Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1892-12-16
CHAPTER XXX.
CHAPTER AK
ufo THE HEART or THE CONTINENT.

edly, Mrs. Allaire, with Godfrey by hel
side, took her seat in a special train that
was to carry her to Farina Town, where
her arrival was now impatiently
awaited by Tom Marks and Zach
French. She was also accompanied by
an intelligent half-breed woman, Har-
riett by name, herself a child of the
wilderness, strong, fearless and a sl1illful
rider, who was to perform the duties OF
serving woman to the captains wife.
The train made few stops, only such in
fact as became necessary to renew the
supplies of wood and water After
leaving Adelaide the first halt was made
at Cawler, which was reached after
several hours run through a district
broken by deep gorges and narrow val
leys, varied at times by interminable for
ests of the eucalyptus. As the farms and
settlements were left far behind and
the country began to take on that wild
and desolate aspect SO characteristic of
many portions of the Australian conti-
nent, Mrs. Allaire's eyes gradually filed
with that deep earnest look which had
been peculiar to then for many years.
She was about to put forth the strength
of her wonderful will power for the
last time. II she failed now, it would
be necessary to bow to the DEGREES Of
heaven and give over a search which.
while it had until now commanded the
admiration of the world, would, if
pushed any further, be in the Judgment
Of her fellow creatures either the wild
whim of an eccentric mind or the fool
ish purpose of a disordered intellect
From the windows of her railway car
riage the captains wife, with that calm
certainty and placid satisfaction of one
journeying to meet beloved relative
returning from a distant voyage,
whiled away the long hours by examin-
ing the strange land through which she
was being transported at almost light
ming speed.
This was that Australia which had
been SO justly called the Land of Par
adoxes," the center of which was one
vast basin below the ocean level, whose
streams bursting up through the sandy
plains were gradually absorbed before
reaching the sea-a land in which the
air, like the soil, is lacking in humidity,
in which the strangest of earthly an
imals are found, and in which savage
tribes, pure nomads, furnish types of
the lowest degree of human intelligence.
Away to the north and to the west
stretched those interminable deserts of
Alexan 1ra Land and western Australia,
the very center of which the expedition
was intended to pierce in search of the
rfln - = 1,a - . l,o
naught- What would there be to guide
these intrepid searchers when once the
outer line of hamlet and isolated ranch
had been passed and nothing remained
but the vague indications obtained at
Harry Shelton's death-bed? In her in
terview with the governor general Mrs.
Allaire had been called upon to answer
this supposition, to wit: How was it pos
sible that Capt. John, during the nine
long years that he had been held a pris-
oner by these savages, had never found
an opportunity to make his escape?
Mrs. Allaire's answer had been specific
and to the point According to the
testimony of Shelton, during all this
long term of years, but one single oppor-
tunity of escape had presented itself to
the captain and his mate-an oppor-
tunity which Allaire had not been able
to take advantage of. AS to the other
argument that it was not the custom of
savages to respect the lives of their
prisoners, the fact remained that they
had done so, as testified to by Harry
Shelton, as his return alive irrefutably
proved. Besides there was case ex-
af ha
and pathfinder, William Classen, who
had now been missing for thirty-fve
years and who was still believed to be
held prisoner by one of the tribes of
northern Australia. This was, in truth,
exactly the case of Capt. John, since,
outside of mere speculation, there was
the positive declaration of Harry Shell
ton Other explorers, too, had failed to
make their way back after once plung-
ing into the depths of these vast wilder
nesses, but there was noproof that they
had been slain by the savages-
The train dashed past the smaller
stations leaving the bow-shaped Lake
Torrens on it's left and coming in sight
of the peaks of the Flinders range.
The W Gather was warm-the same tenn
perature that is met with during March
in countries of the northern hemisphere
traversed by the thirtieth parallel, such
as Algiers, Mexico, or Cochin China.
There was a threat Of rain in the at
mosphere, even of one of those violent
thunder-storms which the expedition
would long for in vain when once it had
entered upon the plains of the interior.
Under such circumstances was it that
the train bearing Mrs. Allaire steamed
into Farina Town, the terminal station
of the road, at three o'clock in the
afternoon. Zach French and his men
were waiting at the station, and as
Molly stepped from her compartment
they lifted their caps into the air and
sent up a hearty cheer. The shaggy
brows of the honest old sailor were knit
together upon first catching sight of
Godfrey by Molly's side, but when he
saw the transformation which had
taken place in the sailor lad and noted
his intelligent and gallant bearing as
he swung his rifle across his shoulder
and aided Mrs. Allaire to alight upon
the platform, his heart shed its wrin-
kles and he grasped the lad cordially by
the hand, welcoming him as one of the
band of searchers. But how great was
his joy at finding himself again in the
presence of his loved mistress. For
twelve days, twelve long days, he had
not seen Capt. Johns wife. Such
thing had not happened to him since
the last return of the Mollys Hope to
San Diego. Molly herself was de-
lighted to meet her faithful friend and
servitor again, whose devotion TO her
bordered upon veneration, and she
pressed his hand warmly and rewarded
him by smile as sweet as 1t was pro-
nounced and long continued Zach
could hardly believe his eyes.
II was ~the first smile he had
seen on that beautiful face since she
stepped on board the steam launch
years ago. He was almost startled by
It. Was It good or bad omen? Had
the captains wife slipped from that
lofty standard of solemn and religious
devotion to the great task of her life?
And Immediately his thoughts reverted
to the handsome lad standing by her
side, and his shaggy brows drew darlSly
together again and his bronzed face
took on n look of almost wrath. Was
not his noble mistress weakening under
this sailor boys influence? Would she
not, after a few hundred miles had
been put behind them, become soft
hearted, irritable and respondent, like
any ordinary woman, and fret over and
complain of the hardships of the journey
Lnes 1vxlx