a couple of days after their meeting with the telegraph repairers the party arrived at alice springs—the most interesting of all the stations on the overland telegraph line. alice springs stands high above the sea-level, and there is magnificent and interesting scenery in the district, the valley in which it lies being of exceptional beauty.
as edgar looked at the scene mapped out before him, he could not help expressing astonishment at what he saw. alice springs he had imagined as a bare, desolate spot, and here he saw the great macdonnell ranges lying to the north, the source of rivers, creeks, and springs, the valley stretching far away to east and west. the river todd, running close by, lends a picturesque charm to the scene.
there were numerous people about when the party arrived, as alice springs is the repeating station on the line, and consequently a considerable number of officers were employed. the buildings were not particularly enchanting, but they were useful and commodious. several trees were scattered about, affording a comfortable shade, and the hot winds had not scorched up all vegetation.
the officers employed at alice springs station were a genial, jovial lot of fellows; and when edgar and will had been duly introduced by walter hepburn, they were at once made at home. after travelling so many miles, and living on the produce of their guns and yacka’s ingenuity, it was a treat for them once more to come across civilization. they were feasted and made much of, and the inevitable race-meeting was got up in their honour.
edgar noticed there were a good many men about besides the officers employed on the station, and he did not like the look of some of them. they had a hang-dog expression on their faces, and a lazy, loafing way of idling about that spoke ill for the manner in which they managed to knock out a living.
‘you have some queer customers about here,’ said edgar to walter hepburn.
‘you mean those fellows over yonder,’ he replied.
‘i guess you’re about right—they are queer customers. they are out-and-out “spielers,” and you generally find them loafing about in the interior wherever there is a new settlement. they are always in fairly strong force around here, and when we have races they are only too ready to make wagers which they have no intention of paying. some of our fellows are foolish enough to bet with them, and out of sheer despair at getting up a game of cards, i have known them play with these men. needless to say, our fellows never win. these “spielers” know too much for them. in my opinion, they are worse than the blacks, and a greater danger to settlers. horse-stealing and swindling they are always ready for; but they are cowards when fairly tackled, and soon seek fresh fields when a place becomes too hot to hold them.’
‘strange how such men can find occupation here,’ said edgar.
‘well, you see, it’s this way,’ said walter hepburn. ‘settlers in a new country, where white men are scarce, and blacks are dangerous and hostile, are only too glad to give a white man a welcome. no questions are asked as to who or what the white man may be, but they take it for granted his company must be an improvement on their black, quarrelsome neighbours. i’ve known blackguards like those you see over yonder stay at a place for a week, and then clear out with the best horses and anything else they could conveniently take away.’
‘i saw a couple of them eyeing our horses over a short time back,’ said will brown, who came up and heard the conversation. ‘yacka says we had better leave our horses behind when we go beyond the ranges, and call for them as we return; that is, if they will care to have them here.’
‘you can leave them with pleasure if you wish,’ said walter hepburn, ‘and i’ll promise to look after them for you as well as i can. you will certainly not have much use for horses if you are going west after you cross the ranges. it is, so far as we know, very little else but desert between here and west australia. as i told you before, i am afraid you are undertaking a great risk, and all to very little purpose. you may as well remain here a week or two, and then return south towards adelaide. you’ll have had enough of it when you reach there, without going farther north.’
‘i’ll consult yacka, and hear what he has to say,’ said edgar, and walked towards the black, leaving will with walter hepburn.
edgar explained what hepburn had said, and yacka replied:
‘i will go with you to adelaide, if you wish; but you will be sorry for it. we have come so far, let us go on. these men know nothing of enooma’s country. they have been lost in the desert and never found the green land. come with me, and i[133] will show you much. yacka has said he will make you rich. come and see if the son of enooma speaks true.’
‘you say we had better leave our horses here until we return,’ said edgar. ‘how far have we to go beyond the ranges?’
‘long way,’ said yacka, ‘but fine country. we soon leave the sand behind, and then you will see much better place than yanda.’
‘i will go with you,’ said edgar, and yacka was pleased. ‘we will leave here in a few days.’
during the time they remained at alice springs there was plenty of amusement. local races, and a cricket match filled in the time, and edgar managed to impress it upon them that he could handle a bat.
yacka amused himself in various ways. he kept aloof from everyone, and sat looking on at the various games in a contemplative style that amused edgar.
the numerous ‘spielers’ about the place found time hang heavily on their hands, and two or three of them thought to pass a few hours away by teasing yacka, and trying to work him into a frenzy. these vile wretches were adepts in the art of ill-using and insulting not only blacks, but white men, when they got the chance, and when there was but little danger connected with it.
yacka was quietly carving a stick, when three of these vagabonds came up to him. one jerked the stick out of his hand and flung it away, another upset the log upon which he was sitting, and the third kicked him in the ribs as he lay on the floor.
then these three white men with black hearts got a surprise from the black man with a white heart. yacka sprang to his feet with a yell. he seized the nearest man round the waist, lifted him off his feet, and flung him over his shoulder, as easily as only a practised wrestler could. the man fell with a heavy thud upon the ground and lay there. yacka bounded upon the next man before he had recovered from his surprise, and would have treated him in a similar way. the noise, however, attracted the attention of the ‘spielers’ mates, who came running up, and yacka was surrounded by enemies.
the black’s eyes fairly blazed as he looked round at the cowardly crew hemming him in on every side. he could not see a loophole of escape, so he determined to fight for liberty. yacka knew well enough if these men got him down he would probably be kicked to death.
a blow on the back of his head warned him his persecutors meant business. yacka could see no weapon handy, so he used his fists, and struck out right and left with tremendous effect. three of the crew measured their full length on the ground in almost as many seconds. yacka’s blows fell fast, but he could not guard himself at the rear as well as in the front. blows fell upon his head and made him dizzy, and he knew he could not hold out much longer.
