Chapter XXXVI. Hunted Down.

Otago Witness, Issue 2203, 21 May 1896, Page 41

Chapter XXXVI. Hunted Down.

3RODGH the stillness of the • night- a sound was audible— the steady march of resolute men. On, on they came ! The earth trembled under their heavy steps ; clouds of red dust rose beside and behind them, and settled down in their wake ; the moon, ecarcoly a hands-breadth above the horizon, shone full in their faces, and showed the resolute, grim countenances of men who were bent upon a terrible task, from which, however, they were determined not to flinoh. On, on they came. There was bo talking or laughing in the ranks ; no jokes or horse play of any kind. They were not boys, but bearded men, who knew what they were doing, and had counted' the cost of discharging what they believed to be a solemn but a painful duty. On, on they came, without haste and without hesitation, like the relentless hand of fate. They approached, and surrounded the humpy. «• Bring forth the prisoner." The sentry entered the hat, and returned with the slender figure, whose visage was entirely hidden by a cabbage-tree hat of formidable dimensions, such as is common enough at the diggings, and which Hardcastle himself had worn. In bio hurry the sentry did not notice that the prisoner was unbound, and the men outside supposed that he had been released to permit of his moving more freely. A burly miner took possession of either arm, and urged forward the unresisting prisoner. The column wheeled round. The moon was behind it, and the men moved in their own shadow. And like the swiftmoving shadow of a cloud, or the tail of a huge serpent, they moved silently back along the track through the scrub towards the township. The prisoner offered no resistance. An appeal would have had no effect upon their determination; yet it seemed strange that no appeal should be made. - At the outskirts v £ the camo wif * lagg®

wattle, bent and twisted with tbe- wind, hacked and cut by oareless knivos. Yet a goodly tree, which in spring was huiag thick with faint eweet-scented yellow tassels, and now in the late autumn was well covered with grey-green leaves and bads. Towards this tree the men, as by one acoord, turned their steps. It wai a feature in the landscape, in a district where timber is rare, and few trees, except the eucalypti, with their straight upward branches, attain any size. This wattle vras the only tree for miles around that was suited to thsir parpose, and they knew this well, Under its boughs they baited, and the fantastic lacelike shadows of its feathery leaves and bods fell with a straDge weird effect on their brawny limbs and bronzed faces as they formed themselves into a solid semi oircle with the prisoner in the centre, who up to this time had made no protest and uttered no sound. It is hard to slay an unresisting roan, however great bis crimes may be. Four hours before their blood was up, and" they would hsve done it without hesitation ; now it was different, and more than one deeited that tbe prisoner should speak, and by some protest or defiance again inflame their anger. " Prisoner," said Stubbs, voicing the general feeling, "you have been tried, judged, and condemned. If any man in this world ' ever deserved to die by the hand of, his fellows, you' are the man I— double-dyed traitor, hypcorite, and murderer as yon are. j Still, if you have a word to say in your own defence, Bay it." No answer. The men had expected a wild proteßt, a passionate .or indignant disclaimer, but none came. The slender figuro, firmly held on either side, stood submissively before them, the face entirely hidden by the shadow of the slouch hat. " Speak, you rascal," said one of the in en. " Coward I " cried the little German, snapping his fiugera in the air. But somehow they all felt that the silence, whatever it meant, was not cowardice. And a subtle mesmeric influence spread from one to the other. In a shorb time they would have been incapable of executing tbe, vengeance on wbioh' they had determined, and the youngest miner ventured the question : " Why not send the poor devil down to Bailarat Giol, and let him be tried there 1 " " Because there's no justica there," cried Stubbs, who felt that his vengeance was escaping him. "There is no justice to be had there ; they would let him off I But, by God I he shall not escape us. Prisoner, we. accept your silence its consenting to the justice of our verdict. May God have mercy on your soul. Up with him." At the last words tha two stalwart miners prepared to lift the unresisting form, and two others, who had been fixing a rope with s. running noote attached to a branch of the > wattle, threw the nooca down, and in falling it displaced the prisoner's hat, whom it left standing bareheaded in the moonlight. A piercing and terrible cry rang out from the circle of miners, and a man wasaeen forcing his way madly through the Berried ranks. "Stop! stop I" ho cried. "My God! don't you see it is a woman 1 " And even as he spoke the long hair, released from its confinement under the hat, fell in great waves over her neck and shoulders. The men who held the rope dropped it at her feet, and thoße who still piDioned her arms released them, and drew back aghast at the thought of the mistake they had been about to make. She was free. Robert knelt at her feet. " Eulaliu 1 " he cried in choked tones. She bent her soft eyes upon him with a certain sad reproach. " Why did you interfere ; it would soon have been over 7 " The miners began to recover from their momentary surprise, and to be indignant at the trick played upon them. " Who are you ? " they cried argrily, " and where is the real prisoner 1 " " I do not - know," she answered quietly. "He has escaped, I hope. lam his wife." Again there was silence. At least they felt that tbey could ask her nothing more, and that it would be useless'to cross-examine and threaten such a woman. Stubbs and the other leaders drew back and began to consult together eagerly, determined not to be baulked of their prey. " He's on foot. He can't have gone far. ' There's no place where he can hide. If we search the scrub we must find him." It was now as light as day — or as light as moonlight ever is, for its bright radiance and deep shadows are alike far removed from the penetrating qaality of sunlight. And the miners started at once on their search, those who had horses availing themselves of equine assistance to scour the plain, while those on foot searched tbe salt bu*h and the scrub. But their efforts were unavailing. "He can't have gone far. He bad not much of a start," they said, but still they could not find him. Then Vost thought of his two black friends, whom he knew to be admirable trackers, better than bloodhounds. He went at enoe to find them, and took them to the humpy. They quickly pointed out the displaced board, removed it, and passed through the aperture. Then it was easy enough to find the spoor for which they were hunting, though in the eyes of the white men thero was no sign that any creature had recently passed that way. 1 On went the trackers, pausing now and again as if to scent the air, and then they would hark back a little and take up the trail again. Once, under a giant saltbush, they came upon a spot where the soanty herbage had been beaten down and the bents of the grass broken. Pointing to these, they made signs that the man they were pursuing bad lain down there to rest or sleep, and then shook their heads and went on, as if to say that he had not remained there long. Steadily tbey continued to follow tha track which was invisible to all else, of tea turning, twisting, and harking back a few paces, but never really at a loss. They covered a great deal of ground in their stride, for to them the fresh trail appeared very easy ; but however fast they went, they never turned a hair or showed the slightest Bign of distress. At daybreak they were at the edge ot the sorub and out on the vast plain fc&afc has been bo eftw alluded tg,

