He crouched down, and, after a long and attentive observation, distinctly perceived several men, who seemed by their movements to be searching the ground for something. What could these men want? He must know, and, without an instant’s hesitation or awakening his companions, he crawled along on all-fours, carefully concealing himself in the tall grass.
XL
A Startling Discovery
It was a terrible night. At two o’clock in the morning the rain began to fall in torrents, which continued to pour from the stormy clouds till daylight. The tent was an insufficient shelter. Glenarvan and his companions took refuge in the cart, where they passed the time in conversing upon various subjects. The major, however, whose short absence no one had noticed, contented himself with listening in silence. The fury of the tempest gave them considerable uneasiness, since it might cause an inundation, by which the cart, fast in the mire, would be overwhelmed.
More than once Mulready, Ayrton, and Captain Mangles went to ascertain the height of the rushing waters, and returned drenched from head to foot.
At length day appeared. The rain ceased, but the rays of the sun failed to penetrate the thick veil of clouds. Large pools of muddy, yellowish water covered the ground. A warm vapor issued from the water-soaked earth and saturated the atmosphere with a sickly moisture.
Glenarvan, first of all, turned his attention to the cart. In his eyes, this was their main support. It was imbedded fast in the midst of a deep hollow of sticky clay. The fore wheels were almost entirely out of sight, and the hind ones were buried up to the hubs. It would be a very difficult matter to pull out the heavy vehicle, and would undoubtedly require the united strength of men, oxen, and horses.
“We must make haste,” said Captain Mangles. “If this clay dries, the work will be more difficult.”
Glenarvan, the two sailors, the captain, and Ayrton then entered the wood, where the animals had passed the night.
It was a tall forest of gloomy gum-trees. Nothing met the eye but dead trunks, widely separated, which had been destitute of their bark for centuries. Not a bird built its nest on these lofty skeletons; not a leaf trembled on the dry branches, that rattled together like a bundle of dry bones. Glenarvan, as he walked on, gazed at the leaden sky, against which the branches of the gum-trees were sharply defined. To Ayrton’s great astonishment, there was no trace of the horses and oxen in the place where he had left them. The fettered animals, however, could not have gone far.
They searched for them in the wood, but failed to find them. Ayrton then returned to the banks of the river, which was bordered by magnificent mimosas. He uttered a cry well known to his oxen, but there was no answer. The quartermaster seemed very anxious, and his companions glanced at each other in dismay.
An hour passed in a vain search, and Glenarvan was returning to the cart, which was at least a mile off, when a neigh fell upon his ear, followed almost immediately by a bellow.
“Here they are!” cried Captain Mangles, forcing his way between the tall tufts of the gastrolobium, which were high enough to conceal a whole herd.
Glenarvan, Mulready, and Ayrton rushed after him, and soon shared his astonishment. Two oxen and three horses lay upon the ground, stricken like the others. Their bodies were already cold, and a flock of hungry crows, croaking in the mimosas, waited for their unexpected prey.
Glenarvan and his friends gazed at each other, and Wilson did not suppress an oath that rose to his lips.
“What is the matter, Wilson?” said Lord Glenarvan, scarcely able to control himself. “We can do nothing. Ayrton, bring the ox and horse that are left. They must extricate us from the difficulty.”
“If the cart were once out of the mud,” replied Captain Mangles, “these two animals, by short journeys, could draw it to the coast. We must, therefore, at all events, release the clumsy vehicle.”
“We will try, John,” said Glenarvan. “Let us return to camp, for there must be anxiety at our long absence.”
Ayrton took charge of the ox, and Mulready of the horse, and the party returned along the winding banks of the river. Half an hour after, Paganel, MacNabb, Lady Helena, and Miss Grant were told the state of affairs.
“By my faith,” the major could not help exclaiming, “it is a pity, Ayrton, that you did not shoe all our animals on crossing the Wimerra.”
“Why so, sir?” asked Ayrton.
“Because of all our horses only the one you put into the hands of the farrier has escaped the common fate.”
“That is true,” said Captain Mangles; “and it is a singular coincidence!”
“A coincidence, and nothing more,” replied the quartermaster, gazing fixedly at the major.
MacNabb compressed his lips, as if he would repress the words ready to burst from them. Glenarvan, the captain, and Lady Helena seemed to expect that he would finish his sentence; but he remained silent, and walked towards the cart, which Ayrton was now examining.
“What did he mean?” inquired Glenarvan of Captain Mangles.
“I do not know,” replied the young captain. “However, the major is not the man to speak without cause.”
“No,” said Lady Helena; “Major MacNabb must have suspicions of Ayrton.”
“What suspicions?” asked Glenarvan. “Does he suppose him capable of killing our horses and oxen? For what purpose, pray? Are not Ayrton’s interests identical with ours?”
“You are right, my dear Edward,” said Lady Helena. “Besides, the quartermaster has given us, ever since the beginning of the journey, indubitable proofs of his devotion to our comfort.”
“True,” replied Captain Mangles. “But, then, what does the major’s remark mean? I must have an understanding.”
“Perhaps he thinks he is in league with these convicts?” remarked Paganel, imprudently.
“What convicts?” inquired Miss Grant.
“Monsieur Paganel is mistaken,” said Captain Mangles quickly: “he knows that there are no convicts in the province of Victoria.”
“Yes, yes,
