"Of darkness visible so much he lent,
As half to show, half veil the deep intent."
POPE.
"Man's inhumanity to man,
Makes countless thousands mourn."
BURNS.
After he left the store with Billing Mr. Rainsfield gave particular
instructions that the flocks should be well watched; and he anxiously
waited for the approach of night. When the family retired to rest he
found some excuse to detain him in the sitting-room; and, wondering at
the protracted stay of his brother, he paced the room with a disordered
step and agitated mind. He desired to see Tom back, to hear his report,
and see him retire to his bed; but he waited in vain; while the idea
never occurred to him of the probability of his going over to the
Fergusons. He, however, as the night grew on, extinguished the light in
the room; and, the night being pitch dark, sat with the French light
open, with his eyes and ears strained to their fullest distention to
catch the appearance of any moving object, or any sound in the direction
of the store.
He had remained thus until past midnight when he thought he detected the
sound of voices uttered in a low cadence; and he strained his auricular
organs so as to endeavour to catch some convincing proof of the
proximity of his victims. Again the same sound struck him. It must be
the voices of the blacks, thought he. "It is, by heaven! they are here,"
he mentally exclaimed, as their subdued conversation (which could
plainly be distinguished in the still night air) was again heard. He was
not long either before he had ocular demonstration of their approach;
for round the corner of the store, he could discern, through the
obscurity, the dusky form of a black stealthily and cautiously creeping.
The vision, however, was only transitory, for in a moment Rainsfield
lost sight of the figure, and believing that the fellow's mission might
have been to steal up to the house, and reconnoitre while his
confederates were effecting an entrance to the store, he all but closed
the window; though he still kept his eyes and ears on the alert through
the aperture. Again his ears caught a sound: "ah! the fellow's trying
the door," he muttered; "perhaps you would like the key, my friends?
However, I suppose you won't allow yourselves to be disappointed by a
trifle of a lock; burst it open," he continued, "no one will hear you.
Ah! there you are again! back to your companions, practised burglar! I
suppose your confederates keep in the background, while you try the
premises. You are quite safe; I'll guarantee you shan't be disturbed
this time. Get in any way you like, but don't burn the place."
Such were the mental ejaculations of the proprietor of Strawberry Hill,
as he continued at the window of his sitting-room, holding open a leaf
in each hand, and gazing with breathless attention at the quarter where
the late apparition momentarily disappeared; and with intense anxiety
did he continue to pierce the darkness, in the hope of witnessing a
reappearance of the nocturnal visitant. Nor had he to wait long to be
gratified; for presently a similar object showed itself at the point
which was the focus of Rainsfield's gaze; and almost immediately after
another, and another; and then the obscurely luminous passage was
perfectly darkened with human forms.
This incident was not lost on Rainsfield; he saw at once that the blacks
were determined to effect their purpose; and he secretly indulged in a
fiendish gratulation at the pertinacity with which they were throwing
themselves into his trap. "Ah!" said he, continuing his meditations,
"you are in force are you? why, you must have your whole tribe with you.
Well now, how are you going to manage your business? hark! surely that
must be the door unlocked; yes! there the hinges creak! Well, you
beauties, you have done that cleverly." So he continued to cogitate, and
watch the progress of his scheme's effect, till the dark forms of the
sable thieves could be discerned evidently treading on each other's
heels, while they bore off their purloined prize. Desirous as he was to
satisfy himself whether or not they had decamped with the poisoned meat
and flour, he dared not venture out for fear that some of their number
lurked about the station to cover the retreat of their friends; and not
until he heard from the distance the call of the blacks vibrating in the
bush did he consider himself safe to examine his own premises.
He crept from his ambush with as much stealth as the thieves had
approached his own property; his heart beating almost audibly, and his
eyes glancing furtively around him, attempting to pierce the darkness;
while he started at the sighing of the faintest breath; shrinking at the
sound of his own footsteps, and conjuring the wildest phantasies in the
midnight air. Conscience was at its work, and he felt already the hot
blast of guilt searing his very soul.
