The drayman's partner was a man known in the diggings, by the name of
"Bat." I had often seen "Bat," and was acquainted with two or three
other diggers, who knew him well. He was famed at Ballarat, for having
the largest mind of any man in the place; but it was also generally
known, that in his mind, the proportion of selfishness, to all other
feelings and faculties, was ninety-nine to one.
The reason why Bat's soul was thought to be so large was, that,
otherwise it could not have contained the amount of disgusting
selfishness, which it daily exhibited.
He was only miserly about spending money, that might result to the
benefit, or injury, of any one but himself. In the gratification of his
own desires, he was a thorough spendthrift.
I had heard one of the miners tell a story, illustrative of Bat's
disposition. For amusement, the miner had made an experiment, to see,
to what extent, selfishness would, as he expressed it, "carry Bat on the
way to hell."
He enticed this large-souled individual, to go with him on a "spree;"
upon which, he treated him five times in succession.
Bat had by this time imbibed a strong desire for more drink; and after
waiting for some time for his companion to treat him again, he slipped
to one side, and took a drink alone--without asking the other to join
him.
After this, the miner treated him twice more; and not long after, Bat
again drank alone, at his own expense!
By this time both of them had become pretty well intoxicated; and the
spree came to a termination, by Bat's receiving a terrible thrashing
from the _convive_, who had been vainly tempting him to spend his money.
Bat's mate, the drayman, knew but little about him--only having joined
him as a partner the evening before we started for the Avoca.
On the first day of our journey, late in the afternoon, we arrived at a
roadside grog-shop; and all went in for something to drink. Inside the
house, were three ill-looking men, who had the appearance of having once
_lived in Van Dieman's Land_. The shop was a very colonial affair; and,
after drinking some poison, called rum, we all came out--leaving Bat
weighing some gold, which he had taken out of a leather bag, in presence
of all the company. It was to pay for a bottle of brandy, which, as we
were going to camp out for the night, he had purchased--for the purpose
of making himself comfortable.
Darkness overtook us about a mile or so beyond the grog-shop; and water
being near the place, we resolved to stay by it for the night.
Bat came up, just after we had kindled our fire; and drank some tea
along with us. He had brought with him two bottles of brandy, instead
of one, the second being for his mate, the drayman, who had commissioned
him to buy it for him. Seeing these two bottles of brandy in the camp,
I did not care about staying on the spot. I believed that the drayman,
Bat, and the other digger who accompanied them, would get drunk; and I
did not fancy to remain in their company.
I took up my blankets; and, going about two hundred yards off from the
camp--to a grove of bushes--I rolled myself in my cover, and slept
soundly till the morning.
At sunrise I awoke; and went back to rejoin my travelling companions.
On drawing near the encampment, I saw that something was wrong; and I
hastened forward. Bat was not there, but the drayman was, and also the
digger. Both were tied with their hands behind their backs, and,
furthermore, fastened to the wheels of the dray. I saw that both of
them were gagged!
I lost no time in releasing them from their unpleasant imprisonment; and
as soon as I had ungagged them, they told me what had happened. About
the middle of the night, four men had come up, armed with revolvers,
which they had held to the heads of the drayman and digger, while they
tied and gagged them. The two were then robbed of all their money,
after which, the bush-rangers went their way--taking along with them the
drayman's horse.
"But where is Bat?" I asked.
"We don't know," was the reply. "He went away soon after you did."
Circumstances looked suspicious against Bat; but only to me: for the
others understood all that had happened. Bat had determined to keep his
bottle of brandy to himself. By remaining with the others, he could not
well drink it all without asking them to have a share, as he had already
been treated by his partner. To avoid doing so he had stolen away to
the bush, where he could drink his liquor alone.
"The men who robbed us," said the disconsolate drayman, "could be no
others than them we saw in the grog-shop; and it was my mate Bat who
drew them on to us: for they seemed greatly disappointed, and swore
fearfully at not finding him. He flashed his gold-dust before them
yesterday; and, of course they came after us to get it. I wish they had
got every ounce of it. He deserved to be robbed for tempting them."
"Have you lost much?" I asked, of the drayman.
"No," answered he. "Luckily, I had not much to lose--only seventeen
pounds. But I care more about my old horse, for I've owned him over
three years."
The digger had lost twelve pounds in cash, and a gold nugget of seven
ounces weight.
While both were lamenting their mishap, Bat made his appearance from the
bush; and began finding fault with his mate, for not having breakfast
ready, and the horse harnessed for a start. The effects of the bottle
of brandy had only increased the disagreeable peculiarities of Bat's
character; and given him a good appetite.
He was now told what had happened, which made him a little more amiable.
But his amiableness could be traced to the fact of his being conceited
of the swinish selfishness of which he had been guilty. He seemed
highly delighted to think he had had the good fortune to escape the
mischance that had befallen his companions; and, instead of sympathising
with them, he actually boasted of his luck, putting it forward as a
proof of his possessing more than ordinary sagacity.
"Will you have a little brandy?" asked his mate, in a tone of voice that
told me the offer was not made in a friendly spirit. "There's a drop
left in my bottle, which, luckily, the bush-rangers did not get hold
of."
"Of course I will," answered Bat. "Brandy is a thing I never refuse,
especially when on the road, and after camping out all night. Let's
have it."
The drayman produced his bottle, along with his tin pannikin. The
former was about half full, and its contents were poured into the cup.
When Bat reached forth his hand to take hold of the vessel, the brandy
was thrown into his face; and the next instant he himself fell heavily
to the earth--from the effects of a blow administered by the clenched
fist of the drayman!
Bat rose to his feet, and tried to show fight; but no efforts he could
make, either offensive or defensive, hindered him from getting his
deserts. It was the first time I had ever been pleased at the sight of
one man punishing another.
After getting a thorough thrashing from his irate partner, Bat took up
his blankets, and then started back along the road towards Ballarat--
having, for some reason or other, changed his mind about going to Avoca.
I paid the drayman what I had agreed to give him for taking my "swag;"
and, accompanied by the digger, who had been robbed along with him, I
continued my journey afoot--each of us carrying his own blankets and
tent. We left the poor drayman alone with his dray, in what the Yankees
call a "fix," for he dare not leave the vehicle, and the goods it
contained, to go in search of a horse, and without one it would be
impossible for him to transport his property from the place.
I would have stopped along with him for a day or two, and lent him some
assistance, had it not been, that he was one of those unfortunate
creatures so often met in the Australian colonies, who seldom speak
without using some of the filthy language imported there from the slums
of London. For this reason I left him to get out of his difficulty the
best way he could; and, for all I know to the contrary, he is still
keeping guard over his dray, and the miscellaneous lading it contained.
Volume Three, Chapter IV.