FLIGHT FROM THE SNAKES.--ATTACKED BY THE BUSHRANGERS.
Slowly, but in a compact form, did the snakes creep forward, hissing,
and expanding their huge mouths, and darting out their forked tongues,
which quivered like a million of grasshoppers strung upon steel wires,
and exposed to a strong breeze.
"Come back, you--." The rest of the sentence was inarticulate, but I
think it sounded like "fools."
We glanced at the inspector, and found that he was in full retreat with
the horses, evidently being disposed to be on the safe side.
"Let us give them one more shot, and be off," said Fred.
He was about to carry his words into effect, when a thought suddenly
struck me, and I lowered my revolver.
"Fred," I said, "did you put your powder flask in your pocket?"
"No, for I supposed that you did," he replied.
"Then let me advise you to reserve your fire, for we have but one shot
each, and it is a long way to camp."
I had hardly delivered the caution, when we found that it was full time
to beat a retreat. The snakes, still showing signs of anger, had crept
to within ten yards of us, and I thought, from a hasty observation, that
they were preparing to separate, and make a spring.
"Now, then, for a run!" cried Fred; and we turned our backs upon our
enemies, and started towards the horses as fast as our legs could carry
us.
I glanced over my shoulder to see what action the snakes were taking,
and to my horror I found that they had separated, and were pursuing us
with inconceivable rapidity. Their huge heads were raised about eighteen
inches from the ground, and their wide mouths were expanded as though
grinning at our flight.
"Run faster," yelled the inspector, who was watching the novel race,
seated on his horse.
We tried to obey, but found that we were putting our best energies to
the work, and therefore could not increase our pace. It seemed to me
that I was shod with lead, my feet felt so heavy.
"Run, run, run!" yelled the inspector, endeavoring to urge the horses
towards us; but the brutes resisted with all their might, and he was
obliged to relinquish the attempt.
I again looked over my shoulder, and saw that we did not increase the
distance between us and our loathsome foes, but I felt a little hope at
the thought of their not gaining on us. Ten rods more, and we should he
within range of the inspector's revolver, and perhaps he could check the
snakes' pursuit.
Even while these thoughts passed through my brain, I saw one of the most
active of our pursuers suddenly stop, raise one half of his long body
from the ground, in an upright direction, and then spring forward, at
least twenty feet, and far in advance of his competitors. Two more such
springs, and we would be enfolded in his embrace. Again he raised his
black, shining form, and was about to repeat the attempt, when we heard
the sharp crack of Mr. Brown's revolver.
To my joy, I saw that the inspector's aim was true, for the reptile,
just as he was about to repeat his spring, was struck by the ball, and
rolled over and over, lashing the ground with his tail, and causing his
companions to suddenly stop, as though desirous of seeing what the
matter was.
It is very certain that Fred and myself did not stop to learn what
conclusion the snakes came to; in less than a minute after the shot was
fired, we were beside our horses and mounted.
"Well, of all the fellows for getting into scrapes, you two are the
worst!" cried the inspector, with an air of vexation; "didn't you know
that those cussed black devils could run faster than a man?"
"This is the first that we ever heard about it," rejoined Fred,
completely at his ease.
"Well, now that I have told you, let us be getting clear of the clan,
for there is no knowing how soon the varmints may recommence another
pursuit," and the inspector turned his horse's head, as though he was
determined to remain no longer in such a dangerous neighborhood.
"Don't be in such a hurry," said Fred; "we have an inclination towards
natural history, and now is a good time to take lessons. I want to see
if the snakes will follow a man on horseback as readily as when he is on
foot."
"Are you determined to get choked to death by those dark scamps?"
demanded Mr. Brown, with a stare of amazement.
"By no means; we want to prevent others from suffering such a death, and
therefore feel that we have a mission for killing all that we can with
safety. There's ten or twelve of them left. Lend me your revolver, for
mine has but one charge in it."
