The Gold Hunters' Adventures Part 25

"Save it for a halter, hey?" asked Gulpin, opening his eyes; and for a moment they were lighted up with a fierce fire, that showed the bitter hatred which the man entertained against his captors.

"That is not for me to judge," replied Fred; "I offer to save your life, if possible, and you must depend upon the courts of Melbourne whether it is continued."

The outlaw shook his head, and after wetting his parched lips with water exclaimed,--

"I would rather die as I am; no surgeon's knife shall hack my flesh while living, and I'm too far from the big town to think they will string my bones on wires after death. I shall live; and if the bushrangers in these parts get the alarm, I may defy you yet! See, I grow stronger, and my leg no longer troubles me with a racking pain."

In his desperation, the outlaw struggled to sit upright, and smiled a ghastly smile, at his supposed triumph over death.

"Foolish man," I replied, "the cessation of your pains is a sure harbinger of death. Already has mortification set in, and the best surgeon in the world cannot save you."

"Is it so?" he asked, hoa.r.s.ely, after a sharp glance at my face to see if he could not read trickery, and an attempt, to deceive him.

"Upon my word as a man, you are dying," I replied.

"Well, death and me has met many times, and why should we fear each other? Let him come; he will not find me unprepared."

"But your peace with G.o.d?" I asked, earnestly.

"Look you, young man," the outlaw said, "for ten years I've led a life of crime; I've committed murders, and robbed all who crossed my path, and laughed at the agony of those I have rendered penniless. Do you think that G.o.d is willing to pardon sins on such short notice?"

"There is hope for all," I replied.

"You may think so, but I don't believe in that kind of mummery. Go away from me, and let me die in peace."

"But, consider," I urged.

He waved his hand impatiently, as though the conversation wearied him, and he wished to terminate it without farther discussion. I joined Murden, who was standing a short distance from the dying man, calmly smoking his pipe, and apparently indifferent to the remarks which his prisoner made.

"Has he been grumbling?" asked Murden.

"No, he appears to be rejoiced to think that he will cheat the courts of Melbourne of a victim, and declares that if a man is accused of being a bushranger, his death is scaled, whether innocent or guilty."

"There is much truth in what he says," replied the officer, after a moment's thought; "the judges act upon the principle that it is better ten innocent persons should die, than one robber escape. They do not prove a man guilty, but require him to prove that he is innocent; hence the burden of proof rests upon the defendant, and he has no means of establis.h.i.+ng, unless possessed of unbounded wealth, the fallacy of such reasoning."

"And the people of Australia call that law?" I asked, indignantly.

"That is law, and very good law, too," replied Murden; "you can hardly wonder at such a state of things, when you take into consideration the lawlessness of the bands swarming over these vast plains, and attacking every party weaker than themselves."

Murden walked towards the hut as though he declined to converse any further on the subject; but just then his eyes fell on Bimbo, who was seated under the shed, within sight of the sentry, and the idea occurred to make search on the premises for the goods which we had overheard him talk about.

"Ho, Bimbo," he said, "show us where the stolen property is kept, and perhaps I may interfere to save your life."

"So help me, G.o.d, lieutenant, I don't know what you mean. I never stole a single thing in my life."

"Then how came you to be sent to Australia for ten years?" asked the officer, with a sneer.

"Because I was unjustly suspected, as I am now. A man swore that I broke into a store when he knew I was nowhere near the building."

"It won't do, Bimbo," replied the officer, sending the fellow back to his place. "Remember, I have offered you a fair chance to act as a government witness, but you decline."

I thought the follow had half a mind to confess, but he apparently considered the offer, and resolved to brave it out.

"Bring me a couple of hatchets," Murden said to his men; and when they were brought he led the way to the hut, and began splitting the boards of the floor and removing them; but no signs of a cellar were discovered, and I began to think that the conversation must have reference to some other stock-house, when one of the men uttered an exclamation of surprise, and tearing up a board that was pinned against the wall, we saw a large hole, which, instead of being directly under the floor, extended beyond the sides of the hut, and formed a sort of magazine that could only be discovered by removing, as we had done, all the planks and timbers.

"Jump down, one of you," said Murden, addressing his men.

An exclamation of surprise was uttered by the man that descended.

"Here's a large room," he shouted, "and nearly full of different articles."

"Go and slip a pair of irons on Bimbo," Murden said, turning to Maurice, "and chain him to the cart with the rest of the thieves."

A moment after we could hear the prayers of the fellow as he was led to the cart, and his entreaties to speak with the lieutenant just for a moment.

"He is too late," was all the remark that the officer vouchsafed upon being informed of Bimbo's desire.

We entered the secret cellar, and then had the articles which were found there pa.s.sed up for an examination. Clothes, powder, and lead, liquors, boxes of pickles, preserved meats, China ginger, and other sweetmeats, and in fact it is hard to remember all the names of the different articles stored in that underground cell. The collection looked as though it had been plundered from various teams on their way to the mines, and such we afterwards found to be the case; as Bimbo confessed that he had acted in the capacity of storekeeper for three or four years, and even before the mines were discovered he was in league with bushrangers, and always gave them information when he knew a party of policemen were on their trail.

There was another piece of information which Bimbo gave us, more pleasing than any thing which he had said. By his directions, one of the men was set at work digging in the cellar, and after throwing up a few shovelfuls of earth, a canvas bag was reached, which proved to be remarkably heavy. The men crowded around, wild with excitement, when Murden loosened the string tied around its mouth, and we all gave a shout when particles of gold dust were discovered, and a louder cheer when the lieutenant emptied into a basin about forty pounds of gold of the first quality.

"This is a prize worth something," Murden said, overjoyed at his good fortune.

"The government will make its expenses on this trip," I remarked, as I calculated the worth of the gold.

"Do you suppose that government will ever see the color of this dust?"

asked Murden, with a laugh.

I replied that I expected he would render an account of it to his superior officer.

"And let my superior officer retain the whole of that which we have worked hard for. I know a trick worth two of that. Stand by and let me divide it according to grade, men."

A pair of scales was produced in a twinkling from one of the saddle holsters of the men, and with great dignity the lieutenant weighed out the full amount, and then made a calculation.

"I am going to let these two gentlemen share equally with me. They deserve more, but according to the rules of the service, volunteers must rate with lieutenants."

Fred and I looked at each other in surprise, hardly believing our senses, while the men declared with one accord that it was but right we should receive our share, and that we were an honor to the police force.

"There's twenty-two hundred dollars to be divided among the men, and about two thousand dollars for us three," said Murden, after finis.h.i.+ng his calculations.

"And do you expect us to take the money?" Fred asked.

"I certainly do," replied the lieutenant, with the most refres.h.i.+ng coolness.

"But suppose an inquiry should be made by those in authority at Melbourne, regarding the finding of this money? What answer should we return?"

"You can say that you should like to find more on the same terms, and refer inquirers to me for further particulars."