TALES OF THE WILDERNESS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1126, 13 May 1911, Page 6

TALES OF THE WILDERNESS.

WHKN THE EMl , ]!?]-: CALLED,

(By Will Lmvsos*.)

(All liights Reserved.)

Their bones lip Rlisteniim on the veldt, I heir !-ho.->s me rusted red, They ;ire gone where spur and rifle are nt rest. Goml dreams lo nil that legion of the blind, obedient dead. Good ii:isl\ir« in their "islands of the blcit. -.

—M. C. Keane.

The trnop.-hip rolled lo and fro in the *eml of the heaving swell, and down the long . avenue of hcr.so-stalls the curious effect, of Ihe motion was to cause the heads of the hor.-es to alternately thrust forwards clear of their stalls and withdraw from sight: in the return motion of tho vessel. With clock-like regularity this, vent on, the only break in the silence com ins from a stall where a thor-ough-bred horse was kicking his heart out, breaking his heart in the confinement and tedious, ceaseless standing. In the next box to this fretful beast, a bright chestnut troop-hoi-ss swung back and forth, his eyes half clos-i'd in tho lamp light. Presently down the alleyway came a_ redhaired trooper. At tho sound of his footsteps the horse's eyes opened, and ho turned his head towards his master.

"Well, old man," the young trooper said, "bow arc'you feeling now?"

Omega, the troop-horse whinnied softly and tried to rub his head on tho boy's coat'. Tho swing of the ship made this difficult. But the trooper with tho red hair met llio advances half-way by stopping iiiiide the stall,' and tenderly feeling tho herd's fetlock and pasterns. These two had been old comrades in a life that now seemed far away.-

In tho dewy brightness of the early morning sunshine the long-legged toals were galloping and skylarking about tne wide clearing a bright chestnut colt'leading in the races to indefinite goals,-ana bullying his fellows in the rough horseplay. Not far away, the mothers grazed sedately, ever niul again raising thenheads "from tho long, luxuriant grass to follow with quiet eyes the games that were going on. Presently the spirit ol the morning quickening tlieir more slug--eish blood, they trolled after their foals; mares and youngsters went Dying up ami down the clearing in the joy of living. In a circle they clustered a? wild horses would do, and with tails flowing and heads held high they snorted as though danger threatened. Then away they raced again. It was a pretty sight, and filled with a natural innocence. When the games were over and, hot and winded, the animals settled down to graze, tho foals were surely tho happiest creatures on earth, for they knew of no- hardship or lnw that would make for hardship, for their short memories had quite- forgotten the time when the men had caught and branded them with hot irons. It was on a dull, grey day when the change came. Mounted men rode into the paddock carrying whips. The mares knew the law of men, and obediently went as they were driven, and most of the .youngsters followed, each its dam. There* were some rebels'however, chief anions; them boin;;. the. bright chestnut coll; ilo kept tho men busy for two hours more than was necessary; the paddock was large, giving ample room in which to evade the riders. For the second time in his life lie learned what a whip lash was, but so fur from cowing him", tho Ming of it roused a fury that only the pre-euco of. his mother could pacify sufficiently to get him out of (he place. With the mob ho was driven amo miles to the home paddocks, where they were left to-rest before the process of brcaking-in began. That evening the station-holder who .owned- the horses went tn look them, over, taking with him Alt', his son, a fifteen-year-old lad, well tot-up and serious-minded. The chestnut colt caught the bov's eye, and before they huel left tho paddock the colt had been given to Alt' to break in aud keep as his own hack. In the days immediately following, (ho boy and the horse made each other's acquaintance, and found wonderful profit therein. "What the whips had lashed to madness, the quiet masterful handling of the boy shaped to a better purposs, with the result that the horse's fine spirit suffered no breaking, as often happens to a fine animal in a rough-and-ready process of taming. When the young horseman at last swung himself into the saddle, and let his mount pace easily away, both (heir young hearts beat high in the thrill'of a new and great-experi-ence. After a ride round the paddocks they pulled up again at the homestead garden gate, where the family walked in tho evening air, the boy's enthusiasm fuoiul voice. "Father," ho cried, "he's th-3 best horse there ever was, and I'll never sell him as long as I liv-o." The man smiled at youth's brave confidence as he answered-.

"Yes, he'll make a good hack, Alf. And what are you going to call him?" The boy's faces was serious. Tor a moment he was silent. Then he said: "I think J 'll call him Omega, because that means tho last—and I'll never want another horse after him." "Why' not call him Ginger? That means pluck, and, I'm sure he's got plenty of that. It would suit his colour, too." His sister asked. Instantly Alf's face shone with a smile. "Now, you're chaffing me; I'm ginger myself." He laughed, passing Ms hand over his red locks. ">io; Omega is the uame, dad."

"So be it," the father agreed, as tho horse followed his young master to Ms paddock. "Alpha and Omega, the first and tho last."

