第86章

"I didn't think of that until my mare came straight up to it and took it in her teeth, forcing out the cork, and sending the water up, which we were both dying to drink, in a beautiful jet.Gibson was now very sorry he had exchanged 'Badger' for the cob, as he found the latter very dull and heavy to get along.There had been a hot wind from the north all day, and the following morning (the 23rd of April), there was a most strange dampness in the air, and Ihad a vague feeling, such as must have been felt by augurs and seers of old, who trembled as they told events to come; FOR THISWAS THE LAST DAY ON WHICH I EVER SAW GIBSON.

"As Gibson came along after me, he called out that his horse was going to die.The hills to the west were twenty-five to thirty miles away, and I had to give up trying to reach them.How Ilonged for a camel! Gibson's horse was now so bad as to place both of us in a great dilemma.We turned back in our tracks, when the cob refused to carry his rider any farther, and tried to lie down.

We drove him another mile on foot, and down he fell to die.My mare, the 'Fair Maid of Perth,' was only too willing to return, but she had now to carry Gibson's saddle and things, and away we went, walking and riding in turns of one half-hour each.

"When we got back to about thirty miles from a place which I had named 'The Kegs,' I shouted to Gibson, who was riding, to stop until I walked up to him.By this time we had hardly a pint of water left between us.

"We here finished the supply, and I then said, as I could not speak before, 'Look here, Gibson, you see we are in a most terrible fix, with only one horse.Only one can ride, and one must remain behind.I shall remain; and now listen to me.If the mare does not get water soon, she will die; therefore, ride right on; get to the Kegs, if possible, to-night, and give her water.Now that the cob is dead, there'll be all the more water for her.Early to-morrow you will sight the Rawlinson, at twenty-five miles from the Kegs.Stick to the tracks and never leave them.Leave as much water in one keg for me as you can afford, after watering the mare and filling up your own bags; and, remember, I depend upon you to bring me relief.'

"Gibson said if he had a compass he thought he could go better by night.I knew he didn't understand anything about compasses, as Ihad often tried to explain them to him.The one I had was a Gregory's Patent, of a totally different construction from ordinary instruments of the kind, and I was loth to part with it, as it was the only one I had.However, as he was so anxious for it, I gave it to him, and away he went.I sent one final shout after him to stick to the tracks, and he said, 'All right' and the mare carried him out of sight almost instantly.

"Gibson had left me with a little over two gallons of water, which I could have drunk in half-an-hour.All the food I had was eleven sticks of dirty, sandy, smoked horse, averaging about an ounce and a half each.

"On the first of May, as I afterwards found out, at one o'clock in the morning, I staggered into the camp, and awoke Mr.Tietkins at daylight.He glared at me as if I had been one risen from the dead.I asked him if he had seen Gibson.It was nine days since Ilast saw him.The next thing was to find Gibson's remains.It was the 6th of May when we got back to where he had left the right line.As long as he had remained on the other horses' tracks it was practicable enough to follow him, but the wretched man had left them and gone away in a far more southerly direction, having the most difficult sand-hills to cross at right angles.We found he had burnt a patch of spinifex where he had left the other horses'

tracks.

"Whether he had made any mistake in steering by the compass or not it is impossible to say; but instead of going east, as he should have done, he actually went south, or very near it.

"I was sorry to think that the unfortunate man's last sensible moments must have been embittered by the thought that, as he had lost himself in the capacity of messenger for my relief, I, too, must necessarily fall a victim to his mishap.

"I called this terrible region, lying between the Rawlinson Range and the next permanent water that may eventually be found to the north, 'Gibson's Desert,'--after this first white victim to its horrors.

"In looking over Gibson's few effects, Mr.Tietkins and I found an old pocket-book, a drinking-song, and a certificate of his marriage.He had never told us he was married."And now to resume my own narrative.You will remember that I had settled down for a considerable time on the shores of the lagoon, where I had made everything around me as comfortable as possible.

Yamba had no difficulty whatever in keeping us well supplied with roots and vegetables; and as kangaroos, opossums, snakes, and rats abounded, we had an ample supply of meat, and the lagoon could always be relied upon to provide us with excellent fish.The country itself was beautiful in the extreme, with stately mountains, broad, fertile valleys, extensive forests,--and, above all, plenty of water.The general mode of living among the natives was much the same as that prevailing among the blacks in my own home at Cambridge Gulf,--although these latter were a vastly superior race in point of physique, war weapons, and general intelligence.The people I now found myself among were of somewhat small stature, with very low foreheads, protruding chins, high cheek-bones, and large mouths.Their most noteworthy characteristic was their extreme childishness, which was especially displayed on those occasions when I gave an acrobatic performance.

My skill with the bow and arrow was, as usual, a never-ending source of astonishment.I was, in fact, credited with such remarkable powers that all my ingenuity had sometimes to be brought into play to accomplish, or to pretend to accomplish, the things expected of me.I knew that I must never fail in anything Iundertook.