‘there’s a row going on outside,’ said walter hepburn, as he got up from the table where they had just been refreshing themselves, and went to the door.
‘hang me if it is not that black chap of yours! the “spielers” are on to him. come along, quick, or they’ll do for him!’
edgar and will jumped up, and the three ran towards the scene of the encounter.
they were only just in time. one of the gang of cowards attacking yacka struck him a severe blow on the head with a heavy stick, and the black fell on to his knees. no sooner was he down than a brutal assault was made upon him. edgar outstripped his companions and was first on the scene. he said nothing, but he began to knock the ‘spielers’ about in a manner that left no doubt as to his hitting powers.
will brown and walter hepburn were not slow to follow his example, and although they were opposed to more than double their own number, the trio quickly drove the ‘spielers’ away, some of them much the worse for the encounter.
edgar knelt down beside yacka, who was lying on the ground half stunned.
‘the brutes!’ said edgar. ‘they have mauled him badly. how do you feel, yacka? any bones broken?’
the black smiled feebly and said:
‘no bones broken, master edgar, but i have got a bad head. i could have beaten the first three, but more came up and they got at me from behind.’ seeing hepburn, he added significantly: ‘that is what causes revenge, and the killing of white men.’
‘i’m not surprised,’ said will. ‘you cannot expect a blackfellow to stand such brutal conduct as this.’
‘no,’ said hepburn, ‘but the worst of it is the innocent suffer for the guilty. these brutes get off scot-free, and some poor settler meets with his death.’
‘yacka has never killed a man what you call a settler,’ said the black.
‘no one supposes you have,’ said edgar. ‘can you walk?’
yacka managed to stand on his feet, but his head swam, and he felt dizzy.
‘bring him into my shanty,’ said hepburn. ‘i can’t stand even a blackfellow being knocked about in this style.’
the ‘spielers’ were hanging about as they led yacka into hepburn’s house. as he entered the door the black turned and shook his fist at them, and a cruel look came into his eyes.
hepburn saw it and whispered to edgar:
‘i would not give much for one of those fellows’ chances of salvation if yacka got him alone.’
had it been a white man the ‘spielers’ had set upon, they would have been hustled out of the place quickly enough, but a blackfellow more or less did not seem to matter with the bulk of the men. the majority of them would have knocked a ‘spieler’ down with the greatest of satisfaction, but even in such a case as the assault upon yacka they were inclined to regard the black as the aggressor. this feeling naturally aroused edgar’s indignation. he had not lived amongst savage blacks as most of these men had, and gone with his life in his hands every time he went a few miles up country. the blacks in many cases undoubtedly attacked peaceful settlers and murdered them in a treacherous manner. this naturally aroused a feeling of intense hatred against the original inhabitants of the country, and all blackfellows were treated alike. when the settlers treated the blacks kindly it was regarded by them as a sign of weakness, and an encouragement to attack them. arguments such as these hepburn used to convince edgar the white men had good reason for hating the black.
‘the finke blacks,’ said hepburn, ‘are a peaceable lot; but when you get into the musgrave and macdonnell ranges, and farther north, it is necessary to be well armed if you wish to come back again. i have been there and know, and that is the main reason i have endeavoured to persuade you not to go with yacka.’
‘it would be cowardly on our part to desert yacka now,’ said edgar, ‘nor have we any inclination to do so. i would sooner trust a whole tribe of blacks than the brutal fellows who attacked him.’
hepburn saw it was useless to argue more, so he said good-naturedly:
‘if you are bent upon proceeding, you must let me supply you with more ammunition. you will want it, i am afraid, unless yacka is well-known to the northern tribes.’
‘you’re a brick!’ said will enthusiastically, ‘and i for one will accept your gift.’
‘it’s a good while since i heard that expression,’ said hepburn. ‘it reminds me of my school-days.’
‘where were you put in training?’ asked edgar with a smile.
‘at a grand old school, which i dare say you have heard of,’ said hepburn. ‘i was educated at redbank.’
edgar and will gave a whoop that startled hepburn, and before he could realize what had happened, he felt both his arms being worked up and down in a rapid style that took his breath away.
‘hold on, lads!’ he gasped; ‘you’ll have my arms off. what the deuce is the matter with you?’
‘this is the most extraordinary thing i ever heard of,’ said edgar.
‘i see nothing very extraordinary in my having been educated at redbank,’ said hepburn, ‘except the fact that i might have done the school more credit, considering the training i received.’
‘we are redbank boys,’ said edgar.
it was hepburn’s turn now, and the pumping process recommenced. they almost danced for joy, and yacka, who was lying on the camp-bed, thought they had gone suddenly mad.
‘bless my soul! it is remarkable after all,’ said hepburn. ‘to think we redbank fellows should all meet in this outlandish spot! the world is very small.’
what a night they made of it, and they were still talking over the glories of redbank when the morning light made the lamp grow dim.
