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

Stepped Out Of The Store On Board Of A Ship That Was Just Ready To Sail

For Melbourne, And Started To Seek My Fortune In This Part Of The

World."

"Didn't You Have Any Capital To Begin With?" Interrogated The Inspector,

With A Wink Of Encouragement.

"Well, Yes," Hesitated The Young Fellow; "I Forgot To Say That I Had

Five Hundred Sovereigns In My Pocket At The Time I Left; And They Were

Intrusted To Me By My Master To Put Into The Bank Of Liverpool."

"Ah, That Was Something Like," Cried The Inspector, Rubbing His Hands.

"How Old Slocum Must Have Been Astonished When He Found That You Was

Gone."

"You Knew My Master, Then," Cried Jackson, Starting Up With Alarm

Depicted Upon His Countenance.

"Of Course I Didn't Know Him; But I Can Read, Can't I? Didn't An

Advertisement Appear In One Of The Papers At Melbourne, Offering A

Reward For The Arrest Of One Charley Wright. But Don't Fear Us; Go On

With Your Yarn. You've Made A Good Beginning."

"I'm Glad That You Think So, 'Cos I Don't Know As You'd Approve Of Such

Kinds Of Pickings."

"Approve Of 'Em?" Echoed The Inspector. "No Matter; You Go On, And While

Talking I'll Order More Lush."

"I Didn't Find So Many Chances To Make A Fortune As I Expected Here,"

Jackson Continued, "But I Got Employment In A Store, Where I Worked

Daytimes, And At Night I Used To Do A Little On My Own Account In The

Pasteboard Line; But I Wasn't Very Successful, And Somehow Or Other I

Think I Was Cheated."

"It's Exceedingly Probable," Cried The Inspector, _Sotto Voce_.

"And When I Found That I Was Cleaned Out After A Few Weeks, I Attempted

To Retrieve My Losses By Borrowing From My Employers," Jackson

Continued.

"Without Their Consent Or Knowledge," Mr. Brown Remarked.

The Young Fellow Smiled Faintly, And Nodded His Head In Token Of Assent,

And Then Continued:

"One Day I Borrowed A Hundred Pounds, Thinking That I Could Replace It

Without Its Being Missed, If I Was Lucky At Cards; But Somehow I Wasn't,

And My Employers Began To Make A Stir In Relation To The Matter."

"That Must Have Been Exceedingly Disagreeable To Your Feelings," The

Inspector Insinuated.

"Well, It Was Rather Hard, I Will Own, 'Cos I Might Have Been Lucky

After A While, And Then I Could Have Paid The Whole Debt Without

Trouble; But Men In Business Don't Seem To Have Much Consideration For

Their Clerks; And I Think That A Good Deal Of Crime Originates Through

Their Obstinacy And Stupidity.

"I Was Obliged To Leave The Firm With Whom I Was Spending My Time; And I

Did It So Suddenly That They Had No Chance To Arrest Me, Or To

Investigate Matters. I Stepped Out Of The Store While The Partners Were

Holding A Consultation, And In Ten Minutes Time I Was On Board The

'Smiling Queen' Steamboat, Bound For Sydney, And Beyond The Reach Of The

Police.

"I Didn't Have A Recommendation In My Pocket, For I Didn't Think To Ask

For One When I Left Melbourne; And I Have Always Entertained Some Doubts

As To Whether I Could Have Obtained One Had I Requested It."

"Ingenuous Youth," Muttered The Inspector, Almost Fascinated By His

Impudence.

"I Tried To Get A Clerkship In Sydney, But Didn't Succeed; And Then I

Accepted A Situation As Marker In A Billiard Saloon, Where I Flourished

For A Time--But One Night A Miner, Who Had Been Drinking Quite Freely,

Lost About A Pound Of Dust, And Was Fool Enough To Make A Fuss About It.

I Was Suspected Of Stealing It; And Although I Pledged My Word That I

Knew Nothing Of The Matter, Yet The Gold Was Found In My Pocket, And I

Was Obliged To Share With The Police In Order To Get Clear."

Mr. Brown Endeavored To Hide His Chagrin By Drinking From His Glass,

While Steel Spring Could Hardly Contain Himself He Was So Delighted At

The _Exposé_.

"A Precious Sot Of Wermin Those Police Fellers, Hey?" Cried The Scamp,

In Defiance Of All My Frowns.

"O, They Are The Most Rapacious Set Of Villains," Jackson Continued,

"That Ever Lived. A Man Can't Do An Honest Day's Work Without Sharing

With Them. I Know 'Em, Thoroughly."

"Perhaps You Do," Mr. Brown Replied, Carelessly, And At The Same Time He

Gave Steel Spring Such A Tremendous Kick On His Thin Shin Bone That The

Poor Devil Was Almost Bent Up Double With Agony.

"I Ax Your Pardon," Cried Mr. Brown; "I Didn't Know That Your Foot Was

There."

"Vell, You've Found Out," Was The Reply Of The Poor Devil, As He Rubbed

His Leg.

"After The Transaction With The Miner, I Heard That A Man Could Make A

Good Living, If He Was Any Ways Smart, At Ballarat, So I Came Here And

Done Pretty Well, Until An Unfortunate Occurrence Took Place, Which Has

Been The Means Of Making Me Fight Shy For A Few Weeks Past."

"You See He Used A 'Sticker' Rather Freely," Cried Steel Spring, In A

Careless Way, As Though Stabbing Was A Meritorious Act, Which Jackson's

Modesty Was Too Great For Him To Disclose.

