The Gold Hunter's Adventures Or, Life In Australia Volume 2 ( Of 2 ) - William H. Thomes (large screen ebook reader txt) 📗

To Say "Old Convict," When We Recollected That He Was

Smith's Father-In-Law.

 

"Of Course I Did," Our Partner Interrupted, Apparently Taking No Notice

Of Our Mistake. "He Read The Order Over A Dozen Times, And Then Made Me

Sign A Paper, Stating That The Money Was Given Up To Me On Such A Day,

At Such A Time, And Then Called His Daughter To Witness The Delivery. He

Wished You Both All Manner Of Prosperity, And Said That He Didn't Want

You To Think Hard Of Him For Not Letting You Mine On His Claim, But

Volume 2 Chapter 50 (Arrival Of Smith.--Attempt To Burn The Store) Pg 40

Hoped To Be Rich Enough Before Many Days To Relinquish It Entirely, And

Then You Could Come And Be Welcome."

 

"Tell Him We Appreciate His Kindness," Returned Fred, With A Laugh At

The Shrewdness Of The Old Fox.

 

"Yes, I Will," Returned Smith, Seriously. "But Let Me Finish With An

Account Of How I Spent A Portion Of The Funds, And What I Did With The

Remainder. I Have Ten Barrels Of Flour, Or A Ton As We Term It, Which I

Got Cheap Enough, And If We Don't Realize A Profit On It I Shall Be Much

Mistaken--Then I Have Sugars, Molasses, Whiskey, Wine, Spices, Boots

And Shoes, Clothing, Meal, Preserved Meats And Vegetables, Tobacco And

Cigars, Pipes, Pork, A Cask Of Vinegar, A Barrel Of Pickles, Firkins Of

Butter, And A Dozen Cheeses, And Fifty Other Things That I Don't

Recollect, But Which I Have No Doubt Will Meet With A Ready Sale After

We Have Once Got Started."

 

"And The Price For All These Things Was Low?" We Asked, Quite Amazed At

The Variety That Our Partner Had Selected.

 

"So Low That Over Two Thirds Of The Money That We Subscribed Now Awaits

Our Order At The Melbourne Bank." And To Confirm His Words, Smith Pulled

From His Bosom A Small Pouch That Contained A Certificate Of Deposit.

 

Of Course We Congratulated Our Friend On The Prospect That He Had

Afforded Us Of Making A Large Percentage On His Purchases, And By The

Time That We Had Finished Our Interrogations We Had Reached Ballarat And

Drew Up In Front Of Our New Store; And In Spite Of The Warmth Of The

Afternoon, We Stripped Off Our Coats, And Went To Work Unloading The

Carts And Arranging The Goods To Suit Our Ideas Of Convenience And

Display.

 

Even Murden Did Not Disdain To Lend A Hand, And Mr. Brown, When He

Dropped Around To Take A Cup Of Tea With Us In The Evening, Finding That

There Was Plenty Of Work To Be Done, Sent Us Half A Dozen Policemen; The

Latter Labored As Though They Liked It, And When, About Ten O'clock In

The Evening, We Knocked Off, And Offered To Pay Them, To Our Surprise

They Told Us That They Were Already Paid, And All Our Entreaties Were

Powerless To Make Them Accept Of A Shilling. But They Still Lingered In

The Store, And We Wondered At It; And At Length We Hinted To Murden That

We Thought They Wanted Something For Their Services, Although They Had

Refused Money.

 

"Leave Them To Me," The Lieutenant Replied, "And I Will Find Out What

They Expect."

 

"Well, Boys, We Have Had A Pretty Hard Evening's Work," The Lieutenant

Said, Speaking To The Men, Who Had No Idea That He Belonged To The

Service.

 

"Yes, Sir; Carrying In The Barrels Is Apt To Make One Dry And Tired,"

Replied The Men.

 

"Yes, I Know; But You Understand That There Is No Such Thing As Liquor

Volume 2 Chapter 50 (Arrival Of Smith.--Attempt To Burn The Store) Pg 41

In The Store," And Murden Winked Mysteriously.

 

"O, We Knew There Was None," Cried The Men, With Wonderful Unanimity,

And Their Faces Experienced A Change For The Better Immediately.

 

"I Suppose If There Was Liquor Here, And It Was Offered, You Could Take

Off Half A Tumbler Full Without Much Trouble?"

 

The Men Were Confident That They Could, Although They Once More

Expressed Their Full Conviction In None Being In The Store.

 

"Tap A Barrel And Give Them A Strong Pull At It," Murden Whispered, "And

You Need Not Fear Of Their Informing."

 

It Was But The Work Of A Moment To Accomplish The Object, And Perhaps We

Were The More Ready From A Desire On Our Part To Taste What Smith Had

Bought. The Six Policemen Threw Back Their Heads With Military

Precision, And Emptied Their Tumblers Without Making Even A Wry Face;

But Their Lips Smacked Like The Reports Of Six Distinct Pistols, And As

They Turned To Go One Said,--

 

"Liquor Is Not Allowed To Be Sold At The Mines Without A Full License,

And The Rules And Regulations Prevent Us From Touching Any Kind Of

Spirits; Therefore We Are All Temperance Men; But, I Must Say That You

Have Got Some Of The Best Colored Water To Be Had In The Country. Good

Evening, Sirs; We Should Like To Assist Again When Our Services Are

Needed;" And Off Went The Policemen, Well Satisfied With Their Reward.

