The Gold Hunters' Adventures Part 114

"Thank Heaven, she has gone," said Smith, fervently, raising his head, like a camel after a cloud of dust had pa.s.sed over a desert; "only think what my wife would have said, if she had insisted upon sleeping in the same room with us. And yet I feared that she would carry her point, for she is as determined a vixen as ever a.s.sumed the form of woman."

The matrimonial life of poor Barney was not a lengthy one; and I may as well follow it to a close, while I am writing upon the subject. At his request we paid him off, and hired another man to drive the second team.

He had money enough to commence housekeeping, or rather tent-keeping, on a very respectable scale, and with the funds which he had left, purchased a mining claim, nearly worked out to be sure, but still, considerable sums of gold had been taken from it, and quite a number of nuggets of fair size had been secured.

The claim was very near our store, so that our advice was frequently required by poor Barney, who led rather a hard life of it, toiling as he did all day under ground, in wet and cold places, and when night arrived, half of the time he would have to get his own supper, his amiable wife being on visits of privacy to people in the neighborhood.

For the first few weeks of their residence at Ballarat the ill-matched couple did all of their trading at our store, until at length so many stimulating luxuries were purchased by Maria, that Barney requested us to refuse her credit, which, in compliance with his wishes, we did, and received such a torrent of abuse from the wife for so doing, that we wished her back to her old haunts, in Radcliff Highway, and had serious thoughts of attempting to recover damages from the "Moral Emigration Society" which exported her. For a woman with so fair a face, she had the vilest tongue that I ever heard.

After the credit system was abolished, Maria transferred her favors to a store on Gravel Pit Hill, where, for a time, she was quite a favorite, and thrived wonderfully; but her husband got wind of her doings, and threatened to shoot the first man that he saw taking improper liberties with his property, and that rather dashed the spirits of the gallants, for Barney was bold as a lion, and carried a pair of very good pistols in his belt, in addition to a bowie knife of wondrous keenness.

The poor, depraved woman, finding that she was watched, and that her male companions kept aloof, after the threat which Barney made, got up a clandestine correspondence with a young fellow who was smitten with her pretty face, and to put a stop to it Barney was obliged to break one of his rival's arms with a pistol bullet, one morning, just as he was putting a letter under a log that stood in front of his tent.

The wife, for the first few days, refused to be comforted, and then she apparently forgot the matter, and seemed to care no more about it. To her husband's surprise, she paid more attention to his comfort than usual--remained at her tent while he was absent, forsook the company of strange men entirely, no longer run in debt, and such a complete change was observed in her, that the Rev. Mr. Blackburn ventured to call once, and inquire if her sinful heart had melted. What answer Maria returned is unknown, as the reverend gentleman never divulged; but it was noticed that he left her tent walking quite rapidly, and that he never ventured there a second time.

I think that it was about six weeks after Barney had broken the gallant's arm, that he suddenly presented himself in the store, his face radiant with happiness.

"I've got some good news for you," he said, rubbing his hands with satisfaction.

"What is it, Barney?" I inquired; "have you found a nugget?"

"Better than that," he cried.

"Then you have found a chunk."

"No; something better than that--ten times better."

"Well, relate it. We are impatient to learn what good has befallen you."

"You would never guess," Barney said, in a mysterious manner, as though what he had to impart would bear keeping for some time; "but," and here his face once more beamed with smiles, "my wife has cut stick."

"What do you mean--run away?" I asked, surprised at the intelligence.

"That is what I mean. She has run off with the fellow whose arm I broke some time since; and she not only took her clothes, but she seized every thing of value I had in the tent. They have got six hours the start of me, but I think--"

He paused, and seemed to consider for a moment.

"You think that you can overtake them," I suggested; "I have no doubt but that you can, and the best horse that we own is at your disposal."

"O, bless your heart, I was not considering the subject in that light,"

he answered, "I was thinking whether I should advertise that I would not be responsible for any debts that she contracts."

I told him that I thought he need give himself no uneasiness on that score; but Barney was a mathematical body, and always desired to do business on the square; and as he seemed so set upon writing an advertis.e.m.e.nt, I furnished him ink and paper, and after a laborious process, he wrote the following, which I copy _verbatim_.

"NOTICE.--My wife, Maria Barney, the ugliest woman that ever lived, has left my tent and board without any justifiable cause, 'cos I use to do all that I could do to make her pretty comfortable, and in spite of my wishes, she would cut up like the devil, and run after other men. Now, I want all men to notice this act of mine. I won't pay a d----d cent of her debts, and I hope no one will return her to me, 'cos I don't want her. JIM BARNEY."

I persuaded Barney that the announcement would be valid in law, if he only stuck it up in the store, where it could be read by the miners, and it may be there until this day, for all that I know.

