"i 
 
 * ACK SHEEP
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 U^VERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 RIVERSIDE 
 
 ■r w 
 
 Ex Libris 
 ISAAC FOOT
 
 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP
 
 RECENT ISSUES IN 
 
 UNWIN'S GREEN CLOTH LIBRARY. 
 
 Crcmtm %vo, cloth, gilt top, 6s. 
 
 YORKE THE ADVENTURER, AND OTHER TALES. By 
 Louis Becke. 
 
 THE BOURGEOIS. By H. DE Vere Stacpoole. 
 
 A JILT'S JOURNAL. By "RlTA." 
 
 SOULS OF PASSAGE. By Amelia E. Barr. 
 
 A DOUBLE CHOICE. By James Baker. 
 
 EVELYN INNES. By George MOORE. 
 
 SISTER TERESA. A SEQUEL TO "EVELYN iNNES." By 
 George Moore. 
 
 JOHN JONES, CURATE. By G. Pryce. 
 
 THE WIZARDS KNOT. By William Barry, 
 
 THE MAID OF MAIDEN LANE. By Amelia E. Barr. 
 
 BLACK MARY. By ALLAN McAULAY. 
 
 AMONG THE SYRINGAS. By Mary E. Mann. 
 
 THE RHYMER. By ALLAN McAULAY. 
 
 THE TALES OF JOHN OLIVER HOBBES. 
 
 LONDON: T. FISHER UNWIN.
 
 BREACHLEY, 
 BLACK SHEEP 
 
 BY 
 
 LOUIS BEC KE 
 
 AUTHOR OF "by REEF AND PALM," 
 "EDWARD BARRY, SOUTH SEA 
 PEARLER," "TESSA, AND THE 
 trader's WIFE," ETC., ETC. 
 
 LONDON 
 
 T. FISHER UNWIN 
 
 Paternoster Square 
 
 1902
 
 rR4oa? 
 
 [All rights resewed.']
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. I BEGIN LIFE BY COMMITTING ARSON , , 1 
 
 II. MARY AND I AND PADDY MINOGUB . . 13 
 
 III. CAPTURED . . . . . .23 
 
 rv. LIFE AT THE MILL AND ON THE RIVER . . 30 
 
 V. SOME INCIDENTS OF OUR FAMILY LIFE . . 39 
 
 VI. I LEAVE HOME AND MAKE A NEW FRIEND . 54 
 
 VII. BRANDON GOES OFF HIS HEAD . . .67 
 
 VIII. AN ADVENTURE ..... 79 
 
 IX. AN UNLUCKY PLEASURE TRIP . . . .88 
 
 X. THE HEADACHE OF MADAME DE L.U^GLE . , 103 
 
 XI. IN SYDNEY ...... 113 
 
 XII. BRANDON INSTRUCTS ME . . . . 124 
 
 XIII. I VISIT MY AUNT SELINA .... 133 
 
 XIV. A WALKING-STICK AND A SUNSHADE , , 140 
 
 XV. MR. AND MRS. HENRY BRANDON DINE . . 148 
 
 V
 
 vi CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTEB 
 
 PAGE 
 
 XVI. " A DREADFUL MUDDLE ... 156 
 
 XVII. I AM " SHANGHABD " . . . . .167 
 XVHI. INSIDE THE GOLDEN GATE . , , 184 
 
 XIX. THE "muss" on THE " LANCEFIELD " , . 193 
 
 XX. ON THE SANDHILLS .... 201 
 XXI. CAPTAIN GIRARD OF THE " HIKUERO " , . 219 
 
 XXII. HINO GIRARD — AND MYSELF , , . 231 
 
 XXIII. POOR HINO ...,,. 243 
 
 XXIV. WANDERING . . , « . 253 
 
 XXV. A MEETING AND A PARTING .... 266 
 
 XXVI. DORA CHANNING . . . , , 277 
 XXVII. BLACK SHEEP ENTERS THE FOLD OF RESPECTABILITY 288
 
 CHAPTEK I 
 
 I BEGIN LIFE BY COMMITTING AESON 
 
 I, WILLIAM BREACHLEY, " Black Sheep," was 
 born in a small seaport town at the mouth of a tidal 
 river, on the eastern coast of Australia, and near the 
 boundary line dividing New South Wales and Queensland. 
 My father was the proprietor of a saw-mill, and had 
 a rather large family — six sons and two daughters. 
 He was a very hardworking man, and had two beliefs ; 
 one was that the saw-milling and timber-getting business 
 was the noblest pursuit in the world, and the other was 
 that the Sydney agents to whom he consigned his cargoes 
 of cedar, black-butt, and tallow- wood, were villains and 
 cheats of the deepest dye, and in this latter conclusion 
 we boys concurred, for whenever we wanted money to buy 
 a gun or a fishing-net, or some such thing, poor father 
 would gi'ow angi-y, and ask us to remember that he was 
 being robbed every day of his life. But nevertheless we 
 generally succeeded in getting what we wanted, especially if 
 we worked steadily with the men at the mill. It was ever 
 so much better lending a hand to haul the mighty logs of 
 timber out of the punts which brought them down the 
 river than being at school ; for Mr. Blackwood, the master, 
 
 2 1
 
 2 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 was a very big, robust Scotchman, who was perhaps afraid 
 of growing too fat, and so kept himself in trim only 
 by the exercise of flogging his pupils most mercilessly. 
 If a boy shirked his lessons, he would get a thrashing ; 
 if he did them well, and was punctual, cleanly, and 
 obedient, Mr. Blackwood would thrash him for being a 
 sneak, and " meeditating some meeschief." 
 
 He was, however, a useful man in his way, and had 
 his good points, and a sense of humour as well ; for 
 twice a year at least he would buy a five-gallon keg of 
 Queensland rum, and set himself to drink it as quickly 
 as possible, first putting up a notice on the school door : 
 
 " Parents of pupils attending this school are notified that, on 
 account of the approaching indisposition of the master, it is closed 
 until further notice. 
 
 " DuGALD Blackwood." 
 
 These bouts of his were the source of infinite pleasure 
 to the younger portion of the community, for at the end 
 of a week Mr. Blackwood would be so ill, and see so 
 many strange animals pursuing him, that the sergeant 
 of police, one Finnegan, would ride off to the nearest 
 town for a doctor. When the doctor arrived, he and 
 the sergeant remained with the patient, and finished the 
 rum with him. Then the two troopers, who, with the 
 sergeant, patrolled the district, would have to lock all 
 three of them up until they got better. 
 
 These divergencies from the routine of school-life 
 always meant a month's holiday to us, and as they 
 sometimes occurred three times a year, and we played 
 truant or shammed illness two days out of five, in 
 order to go fishing, my brothers and myself were 
 naturally, and quite justly, looked upon as incorrigible 
 dunces. In this respect, however, we were no worse
 
 I BEGIN LIFE BY COMMITTING ARSON 3 
 
 than the rest of the pupils. Most of them were the 
 chiklren of rough timher-getters, stock-riders, and other 
 bushmen; and, like their parents, their language was 
 of a most lurid and pointed character. Even my 
 mother, careful as she was, and anxious to bring 
 her children up better than those of her uncultured 
 neighbours, could not prevent us boys from learning and 
 using the every-day language we were accustomed to 
 hear outside our own home. I need go no further than 
 to say that the commonest adjective used was a word 
 which one naturally connects with the circulating fluid 
 of the human body. It was used either as a word of 
 endearment, a term of reproach, or a suitable expression 
 for a conviction or an opinion upon anything or every- 
 thing. The local clergyman, for instance, would not 
 feel offended if some respectable farmer or timber-getter 
 
 told him that he had "preached a b y fine sermon last 
 
 Sunday " and that "the missus and gals would come to 
 
 church next Sunday if the b y creeks were crossable." 
 
 The clergyman, being a sensible man and acquainted 
 with the vernacular, knew that no disrespect was intended, 
 and when bidding goodbye to his parishioners, might 
 perhaps remark that it was a very hot (or cold) day. 
 
 " B y hot " (or cold), " sir," would be the reply. 
 
 (This abominable word was introduced into Australia by 
 the early settlers ; and is, I regret to say, not infrequently 
 used to the present day in Colonial Legislative Assemblies 
 to emphasise any particular point or contention.) 
 
 At the age of thirteen, I was the only one of us 
 who continued to attend, or rather was supposed to 
 attend school. Jim and Ted, who were then fourteen 
 and sixteen, were helping father at the mill, and being 
 paid wages like any other of his employees. Ted, 
 who was a square-built, nuggety fellow, as strong as
 
 4 BEEACHLEY. BLACK SHEEP 
 
 a vrorkiiig biilloek, and about as good-lookiug, was in 
 charge of one of the timber punts, and Jim had to 
 di-ive the wheezy old engine, set the saws, and help 
 father to put patches on the rotten old boiler, which 
 was always breaking out in a fresh place. 
 
 My other three brothers by this time had all left 
 home. One, Harry, died soon after his retm-n from 
 Xew Zealand as a yolunteer — he came back with a 
 smashed knee-cap, haying been hit by a Maori bullet at 
 the imsuccessfol stonning of a pah. Another, the second 
 eldest, Morgan, went to sea, and for three or four years 
 we heard nothing of him, except one letter, teUing us 
 that he had been trading in the Dutch East Indies, 
 had tii'ed of it, and was then going to Hobart Town, 
 in Tasmania, to ship on the Fanny Fisher, whaler. 
 The third, Fred, had ^-ielded to my mother's wishes, 
 and entered a bank in Sydney as a junior clerk ; 
 but, being reproyed by the manager for fighting with 
 "a superior officer," he put on his hat, walked out 
 of the bank, and found employment with a well-known 
 Sydney steyedore and lightennan, named Bayliss, who 
 was also a contractor for raising sunken ships and 
 other diying work. 
 
 My mother at first shed t-ears when she heard of 
 Fred doing this, but, when he wi-ot€ he was getting 
 £5 a week, and working with men, instead of driying 
 a quill for £50 a year with a " pack of paper-collared 
 snobs" who tried to make fun of him because he 
 ■was a " youn» man from the countiT," she became 
 more resigned, and father said it was flying in the face 
 of Proyidence to expect a sturdy yoimg fellow of twenty 
 who could set a saw, ride a buckjumper, and kill and 
 cut up a bullock with any man in the country, to stand 
 behind a counter counting stinking bank-notes. He
 
 I BEGIN LIFE BY COMMITTING ARSON 5 
 
 afterwards became a famous diver, and made quite a 
 fortune Tvhen the pearling beds in Torres Straits began 
 to be worked. 
 
 Poor Fred ! we never saw him again, for, some years 
 later, he died under the clubs of the murderous savages 
 of Bougainville Island in the Solomon Group. 
 
 AVith Jim and Ted at the mill helping father, my 
 life at school soon began to be unbearable, for as Mr. 
 Blackwood was no longer able to give them their daily 
 thrashing, I received it instead, in addition to my own; and 
 although by this time I was a sort of human pachyderm 
 from the continual application of the master's supplejack 
 to every inch of my body, the thing began to pall on me. 
 
 My particular chum was a big, red-headed girl oi 
 fifteen, named Mary Dick. She was Blackwood's niece; 
 acted as pupil teacher, and hated her imcle most fer- 
 vently, for until she gi'ew too big and strong to be 
 flogged like the rest of the pupils, her skin had under- 
 gone the tanning process with the rest of us. She was 
 a great rider and swimmer, could climb a gum-tree after 
 a native bear or opossum like any black fellow, and had 
 a men-y heart and good-natured disposition. 
 
 " Mary," I said to her one day, showing her the back 
 of my left hand, which was swollen and crippled by a 
 blow from her uncle's terrible supplejack, " look at this ; 
 I believe some of the bones are broken." 
 
 It was after school-hom-s, so Mary and I went to the 
 pump, and as I held my hand under the nozzle, she 
 pumped. 
 
 " That's what he calls ' the incentive to open-handed- 
 ness,' " she said, as she looked at my unfortimate paw; 
 " you must never shut one hand when he is caning you 
 on the other. It makes him as savage as a beast. And 
 he is a beast ! "
 
 6 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEf 
 
 This expression of Mary's was uttered with such 
 wholesome sincerity, that it added fuel to the rage I felt, 
 and I said that I would have my revenge, even if I were 
 killed for it. If my father would not put me to work at 
 the mill, I was determined not to come back to school. 
 Mary sympathised with me, and said she wished she 
 were a boy too. " Some of these days," she added, with 
 a savage gleam in her blue eyes, " I will put something 
 into his food to half-poison him. Then I'll make a bolt 
 for it, and walk along the coast to Sydney — it's only two 
 hundred miles." 
 
 When I showed my hand to my father and mother, 
 the latter was angry, and even my father, who was used 
 to the sight of bruised hands and bleeding fingers — for 
 such things were of common occurrence among the men 
 working at the mill — muttered that it was " a bit too 
 stiff." In the evening he walked up to the master's 
 house, and in a few words explained his dissatisfaction 
 at Mr. Blackwood's method of punishment. " You 
 have no business to hit a boy such a crack as that on 
 the back of the hand," he said, " and I tell you I won't 
 have it. Wliy, you might have crippled him — and a 
 gammy-handed lad wouldn't be much use to me in the 
 mill. There's plenty of room on him elsewhere. So be 
 careful, or else his brother Ted will come and take it 
 out of you. He's only lying low for a chance. Good- 
 night." 
 
 Having thus discharged his duty as a parent, my 
 father thought no more of the matter, and ordered me 
 back to school, but said he would not keep me there for 
 more than six months. 
 
 On the following morning, at nine o'clock, before we 
 began lessons, Mr. Blackwood ordered me out on the 
 floor, and then fixing his eye on me, and pulling his long
 
 I BEGIN LIFE BY COMMITTING ARSON 7 
 
 bushy beard, called the attention of the school to me as 
 a poor milksop, who ran home with tales to his mammy. 
 My blood boiled at his sneering and contemptuous 
 tones, but I had to suffer it in silence. Then, adding 
 insult to injury, he ordered me to take my seat with the 
 girls. This I flatly refused to do, whereupon he flogged 
 me soundly on my back and elsewhere, but took care not 
 to touch my swollen hand. I set my teeth as each 
 stroke of that terrible supplejack seemed to cut into my 
 very vitals, and then staggered to my own seat breathless 
 and exhausted with the agony I was enduring. 
 
 That evening Mary Dick came down to our house to 
 see how I was getting on, and she, Ted, Jim, and 
 myself, formed ourselves into a committee of ways and 
 means to " get even " on old Blackwood (we called him 
 *' old," though he was not much past forty). 
 
 Ted, who, although not yet eighteen years of age, had 
 quite a local reputation for his skill in the noble art ot 
 self-defence, and had to exercise it frequently with the 
 men and boys at the mill — for they were a rough lot, 
 and fights were an almost every-day item — said he would 
 tackle "old Blackie " on the following evening, after 
 work was over at the mill, and take it out of him. But 
 Mary protested. 
 
 " Don't you try it, Ned ! He's as strong as a bullock, 
 and although he can't fight, if he once got hold of you, 
 you wouldn't have the ghost of a show. No, let us wait 
 a bit. The New Moon will be here in a day or two, and 
 uncle's keg of rum is on board, I know. Then we can 
 do something." 
 
 The New Moon was a venerable steamer which traded 
 between Moreton Bay (Brisbane) and Sydney, and twice 
 every year called at our little port to ship timber from 
 the mill, and her captain on these occasions always
 
 8 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 brought Mr. Blackwood the five-gallon keg of rum before 
 mentioned. 
 
 Two or three days later the New Moon crossed over 
 the bar, and came alongside father's wharf, and pre- 
 sently we saw a blackfellow staggering up the grass- 
 grown street, towards the school, with a corn-sack on 
 his back. In the corn-sack was the keg of rum destined 
 for the schoolmaster, who fatuously imagined that the 
 townspeople believed it to be a keg of American pork. 
 
 At nine o'clock the next morning the usual notice was 
 placed on the school door, the weary supplejack was laid 
 to rest, and Mr. Blackwood began his usual orgie, whilst 
 a camp of blacks — bucks and gins — established them- 
 selves in the school paddock to wait upon him, and get 
 an occasional tot of the fiery spirit in reward for their 
 services. Scandalous tongues said that on these 
 occasions — Mary Dick and the old housekeeper having 
 fled the place— the learned dominie enjoyed the society 
 of the gins, and made these black and odorous ladies 
 honoured guests, until they were driven out by the 
 sergeant of police, who naturally resented their sharing 
 the keg of rum as an outrage upon society in general 
 and a distinct wrong to himself in particular. 
 
 On the third evening (which was a Satm-day) after the 
 arrival of the rum, Mary Dick and I, about ten o'clock 
 at night, walked across the school paddock to her uncle's 
 house and tried to see what was going on inside. The 
 place was in darkness, except for the faint glow of a log 
 fire in the sitting-room, which shone through the slab 
 sides of the dwelling. 
 
 The night was very cold, for it was the month of 
 June, and a keen wind blew from the west. Creeping 
 silently along till we came to a place where there was a 
 wider opening in the rough wooden walls, we looked in.
 
 I BEGIN LIFE BY COMMITTING ARSON 9 
 
 " The beast, the beast ! " muttered Mary, as she 
 clenched her hands. 
 
 In the centre of the room were lying two black fellows 
 and five gins, all sunk deep in the heavy slumber of 
 drunkenness ; on the sofa was the instructor of youth, 
 his chin upon his chest, and his usually flowing beard 
 tousled up in a rough, bulbous-looking mass. The keg 
 of rum stood on the floor beside the couch, with some 
 cups and tin pannikins lying about. One of the gins — 
 a young, well-formed girl — was clothed in one of Mary's 
 skirts, which was tied round her black waist, the upper 
 portion of her body being exposed. 
 
 " I'll soon get that ofi" her," whispered Mary to me, 
 her eyes glittering with passion ; "let us try the door 
 first." 
 
 The door was barred from the inside, and each of the 
 two windows was secured by heavy wooden shutters, 
 which also fastened from the inside. Then we turned 
 our attention to the roof, which was of bark. 
 
 Mary stooped down, and I got on her back ; she rose 
 so as to give me a good hoist. I clutched hold of the 
 lowest layer of the rough sheets of the bark and was 
 soon at work with my clasp-knife. In a few minutes a 
 six feet by three sheet was cut adrift and carefully 
 pushed aside. Then, hanging by my knees to the 
 rafters, I held out my hands to Mary, who, kicking off 
 her rough Blucher boots, placed her feet against the 
 slab timbers of the house and pulled herself up. 
 
 We sat together beside the opening for awhile, gazing 
 on the edifying scene — I longing either to murder or 
 inflict some lasting injury on my supplejacking persecutor; 
 she eyeing the half-nude figure of the gentle savage who 
 was wearing her best print skirt. 
 
 "Are you game ? " she whispered.
 
 10 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 I nodded. I was "game" for anything, for as I 
 looked down upon the large, sprawling figure of Black- 
 wood, and heard his drunken snore, my whole frame 
 seemed to ache anew with the agony of my last 
 flogging. 
 
 "We dropped down inside, and Mary kicked the skirt- 
 wearer in the ribs with her large Scotch foot. The 
 black girl only grunted — she was too drunk to do more. 
 In a moment Mary tore the garment from her, rolled it 
 into a bundle, and, with a look of intense hatred at the 
 figure lying on the couch, threw it on the fire. 
 
 The three other gins and the two bucks were so 
 heavily weighted with rum that they, like their learned 
 host, slept like hogs ; and so Mary and I lit some tallow 
 candles and made a thorough survey of the place. On 
 a shelf near one of the windows were a number of 
 books, among them a large, heavily-bound Bible and a 
 " Cruden's Concordance." These Mary took up and 
 laid on the fire on the top of the smoking and smoulder- 
 ing skirt. They were the two volumes in her uncle's 
 scant library of which he was — or pretended to be — 
 very proud, inasmuch as both had been presented to 
 him by some college professor in Aberdeen. 
 
 "Let us burn them both," she said harshly, and, 
 speaking loudly, " this house is not a fit place for God's 
 Word. Oh, you beast, you brute ! " and, standing beside 
 the schoolmaster, she shook her clenched hand before 
 his unconscious face, and then spat at him. 
 
 For a moment or two her aspect terrified me. Jler 
 long red hair had fallen around her shoulders, and her 
 usually kindly eyes were blazing with almost uncon- 
 trollable passion as she clenched her big, bony hands 
 tightly together. Then she sobbed softly, and her 
 hand sought mine.
 
 I BEGIN LIFE BY COMMITTING ARSON 11 
 
 " He is a wicked beast, Billy, and I hate liira ; but lie 
 is my dead mother's brother. Wait for me." 
 
 She sprang to her feet again and went into her own • 
 bedroom, returning in a few minutes with a bundle rolled 
 up in a scarlet blanket and secured by two saddle-straps. 
 
 "Billy, I'm off. I'm going to foot it to Sydney. I 
 can't stay here with a thing like that," and she pointed 
 Avith a sob to her uncle. " God help me, I'm only a 
 girl, but I won't stay here. I'd as soon live in hell as 
 be disgraced like this." 
 
 A quick flood of sympathy filled my heart. " Dear 
 Mary, don't run away. Come to us. Mother will be 
 your friend, and you will be safe with us." 
 
 She shook her head. " I'm off, Billy. If I stayed 
 here I should do something dreadful some day. He's 
 only unkind to me when he's sober, but he's a cruel 
 dog to me when he's drunk." 
 
 She sobbed again, and then her eyes fell on the keg 
 of rum. 
 
 " That's the devil that makes a devil of him, Billy," 
 she said in a harsh, dry voice. 
 
 "I know it is," I said, as I went up to the keg and 
 lifted it. " It's three-parts full now. Let's put it on 
 the fire, Mary, and burn it." 
 
 She nodded. "Yes, let us burn it, and we'll stay 
 here and watch it." 
 
 I lifted the keg and dumped it down on the big, 
 smouldering iron-bark logs between the big Bible and 
 " Cruden's Concordance," the leather bindings of which 
 were sending up a dense volume of smoke. Little did 
 either of us dream of the result. 
 
 For some five minutes or so we, standing hand in 
 hand by the door (which we had unbarred) , watched the 
 dulled smoky flames curling around the little, fat keg, so
 
 12 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 neatly dimnaged by the two books. Then one of the 
 burning logs yielded to the weight upon it and gave way 
 with a shower of sparks, the keg rolled over, and the 
 rum poured out from the open bung. In an instant 
 there was a blinding flash of light and an explosion 
 which, to us, seemed to have destroyed the universe, 
 for it dashed us violently against the further side of 
 the room. 
 
 I was the first to recover myself, and remember lift- 
 ing Mary to her feet and pointing with an exclamation 
 of horror to that end of the room in which the wide, 
 open fireplace stood. It was in flames, and her uncle, 
 with his hands to his face and his beard on fire, was 
 staggering and rolling about, and in imminent danger 
 of terminating his scholastic career by tumbling into 
 the fm'nace of the now roaring fireplace. The bucks 
 and gins, drunk as they were, were also awakened, and 
 making for the doorway on their hands and knees. 
 
 Throwing her bundle outside, Mary rushed to her 
 uncle, imploring me to help her. We seized him by 
 his arms and partly dragged, partly carried him outside 
 to a safe distance from the school-house. 
 
 Gasping with our exertions, we took no heed of him 
 as he lay upon the frosty sward, but watched the flames 
 and smoke bursting from the house, which was now 
 thoroughly alight and burning with the utmost cheer- 
 fulness. 
 
 " We shall be put in gaol for this," said Mary, turning 
 a white and terrified face to me. 
 
 I could make her no answer, but to a mute inquiry in 
 her eyes I nodded assent. 
 
 I shouldered my girl companion's swag, and holding 
 each other's hands, we set ofi' at a run towards the sea 
 beach, half a mile away.
 
 CHAPTER n 
 
 MARY AND I AND PADDY MINOGUB 
 
 AS soon as we emerged iqioii tlie beach we stopped 
 and sat down upon a ridge of soft white sand, 
 covered with a thick-leaved saline plant locally called 
 ** pig-face." 
 
 For some minutes neither of us spoke, for we were 
 panting and exhausted with our exertions, and wildly 
 excited as well. Then, like criminals desiring to retmii 
 and gaze upon the scene of their crime, we rose and began 
 the ascent of a round-shaped and scrub-clad hill which 
 stood at the south side of the bar, and from the summit 
 of which we could obtain a view of the town. Forcing 
 our way through the dense undergi-owth, and disturbing 
 and startling hundreds of black wallabies and sleeping 
 sea-birds, who fled in terror at the sound of our foot- 
 steps, we reached the crest of the hill. 
 
 One brief glance was enough. What had been the 
 master's house lay a glowing fiery mass, and the school- 
 house itself had caught, and was blazing away right 
 merrily. We could see the figiu-es of people running 
 to and fro, and that the whole town was awakened and 
 alarmed was evident by the ringing of the church bell, 
 which we could hear distinctly. 
 
 "What shall we do, Bill?" asked Mary. "They 
 
 13
 
 14 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 will soon miss us, and then Sergeant Finnegan and the 
 troopers will be out after us." 
 
 The prospect of being brought back to town with my 
 hands handcuffed behind my back, and a rope tie I to 
 my waist, as I trotted along beside the liorse of a 
 trooper, was too appalling a picture for me to contem- 
 plate. I had frequently seen offenders against the law 
 thus brought into town by the police, and had often 
 thought I should like to have been the proud and 
 haughty trooper, with his carbine on thigh, and bright 
 and clanking sabre, but figuring as the prisoner was 
 quite another thing. 
 
 " Let us walk along the beach till we get to Paddy 
 Minogue's saw-pit, at the mouth of Comeroi Creek," I 
 said. " He will not give us up to the police, for his 
 father was hanged for bushranging, and he is a great 
 friend of Ted and Jim. And perhaps he'll give us some 
 food, and help us to get away and hide somewhere." 
 
 "Paddy's the man," said Mary. "He'll help us, 
 I'm sure, for when I rode his iron-grey colt in the 
 hurdle race and won, he gave me a sovereign, and said 
 
 I had good stuff in me, although uncle was a d d 
 
 Scotchman." 
 
 With this encom'aging prospect in view we started off 
 along the beach, I carrying Mary's bundle and she every 
 now and then looking back to see if the dreaded troopers 
 were in sight. Had they appeared, we should at once 
 have dived into the dense scrub which lined the beach 
 just above high -water mark. 
 
 Comeroi Creek was fifteen miles from the mouth of 
 the bar, and when we reached it dawn was just break- 
 ing, and the soft grey mist which covered the ocean was 
 thinning and dispersing before the chilly breath of the 
 rising land breeze, which yet brought with it that
 
 MARY AND I AND PADDY MINOGUE 15 
 
 strange, sweet "earthy " smell of the deep forest heyond, 
 together with the joyous cries of the awakened hirds, as 
 they shook their frosty wings, and sought their food in 
 the groves of wild apple-trees, and upon the fruiting 
 vines and climhers of the scruh, which ran in a nari'ow 
 belt along the littoral for a good fifty miles or 
 more. 
 
 Paddy Minogue's saw-pit and camp were situated 
 about a mile or so up the creek, on the left-hand bank. 
 By the time we reached the place it was broad dajdight, 
 and a dozen or so of kangaroo dogs flew out u]3on us 
 with savage yelps and a great dental display. They, 
 however, quickly recognised us, and after clawing and 
 pawing us for a few minutes, accompanied us up to the 
 door of the bark hut in which Paddy and his three 
 comrades lived. 
 
 Pushing open the door — which was made of a sheet 
 of bark — we entered, and found the four bunks 
 untenanted. 
 
 "Of course," said Mary, flinging herself upon one of 
 the rude beds, and examining her bare feet, "Paddy 
 and his men went to town last night. They always do 
 on Saturdays. We'll see them presently. Now let us 
 get something to eat, for I'm jolly hungi-y." 
 
 We soon found the half of a huge damper, and some 
 cold salt beef, with a bottle of pickles, and had just 
 stirred up the smouldering log fire to make a billy of tea, 
 when we heard the dogs barking, and then Paddy and 
 one of his mates rode up. 
 
 " Hallo, Mary Dick, and you, Bill Breachley ! What 
 the deuce are ye doing here?" he cried, apparently 
 in genuine surprise as he jumped off his horse and, 
 booted and spurred, came into the hut. 
 
 " We'll tell you presently, Pat," said Mary quietly,
 
 16 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 "as soon as you've had a drink of tea. I've only just 
 put the hilly on. Been to town, Pat ? " 
 
 He looked at us curiously for a moment — our appear- 
 ance was calculated to inspire curiosity, for our faces 
 and hands were scratched and bleeding, through forcing 
 our way through the scrub on the hill — but said nothing 
 further at the time, and together we sat down at the 
 rough table, and made a hearty breakfast. 
 
 ***** 
 
 Paddy Minogue, was, as far as appearances went, a 
 typical colonial of the time. He was, I should think, 
 about thirty years of age, tall, broad-shouldered, and as 
 sallow-faced as a Spaniard, with a square, set jaw, and 
 eyes as black as jet — eyes that when they blazed with 
 anger meant mischief, for like all the rough country folk 
 about the river, he was a fighting man, though he never 
 sought a quarrel. Three years previously he had been 
 suspected of cattle-stealing, and Sergeant Finnegan, who 
 hated him — on account of his (Finnegan's) wife, who was 
 known to be over-fond of the dark-faced timber-getter — 
 came to Paddy's camp to search the place for the hides 'of 
 the stolen bullocks — three in number. None were found, 
 but there were certainly evidences of some beasts having 
 been slaughtered. Thereupon Finnegan and his two 
 troopers arrested Paddy, handcuffed him and took him 
 to town. The sergeant tried hard to convince the sit- 
 ting magistrate that Paddy bad killed the bullocks, 
 made away with the hides (so that the brands could not 
 be identified) and sold the carcasses to an American 
 whaleship, which had been off the coast at the time. 
 The magistrate, however, refused to convict on such 
 insufficient evidence, and dismissed the case. (That 
 Paddy had stolen the bullocks, and sold them to the 
 whaler, no one doubted, but he was a universal favourite,
 
 MARY AND I AND PADDY MINOGUE 17 
 
 and such a great rider, and such an unassuming young 
 fellow, that I believe the magistrate, an old ex-army 
 officer, was sincerely glad to reprimand the sergeant 
 for arresting him on "groundless suspicion.") 
 
 Paddy sto})ped out of the com-t-house, and went down 
 to the one hotel in the place, from where he sent a 
 message to Sergeant Finnegan to meet him and '* settle 
 things like a man." This message was sent, to 
 Finnegan's rage, by an old black fellow named " Prince 
 Regent," who spoke excellent but variegated and 
 blasphemous English, and who took care to let the 
 whole town know that he was conveying a challenge 
 from Paddy Minogue to " the sergeant " to meet on the 
 beach, and fight at six o'clock. The whole town turned 
 out to see the show, my father being an especially 
 interested spectator. 
 
 Finnegan was a bully and a brute, but he had the 
 pluck of an Irishman, and turned up to time. A ring 
 was soon formed, and the two men stripped to the waist 
 (Captain De Lisle, the magistrate, lending some assist- 
 ance, and backing the sergeant as a matter of official 
 principle). Finnegan's wife and my brothers and myself 
 were, of course, in the very front. 
 
 Finnegan fought with a savage, deadly fury ; but it 
 was evident from the very first that he, although the 
 heavier man of the two, had no chance with Paddy, who 
 was as cool as if he were sawing a log, whilst Finnegan's 
 face was inflamed with passion. In the third round, 
 Paddy caught him on the jaw, and we heard the bone 
 crack like a dry stick under a horse's hoof. He fell 
 and lay motionless for a minute, and then his second 
 lilted him to his feet again — game as a bulldog, but 
 staggering to and fro on the sand. 
 
 "Do you want any more?" asked Paddy quietly. 
 
 3
 
 18 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 " I don't. I think it is a fair thing, Rody Finnegan. 
 You're not able to stand up to a man." 
 
 The gibe cut, for although unable to speak, the 
 sergeant returned him a glance full of hatred, and pulled 
 himself together so rapidly that even my slow-thinking, 
 slow-speaking father gave him a cheer. 
 
 " Man," said Minogue in clear, contemptuous tones, 
 *' do ye want more ? Shure I'll kill ye. Go home and 
 take betther care of your wife." 
 
 Finnegan swung out with his right, and missed, and 
 in another moment Paddy caught him on the chin, and 
 sent him down upon the sand like a pithed bullock. 
 The crowd cheered, and the victor, putting on his shirt 
 and coat, mounted his horse and rode quietly away to 
 his home on Comeroi Creek. And although the two 
 men would sometimes meet and give each other a civil 
 " good-day," every one knew the bitter hatred that lay 
 between them. 
 
 ***** 
 
 After we had finished breakfast, Minogue got up, filled 
 his pipe, and asked us to come outside and have a look 
 at a big cedar log in the creek. 
 
 " Now," he said, as soon as we were outside, " what's 
 wrong? " 
 
 We told him our story without hesitation. At first 
 he laughed long and loud, then he became serious. 
 
 *' I knew it was you two, for 'after both house and 
 school were burnt out completely, I met your father and 
 brothers looking for you. Some one had seen you both 
 crossing the school paddock, and when neither of you 
 could be found, people began to put two and two 
 together." Then he told us that Mr. Blackwood had 
 been severely scorched about the face, and had received
 
 MARY AND I AND PADDY MINOGUE 19 
 
 a great shock to his system as well, and that a trooper 
 had heen despatched to bring the doctor. 
 
 This was serious indeed, and Mary and I looked at 
 each other blankly. I asked Paddy if he thought the 
 sergeant would come after us. 
 
 " Sure to. And he'll pick up your tracks easy 
 enough on the beach. He'll be here in another hour 
 after ye. What are you going to do now ? Better go 
 back and give yourselves up before matters are any 
 worse." 
 
 But we vehemently declared our determination not tft 
 return, and in our teiTor of being captured, we asked 
 Minogue to help us to get away. We would walk to 
 Sydney easily enough, we asserted, even if it took us 
 tAvo months to get there, 
 
 Paddy scratched his dark, sunburnt check thought- 
 fully. " Shure it's a mighty darin' thing for ye to try 
 and do, and I misdoubt me if ye'll ever get there, and 
 I'll have no truck with such an attempt. But I'll plant 
 ye where the bould Mr. Finnegan won't find ye in a 
 month of Sundays ; then maybe I'll ride into town and 
 tell your father where ye are. Go back ye must some 
 time or other, and face the music, but it's meself or 
 your father that'll take you — not that dirty sweep 
 of a Finnegan." 
 
 We returned to the house, where Minogue's mate, a 
 long, lanky colonial, named Sam Banner, was feeding 
 the dogs. Paddy told us he was a " safe " man (indeed 
 I fear he and his three mates did more cattle-stealing 
 than timber-getting), and we could trust him. 
 
 Just at that moment some of the dogs outside began 
 barking furiously, and Sam ran to see who was coming. 
 He was back in a moment. 
 
 " It's Finnegan and a trooper ! " he said; " they're
 
 % BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 coming along the beach at a trot, and will be here in five 
 minutes." 
 
 " Into the saw-pit, quick, both of ye," cried Paddy. 
 
 We ran out of the hut, jumped down into the pit, and 
 buried ourselves up to our chins in the sawdust, and 
 Minogue hastily threw some dead gum branches over us. 
 Then we heard the sergeant and his man calling out 
 the opposite side of the creek, and inquiring if Minogue 
 or any of his mates had seen us. 
 
 "I have not," replied Paddy civilly, ''but the dogs 
 were kicking up a great hullabaloo just about daylight at 
 something they saw or heard on the other side of the 
 creek. Maybe 'twas the boy and girl striking up along 
 the right-hand track, and doubling back to town." 
 
 " We lost their tracks about half a mile from here on 
 the beach," said the trooper, " where they turned up 
 into the scrub." 
 
 "Aye," said Paddy (we could imagine him scratch- 
 ing his cheek as if deep in thought) — " aye, like 
 enough they've struck across so as to pick up the 
 track. They'd be afeared to come here on account of 
 the dogs. Won't ye cross over, Sergeant, and take a 
 drink of tea, and a bite ? " 
 
 We listened in fear and trembling for his answer. 
 "Thank ye, no. We'll be getting along, I think." 
 
 " Just as ye please. Sergeant," said Paddy politely, 
 "but it's a cold mornin'. And how's the schoolmaster?" 
 
 "It's a dead man he'll be before this night, I believe. 
 Sure he had a power of grog inside him when his beard 
 tuk fire, and maybe it caught aloight. He's a dead man, 
 I believe." 
 
 This terrifying news struck a chill of horror through 
 our veins, and visions of the condemned cell and 
 gallows flashed across our minds. Then we heard the
 
 MARY AND I AND PADDY MINOGUE 21 
 
 sergeant call out "good-day," as he rode off. Pre- 
 sently Sam and Paddy came out of the hut, carrying 
 a huge cross-cut saw, and hegau work at a cedar 
 log. 
 
 " Stay where ye are awhile," said Paddy to us ; "that 
 dirty scamp is only foxing. He'll be back here before 
 long." 
 
 He was quite right, for in about a quarter of an hour 
 the two policemen rode up to the house from the back 
 at a smart canter, and dismounted. They had swum the 
 creek higher up. Sam and Paddy ceased their sawing 
 as they walked up to the pit. 
 
 " Didn't you pick up the tracks? " inquired Sam. 
 
 "We did not," said Finnegan gloomily, flicking the 
 side of his long boot with his switch (I could see the 
 lower part of his body quite plainly), " and what's more, 
 I'm sure they never went that way." 
 
 "Maybe," said Miuogue indifferently; and then he 
 added with a sarcastic ring in his voice, " but sure a 
 great tracker like you. Sergeant, will have no trouble in 
 finding a slip of a boy and a girl." 
 
 Finnegan made no answer for a moment or two ; then 
 he rose to his feet. " Ye were kind enough to ask me 
 a while ago to have a drink of tea. I'll be glad of it 
 now." 
 
 " Ye're welcome," said Paddy steadily ; "will ye go 
 in and help yourself. Sergeant Finnegan?" 
 
 Followed by his trooper, the sergeant strode off to tho 
 hut. As it contained but one room, they no doubt soon 
 satisfied themselves that no one was concealed there. 
 In a few minutes they returned, mounted their horses, 
 and with a curt "good-day" rode off again towards 
 the beach. 
 
 " Ye may get out for a bit now," said our friend tons,
 
 22 BREACIILEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 " but you must keep close to the pit till to-iiiglit. Then 
 I'll put ye in a safe place, Avhere all the traps (police) in 
 the country won't find ye. Sam here will give ye some 
 dinner, for I'm going off to town again to see your 
 father." 
 
 Saddling his horse, he rode leisurely off, leaving us 
 thankful for our escape, and wondering what new 
 experience the night would bring us.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 CAPTURED 
 
 ABOUT noon Minogue's two other mates — big, 
 swarthy-looking fellows, wlio, beyond giving us a 
 friendly nod, took no further notice of us, but went 
 about their work as usual — returned to the camp. At 
 sunset Paddy himself rode up and told me that he 
 had seen my father, who was much alarmed at the 
 schoolmaster's serious condition, and thought that it 
 would be just as well for me to keep out of the way 
 until he decided what was best to be done. He brought 
 with him a change of clothing for me and a pair of boots 
 and stockings for Mary. 
 
 " Let us have some supper first," he said, " then 
 we'll start off." 
 
 Immediately after supper Paddy filled a couple of 
 saddle-bags with provisions — tea, sugar, flour, salt beef, 
 etc. Then we started on foot, Sam and Paddy leading. 
 For quite five or six miles we followed cattle trackw 
 leading through the thick scrub which began at high- 
 water mark and ran inland for about a mile or two. 
 Although we could not see either the beach or the sea, 
 we were never more than a few hundred yards from the 
 water. About ten o'clock we came to the bank of a 
 narrow creek, which was running seaward. This we 
 
 23
 
 24 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 entered, and waded against the current — the water was 
 very shallow — for quite another two miles, until we came 
 abreast of a high bluff, thinly covered with timber on its 
 u^iper part, but surrounded with a dense tangle of 
 " lawyer " vines * and wild mulberry at the foot — fearful 
 things to come in contact with. 
 
 *' We're all right now," said Paddy cheerfully; " light 
 up, Sam." 
 
 Sam lit a lantern, and Paddy, carefully parting the 
 hanging vines, told us to follow ; and then, to my 
 astonishment, I found we were standing in a wide, 
 circular space, surrounded by rough walls of rock, which 
 were pierced with dark passages and clefts. 
 
 Holding the lantern before us, Paddy led the way, and 
 presently we found ourselves in a good- sized cave, in 
 which were four bunks, made of green hide and 
 stretched between four posts, and in the centre was a 
 rough table, littered over with tin plates, mugs, etc. ; at 
 the far end was a fireplace with traces of recent use, and 
 a number of cattle brands standing uj) near by. In an 
 instant I guessed where we were— this was Paddy's 
 secret business-place, near the spot he used for driving 
 in, and branding clean skins t with his own registered brand. 
 
 He and Sam remained with us for some hours, and 
 gave us full particulars how to get in and out of the 
 place, but warned us not to wander too far away, for we 
 might be seen. Then giving us some fishing-tackle 
 and a large tin box of wax vestas, they bade us goodbye 
 till their next visit. 
 
 • The " lawyer " vine derives its name from the fiend-like tenacity 
 with which its insidious thorns cling to the unfortunate traveller who 
 fatuously treats it as an ordinary plant. Its analogy to legal procedure 
 is very striking. 
 
 t "Clean skins," i.e., cattle whose owners have been unable to 
 drive in and brand them.
 
 CArTURED 25 
 
 Each of us taking two of the four hlankets lying on 
 the bunks, turned in, but tired as we were, we were too 
 excited to sleep until nearly daylight, and then in spite 
 of the squealing of the opossums and the howl of a 
 hungry dingo somewhere near us, we fell into a sound 
 sleep, and I did not awake till the sun was fairly 
 high and shining into the cave through the gum-trees 
 overhead. 
 
 Mary had boiled a billy of tea, and we again ate a 
 hearty breakfast, and felt our spirits rise. We could 
 hear the sea quite plainly, and as Paddy had told us of 
 a place among some rocks where we could fish without 
 being seen by any one, we set out to find it. There 
 were, we found, two entrances to Mr. Minogue's private 
 establishment — one from the creek itself, which was 
 hidden from view by the hanging vines, and the other 
 through a series of deep and narrow clefts in the rocky 
 walls, wide enough for a man on foot, but impossible for 
 a horse. We took the latter, and to our astonishment 
 found that it brought us right out upon the open sea, 
 between two high rocks, or rather clifi"s, enclosing a 
 small pebbly beach — evidently they were a continuation 
 of the same spur of the coastal range of mountains in 
 which the cave was situated. 
 
 Baiting our lines with some black and red crabs, we 
 soon caught some fine sea bream, and I hooked a big 
 schnapper — the handsomest and most delicate of all 
 Australian fish. He must have weighed quite fifteen 
 pounds, and as I had a thin line, I cut my fingers pretty 
 severely. However, I landed him at last, and dropped 
 him, kicking and flapping, into a little pool, where he 
 was secure. Highly delighted at such sport, we con- 
 tinued fishing till it was low tide, and then as the kelp- 
 covered rocks looked very promising for crayfish, we
 
 2G BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 decided at least to try and get one, to boil for breakfast 
 on the following day. In a few minutes we each got 
 one, and could have caught dozens, for they were 
 very plentiful. The Australian crayfish, I may here 
 mention, grows to a great size, and these we had taken 
 were as long as a man's arm, and almost as thick as a 
 man's thigh. 
 
 Little did we imagine that those particular wretched 
 crustaceans were to prove our undoing. 
 
 We began our return to the cave about four o'clock, 
 lust as the bright wintry sun began to lose its warmth. 
 I carried the " schnapper " and sea bream on one end 
 of a nice round piece of drift wood and one of the crayfish 
 on the other, lashed along it fore-and-aft to keej} him 
 steady ; Mary, having first killed it, carried hers by its 
 feelers. My object in taking one home alive was to 
 present it to Paddy Minogue and his mates when they 
 came to see us on the morrow. 
 
 We reached the entrance of the cave safely, 
 squeezed through the narrow passages of rock with our 
 heavy loads, and then threw them down upon the 
 ground. 
 
 " Mary," I said, pointing to the dead crayfish, as, 
 after having a drink of cold tea, we began to clean our 
 spoil by the light of the fire, " isn't he a beauty ? He 
 makes me hungry to look at him. Let us boil his tail 
 now in the bucket, and eat it for supper, and cook the 
 rest in the morning. I can't resist looking at him." 
 
 She laughed. " Why not, Billy ? I could eat a big 
 piece of tail, even if it wasn't cold." 
 
 I cut off the tail, curled it up, and put it, with some 
 salt, into an iron bucket used for boiling beef. In half 
 an hour it was cooked, and turned out to cool. Then we 
 lit a slush lamp, and finding some old and exceedingly
 
 CAPTURED 27 
 
 divty novels — one of them, I remember, was entitled 
 " Maria Martin : or the Murder in the Ked Barn" — we 
 read until we thought it time to make some hot Johnny- 
 cakes to eat with the crayfish ("lobster" as we called 
 it). This took us until pretty near midnight, and by 
 the time we had finished our supper not even the gory 
 " Red Barn " and its horrors could keep us awake. 
 
 I think we had been asleep about an hour, when I 
 was awakened by a feeling of unrest in my digestive 
 apparatus, and presently my head began to ache. In a 
 few minutes the pain increased. I got up, and pricking 
 up the wick of the lamp, sat down on my green-hide 
 couch with a groan, for the pain seemed to develop all 
 over my body. 
 
 An answering groan came from poor Mary, who was 
 sitting up on her bed with her arms clasped round her 
 knees. " Oh, Billy, I'm so horribly sick, my head is 
 bursting, and I have pains all over me." 
 
 " So have I, Mary — awful pains. I feel as if there 
 was a packet of fish-hooks in my inside, and they were 
 sticking into me everywhere." 
 
 "Billy," she moaned, "I believe that lobster was 
 poisonous. No one eats them in June, do they ? And 
 I thought it tasted a little bitter." 
 
 I was unable to reply ; for my conscience smote me. 
 The blacks, I knew, v»'ould never eat a crayfish if it had 
 the least bitter taste, and a black fellow has a fine 
 digestive power. At last, however, as fi-esh pangs 
 racked my body, and my eyes seemed ready to start 
 from their sockets, I gasped out that I feared she 
 was right. 
 
 " If we had mustard and water," I moaned; " that is 
 good when you're poisoned." 
 
 " Let us get out and drink salt water," suggested my
 
 28 BBEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 companion in misery, who tried to bear her sufferings 
 " manfully." 
 
 We found our way in the darkness to the water front 
 entrance of the cave, and pushing through the terrible 
 lawyer vines, whose needle-pointed thorns severely 
 lacerated our hands and faces, we gained the creek. At 
 this point, however, it was quite fresh and sweet ; for a 
 mile and a half below there was a bar of rocks which 
 kept back the inflow of the sea-water at flood-tide. 
 
 Never shall I forget that terrible journey, as we waded 
 downwards towards the sea, every now and then falling 
 down into the water, which was almost icy cold, and 
 enduring the most atrocious pains and cramps all over 
 our bodies, pains of which no two were in the same 
 place ; and terrifying even the nocturnal-prowling 
 dingoes by an occasional howl, as that wretched lobster 
 gave one or the other of us an extra gi-ip in the digestive 
 apparatus. The moment we reached the salt water we 
 drank of it copiously, and without apologising to each 
 other proceeded to eject our food upon the waters in the 
 most energetic manner. In about half an hour we 
 began to feel better, but our pains were succeeded by 
 great weakness and faintness. 
 
 "Billy," said Mary, feebly, ''I am sui*e I am dying; 
 let us say our prayers, and ask God to forgive us for 
 killing uncle." 
 
 " No," I said, " let us go to Paddy Minogue instead. 
 He'll know what to do. I think we shall get better now 
 if we get some hot tea or coffee with rum in it. That's 
 what Dr. Armstrong gave Ted when he ate the poisonous 
 mushrooms." 
 
 Short as the remaining distance was to Paddy's hut, 
 the sun was high up before we reached it, for we were 
 thoroughly done up. Paddy and his mates were
 
 CAPTURED 29 
 
 standing outside, talking to several horsemen, among 
 whom was the uniformed figure of the second mounted 
 trooper — a young man named Brassington. We were 
 too ill to think of trying to escape now, even had we not 
 been discovered. In an instant he jumped off his horse 
 and arrested us. 
 
 Our pitiable condition, however, made him treat us 
 very kindly. We were taken inside the hut, our wet 
 clothes removed, and both of us put under the blankets, 
 whilst Sam Banner made us hot coffee. A large mug, 
 well stiffened with brandy, was given us each, and then 
 we sank into a heavy slumber, but not before I had 
 contrived to tell Paddy that we should say nothing 
 about the cave. He nodded, and squeezed my hand in 
 silence. 
 
 That afternoon we were taken back to town, Mary 
 carried in front of Paddy Minogue, and I in fi-ont of 
 Trooper Brassington. The little procession caused 
 much excitement among the intelligent populace, whose 
 sentiments towards us were, however, of the most 
 friendly nature. We were not put in the lock-up ; my 
 father and one Micky Hoolan, a publican, having given 
 bail for our appearance before Captain De Lisle in the 
 morning.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 LIFE AT THE MILL AND ON THE RIVER 
 
 LONG before ten o'clock the Court House was be- 
 sieged by the townspeople, and several women 
 carrying babies had their feet trodden upon by big- 
 booted stockmen and timber-getters, who, in language 
 of a most florid character, urged them to "git out o' the 
 way with yer 'owlin' kids." Thereupon a sailor man 
 who had been drinking freely, said they were not men to 
 insult women, and was immediately knocked down, 
 falling on top of a mangy kangaroo dog, which at once 
 set his teeth in the leg of an utter stranger who had 
 merely been looking on. Catching the vicious animal 
 by the throat, he strangled it into insensibility, and 
 then flung it over the head of the crowd into a lot of 
 bushmen's horses, which were tethered to the Court 
 House fence ; all the horses at once broke their bridles, 
 lumped the fence, and tore through the town, just as 
 the Court door opened, and the populace fell in together, 
 the man with the bitten leg swearing profusely, and 
 exposing the wound to view by rolling up his pants, and 
 demanding a drink or sympathy of some sort. 
 
 "Put him outside," said Captain De Lisle, who had 
 now taken his seat on the bench. 
 
 Trooper Brassington at once seized the suffering 
 
 30
 
 LIFE AT THE MILL AND ON THE KIVER 31 
 
 stranger by the coat-collar, and ran him out towards the 
 open door, just as the drunken sailor staggered in and 
 sat down on a long form, only to fall off immediately 
 backwards on tlie other side. 
 
 After some other trifling interruptions, the case was 
 gone into, and Captain De Lisle very soon decided to 
 discharge us. He, and indeed every one else, seemed 
 highly amused at our description of the scene we had 
 witnessed in the schoolmaster's house. In dismissing 
 the case, however, the magistrate said that while no 
 sensible person would believe for a moment that we 
 intended to set the place on fire, Mr. Blackwood could, 
 if he chose, summon us for the value of the rum, and 
 the ** Cruden's Concordance " and Bible, which we had 
 deliberately burnt. Then he asked us how much rum 
 was in the keg when we put it on the fire. 
 
 "Nearly full, sir," I replied innocently, "because 
 neither Sergeant Finnegan nor the doctor had had any." 
 
 The magistrate laughed till the tears ran down his 
 cheeks, and every one in the Com-t House followed 
 suit, although Finnegan himself flushed angrily, and 
 roared out, " Silence in the Coort ! " half a dozen times. 
 
 Nearly a week passed before Mary and I recovered 
 from the eiiects of the poisonous lobster, and during 
 this time we were visited (my mother had taken Mary 
 under her protection) by Mr. Blackwood, who, beyond 
 the loss of his beard and eyebrows, and some severe 
 burns, had sustained no serious hurt. Much to my 
 surprise, he shook hands with me, and said he was glad 
 that I was getting better. He spoke so quietly and 
 strangely that I could only stare at him in mute 
 astonishment. Then he asked Mary to come out mth 
 him on the beach, as he wanted to have a talk with her. 
 She put on her sun-hood and went, and soon after I saw
 
 32 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 tliem sitting side by side on a great log of di-ift-wood 
 which hiy on the sand. In about an hour they returned, 
 and when Mary came into the sitting-room, I saw that 
 she had been Aveeping, but she smiled in answer to my 
 look of inquiry. 
 
 "I'm all right, Bill; and I'm very happy too. 
 Uncle is so different now. And he kissed me, and told 
 me that I must forgive him for all that is past. It is 
 the first time in my life that any one has kissed me 
 since my mother died." 
 
 I am glad to say that Mr. Blackwood did change his 
 mode of life, and that his niece lived very happily with 
 him for many years, till she married and went to New 
 Zealand. 
 
 A new school-house was soon built — my father sup- 
 plying the timber — and in a few months our escapade 
 was forgotten by the townspeople. 
 
 One Sunday, however, as I was fishing for " flat- 
 head" on one of the reaches of the river. Sergeant 
 Finneo-an rode up to where I was sitting, and dismount- 
 ing, entered into a very fi-iendly conversation with me. 
 Now, I knew that he disliked me, so I was at once on 
 my guard, for with all his assumed carelessness of 
 manner, I was sure he had some object in view. Nor 
 had I long to wait. 
 
 " Shure that's a moighty foine little place where ye 
 two hid yourselves," he said presently. 
 
 I could not resist giving a start. He saw it, and 
 watched my face keenly, but fortunately I said nothing 
 —I wanted time to collect my thoughts. 
 
 " A foine little place indade," he said meditatively, as 
 he lit his pipe, but still kept his eyes on me; "an' now, 
 tell me— how did ye an' Mary Dick run across it so 
 aisily ? "
 
 ' LIFE AT THE MILL AND ON THE RIVER 33 
 
 " Eun across what ? " I asked stolidly, giving all my 
 attention to my fisliing-line. 
 
 "Why, Paddy Minogue's little retrate, to he sm-e." 
 
 «' What's that ? " I asked ; " what is a * retrate ' ? " 
 
 He winked at me and laughed. "Ah, now thin, don't 
 be afther thryin' to make me believe that yez don't know 
 all about it." 
 
 "I don't know anything about it — don't know what 
 you mean," I said, as I gave my line a jerk, hooked a 
 fish and began hauling it in. 
 
 He waited until I had landed the fish, and then began 
 again, trying to get me to admit that Mary and I had 
 been hidden away by Minogue. But I was too wary for 
 him, and was also soon convinced that he had not 
 discovered the spot, but was most anxious to do so. 
 Finally he took out two new Bank of New South Wales 
 five-pound notes. 
 
 " Look here, William Breachley, thim two foive 
 pounds is yours if you'll put me in sight of Paddy 
 Minogue's saycrit place. An' I'll give yez a foine 
 carbine in the bargain." 
 
 I laughed, and said I was sorry I couldn't oblige him. 
 He scowled at me angrily; then jumping up without 
 another word, he mounted his horse again, and trotted 
 off into the scrub which lined the river. 
 
 That afternoon I saw Paddy in town. He was break- 
 ing in a colt for Hoolan, the publican, and I took the 
 opportunity of warning him that Finncgan was set on 
 trapping him. 
 
 " I know it. He's set his heart on seeing me 
 get ten years. But he'll never find that spot, I'm 
 thinkin'. Tiger an' Captain " (the two local black 
 trackers) "know it well enough, but they'll never betray 
 us — we pay them too well for that."
 
 34 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 Six months passed away without anything of moment 
 happening. I had left school, and my father kept me 
 employed variously, sometimes helping in the mill, 
 sometimes sending me out to prospect for timber. This 
 latter was work after my own heart. I loved the silence 
 and loneliness of the bush, and infinitely preferred to go 
 on such expeditions alone instead of having a com- 
 panion. Sometimes I would ride, taking with me two 
 or three days' supply of flour, tea, and sugar, a little 
 salt meat, matches, a double-barrelled gun, and a toma- 
 hawk. This latter I used to mark those trees I selected 
 for felling, for by this time I was as good a judge of 
 timber as any grown man. On other occasions — and I 
 liked it better than riding — I would go by boat, sailing 
 or drifting up the river with the flood-tide, and camping 
 for the night, perhaps far up on the banks of one of the 
 numerous creeks. As I was suj)posed to be away for 
 three days at a time, I worked very energetically for the 
 whole of the first and part of the following day ; the 
 rest of my time I spent in shooting and fishing, and 
 otherwise enjoying myself. Kangaroos, native bears, 
 and 'possoms were very plentiful, and in the course of a 
 few months I had got together eight or ten dozen very 
 good skins, all well cured and worth a good deal of 
 money — that is, from a boy's point of view. Then, 
 between the river and the sea-coast were a scries of 
 shallow, fresh-water lagoons, the haunt of countless 
 thousands of black duck, teal, wood-duck, and black 
 swans. Most of these built their nests in the reedy 
 margins of these lagoons, or on small islands in the 
 centre, and sometimes I would collect as many eggs as I 
 could carry, and take them home in the boat. Most of 
 these we would eat, others we placed under broody hens 
 to be hatched. Often, too, I would discover a black
 
 LIFE AT THE MILL AND ON THE BIVEB 35 
 
 duck's nest in wliicli the eggs were just liatclied, and 
 would bring away two or three of the ducklings, leaving 
 the rest with the mother bird. ]\Iy temporary duck- 
 house was a locker which I had constructed in the stern 
 sheets of the boat. Here I would keep the fluffy babies 
 feeding them on weed and tiny fish about half an inch 
 in length, which I used to catch by scooping them out 
 of the water with a piece of ti-tree bark. As night 
 came on I would light my camp fire, boil a billy of tea, 
 grill the breast of a duck, teal, curlew, or any other bird 
 I had shot, eat my supper, and then sleep until dawn. 
 If I was tired of game, there were always plenty of fish 
 to be caught in any of the tidal waters — such as bream, 
 whiting, tarwhine, and flathead ; further up, where the 
 water was fresh, there were fine perch and a species of 
 red mullet, which took the hook freely. 
 
 Now and then a party of the coast blacks would come 
 and camp near me, knowing that I always carried some 
 tobacco with me in the boat — for their especial benefit, 
 being too young to smoke myself. They were a good- 
 natured, harmless lot of people, and as both my father 
 and mother were always very kind to them, they always 
 made a good deal of myself and brothers, and showed 
 their gratitude in many ways — bringing us fish and 
 game, and huge bundles of honey tied up in ti-tree bark. 
 I think, however, that I was their especial favourite, as 
 they met me so often, and I would frequently accompany 
 them when they went hunting and fishing. From them 
 I learnt many of the secrets of Nature which proved so 
 useful to me in my after-life — for to those poor savages 
 the bush and the sea and the river were as an open 
 book to a white man. I was always glad to have them 
 come and camp near me, although the gins and the 
 Bwarms of mongrel mangy dogs were very noisy.
 
 36 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 One afternoon, as I was riding home along the sea- 
 beach from one of these trijos, I came across a small 
 party of blacks — two men and three lubras * with a 
 couple of j)iccaninnies — camped on a grassy bluff. They 
 had come to spear king-fish, which were plentiful in a 
 tidal creek near by, and asked me to camp with them for 
 the night and watch the sport in the morning. As the 
 day had been intensely hot, and my horse was a bit 
 footsore, I was glad of an excuse to stay. The gins at 
 once went down to the mouth of the creek, and soon 
 returned, carrying between them about a hundredweight 
 of oysters and a huge crab. Then they set to work, and 
 opened thirty or forty dozen oysters, which their lords 
 and masters and myself at once ate, I sharing with 
 them the last of a damper which I had made the previous 
 evening. Then the rest of the oysters and the crab 
 were put in the hot ashes of the fire to cook. 
 
