"Jones, what is it?"
"Your black has just come, sir. I would not let him come in; for
the fact is, he ain't a figure to introduce among ladies."
"What's the matter with him, Jones? Not hurt, I hope?"
"He has been knocked about a bit, sir; and he is done up with
travelling. The poor fellow can hardly crawl, and was half starved;
so I set him to work eating, and came off to fetch you."
By this time they had arrived at the door of the shed. Jim was
sitting by a fire, eagerly devouring a hunch of cold meat. The men
were standing round, waiting till he had appeased his hunger before
they asked any question. He looked up and nodded, when Reuben
entered.
"Well, Jim, I am glad to see you back," Reuben said heartily. "I
was beginning to be afraid about you. I hope you are not
hurt?"--for the black had a handkerchief tied round his head.
Jim gave a grunt, but continued stuffing great lumps of meat into
his mouth. Reuben saw that he must wait till the black's hunger was
satisfied, and stood quietly looking on until, having devoured some
five pounds of meat, he gave a sigh of contentment, and then took a
long draught of rum and water, which Constable Jones handed to him.
"Jim better now," he said.
"That's right, Jim; now tell us all about it."
Jim's story was a long one, and it took more than an hour in the
telling; for his English was not always distinct, and it often
required much questioning, on Reuben's part, before he could quite
make out its meaning. The substance was as follows:
On leaving, some ten days before, on the mission of discovering the
haunt of the bush rangers, he knew that it was of no use to go
among the wild blacks, their allies; as the hostility against their
semi-civilized fellows was so great that he would, at once, have
been killed. He resolved to go back to the spot where the track had
been obliterated, by that of the flock of sheep; to make a wide
circuit, and pick it up beyond and, if possible, follow it until he
found them. The difficulties were great, for the bush rangers had
spared no pains in hiding their trail; keeping always upon hard,
high ground, and at one time getting into the bed of a running
stream, and following it for two miles before they again struck for
their rendezvous.
However, step by step Jim had tracked them; sometimes losing the
trail altogether, sometimes guided merely by a fresh-made scratch
on the surface of a stone, or by a broken twig or bruised blade of
grass. At last, he traced it far out into the bush, many miles
beyond the furthest range of settlements, and then he lost it
altogether. There had been a halt, for some time, at this spot.
Beyond this, Jim was entirely at fault. He made circle after circle
round the spot, but could find no trace whatever of their passage,
and returned to the point where he had missed the trail. He relit
the embers of the fire which the bush rangers had made, cooked some
food, and laid himself down--first to think it over, then to sleep,
for it was now just the close of day.
It was clear to him that here, more than anywhere else, the bush
rangers had made a great effort to throw anyone who might be
pursuing them off the trail. He had no doubt that the bush rangers
had muffled their horses' hoofs with cloth, and had proceeded with
the greatest care through the bush, so as to avoid breaking a
single twig in their passage; and the only reason for such greater
caution could be that it was here, and here only, that they wished
to throw the pursuers off the trail. It would have seemed, to a
white man, that they had done this before, especially when they had
kept in the water course; but to black Jim's perception, it
appeared that they had been more careless than would be expected;
and that, while apparently doing their utmost to conceal their
tracks, they had really left sufficient indications to allow a
practised tracker to follow them.
Why then, now that they were far beyond the settlements, and fairly
in the country of their native allies, should they, for the first
time, so hide their trail that he could not discover it?
The result of Jim's thoughts was that, when he awoke at daybreak,
he started back towards the settlements. When he came to the river
which the party had passed, in pursuit of the natives, he kept
along its bank, scrutinizing the ground with the greatest care.
After six miles' walking he suddenly stopped, at a point where the
soft turf near the margin was cut up by the passage of the party of
horsemen. Here was the confirmation of his ideas.
Arguing the matter out with himself, Jim had arrived at the
conclusion that, hitherto, the trail had been a false one, the bush
rangers' object being to lead their pursuers to believe that they
had gone far out into the native country; whereas, in fact, their
hiding place was somewhere among the settlements. Should this be
so, the only way to find them was to search for their back track.
This he had now found and, with a shout of triumph at his own
cleverness, Jim forded the river and followed the track of the
horses.
