Title: The Bushranger of Van Diemen's Land
Author: Charles Rowcroft
* A Project Gutenberg of Australia eBook *
eBook No.: 0607171.txt
Language: English
Date first posted: September 2006
Date most recently updated: September 2006

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The Bushranger of Van Diemen's Land
Charles Rowcroft



INTRODUCTION.

IT is well known to those who have the opportunity of observing the
actual condition and the opinions of various classes of society in
this country, that a dangerous notion is prevalent, among those
especially where a misconception of the truth is most mischievous,
that a transportation to the penal colonies is not, as the law
intends, a punishment, but rather a change of country to be desired,
from the opportunity which it is supposed to afford for the rapid
acquisition of large fortunes in many ways; and for the sake of the
licentious liberty of action which the wide wilderness holds forth the
promise of, and which, to restless minds, presents so fascinating an
attraction.

The publication, therefore, of the following narrative, taken from
the oral communication of the facts by the party principally concerned
in the adventures to which they relate, may perhaps be useful, at the
present time, in counteracting the pernicious tendency of the false
ideas which prevail in respect to the penal arrangements of the
Australian settlements; and the circulation of the history,
inculcating the certain punishment and remorse which follow crime, may
assist in repressing that morbid craving after notoriety which of late
years has increased with such lamentable rapidity. With respect to the
curious psychological phenomena developed by the peculiar condition of
solitude to which the modern Cain, of which this history treats, was
exposed, they cannot fail to interest deeply all those who think that

"The noblest study of mankind is Man."



VOLUME 1.




Chapter I. The Arrival.

IT was on a fine spring morning in the month of September that a
vessel was seen to thread her way through D'Entrecasteaux' channel, at
the mouth of the river Derwent, on the southern side of Van Diemen's
Land. The sky was clear and bright, its usual aspect in the early
spring in those salubrious regions, and there was scarcely wind
sufficient to fill the sails, so that the vessel was able to do little
more than make headway against the tide, tantalizing those on board
with the sight of the land on either side, while the vessel remained
provokingly stationary in mid--stream.

The passengers in the vessel, which was a small brig of not more than
a hundred and twenty tons' burthen, were a gentleman, with his two
daughters. Major Horton had resolved to mend his broken fortunes in a
new world, where there was verge and scope enough for enterprise and
exertion. It was the hardihood, perhaps, of his previous career as a
military man, that had prompted him to dare in his humble bark, with a
scanty crew, the dangers of the seas for a distance comprehending the
half of the globe, and to approach fearlessly the coasts of a new
country, of the points of which no seaman on board possessed any
previous knowledge. His daughters were young girls of remarkable
beauty, and with all the delicacy of appearance which, it might be
supposed, would be impressed on them from a former life of ease and
elegance, and from the habit of frequenting the high society in which
they were born to move. They both partook of their father's
adventurous spirit and of his courage, though their outward exhibition
of those soldierly qualities was modified by their respective
dispositions.

Helen, the elder of the two, was tall and slight; strikingly
handsome; of a mind bold and prompt to execute her resolves; full of
ardour and enterprise; a fit heroine for a romance; fearless of
danger, and confident in her own resources. Louisa, on the contrary,
was mild and retiring; possessing almost the ideal perfection of that
amiable softness of woman which poets love to fancy, and lovers fondly
doat upon with affection the most abiding. Being only in her sixteenth
year, and two years younger than her sister, the gentle Louisa had
learned to look up to the more energetic Helen for advice and
assistance on all matters relating to the difficulties to which their
present course exposed them; and the love which the high-spirited
Helen bore to the affectionate girl was increased by the feeling of
the protection which her more masculine mind afforded to her less
intrepid sister.

The only other passenger on board was a personage of a very different
grade; and how he had come among them, and with what imaginable object
he had set forth to brave an adventurous life in the Australian
colonies, had more than once puzzled himself, as well as those with
whom he had become accidentally associated. This aspiring emigrant
rejoiced in the name of Silliman, which singularly accorded with the
character of the man, so that the name of Jeremiah Silliman seemed to
have become attached to the individual by some mysterious process of
elective attraction, exhibiting in his person an illustration of the
harmonious principle of nature which ever strives to amalgamate
together things congenial.

This young gentleman had first seen the light, or rather the smoke,
in Ironmonger Lane in the City; which fortunate circumstance, as he
was sometimes inclined to boast, conferred on him by birth the rank
and dignity of a citizen of London, invested with various privileges
and immunities, and with the inchoate right of exercising regal sway
over that imperium in imperio; all of which advantages, however, he
had sacrificed in his insatiable thirst of romantic adventures. Having
already made frequent dangerous voyages to Putney, Richmond, and
Gravesend, and on one occasion as far as Margate, he considered
himself a finished sailor; and when he first appeared in a blue jacket
and white trousers, and with an exceedingly diminutive round straw hat
aboard the Nautilus before she set sail from the port of London, he
quite imposed on the unsophisticated natures of the young ladies, who
flattered themselves that they had the advantage of being accompanied
by an accomplished mariner whose skill and daring would form a
valuable addition to the small crew which had been engaged to navigate
the vessel.

It was true that the mate regarded him with an extraordinary and
significant grimace when he appeared on deck at Gravesend in his
sailor's rig; but it was not until the vessel had reached the Downs
that the false pretensions of the cockney were made manifest by his
most urgent vociferations for the "steward." This little imperfection
was overlooked, however, during the voyage, as he had immediately
fallen in love with both the sisters, and as his services were found
convenient by the ladies, in performing many little offices, which he
did with invariable good nature, and with an intelligence, as Helen
remarked to her sister, of a lap--dog who had been taught to fetch and
carry.

The major, who had in his youth been a member of the yacht club,
considered himself quite competent to take the general charge of the
vessel of which he was the owner, and over which he presided as
captain, trusting to the mate, an excellent seaman, for the management
of the vessel and for assistance in its navigation. One boy for
steward, and another as "the" boy, whose prescribed duty was to be
perpetually in motion with an immense swab in his arms to sop up the
water which the little vessel was continually taking in, from the
proximity of its deck to the surface of the water, and nine sailors,
one of whom acted as the carpenter, formed the whole of the crew; but
thus slenderly equipped the good little ship had arrived in safety
over fifteen thousand miles of the ocean, to the entrance of the
channel which led to the promised land.

There was just sufficient wind to fill the sails and enable the
vessel to stem the rapid current of the channel. The mate examined the
chart; scrutinized the shore; heaved the lead; sounded the bottom;
looked over the side, and took a sight at an object on land to
ascertain if they made any the least progress. But the vessel seemed
riveted to the spot, and presented the appearance of active motion
without making the slightest advance.

"We shall have to anchor at last," said he to the major, who, with
his daughters and the assiduous Mr. Silliman, were assembled on the
deck, surveying the new country of their adoption with eager interest;
"there is seldom much wind, Horsman says, in this season in these
parts--except when it comes in squalls and gales--and what there is
seems to be dying away. We had better hold our ground, and wait for
the turn of the tide."

"We do hold our ground for the present," observed the major; "how
far are we from the shore to the left here?"

"Larboard;--why, I should say about couple of miles, not more."

"It is my opinion," said Mr. Silliman, who, on nautical matters,
considered himself an authority, in virtue of his sailor's jacket and
trousers, and supported in his assumptions by his little round hat,
which had grown excessively tarry during the voyage; "it is my opinion
that we had better send the boat on shore and examine the country; we
may perhaps make some discoveries, or meet with some of the natives,
or something. How I wish I could see a kangaroo!"

"I can see smoke," said Helen, who was looking through the ship's
glass, obsequiously held by Mr. Silliman, "just under that low hill
yonder."

"Some of the natives, perhaps," said her father; "there are no
settlers, I understand, so low down as this. I see;--I can see a curl
of smoke quite plainly; but now it grows less; and now I can see no
more of it. It seems to have been extinguished suddenly."

"We are making lee-way now," said the mate, "that's certain; the
wind has quite gone down, and the sails stick to the masts. Shall we
let go the anchor?"

"You know best, Mr. Northland; it is very annoying not to be able to
get up before dark; but I suppose there's no danger in these parts; we
are quite out of the way of pirates; and the natives don't know the
use of boats, the books say."

"Pirates and natives! major; no fear of them; I wish there was
nothing else to fear in this channel; you see it is very intricate,
full of shoals and headlands; and if it was to come on to blow, it
might be an awkward matter, weakly manned as we are."

Presently the grating of the cable against the davits informed all
on board of the resolution that had been formed, and in a brief space
the little vessel lay quietly at anchor in the stream.



Chapter II. The Plot.

THE detention of the vessel, which gave rise to so much mortification
on board, excited very different feelings in the minds of a party who
were watching their proceedings from the land.

This party consisted of seven men, of whom six were clothed in the
government dress of convicts suits of yellow; but the seventh appeared
in the ordinary garb of a gentleman, or rather of a merchant or
storekeeper; for there were too few idle gentlemen in those times to
allow of the latter distinctive appellation. They sat round the
remains of a fire which had been hastily kindled and as hastily
extinguished, as if in fear that the smoke from the burning wood might
betray their resting-place. The cause of their appearance in a spot so
remote from the dwellings of the colonists may be best collected from
the following conversation:--

"I wish we had some grub," said one of the yellow jackets; "it's poor
fun being in the bush without anything to eat; suppose we go aboard
that brig and ask for some provisions? we can say we are shipwrecked
seamen."

"And get grabbed and strung up," interposed another; "as if they
would be taken in with that gammon! Haven't we got our canary-bird
feathers on us, and won't that let 'em know what we are?"

"Curse on this livery!" said a third; "it doesn't give a man a
chance. If one does give the overseer the slip, these confounded rags,
that brand a man wherever he goes, betray us. I wish I could go about
like a native, without clothes. By-the-by, they say there are lots of
natives down this way. What shall we do if we fall in with them? We
have not so much as a pistol among us."

"We must use our clubs; one white man is enough for half a dozen
natives, any time."

"But their spears, man? Why, they will riddle you through in no time!
What can you do against long shots? And then, as to trying to come to
close quarters, why, you might as well look for a needle in a hay
stack as hunt for a native in the bush."

"You can't tell the devils from the black stumps of the trees; but,
for my part, I don't see what we are to do, now that we have got off,
without arms, and without provisions--"

"But we have a boat," said a strong deep voice, which had not
hitherto joined in the conversation.

"And what's the use of that? What's the use of a boat like that to go
to sea in? We can't get back to England in a boat. I begin to think we
have not got much by our venture?"

"We have liberty," said the same voice which had checked the
complainings of the men; "we have liberty; that's worth all!"

"But what can we do with our liberty, Mark? We can't live on gum and
opossums like the natives! And we can't eat the natives, neither;
though they say they eat the white people when they can catch 'em; and
that's not such a pleasant thing to look forward to.--I say, Mark,
what's to be the next move? As you're our captain, it is for you to
give us a lift out of the mess you have brought us into; and we want
it bad enough; for my very inside seems stuck together with that lot
of gum that I tucked in just now."

"I've heard say," said one of the party, "that the grubs of the blue
gum--tree are very good eating. I know the natives eat 'em. They take
them up by one end, and let them fall down their throat, as we do
oysters. A nice dinner for a gentleman--gum and caterpillars! But I
can't stand this! we must do something. I say, Mark, what's to be
done?"

The man thus addressed said nothing, but pointed to the little brig
riding quietly at anchor in the channel.

"Ah, yes; I see that craft plain enough; but what's the use of it to
us, unless they would give us something to eat, and, better than that,
something to drink?"

"Suppose we asked them?" said their leader.

"Ah! and get some handcuffs for answer."

"Suppose we entreated them to give us food?"

"And suppose they wouldn't?"

"Suppose we took it?" quietly replied their leader.

"Eh!" said several voices at once; "suppose we took it! why, you
don't mean by force?"

"Why not?"

"Why! what could seven unarmed men do against an armed vessel?"

"Nothing," said their leader, "by open force; but, when force cannot
be used, we can use stratagem."

"I tell you what, Mark, you are a clever chap, no doubt of that; and
you have a tongue that would almost carny a jailor out of his keys--
that's the truth--or you never would have talked us over to make our
escape without arms or provisions. But if you will show us how to get
some rum out of that vessel yonder, you will deserve to be captain of
the island."

"I will do more than that."

"More!" cried out all, excited by their leader's air of calm and
fixed determination.

"I will get possession of that vessel," said the leader, in a firm
and resolute voice; "and in that vessel we will make our escape from
this accursed place of shame and punishment."

"Well, that beats all! And how will you get possession of that tight
little brig, captain? Talk 'em over, and persuade them to make us a
present of it?"

"May be so; and if you are the man that I take you to be, and have
coolness and courage, and will follow my directions implicitly, I will
show you how to set about it."

"What, without arms?"

"Yes, without arms."

"And without fighting?"

"Perhaps."

"Mark, you're a regular trump! Don't let us lose any time. Depend
upon it that craft is as full of rum as an opossum of peppermint
leaves; settlers always think it the best investment they can bring
out to pay their men with. Now, captain, what are we to do?"

"You see," said the man who, by the common consent of his companions
and by the force of hi superior intellect, had been unanimously raised
to the bad eminence of their leader, "that the brig is now lying at
anchor, becalmed, with the tide against her, and with little chance of
wind till the sea-breeze sets in, in the afternoon. She will not
venture to float up with the tide in this dangerous channel; so that
she will be there, safe, for some hours. Now, she would, no doubt, be
glad of a pilot, and I dare say is now looking out for one."

"What's the use of that to us?"

"This use: I will be the pilot. Two of you shall go with me--only
two, to avoid suspicion; those two will pass for my government men;
that will account for their yellow dress. Fortunately, you see, my own
dress may serve for a pilot's; and in this way I will get on board the
vessel and look about me."

"And what's to become of us who remain behind?"

"We shall return for you, on the pretence that more hands are wanted
to work the vessel. My first visit will have disarmed suspicion of our
real object. Besides, I can say that the governor has established a
settlement on the other side of the hill, where the look-out is
towards the sea, for the purpose of lending assistance to strange
vessels; and--in short--leave the rest to me."

The band of desperadoes looked inquiringly at one another; each man
tried to read in his fellow's countenance his secret thoughts; for on
such occasions distrust, and suspicion, and jealousy, soon sow the
seeds of disunion among them. Every man is in fear of the treachery of
his neighbour; and, being conscious of his own individual selfishness
and knavery, he naturally suspects their existence in others.

"Who are to be the two to go first?" asked one of them, with a
doubtful air.

"You may cast lots for that," said their leader; "but they must be
careful to act up to their characters, because it is likely I shall
have occasion to call them thieves and rascals, and perhaps worse. You
will not mind that, I hope?"

"Not a bit; we're used to it: besides, hard words break no bones. But
it's a bold scheme, Mark; if they suspect you, you're done."

"It is our only chance," replied Mark; "and fortunate it is for us
that luck has thrown this opportunity in our way. Did I not tell you
that brave men are sure to succeed when they stand by one another?"

"Hurrah!" cried the men, their courage and expectations raised by the
animating words of their leader. "We will stand by one another to the
death! Now, captain, get on with the work. Here are six rushes; the
two that draw the shortest go first; the rest remain."

The choice fell upon the grumbler of the party and another man who
had not taken much part in the conversation, and who was of a meek and
quiet look.

"Now, Jemmy," said the former, "let us see which can make himself
look most like a government man."

"I could not compare with you, Roger, no way," replied Jem; "your
father and mother have given you such a gallows hang-dog look, there
would be no mistaking you in the best long-tail's toggery that ever
came out of store."

"Now," summoned Mark, "if you are ready, come along. And remember
your characters."

"Ay, ay, your honour," said Jemmy, touching his hat with mock
humility; "we will do the dodge as if we were convicts in earnest."

Roger laughed at this sally, and, the two worthies getting into the
boat, Mark Brandon took his seat in the stern, and they left the
shore.

In the mean time the party on board, when they caught sight of the
boat on the smooth surface of the water proceeding heavily towards the
brig, indulged in various speculations as to the character and
intentions of their approaching visitors.



Chapter III. Flattery.

IT was still early in the forenoon when the boat containing Mark
Brandon and his inferior confederates drew near to the motionless
brig, on the deck of which the passengers and crew were assembled to
view the first appearance of the occupiers of the new world. Their
surmises on its appearance were as various as their characters.

"There are three of them," said the major; "what can be their
object?"

"It's a sweet boat," said the mate; "it floats on the water like a
duck! But those are lubberly fellows in the yellow jackets; they don't
seem much used to handle an oar, to my thinking."

"Gracious! what an odd way to dress in!" remarked Louisa; "they must
be very fond of yellow."

"It's the livery, most likely, of the servants of the gentleman who
sits in the starn of the boat," remarked the cockney (he always said
starn instead of stern, because he thought the broader sound more
nautical). "Perhaps it is the governor coming to visit us?"

"It's a pilot, no doubt," said the mate; "though he is but a rum-
looking one, I see, by his coat-flaps hanging over; but pilots' tails
grow on this side of the earth. Well, perhaps he'll bring a wind with
him. Stand by, there, and ship the hand-ropes."

By the aid of these conveniences the supposed pilot swung himself up
on board, and, without betraying by a muscle of his countenance his
apprehension of the daring risk which he was running, should it happen
that any one on board was acquainted with the persons of the true
officials, he touched his hat in a respectful manner to the major, who
seemed the principal person on board, nodded to the mate, took off his
hat to the ladies, to the eldest of whom he presented a sprig of wild
geranium which he had plucked from a shrub on shore, and, having
glanced at the sails and gear with a professional look, he asked the
usual question:--

"Where from?"

"London," replied the major.

"I suppose you're a pilot?" asked the mate.

The pilot nodded an affirmative.

"What sort of berth have we got here? bottom good?"

The pilot shook his head:--

"Ah! very well," he replied; "if it doesn't come on to blow; but
this is a dangerous channel. All well on board?"

"All well," replied the major. "You see the whole of us," he added;
"our craft is but a small one."

"You don't seem to be strong-handed," remarked the pilot, carelessly.

"Only nine men with the mate, and the steward, and the boy, making,
with myself, thirteen--Oh! I forgot Mr. Silliman; he makes fourteen;
and, with my two daughters, sixteen in all."

The pilot looked at Mr. Silliman with an expression that a close
observer might have construed into an opinion, that he did not
consider it of much importance whether that young gentleman was
included in the number or not; but he examined the crew with more
attention. It did not seem to him that there was much fight in them if
it came to a struggle; but with the major, he saw in a moment, he had
to deal with a man of determination and energy; and the mate, too, he
thought, might prove an ugly customer. As for the rest, their air and
appearance did not affect him with any particular uneasiness.

"What chance of a wind?" asked the mate, who, sailor-like, was always
thinking of the wind or his sweetheart; "what chance of a wind? its
dull work sticking here."

"Do you want wind?" asked the pilot.

"Want wind!" exclaimed the mate, surprised at such an unprofessional
observation; "why, what else does any one want aboard ship but wind?--
'The wind that blows, and the ship that goes--'"

"'And the lass that loves a sailor,'" chimed in the smiling Mr.
Silliman, casting a sentimental look at both the sisters, which Louisa
laughed at, but which Helen returned with a look of scorn that made
the unfortunate cockney wish himself back within the sound of Bow
Bells. The pilot observed the look, but gave no sign of noticing
anything but the masts and sails of the vessel.

"I am afraid," he said with a serious air, "that you will soon have
more wind than you can make use of. Has any one on board been in this
part of the world before?"

"Not one of us," said the major, who began to be uneasy at the threat
of a gale of wind from such an authority as the pilot, and in the
midst of a channel that was imperfectly known:--"Not a man on board
has been in this country before, and we know nothing of the ways of
the place."

So much the better, thought the pilot. "I am sorry for that," he said
aloud; "however, the commandant will allow some of our men to lend you
a hand, I dare say. There is no fear of the wind coming on before mid-
day. First we shall have a dead calm, just as it is now; and then
there will come a burst from the Wellington Mountain that you see
peering over those trees yonder, that will spin you round like a
humming-top."

"Like a what?" said the mate ....

"The land on the right-hand side there."

"The right-hand side!" exclaimed the mate, again astonished at the
fashion of the sea-lingo in the new world.

"I mean to starboard, mate," said the supposed pilot, recollecting
himself; "but you know, mate, when we speak to ladies, we ought not to
make use of our nautical jargon. And I can tell you what, my friend,
the man that brought this tiny craft half round the globe safe and
sound, as you have done,--and in sailor-like trim, too,--I say that
such a man is a credit to the service, and I have no doubt the
governor will make a public proclamation of the feat, for the
encouragement of all future navigators."

The honest mate, albeit that the language of the pilot was not of a
description with which his rough ears had wont to be regaled among his
hardy messmates of the sea, was hugely mollified by this well-timed
compliment: and at once attributed the unseamanlike phraseology and
bearing of the pilot to the transmogrifying qualities of the new
country. The pilot then turned to the major:--

"You must have had great experience, sir, and great courage, too, to
take on yourself the charge of so small a vessel to this distant
place. It is the smallest craft, I think, since the time of Captain
Cook, that has visited these seas."

The major was excessively pleased at this flattering eulogium from so
experienced a person.

"And as to these young ladies, they do honour, sir, to their country.
Sir, they will be regarded by all Australia as the heroines" (here
Helen's eyes flashed, and Louisa shrunk back)--"as the heroines of the
new world. But you are short handed, sir, very:--however, this
gentleman was as good as an able seaman to you" (Jerry actually
thrilled with delight to the very tips of his fingers, and he shook
the pilot's hand cordially); "and you must have had a capital crew,"
he added, raising his voice, so as to be heard by those who were
lingering within earshot to catch any information from the oracle of
sailors in an unknown sea; "a capital crew, and every man of 'em a
seaman--every inch of him, or you would never have succeeded in the
exploit of bringing your vessel so far in safety, and with so few
hands; every hand must have been worth two, that's certain."

The official commendation of the pilot was immediately carried
forward, and it was received by the crew with no less satisfaction
than it had been devoured by their superiors.

"And now," he continued, after having noted every particular of the
vessel into which he could find an excuse for prying, and, after
having extravagantly praised the juvenile steward for the admirable
order in which he kept the cabins and their appurtenances, wondering
how they could contrive to find room for their arms in so confined a
space, and the boy having replied that they were all stowed away in
the lockers, the pilot took his leave "to make interest with the
commandant" to allow some of the best behaved men in the government
employ, and who could be trusted, to assist in securing the vessel
from the coming storm. It was with great difficulty that he defended
himself from the pressing offers of Mr. Silliman to accompany him,
which he was enabled to parry only by judicious hints of the
inconvenience which might arise to the vessel from the absence of so
efficient a hand at the present time; but he gave the major reason to
understand that as the commandant was stationed at an out-of-the-way
place, to which it was difficult to convey supplies, a few bottles of
brandy, &c., might be acceptable--a hint which was readily complied
with. Thus provided, the pilot returned to the shore, and the parties
on board hastened to pass their different opinions on his person and
demeanour.

"A very well spoken man," observed the major; "quite a superior man,
indeed, to what one would expect; but perhaps, like the rest of us, he
may have been better off in the old country."

"He has a very fine countenance," said Helen; "but there was
something in his look that did not quite satisfy me; he seemed to me
to be playing a part; but for what purpose, I'm sure I cannot
imagine."

"I thought him a very nice man for a pilot," remarked Louisa; "but
this little sprig of geranium which he gave to us has no smell; what a
deception, for a geranium to be without fragrance! A knavish Van
Diemen's Land weed in the disguise of an honest flower."

"He was a very determined-looking fellow, that," said the mate,
after some reflection, his mind dwelling with considerable
satisfaction on the praise which had been artfully instilled into the
unsuspecting ears of the honest seaman; "though I can't say he looked
much like a sailor; but I suppose they are not so particular in these
parts; and it's not to be supposed that a thorough-bred seaman who
could do better, would be dodging about here after a stray vessel now
and then. It wouldn't be worth his while. He's not a bad chap, for all
that."

"In my opinion," said Mr. Jeremiah Silliman, giving his little tarry
hat a vigorous slap to set it firmer on his head, which he held
considerably higher since the eulogistic observations on his nautical
qualifications so judiciously administered by the stranger; "in my
opinion that is the most sensible man I ever met with--the present
company always excepted:--he knows what a sailor is, that man. None of
your shore--going, conceited fellows, but a perfect sailor. I knew it
directly; I saw through him, though he did wear a long-tailed coat;
but I dare say that was because he couldn't get a regular jacket--like
mine."

In the mean while, the object of these self-satisfactory encomiums
was making the best of his course to the shore, not disdaining to take
an oar to make the better way, and in little more than half an hour he
had rejoined his fellows.

"What news?" asked his famished confederates.

"Rum, biscuit, beef, and brandy."

"Hurrah! Mark for ever!"

The provisions were rapidly consumed with the avidity of hungry men;
but as they were afraid of making a fire, lest the smoke should betray
their whereabouts, they divided the uncooked meat with the remains of
the bread into equal portions, of which each man took his share, to
provide against an emergency.

But of the "drink" their leader insisted ontheir being sparing for
the present, as the prize was too valuable to risk the loss of it for
the sake of temporary indulgence in liquor which they could revel in
on board in the event of their success. This argument prevailed
against the strong desire to make the best use of their time in that
respect; besides, they were aware of the difficulty of existing for
any length of time in the bush, where they would be constantly exposed
to danger from the natives on the one hand, and from the parties of
soldiers and constables who would be sent in pursuit of them on the
other; and that their only hope of ultimate escape from the death to
which their flight into the bush condemned them was some such chance
as the present. The much--longed-for spirits, therefore, were placed
in the custody of their leader, and the men, sober and steady, after
having been perfectly instructed in the parts they were to act, rowed
in a vigorous and orderly manner to the devoted brig.



Chapter IV. Danger.

THE appearance of so many yellow jackets, some of them in a
condition of considerable dilapidation, and their wearers, for the
most part, of most villainous aspect, rather surprised the people on
board; but the persuasive pilot lost no time in making the major and
his officer understand that their condition was the result of their
exposure to the hardships and labours incident to a new location in
the bush; where it was necessary to cut out roads, build huts, and
clear away timber, without regard to the devastations or habits of
roughness which such employments produced in the habiliments or
manners of the working portion of the projectors. The present men, he
assured them, "had been carefully selected by the commandant from
nearly a hundred and fifty government servants working on their
probation, and that seeing the great peril to which the brig was
likely to be exposed, he would not allow the men to change their
clothes, but had sent them off as they were, thinking the safety of
the vessel and the security of those on board (whose skill and
courage, he said, had filled the commandant with admiration) of much
more importance than the appearance of the party despatched to assist
them."

It would seem as if fortune favoured the conspirators in this subtle
plot; for at the moment of their coming on board, a gentle play of
wind came down the channel, slightly rippling the surface of the
water, thus justifying the cautionary forebodings of the supposed
pilot; at the same time that a gathering of light clouds was seen on
the lofty summit of Mount Wellington in the distance. The whole of the
scanty crew were gathered together in a body, curious to look at the
new comers, so that their leader judged it would be too hazardous to
attempt a surprise at a time when all the male protectors of the
vessel were on deck, and ready to defend themselves. He waited,
therefore, for a more fitting occasion. The opportunity presently
presented itself. The mate, after exchanging a word of approval with
the major, without waiting for the authority of the pilot, went
forward with the crew to weigh the anchor; for the tide was beginning
to flow, and with wind enough to give the vessel steerageway, it was
desirable that not a moment should be lost in working the ship out of
the dangerous channel in which they were confined.

The leader of the band at once seized the opportunity:--

"Here, my lads," he cried out to his yellow-jackets, "take the
capstan--bars in your hands, and work away cheerily; show the boys on
board what you can do. These capstan-bars," he observed significantly,
"would form good weapons in case of need."

His followers took the hint. They possessed themselves of the bars
instantly, and looked to their leader. But Mark saw that it was not
yet the time; the sailors were all on deck, as well as the major and
the steward, who were in the stern of the vessel, and within reach of
the hatchway of the cabin in the lockers of which the arms were
deposited. Besides, it was an important object with them to get the
vessel speedily under weigh, and to contrive to put out to sea, for he
calculated that the authorities at Hobart Town would not be long in
ascertaining their escape from the barracks; and the boat, which would
soon be missed, would make them aware of the object of the absconders.
With these thoughts, he urged his men to put their strength to the
work, and in a few minutes the anchor was apeak, and the vessel under
sail.

"We shall be able to beat up now," said the mate, cheerfully, and
rubbing his hands; "the wind is getting up, and soon we shall have a
stiffish breeze if it holds on."

"We shall never be able to work up with the wind dead against us,"
said the pilot; revolving in his mind some expedient to get the
vessel's head put the other way; "you have come in by the wrong
passage; you ought to have gone round, and made your way up by Storm
Bay."

"An ominous name," observed the major, "for an entrance into a new
country!"

"You have plenty of sea-room there," said the pilot; "and if it does
blow, you can keep off the land; but in these narrow channels, what
with the juttings out of land, and the shoals, and currents running in
all sorts of directions where you least expect them, it is difficult
to get through them with a fair wind--much less with a wind right in
your teeth as this is."

"Perhaps it would save time to go back," said the major, "and make
the other passage?"

"The tide would be against us," said the mate.

"But the wind is against you now," observed the pilot; "and that's
worse, if it should come on to blow hard, and there's every appearance
of it. You see Mount Wellington has put on his nightcap, and that's
always a sign of a gale. But you are too good a seaman," he added to
the mate, "not to know the advantage of having sea-room in a gale of
wind. And it would be a sad thing," he continued, turning to the
major, "for this little vessel to be lost after having come safely all
the distance from the other side of the globe."

The major was struck with the apparent candour and justice of these
observations, and looked at his officer inquiringly. But that clear-
headed and plain-dealing son of the sea could not be made to
understand that the nearest way to a port was to sail away from it. He
sturdily resisted the proposition.

"If the worst comes to the worst," he said, "we can let go the anchor
again, and that will hold us on; even though it should blow great
guns, which, upon my word, looks likely, for the breeze is freshening
up every minute, and I don't like the look of those mares' tails to
windward yonder."

"And how will you get your anchor to hold?" pursued the pilot. "It's
all very well there-abouts," pointing towards the spot from which the
vessel was flying at a rapid rate; "but this channel has scarcely any
anchorage ground, as every one knows; why, most parts of it are paved
with rocks as regular as the Strand in London! You would never get
your anchor to bite--much less hold!"

"We might gain time, after all," said the major to the mate, "by
trying the broader passage; this wind would soon take us out of this
strait; and we should be at the same distance from Hobart Town as we
are now, in a few hours, with a better chance of beating up. How long
does the wind last in this quarter," he asked the pilot, "when it
blows fresh?"

"Three days; always three days; it's as regular as a clock. Every
inhabitant of the colony knows it; it's a sort of proverb among the
towns--people to say, that a thing will last as long as a three days'
spell from Mount Wellington."

"I think we had better take the pilot's advice," said the major; "he
must know best."

"I can't gainsay that he ought to know best in these parts, which he
understands the ways of, and I don't," replied the officer; "but I can
never agree that the shortest way to a port is to go away from it; and
as to this wind--why, it's nothing to what we have gone through
before!" But at this moment, as if to belie the honest seaman's
judgment, and to aid the iniquitous designs of the conspirators, a
furious blast from the north called the attention of all on duty to
the care of the vessel; and the pilot, profiting by the opportunity,
immediately put her before the squall with her head towards the
entrance of the channel. The squall passed over as quickly as it came,
but the pilot still continued his outward course, though not without
the expression of considerable dissatisfaction on the part of the
mate, whose suspicions of the ignorance of the pilot became
strengthened by a course of proceeding so contrary to the worthy
officer's experience in the practice of navigation. But as his
employer, the owner of the vessel, was an assenting party, he
submitted, though with a very ill-grace, giving vent to his
displeasure in a succession of grumblings much resembling the sound of
the north wind, which was roaring and increasing behind them.

Nor were the crew of the vessel better pleased with the proceedings
of the Australian pilot, who, they were not long in detecting, with
that almost instinctive knowledge possessed by sailors of their
brothers of the ocean, had very small pretensions to the name of a
seaman. But as they were only humble subordinates on board, they had
nothing to do but to obey, though the pilot saw by their looks that
they were not in a humour to submit tamely to any overt aggression. He
waited, therefore, patiently, till an opportunity should occur to put
his plan in execution; for it was not until the crew were below, and
his own men conveniently disposed about the hatchway of the
passengers' cabin, that he could hope to get possession of the ship's
arms, and be in a position to command success.

The retrograde course of the vessel, however, inspired a general
gloom over all on board, except those interested in its execution, and
who were anxiously waiting for the signal of their leader to adopt
measures more open and decisive. The sisters felt a vague presentiment
of evil arising from the disappointment of being obliged to recede
from the long-desired haven of their hopes and fears, the encompassing
hills of which were in tantalizing sight; nor could the major divest
himself of a certain feeling of dissatisfaction with himself for
having yielded to the authority of the pilot in opposition to the
opinion of his officer.

But the storm, which rapidly increased, seemed to justify the
pilot's apprehensions, and the major felt ashamed to suspect the
judgment of a man who had so clearly warned him of its coming. The
mate, also, was almost shaken in his opinion; but as the gale
increased, he had no thoughts for anything but the safety of the ship,
which, urged by the furious north wind, made her way rapidly back to
the entrance of the channel, and stood out towards the open sea.



Chapter V. The Pursuit.

IN the mean time the flight of the prisoners had not escaped the
vigilance of the authorities at head-quarters; but it was not until
the discovery of the abstraction of the boat which had been left
unguarded at the further end of Sandy Bay, which lies to the right as
you look from Hobart Town towards the sea, that the party made ready
for the pursuit of the runaways could be put on the right scent.

Thus guided in their search, the pursuing party, consisting of two
constables and a corporal's party of soldiers, embarked in a light
boat made of the aromatic white pine, a wood of peculiar lightness,
which is obtained chiefly by the labours of the convicts at Macquarie
Harbour to the west of the island of Van Diemen, and which is
admirably adapted, from its lightness, elasticity, and toughness, for
the construction of whale-boats. They had four sailors from the
government armed brig to use the oars, and the whole party was well
armed, as well to guard against any attack on the part of the natives,
as to be in an efficient state to contend with the bushrangers, should
they have been able to supply themselves with arms. It seemed that
their business was considered in no ordinary degree of a serious
nature, as the wife of one of the constables accompanied him to the
jetty where the party was to embark, where she took leave of him with
much appearance of affection:--

"You will be making a widow of me, one of these days," said she, "if
you go on these dangerous expeditions; and Mark Brandon is not a man
to be taken alive without a scrimmage."

"Never fear," said her considerate helpmate; "there's plenty of
husbands to be got in Van Diemen's Land; that's some comfort for all
of you. I'll be bound before the end of the week you'll have another."

"A week! you brute! Do you think I don't know what's decent for a
respectable woman to conform to? A year, you mean; that's the regular
mourning; or, at the least, six months, as it's not a regular country,
and only a colony. To be sure, Kitty Flurriman did marry again one
month after her poor man met with his misfortune;--it was a shame to
hang such a good-looking man as he was;--but to think that I would do
such a thing at the end of a month, or even two months!"...What
definite time the lady might have fixed as the ne plus ultra term of
widowhood it is impossible to say, as the boat was now out of hearing.
The conversation, however, on Mark Brandon was continued in the boat.

"Who is this Mark Brandon?" asked the corporal, who was a sub--
officer in the "Buffs," a battalion of which had recently arrived in
the colony.

"Don't you know Mark Brandon?" said the constable with some surprise;
"why, he's as well known here as Dick Turpin in the old country. He is
the most famous bushranger that ever went out. He was pardoned by the
governor only last year, when he was cast for death; but you see,"
said the constable, winking his eye, "there was a lady in the case."

"Oh, ho! handsome fellow, eh?"

"As clean-made and good-looking a fellow as ever you set eyes on.
Here's a description of him in this paper." The constable read from
the list:--

"'Mark Brandon, five feet eleven inches in height; broad-shouldered;
waist slim; foot small; brown hair; blue eyes; fair complexion; his
hands rather white and delicate.' Then here's the description of the
others: 'Roger Grough, James Swindell---'"

"Never mind them just now," said the corporal; "tell us about this
Mark Brandon: what was he lagged for?"

"Smuggling;--at least so they say; but of course you can never get
the truth of what they are sent out for from the prisoners; but I
believe it's the truth in his case."

"That was nothing very bad," remarked the corporal.

"Bad! no: nobody thinks anything of it here. It's only when a fellow
has done anything at home that's unfair and mean, such as murders and
robberies, and such like, that he's looked down on. But as for
smuggling! bless your heart, nobody thinks much the worse of a man
here for that, nor at home neither, so far as I know. What is it? It's
only giving the go--by to the government: Lord love you! what's the
harm of that?"

"How was it, then, that they treated this Mark so bad as to drive him
to take to the bush? Has he been doing anything wrong here?"

"Why, you see, he was assigned when he came over, to a master up the
country; and some of the settlers treat their government men
dreadfully severe, and Mark couldn't stand it; and when his master
threatened him with his cattle-whip one day, he knocked his master
down. He might have got off if he had suffered himself to be taken
before the magistrate, for the settlers are not allowed to strike
their men. But Mark's blood was up, and he took to the bush--that was
more than two year ago--and of course he robbed the settlers' houses
of tea, sugar, and ammunition, and things; but he never shed blood;
only tied people neck and heels together, and things of that sort--
very wrong of course--but not near so bad as some."

"Bad enough, to my thinking."

"Well; he was taken at last, as they all are, sooner or later, and
cast for death; but somehow interest was made with the governor--and
they do say a certain lady had taken a fancy to him--but that's no
business of mine; and so the best was made of his case, how it was,
through the tyranny of his master, that he was driven to take to the
bush; and how civil and polite he was to the settlers that he robbed,
especially the ladies, and so he got off. But they made him work in
chains, and that's what galled him, I dare say. He was not the chap to
stand that any ways."

"And what sort of a man is he?" asked the corporal; "a lady's man?"

"When he has a mind to it, they say, he is the most carnying devil
that ever came over a woman. But he is a most determined fellow for
all that. He will not be taken alive, you may depend upon it; for he
must know he has nothing to expect but to scrag for this last break-
out."

"Of course not: then I suppose we may look out for a tussle." The
soldiers at this mechanically handled their firelocks.

"Are the bushrangers armed?"

"We don't know; but it stands to reason that they never would start
for the bush this way without arms and ammunition; for it's not like
the interior where they might get arms from the settlers; there are no
inhabitants down the river but the natives."

"There goes the signal up!" said the corporal; "some vessel in
sight."

"I see," said the constable; "we may fall in with her, perhaps, when
we get further down the river. But where to look for these fellows?
that's the point! We think they made away with the boat last night,
just after dark, so that they have a good start; but they can hardly
do anything with such a boat at sea, for she was but a small one, and
had nothing in her but her oars. If they are after going round the
coast, they will take the western side, so as to avoid the track of
vessels between this and Sydney; and so we will keep away to the right
towards the channel, and keepand a sharp look-out as we go by."

With this view they hugged the shore on the west, and a breeze soon
after springing up, with the assistance of their sail they made rapid
progress down the river without seeing anything suspicious in their
way. The constable, who had the direction of the party, as the most
experienced among them, was inclined to make a stop after they had
proceeded some way down the channel; but at this moment, in turning
round a projecting point of land, the steersman caught sight of a
vessel in the distance, which was standing across the channel, and
beating her way up under a stiff breeze on the larboard tack; when
suddenly the vessel, which was made out to be a brig, and of small
burthen, was seen to change her course, and under a press of sail,
make her way down the channel.

This strange manoeuvre roused the suspicion of the pursuers of the
runaways, and as their boat was light and fast, they determined to
endeavour to overtake the brig, not without some misgivings that the
cleverness and the daring of the celebrated Mark Brandon had enabled
him to get possession of the vessel.



Chapter VI. The Stratagem.

THE gallant brig had nearly reached the entrance of D'Entrecasteaux'
channel when the squall from Mount Wellington ceased as suddenly as it
rose; and presently the wind was lulled into a calm. The experienced
mate, however, was not to be deceived by this suspicious suspension of
the blast.

"What are we going to have now?" he said to the leader of the
bushrangers, whom, in his capacity of pilot, it was his duty to
consult: "I don't like this lull; they are only getting ready a fresh
hand to the bellows, I fancy. I suppose the wind shifts on this side
of the world much as it does on t'other. I think the bank right
ahead--to the south, yonder--begins to rise."

"You are quite right," replied the supposed pilot; "and with such a
man as you on board you have no need of a pilot; the vessel is quite
safe in your hands: you seem to know the way of the winds in the New
World as well as if you had been born among them. A better seaman I
never...."

"Avast there, mate!" said the honest officer; "you give us too much
of that; why, you have got the gift of the gab like a sea-lawyer! To
be sure this is not the first time I've looked the winds in the face.
But we had better try to put her head about; if it comes on to blow
from the south, it will be a fair wind for us up the channel."

"Better get out," said the pilot, "and have searoom; when it comes
on to blow from the southward it always blows great guns; and this is
a nasty channel to be sticking in--full of shoals and rocks, and
headlands stretching out in every direction."

"You seem to have taken a great dislike to the channel," replied the
mate: "for my part I don't see any great harm in it: and Horseman says
it's good enough if you mind your soundings; and the chart is clear.
What makes you so anxious to get out of it?"

Two or three of the yellow jackets were standing in the fore part of
the vessel near the pilot and the mate during their brief colloquy,
and it struck the worthy officer that there was an expression in their
faces incongruous with their characters; and he thought he observed a
glance of intelligence pass between one of them and their leader. A
vague suspicion crossed the mate's mind; but as there was nothing
definite to give it substance, it passed way for the moment, but
afterwards it recurred to him. As he went aft to take the orders of
the major, he heard a voice, which it seemed to him proceeded from the
same man whose look he had observed, ask in a low tone:--

"Is it time?"

The mate turned round, and gazed inquiringly at the group in the
forecastle.

"Is it time?" he repeated; "time for what?"

"He was asking," replied the pilot, rather hastily, "if it was time
to go about: but I see the major has come on deck; we will consult him
as to what he would like to do with his vessel." Saying this, he went
aft, following the mate.

The sisters were gazing listlessly at the land from which they were
unwillingly receding with the change of tide, and the gallant Mr.
Silliman found it impossible to inspire either of them with those
feelings of mirthful gaiety with which they were accustomed to receive
his assiduities. The major was supporting his youngest daughter by the
arm, as the motion of the vessel from the broken sea rendered it
difficult for her to stand on deck. Helen, on the contrary, stood
erect and alone, with one hand grasping the bulwark, and the other
holding the ship's glass, which she condescended to allow Mr. Silliman
to support at the other end, to keep it steady. The honour of this
position was perfect bliss to that enraptured individual, who made
extraordinary exertions to call into exercise the utmost dexterity of
his sea legs, so that the view of the beautiful Helen might not be
disarranged.

"Do you see anything, Miss Helen?" he ventured to inquire in a tone
of extreme insinuation.

"Nothing but the brim of your ugly hat," replied the lady.

"Bless me! I beg a thousand pardons; it's the rolling of the sea:
there again; I hope I did not hurt you: now do you see anything?"

"I see something. Papa, come and look through the glass just as it is
now. Stand still," she said to Mr. Silliman, "and do try to be steady:
a pretty sailor not to be able to bear the rolling of the ship! Look,
papa, I see something like a swan."

"A swan! my love: then it must be a black one, for all the swans are
black, they say on this side of the earth. A swan! my dear; no it's no
swan, but the sail of a boat that you see, I think.--Mr. Northland,
what do you make of it?"

"A boat with her square-sail up," pronounced the mate, with
professional precision, after taking a brief earnest look at the
object. "She looks like a large whale-boat by her make; but she is too
large for that work,--she is coming down with the tide. What do you
say to it, pilot?"

There was a visible embarrassment, on the part of the supposed pilot,
at this communication. A slight paleness came over his countenance, as
if he was struck with some uncontrollable emotion, and then his face
flushed with excitement. As he looked round with an attempt to appear
unconcerned, he encountered the eye of Helen, which was fixed
steadfastly upon him. He quailed for an instant beneath the
penetrating gaze of that brilliant eye, and, hastily taking the ship's
glass from the mate's hands to cover his confusion, he directed it
towards the object; but his hand trembled, and the glass shook
visibly.

"Rather a shaky hand," remarked the mate to the major, in a whisper;
"but there's no duty on grog in this part of the world."

The whisper of the mate seemed to discompose the pilot a little. He
took his eye from the glass, and searched the countenances of the
bystanders; but seeing nothing in them to alarm, he applied himself
again to his scrutiny of the boat.

While he was so employed, Helen made a sign to her father to come
near her. They moved round to the side of the binnacle, leaving the
pilot, with his back towards them, looking through the glass.

"Papa," said Helen, in a whisper, "I have been watching the
countenance of that man. He changed colour when the mate spoke of the
boat. Depend upon it, there is something about that boat that troubles
him."

"It must be fancy, my love; there can be nothing in the appearance of
a boat to disturb the pilot. It is only fancy."

"Dear papa, it is not fancy. I cannot be mistaken in the countenance
of that man; it is one of the most remarkable I ever saw. I watched
him; and I am sure that the boat in sight has had some powerful effect
on him. He does not look like a man to be moved by a slight cause."

"Well, my dear girl, the shortest way is to ask him.--Pilot," said
the major, addressing the bushranger, "what do you see in that boat to
disturb you?"

"To disturb me!" replied the pilot, regarding the major fixedly. "Why
do you suppose that the sight of that boat disturbs me? What do you
suppose the boat has to do with us--I mean, with me?"

"But what do you think of her?" interrupted the mate, who was a
little out of patience with the lengthened examination of the pilot.
"You have had a pretty long spell at the glass; long enough to make
her out, I'm sure. What do you think of her?"

"I will take another look at her," replied the bushranger, who was
anxious to gain time to enable him to devise some scheme to counteract
the dangerous approach of the boat, which, he had no doubt, had been
despatched after him and his associates by the government authorities;
"I can see her plainer now."

"And what do you make of her?" repeated the mate.

"It's only a boat," replied the bushranger, continuing to look
anxiously through the glass.

"Well, if it's only a boat, there's an end of it," said the mate.
"There's a light air coming from the southward," he said to the major;
"I suppose we may stand up now with the wind in our favour."

"But the tide is against us," observed the pilot, "and if it comes on
to blow--and I don't like the looks of that bank which you first
observed rising yonder--you would find yourself cramped in this narrow
channel."

"I'll never agree to go out of the channel with a fair wind up,"
exclaimed the mate. "Why, friend, you are for not going up the channel
any way! Before, it was the wind that was against us, and then we were
not to go up; and now that we are getting the wind, it is because the
tide is against us that we are not to go up! Beg pardon--no offence
meant; but, to my thinking, you don't want us to go up the channel at
all?"

"The boat is coming nearer," cried out Mr. Silliman, who, as all the
others had done with it, was allowed to use the glass: "I can see it
as plain as can be; and they have taken the sail down, and they are
pulling with all their might, I can see. They have got the tide in
their favour, and they will soon be down on us; we shall hear some
news now! Hurrah!"

The bushranger snatched the glass out of the exulting Mr. Silliman's
hand with an abruptness which made that astonished individual open his
mouth with surprise. With a firm hand, and with a certain air of
determination, he applied the glass to his eye, and directed it to the
still distant boat, which, however, propelled by the oars of the
pursuing party, and assisted by the tide, was rapidly approaching the
brig. Helen had observed the impetuous motion of the pilot, and had
watched his varying countenance as he gazed through the glass.
Prompted by an irresistible impulse, she gave vent to her vague
suspicion of danger, and spoke:--

"Sir," she said to the pilot, "I am sure there is something about
that coming boat which disturbs you. You know something about it, you
do--I am sure you do," she repeated, her eyes kindling, and her cheeks
reddening with excitement. "If there is danger, do not deceive us, but
tell us in time, that we may be prepared for it. Do not suppose," she
said, taking hold of her sister's hand, "that because we are women we
are afraid. We have looked on the dangers of the sea without terror,
confident in our skill and our courage; and we can look without fear
on this new danger--for danger there is, I know, by your look and
manner at this moment, Speak, I say, and let us know at once what the
danger is?"

The spirited words of the heroic girl unfortunately inspired the
bushranger with a happy thought. He seized on the suggestion of danger
from the boat with the readiness of practised dissimulation. Forming
his plan on the instant, he replied without hesitation, and with an
expression of feeling and interest in the welfare of the women which
disarmed suspicion:--

"Major, I fear your gifted daughter is right. I wished to make my
communication when they were gone below; but there is no time to be
lost; and these courageous girls shame us with their spirit. But I
will do justice to their courage! and say at once there is danger....
..."

"Danger!" said the mate, looking about him: "where from?"

"Danger!" repeated the major, in a voice of mingled surprise and
emotion, and clasping his youngest daughter with instinctive
tenderness,--"danger from that boat?"

"Yes," replied the supposed pilot; "and there is no time to lose if
we are to defend ourselves. That boat, I have no doubt, contains the
party of bushrangers that broke away from camp some days ago: the
commandant at the look-out has had notice of them; and their design
must be to endeavour to take this vessel. They are well armed; it is
supposed there are about a dozen of them: and as the villains are
desperate, they will make a determined attack on us. However, I for
one am ready to fight for you; and if you will arm your men, my people
shall work the vessel while they defend us."

"Let it be done at once," said the major. "This is a most unlucky
accident! However, it is fortunate that we have you on board to help
us." So saying, he descended to the cabin in all haste to prepare the
arms and ammunition.

The bushranger, meantime, went forward, as if for the purpose of
giving directions to the party under his control. As he passed his
confederates, he said, in a low firm voice, to each of them:--

"Be ready."



Chapter VII. The Attack.

THE consummate art of the bushranger in proposing that the crew of
the vessel should be armed, while his own men undertook the management
of the vessel, had its intended effect. There was no suspicion on the
part of the major or of his people that the approaching boat was
really in pursuit of the absconded prisoners on board the brig; and
the activity of the supposed pilot in preparing the means of defence
was regarded as corroborating evidence of the danger threatened to the
vessel. All was activity on deck; muskets, pistols, and cutlasses were
brought up from the cabin, and ammunition was disinterred from the
lockers: and the bushranger took care to provide himself amply with
the means of defence or offence, as the case might be.

Still he was well aware that the moment was critical and most
perilous. He was now in the worst position: his confederates were
defenceless; the sailors of the vessel were armed, and prepared to
resist aggression: and the boat, which he had no doubt contained a
government party in pursuit, was coming nearer and nearer every
minute. But with a coolness and courage worthy of a better object, he
bided his time, and waited with patience for the result, which he
calculated must take place when his men attempted to work the vessel.