 Whilst the gins were attending to the cooking, the 
 two bucks and myself set out along the bank of the 
 creek to look for a wallaby or some cockatoos. "VVe had 
 not gone far when we heard the quacking of ducks, and 
 creeping down through the long gi-ass to the bank of the 
 creek, I got a splendid shot at a mob of wood-duck 
 which were settled on a sandbank, and as they rose I 
 gave them the second barrel. The blacks jumped in and 
 picked up the spoil — five fat grey and purple beauties. 
 Highly elated at our success, we returned to the camp. 
 
 As we were lying on the sward watching the lubras 
 preparing the ducks for grilling, one of the piccaninnies, 
 a fat little girl of about four years of age, who was 
 collecting wood, uttered a shrill scream of terror. Her 
 mother dropped the duck she was plucking for me and ran 
 over to the child, who, holding up her hand, said she 
 * Female aborigines— generally called '• gins."
 
 LIFE AT THE MILL AND ON THE EIVER 37 
 
 had been bitten by a snake, and at the same moment I 
 saw a large black snake coming directly toAvards us over 
 the grass. I seized a bit of a dead branch near me, 
 and with one smart blow broke its back. It was an 
 ugly-looking brute about five feet in length and very 
 thick. Then I ran up to the poor little piccaninny, who 
 was now surrounded by her people. She had been 
 deeply bitten on the first joint of the thumb, which was 
 bleeding. As quickly as possible one of the gins tied a 
 strip of green bark tightly round the child's wrist, 
 asked me for my tomahawk, and in another instant had 
 severed the thumb between the first and second joint. 
 Then one of the men seared the bleeding stump with a 
 burning brand, put a handful of wood ashes into a piece 
 of ti-tree bark, and bound it up tightly. The poor little 
 child stood the pain bravely, and an hour or two later, 
 after having eaten the best part of a duck, she laid 
 down beside the camp fire and went quietly to sleep 
 as if nothing had occurred. 
 
 In the morning, provided with a spear by one of my 
 sooty friends, I accompanied them doAvn to the mouth of 
 the creek, where we had some glorious sport, chasing 
 and spearing king-fish in the shallow water. Some 
 of them were of great size, and weighed quite fifty 
 pounds. We killed twenty or thirty, and my hosts at 
 once ripped them open, took out the roes, livers, and 
 eyes, and immediately set to work to eat them, after 
 simply warming them on a fire for a few minutes. 
 
 "When we returned to the camp we found the little girl 
 who had been bitten by the snake sitting by the fire, 
 eating more oysters. She was evidently perfectly 
 recovered, although the black snake is one of the most 
 deadly of all the Australian reptilia. I asked her 
 mother, whose name was Cobargo, what she would have
 
 38 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 done if the little one had been bitten on the body 
 instead of on the hand. 
 
 " Cut him big pfcller hole and put plenty fire inside," 
 she replied* " 'Spose you cut him hole quick, and 
 burn him plenty with big pfeller fire, all right. 'Spose 
 you no quick, you go bung " (die). 
 
 My continual association with such people as these 
 proved, as I have before said, very useful to me in my 
 after-life. By the time I was fifteen years of age I 
 knew the coast up and down for a hundred miles from 
 my home as well as the oldest settlers, and almost as 
 well as the blacks themselves. 
 
 * On the Lower Burdekin Eiver, in North Queensland, a young buck 
 black fellow was bitten on the muscle of his left arm by a tiger snake. 
 He ran to the overseer of a road-making party near by and asked 
 him for his razor. Then he cut out part of the muscle of his arm. 
 Ke recovered, though he was crippled for life.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 SOME INCIDENTS OF OUR FAMILY LIFE 
 
 I HAVE mentioned that in addition to his six sons 
 my father had two daughters. The elder of these 
 was named Frances (we called her "Fan"), and, 
 when I was thirteen years of age and the school-house 
 was hm-nt, she was sixteen; at that particular time 
 she was in Sydney on a visit to some of my mother's 
 relatives. She returned home when I was fifteen, and 
 her return was the occasion of much discord and misery 
 to the rest of the family, for the simple reason that she 
 thought she was in every way a superior heing to every 
 one else in the house. She certainly was a very 
 beautiful girl, with dark hair and blue-black eyes, and of 
 a commanding and striking appearance, especially when 
 on horseback ; but on the other hand, her temper was 
 that of seven devils lashed together, and her vanity, 
 which was stupendous, was only excelled by her 
 marvellous powers of lying and deceit. Yet, strange 
 as it may appear, Ted, Jim, and myself, to whom her 
 presence in the house was almost hateful, were, in a 
 way, proud of her and of the attention she received, and 
 as the sapng goes, waited on her hand and foot. She 
 made no secret of the contempt in which she held us as 
 ignorant " country bumpkins," but would yet make us 
 her veriest slaves. We had never heard the expression 
 
 39
 
 40 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 *' country bumpkin " till she used it, and informed us 
 that it was " the English " expression to denote country 
 stupidity, and that all the gentlemen in Sydney laughed 
 at country bumpkins such as we were. 
 
 My father fired up quickly. " Look here, Fan" (to be 
 called "Fan" instead of Frances was simply poison to 
 her), " don't you be such a fool as to call your brothers 
 country bumpkins. They arc your brothers ; remember 
 that. And they will grow up to be men ; decent, clcan- 
 living men, I hope — better than the well-dressed, stoney- 
 broke loafers in top hats and frock coats who you have 
 been meeting in Sydney. Fan, my girl, just you go easy 
 with the boys, and don't play up the fine lady dodge on 
 them. They won't stand it, and I won't stand it. And 
 just let me see you turn to in the morning and milk Bee 
 and Blackspot, and don't ever again call your mother 
 * mamma,' as if she was a kind of a mongrel poodle ; 
 and by jingo, if you ever call me ' papa ' again, I'll 
 spank you, big as you are. D'ye think I'm a dog to be 
 called ' papa ' ? " 
 
 Then the worthy man relapsed into grim silence, and 
 chewed a piece of salt meat with great violence. It was 
 the longest speech he had made for a year or more. 
 Fan (otherwise " Frances ") pulled out her handkerchief 
 and wept artistically over her plate, and then Ada — 
 dear, dear little Ada — limped over to her from the other 
 side of the table and whispered her childish sympathy. 
 Fan pushed her aside coldly, and, still holding her 
 handkerchief to her eyes, went to her room. Ada, her 
 sweet pale face now streaming with tears, followed on 
 her crutch ; to her Fan was a goddess — something to be 
 worshipped day and night for her beauty and cleverness. 
 
 Eough and uncouth as we boys were in our manner 
 and speech to most people, we all had the tenderest love
 
 SOME INCIDENTS OF OUR FAMILY LIFE 41 
 
 for poor Ada, and always spoke softly to her ; for her 
 lameness had been caused by our own gross thoughtless- 
 ness when she was but eight years of age. 
 
 She, Ted, Jim and myself had, one Sunday, ridden 
 out to Comeroi Creek to look at the wreck of a timber 
 schooner which had been driven ashore at the mouth of 
 the creek during a heavy easterly gale. On our way 
 home through the scrub we saw a native bear, with a 
 young one clinging to its back, perched on a branch 
 of a spotted gum-tree. Ted jumped off his horse, 
 and climbing the tree, caught both mother and baby, and 
 broiight them dowm safely. Then we started off again, 
 Ted carrying the mother, and I carrying the baby, which 
 was no bigger than a good-sized rat. Ada was riding a 
 newly broken-in colt, which was yet thoroughly quiet, 
 and Ted was abreast of her, Jim and I following, for the 
 road, or rather bush track, was narrow. Presently, 
 however, we came to open country, and I drew up 
 alongside of Ada, and foolishly held up the baby bear 
 for its mother to see. She — the old bear — was sitting 
 in front of Ted, on his saddle, her big, silly eyes 
 apparently looking at nothing, I told Ted to hold her 
 by her fur, as she might try to escape. 
 
 "No fear of that," he laughed, stroking the poor 
 creature on her great black nose — " she'll not try to get 
 away as long as she can see her joey ; " but in another 
 moment he gave a cry of alarm, as the bear, sighting 
 her young, which I was holding, suddenly leapt towards 
 it, and landed on Ada's saddle, the creature's strong 
 claws clutching the horse's withers. The colt gave a 
 snort of terror, and then, much to our amusement, 
 began to buckjump in a solid, workmanlike manner, 
 little Ada sitting him most gallantly, for child as she 
 was, she was a born rider, and knew no fear, like all
 
 42 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 Australian busli-bred cliildren, who can sit a horse as 
 well as any one in the world. But the colt, as the 
 poor mother bear began to emit her mournful grunt- 
 like cries, and stick her clav/s in deeper, became 
 maddened with fear, and bolted, head down, with the bit 
 between his teeth, towards a clump of bangalow palms 
 growing on the side of a bluff overlooking the sea. Five 
 minutes later we found Ada lying senseless on the 
 ground with a broken thigh, and the colt with his head 
 smashed into a pulp, for he had struck fair on to the bole 
 of a big bangalow. 
 
 We carried her home, and father, without even waiting 
 to give us a thrashing, which, however, he promised us 
 when he returned, jumped on Ted's horse, and rode forty 
 miles for Dr. Armstrong, who, fortunately was fairly 
 sober when he found him, and next morning set Ada's 
 broken thigh, though at first he thought her leg would 
 have to be amputated. 
 
 I shall always remember that morning, and the mental 
 agony we boys endured as we heard the poor child's 
 shrill screams and moaning sobs, as the fractured bone 
 was being put in splints — there were no anaesthetics, like 
 chloroform, in those days, to be obtained in our district, 
 or if there were. Dr. Armstrong, who was an ex-army 
 surgeon, knew nothing of them. Then, in the afternoon, 
 when she had awakened from the slumber born of pain 
 and exhaustion, and Ted and I were seated in the 
 passage outside mother's bedroom door, blubbering, we 
 heard her voice asking for "Will and Jim and Tod" 
 (I was always "Will" to Ada). It sounded like heaven 
 to us. Our mother opened the door and let us in, holding 
 up a warning finger the while, as she bade us in a 
 whisper not to stay more than a minute; then she closed 
 the door.
 
 SOME INCIDENTS OF OUR FAMILY LIFE 43 
 
 Ada put out licr arms to us, and a smile lit up her 
 pale face, which seemed to have grown old, haggard, and 
 thin, like that of a woman of seventy. 
 
 "I'll soon be well again," she said, as Jim stooped 
 and put his check against hers. "Dr. Armstrong says 
 I'm not going to die. Will dear, so poor Sailor Boy is 
 dead?" 
 
 I nodded, unable to speak when I saw the tears 
 welling up into her eyes, for she loved the poor colt, and 
 it was easy to see that she was thinking more of the 
 dead horse than of her own sufferings. Just then my 
 father's heavy footstep sounded outside, and Ada, who 
 smelt danger to us, turned to mother. 
 
 " Mother dear, do ask father not to beat them. Tell 
 him it was my own fault . . . and if he beats the poor 
 boys I shall cry all night." 
 
 Father's rough knuckles tapped at the door. " Tell 
 the boys to come out." 
 
 Our mother motioned us to remain where we were for 
 the moment, then opened the door, and we heard her 
 pleading with my father. It was in vain, and in another 
 minute we v^'ere in the passage standing before father, 
 who, booted and spurred, stood in the centre, his legs 
 apart, and his left hand stroking his enormous grey 
 beard ; in his right hand was a stiff-plaited green-hide 
 riding- whip — almost as bad to look at and to feel as Mr. 
 Blackwood's terrible supplejack. His deep-set, clear 
 eyes regarded us steadily for a few moments from under 
 the thick, bushy eyebrows ; then, raising his whip, he 
 pointed the way out. 
 
 " Go down to the bottom of the calf-paddock, boys," 
 he said, as quietly as if he were telling us to come to 
 dinner. 
 
 The calf-paddock was an enclosure of five or six acres,
 
 44 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 in which the milkers' calves were kept, and when he 
 said " the hottom " oiu- hearts sank in our boots — our 
 thrashing at such a distance from the house meant that 
 it would be a severe one ; and indeed he intended it to 
 be, but being a thoughtful man, and Ada having to be 
 considered, he was taking us to a place whence our 
 howls could not be heard. We marched down to the 
 aj^pointed spot, and Jim and Ted at once took off their 
 coats." 
 
 " Father," I said, as I slowly followed suit in a very 
 unenthusiastic manner, "Ada said she hoped you would 
 not beat us." 
 
 He looked at me with such contempt, that, coward as 
 I was, my cheeks flushed, and even Jim and Ted scowled 
 at me. 
 
 " AVho put Ada on Sailor Boy ? " he asked. 
 
 "I did, dad," said Jim, "the chesnut mare has a 
 sore back, and so I thought Ada could ride Sailor Boy." 
 
 " You boys have broken your sister's thigh, and lost 
 me a colt worth ten pounds, if he was worth sixpence. 
 Ada is like to be a crijiple for life, and I shall have to 
 pay the doctor twenty pounds and keep him here for a 
 couple of weeks. I forgive you the loss of the colt, and 
 the twenty quid for the doctor, but I can't forgive you 
 Ada's broken leg." 
 
 Then grasping Jim by the collar of his shirt, he gave 
 him a fearful thrashing. Ted (who had managed to 
 secm'e a leather strap on the way down, and was holding 
 it between his teeth) then stepped forward manfully, and 
 took his punishment without a cry, and then, trembling 
 with pain as he was, held out the strap to me. 
 
 " Take it, Billy," he gasped, " and bite hard. I 
 ought to have given it to Jim, but I forgot." 
 
 My father whipped it out of his hand, and then looked
 
 SOME INCIDENTS OF OUK FAMILY LIFE 45 
 
 at me so fiercely and yet so contemptuously, that, child 
 as I was, I felt a keen, heartburning shame. 
 
 "Jim and Ted have the making of men in them," he 
 said; "you are a crawler, and ought to have been a girl. 
 If you had not told me what Ada said, I'd have let you 
 oft" easy, but now " 
 
 And then he gave me, with the strap, a beating that 
 made me sore for a month. But it did me good, and 
 although at the time I thought that he was brutally 
 severe, in later years I learned to judge and appre- 
 ciate his motives better. He was a rough, hard man in 
 many respects, but he was a man above all things, and 
 I have no doubt but that my appeal to him for pity 
 stirred and disgusted him to the utmost. His was a 
 strong self-reliant nature ; he abhorred above all things a 
 lie, and, next to that, physical or moral cowardice. His 
 code of honour was very simple, but those who knew him 
 well, knew that under his rude, uncultured manner and 
 slow, drawling speech there was the soul and spirit of a 
 gentleman — one who would scorn to do, or even think of 
 doing, anything that was wrong and dishonourable. 
 
 Tf: yf: y^ 7^ 7^ 
 
 A few days after the "papa " and "mamma" episode 
 I set off in my boat to look at some tallow- wood trees at 
 a place called Halligan's Gap. Ada came with me, as 
 she wanted to collect some orchids, which were very 
 plentiful in the scrub around the Gap. I must mention 
 that although Dr. Armstrong had set her broken thigh 
 very well, it was found that she had sustained some 
 injury to her hip-bone, for which he could do nothing, 
 and from the day she rose from her bed she had to use a 
 crutch, and would have to use one all her life. This 
 terrible affliction — for it was terrible to a child of her 
 energetic disposition — had not made her petulant or
 
 46 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 irritable as it would have made some children, but, on the 
 contrary, had brought out to the full all her natural cheer- 
 fulness and sweetness of disposition. At the time of my 
 escapade with Mary Dick, although she was almost 
 heartbroken with grief and terror, she kept poor mother's 
 heart up, and never for one moment gave way, and 
 indeed she was, as father said, not a ray of sunshine 
 in the house, but '* fifty rays lashed together, and every 
 one of 'em shimmerin' with smiles." 
 
 I pulled in to a little sandy beach near Halligan's 
 Gap, and then lit a fire to boil a billy of tea, when Ada 
 drew my attention to a horseman on the bluff above us. 
 
 "It is Lieutenant Waller," said Ada. "I wonder 
 what he is doing here," and then her face flushed. " Oh, 
 Will, look, there is Fan, too." 
 
 Sure enough my sister Fan now appeared, cantering 
 along the grassy slope of the bluff. Mr. Waller helped 
 her off her horse, and we saw them embrace. Then 
 Ada turned her face away, and her big grey eyes met 
 mine with a troubled look. I said nothing, but was 
 thinking a good deal. 
 
 This Lieutenant Waller was a nephew of Captain 
 De Lisle, our police magistrate, and had been staying in 
 the town for some months. He was a remarkably 
 handsome man, but a thorough-paced roue and gambler, 
 and his intrigues with three or four young women of 
 the district, which he carried on in the most shameless 
 manner, rendered him an object of aversion to a great 
 many people, among whom was my father. When he 
 first came to the port he was his uncle's guest, but his 
 mode of life soon disgusted Captain De Lisle, and they 
 had parted bad friends, the younger man taking up his 
 quarters at Micky Hoolan's public-house, where he 
 found much congenial society, male and female. Ilia
 
 SOME INCIDENTS OF OUR FAMILY LIFE 47 
 
 rc^ament was in India, whence he had come to Australia 
 on leave. 
 
 After Ada and I had drunk our tea and eaten some 
 beef and damper, I set out to mark the tallow-wood 
 trees that were to be felled, whilst Ada went into the 
 under-scrub to look for orchids. We met at our camping 
 place about three o'clock, and as we had plenty of time, 
 decided to wait for another hour until the tide turned, 
 so that I should not have to pull against the stream. 
 
 We were sitting under the shade of some wattle trees, 
 watching a school of mullet at play in the smooth water 
 at our feet, when presently Lieutenant Waller and my 
 sister came trotting along the beach, laughing and talk- 
 ing with great animation. Suddenly they caught sight 
 of the boat, then of ourselves, and Fan pulled up short 
 with an exclamation of dismay. Then she said a few 
 hurried words to her companion, and came up to us with 
 a set smile of pleasure on her beautiful face. 
 
 " Just fancy you children being here," she said affably; 
 "when did you come? This morning!" Then she 
 asked me when we were going back home. I replied, 
 '* Presently, as soon as the tide turns." 
 
 "Oh, then you'll be home before me." She paused 
 a moment, and then bending over in her saddle towards 
 me, said, with assumed carelessness, " You needn't tell 
 father that you saw Mr. Waller and me." 
 
 " I won't tell him," I answered somewhat sullenly, 
 "unless he asks me if I saw you." 
 
 Her black eyes flashed angrily, and she raised her 
 whip as if she would strike me. She had a vile temper, 
 and could never control herself when she was angry, but 
 she saw danger in my eye, and by an effort restrained 
 herself. 
 
 Don't be silly. He won't ask you — and I don'^
 
 48 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 want him to know that I met Mr. Waller. You won't 
 tell, Ada darling, will you ? " 
 
 She had never hefore used the endearing word 
 " darling " to Ada within my memory, and it stung 
 me into resentment when I saw that the poor child's 
 face was a hurning red, and her hands tremhling. 
 
 " Leave Ada alone," I said roughly, "leave her alone; 
 and take your chances." 
 
 Mr. Waller, who had dismounted, strolled up to us, 
 and Fan shot him a swift glance. He took a sovereign 
 from his pocket, and caught my hand. " There, take 
 that, Billy, and keep your mouth shut." 
 
 His sneering, patronising manner made me hoil. I 
 thrust his hand away angi-ily, and turning my hack on 
 them both, told Ada that it was time for us to start for 
 home. 
 
 Fan swung her horse round in front of me. *' You 
 uncouth, freckled-faced cub ! How dai'e you be so rude 
 to Mr. Waller ! " 
 
 "A trouncing would do you good, my fine fellow," 
 drawled Waller, as he puffed at his cigar. 
 
 " You are more likely to get one than I am, if my 
 father knows Fan is meeting you," I retorted, now 
 thoroughly aroused, for by this time Ada was crying 
 softly to herself. " And you can keep your sovereigns 
 to yom-self." 
 
 Then with Ada clinging tremblingly to my arm, we 
 Avent down to the boat, got in and set off home. She 
 scarcely spoke a word during the time she was in the 
 boat, and I could see that she was deeply distressed. 
 She was passionately fond of Fan, and was shocked at 
 her duplicity, for she — and indeed all of us — knew that 
 father's anger would be something terrible if he knew 
 that Fan had met Waller clandestinely.
 
 SOME INCIDENTS OF OUR FAMILY LIFE 49 
 
 "We walked up to the house. It was Saturday, and 
 work had ceased at the mill. Father rode up just as we 
 arrived, and asked mother for a cup of tea. He had been 
 out with Paddy Minogue looking for some strayed 
 bullocks, and as he stretched out his huge figure in a 
 lounge chair, and took off his spm-s and leggings, ho 
 seemed unusually tired and quiet. He nodded to me, 
 drew Ada to him for a moment and kissed her pale face, 
 and then sat smoking and stroking his long beard medi- 
 tatively. Ada sat on the verandah beside him, and leant 
 her head against his knee. 
 
 " See any cattle about the Gap, Billy ? " he asked. 
 
 **No." 
 
 **Meet any one?" 
 
 I pretended not to hear this question, having suddenly 
 discovered that my boots were full of sand, but it was 
 of no use. When I looked up again -his steely, deep-set 
 eyes were looking into mine. 
 
 " Did you meet any one?" 
 
 He spoke very slowly and distinctly, and Ada bent her 
 head. My eyes fell before his stern, searching glance. 
 I nodded. 
 
 ** A lady and gentleman, Billy ? " 
 
 " Yes, father." 
 
 " Did they see you and Ada ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Speak to you ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 He did not question me any further, but stroking 
 Ada's fair head gently with his huge leg-of-mutton 
 hand for a moment or two, bade her go inside, as she 
 looked tired. Then he rose and paced to and fro on 
 the verandah, and I noticed with something like fear 
 that his rugged, sun-tanned face seemed to have 
 
 5
 
 50 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 paled. Then he walked quietly away towards the 
 town. 
 
 Fan came home just hefore dusk — alone — her cavalier 
 having judiciously returned to his hotel by another route. 
 
 We had our evening meal as usual, father at one 
 end of the table, mother at the other, and were 
 almost finished before Fan came in, serenely cool and 
 magnificent. 
 
 " I've been all the way to Comeroi Creek," she said 
 languidly (she had not been within twenty miles of it) ; 
 " the country is looking very well out there." 
 
 "Is it?" said father quietly; then, turning to the 
 rest of us, " Jim, Ted, Billy, and you Ada, you can 
 leave the table. I want to talk business with your 
 mother. You can stay. Fan, as you haven't begun 
 yet." 
 
 Both Ada and I knew what was coming as we all 
 trooped out and the door was closed behind us. Ada 
 at once went to her room, Ted and Jim, who knew 
 nothing of the matter, into the kitchen to get their 
 fishing-tackle, for they were going out for the night, 
 and I to the yard to close the fowl-house door, which 
 I saw was open. The evening was very calm and quiet, 
 and as I passed round to the end of the verandah I was 
 arrested by the sound of my father's voice coming from 
 the open window of the dining-room. It sounded so 
 clearly through the night, that I could not help over- 
 hearing every word of what was said. 
 
 "I have sent your brothers and sister away so that 
 I could speak to you alone," said the deep voice. 
 "Where have you been nearly all day, Fan?" 
 
 " Oh, don't be angry, papa — father, I mean. Comeroi 
 is really a very long ride." 
 
 I heard the sound of a chair being pushed back, and
 
 SOME INCIDENTS OF OUR FAMILY LIFE 51 
 
 I looked in. Father had risen, and with his hands on 
 his hips was looking at Fan ; mother, with her hands 
 clasped together, was gazing at him with a white and 
 terrified face. Fan I could not see from where I stood. 
 
 *' Were you really at Comeroi Creek all day ? " began 
 the slow, questioning voice again. 
 
 " Of course I was," was the steadily-spoken reply. 
 
 ** And you went nowhere else ? " 
 
 " I went nowhere else — I swear it " — defiantly. 
 
 " When did you see Mr. Waller last ? " 
 
 *' To-day." 
 
 "Where?" 
 
 "I really don't recollect — he passed me somewhere 
 in the town." 
 
 " Speak to him ? " 
 
 " I just said ' Good morning.' " 
 
 Father laughed in a manner that was new to me ; 
 then his next words cut like the lash of a stock-whip. 
 
 "You are a liar. You did not go to Comeroi Creek, 
 for I and Paddy Minogue saw you and Mr. Waller 
 riding along the track two miles from Halligan's Gap. 
 And I know that you got a letter from him yesterday, 
 but I did not think you would be so false to your mother 
 and to me and so reckless of your own reputation as to 
 meet this man after I had warned you not to do so. 
 You have put yourself on the same level now as Mattic 
 Casey and the other creatures with whom this man 
 associates. He is a vicious, damned blackguard, and 
 you, nineteen years of age, and knowing as well as I do 
 that he is what he is, can lower yourself and insult the 
 mother who bore you by meeting such a scoundrel, who 
 will make a jest of you. Now listen to me " 
 
 There was a pause, and I could hear my own heart 
 thumping.
 
 52 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 *' More than two weeks ago I met Lieutenant Waller, 
 and I spoke to liim about you — you, my daughter — and 
 I told him quietly that I had forbidden you to have 
 anything to do with him. And I asked him as man 
 to man, and as your father, if he thought it was a 
 square, honourable thing for a man like he was to 
 meddle with a young girl like you — a girl who he would 
 no more think of marrying than he would think of 
 coming to me and asking for a job at the mill. And 
 he swore that he was sorry, and said that as I felt so 
 sore over the matter he would not put himself in your 
 way again. And then we shook hands over it. . . . Do 
 you understand ? We shook hands. I thought then 
 that after all there was some good in him — that he was 
 a man at heart. Now I know him to be a paltry liar 
 and sneak, and he has made you a liar and a sneak too. 
 To-night I am going to give him a thrashing. Go to bed ! ' ' 
 
 "Oh, for God's sake, Henry, spare her!" cried my 
 mother. " See, she has fainted." 
 
 *' Then see to her." He put on his hat, lit his pipe, 
 and left the house. 
 
 An hour later he knocked at the door of Captain De 
 Lisle' s house. The old magistrate was in his study 
 reading. 
 
 " I've given your nephew a hell of a thrashing, 
 Captain," he said simply, as he sat down. "I had 
 to do it — for my daughter's sake. He gave me his 
 word of honom" as a gentleman that he would not 
 meet her. He lied, and has made her lie to me." 
 
 " The damned scoundrel ! Did you give it to him 
 properly? " 
 
 " He won't be able to show his face for a month. 
 Ho had no chance with me, although he's clever enough, 
 too, with his hands."
 
 SOME INCIDENTS OF OUR FAMILY LIFE 53 
 
 " I'm sorry the fellow ever put his legs under my 
 tahle, Breachley, and I sympathise with you. Have a 
 glass of grog with me ? " He touched a bell. " By 
 the way, Breachley, are you going to give me one of 
 those kangaroo pups ? " 
 
 Captain De Lisle was a gentleman from the top of 
 his shiny bald head to his toes. After my father and 
 he had chatted for half an hour, he walked down to our 
 house with him. 
 
 In the middle of the street Sergeant Finnegan met 
 them. He stared at my father. 
 
 " Mr. Waller is very badly hurted, sir," he began. 
 
 "Well?" and Captain De Lisle spoke so sharply 
 that the Sergeant hardly knew how to go on. 
 
 *' I thought, sir, that — I was thinking, sir, that 
 maybe ye didn't know, and " 
 
 " Don't be so damned officious, Finnegan. Go home 
 and turn in."
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 I LEAVE HOME AND MAKE A NEW FRIEND 
 
 EPtE three moutlis had passed an event occurred 
 that changed the whole tenor of my life. Captain 
 De Lisle was thrown from his horse while kangaroo 
 hunting, much to the grief of every one in the district, 
 for he was truly a loveable old man, a gentleman, sports- 
 man, and "white man" to the backbone. Even the 
 rough timber-getters — and timber-getters in our part 
 were a fearfully rough lot, and nearly all fighting men — 
 had a sincere and solid respect for the man who, when 
 any one of them had " smashed " his monthly cheque 
 at Micky Hoolan's "pub., "and was suffering fi*om visions 
 of weird dogs with flaming eyes — which pursued them 
 as an after-effect of Micky's grog — was always ready 
 with an admonition — and a sovereign or two. My father 
 especially felt his loss very deeply, though it was not in 
 his nature to show it, outside of our own family circle. 
 
 The morning after the accident Paddy Minogue rode 
 up to our house. He was dressed with unusual care, 
 and his dark, Spanish-like face was set and grave as he 
 sliook hands with my parents, who invited him inside, 
 where he remained talking with them for about ten 
 minutes. 
 
 Presently my mother came out to us — Ted, Jim, and 
 
 61
 
 I LEAVE HOME AND MAKE A NEW FRIEND 55 
 
 myself — and told us to put on our Sunday clothes, as 
 father was taking us up to see Captain Do Lisle. In a 
 few minutes we were dressed, and with father and Paddy 
 Minogue walking in front, arrived at " Government 
 Cottage," as the dead magistrate's house was called. 
 
 I can never forget that morning. It is impressed 
 upon my memory as long as I live. It was the first 
 time I had ever seen a dead man. 
 
 Captain De Lisle was of a Catholic family, and so 
 we were not surprised to find that Mrs. Finnegan, the 
 sergeant's wife (herself an Irishwoman) conducted us to 
 the room in which the hody lay. She was a very hand- 
 some woman, and when she saw Patrick ]\Iinogue her 
 face paled, and then flushed deeply, hut without a word 
 she ushered us in and then withdrew. 
 
 Standing heside the hed in his full uniform, with his 
 white-gloved hands on the hilt of his sword, was Sergeant 
 Finnegan. He saluted as we entered, and then, turning 
 his face away, gazed stolidly at the door. 
 
 My father, as he hent his hulky frame over the still 
 figure on the hed, motioned to my brothers and myself 
 to approach. 
 
 *'A good man, boys; a good, straight, clean-living 
 man," he whispered, " honest and upright, and a gentle- 
 man." Then he gently touched the cold, pale forehead 
 with his rough hand and stood erect. 
 
 " 0, Death, where is thy sting ? Grave, where is 
 thy victory?" he muttered. 
 
 Ted and I looked at the dead face — Jim, big and 
 rough as he was, was afraid — and in a way we under- 
 stood what father meant. The once round, florid face 
 with the fierce, angi-y blue eyes, and the thick white mous- 
 tache, was now white, calm, and placid, and the thin, 
 sinewy right hand, which had waved a sword on many
 
 56 BBEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 a bloody field in India, now clasped a little tawdry 
 crucifix wliich Julia Finnegan, poor sinner, had placed 
 there. 
 
 Oh, the grand, gi-eat majesty that Death so often 
 imprints upon the faces of men like Captain De Lisle 
 when they die old ! It sweetens and glorifies them 
 with the light of the peace eternal ; and the horror and 
 dread of the grave and the thought of the corruption 
 of our mortal bodies vanish from the mind of the beholder 
 who gazes upon them. 
 
 Hat in hand, Patrick Minogue stepped on tiptoe to 
 the foot of the bed, and then knelt and prayed silently 
 for some minutes. Then he rose and was about to leave 
 the room, when Finnegan spoke in a low voice. 
 
 " Shure, he died a bewtiful death — just bruk his neck 
 clane acrost, and widout wan second's pain, I'm thinkin'. 
 An' a foiner rider niwer put fut in a stirrup — not even 
 yoursilf, Minogue, an' you're wan av the best in the 
 counthry." 
 
 We were amazed to hear the sergeant speak in so 
 friendly a tone to his enemy, for I well knew the real 
 secret of the deadly hatred they bore to each other. 
 Minogue himself felt affected, and his sallow featm-es 
 flushed deeply. 
 
 " Ye're a good man, wid a foine light hand on a 
 horse yourself. Sergeant," he said, speaking almost in a 
 whisper; and then he slowly put out his hand. 
 
 "I'll be going now, I'm thinkin', Sergeant; an' as 
 I'm lavin' the place altogether to-morrow maybe you'll 
 shake hands." 
 
 Their hands met, and then Paddy walked out of the 
 
 room. 
 
 On the following morning he came to wish us goodbye, 
 and told us he was going to Victoria to live. He gave
 
 I LEAVE HOME AND MAKE A NEW PEIEND 57 
 
 no reasons, but I think that he acted on an honourable 
 impulse, and that when he asked the sergeant to shake 
 hands he then and there made up his mind never to see 
 Julia Finnegan again. 
 
 When Captam De Lisle' s will was read it was found 
 that my father was one of the executors, and that Ada 
 had been left a hundred pounds. The other executor 
 was his brother, also a Captain De Lisle, who was a 
 retired military man, and was living in Queensland, 
 where he owned a cattle station on the Burnett Eiver. 
 About a month after the funeral he came to town to 
 meet father and help wind up his brother's affairs, and 
 remained for two or three weeks, during which time he 
 was a frequent visitor at our house. 
 
 He took much interest in father's timber business, 
 and one day told him that he was certain that there 
 were vast quantities of splendid cedar on many of the 
 Northern Queensland rivers, and that a fortune awaited 
 any one who would go into the enterprise and take up a 
 party of men ; for cedar, even in those days, brought a 
 big price. Finally, he offered to put five hundred pounds 
 into the venture if my father would provide a similar 
 sum and undertake the management of the business. 
 The end of it was that, although father could not go 
 himself, he decided to send Ted and me with a party of 
 six men to explore the rivers mentioned by Captain De 
 Lisle. I was nearly off my head with delight when, a 
 week later, we sailed with Captain De Lisle for Sydney. 
 
 One of us was to return to report to father, if possible, 
 within three months. 
 
 We sailed fi-om Sydney in a brig named the Lady 
 Denton (Captain Laing). She was engaged in the 
 beche-de-mcr fishery in the Great Barrier Beef, and her 
 captain agreed with Captain De Lisle to land our party
 
 58 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 at the mouth of what is now known as the Daintree 
 Kiver. It v/as at that time unnamed, and even its 
 existence was known to but half a dozen people, none of 
 whom, however, had explored it further than three or 
 four miles from its mouth, for the blacks were in ^-eat 
 numbers, and very dangerous. 
 
 Captain De Lisle, whose home on the Burnett was 
 eight hundred miles from the Daintree, did not come 
 with us, as he was returning by one of the few steamers 
 which then traded between Sydney and the Queensland 
 ports. He, however, took especial care that our party 
 of eight — six timber-getters and Ted and myself — were 
 well supplied with provisions for twelve months and 
 arms and ammunition. 
 
 The day before the brig sailed he came on board, 
 gave Ted, who was our leader, his final instructions, 
 and presented every one of us with new double-barrelled 
 guns by the best English makers. Then he made us a 
 short but forcible address, pointing out to us that we 
 should be living for many months in a very dangerous 
 and unknown country, quite cut ojff from civilisation, 
 and in the midst of the most ferocious and cannibal 
 blacks in Australia. Then the climate was to be 
 guarded against, for on the littoral of the northern 
 seaboard malarial fever was very bad, and he had seen 
 even the blacks succumb to it. He had, however, pro- 
 vided us with an ample supply of medicines, and he 
 then gave us details of how and where to make our 
 camp, especially warned us to remember that although 
 Ted was the youngest but one of our party, he was 
 om- leader, and that dissension would lead very probably 
 to our entire destruction. On the other hand, he said, 
 he felt confident that we should loyally obey our leader, 
 and stick to each other, and try, if possible, to avoid
 
 I LEAVE HOME AND MAKE A NEW FRIEND 59 
 
 an encounter with the blacks. " You are," he said, 
 in conchision, " being paid not only big wages, but will 
 have a share in the profits, which will be large. Now, 
 that is all I have to say. Goodbye and good luck." 
 Then he shook hands with each of us and went ashore. 
 
 We sailed at sunrise next morning with a westerly 
 breeze and every one in the highest spirits, and at 
 six o'clock were outside Sydney Heads and into the 
 deep blue of the wide Pacific. The sun shone bright in 
 a cloudless sky, and the chill west wind — it was in June, 
 and our Australian winter — though it was fresh and 
 strong, was bracing and invigorating as it sent the brig 
 swiftly over a smooth sea. 
 
 For so small a vessel — two hundred and fifty tons — 
 the Lady Denton, carried a rather large crew of thirteen 
 white men, and was armed like one of the old-time 
 Letters of Marque ; for the heche-de-mer industry on 
 the islands of the Great Barrier was fraught with 
 danger, inasmuch as the aboriginals who collected the 
 nasty-looking but valuable sea-slug, had a trick of 
 occasionally turning on the white crews, murdering 
 them, and then looting and burning the ships. Captain 
 Laing, however, was a veteran at the business, and the 
 Lady Denton was a very fortunate ship, for he had a 
 great influence over the savages whom he employed, 
 and beyond losing an occasional member of his crew, 
 had never met with any serious disaster. He himself 
 was the heau ideal of a sailor — I mean of a British 
 or an American sailor, for, except Scandinavians, who 
 are as good as ourselves, one does not count foreigners 
 as sailor-men, although here and there you will to-day 
 meet a Frenchman or an Italian foremast hand who is 
 good enough. His officers were all old hands in the 
 heche-de-mer trade, and had sailed with him for over
 
 60 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 ten years, and tlie crew were British-born to a man ; 
 not one of them said " Ja " for " Yes." They were 
 a terribly rough lot ashore, and when I saw them first 
 they showed very strong evidences of having had a 
 lively time, for there was scarcely one that had not 
 a black eye, whilst some had two, and would have had 
 ten had there been more eyes to blacken. As soon 
 as we were clear of Sydney Heads, the captain, who 
 had a delightful sense of humour peculiarly his own, 
 together with a really kind disposition, called them aft. 
 Like Laing and his officers, they were nearly all men 
 past the prime of life — as far as appearances went — 
 except one, of whom I shall have much to tell, for he 
 became a true and trusted comrade to me. 
 
 They ranged up on the main deck, facing the skipper, 
 who stood at the break of the poop smoking a cigar 
 and stroking his carefully-trimmed, short Vandyke 
 beard. He was a little man, but a perfect model of 
 strength and symmetry, with very handsome features, 
 and I at once conceived an ardent admiration for him — - 
 which deepened when I Imew him better. 
 
 " Waal, boys " — he was a Nova Scotian, and spoke 
 with a strong American twang — " waal, boys, you've 
 all turned up I see ; and a darned sick-looking lot you 
 are. You never were very pretty at the best of times, 
 even in your Sunday go-to-meeting clothes, but I just 
 want you to see how you look now. Steward." 
 
 The steward, who was standing near him holding a 
 large looking-glass, stepped down the poop-ladder and 
 marched along the front of the battered seamen, holding 
 the glass closely to each man's face in turn. They took 
 the joke with a sort of sullen good-humour. 
 
 " There, just look at yourselves, my beauties," con- 
 tinued the captain softly ; ** don't you feel proud now
 
 I LEAVE HOME AND MAKE A NEW FRIEND 61 
 
 of having made such damned beasts of yourselves ? I 
 don't suppose you can rake up twenty shillings among 
 the lot of you. What you haven't spent on snake-juice 
 the Totties and Flossies have taken, and are boozing it 
 away with the bullies and spielers who helped them to 
 clean you out, you silly fools. Now look here — no 
 lying, mind — did you bring any grog aboard with you? " 
 There was a shuffling of feet, and some of the men 
 turned to each other and muttered. 
 
 " Oh, of course you have. Now, you, Shafter, and 
 you, Sandy, just go for'ard and bring me that grog aft. 
 Look sharp." 
 
 Two of the men went into the foc'scle, and returned 
 with five bottles of grog. 
 
 " Is that all, boys— honest ? " 
 " That's all, sir," replied one of the men. 
 " Over the side with it, then." 
 
 The five bottles were thrown overboard without hesi- 
 tation — they knew what was coming. 
 
 " Now I'll give you something good to drink — not 
 hell boiled down into a pint — though you don't deserve 
 it. Steward, five bottles of Martell's brandy. That'll 
 do, lads — go for'ard." 
 
 Captain Laing knew his men— and they knew and 
 respected him. The steward took them five bottles of 
 good, honest brandy, and they opened and drank one. The 
 rest they placed in the care of the boatswain. Had 
 the skipper merely served them with a nip each, after 
 throwing their five bottles of poison overboard, they 
 would have been discontented and grumbled ; in giving 
 them an equal quantity of good liquor, and trusting to 
 them not to get drunk on it immediately, he appealed 
 to their sense of honour. Had any one of them abused 
 this confidence, he would have had a bad time — not
 
 62 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 only would Captain Laing have "hazed" liim most 
 mercilessly, but his own shipmates would have rounded 
 on him as " a dirty dog." 
 
 The one young man — or rather youth — among them, 
 of whom I have spoken, had attracted my attention the 
 moment I saw him. He was so strikingly handsome, 
 and presented so strong a contrast to the rest of the 
 crew when they stood together under the break of the 
 poop, that I could see that the captain, who never 
 appeared to notice anything, was surveying him keenly 
 under his half-closed eyelids as he smoked his cigar. 
 
 Not more than twenty-one years of age — although he 
 looked three or four years older at a first glance — his 
 clearly-cut, smooth oval features were so absolutely 
 faultless in their outlines, and so deeply bronzed by 
 exposure to tropic suns, that the natural darkness of 
 complexion was so intensified that I at first thought 
 he had black blood in his veins. He was dressed in the 
 blue jacket and trousers of an officer in the merchant 
 service, and I could see the marks of where the two 
 narrow bands of gold lace had once encircled the cuffs. 
 The brass buttons of his jacket had also been removed 
 and replaced by ones of common black horn. His hair, 
 wavy and black as jet, showed beneath a ragged felt hat, 
 and as he stood in line with the rest of the crew, with 
 his shapely brown hands clasped loosely one over the 
 other, head back and shoulders squared, he looked the 
 personification of youthful strength and beauty. Once 
 he had turned his face towards the poop, and as he saw 
 Ted and myself staring hard at him, a slight smile 
 parted his lips, and we instantly felt pleased. 
 
 Half an hour later, as my brother and myself were 
 showing the captain the beautiful guns given to us by 
 Captain De Lisle the steward entered the cabin, and
 
 I LEAVE HOME AND MAKE A NEW FRIEND 63 
 
 said that "the new hand " wanted to know if he could 
 have something from the slop-chest. 
 
 "Ay, ay, come in, sonny," replied the captain. 
 
 The " new hand " was, of course, the young fellow in 
 whom we were so interested. He entered the cahin hat 
 in hand, and Laing asked him what he wanted. 
 
 "An all-round rig-out, sir, if you please," he said 
 politely. 
 
 The ship's articles were lying on the cahin tahle, and 
 the captain slowly drew them towards him and glanced 
 at a name thereon. 
 
 "All right, my lad. Let me sec. Oh, here you are. 
 * Harry Brandon.' " Then he turned in his chair and 
 looked the youth in the face. " I hear you were fourth 
 mate on the Earl of Dalhonsie. What made you leave 
 such a good employ to ship as a foremast hand in this 
 brig?" 
 
 Brandon's black eyebrows knit together for an instant, 
 and his dark face flushed angrily. 
 
 " My discharge is a good one, sir," he said pointedly. 
 
 The skipper sat bolt upright, and his quiet eyes fixed 
 upon the young man's face. 
 
 " I did not say your discharge was not a good one. 
 I asked you a question ; there is no need for you to 
 answer it if you don't care to do so." 
 
 In a moment Brandon's face changed. " Thank yon, 
 sir. I left the Earl of Dalhoiisie because her captuiu 
 asked me to do so ; he said that if I did not he would 
 make me sorry for it. That is all, sir." 
 
 Laing eyed him for a moment, but not in an un- 
 friendly manner. "Waal, I hope I won't have to ask 
 you to leave my ship, my lad. Now just get what you 
 want from the steward." 
 
 Brandon raised his hand and saluted, and followed
 
 64 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 the steward into the store-room. In about ten minutes 
 he came out again, carrying a bundle of seamen's cloth- 
 ing — such as were worn by the rest of the crew — flannel 
 and cotton shirts, dungaree pants, a suit of oilskins, and 
 a pair of sea-boots. He went on deck, down into the 
 foc'stle, changed his clothes, and presently reappeared, 
 dressed in a cotton shirt and blue dungaree pants. In 
 his hands he carried the blue coat, vest, and trousers 
 which he had worn. I had noticed that they were made 
 of superfine cloth, and, being well-cut, had fitted his 
 figure to perfection. Stepping to the side — -just for'ard 
 of the galley — he coolly threw the garments overboard. 
 
 One of the crew, a short, square-built, and red-haired 
 man named Shatter, who was just passing along the 
 deck with a serving mallet and a ball of spun yarn in 
 his hand, saw the action and laughed good-naturedly. 
 
 " Chuckin' yer brass-bound togs overboard, me lord 
 dook, are yer ? Yer don't look none too pretty though 
 in yer noo rig " 
 
 Brandon turned on him like a tiger. " Mind your own 
 
 business, you red-headed son of a " and then followed 
 
 a torrent of imprecation and blasphemy that astounded 
 Ted and me, used as we were to the florid language 
 of our mill hands. 
 
 The seaman dropped his serving mallet and spun yarn 
 in astonishment, his red beard bristling with anger. 
 "Well, of all the out-an'-out foul-mouthed young swabs 
 
 as I ever seed, you are " He gasped for breath. . . . 
 
 "I'll wring your neck, you " 
 
 He made a straight-out-from-the-shoulder blow at 
 Brandon, who dodged it with a low savage laugh, and 
 then caught Shafter with his left on the chin ; then, 
 before the elder man could recover himself, a second 
 blow took him between the eyes with such force that he
 
 I LEAVE HOME AND MAKE A NEW FRIEND 65 
 
 nearly went over backwards into the fore hold, the hatch 
 of Avhich was open. 
 
 " By the howly Moses, the young un's fit fur him ! " 
 delightedly yelled Larry Hale, one of our timber-getters. 
 " Sthand aside every wan of yez an' give 'em room." 
 In less than two minutes the deck was cleared ; Larry 
 Hale constituted himself Brandon's second, and another 
 of our men, named Lawson, acted for the red-haired 
 sailor. On the poop deck. Captain Laing and his two 
 mates stood and watched with amused interest. 
 
 The " new hand " was now apparently quite cool and 
 collected, and when he whipped off his coarse cotton 
 shirt and stood stripped to the waist, the rough timber- 
 getters and equally rough crew of the brig gave a 
 murmur of admiration — for young as he was, he showed 
 the physique and tough, hard muscles of a fully-gi-own 
 man. There was no bravado about him — nothing but a 
 dull gleam in the dark eyes, a look which I came to 
 know well in after-years. Shatter, disdaining to take 
 off his shirt, and almost furious at the good-humoured 
 jests of his shipmates and the timber-getters, turned his 
 head for a moment, and looked aft at the captain. 
 
 The captain drew his cigar from his lips. ** Oh, that's 
 all right. Shatter. If he wants to fight you, let him. 
 Better come aft here on the main-deck ; more room." 
 
 Followed by the crew and the timber-men, Brandon 
 and Shatter presently faced each other on the port side 
 of the main hatch, with their seconds behind them. 
 Then Brandon turned and said something to the boat- 
 swain. 
 
 *' Wliat's the matter ? " inquired the captain sharply. 
 
 **He says the main-hatch is open, sir." 
 
 *' What the devil does that matter to him?" said 
 Laing ; *' there's plenty of room." Then, addressing 
 
 6
 
 66 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 Brandon, he inquired sarcastically if he would like the 
 hatches put on, and a few velvet-covered chairs from the 
 cahin brought on deck. 
 
 "No, thank you, sir," replied the youth — and the 
 skipper's handsome face flushed at the mocking, con- 
 temptuous tone of his voice ; " but as we nearly went 
 over into the forehold just now, I asked the boatswain 
 to put on the main-hatches." 
 
 The captain threw up his hand impatiently. " Go 
 ahead, never mind the hatches, and don't talk." 
 
 The fight was the quickest I ever saw — and I have 
 seen a good many. Shatter, who was as strong as a 
 bullock, had as much science as a cow, and in less than 
 two minutes Brandon hit him fair and square in the 
 mouth, and sent him over the coamings of the main-hatch 
 into the hold. When he was brought on deck, he was 
 unconscious, and had two broken ribs, for he had fallen 
 across something harder than himself. 
 
 Captain Laing had the injured man placed in a bunk 
 in the deck-house, and at once attended to him. As he 
 was going aft again, he noticed Brandon, who was 
 helping the carpenter with some job on the main-deck. 
 
 " You've nearly killed that man," he said. 
 
 Brandon stood up and touched his cap with a pre- 
 tended humility, but yet without oflfensiveness. 
 
 "I am very sorry, sir. I did not mean to hurt him. 
 As you will remember, sir, I called yom* attention to the 
 fact of the main-hatch being open." 
 
 The skipper drew his hand across his mouth to hide 
 a smile.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 BEANDON GOES OFF HIS HEAD 
 
 WE made a very quick run along the coast to the 
 Percy Ishands oif Broad Sound, among which we 
 ran in and anchored to pick up the " Black Contingent," 
 i.e., the nigger* ladies and gentlemen who always joined 
 the shij) to proceed with her to the beche-de-mcr fishery. 
 They were pure, unmitigated savages, but could be trusted 
 at any rate not to turn on the white men when so far 
 away from their own home and attempt to cut off the brig. 
 There were about sixty of them all told — old men, young 
 bucks, women and children. Every one of them was 
 stark naked, and every one smelt aloud and with great 
 violence of that pungent ant-like odour peculiar to 
 the Australian nigger ; when they gathered together on 
 the main-deck hatch and stank collectively, it was awful 
 — enough, Brandon said, to blister the paint-work. 
 Most of them were old employees of our skipper, and 
 they greeted him with vociferous applause when he 
 threw them two or three pounds of tobacco, and for 
 decency's sake gave the women a bagful of men's worn- 
 out trousers. 
 
 We put to sea the same day, running between the 
 
 * In using the term "nigger," instead of " black follow " or " black," 
 I adopt the Queensland expression for aboriginal. 
 
 67
 
 68 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 Swain Eeefs till we were outside the Great Barrier, then 
 laid a northerly course for Trinity Opening, where we 
 arrived two weeks later. 
 
 The brig was a very old vessel, having been built at 
 Havre-de-Grace in 1820, but she was a wonderful sailer, 
 and as sound as a bell, and in after-years, when I came 
 to read Herman Melville's " Omoo " in that chapter 
 describing the old whaler Julia, I fancied I was once 
 more on board the Lady Denton ; the two were so 
 alike as regards their sailing qualities. Melville, after 
 speaking of the rotten condition of the barque's standing 
 and running gear, says : " But all this had nothing to 
 do with her sailing ; at that, brave Little Jule, plump 
 Little Jule, was a witch. Blow high, or blow low, she 
 was always ready for the breeze, and when she dashed 
 the waves from her prow, and pranced and pawed the 
 sea, you never thought of her patched sails and blistered 
 hull. How the fleet creature would fly before the wind ! 
 rolling now and then, to be sure, but in very playfulness. 
 Sailing to windward, no gale could bow her over ; with 
 spars erect, she looked right up into the wind's eye, and 
 so she went." 
 
 Hitherto my sea experience had been confined to a 
 few days' trip along the coast in one of my father's small 
 chartered ketches or topsail schooners, and the Lady 
 Denton to me was quite a big ship. At my own 
 request, I stood watch with the mate, for already I 
 began to have a sneaking inclination for a sailor's life, 
 and both Captain Laing and the mate seemed rather 
 pleased, while young Brandon, with whom I had now 
 struck up a great friendship, one day told me that if I 
 were only remaining longer on board he would teach me 
 navigation. I was not surprised that he had a know- 
 ledge of navigation, for he had evidently received an
 
 BEANDON GOES OFF HIS HEAD 69 
 
 excellent education, and from something lie let drop one 
 day, I was sure his parents were people of position. 
 
 He of course lived in the foc'stle with the rest of the 
 crew, who seemed to have taken a liking to him, despite 
 his occasional outbursts of temper, for he never shirked 
 his duty nor attempted to put on airs of superiority. 
 Even his former antagonist, Shafter — who was a good- 
 hearted fellow — bore him no malice for his two broken 
 ribs, for during the time he was laid up Brandon waited 
 on him like a nurse, and on many occasions, when it 
 was his watch below, he would sit beside the red-haired 
 sailor and read to him, cut up his tobacco, and do many 
 other little things. Quick, alert, and obedient to the 
 captain and mates' orders, he yet never attempted to 
 speak to them except when spoken to, though the rest 
 of the crew, from having so long sailed under their 
 command, addressed them with a certain respectful 
 familiarity. Twice — after having asked the captain's 
 permission — I wanted him to come into the main cabin 
 and play draughts. He refused point-blank, though 
 without discourtesy. 
 
 " I'm a foremast hand, Bill. I'd like to go well 
 enough, and be clear of this stinking foc'stle for an hour 
 or two, but it won't do. The men would think that I 
 wanted to do a bit of crawling, and would not hesitate 
 to say so. Then there would be a row, and I'd get a 
 licking perhaps." 
 
 Captain Laing was naturally an uncommunicative 
 man, and when I said that Harry did not care about 
 coming into the cabin, he merely nodded ; but I am sure 
 he thought all the more of him for refusing. He, 
 however, suggested that Ted and I could take the 
 draughts into the deck-house. This we did, and then 
 Brandon played many games with us and some of our men.
 
 70 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 One night, during the mate's watch on deck, Brandon 
 was on the look-out, where I joined him. The sea was 
 very smooth, and the hrig was running with squared 
 yards hefore a warm and gentle south-east hreeze. So 
 quiet was the night, and so steady the wind, that there 
 was scarce a sound to be heard, except the breathing of 
 the Black Contingent lying huddled uj) together on the 
 main-hatches. Overhead, the pale silver of a waning 
 moon shone dimly beside the diamond lights of myriad 
 stars in a cloudless firmament of deepest blue. 
 
 For some minutes we paced to and fro on the short 
 topgallant foc'stle mthout speaking, Brandon, however, 
 keeping a bright look-out ahead. Then, taking his pipe 
 from his mouth, he stuck it in his belt, and began to talk. 
 
 '* I wonder, Billy, if your brother would let me join 
 your party? " 
 
 I started with pleasure. It was the very thing I most 
 desired — next to a wish that had gradually but strongly 
 gi-own in my heart to remain on board the brig as one of 
 the ship's comj)any. 
 
 " I'm sure he would, Harry. But," I added, after 
 a moment's thought, " would Captain Laing agree ? 
 You're on the articles." 
 
 " That's the trouble, and I don't think the skipper 
 icould agi-ee to my leaving the shii3 if I asked him. 
 But" — and here he smiled in a way that I did not like — 
 *' I can get him to ask me to leave." 
 
 *' How will you do that ? " 
 
 *' Oh, easily enough — leave it to me. But you are 
 sure that your brother won't round on me and tell me 
 that he doesn't want me ? " 
 
 "I'm sure he won't," I replied. " Ted likes you, 
 and only the other day he said that he wished you were 
 coming ashore with us."
 
 BEANDON GOES OFF HIS HEAD 71 
 
 Brandon nodded. " Then it's settled. Not much 
 longer shall I chew the salt horse and the untoothsome 
 biscuit on the good ship Lady Denton. The sailor's 
 life, William, is a disgusting and uninspiring one to a 
 youth of my remarkable talents." 
 
 He spoke with such a lazy, half-mocking inflexion in 
 his voice, that I hardly knew whether he was in earnest 
 or not. 
 
 *' Harry," I said suddenly, " there is one thing I 
 must tell you. Ted is a terror for work, and makes the 
 men work as hard as he does himself. If he saw me 
 trj'ing to shuffle out of my fair share of graft he'd 
 * haze ' me, as you call it. Father is just the same." 
 
 Brandon laughed, and slapped me on the shoulder. 
 " That's all right, Billy. You'll find me a good mate, 
 and in a week or two after we get ashore I'll be able to 
 use an axe as well as yourself. I wouldn't like Ted to 
 fall foul of me — he's a pretty rough sort of a joker, 
 I imagine, when he is put out." 
 
 "He is," I said, with undisguised pride. "Only 
 Paddy Minogue could best him with the gloves ; Captain 
 De Lisle taught him his science. But he thinks a lot 
 of your style, Harry, and told us the day you sent 
 Shafter down the hatch that you were the quickest man 
 with your left he ever had seen. And all our mill-hands 
 are fighting men. There's always a fight or two on the 
 beach on Sunday mornings." 
 
 " What a lovely little village ! Billy, I'll go with 
 you some day and witness these Sabbath-day recreations 
 on the shining sands, the while the church bells call 
 the sinners to repentance — you have a church there, 
 I suppose ? " 
 
 "Yes, and a jolly good old parson, and an Irish 
 priest — Father Byan — comes there sometimes to hold
 
 72 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 Mass in the big room of Hoolan's 'pub.' He used 
 to be a soldier, and he and old Captain De Lisle and 
 Paddy Minogue were the best riders in all the district." 
 
 I remained talking with him a little while longer, and 
 then went aft, wondering how my friend would manage 
 to leave the brig with the captain's consent. I little 
 imagined that he had already made up his plan of 
 action, and was about to immediately put it into 
 effect. 
 
 At four bells he came aft to take the wheel from a 
 seaman named Woods — a quiet, civil, and good- 
 humoured fellow. Mr. Bone, the mate, was pacing 
 the deck, and I was leaning over the rail, when I heard 
 Woods say as he gave up the wheel, ''North by west 
 half- west." 
 
 Then, to my astonishment, I heard Brandon angrily 
 ask the man for the course. 
 
 " I just told you ! " said Woods in surprise. 
 
 " You did not," said the young man ; " you only 
 muttered something that I couldn't hear." 
 
 The mate turned on his heel and asked them what 
 they were quarrelling about. 
 
 " This man has forgotten the course, sir," said 
 Brandon coolly, " and is half asleep as well." 
 
 Poor Woods looked at him with blazing eyes. " You 
 young beggar ! I — I — I'll " 
 
 " That'll do now," said Mr. Bone sternly, with an 
 angi-y frown at the hapless seaman, who went off, mut- 
 tering under his breath, and wild with fury at being 
 accused of a fault he had not committed. 
 
 When eight bells struck, he waited for Brandon just 
 for'ard of the galley, and in ten seconds the pair were 
 hard at it, surrounded by both watches. The second 
 mate ran for'ard and parted them, but not until Woods
 
 BRANDON GOES OFF HIS HEAD 73 
 
 had a much-ensanguined nose and Brandon an eye that 
 by daylight had turned a lovely black. 
 
 At breakfast, just as the captain had taken his 
 seat, we heard a sound of quarrelling on deck, then 
 blows. Presently the mate came below, and said that 
 *' that young beggar Brandon " had been fighting with 
 a seaman named Bill Grace. 
 
 "Wliat for?" asked the captain. 
 
 *' Sheer cussedness, I think. Said that Grace pur- 
 posely trod on his foot ; Grace denied it, and Brandon 
 called him a liar. I don't know what is coming over 
 the young fellow." 
 
 We had scarcely finished breakfast before another 
 hubbub arose on deck, and the cook came running up 
 with a cut lip. Brandon had throvm a tin mug at his 
 head and struck him on the mouth, accusing him of 
 making filthy, undrinkable coffee. 
 
