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Australian Gold a book by Jene Beal

Kevin promises his dying friend Billy, that he will go to Australia to mine the gold from his property. Kevin is a metal worker who has an idea. He thinks he is going to prove himself and make a fortune at the same time. When he reaches Australia, he learns that Billy’s property has been taken over by a wealthy greedy man named Clancey.
Kevin goes to plan B. Katherine is one of six women living on a section of property in Australia and she seems to be in charge. Kevin quickly learns that Clancey wants that property too. Also, Katherine has a condition he must meet before he can start digging, he must promise to marry her twin sister Christine and take her away to safety. Things become very complicated when it turns out that Christine hates Kevin and Clancey decides he doesn’t like Kevin either.

Australian Gold Western/Romance/Adventure

Chapter 1 New Start

The sun was just touching the horizon. The day had been clear and warm. The sounds of nature were everywhere, as if it was just an ordinary day. The leaves fluttered in the slight breeze around the modest ranch house. It had been the kind of day nearly everyone had hoped for.

A young girl emerged from the ranch house. She rushed to the corral and haltered one of the ponies inside. She didn’t bother with the saddle. She dragged the horse out of the corral closing the gate behind her. She pulled the horse to the fence. She climbed the fence and then mounted the horse. She turned the horse, took a firm grip of its mane and jabbed it with her heels. The horse pelted forward.

On the hill nearly half a mile from the house dust billowed out from the entrance of the cavernous hole. More than 200 feet inside the hole, Kevin filled one more bucket of dirt before carrying it outside.

He sighed as he dumped the load into the wagon box. The rest would have to wait for the morrow. His arms hurt and his lungs felt heavy. He was tired. A full day of farming and ranching, followed by another two hours of digging was almost too much. Nevertheless, he was not going to give up. They had a goal to reach and he had a dream to test.

Kevin had just emerged from the cavern when he saw his sister riding a horse toward him. He braced himself for the news that he knew would soon follow. There was no other reason for his sister to ride out.

“Better come to the house Kev,” she said without dismounting. She whirled the horse around and rode off.

“Not yet Billy,” Kevin sighed. He trotted to his horse that was foraging in the shade. He mounted in a rush.

An hour later in the darkened room, two young men stood over the old man on the bed. A man and a woman and two girls sat near the door watching. The old man lay gasping for breath.

“Come closer, Mates,” he wheezed.

Marty and Kevin inched closer. The old man reached out and grabbed Marty’s arm with a vice like grip. “Promise me that you’ll get me gold. You and Kevin both. Promise that you’ll not wait long. Take me chart, I’ve got it marked. Promise that you won’t let nothin’ stop you.”

“We will Billy, we’ll get it,” Marty muttered, looking down at Billy’s pale face.

“We won’t need to take your map, Billy. You’ll be coming with us. We’re almost ready. We just need to earn about $300 more. After that it will take another six months or a year to be ready. You get better and all three of us will go,” Kevin argued.

Kevin shuddered at Billy’s sudden reach for him. “Kevin m’ boy, some things we don’t get to choose. This time it ain’t in the stars. The fingers of death are wrapping around my throat. She’s pullin’ at me now. No more time for me. You fellas are lucky enough that you can dig out that 300 in a week here from our claim. I know you blokes can do about anything you put your minds to. But I ain’t goin’ with ya’. Naw, I’ll be stayin’ right here. Just as well that.” The man coughed, and then fought for his next breath. “Just see that the pair of y’ go. Don’t neither one go alone. Keep your word fellas. I’ll be keepin’ score on that, so be on your toes lads.”

Billy’s clammy hand gripped Kevin’s arm harder.

“I told you, we would go,” Kevin nodded, trying to reassure the man. “We don’t need any coaxing. We want to go, don’t we Marty?”

“Both of us,” Marty spoke up. “We want you to go with us.”

“Take your doovalacky with you and get the lot,” Billy gasped for breath.

“I will,” Kevin muttered. “We’ll get it all.”

