The Gold Hunters' Adventures Part 83

Half an hour pa.s.sed, and there were no signs of the enemy. Our horses had approached us once or twice, but as we paid no attention to them, they had wandered off, and were standing in the shade of the west bank for the purpose of getting rid of some of the insects which were hovering in the air, and biting with a sharpness that proved they had been without food for many days.

We were almost in despair of our plan succeeding, when we heard a cras.h.i.+ng overhead, as though a number of heavy-footed men were stepping upon dried branches, and did not care who heard them. Suddenly there was a silence, as though the party had halted to view the very place we antic.i.p.ated they would look at, and then a voice exclaimed:--

"D---- it, what can you say to that place, I'd like to know?"

"Ah, Bill, I've got nothin' to offer agin that place, 'cos it's suthin like. A man can get down there without trouble."

"Well, then, down you go, and lead the horses out of the ravine, and wait for us," cried a man who appeared to have some authority with the bushrangers.

"But I want somebody to go with me, don't I? S'pose the fellers should make a jump at me?" cried the man, who was evidently the slave of the gang.

"But they won't make a jump at you, 'cos they are at the other end of the ravine, looking after Brown. Get hold of the horses, and then we shall have um at our mercy."

"All right, Bill; I'll go, 'cos I killed the hoss, when I meant to kill one of those d----d Yankee chaps. I thought that I had him sure, but my pistols didn't carry straight."

It seemed that the party knew us, and had followed us ever since we had left Ballarat, for the purpose of robbing us of our horses, and probably murdering us, into the bargain.

We heard the bushranger selected for the purpose, commence descending slowly, for the task was one of considerable difficulty, and required some caution. His comrades stood upon the bank and joked him for being so long, and at length we concluded that they had stretched themselves upon the gra.s.s to wait until he had performed his work; for their voices became nearly inaudible, although we could hear the fellow who was approaching us grunt and swear at the obstacles which he had to overcome.

Fred's brow grew black as he unsheathed his long knife, and pa.s.sed a finger across the blade to test its keenness.

"What do you intend to do?" I asked, fearful of his reply.

"Preserve our lives at the expense of the scoundrels," he answered, in a whisper. "Leave the blow to me, but stand ready to grasp the fellow by the throat, and remember that a cry will destroy us."

I made no further remonstrance against the course that Fred had marked out, but I inwardly dreaded to think that it was necessary to shed more human blood for the sake of preserving our lives.

Nearer and nearer did the bushranger draw, and we could hear him mutter an oath at the difficult task that was a.s.signed him. By the direction of the sound, we calculated that he would land directly in front of us; and we were not mistaken, for he jumped to clear the shelf under which we were hid, and when he struck the earth, it was within a foot of us.

Before he discovered us--for his back was towards me--I flew at him, grasped him firmly around the throat, and then fell backwards, drawing my prisoner with me. He struggled desperately for a moment, but I saw a knife gleam before my eyes, and I felt a convulsive shudder run through the frame of my prisoner, and then his resistance ceased.

I rolled him from me, and allowed the body to remain face down. I could not encounter the ghastly face of the dead. It seemed to me like murder.

Fred noticed the expression of my face, and must have surmised my feelings, for he grasped my arm, and whispered hoa.r.s.ely,--

"Remember that it is to save our own lives, and the life of Mr. Brown, that we resort to the knife. I would give all the gold that I am worth, or hope to get, for a chance to escape such a ma.s.sacre, but it is impossible. Another victim will descend, and he must share his fate, and then--"

He ceased speaking, for just then a voice called out, and wanted to know where their companion, who had descended to get the horses, was.

"You, Jim," called out the fellow who appeared to be in authority.

"D---- him, he has gone to sleep, I'll bet a nugget. Go down, Sam, and wake him with a kick of your boots."

The man addressed as Sam grumbled some at the order, but we could hear that he was obeying the command, for the dirt rolled down the bank and fell at our feet, and the oaths and exclamations uttered by the gang hurried him in his descent. "The same operation is to be repeated,"

Fred whispered; "use all of your strength, for this fellow is a dangerous customer, I'm convinced."

He had hardly finished speaking, when a stout, burly fellow slid down in front of us, and as he did so, he got a glimpse of our forms.

