THE BUSH UNDERTAKER.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 4581, 1 March 1893, Page 1

THE BUSH UNDERTAKER.

JBT HBKBY IA.WBOK.] (The Antipodean).

*• Jive Bob !" Tho old man shaded bis eyes and peered through the dazzling glow of that boiling Christmas Day* He stood just within the door of ft slab-and-bark :hut situated upon the bank of a barren creek; sheep-yards lay to the right, and a low line of bare brown ridges formed a suitable background to the scene. • "Five Bdbl" shouted he again; and a dustylooking sheep-dog rose wearily from the shade by the side of the hut and looked 'inquiringly at his master, as the latter pointed towards some sheep which were straggling away from the main flock. " Fetch'em back," he said confidently. The dog went off obediently, and bis master returned to the anterior of the hut. „ . . ?f We'll yard 'em early," he said to himself; ■ u tho super won't know. We'll yard 'em early, fmd have the arternooa to ourselves." 'V ft We'll get dinner," "ho added, glancing at ''tome pots on the fire. " I cud do a bit of dough"boy, an' that theer boggabria '11 eat like marrer, along ofthe salt junk." He rose and 'slightly ' moved one of the blaok buokets from the blaae. .\ £'. I likes to keep it jisfcon tho bile," ho said in explanation to himself. "I don't like it to bile 'i> too hard. It.makes it tougb,— -I likes to keep it- '■■■. jist a T siinmerin'." '*.<■-'- Here his m«ditatioaa were interrupted by the •ntranceof the dog. ■ ■'•■'; "All right, Five Bob," said the hermit; *' dinner '11 be ready dreckly. Jidt.keep yer eye On the sheep till I calls- yer; 'kebp 'em. well ' rounded up, 'n' we'll yard . 'em arterwards and have a holiday." This speech was accompanied by a gesture evidently intelligible to the dog, who retired as though he understood English,— and the cooking proceeded, ' " I'll take a pick 'n' shdvel with mo and dig up ■■■ that old black fellow," mused the shepherd, evidently following up an old train of thought ; "I reckon it'll nearly do now. I'll give it a minet's more bilin' 'n' put in the spuds." She last sentence referred to the cooking, the first to a supposed. black fellow's grave about which he was curious. "The sheep is a-settling down to camp," said "the soliloquiser, glanoing through the door. " So me i an* Five Bob '11 be able to get our dinner in " peace. I wish 1 I had enough fat to make the pan >, VsUs,rd treeit mese]f, ; to a leather-jacket ; but it r took three weeks* akimmin' to' get. enough for „ them doughboys.'?,,.; „,.;Vj^' ,..... " In dus time the dinner, was dished up.; and the golitairo seated himself on' a blook; with the lid of • a gin-case aorosß his 'knees for a table. Five Bob squatted opposite with the . liveliest interest and -appreciation depicted on his intelligent coun- *;' tenance. :■ "\- J- ° i' ;; ;'V \ l ' ii " "■'• Dinner proceeded very quietly except when the carver paused to ( aak the dog 'how 1 ' some tasty t. iqoxsei ' w'enfc. : him; and; Five Bob's tail declared that it went yerv V«ll»J n( ieed. ,: ,;!,..■■■■ 'VHera .y'are J 'v't^ : tl^B," 1 /one'd.'ihe''.'old. man, .tossing the dog a large piece of "dopghbpy;" a i «lmk of Five Bob's jaws and the dough was ! gone. '■ ■■■': .■.•..•.' :, , , '■■ ' The old shepherd "washed up." the tinware in the water in which the "duff" had boiled, and afterwards^ with the assistance of the dog, yarded thesheep.' , • This accomplished, he took a; pick and shovej Lx. and. an old- bag from * under r his bunk;' and 1 started out over the range, followed, of course, by his faithful friend and confidant. After tramping ■ some three miles a " spur," running out from the main ridge, was reached. At the extreme end of this, under some gum-trees, was a little mound of earth barely defined in the grass. This was the supposed black fellow's grave, about which the old man had some doubts. ' ' ; ; He set to work to dig it up, and, sure enough, in about half an hour, he bottomed oh " payable dirt," or, rather, a skeleton. : , ■■ As soon as he had raked up all the bones, he amused himself by; putting them together on tie grass and speculating aa to whether they "belonged to black or white or male or female. however, to arrive at any satisfactory /.tonclusion he dusted the bones with great care, put them in the bag and started for home. . ,^ He took ashort cut this time, over the ridge „ , janidpwn a gully which was full of dead ringr bojfked ;tree« and lon^ white grass. He had nearly reached its mouth when a great greasg black "gohanna" (iguana) suddenly clambered Mp a sapling from under his feet and looked '■''rflgKtibler--" : ■ ■■ ' "'Dang the jumpt-up thing!" cried the old ■ ; ;- r ,;';iß|ni , "It did give me a start !" , : ;.,',', the foot of this tree he then espied an object ! ,, *»rhwa ho at fi^st took to be the blackened carcase v'«^^ia'at'e^),! hj& r <m closer examination' discovered 'I 'it to- :-.b\tn^^^; :^;/ t a:mn'/ : > vniißh' : .]ay.:ipn' its • ■./.'tto^iu^.yiitijUsiaco resting on its hands/ dried toia'mummy .by the intense heat of the western . summer. ' . i "Me luck's in&r the day! " said the bushman •cratching the back of his head while he took stock J of the remains. He then picked up a stick and tapped the body on the shoulder: the flesh jounde^likelbather, and he turned the body over •nits aide; it fell flat on its back like a board, and the shrivelled eyes seemed to peer up at him from under the blackened wrists. ' - He stepped back involuntarily, but, recovering himself, he leaned on his stick and took in all the ghastly details.

