The Quietude of Timber Town Is Disturbed.
The crowd which had gathered in front of the verandah of the Post Office
of Timber Town was made up, as is not uncommon with crowds, of all sorts
and conditions of men. There were diggers dressed in the rough clothes
suitable to their calling and broad-brimmed felt hats; tradesmen, fat
with soft living, and dressed each according to his taste; farmers, in
ready-made store-clothes and straw hats; women, neatly, if plainly,
dressed as suited the early hour of the day; a few gaily-dressed girls,
and a multitude of boys.
Nailed to the wooden wall of the building was a poster, printed with big
head-lines, upon which the interest of all present was centred.
NOTICE.
FIVE HUNDRED POUNDS REWARD!!!
WHEREAS persons of the names of ISAAC ZAHN, PETER
HEAFY, WILLIAM JOHNSON, and JAMES KETTLE
have mysteriously disappeared; AND WHEREAS it is supposed
that they have been murdered on the road between
Bush Robin Creek and Timber Town; AND WHEREAS,
further, they had in their custody at the time a considerable
quantity of gold, the property of the Kangaroo Bank;
THIS IS TO NOTIFY that should those persons, or any of
them, have been murdered, a reward of FIVE HUNDRED
POUNDS (L500) will be given to any person who shall give
information that will lead to the conviction of the murderers;
AND A LIKE REWARD will be given to any person who
shall give such information as shall lead to the restoration
of the stolen gold to its lawful owners.
(Signed) WILLIAM TOMKIN TOMKINSON,
Manager,
Kangaroo Bank,
Timber Town.
"Isaac Zahn? He was the gold-buying clerk. I knew 'im well. An' if you
ask me, I think I know who put 'im away."
"You're right, John. D'you call to mind that long-legged toff at The
Lucky Digger?"
"I do. 'E caught Zahn a lick under the jaw, an' kicked 'im into the
street. I seen 'im do it."
"That's the bloke."
"Hi! Higgins. Here, old man. D'you want five hundred pounds?"
"I ain't partic'lar, George--I don't know the man's name."
"But you saw that bit of a scrap in The Lucky Digger, between one of
these parties as is murdered and the toff from the Old Country."
"I was in the bar."
"Well, there was very bad blood between them--you see that? And I heard
the toff tell Zahn that the next time 'e saw 'im he'd about stiffen 'im.
I heard it, or words to that effect. Now, I want you to bear witness
that what I say is true."
"Yes, yes, I remember the time. You mean Mr. Scarlett, the man who
discovered the field."
"There's wheels within wheels, my boy. They were rivals for the same
girl. She jilted young Zahn when this new man took up the running. Bad
blood, very bad blood, indeed."
"But is he dead? Has there been a murder at all? Collusion, sir,
collusion. Suppose the escort quietly appropriated the gold and effaced
themselves, they'd be rich men for life, sir."
"You're right, Mr. Ferrars. Until the bodies are found, sir, there is no
reason to believe there has been murder."
At this moment the local bellman appeared on the scene, and stopped
conversation with the din of his bell. Subsequently, after the manner of
his kind, and in a thin nasal voice, he proclaimed as follows:--"Five
hundred pound reward--Five hundred pound reward.--It being
believed--that a foul murder has been committed--on the persons
of--Isaac Zahn, Peter Heafy, William Johnson, James Kettle--citizens of
Timber Town--a search-party will be formed--under the leadership of Mr.
Charles Caxton--volunteers will be enrolled at the Town Hall--a large
reward being offered--for the apprehension of the murderers--Five
hundred pound--Five hundred pound!"
He then tucked his bell under his arm and walked off, just as
unconcernedly as if he were advertising an auction-sale.
By this time a crowd of two or three hundred people had assembled. A
chair was brought from The Lucky Digger, and upon this a stout man
clambered to address the people. But what with his vehemence and
gesticulations, and what with the smallness of his platform, he stepped
to the ground several times in the course of his speech; therefore a
lorry, a four-wheeled vehicle not unlike a tea-tray upon four wheels,
was brought, and while the orator held forth effusively from his new
rostrum, the patient horse stood between the shafts, with drooping head.
