The Gold Hunter's Adventures Or, Life In Australia Volume 2 ( Of 2 ) by William H. Thomes (books to read in your 30s TXT) π
Friends To Give Them A History Of My Adventures In That Land Of Gold,
Where Kangaroos Are Supposed To Be As Plenty As Natives, And Jump Ten
Times As Far, And Where Natives Are Imagined To Be Continually Lying In
Ambush For The Purpose Of Making A Hearty Meal Upon The Bodies Of Those
Unfortunate Travellers Who Venture Far Into The Interior Of The
Country--Where Bushrangers Are Continually Hanging About Camp Fires,
Ready To Cut The Weasands Of Those Who Close Their Eyes For A
Moment--And Lastly, Where Every Other Man That You Meet Is Expected To
Be A Convict, Transported From The Mother Country For Such Petty Crimes
As Forgery, House-Breaking, And Manslaughter In The Second Degree.
Read free book Β«The Gold Hunter's Adventures Or, Life In Australia Volume 2 ( Of 2 ) by William H. Thomes (books to read in your 30s TXT) πΒ» - read online or download for free at americanlibrarybooks.com
- Author: William H. Thomes
Read book online Β«The Gold Hunter's Adventures Or, Life In Australia Volume 2 ( Of 2 ) by William H. Thomes (books to read in your 30s TXT) πΒ». Author - William H. Thomes
Received The Point Of The Knife, And Saved The Old Man From Instant
Death.
A Further Examination Revealed Two More Stabs, One On The Right Shoulder
And The Other On The Left Breast, Both Of Which Were Bleeding Profusely,
And Had So Weakened The Old Man That He Fainted The Instant He Found
That He Was Likely To Receive Assistance.
We Went To Work And Cleansed The Wounds Of Blood, And Then Stopped The
Bleeding By Applying Balsam And Lint Freely, And Over All We Put Pieces
Of Adhesive Plaster, Which We Had Used Before For Cuts, And Found Very
Efficacious.
In The Present Instance It Served To Keep The Lint In Its Place, And I
Have No Doubt That It Was Mainly Instrumental In Saving The Life Of Mr.
Critchet, For It Prevented The Insects From Irritating The Wounds And
Causing Inflammation.
A Dose Of Weak Wine Was Poured Down Our Patient's Throat, And Then We
Sat By His Side Until Morning, Before He Recovered His Consciousness,
And Was Able To Speak.
"I've Foiled The Young Scamp," He Muttered, As He Looked Around The
Store, And Then Suffered His Glance To Rest Upon Our Faces. "He Thought
That He Could Get The Old Miner's Dust; But He Missed His Aim, And I
Shall Yet Live To Punish Him."
"Of Whom Do You Speak?" I Asked, Bending Over His Form So That I Could
Hear Him More Distinctly, For He Spoke Rather Low And Incoherently.
"There Were Two Of Them," The Old Miner Continued, Not Noticing My
Interrogation; "I Know There Were Two Of Them, Because I Could Hear Them
Whisper, And Feel For The Gold; But I Cheated Them, And Shall Live."
The Old Man Attempted To Laugh, But The Effort Sounded Like A
Death-Rattle, It Was So Faint.
"You Must Not Talk Now," Fred Said, "But Save Your Strength, And In A
Few Days We Hope You Will Be Quite Well. Sleep If You Can, And In The
Mean Time We Will Send You A Physician."
"No, No," Our Patient Exclaimed, Hurriedly; "I Want No Meddlesome Quack
Near Me, With His Solemn Face And Pretended Knowledge. There Is Not A
Doctor In Ballarat That I Would Trust With My Life. Besides, They Are So
Expensive, And Where Is The Money To Come From To Pay A Physician's
Bills?"
"We Will Be Responsible For His Bill," Rejoined Fred, Soothingly. "You
Have Been Grievously Hurt, And Need Better Attention Than We Can Give
You."
