before they were awake next morning yacka, true to his promise, went to the cave and returned with some of the finest rubies and purest lumps of gold. he roused edgar and will, and showed them what he had done.
‘it is as much as we can carry,’ he said, and they agreed with him.
the gold was heavy, and they had a long tramp before them.
without further delay they collected their treasure, and made it secure in a strong skin loin-cloth, which was fastened by dried strips of leather, so that none of the stones could fall out.
‘this is like putting all our eggs in one basket,’ said edgar. ‘i think we had better carry the best of the rubies about us.’
this was done, and the bag again fastened securely.
the enooma accompanied them, and left them about a couple of days’ journey from the ranges.
at this point edgar and will bade them farewell, and yacka promised to return and travel with them further north. the black had explained to them all that had taken place in the caves, and they did not care to remain longer in that district.
yacka led them safely through the macdonnell ranges, and they reached alice springs, where they had a hearty welcome.
‘we never expected to see you alive again,’ said walter hepburn. ‘you have been away close upon six months, and we thought you were gone for good. i hope you are satisfied with your experiences.’
‘we are,’ said edgar. ‘we have seen many strange and wonderful sights.’
‘you must tell me about your adventures to-night,’ said hepburn. ‘i have kept your horses safe, and they will be ready for the journey.’
it was a relief to edgar and will to obtain fresh clothes, for those they wore were almost in rags.
the night of their arrival they related to walter hepburn all that had befallen them, and he was amazed. he could hardly credit the account edgar gave of the wealth found in the cave of enooma; but when he saw the precious stones and gold spread out before him, he was completely overwhelmed.
‘this is pure gold,’ he said, as he handled a large lump of the precious metal. ‘and these rubies are exceedingly rich in colour, and worth a heap of money. we have found rubies in the creeks here, but nothing to be compared to these. of course, you will return with a properly equipped expedition, and carry the bulk of it away?’
‘i am afraid that will be out of the question,’ said edgar. ‘yacka will not guide us there again, and i am sure we could not find the place.’
‘yacka must be forced to act as guide,’ said hepburn. ‘such a treasure as you have discovered cannot be allowed to remain buried.’
‘i shall not be the one to use force against yacka,’ said edgar. ‘the black has acted honestly by us, and we must do the same by him.’
‘if you fellows do not have another try to find the place i shall,’ said hepburn.
edgar laughed as he said:
‘you are welcome to do so. for my part i have had enough of it, and am glad to have got back again with a whole skin.’
‘you must be careful not to let anyone know about here what you have with you. there are some desperate characters, and a mere hint as to the wealth you have, and your lives would not be safe,’ said hepburn.
‘we have told no one but yourself,’ said edgar; ‘and we know we can trust you. you are an old redbank boy.’
after some persuasion walter hepburn agreed to accept a couple of fine rubies and a heavy nugget in return for the keep of the horses, and as a remembrance of their visit. as well as he was able edgar described the country they had traversed and the appearance of the place where the caves were.
‘even if you reach there safely,’ said edgar, ‘you will not be able to find the entrance. we could see nothing of it, and even yacka lost the run of it once.’
‘it is worth the risk,’ said hepburn. ‘i wish i had gone with you. i am used to these wilds, and once i had been over the ground i am sure i could find my way back.’
they did not remain long at alice springs, as they were eager to return to yanda and learn how their friends had got on during their absence.
the return journey passed in much the same way as their ride to alice springs from yanda.
they had a plentiful supply of ammunition, which walter hepburn had given them, and consequently were not afraid to shoot when in need of provisions.
edgar noticed yacka was restless, and did not seem at his ease during their journey, and he questioned him as to the reason.
‘i have a fear we are being followed,’ said yacka. ‘i have seen no one, but still i fear it. did anyone know you had gold and stones at alice springs?’
‘only walter hepburn,’ said edgar. ‘we were careful not to tell anyone else.’
‘you showed him the stones?’ asked yacka.
‘yes,’ said edgar; ‘we spread them out on the table in his house, but no one else was there.’
‘but there are windows,’ said yacka, ‘and someone may have looked in. it was foolish.’
‘i think you are wrong about anyone following us,’ said will. ‘they would have attacked us before now.’
yacka explained that he had not slept at night since they left the springs. he had watched and waited and heard strange sounds. he felt sure they were being followed, but at some distance.
‘you must have a sleep to-night, anyhow,’ said edgar, ‘or you will knock up. we can keep watch in turns.’
yacka assented, for he felt much in need of sleep.
they camped on a level patch of ground, where there was not much surrounding shelter, and where they felt secure against any surprise.
worn out from want of sleep, yacka stretched himself on the ground, and quickly fell into a deep slumber.
‘he’s dead tired,’ said edgar. ‘i have never seen him drop off into such a sound sleep. he generally has an eye open, and his ears catch every sound.’
‘are you going to take first watch?’ said will.
