Visit to the Southern Salt Lake--The Future of the Interior--A False
Alarm--Departure.
The cradle promised to be a success; so the next morning, taking some
rations in case they had to camp out, Brown and Morton left for the
rock. The ground was still somewhat soft, but not enough to impede
their travelling, and they reached the granite rock early. As they
had the bearing of the salt lake they did not climb the rock again,
but rode round the base to see if the holes were full. They were all
brim-full, the sloping rock above acting like the roof of a house in
catching and shedding the rainfall. They then struck out for the
salt lake, which they reached about one o'clock, passing through
sandy country all the way. The lake was much larger than the one
they had camped at to the north, but the surrounding country was
barren and grassless. Few signs of the former presence of the
natives were visible, and no indication of a well having been dug.
Evidently the soil was so impregnated with salt that not even
brackish water could be obtained.
"What a real desert!" said Brown, gazing round on the dreary scene.
"Yes, it's about as hopeless a looking picture as one could find
anywhere, at present. And yet, if the artesian water is found to
extend throughout the interior, it will change the whole face of the
Australian earth in time. This spinifex would not grow here, but
that the climate is so arid that nothing else will grow, and this
beastly stuff can thrive without any rain at all. No, burn this
scrub off, or clear it somehow, and, with a good supply of artesian
water, there are a hundred and one payable products one could grow
here."
"You're an optimist, and an enthusiast at that."
"I am as regards the future of Australia. I believe the end of the
coming century will see it settled from east to west throughout."
"If one could fill up all the dry creeks and lagoons we have passed
with your artesian water, we might modify the severity of the
climate."
"Yes. Now, let's have a ride round this inland sea in miniature."
"It smells like the sea, at anyrate; I bet that water in there is
concentrated brine. How about all this saline country?"
"It has been proved successfully that the date-palm will thrive on
the shores of these salt lakes, so they need not be quite barren."
Nothing of any interest was to be seen, and they retraced their steps
to the granite rock, where they watered their horses. As there were
still a couple of hours of daylight, they started back for their camp.
"Fancy if we had left the camp like this, forgetting all about those
six Warlattas hanging about. What a massacre they would have had!"
said Brown, as they rode on.
"Yes, it makes me shudder to think of our carelessness; for we ought
to have remembered there was danger to be expected from them."
When it fell dark they found themselves still some three miles from
home, and the darkness somewhat retarded them in the scrub.
Suddenly, when nearing the mountain, a rifle-shot was heard ahead,
followed soon after by a different report, like that of a shot-gun.
"Good God! what can be up?" exclaimed Morton.
Both men fired their revolvers as a signal that they were near, and
pushed on as hastily as they could. As soon as the open country was
reached they galloped straight for the camp. Everything appeared
peaceful enough, and Charlie seemed surprised at their hasty approach.
"What were you firing at?" asked Morton, rather crossly, for no man
likes to be flurried by a false alarm.
"Well, I don't know exactly," replied Charlie. "I had given you up
for to-night, and was sitting out here with Billy, when he called out
that there was something moving on the rocks over there. I looked,
and could indistinctly make out some dark figure moving about, so I
challenged; getting no answer, I fired my rifle in the air. Whatever
it was they started away, but in a few minutes came back again, so I
fired the shot-gun at them and they departed. Billy called out they
were 'Jinkarras!' and covered his head with the blanket, and I expect
he has it there now."
"What were they like?" asked Brown.
"It was too dark to see, but they were certainly not natives, unless
we have run across a race of dwarfs."
Billy, on being induced to take his head from underneath the blanket,
asserted stoutly that they were Jinkarras they had seen; that he
ought to know, as when he was a child he had been carried off by one
in the night.
"How did you get back, Billy?" asked Morton.
Billy commenced a long rambling yarn about waking up to find himself
being carried along by a short, hairy man with red eyes; but his tale
ended somewhat lamely, for his next remembrance was of finding
himself in the familiar family camp, with his mother administering
severe slaps with the small end of a nulla-nulla. Still he persisted
in his statement that there were Jinkarras, and that they lived
underground.
"I shouldn't wonder," suddenly exclaimed Brown, "if this legend of
the Jinkarras, which is common all over the central portion of
Australia, was not a surviving tradition, much distorted, of our dear
old friends the devil worshippers."
"Not at all unlikely. We will run this particular brand of Jinkarra
to earth in the morning," answered Morton.