At this time a brisk breeze had sprung up from the south, which gave
the advantage to the brig over an attacking boat, as it enabled the
vessel to choose her position. The increase of the wind rendered a
corresponding arrangement of the sails necessary; but here the
ignorance and blundering of the supposed pilot's men was too provoking
to be endured by the angry mate:--

"What do you call your fellows?" he broke out to the pilot: "do you
call that chap a sailor? See how he handles a rope! By----! look at
that fellow sticking in the shrouds! There's another creeping through
lubber's hole! That's right, my man, take care of your precious limbs!
Oh! this will never do," he said to the major; "these men will never
work the vessel: such a lubberly set I never set eyes on! There goes
the jib! Hold on there, hold on! By----! you'll have the maintopsail-
yard down by the run. Pilot, hold your men off. What's the use of such
a pack of fools? Keep an eye on the boat, some one, can't you? A
pretty set, that don't know the main-sheet from the topsail-halyards;
and they can't fight! No, not they! I should like to know what they
are fit for?"

"Do you think your men would stand by us?" asked the major, eagerly,
of the pilot; "you see we want our own people to work the vessel."

"Fight!" said the pilot; "they will fight like devils, depend upon
it, when the time comes; but of course you can't expect them to be
used to arms," he added carelessly: "however, they will do their best.
Come aft, my men." They quickly came at the voice of their leader.

"The major says he wants his sailors to work the vessel; and he asks
me if you will stand by us to defend the brig from the bushrangers
coming on to attack us in the boat yonder?"

The diligent Mr. Silliman, who was examining the boat through the
ship's glass, cried out at this moment, "I can see the men in the
boat, and I can see the gleam of some muskets: the boat is full of the
rascals!"

"Make haste, then," said the bushranger; "relieve the sailors of
their arms; and be ready to use them," he said, significantly, "when I
give the word."

The exchange of duties between the sailors and the conspirators was
the work of a minute only; and the crew of the vessel became
immediately busied in trimming the sails and attending to the ship;
while the supposed pilot and his gang stood with arms in their hands,
ready to pounce on their unsuspecting victims.

The bushranger felt that the time had come when he must strike a
decisive blow; but first he ran rapidly over in his head a scheme to
get the major and his chief officer below, in order that the crew,
being deprived of their leaders, might be more easily mastered: his
object was unexpectedly furthered by the officious Mr. Silliman.

"Major," said that bustling individual, as he hurriedly loaded his
musket with an excessively martial air, "would it not be better for
the young ladies to go below? they will only be in our way on deck,
and hinder us from fighting."

"We shall work the better," put in the pilot, "if we are assured that
your daughters, major, are out of the reach of the bullets."

Louisa, who was very pale, assented to this suggestion without reply;
but Helen, who was flushed and excited, remonstrated and resisted. "I
can fire a gun," she said, "as well as any of you; any woman can do
that: and where my dear father is there will I be also:" and saying
this she seized a musket, and held it in the attitude of a heroine
prepared for war.

It required all her father's entreaties and, at last, commands to
induce her to descend into the cabin. The major was obliged to lay
down his weapons and accompany her below. The bushranger saw his
opportunity, but the troublesome Mr. Silliman came breathless to the
entrance of the companion-way, and bawled "Major, major, I can see the
red coats of soldiers in the boat!"

"Soldiers!" said the major; "what can that mean? But they are in my
line; I'll soon be up and give a look at them."

"Mr. Northland," called out the pilot, "the major is asking for you
below; something about the dead-lights, I believe."

"Aye, aye, sir," said the mate, as he ran aft; "look out, pilot, the
boat's upon us;" and by an indescribable process of locomotion, which
sailors alone possess, he dived down below, and his head disappeared
in a twinkling.

The bushranger immediately made a sign to four of his men who were
near him to close the hatchway: it was done in an instant. At the same
time he presented his own musket, which he cocked with an audible
click, at the man at the wheel. Mr. Silliman observed these
extraordinary manoeuvres, which altogether exceeded his nautical
experience, with inexpressible astonishment; but before he had time to
make up his mind what to do, he was seized by two of the bushrangers,
disarmed, and on his resisting, with the courage of desperation, their
attempt to bind his hands and feet, was without ceremony pitched into
the sea.

"That was wrong," said Mark Brandon, quietly; "never take life if you
can avoid it: but the boat will pick him up; and after all, perhaps,
he was of no great value."

In the mean time, the carpenter, who was a cool and determined
fellow, with three of the crew, armed themselves with the capstan-
bars, resolved to resist, though unable to make out the reason or
object of the sudden attack on them by the pilot and his followers;
but the bushranger, rushing forward with four of his fellows,
presented their muskets; and the sailors, taken unawares and in
amazement at the suddenness and strangeness of the proceeding, and
seeing, besides, that resistance was hopeless, quietly surrendered.
The rest of the crew were as easily brought under subjection, and,
having been bound hand and foot, were placed singly in convenient
places below, and in less than ten minutes the vessel was in the
possession of the marauders.

"Now, my men," cried out Mark Brandon, "a cheer for liberty!" His
associates raised a wild hurrah, which conveyed to the inmates in the
cabin the information that the vessel was overpowered; but by whom or
how was a mystery! The mate put his head out of the stern window, but
the bushranger was too well on his guard to permit such an escape;
and, meeting the muzzles of two muskets close to his face, the enraged
officer was obliged to retreat, though not without venting his
discontent in a vigorous volley of nautical abjurations.

Mark Brandon now took the helm, and, making a gesture of defiance
with his fist at the still distant boat, he immediately turned the
vessel's head back again towards the south; and, under all the sail
that she could carry, the captured brig making short tacks stood out
to sea.



Chapter VIII. Information.

THE unfortunate Mr. Jeremiah Silliman made more philosophical
reflections during his rapid evolution from the deck of the brig to
the waters of the sea, than had ever occurred to him in the whole of
his previous life. The first dreadful thought that presented itself to
him was that he could not swim! but before he could give vent in words
to the novel sensations which assailed him he found himself plunged
under the waves, and descending beneath them with a velocity
proportionate to his specific gravity and the precipitancy of his
descent. As he felt himself hurrying down to those abodes, which in
the poetical simplicity of his imagination he had been wont to picture
as the dwelling-place of sea--nymphs with green gauze robes and coral
necklaces, but which he now contemplated with affright as abounding in
enormous crayfishes and voracious ground-sharks, deeply and
energetically did he lament that his love of the romantic had led him
away from the peaceful haunts of Cheapside and Cornhill to the
villainous shores of Botany Bay; and much did he marvel at the
disagreeableness of his reception into the bosom of the land of his
adoption.

Such and so sad were the curious reflections which were suddenly
forced on him by the novelty of his situation; and still he went down
and down, as it seemed to him, and deeper and deeper still, till his
thoughts became confused, and he felt a cold, fishy sensation, as if
he had became partially transformed into the semblance of a scaly
inhabitant of the deep; gradually his feelings became blunted; his
last thoughts were of the brig from which he had been unceremoniously
cast, and the bright eyes from which he was for ever separated,--even
in the last moment he could not make up his mind which he preferred--
and then the dimness of death came over him;--he mentally uttered a
fragment of a prayer, and all was oblivion!

The party in the boat, however, had not failed to notice the
summerset involuntarily performed by the luckless individual in
question: and the occurrence, indicating that violence was going on in
the brig, confirmed the suspicion to which the unaccountable changes
in her course had given rise,--that the bushrangers had got possession
of the vessel.

"There's bloody work going on, I'm thinking, on board that craft,"
said the constable, who was sitting with his face towards the head of
the boat. "I saw one chap pitched overboard plain enough: I wonder
which party he belonged to."

"Give way, my men," cried the corporal, standing up in the boat, and
looking through a glass with which he was provided. "I can see the
body, it has come to the surface of the water; it's not above half a
mile from us. Give way--stick to your oars--and we shall save him yet,
whoever he is!"

The men bent stoutly to their oars, and in a few minutes, the tide
being in their favour, they shot up alongside of the floating body,
which they caught just as it was sinking for the last time. The
lifeless corpse as it seemed, was quickly hauled into the boat, and a
brief consultation was held as to the best means to be adopted for its
recovery.

"Nothing better than a bit of salt beef," suggested an old sailor:
"rub it well in; I know it recovered a man off Yarmouth--at home--that
had been in the water more than four hours: the salt, you see, rouses
him up, if there's any life in him."

"This is not one of the bushrangers," pronounced the constable, as
they stripped off the clothes from the drowned man in order to give
him the benefit of the salt beef recipe prescribed by the old sailor;
"this must be one of the people of the vessel; he looks like a sailor
by his dress, but his hands are too smooth for that; perhaps he's a
passenger."

"Rub away, my hearties," urged the sea-doctor; "rub it into him, and
if there's any life left, the beef will fetch it out."

The body of the unconscious Jeremiah was excoriated accordingly,
secundum artem (salsi junki), the boat continuing its pursuit of the
vessel nevertheless, as the surmises of the officials were confirmed
by the appearance of the body which they had rescued from the water.
At last, after a prodigious quantity of rubbing, which reduced the
person of the apparently deceased to a substance closely resembling
the material which was made use of as a flesh-brush, signs of warmth
were observed in the body, and presently a sigh was ejaculated which
indicated returning sensibility. The progress of the boat was
suspended for a few minutes at this interesting success of the old
mariner's surgical operation, and the attention of all was directed to
foster the breath of returning life which the stranger now exhibited.
The result was speedily favourable;--the man, rescued from death, sat
up, and looked around him.

"How do you find yourself, my hearty?" said the corporal; "you have
had a narrow escape."

The stranger stared at him unmeaningly.

"Who are you?" asked the constable, anxious to ascertain the
condition of the vessel, and to learn some tidings of the bushrangers;
"what's your name, and who are you?"

But the intellects of the poor man had been too much obfuscated by
the salt water, to say nothing of the subsequent scarification to
which he had been subjected, to understand where he was, or what had
happened to him.

"Can't you tell us who you are?" repeated the constable, impatient to
get at some information for his guidance; "what are you?"

"A freeman of London, and a liveryman," answered Jerry, his mind
wandering to former scenes.

"His wits are a wool-gathering," said the constable.

"It's the water that's swamped 'em," said the ancient mariner; "salt
water grog's poor stuff at any time, 'specially without the rum: and
this cove has had too much of it for one bout."

"What are you, and who do you belong to?" repeated the constable,
giving the reviving man a little shake in his impatience.

"The Chandlers' Company," replied Jerry; "and so did my father before
me. I'm a freeman, I say--and a liveryman; and if I don't shoot the
centre arch of Battersea bridge...."

"What company did he say he belonged to?" asked the corporal, "the
Chandlers'? He means Captain Chandlers!--Ask him what regiment? And he
said something about shooting; I can't make it out at all."

"It's not that," said the constable; "but he seems plucking up a bit.
How is it now with you, my man? We have saved you from drowning. Who
was it that chucked you overboard from the brig yonder? Have the
bushrangers got possession of the vessel?"

The word "bushrangers" seemed to strike some responsive chord in the
bewildered man's memory.

"Bushrangers!" said he, "bushrangers! Ah, that's it! The bushrangers
have got me, and now I'm done for!"

"No, no," said the corporal; "we are not bushrangers: look at our red
coats; we are soldiers going after the bushrangers. Look here, man,
bushrangers don't keep their arms bright like ours. Can't you tell the
difference between a bushranger and a gentleman in his Majesty's
service? Look at our firelocks; bushrangers can't show such tools as
these!"

By degrees, the recovered Jeremiah began to understand what had
happened to him, and the character of the party who had saved him from
drowning. He was excessively rejoiced at his fortunate escape, and
vowed manfully that if he could only come across that insinuating
rascal of a pilot, he would serve him out for his ungenteel behaviour.
He narrated all the events that had happened; how the chief of the
gang had introduced himself on board as a pilot; the plot which he had
schemed to get his confederates into the vessel; and the art with
which he had contrived to transfer the arms of the sailors to his own
followers, under the pretence of leaving the crew of the brig at
liberty to manage the vessel in the approaching encounter with the
boat which the major was made to believe contained the runaway
prisoners who actually were on board all the time.

"By George!" said the constable, "that is Mark Brandon all over! That
man would circumvent the very devil himself! It's impossible to be up
to all his dodges! But what's to be done now? The wind's getting up,
and that's all in favour of the rascals on board the brig. How many
did you say there were with Mark?"

"Six others," replied Jerry. "And now I recollect we all thought them
most desperate-looking ruffians: but that Mark Brandon, as you call
him, is quite a genteel person; there doesn't seem to be much harm in
him."

"Didn't he chuck you overboard?" asked the corporal.

"No; it was two other chaps. Mark, as you call him, was standing by
the man at the wheel with a cocked musket presented at his head."

"Just like him!" said one of the sailors; "that's their way. Somehow,
all the bushrangers take to the same ways. When they attack a man they
make him throw his arms above his head, and then they stick the muzzle
of a fowling-piece, or a musket, if they have one--but they don't like
muskets, they are so heavy to carry about--close to his ear; and then
what can a man do? No pleasant thing, I can assure you; I have felt it
myself."

"But what's to be done," repeated the constable; "are we to attempt
to attack the bushrangers in the brig with this boat? Let us see;--how
many are we? Four at the oar--two of us constables, and the corporal
with his two men--that's nine; and with the new comer, ten against
seven: we can do it easily, corporal."

"If we could only get at them fairly, we could do it," replied the
corporal; "but the odds would be against us with a vessel under sail:
they could fire on us from the protection of the sides of the vessel;
and four of our party at least would have to use their oars. There
ought to have been more of us."

"There are more of the bushrangers," replied the constable, "than
were reckoned on in camp to have made their escape; it was supposed
that only Mark and two others had gone off: but half a dozen, with
Mark Brandon at the head of them, is a formidable party--and all well-
armed too!"

"There will be the major's party on board, as this gentleman says, to
help us; and, as the major has seen service, he would know how to
second us if it came to a brush."

"Lord bless you!" replied the constable, "you don't suppose the
bushrangers will be troubled with the crew of the vessel; bless your
heart! they'll get rid of'em in no time."

"What, murder them in cold blood!"

"Ay, any way: why their rule is, never to give away a chance: depend
upon it there's not one of the crew left alive at this moment."

"What! nor the old major neither!" exclaimed the corporal, his
professional sympathies excited for the fate of an officer; "will they
kill the major, think you?"

"Have killed him," said the constable; "they have killed him, I'll be
bound. You're new in the colony, corporal, and don't know the ways of
these fellows: they make short work of it when it serves their plan to
do so. Do you think they would keep a witness alive to hang them?"

"But the young ladies!" interposed Jeremiah; "the poor major's
daughters! They would never kill them! They couldn't be such brutes as
to kill two young girls!"

"Are they pretty?--though that would not matter much with
bushrangers:--but are they pretty?"

"Both," replied Jeremiah, "very beautiful; the elder one--that's
Helen--she's about eighteen; she is very handsome: and Louisa--she's
about sixteen; she's very beautiful: I don't know which is the
handsomest of the two; but Helen is the spirited one."

"Then Mark will take her, and the rest will cast lots for the other;
so they will be saved--likely. The spirited gal would be just Mark's
taste."

"Better be both dead than suffer that fate," said the kind-hearted
Jeremiah. "I'm sure Louisa would die, and Helen would kill herself, at
the thoughts of it! But I say, corporal, you will never let those
rascals murder and go on that way without making an effort to save
them! I'm sure those ill-looking sneaking ruffians would never fight
if it came hand to hand."

"That's the difficulty," said the corporal: "if it was hand to hand
we could manage them, because we could fire three times to their once;
besides our being steady and used to handle our arms."

"There will be no fight hand to hand, or any way," said the
constable, as a violent blast from the southward nearly overset the
boat, "if it comes on to blow, as it looks likely, I think our best
plan is to get under shelter in some creak somewhere, for I think we
are going to have a regular hurricane from the south by the look of
those clouds rising up yonder like blocks of black wool."

The attention of all in the boat was now peremptorily directed to
their own safety, as the wind rose and the storm increased to fury.
The same squall was observed to assail the brig, now dimly seen
through the murky atmosphere. In a short time the sky was enveloped in
darkness, as the gathering winds prepared from the thick curtains of
the clouds to expend their rage on the agitated waters.



Chapter IX. The Summons.

MARK BRANDON, by one of the most daring stratagems in the annals of
piracy, had got possession of a vessel admirably adapted for his
purpose, and the crew, bound hand and foot, were stowed away here and
there in convenient places; but still he felt he was not quite secure;
the major and the mate were unbound; and, although confined in the
cabin, and unable by themselves to cope with seven desperate men, it
was possible for them to be dangerous; and the bushranger had too much
experience in the power and resources of even a single man not to be
alive to the possibility of the escape, and the successful resistance
of two determined spirits--the one having at stake his pride and
reputation as the chief officer of a ship, and the other urged by the
still more powerful feeling of a parent struggling for the
preservation of the life and honour of his daughters. Filled with
these thoughts, but attending anxiously at the same time to the course
of the vessel, he turned over in his mind a scheme to entice the
officer on deck, and to neutralise the hostility of the major. The
increasing storm favoured his project.

In the mean time the parties in the cabin were a prey to the most
agonising anticipations.

"This takes one all aback!" said the mate, quite confounded by the
unexpected aggression of the pilot and his followers. "Many a rum go
have I been witness to; but this beats all! Who are these fellows? I
never liked the look of that soft jawing pilot and his men, as they
called him. And all the arms are on deck. This is what I call being
thorough done!"

"I am afraid," said the major, "that the case is too clear; in
short, we have been deceived all along; and this sham pilot is some
desperate man with his gang endeavouring to escape from the island."

"By George," said the mate, slapping the table with an energy which
at any other time he would have considered an unpardonable breach of
good manners in the state cabin, and in the presence of ladies, too;
"that's it; and that accounts for the rascals shying the up-passage,
and trying to get out of the channel with every tide, and with every
wind that blew! That's it! we're hard up! and we shall have all to
walk the plank, every one of us; I know what that game is in the West
Indies! But it's hard for you, Miss Helen, and for you, Miss Louisa:
it dosen't matter for the like of me; it all goes in the day's work,
as sailors say: but for you--" and here the worthy mate gave the table
a tremendous thump with his fist in the excess of his emotion. The
sound was echoed from the outside of the cabin window from the nozzle
of a musket.

"What's that?" cried out Louisa alarmed.

"That's a summons, Miss," said the mate.

"Better not to frighten you, but I suppose they want us to walk the
plank; not you, perhaps," he added, "nor your sister; but me and your
papa. Major," he said, turning to their father, "you don't mean to
give in without a struggle?"

"What can we do?" said the major; "we are unarmed: better make terms
for the girls."

"Better drown them at once," said the honest seaman, having before
his eyes the scenes of horror which he had seen and known in the seas
prolific of piracy in the West Indies; no use mincing the matter. "If
they were sisters of mine, I know what I would do."

Helen calmly rose at these words: she first kissed her father, and
then her sister, and then extending her hand to the mate, she shook it
warmly. Without speaking, her gestures sufficiently intimating her
intention, she sought in the steward's locker for a large table-knife:
she selected one with a point, tried its sharpness, deliberately with
her finger, and placed it in her girdle; she then resumed her place by
the side of her father.

Louisa observed her proceedings with trembling interest. When the
high-minded Helen took her hand in her's she shuddered convulsively,
and placing the other hand before her eyes, as if to shut out at once
the peril with which she was threatened, and the aspect of the
Lucretian death meditated by her sister, she threw herself into the
arms of her father. The major embraced her with despairing tenderness;
the tears ran down his manly cheeks; and he lifted up his head to
heaven as if he would pierce through the obdurate deck in his mental
appeal for succour. But the action of the heroic Helen suggested other
thoughts to the mind of the hardy mate:--

"Major," he said, "Miss Helen shames us men. There are weapons
still," pointing to the knife appended to Helen's side; "and they may
stand us in good stead at a pinch. Let us do our best to defend the
cabin from an attack from without, and trust to chance for the rest.
How the vessel pitches, poor thing! Those fellows don't know how to
handle her--and the wind blows stronger and stronger every minute.
That top--gallant mast will be sprung as sure as fate, if they don't
look alive! But what does it matter what becomes of the masts, or the
sails, or the gear, or any thing? we shan't live long to see the ruin
that's coming on this prime little brig that I've brought over from
the other side of the globe, safe and sound! Well, it will be all the
same a hundred years hence! They are knocking at the window again, as
if they were determined to have an answer this time."

A voice was at this moment heard:--

"Below there!"

"Ay, ay," said the mate, answering with professional promptitude.
"What the devil do you want with us?" he added, raising his voice;
"can't you let us be quiet?"

"The captain wants to speak with the major."

"And who the devil's the captain?"

"Mark Brandon."

"And who is Mark Brandon? One of the rascally convicts, I suppose,
escaped from gaol?"

"He will soon let you know who he is if you give us any of your
sauce. Look out of your stern windows at the sea beneath you; plenty
of ground sharks at the bottom;--do you understand that?"

"Major," said another voice from the top of the companion-ladder,
which they instantly recognised as Mark Brandon's, "the ship is in
danger, and you and your daughters will be lost if something is not
done for the management of the vessel."

"Ah, ha!" cried the mate, "it is come to that, is it?"

"If we let you free will you pledge your word of honour not to make
any attempt against us? You are a soldier and a gentleman; and I know
if you pledge your honour you will keep your word."

"Do it," whispered the mate, "if you do make a promise with such
rascals, you need not keep it."

"And my daughters," asked the major, "what do you say of them?"

"If you can trust to my word," replied Mark Brandon, "they shall
remain in this cabin, and be respected. Our only object is to leave
the colony, and regain our liberty: that done, we have no desire to do
violence to any one. But you must decide quickly."

"Don't let him come in, papa," said Louisa.

"Trust him," said Helen; "we are in his power; and if there is a
spark of generosity in the man it can be kindled into goodness only by
confidence: trust him."

The major hesitated; the danger was imminent: on the one side was
certain death in case of unavailing resistance; on the other, the
possibility of good treatment if the leader of the bushrangers were
not thwarted in his object. Besides, there was hope in
procrastination:--"Perhaps after all," he said to the mate, "the only
object of these men is to effect their escape; and it is quite clear
that they cannot navigate the vessel by themselves. We must bend to
circumstances. Pacifying measures are always the best for the weaker
party. Will you promise to do no violence to the mate?" he asked of
the bushranger.

"I promise not to take his life," replied Mark Brandon through the
door.

"Shall we trust him," said the major to his officer, "or shall we
sell our lives dearly?"

"I don't see how we are to help ourselves," replied the mate; "and it
will be something to save the vessel, for with the wind that is raging
outside, these fellows will never be able to keep her off the land."

"What is the alternative if we refuse?" asked the major, still
hesitating.

"Death!" replied the bushranger: "it is our lives or yours; we do not
want to take yours, nor to harm you unnecessarily; but if it must be
one or the other, you cannot expect us to sacrifice our own. My object
is to save the vessel."

"He's right in that, at any rate," said the mate; "that's the first
thing to be looked to; for if the vessel goes down we all go down with
her--that's certain. Take him at his word, major; we can do no better:
'and needs must,' as the saying is, 'when the Devil drives.'"

"I promise," said the major.

"I cannot pay you a higher compliment than to trust to your honour,
major," said Mark Brandon, undoing the barricading of the door, at the
entrance of which he appeared with two of his men with their muskets
cocked and levelled at the parties within. Louisa screamed, and Helen
put her hand on her weapon. "Now, sir, if you please, you may come
out."

His daughters clung to him instinctively, but Helen presently
loosened her grasp; Louisa, however, would not relax her hold, but
begged and prayed him, with the wildest grief, to remain to protect
them. The mate, anxious to get on deck to take a survey of matters on
board, passed up the ladder, and was instantly seized by four of the
conspirators, who in a moment bound him hand and foot, and placed him
by the wheel.

"If your father prefers remaining below," said Mark Brandon,
courteously, to Helen, "he is quite at liberty to do so; at the same
time he may come on deck when he pleases: but as the waves are high,
and as we have shipped several seas already, I think it will be more
agreeable to you to close the hatchway;" and so saying he closed the
door, and turned his attention to the prostrate mate, who, with a
storm of oaths outrivalling in ferocity even the fierceness of the
increasing storm, was cursing the bushranger and his gang:--

"You precious infernal rascal!--this was your promise, was it? I
thought you said you would do me no harm?"

"And I have done you no harm," replied the bushranger. "I promised
not to take your life, and I will keep my promise. But I did not
promise not to bind you, to keep you from doing harm to yourself and
to others. And now, my friend, what do you say? will you help us to
save the vessel, or shall it be a short prayer and a long plunge to
see what the sharks will say to you?"

"Do what you like, you rascally, lying, lubberly sneak--do what you
like; I'll do nothing for you with my hands bound this way. You and
your villainous gang may go to the bottom, and your souls to--that is,
if your friend there will take you in; but two of a trade, they say,
never agree--so there must be some place made on purpose to hold such
a rascal as you! I only wish I had my hands free, and a marline spike
in one of them--you should not be grinning at me in that cool way."

"Well, my friend," replied Mark, "there's no time to lose; you must
make up your mind at once. Roger and Dick," he said to two of his men,
"put your muskets to his head." The men obeyed promptly.

"What do you say now?"

"I won't;--while my hands are bound I'll do nothing."

"Cock your muskets," said their leader to his men.

There are few things more disagreeable than the click of the lock of
a musket, when the muzzle of it is placed close to your head by a
hostile party; but the mate was firm.

"Are you ready?" said Mark.

"Yes," said the men, with their fingers on the triggers.

"What do you say now? in one moment you will have the contents of
those pieces through your brains."

"Fire away," said the mate.

"Stay," said Mark Brandon.

Knowing well the habitual horror which sailors have of drowning and
of sharks, and their superstitious dread of remaining unburied after
death, he thought he would try another method.

"The shortest way," he said, "will be to throw him overboard. Take
him up and heave him over the taffrail, and then there will be an end.
Now, my men--one, two, three.--Have you nothing to say to stop them,"
he said to the mate, who, with hands and legs tied and bound tightly
together, was utterly incapable of the slightest resistance--"have you
nothing to say to stop them?"

At this moment a tremendous sea struck the little bark, and the
main--top-mast, with a crash, came rattling down, encumbering the deck
with its ruins. The mate and his executioners were nearly washed
overboard; but high above the din and the roar of the elements the
mate's voice was now heard:--

"Unbind me," he cried out, "and I promise to save the ship. You will
all be lost, and this tight little brig, that I have brought so far,
will go down with you all."

"You will promise, then, not to make any attempt to regain the
vessel," said Mark Brandon, preserving his coolness in the midst of
the confusion around him.

"I will promise anything," said the mate, "only let me save the
vessel. There's another sea coming! Starboard the helm, or it will be
upon us."

A monstrous sea burst over them, doing fresh damage, and adding to
the confusion and danger. Mark Brandon, seeing that the case was
desperate, and trusting to the instinct of the seaman to abandon all
other thoughts than that of saving the vessel, at once cut the cords
which tied him, and the mate, starting to his legs, immediately rushed
to the wheel and assumed the command of the vessel.



Chapter X. The Storm.

THE storm raged; and the shattered ship, pitching and reeling under
the influence of the roaring wind and raging sea, was driven with
desperate speed towards a projecting promontory on the western side of
the channel. The voice of the sturdy mate was heard above the
shrieking of the tempest, but in vain; the terrified followers of the
bushranger, unused to wage war with the elements, were utterly useless
in the extremity. It was in vain that their leader exerted himself
with almost preternatural energy, and endeavoured to rouse the
exertions of his men: they were not sailors; and they had neither the
bravery to dare, nor the skill to execute, the feats of seamanship
which were necessary to give them a chance of escaping the perils of
the storm.

"We shall never save the ship with these fellows," said the mate to
the bushranger, the urgency of the danger drawing into momentary
fellowship two minds, though belonging to different characters, of
kindred courage; "if you don't let my own blue jackets free, the ship
is a lost ship."

"Can I trust them?" said the bushranger, balancing the two perils in
his mind, and at a loss to decide to which to give the preference.

"Trust them! You may trust them to save the ship--at least to do
their best for it;--every sailor will do that: as to the rest, that is
another matter, and you must look out for yourself; that's fair and
above-board, at any rate, Mr.----Pilot!"

Mark Brandon was not a man to give way under difficulty: with a firm
mind he rapidly compared the two dangers, and, with the decision of a
bold one, he determined on giving liberty to the crew. Without
hesitation, he directed his men to unbatten the fore hatchway, and to
release from the hold the sailors who were confined there. This was a
matter by no means of easy execution; but at the expense of shipping
much water it was effected, and the liberated sailors gladly jumped on
deck. The bushranger directed his men to retain their arms, and
endeavour to keep them from the wet to guard against a surprise; but
the seamen, cheered by the voice of their officer, and in a moment
conscious of the extreme danger of the vessel, thought only of their
duties, and of saving themselves from shipwreck, leaving the
bushrangers to keep guard as they could or as they pleased, and paying
no other attention to them than to tell them to get out of their way.

It is not to be supposed that the noise of the raging wind, and the
confusion caused by the fallen mast, had passed unnoticed by the
parties in the cabin. The major wished to go on deck; but Louisa clung
to him with so tenacious a grasp, and the uncertainty of the nature of
his reception by the bushrangers was so great, that the father yielded
to the entreaties of his youngest daughter, and remained below. But
when he heard and recognised the familiar voices of his own sailors
battling with the thunder of the storm, he ventured to raise his head
above the companion ladder.

A washing of the waves drove him quickly back, at the same time that
it deluged the cabin. By taking advantage of a lull, he again essayed
to emerge from his place of security, and to his amazement beheld his
vessel apparently in the possession of his own people, and his officer
at the wheel, issuing his commands as usual, for the management of the
ship. He quickly joined him, though it was with difficulty he was
enabled to make good his footing.

"What chance is there," he asked, "of saving the vessel?"

"Very little; you see we are a mere wreck; there's scarcely a rag of
sail left: we are driving before the wind on that point of land that
you may see yonder through the haze. Our only chance is getting a soft
berth to bump on; but that chance is very small, for most of this
coast seems rocky. It won't be long, however, before we shall know our
fate. These rascally lubbers of bushrangers have done for the poor
brig. Serve 'em right, for pretending to know how to take care of a
vessel they knew nothing about. More fools they for binding with
fetters those who might have saved them: and now they see what they've
got by it."

"Had I not better prepare the girls for what is to happen?" said the
major, his mind borne down for the moment by the extent of his
disaster; his gallant vessel lost, his property presently to be
scattered to the waves, and his children's lives and his own in
imminent peril!

"I hardly know what is best to be done," replied the sturdy seaman,
almost subdued by the danger of the ship, and the thought of the
women: "but better let 'em stay below till the shock comes; they
couldn't hold on here."

"Could the boat be of any use?" asked the major, in a sort of
despair.

"It was washed overboard a quarter of an hour ago. But look at the
raging sea around us! Do you think a boat could live in such a sea as
that? If our own vessel--poor thing!--wasn't as good a sea-boat as
ever swam, it never would live in such a whirlpool as it's in now! I
wonder what has become of the boat that we saw coming, before the wind
caught us:--gone to the bottom, I fear, long ago!"

"And the people in that boat, perhaps, were our deliverers," said
the major. "Good God! that land seems fearfully close! Is there no way
to save ourselves?"

"Look out for a soft place," replied the mate, with a grim smile, for
he knew full well that the death-struggle of the gallant little ship
was at hand. "The sea refuses to keep us, so we must needs trust to
the land; though I must say it doesn't look very smiling at us."

As he spoke, the impetuous winds seemed to gather up their strength
for a final effort to hurl the devoted ship on the expectant rocks;
but at this moment the watchful mate, as cool in the moment of danger
as if the vessel was within view of the windmill at Gravesend, caught
sight of a break in the cliff, forming a little creek or armlet of the
sea: with a vigorous hand he directed the ship's course to the
opening, and in another minute, by an instantaneous and seemingly
miraculous change, the shattered brig, with a sudden turn, found
itself floating on the smooth surface of a little bay sheltered from
the wind and the waves. The vessel glided slowly towards a grassy
bank, and, gently touching it, remained stationary.

For a brief space every man on board held his breath with joy and
surprise at an escape from the horrors of shipwreck which struck them
as something supernatural! But presently the consciousness of the
unsafe position of either party called into fresh activity the
energies of both to guard against the aggression of each other; and,
before the major had time to congratulate his daughters on the
extraordinary preservation of the brig, the bushranger summoned his
men to his side, and assumed an offensive attitude, while the seamen,
hastily clutching at any materials within their reach which might
serve for weapons, gathered together in a body, and stood in defiance
of the threatening muskets of their opponents, and, with the stern
determination of revenge depicted on their worn and hardy
countenances, turned their eyes to their officer for directions in the
new emergency.

At this moment a column of thick smoke, as if from damp wood newly
fired, was observed to rise from the other side of a low hill bare of
trees. Mark Brandon seemed struck with a sudden thought at this
indication of other parties being near at hand. In his own mind he
feared that the fire had been kindled by the people in the boat, who,
he felt sure, were in pursuit of himself and his companions. Aware
that if his conjecture was right the reports of fire-arms would
quickly bring his enemies upon him, he stood before his men, and
repressing their preparation to fire by a gesture of his arm, he
directed his voice to the major, who was standing on one side,
restrained by his promise from taking part in the threatened conflict,
and filled with hope that the result would be favourable, even against
the superior weapons of the bushrangers, to the injured party.

"Major," said Mark Brandon, in the clear, cool, and articulate voice
for which he was so remarkable, "I see that you can keep your promise
like a soldier and a man of honour; and you shall see that I will keep
mine. Do you see that smoke yonder? That smoke proceeds from the body
of natives on the coast--the most numerous and the most savage of all
the mobs on the island! If we weaken our force by fighting with each
other we shall become an easy prey to them."

"Gammon!" said the mate.

"I do not wish to be devoured by those wretches," replied the
bushranger, without being in the slightest degree moved by the
contemptuous expression of the mate: "nor do I suppose the major there
would like to see his daughters torn limb from limb, and chucked on
that fire that the black devils have kindled yonder, and eaten before
his face."

"Gammon!" repeated the mate.

"That would be a fate," continued Mark, "too dreadful to contemplate.
And therefore, I say, let us forget for a while our own quarrel, and
join together to resist the attack of the natives."

"But we are not sure that they are natives," replied the major.

"Suppose it is the party that we saw in the boat coming after us,"
said the mate--"the party that you persuaded us were bushrangers or
pirates, or whatever you may like to call them; then, you know, there
would be no danger from them. I propose that two of us--that is, one
from each side, should go and find out; and in the mean time we will
agree to a truce till our messengers come back."

"Agreed!" said Mark. "I will go for one on my side, and you for one
on the other."

"I can't help thinking," said the mate to the major, in a whisper,
"that he is hatching some mischief or other; but he will find me wide
awake."

While the mate communicated this suspicion to his commander, Mark
Brandon gave some directions to his followers; and then the bushranger
and the officer set out together, each keeping a wary watch on the
other to prevent surprise or treachery.



Chapter XI. The Bushranger's Generous Confidence in the Mate.

MARK BRANDON had a very disagreeable suspicion that the smoke which
had been observed on the other side of the hill, proceeded from the
party in pursuit, who had taken advantage of one of the little creeks
or inlets with which that part of the coast abounded, to shelter
themselves from the storm.

The fire was not likely to have been kindled by natives; for, so far
as their haunts were known, they were not in the habit of making that
part of the island the place of their temporary habitation, as from
its exposure to the cold and boisterous winds of the south, and from
the greater part of its surface being scrub and rock, kangaroos were
scarce, and opossums by no means plentiful; neither was the gum which
forms so large a part of the food of the natives, to be found there in
sufficient quantities to make it an eligible place of encampment, as
the mimosa, from which it is obtained, does not thrive in bleak and
exposed situations.

The chance in his favour of its being the natives who had lighted
that fire, Mark Brandon felt was so small, that nothing but his own
eager desire that it might be so, could prompt him to cherish the
hope. On the other hand, if it was the party in pursuit who had
landed, then indeed his position was most critical and dangerous.
There was the vessel lying in a basin from which it was impossible to
extricate it against a contrary wind; the present storm, which still
raged, might last, perhaps, for some days; and the sailors who
composed the crew were at liberty, and prepared to resist any new
aggression to the death.

It was true that his own men were in possession of all the fire-
arms, which gave them a decided superiority; but still the struggle
would be a doubtful one; and the reports of the muskets during the
contest, would be sure to give information to those in pursuit of him
and his followers, should it turn out as he feared, that the smoke
which had been observed, proceeded from a fire made by the party in
the boat; and it was not to be supposed that they would neglect to
keep a good look-out in the direction where the vessel might be
expected to be visible.

The bushranger revolved all these thoughts in his mind, and in vain
sought for a way out of his difficulty: for once, his ingenuity was at
fault; he could devise no plan of escape; he found himself in a "dead
fix." But still, while there was life there was hope; and he thought
that if he could get rid of the sturdy mate who strode by his side,
and who, he observed, kept a close watch on him, he might have a
better chance of succeeding in any ulterior operations.

The bushranger carried a double-barrel fowling-piece, strong in the
stock, and the mate had in his hand a drawn ship's-cutlas. Mark
measured the distance with his eye which separated the buttend of his
piece from the back of the mate's head; he calculated that he might
swing the fowling-piece round by a quick and vigorous movement, and,
without noise, rid himself of his inconvenient companion by a single
blow. With his accustomed caution, his hands mechanically following
out the thought which had suggested itself, he thought it right to
remove the risk of the piece discharging itself from the shock. He
stopped, therefore, for a moment on the precipitous hill which they
were descending, and opening the pans of the locks, shook out the
primings and let down the hammers.

"What do you do that for?" asked the mate, surprised at the
proceeding; "is that the way to be ready for the natives? Why, they
may be on us before you have time to prime again."

"This is rather an awkward place to scramble down," replied Mark,
with an air of polite concern, and pointing to the gulf below them;
"you see, if I was to chance to have a tumble, my piece might go off
and lodge its lead where it was not intended to go--in my body, or,
perhaps, in yours, friend."

"Humph!" said the mate, ejaculating a sea-grunt, which at the same
time served as a vent to his own feelings, and conveyed to his
companion the intimation that he was not to be gammoned by Mark's
blarney about his excessive care for the mate's valuable person;--"he
means something now, by that move," he said to himself; "but whatever
it is he's up to he'll find me wide awake."

Shall I shoot him, thought Brandon:--no; the report of the piece
would be heard by both parties--by the vessel's people, and by the
soldiers; it must be done some other way; but he keeps out of my
reach, as if he suspected the trick:--I must try another game.

By this time they had descended into a deep and narrow gulley:
looking up, they saw before them a sharp and abrupt hill to climb,
interspersed here and there with low shrubs and irregular masses of
pointed rocks and stones. The bushranger guessed at once the sort of
country they had lighted on, which was a succession of abrupt stony
hills like the huge waves of a sea suddenly petrified into solidity:
an exceedingly difficult country to make progress in, either on
horseback or on foot, for while the actual distance gained in a
straight line, as the bird flies, is very small, the length of ground
gone over is very great, and very fatiguing from the continual up and
down movement, and from the annoying obstructions of the cutting
fragments of sharp rock and loose stones met with at every step.

As they mounted the hill, therefore, it is not to be wondered at that
the worthy seaman found the process of making way on shore, with his
own legs, a much more laborious operation than making way on the water
with sails and oars; and although he took advantage of his nautical
experience, and made short tacks to the right and to the left of the
hill, as he would have done against a contrary wind at sea, the work
soon became too hard for him.

"I say, mate," he said to the bushranger, "this is going dead against
a wind with a vengeance! now it's rattling down stream and then it's
up against tide, and whichever way it is it doesn't seem the better
for my legs!--I tell you what it is, I must come to an anchor, and
that's the long and the short of it:" and saying this, he plumped
himself down on the softest stone he could find convenient, and
proceeded to swab himself with much diligence.

"Luck's with me, after all," thought Mark, as he received this
gladsome communication from the sailor, and saw him in an attitude of
utter exhaustion from his exertions in the unusual exercise of walking
on land; "luck's with me after all! and now is the time to disarm my
very clever and very cautious friend of all suspicion by a false
confidence, and then he is mine to do what I please with--at least so
far as one point.

"Friend," he said to the mate, "I see I was wrong to propose that you
should go with me; I ought to have remembered that you were more used
to make your way up the shrouds of a ship than the sides of such hills
as these;--but I am used to them. However, we will not lose our
object; I must see how many natives there are yonder; come now; we
have had a bout I allow; but we are comrades in this venture: if I
could trust to your honour not to take advantage of my confidence, I
would try to have a look at the black rascals alone--but you must be
ready to stand by me."

"I'll stand by you, if that's all," said the mate; "but what do you
want me to do with your 'confidence' and your 'blarney?'"

"There," said the bushranger, placing his fowling-piece in the hands
of the astonished mate; "there's no blarney in that; now, if you could
be dishonourable, and treacherous, and a rascal--which I know you
cannot--you have me at your mercy."

"What the devil do you mean by this?" said the honest seaman,
completely overpowered by an act which placed the bushranger,
seemingly, completely in his power.

"What I mean is this; we are now all bound up together; unless we
stand by one another we shall never be able to resist the attack of
two or three hundred natives, for they have learned the way of
shooting with lighted arrows, and they never show any mercy to white
people:--and the food they are fondest of above everything is human
flesh."

"The black villains!"

"And I don't suppose you have any particular desire to form one of
the principal dishes at their supper to-night?"

"That would be no joke!"

"Now I will tell you what to do; for I shall rely on your courage and
coolness, which I am sure I can do as surely as on your honour--for my
own life as well as your own and the lives of the major and his
daughters depend on our activity."

"Well, what do you want me to do?"

"You must remain here without moving, and especially without making
the least noise till I return."

"And how long shall you be away?"

"We shall see: I will get as near to the natives as I can on my hands
and knees, and try to find out what they are doing. If they are going
away, we have only to lie close and wait for their departure. But if
they are waiting for the wreck of the vessel, I must find out their
numbers, and then we must prepare for the worst."

"Well--let them come; I don't much mind them; only let me be on board
the brig, and then we will astonish them, perhaps, with something they
don't expect."

"But if they discover me, I shall have to make a run of it; and in
that case I must depend on finding you here, and then we must fight
our way back to the ship as well as we can."

"Well, I'm your man as far as the fighting goes; but as to making a
run of it, that's out of my line."

"Then, I trust I may depend on you," added the bushranger; "that you
will neither move nor make the least noise to betray yourself till I
return."

"Never fear," replied the mate; "I never betrayed any man yet, and
never will; you have placed confidence in me, by giving me your gun:
let you be bushranger or what not, you are safe with me as long as the
bargain lasts--as long as the bargain lasts, mind, no longer."

"Good," replied the bushranger; "and now I go on my errand;" and
mounting the hill with a vigorous step he passed over the top and
presently disappeared from view.

"And now," thought Mark Brandon, as he sat down on the brow of the
hill behind a low shrub, and examined the charge and priming of the
pistols which he carried,--"what's to be done next? I have secured the
mate: if he had insisted on going on instead of being so well inclined
to sit still, it would have been impossible to prevent him from
discovering that instead of the smoke proceeding from a party of
natives eager to devour us, it has been lighted, as I strongly
suspect, by the very party sent to assist the vessel, and to capture
me and my companions! But, luckily, he is knocked up; I thought his
sea legs would never carry him far over these hills.--Now my game is
clear before me; I must keep the major and his people close, and
especially this troublesome fellow of a mate, by making them believe
that the natives are coming down on them every minute;--that will keep
them quiet.--Shall I get rid of the whole lot? I might do it perhaps;
but there would be too much murder in it; and besides, I fear I could
never get the vessel out of that basin and through the narrow opening,
which is not much wider than to allow it to pass through, without the
assistance of the mate and his sailors; my fellows could never do it.
And that vessel is my only chance of escape from wretchedness and
bondage!--To be sure I might take to the bush, for we have plenty of
arms, and we might contrive to make a plant of provisions and
necessaries. But what is the use of wandering about in the bush? Of
all lives that is the most wretched! To be exposed to betrayal from
one another every day and every hour, waking or sleeping!--No--that
existence is not worth having.--Or to be alone--exposed to all the
horrors of the terrible solitude of the bush, with every man's hand
against you, without friend or companion.--No--that is a life of
melancholy madness! The brig--the brig's the thing! At all hazards,
and cost what lives it may, she must be secured! But first I must
assure myself to a certainty from what source that suspicious smoke
proceeds."

With such thoughts half muttered, and taking advantage of all the
inequalities of the ground which would enable him to see without being
seen, the bushranger proceeded rapidly, but warily, on his stealthy
way.




Chapter XII. Mr. Silliman Dances "The Polka" with a Kangaroo.

SNAKELIKE and with tortuous windings, keeping a sharp look-out in
his hazardous course, and stopping from time to time to catch any
sound that might betray his proximity to his enemies, the bushranger
edged his way to the top of a sheltered height, from which he could
command a view of the valley below.

At a glance, he found his suspicions confirmed; he distinguished the
red coats of the soldiers, and the peculiar dress and air of the
constables. He counted nine; and in one of them he had no difficulty
in recognising the hated person of one of the most active and
intelligent officers of the colony, well known for his activity and
courage, and one usually selected by the government authorities for
the pursuit of runaway convicts in the bush. Mark knew him well, for
on more than one occasion he had come into personal collision with
him: and he ground his teeth, and clutched the shrub by which he was
holding, as he looked down at his old enemy, who, like a pertinacious
bloodhound, was on his track.

The party sat listlessly about the fire, and seemed, as he thought,
to be waiting for information to be brought by some scout, for they
frequently looked in the direction of the south; but the storm which
still raged violently, although it had ceased to rain, was a
sufficient reason why they should remain under shelter for a time; and
the bushranger judged that as they would be too prudent to divide
their strength, they would remain where they were till the lulling of
the waters should allow them to put to sea in their boat. He descended
from his post of observation and set out on his return to the spot
where he had left the mate.

He saw at once that the game to be played was to delay any outbreak
on board till the pursuing party, missing the vessel, and supposing it
to have escaped to sea, should return home and report their failure;
but this was a difficult task to accomplish. The fears of the major
for the safety of his daughters, and the determination of the mate and
of the incensed sailors to resist further violence, were fairly
aroused; and he felt that anything to be done could be effected only
by the most consummate address and stratagem.

The first thing, however, was to make the major and his crew believe
that the natives were likely to be on them in force, and so to induce
them, for the sake of the common safety, to act together, and to
postpone their hostile intentions of retaliation till a safe
opportunity. In this scheme accident favoured the bushranger in a way
that he least expected.

The romantic Mr. Silliman found his spirit considerably damped by the
supplemental wetting which he got in the boat before it was sheltered
from the broken seas, at the entrance of the channel, but it was with
a tolerably heroic air that he stepped on shore, and placed his foot
on the land of his adoption. The novelty of his sensations excited him
to deliver his sentiments to the company on the occasion, and he was
about to hail the land of Van Diemen in a short and neat speech, and
had lifted up his leg, in his enthusiasm, to assist his arm in an
appropriate flourish, when he was hailed by the constable:--

"Hold hard, sir!--don't put your foot down yet: keep still; and keep
your leg up; hold it up a little longer.--There! it's going quietly
away now."

"What is it?" exclaimed the alarmed Jeremiah, with his arms
outstretched, and with one foot in the air, in an attitude which,
however becoming it might be in assisting a sudden burst of oratory,
was both embarrassing and ludicrous when continued beyond its
appropriate purpose;--"what is it? what's the matter?"

"Only a black snake," said the constable, quietly; "I thought it
would have been at you, for you are standing right in the way of its
path, and a bite from a black snake is an ugly affair, I can tell
you."

"A man of ours was bit by one of those ugly reptiles," said the
corporal, "up at Sidney, in the bush there; and in a few hours his
body was as black as your hat, and so gone that you could scarce
distinguish his features. They're nasty creatures those black snakes!
the diamond ones they say are as bad, but at any rate they are not so
bad-looking. Take care, sir, where you sit," he added to Mr. Silliman,
who was about to seat himself on a low piece of stone convenient for
the purpose; "those stones are sometimes full of scorpions."

"Scorpions!" cried out Jerry, who had an unspeakable horror of that
mysterious reptile which he had never seen except in a bottle of
spirits, and of whose powers and venomous disposition he had the
greatest dread: "are there scorpions in this country?"

"Lots! You can hardly sit down in the bush without getting into the
midst of them. Just pull up that stone and you'll soon see if you have
lighted on a family."

With the assistance of a stake which was near him, Jerry presently
upheaved the block of stone on which he had unwaringly seated himself,
and, to his infinite dismay, beheld some scores of those lively
indigenes of the country, who, considerably isturbed by the
unceremonious uplifting of their habitation, scudded to and fro with
their abominable tails curled over their backs, and eyeing their
enemy, as Jerry thought, most viciously.

"Upon my word, this is a nice party to come among, and a pleasant
reception do I have in this new country! I think I had better move
farther off."

"They are nasty disagreeable things those scorpions," said the
constable, "in the bush especially; and it's wonderful what quantities
there are of them in this country; but they are seldom large, at least
those that I have seen; I never saw one bigger than a good-sized
bluebottle, and I never heard of their doing any body any harm, except
stinging them a little. They're not near so bad as the tarantula
spiders; those creatures really are ugly beasts, and venomous too."

"How big are they?" asked Jerry, by no means gratified at this
enumeration of the inhabitants of the Paradise which he had promised
to himself: "anything like the spiders at home?"

"Lord love you! Spiders at home! why, the spiders at home are
nothing to the spiders here; the tarantula is something like a spider!
There," said the constable, spreading out the fingers of his brawny
hand on a bit of ground bare of grass--"There, suppose a greenish body
as big as a chestnut, with hairy legs reaching out as far as my
fingers--that's a tarantula spider!"

"How very disgusting! And pray what do the creatures live on?"

"Oh! all sorts of insects;--they do say that they will sometimes
catch small birds: but I can't say I ever saw them do it. You
generally find them living two together like man and wife, under a
stone, where they make themselves a chamber; and they grow monstrous
big sometimes. I have often seen them on the blue gum trees, so I
suppose they find food on them to their liking. It's a remarkable
fact," continued the constable, who was fond of showing his knowledge
of colonial customs and productions, "that the tarantula spider will
always drop on your face if it has the opportunity; I have often
thought why it was, but I never could make out the reason; may be the
white man's face resembles some surface where they catch their food;
some think that it's the motion of the eyelashes that attracts them;
but whatever it may be, they do it, that's all I know. I declare--if
there isn't one of them just above your head, on that dead branch,
just agoing to make a drop on you!"

As he spoke one of the spiders so described and vituperized, as if
in retaliation of the abuse which had been so copiously lavished on
its species, and invited perhaps by the temptation of the broad round
cheeks of Mr. Silliman, who was lying on his back in a position of
luxurious repose, dropped slap on his face, and embracing it with its
long hairy legs presented an admirable specimen for the cabinet of a
naturalist. But the thoughts of the terrified Jeremiah were by no
means inclined to take that scientific direction. On the contrary, he
roared out most lustily, as he hastily brushed the creature from his
face, and regained his legs with almost unexampled activity.

