G. Firth Scott

“ In an old, rackety, single-horse buggy, a vehicle which, to judge by the antiquity of its build and appearance and the rattle of its loose worn bolts, might have done duty since the days of the first pioneers, Dudgeon drove from his homestead to the bank.
He was a man who never discarded any article of use or clothing until it was hopelessly beyond repair. With a huge fortune stowed away in gilt-edged securities and metropolitan house property, he grudged even a coat of paint for the vehicle he had driven for nearly forty years. ”

“ It was as though she could speak nothing more, for she stood staring, her clasped hands pressed to her bosom, her dishevelled hair flowing in great masses and framing her face with its dark folds.
"Disappeared—until to-night," he said. "This handkerchief completes the chain of circumstances which points to Eustace as the person mainly concerned in the robbery."
"How sad, oh, how sad, for his poor wife," she exclaimed. "Why is it, Mr. Durham, that the woman always has to suffer while the man goes free?" [Pg 99]
"The man will not go free. There is a net spread for him he cannot possibly escape. ”

“ The subdued light in the pass made the distances elusive [Pg 59] and turned the shadows into subtle mysteries of purpling greys. The air was full of the scent from the thickly growing vegetation, but, save for the rippling swish of the water trickling across the track, the silence was unbroken.
Durham reined in his horse and sat loosely in his saddle as his glance swept over the tangled masses of undergrowth, the tumbled boulders peeping here and there from amid the shadows, the precipitous sides of the pass, and the broken ruggedness of the ground beyond. ”

“ When Durham, having walked in from Waroona Downs, arrived at the bank, he found the township in a state of excitement bordering on panic.
The noise of the firing during the night had brought everyone who was awake at the time rushing to the scene. Men had mounted their horses and raced away in the direction the fugitives were supposed to have taken, returning hours afterwards with the information that no trace of them could be discovered, beyond the prints of their horses' hoofs, here and there, right up to the line of rocky rises which formed the commencement of the range. ”

“ Durham went down on his knees beside the shrub. Near the root the bark had been stripped for a couple of inches, the scar showing brown, while in the soil the impression of a heavy boot was just distinguishable.
On hands and knees he pushed his way between the stems. Other footmarks, old and faint, showed, and he crept along with his eyes on them. Some weeks before there had evidently been much coming and going through the scrub at this point. Looking straight ahead he saw the grey sheen of a sun-dried log. He stood up. ”

“ He doubted for the reason that still he did not know whether that memory was of a real scene, or was merely a figment of a delirium-haunted brain. If he could be sure, then no more need he doubt; but how was he to be sure? There was only one way—only one person in all the world who could tell him whether he was right or not—Nora Burke alone could say whether he had been dreaming. ”

“ The devil was good to him—sure he always is good to his own. Money came to him by the waggon-load, and ever did he use it to hound those two unfortunates down, lower and lower until there was no hope nor peace for them, and they wandered outcasts in the sight of man and woman. And that's the man, that old double-dyed, heartless scoundrel that you police flock to preserve and protect, while the likes of Kitty and her husband are forced down and down and down to the lowest dregs of life. ”

“ She swept past him and entered the house, closing the door after her.
Hours passed before he could obtain control over his thoughts, before he could face the blackness her rejection of his declaration had brought upon him. Then he rose and stood staring blankly out over the sombre mystery of the bush, long since bereft of the [Pg 207] faint glimmer of the new-born moon, veiled in shade, silent as the thin wisps of filmy mist which floated in the still air along the course of Waroona Creek. ”

“ Right through the town he walked until he came to the bank.
Harding, looking up at the sound of footsteps, was surprised to see him limping to the counter.
"Good day, Mr. Dudgeon," he exclaimed.
"Do you know how to make a will?" the old man asked, without replying to the greeting.
"That is more the work of a solicitor than a banker, Mr. Dudgeon."
"Oh, I know all about that. If it's going to be a long, muddled, complicated affair a solicitor's the man to go to. But that's not what I want. I want to make a will leaving everything I possess to just one person. ”

