First in the Field: A Story of New South Wales

by George Manville Fenn

  CHAPTER SEVEN.

  PREPARING TO START.

  In those days it did not take long to see the town. There were someshabby-looking stores and shops, a few settlers' houses, the hotel,taverns, and plenty of tents. The substantial parts were the buildingserected for the soldiery and convicts. But these latter were busyenough, gangs of them being marched out every morning under a strongguard to work at road making, quarrying, and other tasks; and as Nic,boy like, went round everywhere during the few days of his stay at thegovernor's house, he ran up eagerly, as soon as a convict gang appeared,to see if he could encounter his old shipboard friend the head warder,and whether he could recognise any of the convicts who came out in the_Northumbrian_.

  But they and the soldiers seemed to have been absorbed in the large bodyof men in the convict lines and barracks, and he looked in vain for thefierce, swarthy ruffian, his comic, grimace-making friend Twenty-five,and the pitiful, pleading countenance of Thirty-three.

  Still, there was a great deal to see, and the time went rapidly as hewatched the convicts at work with their armed guard always on the _quivive_ to shoot down any man who attempted to resist their warders ormake for the bush.

  There were the blacks too, fairly plentiful in those days, hanging aboutthe place ready to help drive sheep or cattle, or do any light workwhich did not entail much labour.

  The hospitality at Government House was everything that could bedesired, and here the lieutenant and ensign were welcomed again andagain during their stay.

  The last day came, when, after making all his preparations, the doctorannounced that they would start at dawn the next morning.

  "Why not stay another week?" said Lady O'Hara.

  "You know," said the doctor: "those at home are eager to see us back;and Nic here is longing to find out what home is like. When shall wesee the governor and you?"

  "Before many months are over. That road is begun, you see, and we shallwork up in your direction. Perhaps we may run over for a flying visitbefore."

  That evening Nic accompanied his father to where the various goodspurchased for him by Lady O'Hara had been stored at a kind of warehouse;and here Nic found a large, light waggon in the course of being loadedby a couple of fierce-looking, bearded men, whose bare arms were burnedof a reddish tan.

  The elder of the two, a man of about fifty, was standing up in thewaggon pulling at a great packing-case, while his companion, awell-built fellow, who looked strong and active as could be, washoisting up the case, helped by a shaggy-haired native, whose face shoneas if it had been blackened and polished like a boot. The white, orrather the reddish-brown, man attracted Nic's attention at once, as hestood there with his muscles standing out, making him resemble anantique statue; but it was the embittered, proud, and resentful look inhis face which struck the boy.

  It was quite evident that he was attempting a task for which he was notequal, and that, instead of the case being deposited in the waggon, itwould the next minute go down with a crash to the ground; and, as soonas this was seen, Nic involuntarily ran to help, and his father shoutedas he, too, ran and seized one side of the case, with the result thatthe black grinned and made way, to stand looking on.

  "Jump down, Brookes!" cried the doctor. "You ought to know better. Getthe case up first, and then put it in its place."

  "Know better?" growled the man. "I know how to load a waggon; but who'sto do it with a fellow like that and a nigger? One's got no muscle, andt'other's like a black-pudd'n."

  "Get down--quick!" cried the doctor.

  "I'm a-comin'," growled the man; and he descended slowly, placed ashoulder under the end of the chest, and it was turned over on to itsside.

  "Jump in, Leather, and work it into its place."

  "Oh, I can do that," grumbled the elder man; but his companion sprang uplightly, hoisted one end of the case, and walked it bit by bit to whereit was to stand, before leaping down again.

  "Is this our waggon, then?" asked Nic.

  "Yes, boy. We take the load back with us. I think we shall just getall up in one load."

  "Are the roads good?" asked Nic, as he gazed at the heavy packing-cases;and the elder man grinned, while the labourer addressed as Leather, (aname which accorded well with his tanned skin), glared at the speakeronce with a frown, and then told the black to help him with the nextcase.

  "Neither good nor bad," said the doctor, smiling.

  "But I mean for the horses to draw the load?"

  "There are no roads, my boy, and there will be no horses to draw theload. We have only a rough track through the bush, and our men usedraught-oxen in yoke."

  This was the first hint to Nic of the place being very wild. He said nomore for some time, but readily set to work trying to help where hecould, his father nodding approval as he noted his eagerness.

  Under the master's eye and in accordance with his suggestions theloading went on better now, though from time to time little matters keptshowing that the elder man lost no opportunity for finding fault withthe younger, who was either weak, stupid, unwilling, or clumsy in theother's eyes. But the man worked steadily and well, and Nic began tofeel annoyed and ready to tell the elder servant that if he would onlywork as well as his fellow the waggon would be laden much sooner.

  "I dare say father will give it to him soon, though," said Nic tohimself; "I've no right to interfere."

