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

Had Volume 2 Chapter 52 (The Attempt To Murder Mr. Critchet) Pg 54

Received The Point Of The Knife, And Saved The Old Man From Instant

Death.

 

A Further Examination Revealed Two More Stabs, One On The Right Shoulder

And The Other On The Left Breast, Both Of Which Were Bleeding Profusely,

And Had So Weakened The Old Man That He Fainted The Instant He Found

That He Was Likely To Receive Assistance.

 

We Went To Work And Cleansed The Wounds Of Blood, And Then Stopped The

Bleeding By Applying Balsam And Lint Freely, And Over All We Put Pieces

Of Adhesive Plaster, Which We Had Used Before For Cuts, And Found Very

Efficacious.

 

In The Present Instance It Served To Keep The Lint In Its Place, And I

Have No Doubt That It Was Mainly Instrumental In Saving The Life Of Mr.

Critchet, For It Prevented The Insects From Irritating The Wounds And

Causing Inflammation.

 

A Dose Of Weak Wine Was Poured Down Our Patient's Throat, And Then We

Sat By His Side Until Morning, Before He Recovered His Consciousness,

And Was Able To Speak.

 

"I've Foiled The Young Scamp," He Muttered, As He Looked Around The

Store, And Then Suffered His Glance To Rest Upon Our Faces. "He Thought

That He Could Get The Old Miner's Dust; But He Missed His Aim, And I

Shall Yet Live To Punish Him."

 

"Of Whom Do You Speak?" I Asked, Bending Over His Form So That I Could

Hear Him More Distinctly, For He Spoke Rather Low And Incoherently.

 

"There Were Two Of Them," The Old Miner Continued, Not Noticing My

Interrogation; "I Know There Were Two Of Them, Because I Could Hear Them

Whisper, And Feel For The Gold; But I Cheated Them, And Shall Live."

 

The Old Man Attempted To Laugh, But The Effort Sounded Like A

Death-Rattle, It Was So Faint.

 

"You Must Not Talk Now," Fred Said, "But Save Your Strength, And In A

Few Days We Hope You Will Be Quite Well. Sleep If You Can, And In The

Mean Time We Will Send You A Physician."

 

"No, No," Our Patient Exclaimed, Hurriedly; "I Want No Meddlesome Quack

Near Me, With His Solemn Face And Pretended Knowledge. There Is Not A

Doctor In Ballarat That I Would Trust With My Life. Besides, They Are So

Expensive, And Where Is The Money To Come From To Pay A Physician's

Bills?"

 

"We Will Be Responsible For His Bill," Rejoined Fred, Soothingly. "You

Have Been Grievously Hurt, And Need Better Attention Than We Can Give

You."

 

"But I Say No," Reiterated Mr. Critchet; "I Shall Get Well, And To You

Alone Will The Praise Be Due. And Hark Ye, Young Men! Don't Be Too

Forward Hereafter In Volunteering To Assume Another's Debts. You May

Live To Repent It. Now Let Me Rest For An Hour Or Two, And When I Awake

I Think That I Shall Feel Stronger."

 

The Old Man, Who Spoke With A Sort Of Dictatorial Officiousness, As

Though He Had Been Accustomed To Command All His Lifetime, Closed His

Eyes, And In A Few Minutes Was In A Troubled Sleep; And As He Did Not

Require The Services Of Both Of Us To Attend Him, I Went To Bed, And

Left Fred Watching By His Side, With The Understanding That I Was To Be

Called At Daylight, So That I Could Relieve Him And Let Him Obtain A

Few Hours' Rest, Which He Very Much Needed.

 

Fred Called Me At The Specified Time, But Our Patient, Instead Of Being

Better, Was Much Worse, And Was Laboring Under The Effects Of A High

Fever. A Dozen Times He Attempted To Leave His Bed, And As Often Did I

Restrain Him, And Soothe Him With Kind Words, Until At Length, Just

Before Daylight, I Recollected A Bottle Of Opium That I Had In My Trunk,

And I Managed To Get It And Persuade The Sick Man To Take A Large Dose,

Which He Did Under The Impression That I Was A Servant, And Was Handing

Him A Glass Of Wine.

 

The Opiate Acted In A Beneficial Manner, For His System Was So Weakened

That It Set Him Into A Deep Sleep, Which Lasted For A Number Of Hours;

And Before He Had Awakened We Had Removed Him To A Little Room That We

Had Partitioned Off From The Main Store, Where He Could Be Free From

Most Of The Noise And Confusion That Large Sales Occasioned.

 

About Sunrise, The First Person That Entered The Store Was The Old Man's

Nephew, Follet. He Looked Agitated And Alarmed, And Shuddered When He

Saw The Stains Of Blood Upon The Doorstep, And Also On The Floor Of The

Store Where We Had Rested The Old Man Before Putting Him On The

Mattress. He Did Not Raise His Eyes To Our Faces, Although Many Times I

Endeavored To Get A Fair Glance At His Face, To See If I Could Read His

Thoughts.

 

"I Have Bad News This Morning," He Said, At Length, Finding We Were Not

Disposed To Open The Conversation.

 

"Have You, Indeed?" Asked Fred, With A Slight Sneer.

 

"I Slept From My Uncle's Tent Last Night," He Went On To Say, "And Upon

Returning This Morning I Find That There Has Been Violence And Robbery

Committed. My Poor Relative Is Missing, And I Fear Murdered, For His Bed

Is Bloody, And Tracks Of Blood Are To Be Seen On The Ground."