This was now clear enough, the horsemen taking no pains whatever to
conceal their traces, feeling perfectly confident that any pursuers
must now be thrown off the scent. Jim followed it till sundown,
when he had made some thirty miles; and then, withdrawing some
little distance from the tracks, he made his fire and camped for
the night.
He was now inside the line of the outlying stations, and had
approached to the edge of a bit of wild and broken country, which
offered so few inducements to settlers that it had been passed by
for the better land beyond; although occasionally, when herbage was
scarce, the settlers in the neighbourhood drove the animals up to
feed among its hills. The black had no doubt that the gang, of
which he was in pursuit, had their haunt somewhere in the heart of
this wild and little-known tract.
In the morning he again started and, after travelling several
miles, entered a narrow valley with very steep sides, with trees
and brushwood growing wherever they could get a foothold. He now
adopted a careless and indifferent carriage and, although he kept a
sharp lookout, no one who saw him would have supposed that he had
any particular object in view.
Presently he noticed that the tracks turned sharply off from the
line he had followed, in the centre of the valley; and entered the
trees, which grew thickly here at the foot of the hills. He made no
halt, even for an instant, but walked straight on. Half a mile
further he sat down and lit his fire, and began to cook some food.
He had no doubt that he was watched for, just after he passed the
point where the track turned off, he heard a very low whistle among
the trees.
As he sat by the fire, he kept his back towards the direction from
which he had come; and when he presently heard footsteps, no change
in his attitude betrayed that he was conscious of the fact that
persons were approaching him, until two men stopped beside him.
Then, with a cry as of sudden alarm, he leapt to his feet.
"Lor' a mussy!" he exclaimed, "de white man frighten me bery much.
What for dey no say dey come?"
"Who are you, nigger, and where do you come from, and what are you
doing here?"
"My name Jim," he said; "me going tro' the country looking for
place to tend hosses. Me bery good at hosses. Me look arter de
hosses ob Mr. Hudson."
"What did you leave him for?" one of the men asked, sternly.
"Someting lost from de house," Jim said quietly. "Massa Hudson tink
me took it. He make bobbery, so Jim ran away and look for nodder
place."
"Um," the man said; "I wonder whether you are speaking the truth?
If I thought you weren't, I would put a bullet through your head,
in double-quick time."
"No, sah," Jim said in great terror; "dat de truth, sure 'nough.
Jim try to get work at Sydney. Couldn't get; so start away, and ask
at all de stations. No one want black boy for hosses, so keep on
and tink dere more chance out furder. Does massa want a boy for
hoss?"
"What do you think, Bill?" the man who had spoken asked his
companion. "Shall we put a bullet in this fellow's head, at once,
or make him useful?"
"I dussay he is a liar," the other replied; "but then all these
black fellows are liars, so that does not make much difference. A
black fellow would certainly be useful for the horses, and to look
after the fire. We can always shoot him when we have done with him.
We shall soon see, by the way he handles the horses, whether he has
been accustomed to them."
"All right," the other said. "You come along with us then."
"What wages massa pay?" Jim asked.
"Anything you may be worth. Don't you fret about wages."
Jim pretended to hold out for a fixed sum; but the man said, in
stern tones:
"Come along, we don't want no more jaw, so you had best hold your
tongue."
No other words passed till they got back to the trees, and then
turned off where the horses had previously done so. Two minutes'
walk brought them to a roughly-made shed, built against the almost
perpendicular side of the hill. It was built of logs, and there was
nothing to show that it was inhabited. No smoke curled up from the
chimney. The door and shutters were closed. Anyone who, passing
through the valley, had turned among the trees and accidentally
come upon it, would have taken it for some hut erected by a wood
cutter.
One of the men knocked three times at the door, and it was at once
opened. Jim was pushed inside, the men followed him, and the door
was shut.
"Who have you got here?" a man, sitting by the side of a large fire
some distance inside the cottage, asked angrily.
"It's a nigger who wants work. He says he is accustomed to horses
so, as it was the choice between shooting him and bringing him
here, we thought we might as well bring him to you. It would be
handy to have a fellow to look after the horses, and cut the wood,
and make himself useful. If we find he is of no use, there will be
no great trouble in getting rid of him."
"That is true enough," the other said, "and I don't think there's
much risk about it.
