Tales and Sketches

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5427, 30 November 1895, Page 1

Tales and Sketches

PEARCE'S PLOT.

A TALE OF I EARLY* VAN DIEMEN'S

LAND.

(Copyrighted.)

Chapter IV.

Not a day had passed since Pearce's discovery of the cavern that he did not side over to M'Kenzie's farm to spy around, hut he saw very Uttle to enlighten him on the doingß of that family. Ho was particularly anxious to ascertain what had been done with the bodies of M'Kenzie and Jacob Stanway. It seemed strange'that there should be any concealment in snoh a matter, unless it was to throw suspicion off the M'Eenzies regarding the attack and murder of Mr and Mra Pearce. If the, bodies were reported aa having been found at the place where they were shot, it would in all probability lead to the finding of the re-mai-qs of Roderick M'Kenzie's body and the newly-made grave, and even the Bupine authorities would have to make an enquiry into thq whole affair. Moreover, it wae exceedingly awkward to have Stanway found at snoh a place and in such company. It might jeopardise more than one resident in the district, and cause so close a watch to be pnt on M'Kenzie's place ac would render it impossible to dispose of uncustomed goods. About a month after the attack on Pearce's farm Topping had thoroughly recovered from his wound, and no time waa then loßt in carrying into effeot the scheme of the young man. He knew that Mrs M'Kenzie had returned 1 from her myaterious seclusion, and as ehe was aware of Pearce's knowledge there was no donbt every precaution would be taken to prevent a successful raid being made. In order to make sure of the plunder Pearce readily agreed to augment his party by two other oonvict-servants of an adjoining settler, who were recommended by Topping as eager to join in a marauding expedition and then form a bushranging gWsV' ' ' The night selected for the murderous attack on the M'Kenzie farm was a bright moonlight one, and Pearce felt sure that he would have no difficulty in massacring every soul at' the house. ■ This Was really hia bloodthirsty intention, and his. companion- wonld remorselessly obey him in anon work. The way led past the spot where the elder M'Kenzie and Stanway had been slain. To a man of less nerve and firmness than Pearce the thoughts thus conjured up by the eight of such a place might have caused them to pause in their fearful design, bnt the scene of tho tragedy only added zest to the work the men were about to do.

They Boon came in sight of the farm house, the white slabs of which shone out in the moonlight, and it was agreed to first gain an entrance tothe barn, whioh they would make a sort of headquarters and then attack the house. Topping suggested that an attempt be made, to get some of the goodß out of the secret cavern without murdering the residents of the homoBtead; but that idea was scouted by Pearce, who said it waa impossible to •secure the booty without having a clear field.

Leaving the horses tethered in a clump of trees, come distance from the barn, the five men rapidly made their way towards iti and as Pearce knew the surroundings better than the others, he led the way. Everything was as quiet as the grave at the barn, and after a little difficulty an entranoe waa eft'eoted. Pearce soon found the secret door, which waa partially concealed by bags piled againßb it, but as he did not want to enter the plaoe he merely showed his followers the door. The barn seemed to bs untenanted, and as it was about an hour after midnight the men decided to at once attack the honse. There were no lights burning in it, and as both Pearce and tho con vie b. Bill, had taken a good survey of its interior on the day they viaited|,it with the dißtriot-constable, thoy went forward with confidence to enter it and slay the inmates in cold blood. To readers of to-day such a brutal proceeding may seem outrageous, but in the early convict daya of Van Diemen'a Land suoh lawless acta were of too frequent occurrence. There was an open space between the barn and the house upon which the moonlight brightly streamed, showing in clear relief the figures of the five men. They made no attempt at concealment, but walked boldly across the open until •within twenty yards of the south aide of the house, when their advance was suddenly cut short.

From out of the shadows thrown by the building on that side several jets of flame burst vividly on the night, and the next instant the roar of musket-shota told the attackers that they had been expected. The volley was fired with terribly fatal affect, aa only.Pearceand Topping escaped unhurt, the other three men falling to the ground. Pearce ahd Topping ran back towards the barn. They knew there raußt be a number of persons in the house, not less than six shots having boen fired in tho volley. . Pearce's idea, in view of the surprise, •was to take refuge, if necessary, in the secret cavern, where he thought he could defy his foes, even if they know he was there.