He approached the store; the door was open; he entered; the darkness
seemed doubly dark, and nothing could be distinguished in the internal
gloom. He mechanically went to the spot where he had left the bag of
flour; groped with his hands about the wall and on the floor, and found
it gone. He walked across the room, with his arms extended in such a
manner as to come in contact with the suspended carcass if it had been
there; but he found it gone also; and when he had satisfied himself upon
that point, his arms dropt to his side, while he stood musing in the
middle of the building.
"So they have robbed me again, have they?" he muttered; "well, they
will have to answer for their own deaths; it is their own voluntary
action." Conscience, however, refused to be silenced by such sophistry,
and, as the homicide wrapt himself in his self-justification, startled
him from his quietude by uttering in the still small voice, "Thou shalt
not kill." The effect of the rebuke was but momentary, for the man
argues: "I do not kill them, they kill themselves. Surely I may poison
meat for the extermination of vermin; and how more securely can I keep
it than under lock and key? Then if they steal it and eat it, and meet
their death in consequence, surely no blame can be attached to me."
"Thou shalt not kill," still urged the silent monitor; "thou knewest
well the poisoned food would be stolen by the ignorant savages, and thou
didst poison it for that purpose."
"But if the villains persisted in stealing what was poisoned," urged the
guilty man, "they commit the crime of theft; and thereby evoke the
punishment in the death which follows. The fact of its being poisoned
involves no criminality on the part of the owner, because the property
is surreptitiously acquired; thereby relieving him of any participation
in their death by the fact of its means being obtained, not only without
his sanction, but in violation of his precautions to preserve it. If,"
continued the mental disputant, "I had given them the meat intentionally
to destroy them, then would I have been guilty; but having placed it in
what I believed a perfect security, the blacks having voluntarily rushed
upon their doom, am I to be blamed? Did not Achan, when he appropriated
of the spoils of Jericho, meet with the just reward of his disobedience
in his death?"
"Thou shalt not kill," repeated conscience; "and God hateth false lips,
'he that speaketh lies shall perish.' Thou knewest the blacks would
steal the meat, notwithstanding your boasted security of it; and,
moreover, thou didst desire that they should. Their death will not be
upon their own heads, notwithstanding that they meet it through the
committal of a sin. Their sin they commit in ignorance, and God only
shall judge them of it; thou takest their life knowingly, meanly, and
cowardly, and God shall judge you for it. Achan met his death by the
command of the omnipotent Judge, for the disobedience of the divine
command; while your victims have no conception of their infringement of
any law. Dost thou remember the judgments that fell upon David for the
murder of Uriah? Your act is far more atrocious than his; for with him,
the victim was one, and might have been said to have been through the
fortunes of war; while your victims are many, and are murdered in a
cold-blooded way, to screen you from the laws of your country, and the
opinions of men. Heavy is the curse on him who sheddeth man's blood, and
verily the curse of the Lord will smite thee, thou worker of iniquity.
If thou desirest not their death hasten now after them, and prevent
them from eating of the food."
"They would not believe me if I told them it was poisoned," argued
conscience's opponent, "but would simply imagine that I was endeavouring
to recover my property."
"Offer them other for it, or tell them to try it first on their dogs,"
suggested conscience.
"I dare not show myself to them at all," replied the man; "I believe
they would kill me if I did; besides, if they choose to poison
themselves let them. It is no business of mine to prevent them; they
have long been a source of annoyance to me, and no one can blame me for
their death. No jury in the world would convict me of murder; then why
should I fear? Is not self-preservation the first law of nature? and is
not a man perfectly justified in adopting any measure to preserve his
life and his property. If I am to be taxed with the death of these
wretches, whose riddance from the earth will be an inestimable blessing
to the district and civilisation, no one would be justified in killing
an attempted assassin or a burglar; and a landowner, who sets
spring-guns for the protection of his preserves, becomes a murderer if
his instruments of destruction take effect. In fact the law itself has
no right to exercise its jurisdiction in the disposal of life; and the
execution of a condemned criminal is nothing more than a forensic
murder. But why need I allow my morbid fancies or sympathetic feelings
to overcome justice and my own judgment, or frighten me into a belief
that I am committing a sin? No! if it be necessary, I will blazon the
matter to the world, and let my fellow-men judge me; and I am convinced
I will be exonerated from all criminality."
