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

Who Remains In The Store."

"Where Do You Propose Going?"

"I Will Tell You," Replied Mr. Brown, Hitching His Chair Still Nearer,

And Dropping His Voice To A Whisper; "I Am Going To Make Search For A

Buried Treasure!"

We Started, And Pricked Up Our Ears. Here Was Something Worth Listening

To.

"Do You Think That One Of You Can Go?" Mr. Brown Continued, With A Sly

Wink.

"Well, You Have Altered Our Minds Slightly, Already; But To Have Our

Free Consent, State The Case Frankly."

"I Will. You Remember When We Made An Excursion Into The Country Some

Three Months Since, That We Had A Brush With A Party Of Bushrangers, And

That We Captured A Number, And Among Them Bill Swinton, The Leader?"

We Nodded. We Began To Comprehend Him. Mr. Brown Continued, After First

Glancing Around The Room To See That No One Was Listening Save

Ourselves,--

"You Will Also Recollect, If You Tax Your Mind, That I Endeavored To Get

Bill To Make Some Revelations Concerning A Quantity Of Dust Which He

Helped Rob A Guard Of Many Months Since."

We Remembered The Circumstance, And Also The Furious Manner In Which

Bill Had Refused To Divulge His Knowledge Of The Transaction.

"I Told Him Then That I Should Learn In What Part Of The Country He Had

Buried His Share Of The Treasure, But If I Am Not Mistaken, I Was

Laughed At And Defied."

We Confirmed Mr. Brown's Words In That Respect.

"Well," Continued The Ex-Officer, "Poor Bill Has Taken Leave Of This

World, And I Hope Has Gone To A Better One. He Was Hardly Suited For

This Bustling Sphere, And I Think His Cares Were Too Much For Him."

"When Did He Die?" I Inquired.

"Last Night."

"Did He Make A Confession? Who Was With Him When He Died?" We Asked,

Eagerly.

"Softly; You Would Hardly Have Required Me To Bother The Poor Fellow

With Questions, When His Breath Was Scant, And His Thoughts Were On

Things Not Of This Earth. I Was With Him, But He Spoke Not, Excepting To

Utter The Words,--

"'I Am Going--Remember The _Shadow_!'"

"To What Did He Refer?"

"That Is Precisely What The Watcher, Who Was With Bill When He Breathed

His Last, Wanted To Know."

"He Was Probably Wandering In His Mind, And Knew Not What He Said."

"I Think That He Was Sensible Of What Was Going On Around Him, And

Uttered The Expression To Convince Me Of His Sincerity."

"Make Us Your Confidant, And We Will Endeavor To Think As You Do."

"I Will, Because In The First Place I Owe My Life To Your Devotion On

That Day, And Therefore You Shall Share In All The Benefits That Are

Likely To Arise From Bill's Death; And In The Second Place It Is

Necessary For Me To Have A Companion To Prosecute My Searches For The

Treasure."

"Then The Bushranger Revealed The Secret?" We Eagerly Asked.

"Listen, And You Shall Judge. When We Had Bill In Custody That Day, I

Thought From His Boastful Style Of Talking, That He Had Money Buried

Somewhere, And I Determined To Obtain It If Possible, For I Reasoned

That Gold Would Do Me Much More Good Than The Cold Earth."

"With This Idea I Visited Bill Frequently While In Prison, And Each Time

Gave Him Some Little Luxury, That The Rules Of The Institution Prevented

His Getting, Unless Money Was Plenty, And The Fellow Was Destitute. I

Put Off His Trial On One Pretext And Another, And Always Gave Orders In

His Hearing, That He Should Be Treated Kindly, And Have As Much Freedom

As The Place Afforded."

"At First My Interviews With Him Were Like Attempting To Tame An Enraged

Bull, And All My Advances Were Rejected. Other Men Might Have Got

Disgusted, But Not So With Me. I Persevered, And Gradually Softened His

Rugged Nature, But It Was Like Water Wearing Away Stone. At Length I

Perceived That Confinement Was Telling On The Prisoner, And Then I

Hinted How Much Better It Would Be For My Welfare If I Was Rich And

Independent Of The Police Force; And Although At First My Insinuations

Were Rejected With Scorn, Yet Time And An Even Temper Effected My

Purpose; And One Day After Bill Had Had A Bad Attack Of Fainting Fits

And Convulsions, He Told Me His Whole History, And Ended With A

Confession That The Dust Which He Had Stolen, Was Buried, With Other

Treasure, Near The Banks Of The Lodden, Within Sight Of Mount

Tarrengower. That There Was Only One Way To Reach It, For Quicksands

Surrounded The Spot Where The Money Was Hid, And That I Could Find It By

Searching Precisely At The Hour Of Twelve O'clock In The Evening, When

The Moon Was Full, For Then Mount Tarrengower Threw A Shadow Upon The

Edge Of The Spot, And No Mistake Could Occur. In Fact, He Gave Me Such

Explicit Directions, That I Do Not Fear Failure."

