The True Story of the KellyGang of Bushrangers Chapter 16 page 3

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Being limited as to money, one of Mr Nicolson’s first efforts was to cut down unnecessary expense. The police had been largely using hired horses and buggies, for example, and in respect of the hire of one horse, Mr Nicolson finding a bill owing for £19 instructed Mr Sadlier to try to compromise the matter, which he did by buying the animal outright for £15, thus saving the Government £4 and getting the horse into the bargain. The police stables, too, at Benalla were another useless source of great expense, being full of highly fed horses while there was splendid grass in the Department’s paddock. Mr Nicolson accordingly turned the horses into it, giving them an allowance of hay every day to keep them in hard condition, thus saving a considerable amount of money and giving added usefulness to the horses; for when stable fed and sheltered, at the end of a three days’ expedition into the mountains they were tucked up and useless from the cold and change of feed; whereas under Mr Nicolson’s system they became as well qualified as the outlaws’ horses to stand hard work upon such feed as they could pick when hobbled in the bush at night.

While introducing these reforms Mr Nicolson constantly travelled about the country himself, seeing people, making friends with them, and endeavouring to gain the confidence and assistance of the farmers. The men were instructed to do likewise, and as a result information from good sources concerning the Kellys began to arrive at headquarters. At first the informants were timid, and the items of news were not communicated until they were perhaps a month old. Then only a fortnight would elapse before the people spoke, and later on there was more or less constant information coming in, sometimes not a week old. Meanwhile Mr Nicolson waited patiently. He had reason to believe that the outlaws were greatly hampered by want of money, and that their friends were urging them to make another bank raid, which, if attempted, would probably result in their capture. Some exploit was necessary to renew their prestige and furnish them with the means of buying loyalty, and at the same time the presence of the trackers whom they greatly feared, and the suspicion that their doings were watched by spies, kept them in a state of nervous unrest which it was hoped would result sooner or later in some act of rash stupidity.

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