Conscience was stifled for the time; and Rainsfield left the store,
taking care to leave the place precisely as it was vacated by the
blacks; and as the first gray streaks rose above the horizon, heralding
Aurora's approach, he returned to the house as cautiously as he left it;
entering by the open window of the sitting-room, and seeking his bed to
sleep the troubled sleep of a disquieted mind.
At an early hour of the morning, as Mr. Billing resumed his daily
vocations, the robbery on the store was discovered; and the intelligence
was speedily communicated by that individual to his master, who affected
the utmost surprise at the theft, and the deepest concern at the
inevitable fate of the wretched aborigines. "Poor creatures," he
exclaimed, "I would not have cared for the loss of the rations; but to
think that the poor deluded beings are unconsciously the instruments of
their own deaths, through the gratification of their own cupidity, is
truly melancholy. I am vexed at myself for leaving the meat in the
store, for now I see it was the most likely place where it would be
molested. I would give anything to save them; what can be done, Mr.
Billing? can they be warned of their danger before it is too late? I
would not for worlds that the poor wretches should be poisoned, even
though it were through the consumption of stolen food, and,
notwithstanding the thorn they have been in my side; I wish Tom were
here. Speak, Mr. Billing, what can be done?"
Shall we say that this philanthropic consideration for the poor ignorant
blacks was the spontaneous ebullition of a genuine contrition; or a mere
verbose eruption of assumed sympathy, studied and expressed with the
view of disarming suspicion of the sheep being intentionally poisoned
and placed in the store as a trap? Without wishing to be harsh or
uncharitable, we must conscientiously express our fears that the latter
was the case; and that Rainsfield's apparent sorrow for the fate of his
victims was a predetermined link of his scheme.
"I fear nothing can be done, sir," replied Mr. Billing to the query of
his master; "they have evidently been possessed of their booty, sir,
some hours; and, doubtless, by this time it is consumed. I cannot
venture, sir, to suggest any remedy; and would merely recommend that
until we are aware, sir, of the extent of the evil, you would not allow,
sir, the circumstance to prey too much on your mind."
"Do you not think, my dear sir," said Rainsfield, "some good might be
done by sending some one over to warn them of their danger?"
Instant visions of his late journey occurred to the mind of Mr. Billing;
and when he hastily replied, "no, sir, I really think it can be of no
service," he might have been under the impression that it was the
intention of his master to send him as the warning messenger he alluded
to. "I assure you, sir," he repeated, "it can be of no use; for as I
have already stated, sir, I believe that ere this the whole of the
provisions have been consumed."
"But tell me, Billing," enquired the suddenly created philanthropist,
"how was the store entered? because I imagined, that having locked it,
it was perfectly secure."
