Mrs. Wilson received Reuben, as usual, with the greatest
cordiality; but she exclaimed loudly, when she heard that he was
going to the Goora district.
"You don't mean it, George. You can't mean that you are going to
send Reuben to that dreadful place. Why, we are always hearing of
murders and robberies there; and you know the last inspector was
killed; and the one before recalled, because you said he had lost
his nerve; and now you are sending Reuben there!"
"But I look upon it as the greatest honour, Mrs. Wilson, being
chosen for such a station; and you see, there will be capital
chances of distinguishing myself, and getting promoted."
"And capital chances of being killed," Mrs. Wilson said, in a vexed
tone. "I do call it too bad, George."
"But, my dear, we want a man of pluck and energy. Besides, you
know, we have been getting into hot water over that district. The
press have been saying very severe things, about our incompetence
to protect the outlying settlements, and I was obliged to choose a
man who will give satisfaction; and you will agree with me that
Reuben will do that."
"Of course he will," Mrs. Wilson agreed. "I shouldn't be alive now,
if he hadn't had plenty of pluck and energy; but for that very
reason, you ought not to send him to such a dangerous post."
"But I wish to give him an opportunity for distinguishing himself.
He wants to get on, and I want to push him on; but you see, I can't
promote him over the heads of some eight or ten men, senior to him,
unless he does something a little out of the way."
"Well, I don't like it, George, I tell you frankly. I always
thought he was wrong, to go into the constabulary at all, instead
of accepting papa's offer. I can't think why you men are so fond of
fighting, when you could choose a quiet and comfortable life."
"But it is not always so quiet and comfortable, Frances, as a good
many have found, in the district he is going to; and after all, it
is less dangerous fighting bush rangers and natives when you are
prepared for it, than to be woke up of a night with a band of them
thundering at your door, and with no assistance within twenty
miles."
As Frances Wilson remembered how, in her childish days, her
father's place had been, for three days, beset with blacks, she had
no answer ready for the argument.
"Well, I do hope, Reuben," she said, "if you do go to this horrid
place, you will take care of yourself, and not be rash."
"He's going to take care of others, Frances. You know, if he had
taken care of himself and hadn't been rash, you would not have come
so well out of that Malay business. I am sure he looks as if he
could take care of himself, doesn't he?"
"Yes, he is big enough and strong enough," Mrs. Wilson agreed, "but
that's no good against spears or boomerangs, to say nothing of
rifles and pistols."
"Why, Frances, you are not generally a croaker," her husband said
lightly, "but for once, you seem to be determined to do your best
to frighten Reuben, before he starts."
Mrs. Wilson laughed.
"No, I don't want to frighten him, George. I only want to make him
careful."
"I will be as careful as I can, Mrs. Wilson. That boy Jim is a
treasure. I will warrant, if there are any black fellows about, he
will sniff them out somehow. That fellow has a nose like a hound.
He has always been most useful to me, but he will be invaluable at
Goora."
Two days afterwards, Reuben left for his new command. It took him
eight days to reach it. His headquarters were at Goora, a
settlement of some twenty houses; besides the barracks in which the
constabulary force, consisting of a sergeant, eighteen constables,
and two native trackers, were quartered. The sergeant, a
north-country Irishman named O'Connor, was somewhat surprised when
Reuben rode up to the station; for the officers previously in
command had been much older men.
Reuben's own quarters were in a cottage, close to the main
building, and he asked the sergeant to come, in the evening.
"Now, sergeant," he said, after a little preliminary talk, "I have
been sent up by Captain Wilson, with instructions to root out these
bands of bush rangers."
The sergeant smiled grimly.
"We have been doing our best for the last three years, sir, but we
have not made much of a hand at it."
"No," Reuben agreed, "and I don't suppose, of course, that I am
going to succeed all at once. In the first place, tell me frankly,
what sort of men have we got?"
