TOM GERRARD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 12834, 6 April 1905, Page 3

TOM GERRARD.

[PUBLISHED BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT.]

BY LOUIS EECKE, Author of "Peef and Palm." "By Rock and Pool," " Yorlte, tho Adventurer," "Chiiikic's Flat," Etc., Etc.

CHAPTER Xlll.— (Continued.) Arriving at tho Queen's Hotel tho two men went upstairs and sat down on comfortable cane lounges on the verandah, and in a few minutes the smiling Milly appeared with a large bottle of champagne and a big lump of the treasured ice, carefully wrapped up in a piece of blanketing. As Lacey attended to tho ico Aulain began to cut tho cork string. " Oh! by the way, Lacey," he said carelessly, "I saw in the Clarion yesterday that Forde, the sky pilot, is leaving the Church. Are you ready with the glasses''" "1 am. Faith, doesn't it look lovely? Steady, me boy, these long-sleever glasses hold a pint. Here's long life to ye, Aulain. Heavens! but it is good," and he sighed contentedly as ho set down his glass again. "Ye were asking about FordeV" lie said as he wiped his red, perspiring face. " Yes, lie is giving up personifying. I had a letter from him by the mailman yesterday from Eraser's Gully. He was staying there- for the night, with our friend Gerrard." Auliiin's black brows knit, and his hand clenched under the table, as Lacey went on. " His mother has died and left him some money. And very glad it is lam to hear it, for a liner man I don't know." " Much:" "He didn't say; but 1 know that his mother was pretty well off. He merely wrote me asking me to mention in the Clarion that lie was leaving the Church, and was going South. Ye see, he has a power of friends all over the country, and he just asked me to write a bit of a paragraph saying he was going away, and regretted that he could not come to Port Denison to preach next Sunday fortnight. Aulain refilled Laccy's and his own glass, " Lucky fellow ! When is ho leaving Eraser's place':" " He was leaving that morning for Boorala, and Eraser and his daughter and Gerrard were going with him as far as the turnoff. By a bit of good luck Gerrard—who also sent me a few linesmet Forde and Miss Eraser on his way to the Gully. Here is his note," and he took a letter from his pocket and handed it. to Aulain, who read: " Eraser's Gully. " Dear Lacey.— As the Boorala mailman is calling here this morning 1 send you a line, J had the good fortune to come across Miss Eraser and Mr. Forde at Cape Conway, and we all came- on to her father's place together. I like Eraser. He's a line old cock. The parson, too, is a. good sort-. As for Miss Kate Eraser, she is a. modernised Hotspur's Kate—a. delightfully frank and charming girl. 1 envy the'lucky man who wins her. I hope"the boy has not got into any mischief, and is giving you no trouble. Give Aulain my regards, and tell him I delivered his letter'sooner than I anticipated. I leave for Kaburie this morning, and am to have die pleasure of being accompanied by Eraser and his daughter. Tell Jim that if he gets into any mischief whilst 1 am away I'll make it' hot for him. —Sincerely yours. Tom Gerhard."

