Читать книгу In Quest of Gold; Or, Under the Whanga Falls - Alfred St. Johnston - Страница 5

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Every one was astir betimes next morning, for an unusual sense of excitement pervaded the whole household. Even Yesslett, who was generally late for everything, was up in good time, and, with his usual good-nature, lent every one a helping hand. His assistance was, however, often rendered useless from his ignorance of colonial life, for he had only been in Australia a month or two.

Yesslett Dudley was Mrs. Law's nephew, who, after the death of his father and the break-up of his old home in England, had been sent out by his guardians to Australia, as his health was not good, and his prospects little better. He was a curly-headed young rascal, with a smile that was like sunshine in a house, and a voice that rang with merriment and good humour. He was far wiser in book-learning than his boy cousins, but could not compare with them in anything else. It is true he could sit a horse and handle a gun, both after his own fashion, but his ludicrous riding and his dangerous shooting would have been subjects for constant ridicule to less kind fellows than his cousins. They could not help despising him a little as a "jackaroo" and a "new chum" just at first, but his pleasant hearty way of laughing at himself and his many mishaps soon won their hearts, and instead of making fun of him they began to teach him how to do things in a "true colonial fashion," as they said, and that was their highest standard.

Under their able tuition he soon improved in the manly arts; and as his health became better in the pure air of those lofty downs and with the simple life of the station, he not only began to grow stouter and stronger, but also became more courageous and manly. Not that Yesslett had ever been a coward, but his weak health had made him more timid and nervous than strong and hale boys generally are. He possessed an inexhaustible fund of good humour, and a capacity for fun and mischief which, fortunately, few boys are blessed with.

Alec's first thought as he left the house was to see whether the two native boys he had engaged the night before had kept their promise of coming to the station. There they were, sure enough, sitting by the strong rails of the stock-yard grinning and laughing and chattering away, and delighted at the prospect of the coming hunt, as they thought the expedition to be. These two men were strong, active fellows, and more to be trusted, perhaps, than the average native; they were employed on the station at times during mustering and shearing, or when the run was short-handed. They could both ride like monkeys, and could speak a few words of queer pigeon English. Alec was glad to see them there, for without the help of Murri he knew they could never find the Whanga gully. He walked up to them and said—

"You go drive yarroman" (horses) "in um stock-yard."

"Yohi" (yes), "all um yarroman in um paddock?" asked Prince Tom.

"Yes, all the lot," answered Alec; and the two black fellows ran off to get to the other side of the horses and head them to the yard. Just as thoughtless as children they rushed away without thinking of opening the stock-yard rails; but Alec had expected as much, and walking round the yard he removed the two heavy slip-panels himself, and stepped on one side out of sight of the horses. In a few moments he heard the heavy thud of hoofs on the dry turf as the little mob was driven from the paddock and came galloping towards him. One or two of the horses neighed loudly, resenting the ignominy of being driven by natives, but after some reluctance they turned to the yard and rushed through the opening in a little stampede.

How noble the handsome creatures looked! Ten or a dozen of them, and not a single "screw" amongst them; for it was Alec's pride, as it had been his father's before him, to have the best horses in the colony. They stood, quivering with the excitement of the little run, with the morning sun shining on their burnished coats, as spirited and in as good condition as horses well could be, though their only feed was the short sweet grass of the paddock. They all pricked their ears and looked up as Alec came round the cart-shed. They nearly all knew him, for he had broken in all the young horses himself for the last five years. As he came up to the fence, Amber, his favourite horse, which he allowed no one but himself to mount, pushed his way through the others, and with a low whinny of pleasure at the sight of his master, put his head over the top rail for Alec to rub his smooth soft muzzle.

He was a noble beast of a rich golden chestnut colour, and without a white hair or a blemish on him. His goodly shoulders and grand hind-quarters showed the strength of the horse, and his flat hocks and springy though strong-thewed pasterns spoke of his swiftness as plainly as his broad chest did of his powers of endurance. His head, which was perhaps a trifle small, was exquisitely shaped, broad in the forehead, and clean cut. The nostrils were wide, the eyes dark and tender, and the ears sensitive and small. It could be seen by the whole shape of the head, and by the slight arch in the curve of his tail, that Arab blood flowed in his veins. No wonder that Alec loved him, for Amber was as noble and intelligent a creature as ever man bestrode.