"The men are good enough, sir, but they have certainly got
disheartened, lately. One way and another, we have lost something
like ten men in the last two years; and of course, that last affair
with poor Mr. Thomas was a bad one."
"I understand," Reuben said quietly, "some of them are not quite so
eager to meet the bush rangers as they used to be."
"Well, that is perhaps about it, sir; but I must say the men have
been tremendously hardly worked--pretty nigh night and day in the
saddle, often called out by false news to one end of the district;
and then to find, when they return, that those scoundrels have been
down playing their games at some station at the other end. It's
enough to dishearten a man."
"So it is, sergeant. I was speaking to Captain Wilson about it, and
saying that if we are to succeed we ought to have some fresh hands,
who will take up the work with new spirit. We are seven below our
force, at present; and he has promised to send me up fifteen new
hands, so there will be eight to be relieved. I will leave it to
you to pick out the men to go. Mind, put it to them that they are
to be relieved simply because Captain Wilson thinks they have had
their share of hard work, and should therefore be sent to a quiet
station, for a time. Just pick out the men whom you think would be
most pleased to go."
"Very well, sir. I am glad to hear the news, for to tell you the
truth, I do think we want a little fresh blood amongst us."
Three days later the new detachment arrived, and Reuben saw, at
once, that Captain Wilson had chosen a picked set of young men.
About half of them were freshly enlisted in the force. The others
had all been employed at up-country stations, and were well
acquainted with the nature of the work before them. The same
afternoon, the eight men picked out by Sergeant O'Connor as being
the least useful on the station started for Sydney, most of them
well pleased at being relieved from their arduous duties.
Reuben found that there were, in the office, a great many letters
from settlers, asking for protection. It was impossible to comply
with all these but, after consultation with O'Connor, he sent five
parties, of three men each, to as many exposed stations; keeping
ten in hand, to move as required.
Taking Jim, and two of the constables who had been longest on the
station, he spent two months in traversing his district, from end
to end, and making himself thoroughly acquainted with its
geographical features; for he felt that, until he had mastered
these, he should only be working in the dark. For a time the
outrages had ceased, the bush rangers having shifted their
quarters, and the natives withdrawn after the murder of the late
inspector. This was a great relief to Reuben, as it permitted him
to gain an insight into the country before setting to work in
earnest.
Upon his tour, he and his followers were everywhere most hospitably
received at the stations at which they halted. Everywhere he heard
the same tale of sheep killed, cattle and horses driven off, and
the insolent demeanour of the natives.
"I was thinking of giving it up, and moving back into the more
populated districts," one of the settlers said to Reuben; "but now
you have come, I will hold on for a bit longer, and see how it
turns out. You look to me the right sort of fellow for the post;
but the difficulty is, with such a large scattered district as
yours, to be everywhere at once. What I have often thought of, is
that it would be a good thing if the whole district were to turn
out, and go right into the heart of the black country, and give
them a lesson."
"From what I hear," Reuben said, "it will be next to impossible for
us to find them. The country is so vast, and covered with bush,
that there would be no searching it. They have no fixed villages,
and the want of water would render it impossible for us to go very
far. But the worst point would be that they all seem to be well
informed as to what is going on. I suppose they get warnings from
the native herdsmen and servants, and if we were all together to
enter their country, we must leave the stations unprotected, and we
should find them in ashes, on our return."
"Yes, that is true," the settler said. "I suppose it couldn't be
done. But it's anxious work sleeping here, night after night, with
one's rifle by one's bedside, never certain at what hour one may be
woke by the yelling of the blacks. But they are not as bad as the
bush rangers. If the blacks can but drive off your cattle, they are
contented. You have got nothing else that is much use to them. The
bush rangers don't want your cattle, beyond a head or two for
present use; but they want everything else you've got, and whether
you like it or not is quite immaterial to them. Thank God I have
got no money in the place, and I and my three men can make a pretty
good fight of it. But I pity the men with wives and daughters."
