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THE GOLD-STEALERS

EDWARD DYSON.
Aii rights rtitrvtd

"OVEE AND OVER IIIEV TCMBLED.'

Longmans' Colonial Library

THE GOLD^EALERS

A STOSY OF WADDY

EDWARD DYSON

WITH EIOHT ILLUSTRATIONS BY
G. GRENVILLE MANTON

TORONTO

THE COPP CLARK CO.. LIMITED

LONDON

LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.

1901

Thi. Edition i, intended for circulation only in ,ndi. „d the

British Colonies

1 c .

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

" Over and over they tumbled " .... Frontispiece
" * Are you thinking ? ' whispered the girl " . .To face page 75
" Standing erect in her vehicle, roundly abused the

township from end to end " .... „ us

" He lay like a corpse in the black water " . . „ 179

" He snatched his gun from a comer and stepped

out" ^^ 217

" Crushed by her misery into an attitude ol pro-
found despair " 249

"Scratched at the hard flooring boards with his

claw-like fingers" ^^ 270

" She still strove, but felt his strength greater than

hers " ^^ 803

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

CHAPTER I.

agricultural centre tha can . '^''"'^ ■"'""'"^ "'•

three meagre classes M 11 T^ '"^"'^'^ *"-° °'
local enthusias Jrnd 1 efee S T"", ^^ " ^"-'^
tion shorti, after Mr. Joe E B i^'lr T"''
d.stnct and let it be understood thatte d d ':^ •"" ''^
to go away aeain TT»^i ■,■ °"^ °°' '"tend

po^ible to Ske an^r ^ "°'''^''*'''••-«^™-
Wadd,reso^ed toS/ech";' ^^' -^-^ Han.,
-ting .as held in tt Dllri;-^ ^-- A
speeches, all much .nn-. i ""*' ""merons

urgent need o'conl !„ 'TT"^ '^^'•""^^ °f t''^
t-'e o-orsimag.^~d^i:tr"°"' '''^"
™en, and a resolution embodyin.'thelr^™''"'''"''
the residents to ereot « ., " " 8 ^'^^ oeternunation of

Mr. J. Ham, BTas hear r ''"''"^'"'' '"''«"
mously. ' ^ ^^''dmaster was carried nnani-

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

The original contributors were not expected to do-
nate money towards the good cause ; they gave labour
and material. The work of erection was commenced
next day. Keither plans nor specifications were sup-
plied, and every contributor was his own architect.
Timber of all sorts and shapes came in from fifty
sources. The men of the day shift at the mines
worked at the building in the evening; those on the
four-o'clock shift pnt in an hour or two in the morn-
ing, and mates off the night shift lent a hand ai any
time during the day, one man taking np the work
where tho other left oil. Consequently — and as there
was no ruling mind and no general design — the school
when finished seemed to lack continuity, so to speak.
As an architectural effort it displayed evidence of
many excellent intentions, but could not be called a
brilliant success as a whole — although one astute Par-
liamentary candidate did secure an overwhelming ma-
jority of votes in Waddy after declaring the school-
house to be an ornament to the township. The pub-
lic-spirited persons who contributed windows, it was
tacitly agreed, were quite justified in putting in tliose
windows according to the dictates of their ov. r, fancy,
even if the result was somewhat hharre. Jock Sum-
mers gave a bell hung in a small gilded dome, and
this was fixed on the roof right in the centre of the
building, mainly for picturesque effect; but as there
was no rope attached and no means of reaching the
bell — and it never occurred to anybody to rectify the
deficiency— Jock's gift remained to the end merely

THE GOLD-8TEA',ER8.

an omftnien*'al adjunct. So also with Sam Brierly'i
Gothic portico. Sam expended raucli tinio and inge-
nuity in constructing tiie portico, and it was built on
to the street end of tlie schoollionse, althougli there
was no door there, the only entrance being at the
back.

The building was opened with a tea-fight and a
da.ice, and answered its purpose very well up to the
time of the first heavy rains ; then studies had to be
postponed indefinitely, for the floor was a fott under
water. A call was made upon the united strength of
the township, and the building was lifted brdily and
set down again on piles. When the open space be-
tween the ground and the floor was boarded up, the
residents were delighted to find that the increased
height had given the structure quite an imposing ap-
pearance. Alas! before six months had passed the
place was found to be going over on one side.
Waddy watched this failing with growing uneasiness.
When the collapse seemed inevitable, the male adults
were again bidden to an onerous public duty ; they
rolled up like patriots, and with a mighty effort
pushed the school up into the perpendicular, Drop-
ping it there with stout stays. That answered excel-
lently for a lime, but eventually the wretched house
began to slant in the opposite direction. Once more
the men of Waddy attended in force, and spent an
arduous half-day hoisting it into an upright position,
and securing it there with more stays. It took the
eccentric building a long time to decide upon its next

THE G0LD-STEALER8.

move; tlicn it BudJenly lurched forward a foot or
more, and after that slipped an inch or two farther
out of plumb every day. But the ingenuity of Waddy
was not exhausted ; a few hundred feet of roiie and a
winch were borrowed from the Paep o' Day; the
rope was run round the ochoolbynse, and the building
was promptly hauled lack into shape and fastened
down with long timbers running from its sides to a
convenient red-gum slump at the back. Thus it re-
mained for many yeais, bulging at the sides, pitching
forward, and straining at its tctliers like an eager
hound in a leash.

It was literally a humming hot day at Waddy;
the pulsing w'lirr of invisible locustii filled the whole
air with a drowsy hum, and from the flat at the back
of the to.vnship, where a few tliousand ewes and
lambs were shepherded amongst the quarry holes,
came another insistent droning in a deeper note, like
the murmur of distant surf. Ko one was stirring: to
the right and left along the single thin wavering line
of unpainted weatherworn wooden houses nothing
moved but mirage waters flickering in the hollows of
the ironstone road. Equally deserted was the wide
stretch of brown plain, dotted with poppet legs and
here and there a whim, across the dull expanse of
which Waddy seemed to peer with stupid eyes.

From within the school were heard alternately,
with the regularity of a mill, the piping of an old
cracked voice and the brave chanting of a childish
chorus, Under the school, where the light was dim

THE UOLD-STEALFRS. 5

and the air was decidedly musty, two imall boyg were
crouched, playiug a silent game of 'stag knife.'
Besides he' .g dark and evil smelling under there, it
was dan ; great clammy masses of cobweb hung
from the joints and spanned the spaces between the
piles. The place wi»s haunted by strange and fear-
some insects, too, and tlie moving of the classes above
sent showers of dust down betwee.. the cracks in the
worn floor. But those boys were satisfied that they
were having a perfectly blissful time, and were
serenely tappy in defiance of nnpropitious sur-
roundiugs. They were 'playing the wag,' and to
be playing the wag under any circumstances is
a guarantee of pure felic-.ty to the average healthy
boy.

Probably the excessive heat had suggested to Dick
Haddon the advisability of spending the afternoon
nnder the school instead of within the dose crowded
room; at any rate he suggested it to Jacker
McKnight, commonly known as Jacker Mack, and
now after an hour of it the boys were still jubilant.
The game had to be played with great caution, and
conversation was conducted in whispera when ideas
could not be conveyed in dumb show. All that was
going ou in the room above was distinctly audible to
the deserters below, and the joy of camping there out
of the reach of Joel Ham, B.A., and beyond all the
trials and tribulations of the Higher Fifth, and hear-
ing other fellows being tested, and he"* ind
caned, was too tremendous for whispering! i. must

TUK OOLD-STKALEKS.

1)6 expresied ill wild roUingi and contortion* and con-
vulsive kicking.

' Parrot Cmin, will you kindly favour nie with a
fev. ininutei on the floor? '

It was the old oriickod voice, flavoured with an omi-
nous irony. Dick paused in the middle of a throw
with a cocked epr and upturned eyes ; Jacker Sl,a:k
grinned all across liis broad face and winked mean-
ingly. They heard the shuflling of a pair of heavily
shod feet, and then the voice again.

' Parrot, my man, you are a comedian by instinct,
and nill probably live to be an ornament to the the-
atrical profession ; but it is my duty to repress pre-
mature manifestations of your genius. Parrot, hold
out! '

Til. V heard the swish of the cane and the school-
master sarcastic comments between the strokes.

' Ah-h, that was a Ijeautyl Once more, Parrot,
my friend, if you please. Excellent 1 Excellent !
We will try agiiu. Practice of this kind makes for
pt.fectiou, you know, Parrot. Good, good— very
good ! If you should be spoiled in the making. Par-
rot, you will not in your old age ascribe it to any
paltry desire on ray part to spare the rod, will vou
Parrot?' ' '

'S'help nie, I won't, bir! '

There was such a world of pathos in the wail with
which Parrot replied that Dick choked in lis efforts
to repress his emotions. The lads heard the victim
blubbing, and pictured his humorous contortions after

THE (iOLD-STKALKUS.

every cut — for Parrot wm weirdly and wonderfully
gymnaatic under puninliment — and Jitckur linggod
himeolf and kicked ecstatically, and young Iladdon
bowed hia forehead in tlio dirt and drummed with hia
toea, and gave expression tu his exuberant hilarity in
frantic pantominio. The rough and ready schoolboy
is very near to the beginnings; his sense of humour
hat not been impaired by over-refinement, but remains
somewhat akin to that of the gentle savage; and al-
though his disposition to laugh at the misfortunes of
his best friends may bo deplorable from various point*
of view, it has not been without its inflneuce in fash-
ioning those good men who put on a brave face in the
teeth of tribulation.

' Gee-ruoalcm ! ain't Jo got a thirst ? ' whispered
Dick when the spasm had ])aesud.

' My oath, ain't he I ' replied Jacker, ' but he woa
drunk up afore twelve.'

It is necessary to explain here that the school
committee, in ele^iting Mr. Ham to the position of
■choolraasttT, compelled him to sign a formal agree-
ment, drawn up in quaint legal gibberish, in which it
was specified that ' the herein afore-mentioned Joel
Ham, B. A. , ' was to be limited to a certain amount of
alcoholic refreshment per diem, and McMahon, at the
Drovers' Arms, bound himself over to supply no more
than the prescribed quantity; but it was understood
that this gallinj; restriction did not apply to Mr. Ham
on ^tnrdays and holidays.

The noises above subsided into the usual school

THE GOLD-STEALEES.

drone, and the boys under the floor resumed their
game. It was an extremely interesting game, closely
contested. Each player watched the other's actions
with an alert and suspicious eye, and this want of
confidence led directly to the boys' undoing; for
presently Dick detected Jacker in an attempt to
deceive, and signalled 'Downl' with an emphatic
gee -e. 'Gerrout!' was the word framed by the
lips 01 the indignant Jacker. Haddon gesticulated an
angry protest, and McKnight's gestures and grimaces
were intended to convey a wish that he might be vis-
ited with unspeakable pains and penalties if he were
not an entirely virtuous and grievously misjudged
small boy.

' It's a lie,' hissed Dick ; ' it was down ! '

' You're another — it wasn't! '

' 'Twas, I tell you ! '

"Twasn't!'

' Gimme my knife; I don't play with sharps an'
sneaks. '

'Won't! '

' Gimme it I '

All caution had been forgotten by this tune, voices
were shrill, and eyes spoke of battle. Dick made at
Jacker with a threatening fist, and Jacker, with an
adroitness for which he was famous, met him with a
clip on the shin from a copper-toed boot. Then the
lads grappled and commenced a vigorous and enthusi-
astic battle in the dirt and amongst the cobweb
curtains.

THE (iOLD-STEALERS.

In the schoolroom above Joel Ham, startled from a
dreamy drowsiness, heard with wonder fierce voices
under his feet, the sounds of blows and of bumping
heads, and saw his scholars all distracted. The master
divined the truth in a very few minutes.

'Cann, Peterson, Moonlight,' he called, 'follow
me.'

He selected a favourite cane from the rack, and
strutted out with the curious boys at his heels.

' Now then, Peterson,' he said, and he paused with
artful preoccupation to double his cane over and under,
and critically examine the end thereof, 'you are a
very observant youth, Peterson ; you will tell me how
those boys got under the school. '

'Dunno,' said Peterson, assuming the expression
of an aged cow.

The master seized him by the collar.

' Peterson, you have the faculty of divination. I
give you till I have counted ten to exert it. I am
counting, Peterson.'

Very often the schoolmaster's language was Greek
to the scholars, but his meaning was never in doubt
for a moment.

'Eight, Peterson, nine.'

Peterson slouched along a few yards, and kicked
stupidly and resentfully at a loose board.

'Might 'a' got in there,' he rowled. 'Why
couldn't you 'a' asked Moonlight ?— he don' mind
bein' a sneak. '

But Mr. Ham was down on his knees removing the

THE OOLD-STEALERS.

loose board, and for two or three minutes after
crouched at the opening like a famished yellow cat at
a rat-hole, awaiting his . opportunity. Meanwhile the
fight under the school was being prosecuted with un-
abated fury. Dick and Jacker gripped like twin
bull-terriers, rolling and tumbling about in the confined
space, careless of everything h;n the important busi-
ness in hand. Suddenly Mr. Ham made liis spring,
and a smart haul brought a leg to light. Another tug,
and a second leg shot forth.
' Pull, boys ! ' he cried.

Moonlight seized the other limb, and a good tug
brought the two boys out into the open, still fighting
entlmsiastically and apparently oblivious of their 6ur°
roundings. Two soldier ants never fought witli greater
determination or with such a whole-souled devotion to
the cause. Over and over they tumbled in the dust,
clutching hair, hammering ribs, and grunting and
grasping, blind, deaf, and callous as logs; and Joel
Ham stood above them with the familiar cynical twist
on his blotched visage, twisting his cane and making
audible comments, but offering no further interfer^
ence.

' After you, my boys— after jou. There is no
hurry, Haddon, I can wait as you are so busy. Me-
Knight, your future is assured. The prize ring is
your sphere; there wealth and glory await yon.
Peterson, you see here how degraded that boy be-
comes who forgets those higher principles which it is
my earnest effort to instil into the hearts and minds

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

of tlie boys of this depraved townsliip. Cann, my
boy, behold liow brutalising is ungoverued instinct.'

But, wearying of the contest, the master made a
sudden descent upon Jacker, and tore him from his
enemy'B grasp. The .Afort brought Dick to his feet,
panting and still eaj . for the fray. He could not
see an ch beyond his nose, and for a few moments
moved about fiercely, feeling for his foe.

' D'you gimme best ? ' he spluttered. ' If yon
don't, come on — I ain't done up! ' Tlien he flung
the curtain of cobweb from his eyes, and the situa-
tion flashed upon him in all its grim significance.
For a swift moment he thought of flight, but the
master's grip was on his collar.

'Slowed if it ain't Jo,' he murmured in his con-
sternation, and yielded meekly, like one for whom
Fate had proved too strong.

The schoolmaster's white-lashed eyelids blinked
rapidly for a second or so, and he screwed his face
into a hard wrinkled grin of g ification.

'Yes, Ginger, my lad,' he said genially, 'Jo, at
your service — very much at your service ; and yours,
McKnight. We will go inside now, boys. The sun
is painfully hot, and you are fatigued. '

He marched his captives before him into the school-
room and ranged them against the wall, under the
wide-open wondering eyes of the scholars, by whom
even the most trifling incident of rebellion was always
welcomed with glee as a break in the dull monotony
of Joel Ham's peculiar system. But this was no

THE GOLD-STEALEBS.

tnHing incident, it was a tremendous outrage and a
delightful m,etery; for the boys as they stood hte
presented to the amazed classes a strange and amlw

as the ch Idreu were concerned, an inexplicable dis-

house Haddon and McKnight had gathered much
nmd, but more cobwebs. In fact, they had wiped ud
so many webs that they were coJered'from head to

itt « , Tu'"""^ ^"''^ "^«»- Their hats weL
ost early m the encounter, and their hair was fulo^
cobwebs,, sticky curtains of cobweb hung abcu thel
faces a^d swathed them from top to foe in whaT
looked like a dirty grey fur. Each boy had clelred

hs eyes of the thick veil, but so inhuman'and unS
of was their appearance that there was presently a
euspicion ar.cngst the scholars that the mastered

a 217; '"T'^ ""'^""^ «p.eimens of th
ZTf. ^f ■"; T^ •'""^^q^ently further astonishing
developments might be looked for. ^

CHAPTEK II.

Mr. Ham, with wise forethought, carefully looked
the door and pocketed the key after disposing of the
lads; and this was well, for Dick Haddon, fnlly ap-
predating the possibilities of the situation, was already
plotting— plotting with erery faculty of an active and
inventire mind.

The master faced his prisoners, and stood mnsin<r
over them like a pensive but kindly cormorant. Mr"
Joel Ham, B.A., was a small thin man with a de-
ceitful appearance of weakness. Thore was a pe'-ul-
lar indecision about all his joints that made the cer-
tainty of his spring and the vigour of his grip matters
of wonder to all those new boys who ventured to pre-
sume upon his seeming infirmities. He had a scraggy
red neck, a long beak-like nose, and queer slate-
coloured eyes with pale lashes; his hair was thin and
very fine in colour and texture, strangely like that of
a yellow cat; and face, neck, and nose were mottled
with patches of small purple veins. To-day he was
dressed in a long seedy v ' k coat, a short seedy black
vest, and a pair of n oleskins, glaringly white,

and much too long and . .a, -e.

THE G0LD-8TEALERS.

ar« not looking as neat a« ns>.al. Yc. need dnstL

me, I will do It well. Jacker, I intend to leave yon
Standing here for a few moments to cool. Yon Z
have noticed, boys, that the yonthful form wZ
or heated or possessed witn nnusnal axcitemenlh^
not that poignant susceptibility which migj-t be
thought necessary to the adequate appreciati™ „f !
judicious lambasting. Has that evpr!.! 7
McKnight?' ^-^ that ever occurred to you,

Jacker rhifted his feet uneasily, rolled his bodv

Llerr::^;..-'""------''^'^^^^

'Oh, dry ipl '

Mr. Ham grinned at the boy in silence fnr . t
moments, and then returned tohL high To it del
M . Ham never made the slightest effort to maini
before his scholars that dignity which is supZed "
be essential to the success of a pedagogue In ad
dressing the boys he used their c'r reSes or the"
nicknames liberally bestowed upon them by th'
mates, indiscriminately, and showed no resentment
whatever when ho heard himself alluded t^Ljo or
Hamlet or the Beetle, his most frequent app" laL
in he playground. He kept a black bottle in his d^
at the neck of which he habitually refreshed hiinsS
before he whole school; and he addressed the ch
dren with an elaborate and caustic levity in a th n"
Bhaky voice quite twenty years too old for'^hta m

THE GOLD-STEALERS. 15

humour was thrown away upon the r.sing generation
of Waddy, and might have been supposed to be the
oat-like pawing of a vicious mind ; but Joel Ham was
not cruel, and although wlicn occasion demanded he
could use the cane with exceeding smartness, he fre-
qnently overlooked misdemeanours that might have
justified an attack, and was never betrayed into ad-
ministering unmerited cuts even when his black bottle
was empty and his thirst most virulent.

In spite of his eccentricities and his weaknesses, and
the f^t that he was neither respected nor dreaded,
turn brought his scholars on remarkably well There
were three big classes in the room-first, third, and
hfth-and a higher and lower branch of each- he
managed all, with the assistance of occasional monitors
selected from the best pupils. Good order prevailed
m the school, for little that went on there escaped the
master s alert eye. Even when he drowsed at his
desk, as he sometimes did on warm afternoons, the
work was not delayed, for he was known to have a
tnck of awakening with a jerk, and smartly nailing a
culprit or a dawdler. ^

The school to-day wa.s in a tense and excitable con-
dition, now heightened to fever by the two cobwebbed
mysteries standing against the wall, but the imperative
rattle of Joel's cane on the desk quickly induced a
specious show of industry.
'Gable!'

The individual addressed, a big scholar in the
Lower Third, was so absorbed in the spectacle pro-

THE GOLD-STEAT,ERS.

vided by Haddon and McKnight that he failed to
hear the master's voice, and continued staring stupidly
with all his eyes.

' Gable ! This way, my dear child. '

Gable started guiltily, and then fell into confusion.
Ho climbed awkwardly out of his seat, and advanced
hesitatingly with shuffling feet towards the master.
It was now evident that Gable was not a large boy,
but a little old man, slightly built, with a round
ruddy clean-shaven face and thick white hair. But
his manner was that of a boy of eight.

'Holdout, my young friend I' Joel commanded,
with an expressive flourish of his cane.

Gable held out his hand ; his toothless month
formed itself into a dark oval, his eyes distended with
painful expectancy, and ho assumed the shrinking at-
titude of the very small boy who expects the fall of
the cane. The situation was absurd, but no one
smiled. Ham raised the extended hand a little with
the end of the dreaded weapon.

' You are going the right way to come to a dishon-
oured old age. Gable,' he said, and the cane went up,
but the cut was not delivered. 'There,' continued
the master, ' I forgive you in consideration of yojr
extreme youth. Go to your place, and try to set a
better example to the older boys. '

The old man trotted back to his seat, grinning all
over his face, and set to work at his book with an ap-
pearance of intense zeal; and Joel Ham turned his
attention to the prime culprits. Having marched the

THE G0LD-STEALKK8. 17

yonngsters from the front desk of the third class, he
drew desk and form forward into the middle of the
clear space, and then beckoned to McKnight.

' Jacker, my man,' lie said cheerfully, ' bring your
slate and sit here. I have a little job for you.'

Dick, standing alone, watched his mate seat himself
at the desk, elated for a moment with the idea that
perhaps Jo was not going to regard their offence as
particularly heinous after all ; but his better judgment
scouted the idea, and he returned to his scrutiny of
the wall. There was a weak spot near where Hector,
Peterson's billy-goat, had butted his way through on
a memorable occasion, and escape was still a comfort-
ing contingency.

The master approached Mt-Knight with a pencil aa
if to set a lesson, but this was merely a ruse ; Jacker
was a hard-headed vicious youth whose favourite kick
Ham wisely reckoned with on an occasion like this.
To the boy's surprise and disgust he was presently
seized by the neck and hauled forward on to the desk.
His legs, being against the seat, which was attached
to the desk, were quite useless for defence, so that he
was a helpless victim under the chastening rod. It
was a degrading attitude, and the presence of the
girls made the punishment a disgrace to rankle and
burn. Jacker, for pride and the credit of his boy-
hood, made no sound under the first dozen cuts ; but
his younger brother Ted, from his place in the Lower
Fifth, set up a lugubrious wail of sympathy almost
immediately, and, as his feelings were more and

TlIK GOLD-STEALEliS.

more wrought upon by tlic painful siglit, his wiiil-
jng developed into sbrill and tearful abuse of the
master.

'You let bini alone, see!' yelled Ted, when
Jnckcr, unable longer to contain himself, uttered a
dismal cry.

' Hit some one yer size — go on, hit some one yer
size I ' screamed Ted.

But Mr. Ham's whole attention was devoted to bis
task, and the younger McKnighfs threats, com-
mands, and warnings were entirely ignored, although
the boy continued to utter them between his lieart-
brokon 6ol)a.

' Miud who you're hittin' ! You'll suffer for this,
Hamlet, you'll see! AVe'll get some one what'U
show you ! Rocks for yon nex' Saterdee ! '

Ted howled, Jacker howled, but the master caned
on until he thought he had quite accomplished his
duty in that particular ; then he let the limp youth
elide back into his seat.

Mr. Ham returned to his high stool to rest and
recnperate. Throughout the proceedings he had
displayed no heat whatever, and when he addressed
Jacker it was with his usual bland irony.

' You should thank me for my pains, my boy, but
youth is proverbially ungrateful. You will think
better of my efforts a few years hence ; meanwhile I
can afford to wait for the verdict of your riper
judgment, Jacker — 1 can afford to wait, my boy.'

