"I have it, it is engender'd: hell and night
Must bring this monstrous birth to the world's light."
OTHELLO, _Act_ 1, _Sc._ 3.
"Then should I know you by description;
Such garments and such years."
AS YOU LIKE IT, _Act_ 5, _Sc._ 3.
Despite his professed contempt for John Ferguson's information Mr.
Rainsfield felt an uneasy apprehension at the growing confidence, and
contumacious freedom of the blacks. He even began to doubt if he would
be able to maintain his position single-handed against them, and thought
seriously of the advisableness of calling a meeting of the surrounding
settlers, to organize a league for their mutual protection. But then he
remembered the blacks directed all their _animus_ against himself, and
it was therefore questionable, he imagined, if he could induce more than
two or three of his neighbours to join him; besides which, even they
could not constantly be on the alert; while he must, consequently, be
frequently open to surprisal. A thought, however, struck him, or rather
we should have said, a diabolical idea suggested itself to his mind;
and, after cogitating and arguing with himself for some time, he
determined to act upon it.
The pestilence, so he mentally soliloquized, had now reached its height,
and something must be done; for he was not only robbed of his station
supplies, but he was frequently losing even cattle; while, instead of
seeing any prospect of amendment, he only perceived that the successes
of his despoilers were emboldening them to fresh adventures. He knew
that an application to the government for protection was absolutely
useless; for they hadn't it to give. It is true he might stir the
district to agitate the settlement of a native police detachment in that
quarter; but he also knew, even if he succeeded in obtaining such a
location, that the force would be necessarily so miserably small as to
be perfectly inadequate to the contingencies. (Possibly three or four
men stationed in the centre of fifty square miles to protect the
scattered population against as many hundred savages.) The idea was
preposterous, and he scouted it. No, he thought, he must depend upon
himself for protection, and would therefore adopt a line of policy that
would check, if not annihilate, the nuisance; while the exigencies of
the case would justify him in his measures. Such, then, were the
thoughts that passed through the mind of Mr. Rainsfield after his
interview with our hero.
He returned to Mr. Billing's cottage after John Ferguson's departure,
and accosted his _employé_ in his blandest and most suasive manner. "Mr.
Billing," said he, "I am about to enter upon a crusade against the
native dogs, which I find are becoming very troublesome to the sheep
in the upper part of the run; and, to effectually destroy them, I intend
to poison some carcasses to be left for them to make a meal of. I would
therefore like you to ride over to Alma, and explain the matter to Mr.
Gilbert, the storekeeper there; and procure for me a supply of
strychnine and arsenic. I would not trouble you, but you are aware that
he would not give it to a shepherd without a request from me; and it is
hardly safe to send any of the men. I would be particularly obliged to
you if you would undertake the task, as I can confidently depend upon
your judgment to prevent any mistake."
This little piece of what the Yankees would designate "soft sawder" on
the part of Rainsfield, had the effect, not only of removing any
objections his diminutive confidential might have had to such a journey,
but of inducing him to acknowledge the compliment in a series of
corporeal oscillations; while he replied to the blandishment, in the
following strain: "It would afford me, sir, the greatest earthly
pleasure to comply with your wishes; even to the considerable personal
inconvenience, sir, and bodily suffering of your humble servant; but you
must be aware equestrianism sir, is an accomplishment I never deemed it
necessary to acquire. During my mercantile career, sir, I was reputed,
and I think I may add justly too, sir, one of the best amateur whips in
the city of London; and had my transit, sir, to be effected by a
vehicular means, I flatter myself, sir, none could accomplish the
mission better."
"That I am convinced of," replied Mr. Rainsfield; "but I fear, Mr.
Billing, I shall have to defer the pleasure of witnessing your skill in
handling the ribbons until I am induced, by the existence of roads, to
treat myself and my family to the luxury of a carriage. But, with regard
to the journey I have mentioned, I can provide you with a quiet horse;
and I have no doubt a man of your various accomplishments will find no
difficulty in adding to them the art of riding. In fact, unless you had
mentioned it, I would never have imagined but that you were a perfect
equestrian; your stature and figure are just such as would show to best
advantage on horseback; and, with the constant opportunities which
present themselves here, I really am surprised that you don't ride. You
know 'it is never too late to mend;' so you must really permit me to
persuade you (irrespective of this journey) to commence at once
practising the art, and take a regular course of riding. I am convinced
you will not only find it pleasant, but beneficial to your health."
