Chapter 41
Thursday, July 2
After driving north for about three hours along the stock trail
(between Mallowa and Nibil Wells), the group found a trail
leading off to the northwest. Since this was in the general
direction of the coordinates they were traveling toward, they decided
to leave the stock trail and travel along this less-traveled
path. Two hours and forty miles later the trail ended in a mining
camp. The group parked the two trucks about a mile away and
conferred about what to do. Lya proposed walking into the camp
and telling the miners that they were journalists researching a
magazine article on Australian mining, but Nell and Alisa advised
extreme caution. Seeing no signs of activity, the group drove to
within a hundred yards of the mining camp, parked, and carefully
studied the scene. This was not the location indicated by the
coordinates.
Huddled beside a twenty-foot rock outcropping were a dozen or more
tents, a shack, many stacks of crates, and long metallic
tubes. No signs or sounds of life were evident. Gabby
yelled out a greeting but there was no answer.
Bruce, Nell and Lya got out of the trucks and walked up to the
camp. At the outskirts they found the wreck of a an old truck,
completely flattened as if crushed by some massive weight. Lya
spotted human bones and scraps of clothing half-buried in the sands
throughout the camp. She quickly made the sign of the cross and
began muttering to herself.
Bruce examined the bones and determined that they were either broken or
crushed - no signs of fire or butchery. Lya discovered a club,
studded with small teeth. She picked up the club and began
brandishing it wildly. Nell recalled seeing a similar weapon in
the Sydney museum, associated with the Cult of the Sand Bat. She
resolved to keep a close eye on Lya.
Bruce noticed that all but one of the tents were in shreds - only the
wooden frames remained intact. The sole tent in good condition
looked as if it had been patched up with fabric from the other tents.
The rest of the group then drove up to the camp. Nell took
photographs of the camp but refused to take one of Lya waving
the club. Lya seemed fascinated by the club and was unwilling to
put
it down. Mr. Mutsu expertly disarmed her and stowed the club in
the
truck.
Alisa and Mr. Mutsu examined the intact tent. Inside they found
bits of clothing, matches, cans of Spam,
several lanterns, kerosene, and other mundane items. Alisa
speculated that someone was still living in the camp.
Near the tent, Bruce and Gabby found fresh dingo tracks and those of a
human wearing boots, not older than a few days. On the perimeter
of camp Gabby noticed a strange set of tracks which started and ended
abruptly, possibly from a flying creature. Each track had five
toes, but the tracks themselves were enormous, each about six feet in
length. The age of the tracks was indeterminate.
Nell and Lya examined the shack. The exterior had a faded sign
that read "Western Mining and Exploration". The lock had been
broken and the door was standing ajar. Inside they found a mine
shaft with an open platform, engine mount and cable wind, and two empty
crates labeled, "Explosives". Using their flashlights, the bottom
of the mine shaft could not be seen. Lya turned on the gasoline
engine that powered the mine elevator and found that it still
functioned. Nell quickly dissuaded Lya from descending into the
mine to explore the shaft.
Gabby examined the flattened truck and determined that it was a 1920
Ford and damaged beyond repair.
Nell and Bruce then examined the shredded tents and agreed that the
bones were at least several years old. Based on the number
of bones they estimated the dead at about two dozen, which correlated
with a rumor they had heard in Cuncudgerie about a mining disaster.
Lya wandered to the edge of outcropping and discovered a tiny stream of
fresh water emerging from the reddish rock wall and flowing into a
white enamel basin, the overflow disappearing into a crevice. She
then noticed a half-dozen dingos watching her from atop the
ridge. At the sound of a whistle the dingos disappeared.
She then ran back to tell the others.
Gabby remained at the truck, Bruce remained at the foot of the ridge,
while the others (Nell, Alisa, Lya, and Mr. Mutsu) ascended the
ridge. On the other side they found a man (naked except for
boots) in the midst of a pack of dingos standing within a ten-foot
circle formed by five wooden sticks bearing crudely-painted geometric
designs. "Get back, Satan's spawn! Begone and beware!
My dingo friends will rend you!" he screamed.
Lya and Alisa recognized the wooden circle as an occult defense against
evil creatures. Nell tried to explain to the man that they meant
him no harm but he continued screaming. Lya (understanding the
nature of madness) shouted that danger was everywhere and he was wise
to defend himself with such a powerful warding. This calmed him
down and Lya (in journalist mode) asked him to tell his story for her
magazine (Enigma).
