IN NINE PARTS.

Bruce Herald, Volume XXIX, Issue 2983, 5 August 1898, Page 3

IN NINE PARTS.

. *_ — - -^ -'•-'- PART VII. :<■; "* Ben WiUs, ef the Shoalhaven Store and public-house. He ' r A low, gasping cry from Rose Farnham interrupted Constable Moss, jind turning, he saw that the girl had regained her feet and was standing pale as a ghost and trembling most violently. 'Wills! Did you say Wills?' she asked. ' Yes, Miss Farnham, it was Ben Wills sure enough, as Wallace and Forbes can prove. Who the other three were we don't yet know, though the clue obtained will soon be followed up. We had a rare job to get here, sir,' Constable Moss continued, turning to the squatter. 'These fellows would have killed every one of us if they could so as to destroy identification. Wallace is certain they were waiting for us at the Big Gap, but he took a bush road and got round the place.' 1 And where— where is Mr. Marlow now ?' asked Farnham, not heeding the constable's recital. 'At Brady's. A party of mounted policemen will be leaving for there in half an-hour's time, so the inspector told me. The magistrate starts at daylight, and I'm going with him,' explained Moss. ' I'll go to Brady's with the constable, Rose, and you had better stay here until this affair is settled,' suddenly spoke the squatter. 'I would much rather go home, father. I can easily get across without you,' answered Rose. ' Why can't you stay here ?' repeated her father. 'For several reasons. One is that I don't care to be poinied at as an object of curiosity. This affair will be on everybody's lips to-morrow, and I would rather go home.' ' Well, do so, Rose. I'll make arrangements with Grainger to send you over, and I will be able to let you know all about this affair when I return. It is best I should go on to Brady's and look after poor Marlow's affairs. He hasn't a relative in the colony that I know of,' answered the girl's father as he left the room to make preparations for his early morning's journey. ' Who was with Wills, Mr. Moss ?' suddenly asked Rose Farnham as the squatter went out. It was not the question so much as t?he tone of it which almost startled the trooper. ' None of us can tell, Miss Farnham. When Marlow was shot a tall young fellow dressed like a sailor was alongside the coach. Of the other two, one was got up as a negro or a blackfellow, nd the other was a stout clean-shaven fellow.' 'These were disguises, I suppose,' queried Rose. ' Of course they were, but we'll soon penetrate them with the clue we've got. The telegraph is already at work, and the police from Braidwood have gone out to Wills' place by this time ~o arrest hi.m on suspicion,' explained the constable. ' But will he be there? If the party is lying in wait at the Big Gap, how can they have gone back to the Shoalhaven ?' pertinently asked the girl, though her voice trembled with anxuty. : Ot course, we are not certain the ruffians are at the Gap. If so, the police party from here may come across them, and there will be a fight. One way or the other they are bound to be caught dead or alive within a few days,' spoke Constable Moss confidently as he bade the girl good-night and passed out of the room. He could not but notice that Rose Farnham was considerably agitated, but naturally ascribed it to the terrible intelligence of Marlow's death, the man she was about to marry. It was a shock which few girls would have stood so well, Moss thought. When the officer had gone, Rose Farnham's comparative self-possession completely deserted her, and, sinking on the sofa, she gave way to a passionate outburst of weeping. Occasionally she moaned rather than spoke the name of. 'Gilbert,' and it was clear that intentively the girl guessed who at least was one of Wills' comrades, and why the second attack on the coach had been made. The impending results were fearful to Contemplate, and the only gleam of hope which the stricken woman felt was that her suspicion might be wrong. For two years Gdbeit Bateman had been her lover, and in spite of the strenuous opposition of Michael Farnham (her father) the girl had given her heart lo the young man. Then when the squatter saw that the position of affairs was despeiate he was forced to confide in Rose the fact that Alfred Marlow held a huge mortgage over Narrigo Station and could practicality reduce the supposed owner to poverty if he choc S3. The alternative was that Rose should -marry Marlow. The latter was really a fairly eligible suitor from a worldly point, of view, much more so than Gilbert Bateman, but who can read the riddle ©f the human heart, and beside there was a mystery about Marlow. From childhood Rose had- been brought up to give.. implicit obedience to her father, but on this one subject there was a dire conflict. The girl's answer was that she did not love Marlow, but Farnham concluded it was not that so much as his daughter's ove for Bateman which caused the r ouble, and he took measures accord-