"I appreciate your kindness, sir," replied the little man. "As you say,
it is never too late to mend, and I really think, sir, it is ridiculous
that I should not be able to ride; but the fact is, to be candid, sir, I
have always dreaded the first lesson."
"There is really nothing to fear, Mr. Billing," said Rainsfield. "You
will find, once on your horse, riding will come natural to you; the
only inconvenience you will experience is being at first a little stiff
after it."
"When would you desire me to start, if I took this journey?" enquired
the would be equestrian.
"Well, I should prefer it at once," replied his tempter. "If you were to
start within half an hour you would have at least six hours of daylight;
and the distance is only about twenty-five miles, so you could reach the
town at your leisure before dark, and return to-morrow."
"I have decided then, sir," exclaimed Mr. Billing; "you may command my
services, and I will be at your disposal before the expiration of half
an hour."
"That's right, Mr. Billing," replied his superior; "and I'll get a horse
in from the paddock for you; and by the way, will you just leave the
keys of the store with Mrs. Billing. When you are away I purpose
removing all the stores into the house, and have prepared a room for
their reception; so if our black visitors should favour us with a call
during your absence they will find themselves disappointed."
"Most assuredly, sir, as you desire," replied the quondam commercial; "I
will hand the badges of my office into your hands myself, to prevent,
sir, the possibility of any mistake:" saying which the two separated;
Mr. Billing filed with the importance of his mission, to communicate it
to his wife, and obtain her aid in a speedy preparation for his
hazardous journey; and his employer, with a complaisant smile of
satisfaction on his features, to give instructions for the immediate
capture of a steed.
Within the specified time an animal was brought by Mr. Rainsfield up to
the door of Mr. Billing's abode duly caparisoned for the journey, and
with an old valise strapped upon the saddle. At the same time the
adventurous storekeeper also made his appearance; having undergone by
the careful assiduity of his wife a perfect transmutation. On his head
stood erect a black cylindrical deformity, designated in the vulgar
parlance of the colony "a Billy," but which he, while he smiled benignly
at the ignorance of the _canaille_ (as he gave it the extra rotary
flourish of the brush, while he read "Christy's best London make" in the
crown), called a hat; and the only proper head-dress for a gentleman. He
was encompassed in a coat of the gigantic order, possessed of many
pockets; a garment truly noble to look upon, and one that had done
service to its owner in days of yore; when on cold and wet mornings Mr.
Billing nestled himself in his wonted position in the Brixton 'bus, to
be conveyed to his diurnal bustle in the city. In this habiliment
evidences of an affectionate wife's forethought were visible in the
protrusion from the pockets of sundry pieces of paper, denoting the
occupation of those receptacles by certain parcels; the contents of
which, should the reader be anxious to know, we are in a position to
disclose.
In the lower pocket on the right hand side, we are enabled from our
information (which is from the most reliable source) to inform the
curious, was a parcel (thrust by Mrs. Billing with her own hands)
enclosing two garments, of a spotless purity, essential for a
gentleman's nocturnal comfort. In the contemporary pouch was a package
of humbler pretensions, containing sundries to appease a traveller's
appetite; while in another was deposited that necessary paraphernalia
for a morning's toilet, embraced in the apparatus known as a
"gentleman's travelling companion." His legs were encased in trousers
that had been brought specially to the light. They were of a
questionable colour, something between that of kippered salmon and hard
bake; and were strapped down to his feet with such powerful tension that
he was threatened every moment with a mishap most awkward in its
consequences. When he walked he effected the exercise with a
sprightliness that appeared as if galvanic agency was that which had
set his nether limbs in motion; and his feet started from the ground at
every step with a spring that promised at each evolution the protrusion
of some part of his crural members.
In this perfect costume Mr. Billing considered himself adjusted for the
road; and construing the smile of amusement that played on the features
of Mr. Rainsfield as a mark of affability returned it in his most
winning style.
