The Argosy, Vol. XXIV No. 2 — page 34: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

226 THE TRACK OF MIDNIGHT. he should bring with him two or three consigned servants and collect the stock which Wilton was to buy on his journey up. After leaving Sydney, Wilton traveled up to Johnson’s station and told him of the change of fortune that had come to himself and Farrell. ‘‘T shall be glad to welcome you as neighbors and we shall all feel satis- fied to have you two handy the next time we have to turn out after our friend Midnight, as Giles has sworn never to go out with us again.”’ ‘* How is he?’’ Wilton asked. ‘‘Well, your heels have left a mark on him that will last as long as he does, and I am afraid he is rather bitter against you in consequence. It’s a pity, because you are his next neighbor and he is a queer surly sort of man when offended. He must always have his own way to be happy. I would keep clear of him for a few months, if I were you.’’ ‘‘ What about Midnight ?’’ Wilton ‘inquired. ‘* Nobody has heard or seen anything of him since he rode through our camp that night,’’ Johnson answered. ‘‘ The man is a perfect fiend for cun- ning.’”’ : As Wilton sat under the shadow of his veranda smoking his solitary pipe, the words came back to his mind. ‘‘ And that is the man Farrell and I are going to best,’’ he thought to himself. ‘‘I wonder what will be his next move ?”’ He rose from his seat and turning towards the door of the hut, he caught sight of a black fellow only a few yards away from him, in the act of raising his spear to throw. | Startled at the sudden appearance of a man when he considered himself absolutely alone, and that man, moreover, au evidently hostile black fellow, Wilton was, for the moment, unable to do more than stand still and stare. His surprise was increased when the black fellow, instead of hurling his spear, staggered forward and fell. The first impulse that came to Wilton was to dash into the hut and seize his rifle which he had learned always tohave handy. Hewas half way to the door when a sudden wave of compassion seemed to pass over him and he turned and went to the black fellow. As he stooped over him he gave an ex- clamation of horror, for he saw that the unfortunate creature’s back was so hideously scored and cut, that it looked as if it had been flayed. ‘There was only one instrument which could have inflicted such brutal injuries, and that was the ‘‘cat,’’ with which unruly prisoners were beaten at the convict set- tlements. Wilton stood over him wondering how and where the whipping had been administered, for the cuts were recent and were still bleeding. He had not got so far as to speculate by whom and why, when the black groaned weakly. ‘‘Poor wretch, what agony he has been suffering !’’ Wilton thought compassionately, as he hastened to the hut from whence he brought such crude remedies as he had and tried to dress the wounds. The dressing was hardly worth the name from a surgical point of view, as cold water and an old, soft, worn out shirt comprised the entire stock of the appliances Wilton possessed in the medical line. But the application of the cool, soft bandages OOO KS e 5 (E(0)