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

Privation, Miss Purcel Has Arrived, And Is In Ballarat," Fred Said.

The News Almost Deprived Him Of The Power Of Articulation, And For A

Moment I Thought That He Would Faint, But He Didn't. He Was Too Eager To

See Her, And Welcome Her To Her New Home.

"Where Is She?" He Asked.

"Not Far Distant," Fred Answered.

"Take Me To Her Without Delay," He Cried; "I Shall Die With Joy."

"Softly," Replied Fred; "There Are Some Things To Be Explained Before We

Comply With Your Request;" And Briefly He Went Over The Girl's

Narrative, As Told By Herself, Until He Gave An Account Of Her Narrow

Escape From The Hands Of The Miners Who Suspected Her Of Stealing Their

Dust.

The Lover Moaned Piteously As He Heard The Hardships That His Mistress

Had Suffered; And After We Had Persuaded Him To Change His Clothes And

Remove The Stains From His Skin, We Let Him Accompany Us On Our Return

To The Store.

"You Must Promise Us One Thing," I Said, As We Walked Along, Hardly Able

To Keep Up With The Lover's Impetuous Strides, "That You Will Be Married

This Very Day."

I Stole A Look At Fred's Face, But He Appeared To Approve Of The Plan,

And I Could See No Traces Of Disappointment.

If The Girl Is Not Obdurate, I Thought, I Shall Save Fred Many Unhappy

Days.

"O, I'm Willing To Agree To That," Replied The Lover, With A Chuckle.

"You Have The Mean's To Support A Wife?" I Asked.

"I've Got Money Enough To Support Her After We Are Married. I've Waited

Too Long For Her Arrival To Waste Time With Silly Delays," He Answered,

Earnestly.

"And You Love Her Well Enough To Overlook All Of Her Faults, If She Has

Any, And To Be A Kind, Affectionate Husband?" Asked Fred.

"Of Course I Do," Ejaculated Herrets. "I Ain't A Particular Man, By Any

Means; And If She Will Only Look Out For My Tent While I Am Absent, And

Have My Dinner Ready When I Get Home, We Shall Get Along As Happy As

Pigs."

I Saw That Fred Gave The Man A Look Of Intense Disgust, And Perhaps He

Also Thought What Chance Of Happiness A Girl Would Have With A Man Who

Compared His Matrimonial Life With A Pigsty.

"Your Intended Wife," I Said, "Has Been Well Educated, And Never Known

Hardships Or Misery Until She Reached This Country And You Must

Carefully Consider That She Requires The Society Of Her Own Sex To Pass

Her Time Pleasantly So Far From The Land Of Her Birth. You Say That You

Have Money Enough To Support Her; Then Take My Advice, And Remove To

Melbourne Or Sydney, And Enter Into Business, And Where You Can Form New

Associations. The Mines Of Ballarat Are No Place For A Young Wife."

"O, I Shall Be Company Enough For Her," He Answered, Carelessly, And

With An Air That Plainly Betokened That He Considered I Was Meddling

With Things That Did Not Concern Me.

"You Fool," I Muttered, "Stay Here And You Will Be Wifeless In Less Than

A Month. The Girl Will Never Be Contented With Such Affection As You Are

Disposed To Give."

Not Another Word Was Spoken Until We Reached The Store, And Ushered Mr.

Herrets Into The Room Where The Girl Was Seated. The Latter Looked Up,

Smiled, But Did Not Appear Very Enthusiastic Or Particularly Overjoyed.

"Hullo, Molly," Cried The Lover, Roughly, Rushing Frantically Towards

Her, And Throwing His Arms Around Her Neck; And In Spite Of A Slight

Struggle, He Succeeded In Imprinting Half A Dozen Kisses Upon Her Cheeks

And Lips.

We Noted That The Interview Was Too Interesting For Us To Witness, And

We Retired And Left Them Together.

"Poor Girl," Muttered Fred, With A Sigh; "What Chance For Happiness Does

She Possess With A Man Whose Education Has Been Neglected, And Whose

Manners Have Been Blunted By A Lengthy Residence In The Mines?"

"He Is Better Than He Appears," I Replied, "And I Have No Doubt That

They Will Soon Understand Each Other's Ways, And Get Along Quite

Happily. We Have No Right To Interfere."

"I Think That We Have. She Is A _Protégee_ Of Ours, And As Such It Is

Our Duty To See Lest She Comes To Harm. I Think That I Shall Object To

This Marriage."

Confound It. I Feared As Much All The Time, But I Was Not Disposed To

Relinquish All Hope Of Getting Fred From Committing Himself To Such A

Course. I Know That If My Friend But Gave The Least Encouragement To The

Girl She Would Repudiate Her Lover, And Then I Could Readily Foresee

What Would Follow. Clergymen Were Not Abundant At Ballarat, And Fred, I

Knew, Had No Thought Of Marriage.

I Reasoned With Fred For A Long Time, And Told Him (God Forgive Me For

The Lie) That Great Affection Existed Between The Parties, And That They

Were Not Disposed To Show It Before Us, As We Were Comparatively

Strangers, And Had No Right To Judge Of Their Hearts Or Their Heads; And

At Last I So Worked On The Mind Of My Friend That He Readily Accompanied

Me To The Police Office, Where We Were Directed To A Clergyman's, And

With The Reverend Gentleman Returned To The Store, Where Our Appearance

Created Some Surprise In The Heart, At Least, Of One Of The Parties.

