its aboriginal name implied, ‘ever flowing.’ Large -vessels were compelled to remain in the bay, but coasters -came up the river and discharged on the banks of the natural -basin, which had decided the site of the town.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Around—afar—stretching even to the distant horizon, were -broad plains, park-like forests, hill and dale. The soil was -rich for the most part; while a far blue range to the north-east -pointed to an untried region, beyond which might lie -(ay, and <em>did</em> lie) treasures yet undreamed of.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘All truly wonderful,’ said Wilfred. ‘The world is a large -place, as the little bird said. We have got outside of our -garden wall with a vengeance. How slow it seems of us to -have been sitting still at Lake William, ignorant of this grand -country, only five hundred miles off—not to mention “Gyp’s -Land.” I wonder if this will ever be much of a town. It -is a long way from Sydney, which must always be the seat of -Government.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Will it be much of a place?’ echoed Rockley in a half-amused, -meditative way. ‘I am inclined to think it will. -Let us ask this gentleman. How do you do, Mr. Fawkner?’ -he said, shaking hands with a brisk, energetic personage, -who came bustling along the river-bank. ‘Fine weather. -Thriving settlement this of yours. My friend is doubting -<span class='pageno' id='Page_359'>359</span>whether it will ever come to much. Thinks it too far from -Sydney.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What!’ said the little man, who, dressed in corduroy -trousers, with a buff waistcoat and long-skirted coat, looked -like an Australian edition of Cobbett. ‘Will it prosper? -Why, sir, it will be the metropolis of the South—the London -of this New Britain, sir! Nothing can stay its progress. -Tasmania, where I came from, possesses a glorious climate -and fine soil, but no extent, sir, no scope. New South Wales -has fine soil, boundless territory, but eccentric climate. In -Port Phillip, sir, below 35 south latitude, you have climate, -soil, and extent of territory combined.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Here the little man struck his stick into the damp, black -soil with such energy that he could hardly pull it out again.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I agree with you,’ said Rockley good-humouredly, smiling -at Fawkner’s vehemence as if he, personally, were the most -imperturbable of men. ‘But you won’t get the Sydney -officials to do much for you for years to come. Five hundred -miles is a long way from the seat of Government.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Cut the painter, sir, if they neglect us,’ said the pioneer -democrat. ‘We shall soon be big enough to govern ourselves. -Seen the first number of the <cite>Port Phillip Patriot</cite>? -Here it is—printed with my own hands yesterday.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Mr. Fawkner put his hand into a pocket of the long-skirted -coat, and produced a very small, neatly printed broadsheet, -in which the editorials and local news struggled amid -a crowd of advertisements of auctions, notices of land sales, -and other financial assignations.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And now, gentlemen, I must bid you good-bye,’ said the -little man. ‘Canvassing for subscriptions to build a wooden -bridge across the Yarra. Cost a lot of money, but must be -done—must be done. Large trade with South Yarra—lime, -timber, firewood—shortest way to the bay too.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Put us down for five pounds,’ said Rockley. ‘It will -improve the value of the corner allotments we intend to buy—won’t -it, Wilfred? Good-bye.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Wonderful man that,’ said Rockley; ‘shrewd, energetic, -rather too fond of politics. Came over in the first vessel -from Van Diemen’s Land. He and Batman thought they -were going to divide all this country between them. You -see that clear hill over there? They say that’s where Batman -<span class='pageno' id='Page_360'>360</span>stood when he said, “All that I see is mine, and all that I -don’t see.”’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Very good,’ said Wilfred. ‘Grand conception of the true -adventurer. And were his aspirations fulfilled?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Well, he bought all the land hereabouts—a few millions -of acres—from blackfellows who called themselves chiefs. -The other colonists disputed his royalty. The Government -backed them up, and sent a superintendent to reign over -them. However, he will do very well. Who’s this tall man -coming along? St. Maur, as I’m a living sinner!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>And that gentleman it turned out to be, extremely well-dressed, -and sauntering about as if in Bond Street. His -greeting, however, was most cordial, and smacked more of -the wilderness than of the <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>pavé</em></span>.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘By Jove!’ he said, ‘you here, Rockley? I was just -thinking of you and Effingham. Can’t say how glad I am. -Come into my miami. What a pity you couldn’t have a -throw in! Lots of money to be made. Made some myself -already.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Daresay,’ said Rockley. ‘You’re pretty quick when -there’s a spec. on hand. What have you been about?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Mixed herd of cattle. Turned overlander, as they call -it here; brought over one on my own account, and another -that I picked up on the road. Just going over to see Howie’s -horses sold. I want a hack. You come and lunch with me -and Dutton and Tom Carne. We’re over at “The Lamb”—some -fellows from Adelaide there.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Certainly,’ said Rockley, always ready for anything in -the way of speculation or enterprise. ‘Nothing better to do; -and, by the way, Effingham, <em>we</em> shall want horses for riding -home; for, as for going back with that atrocious, reckless, -buccaneering ruffian, I’ll see him d——d first!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Here the sentence, ending with more force than elegance, -merged in the loud ringing of an auctioneer’s bell in close -proximity to a large stock-yard at the corner of Bourke and -Swanston Streets, near where a seductive soft-goods establishment -now stands.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The yard contained over a hundred head of horses, which -were permitted to run out one at a time, when, being completely -encircled by the crowd, they remained confused, if -not quieted, until their fate was decided.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_361'>361</span>An upstanding, unbroken grey filly happened to be -separated just as they arrived—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>And struggling fiercely, but in vain,</div> - <div class='line'>And snorting with erected mane.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c001'>The desert-born was on the point of being knocked down for -fifty pounds, when Wilfred, infected by the extravagance of -the day, bid another pound. She finally became his at the -low price of sixty guineas.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘She’s very green,’ said St. Maur; ‘just haltered, I should -say. However, she has plenty of condition, and if you are -going a journey, will be quiet enough in a week.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I like her looks,’ said Wilfred. ‘It’s an awful price; but -stock have risen so, that we shall reap the advantage in another -shape. But for Rockley I should have gone back by sea.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I never consider a few pounds,’ said that gentleman, -‘where my life’s concerned. I can just tell you, sir, that, in -my opinion, the <cite>Rebecca</cite> is more than likely never to see -Sydney at all if bad weather comes on. I shall buy that -brown cob.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>After the cob had been bought, and a handsome chestnut -by St. Maur, the friends strolled up to the famous Lamb -Inn, long disestablished, like the cafés of the Quartier Latin, -and there met with certain choice spirits, also rejoicing in -the designation of ‘overlanders.’ They seemed on terms -of intimacy with St. Maur, and cordially greeted his two -friends. One and all had been lately concerned in large -stock transactions—had been equally fortunate in their sales. -Apparently they were minded to indemnify themselves for -the perils of the waste by a full measure of such luxuries -as the infant city afforded.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Great place this Melbourne, St. Maur,’ said a tall man -with bushy whiskers. ‘Decomposed basaltic formation, with -an outcrop of empty champagne bottles. I saw a heap -opposite Northcott’s office yesterday like a glass-blower’s -débris. As fast as they emptied them they threw them out -of the window. Accumulation in time—you know.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Northcott does a great business in allotments and house -property,’ said St. Maur; ‘but it can’t last for ever. Too -much of that champagne element. But what’s become of -Warden—he was to have been here?’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_362'>362</span>‘Forgot about the hour, I daresay,’ said the man with the -whiskers. ‘Most absent fellow I know. Remember what -he said to the Governor’s wife at Adelaide? She asked him -at dinner what he would take. Joe looked up from a dream -(not of fair women, but of drovers and dealers), and thinking -of the cattle he had just brought over, replied, “Six pounds -a head all round, and the calves given in!”’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Mr. Joe Warden, blue-eyed and fair-haired as Cedric -the Saxon, long afterwards famed as the most daring and -successful of the explorers of that historic period, shortly -joined them, apologising for his unpunctuality by declaring -that he had bought two corner allotments and a flock of ewes -within the last ten minutes.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘This is the kingdom of unlimited loo as applied to real -estate—the region of golden opportunity, you see, Rockley,’ -said St. Maur. ‘We are all hard at it buying and selling -from morning to night. Must go the pace or be left behind. -Half-acre allotments in Collins Street have brought as much -as seventy pounds this very morning. Try that claret.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Quite right too. A very fair wine,’ quoth Mr. Rockley, -slowly savouring the ruby fluid. ‘My dear St. Maur, you are -right to buy everything that you can, as long as your credit -lasts. I can see—and I stake my business reputation on the -fact—a tremendous future in store for this town. It is not -much in itself. The river’s a mere ditch; the harbour a -great ugly bay; the site of the town too flat; but the -country!—the country around is grand and extensive. -Nothing can take that away. It is not so rich as the spot -my friend and I have just left; but it’s fine—very fine. I’m -not so young as I was, but I shall pitch my tent here and -never go back to Sydney.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I hope to see Sydney again,’ said St. Maur; ‘but in the -meantime I shall stay and watch the markets. I quite agree -with you that there is money to be made.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Of course there is,’ said Rockley; ‘but how long will -it last? People can’t live upon buying and selling to each -other for ever. Some fine day there will be an awful smash, -in which some of you brisk young people will be caught. -But the settlement is so first-class in soil and situation that -it <em>must</em> pull through. I shall buy a few allotments, just to -give me an interest, as the racing men say.’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_363'>363</span>‘We can accommodate you,’ said Mr. Raymond. ‘But why -don’t you stay and set up in business here? You’d make a -fortune a month, with your name and connections. Never -mind Mrs. R. for the present; we’re all bachelors here.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I see that—and a very jolly set you are. I wouldn’t mind -a month or two here at all. But my friend Effingham and I -are tied to time to get home, and as we’re going overland we -haven’t much time to spare.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Well, look us up whenever you come back. The door -of the Lamb Inn is always open—night or day, for that matter. -St. Maur and I are thinking of buying it, aren’t we, Bertram, -and turning it into a Club? We offered Jones a thousand -for it, but he wouldn’t take less than twelve hundred.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘That would have been only a hundred apiece for a dozen -of us,’ said the man with the large whiskers, whose name was -Macleod. ‘Almost concluded it, but Morton died of D.T., -Southey got married, and Ingoldsby went home. Nice idea, -you know, being our own landlords.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Not bad at all,’ said Rockley, who approved of everything -when he was in a good-humour. ‘A <em>very</em> original, business-like -idea. Well, I must say good-bye to you all, gentlemen. -I really wish I could stay longer.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Stay till next week,’ pleaded Raymond. ‘We are going -to give a ball. No end of an entertainment. Two real -carriages just landed, and the families pledged to bring -them.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I notice a good many stumps in Collins Street,’ said -Wilfred. ‘Won’t that be a little dangerous for returning?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Not with decent horses,’ said a young fellow with a dark -moustache and one arm. ‘I drove tandem through it about -two o’clock this morning.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘But you do everything so well, Blakesley,’ said St. Maur. -‘Speaking as an ordinary person, I must say I should funk -the “Rue Bourke” or Collins after dark. But that is not our -affair. Providence <em>couldn’t</em> injure a lady when there are only -ten in the community.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What about that brig, the <cite>Rebecca</cite>, that’s sailing to-morrow -for Sydney?’ said a fresh-coloured, middle-aged personage who -had spoken little, and, indeed, seemed oppressed with thought. -‘You came down in her, Rockley, didn’t you?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Like nothing about her,’ said that gentleman with -<span class='pageno' id='Page_364'>364</span>decision. ‘Badly found, badly manned, and the worst thing -about her is the skipper. You don’t catch me in her again, -I can tell you. Effingham and I are going overland.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Indeed!’ said the speaker, much surprised. ‘I thought -we should have been fellow-passengers. I never dreamed of -any one riding all the way to Sydney, five or six hundred miles, -when they could go by sea! If I’d known, I’d have changed -my mind and started with you. It’s too late now; I’ve paid -my passage.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Look here, Bowerdale,’ said Mr. Rockley with earnestness, -‘I’ve paid my passage, and I forfeit it cheerfully rather -than run the risk. If you knew Captain Jackson, you’d do it -too. He’ll lose the ship and all hands some day, as sure as -my name’s Rockley.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘There’s a good deal of luck in these things, I believe,’ -said the other. ‘I must risk it anyhow. I can’t afford to -lose the money, and I want to get back to my wife and chicks -as soon as I can. We officials haven’t unlimited leave either, -you know.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘D——n the leave!’ said Mr. Rockley volcanically, ‘and -the money too. I’ll settle the last for you, and you can pay -when you sell that suburban land you bought in Collingwood. -There’s a fortune in <em>that</em>. Your chief’s a good fellow; he’ll -arrange the leave. Half the Civil Servants in Sydney have -had a shot at Melbourne land, you know. Say the word, -and come with us. There’s a spare horse, isn’t there, -Effingham?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Lots of horse-flesh,’ said Wilfred, following his friend’s -cue. ‘Mr. Bowerdale will just complete our party—make it -pleasanter for all.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You <em>are</em> a good fellow, Rockley,’ said Mr. Bowerdale, -smiling; ‘and I thank you, Mr. Effingham; but I can’t alter -my arrangements, though I feel strangely tempted to do so. -I have had a fit of the blues all the morning. Liver, I -suppose—too much excitement. But I make a point of -always carrying a thing through.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Take your own way,’ grumbled Rockley. ‘Well, I must -be off, St. Maur. Effingham, did you forget about the pack-saddle? -It’s a strange thing nobody can remember anything -but myself. St. Maur, I beg to thank you and these -gentlemen for their most pleasant entertainment. Come -<span class='pageno' id='Page_365'>365</span>and see me at Yass, all of you, when you stop land-buying, -or it stops you. Good-bye, Bowerdale; I can’t help thinking -you’re a d——d fool.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>So the worthy and choleric gentleman departed, with his -surplus steam not wholly blown off. All the way back he -kept exploding at intervals, with remarks uncomplimentary -to his unconvinced friend, who left by the <cite>Rebecca</cite>, which, -with crew, captain, and passengers, was <em>never more heard of</em>.</p> - -<hr class='c013' /> - -<p class='c001'>On the following morning Mr. Rockley and Wilfred rode -forth along the Sydney road, then far from macadamised, -and chiefly marked out by dray-ruts and a mile-wide trail -made by the overlanders. Mr. Rockley rode one stout cob -and led another. Wilfred bestrode an ambling black horse -of uncertain pedigree, and led the grey filly, upon whose -reluctant back he had managed to place a pack-saddle with -their joint necessaries.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_366'>366</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XXV <br /> BOB CLARKE ONCE MORE WINS ON THE POST</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>The homeward-bound horsemen had no difficulty about the -road, well marked as it was by the travelling stock. There -was also, as now, a mail service from Sydney. They met -the mailman about half-way. He was riding one horse and -leading another; he had often to camp out without fire, for -fear of blacks. In due time they reached the site of the -border town of Albury, on the broad waters of the Murray, -all unknowing of the great wine-cellars its grapes were yet -to fill, with reisling, muscat, and hermitage in mammoth -butts, rivalling that of Heidelberg. Much less did they forecast -the iron horse one day to rush forward, breathing woe -and disquiet to the shy dryad of the river oaks, by the -gleaming stream and the still depths of the reed-fringed -lagoons.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Rude were the ways by which they travelled from the -Murray to the Murrumbidgee River, by way of Gundagai, -the great meadows of which were then undevastated by -flood. Thence to Bowning, and so on to Yass, in which city -the travellers were greeted with enthusiasm. The next -morning saw the younger far on his way to The Chase.</p> - -<p class='c001'>What a change had taken place since the exodus—that -memorable departure! But one little year had passed away, -and what a transformation!</p> - -<p class='c001'>With the season everything had changed; all Australia -was altered. Life itself was so different from that day when, -half-despairingly, they rode behind their famished cattle, and -turned their faces to the wilderness.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Now it had been crossed; the promised land won—a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_367'>367</span>land of milk and honey as far as they were concerned—of -olives and vineyards—all the biblical treasures—no doubt -looming in the future.</p> - -<p class='c001'>For this prosperity the discovery of Port Phillip was -accountable, conjointly with the lavish, exuberant season. -The glorious land of mountain and stream, valley and -meadow, laden with pastoral wealth and bursting with -vegetation, had been in a manner gifted to them by the -gallant, ill-fated Hubert Warleigh. They were all revelling -in the intensity of life, forming stations, buying and selling, -speculating and calculating, and where was he? Lying at -rest beneath the sombre shade of the forest giant, far from -even the tread of the men of his race. Left to moulder -away, with the fallen denizens of the primeval forest; to -fade from men’s minds even as the echo of the surges, as the -spring songs of the joyous birds!</p> - -<p class='c001'>It seemed increasingly hard to realise. As he approached -the well-known track that led from the main road to Warbrok -he could see the very tree near which he had waved a -farewell at their first meeting. There was the gate through -which they had ridden on the occasion of his second visit, -when he had been received on terms of equality by the -whole family.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘How glad I am now that we did that!’ Wilfred told himself. -‘We tried our best to raise him from the slough into -which he had fallen, and from no selfish motive; how little -we thought to be so richly repaid! One often intends a -kindness to some one who dies before it is fulfilled. Then -there is unavailing, perhaps lifelong regret. Here it was not -so, thank God! And now, home at last——’</p> - -<hr class='c013' /> - -<p class='c001'>Of that happy first evening what description can be given -that faintly shall suggest the atmosphere of love and gratitude -that enveloped the family, as once more Wilfred sat among -them in the well-remembered room? Speech even died -away, in that all might revel in an uninterrupted view of the -returned wanderer. How improved, though bronzed and -weather-beaten, he was after his wayfaring!</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And to think that Wilfred has returned safe from those -dreadful blacks! And oh, poor dear Hubert Warleigh! -That fine young man, so lately in this room with us, full of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_368'>368</span>health and strength, and now to know that he is dead—killed -by savages—it is too dreadful!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Mamma! mamma!’ said Annabel, sobbing aloud, ‘don’t -speak of it. I can’t bear it.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Here she arose and left the room.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘She is very sensitive, dear child,’ said Mrs. Effingham. ‘I -do not wonder at her feeling the poor fellow’s death. I -can’t help thinking about him, as if he were in some way -more than an acquaintance.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You have come back to a land of plenty, my son,’ said -Mr. Effingham, ‘as you have doubtless observed. If you had -known that such rain was to fall, it might have saved you all -the journey.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘My dear sir,’ answered Wilfred, ‘don’t flatter yourself -that, myself excepted, one of our old society will be contented -to live here again. The land we have reached opens out -such an extensive field that no sane man would think of -staying away from it. Rockley will follow, and half Yass, I -believe. No one will be left but you and I and the Parson.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What an exodus! It amounts to a misfortune,’ said -Rosamond. ‘It seems as if the foundations of society were -loosened. We shall never be so happy and contented -again.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘We never may,’ said Wilfred; ‘but we shall be ever so -much richer, if that is any compensation. Stock of all kinds -are fetching fabulous prices in Port Phillip. By the bye, how -is Dr. Fane? His store cattle are now worth more than the -Benmohr fat cattle used to be.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘We had Vera here for a whole month,’ said Rosamond. -‘She is the dearest and best girl in the whole world, I believe, -and so handsome we all think her. She said her father had -sold a lot of cattle at a fine price, and if he didn’t spend all -the money in books, they would be placed in easy circumstances.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>As Wilfred paced the verandah, smoking the ante-slumber -pipe—a habit he had rather confirmed during his journeyings -and campings—he could not but contrast the delicious sense -of peaceful stillness with much of the life he had lately led. -All was calm repose—amid the peaceful landscape. No -possibility here of the wild shout—the midnight onset—as -little, perhaps, of lawless deeds as in their half-forgotten -<span class='pageno' id='Page_369'>369</span>English home. A truly luxurious relief, after the rude -habitudes and painful anxieties of their pioneer life.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The night’s sound sleep seemed to have concentrated the -repose of a week, when Wilfred awoke to discover that all -outer life was painted in rose tints. That portion of the herd -which had been left behind had profited by the unshared -pasturage to such an extent that they resembled a fresh -variety. Daisy and her progeny looked nearly as large as -shorthorns, and extreme prices had been offered for them, -old Andrew averred, by the cattle-dealers that now overspread -the land.