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diff --git a/57244-0.txt b/57244-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..daa9b8f --- /dev/null +++ b/57244-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11411 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 57244 *** + + + + + + + + + ++-------------------------------------------------+ +|Transcriber's note: | +| | +|Obvious typographic errors have been corrected. | +| | ++-------------------------------------------------+ + + +THE LOST EXPLORERS + +[Illustration: "AND ALL THIS TIME THE HAPPY-GO-LUCKY SHADOW WAS PLUGGING +ALONG OVER THE THIRSTY DESERT SANDS"] + + +THE LOST EXPLORERS + +A STORY OF THE TRACKLESS DESERT + +BY + +ALEXANDER MACDONALD +F.R.G.S., F.R.S.G.S., F.R.C.I. + +Author of +"In Search of El Dorado" +"The Trail of the Pioneer" +"Pioneering in Klondike" + +ILLUSTRATED BY ARTHUR H. BUCKLAND + +BLACKIE AND SON LIMITED +LONDON GLASGOW DUBLIN BOMBAY +1907 + + +_Copyrighted in the United States, America +by Blackie & Son, Limited_ + + +DEDICATED TO + +B. B. + + + + +PREFACE + + +In this work I have endeavoured to portray a phase of life in a far-away +land, a land concerning which we have only too little knowledge at the +present time, though it is one of our Empire's greatest colonies. I am +aware that to make a book composed largely of real +happenings--especially when one writes for the youth of the nation--is a +somewhat unusual thing to do. In _The Lost Explorers_ I have given a +tale of gold-digging and of exploration--a tale, for the most part, of +events that have actually happened. My characters are all drawn--however +crudely--from life; my descriptions are those of one who has seen and +felt in a similar environment. My boys in the story were real boys, and +they dared and suffered and accomplished together. As for Mackay, he is +still a power in the land, ready and willing always, as he said to his +young companions, "to shed the light of his great knowledge abroad for +the benefit of mankind in general". + +The last few chapters of the book are based on an explorer's natural +deductions. We all, who have forced a painful path over Central +Australia's arid sands, hope--ay, believe--in the existence of a +wonderful region in the vague mists of the Never Never Land. Perhaps +the very strenuousness of the wish brings about the belief. Who can +say? My descriptions of the strange aborigines beyond the mystic +mountains are not altogether fanciful. In my own wanderings I have +encountered more than one tribe whose mental development was far in +advance of that usually credited to the untutored savage of the great +Island Continent. What I have written, I have written faithfully, and to +the best of my ability. If _The Lost Explorers_ gives pleasure to my +readers, I shall indeed be more than content. + +ALEXANDER MACDONALD. + + + + +CONTENTS + +CHAP. Page + I. A MOMENTOUS DECISION 11 + + II. OUTWARD BOUND 29 + + III. GOLDEN FLAT 46 + + IV. THE TREASURE OF THE MINE 66 + + V. THE RUSH AT GOLDEN FLAT 93 + + VI. THE SHADOW'S GREAT EFFORT 112 + + VII. BOB'S TRIUMPH 131 + +VIII. MACGUIRE'S THREAT 151 + + IX. INTO THE UNKNOWN 192 + + X. AN AWKWARD PREDICAMENT 207 + + XI. THE FINDING OF FORTUNATE SPRING 227 + + XII. A NIGHT ATTACK 244 + +XIII. THE MYSTIC MOUNTAIN 267 + + XIV. THE STRUGGLE BY THE MOUNTAIN 285 + + XV. THE SECRET OF THE MOUNTAIN 304 + + XVI. THE PRISONERS BY THE MOUNT 342 + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + + Page +"AND ALL THIS TIME THE HAPPY-GO-LUCKY SHADOW WAS +PLUGGING ALONG OVER THE THIRSTY DESERT SANDS" + _Frontispiece_ 116 + +"LOOK WHAT'S COMING, BOYS" 48 + +"JACK FELT A BALL GRAZE HIS TEMPLE; THEN HIS OWN +RIFLE SPOKE" 173 + +"HE UNFOLDED A LONG TRACK CHART WHICH HE CARRIED IN +HIS HAND" 207 + +"IT LOOKED AS IF NOTHING COULD STAND AGAINST THAT +MADDENED RUSH" 255 + +"EMU BILL GENTLY PILLOWED HIS DYING COMRADE'S HEAD +UPON HIS KNEE" 292 + +"MACKAY RUSHED TO MEET THE NEW-COMER" 341 + +"MACKAY, CLUTCHING FAST TO THE ARMOURY OF THE +EXPEDITION, WAS HAULED TO THE SURFACE" 370 + + + + +THE LOST EXPLORERS + + + + +CHAPTER I + +A Momentous Decision + + +"I'm full up of this ceaseless grind, Jack," suddenly broke out Robert +Wentworth, a tall, slenderly built young man of about eighteen years of +age, throwing down the paper he had been reading with unnecessary +energy. + +Jack Armstrong aroused himself from a reverie, and looked up with an +amused gleam in his grey eyes. He was a medium-sized, squarely built +youth about two years the junior of the first speaker. + +"I believe I have heard you say that before, Bob," he said; "but all the +same you echo my sentiments exactly. Still, what can we do? Our +munificent salaries do little more than pay for our board in these +digs"--he waved his hand comprehensively around the little room which +they shared together--"and consequently we haven't saved enough to buy +our steam yacht yet!" He laughed with affected cheerfulness. + +Wentworth's strong, studious-looking face clouded momentarily. + +"That's all very well, Jack," he answered severely; "but you know that +there is little chance of our present positions improving to any +extent. Engineering is good enough for the few; but I can plainly see +that life is too short for us to make a fortune at the game. The fact +is," he added, in a more moderate tone, "this country is too crowded for +us, and too old. Everything is standardized so accurately that we are +little more than machines; and we must exist on our paltry pittances, +seeing nothing but grime and smoke and rain and fogs, until we become +old and brain-sodden, with never a hope beyond the morrow. No, I am +tired of it--absolutely full up of it." He picked up the discarded paper +once more, and directed Armstrong's attention to a paragraph under the +heading of General News, and this was what the younger man read-- + +"Mr. James Mackay, who was the only survivor of the ill-fated Bentley +Exploring Expedition in Central Australia, arrived in the city last +night, and is staying at the Central Hotel. It will be remembered that +Mr. Bentley's party was massacred by the blacks some months ago, the +only man escaping being Mr. Mackay, chief bushman to the expedition, +who, fortunately, was not with the others when they were attacked. It is +generally supposed that the unknown tracks in Western and Central +Australia hold vast treasure of gold and gems in their keeping, and they +provide the incentive which sends the explorer across these trackless +wastes." + +"So that's the country you would like to go to, Bob," he said +quizzically, "where explorers get killed by the natives?" + +"Not exactly," replied Wentworth; "but it attracts me all the same. My +only uncle went out to Australia about ten years ago, and we never heard +of him again; I suppose that has given me an interest in the country, +for I remember him well as one of the finest men one could wish to meet. +Anyhow, there can be no gain without risk, Jack, and I have often +thought of trying my luck at the goldfields in Australia, though I don't +suppose there can be much danger from the natives where they are." + +"But there is time enough yet," ventured Armstrong. "We are not so very +old----" + +"All the more reason," returned his companion, quickly, "that we should +decide on our future while our brains are fresh. If we continue on in +the same groove here, we'll get so accustomed to it that we won't want +to leave it. No, Jack, I am in earnest. I have decided to get out of +it." + +"You can't get out of it without me, Bob," said Armstrong, quietly. "You +know I go with you. We haven't been chums these two years for nothing. +And," he added proudly, "I am as strong as most men, and able to take +care of myself in any part of the world." + +Wentworth laughed grimly. "We'll face it together, Jack," said he. + +"And we'll carve our way in it successfully, too," cried the boy, +enthusiastically, now completely won over. "Hurrah for Australia, the +land of gold!" + +They arose and clasped hands, Wentworth's face expressing determined +resolve, Armstrong's shining with the light of eagerness and hope. + +Robert Wentworth and Jack Armstrong were chums in the truest sense of +the word. They had been attracted to each other from their first day of +meeting, when Armstrong, whose father had just died leaving him an +orphan, homeless and well-nigh penniless, arrived at the Clyde +Engineering Works, to take up the post secured for him by a thoughtful +friend who understood the boy's independent spirit. Wentworth had by +this time served a year at his profession, but had made few friends, +being too reserved and distant by nature to please the other +apprentices; indeed, these unthinking, though well-meaning, individuals +had grown inclined to misconstrue his quiet demeanour, until they got a +rude awakening. A few of the rowdier spirits had surrounded Armstrong +during the luncheon hour of his first day among them, and were +endeavouring to get as much fun as they could at the new-comer's +expense; and he, poor fellow, fresh from his sad bereavement, was in no +mood to appreciate their witticisms. + +"Can't you let the youngster alone?" said Wentworth, approaching the +group. + +They turned in amazement at his interruption; and one of them, a +thick-set, pugnacious lad, inquired contemptuously, if irrelevantly-- + +"Well, and what could you do, anyhow, Mr. Philosopher? I didn't think +you would care to risk a fight." + +"Didn't you?" came the cool response, as the young engineer calmly +doffed his coat. "You will think differently in a few minutes." + +And when he had polished off his antagonist in a scientific manner that +delighted the hearts of the beholders, even the defeated champion could +not forbear his tribute. + +"You are too much for me, Wentworth," he said feelingly, when he had +recovered himself. "But I think it was mighty mean of you deceiving us +so long." + +After that Wentworth and Armstrong were always together; a bond of +sympathy had sprung up between them, and before long they were sharing +the same room, and were known as David and Jonathan by their +engineering associates. Wentworth's history was none of the brightest. +His father had been a sea captain, and though ten years had elapsed +since he and his ship had gone to the bottom in the China seas, Bob's +memory easily carried him back to their last parting; and he recalled +how, childlike, he had volunteered to take care of his mother until the +captain came back--and he never came back. The widowed mother, left with +her two children--Bob, and his sister Lucy, two years younger than +himself--knowing how the roaming nature of the father had been repeated +in the son, sought a home as far away from the sea as possible, and did +her utmost on the scanty income left her to give them both the best of +education. But Bob, old beyond his years, knew more of his mother's +struggle than she guessed, and at fourteen he quietly seized an +opportunity that offered, and apprenticed himself to the well-known firm +of engineers already mentioned--and told his mother afterwards. And the +discontent which he felt with his somewhat grimy surroundings, though +hidden from his mother and sister, was often and often poured into the +ears of his companion, whose sympathy was ever ready and sincere, and +found culmination in the expression which opens this chapter. + +And now that they had decided on a definite plan of action, they lost no +time in carrying it into effect. So, a few days later, having called on +their employer and explained their reasons for leaving his service, they +directed their steps towards a general shipping office in order to +procure full information concerning the vessels and routes of sailing to +Australia. + +When they entered the doorway there were no intending voyagers engaging +the attention of the clerk; but while Wentworth was making inquiries, +some one entered and stood a little way behind the pair, and beguiled +his time while he waited by whistling, most horribly out of tune, that +familiar ballad, "Home, Sweet Home!" + +"You can go to Australia by P. and O. or Orient Line, _via_ the Suez +Canal," the clerk reeled off glibly. "Or you may avoid the heat of the +Red Sea by travelling round the Cape in a Shaw Savill, or New Zealand +Shipping Company's boat. To what port do you wish to sail?" + +"I think," said Bob, after a hurried consultation with Armstrong, "I +think the port nearest the goldfields." + +"That will be Melbourne," said the spruce shipping clerk, after some +consideration. "Melbourne is the port for Ballarat." + +"Go awa' and bile your held or study geography," came a gruff voice from +behind. "You're an old fossil, you are, or you would ken that the +laddies mean Western Australia. Ballarat has seen its day, but the West +is still a land o' promise." + +The two boys turned abruptly, while the clerk endeavoured to cough down +his discomfiture. They saw beside them a burly middle-aged man with a +deeply bronzed face, over which the shadow of a smile was stealing. Even +at that moment, as they admitted afterwards, they both thought they had +never seen a more kindly countenance, in spite of the grim lines around +the mouth, which were only half concealed by a spiky red moustache. But +immediately the interrupter saw the elder lad's face he started back as +if shot, and a tremor seemed to run through his stalwart frame. "As like +as twa peas," he muttered hoarsely, and only Armstrong, who was close +beside him, heard the words. + +"And have ye decided to go out to Australia, my lads?" he inquired +kindly, after a moment's pause. "Now, dinna get your backs up," he +reproved mildly, as Wentworth seemed about to resent his interference, +"I like you the better for your independence, but Australia's a place +that is no very weel kent even at this period o' civilization, and maist +certainly ye'll get nae reliable information from that wooden-heided +mummy--ye'll pardon the gentle inseenuation," he said, with elaborate +politeness, nodding to his victim behind the desk. "Now, I should ken +Australia better than maist men," he continued, "an' it's my weakness +that I should wish to shed my information abroad for the benefit o' +mankind in general, but mair particularly"--here he laid a hand on each +of the young men's shoulders--"would I like to assist young laddies like +yoursel's wha are aboot to venture on so long a journey." + +"We are obliged to you, sir," said Wentworth, gravely and distantly. "We +certainly should like to know something of Australia." + +"We would, indeed," supplemented Armstrong, impulsively holding out his +hand. + +The brawny Scot returned the grip; then, addressing himself more +directly to Wentworth, said-- + +"I can see, my lad, that your head's screwed on the richt way, and I +admire you for it; but you're a vera bad judge o' character, I'm +thinkin', if ye canna distinguish between the spontaneous flow o' the +milk o' human kindness, and the fause remarks o' an interested +indiveedual. My name is Mackay," he concluded with dignity, "Big Mackay +they call me in Australia." He paused, and gazed searchingly at +Wentworth. "Now," he added, and strangely enough there was no trace of +the Doric in his language, "you may come and lunch with me at the +Central if you wish, and I'll tell you about Australia, and if you +prefer otherwise, why, there's no harm done." + +He wheeled quickly and strode to the door, but the boys were by a common +impulse at his side before he was half a dozen yards down the street. + +"I am sorry if I appeared to doubt your good intentions, Mr. Mackay," +said Wentworth, "but we are ignorant of the bigger world which you know +so well, and kindnesses from strangers have not often come our way. But +we have heard of you, sir; why, I believe it was through reading of you +in the _Herald_ some days ago that we decided to go to Australia." + +The big man laughed good-naturedly. "You were quite right, my boy," said +he, "but you may ken me better in future. It's no' so long since I was +young mysel'," he concluded with a sigh. + +By this time they were entering the hotel, and the boys were much +impressed to observe the many tributes of respect which greeted their +guide. Evidently his strange personality had become well known during +his brief sojourn in the land of his fathers. Soon they were seated in +the dining-room at a table conveniently remote from the others, and +before the meal was finished Mackay was in possession of the lads' brief +histories, and had been informed of their uncontrollable longing to get +away to a new country. + +"And your uncle went oot to Australia ten years ago?" he repeated +musingly, when Wentworth told him his story. "Well, well, Australia is +a big country, and it's no likely ye'll meet him there. Why canna ye +content yersel's where ye are?" he demanded brusquely. + +"We can never hope for much if we remain here," argued Wentworth. "And +we should like to have a chance----" + +"Just so," gravely said Mackay, "just so, my young shavers. Well, I can +tell ye this, some folk can do well in any part o' this wee planet, and +others--and they are in the majority--are never much good. Energy and +enterprise are what is wanted, and nae whining after hame----" + +"I thought," interjected Armstrong, slyly, "that I heard you whistling +'Home, Sweet Home!' in the shipping office?" + +Mackay beamed. "It's very kind of ye to say so," he replied. "Maist o' +my acquaintances asseverate that my whustle is like a deein' dug's +lament, an' no fit to be translated into any tune whatsoever. But, all +the same, Jack, my man, that's a tune I can only whustle when I am at +hame; it makes me think things are no' as meeserable as they seem. Why, +you young scamps, a man should be at hame anywhere. As for me I'm maist +at hame when I'm awa' from hame, which is what I call a paradoxical +statement o' fact for ye to moralize on. Many years ago," he went on, "I +sailed oot o' the Clyde as chief engineer on one o' the finest boats +that was ever launched, but when I got to Australia and fell in touch +wi' Bentley's exploring expedition, my good resolutions for a quiet +ordinar' existence squelched oot o' me like the wind frae a punctured +bicycle tyre. 'I want ye, Mac,' said Bentley, 'to cross the Never Never +wi' me.' He had another rusty-heided Scotsman in his company, an auld +friend o' mine, an' I said, 'Well, if it's only to keep that +gorilla-faced Pharisee oot o' mischief, I'll come.' An'--an' I went, an' +I've been living like an aboriginal ever since; an' now that I've come +back to look at my ain country, I feel like a pelican in the wilderness. +I came awa' to try and forget aboot things an'--an' it's no' possible." + +Mackay ceased; his eyes seemed to gaze into the distance, and his +good-humoured countenance for the moment became drawn and haggard. His +eager listeners too, felt the spell of his sadness, and for some minutes +there was a sympathetic silence; then Armstrong spoke. "Will you tell us +about it, Mr. Mackay," he asked gently, and without a word of +introduction the big man began his story-- + +"We were three months oot on our exploring journey into Central +Australia, and had come through the usual amount o' hardships--suffering +from want o' water, occasional skirmishes wi' the niggers, and other +similar trifles, and at this time the Chief was considerin' that we had +a good chance o' cuttin' through a maist promisin' lookin' tract o' +country which had never before been reached. As it was, we were further +into the heart o' Australia than any explorer had ever penetrated, and +every one o' us was fu' o' enthusiasm aboot our prospects, and dreamed +o' findin' a new Eldorado in this far back country we were enterin' +upon. But one morning, when we were east o' the 125th longitude, one of +the pack camels grew obstreperous, and broke away into the bush to the +nor'-east. We couldn't afford to lose the cantankerous animal; besides, +he carried a fair amount o' our stores on his back. To make a long story +short, I volunteered to track him up and fetch him back. 'Don't go too +far, Mac,' said Bentley to me as I was starting out, 'I'm none too sure +of this district, there may be natives about.' + +"But what did I care about a wheen niggers? 'Ye needna wait for me,' I +shouted back, 'I'll fetch the beastie a' richt, and cut your trail afore +you've travelled a dozen miles.'" Mackay stopped and sighed deeply. + +"And what happened?" asked Wentworth and Armstrong almost with one +breath. + +"Heaven only knows, my lads. I never saw any of the party again. I +tracked up Misery--that was the camel's name--but he took me a gey long +travel, and it was late at night when I started to go back, but though I +pushed hard to the south'ard until well into the next day, I couldna +pick up a sign o' a track. A camel's pad is no easily missed, and though +the ground was more broken and hilly than usual, I felt sure I couldna +have crossed their route o' march. Back I went again, examining the +ground maist carefully, then a' at once I got a sair shock. I came on a +soft patch o' sand, and every bit o' it was marked wi' natives' +footprints. I could see the marks o' their big, flat feet everywhere +round aboot, and they telt me as plainly as if I had seen the niggers +themselves that they had come in from the east, and had gone back over +their ain tracks within the last half-dozen hours. I needna tell ye what +I feared then. Though I hadna had a drink o' water nor a bite to eat +since I left the camp, a' thought o' hunger or thirst left me, as I +traced the nigger tracks backwards to the west. They took me straight to +our old camp where Misery had broken away, and what do you think I saw +there?" + +The boys shook their heads wonderingly. + +"Only bones; bones, in the middle o' a lot o' ashes which were still +warm, and the smell o' burnin' was like the stench o' a nigger +corroboree. I turned again on their tracks. I must have been mad, for +one man could do little against a tribe that had wiped out one of the +finest expeditions that ever ventured into the Never Never Land, but I +was desperate, and I tracked the skunks like a bloodhound. My throat was +parched, my tongue was too big for my jaws, but I felt that I would gang +under wi' pleasure if I could only get my rifle sights on the brutes +first. But I couldna get even that satisfaction. Before I had gone far I +was stopped by a mountain that seemed to rise like a wall straight from +the flats. I hadn't seen it before, so I may have followed further than +I thought, or maybe the sand haze had hidden it from our view. No one +has ever believed that a mountain like it exists in that country, and +I'm the only white man that knows it to be there. I was too weak to +climb it, and after three or four tries I sat at the bottom and just +raved. + +"How I returned beats me yet to understand. The water-bag on Misery's +back was empty, and our last spring charted was fifty miles to westward, +wi' five hundred miles beyond that again to a mining camp. I'm no +navigator, only a bushman, but somehow I got back, the only survivor of +the party, and I felt like a murderer comin' in alone. I was the Chief's +righthand man for ten years, my lads, and a straighter or better-hearted +leader never lived. Then there was my old comrade Stewart wi' the red +hair, wha I used to misca' so sairly; Pioneer Bill the bushman, and +young Morris the geologist--they're a' gone, and I'm the puir +unfortunate that's left.... I came home here wi' the intention o' +stoppin' if I could; but the bush draws me back and I must go." + +"I am very, very sorry," said Wentworth, breaking the pause that +followed; "I can appreciate your feelings most deeply. It must be a vast +country, that Never Never Land." + +"It has claimed many a victim, my boy," answered Mackay. "But Western +Australia is not all the same," he hastened to add cheerfully. "Around +Kalgoorlie and north into Pilbarra the richest gold mines in the world +have been found, and it's the thought that there's a treasure-house o' +gold and gems in the far-back land that makes explorers risk their lives +in that awful desert. It's the chance o' striking Eldorado that sends us +wanderers into such out o' way corners o' the world. But I didna ask ye +here to tell ye my experiences. If you have really made up your minds to +go to Australia, an' I honestly believe it's the best country for any +young man, I'll no' only advise you, but I'll accompany you, and I can +say this, that what I dinna know about gold mining is no' worth knowing. +I have never made a fortune at the game, but there's no denyin' that +fortunes have been made. I've taken a fancy to you, my laddies, and I'll +see that you come to no harm. If ye're short o' lucre," he continued, +"I'll advance ye anything ye need." + +Even Wentworth's reserve utterly broke down after this speech. + +"How can we thank you for your goodness?" he said gratefully. "I for one +shall be glad to go with you----" + +"And I feel that I could follow you anywhere, Mr. Mackay," broke in +Armstrong, eagerly. + +The elder man smiled grimly. "Maybe ye'll think more seriously o' these +words some day," he replied enigmatically. "Meanwhile, get awa' hame and +make your arrangements without any unnecessary delay, for we must catch +the P. and O. _Mongolia_ at London next Friday. Like enough," he +concluded, with a laugh, "we'll hae mutual cause for congratulation over +our partnership." He shook hands heartily with each of the lads, and +accompanying them downstairs, watched them disappear into the street. + +"Poor young fellows," he said musingly, as he turned away, "I was just +the same mysel' at that age, discontented, ambitious.... But the +likeness canna be doubted. Ah, well, I've just done what the Chief +himsel' would have done had he been here." + +"Well, Jack, what do you think of him?" asked Wentworth, as he and his +companion walked homewards. + +"I think he is the kindest-hearted man I have ever met," was Armstrong's +enthusiastic response. + +"I like him, too," admitted Wentworth, "and I expect to like him more +when I know him better. What a strong man he must be; why, his chest +measurement must be nearly fifty!" + +"Only a strong man could have endured what he has suffered, Bob," said +Armstrong, "and," with boyish delight, "he must be a real beauty in a +scrimmage. His wrists seemed like bars of steel." + +"He just bears out my opinion," spoke Wentworth, thoughtfully, "that +travel broadens the mind more than is generally allowed, and destroys +all trace of parochialism in a man's nature. I don't think, for +instance," he declared, "that that man would care two straws whether we +were Scotch, English, or Irish; it's humanity that counts with him----" + +"Please don't wander me with philosophical reasoning just now, Bob," +pleaded Armstrong. "All I can say is, that I liked the man immediately I +saw him, and I think we were very lucky in meeting him." + +Never for a moment did these two think of drawing back from the +projected journey. It was characteristic of them to accept their first +decision as final, and the nearness of the day for sailing, as fixed by +Mackay, in no wise appalled them. Neither of them was given to noisy +exuberance. + +"Environment has done it, Jack," said Wentworth, sagely. "You see we +have been so much together, and have had so little time for amusement; +then my temperament was always a bit studious, and, consequently, you +have suffered----" + +"Don't, Bob," interjected Armstrong; "you talk like an old man, and you +are not nineteen yet. When we get under the sunny skies of Australia, +we'll view things differently, and, who knows, we may come back with a +fortune in a year or two." + +"Who knows, indeed?" repeated Wentworth, absently gripping the boy's +arm, and in this way they proceeded until they arrived at their little +room on the top flat of No. 590, Great Southern Road. + +That evening they broke the news of their early departure to their +amiable landlady, Mrs. Campbell, much to that worthy woman's dismay. + +"Eh, but, laddies, ye canna mean it!" she exclaimed. "Ye would gang to +that awfu' country whaur the black bodies live----" + +"But they are not all black, Mrs. Campbell," said Wentworth, soothingly. +"In fact, the aborigines are becoming an extinct race." + +"I dinna care what sort o' race they are becoming," moaned she, +beginning to apply her apron to her eyes. "An' forbye, what dae ye want +to gang oot there for? Ye baith are daein' sae weel in the engineerin' +office, and in time ye micht be managers." + +"That's a period too far distant for us to calculate on, Mrs. Campbell," +said Armstrong, cheerily, though he was much distressed by the good +woman's genuine emotion. "And our ambitions are giving us a shove +along----" + +"Ambitions, ambitions," wailed poor Mrs. Campbell. "And what should ye +want wi' ambitions, at your age? They are nae guid to ye; in fact it's +doonricht wrang for ye to hae them; they've never brocht happiness to +ony man yet!" And she rushed from the room much affected. + +"She's a real good sort," said Wentworth, "but very unreasonable," with +which mature reflection he reached down a copy of "Raper's Navigation" +from a shelf, and began to read assiduously, while Armstrong, with a +whistle of relief, started to overhaul his wardrobe in preparation for +their ocean trip. + +The following day was a very busy one for the boys. After packing their +most necessary belongings, they called on Mr. Mackay to receive his +advice as to the outfit required. That gentleman met them, genial as +ever. + +"Ocean travel is no the same as it used to be," said he; "an' a' you'll +need is twa or three light suits for the tropics. It's no' as if you +were to be months at sea," he explained, "an' you may leave your West +Australian wardrobe to take care o' itself--it will no be much o' a +consideration." + +But he was not satisfied, nevertheless, until he went round the shops +with them, and saw them fitted out with all that was needful. + +"And now, my lad," he said, when they had finished, addressing himself +to Wentworth, "if you'll tak' my advice, you'll gang hame and break the +news as gently as ye can to your mother, for I can see ye havena telt +her o' yer new plans yet. I'm a great believer in young fellows +shouldering their ain responsibilities as early as possible, but ye can +never get a truer friend than yer mother, an' I hope ye'll no forget +that. I'm a rough hand at preaching, being mair used wi' other sort o' +language, and, and----" Here Mackay's usually eloquent verbiage failed +him, and he floundered hopelessly. "Be back in good time to leave wi' me +for London on Thursday morning," he finished, recovering himself +quickly, and they turned to go. But Mackay suddenly seemed to remember +something, and he called them back. + +"I was thinkin' o' buyin' you some books to read on the ship," said he, +"and I was wondering how your tastes might lie. I don't mean novels," he +hastened to add, "but books that might serve as a study." + +"We'll leave the choice to you, Mr. Mackay," said Wentworth, with a +smile; and again they departed, yet once more they were called back. +Mackay was evidently ill at ease, for he hesitated in his speech, and, +if possible, his bronzed cheeks became a shade deeper in colour. + +"I've arranged aboot the tickets," he said at length; "so you'll hae no +need to trouble in that direction." + +Without waiting for a reply he wheeled suddenly, and strode down the +street, leaving the boys rooted to the spot wholly overcome by the +generous speech. + +"He must have guessed our one great difficulty," said Wentworth, +flushing deeply. "Well, Jack, our obligations to Mr. Mackay will take +some wiping out." + +Later on in the evening, when the boys were talking over the events of +the day in their little room, the landlady entered with a heavy parcel +of books. + +"A messenger has just brocht these," said she, "wi' Mr. Mackay's +compliments." + +"He is a gem," spoke Jack, emphatically, as he cut the string of the +package, whereupon half a dozen handsome volumes were disclosed, three +for Bob, and three for himself. They seized their possessions with +avidity. + +"'Leckie's Navigation,' 'Nautical Almanac,' and 'Burns's Poems,'" +announced Wentworth, gleefully, gazing at his treasures. "Now, how could +he have known that I wanted these so much?" + +"'Mining Engineer's Handbook,' 'Metallurgy of Gold,' and 'Shakespeare,'" +read out Jack, handling the volumes reverently. "Now, how could he have +guessed our pet studies?" + +"It beats me," said Bob. "I won't be surprised at anything Mackay knows +after this. He is a conundrum." + +"He is the decentest sort we have ever met," cried Jack, warmly. + +"We agree on that," concurred Bob, gravely. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +Outward Bound + + +The few days preceding the sailing of the _Mongolia_ passed very +quickly; Wentworth, accompanied by Armstrong, spent most of the time at +Mrs. Wentworth's home in Lincolnshire. Strangely enough, Bob's mother +did not, in any way, try to dissuade them from their journey. + +"You have the roving instinct of your father, Robert," she said, with +pensive calmness. "I have expected this, and can only pray that you may +be kept safe in the guiding care of the All Wise Providence which +watches over the wanderer on land as on sea." + +But his sister had not the same restraint, and it made Armstrong's +tender heart sore to witness the grief of the girl. + +"You may be killed--you may both be killed," she sobbed. + +"There is no fear of that, Lucy," laughed Bob. + +"I'll take care of him, Miss Lucy," said Jack, hesitatingly, almost +equally affected. + +"Why, you are just a boy," she exclaimed, smiling at him through her +tears. + +"I'm only a year younger than Bob," he protested stoutly, drawing +himself up to his full height of five feet seven and a half inches, and +looking at her reproachfully; at which, to Jack's dismay, she gave way +again to her emotion, her beautiful brown hair falling over her face +like a glorious mantle. + +"It's for you, too," she murmured brokenly. "Oh, Jack, you are Bob's +chum, and I shall miss you too." Whereupon the usually light-hearted boy +seemed to become a man at once. + +"I have no other friends," he said quietly; then he stammered, "I did +not think any one could miss me," he concluded, with just a trace of +pathos in his voice. And at that moment his friendship for Bob seemed to +be riveted afresh, so keenly did the kindly word of sympathy from the +girl appeal to his generous nature. + +Prompt to the advertised hour, the P. and O. _Mongolia_ cast off her +moorings and steamed out of Tilbury Docks, and on the upper deck of the +splendid vessel, among the assembled crowd of passengers, stood Mackay +and the two youthful adventurers. They had arrived in London the night +before, and had spent a very pleasant evening listening to a classic +concert in the Queen's Hall which Mackay had insisted on them hearing. +Bob thought their patron and friend was once more sacrificing himself to +what he imagined was their particular taste; but, to his surprise, that +worthy individual had taken a strong interest in the entire programme, +and especially applauded the young soprano who sang so magnificently a +very difficult Italian aria. + +"It's no because I'm a singer mysel'," he explained apologetically, "and +I dinna understan' a word o' the song, but I'm a wonderfu' lover o' guid +music all the same. I think it's sort o' soothing to my mental +faculties." + +Jack grinned and looked incredulous, but at that moment the young lady +reappeared in answer to the vociferous demand for an encore, and soon +the haunting strains of "Home, Sweet Home!" filled the vast hall. Again +the doubting youngster looked at his stalwart neighbour, and lo! the +eyes of the ex-bushman were wet. + +Now all three watched the receding shores of England with somewhat sad +eyes, and when at last night had fallen, and the vessel was cautiously +feeling her way towards the Bay of Biscay through a murky fog, they +descended to their cabin and began to arrange their baggage and make +preparations for dinner. The next three days were uneventful, though +Jack insisted that his sufferings in the dreaded Bay were severe enough +to warrant mention in the ship's log. He only of the trio was affected +by the rolling and pitching of the ship, though he had goodly company +among the rest of the passengers. As for Bob and Mackay, they walked the +deck through it all. But even sea-sickness comes to an end, and before +the _Mongolia_ reached Gibraltar Jack was feeling himself again, and his +boisterous spirits did much to infuse a sympathetic cheerfulness among +the rest of the passengers, whose reserve was beginning to break away as +they entered the sunny waters of the blue Mediterranean. Bob had found +endless interest in watching the various headlands sighted on the +Portuguese and Spanish coasts, and when the frowning Rock of Gibraltar +was in sight, his eagerness became intense. To him history became almost +a living thing when he gazed at the grim monuments of a glorious past. +And Mackay was ever near to instruct and to interest by the narration +of more or less personal experiences of his own in the various ports +visited. Indeed, Mackay's knowledge was little short of marvellous, and +the boys saw many phases of his character during their first week at +sea. The general passengers too soon became interesting to them. The +_Mongolia_ had on board a very representative community. Some were going +to India, not a few to China and Japan, while the remainder comprised +principally Australians from the different states of the Commonwealth +returning home after a visit to the Old Country. Before Aden had been +reached, owing to the genial influence of the captain, a feeling of good +fellowship pervaded the ship, and the entire company became as one huge +family. Deck sports were a daily occurrence, and concerts and dances +took place every other evening. The sea was calm as glass, flying fish +rose in scattering clouds from the surging wavelets created by the +ship's bows, and porpoises played merrily around the vessel as it dashed +on its unerring course. But on the upper deck the double awning scarcely +obscured the penetrating rays of the scorching sun, and the close +sweltering heat in the cabins below was almost unbearable. At Aden all +the India bound passengers disembarked and changed into an awaiting +vessel which connected with Bombay, and the time allowed before the +_Mongolia_ resumed her course was amply sufficient to permit of Mackay +and his _protégés_ going ashore. + +There is not much to attract at this port. It is simply a military +barracks and coaling-station, with an enormous importance, of course, as +a British naval base. Mackay explained this at length to Jack, who was +always eager for information. + +"It's the key o' the Red Sea," he announced, "just in the same degree +as Gib. is the key o' the Mediterranean." + +"But the Red Sea is not of very much interest to Britain, is it?" said +Bob, questioningly. + +"Maybe no, though I canna allow that any part o' His Majesty's ocean is +without its due importance; but, ye see, Aden protects India by watching +the ships that come through the Red Sea, and forby there's no vessel o' +war belonging to another nation could steam past withoot comin' in for +coal----" This in a burst of patriotic fervour. "Why, when the German +Emperor's brother went oot to China, a year or so back, in his big +gunboat, he touched at nothing but British ports all the way." Mackay +chuckled with amusement at the recollection. "There used to be a tree +growing at Aden," he said again, when they recovered themselves, "but +some one that doesn't believe in oddities has evidently cut it down." + +Nothing but sand and bare rocks could be seen all around, so his surmise +was probably quite accurate. + +"Aren't there some huge tanks near here?" asked Bob. "I heard that they +were the only sight worth seeing in Aden." + +"You're quite richt; they're no exactly in Aden, being about five miles +back in the hills. But we have just time to visit them." + +He called a waiting garry at once, and directing the Somali driver, they +set out to view the giant reservoirs which date their origin away back +in the mists of antiquity. Bob and Jack looked very different +individuals from what they were a few weeks before. Dressed in whites, +and wearing sun-helmets, they seemed already to be quite accustomed to +the heat; the old tired look had vanished from their faces, and the +light of awakening interest was in their eyes. As for Mackay, under his +big, umbrella-shaped head-covering, the same kindly face was visible, +perhaps a little redder than it was before, but, as he said himself, it +was regaining its natural tan. + +"I believe in harmony o' colour," he gravely said, "and there should be +nae contrast between my moustache and its surrounding beauties." + +When they reached the tanks, which in appearance were as huge caverns +graven out of the solid rock, the engineering training of the boys was +at once evident by their remarks. + +"What a mighty work it must have been," mused Bob. + +"King Solomon's Tanks," announced Mackay, taking upon himself the onus +of dispensing knowledge, "were built, or rather excavated, about three +thousand years ago. You will observe that they are so situated as to +catch the natural drainage o' the surrounding country, and when rain +fell, which was seldom, the tanks got filled, and--and when it didna +fall--of course, they remained empty!" + +"Of course," agreed they both, promptly. + +Mackay looked pained. + +"Ye shouldna concur wi' my statements so sudden like," said he. Then he +endeavoured to get on to the rails again. "They got silted up wi' the +sand after long disuse," he continued, "and they were only discovered +and re-excavated some years back; but they are of service to show what +an old civilization could do, and to prove that the climate was +different then, for now ye could hardly droon a mosquito in a' the water +they collect." He ceased, then murmured blandly, "This country is too +hot for me to wax eloquent wi' ony modicum o' pleasure, or I wad go into +geo-logical details concerning it." + +"Is there anything you don't know, Mr. Mackay?" inquired Bob, with a +smile. + +"No' a thing. I'm a walkin' Encyclopædia--just burstin' wi' knowledge. +No, I'm wrang; there's ane or twa metapheesical matters that beat me. +I'll own to that frankly." + +Then they returned to the ship, and amused themselves watching the dusky +patriarchal vendors of ostrich feathers who had come on board, +endeavouring to sell their wares. It particularly interested them to +notice how cheerfully these dealers accepted finally less than a half of +their first demands. The Somali diving boys with the strange yellow hair +and the glistening teeth also attracted their attention. These +youngsters, some of them maimed in horrible fashion, appealed to the +sympathy of the passengers by singing in raucous chorus an aged and once +popular London song. The authorities by this time had forbidden their +wonted occupation owing to the multitudes of sharks infesting the +exposed harbour. Early in the evening the _Mongolia_ once more got under +way, and, with her reduced passenger-list, headed for Colombo, the port +of the spicy Isle of Ceylon. + +Among the passengers bound for Australia was a middle-aged, wiry-looking +personage named Carew, whose deeply browned face bore the unmistakable +evidence of long years' sojourn in the tropics. Mackay had recognized +him on the day of embarkation, but had studiously avoided him ever +since. + +"He's a famous New Guinea explorer," he informed Bob and Jack, "but he's +a terrible talker, and I'm no vera willin' to be afflicted wi' his +remarks." + +Several times, nevertheless, the boys noticed that Carew always gazed +doubtfully at Mackay when they chanced to meet on deck, and on each +occasion that individual would reply with a stare of studied +nonchalance. However, after leaving Aden, the passengers were so much +reduced that they were all thrown into daily contact with each other, +and occasionally Mackay found himself on the same side as Carew in the +course of a cricket-match. But it was after they had left the Island of +Socotra two days astern that any definite conversation passed between +them. A match had just been concluded between the "Weary Wayfarers" and +"The New Chums," two delightfully named opposing teams made up from the +greatest travellers on board and the more or less untravelled community, +and the "Weary Wayfarers" had been summarily defeated. Bob and Jack were +shining lights at such contests, and Bob's bowling had on this occasion +been mainly responsible for the downfall of the Wayfarers, while Jack on +his part had made the top score of his side. Carew and Mackay were +making a straight course for the smoke-room when the former gentleman +broke out abruptly-- + +"I've been trying a long time to remember, Mackay, where I met you +before, and now I've got it. There couldn't be another phiz like yours +in the whole of this wretched planet." + +"I ken my personal adornments are a rare gift," placidly returned the +Scot, "and, to return the compliment, I may say I've never been +surprised at your many marvellous escapes from the New Guinean +cannibals." + +"And why so?" queried Carew, much pleased. + +"Because a sicht o' your figure-head would destroy any nigger's +appetite, an'----" + +"I give you best, Mackay; I give you best," hastily interposed the +other. "But weren't you with Bentley's Expedition in New Guinea four +years ago? Oh, I'm sure of you now. Where did you leave Bentley?" + +By this time they were snugly ensconced in a corner of the smoke-room. +Mackay solemnly rang the bell. + +"He went under on the last expedition in the West," he said grimly, when +the steward had attended to their requests,--"I was the only one that +escaped." + +Carew gave a cry of genuine pain. "Poor Bentley," he muttered brokenly, +"another one gone in that accursed country, and I never knew. We +pioneers don't get much of an obituary notice, Mackay." + +Mackay silently agreed. "Don't speak about it before these youngsters of +mine," he said. "They're going out to the West with me, and I don't want +them to be discouraged." + +He rose to go, but just then Bob appeared. "There's a small island on +the port bow, Mackay," he announced. "Can you tell me anything about it? +I can't find it on the chart." + +"It's the coral isle called Minacoy," volunteered Carew, looking out. +"It's the most southerly atoll of the Laccadive group of islands, and +when the sea is rough it is almost invisible." + +They all went out to have a look. The _Mongolia_ passed quite close to +the coral beach, and though the sea was calm the roar of the surge +beating on the shallows was plainly heard. A tall lighthouse with a +background of palms was observable, and a solitary watcher came out +while they gazed and waved a friendly greeting. + +"What a lonely life the lighthouse keeper's must be!" said Jack, and he +expressed the sentiments of all. + +The next day the _Mongolia_ arrived at Colombo, and here the boys saw +much to interest them. The spacious harbour with its huge artificial +breakwater was in itself a great attraction, and they watched the clouds +of spray that dashed full fifty feet into the air all along the guarding +barrier with keen delight. But on shore the rickshaw rides surpassed all +other forms of amusement. They visited the far-famed Cinnamon gardens in +these strange vehicles, they tried races along the Galle Face road, and +lastly rickshawed with Mackay to Mount Lavinia some five miles distant +from the town. The Cingalese gem merchants who swarmed everywhere were a +source of wonder to them. They marvelled how so many seemingly needy +individuals possessed such stores of rubies, diamonds, sapphires, and +pearls, and which, according to their demands, were worth a prince's +ransom. Mackay only laughed when Jack mentioned his surprise at their +apparent affluence. + +"You want to develop your powers o' observation, my laddie," said he, +enigmatically; and Jack, not quite understanding the rebuke, was in no +wise edified. Bob, too, was rather impressed by the courtesy of the same +fraternity. + +"Master," an odd-looking personage in flowing garb and with plaited hair +would say, "Master, you buy goodie ruby from me?" and at once a string +of somewhat similarly attired merchants would gather round and watch the +expected process of bargaining silently. But they were not quite as +innocent and free from guile as they looked. + +"What do you think of this, Bob?" cried Jack, holding up a huge crystal, +which a smiling Cingalee with a strange little basket for a cap had +proffered him for sale. They were sitting under the revolving fans in +the Hotel Bristol, watching the gay panorama of colour that constantly +flitted before them. Mackay had left them to their own devices for an +hour or so, and they were now awaiting his return. + +Bob examined the gaudy crystal with pretended keenness. + +"No good; it's only glass," he said shortly, never dreaming that his +idle statement was correct. + +"No glass! no glass!" earnestly asserted the Cingalee. "White sapphire, +goodie stone. You try," he added, as a final proof of his honesty; "you +tramp so." He placed the stone under his slippered foot, and pressed +ever so lightly. "You try," he implored, handing the stone to Bob, whom +he now regarded as the one obstacle to the sale of his treasure. "If +glass it break." + +"The poor beggar seems honest," said Jack, feeling quite sorry for the +man. "How much?" he asked. + +"Five pounds, master." + +"I don't want the stone," said Jack, "and anyhow I haven't got five +pounds in my pocket. I'll give you one pound for it," he concluded +jokingly. Before he had fully realized it the gem was his, and the late +owner was exhorting him to secrecy concerning the sacrificial price it +had commanded. "Other men no like me selling so cheap," he explained, +then vanished hurriedly as Mackay entered. + +"And so you've bought a sapphire," he said with a chuckle, when Jack +proudly displayed his purchase. "How much did ye gie for it? Sixpence?" + +"Isn't it genuine?" asked Bob. "I said it was glass; but he asked me to +stamp on it." + +"Ay, ay, that's an old trick; he chanced ye no' takin' him at his +word." He placed the doubtful stone beneath the toe of his shoe, and in +an instant nothing remained but powdered glass. Jack's dismay was great, +and noting it, Mackay patted the boy cheerily on the back. "It's a grand +thing to have faith in human nature," he said kindly. "And I'd rather +see you mak' a mistake that way than the other way. A' the same when you +go oot into the world it's surprising how much deceit you see." + +After a stay of a day and a half the _Mongolia_ entered upon the longest +phase of her journey across the equator and down by the north-western +coast of Australia to Fremantle. Several more passengers had been left +at Colombo including those bound for the farther East, who continued +their journey by connecting boat, so that the ship's party was now very +small indeed. To the boys' surprise the heat experienced when crossing +the line was nothing compared with that already felt in the Red Sea; but +Mackay was not wanting with his explanation. + +"The desert sands on both sides o' the Red Sea absorb the heat and +intensify it," explained he, "so that the winds that blow from either +east or west are like blasts oot o' a furnace, while here the winds are +tempered by passing over hundreds o' miles o' sea." + +"In any case," added Carew, who was standing near, "there are no sandy +stretches in this part of the world, and the prevailing breezes blow in +from the sweet-scented islands of Java and New Guinea." + +"I was o' the opinion," began Mackay, after some thought, severely +eyeing the last speaker, "that this information bureau was my funeral. I +was aboot to send oot twa or three chunks o' knowledge when you +interrupted, and noo my inspiration's vanished." + +Carew laughed good-naturedly. "Never mind, Mackay," said he; "I will +relieve you for a bit, and entertain Wentworth and Armstrong by spinning +them a true yarn. Get your deck-chairs all, and prepare for something +thrilling." + +By the time Carew was ready to start nearly every passenger on board was +clustered round him in eager expectation. + +"Two years ago," he began, in reminiscent tones, "I was camped on a +tributary of the Fly River in New Guinea, which was a most unhealthy +district to camp in, owing to the fact that two rival cannibal tribes +had their quarters close handy. However, I wanted to prospect for gold +and gems in the surrounding country, and so decided to take all risks. +But in order to minimize these risks as much as possible, I paid a visit +to the chief or Mamoose of what I imagined to be the more powerful of +the two tribes, and presented him with the only article in my camp I had +no use for--an alarm clock. The old boy was quite delighted with it, and +promptly insisted on wearing it hung from a chain around his neck; not +only that, but when I showed him how to wind it up and ring the alarm, +he immediately informed his warriors that it was a charm which would +ensure success in all battles. Indeed, he wanted to start right then and +march against the Tugeris, his warlike neighbours, but while I was +arguing the point with him--I didn't want any circus in the vicinity at +that time--the 'Che-ep! Che-ep!' of these wretched Tugeris sounded +through the trees. They had evidently anticipated attack at this period +and so were taking time by the forelock. On they came, shouting that +peculiar battle-cry of theirs which gets on one's nerves so quickly. The +old Mamoose, with the clock anchored firmly round his neck, sailed in to +meet them at the head of his warriors, and I made lightning tracks in +the opposite direction. All next day I waited down the river with my +canoe in readiness. If the clock Mamoose won, I was safe as a house; if +he didn't I was as good as cold meat if I didn't get out lively. I was +getting mighty nervous, and couldn't quite see how I was to know which +side won, when, all of a sudden, a huge crocodile hove out of the water +close beside me, and at that instant the noise of an alarm clock going +off sounded out of his gaping mouth like a piano prelude through a +gramophone trumpet. That fixed it, gentlemen. I won't go into my +theories as to how the clock got there. They were strong enough for me, +and I scooted, and a good job too, for when I was at Port Moresby some +weeks later I was told that the Tugeris had fairly swept the country." + +"Ye certainly had a maist providential warning," spoke Mackay, dryly, +breaking the dubious silence that followed. + +"Come on, Mackay," said Carew, leading the way to the smoke-room. + +"Right you are," retorted the other; and they departed arm in arm, much +to the amusement of the assembly. + +Three days later they sighted the Cocos group of islands on the horizon, +and in a very short time were passing quite close to the largest of +them. Nothing but a forest of palms could be seen at first, then a +slight indentation on the coast line revealed a schooner and several +smaller craft lying at anchor in front of a row of native dwellings. + +"The first king of these islands," Mackay informed the lads, "was a +Glasgow Scotsman. Old King Ross did a wonderful amount o' pioneering +work in these seas, and hoisted the British flag here without the +assistance of a gunboat. He was a strange man, and knew well how to +handle the natives." + +"But what do they do?" asked Jack. + +"They grow cocoanuts and make copra, my lad; they find a good market for +it in Colombo and Singapore." + +"Are all the islands in this part of the Indian Ocean of coral +formation?" asked Bob, looking at the white low-lying shores with +interest. + +"Oh no," laughed Mackay, "there's Christmas Island, for instance, about +five hundred odd miles east of these, and it is nothing short of a +mountain, and its shores go down into the water almost as steep as the +side of a house----" + +"I say, Mackay," interrupted Carew, petulantly, "how do you know +anything about Christmas Island? It's the most ungetatable place on the +face of the earth, and I've heard that very few white men have ever been +there." + +"I'm one of the few," imperturbably answered Mackay. "I sailed there +from North Australia in a pearling lugger," he condescended to explain. + +"And do they grow copra there too?" inquired an interested bystander. + +"Oh no; it's a guano island and belongs to the Christmas Island +syndicate. A very fine paying concern it is too, though the island is +not more than twenty miles or so in circumference." + +"I didn't think guano islands were much good to any one," hazarded Bob. + +"Didn't you? Well, that's no' surprisin', seein' that we don't hear +much about them; but I know a man who has a steam yacht, and he keeps +constantly explorin' the ocean for guano islands. It's a good payin' +business right enough, though I wouldna care much aboot diggin' +phosphates mysel', gold bein' more my attraction." + +To the boys the idea of unknown islands in these latitudes was +distinctly pleasing. The world to them was taking on a less crowded +aspect. The smiling sea still held her unknown Crusoe islands. The +romance had not all gone from the earth. The days were passing very +quickly now, soon Fremantle would be reached, and then--who knew what +good fortune might speedily be theirs? Bob and Jack looked into the +future with unhesitating eyes. Theirs had been no boyish whim, and as +they neared Australia's coast their pulses quickened, the sense of +freedom was in their blood, the spirit of conquest surged through their +hearts; and Mackay, noting their steady courage, felt strangely cheered. +On the evening before the _Mongolia_ was expected to reach Fremantle a +concert was held in the saloon, in order to bring together for the last +time the entire assembly, for quite a number were disembarking at +Fremantle; and Bob and Jack were singled out for special adulation by +the chairman--none other than Mr. Carew--who warmly wished them Godspeed +in the new country they were entering upon. + +"They, like us all," he said in his laudatory address, "seek their +Eldorado. To them it is something real, tangible; to us who have chased +the elusive phantom it has somewhat lost its zest. But youth and courage +shall conquer where the weary wanderer must fail, and I fully expect our +boys to attain their ambition by sheer manly grit before they have time +to grow weary of the pioneer's life. They are especially fortunate," he +continued, looking towards Mackay, "in having the guiding care of an old +and experienced traveller--one whose deeds always speak louder than his +words, but whose speech when occasion demands is forcible and +conclusive. Only an explorer can fully appreciate a brother explorer's +work; I take off my hat to you, Mackay----" his hat was already off, but +that didn't matter--"and when we meet again, I trust it may be in some +cheerful spot in this little planet and not in the wilds of an unknown +land." + + + + +CHAPTER III + +Golden Flat + + +The small settlement of Golden Flat was situated away out on the +desert's fringe beyond Kalgoorlie, and beyond the reach of any +civilizing railway. It was essentially a pioneer's field, for no deep +lodes had yet been discovered; indeed, at this time the history of +Golden Flat was but a few days old. Nuggety Dick, a roving prospector +and miner, had been lucky enough to find rich specimens of the coveted +metal on the surface of the flat during one of his perambulating +journeys through the silent bush, and instead of wildly rushing back to +Kalgoorlie to proclaim his "strike," he had quietly taken a note of the +place and gone his way to inform his old associates, who were toiling +with but little success on a worked-out alluvial patch near Coolgardie. + +Such is the spirit of the bush; comradeship comes before all, and +happy-go-lucky Dick had never once thought of applying for the standing +reward which a shrewd Government had promised for discoveries of gold in +such remote districts. Had he claimed it, a rush would have been the +immediate consequence, and the chances of Dick's companions securing a +favourable claim would have been reduced to a minimum; so he set out on +his high-backed camel and rounded up the "boys," as he affectionately +called them, and steered them back to the ironshot plain among the mulga +scrub, which he had euphoniously, if ambitiously, termed "Golden Flat." +And now, within a week after their arrival, the Flat presented every +appearance of industrious energy. Further nuggets had been found all +along the line of a scarcely perceptible depression in the land surface, +which, nevertheless, most evidently marked the course of a very ancient +waterway, long since silted up. + +"It'll be an alluvial wash, boys," remarked Dick, with happy +satisfaction. + +"It certainly looks mighty promising," agreed a lanky and lean +individual, who rejoiced in the cognomen of the Shadow. The Shadow, so +called because of his rather fine outline, was the youngest of the +party; indeed, he was little more than a boy in years, yet his +reputation as a skilled bushman and rough rider was great, and the +strength concealed in his spare figure was marvellous. + +"I say, mates," broke out another typical bushman, Never Never Dave by +name, popping his head out of a shaft near by, "I do believe I've struck +the stuff on the ten-foot level." + +He clambered out of his excavation and approached the party, who were at +this moment assembled for the purpose of preparing lunch, displaying in +his hand a white sugary-looking substance which he had evidently broken +from the supposed wash. The Shadow gave a whoop of delight, but was +immediately checked by an old miner beside him, whose keen eyes and +heavily furrowed face bespoke the hardy pioneer. + +"Don't yell out so soon, young 'un," he reproved sternly. "Gold is a +most deceitful phantom, and it's when you're sartin you've got it, that +it ain't there." + +"Eight O!" sang out the irrepressible one, rushing to get a pan of water +from the soak near by. "Eight O, Dead Broke." + +"When he reappeared he found them all examining the sample wash with +critical interest; and as it was handed round for inspection, not a word +was spoken; not a trace of joy or emotion showed in the rugged features +of the men who depended so much on the result, and even the Shadow, when +he handled the specimen, felt constrained to copy the tactics of his +neighbours. The conglomerate stone was literally studded with gold; it +required neither the pan test nor the magnifying glass to prove that. + +"It's too good to last, boys," commented Nuggety Dick, with a sigh. + +That broke the spell. + +"I've never seen anything like it," grunted Dead Broke Dan, blinking +furiously. + +"Hoorah for Golden Flat!" broke out the Shadow, tossing his tattered hat +into the air. "Hip, hip, hip, hoorah!" + +And, taking his lead, the silent group of a few minutes before broke +into a lusty cheer that echoed and re-echoed over the plains. But it had +scarcely died away when Emu Bill, a somewhat silent member of the party, +astonished his associates by giving vent to a groan of deep disgust. + +"Look what's coming, boys," said he, nodding his head toward the west. +"Hang me if it isn't the beginning of a regular rush!" + +[Illustration: "LOOK WHAT'S COMING, BOYS!"] + +All looked in the direction indicated, and sure enough there appeared +to be ample reason for annoyance. Cresting a slight eminence surrounding +the Flat, three figures hove into sight, pacing slowly alongside a +heavily laden camel, and that they were coming to Golden Flat camp there +could be no room for doubt. + +"After me bein' so careful, too," complained Dick, sorrowfully. "Now I +suppose we'll have all Kalgoorlie sprinting up before sundown." + +"Look to your boundary-pegs, mates," warned Dead Broke Dan, "an' stick +up your miners' rights on the corner posts. They may be bush-lawyers for +all we know." + +In an instant the camp awoke to action, axes and spades were seized, +measuring tapes were run along the boundary lines of their holdings, new +pegs were driven into position, and miners' rights flaunted in the +sunshine, marking a fluttering course of six hundred yards along the +auriferous bed. In the midst of the confusion the three travellers +arrived, and one of them, a strongly built individual, whose entire +wardrobe consisted only of an open-necked shirt, and nether garments +held in position by a well-filled cartridge belt, leaving his companions +by the camel, stepped forward. + +"Hullo, boys," he grunted affably, addressing every one in general who +was disposed to hear. "I said 'Hallo,'" he repeated sternly, after a +moment's pause. + +The rebuke was too much for Emu Bill, who had been calmly and leisurely +engaged cutting his initials in his corner boundary-peg. He came forward +quickly. + +"Hallo, mate," he said, eyeing the new-comer keenly. "Mebbe ye'll +excoose the boys for attendin' to Government regulations afore rushin' +to say how mighty glad they are to see ye----" + +"Ye insignificant son o' a gun," came the prompt interruption, "if ye +dinna modify your insinuations, I'll--I'll, swipe the head off ye, an' +it would hurt me sair to destroy ane o' my old comrades in cauld blood." + +Bill, at the dire threat against his person, had languidly begun to +prepare for mortal combat, but on hearing the last part of the +aggressive speech, he gazed at the stranger in incredulous amazement. + +"By the Great Howling Billy it's Mackay!" he yelled, seizing his +erstwhile enemy's hand and shaking it vigorously. "I thought you had +gone home to the old country, you tough old rooster." + +"I did have a trip home," said Mackay, for it was he, smiling grimly. +"But I discovered that civilization didna agree wi' me, so I came back." + +By this time the rest of the miners had hastened up, and Emu Bill +addressed them excitedly. + +"Boys, it's Mackay!" he cried. + +Nuggety Dick and his satellites hesitated a moment, then rushed forward +with outstretched hands. + +"What have you done with your whiskers, Mac?" they cried almost in +unison. + +"That's it," roared Emu Bill, looking questioningly into the now welcome +visitor's face, "and it nearly caused a funeral. Hang it all, why didn't +ye say who ye was? We thought you was the beginning of a rush, we did. +Fetch your mates along and let us have lunch at once. After that you may +stake out where you like." + +"Beggin' your pardon, Emu," broke in Nuggety Dick, "I has a +double-barrelled-nineteen-carat-pleasant dooty to perform." He turned +to Mackay, and with grave dignity proceeded. "As discoverer o' this here +Golden Flat, an' representin' the interests o' every scarecrow present, +I say we welcome you and your mates wi' tearful emotion. Am I right, +boys?" he demanded confidently, looking at his companions. + +"Hoo-rah!" came the unanimous response. + +Mackay smiled just a trifle strangely, and beckoned to Bob and Jack, who +had been watching the trend of events with somewhat anxious eyes. + +It would have been hard to recognize in the two who now came forward the +same young men who had inveighed so strongly against their restricted +lot in the Old Country. Dressed in the negligent attire of the bush, +with broad brimmed hats shading their eyes from the scorching sun, they +looked like young Colonials fresh and fit for any effort that might be +required of them. Their journey from the coast to Kalgoorlie had +interested them exceedingly; the wide tracts of lonely bush land which +stretched to north and south of the single line, gave them an impression +of boundless scope which was dear to their hearts. Here surely was a +country where no man need jostle his neighbour. Coming as they did from +a tightly packed centre of commerce, it was little wonder that a sense +of freedom entered their beings. And when they arrived at the strange +hustling gold-mining city of the plains, their enthusiasm was great. +Mackay had been wonderfully reticent as to his immediate plans. "Even +here nothing stands still," said he, "and there may have been new gold +discoveries since I left." But his inquiries in Kalgoorlie seemed to +please him greatly. "It's all right, my lads," he announced to them with +great good humour when he returned to the Exchange Hotel where they +were staying pending his investigations. + +"The fact is," he whispered mysteriously, drawing the boys aside, "I +found gold on one o' our last expeditions before we tackled the Never +Never, a good bit to the east o' this, and though we never said a word +aboot it to any one when we got back, I was afraid some sandgroping +fossicker had bumped across the place while I was awa'. Hooever, I've +made judicious inquiry, and find there's been nary a rush in that +direction, so we'll outfit at once and get a move on. I've been lucky +enough to buy back my old camel, Misery, for the journey." + +So they arrived at Golden Flat, Mackay never once hesitating in his +course, though there were no landmarks to guide. The bushman's instinct +was strong, unerringly it lead them to their goal; and now that they had +reached the scene they had been picturing in their minds, the unexpected +meeting with earlier arrivals disconcerted them not a little. They +advanced at Mackay's call somewhat sharply; they had not quite +understood the wordy discourses of the miners, and they were +aggressively prepared to stand by their friend should occasion arise. + +"Boys," said Mackay, addressing the odd assembly, "allow me to introduce +two young friends of mine from old England--Robert Wentworth and Jack +Armstrong, Bob and Jack for short--they've come out here to make their +fortune, and by the Lord Harry! they'll do it or I'm a Dutchman." + +With honest welcome beaming in their eyes, the rugged miners advanced +one by one to greet their visitors, but Nuggety Dick must needs call +them to order. + +"Can't ye wait fur me to interdooce ye in civilized manner, ye howlin' +galoots," he admonished severely. "I hiv to blush fur yer ignorance, I +has." Then he hitched up his nether garments, ejected a quid of tobacco +from his mouth, coughed discreetly, and began-- + +"As discoverer o' this 'ere Golden Flat----" + +"You stop right there, Nuggety," interjected Mackay. "If ye'll take the +trouble to look at the side o' that tree ahint your tent you'll observe +that my autograph is carved thereon, together with the date of +discovery. Now, while you go and satisfy yoursel', I'll dae the +introducin'. Emu Bill"--the tall bushman stepped forward and shook hands +with the lads--"is a very decent sort o' indiveedual. A bit +cantankerous, saving wi' his speech, and I would hae some hope for him +if he wasna sae perneeciously given to makin' poetry----" + +"Get out, Mac----" + +"Dead Broke Dan!" The veteran of the camp strode forward. "A guid solid +and straight man who has done his best to mak' every man's fortune but +his ain. Never Never Dave"--that individual with the Shadow had already +anticipated the formal introduction, and was listening with delight for +his qualifications--"is a weary wanderer, like mysel', only withoot my +unquestionable abilities. And the Shadow"--that guileful youth suddenly +became engaged in earnest conversation with Bob--"the Shadow, I say, is +a youth wha's greatest misfortune is his extraordinar' habit o' +neglectin' the commandment which says, youngsters should be seen but +never heard. For a' that he's a guid laddie----" + +"Say, boss," ejaculated the victim, smilingly, "if ye'll write that down +I'll send it to my Sunday-school teacher in Melbourne." + +At this point Nuggety Dick returned somewhat crestfallen. + +"You were quite right, Mackay," said he. "Is there any other place in +the whole country you hasn't struck your name on?" + +Mackay's face relaxed into a broad smile. + +"We'll divide the honours, Nuggety, my man," he answered magnanimously; +and with one accord they all made their way to the tree behind Nuggety's +tent to gaze at the symbol which justified Mackay's claim. There it was, +cut deeply into the hard wood, and almost obliterated with enclustering +moss, "J. M. 1898." + +Bob examined the letters with something akin to awe. Jack laughed +gleefully; the others crowding round seemed ill at ease. Mackay guessed +their thoughts intuitively. + +"My claim has lapsed, boys," he said quietly. + +"Not by a single peg," protested Nuggety Dick. "We don't need no +Government to tell us what to do. We know the ground is yours by the +all-fired right o' discovery, a right which touches us right down on our +most tender feelings." + +"We've just struck it rich, but we'll git all the same," said Never +Never Dave; and a sympathetic murmur of approval greeted his words. The +bushman's code of honour is Spartan in its simplicity. + +Again Mackay smiled, and all trace of hardness had gone out of his voice +when he made answer. + +"Boys, ye have spoken as I knew ye would speak, and it does my heart +good