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

Had Some Of It At Port Fairy.  He Now Put A

Kettle Full Of It On The Fire,  And When It Was Warmed Gave Each Man A

Half A Pint To Begin With.  He Then Told Them To Go And Get Supper,

And Afterwards He Gave Each Of Them Another Half Pint.

 

Rum Was In Those Days A Very Profitable Article Of Commerce,  And The

Trade In It Was Monopolised By The Government Officers,  Civil And

Military.  Like Flour In The Back Settlements Of The United States,

It Was Reckoned "Ekal To Cash," And Was Made To Do The Office Of The

Pagoda Tree In India,  Which Rained Dollars At Every Shake.

 

The Boat That Was Lost By Smith At The Hopkins Was Found In Good

Condition,  Half Filled With Sand.  Joe Wilson Went For It Afterwards,

And Brought It Back To Port Fairy.  He Was A Native Of Sydney,  And

Nephew Of Raibey Of Launceston,  And Was Murdered Not Long Afterwards

At The White Hills.  He Was Sent By Raibey On Horseback To Hobarton

To Buy The Revenue Cutter 'Charlotte',  Which HadvELLED BAYONETS. CAPTAIN PRESTON

Story 3 (Discovery Of The River Hopkins.) Pg 28

WAVED HIS SWORD, AND UTTERED A COMMAND WHICH COULD NOT BE DISTINCTLY

HEARD, AMID THE UPROAR OF SHOUTS THAT ISSUED FROM A HUNDRED THROATS. BUT

HIS SOLDIERS DEEMED THAT HE HAD SPOKEN THE FATAL MANDATE "FIRE!" THE FLASH

OF THEIR MUSKETS LIGHTED UP THE STREET, AND THE REPORT RANG LOUDLY BETWEEN

THE EDIFICES. IT WAS SAID, TOO, THAT THE FIGURE OF A MAN WITH A CLOTH

HANGING DOWN OVER HIS FACE, WAS SEEN TO STEP INTO THE BALCONY OF THE

CUSTOM-HOUSE, AND DISCHARGE A MUSKET AT THE CROWD.

 

A GUSH OF SMOKE HAD OVERSPREAD THE SCENE. IT ROSE HEAVILY, AS IF IT WERE

LOATH TO REVEAL THE DREADFUL SPECTACLE BENEATH IT. ELEVEN OF THE SONS OF

NEW ENGLAND LAY STRETCHED UPON THE STREET. SOME, SORELY WOUNDED, WERE

STRUGGLING TO RISE AGAIN. OTHERS STIRRED NOT, NOR GROANED, FOR THEY WERE

PAST ALL PAIN. BLOOD WAS STREAMING UPON THE SNOW; AND THAT PURPLE STAIN,

IN THE MIDST OF KING STREET, THOUGH IT MELTED AWAY IN THE NEXT DAY S SUN,

WAS NEVER FORGOTTEN NOR FORGIVEN BY THE PEOPLE.

 

 

 

GRANDFATHER WAS INTERRUPTED BY THE VIOLENT SOBS OF LITTLE ALICE. IN HIS

EARNESTNESS, HE HAD NEGLECTED TO SOFTEN DOWN THE NARRATIVE, SO THAT IT

MIGHT NOT TERRIFY THE HEART OF THIS UNWORLDLY INFANT. SINCE GRANDFATHER

BEGAN THE HISTORY OF OUR CHAIR, LITTLE ALICE HAD LISTENED TO MANY TALES OF

WAR. BUT, PROBABLY, THE IDEA HAD NEVER REALLY IMPRESSED ITSELF UPON HER

Story 3 (Discovery Of The River Hopkins.) Pg 29

MIND, THAT MEN HAVE SHED THE BLOOD OF THEIR FELLOW-CREATURES. AND NOW THAT

THIS IDEA WAS FORCIBLY PRESENTED TO HER, IT AFFECTED THE SWEET CHILD WITH

BEWILDERMENT AND HORROR.