“ The forced smile faded as Wallace stood staring; the expression both in Durham's voice and on his face was so hopelessly despondent, that into Wallace's mind there came a fear lest the recovered gold had again disappeared.
"Not send that?" he asked wonderingly. "Why? You said——"
"I know. But you must not send it—now. Write another."
"The gold is lost?" Wallace exclaimed.
"No. The gold is safe; it is on its way here now—Brennan is bringing it. What you must report at once is that Eustace was innocent."
"Eustace innocent?"
Wallace and Harding uttered the exclamation simultaneously. ”

“ You are following the work of someone who is, I am quite satisfied, no ordinary criminal, but one of the most astute, clever and unscrupulous individuals who ever adopted dishonesty as a profession. If I ask you questions which appear to you to be irrelevant and possibly impertinent, will you give me credit for being actuated only by my sense of duty, and answer those questions as fully and as accurately as you can?"
"Certainly," Harding replied.
"Thank you. Now, will you tell me this—Were you ever engaged to Mrs. Eustace before she married her present husband?" ”

“ There was the sharp ring in the voice which betokens the strain of a deadly determination. The eyes which glanced along the sights of the levelled weapon, aimed direct at Durham's head, were merciless and hard. Unless they were the last words he was ever to hear, Durham realised there was only one course open. He raised his hands above his head. A side glance showed him Dudgeon standing with his arms up.
"Turn your back, and put your hands behind you," he heard the bearded man say, and Dudgeon shuffled round.
A double click followed, a familiar sound to Durham—the click of snapping handcuffs. ”

“ She was false to her finger-tips, a syren in cunning, a viper in venom.
At the door of the hut he stopped to stand staring out into the dark in the direction whither she had gone. [Pg 155]
The last echo of the click-clock of Gale's trotting horses had died away; the bush lay mysterious and motionless under the silent veil of night; no sound came to him save the heavy breathing of the wounded man asleep in the hut; but through his brain, with the deadening monotony of numbing drumbeats, there throbbed the mocking, taunting words, "Fooled! Fooled! Fooled!" ”

“ I will not answer you. Mr. Harding, I appeal to you. If you have no regard for the honour of an absent friend, at least you might protect the wife of your friend from insult."
Durham's eyes never wavered as he watched her.
"No insult is offered or intended, Mrs. Eustace," he said quietly. "Mr. Harding, in the interests of the bank, as well as in the interests of your husband, is desirous, as we all are, of knowing the truth. I will ask you one more question: Where were you when Mrs. Burke left the dining-room and crossed the passage to the front door?" ”

“ He looked at her as she paced to and fro, her handsome figure moving with the grace of a Delilah and her wonderful eyes flashing a greater eloquence than her tongue, as her glance from time to time caught his.
"You need not be afraid," he repeated. "Those responsible for the robbery of the bank will not be anxious to appear anywhere in public for some time." ”

“ Bessie exclaimed.
"I would not like them to think I took you away, Bessie."
"I'm not the Bank's servant; I'm yours. Shall I help you get the furniture ready now?"
"No, not just at once. I am going out to Taloona to help the doctor nurse Mr. Dudgeon. I only want to take enough with me for a few days. Mr. Gale will arrange for removing the rest, but I would like you to see they are all taken."
"I'll see that they're taken, and go with them, too, Mrs. Eustace. I don't want to stay in a place where everything I do is spied on and made bad of. Let me come and help you now." ”

“ Standing in it were two figures, one the yellow-bearded man he had seen at Waroona Downs, the other a man of slighter build whose face was entirely concealed by a handkerchief hanging from under his hat and gathered in at the throat, with two holes burned for the eyes. Each man held a revolver, the masked man covering Durham, the bearded man covering Dudgeon. ”

