The Gold Hunter's Adventures Or, Life In Australia Volume 2 ( Of 2 ) by William H. Thomes (books to read in your 30s TXT) 📕

Policemen Near The Door, As Though They Were On Business That They Were

Ashamed Of, And Desired To Keep Out Of Sight; Still, It Never Entered

Our Minds That We Were The Parties That The Policemen Were Watching.

Supposing That The Commissioner Wished To Purchase Some Articles From

Our Store, Fred Went To Attend Upon Him, While I Continued To Eat My

Breakfast.

"I Want No Goods, Sir," Returned Mr. Sherwin, In A Short, Sharp Tone, In

Reply To Fred's Question As To What He Would Be Served With.

Fred Appeared Slightly Disconcerted, And Returned To His Breakfast With

An Independent Expression Upon His Face, That Spoke More Than Words The

Contempt He Felt For The Visitor.

"You Young Men Appear To Be Quite At Your Ease," The Commissioner Said,

Surveying Our Indifference With No Favorable Eye.

"Why Should We Not Be?" Asked Fred; "We Have A License For Our Store, We

Have Paid For Our Goods, And Owe No Man A Penny."

"Does Your License Extend To Killing And Robbing Men?" Asked The

Commissioner, In An Insolent Tone, And One That We Knew He Used To

Insult Us With.

Fred Sprang To His Feet, And An Angry Reply Was Upon His Tongues, But I

Managed To Check Him.

"An Explanation Of These Words Is Required," I Said, As Mildly As My

Nature Would Allow; And To My Surprise, Instead Of Facing Me, And

Answering, The Commissioner Pointed To The Stains On The Floor, And

Asked, In A Sneering Tone,--

"Whose Blood Is That?"

"That Of An Old And Helpless Man," I Returned, Bearing His Searching

Glance Without Flinching, Although I Had An Inward Feeling That Told Me

That We Were Standing In A Suspicious Attitude, And That One False Move

Would Wreck Us Both.

"Remember," Mr. Sherwin Continued, "I Do Not Ask You To Criminate

Yourselves, But If A Full Confession Is Made, I Will Lay The Matter

Before The Governor-General, And Perhaps He May Be Disposed To Grant You

Some Mercy. I Fancy That A Frank Confession Would Be The Most Desirable

Course For Both Of You To Pursue," The Commissioner Said, In A Careless

Tone, As Though He Did Not Care Whether We Complied With His Advice Or

Not.

"All The Confession That We Can Make Is To Tell The Truth," Cried Fred,

Who Always Grew Cooler The More Imminent The Danger; "We Will Simply

State The Facts, And Then You Can Judge Of Our Guilt."

The Commissioner Made A Sign For Fred To Go On, Although I Could See By

His Face That He Was Anticipating A Yarn, And Was Prepared To Believe

Just As Much Of It As He Pleased.

Fred Told The Circumstances Of The Affair Just As They Occurred, And

Without Equivocation. Mr. Sherwin Listened Without Interruption, And

Also, I Will Add, Without Belief.

"Of Course I Can See The Old Man?" The Commissioner Asked, In A

Half-Sneering Manner, As Though Prepared For Us To Deny Him The Right.

"Certainly," Answered Fred; And He Led The Way To The Little Private

Room Where Mr. Critchet Was Lying, And, To Our Joy, Still Sleeping,

Which Argued Well For His Ultimate Recovery.

"Here Is The Man Whom You Accuse Us Of Murdering," Fred Whispered; "See

What Pains We Have Taken To Hasten His End." And He Pointed To The

Numerous Bandages With Which We Had Bound Up His Wounds.

"I Was Prepared To Find The Body Of Mr. Critchet Here, But Not Alive,"

The Commissioner Said. "I Was Told That He Was Dead, And That I Could

Find Unmistakable Signs Of Those Who Committed The Murder, Here."

"Perhaps You Will Give Us The Name Of Your Informant. We Desire To Be

Confronted With The Man Who Dares Charge Us With Assassination!"

Fred Spoke With Firmness, And With A Degree Of Hauteur That Was Not

Habitual.

Mr. Sherwin Hesitated For A Moment, And Then Stepped Out Of The Little

Room And Beckoned To A Police Officer.

The Latter Did Not Display That Degree Of Alacrity That One Would Have

Suspected In Obeying The Summons, And Upon Looking At The Man, I Found

That He Had Accompanied Us On Our Tax-Gathering Tours, And That He Was

Aware Of The Estimation In Which Mr. Brown Held Us, And Was Fearful That

He Should Incur The Inspector's Displeasure If He Manifested Too Great

An Eagerness In Our Affairs.

"Michael," Said The Commissioner, "Bring In Follet."

We Started At The Words, And Then We Saw A Dark Smile Upon The Face Of

The Cold-Hearted Commissioner, That Told How Keenly He Enjoyed Our

Misery.