Aula in handed the letter back to Lacey. He was outwardly calm, but his heart was surging with passion. What business had that d-—d parson fellow and Kate to be together at Cape Conway, fifteen miles away from her home'.' And then his receptive brain conjured up the blackest suspicions. Forde had come into money, and Kate had written to him saying that she could not marry him, "because she would never many and leave her father." Ho set his teeth. "I think we could do another bottle, Aulain," said Lacey presently. "Right, old man!" replied the sub-in-spector mechanically, and then Lacey noticed that his bronzed face had become pallkL «. , t i '• ' Shakos' coming on .' he asked, sympathetically. . "Just a bit: but the fizz is doing me good." CHAPTER XIV. Mustering on Kaburie was almost over, much to the satisfaction of everyone taking part iu it, for the weather had been unpleasantly hot even for North Queensland, and heavy tropical thunderstorms had added to the difficulty of the work by the creeks coming down in flood. All the cattle running in the mountain gullies ar.d on the spurs had been brought in, the calves and "clean-skins" branded, and now there remained only those which roamed about the coast lands. Karly one morning. "lei-ranl, Fratsr. Kate, "and tines stockmen were camped near the mouth of a, wide but shallow creek, whose yellow, muddied waters were rushing swiftly to the sea. The party had arrived there the previous evening, am. now, breakfast over, were ready to start to muster the cattle in the vicinity. Heavy rain had fallen during the night, but Kate little tent, with its covering fly, had kept her dry, and the rest of the party had slept under a rough but efficient shelter of broad strips of tea-tree bark spread upon a quickly-extemporised frame of this sapling. Just as they started the sky cleared and the blue donio above was unflecked by a single cloud .as they rode in single file along a cattle track leading to the beach, which thev readied in half an hour. "What-'a glorious sight!" said (lerrard, a* lie drew rein and pointed to the blue Pacific, shimmering and sparkling under the rays of the morning sun. " Look, there is a steamer quite close in-—evidently she must be calling in at. Port Denisiui, or would not be so near the land." "Yes," said Kate, "that is one of the new China mail boats, the Ching-tu. Plow 'beautiful she is—for a steamer, with those sloping masts with the jtinls across, and the curved, shapely bow tike a sailing ship. Oh! 1 do so wish I were on board. 1 love ships and the sea. If 1 wore a man I should be a sailor." "Would you?" said Gerrard, as lie looked at the animated, beautiful face. "I, 100, am fond of the sea, though it robbed me of father, mother, and a brother-in-law, my twin .sister's husband. _ She died of a broken heart soon after.' 1 Kate's eyes tilled with ten's. "Oh, how dreadful!" and then as they rode on Gerraid told her the story of the Cassowary. "What a sweet child your little niece Mary must be," she said, when lie had finished, " and 1 am sure, too, that your protege, Jim Coll, must be a perfect little man. I wish 1 could see him." " T can safely promise you that, now that I have bought Kaburie, and I feel sure that you will gain his affections very quickly, especially if von will let him ride that 'bucking filly. I daresay that 1 shall be back here within twelve months, and bring Master Jim with me." "This is where we separate, boss," said a stockman named Troutun; "if you, Mr. and Miss Fraser and me takes the right bank of this creek my two mates will work down on the other bank, and we'll get the cattle on both sides at the same time and drive 'em all on to Wattle, Camp, which is between this creek and the next to the south of us." Then, turning to the other stockmen, he warned them to be careful of alligators. "You chaps must keep your eyes skinned if you have to swim any bits of backwater now the creeks are up. Don't cross anywheres unless you have some cattle to send in fust, and keep close ut to their tails if you can't go*- in among 'em. 'Caters like man and horse meat next best to calf." The two men nodded, and, riding down the bank, crossed the creek and quickly disappeared in the scru'h on the other side ; then Oerrartl's paity turned towards the const. Trouton leading the way with the packhorses along a well-defined cattletrack. A quarter ot an hour later they came across a small mob of cows and calves, which, as the stockwhip- cracked, trotted off in front, to be. joined by several mere, and ill ■ short time the mob had increased to five hundred head, and Trouton 'nil Germed' decided to drive them across the creek to ioin those which were b' ing rounded up by the two stockmen on the left-hand bank. In reply to a question by Gerrard, Trouton said that the crossing was a good one even when the creek was

