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

Did The Work Might Have On Us.

A Brief Inspection Convinced Me That The Remaining Five Tubes Were In

Volume 2 Chapter 78 (Mr. Wright's Farm.--Death Of Kelly) Pg 222The Same Condition, And Then I Called For A Halt.

"What's The Matter Now?" Demanded My Friend, Who Was Considerable In

Advance Of Me.

"A Slight Discovery That May Prove Of Value."

"What Is It--Another Bottle Of Liquor?"

"No, Of More Importance Than That. Had It Been A Bottle I Should Have

Hardly Called You Back," I Replied.

"No, I'll Be Sworn That You Would Not. But Go On. Tell Me What You Have

Found Out Now."

"Simply That Our Pistols Have Been Tampered With. At Least Mine Has."

"Is It Possible?" Cried Mr. Brown, Hastily, Drawing His Weapon And

Inspecting It.

"I See Nothing," He Continued. "The Powder And Ball Seem To Be In Their

Places, And The Caps On."

"Take Off The Caps, And Then See," I Remarked.

He Did As I Requested, And Found The Tubes Stopped As Mine

"The Devil!" He Muttered; "I Don't Like This Much." "Neither Do I; But

We Must Make The Best Of It. The Quicker We Extract The Plugs, The More

Safe I Shall Feel."

The Task Was A Long One, But We Accomplished It, And Then, To Make All

Sure, We Reloaded Our Weapons, And Felt Relieved When We Found That We

Could Depend Upon Them.

"When Was This Done?" Mr. Brown Inquired.

"Probably Yesterday Afternoon, While We Were Looking Over The Farm."

"But Who Could Have Done It?"

"There You Ask Me Too Much. It May Have Been Known To The Farm Hands

That We Had Money On Our Persons. Indeed, I Think That The Shepherd,

While In His Cups, Boasted Of The Rich Booty Which We Had Found, And So

Excited The Envious Spirit Of Some Reckless Fellow Who Wishes To Be Rich

At Our Expense."

"Then We Must Have The Satisfaction Of Riding Along, Anticipating A

Bullet Every Few Minutes," Grumbled Mr. Brown.

"I Suppose That Is The Case, Unless We Change Our Route."

"And Go Thirty Miles Out Of Our Way?" Exclaimed My Companion,

Sneeringly. "No, Sir. I Have No Desire To Cross A Sandy Plain Where The

Sun Heats The Earth So Hot That A Mosquito Gets Its Wings Singed If It

Alights Before Twelve O'clock At Night."

"The Plain Must Be A Paradise If Insects Don't Exist There. Let Us Go By

That Route," I Replied.

"I Didn't Say That Flies And Mosquitoes Were Not There. I Said That They

Didn't Touch The Sand, But They Hover In The Air, And Unfortunate Is The

Man Or Beast That They Light Upon."

I Found Out That Mr. Brown Was Not To Be Changed From His Purpose; So We

Once More Rode On Side By Side, And While We Were Chatting Upon The

Incidents That Had Befallen Us During Our Excursion, We Almost Forgot

The Plugging Of The Pistols.

At The Edge Of Mr. Wright's Land, On The Route To Ballarat, Was A Small

Forest Of Gum Trees, Through Which Ran A Small Stream, Similar To The

One That We Crossed On The Night That We Captured The Bushrangers. The

Water Was Shallow And Sluggish, With A Soft, Sticky Bottom, And Boggy

Sides. This Stream Mr. Wright Had Told Us We Should Have To Cross, And

That After We Were Over We Could Soon Find The Numerous Trails And Roads

Leading To The Mines, And Probably Meet With Parties Of Miners.

When The Directions Were Given A Number Of The Farm Hands Were Present,

So That I Arrived At The Conclusion That While We Were Fording The

Stream An Attempt Would Be Made Upon Our Lives, If It Was To Be Made At

All.

As Soon, Therefore, As We Arrived In The Vicinity Of The Brook I Checked

The Pace Of My Horse, And Carefully Scrutinized The Trees And Places

Where An Ambush Might Be Expected.

I Even Examined The Ground For The Prints Of Horses' Feet, For I Knew

That It Was Customary For Every Runaway Servant Or Farm Hand To Steal A

Horse.

That Was Considered A Matter Of Course, And It Was No Unusual Thing For

The Police Of Australia, When They Saw A Poorly-Clad Man On Horseback,

To Ask Him Where He Stole It; And Unless He Gave Pretty Correct Answers,

The Animal Would Be Taken Away And Confiscated To The Services Of The

Force.

I Could Tell Nothing By The Earth, For The Cattle Had Resorted To The

Brook To Quench Their Thirst, And Roll In The Cool Mud.

I Glanced Hastily Around, But Saw Nothing To Excite Alarm; So I Touched

My Horse Lightly And Entered The Brook. The Animal, Disliking The Mud,

Sprang Suddenly Half Way Across. The Quick Motion Of The Brute Probably

Saved My Life, For Just As The Animal Sprang A Shot Was Fired, And The

Ball Whizzed In Uncomfortable Proximity To My Head.

