they had been more than a month away from yanda, and edgar began to wonder where their march would lead them. yacka did not vouchsafe much information, but kept steadily on his way at a pace that astonished them. mile after mile was traversed, and their guide showed no sign of weariness or flagging.
one beautiful moonlight night they camped by the shore of a large lagoon, which reminded them of a small lake in their own country. it was a magnificent sight, this sheet of still water glistening in the moonlight, the trees which overhung it reflecting weird shadows on the surface.
‘i had no idea there were such lakes as these,’ said edgar. ‘there must be a lot of good shooting about here.’
‘plenty of ducks and herons,’ said yacka. ‘i will get you some ducks without firing a shot.’
they were interested in watching yacka catch wild ducks. the black crept cautiously into the water, and then sat down amongst a lot of cover, which hid his head from view. presently they heard a call such as the wild duck makes.
‘that’s yacka,’ said edgar. ‘he can imitate the cries of all kinds of birds and animals. look! there’s a flock of wild ducks coming over.’
the birds flew right into the lagoon, and settled down on the water not far from yacka. in a few minutes there was a flutter in the water, and the flock rose quickly and flew rapidly away, leaving three of their number struggling entangled in a fine-meshed net yacka had thrown dexterously over them. yacka stood up, and, seizing the ducks one by one, quickly killed them, and brought them to the shore where edgar and will were sitting.
‘cleverly done,’ said edgar. ‘if we run short of ammunition there is little fear of starving when yacka can effect such captures.’
the ducks were spitted and roasted, yacka as usual acting as cook, and they were thoroughly enjoyed. wild bees seemed plentiful, and yacka went in search of honey, which he soon found in the hollow of a tree.
so pleasant was it by the lagoon that they rested there for several days, enjoying bathing in the lukewarm water, and finding plenty of birds to supply their daily wants. yacka captured a native bear, a curious little fellow with a woolly skin, and a sharp, inquiring face. when tucked up he looked for all the world like a big ball. huge lizards were occasionally seen gliding about, and the shrill cries of parrots were heard overhead. at night the peculiar cry of the laughing jackass was heard. a flock of black swan passed by, but did not settle on the lagoon. they also saw pigeons, wild geese, plover, and quail, and a couple of pelicans.
so interesting was the wild life of this lagoon that edgar was loath to move on into less hospitable country, but he saw signs that yacka was becoming impatient, so decided to resume their march. they left the camp by the lagoon with much regret, and cast many a wistful glance behind.
‘it will be a long time before we strike such a good camping-ground again,’ said edgar.
‘wait until you reach yacka’s country,’ said the black; ‘find plenty sport there. my tribe help you hunt and fish in big lakes and rivers.’
‘to which tribe do you belong?’ asked edgar.
‘macdonnell ranges,’ said yacka; ‘but we have gone miles and miles further north to the land of enooma, the white spirit, across sandy desert. my tribe very old and warlike. their country goes far into the northern territory.’
‘so your tribe is known as the macdonnell ranges blacks,’ said edgar; ‘but you have a native name, i expect. what is it?’
‘the enooma,’ said yacka. ‘we are the favoured tribe of the great white spirit.’
‘and you are the son of enooma,’ said edgar. ‘then we are safe with you.’
‘no one will harm the friends of the son of enooma,’ said yacka.
‘why did you leave your own country?’ asked edgar.
‘to wander far and learn much. it was the wish of enooma, and she must be obeyed. i have been in big cities—sydney, melbourne, adelaide, and brisbane, and have learned many things and seen much evil,’ said yacka.
‘and how did you get on to yanda station?’ said edgar.
‘from queensland. i went to adelaide first, and then walked to the other big cities. from brisbane i went on until i came to yanda, and there i camped.’
yacka went on ahead, and edgar said to will:
‘it will be worth all our travels if we can clear up this mystery about yacka’s birth. he must have been taught by white people, or he would not speak as he does. it is getting more and more interesting. who would have thought when we were at redbank we should in so short a time be tramping over the wilds of australia with only a black for our companion?’
‘i wonder what they are up to at redbank now?’ said will.
‘the usual routine work,’ replied edgar. ‘we had some jolly times there.’
‘i wish i could make a fortune!’ said will suddenly.
edgar laughed as he replied:
‘it does not look much like it at present, but there is no telling what may happen. yacka says he can make me rich, and if so you will have a share in the plunder. why do you wish to make a fortune? you were not always such a mercenary fellow.’
‘because i love your sister, and i want to be in a position some day to ask her to be my wife. now do you understand?’
‘yes,’ said edgar, ‘and i wish you luck. doris is a lovable girl, and i know you will try and make her happy. it is a long time to look ahead, but there is nothing like having an object in life to make a man successful.’
‘you know my object,’ said will. ‘what is yours?’
‘to earn a good name, and to make my father proud of his son,’ said edgar.
‘then you will certainly succeed,’ said will, ‘even if you have not done so already.’
edgar laughed as he said:
‘i have not done much at present to earn a name for myself. if ever i become a rich man, i will try and do good with my money. i have always found there is a lot of pleasure in helping other people.’
‘you always manage to get on with people,’ said will. ‘you have even made a staunch friend of yacka. how did you manage it?’