as high as it was then,. on account of its width—about two hundred 1 yards from bank to bank. "It is a hard, sandy bottom, boss, and we shall only have about forty yards of swimming to do.' If wo rush 'cm they'll get over in no time." " Very well. But we will cut out ■dl lit© cows with calves too young to swim." This did not take long, and some thirty or forty cows with calves were separated from the mob and driven some distance back into the scrub by Fraser. Then with the usual yelling and cracking of whips the main mob was rushed down the bank into tho water, a wide-honied, stately bullock plunging into the yellow stream and taking the lead. Close behind the cattle followed the three men and Kate, the latter and Gerrard keeping on the "lee" side of the mob, so as to prevent them spreading out and getting too far down-stream, where there was danger from a number of snags of tea-tree, which showed above water in the middle of the creek. The cattle, however, kept well together, and when the deep part was reached swam safely across, despite the rather strong current. "They went over splendidly, didn't they?" cried Fraser to Gerrard, as he gave his horse a loose rein and leant forward to let the animal swim easily. "We. are lucky to get them over so easily, and —" His words were interrupted by f cry of terro; from Kate, as the colt she was riding gave an agonised snort of terror and began pawing the water with its forefeet. "Help me,"father! Mr. Gerrard! Oh, it is an alligator!" and as she spoke she was nearly unseated, "ii has Cato by the off hind leg." Gerrard, only ten yards away from her, turned his horse's head and shouted to her to throw herself off, and. then, with a deadly terror in his heart, saw her shaken oft', and disappear in the surging stream, but in a few seconds she rose, to the surface, panting and choking, but swimming bravely, though she was unable to see. Gerrard, now beside her, leant over, placed his left arm round her waist, and held her tight, "Don't be afraid," he said, "I have you safe: take a good snip of my horse's mane and hold on ; he will take you across in a few minutes," and as the girl obeyed he slipped out of the saddle so as to swim beside her. Then bis bronzed face went while with horroi as the black snout of an alligator thrust itself out of tilt water between the girl ami himself, and the saurian tried to seize her by the shoulder. In an instant Gerrard had clutched the reptile by the throat with his right hand. "Go on, go on: for God's sake, do not mind me!" ho cried to Kate: "I have the brute by its throat," and then, as he and the hideous creature were struggling fiercely, Fraser came to his assistance and emptied the live chambers of his heavy Colt's pistol into it:- body, and Gerrard. whose face was cut open by a stroke of one of the reptile's forepaws-, remembered nothing more till he found himself lying ! upon the bank with Fraser and tho stockmen attending to him. •' Is .Miss Fraser safe'.'" was Lis first question. Yes. thanks to Cod and to your bravery." answered Fraser villi deep emotion : " but don't speak any more just now, there's a good fellow. Tile brute has ripped the left side of your face open from the top of your bead to the chin, ami we are living to put in some stitches." "All right," was the cheerful, but faint, response; "but tell me—is my eye gone?" "No, boss." said Trouton quickly ; "vonr eye is all right, but the eyebrow is mauled pretty badly, and Mas hanging over it, but we've got it back again now, ami tied it up in place. Here, boss, take a sup o' this." and he placed a brandy tla.sk to Gorrard's lips. The liquor stum: his lacerated lips like tire, (nit it revived him. "Where is Miss Fraser?" he then asked. " Here, beside you, dear Mr. Gerrard." said the girl brokenly, as she pressd his hand and fumed her face away in blinding tears. " Narrow squeak for both of us, wasn't it?" Yes, but please do not try to talk, dear Mr. Gerrard." "Oh, I'm all right, and must gabble a bit now I know that I haven't lost an eve. You see, Fraser, the beast, although he was only a little fellow—" "Eight, feet he were, boss," interrupted Trouton, "but a young 'tin, as you say." "Well, just after I collared him he swung his head about and hit me such a tremendous smack on the side of my brain-box that ir stunned me. But I didn't let go, did I?' "No." replied Fraser, "you held on like grim death. I settled the brute by putting live bullets' into it." " There, was two 'o 'em. boss," said Trouton, "the one as collared Miss Kate's horse and the one as you tackled." "Did Cato get away?" Gerrard asked quickly. "' Yes, yes, lie got away," said Kate hurriedly, 1 lying to speak calmly, though the poor colt, which had managed to .struggle to the bank with a lacerated ami broken leg, was then lying dead with a. bullet through its head. Trouton had put it: out of its misery. There was no more mustering that day. for Gerrard's condition was so serious, though lie tried to make light of it. that Fraser. leaving the cattle to tho care of the two stockmen, first sent off Trouton to Boorala for a doctor, and then lie. taking one of the packhorses, made Gerrard mount his own. "We'll be at Kaburie as soon as the little German doctor is there." he. .said, as he, Gerrard, and Kate started. .And when (hey reached Kaburie thr-v found Dr. Krause, a quiet, spectacled, little man, awaiting them with Knowles, the overseer. "Will he lose his eve. Krause?" asked Fra.scr, after the doctor had attended to Gerrard, and lie with Kale mot' him in the dining-room. " No, but. his face is verv much cut about, and tho poor fellow will*'be disfigured for life." Kate turned .away with a bursting heart, and went to her room. (To bo continued daily.) NEW DOMESTIC STORY, From the pen of MR. F. FRANKFOKT MOOBE, Entitled "THE BED-HAIRED GIRL." The opening chapters of the above serial will appear in the llkralo on Saturday, next (April 8), and wo would advise our readers to secure a iopy ami commence the perusal of (his charming story.