406 The Wreck. 



hasten death. I poured some cold tea into his mouth, but he could 

 not swallow it, and, save for a faint gurgling in his throat, I could 

 hardly tell whether he was dead or alive. I sat down upon a box 

 at the foot of the bed, and though I tried to keep my eyes off that 

 ghastly countenance it was in vain there seemed some strange 

 fascination in those staring eyes and blood-stained cheeks. Never 

 did time seem so long as when I sat by that death-bed waiting for 

 the doctor j none of my mates came home, and I really thought 

 that dreadful evening would never end. At length up galloped 

 the doctor : a regular colonial one "short, sharp, and decisive" 

 no time to waste in useless words. He gave one quick glance at 

 the poor fellow, felt his pulse, pulled his head about a little, and 

 then, turning to me, said in one rapid sentence, " My word, it's a 

 bad job ; I hope you chaps won't get into any mess about it. How 

 did it happen ? well, no matter. You see I can do no good here 

 can't find a new head for him. He'll die in a few hours, and, 

 unless you wish him to die in your bunk, you'd better get him out 

 of the tent as soon as possible j" and, springing on his horse, he 

 galloped off as suddenly as he had come. He told me, however, 

 before leaving, that the poor fellow would lie perfectly quiet till 

 death was at hand, when he would struggle and want water, which 

 would be a sure sign that he had not many minutes to live. These 

 words were fulfilled to the letter : he died about two in the morning, 

 never having uttered a word since the accident, and in his last 

 moments appeared to suffer dreadful agony. 



My mates came home late in the evening, so that I was not 

 alone when he died; and next day we got a bullock-dray and 

 carried the body into the wool-shed, where we laid it on trestles 

 till a coffin could be made. Of course this sad event threw a 

 damper over all, for poor George was a general favourite. The 

 coffin was made that day, and as the wool-shed was full of rats 

 and native cats, two of us sat up all night with the body. Next 

 morning a cart was hired to convey it to Williamstown for burial, 

 and about half-a-dozen of his friends followed on horseback, each 



