124
A little farther down the boys came to a hollow full of kangaroo-grass, and a mob of mouse-coloured, deer-eyed kangaroo were camped in it. Some were nibbling19 the spiky20 brown grass, with their fore21 feet folded under them like hill sheep. Some were patting one another, and tumbling one another over like kittens. Others were watching in a ring two “old men” that were fighting. One of the boxers22 was a nearly grey “old man,” with a regular Roman nose; the other was darker and younger, but nearly as tall, and so he did not intend to let old Roman-nose cock over him any more. The old does were looking on as if they hoped their contemporary would win, but the darkie seemed the favourite of the young “flying does.” The two bucks23 stood up to each other, and hit out at each other, and tried to get each other’s head “into chancery” in prize-ring style; but sometimes they jabbered24 at each other, just like two Whitechapel vixens, and they gave nasty kicks at each other’s bellies25, too, with their sharp-clawed hind26 feet. They were so taken up with their fight that they let the boys watch it for nearly five minutes. When they found out, however, that they were being watched, they parted sulkily, and hopped27 off to “have it out” somewhere else, as fighting schoolboys slope when they see a master coming, or fighting street-boys when they see a policeman. After them hopped the rest of the mob, and Harry and Donald gave chase to one of the does. She had come back to pick up her “Joey.” The little fellow jumped into her pouch28 head foremost like a harlequin, and then up came his bright eyes and cocked ears above the edge of the pocket, and away Mrs. Kangaroo went with her baby. She tried hard to carry him off safe, but the boys had got an advantage over her at starting, and threatened to head her off from the rest of the mob. Into her apron-pocket went Mrs. Kangaroo’s fore paw, and out came poor little Master Kangaroo. The mother was safe then, but it would have been easy to capture the fat, half-stunned baby. The boys, however, did not wish to encumber29 themselves with a pet, and, besides, they could not help pitying both the baby and his mamma. So they turned their horses’ heads, and presently, when they looked back, they saw the doe watching them, and then bounding to pick up once more the Joey she had “dinged.”
126
By-and-bye the boys came to the head of a fern-tree gully, and plunged30 into its moist, warm, dim, luxuriant jungle, overshadowed by gigantic trees. Even what they call the “dwarf” tea tree ran up there to more than one hundred feet. They rode under blackwood trees, twenty feet round at the ground, and without a branch on the straight bole for eighty feet, beech31 trees two hundred feet high, and gum trees with tops twice as high as theirs. Huge creepers draped and interlaced those monsters. Some of the fern trees were more than fifty feet high, and above the feathery fans of the little ferns great stag-horns spread their antlers, and nest-ferns drooped32 their six-foot fronds33. There were fragrant34 sassafras trees, too, in the gully, and the gigantic lily pierced the jungle with its long spear-shaft.
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As the boys were forcing their way through it on their horses, with many a scratch and damp smack35 in the face from the swinging boughs36, they came suddenly upon a little square of broken-down, almost smothered37 fencing. Inside there was more jungle, but a rough wooden cross showed them that they were looking at a bush grave. Initials and a date had been rudely carved upon the cross, but an A and 8 were all that could be made out of them. The boys had never heard of any one buried there, and it made them very serious at first to find a forgotten grave in that lonely place. They got off their horses, and took off their hats, and stood looking at the grave for some minutes in silence. Then they mounted again, and rode on, feeling, until they got out of the gully, as if they had been at a funeral. They had other things to think about when they rode into the sunshine again. They had the cattle to look up, and a camping-place to pick, because they were not going back to Wonga-Wonga until next day. But when they sat by their fire in the evening, with the weird38 night-wind moaning in the bush and sighing through the scrub around them, their thoughts went back to the bush grave.
“A ROUGH WOODEN CROSS SHOWED THEM A BUSH GRAVE.”
“We may die some day like that, Donald,” said Harry, “without a soul to know where we’re buried. It seems dreary39 somehow, don’t it?”
128
“Somebody maun hae kenned40 where that puir fellow was buried,” answered logical Donald, “because he couldna hae buried himsel’, and put that cross up, and cut his name on’t.”
