There was no response. The villains would not even raise their voices to save a comrade's life.
"I should imagine the fellow was the Lord High Chancellor of England to hear him talk," muttered Mr. Brown; "lend me your revolver, and the instant the ruffian fires I will give him a shot if it costs me my life."
"And it would cost not only your life, but mine, and that I am not disposed to relinquish yet. Be patient, for we can do nothing to save the poor devil," I replied.
The man whose doom had been pronounced, a second time threw himself upon the ground, and crawled to the feet of the leader in humble supplication for mercy. He shed tears, and vowed that if his life was spared, he would steal with renewed energy, and be more faithful than ever; and for a while I thought the chief would relent, but during a moment's pause, I distinctly heard the click of a pistol lock, and saw Tyrell's arm raised as though taking aim.
'I shut my eyes to hide the dreadful sight, and expected to hear the report of the weapon and the groans of the victim, but while I was speculating on the length of time that the poor devil was kept in suspense, I received a tremendous nudge from Mr. Brown's elbow, accompanied by the exclamation of—
"The devil has come at last!"
I opened my eyes, and was gratified to see that the ghost whose disappearance I had noticed, re-appeared upon the scene, but with one important change in his aspect, which rendered his tout ensemble more hideous than ever.
By some means he had managed to light a fire upon his bony head, and the flames were twisting and squirming like so many fiery serpents, revealing the long bullock's horns with telling effect. So well had he managed the affair, that, accustomed as I was to his presence, I had half a mind to run, not knowing but a real devil, or being of the other world, had usurped Day's especial functions in the ghost line.
If the sudden appearance was startling to myself and Mr. Brown, how much more must it have astonished the bushrangers, who were anxiously awaiting the death of their companion at the hands of Tyrell. I saw the arm of the latter fall as if paralyzed, and he started back, but disdained to fly upon the first alarm. Not so with his comrades. With one accord they dropped knives, meat, and blankets, and with shouts of frantic terror rushed towards the woods, tumbling over each other in their eagerness to escape, and looking over their shoulders as they fled, as if they feared that Satan had already laid a hand upon them, and was about to claim them as his own.
Even the young fellow who had murdered the old pirate, seemed to entertain some hope of escape from earthly enemies, for he commenced crawling away from the fires as fast as he could on hands and knees, and bent his course directly towards our ambush. Once or twice I saw him look back, apparently with the expectation of receiving a shot in his rear, but finding that his captain was too much occupied with his own matters, he seemed to think that Providence had interfered in a most wonderful manner in his behalf, and recommenced crawling with renewed energy and hope, not caring half as much for the ghost as he did for the vengeance of his chief.