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

"Why, I Hope That Your Honor Won't Be Offended, But I Have Got Orders To

Report All Who Go Into The Store, And Examine All Who Leave It."

"The Commissioner Is Carrying Matters With A High Hand," I Replied, "But

We Can Afford To Submit To Some Inconvenience, And Still Disregard His

Petty Malice. Do Your Duty, And Don't Be Fearful Of Offending Us."

"I'll Do What I Am Compelled To, And No More," Was The Response; "If The

Commissioner Thinks I'm Going To Act The Spy On Your Movements He's

Damnably Mistaken, I Can Tell Him."

The Officer Passed Along On His Beat, And I Rejoined My Friends And

Communicated Steel Spring's Information. Every One Expressed Surprise,

And Protested Against Such High-Handed Proceedings. But We Were

Powerless To Resist, For The Commissioner Was Supreme In His Authority,

And There Was No Appeal, Except Through The Government At Melbourne.

We Resolved, However, To Defeat His Machinations, And I Lost No Time In

Visiting The Agent Of The Stage Company, Stating That We Wished To

Dispose Of Our Horses, And Had The Satisfaction Of Receiving The Money

For Them That Evening.

The Agent Desired That The Horses Should Remain In Our Possession Until

Morning, But He Agreed To Assume All The Responsibility, And Even Smiled

When I Ventured To Hint That Perhaps The Commissioner Would Visit Us At

An Early Hour.

"Give Me A Bill Of Sale, Signed By Your Firm," The Agent Said, "And I

Will Risk All Attempts At Confiscation."

I Did As He Requested, And Got Two Or Three Respectable Men To Witness

My Signature, And The Delivery Of The Money, And Then I Went Back To The

Store And Chuckled At The Thought Of The Disappointed Commissioner Next

Morning.

We Did Not Retire Very Early, But Sat Up With Closed Doors And Darkened

Windows, And Read Our Papers And Talked Until Long Past Midnight. Our

Business Affairs Were Prosperous--We Were Free From Debts Of Any

Kind--We Had Ready Money Enough On Hand To Take Advantage Of The

Markets, And Buy Low And Sell Dear--And To Crown All, We Had Many

Thousand Dollars Lying Idle In The Melbourne Bank, Which We Could Resort

To In Case Of Necessity. Our Position Was Good, But A Few Losses By Bad

Management Would Have Made Us As Pecuniarily Poor As When We Reached The

Country, Therefore The Little Trouble Which We Had With The Commissioner

Gave Us Considerable Annoyance, For In Various Ways He Could Injure Us.

We Went To Bed That Night With Considerable Anxiety On Our Minds, But

With A Firm Determination That If We Were Imposed Upon We Would Resist,

And Even Carry Our Grievances Before The Governor, If We Could Obtain

Redress In No Other Way. We Were Anxious For Daylight, Yet Dreaded The

Disagreeable Results Which It Would Bring Forth.

No Sooner Had The Sun Shown Its Hot Face Than We Heard A Commotion In

Front Of The Store, But We Remained Seated At Our Table Leisurely Eating

Breakfast, And Pretending That We Cared But Little For The Excitement In

The Street. Presently A Police Officer Put His Head In At The Door And

Shouted Out,--

"I Say, You!"

"Well, What Say You?" Asked Fred, Without Moving.

"The Commissioner Wants To Speak To You Instantly."

"Well, Tell Him To Come In," I Responded.

"He Can't; He's 'Ossback."

"And We Are At Breakfast," Fred Cried.

"He's In A Hurry."

"So Are We."

"Will You Come?"

"Certainly; After We Have Finished Eating Our Breakfast."

The Fellow Uttered An Oath, And Withdrew His Head To Report To His

Superior Officer. In A Few Minutes Afterwards We Heard The Heavy Steps

Of Men Approaching Us, And Looking Up We Saw The Dark Face Of The

Commissioner, And The Bull-Dog Countenance Of Colonel Kellum, Who Had

Command Of The Military In Ballarat.

"Good Morning, Gentlemen," Fred Said, Rising, And Placing Chairs For Our

Visitors.

A Brief Nod Was The Only Sign Of Recognition That Was Returned, But The

Chairs Were Not Accepted.

"To What Are We Indebted For This Early Visit?" Fred Asked.

"We Have Come, Sir, For--"

The Commissioner Had Proceeded Thus Far, When He Seemed Confused, And

Stopped. He May Have Felt That He Was About To Commit An Unjustifiable

Outrage, And Wished The Colonel To Share Half Of The Responsibility.