to look at you all again, and feel that the same old sympathies are +with us still. But the true discoverer of Golden Flat was the leader of +the expedition who piloted his party so well until the end, and I ken +he wouldna have me turn you away. No, boys, there's room enough for us +all; my mates an' me will peg out claims at the end o' the lead; the +chances o' strikin' the wash are a' equal." He paused, and gazed sadly +at the half-obliterated inscription on the tree, unheedful of the deep +appreciation with which his words were received. "If it's my good +fortune to make a rise on Golden Flat," he continued, with grave +solemnity, "I mean to devote it a' on an expedition into the Never +Never. I want to see again that mountain which kept me back. I want to +have a word with the tribe that lives behind it...." + +"I'll be with you, Mac," quietly spoke Emu Bill. + +"And me, fur a dead cert!" said Nuggety Dick. + +"Put Never Never Dave's name on the programme," grunted that worthy. + +"And mine," echoed Dead Broke Dan. + +"You can bet your shirt I'll be with you," cried the Shadow. + +"There's only you and me left, Jack," said Bob. "But we'll be there +too." + +"And now let us have lunch, boys," suggested Nuggety Dick, breaking the +odd silence that ensued; and they walked away, leaving Mackay still +gazing at the fateful tree with unseeing eyes. + +"Poor old Mac," muttered the Shadow, sympathetically. + +"Did you know him before?" asked Jack. + +"I should say I did. Why, he put me on to the only paying gold show I +ever worked. That was two years back. He was one o' the Coolgardie +pioneers too, and, of course, every one who was there knows him." + +"Ah, that was a great old time," mused Emu Bill, entering into the +conversation. "Mackay made a bit o' a rise then, and he might have been +a rich man now if he hadn't taken the Never Never fever." + +"I'll tell you what, boys," said Nuggety Dick, hastily adding a handful +of tea to the boiling billy, "Mackay is the straightest man that ever +chased nuggets, and this here camp will see that he doesn't tackle that +miserable desert again without us skirmishin' alongside." + +"Let us drink good luck to Golden Flat, boys," cried the individual in +question cheerily, coming up from behind, and seizing a pannikin of tea. + +"Good luck to Golden Flat--and to its discoverer!" replied they all, +standing up and drinking the toast heartily. + +Shortly afterwards the three new-comers set off to peg out their claims +on the golden channel, and erect their tent. The others would have +accompanied them in a body to assist in the work, but Mackay, while +thanking them, firmly refused their services. + +"I want to initiate my partners into the rules o' the business," he +explained, "an' the best way to teach them is by showing the way and +watching them do it. No, no, boys, you had better go and burrow in your +shafts, we'll engineer our own funeral." + +The slight depression which indicated the presence of the golden channel +below, ran in a north and southerly direction, and could be traced +without difficulty for fully five hundred yards, after which it merged +into the open plain, but the line of workings did not extend much more +than halfway down this length. + +"These old water-courses," said Bob, who had been thinking deeply, "must +have belonged to a very ancient period, when the whole aspect of the +country was different." + +"And how so?" queried Mackay. + +"Because," returned Bob, hesitatingly, "there are no mountains here now, +no water-sheds at all, and the gold must have been carried by a flow of +water from somewhere. The whole country must have been sunk under the +sea, then, after a long time, upheaved again higher than it was before. +The volcanic disturbances must have destroyed all its original +features." + +"Do you ken, Bob, my lad," said Mackay, earnestly, "I like to hear you +speak like that. It shows ye've got some pro-fundity o' thought, an' I +quite agree wi' your argument." + +A cry of delight from Jack broke in on their geological discussion. That +very eager youth had unconsciously adopted the tactics of the +experienced prospector by eyeing the ground closely as he walked, and +his keenness had not gone unrewarded, for he now displayed a dull yellow +specimen between his finger and thumb. + +"Ay, it's gold, sure enough," was Mackay's verdict, when he had glanced +at it, "and it weighs fully an ounce if I'm any judge. Jack, my boy, +ye'll beat us a' at this game yet. That's five pounds ye've made in the +time it would take to blink an eye. You'll mak' a grand prospector, +Jack. Put that bit in your pocket, and keep it aye as a memento; you'll +think a lot o' it afterwards." + +"But it's really yours," said the lad, refusing to take it back. "I'm +not going to take everything of yours and keep all I get too." + +Poor Jack was embarrassed. His was one of those generous natures which +can never forget a kindness, and Mackay had behaved more like a brother +than a mere friend. + +"I agree with you, Jack," ventured Bob. + +"Tut, tut, laddies," grunted Mackay, "we're goin' to be partners wi' +equal shares--and from what I can see already I think I'm vera fortunate +in having you wi' me--but first specimens should be ootside the +arrangement altogether. Take the bittie gold, Jack, and I hope I'll live +to see it in your ain home years after this." + +They had by this time reached the end of the channel, at least so far as +surface indications were concerned, and Bob once more propounded a +theory. + +"Is it not right to assume," said he, "that though we cannot trace the +water-course any further on the surface, it must be there all the same?" + +"Quite correct," answered Mackay; "but it may have changed its +direction, an' it may have divided into smaller channels." + +"But just here where it apparently disappears," persisted Bob, "may not +some obstacle have deflected the current, or made the sand pile up and +so raised the true bed upwards, making the original sides of the gully +shallower at this point, and accounting for its being filled up level +with the surrounding country before the deeper parts got wholly silted +up?" + +"Go on, my lad," prompted Mackay, patting the young man's shoulder, +"allowin' what ye say to be right; what sort o' deduction do you arrive +at?" + +"I should think," said Bob, with growing eagerness, "that the gold would +stick on the rise more than on the level, and that if we sank our shaft +just over the apparent break of the channel we would most likely strike +it rich." + +"It seems good sound logic, Bob," commented Mackay, in reflective mood, +"but as I'm a practical man and no' much o' a theorist, I'll no' +venture to say whether ye are richt or wrang. One matter, however, must +be determined afore I can completely side wi' ye, and that is in what +direction was the creek flowing?" + +Bob was for the moment nonplussed, and observing his hesitation, the man +of practice seemed to be suddenly amused. + +"That appears to be a tough proposition, doesn't it?" said he. + +"It does," agreed Bob, still pondering over a solution to the question. + +"Well, it isn't, my lad. The creek just flowed as you first allowed, in +orthodox manner, from north to south. I'm vera pleased to notice how +quickly you have got a grip o' things, an' I only asked the question so +as to direct your attention to what must be the base o' your theory, for +if the flow had been in the opposite direction the bottom would have +been completely knocked oot o' your argument." + +"But how can you tell how it was flowing?" asked Bob, still somewhat +mystified. + +"Easily enough; I had a look at Never Never Dave's shaft and paid +particular attention to the nature o' the gold wash below. Every pebble +o' the conglomerate stuff was water worn and mair or less wedge-shaped +wi' the blunt ends facing in this direction. Now do you savvy? +Observation is a grand virtue, Bob----" + +"I am afraid you have been laughing at me," spoke the young man, +gravely. + +"I'll prove to you that I havena," came the quick response. "Jack, come +here and do your geometry lesson." + +Jack had been industriously searching for further treasure, but he +hastened up at once. + +"Now," said his mentor, "I want you to mark out a rectangle five feet +six inches by two feet six inches just on the break o' that meeserable +apology for a creek. We'll start sinkin' our shaft there in the +mornin'." + +So it came about that Bob planned the position of their first shaft, +with Jack assisting; and Mackay walking a little way apart surveyed the +pair with deep satisfaction. + +"I can see," he soliloquized, "that my young friend, Bob, is goin' to be +a vera useful acquisition, and if Jack develops along the lines in which +his tastes lie, I have much need to congratulate mysel'. Who would have +thought it?..." + +Next after the lining out of the projected shaft came the pegging of the +claims. For this four stout posts were required, thick enough when faced +with an axe to present a surface at least four inches square. These were +soon forthcoming, the mulga shrubs growing around being just of +sufficient girth to meet with official requirements. + +"And now, my lads," said Mackay, in sprightly tones, "we're going to +mark out three men's ground, a hundred feet by a hundred is the +allowance per man, so that means we can take a hundred yards along the +creek and one hundred feet across." He began to pace off the ground as +he spoke. "We can check it with a tape after," said he, "but I have done +this so often that I'm no' likely to be faur oot in my calculations." + +Soon the four pegs were sunk into position by Jack and Mackay, Bob at +the same time scooping out with pick and shovel short rectangular +trenches at each corner to indicate plainly to any subsequent observer +the position of the outlying boundaries. This done they gazed at their +handiwork with serene contentment. The mercurial Mackay was once more in +the clutches of the gold fever, and his companions were no whit less +affected. + +"Let us call it Mackay's Reward," cried Jack, at length. + +That gentleman shook his head. "This claim shall henceforth be known as +The Golden Promise," he said. + +Next on the afternoon's programme was the erection of the tent, and Jack +at once volunteered to search the scrub for the two forked upright posts +required to support the ridge or roof pole of the calico structure, +Mackay and Bob meanwhile arranging the various stores and mining +implements which they had unloaded from the camel. That wiry animal +itself was not far off assiduously chewing clumps of saltbush and +spinifex grass, varying this somewhat monotonous fare by occasional +mouthfuls of the mulga twigs within its reach. Five minutes, ten minutes +passed, and no Jack reappeared, nor was the sound of his axe heard in +the near distance. Mackay became uneasy. + +"I do hope the laddie hasna gone far," he muttered, throwing down the +pick handle he was fitting to the steel and looking around anxiously. + +"But he'll know how to get back," reassured Bob. + +Mackay grunted unbelievingly. "That's aye the way wi' new chums in the +bush," he declared. "They never remember that everything is alike in +this country, an' that only the sun can be taken as a guide." Seizing +his rifle he set off in the direction Jack had taken, Bob hastening at +his heels; but they had not gone far before they were gazing at a most +extraordinary spectacle. There was the delinquent indulging in fierce +chase after a great yellow ungainly creature which scrambled around in +a narrow circle, turning at intervals to snap savagely at its tormentor, +who was aiming numerous but ineffective blows at his quarry with the axe +he carried. Round and round they went, and Jack's energy seemed all but +spent when Mackay's hearty laugh attracted his attention. + +"Ho! ho! ho!" he chuckled, walking leisurely forward and interrupting +the performance. Bob at the moment could not see any reason for this +display of humour, and certainly Jack did not. + +"It attacked me when I was cutting a tree," explained the baffled +warrior, "and every time I stopped chasing it, it turned and chased me. +I suppose the brute's tired now, or it would be at me again." He wiped +the perspiration from his forehead, and eyed his enemy malevolently. The +object of his wrath was a peculiar crocodile-like creature with an +enormously long tail, short thick-set legs, and a narrow +venomous-looking head. It must have measured fully five feet in length, +and was certainly ugly enough to disconcert any one who did not know the +nature of the beast. Now it rested calmly by the foot of a tree, its +head swaying gently and its abnormally elongated tongue shooting out and +in with lightning rapidity. + +"It's only a poor wee iguana, Jack," consoled Mackay. "It would dae you +no harm, though I will admit it doesna look as peaceably inclined as it +might; but watch me whistle to it." He strode forward, and kneeling +beside the huge iguana--but as the boys noticed, beyond the reach of its +sturdy claws--whistled unmelodiously a selection from a popular opera, +and lo! ere the first two bars had been negotiated, Jack's recent +enemy's head began to nod rhythmically with the music! and its whole +body took on an attitude of satisfied repose. + +"Well, I'm jiggered!" was all that Jack could say, while Bob exploded +into uncontrollable mirth. Then the musician ceased his labours. + +"I'm no sayin' that anybody could charm the beastie like me," he +admitted with exceeding modesty. "My whustle's got a wonderfu' movin' +element in it----" + +"It has," agreed the pair, with unanimous promptitude, shuddering with +painful emotion. The big man laughed. + +"I was sure ye would coincide wi' my statement," he blandly said. "And +now let us get the happy home fixed afore sundown. The darkness will be +on in two shakes o' a kangaroo's tail." + +On returning with the necessary saplings to the clearing they had +prepared as a site for their future dwelling, they found the Shadow +awaiting them somewhat anxiously. + +"I was wondering where ye had got to," he remarked, apparently much +relieved, "I saw some nigs in the district a couple o' days ago, and I +was afraid they had scooped ye in." + +"Niggers, here?" cried Mackay. + +"They were both out watching me try to kill an iguana," said Jack, with +a laugh. + +"But you shouldn't kill iguanas," reproved the Shadow. "They never mean +no harm, and they does wonderful good around a camp, killing snakes and +centipedes and other crawlers." + +"Oh, I'll remember next time," assured Jack; "I'll remember to run like +smoke when I see one like the brute I tackled to-day. An ugly wobbly +monster over five feet long, harmless!" It was clear that Jack was by +no means convinced. + +That evening the entire population of Golden Flat gathered around the +new-comers' camp fire, and did much to entertain the boys with their +various anecdotes and reminiscences. Desperate encounters with natives, +thrilling tales of the early Coolgardie days, and narratives of +prospecting journeys through the waterless bush regions followed each +other in quick succession. The intense heat of the day had now given +place to an extraordinarily chill atmosphere, which was the more +noticeable because of the sudden change, and all huddled closely to the +glowing logs. But it soon became apparent that the cheerful warmth of +the fire was attracting other and by no means welcome visitors, and +though no one seemed to be in any way concerned, Jack viewed the +innumerable pests and crawling creatures that kept forcing their way +into the flames with some apprehension. The conversation had narrowed +down to a wordy discussion on the possibilities of gold being found in +the far interior. + +"Every bushman believes that there's bound to be gold in the Never +Never," reiterated Emu Bill, assisting a large-sized centipede into the +fire with a _sang froid_ that aroused Jack's horror. But he was yet to +be more surprised. + +"Don't move, Jack," said the Shadow's voice from somewhere behind him. +"There's a black snake trying to snuggle into your trousers pocket. I'll +spifflicate him in a jiff;" and he promptly gripped the intruding +reptile by the tail, swung it once round his head, then cracked it as +one might the lash of a whip, breaking its back in an instant. + +"I suppose I'll get accustomed to it," said Jack, with a shudder. + +"I'll show you how to slaughter them yourself to-morrow," comforted the +Shadow. + +"I say, Mackay," said Nuggety Dick, from his distant corner, "ye haven't +told us about your trip to the old country yet! How did ye take to it +after your ten years' Australian experience?" + +But Mackay would only commit himself to one statement. "It's a grand +country, Nuggety," said he, with impressive earnestness; "but it belongs +to too few folk." Which enigmatical reflection seemed to give his +hearers some food for thought. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +The Treasure of the Mine + + +During the week that followed, the work at Golden Flat proceeded apace. +Sinking operations were being conducted all along the line of the +auriferous wash from Never Never Dave's shaft down to the Golden Promise +Claim, and red-coloured flags were almost daily making their appearance +on the various windlass heads, indicating that the fortunate owners of +the claims had bottomed on gold. Never Never Dave's excavation, as has +been already mentioned, struck the pay gravel at the ten-foot level, and +that easy-going individual was leisurely engaged scooping out the rich +conglomerate-looking cement while his neighbours were yet industriously +seeking for the golden channel. Nuggety Dick was the next to reach it; +his ground was directly adjacent to Dave's, yet his shaft was down +fifteen feet before the welcome red symbol showed at his workings, thus +indicating the gradual dip of the ancient waterway. Before the week was +out, however, every shaft had bottomed on the golden gravel excepting +that which Mackay, Bob, and Jack were sinking. But this delay in +reaching the longed-for stratum in no way disconcerted Mackay. + +"The chances are," said he, "that, when we do strike it at the lower +level, the wash itself will be deeper and wider." + +This thought was a wonderful incentive to them all, for the +gold-carrying gravel laid bare in the other workings was scarcely two +feet in thickness, and, though its richness was unquestionable, its +limited nature was only too apparent. Bob and Jack took their turns in +the shaft with great good humour and enthusiasm, and though at first +their efforts to penetrate the flinty formations encountered were almost +unavailing, they quickly acquired the science of the work under the +constant guidance of Mackay, who also taught them how to temper their +tools for the different kinds of strata, how to drill holes for the +gelignite charges so as to obtain the most efficient results. Their +early training especially fitted them for this kind of tuition, and they +proved very apt pupils. Mackay, though such a strong man himself, was no +advocate of the supremacy of muscle even in shaft-sinking. + +"Science beats it every time," said he. "Of course, I'm no denyin' that, +where baith strength and science are combined there's a wonderfu' +advantage, but it doesna often happen that a strong man physically is +blessed wi' a superabundity o' mental gifts----" + +Jack, of course, could not resist the interruption. "We can't allow that +from you, sir," in his most sedate tones. + +Mackay smiled. "I'm vera pleased to have your implied testimonial, +Jack," he returned, with twinkling eyes; "but then I was aboot to remark +that an exception was needed to prove any rule, an' I was to assume +mysel' to be the exception in this case. No, no, mind conquers matter, +and that is why you two are just as fitted to pit doon a shaft as the +strongest navvy in the country." All of which the boys found to be quite +in accordance with facts when they got accustomed to wielding the pick, +hammer, and drill. + +"Observe any cracks in the formation," their kindly instructor would +call down to them; "attack everything in the lines o' least resistance." +And by following his advice to the letter they quickly discovered that +gold-mining was by no means as difficult as they had imagined. + +Now, just when the first week of their labours had concluded, the shaft +was sunk twenty feet; a few more feet would decide whether or not Bob's +theory would prove correct. + +"I tell you what, mates," said Nuggety Dick that evening, "you were just +a bit venturesome in sinking so far from the main workings." + +"I don't think so," returned Bob, confidently. "We'll get there all +right, Nuggety. Another five feet should do it." And another five feet +did do it. Two days later Mackay's pick broke through the covering layer +of diorite in the bottom of the shaft, and with a grunt of satisfaction +he called on Jack, who was at the windlass, to lower the bucket. + +"I'm sending up some specimens," he cried. + +Jack gave a howl of delight; hearing which, Bob, who had been reading in +the tent, rushed out, and with eyes gleaming with suppressed excitement, +hurried to the shaft mouth. He was just in time to assist in the raising +of the heavily laden bucket. Nearer and nearer it came to the surface. +Would the wash be gold-bearing or would it be barren? The boys' +agitation was intense. Their limbs trembled and their hands could +scarcely retain their grip on the windlass arms. Down below stood +Mackay, perspiring with his arduous toil, watching the bucket ascend +with somewhat anxious eyes. The glare of the sun across the shaft's +mouth made everything apparent to him, while he himself was obscured +from view in the shadows. The bucket had almost reached the top; already +Bob had stretched out his hand to grasp it, when a stentorian shout from +below arrested the movement, and, for a space, the fateful harbinger of +good or evil tidings hung motionless. + +"Keep a good grip o' your nerves--an' the windlass, lads. Heave away!" + +The caution came in time. It suddenly flashed upon them both that a +single slip on their part, a momentary hesitation, might prove +disastrous to their friend below. Again Bob stretched out his hand, his +eyes caught the glisten of gold, but his grip was sure. Next instant he +and Jack were gazing at a whitish mass, through which shone myriad +dazzling particles of the yellow metal. A few minutes later Mackay was +jerked to the surface; there was no hesitancy in the movement of the +windlass now; the moment of extreme tension had come and gone. Together +they sat down on the sand and examined the specimens one by one without +speaking. Then Mackay rose to his feet. + +"The theory was right, Bob," he said calmly. "This is the richest stuff +on the lead. I don't know how much there is of it yet, but there's +enough to make you glad you came out to Australia, anyhow. Run up the +flag, Jack," he directed, turning to that youth, who was still joyously +examining his treasures. "Let Golden Flat know that we three are right +here every time." He spoke jovially, yet so quietly, that his words +exercised a kind of restraint over his hearers, which he was quick to +notice. + +"Never mind me, my lads," he said. "You've got every reason to rejoice, +but you must remember that I'm an old hand at gold digging, an' the +yellow dirt doesna mak' me enthuse like it aince did." Truly enough, to +this strange Scot of many moods, the excitement and risk attending +discovery was everything; he viewed the rich reward likely to be his +with almost stoical indifference. Indeed, he was engaged in a deep +philosophical argument with Bob concerning the uses and abuses of gold +as a factor in the world's history, when the population of Golden Flat +arrived in a body to tender their congratulations. + +"But in these days," Bob was saying, "not to have gold is held to be +almost a proof of one's inferiority. The world does not judge from an +intellectual standpoint. It demands wealth. No matter what brains a +young man may have at home, the chances are against his ever coming to +the front unaided. Gold----" Bob stopped suddenly, having become aware +of a growing audience behind him. + +From the group old battered Dead Broke made grave utterance. + +"I believe your ideas are kerect, Bob; but from what I sees here you can +thank your lucky stars that the gold has come to you early in life. Look +at me an' Nuggety----" + +"An' me," broke in the youthful Shadow, with affected mournfulness. + +At this stage Jack came forward with a handful of fine gold slugs and +coarse dust. + +"I've just dollied a few samples," said he, handing his treasure to +Mackay. "That should go about twenty ounces to the ton, shouldn't it?" + +"Nearer two hundred, Jack," returned Mackay, smiling at his eagerness. + +"We're jolly glad to know you've struck it, boys," said Nuggety Dick, +earnestly. "And we hopes it will be a thicker patch than ours, for, from +what I sees, we can work out our claims in less than a month." + +"Well, we sunk here on the spec. o' striking it bigger on the rise," +said Mackay. "But whether or no we've been successful I canna say just +yet." + +"I'm going to sink for a deeper patch," growled Emu Bill. "I believe +we've only got a floater in our claims, an' the true bottom should be +further down." + +"I'd advise you to work out all the shallow ground first," said Mackay. +"You never know when a rush may come sailin' along. Keep stackin' the +stuff until we get a battery up; don't trouble dollyin' it--it's only +wasting time." + +His advice was sound, and was greeted with murmurs of assent. The water +supply at the camp was daily becoming less and less; no doubt more could +be tapped by sinking a deep shaft, but this would involve considerable +delay, and the citizens of Golden Flat were by no means anxious to leave +their congenial occupation at so early a period. By roughly grinding the +cement-like wash, and rinsing off the lighter sands, fairly accurate +assays could be obtained from sample specimens; but to continue such a +work on a large scale would drain the soak within a week. The only +feasible plan was to excavate as much of the gravel as possible in +anticipation of a crushing battery arriving on the ground, which would +surely be there immediately news of the Flat's richness spread abroad. +And so the days passed, and the sun beat down fiercely on the toiling +band who strove with grim Nature for her treasure. Ever and anon the +dull roar of exploding gelignite indicated how man was using the utmost +help civilization could give in order to shatter the many refractory +obstacles in his path. + +At the Golden Promise Mine sinking operations were going on very +successfully; three feet of the golden conglomerate had been penetrated, +and still there were no signs of the dreaded barren pipe-clay formation +appearing. Bob's theory had already been proved to be correct. Tons upon +tons of rich stone had been raised to the surface. The actual width of +the channel was but eight feet; but the amount of cubic contents held in +the claim was bound to be several hundred of tons at least, even +supposing the drift went no deeper than the already known three feet. + +Covered with dust and grime, and blackened by powder smoke, Bob and Jack +were working together one morning in the large chamber they had made in +the lower workings, and Mackay stood patiently by the windlass awaiting +the call to raise the boys from the danger below, for they were firing a +difficult charge. They had grown quite accustomed to the use of +gelignite by this time, and, as Mackay proudly informed Emu Bill, they +never once had had a misfire. + +On this occasion, however, some delay had occurred owing to the fuse +which Mackay had sent down becoming detached from the cap. He always +arranged the charges on the surface, calculating the number of plugs +required, and the length of fuse necessary, when he finished drilling +the holes below, leaving the boys to insert the charges and see them +properly fired. At last came the warning from Jack--"All ready!"--as he +slipped his foot in the loop of the wire rope which was hanging in +readiness. In a few seconds he was on the surface, while the rope was +again rapidly lowered for Bob, who was even then lighting a match to +apply to the fuse. The two on top heard the match scratch on the box, +and immediately thereafter the familiar sputtering of the fuse echoed to +their ears, but still no sound from Bob! Yet the faint, insidious odour +of the burning fuse crept up to their nostrils, and they knew that +something had happened. Mackay's face grew livid. + +"It's only a sixty seconds' fuse," he muttered hoarsely. "Stand by the +windlass, Jack. I'll slide down the rope." + +Jack seemed to awake from a stupor. "I'm lightest," he cried; and threw +himself at the rope without waiting for Mackay to brake the windlass +barrel. + +The iron arms of the windlass spun round, a few more loose coils only +remained on the barrel. The brawny Scot hesitated not an instant. He +rushed at the gyrating bar, and received the shock of the descending +steel on his bared chest. The windlass rope held firm. Another +revolution, and it would have run off the barrel and dashed the boy who +clung to its strands to a certain death beside his companion. It was all +over in a few seconds. Not knowing how his impetuous action had nearly +caused certain disaster, Jack slid down the rope with lightning speed, +and almost immediately his steady call--"Heave away!"--was heard. And +now came the trial of strength where all the science in the world could +not assist; only twenty seconds' grace, a double load on the windlass, +and twelve plugs of one of the most powerful explosives known beneath! +But Mackay was equal to the task. The windlass arm spun round once +again, and on the fifteenth second Jack swung into view, his foot +resting in the loop, one lacerated hand grasping tightly at the rope, +and supporting in his right arm the blood-dripping form of Bob, his +comrade. Mackay reached out his strong arm, and drew them both to safety +just as a thunderous explosion occurred which hurled tons of massive +rocks to the shaft mouth and beyond. + +Five minutes later all three were seated in the tent repairing their +bruises, and making sundry comments on the occurrence. Bob's face was +almost deathly pallid, and the blood still trickled from a deep gash in +the back of his head; it appeared that just after he had applied the +match to the fuse a portion of the iron roof of the excavation had given +way, hurling him unconscious to the ground. + +"I remembered no more," said he, "until I found myself in the tent +here." + +"It was a vera close shave, my lad," said Mackay, with suppressed +emotion. "I'm no goin' to expatiate on Jack's quick action in the +matter, but he maist certainly saved your life. It needed some nerve to +gang doon on top o' a burnin' charge o' dynamite." + +Bob smiled affectionately at his companion, and reached out his hand; +and Jack, flushing almost guiltily, was forced to show his cruelly torn +fingers. + +"And, Bob," said he, almost tearfully, "it was Mackay----" + +"You stop, right there, youngster," interrupted that gentleman, "I'll +tak' nane o' the credit from you. You deserve it a', my lad. I'm proud +o' you, I am. Now, I think you'd both be the better o' a rest. I'll go +up and see how the other boys are getting on. I hope none o' the +grinning hyenas noticed anything." + +But the "grinning hyenas" had noticed, and Mackay met them in a body +immediately he went out of the tent. There was the Shadow, Nuggety, Emu +Bill, and company hastening forward, dismay showing plainly on their +features. + +"What's happened, Mac? Any one killed?" they shouted. + +"Calm yoursel's, boys, calm yoursel's," adjured Mackay, "there's been no +serious damage done. But I'll need to timber the roof o' the drive +before we do any more work below; a bit o' it fell and gave young Bob a +nasty crack on the cranium just as he fired a heavy charge. Jack got him +out a' richt, but it vera nearly was a funeral." + +Very sincere were the sympathetic expressions of the group. The +unassuming attitude of Mackay's mates, as the boys were called, their +happy temperament, had endeared them to the dwellers on Golden Flat, and +now they trooped into the tent, and, in their rough kindly way, +congratulated the pair on their escape, much to Jack's confusion. No +truer-hearted men could be found than those battered pioneers of the +desert land. Their life amid Nature's grim solitudes is one filled with +unceasing cares, unseen dangers lurk for ever in their lonely path, +their stern, set faces are but the result of bush environment which +insidiously yet surely marks its victims with her stamp of immobility. + +"You'll be all right in a day or so, Bob," spoke Nuggety Dick, cheerily, +after examining the wound. + +"If ye'll let me, I'll take your shift until ye're better," said the +Shadow, hesitatingly; "I can't do much in my own shaft now without a +mate, it's too deep for me to work alone." + +Bob thanked him gratefully. "I hate to keep things back," said he, "and +if Mackay has no objections----" + +"Don't worry about that, Bob," broke in Mackay; "I'll mak' use o' the +Shadow until ye are well again, unless he misbehaves vera badly." + +That same afternoon a new discovery was made by Emu Bill, which had the +effect of raising the excitement of the camp to fever heat. Having +continued his shaft down through the supposed bottom of the golden wash +in his claim, he suddenly came upon a strange soapy grey deposit, not +unlike putty in appearance. + +"That proves we hasn't struck bottom yet," was his verdict, as he +examined the odd formation keenly; "there's no pipeclay about that, +there isn't." Then his eyes blinked and stared and blinked again. +"Howlin' blazes," he murmured gently to himself, "this will give the +boys a shock, it will." He had carelessly broken a piece of the clayey +mass between his finger and thumb, and behold, the line of fracture +showed golden yellow, and in the dim candle-light innumerable dazzling +pin-points of colour gleamed throughout the entire specimen. In a few +moments he was on the surface, bearing the cherished find in his hand. +"I have got something, Nuggety," said he, addressing his partner, "that +shid make ye gasp." + +Nuggety gasped in anticipation, then uttered a yell of delight as his +eyes beheld the glittering specimen. + +"Is it a new level, Emu?" he asked eagerly. + +Emu Bill nodded. "Round up the boys," said he. "It'll give them mighty +encouragement to hiv' a look at this here bonanza." Nuggety rushed away +at once, and Bill ventured another gaze at his treasure. But somehow he +did not seem to derive as much satisfaction from this observation. +"Hang it," he growled, closing his hands tightly over the specimen, "I +could ha' sworn I saw more gold than that in it at first." + +In a few short minutes he was surrounded by an enthusiastic throng. + +"Nuggety says you've struck a new level, Bill," they cried almost with +one voice. + +"I hiv' that," said Bill, with calm satisfaction, "an' from what I can +see, there'll be thousands o' tons o' the stuff in our grounds, an' it's +just crammed wi' gold." + +He cautiously unclosed his hand, and proffered the wonderful stone to +Never Never Dave, who examined it keenly, then passed it on to his next +neighbour without a word, eyeing Emu Bill reproachfully the while. +Strangely enough, no one seemed to appreciate Emu's find but himself; +but he smiled and chuckled enough for them all. The last man to examine +the specimen was Mackay; he was the latest arrival, having been down +below, timbering the tunnel in the shaft which had given way so +inopportunely, when the great news reached him. + +"An' what's this ye've got, Bill?" he said, receiving the fateful +fragment from old Dead Broke Dan, who sighed deeply as he handed it +over. "What is it you're playin' at?" he demanded, after a first cursory +glance. + +"It's all straight, Mac," broke in Bill, eagerly. "It's a fair sample, +an' there' lots more o' it, too." + +Mackay eyed the speaker with fast-rising disgust. "Dae you ken, Emu," +said he, slowly, "if it werena for the fact that I got a' the wind +squelched oot o' me the day, I would lay violent hands on ye for puttin' +up such a meeserable joke on your friends." + +Poor Emu Bill looked dazed. "Why, what's wrong wi' the gold?" he asked +feebly. "Surely you ain't goin' to tell me I doesn't know gold from iron +pyrites----" + +"Poor old Emu must ha' got a touch o' the sun to-day," grunted Never +Never, sympathetically. + +With a snort of indignation, Bill clutched back his specimen from +Mackay, gave one glance at it, then subsided in the sand. + +"You're right, boys," he announced from his lowly position in weary +dejected tones; "I'm as mad as a hatter." + +Not a trace of the yellow metal showed in the stone he now held in his +hand. + +"I would ha' sworn I saw gold in that stuff," he continued pathetically. +"No, no, Emu Bill's finished. Crack me on the head, boys, for Heaven's +sake, an' bury me quick." + +"An' me too," groaned Nuggety. "I saw the gold, as I'm a livin' sinner, +I did." + +A glint of joy flashed into Bill's eyes at the words, and he struggled +to his feet. + +"Come down into the shaft, Mackay, and have a look for yourself," he +said. "I do believe the curious stuff is so delicate it can't stand the +light." + +Still somewhat dubious about Emu Bill's professed honesty of purpose, +Mackay was not slow to avail himself of the opportunity of judging for +himself whether or not the new formation really did carry visible gold. +Then, noting the truly distressed countenance of his old acquaintance, +he relented. + +"I believe ye did think ye saw gold, Emu," said he, before placing his +foot in the sling preparatory to descending the shaft, "an' though I +dinna expect to see any glittering bonanza down below here, I'm sort o' +convinced _you_ saw it right enough. It's the sun, Emu, my man; that's +what it is." + +Bill shook his head feebly; it was all beyond his comprehension. + +"I'll come down after you, Mac," he said. "It's a mighty funny stuff, +and you need to break it before it shows colour." + +By this time every man in the camp was around the windlass; even Bob, +with his bandaged head, had put in appearance, and Jack and the Shadow +were also there. Quickly the windlass ran out, and deposited Mackay at +the new level exposed, and while the rope went up again for Bill he lit +a candle and peered cautiously around. He was looking for snakes, the +bite of a certain variety of which induces strange hallucinations. +Observing nothing in the shape he dreaded, he heaved a sigh of relief, +and turned his attention to the soapy-like stratum from which Bill had +broken his wonderful specimen. Only a dull grey muddy deposit was +visible. With a jerk and a rattle the haulage rope came down again, and +Emu Bill arrived at his side. + +"I see nothing, Bill, my man," grunted Mackay. + +Bill said not a word, but, taking his pick, smote furiously at the +deceiving substance, and as it became disintegrated great gleaming +streaks and sheets and scintillating points of gold seemed to show all +over it. + +"Can ye see anything, Mac?" inquired the wielder of the pick, pausing in +his labours, and glancing eagerly at his companion. + +"I'm simply flabbergasted," came the slow response. "There seems to be +enough gold there to stock a second Bank o' England." + +He picked up a piece of the strange formation which showed dazzling +yellow lines across its newly broken face, and examined it closely and +intently; he rubbed it with his finger, and the brilliance vanished. + +"We'd better take up some o' the best-looking bits," he suggested. + +Bill laughed. "Why, the hanged stuff won't show a colour on top," he +said. + +But they decided to chance it all the same, and accordingly Mackay +arrived on the surface bearing the result of his investigations tightly +wrapped in an old handkerchief, and when the package was opened up a cry +of admiration broke from all beholders, so beautiful, indeed, did the +specimens appear. + +A hoarse call from the underground interrupted their scrutiny. + +"For Heaven's sake, boys, put a chain on that there mirage, until I get +a look at it." + +And while two men went to the windlass and began to haul Bill to the +surface, a gradual change began to take place in the nature of the +specimens. The yellow sheen grew darker and darker until it shone like +bronze, and in this state Bill viewed them on his arrival. Slowly yet +surely the bronze shades merged into a strangely variegated purple hue, +and, while the onlookers stared aghast, this gradually evolved into the +original clayey aspect of the formation surrounding it. + +"Well, I'll be jiggered!" ejaculated the Shadow. + +"It's just a mirage," said Bill, grimly. + +The rest of the miners did not care to place on record the state of +their feelings, their usually fluent enough speech failed them on this +trying occasion. Mackay broke the silence. + +"There can be no doubt aboot the gold being there, boys," said he, "an' +in sufficient quantities to make a' oor fortunes--if we could only catch +it before it vanished." He stopped, absolutely nonplussed. + +Bob, who had not yet spoken, advanced and scrutinized the now wholly +dulled ore fragments with alert eyes. + +"I don't know that I can help you," he said quietly, "but I should like +to try. Anyhow, it's more in my line than yours, for I've studied +chemistry a bit." + +"What do you make of it, Bob?" asked Mackay, quickly. + +The reply came promptly from the lips of the thoughtful student. + +"The formation contains gold in an unstable state, but more so gold in +solution, both of which oxidize on contact with the air." + +To say that Bob's words created extreme interest would be a very mild +statement of fact. His audience was comprised of gold-miners of very +varied experience and knowledge, yet none of them had ever heard of such +a tantalizing deposit as that they had now encountered. + +"I may be wrong," continued Bob, "but I don't think there was any +mistaking the colours on the stones before they regained their normal +aspect. I've seen the same thing often in the laboratory. It was simply +Purple of Cassius, and you'll get the same result by dissolving a small +piece of gold in nitric and hydrochloric acids." + +"But what about the real gold which was there at first?" inquired Emu +Bill. "It was yellow enough, or I'm colour blind." + +Bob looked a trifle puzzled. "I should say it was an unstable chloride +or sulphide of the metal," he ventured at length. "A combination which +very seldom occurs in Nature." + +"I'm o' the opinion that Bob's right," spoke Mackay. "This country's +full o' odd formations and no one has ever bothered studying them yet." + +"If you can save this stuff afore it melts, Bob," grunted Nuggety Dick, +"there's bound to be a fortune waiting for you right here; for the clay +most likely covers the whole flat." + +"I'll take these specimens with me now," decided Bob, "and try some +experiments with them;" and he gathered up the deceptive samples and +made his way back to the tent, leaving the wondering assembly still in a +maze of doubt. + +"I do believe he can do it," grunted Emu Bill. + +"He's got the finest balanced brain-box I've seen since I struck this +howling wilderness," commented Never Never Dave. + +"Bob can do anything with chemistry," said Jack, proudly. Then they went +their several ways, all pondering deeply. + +No more work was done that day: it would have seemed like tempting +Providence to continue further operations after two such thrilling +happenings had taken place. Bob quietly set about his task of analyzing +the troublesome specimens, then quickly discovered that he required a +stock of various acids and alkalis to aid him in his efforts. + +"We're a' running short of stores anyhow," said Mackay. "We'd better +send some one into the township with the camels, and you could get the +chemicals required at the same time." + +He straightway went and broached the matter to Nuggety Dick and his +satellites, and it was promptly arranged that old Dead Broke Dan should +be despatched with the team at once. It was by this time near the hour +of sundown, and the various camel bells of the party could be heard +faintly tinkling in the eastward distance. + +"I'll round them up in a jiff," volunteered the Shadow, starting off at +a jog trot. + +"I'm coming too, Shad!" shouted Jack, and together they entered the +scrub, and were soon lost to sight. They had not gone far, however, +before the Shadow stopped and listened with something like dismay +showing in his face. The bells seemed to be receding into the distance +rather than coming nearer. + +"I've never heard o' them brutes travelling so fast," he said +discontentedly, and they increased their pace to a determined run, which +they kept up for fully ten minutes. The bells sounded distinctly nearer +now, but that the camels were on the march was plainly evident to the +Shadow, whose ear was acutely trained to judging distances by sound. + +"I reckon I know what's wrong, Jack," said he. "Some wretched niggers +have got them in tow. It's very lucky we came out to-night." + +"Is it?" asked Jack, doubtfully. + +The Shadow laughed joyously. "We'll have a grand circus on our own +to-night, if there ain't too many of them." + +"But," said Jack, "we haven't even a rifle with us, and they'll have +their spears and boomerangs, won't they?" + +"I've got something that will skeer the beggars quicker than any +shooting-iron," replied the Shadow. "See, look at this----" + +He extracted from some secret recess in his meagre wardrobe a small +curiously shaped piece of wood, about six inches long and two inches or +so broad, tapering to a fine edge all round. + +"That's a ghingi, Jack; I just hitch a bit o' string on to the end, and +whizz it round in the air, an' it howls like a dyin' dingo." + +"But what good does that do?" Jack persisted, by no means enlightened. + +"What good does it do?" echoed the Shadow. "Why, when they hear the +screech o' the ghingi-ghingi, they'll either vanish right away or come +to hear what it says. The ghingi is their devil, you know, but only the +sorcerers o' the tribes can make it speak. I made this here ghingi +myself, and, by thunder! it can yell like a good 'un, it can." + +The Shadow was evidently quite delighted at the prospect of making use +of his handiwork, and as they strode along he managed to infuse Jack +with a considerable amount of his enthusiasm. It was now as dark as an +Australian night could be, but the steadfast radiance of the myriad +stars somewhat neutralized the gloom of the shadows and reflected an +eerie sort of half light over the motionless tips of the mulga scrub. At +last they were almost up on the clanging bells, and if there had been +any doubt in Jack's mind concerning the accuracy of his companion's +surmise as to their unusual clangour it disappeared utterly when he +heard the droning chant of the aborigines mingle with the rhythmic +peals. They had reached a small clearing in the scrub which permitted an +uninterrupted line of vision for nearly half a mile, but before leaving +the sheltering timber they hesitated, and peered anxiously across the +intervening sand plain, and there in the midst of it, darkly +discernible, moved the ghostly camel train. + +"Now for it," muttered the Shadow, getting the ghingi ready for action. +"We must round up them camels afore they get into the bush country +again." + +He whirled his device quickly around his head, and at once a strange +moaning broke upon the air. Faster and faster he spun it round, and the +moaning increased to a weird wailing shriek which penetrated across the +plain with shivering intensity. At once the bells ceased their clamour +and vague cries of alarm echoed back to the boys. + +"Let us chase 'em up with it," exclaimed the Shadow, throwing all +caution aside. "When they hear the ghingi comin' nearer they won't wait +to argue long." + +Together they made a wild burst over the ironshot flat, the ghingi +sending forth varying notes of wailing terror as they ran. In their +excitement they had not calculated on the nearness of the natives, the +silence of the bells perhaps somewhat confused them, but they halted +when they found themselves almost on the tail of the last camel, a huge +animal which the Shadow had no difficulty in recognizing by its unusual +size. All this time the harsh unmusical cries of the disquieted +aborigines rent their ears, but apparently the dusky band had not yet +decided to give up their stolen charges. + +"Judging from the volume o' music let loose there must be 'bout half a +dozen o' the beggars," whispered the Shadow. "Here, Jack, take this +blooming ghingi, and let her rip. My arms are about busted. I'll do a +bit o' a yell myself and see what happens." + +Jack seized the string of the syren and whirled with a will, and from +the lips of the Shadow there issued a most lugubrious groan, which +seemed to combine in it all the horrors that any demon of darkness could +have conjured up. That seemed to decide matters; with screams of terror +seven or eight stalwart blacks broke away from a point where they had +been huddled ahead of the camels; their dark forms were just visible as +they fled, and they made a somewhat ghost-like spectacle. Jack gave a +low chuckle of delight. + +"Your voice fetched them, Shadow," said he. + +"Keep the ghingi whizzing, Jack, keep it whizzing!" came the agonized +reply. "I couldn't do it again for all the gold in Australia. My +throat's burst, it is." + +Their concerted action was now prompt and effective. In a trice the +Shadow had a grip of the nose-rope of the leading camel, and had turned +the unwieldly train on a backward course. Once more the bells rang out +their noisy clamour, yet still the ghingi sounded loud and shrill, and +still the jarring cries of the stricken warriors echoed in reply from a +not too remote distance. The adventuresome pair were not yet out of all +danger. Indeed it soon became evident to them that the mystified +aborigines were not altogether willing to accept the warning call of the +ghingi as a reason for the total abdication of their plunder. Their +discordant cries were just a bit too close to be pleasant. + +"If they rush us, Jack," the Shadow hoarsely whispered, as he tugged at +Misery's nose-rope, "we'll have to make a bolt for it." + +Jack grunted a sympathetic affirmative. "I can't swing this wretched old +ghingi much longer," he said. + +Even while he spoke the savages seemed to decide on a definite course of +action; their yells suddenly grew louder and nearer. It was very +probable they had observed the boys through the gloom, and were thus +awakened to a knowledge of the ruse by which they had been deceived. +Anyhow there could be no doubt as to their intentions; they meant to +recapture the camels, and that right speedily, and yet the Shadow was +loth to leave his charges. + +"They'll get us when we enter the scrub," said he, with dismal +resignation. "The beggars won't tackle us in the open. I reckon we'll +have to do a scoot, Jack." + +Jack had already arrived at that conclusion; but now, as he rested from +his labours for an instant, a bright idea seized him. They were scarcely +a hundred yards from the edge of the timber; whatever was to be done +must be done quickly. Without a word he rushed back to the rearmost +camel, and hastily secured the tongue of the bell encircling its neck by +passing it through a loop in the leathern thong which hung loose for +that purpose. Moving hurriedly on he silenced each of the jangling bells +in the same way, and for a short space the cumbrous train proceeded in +absolute quiet. + +"They'll think we've stopped, and it may keep them back for a bit," Jack +whispered. + +The Shadow nodded comprehensively. It had come as a shock to him that +this new chum companion of his should have thought of the simple plan +first, and he felt somewhat aggrieved in consequence. Surely enough the +yells of the natives seemed to recede into the distance; the silence of +the bells had certainly confused them. + +"They'll be with us in a jiff," calmly said the Shadow, as they entered +the scrub, in which prognostication he was quite correct. + +A chorus of fiercer yells than before suddenly broke upon the still air, +then came the angry beating of spears upon shields, and the pat-pat of +many feet on the sand. But now came another unexpected diversion. Away +in the distance a heavy report boomed out; again and again the +thunderous echoes of exploding cordite crashed through the night. + +The Shadow chuckled long and joyously. "That's Mackay's new rifle," he +said. "I would know the crack of it anywhere." + +Other and varying discharges quickly followed, making it plain that the +entire community at Golden Flat had grown alarmed at the prolonged +absence of the boys, and were signalling in order to guide their return +in the darkness. The yelling horde at the first ominous sound had ceased +their clamour, but soon they broke out afresh and with renewed energy. +They meant to make one more effort to recover their prize before it was +hopelessly beyond their reach. With appalling shouts they quickly drew +near. + +"It's hard luck to be forced to clear out now," complained Jack, +marvelling much at his companion's unsubdued joy. + +That wily youth quietly unhitched the bells from the necks of the three +leading camels. + +"I think we'll best the niggers after all, Jack," he said. "I wasn't +exactly willing to let you risk it before; but you can steer by the +gunshots, can't you?" + +"Of course," replied Jack, clutching at the nose-rope of Misery which +the Shadow had relinquished. + +"Well, you take the team into camp, and I'll run the niggers a bit o' a +circus dance." He was gone at once, but not an instant too soon; the +blacks were already within a hundred yards of them. + +Jack continued his course guided by the reports which now rang out at +regular intervals, and he smiled quietly to himself when a confused +jangle of bells sounded away to the southward, and his smile developed +into a hearty laugh when, with howls presumably of delight, the warrior +band stampeded in that direction. + +"I think the Shadow knows how to take care of himself," he reflected +contentedly, as he continued his course in peace. + +The Shadow's trick was certainly effective. It was also risky, but that +feature seemed rather enjoyable than otherwise to the impetuous young +Australian. Far to the south he sped, jangling the bells at intervals to +draw his pursuers on, and when their noisy yelling sounded too close for +his liking, he silenced the tell-tale alarms and veered off in a +different direction, always taking care to work in towards the camp. A +veritable will-o'-the-wisp he was, and the baffled natives soon tired of +their hopeless chase, no doubt marvelling much at the extraordinary +activity shown by the fleeing camel train! + +At the camp considerable consternation was felt over the non-return of +the camel hunters. They had been gone over two hours, before Mackay +ventured to express his fears for their safety. + +"The Shadow must have got twisted in his bearings," he said. "The bells +were within a couple o' miles off when they started, and they seem to +have gone further away instead o' comin' nearer." + +"Mebbe the cantankerous brutes bolted," suggested Nuggety Dick. "The +Shadow couldn't bush hissel' in creation wi' the old Cross showin' in +the sky." + +So, indeed, they all thought, but each of them felt strangely anxious +nevertheless, and when Mackay fetched his rifle from his tent and began +to blaze away methodically, they were not long in following his lead. +The bells had been some time out of range when the first shot was fired, +but suddenly their harsh jangling burst afresh on their ears, and to +their surprise and dismay they seemed to be heading towards the south. + +"Keep your popguns going," said Mackay. "The Shadow must have lost his +nerve and got slewed." + +So was the young bushman condemned and abused while he pursued his +erratic course, and Jack came in for more sympathy than he would have +appreciated had he been within hearing. + +"What in thunder can the howlin' idiot mean by zig-zagging like that?" +exclaimed Never Never Dave, listening to the intermittent peals of the +bells with deep concern. Then faintly over the mulga scrub came the +yells of the discomfited blacks, and at once Golden Flat camp was +aroused to strenuous action; scarcely a word was spoken, each man +gripped his rifle, and almost as one body, they made a wild burst in the +direction from which the alarming sounds had come. And Bob, though +almost in a high fever from the effects of the wound in his head, +entirely forgot his weakness, and kept pace with Mackay. + +Silent and grim, like a raging Nemesis, the small company hurried on +their vengeful way; but they had not gone far when they became aware of +a slight commotion in the bush directly in their path, and almost before +they could realize it, the great hulking forms of the camels loomed out +through the darkness, with Jack at their head. + +"Well, I'll be kicked! And why isn't ye slaughtered, young feller?" +demanded Nuggety Dick, in helpless amazement. "We never dreamt o' seein' +ye alive again----" + +"Where's the Shadow, Jack?" interrupted Mackay. + +Jack laughed. "He's acting decoy for the blacks," he said. + +The big man seemed to tremble with suppressed emotion. + +"And I was blaming him for getting bushed!" he said, in a tone of deep +self-reproach. + +A harsh jangle of bells close at hand interrupted further speech, and a +cheery voice spoke from the gloom. + +"Say, boss, ye needn't ever be skeerd 'bout me gettin' bushed; but them +camel bells are mighty heavy, an' I'm just about blown out waltzing them +around." + +The Shadow approached, gave the bells a final shake, then flung them +with a clatter to the ground. A few words served to explain matters, and +it was with a feeling of devout thankfulness that the party returned +slowly to camp. + +"You must never run risks like that again, my laddies," Mackay +admonished quietly, in the midst of the general rejoicings over the +plucky rescue of the camel train. + +"Jack and me didn't take no risks," came the gay reply. "We always knew +by their howling when the beggars were coming too close. It's been a +grand picnic for us both, hasn't it, Jack?" + +"I wouldn't have missed it for anything," answered Jack, with a chuckle +of keen delight. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +The Rush at Golden Flat + + +Dead Broke Dan had been gone a week from Golden Flat on his errand for +stores, and in this time the extent of the "pay gravel" in the different +mines had been fairly accurately estimated. Developments all along the +line proved the existence of a rich but limited layer of the +gold-carrying wash from end to end of the workings. At the Golden +Promise mine the auriferous deposit, as had been anticipated, had +occurred in a considerably deeper drift than in any of the others, the +reason of course, being in accordance with Bob's theory that the sudden +uprise of the old channel would cause an accumulation of the wash +directly on the incline, and so it had happened; the thickness of the +stratum was here nearly four feet, or almost twice that in all the other +claims. Beyond this, however, no direct trace of the ancient waterway +could be discovered; a broad lagoon-like mass of the tantalizing clay +which had so mystified Emu Bill intervened, sparkling and gleaming in +its deceptive beauty until raised to the surface when it unfailingly +relapsed into its muddy, sordid state, to the disgust of all beholders. +This odd formation was found to underlie the genuine gold-carrying +cement in all the shafts, and its presence provided a topic for much +vituperative language. + +Until the various chemicals arrived Bob was unable to make any analysis +of the much-abused deposit, but he was never tired of examining samples +of it, powdering them up and applying the fire test in the hope that +whatever refractory gas or element was present, and binding the gold in +an invisible state, might be driven off. He never cared to say much +concerning the results of these experiments, but that he received +undoubted satisfaction from his labours was very evident. He was engaged +roasting some of the fine grains of the clay in a crucible when Mackay +entered the tent on this morning in search of a pick-handle he had +mislaid. + +"Well, Bob," said he, "an' are ye gettin' any nearer a solution to that +mystery of Nature?" + +Bob silently pointed to the crucible on the small Primus stove from +which dense yellow fumes were issuing. + +"Smell that," he said. + +Mackay sniffed right heartily, and nearly choked in consequence. + +"An' what sort o' a perfume do ye call that?" he demanded, when he had +regained his composure. + +"Chlorine," smilingly returned the chemist. "The clay is soaked in it, +and any text-book will tell you that chlorine has a great affinity for +gold." + +Mackay became interested at once. "Let me hear your line o' argument, +Bob," he grunted. "This is a matter o' vera considerable importance, an' +I'll be the last to discourage ye in your efforts." + +Bob smiled just a trifle sadly. "I haven't been able to work in the +shaft for a week," he began. + +"An' ye'll no work in the shaft until that head o' yours is richt +better," interrupted Mackay. "I'm no' so sure," he continued, "whether +I should alloo ye to worry as you're doin' aboot that wretched stuff." + +The young man looked gratefully at the speaker, then turned his gaze +once more to the smoking crucible. + +"I think I have discovered how to treat it," he said slowly. "The +chlorine must be brought into contact with another gas offering a +greater affinity than gold: on their combination the gold will be set +free in a metallic state, and can be saved in the ordinary way. All we +have to do is to pump hydrogen gas into a vat containing a solution of +the clayey mixture, keep emptying off the slimes, and in time the +residue must be a highly concentrated gold wash. It's not very +difficult, is it? I only need those acids to prove the practical working +of the scheme." + +Mackay remained silent for a moment, apparently deep in thought. + +"You'll do it, Bob," he broke out eagerly. "Dead Broke should be back +wi' the acids any time now, an' you'll be able to finish your tests; but +I hae no doubt ye'll accomplish what we all wish, an' ye'll deserve your +reward, my laddie." + +About noon of the same day Dead Broke Dan was sighted in the distance, +returning with the camel team, much to the relief of all in camp, for he +was already a full day overdue. + +"I was a bit skeert that ole Dead Broke had anchored himself in the +township," growled Nuggety Dick, as they all congregated at his shaft to +watch the lumbering train approach. + +"If he drove the animals like that all the way," hazarded Never Never +Dave, "he could hiv been here two days ago. Why, the old heathen _is_ +forcing the pace." + +The camels were certainly travelling at an unusually rapid rate; +heavily laden as they were, they were actually ambling over the sand, +and old Dead Broke Dan was running energetically alongside, plying his +long whip with a will. + +"I can't make it out," said Mackay. "Dead Broke knows well enough that +it's dangerous to rush those brutes in that fashion. There must be +something wrong." + +Something apparently was wrong, for when the great hulking beasts +staggered into camp, their flanks were heaving convulsively, and their +mouths were flecked with foam. Their driver, too, seemed in the last +stage of collapse. + +"There's a rush comin', mates," he panted. "Macguire's gang followed me +out from Kalgoorlie. I tried to shake them off an' doubled back on my +own tracks, but they've got horses and buggies, an' I couldn't lose +them, no matter how I dodged. They camped less'n a mile from me last +night; but I didn't unload the camels, an' scooted about one o'clock in +the morning so as to get in ahead to tell you." + +"We couldn't have kept it quiet much longer anyhow, boys," said Nuggety +Dick. "An' I don't think we'd have minded a decent crowd comin' to the +flat, but Macguire's a holy terror, and his gang are a tough party to +handle." + +"There's one howlin' satisfaction, mates," laughed Emu Bill. "They'll +get nothin' but that miserable miradgy clay outside our pegs. I kin just +fancy I hear Macguire's words when he sees his gold vanish." He grinned +delightedly at the thought. + +Mackay did not say much, he knew that a rush was inevitable, but +Macguire was not exactly the kind of man he would care to have as a near +neighbour. He was a noted bully, card-sharper, and mine-jumper, though +he ostensibly kept an hotel in the township where men of a similar +fraternity were wont to congregate. + +"How many are in the crowd, Dead Broke?" he asked. + +"'Bout a dozen, I calc'late." + +"And we are only eight," mused Mackay. + +"You don't think the sneakin' thief will try to jump this here circus?" +ejaculated Nuggety Dick. + +"You may just bet your boots the same individual'll no work himsel' if +he can find it already done for him," came the answer. "I shouldna +wonder a bit if we have some trouble. What are you grinning at, you +young baboon?" he demanded, turning to the Shadow, who appeared to find +much cause for merriment in the doubtful state of things. + +The Shadow subsided at once. "Man boss," he complained reproachfully, +"does ye think we is a gentle little Sunday-school party, just waiting +to be swallowed?" + +Mackay snorted in disgust. "If it werena for these laddies," he said to +himself, "I would dearly enjoy a scrimmage; but I seem to have become +mair cautious since they've been wi' me. It's no richt that they should +see the wickedness o' human nature in its worst aspect a' at aince." + +"I see them coming!" cried Bob, who was scanning the horizon closely, +and a dim sand cloud in the far eastward distance was sure enough +evidence that the rush would ere long be in their midst. Soon the +various outlines of horsemen and buggies could be traced amid the +enveloping dust; quickly the frenzied gold-seekers drew near, and wild +halloos mingled with the cracking of whips, and the laboured plunging of +horses' hoofs on the ironshot sand plain. Ahead of the main party, +mounted on a powerful bay horse, which he was cruelly spurring on to its +last effort, rode Macguire, a tall, awkward brute of a man, whose heavy +countenance as he came near, bore the exulting leer of the professional +braggart and bully. At a mad gallop he forced his jaded beast right up +to Nuggety Dick's shaft, then halted with a vicious jerk on the curb +rein, and surveyed the awaiting group with a triumphant grin. + +"So you thought you were goin' to run this show yourselves," he sneered +from his position in the saddle. + +"I guess you've struck it plumb first shot," calmly returned Emu Bill, +rolling his quid in his mouth with evident relish, and ejecting a streak +of tobacco juice which came dangerously near to finding a resting-place +on the new-comer's boots. + +Macguire snarled, and looked round to see if his satellites were near at +hand, and, noting their close proximity, he jumped from his horse, threw +the reins carelessly over a mulga sapling, and examined the stacked wash +on the surface with unconcealed joy. + +"An' who was the discoverer o' this bonanza?" he demanded, aggressively, +addressing every one in general. + +Nuggety Dick gave a snort of annoyance. "For a mean impertinent swab ye +beat anything I've ever met," said he, in his politest tones. "An' if ye +doesn't take yer miserable carcase clear o' my pegs instanter, ye'll +find what ye're lookin' for in about two shakes o' a muskittie's +eyelid." + +At that moment the rest of Macguire's Rush appeared on the scene, and +with boisterous laughter hurried to range themselves by their chief's +side. They were a motley crew, comprising the very worst product of the +goldfields, and they glared at the owners of Golden Flat with +uncontrolled malevolence. Macguire eyed his choice associates with +satisfaction, before responding to Nuggety Dick's peremptory request, +then he turned the flood-gates of his wrath loose on that amiable +gentleman, who listened with dangerous _sang froid_. War was certainly +imminent, but before the actual outbreak had occurred, Mackay left his +position beside Jack, and stepped forward. + +"This is my quarrel, Nuggety," said he. "The gentleman was looking for +the discoverer o' the flat, an' I should be sorry if he went away before +makin' my acquaintance." + +The tone was quiet almost to mildness, and Jack and Bob marvelled much +thereat; but the Shadow laughed softly to himself. + +"Oh, it was you, was it?" blustered Macguire. "An' why in thunder didn't +ye report to me? We might have come peaceably at first, but now we mean +to boost ye out of it. I know ye hasn't registered yer find, for I has +watched the Warden's office ever since you an' them youngsters passed +through the township, an' there's been no notices posted. Now I +calc'late we'll just begin where you leave off, an' we are obliged to ye +for doin' so much work for us. Ain't that right, boys?" + +A yell of approbation greeted his words. + +"You've made a vera serious error," said Mackay, with unruffled +serenity. "You've neglected to consider that we keep guns in camp, an' +there's twa or three o' them lookin' at ye now. Furthermore, we were +just dyin' for a scrimmage when you popped your ugly head along, an', +though ye beat us by two in numbers, I dinna just feel tremblin' wi' +anxiety over the finish o' the circus. No, no, Macguire, ye canna bluff +this crowd----" + +"Does ye know who I am?" howled Macguire. "I'm the champion bruiser o' +the fields, I is." + +"And ye look it every time," retorted Mackay. "But before we gang in for +wholesale bloodshed, we'd better settle our personal differences. I hae +objected strongly to your unmannerly inceevility----" + +"Ho! ho! ho!" roared the bruiser, rolling up his shirt-sleeves with +professional exactitude. "Now, boys, the funeral is off until I knock +this rooster out." + +"Right O!" came the ready response from the hired ruffians, who never +doubted for a moment the all-conquering prowess of their chief. + +Nuggety Dick, Emu Bill, Jack, the Shadow, and Bob, quietly ranged +themselves on one side, their hands gripping the butts of the revolvers +in their belts. In the near distance, beyond the windlass, with rifles +resting on the timber for greater steadiness, Never Never Dave and Dead +Broke Dan kept the deadly tubes gazing at Macguire's band, much to these +warriors' disquietude. It had been Mackay's idea to have them thus +prepared; the wisdom of it was already clearly evidenced. + +And now Bob and Jack trembled for the safety of their friend. Macguire +was both taller and broader than Mackay, and his short bull neck and +bloated features gave him a decidedly repulsive appearance. But to their +astonishment Mackay's face betrayed not the slightest trace of concern, +though his eyes shone with a strange light. He had taken upon himself +the battle of the entire camp, and he knew it. + +With a yell Macguire rushed to the attack, and his right hand lunged +ponderously forward, only to find itself warded lightly aside. Wildly he +attempted to guard with his left; but Mackay's blow came like a +lightning stroke, straight from the shoulder, and was not to be denied. +Macguire staggered under the shock of the concussion, but recovered +himself, and with savage rage struck blindly again and again at his +antagonist's head, only to find his great fists beat the empty air. +Mackay simply warded off the vain strokes, and stood his ground, a grim +smile beginning to dawn on his features. He had discovered the weakness +of his opponent; Macguire's strength was his whole support--one of his +terrible blows would have proved fatal to most men--and so had his +reputation grown! But Mackay's anger burned fierce within him, and he +waited his chance; it soon came. Macguire, aroused to an extraordinary +pitch of ferocity, made again a desperate swinging stroke at his enemy's +head with the usual futile result; but ere he could recover from the +impetus of his foolish action Mackay's great fists caught him full in +the face, one after the other, with a force that hurled the bully over +in the sand. But all was not over yet; the bruiser had evidently no lack +of animal courage. He picked himself up slowly, peered through his fast +closing eyes to locate his enemy, and leaped like a demoniacal savage +once more to the fray. Disdaining to strike the half-blind wretch, +Mackay stood unmoved, and so gave the cunning trickster the chance he +desired. The long, octopus arms of Macguire gripped him tight, and his +breath spurted forth in fierce gasps. A groan of dismay broke from Jack, +and a yell of delight from Macguire's supporters greeted this action. +Now, indeed, it was to be a trial of strength. Backwards and forwards +they swayed, bending, twisting, writhing, stumbling, but through it all +the Shadow noticed with joy how gradually, yet surely, Mackay's brawny +arms were tightening over the great bulk of his antagonist. For a moment +there was a lull, the crucial point had come, and the combatants stood +immovable; the muscles of Mackay's arms strained out like whipcords. +Crack! crack! something seemed to have given way. Mackay relaxed his +hold, and with a groan and a shiver the towering form of Macguire +subsided in the sand and lay inert. Both sides had watched the last +struggle of the giants with breathless interest; and the final collapse +of Macguire aroused from his supporters only a hushed exclamation of +awe. The victor stepped forward to them at once. + +"Now, boys," he said pleasantly, "if you like, we'll begin the circus. +Your leader has got a couple or so ribs broken, so you'd better not +count on him much----" + +"No! no!" they shouted in unison; and one of them, constituting himself +spokesman for the party, gave vent to their impressions. + +"After that," he said weakly, "we don't want no more fight. Let us peg +alongside somewheres. We promise to act straight with you." + +A shuddering murmur of approval followed his words. Mackay had indeed +done battle for the entire camp that day. + +Then the Shadow broke out. "Didn't I tell you, Jack?" cried he, prancing +around gleefully. + +"By the Great Howlin' Billy, I've never seen a fight like that--no, +never," impressively spoke Never Never, coming forward. + +Neither Bob nor Jack said a word, their hearts seemed too full for +speech; but Mackay guessed their thoughts. + +"It had to be done, my laddies," said he, kindly. "I thought my +fighting days were over; but it wasna to be--it wasna to be." + +After that order reigned. Some of Macguire's gang sullenly went off to +peg out claims beyond the Golden Promise Mine; others busied themselves +erecting a huge tent into which their fallen chief was carried, groaning +and cursing by turns. Then the holders of Golden Flat returned to their +labours with buoyant energy, and continued excavating the golden wash as +if nothing untoward had happened to mar the even tenor of their way. Bob +having received the acids he had so eagerly awaited, was soon lost in +the mazes of calculative experiments beside his crucibles and +test-tubes. The Shadow and Jack slogged away with steady persistency at +the bottom of the shaft. Mackay calmly smoked the pipe of peace at the +windlass head, now and again breaking out into unmelodious song to the +great discomfort of all within hearing distance. Indeed, since his +desperate encounter he seemed to have become unusually cheerful; and +Bob, hearing the distracting strains, laughed softly to himself and +pondered deeply on this further illustration of a many-sided nature. +That evening, however, he was destined to be further surprised, for +Mackay, having finished his tea, went quietly to a small +mysterious-looking box which he kept under his bunk, and which neither +of the boys had ever seen him open before, and from a recess within the +lid he extracted--a flute. + +"Heavens!" feebly murmured the Shadow, who was present, glaring at the +instrument with exaggerated horror. + +Jack laughed outright, but checked himself suddenly when the big man +began to play. Never had he heard sweeter music; the mellow notes rang +out with exceeding softness as the great and somewhat battered fingers +of the musician strayed over the keys. No paltry tune was this, no +music-hall ditty; it was the "Miserere" from Il Trovatore he played, and +with such haunting sweetness that Bob rubbed his eyes and looked at him +in amazement. It was no joke, then, this strange man's professed love of +music, and his thoughts went back to the evening they had spent in +London. The last long-drawn-out note trembled to a finish; and Mackay's +voice broke in on his reverie. + +"What do you think o' that, Bob?" + +"It was beautiful," said Bob, soberly. + +"Ah, my ain whustle canna compare wi' the flute," sighed Mackay, +dolorously, applying his mouth once more to his treasure. Then he +hesitated. "I think I'll play ye that bonnie tune we heard at the +Queen's Hall," said he, reflectively. "D'ye mind what it was, Jack?" + +"Of course I do," responded that youth, with alacrity. "It was 'Home, +Sweet Home!'" + +The questioner looked grieved. "That sang doesna come into my +_repertoire_ when I'm oot in the bush," he reproved sternly. + +"You meant, 'Lo, hear the gentle lark,'" said Bob. + +The flautist nodded. "One, two, three, and off she goes," said he; and +at once the liquid strains of Bishop's wonderful music echoed through +the tent, with its trills and cadenzas, and with, it must be confessed, +many variations from the original melody. Ere he had finished nearly all +the camp were clustered at the door; even Macguire's party was +represented. Then the spell was broken. Evidently the volume of sound +created by the flute did not quite satisfy the player's desire for a +fuller burden of song. He laid down the flute. "Watch me catch that top +note," said he, and, with grim desperation, he opened his mouth and +began, "'Lo! hear the gentle la-a-a-a-ark----'" + +A yell of horror from the doorway, and a sudden trampling of feet +intimated that the bulk of his audience had taken flight. The Shadow +squirmed in agony, Jack shuddered, and Bob looked pained. + +"Ah, weel," grunted the singer apologetically, pausing in his valiant +effort, "I couldna expect ye to appreciate such vera high-class music, +but haud on a bit an' I'll gie ye a verse o' my ain construction, set to +music o' my vera ain composition; it is called 'The Muskittie's +Lament.'" + +Straightway he started, and bellowed out this touching little story, in +a voice so raucous that even the parrots fluttering in the scrub around +screamed out noisily in protest.