A LINDSAY O' THE DALE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13588, 6 November 1907, Page 10

A LINDSAY O' THE DALE.

PUBLISHED -BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT.

BY A. G. If ALES, iuthor'of "The Watcher on tho Tower," ? Driscoll, King of Scouts," "McGlusky," ■•••••• • : •' Jair the Apostate." etc., etc. j I ■

COPYRIGHT. SYNOPSIS. the ttrat clii.yter «'V«|> h « J,*' t "oL Irish family, the first cliaincr v.*** '\" £"."L Irish ianrilv. father wa* of YJT scot £^*"£ ami married wllo had dossed the »!'««»»« . , in poU . one of the Line *«}•« o tiio Dal ~ni . UemW 1-Rh her firths- crested »m««" last his business for the emancipation oM c and. «£ Rftte < v „ . and cmlgratpd to Mm i '«. x ,c mounted police child. In Australia he jo meet "" a iimi ily~o„d served for *ow >•■;•• " ** ior Vernon, Davie, Bryan, and Ke> 'h. ln»P" isUcd t he of the mounted o ' m6 X MUUIM attenlions «i.d or . < one a ( l Kn , owel one day horsewhipped \««»"- £ °hkinj (1 «a leave lionewhipped Vernon. K. ™ n c £* chaoeo the police and look to wonra uk cUaracwork. hut Vernon save tiio ,a ' nl > a £until yin tV/to the squatter*, and tirey had d •« > wen wcttlnir employment. One W. "" tt i e . news and the hoys were out rottudrnK up c«U t. m L'iitue that a parly « blacks we« ut o l , t ~„th. Killwen and..lu« »on "f'lf„ n °,o had van and Kenneth at da * to^™ n Wien the „one to look to; I tl, '- , \,^i n in l "M flirt come in Sl e close* the &t l ock, ";H l d ,„ * nd shootin, at sight, half-turned in Ins saddle ana »"« something behind him. _ Th<» Mack* attack the homestead, huit are hr«ten off. Bryan «ppc«« » *Jf 1 g hi J,',i wWb n t -':k- Cll vMdv KC "-rene S ade "tSet **o saddle. UlflCK Ami}, n rent The 'alter I . ;,- Thev ire nmateiiT buahrangers, but .are '; . ,Z o,« o hem U wounded by neighhelnjc recaptured. -■'.■■ CHAPTER ll.—(Continued.) A rot-vi.K of days after the shooting. Inspector Vernon rode up to our cabin, accompanied by five black troopers He threw open 'out- front door as it it had been the door of a wayside public-house, and. strode in without ceremony or„ common civility. l * When the wounded man saw him. he broke out into fresh cursing and swearing that was awful to hear. Then he tried to spit" in the inspector's face. He was dying, and he knew it, but the frenzy ol ais hate was terrible. . . . '• I'm done for, you hound he shouted. 'But, if I had lived a month I would aave dona for you." , Vernon laughed down into the drawn face of the dying felon, and said, in his drawling., fashion—-' , ~ '.: " ! ..

" Ah, Jimmy, I had you flogged pretty iften'j didn't IV • " Yes," gasped the convict, gnashing his eeth; "You devil! it was bad. enough In gaol before you came, but you made it t living hell. You flogged me,' and if I iVtl got hold of you I would have roasted .-ou alive. That was why I took to the bash." " 'J he Mack troopers .standing by showed their white teeth as. they grinned at this Rpoech; and as they did so I could not help* feeling that they, looked like fiends crowding- round a master fiend, waiting for the soul of an unrepentant sinner.. Mother stooped ' over the dying wretch »nd sponged his face with a cooling lotion. Vernon pushed her band away. "Why IciH-du take so much care of this carrion?*' m '""demanded. "Do yu« fear that in his last* moments'' he may give your husband's criiuinnl secrets away to the police?'" . ?He knows naught of my husband and mi tell naught. . I.am nursing him m his last momentSNaecause I am a Christian woman." . ' ,-V-' ' , ■ '

The inspector sneered. Oh, yes, I ' have, -.'heard that kind of whimper before, my " good woman; but the Christian com- '-'" edy nil! not pass-muster with me. I happen to know that this fellow and his issetiates obtained their horses from you, and'would have, .got clear away if it had riot Been .for the' rapid pursuit of the > equattei©,. who ran them down."' Then, \ turning to one* of the black troopers, : he ,;~. commanded him to take my mother out of the room, and keen her from holding communication 'with anyone. The black brute, glad of a chance "to insult a white woman, slipped his handcuffs on mothers, wrists and dragged her ' into the kitchen; and when I would have

followed, I was thrust out into the open " air. The inspector remained for some time with the convict, and when he came out of the room, he had his open notebook .in hie hand. He ordered; me :to follow'linn' into the kitchen, then, when his black .troopers had withdrawn, he said— "The than in there is dead; but before he died he confessed his plans." Mother" did not utter a word. She «tQ(KI .by the table with her manacled hands -.hanging down in front of her, and n stony look of despair on her sweet face thai;-went to my heart. * " ' " ■ When I saw that look of misery and woe' on the face 1 I loved so dear-

