The Book Of The Bush, George Dunderdale [thriller novels to read .txt] 📗

To Discuss The Difficulty,  Speaking Low,  While

The Cook Was Shivering In The Forecastle,  Trying To Ease The Pain.

 

The Conclusion Of The Seamen Was,  That They Had Done What Was Right,

Both In Law And Conscience.  They Had Thrown Blogg Overboard To

Prevent Him From Murdering The Cook,  And Also For Their Own Safety.

After They Had Done Their Duty By Seizing Him,  He Would Have Killed

Them If He Could.  He Was A Drunken Sweep.  He Was An Outlaw,  And The

Law Would Not Protect Him.  Anybody Could Kill An Outlaw Without Fear

Of Consequences,  So They Had Heard.  But Still There Was Some Doubt

About It,  And There Was Nobody There To Put The Case For The Captain.

The Law Was,  At That Time,  A Terrible Thing,  Especially In Van

Diemen's Land,  Under Colonel Arthur.  He Governed By The Gallows,  To

Make Everything Orderly And Peaceable,  And Men Were Peaceable Enough

After They Were Hanged.

 

So Secker And His Mates Decided That,  Although They Had Done Nothing

But What Was Right In Throwing Blogg Over The Side,  It Would Be

Extremely Imprudent To Trust Their Innocence To The Uncertainty Of

The Law And To The Impartiality Of Colonel Arthur.

 

Their First Idea Was To Take The Vessel To South America,  But After

Some Further Discussion,  They Decided To Continue The Voyage To

Hokianga,  And To Settle Among The Maoris.  Nobody Had Actually Seen

Them Throw Blogg Overboard Except The Cook,  And Him They Looked Upon

As A Friend,  Because They Had Saved Him From Being Flogged To Death.

They Had Some Doubts About The Best Course To Take With The Mate,  But

As He Was The Only Man On Board Who Was Able To Take The Schooner To

Port,  They Were Obliged To Make Use Of His Services For The Present,

And At The End Of The Voyage They Could Deal With Him In Any Way

Prudence Might Require,  And They Did Not Mean To Run Any Unnecessary

Risks.

 

They Went To The House On Deck,  And Secker Called The Mate,  Informing

Him That The Captain Had Lost His Balance,  And Had Fallen Overboard,

And That It Was His Duty To Take Charge Of The 'Industry',  And

Navigate Her To Hokianga.  But The Mate Had Been Thoroughly

Frightened,  And Was Loth To Leave His Entrenchment.  He Could Not

Tell What Might Happen If He Opened His Cabin Door:  He Might Find

Himself In The Sea In Another Minute.  The Men Who Had Thrown The

Master Overboard Would Not Have Much Scruple About Sending An

Story 1 (Purging Out The Old Leaven.) Pg 13

Master Overboard Would Not Have Much Scruple About Sending An

Inferior Officer After Him.  If The Mate Resolved To Show Fight,  It

Would Be Necessary For Him To Kill Every Man On Board,  Even The Cook,

Before He Could Feel Safe; And Then He Would Be Left Alone In

Mid-Ocean With Nobody To Help Him To Navigate The Vessel--A Master

And Crew Under One Hat,  At The Mercy Of The Winds And The Waves,  With

Six Murdered Men On His Conscience; And He Had A Conscience,  Too,  As

Was Soon To Be Proved.

 

The Seamen Swore Most Solemnly That They Did Not Intend To Do Him The

Least Harm,  And At Last The Mate Opened His Door.  While In His

Cabin,  He Had Been Spending What He Believed To Be The Last Minutes

Of His Life In Preparing For Death; He Did His Best To Make Peace

With Heaven,  And Tried To Pray.  But His Mouth Was Dry With Fear,  His

Tongue Clave To The Roof Of His Mouth,  His Memory Of Sacred Things

Failed Him,  And He Could Not Pray For Want Of Practice.  He Could

Remember Only One Short Prayer,  And He Was Unable To Utter Even That

Audibly.  And How Could A Prayer Ever Reach Heaven In Time To Be Of

Any Use To Him,  When He Could Not Make It Heard Outside The

Deck-House?  In His Desperate Straits He Took A Piece Of Chalk And

Began To Write It; So When At Last He Opened The Door Of His Cabin,

The Four Seamen Observed That He Had Nearly Covered The Boards With

Writing.  It Looked Like A Litany,  But It Was A Litany Of Only Three

Words--"Lord,  Have Mercy"--Which Were Repeated In Lines One Above

The Other.

