PART II.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XXVLL, Issue 4275, 14 September 1895, Page 2 (Supplement)

PART 11.

For several minutes Brady kept his visitors in conversation, and then he hospitably invited them to the house to have some refreshments and rest. " You can make a good search afterwards, and I would be glad if you could remain here to-night. I will join the search, and I know all the ravines and hiding-places about the mount. Perhaps those ruffians are lying in wait to attack my place tonight. If so, they will meet with a 'surprise, and even if they get away in the darkness they must leave tracks," ■continued the settler. " , The invitation- was availed of by the party. One of the assigned servants i was in the house, the others being out at work, so the employer explained. I When the danger of their being wayilaid by the desperadoes was drawn attention to, Brady said he would recall them, and,- going to the door, he disjcharged a musket. Half-an ihour later [the two men returned, and on being (informed of the risk they ran betrayed [no small amount of alarm. I The names of the three labourers (were Albert Swansea, John Hicks, and ;George Errington, and they had been a considerable time in the service of 'Brady. On being told of the outrage which had taken place at Shannon's, Errington said that during the morning jhe felt certain, he saw two men standing ,on a peak of Table Mount. The disitance was too great to clearly distinguish them, but he was confident the figures were men and not wild animals. This only confirmed the theory (formed by the district-constable and jthe lieutenant, and soon after the return of thejtwo men the trackers were again set to work to pick up the trail. This time they were ordered to the back of the house, and in the direction of the mount. For three hours the two blacks scrutinised every leaf and blade of grass on the edge of the cleariing to the west of the homestead. (Broken twigs were looked for, but the locality was a difficult one to successfully carry out such work. . It was near sunset when the searchers were rewarded. A fresh and distinct trail was found leading apparently from near the back of the house to a deep .ravine which lay between the farm and ;Table Mount. It was too late to follow the marks, but those in charge de,cided to take up the pursuit- at daylight on the following morning. In the meantime they would take .advantage of Brady's hospitality and jremain at his place for the night. The (Settler seemed to be peculiarly pleased iat this arrangement, as he said it would ;be a secure protection from a possible jinurderous attack on the part of the jfugitive-convicts. h As there was not sufficient accomimodation in the house for all the men, fit was decided that the two trackersj with three soldiers and a constable and the three assigned servants, should jtake up their quarters in the comjmodious barn. Of course a watch fwould have to be kept, and before reftiring to rest the different guards were jregulated. District-constable Bridges ,and Brady were appointed to take a (two hours' guard from three to five in fthe morning, and shortly before ten jo'clock silence wrapped the homestead. The two men who mounted watch remained inside the house, and when Brady and the district-constable were roused at three o'clock nothing of note had happened. 'f It was about half-an-hour after they [got up when a strange and sensational occurrence took place. Both men were in a dozy state when the report of a imusket rang out on the morning air, iand instantly the inmates of the house were aroused. Flinging open the door j Brady, with firearm in hand, rushed out .followed by Bridges. •• -It was at once seen that the party in fthe barn were on the gui vive, for the rtwo men had scarcely reached the door when a thin stream of fire shot .out from the end of the barn followed "by a report. The flash showed that the shot had been fired in the direction t of the ravine, and, calling loudly, 'Brady asked what the cause of the alarm was. ' Errington and one of the constables came up at the moment and said some intruders, presumably the escaped con,victs, had made their way into the l^barn. They were creeping on the •slumbering men when Errington awoke ,and in the dim light saw the foes. .Seizing his musket he fired, but in the ■ excitement and semi-darkness must ihave missed his aim. The intruders :beat a hasty retreat, but following the ■assigned servant saw them heading ifor the ravine, and, taking the constable's gun, he-again fired. 1 This contretemps effectually roused v the party. It was almost four o'clock, ,and, sleep being out of the question, Eldcrslie ordered" his party into the hcuse to await' daylight. As ithe outlaws were known to be armed, .circumspection was necessary; qtherjwise, those in the building or about it J_:,.u* t~*. „!! *. 4. *_ c iv.

