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

Volume 2 Chapter 64 (The Expedition After Bill Swinton's Buried Treasures) Pg 128

Leaned Back And Smoked Our Pipes With Delicious Contentment, And Without

A Thought Of Danger.

 

We Were Soon Unconscious Of Every Thing Around Us, And Did Not Awake

Until Past Four O'clock, When We Once More Resumed Our Journey, And By

Sundown We Had Gained A Small Brook Within A Few Miles Of Mount

Alexander. Here We Proposed To Pass The Night, And After Watering The

Animals, And Stalling Them In A Good Piece Of Fresh Grass, We Began To

Make Provision For Rest. We Had No Desire To Kindle A Fire, For The

Country In Which We Were Travelling Was Not Entirely Safe, And A Light

Would Have Only Attracted Attention, Which We Were Desirous Of Avoiding.

 

"For Once," Said Mr. Brown, As He Arranged His Saddle For A Pillow, "I

Feel As Though I Should Rather Regret Meeting With Bushrangers, For I

Have Every Thing To Lose, And No Honor To Gain By A Contest. If,

Therefore, The Gentlemen Of The Bush Will Only Avoid Us, I Shall Feel

Thankful."

 

"Do You Know This Part Of The Country To Be Frequented By Bushrangers?"

I Asked, Examining My Revolver For The First Time Since We Had Left

Ballarat.

 

"I Don't Vouch For Their Presence, But Here Is Water, And There Is

Food," Mr. Brown Said, Pointing Away To Our Right; "The Scamps Are

Always Sure To Be Located When These Two Essentials Are To Be Found,

And, As A General Thing, They Show Good Taste In The Selection Of Their

Retreats, And When Idle, Feed Upon The Choicest Parts Of Sheep Or Lamb."

 

"Is There A Sheep Station Near?" I Asked, Not Being Aware Of It Before.

 

"Within Two Miles Of Us, I Should Judge. It Was Formerly Called

Hawswood, In Honor Of The Proprietor; But After The Gold Fever Broke

Out, He Sold It To A Man Whose Name Was Buckerly, A Fine-Looking Fellow

And Bold As A Lion. I Made His Acquaintance When He First Landed At

Melbourne, Accompanied By A Wife And Children, And Advised Him To Trade

At The Mines And Acquire A Fortune; But He Was A Large-Feeling Person,

And Had Occupied A Good Position In England, And I Suppose That He

Considered All Kinds Of Trafficking Plebeian, And Beneath His Dignity.

 

"Buckerly Thought Of Entering A Banking House In The City, But Unluckily

Altered His Mind And Concluded To Raise Stock. He Met With Hawswood, Got

An Exalted Idea Of The Profits, And Without Asking Advice, Paid Five

Thousand Pounds For The Place And All That Was On It. I Had Serious

Doubts Of The Success Of His Project, Especially When He Told Me That He

Should Move His Family To The Stock-House Immediately, And Superintend

His Estate. The Poor Fellow Thought That It Was Fitted And Furnished

Like A Suburban Villa, And His Wife, One Of The Prettiest And Most

Affable Women That Ever Landed In Australia, Looked Forward, With Many

Expressions Of Pleasure, To The Delightful Country Residence That She

Was To Occupy With Her Husband And Children."

 

Mr. Brown Stopped, And Appeared To Be In A Reflective Mood, While I, Who

Had Been Dozing, Waked Up, And Requested Him To Finish.

 

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"I Never Saw Them Afterwards, At Least Alive, But I Often Heard, By The

Shepherds In Buckerly's Employ, That The Bushrangers And He Were At War,

And That The Result Could Be Easily Foretold. It Seemed That The Former

Were In The Habit Of Taking A Sheep Or Lamb, According To Their Fancy,

Whenever Hunger Dictated, And As They Had Always Done; But Buckerly

Determined, Very Foolishly, To Stop So Unlawful A Course, Forgetting

That He Had Every Thing To Lose, And The Bushrangers Nothing To Gain. He

Was Not Strong Enough To Cope With Them, And Should Have Bided His Time;

But He Was Hot-Headed And Rash, And At Length Was Unfortunate Enough To

Kill A Fellow Who Had Slaughtered A Sheep. From That Day He Was A Doomed

Man, And Not Only Brought Destruction Upon Himself, But Upon His Family,

For One Night His House Was Attacked, And Although He Made A Brave

Resistance, Yet What Could One Man Do Against A Dozen? He Fell With

Countless Stabs Upon His Body, And Then The Devils, The Fiends

Incarnate, Seized The Poor Woman And Ravished Her One By One. Luckily,

She Did Not Live To Mourn Her Shame, But Died The Same Night. The

Children Were Unmolested, And Are Now In Melbourne Under Proper

Guardianship, And Derive Their Support From The Same Station, Which Is

Carried On By A Shepherd Who Has Been There For Many Years.

 

"Word Was Sent To Me The Day After The Transaction, And I Made An

Investigation, But The Perpetrators Of The Outrage Were Never

Discovered. There Is A Tradition, However, And Many Shepherds In This

District Believe It, That On Certain Nights The Ghost Of Buckerly Is

Seen Wandering On The Banks Of The Loddon, With A Winding-Sheet Covered

With Blood, And That Those Who Look Upon The Apparition Are Sure To Be

Overtaken By Misfortune Of Some Sort.

 

"I Don't Put Much Faith In The Story," Mr. Brown Said, Edging Towards

Me, For The Night Was Beginning To Grow Quite Dark, "But Still I Must

Confess To A Feeling Of Superstition At Times, And Why Should We Not?"