CHAPTER LX.

MIKE FINDS THE LARGE "NUGGET."

What trifles will sometimes change the destiny of a man!

Barney, after his wife had left him so unexpectedly, earnestly desired to give up mining and return to his first love,--the driving of cattle and teaming. We tried to persuade him to stick to his claim; but he was resolute, and declared that if we would not purchase his mine he would sell to the first adventurer who made an offer; and to prevent the man from sacrificing his property, we purchased on speculation, and paid him just the price he had given. Even after we came into possession, we did not know what to do with the mine, for we had no desire to work it ourselves; and, as a large portion of the allotted ground had been dug over, old miners were shy, and strangers did not bite readily at the temptations which we held out to them.

For a number of days the mine was neglected; and during that period it filled with water, and that was another good reason why it could not be sold; and jokes were cracked at our expense by friends, who lounged in the store purchasing trifling articles, in regard to our speculation, as they termed it. We took all in good part, until one day a man made an application to us for something to eat. We supplied his wants, and upon inquiry found that he was willing and anxious to go to work at a cheap rate. I proposed, partly in jest, and partly in earnest, that he should be employed baling out and cleaning out our mine. Fred a.s.sented, when we showed the man what we wanted done, and left him at work, not expecting that he would make much headway; but in this we were disappointed, for our employe made such diligent use of his time, that in the course of the afternoon the mine was free of water and dirt, and Mike announced that he could commence digging in the morning if he had a few "sh.o.r.es"

and boards to prop up the places where excavations had been going on.

These we readily granted, and began to take an interest in our claim that we had not felt before.

"Mike," I said, at supper time, addressing our new acquaintance, "we will give you one quarter of the gold which you find, and board you into the bargain, but we will not pay you wages."

Mike thought of the proposition for a moment, and announced his intention of accepting it without restriction, and at daylight the next morning he was at work many feet below the surface of the earth, picking away the dirt, and examining it carefully, as though he expected to find a nugget in every gravel stone that he met with. Once or twice in the course of the day, we walked over to the spot and lent a helping hand, for the purpose of freeing the place of water, and when night arrived, we had no need to ask questions in regard to the luck of Mike. His face proclaimed that he had found nothing; but I think that he was more disappointed on our account than on his own.

"No luck to-day, Mike?" said I.

"Divil a ha'penny of goold have I found sir; but there's no telling what may come on yet. I don't despair."

Neither did we; although we had but few hopes of ever getting our money back. The next morning Mike was promptly at his post, and we did not hear from him until about two o'clock; I was dozing on a lounge, Fred was asleep on the counter, and Mr. Critchet was mending stockings,--about the first work that he attempted to do,--when Mike rushed frantically into the store, threw himself upon his knees, and began talking, laughing, and crying at the same moment.

"Glory to G.o.d and all the saints!" he exclaimed, after he had recovered his breath, and then he began to laugh frantically, swaying his body back and forth, as though it was an impossibility to keep still.

"It's my opinion," said Fred, without rising from his rec.u.mbent position, "that you are a little out of your head, or else you have been drinking."

"Divil a bit of whiskey have I touched for two days; but I'll have a drop now for the purpose of drinking long lives to your honors. It's me head that is affected, and well it may be. O, it's little did I think that I should come to this. Glory to G.o.d--it's plazed the old woman and the childers will be."

He made a dive at the whiskey cask, and drank a pretty stiff nipper before he could compose himself. We did not interfere, because we did not know but that the fellow might have escaped from the mine while it was caving in,--accidents of that kind happening quite frequently,--and that fright had turned his brain.

"Now, Mike, be kind enough to tell us what has happened," I said, thinking that he had mystified us long enough.

"O, such news," he exclaimed, springing upon his feet, and executing a wild sort of shuffle that would have delighted the hearts of the 'finest pisantry' in the world, had they been present, to have seen his antics.

"Well, what is the news?" I demanded, while Fred, too indolent to speak, lay upon the counter, and laughed a sleepy sort of laugh, without changing his position.

"Murderation, who would have thought of it? It's a rich man ye will be, Mike, ye lucky divil. What will the old folks say, when they bear of it?

Glory to St. Patrick, but won't the boys stare, and call me Mr. Mike!"

I began to have an inkling of the man's meaning. I sprang from my seat, caught Mike by his collar, and shook him for a few seconds, until I thought that his senses were returned before I put a question.

"Mike, you devil," I exclaimed, "you have found a nugget."

"Whoop!" he yelled, springing up, and striking his feet together with excess of joy, "I found the granddaddy of lumps."

"What's that?" cried Fred, starting from his rec.u.mbent position, and beginning to take an interest in the conversation.