In truth, the afflicted Jerry was almost at his wits' end with his
succession of misadventures; he had been chucked into the sea; rubbed
into life again by the medium of salt-junk; assailed by snakes;
infested with scorpions; and now was pitched on by an ugly tarantula
for his feeding-ground!

"What's coming next?" he cried out, "I can neither sit, nor stand,
nor lie, but something attacks me! I shall be driven out of the
island!"

"I have observed that before," said the constable; "those spiders
have a fancy to drop on the face; I suppose it resembles something
they are used to feed on."

"Much obliged to you," said Jerry, as he pinned a pointed stick
through the bloated body of the spider, whose size and ugly appearance
fully answered the description of the constable; "but I'll thank you
not to make a meal of any part of my precious features. I'll put an
end to your fun at any rate," he continued, smashing his enemy up with
the stick; "and now," he ejaculated disconsolately, "what to do I
don't know! for stand or sit where I will, it seems I am sure to put
my foot in some mess or other. Would there be any harm," he asked, "in
taking a look over that hill yonder? Any natives about here?"

"Oh! there are no natives on this side of the island," said the
constable; "they like to be where there are plenty of trees for the
opossums and grass for the kangaroos. You can take a spell over the
hill if you like; go straight on and keep us in sight;--there's no
fear of the natives so far down as this, they seldom come to the coast
at this end; but don't go far away, or you may lose yourself; a
stranger soon loses himself in the bush in this country."

"Who will go with me?" asked Jerry; but the men were exhausted with
pulling at the oar, and no one was inclined to accompany him; the
adventurous Jerry therefore was obliged to go alone. "I shall know my
way back," he said, "by the smoke of our fire;" and so saying, he
ascended the hill to get a view of the country, and was disappointed
to find that he could see nothing but another hill before him.

He descended, however, to the bottom, and found himself in a deep
gulley or cleft between the hills. He had already received
considerable alarm from a horrible-looking animal poking his nose out
at him from a thicket: the animal was quite black, of the size of a
little pig, rough and of ferocious aspect, popularly known in the
colony by the name of a "devil," that being the most appropriate
appellation which could be hit on in a hurry to convey the combined
idea of its savageness and ugliness.

In trying to avoid it, Jerry stumbled over a wombat, a creature about
as big as a badger, and considered good eating by the natives. The cry
of terror which he uttered scared them both away, but he began to
repent him of his adventurous expedition.

Winding his way to the right, he came to an open space of green grass
clear of brush and stones, and to his inexpressible delight beheld a
living specimen of the animal whose likeness he had often gazed on in
books with wonder and admiration,--a real, live kangaroo!

It happened that on this occasion he had fallen in with a male of the
largest species, known popularly in the colony as a "Boomah." The
animal stood nearly six feet high on his haunches, and was feeding
with much relish on the young sweet grass. As it hopped leisurely and
lazily to a fresh place, Jerry had the opportunity of admiring the
length and thickness of its immense tail which protruded in a straight
line from behind, forming a triangle with its two legs, and affording
a firm support to its body as it sat upright.

Struck with the size and beauty of the creature, the enterprising
Jerry was seized with an irresistible desire to appropriate the
magnificent piece of venison to himself; and having read that the
kangaroo is a timorous beast, he thought he should have no difficulty
in becoming master of its person, if he could only get close enough to
the animal to give it a knock on the head. Had he been near enough to
observe the principal claw on the kangaroo's hind legs, about five
inches long, as hard as an iron spike and tolerably sharp at the
point, he might have paused in his valorous design; but as this weapon
of offence and defence was unknown to him, he had no idea that there
could be any danger in a personal encounter with a kangaroo.

Armed with a stout stick, therefore, he advanced, slowly and
cautiously, endeavouring to reach the animal from behind in order not
to give it the alarm, and calculating that one smart blow on the head
would stun the creature, so as to render it an easy prey. In this way
he approached within ten yards of the boomah, when suddenly raising
its head from the grass the creature turned round and sat up on its
haunches, gazing on Jerry as it seemed with not less curiosity than
Jerry gazed on the kangaroo.

Whether it was that it mistook the adventurous cockney for one of its
own species, or that it was desirous on its own part to investigate
the new specimen in natural history which Jerry's person presented,
the creature was apparently desirous to make acquaintance with the
strange animal, and making a little hop it alighted close to its new
friend.

Astonished at this unexpected familiarity, and catching sight of the
middle claws of his hind legs as the kangaroo made his fraternal
approach, Jerry made a corresponding hop backwards.

Confirmed in his opinion of relationship by the dexterity with which
Jerry executed this movement, the boomah wagged his great tail and
made another advance, which was met with a similar movement backwards
on the part of Jerry, and in this way they performed a circle round
the green sward, much to the amusement, it is to be presumed, of the
kangaroo, but by no means satisfactorily to Jerry.

Far from being gratified with the performance of this "Kangaroo"
Polka, he was, on the contrary, very angry to find himself chasséed in
so peremptory a manner. Watching his opportunity, therefore, he raised
his stick and dealt his partner a blow on the head which made the
kangaroo shake it with visible dissatisfaction; but incensed it seemed
to meet with so ungracious a return for his acts of courtesy, the huge
boomah made a bound to Jerry, and embracing him with his fore paws was
about to apply his terrible claw in the way in which those animals rip
up in a moment the strongest dogs, when Jerry set up so fearful a cry,
that the creature, after making a few hops with him in his paws, let
him go with affright; and Jerry, rejoiced to be released from the
formidable hug of his new friend, without looking behind him, and
expecting every moment to feel the kangaroo's great toe at his back,
rushed down the hill and tumbled over head and heels to the bottom.

Opening his mouth to give vent to a great breath, and his eyes to
look about him, he suddenly found the barrel of a horse-pistol thrust
into the former, and with the latter he beheld, to his horror and
amazement, the features of the bushranger! who, not less surprised to
behold the man who had been tossed overboard, but more practised in
concealing his emotions, intimated to Mr. Silliman in a calm, distinct
voice, whose tones were suitable to the politest and most agreeable
announcement:--

"If you move or make the least noise, I'll blow your brains out!"



Chapter XIII. An Extempore Native.

WHATEVER inclination the unfortunate Jerry might have had to indulge
in exclamation or remonstrance was effectually checked by the
proximity of the horse-pistol; nor could he fail to observe that it
was on the full-cock, and that the finger of the bushranger was on the
trigger!

If the reflections which he hastily made during his transit from the
deck of the brig were grave, those that he made on the present
occasion were of a cast still more serious, inasmuch as the danger was
greater and more imminent; for he felt that the slightest movement or
shock, either on his own part or on that of his enemy, would cause the
contents of the pistol to be discharged into the innermost recesses of
his brain.

He took especial care, therefore, to keep perfectly still, with his
eyes wide open and fixed in extended horror on the bushranger, but
mentally vowing, with all his might, that if ever it should be his
infinite good fortune again to get within sound of the bells in
Cheapside, he would take most particular care to keep within hearing
of them for ever afterwards!

"Hold up your arms," said the bushranger, after he had contemplated
for a brief space the excessive terror of his victim.

Jerry held up his arms.

"If I take the pistol from your mouth will you promise to be quiet?"

Jerry made the best sign he could to signify his entire concurrence
with that proposition.

"Be still then," said the bushranger, "while I empty your pockets."

The operation was completed to the bushranger's satisfaction, but
nothing appeared to cause particular observation.

"Now," said Mark, who had suddenly conceived what he thought a novel
and bright idea, "strip!"

"Strip!" said Jerry; "what, take my clothes off?"

"All," said the bushranger.

"I shall be so cold," Jerry ventured to remonstrate.

"Strip!" repeated the bushranger, re-cocking the pistol.

Jerry looked behind him, and before him, and around him; but there
was no help nigh; he was entirely in the bushranger's power.--He took
off his blue jacket; and then his waistcoat; and then he paused.

"Breeches next," said Mark, with a fierce air.

"What are you going to do with me?" said Jerry, in a lamentable tone;
for he began to apprehend that the bushranger had a design to turn him
naked into the bush, and visions of snakes, and scorpions, and
tarantula spiders rose before him!

"Off with them!"

"I shall be bit to death," said Jerry.

"Quick," said the bushranger, presenting the pistol.

"Well, you needn't be in such a hurry; there--I suppose that will do
now."

"Stockings and shoes off."

"But my feet will be cut to pieces on these horrid rocks; and I shall
catch cold. Gracious heaven! was ever man so treated before? There--I
hope that's all," said poor Jerry, as his shirt fluttered in the
breeze.

"For the present; now pack up your clothes in a bundle."

Jerry did as he was bid.

"Now march on to that little pool of water that you see yonder."

What, in the name of all that's extraordinary, is the man going to do
with me? thought Jerry, as he marched on before with his bundle, with
the bushranger behind, his eternal pistol touching his back
occasionally, as if to remind him to be on his good behaviour. They
found, as the bushranger expected, a particular sort of black mud,
which he considered would be well suited to his purpose; on his way he
had picked up several pieces of soft red ochre, which he placed to
soak at the edge of the pool.

What's the meaning of all this? thought Jerry; is the bushranger a
madman after all?

"You see that nice black mud," said Mark.

"Yes, I see it," said Jerry.

"Now let me see how soon you can make a native of yourself; you will
smear yourself all over with that paint; and be quick about it; for I
am rather in a hurry, and if I can't finish the business this way," he
added, "I shall be obliged to finish it in another," tapping the
barrel of his pistol with his finger.

"This is downright brutality to make me dirty myself all over in that
way! Heavens! what a figure I am making myself!"

"You mistake," said the bushranger, sarcastically, and with a
Mephistophelian smile; "unencumbered and undisguised with artificial
vestments you have now recovered the natural dignity of man; and, by
plastering your body all over with that mud, you will defend it from
the attacks of numerous insects which would otherwise annoy you. Stay,
I will just finish you up a bit, and then I think you will do."

Saying this, he hastily made him a wig of long grass, which he stuck
on his head, and availing himself of the red ochre, which was now in
the condition of a convenient pigment, he flourished two round red
patches on either cheek, and made sundry daubs with it on Jerry's
chest and legs.

"And now," he said, "you look really like a child of nature, and the
natives themselves would take you for a brother; there is only one
other little thing to do; excuse me, but it must be done, because, you
are aware, we never give away a chance;--yes--I must gag you, I must
indeed; but I won't hurt you, if you will be quiet. There, that will
do nicely, and now you may come along and finish the next part of your
performance."

The bushranger looked about, and presently, spying what he wanted,
he cut from the other side of the pool three long slender sticks
resembling the spears of the natives, which he placed in Jerry's
hands, and desired him to shake them menacingly when he gave
directions, threatening him with instant death if he disobeyed his
injunctions in the slightest point. In this way he led him by a
convenient route, carefully avoiding the place where he had left the
mate, to a spot in view of the vessel, where he desired him to remain,
for the greater security, binding his hands together; and then he
sought the mate with all expedition, and led him back to the vessel.

"Well," said the mate, "what have you seen? any natives?"

"Three hundred at the very least; the most ferocious mob I ever set
eyes on! They are aware, I am sure, that the vessel has been driven
into the bay yonder, and that we are few in number, for the women are
preparing their weapons, and the men are dancing their war-dance; we
shall have them down upon us before night. We must lose no time in
regaining the brig and putting her in a state of defence."

"The devil! Then we must make a fight of it. What's that?" said the
seaman, after they had proceeded some distance, when he turned round
to see what was in his wake; "what's that?" pointing to the spot where
the bushranger had left Jerry, who had now become visible.

"That's one of their scouts; they have sent him on, I have no doubt,
to watch us; but I'll be bound they are placed all round us, only
their bodies being black, you can't distinguish them from the charred
stumps of the trees."

"Are those spears that he has got in his hands, shaking that way?"

"Yes; spears curiously tipped with sharp pieces of flint; they can
hurl them to a great distance, and when the natives are in numbers
they become formidable weapons, to say nothing of their waddies and
their womeras."

"Waddies! What are they?"

"They are short thick clubs about four feet long, made of hard wood,
with which they batter in your skull by repeated blows; but the womera
is the worst weapon."

"What's a womera?"

"It's a semi-circular piece of hard wood shaped in the form of an
elongated crescent, with a sharp edge inside; the natives have the
knack of throwing it with a peculiar sleight of hand difficult to be
described, and they can bring down with it an emu or a kangaroo, or a
man in their fights; and the curiosity of the weapon is, that if it
misses the object at which it is cast, its revolving motion in the air
causes it to return to the same spot nearly from whence it was thrown.
I have stood by a Sydney native who was hurled it at an angle of about
forty-five degrees almost out of sight, and I have had to jump aside
pretty quickly to avoid being struck with it on its return to the spot
it was thrown from."

"Very curious, indeed! but here's the vessel, thank Heaven! And now
we will put her in fighting trim. If we must have a bout with these
natives, we'll teach 'em a thing or two before we have done with 'em."

Expectation was eager on board to hear the information of the
explorers, but the sight of the supposed native had so taken
possession of the mate's mind, and he was so full of his plans for the
coming fight, that he relieved the bushranger of all trouble to coin
more lies to deceive the major and the rest of the crew as to the
hostile intentions of the savages. And the ship's glass having been
directed to the spot in the distance where Jerry had been judiciously
posted by Mark Brandon to serve as a conspicuous object to corroborate
his story of the natives, they beheld that much-abused individual in
all the glory of black mud and red ochre, performing the part of a
native to the bushranger's admiration, and brandishing his spears and
stamping about in the cold with a vigour and a ferocity of manner
calculated to inspire awe in the beholders!

But there was one thing which Mark, astute as he was, had overlooked
in his proceedings. He had forgotten that in the same way that the
person of Jerry disguised as a native was visible to those on board,
so was the brig visible to Jerry. Indeed, no sooner did Jerry catch
sight of the vessel in the bay than he almost jumped out of his skin
in the excess of his delight, and in his endeavour to give intimation
to those on board of his own identity; but as he did not know how near
the dreaded bushranger might be to him, he was afraid for a long time
to move from his position. But he endeavoured to make up for that
self-denial by the most frantic antics and gestures, which served only
to confirm those on board the vessel, who were watching him through
the ship's glass, in their opinion of the ferocious and cannibalistic
intentions of him and his blood-thirsty companions.

Mark Brandon, however, was presently struck with the fault which he
had committed in making known to Jerry the fact of the safety and of
the position of the vessel. He announced, therefore, to those on
board, who were industriously putting the brig in a state of defence,
that he would go on shore again and endeavour to ascertain further
information of the movements of the natives, an offer which was highly
applauded by the mate, and cordially approved by the major, who were
almost led to forget the bushranger's duplicity and violence in his
laudable anxiety to preserve the women from the threatened attack.
Besides, the honest mate's heart had been quite won by the
bushranger's confidence in placing his gun in his hands:--

"Let by-gones be by-gones," he said; "after all, it was natural for
the man to wish to escape from the country where he was a convict and
a slave; and if he is ready now to stand by us, and fight against the
natives like an honest man, why his help is as good as another's."

It was not without some anxiety, however, that Mark proceeded in the
direction of the spot where he had left his prisoner; and when he
arrived there he found his fears confirmed, for nothing was left of
Jerry and his accoutrements but two of the spears, and the cord with
which the bushranger had bound him.



Chapter XIV. A Surprise.

JERRY'S first impulse was to rush down to the vessel, and take his
chance of the reception he might meet with, as anything was better
than to be stuck up on a height, and made to perform a pantomime in
which he was the chief and only performer; but the fear of
encountering the bushranger and his associates, with a lively
remembrance of the very unceremonious manner in which he had been
pitched overboard on a former occasion, added to his modest
disinclination to appear before the young ladies in a character as
novel as it was unbecoming, decided him against that course, and he
determined, bound as he was, to endeavour to find his way back to his
companions in the boat.

By dint of great exertion, and of convulsions of wriggling, he
contrived to extricate his arms from their confinement, and was about
to resume his clothes, which lay in a bundle at his feet; but catching
sight of the bushranger at that moment in the hollow, who was
hastening to rectify the blunder which he had made in allowing his
prisoner to get sight of the vessel, he snatched up his bundle, and,
with a celerity which would have done credit to a real native, he
darted off in the direction o the hill, which he had marked as
overtopping the spot where the soldiers and constables, with the boat,
had taken shelter.

Mark had no sooner ascertained the flight of his prisoner than he
guessed his course, and felt all the danger which would result from
the information which he would give of the safety of the vessel, and
of its position in the bay. Without hesitating a moment, he followed
in the direction which he judged Jerry would take: and as he was more
used to keep a straight line among the undulating hills than the
pursued, it was not long before he caught sight of Jerry, with his
shirt tails streaming in the wind, making vigorous attempts to
surmount the hill which overhung the inlet where the boat of his
companions lay sheltered.

The bushranger was strongly tempted to put an end to the
embarrassment in a summary manner. He put his piece to his shoulder,
and covered the unfortunate Jerry with a deadly aim; but at this
moment the form of another person uprose over the crest of the hill,
who, although visible to the bushranger, was unseen by Jerry.

The man came over the top of the hill in the direction in which Jerry
was advancing; when, to his amazement, beholding the figure of what he
supposed to be a native in a state of active aggression rushing on him
with a spear in his hand, he hastily fired off his musket, and,
immediately turning tail, made the best of his way back, followed by
Jerry, who, out of breath and unable to articulate connected words,
screeched and screamed unearthly sounds, which only made the terrified
man scramble on the faster.

In this way they dashed into the constable's temporary encampment;
when Jerry, overjoyed and exhausted, threw himself on the ground,
where he was immediately seized and held fast.

The soldiers, meanwhile, held their muskets ready to repel what they
conjectured to be an attack from the natives, although the mode of its
commencement seemed contrary to all the rules of war, native or
foreign. But by this time Jerry had been raised up: joining his hands
together, and looking up towards the sky, he uttered a pious
ejaculation:--

"Thank God!"

"Why, man, what has happened to you?" said the constable, who,
notwithstanding the black mud and red ochre, had no difficulty in
recognising the podgy person of the corpulent Mr. Silliman; "what on
earth has induced you to disguise yourself this fashion?"

"It wasn't me," sighed out Jerry, "it was the bushranger!"

"The bushranger!--What, Mark Brandon?"

"The very same! He's here, and there, and everywhere!--I was trying
to catch a kangaroo, when somehow the plaguy beast caught hold of me,
and I tumbled down the hill, and when I got to the bottom, who should
there be waiting for me but that confounded bushranger, and the moment
I opened my mouth to speak, he clapped a pistol in it, and there I was
hard and fast."

"How is this?" said the corporal; "Mark Brandon was on board the
vessel, and now you say he is on shore--are you quite sure it is the
same man?"

"Sure!--There can be no mistake about that; whoever has been in his
clutches once will be sure to know him again!--He set me on the top of
a height, and there I saw the brig safe and sound in a little bay,
surrounded by hills just like a basin."

"The brig near us!" exclaimed the constable in surprise; "well,
that's a bit of luck I didn't expect. We must look about us, corporal,
and be alive;--we shall have work to do before night now."

"Yes," continued Jerry, "there was the brig; and with the glass they
could have seen me, if they had looked that way; and that rascal,
Mark, made me jump and caper about like a native--but what for, I'm
sure, I don't know; I only know it was extremely disagreeable."

"I have it," said the constable, after a few moments' reflection.
"Mark never does anything without a reason. Depend upon it that, by
some means or other, Mark has discovered that we are here; and his
object has been to keep the crew close, and to persuade them that the
natives will attack them; and he made this little gentleman paint
himself up for that very purpose, and placed him in view of the vessel
to make those on board believe that the natives really were near
them.--Now, corporal, we have no time to lose; we must get on board
that vessel somehow, before a change of wind will allow it to leave
the bay and put to sea. What is your sentry making motions at, and
pointing up channel as if he saw something? Go, and see," he said to
the other constable. "It can't be the bushrangers coming down on us;
look to your arms, my men--let us be ready. Corporal, you had better
take the command when it comes to fighting: I am used to the bush, and
to the ways of the bushrangers; but, when it comes to the scratch, I
am under your orders, you know.--Every man to his trade, say I."

The constable's messenger quickly returned with the tidings that
another boat was coming down the channel along the coast, and would
presently be near the entrance of the creek.

He had scarcely delivered his message, when a large boat shot round
and entered the inlet, containing a serjeant's guard, under the
command of an ensign, who had been despatched by the government
authorities, in consequence of the suspicious movements of the brig,
which had been telegraphed to head-quarters. They brought the
information, also, that a large body of convicts, supposed to be
thirty in number, had escaped in the same direction as Mark Brandon;
and it was feared that if they were able to join him they would
become, under his leadership, a formidable body, and requiring the
additional aid which was sent to the constable's assistance.

The ensign, on whom now devolved the command of the party, proceeded
to make the necessary inquiries for his guidance, in which Mr.
Silliman became an important person, as he alone had been a witness of
the acts of the bushrangers. The ensign proceeded to interrogate him
with military precision:--

"How many of the bushrangers are there?"

"Six," replied Mr. Silliman, "besides Mark Brandon; but he is as good
as a dozen himself."

"That's seven. Now, how many are the crew and passengers on board the
brig?"

"There are nine sailors," replied Mr. Silliman, "and the mate, and
me--no, I'm here--that's ten men; and the steward and the boy--that's
twelve; and the major and his two daughters--that's fifteen in all. If
I was there it would be sixteen."

"The major!--major who?"

"Oh! I forgot--Major Horton and his two daughters."

"Major Horton!"

"Yes, Major Horton."

"And his two daughters, did you say?"

"Yes. Helen is the elder one, and Louisa the other."

"Helen Horton!" exclaimed the ensign, not able to restrain his
surprise; "how very extraordinary!--And pray," said he, in a tone in
which might be observed a little vexation, "have you come in the same
vessel with them the whole way from England?"

"To be sure I did. I gave the major a hundred guineas for my passage,
and paid the money down before I left the river; and the only thing I
bargained for was, that there should be lots of bottled porter;--the
cigars I found myself."

"Major Horton--with Helen and Louisa!" repeated the ensign; "what a
singular circumstance! Those rascals have not ill-treated them?" he
asked, suddenly turning to Mr. Silliman; "if they have insulted them
by word or look I will show them no mercy, so far as depends on me."

"Oh! Mr. Brandon is quite the gentleman," replied Jerry: "He just
chucks you into the sea, or knocks you down with the butt-end of a
musket, or makes a native of you, but it's all done in the politest
way in the world! It's impossible to complain of him! and I wish I had
him, with his neck just under my two thumbs; if I didn't give him such
a squeeze as he would remember all the days of his life, my name's not
Jeremiah Silliman, that's all!"

Mr. Trevor, who held a commission in the regiment a division of which
had lately arrived in Van Diemen's Land, was a young man about two--
and-twenty years of age, who had entered the army from an enthusiastic
predilection for a military life. He had eagerly embraced the
opportunity of going out to Australia, as he considered that those new
and unexplored regions presented a new field of adventure, untrodden
by the foot of the vulgar traveller, and likely to furnish scenes of
romantic adventure, in which his spirit of enterprise might find
opportunity for exercise. He had met Helen Horton about two years
before at a foreign watering-place, where he had been captivated by
her beauty, and had been powerfully struck with a character of mind
which, in its courage and independence, was similar to his own.
Circumstances had separated them at the time; but the impression which
Helen had made on him was too powerful to be forgotten, and he had
taken much pains to trace out the place of her abode, in England and
abroad, but without success.

To meet with her again, after his vain search for her in Europe,
struck him as the most romantic coincidence in his life; and it added
not a little to his zeal in recovering the vessel, and in capturing
the marauders, to think that he should at the same time do a most
important service to one whom he now regarded as reserved, by a
propitious destiny, to enable him to show to the world a gallantry and
courage, for the exercise of which he had never yet found an
appropriate occasion. Full of ardour, therefore, for the enterprise,
and bearing in mind the possibility of the thirty additional prisoners
having joined Mark Brandon's party, he lost no time in consulting with
the constable, who was an experienced hand in the bush, as to the best
means of regaining possession of the vessel.

The shades of evening were now fast drawing in, but as the nature of
the business was pressing, and as it was possible for the brig, by a
sudden turn of wind, to be carried out of the bay by the bush-rangers
who were supposed to have possession of her, he decided on making an
immediate attempt to recover her, and at any rate to establish his
party in a position commanding the outlet of the bay.

As the wind and sea were too rough and high to allow of their making
progress in the boats, it was resolved that a sufficient guard should
be left for their protection, and that the ensign, with the soldiers
under his command, with the addition of the constables as guides and
assistants, should proceed at once to a convenient spot in the
vicinity of the bay, and then to act according to circumstances.

They moved on accordingly, guided by Jerry and one of the constables;
but as the darkness increased, and as the country was difficult,
interspersed with loose rocks, and intersected continually with deep
ravines embarrassing to cross, and as they were obliged to be cautious
to avoid a disgraceful surprise, their progress was necessarily slow.

In the mean time Mark Brandon had not been idle. He had viewed, from
a convenient ambush, the whole proceedings of the pursuing party--the
arrival of the reinforcement, and the arrangements which he partly saw
and partly guessed for the advance of the military. But as night was
approaching, he judged that no attempt would be made in the dark to
recover possession of the brig; and he calculated, therefore, that he
had eight hours before him to form his own plans, and make his own
preparations.

But at this point his ingenuity was for a time at a loss. He had
fully succeeded in impressing on the fears of the crew, that an attack
from the natives was to be apprehended--a delusion in which he had
been materially assisted by the admirable acting, unconscious though
that individual was of his pantomimic talents, of the excited Jerry;
but the time was now come when some other scheme must be contrived,
either to put off the threatened attack of the soldiers, or to repel
it successfully when made. Any attempt to persuade the major and the
mate that it was an attack of bushrangers he felt would be idle, as,
at the first appearance of the rescuing body, and especially of the
red coats of the soldiers, they would be aware that it was a party
sent to their succour, and they would be prepared to assist in their
own liberation. Could he contrive to get the mate and the major again
in his power with the crew, and then, by keeping the vessel in the
middle of the bay, which was of an oval shape, and about two miles
across in its broadest part, fight it out with the parties on shore,
and trust to chance for the favourable opportunity of a change of wind
to run the vessel out to sea?

That was a bold thought; but it was the best plan if it could be
done. But how to do it, with the major and his chief officer on their
guard, and the crew ready to resist? Still it was his only chance of
escape from the colony, and a life in the bush was both hazardous and
unprofitable. Such an opportunity might never occur again; the vessel
was small and handy; he had possession of her; she was ready for sea,
for under the directions of the mate her deck had been already
disencumbered of the main-top--mast which had been shattered in the
gale, and the vessel had been put in as good trim as circumstances
allowed. If he could once get to sea he could repair damages, he
considered, at his leisure; and as to any boats which might be sent in
pursuit, he had no fear of being able either to distance them, or to
beat them off.

He determined, therefore, on the bold plan; and he immediately bent
his thoughts to effect its execution before daylight and the knowledge
of the proximity of their friends should give the major and his party
the advantage. As he revolved these thoughts he arrived at the edge of
the bank to which the vessel was moored, and stepping on board,
hastily gave directions for moving the vessel into the centre of the
bay.

"I have been watching the natives," he said, "and they are preparing
for a night attack; our best plan therefore is to remove the vessel
out of the reach of their spears and arrows."

"I have no great fear of their spears and arrows," said the mate;
"there are enough of us, I think, to stand any attack that the natives
can make on us; but there's no harm in moving the brig to the middle
of the bay, if you can keep her there. You see there are little eddies
and currents of wind flying all round us under these hills, and
there's no knowing where a puff may come from; and it's getting
darkish, and we don't know what rock or shoal we may light on in this
outlandish place.--But do as you please, there's no harm in being safe
at any rate. I only wish the wind would change, and then we might get
out of this trap; though it has proved a lucky trap for us for the
matter of that: I thought it was all over with the poor brig just
before she shot into that opening yonder! But let us thank God for our
luck, and keep our eyes open for what's to come next. Your friends
there don't look very sociable," he continued, pointing to the six
bushrangers, who, with their muskets in their hands, stood ranged in a
line on the larboard side of the quarter-deck, while the sailors
unarmed were congregated together in the fore-part of the vessel: "is
this to be the game all night?"

"Sorry to hurt your feelings," said Mark Brandon, "but you know it's
a truce at present; but my people feel more easy in their minds that
way; no offence meant, however."

"Well," replied the mate; "but that's not the way to make other
people feel easy in their minds, to have loaded muskets cocked at them
that fashion all night; it's not very polite to the ladies--Mister--
Mister pilot!"

"Perhaps the ladies might prefer to go on shore," replied Mark.

"But who are to protect them from the natives?"

"Take your own crew to protect them, if you will, while I take care
of the ship."

"But our sailors have no arms."

"Let them take arms," said Mark; "you see, Mr. Northland, I am
inclined to trust you, though you will not trust me."

"Eh!" exclaimed the mate, a sudden, and, as he flattered himself, a
brilliant thought occurring to him, "and you say you will let us take
arms on shore with us?"

"To be sure I will, to protect the ladies."

The mate immediately dived down to the major, who was in the cabin
with his daughters, and proposed to him to accept the bushranger's
offer.

"But that would be abandoning the vessel to the bushrangers,"
suggested the major.

"No matter," said the mate; "they cannot get the vessel through the
narrow entrance of the bay without our help; those fellows could never
do it, so that we should have them at our mercy; besides, what can we
do on board? They have possession of the arms, and if it came to a
struggle, although we might make a fight of it, we could scarcely
expect to get the better of them. But with arms in our hands, although
outside of the vessel, we might do something; besides, we should fight
together and without being embarrassed with the fear of the women
being hurt. Only let us get arms in our hands, and trust to fortune
for the rest."

"But the natives?"

"We must do as well as we can with them; besides, I can't help having
a suspicion that there is some sham about this threatened attack of
the natives. I never read nor heard of such a large body of natives
collecting together, and this is the first I have heard of their bows
and arrows."

"But we saw one of their scouts on the height," said the major,
"shaking his spears at us; he was a most ferocious-looking monster,
though it struck me he was shorter and fatter than the natives are
represented to be in the books which I have read about them."

"It's a great point," said the mate, "to get ourselves out of the
immediate power of this man and his fellows. It is not easy to fathom
his plans, but it seems to me we can't be worse off than we are, and
with arms in our hands we may be better. What do the young ladies say
to it?"

Helen and Louisa, who were lying exhausted on their couches, rose up
at this appeal, and added their entreaties that their father would
take advantage of the bushranger's offer and take them on shore. It
was not without some difficulty, however, that the major could bring
himself to leave the vessel which contained nearly the whole of his
property:--

"Why," he remonstrated with the mate, "I should have thought you the
last man in the world to quit the ship, and abandon it to the
bushrangers!"

"Will you fight it out now then," said the mate, "and take our chance
of the result?"

"We are unarmed," replied the major; "we can have no chance against
men with fire-arms, fighting too with halters round their necks."

"That's just it," replied the mate; "we are unarmed, and what can we
do? That Mark Brandon can drive us all below when he pleases, and put
to sea if his men can work the vessel, and what are we the better for
that? Better have our liberty on shore, than be bound hand and foot
here, to be heaved overboard whenever it may suit him to do so. If it
came to that, I would rather trust to the natives than to rascally
convicts."

"Agreed then," said the major; "we will go on shore, and trust to
chance for the rest."

The mate lost no time in communicating the major's acceptance of the
offer to Mark Brandon, who, on his side, seemed quite ready to perform
his part of the treaty with good faith and sincerity. But first he
desired to have an interview with Major Horton.



Chapter XV. A New "Dodge."

"MAJOR," said the bushranger, assuming, with immeasurable impudence,
the tone of the injured party, "I am sorry to find from your officer
that you do not trust me!"

The major was exceedingly embarrassed; he was summoned into the
presence of the man who had fraudulently taken possession of his brig,
and monopolised all the arms for his own followers, having committed
violence on his mate and on the crew, and he found himself suddenly
called on to exculpate himself from a charge of want of confidence in
the very man, who with consummate duplicity had succeeded in
committing an act of piracy on his own vessel! The scene would have
been ludicrous from the absurdity of the accusation, if the appearance
of the six bushrangers with muskets cocked and presented had not given
too serious an aspect to the affair to allow him to deal with it
lightly.

"You do not trust me," repeated Mark Brandon, with an air of outraged
virtue which was highly melo-dramatic; "but as I have said before, I
will trust you, if you will pledge your word of honour not to take
advantage of my confidence by turning your arms against me."

"What is it you propose?" demanded the astonished major.

"Your officer," continued Mark Brandon, "has expressed his suspicion
that I may take advantage of your defenceless condition during the
night, and endeavour to confine your crew below as they were before."

"Well," said the major.

"Now to prove to you that I have no such design, but on the contrary
that I am desirous to act together to resist the attack of the
natives, I am ready to allow you all to go on shore immediately."

"But the arms?" said the mate.

"Just so; and not only will I do that, but I will allow your men to
take arms and ammunition for their defence should they be attacked;
when you can either return on board, or we will land and assist you as
may be thought best."

"That sounds all fair enough," said the mate, shaking his head, and
trying to penetrate into the secret object of the bushranger, if there
was one:--"that sounds all fair enough. What do you say to it, major?"

"I have no objection to pledge myself not to make use of our arms
against you for twenty-four hours," replied the major; "that is,
presuming that you will allow us at the same time to supply ourselves
with provisions, and that you will let us take such necessaries on
shore as we require."

"And you, major, and you, Mr. Northland," said the bushranger, "now
pledge your word of honour for yourselves and your crew, that for
twenty-four hours you will not use your arms against us?"

"We do," said the major and the mate; "and so do we," echoed the
sailors, who had gathered aft to witness the conference.

"It is agreed then," said Mark Brandon, rejoiced at the success of
his scheme. "And now the first thing is to get the ladies on shore."

"We will just land a couple of men first," said the mate, "to see
that the coast is clear; we don't want to be eaten up by the natives."

Two of the sailors, accordingly, after having first received arms and
ammunition according to compact, stepped on shore; and the rest of the
sailors being employed to convey to the land various articles of
comfort from the principal cabin, together with provisions, with wine
and spirits, the party was quickly transferred from the deck of the
vessel to the greensward by its side. Mark then adjusted the sails so
as to propel the brig into the centre of the bay, where, by proper
manoeuvres, he kept it nearly stationary, praying heartily for a
change of wind, which would enable him to take the vessel through the
narrow entrance of the basin into the open sea.

In the mean time the party on shore prepared for their night bivouac.
It was more than dusk, and they could not see far beyond the immediate
spot which they occupied, but the major, not forgetful of his military
habits, soon pitched upon a place where they were secured by a high
rock in their rear, and having in front loose masses of stone which
would serve as obstructions to an advancing enemy, and afford a
shelter to the assailed party, behind which they might defend
themselves with advantage.

They thought it prudent not to light a fire, as it might attract the
observation of the savages; but the major having fortified the spaces
in his front with logs and branches of trees, and disposed of his
daughters behind a projecting mass of rock, sent out a scout to gain
intelligence of the enemy. After a short absence the scout returned
with the information, that to the left of the major's post, there was
the reflection of a fire, which was burning brightly.

This was a piece of news too serious to be neglected; and the major
commissioned the mate therefore to proceed with great caution to
examine into the state of affairs, and to report the numbers and the
apparent intentions of the natives. This the worthy officer proceeded
to do; advancing slowly and stealthily towards the fire, and surprised
not to observe any appearance of the natives of whom Mark Brandon had
discoursed so largely. As he got nearer to the light he crawled on his
hands and knees, expecting every moment to light upon a native, and
admiring the cunning with which they had contrived to conceal
themselves from observation.

It happened that Mr. Silliman had volunteered, in the excess of his
enthusiasm, to keep watch at that point, and although the ensign in
command was too prudent to trust the safety of his men to an
inexperienced person, he permitted him to occupy a position in advance
of his own sentries to give notice of any distant alarm.

It was while the romantic Jerry, unconscious of danger, was looking
up to the stars of the southern firmament, and was comparing their
light with the gas-lamps of Cheapside, that he felt his leg suddenly
grasped in the rough embrace of the worthy mate, who was silently
groping his way round the rock near which Jerry was standing. The
first thought of the affrighted Jerry was that he was seized by some
ferocious animal indigenous to the country; by some immense boa-
constrictor perhaps, or by the native hyaena, of whose fierceness and
voracity he had read frightful accounts in books of travels.

Too much terrified to cry out, he stood for some seconds paralysed!
while the mate, on his side, finding that he had got hold of a man's
naked leg, did not doubt that he had clutched a native, and waited, it
must be confessed, not without some anxiety, for the yell which he
expected would bring to the spot a crowd of black fellows to the
assistance of their brother.

Jerry, however, had strength of mind and strength of finger left to
give a desperate pull at the trigger of his musket, which, in virtue
of his quality as sentry, had been entrusted to him by the constable.
The noise of the report amazed the mate, who, with a seaman's
pertinacity, however, did not relinquish his grip of Jerry's leg,
albeit that it overturned all his calculations to find fire-arms in
the possession of a native.

The major's quick ear caught the well-known sound immediately, and he
redoubled his diligence to secure his fortifications from a sudden
attack. The ensign and his soldiers stood to their arms: while the
faint echo of the musket-sound conveyed to the watchful bushranger the
fatal intimation that some discovery had taken place on shore which
could bode only ill to him, from the junction of the parties now
united for his destruction, and which required the exercise of all his
cunning and unequalled daring to guard against and to repel.



Chapter XVI. Mr. Silliman Insists That He Was Not Drowned.

THE mate, astonished to find a native, as he supposed, in the
possession of fire-arms, was a little at a loss for a few seconds to
know how to act; for there seemed to be as much danger in retreating
as in remaining where he was. But as the report of the musket was not
followed as he expected by a yell from the other savages, and as the
ensign's party was too far off for their movements to be heard, the
sturdy seaman quickly recovered his presence of mind, and with
professional audacity conceived the design of carrying in the native
as a prisoner to the major's encampment.

He still kept a firm grip of Jerry's leg; and that astounded
individual, persuaded that his limb was clutched either by a real
native or by some ferocious animal of the woods, was too terrified for
some time to give vent to his fright by vocal exclamations. Nor did
his enemy give him time; for the mate starting on his legs, suddenly
clasped him in his arms, and before Jerry could cry out, threw his
prisoner on the ground, and ramming his handkerchief into his mouth in
a moment with a bit of lanyard which, sailor-like, he always carried
about him, he tied Jerry's elbows together, and so had him hard and
fast.

Poor Jerry finding himself trussed up after this fashion, with his
face to the earth and his antagonist's knee in his back keeping him
down, immediately concluded from the celerity and dexterity of the
operation, that by some horrid mischance he had again fallen into the
clutches of the dreadful bushranger, and he gave vent to his anguish
in a doleful groan!

But the mate, who had possessed himself of the musket and bayonet of
the captured sentinel, immediately endeavoured to make the native
sensible that any noise would be promptly punished; and "unshipping"
the bayonet, as he mentally expressed it, that it might form a handier
instrument for his purpose, he applied it gently but decidedly to the
fleshy part of his prisoner's person, which caused the party afflicted
to perform an undulatory contortion of his body, wriggling it
snakelike, and digging his toes into the ground with a quick and
convulsive motion, strongly expressive of his dislike to the
operation.

Several attempts at crying out were repressed in the same way; but
the mate could not help being exceedingly surprised to find a native
of Van Diemen's Land clothed like an European; which was altogether at
variance with all that he had heard on the subject. But his
astonishment was increased when Jerry, not being able any longer to
bear the arguments à posteriori repeatedly applied by the mate to keep
his prisoner quiet, with a convulsive effort contrived to disengage
the handkerchief from his mouth, and in the extremity of his despair
roared out "Murder!"

Sailors are proverbially superstitious. The voice was the voice of
Mr. Silliman, whom the bushrangers had chucked into the sea, and whom
the mate had supposed long since to have become food for the
Australian fishes! Utterly unable to account for the resurrection of
the drowned Jeremiah at such a time and in such a place, the amazed
mate--his faculties wearied and confused with the events of the day,
and the strangeness of an unknown country, and the darkness, helping,
as he afterwards explained, "to flabbergast him entirely"--was struck
with the notion that he was the sport of the Evil One!--or else that
it was with the spirit of the murdered passenger that he was now
contending!

For a moment the courage of the hardy seaman was at fault. As to
bushrangers, or natives, or anything living, howsoever dangerous, he
snapped his fingers at them; but to have to do with an unreal thing!
the ghost of one who had met with a violent death! that was more than
his nautical philosophy could bear; and he meditated a hasty retreat,
when his prisoner, who had recovered his breath, set up a second
shout:

"Murder! help! Here are the bushrangers on us! Help! murder!"

It was certainly the voice of the deceased Jerry! But the sincerity
of his terror as exhibited in the energy of his cries, and the plump
substantiality of his person so indicative of a real living body,
struck the worthy mate, and dispelled the superstitious feeling of
ghostly apparitions or supernatural agency. Wishing to test still
farther the fact of the body under his knee being that of a real
living man, he applied the bayonet in a manner calculated to elicit
that fact by some further demonstration.

"Don't," beseeched Jerry; "pray, sir, don't; good bushranger! Mr.
Mark Brandon! I'll do what you please; but don't--don't keep sticking
that ugly bayonet into me every instant...."

"Why!" exclaimed the mate, "who the devil are you?"

"Mr. Northland! By George, it's all right after all! What! don't you
know me? Don't you know Mr. Silliman, the passenger on board your
ship?"

"But that Mr. Silliman was drowned," returned the mate, still keeping
his knee stuck into Jerry's back, as a precautionary and preventive
measure against sudden retaliation; "I saw him go down myself."

"I know I went down," replied Jerry; "but I came up again:--I wasn't
drowned. The boat that we thought was full of bushrangers, contained a
party of soldiers and constables, who were in pursuit of Mark Brandon
and his gang, and they saved me."

"And where are they?" asked the mate. But before Jeremiah had time to
answer the question, the mate uttered a peremptory "Hush! I hear
footsteps approaching."

"Who comes there?" said a voice, which Jerry recognised as that of
the ensign; "Mr. Silliman, is that you?"

"Ay, ay," said Mr. Silliman, getting on his legs, to which the mate
assisted him; "it's me, and more than me. Here's the mate of the brig,
Mr. Northland. He caught hold of my leg in the dark, and I fired off
my musket."

"Are you sure it is the mate of the brig?"

"Sure! Haven't I made all the voyage with him? and do you think I
don't know his voice as well as I do my own?"

"Where are the bushrangers?" inquired the ensign.

"On board the brig," replied the mate. "They offered to let us go on
shore with arms to protect us from the natives; and as they had us
completely in their power, the major thought it best to agree to it.
When I gripped Mr. Silliman's leg, I thought I had got hold of a
native."

"There are no natives in this part of the island," said the
constable; "what put that in your head?"

"Why, Mark Brandon declared there was a mob of at least three hundred
natives preparing to attack us! And I saw one myself, a most
ferocious-looking rascal, brandishing his spears at us from the top of
the hill..."

"That was me!" said Jerry. "It was that confounded bushranger who
made me paint myself like a native with his filthy black mud, and
stuck me at the top of the hill to frighten you."

"By Jupiter," exclaimed the mate, "I see it all now! And that
confounded bushranger, with his jaw, has been persuading us all the
time that you were a party of natives; for we saw the smoke of your
fire over the hills. That we could ever be such fools as to be so
bamboozled!"

"Don't be ashamed," said the constable, availing himself of the
freedom of the bush to put in his say; "Mark Brandon has bamboozled as
good heads as yours; but now we must see if we can't bamboozle him."

"Come on to the fire," said the ensign, "and then you can explain
more of this matter to us. There is something in it that I can't
altogether comprehend. This Mark Brandon seems to have the art of the
devil himself to deceive you all in the way that he has done."

The mate, during this colloquy, had freed his prisoner from the cord,
and at the invitation of the ensign, he moved on with Jerry to the
spot where the fire was blazing brightly. They were duly challenged by
the sentries as they approached; and having reached the light, it was
with considerable curiosity that the mate surveyed the well-known
podgy person of his fellow-passenger of the brig; not without some
vague lingerings of doubt, however, as to whether he could be the real
Silliman after all, so strongly was his mind impressed with the
remembrance of having seen him going down to the bottom of the sea in
D'Entrecasteaux's channel. He was glad, however, to sit down by the
side of the fire with the ensign, while Mr. Silliman endeavoured to
rest himself on his knees.

The ensign, observing that he continued in that unnatural and
inconvenient posture, asked him, goodnaturedly, why he did not sit
down? But Jerry shook his head, and rubbing himself behind with a most
lugubrious expression of countenance, intimated that the mate's
vivacious hints with the bayonet had incapacitated him from enjoying
that luxury for some time to come.

The mate having explained the meaning of Jerry's pantomimic action,
the bystanders, as is usual on such occasions, set up a hearty and
simultaneous laugh, which was rendered the merrier by the comical
seriousness preserved by the smarting Jerry, who did not laugh at all;
and, as he observed, "couldn't see what there was to laugh at. How
would they like it themselves?"

Their merriment quickly gave way, however, to the more serious
consideration of the steps to be pursued for the recovery of the brig.
The major's daughters were safe; that was a great point; and George
Trevor's heart beat quick as he thought that the Helen, whom he had
sought over a large part of Europe in vain, was even now within a
short distance from him, and that in a brief space he should have the
happiness of beholding her again!

In his romantic enthusiasm he was almost angry that circumstances had
disappointed him of the opportunity of showing his courage by rescuing
her from the power of the bushrangers! But that idea soon gave way to
more sober thoughts. Her father, by the mate's account, would be
ruined by the loss of the brig, in which had been embarked nearly the
whole of his property; besides, it was his duty to leave no means
untried of capturing the runaway convicts, who were in arms against
the government, and whose escape it was important to prevent, lest it
should operate as an encouragement to similar attempts.

He turned his attention, therefore, firmly to the business of
retaking the brig, without allowing the thought of Helen, whom he
burned to see again, to distract him from his duty; but, as he
considered that the major's military experience would be valuable in
deciding on the proceedings to be adopted, he determined on joining
him without delay.

Desiring his party to follow in Indian file, and requesting the mate
to act as guide, they proceeded as rapidly as the darkness and the
inequality of the ground would permit to the spot where the major,
with his daughters and the crew of the vessel, held their entrenched
encampment.



Chapter XVII. Love in the Bush.

IN the mean time the major, with the vigilance of an old soldier, had
kept a good look-out. On the departure of the mate he had pushed
forward a couple of scouts to give notice of anything indicating
danger.

It was not long before one of them came back with the intelligence
that footsteps were heard approaching. The major went to the outside
of his fortifications a little in advance, and placing his ear to the
ground was enabled to distinguish plainly the sound of the tread of
many men. Giving instant directions to the crew to be on their guard,
and retiring his two scouts within the breast-work, the sturdy sailors
stood with their arms ready and prepared to repel the attack of the
natives, which they now were convinced was on the point of taking
place.

The major was by no means at ease in respect to the result of the
conflict; for he was aware of the power of numbers, and the advantage
which a night attack, under such circumstances, gave to the attacking
party. He hastily spoke a few words to re-assure his daughters'
confidence, with some brief instructions as to the course they were to
pursue in the case of his being overpowered by numbers.

Helen, and especially Louisa, could not help feeling the alarm
natural to their sex at the prospect of an encounter with savages, not
only on their own account, but for their father's sake, who was not a
man, as they well knew, to be backward where fighting was going on, or
to shrink from danger when his presence and example were needed to
encourage others.

But, with the strong-minded Helen, the tremors which the first alarm
had excited, quickly subsided, and, arming herself with a ship's
cutlass, she planted herself before the entrance of the rock to guard
from harm her less courageous sister.

"Shall I fire, sir?" asked one of the sailors, who held in his brawny
arms a huge blunderbuss, the threatening aspect of which was alone
sufficient to scare away a whole mob of natives, had there been light
to distinguish the capaciousness of its expanding muzzle:--"I can hear
them coming on, and my blunderbuss covers them nicely; shall I let
fly?"

"No, no," said the major, "never fire, man, till you have hailed your
enemy; always give fair play; don't fire."

"Avast, there!" cried out the mate, who heard the word "fire," and
was by no means desirous of receiving such a compliment from his
friends. "Avast! we are friends, all of us. Here is Mr. Silliman come
to life again, and a party of soldiers come to join us; and now, by
Jupiter, we'll have the old brig again; and I'll take the liberty to
tell Master Mark Brandon a bit of my mind. And, with your leave,
major, we'll make up a fire, for we are strong enough now to defy the
bushrangers, even if they were to come on shore, which they won't do,
for it's not their game; they will be trying to get the vessel through
the opening and out to sea; but we'll put a stopper on that, or my
name's not Jack Northland."

"Major Horton," said Ensign Trevor, introducing himself by name, "I
think I cannot do better than put myself under your orders; your
knowledge and experience in these matters are far superior to mine."

This deferential offer Mr. Trevor made by no means with the desire of
propitiating the major, but entirely from the impulse of his natural
modesty, so becoming in youth. But the major replied with military
decision, in terms not less courteous:

"By no means, Mr. Trevor; you are on duty, and I am retired from the
service. But I shall be happy to give you the benefit of my advice if
you should think it worth having. But, your name! I had the honour to
be acquainted abroad with a gentleman of the name of Trevor; is it
possible that I can have the pleasure of meeting him again in this
most extraordinary manner? And now, that the fire begins to burn up, I
can see by the light that I am not mistaken. Helen, my dear, you may
come forward; Louisa, my love, there is no danger. I have a surprise
for you both; here is an old acquaintance. Mr. Trevor, my dears, whom
you knew in Germany, is in command of the party that has joined us.
Strange meeting this, Mr. Trevor! My poor little girl, you see, has
not recovered from her alarm at the thoughts of the natives. Where is
Helen, my love? She is generally foremost when there's danger; not
that there's any danger now, and especially from you, Mr. Trevor. I
see that the expectation of a brush has excited you a little. Oh! here
comes Helen! My dear, why do you walk so slowly? Are you ill? Is
anything the matter with your sister, Louisa? I am afraid, Mr. Trevor,
that her spirits are too much for her! She is quite a heroine, sir; an
Amazon! I believe to defend her poor father and her sister she would
fight like a lioness! Helen, my dear, look up; this is Mr. Trevor;
don't you remember Mr. Trevor? Surely you can't forget the long walks
we used to take with him at Vienna! There--there--don't be making
formal court'sies in the bush! This is not a place for ceremony, nor a
time, neither. You are heated and flushed, my dear, with the
excitement of our preparations for the natives. Well, upon my word, I
never saw so much bowing and courtseying before! Mr. Trevor, I admire
the deference due to the ladies as much as any man, but there's no
need to be so very formal among gum-trees and opossums."

"I am happy to see Mr. Trevor," at last said Helen, in a low voice,
which faltered slightly, and with an air of dignity which might have
become a queen on her throne receiving an ambassador.

"Circumstances," began Mr. Trevor,....

"Major," said the mate, coming forward from the rock, by which
another fire had been kindled, "we want your assistance here about the
provisions: our men say they ought to have some grog."

"Excuse me," said the major, "for a moment; I must attend to my
fellows. Sailors, you know, Mr. Trevor, are an unruly race wherever
rum and brandy are in question."