"The Fact Is, Sir," The Military Man Exclaimed, Most Pompously, "We Want

Your Horses In The Name Of The Government."

"Our Horses, Did You Say?" Fred Asked, With A Sweet Smile.

"That's What I Said, Sir," The Colonel Replied, Swelling With Bad Blood

And Dignity.

"I Think, That You Are Mistaken, Sir, As We Are Not The Owners Of Any

Such Kind Of Animals," Fred Answered.

"Why, What Do You Call Them, Sir?" The Colonel Cried, Triumphantly,

Pointing To The Unconscious Brutes, Who Were Eating Their Provender In

The Stable Which We Had Built Just Adjoining The Store.

"Those Are Horses, Certainly, Sir, But They Don't Belong To Us."

His Face Was A Picture When He Replied, It Was So Gentle, And Appeared

So Bland And Courteous, As Though He Would Not Offend For The World.

"Young Man," Cried The Colonel, His Face Swelling As Though The Hot

Blood Would Burst Through Its Thin Covering, "Do You Mean To Tell Me

That Those Animals Do Not Belong To You Or Your Partner?"

"In The First Place," Answered Fred, With Quiet Dignity, "My Name Is

Frederick ----, And I Desire To Be Addressed As Such In Our

Communications, And Not By The Ambiguous Title Of 'Young Man.' In The

Next Place, As I Told You Before, We Are Not The Owners Of Those

Animals."

"It's A Trick To Cheat Us," Muttered The Commissioner.

"Did You Address A Remark To Me?" Fred Asked, Turning To The Police

Officer.

The Commissioner Declined To Reply, But He Seemed To Feel What He Had

Uttered.

"The Animals Are Wanted, And We Shall Take Them, Sir, For The Use Of

The Government; For The Use Of The Government, Sir, I Suppose That You

Understand," The Colonel Cried.

"That Is Something That We Have No Control Over, And Are Not Interested

In. I Have No Doubt That The Owner Or Owners Of The Animals Know How To

Protect Their Own Property, And Will Do So."

The Commissioner Made A Signal To His Men, And Three Or Four Of Them

Started For The Stable To Remove The Animals. Just At That Moment The

Agent Of The Stage Company Entered The Store, And His Presence Was Never

More Desirable.

"Hullo," He Cried, "What The Devil Are You Doing With My Horses, Fred?"

"We Are Doing Nothing With Them, But These Gentlemen Seemed To Think

That Government Was In Want Of Them, And Therefore Are About To

Confiscate Them. I Am Glad That You Have Arrived In Time To Make Terms

Of Sale."

"Terms Of The Devil!" The Agent Shouted; "Here, You, Sirs, Take Those

Animals Back To The Stable, Or I'll Break You Finer Than A Piece Of

Quartz After It Has Passed Through A Mill!"

The Men Stood Irresolute, And Looked Towards Their Chief.

"We Want The Animals," The Colonel Said.

"And Will Have Them," The Commissioner Exclaimed.

"Gentlemen," Said The Agent Of The Stage Company, "These Animals Belong

To Me; I Have Paid For Them, And Have A Bill Of Sale, And The Man Who

Dares To Detain Them Does So At His Peril."

"Let Us See The Document," The Military Man Said, After A Whispered

Consultation With The Commissioner.

The Agent Handed The Paper To The Colonel, And He Studied Over It

Carefully.

"Why, This Document Was Signed Last Night," He Exclaimed, With A Sour

Look At Fred.

"What's That Got To Do With The Question?" The Agent Asked, Abruptly.

"Because I Believe That It's A D----N Trick To Cheat The Government!"

Shouted The Colonel, Boiling Over With Rage.

"Do You Dare Address Such Words To Me, Sir?" Cried Fred.

"Or To Me, Either?" Demanded The Agent.

"Your Uniform Shall Be No Protection, Unless You Unsay What You Have

Uttered," Fred Continued, Advancing In A Menacing Manner Towards The

Colonel.

"Don't Be Rash," I Whispered, Laying A Hand On Fred's Shoulder;

"Remember That He Is High In Rank, And Won't Meet You."

"But I Will Post Him In Every Town In Australia, Unless He Apologizes Or

Fights."

"When The Government Solicited Our Company To Establish A Daily Line Of

Stages Between Ballarat And Melbourne, We Were Promised All The

Assistance That Officials Could Afford, And No Interference Was To Be

Allowed; I See That The Commissioner, And You, Colonel Kellum, Are

Desirous Of Driving Us From The Town, And Compelling Us To Abandon Our

Enterprise. I Shall Take Immediate Steps