"It appeared, sir," replied Mr. Billing, "that the cunning scoundrels,
when they discovered the door to be secure, managed, sir, to wrench one
of the slabs out of the back; and from the inside, after effecting an
entrance by that means, they opened the door, sir, for their greater
convenience, and decamped; performing the whole so noiselessly, sir,
that even I who was in their vicinity was not disturbed. And, sir, both
Mrs. Billing and myself are extremely uneasy in our rest. I can assure
you, sir, the slightest noise is likely to arouse either of us. I
remember on one occasion, sir (if you will permit me to make an
observation on my private experience?), before my evil genius prompted
me to break up, sir, my pleasant and comfortable little home in the
mother country, to seek my fortunes, sir, in this inhospitable land, I
resided, as I believe I have already informed you, sir, in the genteel
suburban neighbourhood of Brixton. My means then, sir, enabled me to
possess some of the luxuries of life, of which a cheerful and
comfortable home, sir, I believe to be not the least. However, upon one
occasion, sir, when Mrs. Billing and I had retired to rest; for we were
early people, Mr. Rainsfield, very early people and had a strong
objection to late hours; believing, sir, that they destroy the
constitution, without imparting any satisfaction commensurate to the
loss. Well, sir, as I observed, we had retired early to rest one
evening; and the reigning stillness of the house, sir, was hardly broken
by the musical voice of my wife. I will do her the justice to remark,
sir, that she is a sensible woman, a very sensible woman, sir;
notwithstanding that she was treating me on that occasion, to a little
dissertation on her system of housekeeping; though I would have you
distinctly to understand, sir, not in a style of eloquence peculiar to
that good lady, Mrs. Caudle. That, Mr. Rainsfield, is not one of my
wife's idiosyncrasies; but she prided herself upon her domestic economy,
and she was making a voluntary explanation of her expenditure; while I
was dozing under the influence of her soporific lullaby. My spirit would
have speedily fled to the land of dreams had not my sense of hearing,
sir, detected a sound that was inimical to our peace, and I started
erect in my bed, sir, with my forefinger raised to Mrs. B. to enjoin
silence; while I listened with an ardent attention.
"'What on earth is the matter, James?' exclaimed my wife, sir, 'you
quite frightened me; what made you start in such an extraordinary
manner.'
"'Don't you hear anything, my love?' replied I; 'can't your quick ear
detect sounds that portend to an unpleasant visitation?'
"'No,' she replied, sir, 'what do you mean, James? what sounds?'
"'The sounds of the housebreaker,' I replied, 'attempting to violate the
sanctity of our dwelling. Are you so deaf, my love,' I said, 'that you
cannot hear the regular grating of a saw at work on some of our doors or
shutters?'
"'I can certainly hear some sound,' she replied, 'but it is only the
gnawing of a rat, or a mouse in the wainscot of the room; rest your mind
easy, James,' she continued, 'no thieves would think it worth their
while to molest us.'
"'I am not so sure of that, my dear,' I replied; 'but, even if I were,
do you imagine that I would lie dormantly in my bed (while I was
convinced some nocturnal villain was attempting to enter my premises),
perhaps to see the wife of my bosom murdered in cold blood before my
very eyes, and possibly have my own throat cut afterwards to complete
the tragedy?'
"My apprehensions were not entertained by my wife, sir, for she urged me
to lie down. 'Do not frighten yourself at nothing,' she exclaimed, 'and
alarm me so at your dreadful imageries; allow me to convince you it is
all fancy; besides if thieves tried to get in, all the places are too
well secured for them to gain an entrance.'
"'Ah, my wife!' said I, 'there you show your inexperience; a practised
housebreaker would not be deterred by the presence of bars, bolts, or
locks; the greater the supposed security, the greater are the chances of
his success; besides while my suspicions are aroused, I could not rest
until I had satisfied myself that they are groundless, and that is
speedily done. So I am determined to see;' with which I got out of bed,
and with many cautions from my wife, in the event of my discovering any
thieves, not to venture into danger or to allow myself, sir, in my
indignation, or courage, to be exposed to either the ruffians or the
night air, I hastily threw some clothes over me to guard against the
risk of catching cold; for I was always susceptible to cold, sir. I
quietly crept down stairs, sir, and the sound that greeted my ears
distinctly proclaimed the fact that the thieves, sir, were at their
nefarious work. When I reached the passage I perceived, sir, they were
not at the front door; so, hastily entering the parlour and convincing
myself, sir, that they were not there, I seized a poker for my personal
protection, and descended, sir, towards the basement of the house. As I
turned for this purpose, sir, the sound which had momentarily ceased,
now recommenced, and I could detect it, sir, almost in my very presence.