Jacker's only reply to this was a long wail expres-

THK G0Lr»-8TRAI,KRS. 19

Bive of a great disgust. TImt outburst was too much
for the already over-wrought youngster in the Lower
fifth : starting up with a cry, Ted snatclied one of
the leaden ink-wells from its cell in the desk, and
took aim at the master's head. The well Htrnck the
wal just above its mark, and scattered its contents in
Joel Ham's pale hair, in his eyes, down his cheeks,
and all over his white moles. Amazement_l,iind,
round-eyed, dumb amazpment— possessed the school,
snd for a few seconds a dead silence prevailed The
.pell was broken by Dick Iladdon, who discovered
his opportunity, plunged like a diver at the weak
spot m the wall, went clean through and disappeared
from view. Ted McKnight, who had awakened to
the enormity of his crime at the sight of tl.e master
knuckling the ink out of his eyes, and had gone
grey to the lips in his trepidation, looking anxiously
to the right and left for a refuge, saw Dickie's
departure; jumping the desk in front he rushed at
the aperture the latter had left in the wal], and
was gone in the twinkling of an eye.

The master mopped the ink from his hair and hia
face with a sheet of blotting paper, and calling
Belman, Cann, Peterson, Jinks, and Slogan, made
for the door. Already Dick Iladdon was halfway
across the flat, scattering the browsing sheep to the
right and left in his flight, and Ted was following at
his best pace.

'After them!' cried the master. 'Two whole
days holiday for you if you run them down.'

THK OOLD-STEALERS.

The puriuit wai taken up clieerfully enough, but
it was quite liopelcss. Tlio breakaways were heading
for the Hue of biisli, and tlie aapling scrub along the
creek was bo thick tliiit tlie boys would have been
perfectly secure under its cover, even if the pursuers
were not in Iiearty sympathy with the pursued, and
the pursuit were not a miserable and perfidious
pretence.

Mr. Ham, recognising after a few minutes how
matters really stood,, returned to the school. His
approach had been signalled by a scout at one of the
windows, and he found the classes all in order and
suspiciously industrious, and Jacker McKnight still
sitting with his head sunk upon his arms — a monument
of sturdy resentment.

'My boys,' said the master, looking ludicrously
piebald after his ink bath, ' before resuming duties I
wish to draw your attention to the crass foolishness
of which our young friends Haddon and McKnight
are guilty. You perceive that their action is not
diplomatic, eh ? '

' Ye — yes, sir, ' piped a dubious voice here and
there.

' To be sure. Had they remained they would have
been caned ; as they have run away, they will receive
a double dose and certain extra pains and penalties,
and meanwhile they suffer the poignant pangs of
anticipation. Anticipation, Jacker, my boy, the
smart of future punishments, is the true hell-flame.'
Jacker replied with a grunt of derisive and

THE OOLU-STUALKRS. 31

implacable bitterre», but tho Khooln «tcp wemed
much comforted by hig apophthegm, and stood for
Mveral mmuto. tnrveying the back of McKnight'a
head, and wearing a benignant and thouirhtful
imiie. "

CHAPTER III.

Waddt was soon possessed of tlie facts of the
shameful acts of insubordination at the school and the
escape of Dick Haddon and Ted IfcKnight, and no-
body— according to everybody's wise assurances-
was the least bit surprised. The fathers of the town-
ship (and the mothers, too) had long since given Dick
up as an irresponsible and irreclaimable imp. One
large section declared the boy to be 'a bit gone,'
which was generally Waddy's simple and satisfactory
method of accounting for any attribute of man,
woman, or child not in conformity with the dull rule
of conduct prevailing at Waddy. Another section
persisted in its belief that ' the boy Haddon ' was pos-
sessed with several peculiar devils of lawlessness and
unrest, which could only be exorcised by means of
daily 'hidings,' long abstinence from any diet more
inflammatory than bread and water, and the continu-
ous acquisition of great quantities of Scripture.

An extraordinary meeting of the School Committee
was held at the Drovers' Arms that evening to confer
with Joel Ham, B.A., and consider what was best to
be done under the circumstances. The men of the
township recognised that it was their bounden duty to
support the master in an affair of this kind. When

THE ( OLD-STEAT .RS. 23

occasion arose they as. t;^ ■■■ tlif. capture of vagrant
youths, and when Joel imagined a display of force
advisable they attended at the punishment and ren-
dered such assistance as was needful in the due en-
forcement of discipline. It was understood by all
that the school would lose prestige and efficiency if
Haddon and McKnight were not taken and at once
subjected to the rules of the establishment and the
rod of the master.

The meeting was quite informal. It was held in
the bar, and the discussion of the vital matter in hand
was concurrent with the absorption of McMahon's
beer. Mr. Ham's best attention was given to the
latter object.

'Bring the boys to me, gentlemen,' he said, 'and
I will undertake to induce in them a wholesome con-
trition and a proper respect for letters— temporarily,
at least. '

Neither of the lads had yet returned to his home ;
but the paternal McKnight promised, like 'a good
citizen, that immediately his son was available he
would be reduced to subjection with a length of belt-
ing, and then handed over to the will of the scholastic
autkority without any reservation. Mr. McKniglit
was commended for his public spirit ; and it was then
agreed that a member of the Committee should wait
upon Widow Haddon to invite her co-operation, and
point out the extent to which her son's mental and
moral development wonld be retarded by a display of
weakness on her part at a crisis of this kind.

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

Mr. Eplu-aim Shine volunteered for this duty.
Ephraim was a tall gaunt man, with hollow checks, a
leathery complexion, and large feet. He walked or
Bat with his eyes continually fixed upon these feet—
reproachfully, it seemed-as if their disproportion
were a source of perennial woe; lie carried his arms
looped behind him, and had acquired a peculiar stoop
—to facilitate his vigilant guardianship of his feet
apparently. Mr. Shine, as superintendent of the
Waddy Wcsleyan Chapel, represented a party that
had long since broken away from the School Com-
mittee, which was condemned in prayer as licentious
and ungodly, and left to its wickedness when it exhib-
ited a determination to stand by Joel Ham, a scoffer
and a drinker of strong drinks, as against a respect-
able, if comparatively unlettered, nominee of the
Chapel and the Band of Hope. His presence at the
committee meeting to-night was noted witli surprise,
although it excited no remark; and his offer to inter-
view the widow was accepted with gratitude as a
patriotic proposal. There was only one dissentient-
Rogers, a burly freeman from the Silver Stream.

' Don't send Shine to cant an' snuffle, an' preach
the poor woman into a lit o' the miserables,' he said.
Ephraim lifted his patient eyes to Rogers's face for
a moment with an expression of meek reproof, then
let tliem slide back to his boots again, but answered
nothing. The enmity of the two was well known in
Waddy. Rogers was a worldly man who drank and
swore, and who loved a fight as other men loved a

THE GOLD-STEALERS. jjs

good meal; and Shine, as the superintendent, must
withhold us countenance from so grieyons a sinner.
Besides there was a belief tlmt at some time or an-
other the faee.nan had thrashed Sliine, who was
searcher at the Stream in his week-day capacity, and
tor t^iat reason was despised by the miners, and
regarded as a oreatnrc a,>art. Ephraim, it was re-
marked, was always particularly careful in searchine
Kogers when he came olf shift, i„ the hope, as the
men believed, of one day finding a secreted nugget
and getting even with his enemy by gaoling him for a
tew years.

As Ephraim passed out from the bar he again
allowed his eyes to roll up and meet those of his enemy
from the dark shadow of his thick brows.

' Don't forget the little widow was sweet on Frank
Hardy before you jugged him, Tinribs,' said the
nimer.

Tinribs was a name bestowed upon the superin-
tendent by the youtli of Waddy, and called after him
by irreverent small boys from convenient cover or
under tlio shelter of darkness. He found the Widow
Haddon at home. She it was who answered his
knock.

' I have come from the School Committee, ma'am '
he said, still intent upon his boots.

' About Dickie, is it ? Come in . '

Mrs. Haddon was drcssmaker-in-ordinary to the
township, and her otherwise carefully tended kitchen
was littered with slippings and bits of material. She

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

resnmed her task by the lamp as soon as the delegate
of the School Committee was comfortably seated.

'Has Richard come home, ma'am?' Epliraim
was an orator, and prided himself on his command of
language.

The widow shook her head. ' No,' she said com-
posedly. ' I don't think he will come home tonight. '

' We have had a committee meeting, missus,' said
Ephraim, examining the toe of his left boot reproach-
fully, 'an' it's understood we've got to catch these
boys. '

'What! ' cried Mrs. Haddon, dropping her work
into her lap. ' You silly men are going to make a
hunt of it? Then, let me tell you, you will not get
that boy of mine to-morrow, nor this week, nor next.
Was ever such a pack of fools ! Let Dickie think he
is being hunted, aud he'll be a bushranger, or a
brigand chief, or a pirate, or sometliing desperately
wicked in that amazin' head of his, and you won't
get a-nigh him for weeks, not a man Jack of you !
Dear, dear, dear, you men— a set of interferin', mut-
ton-headed creatures! '

' He's an unregenerate youth— that boy of yours
ma'am.' '

'Is he, indeed?' Mrs. Haddon's handsome face
flushed, and she squar.'d her trim little figure. ' Was
he that when he went down the broken winze to poor
Ben Holden? Was he that when he brought little
Kitty Green and her pony out of the burnin' scrub"
Was he all a little villain when he found you trapped

THE OOLD-STEALERS.

in the cleft of a log under the mount there, when the
Stream irien wouldn't stir a foot to seek you? '

During this outburst Shine had twisted his boots in
all directions, and examined them minutely from
every point of view.

' No no, ma'am,' he said, ' not all bad, not at all ;
but_ah, the-ah, influence of a father is missing,
Mrs. Haddon.' *

^' That's my boy's misfortune, Mr. Superintendent.'
It — it might be removed.'

' Eh ? What's that you say ? '

Tlie widow eyed her visitor sharplv, but he was
squirming over his unfortunate feet, and apparently
suffering untold agonies on their account.

' The schoolmaster must be supported, missus ' he
said hastily. ' Discipline, you know. Boys have to
be mastered.'

' 1° ^'^ sure; but you men, you don't know how
My Dick is the best boy in the school, sometimes.'
'Sometimes, ma'am, yes.'

' Yes, sometimes, and would be always if you men
had a pen'orth of ideas. Boys should be driven
sometimes and sometimes coaxed.'

'And how'd you coax him what played wag under
the very school, fought there, an' then broke out of
the place like a burgerler ? '

'I know I know-thafs bad; but it's been a fear-
ful tryin day, an' allowances should be made '

' Then if he comes home you'll give him over to
b«— ah, dealt with?'

THE GOLD-STEALEKS.

' Certainly, superintendent; I am not a fool, an' T
want my boy taught. But don't yon men go chasiii'
those lads; they'll just enjoy it, an' you'll do no
good. You leave Dickie to me, an' I'll have him
home here in two shakes. Dickie's a high-spirited
boy, an' full o' tlie wild fancies of boys. He's done
this cort o' thing before. Run away from home once
to bo a sailor, an' olep' for two nights iu a windy old
tree not a hundred yards from his own comfortable
bed, imaginin' he was what he called on the foretop
somethin'. But I know well enough how to work on
his feelings.'

'A father, ma'am, would be the savin' o' that lad.'

Mrs. Haddon dropped her work again and her dark

eyes snapped; but Ephraim Shine had lifted one boot

on to his knee, and was examining a hole in the sole

with bird-like curiosity.

' "When I think my boy needs special savin' I'll
send for you, Mr. Shine — p'r'aps.'

' It'd be a grave responsibility, a trial an' a con-
stant triberlation, but I ofter myself. I'll be a father
to your boy, ma'am, barrin' objections.'
' An' what is meant by that, Mr. Shine? '
The widow, flushed of face, with her work thrust
forward in her lap and a steely light in her fine eyes,
regarded the searcher steadily.

' An offer of marriage to yourself is meant, Mrs.
Haddon, ma'am.'

Shine's eyes came sliding up under his brows till
they encountered those of Mrs. Haddon ; then they

THE OOLD-STKALEES. 29

fell again suddenly. The little widow tapped the
table impressively with her thiiabled Jnger, and her
breast heaved.

' Do you remember Frank Hardy, Ephraim Khine? '

' To be certain I do. '

' Well, man, you may have heard what Frank

Hardy was to me before he went to to '

' To gaol, Mrs. Haddon ? Yes.'
' Listen to this, then. What Frank Hardv was to
me before he is still, only more dear, an' I'd as lief
everybody in Waddy knew it.'
' A gaol-bird an' a thief he is. '
' He is in gaol, an' that may make a gaol-bird of
him, but he is no thief. 'Twas you got him into
gaol, an' now you dare do this.'

Shine's slate-coloured eyes slid up and fell again.
' 'Twas done in the way o' duty. He don't deny
I found the gold on him. '

' No, but he denies ever havin' seen it in his life
before, an' J believe him. '

'An' about that cunnin' little trap in his boot-heel,
ma'am? '

' It was what he said it was— the trick of some
enemy. '

Mr. Shine lifted his right boot as if trying its
weight, groaned and set it down again, tried the
other, and said :

' An' who might the enemy ha' been, d'ye think? '
' I do not know, but—I am Frank Hardy's friend,
and you may not abuse him in my house. '

THE OOLDSTEALKRS.

V,
If

M "" J'";; "f ■""'«« "' a respectable ,„a„, missus.'
Mrs. Uaddon had risen from laer seat and was stand-
ing over her visitor, a buxom black-gowned little fnry

th« t" \ It"" *° ^^ "'""' ''" ^'"'"««^' ""' that's

I.e way The gesture the widow thr^v at her

humble kitchen door was magnificent. • n„t stay '

l^nl: ! T^'' *" ""■'-""•'^''We Shine had n t
shown the slightest intention of moving. <youVe
heard I ,ent with Frank's mother to visft him in the
gaol there at the citv: u'r'ftna ^n.,v„
1, , ^ ■' ' P "^ "Ps you re cnnoiis to

tZiwn f '^*"'''"'^"^•'^"■-'>--"
tell all Waddy from yon platform in the chapel nex'

Sunday if you like. '■ Frank," I said, "you asked
nie to be your wife, an' I haven't ans'we,.'d. I do
now. I II meet you at the prison door when you
come out, if vou dIpmp •>,.' T'li •'

awav " Tl ^ ' " '"""y y°" ^*'"''%''t

away. Those were my very words, Mr. Superin-
tendent, an' I mean to keep to them '

Mrs Iluddon stood with flaming face and throb-
tog bosom, a tragedy queen in miniature, suffused
with honest emotion. Ephraim sat apparently ab-

hole m the sole, as if probing a wound.

TirT " ?r^'' '""'^^^^-^ W'en-and-
81X for them pair o' boots not nine weeks since '

gesfure. ^'"''°" *""^' ^'^^^ "^'^ ^ -P"-*

.:2trx^r.'^^*"^"^'^°"-^«^''«*

TUK GOtn-STKALERS. 31

'I think that's all, Mrs. Ilu.ldon.' The searchor
arose and stood for a ,n.,„ent turning „p h "
one boot and then the other; he seemed to be Sou
atmg h.s losses on the bargain. ' Vou hand oveTthe
hoy Itichard, I understand, ma'an, ? •
'Iliaowhatisright, Mr. Shine.'
The Committee said as much. The Comn.ittee
has great respect for you, Mrs. Haddon. '

Ephraim lifted his feet with an effort, and earned

'Good night, ma'am, and God bless you.'
walking like a man carrying a heavy burden.

CHAPTER IV.

Dick IIaddon and Ted MoKniglit were Btill at
large next morning, and iiotliing was heard of tliem
till two o'clock in tlie afternoon, when "Wilson's man,
Jim Peetree, repi/ud having discovered the boys
swimming in the f ig qnarry in the old Red Hand
paddock. Jim, seeing a prospect of covering him-
self with glory, made a dash after the truants ; but
they snatched up their clotlies and ran for the sap-
lings up the creek, all naked as they were, and Jim
was soon out of the hunt — though he captured Ted's
shirt, and produced it as a guarantee of good faith.

That night three boys — three of the faithful

Jiieker McKnight, Phil Doon, and Billy Peterson,
stole through "Wilson's paddock carrying mysterious
bundles, and taking as many precautions to avoid ob-
servation and pursuit as if they were really, as they
pretended to be with the iiie imagination of early boy-
hood, desperate characters bent upon an undertaking
of unparalleled lawlessness and great daring. They
crossed the creek and crept along in the shadow of the
hill, for the moon, although low down in the sky, was
still bright and dangerous to hunted outlaws. Off to

THE OOr.D.STEALERS.

tlie left could he heard H,„ u j

-onal solemn, LjlfJ" "''""'^'' "'"' ""^ «<=<'«•

comparatively a„c e, t tip» ah IT *"'=''"«■'""■«««. its
«eterlesa, with h„ty yZflTT^f'''''' ""'^ «'""•-
its mattered boulder/ fa^ '^'"'™'""-" """"'^^t

"•K« for u„tram,nelled "!■ ' ^ "' '"^""-^ '«ft open,
-"ted it withnot a eiof ,?""'' ""'' ""^ ''"^^ "^^o-
&-ir agea .hen d ^ rd'^rTK" "' "'"^^ ^-"^
""d Kiant« were quiteCmmo' o '. ■^""''"' """''™«
■nouth of the shaft wasTovn T f ' ""■'="^**- The
b-™. save for a al 1!; ° 7"^ ^"'^^'^""='' ''"-
'-■^ed. The pit nt^";:^^r;r''^^'^'•"^■
alr-ahaft for the Silver StZ T "' P"'P°«'' ««

f.etnselve?:iiX 1'::? ""J ^^-""^ ^--"^
Jiiiside auddenl, bLra ^S^ ""'\r'''^" '''«
had been blasted the thoueaZ"' .'• ^"''^^'°''
went to thebuildingof ; Sr "" °^ ™"'^- ^''"1
the town where Frank Ha f ' ^"'°° '" ''"""'""n,
tramp acroee the wide flat / ./ ^"""^ hal-day's
»''ip. The quarrr tL 1 """"^ '''"^ ^-^ *e to/n-
a'most inaccessible'to ^^'17^^" '^"' ''^'"S
was rank and high, and as U ' t "' "ndergrowth
-n's ra,s and .vfte^ed 1 , 7, ! ,t''^^^^. ^™" *«
"par bvatmyepring.itwaa

THE GOLD-STEALEUS.

often tlic one green oaaiii in a weary land of crackling
yellow and drab.

After j^^aiiiiii); tlio bottom of the quarry, Jacker led
the way to the deepest end. Here the iKittom, cov-
ered with eeruh growth, sloped rather suddenly for a
few feet up to the abrupt wall. Going on his handi
and knees under the thick odorous peppermint saplings,
Jacker ran his head into a niche in the rock amongst
climbing sarsaparilla, and remained so, like some
strange geological sjiecimen half embedded in the rock.
Within, where his head was hidden, the darkness was
impenetrable. Jacker blew a strange note on a whistle
manufactured from the nut of an apricot, and after a
few moments a light appeared below him, a feeble
flame, far down in the rock. This was waved twice
and then withdrawn.

' Righto ! ' said Jacker in a hoarse ])iratical tone.
' Gimme the tucker, Black Douglas ; I'll go down.
Yon coves keep watch, an' no talkin', mind.'

Phil grumbled inarticulately, and Jacker'a tone
became hoarser and more piratical still.

' ^Vho'8 commandin' here ? ' he growled. ' D'ye
mean mutiny? '

'Oh, shut up! ' said Doon, bitterly. 'No one's
goin' t' mutiny, but there ain't no fun campin' here.'

McKnight relentea.

' All right,' he said, ' come down if you wanter.
S'pose you'll on'y be makin' some kind of a row 'f I
leave you.'

Jacker put the growth aside carefully, and going

THE OOLD.STEALERS.

wf "'f^'""'^ 'li'Hppoarcd. Withm there in the

Tuf , '■''"« *° ''''i'^'' '^'«»t» were na.led

The »phng wa. .„.pe„de,I i. a black al.ys,. The hot
vnth h.s buncle hating fr„„ hi, shoulder, LrtJd
downfeare^ly. Presently he came to whe™ a, 'onl

aello, be-e-Iow there ' '
Ja^ker's character had 'undergone a rapid change-
he w„ now quite an innocent and law-abiding J^n'

^^^0„ top., answered a cautious .oiee from the
' Look np— man on ' '

SZght. ""'• "^" ^■'"^ «''<^''- -d Ted

I'nb,' he said carelessly: and then «ft» •

ing the face of the excavation • °«' ' "'"""■

to cut the lode this slSI, Sk ? > P"'«--'''"kely

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

Dick shook his head thoughtfully.

'No,' he said. 'AUowin' for the underlay, we
should strike her about fifteen feet in.'

The other boys had now joined their mates. Each
on his way down had gravely followed the example of
Jaeker, who was supposed to be the boss of the incom-
ing shift. As the fathers labour their sons play, and for
months these boys had been digging in this old mine,
off and on, with enthralling mystery. The excava-
tion in which Dick and Ted were seated represented
the joint labour of the members of the Mount of Gold
Quartz-mining Company, though the very existence
of the mine was unknown to a single soul outside the
juvenile syndicate.

On the surface all signs of the shaft had long since
been obliterated. The quarrymen blasting into the
side of the hill years back had made a small opening
into the disused pit at some distance from the top, and
this opening was accidentally discovered by Dick and
Jaeker one day during a hunt for a wounded rabbit.
Investigation proved the mine to be of no great depth
and, thanks to the pumps of the Silver Stream, as dry
as a bone. A company of reliable small boys was
formed with exceeding caution and a fine observ-
ance of rule and precedent; for Dick Haddon did
nothing by halves, and forgot nothing that might
give an air of reality to the creations of his exuberant
fancy.

Tlie original intention of the Mount of Gold Quartz-
mining Company was to strike a reef five yards wide,

TUE UOLD-STEALERS.

composed entirely of gold, and to overwhelm its van-
0U8 parents with contrition on account of past lam-
bastings by making them suddenly rich beyond the
dreams of Oriental avarice. Time had served to dim
the ardour of its hopes in this direction ; but the mine
was still au enticing enterprise when exciting novelties
in the way of adventure were wanting, and would
always be a hiding-place in which a youthful fugitive
from injustice might defy all authority so long as the
members of the Company remained true to their oath.
Now that oath was quite the most solemn and impres-
sive thing of the kind that Dick Haddon and Phil
Doon had been able to discover after consulting the
highest literary authorities.

The quarrel between Dick and Jacker McKnight
that originated under the school was quite forgotten in
the resulting excitement. It was a mere incident in
any case, and would have made no material difference
in their friendship. It had not kept Jacker from
visiting the Mount of Gold on the same night with in-
formation and supplies, and now the boy was cheer-
fully unconscious of t!io black eye that still ornamented
his broad visage. There were two well-worn shovels
and a miner's pick in the drive. Jacker seized the
pick.

' Might as well put in a bit of work,' he said.

'Hold hard,' replied Dick, ' Smoke-ho, old man.
What's goin' on on top ? '

'Whips! They had a mectiii' about yonse last
night— Jo, au' Rogers, an' my dad, an' ole Tinribs,

THE GOLD-STEALEBS.

an' the rest. They're all after you. You're fairly
in fer it.'

Dick's face became radiant with magnificent ideas.
' Whatl You don't mean they're goin' t' form a
band t' capture U6 ? '

'Well, they sorter agreed about somethin' like
that.'

' My word, that's into our hands, ain't it ? Lemme
see, we must be a band of bushrangers what's robbed
the gold escort an' the mounted p'lice're huntin' us
in the ranges. I'll be— yes, I'll be Morgan. An'

Ted ! What'llweraakeTed? I know— I know.

