MURDERING DUNLOP.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 2608, 30 March 1889, Page 1 (Supplement)

MURDERING DUNLOP.

IN THE SUNNY WEST OF QUEENSLAND. " Miss Fanshawk, I want to introduce Mr Dunlop to you." "Thank you, Captain, I dou't care to know Mr Dunlop." Two bright spots of color had leapt to Miss Fanshawe's cheeks ; but her words were spoken with a decision which made Captain Holt gasp with astonishment, and caused the young man who had been standing a few paces off, waiting to be made known to his pretty fellow passenger, to turn abruptly on his heel, and retire to a distant part of the vessel in a somewhat crushed condition. •' My dear young lady," said Captain Holt, with some indignation, "how could you be so unkind. That is as nice and gentlemanly a young man as I know. He asked me whether 1 thought you would mind my introducing him, as he wished to be of some assistance to you in landing, his port being the same as yours. He has travelled with me before, and I know his partner very well. Otherwise, I should not have attempted to make him known to you." "lam very sorry, Captain, to appear so rude ; but I have a special reason for my refusal to know Mr Dunlop. I do not wish to mention it; but I am sure you will believe me and forgive me, won't you ?" » * * * * Maud Fanshawe was an orphan ; and circumstances into which it is unnecessary to enter made her accept a post as governess on a station in the west of Queensland, whither she was now bound. Her friends were Mr and Mrs Fairleigh ; and before the boat started the former hastily scanned the passenger list. " Hullo," he exclaimed, " I see you have go', " Murdering Dunlop'' on board." " What do you mean ?" asked Maud, very much surprised. " Well," answered Mr Fairleigh, "that is the name he was known by whem I was in the far north of Queensland. It was no secret up there that he once killed a youngster—a nigger, you know —by tying him up to a tree and flogging him to death because he had lamed a favourite horse." " How awful ?" cried Miss Fanshawe, shuddering. " What a brute. Was he never punished ?' "No. You see it was very far away,

in an unsettled district, where there were no police ; and he was not seen actually doing it. Nobody would care to bring such a matter forward. So nothing was ever done about. But there was not the least doubt in the mind of anyone there at the time that he might have been hanged. Don't mention it on board, though. The less said about these things the better; and he might make it very unpleasant for you if he found out that you had said anything about it. He is by no means a nice fellow, though rather good looking."