[A] When he had finished, the Shadow and +Jack had vanished, and Bob alone was left to thank him as best he could. + +But he was happily spared this call on his prevaricative powers, for the +vocalist did not give him an opportunity of expressing his opinion. + +"Ye dinna look exactly overjoyed wi' my singin'," said he, quizzically, +"but ye must admit it's vera effective." + +Bob laughed, but did not venture to disagree. + +"Ay," continued Mackay, with a chuckle, "my voice has wonderfu' movin' +powers, though, like my whustle, it's mebbe a wee bit trying at close +quarters." He proceeded to the box once more, and, to Bob's surprise, +extricated a sextant from its depths. He gazed at it tenderly for a few +moments, then handed it to his companion, who seized it eagerly, and +examined it with deep interest. It was an instrument which had, +apparently, seen considerable service, for the handle was grooved by +much fingering, and the lacquer on the framework was blistered by the +sun's rays, and altogether bare in places. But the silvered arc itself +was in perfect condition, and the thin coating of vaseline over it +showed that its present owner knew how to take care of the delicate +fabric. Mackay gazed curiously on during the young man's work of +inspection. It was almost dark now in the tent, the last glimmering rays +of the setting sun alighted on the reflecting glasses of the sextant and +danced thereon joyously for a moment, then the heavy gloom of night +fell, and still Bob clutched the symbol of his unuttered desire, while +Mackay seemed wrapt in silent meditation. At length the elder man spoke. + +"That was the chief's sextant, Bob," said he, gravely. "It was the only +thing I found near the camp where he and his expedition were murdered." + +"I almost guessed that," answered Bob; then he hesitated. "I wish you +would let me try an observation with it," he concluded with earnestness. + +"Let you?" cried Mackay. "I want you to do it. Do ye remember," he +continued musingly, "o' me sending you a book on navigation; well, that +was because I wanted to influence your studies in that direction. I +canna say whether I have succeeded or no'----" + +Bob laughed grimly. "My father was a sailor," said he. "His brother was +a navigator; and I--I would dearly like to be able to steer a course as +well." + +"My lad," said Mackay, "you'll maybe get your wish sooner than you +expect. I brought out the sextant just to sound you, for nae man can say +that Mackay persuaded him against his will; but I see that the same +blood runs in the family. Take the sextant, Bob; I give it to you, +though it is my dearest possession. Handle it carefully; it has proved +true on mony a long weary journey. But mind, I may ask ye to use it in +earnest soon." + +Without another word he arose and walked from the tent, leaving Bob +alone in the darkness, his mind filled with rushing thoughts. When Jack +came in, about half an hour later, and lit a candle, he found him in the +same place. Truly the touch of the mystic emblem had aroused in him the +uncontrollable indefinite longing which is the sure birthright of the +wanderer. The call of the bush seemed to echo through his brain, the +boundless horizon beckoned him. + +Jack's entry helped to throw off the spell which had gripped him. He +arose and placed the sextant carefully back in its case beside the +flute. + +"What on earth is that, Bob?" asked Jack, anxiously. "Not another +musical instrument, surely." + +"We'll have a look at it to-morrow, Jack," answered Bob. "It's a sextant +which Mackay has given me." + +"Great Scot!" ejaculated the irrepressible youth, "can he use a sextant +too?" + +Bob smiled. "I don't know," said he, "but I wouldn't be too sure." + +"He is a regular daisy," commented Jack, enthusiastically. "Why, up at +Nuggety's camp, he's explaining to them the theories of music, and I'm +hanged if he hasn't got them half convinced that it is their +uncultivated ear that is at fault when they don't appreciate his +singing." + +A commotion from without the tent interrupted them, and the Shadow's +voice shouted loudly on Jack. + +"I've just rounded up a real beauty o' a snake at my camp," said he, +when they appeared. "Come along, an' I'll show ye how to crack him like +a whip." And the three departed. + +On the following morning Macguire's followers considered it advisable +that their damaged leader should be taken, without further delay, to the +township hospital, and shortly after daybreak a buggy and a couple of +horses were waiting in readiness for the journey. This sudden decision +on the matter was by no means agreeable to Mackay, and he hastily called +a meeting of the claim-holders in order to state his fears. + +"You know, boys," said he, "we've never registered these mines at the +Warden's office, as that bully Macguire seems to know, an' our miners' +rights are only good enough so long as we are the strongest party." + +"Well, we don't need to try and keep the Flat a secret now," growled Emu +Bill. "We're bound to have half Kalgoorlie alongside us in a day or so." + +"Ye don't seem to catch on to our difficulty, boys," continued Mackay. +"If Macguire gets into the Warden's office first, he can simply register +these mines in his own ugly name, along wi' his partners, of course, an' +then, all they've got to do is swear _we_ jumped them, an' we'll get +fired out o' our own claims wi' a squad o' mounted police!" + +Simple and open-minded bushmen, they had never thought of this. + +"By Jupiter! I believe you're right," cried old Dead Broke Dan. + +"But what in thunder is we to do?" complained Nuggety Dick. "If we had a +horse we could beat him; but the camels are too mighty slow." + +"Ah, now you've struck it," agreed Mackay. "But ye must remember it's a +seventy-mile dry stretch from here to Kalgoorlie, an' their horses are +pretty well knocked up now. It should take them a good two days to do +it, even if they force for all they're worth." + +At this stage the Shadow pushed his way forward. "I knows what Mackay is +thinking," said he; "but I'm the man for the job, an' I'm goin' to do it +too." + +"Do ye think ye could manage, Shad?" asked Mackay, earnestly. "I'm no +goin' to mak' a single remark aboot your bushmanship, for you've well +proved your abilities in that direction, but, my lad, it's a job for a +strong man, an' I meant to tak' it on mysel'." + +"Ye doesn't know how powerful I is on the trot," said the lithe young +bushman; "an' if it comes to strength, I reckon I is no chicken, +either." + +He bared his right arm proudly, and showed the swelling muscles which +his tattered shirt-sleeve covered. + +"Why, what does ye mean to do?" demanded Nuggety, like his near +neighbours, somewhat bewildered. "Does ye mean to walk?" + +"Give me a water-bag in my fist, and I'll pretty soon show you," came +the quick retort. "I'll bet a tug at old Dead Broke's whiskers that I'm +in before the buggy all right." + +It seemed a hopeless plan, yet, owing to the arid and sandy nature of +the country to be traversed, it was not as hopeless as it looked. + +"If we let them get away first," said Mackay, "they won't think there's +any need to hurry. Go an' swallow as much water as you can, an' get your +water-bag primed up to the muzzle. Jack, you'd better make enough +sandwiches from that damper of yours to carry the Shadow a couple o' +days." + +"Couldn't I go too, Shad?" said Jack, anxiously. + +"You're a bit too fresh yet, Jack; you'd want too much water," was the +sententious reply. + +Jack turned away without a word to prepare the sandwiches. + +A few minutes later the buggy containing Macguire and one of his chosen +associates drove up, and stopped opposite the party, so that the +departing bully might get rid of some of his vituperative eloquence. +When he saw Mackay, his raging madness was painful to witness. Clearly +his enmity, instead of dissolving, had been magnified tenfold by his +humiliation. + +"I'll get even with you for this," he yelled, shaking his fist at the +object of his fury; "an' ye won't live long before ye knows it too." + +Mackay stepped menacingly towards the buggy. "I ought to have killed ye, +ye meeserable thief," he said; but the man holding the reins was too +terrified to wait longer. With a wild slash of the whip he set the +horses plunging madly across the sand on the back track to the township, +and Macguire, leaning back with livid face, hurled his last shot. + +"This country won't be big enough to hold us two!" he bellowed. + +Mackay smiled a hard smile. "Then I reckon ye'd better get out of it +while you're healthy," he murmured, as he turned to rejoin his +companions. + +FOOTNOTE: + +[A] "THE MUSKITTIE'S LAMENT. + + "A bright wee muskittie sat on a tree, + An' O, it was hungry as hungry could be, + An' the tears drappit doon frae its bonnie blue ee, + As it sighed and looked sad for Australia." + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +The Shadow's Great Effort + + +The grinding rush of the wheels in the sand had scarcely died away when +the Shadow appeared ready for his journey. He carried a water-bag in his +hand, and his meagre commissariat outfit was tied up in a glazed cloth +slung over his shoulder. He was not impeded by a superabundance of +garments; a torn shirt flung open at the neck, a much frayed soft hat +turned down all around the brim to keep the scorching sun from his eyes, +and a light pair of much-worn khaki pants, held in position by a narrow +belt, completed his sartorial glory. His sockless feet were thrust +loosely into shoes that had, by their appearance, seen considerable +service; he had chosen them because of their once heavy soles being +ground down to comparative lightness. He waited impatiently while Mackay +drew out a rough sketch of the mines and their position, which was to +give the Warden the necessary information for registration. + +"And mind, Shadow," said Mackay, handing him the paper amid an +impressive silence, "ye must steer in by the south; it will mean a +longer journey, but if you don't go wide o' Macguire to the extent o' +five miles or so, he's bound to see you, and you could never hope to get +in afore him then." + +The Shadow tucked the note carefully away in a lurking corner of his +flowing shirt. + +"You leave the circus to me, an' don't worry," he said, with a grin. +"Ta, ta, boys, I'm off. How's this for the Flying Dutchman?" He set his +face to the west and dashed away into the desert at an odd uneven trot. + +"He can't keep that up, surely?" said Bob, watching the runner in +astonishment. + +"I'll bet he jig-jogs like that all day," said Emu Bill. "He's got the +real bushman's style o' gettin' over ground, he has." + +Mackay watched the fleeing figure doubtfully for a time, then a +satisfied look lit up his face as he noted the unerring course the +Shadow was making. + +"He'll hit the township straight as a die," said he. "That ugly sinner, +Macguire, was heading too far to north'ard or I'm very much mistaken." + +Macguire's associates at the end of the Flat were now observed to be in +a state of considerable confusion. They could not fail to realize that +the mission had been dispatched for one purpose, and they glared after +the disappearing messenger with anger and dismay on their hardened +countenances. + +"Keep an eye on them, boys," warned Mackay. "We'll soon know whether we +were richt in our ideas." + +He walked back to the tent with Bob, and when they arrived there two of +the suspected gang approached apparently in deep sorrow. + +"Why didn't you give your message to Hawkins?" said one. "Though he's +driving Macguire, he'd have done anything you wanted in the township. We +doesn't bear no grudge, we don't." + +"The fact is, we don't trust you worth a cent," answered Mackay, +shortly. + +At this stage Emu Bill hurried up in a state of some perturbation. +Wholly ignoring the presence of the innocent twain, he burst out-- + +"There's wan o' them cusses just dodged into the bush carrying a saddle +an' bridle!" + +At this the protesting pair seemed to realize that their cunning ruse +was up. + +"An' ye can bet," cried the one who had not yet spoken, "that Harkins'll +catch up on the boss afore sundown, an' they'll be in Kalgoorlie by +mornin'. He's goin' to ride Macguire's Furious, he is," he snarled +triumphantly. + +He hopped out of the way just in time to avoid being gripped in the +clutches of the man he so wholesomely dreaded; but his neighbour was not +quite so alert, and, as he turned to run, a well-directed kick lent +impetus to his flight. + +"I suppose the skunks'll beat us, after all," said Mackay, grimly, +"Their horse bells are sounding quite close. Where's Jack?" + +Emu Bill grinned. "I think the young'un anticipated you, Mac," said he. +"He vanished into the bush when he noticed the cuss walking off wi' the +saddle." + +"If he can unhitch the bells and drive the horses north a bit, it'll +take friend Harkins a day to find them," grunted Mackay, in great good +humour. + +"You can rely on Jack," said Bob, decisively; and just then a confused +jangling of the horse bells rang out, followed by an absolute stillness. + +A few moments later the crackling of the bush in the far distance, and +the thudding of many hoofs in the sand, intimated that Jack knew his +work to the letter. + +"By thunder!" roared Emu Bill, excitedly. "The youngster has taken off +their hobbles." + +So it turned out. Jack had grasped the situation at once when he saw the +man slink off with saddle and bridle in the direction of the horses. His +intuitive powers were wonderfully bright, and his actions followed +quickly on his thoughts. + +"I've got to get there first," he muttered to himself, as he dashed +impetuously through the bush. + +He found the horses clustered together under the shade of a coolibah +tree. Poor animals, their owners had hobbled their forefeet very tightly +in order to keep them from straying far, and after vainly trying to find +some edible substance amid the inhospitable sands, they huddled together +in a piteous group, and bit nervously at the parched eucalyptus twigs +over their heads. It was a country for camels only--these wiry brutes +can eat anything; but for horses it was a barren wilderness. Jack had no +difficulty in approaching them, and he quickly undid their bell straps +and flung the noisy tell-tales on the ground, but when he attempted to +drive the tired creatures they simply would not move, their hobble +straps were too closely fixed to allow of them even making much of an +effort. There was little time for delay, already the confident whistle +of Harkins sounded perilously near. Jack would have no half measures, +unhesitatingly he undid the binding thongs, and at once the entire mob +with wild neighs galloped off. + +"As Mackay would say, it won't be judicious for me to wait here long," +the wily youth soliloquized. "Let me see, the sun was on my right hand +when I left camp; that means I've got to keep it on my left now." And +he vanished speedily, missing Harkins, the horse hunter, by but a few +yards. His welcome when he returned was hearty in the extreme. + +Nuggety Dick laughed uproariously. "Why, look at the brutes," said he, +pointing westward across the plain where the still galloping horses were +visible. "They're right off home, they are. Blow me tight, Jack, I'll +give you one of my best nuggets for that when the battery comes along." + +Mackay's tribute was characteristic. "Your power o' observation is +developing real well, my laddie," he said, "an' your calculative +propensities are grand. It's a great thing to hae the gift o' +initiative, Jack. You see, if you had waited to tell me about your plan, +it would hae been too late to act on it. I'll gie ye a tootle on the +flute for that the nicht, I will." And Jack felt more than amply repaid +for his adventure. + +Ere long the weary Harkins returned to his associates, still carrying +the saddle and bridle, and feeling very wroth indeed. The disgust and +chagrin of the checkmated crew was full and deep, and they sulked in +their tent all day, nor once again ventured to approach their smiling +neighbours. + +And all this time the happy-go-lucky Shadow was plugging along over the +thirsty desert sands, looking neither to the right nor left, yet +instinctively steering a straight course for his goal beyond the distant +horizon. Mile after mile he traversed with dogged determination, nor did +he once falter in his peculiar ambling gait. And the sun rose high in +the heavens, and the burning rays smote fiercely on the crown of the +Shadow's dilapidated hat, while the roasting sands scorched through his +flimsy shoes. Yet still he never halted. + +"I'll show them what I kin do," he repeated to himself as he ran, with +savage joy. "I'll show them that the knockabout, hard-up, +down-on-his-uppers Shadow can keep his end up wi' any one." Then the +finer trait would show itself in his musings. "It's Mackay's last rise. +I knows he is all broke up since Bentley went under, an' he's been good +to me. Hang it! I must get in before that cross-eyed, lop-eared bully," +and his lithe body would spring forward with renewed energy. A long pull +at the water-bag, and a hasty bite at the unpalatable damper he carried +in his little wallet, delayed him scarce five minutes. But when, +crossing a dry gully, a long sand snake wriggled across his path, he +could not resist the temptation of slaying it. "There's two things I +never sees use for in this world," he ruminated, as he set down to work +again, "an' these is snakes an' muskitties. I wonder what old Noah meant +by putting them in the ark.... I must have covered 'bout thirty miles by +now. I wonder if I kin keep it up all night, an'--an' I wonder if my +boots'll hold out." + +At sundown he halted to fix his bearings afresh. "I'm afraid I is +gettin' too far north," said he, "an' Mackay warned me to keep to +south'ard. I'd better wait till the Cross gets up. I feel sort o' bushed +without the sun, an' them hanged little stars never seem to be in the +same place. No, I'd be safer to sit tight an' wait for the Cross." He +had another drink from the water-bag, and munched contentedly at his +hard damper for a while; then his head began to nod drowsily, and in a +few moments the Shadow was fast asleep in the sand, his face upturned +to the myriad stars which now began to twinkle in the sky. + +How long he slept he knew not, but he awoke with a start, vaguely +conscious of some disturbing element in the air. The Southern Cross +shone radiantly far over the horizon, and the constellation of Orion +glittered placidly in the eastern sky. "I ought to be kicked," said the +Shadow, in intense disgust with himself. "I calc'late it must be after +midnight now, an' I has lost four hours; bother my sleepy old hide." He +arose wearily, and gripped the precious water-bag, but he was no sooner +on his feet than he dropped again with alacrity, and lay flat on the +sand, the muffled sound of hoof-beats had reached his ear, and coming in +his direction. + +"I'm a gone coon if they see me," he murmured. "Why in blazes didn't I +keep further to the south?" The Shadow did not doubt for a moment that +it was Macguire and his buggy which was approaching. "The miserable +sweep must have camped to give the horses a spell," he reasoned with +sinking heart. Nearer and nearer came the ghost-like echoes, then +suddenly they stopped, and a plaintive whinny rang out through the +night. It was answered by another, and yet another, but no sound of +voices came to the eager listener's ears. "That is mighty strange," +thought he. "Macguire should be cursing like a bullock-driver by now. I +wonder what's happened?" He raised himself cautiously on hands and knees +and peered into the eerie gloom, and as he gazed, half a dozen or so +riderless horses came forward at a gentle trot. "Brumbies!" grunted the +Shadow. "Wo-ah, my beauties!" To his surprise they halted, and whinnied +feebly, and the Shadow continued addressing endearing words to them +while he cautiously struggled to his feet. They were not brumbies, that +was certain, or they would have shied off in affright at once; but the +weary youth was not long in discovering what they were, and a chuckle of +huge delight issued from his lips as he at last got his hand on the mane +of one of his midnight visitors, and patted its trembling nostrils. +Indeed he could scarcely contain himself, so deep was the joy he felt; +he wanted to roll over in the sand and howl in his ecstasy, but he could +not very well do that and still keep a grip of his charger's mane, so he +contented himself by indulging in a running commentary on his +extraordinary luck while he quickly unslipped the thin belt from his +waist and deftly insinuated the same into the wondering animal's mouth. +"I wonder how they managed to break their hobbles," said he. Then a +light seemed to dawn on him. "I'll swear Mackay had something to do wi' +it. Or Jack--Jack's got some savvy, he has. The animals was goin' +straight home, they was. Well, I reckon Macguire's Furious will carry +the poor weary blown-out Shadow, whether he wants to or no." + +To his annoyance his improvised bridle proved too short to join over the +high arched neck of the commandeered steed, and with a rueful sigh the +resourceful lad proceeded to rip off the sleeves of his shirt and cut +them into ribbons. This operation was conducted under great +difficulties, for Furious now seemed to regret his former weakness, and +was making strenuous efforts to justify its name. He plunged and reared +and kicked viciously, with the result that he startled the other horses +into flight. Then ensued a tug of war; in vain the frantic horse strove +to follow its neighbours; the Shadow's grip on the leathern thongs was +vice-like in its tenacity. Round and round they struggled, but the odd +bridle held fast, and at length the fiery steed was brought to a +standstill. In a trice a thick stranded cord of shirt ribbons was added +to the novel reins, then with a whoop of triumph the daring youngster +leaped to Furious's back and clutched like a limpet. + +To ride an intractable horse, bareback, is at no time a very easy +matter, and to ride a noted buckjumper like Furious with a makeshift +bridle and no saddle was a feat which few of the finest horsemen in +Australia would have cared to attempt. But lightly recked the Shadow of +disaster. Born and brought up on a far back station in Victoria, he had +been accustomed to horses since his childhood, and no more daring rider +could be found throughout the length and breadth of the land. Down went +Furious's head between his knees, and his high back curved convulsively, +as he strove by all his fiery tactics to rid himself of his encumbrance. +But the Shadow rocked easily in his perch throughout it all; then, +suddenly asserting the mastery, he took his battered hat from his head, +and with it smote the beast lightly across the ears. For a moment the +infuriated animal stood stock still, trembling in every fibre, then, +with a snort of rage, he stretched out his long neck and, like an arrow +from the bow, darted off across the desert, taking the interposing +gullies at a leap, and crashing through narrow timber belts like a thing +possessed. The Shadow did not once attempt to break its headlong pace, +he knew the weakness of his bridle too well for that; gently, +insidiously, he tightened the pressure on the off rein and brought his +charger round on to the course he wished to go. + +"Now I reckon I'm on the rails all right," he said at length, when the +Southern Cross shone brightly on his left, and slightly behind; "but +blow me for a cross-eyed jackass if I haven't forgotten the water-bag!" + +His annoyance at this neglect was keen, though he did not seem to +consider that he could not have carried it with him in any case, both of +his hands having been very much occupied at the start in controlling his +unwilling mount. They had cleared the softer desert country now, and had +entered upon the hard-baked, ironshot plains which frequently intervene +in these latitudes, and now Furious showed signs of failing in his +stride, his unshod hoofs were ill able to bear the pressing contact of +the rounded diorite pebbles. Then for the first time the Shadow tested +the strength of the doubtful reins, and pulled steadily and strongly. +They held firm, and the weary steed slowed down to an easy canter, and +finally to a walk. + +"Whew!" ejaculated the reckless rider, mopping his damp brow. "I reckon +this one-man circus is a bit trying on the nerves. If the hanged brute +had tripped on a stump, or dived into a snag hole, it would have been +'Good-bye, Shadow, and the crows will weep for ye in the morning.' But +it's a jolly long sight better'n walkin'. Hillo, hillo! what has we +struck now? Wo-ah, my pet lamb, wo-ah." + +Out of the darkness, almost straight ahead, the red glow of hot ashes +had become visible. While he watched the gentle night breezes fanned the +dying embers into feeble momentary flame, and there, silhouetted against +the blackness, was the buggy which had left Golden Flat immediately in +advance of the Shadow. The two horses were dimly observable standing +motionless and asleep among the sparse scrub some little way off, while, +wrapped in their blankets beside the fire lay the huddled figures of +Macguire and Hawkins evidently also in deep slumber. The watcher +whistled softly to himself. + +"By smoke," he murmured, "them beggars must have covered fifty miles +yesterday. The howlin' sneak has been skeert o' some one comin' after. +Gee whiz! What a be-eautiful shock he'll get----" + +His reflections were arrested by a sudden movement of one of the +reclining men, and the harsh voice of Macguire reached his ears as he +strove to awaken his associate. + +"Get up, ye dreamin' idiot, an' see if the horses are keepin' handy. I +want to get in when the Warden's office opens in the mornin'." + +A drowsy protesting murmur was all the Shadow could hear of the reply. +Then Macguire's unmusical accents were raised in angry abuse. + +"Ye doesn't think we can do it?" he snarled. "But I say we shall, though +the horses drop dead when we get there. I'll show that infernal Scotsman +what it means to run up agin Macguire. We'll get a move on by sunrise, +that'll give us three hours to get in by nine o'clock." + +He arose painfully to throw some brushwood on the fire, while Hawkins, +grumbling heartily, went in search of the horses. Silently the Shadow +swung Furious's head round, and made a wide detour. + +"I reckon ye'll get left this time, ye yelping baboons," he muttered, +when he considered himself well out of range of the now spreading +firelight. "Ye'll move out by sunrise, will ye? I wonder what time it is +now." He surveyed the heavens intently; then his gaze rested on a star +of exceeding brilliance which had made its appearance just over the +horizon. "I calc'late that there shiner is the star Mackay called +Canopus," he said, "an' that means I've just an hour afore the old sun +pops his head up. Now, old thunder and lightning, ye bold bad quadruped, +ye hustled along fur yer own pleasure, I reckon ye can do a bit of a +spurt for mine." He leaned forward and dug his heels into Furious's +flanks; with a bound the noble animal started forward, and once again +the twain proceeded on their headlong course. + +The stars one by one vanished from the sky, and a wonderful rosy glow +gradually enveloped the silent bushland; it heralded the approach of +dawn. And now far in the western sky the watchful rider began to +perceive the smoke of the ever active smelters near the township, and +soon the white-roofed houses of the settlement were plainly visible. +Sure enough the Shadow had steered an unerring course. He slowed down to +a walk, and looked cautiously all round. Nothing in the shape of man or +beast was observable in the near distance, but far off in the township +the little street was crowded with miners coming from and going to their +work in the shafts. + +"Shadow," murmured the contemplative youth, "I reckon ye'd better get +off an' walk if ye doesn't want to get collared for horse stealing." + +He prepared to slide down from his perch, but just then Furious, having +recognized his own stable so comparatively close at hand, felt imbued +with fresh energy. He pricked up his ears, gathered his feet together +for one ferocious buck, and was off like the wind. The Shadow sat in the +sand where he had been unceremoniously deposited, still gripping fast +the broken ribbons of the bridle which had served him so well, and gazed +reproachfully at the departing steed. + +"Ye're a mean, ungrateful hoss," he cried after it, severely. "After me +takin' ye back to your own stable, too, an'--an' I didn't think there +was a kick left in you." Words failed him, and he gathered himself up, +and weary and sore and stiff walked slowly into the township. + +It was about eight o'clock when he entered the main street which was +still an hour before the Warden's office opened; but the Shadow had no +intention of delaying his mission an instant longer than he could help. +A lively memory of Macguire's emphatically spoken resolve to arrive at +nine compelled him to adopt unusual tactics. Heedless of the strange +glances cast at him by the ultra respectable gold-mining fraternity, he +made his way to the Exchange Hotel, where, as every one knew, the Warden +was in the habit of breakfasting, and hesitating not an instant, he +entered the doorway and turned into the fashionable room reserved for +the cream of the goldfields' aristocracy. + +But his dilapidated attire and general aspect was too much for the +proprietor of the establishment, for it must be remembered that the +Shadow's shirt had already been largely used in the manufacture of +bridle reins. His toes, too, were peeping from sundry crevices in his +boots, and from head to foot he was covered with the grime and dust of +his long desert journey. + +"What do ye want in here, ye young scarecrow?" demanded that important +personage, laying an unfriendly grasp on his visitor's shoulder. + +The Shadow sidled round, leaving another part of his unfortunate garment +in the hands of the spoiler. + +"I want to see the Warden," he cried loudly, his temper considerably +ruffled, "an' I'll flatten ye out if ye try to stop me.... It's a +matter o' life an' death," he added impressively. + +"I am the Warden, my lad," spoke a kindly voice from the end of the +room, "but I'm not a doctor. Let the boy come up, Jackson"--this to the +proprietor. "Good honest sand won't hurt any one, and you know water is +scarce in this drought-stricken country. Why, the man's hurt!" The +kindly official was gazing at a nasty gash on his visitor's bare arm +from which the blood was slowly trickling. + +The Shadow looked and noticed his wound for the first time. + +"It must have been that buster I got that did it," he reflected quickly; +"but I can't very well bring the horse into this here conversation." +Aloud he said, "Oh, that's nothin'; I tripped on a stump in the dark, +that's all." + +The Warden examined the rent again closely and smiled incredulously. + +"All right, young man," said he; "now fire along with your story, for I +must be over at the office in half an hour." + +There was no one else in the room at the moment, so pulling Mackay's +sketch plan of the mines from its hiding-place and putting it on the +table before the Warden, he reeled off the story of the finding of +Golden Flat and the attempted jumping of the mines by Macguire and his +party. The Warden listened patiently through it all, nor did he once +interrupt the narrator. + +"So that's where the redoubtable Macguire went the other day," he +commented, when the Shadow had finished. "And Mackay dished him at his +own game, did he? I tell you what, young fellow, I'd have given a fiver +to see that fight, I would." + +"An' it would hiv been worth it," agreed the Shadow, complacently. "But +say, is ye goin' to make the claims right for the boys at Golden Flat? +Macguire'll be along in a minute----" + +"Stop right there, my lad. You've done your mates a great service by +getting in first, for if Macguire had seen me before you I would have +had no option but to make out the leases in his name. But when you come +to me from men like Mackay, Emu Bill, and Nuggety Dick, pioneers every +one, and tell me the story you have done, I feel that my language won't +be full enough to express my feelings when I see that scoundrelly +trickster, Macguire. But come, tell me how you managed to get in ahead +of him. You know I can scarcely swallow that yarn about walking all the +way. Why, it must be close on an eighty-mile trail!" + +Then the Shadow unburdened himself. "I was a bit skeert o' bein' boosted +up for horse stealin'," he explained finally, "so I climbed off the +savage critter 'bout half a mile back, an' blow me, if he didn't do a +buck at the last minute an' landed me on my back instead o' my feet. I +reckon that's how I got this here scratch." + +The Warden rang a small handbell on the table, and in due course the +landlord appeared. + +"Jackson, let this young man have breakfast. He's come a long way, and I +guess he needs it." Then, when the man departed, "How were you to know +they weren't brumbies?" said he, quizzically. + +A noisy demonstration in the street now attracted their attention, and +looking out through the window, behold, there was Macguire's buggy +proceeding past at a walk, though the lather of foam on the horses' +heaving flanks showed at what pace they had been driven. Round the +slowly moving conveyance several men were clustered, and to them +Macguire was talking eagerly, and apparently much to their satisfaction, +for at intervals they broke into lusty cheers. + +"These are some more of the loafers and deadbeats of the place," said +the Warden. "Macguire will be telling them of his new discovery. Well, +it's nearly nine o'clock, I must be off. Just sign your name across this +plan of yours; yes, that's right. Now I'll just scribble a line +underneath." He took a blue pencil from his pocket and wrote hastily, +"Handed to me, the Warden of the Eastern Goldfields District, duly +certified, at 8 a.m., August --th, 1899." This he signed. "Now, I guess +that's all right," he said cheerily, reaching for his hat, "and I don't +suppose I need tell you, young man, that some one may be thirsting for +your gore before long." + +The Shadow grinned. "Let him thirst," said he. "I reckon I kin bounce +any man o' the crowd exceptin' the boss bruiser hissel', and I calc'late +Mackay's fixed him safe enough for a day or so." + +The Warden departed, and the light-hearted youth attacked the breakfast +which was brought to him with the ardour borne of a long fast and an +extremely hearty appetite. + +While he was thus engaged, his erstwhile enemy, in the shape of Jackson +the hotel proprietor, came in and sat down beside him. + +"I say, young 'un," he began in amiable tones, "did I hear you say you +were one of Mackay's party?" + +"You didn't, unless you were listening at the door," came the quick +response. + +Jackson's brows contracted; but he laughed not unpleasantly. + +"There's no call for you to be so mighty slick wi' your speech," he +said. "I was in the passage way, and heard you mention the name of an +old friend of mine, but I was not listening at the door. Why, Mackay +stayed with me a night when he passed through about a month or so ago. +He and I were mates in the good old roaring days." + +The Shadow's face assumed an expression of grave concern. + +"I climbs down, boss," said he, contritely. "I thought you might have +been trying to pump me for Macguire's benefit." + +Jackson uttered an expression of deep disgust. "Why, that skunk! I +wouldn't be seen dead alongside o' him. He's the meanest, rottenest----" + +The Shadow bolted the final portion of his breakfast in a hurry, and +held out a grimy paw. "Shake, boss," he said laconically. They shook; +and the now refreshed youth went once more into the history of Golden +Flat, retailing with gusto the wonderful encounter between Macguire and +Mackay. "His silly old bones cracked like pipe shanks," he concluded, +with reminiscent accurateness. + +"By thunder!" ejaculated the appreciative listener, aroused to a sudden +sense of duty. "That broken-ribbed bruiser will have your life if he +sees you now. How do you mean to get back?" + +"Walk," answered the Shadow, shortly. + +"Walk be hanged. I'll lend you a horse; but you must look slippy an' +get away. I will come out myself an' see if I can get a decent claim +before the whole population rushes you; I can fetch the horse back when +I come." He arose hurriedly, evidently intent on seeking out a steed +right away, but at the door he stopped and looked back. "What was that +life-and-death racquet you worked on my tender feelings?" he asked +sternly. + +"Dead sure thing," returned the Shadow, unabashed. "If Macguire had got +ahead o' me, Mackay would have squelched the life outen him first +chance. See?" + +Jackson evidently saw, for he departed on his quest, laughing heartily. + +Left to himself the Shadow carelessly walked out into the street, and as +luck would have it blundered right into the trouble his friends had been +so anxious for him to avoid. Returning from the Warden's office came +Macguire and his aide-de-camp driving furiously, and the roar of pent-up +anger which burst from the bully's lips on seeing the imperturbable +Shadow step forth from the hotel would have done credit to a full-grown +grizzly bear that had just been cheated of its supper. The buggy stopped +with a jerk, and as if by magic a motley throng crowded round. + +"That's him! that's the young demon!" howled the discomfited man in a +perfect paroxysm of rage. "He stole my horse, he--he--get out and kill +the young cub, Hawkins. Get out I say!" + +"If I were you I reckon I'd sit tight," advised the Shadow, serenely. "I +could pretty well squash you in one act, I could." + +And Hawkins was evidently of the same opinion, for he absolutely refused +to make any movement. With a baleful glitter in his bloodshot eyes, +Macguire himself stepped down; had the great hulking brute but known +it, he was at that moment no match for his lithe and muscular adversary, +who, in his conscious strength, stood his ground unafraid. But there +came a sudden interruption from the outside of the interested crowd. + +"None of that, Macguire, or I'll be forced to explain some things you +won't like." + +It was a sharp authoritative warning, and it issued from the Warden who +now pushed his way to the front. + +"He stole my horse," began the baulked ruffian in a voice hoarse with +suppressed passion. + +"That's too thin, sir. From what I have heard, all your horses returned +home of their own accord this morning. In any case, if you have a +complaint to make, the public street is not a court house." + +A suppressed cheer broke from some of the bystanders, who had no cause +to love Macguire. He scowled fiercely at them as he climbed back to his +seat. + +"I'll get even with you, you young thief, when there are no interferin' +Wardens about," he cried as he drove away, glaring with impotent rage at +the object of his exceeding wrath. + +The Shadow smilingly waved him a polite adieu. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +Bob's Triumph + + +It was three days after the Shadow's departure. The sun was shining +fiercely on Golden Flat, and its scintillating rays reflected from the +white mullock heaps at the various workings caused the eyes of the +miners when they came to the surface to quiver and close painfully. The +air was filled with dancing sand particles, and they shimmered +kaleidoscope-like in the intense heat haze which rose and fell on the +surface of the land like the waters of a boundless ethereal sea. The +regular thud, thud of picks resounded loudly from the end of the lead +where Nuggety Dick and his brawny compatriots were doggedly digging out +the golden gravel, and away at the other end of the field Macguire's +satellites made noisy din as they busied themselves sinking several +shafts over the supposed trend of the mysterious channel. + +The weather had been excessively hot since the Shadow left, and this +fact had done much to restore the spirits of the gang, for, judging from +their own feelings, they considered that the energy of Mackay's +messenger would be spent long before he could hope to reach the +township. At the Golden Promise the windlass was deserted, and the red +symbol hung limp overhead. But it was not lack of energy that had +occasioned this apparent lapse of duty. Mackay and Jack had been in the +tent all morning watching Bob's final experiments with the refractory +clay formation which were to decide whether or no the great bulk of the +Flat's treasure could be saved to them. Bob's head was now quite better, +but prolonged study in a clime which is not adapted for acute mental +effort had made his young face appear drawn and haggard, yet his eyes +shone with the light of enthusiasm as he busied himself with his rather +crude appliances and set them in order for a last conclusive test. +Mackay had hastily constructed a small vat for him, made from the +hardest wood to be found in the bush, with an overflow tap some halfway +up its height. This the young chemist now quarter filled with the +crushed compound to be tested, and made up the level with water, to +which he afterwards added some salt. + +"It will ensure its conductivity," he explained; but neither Mackay nor +Jack were much enlightened, so they held their peace. Next a rubber +tube, with an oddly-conceived wooden shield on its exposed extremity was +thrust into the receptacle, then a small bottle containing some liquid +which bubbled and effervesced alarmingly, was brought forward, and its +loose nozzle connected to the free end of the tube. + +"A simple method of generating hydrogen," said Bob dreamily, "just iron +pebbles and very dilute sulphuric acid." Mackay ventured a non-committal +grunt, but Jack's face now showed keen appreciation. Lastly the two +wires of a very small electric battery--Bob's own manufacture--were +connected to corresponding metallic sheets lining the opposing ends of +the vat. "That is merely as an added assistance to help the decomposing +of the stuff into its elements," muttered Bob; then he fixed the nozzle +of the hydrogen generator tightly and stepped back. + +At once a gurgling boiling sound arose from the vat, and its contents +swelled up in bubbling circles of slime and soapy ooze. Mackay, obeying +a motion from Bob, hastily pulled out the overflow tap, and so caused +the more solid matter within to subside. Again Bob loaded the vat, and +again Mackay allowed the foaming mass to overflow, and never a word was +spoken. The operation was repeated until fully a hundredweight of the +refractory substance had been utilized, and by this time the floor of +the tent was aswim with the dense oily scum let loose. + +"That should be enough to calculate on," said Bob. "And now comes the +crucial point." He undid all connections and handed the muddy box to +Mackay, who took it silently, and emptied the coarse sandy residue into +an awaiting gold-pan. + +"It's lost its puggy nature, anyway," he commented, pouring on it some +water from a kerosene tin. He gave the pan a rapid swirl, then an +oblique turn, and gasped. The bottom of the basin was literally covered +with a thin film of the finest imaginable golden grains, which blazed +and sparkled in the penetrating sunlight! + +Bob looked and heaved a sigh of profound thankfulness. Jack looked, and +celebrated his joy by whooping like a red Indian. Mackay looked and +looked, indeed, he did not once take his eyes off the dazzling +spectacle. Bob guessed his fears, and at once dispersed them. + +"It's the genuine article this time," he said with assurance. "If it was +going to melt away it would have done so in the acid solution; but the +fact is it has just been set free from the solution, and so is now as +stable and tangible as the sands of the desert." + +The rough, horny handed pioneer set the pan down on the floor, and wiped +the beaded perspiration from his forehead, then he reached out his great +fist and took Bob's hand in a fervent grasp. + +"It's no' often I have to acknowledge a better man than mysel'," he said +grimly; "but I must admit you've knocked the wind clean out o' me wi' +this grand process o' yours. Why, my laddie, it means fortune for you in +the years to come, an ever growin' fortune, for ye can charge what ye +like for your discovery. An' you little mair than a youngster, too! Man, +Bob, you've got a held that any professor might well envy." + +Bob laughed right heartily as he returned the elder man's grip. The +tension on his nerves had gone, and he felt almost constrained, like +Jack, to shout in his gladness. + +"If it means fortune, I shall refuse to take more than my third of it," +he said, with grave emphasis. "This is a partnership affair. I'd rather +break the whole concern up now than make a halfpenny that you two didn't +share." Then he gave utterance to a firm, fixed belief, which had done +much to sustain him during his intricate studies of the deceptive +formation. "As for my youth," he continued, with a smile, and addressing +himself more directly to Mackay, "I won't allow that that should entitle +me to any credit, for the same brain is with us always, and, surely, +when it is young, and fully developed, it should be able to grasp and +evolve theories which, when older, it would hesitate to accept. The +beaten track is so hard to forsake when one grows old in text-book +experience. If the ordinary science professor came along here now and +examined my theories concerning this stuff and its treatment, without +being shown their proof in practice, he would call them absurd and +irrational. And why? Because I have gone wide of all precedent and +text-book knowledge, and treated the compound for gold in an unstable +state, and in that unstable state it is not supposed to exist." The +young man spoke clearly and logically, yet with an unusual twinkle in +his keen blue eyes. + +When he had finished, Mackay ventured a word of admonition. + +"Too much study when the brain is young, Bob," said he, "is vera +dangerous indeed, though I quite agree wi' you in your line o' argument. +Young genius, hooever, blossoms an' dees like the flowers of the +spring--they never reach their summer; so the auld fossilized, +follow-my-leader blockheads exist and flourish an' are aye wi' us. But +I'll see that ye dinna work oot any more scientific problems for a bit. +It'll be a grand relaxation after this for you to study the beauties o' +Nature as shown in the Never Never country back here." He laughed +sardonically, and waved his hand towards the unknown east. + +"I'll be with you whenever you are ready," answered Bob, eagerly. + +"And I'll bet you won't shake me out of it," spoke up Jack; and Mackay +was comforted. + +The sound of approaching footsteps was now heard outside the tent. +Mackay hastily seized the gold pan, and placed it out of sight. + +"Not a word aboot the discovery," he advised. "It will keep for a bit, +until we hear what Macguire's tactics are." + +A second more, and Emu Bill popped his head inside. "Hang ye, Mac," +said he, "I've nearly burst myself hollerin' down that shaft o' yours. I +didn't think you'd be loafin' round at this time o' day, I didn't." + +"What's that you've got in your fist?" asked Mackay, evading all +explanations, and glancing at a huge, greyish fragment which Emu Bill +was carrying abstractedly about. + +"Oh--that? That's another specimen I wanted to show ye. The gold in it +fairly howled at me down the shaft; but there ain't enough in it now to +fill a muskittie's eye. All my wash has made into the humbuggin' stuff +now. I'll have to give it best, boys, I will." + +The resigned melancholy of his voice worked strangely on the feelings of +Bob and Jack, and they gazed questioningly at Mackay, who nodded. + +"Ay, show it to him, Bob," said he. "I think the Emu kens well enough +hoo to haud his tongue." + +"My goodness, mates," faltered Bill, in an awed whisper, when he saw the +pan, "that is an almighty fine prospect. I reckon it must be +twenty-ounce stuff. Where in thunder did ye get it?" + +"It came from your shaft, Emu," said Bob. "It's the same deceiving +miradgy humbugging material as that you've got in your hand. I've just +found out how to bring back the gold after it fades away." + +Emu Bill stared in amazement. "Will somebody kindly kick me?" he +murmured feebly. "Is my sight goin' back on me again, or is it a real +honest fact that hits me on the optic nerve?" + +But he was soon led to understand that the gold in the pan was no +delusion of the senses--that it was indeed a solid, substantial +quantity. + +"I takes off my hat to you, Bob," he said, with a little catch in his +usually strong voice; and he suited the action to the word. "This'll +mean new life to the whole Flat; an' I hope it'll spell fortune to you, +my lad. What a pity Macguire's crowd got hitched on alongside the Golden +Promise. They'll hit it every time, most likely; an', hang me! if they +deserve it." + +"We'll keep quiet aboot this discovery until we see how the bold +Macguire tackles on to the mirage," said Mackay. "The meeserable thief +may have jumped our ground in the Warden's office, for a' we know." + +Emu Bill grasped the situation at once. "I'm a thick-head," said he. "Of +course that bounder doesn't know; an' he won't know from me nuther. Mums +the word, it is; an' what a howlin' joy it will be to see Macguire +clutch on to the mirage. But I'll bet my boots, Mac, that the Shadow has +busted up his claim-jumping game. I knows the young beggar, I does." + +"An' so do I," said Mackay. "But I'll no blame him all the same if he +canna accomplish the impossible." + +It was now well after midday, and Emu Bill departed to prepare his +lunch. + +"I guess it's about time we had something to eat too," said Jack, who +had been of that opinion for over an hour, and the three sallied out. + +Jack was an expert at boiling the billy and making tea, and Mackay had a +wonderful knowledge of the art of bush cookery, so that between them +they always contrived to make a fairly palatable repast, notwithstanding +the unvaried nature of their stores. Bob generally carried the water, or +unearthed from their hiding-place the few enamelled cups and plates +necessary; but, as he said himself, his assistance in matters culinary +would never have been missed. On this occasion he amused himself taking +altitudes of the sun with his cherished sextant, while his companions +attended to the more practical affairs. In one direction--slightly north +of west from the camp--the open desert could be traced without +interruption in the shape of scrub or hillocks, until it merged into the +distant horizon. Bob had discovered this two days before, when he first +endeavoured to make use of Mackay's gift, and he knew that it was just +about one o'clock in the afternoon that the sextant reflectors would +bring the sun down to this level line, and so give a true declination +without the use of an artificial horizon. He ogled away in this +direction now, keeping time by Mackay's old but trusty chronometer which +lay on the sand before him, until Jack's call of "tucker"--which is the +bush synonym for all sorts and conditions of meals--caused him to seek +his wonted place at the open-air table. + +"There is a dot or speck on the sky-line which I can't make out," he +said, placing the sextant down carefully at his side. "I don't remember +of it being there yesterday." + +"Perhaps it's a tree grown up like Jonah's gourd," laughed Jack. "Have +some more tea, Bob; and you'll see two trees next time you look!" + +A little later Mackay lolled back in lazy satisfaction. "I believe," he +said with a chuckle, "that I'm just in the mood to gie ye another verse +o' 'The Muskittie's Lament.' I see Jack's no feenished, so I'll be sure +o' him listening to my masterpiece this time." He lifted up his voice +and sent forth a doleful wail as a preliminary; then, noting the grieved +countenances of his audience, he relented. "I'll get my flute an' play +ye a bit frae the 'Bohemian Girl' instead. I'm no' so sure that I could +tackle that high note in 'The Muskittie's Lament' on a fu' stomach." + +He arose and walked to the tent, returning almost immediately with his +instrument. But before he sat down his eye happened to glance over the +unbroken track towards the west, and a frown settled over his features. + +"Your obstruction on the sky-line was a man on horseback, Bob," said he; +"I hope he's no' another professional fighter, wha wants me to chastise +him into a humbler spirit." + +Since the arrival of Macguire's party a further influx from the outside +world had been daily expected, for news of gold "strikes" travels +quickly, and the sudden exodus of nearly a dozen men from a +comparatively small centre could only be construed in one way. +Therefore, little more than passing interest was paid to the approaching +horseman, who was yet a considerable way off, and Mackay, squatting down +on the sand, blew at his flute right merrily, and promptly forgot all +about him. The boys, too, quickly became enthralled with his melody, +though with them there was always the shivering dread that the flautist +would burst into song, and so break the spell that bound them. Many and +various were the airs he played, but at last he sought solace in the old +Scotch song, "Ye Banks and Braes o' Bonnie Doon," and the feeling which +he managed to infuse into the instrument was simply wonderful. + +"Ay, my lads," said Mackay, when he had finished, "there's naething like +the auld Scots sangs for awakenin' kindly memories o' the land we're +aye so glad to get away from. I'm no so sure, mind you, that it isna +good fur us whiles to have a wholesome, tender sentiment gruppin' at the +strings o' oor cauld hearts, an' playing strange music thereon; it +straightens oor backs, an' gies us a grander sympathy----" + +He ceased his flow of eloquence, and assumed a listening attitude of +intense eagerness. Faintly over the plains had come the sound of a voice +raised in cheerful song. + +"Our visitor seems in a happy mood," said Bob, turning to look. + +Mackay grunted, Jack laughed outright, for distinctly through the still +air came the staccato refrain-- + + + "A--bright--wee--muskittie--sat--on--a--tree." + + +The horseman was coming forward at an easy trot, jerking out the +plaintive strains of Mackay's pet ditty to the novel time of his steed's +clattering hoof-beats. As yet he was too far distant to be plainly +distinguishable, but the song was enough for Mackay. + +"It's that confounded Shadow wha's murderin' that bonnie verse," said +he; "but how in the name o' goodness can he be back already? An' he's +got a horse, too. A good hundred and fifty miles in three days. Well, +well----" + +At this stage, Nuggety Dick, Emu Bill, Dead Broke Dan, and Never Never +Dave made their hasty appearance, all in a state of extreme excitement. + +"I do believe it's the Shadow!" cried Nuggety. + +"It's the Shad, right enough," grinned Jack; "don't you hear him?" + +Louder swelled the melancholy chorus-- + + + "A bright wee muskittie----" + + +"Confound that pestilential muskittie!" roared Mackay, in high dudgeon, +amid the laughter of his companions. "My poetic inspiration will be fair +destroyed after hearin' my gem o' beauty abused in such a manner." + +But his wrath simmered down speedily as the redoubtable Shadow rode up, +travel-stained and weary, his sole upper vestment still further torn and +bedraggled, so that it clung to him only in shreds and patches. + +"I reckon I has had a daisy time," he said lightly, slipping from the +saddle. But the effort of his long journey had told on his numbed limbs, +and he staggered and would have fallen had not Mackay's ready grip +supported him. + +"Come and have something to eat, you young rascal," said the aggrieved +composer. "You can tell us your news afterwards." + +Jack even now had tea ready for the wayfarer, but the wiry youth refused +to be pampered. + +"Well, boss," said he, "I'm only a bit stiff, that's all. Everything's +all right. I got in ahead o' Macguire by an hour, an' fixed up with the +Warden like a streak. I has had a great time----" And he would have +begun a narration of his experiences right then, had not Jack insisted +on his having his tea while it was warm. + +It would be difficult to express the satisfaction that was felt over the +Shadow's successful journey, and when the lad had finished his meal, and +told of his numerous adventures on the route and in the township, not +one among them but felt that the young bushman had proved his worth in +no uncertain degree. But it was Mackay's hearty "Well done, my laddie," +that seemed to give him greatest pleasure, and he cast about him for +some means of showing his gladness. + +"I was practisin' your song as I came along," he announced brightly. +"It's a rattlin' fine song, it is. I like it best where the +muskittie----" + +He opened his mouth for a preparatory howl, then, noting the stern +glance cast at him by the man he desired to propitiate, he subsided in +dismay. + +"Ye dinna need to intensify your original offence, young man," quoth the +aggrieved one, solemnly. "I heard ye slaughterin' that puir wee +muskittie about a mile off. There's an auld and true proverb which says: +'Fools rush in whaur angels fear to pit doon their feet.' Are ye no +aware that that song is set for an angelic tenor voice like mine, an' no +at a' suited for that bark o' yours, which is like the laboured croak o' +a burst bassoon? Never mind," he continued magnanimously, "I'll forgie +ye, an' I'll mak' ye up a touching wee song for yersel' some o' these +days." + +The culprit shuddered at the terrible threat, then hastily departed with +Bob and Jack to talk of subjects more pleasing to their common fancy. + +All this time Macguire's motley crew had been eyeing the group from the +vantage-point of one of their shafts, and that their feelings were +anything but pleasurable was very plainly evident. They could not +understand the early return of the messenger, but they guessed correctly +enough that he must in some way have baulked their chief's plans, and +their disappointment was keen. + +Events in the history of Golden Flat happened quickly now. Early next +morning, Jackson, of the Exchange Hotel, weighed in with several horses +and a buggy. He was accompanied by three well-known prospectors, whom +Mackay and his companions welcomed heartily. + +"We need a few decent miners here badly," said he to them. "Just peg out +at the end o' the lead; your chances are pretty good there yet." To +Jackson he whispered a word of advice. "I've an idea," said he, +mysteriously, "that the ground next the Golden Promise will be abandoned +in a day or so. I should like to do ye a good turn, if only because o' +your kindness to the Shadow, so I'm givin' ye the hint." + +A suggestion on such an important matter connected with a new field was +as good as a law unto Jackson. + +"I'll wait about then, Mac," said he, "and if I can do anything in your +interest afterwards, you can bet your shirt it shall be done." + +Another day brought a fresh number of excited gold-seekers to the Flat, +and then they came so regularly that a plainly marked track quickly +connected the camp with Kalgoorlie. Before the week was out, the +population of Golden Flat had increased to a hundred, and still gaunt, +bearded miners came trooping in, and spread themselves promiscuously +throughout the surrounding country in the hope of being able to catch on +to the invisible channel. Some arrived on foot, many having merely the +uppers of their boots left to them, on reaching their destination; and +to see these men marching stubbornly onward over the burning desert, +carrying their entire paraphernalia on their backs, and their eyes +agleam with hungry desire, affected Bob strangely. His extremely +sensitive nature quailed at the thought of such indomitable energy being +rewarded only by bitter disappointment, for he knew well that only a +small proportion of their number could hope to benefit. Buggies, +bicycles, and horses all rolled up; and then came a great heavy waggon, +drawn by a tugging, straining camel team. It stopped opposite the Golden +Promise mine, and one of the twain who accompanied it, a lean and lanky +corrugated-faced individual, stepped forward and interviewed Mackay. + +"Any use stickin' up a battery here, mate?" + +"Well, I calculate between us we can give you nearly a thousand tons o' +wash, but I couldn't promise what more." + +"That's good enough for us," responded the sprightly battery owner, and +he turned to his awaiting companion. "Up she goes, Jim," said he. + +They sought a suitable site some little way off, where the chances of +striking water at no great depth promised favourably, and before the day +was done Golden Flat battery was almost ready to begin work. + +"They'll get a bit o' a shock when they tackle the miradgy clayey +stuff," Mackay murmured, as he watched the enterprising builders, "but I +don't suppose they'd believe me if I told them about it. Anyhow, we can +realize now on what we've got on the surface. For the rest, we must +trust to Bob's discovery." + +It would be difficult to imagine the metamorphosis the quiet Flat +underwent in that short week. Tents scattered everywhere, and the air +was never free from the shattering roar of exploding gelignite, which +indicated how earnestly the new-comers were endeavouring to bottom on +their claims. + +During this strenuous period in the life of the Flat, work at the +Golden Promise mine proceeded surely and steadily, and the wash-dirt was +accumulating in great piles at the shaft head. In view of the watchful +eyes of a section of the community given to legitimate claim jumping, +the Shadow had gone back to his own workings, where, by the occasional +assistance of Emu Bill, he succeeded in excavating his ground to +excellent purpose. Bob now took his old place in the subterranean +chamber of the mine, though Mackay was loth indeed to permit it. + +"I would rather see ye riggin' up the process on a big scale," he said. +"Still, it's maybe just as well to keep it quiet for a bit, until we see +what happens when the loafing gang next us bottoms on the mirage." + +Bob thought so too. His sympathies were all indeed with the hard-working +miners who were battling away so persistently at the remote ends of the +Flat; but to confer a benefit on the men who would so meanly have stolen +his own and companions' holdings! It was scarcely natural that he should +view such an idea with any favour, especially when there were many +honest toilers around who might have a chance to secure a portion of the +ground held by the gang should they decide to abandon it, for their pegs +confined a nine-man allotment, an area which, with the claims of their +own party, practically covered the known auriferous ground of the Flat. + +"If the beggars once bottomed on that deceptive compound," said he, +grimly, to himself, "I don't think they would wait much longer. The gold +that vanisheth would be too much for them." + +But Macguire's satellites in no way hurried the sinking of their many +shafts, indeed, it soon became apparent that they were rather retarding +operations for a purpose. Jack was one of the first to notice this odd +dilatoriness. + +"They've had three misfires in the shaft next to us to-day," said he, as +Mackay and Bob emerged from their labours one evening. Jack had been on +windlass duty, and so from his high post could not fail to observe the +progress made during the day on the mines in his near vicinity. + +"I wonder what they are up to?" remarked Bob, thoughtfully. "They ought +to have bottomed some days ago, judging by the level and trend of the +drift in the Golden Promise." + +But their scheme was simple enough, as it turned out. Jackson +unconsciously explained it away that same night while he was talking to +Bob by the camp-fire. + +"Your neighbours have offered to sell me one of their claims for £1000," +said he. "They haven't struck the wash yet, but they say, judgin' from +your ore on the surface, theirs must be as good, if not better, when +they hit it." + +"Oh, that's their idea, is it?" commented Mackay, who had been +listening. "I'm no' denyin' that it's a good plan in some cases for both +sides, an' I believe they are perfectly honest accordin' to their +calculations, but----" + +He shook his head decisively. + +"Why, what do you think is the matter?" asked Jackson. "Haven't they a +good chance of striking the channel?" + +Mackay laughed. "They'll hit the channel plumb enough," said he; then he +hesitated. "You haven't been down our shaft yet?" he added. "But I'll +take you below in the morning, and show ye something that'll surprise +you. You're no' half a bad sort, Jackson, and you and me have worked +together before, otherwise I wouldna say a single word aboot the +concern, though I admit freely I have no goodwill towards the meeserable +crowd next to us." + +The tactics of the objectionable party were, after all, but the tactics +of the non-mining element on all goldfields, who invariably prefer to +sell a chance rather than take even remote risk of disaster. The true +gold-miner is built differently; to him his chance is everything, the +whole glamour of his life lies in its tantalizing uncertainty, and poor +and needy though he may be, he must pursue Nature's elusive treasure to +the end, be it bitter or sweet. + +A fortnight had elapsed since the Shadow's return, and Golden Flat +thrived and grew apace. The crashing rattle of the ever-active +stamping-battery made day and night alike hideous. A saw-mill, too, had +appeared on the scene, and its characteristic din was added to the +prevailing discords. Deep wells had been sunk, tapping only strongly +brackish water, but a condensing plant was almost immediately +established to purify this sufficiently for culinary purposes, and the +far-seeing proprietor was reaping a goodly harvest from the sale of the +warm fluid, sparingly dispensed at a shilling a gallon. + +From the Golden Promise mine, nearly two hundred tons of the valuable +wash had been raised to the surface and this was being regularly +conveyed to the greedy battery, which consumed it at the rate of twenty +tons a day, and rendered the resultant bullion to the happy owners of +the mine. But the partners of the Golden Promise knew well that their +claim would yield little more of the same material; another fifty tons +at the utmost was Mackay's computation, and then--then the deceptive +under-stratum would have to be considered. Meanwhile, the news of the +Golden Promise's richness spread like wildfire throughout the Flat; the +battery returns on the first day of treatment gave the exceptionally +high result of one hundred and twenty ounces of gold from the twenty +tons of ore crushed. + +"That means, wi' gold at £4 an ounce, £480 between the three o' us, my +lads," said Mackay, when he heard the news. "An' we can calculate on +twelve times that amount afore we're on to the mirage stuff." + +"How does that compare with our home earnings, Jack?" laughed Bob. + +"I think the steam yacht is coming a bit nearer," admitted that youth, +lightly. "But," and his voice grew sorrowful, "isn't it a pity that we +haven't two or three thousand tons----" + +"Now, now, young 'un," Mackay interrupted sternly, "you must never give +way to useless reflections. What is, is, and let us be thankful. The +future is before ye, my lad, look to it for your Eldorado." + +"After all," reasoned Bob, "we are never really contented. Our ideas of +happiness seem to change so much; we are always seeking what we imagine +to be a definite object, and when we reach it, another and apparently +far greater incentive beckons us on--on to what?" + +"There you go," grumbled Jack, "preaching a first-class sermon when we +ought to be slogging away down in the shaft." + +Bob started to his feet at once. "I clean forgot, Jack," said he; "your +mention of the steam yacht which we used to talk about in the old days +set me thinking." + +They disappeared together, engaged in earnest conversation. A rough +ladder-way had been fixed in the shaft by this time, so that it was not +necessary for the windlass to be called into requisition every time an +ascent or descent was made. Mackay, who had just been returning from his +labours below when he received the information about the battery +results, sat musing on the edge of his bunk for some minutes after the +boys had departed. Bob's words had aroused in him a strange feeling of +restlessness and discontent, which, try as he might, he could not shake +off. + +"It's the call of the Never Never gripping me again," he muttered +hoarsely. "I wonder what great secret that terrible country holds as a +recompense for all the lives it has taken. Is it only a shadow that +attracts, after all?" + +He arose wearily, and went back to the shaft he had so recently vacated, +and, notwithstanding the protests of his young associates, took up his +pick and worked with fierce energy. + +"It's a wee bit o' mental depression that's dropped on me sudden-like," +explained he; "an' there's nothing like hard graft for bringing the +balance true quickly." + +The time passed, and still he smote away with untiring persistency. Then +Jack seized the pick from his hand. + +"It's time to go aloft and have supper," said he, "then I want to hear +you play the flute for a bit. I'm just dying to hear some decent music." + +Mackay smiled kindly at the boy. "You've hit me on my tender spot," he +made reply. "Do you think you could appreciate 'The Muskittie's Lament' +the nicht?" + +"Even 'The Muskittie's Lament,'" Jack added valorously. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +Macguire's Threat + + +It was about this time that Macguire thought it necessary to return to +the scene of his discomfiture, and view for himself the progress made by +his worthy confrères. His arrangement with his men was the not uncommon +one of "grubstaking" for half the profits; that is, he kept them in +food, and supplied them with all necessary tools in return for a half +interest in the wealth of the mines so worked. It is a sufficiently +equitable understanding when made between an honestly intentioned +capitalist and a down-on-his-luck miner over the development of a wholly +questionable prospect; but it is rarely successful on a proved mineral +area, and when it is attempted in such a case, it invariably leaks out +that those so employed are strongly in the clutches of the "grubstaker," +who is usually the local publican. There was a curious rude kind of +honour among these men. They respected their chief principally because +of his great bodily strength, and if there was an element of fear mixed +with this respect, who could blame them? But they admired his sharpness, +too; few men could get the better of Macguire; and so these wretched +creatures chuckled at the fact that their patron was a power in the +land, and could do much to influence their several careers when he +wished. Nevertheless, their leanings towards hard manual labour were not +of the strongest; their usual routine in the past had been "jumping" +mines when the bulk of the work thereon had been done, but on this +occasion their amiable intentions in that direction had received a rude +check, and base toil must now be their portion, unless some purchaser +for their claims could be found. So it happened that their excavations +progressed with exceeding slowness, and Macguire, growing wroth at their +failure to strike the wash in a reasonable time, and having now +recovered his wonted energy, determined to proceed again to the Flat and +direct operations in person. He arrived at a very early hour in the +morning, riding Furious. Few of the camp were about, but the ubiquitous +Shadow was of course in evidence, seated at his solitary breakfast +outside his tent door. + +"Blow me," murmured that gentle youth, "if it ain't Macguire." + +The recognition was mutual. + +"So you got back, you young ruffian?" came the new-comer's greeting, and +the Shadow's ire was aroused at once. + +"I hope the Warden didn't say nothin' unkind to you when you called on +him that morning," said he, with exaggerated solicitude. "I should just +hate to think yer feelin's had been hurt." + +The horseman's eyes blazed angrily; then, all of a sudden, he threw +himself from the saddle and made a rush at his enemy, who agilely dodged +at the last moment, with the result that Macguire's great bulk hurled +itself against the tent. + +"I reckon that's as good as house-breakin', it is," protested the +Shadow, in injured tones. + +With rage in his heart, Macguire made another wild dash at the mocking +youngster, who took refuge behind the windlass on his shaft, and eyed +his panting aggressor cheerfully. In this position of antagonism, Emu +Bill, who had been awakened from his slumbers by the strange sounds +without, found them. He took in the scene at a glance, but his set +bronzed face did not move a muscle. + +"I reckon you has just about met your match this time, Macguire," said +he, calmly. "A boy is about your size every time, he is." + +Without a word Macguire got back on his horse. "I'll settle you too," he +hissed. "You won't know what's struck you when I'm done with you----" + +"A bit o' rock, most likely, if you are about," retorted Emu Bill, with +grave contempt. + +Macguire galloped off. + +"Despite his faults, the man's a born hustler," Mackay remarked that +same day to his two companions. + +They were engaged on the surface, levelling off their ore dump from the +shaft mouth, and could scarcely fail to note the unwonted activity shown +on the adjoining claim. + +"He certainly does make them shift around," agreed Bob. "I suppose long +experience has taught him how to handle his type of followers." + +Very shortly afterwards it became evident that some unusual excitement +prevailed at Number 2 shaft, which adjoined the Golden Promise towards +the south. The official numbers of the various claims ran consecutively +north and south of the Golden Promise, which was known as the Discovery +shaft, though, indeed, Nuggety Dick's excavation, which was now called +Number 4 above Discovery, should have claimed that honour. + +This Number 2 was the main hope of Macguire's party, for by it alone +could they hope to trace the direction of the golden leader. Now it +seemed as if they had at last broken through to the golden stratum, men +rushed hither and thither carrying gold-pans and dollying-hammers, some +clustered around the shaft mouth, then Macguire himself was seen to +descend the workings. A hushed air of expectation spread over the whole +Flat, and for a brief space all work was suspended. A few minutes passed +in anxious silence, then a bellow of joy from Macguire reached the +surface; at once one of his waiting aides-de-camp extracted a red flag +of huge proportions from a convenient niche near the windlass, where it +had been lying in readiness, and its dropping folds soon flaunted in the +sunshine, proclaiming to all whom it might concern that Number 2 had +bottomed on gold. Almost immediately Macguire ascended to the surface, +carrying a large-sized specimen in his hand, the sight of which caused +Jack to be convulsed with inward laughter, for its greyish colour +proclaimed it at once to be of the same deceptive material which had +first been discovered in Emu Bill's claim. + +"I'm half inclined to be sorry for the man," spoke Mackay, with some +feeling. + +Bob had been experiencing a pang or two himself. "It does seem hard +lines," he said. + +Yet even while they were considering on a magnanimous course of action, +the object of their sympathy turned his leering eyes upon them. + +"I'll best ye yet!" he cried triumphantly, holding his treasure at +arm's length that all might look. "I've got as much of this stuff as'll +keep the battery going for six months. I'll see that Roxton closes down +on your wash to-night, I will. I'll starve you out o' the Flat like +rats, quick an' lively too." + +Now Roxton, the battery owner, was like many other humbler men, heavily +in debt to the publican, who along with his other duties acted the part +of money-lender in the township. It was quite possible therefore that +Macguire could make good his threat about the closing down of the +battery, though had he known it, that would at this time scarcely have +affected the partners of the Golden Promise to any extent, the bulk of +their visible wash having been already treated. Still, the brutal +malignancy of the man's intentions was unmistakable, and a shudder of +disgust seized Bob, nipping effectually the finer sentiments he had +harboured but a moment before. Mackay eyed the jeering man with a look +in which a just anger and a wholesome contempt were struggling for +mastery. + +"You're nothing but a sneaking thief, Macguire," he said, with forced +calmness. "An' for twa pins I'd come doon an' burst in a few mair o' +your ribs. I'll certainly hae to settle you when I am forced to tackle +you again. But what are ye makin' a' the fuss aboot, anyhow? You're +clutching to a bit o' clay as if it were a golden nugget. Your battery +wouldna thrive vera weel on that sort o' stuff, I'm thinkin'." + +Macguire was on the point of launching out into further invective, when +his eye happened to glance at his treasure. He hesitated, stammered, and +his rotund face grew livid. + +"Put the water you have ready on your heid instead o' into the +gold-pan," advised Mackay, kindly, "it'll maybe keep ye from gettin' +apoplexy." + +An inarticulate yell of mingled dismay and fury broke from the lips of +the too-previous exulter. Hurling the stone from him, he turned and +rushed blindly into his tent. Eagerly his followers picked up the +rejected specimen; it was dull and dead clay, showing no trace of the +precious metal. Muttering maledictions, they fled after their leader. + +It quickly became whispered about that all was not as had been hoped at +Number 2 shaft, and despite the reticence of those principally +concerned, strange rumours were soon current regarding the extraordinary +phantom gold formation which had just been struck. Then Macguire raved +more wildly than ever, for his chances of disposing of the mine on a +sight valuation to some innocent buyer were now hopelessly ruined. He +railed savagely against Nature, and all mankind in general; even his own +alike suffering and yet sympathetic followers were not spared the flood +of his abuse. A trial parcel of the ore was sent to the battery in the +hope that whatever free gold contained in the substance might be saved +by the mercury, but only further disappointment resulted. Its cohesive +nature was such that the stamps merely flattened it like putty, and the +whole went over the sluice-box in a dense mass of coagulated slimes, +leaving not a trace of gold behind in the riffles. + +When Mackay heard this he was filled with misgivings; he had never +doubted the efficacy of the stamps as a crushing agency, and he feared +for the working of Bob's process on a large scale when hand manipulation +would be impossible. Bob, however, seemed in no way disturbed. + +"Crushing is unnecessary with the process," said he. "The ore will +dissolve in the vat; indeed, it would reduce itself to slime in ordinary +water if puddled occasionally, or it would disintegrate very rapidly on +exposure to the sun, though that plan would be rather risky, owing to +the excessive oxidization which might take place. But in every case the +slimes would remain unaffected by battery treatment, and for this one +reason which was the basis of all my experiments--the clayey material is +a chemical compound, and not a mechanical mixture like ordinary alluvial +wash, consequently it will only answer to chemical treatment." + +"But," interjected Jack, "there is most likely free gold in the stuff as +well as the--the other kind." + +"Probably enough, but, as you see, even that cannot be saved by ordinary +methods; the soapy nature of the composition, I imagine, is the cause. +Oily globules will form around the gold particles and insulate them, so +that the mercury on the plates never really gets a chance to exert its +power." + +Apparently Bob's studies had been complete and exhaustive; his knowledge +of his subject impressed Mackay deeply. + +"I can follow your reasoning there, Bob," said he, "for the overflow +even of the small vat in the tent was more like engine-grease than +anything else, an' I can testify that the residue I washed in the pan +was a pure and free sand." + +The Shadow here broke in on their conversation; he had been away at the +other end of the Flat on a tour of investigation, for it was known that +several shafts were nearing the dreaded bottom. + +"The whole circus is goin' to break up," he announced sorrowfully. +"There's nothin' but Emu Bill's miradgy stuff down there, an' the miners +are thinkin' o' giving it best." + +The Shadow was not aware that Bob's experiment had proved successful; +Emu Bill alone of the original group had been informed, and he certainly +had not spoken of it. + +"I'll go down and advise them to hang on for a bit," said Mackay, after +some deliberation. "An' Bob, you can tell the Shadow anything you like, +provided he promises to keep his mouth shut." + +"Say boss, does I deserve that?" complained the injured youth, +reproachfully. + +Jack hastened to assuage his grief. "No one knows yet," said he, "but +Emu Bill and ourselves; we didn't want Macguire's crowd to hear that Bob +could tackle the mirage." + +"An' did ye think that I would give it away?" murmured the Shadow, with +emotion, and for a long time he refused to be comforted. + +That day six shafts penetrated into the refractory formation, and loud +were the lamentations that arose throughout the camp. Surely never was a +more scurvy trick played by Dame Fortune upon her toiling votaries. +Macguire laughed heartily at the misfortunes of his neighbours; it was +as balm to his soul that others should experience the pangs of +disappointment as he did, and in the evening he gave the lead to the +others by dismantling his windlasses and preparing for departure, having +done not a stroke of work on his claims since the eventful day of his +own bitter chagrin. On the following morning he and his associates took +their leave of the Flat, and almost as soon as they were out of sight, +the abandoned claims were being taken up afresh by a number of +hard-working miners, who had before been sinking vain shafts well +without the auriferous belt. Jackson had quietly annexed Number 2 shaft, +though he was somewhat dubious about it proving of any service to him, +and fully a dozen honest toilers swarmed over the remainder of the +ground vacated. There was no need to keep the secret longer, and before +noon all the Flat had been made aware of Bob's discovery, and excitement +was again raised to fever heat. A deputation from among the miners was +formed at once to make inquiry into the matter, for news of a scheme of +such far-reaching importance could not be received lightly. + +They approached the Golden Promise mine shortly after midday, followed +_en masse_ by the entire population of the camp. + +"We wants to see the inventor o' the process," said the spokesman, +addressing Mackay, who was at the windlass, "we wants to ask him if it +are a fact that he can save the gold in this stuff." He displayed a +piece of the refractory ore in his hand. + +Mackay gazed at the speaker kindly, then at the sea of upturned faces in +the background. + +"I reckon you've come to the right street for your information, boys," +he replied, and he shouted down to his companion in the depths below: +"Bob, there's a few gentlemen wi' some interest in the welfare o' Golden +Flat wanting to speak to you." + +A minute later and Bob arrived on the surface, and at his appearance a +faint cheer swept over the awaiting crowd. The young man started in +amazement; he could not understand this demonstration, but he quickly +recovered himself, and then the speaker of the deputation began his +oration afresh, ending with the earnest words: "We are miners every one +o' us, with not much to spare in the way o' cash; but if you can help +us, and ain't unwilling to help us, you may ask what you like from the +returns o' the mines, an' we won't refuse." + +Bob was touched, and for the first time a surging feeling of his power +came over him, yet when he spoke his voice was calm and even. Briefly he +recounted his experiments with the tantalizing material, concluding with +the results of the last and final test; then, suddenly, he entered upon +a keen technical description of the ore and its peculiarities, dealing +with its scientific aspect at critical length. Jack nudged Mackay, who +coughed loudly, and Bob, interrupted, lost the theme of his argument, +and incidentally remembered that he was not addressing a class of +trained mineralogists. He hesitated, and turned to Mackay. + +"You can make them understand better," he said. + +"I can that," responded that individual, promptly; and he disappeared +into the tent, issuing forth immediately with the gold-pan, which still +contained the results of the important experiment. He thrust the pan +with its gleaming treasure into the hands of one of the deputation. "I +saw that go through mysel'," said he. "There's no much o' a phantom +aboot that, is there?" + +The crowd behind caught a glitter of the gold as the pan was passed +round, and now there was no mistake about the energy of their cheer--a +hundred throats echoed it forth. When it had subsided, Mackay again made +felicitous utterance. + +"We'll have a ten-ton vat rigged up within a couple o' days," he +announced, in stentorian tones. "An' Bob, here, wishes me to say that +the charges for treatment will no' be in any way extravagant." + +A yell of approval rewarded his effort, yet still the assembly showed no +signs of departing. + +"I think you should sing the 'Muskittie' to them," suggested Jack, "then +you'd see them run." + +He had to run himself after that, and when he returned, the conclusion +of the meeting was near. The leader of the deputation was making +strenuous endeavour to justify his position. He harangued the +congregated miners with forceful eloquence, pointing out what an +inestimable service the young inventor would confer upon the country and +themselves. + +"And now, boys," he concluded, "let her go again. Three cheers for the +discoverer of the process. Hurrah! hurrah! hurrah!" And the Flat +thundered with their hearty applause. + +When they had gone, Mackay heaved a hearty sigh of relief. + +"You're far too open-hearted for this pairt o' the world, Bob," he said +dryly. "If there had been one among that crowd wha kent anything aboot +chemistry, he would have got as big a knowledge o' your process as you +have yourself." + +Bob flushed. "I forgot," said he, "that there was any reason for keeping +it secret." + +The elder man laughed grimly. "My laddie," he began, with grave +earnestness, "are ye no' aware that there should be a fortune in this +for you. There may be tens o' thousands o' tons o' the stuff in this +Flat, and allowin' ye made a charge of, say, £2 a ton--which is little +more than battery price--don't you see what a tremendous profit would be +made? You canna patent a discovery, Bob; and your only safety is in +keeping it secret. The great danger lies in the simplicity o' the +process. We must be vera careful, my lad, vera careful indeed." + +"But did I really tell them everything?" said Bob, abashed; for in truth +he had forgotten the presence of his audience, so wrapped up had he been +in the interest of his subject. + +"Oh yes, you telt them richt enough; but you clothed your observations +in such elegant scientific language that I'm sure not a man among them +kent what ye were talkin' aboot." + +"You did give them a pretty bad time," grinned Jack. "It was a treat to +see them wrestling with hydrocarbonaceous compounds, and electrolytical +principles; but didn't they howl when they saw the gold!" + +"I reckon that talks every time," said Mackay. + +No time was now lost in erecting the vat and other appliances necessary +for the bulk treatment of the strange deposit. Wood was obtained from +the saw mill, and Mackay, assisted by Jack and the Shadow, started to +build the giant trough for the retention of the ore. Only half-sawn, +rounded timber was used, for that alone could support the strain that +must finally be put upon the structure; a movable bottom was also fixed +to allow of the ultimate residue being drawn off easily, and the whole +was mounted on a stout standard of logs raised about five feet from the +ground. + +As may be imagined, a constant stream of visitors came to view the +peculiar erection before it was nearly half completed; but when Bob's +important chemical and electrical arrangements were ready to be fitted, +Mackay, much to the disgust of the beholders, screened the entire plant +from their gaze by building a tall canvas wall around it. By the end of +the week everything was in readiness for the trial, which was given out +to take place in the evening, and a vast assembly gathered to witness +the inauguration of what was now known as the "Hope of Golden Flat." So +speedily had the news travelled concerning it, and so vastly interested +had even the outside world become in the problematical future of the +Flat's odd formation, that by Saturday morning quite a number of men +from Kalgoorlie and far outlying townships made their appearance, and a +steady stream of buggies and horsemen poured in along the track all day. +Indeed, it seemed as if a fresh rush had set in, so keen was the +excitement. + +But Mackay was ill at ease. Among the throng of new-comers he had +recognized several of the cleverest mining engineers in the State, and +none of them had reputations for being over-scrupulous. + +"There'll be a careful eye kept on us to-night, Bob," said he. "An' I'm +just a wee bit dubious o' the intentions o' some o' our visitors." + +Bob looked thoughtful. "I'll fix up a dummy battery and an extra +generator for their special benefit," he suggested. + +"A good idea, my lad, and I'll see that Emu Bill and the boys are close +handy in case o' accident. Jack can stand by an' help you. I'll attend +to the dumping o' the ore, and the overflow arrangements, an' flatten +out any man wha's troubled wi' an excess o' inquisitiveness." + +"An' I," spoke the Shadow, "I reckons I'll keep my blinkers open for any +suspicious-lookin' cusses, an'---- Howlin' centipedes! there's one now! +Blow me if it ain't that pestiferous son o' a gun back again." + +They looked and saw Macguire in close conversation with a short, nattily +dressed man of about middle age. Then the crowd closed up again, and hid +the plotters--for such they undoubtedly were--from view. + +The trial had been arranged to take place at seven o'clock in the +evening, chiefly because the great heat of the sun at an earlier period +would have been most trying for the spectators and experimentalists +alike, but Mackay had also the idea that at such a time the working +arrangements would be less visible to the onlookers, and though he did +not then think that any danger was likely to arise in this respect, he +now congratulated himself on his cautionary scruples. Indeed, if the +three partners could have foreseen that so many outsiders were to be +present, no public exhibition of the process would have been promised. +But it was too late now to alter their plans; the test must go on, come +what may; and though Bob was confident of success, his mind was somewhat +troubled by the appearance on the scene of so many strangers, and the +arrival of Macguire added much to his apprehensions. An hour before the +stated time all was in readiness for the ordeal. The gas generators and +batteries were placed behind the vat and loosely covered by some old +ore-bags, then the enclosing canvas screen was pulled away. A number of +oil lamps hung around gave ample light, while at the same time their +reflectors were so arranged as to cast a deep shadow over the lowly +placed chemical plant. Every safeguard against prying eyes had been +employed before the curtain was taken down, and now the interested +spectators gazed curiously on the huge wooden structure which revealed +itself to them. Ten tons of the ore to be treated rested on a platform +built at the top of the vat; it was all neatly arranged in bags, each of +ten claims having provided a ton, while an extra half-dozen tons taken +from the Golden Promise lay conveniently near at hand. + +Bob stepped with apparent carelessness to the concealed batteries and +made the connections secure; Mackay mounted the platform to tip in the +ore, and Jack casually stood guard in front of the hidden plant. Then +Macguire's harsh voice cackled out in protest-- + +"We want to see the inside o' the concern before you start; you may have +salted it for all we knows." + +Bob's lips compressed tightly at the words. "I am not a professional +conjurer," he said with dignity, "and I have nothing to gain one way or +another from any of you. If you represent the feelings of the miners +here, I shall go no further." + +A cry of dissent at once arose, and Macguire's safety seemed for the +moment imperilled; but in the midst of the uproar, Bob calmly unscrewed +the bottom from the vat and pulled it forth for inspection, and he noted +that those who came forward at his request were without exception the +men whose good intentions Mackay had so much doubted. The interruption +did not delay matters for more than a minute or so, then Mackay began to +load the vat, and in a short space the onlookers were listening to its +turbulent outbursts in amazed silence. At this stage, Macguire, +accompanied by the man he had been seen with earlier in the evening, +pushed his way forward until he was almost touching the foaming caldron. +But they did not escape the lynx eyes of Emu Bill and the Shadow, whose +stern grips were on their shoulders at once. + +"Let them stay, Bill, if they want," said Bob, quietly. + +"I should just reckon we would, young feller," rasped Macguire, though +even as he spoke his companion was whisked abruptly to the rear by the +inflexible Shadow. + +Bob smiled, and nodded to Mackay, who at once opened the overflow tap, +and a spouting rush of oily slimes descended on the bully's head, +saturating him in an odoriferous flood. The bystanders roared with glee, +and made way hurriedly to allow the dripping man an open passage for his +now frenzied retreat. The suddenness of the deluge had utterly taken +away his power of speech, and the smarting pain of the saline fluid in +his eyes made him howl like a dingo. However, he recovered himself +somewhat when he got clear of the jeering crowd. "I'll pay ye back for +this!" he snarled; "I'll--I'll----" Then his more fortunate companion +took him by the arm and led him away. + +The drastic lesson had considerable effect on several other +over-inquisitive individuals, and their haste to retire whenever they +saw Mackay's hand reach towards the tap was ludicrous in its +earnestness. + +Again and again the overflow belched out, until it seemed as if nothing +solid could have remained. And all this time the assembled miners looked +on in silent wonder. At last Bob intimated that the operation was +completed. + +"The vat was built to hold ten tons," he said, "but it could treat +fifty tons in a day easily enough----" + +"How do you make that out?" interrupted a mining engineer close at hand. + +"Why, all you have to do is to keep filling up the vat as the overflow +exhausts it. The gold will always be found at the bottom." + +Mackay and Jack now busied themselves unscrewing the movable bottom, and +the crowd surged round in breathless expectation. Quickly the screws +relaxed, a stream of yellow ooze gurgled out, but the only solid matter +retained was that which lay encompassed within the flanged edges of the +detached wood. It was not inspiring to look upon, merely a layer about +two inches deep of a dull gravelly sediment. + +Then Bob spoke again. "If the process were kept going long enough," said +he, "there would be scarcely any residue other than the gold itself." + +"An' does ye think thar's any gold there, mate?" asked a stalwart miner, +anxiously. + +Bob nodded with easy confidence, "You'll very soon see," he replied. + +Mackay was already engaged in the work of demonstration. Raising the +shallow receptacle until it lay at a easy incline, he next gently tilted +the contents of a kerosene tin full of water over the slope, and behold +the muddy casing dissolved away, revealing a rich spangling yellow +underneath. A roar of fierce joy burst from nigh on two hundred throats, +and for about a minute pandemonium reigned. Hats were tossed into the +air, and huzzahs long and loud echoed over the plains. The success of +the process had been established beyond all doubt. + +One of the first to congratulate the young discoverer was Nuggety Dick, +but Never Never Dave and old Dead Broke were at his heels. + +"You've saved the Flat, Bob!" cried Nuggety. + +"An' you've saved us too," murmured Dead Broke, with emotion. + +"What I want to know, young man, is by what means do you bring about the +expulsion of the oily matter in the compound?" + +The voice was patronizing in the extreme: the speaker was the erstwhile +associate of Macguire. + +Then Mackay's pent-up rage broke forth. "An' are ye sure that is all ye +would like to know?" he stormed. "You mean, snivelling sneak, do ye +think I don't know who ye are an' what ye're here for? Get out o' my +sight, afore I do you damage." + +To Bob's surprise, the man fled at once. Emu Bill laughed. + +"I'd have liked a word with the skunk myself," said he. "He's one of the +measliest rats in the West, he is." + +Then Jack added his testimony. "He's been dodging around trying to get a +look at the battery all evening." + +The sound of a strenuous scuffle from behind the vat at this moment drew +their attention. With a bound Mackay rushed to investigate, and there he +beheld the Shadow engaged in silent conflict with the man they had just +been discussing. The crowd had by this time drawn away from the scene of +operations, and were talking excitedly among themselves over their now +rosy future prospects. + +Mackay snorted savagely. "Let me get a crack at him, Shadow," he said, +hastening to the fray. But the struggling man, already safe in the +Shadow's sinewy grip, on hearing the new-comer's voice, made a desperate +effort to free himself, and literally tore himself from his enemy's +grasp, and sped off into the night. + +The Shadow gazed ruefully after the vanishing figure. "It was your +fault," he said reproachfully to Mackay. "When you chased him away 'bout +a minute ago I was watching him, an' saw him do a slide round by the +back, so I just sat tight an' waited for the dodger. He was pulling the +cover from that there fizzing concern when I gripped him by the neck." + +"But who is he, anyhow?" asked Bob, who, with the others, had come to +inquire the cause of the disturbance. + +"He's a most dangerous man, Bob," answered Mackay, grimly. "His name is +Wynberg, an' he's the chief chemist and assayer o' one o' the crookest +mining companies in Australia, a clever man in his way, no doubt, but +his cleverness seems aye to develop in the wrong direction, as the +shareholders o' the company he represents should well ken by this time. +He came here wi' that thief Macguire on purpose to steal your brains, +Bob--for nothing else." + +"Well, I scarcely think he has succeeded," laughed Bob. + +The crowd was by this time beginning to disperse, and a number of the +miners came up to say good night. + +"Why," exclaimed Jack, "we haven't weighed the gold yet!" And neither +they had; so keen had been the excitement at seeing the welcome metal +that no one had given a thought to estimating its quantity. + +"We'll soon make that right," said Mackay, seizing the pair of +gold-scales, that had been lying in readiness beside the generator. He +quickly emptied the gleaming dust on to a sheet of calico, which Jack +hastily drew forward, and commenced weighing it carefully in ounces. + +"I reckon," said one of the men, who had sent a ton for treatment, "I +reckon if it goes an ounce we should be mighty well pleased." + +"In that case there should be ten ounces saved, then," said Bob, +"allowing for no loss." + +"There's three times that here," said Mackay, "or my judgment is very +far oot." And, indeed, so it proved. Mackay filled the tiny scales +exactly thirty-one times, and yet there were some grains over. +"Thirty-one ounces," said he, "an' belted out o' the deceivin' stuff +inside an hour." A murmur of astonishment ran through the group. This +result surpassed even their wildest hopes. + +"That means that each man who sent along a ton is entitled to three odd +ounces," reflected Bob. "Better weigh it off and let them have it now." + +The ten men concerned held a hurried consultation, then one of their +number advanced, and laid his hand kindly on Bob's shoulder. + +"There's nary one o' us will take an ounce o' the stuff," said he. "Keep +the gold, my boy; you're heartily welcome to it. It's the first return +o' the discovery, an' it's yours by right. We only hopes you'll get +oceans more o' it afore very long." + +A babel of concurring voices answered for his comrades, and before Bob +could reply the men had gone. Mackay gravely handed a well-filled +gold-bag to the hesitating youth. + +"They're quite right, Bob," he commented quietly. "The gold is yours by +right--by right o' discovery. Keep it, my laddie--keep it and treasure +it, as Jack treasures the first nugget he found. In after years, if +you're spared, ye'll maybe remember this night as a vera wonderful +experience." + +Bob was silent; somehow his companion's words affected him deeply. There +was a note of foreboding in them, as if the speaker saw into the future +clearly, and was saddened by what he saw. Together they joined the +camp-fire circle, where the rest of their acquaintances were gathered; +then Mackay appeared to remember something, and hastened back to the +vat, and when Jack and the Shadow went in search of him, they found him +quietly refixing the canvas wall around the whole structure. + +That night Bob and Mackay slept deeply; the strain of the evening and of +the preceding days had told upon them. Jack, on the other hand, tossed +about restlessly; his active brain refused to be still, and the events +of the last crowded epoch in his life flitted before his unseeing gaze. +He awoke from a troubled sleep shortly after midnight, and a vague +uneasiness seemed to take possession of him. The moon had just risen, +and her pale eerie light penetrated into the tent and illumined it with +a ghostly radiance; it shone on the faces of the two recumbent figures +near, and Jack for the moment became interested in watching the +different expressions of the sleepers. Bob slept deep and peacefully, a +restful smile on his clear-cut features, but Mackay's rugged visage +looked grim and careworn, and ever and anon a faint groan broke from his +lips, while his breath came in quick, laboured gasps. Jack was amazed. +To him the brawny bushman was still somewhat of an enigma, and each new +phase of his startled, even while it interested him. "He'll be back in +the Never Never again," thought he, pityingly. Then all at once his +heart gave a violent bound. A shadow had suddenly fallen aslant the +tent; some moving body had intervened to shut out the rising rays of the +moon. He glanced around with an almost imperceptible movement through +his half-closed eyelids, and there at the door stood a bulky figure +gazing in on them intently. For fully a minute he stood thus, then he +turned silently, and the moon shone on his face, revealing the hateful +features of Macguire; it shone also on something which glittered +brightly in his upraised hand: it was a revolver. + +Almost at the same instant Jack became conscious of another intruder +being near; his sensitive ear caught the sound of light shuffling +footsteps in the sand, and a dark form loomed up briefly by the side of +the tent; the image reflected plainly through the thin calico wall, then +quickly disappeared. Immediately afterwards there came a sharp rasping +tear from the near vicinity, followed by a muttered curse. A cold sweat +broke out on the boy's forehead; some one had cut the canvas screen +enclosing the vat and batteries! At the disturbing sound the watcher at +the door started slightly, then his demoniacal face peered again into +the tent, and the shining barrel of his weapon was levelled straight at +Mackay's heaving chest; but apparently satisfied that the man whom he so +much dreaded was still asleep, he hastened to join his marauding +companion. + +Jack's action was prompt and impulsive; he leaped up, seized his +Winchester repeater, which was lying on the ground at his side, and +without a moment's hesitation rushed after Macguire. As in a dream he +saw two dark figures lifting something out from the torn curtain +surrounding the secret process; at his approach they dropped their +encumbrance, there came a loud report, and Jack felt a ball graze his +temple; then his own rifle spoke, and a yell of pain answered its heavy +discharge. A perfect fusillade of revolver-shots now echoed through the +night, and Jack felt the leaden messengers whistle about his ears. With +a just rage in his heart he dashed right at the ruffianly pair; almost +before he knew, he was on top of them, and his clubbed rifle whirled +through the air, descending with a crash on Macguire's head. So severe +was the stroke that the stock of his weapon shivered into fragments; but +Macguire's skull was like iron; though the blow felled him like a +stricken ox, he struggled to his feet at once and staggered off into the +night, just as Mackay and Bob appeared on the scene. It had all happened +in a few moments, and when his comrades arrived, the boy was standing +with the shattered rifle still in his hands, gazing with dazed eyes all +around. + +[Illustration: "JACK FELT A BALL GRAZE HIS TEMPLE; THEN HIS OWN RIFLE +SPOKE"] + +"Well done, Jack!" said Mackay, heartily, guessing at once what had +happened. + +"But--but where's the other one?" faltered Jack. "There were two of them +a minute ago. Look for the battery, Bob; look----" + +"It's gone," said Bob, quietly. + +And so it was. Macguire's villainous associate had disappeared, and with +him the battery. He had left his hard-headed partner to bear the brunt +of Jack's vengeful blow, probably by a preconceived arrangement, and, as +Macguire most likely reasoned, a crack on the head with a rifle was +better for him than the bullet which he would assuredly have received +had he ventured flight at the same moment. They had trusted to the +boy's unwillingness to shoot--after emptying their own firearms with +deadly intent. They had pitted their murderous cunning against the lad's +humane judgment, and they had succeeded in their nefarious plan. + +"I ought to have fired; I ought to have killed them," muttered Jack, +despairingly. "I knew their revolvers were empty at the last, only I +didn't--like--to--shoot----" + +"You did well, my lad," spoke Mackay, encouragingly. "I wouldna have +cared for the blood o' even twa such scoundrels to be on your young +heid, though had they killed you, I would have chased them up an' choked +the breath oot o' them baith afore morning." + +Very few of the tent dwellers around appeared to have been disturbed by +the heavy firing. Only the Shadow and Emu Bill made their appearance to +investigate the cause, and when they learned what had taken place, their +language was full and eloquent. + +"I'll twist that dandy chemist's neck in the morning," quoth the Shadow, +with earnestness. + +Mackay laughed mirthlessly. "They'll both probably stay in hiding for a +bit," he said, "and the first thing we'll know is another process being +stuck up on the Flat. They'll crowd us out, right enough, and we'll get +nothing but what's in our own claims to put through." + +"But won't the miners stand by us?" suggested Jack, hopefully. + +"The miners, my laddie! The miners, especially on a new field such as +this is, are like sheep. They'll gang the way o' least resistance, an' +we canna afford to run a philanthropic concern for their benefit +altogether. It's Bob I'm sorry for--Bob whose brain has done the +work----" + +"We'll let that go," said Bob, gently. "As you said last night, I'll +have at least a vivid experience to remember." + +Next morning news of the theft of Bob's secret appliances spread rapidly +over the Flat. Mackay considered it advisable to let the affair be known +ere some "new" discovery became heralded abroad by the perpetrators of +the outrage. + +"It will at least ensure the laddie's name as that o' the true inventor +o' the process," he reasoned, and so the report became noised about. + +At first the miners were indignant, and aggressively disposed towards +the two men who had so meanly defrauded a mere boy, yet soon they calmed +down. + +"If there's more than one plant on the field we'll get the work done +cheaper," argued some one, and of course this placed the matter in a new +light as far as they were concerned. + +There was no doubt as to the personality of the thieves. Early that same +morning, Macguire and Wynberg, the chemist, had been seen driving off +towards Kalgoorlie, and it had been observed also that the publican's +head was swathed in bandages, while his companion's left arm was secured +in a sling. Jack had certainly given them more than they bargained for, +and the knowledge was a source of much joy to that youth, whose keen +regret now was that he had not done them greater hurt. + +The days slipped by, and the incident was almost forgotten before a week +had passed; but the owners of the Golden Promise mine knew well what to +expect. They continued their work in the shaft, digging out the +refractory ore which now alone was left to them, and regularly each +evening Bob kept pace with results by treating in the vat the entire +amount raised in the day, and the exploitation of the mine proceeded; a +little more than another week would suffice to exhaust the stratum +within their boundary pegs, and then--Bob wondered vaguely whether, +after all, the process had baffled the discerning powers of the chemist, +and so would allow them to profit by the discovery on a larger scale. + +"You need scarcely hope for that, Bob," said Mackay, "as I said before, +the danger o' the discovery lay in its simplicity, and Wynberg is a man +wha has had a' the qualifications his university in Germany could give +him. They're vera smart mineralogists, those Germans, Bob, and nothing +much will pass them. A' the same, when I get a grip o' the man I'll +alter the state o' his health for a week or so. I'll----" + +Mackay's anger overcame him, and he turned away abruptly to hide his +annoyance. + +Events soon proved how clearly he had foreseen the plans of the +conspirators. That very night, Rockson, the battery proprietor, came +over to the Golden Promise evidently much perturbed. + +"I've got a letter from Macguire, boys," he said hesitatingly. "An' he +gives me instructions to fit up a twenty-ton vat close to my +stamping-mill. He says Wynberg will be out in a day or so to see it +completed. I feel inclined to throw up the sponge, boys, I do; I know it +is your discovery he means to work. If the blackguard didn't own so much +o' the battery, I'd have nothing more to do with him; but I'm in his +power, an' I must either throw everything up or do what he says." + +"Don't worry about my feelings, Rockson," replied Bob, with an effort, +for indeed the news had hurt him deeply. "I know you have been straight +with us from the first, and if I have to lose the process I'd sooner see +you work it than any one else on the Flat." + +"But say the word, an' I'll fix the thing up for you," Rockson exclaimed +eagerly, "there'll be next to nothing for the mill to do after this, and +I might as well have it out with Macguire now as afterwards. You know +the secret, and there's room for two plants on Golden Flat." + +Bob pondered for a moment, then slowly shook his head. "I'll share my +rights with no man unwillingly," he said firmly. "Macguire can set up my +process, but I, the inventor of it, will not compete against him. I'm +not commercial enough to beat him in the struggle for popular favour. +Besides, he owns a hotel, and I don't. Why, he would get all the trade +if only because of that. No, I won't strive with him for what should +surely be my own, but I'll make every man on the field his rival. I'll +give the secret away so that each individual may work it for himself. +Put up the vat, Rockson; it may hurt me, but I'll see that it doesn't +help him." + +A quiet chuckle broke from the lips of Mackay, who had been listening in +silence. He had never seen Bob thoroughly angry before, and the lad's +display of temper on this occasion met with his full approval. + +"You have spoken well, Bob," he said; "we didna come out to Australia to +run a cut-price establishment alongside a gorilla-faced purveyor o' bad +whisky an' a thievin' German Jew. The country is wide, Rockson, and +there are more Golden Flats than one in it. Anyhow, a golden mountain +will serve us just as well, and we may even be contented wi' diamonds +an' rubies for a change." + +He spoke lightly, but Rockson thought he saw something other than mere +banter in his words, and he departed wondering much what new scheme +Mackay had in view. + +Bob and Jack too were rather surprised at their comrade's strange +remark, and noting their look of interrogation, Mackay gave a rather +reluctant explanation. + +"I was thinking o' the Never Never land," he admitted, with a far-away +expression in his eyes. "You know every kind of wealth is supposed to be +hidden out there." + +"Then why shouldn't we go?" asked Bob, promptly. + +"Yes, why not?" Jack supplemented with ill-concealed eagerness. + +The big man gazed into the burning logs of the camp-fire, around which +they were seated, for several minutes before he made answer. + +"I've thought o' it often," said he, at length, "and Bob kens that it is +my dearest wish to go back on the old track ... back to the mountain ... +and beyond. But there's danger in it, laddies; many a strong man has +gone under wi' thirst while crossin' the great desert. Then there's the +natives, savage and bloodthirsty, an' filled wi' the awfullest cunning. +It's a' vera well for me to go. My interest in life was crushed clean +oot o' me when I had to come back alone last year, an' I havena much to +lose now----" + +"You can't dissuade me by picturing the dangers of the trail," +interrupted Bob, quietly. "I know you want to go, you've said as much to +me many times; and I tell you frankly I'm going with you. What did you +give me the sextant for?" + +"I'm to blame, Bob; vera much to blame. I forgot whiles that Jack an' +you were young, wi' a' the world before ye, but the reaction when I saw +that I was infusing into you only my ain restless spirit was cruel, +cruel." + +Mackay's emotion overcame him, and he buried his face in his hands. Bob +spoke again with forced calmness, "A restless spirit was my birthright, +and I am thankful for it. Why," he continued passionately, "without it I +might never have known you. I might never have seen this great country +where out of your goodness Jack and I have made as much money in a few +months as we could hope to make in a lifetime at home. Let dangers come, +you will find us at your side ready and eager to meet them. No, we +simply won't let you go without us." + +"Bob speaks for me every time," added Jack, promptly. + +Mackay arose, straightened out his stalwart figure, and eyed the boys +with an expression of mingled gravity and happy appreciation. + +"So be it," he said, and there was an inflection of finality in his +tones. Then his voice became cheerful, almost joyous. "The fact is, my +lads," he added, "I have aye unconsciously been considering your vera +tender youth, an' feelin' that I was like the bold bad giant in the +story-books wha enticed wee bairns awa' to their doom in the desert. No, +Jack, I canna exactly say what book it was, my memory is gettin' a bit +defective, I'm thinkin'. However, Bob has shown that he is a man every +inch o' him, baith in brain and muscle development, while you, Jack, +you've got savvy enough for anything, and did ye no' nearly kill twa o' +the maist desperate men in the country the other night, single handed? +I'll no' say another word against you goin' into the Never Never wi' me. +I have wished it from the first, an' though I tried no' to influence ye, +there were times when I couldna help mysel', when the spirit o' the +lonely desert sent her uncanny cry ringin' through my brain--that cry +which I ken so well by this time, 'Mackay come back to your comrades; +they wait for you by the mountain....' Ay, they wait for me, their +bleaching bones wait for me to hide them from the carrion crows. But +Mackay comes--he comes.... Get me the flute, Jack, an' let me play +something cheery. I think I'll gie ye a selection from the 'Geisha' for +a change." + +"And I reckon I'll sing 'The Muskittie's Lament,' or burst," said the +Shadow, who just then approached. "I reckon my voice has stretched a bit +taller since I tackled it last." + +Shortly afterwards the residenters of Golden Flat had cause to marvel at +the unwonted music, and succeeding outbursts of hilarity which emanated +from the head of the field. + +A few days later Rockson's vat was completed, and that evening Wynberg +arrived by the mail coach, which now connected with Kalgoorlie twice +weekly, to arrange the final fixtures. He was accompanied by three of +Macguire's satellites, a most truculent trio indeed they were, whose +presence no doubt was for the purpose of safeguarding Wynberg from being +roughly handled by the men he had wronged, but the dapper little German +seemed nevertheless very ill at ease. He alighted from the conveyance, +which stopped just beside Nuggety Dick's claim, and gazed around him +anxiously, then suddenly catching a glimpse of Mackay in the near +distance, he made a wild break for Rockson's camp, and never stopped +until he was safe in the manager's assay office, which was the only +wooden structure in the district that boasted a lock and key. His three +followers, grinning broadly, proceeded after him at a much more +leisurely pace. After that nothing was seen of the chemist for two full +days, in which time a heavily logged hut was erected beside the huge +vat, presumably for the purpose of containing the secret appliances; +assuredly Macguire and Wynberg intended to run no risks of having the +stolen process in turn stolen from them. + +Then when he observed that the partners of the Golden Promise were +paying little attention towards his movements a feeling of extreme +bravery swelled in the little German's heart, and he boldly made his +appearance in the open, and swaggered about most manfully when he +noticed that Mackay was not in sight. His hearty fear of the one man +made him forget that there were others who bore him no good will, and +this oversight soon brought about the calamity which he had daily +dreaded. It happened late in the afternoon when Bob and Jack were busy +on the surface preparing the battery and gas generator for their final +effort, for the Golden Promise Mine had at last cut out, and only ten +tons of ore now remained to be treated. Mackay was on the platform above +the vat, shovelling in the clayey mixture with great gusto, and +whistling merrily to himself the while. Indeed, from the happy +countenances of the three partners, it might have been judged that they +had only at this period struck the auriferous wash instead of having +exhausted it. + +The Shadow, looking somewhat melancholy, stood a little way off, his +hands deep in his pockets, and his eyes fixed on the distant horizon. +He knew very well that Mackay's plans for journeying across into the +Never Never land would soon be put into action, and yet the matter had +not been mentioned to him. The Shadow felt forlorn and miserable at the +prospect of being left alone. "It's all owing to that wretched German +thief," he muttered savagely, "Macguire was too fat-headed to do +anything on his own." Unconsciously, he turned his gaze in the direction +of the newly erected process, and a gleam of unholy joy lit up his +features. Wynberg stood there alone fondly surveying a legend which had +just been painted on the huge wooden tank. So large was the lettering +that the Shadow could read it without difficulty, "Wynberg's Discovery." + +"I don't see any o' his policemen around, I reckon I'll risk it," he +murmured, and he strolled carelessly over as if it were his intention to +view the inscription at closer range. + +The unsuspecting man turned as he approached; at that moment his pride +and delight in himself left no room for other emotions. "Ha, ha!" he +cried; "so you have come over to pay your respects to the discovery, +have you? Well, well, you are quite right. Honour brains, young fellow, +honour brains," he tapped his little bald cranium significantly, and +struck an attitude as dignified as his rotund carcase would permit. Then +he began again, "There ees none other process like mine; that young +man--what's his name?--could never do what I, Carl Wynberg, of the +Heidelbrughen University, have accomplished. I---- Ah! Ough! Murder! +Police! Thieves!" + +The Shadow had suddenly gripped him by the back of the neck, and +lending impetus to his forward movement by a hearty application of his +heavily booted pedal extremities, he impelled him forward at a run in +the direction of the Golden Promise Mine. "I reckon you ain't far out +when you yell thieves," commented the Shadow, "for you are about the +worst thief in the country, you are; you wanted me to pay my respects to +the discovery, did you? Well, I reckon you is now on the road to pay +your respects to the discoverer." + +In vain the German shrieked and expostulated; his captor's grip was as a +vice, and an honest indignation lent added strength to his long sinewy +arms. The din let loose drew the attention of Rockson, who was in his +assay office, and he bounded out. + +"Come and pull this savage man away! Come at once, Rockson!" cried +Wynberg, twisting his head round appealingly. + +"Not much, I don't," came the quick response; "you fight your own +quarrels," and he turned calmly and went back to his work. But now +Macguire's policemen came speeding up from the bottom of the Flat, and +as they came nearer and saw that the Shadow only was to be pitted +against them, their warlike threats against that young man's person +filled the air, and Wynberg, hearing their coming, struggled and kicked +and raved the more. But the Shadow did not once relax his hold; he had +by this time got his prisoner halfway towards the camp, and he knew that +prompt assistance from that quarter would soon reach him. + +Nor was he mistaken. Bob and Jack had been watching the affray with keen +amusement, and Mackay, who had observed the whole scene from his +elevated position, laughed so heartily that he had difficulty in +keeping his footing, but immediately Macguire's followers hove in sight +he checked his merriment, and made as if to go to the Shadow's +assistance. He thought better of it, however; "I might brak' the +mannie's back if I grippit him ower hard," said he. "You go, Bob, and +help the Shadow to bring him in." + +Bob was off on that mission before the words were spoken, and Jack too; +but Mackay called the latter back before he had gone far. "Two's enough, +Jack," he said. "I want the beggar brought to me hale, no' in scattered +bits, an' Bob has a right to the job." + +In a brief space the raging Teuton was dragged alongside the vat, while +the three fire-eaters, whose duty it was to protect him from such +ungentle treatment, contented themselves by hurling defiance at Mackay +and his companions from a conveniently remote distance. But their wordy +vapourings fell on deaf ears. The chief object of their wrath seemed +wholly unconscious of their presence. + +"An' so you've come to see the working arrangements of the process +again," he said to his unwilling visitor with a grim smile; but there +was a steely glitter in his eyes which alarmed Wynberg amazingly. + +"I'll have you put in prison for this!" he yelled. "To prison you shall +go!" + +His enemy was unimpressed. "Humph!" he snorted. "Hoch der Kaiser! Ease +him up an' let me get a nice canny grip o' him somewhere, my lads. Ay, +that's near enough. Up she goes!" He swooped down his great paw, seized +the unfortunate man by the slack of his wide riding-breeches, and, with +scarcely an effort, hoisted him up struggling like a sportive fish on a +hook, and yelling loud enough to waken the seven sleepers, over the ore +platform, then he calmly dumped him into the vat amid the bubbling +slimes. + +"You'll be in a position to observe a' the working arrangements now," he +bellowed. "Mak' the maist o' yer chance, you yelpin' hyena." + +The shrieks of Wynberg had by this time caused a large number of miners +to hasten up. "Great centipedes! ye ain't murderin' any one, are ye, +Mackay?" cried the foremost of them. + +Mackay smiled blandly, and descended from his perch, leaving the +dripping specimen of humanity to crawl out from his unpleasant +environment as best he could. "I'm merely givin' the discoverer o' +Wynberg's Process an inside knowledge o' the work, an' he's howlin' wi' +joy an' gratitude, that's a'." + +Then a great roar of laughter broke forth as a bedraggled figure +scrambled over the edge of the vat, shaking the clinging ooze from his +head like a water dog, and sputtering out mouthfuls of saline fluid. +Seeing the crowd assembled, and feeling safe from further molestation, +he gathered courage, and sitting down on the platform he shrilled forth +his denunciation of Mackay in the choicest vituperative phrases of two +languages. When sheer lack of breath had pulled him up, Bob began to +address the miners in even dispassionate tones-- + +"Men, you know that I am the discoverer of the original process, and you +also know that my batteries and generator were stolen on the night of +the public trial by two men. Jack surprised them while they were +carrying them away, and they tried their best to murder him. I say this +man," and he pointed contemptuously at Wynberg, "was one of the +thieves." + +"It's a lie! It's a lie!" screamed the German. + +"Get the beggar to roll up his sleeves," spoke Jack. "I guess he's got +the mark of my rifle bullet somewhere on his left arm." + +"Yes, roll them up, Wynberg," came the stern chorus from the crowd. + +But this the muddy little man absolutely refused to do. "I'm not on my +trial," he sneered insolently. + +"I reckon that's just where you is wrong," growled the deep voice of +Never Never Dave. "This here is a regular roll up, an' in the absence o' +official representatives from the township, we, the miners o' Golden +Flat, stand for the law every time. When we says hitch up your sleeves, +then by the howlin' wilderness you've got to do it, quick an' lively +too!" + +Yet still the request of the multitude remained unobeyed. Then Mackay +reached forth his hand and grasped the dangling legs of the "Discoverer +of Wynberg's Process," and hauled him ingloriously to the earth. In a +trice the slime-covered sleeve was pulled back, and there slantwise +across the forearm was the long red graze mark of a bullet. The wound, +though slight, was unmistakable. + +Only a smothered expression of disgust showed the feelings of the mining +tribunal; they had never doubted Wynberg's complicity in the theft, and +by this time had almost forgotten about the affair which indeed they had +partly condoned as being a probable development in their favour. + +That matter settled, Bob continued his remarks: "The erecting of +Wynberg's Process, which of course is just my process, will certainly +serve the purpose intended in one sense. It destroys our chance of +making more than just a trace over cost price for treating your ores, +though I know well you would not have grudged paying a small tribute +extra for the inventor----" A unanimous shout of assent here greeted the +speaker. "All the same, I cannot blame you for welcoming another plant +on the ground, but I do blame the methods of the men who stole the idea, +although I do not feel nearly as bitter towards this man as I do towards +the one who prompted the action, and who has schemed against us from the +first. And now, after considering the matter over with my companions, I +have decided to give up my right to the discovery in your interest; for +the welfare of the country generally, and in the cause of justice, I +cannot allow Wynberg's Process to remain alone on the field to make +wealth for Macguire and Wynberg. No, I will defeat their ends in a way +they least expect. I will make the secret public property!" + +There was absolute silence for an instant, then came a roaring tumult of +applause. The miners could scarce realize for the moment the magnitude +of what had been promised; it staggered them, and aroused their better +feelings, but as the full meaning of what had been said dawned on them, +cheer upon cheer rent the air, in the midst of which clamour Wynberg +slunk off unobserved. + +"By Jove! young man," cried one burly miner, "you've planted your name +on this here Flat for all time, for blow me if there's any other title +than Wentworth's Process'll get leave to live here. You may not make +wealth o' your discovery, but I reckon you'll have a name in the +gold-mining history o' Australia that wealth couldn't buy." + +That the speaker represented the feelings of the multitude was +evidenced by the rousing appreciation with which the speech was +received. + +"Let's go and wipe out Wynberg's Process," cried some one, and at once +there was a rush in the direction of the flaunting sign. + +But Mackay restrained them. "Leave the miserable man's property alone, +boys," he said. "You have promised a' that I wished, an' I'll hold you +to your promise that the young laddie will aye get the credit o' his own +discovery. We're goin' away vera soon on a new trail, an' may never see +any o' ye again, but Wentworth's Process will be wi' ye in oor absence +to make you remember how much you owe to a laddie's energy an' brains." + +Then the crowd broke up amid noisy protestations of everlasting good +will, and the original group who held Golden Flat were left alone. It +was apparent that Emu Bill, Nuggety Dick, and their boon comrades, Never +Never Dave and Dead Broke Dan, were considerably exercised over Mackay's +statement about going away in the near future. + +"I reckon you hasn't given us too much notice," complained old Dead +Broke, reproachfully; "it'll take us a bit o' time to clean up yet." + +"But I don't want you to come with me, boys," remonstrated Mackay. "I +didna expect----" + +"Well, I calc'late you made a mistake if you thought you were to leave +me," hastily interjected Emu Bill. + +"An' me! an' me!" came the cry. The Shadow alone made no remark. He knew +that all present could not go, and he naturally reasoned that he, as the +youngest next to Jack, would be left. + +Mackay, after a pause, appealed to them in logical language. "You can't +all leave your claims for the sake o' comin' wi' me on what may be only +a wild-goose chase," he said, "an' besides, six in the party is quite +enough. I think Nuggety there, who is the maist capable gold-miner o' +the lot o' us; an' Dead Broke, who has the chance o' doin' vera well wi' +his mine,--I think they should both wait an' look after things while we +are away. It would never do to leave your mines half worked out. They +would be jumped before we got out o' sight." + +"I believe that is just right," agreed Emu Bill. "Nuggety can hang on to +my interest for me; he's my partner, anyway." + +"An' Dead Broke can do the same for me," cried Never Never Dave. "The +workings are shallow, and one man can easily get along on his own, an' +nary galoot can jump them neither, for the wash is pretty well scraped +out already, an' one man's pegs would hold what's left." + +In vain Nuggety and his approved companion protested against this +apportionment of their duties; innumerable reasons were advanced to show +how essential it was that they should remain, and ultimately they agreed +to the inevitable. Mackay had spoken truly when he said that Nuggety +Dick was a most accomplished miner; he had been stricken with the gold +fever in his early youth, and had never recovered. It was almost a mania +with him to discover new fields; his aptitude for locating the powerful +talisman was nothing short of marvellous. But Emu Bill, though he chased +up the golden gleam with hopeful persistency, really, like all restless +natures, found his pleasure in the seeking rather than in the finding. +He was a bushman every inch of him, and no more valuable associate for +a risky journey into the heart of Australia could be found, as Mackay +well knew. As for Never Never Dave, his name had been earned for him by +his wide perambulations over the untrodden tracts; his worth as a +bushman was known throughout the land. + +"But what about me?" pleaded the Shadow. "I has no one to look after my +claim, for I hasn't had no mate, but I reckon the old mine has done +pretty well by me, an' I won't kick about leaving it." + +"How much o' the stuff do ye think is left in your shaft?" demanded +Mackay. + +"About thirty tons, I reckon." + +"Why, we'll go and help you to dig that out," cried Jack. + +"And I'll run it through the vat in a couple of days," added Bob. + +"You see, Shadow," said Mackay, quizzically, "we canna vera weel do +without you." + +"Then I'll be the sixth man?" cried the youth, delighted beyond measure. + +"You will that if ye promise never to sing 'The Muskittie's Lament' +without givin' due warning. You'd mak' us think the niggers were comin' +for us every time ye tackled that high note." + +"I reckon I'll get an accordion----" But the Shadow got no further. + +Wrathfully came the rebuke, "If ye dare purpose desecratin' oor peaceful +evenings wi' such an unceevilized device, I'll mak' a present o' ye to +the first hungry cannibal we meet, I will." Then, when peace was +restored, Mackay summed up the respective responsibilities of the +projected expedition's members. "You, Jack, and the Shadow, have shown +that you can handle camels in a circumspect way, therefore you will have +charge o' the team. Emu Bill and Never Never Dave will assist when they +are no' too busy lookin' for water or fightin' niggers. Bob will be +navigator; and as for me--I'll be the pilot o' the craft, and will do my +best to guide you to the hidden treasure o' the Never Never, to the land +o' rubies, an' diamonds, and gold, which lies beyond the mountain." + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +Into the Unknown + + +A full week was occupied in settling up affairs and making final +preparations for the journey across the wilderness. The question of +transport was speedily arranged. Three camels were necessary to carry +stores and sundry mining appliances, and a fourth would be advisable to +bear the heavy water-bags of the expedition, as it was not wise policy +to burden the animals unduly. Mackay's wiry "Misery" was selected at +once as the leader of the team, and two other great leathery hided +creatures belonging to Emu Bill and Never Never Dave, named respectively +"Repentance" and "Remorse," were called into requisition as being well +fitted for the stern work before them. A strong young beast was secured +by Mackay from an Afghan trader who called around opportunely, to make +up the quartet. This last addition to the outfit, which Jack promptly +dubbed "Fireworks," was inclined to be rather vicious in temperament, +and after seeing him buck two pack saddles off as a preliminary, Mackay +mentally resolved to trust the carriage of the precious water-bags to +the more patient "Remorse," and allow "Fireworks" to cool down under +more solid freight. + +The stores of the expedition were not difficult to obtain; by this time +agencies of the large mercantile houses in Kalgoorlie had been +established on the Flat, and they were well able to provide all +necessary supplies. But the commissariat department of the Australian +explorer is never famed for his lavishness; in it luxuries find no part, +for here the ship of the desert is the mainstay of the traveller, and on +its cumbrous back only room can be found for the bare essentials of +life. Flour and tea, tinned beef and various "extracts," these are the +sum total of the wanderer's requirements in the Australian wilderness, +and with these he would usually be more than content if water could be +found to quench his thirst. But this is too often denied, the arid +wastes of the great Austral land contain few oases. The scanty rains +collected in reluctant drops in some deep rock hole, perhaps for years, +are his only hope. Yet these grim forbidding tracts allure the roving +spirit if only because of their very grimness. Across their +scintillating sands what wonderful haven may be hid? Surely it is not +all desert, something must lie beyond the far horizon. Nature's +compensating law must hold some reward for the weary pioneer who gropes +so desperately onward and ever onward into the rising sun. Such is the +hope, the belief, of those who venture forth into the Never Never. With +Mackay, who had already followed the beckoning phantom far back into an +unknown mountain, the belief had become almost reality. The spirit of +the bush enthralled him, its spell was ever over him. His young +companions too were influenced by the air of mystery surrounding their +distant goal. The unknown has ever exercised a powerful fascination over +the Anglo-Saxon youth, and the two boys revelled in the thought of +penetrating untrodden tracts, and rejoiced in their quest of El Dorado. + +When all was ready for a start Mackay called them together for earnest +consultation. + +"I don't want to shout much about the dangers o' the trail, my lads," +said he. "But it is as well to understand that the risks are there a' +the same, an' it would only be richt for you both to mak' a sort o' +statement, an' leave it wi' the Warden. I--I----" + +"I know what you mean," said Bob, smiling; "you want us to make our +wills--in case of accident." + +Mackay looked relieved. "It would be better," he admitted quietly, "or +send your money home. Don't think I want to force my advice on you, but +I think--I think that would be the better plan." + +"I've done that ever since we started to get returns from the battery," +answered Bob. "I only have kept what I thought I would owe you for my +share of the expedition." + +"Mine has been sent home too," murmured Jack, diffidently; "but I've +kept two hundred pounds for the expedition." + +"An' mine has gone home too," added Mackay, slowly. "But the expedition +is my consideration, and I must bear the expense alone. It's a duty, my +dear young lads, it's a duty." + +No amount of persuasion would shake his decision in this respect. + +"It's a journey that's lain on my conscience for some time," he argued. +"I have a mission to fulfil which I hope may be outside the other object +o' the expedition altogether, though it's possible we may achieve the +one while in pursuit o' the other." He chuckled dryly at the thought, +then well pleased that his young friends had disposed of their worldly +goods to his liking, he went off to give some instructions to Emu Bill +about the loading of the camels. + +The process had been left in charge of Nuggety Dick, who had received +full information from Bob concerning its proper working. It had been +open for public inspection all the week, and already many similar vats +were being erected on the field; and Wynberg's discovery lay idle--its +owner had vanished back whence he came. + +The unfortunately placed Rockson, however, was soon given a position +more to his liking than the control of a useless stamping mill. Jackson, +whose time was required in Kalgoorlie, at Mackay's request, offered him +the management of his mine, which was now turning out large quantities +of the refractory ore, and this he gladly accepted under the generous +arrangement of a fair salary