“The devil has come at last!”

I opened my eyes, and was gratified to see that the ghost whose disappearance I had noticed, re-appeared upon the scene, but with one important change in his aspect, which rendered his tout ensemble more hideous than ever.

By some means he had managed to light a fire upon his bony head, and the flames were twisting and squirming like so many fiery serpents, revealing the long bullock’s horns with telling effect.  So well had he managed the affair, that, accustomed as I was to his presence, I had half a mind to run, not knowing but a real devil, or being of the other world, had usurped Day’s especial functions in the ghost line.

If the sudden appearance was startling to myself and Mr. Brown, how much more must it have astonished the bushrangers, who were anxiously awaiting the death of their companion at the hands of Tyrell.  I saw the arm of the latter fall as if paralyzed, and he started back, but disdained to fly upon the first alarm.  Not so with his comrades.  With one accord they dropped knives, meat, and blankets, and with shouts of frantic terror rushed towards the woods, tumbling over each other in their eagerness to escape, and looking over their shoulders as they fled, as if they feared that Satan had already laid a hand upon them, and was about to claim them as his own.

Even the young fellow who had murdered the old pirate, seemed to entertain some hope of escape from earthly enemies, for he commenced crawling away from the fires as fast as he could on hands and knees, and bent his course directly towards our ambush.  Once or twice I saw him look back, apparently with the expectation of receiving a shot in his rear, but finding that his captain was too much occupied with his own matters, he seemed to think that Providence had interfered in a most wonderful manner in his behalf, and recommenced crawling with renewed energy and hope, not caring half as much for the ghost as he did for the vengeance of his chief.

“Here comes this fellow directly on to us,” whispered Mr. Brown; “what can we do to start him in another direction?”

“Groan him away,” I replied, recollecting the efficacy of diabolical sounds in my own case; and forthwith we uttered in chorus the most hideous noises possible for human beings to produce.  So frightful were they that even Tyrell, who had made his boast of being able to endure all things, gradually retreated as he saw the ghost advance towards him with the flaming headdress, and at length, after giving one quick glance around, and finding that he was deserted by his crew, fairly turned, and bounded into the brush and disappeared from sight.

We listened attentively, and could hear the bushrangers making their way through the woods in hot haste; but fearing the shrewdness of Sam, we kept perfectly quiet, until we were certain that gentleman had really left his quarters, and was not lurking in the vicinity to see what sort of a ghost had frightened him.