<h2><SPAN name="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI. <br/><span class="cheaderfont">YACKA THE BLACK.</span></SPAN></h2>
<p>Edgar Foster, after six months’ experience on
Yanda Station, liked the life very much. He was
popular with the hands, and Ben Brody had taken to
him in a manner that caused men to marvel. It was
seldom Brody made a chum of anyone, but he had<span class="pagenum">[102]</span>
done so of Edgar, who was young enough to be his
son.</p>
<p>It was an intense relief to Edgar when he received
letters from his father and sister. They were letters
such as might have been expected from them, and the
way in which they referred to the terrible loss of the
<em>Distant Shore</em> brought tears into Edgar’s eyes. His
father enclosed him a draft, and said he was proud of
his son, and knew he had risked his life to save
Captain Manton’s child. Inquiries had been made in
every direction, but no relations had been found to
claim little Eva. Captain Manton had not saved
much money, and what he had was in the hands of
the shipping company to which the <em>Distant Shore</em>
belonged.</p>
<p>Robert Foster wrote that he had consulted the
chairman of the company, and it had been arranged
that if no relation claimed Eva she was to remain in
charge of Wal Jessop and his wife, and a sum of
money would be paid annually to them. In concluding
his letter Robert Foster gave his son good
advice, telling him to go on as he had commenced,
and to brave dangers if by doing so he could help
others.</p>
<p>Doris Foster wrote Edgar a loving letter, in which
she gave him the news that Will Brown had sailed for
Australia, and also that she had heard Raymond
Rakes had turned out badly, and been sent to
sea:</p>
<p>‘Will has promised to try and make a small fortune<span class="pagenum">[103]</span>
in Australia,’ she wrote, ‘and when he has done so he
is to return to England and ask me a certain question
which I leave you to guess. Please do not tell him,
if you see him, that under any circumstances the
answer will be “Yes.” It might make him lazy if he
knew the capture was certain. You are a dear,
noble, brave brother, and we are very proud of you.
I am posting you a <em>Graphic</em>. You will see therein a
portrait of a certain young fellow who is styled “The
<em>Distant Shore</em> Hero,” which is no more than he
deserves. Give little Eva a lot of kisses from me.
I long to see the child you saved so splendidly. I
am sure Wal Jessop must be a grand man, and his
wife a dear, good woman. Please do not marry a
black lady, and come home as civilized as when you
left.’</p>
<p>Edgar read these letters again and again until Ben
Brody said:</p>
<p>‘You are a lucky beggar to have such interesting
letters. Those I get are never worth reading twice.
They’re mostly about sheep, and the price of wool,
and you cannot knock much romance out of those
articles.’</p>
<p>Before he had been at Yanda a month, Edgar had
shown them how he could bat, and also use his fists;
and, much to Will Henton’s surprise, he had found
his match with the gloves on.</p>
<p>‘You’re a hard hitter,’ he said to Edgar; ‘no
wonder you made Bully Rakes sing small.’</p>
<p>Edgar related many tales about his schooldays, and<span class="pagenum">[104]</span>
worked the hands up to a pitch of enthusiasm over
the celebrated match with Fairfield.</p>
<p>‘Blest if I don’t feel as though I’d seen it!’ said
Ben Brody.</p>
<p>‘Good yarn!’ exclaimed Jim Lee, the silent one.</p>
<p>‘What a brute that Rakes must be,’ said Will
Henton. ‘Fancy a fellow going against his own
side. You say he’s gone to sea? I hope he won’t
come over here; we want none of his sort.’</p>
<p>‘I’d like to meet Will Brown,’ said Ben Brody.