So saying, he withdrew.

His daughter, Louisa, feeling, with the instinct of her sex, that
George Trevor and her sister would prefer that their conference should
take place without the presence of a third person, had the
complaisance to accompany him; and the ensign and Helen were left
alone together.

The spot on which the two found themselves in this most strange and
unexpected meeting was one of the most romantic of that beautiful
island, abounding, as it does, in varied and romantic scenery. It was
a spot worthy of the pencil of Salvator Rosa. Nothing could exceed the
gloomy grandeur of the scene, and the lights and shadows cast by the
fires around added to the solemn beauty of the picture.

Scattered about were huge masses of rock, interspersed with dwarfy
shrubs, among which appeared one or two umbrageous peppermint trees of
enormous height, whose leaves presented towards the fire the vivid
tints of their bright green, while the masses of boughs behind were
involved in impenetrable shade. In the background, about a hundred
yards from the fire, near which George Trevor and Helen were standing,
arose a lofty mass of brown and rugged rock, disclosing in its front a
natural cave of gigantic proportions, the entrance of which was now
revealed by the light of the fire which had been kindled by the
sailors, and who, with their muskets in their hands, were grouped
around it in picturesque disorder. To the left, the bay, on which the
moon now shed a feeble light, might be faintly traced to the base of
the hills in the distance; and on its tranquil bosom the masts of the
devoted brig were indistinctly visible. Still further, and to the left
of the great rock, the open sea appeared, its undulating surface still
crested with foam which glistened in the white beams of the rising
moon beyond.

As George Trevor and Helen were standing on the side of the fire
farthest from the rock, their persons could be but imperfectly seen by
those in the vicinity of the sailors' fire, and the sentry in advance
was removed from sight and hearing by the obstruction of the temporary
fortification of timber and branches which had been thrown up for the
protection of the major's party. Thus secured from the observation of
eyes or ears, the two had full opportunity to make their mutual
explanations; but it was some time before the ensign could muster up
courage to break silence, as Helen stood, with her arms slightly
folded, in an attitude of freezing rigidity.

"Miss Horton may think, perhaps," he began, "that she has reason to
complain--"

"Sir," said Helen, "I make no complaints."

"I mean," resumed the gentleman, "that my seeming neglect--after
what had passed--I mean, the declaration which I made--"

"Mr. Trevor," interrupted Helen, "I require no apology for the
neglect that you speak of, and it is superfluous for you, therefore,
to offer it. This meeting, in these wilds, is not of my seeking--nor
of yours, doubtless," she added, with some degree of bitterness; "but
such as it is, sir, we must be to each other as if former meetings had
never been. I require from you, sir, nothing but respect--and
forgetfulness of all the rest. Permit me, sir, to join my father."

"Stay, Miss Horton! Helen! for God's sake do not go away with such
an erroneous notion of my feelings! When I quitted you at Vienna, I
was called away by the sudden and dangerous illness of my nearest and
dearest relation...."

"And the lady, sir, who accompanied you? Was she a near and dear
relation too?"

"That lady was the betrothed of one of my dearest friends. It was to
serve them both that I accompanied her to a village not five miles
off, where her future husband awaited her. It was for the purpose of
giving a false scent to those who might pursue her, that I consented
to act the part I did, and which I have felt since might have given
rise to the most fatal misconstruction. The lady is long since married
to my friend; and as I am sure that you will not doubt my sacred word
of honour, I hope I may trust that you will believe in the truth of
what I tell you, which I now sacredly affirm. I addressed a letter to
you at Vienna..."

"I never received it!!"

"...to which I received no reply; but as the letter was not
returned, I conceived, perhaps, an erroneous opinion of you from the
slight, as I felt it, of your silence; and feared...but I will not
dwell on that point. In short, I do not hesitate to avow, that I
searched for you through a great part of Germany, and afterwards in
England; but, as you are aware, without success. My travels in pursuit
of you occupied me for an entire year...."

"Can this be true?" said Helen, her voice faltering with emotion.

"You cannot doubt my truth, Helen. At last, wearied with a vain
search, and suspecting, from your not having replied to my letter,
that--that--I am ashamed even now to breathe such a suspicion--in
short--that you were trifling with my affections...."

"Oh--no!--it was not that!" said Helen, her eyes suffused with
tears.

"And wishing to fly from the misery of remembrances too bitter to be
borne..."

Helen sobbed!...

"I determined to try if a total change of scene and new occupations
would have the effect of making me forget one whom I had loved so
tenderly--and who had treated me, as I thought, so capriciously--but
whom I was determined to forget!"

"George--George--you have done me wrong I never was capricious. I
thought you had wronged me;--and it was the thought of that neglect
that reconciled me to exile--to this distant part of the world--where
I might bury my grief and disappointment far away from the eyes of all
observers. And I, too, have tried to forget--but I could not. No! a
woman cannot forget! How often have I wished that she could!"

"Then--at this spot--" exclaimed George Trevor--"I repeat the
declaration of my love; and by this token," unbuttoning his vest and
displaying a locket, in which his mistress had formerly enclosed a
lock of her beautiful hair, "I claim the promise which I received..."

"George, you have it before you ask it. There is something so strange
and so romantic in this singular meeting on the other side of the
globe, after so long a separation, that I think it is fated that we
are to belong to each other! You know," she added, smiling, "it is
said that marriages are made in heaven! There is my hand; I need not
tell you that which you have made me so often tell you before: but be
sure that where my hand is given, there my heart is also."

The happy ensign bent down in reverence, and kissed devoutly the
proffered hand that was extended towards him in sign of
reconciliation; and he was about to repeat the homage, when the voice
of the major suddenly interrupted his devotions.

"Hulloa! hulloa!" said the major; "what is the meaning of all this?
Kissing of hands in the bush! Why, Mr. Ensign, you make your military
approaches with promptitude, at any rate! We want you to join a
council of war with me, and the mate, and the constable; as we are the
four dignitaries it seems, on whom the fate of the bushrangers
depends. Well, upon my word, sir, you do me very great honour! You
tuck my daughter under your arm as if she belonged to you! That's the
military fashion of modern days, I suppose?"

"You forget, major, that our acquaintance is of old date: it was
begun at Vienna."

"Eh! what? acquaintance! Mr. Trevor, what do you mean?"

"I mean, major, that the acquaintance and the addresses which your
daughter permitted in Germany, she allows me to renew in Van Diemen's
Land."

"Addresses! and, renew! Upon my word, you make quick work of it, you
young fellows. This, I suppose, is a new edition of an old story! Love
in the Bush! And you say that all this nonsense began at Vienna! Well,
I think, Helen, you might have made me a confidant in the affair. You
know I never would cross you in such a matter; but a father is
something, after all! One likes to be consulted, at any rate!"

"My dear papa," said Helen, in her most winning tones, "it was our
intention to ask your permission--"

"What! after you had fallen in love you intended to ask my permission
to do it! Ah! that's always the way!"

"My dear papa!" interrupted Helen, in great confusion, "pray don't
talk so! I assure you it was our intention--but--you forget we were
more than a year in Germany with Mr. Trevor."

"Well--"

"A whole year!"

"Well--what of that?"

"Miss Horton means to say," said the soldier, gallantly coming to the
rescue, "that it was impossible for me to be in her society for a
whole year--short as the time was--without becoming penetrated with a
sense of her many excellent qualities...."

"Ah! you're both in the same tale, that's clear enough: the one keeps
the other in countenance."

"Dear papa, if I had thought that you disapproved....."

"Of course! If you had thought that I disapproved! Oh! then you would
both have fallen out of love again, I dare say! But let me tell you,
although you thought yourselves so clever, that your old father saw
plainly enough what was going on; and if he had disapproved, he would
not have allowed Mr. Trevor to improve his opportunities as he did:
your father was too old a soldier for that...."

"Oh! my dear papa!"

"Oh! my dear sir!"

"Well, let me see--some explanations are necessary, Mr. Trevor."

"Oh, papa! George has explained everything."

"But not to me, miss. Mr. Trevor, you can do that when we have more
leisure. Our first business is to get possession of the brig, and to
capture these rascally convicts. Now, Mr. Ensign, you will have the
opportunity of showing what mettle you are made of. Mark Brandon is a
desperate fellow, and he will not be taken without blood-shed, depend
upon it."

"Oh, heavens! Papa, what does it matter about the brig now? we are
all safe out of it, and I cannot bear to think that any lives should
be sacrificed in attempting to get it back again."

"We are all safe out of it," replied her father, "but all my property
is safe in it; and we must endeavour to get it again. Besides, it is
the duty of Mr. Trevor to leave no means untried to take the runaway
convicts. He is in the king's service now, and is not his own master."

Their further conversation was interrupted by the mate, who, at the
suggestion of the constable, took the liberty to break in on the
conference of the higher powers, to warn the major that it was near
midnight; and that if the boats which had been left at the creek were
to be brought round, no time was to be lost in effecting that
desirable object, in order to intercept the brig, should a change of
wind enable the convicts to attempt to force their way out through the
narrow entrance of the bay.

The constable was summoned to add his advice to the council; and it
was resolved, that all the crew of the brig, with the two constables,
should make the best of their way to the place where the boats were
left, and under the direction of the mate, lose no time in bringing
them round into the bay, where the military under the command of the
ensign would meet them. A corporal's guard was to be left at the rock
for the protection of the women; and as the corporal was a veteran
whose looks inspired confidence, this arrangement was agreed to by
Helen and Louisa with tolerable resignation, although Helen ventured
to throw out a hint that she should like to be a spectatress of the
fight; and Louisa insisted a little on the propriety of her father
remaining to protect them. But, soldiers' daughters as they were, they
would have been ashamed to urge the absence of their father or their
lover from the dangers to which others exposed themselves.

The resolutions relating to the boats were put promptly in course of
execution, by the departure of those appointed for that service; and
the ensign, after having posted sentinels to prevent surprise, desired
the rest of his men to lie down with their arms at hand, and to take
such rest as they could snatch from the fleeting hours of the early
morning. For himself, he determined to remain on the watch.

The major, with his daughters, returned within the cave, and soon the
whole party, with the exception of sentinels and their officer, were
buried in profound sleep.



Chapter XVIII. Mr. Silliman's Studies in Natural History.

THE report of the musket discharged by Mr. Jeremiah Silliman in the
excess of his fright from the sudden clutch of the iron fingers of the
mate, the faint echo of which was wafted in the silence of the night
over the waters of the bay where the brig was temporarily moored, was
not unmarked by the watchful desperado who had possession of the
vessel.

The bushranger felt that the sound boded no good to him! It must have
been heard, he feared, by some prying scout from the party in the
boat; and the junction of the parties of the major and of the
constable was thus certain; but although that was an anticipation, in
point of time, of a mutual discovery which could not fail to take
place, it was not an event which he had left out of his calculations.
But he had hoped that the junction would have been deferred until a
late hour in the morning; and, in the mean time, he trusted to his
good fortune, that, at the dawn of day, a change of wind might take
place, which would enable him to make his way through the narrow
passage which formed the entrance of the bay; but now it was likely
that he should have the two parties to contend against instead of one,
and it was possible that the boats might be made use of to intercept
his passage.

However, he reckoned that he should be able, from the vantage ground
of the higher deck of the brig, to beat off the boats; and he trusted
that the fire of the shore party would not be sufficient to clear his
decks and prevent the manoeuvring of the vessel before the wind would
take him out to sea and place him beyond the danger of further
pursuit.

He busied himself, therefore, during the night, with putting the
vessel into the best state of defence against boarding of which she
was capable and the materials at hand afforded; and, taking care that
each sail was ready to be set to the wind, and that every rope was in
order, he scanned the sky with eager gaze, and waited anxiously for
the change of wind which the experience of his smuggler's life told
him was preparing.

In this way the night was passed by the respective parties; the
sailors attached to the pursuing body, with the crew of the brig
working vigorously at their oars to bring the boat round to the
entrance of the bay before the change of wind,--which, with nautical
foresight of the weather, they were aware, from the appearance of the
clouds, was likely to take place in a few hours,--should come; the
convicts in the brig, with the wakefulness of the fear which
accompanies crime, afraid to trust themselves to sleep lest they
should be surprised they knew not when nor how, remaining in anxious
watchfulness; and the united party on shore seeking in a brief repose
for the renewed strength which would be wanted on the morrow.

Their peaceful slumbers, however, were suddenly broken at the
earliest dawn of day by loud cries for help from the vicinity of the
encampment.

The luckless Mr. Silliman was unable to close his eyes that night,
partly from his excessive joy at being restored to the presence of his
divinities, Helen and Louisa, and partly from the inconvenience of the
flesh-wounds which had been inflicted by the mate, when that active
officer mistook him for a native. It was with extreme apprehension of
the fatal consequences that he reflected, that bayonet-wounds were, of
all others, the most dangerous and the most difficult to heal, from
the triangular form of the weapon which prevented the orifices from
closing and healing, as the surgeons term it, "with the first
intention."

Full of these thoughts, and sorely grieved with the smart, he cast
about, being as he was apt to boast, of a reflecting turn of mind, for
some means of relief. Fortunately, as he thought, it occurred to him
that the natives of some island in the South Seas, the name of which
he had forgotten, made use of chewed leaves to apply to the wounds
made by their spears and tomahawks. Much pleased with himself at this
ready recollection of his reading from books of useful knowledge, he
resolved to lose no time in turning it to account on the present
occasion. He looked about, therefore, for a tree or shrub of an aspect
sufficiently inviting for his experiment.

Seeing a noble tree at no great distance from the fire, he threaded
his way cautiously to its base, and then he had the satisfaction of
learning the cause of a particular sort of squealing and scratching
which he had heard during the night, and for which he had been unable
to account. Looking up to a projecting bough over his head, he saw
that it was almost covered with some furry little animals resembling
cats or squirrels, and which his knowledge of natural history enabled
him at once to recognise as opossums. There was sufficient moonlight
to allow him to see that the creatures devoured the leaves of the tree
with much apparent relish.

This was another fact in natural history which he considered was of
infinite advantage to him on the present occasion; for he had learned
from descriptions of foreign countries, that travellers might safely
venture to eat of that which they observed animals, and especially the
birds, to feed on. He was by no means inclined to carry that theory
into practice in respect to thistles, but, fortified by this
demonstration of the taste of the opossums, he plucked some of the
leaves of the luxuriant tree, which was one of those known by the name
of "peppermint trees," which abound in Australia, and whose odours
perfume the air very pleasingly at a distance. Collecting a handful of
these leaves, he forthwith set to at chewing them.

If the opossums were as curious in studying objects of natural
history as their spectator, doubtless they would have admired the
extraordinary contortion of countenance exhibited by the venturesome
Jerry, as he became aware of the horrible nastiness of his first
experience in practical botany. But the smart of the tattoeing of the
bayonet at that moment becoming sharper, and acting as it were as a
counter-irritation to the filth in his mouth, he recovered his
surgical courage; and calling to mind that, by some curious
ordinations of Providence, almost all medicines are valuable and
curative in the inverse ratio of the pleasingness of their gustation,
he resolutely chewed on; and having reduced the leaves to a proper
state of pulp, he applied it in the form of a poultice to the part
affected, and reclining himself in a convenient posture, endeavoured
to compose himself to sleep.

But alas! little was he aware of the potent effects of the leaves of
the fragrant peppermint tree! The acrid juices of the leaves acting on
parts already vulnerised, had the same effect as cayenne pepper on an
excoriation!

Wild and energetic was the dance now performed by the burning Jerry
under the branches of the deceitful tree! His dance of the polka with
the kangaroo was not to be compared with it! In vain he hastily
divested himself of his torment, and threw it in his rage at the
opossums chattering above his head! The smart grew sharper and
sharper! and still the opossums, as it seemed, chattered and grinned
at him from the bough, and hung by their tails, and turned over head
and heels as if in scorn and mockery of the intruder on their
retreats.

Stung with indignation at their taunts, and furious with the pain,
the angry Jerry determined to take signal revenge on the little
wretches, and he looked about for the means of climbing the tree, that
he might secure some of the animals as offerings to his mistresses,
opossum skins, as he had heard, being useful to make up into tippets
and coverings for footstools. Presently spying out some inequalities
on the bark of the tree, he climbed from knob to knob, till he reached
the base of the branch on which he had watched his prey, which now,
however, had retreated into the interior of the decayed trunk.

Nothing doubting that he should easily make prizes of some of those
Australian curiosities, and balancing himself as well as he could,
over the interior of the cavity, he dived his arm down boldly,
expecting to reach the heads or tails of some of them. In this attempt
he was, unhappily for himself, too successful; for the attacked
opossums, as if with one consent, instantly seized upon his arm with
teeth and claws.

The astonished Jerry, terrified at these unexpected assaults, and
losing his presence of mind and his balance at the same time, fell
into the hole among the opossums, when the enraged animals, looking at
this fresh aggression as an overt act of hostility, fastened upon him
with the most vehement squeaks, which were exceeded, however, by the
violent shrieks of Jerry for assistance!

The horrid noise of the combined squealings and scufflings of the
opossums, and the excited lamentations of Jeremiah, quickly roused up
every one from his sleeping place; and the soldiers starting from the
ground, seized their ready arms, and stood prepared to repel the
enemy, who they supposed was close upon them.

"Now, major," said the ensign, as the former emerged from the
interior of the cave, "we shall have a brush! those impudent rascals
are upon us!"

"Give me a sword," said the major, seizing a ship's cutlass. "Now
Trevor, I consider that you are in command! Where is the enemy?"

"Murder!" shrieked a stifled voice from the interior of the tree,
about a hundred yards from the fires; "Murder! help!"

"That's Mr. Silliman's voice," said the major, "surely; but where is
he?"

"Murder!"

"It is Mr. Silliman's voice," said both the girls, who, unable to
restrain their curiosity, had come to the cave's mouth. "It's
impossible to mistake it!"--

"Murder!"

"It comes from that tree," said the ensign.

"Corporal, take two file to that decayed tree yonder, with the thick
wide-spreading branches, and see what's the matter."

The corporal, making his military salute, immediately obeyed, and
took his way rapidly but warily to the point.

At this moment, the head of the unfortunate Jerry appeared for an
instant above the cavity, and as all eyes were directed to the spot,
it was visible to the whole party. The head cast an imploring look at
its friends, and then with another vociferous shout of--murder!
instantaneously disappeared!

"Some wild beast must have got hold of him," said the ensign. "This
is a false alarm, it seems, excepting so far as it concerns that poor
gentleman! It is the same person, is it not, whom your mate punctured
last night to keep him quiet?"

"It is the same--poor fellow!--he was nearly drowned, too,
yesterday."

"Indeed! He seems to be unlucky. But I see the corporal has
extricated him from his trap. What has happened, sir? What made you
cry out so loudly?"

"Oh! the little devils! They have got claws like cats, and teeth
like rats! Look at me!" said Jerry, displaying his hands and face,
which were scratched and bitten in a hundred places. "In trying to
catch an opossum, I fell into the hollow of the tree, and a whole host
of the brutes fastened on me with all their teeth and claws! and all
smelling like essence of peppermint!...."

A general burst of laughter saluted the mortified Jerry at this
pathetic account of his reception by the opossum family--so prone are
people in general to treat with ridicule such comical disasters as do
not harm themselves; but the general attention was suddenly turned
from the spectacle of Jerry's damaged person, by the information of a
sentinel posted on an adjacent eminence, which commanded a view of the
bay, that "the brig was in motion!"



Chapter XIX. Preparations for the Fight.

THE sentry's announcement of the brig being in motion at once turned
the attention of all parties from Mr. Silliman's disaster to the
business of the day. The few light clouds which were floating over
their heads had already made them aware that the wind had changed, and
that unless the boats arrived in time, there was little hope of their
being able to prevent the escape of the brig from the bay.

The cheering light of dawn now enabled the major and his daughters to
take a better survey of the spot which had formed their first resting-
place on the shores of their adopted country; and although the
southern and western coasts are remarkable for their general rugged
and barren appearance, the sheltered nook in which they found
themselves presented some of the most pleasing features of the
country: and the more so from its contrast with the bare hills and
sterile character of the country beyond.

The girls felt the influence of the scene; and had it not been for
the expedition of danger on which their father and Mr. Trevor were
intent, they would have keenly enjoyed the change from the boisterous
storm at sea of the preceding day to the present tranquil scenery of
their encampment.

The morning was clear and bright. The cold southern gale, which had
driven the shattered brig into the land-locked bay, had been succeeded
by a gentle air from the warm north; and the rising sun gave promise
of one of those genial spring days in September, which delight so much
with their enlivening freshness in Van Diemen's Land.

The melodious note of the native magpie was heard welcoming the dawn,
A flock of white cockatoos from a neighbouring gum tree surveyed the
strangers with curious eyes, as they elevated their yellow crests and
chattered among themselves, without betraying the slightest alarm at
the presence of their enemy--Man. Mr. Silliman wanted to have a shot
at them; but the sisters prayed him to desist, and with some
reluctance he obeyed; for with the true instinct of a Cockney, he
wanted to fire at everything he saw, without caring much what it was
that he killed, so long, as he expressed it, he "brought 'em down."

A kangaroo rat would now and then hop across the grass, and scurry
away when Jerry tried to catch it by the tail; and the shy bandicoot
would timidly poke its nose out of a bush to see what was going
forward.

On the withered branch of a distant tree sat a pelican, gravely
watching the waters of the bay, on which a group of black swans were
disporting, unconscious of danger.

A pair of black cockatoos, in a thicket hard by, were busy building
their nest. Numerous Rosina parrots, with their bright green plumage,
and pink heads and throats, flew hither and thither; and Mr. Silliman
horrified the gentle Louisa by informing her that, according to the
information of his vulgar friend, the constable, they made excellent
pies!

A pair of eagles, soaring in circlets close above their heads, gave
indication that the nest of those kings of the air was somewhere near,
as with discordant screechings they strove to scare away the intruders
from their haunts; while the singular cry of the little bird, not
inappropriately called by the colonists "the laughing jackass," and
which particularly attracted Mr. Silliman's attention, added variety
to the sounds of the awakened bush.

These novel sights and sounds were little heeded, however, by Mr.
Trevor and the major, who had other matters of more pressing import to
attend to.

The one had to consider the best means of regaining possession of the
vessel, in which nearly the whole of his property was embarked, and
the loss of which would leave him almost a beggar in a strange land,
where the worst of all conditions is that of a poor gentleman
unskilled in mechanical employments and without capital; and the other
was impressed with the serious responsibility that attached to him, as
the official commander of the party, if, in spite of him, the convicts
should succeed in effecting their escape with the brig from the
island; and, in defiance of the measures taken by the colonial
government, set the dangerous example of a successful piratical
expedition for the imitation of the other convicts, too many of whom
would be ready and eager to make similar attempts at plunder and
escape.

He had plenty of force to cope with a much larger body of bushrangers
than those on board the brig; but without the boats his men were
useless, and many accidents might prevent the arrival of the boats in
time; and in such case it was impossible to prevent the escape of the
brig to the open sea, where pursuit would be difficult, and perhaps
impossible. Under such circumstances, all he could do was to take the
best means in his power to intercept the brig at the entrance of the
bay, with a faint hope that by a lucky shot some important rope might
be cut in two, which would lead to a confusion on board, of which he
might be able to take advantage.

Having refreshed his men, therefore, and seen that nothing was
deficient in their equipments, he marched them to a platform on a rock
which commanded the passage.

As it was of importance to have as heavy a fire as possible directed
against the sails and rigging of the vessel, he did not think it
consistent with his duty to leave a single man behind; but as Mr.
Silliman could hardly be considered in a condition fit for active
service, he left him in charge of the cave, which was turned into a
temporary fortress for the protection of Helen and Louisa, and, with
the aid of some dead timber, scientifically disposed, it was deemed
that the safety of the ladies was secured against any sudden attack of
the natives, should any be lurking in the vicinity; an event, however,
which was regarded as quite beyond all possibility.

Mr. Silliman therefore remained on guard, to his infinite
satisfaction; and, stifling his feelings in respect to the ills which
remained behind, the warlike Jerry placed his hand upon his chest, and
assured the major that before any harm should happen to Miss Helen or
to Miss Louisa, the savages should eat him, musket and all!
Shouldering his weapon with martial energy, he gave the departing body
a military salute by holding up his firelock in a style which was a
very good imitation of that military courtesy as performed by the
soldiers, and which, to judge from the smiling sign of approbation of
their officer, and the grins of the men, seemed to afford to those
professionals not less amusement than satisfaction. The scene,
however, presently grew more serious.

The sails of the brig meanwhile became gently distended with the
favourable breeze which had sprung up from the north with the rising
sun; and it was observed by the major that a sort of screen had been
erected aft on the starboard side of the vessel to protect the man at
the wheel from the fire of a hostile party on shore. Saving this
indication of the presence of a steersman, there was no sign of a
living soul on board; the sails seemed to act without the direction of
human agency, and the gallant brig glided slowly through the tranquil
water as if by the power of its own volition.

"That bushranger," said the major to the commander of the party,
"neglects nothing; my principal hope was shooting down the man at the
helm and taking our chance of the vessel being swayed against the wall
of rock on either side; and now there is no hope of that, for so far
as I can make out, he has raised an effectual bulwark between us and
the wheel. Musket balls will be of no use against that mass of canvass
and stuff that he has built up so ingeniously. What is become of the
boats?"

"They are here," said the ensign, as he pointed to the head of one
of them which at that moment came in sight from behind the projecting
cliff, and which was quickly followed by the second, the largest of
the two; "and they are just in time, for in another half-hour the brig
would have been out at sea! Now, major, what do you advise to be
done?"

"We must try to board them at once, and without giving them time to
prepare themselves; although I fear that crafty freebooter has not
left anything undone for his defence; but we must try at any rate. Let
the brig come up close enough to allow the fire of half of your men to
take effect from the shore, which will clear their decks, and give the
opportunity to the boats to get alongside without loss. That shall be
my duty in the large boat, while my mate commands the other. Do you
back me up with your party from the top of the rock, and keep up as
brisk a fire as you can, and try to keep the rascals on board below
till we get alongside."

The boats were not long in coming within hail, and the plan of the
major was immediately acted on; with the difference only, that Trevor
insisted on going in one of them, as it was the service of danger
leaving his sergeant in command of the remaining military on shore,
with directions to support the movements of the boats by keeping up a
sharp fire at all who appeared on the deck of the vessel.

In the mean time the brig advanced slowly on towards the entrance of
the bay, where the boats were lying to intercept her.

The vigilant bushranger, however, who surveyed the preparations made
for his reception with a cool and deliberate eye, was well aware that
if he persisted in attempting to force his way out through the enemies
who were assembled to greet him, the chances would be prodigiously
against his success.

He had only six followers, making, with himself, seven in number;
whereas the party in the boats could not be less, as he calculated,
than twenty persons or more, many of whom, he could see, were
soldiers; and besides, there was a party of a dozen soldiers at least
on the top of the rock at the entrance, in a position to sweep his
deck with their fire. Under these circumstances, it was clear that
while his enemies remained together he was by far the weaker party.
His game therefore was to entice the boats from the entrance of the
passage, and if possible to divide them.

He was inclined at first to run the gauntlet and take his chance; but
his usual habit of cool and cautious policy prevailed; and he judged
it best to endeavour to gain time and wait for the breeze to freshen,
which it seemed likely to do, and which would give him a better chance
of baffling the boats and of shooting through the narrow entrance of
the bay.

With this intent, he kept the vessel steadily on her course, the
sails requiring no trimming, as the wind was nearly fair; but when he
had advanced within a quarter of a mile of the boats he suddenly
changed her course, and directed the head of the vessel towards the
opposite side of the bay.

"Now for it!" called out the mate; "we have him now. Give way, boys!"

"Stop!" said the constable, standing up and addressing his commander,
who was in the other boat; "don't be in too great a hurry; depend upon
it, Mark Brandon has not made that movement for nothing: he has some
design in it, I'll swear. You see, sir, so long as we stay here we are
sure of him, for he can't pass us--he sees that--but if we go after
him, we may not catch him, perhaps, and we shall leave the passage
open."

"You are right," said the officer, who was by no means offended at
the interference of the constable, who was an experienced hand, and
bush expeditions always allowing liberty of speech and of advice to
those qualified to give it; "but suppose the other runaway convicts
that we have had notice of should come up and join the party on board
the brig? They might be too strong for us then; or at any rate it
would cost the loss of more life in the capturing of them."

"That's true," said the constable; "but all I say is this, that Mark
Brandon has not made that move for nothing; he is up to some dodge,
depend upon it."

"I am inclined to think," said the major; "that our surest plan is to
wait for him here: if we leave our position we leave the passage free,
and he might slip through before we could come up with him."

"No, no, major," said the mate, whose head was too clear not to see
at once the best course to be pursued in a case requiring nautical
skill and judgment; "it will never do to stick here: it's all very
well so long as there is but little wind, because we can be on him
before he can help himself; but if it was to come on to blow a
stiffish breeze, d'ye see, he might bang through us, and run down one
of the boats, perhaps, before we could be aboard of him. My advice is
to go slap at him. Lord! we are enough to eat him; and with two boats
he can't get away from us. There he goes about again: you see what
he's after; he's manoeuvring for the wind to get up, and then he'll
pass us with a wet foresail, and leave us to grin at him!"

The harangue of the mate was received with a general hurrah by the
sailors, who had their own wrongs to avenge, and the soldiers showed
by the restless handling of their firelocks that they were not less
pleased at the prospect of getting at the possessors of the brig;
although the habit of military discipline prevented any outward
expression of their inclination.

"Why," continued the mate, "we can take them with one boat, and the
other can remain here, to catch 'em, if they get away from us. If the
major will say the word, I'll be bound to have the rascals under the
hatches, with our own men, without troubling the soldiers."

"I think that is a good plan, Mr. Trevor," said the major; "sailors
are best for boarding. But we will alter Mr. Northland's plan a
little, this way. I will go with him and the blue-jackets in chase of
the vessel; while you, with your own boat, can keep steadily on in a
straight line, so as to intercept her either way, and then we shall be
able to close with her fore and aft."

This plan was instantly adopted, and an interchange of the men in the
boats having been effected, the major, in command of the blue-jackets,
having his trusty mate as his lieutenant, immediately started in
pursuit.

These arrangements were not unobserved by those on board the brig.
The dimensions of the bay being about five miles from the entrance,
and three broad, it seemed impossible for the brig to escape one or
the other of the boats, although the wind was most favourable for her
manoeuvres, as it blew directly from the north towards the open sea,
and gave the advantage to the vessel to make tacks on her quickest
point of sailing from one side of the bay to the other.

But this game the bushranger was aware could not last long, if both
the boats did their duty, and his only chance of escape was to delude
them into pursuing him to the bottom of the bay, from which the fair
wind would enable him easily to emerge; and then, as he calculated, if
the breeze would only freshen a bit, he should be able to distance the
boats, and get out to sea. As to the party lying in ambush for him on
the rock at the entrance, he cared very little for their opposition,
as the worst that their musket balls could do would be to riddle his
sails here and there; and if the wind kept up, he should soon be out
of their reach.

But when he saw the systematic plan adopted by his enemies, he began
to fear that for once he had met with his match, and that his fate, so
far as the brig was concerned, was sealed. With these thoughts he
turned his attention to the possibility of making his escape to the
shore; but before he did that, he was resolved to try every possible
means of getting the brig out of the bay, either by stratagem or
force. An unexpected accession of strength seemed to favour most
opportunely the latter plan.

The second body of convicts who had taken to the bush as the ensign
had informed the constable when he first joined that party, and whose
escape had caused the authorities at Hobart Town to despatch the
auxiliary detachment of soldiers under an officer's command, had made
their way to the southern part of the island, whither, the report was,
Mark Brandon had led his followers.

They had formed part of a road gang stationed about six miles from
Hobart Town, on the road beyond Sandy Bay, and were most of them
characters of the worst description, having been returned from
settlers' service up the country to government employ, on account of
bad conduct and insubordination.

It was the monotonous work, the restricted indulgences, and the
severe discipline to which they were subjected when working on the
roads, that had prompted them to the desperate expedient of taking to
the bush, to which they had been stimulated also by the report that
was abroad of a brig having been telegraphed which had not come up the
river, and which led them to surmise that its capture was the object
of Brandon's flight, a man who was well known to all the prisoners as
one whose cunning in difficulties and daring in danger was sufficient
for the successful execution of almost any enterprise howsoever
difficult.

By dint of forced marches, which nothing but the desire of liberty
could have enabled them to sustain, the runaways had contrived to make
their way to the southern part of the coast, and to reach the hill
which overlooked the bay--and which was the same on which Mr. Silliman
had performed the part of a native with such dramatic effect--by
daylight, on the morning when the boats commenced their active
hostilities against the brig.

For some time they were doubtful how matters stood, and which was the
party of Mark Brandon--that in the boats, or in the brig; and they
watched the proceedings of both parties with intense interest from
their covert behind the crest of the hill. But when the brig neared
that side of the bay where they were concealed, and the rising sun
glancing on the polished firelocks revealed the presence of the
military, they had no doubt of the presence of enemies in that
quarter; the more especially as the ensign standing up in the boat
betrayed in a moment by his dress and demeanour his soldierly
character.

They could see only four or five figures on board the brig, which
confirmed them in their belief that it was in the possession of Mark
Brandon, who was reported to have taken to the bush with half a dozen
followers. Fired with the prospect of escape which this state of
things afforded to the runaway convicts, and seeing the disproportion
of strength between the attacking party in the boats and the small
number which they concluded to be on board the brig, they saw at once
that if they could add their additional numbers to Mark Brandon's
force they might be able to beat off the boats, and fight their way
successfully to the open sea. A consultation was immediately held
between them.

They found that all their party were in an efficient state,
notwithstanding the fatigue of their forced march through the bush,
which nothing but the fear of pursuit and the desperation of their
condition could have enabled them to perform. They had among them one
musket and five fowling-pieces, which they had contrived to purloin
previous to their escape from camp, with a dozen axes. They had no
doubt of finding more arms on board: once there, they felt sure of the
result. But how to apprise Mark Brandon of the arrival of friends--
that was the point?

It was proposed that one of them should endeavour to swim on board;
but that experiment was rejected as too hazardous. Another suggested
that a signal should be made to the brig from the shore; but that
course it was feared was as likely to attract the observation of the
boats as of the vessel, and then their project would be defeated:
besides, how was Mark to know from whom the signal proceeded--from
friends or foes?

The attempt of communicating with the brig might have been altogether
baffled if one rogue more ingenious than the rest, who had been a long
time in the colony, and was well acquainted with bush expedients, had
not thought of making a bark canoe after the manner of the natives,
which would enable one of them to get afloat and reach the vessel.
This idea was unanimously approved, and half a dozen immediately
repaired to a cluster of stringy-bark trees, which were observed about
a quarter of a mile off, in a hollow, sheltered from the cold and
boisterous south winds.

One of them being mounted on the shoulders of the rest, cut the bark
horizontally all round, while the same operation was performed below;
then slitting the bark in a vertical direction from top to bottom of
each cut, they peeled the bark from the tree, which came off in a
single piece, about ten feet long. Gathering up the two ends, they
tied them firmly with such materials as they had about them, at either
end, so as to prevent the admission of water, and the machine then
presented the appearance of a long and narrow canoe, in which two men
could sit easily, but which, from its shape and frail manufacture, was
liable to overturn, or to split at the slightest impediment.

The man who had suggested the expedient volunteered to make his way
on board, and "whether he was drowned or whether he was shot," he
said, "made little odds, for he was tired of his life of slavery, and
he would as lieve die as live any longer in such a wretched state."

Two branches were cut down and shaped as well as the hurry and
circumstances permitted, to serve as paddles, and the man putting the
canoe on his shoulder and taking the paddles under his arm, went
stealthily down to the edge of the water. Having launched his canoe,
and crept into it carefully without his shoes, to prevent its
upsetting, he balanced himself in a sitting posture in the centre, and
by the aid of his paddles propelled his light bark over the water in
the direction of the brig.



Chapter XX. The Bushranger's New Stratagem.

THE canoe lay so low in the water, and the two boats were so intent
on the movements of the brig, and the brig of them, that it entirely
escaped the notice of both parties; but as it was directly in the
course of the vessel, the man on the look-out forward presently sung
out to the bushranger, who was aft attending to the steering of the
vessel, that "there was a canoe right ahead with a man in it."

Brandon had scarcely time to put the helm hard up before the brig was
close upon the frail machine, and at the same moment the man in the
canoe recognising a fellow-prisoner on board, called to him by name.
His comrade without hesitation threw a rope to him, which its occupant
instantly securing round his body, he was pulled out of his canoe and
dragged for a few moments astern as the vessel continued her course.

When he was hauled up on board he quickly explained to Brandon that
there were eight-and-twenty of them ashore, some with fire-arms, and
all with weapons of some sort or other ready to join them, and to take
their chance on board the brig.

Mark, who was as quick as a bandicoot and as cunning as a platyplus
in perceiving and avoiding danger, was not less ready to take
advantage of all opportunities in his own favour without regard to the
interests or safety of those whom he made use of for his purposes.
Despairing of making his way out by force, but seeing at once the
advantage of making a diversion so as to draw off one of the boats
from the pursuit of the vessel, he pretended to hail the news of such
an accession of strength with delight, and proposed that the messenger
should without delay assemble all his comrades on the beach, from
which the brig would manage to take them off by means of ropes and
other contrivances, which he would invent by the time they were ready
to avail themselves of them.

To this effect he kept on his course towards the land till he had
arrived within less than a quarter of a mile of the beach, and then
urging the messenger to do his best in swimming on shore, he dropped
him into the water, and turning the vessel's head round on the other
tack, shot over to the further side of the bay.

The hoisting of the man on board from the canoe which had been just
visible on the surface of the water, but which had turned over with
the jerk of his being pulled out of it, and was no longer to be seen,
was not unobserved by the vigilant mate, who was standing up in the
boat, and who was at a loss to comprehend the meaning of it; and which
was rendered more puzzling by the vessel running the needless risk, as
it appeared to him, of keeping so close in-shore.

He kept his eye on the spot, and, shortly, he saw a something which
he presently made out to be a man emerge from the water, and make his
way rapidly up the slope of the bare hill. Struck with this
circumstance, he bade the men lay on their oars a moment while he
pointed out the object to the major.

"What can be the meaning of that?" said the major: "that's a man
making his way up that hill as plain as can be; but whether it is a
native or not, is more than I can tell."

"Whatever it is," said the mate, "I saw him come out of the water in
that direction, and he must have come out of the brig; where else
could he come from?"

"There he goes," said the constable: "now he has disappeared over the
top of the hill. What the deuce is the meaning of this? Some new dodge
of Mark's. Depend upon it, whatever Mark does he has a reason for it;
but what his game is in sending that chap over the hill beats my
guessing."

"Can it be to see what we have done with the girls at our fortress?"
asked the major of the mate, with some anxiety--natural under the
circumstances. "There is only that poor fellow Silliman to protect
them."

"No fear of harm there," said the constable; "if the young ladies'
sentinel only keeps himself close, and shows the muzzle of his musket
through the barricade at the cave's mouth, no single man will venture
to attack him; but after all, the man's leaving the vessel in that way
means something. Mark is as full of tricks as a hunted fox: but what
this new move is, is more than I can tell."

"Never mind," exclaimed the mate; "don't lose time in guessing; our
business is to get possession of the brig, and have her we must; for
you see we are regularly chasing her into a corner, and we must bring
her to close quarters at last, and then we will at her, and hurrah for
the first in! Now, my men, give way."

"Stay," said the constable; "keep the boat steady a moment longer. I
see a body of men coming over the hill; there are twenty or thirty of
them. What's the game now?"

"I see them," said the mate; "and look! the brig has gone about to
meet them. Hulloa! we shall have a spree by-and-by! If those chaps are
Mark Brandon's friends, and they get aboard the brig, we shall have
more work to do than we reckoned on. And here comes the soldiers'
boat, pulling with all their might: hold hard, my sons: the soldier
officer, I suppose, wants to speak to us."

"Have you observed that body of men?" said the ensign eagerly to the
major as his boat came up alongside. "From all appearances they are
friends of those on board, and I have no doubt that they are the other
body of prisoners escaped from camp. If they join those who are on
board they may prove too strong for us: I have counted nearly thirty
of them."

"Bless your heart!" said the mate, "they will make no difference;
it's only a little more fighting, and it's all in the day's work! Why,
such fellows as those can do nothing when it comes to downright hard
knocks. We can take 'em easy. Hulloa! what's that lubberly bushranger
doing with the brig, knocking her about that way! Going about again--
what's that for? Is n't he going to take the other fellows on board?
No: he's about again. Major, we are only losing time; we had better
make way and join him in the bottom of the bay; we must have him
then."

"Those fellows on shore," said the major, "may be making their way
to our fortress. Don't you think your party on the rock would be well
employed in making head against them before they do mischief?"

The ensign eagerly caught at the suggestion. There was no knowing
what outrage a band of desperate miscreants might commit on
defenceless women. Their only protection at present was Mr. Silliman;
and the party of soldiers on the rock was at least half a mile from
the fortress,--a long distance, as he had already learned, in the
pathless bush.

"I will make my way back to the rock," he said, "and direct the
sergeant to march his men against this new body of marauders. If it be
done promptly, it may have the effect of preventing their junction
with their friends on board the brig."

"Do so," said the major: "we will lay on our oars till you come
back; and then as the brig cannot escape us now, we will attack her in
concert, and bring this affair to a conclusion. The sight of the two
boats together may perhaps frighten the rascals, and cause them to
surrender without bloodshed."

"Not he," said the constable, as the ensign's boat left them. "If
you think Mark Brandon will let himself be taken without fighting, you
are mistaken, I can tell you that. Mark will have a tussle for it,
depend upon it; but I think we have him at last. I don't know, though;
he has so many schemes in his head--has that man--that you never know
when you have got him and when you haven't. After all I should not be
surprised if he was to slip through our fingers--sure as we are of
him."

"Never fear," said the mate, rubbing his hands impatiently, "I only
wish I was as sure of the command of an East Indiaman as I am of
grabbing that rascal. I wouldn't give up my chance for...See! the
fellows on the beach are going back; and now the brig goes about
again. Ha! they see it; and now they are coming down to the beach
again. What is all that backing and filling for? Is the brig going to
take them on board or not?"

"That's more than any of us can tell," said the constable; "nobody
knows Mark's plans but himself: but depend on it, whatever he does, is
done with a reason. He is watching us now, and knows what we are about
as well as we do ourselves, I'll be bound. He has seen the ensign's
boat join us, and go away again towards the rock where the other party
of soldiers is, and I'll swear that he knows at this minute what it's
for. But why he waits for the soldiers to attack his fellow-prisoners
on the beach is more than I can tell. You might as well try to fathom
the middle of the sea as Mark's deepness."

"Our friend Trevor has reached the rock," said the major; "I see the
men saluting. Now he is giving his orders; now they move on. That's
right, double quick time my men. Now--I lose sight of them;--I see;
they are going to take the rascals behind, and hem them in between
themselves and the sea. Only twelve file, though. However, they are
soldiers, and the others are ragamuffins; so there's force enough; and
they can fire three times for the others' once. Here comes Trevor,
again. Now, my boys, we shall wait no longer; the brig can't escape
us. We will board her while the red coats engage her attention in
another way. Hard case this, Northland, to be obliged to take our own
vessel again by force of arms."

"Force of arms!" said the mate disdainfully, and with a contemptuous
motion of his hand towards the brig; "force of a fiddlestick! Those
fellows will never stand us; we have only to show ourselves on board.
And suppose they do fight?--all the better. I'm blest," said he, with
a jovial grin at his brother blue-jackets, "if we arn't all of us
getting rusty for want of a scrimmage! Hurrah! here's the red-coats!
Now, major, I suppose we may be moving?"

The breeze from the north in the mean time had freshened
considerably, and it threatened to blow hard, so that the advantage on
the side of the brig was considerably increased, and she made her way
so rapidly through the water as to give hope to the Bushranger that he
should be able to baffle his enemies by her speed of sailing. The
boats however neared him every minute, and he made up his mind to make
a dash through them with the fair wind which he had in his favour--
when one of those changes occurred, so frequent at that season of the
year. The wind suddenly lulled; the boats set up a cheer, and pulled
vigorously to their mark. They were within half a mile of the brig
when a blast of air from the high hills on the other side of the bay
suddenly filled her sails, and she again shot through the water.

At this time the party of convicts on shore had caught sight of the
soldiers coming down upon them over the bare hills, and they hastily
retreated, keeping within reach however of the margin of the bay, in
the hope of being taken on board the brig.

But the wind now began to blow from all quarters of the heavens, and
it was impossible for the brig's crew to lend their assistance to
those on shore, even had they been willing; and as Brandon had
accomplished his object in making use of them for the purpose of the
diversion which he desired, and had succeeded in drawing away the
party of soldiers which had been stationed on the rock at the entrance
of the passage, he would have had no objection to receive them on
board had the opportunity been afforded to him. But it was too late;
it was as much as he could do to attend to the sails and steering of
the brig, feebly assisted as he was by his companions, unused as they
were to manoeuvring a vessel.

In the mean time the retreat of the convicts on shore had drawn the
sergeant's party round the bay to the further side, and a few shots
were faintly heard, indicating that the fray was becoming serious in
that quarter.

The elements also seemed to be mustering up their strength, and a
squall from the south-east twisting round the brig, drove her
furiously, and before those on board could trim the sails or avoid the
danger, to the bottom of the bay. There was a low sandy shoal
stretching from the shore far into the water, towards which the brig
was propelled rapidly. There was no help for it. The bushranger saw
that all exertion was vain; all hope of escaping by the brig was lost.

Making up his mind on the instant, with the rapid decision for which
he was so remarkable, and which in an honest course of life might have
raised him to high fortune and distinction, he summoned up all his
energy to bear the bitter disappointment with fortitude. He knew that
if he allowed his mind to be depressed by the failure, his ideas would
become clouded and his invention blunted, so as to lessen his chance
of escape from the imminent danger which now hung over him.

In a very few minutes he had formed in his head a new scheme, by
which he calculated he might make terms for himself in case of
extremity; and in any event, he considered he could take to the bush,
and wait for another chance, though he did not disguise from himself
that taking to the bush was a desperate expedient, and to be had
recourse to only in case of the failure of all other means of safety.
He had no sooner made up his mind as to the best thing to be done
under the circumstances than he set about its execution.

He immediately collected in the cabin, which at the moment was the
place most easily got at, all the combustibles that he could readily
heap together, which, with the assistance of his companions, was
quickly done, and he then disposed it so as to be readily fired,
taking care that the materials were so placed as to make as large a
blaze as possible. The sight of the brig on fire he calculated would
cause his pursuers to occupy themselves in the first place with
extinguishing the flames, without busying themselves about him, which
would give him time to execute his ulterior project.

He had scarcely made this arrangement, and prepared himself and his
companions for leaving the vessel, when the brig struck violently on
the shoal, and swinging round, while the mainmast went by the board
with the shock, presented her broadside to the sands.

Mark Brandon instantly set fire to the lumber in the cabin, and then
descending the ship's side, with his confederates, they made their way
to the top of a low hill in the immediate vicinity of the shore.

In pursuance of the plan which he had formed, and knowing well that
numbers are an inconvenience in the bush, unless so great as to defy
attack, which in the present case was out of the question, he
immediately selected two men on whom he thought he could entirely
depend, and who had not the ability to outwit him, but on whose dogged
courage he could rely; and at the same time he directed the remaining
four to lose no time in joining the party who kept up a running fight
with the sergeant's party of soldiers.

"Our only chance, my mates," he said, "is to keep together; but we
must try to draw off the attention of the soldiers in the boats, and
lead them in a different direction. Tell our friends to keep up the
fight and retreat towards the north, while I will, with Jim and Roger,
entice the boat party to the westward. And, do you see that high hill
yonder, quite in the distance--may be a dozen miles off, or more?
Well; rally round that hill, and before night I will meet you there,
and then we can consult together as to the best course to be taken.
See! the soldiers have turned our party of friends somehow, and they
are retreating inland. The sergeant's party will not follow them far;
it's only for every man to make the best use of his legs, and get at
once into the bush. Now, my men, start, and do the business cleverly,
and leave me to do mine."

The four subordinate ruffians, unable or unwilling to dispute the
direction of a leader, whom they had become accustomed to obey as much
from the superiority of his force of mind as by their voluntary
adoption of him as their chief, lost no time in following Mark
Brandon's directions, and in a brief space they had joined their new
companions, and given them the word.

But the soldiers in pursuit had pushed them too closely to allow them
to put Mark's advice in execution, and, by a quick military movement,
they contrived to place the convicts between their fire and the water;
and the fugitives thus turned, were driven in the direction of the
burning brig, towards which the boats were rapidly hastening.

"It will do," said Mark, as he cautiously peered over the top of the
hill and observed the progress of affairs below; "it will do; and now
for my work. Roger, tread like a native: there must be no noise.
Jemmy, my man, wind yourself after me like a snake; sharp's the word;
but there must be no sound--not a word spoken; and mind, the report of
a musket would ruin all my plan."

So saying, he proceeded by a circuitous route, and at as rapid a pace
as possible, to the back part of the rock which had formed the site of
the major's temporary encampment the preceding night, and the exact
locality of which he had marked from the light of the bivouac fires
which had been made on the occasion of the junction of the ensign's
party of soldiers with the ship's crew of the brig. The bushranger
went on with confidence; and conscious of his powers in plots and
stratagems, with a sort of joyous prescience that his artful and
diabolical plan would be successful.

It is necessary, however, to return to the scene of the advancing
boats and the devoted vessel, from the stern windows of which volumes
of smoke and flame now broke out with appalling fury.



Chapter XXI. The Skirmish.

IT is impossible to describe the mingled rage and sorrow of the
mate, when he beheld the gallant little brig, which he had brought
safely fifteen thousand miles over the sea from the other side of the
globe, with its mainmast lying shattered on the deck, and its stern-
ports evolving clouds of smoke and flames,--the wicked work of the
ignorance or the malice of the pirates.

All the epithets of execration which nautical or other phraseology
could furnish, were lavished on the rascally bushranger and his
villainous crew. Regarding, as the affectionate seaman did, his ship
as his mistress, and personifying it, as sailors love to do, as a
thing of life, he felt the ravages inflicted on her beautiful frame as
much almost as wounds on his own body.

Nor was the major less exasperated at the sight of his burning
vessel, on board of which was nearly the whole of his fortune, and
which now seemed consigned irremediably to the flames. He forgot the
bushrangers and everything else, in the all-absorbing desire to save
his property, without which life would be to him a weary exile indeed
in the colony of Van Diemen's Land.

The ensign, also, was quite alive to the ruin which threatened to
overwhelm his anticipated father-in-law, and he urged his rowers to
put out their utmost strength, in order to reach the vessel before the
progress of the flames should render all assistance hopeless.