scrupulous enemy. In consequence all lights were put out. " Is Tommy and Jack here ?" asked the lieutenant, from a dark corner of the room. 11 1 don't think they are, sir," replied a soldier. " I called to them to come; but I suppose they are hiding somewhere and are frightened to stir until daylight," he added. " Oh, let the poor, timid black-devils have their way. They are no use here just at present," replied Biidges, with a laugh. Nothing more was said on the subject, and silence reigned until a glimpse of daylight pierced through a chink in the log-wall. This was the signal to make a fire and prepare the rude breakfast, and in a few minutes most of the men were busy doing someing or other towards that end. In a few minutes Elderslie and the districtconstable sauntered out of the house and took a brief look around. There was nothing to mark that anything unusual had occurred, for the early and unwelcome visitors had apparently letc no traces behind them. "Let us go across and rouse those sleepy fools !" spoke Lieutenant Elderslie, striding towards the barn, followed by Bridges. The door of the building was wide open, having been left that way when the men retired to the homestead, and -though not expecting to find the blacktrackers in the place, the two officials entered. At the west end a quantity of straw lay, and stretched on this in apparently a deep sleep were the two bjacks. " Here, you lazy beggars ! Rouse up there !" called Elderslie, in a voice loud enough to wake the heaviest slumberer. There was no response, and in a passion the lieutenant strode forward to take more forcible measures. The light was not yet very strong, but as the officer got within three or four yards of the recumbent figures something in their appearance caused him to pause. The indefinable presence of death made itself felt. Silently turning to the constable, who remained near the door, he beckoned him forward. During the few moments which elapsed before the official came Elderslie saw that both the- black-trackers were dead. A small stream of ensanguined fluid had trickled from beneath the straw, and as the soldier's eyes became more accustomed to the light he noticed that each of the bodies had a wound in the left breast. The blacks were almost naked, and the cause of death was apparent. " They have been stabbed to death," said Bridges, stooping down and examining the bodies which were now almost rigid. " This is a rum go, certainly. It's a wonder all the men were not slain. They must have slept pretty sound for all this to take place amongst them without their knowing." "They slept at the other end, I think, and if Errington hadn't been roused it's quite possible the knife would have done more michief," replied the lieutenant. ' "There is michief enough, by Jingo! How can we follow up the trail of these scoundrels without the trackers? By the time we get others from Hobart Town there would be no chance of picking up the marks. I'm afraid we are thrown off the. trail. I can see it all now. The bushrangers saw our party during the day, and, noticing the blacks, knew it would go hard with them if something were not done. You know how frightened those fellows are of the trackers, and they decided to risk their lives in killing the blacks," answered the district-constable. "Yes, no doubt you are right; but they must have laid their plans with cunning and daring. How could they know where to find the trackers ?" came the response. "Probably they were outside the barn listening when the men retired. The blacks would be sure to chatter, although w.e cautioned them not to do so, and that would give the convicts a clue to their location. Some of these scoundrels can see in the dark almost as well as cats," replied Bridges. After fully ascertaining that the two luckless aboriginals were dead, the officers went back to the house and informed those in it of the tragedy. They were all surprised, but none more so than Brady and the three assigned servants. In answer to questions Errington said ; " Yes, we slept at the other end of the barn, and when I saw the figures — two I think — they were creeping from the direction of the blacks towards us. Being just 'aroused I imagined they had only come into the place, but they might have been a long time inside for all I know. There is no doubt they would have done for us had I not awakened. Ugh ! what an escape we had !" " It serves me right for not keeping a watch there as well as here. From the window there I felt sure no one one could enter the barn without being seen. The door faces right here !" exclaimed Elderslie. " I was watching in that direction when I heard the shot ; but I saw no one except Errington and Tom there. I'll admit I was a little drowsy," replied Bridges. "There's no use crying over spilt milk, at all events. What do you propose ?" asked the lieutenant of the dis-trict-constable. "We must push on at all risks. I'll send Cummins back to Oatlands for more men and let the magistrate know about this last affair. You will most likely pick up Mr. Price at Shannon's place, Cummins," he added. The pursuers were men of action, and soon their arrangements were completed. The constable was sent back with news of the blacks' death, whilst a soldier and the remaining constable were ordered to mount guard at the homestead while the remainder of the party pushed on. The three assigned servants also remained at the farm whilst Brady undertook to pilot the

