The Book Of The Bush by George Dunderdale (books to read to improve english .TXT) 📕

Floor,  Intending,  While He Was Doing A Man,  To Do Him Well.  He

Raised The Axe To Finish His Work With A Third Blow,  But Julia Gave A

Scream So Piercing That His Attention Was Diverted To Her.

"Oh,  Nosey," She Said,  "What Are You Doing To Poor Baldy?  You Are

Murdering Him."

Nosey Turned To His Wife With Upraised Axe.

"Hold Your Jaw,  Woman,  And Keep Quiet,  Or I'll Do As Much For You."

She Said No More.  She Was Tall And Stout,  Had Small,  Sharp,  Roving

Eyes; And Nosey Was A Thick-Set Man,  With A Thin,  Prominent Nose,

Sunken Eyes,  And Overhanging Brows.  He Never Had A Prepossessing

Appearance,  And Now His Look And Attitude Were So Ugly And Fierce

That The Big Woman Was Completely Cowed.  The Pair Stood Still For

Some Time,  Watching The Last Convulsive Movements Of The Murdered

Baldy.

Nosey Could Now Pride Himself On Having Been "Game To Do His Man,"

But He Could Not Feel Much Glory In His Work Just Yet.  He Had Done

It Without Sufficient Forethought,  And His Mind Was Soon Full Of

Trouble.

Murder Was Worse Than Sheep Stealing,  And The Consequences Of His New

Venture In Crime Began To Crowd On His Mind With Frightful Rapidity.

He Had Not Even Thought Of Any Plan For Hiding Away The Corpse.  He

Had No Grave Ready,  And Could Not Dig One Anywhere In The

Neighbourhood.  The Whole Of The Country Round His Hut Was Rocky--

Little Hills Of Bare Bluestone Boulders,  And Grassy Hollows Covered

With Only A Few Inches Of Soil--Rocks Everywhere,  Above Ground And

Below.  He Could Burn The Body,  But It Would Take A Long Time To Do

It Well; Somebody Might Come While He Was At The Work,  And Even The

Ashes Might Betray His Secret.  There Were Shallow Lakes And Swamps,

But He Could Not Put The Corpse Into Any Of Them With Safety:  Search

Would Be Made Wherever There Was Water,  On The Supposition That Baldy

Had Been Drowned After Drinking Too Freely Of The Gin He Had Brought

From Nyalong,  And If The Body Was Found,  The Appearance Of The Skull

Would Show That Death Had Been Caused,  Not By Drowning,  But By The

Blows Of That Cursed Axe.  Nosey Began To Lay All The Blame On The

Axe,  And Said,  "If It Had Not Stood Up So Handy Near The Door,  I

Wouldn't Have Killed The Man."

It Was The Axe That Tempted Him.  Excuses Of That Sort Are Of A Very

Ancient Date.

Luckily Nosey Owned Two Horses,  One Of Which Was Old And Quiet.  He

Told Julia To Fasten The Door,  And To Open It On No Account Whatever,

While He Went For The Horse,  Which Was Feeding In The Rises Hobbled,

And With A Bell Tied Round His Neck.  When He Returned He Saddled The

Animal,  And Julia Held The Bridle While He Went Into The Hut For The

Body.  He Observed Baldy's Pipe On The Floor Near The Fire-Place,  And

He Replaced It In The Pocket In Which It Had Been Usually Kept,  As It

Might Not Be Safe To Leave Anything In The Hut Belonging To The

Murdered Man.  There Was A Little Blood On The Floor,  But He Would

Scrape That Off By Daylight,  And He Would Then Also Look At The Axe

And Put Away The Two Bottles Of Gin Somewhere; He Could Do All That

Next Morning Before Baldy Was Missed.  But The Corpse Must Be Taken

Away At Once,  For He Felt That Every Minute Of Delay Might Endanger

His Neck.  He Dragged The Body Outside,  And With Julia's Help Lifted

It Up And Placed It Across The Saddle.  Then He Tried To Steady His

Load With His Right Hand,  And To Guide The Horse By The Bridle With

His Left,  But He Soon Found That A Dead Man Was A Bad Rider; Baldy

Kept Slipping Towards The Near Side Or The Off Side With Every Stride

Of The Horse,  And Soon Fell To The Ground.

Nosey Was In A Furious Hurry,  He Was Anxious To Get Away; He Cursed

Baldy For Giving Him So Much Trouble; He Could Have Killed Him Over

Again For Being So Awkward And Stubborn,  And He Begun To Feel That

The Old Shepherd Was More Dangerous Dead Than Alive.  At Last He

Mounted His Horse,  And Called To Julia To Come And Help Him.

"Here,  Julia,  Lift Him Up Till I Catch Hold Of His Collar,  And I'll

Pull Him Up In Front Of Me On The Saddle,  And Hold Him That Way."

Julia,  With Many Stifled Moans,  Raised The Body From The Ground,

Nosey Reached Down And Grasped The Shirt Collar,  And Thus The Two

Managed To Place The Swag Across The Saddle.  Then Nosey Made A

Second Start,  Carefully Balancing The Body,  And Keeping It From

Falling With His Right Hand,  While He Held The Bridle With His Left.

