JOURNEY BACK TO BALLARAT.
"You are, no doubt, strangers in the country?" said Mr. Brown, after we
had removed the saddles from our horses' backs, and suffered the animals
to roam a short distance from the camp for food.
"Faith, ye may well say that," cried the leading Hibernian, with a
good-natured smile.
"Where did you come from?" my friend continued.
"Ireland, sir," was the prompt reply.
"I know that without your telling me. I mean what part of this country.
Sydney or Melbourne?"
"Faith, how did ye know we come from Ireland?" queried Pat, with
innocent simplicity.
"By your brogue, to be sure," was Mr. Brown's prompt answer.
"Bedad, I never thought of that," grunted the Celt.
"We came from Melbourne, sir," one of the men said, answering Mr.
Brown's question, and casting wishful eyes towards the black bottle.
"We've been four days on the road, and it's little progress we make at
all, bad luck to the horses that won't draw when we want 'em to. It's
out of whiskey we got the first day, owing to the swilling of Ned
Mulloon, who was drunk as a baste when we left town."
"Faith, it's little chance I had while yer mouth was doing its work,
Teddy," cried Ned, with a grin.
"We will make a bargain with you," Mr. Brown said to the men. "Give us a
share of your potatoes, and we'll divide the whiskey."
"Done," cried all hands, with remarkable unanimity; and the pot
containing the esculents was jerked off the fire and placed at our feet,
while we treated all hands, not even excepting the women.
"Well, what is the news at Melbourne?" asked Mr. Brown, while We were
satisfying our appetites.
"It's loud talk they have about the miners, and their dislike to pay the
tax, glory to God; and the artillerymen were getting ready to march
whenever the governor tells 'em to, bad luck to 'em."
"Did you understand at what mines the soldiers are to be stationed?" I
asked.
"Yes, I did," replied our informant. "'Tis at Ballarat."
"Then there must have been trouble since our absence," remarked Mr.
Brown; "and the sooner we are home the safer will our property be. If we
but had fresh horses we could start at once."
"And carry off the whiskey?" demanded the men, with rueful looks.
"No, we would leave it for your use."
"Then long life to yez, and it's prayers ye shall have for fresh horses
without delay"
Pat's prayers, if indeed he prayed at all, were of but little avail, for
the fresh horses did not come along, and we were compelled to remain
inactive until near midnight, when we again saddled our animals, and
bade our entertainers farewell. When we left, the company was very
patriotic, and songs of Ireland's greatness and England's outrages were
hooted loud enough to awaken every one within a radius of two miles.
They gave us three cheers when we left, and one of the party, in the
excitement, stumbled over the potato pot, and got a dose of hot water on
his person that caused him to utter the most frightful cries, which were
responded to by shouts of laughter instead of tears of condolement.
"We have accomplished one humane purpose in giving the men the whiskey,"
Mr. Brown said, as we rode in the direction of Ballarat. "The poor
horses will get a few hours' extra rest."
"That is more than the women and children can do," I remarked.
"The women can take care of themselves, I'll warrant you, and if a fight
occurs, look after their children at the same time. But touch up your
horse. We must reach Ballarat by daylight, for I have no doubt that
stirring times are occurring there."
The air was quite cool, and the moon sufficiently bright to show us the
right road, so that we wasted no time in searching for it. Not a single
person did we meet until just before daylight, when our horses suddenly
shied, and an examination revealed the cause. Under a tree by the
roadside was a team, and the driver fast asleep, snoring most
unmusically, while the oxen were quietly chewing their cuds, chained to
a wheel of the cart.
"Let us rouse him, and find out the news from Ballarat," Mr. Brown said.
I made no opposition. My friend approached the sleeping man, and
touching him lightly on the shoulder, caused him to look up. The fellow
rubbed his eyes, and stared wildly at us for a moment, and then began to
beg most piteously.
"I haven't got a single thing about me that's worth stealing," he cried.
"If you want my blanket you can have it, but it ain't a very good one."
"I suppose that you take us for bushrangers?" quietly remarked Mr.
Brown.
"I certainly do--ain't you?" asked the man, between hope and fear.
"Not quite so far gone as that. All that we desire of you is news, and
that you can soon give us without much sacrifice."
"O, is that all? I thought that somebody had been blowing on me," cried
the teamster, considerably relieved.
"How are matters at Ballarat?" I demanded. "Bad as bad can be," replied
the stranger promptly. "The devil has taken possession of the miners,
and they refuse to pay gold taxes to the government. The latter don't
want to yield, and there will be a fight or I'm much mistaken. I don't
want to hurry you, but if you want to be counted in, you'd better be
moving, or the whole matter will be decided before you arrive."
"I'll bet a wager that you are a Yankee," Mr. Brown remarked, and I
thought I detected the man's cuteness before my friend spoke.
"I take the bet," was the prompt reply. "Put the money in my hands."