</p> - -<p class='c001'>A field of wheat, by miraculous means ploughed and -harrowed, since the Hegira, promised an abundant crop.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Weel, aweel!’ said Andrew, who now appeared bearing -two overflowing buckets of milk, ‘ye have been graciously -spared to return from yon fearsome wilderness, like Ca-aleb -and Joshua. And to think o’ that puir laddie, juist fa’en a -prey to thae Amalekites, stricken through wi’ a spear, like -A-absolom! Maist unco-omon—ane shall be taen and the -t’ither left. It’s a gra-and country, I’m hearin’.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘The finest country you ever set eyes on, Andrew. The -Chase seems a mere farm after it. If it was not for the -family, I should soon pack up and go back there.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I wadna doot. Rovin’ and rampa-agin’ aboot the waste -places o’ the yearth is aye easy to learn. But ye’ll ken yer -duty to yer forebears and the young leddies, Maister Wilfred, -no’ to tak’ them frae this douce-like hame.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh yes, I know,’ said Wilfred. ‘Of course I shall stay -here, and shall be very happy and make lots of money again. -All the same, it’s a wonderful new country. Half the people -here will be wanting to get away when they hear about -it. But how did you get this fine crop of wheat put in without -working bullocks? I’m afraid, Andrew, you must have -been taking a leaf out of Dick Evans’s book, and using other -people’s cattle.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Weel, aweel!’ said Andrew, looking doubtful, ‘I winna -deny that there micht be some makin’ free wi’ ither folks’ -beasties. But they were juist fair savin’ their lives wi’ oor -grass parks, and when the rain fell, it was a case o’ needcessity -to till the land, noo that the famine was past.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>With regard to the ‘fatal maid,’ Wilfred Effingham had -<span class='pageno' id='Page_370'>370</span>much difficulty in reaching a determination worthy of a man -who prided himself upon acting on logically defensible -grounds. He was by no means too certain, either, that he -could lay claim to Miss Christabel’s undivided affections. -So much of her heart as she had to give, he suspected was -bestowed upon Bob Clarke. If that were so, she would cling -to him with the headlong hero-worship with which a woman -invests the lover of her girlhood, more particularly if he -happens to be ill-provided with this world’s goods.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The result of all this introspection was that Wilfred, like -many other men, sought refuge in delay. There was no need -of forcing on the decision. He had work to do at home for -months to come. And the marriage question might be advantageously -postponed.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Unpacking his valise after breakfast, he produced a -number of newspapers, the which, as being better employed, -he had not opened. Now, in the leisure of the home circle, -the important journals were disclosed. Each one, provincially -hungry for news, seized upon one of the messengers from -the outer world. ‘Ha!’ said Wilfred suddenly, ‘what is -this? Colonel Glendinning, of the Irregular Horse, desperately -wounded. Wonderful gallantry displayed by him. -Chivalrous sortie from cantonments. Why, this must be our -Major, poor fellow!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>He was interrupted by a faint cry from Beatrice, and -looking round he saw that she had grown deadly pale. He -had just time to catch her fainting form in his arms. But -she was not a girl who easily surrendered herself to her -emotions. Rousing herself, she looked around with a piteous -yet resolved expression, and with an effort collected her -mental forces.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Mother,’ she said, ‘I must go where <em>he</em> is. Tell my -father that I have always deferred to his wishes, but that now -I <em>must</em> join him—I feel responsible for his life. Had I but -conquered my pride, a word from me would have kept him -here. And now he is dying—after deeds of reckless daring. -But I must go; I will die with him, if I cannot save him.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Dearest Beatrice, there is no need to excite yourself,’ said -the fond yet prudent mother. ‘You have only to go to -your father. He will consent to all that is reasonable. I -myself think it is your duty to go. Major Glendinning is -<span class='pageno' id='Page_371'>371</span>severely wounded, but good nursing may bring him round. -I wish you had a companion.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Where could you have a better one than Mrs. Snowden?’ -cried Annabel hastily. ‘She said she half thought of going -home by India, and I know she does not care which route -she takes. She has been there before, and knows all about -the route. If papa would only make up his mind to go, half -the trouble would be off his mind, and he would enjoy the -voyage.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘There could not be a more favourable time, my dear -sir,’ said Wilfred in the family council at a later hour. ‘I -shall be here now. It is a matter of life and death to poor -Beatrice as well as to the Colonel. You had better arrange -to start by the first vessel, and to bring back some Arab -horses on your return.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘It is the only thing to be done,’ said Rosamond, who -had just returned from her sister’s room. ‘I wouldn’t answer -for Beatrice’s reason if she is compelled to wait here. She -has repressed her feelings until now, and the reaction is -terrible. It is most fortunate that Mrs. Snowden is ready to -leave Australia.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Subjected to the family pressure, aided by the promptings -of his own heart, Mr. Effingham was powerless to resist. The -acclimatisation question was artfully brought up. He at once -yielded, and before the evening was over, a letter was in the -mail-bag, requesting their Sydney agent to take passages by -the first outward-bound boat for India, and to advise by post, -or special messenger, if necessary.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Beatrice, informed of this determination, gradually recovered -that calmness allied to despair which simulates resignation. -She busied herself unweariedly in preparation for -the voyage, cherishing the hope of soothing the last hours of -her lover, if indeed it was denied her, to watch over his -return to the world of love and hope.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Mrs. Snowden arrived on the following day, and cordially -acceded to the proposition made to her, to share the -adventures of the voyage and of Indian travel.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘If you knew,’ she said, ‘how grateful I feel for the -opportunity of changing the scene of my sorrows and being -of use to my friends after this lonely life of mine, you would -not thank me. I would go many a mile by sea or land to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_372'>372</span>nurse the Major myself. Between me and Beatrice he will -be well looked after.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>All circumstances seemed favourably shaped for the -errand of mercy. A ship was about to sail for China, whence -the opium clippers might be trusted for a swift run to the -historic land. Almost before the news of the intended -journey had reached Yass, so that the parson could drive -over and express his entire concurrence with the arrangement, -the little party had set out for Sydney.</p> - -<hr class='c013' /> - -<p class='c001'>In the fulness of time the very last evening, before the -Rockley family left Yass, arrived. All the party from The -Chase had been in to say good-bye, and had returned. Some -mysterious business kept Wilfred in town, and that special -evening he of course spent at Rockley Lodge.</p> - -<p class='c001'>For it was not to be supposed that, on that momentous -evening, the family declined to see their friends. In the -‘Maison Rockley’ the head of the house was so absorbed in -his business pursuits that, except at dinner-time, and for an -hour after, he could hardly be said to possess any family life -whatever. He was grateful, therefore, for the presence of -such friends who would take the burden of domesticity, in -part, off his hands, and made no scruple of expressing, in the -family circle, his thanks for such services.</p> - -<p class='c001'>It so turned out that, on this particular morning, he had -found time, for once in a way, to give his daughter an earnest -lecture about her ridiculous fancy, as he termed it, for Bob -Clarke; a young fellow who, without any harm in him, would -never come to much, or make any money worth speaking of, -seeing that he was far too fond of those confounded horses, -out of which no man had ever extracted anything but ruin, -in Australia. That they had never heard a word from him -for ever so long; most probably he was flirting away in -Tasmania, and did not cast a thought upon her. And here -was Wilfred Effingham, than whom he did not know a finer -fellow anywhere—steady, clever, a man of family, and in -every way desirable. If he liked her, Christabel—he couldn’t -say whether he did or not, he had no time to trouble about such -rubbish—why didn’t she take him, and have done with it, and -settle down creditably for the rest of her life, instead of wasting -her time and vexing her friends?—and so on—and so on.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_373'>373</span>Christabel wept piteously during this paternal admonition, -delivered, as usual, with a loud voice and a fierce expression -of countenance, but had gone away reflecting that although -she was, so to speak, badly treated in this instance, yet, as -she had succeeded in getting her own way all her life, she -probably might enjoy a reasonable portion of it in the -future.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Meanwhile, being fairly malleable and of the texture which -is bent by circumstances, she began to consider, when alone -in her room, whether there was not something of reason in -her father’s arguments. Here she was placed in the position -of only having to accept. Of the true nature of Wilfred’s -feelings she herself had little doubt. There is something, too, -not wholly without temptation to the female heart in the -unconditional surrender of the lover, then and there urging his -suit. There may be also a wild impulse to accept the inevitable, -and thus for ever extinguish the uneasiness of anxiety -and suspended judgment.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Then, Wilfred Effingham was very good-looking—fair -perhaps in complexion, and she did not admire fair men, but -brown-bearded, well-featured, manly. All the girls voted him -‘so nice-looking,’ and the men invariably spoke of him as a -good fellow. He was well off; he would have The Chase -some day, and she would be the great lady of the Yass district, -with her carriage and her servants; could entertain -<em>really</em> well. She would also, beyond doubt, be envied by all -her schoolfellows and girl friends.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The prospect was tempting. She thought of Bob’s dark -eyes, and their passionate look when he last said good-bye. -She thought of the happy days when he rode at her bridle-rein, -and would lean over to whisper the cheery nonsense that -amused her. She thought of the thrill at her heart, the -strange deadness in every pulse, when The Outlaw went -down, and they lifted Bob up, pale and motionless; of her -joy when he appeared next day on the course, with his arm -in a sling, but with eyes as bright and smile as pleasant as -ever. These were dangerous memories. But they were boy -and girl then. Now she was a woman, who must think of -prudence and the wishes of her parents.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Then Bob would be poor for many a day, if, indeed, he ever -rose to fortune. Through her heart passed the uneasy dread, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_374'>374</span>which gently-nurtured women have, of the unlovely side of -poverty, of shifts and struggles, of work and privation—of a -small house and bad servants, of indifferent dresses, and few -thereof. Such thoughts came circling up, like birds of evil -aspect and omen, ready to cluster round the corse of the -slain Eros.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>Les absens sont toujours torts</em></span>, says the worldly adage. In -his absence, the advocacy for Bob Clarke was perhaps less -brave and persistent than it would otherwise have been. The -girl strove to harden her heart, by clinging to the prudent side -of the case, and recalling her father’s angry denunciations of -any other course than an affirmative reply to Wilfred Effingham, -should he this night tell her the real purport of his constant -visits.</p> - -<p class='c001'>He himself had resolved to risk his fate on this last throw -of the dice, and so far everything assisted his plans. Mr. -Rockley was in an unusually genial frame of mind at dinner—cordial, -of course, as ever, but unnaturally patient under contradiction -and the delays consequent upon the cook’s -unsettled condition. Mrs. Rockley excused herself after that -meal as having household matters to arrange. But Christabel, -whose domestic responsibilities had always been of the faintest, -was at liberty to remain and entertain Mr. Effingham and her -father, indeed she was better out of the way at the present -crisis. Wilfred had no thought of leaving early in order to -accommodate his friends in their presumed state of bustle and -derangement, for it was one of those rare households where -visitors never seem to be in the way. None of the feminine -heads of departments were fussy, anxious, ‘put out,’ or had -such pressing cares that visitors came short of consideration.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Mrs. Rockley’s talent for organisation was such that no one -seemed in a hurry, yet nothing was left undone. The house -was nearly always full of inmates and visitors, male and -female, with or without children. Still, wonder of wonders, -there was never any awkwardness or failure of successful -entertainment. Rockley, personally, scoffed at the idea of -being responsible for the slightest share of household management. -He merely exacted the most complete punctuality, -cookery, house-room and attendance for the ceaseless flow of -guests, the cost of which he furnished, to do him justice, -ungrudgingly. Whatever might need to be done next day -<span class='pageno' id='Page_375'>375</span>(if the whole family, indeed, had been ordered for execution, -as Horace Bower said), William Rockley would have dined -and conversed cheerfully over his wine, suggested a little -music (for the benefit of others), smoked his cigar in the -verandah, and mocked at the idea of any guest being incommoded -by the probably abrupt translation of the family, or -going away a moment before the regulation midnight hour.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Therefore, when Rockley told him that he hoped he was -not going to run away a moment before the usual time for -any nonsensical idea of being in the way because they were -starting for Port Phillip on the next day (what the deuce had -that got to do with it, he should like to know?), Wilfred -fully comprehended the <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>bona fides</em></span> of the request, and prepared -himself to make the most of a <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>tête-à-tête</em></span> with Miss C. -Rockley, if such should be on the cards.</p> - -<p class='c001'>So it came to pass that while Mr. Rockley and Wilfred -were lounging in the Cingalese arm-chairs, which still adorned -the verandah, Christabel betook herself to the piano, -whence she evoked a succession of dreamy nocturnes and -melancholy reveries which sighed through the hushed night -air as though they were the wailings of the Lares and Penates -mourning for their dispossession.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Bowerdale hasn’t turned up,’ said Rockley abruptly. -‘The <cite>Rebecca</cite> has never been heard of. She sailed the day -we left Melbourne. Queer things presentiments. You remember -his saying he felt hypped, don’t you?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Yes, quite well. What an awful pity that he should have -persisted in going by her—after your warning, too!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Didn’t like to lose his passage-money, poor fellow!’ continued -the sympathising Rockley. ‘I’d have settled that for -him quick enough, but he wasn’t the sort of man to let any -one pay for him. Leaves a wife and children too. Well, -we must see what can be done. Fortune of war might have -been our case if I hadn’t taken Jackson’s measure so closely.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Happy to think you did,’ said Wilfred, with natural gratitude. -‘If you had not been so determined about the matter, -I should have risked the sea-voyage. I was tired of land-travelling.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘We should all have been with “Davy Jones” now. No -cigars, eh? This claret’s better than salt water? I suppose -we all have our work to do in this world; mine is not half -<span class='pageno' id='Page_376'>376</span>done yet; yours scarcely begun. By Jove! I forgot to leave -word at the office about my Sydney address—where to send all -the confounded packages, about a thousand of them. I’ll run -down and see that put straight. Don’t you go till I come back. -Tell Mrs. Rockley she must have a little supper ready for us.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Rockley lighted a fresh cigar and plunged into the night, -while Wilfred lost no time in repairing to the piano, which he -managed to persuade the fair performer to quit for the -verandah, under the assumption that the room was warm, and -the night air balmy in comparison.</p> - -<p class='c001'>For a while they walked to and fro on the cool freestone -pavement, talking on indifferent subjects, while Wilfred gazed -steadfastly into the girl’s marvellous eyes, ever and anon -flashing under the soft moon-rays, as if he could read her -very soul. She was dressed that evening in a pale-hued -Indian muslin, which but partly veiled the exquisite graces of -her form. How well he remembered it in after-days! There -was a languor in her movements, a soft cadence in the tone -of her voice, a quicker sympathy in her replies to his low-toned -speech, which in some indefinable manner encouraged -him to hope. He drew the lounges together, and telling her -she needed rest, sat by her side.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You are really going away,’ he said; ‘no more last farewells, -and Heaven knows when we shall meet again. I feel -unutterably mournful at the idea of parting from your mother, -Mr. Rockley—and—yourself. My sisters were in the depths -of despair yesterday. I don’t think it affects <em>you</em> in the least.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Why should you think I am hard hearted?’ asked the girl -as she raised herself slightly, and leaning her face on her -hand, curving the while her lovely rounded arm, looked up in -his face with the pleading look of a spoiled child. ‘Do you -suppose it is so pleasant to me to leave our home, where I have -lived all my life, and travel to a new place where we know -nobody—that is, hardly any one?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘How we all—how I,’ said Wilfred, ‘shall miss these -pleasant evenings! How many a one have I spent in your -father’s house since we first met! I can safely say that I -have never been so kindly treated under any roof in the -whole world. As to your father, my dear old governor has -always been too good, but I scarcely think he could do more -for me than Mr. Rockley has done.’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_377'>377</span>‘Papa is always kind, that is, to people whom he likes,’ -said Christabel with an absent indifference, as if Mr. Rockley’s -philanthropy and irritability, his energy and his hospitality, -were qualities of much the same social value.</p> - -<p class='c001'>At that moment the moonbeam was darkened by a passing -cloud, and Wilfred drew nearer to the girl until he could -almost feel her breath upon his hair, and hear her heart -palpitate beneath the delicate fabric of her dress.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Christabel,’ he said, ‘ask your heart this night whether I -am right in hoping that you will not accompany your parents -to this rude settlement. Here you are known, honoured—yes, -loved! Why leave one who would cherish you while -life lasted?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Christabel Rockley spoke not nor moved, but she cast her -eyes down, till in the clear light the long dark lashes could -be seen fringing her cheek. Her bosom heaved—she made -no sign.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Christabel,’ he murmured, ‘darling Christabel, I have -long loved you, fondly, passionately. One word will make -me the happiest of living men. Bow but your head in token -that you grant my prayer, and I will take it as a sign from -Heaven. Stay with my mother till she embraces you as a -loved daughter. Only say the word. Will you try to return, -in your own good time, my deep, my unalterable love?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>She raised her head and looked fixedly at him as he -stood there, the embodiment of love’s last appeal, in the -direct path of the moon’s rays. His face and form, instinct -with strong emotion, seemed glorified by the flood of light in -which it was encircled.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I can hardly tell,’ she said. ‘I have been trying to -think—asking myself if I can give you my heart, and this -pale face of mine, that you set so much value on—foolish -boy! I think I may, in a little while, if you will bear with -me, but I would rather not say, for good and all, just at this -moment. You <em>will</em> give me more time, won’t you? Ah! -what is that?’ she suddenly broke off, with almost a shriek, -as the roll of horse-hoofs smote clearly through the still night -air upon the senses, almost upon the overwrought hearts of -the listeners. ‘Who can it be? Surely it isn’t papa riding -back on the warehouse-keeper’s cob?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Not so. The hoofs of no mortal cob ever rang upon turf -<span class='pageno' id='Page_378'>378</span>or roadway with the long, regular strokes of the steed of the -coming horseman.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘A thoroughbred horse!’ said Wilfred. ‘Tired, too, by -his rolling stride. Whoever can it be at this time of night?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Then he saw Christabel’s pale cheek faintly flush. How -lovely was the warmer tint as it stole from cheek to brow, -while her eye sparkled afresh like a lamp relumed. ‘Only -one person is likely to come here to-night to say good-bye to -us,’ she almost whispered. ‘I did not think he would take -the trouble. Oh, it can’t be——’</p> - -<p class='c001'>As she spoke, the clattering hoofs ceased abruptly at the -garden gate. A hasty step was heard on the gravel, and -Bob Clarke, pale as death and haggard with fatigue, stood -before them.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I swore I would say good-bye,’ he said. ‘So I am here, -you see. I have ridden a hundred miles to do it. Ha! -Effingham! Back from Port Phillip? Christabel Rockley, -answer me—am I too late?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh, Bob!’ she cried, and as she spoke she rose and -stood by his side, taking one hand in both of hers. ‘You -are not too late. But you will have to forgive me, and you, -too, Wilfred Effingham, for being a silly girl that did not -know her own mind. It would have served you right, Master -Bob, and it will be a lesson to you not to put off important -business. If Desborough had gone lame—I suppose it is -he, poor fellow, that you have nearly ridden to death—you -would have lost Christabel Rockley for good and all, whatever -she may be worth. I was not sure, and papa was angry. -But I am now—<em>I am now</em>. Oh, Bob, my dear old Bob, I -will wait for you till I am a hundred if you don’t make a -fortune before!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Bob Clarke looked doubtfully from one face to the other, -scrutinising Wilfred’s with a fierce, questioning glance. But -as their eyes met he saw that which quenched all jealous -fears.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘My dear fellow,’ said Wilfred, coming forward and holding -out his hand, ‘you have had your usual luck and “won on -the post.” I congratulate you heartily, on my honour, as a -man and a gentleman. Christabel has freely told you that -but for your opportune arrival her hand might have been -disposed of differently. You won’t wonder that any man -<span class='pageno' id='Page_379'>379</span>should do his best to win her. But from my soul I can now -rejoice that it was not so; that I have been spared the discovery, -when too late, that her heart was yours—yours alone. -Look upon me now as your lifelong friend. Let us keep our -own counsel, and all will go well.