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

Have Found A Market That Will Consume Thousands Of Dollars Worth Of

Agricultural Tools, And Be Paid For In Clean Gold Dust.

Mr. Wright Owned Fifty Thousand Acres Of Land,--Not One Thousand, But

_Fifty_ Thousand,--And Over Two Thirds Of It Were Devoted To Grazing

Purposes.

For Instance, He Had Five Hundred Acres Sowed To Wheat, Five Hundred To

Potatoes, And A Thousand Acres To Vegetables, Fruits, And Oats. The Rest

Of The Vast Domain Was Free To The Immense Herds Which Were Seen

Scattered Over The Plains In All Directions.

There Were Ten Thousand Head Of Sheep, Three Thousand Head Of Cattle,

And Five Hundred Horses On The Farm, And All Owned By One Man, And That

Man's Wealth Increasing Every Year To An Almost Fabulous Extent. He

Pointed Out The Site Which He Had Selected For Building An Immense Barn,

To Be Used For The Storage Of Grain, And To Keep A Number Of His Most

Highly Prized Horses In During The Winter Season, And Then Spoke Of The

Time When The Country Would Be So Secure That He Could Erect A House

More In Accordance With His Ideas Of Comfort And Good Taste, And Lie

Down At Night And Be Certain Of Awaking In The Morning And Find His

Herds Safe.

The Ride And The Farmer's Conversation Were Most Interesting To Me; But

I Will Not Inflict It Upon The Readers, For It Is Probable That They Do

Not Take That Interest In Agriculture That I Do. We Returned To The

House, And I Was More Than Ever Profoundly Impressed With The Magnitude

Of Australian Farmers' Operations.

That Evening, While Sipping Our Punch, We Hinted That The Next Morning

Must See Us On Our Way To Ballarat. Mr. Wright Vainly Urged Us To Remain

With Him For A Week, And Even Offered The Inducement Of A Formidable

Expedition Against The Bushrangers In The Vicinity Of Mount Tarrengower;

But We Turned Deaf Ears To The Allurements, And Promised At Some Future

Day To Visit Him, When Our Time Would Not Be Limited.

We Had Been Absent From The Mines A Week, And Unsettled As Affairs Were

When We Left, We Knew Not What Great Events Had Happened. I Had

Considerable Property That Required Looking After, And I Supposed Fred

Would Need Assistance And Advice In Case There Was A Rising Of The

Miners In Opposition To The Tax, Which Had For Such A Length Of Time

Caused Fierce Dissensions And A Few Bloody Collisions.

"But What Am I To Do With My Prisoners?" Mr. Wright Asked, With A

Perplexed Look.

"Iron Them Securely, And Send Them To Melbourne, Under An Escort Of Your

Most Trusty Men," Replied Mr. Brown.

"Yes, I Can Do That, But There's The Other Party--The Women. What Can I

Do With Them After You Are Gone?"

"Send Them To Melbourne Also. They Will Be Needed As Witnesses, And Will

Be Well Cared For During Their Stay. After The Men Are Hanged They Can

Go Where They Please. That's The Only Course That Is Left For You To

Pursue."

"I Will Leave A Note For The Ladies With The Lieutenant Of Police In

Melbourne, And He Will See That They Are Properly Cared For," I

Remarked.

"Perhaps You Had Better Give It To Me," Mr. Wright Said, Thoughtfully.

"Why?"

"Because I Think That Business Will Call Me To The City In A Day Or Two,

And I Will Accompany The Expedition, And See That The Women Have All

That They Desire On The Route. I Don't Like To Trust Them With My Men,

For I Don't Know How The Latter Would Act When No Longer Under My

Supervision."

"The Very Best Course You Can Take," Cried Mr. Brown And Myself In A

Breath, Glad To Think That The Ladies Were To Be Well Protected.

"If You Think That Plan Is A Good One, I Shall Adopt It," Mr. Wright

Remarked, A Little Confused, Although I Didn't Suspect At The Time That

The Youth And Tears Of The Widow Had Made An Impression Upon His Heart,

And That He Desired To Be As Near Her As Possible, So As To Condole With

Her On Her Misfortunes.

We Settled The Business That Evening, And I Even Made An Arrangement

With Mr. Wright To Forward Me All His Surplus Produce, Such As

Vegetables And Fruit, And All The Cattle He Desired To Dispose Of. I

Pointed Out The Advantage He Would Derive From The Trade, And That,

Instead Of Sending His Stock To Melbourne, And Waiting For Consignees To

Dispose Of It, I Would Pay Upon Delivery, And Give The Best Market

Price. He Agreed With Me, And We Closed A Bargain That Was Only

Interrupted When Fred And Myself Left The Country.