He'll be my faithful black boy, what'U rather die
than leave me. You fellers bring a cork to-morrow,
an' we'll pretty quick make a faithful black boy of
Twitter.'

All eyes were turned upon Ted, who did not seem
in the least impressed by the magnificent prospect.
Indeed, the faithful native was palpably out of sorts ;
he took no part in the enthusiasm of his mates, his
face was pale, and funk was legible in the diflident
eye he turned upon the company. Dick noted this
and put in an artful touch or two.

' Jacky-Jacky, the faithful black boy,' he said;

' brave as a lion, an' the best sliot in the world

better'n me ! '

The ruse was not successful. Ted failed to respond.

' Twitter don't seem to want to be no black boy '
said Phil.

' I'll be Jacky- Jackv,' volunteered Peterson eagerly.

THE GOLD-STEALEKS. 39

Peterson was a stolid yonth with a face like a wooden
doll; absolutely reliable since he was as stubborn
under adult rule as a whole team of unbroken bul-
Jocks, and quite reckless of consequences for the reason
that he never anticipated them. Peterson would have
made a most successful Jacky-Jacky, but his sugges-
tion was overlooked in the general concern inspired by
Ted's conduct.

Feeling the eyes of the party upon him, Ted grew
more uneasy, the corners of his mouth drew dow
one finger went up slowly, and Twitter began to snivel.
' I — I — w- — wa — want to go home,' he said.
The mates looked at each other in amazement.
Ted was little, but his pluck had been tried on many
occasions, and this was a great surprise.

' Well, he's on'y a kiddy,' said Phil pityingly, and
with the superiority two years may confer.

Dick found the three were looking to him for an
explanation.

'Ted's real scared,' he said. ' We made a dis-
covery this afternoon — in there.'

'In the big drive?' asked Jacker. The others
looked startled.

Dick nodded, and took up the candle. ' Come an'
see,' he said.

Dick led the way along the opposite drive, and his
mates foUowed, not too eagerly, Ted bringing up the
rear. The drive was about eighty feet in extent.
Having reached the end, Dick held the candle low,
and made visible to his wondering mates a black

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

cavity about eighteen inches in diameter in one corner
near the floor.

' We were workin' in here a bit for a change thia
afternoon after Peetree hunted us, an' I broke
througli.'

' Wlmt's in tliere? ' asked Jaeker in an awed voice.

' Look, ' said Dick.

Jaeker backed away; tlie other three kept a
respectful distance d stared silently.

'It's on'y another drive,' Dick explained. 'It
must come from the Red Hand, I think.'

D:.l was quite "ndieturbed, bnt the others were
afraid and even when they had returned to their
own drive cast many doubting glances back mto the
darkness. In the mine as they had known it before
everything was definite, and there was nothing of
which a boy of spirit need be afraid. The shaft was
choked with dirt a few feet below their landing,
planke, and there was no spot in which a mystery
might lurk ; but it was very different now with that
black hole leading Heaven knew into what awesome
depths, harbouring goodness knew what horrors.
Ted's defection had suddenly become the sentiment
of the majority. At that moment Dick could have
counted on Peterson alone had need arisen.

' We'll go down there an' explore them workin's,'
said Dick, having lit a piece of dry root and com-
posed himself for a smoke.

'In the daytime, Morgan,' said Jaeker hastily and
with diflidence.

THE GOLD-STKAI.EBS.

' All right; but it don't make no difforence down
here, yon know. '

Jaeker thought it did, for although it was always
night in the drives, the consciousness that the earth
aboTe was flooded with sunlight was a great heartener.

' Don't you think you'd best give this up for once
— this bushranger game ? ' ventured Jaeker.

' Why? ' Dick's eyes were round witli surprise.

' Oh, w\.!>, Twitter's jack of it, an' 1 don't t'r' '
it's much fun.' Jaeker had assumed a careless . ■.
' See here, Dick,' he continued smartly, ' the Cow Flat
chaps made a raid last night, an' took Butts an' three
others — mine among 'em.'

This was an important matter. Butts was Dick's
hig grey billygoat, the best goat in harness the boys
had ever known or ever lieard of ; and the ' Cow Flat
chaps' were the boys of a small centre about two
miles and a half further down the creek, between
whom and the boys of Waddy there existed an inter-
minable feud that led them to fight on sight, and
steal such of each other's possessions as could be
easily and expeditiously removed. Dick's excitement
soon evaporated; evidently root smoking was con-
ducive to a philosophical frame of mind.

'We'll get them back all right— after, ' he said.
'They'll work Butts to a shadder,' Jaeker re-
marked insinuatingly.

' Then we'll go down some night, an' strip Amson'a
garden. ' Amson was a prominent resident of Cow
Flat, and bad nothing whatever to do with the goat

THE QOLD-STEALEKS.

raid, but the boyish sense of justice does not stoop to
find distinctions.

Jacker Mack had another string to his bow.
'They say Harry Hardy's comin' home this week,'
he said.

' No ! ' cried Dick, much moved. ' Who says ? '

'Gteble says.'

'Poohl Gable's a kid.'

' No matter, it's true. Mrs. Hardy had a letter,
'n Harry's coming down with cattle.'

' Gosh! he'll make it hot for Tinribs, I bet.'

Waddy had been waiting for Harry Hardy to come
home, confident that he would do something of an
exciting character to the disadvantage of tliose persons
who had been instrumental in sending his brother
Frank to gaol. Harry was much the younger of the
two brothers; for some years he had been away
droving, and the news of his brother's misfortune
was bringing him home from a Queensland station.
The township thought, too, there would be a score
to wipe out on his mother's account, and the return
was looked for as an important public event.

Dick pondered over the situation for a moment.
It would never do to miss any entertainment that
might result from Harry's return, and yet there was
Joel Ham still to be reckoned with.

' I think we'd better wait,' he said. ' Yon fellows
can let on as soon'g he arrives.'

Ted's face fell again, and Jacker moved uneasily.
He was anxious to be out of the mine and away from

THE GOLD-STEALEHS.

the uncanny possibilities of that dark chasm, and yet
it was absohitely necessary that lie should show no
sign of funk, leave no opening for tlie tongue of deri-
sion. Some day, perhaps, when the full strength of
the company was available and candles were numer-
ous, he would follow Dick's lead in the work of
exploration, but for the present his wliole desire was
to get to the surface. Now recollection came, and
with it hope. Diving into hb breast pocket, he drew
forth a soiled and crumpled envelope, and handed it
to Dick.

' A letter,' he said, ' from your mother.'

Dick was surprised ; as he took the note Jacker
discovered an accusation in his eye.

'The oath don't say uothin' agin' letters,' said
McKnight sullenly.

• No,' answered his mate, ' but really miners ain't
supposed to have mothers runnin' after 'em, like if
they were kids. '

'Well,' said the other, on the defensive, 'your
mother comes to me at dinner time, an' she says: " I
s'jfose 'taint Ukely you'll see my Dick, Jacker." I
said," No, Missus Haddon, 'taint, s'elp me." Then
she says, " Well, if he should come to see you, will
you give him this? " So I took it, an' there you are. '

Dick read the letter slowly; it was a very artful
letter, most pathetic, and sprinkled with drops which
might have been tears. The writer spoke despond-
ingly of her loneliness and her desolation, and the
fears she endured when by herself iu the house at night,

44 THE GOLD-STEALERS.

knowing there was a camp of blacks in the comer
paddock, and eo many rough cattlemen about. She
was entirely helpless since her only protector had
deserted her, and she supposed that it only remained
for her to be resigned to lier fate. She signed her
self, ' Your forsaken iid sorrow-stricken mother. '

When Dick had finished reading he started to put
on his elothes.

' What's up, Morgan? ' asked Phil.
' Knock off ! ' was the brief reply.
' But what yer goin' to do? '
'I'm goin' home.'

' Home ! ' cried Peterson. ' Why? '
' Because ! '

Dick had the instincts of a leader; he demanded
reasons for everything, but gave none.

Before the lads parted that night young Haddon
proffered Ted McKnight excellent advice.

'Your dad's night shift, ain't he?' he said.
' Well, don't you go in till near twelve. He'll be
gone to work then, an' when he comes off in the
mornin' he'll be too tired to lick you much." This,
from an orphan with practically no experience of
paternal rule, argued a fine intuition.

CHAPTER V.

Dick Haddon did not enter his home immediately
af 'er parting with his mates. Mrs. Haddon's little
CO tage, four roomed, with a qneer skillion front, waa
surrounded by a tumbled mass of tangled vegetation
miscalled a garden, and Dick loitered in the shadow
of the back fence to consider what manner of entrance
would be most politic. He was shrewdly aware that
his mother might be tempted to make an attack on
the impulse of the moment, her most pathetic letter
notwithstanding, and it was a point of honour with
him to oiier no resistance and make no evasion when
Mrs. Haddou felt called upon to administer corporal
punishment. To be sure the maternal beatings occa-
sioned very little physical inconvenience; but they
gave rise to much unpleasantness, and were to be
avoided when possible.

As it happened, Dick was not put to the necessity
of making a choice to-night. In the midst of his
cogitations he felt himself seized from behind in a pair
of long, strong arms. With the quick instinct of a
wrongdoer he suspected evil, and kicked sharply back-
ward at the shins of the enemy.

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

' Le' go ! Yon le' me go, eee ! ' gasped the boy,
itruggliii' jid fighting fiercely.

Resistance was quite useless. Dick was dragged
through the gate, and up to the house. The door
was opened, and he wa« bundled unceremoniously into
the kitchen. Then Ephraim 8hiii&— for it was the
superintendent who had fallen upon Dick in the dark-
ness—thrust his sparsely-whiskered, leathery face into
the well-lighted room, and said shortly :
' Your boy, ma'am ! '

Shine withdrew instantly, closing the door noise-
lessly after him, and left Dick flushed and furious.

'He didn't take me,' he cried. 'I was comin'
home, an' he grabbed me just outside there— the
beast! '

Dick stopped short, suddenly conscious of the pres-
ence of visitors. Mrs. Hardy was sitting opposite his
mother by the wide fireplace— the ta'l, white-haired
gentlewoman in whose society he always felt himself
transformed suddenly into a sort of saintly fellowship
with the reniarkably gentlemanly little boys whose ac-
quaintance he made in the books provided by the
ohapel library. At the table sat Gable, the grey,
chubby-faced third-class scholar whom Joel Hara had
forgiven because of his extreme youth. The old man
had a circular slab of ' ead and jam in his left hand,
and was grinning fraternally at Dick. There was a
third visitor, a stranger, a brown-haired, brown-
skinned, bony young man, dressed after the manner of
a drover. He had a small moustache, and a grave,

THE GOLD-STEALEHS.

taking face. He looked like a budinuiger, Dick
thoDght admiringly.

'This is Richard, Henry,' said Mrs. Hardy.
' You don't know me, eh, Coppertop? ' said the
young man, taking the boy's hand.
'Harry Hardy,' said Dick at random.
' Well, that's a good enough guess, young fellow
my lad.'

Dick fell back quietly. It was, he felt, a moment
when an air of sadness and a retiring disposition would
be likely to be most becoming in him — and most
efiEective. He declined his mother's invitation to sup-
per with such meekness that the little woman found it
difiScult to hide her concern. Could she have peeped
into the drive of the Mount of Gold, where was scrap-
food enough to victual a small regiment, not to men-
tion pillage from Wilson's orchard, she might have
been more at her ease — or have found fresh occasion
for uneasiness. Dick had none of his mother's apple-
like roundness — the widow, who was not yet thirty-
five, always suggested apples and roses — he had in-
herited his father's flame-coloured hair, and a pale
complexion that was very effective in turning away
maternal wrath when allied with an appearance of
pensive melancholy and a fictitious pain in the
chest.

The conversation, which had been interrupted by
Dick's entrance, was presently resumed. The women
were recounting the ptory of Frank Hardy's arrest
and trial for Harry's information. The subject was

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

one of profound interest to Dick, and from his rotreet
at the far end of the table, where he sat disregarded,
his crimes tacitly ignored for the tijne being, he
listened eagerly. When Gable kicked him to attract
his attention, and gleefully exhibited a hand' • of loaf
sugar that he had slyly abstracted from the basin, the
small boy frowned the old man ;:i,mii with a diaboli-
cal scowl.

Gable was Mrs. Hardy's brother, and although
over sixty years of age, his mind had remained the
mind of a clp'd ; mentally, he never grew beyond his
eighth year. He was , a child in all his ways and
rishes, •'•as happiest in the society of children, and
Wtt,- i „'ardcd by them, without question and without
su;^rise, as one of themselves. lie was sent to school
because it pleased him to go, and it kept him out of
mischief, and every day he learned over again tho
lessons he had learned the day before and forgotten
within an hour. His admiration for Dick Haddon
was profound, tho respect and appreciation the boy of
eight has for the big brother who is twelve and
smokas.

Abashed by Dick's frown, the old man devoted
himself humbly to his ' piece,' and the boy gave his
whole attention to the conversation. Ue was eager
to get an inkling of Harry's hne of action. For his
own part he had thought of a desperate band, with
Harry at its head and himself in a conspicuous posi-
tion, raiding the gaol at Yarraman under a hai! of
bullets, and bearing off the prisoner in triumph ; but

THE OOLD-STEALERS. 40

experience had taught him that the expedients of
grown-up people were apt to be disgustingly common-
place and ludicrously ineflFeo^ive.

' If he'd an enemy,' said lliirry, ' there'd be some-
thing to go on. Was there nobody, no one at all,
that he'd had any row with— nobody who hated him?'
Mrs. Haddon shook bar head.
'Nobody,' she said. < But he declared the real
thieves had done it, either to shift suspicion or to be
rid of him. He thought it a disgrace that all the
men at the Stream should be marked as probable
thieves because of one or two rogues; an' he was
always eager to spot the real robbers. It was known
gold-stealin' had been goin' on for some time. That's
why they put on the searcher.'

' Shine. Ttfightn't he have had a finger hi it? '
' No, no. It doesn't seem likely. Why should
he?'

'I can't say. God knows! But there b some-
body. If I only knew the man— if I only had him
under my hand 1 '

Harry|s face became grey through the tan; he sat
forward in his chair, with a sinewy arm thrust down
between hb knees, and his hand closed as if upon a
throat. His mother touched his shoulder.

' Violence can only work mischief, my boy. Use
what intelligence you have— only that can help. If
we can save poor Frank and clear his name, we may
leave vengeance to the law. '

' Yes, mother, you are right, but I am no saint I

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

hate my enemies, an' it is maddening not to know
who yon hate — who to hit at. '

' That may be so, Henry, bnt passion will only
blind you. If you are not cool you will fail. Re-
member, the true culprits may be near you while you
are seeking; do nothing to set them on their guard.
Yon may learn much from the men. They are all
Frank's friends, even those who believe him guilty.'

' Believe him guilty ! '

' O, my boy, my boy ! You would want to fight them
all. It is folly. The evidence did not leave room
for a doubt as to his guilt, and these men have their
own ideas as to the molality of such crimes. Many
of them think none the worse of a man who helps
himself lo a nugget that he may find on his shovel. '

' An' you are the mother of a thief, I am a thief's
brother; Frank is a convict, an' we must grin an'
gammon we like it 1 '

' We must he discreet, wo must be cunning, if we
wish to prove we are no thieves and no kin to
thieves. '

'Right you are, mother — always right.' The
young man spread his rough, brown hand caressingly
upon the small hand upon his knee. ' My fist always
moves before my head, but I know your way is best,
an' I don't mean to forget it. '

' Ephraim Shine seemed to be tryin' to do his best
for Frank at the trial,' said Mrs. Haddon. ' I think
he's a well-meanin' man, if he is a bit near an' peculiar
in his ways. He always says it was his duty he did.

THE GOLD-STEALEfiS. 51

an' that's true. We know Frank's not guilty, because
— because we're fond of liim' — here the little widow
wiped her eyes, and her voice trembled — ' an' know
him better than others, but the case was black against
him. Frank came straight up from below and into
the searcher's shed, an' Shine found the gold in his
crib bag, wliich was rolled up, an' forced under the
handle of his billy.'

' "Where it'd been for half the shift, the billy hang-
ing in a dark drive where any man below might 'a
'got at it.'

' They found gold in a little box-place made in the
heel of one of his w.. 'kin' boots.'

' A boot that was always left in tlie boiler-house
when he was off work. '

' He had sold coarse water- worn gold to a Jew at
Yarraman.'

' Yes, I know, I know. Got, he said, fossicking
down the creek where nobody had ever won anything
bnt fine gold before. Whoever put that gold in his
crib bag an' faked his boot-heel salted Frank's pnd-
dling-tub. It was easy done. He on'y worked there
now'n again when on night or afternoon shift, an' it
was open to anyone. It was salted with Silver Stream
gold by some double-damned cunning scoundrel.'

' We know it, Harry, and we have to prove it. To
do that we must have all our wits about us. '

' Yes, mother, we must ; but if that man ever is
found I hope I may have the handling of him. Dick 1 '
said the young man, turning suddenly.

THE 60LD-STEALERS.

Dick came forward somewhat diffidently, like a
detected criminal.

' Yon know all about this business, eh? '

The boy nodded his head solemnly.

' Who do you think worked that dirty trick on my
brother? ' asked Harry gravely.

Dick had not thought of the matter in that light,
but he answered, without hesitation :

'Ole Tinribs, I expect.'

' Dickie I ' cried Mrs. Haddon, reprovingly.

^' Why, why, Dick? ' queried the young man.

' Oh, I dunno; on'y lie seems that sort, don't he? '
Dick had been subjected to a grave indignity at the
hands of the superintendent, and was not in a frame
of mind to form a just estimate of the character of
that good man. He spoke with the cheerful irre-
gponsibility of youth.

' I'm afraid you won't be much good to us, Copper-
top, old man, if you rush at conclusions in that des-
perate way,' said Harry.

Mrs. Hardy shook an impressive forefinger at the
boy.

' You will say nothing to anybody of our intentions,
Richard.'

'No,' said Dick simply; but that word given to
Mrs. Hardy was a sacred oath, steel-bound and
clamped.

CHAPTER VI.

The school-ground next morning at nine o'clock
showed little of its usual activity. Most of the hoys
were gathered near Sam Brierly's Gothic portico, now
in unpicturesque ruins and hanging limply to the
school front like an excrescence. Here Richard Had-
don and Edward McKnight were standing in attitudes
of extreme unconcern, heroes and objects of respectful
admiration, but nevertheless inwardly ill at ease and
possessed with sore misgivings. Some of their mates
were offering sage advice on a matter that concerned
them most nearly : how to take cuts from a cane so as
to receive the least possible araouut of hurt. Peterson
was full of valuable information.

' See, you stan' so,' he said, giving rather a good
imitation of an unhappy scholar in the act of receiving
condign punishment, ' holdin' yer hand like this, you
know, keepin' yer eye on Jo; an' jes' when his nibs
comes down you shoves yer hand forwards, that sort,
an' it don't hurt fer sour apples.'

' Don't cut no raore'n nothin' at all,' added the boy

who was called Moonlight, in cheerful corroboration.

Ted, who was very pale, and had a hunted look in

THE QOLD-STEALERS.

hig eyes, nodded his head hopefully, and rehearsed the
act with pathetic gravity.

The little girls, who should have been at the other
end of the ground, clustered at the corner and peeped
round the portico, some giggling, others fully seized
of the gravity of the situation. Dick in spite of his
fine air of sangfroid was well aware that ih^re was one
little girl there, a pretty little girl of about ten, with
brown hair and dark serioi-K eyes, who was suffering
keenest apprehensions on his behalf, and who would
weep with quite shameless abandonment when it came
to his turn to endure the torments Mr. Joel Ham knew
so well how to inflict. Dick was rather superior to
little girls ; his tender sentiment waa usually lavished
on ladies ten or twelve years his senior ; but he could
not hide from himself the fact that Kitty Grey's
affection, however hopeless it might be, was at times
most gratifying. Once he had resented its manifesta-
tions with bitterness, imagining that they were likely
to bring him into contempt and undermine his
authority ; and when she interfered in his memorable
fight with Bill Cole and fiercely attacked his opponent
with a picket, cutting his head and incapacitating him
for fighting for the rest of the day, he felt that he
could never forgive her. She had violated the rule of
battle and outraged the noble principle of fair play ;
and, worse and worse, had disgraced him in the eyes of
the world by making him appear as a weakling seeking
protection behind a despised petticoat. He reviled
Kitty for that action in such overwhelming language

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

that the poor girl fled in tears, and next day it was
only with the greatest difficulty that she persuaded
hira to accept two pears and a blood-alley as a peace
offering.

Dolf Belman came later with a little comfort.

'Gotter junk o' rosum,' he said, fumbling in his
school-bag.

'Hool have you though?' said Parrot Cann.
' Rosnm's great. Put some on my hand onst when I
went to ole Pepper's school at Yarraman, an' near
died laughin' when he gave me twenty cuts fer copy-
in' me sums. '

The boys clustered about Dolf, who produced a
piece of resin about the size of a hen's egg, and
waved it triumphantly.

' You pound it up wif a rock,' said he confidently,
' an' rub it on yer hands. '

The pounding process was begun at once, amidst
a babel of opinions. It was a fond illusion amongst
the boys that resin so applied deadened the effects of
the cane. It had been tried scores of times without
in the least mitigating the agony of Ham's cuts, but
the faith of youth is not easily shaken; so Ted's
spirits revived wonderfully, and Dick developed a
keen interest in the pounding. Dolf pulverised the
' rosum, ' declaring that it should be powdered in one
particular way which was a great secret known only
to a happy few. If it were powdered in any other
way, the resin lost its efficacy as a protection, and
might even aggravate the pain. Several boys vol-

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

unteered testiinony in support of Dolf 's claim, telling
of the strange immunity they had enjoyed on various
occasions after applying the resin, and Peter Queen
distinctly remembered ' a feller up to Clunes ' who,
by a judicious use of the powder, was enabled to defy
all authority and preserve an attitude of hilarious de-
rision under the most awful tortures.

' Tliis here cove he useter have hisself rubbed all
over wif rosum every mornin', then he'd go to
school an' kick up ole boots. "What'd he care? My
word, he was a terror ! '

Dolf took up the theme, and enlarged upon the
virtues of resin, particularly that resin of his, which
was the very best kind of resin for the purpose and
had been specially commended by an old swaggie with
one eye, who gave it to him for a fonr-bladed knife
and a clay pipe. So great was the effect of these
representations that before Dick and Ted had trans-
ferred the powder to their pockets they had become
objects of envy rather than commiseration, and one
or two of their mates would gladly have changed
places with them on the spot.

'Wouldn't care if I was in fer it, 'stead o' you,
Dick,' said Peterson. ' Mus' be an awful lark to
have Hamlet layin' it on, an' you not feelin' it all
the time.'

' My oath ! ' said Jacker Mack feelingly.
' Good morning, boys. '

Joel Ham, B.A., had stolen in amongst them, and
stood there in an odd crow-like attitude, his mottled

THE GOLD-STEALEES.

face screwed into an expreesion of quizzical amia-
bility, and his daily bottle sticking obtrusively from
the inside lining of his old coat. The lads scattered
sheepishly.

' Peterson,' he said, blinking his pale lashes a dozen
times in rapid succession, ' the boy who thinks he can
outwit his dear master is an egotist, and egotism,
Peterson, is the thing which keeps us from profiting
by the experiences of other fools. '

' I dunno what yer talkin' about,' answered Peter-
son, with heavy resentment.

Mr. Ham blinked again for nearly half a minute.
'Of course not,' he said, 'of course not, my
boy.' Then he turned to Dick and Ted with quiet
courtesy. ' Good morning, Richard. Good morn-
ing, Edward.'

Ted, who was painfully conscious of the large ink-
splashes on the master's white trousers, kicked awk-
wardly at a buried stone, but Dick replied cheerily
enough.