There was nothing in the blackened features to tell aught of name or race, but the dress proclaimed the remains to be those of a European. Suddenly the old man caught^ sight of a black bottle in the graßs close Deride the corpse. This set him thinking. Presently Iris gathering suspicions settled into convictions, end exclaiming " Brummy ! " he knelt down and examined the soles of the dead man's Blucher 1 boots, and then, rising with an air of conviction, •aid impressively, "Yes, it's Brummy !— busted up at last ; . I told yer so, Brummy ; I allers told yeras how ifc 'ud be— -an' here y'are... Yer allera ' was a fool, Brummy. Yer cud eammorn'n any man in the colony, but yer'd slush ifc all away in drink. I allers aed as how it 'ud end,' an' now yer kin see fur y'self. ■" I 'spect yer -was a comin' ter me ter get fixt ap' 'n' set straight, same as yer allers aster come ? then yer was agoin' to sweer off, same as • yer allera uster sweer off; V here y'ar, 'n' now I expect I'll have ter fix yer up for the last time an' make yer decent, for t'won't do ter leave yer alaying here like the fool yer allers was." He picked up the corked bottle and examined it. To his great surprise it was more than half . : full of rum. , . '.'Well, this gets me," exclaimed the old man; . "me luck's in for this Christmas, sure. Yor must ■ : *»' got the jams pretty early in yer spree, or yer wouldn't be making for me with near a bottleful left. : ; Howsomenever, bore's t'yeh health : Brummy." The old man looked round until his eyes fell upon some sheets of bark which lay close by, and • he now took two pieces of bark, one about four and the other six feet long, and each about two feet wide, and brought them over to the body. He laid the longest strip by the Bide of the corpse, which ha proceeded to lift on to it. " Come on, Bruramy," he said, in a softer tone titan usual. "Come on, Brummy, V don't be : layin' there in that state any longer. Yer ain't as. bad as yer might be, considerin* tHAt it must be three months since yer slipped yer wind. I 'spect I it was the ram as preserved yer. It was the death ofyerwhen yer was alive, *n' riow.yerdead ■ «n ' no good to nobody (whioh yer never warn't), it preservedjer ra good condition." . , • Se then placed the. other 1 eheetof bark on top, ' with the hollow side downwards, thua sandwiohing • the defunot between the two pieces— removed the

saddle strap which he wore in the place of braces, buckled it round one end of the elongated sand-wich,-while he puzzled himself to think of something to tie up the other end."