“ Ah, there's Mr. Gale back," he exclaimed, as a buggy drove past the bank. "If you'll let me know when Mr. Eustace is free, I'll just step out and hear what he has discovered about the yarn the men told us."
"All right. I'll call you as soon as Eustace comes in," Harding said, and Brennan left the office.
Soon after he had gone Harding heard the dining-room door open and Mrs. Burke's voice ring through the house.
"I don't believe a word of it. It's false; it's untrue. It's all a blind. I'll see whether there is not justice in the land for an unfortunate widow robbed of her all." ”

“ I'll tell Patsy to spread the blankets on the floor of the waggonette, and sure he'll never know he's moving till he's there."
"It may shake you up a bit," the doctor said, as Mrs. Burke left the hut. "But I must get away to a case to-morrow, and the old man is as much as any woman can look after. Do you think you can stand the drive?"
"I'd stand anything to get out of this place," Durham answered. "If you think I can stand it, I'm satisfied."
"Oh, you're tough enough to stand anything," the doctor replied. "You could not be alive to-day if you had not the constitution of a steam-engine. ”

“ Before her charms young Dudgeon fell prostrate in adoration, and she, jealous of her sway over all with whom she came in contact, trifled and philandered with him until neither earth nor heaven held anything more adorable for him than herself. He was her slave, devoting himself to her with such abandon that her vanity was gratified to the extent of influencing her, when others began to remark upon the manly attractions of her admirer, to allow him the privilege of believing that she would marry him. ”

“ It's Waroona Downs that's the place where he can get what he wants and recover so as to catch those villains that have done him so much harm. I've come to fetch you, Mr. Durham. I've a waggonette outside and a storeful of blankets, and Patsy to drive—sure he can't go faster than a funeral at the best, so there's no fear of any jolting on the way. If you want to come, the doctor says you may, and he'll ride along later and see you are all fixed up before he goes after his other patients who are all dying, poor things, without his help one way or the other. ”

“ While he was still examining the marks Durham was joined by Brennan and half a dozen of the townsmen who had ridden out in obedience to Harding's warning. Durham drew Brennan aside.
"I only have my revolver with me," he said. "Give me your carbine and what cartridges you have. I must get away on his tracks before any of the men lose their heads and ruin the chance of capture by smothering them."
"Give Brennan what help you can, will you?" he called out to the men who stood by their horses looking, horror-stricken, at the lifeless form of the old man. ”

“ I want them to hear me. I've nothing to hide, and I'll not shelter any scoundrel who will rob and cheat a lonely widow. Maybe others will not stand by and see an unfortunate poor weak woman robbed and swindled——"
"If you will come inside, Mrs. Burke——"
"I'll not come inside. I want my deeds back. I'll have nothing more to do with your wretched bank. Sure I'm distracted. Have you those deeds?"
"Mr. Eustace," Harding began, when she flung round and leaped away from the door.
"Brennan!" she cried. "Brennan! Come here, Brennan. They've robbed me of my deeds, the deeds of my Irish property. ”

“ Gale found himself in the midst of an excited throng with whom he was carried forward for some distance before he could get free.
"He's right, lads, he's right," he shouted. "There's no chance to follow the track till it's daylight. Don't smother it. Come back."
"Chase him to the range, boys, chase him to the range. We'll catch him at the rise," yelled one of the men in the lead, and with an answering cheer the galloping crowd held on.
Those who had remained on the road were starting to return to the township when Gale rode back. ”

“ He looked round the little sitting-room in which she had the furniture and nicknacks from her room at the bank.
"There's a bit of a difference I will say," he went on as she did not reply. "It's a flower-garden to a stock-yard to compare this room with the hut you had out at Taloona. Look here. I'll build a new house, build it as big as you like or as little as you like, and you shall furnish it and fit it up just as you fancy—if you'll only make it a home for yourself."
She shook her head.
"No, Mr. Dudgeon, I am afraid that is impossible," [Pg 272] she said. ”

“ Durham replied curtly.
"It's the only course to adopt," Gale retorted. "We're all bushmen here and know what's the proper thing to do. You can't apply town methods to bush-rangers, you know. You may be the smartest man in the force at catching city burglars and spielers, but you are out of your element in the bush. There's only one thing to be done—track them down." ”