i begin to think we were wrong in coming so far out into the bush, but i was tempted by what hawkins told me of the place, which he had come across when exploring the country. it seemed everything that could be desired: plenty of water, timber for all purposes, and fine grazing; and i admit that it is all that he said. the blacks were quiet enough then, and, though it was a good bit beyond the nearest station, i thought, when i came and had a look at the place, that it was well worth risking. we have not done badly here. the sheep and cattle have pretty well doubled their number each year; the wool has paid all our expenses. everything has been comfortable enough, except the difficulty we have had in bringing up groceries and flour. in another ten years, if all had gone well, i should have been a really prosperous man, with a[pg 172] big flock of sheep and a fine herd of cattle, to say nothing of horses; but now the blacks have got nasty i begin to think that i have made a great mistake.
"have you heard any more bad news, william?" his wife asked anxiously.
"yes; harry read rode up half an hour ago, and said that he and his brother were going to drive their animals in, and take them to the station of a friend of his forty miles nearer sydney, till things settled down a bit, for he had heard that two or three stations had been attacked by the blacks and every soul murdered. what do you think, wife? shall we do the same?"
mrs. roberts was a courageous woman. "i don't know what to say," she replied. "we are getting on very well here. as you said, of course, we always knew that there was some risk. we could not have got a big station like this down-country without paying a large sum for it, far more than we could have afforded. i think it would be a pity to give it up at present. after all, we may not be attacked. you see, you have three men now, and we only had one when we came here. you built the house specially for defence, with squared logs, and even logs for the roof, so that it could not be set on fire. we could get the shingles off in an hour and, as it is the dry season, i think it would be as well[pg 173] to do that at once. i can shoot fairly well, and so can effie, and with six rifles we ought to be able to keep off a mob of natives."
"but how about the animals?" her husband said.
"well, i should say that the best plan would be to send the greater part of them away for a bit. talbot has nothing like enough stock on his place, and i have no doubt he would be glad to graze them for a bit at a very small rent. of course, if you think it best, i am quite ready to give the place up, though in my opinion it would be a pity. after all, the chances of the blacks coming here are not great. there are dozens of other stations as exposed as we are. we have had two or three alarms before, but nothing has ever come of them."
"i am glad that that is your opinion, wife, mine is exactly the same. certainly, for my own sake i would a great deal rather stay here and take my chances. it was of you and effie that i was thinking. well, then, we will consider it settled. i will ride down to talbot's at once and arrange with him. i shall get back late this evening. to-morrow morning we will take a lot of the stock over there. thompson shall go with me to help to drive them down, but i shall bring him back, as it is as well to keep as strong a garrison here as possible. i can arrange with talbot that one of his men shall be specially told off to look after our animals. i[pg 174] will pick out three hundred of the best ewes and a few rams, a hundred cattle, and half a dozen of the best horses. i need not take more horses than that. they are all shy of a blackfellow, and there is not much fear of their being caught; so we need not bother about them, especially as, if they were taken away to new ground, they would give a lot more trouble than the sheep and cattle."
mr. roberts had been a small landed proprietor in the old country, farming his own land. times had been bad, and the failure of a bank, in which he had a few shares, had swept away not only all his ready money, but had brought upon him heavy calls which he was unable to meet. he had a brother who, some years before, had emigrated to new south wales, and he had given so favourable an account of the country that mr. roberts decided to sell his land and emigrate there with his wife and two children, a boy and a girl. after meeting all claims, and paying their passages out, he had arrived at sydney with the sum of ￡3000. he had wisely determined not to risk more than a third of this, and, placing ￡2000 in a bank, he had invested a thousand in sheep, cattle, and horses, and had taken up some land on the extreme border of the settlement. he had now been there four years, and had been well contented with his choice. the site was an exceptionally pleasant one. a small[pg 175] stream ran through the property, which was better wooded than most of the land in that part. his stock had increased fourfold, and although there had been occasional reports of trouble with the blacks, they had hitherto met with no molestation whatever. natives had come and gone, and had always been hospitably received, and he certainly had no reason to believe that there was anything but good feeling between them and the inmates of the springs, as the station was called, from a spring that rose some hundred and fifty yards away from the house and was situated some feet above the floor level, the water bubbling up into a barrel which was sunk in the ground. a pipe whose end was inserted in the barrel was buried underground, and through this the water flowed, giving a constant supply to the house. another pipe conveyed the water to a trough, which had been erected for the use of the animals kept at the station. the other animals watered at the stream.