 

Not Knowing Why We Should Not, I Merely Said, "Ah, Indeed, Why Not?" And

As The Latter Part Of The Story Had Awakened Me As Thoroughly As The

First Portion Had Set Me To Sleep, I Refilled My Pipe, Lighted It, And

Endeavored, By Puffing Forth Volumes Of Smoke, To Compose My Mind, And

Banish All Recollections Of Ghosts And Murders. The Effort Was Futile,

For Mr. Brown Liked To Discuss Such Matters.

 

"What Is To Prevent Buckerly And His Wife From Visiting This World, And

Wandering Around The Scene Of Their Death?"

 

I Hazarded A Guess, And Thought, That Want Of Breath, And A Difficulty

That They Would Experience In Getting Out Of Their Graves Without

Assistance, Would Prevent, All Such Attempts.

 

"You Know That Their Spirits Live, And If That Is The Case, Why Can't

They Enter The Body And Walk About The Earth Without Difficulty?"

 

Never Having Studied The Subject, I Could Not Enlighten Mr. Brown As

Well As I Should Have Desired To; But He Apparently Was More Busy With

His Own Thoughts Than My Answers, And Continued,--

 

"If Buckerly Should Make His Appearance Before Us While We Were Digging

Volume 2 Chapter 64 (The Expedition After Bill Swinton's Buried Treasures) Pg 130

For Gold, How Would We Treat Him?"

 

"By Giving Him A Drink From Our Private Bottles," I Answered, Promptly.

 

"If He Should Speak To Us, Would It Be Well To Answer Him? I Have Read

That If You Exchange A Word With A Ghost, The Unfortunate Can Be Dragged

Off Without The Power To Struggle."

 

"What Splendid Assistants They Would Make For Private Lunatic Asylums.

Patients Could Be Carried Off Without Trouble, And Without Attracting

Attention. I Shall Think Of The Matter Again."

 

"Don't Speak Lightly Of Such Serious Matters," Cried Mr. Brown, With

More Solemnity Than I Ever Gave Him Credit For. "There Are Many Things

In This World That We Cannot Account For, And Yet It Is Out Of Place To

Jest About Them."

 

In Fact, We Were Not In A Favorable Place To Talk About Ghosts And

Goblins, For The Trees Under Which We Were Lying Screened The Light Of

The Stars, And Prevented Us From Seeing Each Other. Add To This The

Night Wind Wailing Through The Branches Of The Gum Trees, And The

Profound Silence That Reigned Around, Interrupted Only By The Movements

Of The Horses, Or By The Quiet Gliding Of A Snake, Which Had Been To The

Brook To Quench Its Thirst, And Barely Ruffled A Dead Leaf In Its Course

In Search Of Companions. Taking All These Things Into Consideration,

I'll Confess That I Have Passed Many Nights Much More Pleasant And

Satisfactory.

 

"Far Be It From Me To Joke On Matters Of Such Grave Import," I Said. "I

Have No Desire To Incur The Ill Will Of Any Respectable Ghost, And, To

Tell You The Truth, I Don't Think That One With Any Pretensions To Piety

Would Want To Intrude His Unwelcome Presence Upon Us. There Are People

Enough In The World Who Rather Court Such Things, But I, For One, Do

Not."

 

I Started Up, As I Finished Speaking, And Clapped My Hands Upon The Leg

Of My Trousers, For I Felt Something Squirming Next To The Skin That Did

Not Make Me Rest As Though Upon A Bed Of Roses.

 

"What Is The Matter?" Demanded Mr. Brown; "You Don't See Any Thing, Do

You?"

 

"No," I Replied, With All The Composure Possible, "I Don't See Any Thing

As Yet--I Wish That I Could. But It Strikes Me That A Snake Has Run Up

My Trousers Leg, And If I Am Not Mistaken, He Is Wiggling To Get Out The

Wrong Way."

 

"Crush Him, And Then We Will Hereafter Further Discuss The Subject Of

Ghosts," Returned Mr. Brown, With Admirable Coolness.

 

"Ghosts Be Hanged!" I Cried, And I Have A Faint Recollection Of Adding

An Oath. "They Don't Trouble Me Half As Much As The Feelings Of This

Varmint, Whom I Have Secured By His Head Or Tail, I Don't Know Which."

 

"Shake Yourself, And Let Him Slide," My Friend Advised; But I Preferred

To Hold On And Trust To Chance, And Find Out Whether The Reptile Was Of

The Poisonous Species, Or The Common Green Kind.

 

"Excuse Me, But If You Will Light A Match And A Few Leaves, And Then

Insert Your Hand Up One Of My Trousers Legs, I Think That We Can

Conquer The Reptile."

 

"The Position Which You Assign Me Is None Of The Most Pleasant, My

Friend," Mr. Brown Said, "For I Don't Know What Part Of The Reptile Is

In Your Hand, And What Kind Of An Animal You Are Struggling With. I Will

Comply With Your Request, Though, If I Lose My Life In Accomplishing

It."

 

He Hastily Collected A Few Leaves, Struck A Match And Set Fire To Them.

The Flames Gave Sufficient Light For The Purpose, And In Less Than A

Minute's Time Mr. Brown Was Ready To Work.

 

"Steady With Your Hand," He Said, As He Passed His Arm Up My Trousers

Leg In Search Of The Squirming Reptile. "In Less Than Ten Seconds We

Shall Be Either Laughing Or Crying."

 

The Snake, As Though Aware That Its Time Was Near, Made A Desperate

Attempt To Escape, But I Held Fast, Although I Confess That The Effort

Cost Me More Mental Resolution Than I Ever Exercised Before, For The

Position In Which I Was Situated Was No Envious One. I Felt The Cold

Perspiration Streaming Down My Face In Large Drops, And My Heart Beat As

Though It Was Attempting To Force Its Way Through My