THE SIEGE CONTINUED
In the
meantime the siege was continued without intermission.
That the three other outlaws were still in the
house was confirmed by remarks made by Ned, who said they would fight to the
last, and would never give in. The interest and excitement were consequently
heightened. The Kelly gang were at last in the grasp of the police, and their
leader actually captured. The female prisoners who escaped during the morning
gave corroboration of the fact that Dan Kelly, Byrne, and Hart were still in the
house. A rumour got abroad that Byrne was shot when drinking a glass of whisky
at the bar of the hotel about half past 5 o'clock in the morning, and the report
afterwards turned out to be true. The remaining two kept up a steady defence
from the rear of the building during the forenoon, and exposed themselves
recklessly to the bullets of the police. They, however, were also clad in mail,
and the shot took no effect.
At 10 o'clock a white flag or handkerchief was
held out at the front door, and immediately afterwards about 30 men, all
prisoners, sallied forth holding up their hands. They escaped whilst Dan Kelly
and Hart were defending the back door. The police rallied up towards them with
their arms ready, and called upon them to stand. The crowd did so, and in
obedience to a subsequent order fell prone on the ground. They were passed, one
by one, and two of them brothers named M’ Auliffe (sic) were arrested as Kelly
sympathisers. The precaution thus taken was highly necessary, as the remaining
outlaws might have been amongst them. The scene presented when they were all
lying on the ground, and demonstrating the respectability of their characters,
was unique, and, in some degree, amusing.
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