  The intended short visit to the waggon lasted three hours before thedoctor was satisfied to leave his men to rope everything on securely.

  "And it will not be done, Nic," he said, as they walked away. "That'swhere I want you, my boy, to grow up into a sort of lieutenant--to actas my second pair of eyes, and see that the men do not shirk things.I'm sorry to say that they will do it if I am not looking on. Now then,I'm going to show you the horses that draw our waggon."

  He led the way to a fenced-in pen, where a dozen fine, healthy-lookingbullocks were grazing; and upon Nic looking up wonderingly, his fatherlaughed.

  "Yes," he said, "those are our draught animals. They are terribly slow,but very sure. By the way, though, Nic--I never thought of that--canyou ride?"

  "Not bullocks, father," said the lad proudly. "I'll walk."

  "Rather a long walk, Nic," said the doctor quietly. "Well, I can walkpart of the way, and ride on the waggon the rest. But will it take usmore than a day?"

  "Yes," said the doctor dilly; "it will take us more than a day. Butcome here."

  He led the way to a rough, shed-like building, entered, and a couple ofsleek, well-bred horses turned their heads from the posts to which theywere haltered, and whinnied.

  "Will one of these do for your lordship to ride?" said the doctor,smiling, as he went up to and patted the horses in turn.

  "Yes!" cried Nic. "What beauties, father!"

  "Glad you like them. I bought that sorrel nag for you. He isn't up tomy weight."

  "But--"

  "Well, but what, boy?"

  "I've never been on a horse, father," said Nic, with a shamefaced air.

  "Never learned to ride? No, of course not," said the doctor. "Ridingwas not included in the range of studies at the Friary."

  "But we boys used to catch the donkeys on the common of an evening, andmount them."

  "Oh, come," cried the doctor; "then you can ride a donkey?"

  "Sometimes, father," said Nic, laughing. "They often used to send usoff."

  "Kicking?"

  "It was hardly kicking, father. One I used to try and ride would standperfectly still till I was on and tried to make him go, and then he usedto bring all his legs close together, put his head down, arch up hisback, and somehow or other, when he began to dance about, we always gotshot off, and came down on our backs. You never saw anything so queer."

  "Oh! yes, I have," said the doctor drily, "often. Our horses here havethat bad habit, and we call it buck jumping, for it is very much theaction of a bounding deer. Have you been pitched off like that morethan once?"

  "Oh! yes, fat
her; scores, perhaps hundreds of times," said Nic,laughing.

  "Come then, you will not be afraid to mount this horse, and I dare say Ican soon teach you to ride. It's too late now, or I'd give you alesson."

  He closed the door of the shed, went back to the waggon, where theyounger man was on the top straining at a rope, and the elder givingorders, while the black was squatting down and looking on. Here a fewwords of instruction were given, and a question or two asked about theflour barrels and bacon.

  These being answered satisfactorily, the doctor led the way back to theGovernment House, where they had just time to prepare for dinner andmeet the two officers and the captain and ship's doctor, who had beenasked to meet them by way of farewell.

  Bed was sought early, the doctor laughingly telling his son to make muchof it, for he would have to make shift for some time to come.

  "It's good-bye to civilisation when we leave here in the morning," saidthe doctor, looking hard at his son.

  "And he won't mind it a bit," said Lady O'Hara. "He's just the boy totake to a bit of rough work in the bush."

  "I'm glad of it," said the doctor drily, "for we rough it in the bush,and no mistake."

  Nic lay down that night in his comfortable bedroom after a long look outof his window at the beautiful moonlit harbour, with its shipping bathedin the soft, silvery light, and a feeling of melancholy came over him.He was sorry to leave frank-spoken, motherly Lady O'Hara, and thethought of going right away into the wilds, though fascinating, wouldinspire him with a shrinking feeling of awe.

  For during the few days he had been ashore he had picked up someinformation, and not always of the pleasantest nature. People about hadnot been backward in telling him that the blacks were rather fond ofspearing people who entered the bush. They had some ugly stories, too,about tiger-snakes, which lay waiting for unwary passers-by, and thenstruck them, the bite being so venomous that the sufferer would surviveonly a few hours at most, possibly only a few minutes.

  There were other terrors and dangers, too, in the bush, they said; butwhen asked what, they shook their heads very strangely, as if thesubject were not to be mentioned, for fear of ill befalling those whotalked lightly. So one way and another Nic was pretty well primed, andconsequently only slightly buoyed up by the knowledge that he was goingto his real home, he fell asleep to dream of all kinds of mysterioushorrors, among which was one that was terrible in the extreme. He waslost in the bush, and nothing was left for him to do but lie down anddie; and the first part of this he had, he thought, just achieved, whena loud voice came out of the blackness and cried:

  "Now, Nic, boy, it's time to get up. And I want you to see to the dogs.They know you."