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

On We Went, And At Length The Smoke Gradually Diminished, And Above The

Tree Tops Could Be Seen The Rugged Sides Of Mount Tarrengower. Even Then

We Did Not Consider That We Were In Safety, For A Change Of Wind Would

Bring The Fire Upon Us A Second Time, And Then We Should Be Hummed In

Between The Sides Of The Mountain And The Woods--No Very Enviable

Situation. We Felt Thankful, However, For Our Escape So Far, And Prayed

As Well As We Were Able That The Wind Would Hold In Its Present Position

Until We Were In Safety.

For A Few Minutes We Sat Upon Our Horses And Watched The Flames At Our

Feet,--For We Were On Elevated Ground, And Could Overlook A Large

Portion Of The Fire--And A Grand Sight It Was To See Tree After Tree

Fall With A Tremendous Crash, Sending Up Sparks And Jets Of Flame, And

Thick Clouds Of Black Smoke Which Rose High In The Air, And Then Sailed

In Majestic Grandeur In The Direction Of Ballarat. We Were Too Busy With

Our Thoughts To Converse For Some Time After Our Escape, But At Length

Mr. Brown Suggested To Day That His Sheep Would Suffer During His

Absence, Even If They Were Not All Destroyed By The Fire.

"No Fear Of That'," Replied The Shepherd, With A Grin Which Showed How

Much Interest He Had In His Employer's Property, Forced, As He Was, To

Take Care Of It By The Strong Arm Of Law. "Sheep Ain't Such Devilish

Fools As To Run Into Fires With Their Eyes Wide Open. When I Go Back I

Shall Find My Flock All Right, And If I Don't 'Tain't Much Matter. My

Comrades, However, Will Wonder More About My Absence Than The Animals,

And I S'pose They Will Think I'm A Goner."

"How Near Are We To The Station, Day?" I Asked.

"Let Me See," Replied The Shepherd, After A Moment's Reflection. "We

Can't Be Move Than Five Miles From The Loddon, And If We Follow The Left

Bank Of The River Long Enough We Shall Reach Wright's Station, Where We

Can Get Something To Eat, And Perhaps Be Sure Of A Welcome."

"Humph," Grunted Mr. Brown, "Your Directions Are Not Very Plain, And You

Seem To Be In Doubt Whether We Will Fare Well Or Ill After We Gain The

Farm. Why Should We Not Be Received With Kindness?"

"Well, To Tell You Truth," Replied The Shepherd, With Commendable

Frankness, "I Don't Think That The Looks Of You Two Coveys Are Very

Prepossessing, And I Have A Fear That You Will Be Mistaken For

Bushrangers, And Get A Dose Of Lead Instead Of A Dinner. I 'Spose That

If I Was To Go Ahead And Speak For Ye 'Twould Be All Right."

We Could Not Help Laughing At The Impudence Of The Fellow, And Yet He

Was Perfectly Serious In His Belief.

"Let Us Shape Our Course For The Farm, And Not Be All Day Thinking Of

The Matter," Mr. Brown Said Testily. "If Wright Won't Give Us A Supper

And A Bed We Can Go Without."

"Remember," Shouted Day, As We Urged Our Horses Along As Fast As

Possible Over The Uneven Ground, Keeping Close To The Base Of The

Mountain, To Avoid The Fire Which Was Still Raging Parallel To Our

Course, "I Don't Bold Out Hopes That You Will Be Well Received. I Ain't

Much Acquainted With The Covey Wright, So That It Will Be No Use For Me

To Ride In Advance."

"Don't Distress Yourself," Replied Mr. Brown, Somewhat Annoyed To Think

That A Stockman Should Want To Vouch For His Respectability; But I

Looked At The Matter In The Light Of A Good Joke, And, Riding By The

Side Of Day, I Managed To Discover The Reasons For Not Wishing To Appear

Before The Farm House Of The Proprietor.

It Seemed That Mr. Wright Was Engaged Extensively, Not Only In

Agriculture But In Stock Raising, And That To Carry On His Business It

Was Necessary To Employ Quite A Small Army Of Laborers, As Well As A

Small Colony Of Dogs, Who Guarded The Sheep During The Night, And Formed

Regular Cordon Around Them, Into Which Circle None Could Enter Or Depart

Except The Shepherds. In Case Of An Alarm By An Invasion Of Bushrangers,

The Employees Were Required To Turn Out And Act As Skirmishers To Repel

The Enemy; And As Every Person Was Well Armed And Compelled To Be A Good

Marksman, Mr. Wright, After A Few Battles, In Which The Bushrangers

Suffered No Insignificant Loss, Finally Concluded That It Was Better To

Get Their Mutton At Some Station Where Blows Were Less Plenty And Flesh

Equally As Good.