 " Send the men aft," said the captain angrily. They 
 came, and he addressed Brandon, and asked him why he 
 had attacked the cook. 
 
 " He put something in the cofiee, sir," answered the 
 young man calmly ; "I think it was tobacco." 
 
 The captain turned to the rest of the crew, and 
 inquired if they complained about the coffee. They all 
 emphatically asserted that it was as good as usual, and 
 that Brandon's attack on the cook was utterly unreason- 
 able ; furthermore, they said that he had tried to pick a 
 quarrel with every one of them. 
 
 The captain eyed Brandon steadily. " Do you hear 
 what these men say ? " 
 
 "Yes, sir," he answered politely, "and I can assure 
 you that they are telling you lies. The coffee was 
 undrinkable ; the cook must have dropped his filthy 
 pipe into the kettle, and these men here are simply
 
 74 BBEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 backing him up — being of the same kidney as himself. 
 They are, sir, individually and collectively, the greatest 
 liars I have ever sailed with ; disgustingly dirty in their 
 habits — worse than the niggers." 
 
 The men looked at each other and gasped with indig- 
 nation, unable to speak, and even Captain Laing 
 looked astonished at the young man's cool effrontery. 
 
 " I believe them, and I disbelieve you," he said 
 curtly. " I don't know what is the matter with you, 
 but I do know that you'll get badly knocked about if 
 you go on this tack. That'll do now; go for'ard." 
 
 The captain's warning had no effect on Brandon, and 
 before noon he was put in irons for fighting with another 
 man, whom he accused without the slightest reason of 
 having stolen his palm and needle. At supper time he 
 was liberated, and turned to again as if nothing had 
 happened. To the captain and mates he was almost 
 servile in his manner ; to the men he was either sullen 
 or grossly insulting. On the following morning he 
 appeared with both eyes blackened — the result of 
 punishment administered to him by two of the men, 
 whom he deliberately insulted by calling them " packet 
 rats." He, however, obeyed orders with his usual 
 smartness, and the captain could find no fault with 
 him, and began to think that he was wrong in his head. 
 
 But matters came to a climax after the brig ran in 
 through Trinity Opening and dropped anchor off the 
 mouth of the Daintree Paver, where our party was to 
 land. One of the boats was lowered, and at once began 
 to make water, and Brandon loudly accused one of the 
 men of pulling out the plug before the falls were 
 touched. In an instant there was another fight, and 
 the captain, now out of all patience, himself struck the 
 young fellow a blow on the side of the head which sent
 
 BRANDON GOES OFF HIS HEAD 75 
 
 him reeling across the deck. " He picked himself up, and 
 went on working with an unmoved face. 
 
 In the afternoon, and when all our men were ashore 
 with their gear, fixing camp, Ted and I went on hoard 
 to get our own effects and settle various business details 
 with the captain. I was also especially anxious to see 
 Harry Brandon; by this time I quite understood the 
 reason of his extraordinarily rude and insulting behaviour 
 to his shipmates, but I kept my own counsel. Ted, I 
 knew, would not be a party to such deceit, for all his 
 rough manners. 
 
 The moment we stepped on board I looked for my 
 friend, but could not discover him, and in a few moments 
 I heard from Mr. Money (the second mate) that he was 
 again in irons — this time for threatening one of the 
 hands to "do for him " when the brig put to sea again. 
 When I went below Captain Laing was talking to 
 Ted, and I was not surprised to find that Brandon v/as 
 the subject of their conversation. Presently the captain 
 told the steward to tell Mr. Bone to liberate the prisoner 
 and bring him aft. 
 
 Harry was marched below. He presented a very 
 ruffianly appearance, for in addition to two black eyes — 
 one of which was completely closed — his face was dirty 
 and blood-stained, his shirt was in rags, and the peak of 
 his cap hanging by one end down his cheek. 
 
 The captain regarded him sternly, and then spoke 
 with a kind of pitying disgust. 
 
 ** You're the biggest young blackguard for your age 
 that I've ever come across. I don't like putting even a 
 nigger in irons, but you have driven me to put you in 
 irons twice. I don't know what has come over you, but 
 I do know that I'll be glad to be quit of you as a darned 
 nuisance. Now, I'll give you your choice : Mr. Breach-
 
 76 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 ley here says he will take you on if you like to join his 
 party — in fact, I have asked him to take you. If you 
 don't care about it, back you go into irons again for a 
 week, and then after that I'll haze the life out of you. 
 Now, make your choice quick." 
 
 "I will go with Mr. Breachley, sir," replied Brandon, 
 looking down. " Everything that you say, sir, is quite 
 true, and I'm very sorry for my misconduct. But I 
 can't help it. I got sunstroke in Calcutta two years 
 ago, and I'm afraid I'm not quite right in my head ; the 
 least thing seems to set me off." 
 
 He spoke with such apparent sincerity that Captain 
 Laing's face softened. " Well, I'm sorry for you, my 
 lad. You've the makings of a good sailor-man in you, 
 and I know you are not one of the common run of fore- 
 mast hands. But, at the same time, you've caused a 
 heap of trouble, and the men, naturally enough, have 
 taken a dead set against you, especially for threatening 
 to murder. So it's just as well for you to clear and 
 go ashore. There's five pounds due to you ; I won't 
 charge you for the clothes you had. There you are." 
 He handed him five sovereigns and told him to go 
 ashore. 
 
 " Thank you, Captain. I shall not forget your 
 kindness to me." 
 
 There was no mistaking his sincerity this time, for 
 he raised his face and looked steadily at the captain for 
 a moment or two with his one available eye as he raised 
 his hand in salute, and something like a blush mantled 
 his forehead. 
 
 He stepped along the main-deck and went into the 
 fore-peak, reappearing in a few minutes with his clothes 
 tied up in a bundle. This he threw into the boat along- 
 side, and then walked for'ard again to where the crew
 
 BRANDON GOES OFF HIS HEAD 77 
 
 were eating their supper on the fore-hatch. They looked 
 at him with contemptuous indifference and went on with 
 their meal. 
 
 " Shipmates, just listen to me for a minute. I've got 
 the dirty kick-out, and I deserve it, for, as the skipper 
 says, I'm the two ends and bight of a howling fool. 
 But you chaps mustn't be too hard on me. I got sun- 
 struck two years ago in Calcutta, when I was in one of 
 Brocklebank's ships, and every now and then I go off 
 my nut and act like a madman, never knowing what I 
 say or do. And now that my head is getting a bit 
 clear, and I've been told of what I've said and done, 
 I'm sorry, damned sorry. A better lot of shipmates 
 than you chaj^s I've never sailed with, and whatever I 
 may have said when I had my furors, as the doctors 
 call 'em, I take it all back now, and beg your pardon. 
 Now, boys, look here. Just to show me that you bear 
 me no ill-will for all my foul talk, I want you to take 
 these five sovereigns from me, and when you get back 
 to Sydney have a night with it at the ' Harj) of Erin ' in 
 Pitt Street." 
 
 The revulsion of feeling was so spontaneous and 
 genuine, that Brandon must have felt ashamed of his 
 sham penitence, especially when Woods jumped up and 
 with rough good-natm-e bade him keep his money, and 
 then asked him to sit down and have some supper. 
 
 "Not a dashed bite will I eat unless you chaps take 
 these five yellow boys. If you don't I'll sling 'em over- 
 board." 
 
 "Well, well, lad, just as you please," said the oldest 
 man good-humouredly. " We alius liked you from the 
 fust, and 'ad we knowed about your 'ead bein' wrong at 
 times, we'd not ha' taken your 'ard words so bad." 
 
 Brandon ate his supper with them while I went to
 
 78 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 say goodbj'e to Shafter, wlio was still laid up. As I 
 was speaking to liim Brandon came in. 
 
 *' Shafter, old man, I've got the run from the skipper. 
 The other chaps will tell you all about it. I've come to 
 say goodbye — and to give you this." 
 
 He put a handsome silver watch -vsith a gold Albert 
 attached into Shafter's hand, and ere the astonished 
 sailor could utter a word he had gone.
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 AN ADVENTURE 
 
 EARLY on the following morning the gallant little 
 hrig loosed sails, hove up anchor, and firing a 
 gun in farewell, stood to the northward in pursuit of her 
 voyage, sailing inside the Great Barrier Reef. 
 
 I need not enter into much of the details of our life 
 on shore. From the very first we were successful in 
 finding magnificent cedar ; miles and miles of it gi-ew 
 on both banks of the alligator-haunted river. Despite, 
 however, all the precautions we took, several of us were 
 down with malarial fever in less than two months, and 
 later on we found that the best w^ay to recover tempo- 
 rarily from the disease was to get plenty of sea-air. 
 We had with us a very good whaleboat, built by Looke 
 of Sydney, and whenever two or more of us w^ere down 
 with fever Ted would send them away in the boat to 
 recruit on one of the many islands inside the Great 
 Barrier, where a week's rest and sea-bathing would set 
 them up again. On such occasions Brandon would 
 always be in charge, and in Brandon we all, from my 
 brother down, had the greatest confidence. He was 
 always ready for w^ork or for any service of danger, and, 
 despite an occasional outburst of temper, was the life 
 and soul of the party. Then, too, his seaman's training 
 
 79
 
 80 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 made him very resourceful, as we soon discovered when 
 establishing our camp, which was fixed on a bluff about 
 two miles from the river. That our arrival was well 
 known to the blacks of the district was made evident 
 before the Lady Denton sailed, for the smoke of many 
 signal fires was seen all along the coast, north and 
 south for twenty miles. We therefore kept a good 
 watch, and two men were always left in the camp when 
 the rest of us were away in the scrub felling the giant 
 cedars and rafting them down to the mouth of the river, 
 where we hauled them up on the bank, out of danger of 
 being carried to sea if heavy rains caused a flood in the 
 river. As a further security for the camp, every tree, 
 sapling, and bit of undergrowth was cut down within a 
 radius of five hundred yards of the tents, so that no 
 cover would be afforded to the treacherous niggers. 
 
 The labour of cedar-getting was terribly exhausting, 
 for in the dense jungle and undergrowth the heated, 
 steaming atmosphere seemed to choke and stifle one, 
 whilst the mosquitoes — a small, jetty-black breed — were 
 so diabolically savage, that at times we were compelled 
 to abandon work and return to camp, where we were 
 comparatively free of them. But despite the fever, the 
 continuous dread of blacks, and the mosquitoes, and a 
 particularly venomous species of dull-green tree-ants, 
 which fell upon our bared necks and shoulders in 
 showers from some overhanging branch, we were a 
 happy party, and worked well together, slept like tops 
 at night-time, and were eager for the morning. We 
 kept no watch set after turning in, till an hour before 
 daylight, for we knew that we need have no fear of a 
 night attack ; it is just at dawn that the niggers like to 
 surprise a camp, when every one is sound asleep and 
 they have daylight to use their spears.
 
 AN ADVENTUBE 81 
 
 Brandon, as I have said, possessed the confidence of 
 every one in the camp. Yet he never in any way pre- 
 sumed on his popularity, and that my brother Ted, who 
 was an uncommunicative, reserved man, thought highly 
 of him was evident to us all ; as for myself, I was filled 
 with the most ardent admiration for him, though at times 
 he shocked and revolted my feelings by the use of the 
 most horrid language and blasphemy that I ever heard. 
 I was not what would be called a squeamish lad, and 
 was used to, and used myself, exjjressions and expletives 
 that were part and parcel of my rough bringing up. 
 The men at my father's saw-mill all swore profusely, 
 even as a matter of good-fellowship, and there was no 
 especial malice nor feeling engendered if one man told 
 another to "go to hell and be damned." Such an 
 expression was merely the local vernacular, and meant 
 nothing offensive. More cultured persons would have 
 said " Confound you, go to the devil " — a mere milk- 
 and-water, tall-hat and frock-coated way of expressing 
 annoyance, eminently suited to the conventionalities of 
 frock-coated people, but quite out of place, and unintel- 
 ligible to rough Australian mill-men, whose only know- 
 ledge or idea of the word " confound " was associated 
 with the National Anthem, when the town became 
 drunk on the 2JLth of May. " Politics " to them meant 
 Fenians, or the Pope, or somebody or some sect with 
 blood-stained clubs or other weapons, who wanted to 
 murder the Queen, and set up Anti-Christ and Baal, 
 and the Woman of Babylon and then destroy the timber 
 industry of New South Wales in some way. Good 
 simple-minded people ! Their ignorance harmed no 
 one, and if their language was shocking to refined ears, 
 it possessed the direct merit of simplicity. 
 
 Brandon's oaths, however, had something terrifying 
 
 7
 
 82 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 in them, and at first gave me " a chill down the back," 
 as Ted said one day, when he reproved him for losing 
 his temper unnecessarily over the breaking of an axe- 
 handle. 
 
 " We're none of us very pious, Harry Brandon, but, 
 by God, you must stop swearing like that. I won't 
 have it." 
 
 Brandon's face changed at once. " I'm sorry, Mr. 
 Breachley " (he always addressed Ted as " Mr. 
 Breachley " or "Sir" when speaking in the hearing of 
 the men), " I'll try and put a stopper on next time." 
 
 He kept his promise. That was one of his best 
 points — ho would never break his pledged word to either 
 friend or foe, though in too many other things he had 
 no more conscience than a rat, and we were soon to see 
 him exhibit to the full a terrible ferocity of disposition 
 — a ferocity that astounded and horrified us, for we had 
 seen how he had tended Shafter on board the brig, and 
 indeed when any one of us had an attack of fever and 
 ague, Brandon was always a patient and tender doctor. 
 
 On the afternoon of the day when Ted had checked 
 him for his blasphemy, four of us — Ted, Brandon, a 
 man named Carvery, and myself, set out through the 
 jungle on the right bank of the river, to shoot scrub- 
 turkeys and search for their eggs, as we were getting 
 somewhat tired of salt beef and tinned provisions, and 
 we knew of a place, three or four miles up the river, 
 where scrub-turkeys were plentiful. Carvery, who was 
 a noted shot, had brought a Terry police carbine instead 
 of a shot-gun, as he thought it was very likely we should 
 come across a cassowary in tlio open country back from 
 the river. 
 
 About three o'clock we reached a dense scrub, in 
 which we knew that turkeys were building one of their
 
 AN ADVENTURE 83 
 
 huge communal nests. The place was about five 
 hundred yards from the bank of the river, the water of 
 which was here clear and fresh, as it was above tidal 
 influence. We soon found the nest — it had been rifled 
 of every egg ! 
 
 " The niggers have been here ! " said Carvery 
 instantly. "Look there; they've been cooking the 
 eggs!" and he pointed to the ashes of a fire around 
 which was strewn hundreds of egg-shells. He placed 
 his hand among the ashes. 
 
 " The ground is still hot. They were here this 
 morning." 
 
 Ted laughed. " Well, the poor devils have a better 
 right to the eggs than we have. All the same, I wish 
 we had come here first — there won't be a turkey within 
 a mile now ; they can smell niggers better than we can. 
 Let us go down to the river, and see if there are any 
 ducks about." 
 
 We came out upon the river at a spot where the bank 
 was almost clear of timber, and covered only with coarse 
 cane-grass, about three feet high. But although there 
 was a fine stretch of water nearly a quarter of a mile in 
 length, there was, to our disgust, not a duck in 
 sight. 
 
 We sat down on the bank to rest awhile, and decide 
 whether we should go further up the river, or swim 
 across and go back to camp along the left-hand bank ; 
 Carvery inclining to the latter course, for he thought it 
 was too risky for us to go further away from the camp 
 when niggers were about. He was a thorough bushman, 
 and had had previous experience of the Queensland 
 blacks at Cape York, where he had been a stockman on 
 Jardine's famous cattle-station. But we foolishly over- 
 ruled him, and decided to go on another mile or so to a
 
 84 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 chain of lagoons, formed by the river backwater, where 
 we were certain of getting j^lenty of duck and teal. 
 
 "All right," he said good-naturedly, as he began to 
 fill his pipe, " but I believe I can smell niggers in the 
 air. Take my tip, boys, there's some of 'em not far off, 
 
 else we would have seen ducks about. Now, when " 
 
 There was a sudden humming noise, and a shower of 
 spears plunged into our midst, one of them taking poor 
 Carvery right in the side of the neck, and passing down 
 through his back and out below the left shoulder-blade. 
 Most fortunately Ted was standing up at the time, gun 
 in hand, and he fired both barrels in quick succession at 
 a mob of about twenty blacks, who had crept up to 
 within thirty yards of us under cover of the long grass. 
 His promptitude saved our lives, for the niggers at once 
 broke and ran, stooping as they fled so that we could 
 not tell their whereabouts except by the waving and 
 shaking of the cane grass. Brandon, however, seizing 
 Carvery' s Terry, took careful aim at a certain spot and 
 fired, and then tm-ned to Ted. 
 
 "I've droj)ped one of the swine, anyrvay." 
 My brother made him no answer, for he was attending to 
 Carvery, who was suffering intense agony. The spear, 
 which fi'om the point up for about two feet, was no 
 thicker than a quill pen, had come clean out for a 
 length of eight or nine inches below the left shoulder- 
 blade, the rest of the eight-foot shaft remaining 
 unbroken. 
 
 Brandon, after thrusting another cartridge into the 
 breech of the carbine, handed it to me, and at once 
 turned to assist Ted. Whipping out his sheath-knife, 
 he quickly cut a circle around the spear about a foot 
 from where it had entered Carvery's neck, and then 
 broke it off.
 
 AN ADVENTURE 85 
 
 "You've had a narrow squeak, Joe," lie said, "but 
 a miss is as good as a mile. Now, set your teeth, for 
 I'm going to give you h — . This bit of wood has to 
 come out. Can you stand it ? " 
 
 " Go ahead, sonny," replied the woimded man, with a 
 
 groan ; " yank the d d thing out as quick as you like. 
 
 I feel like a trussed fowl ; but gimme a diink first." 
 
 I ran down to the river, and filled my cap with water. 
 Carvery drank, and then Ted gi'ipped him round the hips 
 and looked at Brandon. 
 
 "Keady, Joe?" 
 
 " Go ahead, sonny." 
 
 Gripping the broken end of the spear with both hands, 
 Brandon pulled steadily, but with all his force, and drew 
 the weapon out. Carvery swore profusely, and whilst 
 Brandon and Ted were stanching the flow of blood, 
 asked me to fill and light his pipe for him. 
 
 " We'll have to carry you, Joe," said Ted. 
 
 The plucky fellow swore he would not let us do any 
 such thing, declaring that he could walk, and to prove 
 his assertion, he stood erect, though his bronzed, rough 
 face had whitened with pain. 
 
 " Let him take a bit of a spell first," said Brandon, 
 picking up the carbine ; " I want to have a look just over 
 there in the grass before we leave. Come on, Billy. Is 
 your gun loaded? " 
 
 He stepped out briskly through the long cane gi-ass 
 for about a hundred yards, I following close behind with 
 my gun cocked. 
 
 " Ha, here we are ! " he exclaimed. " I thought I'd 
 find you, my coloured friend ! " 
 
 Seated on the ground, supporting himself on his out- 
 spread hands was one of the finest black fellows I have 
 ever seen. He was quite six feet in height, and his
 
 86 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 stark-naked figure was a perfect model of muscular 
 strength. His fierce dark eyes met ours defiantly, and 
 leaning on his left hand, he tore up a handful of soil with 
 his right and threw it savagely in our faces. 
 
 Brandon looked at the pool of blood in which the poor 
 wretch sat. 
 
 "Both hips smashed," he said, meditatively handling 
 his carbine. " Billy, this poor man and brother must be 
 put out of his misery. I am an ardent admirer of those 
 beautiful lines — 
 
 ' ' Lo, the poor Indian, whose untutored mind, 
 Sees God in clouds, and hears Him in the wind.' 
 
 &c., &c. ; but Mr. Pope had never seen a nigger au 
 naturel, with a bunch of spears in his black paw." 
 
 He stopped, and then shouted to Ted, whom we could 
 not see. 
 
 " Hallo ! " replied my brother, ** what's the matter? " 
 
 "Nothing," was the answer; "but I've found a 
 wounded nigger here, and am settling him." 
 
 Then he stepped back a pace or two, and raising his 
 carbine, shot the black fellow through the head. 
 
 "Your troubles are over, my friend," he said, as he 
 opened the breech and put in another cartridge. " Come 
 on, Billy; don't stand there gaping like a fowl with the 
 pip." 
 
 Returning to the spot where we had been attacked, 
 we collected all the spears we could find — sixteen in all 
 — and broke them into small pieces. That we were not 
 all killed was no doubt due to Ted having his gun in his 
 hand at the moment the niggers stood up to throw their 
 weapons. Ted himself had a narrow escape — a long, 
 slender spear made of highly polished black wood having
 
 AN ADVENTURE 87 
 
 passed tlirougli his jumper, just above tlic leather belt 
 he wore. 
 
 Half-way to the camp, poor Carvery had to give in, so 
 Ted took him on his back, aud carried him as easily as 
 if he were a child.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 AN UNLUCKY PLEASURE TRIP 
 
 THOR the next few days we kept a, keen look-out for 
 J- niggers, but although we saw the smoke of their 
 signal fires all round, none came near enough to be seen. 
 Captain De Lisle, however, had told us that as long as 
 we could see these signals we need have no fear of an 
 immediate attack — it was when there was not a sign of 
 a black within ten miles that we should be on our guard ; 
 and om- subsequent experience verified his assertions. 
 
 In ten days or so Carvery was about again, though 
 rather weak, and as another man named Frank Banner 
 — a brother of Paddy Minogue's mate — had a touch of 
 fever, Ted told us (Carvery, Banner, Brandon, and myself) 
 that we could run over to one of the islands for a couple 
 of days' spell. So one morning we started off, sailing 
 along in shallow water about a hundred yards ofi" the 
 beach. 
 
 The coast in many parts was very romantic looking, 
 esjiecially where a headland, clothed in brightest green, 
 jutted out into the smooth water. All along the beaches, 
 at high-water mark, grew dense beds of very handsome, 
 but ill-smelling red and white flowers, called, I think, 
 Vincas, and every quarter of a mile or so were great 
 piles of dugong and turtle bones, put together with great 
 regularity and method by the aborigines after their feasts. 
 
 £8
 
 AN UNLUCKY PLEASURE TRIP 89 
 
 I must here mention that one day, soon after we 
 landed from the brig, we rounded a rocky bkifif very 
 suddenly with a strong breeze, and ran right into 
 eight or ten blacks, who had killed two dugong, and 
 were dragging them ashore. They gave one wild 
 yell of rage and terror combined, and tore out of the 
 water up the beach, where their fighting spears were 
 lying, and then raced along the sand shouting out to 
 us to come ashore and be eaten. We could have shot 
 some of them quite easily, but Ted, who was with us, 
 would not allow us to fire, though we would have much 
 liked to do so, neither would he let us take one of the 
 dugongs, the meat of which we all greatly prized. 
 Sometimes we would come upon a herd of the harmless 
 cow-like creatures feeding on the luscious sea-grass in 
 shallow water and shoot one. Later on, though, we 
 made a harpoon, and speared them like the blacks ; 
 gi'een turtle, too, were very plentiful on the sandy islets 
 just inside the Barrier Kcef, and we generally returned 
 from a fishing expedition with a full boatload of turtle, 
 dugong, and fish to the main camp. 
 
 We had now been at work for over five months, and 
 Ted was anxious to report to my father, so that a vessel 
 could be sent up to load the cedar logs. So far, how- 
 ever, we had not seen any vessels going south, although 
 we kept a fairly good look-out. It was Ted's intention 
 to put me on board any vessel going to either Brisbane, 
 Sydney, or Melbourne, and therefore, whenever I was 
 out in the boat, I always carried with me his letters to 
 my father, and forty pounds in gold for expenses, in 
 case we should sight a passing vessel, and there be 
 no time to lose. 
 
 On this particular occasion, we left camp in extra 
 good spirits, for the weather for the past three weeks
 
 90 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 had been delightfully cool and dry, and Carvery's rapid 
 recovery had pleased us all, for he was a merry fellow 
 with a good voice, and his songs, accompanied by a 
 wheezy old accordion, kept us in a good temper after the 
 day's hard toil was over. 
 
 Running along the coast for a couple of miles, we went 
 ashore at a low rocky headland we had named Red 
 Rocks on account of its colour, and where there was a 
 very fine native well of beautifully clear water, smTounded 
 by acacias. The place was much frequented by Torres 
 Straits pigeons, which at this time of the year were very 
 plump. Leaving Banner and Carvery in the boat, which 
 they at once pushed off a little distance from the shore, 
 so as not to be caught aground if the gentlemen of the 
 country made a sudden appearance, Brandon and I set 
 oflf, he carrying our water breaker, which we intended 
 to fill, and I his rifle and my own double-barrelled gun. 
 
 In a few minutes we reached the native well, and after 
 making a careful examination of the surroundings, were 
 satisfied that no natives had visited the place since we 
 had last been there. In less than a quarter of an hour 
 I had shot a rock-wallaby and half a dozen pigeons, and 
 returning to where Brandon was filling the water breaker, 
 helped him to carry it down to the boat. Then we went 
 back to the waterhole for our guns and the game. 
 
 The toj) of the point commanded a view of the beach 
 to the north for a long distance, and as we were about 
 to descend again I caught sight of something unusual 
 lying on the sand about half a mile away. We soon 
 decided from its shape that it must be wreckage of some 
 sort recently cast ashore. Putting the wallaby and 
 birds into the boat, we told our companions to wait, and 
 set out along the beach to investigate. 
 
 The day was beautifully bright and clear, and we
 
 AN UNLUCKY PLEASURE TRIP 91 
 
 strode quickly along on the hard yellow sand, every now 
 and then putting up numbers of golden-winged plover, 
 and disturbing snow-white cranes fishing on the margin 
 of the water. As we drew nearer we came across other 
 pieces of wi-eckage — deck planking, broken spars, &c., 
 &c. ; and the large object proved to be the greater por- 
 tion of a deck-house, partially buried under sand and 
 sca-gi-ass. It had evidently belonged to a large vessel, 
 and had not long been adrift — perhaps not more than a 
 week or ten days, as the paint-work was still fresh and 
 clean-looking. There was nothing of any value beyond 
 some brasswork, and we were about to retrace our steps 
 to the boat, when we noticed two or three casks lying on 
 the sand a few hundred yards further on. They each 
 contained biscuit, and two w^ere undamaged. This was 
 worth having and removing to the camp. 
 
 We had stooped to read the lettering cut in in the 
 head of one of the casks, when w'e heard two shots in 
 rapid succession, and springing up, we saw that the boat 
 was being attacked by a mob of blacks, whose yells we 
 could hear distinctly as they darted their spears at the 
 two men, who, sick as they were, had succeeded in 
 pulling the boat out of immediate danger. Then they 
 stopped, and again their rifles spoke, and two of the 
 sooty gentry fell. The rest of the mob, nothing 
 daunted, sprang into the water, which was very shallow, 
 and gave chase to the boat till another two shots sent 
 them, minus one of their number, back to the shore, 
 and picking up those who had already been killed or 
 wounded, they disappeared over the bank into the 
 scrub. 
 
 " By Jove, Breachley, that's a smart piece of work of 
 Carvery and Banner ! " cried Brandon with sparkling 
 eyes. *' Oh, good Lord, look here ! Eun, Billy, run ;
 
 92 BKEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 run for all your immortal soul ! Back to the deck- 
 house ! " 
 
 I did not stop to look to see what was wrong, when 
 with a disgusting whouf! whouf! a couple of spears 
 went quivering into the sand just heside us. We were 
 hoth as smart of foot almost as any nigger, but none the 
 less it was a race for life to the deck-house with half a 
 dozen black devils at our heels. Thirty yards or so 
 from our cover they stopped and jabbered together for a 
 minute or two, undecided whether to make a final rush 
 or not. This gave us time to get our breath. Brandon 
 was the first to recover himself, and to notice that both 
 barrels of my gun were choked with sand. 
 
 *' Shake it out, quick," he said, " unless you want to 
 blow your hand ofi". But don't fire just yet. Perhaps 
 the beggars will come closer." 
 
 He knelt as he spoke, rested his rifle on a piece of 
 the wreckage, and fired, and a black fellow in the centre 
 of the group wobbled about for a second or two, and 
 then pitched forward on his face, just as I fired both my 
 barrels of No. 3 shot into the rest of them, and a second 
 dropped, but rose to his knees and tried to crawl away 
 after his companions, who made for the scrub, but 
 Brandon stepping out from cover sent a bullet and rolled 
 him over. 
 
 " Load as quick as you can, Billy. Got any bullets 
 in your bag ? No ! What a pity ; we might get 
 another chance at them presently, but shot is no good 
 unless you're very close. Hurrah ! there's the boat 
 coming along under sail. They can see us, too. Now 
 stand by for a run up to the top of the bank. I must 
 have a look round to see if any of the black swine are 
 lying down in the vincas." 
 
 Not at all relishing the idea, but ashamed to let him
 
 AN UNLUCKY PLEASURE TRIP 93 
 
 think I was funking, we ran to the top of the bank, 
 which was covered with a dense carpet of vincas. Not 
 a nigger was to be seen at first, till looking across a 
 swamp a quarter of a mile wide we saw at least fifty of 
 them standing together under a clump of screw-pines. 
 Brandon raised his rifle and fired a shot over ; they 
 vanished the moment they heard the hum of the bullet. 
 The boat ran in just abreast of the deck-house, and 
 Frank Banner and Carvery got out, and we all shook 
 hands. Then we went to look at the two naked figures 
 lying near us on the sand. That nearest to us was 
 quite an old man with a white beard. He was still 
 breathing when Banner turned him over on his back 
 and silently pointed to his face ; it nearly turned me 
 sick when I saw that the contents of at least one barrel 
 of my gun had struck him in the face, destroying 
 his eyes. Brandon's bullet had broken his back. The 
 first man also lay upon his face, his right hand still 
 grasping his long slender spear and throwing stick, and 
 his wooden shield was on the sand near by. This was 
 the third time within a few days that I had seen the 
 efiect of the heavy, soft-nosed Terry bullet. This poor 
 wi'etch had been hit in the chest, and the bullet, *' mush- 
 rooming," had torn out through his back, where there was 
 a hole as big as a small teacup ! In after-years I was 
 to see Sniders used very often, and their man-stopping 
 and smashing power sometimes made me shudder. 
 Nevertheless, I would rather have a Snider or Martini- 
 Henry for work in a tight place with savages than any 
 of the new-fashioned Mausers, Lee-Metford, or other 
 small-bored weapons with hardened bullets, which 
 simply drill a hole through a bone instead of smashing 
 it. A native, especially an Australian aboriginal, thinks 
 nothing of such a wound, which would disable a white man.
 
 9-4 EREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 Getting into the boat, we puslied off, and then anchored 
 a couple of cable lengths from the shore, for the wind 
 had dropped, and we wanted to get something to eat, 
 and also to talk over the adventure. Both Banner and 
 Carvery admitted that they were neatly surprised, and 
 never expected to escape the first rush made at the boat, 
 which, had it not been some little distance from the 
 beach, would certainly have been captured. They had 
 seen four of their assailants fall, and a fifth was shot 
 through the head when chasing the boat and sank, in 
 proof whereof Banner pointed out to me the number of 
 sharks swimming around us. 
 
 "Who says a shark won't eat a nigger?" said 
 Brandon, speaking with his mouth full of beef and 
 biscuit. *' They'd eat a priest or a Plymouth Brother 
 if they were hungry. Nothing is too holy nor smellfull 
 for Jack's belly." 
 
 By the time we had finished our dinner a dead calm 
 had set in, the sun was intensely hot, and there was 
 every indication of a heavy blow coming on from the 
 south-east within a few hours. This was a rather 
 serious thing to contemplate, for we could not take 
 shelter on the mainland with safety anywhere in the 
 vicinity, as we well Imew that the blacks were watching 
 our every movement from the high bluffs north and 
 south. To attempt to beat the boat back to the mouth 
 of the Daintree would be dangerous, for there would be 
 both a strong northerly current and a head sea, and 
 neither Carvery nor Banner was fit to stand a night's 
 exposure ; to remain at anchor where we were was 
 imj)ossible, for a heavy surf would soon be rolling in in 
 such shallow water, although we had the mighty Great 
 Barrier Reef to windward. 
 
 Brandon soon came to a decision.
 
 AN UNLUCKY PLEASURE TIIIP 95 
 
 " What we want to do is to get back to Mr. Brcacliley 
 and report this row with the niggers ; but that we can't 
 do with a south-east blow coming on, so there's no use 
 talldng about it. Then we can't run ashore here for 
 two reasons, one being that we'd lose the boat througli 
 not being able to haul her up out of danger, and tlio 
 other is that we don't want our pretty little hands and 
 tootsies to be grilling on niggers' fires for their breakfast 
 to-morrow. They do like man, don't they, Carvery ? " 
 
 "Eat you without salt," replied Carvery — "from 
 Bundaberg on the Burnett River, right up to Cape York, 
 the niggers are cannibals. I've seen the gins carrying 
 bits o' cooked man meat in their dilly bags. Jest you 
 ask me or Captain de Lisle to tell you something o' the 
 feeds he an' me 'as seen. Once " 
 
 " Thank you, Carvery, I will. But at present I am 
 cloyed with coarse meat and biscuit, and so you can tell 
 me your yarn another time, when I'm hungrj^ and you 
 want to annoy me." Then he dropped his jesting 
 manner, and continued — 
 
 " I think the best thing for us to do is to run for 
 Weary Bay, forty miles to the northward. Once we get 
 under the lee of Cape Tribulation, we should be all right, 
 and can lie snug at anchor or haul up ashore until this 
 gale blows itself out. I don't pretend to know exactly 
 where I'm taking you, but Mr. Money used to let me 
 look at his chart of the coast, and I think we'll get along 
 all right." 
 
 " Right you are, Harry," said Frank Banner ; " j-ou're 
 the boss, and if you said Californy, Californy it is." 
 
 Brandon and I at once set to work to re-stow the boat 
 and reef down the main-sail and jib in readiness, for 
 already the water was rippling with the first breath of 
 the coming blow, which we knew would not develop its
 
 96 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 full strength for many lioui's to come. But the boat was 
 light, and we had not time to go ashore and get some 
 stone ballast ; so, lifting our anchor, we headed away 
 N. by E. for Cape Tribulation, but still running close 
 to the land. 
 
 A mile fi-om where Brandon and I had had our en- 
 counter we passed within a hundred yards or less of one 
 of the many rocky bluffs which studded the coast here- 
 about, and Banner's quick eye at once discerned a number 
 of "bucks" standing or sitting among the rocks and 
 watching us pass. Brandon's face lit up ; he hauled in 
 the main-sheet very slowly, and brought the boat up a 
 couple of points. 
 
 " Get yom- Terrys out, boys," he said, drawing his own 
 rifle to him and eyeing the watching savages on the rocks. 
 Carvery, who was seated on the bottom boards of the 
 boat, smoking his pipe, protested. 
 
 " What's the good of shooting at niggers when they 
 can't hurt us ? " he growled. *' Let 'em alone. They 
 can't hurt us, I say." 
 
 Brandon answered him with cold, savage fury — "I 
 know that as well as you do, but they would if they 
 could. And I mean to hm-t them — I mean to kill or 
 hm-t every nigger as long as God gives me the chance to 
 do it. And I'll bet any man here a pound of tobacco 
 that in less than ten seconds I'll topple one of those 
 beggars over." 
 
 " Oh, for God's sake, leave 'em alone," said CaiTcry 
 disgustedly. 
 
 Brandon laughed contemptuously, and picked i\p his 
 rifle. Banner followed suit. Then, as the boat still 
 headed in towards the point, Brandon, whose face was 
 now purpling with passion, spoke to Carvery, and asked 
 him if he meant to dispute his authority in the boat.
 
 AN UNLUCKY PLEASURE TRIP 97 
 
 "No," replied Carvery roughly, " but I won't shoot 
 when there's no need for it. Do your own nigger-killing, 
 and be damned to you." 
 
 Brandon looked at me inquiringly. I shook my head. 
 Such unnecessary vindictiveness appalled me. 
 
 " Take that clump of five bucks standing on the top of 
 the boulder, Frank," he said to Banner; "I'll settle 
 that pot-bellied beggar sitting down with the shield on 
 his arm. He's one of the mob who chased Tom and 
 myself this morning. I know him by his paunch." 
 
 He put the tiller in my hand, and then he and Banner 
 fired almost together. One of the five ebony targets 
 standing on the boulder, fell, and the ** pot-bellied 
 beggar " leapt to his feet, stood erect for a moment, 
 shaking his spear, and then dropped in an inert mass. 
 The usual wild yell and evanishment followed. 
 
 " The Eeverend Joseph Cannery will now offer up 
 prayers for the souls of our dear departed black brothers," 
 said Brandon mockingly, as he eased ofi" the main-sheet 
 again, 
 
 "You're a damned young cut-throat," said Carvery ; 
 " you ought to be an officer in the Black Police, and go 
 in for nigger-shooting as a regular business." Brandon 
 made no answer, giving his attention to the boat. 
 
 Half an hour later we were spinning along before the 
 breeze, which was steadily freshening. At four o'clock 
 it was blowing a solid gale, and the boat was leaping 
 and springing to a swift chasing sea, Brandon now steer- 
 ing with an oar instead of the rudder. The noise of the 
 surf on the beaches was something tremendous, and the 
 sea ahead and astern was white with foam and flying 
 spume. 
 
 As darkness came on, oiu* anxiety to get under the lee 
 of Cape Tribulation increased, for there were numerous 
 
 8
 
 98 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 reefs hi our course wliich we could not discern in such a 
 wild sea. Twice we narrowly escaped broaching to, and 
 Brandon nearly went overboard. 
 
 "We'll have to lower the peak, Billy, and shake out 
 the reef in the jib at the same time. She's getting the 
 best of me, and we'll broach to in earnest if we carry 
 on like this. Stand by, and wait for a bit of a lull." 
 
 We waited our chance, and first lowered the peak, 
 then got the jib down, took out the reef, and hoisted it 
 again without mishap ; the boat then steered easier, and 
 I was able to give Brandon a spell, which he greatly 
 needed. Both Carvery and Banner, I could see, were 
 impressed with his pluck and seamanship, and the former 
 mixed some rum and water, and handed it to him to 
 drink. Then he offered to fill his pipe, for his hands 
 were stiff and sAvolleu. 
 
 " Thanks, I'll be glad if you will. I can do with a 
 smoke now. Steady there, Billy ! don't check her like 
 that when she's going downhill — let her come up easily, 
 or you'll get twisted off your feet, and go flying over- 
 board. The jib lifts her beautifully." 
 
 We passed Cape Tribulation in the darkness, the roar- 
 ing of the furious surf against the rocks making a 
 terrifying clamour, and then, once round the headland, 
 were in smoother water, and able to haul in a bit more 
 to the land ; in another hour, although the wind had not 
 decreased, the sea was nothing to speak of, and we ate 
 our supper in comfoi-t. Then Brandon, fearful of our 
 running on to a reef or low sandy islet in the darkness, 
 determined to anchor till daylight, if the water was not 
 too deep. We brought to whilst I sounded with a fish- 
 ing line — there was no bottom at forty fathoms, too deep 
 for our short kellick line. 
 
 "Never mind, boys. We must go on. Hoist the
 
 AN UNLUCKY PLEASURE TRIP 99 
 
 jib ap;ain. Bill, you go for'artl and keep your eyes 
 skinned." 
 
 The niglit was very dark, and I could only discern the 
 outline of the shore by the white line of breakers on our 
 port hand. Ahead I could not see further than a dozen 
 yards. I had been on the look-out for an hour or so 
 when I thought I saw a light ahead. Standing up on 
 the for'ard thwart, I obtained a better view. 
 
 " Light ahead, Harry ! Two, three — half a dozen ! " 
 
 ** Niggers' fires most likely." 
 
 " No," I answered, " they are not fires. I believe it's 
 a steamer lying nearly head on to us " 
 
 My further remarks were cut short by the boat running 
 plump on to a sandbank ; she heeled over at once, and in 
 less than a minute swung broadside on to the sea, and 
 half-filled. 
 
 Brandon, the rapidity of whose orders was only 
 excelled by the masterly blasphemy with which they 
 were accompanied, at once let go the main and jib 
 halyards, and then we all jumped out and tried to push 
 the boat off — no easy task in such a wind, and with a 
 sea that lifted us off our feet as we tried to cant her 
 round, either stem or stern on. Brandon was aft, 
 grasping the gunwale, and urging us on to greater 
 exertions, when the sand yielded beneath his feet. As 
 the boat rose to a wave his legs went under the keel, 
 and when she bumped again the bones of his right leg 
 snapped like a carrot. 
 
 ''Out with her, out with her ! " he cried, never for a 
 moment thinking of telling us of the injury he had 
 sustained; "bend to it, you fellows." 
 
 We got afloat again at last, and Brandon, clambering 
 in unaided, told Banner to run up the jib, and asked me 
 to come to the steer oar.
 
 100 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 " My leg is broken, and I can't steer, but don't 
 bother about me just now. Don't hoist the main-sail ; 
 let her run with the jib. Can you see the lights? " 
 
 " Quite close, Harry. It's a big steamer lying at 
 anchor. I can see her lights rising and falling to the 
 swell." 
 
 " Right, Run down to her with the jib, and be sure 
 you don't run past her. Are any of you fellows hurt ? " 
 
 " We are all right, Harry," I replied in a shaking 
 voice. 
 
 " Then give me some rum — a good stiff tot ; I feel 
 deadly sick. Carvery, old man, I hope this won't do 
 
 your wound any harm. Billy, where the were your 
 
 eyes ? " 
 
 He rattled on like this — merely to keep our spirits up 
 — and then after drinking some rum, dragged himself 
 up from the bottom boards into the stern sheets beside 
 me, so as to con the boat, but not until he had insisted 
 upon each of us taking a tot of rum. No wonder we 
 almost loved him — much as we dreaded him for his 
 violent temper ; for he never thought of himself first in 
 time of danger. 
 
 In less than half an hour we were alongside the 
 steamer, which was the Generaal Pel Dutch mail-boat, 
 bound from Batavia to Sydney. The captain and officers 
 received us most kindly, and the doctor at once took 
 charge of Brandon. Carvery, Banner, and myself were 
 given a change of clothes. They were taken for'ard, 
 and I was brought through the brilliantly lighted saloon, 
 where a number of passengers were dining, into a spare 
 cabin, where a steward brought me a cup of coifee and 
 some biscuits. 
 
 Presently the captain came in, and seating himself in 
 front of me, began in a not unkindly manner to question
 
 AN UNLUCKY PLEASURE TRIP 101 
 
 me in English. I answered his queries in a manner 
 which satisfied him, I imagine, for he soon rose and 
 asked me if I woukl like to see " Mr, Brandon." 
 
 I followed him into another cabin, where " Mr." 
 Brandon, his leg having been set, was conversing 
 volubly with the Dutch doctor in French. He was also 
 smoking a cheroot with great placidity. 
 
 " I have told Caj^taiu Huysman, William," he said in 
 a drawling, affected manner, " that you are the brother of 
 the leader of a cedar-exploring expedition to the Daintree 
 River, and that I am, in a manner, the nautical leader. 
 Perhaps you had better show the letters you are carrying 
 for your brother to the captain." 
 
 " I have offered to show them to the captain, but as 
 the pouch was wet he said he would not look at them 
 till to-morrow." 
 
 Captain Huysman laughed good-naturedly. " I 
 certainly might want to see those letters by and by ; 
 but please don't think that I doubt your story. I am 
 sure that none of you are escapees 6'om New Caledonia. 
 If you were it would be awkward, for we have a French 
 officer on board." 
 
 Shaking hands with both Harry and myself, he left 
 the doctor's cabin, and I sat down beside Brandon. 
 
 " Breachley," said Harry, speaking loudly, so that the 
 doctor could hear, " I've told Captain Huysman that we 
 are quite prepared to pay our passages to Sydney." 
 
 " Quite right, Harry. I have forty pounds in gold, 
 which will cover our passages." 
 
 Brandon pressed my hand, and then whispered, " Put 
 on side, Billy ; put on side, and plenty of it. I've told 
 the simple truth, and you must back me up — hut, put on 
 side. You are the brother of the leader of an expedition. 
 I am your, and your brother's friend. And you and I
 
 102 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 are going on to Sydney — you, because you have to take 
 Ted's report on to your father, and I because I have a 
 broken leg, and this measly-faced swine of a Dutch 
 doctor says that I can't be moved for another week or 
 so without the danger of amputation. . . . And, Billy, 
 there is the sweetest, sweetest woman in all the world 
 on board this ship. She was here just now. Find out 
 her name, and come back and tell me."
 
 CHAPTEK X 
 
 THE HEADACHE OF MADAME DE LANGLE 
 
 ** rriHE sweetest, sweetest woman in all the world," 
 
 J- {vide Mr. Harry Brandon) was Madame de 
 Langle, the young wife of General Bertraud de Langle 
 — a stern-faced but kindly-eyed Frenchman of sixty 
 years, who shook hands with me next morning and 
 asked me to sit next to him at the saloon table. 
 
 In a few minutes we became friends — he a grizzled 
 Algerian warrior with the red ribbon of honour in his 
 coat, and I a rough, uncouth Australian boy. Together 
 we paced the after-deck of the Generaal Pel, and talked, 
 till Madame joined us — Madame, with her soft, pinky- 
 white cheeks, and red lips and flufiy golden hair. 
 
 I don't know how she was dressed ; I only know that 
 when I first saw her my heart echoed Brandon's words — 
 "the sweetest, sweetest woman in all the world." I 
 had seen women as beautiful as Madame de Langle, 
 even in my native town, but they were coarsely dressed, 
 and spoke coarsely, like Julia Finuegan, who, although 
 she was a remarkably handsome woman, with a face and 
 figure that were perfect in their beauty, had a voice that 
 was repellent and discordant, though I have no doubt it 
 was musical enough to the ear of Paddy Minogue. 
 
 Madame de Langle came to me with outstretched hand. 
 
 103
 
 104 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 *' All, my poor boy. How are you zis morning ? You 
 cannot speak French, like your comrade wis ze broken 
 leg ? " 
 
 " No, Madame, I cannot speak French." 
 
 "Nevermind. You shall learn by and by. I speak 
 English, but not well, I think. My husband does speak 
 it very well." 
 
 The soft tone of her voice and her fair beauty quickly 
 possessed and enthralled me, and, young as I was, when 
 she bent her graceful head, and smiled at me, as she 
 held my hand, a sense of supreme delight thrilled every 
 nerve and fibre of my body, and made me tremble. It 
 was so long since I had seen a woman of my own colour 
 that her charms nearly took my breath away. 
 
 I think she was quick to discern my sudden, boyish 
 passion, and that it did not displease her, for she 
 laughed softly, and then tripped below to breakfast, 
 her husband and myself following. 
 
 The Generaal Pel had only anchored for shelter from 
 the gale but a few hours previously to our running 
 ashore. She was in charge of an English pilot — a 
 Captain Hannay — who had met her at Thursday Island 
 in Torres Straits, to pilot her down inside the Great 
 Barrier, and was proceeding as far as Brisbane with her; 
 at that place he would await her return from Sydney. 
 He was a very amusing man, and a great favourite with 
 all the lady passengers, of whom there were nearly a 
 dozen on board. I soon struck up an acquaintance with 
 him, and immediately after breakfast he came with me 
 to have a chat with Harry Brandon, for until the weather 
 moderated, and the steamer lifted her anchor again, he 
 had nothing to do. 
 
 Captain Huysman, later on in the morning agreed to 
 give Brandon and myself saloon passages to Sydney for
 
 THE HEADACHE OF MADAME DE LANGLE 105 
 
 a very moderate sum — twenty pounds, and also said he 
 would tow the boat as far as the mouth of the Daintrce 
 River, from where Carvery and Banner could make tlicir 
 way up the river to the camp. This promise he fulfilled 
 on the following day, and when the two men bade 
 Brandon and myself goodbye, they took with them a 
 long letter I had written to Ted. I learnt afterwards 
 that Ted was very pleased at our happening to fall across 
 the steamer, as he knew I should be in Sydney in a 
 fortnight, and thus be able to send his letter and account 
 of the success of the cedar venture much more quickly 
 to my father and Captain de Lisle than if I had taken 
 passage in a sailing ship. 
 
 Early on the morning of our comrade's departure the 
 steamer ran through a sea as smooth as a mountain 
 lake, and shimmering under the bright rays of a tropic 
 sun. In a few hours we were off the mouth of the 
 Daintree, the engines were stopped, and Carvery and 
 Banner, bidding Harry and myself a warm farewell, got 
 into the boat and pushed off, the steamer firing a gun, 
 the sound of which, we knew, would bring some of our 
 party down from the camp to the shore. 
 
 The Generaal Pel, though not a fast steamer, was a 
 very handsome vessel ; she was brig-rigged, with raking 
 masts like some of the Peninsular and Oriental boats of 
 those days— and to my mind a brig-rigged steamer with 
 a graceful sheer, is the beau ideal of naval beauty. All 
 the officers were, of course, Hollanders, the crew being 
 principally Javanese or Malays, and wearing a smart 
 man-of-war style of uniform. Her passenger accommo- 
 dation was splendid, and the discipline, cleanliness, and 
 seamanship maintained gave me a high impression of 
 Dutchmen as sailors— an impression that was confirmed 
 in after-years, when I learnt more of them.
 
 106 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 Most of the ladies came to see Harry, and made much 
 of him, for he was too handsome a patient not to be 
 interesting. Two of them were sisters, named Flemming, 
 and were travelling with their mother. Their father 
 was a rich planter somewhere in the East Indies, and 
 the ladies were making a six months' stay in Australia. 
 Neither of the two girls was exactly pretty, but they were 
 very lively and engaging in their manner, and before 
 many days had passed I could see that the elder (who 
 was about twenty-four years of age) was always glad of 
 an excuse to see Brandon, who, however, had eyes only 
 for Madame de Langle. She, too, was a pretty constant 
 visitor, and a silly jealousy took hold of me when one 
 day Harry bluntly asked me to leave his cabin for half 
 an hour, as he expected a visit from her. He made no 
 concealment to me of his admiration for her, but was 
 very careful that others should not know it, and for that 
 reason he not only tolerated, but encouraged visits from 
 the other ladies, though after they had gone he would 
 
 swear at them as *' d d, gabbling nuisances," &c. 
 
 Before he had been on board a week there was plainly 
 an understanding between him and the beautiful French- 
 woman, who met his advances half-way. Her maid, 
 Hortense Suret, was an admirable watch-dog, and took 
 care to give Madame warning if she saw the General 
 or any one else coming. 
 
 One day I went on the bridge to talk to Captain 
 Hannay, whose quaint Americanisms and humorous 
 anecdotes were infinitely diverting. He asked me how 
 Harry was progressing. 
 
 " First rate," I replied. 
 
 *' Had any womenfolk with him yet this morning ? " 
 
 I laughed, and said that several of the ladies had, as 
 usual, called in for a few minutes.
 
 THE HEADACHE OF MADAME DE LANGLE 107 
 
 "Yellow-haired one been this morning?" he asked, 
 closing one eye and chewing his Manila. I nodded. 
 
 " She's mighty pretty, eh ? " 
 
 *' Very," I said shortly. 
 
 " And I reckon she's got more solid devilry in her 
 little finger than all the other women on board together. 
 Guess the old man's a pretty confiding sort. My ! can't 
 she look at you as if she was sorter challenging a fellow 
 to come and kiss her ! I'm not dying with gi'ief that 
 she's somebody else's wife instead of mine. Guess she 
 wants a powerful lot of watching. She'd flirt with a dead 
 man if there wasn't a live one handy," 
 
 Madame de Langle certainly was a born flirt, and 
 flirted pretty extensively with all the officers of the 
 ship, from the handsome black-bearded Captain Huys- 
 man to the putty-faced dull-eyed doctor, but she did it 
 so openly, and in such a charming manner, that even 
 her husband would smile. Then too, strangely enough, 
 she was a favourite with all the other lady passengers, 
 none of whom tried to make mischief — which brews 
 easily on board ship. But there was something deeper 
 than a mere flirtation going on between her and Harry 
 Brandon. To me, knowing my feeling of admiration 
 for him, she was particularly gracious, and would chat 
 with me for an hour at a time. It is needless to say 
 that, conceited boy as I was, I imagined I was in love, 
 and was hugely flattered, though every now and then the 
 disturbing thought of Harry would cross my silly mind. 
 But in a few days I was destined to get a shock which 
 did me good. 
 
 The Generaal Pel steamed into Moreton Bay and 
 anchored. A tug came out for the mails, and as there 
 were several hundred tons of sugar to be put ashore, the 
 captain told the Sydney passengers that we would not
 
 108 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 sail for Sydney until the following day, and that those 
 who wished to remain on shore overnight could do so. 
 Every one of them was delighted at sjiending a day 
 and night in Brisbane — forty miles up the river — and 
 at once went on board the tug. I also went, so as to 
 send a telegi'am to my father's agent in Sydney, telling 
 him of my return, &c., and also to buy some clothing 
 for Harry and myself; for that which we were wearing 
 we had borrowed from the officers. 
 
 We made the passage up the muddy, dirty river in 
 a, few hours, and I at once went about my business, 
 promising to lunch with General and Madame de 
 Langle at the leading hotel at two o'clock. The day 
 was intensely hot, and Queen Street, Brisbane, the 
 main business thoroughfare, is, in summer, a perfect 
 purgatory, so I was very glad when I had finished 
 making my purchases, sent my telegram, written a 
 letter to my sister Ada, and got back to the hotel. 
 The General was awaiting me in the cool, shady 
 vestibule, conversing with the French Consul. His 
 wife, he said, was lying down, for the heat had been 
 too much for her, and he was sorry she had come on 
 shore. She, however, joined us at lunch, though she 
 did look very pale and done up. Presently she said to 
 me in her pretty, petulant way — 
 
 ** Oh, zis is the most dread-ful ^^Iftce ! The heat, the 
 sun, is terrible. And to-night the French gentlemen of 
 Brisbane give a dinner to my husband, and me, poor 
 me, I must stay here all alone ! Oh, I wish I could 
 get back to the Generaal Pel; the heat here will kill me. 
 Yes, it will kill me, Bertrand." 
 
 " It certainly will be cooler out in the Bay, Madame," 
 I said, " and I shall be glad to sleep on board. There 
 is a steamer going down at five o'clock, and I think I
 
 THE HEADACHE OF MADAME DE LANGLE 109 
 
 shall return by her. I don't know anybody in Brisbane, 
 and shall be thankful to get on board again and do 
 some fishing to-night." 
 
 She clapped her little white hands and laughed. 
 "You must take me wis you. Bertrand, you must 
 let me go." 
 
 Both the General and Consul (who was an American 
 and spoke in English) laughed, tlie latter saying that 
 several French ladies intended to do themselves the 
 honour of calling on her in the afternoon, and would 
 feel keenly disappointed if they could not see her. 
 
 " Ah, zey must forgive me, Mr. Hall. Oh, I cannot 
 receive any one. I do not look nice, and I do not feel 
 well. Bertrand, you must explain to them." 
 
 The General smiled good-naturedly, and then, turning 
 to me, said that he would leave Madame in my care for 
 conveyance to the Generaal Pel, and that he would 
 return as early as possible in the morning. 
 
 Immediately after lunch, the lady went upstairs to 
 rest again, telling me that she would be ready to 
 accompany me to Queen Street wharf at a quarter 
 to five. Until then I strolled about the city, making 
 a few more purchases, one of which was a bunch 
 of lovely carnations for my divinity. 
 
 When I called at the hotel at the appointed time, she 
 was in the ladies' sitting-room, waiting. I, blushing 
 from the crown of my silly head to my feet, placed the 
 flowers in her hands. No one else was in the room. 
 
 *' Ah, you dear, kind boy. Zere ! " 
 
 She bent forward, and kissed me on the lips. 
 
 Hardly knowing whether I was treading on air or 
 not, I walked beside her downstairs to the hall, and 
 then to the steamer, which cast off as soon as we were 
 on board. At ten o'clock we were back on board the
 
 110 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 Generaal Pel, and Madame at once went to her state- 
 room, after bidding me good-night, little knowing or 
 caring about the wild passion she had aroused in my 
 heart. 
 
 I found Brandon asleep, so did not disturb him. 
 Then, unable to rest quietly, I got my fishing-lines and 
 went on deck again out into the cool night. As I 
 dropped my line over the side, I was joined by one of 
 the officers, who was keeping watch, and an hour passed 
 very pleasantly, for the fish were biting well. Then I 
 tired of the sport, and walked the quarter-deck with 
 the officer until eight bells were struck and he was 
 relieved, and soon after I went below for my rug and 
 pillow, intending to lie down on deck. My footsteps 
 made no sound on the thick matting of the deserted, 
 dimly-lighted saloon, so I disturbed no one as I walked 
 to my state-room, which was on the starboard side, next 
 to Harry's. His door was partly opened, and his lamp 
 was burning. I looked in ; he was still sound asleep. 
 
 Without lighting my own lamp, I had just taken off 
 my boots, and put on Chinese-grass deck-slippers, when 
 I heard a door open on the port side of the saloon, and, 
 looking, up saw Hortense Suret come out of Madame 
 de Langle's state-room. She was fully dressed, and, 
 walking swiftly round the after-end of the long saloon 
 table, passed my door without glancing inside, and 
 stopped at Harry's state-room. She was there but a 
 second or two — then his lamp was extinguished, and 
 Hortense went on, round the for'ard end of the table, 
 back to her mistress's door. She gave one single gentle 
 tap, but did not enter, for turning her back, she seated 
 herself at the table, produced a book, and began to read. 
 
 A moment later Madame slipped out. She was in 
 her dressing-gown, and glided past my door without a
 
 THE HEADACHE OF MADAME DE LANGLE 111 
 
 sound. Then I heard the holt of Harry's door heing 
 gently fastened. 
 
 What was I to do? I thought. I could not sit there like 
 a fool, yet I must not let them think that I was awake. 
 There was Hortense almost directly opposite to me, her 
 keen eyes and ears on the alert. I pressed my hands 
 tightly to my jealous ears for a few minutes, and tried 
 to collect my thoughts. Get away from where I was 
 I must — to remain and hear those soft, tender sighs 
 and murmurings of affection, which, whispered as they 
 were, seemed to my excited hrain to sound like thunder, 
 would he beyond endurance, but I must leave the saloon in 
 a way that would not create suspicion in Hortense's mind. 
 
 Just then some incoming steamer sounded her syren 
 three times in quick succession. Putting on a very 
 sleepy look, I came out, raised my hands over my head, 
 and yawned loudly. 
 
 Hortense looked up from her book, fixed her beady 
 eyes on my face, and smiled. Picking up my rug and 
 pillow, I walked over to her. She could speak English 
 pretty well. 
 
 " You no sleep ? " she said inquiringly. 
 
 ** That steamer's whistle awakened me," I said. 
 
 She smiled again. " Oh, yes, a very loud noise. So 
 now you go sleep on ze deck." 
 
 I nodded, and asked if Madame was not well, as she 
 (Hortense) was sitting up. Alas, no, Madame had the 
 most dreadful headache and fatigue from the heat. She 
 was so fragile, &c., &c. 
 
 I said I hoped, nay, I was sure, she would feel better 
 in the morning ; then I asked the wretch if my friend 
 Mr. Brandon had had a good day, as it was so very hot, 
 and that as he was asleep when I came on board, I did 
 not disturb him.
 
 112 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 Hortense was an admirable, a noble liar. I had given 
 her the very cue she wanted. 
 
