MORE OF THE SAME SORT.
The securing of Jackson was so sudden and unexpected that no one in the
room besides our party had noticed what was going on, and even the
prisoner seemed not to realize for some moments that his tongue had
revealed secrets which were likely to cost him imprisonment for life. He
appeared to imagine that the handcuffing was an excellent joke, and a
taint smile overspread his face; but after finding that no one returned
it, a deadly paleness chased the color from his lips, and he trembled
as though he was already arraigned before a tribunal for sentence.
"What is the meaning of this?" he stammered out, after moistening his
mouth, which seemed parched, with his tongue.
"It means," whispered the inspector, "that you are my prisoner, and the
first effort that you make to escape will result in your death. Remain
quiet, and do as I wish you to, and you will fare well, but--"
He pressed the barrel of a revolver against his side, and the fellow
trembled at its touch.
"Who are you?" Jackson demanded, almost in an inaudible voice.
"I am that d----d Brown whom you spoke of a few minutes since," replied
the inspector, with a chuckle.
"And these two men?" he asked, pointing to Fred and myself.
"The Americans, whom you thought to get convicted of murder. You see
that they have played you a Yankee trick, and have rather got the best
of the bargain."
The poor wretch's head fell upon his breast, and we supposed that he was
completely crushed by his unexpected arrest, but we kept a sharp eye
upon his movements, nevertheless, for fear that he should convey
intelligence of his situation to the noisy and drunken gang in the room.
We knew that the single word "Traps" would cause them to swarm around us
like hornets, and that many blows would have to be struck before we
could make our way to the street and escape with our prisoner, whom we
were desirous of holding on to at every hazard.
"Steel Spring," whispered the inspector, but no Steel Spring was present
to respond. The fellow had stolen away unperceived as soon as the
handcuffs were put on Jackson's wrists,' disliking the idea of fighting
his way from the room. The act was characteristic of the man, and we
cursed him in our hearts for a coward and a traitor.
Here were but three of us to oppose nearly thirty, and to add to our
trouble it was not only necessary that we should get clear ourselves,
but that we should take our prisoner with us; and while we knew that in
case of a rush we would stand but a slim chance, we determined that we
would dispute our lives with the ruffians, and make every shot in our
revolvers tell.
"If that coward of a Steel Spring was only here," muttered the
inspector.
"He would be of little use to us," I remarked, "for he has not pluck
enough to fight a hedgehog, if it showed spirit."
"I expected to send him for the reserved police force that I have posted
near at hand. I told them to wait until they got word from me, and they
will obey orders."
"It is useless to repine," Fred exclaimed. "Let us make a bold push for
the street, and trust to our usual good luck and boldness for an
escape."
"Or, had we better sit here until morning, and pretend to drink as hard
as those around us? By daylight most of those present will be either
drunk or asleep, and then we could get off without much of a struggle."
The advice of the inspector was good, and perhaps we should have adopted
it; but just at that moment a burly fellow staggered towards our table,
and seemed determined to cultivate a more intimate acquaintance.
"You coves don't seem to drink as though you liked our lush," he began,
steadying himself by holding on to the table with one hand, and pointing
to the half-filled glasses before us. "If the liquor isn't good why
don't you say so, and be hanged to you," he continued.
We made a short reply that we liked the liquor very much, and was going
to drink our share of it as soon as we got some business arranged.
"Well, let us have a rousing drink, and I'll pay for it," our
troublesome friend continued, and in spite of our declaration he ordered
a pint of whiskey, and then sat down beside us as though he was
determined to see that full justice was done to his treat.
I shoved Jackson's hands under the table so that his bracelets could not
be seen, and then I held them in that position until the liquor was
brought, when a new source of trouble awaited us. It was necessary, to
escape without a quarrel, that each of us should honor the unexpected
treat by partaking of it; but when it came Jackson's turn to drink, we
all protested that he had his reasons for not imbibing, but our
troublesome friend overruled them.
"He shall drink, by G----d, or fight," roared the ruffian; and as he
spoke we saw, with some misgivings, that our corner of the room was the
centre of attraction, and that the sleeping thieves were waking up, and
listening to hear what the row was about.
"Sit down, man," cried the inspector, calmly, "and let me drink his
share. I'll drink glass after glass with you, until daylight."
"Not by a d----d sight. I want that fellow to respond to my toast:
'Death and confusion to all policemen!'" shouted the ruffian, bringing
his glass down upon the table with so much force that it was shivered to
pieces, and one of the fragments struck our prisoner on his face, and so
startled him that he sprang up, in defiance of the inspector's threat,
and revealed what we had attempted to conceal, his confined hands.
