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

Stone Or A Lump Of Gold That Mike Has Found?"

"Pull Up," Yelled Fred, And I Heard Some Heavy Substance Thrown Into The

Bucket.

"I'll See You Hanged First," I Retorted. "You Are Not Going To Make Me

Draw Up A Fifty Pound Piece Of Quartz, And Then Laugh At Me For My

Labor."

"Pull Up Quick," Cried Fred, In An Eager Voice; And I Heard A Howl From

The Irishman At My Obstinacy.

"In The Name Of The Saints, Up Wid It, Good Master Jim," Pleaded Mike;

But I Rather Hesitated, Strengthened In The View Which I Took In The

Matter By The Policeman.

"It's Little Gold That Was Ever Taken From This Claim, Sir," He Said,

"Although It Has Paid One Or Two Proprietors By Speculation. The Soil Is

Not Of The Right Kind For Large Nuggets."

"How Big Is It?" I Asked, Addressing Those Who Were Some Thirty Feet

Below Me.

"About As Large As Your Head," Was Fred's Reply.

"Is It Solid?" I Demanded.

"It Looks To Be! But Don't Stand There Asking Questions, When You Can

Satisfy Yourself. Round Up The Bucket."

I Began To Think That The Irishman's Dream Was True, And That The

Whiskey Had Not Taken Possession Of His Senses.

Fred Was Not In The Habit Of Indulging In Practical Jokes; And I Finally

Concluded That I Might As Well Satisfy Myself Whether A Stone Or A Lump

Of Gold Was In The Bucket. I Wound Up The Windlass, While The Policeman

Peeked Down The Long, Dark Shaft, Eagerly Watching For The Bucket, To

See What It Contained.

"Do You See Any Thing?" I Asked, When I Thought That It Was Near Enough

To Get A Glimpse Of Its Contents.

Before I Could Repeat The Question, The Eyes Of The Patrolman Glared As

Though Starting From Their Sockets, And His Face Flushed Scarlet.

"Up With It, In The Name Of Goodness," My Companion Shouted, Leaning

Over The Shaft, And Grasping The Rope That Held The Bucket In One Hand,

And Attempting To Pull It Up, Regardless Of The Rough Windlass That I

Was Working At.

"Can You See It?" I Demanded, Resting From My Labor For A Moment, And

Glancing Down The Shaft.

"Don't Stop, Sir," Cried The Policeman; "Up With It, Or The Devil May

Carry It Off Before Our Eyes."

I Did Not Feel So Superstitious; And In Spite Of The Warning Managed To

Get A Glimpse Of The Lump That Had Almost Turned The Brains Of The

Irishman And Fred.

At The First Glance, I Almost Let Go My Hold Of The Windlass, I Was So

Overpowered. My Eyes Appeared To Blur Over, And My Brain Grew Dizzy. I

Did Not Seem To Possess The Strength Of An Infant, And For A Moment I

Paused, And Tried To Rally My Senses.

My Heart Beat So Wildly That I Thought It Would Burst, For The Single

Glance That I Had Cast Towards The Bucket Revealed To Me A Sight That

Would Have Driven Half The Miners Of Ballarat Crazy, And The Remaining

Portion Frantic With Delight, Provided, Of Course, They Had Seen And

Owned What I Saw.

My Officious Friend Lifted The Nugget From The Bucket And Laid It Before

Me, And For A Few Minutes I Gloated Over And Passed My Hand Over Its

Unequal Surface, And Weighed It In My Imagination Until I Was Roused

From My Reverie By Those In The Shaft.

"Send Down The Bucket, So That We Can Get Up," Shouted Fred; "We Don't

Want To Stop Here All Night!"

I Hurried To Relieve My Friend, And By The Time That He Was Safe Out Of

The Shaft, And The Bucket Had Re-Descended For Mike, I Was Comparatively

Calm.

Fred And Myself Shook Hands Over Our Prize, And Then Lifted It, And

Sought To Form Some Idea Of Its Weight, In Which We Were Aided By The

Official Of The Law.

"It Will Weigh Forty Pounds," Cried Fred, After A Moment's Handling.

"More Than That, Sirs," Answered The Policeman, With A Dogmatical Air

That Was Charming To Us, Because Every Additional Ounce Made Us Richer.

"I've Seen A Few Nuggets Since I've Been Stationed Here, And I Had

Oughter Know About Such Things," He Continued, Turning Our Prize Over

And Over, And Scrutinizing It With The Air Of A Connoisseur. "Do You

See, There's Not An Ounce Of Quartz Stuck To The Whole Piece, And Gold

Is Awful Heavy When It Comes In The Lump Style."

We Assented To His Remarks Without A Word Of Opposition. We Could Have

Listened To Him For Hours, It Seemed So Good To Have Him Extol, Instead

Of Depreciate, The Nugget.

"How Much, Then, Do You Think That It Will Weigh?" I Demanded.

