The lads showed their disappointment on their faces, but of course the drover did not understand the reason for it. "If it"s fun you"re after seeing, you"ll get as much with my mob as you would with the Boss"s,"
he said with a very slight Irish brogue. "They"re sure as wild as bally mosquitoes. But look, you"re a bit too close here. Get back a bit, and when they"ve had a drink, go over to the troughs. You"ll likely see a bit of fun at the yards."
The lads did as he told them. They climbed on the roof of an old shed where they were well out of the way, and could get a good view of the cattle as they came in to water. They expected the whole mob to file past at once, but that was not what happened. As soon as the drover returned, the cattle were rounded up in a hollow between two sand-hills. For a time the dust increased to such an extent that nothing could be seen; but by the shouting and whip-cracking it was evident that the men were having trouble.
Then a little mob of about a hundred were cut out from the others and driven towards the water. A white man rode in front and two black boys rode behind. To Stobart and Vaughan it looked as if the men were taking far more care than was necessary, for they shepherded the cattle every inch of the way. The cattle smelt the water from the distance, and wanted to rush straight to it, but they were turned again and again, and allowed to advance only at a slow pace. They had been ten weeks on the road, and were so nervous at approaching the buildings of the little town, that the least thing would make them rush away in all directions. Once they started, nothing could stop them, and the result of all those weeks of constant care might go for nothing. So the stockmen took no chances.
The cattle watered quietly, and when they had had enough, they were taken a little distance away and left in charge of the two black boys.
Then the white man returned and cut off another hundred, and watered them in the same way, till every one in the huge mob of wild cattle had had a drink without being disturbed.
Then came what the drover had called "a bit of fun". The cattle were slowly moved towards the great trucking-yards.
"Let"s go over to the troughs as he said," suggested Vaughan. "It"s lots nearer than this." So the two friends took up their position behind the big tank into which the water from the bore poured before it flowed into the troughs.
The Oodnadatta trucking-yards are made of iron rails set in concrete and are capable of holding more than a thousand head of stock. Once the cattle are in, nothing matters, for the yards are strong enough to hold elephants. But the job is to get them in.
Inch by inch the grumbling ma.s.s of irritable beasts was urged forward by the white drover and his boys. It was a ticklish job, and the whips were kept quiet at first, except to flick up one or another which tried to poke out of the mob. All went well till the leading cattle came to the wing of the yard. Those iron rails frightened them. They had only seen a yard once before in their lives, and the rails of that one were made of wood.
"Steady, boys! Steady!" called the drover. "Keep "em quiet a bit."
For a minute or two the stockmen sat back on their horses and did not urge the cattle forward, but let them get used to their new surroundings. The animals went up to the rails and smelt them, bellowing with surprise.
"Now, slowly, boys! Slowly!"
Very gradually the hors.e.m.e.n moved forward. To a new chum this care seemed very unnecessary. The gate was straight ahead. Why not force the animals through, and get the job over? But a thousand cattle cannot be forced by five men, as the boys were soon to see.
The leading cattle were now right up to the gate, and the others were slowly crowding on behind, till they were jammed in the wings. If only one or two would go through the rest would follow easily. But the leading bullock struck a tin buried in the sand. Instantly the great beast"s head was raised and he sent out a roaring bellow. Those behind him crowded on, but he would not pa.s.s that tin. It was lying on top of the sand now. He tried to back away from it, and in doing so struck his foot against it again.
Bellow followed bellow. He set his feet firmly in the sand and would not budge. Down went his head, and he tossed clouds of sand into the air.
"Let "em have it. Let "em have it," shouted the drover. "Force "em up there. Force "em up." He stood in his stirrups and plied his whip, cracking it back and front, and shouting at the top of his voice. The blacks did the same, till it seemed as if they would force the cattle into the yard by sheer energy.
But no. The leading bullock stood firm. Something had to give way.
No single animal could withstand the pressure of all the others from behind. The bullock lifted his head high and shook his mighty horns, and, with a roar which drowned all sounds of shouting, he turned along the side of the wing and charged. Nothing could stop him. Others followed till the cattle were going round and round like water in a whirlpool. What cattlemen most fear had happened: a ring. Not a single beast went through the gate. They pa.s.sed it, at first slowly, then faster and faster, till they were galloping round and round like clumsy circus horses.
The drover tried to break the ring. He cut off a few cattle at the back of the mob and forced them against the tide. He succeeded for a moment, and the black stockmen cut off others and brought them in. For a few seconds it was like two huge waves meeting. The cattle jammed in the centre, and some were actually lifted from their feet. Then the wave broke.
A charging ma.s.s of maddened cattle rushed away from the yards, screaming with terror, heads down and stiffened tails high in the air.
Nothing could stand against them. It was death to attempt to check the terrible charge. The mounted men galloped for safety to the sides.
One, however, was too slow. He had just gained the edge of the mob when a young steer dashed into his horse. Both were going so fast that they came down together. Fortunately the boy was thrown clear and was not hurt. The steer rolled over and over and then picked itself up and joined the rush. The riderless horse galloped towards the troughs.
CHAPTER V
Riding Tests
During the exciting scenes at the yards, Sax and Vaughan had come out from the shelter of the tank, wholly absorbed in the wild life they were now witnessing for the first time. With the keen delight which every healthy-minded boy has in adventure, they followed every twist and turn, wishing with all their hearts that they were in the thick of it and not mere lookers-on.