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Wilfred Effingham has spoken like himself,’ said -Christabel, whose features were now illuminated with the -pure light of love that knows neither doubt nor diffidence in -the presence of the beloved one. ‘You see, I should have -had some excuse, Bob, if I had thrown you over, you procrastinating -old stupid. Why did you leave me doubting and -wondering all this time? However, I shall have plenty of -time to scold you. Here comes papa at last.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>At this simple announcement the three faces changed as -the well-known step of Mr. Rockley was heard—firm, rapid, -aggressive. But the girl’s features, at first troubled, gradually -assumed a steadfast look. Bob Clarke raised his head, and -drew himself up as if scanning the line of country. Wilfred -Effingham’s countenance wore the abstracted look of one -raised by unselfish aims above ordinary considerations.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I thought I should never get away from that confounded -old idiot,’ Mr. Rockley commenced. ‘Why, Bob Clarke! -where have you sprung from? We heard you had gone to -Port Phillip, or Adelaide, or somewhere; very glad to see -you, wherever you came from. Better stay to-night; we can -give you a bed. Why the deuce didn’t you take your horse -round to the stable instead of letting the poor devil stand -tied up at the gate after the ride he seems to have had? -Christabel, perhaps you’ll tell them to bring in supper. I -feel both hungry and thirsty—giving directions, directions, -till I’m hoarse.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Christabel glided away, whereupon Bob Clarke faced round -squarely and confronted his host.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Mr. Rockley, I came here to-night to tell you two things. -I apologise for being so late, but I only heard you were -leaving yesterday. I have ridden a hundred miles to-day.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Just like you,’ said Rockley; ‘and why the deuce didn’t -you make them send you in supper all this time? You look -as if you hadn’t saved yourself any more than your horse.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Truth to tell, Master Bob <em>was</em> rather pale, and his eyes -looked unnaturally bright as he bent them upon the speaker.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_380'>380</span>‘Plenty of time afterwards, sir,’ he said; ‘the business -was important. First of all, Mr. Hampden has given me -a partnership, and I am going to take up country in Port -Phillip under the firm of Hampden and Clarke. The cattle -are drafted and started—five hundred head of picked Herefords—Joe -Curle is with them, and young Warner. I’m going -by sea to be ready for them when they come over.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I’m sincerely glad to hear it, my dear Bob,’ said Rockley -in his most cordial manner—one peculiar to him when he -had become aware of something to another man’s advantage. -‘Why, you had better come down with us this week in the -<cite>Mary Anne</cite>. I’ve chartered her, and she is crammed full, -but, of course, I can give any one a passage. I can’t tell -you how glad I am. Mrs. Rockley!’ he cried out as that -well-beloved matron appeared and held out her hand with a -smile of good omen to the not fully reassured Bob, ‘are we -never to have anything to eat to-night? Here’s Bob Clarke -has ridden a hundred and fifty miles, and dying of hunger -before your eyes; but, of course, of course’—here he changed -into a tragic tone of injury—‘if I’m not to be master in my -own house——’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Mrs. Rockley, with her placid countenance, only relieved -by a glance at Wilfred, swiftly withdrew, and Rockley, to -whom it had suddenly occurred as he looked at Wilfred -that complications might arise from his subjecting his -daughter to the perilous companionship of a sea-voyage -with so noted a detrimental as Bob Clarke, looked like a -hound that had outrun the scent, desirous of trying back, -but not quite certain of his line.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Well, Bob, I am sure you will do well in Port Phillip; -you have had lots of experience, and no man can work -harder when he likes, I will say that for you; but it’s a fast -place, a very fast place, I tell you, sir; and if you give -yourself up to that confounded racing and steeplechasing, I -know what will come of it.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Mr. Rockley,’ said Bob again, with the air of a man -who steadies his horse at a rasper, ‘I came to ask you for -your daughter. I know I’ve not done much so far, but she -likes me, and I feel I shall be successful in life or go to the -devil—according to your answer this night.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Mr. Rockley looked first at one and then at the other -<span class='pageno' id='Page_381'>381</span>of his young friends in much astonishment. This surprise -was so great that for once he was unable to give vent to his -ideas.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Before he could gather self-possession, Wilfred Effingham -spoke. ‘My dear Rockley, from circumstances which have -come to my knowledge, but which I am in honour bound not -to reveal, I can assure you that your daughter’s happiness -is deeply concerned in my friend Clarke’s proposal. As a -friend of the family—who takes the deepest interest in her -future welfare—let me beg of you to give the matter your -most favourable consideration.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Mr. Rockley’s face passed through the phases of wild -astonishment and strong disapproval before he replied. It -had then relaxed into one of humorous enlightenment.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I see how it is. That monkey, Christabel, has enlisted -you on her side. Well, I tell you both that I should have -preferred Wilfred Effingham as my son-in-law. I am not -going to hide my opinion on that or any other subject. But -as she has made her choice, I will not—I say I will not—make -her life miserable. Not that I have any objection to -you, Bob, my boy, except on the score of that confounded -horse-racing. It’s very well in its way. No man enjoys a -race more than I do; but it’s not the thing for a young -fellow who has his way to make in the world.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I’ll never own another race-horse,’ quoth Bob, with -desperate self-renunciation, ‘as long as I live, if——’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh yes, you will,’ said Mr. Rockley, with superior forecast; -‘but what I want you to do is to promise not to go -head and shoulders into it for the next few years, when -you’ll have all your work cut out for you, if you want to be -a man and make a home for your wife and family. Well, -it’s done now, and here’s my hand, my boy; you’ve got a -good little girl, if she is a pretty one. But take my advice, -don’t give her too much of her own way at the beginning. -Show that you intend to be master from the start, <em>put her -down</em> if she shows temper; when she gives in, you can be -as kind to her as you like afterwards. Better that than for -her to have the whip-hand. Women don’t understand -moderation. That was always my way, wasn’t it, Bessie?’ -he inquired, appealing to Mrs. Rockley, who having entered -the room had come in for this piece of practical advice, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_382'>382</span>delivered in a loud tone of voice. ‘I’ve been giving your -future son-in-law—there he is; I know he is a favourite of -yours; you needn’t say he isn’t—a useful piece of advice, -which I hope he’ll have the sense to act up to. Supper -ready in the next room? I fancy we’re all in want of a -little refreshment; what do you think, Bob?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>That gentleman had private ideas upon the subject, but -did not disclose them further than by looking over at Mrs. -Rockley, and giving practical effect to the suggestion.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>partie carré</em></span> enjoyed a cheerful but not very conversational -repast. Wilfred and Bob Clarke felt more disposed -to drink than to eat. Neither had much to say, so Rockley -had it all his own way with Port Phillip speculations, advice -to Bob Clarke of where to go for first-class cattle country, -and how to manage economically for the first few years. -Mrs. Rockley was tired, but found a few reassuring words -for the anxious Bob, explaining that Christabel had a -headache, but would be sure to be quite well in the morning. -She also indicated her sympathy with Wilfred, and her -approval of his generosity in backing up his rival’s claim. -This, she assured him, she nor Christabel would ever forget.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Finally, Mr. Rockley looked at his watch in the midst of -a suggestion to buy more cattle on Hampden’s account and -take up two or three runs, inasmuch as it was all one trouble -and not much more expense; when, discovering that it was -past midnight, he broke up the parliament. Wilfred made his -final adieus, and at daylight was fast leaving the town behind -him, on his way to The Chase, accompanied by divers -‘companions of Sintram,’ in the guise of vain regret and -dull despair, with also (though not unalloyed) a curious sense -of relief.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Taking the most philosophical view of the subject, the -after-taste of refusal by a woman is rarely exceeded in this -life for corroding bitterness. The non-preference of oneself, -to the average suitor, fills the individual, unless he be free -from every tinge of vanity, with wrath and disgust. In vain -the proverbial salve is applied by superficial comforters. The -foiled fisherman will not be consoled. He will throw away -his flies and burn his rod. Henceforth he and angling have -parted for ever. Such in effect for a while is the lament of -most men who have the evil hap to pin so much of their -<span class='pageno' id='Page_383'>383</span>present and prospective happiness upon one cast—and lose -it. The proud man suffers deeply, in secret. The selfish -man mourns for the loss of personal gain. The true and -manly lover is shaken to the centre of his being. The vain -man is wroth exceedingly with childish anger; furious that -any woman should disdain him—<em>him</em>! The susceptible, -fickle suitor, who promptly bears his incense to another -shrine, is to be envied, if not commended. But</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>To each his sufferings, all are men,</div> - <div class='line'>Condemned alike to groan.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c001'>Who loves vainly is stricken with a poisoned arrow. The -wound rankles in the flesh of every son of Adam, oft producing -anguish, even unto death, long after the apparent -hurt is healed.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Wilfred Effingham was not more than ordinarily vain. -He had not been, in so many words, rejected. Indeed, he -had been nearly accepted. But he could not disguise from -himself that it amounted to much the same thing. Yet he -reflected that he had cause to be thankful that the girl had -not been permitted to complete the measure of her self-deception—to -promise her hand where she could not truly -have given her heart. Better far, a thousand times, that -this should have happened beforehand, he thought, ‘than -that I should have seen after marriage the look that came -into her eyes when they rested on Bob Clarke.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>He did not admit that permanent injury to his health -would result from this defeat. It was not a crushing disaster, -from which he could never rally. Rather was it a sharp -repulse, useful in teaching caution. Brave men, great men, -had profited by blows like this ere now. He would retire -within his entrenchments—would perhaps be the better -fitted to take the field in a future campaign.</p> - -<p class='c001'>A necessity lay upon him of acquainting his family with a -portion, at any rate, of such momentous events. He did -not go too deeply into his feelings for Christabel Rockley, -yet permitted his mother and sisters to perceive that all -probability of her appearing at The Chase as Mrs. Effingham, -junior, was swept away by arrangement with Bob Clarke—duly -ratified by the irrevocable if reluctant consent of Mr. -Rockley.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_384'>384</span>His condition of mind was, doubtless, closely gauged by -his relatives. With instinctive delicacy they ministered -indirectly to his hurt spirit. While not displeased that the -lovely Christabel had not appropriated the beloved, their -Wilfred, they never permitted him to perceive how widely -their estimate differed from his own. They counselled steady -occupation, and led him to take pleasure once more in -intellectual pursuits.</p> - -<p class='c001'>A diversion, happily, was effected in due time. He -commenced to discover that his mental appetite had returned—that -he could read once more and even <em>laugh</em> occasionally -at the conceits of authors, much indeed as if his heart had -not been broken. Then letters with good news from -Beatrice and her father arrived. The voyage had been safe -and speedy. On their arrival they had found the Colonel—such -was his present rank—better than their fears had led -them to expect. Ghastly and numerous, in all truth, were -his still unhealed wounds; his state of weakness pitiable to -see. But the fever from which he had suffered had left him. -And when the eyes of the sick soldier met those of Beatrice -Effingham, beaming upon him with a world of love and -tenderness, all felt that a stage on the way to recovery had -been reached. Such, too, came to be the opinion of the -doctor and nurse, a portion of whose duties the two ladies -had assumed.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Then letters came from the new country, <span lang="la" xml:lang="la"><em>via</em></span> Port -Phillip:—‘The climate was more moist than that of New -South Wales, but the water never failed, and the grass was -beyond all description. Immigrants from all the world -were pouring in fast; the place bade fair to be another -Britain. Money was being made rapidly. Stock were any -price you chose to ask. A cattle trade was springing up -with Tasmania. Argyll thought he would go home for a -couple of years, leaving Hamilton in charge. Fred Churbett -was in great form, fully convinced that he was intended -for a dweller in the waste places of the earth. He felt so -happy and contented that he didn’t think he would take a -free passage to England, with a season box at the Royal -Opera, if it were offered to him.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>As for Guy, all written symbols were inadequate to -express the length, breadth, and depth of his happiness under -<span class='pageno' id='Page_385'>385</span>the new and romantic conditions. The cattle were doing -splendidly—no one would know them. And no wonder—the -feed was unparalleled. He had got up two good slab huts, -a stock-yard, and a calf-pen. They were now splitting rails for -a horse paddock.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The Port Phillip news (from Guy) became presently more -sensational. The Benmohr people, with Ardmillan, Churbett, -and the rest, had arranged to leave their stations for a while, -and come to Yass for Christmas. A better time to get -away might never come. There was no chance of bush-fires. -The blacks were quiet. The cattle were thoroughly -broken in; you couldn’t drive them off the runs if you tried. -There was nothing to do this year but brand calves. So -they would turn up before Christmas Day.</p> - -<p class='c001'>He didn’t think he would have been able to get away, but -Jack Donnelly had offered to look after the run in his -absence, and with old Tom there, no harm could come to -the cattle. A couple of months would see them back, and -he really thought they deserved a holiday.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Such intelligence had power to renovate the morale of the -whole household, from Mrs. Effingham—who, in good sooth, -had with difficulty kept up a reasonably cheerful appearance, -in default of her absent husband and daughter—down to -Mrs. Evans, expectant of the errant Dick.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Jeanie and Andrew were overjoyed at the tidings, and -Duncan was at once despatched to Benmohr to acquaint -Mrs. Teviot and Wullie with the glorious news, in case they -had not as yet received a letter. But they had; and Mrs. -Teviot threatened Duncan with the broom for daring to think -‘her gentlemen wadna acquent her the vara meenute they -kenned they could win hame to Benmohr.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Comes then a letter from Sternworth. News had been -received from O’Desmond, who had discovered a splendid -tract of country beyond the lower Oxley marshes, hitherto -considered impassable, and after remaining upon it during -the winter and spring, was coming back to Badajos. <em>He</em> too -hoped to arrive before Christmas. The long-vacant homes -of the district would be again filled up, thank God!</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Won’t it be delightful to see dear Guy again,’ said -Annabel, ‘and to have the old house full once more, with -friends and neighbours. I <em>must</em> kiss one of them. Mr. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_386'>386</span>Churbett, I think. You would not object to that, mamma, -would you?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘<em>He</em> would not,’ said Wilfred. ‘I don’t wonder that you -and Rosamond are delighted at the chance of seeing their -faces again. It seems hard that fate should have decided to -separate us. Either they should have remained here, or we -should have pulled up stakes, like Rockley, and migrated -there.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘There is another friend coming that I shall be charmed -to welcome—whom, like Annabel, I shall be ready to embrace, -and indeed <em>shall</em> kiss on the spot.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Is my last belief in womanhood to be uprooted?’ exclaimed -Wilfred languidly. ‘Is my immaculate sister Rosamond -actually going to join the “fast” division?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You need not be alarmed,’ she replied. ‘It is only -Vera Fane; and I did not speak of her visit before, because I -was not sure she would be able to come.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Vera Fane!’ said Wilfred. ‘How does she happen to -come our way? I thought she was in Sydney. Didn’t -some one say she was going to be married?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh, to that handsome cousin, Reginald, that came from -England, <span lang="la" xml:lang="la"><em>via</em></span> Melbourne, the other day. You heard that, did -you? So did we, and were agonised at the thought of losing -her for good. But she is coming up here at mamma’s -invitation, given long ago, to stay with us over January. -Her father won’t be at Black Mountain till then; he can’t -leave Norman, who has had a bad time with scarlet fever.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Well, you will have another lady in the house to fill -Beatrice’s place, and help to amuse your guests. She is -quite equal to a pair of ordinary young ladies in the matter -of rational conversation, perhaps more.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘So Mr. Argyll thinks, evidently,’ said Annabel; ‘he paid -her the <em>greatest</em> attention once he met her over here. I -know she thinks him very clever and distinguished-looking. -They would suit one another famously.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I don’t think so at all,’ said Wilfred shortly. ‘But I -must get away to my work.’</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_387'>387</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XXVI <br /> THE RETURN FROM PALESTINE</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>Matters had been pleasant enough in the early days at Lake -William, and the Benmohr men considered that nothing could -be more perfect than their old life there. But this new region -was so much more extensive, with a half-unknown grandeur, -rendering existence more picturesque and exciting in every -way. There were possibilities of fortunes being made, of -cities being built, of a great Dominion in the future—vast -though formless visions, which dwarfed the restricted aims of -the elder colony. Such aspirations tended to dissuade them -from residing permanently in their former homesteads.</p> - -<p class='c001'>But they were coming back for a last visit—a long farewell. -There were friends to see, adventures to relate, transactions -to arrange. A pleasant change from their wild-wood life, an -intoxicating novelty; but once experienced, they must depart -to return no more.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The absentees did not await Christmas proper, but arrived -beforehand, having tempted the main in the yacht <cite>Favourite</cite>, -sailing master Commodore Kirsopp, R.N., from Melbourne. -Such passengers as Ned White, Jack Fletcher, Tom Carne, -and Alick Gambier offered such an irresistible combination.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Once more the homesteads around Lake William appeared -to awaken and put on their former hospitable expression. -Mrs. Teviot had scrubbed and burnished away at Benmohr, -until when ‘her gentlemen’ arrived, welcomed with tears of -joy, they declared themselves afraid to take possession of -their own house, so magnificently furnished and spotlessly -clean did it appear to them after their backwoods experience.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Mr. Churbett stood gazing at his books in speechless -<span class='pageno' id='Page_388'>388</span>admiration (he averred) for half an hour; afterwards inspecting -his stable and Grey Surrey’s loose-box with feelings of -wonder and appreciation. Neil Barrington declared that he -was again a schoolboy at home for the holidays, not a day -older than fourteen, and thereupon indulged himself in so -many pranks and privileges proper to his assumed age that -Mrs. Teviot scolded him for a graceless laddie, and threatened -to box his ears, particularly when he kissed her assistant, an -apple-cheeked damsel lured from one of the neighbouring -farms in order to help in her work at this tremendous -crisis.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Guy Effingham was hardly recognisable, so his sisters -declared, in the stalwart youngster who galloped up to The -Chase in company with Gerald O’More, whom he had invited -to spend Christmas in his father’s house. There was the old -mischievous, merry expression of the eyes, the frank smile for -those he loved; but all save his forehead was burned several -shades darker, and a thick-coming growth of whisker and -moustache had changed the boyish lineaments and placed in -their stead the sterner regard of manhood.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Gerald O’More had also sustained a change. His manner -was more subdued, and his spirits, though ready as of old to -respond to the call of mirth, did not seem to be so irrepressible. -He had altered somewhat in figure and face, having -lost the fulness which marks the newly-arrived colonist, and -along with the British fairness of complexion, sacrificed to -the Australian sun, had put away the half-inquiring, half-critical -tone of manner that characterises the immigrant -Briton for his first year in Australia. He now ranked as the -soldier who had shared in the toil, the bivouac, the marches -of the campaign; no longer a recruit or supernumerary.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘He has never been so jolly since poor Hubert’s death,’ -whispered Guy to Rosamond in their first confidential talk. -‘He thought it was his fault that the poor chap wasn’t able -to defend himself. But he’ll get over it in time. A better-hearted -fellow couldn’t be. He’s a stunning bushman now, -and a tiger to work.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What’s “a tiger to work”?’ asked Rosamond, laughing. -‘I must make you pay a forfeit for inelegant expressions, as -I used to do in old school-days.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I should never have known half as much,’ said the boy, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_389'>389</span>as he turned to his sister with a look of deepest love and -admiring respect, ‘if it hadn’t been for you, Rosamond. -How early you used to get up on those winter mornings, -and how Blanche and I and Selden hated the sound of that -bell! But there’s nothing like it,’ he added with a tone of -manly decision. ‘I polished off a fellow about the date of -the battle of Crecy in great style the other day. You would -have been quite proud of me.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You keep up your reading, then, dear Guy, and don’t -forget your classics, though you are in the bush? When -you go to England, some day, you must show our friends that -we do more than gallop after cattle and chop down trees in -Australia.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh, we have great reading at night, I can tell you; only -those tallow candles are such a nuisance. I’ve got a new -friend, a Cambridge fellow, just out from home, on the other -side of me, and he’s a regular encyclopædia. So, between -him and the Benmohr people, I shan’t rust much.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I am delighted to hear it. I hope you will have an -Oxford man on your other side, as you call it. A literary -atmosphere is everything for young people. Who is your -other neighbour?