The GIRL WHO HELPED NED KELLY

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 766, 12 September 1929, Page 5

The GIRL WHO HELPED NED KELLY

By

t Copyright 1

CHARLES E. TAYLOR

t CHAPTER XXlV.—(Continued.) On a neighbouring hill Jennie O'Don, tiell, with a gun across her knees, sit on a log. Her face was ashen and her limbs trembled. As Jack’s familiar figure came into view on the dusty track, her body stiffened, and she sprang to her feet. Running down the hill, she struck out at a right angle, and reached the roadside a minute or two before Briant swung into sight. She knelt and reverently crossed herself, then sprang behind a clump of bushes. “'God forgive me!” she muttered as she put the gun to her shoulder. She saw Jack stagger, with his hand to his head. Throwing down the weapon, and covering her face with her hands, she dashed blindly into the bush. Heedless or the pursuing footsteps that crashed behind her, she ran on. It was not until she felt herself gripped by the shoulder that she came to her senses. The accusing eyes of Jack Briant looked deeply into her own. He was hatless, and a trickle of blood ran down his cheek where one of the pellets had ripped the skip. Jennie fell in a heap at his feet. He knelt beside her and raised her head. She shut her eyes to avoid his searching gaze. “Jennie, what does it mean?” he asked in amazemeut. When at last she found her voice, she threw off his hands and faced him with heaving bosom. “1 saw you with the police!” she ljanted. "That’s why you went to Jackson’s! ” Briant gasped. “You don’t mean that, Jennie? You don’t think that of me, do you?” “IM* you myself!” she cried, with blazing eyes. “They were there when l got there. 1 wouldn’t have gone in but for the storm. I cleared out as soon as I could.” The light of understanding dawned upon her, and as horror gave place to an .f ep ’ s^e threw her arms around him. 'Oh, Jack, I tried to kill you!” she sobbed. “I thought you were in with “e irocpers! I—l did'it for Ned s sake” She clurg to him in an agony of remorse. ‘lf I'd been a cur like that I’d have deserved to be shot,” he told her. huckilj-’ no harm was done.” •-he looked up at the red streak on his forehead. , lv That’s only a scratch!'’ he laughed. \P«re a worse shot than 1 thought.” 886 —Please don't joke about she pleaded. “It’s too terible! t was wicked of me, but T thought it Wight mean danger to Ned, and that drove me mad!” Tenderly he helped her K> her feet. Brave, loyal little girl!” he said, ss ne kissed her hair. CHAPTER XXXV. N'ITA’S mission. '«nle was very sad and contrite hen Jack left her where the track r ° a " ac °b3ori's junctioned with the „„ket u s forget all about it,” he said. ? being with the police certainly Ke d suspicious, especially as I’d emed to you to be so keen io go to uackson’s hut.” He laughed. “It usual to execute a man before u . K ’ ve him a chance to explain, but ‘ f 'er mind, it was for Ned’s sake, and h» harm’s been done.” .. H _ Was terrible!” Jennie shuddered, sh I. can y° u ever forgive me? I _uouidn't have doubted you at all—“re too good for that!” w 8 "patched her walk slowly away, the 6<l ” ls hand to her at the bend of ~ , rro d, and then headed for Jacob-1 ah “ 8 : He would have to tell Nita me police at Jackson's. Jeu.h's dramatic gesture on behalf of hanscR 11 S * lC * oved he would keep to j Julie was in front of the house when he arrived. .] ,9ph! Coming back!” she ex‘ahned, in a pleased voice.

“No, I'm moving on. Where’s Nita?”