“Ah, perhaps the other fellow murdered him,” cried Harry. “And yet he’d hardly have put the cross up, if he had. No, I expect there were two of them out going to take up new country, just as you and me may be out some day, and one of ’em died. It must have been dreary work for the other chap then, and perhaps he died all by himself, and nobody knows what became of him.”
129
When the boys got back to Wonga-Wonga with their cattle, they made inquiries41 about the grave in the fern-tree gully, but no one else on the station had either seen it or heard of it before. Old Cranky, the men said, was the only one likely to know anything about it. The old man happened to come to Wonga-Wonga three days afterwards, and Harry at once began to question him about the grave. At first Old Cranky seemed not to understand what he was being asked—then a half-sly, half-frightened look came into his face, and he said that he knew every foot of the Bush for many a mile anywhere thereabouts, and he was sure there wasn’t a grave in it. Then he said he had never been in that gully; and then he said, Oh yes, he had, and there was a grave in it years back—he remembered now—why, it was an old mate of his—they had been lagged together and had cut away together, because the cove42 was such a Tartar, and Squinny had knocked up, and it was he who had buried him there, and put up a cross to keep the devil off. He remembered it now as if it had all happened yesterday.
“And is it up yet?” the old man went on. “My word! a A and a 8? Oh, the A was for Andrew—that was Squinny’s name—Andrew Wilson. Didn’t you see ne’er a W? I mind the knife slipped, an’ I cut my finger makin’ it. 8? Let’s see—it was 18, summut 8, or was it 17? when I buried Squinny.”
130
And then Old Cranky burst out laughing, and said that he had been gammoning Harry all through—he knew nought43 about the grave, and didn’t believe there was one. Harry had been spinning him a yarn44, and so he had spun45 Harry one to be quits.
All this was very queer, but Old Cranky was so very queer that Harry didn’t think much of it, coming from him. But when Harry told Donald about it, Donald looked very suspicious, and said,
“Anyhow, when we’ve a chance, we’ll go and see whether there is a W on the cross. Where is Old Cranky?”
“I left him yarning46 away in the horsebreaker’s hut,” answered Harry; but when the boys strolled down there, they found that Old Cranky had left the station without coming up as usual to the house. Two days afterwards he came back, and as soon as he saw Harry he called out,
131
“There, I knowed I was right. I’ve been all through yon gully, and there’s no more a grave in it than there is in the back o’ your hand. You goo an’ look again—I’ll goo with you, if ye like.”
But when the boys did go back to the gully, it was without Old Cranky. They were not exactly afraid of him, but still they preferred the old snake-charmer’s room to his company in such a place. They thought they could ride almost straight to the grave, but from top to bottom, and from side to side, they rode through and through the gully without finding again the broken fence and crumbling47 cross.
“We couldn’t have been dreaming, Donald, could we?” asked Harry.
“Nay, lad,” answered Donald, “but we shouldna hae let that auld48 scoon’rel get the start of us. We’ll not see him at Wonga-Wonga again, in a hurry, I’m thinkin’.”
132
But Old Cranky did turn up again there in a few weeks’ time, and chuckled49 greatly when he heard of the boys’ unsuccessful hunt. That was his last visit to Wonga-Wonga. A short time afterwards he was found dead in the Bush, with his dogs standing50 over him, and his tame snakes wriggling51 about him. He had died of old age merely, and was buried in the Bush in which he had spent the greater part of his life. Old Cranky had been the “oldest inhabitant” in that part of the colony; and when he was gone, people began to rake up old stories of the old convict times in which he had figured. One day a settler, to whose father Old Cranky had been assigned, was dining at Wonga-Wonga, and telling us what he remembered of the old lag.
“Had your father one Wilson?” asked Donald.
“Well, really, he had so many, and it’s so long ago, that I can’t remember,” said the gentleman.
“Was your father a Tartar?” was Donald’s next very rude question.
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“I dare say he was,” the son answered laughingly, “and he had need to be with such a set of scamps as he had to manage. If you hadn’t kept your eye on them, and let them feel the weight of your hand now and then, they’d have been on you like caged tigers when they see the tamer’s turning funky52.”