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Jack Donnelly, and not half a bad fellow either. Though -his father can’t read or write, he knows Latin, but not -Greek, and he’s awfully fond of reading. You should hear -the arguments he and Cavendish have—the Cambridge man, -I mean.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What do they argue about?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Oh, everything—England and Ireland, Conservative and -Democratic government, native Australians and Britishers. -They’re always at it. Jack’s a clever fellow, and very quick; -awfully good-looking too. You should see him ride. Cavendish -says he’ll make his mark some day—he’s full of -ambition.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘It is very creditable of him to try. If his father had not -cared for his children in that way, he might never have risen -above his own grade. Young gentlemen, too, should maintain -the position which they have inherited. Don’t lose sight of -that.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘That’s what Hamilton’s always saying; he’s a wonderful -fellow himself. See him in town, you’d think he never had -<span class='pageno' id='Page_390'>390</span>his hands out of kid gloves, and yet he can keep time with -the best working man we have, at any rough work.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You cannot have a better model, my dear Guy. Mamma -and I are so thankful that you are among men who would do -honour to any country.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Great was the joy expressed and many were the congratulations -which passed on both sides when the explorers returned. -They had so much to tell about the new home, so much to -admire in the old one. It was a suburb of Paradise in their -eyes, with its cultured aspect and gracious inhabitants, after -the untamed wilderness.</p> - -<p class='c001'>They were never tired of praising their former homes and -neighbours. If, by some Arabian Nights arrangement, they -could transport them bodily to the new colony, complete -happiness, for once in this imperfect world, would be -attained.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The Benmohrs found their apartments in apparently the -same state of faultless order in which they had quitted them. -No smallest article had been moved or changed. A velveteen -shooting-jacket, which Argyll remembered hanging up just as -he started, was the very object which greeted his eyes when -he awakened after the first night in his own bed.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The worst of it was that the breaking up of all this comfort -and domesticity would be so painful. The climate had -changed permanently (people always jump to this conclusion -in Australia directly they begin to forget the last drought), -and was simply Elysian. The lake was full; once more they -listened to the music of its tiny surges. But for choice, the -new country was about ten times more valuable. The -pleasant old station homesteads must go. However, they -were here now for a spell of pure enjoyment, not to bother -their heads with the future.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Money was plentiful, the gods be praised! Everything -was <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>couleur de rose</em></span>; they would revel in ease and enjoyment -with a free spirit until Christmas was over. The cares of -this world might then have their innings, but by no means -till the New Year chimes called them to new duties. There -was nothing now but such pleasant rides and drives; lingering -rambles, after the heat of the day; expeditions into Yass, -where they were fêted as if they had included the South Pole -in their discoveries. Mr. Sternworth alluded to their return -<span class='pageno' id='Page_391'>391</span>in his sermon, drawing tears from his congregation when he -spoke of the strong, brave man they would never see more, -whom many there present had known from childhood. But -he had died as a Warleigh should die, doing his duty -gallantly, and giving his life to save that of a comrade.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Before the third week of December had passed, another -sensational arrival was chronicled. O’Desmond drove -through the town on his way to Badajos in his four-in-hand, -looking as if he had encountered no discomforts to speak of. -His horses were in high condition; the bits and brasses were -faultlessly polished; the drag hardly looked as if it had been -a thousand miles from a coach-builder, much less covered up -with boughs during the deadly summer of the waste.</p> - -<p class='c001'>But observers noted that Harry O’Desmond, upright and -well set up as ever, was thinner and older-looking; that, -although he received their greetings with his old stately cordiality, -there was an expression upon his worn and darkened -countenance rarely imprinted save by dread wayfaring through -the Valley of the Shadow——</p> - -<p class='c001'>So had it been with him, in truth. Passing the farthest -known explorations, his party came into a waste and torrid -region, indescribably dread and hopeless. There, apparently, -no rain had fallen for years. The largest trees had perished -from desiccation of the soil; even the wild animals had died -or migrated. The few they encountered were too weak to -flee or resist. For weeks they had undergone fearful privations; -had tasted the tortures of thirst and hunger, well-nigh -unto death.</p> - -<p class='c001'>With men weakened and disheartened, O’Desmond knew -that to linger was death. With a picked party of his long-tried -followers he pushed on, leaving just sufficient to support -life with the depôt. On the <em>very last</em> day which exhausted -nature could have granted them they passed the barriers of -the Land of Despair. They saw before them—such are the -wondrous contrasts of the Australian waste—a land of water-pools -and pastures, of food and fruit.</p> - -<p class='c001'>But simultaneously with their glimpse of the haven of -relief came the view of a numerous, athletic party of blacks, -clustered near the river-bank. For war or hunting, this -section of the tribe had surely been detailed. There were no -women or children visible—a bad sign, as the sinking hearts -<span class='pageno' id='Page_392'>392</span>of the emaciated wayfarers well knew. They were brave -enough under ordinary circumstances of fight or famine. -But this bore <em>too</em> hardly upon human nature, coming, as it -did, after the toils and privations of the terrible desert.</p> - -<p class='c001'>But there was one heart among the fainting crew which -neither hunger, thirst, nor the shadow of coming death had -power to daunt. Aware that with savages a bold yet friendly -bearing is the acme of diplomacy, O’Desmond decided upon -his course.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The chief stood before his leading braves, doubtful if not -hostile.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Suddenly recollecting that among his private stores, faithfully -distributed, upon which alone they had been subsisting -of late, was a package of loaf sugar, the idea flashed across -his mind of tempting the palate of the savage.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Raising a handful of lumps of the rare and precious commodity, -he advanced cheerfully and presented them to the -leader, who regarded them distrustfully. His retinue stared -with pitiless eyes at the wasted white weaklings. It was the -supreme moment. Life and death swayed in the scales.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Harry O’Desmond so recognised it, under his forced smile, -as he lifted one of the smaller fragments to his lips, and with -great appearance of relish began to masticate. Slowly and -heedfully did the chief likewise. The charm worked. The -flavour of the far-borne product, for which so many of the -men of his colour had died in slavery, subjugated the -heathen’s palate. He smiled, and motioned the others to -advance. O’Desmond followed up his advantage. Every -remaining grain was distributed. In a few minutes each -warrior was licking his lips appreciatively. A treaty of -alliance, offensive and defensive, was as good as signed.</p> - -<p class='c001'>That day the starving wanderers feasted on fish and flesh, -brought in profusion by their new comrades. They had -never seen a white man before, and were, like many of the -first-met tribes, not indisposed to be peaceful.</p> - -<p class='c001'>When shown the encampment, the clothes, the equipment, -the strange beasts, they pointed to the sky, snapping their -fingers in wonder as they marked the leader’s height and -stalwart frame, but made no attempt to raid the treasures of -the white ‘medicine man.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>So the expedition was made free of a waste kingdom, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_393'>393</span>bisected by the deep-flowing stream of the Moora-warra, with -its plains and forests, its lagoons and reed-brakes. And for -long years after, until O’Desmond sold out the full-stocked -runs for the high prices of the day, never was shot fired -or spear lifted in anger between the dwellers on the Big -River.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Wilfred had called at Badajos to congratulate their old -friend. Upon his return he found that the household had -received an important addition. Dr. Fane had ridden over -with his daughter from Yass, and was with difficulty persuaded -to rest for a few days at The Chase before returning -to Black Mountain. Like most people who lead uneventful -lives, he was in a hurry to get home, though compelled to -admit that he had nothing particular to do when he got -there.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The Parson had stolen a day, he said, and driven over -with them, proud of the honour, he further stated, of taking -charge of Miss Fane’s impedimenta, which, though the most -reasonable of damsels in that respect, could not be carried -upon Emigrant. That accomplished palfrey she had brought -over chiefly for the pleasure of having him to ride while at -The Chase. Besides, his presence saved her a world of -anxiety, as when they were separated she was always imagining -that he had got out of his paddock, been stolen, or fallen -lame, such accidents being proper to valuable horses in -Australia.</p> - -<p class='c001'>So when Wilfred arrived he found every one in most -cheerful and animated vein. Argyll was describing the -features of the new country to Dr. Fane, who was deeply -interested in its geological aspect; his daughter, apparently, -had found the narrative, interspersed as it was with ‘moving -incidents by flood and field,’ equally entertaining.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Mr. Sternworth, with Rosamond beside him, was questioning -Hamilton about the spiritual welfare of the infant settlement -of Melbourne; promising, moreover, a handsome subscription -to St. James’s, the new Church of England, at -that time in course of erection. Gerald O’More, with Fred -Churbett and Neil Barrington, was having an animated, not -to say noisy, conversation with Annabel. Peals of laughter, -of which a large proportion was contributed by the young -lady, were the first sounds that met his ear upon entering -<span class='pageno' id='Page_394'>394</span>the room. All seemed so capable of mutual entertainment, -without his aid, countenance, or company, that he was -sensible of a <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>soupçon</em></span> of pique as he surveyed the festive -scene.</p> - -<p class='c001'>However, he cordially welcomed Miss Fane and her -father to The Chase, mentally remarking that he had never -seen that young lady look so well before, or had thought -her half so handsome. Her response did much to clear -his brow and banish from his heart all unworthy feelings. -The steadfast gaze was frank and kindly as of yore. She -appeared unaffectedly pleased to see him again.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You know you belong to the band of heroes whom we -have felt so proud to honour upon their return,’ she said. -‘Papa has a famous classical parallel, I know, for your -exploits and safe arrival at Lake William. He did explain -it to me, but I have forgotten. Mr. Sternworth, what is it?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Never mind, Vera,’ replied the old gentleman, ‘I never -talk Latin in the presence of young ladies. I can always -find something more amusing to say. You must sing us -those new songs you brought from Sydney. That would be -more appropriate, wouldn’t it, Mrs. Effingham?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I don’t know much Latin, you unkind old godfather, but -what I do know I am not in the least ashamed of.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Argyll’s making the pace pretty good, isn’t he, Fred,’ -remarked Neil Barrington, ‘with that nice Miss Fane? She’s -the only “model girl” I ever took to. I’m her humble -slave and adorer. But I never expected to have the great -MacCallum More for my rival. Did you ever see him hard -hit before, Fred?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Never, on the word of a gentleman-pioneer,’ rejoined Mr. -Churbett. ‘It’s this exploration, new country, perils-of-the-wilderness -business that has done it. “None but the brave -deserve the fair.” <em>We</em> are the brave, sir, in this fortunate -instance. We have solved the mystery of the unconquered -Bogongs. We have gazed at the ocean outlets of the Great -Lakes. We have proved ourselves to be the manner of -men that found empires. Under the circumstances heroes -always hastened to contract matrimonial alliances. Cortez -did it. Dunois did it. William of Argyll is perilously near -the Great Hazard. And I, Frederick de Churbett, am -hugely minded to do likewise, if that confounded Irishman -<span class='pageno' id='Page_395'>395</span>would only leave off his nonsense and let a fellow get a word -in edgeways.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Mr. Churbett had reason for complaint, inasmuch as -Gerald O’More, when his national gallantry was kindled to -action, appeared determined to permit ‘no rival near the -throne,’ as he successively devoted himself to Annabel, Rosamond, -and Miss Fane, or indeed occasionally kept all -engaged in conversation and entertainment at the self-same -time. It became difficult to discover, for a while, so rapid -as well as brilliant were his evolutions, whom he intended to -honour with his exclusive admiration. At length, however, -those who were in the position of calm spectators had no -doubt but that Annabel, with whom he kept up a ceaseless -flow of badinage and raillery, was the real attraction. If so, -he was likely to find a rival in the sarcastic Ardmillan, with -whom he had more than once bade fair to pass from jest to -earnest. For the cooler Scot was in the habit of waiting -until he saw his antagonist upon the horns of a dilemma, or -luring him on to the confines of a manifest absurdity. This -he would explode, blowing his rival’s argument into the air, -and graciously explaining his triumph to the surrounding fair.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Such was the satisfaction which filled the heart of Mrs. -Effingham, that but for the absence of her husband and -daughter she would certainly have gone the daring length -of giving a party. But the absence of her husband was, to -the conscience of the matron, an insuperable objection. No -amount of specious argument or passionate appeal could -alter her determination.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘My dears, it would be wrong,’ she quietly replied, in -answer to Annabel’s entreaty and Rosamond’s sober statement -that there could not be any objection on the point of etiquette. -‘Suppose anything should happen to your father or Beatrice -about the time—travelling is so very uncertain—we should -never have another happy moment.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>So the project, much to Annabel’s openly expressed and -Rosamond’s inwardly felt disappointment, was given up. -However, Mrs. Effingham relented so far as to say that, -although her principles forbade her to give a party, there -could be nothing indecorous in asking their friends to dine -with them on Christmas Day, when the time for dear Guy’s -departure for the station would, alas! be drawing nigh.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_396'>396</span>This was a grand concession, and all kinds of preparations -were made for the celebration of the festival. In the meanwhile, -as there was next to nothing doing on any of the -stations, what between riding-parties, chance visits, special -arrivals for the purpose of bringing over new books or new -music, it seemed as if The Chase had been changed into the -caravanserai of the district. It would have been difficult to -tell whether the neighbours lived more of their time with the -Effinghams or at their own stations.</p> - -<p class='c001'>During this exciting season Wilfred Effingham was commencing -to experience the elaborated torture of seeing the -woman he <em>now</em> discovered to be his chief exemplar made -love to by another man, apparently with prospects of success. -When he set himself to work seriously to please, William -Argyll was rarely known to fail. The restless spirit was -stilled. The uncontrollable temper was lulled, like the wave -of a summer sea. All the powers of a rare intellect, the -stores of a cultivated mind, were displayed. Brave, athletic, -of a striking personal appearance, if not regularly handsome, -he was a man to whom few women could refuse interest, -whom none could scorn. Besides all this, he was the heir -to a fine estate in his native land.</p> - -<p class='c001'>When, therefore, day by day, he devoted himself in -almost exclusive attendance to the appropriation of Miss -Fane, keeping close to her bridle-rein in all excursions, -monopolising her in the evenings, and holding æsthetic talks, -in which she apparently took equal interest, the general conclusion -arrived at was that Miss Fane was only awaiting a -decorous interval to capitulate in due form.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Yet Wilfred was constrained to confess that however -much he may have deserved such punishment, there was no -change in her manner towards him. When he touched upon -any of their old subjects of debate, he found she had not -forgotten the points on which they had agreed or differed, -and was ready, as of old, to maintain her opinions.</p> - -<p class='c001'>She seemed pleased to linger over reminiscences of those -days and the confidences then made.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Nobody would know Black Mountain now,’ she said. -‘Since we have grown rich, comparatively speaking, from -“the providential rise in the price of store cattle” (as one -auctioneer called it), papa has indulged me by making all -<span class='pageno' id='Page_397'>397</span>kinds of additions, and I suppose we must say improvements—new -fences, new furniture, new stables, plants in the -garden, books in the library. Money is the latter-day -magician certainly.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘And you are proportionately happier, of course,’ said -Wilfred.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Frankly,’ said Miss Fane, ‘I am, just at present. I feel like -one of Napoleon’s generals, who were ennobled and enriched -after having risen from the ranks. No doubt they enjoyed -their new dignities immensely. If they didn’t, their wives -did. I won’t say we were <em>roturiers</em>, but we were very, <em>very</em> -poor. And it is so nice now to think we can dress as well -as other people, and have the ordinary small luxuries of -our position, without troubling about the everlasting ways -and means.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘We are much alike in our experiences,’ answered Wilfred. -‘We should soon have been absolutely ruined—the ways and -means would have simply been obliterated.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I suppose so; but I never could believe in the poverty -of any of you Lake William people. You seemed to have -everything you could possibly want. The best part of our -present good fortune is, that the boys are at a good school, -while papa can buy as many new books as he can coax me, -in mercy to his eyesight, to let him read. So I can say that -we are quite happy.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I wonder you don’t think of going to Europe. Dr. Fane -could easily sell at a high price now; and then, fancy “the -kingdoms of the earth and the glory of them.”’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘You are quoting the Tempter, which is not quite respectful -to me—for once; but there is a reason why papa cannot -bear the thought of leaving our dear, lonely old home. My -poor mother was buried there, and his heart with her. For -me, I have from childhood imbibed his feelings for the place -of her grave.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Rosamond here approached, and carried off her friend -upon some mission of feminine importance. Wilfred, feeling -that the conversation had taken a direction of melancholy -which he could not fathom or adequately respond to, rejoined -his other guests. But he could not help dwelling upon the -fact that his conversations with Miss Fane seemed so utterly -different from those with any other woman. Before the first -<span class='pageno' id='Page_398'>398</span>sentences were well exchanged, one or other apparently struck -the keynote, which awakened sympathetic chords, again vibrating -amid harmonious echoes and semi-tones.</p> - -<p class='c001'>To complete the universal jubilation, Mr. O’Desmond, in -acknowledgment of the interest which the inhabitants of the -district had shown in his safe return, announced his intention -of giving an entertainment at Badajos on New Year’s Day, -at which amusements would be provided for his humbler -neighbours as well as for the gentry of the district. He had -ridden over to The Chase, and entreated Mrs. Effingham’s -advice as to decorations and dispositions. It was to be a -<em>very</em> grand affair. No one who knew O’Desmond doubted -but that, having undertaken such a project, he would carry -it out with elaborate completeness. So that, among the young -people and general population of the district, the Badajos -Revels were looked forward to with intense expectation.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What will the general plan of arrangement be?’ said -Fred Churbett to Hamilton. ‘Something in the Elizabethan -style, with giants, salvage-men, and dwarfs, speeches and -poetical addresses to the Queen of the land, whoever she -may be? Anyhow, he is going to spend a lot of money -about it. I hear the preparations are tremendous.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘In that case it will form a telling relief to the general -lack of variety in these affairs,’ said Hamilton. ‘Every one -has made such a heap of money now, that it hardly matters -what is spent, in reason. We shall have to turn to hard -work again in January. I wonder whether the old boy -has fallen in love, like everybody else, and is going to -make his proposals with what he considers to be “befitting -accessories.”’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Shouldn’t wonder at all,’ said Fred. ‘It appears to me -that we are beginning to enter upon a phase of existence -worthy of Boccaccio, without the plague—and the—perhaps -unreserved narratives. It certainly is the realm of Faerye at -present. The turning out into the world of fact will come -rather hard upon some of us.’</p> - -<hr class='c013' /> - -<p class='c001'>So matters passed on, materially unchanged, until the -actual arrival of Christmas Day, on which sacred commemoration -Mr. Sternworth, who had been temporarily relieved by -the Dean of Goulburn, stayed with them at The Chase for -<span class='pageno' id='Page_399'>399</span>a week, and performed services to a reasonable-sized congregation -in the dining-room, which was completely filled by -the family, with friends and humble neighbours. On the -evening before, too, which invested the service with additional -feelings of hope and thankfulness, most satisfactory letters had -been received from India. Mr. Effingham told how—</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘The Colonel was recovering rapidly. His medical -attendant advised a visit of at least two years to Europe. -As the cold weather season had set in, he might take his -passage. Beatrice and he were to be married before he left. -He (Mr. Effingham) would sail for Australia directly the -ceremony was over. Indeed, he was tired of India, and now -that the Colonel, poor fellow, was recovering, would have -been bored to death had it not been for his menagerie. -Then followed a list of profitable and unprofitable beasts, -birds, and even fishes, which, if he could transport successfully -to The Chase, would make him a happy man for the -rest of his life. People might say he was amusing himself, -but the profits of some of his ventures would in days to come -be <em>enormous</em>. For instance, take the Cashmere goats, of -which he had succeeded in getting a small flock. The fine -hair or “pushta,” combed from near the skin, in contrast to -the coarse outer fleece, was worth a guinea a pound. A -shawl manufactured from it sold for a fabulous sum. These -animals would thrive (he felt certain) in Australia; and then -what would be the consequence? Why, the merino industry -would be dwarfed by it—positively dwarfed!