"And You Think That Bill Was Not Deceiving You?" Fred Asked, After A

Moment's Consideration.

"If You Could Have Seen His Death Bed--How Pleasantly And Cheerfully He

Left This World For The Next, And How Comfortable He Was With New Pipes

And An Unlimited Supply Of Tobacco, And Two Hard Candles, Got At My Own

Expense, You Would Not Have Thought That The Fellow Was Endeavoring To

Deceive Me. Besides, He Died So Much Like A Christian, Forgiving Every

One, And Entertaining No Malice, That I Can Hardly Believe He Would Have

Been Guilty Of Such Rascally Hypocrisy."

"How Do You Know That Bill Did Not Impart His Secret To Others?" I

Asked.

"Simply Because I Gave Orders That No Conversation Was To Be Held With

Him; And To See That My Orders Were Carried Out, I Sat Up With Him On

The Night That He Died. Almost With His Last Breath He Told Me To

'Remember The Shadow.' I Feel So Confident That He Told Me The True Spot

Where The Money Is Buried, That I Would Not Take One Thousand Pounds For

My Share."

We Thought The Matter Over, And Considered The Subject In All Its

Bearings. If Bill Had Spoken The Truth, There Was A Chance For Us To

Increase Our Funds With But Little Labor, And None In Ballarat Would Be

The Wiser For It. If The Information Was False, The Only Thing Lost

Would Be A Week Or Two's Absence From Business, Which, In The Present

Exciting Times, We Hardly Dared To Spare. After A Long Talk, However,

And Upon Mr. Brown's Assertion That There Was No Danger Of An Outbreak,

For At Least Two Weeks, I Concluded That I Would Leave Fred In Charge Of

The Store, And Undertake The Expedition, In Company With The

Ex-Inspector.

Barney, Who Was With Us, Waiting Impatiently For The Arrival Of Smith,

Readily Consented To Assist Fred To The Extent Of His Ability During My

Absence; And Without Further Ceremony We Bound The Agreement With Mr.

Brown, That We Would Share Equal With Him, In Whatever Expenses Were

Incurred, Or Whatever Was Found.

"We Must Start To-Morrow Morning," Mr. Brown Said, After All The

Preliminary Arrangements Were Concluded, "Because The Moon Fulls The Day

After To-Morrow, And We Shall Want To Be On The Spot To Make An

Examination By Daylight. How Soon Can We Be Ready?"

"To-Morrow, As Early As You Desire," I Replied.

"Good; We Shall Then Lose No Time. It Will Be Necessary For Us To Go

Well Armed And Well Mounted, You Know, For The Distance Is Long, And The

Road Dangerous. Besides, We Shall Require A Pack Mule Or Horse To Carry

A Few Tools, And Provisions Enough To Last Us For A Week."

That Part Of The Business Was Quickly Arranged. Mr. Brown Owned A Large

Gray Horse Which He Had Always Rode While At Ballarat, And We Had Three

Good Animals Standing Idle. I Proposed To Borrow A Pack Saddle, And Make

The Poorest Animal Do Packing Service, While I Mounted The Other. The

Idea Was Adopted, And Before Night We Had Our Provisions All Prepared,

Our Blankets Ready For Strapping, And A Pickaxe And Shovel Selected, In

Case We Should Have To Stir The Earth With An Extensive Search For The

Hidden Treasure.

In The Course Of The Day, The Ex-Inspector, After Bidding His Associates

Farewell, And Telling Them That He Intended To Visit Melbourne On

Business Connected With His Resignation, Moved All His Traps To The

Store For Safe Keeping During His Absence, And When Evening Drew On, We

Lighted Our Pipes, And In Subdued Tones Spoke Of The Prospect Of Finding

Enough Gold To Pay Us For Our Journey.

The Next Morning We Were Up Before Daylight, Preparing Breakfast And

Attending To The Horses, And Before The Sun Was Ready To Show His Face,

We Were In The Saddle, And On Our Way To The Banks Of The Lodden,

Driving The Pack Horse Before Us At An Easy Canter, And Enjoying All The

Beauties Of The Morning.

We Avoided The Road Which Led To Melbourne, And Upon Which Some Forty Or

Fifty Poor Devils Were Working Out Their Mining Tax, And By A Cut Across

The Country, In The Direction Of Mount Tarrengower, Were Enabled To Save

Some Few Miles Of Travel, As Well As To Avoid Answering Questions From

Those Whom We Met On The Road. The Latter Is No Slight Labor, As Every

Person On A Journey To The Mines Is Desirous Of Asking The Latest News,

And Whether The Gold Is As Abundant As Ever.

By Ten O'clock We Found That Our Animals Began To Suffer From The Heat,

And As Our Appetites Were Pretty Well Sharpened, We Called A Halt

Beneath The Shadow Of Some Gum Trees, Relieved Our Horses Of Their

Saddles, And Wet Their Mouths With Water, And After A Hearty Lunch,