But of the three, the mate was the most energetic in his action, as
he was most eloquent in his exclamations:--

"Give way, boys," he said, as he stood up, and endeavoured by the
motion of his own body to add impetus to the movement of the boat;
"give way, as you would save your souls! Oh, the infernal rascal! To
set fire to her! What harm had the poor little brig done him, I should
like to know? The dirty, sneaking, cowardly, shore-going, long-tailed
blackguard!--There goes the sergeant after the other fellows! Pepper
them well, my lads; stick it into 'em; they're all alike! There comes
more smoke from the stern portholes! It's only smoke, perhaps, after
all! No: it's flame too! Give way--bend to it; stretch to it; that's
the stroke; hurrah! now she goes! Shouldn't I like to put out that
fire with the lubberly carcasses of the villains! Hanging's too good
for them,--the murdering, fire-raising thieves! Hurrah! my boys, we
are just on her. Hold hard; jump ashore; no ceremony; follow me."

So saying, the mate, seizing a rope which was hanging from the
bowsprit, quickly slung himself on deck, and was followed with cordial
promptitude by the crew of the brig, and with not less alacrity by the
sailors belonging to the government boats. As in all cases of
difficulty and danger, where the most skilful and courageous are
instinctively looked up to for advice, he at once assumed the
direction of those on board.

"Major, make half a dozen fellows clear away the mast. Carpenter,
come along with me. Get the buckets, and pass them aft down the
companion-ladder. Boy, get the swabs and soak 'em well; and quick! be
alive! I'll try to find my way down below, if it's a thing that's
possible."

Thrice did the sturdy mate endeavour to force his way through the
smoke and flames: and thrice was he repulsed by the heat and vapour.
But at last he was able to reach the cabin door, and he contrived to
throw in a few buckets of water: he was relieved by the carpenter, who
in his turn was compelled to retreat; and in this way the crew, taking
it by turns, were able to withstand for a brief space the stifling
effects of the smoke, and to deluge the cabin with water.

In the mean time the sergeant's party had driven the convicts close
to the brig, and the ensign, seizing the opportunity, added his own
force to that of the assailants, and hemmed in the prisoners on the
beach, in a hollow crescent, close to where the brig was burning.

"Surrender yourselves!" he called out; "you have no chance of escape;
you see we are too strong for you. Surrender yourselves, and trust to
the governor's mercy."

There was a pause for a moment on either side. The convicts looked at
one another, and looked at the soldiers. There were only nineteen
against them; and their own party, by the accession of the four from
the brig, was raised to thirty-two. It was nearly two to one in their
favour; and the four muskets of their new comrades were an important
addition of strength. But their habitual dread of the military, and
the smart of the wounds which one or two of them had already received,
made them waver in their determination. At last one of them acting as
spokesman, came a step forward, and asked, "If, on surrender, their
lives would be spared?"

"I have no authority to promise that," replied the officer; "but as
my desire is to prevent the shedding of blood, I will promise to make
the most favourable representation of your submission to the governor;
but your surrender must be unconditional."

"What's the use," said one of the convicts to his fellows, "of having
our lives spared, as you call it? If they are spared, we shall be sent
to Macquarrie Harbour, and that's worse than death. If we can't get
our liberty, let us die where we are. We are two to one, and it's hard
if we can't beat those soldiers: they are only men like ourselves; and
when it comes to close quarters, one man is as good as another. I'm
for fighting it out, and taking our chance."

"If we can only make our way to the hill, which you can see from the
top of the ridge there," said one of the men from the brig, "we shall
meet with Mark Brandon and two more, and then we may be able to have a
try at the vessel again, and get clear off--who knows? There may be
luck for us, as well as another."

"I wish Mark Brandon was with us," exclaimed several; "we want a
leader; there's nothing to be done without a leader."

"If Mark was with us he would soon hatch a scheme to outwit that
young officer, there. Let us take our chance, and try to join him; we
can but surrender at last."

"Hurrah, then! let us make a rush, and break through the soldiers;--
if we can get into the bush, we shall be more of a match for 'em. Now,
then, altogether!"

With a loud hurrah the prisoners fired a volley, and rushing forward,
made their way through the soldiers, killing one, and wounding two
more. But they had received a deadly discharge from the few whose
position in front enabled them to take aim with effect; the soldiers
at the sides of the short crescent being prevented from firing, from
the consideration that if they did, their balls were likely to take
effect on their comrades opposite.

Three of the prisoners fell on the beach; but the main body effected
their retreat over the brow of a low hill, hotly pursued by the
soldiers, who were exasperated at the death of one of their comrades.
Their escape, however, did not avail them long; for as the country was
nearly bare of trees in that direction, they were exposed to the
practised aim of the military.

Three more prisoners were the sufferers by this running fire, both
parties hastening forward at their best speed. But the prisoners, who
were weary and footsore with their long and hurried journey from the
camp, were outstripped on this occasion by the soldiers; and had not
the latter been delayed in their pursuit by their occasional halts to
reload, and by the habit of military precision which caused them to
keep together, they would soon have overtaken the runaways, and have
brought the matter to a sharp conclusion. As it was, the prisoners
might have succeeded in effecting their escape had not an unexpected
obstacle stopped their further progress. This was the inlet of the
sea, branching out of D'Entrecasteaux's channel.

The ensign, at the instigation of the constable, had edged away to
the left, by which manoeuvre he forced the prisoners to continue their
flight more towards the right, whither they were gradually propelled,
till they were stopped by the broad part of the inlet in which the
constable's boat had taken shelter, and in which recess the ensign's
boat had afterwards joined the first pursuers.

The prisoners saw the trap into which they had been driven too late;
they found themselves enclosed in the angle formed by the channel on
the one side, and the inlet on the other; the soldiers' line, which
now advanced in order, forming the base of the triangle. Without
giving them time to recover themselves, the officer instantly summoned
them a second time to surrender, and seeing that they turned round in
an attitude of offence, he at once gave the word to fire.

Three volleys from the military disabled fourteen of the runaways,
and their numbers being now reduced to twelve, Trevor gave the word to
charge, when the prisoners, bewildered and panic-struck, allowed
themselves to be taken without resistance.

Being disarmed, and bound with their hands behind them, they were
carefully secured on the spot; and as the number of wounded was too
large to be transported to the bay, the officer despatched half a
dozen of his men back to the boats at the bay with orders for the
larger one of the two to be immediately brought round by the
government sailors, in order that the captured runaways might be
transported with as little delay as possible to Hobart Town, where the
wounded could receive the necessary medical assistance, and the whole
be dealt with according to law.

On questioning the prisoners, he learnt from some of them who were
now willing enough to make terms for themselves by any disclosures
they could offer, that Mark Brandon was to meet them at the foot of
the hill, which they pointed out in the distance; and that the
soldiers would be sure to find him there if they did their office
warily, as Mark would have no suspicion of their having been set after
him.

This prompt betrayal of their associates by the sneaks who trembled
for their own skins, while it inspired the disgust with which it could
not fail to strike an honest man's heart, abated considerably the
commiseration which the ensign, as a brave soldier, could not avoid
feeling for the sufferings which he was compelled to inflict in the
execution of his duty.

"The dirty scoundrels!" said the constable, "they would betray their
own father, most of them, for a glass of rum! And this you see," he
said to the ensign, "is what enables us to keep them down; they can
never trust one another; every rascal knows that his fellow-rascal
would sell him if he had the opportunity. Do you know," he continued,
"I have my doubts about Mark having intended to join them again. If he
wanted to join them, why didn't he do so at once, and while there was
a chance of their being able to resist us successfully? That Mark
Brandon is up to some dodge, depend on it: no doubt he set the ship on
fire that we might busy ourselves about putting it out without going
after him; and--that hill? let me see: that lies to the north, and if
Mark takes to the bush his game would be to go to the westward. By
George, it looks very like it!"

"Looks very like what?" asked the ensign.

"Why, you see, dealing with Mark is like playing at all-fours, or
cribbage,--or drafts, more like: it's all a matter of circumventing;
but I'm up to his game; I've been after him before."

"And what is his game, as you call it, now?"

"Look!" said the constable; "here's the north, and there's the west.
Now, if Mark wanted to draw you and your men away from himself, what
could he do better than tell these poor devils that he would meet them
at that hill yonder, and so egg 'em on to fight their way there, and
you after them, and that would leave the coast clear for himself?"

"But there was the major's party to watch him," said the ensign, a
flush coming over his face, as if struck with some sudden thought.

"He had provided against that by setting the ship on fire; and
sailors would never leave their ship, he knew very well, at such a
time, to go after all the bushrangers that ever went out."

"You think then that this Mark Brandon, if he took to the bush, would
go westward?" said the ensign, with much interest.

"To be sure he would! Why, he never would run into the lion's mouth
by going on the road back to camp; and he can't go eastward, because
there's the broad channel between him and that side of the island. No;
he has started off to the west, depend upon it, and he is going to try
his chance in the bush, and that's why he has allowed only two of his
six men to be with him, because he knows that in the bush the great
point is to avoid being tracked;--besides, it's easier to feed three
than seven."

"If he has gone westward," said the ensign, meditatingly.....

"No doubt of it."

"The place where the major left his daughters is on the west side of
the bay?"

"To be sure it is."

"Do you think he would visit it?"

"I don't know," said the constable; "it would be running a risk: to
be sure there's only that poor Mr. Silliman there. What have they got
with them? any money, or watches, or trinkets? any thing valuable that
is easy to be carried?"

"I rather think the major said he had secured one or two bags of
dollars; but there are the young ladies--of more consequence than
money."

"I don't know: women are all very well in their way, but they are
dreadful troublesome in the bush. I don't think Mark would be bothered
with them. He likes a pretty gal, though, if all stories be true, and
...."

"Could you engage to take charge of these prisoners," said the
ensign, suddenly, "if I left you?"

"Ay, ay: leave your sergeant here with his party, and I'll engage to
take care of them. We have 'em now as safe as bricks. You are going
after Mark, then?"

"I think that unless we take him we shall effect but half our object.
I will give instructions to the sergeant, and leave you in charge. The
corporal and his two men will go with me."

"Take care," said the constable, as the ensign hastily took his
departure, "that you don't lose your way going back: a man's easily
lost in the bush, especially a new hand."

"Now, corporal," said Trevor, "we must put our best legs foremost;
our work is not half done yet. Are you in good marching order?"

The corporal answered for himself and his men gladly, preferring much
the roving and exciting life of such expeditions to the dull monotony
of barracks and daily drill; and full instructions having been left
with the constable and the sergeant in anticipation of all accidents,
Trevor set out on his way, his mind filled with the most lively
apprehensions of alarm for the fate of Ellen and her sister, should
the bushranger take it into his head, for any purpose of plunder or
violence, to visit the place of their retreat.



Chapter XXII. Mr. Silliman Makes a Declaration.

THE sisters in the cave suffered the deepest anxiety during the
events which have been related; but as their father and Mr. Trevor had
exacted from them the promise that they would not on any account quit
the protection of their covert, but wait with patience the issue of
the conflict, they were precluded from attempting to ascertain what
was going forward in the bay; and their ignorance of the posture of
affairs between the bushrangers and their own friends added to the
painfulness of their apprehensions.

"Could not you climb that tree," asked Louisa of Mr. Silliman, who
was assiduously keeping guard at the entrance behind the bulwark of
dead timber, which had been erected for their defence, "and see what
they are doing?"

"I've had enough of climbing," replied their sentinel, with a rueful
countenance, at the remembrance of his reception by the opossums; "but
to oblige you I would do it with pleasure, only, as I have been left
here by the officer, as a sort of sentry, you see, Miss, I am doing
military duty, as it were, and a soldier must not quit his post."

"I thought you prided yourself more on being a sailor," said Louisa,
with that sweet smile which the sex are always ready to exhibit when
they want anything to be done for them; "and sailors are always such
good climbers."

"I could climb," replied Jeremiah, with enthusiasm, "anything for
you, Miss Louisa, if it was the biggest tree on all the island! But
..."

"Mr. Silliman is right," said Helen; "he must not leave his post; as
soldier's daughters, we know that; but this state of uncertainty is
really very painful. I will try to explore the inside of the cave."

"Don't be so foolish, Helen," said her sister; "it is too dark for
you to see where you are going; and perhaps there may be savage
animals, or snakes, or something."

"I will take care of myself; I cannot bear standing still, doing
nothing; perhaps this place has an outlet at the back."

Jeremiah and Louisa were left alone.

Jerry's heart had been excessively touched by the amiable manner in
which the major's youngest daughter had recently been pleased to
address him; and her preferring to remain with him to accompanying her
sister on her exploring expedition seemed to him a favourable sign.
His heart beat with great bumps, and he experienced, as he afterwards
described it, a feeling of alloverishness, which convinced him that it
was to Louisa, and not to Helen, that his heart was entirely devoted;
a fact which he had doubted before, never having been able to make up
his mind as to which of the lovely sisters he preferred. But his
present symptoms decided him as to his predilection. Oppressed,
however, with the pleasing sensation, he heaved a prodigious sigh!

"What's that?" said Louisa, ready to take alarm at the slightest
sound, and coming closer to Jeremiah. Jeremiah's heart beat quicker
than ever! As he characteristically explained the emotion, "it went up
and down just like the steam-engine in the Margate packet!"

"It's me!" said Jerry, pumping up another sigh, and looking at the
young lady with eyes squeezed into the extremest point of tenderness.

"You, Mr. Silliman? Heavens! what's the matter?"

"Ah! Miss Louisa!"

"Are you in pain?" asked Louisa; for she was a kind and gentle girl,
and she spoke with the sweetest commiseration.

"Ah, Miss Louisa! the wounds which you have inflicted on...."

"You mean the opossums?" said Louisa.

"No, Miss; it is not the opossums. Sharp as their bites and scratches
were, the wounds that I feel are sharper still!"

"Good gracious! Mr. Silliman, what do you mean?"

"Do you not feel," said Jerry, "the genial influence of this
beautiful morning? The bright rays of the sun, and the notes of that
melodious bird, which the ensign said was the native magpie, although
for the life of me I can't make out how that can be--but I suppose it
is so....."

"I hear nothing at present," replied Louisa, "but the curious cry of
the bird that Mr. Trevor calls the laughing jackass."

"Think only of the agreeables," resumed Jerry. "I have been thinking
how happy two people might live together, in a beautiful cave like
this--loving one another! and listening to the birds, and gazing at
the cockatoos as they fly about; eating the wild fruits of the earth,
and drinking the water from the spring....all love!"...

"What! without any bottled porter, Mr. Silliman?"

"All love, Miss, and a little bottled porter! This is a beautiful
country--Isn't it?"

"You have not had a very beautiful reception in it," observed Louisa,
looking round for her sister, and rather desirous to avoid a
declaration, which, with the instinctive prescience of her sex, she
felt was on the point of exploding; "it was hard to make your first
acquaintance with the land, by being thrown into the sea by those
wicked bushrangers!"

"It was hard, that! but it was for the best; for my being chucked
into the sea was the means of making known to the constables and
soldiers that the bushrangers had got possession of the brig."

"Was not the coming to life again, after being drowned almost as you
were, a very curious sensation?"

"Not so curious as the sensation I now feel, Miss Louisa, nor nearly
so delightful! I...."

"Dear me! I should have thought it was rather a painful one! And did
you not say," she continued, wishing to force the conversation from
the point that Mr. Silliman was obviously seeking, "that you were
bitten by a great tarantula spider as big as a cheeseplate?"

"It might have bitten me, perhaps, but I killed the nasty thing;--but
do you not think that two...."

"And the scorpions! Didn't they sting you?"

"No; I escaped them; but I was very near sitting down on a whole nest
of the little wretches. I was going to say, Miss Louisa...."

"How horrible it must have been when you found yourself again in the
hands of that dreadful man!--Mark Brandon, isn't he called? and when
the kangaroo had hold of you--gracious! were you not frightened?"

"A man, Miss Louisa, is not easily frightened," said Jeremiah,
assuming an heroic air. "I was not aware that kangaroos have such long
sharp claws, or I should have killed the plaguy beast at once."

"And when the bushranger put his pistol into your mouth--heavens!
what a mercy it was that it did n't go off! Were you not frightened
then?"

"I was astonished, Miss, but not frightened. A man to whom lovely
woman looks up as her protector," said Jerry, putting his hand to his
heart, "must have courage. How could I ask you to depend on me, if
...."

"But how did you feel when Mr. Northland caught hold of your leg? The
mate said that you did n't cry out, but stood as firm as--I forget
what...."

"No, Miss Louisa, it does not become a man to cry out in danger like
a woman: of course a woman cries out naturally when she is in a
fright, because that is all she can do; but I fired off my musket, as
was my duty, to give the alarm. But, dear Miss Louisa, this is not
what I want to talk to you about. If you could see into my heart .."

"Oh I have no doubt I should see a great many curious things! but I
want you to tell me about the opossums...."

"You would see in it your image," continued the impassioned Jerry;
"and your beautiful face engraved...."

"Dear me! that would be comparing it to a wooden one! But I wonder
what is become of Helen?"

"She is not wanted at this moment, She is very pretty; but you, dear
Miss Louisa," said Jerry, growing dangerously energetic, "are prettier
still! You are indeed! And I always thought so--all the way out--
though I never told you so! I never did, because I feared I should
offend you...."

"Where can Helen be?--Helen!"

"Don't call her, dear Miss Louisa; let me tell you how I...."

"Really, Mr. Silliman, I'm quite frightened that Helen does not come.
I must go and see after her, while you keep watch here. Stay; look
there! Is not that smoke rising, a long way off, over those low
rocks?"

"What is the matter?" asked her sister, returning hastily from the
interior of the cave.

"The smoke, Helen! Do you see the smoke? there...."

"I do; and, listen! Was not that the sound of muskets firing?" said
Helen, excited.

"The sound of firing?" said Louisa, trembling.

"Yes, the sound of firing. There, again! I am sure it is; but it is a
long way off: it comes from a point to the right of the smoke."

"O Heavens!" exclaimed Louisa, "then they are fighting at this very
moment, and dear papa perhaps is killed!"

"I hope George will not be rash!" unconsciously uttered Helen.

"It must be the boats attacking the brig," said Mr. Silliman.

"What can the smoke mean?" said Helen, anxiously.

"I know that something dreadful is happening," said the timid Louisa,
bursting into tears, and sinking on to the log of a tree, which had
been placed in the cave for their accommodation.

"Go," said Helen, to Mr. Silliman, "and try to see what is going on."

"But Miss Helen," he remonstrated, "remember that I promised not to
leave my post."

"Then I will go myself," said Helen. "Do n't be frightened, Louisa;
Mr. Silliman shall remain with you, and I will go to the edge of the
bay, and try to find out what is going on. There can be no doubt of
our party getting the better; but, perhaps.....But the shortest way
is to go and see." So saying, notwithstanding the remonstrances of
Jerry, who was sorely perplexed between his notions of gallantry,
which prompted him to accompany Helen, and his sense of duty, and his
inclination also to remain with Louisa, the spirited girl issued forth
from the cave with a ship's cutlass in her hand, and was presently
lost to their sight behind the rocks and bushes.

"The smoke grows thicker, but the firing is more faint," observed
Jerry.

"I hope nothing will happen to Helen!"

"There is no danger, Miss; the bushrangers are far away, to judge
from the sounds; and they say there is no fear of meeting with natives
in this part of the island."

"But natives perhaps might come?"

"I wish your sister had not gone," said Jerry; "but she will soon be
back."

There was a pause in the conversation for some time. Louisa was
anxious and nervous, and Jerry was endeavouring to contrive some means
of renewing the declaration which the return of Helen had interrupted.

"I wish you would have the kindness to stand up on these pieces of
wood, and try if you can see Helen," said Louisa.

Jerry mounted on the wood.

"I can't see anything of her," he said.

"Don't you think she has been gone longer than was necessary?"

"She has been gone a little longer than I expected," replied Jerry,
doubtingly.

"Had you not better go and see after her?" said Louisa, anxiously.

"And leave you alone, Miss Louisa?"

"If you wish to oblige me," said Louisa, hesitating and crimsoning
slightly, "you will do what I wish."

"I will go directly," said Jerry, dismounting from the pile of
timber. "But I don't like to leave you alone."

"It will be only for a minute; just go to the other side of that
rock and look about you."

"I will run there and back, then, as fast as I can," said Jerry.
"Take this pistol; you are not afraid to fire off a pistol? See, it's
quite a little thing, compared to my musket; and if you hear any sound
to alarm you, let it off. Not that it will be necessary, for I shall
not be away more than a minute or two, and you will scarcely lose
sight of me all the time. Now I'll run as quick as I can; and when I
come back, perhaps you will allow me to...."

"Run--and run quick," said Louisa.

Jerry girded up his loins, and ran enthusiastically.

Louisa remained at the entrance of the cave behind the woodwork for
some time listening attentively, and straining her eyes to discover
her sister or Mr. Silliman coming back; but to her surprise the latter
did not return as she expected. She held her breath and listened, but
she could hear nothing; and neither her sister nor Jerry came. She had
her right arm extended, holding the pistol as far from her as
possible, and in no inconsiderable fear lest it should go off with a
terrible shock, of its own head.

In this posture she remained for many minutes, which seemed to be as
many hours, waiting, and listening, and trembling with apprehension.
She cast her eyes back into the interior of the cave; but on that side
all was dark, and the obscurity of its uncertain recesses chilled and
frightened her. She began to experience the fear which is apt to
overtake the timid, and especially those of the gentler sex, when they
find themselves alone and exposed to unknown danger. She tried to fire
off the pistol; but in her state of alarm, not understanding how to
set the lock, she pulled at the trigger with her soft and feeble
finger in vain; and every now and then she endeavoured with anxious
eyes to penetrate the depths of the cavern, whose darkness filled her
with vague fears of some native, or something, on the point of
emerging from its recesses!

At last, her fear altogether mastering her, and feeling it less
terrible to seek for her sister in the bush than remain where she was,
with the courage of desperation she clambered over the fortification
of logs, and with her pistol in her hand, which she feared alike to
hold or to relinquish, she rushed towards the bay, in the direction
taken by Helen.

She looked around her, but she saw nothing. She listened, but she
could hear nothing. There was a high ridge of rocks between her and
the bay: remembering that it had been planned that a party of soldiers
should be stationed to the right, she ran forward in that direction.
She wandered for some minutes, lost, and confused, and frightened at
meeting with no one, when on a sudden a sight met her eyes which
stopped the current of her blood, and froze her heart within her!

She could not scream; she could not move! She sank down behind some
rocks, and with eyes glazed with terror, stared through a cleft at the
appalling scene before her!



Chapter XXIII. The Captives.

THE scene before her eyes was of a description to strike with terror
a far stouter heart than that of the gentle Louisa.

At a little distance, on a loose piece of rock, sat her sister Helen,
with her hands tied behind her; over her mouth had been tied a silk
handkerchief, which, however, had slipped down, so that she was able
to breathe freely. By her side stood a most repulsive looking man,
with a musket which he held pointed towards her in a threatening
manner; and he seemed ready at the slightest cry or motion to
discharge its contents through her head. Even in that time of mortal
peril the heroic girl, though deadly pale, seemed calm and collected;
and although her beautiful head and neck, fixed and motionless,
resembled rather a piece of marble statuary than the living flesh of a
human being, there was a flashing light from her eye which revealed
the stirring thoughts that agitated her within.

Not far from her sister, and exhibiting the very personification of
surprise and fear, was the wretched Jeremiah, prostrate, on his knees,
gagged, with his hands bound behind him, and turning his eyes
sideways, with an expression which, had it not been for the horrible
reality of the danger, would have been ludicrously doleful, towards a
man who stood guard over him with a musket, the muzzle of which
touched his ear, and who, with his finger on the trigger, seemed
momentarily inclined to relieve himself from the fatiguing restraint
of such a posture by a gentle touch which would free him in a moment
from the trouble of guarding his prisoner.

"Mark is a long time away," said the man who was guarding Helen, to
the other; "we are losing time."

"He is settling the young one," said his companion; "I thought I
heard a squeak just now."

"That's the shortest way," replied the first; "but she was a nice
gal." Here he exchanged a peculiar wink with the other, nodding his
head and setting his eye at Helen, a signal which she could not avoid
perceiving, and which the other responded to by a peculiar grin.

Mark in the mean time had gone to the cave for the purpose of getting
possession of the money which the Major had taken from the vessel, and
which the bushranger wisely judged might stand him in good stead at
some future time. Jeremiah, in the excess of his terror, and
stimulated by the propinquity of a loaded musket to his head to tell
all he knew, had let out the secret that there was a large sum of
money deposited in the cave, consisting of sovereigns and dollars, but
as their concealment had been effected before he had joined the party,
he had been unable to state more than the money was deposited
somewhere.

Mark had no doubt of being able to terrify the youngest daughter into
confessing where the treasure was concealed; but to his surprise he
found the cave vacant; and after a hasty search for the money, which
he was unable to find, he made up his mind at once that his only
chance was to get the secret out of Helen: and as time pressed, and as
the absence of Louisa was an alarming incident, he hastily returned to
the spot where Helen and Jeremiah were held in durance by his
companions.

The appearance of Mark Brandon redoubled the terror of Louisa, who
now gave herself up for lost, expecting every moment that the
searching eyes of the ever-watchful bushranger would spy her out
amongst the rocks, and that she would be suddenly dragged from her
retreat to share the fate of her sister! But, fortunately for her,
Mark passed in such a direction that she was hidden from his view as
she lay crouched down in her hiding-place, and she saw him proceed
straight to Helen.

Making a sign to his companions, which it seemed they well
understood, he took the place of the man who had been mounting guard
over Helen, and who, in obedience to some brief directions which Mark
gave him, stepped to the margin of the bay, with his face towards the
north, on the look-out for enemies from that quarter, in which might
be seen the smoke of the burning vessel.

Mark Brandon, with his fowling-piece carelessly thrown over his arm,
with admirable coolness commenced his operations.

He was burning with impatience; but he felt that his object was not
to be attained by violence. He resolved, therefore, to put in practice
all the arts of his deceptive tongue, for which he was so famous among
his fellows, and which had often helped him out of difficulties when
all other resources failed him. But he took care not to let his
impatience be visible.

In this position the parties remained for some little time; and
Louisa, seeing that her sister was in the power of the dreaded
bushranger, strained her ears to catch the words which presently he
began to speak in a quiet but earnest tone to Helen.

From his attitude, which was in the highest degree respectful, and
from the tone of his deep clear voice, which, though earnest and
determined, was mild and low, it might have been supposed that he was
soliciting some favour from a young lady of his acquaintance which he
had a right to demand, but which he nevertheless requested with a
polite deference to her sex rather than insisted on as a matter of
right which he had the power to enforce; but the appearance of his
companion with his cocked musket close to Mr. Silliman's ear, and the
fowling-piece which Mark held in his hand, was an overt demonstration
of possible violence which contrasted strangely with the bland manner
of his address.

"Miss Horton," he began, "I am quite ashamed to say anything that
could imply a doubt of a lady's word; but you must excuse me if I
cannot understand how the spot where your father has deposited the
dollars that Mr. Silliman there speaks of can be unknown to you! Your
frank and immediate communication of the fact, permit me to say, will
save much trouble to all parties--and to yourself, perhaps, some
inconvenience."

Helen made no reply.

"It is quite useless," pursued the bushranger, "to pretend ignorance
of this matter; besides, if I were willing to forego this prize
myself, my companions would not agree to it: so that you see, Miss
Horton, your best course is an immediate avowal of the truth. That
man," he continued, "who has his musket at your friend's head, is one
of the most audacious persons you can possibly conceive, and there is
no saying what lengths he might go to in his passion, for it would be
impossible for me to control him. Jem Swindell," he added, raising his
voice and addressing his associate, whom it would be difficult to say
that he very much calumniated, "take your finger from the trigger of
your musket; it might go off at a start, and that would be a pity, for
we don't want to inconvenience the gentleman more than we can help;
besides, the report might give an alarm, which is best avoided. Mind
how you let the hammer down in putting it on half-cock, for it might
slip, and then the poor gentleman would receive the contents of your
barrel through his head, which is far from my wish: but keep it in the
same position, Jemmy, that you may be ready."

It is impossible to describe the agony of poor Jeremiah as his
sentry, at the intimation of Mark Brandon, whom he inwardly thanked in
his heart for the considerate suggestion, made the little arrangement
with the lock of his musket which removed the immediate apprehension
of having his brains blown out by any sudden impulse or accidental
agitation of the finger of the inexorable Jemmy, who, despite the
pleasing familiarity with which Mark spoke to him, was one of the most
ferocious-looking rascals that ever took to the bush.

But as Helen's eyes were naturally and involuntarily turned to the
position and danger of her harmless acquaintance, she could not but be
aware of the peril to which he was exposed, and, by reflection, of the
immediate danger in which she herself was, and how entirely they all
were at the mercy of the desperate men who had them in their power.
The thoughts which agitated her mind were visible on her countenance.

Mark observed the change which appeared in her features, and he
congratulated himself that his little contrivance to impress on her
unostentatiously but forcibly the desperate condition of her affairs
had succeeded. He pursued his arguments, therefore, briskly, without
giving time for her agitation to subside:--

"You may believe me, Miss Horton," he resumed, "when I say that I
should be most sorry to see you placed in the position of your friend
there; but what can I do? You see my companions are two to one against
me, and the money they will have, even if they proceed to the last
extremities; and if a man in my situation might presume to offer his
respectful deferences to a young lady of personal attractions and
accomplishments such as you possess, I would entreat you to believe
that your life is what I would endeavour to preserve, even at the
sacrifice of my own. But as I said before, they are two to one, and
all that I can do is to endeavour to prevail on you to reveal the
place where the money is deposited, without obliging my comrades--who
I confess are rather rough in their manners--to use the most dreadful
means to compel you."

The artful words of the bushranger, whom the constable had not
inaptly described as "the most carnying devil that ever got over a
woman," began to have an effect on Helen; and she could not suppose
that the man who addressed her with a demeanour so respectful, and
with such a propriety of language, could be the unprincipled ruffian
that he really was.

Besides, his mode of proceeding was altogether unlike what she had
pictured to herself under such circumstances, and what she had feared
at his hands. Instead of the boisterous threats and the instant
violence which she had anticipated, she was met with the most bland
expressions and the most earnest desire apparently to save her from
personal insult. Seeing, however, that Mark Brandon was in this
complacent humour, she thought that she might turn it to account.

Her principal anxiety at the moment was for her sister. Knowing
Louisa's gentle and timid nature, she feared that in her terror she
would reveal and submit to all rather than encounter the dreadful
death which would be threatened by the bushrangers. The point for her,
therefore, was to gain time, in the hope that her father or Trevor
would send assistance. But she little thought of the consummate art
and duplicity of the mind with which she had to contend.

Mark Brandon, on the other hand, was quite as much alive as she was
to the importance of time; but as he had ulterior designs, which she
could not penetrate, it was only in pursuance of his plan that he now
endeavoured to arrive at his object, that of getting possession of the
money, by the mildest means: and he had his reasons for treating her
with a deference and attention approaching almost to gallantry--his
loaded fowling-piece always excepted--which, had Helen been aware of,
would have made her shudder, and would have put her effectually on her
guard against his insinuating expressions.

It is to be observed, also, that Mark Brandon had had the address to
make his companions secure Helen's person and bind her hands, so that
he avoided coming into personal collision with her in a way which, he
was aware, could not fail to be extremely disagreeable to a young and
delicate girl, and which was sure to make her regard her aggressors
with aversion and horror. According to his own expression, he did only
"the genteel part of the business," leaving to minor and subordinate
hands to execute the practical parts of the ruffianism; and, as has
been before remarked, having certain ulterior views, not only as to
the money, but also with respect to Helen, which he did not allow for
the present to be apparent, he was anxious that she should not
conceive any irreconcilable hatred towards himself; but, on the
contrary, that she should regard him as an unfortunate and perhaps
ill-used man, who was the victim of necessity, and who was desirous to
alleviate the hardships of her fate by all the means in his power.

Such were the relative positions of these two parties: the one, with
the ardour and hope of youth and innocence, fancied that her own
purity was a sufficient shield against the refined duplicity and the
consummate villainy of the other--on whom it may be said the spirit of
a Mephistopheles had been infused to aid him in his iniquitous
designs.

Helen wished to gain time, and with that view she endeavoured to
prolong the conversation:--

"I thank you," she said, after some little reflection, "for the good
intentions which you express towards me; but if you are sincere, why
do you allow my hands to remain bound behind my back, which," she
added, "hurts me?"

"It is a severity that I could not have brought myself to practice,"
replied Mark: "but as it is done, if I was to attempt to remove the
cord it would excite the suspicions of my companions; besides, under
the circumstances, I assure you it is best for yourself that your
hands should be confined, for if you were entirely at liberty, your
high spirit, which I so much admire, might prompt you to make attempts
at escape which could not possibly succeed, but which would stimulate
one of those men to commit a violence on you which I should deplore as
much as yourself. You must consider the confinement of your hands,
therefore, as a protection against yourself and your own courage;
although, if it was not for the presence of my companions, I assure
you I would release them on the instant; and, indeed, to see you in
such a position gives me more pain than I can possibly express. But
you will permit me to observe to you that you have it in your own
power to put an end to it by informing me of the place where the money
is concealed."

While Mark was making this little speech, in which he endeavoured to
convince his victim that her hands were bound behind her back, and
that she was reduced to her present state of helplessness entirely for
her own good, Helen was revolving in her mind the remarkable
circumstance that he made no mention of her sister Louisa, who knew as
well as herself where the money was deposited.

It struck her that, perhaps, Louisa, alarmed by the lengthened
absence of herself and of Mr. Silliman, had ventured from the cave in
search of them, and so had escaped being molested by the bushranger.
The possibility of this immediately inspired her with hope. Her
sister, she considered, when she failed in finding them, would
endeavour to join her father. In that case not only would Louisa be
saved, but the news of their being missing would certainly cause her
father to despatch some of the soldiers to look for them, and by that
means they might be delivered from the power of the bushrangers.

These thoughts urged her the more strongly to endeavour to gain
time: and as Mark Brandon seemed inclined to treat her with respect,
she bent her whole soul to the invention of expedients for prolonging
the conversation. Her anxiety for her sister furnished her with a
ready subject.

"I am waiting for your answer," said Mark Brandon.

"How was it," said Helen, "that my sister did not tell you where the
money was concealed?"

"Your sister," he replied, with the slightest possible hesitation
and embarrassment, which Helen, however, did not fail to observe,
"said that she was not acquainted with the spot."

"That could not be," replied Helen, "because she assisted to place
it there."

"Where?" said Mark.

"What have you done with my sister?" said Helen, anxiously and
imploringly. "I will tell you nothing till you let me see my sister."

"She is in the cave," replied Mark; "you can see her there if you
will. But time passes, Miss Horton, and it is necessary that you
should understand that I cannot continue this conversation any longer.
We must have the money, or else you will find yourself in the hands of
my companions, who, I fear, would not treat you with the respect which
I observe. It is very painful to me to be obliged to insist thus
peremptorily; but for your own sake I entreat you to tell me at once
where is the money?"

"I will tell you nothing," said Helen, firmly, "before I know what
is become of my sister."

"In one word, then, Miss Horton, I will tell you the exact truth.--I
did not see your sister in the cave: doubtless she had fled into some
part of its interior which I had not time to explore. So far as I am
concerned, therefore, your sister is quite safe. You may easily be
satisfied that what I tell you is true, by reflecting for a moment,
that had I seen your sister I could not have failed to persuade her to
tell me what I wanted to know; that is, without using any violence
towards her, which is as far from my wish with her as it is in regard
to yourself. But again, I say, Miss Horton, that my comrades will not
longer be trifled with in this matter. If it only concerned myself, I
would not care; but those two others who are engaged with me would not
have the patience which I have had. Be so good as to say, then,
whether you have made up your mind to be taken possession of by Mr.
James Swindell, yonder, or whether you will be reasonable, and let me
know at once that which they will make you tell at last. Jemmy, my
man," he continued, raising his voice a little, "I know what you look
at me for, but I can't help it; the young lady will not let us have
the money. Yes--I know what you mean; you mean to say that she wants a
little of your persuasion."

"What shall we do with this chap?" said Jemmy, with a ferocious
grin, cocking his musket again, and putting his finger on the trigger;
"settle him at once; or suppose we stow him away with a stone round
his neck at the bottom of the bay, yonder? He wouldn't get out again
easily, I fancy. Now, Mark, we have had enough of this. If you have
finished your jaw with the gal, let me take a turn; I warrant I'll
bring her to her senses in no time. Fair play, you know, Mark, among
friends: you must n't mind her squeaking out a bit."

"Stay," said Helen to Mark Brandon. "Promise me that no harm shall
be done to us--to Louisa,--nor to me,--nor to Mr. Silliman, and I will
tell you."

"You may rely upon my word," said Mark. "If harm was intended, it
would have been done already. All that my men want is the money; and,
considering their condition, you must allow that their desire is
excusable. Now--tell me--speak!"

Helen paused for a short time. She perceived that now, more than
ever, time was everything. She felt assured that Louisa had escaped;
and in that case it was most likely that she would fly in the
direction of the soldiers. Under such circumstances she thought that a
subterfuge on her part was allowable; and for the sake of gaining
time, which to them was life and liberty, and perhaps to her even more
than life, she told Mark Brandon to look in a recess on his left hand
as he entered the cave, and there he would find two bags--the small
one of gold, and the other, large and very heavy, of dollars.

Without losing a moment, Mark summoned the man on the look-out, who
bore a most murderous aspect, to resume his position by the side of
Helen, and having whispered a few words in his ear, the obedient
myrmidon presented his musket at her head--an action which he followed
up, as soon as Mark was out of hearing, by a most diabolical threat,
which made her wish for the return of his less ferocious principal,
who was, however, notwithstanding his polished address, by far the
greater villain of the two.

Mark's absence was not long. Although he was much disappointed, and
inwardly was savage at not finding the treasure where he expected, his
extraordinary mastery over his passions when it was to his interest to
conceal them enabled him to preserve towards Helen a demeanour which,
although expressive of his discontent, was not indicative of
revengeful or hostile feelings towards herself. According to his plan,
to which he firmly adhered, he left the threatening and violent part
of the proceedings to his subordinates.

"It is of no use," he said, addressing his companions, "to wait any
longer; the money is not to be found. You must determine for
yourselves what to do. But the money is there, sure enough, if we
could only find it."

"But," said the man who had the custody of Helen, and swearing a
terrible oath, "have it we will, or else"...

"Of course," said the bushranger, "you will use no violence."

"I tell you what it is, Mark," said the man; "all this gammon is
very well between you and the gals, but it won't do for us. The long
and the short of it is, we must draw lots for her; that's fair bush
play. Jemmy, put your ball through that chap's head, and have done
with it. I'm tired of this. What do you say, Jemmy?"

"And so am I too," said Jemmy. "Come, Mark, let us know what your
game is. We may settle this chap, I suppose, without more ado. But as
to the gal, I'm of Roger Grough's mind--let us draw lots for her; and
as to the other young one, why the two that lose can draw lots for her
afterwards."

"Stay," cried out Brandon, as Jemmy was coolly going to put his
threat in regard to the unfortunate Jerry in execution, "let us give
them another chance. Now, Miss Horton, you see how things are; I can't
keep my companions from having their will. It is for you to say what
shall be done: but you must decide at once, for I can't interfere any
further. Where is the money?"

"I will go with you to the cave," said Helen, who had prolonged the
result to the last possible moment, and who now saw that any attempt
at further evasion was useless; "I will go with you to the cave, and
show you where the money is lodged. Only promise me," she said,
hesitatingly, "that you will not use any violence."

"I promise," said Mark.

"And I will go with you," said Grough, "to see fair play. No offence
meant, Mark, my boy; but the cave, and the opportunity? All on a level
in the bush, you know, Mark, and fair play's the word; no gammon with
us: better draw lots before you go."

"No, no," said Mark, who had his own reasons for wishing to be alone
when he made prize of the gold and silver; "there's no time for that
nonsense. Do you keep a good look-out, Roger, towards the smoking
vessel; we may have the soldiers down on us before we are aware, and
then we shall have to run for it. Let us only get the money; we can
have the other at any time."

So saying, he proceeded with Helen, still with her hands bound behind
her, in the direction of the cave.




VOLUME 2.



Chapter I. Deception.

NOTWITHSTANDING the habitual caution of Mark Brandon, and his maxim
of always sacrificing minor objects to his grand aim of escaping from
bondage, it is impossible to say how far the temptation of the
presence of the beautiful girl, who was utterly in his power might
have overcome his resolution, had not Helen herself conceived some
misgivings of the prudence of being alone with a man of his dangerous
character. The fears which assailed her caused her, before they were
out of sight of his companions, to refuse to proceed farther.

"It will be better for you to go on," said Mark.

"I will not go farther," said Helen, stopping with a determined air.

"Then Grough will take the matter in hand," said Brandon.

"You may put me to death, if you will, but I will not go on with you
to the cave."

"And the money?" said Mark.

"The money you will find behind the rock, at the back of the recess."

"You did not say this at first."

"I did not, because I forgot at the moment that the bags were removed
from the first place in order to hide them better."

"I will try again, then," said Mark, "trusting entirely to your word:
but I fear my comrades are growing savage."

"Could you not untie my hands first?" said Helen, throwing into her
appeal just that slight tinge of earnest and confident supplication
which has ever so powerful an effect on men, however brutal, when
uttered by a woman in winning tones.

"Certainly!" said Mark, readily. "But no," he added, reluctantly, and
almost sorrowfully--"their eyes are upon me, and it might cost you
your life. I assure you, Miss Horton, I will free your hands and
yourself too the moment I can find the opportunity; but at present it
would be dangerous, for those men naturally consider that their safety
depends on your being secured. And now let me particularly request you
not to make a noise, nor move a step, for I could not answer for that
man Grough, nor Swindell neither, they are so very passionate and
violent. They would shoot that poor Mr. Silliman dead on the instant,
and then they would not scruple to use you as they pleased. For your
own sake, therefore, be still and silent."

Having thus cautioned her, and it being impossible for her to escape
in his absence, bound as she was, and within sight of his
confederates, he repaired with all speed to the cave, and, to his
great joy, found the money behind the stone. Judging from the weight
of the gold, he guessed that the smaller bag did not contain less than
a thousand or more sovereigns; and the bag of dollars was almost as
much as he could lift.

With respect to the gold, it was far from his intention to share such
precious stuff between his two associates; he therefore looked about
for a convenient spot to make a plant of his treasure. Spying at a
little distance the hollow tree in which Jerry had made acquaintance
with the opossum family the night before, he quickly examined it, and
judging it to be a safe place for hiding the treasure, he gently
dropped it to the bottom of the hollow, and the clink of the coin as
it fell to the ground inside assuring him that it was safely stowed,
he immediately returned with the bag of dollars to his companions.

The eyes of Jemmy and Roger eagerly devoured the money, which
amounted, as they guessed, to about a thousand dollars a-piece; and at
the suggestion of Brandon, having taken as many as each could
conveniently carry, the bag was forthwith buried by Brandon and
Swindell under a stone at some distance, Grough keeping guard the
while over their two prisoners; and it was solemnly sworn between the
three that it should be divided between them at some future time in
equal shares.

This matter having been arranged, they turned their attention to
their prisoners. As they had no time to lose, they resolved to proceed
immediately to the cave, and take from the stores deposited there
whatever they might want for their use in the bush--trusting to the
chance of being able to surprise some boat on the coast, and of making
their escape by such means from the colony. Committing Jeremiah to the
charge of Jemmy and Roger, and taking Helen under his own care,
Brandon at once led the way to the cave.

Their first care was to remove, as quickly as possible, all the
stores which they thought would be useful to them hereafter to a
considerable distance, and to bury them and hide them in proper
places, taking careful note of the various "plants." All this they did
most diligently and rapidly. Their next step was to load themselves
with the various provisions and stores, including an ample supply of
spirits: but here a difficulty arose; the articles were so numerous as
to be extremely cumbersome to carry; and of all desirable things in
the bush, one of the most desirable is to be lightly laden.

"What a pity it is," said Jemmy, "that we have no donkeys in the
island; one of the long-ears just now would be the very thing for us.
As to carrying these loads ourselves, I can never do it; the toil is
more than the pleasure."

"The brandy is worth carrying, at any rate," said the more
industrious Roger; "and remember the bottles are sure to get lighter
as we go."

"It will never do," returned Jemmy. "What to do I don't know! I can't
carry them; but it goes against my heart to leave them behind. I say,
Mark, what shall we do? It's a sin to leave such a lot of lush behind
us for those rascals of soldiers and constables to tipple! What do you
say?"

"Perhaps this gentleman," suggested Mark, pointing to Mr. Silliman,
"would have the goodness to carry our provisions for us. And as he
will not have to carry arms and ammunition, the load would not be an
inconvenience to him?"

"By George! a capital thought! he will be almost as good as a
donkey!" exclaimed Jemmy in the enthusiasm of his approbation. "But I
say, Mark, won't there be danger in that? He may betray us, eh?"

"Not he," replied Brandon; "besides, as I mean to take the young lady
with me, he will be useful as a servant."

"No, Master Brandon," said Grough, "that won't do. We are all one in
the bush; and if we are to have the gal with us, we must draw lots, as
I said at first. I don't see why one of us is to have her more than
another."

"Suppose we leave it to the young lady herself," said Mark, "to
choose one of us; and the other two must abide by her decision?"

"That is fair," said Jemmy; "that gives us all an equal chance."

"I don't know that," said Grough. "Mark has been carnying her over
already. However, I don't want to make words;--I agree."

"Who shall propose it?" asked Jemmy.

"I will," said Mark.

"No, no!" said the suspicious Grough, "let's have it all fair and
above--board--all three together."

"Then it will be better to postpone this question," said Brandon,
"till we make our halt for the night. I don't expect that we shall
have the Major's people nor the soldiers on us before we have plenty
of time to make a long stretch in-land. The Major is busy about his
vessel--we gave him something to do there; and the young officer is
after the main body of our fellows out by the hill, that I pointed out
as the place of our meeting."

"You don't mean to go there?" said Jemmy.

"I think," replied Brandon, "that, under the circumstances, it will
be best for us to keep together by ourselves: too many at a time in
the bush is inconvenient. And now, my boys, let us make a start."

When Mr. Brandon communicated to Mr. Silliman the decision of the
bushrangers, that he should accompany them in their retreat in the
capacity of a pack-horse, and promised him good treatment if he
behaved well in his employment, that wretched individual was rather
rejoiced than otherwise at his promotion; for anything was better than
to have the disagreeable musket of the careless Jemmy Swindell
everlastingly set at his head: and while there was life, he sagely
argued, there was hope; and the intention of the bushrangers to make
him their slave showed that they had no present design of taking away
his life.

He acquiesced, therefore, with great submission, and his hands being
released and the gag in his mouth a little relaxed, he proceeded to
assist Jemmy and Roger in loading himself with much alacrity, and with
a readiness to oblige, which was both prudent and philosophical on the
occasion. But when Mark Brandon intimated to Helen that it was their
intention to take her with them, she at once refused, and declared she
would rather suffer death than allow herself to be removed from the
cave.

"You may be quite sure, Miss Horton," said Mark, in his most
insinuating way, "that I strenuously opposed this plan; but I found my
men so obstinate and determined, that it was impossible for me to
persuade them to forego their resolution. They said, that if you were
left behind, you would give information to your pursuers of our
numbers and our plans, which would lead to our destruction. All that I
could do was to prevail on them to consent that you should return with
your friend Mr. Silliman after we had reached a sufficient distance
from this place to render pursuit of us hopeless."

"Is it possible that I can believe that you speak truth?" said Helen.

"The alternative," quickly replied Mark, "is too dreadful for me to
dare to mention to you; but the loss of your life, I fear, with such
desperate men, would be the least of the evils that you would have to
suffer. Observe that Mr. Silliman will accompany you."

"And we are to be released when you have reached a place of safety?"

"Certainly," replied Mark; "your own sense must tell you that a lady
in the bush would be a most inconvenient addition. But to satisfy the
apprehensions of my companions it is absolutely necessary that you
should go with us for a certain distance, in order to prevent your
giving information of our proceedings to those who might be inclined
to follow us."

"But am I to be taken away with my hands bound in this painful way?"
said Helen, a wild hope flashing on her mind, that if her hands were
free she might find an opportunity to escape.

"The moment we have passed from the vicinity of these rocks," replied
Mark Brandon, "my companions consent to your being unbound; but for a
short distance, however painful it may be for me, Miss Horton, to see
you in such a state, we must submit to a force that is stronger than
ours."

These words the bushranger spoke in a tone so tender and yet so
respectful, that Helen could not help fancying that she possessed a
power over him which she might use advantageously for herself and her
fellow--prisoner. Mark Brandon, with his usual art, had succeeded in
infusing into her the idea that his actions were controlled by his two
associates, and that the rigour with which she had been treated was
their act and not his; and that, on the contrary, he would willingly
aid her escape if he were not bound by ties of fellowship to his
comrades, and, indeed, overmatched by them in strength, insomuch as
they were two to one against him.

Possessed with this flattering hope, and little aware of the extent
of the diabolical deceit of the man whom she had to deal with, she
suffered herself to be persuaded to accompany them without
resistance,--thus justifying Mark's observation to his associates:--

"You see, my mates, that 'softly' does it."

Helen was so afraid that the bushrangers would commence a search
after Louisa that she forebore to mention her name, trusting that her
sister had made good her escape in the direction where the burning
vessel pointed out the presence, most likely, of her father and the
ship's crew; and Brandon, considering that the girl had wandered into
the bush, and being bent on securing Helen, and of getting away before
it was too late, did not trouble himself to look after her: but
satisfied with his booty, and with his still dearer prize, whom he had
resolved to appropriate to himself, though at the sacrifice of the
lives of his two comrades, and Jeremiah being driven before them like
a beast of burden, he made the best of his way into the thickest
recesses of the bush.

It is easy to be supposed that, while much of the scenes which have
been described were passing, the terrified Louisa was a prey to the
most dismal apprehensions.

At first she supposed that her sister and poor Mr. Silliman were
instantly to be put to death; and she feared that in such case her own
life would be the next sacrifice, for she felt that it would be
impossible for her to avoid screaming out! But when she found that it
was not the intention of their captors, as it seemed, to take away
their lives, and that Mark Brandon addressed her sister, as she
observed, in the most respectful manner, she recovered herself
sufficiently to note accurately the whole of the proceedings that met
her view.

When the bushrangers, taking with them their prisoners, departed for
the cave, she lay close in her hiding-place; but as she had the
advantage of being able to see without being seen, she watched them
till they were out of sight.

Now was the time, she thought, to get away, and to endeavour to find
her father or the soldiers. If she kept near the banks of the bay she
judged that she must fall in with one or other of the party; though
she was sadly in fear lest she should meet either bushrangers or
natives on her way. Stimulated, however, by the danger which was close
to her, and urged by the desire to save her sister from the hands of
the desperate men who held her captive, and not without an amiable
wish to save the harmless and good-natured Jeremiah from the fate with
which he was threatened, she mustered up courage to set out.

Once in motion, she never looked behind her, but, taking advantage of
the rocks and bushes which were scattered about, to screen herself
from the observation of her enemies, she fled on the wings of fear
towards the spot where she doubted not she should meet with friends
with whom she would be safe, and who would promptly hasten to her
sister's rescue.