When the cattle broke, the drover dashed out on their side of the mob and waved a warning to them. His mouth framed words, and though his voice was drowned in the tremendous hullabulloo, the boys knew he was shouting: "Back! Back! Back for your lives!"
So they raced for the tank and crouched behind it as the storm of cattle went sweeping past.
The riderless horse galloped up to the troughs and stooped its head to drink. The bridle-rein trailed on the ground. Sax looked around the tank and saw it very near his hand. He gave a quick glance at the saddle and saw that all the gear was right, and then quietly stretched out his arm and caught the rein. He gripped it firmly but did not pull. The noise of stampeding cattle was so great that the horse did not notice the movement near him till the boy slowly rose from the ground.
Then the horse lifted its head and gave a snort of alarm. But in a moment Sax had jerked the reins over its head, and in another moment was on its back. Before he was well seated, the frightened animal reared, squealing and pawing the air with its fore hoofs. But Sax was lean and very supple. He clung on, drove his feet home in the stirrups, and when the horse came down and started to buck and twist and arch and side-spring, he had a seat from which it would have taken a very good animal to shake him. It was all over in less than a minute, and then the horse saw its companions flying over the plains in a cloud of dust, gave a whinny, and started after them at top speed.
Vaughan was left with feelings which were almost equally divided between pride in his friend"s achievement and envy that the adventure had not fallen to his lot.
Sax caught up with the drover and rode neck and neck with him on the wing of the cattle for some time before the man turned his head. When he did so, he was very surprised.
"Hallo, young "un!" he shouted, almost breathless at the rate they were going. "Can you ride?"
"No," bawled Sax exultantly; "but I"m learning."
"Well, don"t try and learn too much first go," came back the warning.
"There"s ticklish work ahead. You watch me." And they settled down again to give all their attention to the work in hand.
About five miles west of the town is a narrow but close belt of timber, mostly gnarled mulga and gidgee, with here and there a sprawling stunted creek gum. The cattle were making for this shelter. But already the tremendous pace was beginning to tell. The bellowing had ceased and the mob was stringing out, the stragglers no longer being able to gallop, but lumbering along at a clumsy trot.
To Sax"s surprise, a black stockman, riding in the rear of the mob, kept these stragglers at the top of their pace. The drover gradually forged ahead on the wing and the boy with him, till they were level with the leaders. Then, little by little, they worked nearer and nearer to the galloping beasts, using their whips freely and trying by every possible means to turn the line away from the belt of timber.
They succeeded. From west the cattle turned to south, getting more and more tired at every stride, then east, then north, and finally they were brought up by rounding on themselves and turning in and in till they were thoroughly exhausted and only too willing to pull up.
Sax"s whole body was one big ache. It was his first ride on a bush horse, which he found very different from the thoroughbreds he had known. Every movement of the horse, now that the excitement was over, was agony to him, but he sat in the saddle without flinching. Not for the world would he have betrayed himself.
"What do we do now?" he asked the drover.
The man laughed. He admired the boy"s pluck, and his keen eyes noticed the signs of discomfort which Sax could not possibly hide. "Do?" he asked. "Why? Haven"t you done enough for a bit?"
"Oh, I"m all right," said Sax. "I like it."
"Wish I did," growled the other. "I"ll just begin to like it when it"s all over, and these beggars are in the yard."
The mounted men rode slowly to and fro around the cattle for an hour or two. Some of them got over their fright sufficiently to lie down, others stood about in groups and nosed one another and murmured quietly. About noon the drover whistled to his boys, and a move was made towards the yards. This time they were not rushed forward in a mob. A few of the quietest were cut off and driven in first. They went through the gates without any trouble. Then a few more, followed by others till the thousand cattle were safely behind the great gates.
"Now we"ll have a drink of tea, and then we"ll truck them," said the drover, dismounting from his horse and taking off the saddle. He turned to the black boys. "Take um your horses little yard belonga Mr.
Archer," he said, pointing towards the town. "Give um plenty tucker, water. Come back quick-fella! Which way Yarloo sit down?"
At the name Yarloo, Sax looked up quickly. Surely that was the name given by the messenger who handed Boss Stobart"s note to the boy in the middle of the night. The blacks laughed at the drover"s question, and one of them pointed towards the troughs. "Him tummel aller same kangaroo," he said, with a grin, making movements with his body like a man being flung off a horse. "Him come down cropper, I think," and he rubbed the back of his head and made grimaces which caused the others to laugh heartily. A black-fellow is always highly amused at an accident.
Two figures were coming over from the troughs. Sax recognized one as Vaughan. The other was limping slightly. It was Yarloo, the boy who had been thrown from his horse. He had got a job with the drover the morning after the delivery of his midnight message to Saxon Stobart, and, because he was a stranger, his fellow stockmen took a great delight in limping about and imitating him.
"So that"s how you got your ride," said the drover. "How did you catch the horse?"
Sax told him, and the drover remarked: "I"m glad you did. Nothing stirs things up so much as a saddled horse with n.o.body on him. You and your mate had better have a drink of tea with me. By the way, what do they call you?"
"That chap"s name"s Vaughan," answered Sax. "Mine"s Stobart."
"What? Stobart? Same name as Boss Stobart?"