Mr. Brown's money was not forthcoming, at which the stranger sneered.
"I s'posed that I had picked up a man who wanted a chance to make a few
dimes, but you don't seem inclined to come to time. Here's my specie,
and there's more where that came from."
"Never mind the wager," I said; "you don't belong to the New England
States, I'll take my oath, so you can't catch us in that trap."
"That's so," replied the teamster, with a chuckle; "but what makes you
think so?"
"In the first place, you haven't the accent of a genuine Yankee," I
replied; "and in the next place, a Yankee would not have exposed a
single dollar until he was certain of the company that he was in. Am I
right?"
"Hang me if you ain't, stranger," cried the teamster, in a burst of
generous enthusiasm. "If you ain't a Yankee, there ain't one in the
country."
I pleaded guilty to the charge, and got a warm shake of the hand for my
nationality's sake.
"I ain't a Yankee, that's a fact," my new acquaintance said; "but I
belong to Yankee land, and that's honor enough, by thunder. I'm an Ohio
boy, and just looking round the world to see how it's made afore I
settle on dad's farm, and tie up for life. If I can pick up a few dimes
afore I go back so much the better, and if I don't it won't break my
heart."
We talked with our new acquaintance for near half an hour for the
purpose of breathing our horses, and picking up all the news that had
transpired during our absence. I gave him some good advice, and informed
him that sleeping in his cart while travelling was not the safest plan
that he could adopt, and after a few moments' reasoning he seemed to
think so himself. We bade him good night, and resumed our journey, and
just as day was breaking we drew up our tired horses before the store,
which looked unchanged since our absence. All was quiet and still in the
neighborhood, but we observed that an unusually large number of police
were on duty in the streets, and that many of them were strangers, and
eyed us with suspicious looks, as though not certain which party we
belonged to.
"I'll hold the horses while you rap Fred up," Mr. Brown said,
dismounting.
I was too impatient to see my friend to need a second bidding. I applied
my foot to the door, and gave a thundering kick, that made two or three
suspicious policemen, who had followed us closely, imagine we were
starving for something to eat.
Hardly had I touched the door, when a hoarse growl showed me that Rover
was still alive and capable of doing active duty. I heard the hound
spring from his sleeping place, cross the floor, and throw his solid
form against the door with a subdued yell, which, after a moment's
snuffing changed from rage to joy. He uttered cry after cry of welcome,
yet still Fred did not seem to take the hint. At length I heard him
shuffling along the floor in his slippers, and presently he inquired,--
"Who's there?"
"A friend," I replied, disguising my voice as much as possible.
"What is wanting?" he asked.
"A cup of coffee and something to eat," I replied.
"You can get neither here. Go to one of the coffee-houses."
"But suppose we want to trade?" I asked.
"Then come during trading hours," was the brief rejoinder.
"O, don't stand there talking all day, but let us in," cried Mr. Brown,
who, like all Englishmen, couldn't bear to joke on an empty stomach.
"Is that you, Jack?" Fred demanded, eagerly.
"Of course it is," cried Mr. Brown, impatiently.
The heavy bar was removed with remarkable rapidity, and the next instant
the door was thrown open, and the best friend that I possessed in the
world was shaking my hand and patting me on the back, as though I was an
infant strangling with lacteal fluid, while Rover circled around us, and
made the air vocal with his joyous barks, until anxious to distinguish
himself, and perhaps thinking that Mr. Brown was not getting his share
of the reception, he suddenly welcomed that gentleman with a slight nip
on the seat of his pantaloons, that caused him to utter a fierce oath,
and to rub the place with remarkable vigor.
"Come in, come in," cried Fred, "or we shall have all the green police
of Ballarat around us, thinking a manifestation is going on. I see three
of the fellows peering around corners as though uncertain whether to
regard us as madmen or conspirators."
We followed him into the store and closed the door; and while Fred was
busy in lighting lamps, for the store was dark inside, he chatted as
though his tongue had had a fast for a month, and was now making up for
lost time.
"I had near about given you up for dead, and next week should have left
the store in charge of Smith and started in search of you. What detained
you so long, and couldn't you send me a few words?"
Then, not waiting for us to answer, he continued:--
"I began to think that you had fallen victims to the bushrangers, for
they are very bold lately, and more than one gang has ventured near the
city with impunity, while the troubles are continuing. The commissioner
has been asked to despatch a force against them, but he has declined, on
the ground that he can't spare the men."
"Then troubles continue to exist?" I asked.
"Never more serious than at present; and I expect that open war will be
declared every day. The miners have flatly refused to pay their thirty
shillings per month for mining, and government insists that they shall.
Neither party feel like retreating from its position, although I
candidly believe that if a good man was at the head of affairs this
difficulty would be settled in twenty-four hours, and in a way
satisfactory to the government and the miners."
Even while Fred was entertaining us with news he was busily engaged in
starting a fire in the stove for the purpose of preparing our breakfast.