Fred held out his hand to receive the weapon, and Mr. Brown, hardly
knowing whether he was joking or not, complied with his request.
The snakes were holding a consultation over the body of the last one
killed, and therefore paid but little attention to Fred, as he urged his
unwilling horse within shooting distance. I remained by the side of Mr.
Brown, and watched his operations.
At the first discharge of his revolver the consultation was broken up,
and after hissing their displeasure, the reptiles commenced slowly
retreating to their den; but every few seconds they would stop, face
him, and then another discharge would start them into full flight.
As they neared the pyramid--what there was left of them--their speed
increased, until it seemed to be a race as to which should get under
cover first. But the most surprising circumstance was the uninjured ones
refusing to allow a maimed one to enter, and every time that it
persisted in its attempt, the others fought him desperately.
That was something that I could not account for; but Mr. Brown said that
the reptiles were only imitating human beings in their treatment of a
comrade, and that as long as a snake was well, and able to fight, the
main body were willing to use him; but after he was wounded and wanted
shelter, there was a conspiracy to kick him out of their comfortable
quarters.
Fred returned with but one barrel of the revolver loaded, and that he
saved because the inspector was in the same condition as ourselves,
having left his powder and ball at Ballarat.
"Now, then, let us return," Mr. Brown said; "you have shed blood enough
for one day, I hope."
The words had hardly passed his lips, when, upon the top of the mountain
that we had descended two hours before, I saw the forms of five or six
men stealing along the trail, as though desirous of gaining the cover of
a number of trees, for the purpose of watching our movements.
I pointed them out to the inspector, and he stopped and examined them
through a pocket spy-glass which he usually carried when he left town.
"Well, are they friends or foes?" asked Fred.
The inspector made no reply until the men were lost to view beneath the
branches of the trees.
"Are you sure," he asked, "that you left your powder and lead at
Ballarat?"
"Quite sure--why do you ask?"
"Because, unfortunately, there are six as great rascals as ever went
unhung on the hill, and they mean mischief, I'll swear."
The inspector put up his glass, and examined his nearly-emptied revolver
with a rueful look.
"If the blasted snakes had not wasted our powder there would be some
show for us," he continued, "because, luckily, the scamps are armed with
pistols only."
"But we have three shots," cried Fred, his blood beginning to dance
through his veins at the prospect of a struggle; "I will guarantee that
every discharge brings down a bird, and as for the remainder, why, we
will meet them single-handed."
"I like to hear you talk in that strain, but the odds are against us. We
have a long hill to ascend, and should have to leave our horses behind,
and that I can't think of. The bushrangers, I suppose, desire the
animals for the purpose of escaping to some other portion of the
country, and even at the risk of running from a fight, we must
disappoint them. No, no; it would be madness attacking six men with
empty revolvers, when they have the choice of ground."
The inspector returned his revolver to his belt, and once more examined
the spot where the robbers had gone into ambush.
"Yes, they are watching our every motion, and I can see one fellow
standing near the trunk of the first tree on our right examining his
pistols attentively. Now he looks towards us, and points with his hand
in the direction of the ravine. It is our only chance." He closed the
glass abruptly and put spurs to his horse, calling upon us to follow him
without a moment's delay. We suspected Mr. Brown's intentions, but did
not consider the danger so imminent as he imagined. We therefore
galloped along at a moderate pace, and allowed the inspector to take the
lead.
"Faster, faster," he shouted, looking over his shoulder to see if we
kept up with him.
"What is your hurry?" cried Fred, with a provoking degree of coolness.
"Because there is need of it," Mr. Brown answered, reining his animal in
for the purpose of allowing us to get alongside of him. "Those
bushrangers have noted the road we have taken, and will seek to cut off
our retreat. Our only safety now lies in getting through the ravine
before they can gain a position to fire at us. Ah, I thought so. Look
there."