ly . I - prayed with all my soul that father, or . Davie, or Bryan, ' might come; though well I knew that if such a thing happened the man who was ;onhenting mother would not live to beast >f it. ■ Tapping the notebook with his pensil, Vernon continued— '"""\" ■■' '■ '"'.'. " The bushranger who lies dead beneath this -roof., confessed that he had arranged with jour husband" that three 1 'horses should be left ; here for the use of the' gang when they should be ready to take to the bush; and that they were to be paid for out of the proceeds of the first robbery that they carried out successfully.:'"'.-;.:. Mother looked into the speaker's eyes. It "was a long, steady gaze, ", "" You "lie," " she said, "and you know you' lie. rMy husband never even heard of the existence of these men. They came here and robbed us; that is all we know concerning them." A mocking, low laugh broke from the lips of the inspector. Indeed, my dear woman. They stopped in this house all night; is that so or not'"

'It is fit" answered moth'}]'. Did they 'harm you, or your daughter, or the bov?" . "No." '■'■"■

"I thought not. Did you and your fery charming daughter here, and the hoy, sing to amuse these ruffians, to help them pass the time pleasantly?" At that poor mother flushed and faltered,, and before she could compose herself the Inspector cried roughly " Come, woman, no lying, for lying will not help you out of this mess. Your son Kenneth has confessed that he sang, and mi King, for this most delectable company. It is plain to me that you are all in it. You have been very crafty so far, but I think I have you- on my hip this time." "God help us," cried mother despairingly, "1 think you have; and you will pay lor your villainy with your life sooner or later." l ' \""'' "' ; "* v" ' : : ;""■" /\

"I'll risk that to see your husband in the ■main-gang." snarled Vernon ; " and see him ihere' I will. And once there I'll have the flesh- cut off his back with the whip, for the sake of this."

As he spoke lie drew his finger along the faint white scar that lined his left cheek— wio scar my father's whip had made the day he flogged him fur insulting mother. At that moment I think (ho man was mad. He foamed at the mouth, and his \vpf protruded from his. head, and he splut- -.';«<! as.ho spoke. It was more like the 'ageof ii wild beast than that of a man. i But liter a time ho grew calmer; and then he •mo iho handcuffs removed from mother's whsU, and bade her prepare food for him. ,-n«V'7! ■ °, Ulln , w ? VI,S Wrie(l l " ulei ' «■ I™* *o« to the track that ran by our cabin. i-f l '^;J^>: :| iv-^----' :^''':, i?!|S|(H ■'..'■.' : ; ' '':",'*

The black troopers made themselves comfortable; and the inspector,,producing a bottle of whisky after tea, drank himself, and tried to induce us to drink also. But this wo -would not do. At last, when the whiskv had made him even-move brutal than before,, ho told us to sing to him. "You sang for those gaol-birds, now sing for me," he commanded. " Hoping for the best, mother bade Kenneth sing; but for the first time in his life, our wee laddie, refused to obey mother. He had heard this man order his mother to be handcuffed, audi he would not sing. Vernon threatened the child with his whip, but the weo laddie stood firm; ho would not sing. Losing Ids temper, in halfdrunken rage Vernon raised his whip ami cut the child a cruel blow across the face. Mother leapt out of her chair like -a: wild tiling. 'Die wee laddie gave one piercing cry as the warm blood sprang from the torn skin and ran down his -face, and, as if in answer to that childish cry, the door Hew open, and Bryan, tall and straight, and covered from head to foot with dust from the track, stood in the room glaring from one to the other. I had just time to see Vernon reach for his sword-belt, which lav on the table, behind him, and then Brvan passed mo in a silent, deadly rush, that was like the charge of a bull goaded to madness by the whips of the stockmeu. CHAPTER 111. ' nnr.KS " turns out." Before Inspector Vernon could draw his sword, or pull a pistol from his belt, Bryan was upon him. Our bov held his heavy stock- in his hand, and with the handle of this ha struck: the police-officer two terrible blows upon the. skull.

He did not shout, but all the fury in his blood was let loose. " You dog! You cowardly dog, to hurt a wea laddie!" he repeated again" and again, growling tho words out from between" his clenched teeth.

He would have killed Vernon there and then if it had not been for mother; for,in that moment young Bryan remembered only that the man who lay at his feet was the* man who had persecuted him from childhood. Ho knew well enough why all the respectable boys in the townships, and on the statiofis, had shunned him' and his brother Dave.

. And, now the coward had gone so far as to, strike one of our family with a whip; and the tall, lean, muscular laddie standing over him meant to have vengeance. > Bryan was tremendously strong and active "for his age. His open-air life, the sound rough food, the earlyfliours, had all helped to develop his muscles in a wonderful fashion.

