CHAPTER THREE.
The Gilpins no longer felt like newly arrived immigrants when they foundthemselves on their way to Warragong, the station of which they hadundertaken charge. They were far, however, from being over-confident ofsuccess, or of pleasing their employers; but they had resolved to makeup by diligence and perseverance for their want of experience, and MrPrentiss assured them that he had no doubt of their doing well. SamGreen had thrown in his lot with them, and though receiving good wagesfrom Mr Prentiss, he begged that he might be allowed to accompany themon the chance of their being able to give him permanent employment.Knowing by this time the value of a thoroughly trustworthy servant inAustralia, they were very glad to accept his offer. They, as well asSam, had been furnished with excellent horses; and, much to his ownsatisfaction as well as theirs, Larry Killock was sent with a light cartto convey their luggage and various luxuries, which had been providedthrough the kindness of Mrs Prentiss. A native black, partlycivilised, and able to speak broken English, accompanied them as guide,and formed the fifth person of this party. He either travelled in thecart or ran on foot beside it.
"I should think that very few settlers begin a life in the bush with somany advantages as we possess," observed Arthur, as he rode on with hisbrother, a little ahead of the cart; "we appear to have jumped over alldifficulties, and to have arrived at a point which many only reach afteryears of toil."
"I am not quite certain that it will prove to our permanent advantage,"answered James. "I would rather have begun as we proposed, and workedour way upward; we should the better be able to encounter difficultiesor mishaps which may occur."
"Well, I vote we do not grumble with our good fortune," said Arthur,laughing; "we shall have plenty to do, depend on that."
There was no great variety of scenery in that part of the country overwhich they travelled, but for the want of it the beauty of the climate,and the sense of present freedom which they enjoyed, made ample amends.Without luggage they might have performed the journey in three days, butwith the cart, twenty or, at the most, thirty miles could not be gotover in the day. Even supposing that they could have found their wayalone, it would not have been altogether safe to leave the cart withoutprotection. Bushrangers were occasionally, though rarely, heard of, andwould probably, if they fell in with the cart, make no scruple ofrunning off with it, and perhaps murder the driver. Any wanderingblacks from the interior might also pillage the cart, and most probablykill poor Larry.
Larry had been entertaining Sam Green with an account of thedepredations committed by such gentry in the bygone days of the colony,when the Dick Turpins, who had obtained a short-lived celebrity on thehighway of Old England, laid the settlers in this new land undercontribution; and the white stockmen shot down the black natives with aslittle compunction as they would kangaroos; the blacks, in retaliation,murdering them or any white men they could meet with. Larry, observingthe wide-mouthed interest created by his narratives, went on till poorSam began to wish himself safe out of the country again. They werecrossing a wide plain, with a light soil thickly covered with grass. Acloud of dust was seen to the right of the direction in which they weretravelling; it increased in extent, and rose higher and higher.
"Be them the niggers coming to murder us?" asked Sam, in a fright.
"If them are niggers, they're big ones, my boy, anyhow," answered Larry,evasively.
A dull, regular, pounding sound was heard, and at length dark forms wereseen issuing from the cloud of dust--a few first, and then more andmore, resolving themselves into bullocks, black, white, and dun,galloping on and bellowing with might and main. Horsemen appeared oneither side, like officers on a parade, and with their long whips, whichthey kept on cracking like pistol-shots, they kept order among theirunruly charge. Shouting and shrieking, they galloped round from therear to the side to bring back any beast which showed an intention ofstraying away, their dogs sagaciously rendering them assistance bybarking at the heels of the animals, and turning them back into theherd. What with the thunder-like bellowing of the cattle and the trampof their feet, the shouting of the drivers, the cracking of their whips,the barking of the dogs, the dust from the ground, and the steam fromthe creatures' backs, as, lashing their long tails, they tore onwards,jostling each other in their course, their sharp horns lowered for thecharge, the approaching herd appeared like some vast army of savagemonsters, rushing on to meet their foes in battle. To draw up out oftheir way was impossible, and the travellers soon found themselvessurrounded by the herd; the creatures, however, turned their hornsaside, while the shape of their own heads and the width of their backsprevented them from running them into their companions in front or oneither side, in spite of the seemingly confused way in which they werehurrying on. The herd had passed, when two of the principal drivers,who, in spite of their rough dress and hair-covered countenances,appeared to be gentlemen, drew up and saluted the Gilpins with "Goodday, friends; whither bound?"