Chapter II. Hopes.

IN the mean time the Major, assisted by his active officer, and ably
supported by the crew of the vessel and the government sailors, was
vigorously engaged in battling with the fire which had been kindled in
the principal cabin of the brig by Mark Brandon, who had perpetrated
that most diabolical act in order to occupy the attention of his
antagonists, and to prevent them from turning their thoughts to him
and to the inmates of the cave.

In this he had fully succeeded; for so busy were the sailors, with
their commanders, in extinguishing the flames, and in repairing the
damage that had been done to the vessel, as well by the fire as by her
striking on the shoal, that they could think of nothing else but the
urgent work on which they were employed.

The extinguishing of the fire proved a less difficult matter than
they had hoped, although the parts which had been ignited continued to
send forth smoke for some time after the flames had been overcome.

This being effected, however, and all danger on that score over, the
sailors began to recollect that it was near eight bells--that is to
say, that it was about mid-day;--and that they had been able to
procure no refreshment, since the night before, more than a bite at
some hard ship's biscuit, which was by no means sufficient to satisfy
seamen's appetites when "better grub," as they nautically expressed
it, was to be got.

With one accord, therefore, they signified to the mate that they
would take it as a particular favour if the skipper would be pleased
to make it twelve o'clock; it being the peculiar function of that
omnipotent person on board-ship--the captain--not only to make it
twelve o'clock every day at his will and pleasure, but on the
extraordinary occasion of a voyage eastward round the globe to make
either an extra Sunday or an extraworking day on some one week of the
circumnavigation, according to expediency, and to his own particular
convenience.

As the Major well knew that one most important means of keeping
sailors in good humour is to feed them and grog them well, he
forthwith gave orders for striking eight bells, according to the
request conveyed to him; and as the brig's cabouse was found to be
sadly out of order from the effects of the storm, which Mark Brandon's
people had neither the time nor the skill to remedy, he gave
directions for making up a huge fire of wood on the beach; and it was
the smoke from this extempore ship's kitchen that the party at the
cave mistook for the burning of the vessel.

The dinner from the ample stores of the brig's beef and pork went on
favourably, while a judicious distribution of rum completed the
general satisfaction; and the jovial sailors, refreshed with rest and
food, rushed joyously to their work, which was to get the brig off
from the shoal.

Fortunately for the bottom of the gallant vessel, the part of the
shoal where she struck was entirely of sand, so that there were hopes
that so far she had escaped uninjured. The mate, also, did not fail to
take advantage of the rising tide, by carrying out an anchor seaward,
and putting a strain on the cable from the bow of the vessel. The
position of the brig, however, was an awkward one, and it required all
the skill and exertions of their united strength to warp her off on
the rising of the tide with the assistance of both boats, and with the
strain of two cables attached to the anchors besides.

This, however, by the perseverance and encouragement of the mate, who
bent his whole soul to the work, and by the liberal promises of the
Major, was at last effected, and the little vessel was once more
afloat on the bosom of the waters. The wind had gone down again; but
there was a broken swell which caused the vessed to toss about like a
maimed and crippled thing, filling the worthy mate with a poignant
pain which almost counterbalanced his joy at seeing the mistress of
his affections swimming with a melancholy flauntiness on her native
element.

Ah! poor thing! he said, as he stood on the shore and surveyed her
changed appearance, you see what has happened to you, you hussey, by
letting yourself get into bad hands! But it wasn't her fault neither,
he said; but mine, for listening to the blarney of that cursed pilot,
with his sea--lawyer's jaw and his damn'd long-tailed coat! I ought to
have known better--I ought--and that's the truth of it. I mistrusted
those long tails from the first; it wasn't seaman-like, to say the
least of it--it was indecent! and I deserve to be flogged, I do, for
being so flummoxed by such a lubberly-looking rascal! But I'll make
you all right again, my beauty! I will. There's a lovely foresail in
the mainhold, and I'll spread it on her, and she shall look as saucy
as a new bride!

"But her mainmast is gone," said the Major, interrupting his
officer's self-accusatory and affectionate exclamations; "how shall we
manage for that?"

"It's a bad job, I confess," replied the mate. "But look at that
grove of trees, yonder, with their tall straight stems; those are the
stringybark trees, I take it. There's a new mast ready-made to our
hand; and it is but a light bit of timber that we want for our little
boat, God bless her! and we'll ship it in no time, that is, if it
wouldn't be better to rig out a jury--mast enough to carry us into
port in the Derwent; and then we can do it at our leisure, and more
ship-shape."

"Bear-a-hand, my sons," he sang out to the sailors, "and clear away
this gear," pointing to the shattered mainmast which had been cut away
from the vessel, and was lying half in the water on the shoal.

"I think," he continued, turning to the Major, "that we had better
trust to a jury-mast to take us round the headland and through the
channel: we shall not make so good a job of it here, and it's best to
be in port as soon as we can. There's no knowing how soon we might
have another visit from these confounded bushrangers--the devil burn
them! the place seems to grow bushrangers! And the sooner, perhaps, we
get the young ladies on board the better: to my mind it's safer for
them to be on board than on shore any time. When one is on board ship
we know where we are, which we never do ashore; for the streets run in
and out, and the houses are all alike--and there's no getting a sight
of the sun, so that you never know your bearings; and as to your
latitude and longitude, it's all a guess! But on boardship you know
what to look out for and what to prepare against; there's the wind and
the sea--and a lee-shore, may-be, and that's all: but on the land you
never know what the danger is, for it is never over! What with land-
sharks and fireships of all sorts--let alone the difficulty of keeping
steady on one's legs when there's no motion to help one, and not one
in a hundred knows starboard from larboard, or how to put up their
helms when you're bearing up, may-be in Cheapside, against a wind!--
for my part, I say the sea for me: and all the use of the land, so far
as I can see, is to grow vegetables on!"

"And now, Major, if you will take my advice, you will let me tow the
brig opposite your camp, over the water, yonder, so that the young
ladies can come easy on board; and I should like to see the bushranger
that would attempt to take them out again!"

From this long and characteristic harangue, it may be seen that the
worthy mate was in excessively high spirits; and as the Major
expressed his immediate approval of his suggestion, all the materials
belonging to the vessel were collected without delay, and the two
boats being manned, they were on the point of giving way, when a shout
from the top of the hill overlooking the shore attracted their
attention, and the ensign with three soldiers, was seen coming down in
all haste towards the vessel.

The Major desired the boats to rest on their oars, and presently
Trevor reached the beach:--the vessel being beyond convenient hail, he
made the most energetic signs to make the Major understand that he
wished to communicate with those on board. One of the boats being
detached, the Major stepped into it and proceeded to the shore.

"Are you aware," were the first words uttered by Trevor, "that Mark
Brandon, with two of his comrades, have escaped?"

A sudden fear came over the father as he thought of his daughters.

Trevor then communicated to him, in as few words as possible, that
his party of soldiers had hemmed the bushrangers into a corner, and
that all who were not killed in the conflict were captured, but that
Brandon and two others were not among them. He said further, that some
of the convicts had informed him that Brandon had promised to meet
them at the foot of a certain hill, about a dozen miles off, but that
it was the opinion of the head constable, who was a most intelligent
fellow, that this was only a feint on the part of Brandon, and that he
would most likely visit the cave where the Major's daughters had been
left, and where many of the Major's valuables had been deposited.

The Major changed countenance at this communication, and for a few
moments was at a loss how to act; for he could not make up his mind
which was the best way of reaching the side of the bay near which the
cave was situate, whether by land or water.

Trevor saw that his mind was troubled as if with a presentiment of
some disaster, and he immediately offered to go round by land with his
men while the Major proceeded by sea. The Major, without speaking a
word, but with lips pale and his teeth clenched, immediately agreed to
this arrangement, and stepping back into his boat, nodded his head to
the men to take to their oars; when a new apparition arrested his
sight, and gave rise to sudden hopes and fears, which took from him
the power of speech, and it was only by a sign that he could intimate
to the boat's crew to remain still.

On the summit of a low green bank he beheld a female, whom the
father's eye instantly recognised as his daughter Louisa, descending
with precipitate but staggering haste. Extending his arm to the
object, he pointed it out to Trevor, who, in a moment, started off to
meet her, followed by his men.

The Major could not move; he saw his daughter, but he saw only one!
Where was the other? Where was Helen? It might be, that, exhausted
with her flight, she had sunk down on the way;--but was that It was
Louisa that was likely to be exhausted, not the strong-minded and
intrepid. Helen! The courage of the old soldier was destroyed by the
apprehensions of the father! He awaited the arrival of Louisa, and the
tidings which she brought in gloomy silence.

She was not long in coming, or rather she was carried by Trevor down
the slope and placed in her father's arms. Frantically embracing him
with convulsive joy, she sank down, faint, exhausted, and collapsed,
and burst into an hysterical flood of tears!

Hitherto she had not spoken a word; but her flight, her exhausted
state, with terror still imprinted on her countenance--all gave
evidence that she had been witness of some shocking catastrophe, and
was the bearer of terrible tidings. The Major, for some moments, could
not interrogate her; the sight of her, and the fears which that sight
suggested, unmanned him, and for some minutes he mingled his tears
with those of his recovered daughter.

The hardy boat's crew, who were acquainted with all the circumstances
attending the seizure of the brig by the bushrangers, and the perils
to which the Major's daughters had been exposed, and who, with the
true feeling of British sailors where the safety of a woman was
concerned, were generously alive to everything that affected her and
those to whom she was dear, regarded the sorrow-stricken father with
sympathising looks, and one or two of them laid their hands on the
ship's cutlasses which were in the boat, as if eager to revenge any
wrong that had been committed on a female whom they considered
especially under their protection.

When the first burst of Louisa's emotion had subsided the Major
removed her from the boat, and taking her apart to some little
distance on the beach--for he was fearful that she had some dreadful
disclosure to make which it would shock her delicacy to speak of
except if he asked her the reason of her sudden appearance, and of her
flight from the place of their retreat, and desired her to tell him
without disguise all that she could of what had occurred since he had
left her and her sister with Mr. Silliman at the cave.

The poor girl, who was well aware of the necessity of being prompt in
affording succour to Helen, stifled her sobs; and by a great effort
was able to recover her voice sufficiently to narrate to her father,
that they had seen the smoke, and that Helen had heard the sound of
firing in the distance; and that, unable to control her curiosity, she
had ventured from the cave to endeavour to see what was going forward,
but, alarmed at her not returning, she had prevailed on Mr. Silliman
to leave the cave to seek for her; and that when Mr. Silliman did not
return, she being frightened at the continued absence of him and of
her sister, went out to look for them.

She then described the scene of her sister and Mr. Silliman in the
hands of the bushrangers; and she said, that when she saw Mark Brandon
she gave up all for lost!--herself also!--but fortunately, they had
not perceived her, she was so well hidden among a confused heap of
rocks. She told, also, the conversation which she had overheard
between Mark Brandon and her sister about the money which had been
taken from the brig and deposited in the cave, and that Helen had been
prevailed on by Brandon to tell him where it was concealed; that the
three that is, Mark Brandon and two other men whom she recollected as
having been on board the brig, from the remarkable fierceness of their
countenances--went away to the cave, taking Mr. Silliman and Helen
with them, and that when they were out of sight she ran off by the
shore of the bay to the spot where she saw the smoke.

She added, though with some hesitation, that before the bushrangers
went away to the cave they talked of casting lots for her sister,
which she supposed meant that one of them was to take Helen away into
the bush.

When she had concluded her narrative the Major beckoned to Trevor,
who was within sight, and made Louisa repeat all the circumstances
which she had related to him, which Louisa did, nearly in the same
words, but omitting that part of it where the bushrangers talked of
casting lots for her sister, but stating that she feared from their
talk that it was their intention to take Helen away with them.

It is impossible to describe the agony which overwhelmed the father
and the lover at this dreadful communication. The loss of his money
was as nothing compared with the horrible fate of his daughter. The
Major sat for a few minutes in silence, stunned with the blow, and
unable to exert himself in thought or action. But Trevor, wild and mad
with grief and rage, stamped frantically on the beach, and called out
to his soldiers to advance and get ready to follow him instantly in
pursuit. He ran to the boat, and with vehement declamations told the
story to the crew.

The sturdy sons of the sea, albeit they could not understand how the
male guardian of the women had allowed the bushrangers to maltreat a
girl without first sacrificing his own life in her defence, were
roused to the highest pitch of indignation at the idea of the rascally
pilot who had played such a trick on themselves, having carried away a
nice girl into the bush, and--climax of villany and cruelty!--with her
hands tied behind her! "It wasn't," they said, "giving the gal a
chance, and was altogether contrary to all manliness, and unfair to
the last degree; and none but a rascally convict would be guilty of
such an abominable action."

They demanded eagerly to be led in pursuit; and Trevor took advantage
of their enthusiasm so far as to urge them to pull with all their
might to the opposite shore of the bay towards the right, as he
thought that would be the quickest way of reaching the scene of
Helen's adventures. The Major also, having recovered from the first
effects of the shock, was desirous of losing no time in taking
measures for the recovery of his daughter, alive or dead; for his
knowledge of her character convinced him that the high-minded Helen
would not survive any indignity offered to her by the miscreants who
had her in their power. But there was a sadness, and a solemnity, and
a quiet sternness in his manner, which contrasted remarkably with the
wild restlessness and the extravagant gestures and impetuosity of
Trevor.

Hastily making known to the mate, as they passed the brig, the reason
of their hurried passage across the bay, and putting Louisa on board
under his care, the Major bidding him make all speed in taking the
brig to the place of her destination, the excited sailors made the
blades of their oars bend and quiver as they propelled the boat
rapidly through the water, Trevor standing up and urging them by voice
and action to put forth all their strength to arrive as quickly as
possible to the shore before the bushrangers had time to make good
their retreat, or to consummate their premeditated villany on the poor
girl in their possession.

Urged by such lusty arms and such willing hearts, the boat soon
touched the sandy beach abreast of the lofty rock at which the Major
had established his encampment on the previous night, and without
waiting for the Major, Trevor leaped on shore, followed by his
soldiers, and made his way to the cave. The sight of the remains of
the ransacked trunks and packages told him in a moment that the
bushrangers had done their work, and had doubtless escaped with their
plunder.

While he was still gazing at the wreck of the property, the Major
arrived with four armed sailors, among whom was the carpenter, who had
acted as second mate of the vessel, leaving the rest of the crew to
guard the boat. Paying little attention to the loss of his goods, he
directed his sailors to light torches from the branches of a
peppermint-tree which grew close by, and to explore the interior of
the cave, while two of the soldiers were directed to use their best
endeavours to discover the track of the bushrangers and their
captives.

In the mean time Trevor with the corporal made a circuit round the
place, with the hope of meeting with some object which might serve as
a hint for their future proceedings.

He readily recognised the spot amongst the rocks where Louisa had hid
herself, and the relative positions of the parties during that
agonising scene. Then ascending a high mass of rock, he took a view of
the surrounding country, but he could not see far, owing to the
intervention of low scrubby hills and occasional clumps of trees; he
saw enough, however, to impress him with the feeling that it was a
most romantic part of the country, though of a rugged and savage
character, and affording opportunities, as he judged, for successful
concealment of a most embarrassing nature.

But considering the "lie," as it is colonially called, of the country
in a cooler and more attentive manner, it became clear to him that the
fugitives could have taken their flight through one particular segment
only of the semicircle which extended from the end of the lake on his
right to the sea-coast on his left. Mark Brandon, he argued, would not
dare to proceed northwards in the direction of Hobart Town; nor was it
likely that he would attempt to keep along the sea-shore to the left,
from the high and precipitous cliffs which he was aware bounded much
of the coast on that side; nor would he try to skirt the coast, from
the extreme difficulty of making progess over a line of country so
unfavourable for pursuing the rapid flight which was necessary for his
safety.

There was only one direction, therefore, left open for him, which was
comprised within a small angle; but still there was room and scope
enough for them to baffle their pursuers, unless the most prompt and
energetic means were adopted for getting on their track.

Carefully noting all the points which might serve him for marks of
distance, Trevor descended from the rock, and keeping the direction in
his mind's eye, he immediately started off, accompanied by the
corporal, on the line which he judged would be the probable course of
the bushrangers, and proceeded without stopping several miles.

He then made a halt; and, after surveying the scenery narrowly on
all sides, he made excursions from right to left, like a sportsman
beating for game, inspecting the ground narrowly to discover some
indication of the track of feet. This toil he continued for some time
in vain; but at last his exertions were suddenly rewarded with
success.

Passing near a low rock he saw, to his surprise, something lying on
it which he was sure could be neither leaf nor twig, and eagerly
running up to examine it, to his excessive joy he found that it was a
woman's glove!

In a moment he felt sure that at such a time and in such a place the
glove could be no other than Helen's; and it was partly with the
gladness with which it inspired him from this discovery of the track,
and partly with the rapture of a lover at beholding an article of
dress which had been worn by his mistress, that he was about to snatch
it up and carry it to his lips, when it struck him that its position
as it lay was remarkable, and, as it presently occurred to him, was
intentional.

Three of the fingers and the thumb, he observed, were bent together
as if with a hasty compression, while the fore-finger was, as it
seemed to him, purposely left free and pointing in a particular
direction. He followed with his eyes this direction, and saw that it
pointed to an opening between two hills at a considerable distance.

Taking into consideration all these circumstances, which, howsoever
trivial they might be thought at other times, were now most important
signs for his guidance, he felt sure that Helen had contrived to leave
one of her gloves on the rock, and that she had bent the fingers into
the shape in which he found them as a sign to her friends, should they
be so fortunate as to light on it in their search. The corporal also,
whom Trevor consulted was of the same opinion, remarking "that it was
evidence also of the young lady's hands having been set at liberty."

This was a fresh source of satisfaction to Trevor, who argued from
it also that Helen had hopes of being succoured, and that her mind was
cool and ready enough to devise this means of indicating the direction
of their retreat.

The shades of evening were now beginning to encompass them, and the
corporal counselled his officer that he should return to the cave for
the other two soldiers, and for such materials and provisions as would
be necessary for them to take with them in their pursuit.

But Trevor, who had now become warmed and excited, would not listen
to any such proposal, as it involved a certain loss of time,--and time
was everything; besides, it was, for many very powerful reasons,
extremely important that they should come up with the bushrangers
before night. Trevor had his own motives for this, but from some
secret feeling which perhaps it would have been difficult for him to
explain in words, he did not communicate them to the corporal.

He contented himself with asking him, whether he could depend on him
to stand by him in the conflict which would be certain to take place
on their coming up with the enemy.

The corporal, who was a cool and brave old soldier, although he had
not a lover's enthusiasm to excite him on the present occasion to a
dangerous enterprise, slapped the butt-end of his firelock with his
hand, and assured Trevor with energy that he would stand by his
officer to the last drop of his blood, and wherever his ensign would
lead, he would follow him!

Thus encouraged and supported, Trevor wrote on a leaf which he tore
from his pocket-book, his intention to pursue the bushrangers
accompanied by the corporal only, and directing any friend who might
see the writing to take the direction of the opening between the two
high hills in the distance which was nearly west-north-west. Having
written this, he stuck it on a small stick, which he secured to the
rock with a heavy stone; and having set up a pole from a neighbouring
clump of thin trees, known in the colony by the name of the tea-tree,
used by the natives for their spears, and to which he affixed a tuft
of native grass to attract attention, with the corporal for his
companion, he set out rapidly in the direction indicated by Helen's
glove, which, loverlike, he had deposited in his bosom.

As they had now got on the track, which was occasionally visible,
they kept their arms in readiness, in the hope of coming suddenly on
the freebooters, to whom the corporal secretly vowed he would grant no
quarter, and on whom the ensign was determined to take summary
vengeance.

Chapter III. Perils.

TREVOR had conjectured rightly when he supposed that the glove which
he had found on the rock had been left there purposely by Helen to
indicate the direction in which her captors were conveying her.

It was at this spot that Mark Brandon had released her from her bonds
on her obstinate refusal to proceed further without such liberty being
granted to her; and she insisted also on the performance of Brandon's
promise to permit her to return to the cave, now that they had reached
a distance which placed them beyond the risk of immediate surprisal
from pursuers, should any be on their track.

But to this the other two men were vehemently opposed. Having
succeeded in "planting" the bag of dollars, and in rifling the Major's
effects with impunity, and having got the girl so far along with them,
the ruffians were unwilling to let go their prize; and as their
obstinacy favoured Mark's scheme, he took care, when not in Helen's
hearing, to throw out such suggestions as would irritate and confirm
them in their determination.

But he kept the merit to himself of releasing Helen's hands, which he
did with apparent gladness and great gentleness, taking care to drop
some expressions in a low tone of his extreme sorrow that his
companions would not consent to her release, and giving her reason,
though ambiguously, to understand that on the first opportunity he
would favour her escape.

At the same time, the bushrangers untied Jerry's hands, as he had
already made several awkward falls, and as the restraint of his being
so fettered impeded the celerity of their march. They also ungagged
his mouth in order that he might breath more freely, and be able
better to bear the task of being the pack-horse of the company. In
order to prevent any attempt on his part to escape, and to insure his
good behaviour on the journey, the ill-featured Grough preceded him at
a little distance with his loaded weapon, while the hang-dog looking
Jemmy kept close to him behind with the bayonet of his musket fixed,
and handy to act as an incentive to the unfortunate Jerry to be active
in his motions. This was the order of march prescribed by Brandon, who
continued to retain his supremacy as the leader of the party, although
he was well aware that the roughness and hardships of the bush would
soon endanger his present insecure authority. For his own share he
took on himself the charge of Helen, endeavouring by all possible
means to ingratiate himself in her favour by the way, and assiduously
offering to her all those little attentions for which it may be easily
imagined there was abundance of opportunity in their rapid and uneven
path.

Although Helen refused his assistance, and would not allow herself
to be touched by him, it was impossible for her to avoid hearing the
artful discourse which he poured into her ear with a skill and tact
which he had found so effectual with women on other occasions.

Fully aware that all the ordinary forms of flattery were
inappropriate with a high-spirited girl like Helen, of whose character
he had been able to form an accurate estimate during her trials on
board of the brig, he confined himself to the idea which he well knew
must be uppermost in her mind, and adroitly insinuated his willingness
to promote her escape if it could be done without exciting the
suspicion of his comrades, whom he described as two desperadoes of
malignity so atrocious and violence so furious, that it would be in
vain for him to endeavour to contend against the open force; besides,
as he affected to say with much regret, he was bound to them by those
ties of honour which forbade him to make any attempts on their lives,
even for her sake.

By this consummate duplicity the arch-hypocrite contrived to make
his captive regard him as an unexpected friend;--the more valuable
under the circumstances, as without him she felt she should be
entirely at the mercy of his unscrupulous comrades; and with this
feeling she was glad to have him by her side, considering him as a
sort of protection against coarser villains.

Mark, with his usual quickness of discernment, penetrated her
thoughts, and inwardly congratulated himself on his progress so far in
her good graces; as he had succeeded in causing her to look on him not
as an object of repugnance, but as one whom, as he held favourable
intentions towards her, she was inclined to regard with reciprocal
good feeling. In this way they journeyed on, at a rapid rate, till
both the overburthened Jerry and the anxious Helen showed symptoms of
exhaustion.

It was now nearly dark, and they had travelled many miles from the
cave. The bushrangers were desirous of continuing their march for some
distance farther, in order that their track might be lost in the dark;
but as Helen now sank to the ground, it was found impossible to
proceed without adopting some contrivance for assisting her steps.
Helen prayed them, earnestly and imploringly, to allow her to remain
where she was, and to continue their course without her; but as this
by no means squared with the intentions of the two bushrangers,
although Mark Brandon pretended to be inclined to consent, they were
determined to urge her forward. Seeing that such was the determination
of his comrades, as Mark whispered to Helen, he proposed that they
should cut a convenient branch from a tree, and by placing it under
her arms, two of them would be able to carry her forward while he took
charge of Jerry in the rear.

This arrangement he proposed, in order that, according to his plan,
he should not bring himself into a personal collision with Helen,
which, he was aware, could not fail to be most unfavourable to his
designs; and he trusted also that the savage countenances and rude
language of his coarse and brutal mates would make his own mildness
and silky tongue appear afterwards in favourable contrast for himself,
and that the young lady would be glad to seek refuge in his protection
against the horrible insults of ruffians so revolting: with such
devilish art did this most consummate villain turn every circumstance
to his own advantage, and wind his way, like a serpent, into the
confidence and comparative good opinion of his destined victim.

With all their endeavours, however, the bearers of Helen were unable
to proceed far on their way over the rough country which they were
traversing, encumbered as they were with a burthen so embarrassing to
their steps; but, fully alive to the importance of cutting off their
track, by the dark, from any one in pursuit, they persevered in their
laborious course till the sun went down, and the gloominess of the
night approached. They continued their course for about a mile
further, till they felt sure that all trace of them must be lost.

A low valley, at some little distance out of their direct course, in
which mimosa trees were growing abundantly, forming a convenient place
to spend the night, they came to a halt; and first unloading Jerry,
and then binding his hands and feet together, notwithstanding his most
energetic protestations and promises that he would make no attempt to
run away, they prepared to make their supper, in which they set forth
a liberal allowance of rum, as a principal part of the entertainment.

There was light enough for them to see what they were about, although
not sufficient to enable a pursuer to distinguish their footsteps,
which indeed was a difficult matter even in open day; and they sat
down, notwithstanding their fatigue, in very good humour, promising
Jerry when they had finished their meal, that they would give him a
turn; "for it would be a pity," they said, "that so able and willing a
pack-carrier should be knocked up for want of grub."

As to Helen, they left her to the care of Mark, first taking the
precaution, however, to tie her hands behind her back, which they
assured her with many jocular phrases, was always their custom when
they took young ladies into the bush till they got used to their ways,
which, they said, they had no doubt she would soon be, after she had
had the benefit of a little experience.

But before they confined her hands, Mark Brandon offered her food and
drink, which she at first refused; on consideration, however, she
determined to support her strength in order to facilitate her escape;
but she refused to taste the rum, which the two men were inclined to
force on her had they not been remonstrated with by Brandon.

Brandon had the consideration also to cut down with his axe, which he
carried with him, a quantity of the bushy boughs of the mimosa, with
which he formed a sort of hut for her accommodation; and leaving her
there to await her fate, but keeping a wary watch over her at the same
time, the three set-to at the provisions and liquors before them, and
the raw rum presently getting into the heads of Swindell and Grough,
they were soon ripe for any deed of brutal atrocity.

Mark Brandon now found that his refined scheme of setting his two
associates to do the work which could not fail to render the
aggressors still more hateful to the lady, operated against himself,
for Grough and Swindell having borne the burthen of the girl for some
miles unassisted by Mark, they considered that their right to her was
thereby so far increased as to give them a prior claim on the captive.

This they urged with impudent confidence, and being inflamed with
liquor, they determined to carry their claims into effect without
further delay, and almost, without caring to consult Brandon's mind in
the matter; for in the madness of their drunken excitement they lost
all respect for the superior intellect of which at other times they
felt themselves under the invincible control.

"What do you say, Roger?" said he who among his companions was
familiarly called Jemmy, to which the epithet of hang-dog was
occasionally added, taking one of the Major's dollars from his pocket,
"shall it be a toss-up?"

"There's not light enough for that," replied his mate; "let us put a
lot of dollars in a hat, and guess odd or even."

"And who is to be the umpire?" said Jemmy; "a fair toss up is the
best way; the moon gives light enough to see whether it comes down man
or pillars."

"You forgot, my mates," said Brandon, interposing, "that I have a
vote in this affair; the girl is as much mine as yours."

"And who was it that carried her the last four miles?" said the pair
both at once.

"We have worked for her," added Jemmy.

"We have brought her here," said Roger, "and we will have her.--Who
says nay?"

"But I have an equal right, surely," said Brandon: "who was it that
persuaded her to come on so quietly?"

"Oh! we all know that you have a devil of a tongue for the girls,
Mark; but those that do the hard work ought to have the first
chance,--that's what I say."

"Come," said Brandon, "don't let us quarrel about a girl when we are
running for our lives, as I may say; and when our only chance of
escaping from the colony is to agree together; with the money that we
have got safely planted we may have half the women in the colony."

"I tell you what, Jemmy," said Roger Grough, "fair play is fair play
all the world over.--Share and share alike--that's bush law.--Let us
all three cast lots, and he who wins has her."

"Agreed," said Brandon, who trusted that his own sober state would be
more than a match for the united wit of his two drunken companions; "I
will prepare the lots."

"What shall they be?"

"Here are three sticks," said Brandon; "come closer. See, they are
all of the same thickness. Two shall be short and one shall be long;
he who draws the longest wins."

"And who is to hold them?"

"You, Jemmy, if you like."

"And who is to have the first draw?"

"I and Roger will toss for that."

"Agreed," said Roger.

The sticks were prepared, Brandon making a dent on the longest with
his thumb-nail, so as easily to be able to distinguish it from the
rest. Then taking a dollar from his pocket he offered it to Grough to
toss.

"Do you toss?" said Grough.

"No!" said Brandon, whose game was to deprive the other two of the
right to accuse him of foul play; "you shall toss, Roger, then you
will be sure you have had a fair chance."

Roger tossed: Brandon won.

"Now for the sticks," said Roger, a little dissatisfied.

"You have still an equal chance with me," said Brandon, wishing to
sooth him.--"For my own part, I don't much care which way it goes."

"Gammon!" said Jemmy Swindell.

"Now!" said the holder of the sticks, "try your luck, Mark."

"Hold!" said a voice which startled the three.

"What the devil is that?" cried Grough, starting up.

Brandon immediately went to the hut of boughs in which Helen was
placed. He listened attentively. She was sleeping. Happily for her she
had not heard the conversation between the wretches who, like wild
beasts, were contending for her as their prey.

"Hold!" said the voice again.

"It is our pack-horse!" said Jemmy, with a gruff laugh.

"Pack-horse, or what you please," said Jeremiah, his good-natured
sympathy excited by the horrible fate impending over the sister of
Louisa; "I say hold!"

"Hold your jaw," said Roger, "or I'll put a ball through your soft
head."

"You may put a dozen, if you like," said Jeremiah; "but, I say, Mark
Brandon--listen to me."

"You had better hold your tongue," said Brandon.

"But I won't hold my tongue. Listen to me, I say. I have a thousand
pounds in dollars to my credit at Hobart Town. Now listen to me; let
the young lady go free, and those thousand pounds I will divide among
you."

"Go to the devil with your dollars!" said Swindell; "what's the use
of dollars to us here--and now? It's the gal we want, and the gal we
will have. Now, Mark, draw your lot."

"For God's sake don't commit such a horrible outrage on a poor
defenceless girl; such a deed as this would be sure to hang you and
damn you too past all redemption," cried out Jeremiah, excited by the
imminency and the terrible nature of the peril to the poor resistless
girl.

"Gag him," said Brandon, quietly, "his noise may do mischief."

Such practised hands were not long in carrying this recommendation
into effect; and as Jeremiah was bound hand and foot and incapable of
resistance, the brutal Grough had no difficulty in preventing him from
giving them further molestation by his cries.

"Now," said Swindell, "time's going on; it is for you to draw first,
Mark; here are the lots."

Brandon stretched out his hand; but during Jeremiah's generous
expostulation, the sticks had become mixed and turned in his hand, and
Brandon could no longer distinguish the longest of them by the furtive
mark which he had made before he had delivered them to the holder.

"Draw," said Swindell, impatiently; "what are you fiddling about?
draw and have done with it; the longest wins."

Brandon still hesitated, and endeavoured to devise some expedient for
confusing the operator.

"Draw, I say," repeated Swindell; "there's light enough from the moon
to see the sticks, isn't there? There--look at them; and now take your
chance, or let Roger draw first."

"Let me see," said Brandon, "that the sticks are broken right, two
short, and one long; that was to be the way."

"No, no, none of your gammon with me, Mark; I'm as good a man as you
any day of the year, or night either. Why you broke the sticks
yourself! Do you suppose I'm so green as to let you feel which is the
longest before you choose? That would be making a precious fool of me,
wouldn't it, Roger?"

"Now, Mark," said Grough, getting impatient and suspicious as well as
the other; "fair play in the bush, Mark. Don't keep the lady waiting;
let one of us win; and an equal chance for all. Well, if you won't
draw, I will, and if I win, by----I'll have her." So saying, he
stretched out his hand to the stakes.

Brandon, thus urged, and seeing that his companions were not in a
temper to be made fools of, hastily drew a stick.

"Now, Roger," said the holder.

Roger Grough drew.

"Lost, all of you, by----," vociferated Swindell, measuring his own
lot against the other two.

"Jem," said Brandon, in a low deep voice, "you can't have that
girl."

"Why not? I've won her!"

"Give her up," said Brandon, "and I will give up my share to the bag
of dollars at the cave."

"No!--keep your dollars and be----; I'll have the girl."

"She is tired and ill," said Brandon.

"Oh, I'll soon rouse her up!"

It was at this moment that the raised voices of the disputants
awakened Helen from her feverish slumber, and she overheard the rest
of the parley; but exhausted with fatigue, and with her hands bound
behind her, she had neither the spirits nor the strength to attempt to
fly.

"I won't have her touched to-night, at any rate," resumed Brandon;
"it would be cruelty."

"Gammon! Mark; that blarney won't do for me."

"He has won her," said Grough, sturdily, "and he has a right to her:
that's bush law."

"I say again," said Brandon, coolly and firmly, "you shall not
molest that girl tonight."

"And who is to hinder me?"

"I will," said Brandon.

"Nay," said Grough, "we are two to one, Mark, anyhow; and I stand by
Jemmy; there has been a fair draw, and Jemmy has won the gal fairly;
and what he has won he must have; that's the rule of the bush, Mark;
and I'll stand by our rules; and Jemmy shall have her!"

"Wretched fools!" said Brandon, in a voice thick with passion, "what
would you be without me in the bush, or anywhere? and how are you to
save yourselves except by my head? Sit down, I say, and give up. I
have said the word; the girl shall not be touched this night."

"And I have said the word," said the obstinate Swindell, excited by
the double stimulus of lust and liquor; "and if there were ten
thousand Brandons in the way, I will have the girl; I have won her,
and she is mine."

"Once more, I say, leave her alone," said Brandon, taking a step
back.

"We are two to one," repeated Grough, sulkily; "it's you who must
give way, Mark; we are one too many."

"Then thus I make the odds even," said Mark, discharging one of the
barrels of his fowling-piece through the exulting Jemmy's head, and
instantly levelling the other barrel at Roger; "and now, mate," he
said, before the other had time to recover his musket, which was lying
on the ground, "you see you are at my mercy; but you are a man whose
courage and faithfulness I respect: say--is it to be peace or war?"

Chapter IV. A Discovery.

TREVOR and the corporal made good way as long as the daylight lasted:
but when darkness began to encompass them, they were obliged to pause;
and the corporal, whose spirits were not sustained by the same
feelings which animated his officer, ventured to suggest, that trying
to discover a track in the dark was not likely to be successful.

But the ensign reminding him that the young lady's glove pointed out
that their course was the opening between the high hills which loomed
in the distance, encouraged him to proceed, not forgetting to be
liberal in his promises of personal reward,--a motive, however, which
the corporal indignantly repudiated, avering that it was stimulus
sufficient for him to save the poor young lady from the clutches of
"those blackguards," and "to have a slap at the rascals who had run
off with a girl against her will!"

They kept on, therefore, till they reached the entrance of the
opening and began to climb the ascent between the hills.

But Trevor was not long in experiencing the difficulty of going over
unknown ground at night, obstructed at every step by dead timber and
loose stones; and although the moon lent its light, it was not
sufficient to help them much in their difficult way; and when they
came to the entrance of the gorge, which was thickly covered with
trees, even that light was obscured, and they were soon compelled to
come to a stand--still.

"I am inclined to think that the bushrangers must be somewhere
hereabouts," said Trevor, sitting down on the ground, in which he was
followed by his companion, "for they must have had the same difficulty
as we have, in making their way through this pass."

"That is, if they came this way," remarked the corporal, with much
sagacity.

"They must have come this way," replied Trevor, "if it was their
intention to pass this tier of hills, for there is no other opening.
But, as I say, their difficulty must have been the same as our own,
and more--for they had a lady with them, and she could not walk like a
man."

"What shall I do?" asked the corporal, who, although it was too dark
to distinguish objects, himself included, clearly, did not neglect to
make the usual military salute, as he stood before his officer,
waiting for orders.

"That's just what I am at a loss about," replied the ensign, who was
apprised by the sound of the "present," more than by the sight of it,
that his one soldier was standing in the accustomed respectful
attitude. "But, my good fellow, sit down and rest yourself; you must
be tired with this long march. You are used to the bush, I understand;
what do you think is best to be done?"

"I cannot pretend to know so well as your Honour," replied the
corporal, speaking deferentially; "but, in my opinion, the best thing
to be done would be to light a fire, and try to get something to eat."

"I am not at all hungry," said the ensign.

"Of course, if your Honour is not hungry," replied the corporal, "it
would not be proper for me to be so; but a good fire would warm us,
and make us feel more comfortable; not that I feel cold, unless your
Honour feels so too."

"The light of the fire may discover us," observed the ensign.

"Never fear, your Honour; those blackguards will be thinking more of
our discovering them, than of their discovering us. Besides, I will
mount guard while your Honour sits by the fire; and, who knows?--
perhaps the young lady may see the light, and give us a screech, and
then we can be down upon 'em in no time."

"You are a clever fellow, corporal: I could not have a better friend
to second me, I see; for I must allow our attempt is somewhat
venturesome."

"Oh! we shall do very well; only it's awkward to have nothing to eat
in the bush;--though, as to drink, there is water; and that's the best
drink, after all, when you can't get any better.--And now to look for
a bit of punk ....."

"Punk! what's that?"

"Oh! it's a--a sort of big wart, that grows on the trees; and it's
the handiest thing in nature to catch fire; better than rag-tinder,
any day. All that you want is a little fire to set it a-going."

"But it strikes me," observed the ensign, "that if you have the fire
already, you don't want the punk, as you call it, to make it.--By-the-
by, corporal, you are an Irishman, are you not?"

"Not exactly, your Honour.--I am neither English nor Irish, quite;
because I was born, by mistake, on the sea between England and
Ireland; so that the land of my birth was the Irish Channel, your
Honour. But my father and mother were Irishmen, and they always said I
was as good as English; and that no one, let him be English or Irish,
or both, could be so mean as to take advantage of an accident like
that. And I didn't stay long in Ireland neither; for, before I could
walk, I was marched with my father and mother, and the rest of the
regiment, over the sea to America."

"It must be in the air!" said Trevor, musingly to himself.

"Just so; the air, as your Honour says, is very cold; and it's that
makes us chilly.--But you'll have a beautiful fire in a minute," said
the corporal, snapping his flint on a slip of decayed punk, which he
had removed with his nail, and placed in the pan of his firelock.

"Stop," said the ensign, "your piece will go off, and that will give
the alarm."

"Go off! your Honour: how can it go off, when it's not loaded?"

"How is that? I thought your piece was loaded--ready for work."

"Oh! she is always ready for work, your Honour; but there's no use
dirtying her without occasion. I gave her a scour out at the cave
yonder, and made her as bright as a new pin inside. Why! I can load my
firelock before one of those bushranging rascals could get his piece
up to his shoulder."

"How are you off for ammunition?" asked the ensign, a little
anxiously.

"Box full; I emptied two of the men's, who were hit, into my own,
before I came away from the creek.--I hope your Honour is well
provided?"

"I have a large horn full of powder," replied the ensign, "a shotbelt
full of small shot, and a bag of balls to fit the fowling-piece which
the Major lent to me before we went after the brig."

"All right!" said the corporal. "Nothing like ammunition! Why we two,
back to back, if your Honour would permit me to take that liberty,
could stand against all the natives in the island!--And now for some
more wood; there's plenty lying about, luckily.--There, sir, don't you
think that looks cheery? If we could only get something to eat, we
should do very well. A kangaroo steak would be no bad thing; and I'll
be bound there are plenty of them hopping about, if we could only see
'em; and if your Honour would not mind my banging my piece off at a
boomah, that would be worth a cartridge!"

"Better not; it is of importance that we should come upon those
villains by surprise; and we can do very well for one night without
supper. But we are losing time, corporal, we are losing time," said
Trevor fretfully.

"Perhaps your Honour would like to have a sleep? Then your Honour
wouldn't be losing time. I remember, when we were in America, our old
colonel used always to bid us go to sleep when he had nothing else for
us to do; so that at last we got used to taking it anyhow, like our
grub, when we could get it; and when we couldn't we went without. A
long march and night air, as we used to say, are the best things in
the world to make a man sleep sound: not that I would take the liberty
to feel tired or sleepy, unless it was your Honour's pleasure. Our old
colonel used to say in America......"

"There must be no sleep to-night for either of us," interrupted the
ensign abruptly, and starting up, as if stung with some sudden and
painful thought. "God knows what atrocity those ruffians may be
committing at this very moment. Corporal, are you strong enough to
move forward?"

"Always ready to obey orders," replied the corporal, bringing his
firelock to the "present;" "but, if I may be so bold as to ask, which
way is it your Honour's pleasure to go; and how shall we find our way
in the dark?"

The ensign cast his eyes in the direction of the opening. The light
of the fire, which illuminated the spot where he was standing, made
the country in the distance look more gloomy and dark; and he could
not disguise from himself the truth, that to wander about at night
without a certain path to travel on, and a fixed point to go to, was a
vain and fruitless labour.

He had no doubt, from the significant pointing of Helen's glove,
that she had become acquainted with the bushranger's intention to make
their way to the opening at which he had arrived; but whether Mark
Brandon would continue his course through the pass, or turn to the
left towards the sea, or skirt the base of the tier of hills to his
right, and penetrate into the interior in that direction, was a
question which he found it impossible satisfactorily to resolve; and
he was fully alive to the folly and uselessness of exhausting
themselves in a pursuit on a wrong track.

While he was anxiously pondering these thoughts, on the one side
stimulated to action by the horrible thought of Helen being that night
at the mercy of the bushrangers, and, on the other, restrained by the
consideration that to move without some reasonable certainty of moving
in the right direction was a loss of time and a waste of strength, the
corporal had stepped to some little distance from the light, in order
that his view into the distance for some other watchfire, which might
perchance be burning, might not be confused by an illumination under
his eyes.

As he tried to pierce the gloom, he observed a white appearance on
the trunk of a tree, resembling the "mark" which explorers in the bush
make for the purpose of finding their way back, as well as to assist
them to keep in a straight line in their progress forward. Surprised
at seeing such a sign in a part of the country which was generally
supposed to be unexplored by white people, he advanced to the tree,
and then he ascertained that the mark was indeed made by the white
man's axe, but that it was not a mere "blaze;" it was the white
surface of the tree exposed, from the cutting off, intentionally, of a
branch; neither was there a similar "blaze" on the opposite side of
the tree, as is always the case when a tree is "marked" as a post of
direction.

Guessing at once that it was the work of the parties of whom they
were in pursuit, he made his way back without noise to his officer,
and in a few words communicated the fact, taking the opportunity at
the same time to hold the pan of his firelock towards the light of the
fire, to see that it was free, and clearing the touch-hole with his
pricker, lest any atom of punk should have insinuated itself into the
orifice.

Trevor immediately accompanied him to the tree, and was at once
convinced that the branch had been but recently lopped off, and that
it had been done by the bushrangers. He agreed with the corporal, that
this seemed to argue that the bushrangers had made up their encampment
for the night in their immediate vicinity; but in that case they had
surely taken the alarm at the fire, and had no doubt reconnoitred him
and the corporal while they were standing near it.

On examining the ground further, however, they perceived the marks of
the bough having been cut at both ends, and of having been pruned and
fitted for some purpose. On investigating more minutely the part of
the tree from which the bough had been cut, they calculated, from the
thickness of the base of the excised part, that it must have been a
piece of timber some twelve or fifteen feet long; and measuring the
two ends which had been cut off from the top and the bottom of the
bough, they found that it had been shortened to a length of four or
five feet. But they were at a loss to conjecture the purpose for which
such a stake had been fashioned.

However, it seemed quite clear that the axe of the white man had been
at work within a few hours; and there was every reason to conclude
that it was the bushrangers who had been there before them. But
although they made a most diligent search for a considerable distance
round the spot, they were for some time unable to discover any further
trace of the enemy; and it was not until they had proceeded more than
half a mile from the fire that their perseverance was rewarded with
success.

On looking forward in the direction of the opening, Trevor fancied he
saw something gently agitated by the wind, like a piece of ribbon. It
was not far from him; and the moon having now risen high, there was a
dim sort of light spread over the ground, sufficient for
distinguishing the outlines of objects.

He hastened to the spot, and found on a forked branch of dead wood,
projecting across the only path that was available at that point, a
strip of a woman's dress. It seemed to have been torn off by accident,
not design; but, whether by accident or design, it served the purpose
of pointing out to him the direction of the bushrangers.

Taking into consideration that he had now proceeded some distance
through the opening, and regarding the towering hills on either side,
which forbade advance to the right or to the left, he now felt assured
that the bushrangers had determined to get through the pass without
delay; for it was not to be supposed that they would stop in their
flight in the only path that was open for their retreat through the
tier, and thereby render themselves liable to be discovered by a
pursuing enemy. That would be, as they say, "giving away a chance;" an
act of folly which Mark Brandon, by all accounts, was the last man in
the world to be guilty of.

Encouraged, therefore, by this discovery, which showed that they
were on the right scent, the spirits of the corporal were considerably
raised, and those of the ensign proportionably excited; and Trevor
determined to endeavour to make his way through the opening, as on the
other side the rays of the moon would assist them in their progress,
and enable them perhaps to discover some other sign of the retreating
bushrangers, or of their captive; and the corporal leading the way, as
the one most experienced in bush-travelling, and their hopes raised by
the good luck of the discovery which they had already made, they
pushed on as rapidly as the obscurity, the difficulty of the way, and
the ascent which they had still to contend against, would allow.

As Trevor had youth and love to animate him, and the corporal
brought to the task the steady power of endurance possessed by an old
soldier, neither of them would allow an expression of fretfulness or
fatigue to escape him; but they kept on their way resolutely till they
had descended the slope on the opposite side, and reached the level
ground, when the corporal halted:--

"May I make so bold as to speak?"

"Speak on," said the ensign, "what is it?"

"It's this, your Honour. It strikes me that any one going up that
hill which we have left behind us would feel a little bit tired."

"What then?"

"Why then, you see, after being tired at the top of the hill, they
wouldn't stop there, especially if they were making a run of it, but
they would bowl down hill like a spent cannon-ball, easy-like, till
they came to the bottom."

"Good; and what then?"

"Why, when they came to the bottom, do you see, they would find
themselves pretty well knocked up."

"Are you knocked up then, corporal?"

"That's just as your Honour pleases. But to my thinking, those
fellows, as they have the young lady with them, must be knocked up
some time, whether she walks or they carry her....."

"You are right, corporal."

"And then, as they would want some handy hiding-place to pass the
night in, they would naturally look out for some hollow or sheltered
spot..."

"You are quite right, corporal, and I was thinking so myself. And
now we will do this; suppose yourself to be a bushranger...."

"Certainly your Honour, if your Honour wishes it," said the corporal
hesitatingly; "but I had rather not; it doesn't become..."

"We will suppose ourselves to be bushrangers--both of us,"--
continued the ensign..

"If your Honour is pleased to be one--of course your Honour knows
the rules of the service better than I do--it would not be proper for
me to object...."

"Well, then, suppose we were bushrangers, standing here, and looking
out for a place of shelter to hide in for the night;--what spot within
range should we fix on?"

"Are we to have a gal with us," asked the corporal.

Trevor winced at this question, which the corporal asked in all
innocence, and entirely with a view to make himself as much like the
bushrangers as possible, in order that he might be in a better
condition to reply seriatim to the question propounded by his officer.

"Observe that hollow to our right," said the ensign, "thick with
trees...."

"They look like mimosa trees," said the corporal.

"Does it not strike you that it is just the spot for the bushrangers
to choose?"

"I can't say what the bushrangers would do, because I never have been
a bushranger myself," replied the corporal; "but if I had a party
under my command, and wanted a snug place to pass the night in, that's
just the corner I should pitch on."

Trevor looked behind him, up the slope of the hill which he had
descended, and then threw his eyes towards the hollow, and endeavoured
to divine the route which the bushrangers would choose, if they had it
in their minds to make that spot the place of their retreat; and he
thought he could trace, by the light of the moon, a clear path which
it was likely they would take under such circumstances.

He pointed it out to the corporal, and directed him to observe the
bearings as well as he could by the moonlight. Then placing himself in
the stated direction, and desiring the corporal to keep a good look
out for the enemy, while he concentrated his attention on the keeping
of the "line," the two advanced steadily and warily into the hollow.

Trevor kept on till he reached a point which he judged was about the
centre of the mimosa trees, when he espied an object which resembled
neither tree nor shrub, and which he at first supposed was some hut
built by the natives. He whispered his suspicion to the corporal. But
that experienced person, in a similar whisper, informed the ensign
that the natives never formed their break-winds of branches of trees,
but always of slips of bark, which they contrived to strip from any
trees convenient.

"It must be the bushrangers, then," said the ensign.

"That's what I think," returned the corporal, cautiously running down
a cartridge.

"Follow me, silently," said Trevor.

Then, with their weapons in readiness, stepping with the greatest
caution, and prepared for immediate conflict, but desirous of
surprising their enemies, who they knew were resolute men; and lending
their ears to the slightest sound that arose in the stillness of the
night, they advanced silently to the bush-hut which had excited their
suspicion.

The corporal forgot his fatigue and his appetite, in his hope of a
"brush" with the bushrangers; and Trevor felt his heart beat with
excitement so as almost to give audible sound, as he thought of Helen
and her desperate position in the power of relentless ruffians.

Possessed with these characteristic feelings, they made their way, as
they supposed, without giving any alarm, to the back of the hut of
boughs, where Trevor listened for a few moments in breathless
excitement.

Chapter V. The Natives.

The Major, in the mean time, was not a little surprised at Trevor's
continued absence, and at the simultaneous disappearance of the
corporal.

He was desirous of consulting with him, as the commander of the
military, in respect of their future proceedings; and it was in the
most fretful state of suspense, therefore, that he looked out for his
return. But when the evening wore away, without any tidings of the
young officer or his subaltern, the Major's embarrassment was changed
to alarm, and his mind became troubled with all sorts of painful
apprehensions.

This new cause of alarm coming on him in addition to his absorbing
anxiety for the safety of his daughter Helen, whose probable fate in
the hands of remorseless ruffians was too dreadful for the father to
contemplate without the most violent agitation of grief and rage, was
almost too much for him to bear, and totally upset for the time the
usual equanimity which it was his pride and boast under all
circumstances to preserve.