ingly.' In every possible way the 'cfraneter " of G'iHverr-Bnrenrair« wav blackened, and,^idr^som^^&jO%ct. A lovers' quarrel folio^ and Gilbert Bateman as the result of I some slanders which the girl asked him to explain/ and-tom by the desire to save her father and greatly offended; at Batemah's conduct, she gave a [ reluctant promise to marry Marlow. This might probably have ended in nothing had it not been for Bateman's subsequent conduct. Instead of trying to put himself -right with the girl he loved, the young man foolishly took an opposite cokirse. Headstrong and wounded in. his self-pride he affected to treat with contemptuous coldness Rose Farnham and her affianced husband, and the breach was widened. It was only whett the wedding-day was fixed that Bateman saw the mistake he was making, and when too late sought to repair it by desperate means. In an evil hour he consulted Ben Wills, with the result already known to the reader. The passionate fit of weeping which had seized upon Rose Farnham quickly passed away, and when her father again entered the room ready equipped for the saddle she was apparently quite composed. ' 1 have spoken to Grainger and you can go back to Narrigo with him in the morning. I must be off now to see what really has occurred, though I'm afraid there is no hope from what Constable Moss says. Good-night, Rose, and God bless you,' the squatter concluded in tones that were more than usually tender. ' Good-night, father. I will start for home at daylight/ was all the girl answered, and a moment later she was alone. Narrigo homestead was about twenty miles from Goulburn, and two hours after sunrise on the following day Rose Farnham, accompanied by Grainger, rode up to the house of which she was the mistress, her mother having died ten years previously. In the meantime how fared it with Wills and his companions ? As can be imagined they were in a desperate position. The leader had calculated all through on the party being able to escape recognition, but the fatal clutch made by Marlow had brought them within the shadow of the gallows. The reflection was a bitter one, and after the futile attack on Wallace and Forbes it seemed likely enough there would be a serious split in the ranks. After getting out of range from the guns at Brady's the gang halted on the highroad at tlie summit of a slight range and began to discuss the situation. •' Curse that fellow,' growled Wills, ' and curse the luck that brought us back a second time. It has destroyed us.' 'What do you mean?' fiercely responded Bateman. ' I mean we should have been content with the gold and not risked our necks a second time,' responded the leader. ' I don't want tlie gold, and didn't come here to get it. You know that,' said Gilbert, facing Wills. 'You have got what ycu came for, and much good may it do you,' sneered Wills. ' This is no time for bickering,' interrupted Black. ' What are we going to do now ? Stand here and let the traps come down on us ?' ' Let Us kill every mother's son of them,' added Picton with a murderous gleam in his eyes. 'That is easier said than done, What is your plan?' queried Wills. ' Get along to the Big Gap and attack the coach there/ suggested Miles Picton. ' They may not leave Brady's,' said Wills. ' Oh, yes, they will. Wallace is not the man to hang back.' ' But Brady and the passengers. What about them i" spoke Wiils. 'Look here, lads,' interrupted Gilbert Bateman. ' if you are going on such a game don't count on me. I'm not on for wholesale slaughter. There has been enough of lhat for to-day, and from this out I'll only kill in sell defence.' ' I think you are about right, Gilbert,' spoke Wilis in a moody tone. Then, as if seized with a sudden resolve, he went on : ' I'm just thinking that after all there is no reason why you three should throw your lives away. I was the only one recognised and must pay : the penalty one time or another. You lads can co back to your homes and throw off the disguise. There is no proof against you, and ' ' You needn't go any further, Ben, so far as I'm concerned, for I mean to stick to you to the bitter end. If one goes under we all go under. That is my principle. lam just as much in this as you are, and don't talk like lhat again,' angrily interrupted Gilbert Bateman. The words of the leader had effected a complete revulsion in the feelings of the party. From being disunited and quarrelsome they had in a moment become as one man ready to lay down their lives one for the other. Wills : se'lf-abnigation touched them, and ihough it might not have proved so ' safe as he predicted for the other three, it yet showed a noble spirit of self-sacrifice which cemented the party, After a short discussion as to the course to be pursued it was finally resolved to return and secure the gold and convey it to a retreat amongst the ; ranges. Before doing that it was agreed there would be time to reach , Wills' place and secure a quantity ol food, clothing, ammunition, and other articles which would be a necessity for > their new life. , It was certainly a remarkable change within the space of a few hours. Both : Wills and Bateman on the morning, of the nth May, 1890, had been re ■„ spected residents of the Braidwood : district, yet before sunset of the same day they were outlaws. Black and i- Picton had been honourable workmen, and the law now knew them only as . malefactors for whom the gallows