“If you can’t remember a Wilson, can you remember a body that went by the name of Squinny?” persisted Donald, like a barrister; “and did he take to the Bush because he couldna stand the floggings he got?”
“Squinny! You’re right. I do remember a man of that name. No, he didn’t take to the Bush. He was drowned crossing a creek—at least, that’s what the fellow that was out with him said. By-the-bye, it was this very Old Cranky. But what do you know about him—what makes you ask?”
134
Then the boys told what they had seen and heard, and afterwards hadn’t seen. Everybody at table, of course, came to the conclusion that Wilson had met with foul53 play in the gully from Old Cranky, and then been buried there by him in the way he had described.
“If you could find the grave,” said the settler, “I’ll be bound you’d find a cracked skull54 in it; but of course the old rascal55 cleared away all tracks of the fence and the rest of it, when Harry put him up to what he’d seen. Besides, what would be the good of finding out anything? You can’t hang the old villain56 now, and, if he was alive, you’d have hard work to bring the thing home to him. The little I remember, and what he told the boys, is about all the evidence you’d have, and really I don’t remember much, and the old scoundrel was always cranky. Besides, candidly57, I don’t see that it would do much good to scrag one villain for knocking another on the head all those years ago. The fellow would have been dead by this time somehow, and perhaps Old Cranky did society a good turn in finishing him off when he did. What do you think, Mr. Howe? I think, for my part, that a good many fellows that could be very well spared have been settled in that way in the colony; just as the ants, they say, eat up the rats and the cockroaches58. The curious thing is, that Old Cranky should have taken so much trouble to bury the man decently, with the name and date, and all the rest of it, and then forgotten all about it. But he was always a comical coon, was Old Cranky. A native wouldn’t have done a silly thing like that, Mr. Howe. We’re up to time of day; ain’t we, Harry?”
135
“Anyhow, we’re a deal better than the English, though I didn’t know you called yourself a native,” answered Harry. “We shouldn’t have any scamps in the colony if it wasn’t for the lot they sent us out from home; though, after all, the old hands are twice the men the new chums are that come nowadays. A set of stuck-up milksops! They don’t know anything, and they can’t do anything, and yet they talk as if they’d done the colony a great honour in coming to it, to be always growling59 at it because they ain’t ’cute enough to get on here.”
136
Harry and Donald did not make their appearance at the Wonga-Wonga dinner-table next day. They had started early in the morning for the fern-tree gully, with a pick and a spade, determined60 to make one more effort to discover the grave and unravel61 its mystery.
For a long time their hunt was as fruitless as before, but at last Harry cried out,
“I’m almost certain it was somewhere here! Don’t you remember there was a blue gum close by, with a hole that looked like a black fellow grinning, half-way up? There’s the tree—or else it’s the image of it, and I never saw two trees exactly alike before.”
Donald got off his horse, and poked62 about in the scrub for some time. Presently he said, “Ye’re richt.” He had been trying the ground with the handle of the pick, and it had run into seven loosely filled-up, hard-sided and hard-bottomed holes, arranged like this:
137
Diagram.
“Don’t ye see?” said Donald, pointing out the outside ones; “there’s where the posts stood, and this inside one is where the cross stood. The auld villain didn’t dig up the bones, though, if there are any bones, for the earth hasn’t been stirred anywhere else.”
The boys set to work with a will, and about five feet below the surface they came to a rusty-yellow crumbling skeleton. There was nothing in the look of the bones from which the boys, at any rate, could tell how their owner had met his death. But they dug up also what turned out to have been a white bone-handled pocket knife, when they had washed off the earth that encrusted it. The blades were almost eaten up by rust63; the handle was the colour of bad teeth, and the rivets64 fell out, and it dropped asunder65 as the boys handled it; but on one of the sides was cut—“Andrew Wilson.”
138
The boys put back the bones, and filled in the earth again, and knocked up a rude fence once more round the grave. The sun went down as they were finishing their task, and before they got out of the gully the huge funguses at the foot of the shadowy trees were gleaming like lucifer-matches in the dark, and the curlews were wailing66 most dolefully. Both boys were very glad to ride out where there was nothing between them and the clear starry67 sky.
“I wouldn’t camp in there for a thousand pounds,” said Harry, looking back at the deep wooded gorge68; and even Donald confessed that the place seemed “nae canny69.”
