The Gold Hunter's Adventures Or, Life In Australia Volume 2 ( Of 2 ) by William H. Thomes (books to read in your 30s TXT) π
Friends To Give Them A History Of My Adventures In That Land Of Gold,
Where Kangaroos Are Supposed To Be As Plenty As Natives, And Jump Ten
Times As Far, And Where Natives Are Imagined To Be Continually Lying In
Ambush For The Purpose Of Making A Hearty Meal Upon The Bodies Of Those
Unfortunate Travellers Who Venture Far Into The Interior Of The
Country--Where Bushrangers Are Continually Hanging About Camp Fires,
Ready To Cut The Weasands Of Those Who Close Their Eyes For A
Moment--And Lastly, Where Every Other Man That You Meet Is Expected To
Be A Convict, Transported From The Mother Country For Such Petty Crimes
As Forgery, House-Breaking, And Manslaughter In The Second Degree.
Read free book Β«The Gold Hunter's Adventures Or, Life In Australia Volume 2 ( Of 2 ) by William H. Thomes (books to read in your 30s TXT) πΒ» - read online or download for free at americanlibrarybooks.com
- Author: William H. Thomes
Read book online Β«The Gold Hunter's Adventures Or, Life In Australia Volume 2 ( Of 2 ) by William H. Thomes (books to read in your 30s TXT) πΒ». Author - William H. Thomes
Think So Himself. We Bade Him Good Night, And Resumed Our Journey, And
Just As Day Was Breaking We Drew Up Our Tired Horses Before The Store,
Which Looked Unchanged Since Our Absence. All Was Quiet And Still In The
Neighborhood, But We Observed That An Unusually Large Number Of Police
Were On Duty In The Streets, And That Many Of Them Were Strangers, And
Eyed Us With Suspicious Looks, As Though Not Certain Which Party We
Belonged To.
"I'll Hold The Horses While You Rap Fred Up," Mr. Brown Said,
Dismounting.
I Was Too Impatient To See My Friend To Need A Second Bidding. I Applied
My Foot To The Door, And Gave A Thundering Kick, That Made Two Or Three
Suspicious Policemen, Who Had Followed Us Closely, Imagine We Were
Starving For Something To Eat.
Hardly Had I Touched The Door, When A Hoarse Growl Showed Me That Rover
Was Still Alive And Capable Of Doing Active Duty. I Heard The Hound
Spring From His Sleeping Place, Cross The Floor, And Throw His Solid
Form Against The Door With A Subdued Yell, Which, After A Moment's
Snuffing Changed From Rage To Joy. He Uttered Cry After Cry Of Welcome,
Yet Still Fred Did Not Seem To Take The Hint. At Length I Heard Him
Shuffling Along The Floor In His Slippers, And Presently He Inquired,--
"Who's There?"
"A Friend," I Replied, Disguising My Voice As Much As Possible.
"What Is Wanting?" He Asked.
"A Cup Of Coffee And Something To Eat," I Replied.
"You Can Get Neither Here. Go To One Of The Coffee-Houses."
"But Suppose We Want To Trade?" I Asked.
"Then Come During Trading Hours," Was The Brief Rejoinder.
"O, Don't Stand There Talking All Day, But Let Us In," Cried Mr. Brown,
Who, Like All Englishmen, Couldn't Bear To Joke On An Empty Stomach.
"Is That You, Jack?" Fred Demanded, Eagerly.
Volume 2 Chapter 79 (Journey Back To Ballarat) Pg 232
"Of Course It Is," Cried Mr. Brown, Impatiently.
The Heavy Bar Was Removed With Remarkable Rapidity, And The Next Instant
The Door Was Thrown Open, And The Best Friend That I Possessed In The
World Was Shaking My Hand And Patting Me On The Back, As Though I Was An
Infant Strangling With Lacteal Fluid, While Rover Circled Around Us, And
Made The Air Vocal With His Joyous Barks, Until Anxious To Distinguish
Himself, And Perhaps Thinking That Mr. Brown Was Not Getting His Share
Of The Reception, He Suddenly Welcomed That Gentleman With A Slight Nip
On The Seat Of His Pantaloons, That Caused Him To Utter A Fierce Oath,
And To Rub The Place With Remarkable Vigor.
