They knew all the
station hands, and the station hands knew them. They soon spotted a
new chum, and found out the soft side of him; and were generally able
to coax or frighten him to give them tobacco, some piece of clothing,
or white money.
When the new shepherd had been following his flock for a few days,
Mr. Robinson, while looking out from the verandah of his house over
the plains, observed a strange object approaching at some distance.
He said to himself, "That is not a horseman, nor an emu, nor a native
companion, nor a swagman, nor a kangaroo." He could not make it out;
so he fetched his binocular, and then perceived that it was a human
being, stark naked. His first impression was that some unfortunate
traveller had lost his way in the wide wilderness, or a station hand
had gone mad with drink, or that a sundowner had become insane with
hunger, thirst, and despair.
He took a blanket and went to meet the man, in order that he might
cover him decently before he arrived too near the house. It was
Hyde, the new shepherd, who said he had been stripped by the blacks.
From information afterwards elicited by Robinson it appeared that the
blacks had approached Hyde in silence while his back was turned to
them. The sight of them gave a sudden shock to his system. He was
totally unprepared for such an emergency.
Pages:
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268