“And don’t let any fat shonky bloke take it from you. You two stick together and she’ll be apples all the way, mate. Just remember, this ain’t a game of two up, it’s gonna to be work and dangerous as the black side of dark. You’ll be at the back of Beurk out there. It will just be you two mates and you’ll be too far away from help. No boozers Marty, promise me.”

“Don’t worry Billy, we know what to do,” Marty said. “No matter what comes, we’ll remember what you’ve taught us and what to do if we meet up with the wrong crowd.”

“Good on y’ mate. Good on y’,” Billy panted. “Kev, if that doovalacky fails y’, then look up the biggest shonky you can find and make him want it bad enough to spot you what gold you need. You’ll know the bloke to shave.”

“It will work Billy. I promise it will,” Kevin said quickly.

“That bloke could use a close shave,” Billy said as if Kevin hadn’t said anything. Billy released his grip on Kevin’s arm. He let his arm go limp. He closed his eyes. “I feel like a bludger,” he whispered.

“Just get feeling better,” Kevin muttered. “No one thinks you’re anything but a hard worker.”

“Don’t be stupid. These bones have done their bit. It’s up to you lads now,” Billy kept his eyes closed. “Don’t you worry; I’ll be with you mates. I wouldn’t let you walk the bush alone. I’ll be that weight on y’r shoulders. I’ll make certain you feel me pushin’ y’. You just won’t see me.” He turned his head. “It’s time for a snooze.”

They stood over him as he settled. An hour later, Billy took his last breath. Kevin looked up at Marty. The old man was dead. Kevin had hoped that he would lead them on their trek. That had been the plan.

“Time to go,” Marty said.

“We’re not ready yet,” Kevin pointed out.

“We promised him,” Marty said focusing on Kevin’s eyes.

“Yes, we did, but we have to be ready. We still need that $300. It is going to cost money for a wagon and animals. We’ll need food and supplies for us and the animals. Then we’ll have to send the stuff we’ll need when we get there,” Kevin countered.

“We can buy that stuff down there,” Marty began to pack his things.

“The tanks have been a special order. We have them already. All we need to do is to ship them. We can’t do the job without them. It will cost more than $300 to have them made again. I’m not trying to put us off. I just want to be ready when we get there. If we have to buy things down there, they will probably cost more,” Kevin cautioned. “If we do buy them there, people might know what we are about. Besides, we need to see to Billy.”

Marty glanced at the old man still lying on the bed. He nodded. “Then we go.”

“No, we need the tanks or it will be a wasted trip,” Kevin disagreed.

“Then you’ll have to catch up, I’m leaving right after we see to Billy,” Marty said stubbornly.

“I need help earning the money,” Kevin said with frustration. “Remember what Billy said, we need to stick together. We promised Billy that we would. It will probably take me a couple of months longer if I have to do it alone. Also, I think he had a reason for us to stick together. There was a warning in that bit of stuff he said. He must have thought it was dangerous to go alone.”

“I’m not waiting,” Marty said. “I’ll go ahead and purchase the other property and start working it. You need to come as quickly as you can make it.”

The next morning Kevin started his day as usual. He was determined to get his regular work done quickly, so he could spend more time in the mine. However, when he went to wake Marty, his bed was empty. Kevin glanced and could see Marty’s things were gone. He sighed knowing that Marty had left in the middle of the night. Kevin checked the can. Marty had taken his half of the money and had gone just like he said he would.

Kevin sighed again. “I’ve got work to do,” and he started for the door.

Kevin found that it was hard working the mine alone. After several more weeks, he finally had the money, but the trip to San Francisco became costly. He had to hire a man to drive one of the wagons.

The wagon maker had sold Kevin the two used wagons, claiming that they were as good as the new ones, but Kevin found that he was constantly repairing them and having to pay for building parts for them. In truth, he figured that it would have been worth the $25 extra that it would have taken to have purchased two new wagons instead. They had lost two horses to the trail, another one to carelessness, which had taken an extra $100 in gold to replace. Marty was not there to help him, so it had cost another $20 in wages for his driver. He thought he would recoup his money for the wagons and the horses when he arrived, but wagons were painfully plentiful. His wagons were barely holding together and his horses were worn out. He had been forced to sell them together. He made $50 in the transaction. It was far less than he had paid for the original 8 horses and the wagons.

