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

Where The Vessel Was

    Lying. The Uproar And Confusion Was Great--Terrific.

 

    Men Wanted Their First Pick, And Swore Frightfully When They

    Couldn't Be Gratified. The Women All Wanted Stout, Healthy

    Husbands, And Rich Ones At That, And They Shrieked Some When Told

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    That They Must Take Them By Lot.

 

    However, Sooner Than Go Unmarried, The Girls At Length Consented

    To Any Arrangement That Was Proposed; And Then What A Time We Had

    Of It! For You Are Well Aware That Delicacy Is Not A

    Characteristic Of Australia. Amidst The Crowd, Struggling For A

    Wife Right Manfully, Did I Observe The Teamster Whom Smith Has In

    His Employ, And Who Made You One Visit With His Load Of Goods

    While I Was At Ballarat. He Did Honor To The Firm, For The Fellow

    Got One Of The Best Looking (And I Will Say At The Same Time, One

    Of The Most Vicious, If I Am Any Judge Of Faces) On Board, Out Of

    A Cargo Of One Hundred And Ninety-Eight.

 

    I Asked Your Man What He Intended To Do With A Wife In His

    Circumstances.

 

    "Marry Her," He Replied, "And Take Her To Ballarat, And Go Into

    The Mining Business."

 

    So Look Out For An Addition To The Population In A Short Time.

 

    A Day Was Required To Get All The Girls Married Off; For Those Who

    Were Left Till The Last Stage Were Not Of An Enticing Character;

    And There Was A Slight Prospect Of A Row Between The Snub-Nosed

    Women, Each Of Whom Thought She Was Superior In Point Of Beauty To

    The Others; And Not Until I Sent On Shore And Got Three Victoria

    Miners, Not Over Scrupulous In Taste, Were They Disposed To Be

    Silent.

 

    You Should Have Been In Melbourne On The First Night Of The

    Arrival. Of Course, Where So Many Marriages Took Place, Some

    Little Latitude Was Allowed To The Happy Couples; And More

    Carousing I Have Not Seen Since Whiskey Was Only A Pound Per

    Gallon. The Beauty Of The Arrangement Was That The Men Got Drunk,

    And One Half Of Them Could Not Tell The Next Morning Whom They Had

    Married, Or Whether They Had Married At All.

 

    The Wives Were In The Same State Of Blissful Ignorance, For They

    Had Not Known Their Husbands Long Enough To Get Familiar With

    Their Features; And You Will Admit That Where All Men Wear Their

    Beards In Full, There Is Some Resemblance Between Us Bipeds.

 

    Our Police Office Was Besieged From Morning Until Night, By

    Anxious Husbands And Inconsolable Wives. Six Different Times Was

    Your Friend Seized Upon And Claimed As The Lawful Spouse Of Six

    Different Women, Two Of Whom Were The Snub-Noses Spoken Of Above.

 

    I Hope You Will Admire The Taste Of Your Employee In The Selection

    Of A Wife, And That You Will Continue To Conduct Yourself In A

    Decorous Manner After Her Arrival. Fair Play, And Don't Take

    Advantage--(The Balance Of The Line Was Illegible.)

 

    I Must Close My Letter By Once More Recommending You To Keep A

    Bright Lookout For Steel Spring, And To Write Me Information If He

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    Does Not Come Up To Your Expectations. Let Me Hear From You As

    Soon As Practicable, And Don't Forget To Send Me All The News That

    Is Stirring, Including Mining Tax And Other Matters. By The Way,

    The Artillery Corps In This Place Have Received Orders To Be In

    Readiness For Instant Duty And Marching Order. They Are Practising

    With Their Guns Every Day. Their Destination Is A Secret, Although

    I Think I Can _Guess_ Where They Are To Go.

 

    Yours In Purity And Honesty,

 

    Murden.

 

The Next Day We Informed The Inspector Of Steel Spring's Arrival, And

The Place Where He Was Domiciled; And The Former Hinted To His Sergeant

That The Latter Should Be Watched Narrowly, But Was Not To Be Interfered

With Unless Something Criminal Was Noted, In Which Case He Was To Be

Arrested Without Delay. Of Course Mr. Brown Did Not Impart To His

Subordinates What The Ex-Bushranger Was Attempting To Accomplish, And

The Matter Always Remained A Secret To Them.

 

We Saw Nothing Of Steel Spring Until Two Days After His Arrival, When He

Paid Us A Nocturnal Visit, Disguised As Usual, And Gave Us Some

Information That Was Of Real Importance.

 

"I'se Getting Along Werry Slowly," He Said, "'Cos I've Got To Creep

Afore I Can Walk. But Things Is Vorking, And No Mistake; And I 'Spected

Ven I Took That Horn Of Viskey The Other Night, That It Would Clear My

Hideas, And Make Me Find Somethin'."

 

"Well, What Have You Found Out?" I Demanded.

 

"That The Confounded Dust Gets Into My Throat, And Keeps Me Dry, And I

Think Will Really Drive Me Into A Galloping Consumption Time. I'se Dry

Now, And I Think That If You Had Some Vater Here Vid The Brackishness

Taken Off Vid A Little Somethin' Good, That It Would Help Me."

