It so happened that Mrs. Bell had been lately suffering much from neuralgia, and lying half asleep had been awakened to her full senses by the rush and furious growl of Jumper. At the same moment she put out her hand to feel for the old dog, when it came into contact with a scrubby head of human hair.
Uttering a scream, and losing her balance at the same moment, she came right down on the top of the crouching figure, and in doing so she dragged a voluminous mosquito-net with her, when a dim night-light burning in the room showed her the form of a man struggling with Jumper.
In an instant she comprehended the situation; her self-possession did not desert her, for seizing her bottle of chloral, she dashed half the contents into the man’s eyes and nose, and as he opened his mouth to give vent to most fearful curses, she rammed the rest, bottle and all, into his throat.
Whilst this scene, which barely occupied a minute, was taking place on one side of the room, a struggle of a different character was going on, on the other.
Annie had been reclining fully dressed on a couch, so as to be ready to fetch some medicine for her sick mother in case of need, from a little store-closet outside the house.
Dozing somewhat wearily, she felt herself suddenly seized in the grip of a powerful arm, and in spite of her frantic struggles, a towel was the next moment forced into her mouth, and she felt herself carried, whilst struggling for breath, towards the verandah.
Magan had nearly reached his horse with his almost unconscious burden, when a dark figure came rushing out of the surrounding gloom and drove a heavy spear on to his back, being the only part of his body which could safely be assaulted, by reason of Annie’s form guarding the rest. The spear reached its mark with a heavy thud, but the only effect of the blow was to make the bushranger redouble his efforts to gain the horse.
Dromoora, for he it was, now hurled a heavy club at the man as he hoisted himself into the saddle, aided by Mike. The blow told, and knocked Magan forward in his saddle; Dromoora with a bound was on to him with a long-bladed knife, making a blow at him between the shoulders; the bushranger’s horse at that moment gave a bound forward, the knife glanced off and entered the calf of Magan’s leg, causing a wound, which, however, in no way had the effect of unseating him, and with another bound the horse and his rider had disappeared into the surrounding darkness, with Annie stretched across the saddle-bow.
Mike would have gone to the help of his chief, or would more likely perhaps have attacked Dromoora, had not his time been entirely taken up during the latter part of the fray in trying to curb the remaining two horses which he was holding.
These animals, affrighted at the combat, plunged and reared to such an extent that one of them broke clean away, when Mike, seeing Dromoora rushing upon him with an open knife, flung himself on to the back of the other, and galloped off.