"I Thought I Asked You To Say Nothing Of The Matter!" Exclaimed Jackson,

With A Pallid Cheek, And A Frightened Expression.

"Veil, So You Did, But Vat Of It? Ain't Ve All Friends; And Ain't It

Right That Ve Should Know How Much Pluck A Man Has Got?"

"If The Gentleman Has Done Any Thing That Is Gallus, Let's Hear It,"

Grumbled Fred.

"Ah, That's The Talk; Out With It At Once," We All Exclaimed, Although

In So Low A Tone That Our Neighbors Did Not Hear Us.

"Well, Since The Subject Is Broached, I Don't Mind Giving You An Account

Of The Most Dangerous Expedition That I Ever Undertook; But Mum Is The

Word, For If That D----D Brown Should Get Hold Of Me, I Should Have To

Swing For It."

"O, Mum It Is," We All Repeated; And None Were Louder Than The Inspector

In Giving The Promise.

"Well, The Fact Of It Is," Jackson Continued, "Soon After I Got Here,

And Began Handling The 'Pasteboards,' I Made The Acquaintance Of A Young

Fellow Who Was At Work Mining With An Uncle. I Managed To Clean Him

Pretty Well Out; And Then He Used To Steal Pretty Smart Sums From His

Relative, Until At Last The Old Man Missed His Dust, And Remonstrated

Against Such Injustice.

"One Day, After A Hard Quarrel, The Nephew Came To Me, And Proposed That

We Should Enter His Uncle's Tent, And Take What Gold He Had Left, And

Divide It Equally Between Us. I Didn't Like The Idea, But My Friend Was

So Sanguine That A Few Thousand Pounds Could Be Made Without Much Of An

Effort, That I At Last Consented."

"I 'Spose You Mean That Affair Of Critchet's," The Inspector Said. "I

Could Have Told You That Nothing Was To Be Got In That Quarter."

"How--You Know Of That Attempt At Mur--"

He Did Not Finish The Sentence, For The Word Seemed To Choke Him.

"Know Of It?" Repented The Inspector; "Of Course I Did. Don't I Belong To

A Gang That Hears Of All Such Things? What Would An Organization Be

Worth Unless The News Was Reported?"

"But You Didn't Know That I Was Connected With The Matter, Did You?"

"Never You Mind Me--When You Belong To The Association You Will Know As

Much As I Do. I'll Give You The Credit Of Saying That The Job You

Undertook Was Well Conducted, And Only Failed Through The Old Fellow's

Shrewdness. Now Drive On, And Don't Be Bashful."

"We Agreed Upon A Night," Jackson Continued, "And About One O'clock We

Crept Into Old Critchet's Tent, And Began Digging Where We Supposed The

Dust Was Buried, But To Our Disappointment Found It Was Gone.

"My Companion Was So Enraged That He Uttered An Exclamation Loud Enough

To Awaken His Uncle, And He Sprang From His Bed And Shouted For Help. We

Feared That His Cries Would Bring Assistance, When We Knew That Our

Errand Would Be Suspected, And That Our Arrest Would Be Certain. We

Seemed Animated By A Kindred Feeling, And Both Of Our Knives Struck The

Old Fellow At The Same Moment. He Gave A Groan, And Fell To The Ground,

And Then, Fearing That He Was Not Finished, We Dealt Half A Dozen More

Stabs, And Ran, As Fast As Our Legs Could Carry Us, To A Gambling

Saloon, Where We Endeavored To Forget Our Disappointment And Terror By

Imbibing Deeply Of Liquor.

"A Little Before Daylight We Stole Back To The Tent, Thinking That We

Would Raise An Alarm In Case He Was Dead; But We Discovered That The Old

Fellow Had Crept From His Tent To A Store Kept By Two Yankees. We

Tracked Him By His Blood, And Feared That We Were Lost, But Follet--"

"Follet Was The Name Of Your Companion, Hey?" Fred Asked.

Jackson Hesitated For A Moment, And Then Continued,--

"I May As Well Own That It Was, 'Cos I'm With Friends Who Won't Betray

Me. Follet Said That He Would Visit The Store, And By Cross-Examining

The Yankees, Find Out What They Meant To Do, And Whether The Old Man Had

Made Any Revelations. He Did So, And While There Managed To Drop A

Knife, Which I Had Bought From Them A Week Or Two Before, And Which I

Took Care To Blood Up, And Then Went Before The Commissioner, And Boldly

Accused Them Of Murdering His Uncle.

"The Dodge Succeeded Badly; The D----D Fool Of A Commissioner Let The

Store Keepers Off On Bail, And Shoved Follet In Jail, To Be Held As A

Witness. But He's A Good And True One, And Has Not Once Alluded To Me."

"Is That All?" Asked The Inspector.

"That's All," Replied Jackson, Emptying His Glass.

"Well, Now, Let Me See Your Hands," Mr. Brown Said.

Jackson Held Out His Hands, Which Mr. Brown Grasped Firmly, And Then I

Heard Two Sharp "Clicks," And To My Surprise, And The Consternation Of

Our Companion, A Pair Of Stout Handcuffs Were On His Wrists, And He Was

A Prisoner.

The Securing Of Jackson Was So Sudden And Unexpected That No One In The

Room Besides Our Party Had Noticed What Was Going On, And Even The

Prisoner Seemed Not To Realize For Some Moments That His Tongue Had

Revealed Secrets Which Were