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

My Experiment Succeeded Admirably.

Mr. Sherwin Eagerly Perused The Paragraph; And After He Had Concluded,

Folded The Paper, And Requested Permission To Speak With Mr. Brown In

Private For A Few Minutes. Obedient To The Intimation, The Policemen And

The Rest Of Us Fell Back, And Suffered The Two Officers To Have A Quiet

Talk. They Whispered Together Earnestly For A Time, And Then Fred And

Myself Were Summoned To The Council.

"The Commissioner Is Not Disposed To Press This Matter," Mr. Brown Said.

"I Have Convinced Him That You Are A Little Different From What He

Supposed; And He Will Admit Both Of You To Bail Until Such Time As Mr.

Critchet Is Able To Testify, Or At Least Until More Evidence Is Offered

Than What Follet Brings Forward."

We Bowed Our Thanks, And Blessed The Governor-General, To Think That His

Name Made Such A Difference With His Officers.

"We Cannot Be Too Careful In This Part Of The Country," The Commissioner

Said, "Whom We Trust, We Are So Liable To Imposition. Our Life Is A Hard

One, To Make The Best Of It; And I Shall Be Glad When I Am Changed To

Some Other Location, Where Jurisdiction Is Not Taken So Extensively As

At Ballarat. I Have Long Desired A Change."

Mr. Brown Winked With Both Eyes In A Violent Manner, As Though Warning

Us That The Pitch Of His Regret At Being At Ballarat Was Yet To Come.

"One Good Turn Deserves Another," Mr. Sherwin Said; And Then Lowering

His Voice, He Continued, "May I Hope That You Will Remind His Excellency

That I Deserve A Better Position Than The One That I Now Hold?"

Promises Are Easily Made, (_Vide_ Politicians In This Country, Where

Offices Are To Be Obtained;) And The Reader Will Not Wonder, Considering

The Light In Which We Stood, That We Murmured A Ready Assent To His

Wishes. The Commissioner Looked Gratified, While Mr. Brown Grinned With

Delight.

"What Shall We Do With The Wounded Man, And This Young Fellow, Follet?

He Has Made A Strong Charge Against These Gentlemen, And He Should Be

Made To Give Heavy Bonds To Meet It At The Proper Time," Said The

Inspector, Pointing To The Nephew, Who Stood Trembling, As Though

Already Anticipating Trouble.

"Well, Really," Mr. Sherwin Said, "I Don't See Why The Old Man Should

Not Remain Under The Charge Of Your Friends Until His Injuries Terminate

One Way Or The Other. Suppose You Send The Government Physician To

Attend Him, And A Fortnight From To-Day I Will Call The Case Up, And

Decide Whether To Dismiss It Or Send It To Trial."

"And Follet? Hadn't He Better Be Put Under Heavy Bonds For His

Appearance?" Insinuated The Inspector.

"Certainly; It Is Very Important To Keep Him. Let Him Be Committed To

Jail Until He Can Find Bonds In One Thousand Pounds;" And With A

Cheerful Wave Of His Hand, The Commissioner Left Us.

"You See How Much You Have Injured Yourself In Trying To Fasten Your

Crime Upon These Gentlemen," Mr. Brown Remarked, Addressing Follet; "If

You Will Make A Free Confession, I Will Endeavor To Get You As

Comfortable A Sentence As Possible."

"Will You?" Sneered The Wretch; "You Shall Offer Better Terms Than That

Before I Will Let Them Up. I Have The Game In My Own Hands, And My

Evidence Will Tell Before A Jury."

"Take Him Away," Cried Mr. Brown, Addressing A Policeman; And After The

Prisoner Was Out Of Hearing, He Continued, "There Is Too Much Truth In

What He Says, And We Have Work Before Us To Discover Who His Accomplice

Is, And Bring Him To Justice. Even If Mr. Critchet Does Recover, It Is

Probable That He Will Not Be Able To Identify His Assailants, And In

That View Of The Matter I Need Not Tell You In What A Precarious

Situation You Will Stand."

We Saw The Force Of His Reasoning, And Looked To Him For Advice.

"We Must Set The Police At Work To Find Follet's Accomplice; And I Will

Not Leave A Stone Unturned On 'Gravel Pit Hill,' But I Will Discover Him

If In Ballarat"

"And Is There Any Way That We Can Assist You?" I Asked.

The Inspector Thought For A Few Moments Before He Replied.

"If We Could But Get Murden To Lend Us Steel Spring For A Week Or Two,"

He Muttered, "I Think That We Could Make That Scamp Serviceable To Us."

"Murden Will Accommodate Us In That Respect, I Am Sure, If We Make

Application," I Returned.