Whilst Alec and the native boys were seeing to the horses, George was carrying out his arrangements in the store. He finished weighing out the week's rations for the shepherds on the distant parts of the run, and put them ready for Yesslett, who was to act as ration-carrier in his absence, to take to them that afternoon. He then called Dudley into the store and showed him where everything was kept, and told him to enter every article he sold to any of the men, or their wives, in the store book to each man's account, and showed him the board on which the price of everything was written.

"For you will have to be store-keeper as well as ration-carrier whilst I am away, besides being protector-in-chief to mother and Margaret. I wish you were coming, too, Yess, but I don't think you could stand camping out just yet," said George.

"No," replied Yesslett; "perhaps I could not, and besides that," he added, with an assumption of a manly manner that delighted and amused George, though he was little more than a year older than his cousin—"besides that, I shall have to look after the women."

"Yes, of course," said George, with a little smile.

"I say, Geordie," said Yesslett, in his natural, boyish, inquisitive way a few moments afterwards, during which time George had been getting ready the stores to take with them on their expedition, "whatever do you want all those canvas bags for?"

"Oh, they'll come in useful," said George, who did not mean to tell his chatterbox of a cousin that he hoped they would be useful for bringing home the gold they were going to seek. He half blushed at thus counting his chickens before they were hatched, but with a little laugh he went on choosing the strongest sewn ones from a little heap of 14-lb. shot bags that lay in a corner of the store near the door.

Yesslett understood that he would get no further answer from George, so he remained behind the tall salt-meat cask, silently folding up the great flour bag they had just emptied.

The same idea seemed to strike some one else, for a moment afterwards Keggs, who had already made one or two excuses for coming into the store that morning, appeared again at the door, and looking in, with what he considered an engaging smile, he entered, and said—

"You seem mighty busy this morning!"

"Yes," said George, shortly, for he did not like the man, and Alec had told him how he had been watching him the night before.

"And wot might y'all be ser busy for?"

"Because we've got something to do, and can't afford to waste time as you do," said George, looking up at him.

"P'raps you wouldn't mind sayin' wot all them little bags is for?"

"To put things in—like this," said a deep voice from above him; and before the astonished man could look up, Yesslett, holding the mouth of the sack wide open, had leaped down on him from the top of the salt-meat tub, and enveloped him completely in the rough dusty bag.

They could hear him choking and coughing and cursing as he struggled to get out. Before he had succeeded in extricating himself, Yesslett, with a most provoking and impish laugh, had vanished into the house. Keggs' inflamed eyelids looked redder and more painful than ever from his white powdered face when at last he had wriggled out of the sack, for George would not help him; and as he sneaked off he swore that he would "serve the young beggar out."

Breakfast at Wandaroo was taken, as is general on Queensland runs, at about half-past seven or eight, when every one had gained an appetite by the couple of hours' work he had done since sunrise. It was not a particularly cheerful meal that morning, for Mrs. Law felt losing her sons for so long a time, and the lads were too excited and busy to talk very much. Fortunately Yesslett was in capital spirits, as indeed he generally was, and Macleod, the general manager, was too old and too hard-headed a man of the world to let so small a circumstance disturb him. Although fond of the lads, he had known too many partings in his lifetime to allow this one, which after all was not for so very long a time, interfere with his breakfast.

"I hope you will be at the head station as much as possible whilst we are away," said Alec, addressing Macleod. "The South Creek station doesn't want so much looking after now, and I shall feel more comfortable if I know you are here."

"Oh, aye, Alec, I s'all be heere," said the old Scotsman. "Yasslutt and I can ferry weel look after the leddies."

"Don't trouble yourselves about us," said Margaret; "we shall get on all right, there is nothing to be afraid of, for Starlight and his band are nowhere in the neighbourhood, and they are the only people we have to fear."

"How do you know that they are not about here?"

"Macleod brought the news up from Bateman that they have been seen lately about Bowen, and that they 'stuck up' a bank manager in one of the new townships near there in his own house, took his keys, emptied his safe, and rode off scot free, though it was broad daylight and the town was full of men."

"By Jove! Margaret, I almost believe you admire those sneaking bushrangers," said George.