The weather was remarkably fine, and the sea so calm when they had passed the Heads that there was quite an assemblage at lunch; Maud Fanshawe being one of the number. She was placer] on the captain's right hand : and next to her on the other side was seated a gentleman, 'who, from the occasional glances she stole at him, Maud discovered was the prossessor of a pair of soft grey eyes, a big brown moustache, and other good points. A very nice-looking man in fact, she said to herself. She accepted salt, and received other little attentions from him, and was enjoying her lunch very fairly, when suddenly a remark from Captain Holt plmost made her drop her knife and fork. " PJave you been any further south than Sydney this trip, Mr Dunlop?" " Mr Dunlop ! This, then, we>s the redhanded slayer of the ponr black boy— ''Murdering Dunlop. , " The tide of her hot, young blood ebbed and flowed ; and her cheek turned pale, and then crimson. She was only 18; and all the passionate indignation, which youth is capable of rose up in a very tidal wave against this man. " VVou't you take some sugar?" asked the voico which a few moments before she had considered so refined and pleasant, but which now sounded cruel and deceitful to her earn. " No, thank you," she replied; her lips taking a severe carve. The gooseberry tart she was eating was remarkably sour, and rasped her suffering palate with all its acid powers. But better any sort of annoyance or self-sacrifice than to accept assistance from this blood-stained hand. The rest of the meal was odious to her, on account of her neighbour. She scanned him furtively from under her lowered eyelashes, and completely reversed hor former decision on his appearance. " How could I have considered him nice-looking ?" she thought. He has got a hard, bad face. How can he be so unconcerned, talking and laughing in that flippant way, with such a crime upon his conscience ? It is perfectly revolting," There was really nothing particularly flippant about Mr Duulop's conversation. But the hot-headed injustice of extreme youth is well known; and had Mr Dunlop talked like an oracle, and looked like a god, Maud Fanshawe would probably still have considered him foolish of speech, and debased of aspect. Righteous wrath was still seething and boiling in her sympathetic breast when, on the afternoon of the same day, Captain Holt had tried to affect the introduction, which had resulted in such a disastrous failure. Mr Dunlop, as he left the quarter-deck after the very decided rebuff he had received, pondered as to what could hare been the cause of it. " Prudishness, I suppose," he said to himself. "A shy little English girl"—he knew she was English by the labels ou her luggage, by which means he had also ascertained her present destination—" who thinks it wron£ even to look at a man while she is travelling alone." He smiled at his own theory. Nevertheless, he was rather disappointed, and just a little hurt. A man finds it difficult to accept such a repulse with equanimity when it is administered by a pretty, interesting girl, as it had been in this case; her soft blue eyes, golden hair, and deep mourning all combining to render his failure to make her acquaintance more annoying. Instead of whiling away some of the long hours in the pleasant society of this girl, whose face was so softly pink, whose lips were so sweetly curved, he must fall back on the usual monotonous resources of a short sea voyage—smoking, card-playing, desultory reading, and meals. Not that he would have been likely to negleet all these in any case—the first and last particularly. But variety is charming; and he was always an admirer of the fair sex. The slight resentment he had felt against this obdurate little maiden die i away when he saw her sitting always lonely, with a wistful expression on her young face, as she gazed over the sea. or watched her fellow passengers, only brightening up when the rollicking old captain came up to have a short chat witli her. During the trip he procured her many little attentions which she was unaware of, and on landing he looked most carefully after her luggage, without which help she would certainly have lost a small but highly-prized box, a fact which she could not help acknowledging, but which she would not allow to soften her resentment.

" At last," she thought, ss the tender neared the town, " I shall be rid of this obnoxious man." They moored alongside, a hand was held out to assist her in her awkward climb on to the wharf. But it was the blood-stained one ; and she haughtily ignored it. But pride, however rightly placed, may still precede a fall; and the next moment she missed her footing, and would have lost her hold completely, had not " Murdering Dunlop" seized her by the arm. " Excuse me," he said, with quiet determination, "you must allow me to assist you." She yielded under the pressure of dire necessity .Jaud was safely landed. " Do you expect anyone to meet you V he asked gravely. " No one, ,, was the brief reply. "Then allow me to get you a cab;" and before she could decline he had left her, and was hailing a ramshackle vehicle so denominated. He handed her all her small property when she was seated, and then, lifting hia hat, left her without a word. Had he been gifted with telephonic ears he might have heard a vicious murmur from his thankless fellow-traveller to the following effect:— " Wretch ! I suppose he thinks politeness can atone for whipping people to death. I fancy he will find out his mistake. Thank goodness, I have seen the last of him." This was ejaculated under her breath, as a relief to her feelings. The time dragged a good deal at the hotel; and she waa glad to have an excuse to go to bed very early. As the train left at G the next morning, she was provided with an excellent one. When she alighted on the platform at the railway station to resume her travels a young man with a brown moustache and gray eyes was the first sight she encountered there. The obnoxious one again—a small brown leather case in hia hand, and bearing the most evident signs of being an intending paeaenger in the oarly train. This was too much. She had thought sho was well rid of him ; but it seemed that she was fated to bo pursued by this unhangod villain. The same villain offered her cups of tea once or twice at the ntopping-places. But she fieezingly refused them, though a severe drought had long since Bet in about the region of her throat find hp- ; and presently, when he was not to be «een. ebo stole from the carriage and obtained