Tlie attitude of the master throughout that morn-
ing was quite inexplicable to the scholars; he made
no allusion whatever to the crimes of which Dick and
Ted had been guilty, and gave no hint that he
harboured any intentions that were not entirely gen-
erous and friendly. The two culprits, working with
quite astounding assiduity, were beset with conflicting
emotions. Dick, who had a vague sort of insight
into the master's character, was prepared for the
worst, and yet not blind to the possibility of a free

THE GOLD-STEALEIIS.

pardon. Ted, after the first hour, was joyooB and
over-confident.

Mr. Peterson called during the morning and con-
ferred with Joel for a few minutes. The gaping
school knew what that meant, and awaited the out-
come with the most anxious interest. Mr. Peterson,
a six-foot Dane, an engine-driTer at the Stream, and
Billy's father, was volunteering for service in cage
Mr. Ham should need assistance in dealing with the
two culprits ; but Joel sent him awaj, and the boys
breathed freely again. Their confidence in Dolf's
' rosum ' did not leave them quite blind to the ad-
vantages of an amicable settlement of their little dif-
ference with Mr. Ham.

It was not until the boys were marching out for the
dinner hour, satisfied at last all was well, that Joel
seemed suddenly to recollect, and he called after Ted,
blighting the poor youth's new-born happiness and
filling his small soul with a great apprehension.

' Teddy,' he called, ' you will remain, my boy. I
have private business with you — private and confiden-
tial, Teddy.'

S"" Ted fell out and stood by the wall, a very mon-
ument of dejection.

When school met again the scholars noted that the
ink- stains had been carefully washed and scraped
from the wall and the floor, and they found Ted
McKnight sprawling in his place, his head buried in
his arms, dumb and unapproachable. If a mate came
too close, moved by curiosity or a desire to ofier sym-

THE GOLD-STKALERS.

pathy, Ted lashed out at him with his heels. For the
time being he was a small hnt cankered misanthrope
full of vengeful schemes, and only one person in the
whole school envied him. That person was Bichard
Haddon, whose turn was yet to come.

An hour passed and Dick had received no hint of
the trouble in store. Then Joel Ham, prowling
along the desks, inspecting a task, stopped before tlio
boy and stood eyeing him with the curiosity with
which an entomologist might regard a rare grub,
clawing his thin whiskers the while. The interest he
felt was apparently of the most friendly descrip-
tion.

' Ah, Ginger,' he said, ' I had almost forgotten that
I am still your debtor. This way, Ginger, please. '

He stood Dick on his high stool, carefully tied the
boy's ankles with a strap, and gave him a large slate,
on which his faults were emblazoned in clialk, to hold
up for the inspection of the classes ; and so he left
him for the remainder of the afternoon, every now
and again pausing in his vicinity to deliver some in-
comprehensible sentiment or a sarcastic homily. This
performance affected all the scholars, but it excited
Gable so much that the littlo old man could do
nothing but sit and stare at Dick with round eyes and
open month, and mutter ' Oh, crickie 1 ' in a fright-
ened way. The little dark-eyed girl in the Third
Class bore the ordeal badly, too, and every speech of
the master's started a large tear rolling down her
dimpled brown cheek.

« THE G0LD-STEALER8.

When the re t of the youngsteri inarched out, Dick
Haddou remained on hii high perch. Kitty Grey,
who bronglit up the tail of the procewion, turned at
the door and walked back to the master timorously
and with downcast eyes ; and Dick felt that a plea
was to be made on hU behalf, but could not hear what
followed.

' Please, sir, if you won't cane him rery much I'll
give you this,' said Kitty.

The bribe was a small brooch that had originally
contained the letters of the little girl's first name. It
was a very cheap brooch when new, and now gome of
the letters were gone and the gilt was worn off, but it
was still a priceless treasure in Kitty's eyes. Joel
Ham examined the gift, and then looked down upon
the petitioner, his face pulled sideways into its famil-
iar withered grin.

' Do you know this is bribery, little Miss Grey,'
he said, ' bribery and corruption? '
' Ye-es, please, sir,' said Kitty.
' And do you know that that fellow up there is a
monster of infamy, a rebel and a riotous blackguard,
who must be repressed in the interests of peace and
good government? '

'Yes, please, sir; but— but he's only a little fel-
low.' The master's tremendous words seemed to call
for this reminder.

Joel screwed his grin down another wrinkle or
two.

• Yet you intercede for the ruffian, try to buy him

THE (tOLD-STEALERS.

off, and 8t a valuation, too, that proves you to
be deaf to the voice of reaioti and utterly improvi-
dent.'

' Oh, Mr. Ham, he didn't mean it — really, he
didn't mean it! '

Joel screwed out another wrinkle. His mirth al-
ways increased wrinkle by wrinkle, until at times it
appeared as if he were actually going to screw his own
neck by sheer force of repressed hilarity.

' I am incorruptible. Miss Grey,' he said. 'Take
back your precious jewel; but I promise you this, my
dear, our friend Dick shall not get as much as he de-
serves. Boys are like some metals. Miss Kitty, their
temper is improved by hammering.'

Kitty left the master, entirely in the dark as to the
effect of her intercession ; but evidently it was not of
much advantage to Dick. When the boy came from
the school about half an hour later, he car/ied his chin
high, his lips were compressed tightly, and he stared
straight ahead. Three faithful friends who had waited
to know the worst joined him, but no words were
spoken. They followed at his heels, showing by their
silence due respect for a profound emotion. Dick
did not make for home ; he turned off to the right and
led the way down into one of the large quarries on
the flat, and there turned a flushed face and a pair of
flashing eyes upon his mates.

' I'm going to have it out of Ham,' he said. ' I
don't care I He's a dog, and he ain't goin' to do as
he likes with me. '

' How :

TUE aOLD-STEALKHS.

Dick-i

' mony, _

"uie. Hut 1 II got even, yon see !'

Dick', palm, wore very pnffy; there were a connle
of blue blj,ter« on Lis finger., and aero«, each wri
•n angry.look.„g white wheal. The boys Ze 72
c.e„t y .,„pre«.d, and, in spite of his Lth U^
Joel Ilam, Dicky could not resist a certain «rSa
.on on that account. Boys take .nuch p df ' .Tj
suffern,^ they have home, and their scaA are alw. I
exlub.ted w.th a grave conceit. Tod displayed 1
hands, sti^l betraying evidence of the mliScan
ng and Jacker Mack spoke feelingly of stride Td"
bruises remaining since Tuesday. Petersot Tsl Te

ter s, and he recollected many thrashings with extreme
'Arryol:^''"^^-^^''-— ^'BaidDic^.

«-^erij2:r£iet;:~2;r

'Oh, you follows needn't be afraid. You won't
be le .n for it. I know a trick that's quke sX.
bm th:nh„' about it all the afternoon.' ^

P.ieity being disclosed. Lke' S^Ted^r ,7^

THli! OOLDSTKALKHS.

o^roeable. Peterson w«8 alwaya opreeaUo for adven-
U.ro however «ba„rd. Diek oxpllined •

llftmlot's gouo down to tlio n„b 1 1.'. „„„ ♦„
Kot .rowed to-ni.ht. There', I ,., ' , ^ "C

mad. namlot U get his Hbare in .;.;.. of all an' hu'll
be..s.,ghtaBabriekl.yte„o-el..;.. V, k::,' ''

rkrr%^'";''''«^'"''''''''"''^''-^^^^^^^

M^e 11 push hun >„to Jo', room, and ..-he,, J. oc,™
Lome an ,t„ke, a light he'll ,pot bin, „,r ,bi„ >
got^dehnoa, tri.mens again. That'll give hi^ a

•My oath, won't it I' ejaculated Peterson
Jacker wa« elated, and grinned far and wide.

.1. \,T, ^° "W"'' ^°""'l' thmkin' he's

chased by 'e,n like he did las' Christmas holidavs •

suggested the elder McKnight gleefully ^'

This vdlainous scheme was the result of the boys'

enness. Waddy was a pastoral as well as a mining
centre, and strange ribald n.en came out of thTb" h
J nerval to 'melt' their savings at the Droves-
Anns. The -iarraman sale-yards for cattle and
heep were near AVaddy too, and brought dusty dr"
er^ and droughty stockmen in crowds to the town,
ship eve^ Tuesday. These men were indisc eet Td

bebnd o finish a spree that surrounded him JtT un
heard-of reptiles and strange kaleidoscopic a^t^:

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

|i '

unknown to the zoologitt. It rau6t be admitted, too,
that Joel Ham, B.A., was in a measure responsible
for the boys' unlawful knowledge. Twice at holiday
times, when he was not i-estricted at the Drovers'
Anns, he had continued his librtions until it was
necessary for his own good and the peace of the place
to tie him down in his bunk and set a guard over
him ; and on one of these occasions he had created
much excitement by rushing through the township at
midnight, scantily clad, under the impression that he
was being pursued by a tall dark geutleman in a red
cloak and possessed of both horns and hoofs.

It was nearly nine o'clock that night when the four
conspirators met to carry out their nefarious project.
Dick was carrying a bag— in which was the ' '—a
bnll's-eye lantern, various coloured feather^, and
other small necessaries, and the party hastened in the
direction of Mr. Ham's humble residence. Ham was
' a hatter '—he lived alone in a secluded place on the
other side of the quarries. Tlie house was large for
Waddy, and had once been a boarding-house, but
was now little better than a ruin. The schoolmaster
had reclaimed one room, furnished it much like a
miner's hut, with the addition of a long shelf of
tatterW books, and here lie ' batched,' perfectly con-
tented with his lot for all that "Waddy could ever dis-
cover to the contrary. There was no other house
within a quarter of a mile of the ruin, which was
hemmevi in with four rows of wattles, and surrounded
by a wilderness of dead fruit-trees— victims to the

THE GOLD-STEALEES. 66

ravages of the goats of the township— and a tangled
scrub of Cape broom. The boys approached the
house with quite unnecessary caution, keeping along
the string of dry qnarry-holes, and creeping towards
the back door through the thick growth as warily as
BO many Indians on the trail. Dick Haddon cared
nothing for an enterprise that had no flavour of mys-
tery, and was wont to invest his most commonplace
undertakings with a romantic significance. For the
time being he was a wronged aboriginal king, leading
the remnants of his tribe to wreak a deadly vengeance
on the white usurper. A short conference was held
in the garden.

' We'll go into one o' the old rooms, an* fix the
joey up there. Then we can wait till Hamlet comes,
if youse fellows 're game,' said Dick softly.
' I'm on,' whispered Peterson.
' He won't be long, I bet. McKuight, 'r Belman,
'r some o' the others is sure to roust him out when
he's properly tight. Poller me.'

Dick led the way up to the door, pushed it open,
and entered. The others were about to follow, but
to their horror they saw a large figure start forward
from the pitch darkness beyond, heard an oath and
the sound of a blow, and saw Dick fall face down-
wards upon the fioor. Then the door was slammed
from within, and the three terrorstricken boys turned
and fled as fast as their legs would carry them.

Dick lay upon the floor with outthrown arms, and
the figure stood over him in a listening attitude.

THE CJOLD-STEALERS.

' Good God ! 've you killed him? ' cried someone
in the far corner of the room.

' SL-h, yon cursed fool ! ' hissed the big man.
' Who is it?' asked the other tremulously.
The big man seized Dick, and dragged him to
where the grey moonlight shone through a shattered
window.

' Young Haddon, ' he said. ' Blast the boy ! a man
never knows where he will poke his nose next.'
' The others 've gone? '
' Yes. They were on'y boys. '
' Didn't I tell you it wouldn't do to be meetin' in
places like this? No more of it fer me. They've
been listenin', an' we're done men. We'll be
nabbed ! '

' Shut up your infernal cackle ! The boys hadn't
any notion we was here. They had some lark on.
They couldn't have seen us — we're all right.'
' If they saw us together it'd be enough.'
' But they couldn't, I tell you. Here, clear out,
the boy's comin' round. Go the front way, an' make
for the paddocks. I'll go up the gully. Look
slippy ! '

A few seconds after the men had left the house
Dick scrambled to his feet, and stood for a moment
in a confused condition of mind, rubbing his injured
head. Then he took up his hat and lantern, and
stumbled from the room. As yet he had only a vague
idea of what had happened, and his head felt very
large and full of fly-wheels, as he expressed it later;

THE GOLD-STEALBES. t,

but a few moments in the op-.n air served to revive
lum. Along by the big qnarry he met his mates "
taming After talking the matter over they had
come to the conclusion that the schoolmaster hid got

)T i .'"■ '°''""°°' """^ ''"^ ^^ i° wait. Thev
gathered about Dick, whose forehead was most pi!
turesquely bedabbled with blood ^

'Crikey! Dick,' cried the wondering Jacker, Mid
he hammer you much?'

to 7liy'' ^'"l' «:'f "^ °°« •'^"'1 "f'- ""Other

one-er? The beggar must 'a' tried to murder

Dick nodded.

' Yes, ' he said ; ' but 'twasn't Hamlet. '

' S ""i ' ' ?',^^ '°°'«<^ "'"''^ apprehensively.
No, twasn't. 'Twas a big feller. I dunno who
but he must 'a' bin a bushranger, 'r a feller whaf;
escaped from gaol, 'r someone. Did you coves 1
winch way he went? '

' No,' said Ted fearfully; and a simultaneous move
was made towards the township. The boys were nol
cowards but they had plenty of discretion

Look here,' Dick continued impressively; 'no

matter who twas, we've gotter keep dark, se^ If

we Jon' It'll be found out what we was all ;p to, an'

wellget more whack-o.'

The party was unanimous on this point; and when

THE GOLD-STEALEKS.

Dick returned home he shocked hU mother with a
Wely account of how he eUpped iu the quarry and
feU a great depth, striking his head on a rock, and
bemg saved from death only by the merest chance
imagmable.

CHAPTER VII.

peSeVon"' ""''° Wesleyan chape, «t Waddy was
perciied on an eminence at the end of fKo * 7-
furthest from the Drovers' aLT t '\'°^'^'f

a vfnS • iril'r'^! ''"" """""^ '" -"""- with
within a hundred yards of iu doorf Tl / T''

Til. .i,.p.i „. ,„„„„j.j ,,„, ,j ,„ "•!"";

THK OOLD-STEALERS.

i^P-

T0U8 of all the goats of Waddy— and they were many
and various. They gathered in its shade in the sum-
raer and sought its shelter from the biting blast in
winter, not always content with an outside stand; for
the goats of "Waddy were conscious of their impor-
tance, and of a familiar and impudent breed. Some-
times a matronly nanny would climb the steps, and
march soberly up the aisle in the midst of one of
Brother Tregaskis's lengthy prayers; or a haughty
billy, imposing as the he-goat of the Scriptures, would
take his stand within the door and bay a deep, gut-
tural response to Brother Spence ; or two or thre^ kids
would come tumbling over the forms and jumping
and bucking in the open space by the wheezy and
venerable organ, spirits of thoughtless frivolity in the
sacred place.

It was Sunday morning and the school was in. The
classes were arranged in their accustomed order, the
girls on the right, the boys on the left, against the
walls; down the middle of the chapel the forms were
empty; nearest to the platform on either hand of
Brother Ephraim Shine, the superintendent, were the
Sixth Class little boys and giris, the latter painfully
starched and still, with hair tortured by many de-
vices into damp links or wispy spirals that passed by
courtesy for curls. Very silent and submissive were
little girls of Class VI., impressed by the long, lank
superintendent in his Sunday black, and believing in
many wonders secreted above the dusty rafters or in
the wide yellow cupboards. The first classes were

THE GOLD-STEALERS. 71

nearest the door. Tlie young ladies, if we make rca-
sonable allowance for an occasional natural preocoupa-
tion induced by their consciousness of the proximity of
the yonng men, were devoted students of the gospel
a« interpreted by Brother Tresizo, and sufficiently
saintly always, presuming that no disturbing element
such as a new iat or an unfamiliar dress was intro-
duced to awaken the critical spirit. The young men
looking in their Sunday clothes like awkward and
tawdry imitations of their workaday selves, were in-
structed bv Brother Spe»oe; and Brother Bowden
being the kindliest, gentkst, most incapable man of
the band of brothers, was given the charge of the bovs'
Second Class, a class of vouthfnl heathen, rampageous
fightable, and flippant, who made the good man's
hfe a misery to him, and were at war with all authority
Peterson, .fackw Mack, Dolf Belman, Fred Cann
Phil Boon, and Dick Haddon, and a few kindred
spirits composed this class; and it was sheer luet of
hfe the wildness of bush-bred boys, that inspired them
with their irreverent impishness, although the brethren
professed to discover evidence of the direct influence
of a personal devil.

The superintendent arose from his stool of office and
shuffled to the edge of tl,e small platform, rattling his
hymn-book for order. Ephraim never raised hi. head
even in chapel, but his cold, dull eyes, under their
scrub of overhanging brow, missed nothint- that was
going on, as the younger boys often discovered to their
cost.

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

' Dearly beloved brethren, we will open tbis morn-

in's service with that beautiful hymn '

Brother Shine stopped short. A powerful diver-
sion had been created by the entrance of a youngman.
The new-comer was .; etsed like a drover, wearing a
blaek eoat over his ... ^ blue shirt, and he carried in
his right hand a eo.l d stockwhip. His face h.id the
grey tinge of wrath, and his lips were set firm on a
grim determination. He walked to a form well up
in front, and seated himself, placing his big felt hat
on the floor, but retaining his grip on the whip hang-
ing between his knees.

Jacker Mack kicked Dick excitedly. 'Harrv
Hardy ! ' he said. ^

Dick nodded but did not speak; he was staring
with all his eyes, as was every man, woman, and
child m the congregation. Harry Hardy had not ful-
filled expectations; ho had been home five days, and
had done nothing to avenge his brother. He moved
about amongst the men, but was reserved ar,d grew
every day more sullen. He had heard much and had
answered nothing ; and now here he was at chapel and
evidently bent on mischief, for the stockwhip was
ommous. Ephraim Shine had noticed it and retreated
a step or two, and stood for quite a minute, turning
his boot this way and that, but with hUeyes on Harry
all the time. Now he cleared his throat, and called
the number of the hymn. He read the first verse and
the chorus with his customary unction, and, all having
risen, started the singing in a raspy, high-pitched voice

ML Z \J-^

.-^•m: <mi,

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

Ilarry Ilardy stood with tl.e rest, a solitary figure

m the centre of the chapel, still holding the long whip

fin^y grasped in his right hand. Attention Z

meted on him, and the singing of the I,y„,„ was a

.smal fadure. Theyonng .an stared straight before

until he felt a i,.,t touch on his arm. Someone wa^

Vmn-book Harry raised his hand to the leaves
mechamoal y and noticed that the hand on the othe^
.de was white and shapely, the wrist softly rounded
and blue.ve.ned. The voice that sounded by hUside
was low and musical.

'Oh! Harry, what are you going to do? ' His
neighbour had ceased singing, L was whisperng
t^mnlously under cover of the voices of the congre

Harry's face hardened, and he set it resolutely
towards the platform. ^oiuteiy

Shi'n^^'V^"" ^"°\ ■"'' ^""^^ ^ »■" ^^"^■"'-
mate!:' " '■""""^'" ^^"'' ^'^ ^-^'^ «<=''-'■

fal^JrSr' ^"^^-«-'et his left hand

fatir'T. ''""''• ^'"' ^'''' "'""^ *» Huarr^l with
father, but you won't do it, Harry v yju ^v.d my

life once, when we were boy and girl. Vou wiU
promise me this?'

Harry Hardy answered nothing, a,H the pleading
voice continued : Fieauing

THE 00LD-8T£AL£RS.

' For the sake of the days when we were friendi,
Harry, say you won't do it — yon won't do it liere, in
— io God's house.'

' It was here, in God's house, he slandered my
mother.' The man's voice sounded relentless.

' Ko, no, not that ! He prayed for her. He did
not mean it ill.'

' I have heard of his praying — how under the
cover of his cant about saving souls he scatters his
old-womanish scandals an' abuses his betters. '

' He means well. Indeed, indeed, he means
well.'

' An' he prays for my mother — him ! Says she's
bred up thieves because she 'lid not come here to learn
better. Says she's an atheist because she does not
believe in Ephraim Shine. He's said that, an' I'm
here to make him eat his words. '

Harry's whispering was almost shrill in the heat of
his passion, and the singing of the hymn became faint
and thin, so eager were the singers to catch a word of
that most significant conversation. Dick had not
taken his eyes off the pair, and already had woven a
very pretty romance about Chris and the young man.
Christina Shine h^d only recently been raised to the
pedestal in hi j fond heart formerly occupied by an idol
who had betrayed his youthful affections, disappointed
his hopes, and outraged his sense of poetical fitness.
He espoused her cause with his whole soul, whatever
it might be.

The young woman in the stress of her fears had

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THE OOLD-STEALERS. 75

the oft agitation of her gentle bosom with a new
emofon that weakened his tense thews, and stirred the
first doubt; buthe fought it down. Hi. revenge had

Nothing he had heard oifered the faintest iiope fork
brother's cause; he wa. baffled and infuriated by the
general uiKiuestioning belief in Frank's guilt, and a
dozen times had been compelled to sit bUingonhi
bitterness, when every instinct impelled him tLua e
up and teach the fools better with all the forceTh !
P«g.hst.e knowledge. Of late years he had be n
schooled in a class that accepted ' a ready left ' as the
most convincing argument, and, being beyond the
..nmediate province of law and order, repaired immc!
di tely w, h all Its grievances to a twenty-four-foot

walli Ittiid^T"""'"'"^" But whilst there
was a ht le difhdence amongst the men in expressing
their opinions about Frank, there was no reserve when
they came to tell of Ephraim Shinc'3 method of iZ
proving the occasion with prayer and preachment;

tel n, ?:t ''*''' "'"^ ^'"y '"«> '=°"«<=ted bit!
teniea til it threatened to choke him and b«le him
defy all Ins mother's cautions principles

Ephraim had given out the third verse, and the
emgmg went on. ' ^

'Are you thinking?' whispered the girl. ' Do
do think! Think of the disgrace of it' '

'Disgrace! There's the disgrace whining on the
platform, the brute that insults a woman inlier aol

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

row, thinking there's no one handy to take it out of
the coward liide of him ! '

' It was wrong, Harry. I know it wa. wrong and
crnel. _ I told h,m that, and he has promised me never
to do It agam. He has promised me that, really,

The word that slid through Harry's teeth was fero-
cious but inaudible.

' Say you won't do it ! '

The singing ceased suddenly, and the superintend-
ent, who all the fme had kept a lowering and anxious
eye on the young couple, gave ont the third verse

' Harry, yon will not. Please say it ' '
_ The hand holding the stockwhip stirred threaten-
ingly, and the hymn was almost lost in the agitation
of the worshippers. Chris remained silent, and Harry
who W taken the book again, had shifted his stern
eyes ;o the slim white thumb beside his broad brown
one. A stifled sob at his side startled him, and he
turned , swift glance upon the face of his companion
That one glance, the first, left his brave resolution
shaken ana his spirit awed.

Harry reniembered Chris as a schoolgirl, tall and
stag-like, always running, her rebellious kneLs tossing
I.P scant petticoats, her long hair rarely leaving more
ban one eye visible through its smother of tangled
s.lk. She was very brown then and very bony, and
^ ridiculous y soft of heart that her tendernes was
regarded by her schoolmates as an unfortnnate infirm-

THE GOLD-STEALEES. 77

ity. She was tall still, taller than himself, with large
limbB and a sort of manly squareness of the shoulders
and erectness of the figure, but neatly gowned, with
little femmme touches of flower and ribbon that belled
the savour of unwomanliness in her size and her bear-
ing. Her complexion was clear and fair, her abun-
dant hair the colour of new wheat, her features were
large, the nose a trifle aquiline, the chin square and
iinely chiselled; the feminine grace was due to her
eyes, large, grey, and almost infantile in expression.
The people of Waddy called her handsome, and no
more tender term would suit; but they knew that
tins fair girl-woman, who seemed created to dominate
and might have been expected to carry things with a
high hand everywhere, was in reality the simplest,
gentlest, and most emotional of her sex. She looked
strong and was strong; her only weakness was of the
heart, and that was a pr^ to the sorrows of every
human being within whos. .ifluence she came in the
rounds of her daily life.