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The family of this sanguine gentleman did not go the -whole length of his conclusions, having found that some -unexpected factor commonly interfered with the arithmetical -working out of his projects. But they were delighted to -think they should shortly see his face again. And Beatrice -was to receive the reward of her unchanged love and devotion! -She would have, dear girl, a lifelong claim to care for the -health and happiness of him whom she had, as the Surgeon-General -averred, ‘raised up from the dead.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Files of Indian papers showed that on every side honours -and decorations had been heaped upon the gallant and now -fortunate soldier. Here was one of the mildest extracts—</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Colonel Glendinning, V.C., has been made a Companion -of the Bath. He will probably be knighted. But will the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_400'>400</span>country tolerate this tardy and barren honour? Of his -stamp are the men who have more than once saved India. -If the present Government, instead of making promotions at -the bidding of parliamentary interest, would appoint a <em>proved -leader</em> as Commander-in-Chief, Hindostan might be tranquil -once more and Russia overawed.’</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_401'>401</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XXVII <br /> THE DUEL IN THE SNOW</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>Just before the commencement of the stupendous festivities -of Badajos, a letter arrived, by which the parson was informed -that Mr. Rockley, having business at Yass, had resolved to -run up from Port Phillip and see them all. Mr. St. Maur, -who had an equally good excuse, would accompany him.</p> - -<p class='c001'>This was looked upon as either a wondrous coincidence -or a piece of pure, unadulterated good luck. When the hearty -and sympathetic accents of William Rockley were once more -heard among them, everybody was as pleased as if he, personally, -had been asked to welcome a rich uncle from India.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I never dreamed of seeing St. Maur in these parts,’ said -Neil Barrington. ‘He’s such a tremendous swell in Melbourne -that I doubted his recognising us again. What business can -he possibly have up here?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Perhaps he is unwilling to risk a disappointment at the -game which will be lost or won before January, “for want of a -heart to play,”’ said Ardmillan. ‘He may follow suit, like -others of this worshipful company. Hearts are trumps this -deal, unless I mistake greatly.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Didn’t we hear that he had been left money, or made a -fortune by town allotments down there? Anyhow he’s going -home, I believe; so this will be his last visit to Yass for some -time.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘If we make money at the pace which we have been going -for the last year, we shall all be able to go home,’ pronounced -Ardmillan. ‘Yet, after all the pleasant days that we have -seen here and at Benmohr, the thought is painful. This -influx of capital will break up our jolly society more completely -<span class='pageno' id='Page_402'>402</span>than the drought. In that case we should have had -to cling to a sinking ship, or take to the boats; now, the -vessel is being paid off, and the crew scattered to the four -winds.’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">‘Sic transit,’</span> echoed Neil lugubriously. ‘I forget the rest; -but wherever we go, and however well lined our pockets -may be, it is a chance if we are half as happy again in our -lives as we have been in this jolly old district.’</p> - -<hr class='c013' /> - -<p class='c001'>Christmas had come and gone. The Badajos Revels -were imminent. Rockley and St. Maur had declared for -remaining until they were over, in despite of presumably -pressing engagements.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I believe old Harry O’Desmond would have made a -personal matter of it if we had left him in the lurch,’ said Mr. -Rockley. ‘He spoke rather stiffly, St. Maur, when you said -all Melbourne was waiting to know the result of our deputation -to the Governor-General, and that they would be loth to -take the excuse of a country picnic.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘The old boy’s face was grim,’ said St. Maur; ‘but I had -made up my mind to remain. I like to poke him up—he is -so serious and stately. But we should not have quarrelled -about such a trifle.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>In the meantime, terrific preparations were made for the -fête; one to be long remembered in the neighbourhood. -O’Desmond’s magnificence of idea had only been held down, -like most men of his race and nature, by the compulsion of -circumstances. Now, he had resolved to give a free rein to -his taste and imagination. It was outlined, in his mind, as -a recognition of the enthusiasm which had greeted his return -to the district in which he had lived so long. This had -touched him to the heart. Habitually repressive of emotion, -he would show them, in this form, how he demonstrated the -feelings to which he denied utterance.</p> - -<p class='c001'>In his carefully considered programme, he had by no -means restricted himself to a single day or to the stereotyped -gaieties of music and the dance. On this sole and exemplary -occasion, the traditional glories of Castle Desmond would be -faintly recalled, the profuse, imperial hospitalities of which -had lent their share to his present sojourn near the plains of -Yass. Several days were to be devoted to the reception of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_403'>403</span>all comers. Each was to have its special recreation; to -include picnics and private theatricals, with dresses and -costumes from a metropolitan establishment. A dinner to -the gentry, tradespeople, and yeomen of the district; to be -followed by a grand costume ball in a building constructed -for the purpose, to which all ‘the county’ would be invited.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What a truly magnificent idea!’ said Rosamond Effingham, -a short time before the opening day, as they all sat in -the verandah at The Chase, after lunch and a hard morning’s -work at preparations. ‘But will not our good friend and -neighbour ruin himself?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Bred in the bone,’ said Gerald O’More. ‘Godfrey -O’Desmond, this man’s great-grandfather, gave an entertainment -which put a mortgage on the property from that day to -this. Had a real lake of claret, I believe. Regular marble -basin, you know. Gold and silver cups of the Renaissance, -held in the hands of fauns, nymphs, and satyrs—that kind of -thing—hogsheads emptied in every morning. Everything -wonderful, rich, and more extravagant than a dream. Nobody -went to bed for a fortnight, they say. Hounds met as usual. -A score of duels—half-a-dozen men left on the sod. County -asleep for a year afterwards.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘The estate never raised its head again, anyhow,’ said Mr. -Rockley, ‘and no wonder. An extravagant, dissolute, -murdering old scoundrel, as they say old Godfrey was, that -deserved seven years in the county gaol for ruining his -descendants and debauching the whole country-side. And -do you believe me, when I mentioned as much to old Harry -one day, he was deuced stiff about it; said we could not -understand the duties of a man of position in those days. I -believe now, on my solemn word, that he’d be just as bad, -this day, if he got the chance. I daren’t say another word -to him, and I’ve known him these twenty years.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Let us hope there won’t be so much claret consumed,’ -said Miss Fane. ‘I believe deep drinking is no longer -fashionable. I should be grieved if Mr. O’Desmond did -anything to injure his fortune. It may be only a temporary -aberration (to which all Irishmen are subject, Mr. O’More), -and then our small world will go on much as before.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘If we could induce a sufficient number of Australian -ladies to colonise Ireland,’ said O’More, bowing, ‘as prudent -<span class='pageno' id='Page_404'>404</span>and as fascinating as Miss Fane,’ he continued, with a look -at Annabel, ‘we might hope to change the national character. -It only wants a dash of moderation to make it perfect. But -we may trust to O’Desmond’s colonial experience to save -him from ruin.’</p> - -<hr class='c013' /> - -<p class='c001'>Thus the last hours of the fortunate, still-remembered -year of 1840 passed away. A veritable jubilee, when the -land rejoiced, and but few of the inhabitants of Australia -found cause for woe. Great were the anxious speculations, -however, as to weather. In a <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>fête champêtre</em></span>, everything -depends upon that capricious department. And this being -‘a first-class season,’ unvarying cloudlessness could by no -means be predicted.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The malign divinities must have been appeased by the -sacrifices of the drought. A calm and beauteous summer -morn, warm, but tempered by the south sea-breeze, bid the -children of the Great South Land greeting.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The New Year opened radiantly as a season of joy and -consolation. The whole district was astir from earliest hours; -the preparations for the momentous experiences of the day -were utterly indescribable, save by a Homeric Company of -Bards (limited).</p> - -<p class='c001'>As the sun rose higher,</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>From Highland, Lowland, Border, Isle,</div> - <div class='line'>How shall I name their separate style,</div> - <div class='line in4'>Each chief of rank and fame,</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c001'>with his ‘following,’ appeared before the outer gates of -Badajos, where such a number were gathered as would -almost have sufficed to storm the historic citadel, in the -breach of which Captain O’Desmond had fallen, and from -which the estate had been named.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The first day had been allotted to a liberally rendered -lawn party, which was to include almost the whole available -population of town and district, invited by public proclamation -as well as by special invitation. Indeed, it had been -notified through the press that, on New Year’s Day, Mr. -O’Desmond would be ‘at home’ prepared to receive <em>all</em> his -friends who desired to personally congratulate him upon his -return from the interior.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_405'>405</span>Never was there such a muster before, since the first -gum-tree was felled, within sight of Yass Plains. An -uninterrupted procession wound its way steadily on from the -town, from all the country roads, down gullies, and across -flats and marshes. Every farm sent its representative. So -did every shop in the town, every station in the district. -Not a woman in the land had apparently remained at home. -Who minded the infant children on the 1st of January 1840 -will always remain an unsolved mystery.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The arrangements had been carefully considered by a -past-master of organisation; and they did not break down -under the unprecedented strain. As the horsemen and -horsewomen, tax-carts, dog-carts, carriages, tandems, waggons -and bullock-drays even, arrived at the outer gate, they were -met by ready servitors, who directed them, through a -cunningly devised system of separate lanes, to temporarily -constructed enclosures, where they were enabled to unharness -and otherwise dispose of their draught animals and vehicles.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Sheds covered with that invaluable material the bark of -the eucalyptus had been erected, and hay provided, as for -the stabling of a regiment of cavalry; while small paddocks, -well watered and with grass ‘up to their eyes’ (as the stock-riders -expressed it), suited admirably those not over-particular -rovers, who, having turned loose their nags, placed their -saddles and bridles in a place of security, and thus disembarrassed -themselves of anxiety for the day.</p> - -<p class='c001'>When these arrangements had been satisfactorily made, -they were guided towards the river-meadow, on a slope -overlooking which the homestead and outbuildings were -situated. Here was clustered an encampment of tents and -booths, of every size and shape, and apparently devoted to as -many various classes of amusement and recreation.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The short grass of the river flat, as it was generally called, -was admirably adapted for the present purposes and intentions. -The propitious season, with its frequent showers, had -furnished a fair imitation of English turf, both in verdure and -in thickness of sward, the latter quality much assisted by the -stud flock of the famed Badajos merinoes.</p> - -<hr class='c013' /> - -<p class='c001'>The concluding day of the memorable Badajos Revels, -the unrivalled and immortal performance, had arrived. The -<span class='pageno' id='Page_406'>406</span>last act was about to be called on. All the arrangements had -been more than successful. The sports and pastimes had -gone through without hitch or contention. The populace -was enthusiastic in praise of the liberality which had ministered -so lavishly to their amusement. The aristocracy were -no less unanimous in their approbation. That battues, the -picnics, the costume ball, had been, beyond all description, -delightful, fascinating, well carried out, in such perfect taste—extraordinary -good form—intoxicating—heavenly—utterly, -indescribably delicious; the adjectives and superlatives -varying with the age, position, sex, or character of the -speaker.</p> - -<p class='c001'>And now the modern miracle-play was to finish with a -presentment, unique and marvellous beyond belief. The -main body of guests and revellers had departed soon after -daylight. <span lang="la" xml:lang="la">‘Conclamatum est, Poculatum est,’</span> said a young -Irish priest. ‘I shall have to go into “retreat” if Father -Mahony gets word of me at the ball. Wasn’t I Lord -Edward Fitzgerald to the life? But I durstn’t stay away an -hour longer from my flock.’ Many were the half-repentant, -homeward-bound wayfarers who held similar opinions. And -the continuous passage of the fords of the Yass River might -have suggested to the Scots, by birth or extraction, King -James’ army after Flodden—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Tweed’s echoes heard the ceaseless plash,</div> - <div class='line in2'>While many a broken band,</div> - <div class='line'>Disordered through her currents dash,</div> - <div class='line in2'>To gain the Scottish land.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c001'>There was not, it is true, such need for haste, but the pace at -which the shallower fords were taken might have suggested it.</p> - -<p class='c001'>However, a considerable proportion of the house parties -and guests of the neighbouring families, with such of the -townspeople and others whose time was not specially -valuable, remained for the closing spectacle. Much curiosity -was aroused as to the nature of it.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Perhaps you can unfold the mystery of this duel which -we are all taking about,’ said Annabel to St. Maur, with -whom she had been discussing the costumes of the ball.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I happen to be in O’Desmond’s confidence,’ he replied; -‘so we may exchange secrets. Many years ago, in Paris, he -<span class='pageno' id='Page_407'>407</span>fell across an old picture representing a fatal duel between -Masks, after a ball. So he pitched upon it for representation, -as a striking if rather weird interlude.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What a strange idea! How unreal and horrible. Fancy any -of the people here going out to fight a duel. Is any one killed?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Of course, or there wouldn’t be half the interest. He -proposes to dress the characters exactly like those in the -picture, and, indeed, brought up the costumes from town with -him. Your brother, by a coincidence, adopted one—that of -a Red Indian. It will do for his second.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Thoroughly French, at any rate, and only for the perfect -safety of the thing would be horrible to look at. However, -we must do whatever Mr. O’Desmond tells us, for <em>years</em> to -come. I shall be too sleepy to be much shocked, that’s one -thing. But what are they to fight with? Rapiers?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘With foils, which, of course you know, are the same in -appearance, only with a button on the end which prevents -danger from a thrust.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Wilfred, my boy!’ had said O’Desmond, making a progress -through the ball-room on the preceding night, ‘you -look in that Huron dress as if you had neglected to scalp an -enemy, and were grieving over the omission. Do the ladies -know those odd-looking pieces of brown leather on the breast -fringe are <em>real scalps</em>? I see they are. You will get no -one to dance with you. But my errand is a selfish one. -You will make a principal man in that “Duel after the -Masquerade” which I have set my heart upon getting up -to-morrow.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘But in this dress?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘My dear fellow, that is the very thing. Curiously, one -of the actors in that weird duel scene is dressed as a Huron -or Cherokee. You know Indian arms and legends, even -names, were fashionable in Paris when Chateaubriand made -every one weep with his Atala and Chactas? You could not -have been more accurately dressed, and you will lay me -under lasting obligation by taking the foils with Argyll, and -investing your second with this dress.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘With Argyll!’ echoed Wilfred with an accent of surprise.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I know he is called the surest fencer in our small world, -but I always thought you more than his match. He never, -to my mind, liked your thrust in tierce.’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_408'>408</span>‘You are right,’ said Wilfred. ‘Grisier thought me perfect -in that. I shall meet him with pleasure. If only to show -him—— Bah! I am getting so infected with the spirit of -your Masquerade that one would think it a real duel. Command -me, however.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘A thousand thanks. Not later than three to-morrow -afternoon. The ladies will not forgive us if we are not -punctual.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>From Wilfred Effingham’s expression of relief one might -have thought that he had received good tidings. Yet, what -was it after all—what could it lead to? A mock duel; a -mere fencing match. What was there to clear his visage and -lighten his heart in such a game as this?</p> - -<p class='c001'>A trifle, doubtless. But William Argyll was to be his -antagonist. Towards him he had been unconsciously nurturing -a causeless resentment, which threatened to drift into -hatred. Argyll was sunning himself daily (he thought) in -the smiles of Vera Fane, pleased with the position and -confident of success. And though she, from time to time, -regarded Wilfred with glances of such kindly regard that he -was well-nigh tempted to confess his past sins and his present -love, he had resolutely kept aloof.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Why should he court repulse, and only be more hopelessly -humiliated? Did not all say—could he not see—that Miss -Fane was merely waiting for Argyll’s challenge to the citadel -of her heart to own its conquest and surrender?</p> - -<p class='c001'>The Benmohr people, who knew something of everything -and did not suffer their knowledge to decay for lack of -practice, were devoted to fencing. Their lumber-room was -half an armoury, holding a great array of foils, wire masks, -single-sticks, and boxing-gloves. With these and a little -pistol practice the dulness of many a wet afternoon had been -enlivened. Perhaps in their trials of skill those with the foils -were most popular.</p> - -<p class='c001'>This was Argyll’s favourite pastime. A leading performer -with all other weapons, he had a passion for fencing, for -which his mountain-born activity pre-eminently fitted him. -Effingham, a pupil of the celebrated Grisier, was thought to -be nearly, if not quite his match. And more than once -Argyll’s hasty temper had blazed out as Wilfred had ‘touched -him’ with a succession of rapid hits, or sent the foil from his -<span class='pageno' id='Page_409'>409</span>hand by one of the artifices of the fencing school. Now, -however, a trial would be afforded, the issue of which would -be final and decisive. To each the requisite notice had been -given, and each had accepted the chances of the contest. -No one in future would be able to assert that this or that -man was the better swordsman.</p> - -<p class='c001'>A larger gathering took place at luncheon than could -have been expected. Many were the reasons assigned for -the punctuality with which all the ladies showed up. Fred -Churbett, indeed, openly declared that the gladiator element -was becoming dangerously developed, and that it would be -soon necessary to shed blood in good earnest, to enjoy a -decent reputation with the ladies of the land.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I saw O’Desmond’s people making astounding changes -in the anterior of the amphitheatre, Miss Annabel, from my -bedroom window this morning. I should not be surprised -at the arena being changed to an African forest, with a live -giraffe and a Lion Ride, after Freiligrath. Do you remember -the doomed giraffe? How</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>With a roar the lion springs</div> - <div class='line in2'>On her back now. What a race-horse!’</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c001'>‘I should not be surprised at anything,’ said Annabel. -‘Badajos is becoming an Enchanted Castle. How we shall -endure our daily lives again, I can’t think. Every one is -going home to-morrow, so perhaps the spell will be broken. -Heigh-ho! When are we to be allowed to take our seats? I -shall fall asleep if they put it off too long.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘At three o’clock precisely the herald’s horn will be blown, -and we shall see what we shall see. I hope Argyll will be in -a good temper, or terrible things may happen.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What is this about Mr. Argyll’s temper?’ said Miss Fane. -‘Is he so much more ferocious than all the rest of you? I -am sure that <em>I</em> have seen nothing of it.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Only my nonsense, Miss Fane,’ said Fred, instantly retreating -from his position. ‘The best-hearted, most generous -fellow possible. Impetuous and high-spirited, you know. -Highlanders and Irishmen—all the world, in fact, except that -modern Roman, the Anglo-Saxon—are inclined to be choleric. -Ha! there goes the bugle.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>All were ready, indeed impatient, for the commencement. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_410'>410</span>Many acquaintances had indeed ridden out from Yass, and -reinforced the spectators. Mr. Rockley had appeared at -lunch—scarcely in the best of tempers—and had given vent -to his opinion that it was quite time for this foolery to be -over. Not that he made this suggestion to O’Desmond -personally.</p> - -<p class='c001'>When the entrances were thrown open, and the spectators -pressed into their seats with something of the impatience -which in days of old seems to have characterised the frequenters -of the amphitheatre, a cry of delighted surprise -broke from the startled guests.</p> - -<p class='c001'>In order to reproduce the accessories of the imaginary -conflict with fidelity of detail, O’Desmond has spared no -trouble. The Bois de Boulogne had been simulated by the -artifice of transplanting whole trees, especially those which -more closely resembled European evergreens. These had -been mingled with others stripped of their foliage, by which -deciduous deception the illusion of a northern winter was -preserved. A coating of milk-white river sand had been -strewn over the arena, imparting the appearance of the -snow, in which the now historical masqueraders fought their -celebrated duel. By filling up the openings left for windows, -and excluding the sun from the roof as much as possible, an -approach to the dim light proper to a Parisian December -morning was produced. As hackney-coaches appeared, one -at either end of the arena, and driving in, took their stations -under trees, preparatory to permitting their sensational fares -to alight, the burst of applause both from those familiar with -the original picture, and others who were overcome by the -realism of the scene, was tremendous. And when forth -stepped from one of the carriages a Red Huron Indian, and -with stately steps took up his position as second, to so great -and painful a pitch rose the excitement among the ladies -that ‘the boldest held’ her ‘breath for a time.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Pierrot now, with elastic springing gait, moved lightly -forward towards his antagonist, a reckless Debardeur, who -looked as if he had been dancing a veritable <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">‘Galop d’Enfer’</span> -before he quitted the <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">‘Bal d’Opera.’