"THAT BLACK IS OF NO USE."
Strict watch was kept, but the night passed peacefully away, and the
morning dawned so brightly, everything around was so beautiful, with the
birds singing, the sky all orange, gold, and vivid blue, that in the
glorious invigorating air it was simply impossible to be in low spirits.
The boys had no sooner started to climb the hills and scout for danger,
than they met Shanter, who came toward them laughing.
"Black fellow all gone. No see bull-cow and big horse fellow. All gone
away. Budgery job. Shanter mumkull all lot."
He gave then a short war-dance, and a display of his skill with his
spear, sending it flying with tremendous force and never missing the
tree at which he aimed, into whose soft bark it stuck quivering, while
he ran up, dragged it out, and belaboured the trunk with his club.
It was an expressive piece of pantomime to show how he would kill all
the black fellows he met; and when he had ended, he stood grinning at
the boys, waiting for their praise.
"Oh, it's all very fine, old chap," said Norman, speaking for the
others; "but how do we know that you would not run away, or be mumkulled
yourself by the black fellows?"
Shanter nodded his head, and smiled more widely.
"Mumkull all a black fellow--all run away. Budgery nulla-nulla. Plenty
mine."
He whirled his club round and hurled it at the nearest tree, which it
struck full in the centre of the trunk. Then as he picked it up--
"Shall we trust to what he said? If he is right, we needn't go
scouting," said Norman.
"Let's go back and tell uncle," suggested Tim. "There's no need to go
on the look-out," cried Rifle.
"Those people are Tam o' Shanter's enemies, and he would not go on like
this if they had not gone.--I say, I want to see you use this," he
continued, as he touched one of the flat pieces of wood, the black
having two now stuck in his waistband.
"Boomerang," cried the black, taking out the heavy pieces of wood, one
of which was very much curved, rounded over one side, flat on the other,
both having sharpened edges, such as would make them useful in times of
emergency as wooden swords. "Boomerang," he said again.
"Oh yes; I know what you call them," said Rifle; "but I want to see them
thrown."
As he spoke he took hold of the straighter weapon and made believe to
hurl it.
"No budgery," cried the man, taking the weapon.
"Mumkull black fellow." Then, taking the other very much curved piece
of wood, he gave it a flourish. "Mumkull boomer."
"Who's boomer?" said Norman. "Black fellow?"
Shanter gesticulated and flourished his curved weapon, shook his head,
stamped, and cried, "No black fellow. Boomer-boomer."
"Well, who's boomer?" cried Rifle. "A black fellow?"
"No, no. Mumkull plenty boomer."
He dropped spear, nulla, and boomerangs, stooped a little, drooped his
hands before him, and bent his head down, pretending to nibble at the
grass, after which he made a little bound, then another; then a few
jumps, raised himself up and looked round over his shoulder, as if in
search of danger, and then went off in a series of wonderful leaps,
returning directly grinning.
"Boomer," he cried; "boomer."
"He means kangaroo," cried Tim, excitedly.
"Of course he does," said Rifle. "Boomer-kangaroo."
"Kangaroo boomer," replied the black eagerly. "Boomer." Then taking
the straighter weapon, he hurled it forcibly, and sent it skimming over
the ground with such unerring aim that it struck a tree fifty yards away
and fell. "Mumkull black fellow," he cried laughing.
Then picking up the second weapon, he threw it so that it flew skimming
along through the air close to the ground for a considerable distance,
curved upward, returned over the same ground, but high up, and fell not
far from the thrower's feet.
"Budgery," cried Shanter, regaining his weapon, and laughing with
childish delight.
"Here, let's have a try," said Norman, seizing the boomerang--literally
boomer or kangaroo stick--and imitating the black's actions, he threw
it, but with such lamentable want of success, that his brother and
cousin roared with laughter, and the black grinned his delight.
"Here, I'll show you," cried Rifle; but he turned round hurriedly, for
there was a loud hail from a distance, and in obedience to a signal they
all hurried to where the captain stood with Uncle Jack, both coming now
toward them, and as they drew nearer the boys could read the look of
anger in the captain's face.
"We were just coming back, father," cried Norman.
