The Gold Hunters' Adventures Part 27

"'Let him enter.'

"I did not suspect any thing unusual, and was about to pa.s.s out of the room, when I found myself in the embrace of a police officer, and before my surprise was over, a pair of handcuffs was slipped over my wrists, and I was a prisoner.

"'What is the meaning of this, sir?' I demanded, indignantly.

"'Be quiet,' the man said; 'it's only for a bit of forgery.'

"'Forgery!' I gasped, astonished beyond belief.

"'Take him away, officer,' the banker said; 'he has confessed every thing to me, and made rest.i.tution of a portion of the money, but an example must be made. Forgery is too common, nowadays, to go unpunished.'

"The police officer almost carried me from the room, I was so overpowered by the unexpected, cruel, and unjust accusation; and as I staggered from the banker's presence, I saw the smile which I had remarked more than once upon his features during our interview, change to one of satisfaction, as though he now saw his way clear, regarding his daughter's marriage."

The outlaw paused for a few minutes, closed his eyes, and breathed hard, as though trying to suppress his emotion; but in spite of his firmness, I saw tears trickle flown his haggard cheeks, as though the revival of his ill usage was too much for even his rugged nature to bear. At length, he opened his s.h.i.+rt collar, and exposed a gold cross, of rare workmans.h.i.+p, upon his bosom, and confined around his neck by a gold chain.

"This cross," he said, raising it to his lips, "was presented to me by the only woman I ever loved. I need not tell you that her name was Julia, and that through all the changes which I have pa.s.sed, I have retained possession of it. See, I press my lips to it, and solemnly swear that I never committed forgery in my life, and that I was innocent of crime until after I was transported. I have but a short time to live, and do you think I would commit perjury upon the brink of the grave? Do you believe me?" he asked, earnestly.

"Most sincerely I do," I answered, for I saw that the dying bushranger was in earnest.

"Then I am satisfied that I can trust you, and will continue my story. I was taken to prison, and confined in a dungeon, as a forger. I asked the amount of money which I stood charged with obtaining, and the turnkey laughed in my face, and told me that I ought to know better than he the sum of my villany.

"By a liberal expenditure of my scanty funds, I was enabled to send a letter to my father, informing him of the circ.u.mstances of my arrest, and vowing my innocence. I received a reply, that I had disgraced his name, and that he never desired to see me again.

"I sank under the blow, and for hours I lay senseless; but at length I rallied, when a letter was placed in my hands. It was in the handwriting of Julia, and with eager haste I broke the seal, and scanned its contents. It was but another species of torture, but more pointed than the accusation of crime.

"Her letter was worded coldly, and contained expressions which I little thought she would ever use to me. She believed me guilty of the crime with which I stood charged, considered that I had taken an unfair advantage of her father's kindness, and concluded with a hope, that if I lived to serve out my sentence, I would always remain in exile, and never distress my family with my presence.

"Twice did I read that short, heartless letter, before I fully comprehended its meaning; and when I realized that I was discarded, believed guilty, I sat down, and bowed my head upon my breast, and shed tears of agony. I cared no longer to live, and almost wished that forgery was, as formerly, punished with death.

"During my grief, I was summoned to the court, placed in the prisoners'

dock, and heard, for the first time, that. I was charged with forging Mr. B----'s name to a draft for a thousand pounds, and that I had confessed the crime, and made rest.i.tution of most of the money which I had obtained, and that on that account I was ent.i.tled to mercy, and that the liberal, patriotic banker would have spared me, if he had thought I would have sinned no more.

"I was like one in a dream all the time that I was in the court room. I was asked by the judge, in a severe tone of voice, if I wished counsel, and mechanically I answered in the affirmative; and after I had consulted a moment with him, I recollected no more, until I was led from the room, and told that I was transported, for ten years.

"The next day I was sent to Liverpool, in company with house-breakers, thieves, and men accused of all crimes, and from thence I was taken on board of a s.h.i.+p loaded with felons, and bound for Australia. Even after I was safely chained between the decks of the vessel, I did not escape the vengeance of the man whose daughter I had dared to love. A newspaper was thrust into my hand by some person, who directed me to read, and then disappeared. My worst fears were realized--Julia had become the wife of the earl's son on the same day that I was condemned.

"I tore the paper into ten thousand pieces, and then vowed, that as I was with criminals, and cla.s.sed as such, I would show a felon's spirit.

I no longer was meek and dejected. I became a leader, and planned for the capture of the s.h.i.+p, and should have succeeded, had not a treacherous hound betrayed us to punishment.

"But I was not discouraged by my failure, and when I was beaten for my rebellious spirit, I had satisfaction, for one dark night I drove a knife to the captain's heart, and laughed to think I remained undetected.

"You shudder," the robber said, when he saw that I shrank from his side at this avowal. "I grant that the deed was wicked and cruel; but I had been trampled upon as a man, betrayed and condemned, and my feelings underwent such a change that I was no longer human.

"After a long and dreary pa.s.sage, the s.h.i.+p arrived at Hobson's Bay, and we were landed. My reputation was too bad to be allowed to serve outside of the hulks, and accordingly, day after day, I dragged my chain and ball, attached to my right foot, after me, and performed labor that caused many of my fellow-prisoners to sink by my side and expire, while others would fall to the ground, and be lashed by the whips of our taskmasters into renewed activity.