Hardy was amazed: almost unconscionslv he had
pictured the grown-up Chris an angular creature, lean,
hke her father, and resembling him greatly; and to
find this tall girl, with the face and figure of a battle
queen, tearfully beseeching where in the natural
course of events she should have been commanding
haughtily and receiving humble obedience, filled hto
with a nervousness he had never known before. Only
pride kept him now. '

' Say you will go ! Say it ! '

THE GOLD-STEALEHS.

Han7 lowered his head, and remained silent.
' Go now. Your action would pain your mother more
than my father's words have done — I am sure of that. '

The hymn was finished, hut Shine read out the last
Terse once morj. Hb concern was now ohvious, and
the congregation was wrought to an unprecedented
pitch. Never had a hymn been so badly sung in
that chapel. It was taken np again without spirit,
a few quavering voices carrying it on regardless of
time and tune. Chris had noted Harry's indecision.

'Do not stay and shame yourself. Go, and you
will be glad you did not do this wicked thing. Yon
are going. You will ! You wiU ! '

He had stooped and seized his hat. He turned
without a word or a glance, and strode from the
chapel. The congregation breathed a great sigh, and
as he passed out the chorus swelled into an imposing
burst of song — a psean of triumph, Harry thought.

Through the chapel wi'idows the congregation
conld see Harry Hardy striding away in the direction
of the line of bush.

Christina, from her place amongst her girls, watched
him till he disappeared in the quarries; and so did
Ephraim Shine, but with very different feelings.
Many of the congregation were disappointed. Tliey
had expected a sensational climax. Class II was in-
consolable, and made not the slightest effort to con-
ceal its disgust, which lasted througliout the remainder
of the morning and was a source of great tribulation
to poor Brother Bowden.

CHAPTER VIII.

H^RBT Habdy Bought the seclusion of the bush,
and there spent a very miserable morning. He was
forced to the conclusion that he had made a fool of
himself, and the thought that possibly that girl of
Shine's was now laughing with the rest rankled like
a burn and impelled many of the strange oaths that
slipped between his clenched teeth. The more he
thought of his escapade the more ridiculous and theat-
rical it seemed. It was bom of an impulse, and would
have been well enough had he carried out hb inten-
tion ; but, oh the ignominy of that retreat from the
side of the grey-eyed, low-voiced girl under the gaze
of the whole congregation ! It would not bear think-
ing of, so he thought of it for hours, and swung his
whip-lash against the log on which he eat, and quite
convinced himself that he was hating Shine's hand-
some daughter with all the vehemence the occasion
demanded.

In many respects Harry was a very ordinary young
man; bush life is a wonderful leveller, and he had
known no other. His father had been a man of edu-
cation and talent, drawn from a profession in his ear-
lier manhood to the goldfields, who remained a miner

THE G0LD-8TEALER8.

and a poor man to the day of hU deatli. His wife wbb
not able to indnce their sons to aspire to anything
above the occupations of the class with which they had
always associated, so they were miners and stockmen
with the rest. But the. young men, even as boys,
noticed in their mother a refinement and a clearness
of intellect that were not characteristic of the women
of Waddy; and out of the love and veneration they
bore her grew a sort of family pride— a respect for
their name that was quite a touch of old-worldly con-
ceit in this new land of devil-may-care, and gave them
a certain distinction. It was this that served largely
to make the branding ■ of Frank Hardy as a thief a
consuming shame to his brother. Harry thought of
it less as a wrong to Frank than as an outrage to his
mother. It was this, too, that made the young man
bum to take the Sunday School superintendent by the
throat and laah him till he howled himself dumb in
his own chapel.

Harry returned to his log in Wilson's back pad-
dock again In the afternoon to wrestle with his diffi-
culties, and, with the ginttonons rosellas swinging on
the gum-boughs above, set himself to reconsider al!
that he had heard of Frank's case and all the possibil-
ities that had since occurred to him. Here Dick
Haddon discovered him at about four o'clock. Dick
was leading a select party at the time, with the inten-
tion of reconnoitring, old Jock Summers's orchard in
view of a possible invasion at an early date; but
when he saw Harry in the distanc he immediately

THE GOLD-STEALERa 81

abandoned the businem in hand. An infamoas act of
desertion like this would have brought iown contempt
upon the head of another, and have earned him some
raeuinre of personal chastisement; but Dick was a
law unto himself.

' So long, you fellows,' he said.
' Why, where yer goin' ? ' grunted Jacker Mack
' Cross to Harry Hardy. He's down by that ole
white gum.'

' Gosh I so he is. I say, we'll all go.'
'No, yon won't. Vouse go an' see 'bout them
chemes. Harry Hardy don't want a crowd round. '
' How d'yer know he wants yon?' /

' Find out. Me 'n him'f. mates.' *

'Yo-ow?' ThU in derision.
' 'Sides, I got somethin' privit to say to him—
scmethin' privit 'n important, see.'

This was more convincing, but it excited curiosity.
' 'Bout Tinribs? ' queried Peterson.
' Likely I'd tell you. Clear out, go on. You can
be captain of the band if you like, Jacker; 'n mind
you don't give it away.'

Dick gained hU point, as usual, and prepared for a
quite casual descent upon Harry, who had not yet
seen the boys. The plan brought Dicky, ' shanghai '
in hand, under the tree where Hardy eat. The boy
was apparently oblivious of everything but the parroto
up aloft, and it was not till after he had had his shot
that he returned the young man's salutation. Then
he took a seat astride the log and offered some com-

THE GOLli-STEALEKS.

Ill

1 1

monplace information about a nest of joeys in a neigh-
boring tree and a tamo magpie tliat had C8Cu])ed, und
Wds teaching all the other magpies in Wilson's pad-
doekii to wuietle a jig and curse like a drover. Hut
he got down to his point rather suddenly after all.

' Say, Harry, was you goin' to lambaste Tlnribs?'

' Tinrihs? '

'Yes, old Shino--thi8 mornin', you know.'

Harry looked into the boy's eye and lied, hut Dick
was not deceived.

' 'Twould a-servcd liim good,' he said thougatfully ;
' but vou oughtcr get on to him when Miss Shine ain't
about. She's terrible good an' all that — better 'n
■Ntiss Keeley, don't you think? '

Miss Keeley was a golden-haired, high-com-
plexioned, and frivolous young lady who had enjoyed
a brief but brilliunt career as barmaid at the Drovers'
Arms. Harry had never seen her, but expressed an
opinion entirely in favour of Christina Shine.

' Bn:. her father,' continued Dick, with an eloquent
grimace, ' he's dicky ! '

' What've you got against him? '

' I do' know. Look here, 'tain't the clean pertarer,
is it, for a superintendent t' lay into a chap at Sun-
day School for things what he done outside? S'poae
I float Tinribs's puddlin' tub down the creek by acci-
dent, T)th Doon's baby in it when i ain't thiukin' , is
it square fer him to nab me in fiunday School, an'
wliack me fer it, pretcndin' all the time it's 'cause I
stuck a mouse in the harmonium? '

THE (iOLD-STKALKKS. 83

Dick's contempt for the nia.i who could so luisueo
his high office was very fine indeed.

' That's the s rts- thing Tinribs does,' said tlic boy.
' If I yell after him on a Siiturdee, he gammons t'
catch me dola' sometliin' in scliool on Si:tidee, an'
comes down on me with the c.irner of liis bible, 'r
screws me ear. '

Harry considered siicli conduct despicable, and
thought tlio man who would take such unfair advan-
tage of a poor boy mig.'it be capable of any infamy ;
and Dick, encouraged, crept a little nearer.

' 1 say,' he whispered insinuatingly. ' You could
get him any day on the flat, wlien he eomes over after
etarchin' the day shift.'

Harry shook his head, and slowly plucked at the
dry bark.

' I don't mean to touch him,' he s/>id.

Dick was amazed, and a little hurt, perhaps. His
confidence had been violated in some measure. He
i... joght the matter over for almost a minute.

' Ain't you goin' to go fer him 'cause of her, eh? '
he asked.

'Her? Who d'you mean? '

'Miss Chris.'

' It's nothiu' to do with her.'

Dick deliberated again.

'Look here, she was eryin' after you weat this
momin' . S w her hidin' her face by the harmonium,
an' wipin' her eyes.'

Harry had not heard evidently ; he was, it would

84 THE 00LD-8T£ALKriS.

appear, devoting hU whole attention to tlie antica of
a blue grub. Dick appronelied still closer, and
amumed the tone of an arch-conspinitor.

'Heard anything "bout Mr. Frank?'

'Not a thing, Dick."

' What yer goin' to do? '

' I can't lay, my boy.'

' Well, I'll tell you. Know what Sagacious dohe? '

' Sagacious? Who is he? '

'Sam Sagacious — Sleuth-hound Sam.'

Harry looked puzzled.

' What, don't you know Slenth-hound Sam ? He's
a great feller in a book, what tracks down criminals.
Listen here. One time a chap what was a mate of
his got put in gaol for stealin' money from a bank
where he worked, when it wasn't him at all. Sam,
he went an' got a job at the same bank, and that's
how he found out the coves 'at done it.'

The young man turned upon Dick, and sat for a
moment following up the inference. Then he gripped
the latter's hand.

'By thunder! ' he cried excitedly, 'that's a better
idea than I could hit on in a week.'

Dick did not doubt it ; he had but a poor opinion
of the resourcefulness of his elders when not flguring
in the pages of romantic literature, but lie was grati-
fied by Harry's ready recognition of his talent, and
proceeded to enlarge upon the peculiar qualities of
Sleuth-hound Sam, give instances of his methods, and
relate some of his many successes.

THE OOLD-STEALERS.

J- v. t to the chapel. He knew hi. mother wl.W

hear of ...and thought it !.„■. he .houldhvlo
melancholy gtorj from his lip»

tall' \tr' '"' 'T "'" ■ ''"' '^' '"« fi^*"^" i"to a
all handsome g,rl ; very different fron. the wild little

:S/e:s ::r '"''''''"-"■«-•''« ~

n.o'm^:;: ''"'""'"-"'^ '"='■-"- -Wei thi,

'In the chapel,' said Mrs. Hardy, turning- „pon
hnn w,th .urpri«, ; • were yon in the chapel, HenrH"

Harry nodded rather sh. efacedly ^

' 1 es, mother, ' he said, . went to chapel, an' took
my wh^ w.th me. I meant to scruff Shine befoj he
lot o them, an' lash him black an' blue. '

' Tiiat was fhamefal— shameful ' '

'Anyhow, I didn't do it. She came . p„t me
off, an' I sneaked out as if I'd been licked LseTf

lTt:i^^ '"""'"^"' """ '""^ '-^-'' "X."

'But you meant to; is that it? Henry you a)

most make me despair Have v„„ „ ^

t ,.^ "ooijoir. xiave yon no more resnect

for yourself? Have you none for me ? ' ^

^^I couldn't stand it. You've heard. It made me

' I have heard all, and I think Mr. Shine is a well-
mtentioned n.au whose faith, such as it is, is honest ;

THE GOLD-STEALEES.

but he ig ignorant, coarse-fibred, and narrow-minded.
He is doing right according to his own poor, dim
light, and could not be convinced otherwise by any
word or act of onrs ; but his preachings can do me no
injury. They do not irritate me in the least — indeed,
I am not sure that they do not amuse me. '

' Ah, mother, that's like you ; you philosophise
your way through a difficulty, and I always want to
fight my way out. It's so much easier.'

' Yes, dear; but do you get out? Do yon know
that Epnraim Shine is the most litigious man in the
township? He runs to the law with every little
trouble, whilst inviting his neighbours to carry all
theirs to the Lord. Had yon beaten him he would

have proceeded against you, and Oh ! my boy,

my boy ! are you going to make my troubles greater?
And I had such hopes. '

' Hush, mother. 'Pon my soul, I won't ! I'm
going to hold myself down tight after this. An', look
here, I've got an idea. I'm going to Pete Holden
to-morrow to ask him to put me on at the Stream,
same shift as poor Frank was on, if possible. '

' Put on the brother of the man who r-'

•Yes, mother, the brother of the thief. But
Holden is a good fellow; he spoke up for Frank
like a brick. Besides, d'you know what the
men are saying? That the gold-stealing is still
going on. I'll tell Holden as much, an' promise to
watch, an' watch, like a cat, if he'll only send me
below.'

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

did not thmk of this before.'

' -Twas young Dick Haddon put me up to it, with
some yarn of hiB about a detective.'

'Bless the boy! he is unique-the worst and the
best I have ever known. Johnnie, how dare you? '

Ihe last remark was addressed to Gable, who had
been eating industriously for the last quarter of an
hour The old man, finding himself ignored, had
«y conveyed a large spoonful of jam from the
pot to his mouth. He choked over it now, and
wnggled and blushed like a child taken red-handed
Iwas only a nut,' he said sulkily
' ^°» """gj'ty boy I Will you never learn how to
behave at table? Come here, sir. Ah, I see, as I
suspected. You did not shave this morning. Go
straight to bed after you have finished your tea How
dare you disobey me, yon wicked boy ' '

.2T w "f "i ^'' "^'"' "''* ^'Sour, and began to
Bnivel. He hated to have a beard on his chi^ but
would put off shaving longer than Mrs. Hardy thought
consistent with perfect neatness. The ability to shave
himself was the one manly accomplishment Gable had
learned m a long life.

This ludicrous incident had not served to draw
Harry s thoughts from his project. All his life he
had seen his Uncle Johnnie treated as a child, and
there was nothmg incongruous in the situation, even
when the grey-haired boy was rated for neglecting to
shave or sent snpperless to bed for similar sins of

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

ll^iJ^

omission or commission. To Mrs. Hardy also it was
a simple serious business of domestic government.
Ever since she was ten years old Uncle John, who
was many years her senior, had been her baby brother
and her charge, and although gifted with a good
sense of humour, the necessity of admonishing him
did not interfere with the gravity of mind she had
brought to bear on the former conversation.

' Mr. Holden was an old friend of your father's,
Henry,' she said.

' I know,' Harry replied. ' They were mates at
Buninyong and Bendigo. I'll remind him of that. '

Harry Hardy found Manager Holden in his office
at the Silver Stream when he called on the following
morning.

' Couldn't do it, my lad,' said the old miner; ' but
I'll put in a word for yon with Hennessey at the White
Crow.'

' I want a job here on the Stream — want it for a
purpose,' said Harry.

' There'd be a row. The people at Yarraman would
kick up, after the other affair. I'd be glad to, Harry ;
but you'd best try somewhere else. '

'Mr. Holden,' said the young man, 'do you be-
lieve my brother guilty? '

The manager met his eager eyes steadily.
' 'Tisn't a fair question, lad,' he answered. ' I
always found Frank straight, an' he looked like an
honest man ; but that evidence would have damned a
saint.'

THE G0LD-8TEALEES.

Do yon think the gold-stealing has stopped? '
The manager looked up sharply.
' Do yon know anything? '
' I know what the men hint at ; nothing more. If
they could speak straight they wouldn't do it.'

' Well, to tell you God's truth, Hardy, I believe
we are still losing gold.'

' Send me below, then, an' by Heaven I'll spot the
true thieves if they're not more cunning than the
devil himself. You think Frank guilty, so do most
^ople; It's what we ought to expect, I s'pose.'
Harry s hands were clenched hard— it was a sore sub-
ject. ' We don't, Mr. Holden ; we believe his story
every word of it. Give me half a chance to prove
It. You were our father's mate ; Etand by us now.
Put me on with the same shift ae Frank worked with.'
'Done! ' said the manager, starting up. ' Come
on at four. Go trucking; it'll give you a better
chance of moving round; and good luok, my boy!
But take a hint that's well meant: if the real thief is
down there, see he plays no tricks on you.'
' I've thought of that— trust me.'
Harry Hardy's appearance below with the after-
noon shift at the Stream occasioned a good deal of
talk amongst the miners; but he heard none of it.
Shine was in the searching-shed when he came up at
midnight, on his knees amongst the men's discarded
clothes, pawing them over with his claw-like fingers.
The searcher rarely spoke to the men, never looked
at them, and performed his duties as if unconscious of

'If

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

their presence. Custom had made him cxceedingljr
cautions, for it was the delight of the men to play
triclcfl npon him, usually of an exceedingly painful
nature. The searcher is no man's friend. When
putting on his dry clothes, Horry heard Joe Rogers,
the foreman, saying :

' D'yer know them's Harry Hardy's togs yer
pawin', Brother Tinribs? '

Shine's mud-coloured eyes floated nneasUyfrom one
form to another, but were raised no higher than the
knees of the men, seemingly.

'Yes, search 'em carefully. Brother. I s'pose
you'd like ter jug the whole family. 'Taint agin yer
Christian principles, is it, Mr. Superintendent, to send
innocent men to gaol? Quod's good fer morals, ain't
it? A gran' place to cnltirate the spirit o' brotherly
love, ain't it — eh, what? Blast you fer a snivellin'
hippercrit. Shine ! If yer look sidelong at me I'll
belt you over '

Rogers made an ugly movement towards the
searcher; but Peterson and another interposed, and
he returned to the form, spitting venomous oaths like
an angry cat. Shine, kneeling on the floor, had gone
on with his work in his covert way, as if quite uncon-
scious of the foreman's burst of passion.

CHAPTER IX.

Jackeb Mack's report liaving been entirely favour-
able, tlie invasion of Summers' orchard was nnder-
takea at dinner-time on the Tuesday following. The
party, which consisted of Dick Haddon, Jackcr Mc-
Knight, Ted, Billy Peterson, and Gable, started for
the paddocks immediately school was out, intending
to make Jock Summers compensate them for the loss
of a meal. It was not thought desirable to take
Gable, but ne insisted, and Gable was exceedingly
pig-headed and immovable when in a stubborn mood.
Dick tried to drive him back, but failed ; when the
others attempted to nin away from him the old man
trotted after them, bellowing so lustily that the safety
of the expedition was endangered ; so he was allowed
to stand in.

' He'll do to keep nit,' said Dick.

Gable could not run in the event of a surprise and
a pursuit, but that mattered little, as it was long smce
known to be hopeless to attempt to extract evidence
from him, anc' his complicity in matters of this kind
was generously overlooked by the people of Waddy.
The expedition was not a success. Dick planned

THE G0LD-8TEALERS.

it and captained it weU; but the beet laid plans of
youth are not less fallible than those of mice and men,
and one always runs a great risk in looting an orchard
in broad daylight— although it will be admitted, by
those readers who were once young enough and human
enough to rob orchards, that stealing cherries in the
dark is as aggravating and unsatisfactory an undertak-
ing as eating soup with a two-pronged fork.

Dick stationed Gable in a convenient tree, with
strict orders to cry ' nit ' 'lould anybody come in
sight from the black clnmp of fir-trees surrounding
the squatter's house. Then he led his party over the
fence and along thick lines of currant bushes, creeping
nnder their cover to where the beautiful white-heart
cherries hung ripening in the sun. Dick was very
busy indeed mthe finest of the trees when the note of
warning came from Ted McKnight.

'Nit! nit! urr! Here comes Jock with a dog.'
Dick was last in the rush. He saw the two Mc
Knights safe away, and was following Peterson, full
of hope, when there came a rufl, of feet behind and
he was sent sprawling by a heavy body striking
him between the shoulders. When he was qiiitc able
to grasp the situation he found himself on the broad
of his biek, with a big mastiff lying on his chest, one
paw on either side of his head, and a long, wp.rm
tongue lolling in his face with affectionate familiarity.
The expression in the dog's eye, he noticed, was de-
cidedly genial, but ite attitude was firm. The amia-
ble eye reassured him ; he was not going to be eaten,

THE GOLD-STEALERS. 93

but at tlie aame time he was given to niiderstafid that
that dog would do his duty t)iougli the heavens
fell.

A minute later the mastiflF was whistled off; Dick
was taken by the ear and gently assisted to his feet,
and stood defiantly under the stern eye of a rugged,
spare-boned, iron-grey Scotchman, sia feet high, and
framed like an iron cage. Jock retained hig hold on
the boy's ear.

' Eh, eh, what is it, laddie? ' he said, ' enterin' an'
stealin', enterin' an' stealin'. A monstrous crime.
Come wi' me.'

Dick followed reluctantly, but the grip on his ear-
lobe was emphatic, and in his one short struggle for
freedom he felt as if he were grappling with the great
poppet-lF >8 at the Silver Stream. Summers paused
for a moment.

' Laddie,' he said, ' d'ye mind my wee bit dog? '
The dog capered like a frivolous cow, flopped his
ears, and exhibited himself in a cheerful, well-mean-
ing way.

' If ye'd rather, laddie, the dog will bring ye home, '
continued the man.

' Skite! ' said Dick, with sullen scorn ; but he went
quietly after tliat.

At the house they were met by Christina Shine, and
Dick blushed furiously under her gaze of mild surprise.
Christina had been a member of the Summers house-
hold for over five years, ever since the death of her
mother, and had won herself a position there, some-

»4

THE 00LD-STEALER8.

thing like that of a beloved poor relation with light
duties and many liberties.

' Dickie, Dickie, what have yon been doing this
time? ' asked Miss Chris.

'Robbiii' my frnit-trces, my dear. Wliat might
we do with him, d'ye think? '

Miss Chris thonght for a minute with one finger
pressed on her lip.

'We might let him go,' she said, with the air of
one making rather a clever suggestion.

'Na, na, na; we canna permit such crimes to go
unpunished.'

' Poor boy, perhaps he's very fond of cherries, ' said
Chris in extenuation.

Summers regarded the young woman dryly for a
moment.

'Eh, eh, girl,' he said, ' ye'd begin to pity the
very De'il himself if ye thonght maybe he'd burnt hU
finger. '

Dick was greatly comforted. As a general thing
he writhed under sympathy, but, strangely enough, he
found it very sweet to hear her speaking words of pity
on his behalf, and to feel her soft eyes bent upon him
with gentle concern . Probably no young woman quite
understands the deep devotion she has inspired in the
bosom of a small boy even when she replises— which is
rare indeed— that she is regarded vrith unusual affec-
tion by Tommy or Billy or Jim. Jim is probably very
young; his hair as a rule appears to have been tousled
in a whirlwind, his plain face is never without traces

THE OOLIJ-STEALERS. 98

of black jam in whicli vagrant dust fin.ls rest, and in
tlie society of tlie adored one lio is sliy and awkward
Tlie adored one m(>.' tliink l.iin a good deal of a nui-
sance, but deep down in the dark secret eliainber of
Ins Lcart she is enslirined a goddess, and worshipped
wiH. zealous devotion. Men may call her an angel
lightly enough; Jim knows her to be an angel, and
says never a word. His romance is true, and pure,
and beautiful while it lasts-the only true, pure, end
beautiful romance many women ever inspire, and alas '
they never know of it, and would not i.rize it if thev
did. •'

That was the feeling Dick had for Cliristiua Shine
There had been others— Richard Iladdon was not
bigoted in his constancy—but naw it was Mis:* Chris
and to him she was both ange! and princess; a princes^
stolen from her royal cradle by the impostor Shine
under moving and mysterious circumstances, and at
the instigation of a disreputable uncle. It only re-
mained for Dick to slaughter the latter in fair fight
under the eyes of an admiring multitude, in order to
restore Chris to all her royal dignities and privileges.
Jock Summers had not relaxed his grip on the boy's

ff V.,P ^^^ '"'" '" " ''"^" '^"'■'y «""k in the side of
the hill and roofed with stone.