It was at a door leading into our garden and back premises, and in the
indistinct light of the spot, I had almost said total darkness, sir, I
perceived a saw at work cutting through the panel of the door. It was
being industriously plied, sir, by some one on the outside, and at the
time of my arrival, sir, had almost completed its work of extracting a
piece sufficiently large to allow a man's arm to be thrust through, by
which means I imagine, sir, the operator intended to unfasten the door.
However, sir, the instrument, which I discovered was of a tender
description, I snapped asunder with one blow, sir, of the weapon I held
in my hand; and, with as truculent a voice as I could assume, informed
my visitors, sir, that unless they instantly decamped, I would fire on
them. My interruption to their proceedings, sir, was hailed with a
volley of combined expletives; after the utterance of which, sir, I had
the satisfaction of distinctly hearing the sounds of their retreating
footsteps, and could see from one of my back windows, to which I had
removed to prospect, two ill-favoured looking rascals clambering over
the garden wall. So, sir, if it had not been for my quickness of hearing
on that occasion, I should of a certainty have been robbed, and most
probably murdered."
"You certainly made a happy escape, Mr. Billing," said Rainsfield, after
listening, or appearing to listen, to this episode in the history of his
storekeeper; "but I regret your hearing did not render you much service
on this occasion, and surely the blacks, to have taken out one of the
slabs in the store, must have made some considerable noise."
"No, Mr. Rainsfield," replied the bland _employé_, "I assure you, sir,
there could have been no noise; otherwise, sir, with my keen hearing, I
would of a certainty have been disturbed; but their movements, sir, are
like cats, and I defy any one, I say, sir, any one, to hear them, even
were an individual awake, and as close to them as I was when sleeping."
Rainsfield smiled, possibly at the conceit of the little man, but at the
same time, probably, at his knowledge to the contrary; however, it was
not his object, either to quarrel with Billing, or to enlighten him, so
he remarked:
"I think you had better go over to the Fergusons, Mr. Billing, and see
if Tom is there; I imagine he is; and explain the circumstances to him,
and tell him I would like him to see what effect the unhappy event has
had at the camp. I think it is better that you should go in preference
to any of the men, as the circumstances are better known to you. You can
either ride over, or if you prefer it, which possibly you may, you can
take the ration cart; and I have only to entreat you to use as much
speed as possible. I am desirous of disabusing the minds of the blacks
(if any, indeed, survive) of any intentional harm to them being
meditated by me; and I am aware no one could better undertake such a
mission than my brother."
Mr. Billing readily agreed to visit Fern Vale, the more so, perhaps, as
he imagined by offering any objection he might be required to perform a
less agreeable journey. So as he was not to undergo another edition of
the punishment of the Alma trip, he readily agreed, and was, therefore,
speedily on his way to Fern Vale, to look for Tom Rainsfield.
After Billing's departure, Mr. Rainsfield again visited the store, to
witness in daylight the success of his trap; and he contemplated the gap
in the wall, and the absence of the flour and meat with a degree of
complacency and satisfaction that would almost have impressed a beholder
with a belief that he was inwardly comforting himself with the
meditation of a recently performed charitable action.
"Well, I begin to think," said he to himself, "that my plans have been
executed pretty cleverly. Everybody will believe that the blackguards
have been poisoned by mistake; and their own mistake too. So that no
blame can be attached to me; and I shall have the immense advantage of
having effectually stopped their depredations. I wonder what my friend
John Ferguson will do for his _protegés_? will he pine for them? Perhaps
he may recriminate me for my treatment of him, and try to accuse me of
their murder; but he can't, and he dare not. The law will protect me;
and if he dares to breathe one word against my name he shall rue the day
he uttered it. I hate that young viper as intensely as formerly I liked
him. He has thwarted me in more ways than one; he dares to oppose
Smithers in his suit with Eleanor, and to show his contempt for me by
carrying on his intrigue under my very eyes, and in my own house too.
