Robbery Under Arms [247]
`Where's Warrigal now?' I said, as we all took our horses by the head and made for a patch of dark timber we could see far out on the plain.
`He dropped when I fired at him,' says Starlight; `but whether the poor beggar's dead or not I can't say. It isn't my fault if he betrays any one again.'
`How did it come out?'
`I was tired of waiting at that confounded hotel -- not a soul to speak to. I rode back as far as Kate's, just to see if you had passed. She didn't know me a bit.'
`The deuce she didn't! Why, she broke out on me and Jim. Said something about you and Warrigal too.'
`Wonderful creatures, women,' says he, thoughtful-like; `and yet I used to think I understood them. No time to do anything, though.'
`No; the nearest police station's a day off. I'd give a trifle to know who's after us. How did you find out Warrigal's doubling on me? not that it matters now; d--n him!'
`When I talked about going back he was in a terrible fright, and raised so many objections that I saw he had some reason for it; so I made him confess.'
`How did he do it?'
`After we'd passed Dandaloo, and well inside the West Bogan scrubs, he picked up a blackfellow that had once been a tracker; gave him a pound to let them know at the police camp that you were making out by Willaroon.'
`I knew he had it in for me,' said I; `but I depended on his not doing anything for fear of hurting you.'
`So I thought, too; but he expected you'd be trapped at Willaroon before there would be time for you to catch me up. If he hadn't met that Jemmy Wardell, I daresay he wouldn't have thought of it. When he told me I was in such an infernal rage that I fired point blank at him; didn't wait to see whether he was dead or alive, and rode straight back here to warn you. I was just in time -- eh, Jim, old man? Why, you look so respectable they'd never have known you. Why didn't you stay where you were, James?'
`I wish to God I had!' says poor old Jim. `It's too late to think of that now.'
We hadn't over much time for talking, and had to range up close to do it at all at the pace we were going. We did our best, and must have ridden many a mile before dark. Then we kept going through the night. Starlight was pilot, and by the compass he carried we were keeping something in a line with the road. But we missed Warrigal in the night work, and more than once I suspected we were going round and not keeping a straight course.
We didn't do badly after all, for we struck the main road at daylight and made out that we were thirty miles the other side of Cunnamulla, and in the right direction. The worst of it was, like all short cuts and night riding, we'd taken about twice as much out of our horses as we need have done if we'd been certain of our line.
`This ought to be Murrynebone Creek,' says Starlight, `by the look of it,' when we came to a goodish broad bit of water. `The crossing place is boggy, so they told me at the hotel. We may as well pull up for a spell. We're in Queensland now, that's one comfort.'
It took us all we knew to get over; it was a regular quicksand. Rainbow never got flustered if he was up to his neck in a bog, but my horse got frightened and plunged, so that I had to jump off. Jim's horse was a trifle better, but he hadn't much to spare. We weren't sorry to take the bridles out of their mouths and let them pick a bit on the flat when we got safe over.
We didn't unsaddle our horses -- no fear; we never did that only at night; not always then. We took the bits out of their mouths, and let them pick feed round about, with the bridle under their feet, stockhorse fashion. They were all used to it, and you'd see 'em put their foot on a rein, and take it off again, regular as if they knew all about it. We could run full pelt and catch 'em all three in a minute's notice; old Rainbow would hold up his head when he saw Starlight coming, and wait for him to mount if there was a hundred horses galloping past. Lucky for him, he'd done it scores of times; once on his back there was no fear of any other