Mother clutched him by the arm. "Duma kill him, laddie ; dinna" shed blood," she wailed; and at that cry Bryan dropped the heavy stock-whip handle mid gazed down with" bloodshot eyes on the upturned face of the police-officer. I have seen a hound on the chain, unable to reach its enemy, with just such a look in its eyes. , \ Mother," said Bryan, " there will be no peace for you, or for father, or any of our breed! whilst that man lives. Ho hates us all, and he has planned for years to ruin us. It is better that I should kill him than that he should ruin a. whole family." "Na, na, laddie; 'twould*be murder," moaned poor mother. • . . Bryan bent his black brows. "Very well, mother," he said in hie deep,.full-tliroated voice; "I'll do no murder, as you will it; but I'll take to the bush, and then it will be a' fair right in the. open between this man and me. If he can kill me he may, if I can kill him I will."

Again poor mother pleaded with our boy, clinging to him with both her thin, while hands. ' . • At that instant Inspector Vernon came, to his' senses, mid raised himself "upon one elbow. He looked around hint wildly for a moment, then, seeing Bryan, he would have called his black troopers to aid .him, but with a growl that was awful to hear Bryan, placed his foot on the man's throat, and bore him back to the floor. Then, bending down, he spoke to him in a low, quiet voice that made me shiver. He told Vernon that he was going to " turn' out," and take to the bush.

"I'd kill you now," he added, "only my mother has begged me to spare, your life. But when once" I cross that doorway it will be a fight for life between us. You hare shamed * us in all the country-side, From Sydney to Melbourne, and from Melbourne to Adelaide, there is no stockman, no gold-digger, no mail-driver, no hawker, ho station owner, who has not heard that the Kill Owens are rascals and wastrels."

His voice choked hyn with the intensity of his passion. When, he had mastered himself a bit ho continued, You have put the black mark against us, and yet, from the time we were " born, 'wo have never touched anything that was not our own; wo have wronged no man"; we were poor,- and we worked hard for a living; we come of gentle stock; we had gentle blood in our veins, and we were proud of it. But you have made life unbearable. Our family cannot exist whilst you live, and sol am going to turn out,' that I may lull you in. the open*," . . . • " To "turn out'' meant becoming a bushrangerit was a camp-tire phrase. Vernon looked up at the dark face above him, and I read the fear that grew in his eyes. Then lie looked at mother, so white and wan, standing in the middle of the room, holding little Ken by the hand, and a flicker of devilish joy ran into his eyes, and for half a moment played in a smile round his mouth.

Bryan saw it all, and spoke again. You beat my little brother Ken, a wee laddie, with your whip; and you have left a scar on his face he must carry to his grave. For that I am going to mark voir, fo that all men may know you for a coward, as they know a steer by :ts brands." .'■,.. As he spoke he lifted his spurred boot from the officer's throat and place it full in his face, and throwing all his .'weightinto the task he ground his. feel into Vernon's face with all his force.

Then he cried, Tell all the world that Bryan Killoweu gave you thai mark for insulting a woman and striking a child it is the coward's brand."

He stood back, and picking up ,the officer's pistols and carbine, turned towards mother. ; "Goodbye!" he cried. "God knows I should, hot have come to'this if there had been any other way out of it. I would have borne it for your dear sake, but I know that this is the only way." Mother drew him on one side. "Bryan dear," she whispered, "do not take to "the bush. This thing that you have done is not past mending. You have not used firearms, or killed anyone. Make your way to one of the seaports, and so from there to the Old Country. My folk in Scotland will think none the' worse o' you laddies for defending your mother and your wee brothe-. They'll give a boy o* mine a welcome in Teviotdalc ; and in a' little while this will blow over."

"It.may not be, mother," he answered sadly. "This mr.ii would never let you rest. And, beside?, father has taken an oath that if this man's persecutions do riot stop, he will turn -mi' in order that he may " get bush justice. And if father ' turns cut,,' Davie will, turn bushranger also, for where father goes Dave will go too; and if Dave is- outlawed, mother, I'd ride to the end of the world to help him. So it is best as "it is I'll go, and perhaps I can end all your troubles." Mother kissed him then, and cried, " God bless you, my boy. Dinna stain your hands in innocent* blood, Bryan. Ye'll promise me that, laddie; ..ye'll promise me that.'

He lifted his hat from his. brown, curly head, and said solemnly, " I promise, mother. I'll hurt none ".vim, do not try to hurt me or mine, except that cur there." He pointed scornfully with the toe of his boot towards Vernon, who still lay on the floor. "I've been driven out beyond the pale of the law, mother, and I'll do as my forebears did; I'll e'en fight for my own hand, and they who come hunting Bryan Killowen in the bush will find he can take care cf. his own life."

Then he tore himself from mother's embrace, and gave me a hug and a kiss, whispering in my ear. as he did so, "Try and get the blood mare to Rowland's Gap/ Kate; I've friends there who will look to her for me." He next gave little Ken a long, long hug, and when he lifted his face I saw the tears running down his cheeks.

Without another word or look he went out of the door, and the night took possession of him, and his career as an outlaw commenced.

CTo be continued daily).