The Next Morning We Were Up At Daylight, And So Were The Whole

Household. Breakfast Was Smoking On The Table When We Descended To The

First Floor, And Jackson Stood Near The Door Looking Quite Melancholy At

The Prospect Of Our Departure, While Kala And Iala Ventured As Near The

Dining Room As They Dared For The Purpose Of Reminding Us Of Our

Promised Bottles Of Rum, And Tobacco. We Satisfied Them That They Were

Not Forgotten, And That They Should Receive The Articles By The First

Team That Was Consigned To Us From The Farm.

"And Me, Sir," Whispered Jackson; "I Hope That I Shall Not Be Forgotten

After Your Departure."

"We Never Forget Our Promises," I Replied. "You Shall Have A Pardon, If

Money Or Influence Can Procure One."

With This Assurance He Was Perfectly Satisfied, And I May As Well State

Here That He Was Pardoned In Less Than A Year From The Time Of Our

Visit, And That He Left Mr. Wright's Employ, Went To Melbourne With A

Hundred Pounds In His Pocket, Commenced A Small Business, Which

Gradually Expanded, Until At The Present Time He Writes Me That He Is

Assessed For Near One Hundred Thousand Pounds. He Has Been Fortunate In

All His Speculations, And Is Regarded As One Of The Most Honorable

Merchants In Melbourne.

"By The Way, That Fellow Whom You Quarrelled With And Struck Has Left My

Employ," Mr. Wright Said, As We Took Our Seats At The Table.

"He Took A Sudden Start," I Replied.

"Yes, He Gave Me No Intimation Of His Leaving; If He Had, I Would Have

Settled With Him In Full, And Discharged Him In Regular Form. He Went

Off In The Course Of The Night, And Has Taken All That He Owned And

Something Over. He Will Turn Out A Bushranger Yet, Or I'm No Reader Of

Faces."

"What Has He Carried Off That Didn't Belong To Him?" Mr. Brown Asked.

"A Pair Of Large Sized Pistols, And A Lot Of Ammunition."

"You Can Afford To Lose Them, For They Are More Dangerous To The Man Who

Fires Them Than The One Who Stands Before Them. Congratulate Yourself On

Their Loss. It Is Your Gain."

Our Host Laughed, But Denied The Truth Of My Assertion, And During The

Remaining Time We Were At The Table The Subject Was Not Again Alluded

To.

We Finished Our Breakfast, Received Our Gold From Mr. Wright, Who Had

Locked It In His Safe During Our Stay, And Had Not Asked Us A Single

Question Concerning It, Although I Have No Doubt That He Suspected The

Truth--Shook Hands With The Men, And Received The Blessings Of Nancy,

And The Tearful Adieus Of Betsy--Held A Short Interview With The Ghost,

Who Was Inclined To Shed Tears Because He Could Not Accompany Us, But

Who Was Consoled When We Promised To Get Him Pardoned, And To Send Him A

Present Of Tobacco, And Brandy Enough To Last A Twelvemonth--Had Another

Hand-Shake All Round, And Then We Mounted Our Horses, And With Three

Ringing Cheers In Our Ears We Started On Out Journey Towards Ballarat.

"A Pleasant Visit We Have Had," Muttered Mr. Brown, After We Were Put Of

Sight Of The House. "Faith, I Would Have No Objection To Owning A Farm

Like This."

"Which You Would Sell In Less Than A Year At A Sacrifice."

"No, I Don't Think So. But, Hullo! We've Forgotten Something."

"Well, What Is It?"

"Why, Something To Eat On The Route."

"Jackson Has Looked To Our Welfare, And If You Will Examine The Bundle

Strapped To The Back Part Of Your Saddle You Will Find A Choice

Collection Of Eatables, And A Large Flask Of Something Stronger Than

Water. You See That I Am Provided In The Same Manner."

"I Am Thankful For It, And Sincerely Hope That You Will Make No Demands

Upon Me During The Journey."

"Don't Alarm Yourself," I Replied, Laughing. "I Have Got A Revolver, And

Can Shoot A Kangaroo If I Get Hungry."

By Chance I Drew My Revolver From My Belt As I Spoke, And Saw That, It

Was Apparently In Good Order, Although I Thought That The Caps Looked As

Though They Had Been Put On In A Bungling Manner. The Work Did Not Look

Like Mine, And I Had A Faint Suspicion That The Pistol Had Been Tampered

With.

I Said Nothing To My Friend, But Dropped The Rein Upon My Horse's Nock,

And Removed One Of The Caps Of The Nipple. I Saw Nothing To Alarm Me

Until I Had Wiped Away The Corrosive Substance That Clung To The Iron,

When, To My Surprise, I Discovered That A Small Plug Had Been Driven

Into The Priming Tube, Thus Rendering The Charge In The Barrel Useless.

The Discovery Was Valuable, For I Did