the boy, who was now fifteen, had been for the past two years at sydney, living at his uncle's and attending school. in another year he was to return to the station. he had gone most reluctantly, but his father had said: "i can quite understand your liking this life, ned, but i don't wish you to grow up simply a bush farmer. the colony is increasing fast, and there will be plenty[pg 176] of openings for a young fellow of intelligence and a fair education. i hope that by the time you grow up i shall be able to settle you on a farm like mine, and stock it well for you, if you decide upon following this sort of life, or to start you in any line that you may like to adopt in sydney. you have had two years of running wild, and if you remain here you will speedily forget what little you have learned; but in any case, three years at school will be a great advantage to you."
effie, the daughter, was now fourteen, a strong healthy girl who could ride any horse on the station, had been taught to use both pistol and rifle, and was as bold and fearless as a boy.
it was late that night before mr. roberts returned, and the next day he and thompson drove the stock down to talbot's station, leaving strict injunctions that the other men were not to go far from the house, and were to keep the cattle and sheep in the stock-yard. he returned the following day, and for the next fortnight things went on as usual. late one night, however, in the third week, effie knocked at her father's door.
"i think there is something the matter, father," she called. "the animals are all uneasy in the yard. i don't know what has disturbed them, but they are evidently alarmed." in half a minute mr. roberts appeared at the door, and followed the girl [pg 177]to her room, which was at the back of the house, overlooking the stock-yard.
"there is certainly something wrong, effie," he said, after listening for a moment. "the horses and cattle are both uneasy."
he went downstairs to the room where the men slept. "get up at once," he said; "there is something the matter. the horses and cattle are uneasy; i am afraid it is the blacks. throw on your clothes and take your guns. we will go out at once and take down all the bars, so that if it is really the blacks the animals will have a chance of escaping. it is pitch dark, and even if there are some of them in the yard they are not likely to see us."
two minutes later the door was very cautiously opened and the four men went out. effie barred it behind them, and then joined her mother, who had hastily dressed. both took their guns and went to effie's window, which was already open.
"we shall not be able to see where to fire, mother."
"no, dear; but if the blacks do attack, we shall hear by their yelling whereabouts they are, and can fire in that direction. we may not hit any of them, but it will confuse and alarm them. however, remember, when we hear any stir, the first thing for you to do is to run down to the door in readiness to open it when your father and the men return."
[pg 178]
"the sheep are moving about now; they were quiet before, mother."
"it is likely the blacks will begin there," mrs. roberts said. "no doubt they are hungry, and it is always sheep that they make for first. they will very likely kill some and have a feast before attacking. i trust, however, that they may not attack at all. they must know that the house is a strong one, and may not care to risk their lives, but have only come to drive off the stock. still, i am afraid they will try and attack, hoping we may be asleep and that they may gain entrance before we have time to get our rifles."
four or five minutes later a low whistle was heard outside. effie ran down and opened the door, when her father and the men at once entered and the door was bolted behind them.
"well," mr. roberts said, "i fear there is no doubt that there are blacks about, and from the uneasiness of the animals i should say there are a good number of them. however, we are warned, and i think that the surprise will be on their side and not on ours. we removed all the bars, so the animals can get away if they like. also, i have locked the door of the stable. except for the uneasiness of the animals we saw no signs of the enemy at all. now, the first thing to do is to get the shutters closed." this was at once done. mr. roberts had always been[pg 179] a little nervous of trouble with the blacks, so in addition to building his house of solid logs he had had strong loopholed shutters arranged on all the windows of the lower story, which when closed were held in their position by massive cross-bars.
they discussed the best position for each to take in case of attack, and having arranged this, one of the men went up to keep a look-out from the upper windows, while the rest of the party remained chatting in the sitting-room. "i wish there was a moon," mr. roberts said; "it is so dark that we shall be firing quite at random."
"could we not make some sort of a torch," effie suggested, "that would light up the place outside?"
"that is a first-rate idea, effie; but how are we to manage it?"
the party sat silent for some minutes, then effie said: "there is plenty of wool. how would it be to make a bundle of it about as big as my head, wind it round with wire, then soak it in paraffin. when the natives come we have only to put a match to it and throw it outside."
