The Gold Hunter's Adventures Or, Life In Australia Volume 2 ( Of 2 ) - William H. Thomes (large screen ebook reader txt) 📗
- Author: William H. Thomes
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Quarters, Where He Had Been Nearly Strangled With Smoke.
"This Fellow Appears To Be Quiet Enough," I Answered, Turning My
Prisoner Over On His Back, So That I Could See His Face.
"Is He?" Asked The Fellow In A Sarcastic Tone; And Quick As Lightning He
Started To His Feet, And I Saw A Long Knife Flash In The Starlight, And
Before I Could Spring Aside He Aimed It Full At My Breast.
In Another Instant I Should Have Been A Dead Man, But, Fortunately,
Murden Saw The Move, And Struck The Ruffian's Arm Up, And The Knife
Passed Over My Shoulder Harmless. The Next Instant My Prisoner Was
Measuring His Length On The Hard Ground, With Blood Spirting From His
Nose And Mouth, The Effects Of A Tremendous Blow, Which The Lieutenant
Delivered Full Upon His Unprotected Face.
"Lie There, You D----D Midnight Incendiary," Cried The Officer,
Indignant To Think That He Wished To Add Murder To His Other Crimes.
The Wretch Only Groaned In Reply; But Murden, Thinking That He Was
Shamming, Slipped A Pair Of Handcuffs On His Wrists, And Then Served The
Irishman, Whom Fred Had Rendered Tongue-Tied By A Blow From His
Revolver, In The Same Manner.
"A Neat Pair Of Handcuffs Is An Ornament That Disgraces No One, While
They Add To A Person's Security Eighty Per Cent. There Is, To Be Sure, A
Slight Prejudice Against Having Them On In Unmixed Company, But It Is
Astonishing How Soon The Feeling Wears Off. Next To A Good Revolver,
Believe Me, A Pair Of Handcuffs Is A Policeman's Best Friend."
While The Lieutenant Was Speaking, He Gave The Prostrate Irishman A Kick
With His Heavy Boot, As An Illustration Of His Argument Perhaps, And The
Blow Was Sufficient To Restore The Fellow To His Senses.
"Holy St. Patrick, It's Murdering Me, Ye Are," He Exclaimed.
"No, But We Intend To, Unless You Inform Us Who Hired You To Set Fire To
Our Store," Rejoined Fred.
The Fellow Maintained A Profound Silence, And Murden Was About To Repeat
His Blow When Fred Checked Him.
"No More Kicks," He Said; "They Have Been Punished Sufficiently Already,
And We Must Now Try What Effect Kindness Will Have On Them."
"I'll Try The Effect Of A Stout Halter," Cried The Angry Officer; But
Fred Was Resolute, And Refused To Allow Them To Be Punished.
Our Prisoners Listened To The Words That Passed Between The Lieutenant
And Fred, And I Could See By The Bright Starlight That Astonishment Was
Plainly Visible Upon Their Faces. It Was Evident That They Expected
Different Treatment.
"Let Us Take Them Into The Store, And There We Can Examine Them At
Volume 2 Chapter 51 ( Attempt To Burn The Store) Pg 48Leisure," Fred Said; And As The Idea Met Our Approval, We Helped Them To
Stand Upon Their Feet, And Then Escorted Them Into The Building, Where
We Lighted Our Candles, And After Wiping Some Of The Congealed Blood
From Their Faces, We Examined Their Countenances To See If We Had Ever
Met Them Before In Ballarat.
"Where Have We Seen You Before?" Fred Asked, Addressing The Irishman.
The Man Hung His Head And Refused To Reply; And He Even Appeared To Act
As Though Ashamed Of His Conduct.
"I Can Tell You Where We Have Met Him Before," I Remarked. "Don't You
Remember The Irishman Whose Wounds You Dressed On The Second Night Of
Your Arrival, And Who Swore That He Would Yet Live To Reward You?"
Fred Nodded, And His Face Grew Dark With Passion.
"Well, This Is The Person. He Was Destitute Of Money And Credit, And To
Save His Life We Spent Many Hours In Cleansing His Injuries, And
Dressing Them With Care. He Has Already Attempted To Pay Us His Debt Of
Gratitude, And Perhaps When He Is Again Sick He Will Visit Us."
"You Miserable Apology For A Man," Cried Murden, Raising His Arm, And
The Fellow Cowered At The Threatened Blow; But Fred Interposed, And
Stopped The Impetuous Officer From Carrying His Intention Into Effect.
"What Excuse Have You To Offer For Plotting Against Us?" Demanded Fred,
Addressing The Irishman.
"I Was Poor, And Wanted Food," He Returned, With A Face Of Shame.
"Why Did You Not Come To Me, And I Would Have Supplied Your Wants? It Is
But A Poor Return To Attempt To Burn Us Out For The Attention That We
Showed You. Is Your Heart Made Of Stone?"
"I Was Told That You Two Was Plotting Agin The Miners Concerning The
Tax, And That It Would Be A Good Thing To Ruin Ye, And Make Ye Lave The
Country," Answered The Irishman, Not Daring To Raise His Downcast
Glances From The Floor.
