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

After A Few Moments' Reasoning He Seemed To

Think So Himself. We Bade Him Good Night, And Resumed Our Journey, And

Just As Day Was Breaking We Drew Up Our Tired Horses Before The Store,

Which Looked Unchanged Since Our Absence. All Was Quiet And Still In The

Neighborhood, But We Observed That An Unusually Large Number Of Police

Were On Duty In The Streets, And That Many Of Them Were Strangers, And

Eyed Us With Suspicious Looks, As Though Not Certain Which Party We

Belonged To.

 

"I'll Hold The Horses While You Rap Fred Up," Mr. Brown Said,

Dismounting.

 

I Was Too Impatient To See My Friend To Need A Second Bidding. I Applied

My Foot To The Door, And Gave A Thundering Kick, That Made Two Or Three

Suspicious Policemen, Who Had Followed Us Closely, Imagine We Were

Starving For Something To Eat.

 

Hardly Had I Touched The Door, When A Hoarse Growl Showed Me That Rover

Was Still Alive And Capable Of Doing Active Duty. I Heard The Hound

Spring From His Sleeping Place, Cross The Floor, And Throw His Solid

Form Against The Door With A Subdued Yell, Which, After A Moment's

Snuffing Changed From Rage To Joy. He Uttered Cry After Cry Of Welcome,

Yet Still Fred Did Not Seem To Take The Hint. At Length I Heard Him

Shuffling Along The Floor In His Slippers, And Presently He Inquired,--

 

"Who's There?"

 

"A Friend," I Replied, Disguising My Voice As Much As Possible.

 

"What Is Wanting?" He Asked.

 

"A Cup Of Coffee And Something To Eat," I Replied.

 

"You Can Get Neither Here. Go To One Of The Coffee-Houses."

 

"But Suppose We Want To Trade?" I Asked.

 

"Then Come During Trading Hours," Was The Brief Rejoinder.

 

"O, Don't Stand There Talking All Day, But Let Us In," Cried Mr. Brown,

Who, Like All Englishmen, Couldn't Bear To Joke On An Empty Stomach.

 

"Is That You, Jack?" Fred Demanded, Eagerly.

 

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"Of Course It Is," Cried Mr. Brown, Impatiently.

 

The Heavy Bar Was Removed With Remarkable Rapidity, And The Next Instant

The Door Was Thrown Open, And The Best Friend That I Possessed In The

World Was Shaking My Hand And Patting Me On The Back, As Though I Was An

Infant Strangling With Lacteal Fluid, While Rover Circled Around Us, And

Made The Air Vocal With His Joyous Barks, Until Anxious To Distinguish

Himself, And Perhaps Thinking That Mr. Brown Was Not Getting His Share

Of The Reception, He Suddenly Welcomed That Gentleman With A Slight Nip

On The Seat Of His Pantaloons, That Caused Him To Utter A Fierce Oath,

And To Rub The Place With Remarkable Vigor.

 

"Come In, Come In," Cried Fred, "Or We Shall Have All The Green Police

Of Ballarat Around Us, Thinking A Manifestation Is Going On. I See Three

Of The Fellows Peering Around Corners As Though Uncertain Whether To

Regard Us As Madmen Or Conspirators."

 

We Followed Him Into The Store And Closed The Door; And While Fred Was

Busy In Lighting Lamps, For The Store Was Dark Inside, He Chatted As

Though His Tongue Had Had A Fast For A Month, And Was Now Making Up For

Lost Time.

 

"I Had Near About Given You Up For Dead, And Next Week Should Have Left

The Store In Charge Of Smith And Started In Search Of You. What Detained

You So Long, And Couldn't You Send Me A Few Words?"

 

Then, Not Waiting For Us To Answer, He Continued:--

 

"I Began To Think That You Had Fallen Victims To The Bushrangers, For

They Are Very Bold Lately, And More Than One Gang Has Ventured Near The

City With Impunity, While The Troubles Are Continuing. The Commissioner

Has Been Asked To Despatch A Force Against Them, But He Has Declined, On

The Ground That He Can't Spare The Men."

 

"Then Troubles Continue To Exist?" I Asked.

 

"Never More Serious Than At Present; And I Expect That Open War Will Be

Declared Every Day. The Miners Have Flatly Refused To Pay Their Thirty

Shillings Per Month For Mining, And Government Insists That They Shall.

Neither Party Feel Like Retreating From Its Position, Although I

Candidly Believe That If A Good Man Was At The Head Of Affairs This

Difficulty Would Be Settled In Twenty-Four Hours, And In A Way

Satisfactory To The Government And The Miners."

 

Even While Fred Was Entertaining Us With News He Was Busily Engaged In

Starting A Fire In The Stove For The Purpose Of Preparing Our Breakfast.

 

"It Is Too Late To Hope To Escape Bloodshed," Fred Continued, "Unless

Concessions Are Made On The Part Of The Government, Which Are Not Looked

For. I Am Informed That The Commissioner Sends Despatches To The

Governor-General Every Day, In Which He Represents The Miners As On The

Point Of Yielding, And That Energy And Firmness Are Alone Required To

Subdue Them To His Wishes, And Prevent Further Outbreaks. You See How

Shamefully He Is Misleading The Government, For There Are Not Two

Volume 2 Chapter 79 (Journey Back To Ballarat) Pg 233

Hundred Men In Ballarat, Exclusive Of The Police Force, But Who Will

Fight Against The Tax."