"very good indeed, effie," her father said; "let us try to carry out the idea at once, and as all the materials are to hand it will not take us long." in half an hour six of the balls were finished. each had a short length of wire by which it could be thrown through the window. fortunately there[pg 180] was plenty of paraffin, and a bucket being filled with it, the balls were soaked one after another, and were then carried upstairs each in a separate basin. "we shall have to be very careful how we throw them," mr. roberts said, "or else we shall be setting ourselves on fire. thompson, you are, i think, the worst shot of the lot, as you are rather short-sighted. i will therefore trust this business to you. have an old blanket ready to beat out any of the burning oil that may drop on the floor. be careful also to keep as much in shelter as possible, some of the blacks are sure to have bows ready."
"all right, boss! you need not fear, i will look out. now, as i am to be on duty upstairs, i might as well go up at once and send james down. i think, boss, you had better take post at the loopholes now, you may catch sight of one of the varmints against the sky-line. i will throw a ball as soon as i hear the first shot."
all was quiet for a quarter of an hour, then effie suddenly fired. the shot was followed by a wild yell outside, and dozens of dark figures leaped to their feet and bounded towards the door, and strove to break it in with their waddies and axes. the defenders were all hard at work, and an occasional yell of pain showed that their bullets were taking effect. suddenly there was an even wilder yell as a brilliant ball of fire fell twenty yards from the[pg 181] house, lighting up the front of it almost as if it were day. every shot told now, and in a minute the natives fled with wild bounds outside the circle of light, but losing heavily before they vanished into the darkness.
"well, i do not think they will try that game again," mr. roberts said when the firing ceased, and after shaking hands wildly all round they sat down. "i did not expect them to attack so boldly. it is quite contrary to their usual habits, and if it had not been for the fire-ball i do not know how things would have gone. that was a splendid idea, effie. why, you ought to set up as an inventor!"
there was no further attack, but two hours later one of the men on watch thought he heard a movement in the neighbourhood of the spring, but on firing a shot in that direction all was quiet, and there was no further disturbance till day broke.
soon after daylight all the party except the man on watch sat down to breakfast and discussed the events of the night.
"what do you think they will do next, father?" effie asked.
"i do not know whether they will hunt down the cattle and horses, and drive them off, or whether they will hang round here for a time; it is difficult to say. at any rate i don't think we have any cause for uneasiness, except so far as touches one's[pg 182] pockets. it is lucky, indeed, that we shifted more than half our animals to talbot's. henceforth we must divide into two parties, and keep watch by turn, for we have provisions enough to last for a couple of months. they had only one chance, and that was to set the place on fire; but that we practically did away with when we took the shingles off the roof. they would never venture to bring sticks and fire up to the doors in the teeth of our rifles."
two hours passed quietly, then loud yells were heard, and a number of specks of fire shot through the air.
"blazing arrows," the settler said quietly. "i expect they have a white man among them, an escaped convict, of course, and he has put them up to this. i don't fancy they use fire-arrows, though of course they may do so. well, they can amuse themselves as long as they like; they may go on for four-and-twenty hours, but they will never set those beams on fire."
for ten minutes the flight of arrows continued. those below could hear the constant tapping as the missiles struck the roof. at the end of that time they ceased to fall, the natives evidently recognizing that for some reason or other their attempt was a complete failure. they made no more efforts, but small groups of them could be seen out on the plain in pursuit of the animals. these, however,[pg 183] were evidently alarmed by the shouts and proceedings of the night before, and made off at the top of their speed whenever the natives approached. the horses were especially wild, and kept a considerable distance away.
"it will take them a good many days to gather them in," mr. roberts said grimly. "fortunately your horses and mine, effie, are safe in the shed, and as we fastened the door, and it is commanded by the loopholes in the shutters on that side of the house, as long as we hold out they will be safe. as soon as the rascals have gone off i will ride into the settlements, get a dozen men to help us, and then we will set off in pursuit. i should think that by to-morrow at latest they are likely to give it up as a bad job. they must know that they have no chance of starving us out."
the blacks, however, evinced no intention of leaving. they could be seen moving about among the trees. by the smoke that rose in that direction it was evident that they had kindled large fires, but these were so far within the bush that their exact position could not be made out. a shot was fired from time to time when a black showed himself, but this was done rather for the purpose of showing that the besieged were on the watch than with the hope of hitting the quickly-moving figure. the main body of the sheep were huddled[pg 184] out on the plain half a mile away under the charge of two of the blacks. leaving mrs. roberts and effie on the watch, the rest of the party now went out and dragged the bodies of the natives who had been killed some distance from the house, and covered them with a thick layer of earth. two or three of the sheep had been killed by chance shots, and these were carried in, skinned, and hung up.
