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

Here And The Lodden, But They Will Find Out The Occasion Of The Firing,

And If You Are Men Of The Law, As You Say, The Highest Tree In This

Section Will Serve For Your Gallows To-Morrow."

"You Know The Members Of The Gang?" Asked Mr. Brown.

"I Never Exchanged A Word With One Of Them In My Life," Cried The

Shepherd, With An Air Of Sincerity, "Although I Have Often Held Short

Communion With Them In My Assumed Character."

He Pointed To The Bullock's Head, And Grinned As He Spoke.

"How Do You Know That The Firing Was Done By Bushrangers?" I Asked,

Suspiciously.

"For Two Reasons--First, A Bushranger Will Never Kill More Game Than He

Wants To Eat At One Time; And, Secondly, The Gang Has Been Absent From

These Parts For Two Weeks, And Undoubtedly Want To Rest And Recruit.

They Can't Do That Until They Know That The Whole Of This Section Is

Free From Stragglers And Spies. Me They Care Nothing About, And Will Not

Molest Unless I Am Too Inquisitive."

"How Do We Know That This Is Not A Trick Of Yours To Get Us To Leave

This Island?" I Asked.

"'Cos I Shall Advise You To Do No Such Thing. The Only Safe Place For

You Is On This Island, Where You Must Stay Until The Woods Between Here

And The Lodden Have Been Searched, And The Gang Is Confident That The

Parties Who Were In This Vicinity Have Escaped."

"But Why Not Escape Now? Our Horses Are Fresh And Fast," I Added.

"Because I Suppose That A Dozen Men Are Watching The Fords Of The

Lodden, And A Bullet In Your Back Would Probably Be The First Intimation

Of The Presence Of A Party Of Skulkers. No, Sirs, Unless You Can Skim

Over The Surface Of This Bog, And Then Scale Mount Tarrengower, Your

Only Place Of Safety Is On This Island. Trust To Me."

"And Then Lose Our Horses," I Replied. "I Suppose That The Bushrangers

Would Like No Better Plan; But I For One Will Not Consent To That?"

"Which Is The Most Valuable To You, Your Lives Or Your Animals?" Asked

Day, Bluntly.

"Can We Not Save Our Horses As Well As Ourselves?" Mr. Brown Inquired,

Turning To Me For Advice.

I Confess That I Could See No Way To Preserve Them; And I Still Insisted

That We Had Better Trust To The Speed Of The Animals Than Remain In A

State Of Inactivity And Siege On The Island.

My Plans Were Overruled, However, By Both Mr. Brown And The Shepherd, On

The Ground That It Would Be Impossible To Escape Before Daylight, At

Which Time The Bushrangers Would Probably Retire To The Heart Of The

Woods For Rest And Sleep, And All Their Outposts Would Then Be

Withdrawn.

I Was At Length Reluctantly Compelled To Yield My Opinion To The Others,

Although I Could Not Help, As I Did So, Wishing For The Presence Of Fred

And Smith, And I Thought How Different Would Be Our Conduct.

All Idea Of Finding The Buried Treasure Was At An End; And I Began To

Feel As Though I Should Be Grateful If I Escaped Back To Ballarat With

My Life, Minus The Gold Which Was So Great A Temptation For Us To

Undertake The Journey.

"Well," Asked The Shepherd, "What Have You Concluded Upon?"

"To Remain On The Island, I Suppose," Returned Mr. Brown, Rather

Sulkily, "Although I Don't See How We Are Ever To Get Back To Town If We

Lose Our Animals. I Wouldn't Walk To Ballarat For Half Of Australia."

"Can't We Manage To Make The Horses Walk The Bridge, And Keep Them On

The Island With Us?" I Asked.

"A Good Idea," Cried The Red-Haired Genius, Suddenly Starting Up, "And

The Only Wonder Is I Never Thought Of It. There Is Some Danger In The

Attempt, But Nothing Compared To Stealing A Body In A Graveyard In The

Heart Of London."

The Shepherd, Who Seemed To Weigh All Emotions By The Scale Of A Body

Snatcher, Appeared To Be Delighted At The Prospect Of Enjoying A Little

Excitement, And Began To Examine The Priming Of His Long Gun With A

Degree Of Attention That Showed How Much Reliance He Intended Placing

Upon It In Case Of Emergency.

"I Look Upon You Two Coveys In The Light Of Visitors To My Possessions,

And My Honor Is Engaged To See That You Come To No Harm," Cried The

Undertaker's Apprentice, With A Wave Of His Right Hand, As Dignified As

Though He Owned The Many Acres Indicated, Instead Of Receiving Only

About Fifty Pounds Per Annum, Not Including His Sugar And Coffee.

I Think That I Expressed A Proper Degree Of Gratitude For The Shepherd's

Promised Protection, But I Intimated That I Had Lived Long Enough In

Australia To Learn How To Protect Myself.

