'You are safe. It is well,' he said in the peculiar way the blacks speak, and which is necessary to put into English as nearly as possible to convey their meaning. 'It came to me that you had been carried away by that wicked man who is steeped in every crime.'
'And it was true, King Charlie. He carried me off, but the good spirit saved me, and I am here safe and well,' she replied.
'They laid rough hands upon you, they beat you with sticks, lashed you with their whips, called you vile names. Is it so?'
'No, they did not beat me. They stole me for another man—Rodney Shaw,' she said.
King Charlie stood up and called down the wrath of all the powers and spirits he knew upon that gentleman's head, then squatted down exhausted and beat his hands.
She soothed him and said, 'The white men are gone to Barker's Creek and they will kill Dalton and his gang.'
'It is good,' said King Charlie. 'We will go too.'
Sal thought for a moment, and it occurred to her that King Charlie and his tribe might be of use to them. She knew these blacks, the best of the whole tribe, could fight, and were hardy, tough men. They would do anything King Charlie told them, for they were wont to obey.
'It is far and you are weary,' she said. 'Where is the tribe?'
'Woolloola,' he said, and pointed with his hand.