“Gone to Melbourne.” “Gone—to—Melbourne?” “Yes, caught the train this morning. Didn’t you know she was going?” He clid not hear her question. Why had Nita gone so suddenly? He recalled her words, “I want to be sure what it would mean,” and felt certain that they had some connection with visit to the city. “Did she say how long she’d be away?” he asked. “She said two or three days, perhaps. You are moving on. Where are you going, Jack?” “I’m not sure. I was up at poor old Sa,m Jackson's hut, but found the police quartered there, and —” “They’ve been there for a week, Martin and Fowler.” “Hare was there last night.” "I saw the three of them ride past here early this morning. Our dogs wakened me, and I looked out. They’re cleared out for good, I should say—they had big packs on their saddles.” The news surprised Briant. “Are you sure, Julie?” “Of course I’m sure. Why?” “Well, 1 slept there last night, and Hare and Martin left about 9 o'clock. They must have come back and got their things without waking me. I didn’t see anything of Fowler, though. That’s queer. I used their billy this morning, but I was thinking so much about getting away I didn't notice that the rest of their gear was gone. I hate to think I slept so heavily that anyone could come into the hut without disturbing me. Usually I hear the least sound. I wish I knew for certain that they weren’t coming back.” “Why?” “I’d go back myself.” “They’re full of tricks,” Julie observed. “Perhaps they’re trying to fool you. Seen Ned lately?” “No. Seen Steve?” Julie blushed prettily. “Of course not.” , As Briant retraced his steps he pondered. deeply over Julie’s surprising news. He felt considerable exultation in Nita's trip, because he felt it to be an indication of her deep and abiding love for him. She was a courageous, resourceful girl, and he was sure that she would gain whatever information she had gone to seek. Then his thoughts turned, less pleasantly, to the policemen who had occupied Jackson’s hut. It seemed hard to believe that they could have returned while he slept, yet Julie’s story seemed to indicate that they had. Then Jennie's murderous attack on him! He shivered at the realisation of his narrow escape. Scarcely could he blame her for attempted revenge for what palpably looked like black treachery on his part. Certainly appearances had been against bim. He had gone to Jackson’s for a reason which he did not explain, and she had seen him talking with the police chief. The natural assumption then, was that his apparent duplicity would mean danger to Ned, and that she was prepared to avert, even at the sacrifice of his life. How amazingly different were these rugged dwellers of the bush from the friends whom formerly he knew —the placid, cold-blooded city people tv ho had never known danger, and were unmoved by the emotions which stirred the Kellys and their self-sacrificing loyalists! Never before had he encountered girls like Nita. Jennie, Kate and her sister, whose bravery was something he had always associated with the more daring of his own sex. Two rabbits nibbling the grass a few yards from Jackson’s door told him that the but was unoccupied. There were still a few embers in the fireplace, and these he fanned into life, and built up a fire. If those bags on which he bad slept in the shed had not been (aken away they would help to make a decent bunk. The shed had been stripped clean, however.

Jack recalled how Ned Kelly had hidden from the troopers the night Jennie had warned him of their approach. Here was a chance to learn the secret. Only one of the slab sides was lined with bark, he noticed, and obviously it was not the weather side. The bark extended for a foot or more round one of the corners, as though it had been intended to continue it at some future time. He measured the length of the shed by stepping it—l 4 feet. The interior measurement was less than 11 feet. Obviously, then, there was more than three feet of space between one of the outer walls and an inner wall. The lined portion wall was tile only place that could contain a secret entrance. It was difficult to find. For more than an hour he searched. He sounded the wall with his fist, and bumped it with his back without discovering anything. He was about to strip off the bark when the thought occurred to him that it might yet serve Ned in case of emergency. It was certain that one at least of those innocent-looking strips of bark was movable. He tried them all in a line about 30 inches from the ground. Several were loose, but none . sufficiently yielding to leave the slabs. Then he turned his attention to the nails which held them in place. At last he found a loose one, and, pulling it out with his fingers, discovered that an 18-inch strip of bark could be moved to one side. It covered a hole in the slabs big enough to admit his hand. There was a wooden latch on the other side. He lifted it and pushed, and portion of the wall just big enough to allow a man to squeeze through swung inwards. It was a cunningly-contrived retreat. The outer wall was bark lined also, so that no one could see in from the outside. The floor was thickly carpeted with bags, and improvised rugs of the same material showed that provision had been made against cold for the benefit of anyone who might seek sanctuary there. So this was where the bushranger had hidden on the night on which Macguire’s announced intention of examining the shed sent a thrill of horror to his heart. Once inside, it was an easy matter to replace the bark, fasten it with a movable nail, close the door and secure it. He wondered how it was possible to find the right nail in the dark until he noticed that while all the other pieces of bark nearby were fairly smooth, the movable piece was rough and nobby. Jack gathered up a number of bags, carried them outside and spread them in the sun. That afternoon he had a visit from Kate Kelly. She looked tired and haggard, and there were dark rings round her eyes. “What’s the matter, Kate ?” he asked. She shook her head sadly. “Everything seems to be wrong,” she sighed. “The place is overrun with police spies, and the boys are having a hard time.” “Why don’t they clear out? It’s their only chance.” “I wish (hey More trackers are coming. Ned says he’s going to deal with them, but he can’t—he can't! Those black devils frighten me—they know so much.” “Did Ned say how he would deal with them?” She looked at him for a while before replying. “He says he has a way.” “There's only one way, as I've said, until I’m tired of saying it. I could help them to leave the country-—l’ve told Ned that many times.” “That’s why I’ve come now,” Kate said. “You have been very good to us. and if ever we wanted help it’s now.” “Did Ned send you?” Again she shook her head and sighed. “No, he doesn't know. I can’t understand him since the Jerilderie affair. He isn’t the man he was a few weeks ago. He’s feeling the strain more every day. He’s getting desperate, too. I tried to tell him that mad idea about armour couldn’t help, but ” Jack's ej’es widened. “Armour?” She faced him frankly. “It’s a secret, but there needn't be any secret from you. They’ve been trying to get hold of something that’ll stop bullets. They had a jacket made out of circular saw steel, but it was too brittle. Plough mouldboards they found better, and now they’ve each got plates to cover their bodies and a thing to go over their heads. “But they couldn’t walk about with that weight on them.”