"Come In, Come In," Cried Fred, "Or We Shall Have All The Green Police
Of Ballarat Around Us, Thinking A Manifestation Is Going On. I See Three
Of The Fellows Peering Around Corners As Though Uncertain Whether To
Regard Us As Madmen Or Conspirators."
We Followed Him Into The Store And Closed The Door; And While Fred Was
Busy In Lighting Lamps, For The Store Was Dark Inside, He Chatted As
Though His Tongue Had Had A Fast For A Month, And Was Now Making Up For
Lost Time.
"I Had Near About Given You Up For Dead, And Next Week Should Have Left
The Store In Charge Of Smith And Started In Search Of You. What Detained
You So Long, And Couldn't You Send Me A Few Words?"
Then, Not Waiting For Us To Answer, He Continued:--
"I Began To Think That You Had Fallen Victims To The Bushrangers, For
They Are Very Bold Lately, And More Than One Gang Has Ventured Near The
City With Impunity, While The Troubles Are Continuing. The Commissioner
Has Been Asked To Despatch A Force Against Them, But He Has Declined, On
The Ground That He Can't Spare The Men."
"Then Troubles Continue To Exist?" I Asked.
"Never More Serious Than At Present; And I Expect That Open War Will Be
Declared Every Day. The Miners Have Flatly Refused To Pay Their Thirty
Shillings Per Month For Mining, And Government Insists That They Shall.
Neither Party Feel Like Retreating From Its Position, Although I
Candidly Believe That If A Good Man Was At The Head Of Affairs This
Difficulty Would Be Settled In Twenty-Four Hours, And In A Way
Satisfactory To The Government And The Miners."
Even While Fred Was Entertaining Us With News He Was Busily Engaged In
Starting A Fire In The Stove For The Purpose Of Preparing Our Breakfast.
"It Is Too Late To Hope To Escape Bloodshed," Fred Continued, "Unless
Concessions Are Made On The Part Of The Government, Which Are Not Looked
For. I Am Informed That The Commissioner Sends Despatches To The
Governor-General Every Day, In Which He Represents The Miners As On The
Point Of Yielding, And That Energy And Firmness Are Alone Required To
Subdue Them To His Wishes, And Prevent Further Outbreaks. You See How
Shamefully He Is Misleading The Government, For There Are Not Two
Volume 2 Chapter 79 (Journey Back To Ballarat) Pg 233Hundred Men In Ballarat, Exclusive Of The Police Force, But Who Will
Fight Against The Tax."
"How Is It Known That The Commissioner Sends Such Despatches?" I Asked.
"Why, To Tell You The Truth," Said Fred, Sinking His Voice To A Whisper,
"A Party Of Men Ambushed The Courier Day Before Yesterday, And Rifled
His Despatches. The Letters Contained A Request For More Men And Plenty
Of Ammunition, And A Hope To Have The Rebels Suing For Mercy In Less
Than Two Weeks."
"And How Are Our Countrymen Acting?" I Asked.
"They Are Not So Backward As I Could Wish," Replied Fred; "For They
Should Remember That We Are On A Foreign Soil, And That An Active Part
Is Not Required Of Us. But Few Can Withstand The Flattery That Has Been
Brought To Bear Upon Them, And As A General Thing They Are All Arrayed
With The Miners. Their Rifles Are Wanted, And Dreadful Havoc They Will
Make If Blows Are Exchanged."
"And You Have Taken No Part In The Question As Yet?" Mr. Brown Asked.
"No; Although Offers In Abundance Have Been Made By Government Agents
And The Leaders In The Revolutionary Movement. We Have Too Many Thousand
Dollars At Stake To Trifle With Public Affairs, Although If--"
Fred Paused While Pouring Out The Coffee, And Looked Hard At Mr. Brown.