 

That Litany Was Never Erased Or Touched By Any Man Who Subsequently

Sailed On Board The 'Industry'.  She Was The First Vessel That Was

Piloted Up The Channel To Port Albert In Gippsland,  To Take In A

Cargo Of Fat Cattle,  And When She Arrived There On August 3rd,  1842,

The Litany Of The Mate Was Still Distinctly Legible.

 

Nothing Exalts A Man So Quickly In The Estimation Of His Fellow

Creatures As Killing Them.  Emperors And Kings Court The Alliance Of

The Conquering Hero Returning From Fields Of Slaughter. Ladies In

Melbourne Forgot For A Time The Demands Of Fashion In Their Struggles

To Obtain An Ecstatic Glimpse Of Our Modern Bluebeard,  Deeming; And

No One Was Prouder Than The Belle Of The Ball When She Danced Down

The Middle With The Man Who Shot Sandy M'gee.

 

And The Reverence Of The Mate For His Murdering Crew Was

Unfathomable.  Their Lightest Word Was A Law To Him.  He Wrote Up The

Log In Their Presence,  Stating That Captain Blogg Had Been Washed

Into The Sea In A Sudden Squall On A Dark Night; Vessel Hove To,  Boat

Lowered,  Searched For Captain All Night,  Could See Nothing Of Him;

Mate Took Charge,  And Bore Away For Hokianga Next Morning.  When

These Untruthful Particulars Had Been Entered And Read Over To The

Four Seamen,  They Were Satisfied For The Present.  They Would Settle

Among The Maoris,  And Lead A Free And Happy Life.  They Could Do What

They Liked With The Schooner And Her Cargo,  Having Disposed Of The

Master And Owner; And As For The Mate,  They Would Dispose Of Him,

Too,  If He Made Himself In Any Way Troublesome.  What A Wonderful

Piece Of Good Luck It Was That They Were Going To A New Country In

Which There Was No Government!

 

Story 1 (Purging Out The Old Leaven.) Pg 14

The 'Industry' Arrived Off The Bar At Hokianga On November 30th,

1835,  And Was Boarded By A Captain Young,  Who Had Settled SevebOUT THE

WHARVES. BUT ALL AMERICA FELT INTERESTED IN THE GOOD TOWN OF BOSTON; AND

CONTRIBUTIONS WERE RAISED, IN MANY PLACES, FOR THE RELIEF OF THE POOR

INHABITANTS.

 

"OUR DEAR OLD CHAIR!" EXCLAIMED CLARA. "HOW DISMAL IT MUST HAVE BEEN NOW!"

 

"OH," REPLIED GRANDFATHER, "A GAY THRONG OF OFFICERS HAD NOW COME BACK TO

THE BRITISH COFFEE HOUSE; SO THAT THE OLD CHAIR HAD NO LACK OF MIRTHFUL

COMPANY. SOON AFTER GENERAL GAGE BECAME GOVERNOR, A GREAT MANY TROOPS HAD

ARRIVED, AND WERE ENCAMPED UPON THE COMMON. BOSTON WAS NOW A GARRISONED

AND FORTIFIED TOWN; FOR THE GENERAL HAD BUILT A BATTERY ACROSS THE NECK,

ON THE ROAD TO ROXBURY, AND PLACED GUARDS FOR ITS DEFENCE. EVERY THING

LOOKED AS IF A CIVIL WAR WERE CLOSE AT HAND."