 " Oh, yes," she replied. He had had a very good 
 day, but only about an hour after I had returned he told 
 one of the stewards that he did not wish to be disturbed ; 
 " and so you see, Mistare Breachley, he have lock his 
 door, ze poor sick young gentleman," 
 
 "J won't disturb him, Hortense," I replied solemnly, 
 though with secret rage. " Good-night." 
 
 I went on deck again, and fished till morning. Fish- 
 ing is a splendid thing for meditation, and I meditated a 
 good deal during the next three or four hours. I was 
 rapidly gaining experience.
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 IN SYDNEY 
 
 SOME extraordinary luck seems so often to attend the 
 intriguing, uufaitliM woman with the straight- 
 forward, confiding hushand. A day after leaving 
 Moreton Bay three of the Javanese stokers on board 
 the Generaal Pel developed small-pox, and when we 
 steamed into Sydney Harbour, the authorities promptly 
 ordered us into quarantine for a minimum of twenty-one 
 days, and so, instead of coming up to a wharf and dis- 
 embarking her passengers, the steamer came to an 
 anchor off the quarantine station on North Head. Here, 
 however, every possible comfort was provided for us in 
 buildings situated in extensive gi-ounds, and command- 
 ing a view of one of the most beautiful harbours in the 
 world. 
 
 General de Langle, who, when the port doctor came 
 on board, was dressed in his full uniform of a general of 
 division, to receive the French Consul and the com- 
 mander of the French corvette Limier, then in port, and 
 awaiting his arrival, was thoroughly upset, and stamped 
 up and down the quarter-deck, twirling his white 
 moustache and using very strong language. Madame 
 walked beside him, her little hand on his arm, her blue 
 
 eyes raised to his, and wept in sympathy. Unfaithful 
 
 9 113
 
 114 BBEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 to him as she was, I daresay she shared his feelings of 
 the bitter disappointment to him of the prospect of a 
 three weeks' quarantine, when his presence and 
 authority were urgently needed in New Caledonia ; for 
 at Brisbane news had arrived of the likelihood of a 
 revolt of the natives of that colony. 
 
 Burning with anxiety, he sent off a despatch to the 
 Governor, and another to the commander of the Limier, 
 pointing out to the former the urgent necessity for his 
 immediate departure for New Caledonia. In less than 
 two hours he received a courteous reply from the 
 Governor, informing him that he, in view of the 
 dangerous condition of affairs, could at once leave the 
 Gencraal Pel and go on board the Limier, providing 
 that the captain of that vessel would at once proceed to 
 sea. With the Governor's letter came one from the 
 captain of the warship saying that the Limier was then 
 lifting her anchor. She soon appeared in the roadway, 
 and sent a boat to our steamer. Bidding his wife a 
 hurried farewell, the white-haired old soldier waved his 
 hand to the rest of the passengers, ran down the gangT,vay, 
 and in another ten minutes the Limier was going full 
 speed through the heads, while Jessie and May 
 Flemming petted and kissed the weeping wife, and 
 themselves wept profusely, out of sheer sympathy for 
 such sweet and wifely emotion. 
 
 '* Ah, it will be terrible, terrible for me ! " she sobbed 
 to them in French. " My dear, brave Bertrand — to be 
 parted from him so suddenly ! And he has said that I 
 must stay here in Sydney till this impending revolution is 
 crushed ! Oh, I shall die ! My loneliness will kill me ! 
 Oh, I cannot bear to thhik of it ! " 
 
 Supported by Hortense — who, by the way, despite 
 her piggy, little black eyes, was by no means bad-look-
 
 IN SYDNEY 115 
 
 iiig, and liad a neat figure, with a monkeyish twist and 
 curve — and the two Flemming girls, the bereft wife went 
 below. Her grief quite affected me for the moment, 
 until I looked at Harry, who, comfortably ensconced in 
 a cane lounge-chair under the awning, was eyeing the 
 scene with a languid interest, and smoking one of 
 Huysman's excellent cigars. His cool insouciance at 
 first angered me. How could he be so calm, I 
 wondered, when even strangers on the quarter-deck 
 looked on pityingly at Madame's outburst of sorrow ? 
 
 We soon settled down comfortably in our quarantine 
 quarters. Brandon, two other passengers and I had a 
 room all to ourselves, and as we numbered only twenty- 
 six all told of both sexes (we had landed over a dozen 
 people at Brisbane), there was plenty of room in the 
 spacious building. Every day parcels of books and 
 newspapers and baskets of fruit were sent from Sydney, 
 and although time hung heavily on our hands occasion- 
 ally, we did not make matters worse by grumbling. The 
 two Flemming girls and myself took long rambles over 
 the rough bush country and along the sea-shore almost 
 every day, and sometimes Madame de Langle would 
 come. Both the two girls and their mother had noticed, 
 I think, that she took a somewhat strong interest in 
 Harry, but whatever they thought, they kept to them- 
 selves. Both Jessie and May Flemming were good- 
 natured, innocent girls, and full of fun, but at the 
 same time, had they known as much as I did of the 
 lady, they would have hardly been so afiectionate to 
 her, nor have shown so much interest in my comrade. 
 Jessie, the elder girl, I was sure, had a secret admira- 
 tion for him, and could not help showing it in her face 
 when he spoke to her. 
 
 One day, when he was lying on a cane lounge under
 
 116 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 a shady verandali, and the quarantine doctor, Mrs. 
 Flemming, and myself were having a cup of tea in 
 another part of the huikling, we saw Jessie go along the 
 verandah and give him a plate of fruit. She placed it 
 on a little table beside him, and remained standing 
 talking to him, and presently I noticed that he was 
 holding her hand, and seemed to be speaking earnestly 
 to her. I moved my chair so as to obstruct Mrs. 
 Flemming' s view. She did not notice them for five 
 minutes or more ; then I saw her frown slightly, and she 
 half rose from her seat, but sat down again. Presently 
 Jessie passed us, and I saw her mother look at her 
 keenly. The girl's face was dyed with blushes, and she 
 did not return for the cup of tea which was awaiting her 
 at our table. Madame de Langle and her sister had 
 gone out collecting flannel flowers, and this Brandon 
 knew, otherwise he would have been more careful; for 
 he seldom conversed with, or even looked at, the 
 Flemming girls when Madame was near. 
 
 The three weeks passed, and then, to our disgust, we 
 had to undergo another fourteen days, quarantine. I 
 was now by this time anxious to return home, as 
 although I had sent my father, through his agent, full 
 particulars of the expedition, I was tired of such 
 enforced idleness, and wanted to be on hand when the 
 vessel he would charter to load the cedar at the Daintree 
 was ready to sail. Brandon, too, was getting morose 
 and irritable at the delay, and the general's wife, 
 when the doctor announced to us a further fortnight's 
 detention, cried out of sheer disappointment. No doubt 
 Harry dried her tears later on, for that the pair met 
 frequently without being observed I well knew, and 
 when they could not meet, Hortense was letter-carrier 
 to both.
 
 IN SYDNEY 117 
 
 I must mention that a few days after liis accident 
 Harry and I bad had a long talk as to our future move- 
 ments, and he then promised to accompany me and meet 
 my people when I returned home, and also that if my father 
 sent me away as supercargo in the chartered vessel to 
 the Daintree, that he would try very hard for a berth in 
 her as mate or second mate. But as the weeks went by 
 he had gradually ceased to allude to the matter, and as 
 I saw he tried to get away from the subject whenever it 
 cropped up, I made no further reference to it. 
 
 The last day but one of our stay, to the joy of every- 
 body, arrived at last, and was to be celebrated by a 
 picnic in a pretty, romantic little dell situated within 
 the quarantine limits, but quite near the town of Manly 
 — the seaside resort of Sydney. 
 
 The first to set off were the married ladies (among 
 whom was Madame) and their husbands, escorted by 
 the quarantine doctor ; then followed May Flemming 
 with Hortense, and Mrs. Flemming's two Javanese 
 maids, who were carrying baskets, &c. ; then Harry, 
 limping along quickly enough on crutches, with Jessie 
 Flemming and a little girl passenger walking beside 
 him ; then, last of all, a group of four single men and 
 myself, carrying two baskets of crockery, liquids, &c. 
 
 The path was somewhat rough and stony in places, 
 but the dense surrounding bush smelled sweet with 
 native flowers, and the twittering of birds filled the soft, 
 warm air. 
 
 Before following the others, our party, who were all 
 of the thirsty breed, opened the liquor hamper to " see 
 that everything was safely packed," and thought there 
 were a few bottles of Tennant too many. These we 
 opened and drank, and by the time we started we were 
 quite half a mile in the rear, and therefore were surprised
 
 118 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 when we came uijon Harry and Miss Flemming seated 
 on a moss-covered boulder. Both laughed when I called 
 them a pair of snails. 
 
 "Indeed, we are not," said the young lady; "but, 
 although Mr. Brandon can really get along faster than 
 I can, that little impetuous Nellie "Ward tore on ahead, 
 and as we don't know this track, and might get lost and 
 tread on horrid snakes, I said I would not go on until 
 some more men came." 
 
 " Miss Flemming, I am surprised at you lending 
 yourself to such paltry subterfuge," said an Irishman 
 named Lucy. "D'ye think I can't see 'the blush of 
 shame mantling that fair cheek ' ? We know weU 
 enough what it is that the 'poor crijjpled craythur' 
 beside you wants. And here it is." 
 
 The hamper was set down and a bottle of Tennant 
 opened. Brandon drank a foaming tumblerful with an 
 air of great satisfaction (though I knew he detested ale) 
 and then took possession of the bottle and glass as well. 
 
 " Proceed on thy way, my discerning and Christian 
 friends," he said, with a laugh ; "I shall be responsible 
 to the caretaker of our prison for this valuable tumbler. 
 Go on ahead ; we'll follow. Lucy, you ought to go first 
 of all, and keep talking ; any snake that hears that 
 beautiful brogue of yours will think it's blessed Saint 
 Pathrick himself that's coming, and flee for its life." 
 
 With much laughter we started off, leaving him and 
 Miss Flemming still seated on the boulder, and arrived 
 at the appointed place quite an hour before them. 
 When they did come I noticed that, although Brandon 
 was as cool as usual, Jessie Flemming's face was radiant 
 — she looked quite pretty. 
 
 We spent a most delightful afternoon, returning at 
 sunset, eagerly waiting for the morrow. Brandon and
 
 IN SYDNEY 119 
 
 I arranged to stay at the same hotel ; the Flemmings 
 were only remaining in Sydney for a day or two, and 
 were then going on a visit to the country town of 
 Maitland on the Hunter Kiver, where they had relatives, 
 and Madame de Langle, I heard her say, intended to 
 stay at the Koyal Hotel. 
 
 As soon as we landed in Sydney there was a general 
 leave-taking, and Harry and I were soon established at 
 the Custom House Hotel, a very good but inexpensive 
 place kept by a pleasant widow whom nearly every one 
 called "mother," She is, I believe, still alive, and. 
 ought to live for ever, for not only was she a splendid 
 cook, but a typical English landlady of the old style ; 
 no trouble was too great for her to take over even a 
 stranger, and the merchant captains who were the 
 principal habitues of the house did give her gi-eat 
 trouble, especially by the habit some of them had of 
 coming home at daylight, and, staggering upstairs to 
 her door, begging her in wearied and almost inarticulate 
 tones to let them have the key of the bar-room, as they 
 were ill. 
 
 Whilst Harry and I were at lunch in the coffee-room, 
 a young, well-dressed man came in and sat at a table 
 near us. Suddenly he caught sight of my companion, 
 and stared somewhat rudely at him ; Harry looking up 
 just then, their eyes met. The stranger gave him a 
 rather distant inclination, and then, getting up, went 
 to a seat further off. 
 
 Harry laughed at my look of inquiry. 
 
 " I'll tell you about him by and by. His name is 
 Murray ; he's a wool-broker or shipping agent, or some- 
 thing like that, and came out in the Earl of Dalhousie, 
 my old ship." 
 
 During lunch he asked me what I intended doing in
 
 120 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 the afternoon. I suggested that we should go for a 
 drive about the city. 
 
 " No, thank you. I have an engagement at three 
 o'clock." Then he added carelessly, " I've some news 
 for you, Billy, my boy. Miss Flemming and I are 
 engaged." 
 
 He laughed at the surprise I exhibited, and went on : 
 *' Yes, we became engaged yesterday, I kept her 
 behind the others purposely so as to have a quiet 
 talk with her. We are keeping it quiet, however, for 
 the present. Her mother has the bad taste not to like 
 me. But," he added, with a sneer, "I mean to marry 
 the girl all the same." 
 
 " I like her very much, Harry," I said, for want of 
 something better to say. 
 
 "So do I — and she has plenty of money. That's 
 
 why her d d old cat of a mother watches her so 
 
 whenever she sees her speaking to me." 
 
 Shortly before three o'clock he went off in a hansom, 
 leaving me to my own devices ; and as I had no business 
 to attend to, I set out soon after along Macquarie Street 
 to walk to the Museum. Just as I was passing one of 
 the large boarding-houses in Macquarie Street I saw 
 May Flemming seated at a window. She at once came 
 out to the steps and asked me to come in. 
 
 " Mamma and Jessie are just going out shopping for 
 an hour or two, and I am staying in to write up my 
 diary. I'm nearly six weeks in arrears. Do come in, 
 Billy, and talk to me instead." 
 
 May and I had always been great friends. She was 
 always bubbling over with good-humour, and never too 
 tired to do anything except sit still and keep silent. 
 
 Presently Mrs. Flemming and her elder daughter 
 came down. They were, of course, surprised to see me.
 
 IN SYDNEY 121 
 
 (( 
 
 I brought the youth in," said May, tossing her 
 diary on the floor. " I tapped on ye window and smiled 
 at him, and then I ran to the door and beckoned to him 
 this way with my lily-white finger, and here he is, and 
 here shall he stay until you come back, unless he will 
 take me out to the Museum. I want to see the stuffed 
 anthropophagi. Diary ing is silly." 
 
 Mrs. Flemming laughed. " You are a pair of ne'er- 
 do-weels. Take her with you, Mr. Breacliley. Come, 
 Jessie." 
 
 That Miss Flemming wanted to ask me where Harry 
 was, I was sure, but her mother gave her no opportunity. 
 I had thought it quite possible after what he had told 
 me at lunch, that, as he went off in such a hurry, he 
 had arranged to meet her somewhere. 
 
 May Flemming was one of those heaven-sent girls 
 who can put on a hat and contrive to look nice inside of 
 ten minutes when an emergency arises. She trijjped 
 downstairs into the drawing-room, took a momentary 
 survey of herself in the pier-glass, and then swung round. 
 
 " Come on, I'm ready. Oh, you're a most untidy 
 person ; your tie is all askew. There, now it's right — 
 don't you dare, sir. You are ' over bold for your years ' 
 — and people can see us from the street." 
 
 As we walked across Hyde Park through the beautiful 
 avenue of shady trees, May suddenly asked me, " Where 
 is Mr. Brandon?" 
 
 " I don't know ; he went out after lunch " And 
 
 then I unthinkingly added : "I thought that perhaps 
 he had gone to call on you." 
 
 " On us ! Oh no ! Mother does not like him, and I 
 am sure he does not like her." 
 
 I made no answer, and May walked beside me in 
 silence for a while ; then she put her hand on my arm.
 
 122 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 " Billy dear, will you tell me something— something 
 I want to know, and which I think you can tell me ? " 
 
 "What is it, May?" 
 
 "Will you tell me tnily— that is, if you can— where 
 Mr. Brandon has gone ? " 
 
 I looked at her in genuine surprise— I was not yet old 
 enough to lie with gi-ace, even had there heen necessity 
 for it. 
 
 " I don't know, May. I said so just now." 
 
 "Thank you, Billy. But. tell me, please, why you 
 thought Mr. Brandon would call to see us ? Tom, I 
 don't want to worm any secrets from you ; but I think 
 my sister is very unhappy about Mr. Brandon ; and to 
 see her unhappy makes me miserable. Please, do 
 tell me." 
 
 " Tell you what. May?" 
 
 " Tell me if Mr. Brandon is in love with Jess." 
 
 I could not resist the pleading of her clear, honest 
 grey eyes. 
 
 " I don't know whether I am doing right in telling 
 you. May. Harry told me only this morning that Jessie 
 had promised to marry him." 
 
 " Do you think he really loves her ? " 
 
 "Of course he must love her — else he would not 
 v/ant to marry her," I replied ; I was beginning to feel 
 uncomfortable. 
 
 May shook her head doubtfully. " I wish I were sm-e. 
 And I don't think it very manly of him to bind 
 Jessie down to secrecy as far as mother is concerned. 
 It's wrong, very wrong." 
 
 Then the subject was droj)ped, and by the time we 
 •eached the Museum the girl was her lively self again. 
 We spent quite two hours in the beautiful building, 
 examining the various collections, and walked across the 
 
 r
 
 IN SYDNEY 123 
 
 park towards the city, for May insisted on our having a 
 cup of tea. 
 
 " Very well, May. We'll go to Compagnoni's, in Pitt 
 Street. Let us take a hansom, and we'll get there in 
 ten minutes." 
 
 The streets were very crowded at that hour, and the 
 cah had to proceed very slowly. At the corner of 
 Market Street we were blocked for a few minutes, and 
 as we waited, a hansom going the other way passed 
 us at a quick trot ; in it were Madame de Langle and 
 Harry. They could not help seeing us, and smiled as 
 they passed. May's face flushed and her mouth set, but 
 she said nothing. 
 
 Our afternoon tea was not a brilliant success, for the 
 poor girl, I could see, was both angry and distressed. I 
 took her home, and, promising to call again before they 
 left Sydney, returned to my hotel. 
 
 At dinner time Harry came into the smoking-room, 
 where I was reading the papers. He nodded sullenly to 
 me, sat down and pufled at his cigar for a minute or two 
 and spoke. 
 
 " What the devil made you bring that confounded 
 girl down town this afternoon?" 
 
 '' Because I chose," I retorted angrily, very much 
 resenting the tone in which he spoke. 
 
 " Then why couldn't you have gone somewhere 
 else?" He jumped up and went out of the room 
 again.
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 BEANDON INSTRUCTS ME 
 
 AT breakfast next morning, Harry was in a much 
 pleasanter mood. He found a letter from Jessie 
 Flemming lying beside his plate. 
 
 "I thought so," he said as he read, and then put 
 it in his pocket ; " the dear girl is very angry, and I 
 must meet her at eleven o'clock and ' explain.' I am a 
 whale at explanations of this sort. How do you get to 
 the Domain gates ? I am to meet her there." 
 
 After breakfast we went for a walk along the Circular 
 Quay, to look at the shipping. Lying abreast of the 
 Ordnance Stores was a magnificent full-rigged ship 
 named the Naval Brigade, and as we stood on the wharf 
 admiring her graceful lines and lofty, tapering spars, a 
 number of lumpers came down her gangway. 
 
 " Hallo, Mr. Brandon. How are you, sir? " said one 
 of them, a sandy-bearded man, running up to Harry and 
 shaking hands with him vigorously. 
 
 " And how are you, Pat. What are you doing in 
 Sydney?" 
 
 " Got a shore job now, sir — I am working for a 
 stevedore, and make pretty good money at times. 
 Where have you been, sir, since you left the old 
 Dalhoiisie ? " 
 
 124
 
 BEANDON INSTRUCTS ME 125 
 
 Harry told liiin, and then asked the man, whose name 
 was Pat O'Day, to come up to our hotel for half an hour's 
 chat in the evening ; then we went on again to look at 
 the other ships. 
 
 " That's an amusing fellow. He was boatswain 
 of the Emi of Dalhousie — and a better boatswain and 
 smarter all-round seaman never ate salt junk and 
 weevily biscuit. His only fault is his fondness for 
 liquor — when he gets too much he turns into a nuisance, 
 then into a brute beast. He's wonderfully humorous 
 — especially when he's only slightly sprung — like all 
 Paddies, An Irishman is always brilliant, so my old dad 
 says, when he's hiccoughy, and ready to borrow your last 
 shilling." 
 
 As we were returning along the Circular Quay, Harry 
 asked me how I was off for money. 
 
 " I'll get you some this morning, Harry," I said. 
 " My fiither's agent told me yesterday that I can have 
 twenty or thirty pounds if I want it." 
 
 He laughed. " I don't want any from you, Billy. I 
 can lend you some if you like. Anyway, here is the 
 fifteen pounds I owe you — ten for my passage money, 
 and five which you lent me ; " and he handed me three 
 five-pound notes. 
 
 *' I really don't want it, Harry," I said, " and, besides 
 that, there are over thirty-five pounds due to you from 
 Ted for wages — which my father will pay — or, as far as 
 that goes, Mr. Hagan " (my father's agent) "will give 
 it to you if I ask him to do so." 
 
 " Don't trouble him, old man. I've plenty. I found a 
 letter here from my mother with a draft enclosed for fifty 
 pounds. And I can get more if I want it. I am giving 
 that pudding-faced Dutch doctor ten pounds ; and even 
 then I shall be twenty-five pounds to the good."
 
 126 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 I had never heard him mentio-n his mother or father 
 but once, when he had told me that they lived in 
 Norfolk, and that he was regarded as the " black sheep" 
 of the family, for, as he said, having been kicked out of 
 the Navy for misconduct when he was a midshipman, 
 and then entering the merchant service as a fourth mate 
 in the Black Ball Line of Liverpool. 
 
 "Just as you please, Harry," I said; and then I 
 asked him, as" I hoped to be leaving in a week or 
 so, if he intended accompanying me home to meet 
 my father, as there was a schooner sailing for the 
 north coast ports. 
 
 "I'll tell you when you're ready to start, Billy," he 
 said carelessly. " Let it stand over until then. I must 
 now go and make my peace with mine own precious 
 Jessica — my big-mouthed, full-figured pearl of great 
 price ! " 
 
 He returned to lunch with a look of supreme content- 
 ment on his dark, handsome face, and pressed me to 
 share a bottle of champagne with him. 
 
 I had, I am sorry to say, learnt to occasionally drink 
 spirits when I was on the Daintree, and when we 
 were wet through and exhausted with a day's toil. 
 Carvery who had had such a long experience in North 
 Queensland, was a firm believer in sj)irits as a preventive 
 of fever, which, he maintained, was caused by two things, 
 drinking river water, and mosquitoes ; so when working 
 in the scrub and unable to light a fire on account of 
 heavy rain we always drank rain water mixed pretty 
 stiffly with good old Jamaica rum. But champagne 
 was a new thing to me, and I demurred to Harry's 
 suggestion. 
 
 "Bosh! It's the best thing in the world. And 
 you must drink with me — to the health of the sweetest.
 
 BRANDON INSTRUCTS ME 127 
 
 sweetest woman in tlic world, tlie girl who, in spite of 
 her mammy's interference, will be my wife within six 
 months." 
 
 A large bottle of champagne was brought, and as 
 Harry filled my glass I said laughingly that I had 
 heard him say the words "the sweetest, sweetest woman 
 in the world " before. 
 
 " William, your memory of a trivial remark is 
 astounding. Of course, Madame de Langle is the 
 * sweetest, sweetest woman in the world ; ' and of course 
 Jessie Flemming is also the ' sweetest, sweetest woman 
 in the world.' You will understand all these things 
 when you are older. Has she ever kissed you? She 
 has a beastly way of kissing one when one doesn't 
 want it." 
 
 " ^^aio ? " I asked. 
 
 " Miss Flemming, my innocent. Don't stare at me 
 as if I had asked you if you had ever committed murder 
 — I'm not one of the jealous breed." He drank off his 
 champagne, and filled the glass again. " Billy, I'm in 
 luck — unless the devil, or Providence, or something of 
 the kind intervenes. All going well, I shall be married, 
 as I said, within six months, or at any rate before the 
 interesting Flemming family return to Batavia. She — 
 the dear, sweet creature — has given me her promise, 
 and she's the kind of a girl to keep her promise if she 
 had fifty old devils of mothers watching her." 
 
 Then he gave me some further details, frankly 
 admitting that he was not very fond of Miss Flemming, 
 but wanted her fortune, which, he said somewhat brutally, 
 " made amends for her face." She believed that he was 
 passionately fond of her, and had promised to marry him 
 on her return to Sydney whether her mother consented 
 or not. " In fact," he added, " I believe I could get her
 
 128 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 to do so now, if there was time, but they are going away 
 this afternoon. Oh, and that reminds me, Billy— you 
 are to be our friend in need, and, like a good fellow, will 
 correspond with her. The old woman likes you, and 
 won't suspect that your letters will cover mine. You 
 must, however, write to May first." 
 
 " Thank you; you are kind. Any other use you can 
 put me to ? " 
 
 "Come, I know you'll do it, old chap. I would do 
 the same for you." 
 
 "All right," I said resignedly ; "and in any case I 
 promised to write to May now and then." 
 
 " Good boy. And when she comes back, make love 
 to her properly. She'll have money too, though not as 
 much as the beauteous Jessie." 
 
 "What rot you do talk!" I said; "why I'm only 
 a youngster." 
 
 " Well, what of that ? You take my advice, and hang 
 on to May Flemming ; she's not bad looking, and, as I 
 said, will have money. Oh, I forgot to tell you that the 
 
 little devil tried to put silly d d ideas into her sister's 
 
 head about my being out driving with Madame de 
 Langle. But it's all right now ; though it took some 
 explaining. And I shall ' never, never, no never ' be 
 anything but a good boy in the future. Billy, do you 
 think I'm a fool?" 
 
 After lunch I went to bid the Flemniings good- 
 bye, and saw them drive away. When I returned, 
 Harry, who had dressed himself with more than usual 
 care, met me on the stairs. 
 
 " See you again about six, Billy." 
 
 "Hang you, you're always going out," I grumbled; 
 " where are you going now ? " 
 
 " Out for a drive to Bondi, with the other * sweet
 
 BRANDON INSTRUCTS ME 129 
 
 woman.' Praised be the Lord, the coast is now 
 clear." 
 
 I spent some of the afternoon in the beautiful 
 Botanical Gardens, lying on the gi'ass and looking at 
 the warships anchored just abreast. When I returned 
 at four o'clock I was astonished to learn that Harry had 
 been in and gone out again, taking his bag with him. 
 He had, however, left a note for me with the landlady. 
 
 He was sorry to have missed me, he wrote, but could 
 not wait as he was pressed for time ; was going into the 
 country for a day or so with some people. 
 
 That was all. I did not see him again for two weeks. 
 
 About five o'clock the sailor O'Day came in and 
 inquired for Harry. He was sent in to me in the 
 smoking-room. He was disappointed when I told him 
 that my comrade had left town and would be away for a 
 day or two, and was going to leave, when I asked him to 
 sit down and have a smoke and yarn. He was, as 
 Harry had said, a very amusing, witty fellow, and had 
 an extraordinary fund of anecdote, and half an hour 
 passed pleasantly enough. 
 
 Presently a gentleman came in and ordered a cup 
 of coffee. I recognised him as the man who had stared 
 so at Harry the day we first came to the hotel, and 
 whose name he had told me was Murray. On this 
 occasion he also looked at my companion ; then he 
 smiled, and came over with outstretched hand. 
 
 "Why, O'Day! I am glad to see you again," he 
 said, shaking hands warmly with the sailor ; and then, 
 turning to me, " O'Day and I are old friends. I came 
 out in the Earl of Dalhousie, and Pat kept us passengers 
 alive." 
 
 At my suggestion he had his coffee brought to our 
 table, and stayed with us quite half an hour. Only 
 
 10
 
 130 BKEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 once was Brandon's name mentioned, and that was by 
 O'Day mentioning the cause of his call. Murray merely 
 nodded, and said curtly, " I saw Mr. Brandon here 
 some days ago," and then turned the conversation. 
 
 During our talk I told him something about myself 
 and our adventures on the Daintree, which interested 
 him greatly, also of our passage down in the Generaal 
 Pel, casually mentioning the Flemming family, whom, 
 he told me, he knew by name on account of business 
 transactions with their Australian relatives, who were 
 squatters on the Hunter River district. Mm-ray himself 
 was the manager of a large commission agency firm, 
 whose offices were quite near the hotel. 
 
 "I am glad I have met you," he said, as he rose; 
 " will you look in and see me at my office ? — any morning 
 you please. Then you must come over to my place at 
 Lavender Bay." 
 
 After he had left, O'Day spoke of him as "a real 
 gentleman," who, because he (O'Day) had done him 
 some little service on board, had given him a five-pound 
 note. " But he's got a mortal hatred of Mr. Brandon." 
 
 I did not want to know the reason of the "mortal 
 hatred," so did not ask; but jn-esently the sailor, sj)eak- 
 ing of Brandon's personal com^age, and his abilities as a 
 seamen, alluded to his violent temper. 
 
 " It's a great cm'se to him, sir, intirely ; just as much 
 as liquor has been a cm'se to me. His temper and his 
 fine handsome face and figm-e are like to prove his ruin." 
 
 "Why his face?" I asked. 
 
 *' The women, sir. The women like him, and he's 
 mighty fond of women — and that's why Mr. Murray has 
 reason to hate him. The curse of loving women's 
 beauty is as bad for a gentleman like Mr. Brandon as 
 the cm-se of drinking is to a common rough sailor-man
 
 BRANDON INSTEUCTS ME 131 
 
 like me. God protect every wan of us trom both. Good- 
 night, sir. Maybe when Mr. Brandon comes back, ye'U 
 ask me to come in again." 
 
 I assm-cd him we should not lose sight of him, for his 
 genuine, straightforward manner had caused me to take 
 a liking to the man. 
 
 After he had gone I changed my clothes and went 
 out to call on Madame de Langle, for she had asked me 
 to do so, and I sincerely believe that she meant it, for 
 on the passage down in the Dutch steamer she and I 
 had had many long talks — in fact she took such interest 
 in me as any highly-educated, clever woman would take 
 in a lad who wanted to improve his mind and manners 
 and shed the rough bark of an uncultured boyhood. 
 And I have no doubt but that my association with her 
 and Brandon, despite the evil effect their amour had 
 upon my quick imagination and temperament, did me 
 much good. 
 
 Reaching her hotel, and sending up my name, Hor- 
 tense Suret came down to me in a waiting-room, smiling 
 in her usual monkeyish manner. The first words she 
 uttered turned a partly conceived suspicion, which a few 
 hours before had become engendered in my mind, into 
 what I now deemed a certainty of fact ; and an angry 
 jealousy of Brandon surged through my silly brain. 
 
 " Ah, vat a peety, Mistare Breachley. You are too late 
 to see Madame. She go to ze country to-day wis some 
 friends — oh, I cannot remember ze name of ze place ! 
 But zey see how pale and triste she look, for she think, 
 think always of ze General — no lettare will come yet 
 for so many week. So zeze friends take her away wis 
 them to ze country — somewhere where it is cool, cool ; 
 and it is in the mountains. Ah, poor Madame is not 
 strong" — she placed her hands on her bosom, and tried
 
 132 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 to look sad — " she is not strong here, in ze chest. Ze 
 General is very much afraid she may have the 
 consump." 
 
 Her artfulness tickled me, and I laughed. " Oh, I 
 hope not, Hortense. Madame de Langle does not look 
 like a j)erson in consumption." 
 
 I spoke with knowledge, for there were many con- 
 sumptive j)eople in the district where I was born. 
 
 " Ze grief, ze tear, ze con-stant cry, make her worse. 
 Ah, you do not know." 
 
 Then came her masterpiece. 
 
 " And where is Mistare Brandon? You and Mistare 
 Brandon are ze inseparables ! Why do he not come wis 
 you ? It is not polite of him. Madame will be angry 
 when I tell her that you have come alone." 
 
 " Mr. Brandon has gone into the country, Hortense. 
 He went away suddenly this afternoon. Perhaps he, 
 too, has consumption." 
 
 The girl threw off all disguise, slapped my cheek, 
 and laughed. 
 
 I
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 I VISIT BIY AUNT SELINA 
 
 THE aunt with whom my sister Frances was living 
 resided at Waverley, a suburb of Sydney, over- 
 looking the sea. They both knew that I was in Sydney, 
 for I had written to them, but so far had not expressed 
 any desire to see me, and after waiting a fortnight, I 
 wrote again, and received a somewhat chilling note from 
 my sister, asking me to call, with a "kindly-worded" 
 P.S., begging me to look as little countrified as possible. 
 I smiled, for I knew that I had changed very greatly 
 since she had last seen me, especially during the past 
 eight months, and that though I was very brown, I was 
 not in the least countrified, either in speech, manners, 
 or appearance, and although when in camp with my 
 rough mates, I affected to sneer at, and despise a 
 cultured taste in dress, I was in reality as vain aa a 
 girl in the matter of clothes, and copied as far as I could 
 the style and cut of Brandon's. Then, too, I knew that 
 for my age I was tall, well set-up and good-looking, and 
 although not so spruce as a bank clerk, I believed 
 myself to be of a much more striking appearance than 
 any city youth ever born, my vanity, as secret as it was 
 stupendous, having been fostered of late in many 
 innocent ways by the ladies on board the Gcneraal Pel. 
 Brandon once confided to me that he could " succeed " 
 
 133
 
 134 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 with any woman if he cared to try, and I was already 
 determining to emulate his powers in this respect ; in 
 fact, his influence over me was so great that he was 
 rapidly undermining my whole moral fabric, which, I 
 fear, was never intended by nature to resist attack, and 
 was anxious to crumble to dust as quickly as it could 
 crumble. 
 
 My aunt's house was situated in very pretty grounds 
 on the heights of Waverley, and when I reached there, 
 at five in the afternoon, I found her and Frances at 
 home. The effusive welcome they gave me when I entered 
 the room made me smile inwardly, for Frances at least 
 had expected to see the same rough, unkemj)t lad, wdth 
 thick boots and cabbage-tree hat, with whom she would 
 not even walk down the village street. Both ladies 
 kissed me — Aunt Selina for the first time in my life, and 
 Frances for about the fifth — and at once proceeded to 
 lie with great cheerfulness and vivacity. They "had been 
 out of town " ; " Auntie " had been so unwell ; Frances 
 "had quite thought I would have come and seen them the 
 day I landed," &c., &c. And finally they insisted on my 
 staying to dinner. 
 
 This Aunt Selina, who was my mother's senior by at 
 least ten years (though to have hinted at such a fact 
 would have been a deadly insult) was a widow, a 
 merciful Providence having removed her husband to 
 another sj^here a few years after his marriage. He left 
 his wife a little property, which brought her in about three 
 hundred pounds a year, and as soon as possible she set 
 to work to achieve two things — to reduce her waist, and 
 get another husband. In the former she succeeded ; in 
 the second she had failed, though she had now carried 
 on the pursuit for quite twenty years, and, to use a sport- 
 ing phrase, was still going strong. She detested my
 
 I VISIT MY AUNT SELINA 135 
 
 father for a somewhat unkind remark he had once made 
 to her, a year or so after her widowhood. He and 
 her husband had met several times in Sydney, and were 
 on very friendly terms, though father never liked Aunt 
 Selina. Her inordinate vanity and unblushing selfish- 
 ness were too well known not only to him but to her own 
 sisters also. When she married Mr. Lutton he was a 
 wealthy man, being owner of some valuable coal-mining 
 properties at Newcastle, and lived in a manner befitting 
 his income ; he was very fond of racing and all other 
 outdoor sports, and when a sudden reverse of fortune 
 came, he felt it keenly, but faced it manfully, and 
 promptly cut down his expenses in every possible way, 
 much to his wife's disgust and anger. It was not in her 
 nature to comprehend his character — to her shallow 
 mind and greedy disposition his was the action not of 
 an honourable man, but of a fool, and from that time 
 forth the poor man had no happiness in his home. It 
 was a source of continual bitterness to her to see him 
 year by year steadily paying off his liabilities, and 
 refusing to avail himself of the Bankruptcy Act, and then 
 at his death to find she had but three hundred a year 
 left to her. She considered she had been robbed, and it 
 was in connection with this that the quarrel arose 
 between her and father. Lutton, I must mention, 
 though a great favourite with almost every one, was 
 not so with the local clergy, on account of his being part 
 proprietor of a Sydney paper devoted to Freethought 
 principles, though at the same time they always cheer- 
 fully came to him for subscriptions connected with their 
 own churches, and never had to beg in vain. These 
 gentry always spoke of Lutton as "an atheist " — at 
 which he would smile in good-natured contempt, and 
 never try to convince them to the contrary
 
 136 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 He had been dead twelve months when father went to 
 Sydney on business, and naturally enough called to see 
 Aunt Selina, primarily at mother's request. In his slow, 
 heavy way he began to condole with her, when she cut 
 him short, inveighing bitterly at her husband's folly in 
 not making better provision for her. 
 
 " Well, Selina, he did his best, I'm sure. And I am 
 certain that you must feel proud of his having paid his 
 creditors in full before he died." 
 
 She blazed with anger. What were the creditors to 
 her ? she asked. His duty was to her. He had 
 behaved shamefully, cruelly ! The Rev. Mr. Bonham 
 Joyce had that very morning expressed his great 
 sympathy for her, although he (Lutton) had been 
 almost rude to him. But what could be expected of 
 an atheist? 
 
 " Oh, come, Selina. Poor Lutton was no atheist." 
 
 " He was a wretched, wretched atheist. Mr. Bonham 
 Joyce fears that he is now in perdition." 
 
 " Then Mr. Bonham Joyce is a d d fool, and you 
 
 are no woman to let another man speak of your dead 
 husband like that. If the poor fellow has gone to hell, 
 I daresay he likes it better than being with you. Good- 
 day, Selina." 
 
 Since that day they had never met again, though 
 Frances later on went to live with her, my father 
 allowing Aunt Selina a hundred a year for her main- 
 tenance. 
 
 There was not the slightest physical resemblance 
 between my mother and Aunt Selina ; the former was 
 tall and stout, with black hair and a ruddy complexion, 
 and had a pleasant, girlish voice, though she was past 
 forty. Aunt Selina was of medium height, with light hair, 
 a small waist, and what she (the vain old fool of fifty !)
 
 I VISIT MY AUNT SELINA 137 
 
 considered a very fine figure. Her voice, I think, was 
 the most unpleasant I had ever heard — it was mincingly 
 raspish, and after an hour or so got on one's neiTes. 
 She costumed herself like a girl of twenty or twenty- 
 five ; and the first time I saw her in evening dress she 
 nearly made me ill, and quite took away my appetite — 
 her thin, pinched face, rouged lips and cheeks matching 
 an expanse of bony chest that made her resemble a 
 very thin and badly-plucked chicken. I could not help 
 staring at her for a moment or two when she simper- 
 ingly asked me if I thought she looked nice. I said, 
 **Vcry." 
 
 On the Generaal Pel the ladies always dressed for 
 dinner, and Madame de Langle and the Flemming 
 girls were pretty to look at, and so were Mrs. 
 Flemming and the other older ladies, though there 
 was one immense German woman who, when she 
 laughed, always reminded me of a dugong, for her 
 enormous fat arms and bosom, Brandon declared, 
 " shook audibly " ; but this wretched aunt of mine 
 made me blush to think such a creature could be my 
 mother's sister. Frances's dress was cut fairly low, 
 but then she was a plump, well-shaped girl, not a hoary 
 old ruin of fifty. 
 
 In the course of the evening of this my first visit 
 I hinted that father and Captain de Lisle were likely 
 to make their fortunes in a few years out of cedar. 
 This item of news was received with great interest, 
 and Mrs. Lutton at once said, " Dear man, he deserves 
 it. Have I not often said, dear Frances, that your 
 father deserves good-fortune?" 
 
 " Oh, yes. Auntie," said dear Frances, "quite often. 
 I must write and tell him how pleased we are to — to 
 have dear Will with us to-night."
 
 138 BEEACIILEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 Presently Frances asked me about the passengers 
 who were with me in quarantine, and I quickly rose 
 in their estimation when I said that both General and 
 Madame de Langle had been very kind to me, and that 
 I hojDed to see the latter again in a few days. My aunt, 
 who was a tuft - hunter by instinct, at once became 
 deeply concerned in Madame's welfare, especially when 
 I told her that she was a member of a noble French 
 family, and her father was an ambassador, and before 
 five minutes had passed she announced her intention of 
 calling on her. 
 
 "Poor thing!" she minced, "how very distressing 
 for one so young to be alone in a strange city, and 
 her husband away fighting! We certainly must call, 
 Frances. It is clearly our duty to do so on William's 
 account. I am his aunt, and you are his sister. Does 
 she know I live in Sydney, William ? " 
 
 " Yes," I answered briefly, filled with alarm at the 
 idea of her intruding herself, though I certainly wanted 
 Frances to meet Madame, and indeed the latter had 
 told me she would be glad to meet my sister. In a way 
 I was proud of Frances's beauty, and wanted to see 
 them together ; but my aunt was a horse of another 
 colour, and her affectation and pushfulness would, I 
 knew, only disgust and irritate where she meant to be 
 impressive and warm-hearted. 
 
 " Is she prettj', Will ? " asked my sister. 
 
 "Pretty is no word for her. All the men onboard 
 the steamer say she is the most beautiful, dainty little 
 woman they have ever seen, and Mrs. Flemming told 
 me that when she married the General the newspapers 
 said she was one of a family noted all over Europe for 
 their beauty." 
 
 Aunt Selina clasped her skinny, bony hands together,
 
 i VISIT MY AUNT SELINA 139 
 
 and looked upwards in ecstasy, declaring that she felt as 
 if she loved her already. Then she set to work to find 
 out exactly when the lady was coming back. This was 
 my chance. I did not know for certain, I said, but the 
 moment she did return I would let them know, mentally 
 vowing that my aunt at least should never meet her if I 
 could prevent it. 
 
 Of Brandon I said scarcely anything ; they were too 
 interested at the prospect of meeting "the wife of a 
 distinguished French officer " to make any inquiries 
 about such an uninteresting person, though my aunt 
 asked me if Captain Huysman and Mr. Lucy were 
 married. 
 
 " The captain is, I know, as he showed me his wife's 
 portrait ; but Mr. Lucy is a bachelor. He's awfully well 
 oJBF too," I added (not mendaciousl}^ j to see the effect. 
 " He is a very nice fellow, and I thought of asking him 
 to come out with me to-day." 
 
 " I shall be glad to see any friends of yours, William. 
 You must ask him out — say next Thursday," simpered 
 my aunt.
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 A WALKING-STICK AND A SUNSHADE 
 
 SOME things happen so very curiously — " so dam- 
 nably curiously, and so out of j)lace," as Brandon 
 mockingly said to me one day long afterwards, when he 
 and I met under strange circumstances. 
 
 A few days after my visit to Mrs. Lutton I received 
 a letter from my father telling me not to come home, as 
 he himself was coming to Sydney in a week or ten days, 
 to arrange for the chartering of a vessel to proceed to 
 the Daintree River for the cedar. She was also to take 
 up ten fresh men with six months' supplies, and bring 
 back those of Ted's party whose time would be up or 
 who wanted to return for a spell. I was to go with the 
 vessel, and return with her to cither Sydney or Mel- 
 bourne, as might be decided upon. He also told me to 
 draw forty pounds from his agent, and make certain 
 purchases for my mother and himself and send them 
 down by the first schooner. 
 
 I went to the agent's office, drew the money, and on 
 returning to the hotel found Pat O'Day waiting for me 
 with a note from Mr. Murray, asking me if I could join 
 him in a three days' fishing excursion to the famous 
 Botany Bay. 
 
 "You must come, sir," said O'Day. "There's Mr. 
 
 140
 
 A WALKING-STICK AND A SUNSHADE 141 
 
 Murray, two other gentlemen, and myself; I'm the 
 sailing-master." 
 
 ''How's that?" I inquired. "Have you given up 
 shore work? " 
 
 " Not at all, sir. But whenever Mr. Murray makes 
 one of these trips I always go with him. He gives me 
 a fiver, and treats me like a king." 
 
 I at once wrote a note accepting the invitation, and, a 
 few hours later, crossed over to Lavender Bay, where 
 the yacht was lying ready to slip her moorings. Murray 
 introduced me to his two friends — both business men 
 like himself — who were very jolly fellows. The yacht 
 was about five tons, very fast, and very comfortable, and 
 we made a merry party, as we spun along over the 
 smooth waters of Sydney Harbour out into the blue 
 roll of the sun-lit Pacific. 
 
 Murray was a quiet, unassuming man, with a some- 
 what gi*ave manner, which at times made him look 
 much older than he really was ; but I " took " to him 
 fi'om the first, as O'Day had said I should. He carefully 
 avoided mentioning Brandon's name, and once when I 
 did speak of him casually his lips closed firmly together 
 and his brow clouded over. As we sailed along the 
 coast I told him of my father's intended visit, and of 
 my own future movements, in which he seemed inte- 
 rested. Then, remembering that I had promised to 
 bring Mr. Lucy to dine at my aunt's on the following 
 Thm'sday, which would be the day we were to return 
 fi'om om- fishing trip, I asked if there was a post-office 
 at Botany Bay, explaining my reason for inquiring. He 
 said that there was. 
 
 " Then I must send Lucy a note," I remarked ; "I 
 don't care about going there by myself and dining with 
 my aunt and sister." Then I made some jocular
 
 142 BBEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 observation about my aunt's solicitude for myself now 
 that she had found out I ^Yas fit to be invited to dinner 
 and would not disgrace her by my outlandish appear- 
 ance and manners ; adding that as long as Lucy came. 
 I should rather enjoy going, as my aunt would make us 
 laugh for a month afterwards. 
 
 Murray shook his head, and in a not unkindly 
 manner said I should not make fun of my relatives. 
 Then he made a suggestion. 
 
 " Why not write and ask your aunt and sister, and 
 your friend Lucy, to come down to Botany for the day, 
 and dine with us ? My mother and sister are coming 
 down to-morrow, and will put up at the hotel there. If 
 the weather is fine, we can give all the ladies a sail 
 round Botany Bay. My mother, I am sure, will be 
 very pleased to meet Miss Breachley and your aunt. 
 She and my sister always drive down from Sydney to 
 Botany, when I sail round there in the yacht, and stay 
 at the big hotel there for a few days." 
 
 I thanked him for his invitation, and as soon as we 
 reached our anchorage at La Perouse, a place on the 
 shores of Botany Bay named after the ill-fated French 
 explorer, I walked along to the hotel, which I found was 
 pretty full of visitors, and from there despatched a note 
 to Lucy, asking him to call and see my aunt and sister 
 and see if they could come ; then I wrote to Frances 
 and my aunt as well. 
 
 On the following afternoon Mrs. and Miss Murray 
 arrived, and went for a sail with us. Li the evening I 
 received answers to my letters — Lucy had been to see 
 my aunt, and wrote me such an amusing letter that I 
 could not resist laughing immoderately as I read it. He 
 had evidently enjoyed his call immensely, and Aunt 
 Selina, I could see, had laid herself out to fascinate him,
 
 A WALKING-STICK AND A SUNSHADE 143 
 
 and had quite succeeded — from one point of view, at least 
 — for Lucy was a man with an intense sense of humom-. 
 They had accepted his ofier to escort them down on the 
 Thursday morning, and Frances herself wrote, asking 
 me to convey her and Aunt Selina's thanks to my friend 
 Murray for his polite invitation. 
 
 The hotel being rather full of visitors, Mrs. and 
 Miss Murray had taken one of the bungalow cottages 
 belonging to, and situated in, its grounds, their meals, 
 when they desired, being sent over to them. In those 
 days, Botany Bay was a rather select and favom-ed sea- 
 side resort, and the place was famous for its wild 
 flowers. This was, of course, long before the construc- 
 tion of a tramway from Sydney brought out the lowest 
 city riff-raff and ruffians — racing men, sprinters, and 
 others of that kidney, and turned the place into a 
 " sj^orting resort," which means that it became the 
 stamping ground of roguery, vice, and the vilest de- 
 bauchery — especially on Sundays. However, this is 
 but an instance of history repeating itself — for some of 
 the progenitors of many of these scoundrels themselves 
 landed at Botany Bay, when Arthur Phillip sailed in 
 there with his load of convicts in the First Fleet, and 
 sent a gang of them on shore to clear the land, with the 
 idea of founding the settlement there. 
 
 Early on the second morning Lucy, with my aunt 
 and sister drove up opposite to where the yacht was 
 anchored, and we all went ashore to meet them, as 
 Murray had arranged to have our lunch under some 
 shady trees on La Perouse beach. My aunt was most 
 effusive, and smiled and gushed over the Murray s and 
 the rest of our party to such an extent that at first I 
 felt angry, but, catching Lucy's eye, had to smile. My 
 sister looked handsomer than ever, but there was such a
 
 144 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 sullen look of discontent on her face, which she hardly 
 tried to conceal, that, drawing her aside, I asked her 
 what was the matter. 
 
 " That gibbering old fool," she said resentfully. 
 " Would you believe it ! Why, she's actually jealous of 
 me ; I have a beautiful dress, which, after I had put on, 
 she made me take off again ! Said it did not suit me, 
 made me look too old, and did not 'harmonise' with that 
 ridiculous thing she is wearing. ' Harmonise ! ' The 
 only thing that would match her face would be a dried 
 sheep-skin — with the skin outside. Oh ! the old pig- 
 beast." 
 
 "Never mind, Fan," I said, feeling really sorry for 
 her. " You shall wear your swell dress when we go to 
 see Madame de Langle. And we'll not let Aunt Selina 
 know when we are going. To tell you the truth, I don't 
 want her to come. I'm ashamed of the silly old 
 fool." 
 
 This mollified my sister considerably, and smiles 
 soon came back to her beautiful face, especially when 
 she found three gentlemen besides Lucy eager to talk 
 to her. 
 
 After I had helped to spread our cloth under the trees, 
 Pat O'Day and myself rigged a sail overhead as a sun- 
 shade. Lucy came to help us, and I asked him in a 
 whisper how he liked my aunt. 
 
 "By the powers. Bill, she's great ! I know you don't 
 mind what I say, but I never came across anything like 
 her in my life. She's worth a thousand pounds to a 
 freak museum. Oh, Lord ! she's a terror, but I've 
 been having whips of fun with her. But she hasn't 
 been nice to Miss Breachley, and I mean to pay her out 
 for that." 
 
 "Do," I said, as I looked in wondering disgust,
 
 A WALKING-STICK AND A SUNSHADE 145 
 
 mingled with an almost irresistible desire to yell with 
 laughter, at my aunt's awful get-up. 
 
 Being summer weather, she had elected to wear 
 " something light and simple," and had chosen a very 
 fine white muslin with tiny forget-me-nots on it, which 
 made her sallow, wrinkled, and be-rouged face look 
 worse than ever. Her hair had evidently grown a lot 
 since I last had seen her, and had grown in two different 
 shades of yellow, and it was difficult to decide which 
 shade matched her skin best, the one the colour of 
 household soap, or that of the buttercup tint. Her hat 
 was of white straw, looped up at one side, and covered 
 with about a clothes basketful of artificial flowers — 
 poppies and forget-me-nots — and she was corseted up so 
 tightly that every time she uttered her shrill cackle of 
 a laugh the wretched woman must have suffered great 
 pain ; but what annoyed me most of all was that her 
 dress was so thin that her bony arms and shoulders 
 showed as clearly as if she had them uncovered. A 
 profusion of vilely new and vulgar-looking gold and 
 black enamelled bracelets encircled her bony wrists, 
 and as a crowning atrocity she had skirts much too 
 short, open-work silk stockings, and satin shoes. 
 
 " How sweetly pretty it is here," she said simper- 
 ingly to Miss Murray, as Lucy handed her a glass of 
 claret, " I do declare that the air and bright svmshine 
 and scenery make one feel young," Then she cackled. 
 
 Lucy said something to her in a whisper, and the old 
 ruin raised her eyes to him so languishingly that even 
 Murray, catching my eye, had to turn his face aside to 
 smile. 
 
 All through the lunch, which was a very merry one, 
 Lucy, with a face like a judge, attended to my aunt's 
 wants, entreating her in low, lover-like tones, and with 
 
 H
 
 146 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 tender looks, to try a little of this or of that, and occa- 
 sionally paying her some ridiculous compliment, which 
 she swallowed with avidity. At last, however, he saw 
 that my sister was beginning to feel annoyed at her 
 aunt's folly, ceased his nonsense, and left her alone for 
 awhile. 
 
 " I wish we could all dine here like this to-night, 
 Walter," said Mrs. Murray to her son, " but I suppose 
 we should be devoured by mosquitoes. I'm sorry, too, 
 that the dining-table in the cottage is so small — it 
 would certainly be pleasanter than that gi-eat dining- 
 room in the hotel, with a hundred or more of other 
 diners around us. But there's no help for it ; however, 
 the head waiter is keeping us one of those tables by the 
 windows, looking out upon the garden." 
 
 " That'll do splendidly, mother. There's to be a 
 concert this evening, I hear, in the ball-room ; the 
 Carandini quartette are coming from Sydney. It will 
 be a treat to hear them." 
 
 After a delightful afternoon, the four ladies went to 
 the hotel to rest a little before dinner, which was to be 
 at seven o'clock, while Murray and the rest of us went 
 on board the yacht to wash and change our clothes. 
 
 The yacht's dingy being very small, we came on shore 
 two at a time. I was last of all, as Pat O'Day told me 
 that he had just seen a shark cruising about, and I lost 
 about ten minutes in helj)ing him to fix up the shark 
 line and hook, so when I landed I had to follow after 
 my friends alone. 
 
 The hotel verandah was crowded with visitors sitting 
 out in the cool on cane chairs and lounges ; and, know- 
 ing there was still plenty of time before dinner, I 
 sauntered leisurely around the verandah towards the 
 smoking-room bar, where I knew I should find Murray
 
 A WALKING-STICK AND A SUNSHADE Ul 
 
 and the others. I was just about to push open the door, 
 when something lying on a bamboo lounge at the end of 
 the verandah caught my eye — a lady's sunshade and a 
 gentleman's stick. I knew them both. 
 
 I went over and was staring at the articles with open 
 mouth, when a waiter came along, took them up, and 
 carried them inside. 
 
 " What the blazes is the matter with you, little Billy 
 Boy?" said Lucy to me, as, a minute or two later, I 
 was in the smoking-room, drinking a glass of lager-beer ; 
 " why, you look as dull as a stuffed owl." 
 
 "I feel a bit headachy, I think," I muttered con- 
 fusedly, as we went into the drawing-room to join tho 
 ladies.
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 MR. AND MRS. HENRY BRANDON DINE 
 
 WHAT shall I do? What can I do?" I kept 
 asking myself, as I took my seat beside Mrs. 
 Murray. Something horrible would happen, I was sure, 
 unless I could devise some means to prevent it. Young 
 as I was, I wondered at the mad folly of Brandon and 
 Madame de Langle at coming to this place together, so 
 near to Sydney, and with more than a hundred people 
 staying in it ! But angry with, and jealous of, him as 
 I was, there was but one thought uppermost in my mind 
 — how could I warn them ? Lucy, if he saw either of 
 them alone, was bound to speak to them ; Murray knew 
 Brandon, and knew of Madame de Langle, and I had 
 distinctly during lunch told every one in answer to ray 
 wretched old aunt's persistent inquiries about Madame 
 de Langle, that she had gone away to the Blue Moun- 
 tains for a few weeks with some friends, as she was ill. 
 
 Then again — and the thought was a pleasing one to 
 jQQ — perhaps Brandon might have met Madame de 
 Langle accidentally, and they had merely come to spend 
 the day at Botany ; perhaps Brandon's sudden dis- 
 appearance had had nothing to do with her departure, 
 and I was wronging her upon mere suspicion. Then I 
 remembered Hortense Suret's laughing reply to me when 
 
 148
 
 MR. AND MRS. HENRY BRANDON DINE 149 
 
 1 had asked her to tell me when she really expected her 
 mistress back, as I wanted Brandon to come home with 
 me on a visit to my people. 
 
 " Ah, what has Mistarc Brandon's return to do with 
 Madame? "she had said, as she playfully slapped my 
 cheek, and told me not to ask questions about things 
 which did not concern me. 
 
 "What is the matter, Mr. Breachley?" said Mrs. 
 Murray presently. " You are not eating anything 
 scarcely." 
 
 " I have a rather bad headache," I said ; " in fact, it 
 is so bad that I hardly know what I'm saying or doing. 
 I think I'll go away for five or ten minutes, if you'll 
 pardon me." 
 
 "Dear lad," said Aunt Selina, "he does look pale. 
 His dear father wus so subject to these distressing 
 headaches." 
 
 Inwardly I thanked the old gabbler from my heart. 
 I had never heard of my father having had a headache 
 in his life, but that was of no consequence to me ; I was 
 only anxious to get away for a while to think by myself. 
 I must see Harry, or, failing him, Madame de Langle, 
 and warn them not to come into the dining-room. 
 
 " I think I must have got a touch of the sun this 
 morning," I said, as I rose, " but if I put my head in 
 cold water for five minutes I'll be all right. I always 
 did that when I was on the Daintree." 
 
 I took myself ofi" amid many expressions of sympathy 
 from our party, and walked out on to the verandah 
 facing the garden. Here I sat down to think, and soon 
 evolved a plan — a note to Harry, if I could get it given 
 to him, would be far better than my attempting to see 
 him. Jumping up, I went into the smoking-room, 
 hurriedly wrote a few lines, and enclosed the note in
 
 150 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 an envelope which I carefully gummed. All I said 
 was : 
 
 " HARRYj^Don't come down to the dining-room or outside anyiuhere 
 this evening. Lucy, Murray, and some ladies are dining here. — 
 Yours, W. B." 
 
 Now, how was I to address it ? Harry had prohably 
 assumed some other name, and, if so, of what earthly 
 use was my note unless I found out what that name 
 was ? And how could I find out that ? Undecided 
 what to do, I went out of the smoking-room, and in the 
 hall I met the waiter whom I had seen remove the sun- 
 shade and stick. Here waSi the very man who could help 
 me ! He was carrying a tray with some drinks to a couple 
 of men who were seated just outside. 
 
 ''Waiter," I said, "I want to speak to you for a 
 moment. As quick as possible, please." 
 
 " Yes, sir. I'll come back at once." 
 
 As soon as he returned I asked — 
 
 " Waiter, can you tell me the name of that gentleman 
 and lady whose sunshade and stick I saw you take away 
 from that seat over there ? I believe they are friends of 
 mine." Then, as the man, or rather youth, shook his 
 head doubtfully, I added quickly, " The gentleman's 
 very dark, lady very fair." 
 
 " Oh, now I do know who you mean, sir; but there's 
 such a lot of people here, I couldn't remember at first : 
 you mean ]\Ir. and Mrs. Brandon, sir — French, they 
 are, I think, or at least the lady is." 
 
 " That's it," I said hurriedly—" Mr. Brandon. Now, 
 look here, I'm with a party here, dining, and must go 
 back to them immediately ; and if you can give this 
 note to Mr. Brandon at once I'll give you half a sovereign. 
 Here — here it is now ; " and I put the money and letter 
 in his hand.
 
 MR. AND MRS. HENRY BRANDON DINE 151 
 
 " Thank you, sir, thank you. I'll go at once. I know 
 their number, I think." He darted along the hall and 
 up the wide staircase as I uttered a sigh of satisfaction 
 and seated myself on a hall chair for five minutes. 
 Then, just as I was about to return to the dining-room, 
 back he came, letter in hand. 
 
 " Veiy sorry, sir, but they went out about ten minutes 
 ago, the chambermaid says. They were dressed for 
 dinner." 
 
 " Oh, Lord ! " I gi-oaned. 
 
