Читать книгу Talmud - Ivan Dexter - Страница 4

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For a few moments Strangways' companions remained silent, and then O'Halloran said, "Yes, and a good life too. There never was a better or a braver comrade. Oh, why didn't he leave here when we asked him?"

"That wouldn't have saved him. His time had come and he had to die. There is no use struggling against fate." Stanley, who was a fatalist, interjected.

"Oh, that's nonsense," answered O'Halloran. "If a person believes that he or she will never make an attempt to save themselves, we should take all precautions."

The argument was cut short by Strangway saying, "Let us carry the body into the store tent. It looks as if the night would be wet."

Wrapping the corpse in the remains of the partly burnt tent the three men reverently carried their dead comrade to the other tent. The night was exceedingly dark, and to increase the discomfort rain fell heavily and persistently until long after daybreak.

None of the party, even if they had been desirous could get any sleep, as there was no available shelter. Shortly after daylight they excavated a grave for the unfortunate Daniels and laid his body in it. There was no time for sentiment, even if the explorers had been inclined that way, for they wanted to push on and get out of the horrible desert as soon as possible. They severely felt the want of a fire, and so far as they could see there was no wood in the vicinity. After placing a number of stones in a peculiar position so as to mark the last resting place of their late comrade they struck the ill-fated camp. The loss of the horse was not of much consequence though they would rather have had it as an extra pack. Rain fell heavily throughout the day but it did not interfere greatly with their progress. Fortunately for them the ground was not of that rotten nature so often met with in Central Australia and which during heavy rainfalls is the terror of the explorer or overlander. Shortly before darkness set in it was seen that Strangway's estimate of the desert limit was correct.

Away to the west could be seen the dim outlines of a low wooded range and this could be reached the following day. The best possible provision was made for the night's comfort, but it was cheerless enough. During the march a few dried shrubs and small roots, laid bare by the heavy rain, were found and brought along. With these a fire was made large enough to prepare tea and this hot beverage was exceedingly welcome to the travellers. The hope that next evening they could have as large a fire as they desired was also consoling. The night was almost as miserable as the preceding one, and with the first gleam of day the march was resumed.

The western boundary of the desert was reached a couple of hours before sunset and the party came out on a thinly wooded low range. A halt was immediately made and the luxury of a huge fire indulged in. It was the first they had for a week and as the recent heavy rainfall had soaked nearly everything they possessed, it was a perfect boon to them.

For two days they remained at this place in order to give the horses a chance to recover themselves. Food was abundant for the animals, and their masters also obtained a few birds and small mamalia.

On the third day a start was made for the Diamantina, and it was soon found that the route was not an easy one. The great rainfall had converted some of the open plains into huge quagmires, and in some cases they were absolutely dangerous to cross. The gaping rents in the earth, made during seasons of burning drought were filled with a soft mud, into which the horses plunged at the imminent risk of breaking their legs. To prevent this long detours had to be made, and what under ordinary conditions would have been one day's journey, occupied three. Numerous sheets of water were met with, and on these were invariably found wildfowl, which were very acceptable to the members of the party. The fact that the season had been an unusually wet one was proved by large numbers of young ducks, swan, and other aquatic birds being met with. In the arid interior this is not often the case, except where permanent water exists. As the Diamantina was approached it became apparent that it must be in flood. Numerous water-courses were met running towards it, and they were mostly carrying 'bankers.' With great difficulty several of them were crossed, but at last one was reached that carried an immense torrent. It was not deemed safe to attempt this, and it was decided to follow it down to its junction with the river.

About noon on the fourth day, after leaving the edge of the stony desert, the explorers suddenly came out on a bend of the river, and then for the first time, a strange sound like the rushing of wind through a forest fell upon their ears. There was only the slightest breeze blowing, and the few scattered clumps of stunted trees ahead were not agitated in the least.

"That sounds like a storm coming up from the west," O'Halloran said.

"There isn't a cloud on the sky. Perhaps there is a waterfall along this creek," returned Strangway.

"A waterfall?" broke in Stanley. "May be it's the river in flood."

"Of course, of course. That's what it must be. I have been told that such a sound as this accompanies these great floods inland," the leader said.

"We hav'nt had a chance to see any of them yet," was O'Halloran's reply.

"No, we would have been pleased to come on one last year," Strangway answered with a slight shudder, as the memory of his sufferings from thirst recurred to him.

As they proceeded there was no doubt left on their minds, that the sound they heard was made by water, and not by wind. It was not like the roar made by a cataract, but rather the steady irresistible flow of an immense volume of water with a very slight fall. It was near sunset when they came in view of the river, and the sight was truly grand and awe inspiring. They had struck a spot where the great Finke Creek junctioned with the river on the western side, and the huge water-course down which they had skirted, entered on the eastern bank almost opposite. A perfect sea of yellow waters rolled onwards before them. Waves rose and fell with rhythmical monotony, and masses of debris could be seen swept downwards. Far almost as the eyes could reach on the wide expanse, the centre of the current was noticeable, and where it met the two great streams which flowed in, cones of froth, caused by the fierce whirlpools were formed.