"that will be ample to last us," the colonist said; "they will be off long before these are eaten. this evening it is likely they will be making a great feast, but i expect to-morrow morning they will be off to carry out some fresh rascality elsewhere. if i thought they intended to stop here longer, i would try to get through them to-night to fetch help."
"i wouldn't do that, boss, in any case," one of the men said. "that is just what they are thinking you will try to do, and i warrant they will be as thick as peas round the place to-night."
the next morning, however, it was seen that the blacks had no intention of moving at present. parties of twos and threes were starting across the plain, evidently with the intention of driving in some of the cattle.
"i cannot make it out," one of the men said rather anxiously; "i can't think what their game can be. as a rule they strike a blow, have a big feast, and then are off at once, driving the sheep[pg 185] before them. it is quite contrary to their nature to loiter about like this. they must be up to some move or other, though what it is i cannot guess, for they must know well enough that they have not the ghost of a chance of taking this place. i feel sure they have got a white man with them. i caught a glimpse of a fellow who seemed to be dressed in white's clothes. he was well in among the trees, but i took a shot at him. it was not broad daylight and it was dark under the trees, so i could not swear to his being white; but if he wasn't he was some black who had rigged himself out in the clothes of some poor beggar they killed at the last station."
in a few minutes they saw a number of blacks sally out from the wood. they planted themselves in small parties in a circle of half a mile round the farm, and presently all lay down and crept to within half that distance.
"they are determined that we sha'n't get away," mr. roberts said grimly. "happily we do not want to do so."
as he spoke his wife's voice was heard.
"come down, william, come down!"
there was no question that something was wrong. the settler ran below, and he saw by his wife's face that it was something very serious.
"what is it, jane?" he asked anxiously.
[pg 186]
"there is no water," she exclaimed. "i went to the tap to get some for the kettle; a quart or two trickled out and then it stopped."
her husband stood stupefied at the news.
"i thought yesterday that it was not running as fast as usual, but i did not give it a second thought."
"they must have done something to the spring. some of the natives who have been here must have noticed you drawing water, and have told other blackfellows of the water running out from the side of a wall whenever you wanted it. if there is a white man among them he would, when he heard the story, be sure that water was obtained from a spring. he would hear about a barrel being sunk in the ground, and i have no doubt that, after their attack failed the night before last, he had the pipe stopped up. if you recollect, james thought he heard somebody up there and fired. i have no doubt it was then that they played this trick. there would be enough water in the pipe itself to supply us yesterday; now it has come to an end. this accounts for their stopping here. it is a terrible blow, and it may be a fatal one."
he then went up to the men and explained what had happened. all saw how serious the position had at once become.
"we must hold on till the last, sir," one of them[pg 187] said. "you may be sure that they would spare none of us after losing so many of their men the other night."
"my wife says there is rather over two quarts of water left. we must content ourselves with half a pint a day; that would last us for three days. when we are thirsty we must chew some of the raw meat; in that way we ought to be able to hold out for four or five days. before that time the news that we are besieged here may reach the settlements, or some of our friends may ride over. we will fire a rifle every five minutes or so to give them warning that something is up, and they will take care not to fall into an ambush, and as soon as they find how matters stand will ride back and bring help."
it was but a feeble ground for hope, but all agreed that it might happen as he said.
"do you think that there is any chance of getting through, mr. roberts? i could try if you like," thompson said.
"i should say not the slightest; and now we know what they reckon upon, you may be sure that the whole of them are pretty close round the house at night. they are as cunning as cats at their own work, and a man would be riddled with spears before he had gone twenty yards."
effie had gone up after her father, and listened[pg 188] in silence to the conversation. suddenly she said: "you forget the apples, father. surely they would do to quench our thirst."