 

"I OUGHT TO HAVE REMEMBERED OUR DEAR LITTLE ALICE," SAID GRANDFATHER

REPROACHFULLY TO HIMSELF. "OH, WHAT A PITY! HER HEAVENLY NATURE HAS NOW

RECEIVED ITS FIRST IMPRESSION OF EARTHLY SIN AND VIOLENCE. WELL, CLARA,

TAKE HER TO BED, AND COMFORT HER. HEAVEN GRANT THAT SHE MAY DREAM AWAY THE

RECOLLECTION OF THE BOSTON MASSACRE!"

 

"GRANDFATHER," SAID CHARLEY, WHEN CLARA AND LITTLE ALICE HAD RETIRED, "DID

NOT THE PEOPLE RUSH UPON THE SOLDIERS, AND TAKE REVENGE?"

 

"THE TOWN DN PRESTON WITH A GREAT CLUB. LAURENCE DREAMED THAT HE WAS

SITTING IN OUR GREAT CHAIR, AT THE WINDOW OF THE BRITISH COFFEE HOUSE, AND

BEHELD THE WHOLE SCENE WHICH GRANDFATHER HAD DESCRIBED. IT SEEMED TO HIM,

IN HIS DREAM, THAT IF THE TOWN S-PEOPLE AND THE SOLDIERS WOULD BUT HAVE

HEARD HIM SPEAK A SINGLE WORD, ALL THE SLAUGHTER MIGHT HAVE BEEN AVERTED.

BUT THERE WAS SUCH AN UPROAR THAT IT DROWNED HIS VOICE.

 

THE NEXT MORNING, THE TWO BOYS WENT TOGETHER TO STATE STREET, AND STOOD ON

THE VERY SPOT WHERE THE FIRST BLOOD OF THE REVOLUTION HAD BEEN SHED. THE

OLD STATE HOUSE WAS STILL THERE, PRESENTING ALMOST THE SAME ASPECT THAT IT

HAD WORN ON THAT MEMORABLE EVENING, ONE-AND-SEVENTY YEARS AGO. IT IS THE

Story 3 (Discovery Of The River Hopkins.) Pg 30

SOLE REMAINING WITNESS OF THE BOSTON MASSACRE.

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER VI

 

 

THE NEXT EVENING THE ASTRAL LAMP WAS LIGHTED EARLIER THAN USUAL, BECAUSE

LAURENCE WAS VERY MUCH ENGAGED IN LOOKING OVER THE COLLECTION OF PORTRAITS

WHICH HAD BEEN HIS NEW YEAR S GIFT FROM GRANDFATHER.

 

AMONG THEM HE FOUND THE FEATURES OF MORE THAN ONE FAMOUS PERSONAGE WHO HAD

BEEN CONNECTED WITH THE ADVENTURES OF OUR OLD CHAIR. GRANDFATHER BADE HIM

DRAW THE TABLE NEARER TO THE FIRE-SIDE; AND THEY LOOKED OVER THE PORTRAITS

TOGETHER, WHILE CLARA AND CHARLEY LIKEWISE LENT THEIR ATTENTION. AS FOR

LITTLE ALICE, SHE SAT IN GRANDFATHER S LAP, AND SEEMED TO SEE THE VERY MEN

ALIVE, WHOSE FACES WERE THERE REPRESENTED.

 

TURNING OVER THE VOLUME, LAURENCE CAME TO THE PORTRAIT OF A STERN,

GRIM-LOOKING MAN, IN PLAIN ATTIRE, OF MUCH MORE MODERN FASHION THAN THAT

OF THE OLD PURITANS. BUT THE FACE MIGHT WELL HAVE BEFITTED ONE OF THOSE

IRON-HEARTED MEN. BENEATH THE PORTRAIT WAS THE NAME OF SAMUEL ADAMS.