‘by treating him more like a human being than a dog,’ said edgar. ‘of course, yacka is not like most of the natives. they are a dull, stupid lot, what i have seen of them so far, and it would be almost impossible to teach them anything. i believe yacka could be taught just the same as a white man.’
one night, as they were camping under the shade of some bushes, edgar was awakened by something cool touching his face. he put out his hand and felt a cold, smooth substance, which he at once knew must be a snake. he sprang to his feet, clutching the snake and flinging it from him. the noise roused will, and yacka was quickly on the alert. it was too dark to see anything, but yacka shifted their camping-ground. in the morning yacka came across a venomous yellow snake, which he killed and brought to edgar.
‘yellow snake,’ he said; ‘dangerous! deadly poison! almost as bad as a death adder! yacka skin him,’ which he at once proceeded to do.
edgar congratulated himself upon a lucky escape, for had the snake bitten him there would have been but little chance of his continuing the journey. for breakfast yacka was busily engaged in roasting strips of flesh, but neither edgar nor will could think what animal he had killed to provide their meal.
‘what have you got there?’ asked will. ‘i hope you’re not toasting that snake.’
yacka shook his head and said:
‘you try it first, then i will tell you what it is. very good indeed!’ and he smacked his lips.
they enjoyed the tasty morsels, and yacka informed them it was the flesh of a species of iguana, one of the lizard tribe.
will shuddered as he said:
‘i confess it tasted all right, but i do not think i should have eaten it had i known what it was.’
they were about to resume their journey, when they heard someone ‘cooeying’ loudly, and the sound proclaimed the person was some distance away.
yacka had carefully avoided meeting wanderers in the country they had come through, and when he heard the ‘cooey’ he held up his hand, and they stopped.
‘let us see who it is,’ said edgar. ‘it will be a change to meet a stranger.’
‘all right,’ said yacka; ‘i know where that comes from. we are near the telegraph route. send news from adelaide right across the country to port darwin. it is men, perhaps, looking after the line.’
‘bravo!’ said will. ‘we shall at least be able to hear some fresh news.’
they proceeded in the direction of the sound, and in the course of a quarter of an hour came upon a camp, where four white men were sitting down smoking and chatting.
‘hallo! what have we got here?’ said one of the men, as he saw yacka advancing in front of edgar and will.
‘glad to see you,’ said edgar, stepping forward. ‘we have not had any company but our own for such a long time that we are thankful to have fallen in with you.’
‘you’re welcome,’ said the man. ‘where do you hail from?’
‘we have come from yanda station, in the west of new south wales.’
the man stared at them in amazement.
‘what, just as you are? you two youngsters, with this blackfellow!’
‘yes,’ said will. ‘my friend was going alone with yacka, but as i wanted to be in it if there were any adventures, they decided to take me along with them.’
‘well, upon my word,’ said the man, ‘you’re a couple of good plucked ’uns! do you know where you are?’
‘i have not the faintest idea,’ said edgar, ‘but yacka has.’
‘you seem to have a good deal of confidence in this blackfellow,’ said the man, eyeing yacka closely.
‘we have,’ said edgar. ‘he’s a fine fellow.’
‘that’s more than i can say for some of his kind,’ said the man. ‘it was only the other week one of our fellows was murdered beyond the ranges by some of these blacks.’
‘revenge!’ said yacka quietly. ‘how many of the black men had he killed?’
‘blest if the fellow can’t speak english as well as i can!’ said the man in astonishment. ‘maybe it was revenge, but we don’t allow black men to kill white men without making an example of them.’ turning to edgar he said: ‘i like the look of you, young fellow, and your mate. my name’s walter hepburn, and i’m in the government service, and stationed at alice springs, where the telegraph office is. we’ve been repairing on the line, and are on our way back to the springs. if you care to come on with us, i have no doubt we can show you some fun.’
‘how far are we from alice springs?’ asked edgar.
‘a couple of days will take us there.’
‘then we shall be very pleased to go with you, and thank you heartily for your invitation. my name is edgar foster.’
‘what! the young fellow who saved the skipper’s baby from the wreck of the distant shore?’ exclaimed walter hepburn.
‘yes,’ said edgar sadly; ‘we were the only two saved.’
‘give me your hand, lad,’ said walter hepburn; ‘i’m proud to shake it. here, lads, give three cheers for edgar foster!’
the men gave three ringing cheers, that echoed far and wide.
it made edgar’s heart beat fast to hear them in this wild country.
good deeds make themselves known and felt the wide world over, and their influence can make men better even in a wilderness.
yacka was pleased at the reception given to edgar, and his black face was all smiling.
‘that blackfellow’s uncommon fond of you, i reckon?’ said walter hepburn.
‘he is,’ said edgar. ‘yacka planned this expedition for us, and we are in search of adventures, and want to see the country.’
that night edgar and will enjoyed a hearty supper with their newly-made acquaintances; and edgar had to relate how he was rescued, and how he saved eva from the wreck of the distant shore.
when edgar mentioned to walter hepburn that they were going far beyond the ranges with yacka, he looked serious.
‘if you’ll take my advice, you will make for adelaide from alice springs. it is over a thousand miles from there to adelaide. if you go on north, to port darwin, that is over nine hundred miles. where does yacka, as you call him, want to take you on the other side of the ranges?’
‘that is his secret,’ said edgar, ‘and i cannot tell you what he has told me. before we started from yanda i meant to go through with this business, and i’ll do it if i live.’
‘i admire your pluck,’ said walter hepburn; ‘but what is the use of risking your life when there is no object to be gained?’