I Struck The Spurs Deeply Into The Brute's Sides, And With A Bound Like

Lightning, He Landed Me On The Bank Of The Stream; But As He Did So, The

Soil Yielded, And He Fell, Throwing Me Several Feet From Him.

Again Was I Indebted For My Life To That Simple Accident, And It Was Of

A Kind That Had Not Occurred Before During My Residence In Australia,

For Just As The Horse Fell, Another Sharp Report Of Firearms Was Heard,

And A Bullet Struck The Trunk Of A Tree Over My Head, And Sent A Shower

Of Bark Rattling Upon My Face.

"I See The D----D Scoundrel!" Shouted Mr. Brown, And He Spurred In

Pursuit. I Saw The Form Of A Stout-Built Man, Mounted On A Powerful

Horse, Disappear Amid The Trees, And I Quickly Urged My Animal To His

Feet, So That I Could Join In The Pursuit.

Before It Could Be Done, I Heard Two Quick, Ringing Shots, Which My Ears

Told Me Came From Mr. Brown's Revolver, And I Easily Guessed The Fate Of

The Would-Be Assassin.

By The Time I Had Scraped The Mud From My Person, Mr. Brown Came Riding

Slowly Back, Looking As Unconcerned And Calm As Possible.

"Did You Hit Him?" I Asked.

"To Be Sure; Both Shots Told," Was The Satisfactory Reply.

"Who Was The Scamp? Did You Recognize Him?"

"Certainly; I Could Hardly Fail To Do That, When He Bore Your Mark."

"How--My Mark?" I Asked In Astonishment

"Yes; One Of His Eyes Was Black And Blue, Where You Struck Him Last

Night."

"You Mean To Tell Me That It Was Kelly Who Sought My Life?" I Cried,

Recollecting That Mr. Wright Had Informed Me That The Fellow Had Left

The Farm The Night Before.

"If You Don't Believe It, You Will Find The Body A Few Rods From Here

With Two Wounds--One On The Right Shoulder And The Second Through The

Body."

"I Have No Desire To See It," I Replied; "Let Us Continue Our Journey,

And Leave The Scene Of So Disagreeable A Necessity."

If Mr. Brown Did Not Utter A Prayer Of Thanksgiving For His Escape, I Am

Certain That I Did; And It Was A Sincere One At That, For Nothing But An

Overruling Providence Could Have Saved One From The Effects Of Two Shots

At A Short Distance.

On We Pressed, Our Good Horses Exerting Themselves To The Utmost, And

Almost Regardless Of The Boat Which Poured Down Upon Our Heads, Until

Our Brains Seemed Melted, And Ready To Run From The Eyes. Profuse

Drinking Alone Saved Us From A Sun-Stroke That Day.

At Length We Reached The Plain, And Saw Stretched Before Us Half A Dozen

Roads, All Leading To The Mines, But All Deserted, For It Was At An Hour

When Few Travellers Cared To Move, Preferring To Wait Until The Sun Had

Ceased Its Fiery Course, And The Earth Had Thrown Off Its Fervent Heat.

"I Go No Farther," I Exclaimed, As I Saw That My Horse Was Suffering

From His Over-Exertions.

Mr. Brown Reined In, And Seemed Disposed To Take Advice.

"Only To The Next Clump Of Trees," He Replied, Pointing To Half A Dozen,

About A Mile Distant.

"We Shall Kill The Animals, And Ourselves In The Bargain," I Replied.

"A Mile Or So Will Make But Little Difference; I Think That I Can

Promise You A Good Camping Ground, And A Sink Hole With Pretty Fresh

Water Under Those Trees; Come."

I Could No Longer Resist The Inducements, And Once More We Put Our

Horses In Motion.

"See, As I Told You, We Shall Find Company Under The Trees," Cried Mr.

Brown; "There Is Smoke Arising, And That Denotes Coffee And Supper.

Cheer Up, And We Shall Yet Learn The News Before Sunset."

A Few Minutes Revealed To Our Gaze Three Or Four Men And Two Women,

Seated Near A Wagon, That Looked As Though It Had Made Many Journeys

Between Ballarat And Melbourne, Before The Roads Were In Good Order. A

Brisk Fire Was Burning, And On That Fire We Could See A Coffee-Pot And A

Kettle. A Short Distance From The Camp Were Two Skeleton Horses, With

Just Life Enough Left To Be Able To Graze Upon The Prairie, And Who

Seemed To Have Been Fed On Thistles During The Last Few Years Of Their

Life. With No Suspicion That Our Appearance Was Against Us, We Rode

Boldly On Until We Were Brought To A Halt By A Couple Of Presented

Muskets, Held In The Hands Of Their Trembling Owners.

"Don't Ye Come Here, Ye Divils!" Shouted One Of The Men In Goodly Strong