and a considerable interest in the profits. +It was Mackay's strange weakness that he could not allow another man +undeservedly to suffer, even indirectly, through any action of his or +his partners, and hence the exceptional terms offered by Jackson for his +services; he had only been too willing to oblige Mackay in the matter as +a slight return for the great favour he had received. + +Bob and Jack were amazed when, after the Golden Promise had closed down, +they counted up the amount with which the Bank at Kalgoorlie had +credited them for their share in the gold sent in. They found that they +had each realized over a thousand pounds for their few months' labour; +the last two weeks' results had swelled up their profits wonderfully, to +Bob's deep satisfaction. + +"I'm very glad," he said to Jack, "that Mackay will benefit a little by +the process; it means that we have made some slight return for his +goodness to us, though money can never pay for all that he has done." + +"He doesn't seem to value money as some people do," observed Jack. "I +don't understand him yet, I don't." + +It was after this that Mackay had ventured to express his views to them +on private concerns, and when he went away he left the boys no little +moved by his well-meant advice; the solemn note of warning in his tones, +even when he touched so lightly on the dangers of the desert, had not +escaped them. + +"I do hope," said Bob, fervently, "that he may never have to take the +sextant from me. I--I get nervous when I think of the responsibility he +has given me. I wish too," he continued gravely, "that I had some news +from home before we start. I haven't heard a word since we left. Of +course they couldn't write until they knew where we were, but I think +there is time for an answer to my first letter by now." + +Jack calculated it up hurriedly. "It would come in by to-night's mail," +he said sadly, "and Mackay said we were to start after lunch. I think we +should tell him, and ask him to wait." + +But this Bob would not hear of for a moment. "Certainly not," he cried. +"He treats us as men, not children, and I am not going to worry him with +home affairs. All the same," he reflected calmly, "if I had thought of +it before I would have mentioned it to him; but now that everything is +in readiness for the start--no, I cannot." + +"All aboard, boys; all aboard for the Never Never!" + +It was the Shadow's voice, and they rushed out at once, turning to cast +one look at the dismantled tent which had been their home during these +eventful months. No tent or shelter of any kind was being carried by the +expedition. The starry heavens must now be their sole roof at night. + +They found the camel team waiting the signal to move ahead, and Jack at +once stepped to his position alongside Misery, the Shadow having for the +time taken charge of Fireworks, who was promising to give trouble. + +Mackay stood a little way off, and surveyed the team critically. + +"Tighten up Fireworks' girth, Emu," he cried. "He'll slip his saddle in +a minute." + +Emu Bill proceeded deftly to obey the instruction, annoyed with himself +because of having overlooked the defect. + +"I'll swear the cunning brute has shrunk hissel' on purpose," he +growled. "I pulled him in as tight as a windlass barrel just a second +ago. Woah, Fireworks, woah! ye cantankerous son o' a gun." + +But Fireworks was intent on creating a diversion. For some time he had +been allowed to roam the desert at his own sweet will, and probably his +memory of pack-saddles and such like encumbrances had faded into happy +oblivion, but now that he felt the old galling weight on his back his +vicious temper was aroused to fury, and he stood waving his +weird-looking head about in savage sweeps, and ever and again essayed to +roll over, pack-saddle and all. When Emu Bill approached him now, the +recalcitrant animal suddenly began a series of frisky antics, pulling +wildly at the nose rope which the Shadow clutched firmly, and twisting +its huge bulk into all sorts of contortions. + +"Woah, hang ye!" shouted Bill, again striving to get near. + +In reply Fireworks snorted defiance, then bent himself almost double; a +sharp crack sounded out as the girths burst, and in a moment the sand +was strewn with his load. + +"So that was your little trick, was it? ye measly old quadrooped!" cried +Emu Bill, in disgust. "Well, I reckon you kin try it over again." + +He gathered up the saddle for another effort, but Mackay intervened. + +"It won't do, Bill," he said. "We'll just have the circus repeated. We'd +better postpone the start until the morning, an' meanwhile we'll put +Fireworks through his paces. I didna think the beastie would be so +obstreperous." + +And, indeed, to look at the animal now, no one would have thought that +such a fiery temper lurked in that cumbrous body. Fireworks, after his +unruly performance, stood gazing meekly at the wreckage he had created, +the very picture of innocence. Yet it was a wise policy to break him in +to a more fitting tolerance with his burden before venturing into the +great desert, where mishaps would cause more vexatious delays, and +probably occasion damage which could not then be easily rectified. + +Thus it was that the whole team was unloaded, and the remainder of the +day spent in coaxing the one refractory camel into a more tractable +spirit, a result which Emu Bill and his companion bushman seemed to have +thoroughly accomplished before sundown, and high hopes were entertained +of making an early departure next morning. + +The mail arrived somewhat earlier than usual that night, a fact which +did not surprise any one when they saw Macguire sitting on the box-seat +beside the driver. Mackay sighed wearily when he observed his old enemy. + +"I had hoped I had seen the last o' him," he said to Bob; "but I suppose +the misguided man is looking for trouble, as usual." To his +astonishment, however, Macguire purposely evaded him, and disappeared +rapidly down the workings to where some of his old gang were still +employed on none too lucrative holdings. + +"Perhaps he's got tired of running up against us," said Bob. "I don't +think the game has paid him too well, and he may be turning over the +proverbial new leaf now." + +"Umph!" Mackay's monosyllabic utterance was non-committal, but it was +plain that his faith in that new leaf in the present instance was none +of the strongest. + +The mail brought a letter for each of the boys and one for Mackay, and +on glancing at the handwriting on his envelope Bob was satisfied; the +expected news from home had reached him, after all. Hurriedly he tore it +open, and read the closely written sheets which a fond mother had +penned. He smiled brightly at the anxious opening phrases, which +inquired so minutely about his health and general welfare. "I have +heard," she wrote, "that fever often breaks out in a gold-mining +camp--malaria or gold fever, I think--and I am sending you a small +bottle of quinine, which I want you to promise to take regularly----" +Bob thought that rather good, and read the sentence aloud to Mackay, who +had mastered the contents of his epistle at a hasty glance. That +gentleman was gravely amused. "She's richt about the gold fever," said +he, with, a short laugh, "an' it's a terribly rampagin' disease in its +way, though I dinna think quinine would affect it much. Prussic acid or +some such deadly poison would be the only cure, for once a man gets the +gold fever it remains in his blood a' his life, ready to be stirred up +to violent action at the sight o' a nugget. Ay, it's a bad fever, Bob, +an' we've a' got it in some degree. However, your guid mother needna +fear aboot the other plague--malaria--for neither it nor any other +disease o' the kind can live in Western Australia. You must just write a +note an' tell her that. The air o' this country is too dry an' clear for +any microbe to fancy." + +Bob continued his silent perusal of the letter, and as he got towards +the end a puzzled expression came into his features; it was clear that +the letter from home contained something of more striking import than +the warning against pernicious fevers. The intelligence which disturbed +him was conveyed on the last two sheets, and this was how it ran:-- + +"I know you will be grieved to hear that your uncle Dick is dead. Since +your father was drowned I have never had a line from him; he was the +first to bring the sad news to me, and his own sorrow seemed greater +than he could bear. Your father and he had been inseparable companions +in their youth, and many times before the _Sea King_ sailed on her last +cruise I used to hear them planning out their great schemes for the +future, for your uncle had ever been a wanderer, and was filled with +strange ideas about the riches of some parts of the world he had +visited. He went off to Australia after arranging your poor father's +affairs, and nothing was ever heard of him again. All along I fancied +that it was his money which provided the little income left to us, for +you father's savings could not have been much; sailors are so poorly +paid. The solicitors always put me off when I inquired about it, but now +I know that it was his great kindly heart which went out to the widow +and the fatherless, and caused provision to be made for them out of his +own scanty means. On the morning after you left I received a letter from +a gentleman who had just returned from Australia, and who had been with +him when he died, enclosing a draft for two hundred pounds, and saying +that that was the sum realized by the sale of your uncle's effects, and +that he had been entrusted to send it to me. No other information was +given, and no address was on the letter. When I showed it to my +solicitors they told me the truth of what I had guessed from the first. +My boy, you were always uncle Dick's favourite, and you have every cause +to remember him gratefully. If you can find out where he died, erect a +little cross over his resting-place for me. I would so much like to have +it done." + +Bob read and re-read the strange story which brought back the past so +vividly to his mind, and his eyes grew moist in spite of himself. + +"No bad news, I hope, lad," spoke Mackay, kindly. + +Bob struggled with his emotion for a moment without success, then handed +the pages to his interrogator in silence. Mackay read them over +carefully, with a face showing keen concern; indeed, he seemed even more +moved than Bob when he had finished. "Ay, ay," he said huskily, "he was +a good man, an' there's too few o' his sort in the world. But you'll dae +what your mother bids you. You will put up that cross afore you leave +Australia. I'll--I'll help you to find the place." Then he turned +abruptly to Jack, who had read his letter, and was now gazing at the +envelope with profound content. + +"You've been gloatin' over your billy doo for some time, Jack," he said +lightly. "I don't suppose your news has affected your appetite." + +Jack flushed, and made haste to secrete his precious missive; but in his +hurry the envelope fell to the floor, and it was observed that it bore +the same peculiar postmark as Bob's. The boy grabbed it up in confusion, +while the big man laughed. Whereupon Jack waxed indignant. + +"What about your own billet-doux?" he asked mischievously. "I think I +noticed you got a letter too." + +"Here it is, young Lochinvar, here it is," and Mackay flung an open +sheet at the youth. "Read it, read it; don't mind me. I'm sort o' +pleased to mak' it known that somebody thinks o' me." + +Obeying his request, Jack cleared his throat and read aloud the +following:-- + + + "DEAR MR. MACKAY.-- + + "I have just heard that you are about to start out on a journey + into the interior, and I thought I would remind you of a little + account I have against you for several items you sent for last + week. The amount is £10 17s. 6s. I'll let you off the odd sixpence, + but please send your cheque for the remainder before you start. The + Never Never is such an uncertain country--to get out of. Best + wishes. + + "Yours sincerely, + "J. RANNIGAN." + + +"Now, that is what I call a thoughtful letter," commented Jack, when he +had finished. + +"A vera thoughtful letter indeed," agreed Mackay, dryly. + +Then they set about preparing tea, and while they were thus engaged the +Shadow made his appearance, evidently in great good humour. He carried +something concealed in his hand which he gazed at tenderly as he +entered, then consigned it to some secret recess in his scanty wardrobe. + +"I reckon," said he, "that I want an invite to your banquet to-night. I +hasn't even an inch o' damper left in my tent. I broke up the happy home +too soon, I calc'late." + +Mackay laughed. "I ken you're a grand cook, Shadow," said he, "an', +providin' ye behave, we'll be glad to have your company. Ye'll get flour +in that bag at your feet, an' water in the kerosene-tin beside ye. Now +ye can take my place an' mak' wi' these ingredients something nice an' +tasty. I'll even gie ye a tootle on the flute to inspire ye in yer +efforts." + +The lad's countenance fell. "I see I has come along too soon," he +grumbled. Then he fished about in the folds of his shirt and drew forth +the treasure he had secreted. In the quickly fading light it was not +easily observable what he held in his hand; but when the wondering trio +saw him convey the same to his mouth their worst fears were realized. +Before they could protest, the wailing of a mouth-organ filled the tent. +The Shadow blew with might and main, an ecstatic joy illuminating his +features, his foot keeping time to the music he perpetrated, and sending +up clouds of dust from the sandy floor. That he anticipated a sudden +closure was very apparent by the fierce energy he displayed, yet, +strangely enough, he was allowed to finish the first tune without +mishap; it was only when he adroitly essayed to glide off into a fresh +outburst that Mackay intervened. + +"Ye should play that first spasm mair pianissimo," he ventured mildly, +while Jack sprinkled water about to allay the dust. "Now, put that +orchestra in your pocket, an' keep it there until we get far oot into +the bush. Then ye can kill the crows wi' it if ye like." + +"Right O!" responded the Shadow, seemingly delighted to have escaped so +easily. "Now, I reckon I'll bake a real bowser brownie for tea, an' +we'll have a real ole blow out, we will." + +"Let us eat, drink, and be merry," remarked Bob, thoughtfully, "for +to-morrow we----" + +"Start for the Never Never," prompted Jack. + +Shortly after sunrise the camel team was once more loaded up, and now +Fireworks' demeanour was beyond reproach; he submitted to his burden +with philosophic calm, and only once showed his playful disposition by +tearing the sleeve from Emu Bill's shirt while that gentleman was +standing too conveniently near his head. By eight o'clock all was ready +for the start, the last breakfast in camp had been partaken of, and the +various members of the expedition were standing at their posts awaiting +the signal for advance. The population of Golden Flat had turned out _en +masse_ to witness the departure. It was not every day that an expedition +left for the distant Never Never. Nuggety Dick and Dead Broke Dan were +there looking anything but happy; one word from Mackay even now would +have made them join the party but the leader of the expedition sternly +refused to meet their appealing eyes. Once more he glanced over the team +critically, as if mentally weighing up the amount of endurance +contained in the four powerful animals. His scrutiny seemed to give him +much satisfaction, and he smiled grimly as he turned his face to the +east. + +"All ready, boys?" he cried. + +"All ready!" came the unanimous reply. + +Then, just as he was about to signal "Right away," the crowd parted, and +Macguire struggled to the front. + +"Hold on a minute, boys!" he shouted. "I want a word with Mackay." + +As for Mackay, he viewed the interrupter with considerable disfavour. + +"If you had any differences to settle, you might have come along last +night," he said. "What's the trouble wi' you?" + +"Why, man, I just want to say that I bear no ill feeling, an' that I +hope you'll be successful, that's all. What course are ye making?" + +Mackay gazed at the questioner in puzzled wonderment. "I'm glad to have +your good wishes, Macguire," he said slowly. "Our course is east by +north to a place that's a bit harder to find than Golden Flat. Let her +go, boys!" + +The long whips cracked, Misery's bell began to chime; the crowd stepped +back to give the ponderous team free passage, uniting as they did so in +a stentorian Coo-ee, that strange call of the bush which combines in its +notes the acme of feeling and good fellowship. Bob and Jack coo-eed +lustily in return, Mackay waved a cheery goodbye, Emu Bill and Never +Never Dave chaffed their sorrowing acquaintances with tender affection +as they passed along the line, and the Shadow, pulling at Fireworks' +nose-rope with one hand contrived to unearth his mouth-organ with the +other. Strongly he blew, and stepped forth jauntily to the stirring time +of "The Girl I left Behind Me," but his charge steadfastly refused to +accelerate his gait in such undignified fashion, and the Shadow had +perforce to seek around in his _répertoire_ for a more suitable march, +which he soon found in "There is a Happy Land," and he kept up his +melancholy dirge until he heard Never Never's voice raised in dire +threat against his person. Then there was silence, broken only by the +tinkling bell of the leading camel, and the vague echoes of Golden +Flat's farewells. + +Thus they headed out towards the desert, into the land of the Never +Never. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +An Awkward Predicament + + +The first halt was made at noon when little more than eight miles had +been traversed. The country encountered from the start had been a soft +powdery sand formation, with occasional belts of dwarfed eucalypti, +which intervened from the north. Progress was necessarily slow at this +early stage of the journey, for it was advisable to allow the camels to +harden to their work gradually. + +Mackay had so far led the march, steering an approximate course by the +sun, but immediately they stopped, he called Bob aside for a conference. + +"You see," he said, "when we went out before we started from a more +northerly latitude, an' I calculate we should hit our old track in +another hundred and eighty miles if we keep angling in a wee bit north +o' east. I've got a copy o' the log up to pretty near the--the finish, +an' here's where I think we ought to join on to Bentley's route." He +unfolded a long track chart which he carried in his hand; it was made up +of several sheets of ordinary note-paper, gummed laterally together, and +on its much faded surface several inky hieroglyphics stood out bravely. +He pointed to a besmeared cross nearly halfway over the chart, and Bob, +looking closely, read the printed lettering beside it: "Fortunate +Spring, lat. 28° 17´ 5´´, long. 125° 19´ 6´´." + +[Illustration: "HE UNFOLDED A LONG TRACK CHART WHICH HE CARRIED IN HIS +HAND"] + +"We are somewhere under the twenty-fifth parallel just now," reflected +Bob. "That means we are about 120 miles south of your old track. I'd +better draw out our present position on my own chart and mark a compass +course for Fortunate Spring." + +Mackay looked relieved. "Be vera exact wi' your calculations, my lad," +he said earnestly, as he walked away. + +Bob took the sun's altitude three times while a hasty lunch was being +prepared, and laboriously checked each result to five places of +decimals, then he carefully marked their temporary camp's position on +his still bare chart, and drew a dotted line thence to the location of +Fortunate Spring. + +"We'll have to travel nor'-east half north to make it," said he. + +Mackay nodded cheerfully. "I hope we are lucky in strikin' water," he +observed. "About ten days is our stretch without it, for the camels +can't stand more, and they can't stand that often either." + +"We'll hit it right enough," commented Emu Bill, hopefully. + +"If it's in the country, you kin bet I'll smell it," grunted Never +Never. "I'm strong at nosin' out water, I am." + +"Oh, after that one hundred and eighty miles, I'll know where we are," +said Mackay; "but there's always some little uncertainty as we +understood from the first, an' it won't be outside o' our calculations +if we do go thirsty a bit." + +"Not a blessed fraction!" cried the Shadow, decanting the boiling tea +from the billy into the enamelled cups. "Who says sugar? You, Emu? Well, +there ain't none; have a try at saccharine, an' be happy." He gulped +down his own portion hurriedly, then ran off to round up Fireworks, +which was beginning to stray too far from his neighbours, and ten +minutes later the expedition was once more on the move. + +The next several days passed uneventfully; the same uninspiring desert +sands prevailed, and the intense heat haze radiating from its shimmering +surface affected the eyes of the travellers, causing them to quiver and +blink painfully, while overhead the sun stared down from a cloudless +sky. Not a trace of moisture was visible anywhere, certainly no water +could exist amid these barren wastes, and all hoped most anxiously that +a change in the monotonous landscape might soon take place. + +"It's a pretty thirsty lookin' start we've made," said Mackay, when a +week had elapsed, and they still struggled along ankle deep in the +burning sands. Bob was walking by his side keeping an eager eye on what +appeared to be a light cloud-patch on the far horizon. He had noticed it +for some time, but was unwilling to mention his hopes in case they might +be doomed to early disappointment. Now, however, he felt pretty sure +that his eyes had not deceived him. + +"There's a belt of timber straight ahead," he announced quietly, after +Mackay had spoken. The elder man shifted his gaze somewhat, and with +puckered eyes surveyed the slight break on the horizon's even curve. + +"You're quite richt, Bob," he remarked, with a sigh of relief. "I've +been steerin' by the shadow o' the sun across the camels, an' I've +almost mesmerized mysel', I think, or I should have seen those trees +earlier. It's a hard course for a bushman, Bob, that fractional +nor'-easter you gave me." + +Emu Bill and Never Never Dave had by this time found it necessary to +assist in pulling the camels through the sand. Jack, leading Misery, had +not much difficulty with his charge, for that wiry animal plodded +steadily onward with ponderous movement despite all obstacles, but +Fireworks was by no means as energetic as he once was, and the Shadow +anathematized him roundly as he, with bent shoulders, strained at the +nose-rope of the reluctant beast, a proceeding which the two bushmen had +soon to emulate. Now, when these weary individuals heard of the +impending change in the land surface, they gave vent to their joy in +sundry whoops of delight. + +"It looks likely country for water, Mac," cried Never Never, as they +drew nearer, and could plainly distinguish the feathery scrub in their +course. The sand too as they advanced, hardened considerably, and here +and there great dioritic blows reared their heads above the plain. + +"You're right there, Dave," responded Mackay, after a while, "if there's +been any rain in the district for the last year or two we ought to find +a rock hole--Hillo! Easy boys, and get your rifles ready. I see a wheen +niggers dodgin' aboot among the scrub." + +"Nigs!" echoed Emu Bill and Never Never almost with one voice. There was +an inflection of decided pleasure in the exclamation, as if these two +had longed for a skirmish to ease the routine of their journey. Mackay +himself seemed in no way displeased, yet he took care to impress caution +on his impetuous associates. "A spear or boomerang can kill as well's a +bullet," he warned, while each man examined his rifle. "Now, Jack, don't +be so anxious to get forrit, an' keep on the lee side o' Misery an' no' +at his head when we get near." + +As yet Bob was unable to distinguish any aborigines among the sparse +scrub, but as they continued their wary advance he soon perceived +several dusky forms crouching amid the timber, and his heart gave a +bound when the savage creatures suddenly stood up and united in a shrill +yell of defiance. He had never dreamt that these wild denizens of the +bush could be so hideous; they seemed more ape than man, their faces +were covered by long tangling hair black as jet, and only white gleaming +eyes were visible; their bodies were repulsively scarred and painted. +This much Bob had time to notice, then a hail of spears rustled out from +the scrub, fell short, and buried their barbed tips in the sand at their +feet. And now the bush seemed alive with blacks; uncouth forms sprang +from the side of each tiny sapling where they had been standing +motionless, and harsh guttural screams filled the air. + +"They're a bit more numerous than I thought," muttered Mackay, calling a +halt, "an' I've an idea that if we dinna rush them pretty quick, they'll +rush us. Now, Jack, swing Misery round an' let him stand, then grab your +rifle." Jack obeyed promptly, and at that moment another shower of +spears hurtled overhead. + +"By gum!" growled Never Never, "they'll get our range next try." + +"They're comin' for us now, I reckon!" cried the Shadow, and of that +there could be no doubt; the shrieking horde had evidently decided to +exterminate the invaders of their domain without further delay. On they +came, brandishing their waddies and boomerangs, a compact mass of +blood-thirsty black fury. + +"Now, boys!" roared Mackay, "Aim low and stop them." A thunderous +discharge followed his words, and six rifles spat out their leaden +challenge to the foe. The wonderful din created by the exploding cordite +apparently stupefied the blacks for a moment; they ceased their wild +rush, and gazed with astonishment at those of their number who had +fallen. Despite Mackay's oft-repeated animosity towards the aborigines +in general, he could not countenance wholesale slaughter. "They're a +poor lot, boys," said he; yet even while he commiserated with them the +savages joined in another determined rush. There must have been over +twenty of them, and so impetuously did they come that they were within +twenty yards of the white defenders before a second volley made them +hesitate, and even now they did not all stop; a few stalwart warriors +kept on their mad course, and hurled themselves almost upon the reeking +rifle muzzles. If the attack had been made in full force things would +have gone hard with the expedition. As it was, however, the little group +had no difficulty in beating back the frenzied band. The Shadow and Jack +were in their element; they little recked of danger when plying their +heated weapons, though the vengeful club of one of the natives had +missed Jack's head by little more than a hair's breadth, and the +Shadow's face had been severely gashed by a flying boomerang. Bob could +not fail to observe how serious matters would have been had the natives +made their onrush in skirmishing order; their close blocked formation +made it impossible for even the most random shots to miss their billet, +and now as the savage and discomfited creatures sullenly withdrew, they +dragged with them many maimed and wounded comrades. + +"I can't understand why the beggars are so stupid," said Bob, watching +the last of them disappear in the distance. + +"Ye may learn more o' their tactics before our journey is finished," +Mackay observed quietly; "at the same time, there is a wonderful +difference among the tribes, an' that is where the explorer's danger +lies. He may judge from a nomadic spiritless lot which he may chance to +meet that a' natives are the same, and he may gie his life for the +mistake later on." + +By this time the team was again on the move, and within a few minutes a +halt was made in the densest part of the scrub, while Never Never and +Emu Bill searched around for water. But the search was vain, no welcome +spring or rock-hole could be found, and a heavy gloom began to affect +the spirits of the party whose hopes had been raised so high only to be +thus rudely dashed. Even Mackay, usually most cheerful in times of +stress and danger, looked grave as he reflected upon their somewhat +unenviable position. He knew what the others had not calculated upon. He +knew that the camels were already at their last extremity of endurance; +accustomed as they had been while at Golden Flat to drink every few +days, they had not absorbed their full supply before starting. Misery +alone, hardened veteran of many desert journeys that he was, had drunk +his fill, and now his great reserve of strength showed plainly over the +other beasts. + +"I reckon them nigs had a mighty cheek to make such a howlin' fight for +nothin'," complained the Shadow. "One would have thought they was +protectin' a lake o' cool crystal water----" + +"Slow up on that, Shad, or I'll squelch ye wi' an empty water-bag," +warned Emu Bill, who could not stand reference to such an unlimited +supply of the precious fluid at this moment. + +"There must be water about, all the same," said Bob. "These natives, I +suppose, get thirsty, like other people. I'm off to have a look round +myself," and he sped away. + +"Be vera careful, Bob, be careful----" + +But Bob was already out of earshot, pursuing a dogged course eastward in +the wake of the retreating blacks. In his hand he grasped a heavy Colt +revolver, which he had extricated from the holster on his belt. A wild +idea had seized him; he meant, if possible, to capture one of the blacks +and make him disclose the treasure they had guarded so fiercely. It was +a foolhardy plan which had so hastily formulated in his brain, and in +his calmer moments Bob would have been quick to realize what a desperate +venture was that which he had now so lightly undertaken. But the urgent +necessity of finding water was powerfully impressed upon him, and +caution for the time being was thrown to the winds. Eagerly he rushed +along, and in a few minutes had passed out of sight of his companions; +then suddenly two ebony-skinned warriors barred his path; he had +blundered right on to them by the merest accident. At a glance he saw +that they were armed with waddies and boomerangs only, their spears +having probably been discharged in the fray from which they had fled. +Yet a waddie at close quarters is no mean weapon, and Bob pulled himself +up promptly, and with a stern smile levelled his revolver. His +astonishment was great when, with a curious gurgle of mingled surprise +and fear, the dusky twain dropped their weapons and incontinently fled +before him. And now Bob's heart was filled with wrath because of the +cowardice of the pair. Had they only waited and surrendered quietly to +his request--though how he could have made them understand his wishes he +did not stop to think--all might have been well. With scarce a pause he +gave chase, covering the ground in long impetuous strides, but it soon +became evident that unless something unforeseen occurred to check the +flight of the fugitives, he could never hope to overtake them. On they +sped, clearing the sand in great bounds, even stopping at intervals to +gaze back at their pursuer. Bob's chagrin was deep, and he sent one or +two revolver bullets crashing after the disappearing couple which had +the effect of making them run the faster, while far in the rear the +excited cries of his anxious comrades showed that they were now +concerning themselves over his prolonged absence. + +Yet the ardour of the pursuit had taken possession of Bob; with a mighty +effort he managed to quicken his pace so that he actually drew up +considerably on the fleet-footed pair--scarce fifty yards divided them. +"Another spurt and I've got them," thought Bob, and he clenched his +teeth and strove boldly in the attempt. Now thirty yards only separated +them, now twenty, now ten. Bob chuckled grimly to himself at the +prospect of after all being successful in the chase, and stretched out +his hand, then in an instant the hitherto level course came to an abrupt +stop, a layer of branches and spinifex grass spread right across the +track. The blacks had cleared it at a leap, but before Bob had time to +prepare for a spring he had staggered into the midst of the cut +brushwood, and at once felt himself sinking down into space. It all +occurred in a second or so. He clutched wildly at the pigmy branches as +he descended through them, but they broke in his hands, and with a rush +and a plunge he fell downwards into an unknown depth. + +When he recovered himself, about a minute later, he became aware that he +was standing, considerably shaken and bruised, waist deep in some +semi-solid fluid at the bottom of a natural shaft, which he mentally +calculated to be at least twenty feet deep. He had found water for a +surety, and now would have given much to get out of its slimy embrace, +but the steep dioritic walls were quite unscalable. Bob was hopelessly a +prisoner. Then did he blame himself most bitterly for his mistaken +ardour and lack of perception. The wily natives had but pretended to be +overcome at the last wild rush so as to lead him directly over the +subterranean trap. + +"Mackay was certainly right," he muttered. "Their cunning is nothing +short of devilish; and after being told of that, here I go like a fool +and prove it for myself." + +He had little time, however, for unprofitable moralizings, and he peered +up and around his strange prison-house with anxious eyes, yet his +surroundings were of so murky a nature that he could only vaguely guess +the description of the trap into which he had fallen. His gaze was +instinctively directed toward the gaping hole in the brushwood through +which he had fallen, though what he expected to see there he did not +very well know. But he now realized the nature of the blacks too fully +to believe for a moment that they intended to leave him to his fate +without further molestation. + +"Why, the water is bad enough as it is," he said, with a forced attempt +at pleasantry. "They'll certainly come to fish me out before long." + +He had not been in his awkward predicament many minutes when a black +grinning face stared down at him. Bob shuddered and crouched closer to +the damp rocks; he was half prepared for a stone to be thrown or a spear +to be poked tantalizingly in his direction, but no such proceedings were +taken. The demoniacally leering face continued to look down at him +without movement for several seconds, when it was joined by another +equally hideous; they belonged to the two savages who had led him such +an unfortunate chase. They had now returned to view their victim after +having probably given the alarm to their fellows. Bob groaned in dismay, +but returned their gaze with stoical complacency, having not yet fully +comprehended his true position. + +At length, however, his strange gaolers, with many guttural +exclamations, began to cover up the tell-tale gap in the layer of furze; +then their prisoner's senses returned to him with a rush, and his +emotions almost overwhelmed him. The blacks surely meant to cover up the +hole so that his companions might not find him, and when they would +depart after vain searchings, he would be left to the tender mercies of +the "stupid" natives he had so commiserated! In truth Bob's cup of +bitterness was filled to overflowing. + +But he decided, nevertheless, to do his best to prevent the success of +their scheme. His revolver was still dry, for he had by some odd +instinct clung to it tenaciously despite his demoralizing downfall, and +now he became aware for the first time that he held it in his hand. He +fired two shots upwards in rapid succession. Operations ceased on the +instant, and Bob felt comforted. He knew that Mackay would soon seek him +out if any clue as to his whereabouts was left. His rejoicings, however, +were premature, and very speedily checked. As he gazed at the sky +through the gap which gave him light, he noticed the aperture slowly yet +surely grow narrower and narrower. The blacks were pushing the +superfluous brush over the opening by the aid of long sticks! Bob +shouted with the full force of his lungs and discharged the remaining +shots in his revolver upwards, but only a hoarse cackle of satisfaction +from the natives answered his attempts at communication with the outside +world, and soon--as the last glimpse of sky was shut out--he was +enveloped in absolute darkness. + +"Well, I assuredly could not have landed myself in a worse fix if I had +tried," he soliloquized with wonderful calm. "Here I am, shut up in a +twenty-feet water-hole in the middle of the Australian desert and +surrounded by hostile savages. That's pretty good for a start--and, I'm +afraid, for a finish too." He continued his unpleasant musings, while he +carefully reloaded his revolver. Then he wondered what his companions +would do when he failed to appear, and a ray of hope flashed across his +sorely tried brain. Mackay and Emu Bill were expert bushmen, and indeed +so was Never Never Dave. He had often heard them speak of tracking up +clues of even the very flimsiest nature; might they not, after all, be +able to follow the slight impressions left by his footsteps on the sandy +gravel?... What a cruel irony of Fate to plunge him headlong into what +he most desired to find--water. Had he been caught in a sand-hole he +would not have felt so much aggrieved; but water, of all things! While +thinking in this strain, he remembered that, though he had been +extremely thirsty all day, he had not yet tasted of his find. But his +thirst had effectually gone from him, and he abhorred the slimy touch of +the fluid which encircled his limbs. Suddenly he felt some huge creature +brush against his knee, and then climb up against him with many a +wriggle and splutter. What new horror was this? Bob was anything but +timid in temperament, yet he shivered at the sinuous contact of this +unknown thing, and endeavoured frantically to shake it off, but it only +clung the tighter. + +Some little time now elapsed, to Bob it seemed like half an hour, for +the moments dragged like ages, though five minutes would have been a +nearer estimate. Then a subdued muttering was heard above, and he +expected every instant to see more hideous faces grinning at him through +the bushy covering. He guessed that the whole tribe had now arrived to +witness his plight; and he was not far wrong, for nearly all the +warriors whose powers of locomotion had not been interfered with earlier +in the day had assembled overhead. The weary sojourner in the depths +kept his gaze fixed on the roof of the shaft where one or two gleams of +light filtered through the last unevenly laid scrub; his eyes had by +this time grown accustomed to the gloom of his environment, and while he +watched he carefully cocked his revolver, and adjusted it to fire on the +hair trigger, so that his aim might not be disturbed at a critical +juncture. Soon a gaunt black hand drew aside the branches; Bob's haste +was his own undoing. Had he waited long enough the oily-skinned savage +might have let in the light more fully, but as it was he fired, and a +howl of pain told him he had not fired in vain; but the brushwood fell +back into position, and his prison was left as dark as ever. He now made +an effort to climb up the walls of the dank and evil-smelling pit in +which he was immured; but the flinty formations exposed were dripping +with moisture, and slippery, and offered no place for foothold. Bob +would have given much then for a match, there were a few in the pockets +of his nether garments, but they were well submerged beneath the level +of the water, and consequently useless. The floundering animal that had +climbed against his legs next aroused his curiosity; he could not +imagine what sort of creature it might be, and his courage was not +sufficient to prompt his making a practical investigation as to its form +or temper with his hand, which, as it afterwards turned out, was just as +well for the hand. Another lull ensued, and he began to be alarmed at +the silence of his dusky gaolers. Were they premeditating some sudden +and novel doom for himself, or had they indeed abandoned him to die in +this horrible water-trap? And where were his companions all the time? To +relieve the monotony he fired two more shots upwards at random and was +rejoiced to hear another yell of pain from outside, but a retaliation in +the shape of a fusillade of stones came crashing down, missing him by a +few inches only. Again he fired, and again. Bob had grown desperate, he +did not much care what form the reply of the natives would take, but now +he heard an answering shot in the distance, while near at hand the +Shadow's well-known voice hilloed out lustily. There now appeared to be +considerable agitation among the blacks above; their feet pattered on +the sand confusedly, and then a shrill yell intimated to Bob clearly +enough that his tormentors had taken flight. + +He was about to congratulate himself heartily on escaping so +opportunely from a distinctly awkward predicament, when he heard the +sand crunch under hurrying footsteps, and the Shadow, now close above, +commenced to shout his name. He was evidently bent on following the +retreating natives, for he halted not a moment, but kept up his mad rush +forward. Before the horrified prisoner below could raise an alarm, he +had jumped impetuously into the snare which had already done its work so +well, and a moment later he tumbled down heavily head over heels by +Bob's side. The spray he threw up almost blinded Bob, and the fetid +odours that were thus again let loose, caused him to gasp wildly. His +comrade in misfortune struggled to his feet with eloquent maledictions, +and his amazement when he recognized Bob--the light was now streaming +down through the gap he had made--was very genuine indeed. + +"What in thunder is you doing here?" he cried. + +Bob considered the question rather superfluous under the circumstances. + +"Me? Oh, I'm fishing!" he replied laconically. + +The Shadow ceased his flow of language for a moment, and examined the +walls of his gloomy habitation with interest. It did not take him long +to grasp the situation. + +"Hang it, that was a tidy trick to play on a peaceable sort o' cuss like +me. They've bagged the pair of us, an' if we'd had the savvy o' a +mosquito, we didn't oughter be here," he snorted in extreme disgust. + +"It is a bit humiliating," admitted Bob, not at all displeased that the +wonderfully acute Shadow had blundered into the trap as easily as +himself. It tended to soothe his wounded feelings in no little degree. +"But all the same," he added brightly, "we've found water, and that's +worth some inconvenience, isn't it?" + +The Shadow grunted something unintelligible and began to prospect in the +almost viscous fluid with both hands. + +"There's some slimy crawler shoved up against me," he growled, "an' I +reckon I'm goin' to break his little back, so that he won't have no +appetite to feed on us afterwards." He groped around viciously. + +"I have had a good half hour of its company, whatever it is," remarked +Bob. "But the splash you made frightened him off for a bit. But hold +hard! Shadow, hold hard, man! Don't you see what it is?" + +Bob's eyes, more accustomed to the dull environment than his +companion's, had now detected an unusually large-sized iguana struggling +in the water; it had apparently fallen in from above, as they had done, +and its snapping jaws looked decidedly dangerous. The Shadow ceased his +investigations with remarkable celerity, then lifted up his voice in +fluent condemnation of all sorts and conditions of crawling creatures. +When he had exhausted his store of expletives, he made a vain effort to +climb the oozy walls of the cavern, and succeeded only in getting a +fresh douche for his pains. + +"I wonder who'll come first," he murmured feebly, "Mackay or them +savages? I reckon we shid know pretty sudden." + +They were not left much longer in doubt. The report of Mackay's powerful +rifle broke the silence, they recognized it by the heavy charge of +powder it fired and the series of shrill yells which answered it showed +that the natives were still in the vicinity. Anon the anxious pair +heard the scrub break before the advance of some hurrying person, and +the crunch, crunch of feet in the sand. + +"Go back and mind the camels, Jack," they heard Mackay's decisive voice +ring out. "I'll find Bob, if he's above ground, an' that reckless young +rascal o' a Shadow too." + +"But we ain't above ground!" roared the last-named youth, forgetting +that his voice would be absorbed in the echoes of the shaft before it +reached the surface. On came the stalwart bushman, and the fierce +invective against the blacks in general, and these savages in +particular, which issued from his lips as he ran, came as a revelation +to Bob, who had never heard his friend so moved. + +In a few moments he had reached the vicinity of the pit wherein the +adventurous pair were entombed, and Bob made ready to signal once more +with his revolver, but such action was unnecessary. The experienced eye +of Mackay had quickly noticed the cut brushwood, and he bore down +towards it without hesitation. Then, thrusting his head through the +opening in the bushy covering, he surveyed the captives below with a +grim smile of amusement. "So this is where you are, my lads," said he. +His relief was so evident that Bob and the Shadow felt even more ashamed +because of the trouble they had caused than there was any need for. Then +Bob found his speech. + +"There's water here," he cried. + +"Water!" Mackay's ruddy features positively glowed with pleasure. "Well, +well, I shouldna wonder but what you've taken the only means o' finding +it, an' though it was a novel sort o' method, an' just a trifle +dangerous, we canna be too thankful that it has succeeded. Now, you'll +hae to content yoursel's a bit longer while I see aboot gettin' a rope +to pu' ye up----" + +"Don't go away, boss!" howled the Shadow. "Them yelpin' baboons'll be +back in two shakes if ye does." But Mackay had no intention of going +away; he proceeded to signal with his rifle, and soon the entire camp, +camels and all, arrived in answer to his call. Great was the hilarity of +Jack and the two bushmen when they learned of the strange position in +which Bob and the Shadow had been found; but their joy was real indeed +that water had been discovered, after all, and when they raised their +dripping comrades to the surface they embarrassed them more by their +expressions of gratitude than by their display of what under the +circumstances would surely have been but a pardonable levity. + +Now came the tedious process of drawing water for the camels to drink, +and also for refilling the almost dry canvas bags which Remorse carried. +For the latter purpose the thick sand-impregnated fluid was laboriously +filtered through a sheet of calico, so that a fair amount of its solid +matter was eliminated. But it was not the sediment that was the most +objectionable feature of the liquid; it simply stank with vile odours, +so that Emu Bill and Never Never Dave, who had undertaken the duty of +hauling up the buckets, had anything but a pleasant time while they were +so engaged. The boys marvelled at the extraordinary capacity of the +camels for the uninviting solution; between them they managed to absorb +well over a hundred gallons, and when at length they were satisfied, +very little save mud remained at the bottom of the shaft. + +"I would never have believed these natives capable of such a smart +trick as that they played on me," said Bob, who had been unusually +silent since his rescue. "Imagine the forethought of the beggars in +covering up that confounded hole, and then luring me directly on to it!" + +"They're no' so deficient in gumption as you at first considered, Bob, +my lad," answered Mackay, with a twinkle in his eye. "However, I don't +think they covered up the shaft exactly for your benefit. Just look----" +He kicked a few of the branches aside and drew Bob's attention to their +wholly sapless nature. "These same bits o' twigs have done duty for many +a long day. The natives cover the water principally to prevent +evaporation as much as possible, but also to keep all sorts o' animals +an' reptiles from fallin' into it an' so spoilin' the flavour. The water +has vera likely lain in that rock-hole for years, an' only such +judicious economy on their part has left us enough for our needs." + +"I reckon they'll have to shift their lodgings pretty soon," laughed the +Shadow, "for they'll have a pretty hard job gettin' a drink when we +leave, an' the next man that does a dive into the reservoir as Bob an' +me did, shid strike something hard at the bottom." + +The afternoon was already far advanced, but when Never Never Dave +suggested that they should camp where they were until morning, Mackay +would not hear of such a proceeding. + +"We'll find trouble soon enough without lookin' for it, Dave," said he, +"an' if there's one thing I dislike it's camping near a crowd o' niggers +in the night time. They would try to swipe us out before morning, for +the miserable vermin get vera brave after sundown. No, boys, we'll head +out right now for Fortunate Spring. Fetch out the compass, Jack, an' let +me have a look at that course again. The sun has shifted a bit since I +worked out the correct shadow to steer by." + +Immediately afterwards Misery's bell began to chime, and the camel team +moved on its weary way. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +The Finding of Fortunate Spring + + +For several days after leaving the scene of Bob's adventure the +travellers struggled over a most disheartening tract of country. The +timber belt amid which they had discovered water proved to be but a +narrow strip, extending down from the north-west; it evidently marked +the course of an ancient river-bed, for immediately beyond its scope the +sullen desert appeared bare of all vegetation, save for occasional +clumps of saltbush and tufts of spinifex grass. Over this barren waste +they forced their dogged course, starting at sunrise and halting towards +noon, when the heat became too terribly oppressive both for man and +beast; then in the evening they would continue the journey, sometimes +marching late into the night. It was well for them that water had been +found so opportunely, for assuredly none promised in the arid sands they +were now encountering. The fifth day, however, brought with it the hope +of better things. Away to the east the landscape took on a much more +broken aspect, a feature which gradually extended right across the line +of travel. Great dry gullies, starting from apparent nothingness, tore +up the plain in all directions, and giant boulders of desert sandstone +outcropped in prodigal profusion. And this drastic change in the land +surface cheered the wanderers mightily, for though in itself it offered +greater obstacles to progress than the weary sand-flats, it relieved the +eyes, which had become so weary of gazing at the seemingly everlasting +monotonous desert, and uplifted their hearts strangely. + +Another day, and several mouldering ridges surrounded them; mere +hillocks of sand they were, yet, rising as they did abruptly from an +even expanse, they appeared in the distance as precipitous mountain +steeps, and it was hard to believe that their grandeur would fade away +at a closer view. Within these guarding barriers, a beautiful white +tableland lay spread, so white and pure that it glittered like marble in +the sun's rays. The sight was a dazzlingly splendid one, and Jack, who +had been the first to climb the gentle elevation hiding the valley from +the south, had exclaimed in delight-- + +"What a huge lake we are coming to; it looks like a great frosted +Christmas card!" + +"Lake!" Mackay had answered, almost sorrowfully. "Ay, it's a lake that +will give us a maist desperate thirst, instead o' quenching what we've +got." + +And soon the truth of this remark was borne painfully on them all, for +the lake was a mass of crusted and crystallized salt, that crushed like +tinder beneath their feet and showered over the heads of the voyagers in +sparkling clouds of finest dust. It filled their ears and eyes and +nostrils; they inhaled the minute grains with every breath; it covered +their tattered clothing in a gauzy film of white. + +"Well, I'm blest!" ejaculated Emu Bill, "if this ain't the cruellest +joke to play on a thirsty sinner, an' nary a drink within hundreds o' +miles!" + +"Shut up, Bill, an' ye won't swallow so much of it," retorted Never +Never Dave, unsympathetically. Then he was moved to further speech. +"Bless yer soul! It's a whole brewery we'll want afore we gets through +this, I'm thinking." + +"I had an idea," observed Mackay, blandly, "that you two had joined the +temperance party a week or so before we left, so as to get accustomed to +a bit o' a drought." + +"Temperance party!" stormed the unusually loquacious Never Never, "I +reckon this here circus would break up any anti-thirst campaign in +less'n five minutes." + +He would have continued, but his companion sternly rebuked him by +casting at him the words with which he had himself been silenced. After +that not a word was spoken for fully ten minutes, and the camel team +staggered blindly on, floundering through intervening salt wreaths like +ships in a heavy sea. The lake appeared to be nearly six miles in +length, which meant that at least two hours would be spent in the +crossing, for their rate of travel seldom exceeded three miles an hour, +and was more often considerably less. In that time, if each man +satisfied his craving for water from their very limited store, there +would be but little left, and by Bob's calculations they were yet about +thirty miles from the location of Fortunate Spring. But though each of +the little party suffered severely, not one of them made other than +jocular mention of his longing, and Mackay felt proud of the fortitude +and reserve they displayed. He was especially concerned for Bob and +Jack, for they, not having been hardened to such experiences, must have +felt the influence of their salt bath most keenly; but if they were in +any way incommoded they showed no sign. Bob walked by Mackay's side, +talking at intervals concerning the probable geological history of +interior Australia--a subject of endless interest to him. Jack and the +Shadow strode at Misery's head, for now Fireworks needed no guiding hand +at his nose-rope, but followed submissively in the rear of Repentance, +and from snatches of their conversation, which floated to Mackay's ears, +he gathered that Jack was giving his Australian comrade a description of +the snows and frosts of the old country as a set-off to the blazing heat +they were now experiencing. + +"Yes, I reckon I'll go home with you," the Shadow was saying. "It must +be a grand country, wi' no snakes nor centipedes nor other crawlers, an' +nary muskittie to nibble you in your sleep." + +Bob laughed. "I'm afraid the confined spaces at home would hardly suit +him after this," he said. "I don't think I could stand the nature of +things on the other side myself now." + +"Because you're a born wanderer, Bob," smiled Mackay; "an' the world +itself will soon be too small for you." + +At last the end of the salt lake was reached, and cheerfully a path was +forced over the encircling ridges, for all had high hopes of what might +lie beyond. But disappointment again was their portion: the grim, +unbroken desert stretched before them in all its hideous dreariness; the +land of beau desire had not yet come. + +"I remember well," said Mackay, "that Fortunate Spring was in a pretty +bare sort o' country, but it certainly wasna as bad as this, although we +had a hard tussle before we came to it." + +On, on, they struggled; but, if anything, their course became more +difficult as they proceeded. On the following morning a gentle wavy +outline against the sky in the northerly distance warned them of some +impending change, but by this time the members of the expedition had +become spied to their comfortless lot, and scarce dared hope for an +improvement until they neared the portals of their goal, their shadowy +land of El Dorado. + +Gradually the sinuous curves on the horizon loomed up plainer to the +view, and lo! as they crested an intervening sand hillock, a strange +sight met their gaze. As far as the eye could reach west or north, a sea +of undulating sand ridges appeared, rolling down like gigantic breakers +from the dim north-west, the mighty valleys between each swelling +sand-wave being over a hundred yards apart and fully thirty feet deep. +Capping these wonderful billows regular rows of saltbush and spinifex, +so regularly spread, indeed, that in the rosy morning light the whole +scene was like some Brobdingnagian field, with furrows bearing luxurious +vegetation. + +"I reckon we has struck the land o' Goschen at last," said the Shadow, +joyously. + +"It does look pretty," Jack allowed hesitatingly, as they stood to take +in the view, and waited for the others to come up. Indeed, so +unaccustomed had they grown to seeing such close array of even the wiry +desert growths that for the moment all imagined they looked upon a +wildering forest. The saltbush was by the fantasy of mirage exalted to +lordly proportions, and the spiky spinifex patches drooped in the sun's +rays like the spreading fronds of the stately palm. + +Mackay dispelled the illusion; he of all the party seemed ill at ease. + +"I didna think the sand-waves extended so far back," he muttered, half +to himself. Then he added, aloud, "It's no' a land o' promise you're +lookin' at, boys; it's a deceiving land o' misery an' dispair, where +many a good man has lost his life." + +"But what about the beautiful trees and shrubs?" asked Bob, in +wonderment. "They seem to stretch back for miles and miles." + +"It's only another case where distance lends enchantment, as the poet +says, my lad. Your trees are only saltbush, and instead o' growin' +closely, there's over fifty yards between each o' them; it's those +behind that fill in the gaps. The eye can never understand the +perspective o' this country, the air is so clear that distant objects +almost blend wi' what is close at hand." + +He spoke truly. When they forced their way at a difficult angle across +the vast undulations, they discovered to their sorrow that only the +sparsest of vegetation found root on the hill crests, while the long +interstices were absolutely barren. Not only this, but the sand on the +inclines and declivities was so loosely packed that the camels sank to +the knees in their strenuous efforts to scale them, and had to be pulled +over the barring obstacles by sheer force. + +"A day of this will just about finish Remorse," said Mackay, noting how +that meek yet willing animal was labouring under its load. "I think, +Bob, we'd better keep in the trough o' these confounded waves until we +run oot o' them, I ken we must be near the edge as it is, for I mind +that Fortunate Spring was a good day's travel past their eastern limit. +That was why the chief called it by that name. We were vera nearly lost +on those same ridges; we didna find a drop o' water for over a hundred +miles, and we were just about dead beat when we came upon it." + +"How far do they run towards the north?" questioned Bob. + +"Well, Carnegie, who was one o' the finest explorers that ever handled a +sextant, calculated they covered nearly three hundred miles o' West +Australia. What their area is God only knows, yet it must be over fifty +thousand square miles." + +"I should think this would be nearly as bad as the Sahara," said Jack, +as he tugged at Misery's rope. "I haven't seen a drop of water since we +started, unless that which Bob fell into." + +"The Sahara?" echoed Mackay. "Why, we wouldn't ca' it a desert at all. +It's only because it's so near the old country that it is considered to +be anything extraordinary. This country, Jack, wouldna be an explorer's +preserve if it contained as much water as the Sahara. It would be +overrun in every direction by gold-miners." + +Then Jack was silent, marvelling greatly that in his earlier youth at +school he had learned so little concerning the vast sandy wastes of +Australia. Soon, as they kept on their altered course, the retarding +undulations began to grow less and less high, and by late afternoon they +had merged into the monotonous plains, now welcome indeed to the +travellers after their encounter with the formidable sand-ridges. But +their progress that day had barely totalled ten miles, and the camels +were well-nigh exhausted after their extreme exertions. The poor brutes +had had a severe experience from the beginning, and the rough usage was +telling heavily upon their strength. That night they could scarcely +muster up sufficient spirit to chew their usual meal of saltbush tips, +and, after a few weak efforts, Remorse and Repentance lay down in the +sand, while Misery and Fireworks gazed at the little group around the +camp-fire with mute, appealing eyes. + +"I hope we don't have any trouble finding that spring," said Mackay, +anxiously, and instinctively they all turned to Bob with a questioning +look. The young navigator winced as he took out his notebook and +hurriedly checked his previous calculations. + +"We were in latitude 28° 24´ 7´´ at noon to-day," he said quietly; "that +should make us about seven miles only from the location of Fortunate +Spring, allowing we made five miles since lunch." + +"But the longitude, Bob?" asked Mackay. "How do we stand for that?" + +Bob again examined his log-book. "I have it marked at 125° 11´ 17´´," he +answered, "but we came a good bit easterly since that. I'll try it again +in the morning, though I think we're almost on the correct line now, and +should hit the Spring by going due north." + +He handed the book to Mackay, who glanced at the figures and mentally +checked the simpler calculations, but he did not ask for Bob's table of +logarithms, and the young man felt satisfied. Bob, indeed, was sure of +his positions; they had been worked out with painful exactitude, but he +could not help feeling anxious about the morrow. The country in the +vicinity seemed so utterly arid and barren. Could the original figures +he received be correct? Might not possibly some mistake have crept into +Bentley's estimates? He shuddered at the thought, then was immediately +sorry for the passing doubt. Who was he who dared question the accuracy +of an old and tried explorer's chart? Yet Bob went to sleep that night +feeling vaguely uneasy, and by early sunrise he was up taking altitudes, +Jack and the Shadow attending him to mark the time of his observations. +It was nearly nine o'clock before they were ready to move out that +morning; the camels had for a long time refused to be loaded, and when +loaded they could not be prevailed upon to arise to their feet, until +forced to do so by the necessarily cruel expedient of lighting fires +under their noses. + +"That's nothing, Jack," Mackay said with a laugh, for he had noticed the +look of pain on the boy's face. "They get up long before they're hurt; +their hide is like leather, you know, and camels are vera often stubborn +and annoying when there's really no occasion for it." + +But he knew well that the poor animals were not refractory without +reason on this morning, though he endeavoured to make light of the fact. +Wearily the heavily laden beasts trudged along, and when the first hour +passed, and the sand showed signs of hardening, the Shadow made a +valiant effort to infuse life into their hulking movements by blowing at +his long-unused mouth-organ vociferously, and making the air resound +with discordant notes, for his cracked lips could ill glide along the +reeds with any degree of certainty. Bob, who was striding along well in +advance, smiled as he heard the concert thus let loose, and he smiled +the more when the dismal voices of Emu Bill and Never Never Dave were +added to the chorus; and, looking back, he observed these two worthies +prancing on with martial steps, though certainly not with martial grace, +for their bodies were bent as they pulled their reluctant charges +onwards, and their feet, notwithstanding their jaunty uplifting, went +down almost in the same place. And Mackay, looking back at the +perspiring musician, nodded encouragingly, much to that alert youth's +amazement, for he had expected but a rude check as a reward for his +labours. Not only did he thus ostensibly appreciate the lively music, +but he joined in with his comrades lustily in their vocal exercises; and +in this way the labouring train progressed, and almost unnoticeably a +thin, straggling array of mallee and mulga shrubs began to dot the +hardening sand surface, a slight dip in the land had obscured them from +earlier view. By eleven o'clock the sand had merged into the longed-for +iron-pebble strewn plains, and now the scrub was comparatively abundant +all around, and the tough, wiry grasses which the camels loved appeared +in greater profusion. Yet no signs of Fortunate Spring. + +"It can't be far off now," said Bob, hopefully. "I'd better fix our +position again before we go further, in case we might pass it." + +"And that would be easily done, my lad," spoke Mackay. "I remember well +that the water was in a mallee flat, just scrubby country like this, but +there was no kind o' landmark except a fair-sized lime tree which grew +beside it, an' I canna see any lime trees about here." + +"I'll have another shot at the sun," decided Bob, and at once the team +came to a halt, while Jack hastily unstrapped the sextant and +chronometer from Misery's back. + +A few minutes more and Bob had worked out the necessary calculation. + +"I make the latitude come out exactly," he said gravely. + +"Try again, Bob; try again," urged Mackay. + +With sinking heart Bob once more levelled his sextant; the horizon was +easily discernible through the scraggy bush, and the flat itself was +level as could be. + +"I find the latitude reading correct," he repeated, with bloodless lips; +"and the longitude," he added, after a pause, "is the same as it was +this morning, the same as is marked on my chart over the location of the +Spring." + +"We'll soon find it, if it is near abouts," cried Emu Bill, cheerily. +"Don't fret, Bob, them springs have a habit of getting lost at times. +Come on, Never Never, come an' help me to smell it out wi' that tender +nose o' yours." + +And they rushed off into the bush towards the west. The Shadow and Jack +started to follow, but Mackay recalled them. + +"You two had better look around due north," he said, "and I'll tackle +the east myself. Now don't go further than a mile, an' signal wi' a +revolver-shot if ye find anything." + +Without a word they departed on their quest, and Mackay and Bob were +left alone. Calmly the elder man interrogated the lad, who was standing +in an attitude of deepest dejection, the sextant hanging loosely in his +hand. + +"And is there no room for a mistake in any o' your figures, Bob?" + +"None, none, that I can imagine. I have been particularly careful----" + +Bob could not finish his sentence, a flood of emotion swept over him, +and he sat down in the sand and covered his face with his hands. + +"Why, my laddie, ye mustn't blame yoursel' for no error o' yours," spoke +Mackay, kindly, gazing at the despondent youth with a strange light in +his keen grey eyes. "Brace yoursel' up, Bob; we'll likely find the +spring at no great distance, an' if we don't, well--we'll look for +another one if the camels stand by us." + +He hurried away into the eastward scrub. Bob arose and gazed after him +with quivering eyelids. + +"Yes," he murmured brokenly, "I have brought you all to your death, and +I can do nothing now to save.... I know the error is not mine, but I +cannot and will not blame a dead man.... I wonder what can possibly be +wrong." + +He shook his head in utter hopelessness, then he glanced at the sextant, +lying as he had left it, half buried in the sand. He took it up and +brushed the silvered arc carefully with the ragged sleeve of his shirt, +and was preparing to place it in its case when a new idea seemed to +strike him. He grasped the instrument with a firmer grip and stood +erect, a new light, a light of gladness shining in his eyes. + +"It's strange I never thought of it before," he said aloud; "a minute or +two either way would make all the difference." He picked up the +chronometer, which lay idly at his feet, and examined it critically. +"It's just possible," he muttered, "the jolting of the camel may have +made it go a bit fast; I wonder if I can check it. I am going to try." + +Long and eagerly he gazed at the sun through the powerful telescope of +the sextant, and every now and then he would note down his +observations, and consult the Nautical Almanac which lay open before +him. In the midst of these proceedings, Emu Bill and Never Never Dave +returned, after a fruitless search, and while they stood watching him, +Jack and the Shadow also made their appearance, and lined up beside the +other two in solemn silence. There was no need to ask them if they had +been successful, their faces plainly indicated disappointment, though +they both strove hard to hide their feelings. As for the first arrivals, +their rugged countenances betrayed not the slightest trace of emotion. +Bill calmly chewed a quid of tobacco, and Dave reflectively pulled at +his pipe. To them it did not seem to be a matter of much moment whether +they found the spring or not. At length Bob threw down the sextant with +a weary sigh. + +"The chronometer is right," said he, sadly; then, as his comrades looked +at him questioningly, he faltered: "I've done my best, boys ... the +fault may not be altogether mine, but ... I am responsible to you.... +What can you think of me----?" He gave way completely. + +Then out spoke Emu Bill, and his voice rang firm and true-- + +"Shoot me fur a dingo if I'll listen to you miscallin' yourself, Bob. +You has shown us afore what ye were made o', an' hang me for a +cross-eyed Chinese if I'll believe you've made the mistake." + +"I'm right with ye thar, Bill," grunted Never Never. + +Bob looked at them in silent gratitude that was more potent than words. + +"Blow me!" blurted out the Shadow, "this ain't no funeral circus." He +strode aside and examined the canvas bags overlapping Remorse's tough +hide; they were flat and empty, the last drop had gone. He rejoined the +little circle quietly, and held out his hand to Bob, who was gazing with +unseeing eyes into the horizon. "I knows it ain't your fault," he said +simply. + +Jack alone had not spoken, but Bob knew his comrade's thoughts; he knew +the loyal courage and devotion of the boy's heart. + +And all this time Mackay had not come back, nor had any welcome signal +been heard. Bob commenced to fear that he would not come back unless he +had something to report. + +"What did ye mean by sayin' the chronometer was right, Bob?" asked Emu +Bill, suddenly. + +"If it had gone fast or slow, my longitude, which I calculated by it, +would have been out accordingly," replied Bob, listlessly. "I thought +the jolting might have affected it." + +"Why then," returned Bill, "ain't it more likely that Bentley's time was +wrong? If he came in from the west across the whole darned stretch o' +sand-ridges, I reckon he would bust things up a bit." + +Bob was startled into fresh energy. "Of course, you're right, Bill!" he +cried excitedly. "I've been so anxiously looking for a possible error in +my own instrument, I never thought of it occurring with Bentley's. I +believe you've hit the solution of the whole difficulty. We'll find +Fortunate Spring due east of us in that case, for his latitude would be +sure to be right." + +"We'll get under way at oncet then," grunted Never Never Dave. "We're +bound to meet Mackay comin' back." + +At once Jack rushed to Misery's head, and the others hastened to their +posts. Bob picked up the sextant and chronometer, and with a surging +hope in his heart led the way in the direction that Mackay had taken. +Slowly, slowly, they broke through the scrub, Misery's bell sending out +its melancholy note, and shattering the oppressive stillness which had +prevailed but a few minutes before. Onward they went and onward, and yet +no sign of Mackay, and no sign of a spring to gladden their weary eyes. +About two miles had been traversed, and the spirits of the forlorn party +were drooping fast, when from the bush but a few hundred yards ahead a +revolver shot boomed out loudly. With one accord the camels stopped +dead. They seemed to realize that something was about to happen. Again +came the sonorous echoes of an exploding cartridge, and a hoarse cheer +burst from the eagerly listening quartet. + +"Mackay has found it! Hurrah! Hurrah!" roared the Shadow, and with +renewed effort a path was forced on towards the origin of the welcome +sound. Five minutes more and they broke into a rough clearing in the +bush in the centre of which a tall lime tree reared high above its +dwarfed surroundings; and seated by the tree gazing at some rude +markings that showed faintly on the gaunt white trunk, was Mackay. At +his feet, sunk among the spreading roots, and half hidden by +enclustering grassy growths, gleamed the water of the spring. Bob gave a +gasp of relief and thankfulness. Emu Bill and Never Never Dave calmly +began to unload the camels, the Shadow after vainly trying to find his +speech, mechanically pulled out his musical instrument, and sought to +indicate his joy thereon. + +Then Mackay arose to his feet, "Dinna desecrate the place, Shadow," +said he, in gentle reproach. "Remember this is a monument to the dead." + +He motioned Bob and Jack to come forward and view the mossy inscription +on the tree, and silently they obeyed his summons. Deep graven in the +wood was the legend: "Fortunate Spring, 1898. Bentley's Expedition. Lat. +28° 17´ 5´´, long. 125° 19´ 6´´ (Dead Reck.) Course E." Then followed a +list of the initials of the party headed by those of Mackay: "J. M." + +By this time Emu Bill, Never Never Dave, and the Shadow had also +gathered round to view the symbols left by Mackay's old leader, and as +each man traced out the lettering for himself, he doffed his tattered +hat reverently. + +"Ay, boys," spoke Mackay, breaking the solemn hush that reigned, "it was +a fortunate spring for us then, and it's a fortunate spring for this +expedition now. But how did you manage to come straight for it, Bob? It +took me a good time zig-zagging through the bush before I sighted the +tree." + +In a few words the young navigator explained the cause of their coming, +then he pointed to the inscription "Dead Reck." "That shows that Bentley +did not think his readings altogether accurate," he said gravely, "and +he meant it as a warning to others, though why he didn't put it on his +chart is strange to me." + +Mackay looked at the speaker with a troubled countenance. + +"It's been my fault, Bob. When I copied the figures into my own book I +didna think it necessary to put the qualification down." + +"I wants to say here," interjected Emu Bill, "that in my humble opinion +Bob can steer a course wi' any man, an' my ole carcase is here to prove +it. A hundred an' eighty miles he's took us across the miserablest +country on God's earth, an' nary time has I heard him grumble." + +"I goes nap on Bob every time," concurred Never Never. + +A light of real happiness overspread Mackay's bronzed features. + +"What more can you ask, Bob?" he said earnestly, "than the testimony o' +the pioneer, wha' lends his life to your guidance." + +"Hurrah for Fortunate Spring!" shouted Jack, unable to contain himself +longer. + +"Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!" roared the answering chorus. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +A Night Attack + + +They lingered for two days by Fortunate Spring in order to give the +camels a much-needed rest, then they proceeded on their march, now +steering due east, and it was strange indeed how this altered course +affected the spirits of the party. They seemed to feel that they were at +last on the straight track towards the mystic land of their desire. +Mackay even more than the others showed the change in his feelings; he +whistled joyously in the exuberance of his heart, and cheered on the +labouring team with hearty words of praise. And Bob, relieved +considerably of his own vague doubts in himself, had changed apparently +into a new being. The vagaries of the Shadow called forth his amusement, +and the dry wordy dialogues of the two bushmen never failed to make him +laugh with keenest appreciation, a fact which endeared him much to that +valiant couple. The freedom of the mighty desert held him in thrall, its +dangers were forgotten, the call of the wild was in his ears, the secret +of the Never Never beckoned him. + +"I told you the sunny skies would alter your temperament," said Jack, +whose boisterous good nature had never once deserted him. "I don't think +a man gets a fair show in the constantly cloudy weather at home." + +"And yet we always get back to the old country somehow," answered Bob, +thoughtfully. "I suppose its grand history attracts us when the greater +world has palled. I believe I could almost live in history, Jack, +wandering about among the castles and cathedrals that have seen the +centuries pass. What wonderful records the grim old walls hold. Why, +each stone would seem alive to me." + +"It would be pleasant to have a big holiday at home," admitted Jack, +wistfully; "but our time--and means, for travelling about was pretty +limited when we were there----" + +"But that will never be again," cried Bob, gaily; "just consider what we +have already got in this country, and who knows what may await us out +where we are going?" + +Who knew indeed? Who ever knows what lies in the dim distance of +untrodden tracts? The days passed quickly, though the country continued +to be barren and cheerless in aspect, the difficulties of travel were +not nearly what they had been on the first long weary stretch. More than +once a soak was discovered to replenish the water-bags before they had +yet gone dry, and within a week two new wells had been charted. They +were little more than the muddy residues of a long previous rainfall, +still, the dignity of a Central Australian well as a rule lies wholly in +its title, a fact which is well enough known to all explorers. + +So successful were they in their journeying that after ten days had +elapsed, and they were a hundred and forty miles east of Fortunate +Spring, Mackay considered that a brief deviation to the north might be +ventured upon on the off chance of evading a long dry stretch which at +this stage intervened on Bentley's route, the next and final spring +charted by that explorer being over seventy miles distant. + +"We had a terribly hard time on that journey," said he, as he gazed +across the wavy expanse of shifting sands which spread before them, "an' +it's just possible the country to the north'ard a bit may be better. It +canna be much worse." + +For a long time, however, the varied route showed little prospect of +improvement; sand, sand, everlasting sand spread everywhere before them, +and progress became dangerously slow. The camels struggled in vain to +make headway; they sank and floundered and stumbled in the wreathing +masses. In five days the distance covered totalled only forty miles. No +wonder Mackay looked grave as he noticed the water-bags' woefully flat +appearance. + +"I tell you what, boys," burst out Emu Bill, during their noonday halt, +"it's mighty sartain we has struck a snag this time. This is the +miserablest patch----" He broke off abruptly and fell to abusing the +flies besieging his face with remarkable eloquence. No one seemed +disposed to question Bill's statement in any way, and shortly afterwards +the march was renewed, Bill, Never Never, and the Shadow alternately +lauding the striving camels for their patient endurance, and bestowing +maledictions upon them for their ponderously slow onward movement. + +Hour after hour the melancholy procession laboured along. So soon had +the grimmer influence of the country exerted its baleful spell that for +a long time each man feared to speak lest he might betray the growing +depression at his heart. Then, just as the evening shadows were +beginning to close in, a welcome break in the monotonous landscape +appeared to gladden their straining eyes. In the faint distance a +feathery line of scrub stretched across their path, indicating a decided +change in the sand surface, and the sight added vigour to their failing +steps. Eagerly they strove to reach the inviting mallee coppice before +the thick blackness of night came down to envelop them. But it was not +to be; the stumbling gait of the camels could not be hastened, though +Emu Bill and his compatriots implored and beseeched the hardy animals +with an eloquence that was touching to hear. + +"One more try, boys," cried Mackay. "There's bound to be water somewhere +among the timber, and we may save ourselves another night of misery by +finding it now." He went to Jack's assistance, and together they tugged +at the leading camel's nose-rope until the poor brute was literally +being dragged through the yielding sands. This method of progression not +proving very satisfactory, he next made laudable endeavour to enliven +the march by singing raucously a few bars from that old song, "The +Campbells are Coming." + +"I just reckon they are comin'," Never Never Dave groaned, somewhat +confusing the reference; "but they need a jolly lot of persuasion, they +do. Get up, Repentance, you cross-eyed streak o' misery. Didn't I give +ye a drink last week?" + +At length Mackay saw that they must be content to halt in the open for +one night more. + +"We can't do it, boys," he said, "so let us look for a decent +camping-space in the sand; we'll find water if there's any about in the +morning." + +They had barely time to gather a few twigs from the sparse brush now in +evidence, and start a feeble fire, before an impenetrable darkness +descended over the desert. Then they busied themselves unloading the +camels and preparing their frugal meal, the latter an operation which +rarely occupied much time, for obvious reasons. They were indeed in a +very deplorable plight at this period; the water-bags had given up much +of their store by evaporation, and they now contained but a very meagre +supply of the valuable liquid, and the camels were well-nigh dying on +their feet from sheer exhaustion. + +The hour was quite late, and they were about to roll themselves in their +blankets, when suddenly a bright light flamed up luridly among the trees +in their course, and harshly through the still air rose the strains of a +native chant. + +"By the Great Howlin' Billy!" growled Never Never Dave, "there's a +corroborree on to-night. It's mighty lucky we didn't reach the timber, +after all." + +"If there's any nigs about there's bound to be water," asserted the +Shadow, with a chuckle of delight, and certainly his reasoning was +sound. + +Higher and higher blazed the warning beacon, and louder and louder +sounded the warriors' dismal wailings, and through the leafless branches +of the eucalypti a wildly dancing band of ape-like figures could be +distinguished. The little group gazed at the ominous spectacle in +silence and with mingled feelings. The presence of a native tribe in the +neighbourhood was conclusive proof that an ample water supply was not +far off; indeed the aborigines of the Interior almost invariably hold +their corroborree ceremonials around the principal spring of the +district, for according to their belief a mighty spirit has its abode +in every desert pool or soak, and from the slimy depths thereof watches +over the welfare of his people. But when ought displeases this dread +"Wangul"--the great Dweller in the Waters--he visits his wrath upon the +land by drying up the springs and betaking himself elsewhere. It is a +wonderfully convenient idea, for it explains away all droughts and +following pestilences, and it appeals to the simple heathen instinct as +no finer teachings could. To propitiate this god of theirs many +ordinances are performed and numerous sacrifices offered, and should any +wandering members of an alien tribe happen to be near on such occasions, +they are promptly seized upon to occupy the unenviable position of +"Corroborree mourners," a post which entails death, preceded by much +horrible suffering. + +Mackay was mentally recalling his various experiences with the natives +in different parts of the country, and with little sense of comfort, +when Emu Bill disturbed his musings by saying suddenly-- + +"I wonder what the howling celebration means to-night, anyway?" + +The others had by this time gone to sleep, having been utterly worn out +by their trying day's encounter with the desert, and these two sat alone +by the dying fire. + +"I'm just a wee bit afraid, Bill," answered Mackay, dubiously, "that it +has some bearing on our arrival. I never did like to be near the +murderous pests in the nighttime." + +Bill stirred about uneasily, and it was clear that he shared Mackay's +fears. + +"I believe you are right," he said, after a moment's pause. "The skunks +must have seen us a long way off." + +He relapsed into a gloomy silence, and began to draw with great care +sundry diagrams in the sand with the improvised camp poker. + +Meanwhile the whirling figures in the wood continued their mad career, +and the flames from the great fire in their midst spouted high above the +motionless mallee tips. The myriad stars twinkled merrily in an +unclouded sky, and the Southern Cross constellation shone out +brilliantly almost directly overhead. A slender crescent moon just above +the horizon lent its feeble halo to the scene, so that a vague, eerie +half light seemed to float on the surface of the land. Faster and still +faster the maddened Wangul worshippers rushed, and the night was filled +with their harsh, unmusical ravings. + +Mackay watched the progress of events with quickening interest, while +Emu Bill with many a muttered malediction examined the charges in his +revolver, and smoked reflectively. Mackay was very unwilling to awake +the sleepers unless it were absolutely necessary; they needed all the +rest they could get. But Emu Bill recalled him to a sense of duty. + +"I've been watching the circus," he said quietly, "an' I can see nary +mourner in the crowd. For a dead cert they'll be comin' fur us when +they've worked up enough enthusiasm. They'll imagine us to be asleep by +now." + +Mackay got up without a word, and shook Bob and Jack back to +consciousness. Never Never Dave was alert on the instant, but the Shadow +slumbered deeply and refused to be awakened, whereupon Emu Bill aroused +him by rolling him rudely out of his blanket, a proceeding which almost +created a civil war on the spot. + +"You has no right to dislocate my sweet dreams in such a dingo +fashion," the bellicose Shadow protested grumpily; but when he +understood the seriousness of the position his wrath dissolved speedily. +"At the same time I reckon you is a bit too much skeert about the antics +o' them muskitties," he remarked chidingly. "I was having a daisy dream, +I was; flooded rivers an' gold an' di'monds, an'----" + +"Shut it off, Shad," unsympathetically interrupted the object of his +disapproval. "They're on our track now. Look!" + +The corroborree fire continued to blaze up vividly, and the watchers +could see numerous naked savages piling on the logs and dancing amid the +showering sparks like denizens of the nether world. The circling mass of +grotesquely garbed warriors had broken up in apparent confusion, but +quickly they again came into view and re-formed on the edge of the zone +of illumination, then spreading fan-like to north and south, they came +slowly yet steadily towards the supposed sleeping camp. A moment more +and they were hidden from view in the intervening shadows. + +"Things are beginning to look lively," said Bob, adjusting his +cartridge-belt. + +Jack ranged himself quietly by his comrade's side, his rifle gripped in +readiness. + +"I don't know how this is going to turn out, Bob," he said slowly; "but +I mean to shoot straight, to-night." + +"It's a case o' self preservation, my lad," warned Mackay; and he closed +the breech of his powerful weapon with a vicious snap. "You needna think +o' usin' the stock o' your gun in this scrimmage. I am just afraid it's +goin' to be more serious than I thought." + +There could be little doubt as to the meaning of the wily natives' +tactics. Assuredly they intended to surround the little camp, which they +considered to be safely asleep, and spear the party at their leisure. + +"We are to be their sacrificial offerings, apparently," remarked Bob, +with forced calm. + +Mackay was aroused to a sudden burst of fury at the words; his +long-smouldering anger against the natives effervesced to an alarming +pitch. + +"I'll give them sacrifices," he grated, peering into the darkness with +eyes that seemed like glowing coals of fire over the gleaming barrel of +his rifle. "I'll make them think an earthquake has broken loose in their +midst. I'll--I'll----" + +Indignation choked his fiery utterance, and he said no more, but toyed +lingeringly with the trigger of his gun. + +A minute elapsed, it seemed an eternity, but no signs of the enemy could +yet be traced. Instinctively Bob's eyes returned to the recent centre of +affairs where the impish fire feeders were heaping on the logs with +frantic glee, and he shuddered involuntarily. The suspense was rapidly +becoming unbearable, and the little band expected every moment to be +overwhelmed with flying spears from some unlooked-for corner. Each pigmy +bush around to their overstrained vision took on the appearance of a +crouching warrior, and it was with the exercise of great restraint that +Mackay and his comrades refrained from firing at random into the night. +Slowly the seconds dragged their weary course, then all at once a weird +unearthly chorus reached the ears of the anxiously waiting group; it +seemed to come from everywhere around, and they turned about in dismay. +The attacking horde were closing in on them from all points of the +compass. Only when the ring had been completed had they begun their +deadly advance. Neither Mackay nor any of them had expected this. + +"I reckon we is bested, mates," groaned Emu Bill, helplessly; and it +certainly did seem as if he spoke truly. + +Another minute elapsed, then they grounded their arms in impotent rage; +the swelling chant from an unknown number of throats was drawing +insidiously nearer, and they could only roughly guess the various +origins of sound. Mackay turned to Jack to give a last word of +encouragement, and he was surprised to find the boy standing by Bob's +side in an attitude of acute attention--his head was bent forward, and +he shielded his ear with his hand as if he were listening intently. + +"I've got them," he whispered eagerly. "Unless there's a dummy musician +in their ranks, there's a fifty yards' blank in the circle straight out +by the camel packs." + +"How many do you make altogether, Jack?" inquired Mackay. + +The boy replied promptly, "They seem to be about thirty yards or so +apart. They are nearly two hundred yards off now, and coming very +slowly. There must be nearly fifty of the beasts." + +"Good for you, Jack," murmured Mackay, heartily, a tribute of praise +which even at that moment Emu Bill and the Shadow echoed with +characteristic vehemence. + +There was no time to be lost, the fateful ring was closing every +instant; so, gripping his rifle tightly, the leader of the expedition +made a course out in the direction as indicated by Jack, his comrades +following after in Indian file. And as they passed out by the camels, +each man breathed a prayer for their safety; then, with the hideous +voices of the approaching warriors ringing in their ears, they made +their way stealthily out through the saving gap into the freedom beyond. + +Surely never before had a course been steered by such odd reckoning, yet +the droning cries on either side of the escaping party as they neared +the edge of the invisible circle guided them as well as glaring beacons +would have done, and they manoeuvred cautiously through the midst of the +fervently singing band, luckily escaping all observation. + +"It was like navigatin' through the Heads of Sydney Harbour," exclaimed +Emu Bill, flinging himself down on the sand immediately they had cleared +the dangerous line. + +"We've got to thank our stars the beggars have the good sense to say +grace before supper," said Jack, cheerfully. + +"We are no' just altogether out o' the difficulty yet," warned Mackay. +"They'll be back with a rush when they find out their mistake." + +"But you ain't goin' to let them run the whole circus, surely?" +complained Emu Bill. "Let's pepper the howlin' dervishes now." + +Mackay seemed to hesitate for a moment, the odds in numbers were greatly +against them. + +"Train your guns on the old camp, boys," he said quietly. "You'll see +their black bodies against the glow o' the ashes when they get nearer." +He had scarcely spoken these words when the dismal chant of the +over-sanguine natives ceased, and with blood curdling yells the savage +horde swept on to their supposed work of extermination. The onlookers +saw a perfect hail of spears strike and quiver amid the smouldering +ashes; then a fantastical array of fiend-like forms swarmed before their +eyes, and prolonged shrieks of baffled rage rent the air. Now was their +opportunity. "Fire, boys!" cried Mackay, himself setting the example; +and the death-dealing weapons thundered out their grim challenge to the +foe. When they looked again only a fiercely struggling mass of black +humanity was visible, and the scattering sparks showed where the shots +had taken effect. Once more a well-directed volley was poured into the +surging crowd; but this time the flash of the rifles betrayed their +presence, and immediately about a dozen gaunt apparitions charged down +on the little party with vengeful shouts. It looked as if nothing could +stand against that maddened rush. In vain the rifles spoke, the members +of the attacking band seemed in no wise to diminish, their figures could +only be vaguely traced in the gloom. + +[Illustration: "IT LOOKED AS IF NOTHING COULD STAND AGAINST THAT +MADDENED RUSH"] + +"Keep easy, lads; keep easy," said Mackay, encouragingly. "Load up your +magazines, an' reserve every bullet until they are close on to us. We +can't miss them then, and it's our only hope of stopping them." + +Bob, plying his almost red-hot rifle, checked himself at the words, and +calmly obeyed the instructions given; Jack, panting furiously with his +extreme exertions, grounded his loaded weapon and waited with something +like a gnawing despair at his heart. The Shadow grumbled incoherently to +himself, Emu Bill and Never Never Dave said not a word, but stood erect, +calm, and motionless beside Mackay, awaiting the shock. Then a strange +thing happened; while the demoralized natives around the vacated camp +kept up their frenzied rushing hither and thither, seeking aimlessly +their hidden enemy, the four camels of the expedition, aroused by the +unusual sounds prevailing, stalked slowly forward into the thick of the +mêlée, and there they stood, their long necks swaying curiously, like +fearsome spectres from an unknown world. A howl of terror burst from the +group who had located the position of the defenders, they ceased their +onward course, hesitated for a moment, then turned and fled +precipitately, an example which the rest of their stricken brethren +speedily thought fit to copy; and before Mackay or any of his companions +could realize what had happened, the entire assembly were in full +retreat, leaving the bulk of their spears and boomerangs littered on the +sand. + +"Good for you, Misery!" applauded Jack, running forward, and the leader +of the team, hearing the well-known voice, staggered to meet him and +knelt at his feet. + +"I reckon we owes them animiles the price o' our carcases," said Never +Never Dave, sententiously, as they walked quietly back to the deserted +camp-fire. They found their blankets lying as they had left them, but +transfixed with numberless spears, and after carefully extracting these +crude yet deadly missiles they replenished the fire with them, and lay +down to rest beside the ruddy glow, for it was now early morning, and +the air had become unpleasantly chill. The corroborree beacon had been +deserted, only occasional scattering sparks showing where the strange +ceremonial had taken place, and away in the distance the vague crackling +of branches indicated that the would-be annihilators of the camp were +already far from reach. + +"Great Centipedes! That was a close shave," growled Emu Bill, before he +dropped off to sleep. + +"But we have the advantage of knowing," returned Bob, with his usual +calm philosophy, "that we shall find water near where the beggars held +their odd orgy, and that should recompense for much." Then his eyes +closed in slumber, and he entered a realm of phantasies where hostile +aborigines and dreary salt plains were alike unknown. The weary strain +of the night was over. + +They found water after daybreak as they had anticipated. It was +contained in a deep sunken rock-hole with an almost unfathomable bottom, +wherein one might well fancy some dread monster to exist. They refilled +the empty water-bags with thankful hearts, and, fearing another attack +in force that night, renewed their march early in the afternoon. It was +soon apparent that a better country had now been reached; dry it was +certainly, yet the soil showed a considerable improvement over that +already traversed, and the scrub became almost continuous instead of in +sparse and far-divided belts as formerly. But though all promised well +for an unusually favourable journey that day and for many days to come, +the presence of hostile bands of aborigines all along the route of +travel was too evident a feature of the landscape to be overlooked, and +the team had perforce to move onwards warily. + +"I do hope," said Mackay, as the evening approached, "that the blacks +will give us a rest to-night. There's more risk in these scrimmages at +close quarters than is healthy." + +Bob had arrived at that conclusion some time before. "We're not more +than fifty miles from the location you gave me of Bentley's last camp," +he observed gravely. "If I shift the course slightly to the south +to-morrow we ought to be up at it in three days." + +A spasm of pain crossed Mackay's face. "Ay, my lad, we'll need to be +extra cautious now," he said meaningly. "We mustna allow oursel's to be +wiped out before we come to the mountain. I've got a bit of a score to +settle in that quarter." + +The sun was now but a few points above the western horizon, and his +fiery radiance bathed the great silent bushland in golden splendour. The +motionless mulga and mallee shrubs seemed ablaze with ruddy light, and +the wastes of sand shone as a sea of burnished bronze. Not a sound was +heard save the harsh cries of the gaily plumaged parrots that flitted +eerily from tree to tree, and the occasional dismal monotone of the +mopoke. Then suddenly from the shadow of a thicker clump of timber than +usual a series of yells rang out, and at the same time a shower of +spears whizzed overhead, and perilously close. Each member of the little +group realized in an instant what had happened, and seized his rifle. + +"Get the camels under cover, boys!" cried Mackay, from his position well +ahead of the main party. + +"There's nary bit o' cover!" roared back Emu Bill, who had +diplomatically stretched himself flat on the ground at the first alarm. +Whiz! splash! Even as he spoke a long quivering missile rushed through +the shadeless branches and penetrated the great water-bag overlapping +Remorse's flank. The stout canvas resisted the shock sufficiently to +save the animal from injury, but the precious and dearly-hoarded +contents gushed from the rent created in a copious flood. A cry of +horror broke from Bob, Jack uttered a wail of anguish, and an expression +of much fervour issued from Never Never Dave's mouth. With a bound +Mackay rushed forward in vain attempt to save the few remaining drops, +but it was not to be; before they had time to realize the seriousness of +their loss the gurgling stream had ceased; the canvas skin had given up +its store. + +"I'll pulverize the hyena that did it!" howled the Shadow, dashing +forward through the scrub. + +"I'm with you," cried Jack, following closely at his heels. + +It all happened so quickly that Mackay had no time to give any +directions or restrain the indignant pair. Several further flights of +spears skimmed well overhead, and one or two barbed darts more surely +aimed, whistled dangerously near to Mackay's head. + +"This is gettin' mighty monotonous," growled Emu Bill, looking around +impotently, for as yet not a single savage was to be seen. + +"There must be water in the district," said Bob, coolly, examining his +revolver. "I suppose we've got to go on the hunt again." Without further +remark he turned and rushed after his companions, whose vehement shouts +as they charged along were mingled with the shrill cries of the dusky +warriors. "Try and catch one, Shadow," he loudly shouted as he ran. + +Fearful that disaster might overtake the entire party, Mackay gripped +his rifle and hurried after them, leaving Emu Bill and Never Never Dave +in charge of the team, a position which they condemned bitterly at such +a time. The shadows of night were fast closing in, and between the trees +of the pigmy forest a heavy gloom had settled providing excellent cover +for the blacks should they have decided to renew the attack; but these +strange creatures, having discharged their weapons, were now beating a +retreat, yelling most hideously the while. + +Scarcely fifty yards before him Mackay could dimly descry Jack, the +Shadow, and Bob leaping on after the fugitives, and he quickened his +pace in order to come up with them. + +"We'll catch a specimen," cried Bob, eagerly, "if we have to chase them +all night." + +On they raced, while the crackling branches a little way ahead betokened +the nearness of their quarry, whose shrieks alone would have been an +unerring guide. Evidently the fleeing warriors were just as tired as +their pursuers, for they were gradually losing ground. Suddenly one of +their number screeched out some sort of signal which had the effect of +making the runners scatter in all directions. Bob could just see their +shaggy heads above the bushes as they diverged on various tacks; then +the new order of things confused them all, and one by one the +gorilla-like figures vanished from their view. Yet still they kept up +the race, loth to return without some satisfaction. The night was +rapidly darkening, obscuring the scrub and intervening sand wastes in a +common pall, so that progress was made only with great difficulty, and +wearily the aimless search was continued. + +"We'll have to turn, boys," said Mackay, at length, when the stars +commenced to glimmer in the heavens. "We must go back to the camels. +To-morrow we'll have a look round for water. And to think that we had +any amount of it this morning----" + +A hearty exclamation from the Shadow interrupted him. They were passing +under an unusually large lime tree, and that youthful individual had +halted with an unrestrained roar of mingled merriment and relief. +Looking up against the stars Mackay could see an awkward figure +scrambling frantically among the higher branches. + +"Treed! By Jove!" cried Bob, gazing upwards also. + +"I reckoned I smelt nigger," said the Shadow, when he had recovered his +equanimity; "but if his long legs hadn't banged me on the cocoa-nut, I'd +never ha' thought o' lookin' in the tree for the skunk." + +"And now comes the job o' gettin' him down," said Mackay. "An' it won't +be an easy contract either, judgin' by the way he hangs on to the +branches." + +"The Shadow and I will soon attend to him," said Jack, with a laugh; and +without further ado he commenced to swarm up the small round trunk of +the tree. + +"Be careful, Jack," warned Mackay. "He may smash your head before you +reach him." + +"Will he, though?" growled the active climber, already half-way up. + +"Strategy's the word, Jack," councilled the Shadow, as he prepared to +ascend to his companion's assistance. The lithe tree swayed under its +load, then bent until its lower limbs reached the ground. + +"We'd better see that our prisoner doesn't make his escape by jumping +for it," remarked Bob, and he and Mackay therefore stood at opposite +sides of the tree, watching the huddled form with alert eyes. Nearer and +nearer Jack writhed his way to the top, and slowly the terrified +aboriginal retreated to the farthest limit of the branch on which he +rested, until it cracked ominously. + +"I guess I've got you now," muttered Jack. "You just wait till I come to +you." + +But the shivering savage had no such intention; and as Jack approached +he began to scream horribly, more after the manner of a wild beast than +a human being. Then he broke off bits of the lesser branches and twigs, +and showered them down on his implacable enemy. + +"Just shake him off the branch an' I'll catch him," advised the Shadow, +worming his sinewy form along the limb directly underneath his prey. + +In vain Jack endeavoured to grasp his prospective prisoner, the oily +native eluded him every time, and sorely tried the persistent besieger's +temper by keeping up a vicious fusillade of wood fragments. He had, +however, completely overlooked the presence of the Shadow directly +below, and when in the midst of a furious assault, his foot slipped +slightly, it was instantly seized by that watchful gentleman, and held +in a ruthless grip. + +"Now, I reckon you've got to come," said he, evading the free limb's +onslaught with much dexterity. "Now! Stand from under, boys!" + +Crash! They came down all three together, the top branch having broken +with the strain, but the height was not very great, and the sand below +was loosely packed. + +"It's a jolly good thing," quoth the Shadow, "that the black beggar was +so nice and soft; it was just like bouncing on top o' a cushion, it +was." + +Jack did not appear to be particularly grateful for anything as he +picked himself up, but he very promptly took an arm of the captive along +with the Shadow. + +"Yes, that's right; take care of your prisoner now that you've got him," +said Mackay, turning to lead the way back to the spot where the camel +team had been left. "We'll have to mak' the most o' his knowledge." + +Then he addressed the sullen aboriginal, and by a constant repetition +of the word "Babba" (water), sought to make him understand their needs. +But it was all to no purpose. The captive made no sign, and only groaned +horribly when the question was pressed with a show of anger. + +"All the same," sternly spoke Bob, "he'll have to tell us what he knows +before morning." + +In a short time they had reached the camels, where Emu Bill and Never +Never Dave awaited them with ill-concealed impatience. But their joy on +observing the aboriginal was great indeed. + +"I reckon he'll get water for us all right," said Emu Bill, as they +unloaded the camel. "I just reckon he will." + +The Shadow now proceeded to build a fire, and soon the roaring flames +leapt up cheerily. Having no water, they could not make tea, so they +contented themselves with munching some pieces of damper, for which, +however, they had little appetite. + +It was at this point that the prisoner showed signs of interest in the +proceedings, and Jack thereupon proffered him a substantial bunch of the +dry fare, which he seized and ate with avidity. + +But still Mackay's repeated interrogations seemed to have no effect on +the savage, who kept glancing over to where the Shadow was gingerly +slicing up some tinned conglomeration which is served out to explorers +under a variety of names, and he opened his cavernous orifice +expectantly. + +"The poor beggar is hungry," said Bob. "Let him have a piece of that +unknown substance, Shadow; if it does not kill him it may arouse some +sense of gratitude." + +"He'd reduce our stores mighty quick," grumbled the Shadow, noting with +dismay how rapidly his hospitable offerings disappeared. + +"Just hold on a jiff," murmured Emu Bill, thoughtfully. "I reckon I has +struck a daisy idea." He hastened over to the many sacks lying on the +ground where the camels had been unloaded, and came back with a handful +of salt. "When you are as old as I is, Shad," said he, graciously, "you +will know how to handle blacks, I calc'late. Does ye savvy?" + +The Shadow took the salt with humble deference, and without a word +proceeded to mix it lavishly with the contents of a small tin of the +afore-mentioned compound, which he then handed to the hungry native. + +"Eat every bit o' it, ye howlin' baboon," said he, kindly, "an' if ye +isn't as thirsty as a camel after it, I reckon there must be something +wrong wi' your construction." + +Mackay and Bob listened to the schemers with amusement, then, as they +saw the ravenous heathen bolt the salt-laden meat with great gusto, they +forgot for a moment their own thirsty condition and indulged in a +paroxysm of laughter. + +"For a certainty our dusky friend will want water badly soon," said Bob; +and they all sat around the camp fire and calmly awaited developments. +If their prisoner knew of the presence of water in the vicinity he must +surely endeavour to find it--half a pound of the strongest salt in his +interior might enlighten him as to the meaning of 'Babba Babba,' which +Mackay had repeated to him so persistently. And they were not mistaken. +Half an hour later he began to show unmistakable signs of uneasiness, +and his lips moved like the gills of a fish out of water. Then he +strained at the rope which bound him to a mulga sapling behind, and +rolled his eyes beseechingly. + +"Better give him a full hour yet," said Mackay. "We can thirst just as +comfortably as he can now, I think." + +Emu Bill chuckled dryly. + +"I is a grand instructor o' furrin' languages," he said. "I just reckon +that that there nigger knows what water means now." + +It was nearly midnight, and the slow minutes dragged like ages as they +sat around the fire anxiously watching the antics of the salt-gorged +aboriginal. For a long time no one spoke, but their basilisk-like glare +evidently disconcerted the sufferer in no little degree, and he +commenced to moan in an exceedingly melancholy manner, and endeavoured +to evade their gaze by every artifice in his power. + +"He thinks we mean to eat him, and have been feeding him to make him +nice and plump!" hazarded Bob at length, and he had truly guessed the +captive's thoughts. However, the tortures of thirst were surely having +due effect on the poor savage, and his cries soon became most +distracting to the listeners' ears. Suddenly he broke into a wailing +chorus which echoed dismally through the still air, and caused even the +long-suffering camels to raise their heads in protest. + +"B-bab-ba-bab-ba!" he cried, tugging strenuously at the binding cords. + +"Patience ain't so bad a virtue, after all," soliloquized Emu Bill, +calmly slackening the rope from the tree, and gripping the free end of +it tightly. With a bound the native headed out into the densest part of +the scrub, almost pulling Bill over the sand in his frantic haste; the +rest of the party followed at their best speed. Their now tractable +guide did not lead them any distance. He stopped in a small hollow not +far from the scene of his capture, and with feverish hands scraped away +some covering twigs and branches, revealing to the onlookers' eager eyes +a glittering pool of clearest water. + +With a deep gurgle of relief he buried his tangled visage in the spring, +and drank so deeply that the Shadow felt compelled to jerk him backwards +out of sheer regard for his welfare. + +"It's mighty stupid o' ye drinkin' so much after a heavy supper," said +he, reprovingly. "It's real bad for your digestion, I reckon." + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +The Mystic Mountain + + +"Latitude 27° 42´ 10´´, longitude 128° 7´ 11´´." It was noon three days +after leaving Thirsty Spring, as their last strangely-found well had +been designated, and Bob read aloud these observations as he noted them +down in his log-book. They had reached the vicinity of Bentley's last +camp, and all eyes had been alert for the melancholy symbols of the +ill-fated expedition. Away to the east the country extended back in a +series of rugged "blows" until they suddenly merged into apparent +nothingness; a swelling, white haze obscured the true horizon in this +direction, but north and south well-wooded grassy plains stretched into +the dim distance. The uttermost edge of the desert seemed to have been +reached at last. + +"Ay, it was just about here that the camel broke away," said Mackay, +musingly, "and over there"--he pointed to the east--"lies the mountain." + +"It must be a terrible long way over there, Mac," commented Emu Bill, +"for we should see it 'bout forty miles off if it is any size, an' you +said it was a whopper." + +Mackay looked puzzled; certainly no mountain was visible at this period. + +"It _must_ be there," he reiterated grimly. + +Bob, too, was much exercised over the prolonged absence of the desert +sentinel; it had figured so much in all their calculations that it had, +indeed, been the initial quest of the expedition. + +"There's an extraordinary heat haze rising up straight ahead," said he. +"Perhaps it hides that shadowy mountain." + +"It's there right enough," said Mackay, again. "I mind well that I didna +see it until I was right up against it." + +"There's something mighty uncanny about this place," grunted Never Never +Dave, who had been gazing around suspiciously. + +A gentle zephyr breeze wafted towards them from the obscuring mists, and +they sniffed the air wonderingly. + +"Blow me tight, boys," muttered Emu Bill, "we has struck old Jimmy +Squarefoot's country." + +"That are a fact," concurred Never Never Dave, solemnly; "we has come a +bit too far on this trip. No wonder poor ole Bentley didn't get back." + +"Why, what is wrong?" asked Jack, in some alarm. + +"What is wrong?" echoed Never Never. "Why, we must be near Hades, my +lad; don't you smell it?" + +A strong odour of a pungent, sulphurous nature assuredly filled the air. +Mackay was equally mystified with the others, though he did not give +expression to his thoughts. He was trying to recall to the minutest +incident the happenings of over a year ago in the same district. + +"I distinctly saw their tracks," he repeated, half to himself, "and the +bones----" + +"But there ain't no bones now," interrupted Emu Bill. "There's some +curious mystery about this here place, there is." + +A cry from the Shadow, who had gone exploring on his own account some +distance off, drew their attention. It was plain that he had discovered +something important, for he semaphored to them excitedly as they looked. +Silently they obeyed his summons, and in a few minutes were gazing at +the poor relics of the last expedition, where they lay half covered in +the sand. + +There they were beyond a doubt, a mass of bleaching bones. Reverently +they uncovered their heads, then Mackay knelt down by the sad litter, +and great, dry sobs shook his breast. His companions turned away with +heavy eyes, all but Bob, who remained to comfort the grief-stricken man. + +"We may at least bury the remains," he said sadly, "and I think we might +put up a small mark over the spot. There are lots of trees about which +we could cut down." + +Mackay looked at him kindly. "Not yet, Bob, not yet," he muttered +hoarsely; "not till I have squared accounts with the wretches who +committed this crime. These poor fellows here were murdered after daring +the dangers o' the desert; their last mortal remains have awaited my +coming here on the surface o' the sweltering sands, and they cry to me +for vengeance--and vengeance they shall have before I cover them from +the light o' a just Heaven." He rose with forced calm and linked his arm +in Bob's. "You shall help me, Bob," he said earnestly; "you of all +people have a reason----" + +He ceased abruptly as Emu Bill appeared once more. The tall bushman was +apparently much moved, though he strove to hide his sorrow. + +"I has just been talkin' to Never Never," he began, in an even voice, +"an' we has come to the conclusion that we'll go an' wipe out some o' +them skunks who did this. I reckon we'll feel better after it." + +Mackay smiled faintly. "I believe we are near the end o' our search for +the hidden treasure o' the Never Never," he said quietly. "The invisible +mountain must mark the entrance to the land we are seeking, but we may +have many a struggle before we triumph, but each difficulty overcome +will bring us nearer our goal. Let us move on once more, Bill; I must +see the other side o' the mountain----" + +"An' nary one o' us is goin' back on you," said Emu Bill, with a grim +laugh. "Wherever that there perfume comes from, I reckon Never Never an' +me will see the end o' the journey." + +They retraced their way to the camels, and in a short time were forcing +a trail on into the seething mists. And now the stumbling camel-train +experienced great difficulty in negotiating the many dry ravines that +lay in their course, and they climbed over the basaltic bluffs which now +and again reared their heads above the boulder-strewn expanse, only with +the extremest effort. The sun beat down pitilessly on the wayfarers, and +here the heat was, indeed, overpowering; it seemed to rise in long, +pulsating swells from the bare rocks and hang in a filmy cloud of +vapour, through which the eye could see but vaguely, as in a +dream-picture. On, on, the pioneers struggled, and as they proceeded, +the strange, sulphurous odour became more and more perceptible, until it +assailed the nostrils in sharp, burning breaths. Yet still the vision +ahead was clouded by dense white vapours, and the horizon remained +obscured. Then suddenly a curious thing happened: the shrouding curtain +in the near distance lifted up like a giant screen in a theatre, and +through the mists of dispelling ether a dark towering height loomed up +vividly. + +"The mountain! the mountain!" cried Jack; and truly it was a mountain, +and a mountain of so precipitous and forbidding an aspect that it looked +like an immense black wall rising into the sky. + +"That is just how I ran up against it before," said Mackay, calmly. "It +appeared all at once, and I wondered why I didna see it earlier." + +"Well, this beats me," growled Emu Bill. "An' why in all the world +_didn't_ we see such a colossal monument before? We oughter have sighted +that there tower o' Babel at least two days back." + +Even as he spoke a great white mask rose from the base of the towering +elevation, and in an instant the mighty landmark had vanished from their +view. + +"I reckon we has had a sight o' ole Jimmy Squarefoot's furnace," +remarked Never Never Dave, mysteriously. "An' don't it smell strong?" + +"It jest howls," groaned Emu Bill, gasping hard. + +Mackay kept an unmoved silence. He apparently had no intention of being +surprised at anything; but Bob somewhat eased the minds of the twain by +endeavouring to explain the phenomenon they had witnessed. + +"The covering haze is nothing but steam," said he. "I think the mountain +must be volcanic." + +Mackay shook his head. "I shouldna wonder if it is an extinct volcano," +he said; "but there was no lava flow that I remember, and it +disappeared just the same." + +Notwithstanding the odd happenings during the last few minutes, the +camels were not permitted to slacken their pace. Each and all of the +party had determined to probe the mystery to the fullest, and the +solution was soon forthcoming. As they forced their way into the densest +depths of the ghost-like curtain, they became quickly aware of a +gurgling, boiling sound almost at their feet. Bob's keen ears were the +first to catch the unwonted echoes; but before he could speak a +greenish-yellow cloud rolled before his eyes, and he staggered back, +choking wildly. + +"Ease off, boys," spoke Mackay. "We must scout around an' investigate +before we go further." + +The whole party, camels and all, were now enveloped in the wreathing +smoke-columns, and the sky was hidden from sight. Blindly Bob made a few +steps forward, keeping well to the right of the unseen caldron, which +now bubbled and foamed spasmodically. The Shadow followed, stumbling and +gasping, and within a minute the two found themselves in a clear and +untainted atmosphere, and but a yard or so from the base of the gloomy +mountain. Loudly they shouted to their companions, and soon the spectral +forms of the camels hove into view, with Mackay and Jack treading +cautiously at their head. But where were Emu Bill and Never Never Dave? +They seemed to have vanished completely. + +"They were alongside Jack an' me a minute ago," said Mackay, gazing +wonderingly around. + +"I reckon I'll go back an' see if they've stopped to look at the +scenery," grunted the Shadow; and he made a dash into the heavy fumes +once more. + +The three who waited by the camels heard a startled cry, followed by a +faint splash, then all was silent. Hastily Mackay seized a camel +pack-rope, and would have rushed off after him, but Bob interfered. + +"I think I can guess where to find them," he said. "Let me go." + +With reluctance Mackay saw him depart; but before Bob had entered the +chaos the swelling mass rose before him, disclosing in his track a +broad, pit-like cavity. Hurriedly he strode to the edge of the caldron; +but ere he reached it the Shadow climbed out of its seething depths wet +and dripping, and saying strange things to himself. Immediately behind +him Never Never Dave's head popped up, and an eloquent flow of language +was let loose upon the air. Lastly, Emu Bill scrambled into the open. He +looked savagely around for a moment, until he caught sight of the +Shadow, and his wrath overflowed in a torrent of abuse. All three were +bedraggled enough looking specimens; but the last arrivals were +considerably worse off than the Shadow in that respect--their hair was +covered with a greenish scum, which spread down over their faces and +almost blinded them. + +"It was all that wretched young Shadow's fault!" roared Emu Bill. + +"But you were there first, Bill," remonstrated Mackay, laughingly. + +"Of course we were. We went plump into the filthy boilers; but we got a +good grip o' the sides, and were sliding out quick an' lively, when, +blow me! if that howlin' scarecrow didn't bounce down on top o' us, an' +sent us swimmin' like tadpoles to the bottom. Ugh!" + +But their indignation quelled speedily when they learnt how excellent +had been the intentions of the much-maligned youth. + +"It must be a hot spring," said Bob. + +"And there are more of them," cried Jack. "See, they are scattered all +round the foot of the mountain." + +"I reckon it is hot, right enough," grumbled Emu Bill. "I'm just 'bout +turned into a Salamander, I is." + +As Jack had noticed, quite a number of similar indentations formed a +line right along the base of the mountain, and in each yawning crater +examined, a greenish-yellow fluid bubbled tempestuously. High overhead +the smoke-wreaths dissembled into thin air, and for a brief space all +was beautifully clear. Then a dull rumble like the mutterings of subdued +thunder was heard, and immediately snowy puffs of smoke issued from the +strange cavities. The denser fumes rapidly spread along the ground like +a turbulent, foaming sea; then the whole seemed gradually to rise +upwards and suspend as a filmy pall before the face of the mountain. +Yet, strangely enough, the noxious odours were now almost absent. + +"Ay, it's vera marvellous," said Mackay, with a sigh. "So does Nature +protect her treasure-houses." + +"It's a wonder you managed to get through without accident when you +came," Bob observed thoughtfully. "But, then, it's possible the line was +clear when you passed." + +"A breeze of wind would have lifted that fog," hazarded Jack. "I should +think that on some days the clouds would not be nearly so constant nor +so thick." + +"You're possibly right, Jack," mused Mackay, looking upwards. "See how +the smoke curls in to the west now." + +They all followed his gaze, and, surely enough, the mists appeared to +bend over before a powerful air current and break off into numberless +flying patches of lambent spray. Assuredly, a fairly strong blast must +be blowing on the mountain summit, though all was serene and unmoved +below. They now bethought themselves of having an inspection of the +wonderful elevation, which they had reached after so much weary +striving. There it stood, gaunt and bare, precipitous in outline, and +rising almost sheer to a height of over eight hundred feet, and as far +as the eye could reach in either direction along the base, the same grim +barrier appeared, but it curved in almost imperceptibly at each limit of +observation. + +"The monument might stretch across into Queensland," said Emu Bill, "if +we tried to follow it round. I vote we does a scramble over the top." + +"I tried that before, Bill," answered Mackay, "but I'm going to try it +again. Only we'll look for the easiest side before we start." + +"But what about the camels?" asked Jack. "We can never get them over +it." + +"An' we've got to remember that there's an all-fired quantity o' +bloodthirsty niggers about," said Never Never Dave. + +"Suppose we hobble them out on the other side of the smoke," suggested +Bob. "If the blacks stay beyond the mountain they couldn't very well see +them so close in, and the camels are too tired to wander much." + +"It's a risk, Bob," said Mackay; "but the whole journey has been a risk, +an' it's the best we can do. We can keep an eye on them from the top--if +we get there." + +"An' our rifles can speak for us from there well enough," laughed Emu +Bill; "an' there's one howlin' satisfaction about it, there's nary spear +could reach us." + +And so it was arranged; the four tired beasts were unloaded, the bell +was unstrapped from Misery's neck, and the Shadow led them out to the +plains, manoeuvring most carefully in his passage between the bubbling +caldrons. In a few minutes he returned, with a somewhat anxious visage. + +"I is pretty certain I saw a nig on the top o' the hill when I was out +back a bit," he announced. + +"On the top o' the hill?" cried Emu Bill, incredulously. "Well, if they +don't pop too many spears at us, I don't mind if they stay there until +we get up." + +"But you couldn't see anything through the haze, Shad," said Bob. + +"I just did. The top o' the concern was shining strong in the sun, an' I +got a sight o' a big nigger dressed like a corroborree mourner standin' +looking' at me." + +It was quite possible that the Shadow's information was correct, for the +fine haze in the upper air would barely have obscured the bold ridge of +the mountain summit, especially with the sun's rays beating strong upon +it. Yet it was evident that the young bushman's statement was received +with considerable unbelief. + +"It's been a hallucination, Shad," laughed Jack. + +It was already late in the afternoon, and it would have been useless to +attempt the climb that night, so a tour of investigation was made in +order to discover the least impregnable aspect of the frowning barrier, +and as the little party moved along they carried their rifles ready for +immediate action in case of a sudden alarm. But not a sign of natives +was observed, and they tramped mile after mile over the jagged rocky +_débris_ lining the base of the mountain without once noting an easier +place of ascent than that which they had first gazed upon. Not a trace +of vegetation showed on the steep declivity; the bare rocks scintillated +in the last rays of the setting sun, and showed up barren and +forbidding. Here and there deep clefts appeared, striating the gloomy +formation, and cutting deep into the heart of the mountain. It was one +of these that drew an exclamation from Mackay. + +"That looks vera like the cap o' a gold-bearing lode showing at the +bottom o' the gully," he cried. He crept carefully into the yawning +crevice, and broke off a piece of the supposed auriferous stone with the +iron heel of his boot. "Decomposed diorite," he announced, "and showing +gold all over. I do believe the whole mountain is just a mass of gold +lodes an' leaders." + +"Well, I'm blest," murmured Emu Bill, "if that don't beat +everything----" + +"But we can't carry the hillock away," said Jack, hurriedly. + +The difficulties of transport had at once appeared to his practical +mind, and his words acted as a restraining tonic on the exhilarating +spirits of the others. + +"You're right there, Jack," agreed Mackay, with a smile, "but if we get +plenty of water on the other side, we could very soon get machinery out +here; an' I've a firm idea that our golden land o' promise lies just +beyond this barrier." He tapped the rocky surface with his hand +meditatively. "And more than that," he continued, with rising +excitement, "I believe we'll find rubies and diamonds as well. I mind we +picked up some rubies in the gullies around the last camp when I was +here before. At least, Phil, the geologist, said they were rubies, an' +I'd back his knowledge in that direction against any man's. He said they +had been shed from some mountain or other, but, of course, we hadna seen +the mountain at this time; and poor Phil never did see it, either." + +They commenced to retrace their steps, for the night was fast closing +in, and as they walked along, Bob stooped down occasionally to pick up +pebbles from the silted driftage at his feet, and unobtrusively placed +them in his pocket for future inspection. They had almost reached the +place where they had unloaded the camels, when the Shadow shouted out +triumphantly-- + +"Look, boys! I reckon there ain't no mistake about that nigger, is +there?" + +He was gazing at the ridge forming the summit of the mountain, and +looking up, Bob saw a tall, dishevelled figure standing against the +sky-line and waving his arms energetically. + +"By gum, he is wild!" laughed Emu Bill; "an' what a dandy outfit he's +got; why, the beggar's got a 'possum blanket over him." + +He raised his rifle mechanically, but Mackay had already levelled his +piece at the silhouetted form. + +"Please don't shoot," pleaded Bob, staying his hand. "It almost seems +like murder to kill a man like that." + +Mackay lowered his weapon with a groan, and Bob, looking upwards once +more, was astounded to see the object of his commiseration extending his +hands as if in benediction. He stood thus for a moment, then, with a +despairing gesture, pointed towards the Western desert. + +"I'm glad I didna shoot," said Mackay; "that's the most wonderful +savage I've seen. He even tried to warn us not to come further." + +"That was out o' gratitood for us not shootin'," laughed Emu Bill; "but, +blow me, I can't shoot a nig when he hasn't a spear or weapon o' some +sort in his hand." + +When they looked again, the strange aboriginal was gone. + +The spirits of the little party were unusually cheerful that night, as +they sat around their camp-fire and talked eagerly over their prospects +on the morrow. Their objective had been reached at last, the toil and +stress of the dreary journey was over, the reward--and of reward they +all seemed well assured--was now about to be theirs. + +"I reckon I'll give ye a hymn o' praise on the orchestra," remarked the +Shadow, pulling his ear-shattering instrument from the pocket where it +had lain silent since the finding of Fortunate Spring. + +"If ye does," threatened Emu Bill, "I'll dump ye in that there smelling +solution right over the head." + +"Hang it, Bill," complained the unappreciated musician, "I ain't quite +dry yet, as it is. Couldn't ye think o' some happier kind o' return for +my professional services?" + +"Anyhow," consoled Jack, "it wouldn't do to let the niggers know we were +about; they might come for us when we were helplessly enslaved with your +melody." + +The Shadow grinned. "Right O," said he; "music is off." + +But Mackay had not seemed at all unwilling to encourage the youth's +suggestion. + +"The blacks should ken we are about by this time," he observed lightly; +"but there are six good rifles in this camp, an' we might as well +encourage them to come out now as at any other time. There's going to be +a good moon up to-night." + +"You might give us a tootle on the flute," said Never Never Dave; "I +hasn't heard ye play since we left Golden Flat." + +"Let us have 'The Muskittie's Lament,'" urged the Shadow; "I is just +dyin' to stretch my voice a bit." + +"No, Shadow; though you are a budding Sims Reeves, I can't sympathize +wi' you enough just now to listen to you singing. I must even deny you +the pleasure o' hearing me warble the old familiar tune to-night, for +I'm no' in the mood for waxing extravagantly joyous. But seein' we've +reached the deceivin' mountain at last, and without mishap, I'll gie ye +a blaw on the flute, if only to make this night something different from +other nights." + +Jack fetched the flute with alacrity, and then seated himself beside +Bob, and soon the little group were listening in hushed silence to the +pensive strains of one of Balfe's melodies. When it was finished, the +man of many moods paused for a moment, and his eyes roamed instinctively +back towards the desert, and though the smoky cloud still intervened, +Bob guessed at once that he was again filled with swelling memories of +the past. + +"Let us have something lively, Mac," said Emu Bill, "something that will +make us forget them pestiferous niggers for a bit." + +"I can't do it, Bill," came the husky response; "not here, not +to-night." Then he lifted the flute once more. "I'll play you one o' +Bentley's favourite hymns," he said gravely. "Well do I mind we used a' +to sing it whiles when we were on the march." + +Softly into the night rose the notes; they lingered by each deep +crevasse on the mountain side, and echoed back from the rocky steeps. +Unspeakably entrancing was the effect. The musician himself seemed lost +in the wonderful sounds he created, and his hearers, after listening in +mute attention for some time, by a common impulse joined in with the +words, familiar to them all-- + + + "Lead, kindly Light,... + Lead Thou me on." + + +And as the rough voices swelled upwards, a weird answering chorus +floated back to them from the summit of the mountain, and lo! several +dark forms appeared outlined against the starry sky. Emu Bill ceased his +vocal exercises at once, and squirmed about uneasily until the flute +stopped. + +"Say, mates," said he, anxiously; "I hope it ain't no corroborree song +they is singin'." + +Mackay glanced upwards, then hastily grasped his rifle, but the vague +voices in the air broke afresh upon his ears just as he was about to +pull the trigger, and he laid the deadly weapon down with a shudder. + +"They are actually mimicking that bonnie hymn," he said nervously. "I--I +haven't the heart to shoot----" + +"And aren't their voices almost musical!" cried Jack, whose ear was +keenly attuned to melody. "They make a very much better attempt than our +corroborree savages did about a week ago; their voices were simply +hideous." + +"The aborigines are born mimics, Jack," answered Mackay; "but, as you +say, their song is usually enough to drive a man to drink--providin' he +can get it. Still there may be a different sort o' savage in this +mysterious country. If the land itself is better, it would influence +the people, and who knows maybe they have acquired some accomplishments +unknown to their brethren on the flats." + +"I can't make them out at all," said Bob, quietly. "Everything seems so +unreal, so--so uncanny about here, and these niggers singing that hymn +have given me the creeps." + +"Let me have one go at 'The Muskittie's Lament,'" pleaded the Shadow. "I +reckon it would bust them up to mimic that high note----" + +"You leave that long-suffering muskittie alone," said Mackay. "We'll +bust them up wi' something more solid in the morning. I'll climb that +mountain or go under trying." + +Conversation somewhat flagged after that. The events of the day had all +been so strange and inexplicable; the lure of the mountain was becoming +oppressively potent, and each of the staunch little band was filled with +his own secret convictions regarding what might lie beyond. + +"Better turn into your blankets, boys," said Mackay, at length. "You'll +need all your energies in the morning. I'm going to keep watch and see +that nothing happens while you sleep. I'm not going to risk another wipe +out in this quarter." + +"You ain't goin' to do sentry go on your own," spoke Never Never Dave. +"I reckon I'll take my turn." + +"An' me, of course!" cried Emu Bill. + +"And ain't the poor, low-down Shadow any good?" complained that +individual, pathetically. "Let me do a prance round, boss. I ain't a bit +sleepy." + +"Let Jack and me take it for the first night," said Bob, quietly. + +Mackay laughed. "I know you are all vera willing, my lads, but the +first night is my care; I'll ask Bob, who is next in responsibility, to +take part o' the watch. Jack and the Shadow will be on duty to-morrow +night, and you, Bill and Never Never, can take the next;" which equable +arrangement appeared to suit every one. + +Then Bob arose, rifle in hand, and stepped forward. + +"No, no, Bob; not yet," said Mackay. "I'll call you in three or four +hours to take a spell. Lie down and sleep for a bit, my lad." + +But Bob was obdurate. "You've been wearing yourself out these last few +days," he said simply. "You can surely trust me to fill your place for +the first half of the night, at least. Perhaps I may not need to call +you, for I know I couldn't sleep if I tried. My brain is buzzing with +odd ideas, which would be bound to keep me awake." + +The elder man hesitated for a moment, then gave in. "But promise to call +me at one o'clock, Bob," he said, "otherwise I'll stay up with you;" and +Bob promised. + +A few minutes and a row of sleeping figures lay outstretched around the +fire. Bob tightened up his cartridge-belt, pulled up the heads of +several cartridges so that they might be easily extracted in an +emergency, examined the magazine of his gun, and closed the breech +gently, bringing the trigger to full cock. Then he waited, motionless as +a statue, beside the huddled forms of his comrades, with rifle upraised, +and every nerve strung at highest tension. Well he knew that danger +threatened; he felt it in the air; an ominous calm prevailed; how soon +would it be broken by the savage yells of the guardians of the mountain? +Bob gripped his rifle the tighter, and his eyes scanned the near +distance critically, then roamed aloft to the now deserted mountain +summit. A slight sound startled him, and his finger closed gently on the +trigger of his weapon, but it was only Mackay tossing restlessly in his +blanket. Bob looked pityingly at the sleepless form, and at that moment +Mackay beckoned him. + +"I canna get it out o' my mind," he whispered, "that when I followed the +tracks o' the blacks, they led right into the mountain an' no' round +about it, an' it beats me to know how they managed to climb over so +quickly. Keep a careful watch, Bob; keep a careful watch." + +Bob nodded silently and returned to his position. He had unconsciously +shared Mackay's fears before they had been spoken. Since he first saw +the mysterious mount he had marvelled how it had been scaled, and how +descents had been accomplished. + +The Southern Cross slowly sank to rest, and the edge of the Great Bear +constellation peeped above the northern horizon. Yet still the watcher +stood erect at his post, and the camp slumbered. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +The Struggle by the Mountain + + +It was well after midnight, and Bob still stood guard over the sleeping +camp with undiminished vigilance. Not a sound in the air escaped him; he +heard the distant scream of the curlew with a shiver of dread, then +nearer at hand the dull monotone of a mopoke resting on some rocky ledge +overhead would reach his ears as a dismal calling from a shadowy world. +Again would come a period of silence, broken only by the gurgling echoes +from the sulphur springs, and the regular breathing of the sleepers. Bob +pulled himself together impatiently, he had felt himself relaxing into a +kind of stupor wherein all things grim and melancholy appeared to him. + +"I wouldn't have believed," he muttered, "what a shattering influence a +night watch has on a man's nerves." + +The long wailing cry of a dingo now penetrated piercingly over the +desert from the west, and the watcher stirred uneasily at the mournful +sound which seemed to convey in it all the sadness and despair of a +voice from the nether world. + +The weird notes had scarcely died away when he became conscious of a +peculiar tap-tapping almost close beside him. He could not make it out; +the black surface of the barring range rose before his eyes, but he +could distinguish nothing there, and the moon shone clearly on the +giant rock. Tap! Tap! Tap! Softly the echoes came but imperceptibly +growing louder; anxiously he scanned the bare hillside for some clue to +the mystery, and as his eyes reached the ridge of the mountain he was +startled to see a tall beshrouded figure standing there, and apparently +gazing down upon him. Bob was certain the apparition had not been in the +same place but a minute ago, and surely he could not be responsible for +these strange noises which seemed to come from the mountain, yet with no +cause showing. Tap! Tap! Tap! Harsher and more metallic the ghostly +reverberations rang, and now a faint call wafted down from the heights; +again and again it came, gently falling on the mystified listener's ears +like a voice from the skies, and the strange figure aloft waved his arms +in wild gesticulation. Sharper and still sharper sounded the +demoralizing tapping, and with it now came a curious shuffling, slight +almost to noiselessness, but Bob's sensitive ears were not to be +deceived. A cold sweat broke out upon his brow; the vague disturbances +of the night were issuing not from the side of the mountain, but from +its interior! With a quick stride he reached Mackay, and at a touch the +sleeper awoke. + +"What is it, lad, what is it?" he asked, breathlessly, his rifle already +in his hand. + +Bob placed his finger on his lips, and pointed silently to the mountain. + +"They're coming _through_ it!" he whispered, hoarsely. + +Mackay nodded briefly, and strode silently over to the resounding wall, +and Bob hastily aroused the sleepers. In a moment the camp was prepared, +and meanwhile Mackay was walking stealthily along the base of the mount, +his ears bent down to the rock as he strove to locate the mysterious +alarms. And now the distant call from the hilltop floated down to them +once more, and Emu Bill started at the sound, and looked up wonderingly, +for the faint double note of a coo-ee had this time been plainly heard, +and the tall form on the distant heights was despairingly pointing +outwards across the desert. + +"That nigger can coo-ee like a good 'un," muttered he, "an' he's tryin' +to warn us. I reckon that's because we didn't shoot him to-day; but I +never believed a nig could feel any gratitood." + +Suddenly the echoes ceased, and all was silent as a tomb. Bob looked, +and saw Mackay crouched hard against the rocky wall on the edge of a +deep fissure which showed down half the face of the mountain. He seemed +like an animal preparing for a deadly spring. + +"I reckon we should go over beside him," said Never Never Dave, but so +speedy had been the developments of events that there was no time to +decide upon a definite course of action. Indeed, not one of the party +guessed what wild happening was about to take place. Bob somehow +expected to hear the preliminary yells of an attacking horde, even as +they had heard them before, but no such outcry took place. He saw Mackay +beckon wildly with one hand over his shoulder, and quickly he obeyed the +summons, the others following with silent footsteps. Then a stone +clattered noisily at the bottom of the ravine, and to Bob's amazement, a +swarthy face appeared from the depths, surmounted by a tall waving +head-dress of feathers. As the warrior emerged further into view, Bob's +astonishment increased, for here was no naked savage, but a gorgeously +arrayed aboriginal, splendidly proportioned, and carrying in his hand a +long curved bow and several arrows. Bob had just time to note this much +and no more, for Mackay's rifle belched out almost in the new arrival's +face, but the shot had been fired with the hands resting loosely on the +ground, and the bullet sped high, scattering the nodding plumes of the +astonished black in all directions. With a cry of pent-up fury, Mackay +lunged forward to grasp his prey, and at once the stalwart native closed +with him. And now crowding up behind, one by one, a solemn procession of +similarly attired warriors came trooping. The first of the number +without hesitation rushed to the assistance of his struggling comrade, +the others calmly bore down upon the little group, who, with Bob at +their head, had watched the scene as in a dream. With a hoarse snarl of +rage Never Never Dave opened fire, and almost at the same instant the +entire artillery of the camp spouted out flame and smoke and leaden +hail. In reply, a cloud of arrows flew about their heads, and Bob felt +one pierce the muscle of his arm, but he pulled out the slender barb +with a wrench, and again his rifle spoke, and the roar of many reports +in his ears told him that his comrades too were strenuously engaged. +Backwards and forwards the spectral warriors surged, and yet never a +sound escaped their lips, and they strove with steady effort to come to +close quarters with the camp defenders. + +Meanwhile, Mackay was engaged in desperate encounter on the edge of the +fray. His first antagonist he had flung from him almost immediately, +limp and broken, from that dreadful clutch. The second he had rendered +_hors de combat_ with a single blow of his mighty fist. Then two more +rushed upon him, but profiting by the experience of their brethren they +evaded his circling arms, and hurled themselves upon his lower limbs, +and there they clutched leech-like, while others hastened to attack him +from behind. Mackay marvelled for the moment why they had not shot him +down with their arrows; his own rifle had been thrown aside after the +first fruitless shot, but now his revolver flashed in his hand, and the +weighty stock came down crash on the head of his nearest encumbrance, +but before he could use it again, he was seized from the back and pulled +to the earth, yet even as he fell his revolver exploded upwards into the +faces of his foes, and he chuckled in grim joy as he felt their relaxing +hold. It was at this stage that Bob missed him from their midst. The +attack had drawn off somewhat, and he glanced around for the first time +in search of his companions. Then he noticed the seething band standing +over the fallen giant, and a wild fury filled his heart. + +"Come on, boys," he cried, "Mackay's down!" and he dashed to the rescue. + +Quick as he was Never Never Dave was quicker, and his clubbed rifle +swung light as a feather in his strong right hand, but it fell heavy as +lead on the heads of the all too previous natives, who had not looked +for further molestation from that quarter. With a guttural exclamation +they leaped aside, and Mackay arose bleeding and scarred. But the end +was not yet; even while the defenders were congratulating themselves on +their victory the natives once more swooped down upon them, and their +arrows whistled loudly through the air. They had guessed that the +death-dealing weapons of the little party had lost their power, for +indeed there had not been a shot fired these many minutes, and the +magazines of the rifles were empty. But they still had their revolvers, +and at the first discharge the angry blacks seemed to waver, but still +they came on. As in a dream Bob saw a wild, grinning face peering into +his, while a heavy club was raised to strike; vainly he tried to lift +his revolver, the blood rushed to his head, his brain reeled, another +instant and the blow would have fallen, when, with a stifled cry, Jack +dashed before him and sprang fiercely at the savage's throat. The very +force of his onslaught bore back the gloating native, the club fell, but +it fell harmlessly to the ground as Jack's fingers closed on its owner's +throat. But the warrior had had enough; disentangling himself from the +youth's grasp, with many a wriggle and gasp, he turned and fled, and +when Jack looked round he found that the entire enemy had vanished. + +"Now, boys," said Mackay, cheerily, "let us estimate the damage. You, +Bob, have got an arrow-hole in your arm, an' I'm surprised you've +managed to hold out so long, but if you had got that crack on the head +that was meant for you, you would never have seen old England again." + +Bob laughed weakly. "I'm pretty right," he said. "What about yourself?" + +"Nothing serious, my lad; and you, Jack?" + +"Not a scratch," responded that youth, brightly. + +"As for me, boys," echoed out Emu Bill's voice dismally, "I'm a regular +pin-cushion, I am. I reckon they've ventilated me a bit; but hang it +all, them arrows don't hurt worth a cent." + +But where were the Shadow and Never Never Dave? The former they found +sitting moodily by the base of the mountain, his back propped against it +for support. + +"That there last rush 'bout finished me," he said. "A howling gorilla +gave me a tender smack on the back wi' his club, an'--an' I believe it's +broken." + +Mackay laughed. "The back or the club, Shadow?" said he; whereat the +sorrowful youngster arose painfully to his feet, and communed with +himself in language deep and eloquent. + +"Where in thunder has Never Never gone?" cried Emu Bill, anxiously, as +they looked in vain for the well-known figure of the bushman. + +"He was beside me when that last rush came on," said Jack, almost +tearfully. "I didn't see what happened to any one after that." + +"Dave! Dave!" cried Emu Bill, and there was a quiver in his voice which +sounded strangely on his lips. "Where are you, Dave?" + +Then a thin, weak voice answered out of the gloom by the ravine. + +"I is right here, Bill, old man, right here." + +And there they found him, lying aslant on the loose _débris_ as he had +fallen, an inert mass. His face was upturned to the sky, and his breath +issued between his clenched teeth in long spasmodic jerks. He smiled +feebly as they bent over him. + +"I'm sent for this trip, boys," he murmured. + +"Don't say that, Dave," groaned Emu Bill, in anguish; "you ain't goin' +to leave your old comrade, Dave?" + +Mackay knelt down by the stricken man and placed his hand over the +feebly beating heart, and a hoarse cry of pain burst from his lips, +which was echoed by the sad little group around. + +"They must have given you a sair crack, Davie, man," said he, "a sair, +sair crack." + +Then he caught sight of the broken butts of two arrows in the +sufferer's broad chest, and he turned aside with a heavy sigh. + +"Never Never's going, lads," he said, with deep emotion. "Say your +good-byes before it is too late." + +Emu Bill gently pillowed his dying comrade's head upon his knee, and the +tears ran down his rugged cheeks unchecked, and dropped upon Never Never +Dave's pallid face. + +[Illustration: "EMU BILL GENTLY PILLOWED HIS DYING COMRADE'S HEAD UPON +HIS KNEE"] + +"Couldn't we carry him over and lay him on the blankets?" whispered Bob. + +Mackay sadly shook his head. Then Never Never Dave opened his eyes and +glanced at the sorrowing assembly, while his old smile struggled to his +lips. + +"Good-bye, boys," he whispered, "don't fret 'bout me. I is goin' on a +long, long trail, where there ain't no nigs an' no snakes. Never Never +has made his last bush journey, I reckon. But--but--we reached the +mountain." He ceased and laboured for breath, while the blood welled out +from his cruel wounds with the exertion. Silently each pressed round and +squeezed the bushman's rough and horny hand in a farewell grip. Once +more the man whose life-blood was ebbing so cruelly fast away spoke, but +now he was in the fantasy of delirium. "We'll get the spring all right, +Bob. Don't worry, my lad--and the mountain, wi' gold and diamonds--we'll +reach it, after all. Over the mountain--over--the--mountain." And so +Never Never Dave went forth himself on a new quest with a smile on his +lips, the smile of a man who knew no fear even at the end of his earthly +pilgrimage. Emu Bill gathered the stiffening form in his arms, gulping +down the great sobs with an effort, and tenderly he carried his lifeless +burden over to the camp-fire, and sad indeed were the hearts of the +melancholy procession which followed. + +"I reckon Never Never has had his wish, anyhow," said Emu Bill, quietly. +"He has passed in his checks with his boots on." + +"May we a' go out on the long trail as bravely," spoke Mackay, solemnly. +"Dave has gone over the mountain right enough. Over the mountain o' +earthly difficulty and down through the valley of the shadow. We should +not pity him now, boys, for he's free o' all the sorrows an' cares, an' +disappointments o' this vale o' tears. But we mustn't forget the living, +lads, though we respect the dead, or there may be more o' us starting +out on the long trail before sunrise. Get a lamp, Jack, an' we'll have a +look at that gully where they came out." + +"You're right, Mac," answered Emu Bill; "I'll get a pick too, in case we +need it." + +The lamp was speedily brought, and they started over to the gully whence +the natives had emerged, and as they crossed the scene of their conflict +Jack stumbled over the dead body of one of the warriors. He shuddered +painfully, and Bob, who was at his hand, drew him aside. + +"There are three more of them, Jack," he whispered. "Never Never, hasn't +gone under unavenged." + +Mackay heard the words, and he laughed harshly. + +"Ay, there's three more o' them, Bob," he said, "and there's a dozen +more who feel a bit mair pained in their anatomy than we do." + +They reached the treacherous ravine, and Mackay, taking the lamp in his +hand, cautiously moved forwards and downwards into the deep recess, and +gazed at the rocky rubble there strewn in bewilderment. In a moment Emu +Bill stood beside him, pick in hand, but he too was nonplussed +completely by the very natural appearance of affairs. + +"I'll swear I saw them come outen this here hole," he said. + +"We can't blame ourselves vera much for neglectin' to notice things," +agreed Mackay, with a grim smile. + +In the depths of the fissure which striated the mountain, only a number +of loose boulders were to be seen. + +"I reckon I'll try and shift some o' them," spoke Emu Bill. He stooped +down and lifted one or two of the heaviest rock fragments, while Mackay +held the light, and examined the markings on the walls of the cavern +with keen interest. + +"There ain't no opening here at all," cried Emu Bill, looking round +fearfully, as if half expecting to find the savages still close in the +vicinity. "I'm certain sure they couldn't get through here." + +Mackay smiled. "I don't know what sort o' blacks we've struck, Bill," he +said earnestly; "but if they constructed this trap-door arrangement +they've got a wonderful amount o' intelligence." + +He traced with his finger an irregularly shaped shelving crack in the +southerly wall. It seemed a perfectly natural occurrence in every way, +as indeed it was, but the edges gaped considerably towards the top, and +Mackay, pressing lightly against the mossy front, caused the overlapping +rim to close solid into the rock. By this time Bob, Jack, and the Shadow +had scrambled in beside the two. + +"But they couldn't get through that measly crack," protested Emu Bill, +not quite understanding. + +Mackay reached for the pick, and inserting the sharp point into the +thin, almost unnoticeable crack now showing, pulled gently, and behold, +the weighty rock swung back on end revealing a narrow, tunnel-like +entrance penetrating into the mountain. At the same time a draught of +damp and stifling air issued from the dark and gloomy passage way, +extinguishing the lamp, and before they could look again, the rock fell +softly back into position, and this time it closed with a snap. Again +Mackay endeavoured to lever it open, but now the solid formation refused +to be moved; try as he might, the doorway into the mountain seemed +closed conclusively against him. + +"Surely it cannot be a natural cave formation?" said Bob. + +"Nary cave, Bob," returned Emu Bill, decisively. + +"Not in a diorite rock," added Mackay, much perplexed. + +They stood gazing at the tantalizing face of the ponderous doorway for +some time without speaking. Then Mackay was aroused to action. + +"We'll find out all about it before we go away from here," he said, "but +in the meantime we'll barricade the swinging rock on this side to +prevent any one coming out. I have an idea that it wasn't right closed +at first or we would never have been able to find it; the blacks were in +too great a hurry to be cautious, I'm thinking." + +With a will they all set to work and built up a rampart of massive +boulders in the ravine. Then they sadly went back to the camp-fire to +await the coming of the dawn. All thought of sleep had left them now, +and they sat moodily by the flickering flames for some time without a +word being spoken, then as the chill morning air made itself felt, +Bob's wounded arm, which he had not yet examined, began to grow stiff, +and his head throbbed painfully. The Shadow, too, was far from +comfortable, though he made no complaint, and he fought against his +growing weakness manfully but at last, with a weary sigh, he fell back +limp on his blanket. Then Mackay rose with an exclamation of regret. + +"Bill," he said, "we've forgotten that these young mates of ours are +scarcely as tough as we are. We'd better try an' doctor up their bruises +a bit." + +Emu Bill staggered to his feet with a sympathetic grunt, and walked +blindly towards the camel packs in search of something that might serve +for bandages, and Mackay stooped over the fallen Shadow and pulled back +the neck of his much-torn shirt. The cause of that individual's relapse +was not difficult to find, a great jagged gash on the young bushman's +shoulder showed what a fierce blow he had received, evidently from a +flint-studded club. Jack hurried to fetch water to lave the bloody +wound, but the Shadow refused to receive any attention. + +"Let the thing dry, boss," he said, sitting up once more. "I reckon I +ain't no tender chicken to howl 'bout a muskittie bite." + +Bob's memento of the affray was a little more serious; one of the barbs +of the arrow had broken in his arm, keeping the wound open, and the +blood was still dripping down his sleeve in great gouty drops. Mackay +carefully cut out the splintered wood with the point of his +sheath-knife, an acutely painful operation; but the patient never +winced. + +Then Emu Bill returned. "I can't find nary cloth 'ceptin' flour-bags," +he announced. "Take a bit o' this here shirt o' mine." + +He ripped off a sleeve of his garment and handed it to Mackay, and with +it Bob's arm was soon tightly dressed. And now the rosy light of +approaching dawn began to spread over the scene, and the stars faded out +one by one before the radiant sun's advance. Morning had come at last. +Yes, morning had come, and with it appeared in all their grim +hideousness the evidences of the long night's struggle. There was Never +Never Dave stretched beside them, his calm white face gazing peacefully +towards the heavens. A little way off four huddled forms lay bent up in +the dust, their torn plumes scattered around them. Here and there arrows +and clubs were strewn, and gory tracks marked the way towards the +subterranean passage wherein the warriors had retreated. Bob surveyed +the ghastly relics with a sorrowful countenance. Here to him was a new +aspect of the wanderer's life. In the pursuit of Nature's treasure the +risks were many if the rewards were great. All was not sunshine and +romance and pleasurable excitement. He stood for some minutes in silent +contemplation. + +"Yes," he said aloud, "and I, too, would have been lying there, had it +not been for you, Jack." + +"Don't speak about it, Bob," returned the boy at his side, with a +shudder. "How could I have gone home without you?" + +Mackay had, in the mean time, been examining the discarded weapons of +the aborigines with critical interest. + +"It seems to me," he said quietly, "that we might all have been lying +there if the warriors hadn't imagined us to be asleep. I can only find +about twenty arrows altogether. I think they could only have carried one +or two each, never dreaming they would have need for more." + +"I reckon that is why they tried to rush us every time," remarked Emu +Bill. "They were too cock-sure, they were; an' we've got to be thankful +for it. But ain't this a funny get up for nigs, even if they is on for a +corroborree dance?" + +He pointed to the strange habiliments of the dead warriors. Each native +was cloaked in a rich opossum robe, suspended from the shoulders almost +down to the heels. + +"I can't make them out, Bill," said Mackay. "They are different from any +tribe I've ever run across before. They're bigger than an ordinary +native, and their faces look almost intelligent. But we've forgotten +about the mountain passage. Surely the blacks couldn't have made that. +There's more o' a mystery here than I can fathom, Bill; but we'll soon +know what it all means." + +"I just reckon we will," grated Emu Bill as they turned away. + +Jack, who was now the most active member of the party, was not long in +preparing breakfast, and the stimulating influence of the boiling tea +did much to revive their weary spirits. + +"If only Never Never hadn't gone under," said the Shadow, as he munched +at his hard, unpalatable damper fare, "I could have felt real joyous, I +could. I reckon we has struck the land o' gold and di'monds right +enough." + +The mysterious mountain had assuredly grown more and more mystifying. +What wonderful secret could be hid beyond? What strange people could +have made the tunnel through its mighty heart? + +"I am convinced we are about to make a wonderful discovery," said Bob. +"Ordinary aborigines could never have constructed that passage----" + +"And allowing that they could," interjected Jack; "what purpose is it +supposed to serve?" + +"I reckon it's the treasure chamber o' the Never Never we has struck at +last," observed Emu Bill, with quiet assurance. "Nary man ever knew what +to expect in this here country; but we has struck the secret, only poor +old Dave ain't with us no more." + +There was no doubt that the expedition had reached a region of strange +mystery in the heart of the great unknown land of the Never Never. Their +humble repast over, there now came the sad duty of interring the body of +their dead comrade. Silently they filed off, armed with pick and shovel, +in search of a soft spot in which to dig the grave. But no kindly soil +was to be found; the bare rock appeared everywhere immediately below the +surface. + +"There's only one thing we can do," said Mackay. "We must drill and +shoot a hole down wi' gelignite, that is, unless we carry poor Dave out +across these springs into the desert, but for my part I'd rather bury +him close into the mountain. I think he would have liked it himself. Let +us give poor old Dave a big monument, boys, I'm sure none o' us will +grudge the work." + +Grudge the work? Not they. It was the last tribute they could pay to the +faithful and brave companion of their travels, and with heavy hearts +they set about their task. A case of gelignite had been included in the +outfit of the expedition in anticipation of any valuable ore deposits +being found which might necessitate blasting before samples could be +obtained, and now for the first time the deadly explosive was called +into requisition, and for a most melancholy purpose. The long steel +drills which had done such good work in the Golden Promise Mine were +also called into play, and all forenoon Mackay and Emu Bill laboured at +their sad work, relieved occasionally by Jack, the Shadow, and Bob, for +though the last two were then wholly unfitted for any exertion, they +insisted on taking their turn, Bob swinging the great hammer with his +one free hand, while the Shadow held and turned the drill. At every half +hour or so the mighty roar of an explosion would burst forth from the +rocky excavation, and a hail of boulders and showers of iron sand were +hurled into the air. + +In the midst of this turmoil Bob happened to look up, and he was +scarcely surprised to see the same gloomy figure on the mountain summit +watching their operations intently. + +"I can understand his warning now," he muttered to himself. "He knew +they were going to attack us from the tunnel. But why should he have +wished to save us?" + +The more he considered the matter the more puzzled he became. Then he +observed quite a number of the oddly garbed natives join their companion +on the hilltop. Again and again the dull boom of the heavy gelignite +charges echoed out on the still air, and after each ponderous report a +fresh group seemed to gather up aloft until Bob could count fully fifty +of them. + +"I reckon this here circus sort o' disturbs them," grunted Emu Bill. + +Mackay looked anxious. "I hope there's no more o' them," he remarked +gravely. "We've struck a bigger-sized tribe than we calculated on, +Bill, an' we'll have to be vera cautious." + +At last the tomb was completed and reverently they wrapped the dead man +in his blanket and carried him to his last earthly rest. No tears now +dimmed their eyes, their sorrow was deep set in the heart; it had passed +the mere emotional stage, and could find relief only in strenuous +action. Then they stood around the open grave with bowed heads, while +Mackay repeated a brief prayer. Long afterwards Bob remembered the quiet +dignity of his utterance, the simple eloquence of his tribute, and the +whole pathetic scene would return to him with all its overwhelming +memories. When he had finished, they shovelled in the loose sand and +rubble in solemn silence, and built up a cairn over the top. + +The natives from their position of vantage had gazed stolidly down on +them throughout the entire ceremonial; but now they dispersed, leaving +but one solitary watcher on the height. + +"We'll have to plant these natives now," said Mackay; "we can't leave +them lying like that." + +They walked over and surveyed the bodies again, and the Shadow taking +the long opossum robe from one of them, threw it over his own shoulders +with a chuckle of satisfaction. + +"I reckon this here ornament should just fit me," said he, turning round +for inspection. + +Emu Bill laughed hoarsely. "Throw the wretched thing away, Shad," he +growled. "Ye doesn't want to wear a nig's wardrobe, does ye?" + +But a wild idea had just then entered Mackay's head; he bent down and +gathered several of the emu feathers lying around; these he stuck in +the Shadow's hair much to that youth's disgust. + +"Why, Shad, if your face was blacked you'd pass for one of the +warriors!" exclaimed Jack, noting the effect at once. + +"We'll save these decorations for future use," said Mackay, quietly. + +Emu Bill whistled softly, "I never thought o' that," said he. "I reckon +it's a real daisy idea." + +Quickly they despoiled the natives of their gorgeous trappings, and Bob +sighed when the miserable bodies were revealed in all their savage +nakedness, and marvelled at the unusual muscular development showing in +their chest and limbs. + +"Ay, Bob," said Mackay, guessing his thoughts, "one of these fellows is +worth two of any other tribe, I ken. Somehow, though I have a sair +grudge against them, I feel sort o' sorry to see such bonnie specimens +slaughtered." + +"But I reckon they would have danced round our funeral all right," said +Emu Bill, savagely. "Hang it, the nigs in this here country ain't fit to +live, they ain't." + +"There are no opossums about here, are there?" asked Jack, suddenly. + +"Nary one," answered Emu Bill, with a laugh. "Why, they couldn't live on +sand, an' there ain't no trees around that a muskittie couldn't bend by +sitting on them." + +"Then where could these skins come from?" cried the lad. + +Bob shook his head dubiously, and Emu Bill seemed to have thought of +the matter for the first time. Mackay alone seemed confident in his +knowledge. + +"It's a sure proof, Jack," said he, "that beyond the mountain there must +be a different kind o' country, a country o' forests and rivers, maybe, +and our Eldorado." + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +The Secret of the Mountain + + +It was well into the afternoon before their gruesome task was +accomplished, and the sun shone far down in the Western sky when they +returned to the camp. They had carried the deceased warriors out into +the sandy tracts beyond the boiling springs. It cannot be said that they +were unduly sympathetic with the slain, and certainly they were anything +but enamoured of their self-imposed contract, but the alternative would +have been extremely disagreeable. + +"I have no doubt their brethren would have come for them to-night," said +Bob, "and saved us a good deal of trouble--if we could only have +depended on them going peaceably away again." + +"Ay, if," agreed Mackay, dryly. "But their coming would only mean more +funerals, Bob, and as for that, I believe they've been trying to force +that patent door of theirs before now." + +He turned and gazed towards the fissure at the base of the mountain, and +at that moment there distinctly came a sound therefrom as of the jarring +of rocks under pressure. They all kept perfect silence for a minute or +two, and again the sound was repeated, but this time it was succeeded +by the sharp rattle of falling boulders. + +"That's the top o' our barricade down, I reckon," whispered the Shadow, +reaching gingerly for his rifle. + +"They would see us go out into the plains," hazarded Bob, calmly, "but +the smoke of these very convenient boilers has kept them from noticing +our return." + +Mackay nodded. "They've got about a solid ton to shift before the door +will swing," he said musingly. "Now I wonder if we should go an' help +them wi' the job or no'?" + +"I reckon we has had enough for one day, Mac," answered Emu Bill, +wearily. "Let the skunks work their own passage." + +Another rattle, louder than the first, reached their ears. + +"'Pears to me they is in a mighty hurry," grinned the Shadow. + +Bob rose to his feet. "I'm going to have a look," he said. "Come on, +Jack;" and they tip-toed over to the origin of the disturbances, leaving +their companions apparently deeply and solely intent on bringing the +billy on the fire to a boil speedily. + +Mackay had examined the barricade once or twice earlier in the day, and +noticed no change in its appearance, and was convinced that nothing +short of gelignite cartridges could shift their obstruction from the +inside. Bob held the same opinion, but he was nevertheless curious to +see what sort of efforts were being made. Making a short _détour_, they +silently approached the entrance to the underground passage from the +side farthest from the movable rocky slab. The interstice had been +well-nigh filled with diorite boulders, leaving only the top of the +solid panel showing; but when Bob looked now, he was alarmed to find a +considerable shrinkage in the level of the barricade, and though the +noisy echoes of falling rocks were still plainly heard, it was evident +that nothing was rolling down from the top of the pile. Jack drew a +quick breath of anxiety; Bob was perplexed beyond measure, but he made +no sign, and as he looked, behold! the boulder stack was gradually, yet +surely, sinking--sinking apparently into the earth beneath. Then his eye +noticed some slight change in the position of the rocking wall; it was +thrust up somewhat, and gaped widely. The solution of the mystery was +now made clear: the great slab moved upwards as well as outwards, and +the depletion of the pile was taking place from the bottom; the rock +fragments were rolling inwards to the tunnel! + +Hastily he beckoned on his companions, and they came forward at a run, +just as the last stone was disappearing from view. But the natives had +now taken alarm. There came a dull thud as the doorway relapsed into its +accustomed place, and then their rapidly retreating footsteps were heard +as they scurried back into the subterranean channel, and the peculiar +tapping of the night before heralded the direction of their flight. + +Mackay took in the position at a glance, and an expression of grave +concern settled on his features. + +"Their resources are positively marvellous," he groaned in despair. +"It's a vera fortunate thing, Bob, that you werena influenced by my +stupid over-confidence, and came to investigate. We might have been +bowled over wi' their arrows before we had time to lift a rifle." He +continued bitterly to abuse himself while he inspected the now bare +cavity in the mountain. + +"I reckon it's a long sight more fortunate that they came along in the +daytime," commented Emu Bill, "which they likely wouldn't have done, if +they had thought we were about. Seems to me, that good Samaritan job o' +ours in planting them nigs nice and comfortable out in the sand has done +us a service right away." + +"You've hit it pretty near, Bill," Bob agreed. "If they had done that +trick in the night, we should probably have been wiped out." + +"This is a mighty unpleasant climate for us tender lambs, it is," wailed +the Shadow. "There's nary night but what we may wake up wi' a screech +an' find ourselves dead." + +"There's one way we can block it for good," muttered Mackay, grimly, +"but I'm no vera willing to do it, for it will block us too, an' I mean +to get inside that mountain before I'm a couple o' days older." He +looked towards the gelignite case, lying near where it had been placed +for safety, and his companions knew his plan at once. "Yes, we may well +shoot down a bit o' the mountain big enough to bar that tunnel safe as a +house, but that wouldn't suit us afterwards." + +"If we roll round a few boulders wider than the door itself, that would +keep things pretty safe for a night," suggested Jack; and in the end, +this was the plan decided upon, and for half an hour they busied +themselves transporting the most unwieldy diorite blocks they could +find, and fixing them securely into the cavity. Then they returned to +partake of their well-earned and belated dinner of tea and damper. + +The last added proof of the blacks' ingenuity considerably disturbed the +members of the little party. It had been so hard to believe that +aborigines could possibly have constructed the tunnel through the +mountain, but now they were inclined to imagine their savage neighbours +capable of anything. + +"I reckon we has got to go slow, boys," remarked Emu Bill, with a +troubled expression; "them nigs don't seem to be the genuine article. +They knows a long sight too much for my liking, they does." + +Mackay, too, was obviously concerned. The mysterious tunnel mystified +him; he could not imagine how it had been wrought, but there was +gradually dawning in him a vastly increased respect for the natives who +lived beyond the mountain. That they were different from all other +tribes he had encountered was only too evident. The question was, in how +great a degree did they excel their brethren of the plains? Judging from +his brief experience of them, Mackay's estimate of their powers was far +higher than he cared to admit. + +"Of course," he said, in answer to Emu Bill, "if the country on the +other side is what we expect, the natives will be of a much more +advanced class than any we've met before. You see, it's the power o' +environment, Bill; it may have worked marvels here, for a' we know." + +They ate their unpalatable meal without much further remark. Then Bob, +who had been pondering deeply over the events of the last twenty-four +hours, showed the trend of his thoughts by asking quietly if any of the +aboriginal tribes had been known to use bows and arrows. + +"I never saw, nor heard tell o' such a thing before," grunted Emu Bill. + +"In that case," said Bob, "these natives show that they have originated +that custom here, or have retained it from an earlier period, before +the blacks began to degenerate; and, in either case, it proves them to +be an exceptional lot altogether." + +"That's just what's bothering me, Bob," admitted Mackay. "We might well +tackle an ordinary tribe, even though we only numbered five against +fifty, but wi' these beggars here, I'll allow we seem to be embarking on +a job that is, to say the least of it, a bit unhealthy. No, no, don't +think I'm gettin' nervous, Bill, but we must calculate the chances +before we start. Bob counted fifty niggers on the hill this morning, so +we've a fair idea o' what we are goin' to run up against." + +"Hang it, boss," complained the Shadow; "you doesn't think a crowd o' +nigs is goin' to hustle us back now, does ye? If we kin join their happy +family in the daytime we'll scatter 'em quick an' lively, but the night +gives me the creeps, it does. I can never see the sights o' my rifle in +the dark." + +"If we were once on the other side of the mountain," said Jack, eagerly, +"we could soon shift the blacks; it's the wretched old tunnel that keeps +worrying us here." + +"Ay, my lad," said Mackay, dryly; "the tunnel is a vera curious +construction for a crowd o' aborigines to make, an' the more I think +about it, the more puzzled I become. I was going to suggest that Bill +an' me should force the passage in the morning, while the three o' you +waited out by the camels in case o' accident." + +"I'm right wi' you there," cried Emu Bill. "I reckon it ain't safe for +these here young 'uns to come along wi' us first----" + +A storm of protest greeted his words, and Bob turned to Mackay +reproachfully. + +"I know what you mean," he said; "but neither Jack nor I will leave +unless we all leave together, so that if anything happened to you we +would not escape in any case. Isn't it far better to make the most of +our strength instead of dividing it?" + +"Well, well, perhaps you are right," returned the big man, hastily, as +if annoyed at his own fears; "but we'd better wait until morning before +we start the circus. Like the Shadow, I prefer to meet the natives in +daylight, and anyhow, we're a' needing a sleep to-night, so we'd be +better to turn in early and get up by sunrise. It should take us a good +half-hour in the morning blowing out that tunnel door for a start." + +Certainly nothing further could be done on that day, for the darkness +was already closing in, and each one of the party was weary and tired +from lack of sleep. So shortly afterwards they lay down in their +blankets, though not before a searching examination had been made of the +new barricade erected at the entrance to the subterranean passage, and, +in spite of the known dangers surrounding them, they slept soundly, each +taking a two hours' watch in turn. It was well after midnight when Bob +awoke for the first time, and at once his ears caught the strange +tapping in the mountain which had first heralded the approach of the +natives on the night before. He aroused himself immediately, and saw +Mackay, who was on guard, listening to the ghostly echoes intently. +Slowly they seemed to pass along the base of the hill, then all was +quiet. Bob got up and joined Mackay, and together they walked softly +towards the fissure, and there in the dull light they could vaguely see +the great boulders move as if under pressure from beneath, but though +they watched for fully ten minutes in silence, the barricade remained +intact. Jack's scheme had worked admirably. Then Mackay turned on his +heel with a loud laugh. + +"It's just as well to let them ken we're here, Bob," he explained; and +the sound of scurrying footsteps which answered him from the concealed +passage showed that the natives had thought fit to retire once more. +Then again the peculiar tapping issued out dully from the great rock, +continuing for nearly a minute before it faded into the stillness of the +night. + +"Well, what do you make of it, Bob?" asked Mackay. + +Bob did not hesitate a moment. "The passage must lead for some distance +along the face of the mountain," said he. "But why these strange sounds +are heard every time the blacks come along, I cannot say." + +"Man, Bob," laughed Mackay, "that's vera easily explained. The tunnel +must be dark, of course, and the warriors have to guide themselves along +the passage by feeling the walls wi' their arrows or clubs as they go. +It just struck me that that was the reason o' the uncanny noises when I +heard them come along there to-night. Simple enough, isn't it, Bob?" + +"I'm glad there is nothing approaching the supernatural about it, +anyhow," replied Bob, soberly. "The echoes seemed to ring in my ears +like a knell of doom." + +He shuddered as he got back into his blanket. The others were awake by +this time; but when they learned that an ineffective attempt had been +made to destroy the barricade, they chuckled in rare good-humour, and +went off to sleep again. The remainder of the night passed without +alarm, and the morning broke, calm and serene, over the little camp, +which awoke to life with renewed vigour after its peaceful slumber. +Breakfast was soon over; then a hurried council of war was held to +reason out the best plan of action. Emu Bill was in favour of inserting +a heavy charge of gelignite in the rocking panel which had defied their +gentler efforts on the preceding day; and Jack and the Shadow supported +this proposal vociferously. Mackay, however, though he had at first +advocated this drastic action, now seemed reluctant to carry it through; +and Bob, too, though he did not say much, was evidently pondering over +some other and better scheme, which he at last broached hesitatingly. + +"If the passage runs parallel with the face of the mountain for twenty +or thirty yards," he said, "it strikes me that if we made a fresh +entrance to it as far away from the old one as possible, we could +deceive the natives most completely, and perhaps provide a means of +escape in an emergency." + +"I don't quite catch on," grumbled Emu Bill. "I'm hanged if I see what +difference it should make; an' we doesn't know how far we'd have to dig +into the blasted rock afore we hit the tunnel--if it's where you say." + +Mackay took up a pick, and, proceeding along the base of the mountain +away from the fissure, struck at the rocky wall repeatedly, with the +result that a deep, hollow rumbling issued forth at each stroke, until a +point had been reached some thirty yards distant from the tunnel +entrance, when only the solid diorite formation gave back the sound. + +"I calculate we'd have less than five feet to drive, Bill," said he. +"About a couple o' long shots in from the top would do it. You can +trace the passage as plainly as if you were looking at it. I don't know +what the idea was in making it like a boomerang; but we'll soon find +out. Now, Bob, you're better at explaining than me. Try an' convince +Bill o' the advantages we may derive from making a new hole into the +mountain." + +"I reckon I can see it all right," cried the Shadow. "Oh, it are a +daisy----" + +"Shut up, Shad," growled Emu Bill. "Now, Bob, for any sake, tell me your +plan. Of course I'm with you, whether I understand or not; but, blow me +if I can see the force o' doing extra work in the niggers' mountain fur +nothin'." + +Then Bob endeavoured to elucidate the ideas which had been taking shape +in his brain all through the night, since Mackay and he had come to a +conclusion as to the origin of the warning sounds and the proximity of +the passage for some distance to the outer air. + +"If we don't tamper with the old door, boys," said he, earnestly, "we +can block up the hole we make by some bagging, and so will always have a +chance of escape if the natives are too many for us. They will guard +their own entrance only, for they probably will never see ours; and it's +just as well to take precautions. The darkness of the tunnel will help +our plan; and if we succeed without having to trouble about getting +back, so much the better----" + +"And there are a few more arguments in favour o' the scheme, Bob," added +Mackay; "but we may see the excellence o' them later." + +"But they'll hear us firing the charges, won't they?" said Jack. + +"They heard us doing the same thing yesterday," answered Mackay; "an' +they saw us too, so it's no vera likely they'll trouble us to-day. But +if we put the drill-holes in deep enough, and give the powder plenty +work to do, there shouldna be much noise--in fact, I doubt if they'll +hear it at a'." + +No time was lost in making the experiment, and the long steel drills +were quickly grinding their way through the hard outer casing of the +rock as nearly as could be judged opposite the place where the passage +took an abrupt turn inwards. And now the mining knowledge of Mackay and +Emu Bill made their work comparatively easy; they knew exactly the +correct angles at which to drive the drills so as to obtain the best +results when they loaded the holes so made with the deadly explosive. +Steadily they laboured at their task, Bob, Jack, and the Shadow +assisting at intervals, but more often engaged farther out in the open +making a goodly appearance for the benefit of the natives, should they +chance to be watching, and thus drawing attention away from the great +work in hand. For a full hour Mackay slogged at the steel with his +mighty hammer, then gradually the borings extracted from the deepening +hole grew lighter and redder in colour, and the drill sank inwards +rapidly. + +"That's a new formation we've struck, Bill," said he, pausing to examine +the edge of his tool. Then an exclamation broke from his lips. "We're +chippin' through a gold lode!" he cried; "and it's so rich that the +drill clogs in the metal." + +"I reckon there's nary nig'll shift us from here now," said Emu Bill, +examining for himself the gold grains exposed. "I means to see the other +side o' this here mountain, or bust. I reckon there must be oceans o' +gold an' di'monds over there." + +At this stage Jack called out warningly, "I see old Nebuchadnezzar on +the top of the mountain again." + +"It's the same old nig that we didn't shoot," exclaimed the Shadow; +"an', blow me! if he ain't goin' to throw stones at us." + +The tall figure on the summit had certainly attempted to throw something +down; but it caught on a jutting rock overhead, and bounded thence into +the rising vapours of the hot springs. Once more he appeared to cast +some projectile into the air; but if he did, it did not reach the ground +in the vicinity of the anxious party beneath. Then again a visible +missile came hurtling down; but it fell wide, much to the Shadow's +satisfaction. + +"The old fool can't throw stones for nuts!" he cried delightedly. + +"I don't think he'll hurt us much," said Mackay, with a laugh. "Let him +play away, Shadow, if it amuses him; it doesn't do us any damage." + +And the individual aloft continued his strange pranks for some time, +though in no one instance did the stones he threw alight even moderately +near; then he vanished as suddenly as he had come. + +"I think we're about ready for firing, Bill," said Mackay, shortly +afterwards. "We'd better hurry up, too, seeing that there does not seem +to be any one about to watch in the mean time." + +The drill had been driven over eight feet down, at an angle of somewhat +less than forty-five degrees, and Bob, making a rough calculation, +considered that its extremity was at least four feet away from the +surface of the rock in a straight line. + +"We'll give it twenty-five cartridges, I think," mused Mackay, "an' the +shock o' discharge should burst at least another foot inwards." + +"I reckon something's bound to shift," murmured Emu Bill, as he deftly +prepared the charges, and inserted the long fuse. + +Bob watched the last operation with quiet interest, but not so Jack and +the Shadow. They suddenly pranced off towards the cooking utensils by +the fire, and began to drag them back out of range. + +"Tea and damper is bad enough," groaned the Shadow, tenderly secreting +the only two billy cans the expedition possessed; "but damper without +tea would be howlin' starvation, it would." + +"You doesn't need to worry, Shad," grinned Emu Bill. "There won't be +much o' a scatter here." + +And he calmly applied a lighted match to the end of the fuse, and stood +for almost a minute, listening to its sputtering as the fire crept +slowly down towards the gelignite, before he turned away. Another +minute, two minutes, three minutes passed. + +"I'm afraid we've had a misfire, Bill," said Mackay. + +But just as he spoke the base of the mountain seemed to quiver and burst +forward, then came a dull report, and when the smoke cleared away, a +giant crack showed in the rock, but otherwise no evidences were left to +indicate that a powerful explosive had been at work. + +"That's hard lines," said Emu Bill, stepping forward. "It might have +shifted that chunk o' iron out o' the road, anyway. Now we'll need to +begin all over again." + +"I'm no so sure o' that," answered Mackay, waving his hat in the rent +created in order to dispel the clinging white fumes, which obscured all +vision. + +Then it was made apparent that it was no mere crack in the formation +they gazed upon. The force of explosion has not only cleft the rock, but +had thrust it almost a yard forward in one unbroken mass, and at the +bottom of the chasm thus made a vague blackness appeared, the blackness +of a void. Mackay bent down his head eagerly, but hastily withdrew it +again; a rush of heavy damp air, stifling and odorous, had come with a +gust in his face. + +"I reckon them powder fumes'll make you feel pretty bad," sympathized +Emu Bill. "Just give the smoke time to clear, Mac, an' then we'll put in +another shot." + +"There's no need to do any more work here, Bill," answered Mackay, +recovering himself. "We've broken right into the tunnel first pop! There +it is, too, as natural-looking an entrance as you could wish to see, wi' +a door--if we could move it--that weighs five tons if it weighs a +pound." + +Eagerly they all clustered round to look; and now that the atmosphere +had grown less clouded, the dark shadows of the cavern below were +plainly discernible. Bob gave a sigh of relief. At last the secret of +the mountain was to be revealed. + +"Well, I reckon I'd better get down an' prospect round a bit," said Emu +Bill, hitching up his nether garments preparatory to scrambling down +into the uncertain depths. + +"Let me go first," urged the Shadow. "I'm the lightest, and it wouldn't +hurt me much if I did go down a bit further than I expected when I let +go the edge." + +"We'll lower a rope wi' a stone on the end o' it before any one goes +down," said Mackay, firmly. "We've got to engineer this funeral vera +cautiously, my lad, an' mustna go bouncing ourselves into difficulties, +as if there was a good fairy waiting by us every time to pull us out o' +them." + +A rope was speedily forthcoming, and fastening a fragment of rock to the +end of it, Mackay carefully allowed it to descend. It came to a +standstill in good time, however, showing that the bottom of the passage +was barely three feet below the point where the rent had entered its +wall. Mackay quickly proceeded to adjust the rope so that its extremity +dangled just on the edge of the yawning gap, then he made it fast on the +outside by coiling it several times round the top of the sundered rock. + +"A man could pull himself out in a hurry by getting something to hold on +to," he remarked, "an' it's just as well to be prepared." + +This operation completed, Emu Bill wriggled himself down through the +narrow opening, and holding on to the guiding-rope, quickly disappeared +from view, while his companions on the surface waited expectantly for +his report on his surroundings. + +"Well, an' what do you make of it, Bill?" demanded Mackay, when the +tension on the cable had slackened. + +"I can't see a single thing," came the response. "It's dark as--as +Hades, an'--howlin' blazes! but it does smell." + +Without a word Mackay slid down beside his complaining comrade; the +Shadow followed, then Jack, and lastly Bob squirmed down beside them. +All was dark and oppressively gloomy in the strange passage, and the +thin streak of light from the opening they themselves had made, only +served to intensify the utter blackness which prevailed. They stood for +a full minute without speaking, their ears alert for the slightest sound +which might warn them of danger; but all was silent as a tomb. + +"Now, boys," whispered Mackay, "we'll have a look at the inside o' that +other doorway before we go any further." He led the way, staggering and +stumbling, and Bob, following at his heels, became conscious that the +floor of the tunnel was extremely muddy and wet. After a few steps +Mackay paused. "I've got a bit o' candle in my pocket," he said; "I may +as well strike a light." + +The match spluttered feebly in his hand for a moment, and then went out, +but on a second attempt he succeeded in getting the candle alight, and +though it burned with a dismal blue flame, it illuminated the rocky +cavern sufficiently for the adventurers to observe its structure. + +They stood in a longitudinal chamber about eight feet high, and barely +four in width. The roof fairly scintillated with beaded moisture, and +the dank, cold walls were adrip with ooze. The bottom of the chamber, as +they had already discovered, was a soft and clinging clayey formation. +Mackay's trained eye immediately grasped the significance of the scene. + +"This is a most extraordinary thing to find in the heart o' Australia," +he said. "It's a tunnel driven through an enormous gold lode, an' it's +vera evident that the men who made it knew almost nothing about mining, +for the ore hasn't been stripped either to the hanging wall or foot +wall. It's just as if a blind gap had been dug into the country where it +was softest." + +"I see a nugget shining in the roof," whispered Jack, pointing to a +yellow splatch showing overhead. + +"Ay, my lad, an' I can see several more," said Mackay, surveying the +exposed stratum in bewilderment. "It is a wonderful mine, without a +doubt, but what on earth the natives do with it is more than I can +imagine." + +He moved onwards once more, and then he halted suddenly, and held the +candle aloft. The passage had come to an end; before him stood the huge +stone panel which had first barred their entrance; at his feet gaped a +deep, pit-like cavity. + +"Come close up here, Bob," he said quietly. "Come an' have a look at +this arrangement o' things; primitive but effective, eh?" + +Bob gazed at the sight before him in absolute wonderment. The great +stone which marked the end of the chamber stood upright on an egg-shaped +base; it appeared to be formed like a rude and bluff wedge, the wider +extremity protruding outwards, where, as had been seen, it flanged +neatly on to the main rock from which it had sprung. But it was not its +shape that surprised Bob: a massive bar of some gleaming metal was +welded into it fully halfway up its height, and from this U-shaped bar a +rope of extraordinary girth stretched taut into the depths of the pit, +where it could be seen attached to a ponderous mass of diorite rock, +which hung from it like the weight of a giant clock. + +"It must take more than one man to open that door," murmured Jack. + +"They probably always come in force when they use this passage," mused +Bob; "and see, I suppose that arrangement is for keeping the stone bent +over when they are out?" + +He pointed to a short and stout log lying near, which had apparently +been used for preventing a quick rush back of the weighted panel when +the warriors had gone out on the night of the conflict. Mackay stepped +gingerly across the intervening shaft, and shone his light into its +unsavoury depths as he did so. + +"I see now where our boulder barricade dropped to," he said; "but I can +see also that they can never move our present obstruction in the same +way, the big blocks outside will stick them, no matter how they try." + +Emu Bill now tried to find his speech. "How in thunder is we to account +for the rock prizing open wi' us at first?" said he. "I can't understand +this here concern yet, I can't." + +Bob pointed downwards to where the wall of the pit was deeply scarred +and dented. + +"Likely enough the weight caught in the side," he said, "and so eased +off the tension considerably." + +Mackay, who had been keenly scrutinizing the rope and the stout bar in +the stone to which it was connected, now lifted his head. + +"The rope is made o' a grass which doesn't grow on our side o' the +mountain, boys," he said; "but the bar is fashioned out o' a metal which +is known to all of us, though we've never managed to possess it in +sufficient quantities to throw away on a job like this, where simple +iron would be far stronger and better in every way." + +"Why!" exclaimed Emu Bill. "You doesn't mean to say that they've stuck a +chunk o' gold in that there stone, does ye?" + +"I just do," answered Mackay, wearily. "Now, I think we'd better get out +and think over things for a bit. Two or three shocks o' that sort would +just about destroy my nervous system altogether." + +"But you ain't goin' to leave that bonanza in the rock, surely?" cried +the Shadow. "Let me get one tug at it, boss, I'll pretty soon yank it +out, I'll----" + +But here his companions gently but firmly led him away. + +"There's bound to be lots more of it lying around," said Jack, +soothingly, as they retraced their steps. + +When they reached the exit the light of the candle showed them that the +tunnel here swung off to the left at a right angle, and at this point +the passage was considerably wider than they had at first judged, +probably owing to the difficulty the natives had experienced in making +such a sharp turn. But the eye could distinguish nothing beyond the +radius of the feeble illumination; all was oppressively murky and damp +and repellent. + +"That's our road, boys," said Mackay, pointing with his candle into the +gloomy cavern which led into the heart of the mountain. "But before we +start on our journey we'll get out an' make our final arrangements, an' +change our wardrobe to suit the situation." + +In a few minutes they were all on the surface once more, eagerly talking +over their prospects, for, strangely enough, the dangerous aspect of +their projected journey through the mountain was for the moment lost on +them, so completely had the glamour of the golden tunnel exercised its +subtle influence. Mackay, however, quickly regained his control. + +"We must remember, boys," he cautioned, "that we have no ordinary +natives to contend with, an' before we leave this camp it will be +necessary to attend to some details which may be helpful to us +afterwards." + +"What would you suggest?" asked Bob. + +"In the first instance," Mackay replied, "we should hide the camel-packs +containing our provisions. We can easily do that out among the sand on +the other side o' the springs. It won't take us half an hour +altogether." + +"But what about the camels?" interjected Jack. + +"They are a good distance away, my lad, an' they're no' hobbled. They'll +just have to take their chance; but I don't think there's much risk in +that direction, after all, for Misery can't stand the sight o' a nigger, +an' if he bolted, the rest would follow, an' we could track them up +afterwards just as I had to do before in this same district." + +It was yet early in the day, and though Emu Bill was loath to delay +their tour of discovery even for five minutes, he was brought to see the +wisdom of Mackay's advice. Within half an hour the camp had assumed a +bare and desolate appearance, only the heavier mining implements being +left at the base of the mountain. Then they gathered round the cleft in +the rock, and hurriedly prepared for their work of subterranean +exploration. It had been agreed that the party should don the robes of +the deceased warriors in order to lessen the chances of detection should +any natives be encountered while traversing the mysterious passage, but +now they saw that whereas there were five persons to transform into +savages, there were but four of the long furry coverings, although the +feathered decorations for completing their sartorial equipment were more +numerous than necessary. + +"I believe I saw one o' them 'possum robes in the pit, aside the hanging +rock," said Emu Bill, reflectively. "I'll go an' get it in a jiff." + +He disappeared into the recess immediately, and Bob heard him feeling +his way back towards the old entrance, muttering and grumbling against +the awkward nature of the dismal, muddy track at each floundering step. +Then for a brief space all was still. + +"A bit o' charcoal rubbed over the face an' neck will make us more +nigger-like, I'm thinkin'," laughed Mackay, as he surveyed himself with +rueful gaze. + +It was no sooner said than done. Jack rushed over to the smouldering +fire, and came back with a handful of charred embers, and with these +they smeared their faces and hands plentifully. + +"An' I reckon we won't want our boots," grunted the Shadow, discarding +his almost soleless shoes, and rolling up the legs of his much-frayed +nether garments. + +"That's right, Shadow," said Mackay; "you make a grand nigger, an' I +only hope I don't mistake you in the dark for a real warrior, an' +slaughter you in error." + +Bob and Jack, when they had finished their toilet, looked their part to +the life; but when Mackay's towering bulk was arrayed and besplatched to +his satisfaction, he seemed the most fearsome object imaginable, a +formidable-looking savage indeed. + +"Now I wonder what's keeping Bill?" broke out Jack, impatiently. "This +rock here is burning my feet terribly." + +"He'll be tryin' to wrench off that bit o' gold from the big stone," +remarked the Shadow, with assurance. "I reckon I'll go down an' help +him." + +"You'll do nothing o' the kind," said Mackay, firmly, laying a +restraining hand on the youth's shoulder. "We've got something else to +do in the meantime, my lad. Bill will be gropin' in the dark for that +nigger dress, an' he'll be here in a minute." + +The Shadow's feeble smile at being intercepted in his desire to possess +the treasure he so much coveted looked so malevolent on his besmeared +features, that Jack could not forbear a hearty laugh. Then Bob gave a +gasp of dismay. + +"I can hear natives coming through the passage!" he said. "What are we +to do about Bill?" + +The vague echoes of shuffling movements were now quite plainly heard, +and still there was no sign from Emu Bill; probably he had not yet +become aware of the ominous sounds, or perhaps he was, as the Shadow had +suggested, too much engrossed with a congenial task to grasp their true +significance. With a forceful expression on his lips Mackay insinuated +his muscular form into the gap, and just at that instant a band of +savages swept by him so close that they almost touched him. Then only it +seemed that Emu Bill became aroused to his danger. A hoarse snarl of +rage rang along the passage, and the sounds of a silent scuffle came to +Mackay's ears as he stood motionless by the exit. With a stifled groan +he pulled himself up, just as the warriors had evidently accomplished +their work. + +"Have they killed him too?" whispered Jack, nervously. + +Mackay did not trust himself to reply. He motioned Bob to hand him his +rifle, and he was sliding back into the passage with a vengeful rage in +his heart when a stentorian call from Emu Bill made him pause. + +"I'm not dead, boys," he cried, "but they've got me trussed up like a +prize fowl, an' I don't know what they're goin' to do wi' me. Block the +light, or they'll see where I came in, an' don't try to save me now, for +there's over a score o' the skunks. It'll be all right, boys, all right. +Ye are a pack of miserable, sneakin', howlin' gorillas----" + +The last phrase, which was continued at some length, was obviously +destined for his captors as they bore him along. It was evident that +Bill had suffered no serious hurt at their hands, and his warning showed +that, even under such exceptionally trying circumstances, he was not +unmindful of the welfare of his comrades, who would assuredly have been +overcome had they descended to his assistance. The bushman's chivalric +self-abnegation however would not have deterred Mackay from taking long +odds at a work of rescue, but in the gloom of the cavern such action +would have been futile, or perhaps worse, because any shots fired at +random might just as easily kill Emu Bill as any one else, and the +resultant chaos could only end in one way. So Bill was led away by the +savage band, who gave vent to their satisfaction by sending forth +shrill, unmusical shouts, which rang through the vaulted chamber like +the cries of demons in torment. They passed by the gap in the wall which +Mackay's bulk covered without a moment's pause, and marched slowly on +into the heart of the mountain. + +When at last all discordant sounds had died away, Mackay aroused himself +with alacrity; but when his gaze fell upon the despondent countenances +of his companions, he could not forbear a smile; their dusky aspect and +warrior-like trappings agreed ill with their sorrowful visages. + +"Now, my young savages," he cried, "try an' look less miserable. We've +got to get through the mountain somehow now, for I won't leave Bill over +there on his own. See that you've got plenty of cartridges, my lads, an' +let us go." + +"Poor old Bill!" murmured the Shadow, sadly. "It was that darned chunk +o' gold that did it, I reckon." + +"Now that they've found some one in the tunnel," said Bob, wearily, +"they'll most likely come back to set a guard over the door; and when +they find it won't open, they'll look around until they get this +entrance, so that we'll be blocked completely from getting back." + +Mackay was already halfway into the passage, but he climbed out again +quickly on hearing Bob's words. + +"You're quite right, Bob," said he, "an' there's only one thing to do +before we start on Bill's trail. I don't like the idea o' it, but I +believe it's the best plan." + +They all hurried over to the barricaded entrance of the fissure, and +straightway began to pull aside the great rocks they had placed there so +carefully the night before. Already Mackay's forethought in hiding the +stores of the expedition was about to bear good fruit. If the blacks +came out now, as they undoubtedly would, they would find nothing to +destroy of any importance, and it was extremely unlikely that the +natural-looking crack in the rock further along the hill would receive +their attention; and, even if it did, the adventurous four would run no +more risk than if they had left the barricaded crevice intact. Mackay +calculated much on the blind, unreasoning ardour of the blacks. + +"They won't come out in the daytime if they think we're about," said he, +grimly, "and in the night they can see nothing, anyhow, though I hope we +haven't to dodge about in that passage for such a length o' time." + +Jack now bethought himself of a brilliant scheme whereby the purposes of +the free exit would be served without danger of the blacks profiting +much thereby. He found poor Never Never Dave's empty rifle lying near, +and this he carefully propped up by the aid of several boulders with the +long barrel directed fairly at the great stone door. + +"They'll think there's a man behind the gun," said he, chuckling in +boyish glee, "and whenever they open the concern they'll pop back again +mighty quick." + +"It's a vera excellent idea, Jack," approved Mackay. "Now, surely, we +can go our way in peace." + +They returned to the rent in the mountain which the explosive had made, +and without further hesitation stepped down into the depths below, and +Mackay, who was the last to descend, dragged with him a number of empty +flour bags with which he effectually screened the little light which +filtered between the sundered rocks. All was still in the passage as +they felt their way cautiously forward, hugging the walls for guidance, +their bare feet plashing in the oozy mire. Mackay and Bob led the way, +each pressing against the opposite sides of the passage for support. +Jack and the Shadow followed, more secure of their steps, knowing that +the way was proved before them. On, on, they struggled; Bob would have +dearly liked to light a match, but that would have been extremely +foolhardy at such a critical juncture of their pilgrimage, as it would +betray their presence to any aboriginal who might happen to be lurking +near. + +Already they seemed to have been an age in the stifling cavern, though +but a few minutes had elapsed since their entry. The tunnel, as nearly +as Bob could judge, had continued on a straight course, but it was hard +to estimate with certainty how great a distance had been traversed. + +Suddenly Mackay stopped and clutched Bob's arm in a vice-like grip. + +"There's a hole o' some sort at our feet," he whispered, as the lad +stumbled backwards. + +Bob put forward one foot gingerly, but it met with no resistance; +assuredly a dangerous void intervened in their path. In vain they sought +across the full width of the passage for a foothold; not an inch of +solid ground remained, and the clayey particles dislodged by their +essaying footsteps fell down into an unknown depth, and sundry gurgles +and splashes echoed back as they reached the bottom. + +"There's no scarcity o' water there," remarked Mackay; then he felt over +as far as he could reach with his rifle, and at the utmost limit of his +stretch something hard interposed. "It's just like a shaft cutting down +through the lode," he murmured; "but how the beggars get across it beats +me to understand." + +"We could take it at a jump, I think," suggested Jack. + +"I'm afraid we'd slip into the water if we tried, my lad. It's no' easy +gettin' a firm footing in this clay for a start. No, I think I'll throw +the Shadow across first an' he can steady us from the other side." + +"Say, boss," said that individual, plaintively, "I ain't no flying +machine or human bullet. I reckon my tender bones won't get damaged so +much if I jump----" + +But while they stood thus deliberating as how best to surmount the +difficulty, the dreaded sound of approaching natives fell dully on their +ears. The Shadow uttered a stifled groan and his rifle-lock clicked +under his impetuous fingers. Jack gave a faint whistle of dismay, and +Bob calmly drew and cocked his revolver. Mackay stood unmoved, straining +his eyes into the gloom; then he gently pressed Bob back close to the +wall. + +"Hug the side," he whispered; and each one crushed hard against the +slimy rock, and waited. + +Pat! pat! pat! came the unwelcome echoes, accompanied by an occasional +splash, as the oncoming band floundered in the mire, and the direction +from which the disturbance came was away decidedly to the left, although +it was speedily altering to a point straight ahead. Bob noted this fact +carefully, despite his alarm. + +Nearer and nearer the unseen band advanced until but a few yards +separated them from the yawning pit. Bob held his breath. Would they +walk blindly into it? Had they miscalculated its position? He felt +Mackay's hand press lightly on his shoulder as if to give him +confidence, and he marvelled at its steadiness, and braced himself for +the encounter he felt sure was about to begin. He could hear Jack's +heart throbbing under the severe tension of the moment, and the Shadow's +quick breaths indicated how trying was the strain even for that +iron-nerved youth. But now came the crucial moment; the foremost savage +shrieked out a guttural word of warning, as it seemed, and stopped, +apparently on the edge of the chasm. A second later and his feet +alighted with a sharp, sliding sound close opposite Bob, and with a +recovering effort he passed on. He was followed immediately by another +and still another warrior, whose arrows rustled in their hands as they +cleared the gulf. If one of them had slipped there could have been +little hope of escape for the intrepid quartet, for assuredly the +slightest stumble would have sent him right into their arms. But no +disaster of the kind occurred, each wildly-leaping figure arrived safely +on the slippery floorway beside them and lunged forward with the +momentum of his flight, and in this way fifteen warriors passed and +proceeded on their way; then all was quiet again. + +Mackay broke the silence. "That was a close shave, my lads," said he, +coolly. "Now, I wonder if any of you noticed how they got across so +sprightly?" + +"I reckon they jumped," grunted the Shadow, "an' I is mighty pleased +they jumped so well." + +"It would be a good jump," whispered Bob; "but they cleared it too +easily without a run." + +"I think I'll risk lighting a match," said Mackay. "There's a bend in +the tunnel straight forward a bit, so nothing can be seen past that, an' +the niggers that have passed will probably be dodgin' the barrel o' +Never Never's rifle by this time." + +A howl of terror from that extremity of the tunnel almost verified his +surmise. Mackay calmly struck a match, held it aloft for an instant, and +blew it out hurriedly, but in that fleeting moment Bob caught sight of a +stout rope suspended from a beam directly over the pit, and he also +observed that at this point the roof of the tunnel was considerably +farther above them than it had been at the start of their journey. +Evidently, greater work of excavation had been done at this part of the +golden lode. Mackay groped forward and seized the rope, gave it a tug to +test its strength, then swung himself lightly across the obstacle which +had delayed them so long. Bob went next, then Jack and Shadow trusted +their weight to the flying trapeze. + +"They might just as well have put a log or two across that shaft," +murmured Mackay. + +"Yes, I reckon it would be a long sight handier for visitors," agreed +the Shadow; and they plodded on once more. Slowly, slowly, they +advanced, and now Bob became conscious of a growing change in the +atmosphere; it was surely becoming less and less stifling, and the +overpowering odours which had been with them so long were gradually +dispelling. Round to the left bore Mackay, and Bob followed, wondering +vaguely if the light of the outside world would soon burst upon them, +but no sign of lessening gloom cheered them on their altered course. +Another few minutes passed, then Mackay stopped with an exclamation of +surprise, the solid wall had reared up before him; they had been +following a blind drive! + +"I'm certain I heard them coming round this way," he said, feeling with +his hand across the barring rock as if in search of some clue to the +mystery. + +"We may have taken a wrong turning," suggested Bob, much perplexed. Then +he missed Jack beside him, and the Shadow too had disappeared. "They're +both gone," he muttered anxiously. + +"That shows there must be a branch off somewhere," said Mackay, +cheerily. "They must have been hugging the right wall while we clutched +on to the left. We'll hang in to the right going back, Bob, an' we'll +get back on to the main passage." + +And back they went, striving vainly to quell the rising fear in their +hearts, for both were more alarmed than they cared to admit over the +absence of their comrades. At last they reached the awkward turn, and +almost, at the same moment, floundering footsteps were heard approaching +from a new direction, almost continuous with the line along which they +had just returned. Not a word was spoken, and the two stood motionless +at the junction of the ways waiting for some sign which would indicate +to them whether their near neighbours were friends or foes. And even as +they stopped, the sounds which had attracted their attention ceased +abruptly, and for a short space all was still. But it was only for a +short space; away back in the distance the harsh cries of the returning +warriors thundered along the passage. Apparently they had not ventured +out beyond the mountain, and that knowledge was satisfactory enough, but +what of the new danger which threatened by their retreat? There was no +deep chasm to distract the savages' notice at this point. On they came, +their unmusical voices raised in a droning chant which might equally +well have expressed joy or regret so far as Bob could make out. Then it +suddenly struck him that they would imagine the white invaders of their +domain to be still outside, despite their capture of Emu Bill in the +well-guarded precincts, and were duly rejoicing in consequence. Over the +watery pit they swung, nearer and nearer they drew. Then out of the deep +gloom opposite clicked the hammer of a rifle, sure evidence that it was +Jack and the Shadow who waited near. But it was too late now to speak, +and the way of safety was unknown. Mackay and Bob pressed backwards +whence they had last come, and the foremost savage almost brushed up +against them as he felt for the wall. Bob's hand was on the trigger of +his revolver ready to fire, but the warrior with a grunt passed over the +entrance to their retreat, and stumbled onwards into the unexplored +darkness ahead. And in this way the invisible band trooped by, nor did +they once pause to investigate the openings on their left or right. + +When they had passed out of hearing, a cautious voice whispered hoarsely +from the darkness-- + +"Is ye there, boss? Shout out quick, for I is goin' to shoot." + +"Keep your finger off that trigger, you nervous young rascal," responded +Mackay, sternly; and at the words the lost pair issued forth from their +hiding, and rejoined their companions. + +"It was all owing to our following the right hand wall," Jack hastened +to explain. "We didn't know you weren't with us until we came to the +end." + +"Another blind drive," muttered Mackay. "This is getting very confusing. +It's just as well the niggers came back again to show us the way." + +"And it was just as well they came back while we were off the main +track," said Bob; "otherwise we might have had trouble." + +Then they moved on along the middle track which they had been fortunate +not to find at first, and for the space of several minutes not a word +was spoken. There was no doubt about the hazardous nature of the mission +on which they were