rough country lying towards the mount. The settler expressed a wish to take Hicks and Eirington with him, but in this he was over-ruled. Packing up a couple of days' rations a start was made soon after sunrise. The tracks discovered on the previous night were taken up and followed for a considerable distance, the district-con-stable evincing some skill in the work. After going about two hundred yards the ground became softer and quite a well-worn path was found. This was unexpected and caused no little surprise at first, but it was soon removed when the settler explained that the track was made by himself and servants when searching the ravine after stray cattle. There were marks of recent footprints on the path, however, and it was cautiously followed until it ran on to a small range covered with rough quartz. Here it became invisible, and the men could not pick it up again. Shortly after noon the party came to the first spur of Table Mount, and at the suggestion of Brady it was agreed to ascend the huge hill and examine the fastnesses it contained. The settler felt sanguine the convict fugitives must be somewhere on the mount; but Bridges held to the belief that the escapees would more likely be found in the ravine, or, mayhap, nearer the settled districts. "I shouldn't be surprised, Eldeislie, if the scoundrels have doubled back on us and are now preparing to swoop on some farm-house. I hope they'll get a warm reception, at any rate. The people have all been warned, and it is their own fault if they allow themselves to be surprised," remarked the constable. "I am sure you are wrong. The murderers have certainly taken to the bush, and for that reason they dreaded the trackers. If they are kept back here for a few weeks — supposing we don't capture them — they will be starved out and must show themselves again," interjected Brady. " I am of your opinion also. It would be altogether too risky for the convicts to go back amongst the settlers under present circumstances. By the way, it is somewhat strange they took no clothes from Shannon's place. They must still be wearing the penal uniform, and that alone would make them uncomfortably suspicious," replied the soldier. It was quite true that no garments had been taken from the murdered settlers. In nine cases out of ten the necessity of securing civilian clothes by the escaped convicts urged them to robbery and violence. Their hideous broad-arrow-marked uniform had to be discarded at the earliest opportunity, for the free inhabitants or the civil and military authorities would hesitate to fire on a man dressed as an ordinary civilian. If the badge of bondage were worn he would be shot down like a wild animal, and with just as little warning. Guided by Brady, who showed a strong inclination to leave the ravine, the party gradually mounted the rugged and queer-shaped mount. The settler was evidently well acquainted with the district, as he led the way to some remarkable recesses which formed admirable hiding-places. When night fell half the ascent was accomplished, but not the slightest trace of the fugitives was discovered. A secure spot was selected as a camping-site, and in order not to unduly proclaim the presence of the pursuers no fire was lighted. A keen watch was kept during the night, two men being told off for each guard. From twelve until two o'clock Brady and one of the soldiers did duty, and shortly before their time expired the settler grasped the arm of his com- i panion, and, pointing downwards, whispered, hoarsely, — " Look ! Don't you see a man or some wild animal moving below there ? I'm sure it is a man !" The soldier looked in the indicated direction, and as his eyes pierced the gloom he faintly distinguished the outline of a slowly moving figure, nearly a hundred yards distant. He had scarcely done so when Brady raised his musket and fired at the object. All doubts as to the identity of the figure were now set at rest, for a flash broke from it and a bullet whistled over the heads of the party. The sleepers jumped to their feet instantly with ready* weapons, but in the darkness and the locality little or nothing could be done, except to maintain a strict defence. The mysterious assailant had disappeared the moment the shot was fired, and the eager watchers could distinguish nothing save the monstrous outlines of some gigantic rocks which jutted out of the mountain side near where the shot had come from. "It is awkward work fighting in a place like this at night. If we go in pursuit we will most likely break our necks down a precipice or be shot by these lurking scoundrels," spoke Lieutenant Elderslie. ■ " We can do nothing until daylight," returned Bridges, who was bursting with indignation at the daring and impudence of the fugitives who had ventured to attack them so openly. ult seems to me (he continued) that we are the pursued and not the pursuers. We must do something decisive to-morrow morning." " Those fellows appear and disappear like phantoms. We cannot get a chance to meet them evenly," added Brady. The whole party kept a close watch until daylight broke, but v nothing.occurred to show that their foes were in proximity. The cries of night birds and animals were the only sounds which broke the stillness. A fire would have been welcome, as the temperature was low, but it would only have drawn the fire of the convicts and could not be thought of. As soon as there was sufficient light a. careful quest was made around the spot where the man had been seen, but the nature of the ground prevented the tracks being followed far. . B T 2