‘if you like,’ said edgar. ‘i will rouse you when i become drowsy.’
will soon followed yacka into the land of dreams, and edgar, leaning his back against the trunk of a tree, watched them. the treasure was close to him, and the sight of it brought back to him the scenes they had witnessed. from these experiences his thoughts wandered to wal jessop and eva, and he wondered how they had gone on during his absence. he was anxious to see them again, and when he reached yanda meant to take a trip to sydney as early as possible.
then he thought of home, and his father and sister, and hoped to have letters from them at yanda. they would be anxious to hear how his exploit had turned out, and what a glowing account he would give them! lost in these pleasant reflections, he did not hear the stealthy tread of two men behind the tree.
these men kept well in the shadow of the trunk of the tree against which edgar sat, all unconscious of their approach. they were desperate-looking fellows, dressed in bush fashion, and had evidently ridden after edgar and his companions from alice springs. cautiously they approached, avoiding the loose twigs on the ground, and halting to listen intently at every few yards. each man had a revolver in his hand, and a knife in his belt.
the taller of the two motioned to the knife at his side, and pointed to edgar. the other nodded, and drew out his formidable blade. he then crept, knife in hand, towards edgar, and his companion made towards will.
edgar, who began to feel drowsy, rose to his feet and leaned on his shoulder against the tree, his back still to the man stealing up, knife in hand. edgar little knew the peril he was in, and dreaded nothing.
nearer and nearer drew the man with his murderous weapon. he was now close to the tree, and had his knife uplifted ready to strike.
suddenly a laughing jackass, perched in the branches above edgar’s head, gave his mocking laugh. the sound startled him, and he turned round; as he did so he saw the man, and the knife he had in his uplifted hand flashed in the faint moonlight.
he shouted, ‘yacka! yacka! will! will!’ and sprang backwards.
the man rushed upon him just as will opened his eyes in a half-drowsy way, and dimly realized that a man was pointing his revolver at him.
‘move, and i fire!’ said the man to yacka, as he saw the black spring to his feet.
yacka dared not move; he knew it would be instant death to will.
meanwhile edgar grappled with his assailant, and a desperate struggle was going on.
the man covering will called out to his mate and edgar:
‘drop struggling, or i fire!’
edgar glanced at him, and saw the danger will was in.
‘hands off!’ he said, and the man ceased to struggle with him.
unfortunately, neither edgar or will had their revolvers handy, and their guns were against the trunk of the tree—the revolvers being luckily hidden from sight in the long rank grass.
‘we want that bag,’ said the tall man, still covering will. ‘let my mate get the bag and your guns, and then you can go.’
in a moment it flashed across edgar that if the men took the bag and the guns there would still be the revolvers, and that gave them a chance before the thieves reached their horses. he was not, however, too eager, and said:
‘you are a cowardly pair to rob us like this.’
‘you are three to one,’ said the man with a grin. ‘nothing very cowardly about that. will you “ante up” the “boodle”?’
‘how do we know you will not fire on us? we shall be unarmed,’ said edgar.
‘we want the plunder, not your lives,’ said the man. ‘come, be quick. we have no time to waste.’
the man was evidently impatient, and edgar thought: ‘perhaps they are afraid of someone following them from the springs.’ aloud he said:
‘we agree. take the bag and our guns and go.’
the man who had attacked edgar picked up the bag and the two guns. it was an anxious moment for edgar. the revolvers were lying near the tree, and the man might kick them as he went along. with a sigh of relief, edgar saw the man had not discovered them. yacka was on the alert, but saw no chance of making a move without injuring will, and edgar was in the same fix. the tall man ‘bailed’ them up until his companion returned with their horses.
having fixed the bag firmly in front of the saddle the man mounted, placing the guns also in front of him. he then led the other horse up to the man covering will, and levelled his revolver at him while his mate mounted.
yacka stood at the other side of the horses, and for a brief moment the man covering will could not see him, and the taller man was mounting with his back to yacka. in an instant yacka bounded between the man with the revolver and will, and jerked the horse’s bridle, which caused the animal to suddenly back. the man fired, but the movement of the horse spoilt his aim and the shot did no harm.
seeing how matters stood, edgar ran for the revolvers, and reached them before the thieves could realize what had happened.
a desperate fight now took place. the mounted men, whose horses plunged at the sound of firing, aimed at will and edgar, and the former felt a sharp pain in his left arm.
yacka still hung on to the horse’s bridle, and the man on it fired point-blank at him, the bullet grazing his head.
edgar approached this man, and when close to him fired. the shot told, and the man’s right arm fell to his side, his revolver dropping on to the ground.
‘winged!’ shouted edgar. ‘hold on, yacka!’
but yacka had let go of the horse and pulled the man out of the saddle. the horse, finding itself free,[195] galloped off, with the bag still fast to the front of the saddle.
the other man, seeing how matters were going, and knowing the loose horse had the bag still fast to the saddle, turned tail and galloped after it.
‘the horses—the horses! quick, will!’ said edgar. ‘we must be after them.’
will brought up the horses, and they were quickly in the saddle.
‘you keep guard over this fellow, yacka,’ said edgar. ‘don’t let him go.’
for answer yacka smiled savagely, and gripped the man by the throat so hard that his eyes started from his head.
‘he’s in safe hands,’ said edgar. ‘come along, will, or we shall lose our treasure after all.’
they rode away after the other man and the runaway horse as fast as their nags could carry them.
