St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1901-12-28
A NIGHT WITH THE
GOLD ESCORT. O 90
BY GUY EDEN.

7 DON'T know that 1 ever felt great
i er regret for dead-and-gone hol-
Sday than on the the occasion of leav-
ing Toowarra, the station of my old
friend Charlie Wilson, after the hap
piest of happy two months with
him. It had been a gorgeous time!
On horseback from sunrise to sunset,
with the glow of life in ones veins,
the scent of waffle blossoms in cne's
nostrils, the clear blue sky overhead,
and the low musical hum of the ami
NAL and insect world that thronged
the deep scrub around one-the days
went very well then.
'"Twas merry in the glowing morn among
the cleaning grass
To wander as we've wandered many a
mile,
And blow the cool tobacco cloud and
watch the white wreaths pass.
Sitting loosely In the saddle all the
while.'
Or, again, when the fun grew fast
and furious and there was work TO
be homework that wanted men to do
it-men with nerves and sinews of
steel-then
'"Twas merry mid the blackwoods when
we spied the station roofs
To wheel the wild scrub cattle at the
yard,
with running fire Of stockwhips and a
running fire Of hoofs.
Oh! the hardest day was never then
too hard"
But it had come to an end; the last
dawn had risen over the gum tree
tops that backed the homestead; the
last sun had set behind the belt of
timber that fringed the far bank of
the. lagoon. and now Charlie and I
were driving quietly into Moruya in
the cool of the star-lit January even
ing, where was to catch the coach
on the following morning that would
take me to Aralven, Braidwood, and
Tarago, whence should entrain to
Goulburn and Sydney. The drive from
Toowarra into Moruya was about 20
miles, and Charlie invariably drove me
in overnight SO that might sleep at
the inn and start off afresh by coach
in the early morning on my 100 miles
journey.
On this particular night we both felt
tired, and conversation had tagged
considerably. We were great chums
and felt sorry to part-he more es-
pecially SO, seeing that he was going
back to the solitude of an up-country
station. We both looked forward to
bed, and even the tired horses quick
ened up little as the lights of Moru-
va came to view, and we ratified down
the one long, sleepy street that the
township could boast of.
Presently we drew up at the veran-
da of the low, struggling inn, in front
OF which we noticed the dark figures
of small knot of men. Charlie had
scarcely refined in the horses, when q
tall, powerfully-brilt man in the uni
form of sergeant of police stepped
forward into the belt Of light thrown
from the buggy lamp.
''Is Mr.. Fame there?" he asked, In
tones that to me sounded menacing
in their deep gutteral ring.
was Mr.. Fame, and the effect of
the grizzled veteran in front of me
and his unexpected question woke Inc
to sense of mental activity. Like a
flash my thoughts ran back over my
past misdeeds, and I wondered for
which of them ] was to be brought
to justice. I really couldn't think of
anything Of an aggressive criminal ma
ture, and was framing an expostula-
ton when his next remark soothed
me.
II want to ask you, sir 20, the COM
fort of that conciliatory "sir) },
whether you would have any objec-
ton to coming on in the coach to-
night with the gold escort. We have
some gold that we want to deposit
in the bank at Aralven the first thing
in the morning. It will only mean that
we shall reach Aralven for breakfast,
and you will have the whole morning
there TO rest, as the regular coach
will go on as usual at two o'clock
after dinner. hope you won't mind
com ing on, sir. There is only one 9th
er passenger besides yourself, and he
has agreed to go on. What do you
say, sir?"
To be strictly truthful, I didn't like
It at all, as was dead tired; but, of
course, there was nothing to be done
but to assent with the best grace pos
sible.
s'Thank you, sir, very much. Mr..
Jones (the accountant of the bank
here) will be ready in half an hours
time, and then if you and the other
gentleman will kindly be ready too,
we could start off at once.
Shortly afterwards Charlie and I
were seated at the dining room table,
making the most of the short space of
time left to me. Charlie ate his sup
per in more leisurely manner, as he
had no coach to catch, and would go
quietly to bed later, returning to the
station in the morning.
Presently we were Joined by the
other passenger, who hustled in with
q pleasant smile, and CHEEKY good
evening" as he took his seat opposite
TO us.
He was man of medium height,
with exceptionally broad shoulders,
and an active, powerful frame. His
face, above the black pointed beard,
was very dark, and his expression
pleasing, though when the face was
in repose there was a certain hard
ness that contrasted strongly with
the CHEEKY frankness of expression
when in lighter mood. What
his head was like, I could not
see, as, even at supper, he kept his
SLOUGH felt hat pulled down low on
his forehead.
Charlie muttercd something about