But they and the soldiers seemed to have been absorbed in the large body of men in the convict lines and barracks, and he looked in vain for the fierce, swarthy ruffian, his comic, grimace-making friend Twenty-five, and the pitiful, pleading countenance of Thirty-three.
Still, there was a great deal to see, and the time went rapidly as he watched the convicts at work with their armed guard always on the qui vive to shoot down any man who attempted to resist their warders or make for the bush.
There were the blacks too, fairly plentiful in those days, hanging about the place ready to help drive sheep or cattle, or do any light work which did not entail much labour.
The hospitality at Government House was everything that could be desired, and here the lieutenant and ensign were welcomed again and again during their stay.
The last day came, when, after making all his preparations, the doctor announced that they would start at dawn the next morning.
“Why not stay another week?” said Lady O’Hara.
“You know,” said the doctor: “those at home are eager to see us back; and Nic here is longing to find out what home is like. When shall we see the governor and you?”
“Before many months are over. That road is begun, you see, and we shall work up in your direction. Perhaps we may run over for a flying visit before.”
That evening Nic accompanied his father to where the various goods purchased for him by Lady O’Hara had been stored at a kind of warehouse; and here Nic found a large, light waggon in the course of being loaded by a couple of fierce-looking, bearded men, whose bare arms were burned of a reddish tan.
The elder of the two, a man of about fifty, was standing up in the waggon pulling at a great packing-case, while his companion, a well-built fellow, who looked strong and active as could be, was hoisting up the case, helped by a shaggy-haired native, whose face shone as if it had been blackened and polished like a boot. The white, or rather the reddish-brown, man attracted Nic’s attention at once, as he stood there with his muscles standing out, making him resemble an antique statue; but it was the embittered, proud, and resentful look in his face which struck the boy.