The time to drive the load had been longer than the 4 months he had planned. The actual travel time had only been just over 45 days, but he had been forced to stop and work several times to make up for the money that had been used. There had been several unplanned expenses.

He was tempted to pay the first class fare for the use of a cabin, but he could not get himself to pay the $8 that it would have required. He settled to pay for steerage instead. The steerage rate was $3, and he spent another $2 for his freight in the hold.

Still, the money hadn’t been the annoyance to the trip. It had been the time it took to earn it before he could leave. Kevin had been forced to do more than to work in the small mine. He had been forced to gather wild horses and sell them, along with several other jobs. Still, even after the long delay of nearly a year, Kevin was finally aboard the boat.

He scanned the shoreline in the distance. Kevin had once thought that he was anxious to be on the water.

It had been a difficult trip to San Francisco. He sighed at the thoughts of how costly the trip had been. He thought of the money that had been stolen from him, and it bothered him all over again. Much of the trouble he had experienced would have been avoided, if Marty had traveled with him. He had needed to work odd jobs a couple of times to make up some of the money he had lost.

It was still nearly dark, but the sun was rising fast. He watched as the shoreline disappeared. Within about two hours, all he could see was water. He could not tell what direction he was traveling. Only the sun and the direction that the ship faced gave him any clues at all. They were the only markers to show that he might be traveling in the right direction. Now and then he had to look down at the water in order to tell if they were even moving. He could feel the roll of the water below him, but he felt no sense of forward momentum from simply looking out at the sun-drenched waves. As the sun was setting, he suddenly realized that they were a full day out from the San Francisco bay.

He was beginning to wonder if the trip had been such a great idea after all. There was a lot of water around him. Kevin was not the best swimmer. If anything happened to the boat, he feared that he might drown. When the light of the sun was completely gone, he felt as though he was entirely lost, even though he knew the stars.

He had expected to become accustomed to the sights and sounds of the ship, along with the activities of the crew. However, after a few days, he wondered if he would ever get use to anything on the ship. The first night or two, he had found it hard to sleep. The odd sounds and the roll of the ship kept him awake. There were not only the sounds and movements, but the smells were equally as bad.

On the seventh night, he awakened from a very unsettling dream. He could feel the erratic movement of the boat beneath him. At first he was uncertain about where he was, but the memory quickly came back.

Many people around him were ill from the travel. Billy had told Kevin that nearly everyone but the crew of the boat would feel sea-sick. Billy had apparently also been quite sea-sick for a lot of his journey to the states.

Kevin was glad that he hadn’t been affected in the same way. He hoped that he would continue to be okay. On the other hand, smelling the confined air was beginning to affect him. He got up from his crowded berth. Though the boat was not full and there were some empty bunks, they had bunk assignments. Within the small space he had been assigned, he also had to keep all of his personal possessions.

He had tied them down tightly, to be certain that his things would stay put in one place. He was glad that the other items he had paid to ship were safely tucked away in the hold.

He wove his way toward the passageway, while fighting to stand during the increased roll of the ship. When he got to the passage, he started for the upper deck. The deck outside was surprisingly busy for that time of night. The night before had been very calm, with little or no activity at all. However, that night, crewmen were rushing here and there. Some were pulling on ropes and others were folding sail.

“Get below decks,” a man shouted at him.

Kevin turned in shock.

“We’re blowing into that storm. It’s going to get rough soon,” the man growled. “We don’t need to lose anyone, just because they wanted a view. If you go over, you’ll get no help.”

Kevin looked beyond the bow, and could see faint flashes of lightning. To Kevin the flash of lightening had been hundreds of miles away. There was a hint of a few clouds much closer, but it didn’t seem all that bad. Still, the night was dark enough that he couldn’t tell either. The wind was gusting quite hard. The activity on deck was a little disturbing. If the sailors were concerned, he figured that he ought to be also.