 ** But she thinks they were going out into the sea- 
 garden first, as they went along the other passage, and 
 the lady had a cloak " 
 
 "I see, I see. Now do, like a good chap, hurry 
 after them ; and here — here is an extra half-crown for 
 your trouble. I particularly want them to have that 
 letter at once, or as quickly as ever you possibly can." 
 
 " Any answer, sir ? " 
 
 " No, no," I replied impatiently ; " go on, or you'll 
 miss them." 
 
 " No fear, sir. They generally go for a stroll right 
 round the sea-garden before they go in to dinner ; it's 
 very quiet then, sir." 
 
 He ran down the wide, cm-ving path towards the sea- 
 garden, and again I breathed freely. Just then Lucy 
 came through from the dining-room looking for me. 
 
 " Well, old chap. How do you feel '? You do look a 
 bit flurried. Now look here, before you come in again let 
 me get you a stiff brandy-and-soda here in the smoking- 
 room. Best thing in all creation for a sudden headache 
 — champagne is poison for it. And I'll take one myself. 
 We won't be two minutes over it." 
 
 " Then let us go into the bar," I said, afraid that my 
 messenger might return and speak to me, and cause
 
 152 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 Lucy to wonder what was in the wind. So into the bar 
 we went, and I thoroughly enjoyed that brandy-and- 
 soda. We remained about eight or ten minutes ; then, 
 feeling that I had done my duty to my neighbour 
 Brandon, we returned to our friends, and I resumed my 
 seat beside Mrs. Murray, declaring that I " felt splendid," 
 and meant to eat a good dinner. 
 
 " Oh, I am so glad, Mr. Breachley," she said; and 
 then, as she slightly raised her head and looked down to 
 the far end of the room, *' Oh, dear, what handsome 
 young people ! . . . Ah ! there — how annoying ; they 
 have just sat dovvu, and I can't see them now. Such a 
 lovely woman, or rather girl, I should say. "We shall 
 get a look at them presently, I hope, when some of the 
 people leave the intervening tables." 
 
 I gave a sickly smile, but made no answer, as a dismal 
 foreboding again assailed me. Presently I took a side- 
 long glance in the direction she had indicated, and just 
 succeeded in obtaining a momentary view of Madame 
 de Langle's face. She was leaning over the little table, 
 smiling and talking to Harry, whose back was towards 
 me. I put my hand to my forehead involuntarily. I 
 must make another attempt, if I did not see the waiter 
 give them my note in a few minutes. Surely he must 
 have missed them and would appear presently. Harry 
 would not be such a madman as to reject my warning had 
 he received it. All would be right in a few minutes, 
 and they could leave the room without being seen by the 
 only two of our party, except myself — who would recognise 
 Brandon — Lucy and Murray. The latter, perhaps, if 
 by any chance he did see Harry, was hardly likely to 
 draw even my attention to the fact, and Madame de 
 Langle he did not know by sight. But with Lucy it 
 was difterent. He knew them both, and liked them
 
 MR. AND MRS. HENRY BRANDON DINE 153 
 
 both, and was always talking to me of them, and I 
 knew that if by any ill-luck he saw them, he would 
 quickly draw his own conclusions, even if he said 
 nothing. 
 
 Ten minutes passed, and then something like a groan 
 escaped me when I saw that the objects of my solicitude 
 were still at the table. 
 
 " Is your head bad again. Will dear ? " asked Frances. 
 
 "Horribly," I said. "Please don't feel altogether 
 too angry with me, but I'll go and lie down somewhere 
 for a quarter of an hour. I feci so horribly giddy, too. 
 Now, just stay where you are, Lucy ; if you dare to leave 
 your seat I won't leave mine. I'm not a baby." 
 
 Once outside again, my spirits rose. I could do it 
 yet, I reasoned. At the same end of the dining-room 
 in which Harry and "the sweetest woman in all the 
 world " were sitting, so beautifully and so serenely 
 unconscious of danger, I had noticed that there was 
 a second entrance door, leading out on to the front lawn, 
 through which every now and then guests were entering 
 or leaving. But how to get to this door I did not 
 exactly knoAv, for the hotel was a very large building, 
 and consisted of many wooden wings and additions. To 
 write a second note and find a second messenger would 
 mean too much time, and in another half-hour or less 
 many of the diners — half at least — would have left to 
 be in time for the concert ; and the quicker the room 
 was emptied the more certain would it be that Mrs. 
 Murray would point out the " handsome young people " 
 to the rest of our party, and Madame de Langle and 
 Brandon be recognised by Lucy at least. 
 
 Going out through the main door of the hotel, I slipped 
 quickly along the path to the corner of the hotel, turned 
 to the right, and presently saw the bright lights reflected
 
 154 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 through the dining-room windows, followed them along, 
 and came to a second entrance — that through - which 
 Harry and Madame de Langle had doubtless passed 
 after coming in from their short walk in the sea- 
 garden. 
 
 Walking as slowly as I could, so as not to attract 
 attention, I walked into the vestibule. The door of 
 a card-room on my right was open, and standing just 
 inside it, I had a good view of my comrade and 
 his lady-love, for they were not ten paces away from 
 me. They were dining very leisurely, and evidently 
 not going to the concert, although in evening dress. 
 Presently the waiter who was attending to them came 
 towards me. I made him a quiet but expressive gesture 
 to come to me, and then drew back a little into the 
 card-room, holding some loose silver — all the money 
 I had with me — in my hand in readiness. 
 
 "Waiter, I want you" — slipping the coins into his 
 hand — "to at once go to that gentleman you are 
 waiting upon, and " 
 
 " Which gentleman, sir ? " 
 
 " Mr. Brandon. And tell him that a gentleman 
 wishes to see him for just one moment on very important 
 business — say most pressing business, and I shall be 
 deeply obliged if he will come at once." 
 
 " Your name, sir? " 
 
 I was just about to give my name, when I thought of 
 how it would startle Madame do Langle. 
 
 " Look here, waiter, Mr. Brandon is an intimate 
 friend of mine, but — well, the fact is, Mrs. Brandon 
 would not be pleased to know it was me; do you 
 
 see 
 
 The man nodded, but at first seemed rather doubtful 
 • — I daresay he had experienced a little of Brandon's
 
 MR. AND MRS. HENRY BRANDON DINE 155 
 
 erratic temper ^ — but seeing that I was evidently staying 
 at the hotel, and feeling the money in his paw, he 
 consented to carry my message. 
 
 "Ask him to come with you," I said. " I'll wait for 
 him at the verandah, just beside that big aloe there." 
 
 Under the shadow of the aloe I waited, and in a few 
 seconds Harry Brandon came out, preceded by the 
 waiter, who, indicating the place where I stood, dis- 
 creetly went inside. 
 
 " Who is it ? " said Brandon, stepping quickly towards 
 me. " Wlio is it, and what do you want ? " 
 
 "It is I, Harry," I began hurriedly — " I came 
 to " 
 
 In an instant he sprang at me, and his right hand 
 grasped my throat as he uttered a savage curse, and 
 shook me to and fro as if I were a boy of ten. 
 
 " You damned, prying young hound, I'll strangle 
 you ! " he hissed through his set teeth. 
 
 "Harry!" I gasped, "for God's sake, listen " 
 
 then as I felt he was strangling me, and I saw the 
 fearful look of passion in his eyes, 1 lost all control of 
 myself, and struck him three or four times in the face in 
 quick succession, for I was as tall as he was and a little 
 longer-armed. 
 
 But I had not the ghost of a chance with him. First 
 jerking me towards him, he then hurled me backwards 
 over the low verandah coping on to the pavement below. 
 I fell on my head — and took no further interest in the 
 proceedings. 
 
 When I next came to my senses I was in Sydney 
 Hospital, where I had been for a week.
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 " A DEEADFUL MUDDLE " 
 
 OH, Will, it was dreadful— really dreadful ! Wlien 
 they carried you uj) on the verandah, all smothered 
 in blood I felt that I must faint, although I heard some 
 one say that you were dying. But I think that Aunt 
 Selina's fearful screams frightened me more than any- 
 thing else. Oh, they were something horrible, really 
 horrible!" 
 
 Frances had come to see me, and was telling me of 
 all the pleasant things that had happened. Murray and 
 Lucy had both called frequently to inquire after me, but 
 were not allowed to see me ; but the matron had told 
 my sister that as soon as I was fit to see any one she 
 would send her word, so Frances was the first visitor to 
 whom I was allowed to talk. Fan had her good points 
 as well as her bad ones, and I think she felt intensely 
 sorry for me, for her voice was very soft and tender 
 when she first sat beside my bed, and her eyes filled 
 with tears when she saw the rag-and-bone like appear- 
 ance I presented. 
 
 " Tell me the whole yarn from the beginning," I said ; 
 *' but, first of all, where is Brandon ? " 
 
 " In prison. The magistrate refused to accept bail, 
 though Mr. Lucy came forward. He (the magistrate I 
 
 156
 
 "A DREADFUL MUDDLE" 157 
 
 mean) said lie would commit him to gaol until you 
 recovered — if you did recover — before he would consider 
 the question of bail. Oh, Will, whatever was the cause 
 of it all?" 
 
 I considered a moment. " I hardly know myself. 
 "What did Harry Brandon say ? ' ' 
 
 " Nothing ! Absolutely nothing ! Oh, it seems to 
 be a dreadful muddle ! Mr. Lucy, I know, likes you, 
 and yet he wants, or appears to want, to shield that 
 dreadful young Brandon from punishment. Mr. Murray, 
 on the other hand, called Brandon ' one of the greatest 
 young scoundrels unhung,' in the presence of about fifty 
 people. What does it all mean, Will, and who is Marcia 
 Walenne?" 
 
 *' Marcia who ? " 
 
 " Marcia Walenne. When Mr. Murray and another 
 man seized Brandon and held him till the police came 
 I heard Mm-ray say to him, * You damned young ruffian ! 
 I once told you that if I had been Marcia Walenne's 
 father I would have shot you like a rat ! You escaped 
 then, but you won't escape now ' ; or it was something 
 like that — I can't remember exactly, everything was so 
 awful and sudden, and every one was so excited." 
 
 *' I have never heard the name before, Fan," I said. 
 ''1 do know that Murray has an intense dislike to 
 Brandon. They came out from England together in the 
 same ship ; but what there is between them I don't 
 know. Now, go ahead and tell me the whole yarn of 
 how I come to be here stretched out like a trussed 
 fowl." 
 
 As we talked the assistant house-surgeon, a ruddy- 
 faced, genial man, came along with the matron. 
 
 "Now, now, now, Miss Breachley ! This won't do. 
 I let you in specially to-day, which is not visitors' day,
 
 158 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 and here you are — not behaving nicely. I won't have 
 all this talking. I won't have it ! " 
 
 Fan looked at the doctor (she married him a year or 
 two later) with an indignant expression. 
 
 " Then why did you let me come in at all, Dr. 
 Mariner ? Do you think I am to sit beside my brother 
 with my handkerchief to my eyes, instead of talking to 
 him, poor boy ? You know perfectly well. Dr. Mariner, 
 that you distinctli/ told me that I could come to-day and 
 talk to him. And I want to talk to him — talk a lot. If 
 you forbid me, I'll have him taken away, out of this horrid 
 j)lace and I'll never speak to you again," 
 
 The doctor took it all most good-humouredly, and I 
 could see by the expression of his face that he admired 
 my sister very much. He sat down near me and chatted 
 for about ten minutes, telling me that my thick skull 
 had ruined two flags of pavement, and that I could leave 
 the hospital in a few days. Then, shaking hands with 
 Fan, and telling her she could stay another half an hour 
 if she liked, he went off. 
 
 Then Fan began. 
 
 *' He's such a nice man. Will dear. I've been here 
 every day to inquire about you, and he has been so kind. 
 He's rather plain though, isn't he ? but " 
 
 " Oh, never mind the beastly old doctor. Fan ; go and 
 tell me " 
 
 " He's not old. Will, you silly boy. He's only thirty, 
 and I heard mother say — well, never mind, he's not old, 
 and he's not beastly, and he saved you from dying. 
 Now I will go on. Is your pillow all right ? " 
 
 " Right as rain, old Fan." 
 
 " You slangy boy ! Now before I tell you the ' whole 
 yarn ' as you call it, I must let you know that poor 
 Mr. Lucy is most anxious to see you ; in fact he came
 
 "A DREADFUL MUDDLE" 159 
 
 here with me this afternoon ; but Dr. Mariner woukl 
 not let him come in. So he is coming to-morrow, but 
 I am to see him again this afternoon, and let him 
 know how you are." 
 
 " ^^^lat a beast ! " 
 
 " Who ? " 
 
 " Wliy, the doctor, of course. Lucy is all right." 
 
 "Mr. Lucy is 'all right,' as you say. Will dear; 
 and Dr. Mariner is not a beast, as I say." 
 
 " Go ahead, then." 
 
 " About ten or fifteen minutes after you had left us 
 the second time we saw a lot of people at the fm-ther 
 end of the room jump up from their seats and run out- 
 side, and some one called out, ' A man has been 
 murdered ! ' and another that some one had fallen from 
 one of the upper windows on to the pavement and was 
 killed. Every one remaining in the room — ladies and 
 all — followed the others, we among them, out into the 
 vestibule, whore we saw Mr. Brandon being held by two 
 men, a waiter and one of the gentlemen staying at the 
 hotel. His face was covered with blood, and whilst 
 everybody was crowding around, and aslung all sorts 
 of questions, you were carried in by Mr. Murray's man, 
 Pat O'Day, and a waiter. 
 
 " ' Get away, ladies,' said O'Day, ' get away, and 
 for God's sake, Mr. IMurray, send for a doctor. I think 
 Mr. Breachley is dying. He's been fighting with Mr. 
 Brandon.' 
 
 " Li an instant Aunt Selina gave a most horrible 
 scream, and flopped — yes. Will, flopped is the only 
 word — into Mr. Lucy's arms, and almost at the same 
 instant another lady, who had just come into the vesti- 
 bule, pushed every one aside and rushed up to Mr. 
 Brandon. He said something to her in a low voice
 
 160 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 — asked her to go away, I think — hut I can't say, 
 for now Aimt Selina gave another shriek, and began to 
 kick and T\Tiggle and really go into hysterics, and 
 Mr. Lucy just picked her up, bundled her into the 
 card-room, and left her to the care of some ladies. I 
 did not scream, thank goodness, but when I saw your 
 face I all but fainted, but managed to keep up, and when 
 you were placed on a sofa, Mr, Murray let me stay 
 beside you till the doctor came. Then Avhilst we were 
 waiting I saw Mr. Lucy go up to the lady — who had 
 flung her arms round Mr. Brandon — say something to 
 her, take her by the arm, and lead her away. Oh, Will, 
 she was as white as a sheet, and was scarcely able to 
 stand, she was trembling so, and the bosom of her dress 
 and one cheek were red with blood from Mr. Brandon's 
 face. 
 
 " Fortunately there was a doctor in the concert hall, 
 and just as Mrs. Brandon and Mr. Lucy went out, he 
 came in ; and made every one except Mr. Murray, Pat 
 O'Day, a waiter, and myself go away, for by this time 
 Aunt Selina' s screams had brought every soul in the 
 place about us, and the verandah and vestibule were 
 simply packed with curious people. 
 
 "Then in came the police — a sergeant and two 
 constables — and Mr. Murray took them into a side 
 room. In a few minutes he came out, and then he 
 spoke to Mr. Brandon, who was still being held by the 
 gentleman and the waiter, and called him a scoundrel, 
 and said that about Marcia Walenne. Then the police 
 came out, and just as they were taking Mr. Brandon 
 away ]\Ir. Lucy stopped them and whispered something 
 to him, and, to our intense astonishment, the two shook 
 hands. 
 
 " All this time Aunt Selina's shrieks and horrible
 
 "A DREADFUL MUDDLE" 161 
 
 lauglitcr were going on, and the doctor, who was busy 
 looking at your head, became so angry that Mr, Lucy 
 told a waiter to go in and throw a bucket of water over 
 her, which was at once done. Then Mr. Murray, after 
 telling me that you would not die, asked me to go back 
 to Sydney with his mother and sister and Aunt Selina, 
 and although I did not like leaving you, I did so, as he 
 had a carriage waiting. The landlady brought a change 
 of clothes for poor aunt — oh. Will, undressing her was 
 like taking a clock to pieces — and Mrs. Murray and I 
 dressed her, and helped her to the carriage, and just as 
 we were leaving I saw Mr. Lucy and Mrs. Brandon 
 come out of the main entrance. He was partly leading, 
 partly carrying her, and put her into a hansom, which 
 at once drove off. 
 
 ** In the morning Mr. Murray called to see me, and 
 said that you were getting on all right, and were to be 
 taken away from the hotel to the hospital, and here you 
 have been ever since, and oh. Will dear, it seems such 
 a dreadful muddle. Do tell me what you were fighting 
 about?" 
 
 *' I can't, Fan ; I really can't. And I really believe 
 that Harry Brandon was not quite right in his head 
 when he threw me over the coping. He imagined I 
 was trying to do him an injury. I must see him." 
 
 "Write to him." 
 
 I shook my head. Then I thought of Lucy, in whom 
 I could now confide ; for, from what my sister had told 
 me, it was evident that he knew Madame de Langle's 
 secret, and had befriended her by taking her away. 
 Yes, I could, and certainly would trust him. 
 
 "Will," broke in Fan, "did you know that Mr. 
 Brandon was married ? Mr. Lucy didn't, neither did 
 Mr. Murray, and they both seem to avoid speaking on 
 
 12
 
 162 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 the subject. When we went out to the vestibule, and 
 some one cried, ' Here is his wife coming,' Mrs. Murray 
 at once recognised her as the lady she had tried to point 
 out to you as being so pretty. Mr. Brandon she did 
 not at first recognise, as his face was bent down, and 
 covered with blood as well." 
 
 "Poor Harry! I did not mean to hurt him. In 
 fact, I was as mad as he for the moment." 
 
 "Did you ever meet her, Will? Do you know her 
 at all ? " 
 
 I had to make a stand. " Fan dear, don't ask me 
 any more questions, there's a good girl. My head feels 
 dizzy again." 
 
 She at once ceased her inquiries, and after remaining 
 another ten minutes, rose to leave, promising me to ask 
 the doctor to let Lucy see me as early as possible in the 
 morning. 
 
 " Tell Mr. Lucy, Fan, that he must do all he can to 
 get Harry out on bail. It makes me quite miserable to 
 think of him being in a common gaol." 
 
 At eleven o'clock on the following morning Dr. 
 Mariner came to me with a smile on his face. 
 
 " Your friend will be up in a minute. He says he's 
 got some good news for you, and that he won't stay 
 more than a quarter of an hour. Now, how are you 
 this morning? " 
 
 " Grand, doctor, grand. I want to get up." 
 
 " Do you, now ? Well, you can't, so let me hear no 
 more about getting up for another couple of days at 
 least. Now, here's your friend." 
 
 Lucy entered, and pressed my hand warmly. " Billy, 
 my boy, you're a brick, you're a jewel of a boy. 
 Brandon knows now, why you wanted to see him; and 
 he's worrying his soul out about you. The worst of it
 
 "A DREADFUL MUDDLE" 163 
 
 is, I can't get the magistrate who sent him to quod to 
 let him out on bail, though I have just told him that 
 you were absolutely out of all danger, and would not 
 prosecute, as the whole afifair was a fearfully stupid 
 blunder, and that you and Brandon are much attached 
 to each other. Was that right ? " 
 
 ** Eight ! Yes, indeed. Just the thing. How very 
 kind of you." 
 
 " Oh, well, the magistrate said he would have to see 
 you himself. So make haste and get on your feet 
 
 again." 
 
 Then suddenly his manner became grave as he put 
 his hand on mine and looked steadily into my face. 
 
 "Billy, my boy, this is a sad, a shocking, terrible 
 business. You are very young, but you acted a man's 
 part in trying to get that letter to Brandon." 
 
 " i)icZ he get it, then ? " 
 
 " Yes, he did — this morning. I gave it to him ; but 
 I'll tell you all about it presently. But, Bill, I could 
 hardly bring myself to shake hands with him, when I 
 remember what misery he has caused. What is left 
 to that wretched woman now but disgrace — or death ! " 
 
 I was silent. 
 
 ** It was the maddest, maddest, rottenest thing I've 
 ever heard of. But, bad as she is. Bill, I pity her 
 from my heart ; as for him, he's a born devil as far as 
 women go, and if he had his deserts, he ought to have a 
 bullet through his brains. I like the young fellow for 
 many things, but I can't get over this — it's altogether 
 too bad, too bad entirely ; and if what Murray tells me 
 about another young lady is true, then he's a thorough- 
 paced villain." 
 
 I thought I knew to whom he referred — the Marcia 
 Walenne whom my sister had mentioned — but I said
 
 164 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 nothing, as Lucy went on to say that Madame de 
 Langle for tAvo or three days was quite prostrated and 
 nearly out of her mind. 
 
 " Where is she ? " 
 
 " In Melbourne, poor wretch. I brought her to 
 Sydney in a state of collapse, and a devil of a time I 
 had of it, too, I tell ye now." 
 
 As soon as possible he had, he said, driven Madame 
 de Langle to a quiet hotel — the Oxford, in King Street 
 — a place much frequented by commercial men, and the 
 landlord of which was well known to him, and became 
 very sympathetic when Lucy told him that the lady was 
 a personal friend of his, and had just received some 
 distressing news which had quite prostrated her, and 
 he wished her to have perfect rest and quiet for a day 
 or two. Then off he went to the Royal Hotel for 
 Hortense Suret, whom he brought to her mistress. In 
 fact, he had acted most generously throughout, and had 
 tried to spare Madame de Langle's feelings as much as 
 possible. 
 
 " But of course I had to talk to her a little, and I 
 told her what I thought she had best do. She seemed 
 half-dazed, but promised to follow my advice, and has 
 done so. At first she was nearly mad with terror at 
 the prospect of your dying and the gay Mr. Harry 
 dangling from the end of a noose — M^here he ought 
 to be, I'm thinldng, this minute. However, I assured 
 her that you were in no danger, though you did get a 
 mighty hard crack." 
 
 "But tell me about the note." 
 
 Lucy laughed this time. "Ah, that's as curious a 
 thing as ever happened. Of course, when the row 
 occurred, and I saw Brandon and — ahem, Mrs. Brandon, 
 I partly guessed what had given you that alleged head-
 
 "A DREADFUL MUDDLE" 165 
 
 ache ; but, of course, I had no idea that you had tried to 
 send him a letter." 
 
 Then he told me that two or three days later, after 
 an interview with Madame de Langle, he went out to 
 the hotel at Botany, saw the landlord, settled the bill, 
 and gave him an order for "Mr. and Mrs. Brandon's" 
 luggage, which Hortense, who went with him, packed. 
 Whilst ho was waiting for her, he went to the smoking- 
 room for a drink, and there saw the waiter lad to whom 
 I had given my letter. When the drink was brought 
 the waiter, who had recognised him as one of our party, 
 asked him how I was, and then, after a deal of hesita- 
 tion, drew the note from his pocket, and told him that 
 I had written it. 
 
 " ' It was this way, sir,' he said," resumed Lucy, 
 " ' I runned round and round for nigh on ten minutes, 
 and couldn't find Mr. Brandon and his wife, and then, 
 not looking where I was going, I tripped and fell right 
 into a cactus bed, scratched my hands bad, and lost the 
 letter. I searched and searched, but couldn't find it, so 
 went back for a light, and came back and looked again. 
 Then I had to cut back to the smoking-room, for fear 
 of losing my place, and just then I heard the row. 
 I didn't like to tell no one about the letter, bein' afraid 
 as I might get into trouble with the police. But in the 
 morning I found it, and have kep' it in my pocket, not 
 knowing what to do with it.' 
 
 " I gave him a few shillings, and told him to say 
 nothing about the matter ; then, when I returned to 
 Sydney, gave the letter to Hortense and desired her to 
 give it to her mistress and tell her that she had better 
 open it. 
 
 " She did open it, and in ten minutes the whole thing 
 was clear. She asked me to come upstairs and see her,
 
 166 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 and I found her crying. She is very, very grateful to 
 you, Billy, and so, too, is Brandon, for when I took him 
 the note this morning he trembled like a girl as he read 
 it. . . . But he's a damned bad egg and a devil with 
 women all the same. I wouldn't trust a nun with him 
 for five minutes, if she was a bit young."
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 AM " SnANGHAED ' 
 
 AS soon as ever I was able to leave the hospital, I 
 went with Lucy and called upon the magistrate 
 before whom Harry Brandon had been brought after the 
 '* dreadful muddle." He was really a very good-natured 
 man, and when I assured him on my word of honour 
 that I had not the slightest ill-will towards Brandon, 
 and felt very miserable at his not being allowed out on 
 bail, he at once accepted it from Lucy, fixing the amount 
 at the lowest sum possible. Then, armed with the 
 necessary document, Lucy and I drove off to the gaol, 
 and in half an hour Harry was outside with us, and 
 driving into town to an hotel. 
 
 Lucy ordered lunch, and in the meantime we went 
 into the smoking room, for the good-natured Lishman 
 had told us that he had something to say to us. 
 
 " Brandon," he said, as soon as we had seated our- 
 selves, " I don't want to be long-winded, nor attempt to 
 read you a lecture — it's not in my line, and I'm not the 
 proper living sort of man to do it. But you've made a 
 beastly mess of things, and it is only by the merest chance 
 that instead of Billy here being seated beside us di'inking 
 a glass of lager beer, he is not lying under six feet of 
 ground and you sitting in the condemned cell listening 
 
 167
 
 168 BBEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 to a parson. Tliey hang people mighty quickly in New 
 South Wales, Mr. Brandon." 
 
 He spoke so earnestly that Harry was deeply 
 impressed. 
 
 "I know I'm a thundering blackguard, Lucy," he 
 said slowly, " but as true as there is a God above, I did 
 not know what I was doing — I was mad." 
 
 "Let it all pass, Harry, old boy," I said, placing my 
 hand on his shoulder. "I would do anything in the 
 world for you, and I know you did not mean to hm-t 
 me 
 
 He did not reply for a moment, but bent his glance 
 to the ground, and clasped his hands between his knees — 
 " Billy, you are the only fellow I ever liked, the only 
 good friend I have ever had " 
 
 "Wait a bit, wait a bit," interrupted Lucy, "you 
 have another man who will be a friend to you if you will 
 let him, and that is myself." 
 
 "You have proved that, Lucy, by your generosity in 
 getting me out of gaol to-day " 
 
 The Irishman's eyes flashed, and he banged his hand 
 on the table. " Hold your tongue, ye young divil ! Do 
 ye think I meant that ? No, no, my boy ! 'Tis not a 
 matter of fifty or a hundred pounds that I'm thinking 
 of, for I know that you're honourable enough in money 
 matters, but now I'm appealing to ye and asking as a 
 favour that which I could demand as a right. And — 
 if your heart is in the right place, you'll do what I ask." 
 
 " I will do . . . anything you ask." 
 
 Lucy rose, and taking him by the arm, the two walked 
 to the further end of the room and conversed for about 
 ten minutes. Then I saw them shake hands, and 
 Brandon walked over to me, and held out his hand 
 to me.
 
 I AM "SHANGHAED" 169 
 
 ** Billy, old boy, I must say goodbye. I am leaving 
 Sydney this afternoon. There is a steamer leaving for 
 New Zealand at five o'clock." 
 
 I looked at him in astonishment. *' This is sudden, 
 Harry." 
 
 " Yes, it is. But you see, I've promised Mr. Lucy; 
 and it is for my own good. . . . No, I won't stay for 
 lunch, old man. I've several matters to attend to, and 
 there's not much time. So goodbye." 
 
 "But I'm not going to say goodbye like this," I 
 protested. "I'll come down and see you off at any 
 rate." 
 
 Brandon looked inquiringly at Lucy, who shook his 
 head. 
 
 " No, Billy, you had better not. It is best for 
 Brandon to get away quietly. Any officious policeman 
 who happened to know he was out on bail might stop 
 him, and that would only make matters worse," 
 
 So we parted with a warm hand grasp, he promising 
 to write to me from New Zealand, and tell me of his 
 future movements, and vowing that we should meet 
 again — "If I am alive, Bill, I'll be back in Australia 
 two years from to-day. I've promised Mr. Lucy to do 
 certain things, and I'll stick to my promise. Goodbye, 
 Bill. You have always been a good mate to me, 
 always, always, and . . . Billy, old chum, have you 
 truly forgiven me ? " 
 
 He spoke so earnestly that I was quite affected, and 
 could only reply by wringing his hand. Then the bold 
 Lucy came to the rescue ^^'ith a bottle of champagne. 
 
 " Come, boys, we'll have a parting drink together." 
 
 The wine was drunk, though not very merrily, for I 
 was distressed at parting from my friend so suddenly, 
 and he looked pale and ill at ease — quite unlike his
 
 170 BBEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 usual self. Once more he shook our hands, and then 
 quietly walked out of the room without turning his head, 
 and descended the hotel steps into the street. Then 
 Lucy and I went to his room, collected and packed his 
 helongings, and lahelled his bag, "Mr. Blake, Pas- 
 senger to Auckland, ss. Claude Hamilton," and sent it 
 on hoard. 
 
 " Well, I'm glad he's gone," said Lucy, during lunch, 
 and then he told me that not only had Brandon pro- 
 mised to clear out of Australia for at least two years, 
 but had pledged his word to write and break off his 
 engagement with Miss Flemming. How Lucy came to 
 know of this affair I did not inquire, but think he heard 
 of it from IMurray. 
 
 *' How did he take your interference? " I asked. 
 
 "Very quietly indeed; in fact, to do him justice, he is 
 thoroughly repentant and miserable over his attack on 
 you. Then, in addition to that, he rather likes me, and 
 I think I understand his nature. I pleaded with him 
 as one man with another, and then said after a bit, 
 * Are you going to be such a damned wretch as to make 
 me write and tell the poor girl the story of Marcia 
 Walenne and her child?' " 
 
 " What did he say to that? " I asked. 
 
 " Only a few words. He said very quietly, * Don't 
 do that, Lucy. I will break with Miss Flemming ; but 
 let me do it in my own way — in about a month from 
 now.' And that quite contented me, for I know he will 
 keep to his word." 
 
 "He will never break a promise — you may depend 
 upon him," I said. 
 
 A few days after this my father arrived. He seemed 
 very pleased to see me again, and said he was well 
 satisfied with the way in which I had worked, cautioned
 
 I AM "SHANGHAED" 171 
 
 me against spending too much money on dress, and 
 gave me two ten-pound notes, as an outward and visible 
 sign that I had found grace in his eyes. And then 
 came an unlooked-for and bitter disappointment — he 
 had changed his mind about sending me away with the 
 second expedition, as he intended going himself. I 
 was to remain in Sydney in charge of the office of 
 " Breachley and De Lisle," at a salary of three pounds 
 a week. I felt myself aggrieved, and knowing it would 
 be futile to attempt to induce my father to change his 
 mind, a stupid and sullen resentment took possession of 
 me, and I determined that as soon as the second 
 expedition had started, I would strike out for myself, 
 and leave the business of Breachley and De Lisle to bo 
 taken care of by some less ambitious youth than myself. 
 To become a mere clerk in an office instead of leading a 
 life of adventure was such an appalling and disgusting 
 prospect, that I kept on swearing inwardly to myself 
 that I would never do it — not if fifty fathers wished it. 
 But my natural cunning came to my aid after a while, 
 and I took care not to let my father know how I was 
 raging inwardly at what my vitiated and perverse mind 
 called his injustice to me, so for the following three 
 weeks I worked hard assisting him in getting ready for 
 his departure. Instead of chartering, he bought a fine 
 old roomy barque of four hundred tons, with a cabin as 
 spacious as that of one of the old-time East Indiamen, 
 and the task of helping to load her with machinery and 
 stores afforded me, as the undertakers say, a melancholy 
 pleasure. 
 
 One glorious afternoon, nearly a month after Bran- 
 don's departure, and after Lucy had paid the estreated 
 bail, I returned to the hotel earlier than usual to meet 
 my sister, Lucy, and Dr. Mariner, and accompany them
 
 172 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 to the theatre to see the famous Ristori in " Queen 
 Elizabeth." Lucy was awaiting me, and as usual had 
 brought his Irish thirst, which was in fine form. We 
 had just ordered a couple of bottles of Tennant, when 
 the postman came into the bar, and brought me two 
 letters, and a newspaper for Lucy. 
 
 ** Hurrah, Lucy," I cried, " here's a letter from 
 Harry — the other is from May Flemming." 
 
 I tore Brandon's letter open, and then uttered an 
 exclamation of disgust ! It contained but half a dozen 
 lines : — 
 
 " Dear Billy, — I'm all right, and very much alive. 
 Have just shipped on the Nebraska, a rotten old side- 
 wheeler, bound for San Francisco, sailing to-morrow. 
 Lucy will know what to do with the paper. Write to 
 me c/o British Consul, San Francisco. 
 
 *' Yom-s, H. B." 
 
 My friend opened the Auckland paper, and there in 
 the local news we saw this : — 
 
 " On arrival of the Claude Hamilton last night, it 
 was found that a steerage passenger named H. Blake 
 was missing. It is suj)posed that he fell overboard as 
 the steamer was coming up the Harbour. He was 
 about twenty-three years of age, and said he was a 
 sailor." 
 
 ** What does it mean ? " I asked Lucy. 
 
 " It means that that is his way of breaking off his 
 engagement with Miss Flemming." 
 
 " The cruel dog ! " I said angrily. 
 
 "No. I think he has studied the thing out in the 
 right way. It's better for the poor girl to believe he's
 
 I AM "SHANGHAED" 173 
 
 dead than for him to break her heart by a letter telling 
 her he could not many her. So I must vaite to May 
 Flemming, and send her this paper to show to her 
 sister. It seems a cruel thing, Billy, but it is not. It 
 is better for that poor girl to weep over her dead lover 
 than to think he is still alive and faithless. He'd break 
 her heart and squander her fortune in twelve months if 
 she married him. And she's young, and will soon get 
 over it. So don't worry, my boy." 
 
 Lucy was quite right, for in less than three years I 
 received a letter from May Flemming telling me that 
 her sister, after remaining faithful for twelve months to 
 the memory of the lover who was drowned (temporarily), 
 married a tea planter in Ceylon, and was very, very 
 happy, it being *' a real love match.'" As for dear little 
 May herself, I never saw her again, though we corre- 
 spon lod for many, many years, until she too married, 
 and forgot all about " Black Sheep Billy Breachley," as 
 the merry-hearted girl used to call me. 
 
 As for poor Madame de Langle, she returned home 
 with her husband to France, whence she wTote a 
 piteous letter to Lucy, imploring him to tell her some 
 news of HaiTy Brandon, and ending up by saying she 
 was on the point of entering some religious house to end 
 her days. Lucy, like a sensible man, sent her a copy 
 of the paper he had forwarded to Jessie Flemming, and 
 she troubled him no more. But five or six years after, 
 Lucy, home in Europe for a holiday, met her at Nice, 
 looking as beautiful as ever, and surrounded by a crowd 
 of admirers, so evidently her intention of entering the 
 religious house aforesaid had cooled down somewhat, 
 and she had resigned herself to struggle on a bit longer 
 with the vanities of this wicked world. 
 
 I have never forgotten her as the most beautiful and
 
 171 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 ethereal-like woman I Lave ever seen, and I can quite 
 understand both Brandon playing such a dishonourable 
 part (I would cheerfully have done the same in the days 
 of my youth had she given me encouragement), and her 
 infatuation for him. 
 
 Soon after my father and his timber-getters had 
 sailed for the Daintree, I decided to make a brief visit 
 home, for I wanted to see my mother and my favourite 
 sister Ada again. Lucy had gone away up the country 
 somewhere, so I started alone, taking passage in a small 
 topsail schooner named the Hannah. When twenty 
 miles to the north of Newcastle, we were met with a 
 heavy north-east gale, and had to turn tail and run 
 before it into Newcastle for shelter after having our 
 decks continuously swept by the furious sea. 
 
 The port was crammed with large vessels, all coal- 
 laden, and bound principally to California and South 
 American ports, but most of them were unable to put 
 to sea, owing to being short-handed. Hundreds of men 
 had deserted, attracted by the gold discoveries in the 
 Shotover River in New Zealand, and the masters and 
 agents were at their wits' ends to get crews, and all day 
 long one could see anxious captains interviewing the 
 street corner loafers, urging them to ship, and offering 
 them a substantial advance. They would take almost 
 anybody who could stand on his feet, and indeed one 
 humorous Yankee mate stopped a hearse returning from 
 a funeral, and asked the driver and his seedy, black- 
 coated attendant and gin-smelling ghouls if they 
 "wanted a pleasure trip to Honolulu and £10 each 
 into the bargain." Much to his surprise, one of the 
 " mutes," a fat, greasy-faced young man, got do^vn off 
 the hearse, and at once went with the American to the 
 shipping office to sign on.
 
 I AM "SHANGHAED" 175 
 
 The little Hannah lay in port three days, until the 
 ^alo blew itself out, and during this time I stayed at 
 the principal hotel, spending money freely, drinking 
 more than was good for me, and making the acquain- 
 tance of the various tawdry peroxide-haired barmaids 
 in the hotels. 
 
 One evening about nine o'clock, the skipper of the 
 Hannah came to look me up, and said he would sail at 
 daylight. Promising to be on board by eleven that 
 night I bade him good-night, and then, accompanied by 
 an intelligent and bibulous American named Carey, I 
 went to the theatre, where an alleged performance of 
 ** Monte Cristo " was being given. 
 
 Dissatisfied with this, we adjourned to a noted 
 hotel, where gambling and other frivolous pursuits 
 were indulged in, and by eleven o'clock my com- 
 panion was comfortably drunk and asleep in his 
 chair, and I was not much behind as far as his first- 
 named condition went. However, I was sufiiciently 
 sober to know that I must get on board, and also to 
 know that my evening's amusement had cost me twelve 
 or fifteen sovereigns. I managed to find my way out- 
 side, and down to the wharf, where I sought in vain for 
 a waterman. Then I tried to hail the Hannah, of 
 which I saw a duplicate lying astern of the original, or 
 vice-versa, but my voice did not amount to much more 
 than an incoherent mutter, and consequently no one 
 heard me. 
 
 Just then a man came along the wharf towards me, 
 and asked me what vessel I wanted. Lurching up 
 against him, I said 'twas the Hannah. 
 
 " Just so," ho said good-naturedly, *' but I guess you 
 can't make 'em hear. But as I am going off to my own 
 ship, I'll put you aboard your hooker." Then, pro-
 
 176 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 ducing a large flask, the kind-hearted man poured me 
 out a very large drink of rum or some other satisfying 
 spirit, and assisted me down the steps into his boat, 
 which was awaiting him. His kindness did not stop 
 here, for when I pitched over on to my nose in the 
 bottom of the boat, he told me not to worry, and covered 
 me over with his top-coat. 
 
 When I awoke about ten o'clock in the morning, with 
 a head feeling like a furnace, I saw I was in a strange 
 sleeping place — a large and comfortable foc'stle. 
 Making my way on deck, I found I was on board a fine 
 American barque, spinning along at a great rate, and 
 that Newcastle was fifteen miles astern. 
 
 "Well, sonny, how do you feel?" said the mate (my 
 friend of the previous night) . 
 
 "D bad," I replied sullenly, at once realising 
 
 that I had been shanghaied. 
 
 "Well, tell the cook to give you some tea or cofi'ee, 
 and try and eat something. And don't look so mad. 
 Now, look here, this is a darned pleasant ship for 
 pleasant people, and joii hev a darned pleasant face. 
 If you hadn't, I guess I wouldn't hev kept my boat's 
 crew pulling all round Newcastle harbour trying to find 
 the ship you belonged to. And ez I couldn't find her, 
 and you was too drunk to speak, I just brought you 
 aboard here." 
 
 The absurdity of this yarn made me smile. I said I 
 knew I had been shanghaied, and must make the best of it. 
 
 "Now, that's sensible. I'll have you in my watch 
 and make a sailor of you in no time." 
 
 "What ship is this?" 
 
 " The Ethan Allan, of San Francisco. Now, move 
 along and get rid of j^our bulbous head. You needn't 
 turn to for an hour or two,"
 
 I AM "SHANGHAED" 177 
 
 I need not enter into details of the voyage, except to 
 say that I was never better treated or better fed in any 
 ship than I was on board the Ethan A llan, though she 
 was short-handed. As soon as the mate, whose name 
 was Peters, found I was no greenhorn, and was not 
 inclined to shirk my work, he gave me many things in 
 the way of clothing, and the captain also shed the light 
 of his countenance on me and did me many favours. 
 
 We made a smart run to San Francisco, where I was 
 paid off with thirty dollars, and another five from the 
 captain, and I actually felt regret at saying goodbye to 
 the barque — on which I had learnt much seamanship. 
 
 The first thing I did was of course to write home and 
 tell my mother of my whereabouts. Shanghaieing, in 
 Newcastle, was by no means uncommon in those days, 
 so I was hopeful she had perhaps soon learnt from the 
 local police there, every member of which had had a 
 drink with me, what had become of me. In my letter 
 to her I said that I must admit I had taken "just a 
 little too much to drink," which was the cause of my 
 misadventure, and that, as I knew what my father's 
 opinion of me would be, I thought it best for me not to 
 return home until I heard from him. 
 
 My letter posted, ofi" I went to the British Consulate, 
 to see if I could learn anything of Brandon. Nothing 
 was known of him except that he had called and recorded 
 his name for letters; but had not appeared since. Dis- 
 appointed at this, I went to the shipping office, and 
 there found that Harry had been paid ofi" a few days 
 after the Nebraska had arrived, and no one of the 
 name of Brandon or Blake had since signed on for 
 any other ship. 
 
 "Work was plentiful in California at that time, and 
 I soon found employment as a packer in Bancroft's book 
 
 13
 
 178 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 store in Market Street, at fifteen dollars a week. But 
 a fortnight of this conTinced me that it was beneath my 
 dignity to be hammering nails all day; I aspired to 
 something better, threw up my "position," and became 
 conductor on a horse-tram running between the city and 
 Lone Mountain, at a better rate of pay. This was a 
 billet that suited me very well, although the hours were 
 long ; but unfortunately one of the superintendents, who 
 was a rank Fenian, learning I was a Britisher, dismissed 
 me after a week's employment. 
 
 One day I made the acquaintance of the janitor 
 of the gymnasium of a society called, let me say 
 the "Association of Young Men for the Promo- 
 tion of Christian Culture," or some such title, in Bush 
 Street. He convinced me that I was eminently fitted to 
 enrol myself among these good young men, so I joined, 
 and very glad I was of doing so, for I not only went in 
 for a proper com'se of athletics, but I made many ac- 
 quaintances that grew into the friendship of a lifetime, 
 young men of all ranks and positions in life. We of the 
 gymnasium, however, were only Cultured Christian 
 young men in theory, and seldom visited the lecture- 
 rooms or attended the nightly religious services con- 
 ducted by the superintendent and a score or so of 
 acidulated, bony old vii-gins. 
 
 The librarian, however, was a very pretty young 
 widow, a Mrs. Raymond, who had travelled exten- 
 sively in England, and was free of the absurd notions 
 then prevailing among untravelled Americans of 
 England and English life generally. We had very 
 many long talks, and when she one day told me 
 that she had a brother who was a saw-mill proprietor 
 in the State, I asked her to give me a letter to him, 
 saying it might prove useful to me. I frequently
 
 I AM "SHANGHAED" 179 
 
 escorted her home to her lodgings in Howard Street, 
 and we finally became gi-eat friends. She was a bright, 
 hapi^y little woman, but very nervous and timid, and 
 she had a shrinking dread of one of the principal 
 officials of the Association, an elderly gentleman with a 
 pious visage and a fishy eye, who persisted in trying to 
 take more than a fatherly interest in the fair librarian. 
 This old beast was continually coming into the library 
 when she was alone, and under the pretence of being 
 ** deeply concerned " about her loneliness in San 
 Francisco, her religious state of mind, &c., &c., would 
 try to take her hand and otherwise annoy the poor little 
 woman, who was terrified of losing her position if she 
 offended him by openly resenting his odious ad- 
 vances. 
 
 Now, it so happened that when she confided this to 
 me, I remembered that one of my gymnasium friends, 
 a Canadian hydraulic engineer, had once casually 
 spoken to me of this pious old gentleman, and said that 
 he had had to clear out of the State of Ohio for being 
 concerned in some banking fraud, and that he had 
 served a term of imprisonment. 
 
 *' Will you let me tell Dunstan, Mrs. Raymond ? " I 
 said. " He knows something very serious about this 
 fishy-eyed old villain, and, in fact, I'm almost sure he 
 said that he is passing under an assumed name." 
 
 Mrs. Raymond stopped in her walk and clasped her 
 hands, and said between a laugh and a sob that she 
 wished something could be done to stop his persecution : 
 and then she added, in a whisper, and with a vivid 
 blush of shame, "I must tell you, Mr. Breachley, that 
 yesterday he tried to put his arm round my waist and 
 kiss me. And I'm so dreadfully, so horribly afraid of 
 him. I can't write and tell my brother, and I don't
 
 180 BKEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 know what to do. And whenever the old thing comes 
 near me I get cold, right do^vn to my toes." 
 
 " Come," I said, " let us go and see Dunstan at the 
 Lick House." 
 
 She knew and liked Dunstan, and assented. Re- 
 tracing our steps, we were soon at the Lick House, and 
 found Dunstan was in. I went into the subject at once 
 and told him the object of our visit. 
 
 *' The old reprobate ! " he exclaimed indignantly. ** I 
 am so glad you have told me, Mrs. Raymond. You can 
 rest assured that that man will just be fired out of his 
 position in that Association within forty-eight hours. I 
 know him well, though he doesn't know me — after ten 
 years or so. His real name is Hooman, and only his 
 being sent to prison for three years saved him being 
 lynched in Cleveland. He has grown a long beard, 
 but I can prove his identity as easy as falling off 
 a log — a telegram will do it all, and I'll send it right 
 away." 
 
 He sent the telegram, and then accompanied the little 
 lady and myself to her lodgings, where we left her, her 
 pretty face looking brighter and happier than it had for 
 many weeks past. 
 
 At three o'clock on the following afternoon Dunstan, 
 a reporter friend of ours on the Chronicle, named Jack 
 
 Kellog, and myself, presented ourselves at Mr. 's 
 
 office in the Association's building, and asked to see that 
 gentleman on important business. 
 
 We were, after some delay, ushered into the good 
 man's presence, and he asked us in a patronising 
 manner to state our business, as his time was valuable. 
 Dunstan at once set to work with a vengeance. 
 
 " Mr. ," he began, ** we shall not occupy your 
 
 time long ; don't be afraid of that. This is Mr. Kellog,
 
 I AM "SHANGHAED" 181 
 
 of the Chronicle ; this is Mr. Breachley, and my name 
 is Dunstan ; we are all three members of this Associa- 
 tion. It has come to our knowledge that you have 
 grossly insulted the librarian of the institution. Now, 
 sit down and listen quietly. We have come to see 
 that you now, this moment, write out your resignation 
 of the position you hold, and give it to us to post to the 
 president of the Association. If this is not done we 
 shall make public in the press of this city the story of 
 your career in Ohio. I have here in my hand an official 
 telegi-am from the chief of police in Cleveland city, 
 giving your true name, and particulars of the crime 
 which sent you to prison in that city. You have five 
 minutes in which to decide." 
 
 And in five minutes Mr. did decide. With a 
 
 face livid with hatred, he wrote out his resignation, and 
 then leant back in his chair gasping, and trembling in 
 every limb. Dunstan read the document carefully, and 
 said it was satisfactory. 
 
 ** Now, Mr. , our business is ended. You have 
 
 done the only thing you could do, and we, on our part, 
 promise to keep the matter absolutely secret, on one 
 condition 
 
 " I will give you one thousand dollars " 
 
 *' I guess you won't. The one condition is that you 
 do not enter this building again after you quit it to-day. 
 If you do, then we shall make public the reason of our 
 troubling you this afternoon. So, understand, you must 
 quit right away if you want to save yourself, you damned 
 old fraud." 
 
 A little before lunch-time the next morning, we went 
 to see Mrs. Raymond in the library. She came to us 
 with her two hands outstretched. 
 
 "You dear, good friends," she said with tear-filled
 
 182 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 eyes ; " lie left yesterday, and there's such a commotion 
 over it." 
 
 " Come out and get something to eat," we said 
 together. 
 
 We had a delightful lunch at the " Monico " in 
 California Street, at which Kellog joined us, and the 
 little woman's happiness filled our hearts with the 
 greatest pleasure, 
 
 I remained in San Francisco for some months after 
 this, sometimes assisting Dunstan in his office work, 
 sometimes finding other employment, but never keeping 
 at anything very long. In the end I made some very 
 undesirable acquaintances, especially that of a man 
 named Hasard, who was the proprietor of a combined 
 shooting saloon and faro bank. He certainly was a 
 magnificent shot, and in a few months taught me to 
 shoot nearly as well as himself with a Winchester rifle, 
 though I could not come near him with a revolver. He 
 was a Louisiana man, had been through the war with 
 Lee, and then found his way to California. His 
 establishment was superintended domestically by two 
 very handsome young women who enjoyed equal 
 authority. He was a rather humorous man when in 
 liquor, and would bewail — or pretend to bewail — his fate 
 to mc by asserting that they were both such excellent, 
 well-conducted girls that he could not afi"ront one by 
 marrying the other. 
 
 After some months of a thoroughly vicious existence, 
 I paid the first penalty by an attack of pneumonia — 
 superinduced by getting drunk one night and going to 
 sleep under the trees in the Plaza — which nearly cost 
 me my life. The gambler and his two housekeepers were 
 certainly very kind to me, and did all they could for me 
 by giving me a comfortable room in the house, and get-
 
 I AM "SHANGHAED" 183 
 
 ting a good doctor. Just as I was recovering, dear little 
 Mrs. Raymond discovered my location and came to see 
 me. She had been told of the character of my host's 
 house, but that was not going to stoj) her from coming. 
 In ten minutes she had possession of me morally, and, 
 within a week, I was on my way to her brother's saw 
 mill at Gilroy, and there I remained for six months, 
 working steadily, and leading a clean, healthy existence 
 with Mrs. Raymond's brother and the rough mill men. 
 
 Then, as I have said, the paragraph in the paper 
 about the Lancefield brought me back to 'Frisco.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 INSIDE THE GOLDEN GATE 
 
 ALL the morning I had been sitting on one of the 
 grassy hills overlookmg San Francisco Bay, 
 sunning myself and watching the bright sunlight and 
 swiftly-passing cloud shadows play upon the noble 
 expanse of water far below. About a mile away were 
 the fi'owning batteries of Alcatraz ; between them and 
 the white walls of the old Presidio lay a fleet of merchant 
 ships ; and nearer in, and seemingly so close beneath 
 that you could almost throw a stone upon their shining 
 white decks, were two Russian warships, the Almaz and 
 Vitiaz. Ten miles away, on the Contra Costa side of 
 the Bay, the lower slopes of Mount Tamalpais showed 
 green and bright under the glowing rays of the noonday 
 sun, and presently, as I laid back upon the grass and 
 closed my eyes contentedly, the sound of soft, mui-mur- 
 ing music floated uj) to me from the waters of the bay, 
 as the bands of the warships began to play the Russian 
 Hymn and from the fleet of ships came the faint, sharp 
 tinkle of eight bells. 
 
 I was happy enough that warm Sunday morning — 
 happier, I think, than I had been for the past two years, 
 
 184
 
 INSIDE THE GOLDEN GATE 185 
 
 since the day when I had said goodbye iu Sydney to 
 Brandon and my sister Frances. 
 
 * * * * 
 
 I had walked all the way from my lodgings in the 
 city to climb the sea hills because I felt I wanted to be 
 by myself, to look out upon the harbour and over to the 
 Golden Gate beyond to the rolling bosom of the Pacific, 
 which I had not seen for a long time, for I had just 
 arrived from Gilroy, an inland town back east of Santa 
 Cruz, where for nearly six months I had been working 
 at a sawmill. 
 
 Lying beside me on the gi*ass was a newspaper — the 
 Daily Alta California — and it was that paper which 
 had made me throw up my employment and hurry away 
 to San Francisco, which I had reached about a fortnight 
 previously. The foreman of the mill, a good-natured 
 American, had lent it to me to read, as he knew I took 
 an interest in any shipping news ; and almost the first 
 thing I saw was this : — 
 
 " The Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands, papers state that 
 with the American whaling fleet now lying there is the 
 British colonial ship Lancefield, of Launceston, Tas- 
 mania. She has not made a good catch, and is in such 
 bad repair that she is discharging there, and coming to 
 this port to be thoroughly overhauled. Her captain 
 states that when cruising off the Tonga Islands he 
 picked up a boat containing two white men — Peter 
 Arndt, second oflicer, and Morgan Breachley, boat- 
 steerer — and four natives belonging to the colonial 
 whaler Fanny Fisher. They had fastened to a sperm 
 whale, but had to cut, owing to darkness and bad 
 weather coming on, and had not seen their ship since. 
 The master of the Lancefield was in luck in dropping
 
 186 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 across tliem, as lie was very short-handed, owing to 
 desertions." 
 
 The moment I had read this I knew that the "Morgan 
 Breachley " was my brother. When we at home had 
 last heard from him, he had told us he was going to 
 Hohart Town to ship on the Fanny Fisher. 
 
 I at once went to the boss at the saw-mill, and told 
 him I wanted to leave, and the reason therefor. He 
 grumbled at first, but after extracting a half-promise 
 from me that I would come back, paid me off with a 
 good grace. My comrades at this mill were all a decent 
 set of men, nearly every one of them being native-born 
 Americans, and I was rather sorry to leave them. The 
 prospect, however, of meeting my brother, whom I had 
 not seen for so many years, was too great to be resisted, 
 so, with over five hundred dollars in gold in my pocket, 
 I said goodbye to Gilroy, took the stage-coach from 
 there to San Jose, and was in San Francisco the next 
 day. 
 
 After finding suitable lodgings in Third Street, off 
 Market Street, I found my way to the Merchants' 
 Exchange, where a friendly clerk gave me the latest 
 shipping news, but said it was hardly likely anything 
 further would be heard of the Lancefield until the 
 Honolulu mail-boat Idaho arrived, which would be in 
 a few days. At last that venerable marine antiquity 
 put in an appearance, and I was soon on board, and to 
 my delight heard that the Lancefield had been sighted, 
 and passed, three days j)reviously. 
 
 So on this particular Sunday I had left my room 
 early, eaten an "able seaman's" breakfast at a good 
 restaurant in California Street, and then climbed the 
 hills overlooking the harbour in the hope that the
 
 INSIDE THE GOLDEN GATE 187 
 
 expected ship might sail, perhaps, through the Golden 
 Gate that very day. 
 
 I had brought with me a flask of Angelica wine, and 
 some turkey sandwiches, and so as the afternoon wore 
 on I had some lunch, lit my pipe, and descended the 
 hill to the shore to what was known as Meigg's Wharf, 
 a very noted but not fashionable resort, frequented by 
 the riff-raff, bummers, and water thieves of the city, on 
 account of a menagerie, the gi'og-shops, and a minor faro 
 den. The menagerie was a pretty extensive one, and 
 was kept by an Englishman — an ex-man-of-war's-man 
 of about sixty years of age, named Tod Barrow. He 
 had a gi-eat and deserved reputation as a fighting man, 
 and was the terror of his customers, who, when they got 
 too much Bourbon aboard, would often indulge in a free 
 light, and draw their pistols on each other. On these 
 occasions it was Barrow's practice to call at once his 
 two stalwart sons to his aid, knock down one or two 
 of the offenders, and pitch them over the shore end of 
 the wharf into the soft mud below. He certainly was a 
 man of the most resolute character, despised the use of 
 the pistol in a quarrel, and, curiously enough, had gained 
 the respect of the ruffians who frequented his establish- 
 ment. He one day told me that he had never been 
 fired at during all the years he had carried on the 
 place. 
 
 This old fellow had been recommended to me by the 
 friendly clerk at the Merchants' Exchange as a good 
 man to whom to go if I wanted a waterman's boat at 
 any time. " He's a darned rough old sort, but good- 
 natured in his way, and won't rob you. Besides his 
 other vocations, he does a little in the crimping line, 
 but does it decently, I'm told." 
 
 Passing through a long refreshment-room, I was
 
 188 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 shown Mr. Tod Barrow's private door, knocked, and 
 a gruff, boatswain's mate-like voice bellowed out, " Come 
 in," and I found the old man seated at a table making 
 up his accounts. I told him my business, and he 
 promised me I could have a boat whenever I wanted 
 one, which would be as soon as the Lancefield dropped 
 anchor in the Bay. 
 
 " But what do you want to go aboard a filthy blubber- 
 hunter for, young feller?" he inquired, putting down 
 his pen and burying his ruddy beak in a foaming seidel 
 of lager-beer which was just then handed to him. " Surely 
 a respectable young man like you ain't a-going to ship 
 on a lousy whaler ! Now, if you want a ship, I'm the 
 man for you. What d'ye say to sixty dollars for the 
 run home to Liverpool in a big wheat ship 7 — good solid 
 English tucker, and a nice, kind man for a skipper?" 
 Then he bawled out to the attendant to bring another 
 seidel of lager. 
 
 " You can have rum or whisky, or any thing 
 
 you like," he added. 
 
 I preferred the lager, and then explained to him that 
 I had no intention of shipping, and only wanted to get 
 aboard the Lancefield to see my brother, whom I was 
 in hopes of inducing to remain in California with me — 
 " That is," I added, " if the captain will let him 
 leave." 
 
 " Let him leave ! He shall, young feller. Don't you 
 trouble about that. I'm just the right man to come to ; 
 and if your brother wants to skip, and can pay for his 
 board with me for a few weeks, skip he shall. So 
 you're a Britisher like me, eh, sonny ? Will you stop 
 and have a cup of tea? I'm not like these bloody 
 cofiee-swilling Yanks, but sticks to my native customs — ■ 
 which is tea — good Chiny tea."
 
 INSIDE THE GOLDEN GATE 189 
 
 " Thank you, I should like a cup of good tea. They 
 don't drink tea at the place where I'm staying. Being 
 Australian born, I'm a great tea-drinker when I can 
 get it." 
 
 "And you'll get it here — a whole bucketful if 
 
 you like. You've come to the right place." 
 
 Then, being a really hospitable man, though his 
 language was shocking, he asked me to come and have 
 
 a look at his " menagerie." He had about the 
 
 best collection of parrots and macaws I have ever seen 
 outside a zoological gardens, and nineteen of every 
 twenty birds had been taught by the habitues of the 
 place to blaspheme and curse most horribly; in fact, 
 one would imagine, if the birds had not been visible, 
 that an Australian football match was being played, as 
 the shrieks, yells, oaths, blasphemies, with accompanying 
 human laughter, poisoned the Sabbath air. Many of the 
 poor birds were walking about on the sanded saloon floor, 
 or perched on the tables, or on backs of chairs, and the 
 moment we entered a fine white cockatoo asked us, in a 
 grave sort of voice, what the (Hades) we wanted. 
 
 "Cocktails, you d swine! " replied a green parrot 
 
 amiably, and in an instant half a dozen birds were 
 screaming out the word " Cocktails " all over the place, 
 amid the loud laughter of the bummers and bullies 
 seated in the saloon playing cards and drinking. 
 