"Go On," Said That Gentleman. "Treat Me As Though I Was A Countryman And
A Brother."
"If The People Were About To Enter Upon A Struggle For Liberty And
Independence, I Would Not Mind Sacrificing All The Property That I
Possess To Help Secure So Desirable A Blessing. But The Word Liberty Is
Never Mentioned. It Is Only A Question Of Money, And Therefore I Shall
Stand Aloof."
"By The Way, How Has Business Been While We Were Absent?" I Asked.
"Never Better. The Sales Have Been Large And The Profits Good. We Are
Out Of Many Things, But Smith Should Be Along This Afternoon, And He
Will Supply The Deficiency. Now Tell Me Of Your Trip. Of Course You
Didn't Find The Buried Treasure, And You Have Returned A Little Poorer
Than When You Went Away."
"That Depends Upon The Estimation In Which You Hold This Kind Of Coin,"
I Replied, Emptying My Pockets Upon The Table, And Throwing Down A Good
Sized Bag Of Gold Dust.
Fred Opened His Eyes In Astonishment.
"Do You Mean To Tell Me That You Have Been Successful?" He Asked.
"As Far As Getting The Gold Is Concerned We Have; But If You Ask Us If
Volume 2 Chapter 79 (Journey Back To Ballarat) Pg 234We Have Had Smooth Sailing During Our Cruise, I Shall Tell You That It
Has Been Rough, And At Times Extremely Tempestuous. Especially Did We
Find It So When The Rascally Bushrangers Attempted To Smoke Us Out, And
Also When We Threw Them Off The Trail By Means Of A First Class Ghost."
"A Ghost!" Replied Fred, Looking First At Mr. Brown And Then At Me, As
Though We Were Quizzing Him.
"Yes, He Was A First Class Ghost, And No Mistake," Replied Mr. Brown,
Without Moving A Muscle Of His Face.
"Bah!" Ejaculated Fred, With Disdain.
"This Is The Very Expression That We Used When We Were Satisfied That
The Ghost Was Disposed To Help Us," I Replied.
"Will You Explain Yourselves, Or Must I Resort To Extremities?" Fred
Exclaimed.
"Well, Put The Money In The Safe, And Then We Will Light Our Pipes, And
Repeat The History Of Our Journey."
Fred Hastened To Comply, And While We Were In The Act Of Filling The
Store With Tobacco Smoke, We Heard A Commotion In Front Of Our Door, And
The Next Instant The Police Commissioner Entered Without The Formality
Of Knocking.
"Excuse Me, Gentlemen," He Said, "For My Early Visit, But I Have Weighty
Matters On Hand, And Have No Time To Lose."
We Offered Him A Chair, But He Declined The Courtesy. We Saw That He Was
Ill At Ease In The Presence Of The Ex-Inspector, And We Rather Enjoyed
It Than Otherwise. As For Mr. Brown, He Smoked His Pipe With Most
Admirable Nonchalance, And Appeared Unconscious Of The Presence Of His
Enemy.
"The Fact Of The Matter Is, Gentlemen," The Commissioner Went On To Say,
"Government Has Need Of All Its Friends At The Present Time, For
Misguided Men Are Plotting Against Its Stability. The Silly Things Will
Be Crushed In The End; But Our Great Desire Is To Make Such A Show Of
Strength That No Blood Will Be Shed. Humanity Dictates Such A Course,
And I Think That It Will Meet The Approval Of The Governor And His
Advisers."
"Go On, Sir," Remarked Fred, Seeing That The Commissioner Paused, As
Though Uncertain What To Say Next.
"I Thought Of Requesting You Two Gentlemen To Volunteer Your Services As
My Aids, And If You Comply, I Will See That Government Is Informed Of
The Fact, And That You Receive Some Substantial Reward."
"In Making The Request I Suppose That You Think We Shall Be The Means Of
Enlisting A Large Portion Of The American Population Of Ballarat Into
The Service Of The Crown?"
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