</span> Each performed an -elaborate salute as they took their ground. The seconds -measured their swords punctiliously.</p> - -<p class='c001'>As the enthusiasm of the crowd broke forth in remark -<span class='pageno' id='Page_411'>411</span>and exclamation, before the first passes were interchanged, -Harry O’Desmond himself made his appearance among the -ladies, and took his seat between Rosamond Effingham and -Miss Fane, prepared to receive the shower of congratulations -at once poured upon him.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Yes, I <em>have</em> taken a little trouble; but I am amply repaid, -Miss Effingham, if I have succeeded in adding to the amusement -of my lady friends. For those I have the honour to -address’—and here the gallant <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>impresario</em></span> looked as if the -lady beside him had but to ask for a Sultan’s circlet, to have -it tossed in her lap—‘what sacrifices would I not make?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Our distinguished host is becoming desperate,’ thought -Rosamond. ‘I wonder who <em>she</em> is? I am nearly certain it -is Vera Fane. He and the Doctor are great friends. Now -I think of it, he said the other day that she was, with one -exception, the pearl of the district. Mamma, too, has been -hinting at something. A nice lady neighbour at Badajos -would be indeed a treasure.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘What an exciting piece of sword-play this will be, Mr. -O’Desmond,’ she said. ‘One cannot help thinking that -there is something real about it. And I have an uneasy -feeling that I cannot account for, such as I should call a -presentiment, if all were not so perfectly safe. What do you -say, Vera?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I say it is a most astonishing picture of a real duel. I -ought to enjoy it very much, only that, like you, I feel a -depression such as I have never had before. Oh, now they -are beginning! Really it is quite a relief.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘I must take a foil with the winner,’ said O’Desmond, ‘if -you think it is so serious, just to see if I have forgotten my -Parisian experiences. It reminds one of the Quartier Latin, -and the students’ pipes—long hair and duels—daily matters -of course. Ha! a wonderfully quick carte and counter-carte. -There is something stirring in the clink of steel, all the world -over, is there not, Miss Effingham?’</p> - -<p class='c001'>The pictured scene was accurately reproduced. Each -man, with his second, fantastically arrayed. The nearer -combatant, in his loose garb, had his sword-arm bared to the -elbow, for the greater freedom required with the weapon. -Four other men, picturesquely attired, were present. Of -these, two stood near to him whose back was towards the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_412'>412</span>part of the theatre where the Effinghams and Miss Fane -were sitting.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The contest proceeded with curious similitude to an actual -encounter. Attack and defence, feint and challenge, carte, -tierce, ripeste, staccato, all the subtle and delicate manœuvres -of which the rapier combat is susceptible, had been employed, -to the wonder and admiration of the spectators.</p> - -<p class='c001'>It was evident, before they had exchanged a dozen passes, -that the men were most evenly matched. Much doubt was -expressed as to who would prove the victor.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Latterly, Wilfred, who, with equal tenacity and vigilance, -had the cooler head, commenced to show by small but sure -signs that he was gaining an advantage. Step by step he -drew his antagonist nearer to him, and employing his favourite -thrust, after a brilliant parry, touched him several times in -succession. At each palpable hit the spectators gave a cheer, -which evidently disturbed Argyll’s fiery temperament. He -bit his lip, his brow contracted, but no token, excepting -these and a burning spot on his cheek, showed the inward -conflict. Suddenly he sprang forward with panther-like -activity, and for one second Wilfred’s eye and hand were at -fault, as, with a lightning lunge, Argyll delivered full upon -his adversary’s chest a thrust, so like the real thing that, -though the foil (as the spectators imagined) passed outside, -the hilt of the mimic weapon rapped sharply, as if he had -been run through the body. At the same moment he sank -down, and was scarcely saved from falling, while Argyll, -impatiently drawing back his weapon, threw it down and -turned as if to leave the scene—half urged by his second—as -was the successful combatant in the weird picture.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Why—how wonderfully our brave combatants have -imitated the originals, Mr. O’Desmond?’ said Rosamond, -with unfeigned admiration. ‘The Debardeur sinks slowly -from the arms of his second to the ground; his sword-point -strikes the earth; his comrade and the Capuchin bend over -him. They act the confusion of a death-scene well. His -antagonist casts down his blood-stained sword—why, it <em>looks</em> -red—and hurries from the spot.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Yes,’ O’Desmond continued, ‘everything is now concluded -happily, successfully, triumphantly, may I say; it -needs but, dearest Miss Effingham, that I should offer you——’ -<span class='pageno' id='Page_413'>413</span>What Mr. O’Desmond was minded to offer his fair neighbour -can never be known, for at that moment a shriek, so wild -and despairing, rent the air, that all conversation, ordinary -and extraordinary, ceased.</p> - -<p class='c001'>More astonishing still, Miss Fane sprang from her seat, -and rushing into the arena with the speed of frenzy, knelt by -the side of the defeated combatant, and with every endearing -epithet supported his head, wringing her hands in agony as -she gazed on the motionless form beside her.</p> - -<p class='c001'>O’Desmond, leaping down without a thought of his late -interesting employment, gave one glance at the fallen sword, -another at the fallen man, and divined the situation.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘By ——!’ he said, ‘<em>the button has come off the foil</em>, and -the poor boy is run through the body. He’ll be a dead man -by sundown.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Not so sure of that; keep the people back while I -examine him,’ said Mr. Sternworth, pushing suddenly to the -front. ‘Stand back!’ he cried with the voice of authority. -‘How can I tell you what’s wrong with him if you don’t give -him air? Miss Fane, I entreat you to be calm.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>He lowered his voice and spoke in softened tones, for he -had seen a look in Vera Fane’s face which none had ever -marked there before. As she knelt by the side of the wounded -man, from whose hurt the blood was pouring fast, in a bright -red stream; as with passionate anxiety she gazed into his -face, while her arms supported him in his death-like faint, her -whole countenance betrayed the unutterable tenderness with -which a woman regards her lover.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The spectators stood assembled around the ill-fated combatant. -Great and general was the consternation.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The nature of the mischance—the loss of the button -which guards the fencer in all exercises with the foil—was -patent enough to those acquainted with small-sword practice. -But a large proportion of the crowd, with no previous experience -of such affairs, could with difficulty be got to believe -that Argyll had not used unjustifiable means to the injury of -his antagonist. These worthy people were for his being -arrested and held to bail. His personal friends resented the -idea. Words ran high; until indeed, at one time, it appeared -as if a form of civic broil, common in the middle ages, would -be revived with undesirable accuracy.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_414'>414</span>Now, alas! the festive aspect of the scene was abruptly -changed. O’Desmond’s grief at this most untoward ending -to his entertainments was painful to witness. Argyll’s -generous nature plunged him into a state of deep contrition -for his passionate action.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The women, one and all, were so shocked and excited by -the sight of blood and the rumour, which quickly gained -credence, that Wilfred Effingham was dying, that tearful -lamentations and hysterical cries were heard in all directions. -Nor indeed until it was authoritatively stated by the medical -practitioner of the district, who was luckily present, that -Mr. Effingham having been run through the body, had therefore -received a dangerous but not necessarily fatal wound, was -consolation possible.</p> - -<p class='c001'>This gentleman, however, later on would by no means -commit himself to a definite opinion. ‘Without doubt it -was a critical case. Though the cœliac axis had been -missed, by a miracle, the vasa-vasorum blood-vessel had -suffered lesion. The left subclavian artery had been torn -through, yet, from its known power of contraction, he trusted -that the interior lining would be closed, when further loss of -blood would cease. Of course, unfavourable symptoms -might supervene at any moment—at any moment. At -present the patient was free from pain. Quiet—that is, -absolute rest—was indispensable. With no exciting visits, -and—yes—with the closest attention and good nursing, a distinctly -favourable termination might be—ahem—hoped for.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>But an early doom, either alone or with all the aids that -affection, friendship, ay or devoted love, could bring, was -not written in the book of fate against Wilfred Effingham’s -name. In the course of a week the popular practitioner -alluded to had the pleasure of informing the anxious inhabitants -of the Yass district ‘that the injury having, as he had -the honour to diagnose, providentially not occurred to the -trunk artery, the middle coat of the smaller blood-vessel had, -from its elastic and contractile nature, after being torn by the -partially blunted end of the foil, caused a closure. In point -of fact, the injury had yielded to treatment. He would -definitely pledge himself, in fact, that the patient was bordering -upon convalescence. In a week or two he would be -ready to support a removal to The Chase, where doubtless his -<span class='pageno' id='Page_415'>415</span>youth, temperate habit, and excellent constitution would combine -to produce a complete recovery.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>These agreeable predictions were fulfilled to the letter. -Yet was there another element involved in the case, which -was thought to have exercised a powerful influence, if, indeed, -it was not the chief factor in his recovery. The vision of -sudden death which had passed before the eyes of the guests -at Badajos had surprised the secret of Vera Fane’s heart. -Of timid, almost imperceptible growth, the faint budding -commencement of a girl’s fancy had, all in silence and -secrecy, ripened into the fragrant blossom of a woman’s love. -Pure, devoted, imperishable, such a sentiment is proof against -the anguish of non-requital, the attacks of rivalry, even the -ruder shocks of falsehood or infidelity. Let him, then, to -whom, all unworthy, such a prize is allotted by a too indulgent -destiny, sacrifice to the kind deities, and be thankful. -It may have been—was doubtless—urged by Miss Fane’s admirers, -that ‘that fellow Effingham was not half good enough -for her, more especially after his idiotic affair with Christabel -Rockley’; but, pray, which of us, to whom the blindly swaying -Eros has been gracious, is not manifestly overrated, nay, -made to blush for shortcomings from his early ideal?</p> - -<p class='c001'>So must it ever be in the history of the race—were the -secrets of all hearts known. Let us be consoled that we are -not conspicuously inferior to our neighbours, and chiefly -strive, in spite of that mysterious Disappointment—poor -human nature—to gain some modest eminence. Let Wilfred -Effingham, then, enjoy his undeserved good fortune, <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>comme -nous autres</em></span>, assured that with such companionship he will be -stronger to battle for the right while life lasts.</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘How could you forgive me?’ he said, at the close of -one of the happy confidences which his returning strength -rendered possible. ‘I should never have dared to ask you -after my folly.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>‘Women love but once—that is, those who are worthy of -the name,’ she said softly. ‘I had unwisely, it would seem, -permitted my heart to stray. It passed into the possession -of one who—well, scarce valued sufficiently the simple offering. -But you do <em>now</em>, dearest, do you not? I will never -forgive you, or rather, on second thoughts, I <em>will</em> forgive you, -if hereafter you love any other woman but me.’</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='pageno' id='Page_416'>416</span>‘You are an angel. Did I say so before? Never mind. -Truth will bear repetition.’</p> - -<hr class='c013' /> - -<p class='c001'>Old Tom Glendinning commenced to fail in health soon -after the permanent settlement of the district; his detractors -averred, because the blacks left off spearing the cattle and -took to station work. He lived long enough to hear of -General Glendinning’s marriage, at which he expressed great -satisfaction, coupled with the hope that the Major (as he -always called him) would return to India, ‘av it was only to -have another turn at thim murdtherin’ nay-gurs, my heavy -curse on thim, from Bingal to Galantapee.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>He was carefully nursed by Mrs. Evans, who had at length -followed her husband to the new country, after repeated -assurances that it was impossible for him to return to Lake -William, but that she might please herself.</p> - -<p class='c001'>They buried the old stock-rider, in accordance with his last -wishes, on an island in the lake, within sight of Guy’s homestead, -near his ancient steed Boney, who had preceded him -in decease. The dog Crab survived him but a few weeks, -and was carefully interred at his feet. It was noticed that -no black of any description whatever, young or old, male or -female, wild or tame, would ever set foot on the green, wave-washed -islet afterwards.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Andrew and Jeanie, after a few years, retired to a snug -farm within easy distance of The Chase, at which place, for -one reason or other, they spent nearly as much time as at -home. Andrew’s aid was continually invoked in agricultural -emergencies, more particularly when business called Wilfred -away; while Jeanie’s invaluable counsel and reassuring -presence, when the inmates of Mrs. Wilfred’s nursery developed -alarming symptoms, was so largely in request that Andrew -more than once remarked that ‘he didna ken but what he -saw far mair o’ his auld dame before he had a hame o’ his -ain. But she had aye ta’en a’ her pleasure in life at ither -folk’s bedsides. Maist unco-omon!’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Duncan, having once enjoyed an independent life in the -new country, could not be induced to return to The Chase. -He saved his money, and with national forecast commenced -business in the rising township of Warleigh. Of this settlement -he became in time the leading alderman (the burgesses -<span class='pageno' id='Page_417'>417</span>obtained a municipality in the after-time), and rose finally to -be mayor.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The <cite>Melbourne Argus</cite> printed <span lang="la" xml:lang="la"><em>in extenso</em></span> Mr. Cargill’s -address to the electors of West Palmerston when a candidate -for a vacancy in the Legislative Council. It was certain he -would be returned at the head of the poll, doubtless to represent -a Liberal Ministry before long. May there never be invited -a less worthy personage to the councils of the land than -the Hon. Duncan Cargill, M.L.C.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Mr. Rockley, after his return to Port Phillip, hurled himself -with his accustomed energy at every kind of investment. -Not satisfied with extensive mercantile transactions, he -bought agricultural lands, the nucleus of a fine estate. In -Parliament he made such vigorous, idiomatic onslaughts upon -the Government of the day as led the Speaker occasionally -to suggest modification. He developed Warleigh, the town -to which he had originally attached himself, wonderfully, and -besides aiding all struggling settlers in the bad times, which -arrived, as he had prophesied, close on the heels of inflation -and over-trading. In a general way he benefited by good -advice, friendly intercourse, and substantial assistance, everybody -with whom he came into contact. As a magistrate, a -perfect Draco (in theory), he was never known to remit a fine -for certain offences. It was whispered, nevertheless, that he -had many a time been known to pay such out of his own -pocket.</p> - -<p class='c001'>It is comforting to those who honour liberality and unselfishness -to know that he amassed a large fortune. He continued -to invest from time to time in land, the management -of which chiefly served to occupy his mind in declining years. -When the grave closed over the warm heart and eager spirit -of William Rockley, men said that he left no fellow behind -him. There are still those who believe him to have been -unsurpassed for energy of mind and body, with a clear-headed -forecast in affairs, joined to the warm sympathy which -rendered it impossible to omit a kindness or forgo a benefit.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The larger portion of the estate was willed to Christabel -and her husband, but from the number of junior Clarkes of -all sorts and sizes who fill the commodious family drag, a considerable -subdivision of landed property will probably take -place in another generation. Bob Clarke adopted easily the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_418'>418</span>position of country gentleman. He no longer rides steeple-chases, -but his four-in-hand team is certainly superior in -blood, bone, matching, and appointments to anything south -of the line.</p> - -<p class='c001'>But little remains to tell. Our small community reached -that stage when, as with nations, the less history needed the -better for their happiness. As to this last apocryphal commodity -(as some have deemed), Wilfred Effingham avers that -Vera and he have such a large supply on hand that he is -troubled in spirit only by the thought that something in the -nature of evil <em>must</em> happen, were it only in accordance with -the law of averages.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The Port Phillip investments paid so well that, upon the -sale of Benmohr by Argyll and Hamilton, he purchased that -ever-memorable historic station. Mrs. Teviot and Wullie -remained in possession almost as long as they lived, but -never could be brought to regard Mr. Effingham in any other -light than that of a neighbour and a visitor of ‘their gentlemen.’ -He was often reminded of the muddy winter evening -when he first arrived.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Dean Sternworth—thus promoted—lives on, growing still -more wonderful roses, and experiencing an access of purest -pleasure when a Marie Van Houte or Souvenir de Malmaison -excites the envy of the district.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Marrying, christening, and, indeed, burying the inhabitants -of Yass—for death also is in Arcadia—his unobtrusive path -is daily trodden, ‘and, sure the Eternal Master found, his -single talent well employed.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Among his chief and enduring pleasures are his monthly -visits to Lake William to perform service in the freestone -church, which has been erected by the Effingham family and -their neighbours on a spot easy of general access. On such -occasions Dr. Fane is generally found at The Chase, where -the friends argue by the hour together. Such a period of -continuous mutual entertainment must it have been that, on -one occasion, was familiarly referred to by Master Hubert -Warleigh Effingham as lasting ‘till all was blue.’</p> - -<p class='c001'>Howard Effingham has once more been placed by circumstances -in the enviable position of a man who has nothing -in this world to attend to but his favourite hobby, to which -he is sufficiently attached to devote every moment of his -<span class='pageno' id='Page_419'>419</span>spare time to it. That fortunate ex-militaire has now few -other foes to consider than the native cat (dasyura), the -black cormorant, and the dingo.</p> - -<p class='c001'>It must be confessed that they give him more trouble -than ever—in his youth—did the Queen’s enemies. The -cormorants eat his young fish, and when the captain extracted -from the dead body of one of them no less than six -infantine trout, the tears (so his grandson averred) came into -his eyes. The partridges, even the gold and silver pheasants -were not sacred from the native cat. An occasional dingo -makes his appearance, wandering from Black Mountain (the -doctor was always an indifferent ‘poisoner,’ says the parson), -and a brace of gazelle fawns have never been sufficiently -accounted for. But the exhibition of strychnine crystals provides -a solution, and the land has peace.</p> - -<p class='c001'>On the whole, progress has been made. The furred, -feathered, or finned emigrants are steadily increasing; fair -shooting can soon be allowed, and extermination will be -impossible.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Between ourselves, a leash of foxes were turned loose in -the gibba-gunyahs, near which the first dingo was killed, by -the Lake William hounds, and Jack Barker swore (only he -‘stretches’ so) that he saw the vixen feeding five cubs—one -with a white tag to his brush (Jack is always circumstantial), -with the biggest buck ’possum he ever saw.</p> - -<p class='c001'>The Lake William hounds have long been back in their -kennels. John Hampden makes a point of attending the -first meet, and O’Desmond (whose heart was not broken, or -was at least successfully repaired by his subsequent marriage) -is a steady supporter, as of yore.</p> - -<p class='c001'>But somehow the whole affair doesn’t feel so jolly as -when Argyll and Hamilton, Ardmillan and Forbes, Fred -Churbett and Neil, Malahyde and Edward Belfield—all the -‘Benmohr mob’ in fact—were safe for every meet.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Perhaps, though with enthusiasts his steady march is disregarded, -old Time may possibly have had something to do -with the decrease of enthusiasm. Mrs. Wilfred does not -approve of her husband riding so hard as in the brave days -of old. She herself, from circumstances, is often absent, and -scarcely enjoys lending Emigrant, still <em>nearly</em> as good as ever, -to lady visitors. A heavy autumn shower, too, acted unfavourably -<span class='pageno' id='Page_420'>420</span>upon the health of the M.F.H., and explained -practically what lumbago most closely resembles.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Still Howard Effingham, nobly loyal to his ideal, presses -gallantly forward to the realisation of his hopes. The -coming year will see an opening meet of the Lake William -hounds, such as, in <em>one</em> respect, at least, was never ridden to -in Australia before.</p> - -<p class='c001'>On some grey-hued, red-dawning May morn, freshly recalling, -like the verse of an old song, how many a hunting -day of yore, will he view a <em>fox</em> away from the upper corner of -the ti-tree covert, on the rocky spur of the yellow-box range—a -<em>real</em> fox—as red, as wiry, with as white a tag to his -brush as ever a straight-goer that stretched across the -pastures before the Pytchley or the Quorn. Nevertheless -<em>Australian born and bred</em>.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Standing in his stirrups, he watches the leading hounds -pour through the paddock fence, the remainder settling to -the scent, or at silent speed sweeping over the forest parks -that border the lake meadows. Rosamond St. Maur is far -away, alas! and Fergus out at grass; but Major-General Sir -Walter Glendinning, on leave from India, is trying the speed -of the best Arab in the Mofussil. Mrs. O’Desmond is -watching her husband anxiously, Guy is home from Port -Phillip, with Bob Clarke and Ardmillan, each on a horse ‘fit -to go for a man’s life,’ and wild with frolic spirits. Mrs. -Vera Effingham is out, and, as luck would have it, ready and -willing to remind Emigrant of old Black Mountain days. John -Hampden, taking The Caliph by the head, now snow white, -but still safe across timber, echoes back Wilfred’s ‘Forrard, -forrard, away!’ as he sails off with the lead, and forgetting -his wife and family, feels perfectly, ecstatically happy. Then, -and then only, will Howard Effingham acknowledge that he -has at length achieved the position of which he has so often -dreamed—then will he hold himself to be in real, completest -earnest—an Australian Squire.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>THE END</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='small'><em>Printed by</em> <span class='sc'>R. & R. Clark, Limited</span>, <em>Edinburgh</em></span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_421'>421</span><span class='large'>BY ROLF BOLDREWOOD.