"You have not seen nor heard anything for an hour?" inquired Glenarvan of the two sailors.
"Nothing, my lord," replied Wilson. "The convicts must be several miles away."
"They cannot have been in sufficient force to attack us," added Mulready. "This Ben Joyce probably intended to recruit some bandits, like himself, among the bushrangers that wander at the foot of the Alps."
"Very likely, Mulready," replied Glenarvan. "These rascals are cowards. They know we are well armed, and are perhaps waiting for darkness to commence their attack. We must redouble our vigilance at nightfall. If we could only leave this marshy plain and pursue our journey towards the coast! But the swollen waters of the river bar our progress. I would pay its weight in gold for a raft that would transport us to the other side!"
"Why," said Wilson, "does not your lordship give us the order to construct this raft? There is plenty of wood."
"No, Wilson," answered Glenarvan; "this Snowy is not a river, it is an impassable torrent."
[Illustration: A pair of cassowaries proved that the presence of man did not disturb these peaceful solitudes.]
At this moment Captain Mangles, the major, and Paganel joined Glenarvan. They had been to examine the Snowy. The waters, swollen by the recent rains, had risen a foot above low-water mark, and formed an impetuous current. It was impossible to venture upon this roaring deluge, these rushing floods, broken into a thousand eddies by the depressions of the river-bed. Captain Mangles declared that the passage was impracticable.
"But," added he, "we ought not to remain here without making any attempt. What we wished to do before Ayrton's treason is still more necessary now."
"What do you say, captain?" asked Glenarvan.
"I say that assistance is needed; and since we cannot go to Twofold Bay, we must go to Melbourne. One horse is left. Let your lordship give him to me, and I will go."
"But it is a perilous venture, John," said Glenarvan. "Aside from the dangers of this journey of two hundred miles across an unknown country, all the roads may be guarded by Ben Joyce's accomplices."
"I know it, my lord; but I know, too, that our situation cannot be prolonged. Ayrton only asked eight days' absence to bring back the crew of the Duncan. But I will return in six days to the banks of the Snowy. What are your lordship's orders?"