"Come here, you fellow, and let me look at you."
Jim stepped forward towards the fire. He saw now that the hut was
built against the entrance to a cave of considerable size. In the
centre was a great fire, the smoke of which probably made its way
to the surface through crevices in the rock above. Four other men,
besides the one who had addressed him, were lying on sheepskins
against the wall. There was an opening at the further end of the
cave into an inner chamber; and here Jim knew, by an occasional
snort or an impatient pawing, the horses were stabled.
The chief of the party asked a few more questions as to where Jim
had come from, and how he chanced to be passing through so
unfrequented a country. As the black had already decided upon his
story, the questions were answered satisfactory enough.
"I think he's all right," the man said, at last. "At any rate here
he is, and he's not likely to go out again. We have been talking of
getting a black fellow, for some time; and as here is one ready to
hand, we may as well make the best of him.
"Look you here," he went on sternly, to the black; "you come of
your own free will, and here you have got to stop. You will have as
much to eat as you can stuff, plenty of rum to drink, and 'bacca to
smoke; and if there's anything else you fancy, no doubt you can
have it. Only look you, if you put your foot outside that door,
unless you are ordered to do so, I will put a bullet through your
black brain."
"All right," Jim said. "Plenty eat, plenty drink, plenty smoke; dat
suit Jim bery well. He no want to go out of de house, if massa say
no."
"That's settled then. Now, put some more logs on that fire."
Jim at once assumed his new duty, and the bush rangers, who all
hated the slightest work, were soon well satisfied with their new
acquisition. There were several carcasses of sheep, hanging from
hooks placed in the roof, where they were slowly smoked by the
fumes from the wood. A pile of logs were heaped up in one corner,
and these had to be cut up into sizes and lengths suitable for the
fire. At one end a space was roughly partitioned off, and this was
filled with groceries, flour, and cases of wine and spirits which
had been taken from waggons going up country.
In the stable were several sacks of oats; and a barrel filled with
water, which was drawn from a spring, a short distance from the
hut. The first time Jim went into the stable the captain
accompanied him, and soon saw, by the black's handling of the
horses, that his account was so far accurate, and that he was
thoroughly accustomed to stable work.
The cooking was also handed over to him, and the gang passed their
time in sleeping, drinking, playing cards, and discussing plans of
robbery. For the first few days a sharp watch was kept up on the
black, and the men went out themselves to chop wood, or bring in
water when it was required. After a few days, however, they relaxed
their vigilance, and Jim gradually took these tasks also upon
himself.
He was perfectly aware, although he pretended to be unconscious of
it, that the first few times he went out one or other of the bush
rangers stole quietly after him, and watched him at work; but as
nothing suspicious was observed in his conduct, this supervision
was gradually given up.
"It's time to be moving again," the leader of the band said, about
a week after Jim had joined them. "We settled the next job should
be Donald's station. We know for certain that he generally has
money by him, and there will be the watches and trinkets of the
women. That fellow Thompson, who worked for them at first, says he
has got a first-rate cellar of wine; and that the women were both
out-and-outers. If they are as pretty as he says, we will have them
here, lads, to do the housekeeping. We want something to liven us
up; besides, we shall forget our company manners, if we don't get
some ladies to keep us up to the mark a little."
There was a burst of coarse laughter.
"What do you say, boys; shall we start tomorrow? It's a long ride, and
we had best leave about noon. We must get into the neighbourhood before
dark, so as to give the horses twelve hours' rest before we begin; for
we may have to ride for it.
"It ain't likely. Barker's is the nearest station, and it would be
hours before they could get together men enough who would dare to
follow us; but still, it's just as well to be prepared, and since
that confounded new police officer has been on the station, there's
never been no certainty about things. We owe him one for that last
affair, which cost Smith, Wilson, and Mulready their lives; but we
will pay him out yet. Who would have thought of his being there,
just on that very night? I swear, if I ever catch him, I will roast
him alive."
"He is no fool," one of the others said. "He gave it those black
fellows hot, and no mistake. The sooner he's put out of the way,
the better. He's a different sort of chap than the last fellow. I
sha'n't feel comfortable till he's got either a spear or a pistol
bullet in him."
[Illustration: Jim Notes the Bush Rangers' Plans for Mischief.]