The mind of the Major was the more disturbed at Trevor's absence, as
it was most important that no time should be lost in adopting measures
for the recapture of Helen; and being at a loss to conjecture what had
happened to his future son-in-law, or what had become of the corporal,
he was unable to decide on his plan of action. In this state of
perplexity he remained until the dark had set in; and then it was too
late to move about in the bush without knowing the country, and
without having any fixed point towards which to direct his steps.

But the habits of the old soldier prompting him not to neglect any
means of assisting his friends, or of discovering his enemies, he
despatched scouts in various directions, with orders to proceed warily
and to listen for the sound of voices; he directed them also to ascend
any convenient eminence, and to look out for the appearance of a fire
in the distance.

There was some moonlight, but not enough to be of much service; and
the men being unacquainted with the country, and unaccustomed to the
bush, were not able to penetrate far into the wilds beyond the cave;
and they all returned with the same account, that they could neither
see nor hear anything of their absent friends nor of the bushrangers.
One of them reported, however, that at a particular spot, which he
described as abounding in masses of irregular stones and rocks, he had
heard noises that resembled the barking and whining of a dog.

But this information afforded no assistance, as the Major was aware
that there existed a sort of native dog on the island, of a species
between that of a hyena and a jackall; and neither Trevor nor the
bushrangers, he knew, had a dog with them.

Thus the night passed away very uneasily; for the party at the cave,
seeing that Trevor and the corporal did not return, were led to fear
that they had fallen into the hands of the bushrangers; and such a
circumstance argued that the enemy was in greater force than the party
of Mark Brandon only and his two associates. It was possible,
therefore, that they themselves might be attacked; and the Major sent
a message to his mate on board the brig to keep a sharp look out,
while the party on shore kept watch diligently to guard against
surprise.

The Major, however, knew too well the value of time to allow the
hours of the night to elapse without making arrangements for starting
at the earliest dawn of day in pursuit of his captive daughter.

In this expedition he decided on taking with him the two soldiers
who formed part of the detachment under the command of the ensign, and
who, being aware of the Major's former rank in the army, though now no
longer in the service, readily agreed to obey his orders, and were
scarcely less eager to rescue their officer, who, it was to be feared,
had been taken by the convicts, than the Major was to save his
daughter.

He then summoned his trusty mate to the council; and in the first
place he gave him written instructions, placing him in command of the
vessel in his absence, "which," he said, "might be for some days, or
longer."

He enjoined him to be particularly cautious of the approach of
strangers, whether in boats or on rafts, and to keep the brig as much
as possible in the centre of the bay.

He was at first inclined to send the brig up the Derwent to Hobart
Town, in order to convey Louisa to a place of greater security than
the vessel under the circumstances afforded; but, on further
consideration, he thought, as he was not acquainted with any family at
Hobart Town, that she would be better in the brig under the care of
the trusty mate. Besides, it was desirable that the vessel should
remain where it was, near at hand, not only as a place of retreat on
an emergency, but for the purpose also of furnishing assistance and
supplies, should the occasion demand them.

Neither did the Major neglect, in his arrangements, the captured and
wounded convicts, whom Trevor had left under the charge of the
constable at the creek beyond the hills; but as it would have been
dangerous to leave the brig without the means of communicating with
the shore, he was able to send only one of the boats for the removal
of the wounded to the town.

This boat he despatched at once, as the night was fair; and he wrote
a letter by the conveyance to the authorities at Hobart Town,
communicating the events which had taken place, and stating his fears
that the ensign and the corporal had by some means been entrapped by
Mark Brandon; and that it was his intention to set off at daybreak for
the purpose of rescuing his daughter from the bushrangers who had got
possession of her, and of gaining intelligence of the ensign, who had
disappeared so mysteriously.

Having settled all these matters in a business-like manner, as became
an experienced officer, and having paid personal attention to all the
details necessary for their convenient travel in the bush, the Major
endeavoured to snatch a few minutes of repose; but, although he closed
his eyes, he could not sleep. The image of his daughter in the hands
of merciless ruffians was constantly present to his mind--sometimes,
to his disturbed fancy, extending her hands to him for help in her
extremity; and sometimes, preferring death to dishonour, in the
agonies of a death inflicted by her own heroic hand.

The dawn of the morning, therefore, came to him as a friend, to cheer
him with its light, and to brace him up with its cooling freshness for
the coming fatigues of the day.

He instantly summoned his companions, for in the wilds of the bush
subordinate followers soon come to be viewed in that light, as joint--
sharers in privations and dangers; and all having been prepared over--
night for their departure, and having taken leave of Louisa, as soon
as there was sufficient daylight to enable them to distinguish any
track left by the bushrangers, they plunged into the intricacies of
the pathless bush.

But the outset of his expedition was by no means propitious; and a
less cool and determined character than the Major might have been
daunted in encountering the dangers to which it seemed he was to be
beset in the very beginning of his pursuit.

The unusual circumstance of the appearance of a vessel in that
unfrequented bay had excited the curiosity of a body of natives, who,
unseen, and at a distance, near the sea-shore to the westward, watched
the manoeuvres of the brig and the boats on the water. They were able
to understand that there were two parties engaged, but their object
was beyond the simple understandings of the natives to comprehend.
However, as they had felt the mischievous effects of the interference
of the white people with their hunting-grounds in other parts of the
island, they were fully alive to the evil effects of the strangers
taking possession of this district, and they regarded their
proceedings therefore with the deepest interest.

When they observed that a party from the "big canoe" had landed and
established themselves on the shore at the cave by the margin of the
bay, they began to fear that it was the intention of the white people
to take possession of this part of their country also, and to drive
them towards the barren wastes of the western coast, where the
kangaroo and the opossum were scarce, and where the sweet gum-trees
were seldom to be met with.

It was with much alarm, therefore, that they regarded the overt act
of aggression, as manifested by the Major and his sailors on the
morning after their landing from the brig, when Mark Brandon, in
pursuance of his schemes, had allowed them to go at liberty.

They watched the white people closely; and they observed a small
party, consisting of four men and one woman, depart from the cave and
make their way into the interior. This they regarded as an exploring
expedition for the purpose of surveying the country, and of examining
into the condition of the game, and of the most favourable spots for
building houses.

Now it is to be borne in mind, that the natives of Van Diemen's Land
had been gradually expelled, by the immigration of the white people,
from some of the most fertile spots on the island; that is to say,
where the grass land was favourable to the increase of the kangaroo,
and the peppermint trees to the opossum. These successive usurpations
compelled the tribes of natives who were dispossessed of their
hunting--grounds to fall back on the hunting-grounds of other tribes;
and the disputes to which these collisions gave rise were the cause of
constant fights between the conflicting parties.

The natives, therefore, regarded the white people as most unjust and
cruel oppressors; and there was a mischief attendant on the
encroachments of the Europeans in this country, greater than usually
attends their usurpation of the lands of savage regions.

The native of Van Diemen's Land, the lowest in the scale of human
beings, unlike the rudest of the most ignorant of other savages, had
no fixed place of residence: he neither planted, nor sowed, nor built
a dwelling.

The country being destitute of indigenous fruits or roots on which
man could subsist, his only resource for food were the few wild
animals which the island afforded, and the gum of the trees similar to
those from which the well-known gum-arabic is produced. To these
aliments were added snakes, occasionally locusts, large caterpillars
found in the resinous blue-gum-tree, and a few other delicacies of a
like nature; which, however, were considered rather in the light of a
relish than as a substantial food.

Their principal sustenance, therefore, being wild game, it was
necessary for them to have a wide range of country at their command,
in order to afford them the means of subsistence; and this led to the
division of the country into different districts, in each of which a
particular tribe reigned paramount, jealously resisting the intrusion
of neighbouring tribes; which was in fact doing no more than defending
the circuit of country from which they derived their means of living,
from the invasion of parties who had no right to trespass on them.

It may be said that the necessity of traversing over a large space of
country to procure subsistence, and the remarkable absence of anything
like a permanent dwelling-house, had a reciprocal action on the habits
of the native of Van Diemen's Land. Having no house, he had no home;
and he had no tie to bind him to a particular spot; and having the
habit of roaming over the country for food, he felt the less necessity
for a fixed dwelling-place, and therefore was less solicitous about
erecting one.

Thus he had ever remained, so far as his history can be ascertained,
the only being in the human form without a roof of some sort wherewith
to shelter himself from the inclemencies of the weather.

It is to be observed also, in explanation of the peculiar habits of
those aboriginals, that the country produces no wild seed similar to
any grain, such as wheat, barley, or Indian corn: they had no bulbous
root, nothing like the yam, or the banana, or the bread-fruit. Neither
have they any nutritive fruit in the whole of Australia.

This singular denial of Nature in these countries of the food
necessary for the sustenance of man in the shape of grain, fruit,
herbs, or vegetables, is of a piece with the other singularities of
those primitive regions. There the trees are all evergreens, and shed
not their leaves annually, but their bark; almost all that grows there
is, in some respects, different from all that grows in the rest of the
known globe; and all the animals, and even some of the fishes, possess
an organic peculiarity of formation, in the false belly, or pouch,
which is different from that of the animals in all other countries.

It is to be observed that the natives of Van Diemen's Land are now to
be spoken of in the past tense, for none exist at present in the
colony; the remnants of the surviving tribes having been removed to an
island, which they have to themselves, under the care of the
government; but these records of their customs and habits refer also,
mainly, to all the known existing tribes of the continental island of
Australia still existing, but fast disappearing before the
exterminating approaches of the white people.

The absence of any grain indigenous to the country, deprived the
native of Van Diemen's Land of the opportunity of cultivating the arts
of agriculture even in their rudest form; for there was no material on
which he could exercise his industry, or which could be the means of
developing his ingenuity.

Neither was there any animal which could be domesticated. The
kangaroo is the only animal fit for food, so far as has yet been
discovered, in all Australia; and this creature is peculiarly unfitted
for domestication; and all the arts of the settlers in the various
Australian colonies have failed to do more than to tame it in a
certain degree; and in that semi-domesticated state it seldom lives
long; for such is the fondness of this strange and uncouth animal for
liberty, or such is its necessity, that it soon pines away and dies
when deprived of its free range of forest pasture.

Thus the native of Van Diemen's Land was compelled by necessity to be
what he was, and what he is in other parts of Australia, a mere
wandering savage, without a home, and without those arts,
contrivances, and tendency to intellectual development and progress,
which the possession and the love of home engender.

It is remarkable also, that the native of Van Diemen's Land had not
arrived even at that degree of human progress, which consists of
feeling the necessity of some sort of clothing, for decency's sake, or
even for the purpose of warmth in the cold season of the year, which
in that latitude is sometimes, in the early morning, very severe.

Thus they were mere savages, having only one thought, that of
obtaining the day's subsistence, for they never provided for the
morrow; and of preserving for their own use--that is, each tribe its
own district--the extent of country which formed their hunting-ground.

It is not to be wondered at, therefore, that they regarded the white
people, from the first, with suspicion and distrust, and that having
been already driven from the lands of which they had from time
immemorial retained possession, they were exceedingly jealous of the
intrusion of strangers on the portions which remained to them; and
that they were ready to resist such aggressions by all the means in
their power.

It was with such dispositions that the body of natives already
referred to in this narrative regarded the landing and the proceedings
of the Major and his sailors; and it was from the circumstance of his
companions being divided, first into the party of five, under Mark
Brandon,--then into the party of two, being that of the ensign and the
corporal,--and afterwards into the party of three, consisting of the
Major and the two soldiers,--that they conceived the project of
cutting them off in detail, and of destroying the enemies whom they
supposed had come to deprive them forcibly of their own country.

And the natives of this particular tribe were the more exasperated
and savage in their feelings, as they had been successively driven
from district to district, first by the white people, and then by
their fellows, until they had been forced to content themselves with a
part of the territory abutting on the sea-coast, which from its
sterile character was scarcely sufficient, with their utmost
diligence, to afford them the means of supporting life.

It was a few prying scouts of this tribe of angry and revengeful
natives, the main body consisting of about forty individuals, men,
women, and children, who now watched the motions of the Major and his
two companions, as they departed from the camp, the rest of his
sailors having returned to the brig, which was shortly afterwards
anchored in the middle of the bay.

The Major himself, when he had proceeded about two miles from the
cave, first caught sight of a moving body, entirely black and naked,
which he immediately guessed to be a native. His curiosity to see
these original possessors of the soil of which he had come to take his
share by right of immigration, was so great, that he was rather
pleased at the circumstance than otherwise, as he was well armed and
accompanied by two men used to discipline and to the management of
their weapons; and he had no fear for Louisa's safety, who, being on
board the brig, and under the care of the vigilant mate, he considered
to be in a perfect state of security.

He pointed out the object to his men; but before they could catch
sight of it, the native had disappeared.

The Major expressed his desire to endeavour to come to some parley
with the savage; but he found his men by no means of the same
inclination; and they were full of stories relating to the treacherous
and ferocious character of the natives, of whom, soldiers as they
were, they seemed to be possessed with a sort of superstitious dread.
The Major made light of their representations; but before the end of
his campaign he had abundance of opportunity of arriving at a better
knowledge of the aboriginals whose acquaintance he was so anxious to
cultivate.

The further description, however, of the Major's dealings with the
savages must form the subject of another chapter, as the course of the
narrative demands our attention to the adventures of the lover in
pursuit of the more savage captors of his mistress.




Chapter VI. A Token.

TREVOR stood for some time in a crouching attitude behind the hut of
boughs, his mind tortured by the most horrible fears for the fate of
Helen.

He stood; and he listened; and he held his breath; but he could hear
no sound.

Presently he protruded his head cautiously round the hut; but he
could see nothing.

The clear moonlight shone on a small open space in front of the hut,
but an universal silence prevailed; and the moon seemed to shed her
unimpassioned beams on a cold and silent solitude.

Astonished at this stillness, he touched the corporal on the arm, as
an intimation to follow him; and retiring backwards among the bushy
mimosa trees, he made a circuit to the right, under the concealment of
their shadows, till he came in front of the hut.

Still there was no sign of living thing; but he saw between him and
the hut a dark mass lying on the ground, which excited his attention.

There were no dead trees encumbering the park-like space where he was
standing, and the dark mass looked strange in that place, and
incongruous with its general appearance.--He directed the corporal to
move forward and examine it.

The corporal made the usual salute, and obeyed with military
promptitude; not neglecting to look about him, however, as he advanced
from the protective shade of the trees to the open piece of grass.

But he had no sooner reached the appearance which had excited his
officer's suspicion, than he stopped suddenly, and cocking his musket,
which he directed towards the object, stood in an attitude prepared to
fire or charge.

In this position he continued to advance by short steps nearer and
nearer, until he got close to it, when he disengaged his right arm
from his firelock and beckoned to the ensign to join him.

His officer was quickly at his side; and then he saw that the mass
was a man lying with his face to the ground, and apparently asleep.

The corporal made signs that they should pounce upon the man and bind
him, to which Trevor assented by a nod.

Laying his musket, therefore, softly on the grass, the corporal
sprung at the supposed sleeping man, and seizing his two arms,
wrenched them behind his back, at the same time putting his knee on
his body to keep him down; but the man made no resistance, and gave no
sign of being aroused from his slumbers, and it struck the corporal
that his hands were particularly cold. He turned him over on his back,
and then the aspect of that fixed cold face, and those half-opened
eyes, on which the rays of the moon shed their faint light, revealed
at once that the man was dead.

"He is dead," said the corporal, in a low voice.

"Are you sure?" said the ensign, holding his piece prepared, and
looking around him with an uneasy glance; for he was well aware, that
as they stood exposed in that open space, they were an easy mark for
an enemy lurking behind the trees.

"Dead!"--repeated the corporal;--"there is no doubt of that. I have
seen death too often to mistake it. Now, who is this? One of the
bushrangers?"

"Let us examine the hut," said Trevor; "it is possible that our
enemies are there."

Saying this, and impressed with an idea that he should either find
Helen within it, or some trace of her having occupied it, he proceeded
to the front accompanied by the corporal; and while Trevor, in his
eagerness, pulled down the leafy branches which obstructed his view,
the corporal stood ready to defend his officer from any sudden attack.

But a very brief survey convinced Trevor that the hut was empty. He
nevertheless proceeded to examine it thoroughly; and he presently
discovered the other glove of Helen, and the fellow one to that which
he already had in his possession.

This token he in a moment comprehended was intended to convey to him
that the poor girl, although still in the power of the bushrangers,
had not met with any violent treatment at their hands; although the
dead body of the man on the grass seemed to signify that there had
been a quarrel among them, very likely for the possession of their
victim.

But the finding of the glove was on the whole satisfactory, as it
assured him of the existence of Helen; and he felt within him a strong
conviction that the heroic girl would not be dishonoured and alive.

As he gazed on the token, agitated with these thoughts, he opened the
glove, that he might kiss the inanimate substance which had been in
contact with her hand, when he perceived, he thought, something
unusual within.

Turning the inside to the light of the moon, he saw written in dark
thin red lines the letter "N," and the word "West." He fancied that
the thin red lines were not quite dry.

The corporal, seeing that his officer was agitated with some strong
emotion, asked eagerly:--

"If he had learned any news of the young lady?"

The ensign showing to him the writing on the glove, which was of
leather, and of a light colour.

"That's blood!" said the corporal, at once, and without ceremony.
"And this I presume, sir, is the other glove belonging to the young
lady; and the poor thing has written this with the only ink she could
get--with her own blood--to assist us in our search after her. Well--
she has a spirit has that girl! I'll be bound she would snap off a
firelock like a regular!"

"Her blood!" repeated Trevor, shuddering; "this is her blood! This
is her love-token, addressed to me! My God! what will be the end of
this fearful tragedy! Yes, Helen, I understand it! You will shed your
own blood rather than yield yourself to the commands of those
remorseless villains! If they have no mercy on their own comrades,
they will have none on you, poor girl! But, thank God, I am so far on
their track; and, at any rate, I have only two to contend against, for
their own passions have doubtless slain the third, who lies here food
for the eagles and jackalls! It's a pity, though, that the gallows has
been robbed of its legitimate prey."

The corporal, who had not the slightest idea of Miss Horton and his
officer having been previously acquainted, was utterly at a loss to
imagine the reason for the ensign indulging in this lover-like
rhapsody; but being aware of the exposure of their condition, he
thought himself warranted, as he was almost three times the age of his
officer, to recall his attention to actual circumstances. Performing
the usual salute, therefore, with his hand to his cap, he ventured to
say:--

"Your Honour is a pretty mark for any rascal wanting to have a shot
at you; what shall we do with this dead body?--I suppose your Honour
has no objection to my examining him to see what he has got about
him?"

"Do so; it may give us some information."

Having this permission, the corporal, who had not the slightest
fastidiousness about the body being dead or alive, immediately
proceeded to turn it about and to examine it for effects. Wrapped
round the body he found a stout handkerchief, in which was enclosed a
quantity of dollars.

The corporal was by no means of a greedy disposition--but dollars
were dollars; and some vague ideas of their being legitimate plunder,
for he looked on the dead convict in the light of an enemy killed by
the chances of war, involuntarily took possession of his mind. He
regarded the silver affectionately; weighed some of them in his hand;
and, looking up to the ensign with a dubious air, inquired:--

"What shall I do with these?"

"If you like to take the trouble of carrying them, you may keep them
for yourself."

"Trouble! your Honour; no trouble at all: they are as light as a
feather," said the corporal, tying them with alacrity round his own
waist. "But how did this rascal come by them, I wonder?"--a scruple of
conscience suddenly seizing on the old soldier.

"I have no doubt," replied the ensign, "that they are part of those
stolen from the Major."

"Then they belong to the Major," said the corporal with a
disappointed air; "and in that case they can't be considered fair
plunder; and they are heavy as lead! I don't think they will make me
walk lighter in the bush; and so, with your leave, your Honour,"
continued the corporal, untying the handkerchief from his waist, with
a deep sigh, "I will plant them where somebody may find them again,
and see whether this rogue has anything else that might be useful."

Nothing more was to be found, except about half a pound of tobacco
and a short wooden pipe, which the corporal took possession of without
the slightest hesitation.

"This is a something," he said, when he had concluded his search, and
had offered the tobacco and the pipe to the ensign, who desired him to
keep them;--"but I wish the rascal had carried some prog with him.
Shall I bury this chap, or leave him where he is? He would lie more
comfortable if he had a sod over him; and though no doubt he was a big
rascal, your Honour, he is dead now, and that makes an end of all."

"You are quite right, my good fellow," returned the ensign, who was
as much pleased with his subaltern's right-feeling, as he was amused
occasionally by his absurdities; "but without tools we should have a
difficulty in making a grave for him;--besides, we have other things
to think of. It is clear to me that the bushrangers have made off from
this place; but as it is impossible for them to travel rapidly in the
night, I am inclined to think they cannot be many miles distant; and
we have the clue to their course; it is to the north-west. We must
make out as well as we can which way that is, and try to come up with
them before the morning."

"Will your Honour look at your watch and see what the time is?"

The ensign found that his watch had stopped, from not having been
wound up. He uttered some pettish expressions at his own
forgetfulness.

"Sure it's only counting from the time your Honour's watch stopped,"
said the corporal, "and that will give us the true time exactly."

But Trevor, albeit that he admired the extraordinary confusion of
ideas which had suggested to his subaltern so novel a mode of
ascertaining the hour, had recourse to other means for satisfying his
mind on that important point; and, regarding the aspect of the
heavens, he judged that the night was near its close. But the corporal
formed his opinion from less scientific data.

"The morning can't be far off," he said, "for the cold is always
greatest just before sun-rise, and it nips my fingers just now so that
I can hardly handle my fire-lock; and I fancy I see a difference in
the light yonder."

"Now," said the ensign, "we have rested ourselves long enough. Let us
make another effort, and endeavour to surprise these rascals before
the morning breaks."

"I am ready, your Honour, to go to the end of the island, if it is
your Honour's pleasure. I will just throw these loose boughs over the
body, with your Honour's leave, so that I may feel that I have done as
I would be done by. No knowing whose turn it may be next," he added,
as he cast some branches over the body--"there, my man, that's all we
can do for you, and be thankful for that. You have been a bad one in
your time, I reckon: however, it's all over now; so better luck to you
in another world."

With this valedictory address, the corporal oined his officer, who
was waiting for him at a few paces' distance with a little impatience.
The two then proceeded onwards at a brisk pace.

But Trevor soon found that to make progress in the bush at night,
without any prominent point for direction, was a more difficult task
than he had anticipated. He had made his way through the opening
pretty well, but then he had the two sides of the hills to keep him
right. Now that he was on level ground, amidst trees which prevented
his view, and obliged to turn aside frequently to avoid the
obstructions in the way, he found that to make progress in the right
direction under such circumstances was an impossible task.

Besides, after about an hour's toil, the moon's light failed him, and
they were left in almost complete darkness. Fearing, therefore, that
he might be wandering from the very point which he desired to pursue,
and that their attempt in the dark was only so much labour lost, he
came to a halt, and, wearied out with his night's march, threw himself
on the grass.

The corporal gladly followed his example; and for some time neither
spoke, Trevor being occupied with the most anxious fears for the
safety of Helen, and the corporal being engaged in an abstruse mental
problem as to how the victualling department was to be carried on.

This interesting question, which always occupies so much of a
soldier's thoughts on active service, was the more pressing on the
present occasion, as the corporal, from long habits of observation,
and from certain admo nitions of the inward man, became aware that it
was a practical one the solution of which could by no means be
indefinitely postponed. And indeed Trevor, lover and enthusiast as he
was, began to feel those symptoms of incipient craving for food which
reminded him that, although mental resolution may do much in
supporting fatigue, it is necessary to support the corporeal faculties
by something more solid than such ethereal aliment.

It was with heartfelt sympathy, therefore, that he responded to an
involuntary ejaculation which, in a moment of uncontrollable emotion
at the idea of a beefsteak, escaped from the corporal, who had fallen
into a dozing reverie:--

"By the powers, wouldn't I give one of those dollars for a mouthful?
We must look out for some game.--A cockatoo or a parrot would be
better than nothing," continued the corporal, becoming more excited.

"This sort of travelling," said the ensign, "is no easy matter. I
wish we had a compass with us; we shall get puzzled in the bush, I
fear, without some guide to direct us."

"Your Honour never was out on a bush campaign before?"

"Never: I have always had an inclination to explore the country, but
I fear we are not well provided."

"Ah! it's all very well to explore a country where there are plenty
of farm-houses, and villages with inns and public-houses handy; but
exploring in this country, your Honour, is quite a different thing.
It's all a waste, and there is nothing to be got but what you bring
down with powder and shot; and that's a sad waste of ammunition when
you have natives and savages to provide against. But will your Honour
allow me to ask if it is your intention to seek for these bushrangers
all over the island? It's hard to find a man in the bush when he is
determined to hide himself!"

"I will not stop till I have rescued the young lady," replied Trevor
with determination. "But we must hope that we shall come upon their
track as soon as we have daylight to help us; and four persons cannot
move about even in the bush without leaving some marks of their steps
behind them."

"If we only had one of the natives to help us!" said the corporal.
"It's wonderful to see how those black fellows can track in the bush,
where a white man can see nothing!"

"We must hope that we shall have no occasion for that," replied the
ensign. "I am strongly of opinion that these rascals are not far off.
And see--the daylight is coming. Do you observe the faint glow in the
sky yonder? That is the east; now we have a guide to the north-west.
It was lucky that we stopped where we did. We were going quite out of
our way.--Now to find the track."

"If your Honour would allow me to give my advice," said the corporal,
"it would be to find our way back to the place that we started from; I
mean where the dead man lies by the hut of boughs. There we shall find
the track, if there is any track to be found; and when we are once on
it, we can keep it. But if we go towards the north-west from the spot
where we are, we may travel on all our lives and never come up with
the enemy; for you see, sir, we may be going to the north-west, and
the enemy too, and yet we may never hit on them, because we are
marching side by side all the time."

"In parallel lines," said the ensign: "I understand."

"The best line," continued the corporal, "is to be in the same line
as they are, and then we may stand a chance to come up to them, which
we might never do by the lines that your Honour speaks of."

The ensign thought that his subaltern's advice was good; and as the
light of the morning was now increased sufficiently to enable them to
look about them, he lost no time in regaining the spot from which they
had wandered.

The corporal was not a little delighted, on casting his eyes around
him, to observe on the ground on which the unfortunate Jeremiah had
been temporarily located the night before, a something which his
foraging eye quickly detected to be, as he emphatically pronounced it,
"prog:" and although it was in the form of two humble ship's biscuits,
a supply of which formed part of Jerry's load, it was a prize under
the circumstances of which both he and the ensign eagerly availed
themselves.

To add to their present good fortune, the corporal in a few minutes
was able to make out clearly the point from which the bush-rangers had
started when they left the place; which was in a different direction
from that adopted by Trevor.

Animated by the feeling of certainty of direction, which has such an
astonishing effect on the spirits in the bush,--while the contrary
fear produces an oppression of the mind, and a confusion of ideas,
against which it is most difficult for the strongest mind to
struggle;--and refreshed by the modicum of food which they had found
so opportunely, the corporal led the way, keeping his eye steadily
fixed on the track, which was here and there visible; while the ensign
followed at a short distance in his rear, with his attention directed
to the general aspect of the country, and eagerly listening for the
slightest sound which might betray the vicinity of the enemy.

In this way they proceeded rapidly for some miles without meeting
with anything in their course, until they reached the borders of a
wide and sterile-looking plain, entirely bare of trees, which
stretched out to the base of a high hill beyond.

They looked to the right and to the left, but they could see nothing.

The track, however, evidently pointed to the opposite hill; and the
corporal and his officer, girding up their loins, prepared to traverse
the dreary expanse, well aware that in their passage they would form
conspicuous moving objects to the view of any one on the eminence
beyond; and that, if the bushrangers were not too far advanced to
catch sight of them, they would become aware of pursuers being on
their track.

"It can't be helped," said the corporal: "that cunning rascal, Mark
Brandon, seems to have chosen this way on purpose that he might have
the opportunity of seeing what was behind him. I'll be bound he is on
the hill yonder, watching us all the time. If we were standing on that
height we should be able to see ourselves on this bare place as plain
as can be!"

"Let us make haste then," said Trevor; "that hill cannot be more than
a mile off. We may come up with him yet."

"Distances deceive in the bush," quietly replied the corporal. "But I
will not fail, your Honour, depend on it, now or any time. But that
Mark Brandon is not easily to be outwitted. We must be cautious not to
lose the track. I must ask your Honour to keep at a little distance
behind; for nothing distracts more than two going abreast. If your
Honour will try to keep a straight line to the hill yonder, while I
look for maks, we shall have the better chance between us of keeping
the track, so as not to lose time; and time is everything now."

"Stop," exclaimed the ensign; "stand still: there they are! but we
were going wrong. Look there--to the right. Now, by George! we have
them in sight, and it's a fair run for it."

"Where?" said the corporal, looking round, and handling his fire-
lock.

"There!--to the right. Run your eyes along the ground in the
direction of my fowling-piece."

"I see!" said the corporal; "but ....."

"How many of them do you see? I fancy I can see only two."

"There are only two," said the corporal, with his eyes attentively
fixed on the object;--"but.....I thought so--they are moving now."

"Which way?"

"It matters little to us," replied the corporal, grounding his fire-
lock, "which way they are moving; but I should like to get within
shot; for it is said that their fat is the best thing in the world to
heal wounds."

"Their fat! whose fat?"

"Emu fat, your Honour. Those are two emus that you see yonder. They
deceive one at first, in the distance; but when they begin to move,
their long legs tell what they are. They say a plume of emu's feathers
is worth something in England. I don't know whether they are good
eating; though I have heard, I think, that their flesh is something
like beef. At any rate, broiled emu would be better than nothing just
now."

"We must not think of eating or drinking till we have come up with
the bushrangers. But if you could near one of them, and could knock
him down with the butt end of your musket without losing any time, I
see no objection to that."

"Get near them! your Honour: why, they are the shyest birds in
nature, and it's a hard matter to run them down on horseback. And they
always take to the mountains when they are chased. It's of no use
thinking of them; so now for another march across this plain. There's
one good thing about it--there's no dead timber, and no big loose
stones lying about, that worry one so in many places. We must keep a
sharp look-out, your Honour, when we near the foot of the hill, for it
will be easy for those blackguards, if they are there, to pick us off
as we are coming up. The sooner we are over this plain the better."

"Go on, then," said Trevor, "and put your best leg foremost,
corporal, for something tells me that before long we shall come up
with the rascals."

"If we do come up with them," said the corporal, handling his musket
viciously, "it shall be a bad day for them or for me! They shan't say
that I have had this march for nothing."

After this professional exclamation the corporal kept silence, being
busily engaged in following the track; and the two wayfarers continued
their march over the plain at a pace which showed that,
notwithstanding their previous fatigue and scanty refreshment, neither
their courage nor their strength flagged in their spirited enterprise.




Chapter VII. The Precipice.

THE corporal guessed right when he conjectured that Mark Brandon was
on the look out on the high hill in the distance; but he was far from
divining the ulterior object of the wily bushranger in taking a route
which he had chosen for the purpose of better baffling his pursuers.

When he had committed that decisive act, the night before, and with
his fowling-piece presented at his remaining associate, with his
finger on the trigger of the second barrel, had offered him, in a tone
determined but conciliatory, "peace or war," the fellow-ruffian, taken
by surprise, and without the possibility of effectual resistance,
could do nothing but submit. Mark, however, modulated the tones of his
voice so as to convey his own desire for peace; and as it was in his
power, by a slight motion of his finger, to render it a matter of
indifference which way he was answered, his comrade could not but
consider that he was in some degree beholden to him for the life which
it was in Brandon's power to take without parley on the instant.

Besides, the coarse and brutal Grough, who had nothing but his animal
strength to rely on, was by no means inclined to quarrel with one on
whose wit and contrivance he depended for escape from the colony. It
was with undisguised satisfaction, therefore, that he received this
earnest of his comrade's especial good will towards him in particular;
and he expressed his acquiescence in Brandon's little arrangement in
respect to the defunct Swindell with characteristic disregard as to
there being one more or less in the world, so long as the latter part
of the hypothesis did not regard himself:--

"D----n the fool!" he said, "it was no more than he deserved; what
was the use of quarrelling, when they ought to hang together, and
stand by one another, and as to the gal, he was ready, he said, if
Mark would only say the word, to cut her windpipe, and have done with
her, for she was only an encumbrance in the bush, and that would be
the best way of settling the matter; for he had always remarked, he
emphatically averred, that wherever there was a woman there was sure
to be mischief, and especially where there was only one among three,
which was always certain to give rise to words, even among the best
friends; and so that the shortest way was to get rid of her;" and
saying this, he made a step or two towards the hut, looking at
Brandon, and with the same sort of air as a man would have about to
kill a sheep.

But Mark, with a confidential wink, took him aside, and in a whisper
explained to him that it was important that Helen's life should be
spared, in order that she might be made use of as a hostage to be
played off in their operations against the Major.

He said that fathers sometimes had the most extraordinary affection
for their daughters; and that no doubt, in the present case, the Major
would offer them a large sum to restore the girl; but that his
intention was to insist on his placing a boat at their disposal, well
provided and stored, in which they could make their escape, as the
condition for the restoration of his daughter.

To this project, which struck him as a remarkably clever one, and
altogether worthy of the reputation of Mark, as being up to more
dodges than any government-man in the colony, Grough at once assented,
with enthusiastic expressions of approbation. "But he thought," he
said, and this opinion he expressed aloud, in order that the party
concerned might have the full comfort of its suggestion, "that there
was no use at all in keeping 'that fat little man,' meaning Jeremiah,
any longer, for he only ate their grub, and tired them to look after;
and that a stick with his knife--for it was a pity to waste powder and
shot in the bush--would put an end to that trouble, in a way," as he
expressed it, "comfortable to the gentleman and to themselves."

To this Mark said he had no objection, and that his comrade might
gratify himself in that trifling matter according to his own fancy;
but he recommended him to postpone the pleasure until the gentleman
had done his work, and had carried the stores with which he was laden
to the place of their concealment.

The unhappy Jeremiah, who, although bound and gagged, was not deaf,
and who had the satisfaction of overhearing the amiable conversation
of the two bushrangers concerning himself, expressed his personal
disinclination to the arrangement by deep deprecatory groans, and by
various convulsive rollings and tumblings on the grass, expressive of
the emotions to which he was unable to give vent in speech, and which
the facetious Grough, softened by his conference with Brandon, good-
humouredly checked by a little knock on Jerry's head with the butt-end
of his musket, bidding him "be quiet, and thank his stars that he had
gentlemen to deal with, and not to frighten the kangaroos with his
noises."

But Helen's mind was strangely disturbed with the recent catastrophe,
and by the words uttered by Mark Brandon at the close of the
altercation with the murdered Swindell, which more strongly than ever
confirmed her in the opinion that she possessed a power over the
bushranger, which she might be able to use to the advantage of herself
and her helpless companion in distress.

It seemed clear to her that Brandon, in order to save her from the
violence of the ruffian whom he had slain, had not scrupled to add
murder to his other crimes in her defence, and for her sake! And this
desperate act she considered could not but argue that Brandon's--what
should she call it?--"desire to stand favourably in her opinion" had
led him to sacrifice one of his comrades; thereby reducing his
strength, and lessening his chances of success against the attack of
his pursuers, who she had no doubt were on their track. It was also
breaking faith with his comrades, rendering himself, as she hoped,
suspected by the other, and liable to suffer by the same treachery
which he had practised.

Still it was clearly in her defence that he had exposed himself to
these risks--as she flattered herself; and she beguiled herself with
the hope that, having this clue to the bushranger's motives, and this
hold, as she thought, on his actions, she should be able to turn him
to her own purposes, and persuade him to set her free. She also set
her wits to work to engage him to set free Mr. Silliman, with whose
aid she trusted she could not only offer more effectual resistance to
violence, if violence should be offered, but perhaps even be enabled
to overpower the two bushrangers at some unguarded moment, and so
escape!

Such were the rapid thoughts which passed through her mind, as Mark
approached her, after his brief conference with his unskilled but
sturdy comrade.

Before Mark addressed her, he waited to hear her speak, in order that
he might judge, either by the words that fell from her, or the tone in
which they were uttered, of the mind and temper of the speaker. But in
this expectation he was disappointed. Helen waited for him to begin.

He was obliged, therefore, to say something; and he commenced with
what lawyers call a "fishing" observation:

"This is a rough deed for a lady to witness, Miss Horton."

Helen, having in her mind her own plans, made answer with as much
composure as she could assume:--

"It is a dreadful deed!--But at least I have to thank you for
preventing the insult which that wretch contemplated."

"All right," said Brandon to himself. Then, as if penetrated with the
extent of the risk which he had run for her sake, he continued:

"It was a dreadful deed, Miss Horton, and a desperate one; but there
was no other way of saving you.--Had I been thinking of myself more
than others," he continued, "I should not have given my enemies the
opportunity of adding that which might be construed into the crime of
murder to the other excesses of which necessity has made me guilty.
Might I hope that Miss Horton would bear favourable testimony to my
motives, should this act be at any time brought against me?"

"It is of little use to talk to me of my testimony, while I am a
prisoner in your power, with my hands bound thus," said Helen, making
an impatient movement with her arms.

"I am now able to fulfil my promise, and to release them," said Mark,
cutting the cords with his knife; "and I sincerely wish, Miss Horton,
it was in my power to liberate you entirely, as easily as I now cut
these painful bonds--not less painful for me to witness than for you
to bear."

"But what prevents you?" said Helen, hope glowing in her heart, and
already contemplating flight; "you would be sure of the gratitude of
my father and of myself; and if any intercession with the Government,
on his part, could avail in obtaining your pardon--I am sure it would
be strenuously exercised in return for your protection of me."

She used the word "protection" designedly, with the hope that it
would stir up and aliment the desire which she felt the bushranger
had, to be well thought of by her. But she was overmatched in her
feminine cunning on this point by the masculine duplicity of her
antagonist.

It was Brandon's object to carry her far into the interior, to some
spot where he should be secure from pursuit; and under such
circumstances, he had little doubt that he should be able to master
her to his wishes: but he was well aware that, without her own
consent, it would be impossible to force her much further forward, as
the labour and the delay of carrying her on a litter through the bush
would allow time for any pursuers on his track to come up with them.

It was necessary therefore that she should be deluded into
accompanying them; and with this view he thought he could not do
better than deceive her by the same tale with which he had cajoled the
brute Grough, which indeed was a plausible one enough, and adapted to
the enticing of her to accompany him in his progress onwards without
opposition. For he could not disguise from himself, that with a girl
of Helen's turn of mind, high spirited, as she was, any suspicion of
his own ulterior designs might tempt her to resist on the spot, and to
sacrifice her own life, rather than allow herself to be removed to a
greater distance from the chance of succour.

He told her the same tale, therefore, which he had invented for his
undiscerning comrade, not without some remote and vague idea of
carrying it at some future time into effect, after he had accomplished
his other purposes. And this plan seemed the more sincere to Helen, as
it squared with the known desire of Brandon to escape from the island;
and in the innocence of her mind she was far from having any idea of
the extent of duplicity and villainy of which such a man was capable.

But with a view of testing his sincerity still further, and with the
design to furnish help for her own escape, as well as that of her
companion in misfortune, she proposed to the bushranger to unbind Mr.
Silliman's hands, and to release him from the gag in his mouth.

To this also Brandon assented, as he had already determined to do so
in order to enable Jerry to travel with his load the faster; although
he took care to pretend that it was entirely in deference to Miss
Horton's wishes that he consented to make the concession.

"It is necessary, now," said Mark, "that we should seek for some
place of securer retreat than this, from which we can treat with
safety with your father: and if, as you assure me, there is no doubt
of his complying with my conditions, your captivity will not be long.
And, indeed, I begin to be ashamed that it has taken place at all: but
if Miss Horton will condescend to reflect on the condition of my
wretched bondage in this country, innocent as I am of all crime,
except such as I have committed with her own knowledge,--if it can be
considered a crime for a man unjustly condemned to endeavour to
recover his liberty,--she will allow some excuse, perhaps, for the
offence which I have involuntarily committed against herself, and of
which necessity alone has been the unhappy cause."

"What will happen," asked Helen, "if I determine to remain here?"

"My comrade Grough, I fear, and indeed I have no doubt, would force
you to go forward, by means which you could not resist--unless," he
said, "you would have me add another death to this night's account."

Helen shuddered at this suggestion of further slaughter: besides, she
trusted that she should have more opportunities of escape in motion
than in resting where she was, and especially with a friend devoted to
her interests and liberty in the person of Mr. Silliman; and seeing
that it would be vain to desist, and that her best course was to feign
an indifference as to her being taken further which she did not feel,
she signified her consent, asking only for a few minutes' longer
repose, in order the better to recruit her strength by travel.

This interval she employed in tracing with her blood, by means of a
pin, those words on the glove which was fortunately discovered by
Trevor.

The previous talk of the two men who had borne her for some miles on
the way before they reached the scene of these transactions, had made
her acquainted with the intention of the bushranger to retreat north-
west into the interior, a part of the country with which the settlers
were entirely unacquainted. She would not divest her mind of the
conviction that her friends, when they discovered her abduction, would
take immediate measures to follow to her rescue; and it was this hope
that enabled her to support herself, and to preserve the equilibrium
of her mind, under circumstances so trying and fearful to a young and
delicate girl, on whom harm or insult had never before fallen.

In the mean time Brandon talked with Grough, taking care to instil
into him the vital importance of preventing the girl's escape, and of
the necessity of taking her along with them unharmed, and, as he
endeavoured to make the insensible brute understand, without insult,
in order to insure the compliance of her father with the conditions of
her release; at the same time impressing on him the necessity of his
so comporting himself, without proceeding to actual violence, as to
strike a terror into the girl, in order to urge her forward as fast as
possible, and to intimidate her from attempting to escape.

With all these instructions the obedient Grough expressed his utmost
willingness to comply, being not only congenial with his own tastes
and habits, but necessary for the success of the ultimate design of
Mark, which Grough felicitated himself on seeing through with an
acuteness which almost equalled Mark's own prolific invention in plots
and stratagems.

In good humour, therefore, with himself and the state of their
affairs, he gave Helen to understand that the musket which he carried
was loaded with two balls, which it was his intention, he said,
instantly to discharge through her head if she did not immediately
"stir her stumps" and give no trouble.

Mark Brandon, in the mean time, having released Jeremiah from his
fetters, and having intimated to him, though in more polite terms, his
own determination to the same effect, that humiliated gentleman,
somewhat reanimated by the release of his hands and mouth, reloaded
himself with his burdens with a most pains-taking alacrity, and stood
ready, as submissive as the beast of burden to which Grough compared
him.

As they were about to start, Grough hailed Brandon:

"I say, Mark, where are the dollars which that fool Swindell had with
him? Why, we are almost as big fools as he to go away without 'em."

"No, no!" said Mark, who, as he used to boast, never "gave away a
chance." "If we take his dollars, it will be said that we killed him
to rob him. Now I call this young lady and this worthy gentleman to
witness that he met with his death by his own fault, in attempting a
most atrocious violence; and, in short, that he was killed in self-
defence."

"Well," said Grough, "just as you like. No matter how he was killed,
to my mind: he is dead, sure enough. But I must do you the justice to
say, Mark, that a cleaner shot I never saw! Why he died, as one may
see, all in a hurry, without having time to say, good-by to any one!
More fool he for tempting it!"

With this valedictory epigraph on his deceased companion, the ruffian
gave a hint with the end of his musket to his prisoner to move on; and
the bushranger gently propelling Jerry with a similar intimation, the
party resumed their flight into the bush.

Their progress, at night, was unavoidably slow; and Brandon was
careful not to hurry Helen too fast, as he wished to reserve her
strength until the daylight when it would be more available, and when
he should be able by a survey of the country to choose the course that
seemed best for penetrating into that part of the interior. He did not
care much for the delay; as he knew very well that the advance of a
pursuing enemy, if there was any party on their footsteps, which he
had little fear of, must inevitably be slower than his own, inasmuch
as they would be obliged to walk more leisurely, in order to preserve
the track, should they chance to find it, and to pause also
occasionally to recover it when lost.

After he had proceeded a few miles, therefore, he halted, and waited
for the dawn of day, to continue their flight. In this also he had the
advantage of pursuers; for the faint light which is sufficient to
allow a party to run away, is not enough for those who follow; as it
is necessary for the latter to be able to see, not only the general
face of the country, but the particular marks of the passage of those
whom they are pursuing.

But Mark Brandon was not at all uneasy on that point. He was well
acquainted with the difficulty of tracking travellers in the bush, in
dry weather especially; and he had no suspicion of the clue which the
ready--witted Helen had the ingenuity to devise for directing the
course of her friends in pursuit.

In this the bushranger, with all his subtilty, failed to be a match
for a feeble girl, who, relying on the promptitude of her father and
her lover, was able to bear her present fate with a firmness which
deceived the bushranger, and which he ascribed to a sort of
indifference on her part, which sometimes pleased and sometimes
puzzled him; but which was, in fact, owing to her strong reliance on
her own courage and her own resources, and the speedy succour which
she expected from those who she was sure would sacrifice their lives
if necessary to save her.

As soon, therefore, as the first dawn of day spread sufficient light
over the ground to enable them to pick their steps, the bushranger
announced that it was necessary that they should proceed; and Helen,
trusting that some lucky chance, now that her hands were free, would
enable her to effect her escape, and desirous of blinding her
persecutors by the semblance of a ready aquiescence in their commands,
at once obeyed.

As to poor Jeremiah, he had nothing to do but to comply at once with
the hint of the brutal Grough, who, poking him up with his musket,
signified to him that it was time for him to rise from the grass and
take up his load again. As to any resistance on his part, the horrible
sight of the ruffian's loaded musket, and the vividness of Jerry's
fears, which made him fancy that he could actually see the cartridge
with the ball at the top of it ready to be shot out at the bottom of
the barrel, put any such attempt entirely out of the question!

But as he stole a doleful glance at Helen, whom Brandon sedulously
kept at some distance from him, she gave him a look which seemed to
imply that she was not without hope in the midst of their
difficulties.

In what that hope consisted he did not know; but there was a
something in Helen's eye which indicated resolution and a sort of
triumph, and which so elated him in his misery, that, in the
exuberance of his sudden joy, he gave a sort of caper, much to the
astonishment of Grough, who declared, that as the man was so fresh, he
could carry a little more, and immediately added to Jerry's load his
own knapsack, which, from the fear of overloading their package-horse,
he had hitherto carried on his own shoulders. Thus admonished to
conceal in future any outward exhibition of his feelings, the luckless
Jerry trudged dolorously forward, preceded by Grough and Helen, and
followed by Brandon, who from time to time incited him to move on
faster by well-timed hints of his comrade's unscrupulous ferocity, and
now and then throwing a little encouragement into his words, by
protesting that the term of Jerry's labours was fast approaching, and
that then he would have nothing to do but to enjoy himself and study
the botany of the country.

In this order they made their way through a dense forest, from which
they emerged into an open plain.

Had Brandon been aware that pursuers were so close behind him, he
would not have risked discovery by venturing over a space on which he
would be sure to be seen by any one in his rear. But depending on
having so taken his course as to have baffled his enemies, he went
boldly on, making, as his point, for a high hill on the other side of
the plain, from the summit of which he calculated he should be able to
obtain an extensive view of the country beyond.

In their passage over the flat and monotonous waste, Helen watched
for an opportunity to make some mark, or to leave some trace of their
road, to those who might be in pursuit; but in vain; she saw that she
was so closely followed by Grough, and she felt that Brandon had his
eye so constantly upon her, that she could contrive no expedient
without betraying her purpose, of indicating her route.

But on arriving at the base of the hill, which was thinly covered
with stunted-looking trees, known by the name of the she-oak, she
pretended to stumble with fatigue, and catching hold of a fragile
branch, she broke it off in her fall. Mark Brandon was quickly at her
side, with many expressions of concern at her accident, which she
ascribed to her excessive fatigue, which made her feel faint.

Mark immediately promised that they should rest as soon as they had
proceeded a short distance up the ascent, and resuming his place near
Jerry, left her to the superintendence of his fellow, adhering in this
respect to the system which he had laid down for himself, never to
appear near Helen in a position which implied his personal coercion of
her, and which therefore could not fail to be offensive, and to
disgust her with his presence.

Thus compelled and urged by the unceremonious promptings of the
unpitiable Grough, she continued her weary course, holding the stick
which she had snapped from the tree carelessly in her hand, and
contriving to break off small pieces as she went on, which she dropped
on the ground.

In this way they slowly climbed the hill, until at last they gained
the summit, when, at the command of Brandon, her conductor stopped;
and, to the infinite satisfaction of Jerry, the bushranger announced
that it was his pleasure that they should rest there for some time, in
order that Miss Horton might recover from her fatigue.

In pursuance of this intention, Mark immediately proceeded to cut
down, with an axe which he carried, some of the boughs of the few
trees which were scattered here and there near the top of the hill,
and with which he rapidly and skilfully constructed a temporary hut,
in which he invited Helen to repose herself. He next made a selection
from the provisions carried by Jerry, which he offered for her
refreshment, and which Helen, who was intent on escape, willingly
accepted.

Brandon then began to examine carefully the appearance of the
surrounding country, which his elevated position enabled him to do
with advantage; and he noted especially all conspicuous objects
towards the north-west, observing by the compass, with which he had
taken care to provide himself from the Major's cabin in the brig,
their relative points and bearings, as it was in that direction that
he intended to bend his steps; not only because it was the interior of
the island, but because it was a part of the country untravelled, and
unknown to any but a few of the prisoners of the crown, who imparted
the secret of their information to the select only among their
friends, for the purpose of availing themselves of their knowledge of
its localities on occasions such as the present.

The aspect of the country which the bushranger surveyed was, indeed,
romantic in the extreme. Diversified by low undulating hills and
plains, and interspersed with clumps of trees, the scene resembled an
extensive park; while the height, from which he looked down on it,
concealed its roughness and general character of solitude and
desolation.

But it was not the beauties of nature, or the romance of landscape,
which it was the present business of Brandon to study. His only desire
was to ascertain what tiers of hills lay beyond him, and the openings
which appeared in them for the passage of his party to the districts
on their other side. Having ascertained this point to his
satisfaction, he next turned his attention to the examination of the
difficulties and obstacles which intervened.

He observed, stretching to the north, and losing itself in a
circuitous course to the south-by-west, a narrow glistening line,
which he was aware indicated water, and which he judged must be a
rather considerable river. This river lay between him and the distant
tier of hills, through an opening in which it was his object to
penetrate; but as he could not see how to avoid it, he was obliged to
trust to his own ingenuity to cross it safely, taking care only to
choose as his line of route, a way as far to the northward as
possible, without interfering too much with his direct course; as he
knew that the nearer he went to the river's source, the narrower would
be the stream, and the more easy to be passed over; while towards the
coast, to the south, it would naturally become broader and broader,
till it emptied itself into the sea.

Having completed his survey to his satisfaction, and formed the plan
of his future route distinctly in his mind, he threw himself on the
ground.

The wearied Jeremiah, exhausted with the weight of his afflictions,
and of the heavy load of stores and provisions which he had borne so
far, had sunk into a profound sleep, in which he had been quickly
followed by the other bushranger; but Brandon, notwithstanding that
fatigue and the necessity of constant watchfulness weighed heavily on
him, did not dare to close his eyes.