</span></div> - <div><span class='small'><em>Crown 8vo. 6s. each.</em></span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c001'><span class='large'><b>WAR TO THE KNIFE;</b></span> or, Tangata Maori.</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>ACADEMY.</cite>—“A stirring romance.”</p> - -<p class='c001'><b>A ROMANCE OF CANVAS TOWN</b>, and other Stories.</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>ATHENÆUM.</cite>—“The book is interesting for its obvious insight into life in the -Australian bush.”</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='small'><em>Crown 8vo. 3s. 6d. each.</em></span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c001'><b>ROBBERY UNDER ARMS.</b></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>A STORY OF LIFE AND ADVENTURE IN THE BUSH AND IN THE</div> - <div>GOLD-FIELDS OF AUSTRALIA.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'><cite>GUARDIAN.</cite>—“A singularly spirited and stirring tale of Australian life, chiefly -in the remoter settlements.... Altogether it is a capital story, full of wild adventure -and startling incidents, and told with a genuine simplicity and quiet appearance of truth, -as if the writer were really drawing upon his memory rather than his imagination.”</p> - -<p class='c001'><b>A MODERN BUCCANEER.</b></p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>DAILY CHRONICLE.</cite>—“We do not forget <cite>Robbery under Arms</cite>, or any of its -various successors, when we say that Rolf Boldrewood has never done anything so good as -<cite>A Modern Buccaneer</cite>. It is good, too, in a manner which is for the author a new one.”</p> - -<p class='c001'><b>THE MINER’S RIGHT.</b></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>A TALE OF THE AUSTRALIAN GOLD-FIELDS.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'><cite>WORLD.</cite>—“Full of good passages, passages abounding in vivacity, in the colour and -play of life.... The pith of the book lies in its singularly fresh and vivid pictures of the -humours of the gold-fields—tragic humours enough they are, too, here and again.”</p> - -<p class='c001'><b>THE SQUATTER’S DREAM.</b></p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>FIELD.</cite>—“The details are filled in by a hand evidently well conversant with his subject, -and everything is <span lang="it" xml:lang="it"><em>ben trovato</em></span>, if not actually true. A perusal of these cheerfully-written -pages will probably give a better idea of realities of Australian life than could be obtained -from many more pretentious works.”</p> - -<p class='c001'><b>A SYDNEY-SIDE SAXON.</b></p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>GLASGOW HERALD.</cite>—“The interest never flags, and altogether <cite>A Sydney-Side -Saxon</cite> is a really refreshing book.”</p> - -<p class='c001'><b>A COLONIAL REFORMER.</b></p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>ATHENÆUM.</cite>—“A series of natural and entertaining pictures of Australian life, -which are, above all things, readable.”</p> - -<p class='c001'><b>NEVERMORE.</b></p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>OBSERVER.</cite>—“An exciting story of Ballarat in the fifties. Its hero, Lance -Trevanion, is a character which for force of delineation has no equal in Rolf Boldrewood’s -previous novels.”</p> - -<p class='c001'><b>PLAIN LIVING.</b> A Bush Idyll.</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>ACADEMY.</cite>—“A hearty story, deriving charm from the odours of the bush and the -bleating of incalculable sheep.”</p> - -<p class='c001'><b>MY RUN HOME.</b></p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>ATHENÆUM.</cite>—“Rolf Boldrewood’s last story is a racy volume. It has many of -the best qualities of Whyte Melville, the breezy freshness and vigour of Frank Smedley, -with the dash and something of the abandon of Lever.... His last volume is one of his -best.”</p> - -<p class='c001'><b>THE SEALSKIN CLOAK.</b></p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>TIMES.</cite>—“A well-written story.”</p> - -<p class='c001'><b>THE CROOKED STICK; or, Pollie’s Probation.</b></p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>ACADEMY.</cite>—“A charming picture of Australian station life.”</p> - -<p class='c001'><b>OLD MELBOURNE MEMORIES.</b></p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>NATIONAL OBSERVER.</cite>—“His book deserves to be read in England with as -much appreciation as it has already gained in the country of its birth.”</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='small'><em>Fcap. 8vo. 2s.</em></span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c001'><b>THE SPHINX OF EAGLEHAWK.</b></p> - -<p class='c015'>A TALE OF OLD BENDIGO. [<cite>Macmillan’s Pocket Novels.</cite></p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>QUEEN.</cite>—“There is the usual mystery, the usual admirable gold-fields’ local colour, -which we expect from our favourite Rolf Boldrewood.”</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c002'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_422'>422</span><span class='large'>BY RUDYARD KIPLING</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='small'><em>Uniform Edition. Red cloth, gilt tops. Extra crown 8vo. 6s. each.</em></span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c001'><span class='large'><b>STALKY & CO.</b></span> Thirtieth Thousand.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='large'><b>THE DAY’S WORK.</b></span> Fifty-first Thousand.</p> -<p class='c015'><cite>MORNING POST.</cite>—“The book is so varied, so full of colour and life from end to -end, that few who read the first two or three stories will lay it down till they have read -the last.”</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='large'><b>PLAIN TALES FROM THE HILLS.</b></span> Forty-third Thousand.</p> -<p class='c015'><cite>SATURDAY REVIEW.</cite>—“Mr. Kipling knows and appreciates the English in -India, and is a born story-teller and a man of humour into the bargain.... It would -be hard to find better reading.”</p> - -<p class='c001'><b>LIFE’S HANDICAP.</b> Being Stories of Mine Own People. Thirty-first -Thousand.</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>BLACK AND WHITE.</cite>—“<cite>Life’s Handicap</cite> contains much of the best work -hitherto accomplished by the author, and, taken as a whole, is a complete advance upon -its predecessors.”</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='large'><b>MANY INVENTIONS.</b></span> Twenty-eighth Thousand.</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>PALL MALL GAZETTE.</cite>—“The completest book that Mr. Kipling has yet -given us in workmanship, the weightiest and most humane in breadth of view.... It -can only be regarded as a fresh landmark in the progression of his genius.”</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='large'><b>THE LIGHT THAT FAILED.</b></span> Rewritten and considerably -enlarged. Thirty-third Thousand.</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>ACADEMY.</cite>—“Whatever else be true of Mr. Kipling, it is the first truth about him -that he has power, real intrinsic power.... Mr. Kipling’s work has innumerable good -qualities.”</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='large'><b>WEE WILLIE WINKIE</b></span>, and other Stories.</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='large'><b>SOLDIERS THREE</b></span>, and other Stories.</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>GLOBE.</cite>—“Containing some of the best of his highly vivid work.”</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='large'><b>THE JUNGLE BOOK.</b></span> With Illustrations by <span class='sc'>J.L. Kipling</span>, <span class='sc'>W.H. -Drake</span>, and <span class='sc'>P. Frenzeny</span>. Forty-seventh Thousand. Crown 8vo. Cloth gilt. 6s.</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>PUNCH.</cite>—“‘Æsop’s Fables and dear old Brer Fox and Co.,’ observes the Baron -sagely, ‘may have suggested to the fanciful genius of Rudyard Kipling the delightful -idea, carried out in the most fascinating style, of <cite>The Jungle Book</cite>.’”</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='large'><b>THE SECOND JUNGLE BOOK.</b></span> With Illustrations by <span class='sc'>J. -Lockwood Kipling</span>. Thirty-third Thousand.</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>DAILY TELEGRAPH.</cite>—“The appearance of <cite>The Second Jungle Book</cite> is a literary -event of which no one will mistake the importance. Unlike most sequels, the various -stories comprised in the new volume are at least equal to their predecessors.”</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='large'>“<b>CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS.</b>”</span> <span class='sc'>A Story of the Grand Banks.</span> -Illustrated by <span class='sc'>I.W. Taber</span>. Twenty-third Thousand.</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>ATHENÆUM.</cite>—“Never in English prose has the sea in all its myriad aspects, with all -its sounds and sights and odours, been reproduced with such subtle skill as in these pages.”</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='large'><b>FROM SEA TO SEA.</b></span> In Two Vols.</p> - -<hr class='c016' /> - -<p class='c017'><span class='large'><b>SOLDIER TALES.</b></span> With Illustrations by <span class='sc'>A.S. Hartrick</span>. Tenth -Thousand. Crown 8vo. 6s.</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>ATHENÆUM.</cite>—“By issuing a reprint of some of the best of Mr. Kipling’s <cite>Soldier -Tales</cite>, Messrs. Macmillan have laid us all under an obligation.”</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='large'><b>A FLEET IN BEING.</b></span> <span class='sc'>Notes of Two Trips with the -Channel Squadron.</span> Fifty-third Thousand. Crown 8vo. Sewed, 1s. net.; -Cloth, 1s. 6d. net.</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>ARMY AND NAVY GAZETTE.</cite>—“A very admirable picture of the life of -officers and men who go down to the sea in the ships of Her Majesty’s fleet.”</p> - -<p class='c001'><span class='large'><b>THE KIPLING BIRTHDAY BOOK.</b></span> Compiled by <span class='sc'>Joseph Finn</span>. -Authorised by the Author, with Illustrations by <span class='sc'>J. Lockwood Kipling</span>. 16mo. 2s. 6d.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_423'>423</span>THE CHEAP EDITIONS OF</div> - <div class='c000'><span class='large'>MRS. HENRY WOOD’S NOVELS</span></div> - <div class='c000'><span class='small'><em>Crown 8vo, in green cloth, price 2s.; or in red cloth, gilt lettered,</em></span></div> - <div><span class='small'><em>price 2s. 6d. each.</em></span></div> - <div class='c000'><b>Sale nearly Three Million Copies.</b></div> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class='c016' /> - -<div class='lg-container-b'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>EAST LYNNE. Five Hundredth Thousand.</div> - <div class='line'>THE CHANNINGS. Two Hundredth Thousand.</div> - <div class='line'>MRS. HALLIBURTON’S TROUBLES. One Hundred and Fiftieth Thousand.</div> - <div class='line'>THE SHADOW OF ASHLYDYAT. One Hundred and Tenth Thousand.</div> - <div class='line'>LORD OAKBURN’S DAUGHTERS. One Hundred and Fifth Thousand.</div> - <div class='line'>VERNER’S PRIDE. Eighty-fifth Thousand.</div> - <div class='line'>ROLAND YORKE. One Hundred and Thirtieth Thousand.</div> - <div class='line'>JOHNNY LUDLOW. First Series. 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Sixth Series.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_424'>424</span><span class='large'>THE NOVELS OF ROSA NOUCHETTE CAREY.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='small'><em>Popular Edition. Crown 8vo. 3s. 6d. each.</em></span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c001'><b>NELLIE’S MEMORIES.</b> 30th Thousand.</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>STANDARD.</cite>—“Miss Carey has the gift of writing naturally and simply, her pathos is -true and unforced, and her conversations are sprightly and sharp.”</p> - -<p class='c001'><b>WEE WIFIE.</b> 22nd Thousand.</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>LADY.</cite>—“Miss Carey’s novels are always welcome; they are out of the common run, -immaculately pure, and very high in tone.”</p> - -<p class='c001'><b>BARBARA HEATHCOTE’S TRIAL.</b> 20th Thousand.</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>DAILY TELEGRAPH.</cite>—“A novel of a sort which it would be a real loss to miss.”</p> - -<p class='c001'><b>ROBERT ORD’S ATONEMENT.</b> 17th Thousand.</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>STANDARD.</cite>—“A most delightful book.”</p> - -<p class='c001'><b>WOOED AND MARRIED.</b> 21st Thousand.</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>STANDARD.</cite>—“There is plenty of romance in the heroine’s life. But it would not -be fair to tell our readers wherein that romance consists or how it ends. Let them read -the book for themselves. We will undertake to promise that they will like it.”</p> - -<p class='c001'><b>HERIOT’S CHOICE.</b> 18th Thousand.</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>MORNING POST.</cite>—“Deserves to be extensively known and read.... Will doubtless -find as many admirers as readers.”</p> - -<p class='c001'><b>QUEENIE’S WHIM.</b> 18th Thousand.</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>GUARDIAN.</cite>—“A thoroughly good and wholesome story.”</p> - -<p class='c001'><b>MARY ST. JOHN.</b> 16th Thousand.</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>JOHN BULL.</cite>—“The story is a simple one, but told with much grace and unaffected -pathos.”</p> - -<p class='c001'><b>NOT LIKE OTHER GIRLS.</b> 19th Thousand.</p> - -<p class='c001'><cite>NEW YORK HOME JOURNAL.</cite>—“One of the sweetest, daintiest, and most -interesting of the season’s publications.“</p> - -<p class='c001'><b>FOR LILIAS.</b> 14th Thousand.</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>VANITY FAIR.</cite>—“A simple, earnest, and withal very interesting story; well conceived, -carefully worked out, and sympathetically told.”</p> - -<p class='c001'><b>UNCLE MAX.</b> 15th Thousand.</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>LADY.</cite>—“So intrinsically good that the world of novel-readers ought to be genuinely -grateful.”</p> - -<p class='c001'><b>ONLY THE GOVERNESS.</b> 15th Thousand.</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>PALL MALL GAZETTE.</cite>—“This novel is for those who like stories with something -of Jane Austen’s power, but with more intensity of feeling than Jane Austen displayed, -who are not inclined to call pathos twaddle, and who care to see life and human -nature in their most beautiful form.”</p> - -<p class='c001'><b>LOVER OR FRIEND?</b> 12th Thousand.</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>GUARDIAN.</cite>—“The refinement of style and delicacy of thought will make <cite>Lover or -Friend?</cite> popular with all readers who are not too deeply bitten with a desire for things -improbable in their lighter literature.”</p> - -<p class='c001'><b>BASIL LYNDHURST.</b> 10th Thousand.</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>PALL MALL GAZETTE.</cite>—“We doubt whether anything has been written of late -years so fresh, so pretty, so thoroughly natural and bright.”</p> - -<p class='c001'><b>SIR GODFREY’S GRAND-DAUGHTERS.</b> 8th Thousand.</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>OBSERVER.</cite>—“A capital story.”</p> - -<p class='c001'><b>THE OLD, OLD STORY.</b> 9th Thousand.</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>DAILY NEWS.</cite>—“Miss Carey’s fluent pen has not lost its power of writing fresh -and wholesome fiction.”</p> - -<p class='c001'><b>THE MISTRESS OF BRAE FARM.</b> 10th Thousand.</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>PALL MALL GAZETTE.</cite>—“Miss Carey’s untiring pen loses none of its power, -and her latest work is as gracefully written, as full of quiet home charm, as fresh and -wholesome, so to speak, as its many predecessors.”</p> - -<p class='c001'><b>MRS. ROMNEY and “BUT MEN MUST WORK.”</b></p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>PALL MALL GAZETTE.</cite>—“By no means the least attractive of the works of this -charming writer.”</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_425'>425</span>Crown 8vo. 6s.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='xlarge'>STALKY AND CO.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c004'> - <div>By RUDYARD KIPLING</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c002'> - <div>Crown 8vo. 6s.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>THE</div> - <div><span class='xlarge'>METTLE OF THE PASTURE</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c002'> - <div>By JAMES LANE ALLEN</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_426'>426</span>Crown 8vo. 6s.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c004'> - <div><span class='xlarge'>MIRANDA OF THE BALCONY</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c004'> - <div>By A.E.W. MASON</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c002'> - <div>Crown 8vo. 6s.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='xlarge'>YOUNG APRIL</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c004'> - <div>By EGERTON CASTLE</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c004'> - <div><em>WITH ILLUSTRATIONS</em></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_427'>427</span>Crown 8vo. 6s.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c004'> - <div><span class='xlarge'>VALDA HÂNEM</span></div> - <div>THE ROMANCE OF A TURKISH HARÎM</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>By DAISY HUGH PRYCE</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c002'> - <div>Crown 8vo. 6s.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='xlarge'>THE ENCHANTER</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c004'> - <div>By U.L. SILBERRAD</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_428'>428</span>Crown 8vo. 6s.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c002'> - <div><span class='xlarge'>DONNA TERESA</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c004'> - <div>By F.M. PEARD</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c002'> - <div>Crown 8vo. 6s.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='xlarge'>VIA CRUCIS</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c004'> - <div>By F. MARION CRAWFORD</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_429'>429</span>Crown 8vo. 6s.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='xlarge'>RICHARD CARVEL</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c004'> - <div>By WINSTON CHURCHILL</div> - <div class='c000'><span class='small'>AUTHOR OF “THE CELEBRITY,” ETC. ETC.</span></div> - <div class='c000'><span class='small'><em>WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY</em></span></div> - <div class='c000'>CARLTON T. CHAPMAN <span class='fss'>AND</span> MALCOLM FRASER</div> - <div class='c000'><em>Upwards of 130,000 Copies have been sold in America since</em></div> - <div><em>publication.</em></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'><cite>BOOKMAN.</cite>—“A spirited tale of wandering and adventure, with -a wholesome love story to keep it fresh and sweet and provide for it -a happy ending.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>OBSERVER.</cite>—“A fine historical story of early American days; full -of incident and ‘go,’ and admirably written.”</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c004'> - <div>Second Impression. Extra Crown 8vo. 6s.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='xlarge'>ONE OF THE GRENVILLES</span></div> - <div class='c000'>By SYDNEY ROYSE LYSAGHT</div> - <div class='c000'><span class='small'>AUTHOR OF “THE MARPLOT”</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'><cite>GUARDIAN.</cite>—“We shall tell no more of Mr. Lysaght’s clever and -original tale, contenting ourselves with heartily recommending it to -any on the look-out for a really good and absorbing story.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>SATURDAY REVIEW.</cite>—“Mr. Sydney Lysaght should have a -future before him among writers of fiction. <cite>One of the Grenvilles</cite> is full -of interest.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>BOOKMAN.</cite>—“Is so high above the average of novels that its -readers will want to urge on the writer a more frequent exercise of his -powers.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>ACADEMY.</cite>—“There is freshness and distinction about <cite>One of the -Grenvilles</cite>.... Both for its characters and setting, and for its author’s -pleasant wit, this is a novel to read.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>DAILY TELEGRAPH.</cite>—“Since he wrote <cite>The Marplot</cite>, Mr. Lysaght -has degenerated neither in freshness, originality, nor sense of humour.”</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_430'>430</span>Second Impression. Crown 8vo. 6s.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c004'> - <div><span class='xlarge'>THE GAME AND THE CANDLE</span></div> - <div class='c000'>By RHODA BROUGHTON</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'><cite>OBSERVER.</cite>—“The story is an excellent one.... Miss Rhoda -Broughton well maintains her place among our novelists as one capable -of telling a quiet yet deeply interesting story of human passions.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>SPECTATOR.</cite>—“The book is extremely clever.”</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c004'> - <div>Second Impression. Crown 8vo. 6s.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>THE</div> - <div><span class='xlarge'>TREASURY OFFICER’S WOOING</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c001'><span class='large'>By CECIL LOWIS</span></p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>GUARDIAN.</cite>—“An exceedingly well-written, pleasant volume.... -Entirely enjoyable.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>LITERATURE.</cite>—“A capital picture of official life in Burma.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>DAILY TELEGRAPH.</cite>—“Emphatically of a nature to make us ask -for more from the same source.... Those who appreciate a story -without any sensational incidents, and written with keen observation -and great distinction of style, will find it delightful reading.... Cannot -fail to please its readers.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>SPECTATOR.</cite>—“Mr. Lowis’s story is pleasant to read in more -senses than one. It is not only clever and wholesome, but printed in -a type so large and clear as to reconcile us to the thickness of the -volume.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>ATHENÆUM.</cite>—“The author writes in a clear, attractive style, and -succeeds in maintaining the reader’s interest from the first page to the -last.”</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_431'>431</span>Crown 8vo. 6s.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='xlarge'>OFF THE HIGH ROAD</span></div> - <div class='c000'>By ELEANOR C. PRICE</div> - <div class='c000'><span class='small'>AUTHOR OF “YOUNG DENYS,” “IN THE LION’S MOUTH,“ ETC.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'><cite>ATHENÆUM.</cite>—“A pleasant tale.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>SPEAKER.</cite>—“A charming bit of social comedy, tinged with just -a suspicion of melodrama.... The atmosphere of the story is so -bright and genial that we part from it with regret.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>DAILY TELEGRAPH.</cite>—“At once ingenious, symmetrical, and -entertaining.... Miss Price’s fascinating romance.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>LITERATURE.</cite>—“A simple, but very pleasant story.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>SPECTATOR.</cite>—“The notion of an orphan heiress, the daughter of -an Earl, and the cynosure of two London seasons, flying precipitately -from her guardians, who are endeavouring to force her into a match -with a man she detests, and hiding herself under an assumed name in -a remote rural district of the Midlands, is an excellent motive in itself, -and gains greatly from the charm and delicacy of Miss Price’s handling.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>ACADEMY.</cite>—“A quiet country book in the main, with more -emotion than action, and continuous interest.”</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c004'> - <div>Second Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='xlarge'>THE PRIDE OF JENNICO</span></div> - <div class='c000'><em>BEING A MEMOIR OF</em></div> - <div class='c000'><span class='large'>CAPTAIN BASIL JENNICO</span></div> - <div class='c000'>By EGERTON CASTLE</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'><cite>ACADEMY.</cite>—“A capital romance.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>COUNTRY LIFE.</cite>—“This story of the later years of the eighteenth -century will rank high in literature. It is a fine and spirited romance -set in a slight but elegant and accurate frame of history. The book -itself has a peculiar and individual charm by virtue of the stately -language in which it is written.... It is stately, polished, and full of -imaginative force.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>LIVERPOOL DAILY MERCURY.</cite>—“The book is written in a -strong and terse style of diction with a swift and vivid descriptive touch. -In its grasp of character and the dramatic nature of its plot it is one of -the best novels of its kind since Stevenson’s <cite>Prince Otto</cite>.”</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_432'>432</span>Crown 8vo. 6s.