‘Suppose you ask him to come up here and try his
luck? He’ll not make a fortune very quick, but it
will keep him out of mischief.’</p>
<p>‘I’ll write to his ship in Sydney when she arrives,
and ask him,’ said Edgar; ‘I think it would just suit
him.’</p>
<p>‘We can always find room for an extra hand or
two on Yanda,’ said Brody, with a wink, ‘provided
they’re the right sort.’</p>
<p>‘You’ll find Will all right,’ said Edgar.</p>
<p>‘If he comes up to your standard he’ll do,’ replied
Brody.</p>
<p>There was not much variety in the life at Yanda,
but it was new to Edgar, and he found much to
interest him. He had the usual experience with a
buck-jumper, and felt the peculiar sensation of being
hurled into the air, with no certainty as to where he
would come down. This is how Edgar described his
first throw from a buck-jumper to his father:</p>
<p>‘You suddenly feel his back arch, and it nearly<span class="pagenum">[105]</span>
cuts you in two. Then you discover he has all four
legs off the ground at the same time. Finally you
are shot into space, much in the same way as you
would go if a gigantic catapult propelled you. The
sensation is not pleasant, and the knowledge that all
your mates are enjoying the undignified manner in
which you are unseated adds to the general discomfiture.
However, I am a fair rough-rider now,
although there’s one horse—“Brody’s buck-jumper,”
he’s called—I cannot tackle, and no other man on the
place with the exception of Brody himself. There’s
a history attached to this animal which you may hear
some day. Brody once got him into a horse-box, I
believe, and the passengers on the train sent a deputation
to the guard at the first stopping-place to have
the horse removed. Someone suggested the animal
ought to be shot, but Brody’s wrath was so great when
he heard this that no further mention was made of it.
Anyhow, Brody’s buck-jumper had his own way, as he
always has, for the remainder of the journey.’</p>
<p>Yacka the black had taken to Edgar Foster from
the moment he took his hand, and during the six
months that had passed he was constantly about the
homestead asking what he could do for him.</p>
<p>‘Bless me if I don’t think you’ll civilize Yacka in
time!’ said Brody. ‘I never knew him come round
here so much before. It’s all that handshake
did it.’</p>
<p>‘He’s a good fellow, although he is black,’ said
Edgar. ‘I’m very fond of Yacka, but I cannot quite<span class="pagenum">[106]</span>
make him out. He seems to have something on his
mind. I hope he has done nothing very dreadful.’</p>
<p>‘You never know what these black fellows are up
to,’ said Brody; ‘but I do not think Yacka is deceitful.
Revengeful they all are, and if anyone harmed
Yacka or others belonging to him, I believe he would
make it particularly warm for him.’</p>
<p>Yacka followed Edgar about with dog-like devotion,
and never tired of doing odd jobs for him. Edgar
watched the black carve wonderful scenes on emu
eggs, and it was extraordinary the faithfulness with
which he depicted birds and beasts on these brittle
shells.</p>
<p>After taking particular care to carve one egg,
Yacka, with a look of fear in his eyes, handed it to
Edgar.</p>
<p>‘Why, it’s a cave surrounded by rocks and shrubs,’
said Edgar. ‘Where did you see it? There is nothing
at all like that about here.’</p>
<p>‘No,’ said Yacka, ‘long way off. Tramp, tramp,
for miles. Lonely desert where no white man ever
been—wonderful place. Like to see it?’</p>
<p>The black spoke eagerly, and Edgar saw there was
something he had left hidden, which he did not care
for him to know.</p>
<p>‘It would be no good going such a long journey,
Yacka,’ he replied, ‘because there are no people, and
what is to be found when we get there? We might
starve on the way, or die from want of water.’</p>
<p>‘Plenty water,’ said Yacka. ‘I know the track;<span class="pagenum">[107]</span>
no one else knows it. There!’ he exclaimed, as he
smashed the emu egg he had been at so much trouble
to carve, ‘no one find it now, not even you.’</p>
<p>‘I should remember the place if I saw it,’ said
Edgar. ‘You carve so well, and I am sure what you
carved on that egg is true to Nature.’</p>
<p>‘Come with Yacka, and I will show you much,’
said the black. ‘Make you rich—richer than Master
Fife, richer than your Queen; but you must go
alone with Yacka.’</p>