employed; and Bob smiled grimly to himself as he +reckoned up the chances against them, yet, strangely enough, each +member of the expedition seemed in no wise to consider his own safety, +and was fully determined to meet the best or worst that Fate had in +store. A period had come in their lives when the call of the Unknown was +irresistible; and had this for a moment failed them, the firm desire to +rescue Emu Bill from the clutches of the savages would have sent them +steadily onwards, recklessly ignoring the cost, for the wanderer's creed +is simple and sincere--he may never forsake a comrade in deadly peril. + +Their progress was painfully slow, for they knew not what obstacles +might lie in their path, and probably it had been a miscalculation of +their own pace that had led Mackay into error, when he turned into the +drive along which he fancied he had heard the blacks approaching, for +now the tunnel was distinctly curving to the left, and the occasional +rush of fresh air which swept into their faces told them quite plainly +that they were on the highway to the outside world. Slowly, too, the +darkness began to merge into a gloom less and less profound, until the +floor and sides of the cavern they traversed became dimly discernible. + +"We won't be long now, my lads," encouraged Mackay. + +"I is gettin' mighty nervous," murmured the Shadow, cheerfully. "I +reckon I'll go back home. This ain't no place for a youth o' tender +years, it ain't." + +Bob laughed quietly at his companion's happy pessimism, and was about to +make a reply when a faint buzzing sound in the unseen distance ahead +drew his attention. Mackay, too, had heard it, and he stopped for an +instant to listen more intently. + +"What is it?" asked Jack, trying vainly to make out the cause of the +vague noises. + +"It's natives--at a distance, Jack, my lad," said Mackay. "They're +outside the tunnel; so we'll be all right if there's no' too many o' +them. I'm just hoping we've seen the full strength o' the tribe +already." + +They resumed their march; and now they had less difficulty in making +progress owing to the continued increase of light, and as they proceeded +the confused babel of voices became more and more distinct. The tunnel +was by this time veering back towards its original course. Then suddenly +a bright light flashed upon them as through a giant lens. The exit of +the tunnel was in sight at last! Once more Mackay stopped, and was on +the point of making some cautionary remark; but even while he turned the +bright circle ahead was darkened, and several natives entered. A word at +that moment might have proved disastrous, and Bob gripped Mackay's arm +just in time; scarcely twenty yards separated them from their enemies. +The big man hesitated only for a moment, then quickly concealed his +rifle under his long cloak and walked slowly forward, his companions +copying his example without a murmur. + +The oncoming warriors were now close beside them; but in the semi-light +of the cavern their dusky faces could not be distinguished. By this time +they had apparently become aware of the presence of the dauntless four, +for they stepped aside to let them pass, and addressed Mackay in a +series of unintelligible ejaculations--presumably of inquiry--to which +that gentleman answered by a non-committal grunt, and strode on his way. +And for the third time within an hour the natives brushed by the little +group, and left them unmolested; but on this occasion it was the +efficacy of their disguise which saved them--a fact which made the +Shadow effervesce with delight. However, it was yet too early to +rejoice, and Bob and Jack restrained their spirits with an effort. As +for Mackay, he made no sign that anything unusual had happened, and +walked on calmly as before, but a repressed cry of wonder burst from his +lips when he reached the end of the tunnel and gazed beyond on the land +which they had so eagerly sought, and his companions echoed his cry when +they, too, looked on the scene which lay before them. And little wonder, +for their eyes were drinking in a vision of rare beauty--it was as if a +glimpse of a tropical paradise had been vouchsafed them. In the near +distance the waters of a crystal lake glistened in the sunshine, and +lapped a coral-white beach, while, fringing its outer edge, and +extending back and upwards, a luxurious forest in miniature lay spread. +The sight was wonderfully cool and exhilarating to the beholders so long +accustomed to the arid desert. Here certainly was no lack of water, no +absence of shade. + +But in their first hasty glance at the entrancing picture none of the +watchers had noticed the many bower-like structures which lined the edge +of the abundant foliage; and now Jack drew attention to this feature of +the landscape with some concern. + +"There must be quite a population in the valley," said he. + +Mackay nodded gravely. "My calculations have been all out," he remarked +in a subdued voice. Then his rage rose again. "But I'll no' go back," he +added fiercely, "until I have avenged my old comrades. I couldna do it, +my lads. But you----" + +"Will stay with you," interrupted Bob, quietly. + +"I reckon something's goin' to happen pretty sudden," grumbled the +Shadow, craning his neck out of the tunnel, and looking all around +anxiously. + +The voices which they had heard while in the far back recesses of the +passage reached their ears close beside them, and towards the right. In +their eagerness they had overlooked the near vicinity while absorbed in +contemplation of the tiny lake and forest beyond; but now the Shadow's +gaze rested upon a crouching circle of warriors less than forty yards +from him, and it seemed as if each gaudily-bedecked native was eyeing +the figures at the mouth of the underground passage with the keenest +interest. + +"Look, boss," said the Shadow, "they seem to be quite tame. The critters +must have seen us all the time." + +Mackay raved silently at his lack of perception, and drawing back into +the recess, examined his rifle, and felt for his cartridge-belt +underneath his furry garb. + +"Why," said Bob, "we forget we appear to be savages too; they won't +think there is anything wrong." + +But in this conjecture Bob was soon proved to be very much mistaken. +Immediately the Shadow withdrew his head, an animated discussion +appeared to take place among the blacks, and their voices were raised to +an alarming pitch. Bob, though still keeping in the shade, could see the +dusky ring clearly by pressing hard against the rocky wall on his left, +and he noted with dismay the growing disturbance which followed the +advent and withdrawal of his companion's befeathered cranium. + +"It's no use, Bob," said Mackay, coming up beside him, "They know we are +not the genuine article apparently, an' we've got to fight now whether +we will or no." + +Yet still no attempt was made on the part of the natives to come to +closer quarters with the intruders, although many had arisen, bows in +hand, as if impatient for the fray. + +"There's a curious old chap sitting in the middle," said Jack, peering +out of his shelter; "I wonder if he has anything to do with their +hesitation? He seems to have a lot to say." + +Bob looked again, and caught a glimpse of an odd wizened figure sitting +amid the gesticulating warriors, and evidently endeavouring to restrain +their ardour. He had not been observable before, but a gap made in the +circle by the sudden movement of the restless band had revealed him, as +Jack had quickly noticed. + +"He must be their king," remarked Mackay; "but it's vera strange that he +should want to delay the circus." + +The grizzled old native certainly appeared to have considerable +influence over the others; there could be no doubt that he was a leader +of some sort, and his policy was clearly not the policy of his +followers, at which the watchers by the tunnel marvelled exceedingly. +For several minutes he continued to address the multitude, glancing +occasionally towards the objects of their wrath and waving his hand as +if signalling for some one on the heights through which Mackay and his +companions had come. But at last he ceased his wordy exhortations, and +slowly arose to his feet, donning as he did so a gigantic head-dress +fashioned out of the skin of some peculiar animal, the grinning head of +which had been cunningly retained in its pristine shape, so that the +living creature seemed to glare out savagely over the thick locks of the +wearer; and as he stood thus arrayed a tumultuous roar issued from the +lips of the awaiting horde, and they turned in a mass and marched +straight for the opening to the underground passage. + +"Old Nebuchadnezzar has put his war-paint on at last," muttered Mackay. +"Now, my lads, let us rush them while we can. If we can stop them even +for a minute we'll win the day in spite o' their numbers." + +"Let her go, boss!" yelled the Shadow from behind, and Mackay, with a +hoarse bellow of anger, dashed forward to meet the foe, his impetuous +comrades bounding closely at his heels. All were filled with the mad +desire to slay until the last. The lust of battle had taken hold of them +completely; no thought of the probable grim finale was theirs. + +Their wild advance caused the blacks to hesitate momentarily, and the +front rank crowded back. Bob noticed in a flash the advantage which had +thus been given, and he knew why Mackay had so suddenly left the shelter +of the cavern. While the natives hustled together not a bow could be +bent. Quickly he dropped on one knee beside his leader, Jack and the +Shadow falling into line as if by a preconceived arrangement. Had they +discharged their rifles at that crucial moment their enemy would have +been mowed down before the leaden hail. But ere a finger pressed the +trigger, the old chief, with a shrill cry, which was heard high above +the din, leapt in front of his myrmidons, and, with an almost regal +gesture, waved them back. That he himself escaped being riddled with +bullets was a lasting testimony to the iron nerves of the dauntless four +who, even at such a critical juncture, disdained to fire on one whose +face was turned away from them. But they recovered themselves promptly +and prepared to follow up their apparent triumph, yet the ancient +warrior stayed them with outstretched hand. + +"I'll soon throw him out of the way," roared Mackay, dashing forward. + +Before he reached the patriarchal chief, however, a stentorian call from +behind arrested his attention, and he stood rooted to the spot, dazed +and bewildered. Again the cry sounded in his ears-- + +"Come back, Jim; for God's sake, come back. There's three hundred +against you." + +He staggered and would have fallen, had not Bob's strong arm supported +him; then he turned almost fearfully. Five tall figures were hastening +frantically down the hillside, and the foremost was the watcher of the +summit. As in a dream Mackay raised his rifle, and he did not seem to +notice when Bob pressed the deadly tube down. He was gazing with wild +staring eyes at the approaching form. + +"Great Centipedes!" howled the Shadow, in amazement. "It's a white man!" + +That broke the spell. With a hoarse exclamation, Mackay rushed to meet +the new-comer. + +[Illustration: "MACKAY RUSHED TO MEET THE NEW-COMER"] + +"Dick!" he cried. + +"Yes, it's me, Jim," came the answer. "I knew you would come." + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +The Prisoners by the Mount + + +Silently the two men clasped hands. Mackay could not trust himself to +speak, so strong was his emotion at meeting his old leader in the flesh +after having given him up as dead for over a year. + +"Yes, I knew you would come, Jim," repeated Richard Bentley, the +explorer, "and month after month I have watched for you on the +mountain-top, hoping yet fearing for your coming." + +"But the bones?" murmured Mackay, questioningly. "I--saw--the bones?" + +Bentley smiled. "I wouldn't have thought it of you, Jim," he said, his +eyes twinkling with amusement. "But I see you must have fallen into the +error you used to preach so much against. Where were your powers of +observation? I am sure you would have known the difference between +camels' bones and human bones if you had examined them. But I know how +you must have felt, old man, and I don't wonder at your mistake at such +a terrible moment. They burnt the camels, Jim, because they could never +take them through the passage in the mountain----" + +"Whaur is ma auld enemy?" roared an interrupting voice, and a lithe +figure in savage habiliments spun into the midst of the group, blowing +tempestuously. The impetus of his flight down the steep hillside was +only brought to a close when he bounced against Mackay like a weighty +stone from a catapult. + +"I kent it was you! I kent it was you!" he cried, in honest delight; "I +couldna mistak' that sweet visage o' yours even though it's half changed +its colour." + +"Stewart, you red-heided rascal, you've knocked the wind clean oot o' +me," replied Mackay, sternly, shaking his aggressor's hand nevertheless +with hearty warmth. "I might have known that nothing could have killed +you." + +Two others now pressed up, their sun-tanned and bearded features fairly +glowing with delight. They were Phil, the geologist, and Pioneer Bill, +the bushman of Bentley's party, and their joy at seeing their lost +comrade again was affecting in its sincerity. + +Emu Bill was the next to approach. "I knew you wouldn't be long after +me, Mac," he said, "but I'm blowed if I expected you to bounce through +so sudden. Bentley, here, mesmerized the nigs that scooped me in, or I +should have been dead meat by this time. They seemed mighty unwilling to +let me go, all the same, an' I was a bit anxious 'bout your reception, I +was." + +Meanwhile Bob stood a little way apart, his heart filled with gladness +at the happy reunion. Jack and the Shadow were calmly leaning on their +rifles, and keeping a watchful glance on the old chief, who in turn was +eyeing the boys with a smile on his wrinkled countenance. About a +hundred yards behind him his massed warriors stood, silent and grim. + +"I reckon we should go an' wash the filthy black off our faces," said +the Shadow to Jack; "it feels mighty uncomfortable, it does." Then he +gazed at his companion in surprise. "Why," he cried, "you're face is +marked like the bars o' a cage. What has you been doin' to it?" + +Jack laughed. "I had forgotten that we ought to be black," said he, "or +I could have told you that yours was like the moon under partial +eclipse." + +"And how about mine?" asked Bob. + +"Clean washed off," answered Jack. "But look at Mackay; isn't his a +treat? It's striped like the zebra in a circus." + +Mackay heard the remark, and put up his hand to his cheek. "Well, well," +he said, in disgust, "here I was fancyin' myself to be black as the ace +o' spades. No wonder the niggers thought there was something no' right +about our get-up. It must have been the water dripping from the roof o' +the passage." Then he turned to Bob. "It's a good thing we passed that +last batch inside the tunnel, Bob." + +Bob nodded gravely, then discarded his cumbersome robe, and straightened +out his sinewy form with a sigh of relief. + +"Now, boys," said Mackay, quietly, addressing himself to Bentley and his +comrades, "I want to introduce to you my three young comrades, who have +stuck by me on a journey that has tried the nerves and beaten some o' +the finest explorers who ever tackled the desert. Come forward, Shadow, +an' you, Jack--a pair o' reckless young rascals, true as steel, an' +without fear----" + +"I say, boss," protested the Shadow, "do let me have a scrimmage wi' a +nigger or two, just to show how brave I really is. I is just burstin' +wi' bravery----" + +Jack at this stage dragged him aside. + +"And you, Bob," continued Mackay, and his voice unconsciously became +softened, "what can I say for you? Only this, my lad, that without you +this expedition would never have reached the mountain. To you belongs a' +the credit that my auld friends here shower upon me----" + +"No, no," broke in Bob, hastily; "it is just like you to say so, but +I'll not allow it. I was only the navigator under your supervision." + +Mackay placed his hand on the youth's shoulder. "Bob," he said gently, +"I have a confession to make. I'll admit that I ken how to handle a +sextant an' read the vernier, but beyond that I canna go. I wasna able +to check your observations, my laddie, but I was afraid to tell you +before, lest it might make you nervous to ken that a' our lives depended +on your skill. Here now, at the end o' our journey, I wish to give you +the credit which is your due." + +Bentley smiled as he grasped Bob's hand. "Sextant or no sextant," he +said, "you couldn't go far out in Mackay's company, my boy. I know him +of old. But why, your face seems strangely familiar to me; surely----" + +Mackay shrugged his broad shoulders, and smiled a happy smile. + +"You hand on a bit, Dick," he said. "I have a few words to say to Bob +which I hesitated to speak earlier, for--for obvious reasons. Do you +remember when I first met Jack and you, Bob?" he asked. + +"I should say so," answered Bob, fervently. "I have had cause to +thank----" + +The big man shook his head deprecatingly. "And do you know why I, who am +a--a very unsociable individual at the best, encouraged you in your +wish to go out to Australia, an' even offered you the extraordinar' +advantage o' my company on the journey? No, of course you don't. It was +because I knew that uncle you spoke of, my lad." + +"You knew him?" cried Bob. "But you didn't say----" + +"I thought he was dead," broke in Mackay, gravely; "but I was mistaken. +He was, an' is, vera much alive--an' his name is Richard Bentley +Wentworth." + +"Great Heavens!" ejaculated Bentley, gazing at Bob earnestly. "Can it be +true? But of course it is. How could I have been so blind." + +Then the scales fell from Bob's eyes. "Uncle Dick!" he cried, rushing +forward. + +"My dear, dear lad," murmured the explorer, clasping him in his arms. +"This is the first happiness I have had for ten years. You are a worthy +son of a worthy father, my boy. Thank God I have lived to see you." + +To say that the onlookers to this strange scene were surprised would ill +express the state of their feelings. They were simply thunderstruck. +Then Jack found his voice. "Hurrah!" he shouted, in an ecstasy of glee, +and hurried to clasp his comrade's hand. Eagerly they all crowded round +to offer their congratulations, and Mackay stood alone, a smile of +peaceful contentment stealing over his grim old features. + +"Yes," he muttered, "there is some satisfaction in the wanderer's life +after a'. Bob steered us here, which was right, but Mackay will be the +man to lead the back trail through the mountain." + +"I fully believe you, Jim," said a voice at his elbow, and Bentley laid +an affectionate grasp upon his arm. + +The whole of the little drama had been enacted within the space of a +few minutes, and the actors therein had apparently become oblivious to +the fact that a band of impatient blacks were drawn up in aggressive +order at no great distance. They were not allowed to remain long in this +blissful state, however, for the aged chief suddenly hastened forward, +and shrilled a few words to Bentley, which had the effect of arousing +that happy man to a true sense of his responsibilities. He answered the +old warrior in an odd monosyllabic language, which he spoke with perfect +ease, much to the astonishment of the youthful members of the group, who +had never before heard a white man converse so fluently in the savage +tongue. For some moments they held high consultation thus, and Bob was +quick to observe a shade of dire uneasiness steal over the features of +his newly found relative; and he noticed, too, that the natives in the +background were gradually drawing nearer and nearer, while loud, angry +mutterings filled their ranks. + +It was at this stage that Stewart whispered something into Mackay's ear +which made that gentleman frown deeply, hesitate for a brief instant, +then surreptitiously remove the magazine of his rifle; and his three +companions, obeying a signal from his eye, quickly unloaded their +weapons and secreted the cartridges. Bentley seemed to have been +conscious of these proceedings, for it was only when the firearms had +been rendered harmless that he turned and addressed the party. + +"I don't wish to alarm you, boys," he said, "but the king, who has +always been a good friend of mine, tells me that his warriors are +getting beyond his control, and nothing short of a miracle can save us. +You killed four of them, you see, and wounded about a dozen more, and, +by their law, a life must pay for a life." + +"That's vera comforting," grunted Mackay, preparing to reload his rifle +afresh, and glaring savagely at Stewart the while. + +"Don't! For Heaven's sake don't do that, Jim," exclaimed Bentley. "Lay +down your rifles, and I'll try and talk them over." + +Reluctantly each proffered his deadly weapon to the king, who received +it with unconcealed joy. + +"We've still got our revolvers," whispered Jack to Stewart, who was +looking very sorrowful indeed. + +Yet still the warriors came surging on, despite their old king's +frenzied expostulations. In vain he displayed the trophies he had +received in proof of the good intentions of the visitors, and as his +followers crowded heedlessly forward, his wrath at his own impotence was +terrible to witness. + +Mackay was deciding on the bold stroke of retaking the weapons from the +king's grasp, when Bentley stepped slowly out to meet the angry mob. He +was greeted with shrill yells, the dominant note of which seemed to be +fear and expectancy rather than fury. + +"He'll be killed! he'll be killed!" cried Jack, making as if to dash to +his assistance. + +The Shadow restrained him. "I reckon he's all right," said he. "Them +nigs is howlin' wi' terror, they are." + +"What power can he have over them?" asked Bob, in awe, as he watched the +single man sway the fiery multitude with his calm words. Phil, the +geologist, who was by his side, answered him. + +"Your uncle's knowledge of aboriginal tribes has stood us all in good +stead before this," he said quietly. "Listen to that cry. Can you make +anything of it?" + +"It sounds like Bilya Backan," Bob said, straining his ears to catch the +prevailing shouts. + +"Bilya Backan!" exclaimed Mackay. "Has Dick got that position here? Ah, +well, it means that we are safe enough so long as he keeps his power; +but I can see trouble ahead when he tries to get away." + +"Why, what does it mean?" questioned Bob, in wonder. + +"Mean? It means that he is the sorcerer o' this tribe, and will be +guarded night and day if they think he wants to clear out. But, hallo! +he doesna seem to be succeeding just as well as he should. It seems to +me I'd better be sorcerer number two, an' devise an opportune miracle." + +Bentley, indeed, appeared to have great difficulty in quelling the +unruly spirit of the savage warriors. They crowded around him almost +threateningly, and brandished their bows and clubs in half-restrained +fury. The unhappy king had joined his more powerful friend, and was +lending his high-pitched voice to the uproar. Mackay unconcernedly +chipped at something he held in his hand with the point of his +sheath-knife, then stalked jauntily towards the gesticulating throng. + +"Keep back, Jim! keep back!" warned Bentley. "You are the man they want +principally. Keep back, if you value your life." + +"You canna kill me, Dick," laughed Mackay. "I've come over to work a +miracle to that effect." + +Yet to all appearances it seemed as if the resourceful Scot was tempting +Providence to too great a degree in the present instance. The blacks +redoubled their clamour at his approach, and one false move on the part +of Bentley at this juncture would assuredly have brought about his +companion's doom, but he did not once turn his back on the truculent +band. + +"What wild idea have you got?" he cried over his shoulder. "I think I'll +manage them all right. I'm telling them that the spirit of the thunder +killed their brethren for their own misdeeds." + +"That's good enough," said Mackay. "But you'd better tell them you've +decided to slaughter me right off now, only that you're afraid Wangul, +the maist powerful god in their calendar, will protect me, seein' I'm an +auld friend o' his. Get my rifle from old Methuselah, Dick; let me load +it, an' shoot me with the first cartridge. Savvy?" + +Bentley pretended not to hear, but he spoke out several sentences +rapidly, which evidently pleased the warriors mightily, then he signed +to the king to fetch the rifles. + +"The long-barrelled one's mine, Dick," cautioned Mackay. "Ah, that's +right." + +He seized his treasured weapon, and in a trice had inserted two +cartridges, and closed the breech, leaving one in the barrel. Bentley +received back the deadly firearm with evident trepidation, and once more +addressed the multitude. + +"Hear ye, O my people," he cried, in their own weird tongue. "The friend +of Wangul, the mighty dweller in the waters, whose breath dries up the +land and makes it desolate, stands before you and dares the strength of +the big thunder. If it so be that he dies by the spirit which issueth +forth when the thunder speaks, then shall you work your will upon the +others. But if he lives and defies the spirit, then surely is he indeed +in the guarding care of Wangul, and must be permitted to go unhurt with +his brethren to partake of food with me in my home by the hillside." + +Mackay smiled grimly as he gathered the text of the speech, but a great +roar from the assembled blacks indicated that the arrangement met with +their full approval. Bentley raised the rifle with an obvious effort, +and at the action a wild cry of alarm broke from the lips of the little +group in the rear, who had never dreamt that Mackay's promised miracle +was to take on such a deadly aspect of reality. And now the withered old +chief created a diversion. With a gurgle of joy he sprang forward and +took the rifle from Bentley's unresisting hands, and levelling it almost +against Mackay's broad chest, pulled the trigger. A terrific explosion +followed, and Bentley uttered a groan of anguish. The miracle, as he had +understood it, was to have been accomplished by his firing wide, and he +had relinquished the firearm, never thinking that the wily king of the +savages meant to do other than lay it aside with the others. To his +intense astonishment, however, and to the amazement of the massed +blacks, the "friend of Wangul" stood erect and smiling after the +thunderous reverberation had died away. + +A loud cheer from his comrades behind showed how truly thankful they +were at his marvellous escape from what had looked like certain death, +but the most astounded of all present was, undoubtedly, the dusky +individual who had fired the shot; he pranced about with the reeking +rifle still in his hands, shrieking out all sorts of incantations. +Suddenly he stopped short, opened and closed the breech of the gun, +thereby forcing another cartridge into position, and, with a crafty +smile on his lips, directed the long tube at a stalwart savage standing +near, and fired. The unoffending victim uttered a yell like a wounded +dingo, and sprang several feet into the air, then subsided on the +ground, and writhed in torment with a bullet-hole clean through his +shoulder. That was enough. With droning wails of fear the natives drew +back in alarm, gazing at the man who had withstood a similar shock with +wild, staring eyes. Bentley knelt down and examined the wounded native, +then, calling two of his brethren, who came forward reluctantly, he gave +them some directions for his treatment. The king meanwhile was +grovelling on the ground, his head beating the dust, and his voice +raised in feeble lamentation; and, while he was thus prostrated, Jack +crept stealthily up and gathered in the rifles lying near. + +"That will be another miracle for the old beggar to explain," said he, +when he rejoined his companions. + +"You've fairly frightened the old fellow to death, Jim," remarked +Bentley, stooping over the fallen monarch. "I'll tell you about him +afterwards; but he was proof against all sorts of sorceries, and now I +shouldn't winder if he turns over a new leaf, and goes in for the +extremest forms of savagery. But come with us to our retreat. There are +many things we have to talk over to-night. This day has been a wonderful +one for all of us." + +"You might tell me, boss, how you dodged the bullet?" pleaded the +Shadow, as they all walked along together. + +"Yes, that is a matter I should like to understand," added Bentley. + +The big man laughed. "The explanation is vera simple," said he. "There +wasna any bullet in the first cartridge; I took it oot aforehand!" + +"You're just the same auld deceitfu' schemer you used to be," murmured +Stewart, sorrowfully. "I'm fair shocked at your woefu' depravity. You +would actually bamboozle the puir heathen!" + +"What's that you've got inside your cloak?" demanded Mackay, slyly, +noting an odd protuberance in his corrector's garment. + +Stewart beamed. "That's a vera dangerous gun, Mac, ma man," he answered +solemnly, "an' I'm takin' it awa' in case the unfortunate niggers might +dae themselves damage wi' it." + +They had been so engrossed in their mutual recriminations that Mackay +had not noticed the odd logged structure which now appeared before them; +it was half hidden amid a splendid group of lime and cedar trees which +occurred in the valley, about two hundred yards to the north of the +tunnel entrance, and the waters of the beautiful lake lapped the white +sands within a few paces of it. Mackay gave a rough glance round to make +sure of his position. The sun had descended behind the frowning barrier +range, and a gloom was settling over the valley. + +Bentley guessed his thoughts. "I know every foot of the country, Jim," +he said quietly. "We'll talk over our plans to-night. What have we got +in the larder, Stewart?" + +"I caught ane or twa fish this morning," answered that individual, +smilingly. "I thought we might have some visitors to keep us company." + +"And there's bread made from wild bananas," added Phil. "It's not half +bad, though it will take you a little time to get accustomed to it." + +Bentley pushed open the door, which was an airy contrivance composed of +light saplings interlaced with long tendril forest growths, and it swung +from above by stout plaited grassy cords. + +"Enter, boys," he said, "and welcome, most heartily welcome, to the +white man's dwelling in the mystic valley of the Never Never." + +Mackay mechanically raised his hand to his head as he stepped between +the portals, and a grunt of disgust forced itself from his lips when, +instead of the hat he expected to find, a few muddy feathers broke off +in his grasp. The boys, following close behind, saw the action and +laughed, yet immediately proceeded to copy his example, so strong was +the habit of civilization upon them. + +The single large room within was bare, save for a rough logged table in +the middle of the floor, and sundry rude but comfortable chairs which +were scattered about. + +"We sleep on the ground," explained Bentley; "we've never had the heart +to attempt building proper bunks. Have you a match, Jim?" + +Mackay sought in his pocket and produced the small corked bottle in +which he carried his supply so that it might be preserved from damp, and +Bentley, with a sigh of thankfulness, applied a light to a torch of fine +fibrous sticks stuck in a crevice in the table. Bob watched him with +many questions surging on his lips. + +"How do you usually get a light?" he asked at length. + +"You are anticipating me, Bob," laughed Bentley. "At night we use the +flints, in the old primitive way, but in the daytime I use the lens of +my pocket microscope which was left to me. If I hold it in the sun's +rays it will light a fire of these twigs in less than sixty seconds. +That was the first thing the natives saw me do that made them marvel. +They couldn't understand how I could call down fire from heaven, and +it's one of the few things which that knowing old king of theirs hasn't +grasped yet." + +In a few minutes Stewart and Pioneer Bill were busy preparing supper. +There seemed to be no lack of cooking utensils, and each vessel was most +peculiarly marked, as if it had been stamped out of the solid. Mackay, +who had thrown off his encumbering outer garb, sat gazing into the fire, +apparently lost in the depths of his thoughts; Bentley and Phil were +talking earnestly together in a subdued voice; Emu Bill roamed aimlessly +about the room; Bob, Jack, and the Shadow were glaring with wide-open +eyes at the thin metal platters with which Stewart had adorned the +table;--not one of them could find words to speak. + +"Is--is it another mirage?" muttered the Shadow, at length, stretching +out a hesitating hand; then a whoop of delight burst from his lips. +"Say, boss," he cried, shaking Mackay energetically by the shoulder. +"Look! Look at this!" + +Mackay awoke from his reverie with a start, and turned his head. + +"Ay, it's gold, Shadow," said he, calmly. "I am no' vera surprised." + +Bentley gave a whistle of annoyance. "Well, boys," he explained, "I +absolutely forgot to mention the matter, but gold is so plentiful in +this quarter that I have got quite accustomed to it, and I do believe I +had also forgotten that the stuff has such a powerful value----" + +"Spin us your yarn after supper, Dick," said Mackay. "I'm as hungry as a +starved dingo just now." + +"I've felt a bit sick ever since I saw them plates an' things," said Emu +Bill, pausing in his perambulations. "Howlin' blazes! I wish we could +cart the whole mountain away wi' us." + +"I don't suppose you've got a bit o' tea in your pocket?" interjected +Stewart, eyeing Mackay pathetically. "No? Weel, I'll just have to mak' +up my ain concoction. It's no' vera bad when you get accustomed to it; +but I'm sair wearyin' for a ceevilized drink. I hope the flavour o' the +leaves winna disagree wi' ye; I gather them off a wee bush that grows in +the forest, but the taste is naething like the real article." + +Stewart's tea, however, proved to be a wonderfully palatable beverage, +and the accompanying fare of such a highly appetizing nature that +Mackay's little party soon felt revived to their fullest energies. + +"It will be something to remember that we've eaten out of golden +dishes," Jack remarked with much satisfaction. "I think I'll appropriate +a spoon as a memento." + +Bentley sighed wearily. "You may be tired enough of these same spoons +before you leave here, Jack," he said. + +Mackay gave a snort of disapproval, and rose from his chair. + +"Load up these rifles, Shadow," he directed. "And now, Dick"--seating +himself once more--"fire away wi' your story. What sort o' place have we +struck, an' how do ye account for the natives being so different from +others? an' tell me how in the name o' a' that's wonderful, you havena +escaped long syne wi' your pockets fu' o' nuggets?" + +Without hesitation, Bentley plunged into his narrative. "When you had +been about an hour away, Jim," he began, "chasing up that confounded +camel, and while we were loading the team, we were suddenly surrounded +by an army of the oddest-looking warriors imaginable. They must have +been hiding in the scrub near by us for some time, for we had no warning +whatever of their coming, and, to make matters worse, not one of us had +a rifle ready. They bore down on us without a word, and, of course, +quickly had the best of it, for they were ten to one, and were armed +with clubs and arrows. They seemed quite peaceably inclined, however, +and did not appear to be in any way anxious to exterminate us at once, +though Stewart got a crack on the head which nearly finished him." + +"I did that," murmured that individual, patting the back of his skull +tenderly. "But ye shid mak' mention o' hoo I squelched a wheen o' them +wi' ma naked fist aforehand." + +"They carried us away," continued Bentley, reminiscently, "though not +before they had built a huge fire beside our camp. I thought they meant +it for us; but when I saw them unloading the poor camels I knew at once +what was going to happen. It is a common custom among the most knowing +savages to burn the bodies of animals or men so as to give the +impression that the expedition had died of thirst years before. They +have deceived Government search-parties many times by that ruse, and +frightened off explorers from tackling the same supposedly droughty +quarter again. Anyhow, our captors made short work of the unfortunate +camels, scooped up every bit of our outfit, and marched on. I don't need +to speak of our surprise when we passed through the choking fumes of the +sulphur springs. We all know about them, and probably you know more than +we do, for you were camped alongside, and we scarcely got a glimpse of +the wonderful craters. The passage, too, you know possibly better than +we, for we have never been allowed to go back to the entrance, and +twenty warriors guard it night and day when there are any signs of +danger, or a strange tribe is in the vicinity. But the biggest surprise +of all came when we had an opportunity of studying the valley and its +formations, and we got that very speedily, for that curious old king of +the tribe released us almost as soon as we were brought in." + +"I can remember he had some difficulty with his followers then, too," +interjected Phil, gravely. "They weren't quite so wild as they were +to-day, but they were bad enough until you talked to them in their own +lingo." + +Bentley smiled. "I could see even then," he said, "that their aged +leader had some strange scheme in hand, though it was several weeks +later before he laid his views quite clearly before me." + +"And do you mean to say that you waited here o' your ain free will as +prisoners?" snorted Mackay. + +"For the first little while we were interested to know what sort of +country we had reached, and then, when even the riches of the valley +began to pall on us, we suddenly realized that we could not help +ourselves. The tunnel was always well watched, but even had we got +safely through the mountain, where were we then? On the edge of an +enormous desert without food or means of transport. You must recollect, +Jim, that the camels had been killed, as probably yours have been by +this time." + +Mackay started to his feet, but resumed his seat with a smile. + +"It would be dark before they could venture out," he said, musingly. "We +have a good ten hours' grace yet. Hurry up wi' your story, Dick; I want +to know whether we should stay here, an' get rich quick wi' the gold oot +o' the mountain, or clear out while we have a chance." + +"You forget, Jim," said Bentley, quietly, "that your chance has gone. I +tried to warn you from the summit in every conceivable manner, but you +wouldn't understand. I even scribbled charcoal messages on pieces of +wood and threw them down, and you paid no attention." + +"We thought you were throwing stones at us," said Bob. "You looked so +very like a native at that distance." + +"It was a miracle we didn't pop you over with our rifles," commented Emu +Bill, shortly. + +"I dinna see that our chance has vanished just yet, if we care to take +it," Mackay observed, with undiminished assurance. "But go on wi' your +yarn, Dick; what I'm anxious to know is, who made that tunnel and for +what purpose?" + +"First of all, let me tell you," said Bentley, "that this valley is +almost impregnable from every direction but one. Away to the north-east +there is a slight break in the circular range, but the country in that +quarter is so broken and desolate that it is almost impassable, and +certainly no explorer making an east or west course would dream of +altering his route to the south at that point. He would rather give the +mountain--if he happened to see it then--as wide a berth as possible. On +the west, as you know, Nature guards her secret very effectually, and it +might have remained undiscovered for another hundred years if you had +not escaped from the expedition as you did, and so been able to track up +the mysterious mountain afresh, and with greater caution. But now that +you are here, you may take it as a surety that you will never be allowed +to leave with the knowledge you have gained. The fact is, boys, this +valley in the heart of the Never Never land is a perfect treasure-house +of gold and gems, and it is inhabited by the remnants of a once truly +remarkable tribe. They are still infinitely superior in knowledge and +intellect to any other aboriginal race that I know, but they have been +degenerating slowly these last many centuries, ever since the upheaval, +I should imagine, which altered the aspect of Central Australia, and +separated it from Polynesia. Their environment has protected them to an +enormous degree, for their home in this natural paradise is surely all +that could be desired, but, from what I have been able to gather from +the king, they have inherited a policy of isolation, which is now almost +a part of their creed. Any unsuspecting tribe that wanders near is +attacked with the utmost ferocity, as I have myself witnessed on more +than one occasion. The early rulers of this strange little kingdom were +undoubtedly wise men, and it seems to me they were struggling towards a +kind of civilization. The tunnel was driven in their time, but whether +it was intended to provide a means of exterminating their savage +neighbours of the plains, or gradually pushed through in the course of +their excavations for gold, I haven't been able to discover, though I +rather fancy both reasons came into play. The gold has been used for all +sorts of purposes, because it can be hammered into any shape so very +easily. Its value in the outside world is wholly incomprehensible to +them." + +"Do you think they have ever heard of the great world beyond the +desert?" asked Bob, who had been listening with keen interest. + +"There can be no doubt about that, my lad. It's simply marvellous how +remote native races acquire their news; but they invariably get it, +though in this case there is nothing inexplicable about it, for the +cunning old king has his scouts wandering all over the country. The +dangers of the vast salt tracks have little meaning to them, for they +seem to have cultivated an instinct for smelling out any water there may +be within miles of them, and they can travel a very long way without it +if necessity arises. Their system of navigation is beyond my +understanding altogether." + +"An' what do you think made the old chap so tenderhearted when you came +along, Dick?" asked Mackay. + +Bentley shook his head. "I know why he didn't demolish us at first," he +said. "The tunnel had been commencing to cave in about the centre, where +the dripping water had weakened the walls, and all his warriors' efforts +at timbering it were without avail. You see, they hadn't grasped the +necessary principle of locking the timber to prevent lateral strain. I +suppose he thought the white man could make things right." + +"An' it was a terrible hard job too," grunted Stewart, "for we had to +do the maist o' it in the dark. A light wouldna' burn five minutes in +the place, an' the air was enough to poison a nigger." + +"After that," continued Bentley, "I seemed to get into his good graces +somewhat. I talked to him of other tribes I had met, and generally +showed such a keen interest in the welfare of his kingdom, that I +believe he altered his purpose to kill us, greatly against the wishes of +his subjects. It was then he gave out that I was the direct +representative of one of their most dreaded gods, and I've had to live +up to my reputation ever since. You saw the result of my influence over +the king to-day. Yet I've noticed the more I have tried to civilize him, +the less his warriors like him, and, to tell the truth, I expected an +open revolt against his ruling long before this. If I hadn't arrived in +time to-day I shouldn't like to think what might have happened. I didn't +expect you could possibly get through the passage, for when I rescued +Bill from the warriors they went straight back, and we climbed the +mountain to make another effort to warn you against trying. They were so +savage when I took Bill from them, that I believe they would have killed +you right away if they had met you. I don't know yet how you escaped." + +"As it happened," said Mackay, dryly, "the darkness saved us when they +first came through, an' when they were returning we had fortunately made +a mistake in our direction, and got into a cross drive." + +"Thank goodness we made these drives," cried Bentley, fervently. + +"You made them?" echoed Mackay, incredulously. + +"Yes, we made them, Jim. I tried to get the natives to help, but they +very quickly tired of the work, and contented themselves watching us +instead. I felt curious to know the width of the lode, and we just +managed to strike the walls of the giant fissure, when our picks, which +we had recovered, were worn almost to the wooden handles. I scarcely +fancied continuing operations with flint-headed implements, such as must +have been used in the main work of excavation, and, besides, I didn't +see any hope of us being able to carry away the gold we got, even if an +opportunity of escape had offered. We washed the stuff in the lake here +by hand; it decomposed very rapidly on contact with the air, and hardly +required any crushing. Stewart made all our cooking utensils out of the +results of our work, and I melted what was left. You will see it lying +over there in the corner." + +Mackay looked casually in the direction indicated, but the three boys +made a dash towards the golden treasure, and after a first glance the +usually imperturbable Scot arose with a bound and followed them. There, +lying carelessly on the damp clay, were half a dozen huge irregularly +shaped masses, which glistened yellow in the dull light. Jack lifted one +in his hand with some difficulty. + +"I reckon I want to lie down an' die somewhere," muttered Emu Bill, +feebly blinking his eyes at the dazzling spectacle. + +"How much do you think you've got here, Dick?" said Mackay, calmly. + +Bentley smiled. "Just about a hundredweight, I calculate," he answered. +"But it is no earthly good to us. We can't carry it away, even if we had +the chance." + +Mackay looked perplexed, and for a few moments seemed to be struggling +with a mighty problem. + +"The weight wouldna' be much among the lot o' us," he murmured at +length, "but--but it hurts me sair to think o' leaving a' that stuff in +the mountain." + +"Don't let that worry you, old man," broke in Bentley hastily. "If +you've got a scheme for escape, let us act upon it without delay; +there's more than any of us will ever need in this shanty besides gold. +Show him the collection, Phil." + +Without a word Phil drew forth a short, deep case made of plaited twigs +from a recess under the table, and threw open the lid, exposing a mass +of red, blue, and yellow tinted pebbles. + +"There you are, Mac," said he, "they don't look anything special in +their present rough state, but they're worth a long way more than a +hundredweight of gold, and certainly very much more portable. They are +rubies and sapphires, and I think there are some diamonds among them. +There's surely enough here to go round without bothering about more, +though I can show you where to get them to-morrow if you want a bigger +stock." + +"To-morrow, Phil," said Mackay, with decision, "we'll be marching along +homeward bound, if we're no' lying perforated wi' arrows in some corner +o' the tunnel. We'll help you to carry the treasure, an' maybe +afterwards we'll come back an' get some for oursel's. Isn't that right, +Bob?" + +Bob nodded, then quickly dived into his pocket, and extricated therefrom +sundry rounded stones, and showed them to Phil. + +"Are these any good?" he asked. "I picked them up on the other side of +the mountain the first day we arrived, and had forgotten all about +them." + +"They're exactly the same, Bob," returned the geologist, with a smile, +"and they come from the same source, apparently." + +"Let us know your plan, Jim, and we'll make an effort to get away if it +is possible," urged Bentley. "But I won't budge unless we agree to make +an even divide of the treasure of the Never Never." And the sharing of +the spoil was insisted upon with happy unanimity. + +It was now about ten o'clock in the evening and Mackay pushed open the +door and looked out; the air was close and sultry as if presaging a +thunderstorm, and a heavy, dark cloud suspended over the little valley; +in the gloom near the tunnel several forms were to be seen flitting +about. He returned into the room with a smile on his lips. + +"We're goin' to have rain, I think," he announced, "an' I shouldn't +wonder if there's a bit o' thunder along wi' it. The elements will fight +on our side, boys; we'll just give them a bit o' a start. An' now, +Dick," he added, eyeing his old leader quizzically, "did I no' see you +lookin' at us when we were blowing chunks o' Australia into the air this +morning?" + +"I saw you making a tomb for poor Never Never Dave," answered Bentley, +sadly. + +Emu Bill groaned and Mackay sighed deeply. + +"But that was yesterday, Dick. What about this morning?" + +"Yes, I noticed you this morning, too; but I only heard one explosion, +and didn't think anything of it." + +"Where were your powers o' observation, Dick? We were bursting a new +entrance into the mountain." But Mackay's satisfaction at his sally was +clouded by the sad recollections aroused by his friend's first remark. +"You tell him, Bob," he added weakly. "Tell him o' our precautionary +arrangements which should stand us in good stead now." + +A few minutes later a series of great pattering drops on the bark roof +of the dwelling intimated that the expected storm had burst; slowly they +came at first, then louder and louder hissed the growing deluge until it +seemed as if the floodgates of the heavens had broken loose, and a dull, +tearing roar echoed across the vale as the thunder-cloud rent in twain. + +"If that doesna frighten the niggers they ought to be ashamed o' +themselves," grunted Mackay. "Now we'll go, lads, an' trust to +Providence an' our rifles for a safe journey." + +They gathered up their precious freight, each taking a goodly share so +that nothing was left, and silently they filed out into the raging +night, and, with Bentley leading, groped a cautious course towards the +underground passage. Through the beating torrent they caught glimpses of +many lights in the native camps bordering the lake near at hand, and the +droning intonation of a most melancholy chant reached their ears in +occasional snatches as they hurried on their way. The natives were +invoking the favour of the mighty thunder-god who that day had smitten +one of their warriors so cruelly. At last they arrived at the opening +from which Mackay and his companions had first gazed out in wonder, and +with a united breath of thankfulness entered the yawning darkness of the +cavern. + +Yet, even as they disappeared, a shrill cry of alarm sounded out above +the storm from the vicinity of the home they had just vacated, and a +chorus of answering yells showed too truly that their flight had been +discovered. + +"That was the old king's voice," whispered Bentley, as the fugitives +paused for a moment to listen. "He probably called to get you to stay +the thunder. We just got away in time." + +"The other end is where our danger lies," muttered Mackay. "Now, lads, +follow me, an' be as slippery as you can. Those howlin' hyenas will be +at our backs in a minute." + +Blindly they stumbled on, staggering from wall to wall in their feverish +eagerness; but before they had even reached the cross-drives, the cries +of their savage pursuers were echoing along the passage close in their +rear. On, on they laboured, and now Mackay began to hesitate in his +course, so that his comrades kept pushing up in a confused mass behind +him. In the excitement which reigned they could not well understand why +their doughty leader should pause at such an inopportune moment. But +that level-headed individual knew exactly what he was doing; in another +instant he had found the rope which hung over the treacherous pit. + +"Now, my bonnie boys," said he, "over you go. You, Bob, take the lead, +and walk quietly on. I'll be after you in a jiff." + +"I never knew of this death-trap," breathed Bentley, hoarsely. "Jim, old +man, Heaven knows how you managed to negotiate this terrible place at +first." + +"My power o' observation is strong even in the dark," chuckled the +brawny Scot. "Now, grip the rope, Dick, an' get across. Here's old +Methuselah's gang almost beside us, an' I want to stop their progress a +bit." + +Bentley delayed no further, and in a flash Mackay too had leapt the +gully, but, ere he hastened after the others, he leaned out over the +unseen chasm and smote at the thick cord high overhead with his +sheath-knife, then he gathered up his burden and struggled after his +companions. He overtook them while they were yet some distance from the +sudden bend which occurred just opposite the entrance the gelignite had +made, for Bob was treading cautiously, expecting each moment to be +assailed by the warriors whose duty it was to abide by the rocking +stone. And that his fears in that direction were by no means groundless +was proved by the excited mutterings which at this moment issued from +the end of the passage, and the ominous snap of the great rock as it +closed into position was distinctly heard. The watchful blacks had +evidently been investigating matters outside, and had just returned to +their post. The clamour of the pursuing band was now most demoralizingly +loud and fierce. They seemed to be already rejoicing at the pleasing +prospect before them: their enemy was neatly caught between two fires; +little wonder that they sent out shriek after shriek of delirious +acclamation. And in the mean time the escaping party, trudging heavily +through the mire, rejoiced also that the noisy exuberance of the +warriors so effectually drowned their own hastening footsteps, and thus +prevented their near approach to safety from being made known to the +awaiting savages. + +Then a yell, louder and more dismal than ever, suddenly echoed through +the cavern; it was followed by a dull plunge, and immediately a +succession of similar disturbances intimated that the all too eager +warriors had experienced a rude and ardour-cooling check. Mackay +chuckled right heartily when the success of his scheme was thus revealed +to him. + +"There has been more than one o' the beggars who has jumped for the rope +an' missed," he whispered, with ill-suppressed mirth; and then only did +his comrades guess the part he had played in the natives' discomfiture. + +By this time they had reached the quick turn of the passage, and Bob +felt carefully for the saving gap that would lead to freedom. The cries +of the baffled warriors in the rear now rang out through the darkness +like the wails of coyotes cheated of their prey, and their brethren +ahead, by their hoarse exclamations of dismay, were apparently +considerably exercised over the strange happening which had taken place. + +"Quick, boys," said Mackay, when Bob had laid bare the opening. "Up ye +go in a hurry, an' hang on to your treasure; I'll send the rifles aloft +when you're a' through." + +Bentley would have remonstrated, but the imperturbable director of +affairs was obdurate. + +"I'm engineering this circus," he said sternly. "Now, out you go. +Whoop-la!" + +In his own hearty exuberance he seemed utterly to have forgotten the +near presence of a part of the enemy, and his voice sounded out +boisterously as he cheered each of his companions on his way to the +outside world. For a brief instant there was absolute silence from the +extreme end of the tunnel, and Mackay knew that the inevitable rush +would speedily follow. Nor was he mistaken. With screams of rage the +blacks advanced, and the reckless man laughed aloud as they came. He +caught Jack, who alone remained, in his powerful arms and literally +hurled him into the embrace of Stewart, who stood ready to receive him. + +"And now, my lads, here's the rifles," he cried, thrusting the collected +weapons out through the aperture. + +"Hang the rifles! Come oot yersel'!" howled Stewart, reaching down a +massive bony fist, and grasping his comrade by the shoulder; and in this +way Mackay, clutching fast to the armoury of the expedition, was hauled +to the surface, even as the foremost of the vengeful warriors dashed +their heads impotently into the aperture through which he had been +yanked so rigorously forth. + +[Illustration: "MACKAY, CLUTCHING FAST TO THE ARMOURY OF THE EXPEDITION, +WAS HAULED TO THE SURFACE"] + +"There was no need for you exertin' your muscular powers in that vera +drastic fashion," reproved the latest arrival, turning, and thrusting +the stock of his rifle down into the gap with calm forcefulness. + +The response which greeted his action seemed to soothe him somewhat. + +"All's well that ends well," he remarked philosophically; "but before we +start congratulating oorsel's we'd better lock these twa doors an' leave +the keys on the ootside." + +In a short time a very effective boulder barricade was arranged before +both entrances, the enormous rocks used for the purpose being rolled and +carried to their positions by the united strength of the party; only +when this work was completed, when the yells of the baulked warriors +sounded dull and subdued behind the solid barriers, only then did the +earnest toilers pause. + +The night was beautifully clear, not a cloud was visible in the sky, and +the stars shone down with steady radiance. The rising mists from the +bubbling caldrons spread like a ghostly white veil in the near westward +distance, and ever and anon a heavy rumbling would run along the line of +the deep cavities, and fresh vapoury puffs from the craters ascended +towards the heavens. For fully a minute no one spoke; the extreme +tension on their nerves for the last half-hour had been most trying to +all, and their silence was now more eloquent of their thankfulness than +words. + +"There has been no rain on this side of the mountain," said Bob, at +length, examining the rubbly surface of the ground intently. + +"It would all condense inside the valley, Bob," answered Bentley. "We +are back once more in the thirsty desert of the Never Never, +and"--turning to Mackay--"we owe our escape to you, Jim; we owe our +lives to you----" + +"We'll no' dwell on the subject," interrupted that gentleman, cheerily. +"I have no doubt we'll a' find oursel's in tighter corners on some other +expedition. It's fair surprisin' how often a man can warstle oot o' a +difficulty by the skin o' his teeth. I'm just a wee bit afraid that the +skin o' my teeth is gettin' sair worn at the game, but it's grand fun, +a' the same. However," he continued hastily, as an upward glance +revealed to him several dark forms on the summit outlined against the +sky, "I think I'll go and round up the camels now, so that we can start +on the homeward trail without any unnecessary delay. I've a dim idea +that the climate o' the country nearer Fortunate Spring will be +healthier for us than this." + +"I is comin' wi' you, boss," cried the Shadow. "I think I know where the +leather-hided animiles are." + +"All right, my lad; an' you, Jack, might unearth the stores an' the +water-bag, so as to be ready when we come back. Never mind the heavy +tools. I see the niggers have shifted the case o' gelignite we left in +sight. I hope it gives them indigestion pretty bad." + +"Have ye no' got an extra pair o' breeks in the camp?" inquired Stewart, +appealingly. "I dinna like waltzin' aboot like a gorilla oot o' a +circus." + +Mackay laughed. "I'm vera pleased to see you've got some sense o' shame +left in ye, my man," he said sternly. "Mak' free o' the wardrobe o' the +expedition, boys, every one o' you. Bob will dispense it out, though I +don't think there's enough to go round. Anyhow, there's lots o' string +in the outfit, an' you can easily mak' yoursel's vera presentable +garments out o' the empty bags when we get further on; but I can see +we'll a' be in an outward state o' advanced disintegration before we +reach civilization." + + +It was nearly two months later, and the sun stared pitilessly down on a +struggling camel-train that was wearily forcing its way outwards from +the grim desert of the interior. The animals comprising the team were +but four in all, surely much too inadequate a number to be the mainstay +of the nine strangely garbed figures who accompanied them; yet, judging +by the light packs on their backs, it was very apparent that the outfit +of the returning expedition did not greatly impede their movements. +Slowly, slowly the great hulking creatures laboured on. At the leader's +head strode a youth, who, every now and again, turned to pat the +trembling nostrils of his cumbrous charge, and cheer it forward with +endearing words. His face was deeply browned by long exposure to the +scorching sun's rays. His clothing, consisting of a few shreds of what +had once been a shirt, and a pair of nether garments so tattered and +torn that they clung by almost miraculous means to his person, was +sufficient to indicate that he had been long on the march; but if +further proof were required, a glance at his boots would have been more +than enough. The uppers alone were left, and they were tied to his +sockless feet by numberless cords and strips of hessian cloth. But +despite the dilapidated nature of his dress, it was the acme of +respectability, compared with that of some of his comrades. Indeed, the +combined wardrobe of the party was such that the most abandoned tramp +would have turned aside from it in disgust. + +"Keep Misery moving, Jack--keep him moving," cried a familiar voice; and +a strongly built, yet gaunt-faced man strode up alongside the young +leader of the train, and patted his shoulder in friendly encouragement. + +Then he stopped and awaited the coming of the rearmost camel, which was +lagging painfully, and addressed its attendant in similar tones. + +"An hour or so more will do it, my lad--only an hour or so more. Golden +Flat should be just over the horizon." + +"Say, boss," came the answer, "this here fiery animile is 'bout busted; +but I reckon I'll pull him in somehow." + +He groped about in some hidden recess of his well-ventilated shirt, and +extricated a small shining instrument, which he placed to his lips with +a smile of real joy. + +"Now, boys," he cried, "here we goes again--one, two, three!" and at +once the strains of a favourite melody echoed out in the air. + +The bulk of his companions shuddered at the opening shock, then joined +boisterously in the chorus. Loudly, triumphantly, they bellowed forth in +varying voices and keys, and, lo! the camels pricked up their ears and +quickened their steps, and the weary-eyed singers and chief musician +marched to the tune thus given with sprightly step-- + + + "Soon we'll be in London town. + Sing, my lads, yo ho-o----" + + +Again and again the cheering refrain was taken up; then suddenly a cry +of astonishment burst from the lips of a lithe and wiry young man who +had been on the point of consulting his note-book for the twentieth time +since he took his noonday altitude. + +"We've missed it!" he cried. "That must be Kalgoorlie ahead." + +The music stopped at once; the white, glistening roofs of a fair-sized +township had suddenly appeared to view, nestling at the foot of a gentle +undulation in the land surface. + +"I'm afraid there has been some mistake made, Bob," said a tall, +grave-faced, dark-bearded man who walked by his side. "What do you make +of it, Jim?" He addressed the stalwart individual who had but a moment +or so before been coaxing on the camels. + +"I don't know, Dick; it's hardly big enough for Kalgoorlie. I canna +think what place it is. Bob, my lad, that's the first error o' +navigation I've known you to make." + +So did Mackay's expedition, with its augmented numbers rescued from the +far back Never Never Land, yet with one sad depletion in the original +party, see civilization once more. It would have been hard indeed to +recognize them now, so marked were they by privation. The stores had +been used most sparingly, for the supply had not been lavish enough to +stand the additional strain imposed upon it by the extra appetites of +Bentley's party. So all had cheerfully pinched and starved themselves +throughout the long journey. But now their sufferings were nearly over; +civilization, in the form of some unknown township or city, was in +sight. Bob alone seemed to be grieved. He had steered an unerring course +these many weeks; and now, when he fancied he was heading for Golden +Flat, it was humiliating to feel that at the very last he had made some +grave miscalculation. + +"Never mind, Bob," said Mackay, kindly. "You knew you were safe enough +in your direction." + +Bob sighed and shook his head, and consulted his log-book again, but +appeared to derive little satisfaction from his scrutiny. On, on the +worn-out team staggered; and as the welcome settlement loomed up nearer +and nearer the hearts of the wayfarers grew light. Yet the size of the +township confused them; there were several wide streets in evidence, and +one great building in particular arrested their attention. And yet +withal the whole scene seemed strangely familiar to Mackay and his young +companions, and Emu Bill, too, looked puzzled as he gazed at the strange +city so revealed. + +"I hope it ain't no mirage," he murmured, with vague discontent. + +"We'll soon know what we've struck," cried Jack. "Here's a horseman +coming out to meet us." + +"I thought I knew every bit o' this country," grumbled Mackay, "but +this certainly beats me, though somehow everything looks vera like a +place I prospected before. Anyhow, we'll soon see. Hallo!" he called +out, as the horseman drew rein in front of him and stared at the +travel-worn company in curious amazement. "Hallo! you bold, bad bushman; +what township is this?" + +The man replied only with a gaze of more intense amazement than before, +until he was sternly brought to his bearings by the now irate +questioner. + +"Say, mate," he protested weakly, "don't bounce a man so sudden. You all +look like Rip Van Winkles, you does, only worse. But you must be +strangers in these parts if you don't know Wentworth City. Why, it's the +biggest min----" + +"What!" + +The cry came like a roar from the lips of the nine men at once, and the +startled individual on the horse jerked back in alarm; but becoming +satisfied that his interrogators really desired information, he +proceeded to give it to them. + +"Wentworth City, mates, ain't very old, but it has squatted here to +stay. It boomed up like a shot after the diskivery o' a process for +treating the refractory ores in the district. There's simply no end o' +the stuff, an' we expect to get a railway along shortly." + +"How did it get its name?" inquired Mackay, calmly. + +"Well, I has only been a couple o' weeks here myself, an' don't know +exactly how it happened; but every one will tell you that it is called +after the diskiverer o' the process which sent it booming. A young chap, +I believe he was, an' he went out exploring afterwards. But it's mighty +funny you doesn't know that much. Say, you must have come in from out +back?" + +Mackay nodded briefly. "You've struck it," said he; "but now tell me if +you know a man called Nuggety Dick, and where can we find him?" + +"Nuggety Dick?" echoed the horseman. "Why, you won't have any trouble +finding him. He's the mayor, he is. Go along the main street right in +front o' you--it is called Mackay Street--an' turn down Golden Promise +Drive on your right, an'--but I'd better go in front an' show you----" + +"Yes, you'd better," murmured Mackay, feebly; then he reached out and +clasped Bob's hand. + + +"And so you all mean to have a trip to the old country, boys?" said +Nuggety Dick. + +It was about an hour later, and the wanderers were seated in the mayor's +dining-room doing ample justice to the generous fare provided by that +hospitable individual, whose pleasure at meeting his old friends again +had been almost boyish in its glad exuberance. + +"It's over ten years since I left the dear old land, Dick," answered +Bentley, "and now I should like to see it again. I wanted to persuade +every one to come, but I found they didn't need any persuading. All but +Bill seemed to have taken it as a foregone conclusion that they were to +have a run home as a reward for their labours." + +"An' I would go quick enough, boys," said Emu Bill, quietly, "but I +reckon I'd peg out if I lost sight o' the Southern Cross. I ain't no +traveller, boys; I is only a simple bushman, an' somehow the grim old +desert grips me tight." + +"I reckon I'll be able to tell you all about it when I get back, Bill," +said the Shadow. "I is goin' with Jack to see the sights, an' we'll have +a rare good time----" + +"I hope you've made up your mind to behave yoursel'?" interjected +Mackay, severely. + +"Surely, boss, you can trust me. I won't even squelch a policeman unless +he looks at me cross-eyed. I'll be gentle as a little lamb, I will, an' +I won't round up no horses nor camels nor nothin'." + +"Well, I hope it's only a trip you're goin' to take, boys, an' that +you'll all come back an' look me up in a month or so," said Nuggety +Dick, earnestly. + +They remained talking in this strain for some time; then Mackay suddenly +inquired after his old enemy, Macguire. + +"I don't bear the man any ill will," said he. "I'm just sort o' curious +to know if he rose wi' the fortunes o' Wentworth City; that name must +have stuck in his throat----" + +"Why, hasn't you heard?" exclaimed Dick; "but, of course, you couldn't +know. Macguire cleared out 'bout two days after you, an' every one +fancied he meant to follow you up, because he thought you were goin' to +some new strike. He had his old crowd wi' him, an' a black tracker. He +has never come back yet. I reckon he must have gone under." + +"Poor beggar!" murmured Bob. "I hope he manages to come out all right, +but----" He shook his head doubtfully. + +"If by any chance he does hit our old trail into the Never Never, he'll +be mighty sorry for it afterwards," spoke Mackay, grimly, with visions +of vengeful savages before his eyes. + +That night Bob came into Mackay's room at the hotel where they were all +staying. + +"I wanted to see you alone," he said simply, "so that I might tell you +how truly I have appreciated your great kindnesses. I know now who it +was that sent that letter to my mother, you dear old humbug." + +Mackay smiled. "My reward is more than I ever dreamed, my lad. You +yourself have given me much by your friendship. I haven't been +disappointed in you, Bob, an' I hope our partnership will no' finish +here." + +"I'll be with you every time," cried Bob, heartily. + +"I don't know what it is, but you can count on me," came a well-known +voice beyond the thin wooden partition, and immediately afterwards Jack +burst into the room. "I thought I heard about another threatened +expedition," he said eagerly, "and I wanted to sign my name to it right +away." + +"I have an idea," ventured Mackay, gazing at the boy with shrewd, +twinkling eyes--"I have an idea, Jack, that when you get home you'll +find a wonderfu' magnetic influence there to restrain your wandering +nature. But all the same, I shouldna wonder but you'll be allowed to +mak' just another journey in my good company, for Bob has promised to +say a word or two in my favour, so that I won't be judged altogether as +an uncouth savage from the Never Never----" + +"Is this a corroborree you're holding, Jim?" said Bentley, suddenly +entering the doorway. + +"No, Dick, nothing so vera desperate; we were sort o' considerin' a +future expedition, that's a'." + +"Already?" laughed Bentley. "Why, man, haven't you knocked around this +little planet enough to last you a lifetime?" + +"I am afraid there is no such thing as contentment in the world," said +Bob, gravely. "We have sought fortune, and we have found it----" + +"Ay, an' we found more than fortune, Bob," added Mackay, gazing at his +old leader affectionately. "The gold and gems are welcome enough, but +the lives o' my comrades are dearer to me than a'." + +Bentley laid a gentle hand on Mackay's shoulder, and his voice was full +as he spoke. + +"Yes, my lads," he said, "you will find true happiness, not in riches +nor in the fulfilment of worldly ambition, for our satisfaction is ever +in the striving after rather than in the attainment of our desires; but +it will come to you in the realization of an unerring truth: greater by +far than gold or gems is the love of our fellow-men." + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Lost Explorers, by Alexander MacDonald + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 57244 *** |