"And The Miners Hired Both Of You To Commence The War Of Burning, Did
They?" Asked Fred.
"No, Not The Miners," Returned The Man, "Although They Think That You Is
Agin 'Um, And That You Had Better Move. A Man, Whose Name We Don't Know,
Gave Us Five Pounds To Set The Place On Fire."
"You Are Lying, And We Know It," Retorted Fred. "Tell Us Who Paid You
The Money, Or You Will Fare Badly," He Continued, In A Stern Tone Of
Voice.
The Incendiary Stammered, And Looked Towards His Accomplice, As Though
Uncertain What To Say, And While Hesitating, The Latter Exclaimed:
Volume 2 Chapter 51 ( Attempt To Burn The Store) Pg 49
"It Is Useless To Mince Matters, Pat--We Are In A Fix, And Have Got To
Make The Most Of It. We Belong To A Secret League, Whose Object Is To
Resist Paying The Taxes Imposed By Government Upon Miners, And Hearing
That You Were With The Government, We Determined To Clip Your Claws, And
Prevent You From Doing Mischief. If Your Store Had Taken Fire, We Might
Have Made A Few Pounds By Plunder, But As For Receiving Five Pounds, Or
Any Money For The Work, It's All Sham, And Pat Knows It. We Talked The
Matter Over With A Dozen Or So, And Agreed To Do The Business. That's
All About It, And You May Make The Most Of It, And Hand Us Over To The
Police As Soon As You Please."
The Ruffian Spoke In As Free And Easy A Manner As Though He Had Been
Engaged In Some Meritorious Work, Instead Of A Piece Of Black Villany.
"You Did Not Know, Then, That We Were Opposed To The Government On The
Tax Question, And That While We Determined To Take No Part In The
Struggle, We Sympathized With The Miners?" Inquired Fred.
"One Of The Men To Whom We Talked Said As Much," Answered The Fellow,
"But We Did Not Pay Any Attention To Him, And Neither Do I Believe It
Now."
"Then Let This Convince You," Exclaimed Fred, Taking The Key Of The
Irons From Murden's Hand, And Unlocking The Handcuffs. "There, You Are
Free. Go And Tell The Dissatisfied Miners That We Will Never Plot
Against Them, Although It Is Probable That We Shall Not Take Up Arms In
Their Defence. We Are Traders, And Have Done With Fighting, And Wish To
Remain Neutral."
The Fellows Stared In Unfeigned Astonishment At Fred, And Then Around
The Store, As Though Hardly Convinced That They Had Heard The Welcome
Intelligence.
"Is Your Honor Serious?" Asked The Irishman.
"Quite So--Go; But If Another Attempt Is Made To Burn Us Out, We Have
Weapons That We Know How To Use. Say So To Those With Whom You Plotted."
"I Won't Say That I'm Sorry For What I've Done, 'Cos No Great Harm Has
Happened Any How," Said The Englishman, Who Appeared To Possess More Of
An Education Than His Companion; "But I'll Say This--Had We Burned Your
Store Down, And Then Learned That You Was Not Agin Us, I Should Have
Felt Bad, And Would Have Tried To Right It In Some Way. We Are Poor
Devils At Best, And Ain't Got Much In Common, But We Are All Liable To
Make Mistakes, And So We Supposed That We Were Really Doing Something
For The Cause."
"It's Little I Thought It Was Ye," Said The Irishman, Who Seemed
Determined Also To Offer An Excuse. "Faith, Had I Known It Was The Two
Rael Gintlemen Who Healed Me Sores, It's Little I'd Thought Of Setting
Ye On Fire. Long Lives To Ye, And Don't Be Afraid Of Bad Luck After
This. It's Paddy O'shea Who Will Fight For Ye To The Longest Day That He
Lives."
Volume 2 Chapter 51 ( Attempt To Burn The Store) Pg 50
We Received The Apologies With Due Dignity, And Without Placing Too Much
Stress Upon What Was Said By The Men; And At Last They Concluded To Take
Their Departure, But Just As They Got To The Door, And While Fred Was
Unlocking It, O'shea Expressed A Desire To Whisper A Few Words To My
Friend.
"If Ye Have Such A Thing As A Thimble Full Of Whiskey In The Store,
Perhaps Ye Will Give Us A Drink?" He Said.
Fred Hesitated For A Moment, But At Last Concluded That It Would Be A
Cheap Riddance By Giving Them A Drink. He Drew A Couple Of Stiff Glasses
From The Barrel, And They Swallowed The Liquor With A Relish That Would
Have Delighted The Heart Of A Manufacturer.
"Ah, How I Should Like To Drink Such Stuff As That All Day, And Have
Nothing To Do!" Cried Pat; And He Glanced Fondly Towards The Barrel, As
Though Anticipating Another Invitation, But He Didn't Get It.
They Still Hesitated About Going, And The Two Villains Looked First At
One And Then At Another, As Though They Still Had A Matter That They
Wished To Speak About.
"I Also Have
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