"Well, I hope we shall soon put a stop to it," Reuben said
cheerfully. "We will give them a lesson if we catch them, you may
be quite sure."
"I hope so," the settler said. "But you folks have been mighty
unlucky, lately. Never seem to have been at the right place at the
right time. Not that I am surprised at that, in such a district;
but somehow they never come up with the fellows, afterwards."
"No, they seem to have had bad luck," Reuben agreed. "I hope we
shall do better now."
Three days after his return from his last visit of inspection of
his district, a settler rode, at full speed, up to the station.
"Captain," he said--for although Reuben had no right to that title,
he was always so called by the settlers--"the blacks have been down
at my place. They have killed my two shepherds, and driven off the
sheep."
"Sergeant O'Connor, turn out the men at once," Reuben shouted. "See
that their ammunition is all right, and let each man take a water
skin and four days' provisions in his haversack.
"When was it?" he asked, turning to the settler again.
"Some time yesterday afternoon--at least, I judge so. One of the
men was to have come in for supplies, and when night came and he
hadn't come in, I began to be afraid something was wrong, for I
knew that they were getting short. So this morning, at daybreak, I
rode out with the hands I have about the house. We could see
nothing of the sheep, so we rode straight to the men's hut. There,
lying some twenty yards away, was the body of one of the men,
riddled with spear holes. He had evidently been running to the hut
for shelter, when he was overtaken. I did not stop to look for the
other, for no doubt he had been killed, too."
"Well, we will do what we can for you," Reuben said. "I will be
ready in five minutes."
He ran into the house, buckled on his sword, put some cold meat and
a small bag of flour into his haversack, together with some dampers
Jim had just cooked, and then went out again. Jim had already
brought his horse round to the door. Before mounting he took the
pistols out of the holsters, and examined them carefully.
By this time the sergeant and ten men were in the saddle, and
placing himself at their head, with the settler, whose name was
Blount, he rode off at full speed; followed by his men, the two
native trackers, and Jim. Reuben soon reined his horse in.
"It will not do to push them too hard, at first. There is no saying
how far we shall have to go."
"Do you mean to follow them into their own country?" Mr. Blount
asked.
"I do," Reuben said. "I will follow them till I catch them, if I
have to go across Australia."
"That's the sort," Mr. Blount said. "I expect you will find
half-a-dozen other fellows at my station, by the time you get
there. I sent my hand off on horseback to the stations near, to
tell them what had taken place, and that I had ridden off to you,
and asking them to come round."
"How far is it?" Reuben asked.
"About forty miles."
"But your horse will never be able to do it," Reuben said.
"I got a fresh horse at a friend's, four miles from your station,
so I am all right."
"They will have more than a day's start of us," Reuben remarked
presently.
"Yes; thirty-six hours, for you will have to stop at my place
tonight. But they can't travel very fast with sheep, you know."
"No," Reuben agreed. "If they had had cattle, it would have been
useless following them; but with sheep we may come up to them,
especially if they don't think they will be followed far."
"No; that's my hope. They will know I had forty miles to ride to
your station. Besides, had it not been that I was expecting the
shepherd in for supplies, I might not have found it out for two or
three days. So I expect they will think that they are pretty safe
from pursuit. They have never been followed far into the bush. It's
nasty work, you see."
"It's got to be done," Reuben said. "It is impossible to keep guard
everywhere, and the only way to put a stop to these outrages is to
teach the blacks that punishment will follow, wherever they go."
It was late in the afternoon before they arrived at Mr. Blount's
station. They found fourteen or fifteen of the neighbouring
settlers gathered there. They came out as the sound of the
trampling of the horses was heard. Several of them were known to
Reuben, from his having stopped at their stations.
"Glad to see you, captain, but I am afraid you are too late," said
Dick Caister, a young settler whose station lay about twelve miles
away.
