The Buck-Jumper.
Saturday afternoon.
There were about a dozen Bush natives, from anywhere, most of them lankyand easy-going, hanging about the little slab-and-bark hotel on theedge of the scrub at Capertee Camp (a teamster's camp) when Cob & Co.'smail-coach and six came dashing down the siding from round Crown Ridge,in all its glory, to the end of the twelve-mile stage. Some wiry,ill-used hacks were hanging to the fence and to saplings about theplace. The fresh coach-horses stood ready in a stock-yard close to theshanty. As the coach climbed the nearer bank of the creek at the foot ofthe ridge, six of the Bushmen detached themselves from verandah posts,from their heels, from the clay floor of the verandah and the rough slabwall against which they'd been resting, and joined a group of four orfive who stood round one. He stood with his back to the corner postof the stock-yard, his feet well braced out in front of him, andcontemplated the toes of his tight new 'lastic-side boots and whistledsoftly. He was a clean-limbed, handsome fellow, with riding-cords,leggings, and a blue sash; he was Graeco-Roman-nosed, blue-eyed, andhis glossy, curly black hair bunched up in front of the brim of a newcabbage-tree hat, set well back on his head.
'Do it for a quid, Jack?' asked one.
'Damned if I will, Jim!' said the young man at the post. 'I'll do it fora fiver--not a blanky sprat less.'
Jim took off his hat and 'shoved' it round, and 'bobs' were 'chucked'into it. The result was about thirty shillings.
Jack glanced contemptuously into the crown of the hat.
'Not me!' he said, showing some emotion for the first time. 'D'yer thinkI'm going to risk me blanky neck for your blanky amusement for thirtyblanky bob. I'll ride the blanky horse for a fiver, and I'll feel theblanky quids in my pocket before I get on.'
Meanwhile the coach had dashed up to the door of the shanty. Therewere about twenty passengers aboard--inside, on the box-seat, on thetail-board, and hanging on to the roof--most of them Sydney men going upto the Mudgee races. They got down and went inside with the driver fora drink, while the stablemen changed horses. The Bushmen raised theirvoices a little and argued.
One of the passengers was a big, stout, hearty man--a good-hearted,sporting man and a racehorse-owner, according to his brands. He hada round red face and a white cork hat. 'What's those chaps got onoutside?' he asked the publican.
'Oh, it's a bet they've got on about riding a horse,' replied thepublican. 'The flash-looking chap with the sash is Flash Jack, thehorse-breaker; and they reckon they've got the champion outlaw in thedistrict out there--that chestnut horse in the yard.'
The sporting man was interested at once, and went out and joined theBushmen.
'Well, chaps! what have you got on here?' he asked cheerily.
'Oh,' said Jim carelessly, 'it's only a bit of a bet about ridin'that blanky chestnut in the corner of the yard there.' He indicated anungroomed chestnut horse, fenced off by a couple of long sapling polesin a corner of the stock-yard. 'Flash Jack there--he reckons he's thechampion horse-breaker round here--Flash Jack reckons he can take it outof that horse first try.'
'What's up with the horse?' inquired the big, red-faced man. 'It looksquiet enough. Why, I'd ride it myself.'
'Would yer?' said Jim, who had hair that stood straight up, and aninnocent, inquiring expression. 'Looks quiet, does he? YOU ought to knowmore about horses than to go by the looks of 'em. He's quiet enough justnow, when there's no one near him; but you should have been here anhour ago. That horse has killed two men and put another chap's shoulderout--besides breaking a cove's leg. It took six of us all the morning torun him in and get the saddle on him; and now Flash Jack wants to backout of it.'
'Euraliar!' remarked Flash Jack cheerfully. 'I said I'd ride that blankyhorse out of the yard for a fiver. I ain't goin' to risk my blanky neckfor nothing and only to amuse you blanks.'
'He said he'd ride the horse inside the yard for a quid,' said Jim.
'And get smashed against the rails!' said Flash Jack. 'I would be afool. I'd rather take my chance outside in the scrub--and it's roughcountry round here.'
'Well, how much do you want?' asked the man in the mushroom hat.
'A fiver, I said,' replied Jack indifferently. 'And the blanky stuff inmy pocket before I get on the blanky horse.'
'Are you frightened of us running away without paying you?' inquired oneof the passengers who had gathered round.
'I'm frightened of the horse bolting with me without me being paid,'said Flash Jack. 'I know that horse; he's got a mouth like iron. I mightbe at the bottom of the cliff on Crown Ridge road in twenty minutes withmy head caved in, and then what chance for the quids?'
'You wouldn't want 'em then,' suggested a passenger. 'Or, say!--we'dleave the fiver with the publican to bury you.'
Flash Jack ignored that passenger. He eyed his boots and softly whistleda tune.
'All right!' said the man in the cork hat, putting his hand in hispocket. 'I'll start with a quid; stump up, you chaps.'
The five pounds were got together.
'I'll lay a quid to half a quid he don't stick on ten minutes!' shoutedJim to his mates as soon as he saw that the event was to come off. Thepassengers also betted amongst themselves. Flash Jack, after putting themoney in his breeches-pocket, let down the rails and led the horse intothe middle of the yard.
'Quiet as an old cow!' snorted a passenger in disgust. 'I believe it's asell!'
'Wait a bit,' said Jim to the passenger, 'wait a bit and you'll see.'
They waited and saw.
Flash Jack leisurely mounted the horse, rode slowly out of the yard, andtrotted briskly round the corner of the shanty and into the scrub, whichswallowed him more completely than the sea might have done.
Most of the other Bushmen mounted their horses and followed Flash Jackto a clearing in the scrub, at a safe distance from the shanty; thenthey dismounted and hung on to saplings, or leaned against their horses,while they laughed.
At the hotel there was just time for another drink. The driver climbedto his seat and shouted, 'All aboard!' in his usual tone. The passengersclimbed to their places, thinking hard. A mile or so along the road theman with the cork hat remarked, with much truth--
'Those blanky Bushmen have got too much time to think.'
*****
The Bushmen returned to the shanty as soon as the coach was out ofsight, and proceeded to 'knock down' the fiver.