This pompous person was succeeded by a tall, upright man, with the
bearing of a Viking and the voice of a clarion. His speech was short and
to the point. If he had to go alone, he would search for the missing
men; but he asked for help. "I am a surveyor," he said. "I knew none of
these men who are lost or murdered, but I appeal to those of you who are
diggers to come forward and help. I appeal to the townsfolk who knew
young Zahn to rally round me in searching for their friend. I appeal
for funds, since the work cannot be done without expense; and at the
conclusion of this meeting I shall enrol volunteers in the Town Hall."
He stood down, and Mr. Crewe rose to address the crowd, which had now
assumed such proportions that it stretched from pavement to pavement of
the broad street. All the shops were closed, and people were flocking
from far and wide to the centre of the town.
"Men of Timber Town," said Mr. Crewe, "I'm not so young as I was, or I
would be the first to go in search of these missing men. My days as a
bushman are over, I fear; but I shall have much pleasure in giving L20
to the expenses of the search-party. All I ask is that there be no more
talking, but prompt action. These men may be tied to trees in the bush;
they may be starving to death while we talk here. Therefore let us unite
in helping the searchers to get away without delay."
A movement was now made towards the Town Hall, and while the volunteers
of the search-party were being enrolled two committees of citizens were
being formed in the Town Clerk's office--the one to finance, and the
other to equip, the expedition.
While these things were going forward, there stood apart from the crowd
four men, who conversed in low voices.
"It's about time, mates, we got a bend on."
"Dolly, you make me tired. I ask you, was there ever such a chance. All
the traps in the town will be searching for these unfortunate missin'
men. We'll have things all our own way, an' you ask us to 'git.'"
"'Strewth, Garstang, you're a glutton. S'far's I'm concerned, I've got
as much as I can carry. I don't want no more."
The four comrades in crime had completely changed their appearance. They
were dressed in new, ready-made suits, and wore brand-new hats, besides
which they had shaved their faces in such a manner as to make them
hardly recognisable.
Dolphin, who, besides parting with his luxuriant whiskers and moustache,
had shaved off his eyebrows, remarked, with the air of a man in deep
thought, "But there's no steamer leaving port for two days--I forgot
that. It seems we'll have to stay that long, at any rate."
"And I can't bear bein' idle--it distresses me," said Sweet William.
"This'll be the last place where they'll look for us," remarked Carnac.
"You take it from me, they'll search the diggings first."
"When they've found the unfortunate men, they'll be rampin' mad to catch
the perpetrators." This from Dolphin.
A rough, bluff, good-natured digger pushed his way into the middle of
the group. "Come on, mates," he said; "put your names down for a fiver
each. It's got to be done." And seizing Garstang and Sweet William, he
pulled them towards the Town Hall.
"G'arn! Let go!" snarled Garstang.
"Whatyer givin' us?" exclaimed William, as she shook himself free. "The
bloke's fair ratty."
"Here! Hi!" Dolphin called to the enthusiastic stranger. "What's all
this about missing men? What's all the fuss about?--as like as not the
men are gone prospecting in the bush."
"A gold-buyer with 5000 oz. of gold doesn't go prospecting," replied the
digger. "Come and read the notice, man."
The four murderers lounged towards the Post Office, and coolly read the
Bank Manager's placard.
"They've got lost, that's about the size of it," said Garstang.
"Why all this bobbery should be made over a few missin' men, beats me,"
sneered Dolphin.
"Whenever there's a 'rush' in Australia, there's dozens of men git
lost," said Sweet William, "but nobody takes any notice--it's the
ordinary thing."
"But there's gold to the value of L20,000 gone too," said the
enthusiastic stranger. "Wouldn't you take notice of _that_?"
"It'll turn up," said Carnac. "They must have lost their way in the
thunderstorm. But you may bet they're well supplied with tucker. Hang
it all, they might come into town any minute, and what fools we'd look
then."
"P'r'aps their pack-horse got frightened at the lightning and fell over
a precipice. It might, easy." This was William's brilliant suggestion.
"An' the men are humpin' the gold into town theirselves," said Garstang.
"There ain't any occasion to worry, that I can see. None at all, none at
all. Come an' have a drink, mate. I'll shout for the crowd."
The five men strolled towards The Lucky Digger, through the door of
which they passed into a crowded bar, where, amid excited, loud-voiced
diggers who were expressing their views concerning the gold-escort's
disappearance, the four murderers were the only quiet and collected
individuals.