AN AUSTRALIAN NOVEL. THE pear of pandora

Bruce Herald, Volume XXIX, Issue 3006, 25 October 1898, Page 3

AN AUSTRALIAN NOVEL. THE pear of pandora

A True Story of Northern Queensland. . *. — < — BY CAPTAIN LACIE. «»■ — - — IN SIXTEEN PARTS PART VI. H^HEY were not a little surprised at 1 the calmness with which she listened to the tragic story. In fact Ellen had become somewhat resigned to the loss of her father, and in a manner it was a positive relief to her to know that he was beyond all further pain and sufferiog. The journey they were about to undertake would have been a terrible trial to the old man, and the loss of the Pandora would not have decreased his sufferings. What was racking the girl's mind was the •f robabulty that the captain might be a prisoner amongst the sa-vages, seriously injured perhaps. The evidences she had seen in the banana grove pointed to his death certainly, but they did not confirm it. Better a thousand times the old man should be dead than a captive in the hands of a fierce and. tribe of aborigines. That was the secret view the girl took of the situation, and though her grief was deep and genuine, it was tinged with the relieving hope that some day the two would meet again in a world where pain and sorrow is unknown. Despite the rough — almost wild life the girl had led — she possessed not a little religious fevour. After her first sorrow had passed, her strong mind began to re-assert itself. Perhaps, she thought, if the brig has not foundered, Bloomfield and Jarvis, if possible, would try and return to the place in pursuance of their original designs. At any rate, it would be wise to wait for a day to permit of such a contingency. This idea swayed her to urge the start being delayed until the following morning, and though the men were impatient to start the journey, they saw the reasonableness of the request. Nor was it wasted time. There was a good deal to be done, not the least important work being the obtaining of a large supply of the banana fruit. With that object the boat was taken up the stream and a large quantity of fruit, sufficient to last for nearly three weeks, gathered and placed on board. Those in Ihe camp were kept busy making a rough awning for the little cfraft, which, on a pinch, might be used as a sail. This was woven out of plaited palm leaves. In such a district there was not much fear of running out of fresh water, as it was expected many Greeks and rivers would be met with at frequent intervals. At all events, that was a matter which had to be chanced, and it «rid not occasion any of the party anxiety. That night the camp was removed to the river-side close to the boat, which it was necessary to watch now that provisions were on board. As there was little fear of attack and great need for the party to rest, it was arranged that only one guard should be kept, each to be relieved every three hours. At daylight all was as.tir and feeling more refreshed than for several days previously. After a breakfast of fruit, Ellen, Farrell, and Kinloch 'were rowed across to the southern side of the river, while Palmer and Walker took charge qf the boat, in which were placed the invalids — Murdoch and Young — with the latter's wife. The land party, at the head of whom was Ellen, arranged a series of signals with those in the boat in case they should get sight of the Pandora from the hill which they were about to ascend. The trio looked long and anxiously from the summit of the

range, but failed to discover the least sign of the missing ship. Two hours later they were nearly five miles from the camp of the night, and the boat could be seen not more than half-a-rnile away, crashing down towards Shadwell Point. Fortune favoured them, for the day was most favourable for the boat, and it requir«d all the energy of the land party to keep abreast of it. Shortly before six o'clock a wide and deep creek was met, and the little craft pulled into it for the purpose of getting the three across. As quite twenty miles had been covered since morning, it was decided to halt at the spot for the night. There was no wisdom in overdoing the march when the journey was of such length. The experience of the day showed that female attire was very unsuited for bush travelling. The thorny bush and scrub had made sad havoc with Ellen Cooney's dress, and she saw the advisability of yielding to the wish of Farrell that she should take a position in the boat. This was done next morning, Palmer going on shore, and the girl giving the loaded musket to Farrell in case the land maichers might be attacked by blacks. For four days good progress continued to be made, and then stormy weather caused a delay. Luckily the boat was able to obtain refuge in a river and lay by for three days, when the journey was resumed. During this time Murdoch regained his health, but there was little improvement in the condition of Young. It almost seemed that the blow on the head had caused permanent