The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-05-15


out of my hut, you young devil-out of
my hut"
Never have I seen man more completely
beside himself; he was shaking from head
7. to foot in a perfect palsy, ana mis- cienched
lists were shaking in my face. assured
him I had played no conscious trick-it
was my defective eyesight that must have
played one on me. Now that 1 put on
my glasses could see that the hut was
empty but for our two selves; that it
must have been absolutely empty till we
entered And yet l could have sworn that
mad seen the LOST rabbiter nursing his
face at the foot of the right-hand bunk.
My companion cooled down, however, on
becoming convinced of my good faith, and
instead of turning me out, seemed to set
his heart, upon explaining my fancied
vision before he would let me go Pictures
from the illustrated papers had been tack
ed up over the rabbiter's bunk One was
the old colored print of Red Riding Hood
with ne four trees like an elephants leg:
ana Wyiie would have il that the freight
glowing on the childs hood had made the
sploteh of red which my nerves had exag-
serated into a Crimean shirt
10 me this explanation seemed much
more ridiculous than the thing it sought
to explain. but I had TO admit that 1
could see but poorly without my glasses
ana indeed | was very ready to confess
TO some inexplicable delusion on my part
50 at that we left it, and [ was glad
enough TO turn my back on the Five-mile
hut, and to push on to the out-statlon at
a hand-gallop
Mr Armit the owner, and Mr. Macke-
son, his manager were still sitting up, dis
GUESSING ways and means of coping with
the iong-continued drought; and the own
er was good enough to praise my prompti-
tude in coming to them at once. 1t was
now midnight, and after a little consid-
Grafton IL was decided that we should all
lie down for bit preparatory to starting
back a couple of hours before daybreak
IN order to take part in the search. For
my part. l made myself very comfortable
before the fire with my saddle for a phi
low, and fell asleep in moment. And in
another, as it seemed TO me, there was
Mackeson laying hold of my shoulder
and shouting in my ear that we were an
hour late in starting as it was.
our owner, however, had long been ac-
customed to the hardships of the bush
and when the time came he could not
face the keen edge of the day without his
'pannikin of tea and his bite of "browny."
So the sun was on us before we were half
way TO the Five-mile-not the red ball of
nineteen out of twenty Riverina drawings,
but a coppery disc like a new penny.
Clouds Of sand were whirling in the wind.
which had risen greatly in the night, and
was rising still; puffs of sand kept break
ing from the plain to join the clouds; and
we coughed, all three of us, as we can
tered neck and neck.
.a,i'Do you think you could drive a within ?"
said Mr.. Armit, drawing rein as we
sighted the Fiye-mile, and suddenly turn
ing to me.
Il believe I could, sir. have seen one
working, and it looks simple enough"
IT'S as easy as 1t looks if you keep your
tank nice and fun and feed your troughs
regularly Wylie will show you all that's
necessary in five minutes; the fact is. 1
think of leaving you in charge of this
whim here. since you can hardly know
the paddocks well enough to be of much
use in the search, whereas Wylie knows
every inch of the run. What do you say
Mr. Mackeson? II is for you to decide. !"
II agree with you sir. But-but where's
the whim got top
"Bless my soul!' gasped the other. 81
was afraid we were in for a dust-storm
but I didn't think 1t would come so quiclxn'
Indeed, we were in the thick of the storm
already 1t was but a moment since hut
and whim had disappeared in a whirl of
deep yellow sand, and now we could see
nothing at all beyond our horses ears.
Luckily we were not many hundred yards
from the hut.
Give them their heads" shrIeked Mack
eson, and following his advice, we gained
the hut before the sea of dust had checked
us utterly. 1t literally tinkled on the
corrugated roof, and we led in the horses
after us, so terrible was the storm. The
whim-driver lighted.a slush-lamp and put
the billy the fire to give us some tea.
Everything in the hut wore glistenine
yellow coat; there were layers of sand on
our very eyelids, and what the owner
squeezed from his beard alone made a
little sandhili on the floor.
Poor POWELL" he suddenly exclaimed
This is the hardest luck of all upon him
1t viii blot out his tracks. 1t will double
the agonies of thirst he must already have
| endured. I am very much afraid that II
will destroy our last chance of finding him
alive"
And Mr.. Armit looked reproachfully Al
the whim-driver, who was making the ted
with his back turned to us, erouching over
the fire in an attitude so humble and So
| disconsolate that ii would have been in
/ human as well as useless to find open fauIi
with him now. For a few seconds there
was silence ia the hut, silence broken only
by the continual tinkle on the roof. which
| however, was harder than il had been
| Then of a sudden the man at whom we
were looking wheeled round sprang nm
| and pointed dramatically to the rattline
roof
You are g-wrong-wrong!, cried
| he, hoarsely. Listen to that! That's
not sand-thats rain All the worst dust.
storms end SO; itll rain the best part OF
an inch before 1t stops; instead of doinc
/ for him this'll-save-h is-life"
| lie looked from one to the other of US
half in triumph, haf in terror still
| thought-then down on his knees and bach
to the boiling billy and the sugar and The
tea. l saw him throw a handful of eacf
among the. bubbles-saw his fingers witch.
ing as they spread-and l knew then thai
the whim-drivers confidence was only lin.
/ deep.
But part of his prophecy came true
| enough. 1t rained until the crab-holes
We're fun of water-until there was drink
enough abroad upon the plains 20 give the
whim good weeks holiday. Long before
it stopped, however. l had the Five-mlle
hut 60 myself with that dismal rattle or
the roof, and dun fire of damp logs spit.
ting distressfully beneath the great square
| chimney The troughs were not needed
and that was we'll, they were buried and
hidden beneath a ridge of drifted sand
and was to clean them with the long.
| handled shovel, instead of driving the