 

It Was As The Men Stated--Liquor Had To Be Licensed Or Not At All; And

Although A Large Amount Was Disposed Of Daily At Ballarat, Yet It Was

Never Sold In The Presence Of A Policeman, Or A Person Who Would Be

Likely To Inform Of The Vender.

 

We Ate Our Supper With A Good Appetite, Glancing With Pride Upon Our

Well-Filled Store And Carefully-Selected Goods, And Bright Anticipations

Arose In Our Minds As We Thought Of The Profits That We Should Reach

Before They Were All Disposed Of. A Fortune Of Colossal Size Seemed

Within Our Reach, And Only Required A Little Tact To Grasp. While We

Were Thus Cogitating, A Barefooted, Wild-Looking Boy, Who Seemed As

Though He Had Worked Under Ground All His Life, And Was Only On The

Surface For A Few Minutes For The Sake Of Astonishing Civilization, Made

His Appearance, Threw Down A Dirty-Looking Note, And Then Disappeared As

Suddenly As He Came.

 

"What Does The Fellow Mean?" Asked Murden, Who Was Lazily Swinging In A

Hammock, Smoking A Pipe With Infinite Relish, And Endeavoring To Keep

The Insects At Bay By Raising Clouds Of Burnt Tobacco.

 

"We Are As Much In The Dark As Yourself," I Replied, Examining The

Superscription Of The Letter, And Finding That The Address Was To The

"Two Americans, Who Keep The Store."

 

"Well, Open It And Enlighten Us," The Lieutenant Said, Carelessly, And

We Complied, And Found That The Contents Were As Follows:--

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    "Balrat, Australe.--You Felers Is In Danger And I Wont To Tel You

    Of It, But I Mustnt Be Seen Round Or I Shal Be Spected And Then No

    Confidince Will Be Plac In Me, The Felers Round Think You Is Agin

    Um In The Mining Tack, But I Say No, Take Care Of Your Store To

    Night, Or You Wil See The Devil. No More Now. A Man You Benifitted

    One Tim."

 

"A Pleasant Kind Of Note, Truly," Remarked Murden, Laying Down His Pipe;

"And I Don't Believe That The Writer Of The Letter Had Any Idea Of

Needlessly Alarming You. He Is Evidently Your Friend, And Would Call And

Give You Information Were He Not Fearful Of Being Suspected By His

Comrades."

 

"But What Is This Danger That We Are Threatened With?" Queried Fred.

 

"I Don't Know, But It Strikes Me Very Forcibly That I Have Been The

Means Of Involving You In Difficulty. The Spy Who Overheard Our Plans

Last Night Has Evidently Reported That You Are On The Side Of

Government, And To Vent Their Spite Against You Is Undoubtedly The

Object Of The Disaffected Miners. What They Intend To Do I Don't Know;

But This I Do Know--I Will Have Every Policeman In Ballarat Stationed

Around Your Store Before It Shall Come To Harm, And I Will Lose My Own

Life But I Will Preserve Yours And Your Property." Murden Spoke With An

Air Of Sincerity And Confidence That Convinced Us He Was In Earnest.

 

"Our Property," Repeated Fred, In A Musing Tone, And He Glanced Around

The Store, Where Bale And Cask Were Strewed In Confusion.

 

"That Is What Is Aimed At," Cried My Friend, Suddenly Starting Up.

 

"Depend Upon It, The Villains Mean To Fire The Store And Destroy All The

Goods That We Have Purchased At Such A Large Expense. But We Will Be

Ready For Them."

 

He Drew His Revolver From His Belt And Examined Carefully Each Barrel,

And Then Saw That The Caps Were Fresh And Fitted Well.

 

"In That They Shall Be Disappointed," Murden Exclaimed; "I Will Go To

The Police Quarters At Once And State The Facts Of The Case. A Dozen Men

Shall Be Detailed To Guard Your Store, Day And Night, Until All Danger

Is Past."

 

The Impetuous Officer, Filled With This Idea, Would Have Rushed

Instantly To The Inspector's; And Before Fred Could Stop Him He Had Got

Into The Street.

 

"Come Here For A Moment," Cried Fred, In A Quiet Tone, And Murden

Doggedly Consented.

 

The Instant That He Was In The Store Fred Closed The Door And Locked It,

And Put The Key In His Pocket.

 

"What Is It You Wish!" Asked The Lieutenant, After A Moment's Silence,

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Surprised At The Act.

 

"I Wish You To Hear A Little Reason, And Not Ruin Us With Your Good

Intentions," My Friend Answered, Quietly.

 

Murden Looked Astonished, But Made No Reply. He Refilled His Pipe And

Lighted It In Silence. At Length He Asked,--

 

"What Do You Mean By Saying That I Shall Ruin You With