 

We Understood The Hint, And Gratified It; Only After We Had Poured Out A

Tumbler Of Whiskey, He Refused To Have It Spoiled By Adding A Drop Of

Water, As He Thought That The Latter Was Most Too Salt To Agree With His

Constitution. He Drained The Glass, Smacked His Lips, And Made Up Such A

Hideous Face That He Would Have Frightened A Person Of Delicate Nerves

Into Fits, Had His Countenance Been Seen.

 

"Now, Then, For The Information!" I Cried.

 

"Vell, Then, To Business. I Vant Some More Money."

 

"You Shan't Have It Until You Give A Good Account Of Yourself, And Tell

Us What You Have Done With The Gold We Already Gave You."

 

"O, Werry Well," The Mutinous Scamp Replied, Moving Towards The Door;

"Ven You Get Ready To Give Me The Chink, I'll Be Ready To Vork For You,

And Not Until Then."

 

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He Had Already Got His Hand Upon The Latch, And Was Making A Motion To

Open The Door, When Fred Sprang Upon Him By His Collar, And Despite Of

His Long, Spider-Like Legs, Hurled Him To The Floor, Where He Lay For A

Moment Motionless And Senseless. He Raised His Head, However, After A

While, And Attempted To Get To His Feet, But Fred Was Watching His

Motions, And Grasping Him By His Neck, Choked Him, Until The Impudent

Fellow Was Almost Black In His Face, And Was Glad To Beg For Mercy.

 

"Will You Answer Our Questions Now?" Fred Asked, Giving Him A Shake.

 

"I'll Do Any Thing Hereafter," He Gasped, "That You Desire; Only Don't

Squeeze The Breath Entirely Out Of My Body."

 

"Now, Then, Tell Us What Information You Have Received, And Let Us Have

No More Of Your Impudence; And If You Don't Tell A Straight Story We'll

Beat You To Death With Our Horsewhips."

 

Steel Spring Understood The Meaning Of The Language Used, And He Saw

That He Had Men To Deal With Who Were Not Disposed To Submit To His

Demands And Impudence, As He Supposed They Would. His Confident Air Was

Gone, And An Abject One Assumed Its Place.

 

"Last Night," He Commenced, "I Vas Sitting Vid A Few Coves In Dan's

Crib, Talking Flash, Ven Von Of 'Em Mentioned The Case Which I Is

Hunting Up. I Pretended That I Didn't, Know Vot Vas Meant, And Axed In A

Careless Sort Of Vay For The Particulars. One Of The Coves Tells Me How

Old Critchet Got Lammed, And Then Said That The Coves Didn't Get

Anything, 'Cos The Old Feller Had Carried All Of His Money To The

Government Office, And Took A Paper For The Amount. I Axed Him How He

Knowed, And He Said He Seed The Old Cock Lugging The Dust To The Office,

And Followed Him, Thinking That If He Could Get A Chance He Would Crack

Him Over His Head, And Make A Raise. I Didn't Make Many 'Quiries, 'Cos I

Thought I Vould Vate A Little Vile Until I Got 'Quainted."

 

"And Was There Any Thing Said About The Parties Who Committed The

Outrage?" I Asked.

 

"There Vas A Few Hints, But Not Enough To Give Me A Hold. However, Von

Of The Chaps Said That He Would Show Me A Man Vot Helped In The Business

To-Morrow Night, If I Vished."

 

"And What Answer Did You Make?" We Inquired Eagerly.

 

"I Said That I Thought He Would Make A Good Pal For The Bush, And That I

Would Like To Know Him, And Talk The Matter Over With A Few Good Ones

Vot I Had Already Spoken To."

 

"And What Do You Propose To Do In Case The Assassin Meets You?" We

Demanded.

 

"Get Him To Talk Of The Matter--Praise Him For His Courage, Make Him

Boast Of It, And Then Nab Him, And Vere Is He? Ve Have The Feller Fast

And No Mistake, And Vether The Old Gent Lives Or Dies Ve Don't Care,

'Cos Ve Shows The Commissioner That You're Hinnocent."

 

"How Many Men Will Be Required To Act As You State?" We Asked.

 

"As Few As Possible," Responded Steel Spring, Promptly; "Three Besides

Myself. Say Mr. Brown And Both Of You."

 

We Knew Enough Of Dan's Crib To Be Certain That, If An Attempt Was Made

To Arrest A Noted Character, There Would Be A Struggle, And Possibly

Bloodshed; And We Had Seen Too Many Desperate Battles Not To Know That A

Shot Can Be Fired By A Pretended Friend With More Coolness Than An

Enemy, And No One The Wiser For It. I Scrutinized Steel Spring's Face To

See If I Could Read His Thoughts, But Nature Had Given Him Eyes Of Such

A Peculiar Hue And Shape That I Was Baffled In My Attempt.

 

"Do You Mean Honestly To Assist Us If We Agree To Your Plans?" I Asked.

 

"So Help Me Heaven," He Cried; And One Of His Hands Was Raised As Though

Swearing To The Truth Of His Words.

 

"We Want No Oaths, Because We Know The Value That You Place Upon Them;

But Let Me Impress Upon Your