"To Warragong, to take charge of the station," said James.
"I wish you joy," remarked one of the strangers; "you will have no easytask, I take it. A sad scoundrel has had the management of it for sometime, as we know to our cost, having once employed him. I am afraid,also, from the sort of men he always gets about him, that you will haveno small trouble with them." The strangers informed them that they werebound south to the Port Philip district, where there was a great demandfor cattle.
As the evening was approaching, the parties agreed to camp together.Fires were lighted, the triangles erected, and the pots were soonboiling, while the quickly made damper was placed under the ashes tobake for the coming meal. None of the party, however, could keep theirseats by the fire long, without being often summoned to their feet, andsometimes to their saddles, to drive in the straying bullocks. Itseemed as hard work to keep them together when resting as to drive themforward, but neither master nor men were disconcerted; they rushed hereand there with shout and song and laughter, till they had brought backthe straying cattle, and then they sat down by the fire, or rolledthemselves up in their blankets, as if nothing had happened. TheGilpins were sorry to part from their new friends, whose frank, heartymanners had won their regard. The morning meal of tea, damper, and porkhaving been discussed, they rode off in opposite directions.
"Not pleasant information this, our friends gave us last night," saidArthur. "What can we do?"
"Wait events," answered his brother; "forewarned is forearmed. We willkeep our knowledge to ourselves, though it will be necessary to adviseGreen not to trust to any of the men, so as to be led into mischief bythem. Perhaps the accounts of their misconduct may have beenexaggerated."
Travelling in Australia has its disagreeables as well as its agreeables:there are heavy rains and fogs and sharp winds in winter; and in summer,scorching blasts and stifling heat, and biting or stinging insects,flying, and crawling, and hopping, and dust and smoke from bush firesand the burning trees, and want, at times, of water; but,notwithstanding these occasional drawbacks, so delightful is the perfectfreedom to be enjoyed, the pure, bright atmosphere, and the generalhealthfulness of the climate, that in the opinion of most people theadvantages very greatly preponderate.
The brothers had expected to reach the station in the afternoon, but anaccident to the cart caused some delay, and the sun set before itappeared in sight. Their black guide, however, assured them that theintervening country was tolerably level and easy, and that as there werecertain woods he knew well, and a river on the other side, they couldnot miss their way. Accordingly they pushed on, though it became sodark that they began to wish that they had camped at the usual hour.Suddenly, as they reached the confines of a wood, their horses snortedand started, and refused to proceed--those in the cart very nearlyupsetting it by turning rapidly round; and, had not Sam caught theirheads, they would have galloped off in an opposite direction. Directlyafterwards, a bright light burst forth from the wood and a spectacleappeared sufficient to make even a stout heart, with a
ny tendency tosuperstitious feelings, tremble. From among the trees, just beyond thelight, appeared, flitting in and out, some twenty or thirty blanchedskeletons, throwing their bony arms and legs with the greatest rapidityinto every conceivable attitude. Now they disappeared in the darkness,now again they darted into light; round and round they went, now seemingto sink into the ground, now leaping into the air, and often turninghead over heels. All the time not a sound proceeded from thephantom-looking dancers. The Gilpins could scarcely help fancyingthemselves under some delusion. They rubbed their eyes.
"What is it?" exclaimed Arthur. "Horrible! most horrible! Do you seethe skeletons?"
"Indeed I do," answered his brother; "but such things cannot be--arenot--at all events."
Sam Green had hitherto been engaged with the horses; he now came up tothe point where the hideous spectacle was visible, and no sooner did hiseyes rest on it than he exclaimed, "Run, squires, run! If it was mortalfoes I'd stick by ye; but that's more than any mortal man can dare toface. Oh! this is a terrible country, where the people cannot lie quietin graves, but must needs go skipping about without any flesh on theirbones."