injury, though Ellen more than once assured Mrs Young that a good surgeon would quickly restore the unfortunate man to his senses. The long bend between Claremont Point and Cape Melville caused a loss of several days in traversing it, but gradually the party plodded on until three weeks after leaving the tragic scene of their adventures they reached the base of Mount Cook. There Walker fell very sick of a complaint that none of the party understood. Almost without warning he became delirious, and it was su&pected he must have eaten something poisonous while journeying through the bush. When asked what was the matter he simply stared vacantly at them and then burst into a laugh, which had the ring of a maniac in it. Ellen tried to talk the man into reason, but failed ; and in the hope that he would be recovered by morning, efforts were made to induce him to sleep. Without a medicine-chest it was not an easy task to cope with illness of the body, much less the mind. Jt was the practice at night to camp on land. Sitting and standing all day made the shore exceedingly welcome. On this evening refuge had been taken at the mouth of a large creek which branched off from the Endeavor River. Mount Cook towered a few miles to the south, and though a populous and thriving town now exists in the vicinity, in 1842 it was a peculiarly wild and uninhabited district. Shortly after ten o'clock Walker, to ths great relief of his comrades, appeared to go into a sound sleep, and soon the worn-out travellers, with the exception of the guard, followed suite. Palmer took the watch which began about an hour before daylight, and still Walker was sleeping soundly. Half-an-hour later the camp was rudely disturbed by the startling sound of a musket shot, and in alarm everyone was instantly astir. 'What's the matter, Ned?' Ellen called as she saw the guard running towards the creek with the still smoking musket in his hand. ' The blacks have got the boat !' he hoarsely called as followed by the other members of the party he ran to where the craft had been mooied regardless of the dangar which might beset them. As the startled group gathered at the spot they saw with dismay that the much-prized and almost indispensable boat was gone, and in mute appeal they looked at the guard for an explanation. ' I heard a splash only a few minutes ago, and looking down here fancied I saw something dark moving about. In a moment it occurred to me that some prowling natives might be stealing the boat, and then feeling certain it was so, I fired,' Palmer said. ' Let us make a search, men. We may come on them yet. They cannot be far away. I'll go down,' Kinloch hurriedly spoke. It wns very dark, but they all began a fruitless search. In their surprise there was no sense of discipline kept, and had an enemy been present it might have gone hard with the castaways. It was daylight when the camp v\*as regained, and after a few brief and hopeless explanations between the searchers, Ellen Cooney said J 1 Where is Tom Walker?' For the first time the absence of the sick man was noticed, and with a curious sense of coming evil a second search was instituted for him. An hour after it began, a loud halloa from Palmer, who was standing on a cliff overlooking the ocean, summoned the others to his sjde, and then they discovered who had taken the boat. Rounding a small promontory was Walker himself in the missing craft. He was bareheaded and jacketless, and the antics he was displaying clearly showed him to be a lunatic. The whole party at once began calling and signalling for him to return, but though he saw them, the madman took no notice, and in faot was heading out to sea towards a portion of the Barrier Reef now called Walker's Point. 'We are lost if he takes the boat away, and better sacrifice one life than half a dozen,' fiercely txclaimed Ned Palmer. 'We had better shoot him,' he concluded. That was the unspoken thought which rose to the lips of all, even the

women.' ' mtnbut the nont, wiicti contained not only. their small stock of food, but also the means whereby they were enabled to easily and quickly crpss obstructive water courses, they would indeed be lost. . It was patent, too, that the madman was doomed if he drifted out to sea, and better he should have a speedy death than one of slow torturing thirst. 