The inspector pointed to the hill top, and there we saw all six of the
robbers running at a rapid rate towards the edge of the ravine. The
latter was about six feet deep, and it was easy to see the advantage
such a position would give them; for while they could fire at us with
awful accuracy, we could not return a shot with any hope of success.
"We are with you," cried Fred, striking his horse with his spurs, and
forward we all went at a killing pace.
The bushrangers saw that they were discovered, and raised a shout of
triumph, as though certain that we were within their toils. I heard the
inspector utter a bitter curse at his stupidity in leaving his powder
and bullets behind, and that was the only answer to the challenge.
The ravine was about thirty feet wide, and like all places where a large
body of water has forced its way, was rugged, and difficult for horses
to tread. Huge rocks and deep gullies wore met at every step, and the
utmost caution was requisite to prevent our animals from breaking their
legs, or refusing to move forward at a pace faster than a walk.
For the first few minutes after entering the passage we anticipated a
discharge over our heads every moment; but finding that the bushrangers
did not take advantage of our situation, and that, we were unmolested,
we had time to wonder at their forbearance, and to suggest to Mr. Brown
that perhaps we were more frightened than hurt.
"Not a bit of it," he rejoined. "I tell you that the scamps have not
given up the chase so easy, and that all our trouble is to come at the
outlet of the ravine. The only reason we have escaped so far, is because
we were too quick to enable them to reach the edge of the bluff at the
entrance. We shall hear from the devils, never fear, and before long, I
am thinking.
"Press on," cried the inspector, as the outlet of the ravine came in
view; "we may defeat the devils yet."
Unlucky words, for hardly had he uttered them when a sharp crack from
the top of the cliff was heard, and a ball whizzed within a few inches
of my face, and struck the nag upon which the inspector was mounted, the
animal plunged forward for a few steps, and then suddenly rearing, fell
back heavily, crushing the left leg of Mr. Brown, and jamming it between
the saddle and the earth. "On," cried the wounded man, faintly; "save
yourselves, if possible, and leave me."
"You must have a poor opinion of Americans if you expect us to do that,"
cried Fred, with as much coolness as I ever saw him exhibit in my life.
And even while my friend was speaking, to my great admiration he
dismounted, letting his horse go wherever it desired to wander--for he
knew that no shot would be aimed at that which the bushrangers most
desired--and rushed to aid the fallen inspector.
I could do no less than follow his example, although I confess that I
considered my time as having nearly arrived, when I got off my horse,
and even when attempting to roll the dying animal from the body of the
inspector, I wondered why the deuse the bushrangers did not pick us off
without mercy. We were certainly in their power; but I afterwards
understood that five of the bushrangers were, at that particular moment,
engaged in damning the sixth, who had, by his aim, killed a horse
instead of a man. Although I don't approve of swearing, yet I must
confess that after this I must consider that there is some virtue in
oaths, for they saved not only my life, but my friend's.
Luckily for Mr. Brown, the horse died very quickly, and did not
struggle, or the body of the inspector would have been ground to powder,
and Ballarat would have required the services of another police
commissioner. We rolled the animal off, and then quickly lifted the
wounded man in our arms, and carried him for shelter under the bank,
where the villains overhead could not get sight of us.
"How fares it with you?" asked Fred, making an examination of the
injured limb.
"Bad enough," replied Mr. Brown, with a sigh. "I don't think that any
bones are broken, but the flesh is awfully bruised."
"That is true enough," answered Fred, tearing his handkerchief into
strips, and binding up the bleeding limb with as much coolness as a
professional surgeon; "the flesh is mangled, but it will heal in less
time than a broken limb, and I must congratulate you on your lucky
escape."
"Lucky escape?" repeated the inspector, bitterly; "you talk as though we
were not surrounded by six bloodthirsty scamps, who will greatly rejoice
to make a prisoner of me. Why did you not escape when my horse fell? You
could have done so."
"We grant that; yet we Americans have peculiar notions regarding some
things, and we are apt to call a man a coward who deserts a friend in
distress. We sink or swim in the same boat, to-day."