His wife took his arm

"I've never seen Alf so keen on anything before," sha said; "hs's always so quiet, only faring to get away with that weird Henare, who can talk to all the birds and beasts about tho place." "Tho boy's all right," Jilt husband answered, "and I'd rather he went about watching the animals and learning their ways than tramp the paddocks with a gun slaying all before him." And there the matter dropped. Omega became a third in the company which had formerly consisted cf two, in the long rambling walks over the swamplands and up to the hill-ercsls and high ridges where sometimes Karnwa, the. Quail Hawk, was to bo found. Sometimes Alf rode while H«nave skirmished abroad; sometimes both boys straddled the bare back of Omega. Again, they would leave tho hnrso to his own devices, knowing lie would wait where he was left, while Uiey crawled on hands and knees and wriggled forward on Ilieir stomachs to gain a close view of a new hnleh of wild ducklings that had been hatched in (he swamp. ..

Tho months rolled, on, and tho rears. Alt' had a rille for pig-shcoting, which sport claimed their, attention to (ho feglect of (ho more peaceful occupations. And one night when they returned in tho moonlight past the men's house a voice called: "Heard the news? War's declared with Oom Paul."

Something leaped,to life in Alf then. 110 was nineteen years old, and a very powerful youngster. Giving Omega's rein to llennre, he ran into tho hou?e.

"1? it true, dadr" he cried. "Is war declared!-" "\"es, my boy, and they're talking of sending: men from this country to tight for the old Has." Tho young man nodded approvingly. "Good," he said, "I'll go." Yet when nt last he mounted the bright chestnut and waved his hand as ho rode away, it did not seem so easy to throw all the happy days behind. Leaving those, ho loved was very hard, and almost as hard was the farewell to the place and all it meant. Tho level swamps, the rolling hills, and tho mountains far away. Every one was a part of his life. Ho left it all behind very soon. Then of all his old lifo there was only Omega who travelled with light step f'.'iwards into ftp. now life. In tho camp iKith trooper and horto spent a wakeful first night. It was nil so strango and rough. But they soon dropped into the. routine, aml.lhe spirit that fired tho contingent beat strongly in |ho young man's veins. With bands plnyiug,' tlio wen marched through oily streets and d'V.vn to the troop-ship, where Oiuepn anil tho other troop-horsss were already .stowed in their stalls as comfortably as

was possible. Tho groat steamer swung auay from her berlh to the wild clircring of the, crmvd>. Ami witli nn escort of vessels ou cither fide, she moved slowly clown (he l)ny. The il:iy was dying when tho attendant steamers turned outwards from their courses and headed for home, leaving (he Iroop-ship (o pursue hoc course, alone. As (hoy turned, their whistles blow and cheurs came from thousands of throats. The. troop-ship's o:igi no-bells rang "full-speed"—she. had been running slowly to keep step with the slowest steamer—and in tho silence following the burst of cheers, a bugler mounted on tho boat-deck- played "Auld ]'<aii); Syne" across the dim, darkening waters, till there wore lumps in many of Ihe throats (hat had so bravely cheered. On the lower dock a red-haired trooper Hung an arm about, (he neck of a bright chestnut horse, that whinnied softly at his approach. There wore fears in the trooper's eyes. The troop-ship, with lamps iiglniv, and her engines thundering below, pushed nn through tho dark, round Farewell, and south and west to the war. And lier cargo was of the best—(ho vevv (lower of youth and strength, in men and" horses.

Thrash! Thrash! Crash! Crash! Tho heels of (he thoroughbred beat, tirelessly oiv the wooden lining nf tlio Mall. Omega fidgeted, and suddenly lashed out too with fierce fury, that spoke of a temper worn to an edge. "Steady, old man," his mas(er said, and "steady," "steady," tlio word went round the horse-stalls where, tho men were, tending their horses. So lon if as the steamer rolled their logs did not, swell up greatly, for tho alternate shifting of the weight from the fore, logs to the hind logs, and vice versa, gave sufficient impetus to the blood's circulation (n keen it. normal. In the calm weather that had continued for ?omo days the horses bad suffered. Now their logs wore improving, though their tempers were not. When'A If was absent, Omega's temper was fearful, but; with his master near, even the noise of the mad thoroughbred scarcely disturbed him. Very soon liow they would roach Durban, where the horns would he given -a rest before proceeding to (he front. In the middle of the night a dreadful sound rang through the lower docks— the scream of a horse. Tho sentries ran to the sound, and there a gruesome sight met their eyes. The horse that had kicked since tho day the steamer sailed had half loaned and half fallen over the barrier which held him in his stall, and lay kicking on. tho deck. Every horse was in a panic, which rose to" frenzy when the mad horse screamed!

Au.officer had pons for his revolver. When, he returned he did not; hesitate. /• close inline he' sent the- bullet into the disordered brain of this his • charge, ami after the muffled ring of the shot (hero was silence. For a moment lie stood, then ho said: "Stand by your horses, men, till they calm down. Tell them in man ii winch and hoist this out." Omega wns trembling violently, and Alf, the redhaired trooper, whom the men called (linger, stood by till morninr. They were beginning .to understand what it meant when the Empire called.