As the two men entered the barn several moro shots were sent after them; but they missed their intended marks; and onoe inside it Pearce and Topping turned to defend themselves. They were surprised on looking baok to find fully a dozen men leaving the house and making towards tho "buildta*?* in whioh they had taken refuge. Neither of them had bb yet fired a shot, and they had three muskets between them as Topping had taken the weapon out of the hands of one of the slain companions. The tables were now turned on them •with a vengeance, and instead of being the assailants they were the assailed, and it was quite-evident thatthe fullest preparahad been made for such an attack. It might be here said tbat Mrs M'Kenzie had -gone to Hobart Town a fortnight previously, when she bo suddenly disappeared, to inform Jacob Stanway'a partner of the disasters which had overtaken the dead man and the living ia ao. far as the secret hiding-place of the smuggled goods had been found by Pearoe. Thia partner was a retired captain- of a whaling ship named Nicholas Stevens, and waa really the chief actor in the work of defrauding Her Majeaty of custom dues. He was naturally in a great rage when he heard the bad news, for it would probably mean ruin to himself and many others. The death of Stanway and M'Kenzie senior was not so bad as the discovery of the hiding-place, for it waa more than likely, he thought, that young Pearoe wonld give information to the authorities of what he had seen. This would inevitably load to the destruction of all the schemes of plunder he and Stanway had built up, and to prevent it a very decided course would bo necessary. He most, in fact, put young Pearce out of the way, and also any others who might share his secret, He at once despatched a trusty man to watch Pearce and note his movements, , and in tho meantime he gob together several of his cut-throats, and as soon ac his arrangements would permit took them up to M'Kenzie's form. Thoy only

arrived there on the evening preceding Pearce's attack, and they were quits surprised at being assailed in suoh a manner, for they intended during the early hours of the morning going over to Pearce's place and slaying him. It was the night-watch who had seen the five men stealing across the open, and he at once aroused his slumbering companions who were lying around in their clothes awaiting to be aroused for the expedition to Pearce's. They did not know at firat who the approaching armed men were, and thought it was a band of escaped convicts.

After the firat volley they ran in pursuit of the two fugitives and made as if to Burround the barn. „y'\ Pearce and Topping now began to defend themselves, and the former fired at the leading pursuer and wounded him. Another shot from Topping momentarily checked their advance ; bnt it was only for a moment, for, knowing that there were only two foes, they made a rush at the barn. One of them lOßfe his life inthe attempt by a shot from the third musket, but they still kept on, and Pearce called on Topping to follow him into the cavern. The prospect there waa not a very pleasant one, but it was the only way to save their liveß for the time, and Pearce soon gained the doorway. Flinging aside the intervening bags of com, he opened the door and sprang in, being closely followed by Topping, who closed it.

Pearce had scarcely entepred the passage when a surly voice challenged him and, to his astonishment, the next moment he was grasped round the neok by a pair of Btrong arms. He knew it must be an enemy that held him, and he made a furious lunge forward which took his unknown assailant off his feet, and both' men fell backward clasped in a struggling embrace. Almost simultaneously the sound of a flint was heard, and a dim light brightened the gloomy passage sufficiently to show Topping the two men writhing on the floor and a third man a few feet further back in the aot of joining hiß companion.

Tho convict, with ready perception, concluded that theso two fellows had been left in the cavern to guard it. and as the heavy blows thundered on the stout door of the barn the necessity of instant action forced itself upon him. Getting across the prostrate forms of Pearce and hiß antagonists, the giant threw himself upon the second man and with all hia extraordinary strength brought to bear almost crushed the life out of him in a few moments.

Nearly strangled, the fellow lay motionless, and, knowing the value of time, the convict turned to help Pearce, whose foe must have been a man of unusual prowess to so long resist the vigorous young man. The fight was being maintained in silence, so far as words were concerned, but as Topping grasped the man by the throat he gave a half - strangled cry, which wbb answered from without. A craßh followed, and it waß apparent that the door had been forced, and, tearing Pearce from the still clinging clasp of the unknown foe, the two hastened along the passage. Pearce took 1 the lead, and was not long in finding the sliding-door, which waß opened a few minutes previously by the men they had just encountered in the passage. It waß but the work of a moment to get through into tha lesser ohamber, and then the door was pulled to and they looked round for some way of securing the entrance against their numerous foes. There was nothing save the bales of goods aud whisky kegs in the second chamber, and several of these were at once brought out and plaoed at the entrance of the small passage between the two chambers, thus forming an effectual barricade. ;

So far there waß no appearance of the enemy, and in fact. they were in a rather awkward dilemma. It meant certain death for them to attempt tp enter the ohamber, for only one man could get through at a time, and he could be killed by those within without being able to offer any resistance— in faot, one man could beep the place againßt a hundred.