The hunted man had left his cover and taken to the open. The moon had long been waning in the western skies, and now the sun shot suddenly up from tha horizon in all his splendid panoply of crimson and gold. The great plain was flooded with direct level light, and the smallest objects were clearly discernible. Far in the distance were many specks, kangaroos feeding, or perhaps an emu or two. Nearer, in the direot line of vision was one solitary spot, slowly moving over tha vast plain. Tbe blaoks pointed towards it with expressive pantomime as though they would say: " Yonder he is — the objeot of our hunt." Stubbs, who had kept beside them all the time, shaded his eyes with hi 3 hand and looked ahead. To his wonderfully strong piercing sight the tiny objeot clearly defined itself as a man, and no doubt the one for whom they were in search. If so, there was j no escape. He must have been mad to take j to the plain, but having done bo his capture was certain. At this instant two miners on horseback came up. Stubbs stopped them and showed them the receding figure. "There's our man," ha said. "Do you, Jonas, lend me your horse, there's a good fellow, and give, the other to Vost. We'll soon ride him down, and we two are enough to tackle him." "You are welcome to my old nag, old fellow," said Jonas, slipping off, " but he is pretty well baked ; h« was out all day yesterday and now the best part of the night. He's pretty nearly done for, but if you are careful he may carry you for an hour or two." Yost said nothing ; he tightened the girths of the boirowsd steed and mounted. The blacks made signs to know if they should go too. After a momant's hesitation Hiram cotsseoted, and they trotted along by his stirrup, easily keeping pace with tbe tired horse, which he did not think it wise to press. There waa no hurry — their quarry could not escape. There had been no rain for months ; the plain was a vast expanse of dust, which, rising in an impalpable cloud, choked their eyes and nostrils, and made their throats like nutmeg graters. The heat, too, increased every moment, and quivered with palpable vibration over the surface of the land ; the soil itself was painfully hot, and the air blowing over it like a blast from a furnace. Tbe white men, although on horsaback, suffered greatly, but tbe black trackers were not in the least distressed. Tbe tired horses moved with difficulty and agemed always on the point of a collapse. So, though they gained on the fugitive, they did not overtake him. Suddenly Stubbs uttered an exclamation of surprise and horror. "He is heading for Oanyon Gully," he cried. It was indeed so. Whether by accident or design or the msre Instinct of following the track which he knew, the hunted man was makttjg direct for that spot where his own life and the lives of others had been already jeopardised. Stubbs struck his tired horse with his heel. The animal made a last gallant effort;. Vost too put on a spurb, and now they were near enough to recognise / Hardoaatlß. He looked round and saw them, his countenance hardly human ; inflamed, scarlet, torn by the spines of the spinifex, bathed with presplratiou, disfigured with blood and dnßt. " Yield," yelled Stubbs. "Never I" He turned and renewed his flight — full well he knew that a horrible death was before him, but he had chosen the form it should take, and he was fully determined not to fall again into the hands of the miners. Again the Yankee tried to hasten the movements of his steed, and the jaded animal, in trying to respond, put his foot into a crab hole and threw his rider heavily to the ground, while he stood by trembling. Vost anil the blacks hastened to the Yankee's assistance. Stubbs was quickly on his feet again. "Go on," he cried; "don't wait for me. Cut him off as ho is making lor the gully. Don't let him escape." They tried hard to obey, but Hardcaafclo had got another start. The black line of the canyon, like a yawning, bottomless pit, lay directly in his path. Vost tried to cut him off, but was himself afraid to go near the edge, remembering his previous experience at the same spot. Stubbs and the blacks ran at their utmost specd — in vain. The faster they moved the faster went the hunted man. His was the strength of despair. The black pit yawned before him— it seemed to rise to meet him. He welcomed it as one would welcome a friend, and with a shriek of triumph, which long rang in the ears of his pursuers, sprang high in the air and fell with a sickening thud on the stones beneath. This time no waterhole had cheated the precipice of its prey. Stubbs crept to the edge and looked over. A little heap of clothes and tangled limbs lay below. No sound, no movement betrayed that life was still extant. He drew back with a shudder and sent the black trackers round to make a closer inspection. While they were gone he sat still, with his head in his hands, trying to straighten out a few of the kinks in the thread of life. When they returned and made the report that the white man was oertainly dead, for he had fallen on his head and broken his spine, Hiram rose wearily from the ground and, mopping the moisture from his brow, remarked : " After all, there is a certain fitness in his death — into the pit that he had digged for another he hath fallen himself." And he might have added, , " All that a man hath will he give for hie life," and yet "he that would save his life must lose it."