' Ye may bide in there, laddie,' he said, ' till I can
make up my mind. I tlunk I might just skin ye, an'
1 think maybe I might get ye ten years to Yarraman
Oaol, but I'm no sure.'

Dick had to go down several steps to ihe floor of

THE G0LD-8TEALERS.

the dairy, and when the door was shut hia face waa on
a level with the grating timt let air into the place. He
passed the first few itiinutca of his iinpriaonroent mak-
ing offers of friendship to the dog that sprawled out-
side, onniing its capacious mouth at him and curling
its long tongue as if anxious to amuse. The boy had
no fears as to his fate; he felt he could safely leave
that to Miss Chris ; and, meanwhile, the dog was en-
tertaining. The animal was new to Dick: had he
known of itc existence, his descent upon the orchard
would have beer, differently ordered. In time Maori
came to be intimately known to every boy in Waddy
as the mo(t kindly and affable dog in the world, but
afflicted w ith a singularly morbid devotion to duty. If
sent to capture a predatory youth he never failed to
secure the marauder, and always did it as if he loved
him. His formidable teeth were not called into
service; he either knocked the youngster down and
li^!d him with soft but irresistible paws, or he gam-
bolled with him, jumped on him, frisked over him,
made escape impossible, and all the time seemed to
imply: 'I have a duty to perform, but you can't
blame me, you know. There's no reason in the world
why we shouldn't be the best of friends.' And they
were the best of friends in due course, for Maori bore
no malice ; there came a time when youngsters invaded
Jock's garden for tlie pleasure of being captured by
his wonderful dog.

Ere Dick had been in his prison ten minntct; Chris
came to him with tea and cake and scones, and when

THE GOLDSTE.iLERS. 97

he had finished tbew she showered cherries in upon
him. This time she whispered tJirough the grating:
' Yoa haven't got a cold, have you, DiekV '
'No, miss; I ne ■ have colds.'
' Oh, dear, that's a pity ! I thought if you could
catch a cold I might be able to got you out. '

'Oh!' Dick thought for a moment, and then
coughed slightly.

' It will have to be a very bad cold, I think. '
Dick's cough l)ecame violent at once, and when
Chris led Summers into the vicinity of the dairy a
few minutes later the cold had developed alarmingly.
Summers heard, and a quizzical and suspicious eye
followed Chriftina.

'He— he doesn't appear to be a very stroig boy,
Mr. Summers,' said the young woman with obvious
artfulness.

' Strong as a bullock,' said Summers.
'He looked very pale, I thought, and that place is
damp— damp and dangerous.'
Summers dangled the keys.
' Let the rascal go, ' he said. ' Justice will never be
done wi'in range o' those bright eyes. Let the young
villain loose. '

Chris liberated the boy, and filled his pockets with
fruit before sending him away.

'My word, you are a brick,' murmured Dick,
qmte overcome, and then Chris, being hidden from
the house by the shrubbery, did an astounding thing;
she put her arm about the boy's neck and kissed him,

THE 00LD-8TEALERS.

•nd Diok't face flamed red, and a delicion* confndoD
poHened him. If he were her worshipper before he
wai her tlave now — her unquestioning, faithful iltTe.

' You know,' (he uid, ' I mu»t be your friend, be-
cause if it had not been for you my father might liave
died out there. '

Dick had recalled the incident leveral time* lately,
but alwaya, it mu ' be regretfully admitted, with a
pang of angry compunction. There were occaiiont
when he felt that it would have been wise to have left
the Luperintendent to his fate. He rondered now,
casually, why the daughter should entertain senti-
ments of gratitude that never seemed to find a place
in the arid bosom of her sire.

'Oh, that ain't nothin',' he said awkwardly, dig-
ging his heel into the turf, all aglow with novel emo-
tions. Never had he felt quite «o grand before.

'Dick, will you take a message from me to- .

' The young woman was toying with his slee\ <

her cheeks were ruddy, and the girlish timidity shi
displayed was in quaint contrast with her fine face and
commanding figure.

'To Harry Hardy?' said Dick, with ready con-
jecjnre.

' Yes,' said Chris. ' However could you have
guessed that? Tell him I am very thankful to
him '

' Fer clearin' out Sunday. Yes, I'll tell him. I
say, Miss Chris, do you know I think he's awful fond
o' you — awful.'

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

»9

Dick, he ii not. He liatci ii»— father

'No,
and I.'

' Xo fear, he don't. He wm at our place Sunday
night, lookin' at tlmt photo of you in onr albium
Ho looked at it more'n he looked at all the rest put
together, an' kep' sneakin' peep., an' that don't .how
hate, if you aak me. '

r)ick waa half an hour late for ichool that after-
noon, bnt he never faced Joel Ham with a lighter
heart or more carelem mien. The master pretended
to be absorbed in a patch on the roof till Dick had
almost reached hi. .eat; then he beckoned the boy
took him on the point of hi. cane, like a piece of
toast, and backed him against the wall, where he
held him transfixed for a few moments, blinking
humorously.

' Ginger, my boy, I regret to have to say it, but
you are late again. '

' Never said I wasn't,' said Dick, acoepting the in-
entable. *

' True, Ginger, perfectly true. Any explanations?
But let me warn you anything you may say will be
taken down as evidence against you.'

' I was visitin'-visitin' Mr. John Summer, up at
i He House ' (Summers' residence was always ' The
House ■}, 'an'— ail' he detained me.'

Jael's face suddenly fell into wrinkles, and hu
disengaged fingers clawed his sparse whiskers.

' And yon used to be quite a clever liar, Gineer •
he said with philowphical regret. '

100

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

ft) |:

' Argk Jock Summers yergelf if you don't believe
me, ' growled the boy.

' No, no,' said the master shaking his head eadly,
' you are lying very badly to-day. Ginger. Tou have
the heart to do it, but not the art. Hold up! '

Dick's hand went out unfalteringly.

'One,' said the master. 'Two! Hurt, eh? "Well,
be consoled with the reflection that all knowledge is
simply pain codified. Three ! Four— no, I will owe
you the fourth.'

Jacker Mack, and Ted, and Peterson were prey to
the wildest curiosity. Peterson risked cuts with crim-
inal recklessness in his efforts to communicate with
Dick when the latter took his seat, and Jacker, who
sat next, edged up close to Dick and whispered ex-
citedly :

'What happened? What'd he do? Where yer
been?'

' Been,' said Dick, ' oh, just havin' dinner up at
The House.'

' Wha-at— with ole Jock? '

' With Mr. and Mrs. Summers, J. P.'

' Gerront! yer can't stuff me.'

' Oh, all right, Jacker, don't excite yereelf. Per-
haps they didn't give me a load o' cherries to bring
away, an' strawberries— thumpin' ripe strawberries,
hid somewhere what I know of. Oh, I think not.
An' maybe I wasn't told to come up to The House
Sundays an' help myself. Very likely not.' All
thifl in an airy whisper.

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

101

' Halves ! ' hissed Jacker.

'Quarters! ' mnrmnred Peterson from his hiding,
place behind the desk.

'P'raps I don't know somethin' too,' continued
Jacker mysteriouslj.

Dick Haddon cocked his eye.

' Pompey, the woodjammer, tol' me he see that
bandy whimboy what you fought at the picnic ridin'
your biUy down to Cow Flat, an' Butts seemed to
like it. '

This was serious. The idea of Butts becoming at-
tached to another master gave Dick a real pang. Al-
ready he had suffered many twinges of conscience in
consequence of his neglect of the goat in captivity.

' Wait till I get hold o' that cove,' he said bitterly
'I'll murder him.'

' Ain't we never goin' after them goats? ' asked
Jacker.

Dick nodded emphatically.

'My oath, I'll fix it.'

' An' you'll shell out wif the strawb'ries? '

Dick nodded again; Jacker went peacefully to his
work and Peterson crawled back to his seat. Confi-
dence was restored.

CHAPTER X.

II]''-

HAKEr Hahdy'b first few shifts below only served
to convince liira of the difflcnlties of the task he had
set himself. The Silver Stream was a big alluvial
mine working two levels, and there were close upon
a Imndred hands below on each shift. All these he
could not watch ; but he was working in the same
drive and with the set of men Frank had worked with
and was always alert for hint or sign th<*. would give
him a clue, whilst at the same time being careful not
to set the thieves ou their guard. He must watch
closely without letting it be seen that he was watch-
ing at all. Keen as he was in the pursuit of his ob-
ject, he found, with some self-resentment, that his
mind frequently reverted to another subject alto-
gether; and that subject was Miss Christina Shine.
When he caught himself absorbed in a reverie in
wliich Miss Chris was the centre of interest, he met-
aphorically took himself by the neck and shook him-
self up, and during the next few minutes reviewed
with quite extravagant ferocity the excellent reasons
he had for hating Chris for her father's sake. It was
a melancholy pleasure to him to see the searcher paw-

102

THE GOLD-STKALEKS. 103

ing hig clothes about, digging into his pockets and his
billy, and examining his boots. His old instinct
would liave prompted him to attack Ephraim on the
floor of the shed, but now, with lamentable unreason
and injustice, he nursed the insult as good and sulli-
cient cause for contemning the daughter. He liad
seen Chris once since Sunday, and then only from the
recesses of a clump of scrub into which he had retreated
onseemrher approach; but he felt, without admit-
tmg the jwledge even to himself, that he would
need all > .e excuses he could find, just or unjust, rea-
sonable or otherwise, to battle with something that
T7as rising up within him to drive him on his knees
to the feet of this grey-eyed girl, a Immble and ab-
ject penitent.

_ For an hour or two each day Harry was fossicking
in the creek on the spot where Frank had been work
ing, with the idea of satisfying himself whether or
not such gold as Frank had sold was obtainable tliere •
and here the searcher's daughter came upon him one
moming shortly after the incident of 'he Sunday
School. Harry had his cradle pitched near the cross-
ing, and to ignore the young woman would be an
avowal of enmity, -ere was his opportunity. Harrv
set his face oyer th ..opper and cradled industriously".
He thought he was displaying proper firmness, but
his hand trembled, his heart beat like a plunger, and
he was the victim of an ignoble bashfulness."' Chris
approached with some timidity; but Maori bounded
up to the young man, making elephantine overtures

104

THE GOLD-STEALEHS.

of friendliness, which wore resented by Harry's cattle-
dog Cop, who walked round and round the mastiff in
narrowing circles, bristling like a cat and snarling
hoarsely. Maori treated the challenge with a lordly
indulgence. Cop went further, he snapped and
brought blood. There were some things Maori could
not stand: this was one. Out of a small storm of
pebbles, chips, leaves, aLd dust, the two dogs pres-
ently camo into view again. Cop on his back, pawing
wildly at vhe unresisting air, and Maori at h's throat,
pinning him with a vice-like grip.

Harry rushed to the rescue, tore his dog free, and
held back the furious animal up-reared and exposing
vicious fangs. Chris laid a trembling hand on the
collar of the penitent Maori, and in this way the
young people faced each other. Their eyes met for a
moment, Harry's frowning blackly, hers anxious and
beseeching.

' I'm sorry,' she said. ' Is he hurt? '
' So,' replied Harry sulkily. ' No thanks to that
brute of yours, though.'

' Oh ! ' This very reproachfully.
Harry looked up and encountered her eyes again,
and they shattered him, as they L.a done in chapel,
givmg him a sense of having exerted his strength to
hurt something sweet and tender as a flower ; and yet
the girl seemed to tower above him. Nature, in put-
ting the fresh sympathetic soul of a child into the
grand body of a Minerva, hid set a problem that was
too deep for Harry Hardy.

THE GOLD-STEALEES.

105

'Beg pardon,' he asid, humbly; "twas my dog

started it. Down, Cop ! To heel ! '

He checked himself suddenly on a 'stock term.'
There were tones of his master's that Cop never dared
tn disobey ; he went down at full length and lay pant-
ing, regarding Maori fixedly with a sidelong and
malevolent eye. Harry returned to his cradle, and
Chris approached the stepping-stones and paused
there.

' Did Dickie Haddon give you my message? ' she
asked in a low voice.
Harry nodded.
'It's all ri^ht,' he said.

There was another pause, broken at length by
Chris.

' You ought not to be angry with me. It isn't
fair.'

She was thinking of the day years ago when she was
carried, all tattered and torn, from the midst of that
mob of sportive cattle. She was a tery little girl
then, but the incident had remained fresh and vivid
in her mind, and ever since Harry Hardy had been a
hero in her eyes. He only remembered the affair
casually and without interest.

' I am really very grateful to you for— for going
away, because I know you had good cause for your
anger. '

' Oh, that's all right,' said Harry again, inaptly.
'But you ought not to be angry with me. It
pained me very much— the trial and your mother's

106

THE GOijU-STEALERS.

11^

il(,'.

sorrow, and all the rest. It hurt me because it seemed
to set me on the side that was against Mrs. Hard/,
and I — I always admired her. I knew she was a good
woman, and it was easy to see the trouble cut into her
heart although she bore it so proudly.'

' Oh, that's all right.' Harry was fumbling with
the gravel in the hopper. He was conscious that his
replies were foolish and trivial, but for the life of him
he could do no better.

She waited a few moments, then bade him good
morning and went across the creek and away amongst
the trees beyond ; and Harry, resting upon the han-
ne of his cradle, watched her, absorbed, a prey to a
set of new emotions that bewildered him hopelessly.
He was still in this position when Chris looked back
fr n the hill, and half an hour later Dick Haddon
found him day-dreaming amongst the tailings.

D^y-dreams were not possible in the vicinity of
Richard Haddon. The boy was an ardent fossicker,
and loved to be burrowing amongst old tailings, or
groping in the sludge of an auriferous creek after lit-
tle patches. He was soon peering into the ripples of
Harry's cradle.

' Poor,' he commented, with the confidence of an
expert.

' Not up to much, Dick,' said Harry. ' I've just
been prospectin' a bit round here. '

' Frank was tryin' that bank. 'Tain't no good.
Say, I on lay you outer somethin' better not far
from here. '

THK GOLD-STEALERS

lor

'Yea — where is it?'

' TeUin's. Wlmt'll you -ke ub? '

' Depends. What's it worth? '

' Got half a pennyweight prospect tliere onst. Look
here, you lend me yer dog t'-night, au' I'll sliow
where.'

' What do you want with Cop? '

' Vou won't split? Well, some coves down to Cow
Flat come up an' stole my goat, Butts, an' a lot of
others, an' me an' some other fellers is goin' after
'em t"-night, late. A good sheep-dog what's a quiet
worker 'd be spiffln. Cop's all right. He'd work
fer me.'

Harry had not forgotten the time when a lordly
billy was the pride and joy of his own heart, and his
sympathies were with Dick ; so Cop accompanied the
band of youthful raiders that assembled with much
mystery in the vicinity of the schoolhouse late that
night. The desperadoes had stolen from their beds
while their parents slept, and were rijje for adventure.
Dick, who had Cop in charge, put himself at the head
of the rising with his customary assurance, and gave
his orders in a low, stern voice. According to his
authorities, a low, stern voice was proper to the com-
mand of all such midnight enterprises.

But before starting for Cow Flat it was necessary to
forage for ammunition. Two or three of the boys
were provided with bags. It was proposed to fill
these with such vegetables as would serve to allure
the coy but gluttonous goat, and a silent, systematic

108

THE GOLDSTEALERS.

descent was made upon eeveral kitchen gardens of
Waddy.

'Go fer carrots an' cabbages, specially carrots,'
whispered the commandant, whose experience of goats
was large and Taried, and taught him that the average
nanny or billy would desert homo and kindred and go
through fire and water in pursuit of a succulent young
carrot aot larger than a clothes-peg.

When the boys turned their backs on Waddy the
expedition carried with it vegetables enough to bribe
all the goats in the province. The garden of Michael
Devoy was a waste place, desolation brooded ovei' the
carrot beds of the Canns and the Sloans, and Mrs.
Ben Steven's cabbage-patch lay in ruins.

For this night only Dick had assumed the role of
Moonlighter Ryan, a notorious Queensland cattle-
duffer, recently hanged for his part in a disputation
with a member of the mounted police. The dispute
ended with the death of the policeman, who succumbed
to mjuries received. As Moonlighter Dick was charac-
teristically remorseless, hie courage and cunning were
understood to verge upon the inhuman, and his band
was composed of the most utterly abandoned ruffians
the history of the country afforded; only two of tliem
had not been hanged, and these two justified their in-
clusion by having richly deserved hanging several times
over.

Across the flat and past the toll-bar, where the light
sleep of Dan, the tollman, was not disturbed by the
creeping band, Moonlighter led his outlaws warily

THE GOLDSTEALERS. 109

then struck the long bush road between two lineg of
straggling fence running with all sorts of lists and
bends, going on and on endlessly, according to the
belief of the hoys of Waddy. Tlie road was overhung
by tall gums and nourished many clumps of fresh green
saplings, about which the tortuous cart-track wound
in deep yellow ruts, baked hard in summer, washed
into treacherous bog in winter. Here caution was not
necessary, and there were divers fierce hand-to-hand
attacks on clumps of scrub representing a vindictive
and merciless police, out of which Moonlighter and his
men issued crowned with victory and covered with
glory. A sCHrecrow in a wayside orchard was charged
with desperate valour, and only saved from instant de-
struction as a particularly hateful police spy by the
sudden intervention of the leader.

' Back, men ! ' he cried imperiously. ' Moon-
lighter never makes war on women ! '

He pointed to the protecting skirt in which the
scarecrow was clad, and his bold bad men drew off
and retired abashed.

For the next half-mile Jloonligbter led his men in
stealthy retreat from an overwhelming force of troop-
ers armed to the teeth. Tracks had to be covered
and diversions created, and there was much hiding
behind logs and in clumps of scrub; indeed, the
police were only foiled at length by the exertion of
that subtle strategy for which Moonlighter was no-
torious.

It was after one o'clock in the morniug when Cow

110

THE GOLD-8TEALES8.

Flat WM reached. The little township slept, steeped
in darkness, beside iu sluggish strip of creeping
' slnrry ' miscalled a creek. Beyond, on the rise, a
big mine clattered and groaned, and pnffed ite glowing
clonds of steam against the sky; but Cow Flat had
settled down into silence after the midnight change of
shifts, and a mining township sleeps well. For all that it
was a stealthy and cautions band Moonlighter led down
to the old battered engine-house by the edge of the
common, where the goats of Cow Flat were known to
herd in largo numbers. Sure enough here were goaU of
both sexes, and all sorts and sizes— sleeping huddled in
the ruined engine-house, on the sides of the grass-grown
tip, in the old bob-pit, and upon the remains of thefallen
stack. Carefully and quietly the animals were awak-
ened; slyly they were drawn forth, with gentle whisp-
cred calls of 'Nan, nan, nan ! ' and insidious and sooth-
ing words, but more especially with the ad of scraps
of carrot, sparingly but judiciously distributed. An
occasional low, querulous bleat from a youthful nanny
awakened from dreams of clover-fields, or a hoarse,
imperious inquiry in t deep baritone ' baa ' from a
patriarchal he-goat, was the only noise that followed
the invasion. Then, when the animals within the
ruin were fully alive to the situation and awake to the
knowledge that it all meant carrots, and that outside
carrots innumerable awaited the gathering, they
streamed forth: they fought in the doorways, they
battered a passage through the broken wall; faint
plaintive queries went up from scores of throats,

THE O0LD-8TEALERS. m

•niwered by glnttonoM mumblings from goaU that
had been fortunate enough to inatch a morsel of the
delectable vegetable. Down from the tip* and up
from the bob-pit they came, singly and in aeU,
nndemonstrative matrons with weak-kneed twins at
their heels, skittish kids and bearded veterans, and
joined the anxious, eager, hungry mob.

' Away with them, my boys,' ordered Moonlighter.
'Head 'em fer the common. We'll have every
blessed goat in the place.'

He sent away three bands in three different direc-
tions, fullj provisioned, and commissioned to collect
goats from all quarters.

' Bring 'em up to the main mob on the common,
an' the man what makes a row I'll Lang in his shirt
to the nearest tree. Don't leave the beggars any kind
of a goat at all. '

Dick had undertaken a big contract. Cow Flat was
simply infested with goats; every family owned iu
small flock, and the milk-supply of the township
depended entirely upon the droves of nannies that
grubbed for sustenance on the stony ridges or the bare,
burnt stretch of common land. Probably Cow Flat
was so called because nobody had ever seen anything
remotely resembling a cow anywhere in the vicinity ;
consequently goats were hold in high esteem, for ten
goats can live and prosper where one cow would die
of hunger and melancholy in a month.

Jacker Mack, Peterson, and Parrot Cann had
recognised their billies in the heard, but Butts was

THE OOLD-8TEALER8.

•till miMing. On an open ipace near the road by
which Moonlighter'* gang had come, and at a lafe
distance from the townahip, a few of the raidenheld
tlie main body of the goats. Parrot Cann, with a
bag of cabbages on his shoulder, was the centre of
attraction, and the dropping of an occasional leaf kept
the goaU pushing about him, some nprearing and
straining toward the ta. talising bag, others baa-ing
ill his face a piteous appeal. Suddenly, however, an
astute billy with a flowing beard came to the rescue.
He drove at Canu from the rear with masterly strategy
and uncommon force, and brought him down ; then
in a flash boy and bag were hidden under a climbing,
butting, burrowing army of goaU, from the centre of
which came the mnflied yells of poor Parrot clipped
in a hundred place* by the sharp hoofs of the hungry
animals.

Moonlighter promptly led a desperate charge to the
rescue, and after a hard struggle Cann was dragged
out, tattered and bleeding; but the bag wa« abandoned
to the enemy.

In about twenty minutes Jacker Mack and a couple
of subordinates brought up a herd gathered from the
hill on the left bank of the creek; Peterson came
soon after with a good mob from the right, and Dolf
Belman and another followed with a score or so from
about the houses. But still Butts had not been
captured.

' You fellers take 'em on slowly,' said Moonlighter.
Me an' Gardiner'U go back an' have a try after

TH£ OOLD-STEALERS. 113

BntU.' T.d McKnight repre^ntad Gwdiner in thU
toiaffTue,

Tae hunt for Bntta had to be condacted with ^reat
clrcum.p«=tion The boy. crept from pl«» to pface ;
Dick o^led the goat', name .oftly at M outhousei
and encloture., and won a response after a wrch of
over a quarter of an hour, Butt.', familiar 'baa>
anr^ering from the interior of a .table in a back
yard. Ted wa. .tationed to keep 'nit,' and Dick
.tolemto the yard broke hi. way into the .table,
.nd w« leading the huge billy out of captivit;

«lence; and then an adjacent window wa. thrown
"rirel' * ^'"""''* ^°'"^ """"^ 'Thieve.!' and

aS'l" '"^ '^'T ^""* *' *"'" "^ « ^"'ot'""! now
at hi. 3.'°^ ""'"'^^ vegetable, Butt, following

' «» *" >'. Ted! ' he yelled, and the two ru,hed

♦ L !, t' ^'•*"°^' °P *^"'''"' ""^'^">^ tl-e thinly,
tmibered b,«h to the road. A good run brought
them up to the main flock. Butt, .till ambling gaily

InH n'l',"."'^'''*' ^""^^ ''"*' *' the carrot hitched
under Dick', belt at the back.

' Ru.h 'em along ! ' cried the panting Moonlighter.

We ve waked the ble«ed town. Heel 'em, Cop

heel em ! ' *">

Peterson and Jacker went ahead dangling cabbages;
the dog entered into the spirit of the thing withenl
thuwaam and worked the flock in his rery Lt .tyle •

8 ' '

114

THE GOLD-STEALEKS.

liMr

and 80 the boys of Waddy, hot, excited, very fright-
ened of probable pursuers, but woudrously elated,
swept the great drove of goats up the road in the
light of the waning moon. The pace was warm for a
mile, but then, the dread of pursuit having evaporated,
the marauders slowed down, and for the rest of the
journey they were experienced drovers bringing down
the largest lot of stock that had ever been handled by
man, full of technical phrases and big talk of runs,
and plains, and flooded rivers, and long, waterless
spells. It was Jackcr Mack who sounded the first
note of dismay.

