"Owing to good recommendations, I was set at work doing scullion's duty at the hulks--a situation which I filled to the satisfaction not only of myself, but to the officers who had charge of me. I got plenty to eat, for I looked out for that, and I think that I should have served out my time with great contentment had I not learned that my old friend Gulpin had made his escape, but not until he had done for one of his keepers. A sudden desire to travel possessed me; I longed to see the world, to be free, and accumulate wealth so that I could return to London, and astonish the nobility and my hard-hearted parents.
"I watched my chance, and one day when I was on a visit to Melbourne for the purpose of carrying a bundle for one of the keepers, I thought I would begin my travels; so I started on a dog trot, in a direction opposite from the hulks, and when a pistol was discharged at my fine form, it had the effect of quickening my pace materially. Finding that the shot had no effect, the keeper ran after me; but what chance do you suppose he had with me, the possessor of such a pair of legs? In five minutes I had run him out of sight, but after I got outside of the city I did not lessen my speed, for I recollected that there was a mounted police force in Melbourne, and that they had a fancy for scouring the country in search of escaped convicts.
"With nothing to eat, excepting what I was enabled to steal--I don't mean steal--but then I didn't pay for such as I got, because I had no money in my pocket--I managed to subsist, and by skulking in the woods during daylight, and travelling at night, I struggled on, undetected.
"I used to visit encampments, and load myself with every thing that I considered necessary for my happiness, and by such means I soon was enabled to dispense with my convict suit, which was calculated to attract more attention than was desirable.
"A number of miners must have been greatly astonished, upon awakening in the morning, to find that most of their stores were gone, and perhaps they attributed their disappearance to magic. If they did they were wrong, for I hold myself personally responsible, and intend some day to settle for all that I took, and I will not only pay interest, but principal also. Can any thing be more honorable?"