Jim, who was squatting in the corner, apparently half asleep, was
listening intently to every word. They did not heed his presence in
the slightest; for indeed he had, since his arrival, so mixed his
talk with native words that the bush rangers had no idea that he
could follow their conversations.
He was thinking, now, what was his best course to adopt. In the
first place, he had gathered from their talk that this was only one
of their hiding places, and that they seldom stayed very long in
one neighbourhood. The question, therefore, was whether they would
return. It was of no use his going to give the alarm, unless he
could return before his escape was suspected; or they would have
made off before he could get back again.
As for the Donalds, whose station was to be attacked, it gave him
no concern whatever; for the Australian blacks had little or no
regard for life, except those of people to whom they were attached.
It was Reuben's mission to capture the bush rangers and, had it
been necessary, Jim would have remained quiet while a dozen
families were slain, until he found an opportunity of bringing the
police down upon them.
He listened now, intently, for any word which might afford an index
to their intentions. Presently the question he hoped for came.
"I suppose you will not come back here again, Tom?"
"No, I thinks it's getting too hot to hold us, in these parts. We
might ride back here, give our horses a rest, and load up with a
few things we may want. We can bring two or three spare horses from
Donald's. The weather is pleasant now, and we might very well put
in a few weeks with the blacks. That last haul we made of traders'
goods--cottons, and beads, and trumperies for the gins, and brass
rings and such like for the men--will put them in the best of
humours. You may be sure there will be a hot chase after us, after
this business; and I should propose that we try our luck down
south, for a bit."
"I agree with you," one of the others said. "We have had a very
good spell here, for the last ten months; and it don't do to tempt
luck too long. That losing three of our number, last week, looked
as if it was going to turn."
"What's it matter?" the captain laughed. "So much the more for us
to divide. We have got a goodish bit of brass, now, to say nothing
of the goods we have got at each of our places. We can fill up
their places easy enough, any time; and those who come in are free
to their share of what there is, in the way of grub and goods, but
they only share in the brass from the time they join."
Jim had heard what he wanted, and he now lay down and thought it
out. They were only coming back for a short time. Possibly they
might change their minds, and not return at all. It would be a
risky thing to depend upon it; besides, his master might be blamed
if this attack on the Donalds succeeded.
It would be better, then, to try to get word to him, in time for
him to be there before the bush rangers arrived. He himself would
return to the hut; so that, if the police arrived too late, he
would be able to continue with the bush rangers till some fresh
opportunity occurred for bringing his master upon them. It was
possible, of course, that one of the men would be left in the hut,
in which case he had only to wait.
The next morning the men busied themselves examining and cleaning
their arms, and after dinner they went to the inner cave, and led
out their horses.
"Now, look here," the leader said to him, "we are going away, you
see."
Jim nodded.
"We come back again tomorrow. I lock this place up, you stop quiet
till we come back. If anyone comes and knocks, while we away, don't
Jim answer. Let them think place empty."
"All right," Jim said shortly, and went and sat down by the fire,
as if he had no further interest in their proceedings.
The windows, he had already noticed, had not only shutters outside;
but they were firmly closed within, with massive planks, securely
nailed and fastened. Jim heard the last of the party go out, and
then the door was shut, and the lock turned. Jim heard the party
ride off, and then threw himself on the ground and listened, to
assure himself that they kept steadily on their way.
The moment he was sure they were gone, he began to search the place
for a tool which would fairly suit his purpose. Presently he found
a large butcher's knife, with which they cut up the carcasses; and
with this he set to work to dig a hole in the ground, close to the
wall of the hut. The bottom log was only sunk a few inches in the
soil, and in two hours he had burrowed under it, and made his way
out beyond; then he crept back again, scraped the earth into the
hole again as tightly as he could, crawling out backwards. He then
placed a piece of turf over the outside hole, and stamped it down
flat.
It was possible that, after he had started, they might change their
mind and send one of their number back again; that, however, had to
be risked, and at a steady run he set off for the settlements. He
did not make for the nearest; for he had gathered, from the talk of
the men, that the convict labourers of most of the settlements in
the neighbourhood were in league with them.