"One hope alone kept me alive--the expectation of an escape. I planned, and sought to carry them out, but the vigilance of my keepers frustrated my intentions, and it was not until the gold mines were discovered that I found an opportunity. Many of our overseers then left the employ of government, and flocked to the mines. Of course, more men were engaged, but they were too green in the service to understand all of the tricks which prisoners resorted to to blind their eyes.

"One dark night, a convict about my own age, and myself, resolved to make an attempt at escape. Our chains were filed off, and knives placed in our hands by men outside of the prison walls; these we had kept secreted for many weeks, in hope of finding a use for them, and when we heard the rain' dash against the roof, we resolved that the hour had arrived for an attempt for freedom.

"Most of the sentries were under shelter, when we crossed the court yard, with steps like those of a cat, and stood before the astonished turnkey, who kept watch upon the inner gate. Before he had time to raise an alarm, we struck, and he fell without a groan. We hastily tore the clothes from his body, and I dressed myself in them, casting away the prison suit which I wore, and then with the key of the ma.s.sive gate, I unlocked it, and continued on to the outer lodge, where I knew we should meet with another keeper.

"The latter was busily engaged in writing when we entered, and did not notice but that we were servants of the prison. He never probably knew what killed him, for he fell--"

"Good G.o.d!" I exclaimed with horror, "did you a.s.sa.s.sinate him, also?"

"How could we have escaped unless we did? By the keeper's side was a bell rope, a touch of which would have brought, a dozen soldiers upon us, and then death would have been certain. We had been prisoners too long to scruple at murder when our safety was involved.

"My fellow convict removed the man's clothes, even before the breath had left his body; and while he was dressing himself, I glanced my eye over the letter which the keeper had been writing. I saw, to my astonishment, that it was addressed to Mr. B----, the banker, and that an account of my health, my work, and rebellious disposition, were set forth, and a hope was manifested that I should break down under the severe discipline of the hulks, and that if I did not, other employment would be found in a few weeks, which would surely end my days. A donation of twenty-five pounds was acknowledged, and thanks were returned for the same.

"I ground my teeth with rage, and then added a line in the letter, to let the villain know that I still lived, and hoped to get square with him before I died.

"Time was too precious, however, to waste it there. Every moment was worth an hour to us, for we were liable to be interrupted; and if seen at large the whole city would have been aroused, and capture inevitable.

"The huge key that unlocked the outer gate was hanging on its accustomed peg, and to take possession of it, and emerge into the street, was but a moment's work; and then to give our oppressors all the trouble possible, we locked the gate, and hurled the key into the river, which ran hard by.

"The night was pitch dark, and, as I said before, the rain poured down in torrents, for winter had set in with uncommon severity. The streets were without light, and the gutters were like small rivers; but by the latter we were enabled to find our way. You are aware that Melbourne is partly built on a hill, so by following the course of the water, as it rushed towards the bay, we gained the outskirts of the city, and struck across the broad fields, and toiled on through the long night, and when daylight came, no sign of house or inhabitants was to be seen.

"That day we rested for a few hours, and continued our journey towards night, hardly knowing where we were wandering to, almost famished with hunger, and dead with fatigue.

"I have not breath to tell you all that we suffered while getting towards the bushranging haunts; our days of hunger and wretchedness--our adventures with the natives, and their attempts to kill us--the desperate risks which we ran of being captured and taken back to prison--and last of all, our reaching this hut, which is to be the scene of my death.

"Here is where I first met Bimbo; and as he is already a prisoner, there can be no harm in my telling you that be provided for our wants, kept us in his secret cellar over a week, until we were fully recruited, and able to grasp a musket, and then introduced us to Black Darnley, as possessing spirit enough to belong to even his gang.

"By him we were accepted; but after I had served in the ranks a short time, I raised a band of my own, and have pillaged and murdered to my heart's content."

The robber ceased speaking, and a spasm pa.s.sed through his frame, that I thought would result fatally; but a drink of wine restored him, and he again spoke, but in a voice not above a whisper.

"I have a commission which I wish you to take care of," the bushranger said, scanning my face to see what effect his words would have upon me; "can I trust you to take charge of it?"

I promised faithfully to fulfil his wishes, no matter what he required of me.

"This cross," he said, touching it to his lips, and uttering a sigh as he did so, that came from the heart, "I promised to send to Julia, only when death overpowered me. Will you take it to her, and say that the wearer has gone to another world, where treachery and crime do not exist, and where I hope to meet her and her father, and then disprove the unjust accusation that was brought against me?"

I promised to obey his wishes, and a look of grat.i.tude stole over his dark face.

"My name," he whispered, "is engraved upon the jewel: do not give it to the world, but know me as Jim Gulpin, the robber. I do not wish to disgrace my father's name, even if I have been unjustly accused by him."

I also promised compliance with this request, and asked if there was any other matter which he wished to confide to me.

"You know where the hut of Darnley stood in the black woods which you visited?" the robber whispered, with a painful effort.

I replied in the affirmative.

"Near the hut I buried all my ill-gotten gains, and there they remain yet; to you I bequeath them, to do as you see fit. There are thousands of pounds' worth of gold dust there, besides jewels of value. After searching the hut, walk in a south--"

The robber's voice failed him; he made painful efforts to recover his breath, and during the struggle his eyes rolled fearfully in their sockets, and his hands clutched the earth convulsively. I feared that he would die without revealing the hiding-place of his h.o.a.rd, and impressed with this idea, I dashed a pot of cold water in his face, and poured more wine down his throat.

"Thanks," he gasped, "I'm--going--farewell--ten paces--in a south--"