He was about to utter an exclamation, when my hands were around his throat, compressing his windpipe with a strength that seemed marvellous to me. There was a slight struggle, unseen from the top of the bank, owing to the friendly shelf, and then I saw Fred make a motion with his arm, and almost immediately I felt that I held a corpse in my hands.

I let the body fall to the ground, and as I did so, Fred tore the slouched hat from the wretch's head, placed it upon his own, and then thrusting his head out so that those upon the bank could see the hat, but not my friend's face, and a.s.suming, as nearly as possible, the voice of the dead, shouted:--

"Ah, Bill, come down here and see what we've got."

"Hullo!" cried Bill, "what's up? can't you tell? D---- me if I don't believe they have found a gold mine, down there. Let's go and see, boys."

"Now is our time," cried Fred, quietly removing the pistols which the dead men carried in their belts. "When they have descended half way, we must take them."

We listened attentively, and when we thought that our time had arrived, we stepped out from our place of concealment, and before the bushrangers could overcome their surprise at our sudden appearance, we gave the two nearest the contents of our revolvers.

They relaxed their hold upon the bushes that grew spa.r.s.ely upon the hill side, and rolling over and over, fell into the ravine, badly wounded.

"Surrender, villains," yelled Fred, in a voice of thunder, pointing his empty pistol at the two remaining robbers--an example that I was not slow to follow. "Make but an attempt to use your weapons, and we'll blow you through and through. Throw down your pistols and knives, and then yield peaceably, or it will be worse for you."

For a moment the villains gazed at us in sullen silence, and then reluctantly complied with our demand. With an imprecation that would sound fearfully in print, the bushrangers commenced their descent, and while they were doing so, we quickly exchanged our empty revolvers for the loaded pistols, and then prepared to receive them with proper attention.

CHAPTER XLIII.

TRIUMPHANT ENTRY INTO BALLARAT, WITH THE BUSHRANGERS.

We did not allow our attention to be drawn from the bushrangers, even for a second, while they were descending, and the scamps knew it, for they cowered, as though expecting to be shot every moment, and one of them muttered something about his being honest, and never engaged in a robbery; while one of the wounded ruffians, who was groaning piteously in the ravine, prayed that his life might be saved, as he had many important revelations to make, which the police would like to hear.

We had taken the precaution to disarm the wounded men, before they fairly recovered from their surprise, so that they were powerless to inflict harm; and after the two bushrangers who were uninjured stood before us, obedient to our will, we began to ask ourselves what we should take to secure them with.

Luckily, upon one of the horses was a halter of considerable length, which we had used when we staked the animals for feeding nights, and we determined to secure them with this, and then carry them to Ballarat in triumph.

Fred stood guard over the ruffians, while I got the rope, and carried our resolution into effect. Bill, the leader of the gang, who was one of the uninjured, uttered a number of angry oaths, as I bound his limbs; but the c.o.c.ked pistols which Fred held were too much for him to attempt to brave, and he submitted without a struggle.

Even while tying the rope, I used due precautions to prevent their hands from getting at the knots; and although the scamps winced a little, as the cord sunk into their flesh, I did not pay that attention to their comfort that I should, had they been other than bushrangers.

After las.h.i.+ng them together, and then making them lie down upon their backs, from which position they could not move without help, we turned our attention to the two wounded men, who were groaning piteously.

One of them had received a ball near the hip, which had shattered the bones in that region, and prevented his standing upon his feet, even for a second.

The other was wounded in the back, near the spine, and could not move without great exertion. We could not relieve their pains, or even furnish them with a drink of water, for which they begged piteously; but we promised that they should be removed to Ballarat, as soon as possible, and that their wants should there be attended to.

We then led our horses to the spot where the inspector was lying, and was glad to find that he was quite cheerful, in spite of his intense suffering.

We briefly explained to him what we had done, but it was some time before he would really believe that we were giving a true account of our proceedings. It seemed so extraordinary that two men could accomplish so much, by the aid of a little strategy, that he was lost in wonder, and declared that to us alone did he owe his life.

Only wait until I get back to Ballarat and tell the police force that two Americans have saved my life, and refused to leave me, even when their own was in danger, and you shall see the manner in which they will treat you and your countrymen. I'll never complain again that Americans are troublesome at the mines, and if I had the power, not one of them should be called upon for the payment of a tax.

Mr. Brown never forgot us, and even now, I am in the habit of receiving letters from him from Australia, and in each one there is an allusion to the ravine scenes. But I am again getting before my story.