" I can't afford any more strips off my shirt," he said, critically examining the skirts of the old blue overshirt he wore. " I might git a strip or two more off, but it's short enough already. Let's see ; when did I buy that shirt ? Oh, I remember, it.wftsjiat two days arter Five Bob was pupped. I bought the cabbage-tree hat a week before. I can't afford a newsMrt jist yet ;— towsomenever, seeing its Brummy, I'll jiist borrow a couple more strips. I kin sew 'em on agen when I git home." So saying, he tore another strip off his shirt, and fastened up the other end of the improvised mummy-case. The corpse now looked as though it was in splints for a broken back. ' " I'll have ter leave the tools here," reflected the old :man. "I can't carry every think. I'll shove 'em in a log till termorrer. Come on, Brummy, we'll git home." He up-ended Brummy, and placing his shoulder against the middle of the lower sheet of bark, lifted the corpse to a horizontal position, then, taking' the bag of bones in Ms hand, started for home. ' .' "I ain't spending such a dull Christmas arter all," he reflected as he plodded on ; but had not walked above a hundred yards when he suddenly saw a black " gohanna " sidling off into the grass by the side of the path. f T.hat'B another of them dang things !" he exclaimed. " That's two I seen this morning." , " Yer don't smell any too sweet, Brummy,' ' he continued presently, addressing the corpse. "It must have jist been about the middle of shearing when yer pegged out; ' 1 wonder who got yer last cheque. "'Shoo ! there's another black • gohanna' —there must be a flock on 'em." He rested Brummy on the ground wMle he had another pull at the bottle, and, before starting again, packed the bag of bones on' his shoulder under Brummy, but soon stopped again. • " The thunderin' jumpt-up bones won't keep ! straight," he said. " ' Ole on, Brummy, 'n' I'll fix 'om ;" and he leaned the dead man against a tree while he settled the bones on his shoulder and took another pull at the bottle. About a mile further on he heard a rustling in the grass to the right, and looking round, saw another black "gohanna " gliding off sideways with .its long snaky neck turned to watch him. :

■ This puzzled the old man considerably, and the strangest part of iS was that Kve Bob would not touch the Reptile, even when ordered to " sick 'emj" but slunk off with Ms tail between Ms "Theer's sothin' uncanny about them theer gohapnao," said the old 1 man at last. "I seen swarms of grasshoppers 'n' big mobs of kangeroos but dang me if ever I seen a flock of black gohannas before J " • ' •_. '., ' On reaching the hut the old man dumped the corpse over his shoulder against the wall, wrong end up, and stood scratching his head while he .endeavoured to colleot his muddled thoughts ; but he had not placed Brummy at the correct angle to the wall, and consequently that individual fell forward and struck him a violent blow on .the shoulder with the iron toes of his Blucher boots. The. shock sobered Mm. He sprang a good yard and instinctively Mtchod up his moleskins in preparation for flight, till a backward glance repealed id him the true cause of this attack from thereat?. Then he lifted the body, stood it on its feet against the chimney, and ruminated) as to where he should lodge Ms mat! for the night, not noticing that th'e' shorter sheet of bark had slipped down on the boots and left the face exposed. „ , f\ I'spectl'll have ter put yer into the cMmneytroughforthe night, Brummy," said he, turning round .to confront the corpse. "Yer can't expect me to take yer into the hut, though I did it when yer was in. a worse Btate than— — Lord!" The shepherd was not prepared for the awful scrutiny (if so it might be named) that gleamed on him from those empty sockets ; his nerves received a severe shock, and it was eome time before he recovered Mmself suffiotently to speak. " Now look here, Brummy," said he shaking Ms finger severely at the delinquent, "I don't wan't to be hard on yer ; I'd do as much for yer 'n' more than any other man, 'n' well yer knows it;, but if yer starts playin' any of yer jumpt-up larks on me, and a-scarin' of me after R-hamphia' of yer home, by the holy frost ('n' that's sweaiin' to it) I'll kick yer tojhn* This admonition delivered, he hoisted Brummy into the chimney trough, and with a last glance towards the sheep-yards, he retired to Ms bunk to enjoy a well-earned nap. . He had more than a nap, however, for when he woke it was dark, atd the bushman's ,insticofc told him. that it must be, nearly nine ■ o'olQCk.. ': .- .- ■■ :,- -.. „ ■■;■■ .. ■. ' ' He lit the fat lamp and poured the remainder of the rum into a pannikin ; but just as he was about to lift tho draught to Ma lips he heard a peculiar rustling sound on the roof, and he put the pot down on the table with a slam that made some of the contents jump out.