"capital, effie! i had forgotten all about them. there are six barrels in the cellar, and with their aid we can hold out for a long time. that alters the position altogether." there was a general exclamation of satisfaction from the men; the grimness of their faces relaxed, and they shook hands heartily in their relief at their escape from what they all felt was a terrible danger.
two days passed. the cordon round the house was steadily maintained. shots were fired every five minutes, but the natives all lay under shelter, and there was no sign that the firing had had any effect. several times the possibility of making a dash through them on one of the horses was discussed, but each time was negatived. the alarm would be given as soon as the horse was led out from the stable, and the blackfellows would have time to gather at any point.
effie went out twice a day with food for the horses, and each time carried a dozen large apples in her apron, which she gave them after they had eaten their corn. on the evening of the second day she took with her a bottle of oil, with which she carefully lubricated the hinges of the door and the padlock. the first day she had said to herself[pg 189] over and over again: "if jack were here i am sure he would manage to get out." on the second day she said to herself: "if jack could do so why shouldn't i? we may hold out till they go away, but if we do they will go somewhere else and kill some other settlers; while if we could but give them a lesson they might not come again for a long time." she waited another day in hopes that the blacks would leave. when they did not do so, she decided to make the attempt that night.
on leaving the stable she put the padlock into its place, but did not lock it; then she wrote a line to leave in her room, telling her parents what she had done. she had, during the day, taken out a suit of her brother's clothes, which fitted her fairly well. she had already saddled her horse, and put his bridle on. when she went up to bed she changed her clothes, knowing that it would be far easier to crawl in boy's clothes than in her own. her window had been open all day, and she now fastened two blankets firmly together, tied one end to the leg of a table by the window, and after waiting until she knew that all the house, with the exception of the two men on guard, were fairly asleep, she slid down the blanket. it was but some ten feet to the ground. she was now within a few yards of the stable, which was built facing the house. she opened the door, noiselessly felt her[pg 190] way to her horse, and led it to the door. then she laid the reins across his neck, stroked his nose—a signal which he well understood was an order for him to stand still until she whistled for him,—and then she lay down and crawled noiselessly along. she had left her shoes behind her lest they should scrape against the wall while she descended.
the night was pitch dark, and she progressed very slowly, pausing for a moment after each step she made, to listen for the sound of breathing, or for some movement that would tell her she was near one of the enemy. once or twice she heard slight sounds and changed her course. as it was the stock-yard she was crossing, there was no vegetation by brushing against which she might cause a rustling of leaves. she had, on leaving the stable, made first for the bars dividing the sheep from the horses, judging that the natives would be thickest round the entrance to the horse-pen, as it was through this a horseman would naturally pass on his way out. once through, she kept for the most part close to the bars, as she would thus be less likely to be observed than if she crossed the open. so she kept on until she came to the outer bars. here she lay for some time listening intently. she heard murmured sounds on both sides of her, but especially towards the gates of the sheep-yard. at last, convinced that no one could be within some yards of[pg 191] her, she crawled under the lower bar and kept straight on. she had the comfort of knowing that it was not for any slight sound the blacks would be listening, but for the opening of the door of the house or stables. she crawled for a good quarter of a mile before she felt assured that she was well beyond the cordon of natives.
then she stood up, put the whistle she always carried to her lips, and blew twice, sharply and loudly. in the stillness of the night she could instantly hear the sound of a horse's feet. then there was a burst of yells and shouts. this continued, but the rapid tramp of hoofs kept on. she whistled again, and a minute later the horse dashed up to her. she sprang on his back with a word of encouragement, patted him on the neck, and then set off at full speed. a hundred yards behind, the blacks were running as hard as they could, filling the air with their shouts, but she felt that she was safe now. the strong steady pace showed her that the horse could not have sustained any serious injury. this indeed was the case. so swiftly was the distant whistle followed by the approach of the galloping horse that the blacks had scarce time to take up their spears and waddies when the animal dashed through them, scattering those in its path like chaff before him. spears had been thrown, but they were aimed high, at the rider who they[pg 192] believed was in the saddle, and only one had slightly grazed the animal's back. the girl took a circuit, lest some of the blacks should be on the road, and knowing every foot of the country she regained the track two miles farther on, at which time she had eased down to a speed which she knew the horse could maintain for a long time. the forty miles between the springs and talbot's farm were performed under four hours. leaping from the horse she knocked at the door, and a voice from an upper window soon asked: "who's there, and what is wanted?" a few words explained her errand. she heard mr. talbot's voice shouting to the men, and soon the door was opened.
"besieged for four days by blacks, miss roberts! i never heard of their doing such a thing before. have you had hard fighting?"
"no; they made a rush at first, but we easily beat them off. but they cut off our water-supply, and have been lying round to prevent any of us getting away, making sure that we should have to give in from thirst. fortunately we have plenty of apples and could keep going for another fortnight. they have a white man with them, and no doubt it was he who put them up to cutting the water-pipe. will you send out to all the settlers round? i am going to ride on to pickford to fetch the constabulary there."