The water had encroached beyond the limits of the natural bed, and the gradual receding of shrubs or bushes marked its invasion. Finke Creek, on the opposite side, appeared to be at least a mile wide, and this gave the river an appearance of enormous breadth. To the explorers the sight was astounding, for previously they had not witnessed anything more than a swollen creek. The comparatively calm, irresistible flow of this gigantic volume of water, miles wide, and of great depth impressed them with a feeling of solemnity at the power it indicated.

"Where does it all go to?" Stanley asked.

"Into Lake Eyre, according to all accounts," replied Strangway.

"Yes, and several other great streams empty into the same lake, which has no outlet. That is the curious part of it," interjected O'Halloran.

"Most of it is surely stored up somewhere, and I dare say will one day be turned to use," answered the leader.

There was silence for a few minutes whilst the men contemplated the moving waters, and it was broken by Strangway saying, "We are in a fix here. I don't see how we can go any further. We are hemmed in on all sides except one, and that is the way back."

"This flood cannot last many days you may depend, and when it goes down we may be able to get across," suggested Stanley.

"We will camp then for a time where we are. That big stream yonder must be Finke Creek, the one we want to go along," Strangway said.

Stanley's suggestion was a good one, and it was at once acted on. On a low ridge near the confluence of the two streams, a site for the camp was selected, and it proved to be a very suitable one. There was plenty of timber about, and a rough hut was soon built. The logs and debris brought down by the two streams, some of which was stranded, was also a help to the party, and in a couple of days they had comfortably located themselves. The worst trouble they had was from the snakes, for even at that early season of the year they had been washed out of their winter quarters by the flood. Their extreme tenacity of life was shown in a marked manner, by the fact that some of them, which had probably been swept along for hundreds of miles yet showed considerable activity. For a week the party watched the flood, and each day it receded to a considerable extent. A thick deposit of mud was left behind, but though the sun shone out warmly no offensive exhalations arose. Settlement along the Diamantina in those days was practically nil, and animal life was scarce, so that few carcasses were left behind. On the tenth day the waters were flowing within their normal banks, and the steady flood compressed to those limits gave promise of lasting for a long time.

"We will have to cross by some means as soon as we can. If we wait for the water to lower enough for us to swim the horses we may be blocked here for months," Strangway said to his comrades.

"There is timber enough about here to build a ship. Could we not make a raft that would float us across. The horses could swim behind it," answered O'Halloran.

"Yes the attempt is worth making. If we stay here much longer we will have midsummer on us and we will not be able to push ahead. We have some rope and with those rushes we could easily bind the logs together. What do you think of it Stanley. You are an old seafaring man, are you not?" asked the leader.

"We ought to be able to make the south bank of the creek down there. The current does not seem very strong," replied the latter.

"If another flood comes down we will simply have to turn back after all our work," went on O'Halloran. "If it were not for the stores I would swim the stream myself."

As the three men were of the same mind no delay was made in making a start with the construction of the rude raft. There were a large number of dry logs about quite suitable for the purpose. Most of them had been washed down by former and higher floods, and they were very light. A quantity of hide thongs, and rope were amongst the stores, and with the additional aid of strips of tough green bark taken from a sort of eucalypti and some long rushes which grew close at hand, forty of the legs were bound together parallel with each other. A similar number were then placed across them at right angles, and underneath the whole four others were placed in diamond shape so as roughly to resemble the shape of a boat. The top was covered with kangaroo skins, after the interstices had been carefully filled with a composition made from grass, clay, and a gum which exuded from a mimosa thicket near the camp. Two broad rough oars were made and a couple of poles over twenty feet in length also placed on board. On being launched the raft was found to float beautifully, and a fortnight after the bank of the Diamantina was reached the camp was struck. About half the stores were placed on the raft and the remainder were carefully secured on the backs of the fine horses.

As the undivided efforts of the three men would be needed to guide the clumsy craft across it was decided to tie the horses to the end of the raft and let them swim after it. The place where they wished to land was about half a mile down the stream, and in that distance it was confidently expected that making full allowance for the inevitable drift they would be able to reach the opposite bank. Finke Creek was still throwing a considerable volume of water into the main course, but the latter was not now more than six hundred yards across.

The launch was made with little difficulty, but the horses did not take kindly to the passage, and they had to be almost dragged into the water. For some distance out the raft behaved beautifully and those on it were delighted at the apparent success of their idea. By the aid of the poles and one of the oars the eastern bank was soon left behind and the centre of the stream approached. The water there swept along with majestic force, and it seized on the raft as if it had been a cork. For a few minutes Strangway and his comrades did not notice that they were making little or no heading. Each man was too busily occupied with his particular duties to observe that the current was stronger by far than their united efforts and it was the more experienced Stanley who first gave the alarm.

"By heavens," he cried, "We are being swept away."