yawned.- The desire 0f Wi'-'s nr>r\\ 4*n; cm a n -ha d^afso been --trttaip;^' -4^t-- - --o . : a iiad'ihis- gold, .i>e;pth£ur-iiu4*: .it.-:;, m6ve^ H a'iiaied v rivaVin'l%e, yet of what avail was it to jgither ? vfpr ihe future unless forturie. was excqedinglyt j benign^ to "them" they, must -be hunted JSkc. wild. . beasts until the grave closeribvler them; 1 " And all this was brought about by the' ; chance' grasp i; of the : man they had "so 1 brutally d&ie- to^ death. , . Surely -the - fortunes and misfortunes :~of humanity are controlled by a strange and mutable destiny. Reflections akin to these must have fallen upon the two chief actors" in the tragedy as they silently made' their way through the gloomy gap known as Red Gorge. Each man bore, one of the gold chests, in front ; of him on- the. pommel of the saddle, but. apparently their thoughts were far away from the treasure. Black, whose knowledge of the neighbourhood was: the most complete, led the way, followed by Wills and Picton, while Bateman brought up the rear. The dull tramp of the horses and the crackling of the dry undergrOwth were the only sounds that broke the deep silence; The lengthening shadows of evening added to the gloom, for they seemed to be symbolical of the change in.the men's lives. Occasionally a bronze-wing pigeon flapped out of a wattle thicket and startled the quartette from the reverie they were plunged in. At such times their hands instinctively sought the holsters in search of the weapons they contained for conscience had been pricked and was restless. The first crime generally gives more trouble in that respect than the last, and it was so in the case of Wills and his comrades. The youth Black was the first to shake off the gloom which enshrouded the party, and breaking into a laugh began to rally his companions. ' Look as if you were going to the condemned cell, mates/- What's the matter with you all ?' he said. 'There isn't much to be merry about at all events,' returned Wills. ' We've got the gold and killed Mario w. What more would you have?' retorted Black. 'But what can we do with it?' asked the leader, who had been the sole moving spirit in attacking the coach for the treasure. ' Get away to America or somewhere and enjoy it, of course. Don't you think there is a chance, Ben, to do so?' queried the young man. ' About one in a thousand. What do you think, Gilbert ?' ' I'm going to live or die in this colony. No America for me. We've cast the die, lads, and all we can do now is have a short life and a merry one,' returned Bateman with a forced attempt at cheerfulness. ' Aye ! that's the way to talk, lad. I don't know as how we'll have much enjoyment, but one thing is sure, I'll never be taken alive. Better be shot than hanged, you know, 1 interrupted Picton. 1 Are you sure they know you, Ben?' suddenly asked Black. 1 Know me ! Of course that lynxeyed Forbes knew me, and so did Wallace. Curse the job ! We would be free as the air to enjoy our attack if it hadn't been for the second attack on the coach. It was the deuce own : luck to happen.' ' Wei!, the devil looks after his own at all events, and maybe we'll come off better than we expect,' added young Biack as the party reached the glen , where the disguises had been effected. Reaching the spot where the cloth- • ing was secieied the men resumed ; tl eir original attire, and all save Picton looked as they had done in the morn- [ ing. The clean-shaven face of Miles Picton could not easily be altered, and as there was no urgent need to restore the highwayman to his normal state, the party pushed on to the store and public-house of Ben Wills. This was reached just at nightfall, : and the four men rode boldly up to the place. As they expected, no : intelligence of the affair had yet reached 1 that far., and the inmates of the place : were absolutely unconscious of the tragedy which had been enacted. Amongst the employees which Wills had was an old woman named Margaret : Blount, She was practically the housekeeper, and had been with the owner of the place nine years. She i was considerably over sixty years of ' age, but remarkably active both physically and mentally, and absolutely devoted to Wills. Her grandson, i Edward Blount, also worked about the premises, and he had the reputation of , being halfwitted. He was about • twenty years of age, and his manner : and appearance certainly bore out the ; opinion as to his mental calibre, i When Wills and his companions reached the house no time was lost in setting to business. After seeing that a substantial meal was spread in the 1 kitchen, Wills and Bateman called r Mrs. Blount aside and at once told her 1 what had happened. The old woman : was nearly speechless with astonishi ment, as well she might be, but it was ' not long before she recovered com--1 posure. 'If I can escape, Margaret,' began ' Wills after he had informed her of the tragedy, ' all that I have here will be . yours. If the police lay hands on me : the Crown will get all the property. I will give you a paper dated from I yesterday securing you everything, but : only on the condition that you spare ; neither money or trouble in assisting i us out of this affair. I will — — ' f * But surely ye know I would do ■ anything to see ye safe, even without ■ money-,' interjected the old woman in sorrowful voice. : ' Yes, Mag, I believe that, but in i this case money is required. We will : have plenty with us in the bush, but you'll need it here also. ;, |We must get I aid arid help^ from .Use : anything or everything about the place ; to that end.' *■■ • ' But where are ye going to, Ben ?' i asked the woman. i ' For a while we are going to put up