"The hoighth of ondacency!" cried out Larry, in a voice which showedvery little, if any, alarm. "Murra, go and tell your ugly countrymenthat they are frightening the horses, and that they must turn theirother sides to us till we have passed."
This order was given to the guide, who ran fearlessly up to the spotwhere the skeleton dance was proceeding, and no sooner did he reach itthan the whole vanished like magic.
"It's only some black fellows dancing a Corroborry," said the Irishman,laughing; "you needn't be in such a mighty tremble, Sam. We haven't theshred of a ghost out here; there may be some in the old country, butthey're not fond of the salt sea, and couldn't cross it, not if theywere paid for it, except they came out at the expense of the Government,like some other honest gintlemen I've heard spake of."
The horses, however, were still very unwilling to proceed, and it wassome time before they could be coaxed past the suspicious spot; theythen set off at increased speed to get away from the object of theirdread. The party pulled up for the black, who came running up. "Nogood people," he said, in a low voice; "come here, do bad."
The Gilpins, hearing his remarks, endeavoured to discover the reason ofhis supposing that the party of natives they had just passed were badlydisposed, but could elicit no further information from him. It was morethan an hour after this that a glimmering light appeared ahead, whichMurra, the guide, assured them must proceed from the station. Itappeared to be somewhat above them on the hillside, and they soonafterwards found themselves ascending slightly towards it. They had notgot far, however, before several large dogs flew out, barking furiously,towards them. They and Larry shouted loudly to the hut-keeper to callthe animals off, but no one appeared, and, the dogs contentingthemselves with barking, they proceeded on to the hut, from the windowof which the light gleamed out. The dogs, still loudly barking, atlength roused up a couple of rough-looking men, who staggered out of thedoor, and, one of them holding a lamp, stared stupidly at thetravellers, at the same time that, with loud oaths, he shouted to thedogs to be quiet.
"Oh! you are strangers," said the least tipsy; "well, you shall have astranger's welcome in the bush; and so you may just go and turn out yourhorses, and then come and get what you can inside."
"We've come to take charge of the station," said James, rather nettled;"so, my men, I rather think that it is your duty to see and makeyourselves useful to us."
"Ho! ho! Pretty sort of masters you'd make over us!" cried the man,holding up the light in their faces. "To my mind, you'd better go backto them that sent you."
This was even a worse reception than they had expected; but, perceivingthat the man was very drunk, they saw that it would not be wise toirritate him.
"Well, my man," said James, calmly, "we have pushed on here in the hopesof being welcomed, but all we will ask now is a supper and a night'srest."
"As you speak us fair, we'll treat you fair, whoever you may be," saidthe man. "Come in; the kettle is boiling, and there's a damper or twoready under the ashes."
The cart having been placed close to the hut, the horses wereunharnessed and unsaddled and turned out to pick up their supper, andthe whole party were soon collected in the hut. The interior showedevident signs of a late debauch. There was a rough table in the centrecovered with tobacco-ashes, a broken black cutty, or pipe, some batteredtin mugs, and a couple of empty spirit bottles on their sides, whileunder it lay a couple of men fast asleep, and another in the corner.Some kicks from the shoe of their more sober companion, who had broughtthe newly arrived party in, roused them up; and he then proceeded toeject them, telling them to go to Bateman's hut, where they would findshelter. Grumbling, they staggered out, except two, who were too fargone to move. The hut was, as might have been expected, in a very dirtyand untidy condition--so dirty, indeed, that the Gilpins werecontemplating camping outside, when Larry, going out, reported that astorm was brewing, and proceeded forthwith to bring the contents of thecart inside. A plentiful though roughly cooked supper was soon on thetable to which all hands did ample justice. The hut was a long, narrowbuilding, with the entrance door towards one end, where the mud-builtfireplace was formed and the table stood. In the further end were somebunks, or standing bed-places, and the stores were piled up. Larryplaced the articles he had brought in the cart across the hut, so asmore effectually to screen off the inner end. He and the hut-keeper,whom he addressed as Jonas Knoll, appeared to be old acquaintances, butvery few words passed between them. For the first time since they hadlanded, the Gilpins lay down to rest with a feeling that they were notas safe as they would have been in their own home in England.