<p>The black spoke earnestly, and his eyes glistened.</p>
<p>‘I don’t see much chance of making a fortune or
finding riches in a desert,’ said Edgar. ‘Where is
this wonderful cave that contains so much wealth?’</p>
<p>‘Many miles,’ said Yacka; ‘over Great Desert in
Northern Territory. It is not all sand. No white
man has been there; but Yacka has, and knows
there is grass and water, and food, plenty food.’</p>
<p>‘Are you certain no white man has ever been
there?’ asked Edgar.</p>
<p>Yacka hesitated a few moments, and then said:</p>
<p>‘No white <em>man</em>.’</p>
<p>‘And no white woman?’ laughed Edgar, who
noticed the stress Yacka laid on man.</p>
<p>Yacka sprang to his feet, and waved his arms
about wildly.</p>
<p>‘Come and see!’ he cried. ‘Come to the White
Spirit’s Cave! I am the son of Enooma!’</p>
<p>The last word he said in a soft, liquid tone, far
different from his usual rather harsh mode of speech;<span class="pagenum">[108]</span>
and he lingered over the name with evident fondness.</p>
<p>Edgar became interested, and the spirit of adventure
began to stir within him.</p>
<p>‘Who is Enooma?’ he asked, endeavouring to
speak the word as Yacka pronounced it.</p>
<p>‘The White Spirit of the Great Desert,’ said Yacka,
in a solemn voice. ‘She rests in the cave in the land
I came from. She is beautiful and white as clouds;
and I am black as the thunder-makers—and her son.’</p>
<p>‘How can that be?’ asked Edgar. ‘Yacka must be
mistaken; he cannot be the son of Enooma the White
Spirit. How can I trust him if he deceives me?’</p>
<p>The black looked round, and, seeing no one about,
said:</p>
<p>‘Yacka speaks true, else how would he know the
cave where no white man has been?’</p>
<p>‘Suppose I promise to go with you to the cave,’ said
Edgar, ‘how would it be possible for us to go alone?’</p>
<p>‘We have guns,’ said Yacka, relapsing into ordinary
speech, ‘and there is much to shoot where I go. We
follow tracks through big white man’s country, and
cross rivers. I came from there, and can return.
Yacka knows a track once he has followed it.’</p>
<p>‘Give me time to think it over,’ said Edgar. ‘I
trust you, Yacka, but I have others to think about.
I have a good sister, and a kind father, in far-away
England, and there will be dangers to encounter on
our journey.’</p>
<p>‘Yes,’ assented Yacka, ‘dangers, but we shall not<span class="pagenum">[109]</span>
die. The White Spirit will watch over us when she
knows we are coming towards her. Enooma rests
and waits for us. Speak no words to them,’ he
added, and pointed towards the homestead.</p>
<p>‘All you have told me I promise to hold sacred,’
said Edgar.</p>
<p>‘It is good,’ said Yacka, and calmly commenced
to carve a snake on one of the boomerangs, which he
picked up from the ground where he had thrown
them.</p>
<p>Edgar Foster felt he was about to embark upon
strange adventures. He knew Yacka was no
ordinary black, and Ben Brody had said he believed
Yacka had white blood in his veins. Who could this
White Spirit Enooma be, whom Yacka called his
mother? Could it be possible a white woman had
penetrated to the unknown parts of the Northern
Territory? If so, how had she reached there? and
how could it be that Yacka the black was her son?
Probably it was some superstition Yacka had inherited
from his tribe.</p>
<p>Edgar pondered over the story of riches Yacka
had related. Gold was dug out of the earth in most
unlikely places. Barren wastes had been found to
teem with the precious metal. The possibilities of
the country Edgar felt were not yet known, and in a
new and unexplored part of the vast land he was
now in what might not happen? He knew he could
trust Yacka, but he would have preferred to take a
mate with him. Will Brown would be just the one,<span class="pagenum">[110]</span>
and if he could persuade Yacka to take Will along
with them it would be glorious. He thought over
the excuses he could make to Captain Fife and
Ben Brody for leaving Yanda. If he stated he was
prompted by a love of adventure they would believe
him, and it would be the truth. There would be no
difficulty in getting away, and no time for returning
need be named.</p>
<p>Eagerly Edgar awaited the arrival of Will Brown
in order to give Yacka a chance of making friends
with him.</p>
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