"Oh, no, I don't," replied she, blushing a little at the accusation; "but I do think them bold and daring, and I can't help rather liking their dash and pluck."

"Weel, Miss Mairgaret, theer's not much chaance o' their comin' to Wandaroo," said old Macleod, in his caustic Scottish way, "so I greatly fear you wull not haive the pleasure o' witnessin' 'the pluck and daring' of ten weel armed and mounted men slinking on to a defenceless station and robbing a pack o' women and lads o' their little a'. Theer's nothing at Wandaroo to tempt bushrangers heether."

"Except the horses," muttered Alec.

"And we shall have the best of them with us," said George, turning to his brother, for he had heard him, as he always did anything that Alec said.

"Well, it's about time we started," said Alec, when breakfast was over; "it will be getting fearfully hot directly, and we may as well spare the horses as much as possible at first."

"Have you taken enough stores for a month for all of you?" asked Mrs. Law, anxiously. "Those black boys eat such an enormous quantity."

"All right, mother, I've seen to that," said Geordie. "We shall take two pack-horses, and I've looked out everything and loaded them well. As to Murri and Prince Tom, they will have to pretty well feed themselves—there is plenty of kangaroo and wallaby and bandicoot for them to catch and eat; we shall take Como, too, and he'll help us get food enough, don't fear."

"I hope you are going well armed," said Margaret the practical. "Take plenty of powder and shot."

"Thank you, madame, we will, and ball, too. Being so young and inexperienced in bush life," said Alec, with a laugh at his sister's advice, "we should probably have forgotten all about these trifles."

"What do you want ball for, Alec?"

"Possibly for natives, my gentle sister," whispered Alec to her, "if they are unkind enough and unwise enough to interfere with us. But we shall take care of ourselves, never fear. Don't let mother know that we think we may meet any myalls, she does so worry herself."

Shortly after this, having strapped up in their blankets the very few clothes they were taking with them, they said good-bye to their mother as cheerfully as possible, and went out to the yard. The horses, which had been saddled, although fresh and excited, stood quite quietly, as they had been trained to do when fastened to a post or rail, and the two spare horses were loaded with the provisions, the one or two tin pans and "billies," as the round pots for boiling water are called, and the two boys' "swags." Prince Tom and Murri were already mounted, their bare legs looking very ridiculous coming from under the old torn shirt that each of them wore. They were both armed to the teeth with native weapons, for in their belts of kangaroo sinew were thrust their nullah-nullahs, and waddies (clubs), their short throwing sticks, and their most valued weapon, the boomerang. Each man had his native stone hatchet fixed in his belt and lying along his spine, and they carried, too, a few short spears strapped on to their saddles, and over which their left legs passed. Kissing Margaret, who had come on to the verandah to see them start, and shaking hands with Yesslett and Macleod, the boys unfastened their horses and sprang into the saddle with the perfect ease of accomplished horsemen.

It was a beautiful sight to see those boys ride; never did their graceful, well-knit figures show to such advantage as on horseback. Accustomed to riding from their earliest childhood, they sat a horse as though it were—as it surely must be—the most natural place for a man to be. Once in the saddle they seemed to be actually part of the animal they rode, their swelling thighs and muscular calves clasping the horse firmly and composedly, but the whole body above the hips swaying and giving easily to every motion of the horse. They looked two as handsome lads as could well be seen as they rode out of the yard that morning. Their dark eyes were flashing and their healthy brown faces were all aglow with excitement, and they laughed aloud, as their horses pranced proudly beneath them, from sheer joy in the beauty of the sunshine and the brightness of the day.

They turned, as they came to the gate of the paddock, and taking off their soft, grey, broad-brimmed felt hats they waved a farewell to the group on the verandah. The sun gleamed on the short curls of their hair, and shone on the bright barrels of their guns and on the steel of their bridles and stirrups as they shouted a cheery "good-bye."

Everything was bright and promised well. So they left on their wild search for gold.

"Ah, good-bye, good-bye, my fine fellers," maliciously muttered Keggs, who had been watching them with his blinking treacherous eyes from the door of the bachelors' hut, where he was hidden in the shadow. "Better men nor you are a-walkin' now who may be in your saddles afore long."