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1
harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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3
mustering
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| v.集合，召集，集结（尤指部队）( muster的现在分词 )；（自他人处）搜集某事物；聚集；激发 | |
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4
ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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5
crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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6
sentries
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| 哨兵，步兵( sentry的名词复数 ) | |
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7
alpine
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| adj.高山的；n.高山植物 | |
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8
scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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9
rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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10
meditated
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| 深思，沉思，冥想( meditate的过去式和过去分词 )； 内心策划，考虑 | |
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11
mare
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| n.母马，母驴 | |
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12
nominally
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| 在名义上，表面地； 应名儿 | |
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13
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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14
hoofs
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| n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 ) | |
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15
singed
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| v.浅表烧焦( singe的过去式和过去分词 )；（毛发）燎，烧焦尖端[边儿] | |
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16
cramped
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| a.狭窄的 | |
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17
galloped
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| （使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事 | |
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18
sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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19
nibbling
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| v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的现在分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬 | |
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20
spiky
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| adj.长而尖的，大钉似的 | |
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21
fore
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| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
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boxers
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| n.拳击短裤；（尤指职业）拳击手( boxer的名词复数 )；拳师狗 | |
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23
bucks
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| n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃 | |
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24
jabbered
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| v.急切而含混不清地说( jabber的过去式和过去分词 )；急促兴奋地说话 | |
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25
bellies
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| n.肚子( belly的名词复数 )；腹部；（物体的）圆形或凸起部份；腹部…形的 | |
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hind
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| adj.后面的，后部的 | |
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27
hopped
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| 跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花 | |
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28
pouch
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| n.小袋，小包，囊状袋；vt.装...入袋中，用袋运输；vi.用袋送信件 | |
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29
encumber
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| v.阻碍行动，妨碍，堆满 | |
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30
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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beech
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| n.山毛榉；adj.山毛榉的 | |
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32
drooped
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| 弯曲或下垂，发蔫( droop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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fronds
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| n.蕨类或棕榈类植物的叶子( frond的名词复数 ) | |
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34
fragrant
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| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
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35
smack
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| vt.拍，打，掴；咂嘴；vi.含有…意味；n.拍 | |
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36
boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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37
smothered
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| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
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38
weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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39
dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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40
kenned
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| v.知道( ken的过去式和过去分词 )；懂得；看到；认出 | |
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41
inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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42
cove
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| n.小海湾，小峡谷 | |
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43
nought
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| n.／adj.无，零 | |
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44
yarn
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| n.纱，纱线，纺线；奇闻漫谈，旅行轶事 | |
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45
spun
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| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
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46
yarning
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| vi.讲故事（yarn的现在分词形式） | |
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47
crumbling
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| adj.摇摇欲坠的 | |
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48
auld
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| adj.老的，旧的 | |
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49
chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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50
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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51
wriggling
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| v.扭动，蠕动，蜿蜒行进( wriggle的现在分词 )；（使身体某一部位）扭动；耍滑不做，逃避（应做的事等）；蠕蠕 | |
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52
funky
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| adj.畏缩的，怯懦的，霉臭的；adj.新式的，时髦的 | |
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53
foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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54
skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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55
rascal
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| n.流氓；不诚实的人 | |
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56
villain
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| n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因 | |
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57
candidly
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| adv.坦率地，直率而诚恳地 | |
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58
cockroaches
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| n.蟑螂( cockroach的名词复数 ) | |
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59
growling
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| n.吠声, 咆哮声 v.怒吠, 咆哮, 吼 | |
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60
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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61
unravel
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| v.弄清楚（秘密）；拆开，解开，松开 | |
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62
poked
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| v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交 | |
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63
rust
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| n.锈；v.生锈；(脑子)衰退 | |
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64
rivets
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| 铆钉( rivet的名词复数 ) | |
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65
asunder
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| adj.分离的，化为碎片 | |
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66
wailing
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的现在分词 )；沱 | |
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starry
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| adj.星光照耀的, 闪亮的 | |
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68
gorge
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| n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃 | |
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canny
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| adj.谨慎的，节俭的 | |
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