Before Larry lay down, after the hut-keeper had gone to sleep, theyobserved that he put fresh grease into the lamp and trimmed the wick.More than once James awoke and looked around; everybody in the hutappeared to be sleeping soundly. The two stockmen and the hut-keeperespecially were snoring loudly, and not a sound from the outside washeard. "It is wrong to be giving way to fear," he said to himself."These coarse fellows have been indulging, according to their tastes, ina debauch, and were annoyed at being interrupted. They would scarcelydare to harm us even if they wished it. We must keep a tight rein onthem and a careful watch on their proceedings, without allowing them todiscover that they are especially observed, and we shall do well."
The next morning the hut-keepers and stockmen belonging to theheadquarters of the station made their appearance, sobered, andtolerably respectful in their manner; though there was an expression intheir eyes and a tone in their voices which made the young managersbelieve that it would take but little to make them break out into openmutiny. They were, however, surprised at Larry's changed manner. Therewas an impudent swagger in all he did, and when ordered to perform anyduty, he invariably replied in a way which made his companions laugh,though he executed the order with promptness. He seemed to be onfamiliar terms with all the people on the station, and to be a favouriteamong them. The brothers at once saw that there was much to do, andmany alterations to be made in every direction about the station. Thehuts were in a dilapidated condition--the one intended for theirresidence was so dirty as to be scarcely habitable; the stock-yardsrequired repair; and, worse than all, the books were so badly kept thatit was almost impossible to ascertain the number and state of the stock,either of cattle, sheep, or horses, or of the stores. The overseer wasabsent--gone to a distant run--so they took possession of the books,which had been left carelessly out, with the intention of verifying themwith the actual state of things. Having made the necessary extracts,they locked them up and started on horseback, accompanied by Sam, whosepractised eye was likely to prove of great assistance in numbering theflocks of sheep and herds of cattle which were to be inspected. Theyhad not made their intention known, and, just as they were starting,they summoned the most civil-looking of the stockmen, and ordered him tomou
nt his horse and accompany them as a guide. As every flock is named,they had no difficulty in indicating the flock they wished to visit; butthey did not tell him till they had got some way from the station, sothat he would have no opportunity of communicating with his companionsshould he suspect their designs. Arrived at a run, they immediatelycalled the shepherd, and ordered him to make his flock pass before them,when they took careful note of their numbers, appearance, and generalcondition. Having done so, they put spurs to their horses and gallopedoff to the next run. As they had a pocket compass and had beenfurnished with a rough map of the country, they had no difficulty inassuring themselves that their guide was conducting them aright. Theshepherds and stock-keepers looked puzzled, and as not a single remarkof approval or disapproval was uttered, they could not make up theirminds how to proceed. Several of them would have given much to peepinto the notebook which those quiet-looking young men held in theirhands. Refreshing themselves and their steeds at a stock-keeper's hut,they returned home late in the evening, satisfied that a large amount ofrascality had been going forward, and that it would require greatjudgment and determination on their part to put matters to right. Thenext day and the following were employed in the same manner. Each dayconfirmed them more and more in their opinion. For the present,however, they could only watch the proceedings of the men under them.They could not dismiss the whole of them, nor could they ascertain whowere the most guilty. That the overseer was a great scoundrel they hadno doubt, and they therefore agreed that he must at once be got rid of.James had written an account of the state of things to Mr Prentiss, butdoubted whether to entrust it to Larry Killock, who had so completelyidentified himself with the other men, that they thought it probable hemight give it to them to read, and so put them on their guard. Theywere still in this state of doubt when the time arrived for Larry totake his departure. They were sitting in the hut at supper, the work ofthe day over, no one but Sam being near, when the Irishman put his headin at the door. Looking round, and assuring himself that they were theonly occupants of the building, he approached them with his former civilmanner.