But he shall not have her; so long as there is breath in my body I will
not permit it, in fact I cannot; she must be Smithers', and, by heaven!
she shall. He has dared to show fight after I cautioned him; the
villain! and then to inflame those infernal blacks against me; the vile
dog! he shall smart for it. His lively blacks have already got their
deserts; and, I have no doubt, by this time are rotting on their own
ground."
"Thou shalt not kill," suggested conscience.
"Oh, bah!" exclaimed the culprit, "what a fool I am, to be continually
chiding myself for the fate of these wretches. They die by their own
act, so let their death be answered for by themselves;" saying, or
rather thinking which, the conscience-stricken man turned on his heel
and left the store.
In the meantime let us retrospect for a few hours, and trace the
movements and proceedings at the camp. When Jemmy Davis left Tom
Rainsfield at the crossing-place, he returned to the camp, where the
discussion, interrupted by Tom's arrival, was renewed with increased
force. The excitement of the disputants ran so high that any one
unacquainted with the verbose inanition of such argumentary proceedings,
and the natural antipathy of the blacks to bellicosity, would have
imagined that the termination of the meeting would have been of a
tragical character. However, it ended, as all such meetings usually do
with them, viz., in words; and, towards midnight, the animated
disputants sank under the fatigue of their disquisition, and in a short
time all was hushed.
As the embers of the fires gave a fitful glare on the now silenced camp
a head might have been seen protruding from the aperture of one of the
gunyahs; and, after surveying the scene for some time, and putting its
ear to the ground to catch, if possible, any sound that would denote
watchfulness on the part of the tribe, it, or rather the body to which
it belonged, crept from the habitation in that posture designated in
nursery parlance "all fours." With spear in hand it passed round to the
back; where the individual assumed a more upright position, though he
still crept under the shade of the gunyahs. Then lightly striking in
succession the bark structures with his spear as he went along he was
joined by about twenty men; whose appearance was so sudden that they
almost appeared to have been called into instantaneous existence by the
potent wand of the conjurer.
This was Dugingi and a select band of confederates, his supporters in
the late discussion; and they moved away from the camp, to carry out
their predetermined plot of robbing the store of the Strawberry Hill
station. The opposition to the scheme had been strenuous; and the
disapproving blacks, headed by Jemmy Davies, being the most numerous and
loud in their condemnation of the project, had retired, fully convinced
that the idea had been abandoned by Dugingi and his party. But they had
been deceived, for Dugingi was only quieted, not dissuaded; and the
present secret expedition was the result of the defeat on his motion for
a general movement. He was determined, in his own mind, to rob the
premises of Mr. Rainsfield; and, if he could not obtain the concurrence
of his tribe, he was resolved to perform it simply with the assistance
of some of his own party.
We have already seen how he affected an entrance to the store; so we
need not trouble our readers by tracing his movements while perpetrating
the theft. Suffice it to say, that at an early hour in the morning, the
party returned to the camp with all the rations they could lay their
hands upon in the store; and which, we have already noticed, consisted
of the carcass of a sheep and a bag of flour.
Their first proceeding, then, was to heap up their fires; on which they
threw their meat to roast, and then set the gins to work with the flour
to make "damper." These preparations soon aroused the entire camp, who
were in a moment alive and stirring. At the first glance Jemmy Davies
detected the state of affairs; and saw that he had been outwitted by
Dugingi; who, while he (Jemmy) and his party slept, had committed the
theft, and were now preparing to feast on the spoil. He was grieved at
the sight; because he had given his word to Tom Rainsfield that he
would prevent any outrage if possible, and he had a sincere desire to
pacify his countrymen in their animosity towards Mr. Rainsfield. He
therefore cautioned his partizans against tasting the food; and, in the
language of his tribe, addressed them in the following words:
"My brothers--our brother Dugingi has behaved bad to us; and bad to the
white fellow. Bad to us, because he went away to the white fellows'
'humpey,' when we wanted him not to go, and when, if we had known him
going, we would have prevented him; and bad to the white fellows because
he steals his 'rations.' The white fellow is very strong, and very
brave; and has plenty of horses and guns; and he will take revenge on
the black fellow. Dugingi steals the white fellow's rations, and the
white fellow thinks all the Nungar tribe steals it, and he will hate all
the Nungar tribe. I have been to the great country where the white
fellows 'sit down.' Our fathers thought once that when the black fellow
dies he afterwards 'jump up white fellow;' but white fellows come a
'long way more farther' than big waters, and have gunyahs higher than
the tall bunya tree; and with very many humpies in them. Some of them
would hold all the Nungar tribe. Now, my brothers, do you think we can
fight against the white fellows? The white fellows will fight us, if we
steal their rations; and we cannot fight them, for they must kill us if
we do. Now, the white fellow _will_ fight us, for Dugingi has stolen his
rations; he has brought upon us this trouble; for he did it when we
wished him not to; and the white fellow will think all the Nungar black
fellows did it.