After three hours' steady running, in which he had covered over
twenty miles, he saw a shepherd's cottage and, making for it, gave
the man the message which he had taken to Reuben. He had no sooner
done so, and had found that the man was willing to set off with it
at once, than he turned and retraced his steps to the hut, as
rapidly as he had come. It was already dusk when he reached it.
Instead of approaching boldly, he made a circuit and crawled up to
it on his belly; and lay for some time, listening intently, with
his ear to the door. He felt convinced that no one was there; but
to make sure he knocked, and then withdrew among the trees. But all
was still and, feeling sure now that the place was untenanted, he
removed the piece of turf from the hole and made his way back into
the hut again; carefully replacing the piece of turf, and then
packing earth under it, so that it would not give way if trodden
upon. This, however, was a very unlikely occurrence, as he had made
the opening where some bushes screened it from view.
He swept up every scrap of soil from the floor inside, filled up
the hole there and trampled it down; and then, after indulging his
appetite to the fullest, threw himself down and went to sleep.
When he awoke, a few streaks of light streaming through the cracks
of the door showed that it was day; and he made up the fire, and
awaited the return of the bush rangers.
It was four or five hours before they returned, and the instant
they opened the door and entered, Jim was sure that they had
failed; but to his disappointment all were there, and his plan of
taking them in a trap had not succeeded. At this he was not
surprised; for his own calculations, as to the distance to be
traversed, had shown him that it was very questionable whether,
even under the most favourable circumstances, Reuben could have got
there in time with his men.
Without speaking a word to him, the men led their horses through to
the inner cave, and then threw themselves down by the fire. Jim at
once proceeded to unsaddle the horses, and rub them down; keeping
an ear open, all the time, to what was being said by the bush
rangers. Their remarks however were, for a time, confined to
terrible curses as to their luck.
"How did it come about, that's what I want to know?" the leader
said. "This is the second time that accursed police fellow has
turned up, and put a spoke in our wheel. Why, it was not more than
half an hour after the first shot was fired before they was down
upon us; there must have been pretty nigh twenty of them. How could
they have got such a lot of men as that together, if they hadn't
known that we were coming? It beats me altogether."
"So it does me!" was the general exclamation.
"They seemed regularly to jump out of the ground, just when all was
going pleasant. Never knew such a bit of luck--that is, if it was
luck, and not done o' purpose--and yet, I don't see as they could
have known, possible, as we was going there. Why, we didn't know
ourselves till yesterday, not what day it was to be; and except
ourselves, and that black fellow, no one could have known it."
"Well, it's certain none of us blabbed; and I don't see as how he
could have told anyone."
"Not exactly," the leader said, "considering he's been shut up
here, ever since we have been away; besides, I don't believe he
knew anything about it. He don't make out half we say to him and,
when we are talking together, he minds us no more than if he had
been a black monkey; but if he did, it's no odds, he could not have
passed through these walls and back again; and if he could, who was
he to tell it to? The men round here are all our pals, and would
have cut his jaw short with a bullet. But there, it's no use
talking about it, he's not been out, and there's an end of it.
"Still, it beats me altogether. That police fellow seems to know
what we are up to, just as well as we do ourselves. I would give
all my share of the swag we have made, for the last six months, for
a shot at him."
"I don't like it," one of the others said, "I don't; blest if I do;
and I says as the sooner we are out of here, the better. After
what's happened, I sha'n't feel safe till I am well out in the
blacks' country. If he knows what we are going to do, there ain't
any reasons why he shouldn't know where we are."
"Why, Johnson," his leader sneered, "you don't really believe the
fellow's a sort of conjurer, do you?"
"I don't know," the man said doggedly. "After he has turned up
twice as he has, I shouldn't be surprised at nothing--not if I
heard the sound of him and his men galloping up outside, now."
There was a moment's silence, as each involuntarily listened.
"We are getting to be like a pack of gals," the leader said
savagely, "and I agree with you, the sooner we are out of this, the
better. As soon as it gets dark, we will be on the move; but I tell
you, directly we get out among the blacks, I shall come back again.
I am going to carry off that gal, somehow. I've owed her one for
years and years, and I always pays my debts--at least, that sort of
debt.
"Now then, you black, just leave them horses for the present, and
come and cook us some food; the quicker, the better."