The secret was out, and frowns and threats were in vain. We felt in our
pockets and satisfied ourselves that our revolvers were ready, and then
waited for the astonished ruffian to give an alarm; but he seemed
incapable of motion, for he sat staring at Jackson as though hardly
daring to believe his eyes.
"Make for the door," whispered the inspector, and grasping the prisoner
by his right arm he arose, an example which we followed.
Then did the ruffian, who had insisted upon our drinking with him, find
his tongue, for with one spring he cleared the rude bench upon which he
was seated and rushed towards his comrades shouting a word, which, above
all others, was most dreaded by thieves.
"Traps!" he yelled; and at the sound every thief started to his feet,
and even those who were lying in the corners of the room, sleepy and
overpowered with drink, sat up and rubbed their eyes, ready to fight in
self-defence, or to make an escape, just according to the chances which
presented themselves.
"Traps," once more repeated the frightened ruffian, and a dozen voices
demanded where they were, while three or four men opened the shutters
of the windows to see if the building was attacked on the outside. Two
or three of the most timid disappeared from the room through a small
door, which we afterwards learned led through a subterranean passage to
a deserted mine, and from thence escape was easy by means of the shaft.
"Where are they?" roared a dozen voices all at once; and as the ruffians
asked, we had the disagreeable pleasure of seeing long knives unsheathed
and two or three pistols drawn; but even during the confusion we managed
to approach the door through which we had entered, and which we prayed
to leave without a severe wound.
"There they go--we are betrayed--down with them," were the cries that we
heard; but to our satisfaction a man whom we had not counted on rushed
between us and the crowd, his voice, clear and ringing, being heard
above the din.
"Put up your knives," he shouted, "or you'll bring trouble on me and my
house. Let the gentlemen go--it's nothin' but a fadlin' cove they've
got, and not a bushman. For the honor of the 'Cricket' don't spill blood
here," pleaded Dan Brian, the proprietor.
"Move on," whispered the inspector, "and don't relax your hold of the
prisoner. Keep your pistols in your pockets, and don't use them until I
set an example."
"It is selling us, Dan Brian, you are," cried half a dozen voices, and
there were shouts and oaths of rage at the thought.
"'Pon my honor, I'm not," reiterated Dan; "I never sold a pal in my
life, and, by the blessing of God, I won't. It's a poor devil they've
got now, of no account to any of us."
"He's a thief, and in the hands of 'Traps,'" shouted one, "and if we let
him go without a blow, none of us will be safe."
"That's so," yelled the crowd, and the most violent pushed Dan aside, or
attempted to, for the purpose of getting at us.
"We will listen to nothing," roared the ruffians, "until the poor devil
is free, and then we will talk until daylight, if it will please the
police."
An almost imperceptible signal was exchanged between the inspector and
Dan, but to no purpose, for our party continued to retreat, and the
others advance, with many menacing gestures, and the only thing that
surprised me was the reluctance to use firearms on the part of our
enemies. This, I afterwards found, was owing to the fear of bringing a
squad of mounted police to the spot, large numbers of whom were
constantly patrolling "Gravel Pit Hill" during the night, and the signal
for a disturbance would have been the arrest of every one present,
simply by surrounding the house and searching the underground passages.
By the time the last demand was made, we were at the door and all ready
to take down the bar, when a rush was made towards us, and by the rather
dim light I saw a dozen long knives, such as the stockmen of the plains
wear in their belts for the purpose of killing cattle, flash from their
sheaths, and grasped as though business was intended.
"Keep your backs to the door," cried the inspector, calmly, not at all
dismayed by the formidable array against us, "and don't let a man
approach within a yard without getting a good shot."
We covered our prisoner in such a manner that he could do us no harm,
and then formed in a triangular manner, so that our fronts and sides
would be equally well guarded, then glanced over the excited crowd, in
hopes that Dan would array himself on our side--but that enterprising
gentleman had suddenly disappeared, and left us to our fate.
"Stand back," shouted the inspector; "it will be the worse for you.
There's many of you present who know me, and know that I have a large
force of policemen on hand. If you strike a blow, not one of you shall
escape justice.
"Unbar the door as quickly as possible," whispered the inspector, after
getting through with his threatening speech.
I lifted the heavy gum wood bar from its place, and then raised the
latch, expecting that it would yield, but to my surprise it did not--it
was locked, and the key in the pocket of the doorkeeper, who had made
his escape from the room in company with Dan.
