Page:Banking Under Difficulties- Or Life On The Goldfields Of Victoria, New South Wales And New Zealand (1888).pdf/94

Rh the well-known face of the old detective. The officer was wonderfully cool and collected, commencing his inquiries something like this:—‘Good-day, mother! where is Jimmy?’ meaning, of course, the landlord, whom he was seeking. Tears and protestations of innocence were of no avail, neither could the detective gain any clue to the whereabouts of Jimmy. However, there were other expedients at hand, so we sallied forth among the diggers, the claims being in close proximity to the shanty. The first person interrogated was the son of Jimmy, but he no sooner said, ‘I don’t know, Mr. Carnes,’ than off he bolted among the diggers. The arrival of the detective at this place naturally raised the suspicions of the diggers that something was up, and consequently one after another called down the shaft to his mate that Carnes was there. Then one by one came up from his claim, and in the course of some fifteen or twenty minutes we were surrounded by a goodly number of diggers—most of them decent fellows, anxious to aid the police in discovering the perpetrators, as such crimes were then of very frequent occurrence in the Gully. Among the arrivals from below, Jimmy’s head at last was seen above ground. The detective hailed him with ‘Jimmy, I want you; now you might just as well tell me where you have put the plant; I am sorry to have to do it, but I must take you to the Flat.’ Jimmy, however, made the most solemn declaration of his innocence, and of his total ignorance of where the plant was secreted. All, however, to no purpose, as he (Jimmy) was at length handed over to the safe custody of about twenty diggers, while Mr. Carnes settled his reckoning with the landlady. Inside the shanty mother and children were crying and protesting against taking Jimmy to the Flat. All to no purpose, for the police officer merely said, ‘Well, mother, I am sorry to have to do it, but can’t help it; you had better pack up what duds you want, with the money you have, and clear out.’ Poor things! They soon gathered together the few bits of clothing necessary to clear out with, and left the shanty, with the furniture, bedding, grog, and fixtures, never to see it again. As soon as the inmates were outside, the police officer struck a match and set fire to the whole concern. Of course, in a few minutes not a vestige of the shanty or its contents was left standing. With the prisoner under the escort of some diggers we proceeded to the camp at Lambing Flat, where he was safely placed under lock and key, the crime for which he was arrested being laid under the Vagrant Act, as a rogue and vagabond. Next morning I went to the police court at the camp to hear the trial. Jimmy was brought in and had to answer to the charge of being a rogue and vagabond. Detective Carnes gave evidence to the effect that he had known Jimmy for some years as the associate of thieves and vagabonds, The officer called a witness to corroborate this evidence. Jimmy had no witness. The