 It was very amusing, but also disgusting, so I was 
 glad to follow my companion to the snake-shed and 
 bear-pits. In the latter was a fine gi'izzly bear, which 
 my host told me he intended to sell to the menagerie at 
 Woodward's Gardens for $500. Presently we came to 
 a work-shed, in which were a small portable engine and 
 boiler, used for driving a circular saw. It was very 
 much out of order, and the old fellow gi-umblingly
 
 190 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 informed me that he had no time to put it in repair, 
 even if he had known how, and that he could not get 
 an engineer to come and see to it. I saw, after examina- 
 tion, that I could do all that was required in a couple 
 of days, and offered my services. This pleased him 
 greatly, and in a few minutes I made arrangements to 
 come and start work on the following Tuesday morning, 
 unless the Lanccficld turned up in the meantime, in 
 which case I was to come at my convenience. 
 
 I had tea with this curious character and his old 
 housekeeper, and quite enjoyed myself He told me 
 many of his adventures when he first came to California 
 in the wild days of '49, and I, in return, told him a 
 good deal ahout myself. He gave me some excellent 
 advice, and when I told him I had nearly five hundred 
 dollars in my hag in my lodgings, m-ged me to make 
 a point of hanking it the first thing in the morning. 
 
 " Don't trust no one in this place," he said, as ho 
 wrote me down the name of the cashier of his own hank 
 in Montgomeiy Street ; "you take this to Mr. Byrne, 
 and tell him I sent you. Never trust no lodging- 
 house-keeper under the sun ; they're all sharks and 
 
 the natural enemies of honest men. I take a sailor-man 
 to hoard now and again, but no one can say that Tod 
 Barrow robbed him of a cent, or tried to overhaul his 
 belongings." 
 
 Promising to take this advice, I bade him good-night, 
 and set off home just after dark. 
 
 At ten o'clock in the morning, I was at the bank 
 corner, and there, to my surprise, was my friend, 
 awaiting me with a large family smile illuminating his 
 rubicund countenance. In an instant an undefined 
 suspicion as to his integrity flashed through my mind. 
 " He's going to ask me to give him the money to bank,
 
 INSIDE THE GOLDEN GATE 191 
 
 or work some dodge on mc," I thought, but in a few 
 seconds I was blushing at myself. 
 
 " Ha, here you are. Come, hurry up, the bank door 
 is just opening. If I'd ha' known where you lived, I'd 
 been up afore breakfast — the Lancefidd is in, and has 
 anchored right abreast my place, and a damned rotten 
 thing she is to look at." 
 
 He took me in to the bank ; I quickly deposited my 
 money, all but fifty dollars, and in another ten minutes 
 we were walking quickly down to the bottom of 
 Montgomery Street ; then, turning to the left, climbed 
 the steep cobble-stoned Vallejo Street, and thence 
 descended the hills to his establishment, where he 
 insisted on my drinking a huge tumbler of rum and 
 milk with him. 
 
 The boat was all ready, manned by four whisky-eyed, 
 bulbous-nosed toughs, and we at once started for the 
 whaler, which was lying about half a mile distant. 
 When we got close to her we saw that she was a four- 
 boat vessel, between three and four hundred tons, and 
 presented, outboard at any rate, a most filthy and 
 deplorable appearance, while aloft her look would have 
 disgraced a north country collier brig whose skipper 
 and crew had been drunk for a month. 
 
 A police boat came alongside simultaneously with 
 ours. Seizing the abominably dirty man-ropes of the 
 ladder, I followed Barrow on deck. Almost the first 
 man I cast eyes on was my brother. He was as filthy 
 and ragged as the rest of the crew, ship, and gear, and 
 for a moment did not recognise me when I rushed up to 
 him and seized his hand. 
 
 " Hi there, you ! What the hell arc you doing there, 
 talking to my men ? " said an angry voice from the poop. 
 
 It was the captain who addressed me, and still holding
 
 192 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 Morgan's hand, I did not for the moment answer. Then, 
 as the order was again repeated, I hurriedly whispered 
 to Morgan that I would see him again, and that my 
 friend could get him out of the ship within twenty-four 
 hours. 
 
 " Thank God for that, Billy ! She's a hell afloat." 
 
 Then I went aft. Tod Barrow had seized the 
 captain's hand, and was shaking it warmly as if he had 
 known him all his life. 
 
 " Glad to meet you, Captain. Glad to see you. This 
 gentleman here" — nodding to the police officer — " will 
 tell you who I am, and all I can do for you if you wants 
 anything done. Ain't that so, Mr. Rogan? " 
 
 " That is so," replied the police officer, who douhtless 
 had had many unofficial transactions with my friend ; 
 ** Mr. Barrow is a veiy respectahle man." 
 
 The captain then gave the three of us a surly invitation 
 to come below and have a glass of grog. He was a 
 morose, ill-humoured-looking beast, and his officers 
 seemed to match him thoroughly.
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 THE "muss" on the " LANCEFIELD " 
 
 ** l\r^^' Captain," began Barrow, as soon as we were 
 
 -^^ all seated, "just tell me if you want any fresh 
 men ; if so, I'm the man for you." 
 
 "You might wait till I ask you," was the sullen 
 reply. 
 
 "But that's just what I don't intend to do," said 
 Barrow with a laugh, "I want to know at once — can't 
 afford to lose no time. Of course you don't know me 
 and don't know 'Frisco, but I'm the man to teach you. 
 Look here, I've only to say the word, and I could take 
 every man out of this old hooker of yours before sundown 
 if I wanted to ; and what is more, I can block you fi-om 
 getting a fresh crew — if you stayed here for six months. 
 But there, you and me ain't agoin' to quarrel. I'm a 
 business man, and I'm only a-making these perliminary 
 remarks as a business man — just to prevent you from 
 going off on the wrong tack, and making a mess of 
 things." 
 
 " What's your game ? What do you want ? Say it, 
 and clear out." 
 
 "Easy, easy does it, captain. Well, first of all, I'll 
 be obliged to you to let one of your hands, a man named 
 Breachley, come ashore with me right away. This lad 
 
 14 193
 
 194 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 here is his brother, aud they haven't seen each other for 
 a good many years. I'll be resi?onsible to you for him."' 
 
 " Will you now?" sneered the cajitain. "Now just 
 listen to me — neither that man nor any other man of 
 mine will go over the side of this ship until I let him go 
 of my owa free will, or kick him over. And you'll get 
 kicked out of this cabin yourself if " 
 
 " Steady now, captain. Don't get cross," said Barrow 
 with the most perfect good temper, as he rose from his 
 seat. " You've got a heap of things to learn, and I'm 
 the man to teach you some of 'em. You've insulted 
 me — and it's pretty rough for a man of my years to be 
 sauced by the skipper of a greasy whaler — but I'll let 
 that pass. Now before I go, I'll ask you once more, 
 are you going to let that young chap come ashore — for a 
 few hours at any rate ? " 
 
 An oath, with an opprobrious epithet implying that 
 Barrow, on the immediate maternal side of his family, 
 was descended from the canine race, brought matters to 
 a climax, for the old man's face, always of a deep red, 
 became purple with sudden rage. Seizing the water 
 carafe, which was standing on the cabin table, by its 
 neck, he hurled at the captain -with terrific force, and 
 struck him fair and square on the chest. Then bidding 
 me follow, he ran up the companion, bellowing like a 
 wounded bull, for our four toughs. 
 
 "Where are you, my bully boys? Here's hell to 
 
 pay, an' no pitch hot ! This here skull-cracking 
 
 Bwab of a blubber-hunting skipper has been an' com- 
 mitted an aggravated assault on me when I Avas quiet 
 and peaceable. W^here are ye, bully boys ? " 
 
 "Here we are, boss," replied the "bully boys," as 
 they ran aft towards us, and I saw that every one of them 
 was carrying a slung shot. As they ran up on the poopj^
 
 THE "MUSS" ON THE " LANCEFIELD " 195 
 
 the three mates and cooper of the whaler made a sudden 
 rush at Barrow, and tried to throw him off the poop on 
 to the main deck, but the okl man was too good for 
 them, and sent one of them down in an instant, and 
 then in another five seconds there was a general fight 
 going on. The captain, ste^TOrd, and carpenter now 
 ai^pearcd and gallantly went to the aid of the mates, 
 who had provided themselves with belaying pins, and 
 fought with desperation. Kogan, the police officer, with 
 his four men, made no attempt to interfere, but jumping 
 up on the rail, they held on to the mizzen rigging, and 
 placidly chewed their nasty green cigars as they watched 
 the conflict. 
 
 So suddenly did the fracas begin that for a moment 
 or two I could only gaze at the scene in astonishment, 
 but when I saw one of the "toughs" foil like a log on 
 the deck, and one of the whaleship officers — the man 
 who had felled him — stoop over his prostrate body and 
 begin to batter in his skull with a belaying pin, I came to 
 my senses. Whipping out a pin from between the feet of 
 the policemen standing on the rail, I jumped across the 
 deck, and dealt the officer such a sv/ingiug crack across 
 the eyes, that I had a horrible suspicion I had killed 
 him, for he fell quietly over on his side, and lay there 
 motionless. But all the brute instinct to fight was now 
 aroused in me, and was quickened by the carpenter 
 making a furious rush at me, and all but succeeding in 
 catching me on the top of my head with the first blow he 
 aimed. And then came wild cries and oaths, and varie- 
 gated blasphemy, as nearly half of the crew raced aft — 
 my brother Morgan and another boatsteerer leading — 
 not to the rescue of their officers, but to help to overcome 
 them. 
 
 But the captain and mates of the Laucefield, tyrants,
 
 196 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 "hazers" and all-round brutes as they were, were 
 not the sort of men to cave in quickly. The captain 
 and carpenter, I afterwards learnt, were Englishmen, 
 the mates and cooper Americans, but they stuck to each 
 other like men, and fought like tigers, and did not give 
 in till they were beaten and kicked into insensibility by 
 three of Barrow's toughs and their own crew. And indeed 
 Barrow, aided by Morgan, a fellow-boatsteerer of his 
 named Collins, and myself, had our work cut out to 
 prevent the captain from being murdered by a young 
 half-caste Maori seaman, who, sheath knife in hand, 
 made the most frantic and maddened efforts to get at him 
 as he lay bleeding and unconscious on the deck. Froth- 
 ing and foaming at the mouth like a mad dog, his eyes 
 seeming literally to be starting from his head, and the 
 veins in his forehead swelling to bursting point, his 
 strength was superhuman, and the whole four of us 
 could scarcely hold him as he swayed to and fro on the 
 quarter-deck. The knife which he held in his hand 
 Morgan in vain attempted to wrest from his gi-ip, and 
 only when he was flung down on his side and his out- 
 stretched arm was pulled out to full length, was he 
 rendered weaponless by a man stamping on the blade 
 and breaking it off short to the haft. Then and only 
 then did the policemen interfere. 
 
 " Guess we'll hev' to ornament this young man," said 
 Eogan their chief, nonchalantly chewing his cigar, as he 
 came forward with a pair of handcuffs. " He's altogether 
 too noisy, and he'll be hurting some one if he ain't 
 attended to right away." 
 
 He snapped the handcuffs on the Maori's wrists, and 
 then from the half-caste's lips came a strange sobbing, 
 almost pitiful wail. 
 
 "Oh, fo' Christ's sake, let me up! If I can't kill
 
 THE "MUSS" ON THE " LANCEFIELD " 197 
 
 him myself, let me see him die. Look at my lef han' ! 
 Look at my lef hau' ! " And then the poor devil wept 
 like a child. 
 
 Eogan, the case-hardened police-officer, lifted the 
 Maori's manacled hands and looked at the left one. It 
 was minus the first joints of three fingers, the stumps of 
 which were raw and hleeding through the bandages 
 having been torn ofi" in the fight. 
 
 " Who did this ? " he asked. 
 
 " The captain ! the captain ! " cried half a dozen 
 voices, and then one of the boatsteerers told us that one 
 day when the boats were being lowered after whales, the 
 Maori did not move quickly enough to please the brutal 
 skipper, who, as the man was about to drop into the 
 boat, seized an iron belaying pin, and smashed his hand 
 against the rail. 
 
 *' Strikes me this ain't much of a hooker, boys," cried 
 Barrow to the crew. "Now, look here. If any of you 
 want to clear out, now's your chance. I'm the man for 
 you — I can stow you all away, and get you all decent 
 ships." 
 
 They were only too delighted, and responded with a 
 cheer, and in five minutes more than twenty of them 
 tumbled into our boat — all she could carry — carrying 
 with them their scanty belongings. The police did not 
 attempt to interfere — in fact, they seemed to enjoy the 
 thing. At this time, however, English ships and 
 Englishmen generally were not in favour in California, 
 for the Alahama Ai'bitration afi'au- was going on, and all 
 over the Northern and Western States there was a 
 feeling of intense anger against England, and a great 
 portion of the daily press was calling for war. I 
 San Francisco itself — one of the most cosmopolitan an 
 mongrel cities in the world, and the refuge of the
 
 198 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 European thief, absconder, murderer, and all-round 
 scoundrel generally — there was manifested the bitterest 
 hatred to all things English. The City authorities (the 
 Board of Supervisors) some few of whom were perhaps 
 native-born Americans, lent themselves to any movement 
 calculated to bring the British nation into contempt and 
 hatred. The Fenian organisation in the city was very 
 strong. There were two volunteer regiments, comprised 
 of the lowest ruffians of Irish extraction in the state, 
 whose Sunday parades and drunken orgies were patron- 
 ised by the German Jew bankers, politicians, state 
 officials, and others who courted the Irish vote and 
 *' bossed " the city. One of these volunteer regiments 
 was called the *' Sarsfield Guards," the name of the 
 other I forget. The Sarsfield blackguards were uni- 
 formed like French Zouaves, and fifty per cent, of them, 
 officers and privates, had seen the interior of a prison 
 for a lengthened period. I well remember one Sunday, 
 when these precious blackguards, under the auspices of 
 the state officials, marched through the city on their way 
 to a picnic, across the bay to San Eafael. Their route 
 from their armoury took them dovm. California Street, at 
 the lower end of which was the British Consulate. Here 
 the procession stopped, the kettle-drums beat a defiance, 
 and the noble regiment faced to the right at the word 
 of command, and in solemn silence pointed their empty 
 rifles at the British coat of arms over the Consulate 
 door. Being Sunday, the office was of course closed, 
 but suddenly one of the windows in the caretaker's 
 apartments in the second storey opened, and a fat-faced 
 old man put out his head. 
 
 " Be off out of this, ye great silly fools," he cried 
 wrathfully, " or I'll come down an' put the dog on 
 ye," and he held up to view a most ferocious-looking
 
 THE "MUSS" ON THE "LANCEFIELD" 109 
 
 bull-tlog, who was well known in San Francisco as the 
 Consulate guardian. 
 
 The drums heat again, and the patriots went off at a 
 quick march to enjoy their hehdomadary drunk, returning 
 in the evening as usual covered with blood and mud and 
 Contra Costa dust, for bad whisky was cheap, and the 
 Sarsfield Guards and other Fenian corps were the brave 
 boys to tackle it. 
 
 We arrived in the boat at the Menagerie wharf in 
 excellent spirits, and, Barrow leading the way, and 
 bidding us follow him, led us into the bar. Here, 
 although a few of the men had a little money, ho 
 forbade them to spend a cent — for that day at least — • 
 and amiably told them that they could all get drunk at 
 his expense, and might make a start at once, provided 
 they kept to a largo outhouse in the back yard. This 
 generous offer was promptly and thankfully accepted by 
 the poor devils, who, after a preliminary drink at the bar, 
 were provided with a jar of Bourbon, a dozen loaves of 
 bread, and two cooked salmon, with the necessary tin 
 mugs, plates, knives, etc. Then Barrow marched them 
 to the shed, and locked them in. 
 
 " They'll be as happy as cherubims in half an 
 
 hour," he said to Morgan and myself, " and a good solid 
 drunk will do 'em a power o' good, and keep 'em quiet 
 for a couple of days. Now, come in, young fellows, and 
 we'll have a cup of tea." 
 
 As soon as possible, leaving Morgan to tell our good- 
 natured host the story of the cruise of the Lanceficld, I 
 started off to the city to buy him a new rig-out, for he 
 had landed with nothing but what he stood in ; but his 
 garments, although so atrociously filthy and ragged, had 
 one redeeming quality — there were but two, a print shirt 
 and an alleged pair of dungaree pants.
 
 200 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 In an hour or two I returned with a swagger suit of 
 store clothes, beaver hat, boots, and every other 
 requisite, and both Barrow and myself laughed most 
 heartily at the wonderful metamorphosis the new rig-out 
 effected. The old man seemed to have taken quite a 
 fancy to Morgan, and, when I told him we intended 
 having a stroll through the city, insisted on our drinking 
 a couple of bottles of that delicious but heady native 
 wine, called Angelica. As the liquor loosened his 
 tongue, I soon discovered that Morgan was by no means 
 a saint, and therefore I suggested to him that we should 
 visit a certain dive in Vallejo Street, where there were a 
 number of pretty Mexican girls of no particular virtue. 
 
 For by this time, young as I was, I was pretty well 
 soaked in vice, and, in fact, rather proud of it. But 
 withal I had all the necessary cunning to carefully 
 study my social environments, and adapt my morals to 
 my company. Brandon had taught me a good deal, and 
 since Ave had parted, I had succeeded remarkably well 
 in doing evil.
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 ON THE SANDHILLS 
 
 "JY/rORGAN and myself took up our quarters with old 
 -^'-'- Barrow, and before proceeding to amuse ourselves 
 continuously for a week or two, we set to work and put 
 the old sailor's boiler and engine in thorough going order, 
 got up steam, and did four days' steady work for him. 
 Then, changing our dirty garments for the swagger attire 
 of Montgomery Street, we sallied out, and engaged 
 furnished rooms in Pine Street, determining to have our 
 meals where we listed. This accomplished, we next 
 called upon Mrs. Raymond, who was, I am sure, 
 sincerely pleased to see me and my brother as well; 
 she reproached me in her gentle way for not having 
 been to see her before, and then asked us to come and 
 spend the evening with her at Oakland, for her salary 
 having been increased, she was now living in her own 
 house. 
 
 Poor Morgan, who was a thousand times more 
 honest and straightforward than I, flushed with pleasure, 
 and was stammering out an acceptance when I hurriedly 
 interfered and said I had a business engagement in the 
 evening, and should like my brother to come with me. 
 She looked at me very searchingly for an instant, and I 
 blushed inwardly, for I felt that she knew that I was 
 
 201
 
 202 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 lying — as, indeed, was the fact. But lying and deceit, as 
 far as the gratification of my own pleasure was con- 
 cerned, had now taken so strong a hold upon me that I 
 met her glance with the face of a cherubim, and then, as 
 a salve to my conscience, I told her that I desired to 
 renew my membership of the Association of Young IMen 
 for Christian Culture, and that Morgan also desired to 
 join. She ■oTote out the necessary forms, and as she 
 bent her head over the paper, I could see that she was 
 trying hard to suppress a smile. Yet that quickly faded, 
 as she handed us the certificates, and her soft eyes met 
 mine. They were such strange eyes — so pure, deep, and 
 appealing to all that was good in one's nature at one 
 time, so laughing and dancing with almost childish 
 merriment at another, and yet, in a sense, always the 
 same. She could not have been more than four- or five- 
 and-twenty years of age, but sometimes when I looked 
 at her sitting in arm-chair in those quiet lodgings in 
 Howard Street, with her pale cheek resting upon her 
 little white hand, and her long, dark lashes drooping 
 over the closed eyes, she seemed to look an old, but still 
 a beautiful vv^oman. 
 
 Leaving the abode of Christian Culture, I took Morgan 
 with me along Kearney Street, till we came to the Plaza, 
 on one side of which was the establishment of my faro- 
 banking friend. We found him employed in pistol- 
 practice with two young Germans. He was veiy pleased 
 to see me, and bade me take Morgan upstairs and intro- 
 duce him to the ladies, and get them to give us something 
 to drink. 
 
 We found the cousins engaged in the task of counting 
 money, and making it up into rolls. Like their owner, 
 they were glad to see us, and sweeping the money — the 
 bank's winnings of the previous night — into a tray,
 
 ON THE SANDHILLS 203 
 
 opened a big bottle ot champagne, and filled four 
 glasses. As I have before mentioned, they were both 
 very handsome girls, and although living in a gambling 
 den, they looked and spoke like ladies. The elder, 
 whose name was Sadie, had been especially kind to 
 me when I was ill, and I was sorry to see that she 
 looked very pale and thin, and the slightest exertion 
 seemed to weary her. 
 
 " Have you been ill, Sadie ? " I inquired. 
 
 " Not exactly ill, Billy, but for the past six months I 
 have not been at all well — just running dovai steadily all 
 the time." Then she said with a smile, ''Come over 
 here, Billy, and tell me all about your life at Gilroy. 
 Nellie will keep your brother going whilst you and I 
 have a bit of a chat. How bronzed you have become 
 since I last saw you." 
 
 We went to the farther side of the room and sat down, 
 quite out of hearing from the others. The moment we 
 were seated she put her hand on mine and said : 
 
 " Billy, why did you come here again ? You know 
 what this place is, and that you ought not to come here. 
 I'm a good many years older than you are, Billy, and I 
 know you have a mother and sisters, and you will listen 
 to me, won't you? " 
 
 " Of course I will, Sadie." 
 
 ** Well, I want you to promise me you won't come here 
 again. You know as well as I do that we are not good 
 women — outcasts and derelicts , . . Billy." 
 
 "Yes, Sadie." 
 
 " I'm d}dng — consumption, j^ou know — and can't live 
 more than a month or two. Now, Billy, I nursed you, 
 didn't I, until Mrs. Raymond came and took you aAvay ? " 
 
 " Indeed you did, Sadie, and you saved my life. I 
 should have died if I had been taken to an hospital."
 
 204 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 " Well, I want you to make me a promise. I want 
 you to promise me that you will not come to this 
 place again. Hasard will destroy you body and 
 soul " 
 
 She had not time to conclude, for just then Hasard 
 entered the room, and the conversation became general. 
 We took our seats at the windows which faced the City 
 Hall, and commanded a view of three sides of the Plaza, 
 and Nellie amused Morgan greatly by pointing out and 
 describing to him many of the promenaders on the 
 Kearney Street side of the Plaza, for she knew all the 
 notabilities in San Francisco, a goodly percentage of 
 whom were frequent visitors to Hasard's faro establish- 
 ment. Moving slowly about among the well-dressed 
 crowd on the pavement was a harmless old lunatic 
 known as " Emperor Norton," who was dressed in the 
 uniform of a French general, and bore an extraordinary 
 resemblance to the Emperor Napoleon HI., whom he 
 believed himself to be. As he marched along, he would 
 raise his hand in salute every now and then, and some- 
 times stop and speak to some citizen, who would gravely 
 ask his Majesty what Chanzy or Bazaine were doing 
 (the Franco-German war was then in progi-ess), and the 
 ** Emperor" would shake his head and say, "Badly, 
 badly. I am just sending fresh instructions," and 
 politely accept a quarter of a dollar to cover the cost of 
 the cablegi-am. 
 
 In the evening we went to the California Theatre to 
 see " Enoch Arden." I think the actor who played the 
 leading part was Forrest ; anyway, whoever it was, his 
 reputation drcAV a crowded house, and we had some 
 difficulty in obtaining seats. However, we at last 
 managed to secure two at fifty cents each, and found 
 ourselves in the same row as half-a-dozen bluejackets
 
 ON THE SANDHILLS 205 
 
 belonging to H.M.S. Zealous, the flag-ship of the North 
 Pacific station. 
 
 The performance went along very well till the last 
 act but one, in which the broken-hearted castaway 
 sees the rescuing boat advancing to the beach; and 
 then a disgraceful scene occurred. The moment the 
 audience — or the gi-eater portion of it — saw the British 
 red ensign displayed in the stern of the boat, a perfect 
 pandemonium of yells, gi-oans, cat-calls, hisses, and 
 variegated blasphemy burst out, and the rescue was 
 carried out in dumb show by those on the stage. Then 
 the hoodlum element in that part of the house in which 
 we were sitting turned their blackguardly attention to the 
 English bluejackets near us, and showers of orange-peel, 
 peanuts, corks, and half-masticated chewing tobacco, 
 accompanied by the foulest and most insulting epithets, 
 fell upon us. In an instant the tars were on their feet, 
 facing the enemy, and then one of them was deliberately 
 struck in the face with a half- sucked orange huided at 
 him by a fellow a few seats away. 
 
 This was too much, and the sailor, with an oath, 
 made a determined effort to get at the offender, but 
 in vain, and then the uproar became general, and 
 heavier missiles in the shape of bottles were thrown. 
 The bluejackets were for a few minutes quite helpless, 
 but presently closing up, and with Morgan and 
 myself following, they succeeded in maldng a passage 
 to the nearest exit. Here we were met by eight 
 or ten toughs, one of whom, whipping out his pistol, 
 made a blow at the nearest bluejacket's head; in an 
 instant he received a straight from the shoulder 
 blow on the chin, which sent him down like a dead man, 
 and his companions at once drew back and let us pass 
 down the stairway. At the street door we were met by
 
 206 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 three policemen, and one of the theatre officials, who we 
 thought intended to bar our progress ; we were agreeably 
 sui'prised when they hurried us across the street into a 
 saloon which was comparatively deserted. 
 
 At the bidding of the officers, the proprietor at once 
 locked his door, else we should have been badly mauled 
 by the hoodlums and other loafers who had followed us, 
 bent on mischief. One of the bluejackets was bleeding 
 profusely, some cowardly ruffian having stabbed him on 
 the back of the neck with the half of a bottle ; others had 
 some severe bruises and kicks, and Morgan's new overcoat 
 was ripped up at the back fi-om top to bottom, and, as one 
 of the officers sympathisingly remarked, was now " only 
 fit to ' shoo ' ducks with." A doctor was sent for to attend 
 the wounded man, and, after staying in the saloon for 
 half-an-hour, the friendly policemen, reinforced by a 
 couple more, took us (after partaking of refreshment at 
 our expense) out into the street by the back entrance, 
 and then escorted us right down to where the men-of- 
 warsmen's boat was lying. We protested at not being 
 allowed to go our way without an escort, but one of the 
 officers said that that very evening two of the men 
 belonging to the Zealous had been half killed by rowdies 
 in the Oxford Music-hall in Bush Street, and the city 
 authorities were anxious to prevent any further attacks 
 being made upon the numerous parties of bluejackets 
 who w^ere on shore enjoying liberty. Bidding the sailors 
 and officers good-night, and having no fear of being 
 recognised as Britishers, Morgan and I returned home 
 to om* lodgings. 
 
 As we had promised Hasard and his houris to have 
 breakfast with them at ten o'clock, we rose at nine, and 
 walked leisurely down to the Plaza. Hasard himself 
 was standing at his doorway, smoking a cigar as usual.
 
 ON THE SANDHILLS • 207 
 
 *' Come in, boys," lie said in his drawling voice, which 
 never changed except when it was husky with whisky — 
 which event, to do him justice, did not often occur — 
 *' come into the bar and have a drink." 
 
 He mixed three cocktails, and seemed to be unusually 
 quiet while doing so. Sitting down at a little marble 
 table, he nodded to us and drank his liquor, set the glass 
 down, and said : 
 
 " We'll hev to let that breakfast stand over for another 
 time, boys. Eeckon you'll be sorry to hear poor Sadie 
 is dead." 
 
 " Dead ! " I exclaimed. 
 
 " Died at eight o'clock last night," he said, as he 
 rose and walked over to the window and looked out upon 
 the street. Then, without turning his head, he added, 
 "You go upstairs, Billy. Nellie will be glad to sec 
 you." 
 
 Stepping very lightly on the thickly-carpeted stairs, 
 I went. Nellie met me on the landing, and pressed my 
 hand in silence, and tried to speak, and then began to 
 sob quietly. 
 
 I led her to a seat, and sat down beside her, and 
 waited till she became more composed before I asked 
 her any questions. Then she told me that poor Sadie 
 had been seized with a violent fit of coughing, burst a 
 blood-vessel, and died in an hour. 
 
 " There is no one in there now with her, Billy. Will 
 you come in? " 
 
 We went into the next room and stood beside the bed 
 on which the dead girl lay, and as I looked at the pale 
 ■waxen face, so exquisitely chiselled in its lines, and the 
 thick mantle of glossy, jet-black hair which lay in waves 
 against her cheeks, I tried in vain to restrain my 
 tears.
 
 208 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 " I will come back presently, Nellie," I whispered, as 
 I turned away, and descending to the bar, I motioned 
 Morgan to come with me. 
 
 In Sacramento Street there was, I knew, a large 
 florist's, and thither we went and made heavy purchases 
 of all the most beautiful flowers we could get. Poor 
 Sadie had always been very fond of roses, and the florist 
 filled one large box full of the best — dark red in colour. 
 We waited till the various boxes were ready, and, telling 
 the florist we would take them ourselves, hired a carriage 
 and drove back. Hasard was still sitting in the darkened 
 bar, smoking, but came to the door and helped us to 
 carry in the parcels, which I at once took uj^stairs to 
 Nellie. She was deeply moved, and could only thank 
 me in a whisper when she saw what I had brought. 
 Then I went down to Morgan and Hasard again, for the 
 latter had said he would like us to stay awhile. Placing 
 a box of cigars and some decanters on the table, he sat 
 down with us, and he tried to put us at our ease by 
 getting Morgan to talk about his whaling adventures, 
 then himself telling us something of his experiences in 
 the late war. Half-an-hour later, Nellie called to us all 
 to come up. She had arranged the flowers as only a 
 woman's loving hand can do, and as Hasard stood, 
 hands in pockets, looking at the beautiful features 
 showing so deathly white against the dark hair and 
 blood-red roses, I saw his lips move and heard some- 
 thing like a sigh escape him. 
 
 Both Hasard and Nellie came downstairs with us, and 
 when Morgan and I said goodbye to them, promising to 
 attend the funeral on the morrow, she took both my 
 hands in hers and kissed me, and Hasard himself, who 
 walked some way down the street with us, silently 
 chewing his cigar, said as we parted :
 
 ON THE SANDHILLS 200 
 
 " Say, Billy. Would you care to have one of poor 
 Sadie's rings ? " 
 
 "I should value it very mucli," I said with sincerity. 
 
 " Well, you shall have it to-morrow." 
 
 Sadie was buried in Lone Mountain Cemetery. 
 There were but four persons present at the funeral — 
 Hasard, a gambling friend of his who ran a saloon 
 at San Jose, Morgan, and myself. On the way back 
 Hasard asked us to come in and see Nellie and have 
 some supper. Dming the meal he told us that he was 
 breaking up the establishment immediately, and going 
 to Europe with Nellie, as he had enough money to last 
 him a considerable time. He gave me the promised 
 ring, and Morgan a beautiful sixteen-shot Winchester 
 rifle, and Nellie presented us with a brace of ivory- 
 handled Colt's revolvers in a case, on which was 
 engi-aved, " Republica de Mexicana," which had some- 
 how come into Hasard's possession — most probably in 
 liquidation of a gambling debt. 
 
 We only saw this strange pair once more after 
 this — when they were leaving in the steamer for New 
 York via Panama. I heard long afterwards that they 
 had settled for good at Turin, but under another name, 
 which my informant could not remember, or else I 
 should have written to them. For the man and the 
 two women were kind enough to me, and I shall always 
 remember poor Sadie — poor derelict as she was — 
 with both gratitude and respect ; for not only did she 
 nurse me through a long illness, but she sought to save 
 me from ruining myself, by warning me against again 
 frequenting her dangerous house ; and her sudden death 
 had certainly had a beneficial effect on my brother and 
 myself, for we gave up our lodgings in Pine Street and 
 returned to old Tod Barrow's "Menagerie," where we 
 
 15
 
 210 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 received a hearty welcome from the ancient mariner, 
 and were introduced to an old ex-skipper named Scott, 
 who agTeed to teach Morgan navigation in retm*n for 
 his hreakfast and a dollar a da}^ 
 
 Soon after I had made Mrs. Eaymond's acquaintance 
 I had told her of Harry Brandon and of my failure 
 to discover anything about him, and at her suggestion 
 I had kept a standing advertisement in the personal 
 columns of the Alta California, asking him to wiite 
 to me to the care of the secretary of the society of 
 which she was the librarian ; and I also visited the 
 shipping office every now and then in the hope that 
 I might see his name or his assumed name in the 
 official books, but without success, and I came to the 
 conclusion that he had gone on some lengthy voyage. 
 
 By this time, although we had free board and lodging 
 at " The Menagerie," we had made a considerable hole 
 in my small banking account, and I was delighted 
 to receive a letter by the Australian mail-boat City of 
 Melhournc from my father, in which there was not a 
 single reproach for my not having wiitten to him for 
 over seven months ; only an appeal to me to " keep 
 straight, and learn all you can about the Yankee style 
 of saw-milling, which I am told knocks ours into a 
 cocked hat." 
 
 Then he added that, as things might not be 
 going well with me, he enclosed a draft on a San 
 Francisco firm for eighty-five pounds, which he said he 
 could well afford, as he was piling up money out of the 
 cedar business, and went on to say that he hoped I would 
 give up the idea of going to sea — which was always 
 latent in my mind — and follow some other pursuit at 
 which I could make money. " Stay in America as long 
 as you like, my boy, but don't fail to write to those
 
 ON THE SANDHILLS 211 
 
 at tome. And keep clear of grog, Bill. Don't be 
 temjited to drink, and if you are temjitcd and refuse, 
 and some fellow pokes borak at you, tell him to go 
 * somewhere,' and plug him in the eye, even if he is as big 
 as a church and you get a nasty licking. A licking 
 is nothing if you keep your self-respect. Also avoid 
 women of any kind if you want to make money. You 
 were always a good boy for work, and if I was a bit 
 hard on you and your brothers at times, you must 
 remember that I was being robbed every day of my life 
 by those blackguards of timber merchants in Sydney, 
 who are now, thank God, crawling to me and asking 
 me to sell them our cedar." 
 
 But what pleased me most of all was the ncAvs that 
 Dr. Mariner (Fan's husband) was confident of curing 
 Ada's lameness, and that she was in Sydney to undergo 
 an operation. The letter concluded with a somewhat 
 startling piece of news : — 
 
 " Your Aunt Selina, I am sorry to say, has made 
 a fool of herself by marrying that measly idiot of a 
 parson, Bonham Joyce. She and the devil-dodger no 
 doubt think they are going to handle some of my money 
 after I am gone, but they won't, I can assure you. 
 Your mother is very much disgusted with her; but 
 anyway your aunt was only fit to marry a parson. I 
 don't like the breed, William, they are all on the make ; 
 but as poor Captain de Lisle used to say, they are a 
 necessary evil and the women keep them. Now don't 
 forget to send me an account of the big mill at Port 
 Townsend ; also tell me the usual rate of wages for 
 mill hands." 
 
 As soon as possible Morgan and myself cashed the 
 draft, which was on the firm of J. C. Merrill & Co., 
 California Street. Mr. Merrill himself, a very hand-
 
 212 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SIlEEP 
 
 some man about fifty, and a genuine native-born 
 American — not a German or Irish whitewashed one — 
 paid us, and we had quite a long and friendly talk with 
 him about Australia, with which country he was familiar 
 Then, asking us to come and see him again, and 
 advising us to be careful of what acquaintances we made 
 in San Francisco, and to bank our money, he bade us 
 goodbye. 
 
 That afternoon, by some malign influence, I suggested 
 to Morgan that we should walk out to the Presidio, and 
 have a look over the famous old building, and return in 
 the evening across the sandhills. "We went off about five 
 o'clock, spent an hour or two at the Presidio, and then 
 started back. When we had walked about half a mile 
 or so, and just as darkness was coming on, we met 
 a sergeant of the 12th Artillery, who stopped and 
 spoke to us. He warned us that it was not at all safe 
 to be walking about at night time anywhere between the 
 Presidio and the City, as a great many robberies with 
 violence had been committed of late. 
 
 *' There's a gang of about ten or a dozen toughs who 
 live in the sand-hills," he added, *' and they generally 
 work in couples. They usually ask any one they meet 
 to tell them the time, and as soon as the unsuspecting 
 person takes out his watch, he gets a crack from behind 
 with a slung shot. So you had best be careful. Are 
 you armed? " 
 
 "Yes, we each have a derringer." 
 
 " Well, that's all right. But get along as slick as 
 you can, and keep to the road." 
 
 We thanked him, bade him good-night, and went on 
 again, feeling somewhat anxious, as it was now dark, 
 and no light was visible except those of the Presidio and 
 the ships in the bay. We walked on in silence for
 
 ON THE SANDHILLS 213 
 
 about a quarter of a mile without sccinor or hcariii'T' 
 anything, when just as wo were ascending a hill, I 
 caught a glimpse of three or four figures standing in the 
 centre of the road. In another instant they had dis- 
 appeared. 
 
 I whispered to Morgan and told him. 
 
 " I saw them too, Billy," he said in low tones. " Get 
 your pistol ready, but let us keep walking on slowly." 
 
 Our derringers were no mere toys, but weapons 
 carrying a bullet as big as that of a Snider rifle. We 
 had bought them the day after iho fracas at the theatre, 
 and they were the best of their kind that could be obtained. 
 
 We walked along very cautiously, our footsteps making 
 no sound upon the soft sand, when presently a match 
 was struck just ahead of us, and we saw two men 
 standing on the edge of the road, and one of them 
 lighting a cigar. 
 
 *'Keep a lookout behind, Billy," muttered Morgan 
 as we drew near them. 
 
 " Good evening," said one of them, walking across 
 the road so as to interrupt us ; " say, can you tell 
 us where the turn-off is to Black Point? " 
 
 " Look out, Morgan ! " I shouted, " they mean mis- 
 chief!" — for before he could reply to the man's query 
 I had heard swift steps behind us, and turning, saw two 
 other fellows not ten yards away. I think both Morgan 
 and I fired together, for I heard but the one report and 
 then a loud cry. Then two or three shots were fired at 
 us, and our assailants vanished down the road towards 
 the fort, Morgan and myself reloading and firing after 
 them. 
 
 Suddenly Morgan stumbled and gave a loud cry. 
 " Oh, come here, Billy, quick, and strike a light. 
 Here's one of them lying on the sand ! "
 
 214 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 I struck a match, and there, lying with his face in 
 the sand, was a man. Seizing him by one shoulder, 
 Morgan turned him over on his back, and one briei 
 glance showed us that he was covered with blood from 
 his face to his chest. He lay perfectly quiet. 
 
 " Strike some more matches, Bill, and let us have a 
 good look. I do hope he's not dying." Then he spoke 
 to the man, who made no answer. 
 
 A second match was sufiicient to dispel any doubts — 
 the gentleman was as dead as ever he could be, for 
 Morgan's bullet had struck him fair in the throat, 
 passed through it, and broken his neck. He was a 
 very big, burly fellow, with a straggling grey beard, and 
 rather decently dressed. In one hand was a slung shot. 
 
 "He's done for, Morgan," I said. *'Let him alone, 
 and let us get out of this as soon as possible." 
 
 We ran swiftly away from the road across several 
 sandhills, and then sat down to get our wind and 
 consider what was best to be done. Morgan's hands 
 were covered with blood, and I had some on my boots 
 and some on the knees of my pants, through kneeling 
 down to look at the poor devil. 
 
 " We must tell old Tod," I said; " he'll tell us what 
 to do. But we ought to try and get inside without 
 being seen by any one. We had better wait till his bar 
 is closed, and then go round to his bedroom window and 
 call him." 
 
 Morgan was no coward, although just then he Avas 
 terribly excited, but he did not relish the idea of our 
 remaining out on the sandhills until one or two o'clock 
 in the morning. Then a haj)2>y inspiration came to 
 him. 
 
 ** How far are we from the water ? " he asked. 
 
 " About half a mile."
 
 ON THE SANDHILLS 215 
 
 " Can wc get along the sliorc to Barrow's? " 
 
 ** Yes, but it's dangerous. There are no lights, and 
 the mud is awful." 
 
 " Mud ! That's just the thing. Come on." 
 
 We started ofif and soon reached the shore, and at 
 once stripped and went in the water up to om- waists, 
 and washed ourselves — as well as we could in the dark- 
 ness — from head to toe. Then we gave our clothes and 
 boots a rough but thorough scrubbing, dressed ourselves, 
 and headed for home, as we called old Tod's place. 
 "We had a fearful time of it in getting over the ground, 
 or rather mud, in some places, but it served a good 
 purpose in thoroughly concealing any traces of blood 
 which may have remained on our boots or clothing. 
 
 About midnight we reached " The Menagerie," passed 
 in quietly through the back gate without being noticed, 
 and went to our room, where we at once changed our 
 clothes. 
 
 Calling the housekeeper and telling her my brother 
 was not well, as we had both fallen in the water and he 
 had taken cold, I asked her to get us something to 
 drink. In a few minutes she retui'ned ■«^th hot Angelica, 
 lemons, and sugar, and was quickly followed by Barrow. 
 
 "Mr. Barrow," I said, "we've got ourselves into a 
 howling mess, I'm afraid. Give us some Angelica first, 
 and we'll tell you." 
 
 The old man discerned at once that something serious 
 had occurred. He shut the door and pom'ed us out each 
 a big drink of wine. Then we told him what had 
 happened. 
 
 " Sure the cove is dead? " was his first question. 
 
 " Quite — his neck was broken as well, and we saw 
 bits of bone sticking out of the bullet hole at the back 
 of it."
 
 216 EREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 " Well, that's lucky anyway. He won't have notliin' 
 to say. But you'll hoth have to clear out, an' I'm the 
 man to help you." 
 
 Then he went on to say that the administration of 
 justice was so notoriously corrupt in San Francisco that 
 it would go hard with us once we were in the hands of 
 the police, even though we had only acted in self- 
 defence. 
 
 " They'd keep you in gaol, and delay your trial 
 on one excuse or another until they and the lawyers 
 skinned you of every dollar. And hein' Englishmen 
 would go against you very much just now. Why, to get 
 money out of you, they Avould prove, or try to prove that 
 the cove you settled was a poor harmless gentleman as 
 wouldn't hurt a fly, a good citizen, a church member, 
 and respected by all who knew him, and all who didn't 
 know him, or had never heard of him. Now let me 
 think." 
 
 The good old man proved a true friend to us by soon 
 providing us both with the means of escape from San 
 Francisco. Time was everything, he said, for the man's 
 body was sure to be found at daylight, and the artillery 
 sergeant with whom we had spoken would be sure to 
 connect us with his death, and we must either get away 
 quickly, or else remain in hiding for an indefinite time. 
 
 " I'll get you aboard a ship before daylight, boys," he 
 said, " there's a hermaphrodite brig, the Shelehoff, to 
 sail early to-morrow for Tahiti. She's short handed, 
 and the skipper will be glad to get a couple of men. 
 Will that suit you? " 
 
 We thanked him, and at once set about getting our 
 gear together, and donning sailor's togs once more. 
 Fortunately we had not banked our eighty-five pounds, 
 and wc oftered the old man five twenty-dollar pieces,
 
 ON THE SANDHILLS 217 
 
 Ho refused it indignantly, with such feeling tliat we 
 were truly sorry to have so wounded him. Furthermore 
 he consented to forward me to any address, the money 
 still in the hank, if I gave him a cheque for the halancc, 
 which I did. Then the good old soul gave us two 
 decent chests, and put in half a dozen hottles of wine, 
 some tohacco, and many other useful articles. 
 
 At three o'clock the boat was ready, and the old man 
 and we had a parting drink together of such dimensions, 
 that both Morgan and myself were half-seas over in ten 
 minutes. Moving quietly out of the house, we descended 
 the wharf steps, and entered the boat. It took us nearly 
 two hours to get to the Shdchoff, owing to the tide, but 
 the good Bourbon made us enjoy pulling. Coming 
 alongside just at dawn, Barrow asked to see the captain, 
 who at once made his appearance when he heard 
 Barrow's voice. 
 
 "Here's two bully boys for you. Captain Leaske," he 
 said; "I know them both well, and you'll find they're 
 the right chop." 
 
 Leaske, a sleepy-faced, but rather pleasant looking 
 young man, nodded, told us to get some coffee, and then 
 said he would get under weigh at once. 
 
 We bade the proprietor of the " Menagerie" farewell 
 with genuine sorrow, and saw his boat push off. 
 
 "Man the windlass, Mr. Boyd," said the captain to 
 his mate ; and then Morgan and I were sent aloft to 
 loose sails, and by breakfast time the Golden Gate lay 
 astern, and we were once more chewing salt horse, but 
 chewing it with a good heart, cracking jokes with our 
 new shipmates, and determined to take the world easy. 
 
 That evening, as Morgan was on the lookout, pacing 
 to and fro, waiting to be relieved, he turned to me with 
 a troubled look, and said he feared he would not sleep
 
 218 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 for many a night — he would always he seeing the dead 
 man's face. I consoled him as hest I could, and going 
 below, got him a stiff dose of old Tod's Bourbon in a tin 
 pannikin. Half an horn- later, he was sound asleep in 
 his bunk.
 
 CHAPTEK XXI 
 
 CAPTAIN GIEALD OF THE " HIKUEEO " 
 
 WE made a rather smart run to Tahiti, for the 
 Slielelwff, though a very ancient craft, could sail 
 like a witch. Her captain was quite a young man, a 
 fine seaman, but the laziest creature and greatest 
 glutton I ever came across. He spent most of his time 
 on his back in the deck-house reading, getting up at 
 intervals to eat, and then going back again. However, 
 he was very good-natured, and would always lend the 
 hands any books they wanted, and also fed us well, so 
 at a general meeting in the foc'stle, we unanimously 
 voted him one of God's noblest works, and did our duty 
 by him like men. I subsequently heard that on the 
 voyage back to California the poor fellow was washed 
 overboard, deck house and all, and drowned, and the 
 poor old Shdelioff, being thrown on her beam ends, 
 was abandoned. 
 
 As soon as we reached Tahiti, events moved pretty 
 quickly with Morgan and myself. The brig was to load 
 oranges for San Francisco, and the captain was anxious 
 for us to sign on and stay with him, but we told him 
 frankly that we wanted to see something of the South 
 Seas, so he let us go. 
 
 Before we had been on shore two hours, we made the 
 
 219
 
 220 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 acquaintcancc at the hotel of the captain of the New Bedford 
 whaler Sea Breeze then 13'ing off the port, which she had 
 visited for the purpose of landing her first officer, who 
 had heen seriously injured by a fall from aloft. The 
 captain, whose name was Allonby, was well-known by 
 name to my brother, to whom he offered the berth of 
 third mate, vacant by the accident to the chief officer. 
 
 After a little hesitation about leaving me, Morgan, who 
 was very keen about going home with some money, 
 accepted the offer, and we at once went off with the 
 captain to the U.S. Consulate, Here both Morgan 
 and Allonby j^ressed me to join the barque, but I 
 was not at all inclined to ship on a whaler, so my brother 
 and I parted, and in an hour he was on board the Sea 
 Breeze, which at once filled, and stood away for the 
 Marquesas in continuation of her cruise. Morgan would 
 only take ten pounds out of the money in my hands 
 saying he would want no more, as Allonby's was 
 a lucky ship. He was away with her for three years, 
 and I am glad to say returned home after a long absence 
 with a good deal of money, and then went on his next 
 cruise as second mate of a Hobart whaler. 
 
 Feeling somewhat disconsolate as I saw the white 
 cotton canvas of the Sea Breeze disappear, I went back 
 to the hotel, engaged a room, dressed myself carefully, 
 and made the acquaintance of a fat, podgy little French- 
 man, wearing the uniform of a captain of Marine 
 Infantry. He shared a bottle of wine with me, and 
 seemed an agreeable person, for though we could not 
 understand each other, we had a common thirst which 
 was a bond of sympathy, as the day was very hot, and 
 we were both perspiring freely. 
 
 Presently another Frenchman came in — a young, 
 deeply-bronzed and good-looking man who spoke excellent
 
 CAPTAIN GIRARB OP THE "HIKUEEO" 221 
 
 English, and who I found was Captain Girard, master 
 and owner of a schooner named the Tllkuero, which was 
 lying just astern of the Shelehoff. He was, he tokl me, 
 leaving in a day or two for a cruise among the pearl-shell 
 islands in the Paumotu Group, and was then going on to 
 the Austral or Tuhuai Group. I asked him if he would 
 take a passenger for the round trip, and the terms. Yes, 
 he could, and the terms would he one thousand 
 francs. But would I come on board first, and see his 
 vessel ? 
 
 Off we went and boarded tho schooner. She was a 
 fine American-built craft of about two hundred tons, with 
 good cabin accommodation, and kept like a man-of-war. 
 In the cabin we were received by a very pretty young 
 half-caste girl, whom he introduced to us as Madame 
 Girard. She spoke both English and French very 
 v;ell, and was at that moment entertaining some of her 
 Tahitian female fiiends. She herself was a native of 
 the Gambler Islands, and the daughter of an English 
 trader, whose surname, she artlessly told me, she did 
 not know — " as he went away when I was quite a little 
 girl." 
 
 I soon decided to make the voyage, and paid Captain 
 Girard seven hundred and fifty francs down. Then, never 
 able to resist temptation, I returned ashore with the podgy 
 little soldier man, and hiring two horses, we rode out 
 along the coast to the village of Papawa, where we found 
 two of his brother officers enjoying the society of some 
 young native girls — half-caste, and full-blooded — in a very 
 comfortable bungalow belonging to a bachelor. They 
 made us very welcome, and as there was a piano in the 
 place, and all the girls could waltz very well, we had a 
 very amusing time, especially myself, for the young 
 ladies — either because I had provided them with a large
 
 222 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 amount of liquid refreshment, or merely to tease the 
 Frenchmen, made much of me on account of my being 
 a taata Peretane (Englishman), and tried to teach me 
 Tahitian by surrounding me in a circle and all talking 
 at once. They were a merry lot, and although they 
 had absolutely no regard for modesty, there was 
 something so spontaneous about their fun that I 
 laughed till my sides literally ached, especially when 
 one of them, putting on my podgy friend's tunic and 
 pith helmet, mimicked him on parade. 
 
 It was nearing dawn when we got back to Papeite, for 
 my soldier friend kept falling off his horse, and I had 
 much trouble in putting him on again. Finally I 
 secured him firmly to his saddle, and reaching the hotel, 
 consigned him to the care of the landlord, and went on 
 board the Hikuero. Some of the native crew were 
 having their morning bathe alongside, and stripping off, 
 I jumped in among them, my vanity being gratified at 
 their expressions of surprise that so young a white man 
 could swim and dive so well. This detestable feeling of 
 personal vanity, to which I have before alluded, was no 
 mere youthful desire of emulation, it was deep-seated 
 and ingrained, and though I usually pretended diffidence 
 and extreme modesty in everything, from seamaushii) to 
 my personal appearance, I was in reality eaten up with 
 pride at my own abilities, physical and mental ; but the 
 time was to come when I was to have a bitter, 
 humiliating, and appalling aAvakening. 
 
 Early one morning we hove up and ran out through 
 Papiete Pass, then stood to the east to thrash om- way 
 against the south-east trades to the Paumotu Archipelago. 
 There were but two other white men on board besides 
 myself — Captain Girard and his mate, an Irishman 
 named Jimmy Montgomery. The crew were all natives
 
 CAPTAIN GIBAED OF THE "HIKUERO" 223 
 
 — either of the Society Islands, or Cook's Group, and 
 were a thoroughly reliable lot of men, as far as obedience 
 to orders went. Montgomery also had a native wife on 
 board, a very intelligent Samoan, who was devotedly 
 attached to her husband, and had followed his varying 
 fortunes since almost her childhood. 
 
 After being on board a week I could see that Girard, 
 though a very pleasant fellow, was not a good seaman, 
 though he did not know it, and was somewhat patronising 
 to his mate. He (Girard) had made but one previous 
 voyage in the Hikuero, and Montgomery told me that 
 he had nearly lost her on two occasions through never 
 before having sailed in a fore and aft rigged vessel. He 
 was, however, a most competent navigator (he was an 
 ex-officer of the French Navy) and in all respects a 
 gentleman, except when he tried to learn Tahitiau from 
 his wife Hino (otherwise "Madame ") : then he became 
 an insujfiferable nuisance and annoyance to us by his 
 uxorious display of affection during the lesson. 
 
 We made a slashing beat against the trades to the 
 beautiful Anaa Lagoon or Chain Island, the most south- 
 easterly of the Paumotus, where we landed stores for 
 one of Girard's traders, an American, I went ashore 
 and. spent some hours at this man's place, and enjoyed 
 myself most thoroughly. 
 
 My host had been living in the South Seas for 
 over thirty years, and was a refined and cultured man, 
 and his family of half-castes (born of a Marquesan 
 mother) were strikingly handsome young people. More 
 than this, they were well educated ; the eldest 
 girl, who was about twenty-three years of age, having 
 been educated in New London, Connecticut, of which 
 town her father was a native. They were certainly 
 a most amiable and delightful family, and their house,
 
 221 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 though native built, was a model of cleanliness and 
 comfort, furnished like any well-ordered English home, 
 and containing such luxuries as a piano and a good 
 library. In one of the younger boys — a lad of fifteen — 
 I was much interested. He not only spoke English and 
 French, but half a dozen Polynesian dialects with 
 proficiency. And yet this otherwise happy family had, 
 Tintil a few months previously, laboured under a 
 depressing tyranny. 
 
 The father, who had married his Marquesan wife 
 according to the rites of the Protestant Church, nearly 
 thirty years before, had lived in the South Seas 
 ever since, done much to develop the trade of the 
 islands, and civilise the natives, and was a man of 
 the most spotless rej)utation socially and commercially, 
 yet was banned by the Roman Catholic priests of the 
 Paumotu Group simply because he would not permit his 
 children to be brought up as Roman Catholics. So far 
 had their priestly persecution gone that his servants 
 were first taken away ; then the natives were forbidden 
 to sell or even give him and his family food, and he 
 and his children had literally to fish for their living, by 
 going out upon the reef day after day for many months 
 and catching fish. His protests to the Governor- 
 General at Tahiti met with but a cold response, and 
 he was just on the point of emigrating to Samoa, and 
 abandoning a lucrative business when an American 
 man-of-war, commanded by an energetic and determined 
 officer, called at the island. She arrived at a critical 
 and most opportune moment, for a French gunboat was 
 at the island at the time, and the priests and her 
 commander had so terrified the natives under a threat of 
 bombarding the village imless they insisted upon the 
 American and his family leaving the island, that the
 
 CAPTAIN GIRARD OF THE " HIKUERO " 225 
 
 unfortunate people, who were much attached to them 
 personally, came in a body and besought him to save 
 them from destruction by at once leaving the island in 
 a small cutter belonging to him — a craft of less than ten 
 tons. 
 
 The American commander went about business in a 
 practical manner. First of all he boarded the French 
 gunboat, told her commander that the United States 
 Government had no knowledge of a French protectorate 
 over the Paumotu Archipelago, and warned him against 
 the serious responsibility he was incurring by interfering 
 with " a citizen of the greatest country on the earth," 
 or other judicious words to that effect. Then he sent 
 an armed force ashore, hoisted the stars and stripes over 
 the American's house, and ran a line of spun-yarn from 
 one post to another completely round the land (which 
 the American had bought and paid for from the original 
 native owners) and had notices written in French and in 
 the native dialect, warning all and sundry that Baxter 
 Clayton was a citizen of the United States, and under 
 the protection of his country's government. Then, 
 leaving one solitary marine posted at Clayton's door as 
 the visible and outward sign of the might of the 
 American Republic, he steamed off to Papiete, and 
 asked the Governor- General for an explanation of the 
 " aggressive actions committed by France upon the 
 citizen of a friendly power." The Governor sent for 
 the gallant Admiral Clouet, then in command of the 
 French Pacific Squadron, and the admiral, I was told, 
 not only promptly disavowed the action of the commander 
 of the gunboat, but rated the Governor for refusing to 
 reply to Clayton's complaints against the tyranny of the 
 French priests, whom he described as being " like a 
 great many missionaries, potent factors for disturb- 
 
 16
 
 226 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 ance and mischief, irresponsible gentlemen, who from 
 misguided zeal for their sacred profession, are likely to, 
 and capable of, bringing about serious international 
 complications." It was this same Admiral Clouet who, 
 during the Franco-German war, sent a message through- 
 out the South Seas to the various European consuls, 
 asking them to inform German shipmasters that they 
 need have no fear of being seized by French men-of- 
 war, as "France did not desire to molest defenceless 
 merchantmen." This message was the cause of much 
 jubilation, and a great flow of lager beer in Samoa, 
 where a number of German ships were lying, expecting 
 to be seized by the French Pacific fleet. 
 
 Clayton, as I have said, was a man of education and 
 refinement, and although living on this lonel}^ isle, so 
 far away from the centres of civilisation, he kept his 
 family and himself in touch with the outer world as far 
 as lay in his power. When I was bidding him goodbj^e, 
 he gave me the following verses, which, he said, had 
 been written by the dying wife of a soldier friend of his 
 named Eeay, who committed suicide through gi'ief on 
 the following day. Reay left the verses on his table 
 and then shot himself. I thought them very beautiful, 
 and have preserved Clayton's pencilled cop}^, which he 
 had taken from some magazine, to this day. 
 
 FOE THE LAST TIME. 
 
 There comes an end to everything, my clearest: 
 The longest horn- of agony must pass, 
 The sweetest hour of joy must end, alas I 
 
 And not the strength of all tJic love thou bearest 
 Can motion back from me the solemn dawn 
 Of this new journey, whither I am drawn, 
 
 By force resistless and invisible.
 
 CAPTAIN GIRARD OF THE " HIKUERO " 227 
 
 How the dim light weaves shadows in the room, 
 And sounds mysterious tremble through the gloom ! 
 
 Thou art so brave, Death hath no fears for thee, 
 And love supreme waits in the awful hush, 
 Listening with jealous fears for the dark rush 
 
 Of angels' wmgs in this hour given to me 
 
 For the last time. 
 
 Thou hearest, my beloved — well I know, 
 
 By the mute agony in those sad eyes — 
 My soul's voice speaking unto thine so low 
 
 That it seems unto others echoing sighs. 
 What words would not be cold at such a time ? 
 
 But, love, I understand thee, lying here. 
 And closer hold thy throbbing palm in mine. 
 
 And wait with thee the end which draweth near. 
 Yet I, that am so quiet, well can feel 
 
 The pain for thee of this last hour on earth, 
 
 Nor would I leave thee lonely by our hearth. 
 For all the knowledge dying can reveal, 
 
 If my will was unto my soul a law. 
 We are two children ; over us the whole 
 Commanding universe of God doth roll. 
 
 Draw close and hearken, for methought I saw 
 An aureate light, and heard a stir of wings — 
 Dear love, I see and hear so many things 
 
 For the last time. 
 
 I have no fear of that which is to come — 
 
 Hast thou had fear when thou wert nearing home ? 
 
 If my last sleep be dreamless and profound, 
 Is it not well with me ? Or if it be 
 
 Rich in fulfilment of God's promises. 
 May not my spirit murmur mito thee. 
 
 Coming at eve, upon some gracious air. 
 
 To touch thy lips and bring the visions fair ? 
 I will be with thee when the roses blow, 
 And all the richness of the year doth flow, 
 
 In gorgeous waves of colour through the land. 
 When daisies star the sod, or snow-flakes shroud, 
 When the low sun-gold edges some bright cloud. 
 
 Or the pure dawn uprises at command, 
 Let things speak of me ; make me a part 
 Of all thy life, of all thy loving heart, 
 
 And keep me alwaj's in thy memory 
 As closely as to-night thou holdest me 
 
 For the last time.
 