"Now this is what I say. I have been telling the white fellow Tom
Rainsfield, that we would not steal from his brother; and I've been
telling him that we want to live, and we want to be friends with him and
his brother, as we are friends with the white fellow Ferguson and his
brother. And the white fellow Tom Rainsfield says he is friends with us.
Now what do you think he will say when he finds the black fellow has
been stealing his rations? He will say all black fellows are rogues, and
all black fellows liars; and he will no longer be our friend. But, my
brothers, you take not the food from Dugingi that he has stolen from the
white fellow. Touch it not; but let him and his friends eat it if they
will, and let them give it to their gins if they will; and may it choke
them, and may they die. But I will go to the white fellows, and will
tell them myself, that Dugingi and his friends did steal the rations,
and not the Nungar tribe; so we, my brothers, will be friends with the
white fellows."
At the conclusion of this address Jemmy Davies left the thieves in
possession of their prize, and was followed by the majority of his
supporters; notwithstanding that the savoury smell of the roasting meat
was particularly grateful to their olfactory nerves, and they were sadly
tempted to remain and partake.
Dugingi little heeded the harangue of his opponent, which was greeted
with a shout of derision from the whole of the foraging party; who
continued with their culinary operations in the highest possible state
of hilarious loquacity; rending the air with their shouts, and making
the bush reverberate with their laughter.
The sheep was speedily so far cooked as to serve their purposes, and
tearing it to pieces amongst them they were soon busily engaged in the
process of mastication. The "damper" was devoured with equal avidity;
and when they had all eaten to satiety, as the sun rose resplendent to
walk his diurnal course, they stretched themselves to sleep with the
complacency of satisfied gormands.
No such comfort, however, was allowed them. First one, and then another,
became restless; a gnawing pain devoured their stomachs; an insatiable
thirst consumed them; and then the first painful wail was heard that
proclaimed the poison at its work. The wail increased; the agonies of
the victims became insufferable; and, in their anguish and suffering,
many rushed to the river to drink their last draught; while others threw
themselves into the fires or on the ground, gnashing their teeth and
biting the earth in the intensity of their torments. All now bemoaned
their fate, and cursed their participation in what they plainly saw was
their funeral feast.
Jemmy Davies calmly, though sorrowfully, gazed upon the scene. He
imagined the cause of his countrymen's sufferings, for he had, in the
days of his civilisation, seen his master poison meat for the native
dogs, and he had seen them die from the effects of the poison. He
therefore understood its mysterious workings, and at once detected its
operations in the suffering beings before him. Not so his countrymen;
they imagined their fate was produced by his curse; believing that he
possessed the secret power of working their death by some spells or
occult influence he had acquired from the whites; and they therefore
crouched before him and implored his relief. But he, poor semi-savage,
could do nothing for them, and he knew they must die. The melancholy
scene before him overcame his fortitude, and he burst into tears as he
exclaimed:
"I can't help you, my brothers; I do not kill you, it is the white
fellow that kills you for stealing his rations. He has made his meat to
kill you because you eat it; if you had not eaten it you would have
lived."