 

"And In Regard To The Robbery," Fred Asked, "How Do You Know That He Has

Lost Any Thing?"

 

"O, I Am Positive On That Score, Because My Uncle Had About A Thousand

Ounces Of Gold, In Nuggets And Fine Dust, Buried Under One Corner Of His

Tent, And The Treasure Is Gone," Cried Follet, Eagerly.

 

"You Are Certain Of That, I Suppose?" Fred Asked.

 

"O, Quite Certain, Because The Gold Is The First Thing That I Thought Of

Volume 2 Chapter 52 (The Attempt To Murder Mr. Critchet) Pg 55

When I Found That My Uncle Had Been Murdered," Exclaimed The Young

Fellow, With His Eyes Still Cast To The Floor.

 

"Do You Suspect Any One?" We Asked, With A Design To Bring Him Out.

 

"There Is Blood Upon Your Door Step And Floor, And The Tracks Lead This

Way," He Answered Evasively.

 

I Saw That He Raised His Eyes Quick As Lightning To Note What Effect His

Words Had Upon Us; But Meeting The Stern Glance Of Fred, He Again Gazed

Upon The Floor.

 

"I Suppose That We Might Effect A Compromise, And Get Somebody To Swear

That We Did Not Molest Your Uncle, If We Promised Five Hundred Of The

Thousand Ounces That The Robbers And Would-Be Assassins Obtained," Fred

Remarked, In An Under Tone, And In A Careless Sort Of Manner.

 

"I, For One," The Young Fellow Replied, "Should Never Be Disposed To

Ask Questions, Although You Can Imagine My Feelings At The Thought Of

The Bad Treatment That The Old Fellow Received. When Can I Have The

Dust?"

 

The Question Disconcerted Fred For A Moment, For He Had No Idea That The

Fellow Would Answer As He Did.

 

"As Soon As Your Uncle Is Well Enough To Talk About Money Matters, We

Will Mention The Subject," I Rejoined, Hastily.

 

"Well Enough?" He Asked; "I Thought That You Said He Was Dead."

 

"O, Bless You, No, Indeed; He Is Far From Being A Dead Man, And We Hope,

By Proper Treatment, To See Him Well In The Course Of A Few Weeks."

 

The Nephew's Face Darkened, And His Eyes Looked Snaky, As Though He

Would Like To Strike, But Dared Not. We Motioned To Him, And Led The Way

To The Small Private Room Where Mr. Critchet Was Lying, And When He Saw

His Uncle's Wan Features, He Turned Pale, And His Agitation Was Intense.

 

He Saw That We Were Watching His Movements, And Tried To Appear As

Though Surprised, But The Artificial Effort Was Too Much For Him; And

Finally He Turned And Left The Room, Giving As An Excuse That His

Feelings Overpowered Him.

 

"You Can See The Sufferer Every Day, If You Are Disposed," Fred Said,

"But It Must Always Be In The Presence Of Witnesses. When Your Uncle Is

Well He Can Act As He Pleases, But Here He Remains Until Cured."

 

"Your Language Is Mysterious, And Seems To Reflect Upon Me As A Man Of

Honor," He Exclaimed. "Do I Understand You To Say That You Suspect Me Of

Injuring My Poor Uncle, Whom I Loved Above All Earthly Things?"

 

"With The Exception Of Playing Cards," Fred Added.

 

"You Shall Be Sorry For Your Words, And Perhaps I May Make You Appear In

Volume 2 Chapter 52 (The Attempt To Murder Mr. Critchet) Pg 56

Rather An Equivocal Light Before Many Hours Have Passed;" And With A

Look Of Devilish Malice The Nephew, Who Had Attempted To Murder His Old

Uncle For A Few Thousand Dollars' Worth Of Gold Dust, Left The Store,

And We Did Not Care If We Never Laid Eyes Upon His Treacherous,

Cold-Looking Face Again, Although I Had Serious Forebodings That We Had

Not Got Rid Of Him Entirely, And That He Would Work Us Injury.

 

I Hinted Something Of The Kind To Fred, But He Laughed At It, And In A

Few Minutes We Had A Rush Of Morning Customers, And All Thoughts Of

Follet And His Vengeance Were Banished From My Mind.

 

I Think That We Were Seated At Breakfast, And Wondering Why Mr. Brown

Had Been Absent For Such A Length Of Time From The Store, When Who

Should Pay Us A Visit But The Police Commissioner, Mr. Sherwin, A Tall,

Dignified Man, With A Face That Had No More Expression In It Than A

Piece Of Coal. He Was Never Known To Lean To The Side Of Mercy During

The Whole Of His Career As An Officer, And As Commissioner He Had

Exclusive Jurisdiction Over The Petty Court Of Ballarat, And Fined And

Sentenced Miners, Who Were Brought Before Him For Drunkenness And Petty

Larceny, Without Mercy. He Was An Ambitious Man, And Had Striven For A

Long Time To Get A Seat Upon One Of The Benches Of The Upper Courts In

Melbourne, But Owing To The Want Of Influence, He Had Never Succeeded.

Every Person That He Imagined Could Sway The Governor-General Was

Treated With Delightful Consideration; But A Look Blacker Than A

Raven's Wing Was The Reward Of Every One Who Ventured On Familiarity Not

Up To His Standard Of Excellence.

 

I Must Confess That I Was Surprised At The Early Visit Of The

Commissioner, And I