I almost uttered a groan of agony when I made the discovery, and to add
to the perplexity of our situation, the ruffians must have understood
our case, and known that the key was never left in the lock, for they
uttered a discordant and ironical hoot, and then a shout of sardonic
laughter.
"For Heaven's sake, don't be all night in getting that door open," cried
Fred, nervously, and I will confess that I also partook of the same
complaint.
"Now for a rush--cut them to pieces," exclaimed many voices; but I
observed that the cries came from those who were farthest from us, and
out of the reach of our pistols, which we were forced to display, in
hope of keeping the robbers at a respectful distance.
"Is the door unbarred?" asked Mr. Brown, turning half round, and
exposing his side to the knives of the crowd, and quick as thought, a
man sprang forward to begin the work of bloodshed; but sudden as were
his movements, they were anticipated, for I raised the heavy bar, which
I had not relinquished, and let it fall upon his head with crushing
force.
The poor devil fell at our feet without uttering a groan, although many
spasmodic twitchings of his nerves showed that he was not killed
outright His long knife narrowly missed the side of the inspector, and
for the first attempt at our annihilation, it was not to be despised.
The wretches uttered yells of rage when they saw their comrade fall, but
none seemed inclined to assume the leadership and begin the attack in
earnest.
Not one of their motions escaped us, and as long as they were disposed
to brandish their knives at a distance, we did not choose to carry
matters to extremities; but change of tactics was suddenly resorted to
on the part of our opponents, that placed us in no little peril.
All the tumblers, bottles, and decanters of the bar were token
possession of by the savage scoundrels, and the first intimation that we
had of the fact was the crushing of a bottle (empty, of course--they
were not the sort of men to throw away liquor of any kind) against the
door, just above our heads.
[Illustration: "Now for a rush--cut them to pieces!" exclaimed many
voices: but I observed that the cries came from those who were furthest
from us and out of the reach of our pistols, which we were forced to
display, in hope of keeping the robbers at a respectful distance.]
The fragments were showered upon our faces and shoulders, but before we
had time to consider on the matter another bottle flew past my head, and
hit our prisoner upon one of his shoulders, injuring him so severely
that he dropped to the floor as though he had been shot.
"Self-preservation is the first law of nature," cried the inspector, in
a calm tone, cocking his pistol; and when he saw an arm raised to hurl
another bottle at our heads, he fired. I saw the raised arm fall
suddenly, and I fancied that I could hear the pistol ball when it
struck, and buried itself amid bone and muscle.
"And are we to be shot down like dogs?" was the indignant question which
some one put, and a loud yell of "No," and a rush towards us, was the
response.
One ruffian struck at me, and the point of his knife entered my shirt
near the left shoulder, and inflicted a slight scratch, or wound--but
before he had time to renew the blow, which I escaped by dodging, Mr.
Brown had singled him out as a victim, and he fell, with a horrid
imprecation upon his lips, dyeing the black and soiled floor with his
blood.
Three or four pistol shots were fired, and they were barely sufficient
to keep the crowd at a distance, when I heard a movement at the
extremity of the room, and through the windows I saw the well-known blue
coats and caps, of the Ballarat police force pouring into the room.
We raised a shout of welcome, and our cheers were answered by the
gallant fellows, who kept crowding in until about thirty were drawn up
in line, with their long, heavy pistols presented, and ready for
destruction.
The ruffians were seized with a sudden panic, and would have fled, but
their retreat was cut off, and there was no chance for escape. Then our
leader, Mr. Brown, seemed endued with the importance of a dozen men.
"Down with your knives," he shouted, "or those who refuse shall rue it."
The speech was one of the most unfortunate that ever the inspector made,
for our opponents were in that peculiar state where a mild word would
have done no harm, and a cross one much injury.
The robbers were, in fact, already conquered, and a policeman might have
passed from man to man, and collected every knife and pistol that they
possessed without danger, and with but few sullen remarks; but the words
of the inspector made them think that no quarter was to be shown, and if
that was the case, they might as well sell their lives as dearly as
possible.
With this unfortunate impression, the ruffians replied to the
inspector's words with a shout which sounded like the roar of a wounded
tiger; and then commenced one of the most shocking scenes that I ever
witnessed (with one exception) in my life.
The robbers rushed upon the line of policemen with brandished knives,
and as they advanced they discharged the few pistols which they carried
on their persons, and they made every shot tell, for I saw three or four
of the government force give sudden springs, and full headlong to the
floor; and then came the rattling, deadly discharge of the policemen,
and I could hear the heavy balls strike on the partition behind me, and
send huge splinters from the woodwork, and scatter them upon our heads.