"It is too late to hope to escape bloodshed," Fred continued, "unless
concessions are made on the part of the government, which are not looked
for. I am informed that the commissioner sends despatches to the
governor-general every day, in which he represents the miners as on the
point of yielding, and that energy and firmness are alone required to
subdue them to his wishes, and prevent further outbreaks. You see how
shamefully he is misleading the government, for there are not two
hundred men in Ballarat, exclusive of the police force, but who will
fight against the tax."
"How is it known that the commissioner sends such despatches?" I asked.
"Why, to tell you the truth," said Fred, sinking his voice to a whisper,
"a party of men ambushed the courier day before yesterday, and rifled
his despatches. The letters contained a request for more men and plenty
of ammunition, and a hope to have the rebels suing for mercy in less
than two weeks."
"And how are our countrymen acting?" I asked.
"They are not so backward as I could wish," replied Fred; "for they
should remember that we are on a foreign soil, and that an active part
is not required of us. But few can withstand the flattery that has been
brought to bear upon them, and as a general thing they are all arrayed
with the miners. Their rifles are wanted, and dreadful havoc they will
make if blows are exchanged."
"And you have taken no part in the question as yet?" Mr. Brown asked.
"No; although offers in abundance have been made by government agents
and the leaders in the revolutionary movement. We have too many thousand
dollars at stake to trifle with public affairs, although if--"
Fred paused while pouring out the coffee, and looked hard at Mr. Brown.
"Go on," said that gentleman. "Treat me as though I was a countryman and
a brother."
"If the people were about to enter upon a struggle for liberty and
independence, I would not mind sacrificing all the property that I
possess to help secure so desirable a blessing. But the word liberty is
never mentioned. It is only a question of money, and therefore I shall
stand aloof."
"By the way, how has business been while we were absent?" I asked.
"Never better. The sales have been large and the profits good. We are
out of many things, but Smith should be along this afternoon, and he
will supply the deficiency. Now tell me of your trip. Of course you
didn't find the buried treasure, and you have returned a little poorer
than when you went away."
"That depends upon the estimation in which you hold this kind of coin,"
I replied, emptying my pockets upon the table, and throwing down a good
sized bag of gold dust.
Fred opened his eyes in astonishment.
"Do you mean to tell me that you have been successful?" he asked.
"As far as getting the gold is concerned we have; but if you ask us if
we have had smooth sailing during our cruise, I shall tell you that it
has been rough, and at times extremely tempestuous. Especially did we
find it so when the rascally bushrangers attempted to smoke us out, and
also when we threw them off the trail by means of a first class ghost."
"A ghost!" replied Fred, looking first at Mr. Brown and then at me, as
though we were quizzing him.
"Yes, he was a first class ghost, and no mistake," replied Mr. Brown,
without moving a muscle of his face.
"Bah!" ejaculated Fred, with disdain.
"This is the very expression that we used when we were satisfied that
the ghost was disposed to help us," I replied.
"Will you explain yourselves, or must I resort to extremities?" Fred
exclaimed.
"Well, put the money in the safe, and then we will light our pipes, and
repeat the history of our journey."
Fred hastened to comply, and while we were in the act of filling the
store with tobacco smoke, we heard a commotion in front of our door, and
the next instant the police commissioner entered without the formality
of knocking.
"Excuse me, gentlemen," he said, "for my early visit, but I have weighty
matters on hand, and have no time to lose."
We offered him a chair, but he declined the courtesy. We saw that he was
ill at ease in the presence of the ex-inspector, and we rather enjoyed
it than otherwise. As for Mr. Brown, he smoked his pipe with most
admirable nonchalance, and appeared unconscious of the presence of his
enemy.
"The fact of the matter is, gentlemen," the commissioner went on to say,
"government has need of all its friends at the present time, for
misguided men are plotting against its stability. The silly things will
be crushed in the end; but our great desire is to make such a show of
strength that no blood will be shed. Humanity dictates such a course,
and I think that it will meet the approval of the governor and his
advisers."
"Go on, sir," remarked Fred, seeing that the commissioner paused, as
though uncertain what to say next.
"I thought of requesting you two gentlemen to volunteer your services as
my aids, and if you comply, I will see that government is informed of
the fact, and that you receive some substantial reward."
"In making the request I suppose that you think we shall be the means of
enlisting a large portion of the American population of Ballarat into
the service of the crown?"
The commissioner acknowledged, after some hesitancy, that such was his
calculation.
"We shall have to decline your flattering offer," Fred said, firmly. "We
have no desire to incur the hatred of the miners of Ballarat by
appearing as oppressors. If you proposed an expedition against
bushrangers we should be happy to comply with your wishes. As it is, we
cannot."
The commissioner did not say a single word. He bowed rather stiffly, and
then turned and left the store, and the next moment we heard him urging
his horse through the street as though he was in a hurry to reach a
certain point without loss of time.