The Bushranger's Secret Part 16

Lumley took another sip and then put the bottle away from him.

"'Tain't good to take too much at once, partner. And so you found it pretty easy, eh? Now, how far should you reckon it?"

"Perhaps eight or nine miles."

Gray had finished his bandaging, and had opened the bag containing the food. As he sat down on the ground near Lumley he pushed the wallet of money from him with his elbow, but Lumley did not give it a glance.

Neither he nor Gray had yet referred to it.

"Here's the other bottle of water," Gray said, taking it out and sticking it in the sand. "And here's the damper." He took out some of the dry uninviting sc.r.a.ps and laid them close to Lumley. "There's nothing else," he added, looking into the bag.

Lumley gave a quick glance at the bag.

"Didn't I put the pistols there, mate? I haven't got 'em about me."

He spoke carelessly.

"Oh, they're here," Gray returned. "But that's all the food left.

Still, there's enough to last us for a day or two."

"A kind of grim sort of picnic, isn't it?" said Lumley with a grin, as he took up a bit of damper. He ate a few mouthfuls and then drew out the bottle for another sip. "Here's to you, partner," he said with an awkward nod at Gray, "and good luck to both on us."

Gray returned his nod, but made no answer in words. Lumley put back the bottle again, and watched him for a moment from beneath his heavy brows.

"You don't bear no malice, I hope, mate?" he said suddenly.

Gray raised his heavy eyes and looked at him inquiringly.

"I was pretty rough on you last night," went on Lumley in a persuasive, apologetic tone; "but I was drove up in a corner, you see. I'd served you so bad that I reckoned you'd be glad enough to pay me out. Though I'd have sent back for you from the nearest station, partner. I meant that all along."

Gray did not believe him, but he did not think it worth while to tell him so.

"We'll let bygones be bygones, Lumley," he said in a friendly tone.

"We've both had a hard time of it, but it's nearly over now, I hope.

And you'll be able to trust me for the future."

"So I shall, so I shall, partner," returned Lumley rapidly. "'Tisn't many as would have come back--not after they'd got the horse and everything. What a bit of luck 'twould have been for you if you'd come back and found me dead. Didn't you hope you would, now?"

"No," said Gray. He got slowly up and looked round for a hillock that would give him a little shelter from the sun. "I must get a sleep," he said. "I shall be fit for nothing till I've had that. I'm dizzy for want of it."

Lumley was staring up at him with sudden fierce suspicion in his glance. A new thought had struck him. Ever since he had seen Gray with the horse he had been wondering what had made him come back. Such refusal of good fortune seemed inexplicable to him.

"You didn't come across the police, did you?" he said. "You've not set a trap for me?"

But even as he said it he saw how unfounded his suspicion was, and the sudden fierceness left his face, giving way to the anxious, apologetic look it had worn all through his late talk with Gray.

"I haven't seen anyone," Gray said indifferently.

He moved away as he spoke, and Lumley watched him settle himself for a sleep a little distance off. Gray lay down with his back to him, under the scanty shade of a hillock, and drew his hat over his eyes.

Lumley watched him intently till he had satisfied himself that he had fallen into a deep sleep. Then he made a quick clutch at the wallet of money, and drew it close to him. He hurriedly counted it over, giving furtive looks at Gray the while. Once Gray moved, and he crushed the notes he held back into the bag, and pushed the bag from him. But Gray did not move again, and after a pause he resumed his counting. When he had satisfied himself that the money was all there he replaced it in the wallet, which he put back into its original position.

He then, in the same cautious, hurried way, examined the pistols, and replaced them in the bag. He left them there for a moment, then took one out again, and thrust it into his pocket. But he changed his mind after a short consideration, took out the pistol from his pocket and replaced it in the bag. Then he poured some water on the rags Gray had bound round his foot, took a sparing sip from the bottle, and having corked it and pushed it back into the sand, turned himself round to get a sleep; and almost at once sleep, heavy and dreamless, came to him.

Many hours elapsed before either of the men awoke. It was Gray who came back to consciousness first. He was roused by the glare of the sun on his face, and sitting drowsily up he saw that it had travelled right across the sky while he slept, and was now declining towards the west. His next glance showed him the horse languidly cropping the dry gra.s.s some few paces off, and Lumley asleep with one arm flung up above his head.

But almost at once, before his eyes had travelled away from him, Lumley awoke. He raised himself quickly, looking round him with a wild suspicious stare and thrusting out a hand to clutch the bag of money at his side.

Gray got up and slowly approached him.

"How is your foot?" he asked.

"Bad," returned Lumley with a groan.

He said no more, and Gray sat down by him in silence. Lumley drew up his foot and began to wet the bandages again.

"The pain's worse than ever," he muttered, without looking at Gray.

"The water will do it good," replied Gray.

He drew the bag of food towards him as he spoke. "I believe I can eat something now," he said. "That sleep has done me any amount of good."

"How long have you been awake?" asked Lumley, with one of his quick glances.

"Not more than two minutes. I must have slept pretty nearly all day by the look of the sun."

"That's just what you've done, partner," returned Lumley, without saying he had done the same. He looked across at the horse. "What do you think of him?" he asked, with a nod towards it. "Doesn't look up to much in my opinion."

"I think the sooner we can start the better," answered Gray. "The poor old fellow can get nothing here. What do you think? Could you manage to mount him?"

Lumley shook his head in decided negative.

"Let's see what my foot's like to-morrow, partner. I couldn't stand on it to-day to save my life."

"The sooner we get off the better," Gray returned.

Lumley made no reply to this.

"You found the water just as I said, didn't you?" he asked presently.

"'Tis years agone since I was in this part, but I was sure of it."

"I expect the place is a good deal overgrown since then," replied Gray.

"You can't see any water from the ridge, but there's a track leading to it. I had no difficulty."

Lumley listened intently, but did not pursue the subject of the water.

"There's a station not so far off. We'll have to get on there and rest a bit," was his next remark.

"You know the way I suppose?" asked Gray.