The Lonely Bushranger

- Chapter 1 -

As the children sat around the fire, the heat lapping them like the distant crashing waves colliding with the cliff, they listened intently to their old, aging grandpa.
"Then all of a sudden the giant squid wrapped it's massive tentacles around the small boat and crashed it to smitherteens!" said the grandpa excitedly. "There was no hope for the crew on board, they jumped overboard into the dark, dangerous sea. And that is all we heard from them."
All the children gasped.
"Grampy, tell us another one please!" asked one of the children, her brown fluffy hair bouncing around.
"I'm not sure," said their grandpa warily. "Would your mother like you staying up this late?"
"Please, please, please!" the children chanted together.
"Oh alright, well this one is about back in the Gold Rush days..." started the grandpa.

"Fresh fish fa' sale, fresh fish fa' sale!" called out a fish monger. Breath heavy, the bushranger casually turned the corner, his trench coat barely visible in the hard pouring rain. People didn't even look twice at him. As quick as a flash the bushranger was gone, "Hey, tha' guy just stole one o' me prized fish! Get 'im" Then began the wild goose chase. Whipping around corners the bushranger was so fast it was as though he was travelling an inch above the ground. A few minutes later, after clambering up hills and dodging trees the gang of men gave up on the chase, as they had lost the bushranger down a valley.
"Ew is tha' guy?" the fish monger said out of breath.
"Never seen him in my life," replied  a person in the crowd.

A few miles away a lonely bushranger sat near a long winding, dirt road eating a fish peacefully. He was half hidden under the shadow of an old eucalypt tree which was protecting him from the rain. The bushranger jumped up suddenly, he could hear the distant, familiar sound of wooden wheels moving on a hard gravel road. The bushranger moved swiftly and hid behind the tree. He slowly pulled on his old trench coat. Pretending to sway and shiver the bushranger approached the carriage.
"Please, please! Do you have a place for me to rest?!" asked the bushranger coughing and wheezing. As muffled voices came from the carriage the door slowly creaked open. The bushranger looked up and he was frozen in his steps. It was quite a big carriage. Two young boys were huddled with a women who was obviously their mother. On the other side of the carriage a man sat with a girl who looked older than the boys (his daughter).
"Dear you look frozen, come in," the women said. She was quite large but had a kind face. The bushranger still stood there. "Come on, come into the warm." That was what broke the bushranger. He turned on this heels and ran down the wet road.

To be continued.........