qn <2edar Peak;. wTherejs a>spt>t there* .'. l l^(riA\r-t^'«•^B^ J ••'k■-:(l■^d'■*'■'y>H'lr grimed' son, £kd., ; - J.f • tiuil- htm he will be the one to Gommunicate. with . us. ; He isn't such a fool as he looks : by a long, way.- * (Sail him -in, V added Wills.; .'.,,^ ..;,...,. .y y .:;.■■■ ;s ■, J ''th response the young fellow Edward , made his appearanee>with such rapidity as to give the impression that he had. . been listening; :at sthe door, but his vacant;lookingJ eyes : and blank face belied that impression. Ina few words the matter was explained to. him, but it evoked no change : in the facial ; ex : pression of the s youth. It might have < been only ; the most ordinary communication judging by his solid de- 1 ' •meahourV "'-••'■■' . .'.You know the pass on Cedar Peak, Ned ?' asked Wills. The young fellow nodded and simply repeated that form of acknowledgment , as Wills explained what was required from him. It was his usual manner, however, and after an impressive warning from the owner of the place as to what would follow if Blount spoke to anyone save his grandmother about the matter, the two men returned to the kitchen. There Black and Picton were eating and drinking as heartily as if nothing had occurred to disturb their equanimity, and they were, joined by Bateman and the boss of the place. It had been elicited from the old housekeeper that no messenger had passed along the high road to Braidwood, and it would scarcely be possible that intelligence could have reached that place as yet. Wills had an idea that the coach might remain at Brady's until the following day as it would be risky to take the road to Goulburn in which direction the highwaymen were proceeding when last seen by the inmates of the shanty. If that were so, no pursuit would take place until the following day unless perhaps a mounted messenger attempted to run the supposed gauntlet. At all events the men concluded they were safe at Wills' house for several hours to ccme, and they were not at all expeditious in their movements. After a hearty meal they proceeded to pack up whatever they thought was necessary for a sojourn amongst the inaccessable ranges. Their stock ot arms were added to and a large parcel of clothing made up in addition to the food swag. These were conveyed to the stables and packed on a horse, | while smaller parcels were placed on the animals which the men intended to ride. It was near midnight when the work was completed to the satisfaction of. ! the party, and as there was moonlight no difficulty would be experienced bysuch splendid bushmen in getting through the forest in the semi-darkness. For some time after everything was in readiness for the departure to the glen where the gold had to be picked up, Wills and his comrades lingered in the house. The former indeed seemed lothtoleavethe place, and once or twice the fiery youth Black suggested that the four should make a stand at the store and sell their lives dearly. Black appeared to be utterly reckless on the question of human life, whether his own or that of someone else. His proposition, however, did not meet with approval, for existence was still dear to them, and it would have been suicidal at the time to make a stand at such a place. Their only hope of safety lay in the inaccessable ranges, and when the first burst of the hue and cry after them had spent itself it might be possible to pay an occasional visit to the settled parts. A'ter a parting injunction to Mrs. Blount, the four men, accompanied by Edward Blount, left the house shortly before one o'clock on the morning of May 1 3th, iSoo. and proceeded to the stables where everything was in readiness for the departure, it was arranged that young Blount should go a portion of the way with the party and return with the pack-horse when the steep ranges were reached a few miles distant. Wills was in the act of leading his animal out of the stable when young Blount, whose sense of hearing seemed to be preternaturally acute, put his hand on his employer's arm, and with a warning gesture, pointed towards the house. At the same instant he extinguished the candle which was burning in the stable. Revolvers were seized by the highwaymen, and gathering to the door they peered out, but could distinguish nothing to excite alarm. They were beginning to think young Blount was at fault, when suddenly the shrill tones of the old housekeeper reached their ears. • I tell ye the master hasn't been home since noon to-day,' she said. ' Since noon ?' responded a gruff voice, which the crouching listeners recognised as that of Inspector Howard of Braidwood. 'Since eight o'clock this morning you . mean. Why, the fellow was robbing and murdering miles from here at mid-day. Come now, tell me all you know about the affair and it will be better for you. Who went with Wills?' 'Nobody, sir. He went by hisself, and I believe he turned towards Braidwood. Don't ye tell me, sir, that Mr. Wills has been robbing and murdering. He' has plenty of his own without thievin'/ indignantly answered the housekeeper. t Yes — yes, that is the curious part of it, but gold is a powerful tempter, and Wills has fallen before it,' sagely remarked the inspector. ' What horse did he take awaywilh him ?' added the officer. ' The grey one, or my eyes deceived me,' came the answer. « You aie evidently not inclined to give us any information, madam, so we will have to get' it without your assistance. You know well enough he was riding the bay hunter when' Tie left here early this morrrihg, so it is nd use of you pretending to me that he was riding a grey horse.* To Be Continue©,