"Never You Mind That," Continued The Red-Haired Man, Busying Himself

With The Bullock's Head. "I Shan't Be Wanting If A Little Fighting Is To

Be Done."

"Then Lend Us Your Aid In Leading The Horses Over The Bridge, And Don't

Let Us Lose Time In Debating The Project," I Said, Preparing To

Undertake The Expedition In Company With Mr. Brown.

"Don't Be In A Hurry. Wait For Me, 'Cos I'm The Most Important One Here

At Present," Continued Day, Still Working Over The Head Which Had So

Frightened My Friend And Myself.

"If You Think That Your Presence Is So Necessary, We Will Convince You

To The Contrary By Going Without You," Replied Mr. Brown, Rather Tartly.

"There You Go," Exclaimed The Fellow, With Perfect Composure; "When I

Intend To Do All That I Can To Save You Coveys From Being Shot And Then

Hung, You Get As Mad As Foaming Beer, And Don't Want To Listen To

Reason. Be Guided By Me, And Things Will Come Out All Right."

"I Am Not So Sure Of That," I Replied, With An Incredulous Air.

"Seeing Is Believing Then. You Ain't Got Some Strings In Your Pocket,

Have You?" Our Newly-Found Friend Continued.

"Strings? No, We Have Something Else To Think About At The Present

Time," Cried Mr. Brown.

"I'm Sorry For That, 'Cos A Few Rods Of Twine Or Tape, Such As We Use To

Line Coffins With, Would Be Worth Considerable Just Now."

"What Do You Mean?" I Asked.

"I'll Tell You In As Few Words As Possible," The Shepherd Said, Resting

From His Work For A Few Seconds While Speaking. "We Three Coveys Ain't

No Match For Thirty Coveys, Is We?"

We Acknowledged That There Was A Difference, And That It Was Favorable

To The Side Of The Larger Force.

"Very Well; Then It Becomes Necessary To Deceive 'Em, Same As We Use To

Do When I Was An Apprentice In London, When Master Would Put A Body In A

Pine Coffin, All Flourished Off With Paint And Varnish, And Then Charge

It As Cherry."

"What Has That To Do With The Matter In Hand?" I Demanded Impatiently.

"Much--I Intend To Make The Bushrangers Think, If We Come In Contact

With 'Em, That They Have Got A Ghost Instead Of A Man To Deal With, And

I Needn't Tell You How Frightened They Will Be; You Know That By Your

Own Experience, Don't You?"

There Was No Denying The Assertion, However Much Disposed We Might Feel

To Quarrel With Such Perfect Frankness At The Present Time. At Any Rate,

We No Longer Manifested Symptoms Of Impatience, But Waited Until Day Had

Secured The Bones, Which Were Somewhat Loosened By The Shot From My

Pistol.

"I Think That I've Got Strings Enough Arter All," He Said, Shaking The

Head To See If It Was Firm And Fit For Use. "It 'Pears All Right, And I

Think Will Answer."

He Placed The Huge Mass Of Whitened Bones Upon His Head, And Then Shook

It In A Defiant Manner, And I No Longer Wondered At Our Fright.

"There, I Think That Will Do. Now Let Me First Tie Up My Sheepskins, And

Then We Will Start."

In A Few Minutes The Sheepskins Were Secured In Their Proper Places, And

Day Stood Before Us A Ghost Of The First Magnitude, And Looking Hideous

Enough To Frighten His Satanic Majesty Himself Had He Been Encountered

In The Vicinity Of Mount Tarrengower.

"I Ain't Got Much Beauty," Day Said, While We Were Admiring Him, "'Cos I

Trust To Inside Appearances. But Don't I Look Lovely? As We Use To Say

At A First Class Funeral, When We Had Gone To Some Expense To Get Up The

Body In Pretty Good Style."

We Assured The Shepherd That His Attractions Were Of The First Order,

And That We Appreciated His Exertions In Our Behalf, And With These Few

Compliments We Walked Towards The Bridge, The Ghost Leaving His Long Gun

Behind.

"Ghosts," He Said, In Explanation, "Is Supposed To Do Unheard-Of Things,

But I Doubt Whether Any Regular One Ever Walked Around The Earth With A

Gun; And If We Should Encounter The Bushrangers, I Think I Should Have

More Influence Unarmed, For To Give The Devils Their Due, They Don't,

Care A Rush For The Smell Of Gunpowder, While They Is Firm Believers In

Spirits, 'Cos There Is A Sort Of A Tradition That A Proprietor Of A

Sheep Farm, Who Was Murdered Some Years Since, Wanders Round Nights, And

Makes Himself Generally Disagreeable. I Don't Put Any Faith In The

Stories, 'Cos I Don't Believe That There Ever Was A Ghost, Excepting One

Like Me Got Up For