"If He Will, We Can Set The Fellow At Work, And He Will Be Able To Get

Information That No Policeman In Ballarat Could Possibly Obtain. He Must

Be Supplied With A Liberal Amount Of Money, And Must Represent Himself

As Being Connected With A Gang Of Bushrangers Between Here And

Melbourne. I Will Give The 'Traps' A Hint Not To Molest Him Unless He

Betakes Himself To Roguery Again, And I Suppose That He Will Some Day."

"But Won't Suspicion Be Aroused If Steel Spring Is Seen To Enter The

Store, Or Hold Communication With Us?" We Asked.

"Of Course It Would," Returned The Inspector, With A Smile, At Our

Innocence; "Of All The Persons In Ballarat, You Must He The Most

Avoided, And When An Interview Is Needed, A Rendezvous Must Be Appointed

Where There Is No Fear Of Listeners. Take My Word For It, In Less Than A

Fortnight We Shall Have The True Account Of The Attempted Assassination,

And If Follet's Companion Does Not Leave The Town, We Will Nab Him, And

'Pinch' Him Severely. Write To The Lieutenant At Once, And Don't Fail To

Tell Him That Your Reputation, And Perhaps Life, Depends Upon The Loan

Of Steel Spring."

With These Parting Words, The Inspector Left For His Office, And Without

Delaying For A Moment, I Sat Down, And Briefly Wrote An Account Of The

Transaction In Which We Were Involved, And Stated The Necessity There

Was For The Employment Of A Spy Of Steel Spring's Adroitness. I

Succeeded In Getting My Note Posted Before The Mail Left Melbourne, And

Soon After My Return To The Store, The Surgeon Of The Police Force Made

His Appearance, And Examined The Wounds Of Our Patient With Some

Considerable Skill, And Did Us The Honor Of Saying That He Could Do No

More Than We Had Already Done; And John Bull Like, Wondered Where We Got

Our Knowledge Of The Art Of Healing. He Thought That There Was Danger Of

Inflammation; And Ordered A Cooling Draught And Low Diet, And Then Said

That He Considered We Were Competent To Attend The Patient, Unless He

Was Worse, In Which Case We Were To Send For Him, And Not Without.

And We Did Attend The Old Gentleman; Hour After Hour, And Night After

Night, We Watched By His Side, Barely Taking Rest Ourselves, For Fear

That He Would Suffer; And Although He Was Unconscious Of Our Kindness

And Attention, And Was Wandering In His Mind, Many Miles Away To His

Family And Friends In Busy London, Yet We Never Lost Our Patience, Or

Refused To Gratify His Wants, As Far As Lay In Our Power.

Day After Day Passed, And We Were Impatient To Hear From Murden. Mr.

Brown Had Put His Police To Work To Find Out The Accomplice Of Follet,

But All Attempts To Discover Him Had Proved Futile.

Follet Still Remained Obstinate And Defying; And To Add To Our Misery,

Our Patient Was Hovering Between Life And Death, And It Seemed As Though

A Feather Would Turn The Scale Either Way.

One Night, Soon After Twelve O'clock, And While I Was Taking My Turn

Watching By The Bedside Of Mr. Critchet, I Heard A Gentle Tap At The

Door. I Paid No Attention To The First Summons; And Not Until A

Repetition Warned Me That Some Person Was Desirous Of Entering, Did I

Cock My Revolver, And Without Disturbing Fred, Stole Softly To The Door,

Which I Unlocked, And Discovered A Man With A Long Black Beard And

Slouched Hat, Standing On The Doorsteps, Whistling, In A Low Key, The

Popular Negro Tune, Just Introduced Into Australia From California, By A

Band Of Negro Singers, Of "Nelly Bly."

"What Is Wanted?" I Asked, Bringing My Revolver Up So As To Command His

Head, In Case His Visit Was Hostile.

"Can You Tell Me The Time Of Night?" He Demanded, In A Tone So Gruff And

Guttural, That I Thought He Must Have Slept In A Mine For A Week, And

That The Dampness Had Gone To His Lungs.

"Ask The First Mounted Policeman That You Come To," I Rejoined, And Was

About To Slam The Door To, When I Heard A Peculiar Chuckle That Arrested

My Attention.

"Veil, If This 'Ere Isn't A Go!" The Man With The Black Beard Said; "A

Feller Comes Hall The Vay From Melbourne To See A Friend, And Gets The

Door Shut In His Face."

I Knew The Voice, And Should Know It If I Met Its Owner Fifty Years

Hence. I Seized The Visitor By His Collar, Dragged Him Into The Store,

Shut The Door, Tore Off His Black Beard, And Had Revealed To My Eyes The

Grinning Countenance Of _Steel Spring!_

"Vell, Of All The Jolly Things In The World, If This Don't Knock Um,"

Steel Spring Said, With One Of His Most Hideous Grins. "I Told My

Friend, Murden, And I Halso 'Inted The Same Thing To