' Jee-rusalem ! How 'bout the toll? '

Nobody had thought of the toll-bnr, and there
were the big, white gates already in sight, stretching
across the road, threatening to bring dismal failure
upon the expedition when complete success seemed
imminent.

' Down with the fence ! ' ordered the implacable
Moonlighter.

In two minutes the boys had found a weak set of
rails in the fence, and shortly after the goats were
being driven across Wilson's paddock, cutting off a
great corner, and heading for the farmer's gates that
opened out on to the open country on which Waddy
was built. Through these gates the flock was driven
with a racket and hullaballoo that set Wilson's half-
dozen dogs yapping insanely, and started every
rooster on the farm crowing in shrill protesta-
tion. Then helter-skelter over the dat the

THE GOLD-STEALERS. 115

were swept in on the township and left to their
own dev, ,8, whilst a dozen weary, dusty, trium-
phant sn,.;? boys stole back to bed through unlatched
wind -s and .1.- r carefully left open for a stealthy
returi. ■'

CHAPTER XI.

There was great wonder in Waddy next morning,
and much argument. Keighbours discussed tlie sensa-
tion with avidity. Mrs. Sloan, uncombed and in
early morning deshabille, with an apron thrown over
her head, carried the news to Mrs. Justin's back
fence, and Mrs. Justin ran with it to the back fence
of Mrs. McKnight, and Mrs. McKnight spread the
tidings as far as the house of Steven ; so the wonder
grew, and families were called up at an unusually
early hour, and sage opinions were thrown from side
windows and haii ied over garden gates. An invasion
of goats had happened at Waddy, a downpour of
goats, an eruption of goats : goats were all over the
place, and nobody knew whence they came or when
they arrived. "Waddy's own goats were many and
various, but the invasion had quadrupled them, and
goats were everywhere — bold, hungry, predatory
goats— browsing, sleeping, battling, thiu-ving, and
filling the air with incessant pleadings. They invaded
gardens and broke their way into kitchens and larders;
they assaulted children and in some cases offered fight
to the mothers who went to eject them ; and here and
there the billies of Waddy fought with the bearded

116

THE GOLD-STEALERS. in

usurpers long unsatisfactory contests, rearing and bnt-
ting for hours, and doing each otlier no morsel of in-
jury that anybody could discover. A few of the wo-
men were out .-ith buckets, making the most of the
opportunity, milking all the nannies who would sub-
mit; and Devoy, with characteristic impetuosity, was
already on the warpath, socking venjreance on the
person or persons whose act had led to the pillage of
his vegetable beds. ^

During all this the innocence of the boys of Wad-
dy, particularly those boys who had composes Moon-
ighter s gang, was quite convincing. They had kept
their secret well, and for some time no act of vandl
.sra was suspected. In school during the morning
they were most attentive, and particularly assiduous
m the piirsuit of knowledge; and when the echoes
a d sturbance m the township penetrated the school
walls, Richard Haddon and his friends may have e.
changed significant winks, but nothing in their general
demeanour would have betrayed them to the ordinary
Intel, gence. However, Joel Ham's intelligence wi
not of the ordinary kind, and after looking up two or
three times and catching the master's little leaden eye
hxed upon him with a glance of amused speculation,
Dick began to feel decidedly uncomfortable

The first hint of the truth was brought to Waddv
by an mfuriated female from Cow Flat. She drove
up m an old-fashioned waggon drawn by a lively and
energetu: but very ancient and haggard bay horse; with
flattened hoofs and a mere stump of a tail. ShL w^

118

THE GOLD-STEALEKS.

'■ ' ■ I
if' »

'i:

tall and etout, with great muscular arms bare to the
shoulder, and her face was pink with rigliteous indig-
nation. This woman drove slowly up the one road of
Waddy, and standing erect in her vehicle roundly
abused the township from end to end. Crying her
cause in a big strident voice, she insulted the inhabit-
ants individually and in the mass, and wherever
several people were assembled she pulled up and
poured out upon them the vials of her wrath in a iine
flow of vituperation ; and after every few sentences
she interpolated an almost pathetic plea to somebody,
she did not care whom, to step forward and resent
her criticism that she might have an opportunity of
hammering decency and religion into the benighted
inhabitants of an unregenerate place.

' Who stole the goats? ' she screamed, and, re-
ceiving no answer, screamed the question from house
to house.

' Waddy's a township of thieves an' hussies ! ' she
cried, 'thieves an' hussies! Gimme me goats or I'll
have the law on you all — yon low, mean stealers an'
robbers, ye! Who stole the goats? Who came l)y
night an' robbed a decent widdy woman of her beau-
tiful goats? Who? Who? AVho? Say you didn't,
someone ! Gi' me the lie, you lot o' gaol-birds an'
assassinators! '

All Waddy turned out to hear, and many followed
the woman up the road. The school children heard
the loisy procession go by with amazement and re-
gret, and the visitor grew shriller and fiercer as her

'STAXDING EltKCT IN HFIt VKllICI.r. llnt.NUl.Y AllfSMD IMK TOUNsHII'
fliOM ESU TU E-ND."

"ii

THE OOLD-STEALERS. 119

search progressed. At length she discovered what
she declared to be one of her goats in the possession
of :jrs. Hogan, and she left her waggon and charged
the latter, who tied in terror, lolting all her doors and
throwing up a barricade in *hc passage. But the
stranger was not to be foiled : she sat down on the
doorstep and proclaimed the house ander siege, an-
nouncing her intention to remain until she had
wreaked her vengeance on Mrs. Hogan, and offering
meanwhile to fight any fonr women of Waddy for
mere diversion.

It was not til: the tired miners off the night shift
ha(l secured all the goats she pointed out as hers, tied
their legs and packed them on her waggon, that the
woman could be induced to leave ; and as she drove
away she heaped further insnlt on the township, and
from the distant toll-bar signalled a final gesture of
contempt and loathing.

This woman took back to Cow Flat her own expla-
nation of the mystery of the lost goats, and in due
time deputations from the rival township began to
reach Waddy, so that the Great Goat Riot developed
rapidly. It was long since friendly feeling had
existed between Waddy and Cow Flat. There was a
standing quarrel about sludge and the pollution of the
waters of the creek ; there were political differences,
too, and a fierce sporting rivalry. By the majority of
the people of Cow Flat the purloining of their goats
was accepted as further evi^Ience of the moral deprav-
ity and low origin of the people of Waddy, and the

ISO

THE G0LD-8TEALERS.

'ir

I VM

feeling between the townships was suddenly strained
to a dangerous tension.

The first few skirmishing parties from Cow Flat
were composed of women and boys, and an undis-
ciplined and rash pursuit of goats followed each visit.
The nannies and billies, under stress of the new ex-
citement, ran suddenly wild and developed a fleetness
of foot, an expertuess in climbing, and powers of en-
durance hitherto all unsuspected by their owners; so
veiy few animals were recovered by the visitors.

The hunt was continued throughout the next day.
Goats were rushing wildly about the place from morn-
ing till midnight pursued by their wrathful owners,
to the detriment of the peace of Waddy and the un-
doing of the tractable local milkers ; and at last a great
resentment took possession of the matrons of the
to^vnship— there were counter-attacks among the
houses, rescue parties beset the women carrying off
prizes, and a few skirmishes happened on the flat.
Now the men were induced to take a hand, and there
was talk of battle and pillage and sudden death.

Devoy, pugnacious and vengeful, provoked the first
serious struggle. Discovering a man of Cow Flat
who claimed a small family of aggressive brown goats
which he had marked out as the vandals that had
wrought ruin amongst his well-kept beds, Dcvoy
bearded the stranger and spoke of damages and broken
heads, and his small son, Dunny, a young Australian
with a piquant brogue and a born love of ructions,
moved round and incited him to bloodshed.

?l"

THE GOLD-STEALERS. 121

' Go fer him, daddy. Sure, ye can lick him wid
one hand, dear,' pleaded Danny.

' Yer dir.rty goats have ate me gar-rden, sor.
a ye momd me now? It's ruined me gar-rden is on
me, said Devoy aggressively.

' Hit him, daddy,' screamed Danny.

Devoy accepted the advice and struck the first blow
The man from Cow Flat was very willing, and they
fought a long, destructive battle; and through it all
Danny danced about the ring, bristling with excite-
ment and crying fierce and persistent encouragement
to his sire.

' Let him have it, daddy ! ' ' JVfow yo have him ' '
'Good on you, daddy! ' 'Sure, you'll do him"
One round more, daddy, an' yo have him beat' '
These phrases, and shrill inarticulate cries of an
plause and astonishment and joy, Danny reiterated
breathlessly until his father was pronounced the vie-
tor; thei, he took the battered hero fondly by the
hand and led him away to be bathed and plastered
and bandaged by a devoted wife and mother.

The downfall of Devoy's opponent brought other
ehampions from Cow Flat; there were open fights in
Wilson's paddocks by day and assaults and sallies by
mght, and the bitterness deepened into hatred
Waddy now resisted every attempt to carry off the
stolen goats, and parties coming from Cow Flat
by night were content with any animals they could
lay their hands on; so for nearly a week the township
was beset with alarums and excursions, and Jo Rogers

122

TUE (iOLD-ST£ALER8.

1.1

as its Rdmittpd ehami>ioii, had more engagements on
liis handi than he could reasonably be expected to fiil-
ril in a month.

Dickie and his accomplices were amazed at tlie de-
velopments, and witched the trouble grow with the
greatest concern. The contests on the open ground
beyond thoqmTries were frciicnt and free, ond then
there came a hill; bnt from ( „w Flat came rumours
of a grand coup meditated hy the leaders on that
side. Preparations were being made for an attack by
a large body, and the forcible abduction of all tlic
goats, ii respective of individual rights. The excite-
ment had now reached fever heat, and there were
few men in AVaddy wlu, were not ready, even
anxio:. : ?o strike a blow for the preservation of the
flocks .; .a j,erds and the credit of the township.

On the side of approach from Cow Flat V^addy
was protected for the greater jiart of tlie distance by
the string of quarries; under the command of Big
Peterson, who as an ex-soldier had some military
reputation, logs were dragged from the bush, and the
space between the end of the quarries and the fence
of Summers' south paddock was smartly barricaded
Tlio defenders were armed with light sticks, and it
was i-nderstood that these were to be used only if the
enemy refused to abide by Nature's weapons.

All the mines in the vicinity of Waddy worked
short-handed -n the day of the Great Goat Riot; the
men, under the command of Captain Peterson, were
sitting in bands, hidden from view in the quarries,

THE OOLD-STKALKKS. i«3

smokinp, disciiMing the sitimtion, an,l patiently await-
ing tlie attack. Tlicy ,li.l not wait in vain. At
about cloven o'eloek a scout panic in with lI,o intelli-
gcncc tl.at a lar^^c l„>>ly was aclvancin^ in irruRular
order tlin.ugl. Wilson's paddock, and a .jnarter of an
Imur later tlie men of Cow Flat swarmed out of tl,e
bush and over tlie fence and charge,! Waddy at a
trot.

' Toe the scratch, men ! ' yelled IVterson ; and the
defenders of W'addy climbed out of the holes and
presently turned a solid front to the enemy. The
Cow Flat commander, who li.id expected to take the
place by surprise, wavered at the siglit of organised
opposition and ealle<I a lialt at the other ed-o of the
quarries; and invaders and besieged faced each other
across the broken ground while the Cow Flat le.iders
held a council of war. f)n the level behind the en-
trenched army tlie women of Waddy and their
families were picknicking gaily on the grass, for it
was accepted as a great gala day in the township, and
flags of all shapes and colours, devised from all kinds
of discarded garments, fluttered from tree-tops, chim-
neys posts, clothes-props, and any other eminence to
winch a streamer could be fastened.

Perceiving their < nponeiits reluctant to charge,
Peterson's command presently developed a fine flow
of sarcasm.

' Won't ye stip over, ye mud-gropers? ' cried De-
yoy. 'It's a nice little riciption we've arranged for
yez.'

It4

THE 00LD-8TEALEH8.

'Who rtolo tlio goats? ' retorted the enemy.

'Sure, la it the hits of goats, then? Yc might
come an' take them if ye won't be stayin' all day
there dislicussin' polcmio.' Devoy was understood
to he a man of loarning and nncijualled in argnmcnt.

' Kidnappers an' goat-stealers ! ' yelled the foe.

Dovoy po«ed on a rock in an oratorical attitude.

' Ye came snspectin' t' have a foine aisy time the
inornin',' he said. ' Ycz continiplated playin' the
diyil wid a big ihtick among the weemin'an' the
childtber. Tom Moran, ye tlmnderin' great ilephant
av a man, d'ye think ye cud fight a sick hen on a
fincc 'i '

Sforau replied with nproarioiii profanity and frantir
pantomime, and the abuse became general and vocif-
erous. Devoy mounted a larger rock and commenced
a scathing harnnguo; but a eod thrown by an invader
took him in the mouth and toppled him over back-
wards, 80 tliat he arose gasping and spitting and claw-
ing dirt out of his beard, and made a rush for his
enemy, mad for battle; friends grappled with him and
held him back, and he could only shriek defiance and
rash challenges as the two parties moved along the
quarries towards the log barricade. Here the men of
Cow Flat halted again and their leaders conferred, but
the rank-and-file were rapidly losing temper and re-
straint under the black insults heaped upon them by
the besieged. Tliey scattered along the row of logs
into a long thin line and the men of Waddy followed,
till the two parties were almost man to man, facing

THK GOLD-STEALKKS.

125

each other, exchanging jiliea ami gestures o{ cou-
teiiipt.

' Moran, ye scut I don't ho skiniiiBhin' an' in-
tliriguin' t' get forninst a ehmall man. J[y meat ye
aru, an' couie on, ye — ve creepin" intor-r-iner,
ye ! '

It was the last insult. Moran leil the charge, roar-
ing like a goaded bullock, tlie two parties clashed over
the logs, and in an instant comparative silence fell upon
the men. The yelling, the derisive voices, and scof-
fing laughter ceased, and n„tliing was heard but the
sharp rattle of the strokex. The right was fierce, ear-
nest, aud bloody, all thoughts of the absurdity of the
cause of contention liad long bince been forgotten, and
the battle was as remorseless as if it were waged for
an empire.

The women had never expected anytliiug serious to
happen, and now they were dreadfully afraid. A
valiant few took arms and joined in tlie fray b) the
Bides of their husbands ; but the rest, tiiuling after a
few minutes that the tight raged furio\i»ly, gave
way to bitter tears, and wailed protests from a safe
distance, while the children followed their example
with all the vigour of young lungs.

In time Peterson and Devoy and Rogers found voice
and yelled encouragement to their men, and sticksand
fists worked grievous mischief. The Cow Flat men
were at an enormous disadvantage in having to scale
the logs to make headway ; whenever a hero did suc-
ceed in gaining the top. Big Peterson, who moved

136

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

swiftly and tirelessly up and down the Une, was there
to cope with him, and he was hurled down, bruised and
broken. The besiegers struggled valiantly, but it
dawned on them in the course of ten minutes that they
were waging a Tain and foolish fight. A rally and a res-
cue of Moran, who was on the point of being captured
by the enemy, gave tliem an excuse to draw off, drag-
ging their defeated leader beyond harm's reach. A few
moments later, in the midst of excited cheering and
jeering, a number of the men became aware of a small,
bare-headed, red-haired, white-faced boy standing on
the logs between the foes, where he had stood whilst
the fight was still waging, whirling his hat, and crying
something at the top of his voice:

' The troopers ! The troopers ! The troopers ! '
It was Dick Haddon, very frightened apj)arently,

and ablaze with excitement.

' Don't fight, don't fight ! ' he cried. ' 'Twas me

took the goats, an' the troopers're comin' ! Look, the

troopers! '

Sure enough, far off across the level country leading
down to Yarraman, a small body of mounted police
could be seen riding at a canter towards Waddy, their
swords and cap-peaks glittering in the sun. The men
stared in the direction pointed by Dick in silence, won-
dering what this development might mean. Devoy
was the first to move. Gripping Dick, he lifted him
from the logs.

' Run, run, ye bla'gard I ' he said. ' Fetch ver
school football'

THE GOLD-STEALEKS, 127

Then ae Dick hastened away Devoy took a com-
manding position on the barricade.

' Hear me, all of yez, ' be cried. ' Down wid yer
sticks, every divil of yez ! You Cow Flat min, too
down wid 'em! Look it here— the troopers is comin'.
Shme have infor-rmed on ns in Yarraman. Moind,
now, this is jist a bit of divarsion we've been
haviii'.'

The Waddy men had dropped their weapons, so
also had most of their foes, and all gathered closer
about Devoy.

'T'row away thim shticks,' he yelled. 'D'ye
want tin years fer riot, an' murther, an' di«h-
turbm' the peace? Look peaceable, an' frindly
an' lovin', if it's in yez so to do. Moran, ye
sulky haythen, wud ye be hangin' the lot av ns?
Shmile 'r I'll black the other oy. .f ye! Shraile.
ye hi-potomus ! '

At this instant the line of troopers rode in between
the parties, with a clattering of scabbard and chain
The sergeant drew his foaming bay up sharp and con-
fronted Devoy.

'What is the moaning of this, my man?' he
demanded.

' Meanin' which, sor? ' Devoy cocked a black and
swollen eye at the officer, and smiled innocently over
a lacerated chin.

' Meaning this. ' The trooper waved a white glove
over the congregation.

' Sure, it's a bit of a game only —a bit of a frindly

THE GOLD -STEALERS.

li!

game o' football, as ye may see wid the own eyei
of ye.'

Dick's football had just bounced in between the
opposing bodies. The officer ran his eye over the
crowd, noting the broken heads, the bruises, and the
bloodstains.

' You play football in a funny way at Waddy,' he
said.

' We play it wid enthusiasm.'

' Enthusiasm ! I should say yon played it with
■hillelahs. Do you always get cracked skulls and
black eyes when you play football? '

' It's our pleasant way, sor.'

' Is it? Well, how the devil do you play football?
What is the meaning of this pile of logs? '

' Meaning the fince, sergeant? It's this way: we
of Waddy stands on this side, an' thim of Cow Flat
fominst us on the other side, an' we kicks it over t'
thim, an' they kicks it back to ourselves, an', sure,
the side what kicks it over the most frequent wins.
Would you like t' see, sergeant? '

The miners grinned, the troopers giggled, and the
sergeant began to feel huSy.

' 'Tention ! ' he cried. ' Who won this precious
game? '

Devoy pinched his chin tenderly and grimaced. It
was hard to abandon the glory of a well-won battle,
but there was no option.

' It was a dthraw, ' he said manfully.

' And what were you playing for? '

THE GOLD-STEALERS. 12»

' Playin- for? Oh, fer natural love an' affection
nothm' more, barrin' a few goats.'

'Goat8, el.? Now look here, my fire fellow, we
were told there was to be riot and fighting here over
those goate. I don't believe a word of your cock-and-
bull story about football, and for two pins I'd clap a
few of you where you wouldn't play again for some
time to come. Now you'd all better settle this goat
business while my men are here, and take my advice
and drop football if you want to keep on the comfort-
able and airy side of a gaol. No- then, you fellows
trom the I iat, round up your goats and look slippy in
gettingout of this.'

Devoy was the picture of outraged innocence
' T"t. tut, tut! ' he said mournfully, 'an' sec how
they take off the characther of dacent, paceable, lovin'
mm. Twas a tinder an' frindly game we was play-
in , sergeant, but if ye wUl break it up, sure I'm a
law-amdin' man. We did intind t' axe the min av
Cow Flat t' have the bite an' sup wid us at the bau-
quit this night, but we rispict the law, an' we say
nothin' agin it. But, sor, if everyer men would be

likin a game of football, we '

'Get down, you ruffian I ' said the sergeant, grin-
ning, and rode his horse at Devoy.

So the Great Goat Riot was settled, and under the
eye of the sergeant and his troopers the goats of Cow
Flat were drafted from those of Waddy. It was a
difficult task, and was not accomplished without trou-
ble and argument and minor hostilities : but the judg-

180

THE GOLD-STEALEES.

ment of the Bergeant, who seemed to be awara of the
whole merits of the case, was final, bo that in due
time the men of Cow Flat departed diiving their
goats before them, and comparative peace fell upon
Waddy once more.

CHAPTER XII.
An, through the next day Waddy wa» yeiy calm-

eral members of the SchooTcol ,/ ^"'°^ '^''■

fusions and ..^ed?h'ar:x:urbn:^"i;
rreis^^nv^K^-^f^-i-^^^^^

WaddvinM a * .^ Haddon,' had dragged

waddy mto a nasty squabble, some of the resnlTfnf

181

133

THE GOLD-STKALERS.

seeking a jt.st revenge. Already she had called npon
Mrs. HaddoD and delivered a long, loud, and fierce
public lecture to the startled little widow on the moral
responsibilities of parents, and the need they have of
faithfnllj- and regularly thrashing their sons as a duty
they owe to their neighbors. Now it was her inten-
tion to incite Joel Ham to administer an adequate
caning to the boy, or to do herself the bare justice of
soundly spanking the culprit. She bounced into the
school, angry, bare-armed, and eager for the fray, and
all the children sat up and wondered.

' I've come about that boy Haddon,' said Mrs. Ben.

Joel Ham blinked his pale lashes and regarded her
thoughtfully, in peaceful and good-humoured contrast
with her own haste and heat.

• Have you, indeed, ma'am?' he said softly.

' Have I, indeed ! ' cried the woman, bridling again
at a hint of sarcasm ; ' can't you see I have? '

' Madam, you are very obvious.'

'Am I, then! Well, look here, you; you've got
to cane the hide oS that boy.'

' Yon surprise me, Mrs. Steven. For what? '

'For breakin' into my garden an' robbin' me.
Nice way you're teachin' these boys, ain't yon?
Makin' thieves an' stealers of 'em. Now, tell me,
do yon mean to thrash him? '

Joel considered the matter calmly, pinching his
under lip and blinking at Mrs. Ben in a pensive,
studious way.

' No, ma'am, I do not.'

THE GOLD-STEALEBS.

133

' For why? ' cried the woman.

' I am not the public hangman, Mrs. Steven.'

Mrs. Steven conid not see the relevance of the
excuse, and her anger rose again.

'Then, sir, I'll thrash him myself, now an' here.'

The master sighed heavily and clamberod on to hie
high stool, took his black bottle from his desk, and
deliberately refreshed himself, oblivious apparently to
the lady's threat and forgetting her presence.

' Do yon hear me, Joel Ham ? ' Mrs. Ben Steven
beat heavily on the desk with the palm of her large
hand. ' I'll whack him myself. '

'Certainly, ma'am, certainly— if yon can catch
him.'

Dick accepted this as a kindly hint and dived under
a couple of desks as Mrs. Steven rushed his place.
The chase was obviously useless from the first; the
woman had not a possible chance of catching Dick
amongst the forms, but she tried while her bi«ath
lasted, rushing in and out amongst the classes, knock-
mg a child over here and there, boxing the ears of
others when they got in her way, and creating con-
fusion and unbounded delight everywhere. The
children were overjoyed, but Gable was much con-
cerned for Dick, and stood up in his place ejaculating
'Crickey! ' in a loud voice and following the hunt
with frightened eyes.

Meanwhile Joel Ham, B.A., sat at his desk, con-
templating the roof with profound interest, and
taking a casual mechanical pull at his bottle. Joel

184

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

was in a pecnliar position : he was selected by tlio
people of Waddy and paid by them, and had to defer
to their wishes to some extent; and, besides, Mrs.
Ben Steven was a large, powerful, indignant woman,
and he a email, slim man.