 228 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 Yet even at this hour there comes a thought — 
 A vision of the time when I shall fade 
 To a dim spectre in thy memory's shade ; 
 
 But ah ! thy loving eyes too oft have sought 
 The light in mine to wholly lose the trace 
 Of absent features ; thou wilt keep a place 
 
 In thy heart's temple sacred to thy dead. 
 
 Dost thou hear music ? Bend thy patient head 
 Closer to mine — I cannot see thee now, 
 Though thy mute lips are pressed upon my brow ; 
 
 The dark death-angel, Israfel, is near, 
 
 And a strange light from outer worlds shines clear ; 
 I see the glow around thee softlj' creep — 
 Kiss me once more, dear love, before I sleep. 
 
 For the last time. 
 
 We left Anaa on the following day, bound for the 
 island after which our schooner was named — Hikuero — 
 two degrees to the eastward. Here, in bringing to, so 
 as to anchor in five fathoms on a coral patch, the 
 French captain lost his head, and only Montgomery's 
 able seamanship saved the vessel from drifting into the 
 surf on the reef and being pounded into matchwood in 
 five minutes, for a terrific sea was running, and had we 
 once struck, I doubt if any but our native crew would 
 have escaped with their lives. Some very hot words 
 passed between Girard and his mate, for the former 
 was an extremely conceited man, and the latter a hot- 
 tempered Irishman ; and I, who had no business whatever 
 to interfere, unfortunately did so, and told Girard that his 
 mate was right and he was wrong, and that he (Girard) 
 did not haul his head sails to windward soon enough to 
 check the schooner's headway. 
 
 Naturally enough, the captain was furious at my 
 presumption, and to make matters worse his wife Hino 
 (who was in some respects as good a sailor as himseh) 
 sided with Montgomery and me, and then Girard, 
 Frenchman-like, sla^^ped her face, and in his passion,
 
 CAPTAIN GIRARD OF THE "HIKUERO" 229 
 
 applied an exceedingly opprobrious Tahitian epithet to 
 the poor girl — an epithet the meaning of which I am 
 sm-e he did not understand (so gross and foul was it) or 
 he would never have used it, for he was, as I have said, 
 a gentleman. But the flood of tears from Hino, as she 
 sank on her knees on the deck and covered her face with 
 her hands, was too much for me, and I struck Girard on 
 the mouth and knocked him back again against the 
 wheel which spun round, and he fell heavily on the deck, 
 nearly stunning himself. But he was up quick enough, 
 and made a rush at me, and though, like most French- 
 men, he had no more idea of fighting than has a cat — by 
 its claws and teeth — he managed to get me by the throat, 
 and would have strangled me — being the stronger man 
 — had I not given him an upper cut under the chin, 
 taught to the Breachley boys by Paddy Minogue. This 
 made him loosen his grip on my swallowing apparatus, 
 but he then seized my hair and dragged out a handful 
 by the roots, which so infuriated me that, getting him 
 down, I pounded his face into a pulp, and believe I 
 should have half-killed him had not Jimmy Montgomery 
 given me a blow on the ear which stretched me out on 
 the deck beside the Frenchman. 
 
 "D'ye call that sort av thing foightin', Mr. 
 Breachley?" he said indignantly. " Shure ye're no 
 better than a Chinaman or a Dago, and forget yourself 
 entirely. Ye ought to be ashamed." 
 
 I certainly was ashamed of acting in such a con- 
 temptible manner, and at once became a good Samaritan, 
 and asked Hino to help me to carry her husband to his 
 berth and attend to him generally. She brusquely 
 declined, told me not to trouble about him, and said 
 many uncomplimentary things about Frenchmen in 
 general, and her husband in particular,
 
 230 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 The captain, by reason of his difference with myself, 
 not being able to go on shore, Montgomery took his 
 place in the schooner's boat, and I went with him. As 
 soon as we landed we were met by the captain and crew 
 of a Norwegian barque which had been wrecked on the 
 island a few weeks previously. The captain, whose 
 name was Guuderson, literally wept down the back of 
 Montgomery's neck when the latter told him that 
 Captain Girard would certainly take him and his crew 
 on board the Hikuero, and give them a passage to 
 Tahiti. 
 
 The Norwegian had saved all his boats, had pro- 
 visioned two, and was about to start for Tahiti or 
 Samoa — he did not know Avhich — when we arrived. 
 One — the longboat — was lying in the lagoon and I 
 went off and looked at her. She was fitted out and 
 provisioned so well that she could have voyaged to 
 Australia, and I remarked jocularly to Montgomery 
 that I would not mind making a voyage in her. 
 
 I little knew what was to happen in a few hom-s.
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 HINO GIRARD — AND MYSELF 
 
 rpHERE were but thirty natives living on Hikuero ; 
 -*- they were employed in diving for pearl-shell for 
 Girard, and after Montgomery had gone back to the 
 schooner, taking the Norwegian captain with him, I 
 took a stroll about the island, and entered into conver- 
 sation with the head man — a native of Aitutaki in 
 Cook's Group. He was a very intelligent old fellov/, 
 and spoke excellent English, and told me that he had 
 sailed in English ships nearly all his life, did not like 
 Frenchmen, and that Girard did not pay him and his 
 fellow-divers a fair price for the pearl-shell and pearls 
 he bought from them. Simply because I was an 
 Englishman, the old fellow talked very freely to me, 
 and presently, inviting me inside his hut, he bade one of 
 his children stand at the door to prevent intrusion. 
 Bidding me be seated, he produced from a chest in the 
 room a blue silk handkerchief, in which were twenty- 
 seven splendid pearls ; and two wooden match-boxes each 
 filled to the brim with seed pearls. Spreading out the 
 twenty-seven large pearls on the handkerchief, he asked 
 me what I thought they were worth — were they worth 
 no more than ten dollars each? I laughed, and said 
 that little as I knew about pearls, I should think three 
 
 231
 
 232 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 times that sum would not approach the value of a 
 shigle one. 
 
 He nodded. " I been thinking so myself for a long 
 time, but Captain Girard tell me that pearls very cheap 
 now, because at some place called Ceylon, men dig 
 them up in the sand, and fill buckets with them. Is 
 that true? " 
 
 *' I don't think so." 
 
 " Well, Captain Girard only gives me ten dollars for 
 every large pearl, and pays me by weight for the little 
 pearls. Now, will you buy these big ones from me? 
 What will you give me for them? " 
 
 I said that I had not much money, but if he liked to 
 pick out ten pearls I would give him twenty dollars 
 each for them in American gold, but told him frankly 
 that I was sure they were worth much more, and that 
 he had better keep them. He replied that to do so 
 would be of no use to him. No English ships were 
 likely to come to Hikuero, and he had no choice but to 
 sell his pearls to Girard, or take them to Auckland, and 
 he was now too old a man to leave his family and make 
 a long voyage, and perhaps find out when he reached 
 New Zealand that what Captain Girard had said about 
 the cheapness of pearls was true. Then he asked me 
 to pick out the ten largest pearls. I did so, and he 
 then added five others — the next largest in size, and 
 insisted upon my accepting them. This I refused 
 to do, but after much good-natured argument, he con- 
 sented to accept a Winchester carbine and a thousand 
 cartridges from me in return for the five extra pearls. 
 
 I at once went off to the schooner for the money. 
 Girard was lying on the skylight, and as I was ashamed 
 of my brutality to him, I went up to him, and in a few 
 words expressed my sorrow for what had occurred, and
 
 HINO GIRARD— AND MYSELF 233 
 
 proffered him my hand. He rejected it, and said that 
 as soon as he was well he should expect me to give him 
 satisfaction — unless," he added, " like all Englishmen, 
 you are too much of a coward, and have no sense of 
 honour." 
 
 " Don't say that, captain," I said ; "I am really very, 
 very sorry for what has happened. Mr. Montgomery 
 told mc that I was most impertinent to you, and I do 
 hope that you will accept my apology." 
 
 "Ah, you are afraid ! You fear to meet me ! You 
 are a pig ! A coward ! You have no courage." 
 
 As he leant upon one arm glaring at me like a tiger, 
 with his two blackened eyes, a cut lip, and sundry 
 abrasions upon his features generally, he looked so 
 intensely ridiculous, that I could not resist a smile. 
 This made him furious, and he declared that I was not 
 only a coward, but an imbecile ; and — what cut me to 
 the quick, made a gi'oss and utterly unfounded accusation 
 concerning the relations of his wife and myself. 
 
 This was serious, and I emphatically assured him 
 that he was doing his wife a great wrong (I had cer- 
 tainly, in a playful manner, kissed her one night) and 
 that he had no cause to make such an insulting insinua- 
 tion. He made no answer, beyond repeating his 
 parrot-like statement that I was a coward, his wife was 
 as perfidious as myself, and that I was afraid to meet him. 
 
 "Oh, go and hang yourself," I said at last, indig- 
 nant at the man's stupidity. 
 
 Descending to the cabin, I took the money to pay for 
 the pearls I had bought, tied up the Winchester carbine 
 and cartridges in a native mat, and was about to go on 
 deck again, when Hino met me in the companion way. 
 Her eyes were red with weej)ing, and the poor girl 
 looked thoroughly distressed and unhappy. She told
 
 234 BBEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 me that she had been compelled to marry Girard by her 
 relatives, that she had no affection for him, and that his 
 unfounded jealousy had caused her the greatest misery. 
 In another moment— so quickly do these unfortunate 
 things happen — our lips met, and then she agreed, as 
 the novelists say, " to become mine for ever," and after 
 some passionate embraces, we made our plans. 
 
 Returning on shore, I paid the Aitutaki native his 
 two hundred dollars for the pearls, and handed him the 
 Winchester carbine and the case of cartridges. Then, 
 feeling sure that he was a man to be trusted, I asked him 
 if he would help me and my newly-found lady love to 
 get away from the island. He assented most cheerfully, 
 and complimented me by saying that such a splendid 
 and beautiful young woman as Hino Girard was in- 
 tended by Nature and the Almighty to be the mate of 
 an Englishman like myself, instead of being wedded to 
 a miserable Frenchman. 
 
 Then I went to the Norwegian skipper, and asked 
 him what he would take for his boat as she stood, ready 
 for sea. Knowing that he could not take her away in 
 the schooner, he said I could have her for one hundred 
 and fifty dollars (she was really worth double), but I 
 shook my head and turned away, saying that after all 
 his boat would be no use to me, though I did not mind 
 giving him seventy-five dollars. The poor man, recog- 
 nising that seventy-five dollars was better than nothing, 
 closed with me, and I paid him the money, took his 
 pencilled receipt, and went on board again to make my 
 final dispositions. I may mention here that had the 
 Norwegian refused to sell me the boat, I should have 
 taken her just the same, and left the money with the 
 old head man. 
 
 On counting my money, I found that I had still more
 
 HINO GIRARD— AND MYSELF 235 
 
 than enough wherewith to pay Girard the remainder of 
 my passage money, though as a matter of equity he was 
 not entitled to it, as the voyage had scarcely begun, and 
 I had already given him seven hundred and fifty francs. 
 However, as I did not want to see him again, I wrote 
 him a curt note, saying I was going ashore, and 
 enclosing the money, and asking for a receipt. I sent 
 the note to him by the steward, who in a few 
 minutes brought me the receipt without a word from 
 the captain. 
 
 Just then Montgomery's Samoan wife came below, 
 and I asked her if she would like to see the pearls I had 
 bought. Taking her seat beside me at the cabin table, 
 we opened the handkerchief, and whilst she was gazing 
 at them with delight, Montgomery himself joined us, 
 and reiterated his wife's expressions of admiration, and 
 told me that had he the money to spare, and I would 
 sell them, he would give me one hundred pounds for 
 any three of them. He then asked me why I had 
 " bought the Dutchman's boat." I merely said that I 
 could not get on well with Girard, and told him of how 
 the man had insulted me after my overtures towards a 
 reconciliation ; and added that as I now had a good 
 boat, I felt in a measure independent, as when I tired 
 of living on Hikuero, I could easily find a crew who 
 would sail with me to Tahiti, or any other island I 
 wished. 
 
 The good-natured mate and his wife both expressed 
 their sorrow at my intention of leaving them, and 
 Montgomery, learning that the compass in the boat 
 had been that in the wrecked barque's binnacle, and 
 was an awkward, clumsy affair, gave me a proper boat 
 compass in exchange ; he also provided me a general 
 hart of the Paumotu Group, by which I saw that Tahitic
 
 236 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 lay due west from Hikuero, and v/as distant three 
 hundred and eighty miles, and as the S.E. trades 
 were now very strong, I remarked to Montgomery that 
 the voyage to Tahiti would be but a pleasure trip. 
 
 Just then we heard footsteps on the companion, and 
 Captain Girard, who had been looking down upon us 
 from the skylight, descended. His face was very pale, 
 and not at all improved by sundry strips of black plaster 
 on the lips and chin. As he looked at me, his dark 
 eyes shot such a glance of passionate resentment into 
 mine, that I felt sure the man would have tried his 
 best to kill me had I acceded to his wish to a duel. 
 He paused for an instant, and then, pointing to the 
 pearls lying on the cabin table, demanded in a voice 
 shaking with rage, whose property they were. 
 
 " They are mine," I said coldly. 
 
 "They are not," he said passionately; "they are 
 mine. You, Mr. Breachley, are a thief as well as a 
 coward — yes, a miserable thief! " 
 
 Montgomery quickly interposed, and besought the 
 captain to be more moderate in his language, saying he 
 was sm'e that I could give him (Girard) proof that the 
 pearls were mine. 
 
 "Proof, proof! Pouf! for his proof! He has as 
 good as stolen the pearls, which would have been 
 brought to me had he not made the old head man 
 drunk " 
 
 I had some difficulty in restraining my temper at this 
 utterly unfounded charge, but appealing to him to listen 
 to me calmly, I said — 
 
 " Captain Girard, these pearls were offered to me by 
 the old Aitutaki native Marama. I gave him two 
 hundi'ed dollars, a Winchester carbine, and a case of 
 cartridges for them. And that he had a right to sell,
 
 HINO GIRAED— AND MYSELF 237 
 
 and I a right to buy, you will, I am sure, admit, for he 
 showed me his agreement, whereby, although he is 
 bound to sell you all his pearl shell at a fixed price, he 
 has the right of selling his pearls to any buyer. I have 
 done nothing improper." 
 
 " Bah ! you are a liar as well as a sneak ! " and 
 slipping past Montgomery, he struck me on the mouth 
 with his open hand with such violence that I nearly 
 tumbled over on my back. 
 
 " Now, wull you fight? you miserable! " he demanded 
 in a voice so hoarse with fury and hatred that his 
 utterance sounded as if his interior was lined with cotton 
 wool. 
 
 Wiping my bleeding lips as I listened to Mont- 
 gomery's earnest injunctions not to forget myself and 
 strike a man who was beside himself with rage and 
 excitement, I made no answer to his challenge, beyond 
 saying that he would know my decision in a day or two, 
 and then wrapping up my pearls again, I went into my 
 berth, packed up my belongings, and carried them on 
 deck. 
 
 Hino was seated in a cane chair under the a^vning, 
 and shot me a quick approving glance from under her 
 dark lashes. She had been watching the proceedings 
 below all the time. 
 
 I thought I was getting away quietly, when suddenly 
 she gave a warning cry, and Girard, carrying two 
 navy cutlasses in his hands, and shaking like a man 
 in a fit of ague, bade me stay and fight, throwing 
 one of the weapons, not at my feet, but in my face. 
 Hino sprang to her feet, and although the maddened 
 man pointed his cutlass at her bosom, and warned 
 her to stand aside, or he would run her through, she 
 prevented him from getting near me, for which I was
 
 238 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 sincerely thankful, for I knew as much about the use of 
 a cutlass as I did about Chinese metaphysics. In another 
 moment Montgomery came to her aid, and I was able 
 to get into the schooner's boat with my belongings, and 
 go ashore, 
 
 Marama, though somewhat fearful of Girard's anger, 
 should he learn of it, sold me a keg of beef, and some 
 tinned potatoes, and two 501b. tins of biscuit — as an 
 addition to the provisions already in the boat. These I 
 at once took on board my craft, of which I now made a 
 more thorough examination, and saw that she was so 
 well-found that my spirits rose, and I smiled maliciously 
 to myself as I thought of dark-eyed Hino, and my extra- 
 ordinary ability in stealing another man's wife under 
 such exciting circumstances. 
 
 I hoisted the mainsail and jib, lifted the anchor, 
 and then sailed the boat about a mile further away 
 from the village, to a spot where she was nearly 
 abreast of the one narrow passage through the reef 
 leading into the lagoon. Here I anchored in five 
 fathoms, in water as clear as crystal over a coral 
 bottom of such strange beauty that, leaning over the 
 gunwale, I surrendered myself to a silent ecstasy, and 
 fancied that in the depths beneath, Hino's oval face, with 
 her love-red lips and melting eyes, was looking into 
 mine. Then once more I went over the boat, and over- 
 hauled her from stem to stern, and finding a wicker- 
 worked two-gallon jar of the Chilian spirit called "Pisco " 
 in one of the lockers, I opened it and took some, and in 
 ten minutes felt more exhilarated than ever, and that 
 Hino was Hino the Beautiful, and that there was no 
 other woman in all the Avorld to comj^are with her, and 
 that Harry Brandon and Madame de Langle were but 
 poor creatures compared to sweet Hino and William
 
 HINO GIRARD— AND MYSELF 239 
 
 Breachlcy. The "Pisco" was certainly very strong, but 
 it had one good effect of sending me to sleep for two or 
 three hours. 
 
 When I awoke, and found the boat lying on water as 
 smooth as glass, and as restful as that of a mountain 
 lake, and that my head was feeling pretty clear, I 
 undressed — I was wearing pyjamas only — and as I was 
 but half a cable's length from the beach, and no canoes 
 were about, swam ashore, first tying my clothes and 
 canvas shoes up on my head. 
 
 I had hardly reached the shore when I saw half a 
 dozen natives running towards me, shouting and gesticu- 
 lating; the foremost man, as soon as he reached me, 
 grasped me by the hand, and in his mongrel Tahitian- 
 Paumotuan-cum-English, besought me to come quickly 
 to his house, where a white man had been killed, or was 
 dying, or in some parlous state. Associating every 
 current event with my own affairs, I at once jumped to 
 the conclusion that Girard had shot himself, or Mont- 
 gomery, or that a tragedy in which the Frenchman was 
 the principal factor had occurred. 
 
 Slipping on my pyjamas, I ran along with the natives, 
 and, mentally congratulating myself with the idea that 
 if Girard was dead I was doing no harm in runninff 
 
 o 
 
 away with his widow, and, in fact, was a very deserving 
 person, we reached the house, which was filled with the 
 entire population of the island. 
 
 They were clustered around the body, or rather 
 the greater portion of the body, of the mate of the 
 Norwegian barque, who, when swimming in the lagoon, 
 had been seized by a shark which had practically 
 bitten the poor fellow in half, for only some skin 
 and integuments on the right side connected the upper 
 with the lower part of the body. It was such an
 
 240 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP , 
 
 appalling sight, that it made me feel quite ill. The 
 poor fellow was a handsome, stalwart man with a long 
 yellow beard (he was the captain's son), and his face 
 bore such a dreadful expression of agony — his eyes being 
 still wide open and staring — that I could scarcely look 
 at him, and was glad when Marama covered his body 
 with a mat, and sent the natives away. 
 
 I left the house at once, feeling that I could not 
 witness the grief of his father, who v^^as expected evei-y 
 moment, and retm-ned to where my boat was anchored, 
 and again studied the trend of the passage through the 
 reef, for as I intended to leave at night, I had need to 
 be careful. 
 
 About four in the afternoon I saw Girard and Hino 
 come ashore, go to Marama's house, and then walk 
 through the village. Carrying a fishing-line in my 
 hand, and calling to a small intelligent-looking boy to 
 come with me, I sauntered towards the landing-place. 
 Passing through the village I met the Girards, and 
 raised my hat to them. Hino gave me a slight inclina- 
 tion of her head, but her husband looked straight before 
 him, ignoring me entirely. 
 
 I remained fishing for an hovir, momentarily expecting 
 a message from Hino, and had not to wait much longer, 
 for presently I saw her coming towards the landing- 
 place, accompanied by Marama's wife and three or four 
 young native girls. Girard was standing outside the 
 house, talking to Marama, but keenly watching his wife 
 to see if she spoke to me. But she passed me without 
 even looking at me, or I at her, and getting into the 
 schooner's boat with the native women, was rowed on 
 board. 
 
 By this time I had caught three or four fish, which 
 I told the native boy who was with me to take oif to the
 
 HINO GIRARD— AND MYSELF 241 
 
 mate and his wife. Ho at once jumped into a canoe, 
 and paddled off, returning in a quarter of an hour with a 
 note from Hino, which he quietly slipped into my hand. 
 It was to say that Girard was remaining on shore to 
 weigh Marama's pearl shell, and would most likely sleep 
 on shore, as he seemed to be suspicious of my move- 
 ments, and had ordered her to return to the schooner. 
 But I need have no fear, she added. She would he with 
 me by eleven o'clock or sooner, especially if the night 
 turned out wet and squally, of which there was every 
 indication, as the glass had been falling steadily 
 all day. 
 
 As soon as it was dark I went off to my boat again, 
 and waited. At seven o'clock rain began to fall heavily, 
 accompanied by sharp squalls of wind, which by nine 
 o'clock had settled down into a very stiff breeze, and 
 the shore, only a hundred yards or so distant, was quite 
 hidden from view. Just in front of me I could see the 
 tumbling surf on the reef showing unpleasantly white, 
 but it was impossible for me to discern the small narrow 
 passage. The rising tide and the wind together had 
 now raised a heavy swell, which made the boat jump 
 and roll and strain at her cable in a most uncomfortable 
 manner, so I gave her another fifteen fathoms, which 
 brought me rather too close to the shore ; but at that 
 moment, to my delight, I heard Hino's voice. She was 
 on the beach, not ten yards away, and, followed by 
 my small native boy acquaintance, she came boldly into 
 the water, and in a few seconds was on board. 
 
 " Quick, Bill dearest," she panted, " Marama says 
 we need not try to find the passage, as the tide is so 
 high we can sail over the reef anywhere." 
 
 Seizing the cable, we hauled out upon it, no easy task 
 under such conditions, and by good luck got our anchor 
 
 17
 
 242 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 up. Then running up the jib, which was all the sail we 
 wanted just then, I put the boat before the wind at the 
 white line of reef, and in less than five minutes we were 
 right into the surf, which, to our joy, was not as bad as 
 it looked, for not a drop of water came aboard, and we 
 passed over safely without touching the bottom once. 
 
 We ran on in the thick blinding rain for another ten 
 minutes, then close reefed the mainsail and hoisted it, 
 and I put the boat's head N.N.W., which brought the 
 wind on her quarter, and sent her spinning along in 
 great style. By this time, although we were only about 
 a mile and a half from the village, we could not even 
 see a light, let alone the land itself, and there was no 
 possible chance now of the boat being seen from the 
 shore. 
 
 Marama's wife had sold me several changes of clothes 
 for Hino, who, as soon as possible, put on some dry 
 things, for the rain was very cold. Then, making her 
 lie down aft, I covered her with my oilskin coat, and let 
 the shivering native boy, who was wearing but a gi-ass 
 girdle around his waist, creep in beside her, and bade 
 them sleep. 
 
 About two in the morning, the rain ceased and the 
 blue sky came out, star-studded. Then whilst Hino 
 steered, I made some cofiee for us all, and we ate a few 
 biscuits. At daylight we were nearly forty miles away 
 from Hikuero, and were making good progress before a 
 steady breeze.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 POOR HINO 
 
 MY first inquiry of Hino was to ask how she came to 
 bring the boy with her, and I had to laugh when 
 she repHed that she did not bring him — he simply came 
 with her and begged her to ask me to let him come with 
 us in the boat. His parents were both dead, and he was 
 eager to get away from Hikuero. He was, as I have 
 said, a smart little fellow, his age was not more than 
 eleven, and he soon proved his usefulness by lighting the 
 fire in the little Norwegian boat stove, and, instructed 
 by Hino, boiling water for our breakfast cofiee. His 
 name was Tapoa, and we, to his intense delight, ap- 
 pointed him cook, steward, and crew. 
 
 I must mention that I was steering a N.N.W. course 
 for very good reasons. Hino had told me that she was 
 sure that Girard, when he discovered her flight, would 
 conclude we should make for Tahiti, and give chase in 
 the schooner ; and had his surmise been right, could not 
 have failed to overtake us. Ninety-five miles to the 
 N.N.W. of Hikuero was the atoll island of Marutea, 
 where Hino had some relatives on her mother's side, 
 and it had at once occurred to her that that place would 
 be a safe refuge for us for a time, as even if Girard came 
 there, her relatives would protect her with their lives if 
 
 243
 
 244 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 he tried, as she naively expressed it, " to steal me from 
 you, Billy." If, however, it should so happen that these 
 relatives (whom she had never seen) were dead, then v/e 
 should bear away a little more to the westward for the 
 great lagoon of Fakarava, whose people, she said, so 
 detested French people generally that they would give 
 us a warm welcome. After that I was to decide as to 
 our future. 
 
 " Fakarava is a hundred and thirty miles further on 
 than Marutea," I said on looking at Montgomery's 
 chart, "but we can do it easily enough in such a boat 
 as this if we do not find friends at Marutea." Then I 
 added vaingloriously, for her kisses were firing my blood, 
 that if she was not afraid, I would sail the boat to Samoa. 
 She smiled brightly, but said she feared such a long 
 voyage — nearly eighteen hundred miles — would be too 
 dangerous, though she would love to go to Samoa and 
 live there with me. 
 
 I did not know then, as I did in after years, that 
 Samoa to the educated Polynesian mind was as Paris is 
 to the American — at least to see Samoa once in their 
 lifetime is the dream of not only all the people of 
 Micronesia and Eastern Polynesia, but that of the more 
 prosaic minded native of Tonga and Fiji as well. Even 
 in the equatorial islands of the Pacific — the Gilbert, 
 Kingsmill, Tokelau, and Ellice Groups, both sexes of the 
 youth of these groups long to visit Samoa, which to their 
 simple minds is the Place Beautiful of the world, where 
 enjoyment and happiness wait hand in hand to welcome 
 the stranger. This belief certainly was not entirely ill- 
 founded, for Samoa possessed strong attractions for the 
 natives of other island groups. There was no religious 
 tyranny — a Protestant Church (in those days at any 
 rate) might stand cheek by jowl with a Roman Catholic
 
 POOR HINO 245 
 
 chapel, and the Methodist minister, half a cable's 
 length away, could in his own place of worship say 
 what he pleased about the adoration of gi'aven images, 
 and the heathenish customs of Rome without fear — the 
 Samoans liked religion generally, of whatever brand, 
 and were liberally disposed and open-minded to anything 
 new, from theology and tinned meats to a travelling 
 circus. But, nevertheless, their affection for English 
 missionaries and Englishmen generally, and their sense 
 of the freedom of English customs, was remarkable, and 
 from one end of Samoa to another the poorest white man 
 who called himself an Englishman would meet with 
 politeness and friendship denied to a German or 
 Frenchman. 
 
 After breakfast we went over in detail the stores which 
 the Norwegian skipper had put in the boat, and estimated 
 that there were quite enough provisions to last the three 
 of us for three months at least ; as for water, there was 
 a hundred gallons. Every bit of space in the boat had 
 been utilised for something or other likely to be needed 
 on the long voyage Captain Gunderson had contemplated, 
 and even the bottom boards were covered with a layer of 
 blankets, strips of canvas, &c. ; in fact, he and the twelve 
 men he intended taking with him could have reached 
 New Zealand with ease. The sails, running gear, &c., 
 were in perfect order, and the only fault I had to find 
 was that we were rather too light, and would have to be 
 careful that we did not can-y too much sail at night time. 
 However, I was well pleased with my purchase, for she 
 was almost a new boat, oak built, and though very heavy 
 to pull, sailed exceedingly well, and I decided that when 
 we got to some place where there was a carpenter I 
 would have her raised a plank higher, decked, and turn 
 her into a proper cutter for trading purposes, or else sell
 
 246 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 her, for I knew she would then be worth at least a 
 hundred pounds. Hino was a remarkably clever girl, 
 and knew what she was talking about, and entered into 
 my plans with eagerness, and said that I could certainly 
 make a good deal of money with such a boat if I could 
 get some one to supply me with the necessary trade 
 goods to make a start. 
 
 I have said that she was very pretty, and although a 
 half-blood, her skin was hardly as dark as that of an 
 Italian or Spaniard of the darker type. Her features, 
 though not regular, were very expressive and engaging, 
 and when she smiled and showed her pearly teeth, she 
 looked almost beautiful. She was, I found, about three 
 years older than myself, and had been married to Gu-ard 
 about eighteen months. When her English father, 
 whose name she did not know, had left her native land 
 (Mangareva, Gambier Islands) she was a child of five 
 years of age, and was then adopted, and fairly well 
 educated by another white trader and his wife — both 
 French people. She told me that her mother by 
 adoption — her real mother was still alive, but had 
 married a native — when she grew up, was very anxious 
 for her to go to Papeite to the French sisters, and take 
 the veil. The dread of this future made her twice run 
 away and hide herself with some native friends, and 
 finally to escape the persistent efi'orts of her guardians, 
 backed up by the local priests, she agreed to marry 
 Girard, who had fallen in love with her. 
 
 I asked her if she did not love Girard when she 
 married him, and she said no, and candidly told me that 
 the one man she wanted to marry, or run away with, 
 was a young English half-caste Maori sailor, who was 
 mate of a small trading schooner; "but," she added, 
 " although I wanted very much to run away with him.
 
 POOE HINO 247 
 
 his captain would not allow him to take me on board, 
 for fear that the French priests would get his trading 
 licence cancelled. So he had to give me up, and I 
 married Girard." 
 
 ''"What made you like me, Hino? " I asked, as she 
 sat beside me with her chin on my knee, and I steered 
 the boat with one hand and stroked her head with the 
 other. 
 
 "I don't know, Billy," she rejjlied simply. " Henri " 
 (Girard) "was always very kind to me, but he was always 
 so jealous of me that sometimes I was quite miserable. 
 And the first time I saw you I liked you and told 
 Selema " (Montgomery's wife) " that I wished I had 
 seen you before I married. You were always nice and 
 kind to me; and then you are an Englishman." 
 
 My vanity was hurt. I had expected a tender out- 
 pouring of affection, instead of being told in a matter-of- 
 fact sort of way that I was " liked " simply because I 
 was an Englishman. My ill-regulated, and, in a manner, 
 unsophisticated mind, could not grasp the fact that this 
 poor girl, who could so quickly surrender herself to me, 
 and who looked upon the marriage tie as a mere 
 conventionalism, was an altogether different being from 
 such women as Madame de Langle and May and Jessie 
 Flemming. So for some minutes I sulked and did not 
 speak, until she put her arms around my neck, and 
 asked me if I was sorry she had come away with me. 
 The boat coming up into the wind and the flapping 
 sails were, I trust, a conclusive proof to the contrary, 
 for I at once let go the tiller, and we made mutual 
 promises of undying attachment. 
 
 "Hino," I said presently, looking at her pretty little 
 hands, " what have you done with all your rings? " 
 
 " I took them all off — every one — and left them, with
 
 248 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 everything else that he had given me, in his cabin, 
 together with some money ; so you see, Billy dear, he 
 cannot say that I have done anything wrong. But I did 
 feel so tempted to bring some of my clothes besides those 
 I came away in — I have such a nice lot of things — but 
 I was afraid and thought it would be as bad as stealing. 
 But I brought away some pearls which really are my 
 own, for they were given to me before I was married 
 by Madame Kabardy, and I have kept them ever since. 
 They are worth a lot of money, I know ; and we shall 
 sell them when we get to Samoa, and the money will 
 help you to start trading. See, here they are." 
 
 Taking up the dress she wore when she came off to 
 the boat, and which was now di*y, she showed me thirteen 
 very handsome pearls quite as large as those which I 
 had brought from Marama. 
 
 "They are real beauties, Hino," I said, *' and as you 
 say, are worth a great deal of money. So with the 
 pearls we have and the boat and stores we will get on 
 very well, I am sure. But," I added with a laugh, 
 "thirteen is an unlucky number — as superstitious people 
 say." 
 
 " Oh well, I'm not superstitious, Billy. Besides, you 
 must now put them with yom-s, and then the unlucky 
 number will be lost, won't it, dear? " 
 
 About four o'clock on the following day, to our intense 
 delight, we sighted the low, long line of trees, which, 
 fringing the shore, and apparently growing out of the 
 sea, was Marutea Lagoon. So elated was I at what I 
 thought was my wonderful skill in making the island, 
 that I poured myself out a drink of more Pisco than I 
 could stand, in spite of Hino's protests that I was 
 taking too mucli. That she was correct was soon made 
 manifest to me, for a quarter of an hour later the wind
 
 POOR HINO 249 
 
 suddenly died away, and when both she and the boy 
 Tapoa told me that a hard blow was coming upon us 
 from the eastward, I was barely able to understand the 
 danger such an event would involve, and in a maudlin 
 way suggested that we should lower the mainsail and jib, 
 and go to sleep. At this time, Marutea was about seven 
 miles distant to leeward, and Hino roused me to a sense 
 of oiu* position by impressing upon me that if we could 
 not bring to under the western reef — the lee side of the 
 island — and anchor, we should have to run before the 
 gale for Tahiti. 
 
 Her anxious face and the undisguised ten-or of the boy 
 helped to sober me, and we closer reefed the mainsail, and 
 then scandalised it, leaving the jib standing. The boat, 
 as I have said, was very light, and consequently steered 
 badly when under too much canvas in a strong breeze, 
 though, had I a steer oar instead of a rudder, she would 
 have been manageable. In a light wind and a smooth 
 sea she was right enough, but in a lumpy sea, even when 
 under a reefed mainsail and jib, she would continually 
 keep broaching to, and if a sea struck her on the lee 
 bow, go off on the other tack. I had tried to alter this 
 by putting the two water barrels aft, but even this 
 expedient was not of much use, and I had used many 
 improper expressions at the Norwegian skipper not 
 having fitted the boat with a proper steer oar. 
 
 We were becalmed for nearly an hour, and then, as 
 Hino had sm-mised, the wind came away from the east- 
 ward quite suddenly, and blowing so strongly that soon 
 after sunset we were close in to the reef on the lee side 
 of the island, and in smooth water. Bringing to in five 
 fathoms, we anchored and made all snug for the night, 
 thankful that the wind had brought no rain with it, 
 though disappointed that we had not been able to run
 
 250 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 into the lagoon through the passage on the north-east 
 side and have slept ashore in the village. The lagoon 
 was formed by a series of low, wooded islets on the 
 northern, eastern, and southern sides; on the west or lee 
 a curved line of reef twenty miles in length completed 
 the enclosure. From where we were anchored, we could 
 not of course see the lights of the village, which was on 
 the eastern side, and ten miles distant across the lagoon, 
 but we consoled ourselves with the thought that the 
 people had no doubt seen the boat running for shelter, 
 and would send a canoe across the lagoon to pilot us 
 round in the morning. Covering ourselves over with a 
 blanket, for the wind was chilly, we were soon asleep. 
 
 About ten o'clock, however, I was awakened by the 
 heavy pitching and jumping of the boat, as she strained 
 at her cable, and, sitting up, saw that it was now blowing 
 half a gale. Overhead, however, the sky was wonderfully, 
 beautifully clear, and studded with myriad stars. Going 
 for'ard, I paid out another ten fathoms of cable, so that 
 we might ride the more easily, and then turned in again, 
 wishing that the three of us were able to get the heavy 
 mast down for the night. 
 
 I think I had not been asleep more than an hour 
 when the boat began to roll so heavily that I was again 
 awakened, and discovered that om- cable had parted, 
 and that we were adrift. Hino and the boy at once 
 helped me to make sail, but by the time this was done 
 we were far off the land, and the boat, owing to the 
 short, choppy sea, would not lay to the wind, and 
 presently falling off, a huge sea tumbled on board and 
 half filled us, and to make matters worse, the lower 
 rudder gudgeon carried away. Then there was nothing 
 else for us to do but run before the wind, and steer with 
 an oar. By two in the morning it was blowing so hard
 
 POOR HINO 251 
 
 that we were under the jih only, and yet the boat was 
 racing along at such speed that I was hardly able to 
 steer, and anxiously waited for daylight, so that we 
 might lash half-a-dozen oars together as a sea anchor 
 and wait till the gale — for it was now a solid gale — blew 
 itself out. 
 
 " Let us run, Billy," said Hino ; " we can't beat back 
 to Marutea now, and we are bound to sight Motutuga or 
 Tahanea by to-morrow, and can stay at either place for 
 a few days, and then go on to Fakarava." 
 
 I was glad to follow her suggestion, and when day 
 broke we were simply tearing through the water on an 
 easterly course for the gTeat lagoon island of Tahanea — 
 sixty miles distant — and about noon sighted the land 
 right ahead. In another hour we were so close that we 
 could see the russet-hued thatched houses of a small 
 village, right abreast of which was an opening in the reef 
 into the lagoon. There was, however, a fearful sea 
 running, and even on the beach, protected as it was by 
 the outer reef, the waves were dashing with great 
 violence. But we had no choice but to go straight on, 
 and run ashore on the softest spot we could find. 
 
 As we tore through the passage the natives ran down 
 to the beach, and we could see them signalling to us to 
 keep further to the northward. Almost exhausted, I 
 strained at the short steer oar, and brought the boat up 
 a couple of points, as poor Hino and the boy hauled in 
 the sheet of our close-reefed mainsail. Then a lumping 
 sea knocked me off my feet, and sent me overboard, and 
 when I rose to the surface again I saw that the boat was 
 lying capsized on a patch of coral, with the seas breaking 
 over and pounding her into matchwood; as for Hino 
 and Tapoa, they were nowhere visible. 
 
 Eight or ten natives had dashed into the surf to our
 
 252 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 rescue, and good swimmer as I was, I was on the point 
 of drowning, when two of them seized me and brought 
 me ashore, badly cut in the small of the back and on 
 my head, and rendered unconscious by being dashed 
 against a coral boulder. 
 
 When I came to again, I found myself in a native 
 house with Hino lying quite near me, surrounded by a 
 number of weeping women. Her face was covered with 
 a piece of navy blue calico, and a deadly fear smote my 
 heart when I saw how still she lay, and that the boy 
 Tapoa, sobbing heavily, was pressing his lips to her feet. 
 
 Lifting the cloth which covered her face, I saw that 
 she was quite dead. She had been killed either by 
 being dashed against the reef, or by one of the boat's 
 timbers or oars, which had struck her on the temple.
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 WANDEKING 
 
 I REMAINED on this island for about four months 
 after the death of poor Hino, feeling very miserable 
 and dejected. The people treated me kindly enough, 
 and when the New Bedford whaler Europa touched at 
 the island, and the captain consented to give me a passage 
 to either the Gilbert or the Marshall Group, I parted 
 from them with no little regret. 
 
 I went on board the whaler with some decent 
 clothing, it is true, but nothing else, for even the 
 little money I had had when we ran ashore was 
 lost, as also were the pearls when the boat broke 
 up. The boy Tapoa, who had now become greatly 
 attached to me, wept ■ profusely when he found he was 
 not to accompany me, and at last I went to the captain, 
 just as we were pushing off, and begged him to let the 
 boy come with me. To my great pleasure, and Tapoa's 
 wild delight, he consented, and told the youngster to 
 jump in. 
 
 We cruised slowly through the Society, Tokelau, and 
 EUice Groups, during which time we took four whales, 
 one of which was of an enormous size, and, at the end 
 of three months, made the Gilbert Islands, where I wanted 
 to go ashore, knowing that I should soon get employment 
 
 253
 
 254 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 there as a trader. The captain of the whaler tokl me 
 that the Gilhert Islands were a " cut-throat place," and 
 that I had better stick to the shij). 
 
 I thanked him, and said that Captain Allonby of the 
 Sea Breeze had also wanted to make a whaleman out 
 of me, but I thought that one in the family was enough, 
 and that my brother Morgan, having the most brains, 
 was the best man. The American skipper, whose 
 name I think was MacKenzie, took this quite seriously, 
 and said that that was so — it wanted a man with a 
 good headpiece to become a whaleman, but he thought I 
 could get on very well if I tried, as I seemed to be "real 
 smart " at times. However, when he found I preferred 
 to go ashore, he pressed me no longer, and gave me as a 
 present a 501b. box of tobacco, and a few dollars in silver 
 as well, and the same day landed Tapoa and myself at 
 the lagoon island of Apaian, one of the trading centres 
 of the Gilbert islands, advising me to at once call on 
 the principal trader there, an Englishman named Bob 
 Randolph. 
 
 I followed his advice, and found Randolj)h at home in 
 a very comfortably though rudely furnished house, which 
 was surrounded by a throng of wild-eyed, black-haired 
 natives of both sexes, the men aJl carrying fire-arms, 
 and wearing but an airiri, a grass girdle, round their 
 waists. They, however, quickly made way for me, for 
 they were all dependents or customers of Randolj)h, 
 who was a man of great mana or prestige in the 
 Gilberts. He was a fine, stm-dy specimen of the 
 wandering, adventurous Englishman, and received me 
 very kindly. Having heard my story (I did not, in 
 telling it, think it necessary to mention anything about 
 Hino Girard) he said he could give me employment 
 right away. I was to take charge of one of his trading
 
 WANDERING 255 
 
 boats which wont from village to village in the lagoon, and 
 was to be paid by commission ; he, however, giving me 
 quarters and provisions for myself and Tapoa. For the 
 tobacco I had brought ashore, he gladly allowed me fifty 
 dollars, as he was quite run out of this necessary trading 
 commodity. 
 
 I remained with this man for over a year, and, I 
 believe, gave him great satisfaction, raising myself in 
 his estimation by not following the usual custom of most 
 young white men, and taking a native wife immediately 
 upon landing. Randolph, though rough in his ways, 
 and forcible in his language, was a man of principle — 
 and discernment as well — and nothing angered him so 
 much as the glaring licentiousness of the lives of his 
 fellow traders. 
 
 "By and by," he said to me one evening as we were 
 smoking in his sitting-room after a hard day's work with 
 the boats, " if you decide to keep on at this sort of life 
 and settle down, you will have to get a wife ; a single 
 man who is always fooling about with unmarried girls, 
 
 as do C and S " (mentioning two traders living 
 
 on the adjacent island of Tarawa) "is, in reality, secretly 
 despised by the natives, and, besides that, it lowers his 
 prestige with them — the common sort regard him as no 
 better than themselves, and take liberties with him that 
 they would not dare to do with me. Any native who 
 insulted me would have sudden death — not from me, 
 but from the chiefs. Now, when you decide to take a 
 wife, you must get a girl who will be a help to you in 
 your business — not some common slave who will only 
 be a hindrance to, and a drag upon you. Let me know 
 whenever you are ready, and I will get you a girl with 
 some land, and a good lot of fighting relatives to 
 protect it."
 
 256 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 That all he said was true I was well aware, and I 
 have no doubt but that I should have followed his 
 advice had I remained in Apaian. The wild, intract- 
 able, and warlike natives had the utmost respect for 
 Randolph, not only for his fair dealing with them as a 
 trader, but for his physical strength and courage. A 
 few years after I left him, an event occurred which well 
 shows the man's resolute character : — 
 
 An old white man named Keyes, with a young English 
 wife, came from New Zealand and settled on the island 
 as a trader, at a village quite near to that in which 
 Randolph lived, A young native chief, smitten with the 
 Englishwoman's good looks, and despising her husband's 
 age and feebleness, one day frankly told her that he would 
 kill the old white man and take possession of her. Regard- 
 ing the man's words as an empty threat, and fearing to 
 repeat them to her husband, she said nothing about the 
 matter. But at dusk that evening, the chief came to 
 the trader's door and knocked, calling out that he had 
 brought him some sharks' fins to sell. The unsuspecting 
 old man opened the door, and the native, placing a horse- 
 pistol against his chest, shot him dead. The poor ten-ified 
 wife fled to Randolph's wife for protection, and Randolph 
 himself buried the murdered man on the following 
 morning, and a few days later sent an accomit of the 
 tragedy to the naval authorities in Sydney, and asked 
 that a warship might be sent to the island to investigate 
 the case. Nearly five months passed, during which 
 time the murderer boasted that he would kill Randolph 
 himself if the latter crossed his path. Randolph made 
 no sign, and took no notice of many insulting messages ; 
 the criminal belonged to another village, and had a large 
 and influential following of young bucks, all well armed 
 and eager to fight, and the trader did not want to plunge
 
 WANDERING 257 
 
 the island into internecine warfare, though his own 
 native connections were anxious that he should lead 
 them in an attack on the murderer's village, and literally 
 wipe it out hy burning it, and putting at least the 
 murderer himself to death. At last, however, a small 
 gunboat, the Reynard (one of four similarly useless 
 craft employed in endeavouring to control the illegal 
 practices indulged in by vessels engaged in the Kanaka 
 "labour trade") arrived from Sydney, and her com- 
 mander, after consultation with Randolph, gave the 
 natives four hours in which to bring the destroyer of 
 poor Keyes on board his vessel for trial. They refused, 
 despising the size of the Reynard, which was but a 
 small fore-and-aft rigged vessel, carrying one fifty- 
 pounder Annstrong gun, a tube, and a crew of five- 
 and-twenty men. Then Randolph, whose own native 
 following, he saw, was impressed by the defiance given 
 
 to Commander P by the rest of the islanders, 
 
 and were showing an inclination to be saucy to him- 
 self for backing up the demands of the gunboat, urged 
 the chiefs generally to accede to the request of the 
 naval officer before worse befell them, and Commander 
 
 P , who was one of those officers to whom Exeter 
 
 Hall and its denunciations mattered nothing as against 
 a question of emergency apart from duty, warped his 
 little vessel in right abreast of the ofi'ending village, 
 and threatened to blow it into the empyrean unless the 
 man he wanted was brought on board by the time indi- 
 cated. This, apparently, had the desired eftect, for in 
 a few minutes a boat put off to the gunboat. In her 
 was a stalwart young native, bound hand and foot. He 
 was lifted on board. 
 
 " That is not the man," said Randolph to Commander 
 
 P . " He is only a poor slave beggar. They will 
 
 18
 
 258 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 most likely send off another substitute or two before we 
 get the man we want." 
 
 He was quite right, for two more poor devils were 
 sent off, bound hand and foot, as the actual murderer, 
 but Randolph identified them so easily that at last the 
 natives gave up the game, and asked the trader to come 
 ashore and get the real Simon Pure. 
 
 This he did without the slightest difficulty, for the 
 culprit at once gave himself into his hands, and, expres- 
 sing regret at the trouble he had caused, asked Randolph 
 to beseech the captain of the man-of-war to shoot instead 
 of hanging him. He also expressed a wish that Randolph 
 would tell Mrs. Keyes that he (the killer of Keyes) was 
 very sorry he had shot the old man with a pistol so 
 suddenly. Had he poisoned him, he said, Mrs. Keyes 
 would not have been so terrified, and they — the 
 murderer and the widow — would have lived hapjiily 
 afterwards. He incidentally mentioned that it was 
 his brother who had prompted him to shoot Keyes, 
 on the understanding that one was to have the white 
 woman for a wife, and the other Keyes's Winchester 
 rifle, boat, and other effects. 
 
 At four o'clock in the afternoon, the trial was over, 
 
 and Commander P , at Randolph's suggestion, decided 
 
 that the execution should be carried out on shore without 
 further delay by the natives themselves. An old 
 carronade, which stood in front of the trader's house, 
 was brought into requisition. The murderer, arrayed 
 in his best costume, walked proudly to the gun, sur- 
 rounded by his admiring friends, and was lashed with 
 his back to its muzzle, thanking Randolph for his 
 trouble, and requesting that his own brother might be 
 his executioner. This matter having been arranged — 
 the brother being much flattered by such distinction — a
 
 WANDERING 259 
 
 match was applied to the vent, and the admirer of the 
 charms of English female beauty went away in small 
 fragments into the air. 
 
 Eandolph's fox terrier (so I heard long afterwards), 
 that night brought in a piece of the man to his master, 
 and deposited it at his feet when he was having supper 
 with Commander P . 
 
 This execution had a very beneficial effect on the 
 turbulent natives of the Gilbert Group, and poor old 
 Keyes was the last European ever murdered there. Yet 
 
 the part which Commander P had taken in the 
 
 affair was grossly misrepresented by sections of the 
 English and American press, some religious papers 
 (whose editors were either misled or ignorant of the 
 facts of the case) stigmatising it as a "dreadful out- 
 rage." As a matter of fact. Commander P merely 
 
 demanded the man's punishment after he had been 
 found guilty, and the penalty inflicted was suggested 
 by Randolph as one that would have a terrifying and 
 lasting effect upon a people prone to deeds of bloodshed. 
 
 I am convinced he was right, and the senti- 
 mentalists wrong, for the native mind would not 
 have been impressed had the culprit been hanged in 
 the usual respectable Christian manner, even had a 
 bishop in his gaiters been present to assist in sending 
 him off to the other world. Death by hanging, to 
 the Equatorial islanders of the Pacific, is a silly and 
 ineffective way of killing a man, and to other races, 
 such as the Fijians, Tongans, etc., publicly to hang a 
 man who might be perhaps some common slave, is con- 
 ferring a high distinction upon him, inasmuch as stran- 
 gulation was the manner of death reserved for the wives 
 of chiefs of high rank, or men of political influence. 
 
 I left Randolph with a feeling of regi-et, for he was a
 
 260 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 man of sterling character, strong and masterful, and 
 possessing a heavy hand for the man who affronted him. 
 Through him I gained a gi-eat amount of information 
 ahout the natives, and, so to speak, the native mode of 
 thought. He was a capable linguist as far as the 
 diversified dialects of the islands of the Equatorial Pacific 
 went, and much of what he knew I rapidly acquired from 
 him. Only once did we come into collision, and that 
 was when I one day thoughtlessly ascended a coconut 
 tree and threw do^vn a dozen or so of young nuts for 
 my boat's crew to drink. Randolph was with me at the 
 time — though not present when I climbed the tree — and 
 to my surprise, when he learned what I had done, he 
 so passionately reproached me for "acting like a damned 
 slave," that I lost my temper, made an angiy retort, 
 and wound up by saying that, although I was in his 
 employ, I " was not his nigger." 
 
 " No," he replied cuttingly, "you are not my nigger, 
 but you are acting the nigger to your boat's crew of 
 savages, who instead of being grateful to you as you 
 imagine, are laughing at you as a poor fool of a white 
 man, vrho, for the sake of showing ofi" before them, so 
 far lowers himself as to climb a coconut tree to give 
 them a drink ! You ought to be damned well ashamed 
 of yourself." 
 
 He was quite right, and I shall always remember him 
 with gratitude for his many kindnesses to me. 
 
 Some few years after the Reynard episode, he went 
 to Sydney to place his young half-caste children at 
 school there, and was voyaging to New Britain with a 
 party of traders — all of whom I knew personally — in an 
 overmasted hermaphrodite brig named the Francisco 
 Felix, when she capsized in a squall, and every soul on 
 board was drowned, for no trace of the vessel, beyond a
 
 WANDERING 261 
 
 stove-in boat, which drifted ashore at Tanna, in the 
 New Hebrides, was ever seen after, 
 
 I left Apaian in a Fijian schooner engaged in the 
 Polynesian labour trade — generally known as the 
 " blackbirding " trade. The master was an English 
 ex-naval officer, and I had not been on board more than 
 twenty-four hours when I discovered him to be one of 
 the most anointed scoundrels that ever trod a deck. 
 He had been tried by court-martial and kicked out of 
 the navy for embezzlement, and his first effort, when he 
 found out that I was possessed of a thousand Mexican 
 dollars, was to try and make me drunk, with a view of 
 dropping me ashore at the first island, and getting rid of 
 me, minus the dollars. But I had sense enough by this 
 time to decline such blandishments, and positively refused 
 his invitations to drink or play " a friendly game of 
 cards," whereupon he became somewhat rude, and said 
 he would like me to pay him at once my passage money 
 to Samoa — the place at which he had agreed to land 
 Tapoa and myself for a hundred dollars. 
 
 I brought him one hundred dollars, and asked him 
 (per advice of Bob Randolph) for an acknowledgment, 
 which he gave me by hitting me a blow on the left 
 eye that closed that optic for a week. He was a 
 miserable, long-legged creature with red eyes, and a 
 drink-besotted face, and his audacity in striking me 
 so enraged me that, taking him by his Vandyke 
 beard, I dragged him on to the main deck — he trying 
 to draw his pistol and shoot me — and, asked him to 
 put his hands up. He called upon the mate, the boat- 
 swain, and the labour recruiter to come to his assistance 
 and put me in irons ; but they being all Englishmen, and 
 decent sort of fellows, besought him to let the matter 
 drop, and " shake hands with Mr. Breachley."
 
 262 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 "I'll shake hands with the sweep when I've finished 
 with him, Mr. Potter," I said to the mate, who gave me 
 an approving wink as plain as an earthquake, and then 
 
 telling Captain M that his action in drawing a 
 
 pistol on me — an unarmed man — was veiy cowardly and 
 un-English like, I again asked him to put up his hands, 
 which, seeing that his officers and crew were not inclined 
 to hack him up, he did, and in one round he " went to 
 sleep" as the devotees of the P.R. say, with two such 
 heautiful-in-the-morning black eyes, that my own single 
 injured visual organ gave me no pain, as he was carried 
 below by the steward and boatswain. 
 
 Three days after leaving Apaian, we made Naura 
 (Pleasant Island) the western outlier of the Gilbert 
 Group, and as I felt that I could not possibly live on 
 board the White Cloud on amicable terais with Captain 
 
 M , I told him that if he would return me fifty 
 
 dollars, I would leave the vessel and go ashore with my 
 servant boy Tapoa. His good points came out at once, 
 and he admitted that he had behaved very badly to me, 
 but pleaded as his excuse that he was heir to an earldom 
 (which was absolutely true) and that he often made a 
 beast of himself through drink, of which fact I had had 
 ample evidence. Then, because I refused to leave my 
 boy Tapoa with him for a price of twenty pounds, lie 
 again became insolent, and told me that he would not let 
 me go ashore, and added insult to injury by calling me a 
 " damned Botany Bay convict." (I had previously told 
 him that I was born in Australia.) 
 
 This was the last straw on the camel's back, M , 
 
 as I have said, was a long, weak-backed creature, but 
 his physical weakness Avas excelled by his profound 
 conceit and insufferable insolence to all whom he con- 
 sidered his inferiors in rank, and how such a man
 
 WANDEKING 263 
 
 managed to exist in the South Seas in command of a 
 " blackbirder " was a puzzle to me. However, the 
 " Botany Bay " aUusion was too much for me to stand 
 from such a man, and, exasperated to the last degree, I 
 struck him in the face. He closed with me at once, 
 and, getting the fingers of his left hand into my lips, he 
 actually tried to tear my cheek asunder in his mad fury. 
 The agony his long nails caused me, as they cut into my 
 flesh, was so great that I showed him no mercy, for 
 getting him down on the deck of the cabin, I knelt upon 
 him, and after re-ebonising his eyes, shouted for the 
 mate and steward to come and take him away, exclaim- 
 ing that I had had to serve a Frenchman the same way 
 once, but I did not think that an Englishman would try 
 to tear my cheek off. And indeed my face was streaming 
 with blood. 
 
 A few hours afterwards, I landed on Pleasant Island 
 with Tapoa and my belongings, and a white man named 
 Terry, who was one of the six Europeans living on the 
 island, took possession of me and brought me to his 
 house, telling me that I was very welcome, especially as 
 I had some firearms and ammunition. 
 
 I learned from him that the people of Pleasant 
 Island were formed of six clans or tribes, all of 
 which were at warfare with each other. Each clan 
 possessed a white man, who was associated with the 
 chief of each village, and who, though not always 
 taking part in the actual fighting, gave his assistance 
 and advice, and supplied his native friends with arms 
 and ammunition — at a big price — to exterminate their 
 enemies. 
 
 It was a most curious condition of affairs, as Terry 
 explained to me — for all of these six traders, though 
 knowing each other personally, were, by their connec-
 
 264 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 tion by marriage with the natives and their rival trading 
 interests, supposed to be deadly enemies to one another. 
 When a trading vessel visited the island to buy their 
 coconut oil, each white man, attended by his following of 
 armed natives, would board the ship, which was regarded 
 as neutral territory, and together would come to an 
 amicable arrangement of the division of firearms, 
 spirits, tobacco, and other goods to be purchased. 
 Then, once on shore again, fighting would begin. Each 
 district of the island was surrounded by a stone wall, 
 and day and night the rattle of musketry went on, as 
 the natives of one village fired at another, the white men 
 attending to the wounded of their respective villages, 
 and borrowing a case of Hollands gin from each otlier 
 occasionally (though surreptitiously) under the plea that 
 it was needed for wounded men. 
 
 Terry told me that he was sure I should like the 
 phicc, but added that though the white men as a rule 
 did not fire at each other during the native fights, there 
 was one man — a new comer — who was not playing fair, 
 inasmuch as he had killed eight or ten of his (Terry's) 
 people during the past six months. 
 
 "Ye see," he explained, "it is this way. We white 
 men go with the natives, and fire a few shots now and 
 again, but we don't try to hit anybody. We get a 
 quarter of a dollar for every Snider cartridge we sell, 
 and every native who is killed means a loss to one or 
 another of us. But this new man is a terror. He came 
 liere two years ago, and doesn't understand the thing at 
 all. He says he is going to make his people at the 
 north end of the island wipe the other five clans out, 
 and, with a native chief named Teban, become boss of 
 the island. And, as I have said, he has killed some of 
 my people when he need not have done so, and so me
 
 WANDERING 265 
 
 and the other traders sent him word a month ago, that 
 if he comes down this way, and any of our people shoot 
 him, he has only himself to blame." 
 
 " What did he say to that ? " 
 
 " Sent hack word that he would shoot any one of us 
 who came in sight of him. And then to show us what 
 he could do, he and his natives made a descent on my 
 place here in the dead of night, made me a prisoner, and 
 took my wife's youngest sister. And this chap Blake 
 
 had the d d cheek to tell me that only because my 
 
 wife was so good-looking he would not bm-n my house 
 over my head — just for her sake." 
 
 *' Blake ! " I said. " What is he like ? " 
 
 " Quite a young fellow, dark and mighty good-looking. 
 He's a sailor man, I believe, and came here in a Honolulu 
 labour schooner two years ago. He's a bad lot, and I 
 wish I could put a bullet into him." 
 
 " I believe I know the man," I said. " Does he often 
 walk with his left hand closed ? " 
 
 *' He does indeed. I've noticed that frequently." 
 
 Then I knew that I was on the same island as Harry 
 Brandon, and determined to see him as quickly as 
 possible, for the memory of our friendship and comrade- 
 ship was ever strong within me.
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 A MEETING — AND A PARTING 
 
 AS soon as I announced my intention of visiting Blake, 
 two of Terry's fellow traders tried to dissuade me, 
 saying that he was a very dangerous man, and had 
 acted so outrageously towards the other white men 
 on the island, that they had serious thoughts of com- 
 bining, and either making him a prisoner or shooting 
 him. If they succeeded in accomplishing the former, he 
 was to be sent away in his boat with such natives as 
 cared to accompany him. 
 
 " The trouble is, though," said one of them, " we 
 have to catch our hare before we can cook him, and 
 Blake's natives will, I know, fight for him. He has about 
 two hundred to back him up, and there's hardly one of 
 them that has not a breech-loader of some sort — either 
 a Vetterli or a Winchester, and we don't want to have 
 unnecessary bloodshed." 
 