“They're terribly heavy. I helped to pad the inside of the helmets, so I know.” “Surely they’re not going to ride about with their armour on!” Jack exclaimed. “And only their bodies and heads covered?” A gasp of dismay came from the hushranger’s sister. “The police’ll shoot them in th» legs! Oh, why don’t they go while it’s safe! ” This was disturbing news. Obviously it was intended to make a stand somewhere. What could four men do against more than a hundred troopers? It w'as madness! Kate saw the alarm in his eyes, and the colour left her cheeks. “We must stop them!” she cried piteously. “Where’s Ned now?” “He went to Greta last night to fix up about the armour.” “If you can lend me a horse I’ll try to find him.” “I’ll get you one. Oh! If you can only stop them!” She seized his hand and looked at him w r ith teardimmed eyes. “He *might listen to you if you can show him a way of leaving the country. I’ll bring a horse here for you.” “I’ll walk along the track to meet you. Cheer up, Kate! Things mightn’t be as bad as they look!” Briant’s smile was a forced one, and he found it difficult to assume an air of cheerfulness. It was with much misgiving that he watched her ride away. Gathering up his few belongings, he secreted them in the hiding place in the shed, and set out in the direction of Eleven Mile Creek. So absorbed was he with his gloomy thoughts that he failed to notice the mounted man who rode into the bush at his approach and watched him with an amused smile as he passed not more than a dozen yards of the clump of bushes that concealed both horse and rider. The horseman followed him until at a bend in the Jack caught sight Kate galloping toward him with a second horse a. uer side. As Briant ran to meet her the other man again rode into the bush. It was a fine upstanding black gelding that Kate had brought, and Jack was in the saddle in an instant. As they approached the Kelly home the girl drew rein. “I’d better not come, as you don’t know where the troopers might be,” she said. “If Ned isn’t at Quinn’s, you might find him at Skillion’s.” “Wish .me luck!” he said, as he dug his heels iuto his horse’s ribs. “God help you to make him listen to you!” she responded in a voice that shook with tremulous fear. Jack had not ridden more than a couple of miles when he heard hoofbeats behind him. A horseman was rapidly overtaking him. When he came level he recognised Trooper Leane. “You seem to be in a hurry!” remarked the policeman. “As a matter of fact, I am,” Briant replied, with a sinking feeling at his heart. Leane eyed Jack’s mount critically. “I wouldn't ride that horse if I were you,” he remarked. “Why not?” “It’s a stolen one, and it’s apt to be awkward for anyone found on someone else’s horseflesh.” Briant pulled up short. “Are you sure of that?” “Positive. It was stolen from Baker’s, over at Woolshed, less than a week ago. Where did you get it?” Jack did not reply, and the trooper laughed. “I saw Kate Kelly ride up with it. I’ve been following you all the while. Don’t be a fool, my lad. 1 don’t know where you’re going, but it's easy to guess it’s got something to do with the Kellys. You’re foolish to mix up with that mob. Why do you do it?” “Well,” replied Briant. awkwardly, “it’s a free country, isn’t it?” “It's a free country for honest men,” j retorted Leaue. with a look which Jack found hard to withstand. “Don’t get into trouble this way. Let. me have the horse, and I won’t say how I came by it.” Jack hesitated for a moment, then slid from the saddle. “You're right. It’s mighty decent of you to act like this. I don’t know why you should.” “A policeman’s job isn’t always to find people who’ve got into trouble. Sometimes it’s to keep them out of mischief —leastway, that’s how I reckon it. You can trust me to keep my word.”