"Coming back, sir? How am I ever to trust you lads again. I sent you
on a mission of what might mean life or death, and I find you playing
like schoolboys with that savage."
"We were coming back, father," said Rifle, apologetically. "We met
Shanter here, and he said that the black fellows were all gone."
"And we thought he would be able to tell better than we could," said
Norman, humbly.
"Humph! there was some excuse," said the captain, sternly; "but I expect
my orders to be carried out.--Here, boy."
Shanter advanced rather shrinkingly.
"Black fellows. Where are they?"
"Baal black fellow," said Shanter, hastily. "All gone. Plenty no."
"Come back into camp then, lads," said the captain, "and help. There is
plenty to do."
The captain was right: there was plenty to do. The question was what to
begin upon first.
They all set to work to contrive a better shelter; and released now from
dread of an immediate visit from the blacks, their little fortress was
strengthened, and the first steps taken toward making the first room of
their house; the captain as architect having planned it so that other
rooms could be added one by one. But on the very first day the captain
had an experience which nearly resulted in a serious quarrel and the
black being driven from the camp.
For Shanter would not carry boxes or cut wood, or help in any way with
the building, all of which seemed to him perfectly unnecessary; but just
as the captain was getting in a towering passion, the black uttered a
shout and pointed to the cattle which had been grazing and sheltering
themselves beneath some trees, but now were rushing out as if seized by
a panic. Heads were down, tails up, and they were evidently off for the
bush, where the trouble of getting them back might be extreme. But
Shanter was equal to the occasion. He saw at a glance the direction the
cattle were taking; and as the sounds of their fierce lowing and the
thunder of their hoofs reached his ears he darted off to run up a long
slope opposite to the precipice Norman had climbed; and before the
captain and the boys had reached their horses to saddle them and gallop
after the herd, Shanter had descended the other side and gone.
"That black is of no use," said the captain, angrily. "He might have
helped us to find the beasts; now I'm afraid they are gone for ever."
"No, no. It may be a long chase," said Uncle Munday, "but we must
overtake them, and bring them back."
It took some time to catch and bridle and saddle all the horses, and
with the exception of Sam German all were about to gallop off along the
trail left by the cattle, when the captain drew rein.
"No," he said; "we must not leave the camp unprotected. We might have
unwelcome visitors, Jack. You and I must stay. Off with you, boys. I
daresay you will find the black hunting the brutes after all."
The boys waited for no further orders, but stuck their heels into their
horses' sides, and the animals, full of spirit from idleness, went off
at a headlong gallop. There was in fact quite a race over the open
ground, where the beaten track could now be seen deeply marked.
But the run was short. Two miles away they caught sight of the drove,
and drew rein so as not to scare them, for they were coming steadily
along, and there close behind was Shanter, spear in hand, running to and
fro, prodding, striking, and keeping the drove together; while the boys,
now dividing, rode round to join him behind, bringing the frightened
cattle back into camp panting, hot, and excited, but the panic was at an
end.
"That will do," said the captain, pleasantly. "I give in about Tam o'
Shanter;" and from that hour the black was installed as guardian of the
"bull-cows and horse fellows," to his very great delight.
In his broken English way he explained the cause of the panic.
"Plenty 'possum fellow up a tree," he said. "One make jump down on
bull-cow fellow back. You pidney? Kimmeroi (one) run, metancoly run.
Bull-cow stupid fellow. Plenty frighten. No frighten Shanter."
That little incident had shown the black's real value, and he was
henceforth looked upon as a valuable addition to the station, being sent
out at times scouting to see if there was any danger in the
neighbourhood. His principal duties, though, were that of herdsman and
groom, for he soon developed a passionate attachment to the horses, and
his greatest satisfaction was displayed when he was allowed to go and
fetch them in from grazing for his young masters.
He had a great friend, too, in Aunt Georgie--"big white Mary," as he
would persist in calling her--and oddly enough, it seemed to give him
profound satisfaction to squat down outside after he had fetched wood or
water, and be scolded for being long, or for the quality of the wood, or
want of coolness in the water.
Meanwhile, the building had gone on merrily, for there was an intense
desire to provide a better shelter for the ladies before the glorious
weather changed and they had to do battle with the heavy rains. Sam
German gave up his first ideas of fencing in a garden, and worked most
energetically with his axe. Then one or other of the boys helped with
the cross-cut saw, and posts were formed and shingles split--wooden
slates Rifle called them--for the roofing.