The inspector faintly squeezed our hands, and a gratified expression
beamed upon his face, yet his pain was too great to allow him to reply;
and Fred and myself began to consult how we could bring into play the
early lessons which we had learned while mining in California, and
surrounded by tribes of hostile Indians.
We were no longer bound to regard the advice of the inspector, even if
he had been disposed to offer it, which he was not, and after a slight
deliberation we came to a conclusion, and resolved to act upon it. For
this purpose we removed Mr. Brown to a place of greater security, and
after informing him that we should not be far off, and that he was to
remain silent until our return, we crept along under the bank for some
distance, stopping every few minutes for the purpose of listening, yet
making no noise by our movements.
The ravine, as I said before, led between two high hills, and each bank
was perpendicular, and covered, at the edges, with small gum trees.
There was only one place on the left bank, where the bushrangers were
stationed, that could be descended, and unless the ruffians made an
attempt to reach us by that single place, they would be compelled to go
a mile or two to descend the hill, and then enter the ravine at the
outlet. By attempting to surprise us by entering the ravine the way that
we did, the distance would be greater and more difficult. We therefore
reasoned that the bushrangers, after waiting an hour or more, and
finding that we made no stir, would attempt to secure the two horses
that were quietly grazing nearly opposite the place where the bank was
most shelving, and that they would seek for the quickest way of
accomplishing their object. We therefore resolved to station ourselves
near the animals, and see what would happen.
By good fortune we found a large ridge of earth, formed like a shelf,
about four feet wide, which the water had gullied out when rushing
through the ravine, during the winter months--and under this we
stationed ourselves, and waited patiently, well aware that we were
secure from observation from our enemies, unless some of them happened
to be on the opposite bank, which we did not expect.
Half an hour passed, and there were no signs of the enemy. Our horses
had approached us once or twice, but as we paid no attention to them,
they had wandered off, and were standing in the shade of the west bank
for the purpose of getting rid of some of the insects which were
hovering in the air, and biting with a sharpness that proved they had
been without food for many days.
We were almost in despair of our plan succeeding, when we heard a
crashing overhead, as though a number of heavy-footed men were stepping
upon dried branches, and did not care who heard them. Suddenly there was
a silence, as though the party had halted to view the very place we
anticipated they would look at, and then a voice exclaimed:--
"D---- it, what can you say to that place, I'd like to know?"
"Ah, Bill, I've got nothin' to offer agin that place, 'cos it's suthin
like. A man can get down there without trouble."
"Well, then, down you go, and lead the horses out of the ravine, and
wait for us," cried a man who appeared to have some authority with the
bushrangers.
"But I want somebody to go with me, don't I? S'pose the fellers should
make a jump at me?" cried the man, who was evidently the slave of the
gang.
"But they won't make a jump at you, 'cos they are at the other end of
the ravine, looking after Brown. Get hold of the horses, and then we
shall have um at our mercy."
"All right, Bill; I'll go, 'cos I killed the hoss, when I meant to kill
one of those d----d Yankee chaps. I thought that I had him sure, but my
pistols didn't carry straight."
It seemed that the party knew us, and had followed us ever since we had
left Ballarat, for the purpose of robbing us of our horses, and probably
murdering us, into the bargain.
We heard the bushranger selected for the purpose, commence descending
slowly, for the task was one of considerable difficulty, and required
some caution. His comrades stood upon the bank and joked him for being
so long, and at length we concluded that they had stretched themselves
upon the grass to wait until he had performed his work; for their voices
became nearly inaudible, although we could hear the fellow who was
approaching us grunt and swear at the obstacles which he had to
overcome.
Fred's brow grew black as he unsheathed his long knife, and passed a
finger across the blade to test its keenness.
"What do you intend to do?" I asked, fearful of his reply.