one for herself, feeling rather mean ««.■> sneaky as she did so. Another night in a hotel, another early rising—this time for a 4 o'clock start— and Miss Fanshawe is careering , wildly over the country in a hitrh, eccenlriclooking, and very wobbly coach, 'Murdering Dunlpp,' who was unibls to obtain a place on the box, being , seated absolutely next to her, and receiving with placid calmness the various bumps and collisions between them which the movements of this most unsteady vehicle render unavoidable. Before the end of the day poor little Maud could have wept with mingled fatigue and vexation, Her head and all her limbs ached, and, worse than all, she had positively smiled once or twice in concert with Mr Dunlop at the curious acrobatic feats the coach impelled them to perform. She would have liked to sentence bor risible muscles to six months in the penitentiary for suoh a breach of faith toward the real feelings of her heart, which she flattered herself, had remained proof against all the unobtrusive kindnesses which this, Australian Legree had tendered to her. At last three long days were ended ; and, though the coach would still pursue its course for one day more, Miss Fanshawe's seat in it would be vacant; fV>r here, at a diminutive township at which they pulled up, she was to be met by the buggy from the station, and therein driven the remainder of the distanceabout twenty miles. A nice-looking boy in a soft felt hat and molenkin trousers came up to the coach it stopped, and looked in. " Hullo, Dunlop! you are there all right?" he observed with a friendly nod. Then, turning to Maud, he said, taking off his hat, "You are Miss Fanshawe, I suppose ;" and added, on receiving an affirmative reply, "May I help you out? I am suie you must be terribly tired and stiff. Gire au eye to the luggage, Dunlop," said this cheery youth ; and he walked int > the hotel with Miss Fanshawe, explaining to her that he was Tom Gray, and uncle to her future charges. At supper, .vhich was served almost immediately, Mr Tom Gray explained to Mr Dunlop the plan for the next day. "The boss told me to ask you whether you would drive Miss Fanshawe up to morrow. I brought the buggy down ; but I'm off for a bit of a spell in Brisbane. So I can't take it back, d'you see. He didn't send word over not to have yours down too, because he thought it "most likely that ours wouldn't hold all the luggage. But your man can take it back ; and you won't mind driving ours as far as Nerunga, will you ?" " I shall be very happy," he answered quietly, while Miss Fanshawe's face crimsoned. It had been a great blow to find that Mr Dunlop was leaving the coach here ; but to have his escort tore itSte all the way to-morrow was quite too n ich. It was a very silent drive over tl.j flat treeless country for a good many miles ; the monotony being only broken by a fierce storm of wind, accompanied by some thunder, but no rain. While this was raging they entered a small belt of forest country, and as they drove through it Mr Dunlop determined to arrive at the reason of Miss Fanshawe's strange conduct, which he could no longer attribute to shyness or prudery. " Miss Fanshawe," she said abruptly, " how did I manage to offend you so dreadfully, before I had oven made your acquaintance ?" "You have not offended me," she ans'vere.d, blushing at the painful interview she saw before her. "No? I imagined otherwise. Whom then have I offended ?' "God, I should think." Her voice was rather shaky ; and the. piuk glow grew deeper. The gray eyes were turned wonderingly upon her. "We all do that sometimes. I suppose," he answered, " but how have I offended more deeply than others ?" "How can you ask? 1 ' she said, her indignation roused again into fierce activity. "I ask for information. Everyone ha* done wrong things. What havo I done worse than others ?" " Everyone has not whipped a fellow creature to death, I hope. There are very few murderers at large in the'world." A* the fierce words left her lips a crash was iieard ; and the dead limb of a tree snapped off by the gale fell sideways across the front of the buggy, striking Mr Diinlop's riaht arm and hand. He .iropped the whip with an exclamation .» (itiin, and pulled up the frightened hor:\° with some difficulty. " Can you taki j tnrein* for a minute, plea.se, Miss Fd.i shawe ?" "Are you hurt?" she exclaimed, anxiously, doing as she was asked "A little," was the reply, Tin had turned rather pale, and was holdiug his right hand in his left. " What shall we do? Could I tie up the horses and see what could be done ?'' '■That would be a good plan," ho said ; and they alighted and fastened them to a treo. " Please let me see your hand," said Mrs Fan.shawe. '• I attended several courses of ambulance lectures at home, and I know a little about surgery.' After putting a few questions, and passing her hand gently over the affected parts, she said, gravely, " I am afraid two of your fingers are broken." "I think they must bo," he replied, "judging by the feeling." She took out her handkerchief, and tore it into strips; then asked for his and did the same. After a littlo search she found some small pieces of bark, which suited her purpose ; and Mien she proceeded to put the broken bones in their places awell as sho could, bandaging each one skilfully and quickly. She knew he must bo feoliner considerable pain as she did this ; and two tears of sympathy stole down her cheeks as she finished. " Are you crying over a murderer ?" he asked, with a smile, in spite of the pain. She bit her lip, and remained silent. "I suppose you look upon this destruction of my red right hand as a judgment; but I call it rather hard lines, when there are so few trees in the district, that I should happen to be under one of them just at tbemomnnt it selected to hurl in r of its limbs to the ground." She still made no reply, and he continued—" We had better start again ; but you will have to drive, lam afraid. Can you ?"