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"My name.... Jeremy Grogan, I think. I don't know how long it's
been. Years, I think. I was down
on my luck in Cuncudgerie when I met a Yank who claimed he had a map to
a
wonderful gold strike a long way east. Well, he seemed a shifty
sort, like all bosses, but he was
willing to pay a sign-up bonus on the spot, so I took the work, mining
work it
was.
He hired a lot of men, twenty and more, and all of
us agreed
that the fellow was daft, and that we'd work until the loony's cash ran
out,
and then come back to town. That’s what a workin' man does, you see -
one job,
and then another.
The bloke's name was John Carver. He led us out
here where
it's impossible for gold to be, leastwise gold-bearing quartz, and set
us
a-digging at an exact spot. 'My researches are infallible,' he said
again and
again, and Lord how we used to laugh about that! We made sure we got
paid right
to the day, because this fellow was going to take a tumble. So we
worked
through the sand, and then sediments, and then rock. And then the man's
money
ran out. No work, no pay, we agreed,
and like we promised sat down to wait for the supply trucks from
Cuncudgerie
the following week. They would take us back.
Meanwhile the Yank began to act strange, walking
into the
desert, pretending to talk with invisible beings, making gestures, and
the
like. Then he disappeared for an entire day and part of another, and
when he
came back, his eyes were wild and evil-like. 'There is a way,' he said,
'there
is another way, and God has shown it. Leave if you wish: you are of no
use to
me now.’ One of the men said something about wanting wages for the days
spent
waiting for the trucks, and several more used very rude language to the
Yank's
face, for this camp wasn't exactly no rest home. Carver jumped a foot
at this,
and he swore foully at us. He got a most cruel look on his face. 'If
that is
how you feel,' he said, 'then I shall endeavor to speed you on your way
- all
of you.' Well, that didn't sound too good, but what could he do with
one or him
and two dozen of us?
<>He walked away, into the desert. That night, a couple of the
fellows caught me cheatin' at cards, and they run me way into the bush
before I
lost them. When I was sneakin' back to camp I saw Carver appear on the
wall of rock, wave his arms
and point, and then a great winged thing with talons like ropes
descended from
the sky, destroyed the camp, and killed every man-jack there.
When the men knew that guns would not stop it,
they squealed
like trapped animals. Lord!
<>Goin' into the desert seemed a better way to die, so I
wandered off. Anything would be better than meeting such a devil-man or
his
demon. I found some shade the next day and lay down to die. For some
reason that made my mind easy
and clear. I took a nap. While I slept, I dreamt about an Abo kid of
nine or
ten years old. The child had very round eyes, and they gleamed like
they
understood everything. That was Power Boy I dreamed about. You might
not
believe it, but everything I dreamed was true when I woke.
<>I don't know the kid's real name. I just call him Power Boy,
'cause he had so much strength or magic or whatever you want to call
it. He
couldn't speak English or even Pidgin, so he lectured me inside my
head. He
told me I had to wait around the camp, that it was my destiny to wait,
that I
had been waiting all my life for this. And I suddenly knew he was
right, that
that was why nothing had ever seemed very important to me.
Power Boy gave me these five painted sticks, and
showed me
how to use them to be safe against things which came from stars. He
showed me where a spring had begun, and how to dream foodstuffs into
existence, mostly spam - Power Boy likes spam. Finally, he called
seven dingoes to my side.
They are my friends. But
they are not real. They are magic, I think, because they stay slippery
in my
mind, and I forget which is which, and because they never eat."
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Grogan's story confirmed several of the rumors the
group had heard in Cuncudgerie. "John Carver" must have been Dr.
Robert Huston, searching the Great Sandy desert for something under the
auspices of "Western Mining and Exploration".
Bruce offered to take Jeremy back to Cuncudgerie when the group
eventually returned there but he declined. "Power Boy told me to
wait here, and besides it's safer out here than there", he
said. Mr. Mutsu offered to provide Grogan an honorable death but
Grogan did not seem to understand.
The group then decided to refill the water jugs at the spring, return
to the stock trail, and continue traveling to the north toward the
coordinates. Lya left an offering of food at the spring for
Power Boy.
At sunset, the group saw a huge cloud of bats on the northern horizon.