Shamed and humiliated, Briant watched him ride away. “1 wonder whose horse it is?” thought Trooper Leane, as he plunged into the bush. CHAPTER XXXVI. “THIS IS THE END!” Jack spent two miserable days at Greta in a vain search for Ned Kelly. At the homes of some of tt*i bushranger’s sympathisers he was regarded with suspicion; at others he was cordially received. Among all these people there was an undercurrent of excitement, but none of them was sufficiently communicative to say what it meant. Twice he encountered strange men who obviously -were troopers, but while they looked at him with interest, they did not speak. He got a lift with a woodcarter as far as Eleven Mile Creek. He must see Kate and tell her what had happened to the horse she lent him. although he did not look forward to meeting her. He wondered how she would receive his story. He might have saved himself this anxiety, however, for when he reached her home he found the doors locked. There was no sign of life about the place. Perhaps she, too, was searching for Ned. While Jack was looking for the bushranger, Ned was miles away. Late one night he called at O’Donnell’s. Jennie received him with an excla-

j mation of delight, but when she looked | into his eyes she shuddered. Never | before had she seen such an expression. It revealed defiance, resignation, eagerness. There was in his eyes the courage of a man to whom danger had been so familiar that he no longer dreaded it. There was, too, ! a resignation that acknowledged the j inevitableness of the fate that awaited i him. At the same time there was a j certain eagerness which proclaimed j utter weariness of the struggle and I the hope that the blow soon might fall. “Oh. Ned, what is it?” cried Jennie, with a pathetic gesture of despair. He dropped weakly into the chair. “Tell me, Ned!” she pleaded. “I’m tired, dear.” he said. She threw herself into his arms, and he kissed her almost reverently. “Jennie, we’re near the end!” Terror filled her eyes. “Oh, What do j you mean?” “If the trackers get here, we’re done ! for. They’ll give us no rest. We’re | going to try to stop them. If we ! don’t ” He broke off suddenly, and she clung more closely to him. “Jennie,” he continued, “If we get j out of this we must go away. If we ' don’t, please don’t forget me, darling. Promise me you’ll sometimes pray for me. I’ve never been good enough for you, dear." “Oh, Ned! Ned!” she sobbed, j “I’ve been bad. I’ve been a thief, but

never a murderer. As God is my judge, vre didn’t mean to kill Kennedy and the others at Stringybark Creek. There’s no man’s blood on my hands, Jennie! They brought it on themselves, and they were shot in fair j fight." “I know—l know!” she whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks. “They’ll point to you as the girl Ned Kelly, the bushranger, loved, but ’’ “I’ll always be proud of that, dear!” she declared, with a brave attempt to smile. He kissed her again. “We’re starting for Glenrowan to- j night,” he told. her. “If we don’t j come back ” “Don’t talk like that! Of course | you’ll come back!” In spite of her words her tone was one of utter hopelessness. Ned's de- j spondency had communicated itself to her; and, moreover, her own heart ; was heavy with forebodings of im- j pending disaster. She felt that the j time which they had all dreaded was very near. “There'll be many firends with us,” the bushranger said, “but I’m not sure they'll be game. If they are we can fight off all the troopers.” She looked up at him with eves filled with fear. “You can't fight the police! Don’t | do that. Ned! Don’t let there be any | more bloodshed!” “It’s our only chance,” he replied in

a voice that indicated the futilitv of such a hope. "Isn't there any other way? Jack Briant says he can help you to leave the country.” Ned shook his head sadly. "I wish I had taken his advice before. It's too late now.” (To be continued tomorrow)