The horse provided for this Gilpin excursion was an animal of no mean
pretensions. He boasted of having in his veins some of the best blood of
the country, though, now perhaps, that blood was somewhat vapid, and he
rather patriarchal. He had served many masters, and performed various
duties; from racing to filling the equivocal position of a station and
stockman's hack. Though once possessed of a spirit that required a
strong arm and determined will to maintain a mastery over, he was now as
quiet and subdued as a lamb; although he was as sagacious as most of
his riders, and as knowing as any "old hoss" in the country. He had
settled into an easy-going stager, that neither persuasion nor force
could induce to deviate from the "even tenor of his way;" while his
general appearance, at this stage of his life, was long-legged,
raw-boned, lean and screwed, with the additional embellishment of being
minus his near eye.
Mr. Billing surveyed the beast that was to carry him to Alma with about
the same comprehension as a ploughman would contemplate a steam engine;
while the horse returned the gaze from the corner of his sound eye, and
winked in a manner that might have been interpreted into a request "to
wait until he got him on his back." Mr. Billing, however, was perfectly
unacquainted with the significance of his horse's looks, and perhaps
well for him that he was; for we are convinced, had he known what was
in store for him, he would never have risked his valuable person and
life on the back of so perverse a dispositioned animal. We have heard
that an inclination of the head is equivalent to the closing of one eye
to a quadruped whose ocular organs are in a state of total derangement;
and we therefore presume that the momentary stultification of our
quadruped's vision had the same effect upon our Cockney-born viator
as the craniological recognition mentioned in the aphorism would have
had on his horse. Consequently, he was in blissful ignorance of the
trials that awaited him; and, under the directions of Mr. Rainsfield,
he prepared to mount with an alacrity which he prided himself as
pertaining to a "city man of business," and which he still retained in
his animated anatomy.
For some time he experienced considerable difficulty, in fact he found
it absolutely impossible, to so far stretch his limbs as to get one leg
high enough from the ground to reach the stirrup; and not until, at the
suggestion of his highly-amused employer, his loving spouse produced a
chair from the cottage, had he any prospect of reaching the saddle.
However, being elevated by the chair, he made a bound on to the back of
the steed, but unfortunately with too great an impetus; for he lost his
equilibrium in attempting to gain his seat, and measured his length on
the ground. This mishap tended to cast a gloom upon his spirits, but he
was soon rallied by Mr. Rainsfield, who told him he would be all right
when once in his saddle and on the road. Upon a second attempt he
exercised more caution, with better success; and, as he seated himself
in his saddle bolt upright, he gazed about him, and below him, with a
proud consciousness of the elegant symmetry of himself and horse; and
doubted not he would, as he then stood, be a prize study for any
sculptor. His following remark will not therefore be wondered at.
"As you a few minutes ago affirmed, sir, now that I am possessed of my
seat, I do feel myself all right. I experience, sir, a confidence in
myself that, if called upon, I could do any equestrian prodigy, even to
eclipse the stupendous leap of Martius Curtius; or to perform, sir, any
other feat that my destiny may decree."
"I am equally confident in your abilities, Mr. Billing," replied his
master; "but I trust they will never be put to so severe a test. I will
walk with you to where the roads to Alma and Brompton diverge. It is not
more than a mile beyond the Wombi, so, though I can tell you yours is
the left hand road, I may as well accompany you to the junction. From
that you will have no difficulty in keeping to the track, if you just
give the horse his head; for he has been so used to the road that he
will know perfectly well where he has to go. You will perceive I have
strapped a valise on your saddle; it is for you, when you procure the
poisons, to put them into it, and keep them out of harm's way; while it
will save you the annoyance and trouble of carrying them."
When they arrived at the spot where the tracks separated Mr. Rainsfield
parted from his colleague; and looking after him for a few minutes,
until he was lost from view by a turn in the road, he burst into an
inordinate fit of laughter, and turned on his heel to retrace his steps.
After walking for some time in abstracted silence, apparently absorbed
in deep meditation, he suddenly started with the ejaculation, "Yes! by
Jupiter, that'll stop them. I expect they won't trouble me much after
that."
But while we leave him to his cogitations and silent walk, we will
pursue Mr. Billing and accompany him on his ride.