Part 17 (1/2)

In the twilight of the evening, when the murmur of the multitude was hushed, I crawled cautiously into the cairn (I should have been buried alive had it collapsed), and at once commenced operations with the flint and steel and tinder which I had taken care to leave there In another minute I had set fire to the wood and dry material that filled the bottohly alight, I discreetly withdrew and joined the wondering crohich I had forbidden to approach too close Dense clouds of sreat cairn, and in a short ti furnace, with the ordinary stones red hot and occasionally bursting with loud explosions, which threers of glowing slag high into the air

The blacks were almost paralysed with fear, and noring the hail of stones that fell upon their naked bodies I stalked aboutincairn burnt for many days more fiercely than even a stack of coal would do; and I never ceased to wonder that the blacks theo found out the inflammable nature of the ”stone”

By this tilish tolerably well, but we did not invariably use that language

Gradually and half unconsciously I fell into the habit of speaking the native tongue, until I suddenly found that the practice was obtaining such a firether; whilst it was only with difficulty that I could forlish I soon came to the conclusion, therefore, that it was necessary for lish than I had hitherto done; and froested itself to lish ere by ourselves in the evening I cultivated e, because I knew that if ever we should reach civilisation, English and not French would be the language spoken

Italso to mention that one of the first indications I had that I was losing e

In general appearance I was now absolutely like a black, and wore only an apron of eainst the scrub I encountered when on the walk-about In the ordinary way I never had any marks upon me with the exception of these scratches Of course, on festive occasions, I was gaily painted and decorated, and no doubt I would have been initiated into manhood, and borne the tribal and other marks, were it not for the fact that I was athe blacks

It is obviously is of every day, mainly because only the salient incidents stand out in my mind Besides, I have already dealt with the daily routine, and have probably repeated rief to me was the weakly condition of e And knowing they were doomed, I think I loved them all the more

Yet so incomprehensible is hu on what I should do after they--and Yaone; because by this ti ominously feeble You must remember that when I first ed by the native standard; that is to say, she was about thirty

The death-bed of et He called , because he felt he would never have been strong enough to fight his way through life, and endure daily what the other black boys endured Therefore, he argued wistfully, and half inquiringly, he would only be a burden to me He was a very affectionate and considerate little felloith an intelligence far beyond that of the ordinary aboriginal child He spoke in English, because I had taught both hie At the last I learned--for the first ti his little heart, that he could never coth and skill; and no doubt he would have become an outcast were it not that he was my son

Almost his last whispered words to me were that he would be able to assist me more in the Spirit-land than ever he could hope to do in the flesh He was perfectly conscious to the last, and as I knelt down by his couch of fragrant eucalyptus leaves, and stooped low to catch his whispereda beautiful new country, where the birds always sang and the flowers bloo hi irresistibly draay fros I do not wish to dwell All I will say is I kissed my boy on the eyes and mouth, and then, with a soft ”Good-bye, they have come for me,” he closed his eyes for ever

I felt it was to be A few days afterwards the little girl,child, was taken ill, and so feeble was she, that she soon joined her brother in the better land I seereatest of all was yet to cons of infir, with a vague feeling of helpless horror and sickening foreboding, that she had lost her high spirits and keen perception--to say nothing about the elasticity of her tread and her wonderful physical endurance generally She was no longer able to acco traether for so an to wither and wrinkle, and she gradually took on the appearance of a very old wohtful depression and acute ood deal now, partly because I knew the country thoroughly and no longer cared to explore, and partly also because I missed the companionshi+p and invaluable assistance of my devoted wife I constantly buoyedteht on mainly by the rew more and more feeble, and both she and I knew that the end was not far off Never once, however, did we allude to such a catastrophe; and whenever I fixedsome more favourable symptom, she would pretend not to noticewalk, which was really ht delude ourselves with vain hopes And she, poor creature, would tax herself far beyond her strength in order to afford s did not justify

For instance, she would run and leap and ju as ever; but after these strange and pathetic dereat exhaustion

Very soon ether; and as she grew e to tell lad than otherwise, because then I would be able to return to civilisation--that goal for which I had yearned through so many years She pointed out to me that it would not be so difficult now, as I had already been brought into contact with parties of white ht to us about the construction of the Trans-Continental Telegraph Line from Adelaide to Port Darwin No sooner had she spoken of death than I broke down again altogether The thought that she should be taken from me was so cruel that its contemplation was quite insupportable, and I threw rief and dread

I told her I did notas she ith me; and I tried to persuade her, with all the eloquence I could , she would return to civilisation with ht spread abroad to the whole world the story of her devotion and her virtues As she continued ed h the whole story of my life, from the time she was cast upon the desert island in the Sea of Tiers, joys and troubles, which we had passed through together, she broke down also, and ept long and bitterly in one another's arms

By this time she had become a convert to Christianity, but this was entirely aShe had such ied ht adopt it as her own Like most converts, she was filled with fiery zeal and enthusias , because she would be able to look after me even more than in the past ”How different it would have been with me,” she used to say, ”had I remained with my old tribe I should still be under the belief that when I died hest state would be to be turned into an anilorious future awaits us, and that in due time you will join me in heaven”

Yamba did not suffer any physical pain, nor was she actually confined to her bed until four days before her death As the various tribes knew the love and ad spread rapidly, and crowds of natives flocked to my mountain home

Widespread sympathy was expressed for me; and all kinds of tender consideration were evinced by these savages All day long an incessant strea afterwife

It seemed to be Yamba's sole anxiety that I should be well equipped for the journey back to civilisation She would rehearse with me for hours the various methods adopted by the black-fellows to find water; and she reminded me that my course at first was to be in a southerly direction until I caion where the trees were blazed, and then I was to follow the track that led ard She had elicited this information for me from the blacks with remarkable acuteness

These last days see woman had a serious relapse Hitherto she had always addressed me as ”Master,” but now that she stood in the Valley of the Shadow she would throw her arms about my neck and whisper softly, ”Good-bye, _ I ait for you--there”

For myself I could not seem to realise it So out whether this frightful thing was or was not a ghastly drea years, and every little instance of unselfishness and devotion would rise before my mind As I looked at the prostrate and attenuated form that lay silent on the couch of eucalyptus leaves, I felt that life was ony, and that I must immediately seek oblivion in some form or the other, or lose my reason It seemed, I say, impossible that Yamba could cease to be It see that she could be taken from me

Frantically I put my arms around her and actually tried to lift her on to her feet, begging of her to sho robust she was as in the days of yore I whispered into her ears all the memories of the past, and the poor creature would endeavour to respond with a series of feeble efforts, after which she sank back suddenly and breathed a last pitiful sigh

Language is utterly futile to describe ined aonly the quivering and bleeding trunk I felt that life held no ladly would I have welcomed death itself as a happy release frorief I often besought the repulsive savages about me to spear me where I stood