 

"How Is It Known That The Commissioner Sends Such Despatches?" I Asked.

 

"Why, To Tell You The Truth," Said Fred, Sinking His Voice To A Whisper,

"A Party Of Men Ambushed The Courier Day Before Yesterday, And Rifled

His Despatches. The Letters Contained A Request For More Men And Plenty

Of Ammunition, And A Hope To Have The Rebels Suing For Mercy In Less

Than Two Weeks."

 

"And How Are Our Countrymen Acting?" I Asked.

 

"They Are Not So Backward As I Could Wish," Replied Fred; "For They

Should Remember That We Are On A Foreign Soil, And That An Active Part

Is Not Required Of Us. But Few Can Withstand The Flattery That Has Been

Brought To Bear Upon Them, And As A General Thing They Are All Arrayed

With The Miners. Their Rifles Are Wanted, And Dreadful Havoc They Will

Make If Blows Are Exchanged."

 

"And You Have Taken No Part In The Question As Yet?" Mr. Brown Asked.

 

"No; Although Offers In Abundance Have Been Made By Government Agents

And The Leaders In The Revolutionary Movement. We Have Too Many Thousand

Dollars At Stake To Trifle With Public Affairs, Although If--"

 

Fred Paused While Pouring Out The Coffee, And Looked Hard At Mr. Brown.

 

"Go On," Said That Gentleman. "Treat Me As Though I Was A Countryman And

A Brother."

 

"If The People Were About To Enter Upon A Struggle For Liberty And

Independence, I Would Not Mind Sacrificing All The Property That I

Possess To Help Secure So Desirable A Blessing. But The Word Liberty Is

Never Mentioned. It Is Only A Question Of Money, And Therefore I Shall

Stand Aloof."

 

"By The Way, How Has Business Been While We Were Absent?" I Asked.

 

"Never Better. The Sales Have Been Large And The Profits Good. We Are

Out Of Many Things, But Smith Should Be Along This Afternoon, And He

Will Supply The Deficiency. Now Tell Me Of Your Trip. Of Course You

Didn't Find The Buried Treasure, And You Have Returned A Little Poorer

Than When You Went Away."

 

"That Depends Upon The Estimation In Which You Hold This Kind Of Coin,"

I Replied, Emptying My Pockets Upon The Table, And Throwing Down A Good

Sized Bag Of Gold Dust.

 

Fred Opened His Eyes In Astonishment.

 

"Do You Mean To Tell Me That You Have Been Successful?" He Asked.

 

"As Far As Getting The Gold Is Concerned We Have; But If You Ask Us If

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We Have Had Smooth Sailing During Our Cruise, I Shall Tell You That It

Has Been Rough, And At Times Extremely Tempestuous. Especially Did We

Find It So When The Rascally Bushrangers Attempted To Smoke Us Out, And

Also When We Threw Them Off The Trail By Means Of A First Class Ghost."

 

"A Ghost!" Replied Fred, Looking First At Mr. Brown And Then At Me, As

Though We Were Quizzing Him.

 

"Yes, He Was A First Class Ghost, And No Mistake," Replied Mr. Brown,

Without Moving A Muscle Of His Face.

 

"Bah!" Ejaculated Fred, With Disdain.

 

"This Is The Very Expression That We Used When We Were Satisfied That

The Ghost Was Disposed To Help Us," I Replied.

 

"Will You Explain Yourselves, Or Must I Resort To Extremities?" Fred

Exclaimed.

 

"Well, Put The Money In The Safe, And Then We Will Light Our Pipes, And

Repeat The History Of Our Journey."

 

Fred Hastened To Comply, And While We Were In The Act Of Filling The

Store With Tobacco Smoke, We Heard A Commotion In Front Of Our Door, And

The Next Instant The Police Commissioner Entered Without The Formality

Of Knocking.

 

"Excuse Me, Gentlemen," He Said, "For My Early Visit, But I Have Weighty

Matters On Hand, And Have No Time To Lose."

 

We Offered Him A Chair, But He Declined The Courtesy. We Saw That He Was

Ill At Ease In The Presence Of The Ex-Inspector, And We Rather Enjoyed

It Than Otherwise. As For Mr. Brown, He Smoked His Pipe With Most

Admirable Nonchalance, And Appeared Unconscious Of The Presence Of His

Enemy.

 

"The Fact Of The Matter Is, Gentlemen," The Commissioner Went On To Say,

"Government Has Need Of All Its Friends At The Present Time, For

Misguided Men Are Plotting Against Its Stability. The Silly Things Will

Be Crushed In The End; But Our Great Desire Is To Make Such A Show Of

Strength That No Blood Will Be Shed. Humanity Dictates Such A Course,

And I Think That It Will Meet The Approval Of The Governor And His

Advisers."

 

"Go On, Sir," Remarked Fred, Seeing That The Commissioner Paused, As

Though Uncertain What To Say Next.

 

"I Thought Of Requesting You Two Gentlemen To Volunteer Your Services As

My Aids, And If You Comply, I Will See That Government Is Informed Of

The Fact, And That You Receive Some Substantial Reward."

 

"In Making The Request I Suppose That You Think We Shall Be The Means Of

Enlisting A Large Portion Of The American Population Of Ballarat Into

The Service Of The Crown?"