"Well," Replied The Officer, After A Moment's Pause, And Another Lifting

Operation, "I Should Say About Fifty Pounds, If My Opinion Was Asked.

"If My Advice Was Asked," The Officer Continued, In A Patronizing

Manner, "I Should Say, Take That Nugget To The Government Reception

Office Without Delay, And After It Is Weighed, Get A Certificate Of

Deposit. That Is My Advice, But My Opinion May Not Be Worth Much, One

Way Or The Other."

We Agreed That His Advice Was Good, And That It Would Be Wisdom On Our

Part To Accept Of It Without Delay, For It Was Rather Dangerous Having

So Much Gold In A Store, When The Town Was Swarming With Thieves.

There Was One Person, However, Who Did Not Seem To Like The Proposition,

And That Was Mike. He Had A Faint Suspicion That The Project Was

Intended To Defraud Him Of His Rightful Claim To One Quarter Of The

Nugget, And His Face Showed The Feelings Of His Heart, While We Were

Talking Of The Matter.

"Is It Moving Ye Intend To Do?" He Demanded, Eyeing The Gold As Though

It Had Been Guilty Of A Treacherous Act.

"We Are Going To Remove It To The Government Office For Safety," I

Replied.

"For Safety?" Repeated Mike. "Where Could It Be More Safe Than Under Me

Eye, Or Under Me Head While I Slept. Ough! Don't Bother, But Let Me

Carry It To The Store, Where We Can Cut It Up, And I Can Get Me

Quarter."

"You Wouldn't Spoil Such A Nugget As That By Cutting It Up, Would You?"

Cried The Policeman; "It Is The Finest Specimen Of Gold That I Ever Saw,

And Should Be Preserved."

"Faith, If That Is The Case," Muttered Mike, "It Might Just As Well Have

Remained In The Pit, For I Don't See What Good It Will Do Us."

We Succeeded In Explaining To The Capricious Gentleman What We Intended

To Do, And Pacified Him By Promising That He Should Have His Share In

Ready Money Before Night, If He Desired It; And I Will Do Mike The

Justice Of Saying That He Did, Most Emphatically, And Other Men Would

Have Acted In The Same Way.

By The Time That We Had Concluded To Deposit Our Treasure At The

Government Office, Considerable Of A Crowd Had Collected In The Vicinity

Of Our Claim, And Was Admiring The Nugget, And Wishing, With All Their

Hearts, That It Belonged To Them, And That They Could Be So Fortunate.

We Even Began To Receive Proposals For Our Claim, And Prices Were

Offered That We Never Dreamed Of Asking.

"Now Is The Time To Sell," Whispered Our Tempter, In The Shape Of The

Policeman.

"Don't Dispose Of The Mine For Any Consideration," Cried Mike; "I'm

Sartin That I Know Where Another Nugget Is Hid, And I'll Have Him Out,

By The Blessing Of St. Patrick."

"Sell While The Excitement Lasts," Continued The Tempter; "I Never Knew

Of Two Nuggets Being Found Close Together."

"It's Our Fortunes We'll Make Out Of The Mine," Mike Exclaimed. "I'll Go

Back To Ireland, Buy Land, And Be Called 'The Squire,' And Drink

Buttermilk Twice A Day, And Ate Paraties Every Meal. I'll Have A Still

Of Me Own, And Make The Real Poteen Whiskey, And Drink Punch, Instead Of

Water, And Smoke 'Bacca, Instead Of Cabbage Leaves. Won't I Keep Open

House, And None Shall Be More Welcome Than An Australian Miner!"

"Will You Have A Pig?" Asked Some One In The Crowd.

"A Pig!" Repeated Mike, With Intense Scorn; "I'll Have A Dozen Of Them,

And Each One Shall Be Fatter Than Ye."

A Roar Of Laughter Followed Mike's Sally, And The Questioner, Who

Thought That He Could Ridicule The Honest Hibernian, Instantly Subsided,

And Was Seen No More.

We Intended To Send To The Store For The Purpose Of Getting A Stout

Bucket, Into Which We Could Put Our Nugget And Carry It To The Office;

But Mike Would Not Listen To The Suggestion For A Moment. He Shouldered

The Precious Lump Of Gold, And Marched Through The Streets, As Proud Of

His Charge As Though The Whole Of It Belonged To Him, And He Knew Where

He Could Get Another Just Like It.

A Crowd Of Miners Followed At Our Heels, And Such A Mixture Of Tongues

Was Never Heard, Except At The Construction Of The Tower Of Babal.

Followed By This Motley Crew, We Passed Along The Streets, Amidst Shouts

And Congratulations, Until We Gained The Government Reception Office.

"There," Cried Mike, Throwing Down His Load Upon The Counter Of The

Office, Much To The Astonishment Of The Clerks; "Plase Weigh That, And

See How Much It Comes To, For I Want Me Quarterings."

The Clerks Did Not