Still, In Spite Of These Drawbacks, Mr. Wright Was Compelled To Be

Constantly On The Alert, And Never Laid His Head Upon His Pillow Of

Dried Grass At Night Expecting To Wake Up Alive In The Morning, For The

Region In Which His Farm Was Situated Was Surrounded By Bands Of

Depredators; And How Should He Know But They Would Join Forces And Make

Common Cause Against A Man Whom They Considered An Enemy?

A Love Of Excitement Was The Key To Mr. Wright's Secret For Remaining On

His Farm And Cultivating It, While Danger Attended Him At Every Step

That He Took, Unless Surrounded By A Body Guard Of Laborers. Yet He

Neglected No Precaution To Insure His Safety, And Those Under His

Charge; And For This Purpose He Had Two Natives Of Australia Attached To

His Farm, And Their Duty Consisted In Watching For The Footsteps Of

Strangers, And Following Their Trail Until Satisfied That No Wrong Was

Intended; Or, If Danger Threatened, The Occupants Of The Farm Could Be

Prepared To Meet It From The Timely Warning Of The Industrious Blacks. I

Think That I Have Before Spoken Of The Ability Of The Australian To

Follow A Trail With The Fidelity Of A Bloodhound--No Matter How Light

The Step Or What Kind Of Ground Is Passed Over, The Native Is Never At

Fault, Or Thrown Off The Scent; And Even If A Dozen Men Attempt To

Deceive Him, He Picks Out The Footsteps Of The Person He Is In Pursuit

Of, And Knows An Enemy From A Friend.

Their Tact And Knowledge In This Respect Is Marvellous, And Is Only

Equalled By Their Skill At Throwing The Boomerang,--A Curved Piece Of

Wood, Measuring From Twenty Inches To Three Feet In Length.

As I Listened To Day's Description Of The Farmer Of The Lodden, And His

Means Of Repelling Attacks, And Precaution Against Surprise, I No Longer

Regretted The Dangers Of The Excursion And Its Hardships. I Longed To

See A Farmer Of Australia, And Learn His Method Of Planting, And What

Kind Of Tools He Used, And All The Information Which I Hoped Would Be

Interesting To My Agricultural Friends In This Country. I Forgot That I

Was Not Clothed In Exactly The Kind Of Costume That Would Insure Me A

Warm Reception, And I Forgot That The Farmers Of Victoria, As A General

Thing, Are As Aristocratic In Feeling As The Gentlemanly Farmers Of

England.

I Could Have Wished For A White Shirt And A Decent Riding Costume; But

As I Was Destitute Of Those Luxuries, I Determined To Appear Like An

American Gentleman, Even If I Didn't Look Like One.

As For Mr. Brown, He Manifested The Most Profound Contempt For Clothing

When I Hinted The Matter To Him, And Concluded By Expressing A Hope That

If Mr. Wright Didn't Like Our Personal Appearance He Wouldn't Look At

Us, Which I Considered Only Just And Reasonable, Although, As A General

Thing, I Prefer Open Hostility To Quiet Contempt.

In About Two Hours Time We Gained The Banks Of The Loddon, And Quenched

Our Thirst With Its Pure Water, And Then Followed The Stream Along For A

Number Of Miles Until We Began To Approach Signs Of Cultivation, When We

Struck A Very Good Road That Apparently Had Been Used For The Carting Of

Water To The Farm House. In A Short Time We Came In View Of An Immense

Field Of Wheat, Ripe And Ready For Reaping, But Without A Fence Or Hedge

To Guard It Against The Depredations Of Animals, Although, As Far As I

Could Judge, The Grain Had Not Suffered In That Respect.

Still, We Met With No One Connected With The Farm; A Circumstance That

Gave Day Some Uneasiness, For He Was Continually Urging Us To Be

Cautious How We Moved Along, And To Check Our Horses The Instant A Word

Was Addressed To Us.

"It's All Very Well For You Coveys To Pretend That You Don't Care, But

If A Few Bullets Should Happen To Fly This Way And Knock You Off Your

Horses, What Satisfaction Would There Be In Letting The Coveys Know That

They Had Made A Mistake. Recollect, You Don't Look Over Genteel."

We Calmed The Shepherd With Assurances That We Would Be Extremely

Careful, And Continued Onward, And When We Least Expected It, A Sudden

Rounding Of The Road Freed Us From The Trees Which Grew Upon The Banks

Of The Loddon, And We Emerged Upon An Open Space Containing About Sixty

Acres, And In The Middle Of The Vast Square Was The Farm House Belonging

To Mr. Wright. It Was