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

Depart, Although We Could Not Help Wondering What Was Meant By The

Threat Of Finding Fire For The Supposed Ghost. We Found Out, However,

Full Soon, And Owed The Scamp A Bitter Grudge For His Work.

The Shepherd Pretended To Walk Rapidly In The Direction Of The

Stock-House, But Concealed Himself Amid The Trees, And Waited Until He

Thought The Last Robber Had Retired From Sight, When He Again Joined Us,

And Received Our Hearty Congratulations For His Good Conduct.

"Now, Then, Let Us Have Another Search For The Treasure," Cried Mr.

Brown, Springing Into The Hole Which Day Had Excavated, After He Had

Frightened Us From The Island.

"And You Can't Be Too Quick About The Work, Neither," Muttered The

Shepherd.

I Asked For A Meaning To His Expression, But He Declined Answering, And

Seizing The Pick Began To Tear Up The Sods With Lusty Strokes, But

Before A Dozen Blows Wore Struck, I Heard The Point Of His Pick Strike

Something That Gave Forth A Metallic Sound.

"Hold On, Day," I Cried, "The Prize Is Within Our Grasp At Last."

I Carefully Removed The Dirt With My Hands, And Had The Satisfaction Of

Bringing To Light A Canvas Bag That Was So Decayed That It Barely

Supported The Heavy Weight Which It Contained.

Mr. Brown And The Shepherd Were Almost Frantic With Delight, And Would

Have Cheered Lustily, Had Not Fear Of Bringing The Bushrangers Upon Us

Again Restrained Them.

"Down With It, So That I Can Say I Have Seen Some Money In My Lifetime!"

Cried Day. "Empty It Out, And Let Me Feel Of It; Let Me But Touch The

Precious Yellow Boys With My Fingers, And Wonder How Many Splendid

Funerals It Would Pay For."

I Took One Of His Sheepskins And Poured The Contents Of The Bag Upon It,

And Out Rattled Gold Dust, Sovereigns, Doubloons, A Number Of American

Gold Pieces--All Bearing The Date Of 1832--Articles Of Jewelry, Such As

Finger Rings And Watch Chains, And At The Bottom Of The Bag Was A Lady's

Gold Watch, Enamelled Back, And Half A Dozen Small Diamonds Set In The

Form Of A Cross Upon The Case. I Examined The Watch Carefully, And Saw A

Stain Near The Diamonds. Something Told Me That The Mark Was The Blood

Of The Unfortunate Owner. I Laid The Jewel Down With A Shudder, And

Thought Of The Cruelties To Which The Owner Had Undoubtedly Been Subject

Before She Met Her Death. Day, However, Partook Of None Of My Feelings,

For He Was Eager To Possess So Attractive A Trinket.

"Take It If You Desire It," I Said, Handing The Watch To The Shepherd,

"But You Will Always Recollect That There Is A Stain Of Blood Upon The

Case."

"Not I," He Replied, Handling The Article With As Much Pride And

Pleasure As A Boy Receives A New Toy; "I Didn't Shed Her Blood, And So

Shan't Trouble Myself About This Little Spot That Is On The Case. It's

As Pretty As A Mahogany Coffin, But It Don't Go."

"The Works Are Rusted, And It Will Be Necessary To Send It To Melbourne

For Repairs."

"Not I," Answered The Ghost, With A Chuckle; "Somebody Might See It And

Lay Claim To It, And Then Where Would Be My Watch, And Where Would I Be?

Another Term At The Hulks Is Not Agreeable To Think Of, And My Accounts

Of The Manner In Which I Got Hold Of The Thing Wouldn't Be Believed. No,

No; I'll Wear It Out Of Sight Until I Leave The Country, Or Am Rich

Enough To Escape Suspicion."

I Thought That Day's Course Was The Best, If He Desired To Retain

Possession Of The Property, For, As He Said, A Number Of Awkward

Questions Would Probably Have Been Asked Him At Melbourne, The Mere

Carrying Of A Watch By A Ticket Of Leave Man Being Looked Upon As

Suspicious By People Who Were Not So Honest As Day.

We Continued Our Examination Of The Treasure, And Were Delighted To Find

That It Exceeded Our Expectations, And So Engrossed Were We In

Speculating Upon The Nature Of The Dust That We Forgot The Hardships

Attendant Upon Obtaining It.

We Counted The Coins, And Found That We Had About Three Thousand

Dollars, And I Judged The Dust Was Worth About As Much More, As It Was

Of Good Quality, And Entirely Free Of Dirt. "Now, Day, How Much Shall

We Give You For Your Valuable Services?" Asked' Mr. Brown.

"O, I Am Satisfied With This," He Answered, Holding Up His Watch, Which

He Was Polishing On His Shirt Sleeve.

"But, Of Course, You Expect A Portion Of The Dust And Gold Coins?"

