For the Term of His Natural Life
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Sylvia passed through the rest of her journey in a dream of terror. Theincident of the children had shaken her nerves, and she longed to beaway from the place and its associations. Even Eaglehawk Neck with itscurious dog stages and its "natural pavement", did not interest her.McNab's blandishments were wearisome. She shuddered as she gazedinto the boiling abyss of the Blow-hole, and shook with fear as theCommandant's "train" rattled over the dangerous tramway that woundacross the precipice to Long Bay. The "train" was composed of a numberof low wagons pushed and dragged up the steep inclines by convicts, whodrew themselves up in the wagons when the trucks dashed down the slope,and acted as drags. Sylvia felt degraded at being thus drawn by humanbeings, and trembled when the lash cracked, and the convicts answered tothe sting--like cattle. Moreover, there was among the foremost of thesebeasts of burden a face that had dimly haunted her girlhood, andonly lately vanished from her dreams. This face looked on her--shethought--with bitterest loathing and scorn, and she felt relieved whenat the midday halt its owner was ordered to fall out from the rest, andwas with four others re-chained for the homeward journey. Frere, struckwith the appearance of the five, said, "By Jove, Poppet, there are ourold friends Rex and Dawes, and the others. They won't let 'em come allthe way, because they are such a desperate lot, they might make a rushfor it." Sylvia comprehended now the face was the face of Dawes; andas she looked after him, she saw him suddenly raise his hands above hishead with a motion that terrified her. She felt for an instant a greatshock of pitiful recollection. Staring at the group, she strove torecall when and how Rufus Dawes, the wretch from whose clutches herhusband had saved her, had ever merited her pity, but her clouded memorycould not complete the picture, and as the wagons swept round a curve,and the group disappeared, she awoke from her reverie with a sigh.
"Maurice," she whispered, "how is it that the sight of that man alwaysmakes me sad?"
Her husband frowned, and then, caressing her, bade her forget the manand the place and her fears. "I was wrong to have insisted on yourcoming," he said. They stood on the deck of the Sydney-bound vessel thenext morning, and watched the "Natural Penitentiary" grow dim in thedistance. "You were not strong enough."
* * * * *
"Dawes," said John Rex, "you love that girl! Now that you've seen heranother man's wife, and have been harnessed like a beast to drag himalong the road, while he held her in his arms!--now that you've seen andsuffered that, perhaps you'll join us."
Rufus Dawes made a movement of agonized impatience.
"You'd better. You'll never get out of this place any other way. Come,be a man; join us!"
"No!"
"It is your only chance. Why refuse it? Do you want to live here allyour life?"
"I want no sympathy from you or any other. I will not join you."
Rex shrugged his shoulders and walked away. "If you think to get anygood out of that 'inquiry', you are mightily mistaken," said he, as hewent. "Frere has put a stopper upon that, you'll find." He spoke truly.Nothing more was heard of it, only that, some six months afterwards,Mr. North, when at Parramatta, received an official letter (in which theexpenditure of wax and printing and paper was as large as it could bemade) which informed him that the "Comptroller-General of the ConvictDepartment had decided that further inquiry concerning the death of theprisoner named in the margin was unnecessary", and that some gentlemanwith an utterly illegible signature "had the honour to be his mostobedient servant".
CHAPTER XXII. GATHERING IN THE THREADS.