But finding, after some little time, that the desire of sleep was
beginning to overcome his senses, he suddenly and with an effort
arose, and commenced pacing up and down at some distance, but within
view of Helen's temporary habitation; sometimes taking a view of the
country in the distance, and sometimes scanning the plain over which
he had lately passed. Although he had no fear of being tracked and
followed, not having any suspicion of Helen's significant hints for
the information of her friends, he did not fail to keep a look-out in
his rear, in pursuance of his favourite maxim.

On a sudden, as he threw his glance over the bare plain behind him,
he saw, or thought he saw, some moving objects; but whether they were
emus, or whether they were natives, he could not at that distance
distinguish; but he kept his eyes fixed on them steadily.

Helen also, who was on the alert, had already observed through the
boughs of her hut two specks moving on the plain beneath the hill, and
which her heart at once told her were friends coming to her rescue. In
the eagerness of her joy, she ran out of her hut to the edge of the
hill, which in that direction was nearly perpendicular, and with
clasped hands and strained eyes gazed on the living atoms on the
earth's surface, which by almost inperceptible degrees continued to
advance.

At that moment the bushranger caught the expression of wild joy which
was visible in her looks; and there was a something in her eye which
conveyed to him the idea that there was some secret intelligence,
though by what means he was utterly at a loss to imagine, between his
captive and the living creatures which he now made out to be human
beings, who were following in his track.

Seizing Helen by the arm with his left hand, and pointing to the
suspicious objects with his fowling-piece, which he held extended in
his right, he asked in a tone of strong but restrained passion:--

"Miss Horton, what do you know of those two men whom I see on our
track? Have you betrayed me? Speak, girl! As you value your life, do
you know them?"

As he pronounced these words, he shook Helen with convulsive passion,
as he held her in his powerful grasp tottering on the edge of the
precipice.




Chapter VIII. The Ambush.

THE loud tones of Mark Brandon's voice, as, in a paroxysm of
excitement, he shook Helen over the edge of the precipice, quickly
roused his comrade and the other prisoner from their slumbers.

Grough was the first to wake; and seeing that Brandon, as he
immediately conjectured, was about to cast the girl headlong from the
height--why or wherefore he cared not--he cocked his musket, and, as a
matter of business, presented it at Jerry's head, as that astonished
individual raised it in a state of dreamy confusion from a little
hillock of turf on which it had been blissfully reposing.

Happy had been that sleep! for the wearied Jeremiah had lain
unconscious of bushrangers, or of guns and bullets; and the Fairy
Queen of Dreams, as if to recompense him for the sufferings of his
wakeful state, had transported him in fancy to the peaceful precincts
of Ironmonger Lane, where, it seemed to him, he sat at a luxurious
City Feast, amidst the pomp and circumstances of glorious meat and
drink, and in all the dignity of his own right as a Liveryman of
London!

Joyous was that mock festivity! Rich and rare were the costly dishes,
where real turtle competed with fat venison! Bright and sparkling was
that ideal champagne! and loud were the shouts of the imaginary
hurrahs of three-times-three when the health of the Master was drunk
with all the enthusiasm which wine inspires on such magnificent
occasions!

But this ecstatic state lasted not long.--A change came o'er the
spirit of his dream! Suddenly, it seemed to the sleeping Jerry that
the person of the respected and corpulent Master who presided over the
board dilated to supernatural proportions! his features assumed the
likeness of the dreadful Bushranger! The roll of paper containing the
list of toasts, which he held in his hand, became changed to a
prodigious blunderbuss! an awful voice rang in Jerry's ears, which
sounded terribly like that which never failed to fill him with fearful
emotions; and, roused by the terrible vision, he awoke!

It was indeed the voice of the Bushranger! and as he opened his eyes
he beheld the eternal musket of the inexorable Grough pointed at his
head; and he became aware that the sound which in his sleep seemed to
be the tinkling of the "cheerful glass" was that "click," so
disagreeable to the threatened party, which was caused by the cocking
of his enemy's abominable gun! Unhappy was that waking! In the agony
of his fear Jeremiah gave vent to a dismal groan!

Grough cast his eyes askance at his chief to see if he made any sign
to signify that it was his pleasure that Jeremiah's waking should be
changed for an eternal sleep, or, as he mentally expressed it, "should
have his brains blown out," when Helen, catching sight of this little
by-play, pointed it out to Brandon, and, desirous of saving the life
of her fellow--prisoner, asked, in a tone of scornful reproach:--

"Would you murder a man in cold blood?"

"Hold off!" said Brandon; "no need to take life without a cause: you
can put a ball through his head at any time, if he kicks. Hold off,
mate, I say; but be ready, for there's danger abroad."

The obedient Grough, albeit that he was reluctant to be baulked a
second time, acquiesced; but he bestowed a look on his prisoner
somewhat like that which a byena casts on the prey which he is baffled
at pouncing upon by the bars of his cage, and which made poor Jerry
ache to the very marrow of his bones.

"What's in the wind, Mark?"

"There is mischief brooding: but do you attend to your prisoner, and
make him pack up ready for a start." Then turning to Helen, who,
trembling more with hope than fear, kept her eyes fixed on the specks
moving on the plain below, he said, in a low deep voice:--

"Miss Horton, you know something of yonder men. Nay,--do not deny it;
I see it in your eye:--but I will tell you that there is more danger
to yourself in any attempt at rescue than in your remaining in my
power unknown and undiscovered. They must be better and cleverer men
than I have yet seen who could find Mark Brandon in the bush when he
would be concealed, or who could take him when they found him."

Helen did not answer, but continued to observe with breathless
anxiety the objects whom she felt sure were following in her track:
and as they advanced nearer and nearer it soon became evident that
they were not natives but white men, and that they carried in their
hands what seemed to be fowling-pieces or muskets. The Bushranger no
sooner became convinced of this fact than he called out to Grough to
be ready to march.

"What's the use of running away?" responded Grough, who had now
become aware of the sort of danger announced by Brandon, as the forms
of the two men were visible from the spot where he stood sentinel over
Jerry; "What's the use of running away from it? There are only two,
and we can easily manage them; and then we can go on comfortably."

"No, no," replied Mark; "this place is too much exposed. But I see a
post on the other side of yonder stream, with trees growing down to
the water's edge, where we can deal with them as we please. Now, Miss
Horton, you must move on."

"Where is it," said Helen, endeavouring to gain time, "that you wish
to take me?"

"No matter where," replied Brandon,--"you must move on."

"But this is against our bargain," replied Helen, still trying to
gain time. "You promised that you would release me if my father would
engage to perform the part you mentioned. And now you have an
opportunity to make your terms known to those who are coming."

"You know them, then?" said Brandon, clenching his teeth, and
grasping his weapon with a threatening gesture. "But let them be who
they may, I will communicate with them when and how I please. Miss
Horton, I should be sorry to use violence towards you; but this is not
a position for me to negotiate in.--You must move on."

"Suppose," said Helen, "it should be my father--and--and another
friend?--Let me go to them; and I undertake on my word of honour that
he shall do what you require of him. You may trust to my word of
honour."

"Excuse me, Miss Horton, but your father and your other friend might
not have the same idea of honour as yourself. In the bush it is better
to trust to our loaded muskets than to empty honour. But time goes,
and we must be moving. Miss Horton," he added, seizing her arm, the
hold of which he had relinquished during this brief colloquy, "I say
again, you must go on."

"And what if I will not go on?" said Helen.

"Then," said Brandon, "I fear that my companion there will make short
work of it. Life, Miss Horton, is dear; and no notions of honour will
induce him to prefer yours to his own. His musket is loaded; his
finger is on the trigger; and his will is ready."

This he said so that Grough could hear: and that obliging person,
taking the hint more quickly than his dull nature promised,
immediately advanced, with Jerry, whom he ordered to kneel down on the
grass, threatening him with instant death if he dared to move or
speak; and then deliberately taking aim at Helen, he had the unusual
politeness to inquire, as it was a lady:--

"Now, ma'am, are you ready?"

Helen must have been something more than mortal, if she could have
withstood unmoved this terrible threat, as she saw the ferocious eye
of the miscreant fixed on her with a sort of malicious glee.--She
turned deadly pale, her knees bent under her, and she would have sunk
down on the ground, had not Brandon supported her with his powerful
arm; at the same time that he made a sign to his companion to turn
aside his musket, which Grough did with much unconcern: but as it
seemed to that industrious person that it was a pity that it should
not have some object to point at, he directed it in the interim
towards Jerry, who, although by this time he ought to have been used
to it, had not yet arrived at that state of happy disregard possessed
by the skinned eels in the fable, and evinced his emotions by a most
piteous supplication!

The time occupied in this little manoeuvre, however, was sufficient
to enable Helen to recover her presence of mind. All her efforts were
directed to gain time:--

"You forget," she said, "that the report of your musket would be the
surest way to make known to those who are in pursuit of you who and
where you are."

"By----," said Grough, recovering his musket, and uncocking it, "the
wench is right! Mark, what shall we do?"

Mark could not help admiring the quick wit of the girl, which had
such an instantaneous effect even on the dull intellects of his
comrade; but he perceived that she was studying pretexts to gain time,
so as to allow her friends to come up, and he felt that already too
much time had been wasted.

In a peremptory tone, therefore, he again desired her to proceed,
saying that all resistance was useless, and that, if she wished to
preserve her life, she must move on instantly to the other side of the
hill:--

"Miss Horton," he said, "it is a question of life or death with us.
You see, my comrade is a desperate man: in a moment more he will
discharge the contents of that gun through your heart; and no effort
of mine could prevent him."

Helen cast her eyes down on the plain: the figures were coming nearer
and nearer.

"He durst not!" she said, advancing to the edge of the precipice, and
pointing to the moving objects below; "the smoke and the report would
at once betray you."

"Then die another death!" cried Mark, in a transport of rage, and
again seizing Helen with a powerful grasp: "Look down, foolish girl,
into that depth below your feet! Do you see the rocks on which you
would be dashed to pieces if I were to let go my hold? This hand that
now clutches you once relaxed, and in a few moments more your body
would be a shapeless mass, for the native dogs to feast on! Once more,
I say, beware how you tempt me!"

"Don't let the girl hang over the precipice that way," cried out
Grough, moved for once with an odd sort of compassionate feeling:--
"let her go, and have done with her. No need to torment her, Mark! Let
her she will have time enough to say her prayers before she gets to
the bottom."

"Stop--you brute--you beast--you murdering villain!" screamed out
Jerry; "you'll be hanged, you will--and doubly hanged; and you deserve
it for this brutality."

"Heyday!" said Grough, as he knocked down Jerry, who had essayed to
rise from his knees, with the butt-end of his musket; "here's a
precious jaw! We must have the gag. What! trying to get up again! Then
you must have another tap!"

"Come on with us, Miss," continued Jerry, struggling on the ground
with his enemy; "better come on with us than be murdered. While
there's life, Miss, there's hope; but when one is dead...."

What further aphorism the excited Mr. Silliman might have added, it
is impossible to say, for at this point the exasperated Mr. Grough
dealt him such a blow on the face with his fist, that it put an end
for the time to the further expression of his opinions; and Mark at
the same time withdrawing Helen from her perilous situation, his
expostulations as to that point were rendered unnecessary.

"Bind his hands behind his back," said Mark.

Grough performed that operation with great skill and dexterity.

"Now," resumed Mark, with an inclination of his head towards Helen--
"hers."

Grough did this with equal readiness.

Helen said nothing.

"Will you come with us, or shall Grough drag you?" said Mark to
Helen.

Helen remained silent.

"Take her in hand!" he said to Grough.

"Now, my pretty dear," said that most uninviting person, "I think
you might give me a kiss for all the trouble I have taken about you."

Helen shuddered: her hands were bound behind her back; she could do
nothing. Grough put his rough beard close to her face.

"I will walk," she said.

"There's a beauty: and you can give me the kiss when we stop for the
night. Now, Mark, it's all right; the lady says she will be agreeable.
A little faster, if you please, ma'am. It will be all down-hill
presently. Which is our point, Mark? Had you not better go first?"

"Keep that big tree in the bottom straight before you and in a line
with the hill beyond."

"Ay, ay. Now, my lady, stir your stumps."

Helen stopped.

"If you will release my hands," she said, turning round to Mark
Brandon, "I promise you I will make no more resistance; but if not,
you may kill me if you will: but from this spot I will not move."

Mark hesitated for a moment; and then, without saying a word, untied
the cord which bound her, and put it in his pocket.

Helen immediately moved forward at a quick pace; but as she walked
she contrived to tear strips from her dress, which she let fall on the
ground. But she was not aware that the bushranger, whose quick eye
caughtsight of the manoeuvre, rapidly but carefully picked them up, as
he followed, with not less diligence than that with which she
distributed them.

"Hah, hah!" he said to himself, "this has been the dodge, has it?
But an old bushranger, my beauty, knows a trick worth two of that. I
don't know, though," he muttered to himself, "whether it would not be
best. Her friends are on our track,--that's certain; and this is the
way it has been done. There are only two of them: they can travel
faster than we can, encumbered as we are with a woman. Yes, better get
rid of them; and this clue, which she is taking such pains to give to
her friends, shall be the lure to their destruction. And so there let
them lie. And now for a good place of concealment, where we may return
dodge for dodge."

With these thoughts he urged his comrade to mend his pace; to which
Helen, confident in the success of her stratagem, made no objection,
and they quickly cleared the space between the base of the hill from
which they had descended and a shallow stream which was now before
them.

"What will she do now?" said Mark. "Ah! she has something in her
shoe! and she thinks I do not see her stick that little twig into the
ground on the margin of the water! That Grough is the dullest ass I
ever saw! but the brute has strength, and a sort of courage. Capital!
See how she picks her way daintily over the water, stepping from stone
to stone; and now she has got to the other side, something wrong with
the shoe again! Another twig stuck in! I thought so! Very cleverly
done, my pretty one! But you don't think that you are setting springes
for the decoyed ducks that are coming after you! Keep on, mate," he
said, aloud; "straight ahead! Get into the scrub, and then we will
have a 'corrobbery,' as the natives say."

They now advanced among the thick bushes which fringed the banks of
the rapid and shallow stream, and beyond which was a thick wood. The
mass of bushes was so dense that it was impossible to see far beyond
them, and the covert seemed well adapted for the concealment which was
desirable. But they had not proceeded many yards, when the bushranger
called a halt.

"Lie down there," he said to Jeremiah, in a stern voice; "and look to
it that you neither move nor speak, or you shall have your brains
knocked out without further warning. And do you, Miss Horton, be
pleased to sit down there," pointing to a space between himself and
his comrade. "Mate," he said, "keep your eye on them both, and leave
the rest to me."

Saying this, he examined the primings of his double-barrel fowling--
piece, passed his ramrod down both barrels to make sure their charges
had not become displaced or loosened in the journey, a precaution
which was imitated by his companion; then he cleared away a small part
of the leafy boughs of the bush behind which they were all concealed,
and arranged a convenient fork of the tree on which to rest his
barrels, which he tried, and was satisfied with. Having completed
these preparations, and whispered apart with his companion, who nodded
his head and slapped his thigh with exultation at the cleverness of
Mark's "dodge," he returned to his post, and waited for some time
quietly on the ground, employed, as it seemed, in calculating the
time. After musing for a while, he abruptly approached Miss Horton,
and with much politeness requested a small portion of her dress:--

"As a pattern," he said. "You see, Miss Horton," he added, with a
sneer, "it is already torn, so that a small abstraction more cannot
materially damage its appearance."

Helen, colouring up, made no resistance, as he gently tore off a
small portion, while Grough and Jerry looked on with extreme surprise.
Their surprise was greater, while Helen's heart sank within her, when
they saw him, through the interstices of the bushes, tearing the piece
of stuff into small shreds, which he carefully strewed on the ground
in a direct line from the part of the stream's bank which they had
passed over, towards the bush where Brandon had tried his fowling-
piece on the forked branch.

It then became evident to Helen that her own device had been
penetrated, and its object discovered, and that it now was being made
use of against her to the imminent danger of the friends who were
hastening to her rescue.

The wondering Grough, when he was made acquainted with the object of
this manoeuvre by Brandon, after having given vent to his admiration
by sundry whispered oaths and exclamations, concluded by declaring,
with an awful asseveration, "that it was one of the out-and-outerest
dodges that ever man contrived, and that no one but Mark or the devil
himself could have had the cunning to invent it!

"Why," he added, in Mark's ear, "it's for all the world like strewing
grain for a lot of sparrows to peck at in a farm-yard, so that you
have 'em all in a line, and can nick a score of 'em with one shot."

This gleeful exclamation was unheard by Helen, but she saw too
clearly by the preparations that it was the bushranger's design to
entice her friends on to the other side of the covert behind which he
was ensconced, and then taking deliberate and certain aim to shoot
them both before they had any suspicion of the presence of an enemy.
Her colour went and came, and her heart beat quick as she strove to
summon up her energies and to rally her thoughts so as to hit on some
scheme for defeating this deliberate plot of cowardly and diabolical
assassination.




Chapter IX. The Feet on the Sand.

WHILE the bushranger was making these polite preparations for the
reception of Helen's friends, Trevor and the corporal continued their
course over the lengthened plain, whose wide expanse seemed to the
eager desires of the lover almost interminable.

Even the tough and seasoned corporal felt the wearisomeness of the
way, the more especially as he missed his accustomed rations, without
which the bravest and the sturdiest are apt to find their spirits and
their courage diminish at the time of trial. It was with more than
military promptitude, therefore, that he came to a halt at the
intimation of his officer.

"Are you sure you are on the track?" asked Trevor, making use of the
inquiry as an excuse for a short rest.

"Quite sure, your Honour. If you will stoop down a bit, you will see
that the blades of grass bend forward slightly, which must have been
caused by the tread of feet not long since. And look at this,"
continued the coporal, kneeling down and pointing to a tiny ant-hill;
"some weight has been set upon this, that's certain! and, to my mind,
here's the round mark of the heel of a man's boot as plain as can be!
We are all right, your Honour, so far as the track goes; depend upon
that."

"How many of them are there, do you think?" asked Trevor.

"Impossible to say, sir; but, to my thinking, there can't be many. I
should say, not more than three or four at most. If we could come on a
bare place now, where there is no grass, we should be able to see the
prints of their feet, and then we could tell better; but the young
lady, I guess, would not leave much mark behind her: they generally
tread light, do those young gals. I remember when I was in the
States..."

"Step on," said Trevor, quickly, the image which the corporal had
unconsciously conjured up exciting him with fresh ardour in the
pursuit; "step on, corporal; if we are tired, those who are before us
must be tired also; and it's hard if two men like us cannot run them
down."

The corporal made no reply to this more than the usual salute, by
bringing the edge of his right hand to the peak of his military cap;
and then, throwing his musket over his arm, he marched on with renewed
alacrity.

They arrived at last at the base of the hill. The retreating party
having separated a little at this point, their track had been less
concentrated, and the corporal found himself at fault. He looked about
diligently; but whether it was that the fatigue of his long march, and
the unremitted exercise of his eyes had wearied his sight, or that the
marks were too faint to be perceived, the veteran was puzzled:--

"If your Honour will stay there," he said, "so as to mark the point
which we struck, I will make half circles up the hill till I hit on
the track again."

"Break off a twig from that low tree before you," said Trevor, "and
stick it in the ground on the spot, and then we shall be both at
liberty."

The corporal did as he was ordered, and advanced towards the tree,
which was small and low, and of a gnarled and knotted appearance; but
as he was about to break off a small branch he stopped, and beckoned
to the ensign:--

"Look at that, your Honour; there has been some one here before us. A
branch has been snapped off here not long ago. See, it is a dead
branch, easily broken."

Trevor examined it attentively; and, first, he directed the corporal
to stick into the ground which he had left, another branch, which he
broke off, in order that they might be able to recognise the precise
spot at which they had arrived at the base of the hill. He then
continued his investigations.

It struck him that it was not likely that a retreating party would
willingly encounter the laborious task of climbing that hill, which,
he observed, rose precipitately to a great height at a short distance
up the ascent. "It was easier to go round the hill than to go over
it," he remarked to the corporal, in which opinion that worthy sub
acquiesced, observing, however, "that there was never any calculating
on what Mark Brandon would do; and that perhaps he had gone over the
hill for the very reason that it would appear to his pursuers that it
was unlikely for him to do so."

While he was speaking the ensign had proceeded a few paces up the
ascent, which at the beginning was gentle, and was throwing his eyes
over the grass to discover some indication of footsteps, when he
thought he saw a little piece of stick lying on the ground in a place
at too great a distance from any tree to allow of its having been
dropped from the parent trunk.

He picked it up, and compared it with the broken branch of the tree
which he had quitted, and found that it corresponded in colour and
sort exactly; moreover, it was of the same dead wood which the
remaining portion of the branch exhibited.

Convinced that this branch had been broken off with some design, he
returned to the spot where he had found it, and, pursuing his search,
he soon lighted on another bit of the same wood; and presently he
found another and another, leading on the left in a winding direction
towards the top of the hill. Having thus again found the track of the
fugitives, he sat down for a brief space, in order that he might
resolve on the most judicious course of action.

He considered, that as the bushranger had thought fit to ascend a
steep hill, which there was no necessity for his delaying his flight
by surmounting, it must have been done with some design. What was that
design? It was possible that he and the corporal had been observed all
the time, and that the bushranger with his comrade, one or more, was
waiting for him in ambush, in an advantageous position on the top. In
that case it was advisable to proceed with great caution; at the same
time that the utmost diligence was necessary, in order to overtake
them and prevent violence to Helen.

He mentioned his thoughts to the corporal and asked him his opinion;
upon which that experienced subaltern rested his two hands on the
muzzle of his firelock, from habit, however, leaving the orifice of
the barrel clear, and reposing his chin upon his hands, he set himself
to work to resolve the enigma of the wily bushranger's intentions.

"Sir," said the corporal, after a short pause,--and after having
taken into account the particular shape and bulk of the sugar-loaf
hill, on the inclined base of which his officer was resting; "I think
our best plan will be to go round the foot of the hill and see if the
enemy has made his way over down the other side. If he has not, we
shall know that we have him safe somewhere on the top of it, and then
we can take him in the rear, where he will not expect us; and if he
has passed over it, why then, all we have to do is to follow on. But
it seems to me, your Honour, that if we go blindly after them up this
hill, we shall expose ourselves to their fire, without having a chance
of returning it, as they can lie down on their bellies, as the
sharpshooters did in the States, and pick us off without our being
able to see 'em, or to help ourselves. Depend upon it, that if Mark
has been up this hill, as it seems he has, he has had a reason for it,
and that reason is to take us at a disadvantage, and our business is
to outwit him, by coming upon him before he thinks of it. But if your
Honour likes to try the hill, of course I'm ready;--it's all the same
to me; only I can't help thinking that we ought to see clear before
us, or else in firing at the enemy we might hit the poor young lady,
and that would be a pity, for by all accounts she is an uncommon
pretty one, and a spirited one too, and just the girl for a soldier."

The latter part of the corporal's oration had the strongest effect
upon Trevor, who rightly judged that it was especially important to
guard against such a disaster as that pointed out by the corporal; and
the consideration was of the greater value, as it served to temper his
courage and his ardour with more coolness and circumspection than he
would have otherwise displayed.

He agreed, therefore, to the corporal's proposal, and they began to
skirt round the base of the hill, on the level space beneath, taking
care to inspect the ground with the utmost minuteness, lest their
crafty antagonist should have adopted the plan of doubling on his own
steps, in order to throw his pursuers off the scent.

In this way they continued their survey round the base of the hill to
the left, until they came to a space bare of grass, from which they
were able to note the character of the country beyond, which they
perceived consisted of dense scrub, backed by thick and dark forests.
As they were walking side by side, they both perceived at the same
time the fresh traces of human feet on the sandy soil. They stopped
simultaneously.

"We have come on them at last," said Trevor, "and it was lucky that
we adopted this plan instead of going over the hill direct, for that
way we should have missed them;--but they must have taken off their
shoes, corporal; what is the meaning of this?"

The corporal said nothing, but continued to survey the traces of feet
with much earnestness and with some anxiety.

"By George!" exclaimed Trevor suddenly, "can it be? I say, corporal,
these marks must be the traces of natives' feet!"

"That's sure enough," replied the corporal gravely, and continuing
his scrutiny.

"Do you think they have passed this way recently?"

"I think they have," replied the corporal.

"And many of them?"

"Here are the marks of many feet; and they generally go about in mobs
of thirty or forty."

"You don't seem to like the looks of them, corporal," said Trevor
gaily.

"I don't indeed," replied the corporal seriously. "It's no joke to
meet with the natives in the bush."

"Why, man, suppose there are thirty or forty of them, they are not
all fighting men--half of them must be women."

"No doubt, as your Honour says, half of the men must be women; but
the women can throw spears as well as the men, and they are not a bit
less savage; for when a woman is savage at all, she is always worse
than a man, and she spits and claws like a tiger-cat;--I suppose it's
in their natures to be so--I remember there was Biddy M'Scratchem of
our regiment in the States......"

"But as to these natives, corporal; you have been stationed here
several years, and I am quite new to the place. What sort of weapons
have they besides these spears that you speak of. They have no bows
and arrows?"

"No, your Honour; and it's well for the white people that they
haven't got them; and it shows what wretched ignorant savages they
must be, not to have invented them. For there is plenty of tough wood
like the English yew, fit for bows, and there's the sinews of the
kangaroo ready to their hand to make strings of, and the same wood
that they make their spears of would do for arrows."

"But they can't do much execution with their spears--how long are
they?"

"About ten feet long, or a little more. You can't say they make them,
for they grow all about, and they have only to cut them down and point
them, and then they are fit for use. The native women char the points
in the fire, till they are so hard that they will go through a deal
board; and they can throw them fifty or sixty yards, pretty sure. But
it's the numbers which they throw that worry you. I remember seeing
the body of a stock--keeper that the natives had killed, and it was
pierced all over with little holes from their spears like a sieve, it
was so riddled. Then they have their waddies."

"Those are a sort of clubs?"

"They are not very big; but they are made of some hard sort of wood,
and when they come to close quarters a lot of them will rattle them on
your head till they beat in your skull and smash it to a jelly. It's
the numbers you see, sir,--that is the difficulty; they rush upon a
single man like a swarm of hornets, and he has no chance against such
odds, unless he is lucky enough to get with his back to a tree and has
plenty of ammunition; and then they weary him out at last. And,
besides that, they have got the womera, which they can hurl to a great
distance, and although it doesn't kill, it cripples, and that's almost
as bad in the bush."

"I have heard of the womera," said the Ensign; "and it is remarked as
a most curious accident that the wild and ignorant natives of these
countries have hit on the exact mathematical curve which is most
effective for their purpose in the formation of that singular weapon."

"Indeed, sir! it certainly is a very curious weapon, as you say, and
a most curious sharp clip they can give with it, as a man in our
company can testify, for he had his ankle-bone broken by the brutes;
but the Sydney natives are far more clever in the use of the spear and
the womera than those in Van Diemen's Land. The Sydney blacks throw
the spear with another short stick, with which they are able to cast
it with greater force than by the hand; but I should not like to have
half a dozen spears sticking in my body from the Van Diemen natives,
throw them as they may; not that I mind being hit, but they are nasty
outlandish things to be stuck into one, and the wounds of 'em do no
credit to a man. But I hope we shall not fall in with them after all;
they are ugly things to run against, are those natives, any way."

"You have no love for the natives, that's clear," said the ensign.

"Nor they for the white people. They always kill us whenever they can
catch us alone, or without arms, and I don't see why we should be
sacrificed to such murdering devils. They don't deserve quarter."

"You forget," said Trevor, "that they have some cause to complain of
us, inasmuch as we have dispossessed them of their hunting-grounds,
and driven them into the interior away from their usual haunts."

"There may be something in that," replied the corporal; "but I don't
see, your Honour, what right any set of men have, let them be black or
white, to prevent others from cultivating the lands which they don't
use themselves. It's like the dog in the manger to my mind."

"But they can't understand that," said Trevor. "They see strangers
arrive from the sea, and, either by fraud or force, get possession of
their country, and they resist it;--besides, hunting-grounds to them
are as valuable as pastures and corn-fields to us."

"I cannot pretend to argue with your Honour," replied the corporal;
"but it seems to me that neither savages nor white people have any
right to take to themselves for their hunting or their pleasures the
land which others of God's creatures require for the raising of their
food. Why, your Honour, it takes hundreds of acres of land in an
uncultivated state, to support a few wild animals, which are not much
worth the having when you catch them; whereas tons on tons weight of
potatoes and corn might be grown on the same land if it was ploughed
and sown as the white people know how to do it. No disrespect to your
Honour, but I never can believe that it is fair for savages to rule
over lands which they don't make use of, and which in their power are
only wasted and lost."

"What you say may be all very true, corporal, but the difficulty is
to persuade the natives of the justice of it."

"Why, your Honour, you are never going to compare the natives of this
country to us white people! Savage and brutal wretches as they are!
black, naked cannibals! who kill every white man they can catch hold
of. Why, your Honour, they can hardly be called humans; they are more
like the animals that eat the grass or devour one another."

"The more reason for civilising and educating them," replied Trevor;
"but this is a vexatious question."

"It's very vexatious to be attacked and eat up by them," said the
corporal, "or to have your body drilled full of holes with their
spears, or your skull smashed in by their waddies; but it is not of
ourselves that I am thinking; it's the poor young lady that I am
fearing about; between the bushrangers and the natives she will stand
a poor chance!"

"True," said Trevor, whom that idea at once rendered not less serious
than the corporal at their sudden discovery of the propinquity of the
natives. "Corporal," he continued in a grave tone, "we must prepare
ourselves for a struggle perhaps; but, at all events, we must lose no
time in trying to discover the tracks of the bushranger; that is,
supposing he has descended the hill."

"I can't help thinking," said the corporal, "that things are very
curious! Here are the natives close to us, perhaps, and watching for
an opportunity to attack us, and we are looking out to attack the
bushrangers, so that we have two parties to guard against; and the
bushranger is expecting to be attacked by us, perhaps, and by the
natives as well, so that he has two parties to fight with too; and it
looks as if we should presently be all fighting ourselves and one
another. By the powers! there will be a pretty confusion if it comes
to that! We shall be obliged to fire two ways at once, and stand back
and front at the same time! I wish the poor young lady was well out of
it, that's all I can say:--bushrangers or natives, I don't know which
is the worst for her!"

"Do you happen to know," asked Trevor, "from your own experience, if
the natives of this country are cannibals?"

"I don't know for certain; all I know is, that they never eat me;
but some of the old hands do say that the natives eat human flesh
sometimes; but whether it is some part of their religion, or that they
do it out of relish, nobody seems to know. However if they have any
inclination for it, it is not to be supposed that they would resist
the temptation of a nice white tender young lady, as Miss Helen Horton
is by all accounts; and, for my part, I don't know which would be
worst for the poor lady--to be eaten up by the natives, or to be...."

"Let us move on," said Trevor, stamping his foot on the ground; "and
whether we have to encounter bushrangers, or natives, or devils
themselves, we must stand by each other, and fight to the last gasp."

"I'm your man for that," said the corporal; "I've been getting rusty
for this many a day for want of a scrimmage; and, dead or alive, I'll
stand by your Honour to my last cartridge; and when that's gone, we'll
try the cold steel on them:--but those black wretches will never let
you get up to them; they haven't the sense to wait for the bayonet,
like Christians."

"I think they show their sense by avoiding it; but hush! stop! What
is that on the ground? By Heaven! it is part of a woman's dress!"

"Here is more of it," said the corporal, proceeding in the direction
of the stream.

"Halt there," said the ensign; "let us examine the country a little;
the business seems to be getting serious."

Trevor found that they had arrived at a spot opposite the point
which they had left, as he judged by the bearings, on the other side
of the hill; and they were now in a line with the route of the
bushranger, which led to a shallow bubbling stream at a little
distance. Confident that they were now on the track, they made their
way without delay to the margin of the water, Trevor and the corporal
having picked up several additional pieces of a woman's dress, which
the former did not doubt had formed part of that worn by Helen.

On their arrival at the stream, Trevor remarked the twig which Helen
had stuck into the ground as a guide to her pursuers, and casting his
eyes to the opposite bank, he observed a similar little stick set up
on the other side. Besides these evident hints, the marks of men's
boots were visible on the moist ground close by the water, and among
the marks Trevor distinguished, with a thrill of hope and fear, the
little foot of Helen!

He marvelled at the want of caution displayed by so acute and wary a
character as Mark Brandon, in leaving behind him such tell-tale
evidences of his route; but he attributed it to the confidence which
he guessed the bushranger had of being safe from discovery; and he
congratulated himself that this imprudent reliance on the part of
Brandon would be one of the means of ensuring his capture, and of
effecting the deliverance of Helen.

When he had crossed to the other side of the stream, the first thing
that met his eye was a shred of the same dress which he had already
observed, and at short intervals, other scraps, in a line pointing to
some thick bushes, beyond which was a dense wood of innumerable trunks
of tall trees.

He pointed out these circumstances to the corporal, remarking that
they had the good fortune to be able, under the cover of the scrub, to
advance without detection. Side by side, therefore, and with their
arms in readiness, they approached the covert, Trevor full of hope and
confidence, and the corporal possessed with the cool determination of
an old soldier.

Little did either of them think that they were offering themselves up
an easy prey to the human tiger that was crouching in his lair!




Chapter X. A Native Village.

IT is necessary now to return to the adventures of the Major, who
had set out in search of his lost daughter on the morning after the
departure of Trevor and the corporal from the cave.

He was well equipped for the bush with all the stores and appliances
which the two soldiers who accompanied him could conveniently carry:
but he had forgotten the bush-traveller's companion, a "compass;"
neither had his worthy mate, little thinking that so important a part
of a ship's furniture could be wanted on shore, thought of reminding
him to provide himself with that indispensable article. As the Major
as well as the two soldiers were totally inexperienced in the bush, it
will presently be seen to what grave inconveniences the want of that
most useful instrument exposed him.

But in the mean time the party strode on confidently, till they
espied the native of whom mention has been already made. The
apparition of the black man caused the Major to make a halt for a few
minutes, to consider of the best course to be pursued under the
circumstances.

Bearing in mind that it was the object of the bushranger to escape
from the island, which he could only effect by prevailing on some
vessel to take him on board, or by seizing on some boat fit for his
purpose, the Major had concluded in his own mind that Brandon would
keep near the sea; and it was in that direction, therefore, that he
had bent his steps; keeping a good look-out, however, and bidding his
soldiers to do the same, for any tracks or signs which might indicate
the course of the fugitives.

The appearance of the native was an unexpected incident, but it did
not deter him from persevering in his original intention of making his
way towards the sea coast.

In coming to this resolution, the Major was little aware of the
difficulties which would beset his path, as the sea coast on that part
of the island, exposed as it is to the whole force of the Southern
Ocean, is rocky and precipitous, and travelling is rendered so
difficult as to be almost impossible near the shore. But there was
another difficulty to contend against of a more formidable nature; and
that was, the hostile tribe of natives, who had fixed on that district
as their present locality, seeking it as a place of refuge from the
attacks of the tribes by which they had been driven from their own
hunting-grounds in the interior.

Of the presence of this tribe the Major soon became sensible, for he
had not proceeded far before he came upon a native encampment, which
was formed in a little grove of Mimosa trees, and near a spring of
water flowing from the crevice of a rock. But although the fires were
still burning, the camp was deserted.

This refusal of the natives to communicate with strangers was a
circumstance, as the Major was aware, from the descriptions which he
had read of them, that indicated danger. He proceeded therefore to
examine these, the most rude of all temporary dwelling-places, with
much curiosity, not unmixed with anxiety. The two soldiers who
accompanied him did not conceal their apprehension, which they stated
respectfully, of an immediate attack, and they kept vigilant watch
therefore while their commander pursued his investigations.

The wretched make-shifts which the Major viewed were mere receptacles
for the creatures to lie down under, for they could not be called
huts, inasmuch as the largest of them was not more than four feet
high. He counted nine of them nearly in a row, and almost close
together. They were formed of bark in huge slices, with their smooth
sides inwards, and fronting the fires which were burning about nine or
ten feet from them. The slices of bark had been peeled in lengths of
four to six feet, and from a foot to eighteen inches wide, and were
set on their edges and rudely fastened together. It was under the
shelter of these breakwinds that the natives crouched themselves at
night, and sometimes in the day, without any covering to their bodies,
or any shelter from the rain, more than the scanty bark walls
afforded. There was no appearance of food or of weapons about the
place; a circumstance which led him to conclude that the possessors of
this native village, if village it could be called, had retired
leisurely, and had taken away with them all their goods and chattels.

He discovered some heads of fishes, however, and some bones of
animals, which were mostly small, and which he conjectured had
belonged to the opossums and bandicoots, on which the natives are glad
to feed when they cannot kill a kangaroo; and indeed of the opossum
they are very fond, as they admire the high flavour of that strongly
seasoned animal, which, as it feeds principally on the leaves of the
peppermint tree, is always ready stuffed for table, although neither
its taste nor its odour is by any means pleasing to strangers.

But the Major was not permitted to continue his scientific
observations unmolested. As he shook one of the planks of bark to
ascertain its solidity and texture, a spear from a neighbouring
thicket, about sixty yards distant, warned him that he was intruding
on the domestic arrangements of the proprietors. The soldiers
immediately pointed their guns in the direction of the aggression, and
made ready to fire. But the Major restrained them mildly but firmly:--

"Stop," he said, "we do not come to kill the poor natives of this
country with our superior weapons. We are intruders here; and it is
not surprising that we have excited their suspicions. Let us endeavour
to leave this place without shedding blood, it is our duty to
endeavour to conciliate the native inhabitants of the country by kind
treatment, and by showing that we are come to do them good, and not
harm. We will retire."

Saying this, he hastily sought for some article about his person
which he might leave behind him as a sign of his amicable intentions;
and fortunately finding that he had two knives, one of which was
provided with a strong hack blade and a saw, he raised it aloft, and
then placing it in a conspicuous place on the top of one of the break-
winds, slowly retired.

When he had got to a little distance he stopped, and by gestures
invited the natives, whom he could not see, but who, he had no doubt,
saw him, to advance; but no one appeared. Another spear, however,
which was projected from the same thicket and which fell short, was a
very significant expression on their part of their desire to decline
the pleasure of his company. He retired therefore to a still further
distance, and then faced about again.

But the natives, who viewed his retreat as an evidence of fear, and
who were emboldened by his seeming desire to avoid their spears, now
issued in a black swarm from behind the bushes and rocks; the men,
with waddies in their hands, heading the advance: some of the women
closely following them with spears, while a few of the same sex
remained further in the rear, one or two carrying infants, while
various little black faces might be seen here and there peeping from
behind the rocks and bushes.

Seeing this general assemblage, the Major made a few steps in advance
towards them, being desirous of cultivating amicable relations with
the natives, not only for general politic reasons, but for the purpose
also of availing himself of their assistance in tracking the
bushrangers and recovering his daughter; but he was assailed with a
universal yell of men, women, and children, which would have appalled
a heart less stout than the old soldier's; and at the same time a
flight of spears came whistling towards him, one or two of which
nearly reached his feet.

He endeavoured by all sorts of signs to make them understand that he
wished to speak with them; but as every advance on his part only
increased their frightful shrieks, and as the men continued to hurl
the spears with which the women assiduously supplied them, and to
brandish their waddies with frantic leapings and contortions at the
strangers, he thought it most prudent to abandon his design for the
present, as it seemed plain that further attempts would only lead to
an exasperation of the savages, which would most likely end in the
bloodshed he was so desirous to avoid.

His two soldiers, although they were both of them brave men and stout
fellows, were by no means disinclined to retire from the scene, and
they were soon out of sight of the savages; but it was some time
before they ceased to hear their yells and screechings, which, as one
of the men remarked, "was more like the howling of wild beasts than
anything human;" and the Major again paused to consider which way to
direct his course in pursuit of his daughter.

It seemed clear to him that the bushranger could not have fled in
that direction. He made a considerable detour, therefore, to avoid
coming into collision with the natives, and again endeavoured to
penetrate the country towards the coast. But he found his path so
obstructed by rocks and ravines that he began to despair at last of
making any profitable progress, the more especially as he had no clue
to the course of the bushrangers; and he determined, therefore, to
return to his cave, and endeavour to find the track of the fugitives,
if track there was, from that starting point. But the Major had now to
learn how easy it was for a stranger to the country to be lost in the
intricate mazes of the bush.

In endeavouring to find his way back, he soon became confused by the
hills, mounds, rocks, and trees, all so much alike, that he found it
impossible to recognise those which he had before passed; and this
difficulty is partly to be accounted for by the circumstance that the
traveller in the bush, in going, views objects on one of their sides,
and in coming back views them on their reverse sides, which are
usually very unlike the appearance which they present on their first
aspect.

So it was with the Major; and his followers, though very good
soldiers at drill or in the field, were quite incompetent to assist
him in finding his way through an unknown country. In this way he
crossed the bushranger's track without being aware of it, for he
neither knew where he was nor which way he was going.

He endeavoured to guide his course by the sun, and frequently thought
he had hit on the right direction; but unforeseen obstacles rose in
his way, and unknown and unexpected objects puzzled and baffled him;
so that at last, bewildered and weary, he sat down under a shady blue
gum tree, utterly at a loss which way to direct his steps.

As they were well supplied with provisions, the two soldiers, at a
hint from their superior, quickly produced their stores; and if the
anxiety of the Major had affected his appetite, it was clear, from the
alarming inroads which his followers made in their stock of
provisions, that they were not restrained in satisfying their bodily
wants by their mental sensibilities.

But towards the close of their refection, they came to a sudden
pause; for as they were pretty well stuffed to their throats, they
found themselves in urgent want of some fluid to clear their passages
for a fresh supply. They intimated their distressing state to their
commander, who, feeling the same want, rose from the grass and
accompanied them in their search for water.

But, as is frequently the case with that important article--whose
value is never estimated properly until the want of it is felt, as in
the present instance--the water which they looked for was not so easy
to be found; and although they descended, at the cost of much time and
labour, into several promising dells and hollows, they could discover
no indication of a spring.

Exhausted with fatigue, and parched with thirst, which the sup of
brandy which they had had recourse to heightened to a painful degree,
the party again sat down among some rocks between two hills which
nearly met, and while the soldiers stretched themselves on the ground
uneasily, the Major, borne down by the fatigue of travelling in the
bush, and by the weight of affliction which preyed upon him at the
uncertain fate of his daughter, rested his head on his arm, and became
plunged in melancholy thought.

In this position they remained for a considerable time, when the
stillness of their solitude was interrupted by a sight which
powerfully excited their curiosity.




Chapter XI. Oionoo.

IT was one of the men who first observed a figure moving up the
ravine in which they were lying; he pointed it out to his comrade, who
touched the Major's foot with a dead branch which lay ready to his
hand, and the three remained without moving, their eyes fixed on the
object.

The Major at once perceived that it was a native, who was advancing
cautiously towards them, and who seemed anxiously looking out on every
side, as if in search of something.

"It is a spy of those black devils, looking out for us," said one of
the soldiers.

"It's a woman, by George," said the other, as the native continued
her advance.

"I wish it had been a man," continued the first, who had levelled his
piece sharp-shooter fashion towards the native; "it goes against one's
feeling to fire at a woman."

"She is tall and straight," remarked the second, "and if it wasn't
for her being black, she wouldn't be amiss."

"She looks like a young girl," said the other, as the native advanced
nearer.

But it seems that the sound of his voice had struck her ear; for she
stopped, listened; snuffed the air like a pointer scenting game;
looked about on all sides; and turning her head half round behind,
remained for a brief space in an attitude of fixed attention.

The Major regarded the native girl with much attention; and the men
seeing that she was alone, were only curious to observe her motions.

She remained for some time fixed and motionless as a statue, her
black body shining like polished ebony. She was entirely naked; there
was no mark of paint or of tattooing visible on her sleek and glossy
skin; and her hair was not woolly, but hung from her head some inches
behind in frizzy curls.

Presently, suspecting, as it seemed, that some danger was nigh, she
resumed her walk, but with more caution even than at first. With a
timid and frightened look, she turned her large eyes, which were
singularly black and bright, towards the spot where the Major and his
men were hidden, and tried to pierce into the space before her, which
the shades of the evening had begun to render obscure, treading
lightly, and lifting up her feet in that peculiar manner
characteristic of the natives, who walk like a high-stepping horse, in
order to clear the dead wood with which their path in the woods is
encumbered.

To judge from the supple movements of her well-formed limbs, the
Major guessed that she was possessed of great agility; but there was a
something in her manner which convinced him that she was not abroad
with any hostile intentions. Indeed, her countenance, when she was
close enough for them to observe it, expressed suspicion and fear,
rather than any other feeling.

As she approached the spot where they lay concealed amidst loose
rocks and stones, she suddenly stopped again, and snuffed the air with
her broad flat nose, and made a step back, as if with the intention of
flying from some unusual danger.--But after a few moments of anxious
scrutiny of the point which she had left, she again advanced a few
steps with a quick motion, as if she thought it better to encounter
the new danger that was before than that which was behind; and again
she stopped and snuffed the air, and seemed surprised and alarmed at
some unexpected discovery.

The Major whispered as low as possible to his men:--

"We must take this woman."

Low as his whisper was, however, it was heard by the quick-eared
native. She gave a frightened look towards the spot where they lay
concealed, and at that moment the two soldiers starting up, the girl
uttered a loud scream of fear, and darted up the steep ascent before
them.

The men followed; but they would have had little chance in pursuing a
native in the bush, had not the girl, in looking back to see if her
pursuers were nigh, stumbled over a loose stone and fallen to the
ground. Paralysed as she was with fear, before she could recover
herself, and uncertain perhaps which way to fly, for it seemed to her
that there was danger on every side, the men seized her by the arms.
She made no struggle, but, doubling herself up, she sat on her hams
and bent down her head in terror, expecting doubtless, that she was to
be put to death.

In this state the Major approached the native with the intention of
calming her fears; but for some time she remained in such an agony of
terror as to be insensible, seemingly, to all that was going on around
her, and her whole body shook and shivered with fear.

The Major directed his men to release her arms. They did so, but the
native showed no sign of being sensible of the restraint having been
withdrawn.

He spoke to her kindly and soothingly; but the girl's teeth continued
to chatter with terror.

He extended his hand and patted her on the shoulder as jockeys do
horses when they desire to calm them; but the native, supposing,
perhaps, that this was done in order to ascertain if she was fat
enough to be eaten, only shuddered the more, and shrunk herself up
from the touch of the strange creatures, the like of whom she had
never beheld before!

The poor Major was puzzled to know how to communicate with her, or
what to do, now he had got her, with the young lady whom he had so
violently taken under his protection. But as he was desirous of making
use of the native to guide him back to his cave, he determined to
persevere in his attempt to bring about a mutual good understanding.

He desired one of his men to give him a bit of "damper," which he
offered to the native, but she would not take it. He then ate a bit
himself, and invited her by signs to do the same. She looked wistfully
at it for a moment; there was hunger in her looks, the Major thought.

He put the bit of damper down on the ground. She raised her head up
timidly, and looked at the two soldiers, and then at the bread. At
last she took it in her hand, and smelt it, tasted it, and ate it up
greedily. The men, as she opened her mouth, could not refrain from an
involuntary exclamation:--

"What grinders!"

Seeing that she liked it, the Major threw her another piece. The
native ate that also.

"Try her with some brandy," said one of the soldiers.

He poured out a small quantity into a metal mug which they had
brought with them, and the Major, after having taken a little sip to
show the lady how the liquor was to be disposed of, handed her the
vessel with his arm outstretched, much in the same manner as a visitor
hands a morsel to a wild animal in a cage in the Zoological Gardens.
She took it, and having smelled at it, let it drop.

"D----her," said one of the soldiers, "the black brute has wasted the
brandy!"

The tone of the soldier's voice as he uttered this exclamation,
excusable perhaps in the bush, where brandy is scarce, seemed to renew
the fright of the native. She looked round her timidly, as if
meditating escape.

"Give me some sugar," said the Major; "we will try her with that."

The man unpacked his parcel in a twinkling, and brought it to the
Major, who, grasping a small handful of it, placed it on a piece of
the bark of a tree, and putting some of it in his mouth, passed the
bark plate to the lady, who took it without hesitation.

She smelled at it as before, and poked it with her finger, which she
carried to her mouth. Seeming satisfied with the taste, she poked her
finger into it again, and then diligently licked it with much apparent
satisfaction. Then, being unable to resist the temptation of its
sweetness, she bore the piece of bark on which the sugar was deposited
to her mouth, and ate it all up in a moment, cleaning the bark with
her tongue of any remaining crumbs as a dog does a plate.

This last mark of attention on the part of her entertainer seemed to
re--assure her considerably; her trembling ceased; and she sat on her
hams more composedly than before. The Major now tried by signs to make
her understand what he wanted.

He pretended to drink, and looked all about as if he was trying to
find water. The native understood him, and pointing in the direction
of the path by which she had come, shook her black poll, and made
signs of being frightened at something from which she had fled. Then
pointing in a direction forwards she nodded her head, and rising from
her sitting position began to move forward.

Had the Major been a younger man, he would not perhaps have minded
the total absence of dress on the lady's person, which, as she stood
on her hind legs, was more conspicuous and striking than it had been
in her sitting posture; but, as he was the father of a family, he
would have preferred that she should have been clothed with some sort
of covering however trifling.

Desirous of remedying the deficiency in some way, he drew his
handkerchief from his pocket, and presented it to the black lady, not
being able to express his meaning by words, nor even by signs, but
hoping that what is called the natural modesty of her sex would prompt
her to make a proper application of the gift. The native girl accepted
the handkerchief readily, and turning round on the strange white man,
whom she rewarded with a smile which exhibited to view her formidable
row of teeth, tied the handkerchief round her head, and continued her
way.

"She knows no better," said the Major to himself; "and, after all,
our civilised habits are only conventional; but certainly if a lady of
any colour was to appear at court in the old country in that state of
primitive simplicity, it would produce no slight sensation."

The further philosophical reflections which he might have made on
this point of etiquette were put a stop to by the native suddenly
pointing to a tiny stream of water which trickled from the side of the
declivity. The Major and his men drank of it eagerly, and the native
drank some also, the sugar having made her thirsty; and when the party
had satisfied themselves with the pure element, which the men remarked
would mix admirably with any sort of spirit, but to which hint the
Major paid no attention, the question was, what was to be done next?

The young lady showed no disposition to escape, and seemed to wait
quietly to know how she was to be disposed of; but as the evening was
advancing, and as it was nearly dark, the excellent Major was somewhat
puzzled to know what to do with his new acquisition during a night
bivouac. If it was possible, he thought it would be best to endeavour
to reach the cave that night, but as he calculated that he must be at
a great distance from it, he despaired of being able to accomplish the
journey, fatigued as he was with his day's march.

He essayed, however, to communicate his desire by signs. He pointed
to the water of the spring, and endeavoured