 

"DID THE PEOPLE MAKE READY TO FIGHT?" ASKED CHARLEY.

 

"A CONTINENTAL CONGRESS ASSEMBLED AT PHILADELPHIA," SAID GRANDFATHER, "AND

PROPOSED SUCH MEASURES AS THEY THOUGHT MOST CONDUCIVE TO THE PUBLIC GOOD.

A PROVINCIAL CONGRESS WAS LIKEWISE CHOSEN IN MASSACHUSETTS. THEY EXHORTED

THE PEOPLE TO ARM AND DISCIPLINE THEMSELVES. A GREAT NUMBER OF MINUTE MEN

WERE ENROLLED. THE AMERICANS CALLED THEM MINUTE MEN, BECAUSE THEY ENGAGED

TO BE READY TO FIGHT AT A MINUTE S WARNING. THE ENGLISH OFFICERS LAUGHED,

Story 1 (Purging Out The Old Leaven.) Pg 15

AND SAID THAT THE NAME WAS A VERY PROPER ONE, BECAUSE THE MINUTE MEN WOULD

RUN AWAY THE THE MINUTE THEY SAW THE ENEMY. WHETHER THEY WOULD FIGHT OR

RUN, WAS SOON TO BE PROVED."

 

GRANDFATHER TOLD THE CHILDREN, THAT THE FIRST OPEN RESISTANCE OFFERED TO

THE BRITISH TROOPS, IN THE PROVINCE OF MASSACHUSETTS WAS AT SALEM. COLONEL

TIMOTHY PICKERING, WITH THIRTY OR FORTY MILITIA MEN, PREVENTED THE ENGLISH

COLONEL, LESLIE, WITH FOUR TIMES AS MANY REGULAR SOLDIERS, FROM TAKING

POSSESSION OF SOME MILITARY STORES. NO BLOOD WAS SHED ON THIS OCCASION;

BUT, SOON AFTERWARD, IT BEGAN TO FLOW.

 

GENERAL GAGE SENT EIGHT HUNDRED SOLDIERS TO CONCORD, ABOUT EIGHTEEN MILES

FROM BOSTON, TO DESTROY SOME AMMUNITION AND PROVISIONS WHICH THE COLONISTS

HAD COLLECTED THERE. THEY SET OUT ON THEIR MARCH IN THE Name,

Re-Appeared Directly,  Called Secker,  And Entered The House With Him.

The Additional Resident Was Sitting At A Table With The Signature

Book Before Him.  He Rose From The Chair,  Told Secker To Sit Down,

Gave Him A Pen,  And Pointed Out The Place Where His Name Was To Be

Signed.  Laming Was Sitting Near The Table.  While Secker Was Signing

His Name Mcdonnell Suddenly Put A Twisted Handkerchief Under His Chin

And Tightened It Round His Neck.  Laming Presented A Horse-Pistol And

Said He Would Blow His Brains Out If He Uttered A Word,  And The Mate

Slipped A Pair Of Handcuffs On His Wrists.  He Was Then Bundled Out

At The Back Door And Put Into A Bullet-Proof Building At The Rear.

The Other Three Seamen Were Then Called In One After The Other,

Garrotted,  Handcuffed,  And Imprisoned In The Same Way.  The Little

Formality Of Signing Names Was Finished In A Few Minutes,  According

To Promise.

 

If Such Things Could Be Done In New Zealand,  Where There Was Neither

Law Nor Government,  What Might Happen In Van Diemen's Land,  Where One

Man Was Both Law And Government,  And That Man Was Colonel Arthur?

The Prisoners Had Plenty Of Time To Make A Forecast Of Their Fate,

While The Mate Engaged A Fresh Crew And Took In A Cargo Of Flax And

Timber.  When He Was Ready To Sail,  He Reshipped His Old Crew In

Irons,  Returned With Them To The Tamar,  And Delivered Them To The

Police To Be Dealt With According To Law.  For A Long Time The Law

Was In A State Of Chaos.  Major Abbott Was Sent From England In 1814