1 Give me the gun, Palmer,' Kinloch hoarsely said, a few moments after the former had spoken and voiced the opinion of all. The gun was handed to Kinloch, and kneeling down he took a long and careful aim at his mad comrade, while the group waited in feverish anxiety to see the result of the shot which was forced upon them by dire necessity. Walker had been a favourite with all, and it was perhaps that feeling which caused the hand of Kinloch to tremble when he pulled the trigger. Perhaps it was the rocking of the boat, but whatever the cause, the bullet went wide of its mark, and the response to the shot was a wild laugh from Walker. ' Load again, Ned. It is our only hope,' spoke Kinloch as he handed back the gun. ' I'll do better next time,' he added, with a vicious look as he recognised that probably life was being carried away from himself and his friends in that frail craft. This time the Scotchman rested the barrel on a jutting rock, and there 1 was not even the semblance of a tremor in the hands which directed the fire-arm. The range was a little longer than before, for the madman, with the cunning said to be peculiar to some forms of mental disease, was beginning to grasp the purpose of those on the cliff. Did he but realise that the turning of the craft shorewards would have caused the weapon to drop, he might have done so. But then he would not have been mad. As the spell-bound spectators watched it seemed to them that the bullet must either have struck the boat or its occupant. Murdoch said he felt sure that Walker moved convulsively after the shot was fired, but none of the others noticed that, nor could anyone observe that the messenger of death had fallen on the water. Jf so, it would have splashed the water up. If Walker was struck, the only effect the bullet had was to cause him to seize the oars and • pull strongly awuy towards the Great Barrier Reef. Such force did he put into the strokes that ere the musket could be loaded again he was virtually out of range, and it would have been only a waste of much needed ammunition to discharge the weapon. For an hour the group stood watching with sad eyes the boat and ifs occupant disappearing until at last it became a speck no bigger than a gull, and at length faded away on the horizon. They all realised what it meant tothem, but again Ellen revived the fast drooping spirits of the party. 'We have got on so far, comrades, and each day brings us nearer civilisation. This is a great loss, but there is no need to despair. We shall yet find a way of overcoming difficulties,' she said. ' This is the worst blow of all,' Farrell moodily answered ; ' but there is still the chance that Walker may be swept back here before night. I don't know what he can do beyond there. If he gets drowned, the boat should be thrown back.' ' We must stay here for a day or so and watch. If nothing comes ashore by then we will push on,' said Ellen. This was the most sensible course to follow, and it was unanimously adopted, a rough camp being formed near the top of the cliff, and a watch continually kept. While this was done, most of the other members went in search of food, which was much needed. A quantity of not very palatable shell fish was found, but fruit of any description was very scarce in the vicinity, PART VII. On the following morning not a vestige of Walker or the boat could be seen, and as the sea was pretty rough during the night, it was concluded to be useless waiting any longer, and at seven o'clock another start was made southwards. When less than three miles had been traversed a broad and rapid stream with precipitous banks was met, which it was not possible to cross without a boat. One of the men proposed making a raft, but that would have entailed much labour and loss of time. Moreover, it v/as problematical whether it would have been safe to cross on such a structure, and at length it was decided to follow the stream westward to the peak of Mount Cook, from which it seemed to flow. This eminence was only a few miles inland, and it was thought that more abundant food might be got in that direction. At nightfall the travellers had got into one of the deep glens which furrowed the eastern side of the peak, and there they camped until the morning, almost famishing for want of food, nothing of an edible nature having been met. Early in the morning Ellen managed to shoot a rock wallaby, and that being cooked, allayed the pangs of hunger. The night had been very wet, which added to the discomfort of the situation, William Young being the only one who appeared unconcerned with his surroundings. Of late he seemed to have regained a little more sense, and often a flash of intelligence would light up his face, giving it an aspect such as it wore before the tragedy in the Mangrove Swamp. By noon the party had attained an altitude from which a magnificent view was visible. The vast Pacific appeared to stretch away almost from the base of the mountain, and long the wretched pilgrims looked in the vain hope of discerning succour in the shape of a white winged sail. Young had climbed to the summit of a high rock quite fifty