"Not much. But I will try." Thpy climbed in again, and nhe drove o.iuti ously on. The road was clear, and the horses quiet, so there was not much difficulty. "Please accept my gratitude and best thanks for your skill and courage," said Mr Dunlop, when they were well under weigh. "And it may ease your mind to know that the hand you held so carefully and kindly has been mistaken for A. B. C. Dunlop before." " What do you mean?" She turned quickly toward you. " I mean that I am 0. A. 8., and he in A. B.C. Consequently, we are different men, but easily coafused." "Oh!" She was speeohless with dismay. " How dreadful!" at last she gasped. " What can I do ? What must you think of me P" " I think you have the courage of your convictions," ho answered ; and I admire your strict sense of right and wrong, as much as I do your cleverness in surgical operations." " Oh, but—oh, Mr Dunlop, will you ever forgive me P How could I be so stupid! As if youcnuld have done such i< thing ?" The ncale.s had fnllen fmm her eyes, and eb,9 aaw him now in his true

lijrhr.— kUi>\, tboii:,-iniu\ in i.nlv nature, iirreenlilts appearance, and all. " What i liisiu-tiny iilhit yua mu-i consider me. Really I -I." She was ulmo-t nvying ; anrl Mr Dunlop iuterriipierl her. " Please drm't nay any ■finrf), The mistake ivrj very natural; aid I ciin lay the flattering miction to ray soul that you were blinded by prejudice from the very first, and never gave mo a rihanre to show you what sort of a fellow I really was, whether viciouHly inclined or uot." After a time he succeeded in allaying Miss Fanshawe's distress to a certain extent ; and she ceased reproaching herself and apologising. But at the end of a short silence she remarked sudden y, and with fevour—" Well, I was a donkey to spoil the whole of my journey like that, when it might have been so nice if we had been friends." "Thank you," he said, earnestly, " you have fully atoned for your mistake by that speech. And probably," he went on, " we shall be all the better friends on account of our preliminary enmity—perhaps even more than friends some day ; but I must give you time to forget the murderer before I say any more about that." Maud's face was very pink as she drew up at the garden gate; and all sense of fear and loneliness at entering upon her new life seemed to have left her heart. Her reception was a very kind one ; and Mr Dunlop was pressed to stay until his hand should be well, which he gladly did. His broken fingers, which Miss Fanshawe had united quite correctly, were not long before they were completely healed. His wounded heart was cured by the same physician with even more ease, this being accomplished by the physician accompanying him into a moonlit garden, and there whispering a. short incantation, consisting solely of " Yes." And very soon there was a governess the less, and a bride the more, in the sunny west of Queensland, —Vox Popuii, iu Town and Country Journal.