Nioholaß Stevens, who led the party from the house, was thoroughly enraged at the turn matters had taken. It was tmo that he had Pearce safely cooped up in the place ; but that did not satisfy him, as he wanted to get .back to Hobart Town as speedily aB possible, and before, going he had to deliver a quantity of the goodß that he could not now get at.

The situation was embarrassing, and he vented his wrath on the two half-dead wretoheß who had allowed the men to get past them into the upper chambers. He found, tool jn spike of the resistance and the close pursuit that Pearce and Topping had taken their musketß with them. There were no firearms in the cavern, and Stevens had hoped that without them he could force an entrance by a determined effort.

In this he wbb disappointed, and he called the men out of the passage, and, placing a strong guard over the door, withdrew to the house to talk tbe situation over with Mrs M'Kenzie and her two sons. There ho learnt that one of the assailants, who was thought to be dead, was not to be found, and it was evident that he muat only havo been wounded, and, taking advantage of tho whole party, being in the barn, hud got away.

This person was no other than the convict, Bill, Poarce's Assigned servant. When the volley was fired Bill had re. ceived . a ball across tho forehead whioh glancing off, had torn the skin and inflicted a painful wound. Tho blow stunned him bnt the profuse bleeding brought him, round, and, finding that no one was about, he got up and mado off unobserved, to tho forest. He remained in hiding for somo time and could see tho forms of the men orossing from the barn to the house, and it occurred to him that Pearce and Topping might have taken refuge in the secret cavern.

His leader had told them in the event of a repulse to make back for tho barn, aud when b- overod consciousness he noticed that neither Topping nor Pearce was to be seen. Ha scarcely knew what to do, as it was certain that the news of their attack' on M'Kenzie's house would soon spread aud lead to his arrest and being hanged if caught. As he wanted some food he made away towards Pearce's homestead with the intention of getting what he required and then taking the bush.

After barricading the passage in the most effective manner, the two men sat behind it with loaded muskets watching the aperture through which their foes would have to come. Provided there were no other meanß of entrance thoy felt safe, but both of them were puzzled to say how the affair was going to end. , Two hours passed and no one appeared, and then Pearce, leaving his companion to keep guard, proceeded with a view to finding some way of escape from the place. It had evidently been a fissure or " blow " in a reef which had been enlarged by human agency, and after an' anxious search the young man was forced to the conclusion that there was no outlet but the one, and exit by that meant death.

He next turned his attention to tbe means of subsistence, and, to his relief, found that there was no lack, of food and drink. He got some of both and brought it to Topping, whom he relieved from his watch, and the giant' prowled round the chambers as his companion had done, but with no better success. Neither of them could tell how time fled, but they must have been in the placo moro than twelve

W. Stbanob and Co.'s registered brand " Excelsior" clothing for boys, youths and men— is cheapest and best*

hours when Topping said to his companion, aB the two Sat behind the barricade—

" There musb be some way by which air gets into this place. If there wasn't we'd have been smothered long before this." The Bame thought had been flitting through Pearce's brain, and ib found voice in the words of Topping. There must be some means by which the air. entered, that was certain, but it did not follow that they could get out by the way the atmosphere got in. They discussed the question for some time and then finally dropped it, relapsing into the previous state of watchful silence. At length sleep overtook Pearce, and, exhorting his companion to maintain the strictest guard, he lay back and waa soon in a heavy slumber. . The silence and confinement were intolerable to the herculean convict, and before Pearce was half-an-bour asleep he got up from his crouching position and began another exploration of the place, keeping at. the same time a watchful eye on the entrance!

Becollecting that sound was a good index of the solidity of a wall, he commenced striking the sides of the chamber with the stock of his musket, and the blows delivered by him were of no light nature. He noticed as he passed around that the sound differed in .various partß of the cavern, and on the north side in particular it reverberated with a rolling sound. This led him back to that side again, and he renewed the blows on it with, redoubled force. Suddenly he almost lost his weapon as it penetrated the side, and "bb he Withdrew it a cold rush of air followed which caused the oil-lamp oh the opposite aide to sway and the light' to flicker. Eagerly following up the discovery, he dealt blow after blow at the place and the crumbling reef Boon* revealed a dark chasm behind the fringe of wall. Overcome withfjoy at this discovery he awoke Pearce, who was no less pleased. The cold air 'which entered mußt come from the outer world, and the thought gave them hope. Taking the lamp from the inner chamber, they held it into the fissure and saw that the jagged floor was only about three feet below where chey stood. This was important, as it proved the chasm did not go into' the bowels of the earth, but, in all likelihood, ran back into the rocky hill which overlooked M'Kenzie's house from, behind , the barn., • . ''li'l (To be continued.)