"But I Say No," Reiterated Mr. Critchet; "I Shall Get Well, And To You
Alone Will The Praise Be Due. And Hark Ye, Young Men! Don't Be Too
Forward Hereafter In Volunteering To Assume Another's Debts. You May
Live To Repent It. Now Let Me Rest For An Hour Or Two, And When I Awake
I Think That I Shall Feel Stronger."
The Old Man, Who Spoke With A Sort Of Dictatorial Officiousness, As
Though He Had Been Accustomed To Command All His Lifetime, Closed His
Eyes, And In A Few Minutes Was In A Troubled Sleep; And As He Did Not
Require The Services Of Both Of Us To Attend Him, I Went To Bed, And
Left Fred Watching By His Side, With The Understanding That I Was To Be
Called At Daylight, So That I Could Relieve Him And Let Him Obtain A
Few Hours' Rest, Which He Very Much Needed.
Fred Called Me At The Specified Time, But Our Patient, Instead Of Being
Better, Was Much Worse, And Was Laboring Under The Effects Of A High
Fever. A Dozen Times He Attempted To Leave His Bed, And As Often Did I
Restrain Him, And Soothe Him With Kind Words, Until At Length, Just
Before Daylight, I Recollected A Bottle Of Opium That I Had In My Trunk,
And I Managed To Get It And Persuade The Sick Man To Take A Large Dose,
Which He Did Under The Impression That I Was A Servant, And Was Handing
Him A Glass Of Wine.
The Opiate Acted In A Beneficial Manner, For His System Was So Weakened
That It Set Him Into A Deep Sleep, Which Lasted For A Number Of Hours;
And Before He Had Awakened We Had Removed Him To A Little Room That We
Had Partitioned Off From The Main Store, Where He Could Be Free From
Most Of The Noise And Confusion That Large Sales Occasioned.
About Sunrise, The First Person That Entered The Store Was The Old Man's
Nephew, Follet. He Looked Agitated And Alarmed, And Shuddered When He
Saw The Stains Of Blood Upon The Doorstep, And Also On The Floor Of The
Store Where We Had Rested The Old Man Before Putting Him On The
Mattress. He Did Not Raise His Eyes To Our Faces, Although Many Times I
Endeavored To Get A Fair Glance At His Face, To See If I Could Read His
Thoughts.
"I Have Bad News This Morning," He Said, At Length, Finding We Were Not
Disposed To Open The Conversation.
"Have You, Indeed?" Asked Fred, With A Slight Sneer.
"I Slept From My Uncle's Tent Last Night," He Went On To Say, "And Upon
Returning This Morning I Find That There Has Been Violence And Robbery
Committed. My Poor Relative Is Missing, And I Fear Murdered, For His Bed
Is Bloody, And Tracks Of Blood Are To Be Seen On The Ground."
"And In Regard To The Robbery," Fred Asked, "How Do You Know That He Has
Lost Any Thing?"
"O, I Am Positive On That Score, Because My Uncle Had About A Thousand
Ounces Of Gold, In Nuggets And Fine Dust, Buried Under One Corner Of His
Tent, And The Treasure Is Gone," Cried Follet, Eagerly.
"You Are Certain Of That, I Suppose?" Fred Asked.
"O, Quite Certain, Because The Gold Is The First Thing That I Thought Of
Volume 2 Chapter 52 (The Attempt To Murder Mr. Critchet) Pg 55When I Found That My Uncle Had Been Murdered," Exclaimed The Young
Fellow, With His Eyes Still Cast To The Floor.
"Do You Suspect Any One?" We Asked, With A Design To Bring Him Out.
"There Is Blood Upon Your Door Step And Floor, And The Tracks Lead This
Way," He Answered Evasively.
I Saw That He Raised His Eyes Quick As Lightning To Note What Effect His
Words Had Upon Us; But Meeting The Stern Glance Of Fred, He Again Gazed
Upon The Floor.
"I Suppose That We Might Effect A Compromise, And Get Somebody To Swear
That We Did Not Molest Your Uncle, If We Promised Five Hundred Of The
Thousand Ounces That The Robbers And Would-Be Assassins Obtained," Fred
Remarked, In An Under Tone, And In A Careless Sort Of Manner.