Kevin shrugged. He sucked in a few lungs full of ocean air before he ducked back through the hatch. He hesitantly went back toward the passenger berths. He was somewhat disappointed, as he liked summer rains. He loved the smell of the fresh air it left behind. Going back into the hold where so many people were ill did not seem fair.

He got a small drink from his canteen before he tried to settle back into his bunk. An hour later, he noticed that the ship was beginning to rock so much more than it had been. More people seemed to join in the chorus of those affected by the rolling ship. Kevin turned over on the hard lumpy mattress and tried to ignore the others around him.

Suddenly he could hear the clap of thunder from somewhere nearby. The ship was soon pitching so hard that he was wondering if the ship might turn completely over. He could hear the sound of the wind and crash of the waves above. He could also hear the pounding of men’s feet upon the deck. He nearly tumbled out of his bunk when the ship seemed to scoot to the side then pitch back.

Items from other people’s bags began to work loose from the places they had been stored. The stuff was scooting to and fro across the decks. Kevin fought the motion as he fastened his travel bags down even tighter to the post and the beam with an additional short length of cord. He didn’t want to lose anything, even by accident. He had already been forced to defend it from sneak thieves on several occasions along his travels to San Francisco. He wasn’t about to lose it because of a little rain storm.

The ship continued to rock and roll harder and harder. Kevin moved to the inside beam of his bunk and held on. He braced his feet against the side of the ship. He was no longer trying to sleep. Neither was anyone else. Everyone was holding on, trying to keep from being thrown from their berths, or from being tossed around on the decks.

He no longer wanted to go up on the upper decks. He could hear the water pound on the hull and crash onto the decks above. He could hear small amounts of water splashing through the hatches, even though they were closed tightly. More people were becoming ill. Even Kevin found himself being more affected by the increased movements.

The pitching of the ship went on for hours, perhaps days. Kevin had no way of knowing. He didn’t dare let go of his hand hold to look at his watch as time marched slowly by. His arms burned with fatigue. He could feel the number of bruises on his body increasing. Still, some time later, Kevin fell asleep, even amid the rough seas.

He awoke from a bump on his head. He looked around quickly. The boat was rocking and pitching nearly as hard as before. He moved his arm and tried to get a new hold with his other arm, to give the other one a rest. The moment he released his hold, the wave motion sent him crashing into the end railing of his bunk. His shoulder burned with pain. He allowed the reverse pitch of the ship to slide back to the outside of the boat. He quickly took a new hold.

Kevin heard someone crying quietly in the berth beneath him.

After a time, Kevin awoke again. He could tell that it was far calmer than it had been. He was surprised to find, even though he had been asleep, that his arm was still wrapped tightly around the post.

He could hear people still being sick all around him. Someone from across the cabin moaned. He could hear someone sobbing in the distance. Kevin was beginning to believe that he wanted to return to San Francisco. Of course he knew there was no going back, unless he wanted to board another boat after getting to Australia. He blew out a lung full of air and tried to relax.

The stormy weather continued for a couple of weeks. At long last, the weather finally settled for a day or two, and then it became more violent again. After a couple of more days of the turbulence, the ship suddenly went very still. Kevin began to wonder if something was wrong. It was as though there were no waves at all. It was almost as if the water outside was as still as a mountain lake. It was like that for a few hours. He was able to sleep. Then with little warning, it seemed the ocean was hungry for the boat again. The four weeks they had traveled seemed to take forever, but they finally found calm seas. Four days later, they sighted land.

The crossing had been formidable over the endless water. He learned that the weather had not been typical for the crossing. It had been the type of weather which unnerved even the most experienced seamen. Everyone, especially the crew, seemed grateful to finally be back on dry land. Because of the weather the trip had taken nearly a week longer than a normal trip would take.

Kevin carefully walked the gang plank off the ship. He breathed a deep sigh of relief as his feet found the peer. He looked back at the boat. Men were busy helping to unload the hold. He knew that some of that stuff was his own. He hoped that it had weathered the storms okay. He was glad that the ocean voyage was complete.