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

Money,  How He Had

Lost It,  And Who Had Won It.  It Relieved His Mind,  And The Policeman

Kept The Secret Of Confession Until After The Trial.  Then He Broke

The Seal,  And Related To Me Confidentially The Story Of His Penitent,

Showing That He Was Quite As Unfit For The Sacerdotal Office As

Myself.

 

Mr. H. On His Trial Was Found Not Guilty,  But The Department Did Not

Feel Inclined To Entrust Him With The Collection Or Custody Of Any

More Cash.  In Succeeding Years He Again Served The Government As

State School Teacher,  Having Received His Appointment From A Minister

Of Merciful Principles.  A Reclaimed Poacher Makes An Excellent

Gamekeeper,  And A Repentant Thief May Be A Better Teacher Of Youth

Than A Sanctimonious Hypocrite.

 

 

 

 

Seal Islands And Sealers.

 

"Am I My Brother's Keeper?"

 

The Islands In Bass' Straits,  Hogan's Group,  Kent's Group,  The

Answers,  The Judgment Rocks,  And Others,  Are Visited At Certain

Seasons Of The Year By Seals Of Three Different Kinds--Viz.,  The

Hair Seals,  Which Are Not Of Much Value Except For Their Oil; The

Grey Seals,  Whose Skins Are Valuable; And The Black Seals,  Whose Furs

Always Command The Highest Price.  When These Animals Have Not Been

Disturbed In Their Resorts For Some Years They Are Comparatively

Tame,  And It Is Not Difficult To Approach Them.  Great Numbers Of The

Young Ones Are Sometimes Found On The Rocks,  And If Pushed Into The

Story 16 "And There Was Gathering In Hot Haste.".) Pg 228

Water They Will Presently Come Out Again,  Scramble Back On To The

Rocks,  And Begin Crying For Their Dams.  But The Old Seals,  When

Frequently Disturbed,  Become Shy,  And,  On The First Alarm,  Take To

The Water.  The Flesh Of The Young Seals Is Good To Eat,  And Seamen

Who Have Been Cast Away On The Islands Have Been Sometimes Saved From

Starvation By Eating It.

 

I Once Made The Acquaintance Of An Old Sealer.  He Had Formerly Been

Very Sensitive On The Point Of Honour; Would Resent An Insult As

Promptly As Any Knight-Errant; But By Making An Idol Of His Honour

His Life Had Been A Grievous Burden To Him.  And He Was Not Even A

Gentleman,  And Never Had Been One.  He Was Known Only As "Jack."

 

It Was In The Year 1854,  When I Had Been Cast Ashore In Corio Bay By

A Gale Of Hostile Fortune,  And Had Taken Refuge For A While At The

Buck's Head Hotel,  Then Kept By A Man Named Mckenzie.  One Evening

After Tea I Was Talking To A Carpenter At The Back Door,  Who Was

Lamenting His Want Of Timber.  He Had Not Brought A Sufficient Supply

From Geelong To Complete His Contract,  Which Was To Construct Some

Benches For A Presbyterian Church.  Jack Was Standing Near Listening

To The Conversation.

 

"What Kind Of Timber Do You Want?" He Said.  "There Is A Lot Of

Planks Down There In The Yard,  And If You'll Be Outside About Eleven

O'clock,  I'll Chuck Over As Many As You Want."

 

The Contractor Hesitated.  "Whose Planks Are They?"  He Asked.

 

"I Don't Know Whose They Are,  And I Don't Care," Replied Jack.  "Say

The Word,  And You Can Have Them,  If You Like."

 

The Contractor Made No Reply,  At Least In Words,  To This Generous

Offer.  It Is Not Every Man That Has A Friend Like Jack; Many Men

Will Steal From You,  But Very Few Will Steal For You,  And When Such A

One Is Found He Deserves His Reward.

 

We Adjourned To The Bar Parlour,  And Jack Had A Glass Of Brandy,  For

Which He Did Not Pay.  There Was Among The Company A Man From Adelaide,

A Learned Mineralogist,  Who Commenced A Dissertation On The Origin Of

Gold.  He Was Most Insufferable; Would Talk About Nothing But

Science.  Darwin Wrote A Book About "The Origin Of Species," And It

Has Been Observed That The Origin Of Species Is Precisely What Is Not

In The Book.  So We Argued About The Origin Of Gold,  But We Could Get

Nowhere Near It.

 

When The Rest Of The Company Had Retired,  Jack Observed To Me:  "You

Put Down That Adelaide Chap Gradely; He Had Not A Leg To Stand On."

 

I Was Pleased To Find That Jack Knew A Good Argument When He Heard

It,  So I Rewarded His Intelligence With Another Glass Of Brandy,  And

Asked Him If He Had Been Long In The Colonies.  He Said:

 

"My Name's Not Jack; That's What They Call Me,  But It Doesn't Matter

What My Name Is.  I Was Brought Up In Liverpool,  But I Wasn't Born

Story 16 "And There Was Gathering In Hot Haste.".) Pg 229

There; That Doesn't Matter Either.  I Used To Work At The Docks,  Was

Living Quite Respectable,  Was Married And Had A Little Son About Five

Years Old.  One Night After I Had Had Supper And Washed Myself,  I

Said To Th' Missus,  'There's A Peep-Show I' Tithebarn Street,  And If

You'll Wash Bobby's Face I'll Tek Him There; Its Nobbut A Penny.'