"I, For One," The Young Fellow Replied, "Should Never Be Disposed To
Ask Questions, Although You Can Imagine My Feelings At The Thought Of
The Bad Treatment That The Old Fellow Received. When Can I Have The
Dust?"
The Question Disconcerted Fred For A Moment, For He Had No Idea That The
Fellow Would Answer As He Did.
"As Soon As Your Uncle Is Well Enough To Talk About Money Matters, We
Will Mention The Subject," I Rejoined, Hastily.
"Well Enough?" He Asked; "I Thought That You Said He Was Dead."
"O, Bless You, No, Indeed; He Is Far From Being A Dead Man, And We Hope,
By Proper Treatment, To See Him Well In The Course Of A Few Weeks."
The Nephew's Face Darkened, And His Eyes Looked Snaky, As Though He
Would Like To Strike, But Dared Not. We Motioned To Him, And Led The Way
To The Small Private Room Where Mr. Critchet Was Lying, And When He Saw
His Uncle's Wan Features, He Turned Pale, And His Agitation Was Intense.
He Saw That We Were Watching His Movements, And Tried To Appear As
Though Surprised, But The Artificial Effort Was Too Much For Him; And
Finally He Turned And Left The Room, Giving As An Excuse That His
Feelings Overpowered Him.
"You Can See The Sufferer Every Day, If You Are Disposed," Fred Said,
"But It Must Always Be In The Presence Of Witnesses. When Your Uncle Is
Well He Can Act As He Pleases, But Here He Remains Until Cured."
"Your Language Is Mysterious, And Seems To Reflect Upon Me As A Man Of
Honor," He Exclaimed. "Do I Understand You To Say That You Suspect Me Of
Injuring My Poor Uncle, Whom I Loved Above All Earthly Things?"
"With The Exception Of Playing Cards," Fred Added.
"You Shall Be Sorry For Your Words, And Perhaps I May Make You Appear In
Volume 2 Chapter 52 (The Attempt To Murder Mr. Critchet) Pg 56Rather An Equivocal Light Before Many Hours Have Passed;" And With A
Look Of Devilish Malice The Nephew, Who Had Attempted To Murder His Old
Uncle For A Few Thousand Dollars' Worth Of Gold Dust, Left The Store,
And We Did Not Care If We Never Laid Eyes Upon His Treacherous,
Cold-Looking Face Again, Although I Had Serious Forebodings That We Had
Not Got Rid Of Him Entirely, And That He Would Work Us Injury.
I Hinted Something Of The Kind To Fred, But He Laughed At It, And In A
Few Minutes We Had A Rush Of Morning Customers, And All Thoughts Of
Follet And His Vengeance Were Banished From My Mind.
I Think That We Were Seated At Breakfast, And Wondering Why Mr. Brown
Had Been Absent For Such A Length Of Time From The Store, When Who
Should Pay Us A Visit But The Police Commissioner, Mr. Sherwin, A Tall,
Dignified Man, With A Face That Had No More Expression In It Than A
Piece Of Coal. He Was Never Known To Lean To The Side Of Mercy During
The Whole Of His Career As An Officer, And As Commissioner He Had
Exclusive Jurisdiction Over The Petty Court Of Ballarat, And Fined And
Sentenced Miners, Who Were Brought Before Him For Drunkenness And Petty
Larceny, Without Mercy. He Was An Ambitious Man, And Had Striven For A
Long Time To Get A Seat Upon One Of The Benches Of The Upper Courts In
Melbourne, But Owing To The Want Of Influence, He Had Never Succeeded.
Every Person That He Imagined Could Sway The Governor-General Was
Treated With Delightful Consideration; But A Look Blacker Than A
Raven's Wing Was The Reward Of Every One Who Ventured On Familiarity Not
Up To His Standard Of Excellence.
I Must Confess That I Was Surprised At The Early Visit Of The
Commissioner, And I
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