We Insisted Upon The Girl's Changing Her Clothes--The Trunk Which She

Spoke Of Having Been Found And Taken To Our Place Of Business; And While

She Was Doing So Behind A Screen Of Sail-Cloth, We Commenced Making

Preparations For The Wedding.

Mary Presented An Entirely Different Aspect When She Appeared, Dressed

In Her Well-Fitting Garments; And Although Her Face And Hands Were

Sunburned, And Her Manners Were Embarrassed, We Did Not Fail To

Compliment Her On Her Beauty, And To Congratulate Her On Her Near

Approaching Nuptials.

"Let Me Speak With You For A Moment," She Said, Turning To Fred Just

Before The Knot Was Tied.

Fred Stepped A Few Paces From The Group, And Waited To Hear Her

Commands.

"When I Made A Promise To That Man," She Said, Pointing To Her Lover, "I

Thought That I Loved Him. I Was Much Younger Than I Am Now, And Knew But

Little Of The World. Even When I Reached These Shores, I Thought That My

Heart Was Entirely Possessed By Mr. Herrets, And Perhaps I Should Have

Continued To Think So Had Not Accident Revealed To Me What Real Love

Is."

Fred Looked Astonished And Remained Silent. He Did Not Suspect The State

Of Her Heart.

"It Would Be Unmaidenly," She Continued, With A Slight Air Of Vexation

To Think That Fred Remained Cool, "For Me To Speak Plainer, And If You

Cannot Solve My Meaning I Must Remain Silent."

"I Don't Think That I Understand You Distinctly," My Friend Said, His

Face Slightly Flushing Under A Suspicion Of Her Meaning.

"Do You Wish To Comprehend Me?" She Said, And Her Face Was Cast Down

While She Asked The Question.

Fred Hesitated For A Moment, And Only For A Moment. He Glanced Towards

Me And Saw That I Was Watching The Struggle That Was Going On In His

Mind, And His Decision Was Instantly Formed.

"We Must Not Pursue This Subject Further," He Said. "Believe Me, It Is

Better That We Should Not; For The Sake Of Mr. Herrets, And Your Own

Sake, Do Not Ask Me More Questions."

"One Word," She Cried, Hurriedly, As Fred Turned Away, And It Seemed As

Though She Could No Longer Control Her Emotion; "Do You Wish Me To Marry

That Man?" She Demanded, With An Earnestness That Showed How Much She

Had At Stake.

"I Do," He Answered; And Without Waiting For Another Question He Joined

Us.

The Girl Turned Deadly Pale, And For A Few Seconds Was Silent; But She

Rallied At Length, And Signified That She Was Ready To Vow To Love And

Cherish A Man That I Knew She Had Already Commenced Hating In Her Heart,

And Looked Upon As The Author Of Her Misery. The Clergyman, Who Was

Impatient To Get His Dinner, Soon United The Parties, And We Saluted The

Bride.

"Let Me Go," She Exclaimed, As Her Husband Folded Her In His Rough

Embrace And Covered Her Face With Kisses. "Let Me Go, For I Stifle In

This Place."

"Take Your Wife Home," I Said, "And Be A Kind Husband To Her. She Will

Need All Your Care And Attention."

They Left The Store, And I Breathed A Sigh Of Gratitude At The Result.

Fred's Face, However, Looked Black And Threatening, As Though He Was Not

Entirely Satisfied With His Course.

"We Have Played A Mean Part In That Marriage," He Said, At Length, "And

I Don't Feel That I Have Acted Justly. The Girl Detests Her Husband, And

You Know It."

"Of Course I Do," I Replied, With Great Nonchalance; "But That Is

Something She Will Outgrow In A Few Days, And If She Does Not He Alone

Is To Blame."

"I Am Not So Sure Of That," He Replied, Gloomily.

"Neither Am I, But It Will Not Affect Your Position Or Mine. We Have

Done The Best That We Could, Under The Circumstances, To Keep Her

Honest, And I Will Ask You, In All Candor, If She Would Have Been

Virtuous Ten Days From Hence Had She Lived Under This Roof?"

He Did Not Answer Me, But Lighted His Pipe And Puffed Away In Silence.

"The Girl Liked You," I Continued, "And You At Length Discovered It. She

Is Not A Suitable Wife For You, And I Think Too Highly Of Your Honor To

Suppose That You Would Blast Her Prospects For Life And Make Her Your

Mistress. Your Residence Here Is Short, And When You Felt Disposed To

Return Home, Would You Desire To Present The Girl To Your Friends As A

Specimen Of Australian Beauty? Come, Fred, Consider All Things, And

Remember That You Cannot Accuse Yourself Of Her Ruin, Even If She Is Not

Disposed To Remain With Her Husband."

"You Are Right," He Said; "Passion Blinded Me For A Moment, But Now I

Can See That, Your Advice Is Good. Let Us Talk No More On The Subject,

But Hope For Her Happiness."

But We Did Talk On The Subject Frequently And Earnestly; And As Mary's

Career Was Much