You Know It Was One O' Them Shows Where They Hev Pictures Behind A

Piece O' Calico,  Paul Pry With His Umbrella,  Daniel I' Th' Lions'

Den,  Ducks Swimming Across A River,  A Giantess Who Was A Man Shaved

And Dressed In Women's Clothes,  A Dog Wi' Five Legs,  And A Stuffed

Mermaid--Just What Little Lads Would Like.  There Was A Man,

Besides,  Who Played On A Flute,  And Another Singing Funny Songs. When

I Went Outside Into The Street There Was Little Billy Yates,  As Used

To Play With Bobby,  So I Says,  'Come Along,  Billy,  And I'll Tek Thee

To The Show.'  When We Got There We Set Down On A Bench,  And,  Just As

They Began To Show Th' Pictures,  Three Black-Fellows Came In And Set

Down On Th' Bench Before Us. They Thowt They Were Big Swells,  And Had

On Black Coats,  White Shirts,  Stiff Collars Up To Their Ears,  Red And

Green Neck-Handkerchers,  And Bell-Topper Hats; So I Just Touched One

Of Em On Th' Showder And Said:  'Would You Please Tek Your Hats Off

To Let Th' Lads See Th' Pictures?'  Well,  The Nigger Just Turned His

Head Half-Round,  And Looked At Me Impudent Like,  But He Kept His Hat

On.  So I Asked Him Again Quite Civil,  And He Called Me A Low Fellow,

Towld Me To Mind My Own Business,  And The Other Two Niggers Grinned.

Well,  You Know,  I Could Not Stand That.  I Knew Well Enough What They

Were.  They Were Stewards On The Liners Running Between New York And

Liverpool,  And They Were Going Round Trying To Pass For Swells In A

Penny Peep-Show.  I Didn't Want To Make A Row Just Then And Spoil The

Show,  So I Said To Th' Lads,  We Mun Go Hooum,  And I Took 'Em Hooum,

And Then Come Back To Th' Show And Waited At Th' Door.  When The

Niggers Come Out I Pitched Into Th' One As Had Given Me Cheek; But We

Couldn't Have It Out For Th' Crowd,  And We Were All Shoved Into Th'

Street.  I Went Away A Bit,  Thinking No More About It,  And Met A Man

I Knew And We Went Into A Public House And Had A Quart O' Fourpenny.

We Were In A Room By Ourselves,  When The Varra Same Three Niggers

Come In And Stood A Bit Inside The Door.  So I Took My Tumbler And

Threw It At Th' Head Of Th' Man I Wanted,  And Then Went At Him.  But

I Couldn't Lick Him Gradely Because Th' Landlord Come In And Stopped

Us; So After A While I Went Hooum.  Next Morning I Was Going Along

Dale Street Towards The Docks To Work,  When Who Should I See But That

Varra Same Blackfellow:  It Looked As If Th' Devil Was In It.  He Was

By Hisself This Time,  Coming Along At Th' Other Side Of Th' Street.

So I Crossed Over And Met Him,  And Went Close Up To Him And Said,

'Well,  What Have You To Say For Yoursel' Now?' And I Gav Him A Lick

Under Th' Ear.  He Fell Down On Th' Kerbstone And Wouldn't Get Up--

Turned Sulky Like.  There Was Soon A Crowd About,  And They Tried To

Wakken Him Up; But He Wouldn't Help Hisself A Bit--Just Sulked And

Wouldn't Stir.  I Don't Believe He'd Ha' Died But For That,  Because I

Nobbut Give Him But One Hit.  I Thowt I'd Better Make Mysel' Scarce

For A While,  So I Left Liverpool And Went To Preston.  Were You Ever

In Preston?"  I Said I Was.  "Well Then,  You'll Remember Melling,  The

Fish-Monger,  A Varra Big,  Fat Man.  I Worked For Him For About Six

Months,  And Then Come Back To Liverpool,  Thinking There'd Be No More

Bother About The Blackfellow.  But They Took Me Up,  And Gev Me

Fourteen Year For It; And If It Had Been A White Man I Wouldn't Ha'

Story 16 "And There Was Gathering In Hot Haste.".) Pg 230

Got More Than Twelve Months,  And I Was Sent Out To Van Diemen's Land

And Ruined For Ever,  Just For Nowt Else But Giving A Chance Lick To A

Blackfellow.  And Now I Hear They're Going To War Wi' Russia,  And--

England,  Scotland,  Ireland,  And Wales--I Hope They'll All Get

Blooming Well Licked.  It Don't Mend A Man Much To Transport Him,  Nor

A Woman Either For That Matter:  They All Grow Worse Than Ever.  When

I Got My Ticket I Sometimes Went Working In Th' Bush,  Sometimes

Whaling And Sealing,  And Sometimes Stripping Bark At Western Port And

Portland Bay,  Before There Was Such A Place As Melbourne.  I Was In A

Whaler For Two Years About Wilson's Promontory,  Until The Whales Were

All Killed Or Driven Away.  I Never Saved Any Money Until Nine Years

Back; We Always Went On Th' Spree And Spent Every Penny Directly We

Were Paid Off.  At That Time I Went With A Man From Port Albert To

The Seal Islands In A Boat.  I Knew Of A Place Where There Was A

Cave,  A Big Hollow Under The Rocks,  Where Th' Seals Used To Go To

Sleep,  And A Blow Hole Coming Out Of It To Th' Top Of The Island.  We

Hired A Boat And Went There,  And Made A Kind Of A Door Which We Could

Drop Down With A Rope To Shut Up The Mouth Of Th' Cave And Catch The

Seals Inside.  We Killed So Many That We Couldn't Take Th'