The Funeral Procession Slowly Wound Its Way In A Westerly Direction

Among The Black Rocks Over The Softest And Smoothest Ground To Avoid

Making Any Noise.  There Was No Telling What Stockman Or

Cattle-Stealer The Devil Might Send At Any Moment To Meet The

Murderer Among The Lonely Rises,  And Even In The Darkness His

Horrible Burden Would Betray Him.  Nosey Was Disturbed By The Very

Echo Of His Horse's Steps; It Seemed As If Somebody Was Following Him

At A Little Distance; Perhaps Julia,  Full Of Woman's Curiosity; And

He Kept Peering Round And Looking Back Into The Darkness.  In This

Way He Travelled About A Mile And A Half,  And Then Dismounting,

Lowered The Body To The Ground,  And Began To Look For Some Suitable

Hiding Place.  He Chose One Among A Confused Heap Of Rocks,  And By

Lifting Some Of Them Aside He Made A Shallow Grave,  To Which He

Dragged The Body,  And Covered It By Piling Boulders Over And Around

It.  He Struck Several Matches To Enable Him To Examine His Work

Carefully,  And Closed Up Every Crevice Through Which His Buried

Treasure Might Be Visible.

The Next Morning Nosey Was Astir Early.  He Had An Important Part To

Act,  And He Was Anxious To Do It Well.  He First Examined The Axe And

Cleaned It Well,  Carefully Burning A Few Of Baldy's Grey Hairs Which

He Found On It.  Then He Searched The Floor For Drops Of Blood,  Which

He Carefully Scraped With A Knife,  And Washed Until No Red Spot Was

Visible.  Then He Walked To Baldy's And Pretended To Himself That He

Was Surprised To Find It Empty.  What Had Happened The Previous Night

Was Only A Dream,  An Ugly Dream.  He Met An Acquaintance And Told Him

That Baldy Was Neither In His Hut Nor With His Sheep.

The Two Men Called At Old Sharp's Hut To Make Enquiries.  The Latter

Said,  "I Seen Baldy's Sheep Yesterday Going About In Mobs,  And Nobody

To Look After Them."  Then The Three Men Went To The Deserted Hut.

Everything In It Seemed Undisturbed.  The Dog Was Watching At The

Door,  And They Told Him To Seek Baldy.  He Pricked Up His Ears,

Wagged His Tail,  And Looked Wistfully In The Direction Of Nosey's

Hut,  Evidently Expecting His Master To Come In Sight That Way.

The Men Went To The Nearest Magistrate And Informed Him That The

Shepherd Was Missing.  A Messenger Went To The Head Station.

Enquiries Were Made At The Township,  And It Was Found That Baldy Had

Been To Nyalong The Previous Day,  And Had Left In The Evening

Carrying Two Bottles Of Gin.  This Circumstance Seemed To Account For

His Absence; He Had Taken Too Much Of The Liquor,  Was Lying Asleep

Somewhere,  And Would Reappear In The Course Of The Day.  Men Both On

Foot And On Horseback Roamed Through The Rises,  Examining The Hollows

And The Flats,  The Margins Of The Shallow Lakes,  And Peering Into

Every Wombat Hole As They Passed.  They Never Thought Of Turning Over

Any Of The Boulders; A Drunken Man Would Never Make His Bed And

Blanket Of Rocks; He Would Be Found Lying On The Top If He Had

Stumbled Amongst Them.  One By One As Night Approached The Searchers

Returned To The Hut.  They Had Discovered Nothing,  And The Only

Conclusion They Could Come To Was,  That Baldy Was Taking A Very Long

Sleep Somewhere--Which Was True Enough.

Next Day Every Man From The Neighbouring Stations,  And Some From

Nyalong,  Joined In The Search.  The Chief Constable Was There,  And As

Became A Professed Detector Of Crime,  He Examined Everything Minutely

Inside And Outside The Two Huts,  But He Could Not Find Anything

Suspicious About Either Of Them.  He Entered Into Conversation With

Julia,  But The Eye Of Her Husband Was On Her,  And She Had Little To

Say.  Nosey,  On The Contrary,  Was Full Of Suggestions As To What

Might Have Happened To Baldy,  And He Helped To Look For Him Eagerly

And Actively In Every Direction But The Right One.

For Many Days The Rises Were Peopled With Prospectors,  But One By One

They Dropped Away.  The Chief Constable Was Loath To Leave The Riddle

Unsolved; He Had The Instinct Of The Sleuth-Hound On The Scent Of

Blood.  He Had Been A Pursuer Of Bad Works Amongst The Convicts For A

Long Time,  Both In Van Diemen's Land And In Victoria,  And Had Helped

To Bring Many Men To The Gallows Or The Chain-Gang.  He Had Once Been

Shot In The Back By A Horse Thief Who Lay Concealed Behind The Door

Of A Shepherd's Hut,  But He Secured The Horse Thief.  He Was A Man

Without Nerves,  Of Medium Height,  Strongly Built,  Had A Broad Face,

Massive Ears,  Wide,  Firm Mouth,  And Strong Jaws.

One Night After The Searchers Had Departed To Their Various Homes,

The Chief Remained Alone In The Rises,  And Leaving His Horse Hobbled

At A Distance,  Cautiously Approached Nosey's Hut.  He Placed His Ear

To The Outside Of The Weatherboards,  And Listened For Some Time To

The Conversation Of Nosey And His Wife,  Expecting To Obtain By Chance

Some Information About The Disappearance Of The Other Shepherd.

Nosey Was In A Bad Temper,  Swearing And Finding Fault With

Everything.  Julia Was Prudent And Said Little; It Was Best Not To

Say Too Much To A Man Who Was So Handy With The Family Axe.  But At

Last She Made