"It's all pretence, yer honours," he whispered, with his hand to hisnose. "They're big rascals, every mother's son of them; and I'd give myright hand to be allowed to stop, if I thought that they'd be doing youany mischief; but I don't think they'll dare to work you harm. Theworst of them hasn't come yet, and when he does, he'll try to make youbelieve that he's the most honest man alive. But, whist, there's someone coming. If you'd have the goodness to kick me out of the hut, andcall me an impudent thief of the world, it would keep up appearances."
The brothers heartily thanked the Irishman; but were not obliged tofulfil his last request, as he managed to run out of the hut before anyone appeared. The following evening, while they were sitting as before,at supper, a horse's hoofs were heard approaching, and soon afterwards aman of middle age, dressed in the usual rough costume of the bush,unceremoniously entered the hut, and, eyeing them with a scrutinisingglance, drew up a stool and seated himself at the table.
"The new managers, I presume, Mr --- I beg your pardon--I forget yourname," he began, in a supercilious tone. "You have stolen a march onme, and I conclude that I am to be superseded."
"That probably will not rest with us," said James. "I suppose that ifthe trustees of the property find that we can manage it to theirsatisfaction without help, they will not consider themselves justifiedin retaining your services."
The overseer, Mr Basham, as he was called, was very unlike the personthey expected to see. The shape of his features was remarkably good,though the expression was unsatisfactory; his figure was light and wiry,and capable of enduring considerable fatigue; and his manners were thoseof a gentleman, marred somewhat by rough companions and the hard life hehad led. He saw at once that the young men with whom he had to deal,though inferior to him in knowledge of the world, possessed anuprightness and firmness of character with which he could not trifle.He would much have liked to have entrapped them by offering them a shareof his profits, but that plan, it was evident, would not answer withthem. Still he trusted that some way might be found of securing what hehad obtained, if not for making more.
"Well, well, gentlemen, I have always been an unfortunate person, and sowe'll drop the subject, and discuss what is taking place in the greatworld."
Without more ado he did turn the subject, and showed that he was a manof considerable information, and had received a superior education.This only made him the more difficult to deal with. Though he was nowfree, they suspected strongly that he had been a convict. They couldscarcely believe that with his abilities he would not otherwise havebeen employed in some higher position. After their inspection of theruns, they had been engaged for a day in turning everything out of thehut, and in having it thoroughly cleansed. They then re-arranged thefurniture and contents, according to their own taste. For several daysafter Mr Basham's return they saw him hunting about the hut in searchof something, and at last he asked them if they had seen his books.James at once replied that he had, according to the direction of thetrustees, taken possession of them, and should keep them till hereceived directions to the contrary. He shrugged his shoulders as heobserved, "My hard fate again! And so, I suppose, if anything goeswrong, those books are to be brought as evidence against me, though Imay be as innocent as the babe unborn." There was a sinister expressionin his countenance as he spoke, of which he was probably unaware, butwhich convinced the young managers that they must be careful how theydealt with him till they could receive authority from Sydney to dismisshim.
In spite of all their vigilance and activity, things continued to go onwrong. Sheep disappeared, carried off by dingoes, or by the nativeblacks; the shepherds asserted that cattle strayed, and could not berecovered; and two valuable horses, intended to be sent to Sydney, forshipment to India, were missing. More than once the brothers wereinclined to wish that they had commenced as squatters on their ownaccount in a small way, with only a few honest men around them; yet,having undertaken their present task, they were not the men to shrinkfrom it. They came to the determination, however, not to embark any oftheir own small capital till they had got everything to rights, and menunder them in whom they could place confidence. At length thelooked-for authority arrived to dismiss, not only Mr Basham, but any ofthe men who might behave ill, or be suspected of malpractices; it beingsuggested that, as trustworthy men were difficult to procure, it wouldbe injudicious to proceed on light grounds, at the same time, as proofpositive would in many cases be impossible, it would not be necessary towait till it was found. This was throwing a large amount ofresponsibility on their shoulders, but they determined to do their duty.Mr Basham received his dismissal with great coolness; but again hisfeatures assumed the expression the Gilpins had before observed. Heclaimed as his own a couple of fine horses, and, placing his personalproperty on one of these and bestriding the other, early the nextmorning he rode off, the last glance of his cold, grey eye leaving animpression which for many a day remained fixed on the minds of thebrothers.