 

"HE WAS A MAN OF GREAT NOTE IN ALL THE DOINGS THAT BROUGHT ABOUT THE

REVOLUTION," SAID GRANDFATHER. "HIS CHARACTER WAS SUCH, THAT IT SEEMED AS

Story 3 (Discovery Of The River Hopkins.) Pg 32

IF ONE OF THE ANCIENT PURITANS HAD BEEN SENT BACK TO EARTH, TO ANIMATE THE

PEOPLE S HEARTS WITH THE SAME ABHORRENCE OF TYRANNY, THAT HAD

DISTINGUISHED THE EARLIEST SETTLERS. HE WAS AS RELIGIOUS AS THEY, Hentys For Their Whalers Was A Heifer,

And The Carcase,  Divided Into Two Parts,  Was Suspended From The

Flagstaff At Their House.  It Could Be Seen From Afar By The Men Who

Were Pulling Across The Bay In Their Boats,  And They Knew That

Henty's Men Were Going To Feed On Fresh Meat,  While All The Rest Were

Eating Such Awful Stuff As Yankee Pork And Salt Horse.  The Very

Sight Of The Two Sides Of The Heifer Suspended At The Flagstaff Was

An Unendurable Insult And Mockery To The Carnivorous Whalers,  And An

Incitement To Larceny.  Davy Fermaner Was Steering One Of The Boats,

And He Exclaimed: "There,  They Are Flashing The Fresh Meat To Us.

They Would Look Foolish If They Lost It To-Night."

 

There Was Feasting And Revelry That Night At Single Corner.  Hungry

Men Were Sharpening Their Sheath-Knives With Steel,  And Cutting Up A

Side Of Beef.  A Large Fire Was Burning,  And On The Glowing Coals,

And In Every Frying-Pan Rich Steaks Were Fizzing And Hissing.  It Was

Like A Feast Of Heroes,  And Lasted Long Through The Night.  They Sang

Responsively,  Like Gentle Shepherds--Shepherds Of The Ocean Fields

Whose Flocks Were Mighty Whales:

 

"Mother,  The Butcher's Brought The Meat,

What Shall I Do With It?

Fry The Flesh,  And Broil The Bones,

And Make A Pudding Of The Su-Et."

 

Next Morning The Hentys Looked For The Missing Beef Up The Flagstaff,

And Along The Shore Of The Ever-Sounding Ocean,  But Their Search Was

Vain.  They Suspected That The Men Of Kelly's Party Were The Thieves,

But These All Looked As Stupid,  Ignorant,  And Innocent As The Adverse

Circumstances Would Permit.  There Was No Evidence Against Them To Be

Found; The Beef Was Eaten And The Bones Were Burned And Buried.

Mills' Men Were The Beef Lifters,  And Some Of Kelly's Men Helped Them

To Eat It.

 

The Whales Killed At The Portland Fishery Were Of Two Kinds,  The

Right Or Black Whale,  And The Sperm Whale.  The Right Whale Has An

Immense Tongue,  And Lives By Suction,  The Food Being A Kind Of Small

Shrimp.  When In A Flurry--That Is,  When She Has Received Her

Death-Stroke With The Lance--She Goes Round In A Circle,  Working

With Her Head And Flukes.  The Sperm Whales Feed On Squid,  Which They

Bite,  And When In A Flurry They Work With The Head And Flukes,  And

With The Mouth Open,  And Often Crush The Boats.

 

After The Crew Of The 'Thistle' Had Spent Their Money,  They Were

Taken Back To Port Fairy For The Purpose Of Stripping Bark,  A Large

Quantity Of Wattle Trees Having Been Found In The Neighbouring

Country.  Sheep Were Also Taken There In Charge Of Mr. J. Murphy,  Who

Story 3 (Discovery Of The River Hopkins.) Pg 33

Intended To Form A Station.  John Griffiths Also Sent Over His

Father,  Jonathan,  Who Had Been A Carpenter On Board The First

Man-Of-War That Had Arrived At Port Jackson,  Three Old Men Who Had

Been Prisoners,  Four Bullocks,  A Plough,  And Some Seed Potatoes.  A

Cargo Of The Previous Season's Bark Was Put Into The 'Thistle',  And

On Her Return To Launceston,  Was Transferred To The 'Rhoda' Brig,

Captain Rolls,  Bound For London.  More Sheep And Provisions Were Then

Taken In The 'Thistle',  And After They Were Landed At Port Fairy,

Another Cargo Of Bark Was Put On Board.  For Three Days There Was No

Wind,  And A Tremendous Sea Setting In From The South-East,  The

Schooner Could Not Leave The Bay.  On