The Gold Hunters' Adventures Part 134

The bushranger then waited until the guard turned his back, when he dropped from the window like a cat, and made his escape. The officer was laughed at so outrageously, that he sold his commission and left the army.

Such was one of the exploits of the "gentlemanly" bushranger whose actions we were watching, and over whose head a reward of five hundred pounds was hanging.

"If you must call each other liars, and rush to a fight, why don't you do so in a gentlemanly manner, at ten paces distant, and not shoot or cut each other down like dogs? Can I never learn you manners, and be d----d to you."

The speaker, of whom Mr. Brown had whispered, was Tyrell--he walked towards the young fellow, who had, but a moment before, killed the old pirate, and stopped in front of him. From our place of concealment we could admire the athletic form of the leader of the gang, and as the flames from the camp-fire blazed up and showed us his features, we could not help being struck with their stern beauty.

"Well, captin, he began it," cried the young a.s.sa.s.sin, in a snivelling, apologetic sort of tone; "I didn't want to hurt him, sure, if he hadn't told me I lied. I don't take that from n.o.body, you knows."

"You lie, you dog, you know you do," cried 'gentleman Sam,' in a tone expressive of profound contempt. "You stabbed old Bill when his back was turned, and did not give him a fair chance. I'll have no more such doings. A stop must be put to such kind of work. Do you all understand me?"

"I'm willing to abide by the regulations," the murderer said, with alacrity.

"I intend that you shall, for I am about to const.i.tute myself a judge and jury, and punish you for shedding blood, as I think it should be punished. Stand up."

The fellow staggered to his feet, and we could see him glance with apprehension upon his leader, and then turn towards his comrades an appealing look, as though desirous of their support during his trying ordeal.

"You killed old Bill without a moment's warning for telling the truth, for I have been told by others that you was one of the first to run, and yet you saw nothing but a shadow, at which you was frightened. You deserve death, and at my hands you shall receive it."

"For G.o.d's sake don't kill me, cap'en!" shrieked the young fellow, in an agony of terror, throwing himself upon his knees, and begging for mercy; "I have served you long and faithfully, and robbed as many miners as any man in the gang."

"That certainly should ent.i.tle him to mercy," whispered Mr. Brown, giving me a nudge with his elbow, as though I was asleep.

The leader of the bushrangers did not make any reply, but coolly drew a pistol from his belt.

"The cold-blooded scoundrel intends to murder the man!" Mr. Brown said, trembling with excitement and indignation; "why don't the brutes interfere, and save the life of their comrade?"

"Take notice, men," said the robber chief, addressing his gang, "that I am about to punish a man for committing a murder, and that hereafter, if you must quarrel, refer the matter to me for settlement, and if I do not satisfy you with my decision, then you can appeal to the knife or pistol, as can be agreed upon. Have you any reason why sentence should not be executed upon this man?"

There was no response. The villains would not even raise their voices to save a comrade's life.

"I should imagine the fellow was the Lord High Chancellor of England to hear him talk," muttered Mr. Brown; "lend me your revolver, and the instant the ruffian fires I will give him a shot if it costs me my life."

"And it would cost not only your life, but mine, and that I am not disposed to relinquish yet. Be patient, for we can do nothing to save the poor devil," I replied.

The man whose doom had been p.r.o.nounced, a second time threw himself upon the ground, and crawled to the feet of the leader in humble supplication for mercy. He shed tears, and vowed that if his life was spared, he would steal with renewed energy, and be more faithful than ever; and for a while I thought the chief would relent, but during a moment's pause, I distinctly heard the click of a pistol lock, and saw Tyrell's arm raised as though taking aim.

'I shut my eyes to hide the dreadful sight, and expected to hear the report of the weapon and the groans of the victim, but while I was speculating on the length of time that the poor devil was kept in suspense, I received a tremendous nudge from Mr. Brown's elbow, accompanied by the exclamation of--

"The devil has come at last!"

I opened my eyes, and was gratified to see that the ghost whose disappearance I had noticed, re-appeared upon the scene, but with one important change in his aspect, which rendered his _tout ensemble_ more hideous than ever.

By some means he had managed to light a fire upon his bony head, and the flames were twisting and squirming like so many fiery serpents, revealing the long bullock's horns with telling effect. So well had he managed the affair, that, accustomed as I was to his presence, I had half a mind to run, not knowing but a real devil, or being of the other world, had usurped Day's especial functions in the ghost line.

If the sudden appearance was startling to myself and Mr. Brown, how much more must it have astonished the bushrangers, who were anxiously awaiting the death of their companion at the hands of Tyrell. I saw the arm of the latter fall as if paralyzed, and he started back, but disdained to fly upon the first alarm. Not so with his comrades. With one accord they dropped knives, meat, and blankets, and with shouts of frantic terror rushed towards the woods, tumbling over each other in their eagerness to escape, and looking over their shoulders as they fled, as if they feared that Satan had already laid a hand upon them, and was about to claim them as his own.

