Waterbury evening Democrat., 1892-09-24
THE CALIFORNIANS,
Bx JULES VERNE.
Copyright 1891 by the Authors Alliance.

rom Marks bowea in acquiescence, and springing lightly on his horse rode away to give the necessary orders.
 Farina Town was one of those vil- lages which spring up mushroom-lile | in single night along the route of an Australian or American railway, and in a few short months arrogate to them selves all the dignity of & city D century | old. The cunning of the surveyor and | land agent is visible from the very | start, and the incongruous legend City lots forAsale'' makes it's appearance the | day after the town is located. Nothing is left to chance or individual taste for \ settlement, but streets, boulevards and squares are laid out with Q geometrical and mathematical regularity which, as the town is built up, gives 1t a nionot- ony that is as depressing as 1t is valu- able, commercially speaking. The whole population of Farina Town as- sembled at sunrise on the following day to witness the departure of the brave lady and her band of intrepid search | CTS. About one half of the men were white, the others being half breeds or semi-civilized natives, well acquainted with the language, customs and habits of the wild people who were supposed to hold Capt. John close prisoner.
 The progress of the expedition was, l on account of the thick forests and the rugged nature of the country, neces- sarily slow. The whites were well mounted, the negroes followed on foot. From Farina Town to Alice Springs station it was a good three hundred and | fifty miles, and several weeks were spent | ip covering this distance. But, all though the advance was slow, the mem- bers of the expedition, thanks to the ad- mjrable precautions which had been taken by Col. Tom Marks, continued 1T the best of health and spirits. Early and late in her saddle, sharing the fa- tigues of the march without a murmur, cheering and inspiring everyone by her indomitable courage and inexhaustible confidence in her own ability to accom- | plish the mighty work which she had set herself, Molly hovered around and | about the little band like an angel of light and sweetness, like guiding | spirit deputed by Heaven to sustain. | direct and preserve
 Next to her it was Godfrey who knew how to work himself into the rugged but honest hearts of the members of the band. The skill with which he rode, the accuracy of his aim as a rifieman, and the readiness and ease with which he took to his life in the Australian bush were soon all powerful enough to chase away the last frown from Zach French's face.
 "A wonderful resemblance" he mutt tered to himself. If I had not buried little Walt myself, I'd believe that lad was Capt. Johns own boy"
 But if Godfrey's success in making friends with the white members of the expedition was such as to carry joy to Molly's heart, she, as well as Col. Marks and Zach, was astounded at the devotion shown to the lad by the half breeds and Indian guides. To them this wonderful boy was a constant source of surprise and delight. His courage, his surprising strength and agility, his horsemanship, his marks manship, his kindness and gentleness charmed and fascinated them. The daintiest tidbits of game and the ripest fruits were laid at the door of Godfrey's tent. And, to add still further to the long list of the boys accomplishments, 1t was discovered thnt since he had been in service on the Australian coast he had picked up quite a vocabulary of the native dialects, so that he now had ex. perienced no difficulty in understanding the jargon spoken by the native guides
 It might not be out of place to statc here that this was far from being tho first camel train that had been sent ou into the Australian wilderness. It wa. in 1888 that MT. Elder imported iron India a large number of camels, togeth : CT with their Afghan drivers. Thes' animals have done well in Australia and beyond all doubt it was due to thu fact that Col. Warburton made use O these ships of the desert that he wa enabled to accomplish his daring rid from Alice Springs station to Rock
 bourne, Nichol Bay on the coast of De Witt Land.
 If David Lindsay, at later date, sue cceded in crossing the continent iron north to south with the aid of pacl horses only, 1t was because be kep
 close to the government roads and tele
 graph lines and diGl not risk himself il = the wilderness which would have bee powerless to sustain the life of hi \ train.
 The expedition reached Alice Spring station in good form. Here a halt wa made in order to transfer the baggag
 
 and supplies to the backs of the pac
 camels. Col. Marks took this occasio
 to make a most searching examinatio
 of each member of his band, in order t
 weed out any who showed signs c
 breaking down. A week was thus COT = sumed, when, at Q command from Mo
 ly, the camel train moved slowly an
 silently out into the sandy wastes C
 the Great Victoria desert.
 As Molly, from her lofty seat on on r of the ships of the desert, cast her eye to over this apparently limitless waste
 her heart sank within her for a brie
 moment as she asked herself the que: ? tion: Am l not warning against Hea,
 en? Am not rebelling against tn - will of God in thus penetrating thi
 awful solitude in search for a huma
 life which only a miracle could hay tlrapf from daSfrucfiopo Arc not rDv o-