A rough sawpit was made, too, under Uncle Munday's superintendence, the
tools and implements thoughtfully brought proving invaluable, so that in
due time uprights were placed, a framework contrived, and, sooner even
than they had themselves anticipated, a well-formed little house was
built, was completed with windows and strong shutters, and, at the
sides, tiny loopholes for purposes of defence.
This one strong room covered in, and the boarded sides nailed on, the
building of a kitchen at the side became a comparatively easy task, and
was gone on with more slowly, for another job had to be commenced.
"I consider it wonderful, boys, that they have escaped," said the
captain; "but we have been tempting fate. We must fence in a good space
for the cattle, a sort of home close, where we know that they will be
safe, before the enemy comes and drives them off some night while we are
asleep."
This enclosure was then made, the posts and rails on one side coming
close up to the space intended for a garden; and a further intention was
to board it closely for a defence on that side when time allowed.
Every day saw something done, and in their busy life and immunity from
danger all thought of peril began to die out. They even began to
imagine that the weather was always going to be fine, so glorious it
remained all through their building work. But they were soon undeceived
as to that, a wet season coming on, and the boys getting some few
examples of rain which made Sam German declare that it came down in
bucketfuls; while Rifle was ready to assert, one afternoon when he was
caught, that he almost swam home through it, after a visit to the lower
part of the captain's land, to see that the sheep were all driven on to
high ground, up to which they had laboured with their fleeces holding
water in a perfect load.
And hence it was that, to the astonishment of all, they found that a
whole year had passed away, and the captain said, with a perplexed look,
that they seemed hardly to have done anything.
But all the same, there was the Dingo Station, as he had dubbed it, on
account of the wild dogs which prowled about, with a substantial little
farmhouse, some small out-buildings, paddocks enclosed with rails, and
their farming stock looking healthy and strong. Sam German, too, had
contrived to get something going in the way of a garden, and plans
innumerable were being made for the future in the way of beautifying the
place, though nature had done much for them before they came.
As for the elders, they did not look a day older, and all were in robust
health. The change was in the boys:
Norman and Rifle had grown brown and sturdy to a wonderful degree, while
Tim had shot up to such an extent that his cousins laughingly declared
that he ought to wear a leaden hat to keep him down.
"It almost seems," said Uncle Jack one day, "that keeping a tame black
is sufficient to drive all the others away."
"Don't seem to me that Shanter is very tame, uncle," cried Norman,
merrily; "why, he is always wanting to go off into the scrub, and coaxes
us to go with him."
"I say, father," cried Rifle, "when are we to go off on an expedition
and have some hunting and fishing? I thought when we came out here that
we were going to have adventures every day, and we haven't seen a black
since that first night."
"Ah, you'll have adventures enough some day, boys. Have patience."
"But we want to go farther away, uncle," said Tim. "Are we always to be
looking after the cattle and building?"
"I hope not," said the captain, merrily. "There, we shall not be so
busy now, and we shall feel more free about several things."
Just then Shanter was seen crossing the front, munching away at a great
piece of damper made from the new flour Sam German had brought up from
Port Haven, it having been necessary for an expedition with a wagon and
horses to be made at intervals of two or three months to replenish
stores. They had had visitors, too, upon three occasions: the young
doctor, Mr Freeston, and the sugar-planter, Mr Henley, having found
their way to the station; the latter, as he said, being rather disposed
to take up land in that direction, as it seemed far better than where he
was, while the doctor casually let drop a few words to the boys at their
last visit, that he thought it would be a good part of the country for
him to settle in too.
"But there won't be any patients for you," said Norman.
"No," cried Rifle. "We never have anything the matter with us."
"Oh, but there will soon be settlers all about," said the doctor. "This
part of the country is sure to be thickly settled one of these days, and
it will be so advantageous to be the old-established medical man."
"I say," said Tim, as he and his cousins rode back after seeing the
doctor and Mr Henley some distance on the way, "Doctor Freeston had
better begin to doctor himself."
"Why?" said Rifle.
"Because it seems to me that he must be going mad."