Australian Tales - Setis

about five-and-twenty miles off. Whin we got there in course we handed
our order to Misther Tapps, the landlord, and thin began knockin it
down, like jolly bushmen allers does. We know'd old Tapp wud pritty
soon tell us whin the order had all run out, so we didn't bother ourselves
about nothin but dhrinkin an playin ‘all fours,’ and singin a bit now an
thin, av course. Our order lasted eight days, for there were not many
fellers about the place at that time to help us knock it down quicker; an it
was rayther a dull time altogether, for we only had three little bits av
fights — but niver a reglar shindy at all. On the ninth mornin Mr. Tapps
sings out, — ‘Hilloa me hearties, yer order's all knocked into nothin,
ivery hapeny, and thirty shillings to the new.’ My mate was knocked
down too; he was very bad in his head; I don't know whether it was from
the bad rum, or from a crack he got wid the leg av a stool the night afore.
Well, I kno'd it wor no good stoppin there any longer after old Tapps had
tipped us the wink to be off, so I coaxed a quart av rum out av him on the
new score, an away I goes towards the station agin, all alone; for my
mate couldn't walk at all, an I hadn't got sinse enough in me to sthop and
look after him, so I lift him at the shanty, fast asleep and spacheless.
Well, I reeled along about seven miles suckin out av the bottle ivery now
and agin, till at last I tumbled down head over heels, and wint to sleep.
When I awoke agin it was dark night, so I finished the rum in the bottle,
an soon wint to sleep agin. The next mornin whin I roused up I was as
stiff as a skeleton, an awfully miserable soh; I wud almost hav given me
sowl for a gill av rum; but there wasn't a tasthe in the bottle; so I got up
and hobbled along a little further towards home. Och! what I suffered
thin ye couldn't picture if ye tried for a month; nor I couldn't tell ye if I'd
got twenty tongues. It frightens me to think av it.
“By an bye I heerd a horrible noise behind me, an whin I looked round
I seed the divil on a black horse ridin afther me as hard as he could
gallop, an roaring like a tiger. Off I scampered through the bush, straight
towards a runnin creek. Whin I got to it I dashed down the steep bank
and jumped into the wather; but it wasn't deep enough to smother me, so
I groped through it to the other side. The divil followed me to the top of
the creek, thin got off his horse, tied him to a saplin, and looked at me
wid his great big red-hot eyes, like doctor's door lamps; an he roared out,
‘Micky Mahony, I've got ye now, anyhow; you can't git away from me,
so ye naydn't thry.’ He thin began to wade through the creek to git at me;
wid that I pulls off me belt and made one end fast round the limb av a
tree, and put the other end round me neck; but jist as I was turnin meself
off I seed me poor owld mother right afore me, which scared me worse
still, for I know'd she wor dead long agone. I don't recollect anythin
more, till I awoke lyin under the tree, wid the broken strap round my
neck. How long I'd laid there, whether a day or a week, I never could tell;
but I was awful bad for many a day after that; an the firsht bit ov news I