"No, I Don't Expect Any Thing, 'Cos I Volunteered My Services, And I'm

Always Happy To Accommodate, As The Man Said Who Was Willing To Be Put

In A Coffin Before He Was Dead. Never Mind Me, I'm Satisfied."

The Shepherd's Modesty Surprised Me, For I Had Anticipated, From His

Eagerness To Get Hold Of The Watch, That He Would Be Equally As Eager

For A Share Of The Gold, And Mr. Brown And Myself Were Both Aware That

He Deserved A Handsome Reward For The Dangers Through Which He Had

Passed To Free Us From The Inquisitiveness Of The Bushrangers.

Therefore, The More Backward Day Appeared The More Firmly Did We Insist

Upon Doing Justice To His Merits.

Mr. Brown And Myself Consulted Together For A Few Minutes, And Then

Concluded To Give Him A Thousand Dollars In Gold Coin; And When We

Announced Our Decision, The Shepherd Was Frantic With Delight.

"O, Luddy!" He Cried, "Wouldn't I Have A Time To-Night If I Was In

London And Had This Money In My Pocket? Wouldn't I Drink 'Alf And 'Alf

Till I Couldn't Speak, And Then Go To Bed With--"

So Elated Did Day Get With The Idea That He Clapped His Hands Together,

And Sprang Into The Air, Cutting Antics Of The Most Singular Kind. While

He Was Thus Expressing His Gratitude, And Even While His Face Was

Teeming With Pleasure, I Saw A Wonderful Change Come Over It. He Stopped

Speaking, And Muttered,--

"D----N 'Em; Now They Have Done It, And No Mistake!"

"What Is The Matter, Day?" Asked Mr. Brown, Rather Sternly, Thinking The

Remark Was Applied To Us.

The Shepherd Pointed With His Hand In The Direction Of The Main Land,

And One Look Was Sufficient To Convince Us That The Threat Which Sam Had

Uttered Was No Idle One, For A Cloud Of Black Smoke Was Issuing From The

Trees, Not In One Place Alone, But In Fifty, And Before We Could Recover

From Our Astonishment, A Sheet Of Flame Darted From The Woods, And

Gathering Headway As It Crept Along, Seized Upon The Dry Grass, And

Rapidly Approached The Peninsula.

All The Troubles Through Which We Had Passed Were Mere Child's Play

Compared To Our Situation At The Present Time, For A Forest On Fire Was

A Danger That Was Calculated To Test Our Energies To The Utmost If We

Expected To Escape With Whole Skins And Our Lives. For A Few Minutes,

Therefore, We Were Overwhelmed And Speechless, And Gazed Into Each

Other's Faces For Counsel. Our First Thoughts Were That We Could Remain

On The Island And Escape The Fury Of The Flames, And So We Might Have

Done Had We Possessed Water Sufficient To Quench Not Only Our Own Thirst

But That Of The Animals. A Moment's Reflection, However, Convinced Us

That We Could Not Exist For Half A Day Where We Were, With A Scorching

Sun Overhead And A Roaring Fire In Front, And That, If We Intended To

Escape, We Must Begin To Make Preparations Without Delay, As Every

Second The Flames Increased And Extended On All Sides.

"Pocket The Gold," Shouted Day, Setting Us An Example With His Share.

"We Will Try And Save That And Our Own Lives, But As For The Rest Of The

Baggage We Must Leave It Behind."

We Were Not Backward In Filling Our Pockets With The Dust And Coins And

By The Time We Had Secured The Last Scale Day Was Saddling The Horses

And Putting On Their Bridles.

"We Can Never Get The Animals Through The Fire," Mr. Brown Said, Well

Knowing The Reluctance With Which Horses Approach Flames.

"I've Thought Of That," Responded Day, "And Intend To Cover Their Eyes

With Sheepskins."

The Idea Was A Capital One, And Was Immediately Carried Into Effect The

Skins Which Day Had Used To Play The Ghost Were Now Employed To Cover

The Heads Of Our Restless Animals, For As The Fire Increased They Seemed

To Be Aware Of Their Danger, And Were With Difficulty Prevented From

Plunging Into The Bog, Where They Would Soon Have Been Smothered In

Defiance Of Our Exertions. The Instant That Their Eyes Were Blindfolded

They Became Perfectly Quiet, And Suffered Themselves To Be Led To The

Peninsula, Which They Crossed Without Accident, And While We Debated For

A Few Minutes Which Course We Should Take To Avoid The Danger, The

Animals Remained Motionless, As Though They Had Every Confidence In Our

Wisdom.

"We Must Look To You For Guidance Here," Mr. Brown Said, Turning To The

Shepherd, Who Was Attentively Watching The Course Of The Flames. "There

Is A Horse For Each Of Us, And A Few Blows Must Not Be Spared To Make

Them Carry Us Safe Through The Fire."

We Threw Ourselves Into The Saddles, And Left The Pack Horse,