Seven or eight of the robbers fell, mortally wounded, and others, with
the blood streaming from their hurts, which only appeared to inflame
their courage, once more rushed towards the blue coats in hope of
cutting their way through the line, and gaining the secret passage.
But what madness it was to expect to cope with men who carried long
sabres, and knew how to use them! The knives of the robbers were
powerless against them, and once more the latter were driven back,
overpowered, and with half their number disabled.
"Do you surrender?" demanded the inspector.
There was a sullen response in the affirmative, and knives were thrown
down, but there was no cringing or supplication for mercy; and the
desperadoes only needed a lion-hearted leader to have placed _hors du
combat_ one half of their enemies present. They were about as full of
pluck as English bull-dogs, and about as resolute.
The police, without moving from their positions, re-loaded their
pistols, and then two or three of them advanced and collected the
discarded knives without resistance. Handcuffs were then placed upon the
robbers' wrists, and they were secured in such a manner that escape was
impossible.
The victory was won at the expense of three mortally wounded policemen,
and four who were only slightly injured, while on the part of our
opponents six were dead, eight badly wounded, and four slightly.
During the battle both Fred and myself had abstained from firing a
single shot, for we looked upon the affair in the light of a massacre,
yet we could not condemn Mr. Brown or his men, for they had acted
according to the best of their judgment, and under the sincere
impression that our lives were in danger; and so they were; but we felt
as though we had rather cut our way through the villains, or have given
up our prisoner, than to have caused so much blood to flow, and so many
deaths in an affair that interested ourselves alone.
But the battle was ended, and the wounded required attention. We left
our prisoner where he had fallen, when knocked down by a bottle, and as
he did not move, we supposed that he had fainted from the effect of fear
or pain, and that he would soon come to his senses.
We were picking our way across the floor, endeavoring to avoid the pools
of blood, when the rough hands of policemen were laid on our shoulders.
"Put out your digets, and on with the darbies," they said, meaning that
we should suffer ourselves to be handcuffed, evidently thinking that we
were a portion of the gang with whom they had been fighting.
"Don't hinder us, Mike," I replied, addressing the officer, whom I had
seen a number of times, and who know both Fred and myself.
"By the powers, it's hinder ye'll get wid a rope round yer neck. Out wid
yer digets, and don't keep us waiting."
I saw that the man was in earnest, and I was surprised--but suddenly I
thought of my disguise, and the mystery was explained at once.
"Don't you know your friends when you see them, Mike?" I asked, and
while speaking I tore off my wig, revealing my natural hair.
"O, the devil! I axes yer pardon; but who would have thought of seeing
you here? It's funny ye are going from place to place, where the hard
knocks are to be had, and no pay for it."
We did not explain to the Celtic gentleman the interest we had in being
present, but passed on to where the bodies of the wounded bushrangers
and robbers were lying. Mr. Brown had already sent for the surgeon of
the police force, and a squad of men was removing the wounded soldiers
who could go on horseback to their quarters, while litters had been
ordered to carry off the remainder. No one appeared to care whether the
injured robbers were attended to or neglected.
The poor fellows were suffering the most excruciating pain; but they
bore their pangs without a murmur, although two or three of them did ask
for water, and when it was brought drank eagerly, and appeared thankful
for the favor, slight as it was.
Fred and myself made an attempt to examine their wounds; but before we
could strip off one of their shirts, we heard a crashing and roaring
beneath our feet, and up through the floor streamed clouds of smoke,
black and suffocating, as though produced by pitch or tar.
"The house is on fire," cried a dozen voices; and in an instant there
was a rush for the doors and windows, and policemen and miners, who had
been drawn from their beds by the tumult and confusion, were mixed in a
dozen struggling masses, all striving for escape.
"Come back," we shouted, "and save the wounded;" but our words were
unheeded. The fire seemed to increase every moment, fanned as it was by
a strong breeze, which blew from the south.
The materials of the building were dry, and easily ignited; and we
judged that in less than fifteen minutes the house would be one mass of
flames.
We expected to hear the robbers moan and shout for assistance; but to
our surprise they maintained a stoical silence, and disdained to beg for
help.
We heard the inspector call us by name, but we determined to save every
wounded man in the room if possible, and therefore returned him no
answer.
Carefully, but quickly, we lifted one of the sufferers from the floor,
and conveyed him to the nearest window, where a dozen willing hands were
stretched out to receive him; but before we could remove a second, the
flames burst through at the extremity of the room, near the bar, and the
planks of the floor seemed to blister our feet, they were so heated by
the fire raging in the cellar.