 " Let me go and see what I can do first," I said, 
 adding that I knew the man well, and believed I could 
 bring matters to a peaceable conclusion. Somewhat 
 reluctantly — for they considered I was running a risk — 
 they assented to my suggestion, and a little humpbacked 
 native was sent for to act as guide, and to carry a white 
 flag, otherwise I might be fired at when passing near the 
 
 266
 
 A MEETING— AND A PARTING 267 
 
 other villages. Had the weather been favourable, it 
 would have been much easier and quicker to have gone 
 to Blake's village by boat, but a heavy surf was breaking 
 on the shore of the island, which has no barrier reef to 
 protect it — in fact, either landing at or putting out from 
 Naura is difficult unless the sea is fairly calm. 
 
 Bidding my three new acquaintances goodbye for the 
 time, we started off, the humpback (who was also deaf 
 and dumb) getting over the rough stony ground at such 
 a pace that I could hardly keep up with him. Every 
 now and then he would turn round and give me an 
 encouraging gi-in, and a sound between a squeak and a 
 grunt would come from his enormous mouth, which 
 nearly divided his gargoyle-like head in halves. We 
 passed or met numbers of armed natives, all of whom 
 were going to or returning from the stone walls dividing 
 the various districts, and from behind which they fired 
 at each other day and night, and enriched the honest 
 traders by using cartridges costing a quarter of a dollar 
 each. 
 
 Our white flag was everywhere respected, and the 
 natives, men and women alike, repeatedly invited me to 
 stay and talk, and have something to eat and drink, but 
 I pressed on, and only delayed to speak to the two white 
 men living in the two villages near to Blake's. They 
 were very hospitably inclined, and when they learned 
 the object of my mission, wished me every success, and 
 the last man — who evidently was a nautical person — 
 informed me that Blake was the " two ends and bight of 
 a bloody scoundrel, and was a-carryin' on as if he was 
 the Emperor of Russia." 
 
 With my gargoyle-faced guide leaping and bounding 
 in front of me like a monkey in hysterics, I at last 
 reached the wall inclosing Blake's village, where I was
 
 268 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 confronted by some twenty or thirty natives, who were 
 armed with Vetterli rifles. Speaking to them in the 
 Apaian dialect, which is much like that of Naura, I 
 asked them to take me to their white man's house. 
 One of them at once darted off, I following with several 
 others, and a few minutes later I saw Harry Brandon 
 come out of his house. He was dressed in a suit of white 
 duck, and looked so different — having grown a pointed 
 beard — that I should not have recognised him had we 
 met in a city. That he did not recognise me at first 
 was certain, for, seeing that I was unarmed, he took off 
 his revolver and belt and handed it to a very handsome 
 girl Avho walked by his side. 
 
 "Who are you?" he began; "and what the blazes 
 do you want ? " 
 
 *' Don't you know me, Harry ? " 
 He sprang forward, and in another instant we were 
 wringing each other's hands and trying to speak. Then 
 his natural cynical natm-e asserted itself : 
 
 "By Gad, Billy, old boy! how damned curiously 
 things do happen, so damnably curiously and so out of 
 place ! I'm now a drunken scallywag of a beachcomber, 
 calling myself a trader, and not fit to shake hands with 
 you — or any other decent person." 
 
 " Don't say that, Harry," I replied, as, putting his 
 arm in mine, he led me inside ; " and now that I have 
 found you, we must not part." 
 
 In a few minutes we had told each other our stories, 
 and Brandon's, to be brief, was no better than 
 mine. 
 
 After leaving the Nebraska, he went upon a drinking 
 bout, became all but penniless, and stowed away on 
 board the Honolulu mail boat. At Honolulu, when 
 loafing about on the pier, looking for another ship, a
 
 A MEETING— AND A PARTING 269 
 
 veiy old gentleman named Hesse, and his equally 
 elderly wife were standing on the edge of the wharf, 
 looking at the shipping in the harbour when a violent 
 puff of wind sent the lady over into the water. Brandon 
 at once sprang over after her, brought her ashore, and 
 placing her in her husband's care, marched off quietly 
 without a word, to the Chinaman's sailors' boarding 
 house at which he was staying. 
 
 At ten o'clock that night, Mr. Hesse, who had been 
 scouring the town to discover him, found him, and in 
 another hour Brandon was in clover, for the old gentle- 
 man was a wealthy sugar planter, and insisted on 
 Brandon becoming his guest at his house in Nuuanu 
 Valley. Mr. Hesse had a large family, and Brandon 
 was made so much of for saving the mother's life, that, 
 as he said, his own life became a burden to him, and 
 finally the old gentleman urged him to enter his employ- 
 ment as overseer of one of his plantations, at a handsome 
 salary. This Brandon decjiined, and then Hesse — to 
 whom he had told something of his history, I imagine — 
 asked him to accept a gift of five thousand dollars as a 
 token of his gratitude. This Harry also declined ; but 
 in the end took a loan of a thousand dollars, and with 
 this thousand dollars, he had made his waj' to Pleasant 
 Island in an Hawaiian labour schooner, and established 
 himself as a trader among the wild and intractable 
 people. Since then, he candidly admitted to me, he 
 had " gone wi-ong" entirely, and under the influence of 
 drink, had not only estranged himself from his fellow- 
 traders, but committed acts that would justify them in 
 shooting him at sight. 
 
 We talked long and earnestly, and Brandon, who I 
 could see had been drinking heavily for many months, 
 and looked worn, haggard, and old, agi-eed to leave the
 
 270 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 island with me, admitting that he was fast killing him- 
 self by his mode of life. 
 
 I at once sent off a note to Terry, telling him to 
 inform the other white men that " Blake " was 
 leaving the island in his whale-boat on the following 
 day if the weather was favourable, and that I was 
 going with him ; also that he (Blake) was that day 
 returning the girl Teratiko, whom he had abducted, and 
 would make him ample compensation for the wrong he 
 had done him. The compensation consisted of trade 
 goods, such as tobacco, cutlery, and arms and ammu- 
 nition, to the value of two hundred and fifty pounds, 
 which I assisted Harry to pack in several boxes, and 
 messengers were sent to the various villages, asking the 
 chiefs to let the bearers of the peace offering pass 
 through their lines. 
 
 To this they agreed, and then Harry, calling the girl 
 to him, bade her goodbye with some little emotion, and 
 told her to accompany the bearers of the boxes. She 
 flatly refused to go, and piteously besought him to take 
 her with him in the boat. In vain did he point out to 
 her that one of the boxes was filled with goods which 
 were her exclusive property, and that she would now be 
 a rich girl, and practically independent. She shook 
 her head and wept still more. Then he mendaciously 
 asserted that we were going in the boat to a country of 
 cannibals, where the people were fond of eating young 
 women ; she did not care, she said, she could only die 
 or be killed once, and was not afraid. Finally Hariy 
 lost patience, and made a sign to some women, who 
 seizing the poor girl by the arms, dragged her away, she 
 fighting with silent fury. 
 
 In the afternoon Terry sent Brandon an acknowledg- 
 ment of the safe arrival of the goods and his wife's
 
 A MEETING— AND A PARTING 271 
 
 sister, said that he (Harry) had acted "very fair," and 
 that to prevent him being annoyed, he (Terry) had had to 
 tie the girl iij), and would keep her tied up till we were 
 safely away in the boat. He also sent me my own 
 traps by the returning carriers, with Tapoa in charge. 
 
 In the morning, the weather being fine, Harry dis- 
 tributed nearly all his remaining goods amongst his 
 native friends, being especially liberal to the rest of 
 his harem of four attractive young ladies. Quite a 
 number of young men wanted to come with him and 
 follow his fortunes wherever he went, but he chose but 
 two — stalwart young bucks, who had both been to sea 
 in whaleships — so in all we made a company of five : 
 Harry and his two men, Tapoa, and myself — quite 
 enough for an ordinary-sized whale-boat, pretty deeply 
 loaded with provisions, water, &c. 
 
 We had a most exciting send-off, the regi-et of the 
 natives at losing Harry moving them to tears super- 
 induced by the distribution of half-a-dozen cases of 
 Hollands gin amongst them. Every man, as the boat 
 pushed off, fired his rifle in the air, and shouted out 
 farewell and good-luck to us, and in another hour we 
 had rounded the north end of the island, and were 
 steering for Drummond's Island (Taputeauea) in the 
 Gilbert Group, at which place we thought we might 
 possibly remain and settle as traders. 
 
 On the second day out, we spoke the American mis- 
 sionary brig Morning Star, and asked the captain to 
 take us and our boat on board, as the brig was also 
 bound to Drummond's Island, offering him one hundred 
 dollars. He seemed willing enough, but half-a-dozen 
 saintly gentlemen on board protested so strongly against 
 the godly vessel being polluted by the presence of mere 
 traders, even for a couple of days, that Harry sharply
 
 272 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 told the leading missionary — an ex-ship's carpenter — 
 that we wanted no favours from them, and could get 
 along very well in the boat. 
 
 Just as we bade them a cool " good morning," and 
 were about to get over the side again into our boat, a 
 young gentleman, with a particularly long and melan- 
 choly face, stepped forward and asked us to "con-tribute 
 a few dollars " towards the training-school at Ponape, 
 in the Caroline Islands. 
 
 The discourteous and unfeeling manner in which we 
 had been treated by these gentlemen — when in an open 
 boat, a hundred miles from land — made us somewhat 
 careless in the wording of our reply to the request ; I, in 
 particular, so far forgetting myself as to make a pointed 
 allusion to the young man's lack of personal beauty. 
 
 "May God be with you and turn your hearts, young 
 men," said one of the missionaries, holding up his 
 hands in such a horrified manner that I had to laugh, 
 especially when Brandon promptly follov/ed with : 
 
 " And may you all be damned, individually and 
 collectively, and this rotten old hooker of yours be piled 
 up on the rocks, and drown the lot of you." (Curiously 
 enough the Morning Star was wrecked about ten days 
 later by drifting ashore on the western side of Strong's 
 Island during a calm.) 
 
 About three in the afternoon, when we were becalmed, 
 we sighted another vessel, and getting out the oars, 
 pulled up to her. She proved to be the German barque 
 Goddeffroy, from the Gilbert Islands, bound to Samoa 
 with a cargo of coconut oil. The captain told us that 
 the natives of Drummond's Island, and, indeed, through- 
 out the whole group, were fighting, and that nearly all 
 of the traders were leaving and going away to the islands 
 of the North-west, as they were doing no business.
 
 A MEETING— AND A PAETING 273 
 
 This was bad news for us, so after discussing what 
 was best to bo done, we asked the skipjier if he woukl 
 give us a passage to Samoa for two hundred dolhirs. He 
 agreed, our boat was hauled up and secured, and Harry 
 and I were given a cabin between us. 
 
 The Goddeffroy was a splendid type of the German 
 merchantman — as clean as a yacht — and her master 
 and officers were all very decent fellows, and not only 
 they, but many of the crew as well, were good musicians 
 and singers, so that we had some very pleasant evenings, 
 for in addition to a small piano, there were violins, 
 cornets, flutes, and other instruments on board. From 
 the day we boarded the vessel till we entered Apia 
 Harbour in Samoa, seventeen days later, we had the 
 most perfect weather imaginable, every one from captain 
 to cabin-boy sleeping on deck at nights, under a sky so 
 serenely and beautifully blue, that I often found it hard 
 to close my eyes. 
 
 We arrived at Samoa at a fortunate time. The price 
 of coconut oil and copra (the dried coconut from which 
 coconut oil is expressed by machinery) had gone up so 
 much in Europe that many small traders were making 
 fortunes, and we had not been on shore an hour before 
 three or four oifers were made to us to take charge of 
 trading stations, either in Samoa or on islands to the 
 westward. 
 
 The manager of the great German firm of Goddeffroy 
 and Sons, a Herr Theodore Weber, meeting Brandon 
 one evening in the leading combined hotel and 
 gambling house, and finding that Harry spoke both 
 French and German, offered him the managership 
 of a new trading business he was starting in the 
 New Hebrides, where the Germans were very anxious 
 to cut out a newly-established French trading com- 
 
 19
 
 274 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 pany, whose headquarters were at Noumea, in New 
 Caledonia. 
 
 Harry, feeling sure that I would come with him, and 
 being perhaps a little muddled through having mixed 
 his drinks too freely, there and then signed an agree- 
 ment with Herr Weber to proceed to the New Hebrides 
 at a salary of one thousand dollars a year, with con- 
 siderable allowances. 
 
 Learning what had occurred, I at once offered 
 myself to Mr. Weber as a trader, but he very frankly 
 told me that while he would gladly give me a station 
 in Samoa or Tonga, he did not approve of two friends 
 going to the same island, and that therefore I would 
 have to part company with Harry. This was a blow to 
 us both, but there was no help for it, as Harry, having 
 signed the agreement, could not withdraw ; so to our 
 mutual sorrow, we again parted a few days later, when 
 my comrade sailed for Espiritu Santo in the New 
 Hebrides, in the brig Iserhrook, and Tapoa and I, 
 standing on the beach under the coco-palms at Mulinu'u 
 Point, saw her sails gleam white in the rays of the 
 setting sun, as she sailed westward, for the Straits ot 
 Savai'i. 
 
 AVith my faithful boy Tapoa by my side, I turned 
 sadly away and walked along the beach back into Apia, 
 feeling miserably depressed, for I had a strong and 
 heavy premonition that I should never see my friend 
 again. Tapoa, too, as if he entered into and sym- 
 pathised with my thoughts, put his brown hand into 
 mine, and together we went on in silence till we reached 
 the town, and went to the hotel. Here for an hour or 
 two we sat on the verandah, looking at the placid waters 
 of Apia Harbour, and listening to the singing in the 
 Rarotongan church near by, for it was the time of
 
 A MEETING— AND A PARTING 275 
 
 evening service. So strangely morbid, and yet so 
 restless did I feel, that the melody of the well-attuned 
 voices of the natives only served to still more depress 
 my spirits ; so calling Tapoa to come with me, I again 
 went out for a long walk, first passing through the town, 
 crossing the brawling little Yaisigago River, and skirting 
 the semi-European town of Matautu, we struck out 
 along the beach to the eastward. 
 
 The night was very, very beautiful, and as we walked 
 along on the firm, hard sand, with the palm trees over- 
 head rustling gently to the dew-laden land breeze fi-om 
 the mountains, my spirits began to rise. We had filled 
 our pockets with biscuits, and coming to a little stream 
 called the Vaivasa, we sat down on its banks, drank of 
 the pure, sweet water, and made our supper. 
 
 Then, as I lay on my back and smoked my pipe, a 
 lady and gentleman came along on horseback, and crossed 
 the stream. They both bade me a pleasant good evening, 
 as they stopped, and I saw that the man seemed to be 
 ill and weak, and that the lady, whom I took to be his 
 daughter, was a very beautiful girl, with short curly hair 
 clustering about her cheeks. Wondering who they were, 
 I saw them ride on, and disappear along the track in 
 advance of us. 
 
 Resuming our walk, we kept steadily on for some 
 hours, till we came to one of the sweetest little native 
 villages I had ever seen, standing on the snowy- white 
 beach of a lovely bay, encompassed by gently undulating 
 hills clothed with verdure. Although so late at night, 
 the people were all awake, sitting on the village green, 
 singing, and watching a number of youths and girls 
 dancing. They made us very welcome, and the chief 
 and a native teacher both insisted upon us remaining 
 for the night. We were taken to the former's house,
 
 276 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 given some fine sleeping mats, and a mosquito screen, 
 and slept soundly until dawn. 
 
 I found that the name of the village was Laulii, and 
 that its inhabitants — about two hundred people — were 
 very proud of its beauty, and of the wonderful fertility 
 of the surrounding country.
 
 CHAPTEE XXVI 
 
 DORA CHANNING 
 
 A BOUT ten in the morning, as we were having somo 
 -^^ breakfast in the house of the native teacher, a 
 young Samoan, riding bare-backed, galloped into the 
 village, and jumping off his horse to light his sului — 
 a cigarette of black tobacco enrolled in a strip of dried 
 banana leaf — conversed with my host for a minute or two, 
 and then started off again, evidently in a great hurry. 
 On inquiry the teacher told me that he was a messenger 
 sent into Apia for a doctor to come out at once to see a 
 gentleman who was very ill at a place a mile or two 
 away. The gentleman, he said, was a Mr. Channing, a 
 cotton planter, who had come to Samoa from Fiji a year 
 before, and had been ill ever since. 
 
 " He has always been very kind to the people of this 
 town," added the teacher, " and many of the young men 
 work for him on his plantation, and one of my own 
 daughters is tdrini (servant) to his wife. So I must go 
 and see if I can do anything. Would you like to come 
 with me?" 
 
 We started off as quickly as possible, and following 
 a forest path for about two miles, emerged upon 
 a cleared space of some two bunded acres, which was 
 part of Malauli Plantation. Mr. Channing's house 
 
 277
 
 278 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 was a small bungalow standing among a clump of 
 breadfruit trees, and tbe moment we stepjied on to 
 the verandah, the young lady whom I had seen on 
 horseback the previous evening, came out to us, bowed 
 to me, and shook hands with the native teacher. She 
 was very pale, and looked so harassed and distressed 
 that I apologised for my intrusion, and said that from 
 what the teacher had told me, I thought I might be of 
 some possible assistance. 
 
 •' Oh, how very, very kind of you," she said. 
 
 Her voice was so soft and sweet, and sounded so 
 strangely like that of my little lame sister Ada! "I 
 shall indeed be glad if you -udll stay here till Dr. Ford 
 comes from Apia. I fear my husband is dying. I am 
 Mrs. Channing." 
 
 " My name is Breachley, madam. Is there anything 
 at all that I can do ? " 
 
 She said she would be glad if I would help her to 
 move her husband from the bedroom into the dining- 
 room, which was the coolest apartment in the house. 
 The moment I entered, I recognised him as the man I 
 had seen the previous evening. He was fully dressed, 
 and certainly seemed to be in a serious condition. With 
 the assistance of the- teacher, we carefully lifted the 
 mattress off the bed, and carried him into the dining- 
 room. Then for the first time he spoke, thanked 
 us in feeble tones, and asked his wife to throw all 
 the windows open, so as to get as much breeze as 
 possible. 
 
 Finding there was nothing else that I could do, I 
 was slipping quietly away, when I saw little Mrs. 
 Channing crossing a paddock with a bucket in her 
 hand, evidently with the intention of milking one of 
 two cows grazing there. Overtaking her, I begged
 
 DORA CHANNING 279 
 
 her to let me do the milking. She thanked me, and 
 said that the only man on the plantation who could 
 milk was the one whom she had sent for the doctor, 
 and she wanted to give Mr. Channing some milk and 
 soda as soon as possible. Glad to be of use, I soon had 
 the cow milked, and then asked her if I could bring 
 anything for her from Apia, and felt quite pleased when 
 she said no, but asked me if I would remain until the 
 doctor came — she was so afraid of having no one with 
 her but natives, although they were very eager to do all 
 she asked of them. 
 
 As soon as Dr. Ford arrived, I left, and calling at 
 the village for Tapoa, returned to Apia. 
 
 Not caring to idle away my time, and having but very 
 little money, I took an engagement as trader with an 
 American named Frank Lee, who lived at the town 
 of Aleipata, on the north-end of Upolu. He was a very 
 steady, respectable man, and I liked him from the 
 first. He was engaged in building a schooner, he 
 told me, and wanted me to look after his store and 
 trading business. As we were not to leave for Aleipata 
 until next day, I called at Dr. Ford's house in the 
 evening to ask about Mr. Channing. He was at home, 
 asked me in, and we had a pleasant chat. He first 
 of all, however, told me that Channing could not live 
 very long, as he was suffering from some internal com- 
 plaint which was incurable. Mrs, Channing, with whom 
 I saw he deeply sympathised, was, he told me, but 
 nineteen years of age, and was, he said, one of the "best 
 and sweetest little women in the world." But what 
 pleased me most was that she sent a message by him 
 to me, saying that when her husband was a little 
 stronger, both he and she would be glad if I would come 
 and see them.
 
 280 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 After I had been with Lee two months or so, I heard 
 that Mr. Channing had died, and that his widow 
 had gone to stay with Mrs. M— — , a missionary's 
 wife in Apia, and that Malanli Plantation was to be 
 sokl. When I next went to Apia — I had to go there 
 about every four weeks — Lee was with me, and leaving 
 him to attend to business, I sent a note to Mrs. 
 Channing, and asked her if I might call. 
 
 "Lideed, I shall be most pleased," she wrote 
 back. 
 
 She was, I believe, really glad to see me, and intro- 
 duced me to the Rev. Mr. M and his wife, and 
 
 instead of remaining for the usual conventional ten 
 minutes, I sj)ent the entire afternoon there. Mr. 
 
 M was one of those sterling, manly English 
 
 missionaries one so often meets in the South Seas, 
 respected by white men and natives alike. His house 
 was one of the most comfortable in the Pacific Islands, 
 and, being a man of private means, he had a splendid 
 library. There were, of course, peojile in Samoa, who 
 spoke sneeriugly of his "lazy existence," &c., little 
 knowing, or else not having the grace to remember, that 
 for ten years (ever since he had left England) he had not 
 drawn one farthing of his stipend — which was poor 
 enough— from the funds of the missionary society in 
 London which had sent him out, and that he had 
 founded, and kept up at a heavy exj)ense to his private 
 l^urse, native schools, which he personally superintended 
 — schools in which something else than mere Scriptural 
 teaching was given to the pupils. Broad-minded, 
 liberal, fond of athletic sports, a born naturalist, and 
 deeply versed in Polynesian mythology and native lore 
 generally, no wonder was it that such a man was a power 
 for good in such a country as Samoa — just then about to
 
 DORA CHANNING 281 
 
 enter on an internecine warfare destined to last for many 
 years — down to 1898 in fact. 
 
 The merest trifle, it is said, truly enough, will turn 
 the whole current of a man's life, and a mere trifle was 
 to be the primary factor in changing the current of mine. 
 
 As Mr. M and myself were walking about his 
 
 garden, he pointed out to me, a few hundi-ed yards away, 
 a magnificent specimen of a temanii tree, and remarked 
 that its wood was very suitable for building purposes, 
 but no one in Samoa had ever troubled over the fact that 
 the mountain forests were filled with temanu and other 
 valuable woods, and the merchants and traders imported 
 all their building timber at a heavy cost from New 
 Zealand and California, 
 
 "What is wanted here," he said, "is a saw mill, 
 with some men who understand how to work it. The 
 German firm here had a complete plant sent out fi'om 
 Hamburg some years ago. It has never been used, 
 and I suppose is now valueless from rust and neglect." 
 
 " I wish I could buy it, if it is any good," I remarked 
 with a laugh. "My father and nearly all my brothers are 
 mill men and timber getters, and I was brought up to 
 the business. I remember when I went with the native 
 teacher to see Mrs. Channing, at the time of Mr. 
 Channing's illness, we passed through a forest of such 
 spendid timber that I quite felt a longing to see a mill 
 at work there, and once more hear the buzz of the 
 saws, the rip, rip of the big logs, and the throbbing 
 pant of the engine." 
 
 Mr, M stopped in his walk for a moment or 
 
 two, then asked me, in an apparently indifferent sort of 
 manner, if I would care to walk down with him to 
 Goddeffroy's establishment at Matafele, look at the saw 
 mill machinery, and see if it was any good.
 
 282 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 Matafele is the German quarter of Apia, and in half 
 
 an hour, Mr. M and myself were conducted by 
 
 one of Herr Weber's clerks to a huge shed filled with all 
 sorts of merchandise and machinery, ships' stores, &c., 
 and shown the saw-mill plant. It was small and certainly 
 was very rusty, but everything was complete — a splendid 
 set of circular and vertical saws, planing machine, belting, 
 hauling gear, and an excellent portable engine. Mr. 
 
 M , I could see, by the very pertinent questions 
 
 he put to me, was testing my knowledge, and that he 
 was thoroughly satisfied by my replies was very evident 
 when he asked me if I could erect such a plant and put 
 it in working order. 
 
 " Yes," I replied promptly. ** If I had two good 
 carpenters, and eight or ten labourers, those saws would 
 be buzzing gaily in a few weeks — provided the timber 
 was ready for them to ' buzz ' upon." 
 
 Then Mr. M took me into his confidence. 
 
 "You are very young, Mr. Breachley, but I am sm-e 
 you are very practical — and, to be frank with you, I like 
 you. Now listen to me. Mrs. Channing's estate is for 
 sale, and if she could sell it for a reasonable price she 
 would leave Samoa and return to England, where she 
 has some few relatives. But it is hard to sell land 
 in Samoa just now, when war is breaking out, and the 
 only offer she has had was from the German firm, who 
 have offered her such an insignificant sum that I have 
 advised her not to part with it. Now this is what I 
 propose : I will buy tliis plant, if you will undertake to 
 have it moved to Malauli, put it up on the estate, and work 
 it for her benefit on terms to be agreed upon later on. 
 Malauli, as a cotton plantation, is not of much value, I 
 fear. What do you think of the idea ? " 
 
 I was delighted, and at once consented, but said that
 
 DORA CHANNING 283 
 
 I was under a monthly engagement to Frank Lee, and 
 could not leave him without due notice. 
 
 " Bring Lee up with you this evening to dinner. I 
 know him very well, and can talk him over in five 
 minutes. Now you go and see Weber, and ask him 
 how much he will take for the plant. Do not mention 
 my name iu the matter. How much is it worth? " 
 
 " It is a thoroughly good plant, and although it came 
 from Hamburg, is of American make, as I showed you. 
 I daresay it cost £800 at least." 
 
 "Well, you can offer him as much as £300, and tell 
 him you can pay him the money to-morrow. It is not 
 necessary for you to mention what you intend doing 
 with it ; simply tell him you will give him £300 for it. 
 Now, goodbye for the present, and good luck. Don't 
 forget to bring Lee with you this evening." 
 
 I went and saw Herr Weber — a fair-haired, blonde- 
 bearded gentleman with gold-rimmed spectacles — one 
 of the best and kindliest-hearted Teutons that ever put 
 foot on Samoan soil. He was seated at his office table 
 reading a book. He bade me sit down. 
 
 "Mr. Weber," I said, " I have been looking at that 
 sawmill plant in the big iron shed. It is in a very bad 
 condition ; the leather beltiug is quite rotten, and the 
 engine has been badly knocked about. But I should 
 like to buy it. All the money I have is £100 — five 
 hundred dollars. Will you let me have it for that price 
 instead of its rusting away ? " 
 
 Weber laughed genially — " You are an American? " 
 
 " No ; I'm an Englishman." 
 
 " Now why do you want to buy that plant ? " 
 
 " Well, I know a little — just a very little— about saw- 
 mills, and . . . well, I should like to see if I cannot 
 put it in order and make a little money."
 
 284 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 "If you will put it up for me and set it in working 
 order I will give j'ou fifty pounds, Mr. Breacliley, and 
 also give you employment in the Goddefii'oy Company 
 at seventy-five dollars a month." 
 
 I became alarmed, but proceeded to lie artistically. 
 
 " I could not undertake to put it in working order, 
 Mr, Weber ; I may not have sufficient knowledge. But 
 if you will sell it to me I can take my own time and 
 see what I can do with it, and if I fail, then only myself 
 will be at any loss." 
 
 " You can have it for £150." 
 
 " I'm sorry, Mr, Weber," I said with a deep sigh, 
 " I can't offer you more than £100 ; " and rising from 
 my chair, I bade him good afternoon. 
 
 " Well, then, you can have it. It has been an eje- 
 sore to me for the past two years." 
 
 In the evening Lee and myself dined with Mr. 
 
 M , his wife, and Mrs. Channing. The missionary 
 
 was highly pleased at my making such a satisfactory 
 deal with the German manager, though I carefully 
 avoided mentioning how I had achieved it, as I knew 
 he would have strongly disapproved of my tactics. In 
 the morning I set to work with a zeal ; removed the 
 machinery and had the boiler on its way to Malauli by 
 nightfall. Lee was very sorry at my leaving him, and, 
 indeed, I never worked with a better comrade. 
 
 In a little over a month, I had the plant erected, 
 for the next three I seldom left the plantation, 
 working very hard. To my secret delight I found 
 that Mrs. Channing did not intend leaving Samoa, 
 except for a short visit to Sydney. She often came to 
 the plantation to watch the sawmill at work, and to look 
 at the various improvements I was making generally ; for 
 I had induced her to buy some cattle, and we expected to
 
 DORA CHANNING 285 
 
 have the nucleus of quite a nice herd in a year or two. 
 At such times she would often remain till the cool 
 of the day, when I would ride back with her to Mr. 
 
 M 's ; and at the end of six months, feeling sure 
 
 that she must know I was very much in love with her, 
 I resolved to ask her to marry me. 
 
 Ever since I had met her I had resisted all tempta- 
 tions to fall back into my former way of life, and, indeed, 
 every time I saw her and heard her voice I was 
 strengthened in my resolution. I do not mean to 
 say that I turned into what Harry Brandon would call 
 a "Pious Peter," and gave up smoking and drinking; 
 but I became moderate as regards the latter habit and 
 sjDent my evenings at home, studying the native language 
 or in some other rational way, instead of wasting my 
 time and my money at the various hotels in Apia, where 
 
 vice flaunted itself gaily. She, or rather Mr. M , 
 
 who was one of her late husband's executors, paid me 
 a fair salary, and nearly all of this money I had saved, 
 instead of as hitherto gambling or squandering it in a 
 still worse manner. 
 
 One afternoon, nearly a year after I had taken charge 
 of Malauli, I determined to put my fortune to the test 
 and wait no longer, for latterly she had become some- 
 what reserved in her manner to me (I suppose she 
 suspected what was in my mind), and if she told me 
 that she did not care for me enough to marry me, 
 I would give up my position and leave Samoa, for 
 by this time my feeling of affection for her had become 
 very deep and sincere. 
 
 On this particular day a Sydney trading vessel, the 
 Magellan Cloud, had arrived at Apia, and feeling sure 
 I should have letters from home, I saddled my horse 
 and rode into town, meaning to call on Mrs. Channing
 
 286 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 in the evening — if I could but manage to screw up 
 my courage — and learn my fate. Fortune was propi- 
 tious to me, for when nearing the estate of a neigh- 
 bouring planter, situated half way between Malauli and 
 Apia, I saw her coming along the road with two other 
 English ladies — my neighbour's wife and her children's 
 governess. 
 
 "I'm glad we've met you, Mr. Breachley," she said ; 
 " here are some letters for you by the Magellan Cloud; 
 so I will not go any further to-day, it is too windy. 
 Are you going into town?" 
 
 " Yes," I said, as, bidding her friends goodbye, she 
 turned her horse's head, and we went on together; I 
 thinking how very beautiful and animated she looked 
 with her short curling hair kissing her pretty round 
 cheeks, and sometimes hiding from me the light in her 
 beautiful dark eyes. I did not give my determination to 
 speak to her time to cool, but waiting till we were 
 in a shady part of the road, and our horses were walking 
 very slowly, I put my hand on hers and said : " Mrs. 
 Channing, do not be angry with me. I love you very 
 much. I have always loved you from the very first." 
 
 " I am not angry," she said in a very low voice, and 
 not trying to take away her hand. 
 
 It was all over in a minute ! Dear, sensible little 
 woman ! I put my arm around her waist and kissed 
 her like a true man, and then we became " Will " and 
 " Dora," and before we had gone another quarter of 
 a mile she had promised to marry me at the end of 
 six months, though I fought hard for three. 
 
 "No, no, you silly boy. You must Avait till I come 
 back from Sydney at least ; but to please you and to 
 get back sooner, I will go this very month instead of next. 
 There, will that satisfy you? "
 
 DOEA CHANNING 287 
 
 Of course it did, and when we entered Apia and she 
 rode on alone, I felt I was the luckiest man in all Samoa 
 as I made my old hair trunk of a horse gallop through 
 the street, to his intense disgust and the wonder of the 
 acquaintances I met. Too excited to stay at the hotel 
 and eat some dinner, I looked up Dr. Ford, and he 
 and I drank my future wife's health in a hottle of 
 champagne ; then, hiring another horse, I tore home 
 again to Malauli and told the news to Tapoa, whose 
 honest brown face expanded into a smile of delight. 
 
 I think that was the happiest night of my existence, 
 for remembering the letters in my pocket, I took them 
 out. One was from my mother, the other from Ada, 
 and they both contained news that filled me with 
 delight — Ada had been operated upon for her lameness, 
 and was perfectly cured. " Do come home, Billy, dear 
 old Billy. I am the hajopiest girl in Australia, because 
 every one at home is so happy over me. And I am 
 so strong now that I will give you such a bear's hug 
 that you will remember to your dying day. So do 
 come home. You have been so long away, and every 
 time mother sees your handwriting her eyes fill with 
 tears, and she sighs ; oh, Billy, she does sigh so heavily, 
 and always says the same thing — ' Whenever will he 
 cease his wanderings, and come back to us?'"
 
 CHAPTEK XXVII 
 
 BLACK SHEEP ENTERS THE FOLD OF RESPECTABILITY 
 
 "DEFORE the month was out Dora sailed for Sydney 
 
 -^ with Mrs. M in the very ship I should have 
 
 chosen for her — the Goddeffroy — and I returned to 
 Malauli feeling rather disconsolate that I should not 
 see her for half a year or more. 
 
 But there was plenty of work to he done on the 
 plantation, and I sometimes had visitors who spent a 
 few days with me, and once I made a malaga (or 
 pleasure excursion) as the Samoans call it, completely 
 round the beautiful island of Upolu, accompanied by 
 Tapoa, who was now growing a fine sturdy youngster, 
 speaking both English and Samoan well, in addition to 
 his own language. 
 
 So the time went by pleasantly enough, and then 
 came a letter from home which filled me with the 
 deepest sorrow. It was from my mother, telling me 
 that my poor brother Fred was dead ; he and his entire 
 boat's crew had been cut off and massacred by the 
 savage natives of Bougainville Island in the Solomon 
 group. My mother again besought me to at least come 
 home for a visit, as she and Ada were often very lonely 
 at times, for my father and brothers were frequently 
 away, either at Sydney or in the north of Queensland, 
 
 2SS
 
 ENTERS THE FOLD OF RESPECTABILITY 289 
 
 and they (she and Ada) were too fond of the old home 
 to go and live in Sydney. 
 
 Knowing that hy this time she had received a letter I 
 had sent telling her ahout Dora and myself, and indeed had 
 most prohahly seen my future wife herself, I felt sure she 
 would not now urge me to return, when she understood 
 how I was situated with regard to the management of 
 Malauli. However, I wrote back and promised faith- 
 fully that she would see me within a year, all going well. 
 So though sincerely grieving for poor Fred, I could do 
 nothing beyond writing and promising to become a more 
 frequent correspondent. 
 
 Brandon I had heard from twice. He seemed to 
 be doing very well, but complained about the climate 
 of the New Hebrides, and said he did not intend 
 remaining after a twelvemonth, as he had had several 
 attacks of fever, and had asked Herr Weber to 
 send some one to relieve him. "If he does not send a 
 man by the next ship to take my place," he wrote, " I 
 shall take the liberty of leaving without his consent. I 
 have done a heap of good work for the firm, but am not 
 going to die of fever if I can help it. So don't be sur- 
 prised to see me turn up somewhat unexpectedly." 
 
 The prospect of seeing Brandon again cheered me 
 greatly, and whenever I saw a vessel beating up the 
 coast from the westward against the trades, I rode into 
 town in the hope of seeing him land, determining to bring 
 him to live with me at Malauli. But month after month 
 went by, and I could not even get any of the German 
 clerks to tell me when the next ship was expected from 
 the New Hebrides, and if a man had been sent to relieve 
 Harry — for even Herr Weber, though such a good- 
 natured man, felt very sore with me for getting the saw 
 mill from him so cheaply and turning it to such profit- 
 
 20
 
 290 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 able use so quickly ; so the German gentlemen were not 
 exactly *' playing speaks " with me. 
 
 However, I did not mind veiy much about offending the 
 gi-eat Hamburg house, which was admittedly at the bottom 
 of all the trouble then brewing in Samoa, and surrepti- 
 tiously arming the rebel natives so that they (the Germans) 
 could make the coiip for which they had been so long 
 waiting — the seizure of the entire gi'oup, hoisting the 
 German flag, and crushing out the independent English 
 and American merchants and traders. The native king, 
 INIalietoa, was anxiously hoping for some sign of help 
 from England and America, but none came, and daily 
 he saw the rebel faction gaining in strength, and being 
 steadily supplied with arms by the German firm. The 
 generality of the natives were well disposed to both the 
 British and Americans, and openly showed their dislike 
 to the Germans and their fear of their intentions very 
 markedly, though during all the time I was in Samoa 
 there was at that period no single instance of a native 
 ever having committed an act of violence against a white 
 man of any nationality. In later years, however, this 
 condition of things was sadly altered, and the blood of 
 English and American blue jackets, as well as Germans, 
 ensanguined the gi'ound. That there were a few bad 
 characters (both Americans and Englishmen) knocking 
 about on the beach was true, but all these gentry received 
 a lesson later on that convinced them that Samoa was 
 not a healthy place for them. Here is the story : — 
 
 A respectable white trader one day entered a saloon, 
 and ordered a bottle of beer. Wliile drinking it, he was 
 accosted by a rufhan, who was known as the greatest 
 bully and blackguard in the group. This man, whose 
 name I cannot now remember, had only been in Samoa 
 a few months, having come from San Francisco, but
 
 ENTEKS THE FOLD OF RESPECTABILITY 291 
 
 had soon proved himself a ciu'se to the community. 
 Without tlic slightest provocation, he grossly insulted 
 the trader in the presence of a number of people, and 
 then, drawing his bowie knife, stabbed the unfortunate 
 man through the heart. The murderer coolly walked 
 away, but some hours later was surprised and seized by 
 some whites and natives. He, being an American — or 
 asserting he was — was brought before the American 
 consul, who informed his capturers that all he could do 
 with the man was to send him to San Francisco for trial. 
 There was at the time an American brigantine, the Ada 
 Maif, lying in Apia harbour ready to sail for California, 
 and the fellow was conveyed on board, but not put in 
 confinement. That night word went round the town for 
 all white men to '' roll up," and a meeting was held. 
 Only a few persons spoke, pointing out to the assembly 
 that the moment the vessel arrived in California, the 
 man would walk ashore and be free — there was no 
 likelihood of the authorities there troubling over the 
 murder of a man in Samoa ! In half an hour, two boats 
 put off, filled with armed men, boarded the brig, and 
 brought their prisoner ashore. In a few minutes his 
 trial was over, and he was given a quarter of an hour to 
 prepare for death, and a messenger was sent off to ask 
 
 the Rev. Dr. , a medical missionary, to come and 
 
 prepare the man for death. The murderer never for a 
 moment thought that serious business was meant, and 
 that the proceedings were not as he called them, mere 
 bluff. His language and threats were of so horrifying 
 and lurid a nature, even when the missionary stood by his 
 side urging him to pray to heaven for mercy, that the 
 beholders were overjoyed when the scoundrel had a rope 
 slipped over his head, and in a few seconds more was 
 dancing in the air from the top of a leaning coconut tree.
 
 292 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 His execution had an exceedingly good effect, and 
 practically cleared Samoa of its beachcombers and other 
 loafers. 
 
 At last, however, the German brig Adolph arrived 
 from New Hebrides, and a wretched, yellow - skinned 
 creature, so worn down by fever that I could not honestly 
 recognise him at first as Harry Brandon, was brought 
 on shore. He hardly knew me, and was too weak to do 
 more than mutter incoherently, when I had him carried 
 into the hotel, and sent a message for Dr. Ford to come 
 and see him. So exhausted was he, that several of my 
 friends shook their heads when they saw him, and said 
 he was too far gone to recover, and the doctor himself 
 told me that the case was " a very grave one." I knew 
 what those words meant, and my heart sank as I heard 
 them. For two days he was either delirious or un- 
 conscious in turn, and then to my joy, Ford told me he 
 thought he would pull through. And then little by little 
 poor Harry began to gain strength enough to fight 
 against death, and it was a happy moment for me, when 
 he recognised me and made a hideous contortion intended 
 for a smile, and whispered hoarsely, * ' Billy, old boy ! is 
 it a case with me? " 
 
 "Not this time, Harry. You'll be as fit as ever in a 
 week or two." 
 
 But it took many months and not weeks, ere he 
 regained anything like his former looks ; however, as 
 soon as he could bear moving, I took him to Malauli 
 by boat. Tapoa was delighted to see him again, 
 but heard with sorrow that both of the big stalwart 
 Pleasant Islanders, who had accompanied their master 
 in the Iserbrook, had died of fever on Espiritu Santo 
 Island. 
 
 By the time Harry was well enough to sit a horse, the
 
 ENTERS THE FOLD OF RESPECTABILITY 293 
 
 war had broken out in earnest, and all the Samoans who 
 were employed on the plantation went off and joined 
 either the king's troops or the rebel forces, leaving 
 Harry and myself to get along as best we could with 
 nine Gilbert Islands natives — men brought from their 
 own country two years previously, and indentured to Mr. 
 Channing. They were excellent workmen, however, and 
 as both Brandon and myself spoke their language fluently, 
 and understood their disposition, we all got on very well 
 together, especially now that our Samoans had gone, for 
 they and the imported labourers never did agree, the 
 former regarding the Gilbert Islanders as savages, and 
 the Gilbert Islanders despising them as effeminate 
 boasters, only able to fight with rifles and cannon at 
 long range, and afraid of meeting a man knife to knife, 
 and fighting to the death. 
 
 Brandon and myself saw something of the fighting — 
 for the rebel lines were on both sides of Apia — and were 
 not much impressed by the valour of the combatants of 
 either party. We often visited the trenches of the king's 
 troops on one side of a stream, drank a bowl of kava 
 with some chief, and then tying our handkerchiefs to our 
 walking sticks, crossed over to the other side, where we 
 were treated with equal hospitality, each party trying to 
 " pump " us as to the enemy's movements ; and many of 
 them whose rifles were out of repair, asked us to mend 
 them. This of course we declined — as delicately as 
 possible — and our refusal was always taken in good 
 part. 
 
 At intervals of every few hundred yards along the 
 trenches wove square towers, or forts of observation, 
 about 40 feet high, and usually mounting a nine-pounder 
 gun, which kept pounding away at similar structures on 
 the enemy's lines, whilst the rattle of musketry was con-
 
 294 BEEACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 tinuons night and day ; volley firing being much favoui'ed, 
 on account of the delightful noise it made. 
 
 One evening, just at dusk, as we were crossing the 
 Vaisigago — a little river dividing Apia from Matautu — 
 some hundreds of the rebels made an unusuallj^ plucky 
 attempt to drive the king's troops across the river, and 
 through the European town. Brandon, myself, and a 
 German storekeeper named Volckman, were just in 
 time to obtain some fairly decent cover behind half a 
 dozen good sized orange trees growing on the bank, 
 when the proceedings began to get very interesting. 
 The king's warriors were undoubtedly in a fearful funk, 
 and their chiefs, notably one named Patiole, onlj'' 
 succeeded in rallying them among the undergrowth on 
 the banks of the stream, when they again gave way, as 
 about fifty rebels, led by a chief of splendid physique 
 named Asi (Sandalwood) charged right down on them, 
 and literally drove them into the water. Here six of 
 them were killed, and quickly decapitated, while many 
 were wounded and carried down by the stream. One 
 poor wretch, rifle in hand, whose ankle bone had been 
 smashed by a Snider bullet, limped up the bank, and 
 reached the orange tree under which we were standing, 
 and to my surprise called to me by name, and moaning 
 with agony, begged me to bind up his foot. " Aue ! Aue ! 
 Misi Pilif" he cried, "tta nunuti lo'u vae ma ni 
 pulu !" {" Alas, alas, Mr. Bill, my leg is utterly crushed 
 by bullets.") 
 
 Volckman and I at once tried to do what we could to 
 stop the hemorrhage, and we were in hopes of oiu not 
 being observed, when four of the rebels saw us, darted 
 up the bank, and fiercely bidding us stand aside, dragged 
 the wounded man away from us, and with a few blows 
 hacked off his head, and, carrying it with them, hurried
 
 ENTERS THE FOLD OF RE SrECT ABILITY '295 
 
 after their comrades, who were now chasing the king's 
 demoralised troops right through the streets of Apia, 
 firing most recklessly, and too excited to think that 
 white people might suflfer. Lifting the headless hody of 
 the man (whom I had recognised as one of the people of 
 Laulii village) we carried it hack again under the orange 
 trees, and left it there, and as it was now dark, and 
 bullets were still flying about, we decided to leave the 
 scene, and go on our way, which was made clear enough 
 by the flames of two populous villages, Moata and Mata- 
 fagatele. We reached Malauli feeling satisfied that we 
 had had enough excitement that evening. 
 
 Some days after this, Harry, through getting a chill 
 whilst out pigeon shooting in the forest, had a serious 
 relapse, and again for two long weeks his life seemed to 
 hang in the balance, for his once iron constitution had 
 been terribly shaken by his previous habits of dissipation. 
 Tapoa and I, however, nursed him through once more, 
 and then I urged him to leave Samoa ere it was too late 
 and go to a colder climate, as Dr. Ford earnestly advised 
 him. At last he consented, and sailed for Sydney. A 
 few days before, Dora had arrived, and both she and I 
 saw him leave with some anxiety, he looked so like a 
 death's head. 
 
 I am glad to say, however, that when I next heard 
 from him he was staying at my own home with my 
 mother, and was rapidly regaining his health. My 
 brother Morgan, too, was home again, and he and 
 Brandon had become fast friends, and to mother's and 
 Ada's joy, were about to go into partnership in running 
 a trading schooner which my father had bought for them, 
 between New Caledonia and Sydney, Brandon being 
 skipper, and Morgan mate. 
 
 I must mention that after Brandon's first illness —
 
 296 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 when he arrived from the New Hebrides in the Iserhrook 
 — he became very much changed, and serious in his 
 thoughts and demeanour, and we had many long conver- 
 sations on our past follies. One evening, after his 
 second attack, and just as he was able to stand on his 
 feet without assistance, we were sitting on the verandah 
 looking out upon the starlit Pacific beneath, and talking 
 about my marriage, which was to take place in a few 
 months, when he said quite suddenly : — 
 
 "Billy, you are a fortunate man to get such a 
 beautiful, and such a good wife as Mrs. Channing, who 
 mil always keep you on the right course." 
 
 Then he became silent for a few minutes, and 
 presently began to tell me fully of his past life — before 
 we had met in Sydney and sailed as comrades together 
 with my brother Ted for the Daintree. About one 
 incident — the sad story of the betrayed Marcia Walenne 
 — he did not spare himself, and turning to me, put his 
 hand on mine. 
 
 " Bill, if that poor girl is alive, and I can find her, 
 and she does not hate me now as much as she once 
 loved me, I will marry her. If I find her on the streets, 
 it will make no difference to me. But I fear she is dead." 
 
 He spoke so gravely, yet with such intensity, that I 
 knew that if Marcia Walenne was alive and he found her 
 that he would certainly do as he said. 
 
 And now, as this story of my wanderings is drawing to 
 a close, I may say that he did find her — earning her 
 living as a school teacher in some "wi-etched back block 
 township in Victoria — and married her under his real 
 name, which was not Brandon, and though he and I 
 have not now met for many, many years, and he lives in 
 England, and the wide ocean divides us, his children 
 and mine know each other, and he and I are in spirit
 
 ENTERS THE FOLD OF RESPECTABILITY 297 
 
 the same true comrades as we were in the olden days, 
 when we sailed together under the blue skies of the far- 
 off Southern Seas. 
 
 Dora and I were married by our good friend Mr. 
 
 M , in the little iron-roofed church standing on the 
 
 sward overlooking the brawling Vaisigago, and although 
 those were troublous days in Samoa, and English and 
 Americans and Germans eyed each other with sullen 
 distrust, and the crackling of rifles still went on day and 
 night, Dora, who was, as Herr Weber gallantly told her 
 — " the best loved woman in Samoa," succeeded in 
 making them put aside their bitter differences for once, 
 coming to the wedding, and giving us a great send off on 
 the following day when we left for Australia by way of 
 Auckland in the schooner Dauntless. 
 
 I need hardly say that our return was the cause of 
 gi-eat happiness to my mother and my sister Ada, who 
 came to Sydney to meet us, and during our stay there 
 we were joined by my brothers Jim and Ted, who had 
 returned to Sydney to recruit, leaving my father in 
 North Queensland. He, however, although my mother 
 told me he did not at first approve of my marrying a 
 widow, wrote me a kindly but characteristic letter, in 
 which after telling me all about various matters con- 
 cerning his business, and how many thousands of feet of 
 cedar he had had cut and shipped to Melbourne and 
 Sydney during the years I had been away from home, 
 went on to say : 
 
 " I daresay by the time this reaches you, you will be 
 back in Australia with your wife. Now when I first 
 heard that you were engaged to be married — and to a 
 widow — I felt very much disappointed with you, and 
 thought you had no more sense than a jackass. But 
 when your mother and Ada wrote and told me all about
 
 298 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 her " (Dora on lier first visit to Sydney had stayed with 
 my mother and sister for two months) "I was quite 
 satisfied that yom- choice was a good one, and I look 
 forward to meeting her, and loving her as my own 
 daughter, for your mother tells me that Ada loves her, 
 and any one whom Ada loves, must he worth loving. I 
 am glad she has no children. Carvery sends his kind 
 regards, and hopes to see you soon. I hope you will 
 now try and settle down with your wife. I will help you 
 along. I'm sorry you did not send me more information 
 about the Californian saw mills. I hear your wife has 
 some money, and trust you will let her keep it — I am 
 giving you a good tip, my son, so don't disregard it. 
 Cedar fell in price last year, but is going up again now." 
 
 Morgan and Harry Brandon were away at sea when 
 Dora and I reached Sydney, but when they did return, 
 we had a very happy reunion. I had taken a house in 
 Sydney, and whenever they came back from a voyage, 
 Harry was always our guest. From the very day he had 
 returned to Australia, he had set an agent to work to 
 try and discover Marcia Walenne, and after two years' 
 persistent search, and the expenditure of a large sum of 
 money, she was found, as I have before said, living in 
 the country. Brandon at once set off to her, and in a 
 week they returned to Sydney, and were married at my 
 own house; and she, when her husband went to sea 
 again, always lived with us. 
 
 I made several voyages with Morgan and Harry, for I 
 bought an interest in their business, and found it impos- 
 sible to remain at home. And indeed my wife, knowing my 
 restless disposition, never tried to check me. For several 
 years we ran two vessels, one to the Solomon Islands, 
 and one to New Caledonia, Fiji, and Samoa, and some- 
 times both Dora and Harry Brandon's wife came with us.
 
 ENTEES THE FOLD OF RESPECTABILITY 299 
 
 In the larger of the vessels, a barque, we once went 
 to San Francisco with a cargo of copra from Samoa, and 
 Morgan and I went to see dear old Tod Barrow at the 
 " Menagerie." He was as hale and hearty as ever, and 
 we — he, Morgan, Brandon, and myself — spent many a 
 jolly evening in the barqne's cabin, ere we sailed out 
 through the Golden Gate for the last time. 
 
 *• * * * * 
 
 Malauli is still ours, though 'tis long years since we 
 last went there on a visit with my sister Ada, who is 
 still Ada Breachley, and now keeps house in Sydney for 
 Morgan, who, despite my mother's protestations, refused 
 to marry ** and be worried" as he expressed it, when 
 Ada was willing to remain with him. Ted and Jim are 
 well and prospering — both having made money and 
 bought station properties in the north of Queensland, 
 and my old friend Paddy Minogue of fighting renown 
 has a cattle run quite near them. Both my father and 
 Captain de Lisle are dead. They made a fortune out of 
 their timber-getting venture, and I was pleased that my 
 sister Frances and her children, to whom, in his later 
 years, my father had become greatly attached, were left 
 half of his money — the rest of his family being amply 
 provided for — and the other half went equally between 
 my mother and Ada. 
 
 But before I close, I must mention one dear old friend 
 of mine whom the reader may remember — my youthful 
 companion, Mary Dick. Before Dora and I left Samoa 
 my mother had written me that Mary had married very 
 well — her husband being the proprietor of one of the 
 principal hotels in Auckland, where she was then settled. 
 So as soon as possible after the Dauntless arrived at that 
 port, and we had booked our passage in the steamer 
 Phoebe for Sydney, Dora and I set out for the " Waiwera
 
 300 BREACHLEY, BLACK SHEEP 
 
 Hotel " in Queen Street, and I asked to see Mrs. Marsh, 
 the landlady. 
 
 Showing us into a sitting-room, a chamber-maid 
 went in search of her mistress, and in a minute or so 
 the door opened and the red-headed, dear old Mary Dick 
 of my boyhood's days entered the room, looking every 
 inch the imposing and prosperous landlady. Not giving 
 her time to even ask me my business, and seeing she 
 did not recognise in the sunburnt, bearded man before 
 her, the long, lanky Bill Breachley of the old days of her 
 uncle's supplejack, I quickly stej)ped up to her, and 
 slipped my arm around her now ample waist. 
 
 " How are you, Mary, dear old red top ? " I laughed, 
 as I tried to kiss her, my wife smiling the while. 
 " Don't you remember me — your companion in crime? " 
 
 Her bright blue, brave Scotswoman's eyes opened 
 wide with astonishment and delight, and then in an 
 instant her mighty arms enfolded and pressed me to her 
 ample bosom. 
 
 Then we all settled down, and had a long talk 
 together over old times, and then, as she took my wife's 
 little hand in hers to bid her goodbye, her eyes grew 
 dimmed with tears — " You see, both Billy and I were 
 a pair of Dreadful Black Sheep once, Mrs. Breachley." 
 
 "And I call him a Black Sheep still, Mary," replied 
 Dora with a smile — ** look at the colour of his face and 
 hands." 
 
 " It matches well with your own fair, sweet face," she 
 replied. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 UNWIN BROTHERS, LIMITED, PRINTERS, WOKING AND LONDON.
 
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 LOUIS BECKE 
 
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 1. ADVENTURES OF A YOUNGER SON. By Edward 
 
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 2. MADAGASCAR ; or, Robert Drury's Journal during his 
 
 Captivity on that Island. Preface and Notes by Captain 
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 THE HERB MOON 
 
 BY 
 
 JOHN OLIVER HOBBES 
 
 Third Edition, Crown 8vo., cloth, 6s. 
 
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 21
 
 T. FISHER UNW^IWr, Publlaher, 
 
 WORKS BY JOSEPH CONRAD 
 
 I. 
 
 AN OUTCAST OF THE 
 ISLANDS 
 
 Crown Svo„ doth, Qflu 
 
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 ' An Outcast of the Islands ' is perhaps the finest piece of fiction that has been 
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 lished in 1895 . . . Surely this is real romance — the romance that is real. 
 Space forbids anything but the merest recapitulation of the other living 
 realities of Mr. Conrad's invention— of Lingard, of the inimitable Almayer, 
 the one-eyed Babalatchi, the Naturalist, of the pious Abdulla — all novel, all 
 authentic. Enough has been written to show Mr. Conrad's quality. He 
 imagines his scenes and their sequence like a master ; he knows his individu- 
 alities and their hearts ; he has a new and wonderful field in this East Indian 
 Novel of his. . . . Greatness is deliberately written ; the present writer has 
 read and re-read his two books, and after putting this review aside for some 
 days to consider the discretion of it, the word still stands." — Saturday Rtvim- 
 
 n. 
 
 ALMAYER'S FOLLY 
 
 Second Edition. Crown %vo., cloth, Ss. 
 
 "This startling, unique, splendid book." 
 
 Mr. T. P. O'Connor, M.P. 
 
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 unspoiled by straining after effect. There are, too, some admirably graphic 
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 described. . . . The name of Mr. Joseph Conrad is new to us, but it appears 
 to ue as if he might become the Kipling of the Malay Archipelago." — Spectator 
 
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 T. FISHER UNWIN, Publisher, 
 
 THE STICKIT MINISTER 
 AND SOME COMMON 
 
 MEN 
 
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 S. R. CROCKETT 
 
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 -crception and reticent rendering of that underlying pathos of life which is to 
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 can see with the heart and the imagination as well as the brain. Mr. Crockett 
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 THE LILAC SUN- 
 BONNET 
 
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 S. R. CROCKETT 
 
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 After inquiries among the fair, I learn that of all romances, they best love, 
 aot 'sociology,' not 'theology,' still less, open manslaughter, for a motive, but 
 just love's young dream, chapter after chapter. From Mr. Crockett they get 
 whit they want, ' hot with,' as Thackeray admits that he liked it." 
 
 Mr. Andrew Lanq in Longman's Magazine. 
 
 11, Paternoster Buildings, London, E.G. f
 
 T. FISHER UNWIN, Publisher, 
 
 THE RAIDERS 
 
 BY 
 
 S. R. CROCKETT 
 
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 "A thorouglily enjoyable novel, full of fresh, original, and 
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 " A strikingly realistic romance." — Morning Post. 
 
 " A stirring story. . . . Mr. Crockett's style is charming. My 
 Baronite never knew how musical and picturesque is Scottish- 
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 has put together an exciting tale of adventures on land and sea." 
 
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 SOME SCOTCH NOTICES. 
 
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 the classics of the district." — Scotsman. 
 
 "Mr. Crockett's 'The Raiders' is one of the great literary 
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 THE GREY MAN 
 
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 "With such passages as these [referring to quotations], 
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 even the most insatiate lover of romance may feel that 
 Mr. Crockett has given him good measure, well presse((^ 
 down and running over." — Daily Telegraph 
 
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 T. FISHER UNWIN, Publisher, 
 
 THE MERMAID SERIES 
 
 The Best Plays of the Old Dramatists. 
 Literal Reproductions of the Old Text. 
 
 Post 8vo., each Volume containing about ^oo pages, and an etched 
 Frontispiece, cloth, 3s. 6d. each. 
 
 1. The Best Plays of Christopher 
 
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 Elms, and containing a GcuLial 
 Introduction to the Series by John 
 Addington Symonds. 
 
 2. The Best Plays of Thomas 01. 
 
 way. Introduction by the Hon. 
 RODEN Noel. 
 
 3. The Best Plays of John Ford.— 
 
 Edited by Havelock Ellis. 
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 Massinger. Essay and Notes by 
 Akthuk Symons. 
 
 6. The Best Plays of Thomas Mey= 
 wood. Edited by A. W. Vekiiy. 
 Intioduction by J. A. SYMONDS. 
 
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 Ward. 
 
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 by H. P. HoRNE, Arthur Symons, 
 A. W. Verity, and H. Ellis. 
 
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 by J. St. Loe Stkachey. 
 
 II. The Complete Plays of William 
 
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 EWALD. 
 
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 by Algerno.v Charles Swinburne. 
 
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 and Notes, by G. A. Aitkf.n. 
 
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 22. The Select Plays of Sir John 
 
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 SWAEN. 
 
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 RECENT ISSUES IN THE 
 
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 the stops of Irish human nature." — Scotsman. 
 
 Among the Syringas. By Mary E. Mann. 
 
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 The Lost Land. By Julia M. Crottie. 
 
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 years." — Bookman. 
 
 The Rhymer. By Allan McAulav. 
 
 " One of those gems of fiction which are not easily surpassed." 
 
 Oban Timcf 
 
 Black Mary. By Allan McAulay, Author of "Ths 
 
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 Evelyn Innes. By George Moore. 
 
 Sister Teresa. A Sequel to "Evelyn Innes." By 
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 DATE DUE