The dog crept close to his master and whimpered, and the old shepherd, use*l, as one living alone in : the bush must necessarily be, to all that is weird and dismal,. felt for once, at least, the icy breath of fear at his heart. He then loaded his old single-barrel shot-gun hastily, and went out to investigate. He walked round the hut several limes and examined the roof on all sides, but saw nothing; the corpse; appeared to be in the same position. At last, persuading himself that the noise was eaused by 'possums or the wind, the old man returned to his hut, boiled the billy, and alter composing his nerves somewhat with a light supper and a meditative smoke, retired for the night. He was aroused several times before midnight by the same peculiar rustling rustling sound above his head, and though he rose and examined the roof on each occasion by the light of the moon, which had risen, discovered i nothing. At last he determined to Bit np and watch until daybreak, and for this purpose took up a position on a log a little distance from, the hut, with his gun laid across his knees in readiness. About an hour later he saw a black object coming over the ridgepole, and fired. It fell, and he ran round to the opposite aide of the hut, where there was an immense black " gohanna" in violent convulsions on the ground. Then the old man saw it all. "The thuftderin' jumpt-up thing !" he exclaimed, " it's, that same danged first gohanna a-follered of me home, V has been havin' his Christmas dinner of Brummy and a-hauntin' of me into the bargain."

As there was no one by whom he could send a message to the station, and the old man dared not leave the sheep and go himself, he determined to bury Brummy tho'next afternoon, reflecting that the authorities could disinter the corpse for inquest if they pleased. • : So he brought the sheep home early, and made arrangements for the burial by measuring the outer casing of Brummy both' ways, and digging a hole according to those dimensions. , " Come on, Brummy, it's time yer turned in," said he, lifting the body down. He carried it to the grave and lowered it down in one corner, end first, like a post. He then arranged 7 the bark so as to cover the face, and by means of a line dropped the body to a horizontal position, threw in an armful of gum leaves, and then very ro'uotantly took the shovel and dropped in a few i shovelfuls of earth ; then he paused. "AHer all," ha said, leaning on his spade and wiping his brow— •"arteTftll it' war Brummy !" This reflection aeomed f to' engender a flood

of memories, in which the old man became absorbed. He leaned heavily upon Ms spade and thought.

j " Brummy," he said at last, 'fit's all overnow ; ( nothin' matters now; nothih' didn't eve*' matter j nor don't. "You uster Bay as how it 'ud be all ' right termoirer (pause) ; termorrer's come, * Brummy--come fur yer— it ain't como fur me yet, but it's comin'." He threw in some more earth. "Yer don't remember, Brummy, 'n' mebbe yer don't want to, remember — J don't wan'fc to remember — but — well, yer see that's were yer-got the pull on me." His mind was evidently wandering.

He shovelled in some more earth and paused •again. The dog rose with ears erect and looked anxiously first at his master and then down into the grave. ■■ "Theer oughtet be sometnin' sed,." muttered the old man; "'tain't right to put 'im under like a dog. There -oughter be some sort of sarmin'." He sighed heavily in the silence that followed this remark*; Hand, jpyoceeding :■ jwith his work, filled „ the,, grave to the brim this time, and fashioned the" mound carefully with his. spade. Once or twice he muttered the words, "I am the rasgaraction," He was evidently trying to remember the something that " oughter be sed," and stood by the side of the grave. He removed his .hat, placed it carefullyon the grass, held his opon hands out from his' sides and a little to the front, drew deep breath, and said ..with a solemnity that greatly disturbed Five Bob, "Hashes ter hashes, dug terdus, Brummy." Then he sat down and covered Ms face with Ms' hands.

And the sun sank again on the grand Australian bush— the nurse and tutor oTeccentrio minds* the. home of the weird, and much that is different from things in other lands. ;.