"That remains to be proved," Reuben replied, as he dismounted.
"Oh, they have got twenty-four hours' start, and it's too late to
do anything tonight. They must be thirty miles away in the bush,
already."
"If they were a hundred, I would follow them," Reuben said.
There was an exclamation of surprise, and something like a cheer,
on the part of some of the younger men.
"The difficulties are very great," one of the elder settlers said.
"There is neither food nor water to be found in the bush."
"I know it's not an easy business," Reuben said quietly. "But as to
food, we can carry it with us; as to water, there must be water in
places, for the natives can no more go without drinking than we
can. There must be streams and water holes, here and there. But
however difficult it is, I mean to attempt it. It is the only way
of bringing the blacks to book; there can never be safety among the
outlying settlements, unless the fellows are taught a lesson.
"And now, gentlemen, before we go further, I want to say this: I
know that you are all ready to help, that you are all thirsting to
wipe out old scores with the blacks; but at the same time I would
point out to you that it is likely enough that the bush rangers,
who certainly work with the blacks, will follow up this stroke.
Therefore, it will not do to leave the stations defenceless. I do
not want a large force with me. If we once overtake the blacks, I
have no fear whatever of being able to give a good account of them.
Therefore I would urge, upon all of you who are married men, that
it is of the first importance that you should stay at home, in case
the bush rangers take the opportunity of our being away to pay you
a visit. That is the first thing to be thought of. If any of the
others like to go with us, I shall be very glad of their
assistance. We may be away for a week or more, for ought I know."
"That is certainly the best plan, captain," Dick Caister said. "As
you say, let the married men stop at home and guard their stations.
I think the rest of us will all go with you."
There was a chorus of approval. Eight of those present were married
men and, though reluctant to give up the thought of punishing the
blacks, they were yet glad that they were not called upon to leave
their wives and families. With many good wishes for the success of
the expedition, they at once mounted, and rode off to their
respective stations, some of which were more than twenty miles
away.
"Now for ways and means," Reuben said. "What spare horses have you,
Mr. Blount?"
"I have only two, besides the one I am riding."
"I should like to take at least six. We must carry a good store of
provisions."
"I don't think you need trouble about that," Mr. Blount said. "We
must take a supply of flour with us, and of course tea and sugar;
and a few bottles of rum will not be amiss. All these I can
furnish. But as to meat, I do not think we need trouble. Going as
fast as the blacks will travel, there are sure to be lots of the
sheep fall by the way. The blacks will eat as many as they can, but
even a black cannot stuff himself beyond a certain extent, and
there will be plenty for us."
"Yes, I did not think of that," Reuben replied; "in that case two
spare horses will be enough."
"It would be a good thing to have a few with us, though," one of
the young men said. "My place is only six miles off. I will ride
over and bring back three with me; they are all good ones, and I
should be sorry to find they were gone when I get back. I can lead
one, my black boy can ride another and lead the third. It is likely
enough some of the horses may give out, or get speared if the
blacks make a fight of it, and half a dozen spare horses would come
in very handy."
Reuben thought the plan was a good one, whereupon two of the others
also volunteered to ride over and fetch--the one three and the
other two--horses.
"That will make ten altogether, with Blount's two. We shall travel
all the faster, because we can ride the spare horses by turns."
The three settlers rode off at once, and returned late at night
with the spare horses. They had not been idle at Mr. Blount's. A
bullock had been killed and cut up, and a considerable portion
cooked, so that each of the twenty men going on the expedition
would start with ten pounds of cooked meat, in order to save the
time that would be spent in halting to cook the carcass of any
sheep they might come upon. The question of weight was immaterial,
as the meat could be packed on the spare horses.