"If You Please, Sir," Said Michael, Cap In Hand, And A Beseeching Glance

Upon His Face, "I Think That Follet Is Lying, For I've Known Him For Six

Months Past, And Never Saw Or Heard Much About His Habits That Is

Favorable."

"I Did Not Ask Your Opinion Or Advice, Sir," Interrupted The

Commissioner, In The Same Cold Tone, And With A Look That Almost Froze

The Policeman; "Do As I Bid You, And Learn To Keep Silent."

Michael Looked As Though He Would Like To Make A Reply, But Fear Of

Losing His Place Prevented. He Walked Slowly To The Door, And After A

Delay Of A Few Minutes, Escorted Our Accuser, Follet, Into The Store.

The Fellow's Face Was Deadly Pale, And His Eyes Were Never Once Raised

During The Interview. He Had Evidently Schooled Himself For The Part

That He Was To Play, By Imbibing Deeply Of Some Spirituous Liquor, For

He Was Rather Unsteady In His Gait; But That Might Have Been The Result

Of Agitation As Well As Whiskey.

"Are These The Two Men Whom You Alluded To In My Office This Morning?"

The Commissioner Inquired, Pointing To Fred And Myself.

The Scoundrel, Without Raising His Eyes, Replied In The Affirmative.

"Repeat In Their Presence What You Told Me, And Mind That You Don't Tell

Two Stories."

The Fellow Cleared His Throat, Which Was Rather Husky, And In A

Monotonous Tone Began. The Policemen, Who Were Lounging Near The Door,

Had All Edged Their Way Into The Store, And Listened To The Recital With

Many Expressions Of Wonder And Disbelief Upon Their Faces.

"About Three Weeks Ago," Follet Began, "These Two Men [Pointing To Fred

And Myself] Asked Me If My Uncle Was Not Digging Out A Large Amount Of

Dust And Nuggets From His Claim. I Said Yes; That He Would Probably Get

Five Or Six Thousand Pounds, If It Held Out As Well As It Opened. We

Exchanged A Few Other Words, And Then The Question Was Indirectly Put To

Me--If My Poor Uncle Was In The Habit Of Sending His Money To The

Government Office Or Keeping It Buried In His Tent. I Suspected Nothing,

For I Knew That The Men Stood In Good Estimation With The Police Force,

And Foolishly Answered That He Seldom Sent Money By Escort To Melbourne,

As He Feared To Trust The Soldiers With It. I Thought No More Of The

Matter Until About A Week Ago These Same Men Sent For Me, And By

Indirect Inquiries Wanted To Know If I Would Share With Them In Robbing

My Poor Uncle's Tent. I Indignantly Repulsed Them, And Threatened To

Give Information To The Police If Another Word Was Uttered Concerning

The Subject, And I Had Supposed That The Matter Was Dropped, Until, On

My Return Home This Morning At An Early Hour, I Found That Foul Play Had

Been Practised, And That My Relative Had Been Robbed, And I Didn't Know

But That He Was Murdered, For I Saw Blood On Various Articles In The

Tent; And When I Reached This Building, Where I First Went To See If Its

Occupants Had Been Concerned In The Outrage, I Found Blood Upon The

Doorstep And Also Upon The Floor, And These Men Were Badly Agitated, And

Even Offered Me Five Hundred Ounces If I Would Keep Silent, And Not

Inform Of Them, I Indignantly Refused, And Then These Men Showed Me The

Body Of My Uncle So Terribly Mangled, That I Was Sick At Heart; And

Thinking That I Should Share His Fate If I Remained, I Hurried Away, And

Laid The Whole Matter Before You For Investigation. What I Have Uttered

Is The Truth, So Help Me God!"

The Miserable, Lying Wretch Ceased Speaking, But Trembled So That A

Policeman Was Obliged To Support Him.

For A Few Seconds Fred And Myself Looked At Each Other In Consternation

And Despair. If The Testimony Of The Wretch Was Taken Without A Grain Of

Allowance, We Were In A Dilemma That Would Tax Us To The Utmost To Find

Means Of Escape. Even The Policemen Appeared To Have Changed Their

Opinions, And Ranged Themselves Against Us, And We Could Hear Them

Whisper In Relation To The Straightforward Manner In Which Follet

Recited His Story.

A Smile Of Triumph Was Upon The Face Of Mr. Sherwin, And Already I

Thought He Was Congratulating Himself Upon Judicial Promotion For His

Shrewdness In Causing Our Detection, When The Arrival Of A New Comer Put

A Little Different Light Upon The Affair.

Of All Persons In The World The One Most Welcome To Our Eyes Was Mr.

Brown, The Inspector; And When He Made His Appearance At The Door,

Looking Dusty, Hot, And Tired, We Were Tempted To Rush Forward And

Embrace Him, For He Seemed As Though Capable Of Delivering Us From The

Perplexing Situation In Which We Stood, Although In What