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='large'>STORIES FROM AMERICAN HISTORY</span></div> - <div class='c000'><span class='xlarge'>BUCCANEERS AND PIRATES</span></div> - <div><span class='xlarge'>OF OUR COASTS</span></div> - <div class='c000'>By FRANK R. STOCKTON</div> - <div>AUTHOR OF “RUDDER GRANGE”</div> - <div class='c000'><span class='small'><em>WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY</em></span></div> - <div>GEORGE VARIAN <span class='fss'>AND</span> B. WEST CLINEDINST</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'><cite>PALL MALL GAZETTE.</cite>—“A fine book.... They are exciting -reading.... Eminently informing.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>ACADEMY.</cite>—“Mr. Frank R. Stockton is always interesting, whether -he writes for young or old.”</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c004'> - <div>Crown 8vo. 6s.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='xlarge'>HER MEMORY</span></div> - <div class='c000'>By MAARTEN MAARTENS</div> - <div class='c000'><span class='small'>AUTHOR OF “MY LADY NOBODY,” ETC.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'><cite>DAILY TELEGRAPH.</cite>—“Full of the quiet grace and literary -excellence which we have now learnt to associate with the author.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>DAILY NEWS.</cite>—“An interesting and characteristic example of -this writer’s manner. It possesses his sobriety of tone and treatment, -his limpidity and minuteness of touch, his keenness of observation.... -The book abounds in clever character sketches.... It is very -good.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>ST. JAMES’S GAZETTE.</cite>—“There is something peculiarly fascinating -in Mr. Maarten Maartens’s new story. It is one of those -exquisitely told tales, not unhappy, nor tragic, yet not exactly ‘happy,’ -but full of the pain—as a philosopher has put it—that one prefers, which -are read, when the reader is in the right mood, with, at least, a subdued -sense of tears, tears of pleasure.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>ATHENÆUM.</cite>—“Maarten Maartens has never written a brighter -social story, and it has higher qualities than brightness.”</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_433'>433</span>Crown 8vo. 6s.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>THE</div> - <div class='c000'><span class='xlarge'>ADVENTURES OF FRANCOIS</span></div> - <div class='c000'><em>Foundling, Thief, Juggler, and Fencing Master</em></div> - <div><em>during the French Revolution</em></div> - <div class='c000'>By S. WEIR MITCHELL, M.D.</div> - <div class='c000'><span class='small'>AUTHOR OF “HUGH WYNNE,” ETC.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'><cite>DAILY TELEGRAPH.</cite>—“It is delightfully entertaining throughout, -and throws much instructive light upon certain subordinate phases of -the great popular upheaval that convulsed France between 1788 and -1794.... Recounted with unflagging vivacity and inexhaustible good -humour.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>DAILY MAIL.</cite>—“This lively piece of imagination is animated -throughout by strong human interest and novel incident.”</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c004'> - <div>Sixth Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='xlarge'>CHARACTERISTICS</span></div> - <div class='c000'>By S. WEIR MITCHELL, M.D. LL.D. (Harvard)</div> - <div class='c000'><span class='small'>AUTHOR OF “THE ADVENTURES OF FRANCOIS”</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'><cite>SPECTATOR.</cite>—“Very well worth reading.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>ST. JAMES’S GAZETTE.</cite>—“This charming book.”</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_434'>434</span>Crown 8vo. 6s.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='xlarge'>“WAR TO THE KNIFE”</span></div> - <div class='c000'><span class='large'><span class='sc'>Or</span> TANGATA MAORI</span></div> - <div class='c000'>By ROLF BOLDREWOOD</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'><cite>SPEAKER.</cite>—“A stirring tale.... We are inclined to think that -<cite>War to the Knife</cite> is the best story we have had from Mr. Boldrewood -since he gave us the inimitable <cite>Robbery under Arms</cite>.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>ACADEMY.</cite>—“A stirring romance.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>OUTLOOK.</cite>—“Anyone who likes a good story, combined with any -amount of information on strange lands, should get this book.”</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c002'> - <div>Crown 8vo. 6s.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>A</div> - <div><span class='xlarge'>ROMANCE OF CANVAS TOWN</span></div> - <div><em>AND OTHER STORIES</em></div> - <div class='c000'>By ROLF BOLDREWOOD</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>CONTENTS</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c018'><span class='sc'>A Romance of Canvas Town—The Fencing of Wandaroona: -A Riverina Reminiscence—The Governess of the -Poets—Our New Cook: A Tale of the Times—Angels -Unawares</span></p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>DAILY TELEGRAPH.</cite>—“Eminently readable, being written in the -breezy, happy-go-lucky style which characterizes the more recent fictional -works of the author of that singularly earnest and impressive -romance, <cite>Robbery under Arms</cite>.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>DAILY MAIL.</cite>—“As pleasant as ever.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>GLASGOW HERALD.</cite>—“They will repay perusal.”</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_435'>435</span>Crown 8vo. 6s.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='xlarge'>THE FOREST LOVERS</span></div> - <div class='c000'>A ROMANCE</div> - <div class='c000'>By MAURICE HEWLETT</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'><cite>SPECTATOR.</cite>—“<cite>The Forest Lovers</cite> is no mere literary <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><em>tour de force</em></span>, -but an uncommonly attractive romance, the charm of which is greatly -enhanced by the author’s excellent style.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>DAILY TELEGRAPH.</cite>—“Mr. Maurice Hewlett’s <cite>Forest Lovers</cite> -stands out with conspicuous success.... He has compassed a very -remarkable achievement.... For nearly four hundred pages he carries -us along with him with unfailing resource and artistic skill, while he -unrolls for us the course of thrilling adventures, ending, after many -tribulations, in that ideal happiness towards which every romancer -ought to wend his tortuous way.... There are few books of this -season which achieve their aim so simply and whole-heartedly as -Mr. Hewlett’s ingenious and enthralling romance.”</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c004'> - <div>Crown 8vo. 6s.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>THE</div> - <div><span class='xlarge'>GOSPEL OF FREEDOM</span></div> - <div class='c000'>By ROBERT HERRICK</div> - <div class='c000'><span class='small'>AUTHOR OF “THE MAN WHO WINS,” “LITERARY LOVE LETTERS, AND</span></div> - <div><span class='small'>OTHER STORIES”</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'><cite>DAILY MAIL.</cite>—“Distinctly enjoyable and suggestive of much -profitable thought.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>SCOTSMAN.</cite>—“The book has a deal of literary merit, and is well -furnished with clever phrases.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>ATHENÆUM.</cite>—“Remarkably clever.... The writing throughout -is clear, and the story is well constructed.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><span class='sc'>W.D. Howells</span> in <cite>LITERATURE</cite>.—“A very clever new novel.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>GUARDIAN.</cite>—“The novel is well written, and full of complex -interests and personalities. It touches on many questions and problems -clearly and skilfully.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>DAILY CHRONICLE.</cite>—“A book which entirely interested us for -the whole of a blazing afternoon. He writes uncommonly well.”</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_436'>436</span>Crown 8vo. 6s.</div> - <div class='c000'><span class='small'><em>100,000 copies of this work have been sold</em></span></div> - <div class='c000'><span class='xlarge'>THE CHOIR INVISIBLE</span></div> - <div class='c000'>By JAMES LANE ALLEN</div> - <div class='c000'><span class='small'>AUTHOR OF “SUMMER IN ARCADY,” “A KENTUCKY CARDINAL,” ETC.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'><cite>ACADEMY.</cite>—“A book to read, and a book to keep after reading. -Mr. Allen’s gifts are many—a style pellucid and picturesque, a vivid and -disciplined power of characterization, and an intimate knowledge of a -striking epoch and an alluring country.... So magical is the wilderness -environment, so fresh the characters, so buoyant the life they lead, -so companionable, so well balanced, and so touched with humanity, the -author’s personality, that I hereby send him greeting and thanks for -a brave book.... <cite>The Choir Invisible</cite> is a fine achievement.”</p> - -<p class='c001'><cite>PALL MALL GAZETTE.</cite>—“Mr. Allen’s power of character drawing -invests the old, old story with renewed and absorbing interest.... -The fascination of the story lies in great part in Mr. Allen’s graceful -and vivid style.”</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c004'> - <div>Crown 8vo. 6s.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='xlarge'>A DRAMA IN SUNSHINE</span></div> - <div class='c000'>By HORACE ANNESLEY VACHELL</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>CONTENTS</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c018'><span class='sc'>The Prologue</span></p> - -<p class='c018'><span class='sc'>Chapter I. Sausages and Palaver—II. Illumination—III. -William Chillingworth—IV. Calamity Cañon—V. -Speculations—VI. Which contains a Moral—VII. -Of Blood and Water—VIII. Which ends in Flames—IX. -“Is Writ in Moods and Frowns and Wrinkles -Strange”—X. The Daughters of Themis</span></p> - -<p class='c019'><cite>LITERATURE.</cite>—“It has the joy of life in it, sparkle, humour, -charm.... All the characters, in their contrasts and developments, -are drawn with fine delicacy; and the book is one of those few which one -reads again with increased pleasure.”</p> - -<p class='c019'><cite>DAILY TELEGRAPH.</cite>—“A story of extraordinary interest.... Mr. -Vachell’s enthralling story, the dénouement of which worthily crowns -a literary achievement of no little merit.”</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c020'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_437'>437</span>Crown 8vo. 6s.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c020'> - <div><span class='xlarge'>HUGH GWYETH</span></div> - <div class='c000'><span class='large'>A ROUNDHEAD CAVALIER</span></div> - <div class='c000'>By BEULAH MARIE DIX</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c019'><cite>PALL MALL GAZETTE.</cite>—“A thoroughly interesting story.... -We hope it will not be the last of its kind from the author.”</p> - -<p class='c019'><cite>SATURDAY REVIEW.</cite>—“We found it difficult to tear ourselves -away from the fascinating narrative.”</p> - -<p class='c019'><cite>SPECTATOR.</cite>—“There is no gainsaying the spirit and fluency of -the narrative.”</p> - -<p class='c019'><cite>LEEDS MERCURY.</cite>—“The boy hero is admirably drawn, and his -stirring adventures are told with uncommon vivacity.”</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c021'> - <div>Crown 8vo. 6s.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c020'> - <div><span class='xlarge'>BISMILLAH</span></div> - <div class='c000'>By A.J. DAWSON</div> - <div class='c000'><span class='small'>AUTHOR OF “MERE SENTIMENT,” “GOD’S FOUNDLING,” ETC.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c022'>A romantic story of Moorish life in the Riff Country and in Tangier -by Mr. A.J. Dawson, whose last novel, <cite>God’s Foundling</cite>, was well -received in the beginning of the year, and whose West African and -Australian Bush stories will be familiar to most readers of fiction. -<cite>Bismillah</cite> is the title chosen for Mr. Dawson’s new book, which may -be regarded as the outcome of his somewhat adventurous experiences -in Morocco last year.</p> - -<p class='c019'><cite>ACADEMY.</cite>—“Romantic and dramatic, and full of colour.”</p> - -<p class='c019'><cite>GUARDIAN.</cite>—“Decidedly clever and original.... Its excellent -local colouring, and its story, as a whole interesting and often dramatic, -make it a book more worth reading and enjoyable than is at all -common.”</p> - -<p class='c019'><cite>SPEAKER.</cite>—“A stirring tale of love and adventure.... There is -enough of exciting incident, of fighting, intrigue, and love-making in -<cite>Bismillah</cite> to satisfy the most exacting reader.”</p> - -<p class='c019'><cite>MANCHESTER GUARDIAN.</cite>—“An interesting and pleasing tale.”</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c020'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_438'>438</span>Crown 8vo. 6s.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c020'> - <div><span class='xlarge'><span class='sc'>RUPERT, by the GRACE of GOD</span>—</span></div> - <div class='c000'><span class='large'>By DORA GREENWELL McCHESNEY</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c019'><cite>DAILY TELEGRAPH.</cite>—“Miss McChesney shows that she -possesses both graphic powers and imagination in the course of her -story, and those parts of it which are historical are told with a due -regard for truth as well as picturesqueness.”</p> - -<p class='c019'><cite>ATHENÆUM.</cite>—“A singular successful specimen of the ‘historical’ -fiction of the day.”</p> - -<p class='c019'><cite>WORLD.</cite>—“The reader will rapidly find his attention absorbed by -a really stirring picture of stirring times.”</p> - -<p class='c019'><cite>OBSERVER.</cite>—“Miss McChesney has mastered her period -thoroughly, and tells an attractive story in a very winning fashion.”</p> - -<p class='c019'><cite>GUARDIAN.</cite>—“The description of the flight from Naseby is one of -real eloquence, and profoundly moving. There is brilliancy, insight, -and feeling in the story.”</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c021'> - <div>Crown 8vo. 6s.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c020'> - <div><span class='xlarge'>THE DAY’S WORK</span></div> - <div class='c000'>By RUDYARD KIPLING</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c020'> - <div class='c023'>CONTENTS</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c018'><span class='sc'>The Bridgebuilders—A Walking Delegate—The Ship -that Found Herself—The Tomb of his Ancestors—The -Devil and the Deep Sea—William the Conqueror—·007—The -Maltese Cat—Bread upon the Waters—An -Error of the Fourth Dimension—My Sunday at -Home—The Brushwood Boy</span></p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>ST. JAMES’S GAZETTE.</cite>—“This new batch of Mr. Kipling’s short -stories is splendid work. Among the thirteen there are included at least -five of his very finest.... Speaking for ourselves, we have read -<cite>The Day’s Work</cite> with more pleasure than we have derived from anything -of Mr. Kipling’s since <cite>The Jungle Book</cite>.... It is in the Findlaysons, -and the Scotts, and the Cottars, and the ‘Williams,’ that Mr. Kipling’s -true greatness lies. These are creations that make one feel pleased and -proud that we are also English. What greater honour could there be -to an English writer?”</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_439'>439</span>Crown 8vo. 6s.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='xlarge'>MEN’S TRAGEDIES</span></div> - <div class='c000'>By R.V. RISLEY</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c018'><span class='sc'>Containing:—The Man who Loved, The Man who Hated, -The Man who Bore, The Man who Cared, The Man -who Fell, The Man who Sneered, The Man who -Killed, The Man who Died, The Man who was Himself.</span></p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>OUTLOOK.</cite>—“Mr. R.V. Risley may be congratulated on having -produced a set of really moving studies.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>SCOTSMAN.</cite>—“The stories are powerful studies of human nature, -which show considerable art in presenting the stronger passions.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>GLASGOW HERALD.</cite>—“Clever, striking, and impressionist sort -of stories.”</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c004'> - <div>Globe 8vo. Gilt top. 6s.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='xlarge'>THE SHORT-LINE WAR</span></div> - <div class='c000'>By MERWIN-WEBSTER</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'><cite>LITERATURE.</cite>—“The story is well written, and full of exciting -intrigue.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>SPECTATOR.</cite>—“The story is well put together, well told, and -exciting.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>SPEAKER.</cite>—“Short, exciting, well composed.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>ACADEMY.</cite>—“Told with much spirit.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>PALL MALL GAZETTE.</cite>—“The book is briskly written by a man -who is interested in his subject.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>SCOTSMAN.</cite>—“The story is told with capital spirit, and the reader -is not given time to feel dull.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>GLASGOW HERALD.</cite>—“Vivid and interesting.”</p> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_440'>440</span>Crown 8vo. 6s.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>THE</div> - <div class='c000'><span class='xlarge'>TRAIL OF THE GOLDSEEKERS</span></div> - <div class='c000'><span class='large'>A RECORD OF TRAVEL IN PROSE</span></div> - <div><span class='large'>AND VERSE</span></div> - <div class='c000'>By HAMLIN GARLAND</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'><cite>SPEAKER.</cite>—“It consists of vivid prose pictures of adventure in the -wild North West, interspersed with unconventional and often extremely -beautiful snatches of verse. The book reflects better than anything -else we have seen the pitiless majesty of the scenery and the tragic -conditions of the quest.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>OBSERVER.</cite>—“Racy, invigorating, and informing.... Interspersed -with some admirable verses.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>BOOKMAN.</cite>—“To read the volume is to make the overland journey -to the Yukon River. We have enjoyed the book most thoroughly.”</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c004'> - <div>Crown 8vo. 6s.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='xlarge'>THE LOVES</span></div> - <div class='c000'>OF THE</div> - <div class='c000'><span class='xlarge'>LADY ARABELLA</span></div> - <div class='c000'>By M.E. SEAWELL</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'><cite>SPEAKER.</cite>—“A story told with so much spirit that the reader -tingles with suspense until the end is reached.... A very pleasant tale -of more than common merit.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>PALL MALL GAZETTE.</cite>—“It is short and excellent reading.... -Old Peter Hawkshaw, the Admiral, is a valuable creation, sometimes -quite ‘My Uncle Toby’.... The scene, when the narrator dines with -him in the cabin for the first time, is one of the most humorous in the -language, and stamps Lady Hawkshaw—albeit, she is not there—as one -of the wives of fiction in the category of Mrs. Proudie herself.... The -interest is thoroughly sustained to the end.... Thoroughly healthy -and amusing.”</p> - -<p class='c015'><cite>WORLD.</cite>—“Brisk and amusing throughout.”</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>MACMILLAN AND CO., <span class='sc'>Ltd.</span>, LONDON</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<p class='c001'><a id='endnote'></a></p> -<div class='tnotes'> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='large'>Transcriber’s Note</span></div> - </div> -</div> -<p class='c001'>Minor errors, attributable to the printer, have been corrected.</p> -<p class='c001'>The following issues should be noted. There were a number of co -nfusions -about nested quotation marks, which have been addressed to ease the reading -experience. Where the author’s intent is unclear, the text is retained.</p> - -<p class='c001'>Errors of punctuation in the advertisement section at the end of the -text were corrected, silently, in the interest of consistency.</p> - -<table class='table1' summary=''> -<colgroup> -<col width='15%' /> -<col width='61%' /> -<col width='23%' /> -</colgroup> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>p. 5</td> - <td class='c007'>intercour[es/se]</td> - <td class='c024'>Transposed.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>p. 41</td> - <td class='c007'>[‘]Well, I don’t deny</td> - <td class='c024'>Added.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>p. 74</td> - <td class='c007'>[‘]Quite right, Dick;</td> - <td class='c024'>Added.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>p. 94</td> - <td class='c007'>and considerable[./,] Mick and his sons</td> - <td class='c024'>Corrected.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>p. 99</td> - <td class='c007'>‘Ladies and gentlemen!’ he shouted[.]</td> - <td class='c024'>Added.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>p. 109</td> - <td class='c007'>the English thoroughbred.[’]</td> - <td class='c024'>Added.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>p. 116</td> - <td class='c007'>labouring up and [and] glanced</td> - <td class='c024'>Removed.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>p. 118</td> - <td class='c007'>Dick [road/rode] up straight</td> - <td class='c024'>Corrected.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>p. 147</td> - <td class='c007'>about one another,[’]</td> - <td class='c024'>Added.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>p. 178</td> - <td class='c007'>licks [’]im</td> - <td class='c024'>Added.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>p. 206</td> - <td class='c007'>Fred Churbett out of [of] his bed</td> - <td class='c024'>Removed.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>p. 224</td> - <td class='c007'>villians</td> - <td class='c024'><em>sic.</em></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>p. 225</td> - <td class='c007'>[“]if we meet any</td> - <td class='c024'>Added.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'></td> - <td class='c007'>back you go to the barracks[’/”]</td> - <td class='c024'>Corrected.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'></td> - <td class='c007'>[‘]They’d take me ... and free from trouble,”[’]</td> - <td class='c024'>Added.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>p. 227</td> - <td class='c007'>'What a tragedy![']</td> - <td class='c024'>Added.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>p. 232</td> - <td class='c007'>any other[ other] part</td> - <td class='c024'>Removed.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>p. 252</td> - <td class='c007'>[‘]I like forest</td> - <td class='c024'>Added.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>p. 269</td> - <td class='c007'>compressd</td> - <td class='c024'><em>sic.</em></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>p. 275</td> - <td class='c007'>I see it in your face[.]</td> - <td class='c024'>Added.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>p. 287</td> - <td class='c007'>wild-f[l]owl</td> - <td class='c024'>Removed.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>p. 298</td> - <td class='c007'>he became a finder of continents.[’]</td> - <td class='c024'>Added.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>p. 310</td> - <td class='c007'>[‘]You will enjoy</td> - <td class='c024'>Added.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'></td> - <td class='c007'>Hu[r]bert</td> - <td class='c024'>Removed.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>p. 313</td> - <td class='c007'>Gera[r/l]d</td> - <td class='c024'>Corrected.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>p. 315</td> - <td class='c007'>my dear boy[,/.]</td> - <td class='c024'>Corrected.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>p. 318</td> - <td class='c007'>but the old who die![’]</td> - <td class='c024'>Removed.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>p. 367</td> - <td class='c007'>home at last——[”/’]</td> - <td class='c024'>Corrected.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'></td> - <td class='c007'>Hu[r]bert</td> - <td class='c024'>Removed.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>p. 373</td> - <td class='c007'>well-featured, manly[.]</td> - <td class='c024'>Added.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>p. 419</td> - <td class='c007'>But some[w]how</td> - <td class='c024'>Removed.</td> - </tr> -</table> - -</div> - -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<hr class="full" /> -<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BABES IN THE BUSH***</p> -<p>******* This file should be named 51209-h.htm or 51209-h.zip *******</p> -<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> -<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/5/1/2/0/51209">http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/2/0/51209</a></p> -<p> -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed.</p> - -<p>Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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