As soon as day broke, the party were in their saddles. Mr. Blount
led them first to the hut near which he had found his shepherd
killed. The native trackers now took up the search. The body of the
other shepherd was found half a mile away. It was in a sitting
position by a tree; the skull was completely smashed in by the blow
of a waddy, and it was evident that a native had crept up behind
him, and killed him before he was conscious that any danger was at
hand. The trackers were not long in finding the place where the
sheep had been collected together and driven off, and a broad track
of trampled grass showed, clearly enough, the direction which had
been taken.
"How many of the black fellows do you think there were?" Reuben
asked one of the trackers.
"Great many black fellow, captain," he replied.
"What do you call a great many?" Reuben asked.
"Twenty, thirty, captain; can't say how many. No use, captain, look
for dem, gone right away into de bush, never find them."
"I am going to try, anyhow," Reuben said. "Now, do you lead the
way."
"I tink dere are more dan thirty black fellow," Jim said to Reuben,
as they started; "quite a crowd of dem. Me no much like those two
black fellow," and he nodded towards the trackers, who were running
on ahead. "No good, those fellows."
"What makes you think that, Jim?"
"Two days ago, Jim saw dem talking wid black fellow, half a mile
from the station. Not know Jim saw dem. Secret sort of talk. Why
dey never find de tracks before black fellows and bush rangers
always get away? Jim tink those fellows no good."
Reuben himself had often thought it singular that such continued
bad luck should have attended the efforts of his predecessor to
hunt down the bush rangers, but the thought that they had been put
off their scent by the trackers had not occurred to him. He had the
greatest faith in Jim's sagacity and, now that the idea was
presented to him, it seemed plausible enough.
"Very good, Jim, you keep your eye on those fellows. I will do the
same. We shall soon find out if they are up to any tricks."
Jim had been running by his master's stirrup, while this
conversation had been going on; and he now dropped into his usual
place at the rear of the party. For some miles the trail was
followed at a hand gallop, for the grass was several inches in
height, and the trail could be followed as easily as a road. The
country then began to change. The ground was poorer and more arid,
and clumps of low brush grew here and there. Still, there was no
check in the speed. The marks made by the frightened flock were
plain enough, even to the horsemen; and bits of wool, left behind
on the bushes, afforded an unmistakable testimony to their passage.
"They were not going so fast, here," Mr. Blount said, after
dismounting and examining. "The footprints do not go in pairs, as
they did at first. The flock has broken into a trot. Ah! There is
the first, ahead."
In a hundred yards they came upon the skin and head of a sheep.
Nothing else remained. Unable to keep up with the flock, it had
been speared, cut up, and eaten raw by the blacks. In the next mile
they came upon the remains of two more; then the track widened out,
and the footprints were scattered and confused. The horses were
reined up, and Jim and the trackers examined the ground. Jim
returned in a minute or two.
"Black fellows give em a rest here. Could no go any furder. Lie
down and pant."
One of the trackers then came up.
"They stop here, captain, five six hours till moon rise. Make fire,
kill sheep, and have feast."
Reuben and some of the settlers rode over to the spot to which the
tracker pointed.
"Confound them!" Blount exclaimed. "Look there! There are at least
twenty heads."
"So there are," Reuben said. "There must have been a lot of
natives."
"Yes, there must have been a good many," the settler agreed, "but
not so many, perhaps, as you would think. Nobody has ever found
out, yet, how much these blacks can eat when they make up their
mind to it; but two could certainly devour a sheep. They will eat
till they can't sit upright."
"They would hardly eat as much as that, with a long journey before
them," Reuben said; "but allow only three to a sheep, there must be
sixty of them. My man said there were a good many more than the
trackers put it down at."
"So much the better. I only hope they will show fight."
After five minutes halt, the ride was continued for the next three
hours. Then three dead sheep were passed. This time the flesh had
not been devoured, but the poor beasts had, in every case, been
speared.
"Savage brutes!" Reuben exclaimed. "They might at least have given
the sheep a chance of life, when they could go no further, instead
of wantonly slaughtering them."
"That's their way, always," Mr. Blount said. "They kill from pure
mischief and love of slaughter, even when they don't want the meat.