fc:-f ooove the oth.ers,-.and with, Jmds ' shading hts eyts, stood in wrapt aitention gazing seawards.•Come do wn^ Bill. We can turn the stream here,! cried Kinloch. 'Mind there,. man ; you'll break your neck,' Kinloch warningly called as the half foolish fellow slid down the almost perpendicular side of the rock, but alighted in perfect safety. ' You look scared, Bill. Have you seen the spectre of the old Pandora or got a fright with the fall ?' the Scotchman laughingly asked his comrade as he noticed a peculiar expression on his countenance. 'The spectre of the old Pandora,' repeated Young in solemn tones as he followed Kinloch, who took no more notice of him than if a child had spoken. At this point the river was turned and a course was taken down the south bank towards the coast again, which, after all, was found to be the best route. Two hours after crossing the head there was another commotion amongst the travellers, for Young had disappeared and his wife was irantic. • He must have gone ahead, Alice, for 1 saw him at the bend yonder,' Ellen at length said to her. ' XV% will find him down at the coast in the morning if he doesn't turn up before. If not, I'll promise to come back here and search with you until we do find him.' It was only this solemn promise on the part of the young woman which reconciled Mrs Young to leaving the place where her husband had disappeared. She well knew that Ellen would do as she said, and fretting at the foolishness of her husband, the woman plodded on with the party. When Young was first missed, a diligent search was made in the vicinity for traces of him, but after losing an hour, the quest was given up as vain. Darkness fell when the travellers were some three miles from the beach, and camp was formed for the night. It was fully two hours alter sunrise when the castaways emerged through the scrub on to the sandy beach, and for a few moments they stood as if petrified at what they saw. Then a hoarse cry of joy giving vent to the long pent-up feelings rose from the throats of the men, and with a low hysterical moan Mrs Young fell upon the strand in a semi-fainting stale. Not two hundred yards away, in a tiny haven, was a small sloop, on the deck ot which stood British seamen, and amongst them could be seen the figure of William Young. As the pilgrims were observed, an answering welcome sounded ftorn the sloop, and a few moments later a boat put off. Within five minutes the castaways of the Pandora were on board the NewSouth Wales Government surveying sloop, 'TheOxley,' and Captain James was iistening in astonished indignation to the story told him by the orphan of old Captain Cooney. 'it it hadn't been for this queer fellow,' and James placed his hand on Young's shoulder, 'we would have been far away by this time, and God only knows how you would have fared,' said the skipper of the Oxiey. ' What do you mean, Captain ? Didn't you pick Young up here this morning?' asked Ellen in surprise. ' Not at all. He came on board last night like a ghost about five miles to the north of this spot. We had run into a large creek for the night and were astonished to find evidences that a white camp had been recently pitched close to where we moored. That fact probably saved the poor fellow's lite, for I see there's something wrong here,' and the captain tapped Young's forehead. ' Had it not been for seeing the remains of the camp so unlike those made by the natives,' he continued, ' we would certainly have fired on him, for he disregarded our challenges. Feeling that white men might be about — we did not dream that while women were in the vicinity,' and here James gallantly doffed his hat — ' my orders to the sentries were not to fire on anyone or anything without absolute necessity. When this man came up in the darkness they carried out the orders, and as soon as we found he was a white man we crowded round him, but devil a bit of information could we get out of him.' ' How did you come here then, Captain ?' interrupted the girl. • Well, we got this from him in dumb show. When questioned as to whether there were any other of his sort in the neighbourhood, he pointed in this direction, and when day broke we came round here under his guidance. Of course from what you have told me I now know what has caused his trouble, but you can thank him for having probably saved all your lives,' concluded the captain to his wondering listeners. • I actually believe he must have caught a glimpse of your craft, captain, yesterday afternoon from the top of yonder peak. There was something curious in his look as he came down from the rock,' interjected Kinloch. ' That must have been it. He could scarcely have come on us by chance, and would certainly not have left you as he did unless there was the prompting of glimmering reason in it. A sane person would of course have drawn your attention to what he or she saw, but in this case the mind was only able to grasp the single point, which was that a vessel was in sight. At any rate, he has done well, and perhaps ere long he will have all his faculties to command. I would like to get my j hands on those ruffians who have injured him so, but no doubt they have long since been food for fish,' indignantly concluded the captain. • You must have run into the creek where we camped the night before last, captain, and where our last misfortune happened,' spoke Ellen Cooney in a sad voice. To Be Continued.