Rope-making.—The Cavern of Illustrations.—Ruth at the Water-pools.—Victualling the Fortress.—The Blockade.—Assault and Battery.—Bloodshed.—The close Siege.—Prospect of Famine.
Mr. Mayburn was uneasy till they set out next morning; for the thick bush-covered hill was a convenient spot for concealment. They left their sleeping-place, therefore, at the earliest dawn, and continued their progress, while the young men found several trees of the stringy bark; the strips of the bark, measuring twenty or thirty feet, were hanging from the trunk raggedly, but very conveniently for the purpose of the workmen, who collected a quantity of the rolls of bark, and carried it on their shoulders, till a singular isolated column of rock attracted them to examine it; and as it afforded a little shade, and stood in an open glade, where they need not fear hidden enemies, they rested at the foot of it, and eat their breakfast of kangaroo steaks. Then Jack, fixing short poles into the ground to tie the bark to, soon set all the youths to work to twist strong ropes of considerable length. They spent some hours in this labor, and completed so heavy a burden of ropes, that when they set out again they looked anxiously for an opportunity of relieving themselves by putting the ropes to profitable use. They directed their steps towards a rocky range before them, which held out a prospect of protection for the night; and bending under the weight of their burden, they were glad to reach the straggling, mountainous, sandstone rocks which, running east and west, interrupted their direct course.
It was always easy in these ranges to find caves or hollow grottos, convenient for a retreat, and the bright moon showed them a low opening, which admitted them into a spacious and lofty cave. It was large enough to have contained fifty persons, dry and clean—for the floor was of fine sand; and when they had lighted a fire, they discovered that they were not the first who had inhabited the cave, for the walls were covered with rude, colored paintings of men and animals—the men and animals of Australia. With great amusement and astonishment the boys looked on the kangaroo, the opossum, many curious lizards, and heads of men, colossal in size, and imperfect in execution, somewhat resembling the ambitious child's first attempts at high art.
"I think I couldn't draw so good a kangaroo as that myself," said Gerald; "but I could make something more like the head of a man. Do look, Margaret; that fellow has crimson hair and a green nose."
"They have not, certainly," said Mr. Mayburn, "attained perfection in the art of coloring; nevertheless, the uninstructed men who could accomplish these drawings cannot be so deficient in abilities as we have been taught to believe these aborigines are. I wish we could, with safety to ourselves, hold intercourse with a small number of them. Could it not be attempted, Arthur?"
"If they would approach us openly, we would endeavor to meet them amicably, my dear father," answered Arthur; "but when they steal on us treacherously, we must conclude their intentions are hostile. Even now we must prepare for defence; and though we might keep watch at the opening, I think we had better build it up."
They soon secured the entrance with slabs of stone, and then eat their supper, and slept with less uneasiness than usual.
"Who has moved them stones?" asked Wilkins, sharply, as, roused by the light streaming in, he sprung from the nook he had chosen for his lair.
"It's that fidgety lass," answered Jenny. "She's been scuttling about this hour, feeding her poultry, and setting things to rights as if we were living in a parlor; and then she roused me up to help her to make a bit of way to get out to fetch water. You see, Wilkins, she's a hard-working lass, but it's her way to make a fuss."
"A fuss, indeed!" replied he, indignantly; "and a nice fuss she would have made if she'd let a hundred black fellows in on us. Halloo, Jack! it would be as well if we were off to see after that unlucky sister of thine."