"Preserve our lives at the expense of the scoundrels," he answered, in a
whisper. "Leave the blow to me, but stand ready to grasp the fellow by
the throat, and remember that a cry will destroy us."
I made no further remonstrance against the course that Fred had marked
out, but I inwardly dreaded to think that it was necessary to shed more
human blood for the sake of preserving our lives.
Nearer and nearer did the bushranger draw, and we could hear him mutter
an oath at the difficult task that was assigned him. By the direction of
the sound, we calculated that he would land directly in front of us; and
we were not mistaken, for he jumped to clear the shelf under which we
were hid, and when he struck the earth, it was within a foot of us.
Before he discovered us--for his back was towards me--I flew at him,
grasped him firmly around the throat, and then fell backwards, drawing
my prisoner with me. He struggled desperately for a moment, but I saw a
knife gleam before my eyes, and I felt a convulsive shudder run through
the frame of my prisoner, and then his resistance ceased.
I rolled him from me, and allowed the body to remain face down. I could
not encounter the ghastly face of the dead. It seemed to me like murder.
Fred noticed the expression of my face, and must have surmised my
feelings, for he grasped my arm, and whispered hoarsely,--
"Remember that it is to save our own lives, and the life of Mr. Brown,
that we resort to the knife. I would give all the gold that I am worth,
or hope to get, for a chance to escape such a massacre, but it is
impossible. Another victim will descend, and he must share his fate, and
then--"
He ceased speaking, for just then a voice called out, and wanted to know
where their companion, who had descended to get the horses, was.
"You, Jim," called out the fellow who appeared to be in authority.
"D---- him, he has gone to sleep, I'll bet a nugget. Go down, Sam, and
wake him with a kick of your boots."
The man addressed as Sam grumbled some at the order, but we could hear
that he was obeying the command, for the dirt rolled down the bank and
fell at our feet, and the oaths and exclamations uttered by the gang
hurried him in his descent. "The same operation is to be repeated,"
Fred whispered; "use all of your strength, for this fellow is a
dangerous customer, I'm convinced."
He had hardly finished speaking, when a stout, burly fellow slid down in
front of us, and as he did so, he got a glimpse of our forms.
He was about to utter an exclamation, when my hands were around his
throat, compressing his windpipe with a strength that seemed marvellous
to me. There was a slight struggle, unseen from the top of the bank,
owing to the friendly shelf, and then I saw Fred make a motion with his
arm, and almost immediately I felt that I held a corpse in my hands.
I let the body fall to the ground, and as I did so, Fred tore the
slouched hat from the wretch's head, placed it upon his own, and then
thrusting his head out so that those upon the bank could see the hat,
but not my friend's face, and assuming, as nearly as possible, the voice
of the dead, shouted:--
"Ah, Bill, come down here and see what we've got."
"Hullo!" cried Bill, "what's up? can't you tell? D---- me if I don't
believe they have found a gold mine, down there. Let's go and see,
boys."
"Now is our time," cried Fred, quietly removing the pistols which the
dead men carried in their belts. "When they have descended half way, we
must take them."
We listened attentively, and when we thought that our time had arrived,
we stepped out from our place of concealment, and before the bushrangers
could overcome their surprise at our sudden appearance, we gave the two
nearest the contents of our revolvers.
They relaxed their hold upon the bushes that grew sparsely upon the hill
side, and rolling over and over, fell into the ravine, badly wounded.
"Surrender, villains," yelled Fred, in a voice of thunder, pointing his
empty pistol at the two remaining robbers--an example that I was not
slow to follow. "Make but an attempt to use your weapons, and we'll blow
you through and through. Throw down your pistols and knives, and then
yield peaceably, or it will be worse for you."
For a moment the villains gazed at us in sullen silence, and then
reluctantly complied with our demand. With an imprecation that would
sound fearfully in print, the bushrangers commenced their descent, and
while they were doing so, we quickly exchanged our empty revolvers for
the loaded pistols, and then prepared to receive them with proper
attention.