But I don't suppose it makes much difference. I expect the sheep
have dropped as much from thirst as from fatigue, and they would
probably have never been got up again, after they once fell. I
fancy we shall come upon a stream, before long. I have never been
out as far as this before, but I know that there is a branch of the
Nammo crosses the bush here, somewhere."
Another five miles, and they came upon the river. The wet season
was only just over, and the river was full from bank to bank. It
was some thirty yards wide, and from two to three feet deep. A
score of sheep lay dead in the water. They had apparently rushed
headlong in, to quench their thirst; and had either drunk till they
fell, or had been trampled under water, by their companions
pressing upon them from behind.
For the next ten miles the track was plain enough, then they came
to a series of downs, covered with a short grass. At the foot of
these another long halt had been made by the blacks.
"We must have come twenty-five miles," Reuben said.
"Quite that, captain. The flock must have been dead beat, by the
time they got here. I should think they must have stopped here,
last night. We will soon see--there is one of their fireplaces."
The settler dismounted, and put his hand into the ashes.
"Yes," he said, "they are warm still. They must have camped here
last night. They started when the moon rose, no doubt. Thus they
have eight or nine hours' start of us, only; and as they can't
travel fast, after such a journey as they had yesterday, we ought
to be able to catch them long before night."
"They will go better today than they did yesterday," Mr. Blount
said. "They were over-driven to start with, and that was what
knocked them up; but the blacks will begin to feel themselves safe
today, and will let them go their own pace. Sheep can do twenty
miles in a day, if not hurried."
"Well, at any rate," Reuben said, "we will give our horses a couple
of hours' rest. It is just eleven o'clock now, and I should think
everyone is ready for a meal."
There was a chorus of assent. The troop dismounted at once. The
girths were loosened, the bits taken from the horses' mouths, and
they were turned loose to graze in the long grass at the foot of
the hill. There was no fear of their attempting to stray, after
their journey of the morning. Some of the men set to to cut brush,
and in a few minutes a fire was lighted. One of the sheep, of which
there were several lying about, was skinned and cut up; and slices,
on skewers of green wood, were soon frizzling over the fire.
Twenty minutes later, the water in a large pot hanging over the
fire was boiling. Three or four handfuls of tea were thrown in; and
with the fried mutton, cold damper, and tea a hearty meal was made.
Then pipes were produced and lighted; while several of the men,
lying down and shading their faces with their broad hats, indulged
in a doze.
"One o'clock," Reuben said at last, looking at his watch. "It is
time to be moving again."
The horses were fetched in, the bridles replaced, and the girths
tightened.
"Now, which way?" Reuben asked the trackers.
"Along here, captain, by de foot of de hill, de trail is plain
enough."
It was so. A track of some width was trampled in the grass.
Reuben was about to give the order to proceed, when he caught Jim's
eye, and saw that the black wished to speak to him privately.
"What is it, Jim?" he asked, going apart from the rest.
"That not de way, captain. A hundred, two hundred sheep gone that
way, wid four or five black fellow. De rest have all gone over de
hill."
"Are you sure, Jim?"
"Me quite sure, sar. De ground very hard; but while de captain
smoke him pipe, Jim went over de hill, saw plenty sign of sheep.
Went straight uphill, and then turned away to de left. Dis little
party here hab only gone to frow white man off de trail."
"The trackers ought to have seen that as well as you, Jim," Reuben
said angrily.
"Dey see, sar, sure enough. Could no help seeing, wid half an eye.
You see, sar, dose fellows up to no good. Lead party wrong if dey
can. Don't say, sar, Jim told you. If you say dat, put 'em on their
guard. Massa ride along the trail for a bit, just as if talk wid
Jim about odder affair; den after little way, begin to talk about
trail being too small, den turn and come back here, and go over de
hill."
"A very good idea, Jim. I will do as you say."