Fern Vale; or, the Queensland Squatter. Volume 2

by Colin Munro

Mr. Wigton then lifted his voice in earnest supplication to his Master, to beseech in His unbounded beneficence, that He would dispel the darkness from the minds of the poor benighted heathen before Him, and reflect on them the light of His gospel. He concluded his exhortation and prayer, and found Jemmy Davies still standing by his side, where he had remained during the whole time of the short discourse, deeply interested with the truths that flowed from the preacher's mouth. Not so, however, the rest of the tribe; for Mr. Wigton had noticed with pain, that after the first few minutes of his addressing them, they lost all interest in his gospel story, and showed evident signs of impatience and uneasiness; even indulging in frivolities, and taking no notice of his speaking at all. Though grieved at this, he yet did not despair of bringing them to a knowledge of the truth. He had frequently on former occasions preached to the blacks with similar success; but his heart was undaunted; he persevered in his work; and, in the tribe to whom he was then appealing, he had hopes (with the blessing and assistance of God) of planting the seed in their sterile souls and, by the aid of heaven's grace, of seeing it germinate and "bring forth fruit meet for repentance." That such a hope was visionary, all his friends were in the habit of telling him; they repudiated the idea of the possibility of infusing the truth of the gospel into the natures of the blacks; but he had a more exalted faith, and believed the omnipotence, as well as the mercy of the Almighty, would still work the regeneration of this outcast race. He was, therefore, stimulated to pursue his course in the instruction of these rude children of nature, to endeavour to impress upon them an application of things divine; and he determined to remain in their neighbourhood as long as possible, and devote to the work as much of his time as he could command.

The party now took their leave of Jemmy Davies and his tribe, and left the scene of the late distress for the home of the Fergusons; where they found the news of the massacre had preceded them, and their two black boys, Billy and Jemmy, decamped to join the remnant of the tribe. But in the meantime we will trace the steps of William Ferguson, after he left the camp to join Mr. Billing.

William found the storekeeper waiting very patiently for Tom Rainsfield's return; and he rather sententiously communicated to him what he had witnessed, leaving him to conjecture much of the detail. As he felt in no humour to be bored by Billing's loquacity, he excused himself from accompanying him on the road, on the plea that he was anxious to get to Strawberry Hill, his sister being there waiting him; and he left his companion, and rode on.

When he arrived at the Rainsfields' house he met Mrs. Billing and the children going out for a walk; and, upon enquiring for the ladies, he was told they had been expecting him for some time, and were at that moment taking a stroll towards the bridge. After leaving his horse, thither he followed them; and found that his sister was ready habited for her ride, and her friends had stepped out for a short walk with her before she took her departure. When they saw William, they all rallied him on his dilatoriness and want of punctuality; but he, finding that they knew nothing of the tragedy amongst the blacks, refrained from making any explanation; simply pleading guilty to the indictment of his fair friends, and begging leniency at their hands.

His sister replied that she had intended, if he had not made his appearance before their return from their walk, to have taken off her habit and stopped at Strawberry Hill, just to teach him punctuality. But stepping up to him, and laughingly patting his cheek, she said that, as he had acknowledged his negligence, she would not disappoint him, but start whenever he pleased.

William and his convoy returned to the house, where they found the table spread with a light repast ready waiting them; after partaking which, the girls took an affectionate leave of one another; and, with repeated mutual regrets at parting, promises from Kate to speedily revisit them, and many extorted pledges and solemn obligations from William, to frequently bring his sister over, they parted; and Kate and William left Strawberry Hill at a canter, at which pace they continued until they reached Fern Vale.

Upon their arrival there, the little house-keeper was received with all honours, and duly installed in possession of her domicile and in the importance of her office, with a gaiety which even Kate's unpractised eye could detect to be assumed. There was a gloom upon the whole party, particularly Tom Rainsfield, that ill accorded with their usual manner; and it did not fail to strike her. She saw there was some mystery; and, looking from one to the other in a state of perplexity, at last requested an explanation. Tom excused himself from the task, possibly from a feeling of delicacy in shocking her young and innocent mind with a recital of the horrible events of the past twelve hours; but her brother John, thinking it better that a knowledge of the circumstances should be imparted to her by themselves, in preference to their reaching her ears through some other channel, communicated to her as much as he deemed necessary in the meantime for her to know.

To say that the story horrified her would but inadequately describe the sensations with which she heard the dreadful narrative. She wept! though not at the usual standard of young ladies' tears that are shed upon the most trivial occasions when effect is deemed by them desirable; such tears are easily conjured into existence, and have no impression on the beholder other than as the sparkling dew on the morning flower excites the admiration or pleases the fancy of the florist. Her's were tears of true sympathy, gushing forth from a warm and affectionate heart; and the burst of feeling grief of one who was always joy and sunshine touched the hearts of her assembled friends; and more than one strong man, that had calmly looked on the misery of the poor victims in the very presence of death, now turned away their heads to conceal their moistened eyelids.

As soon as Tom Rainsfield could sufficiently muster his courage to speak, he took the two hands of Kate in his, and said in a voice tremulous with emotion: "My dear Miss Ferguson, your kind sympathy for these poor blacks does you infinite honour and credit; but pray calm yourself. Much as the circumstances are to be regretted, it is more than probable they will be found to result to our benefit, as the greatest ruffians of the whole tribe have been removed; and we may now hope to live without fear of any molestation."

The rest of the day passed ordinarily enough. The Fergusons were fully occupied in putting their house in order; and Tom took his leave to see his brother and communicate to him details that he could not expect from Mr. Billing. He promised, before he went, to return the following morning and join Mr. Wigton in revisiting the camp and sepulchres of the blacks. True to his engagement, the next day Tom presented himself at Fern Vale; when he, Mr. Wigton, and John, took their departure on their meditated errand; leaving William at the station, to superintend some work which required the presence of either him or his brother.