Wrathfully came the rebuke, "If ye dare purpose desecratin' oor peaceful evenings wi' such an unceevilized device, I'll mak' a present o' ye to the first hungry cannibal we meet, I will." Then, when peace was restored, Mackay summed up the respective responsibilities of the projected expedition's members. "You, Jack, and the Shadow, have shown that you can handle camels in a circumspect way, therefore you will have charge o' the team. Emu Bill and Never Never Dave will assist when they are no' too busy lookin' for water or fightin' niggers. Bob will be navigator; and as for me—I'll be the pilot o' the craft, and will do my best to guide you to the hidden treasure o' the Never Never, to the land o' rubies, an' diamonds, and gold, which lies beyond the mountain."
CHAPTER IX Into the Unknown
A full week was occupied in settling up affairs and making final preparations for the journey across the wilderness. The question of transport was speedily arranged. Three camels were necessary to carry stores and sundry mining appliances, and a fourth would be advisable to bear the heavy water-bags of the expedition, as it was not wise policy to burden the animals unduly. Mackay's wiry "Misery" was selected at once as the leader of the team, and two other great leathery hided creatures belonging to Emu Bill and Never Never Dave, named respectively "Repentance" and "Remorse," were called into requisition as being well fitted for the stern work before them. A strong young beast was secured by Mackay from an Afghan trader who called around opportunely, to make up the quartet. This last addition to the outfit, which Jack promptly dubbed "Fireworks," was inclined to be rather vicious in temperament, and after seeing him buck two pack saddles off as a preliminary, Mackay mentally resolved to trust the carriage of the precious water-bags to the more patient "Remorse," and allow "Fireworks" to cool down under more solid freight.
The stores of the expedition were not difficult to obtain; by this time agencies of the large mercantile houses in Kalgoorlie had been established on the Flat, and they were well able to provide all necessary supplies. But the commissariat department of the Australian explorer is never famed for his lavishness; in it luxuries find no part, for here the ship of the desert is the mainstay of the traveller, and on its cumbrous back only room can be found for the bare essentials of life. Flour and tea, tinned beef and various "extracts," these are the sum total of the wanderer's requirements in the Australian wilderness, and with these he would usually be more than content if water could be found to quench his thirst. But this is too often denied, the arid wastes of the great Austral land contain few oases. The scanty rains collected in reluctant drops in some deep rock hole, perhaps for years, are his only hope. Yet these grim forbidding tracts allure the roving spirit if only because of their very grimness. Across their scintillating sands what wonderful haven may be hid? Surely it is not all desert, something must lie beyond the far horizon. Nature's compensating law must hold some reward for the weary pioneer who gropes so desperately onward and ever onward into the rising sun. Such is the hope, the belief, of those who venture forth into the Never Never. With Mackay, who had already followed the beckoning phantom far back into an unknown mountain, the belief had become almost reality. The spirit of the bush enthralled him, its spell was ever over him. His young companions too were influenced by the air of mystery surrounding their distant goal. The unknown has ever exercised a powerful fascination over the Anglo-Saxon youth, and the two boys revelled in the thought of penetrating untrodden tracts, and rejoiced in their quest of El Dorado.
When all was ready for a start Mackay called them together for earnest consultation.
"I don't want to shout much about the dangers o' the trail, my lads," said he. "But it is as well to understand that the risks are there a' the same, an' it would only be richt for you both to mak' a sort o' statement, an' leave it wi' the Warden. I—I——"
"I know what you mean," said Bob, smiling; "you want us to make our wills—in case of accident."