Jim hurried about, but in the bush rangers' present state of
temper, nothing would satisfy them; and when, in his hurry to
satisfy their angry orders, he stumbled and upset a glass of
spirits and water he was handing to the captain, the latter caught
up a brand from the fire; and struck him so violent a blow on the
temple, with the glowing end, that he fell senseless on the ground.
He must have lain there a long time. He was brought to his senses
by a bucket of water being dashed over him; and he found, when he
staggered to his feet, that the band were preparing to depart. They
had already packed up the bales of presents for the blacks, and
placed them on the horses. Some of their more valuable belongings
were packed away in a secret hiding place, the rest were left to
take their chance till they returned; and indeed, except by their
friends among the shepherds, there was little probability of anyone
paying a visit to the hut, however long their absence might be.
Had it not been that Jim had proved himself a really useful fellow,
for the last week, they would have shot him at once and tossed his
body in the wood; but they found it so pleasant, having all their
work taken off their hands, that after a short discussion they
decided to take him with them.
The door was locked, and they started at a trot; but evening was
closing in, their horses had already performed two long journeys in
the last twenty-four hours, and they soon settled into a walk. They
travelled for some hours and, it being then evident that the horses
could proceed no further, a halt was called. No fire was lighted,
for they were scarcely beyond the settlements and, for aught they
could tell, an active search might still be carried on for them.
So anxious were they, that they agreed to keep watch by turns; but
when morning broke, it was discovered that the black was missing.
The next quarter of an hour was spent in angry recriminations; but
as none could say in whose watch he made his escape, their quarrel
ceased.
"It's no use bothering about it," the leader said. "There's one
thing, he knows nothing, and can tell nothing against us. He may
guess what he likes, but people don't waste time in listening to
black fellows' stories. I expect he has only given us the slip
because of that lick across the head I gave him, last night. I
admit I was a fool to do it, but I wasn't in the best of tempers.
"However, if the worst comes to the worst, he can only lead them to
the hut; and they won't find much worth taking, there. When we once
get out to the blacks, we can snap our fingers at them."
It was, indeed, about midnight when Jim had stolen away. He was
still faint and giddy, and his face was terribly burned by the blow
which had been dealt him; but when once fairly away from the bush
rangers, he set out in the direction in which he knew the Donalds'
station lay; and never halted until he arrived there, on the
following evening, utterly wearied and worn out, for he had eaten
nothing on the previous day.
"Then they have got away after all, Jim," Reuben said, when he had
listened patiently to the long narration. "You have done all that
was possible, Jim. You have done splendidly, my poor fellow, and
although we were just too late to catch the bush rangers, we saved
the people here; but it is indeed unfortunate that they should have
got off."
"Jim knows where dey hab gone," the black said. "Dey hab gone to de
country of Bobitu--I heard dem say de name. Jim know dat country
well--he come from der."
Further question showed that Jim had, indeed, belonged to Bobitu's
tribe; and had come with a party of his people down to the
settlements, where he was taken ill and left to die, but was picked
up and nursed by Mr. Hudson.
"And you could take us there?"
Jim nodded.
"Bery long march, massa. Tree days, with horses. Plenty bad people;
much fight."
"I don't care how far it is, or how much fighting we have got to
do; I am bound to hunt down that fellow, however far he's gone. I
suppose there is no trouble about water. If they can go there, we
can."
"Four, six water holes," Jim said. "No trouble about dat--trouble
from de black fellow."
"Well, we must risk it, anyhow. We can't start for a day or two. I
must send and fetch up all the police, and I daresay some of the
colonists will join. The news of this business here has maddened
everyone, and as it is not likely that the blacks will give any
trouble for some time, and as we know the bush rangers have left
for the present, no one need be afraid of leaving their station for
a week or two."
The next day mounted messengers were sent off in all directions,
giving notice that the police would start, in three days' time, for
a hunt after the bush rangers; and that there was, this time, every
prospect of success, as their hiding place was known.
On the day named, no less than thirty settlers assembled; together
with the whole of the police force. All were well armed, and had
brought several days' provisions with them. Mr. Donald had made
marked progress, and the surgeon had now every hopes of his
recovery; but as he could not be moved, and it was just possible
the bush ranger might return to carry out his threat, during their
absence, two constables were left in the house; and Kate was
charged, on no account, to put her foot outside the door.