Charlie was out before breakfast to inspect the ground where he had
seen the figures in the night; but beyond a few good-sized boulders,
which he was certain he had not fired at, he failed to discover any
marks of a nocturnal visit.
Morton went out after breakfast, and immediately saw what had caused
the alarm. He called Charlie over and pointed the tracks out to him.
"This is a regular pad for the rock-wallabies," he said. "Only it
has been covered up by the burnt ashes of the grass. They were
coming in last night to feed on the young grass on the bank of the
creek, just springing after the rain. I suppose some of them hopped
on to these boulders."
This explanation failed to satisfy Billy, who was still convinced
that the Jinkarras were about, and was now anxious to get away.
They devoted themselves to finishing the sling for his leg, and made
him take a short ride two or three times, to get accustomed to it and
find out if it hurt him.
It was with feelings of great thankfulness that they at last got
ready to make a final start and leave the place which had grown so
wearisome to them. For the sake of making it easy for Billy, they
intended to take two days on the journey to the lagoons, so they
camped the first night on the creek above what had been the hot swamp.
The next night they reached the familiar camp at the lagoons, and now
felt that they were finally on the homeward track. They had made a
rude pair of crutches for the black boy, and he was now able to limp
about on, what he called, his "waddy-mundoees".
As a matter of satisfaction they spelled a day, for although the
grass had all been burnt by the fire, there was still good feed on
the banks of the lagoons. This day was devoted to thoroughly
examining the trees up and down the creek, and they were able to
partly confirm their conjectures about Murphy, by finding the anchor
marked on several more trees.
The thunder-storm had filled the small hole they stopped at when they
first sighted the plain and the great limestone rock, so they made a
short stage there to give Billy every chance. From what they
remembered of the nature of the country, there was not likely to be
any water retained along the scrub track.
They were all on the look-out during the next morning for the spot
where they first encountered the Warlattas. When they reached it
they found that the corpse was gone, the six men despatched having
seemingly done their duty and taken it on to the burying-place.
"I suppose," said Brown, "that it was only men of importance amongst
them that they took the trouble to carry all this way. What did they
do with the others?"
"I forgot all about it," exclaimed Charlie.
They both looked at him in surprise.
"When I was down that hole, the first one, not the tunnel affair, I
saw some bones and skulls amongst the boulders. I think it was that
which frightened Billy so. I could only see a few, but there might
have been thousands, for everything was smothered with mud and our
candles did not give much light."
"At that rate, the rank and file were thrown into the boiling spring
when they pegged out," said Morton.
"Seemingly so," answered his friend. "But we must push on, we have a
good step ahead of us."
The horses went merrily along the cleared track, and as Billy showed
no signs of fatigue they made capital progress. As they anticipated,
the cleared track led them straight on to the open patch of downs
country where the cemetery was. A great surprise awaited them. The
fire had swept up from the south, and the whole country was black.
More than that, the fierce flames had attacked the dry boughs forming
the scaffolds whereon the dead bodies had been bestowed, and now, all
that was to be seen were half-charred bones lying here and there.
"It seems that Fate meant to destroy all traces of the Warlattas in
one act," said Morton, as they sat on their horses and gazed at all
that was left of the cemetery of the cannibals.
"How was it this never happened before?" remarked Brown.
"I don't understand. They must have kept it burnt down short every
year, and neglected it for some reason. However, I'm not sorry, for
if this country extends any distance south I shall take it up."
"Well, let's get to camp before it's dark. There will be enough
grass unburnt about the waterhole for our horses to-night."
This proved to be the case, and the cheery camp-fire was soon blazing
brightly and everybody chatting in good spirits.
"If you think seriously of taking up this bit of country, we might as
well explore it to-morrow now we are here. The horses will be better
for the rest, for remember, as far as we know, there is not a drop of
water between here and the station--a good hundred miles," said Brown.
"That thunder-storm has been along here by the look of it. It should
have put some water in some of those clay-pans we passed."
"Thunder-storms are mighty uncertain things to trust to. They
generally fall, as a rule, just where they are no good to any one.
We must travel, when we start, as though it was dry the whole way,
although I think with you that we shall find water."
"As it now stands," said Morton, drawing his blanket over his
shoulders, "the only real evidence we have to show that the Warlattas
ever existed, is this cleared road in the scrub."
"And the wound in Billy's leg," murmured Charlie, drowsily.