Even the young fellow who had murdered the old pirate, seemed to entertain some hope of escape from earthly enemies, for he commenced crawling away from the fires as fast as he could on hands and knees, and bent his course directly towards our ambush. Once or twice I saw him look back, apparently with the expectation of receiving a shot in his rear, but finding that his captain was too much occupied with his own matters, he seemed to think that Providence had interfered in a most wonderful manner in his behalf, and recommenced crawling with renewed energy and hope, not caring half as much for the ghost as he did for the vengeance of his chief.

"Here comes this fellow directly on to us," whispered Mr. Brown; "what can we do to start him in another direction?"

"Groan him away," I replied, recollecting the efficacy of diabolical sounds in my own case; and forthwith we uttered in chorus the most hideous noises possible for human beings to produce. So frightful were they that even Tyrell, who had made his boast of being able to endure all things, gradually retreated as he saw the ghost advance towards him with the flaming headdress, and at length, after giving one quick glance around, and finding that he was deserted by his crew, fairly turned, and bounded into the brush and disappeared from sight.

We listened attentively, and could hear the bushrangers making their way through the woods in hot haste; but fearing the shrewdness of Sam, we kept perfectly quiet, until we were certain that gentleman had really left his quarters, and was not lurking in the vicinity to see what sort of a ghost had frightened him.

"A splendid performance," I said, as Mr. Brown and myself stepped from our ambush, and congratulated the shepherd, who, much as he liked to be praised, didn't think it worth while to listen in so conspicuous a place.

"Follow me as fast as possible," he exclaimed, removing his still smoking headdress, and exhibiting a face blackened and singed by the flames. "We ain't safe here even for a minute, for the devils will come back after their traps, and if they should get hold of us we would be real ghosts in less than an hour."

I had the same impression, and therefore followed our guide through the woods in a directly opposite course from that which the bushrangers took, and in a few minutes we had the satisfaction of gaining our island and finding our horses as we had left them.

"Now that we are beyond the reach of the robbers, tell me how you prepared your fiery headdress?" Mr. Brown asked, turning to the shepherd, who was rubbing his burnt face and singed hair and whiskers.

"The fact is," replied Day, "the flames are a new sort of 'speriment, and I've hardly got use to 'em. I think that I should do better next time. I have every reason to think so, and if I don't, I shall be forced to give up that portion of the show, although I should think that it was very effective, if I may judge from the remarkable antics of the coveys. That black-whiskered scoundrel wanted to have a shot at me, and I guess that he would hadn't it been for the fire. The flames are a great improvement, 'cos they make me look jist as though I had arrived from kingdom come."

"But how was the effect produced?" demanded Mr. Brown.

"Well, I don't know as I had ought to tell you coveys, 'cos you might claim the 'vention as your own," replied the shepherd, coquettishly; but finding that we were ready to vouch for our disintertestedness, he continued: "You see when I was overhauling your traps last night--"

Here Mr. Brown groaned, as he thought of the liquor which had been carried off, and how acceptable it would be at the present time.

"I found a lot of matches, so I took half that you had," continued Day, "which I consider an honest transaction, 'cos I know coveys who would have carried all off and not thanked ye. I've got some honor, if I am a shepherd."

"Especially when you drank all my brandy," Mr. Brown remarked.

Day scorned to notice the insinuation, but continued:

"I thought how convenient them 'ere matches would be, and I didn't scruple to take 'em, 'cos I knew that if we were acquainted you would divide, and be glad to accommodate me."

We didn't tell Day the maledictions we had showered upon his head, or how we should have treated him had we caught him with our puck. We thought that as he had been of service to us we would withhold our expressions of dissatisfaction. Day continued:

"I had the matches in my pocket when I seed that black devil get ready to kill his man, and a thought struck me that if the bushranger was 'gentleman Sam,' I'd better look out how I played pranks with him, 'cos he's as bold as a lion, and nearly about as strong. I thought that if I was to frighten him I'd got to put on the extras, and I jist collected a few dried twigs, lashed them on the head with dried kangaroo sinews, tougher than an undertaker's heart, and when I found that it was about time for the coffin, I jist lighted the wood works with a match, and there I was all s.h.i.+ning bright like an angel."

"If you resemble an angel, I don't wonder at the few visits they pay the earth," grumbled Mr. Brown, who, now that the danger was nearly past, was disposed to quiz the man who had been so serviceable to us.

"Well, I 'spose there is some difference 'twixt us," returned Day, "for if all angels got burned as bad as I have been they would leave out the fire when they went visiting."

"Well, well," replied my companion, consolingly, "you have been an angel to us, Day, and if I had only a portion of the good liquor which you carried off last night I would drink your health and bathe your wounds."

"Would you, though?" demanded Day, with animation.

Mr. Brown reiterated his statement, although in a languid manner, for he did not exactly approve of the midnight depredation which our friend had been guilty of.

"Well, to tell the truth," continued Day, "I didn't drink all that I found, 'cos I thought it would be cruel, so I jist changed it into a bladder that I carried water in, and I have got it stowed away here somewhere."

Never did a confession sound more welcome, and we watched out friend eagerly until he returned from the place where the liquor was hid, and we found about a pint of the raw material saved from his rapacious stomach.

"Here is health and long life to all undertakers' apprentices," Mr.