The coordinates were now less than a day's journey away.
Friday, July 3
After breakfast the group continued traveling north along the stock
trail. About an hour later, as they were driving though a dry
ravine, Nell noticed a large rock rolling down the slope toward the
truck. The driver of the lead truck (Bruce) was unable to evade
it and the rock slammed into the side of the truck. Bruce quickly
jumped out of the truck and took cover. The second truck (driven
by Alisa) was also struck by a boulder. Boomerangs and spears
rained down from the top of the ravine - an ambush!
Alisa fired her rifle and missed. Bruce was hit by a
boomerang. Mr. Mutsu got out of the truck, took cover, and
returned fire, dropping one of the Aboriginal attackers. Lya
began chanting a nursery rhyme. Gabby fired and missed.
Nell fired her rifle and dropped one of the ambushers. Gabby was
wounded by a spear.
Alisa seriously wounded an ambusher.
After a few rounds of combat all but one of the attackers were
dead. Mr. Mutsu pursued one of the fleeing Aborigines and subdued
him. He brought the captive back to the trucks for interrogation,
while Nell and Alisa applied first aid to Bruce and Gabby.
Lya noticed that the captive had a sand bat tattoo and had been
carrying a cult club. The group then interrogated the
captive. They learned that he worked for "the white man who rules
the desert" and that his camp was in a great cave to the
northeast. Many Koori and a few white men were there. The
white man served "the Father of All Bats" and his word was law.
The great cave was less than one day away. He recognized a photo
of Robert Huston as being the "Bossfella", but did not recognize any
others from the ill-fated Carlyle expedition. He and the other
ambushers had been sent here three days ago and told to attack a group
of trucks. Anyone traveling along the road to the north would
reach the great cave and many stones. The great cave was a sacred
place and few allowed to enter. The great cave led underground to
a great city with many stone buildings, shrines, and altars. The
Father of All Bats would soon return to the world. If released by
the party he would return to the great cave. He served Huston
because Huston served the Father of All Bats and would bring back
the Dreamtime
and the flowing water. Huston also has boomsticks and controls
the lightning. Any Koori who opposed Huston had been driven away
or enslaved.
Lya drew a symbol of Rainbow
Snake and persuaded the captive that Huston only intended to bring
death to the world, not water. He agreed to remain with the party
(at least for a few days).
Meanwhile Gabby and Alisa managed to repair one of the trucks but the
other was too badly damaged.
The group then decided that it was too dangerous to continue to the
coordinates (the great cave) since the element of surprise had been
lost. A plan was formulated to stage their own deaths and
(hopefully) convince Huston and the other cultists that they were no
longer a threat.
Leaving the damaged truck behind, the group drove back to Camp Grogan
(as they now called the mining camp of death) and gathered up some of
the old bones and a couple of cans of Spam from Grogan's tent.
After dark they drove back to the ambush site, arriving just before
dawn.
Saturday, July 4
The group then transferred the useful equipment from the abandoned
truck to the operative truck and filled it with old bones, cans of
spam, extra clothes, dynamite, and the petrol that would have been used
for fueling it. The operative truck was then driven about a mile
away. Gabby then laid down a trail of petrol from the truck to
safe distance in the rocks and ignited it, tossing a few blasting caps
for good measure. The abandoned truck exploded in a fireball that
littered the desert with flaming debris. The Koori was impressed
with the group's power and declared that he would help them as long as
they were in the desert.
The group then retraced their path back to Cuncudgerie, rationing their
food.
Wednesday, July 8
The group reached the outskirts of Cuncudgerie at mid-morning.
After removing a few essential items (weapons, money, passports,
photographic gear, hand luggage), they drove the truck into a ravine
and abandoned it. They bid farewell to the Koori and then walked
into Cuncudgerie. Using assumed identities they booked passage on
the train to Port Hedland. Alisa, Mr. Mutsu, Nell, and Lya rode
first-class (in a boxcar) while Bruce and Gabby rode on the flatbed
car. They arrived in Port
Hedland shortly after midnight.
Thursday, July 9
The group spent the night at the train station, standing watch in
shifts. The next morning they booked passage on a coastal steamer
to Darwin and departed at noon.
Saturday, July 11
The group arrived in Darwin
and immediately sent a telegram to Rupert Madasheck in Sydney.