Mrs. Steven stood in front of the class* s until she
had rocovc ed sufficient breath to start a fierce tirade ;
then, one hand on her hip and the other out-thrown,
she thundered abuse at Bichard Haddon and all his
belongings. The master bore this for two or three
minutes ; then he slid from his stool, seized his longest
cane, and thrashing the desk — his usual demand for
order — he faced Mrs. Ben and, pointing to the door,
cried:

'Out!'

The woman backed away a step and regarded him
with some amazement. He was not a bit like the
everyday Joel Ham, but quite imperious and fierce.

' Out ! ' he said, and the long cane whistled threat-
eningly around and over her.

She backed away a few steps more ; Joel followed
her up, cutting all around her with the lightning play
of an expert swordsman, just missing by the fraction
of an inch, and showing a face that quite subdued the
virago. Mrs. Steven backed to the door.

' Out ! ' thundered Ham, and she fled, banging the
door between her and the dangerous cane.

' Oh crickey ! ' cried Gable in a high squeak that
set the whole school laughing boisterously.

Mrs. Ben Steven reappeared at one of the windows.

THE GOLD-STEALERS. ur-

and threatened terrible things for Ham when her Ben
retnmed; but Joel was consoling himself with his
bottle again and was not in the least disturbed, and a
minute later the school was plunged in a studious
silence.

Peterson and Cann called late in the afternoon, as
representatives of the School Committee.

' We've come fer your permission to ask some ques-
tions of the boy Haddon, Mr. Ham, sir,' said
Peterson.

Joel received a great show of respect from most of
the men of Waddy in consideration of hia position and
scholarship.

Dick was called out and faced the men, firm-lipped
and with unconquerable resolution in the set of his
face and the gleam of his eye.

' 'Bout this job o' goat-etealin' ? ' said Cann, with
a grave judicial air.

' They stole my billy. I went to fetch him back,
an' all the other goats come too,' Dick answered.
'Who helped?'

' Just a dog — a sheep an' cattle dog.'
'What boys?'
' Dunuo ! '

The examination might as well have ended there.
It is a point of honour amongst all schoolboys never to
'split' Oil mates. The boy who tells is everywhere
regarded as a sneak — at Waddy he speedily became
a pariah — and Dick was a stickler for points of
honour. To be caned was bad, but nothing to the

THE OOLD-STEALERS.

gnawing ahame of long weeks following upon a cow-
.dly breach of faith. To all the questions Cann or
Peterson could put with the object of eliciting the
names of the participators in the big raid, Dick re-
turned only a distressing and wof ully stupid ' Dunno ! '

Peterson scratched his head helplessly, and turned
an eye of appeal npon the master.

'Very well,' said Cann, 'we'll just have to guess
at the other boys, an' their fathers' 11 be prevailed on
to deal with 'em ; but this boy what's been the ring-
leader ain'tgot no father, an' it don't seem fair to the
others to leave his punishment to a weak woman,
does it?'

Peterson's eye appealed to the master again. ' Not
fair an' square to the other boys,' he added philo-
sophically.

Joel Ham shook his head.

' I teach your children,' he said. ' I neither ng
nor flagellate your criminals. '

'No, no, a-course not,' said Peterson.

' Might yon be able to spare us this boy fer the
rest o' the afternoon, in the name o' the committee?'
asked Cann. ' We'll go an' argue with his mother
to leave the liekin' of him to tlie committee. '

'As a question o' public interest,' said Peterson.

The mas' consented to this, and Dick was led
away between the two men. The interview with
Mrs. Haddon took place in the widow's garden.
Mrs. Haddon quite understood what it meant when
Peterson entered with Dick in custody.

THE OOLD-STEALERS.

137

•Good day, Mn. Haddon,' said the big man gin-
gerly. ' O' course you know all 'bout the trouble o'
those goats. '

'Made by you stupid men, mostly,' said Mrs.
Haddou.

Peterson stammered and appealed to Cann— he had
not expected argument.

' What we men did, ma'am,' said Cann, ' was to
protect our property. If the goats hadn't bin
brought here there wouldn't 'a' bin any need fer
that. Not to mention garden robbiu' before, an'
broken fences an' such.'

'The School Committee, ma'am,' said Peterson,
' has drawed up a list of suspects, an' the fathers of
the boys named will lambaste 'em all thorough. Now
it occurred to the committee that your boy, bein' the
worst o' the pack, an' havia' confessed, oughter get
a fair share o' the hainmeriu'.'

' An' you've come to offer to do it? '
' That's just it, ma'am, if you'll be so kind.'
Mrs. Haddon had a proper sense of her public
duties, a due appreciation of the extent of Dick's
wickedness, and a full knowledge of her own ineffi-
ciency as a soourger. She looked down and debated
anxiously with herself, carefully avoiding Dick's eye,
and Dick watchad her all the time, but did not speak
a word or make a single plea.

' Can't I beat my own boy? ' she asked angrily.
' To be certain sure, ma'am, but you're a small bit
of a woman, an' it don't seem altogether square

1S8

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

dealin' fer the other* to get a proper hidin' an' him
not. 'Side*, 'twould latisfy public feelin' better il
one of u> was to lam him. Sound, ma'am, but jadi-
dont,' said Cann.

'An' 'twonld aave you furthtr trouble,' added
Peterson. ' 'Twould < sso the mind o' Mrs. Ben
Steven.' This latter ivj^ a weighty argument. Mrs.
Haddon's terror of the big woman with the terrible
tongue was very real.

' ■Well, well, well,' she said pitifully. ' Yon— you
won t beat him roughly? '

' I'm a father, as you know, ma'am,' said
Peterson, ' an' know what's a fair thing by a
boy.'

Cann was unbuckling his belt, and the widow stood
trembling, clasping and unclasping her hands. It
was a severe ordeal, but public spirit prevailed. Mrs.
Haddon turned and fled into the house, and shutting
herself in her bedroom buried her head in the pillows
and wept.

Ten minutes later she was called out, and Dick was
delivered into her liands.

' Better lock him up fer the night,' said Peterson,
looking in a puzzled way at Dick.

The boy had not shed a tear nor uttered a cry. He
stood stock still under the flailing, and the heart went
out of Peterson. Had Dick fought or struggled, it
would have been all right and natural; but this was
such a cold-blooded business, and a strange but strong-
ly-felt superiority of spirit in the boy awed and con-

THE OOLD-STEALERS.

139

fund the big man, and the beating wai but gingerl;
done after all.

'Come, Dickie, Jtnr,' snid AIra, Haddon, in a peni-
tent tone and witli much hnmilitj.

She led the boy into his room, and there addressed
a diffident and halting speech to him. There were
times when Mrs. Uaddon had a sense of being yonnger
and weaker than her son, and this was one of them.
She felt it her duty to tell Dick of the sinfulness of
his conduct, and to try to justify the punishment, but
her words fell ineptly from lier lips, — she knew them
to be vain against the power that held Dick silent and
tearless, and yet without a trace of boyish stubborn-
ness. She was not a very wise little woman, or her
ion's force of character might have been turned early
to good works and profitable courses.

In truth the thrashing had had an extraordinary
effect on Richard Haddon. For a boy to be kicked,
or clonted, or tweaked by strange men is the fortune
of war — it is a mere everyday incident, the natnral
and accepted fate of all boys, and is swiftly resented
with a jibe or a missile and forgotten on the spot ;
but to be taken in cold blood by one strange man, not
a schoolmaster or in any way privileged, and deliber-
ately and systematically larruped with a belt under
the eyes of another, is burning shame. It tortured
all Dick's senses into revolt, and awakened in him a
hatred of what he looked upon as the injustice and
cowardliness of the outrage that was too deep and too
bitter for trivial complaints.

140

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

Dick's temperament wag poignantl^r romantic, and
the natural tendency had been fed and nourished by
indiscriminate reading. Tlie Waddy Public Library,
in point of fact, was largely responsible for many of
the minor worries and big troubles Dick had been in-
strumental in visiting on the township. The ' Ub'ry '
was in the hands of a few men whose literary tastes
were decidedly crude, with a strong leaning towards
piracy on the high seas, brigandage, buccaneering,
and sudden death. Dick read all print that came in
his way. Once he started a book he felt in honour
bound to finish it, however difficult the task. To set
it aside would be a confession of mental weakness.
For this reason he had once, during a week of humili-
ation, fought his way stubbornly through Tupper'g
' Proverbial Philosophy. ' But it was the rampant
fiction that influenced him most directly. He took
his romance very seriously ; his vivid sympathies were
always with the poor persecuted pirate driven to law-
less courses by systematic oppression at school, or by a
cold proud father's failure to appreciate the humour of
his youthful villainies. The bushranger, too, urged
from milder courses of crime by the persecutions of
the police, found in Dick a devoted friend. It never
occurred to the boy that the excuses given were any-
thing but adequate and satisfactory justification for
pillage and arson and homicide.

On leaving Dick's room, Mrs. Haddon locked the
door very carefully and quietly. She suspected that
he waa planning mischief that would lead to further

THE GOLD-STEALERS. 141

trouble, and hoped that by next morning he would be
in a frame of mind to be won over by a little mother-
ly strategy. But she went about her work with a
heavy heart. Later she took the impenitent young
' duffer ' a tea cunningly designed to appeal to his
rebellious heart, and spread it neatly on the big dim-
ity-covered box in his bedroom ; but Dick was impla-
cable.

In the evening the widow had a visitor in whom
she could confide without reservation. Christina
Shine ha-i called about her new dress for the Sunday
School anniversary, and the weakest and most indul-
gent of mothers cou, not have wished for a more
sympathetic confidant than big Miss Chris, who saved
all her tears for other people's troubles.

'You know, dear,' murmured Mrs. Haddon. 'I
can't change Dickie's nature. lie's wild, an' he
thinks he's all kinds of ridiculous people, an' they
lead him into mischief. '

' Poor Dick ! I shouldn' t have let them beat him, '
said Chris, flushing with indignation.

' An' he's just as eager for good, you know,' con-
tinued the widow, ' but then nobody makes any fuss
over him when he does something really creditable. '

Chris nodded her head reproachfully. ' Even
father forgets,' she said.

Miss Chris had enormous faith in her father and a
great affection for him, and his want of consideration
for the boy who she believed had saved him from much
suffering, if not a slow and terrible death, was a trait

143

THE GOLD-STEALEES.

■i ;i

in his character that gave her a good deal of con-
cern.

'Dickie thinks a lot of yoa, Christina,' said Mrs.
Haddon. ' P'r'aps if yon went an' spoke a few words
with him he might be persuaded to overlook what's
past.'

' Yes, yes, ' said Chris brightly.

' Tell him how much trouble he is givin' his poor
mother, who'd be alone but for him. You might
dwell on that, my dear, will yon? '

' I will, of course; and it's true, too.'

' It always seems to soften him. If it doesn't, yon
can hint I'm not very well to-night.'

'Mke Chris, who stood head and shoulders above her
friend, laid an afiectionate hand upon the plump and
rosy widow.

' When he's unmanageable other ways I take ill for
a little while, you know,' said the widow mournfully.
'Come in,' she cried in answer to a sharp knock at
the door.

The caller was Harry Hardy. He stopped short in
confusion on beholding Christina Shine, and Chris
blushed warmly in answering his curt ' Good evening. '

' I called to see Dick 'bout that tin dish,' he said,
beating his leg with his hat in au obvious effort to
appear at his ease.

Mrs. Haddon glanced sharply from Harry to Chris
and conceived a new interest.

' I will go to Dickie,' said Chris, taking the key
from the widow.

THE GOLD-STEALEES.

143

Mrs. Haddon explained to Harry when they were
alone, and added insinuatingly :

' That's a dear good girl.'

' Shine's daughter? ' said Harry with emphasis.

' les, Shine's daughter, an' she's as good as he
pretends to he.'

Harry contrived to look quite vindictive and gave
no answer, and a minute later Chris returned. Dick
had harred his door on the other side and would give
her no reply.

' The window I ' cried Mrs. Haddon.

Harry hastened out and around the bouse. Finding
the window of Dick's room unlatched he threw it up
and climbed into the room. The door was barred
with a chair; this he removed, and Mrs. Haddon
entered with a candle. There was no sign of the boy,
but pinned on the wall was a large strip of paper on
which was written in bold letters :

' Good-bye for ever. I've run away to be a bush-
ranger. — Dick Haddon. P. S.— Pursuit is useless. '

The widow sank upon the edge of the bed and
mopped her tears with a snow-white apron.

' That means that I sha'n't see him for two days at
least,' she said, 'unless I'm either taken very ill or
attacked by a burglar. Why, why can't a poor
woman be allowed to bring up her own children in her
own way? '

Chris was soothing and Harry reassuring.

' He knows how to take care of himself. He'll be
all right,' cried the young man heartily.

144

THE G0LD-8TEALEBS.

r; i

1 ?

I "I

' If yon conld get some o' the boys to let him know
I WRsn't safe from a sundowner, or a drunken drover,
or someone, I'd be much obliged,' said Mrs. Haddon.

' Very well,' replied Harry, laughing. ' I'll man-
age that.'

Mrs. Haddon smiled through her tears, much com-
forted, and turned her mind to other things. Within
the space of about two minutes she had satisfied her-
self that no womsn in all the world would make Harry
Hardy a better wife than Christina Shine, and, being
convinced, it was manifestly her duty to help the good
cause.

' Won't you stay awhile an' keep me company,
Christina?' she asked. ' Harry'U see you home.'

Miss Chris would stay with pleasure, but she
couldn't think of troubling Mr. Hardy, and she said
so with a girl's shyness. Mr. Hardy stammered a
little and tried to say that it would be no trouble at
all, but the eSort was not a brilliant success considered
as a compliment. He longed to stay, and yet hated
and feared to stay. This anomalous frame of mind
was new; it confused and staggered him. He seemed
to be swayed by an external impulse, and resented it
with miserable self-deceit. But he stayed.

Harry did not greatly enrich the conversation dur-
ing the hour spent in Mrs. Haddon's kitchen, but he
found his eyes drawn to the handsome profile of
Christina Shine, standing out in its soft fairness against
the dark wall like a wonderfully carven cameo. Her
hair, turned back in beautifully flowing lines, helped

THE GOLD-STEALERS. U6

the queenly suggestion. Harry looked resolutely
away; then he heard her voice, sweet and low, and
recollected that beside himself no man, woman, or
child in "Waddy was mean enough to cherish a hard
thought of Miss Chris. BeMeUrmdf! He turned
fiercely, as if for refuge, to his dUlike for her father.
His failure to find the smallest clue to justify his opin-
ion and that of his mother as to the real merits of the
crime at the Silver Stream left him more bitter
towards the searcher, the one man whose words and
actions had convicted Frank. He would not admit his
hatred to be unfair or unreasonable, and his morose-
ness deepened as time showed him how heavily the
disgrace and sorrow lay upon hb mother, although
her words were always cheerful and her faith nncon-
querable.

The walk home that night was not a pleasant one to
Chris. She was piteously anxious to have him think
kindly of her, and this made itself felt through Harry's
roughest mood; then he had an absurd impulse to
throw out his arms and offer her protection and ten-
derness. Absurd because, turning towards her, he
was compelled to look upwards into her eyes, and the
tall, strong figure at his side, walking erect, with firm
square shoulders, dwarfed his conceit till he felt him-
self morally and physically a pigmy.
Their conversation drifted to dangerous ground.
' Have you found nothing to help poor Frank? '
she asked.

'Nothing,' he said sharply and suspiciously.

146

THE G0LD-STEALEE8.

I« !

' I am sorry. Oh 1 how I wish I could aid yon 1 '
'There's one man that might do that, bnt he

won't. '

'One man? One? You said that strangely. One
man? Who would he so brutal? '

His silence stung her. She turned sharply.
'Oh, you don't mean— surely, surely you don't
mean father? '

Again he did not answer.

' It is not right,' she cried out. ' You can haveno
reason to think that. You say it to hurt me. '
'I didn't say it.'

' You meant it — you mean it still.'
She quickened her pace and they exchanged no
more words until the walk was ended, then she gave
him her hand oyer the gate.

' Good-night,' she said. ' You were more gener-
ous as a boy, Harry.'

He took her hand. It was ungloved, and felt small
and tender in his hard palm. The touch awoke a
sudden passion in him. Both of his hands held hers,
his head bent over it, and he blurted something in
apology. 'Dou'tmindme! I didn't mean it! Please,

please ' He did not know what he was saying,

and the words were too low and confused to reach her
ears; bnt she went up the garden path with an elate
bird in her heart singing such a song of gladness that
the world was filled with its music, and the girl knew
its meaning and yet wondered at it.

Harry stood uervously gripping the pickets of the

THE QOLD-STEALEKSL 147

gate and gazed after her, and continued gazing for
many minutes when she had gone. Then he swung
off into the bush, walking rapidly, and was glad in a
stern rebellious way— glad in spite of hU mission, in
spue of his brother, in spite of and defiance of every,
thing.

CHAPTEB Xni.

Mbanwhii-e matters of interest were progressing
below at the Mount of Gold mine. The juyenile
shareholders of the Company had done a fair amonnt
of work in the soft reef, of the new drive at odd
times during the last fortnight; and the drire, which
diminished in circumference as it progressed, and
threatened presently to terminate in a sharp point,
had been driven in quite fifteen feet. But to-mght
the young prospectors were not interested in mming
operations. On top Dick Haddon's big billy-goat
was feeding greedily on the lush herbage of the Gaol
Quarry; below, Dick and his boon companions were
preparing for a tremendous adventure.

After escaping from his room Dick had hunted up
Jacker Mack, Phil Doon, and Billy Peterson. He
came upon the two former at a jjropitious time, when
both were slowly recovering from the physical eftects
of an 'awful doing' administered by their respecti-^
fathers at the instigation of the School Comroittt
when the^ were still filled with bitterness towardt a-,
mankind, and satisfied that life was hollow and vain,
and there was no happiness or peace for a weii-
meaning small boy on this side of the grave. Peter-

148

THE GOLD-STEALERS. 149

ton had succeeded in avoiding the head of his house
80 far, but was filled with anxiety. Dick easily per-
suaded all three to accompany him to the mine, there
to discuss the situation and plot a fitting revenge.

Hia proposal was that they should all turn bush-
rangers on the spot, form a band to ravage and lay
waste the country, and visit upon society the just con-
sequences of iu rashness and folly in tyrannising over
ite boys, misunderstanding them, and miaconstrning
their highest and noblest intentions.

' When anyone shakes our goats, ain't we a right
to demand 'em back at the point o' the sword?'
asked Dick indignantly.

The boys were unanimous. They had such a right
— nay, it was a bounden duty.

' Very well, then, what'd they wanter lick us fer? '
continued Dick. ' Won't they be sorry when they
hear about us tumin' bushrangers, that's all ! '

'D'ye really think they will, though?' asked
Jacker McKnight dubiously. He had found hia
parents very unromantic people, who took a severely
commonplace view of things, and retained unquestion-
ing faith in the strap as a means of elevating the
youthful idea.

'Why, o' course!' cried Dick. 'When our
mothers read in the papers 'bout the lives we're
leadin', it'll make 'em cry all night 'cause 0' the way
we've been treated; an' you coves' fathers'U hear
tell o' yer great adventures, an' they'll know what
sort o' chaps they knocked about an' abused, an'

150

THE OOLD-STEALERS.

V k

tiim»

they'll respect yon an' wish you was back home so's
they conld make up for the fatal past.'

Jacker looked doubtful still ; he could not imagine
his parents in that character; but Peterson was
delighted with the prospect, and Phil Doon, whose
mother was a large, stout woman, who sjient halt her
day in bed reading sentimental stories, was quite
impressed, and enlisted on the spot.

' You'll be my lieutenant, you know, Jacker,' said
Dick; 'an' we'll call you Fork Lightnin'.'

' Hoo! Will you, though? ' cried Jacker.

Dick nodded and made.an affirmative noise between
his closed lips.

'Fork Lightnin',' said Jacker, trying the name.
' Sounds well, don't it? What sorter feller will I be?
Brave, eh ? '

'Frightened o' neither man nor devil, but awful
cruel, 'cause yon was crossed in love.'

Jacker was delighted. He was naturally a combat-
ive youth, with a fine contempt for rules that would
deny him the advantages to be derived from his ability
as a swift and vigorous kicker; so a bloodthirsty and
rebellious character was quite to his taste.

'Not crossed in love, though,' he complained.
' That seems raeasley, don't it? S'pose I shot a man
once, an' the p'lice won't let me have no peace.'

' Good enough ! ' said Dick.

' Then I'm in. When do we start?'

' To-morrer night. We want one more. Twitter
will come. That'll be five. Five is a fine gang;

THE QOLD-STEALERS.

ISl

side*, we don't waut fellen what ain't got billiei.
Bnshrangers ain't no acconnt on foot. My men must
bo all mounted. So I propoee we meet on the toll-bar
road ju<t when it's gettin' dark, all ritjing our billy-
goats an' armed to the teeth ; an' we'll stick up all tlio
Cow Flat people goin' home from Yarraman.'

' My word ! ' cried Phil ecstatically. ' We owe it to
that lot."

' Couldn't we start now? ' said Peterson, who had
been sitting with wide eyes and open month, and was
consumed with impatience.

' Oh, no, ' said Dick ; ' wc gottcr prepare our arms
an' ammunition an' things. An' Saturdee night's best,
'cause the Cow Flats what have been to Yarraman
buyin' things come up to the Drovers' Arms on the
coach, an' walk home from there.'

It was agreed that Peterson should stay with Dick
in the mine that night. The boys had no lonj^cr any
fear of the black hole discover^ d at the end of the
main drive. An exploring party had made its way
through the opening and into the workings beyond, and
had found itself in a drive communicating with the
Red Hand shaft. Dick, who once in an emergency had
served as tool-boy iu the Silver Stream for a fortnight,
knew that at a lower level there was another and a
much longer Red Hand drive by which access to the
Silver Stream No. 1 workings was possible ; but he
kept this knowledge to himself.

Shortly after midnight Dick and Billy ventured to
return to Waddy, with the idea of securing Billy's goat.

u»

THE GOLD-STEALERa

Hector, a tturdy black brute mach kdmired u the moat
inveterate ' ruilier ' in the country. With the boys of
Waddy a goat that butted or ' rushed ' was highly
prized as an animal of spirit. Peterson caught his goat,
and then Dick, with nnneeesaary wariness and great
waste of stratagem, ' stuck up ' his own home, and
secured a parcel of food carefully left for him on the
table near the unlatched window by a thoughtful
mother.

On Saturday the other boys turned up at the ap-
pointed time. There were rule* commanding the ut-
most caution in entering the, mine by daylight. Every
care had to be taken to satisfy the shareholders that no
stranger was in sight, and the last boy was compelled
to keep a vigilant look-out while the others were de-
scending, and then to make his way to the opening by
a roundabout route, exercising a vigilance that would
have puzzled an army of black- trackers.

Dick, who before leaving home had rifled his small
savings bank, had provided Jacker Mack with money
for supplies, and Jacker brought with him a pound of
candles, some black material for masks, and half a
dozen packets of Chinese crackers. The Chinese
crackers represented cartridges for the pistols of Red
Hand's gang. Dick had decided to be known as Ked
Hand. The pistols were made by fashioning a piece
of soft wood in the shape of a stock, and securing to
this a scrap of hollow bone for a barrel. Into the
barrel a cracker was thrust, the wick was ignited at a
piece of smouldering ' punk ' — which could be carried

THE GOLD-STiiALERS.

1S3

in the pocket in a tin matchbox— and it .1.1; needed
tlie exercise of a little imagination to «ati.f_,- onetelf
that the resulting explosion spread death and desolation
in the ranks of the enemy.

All preliminaries were arranj-cii during thr after-
noon : in the evening, just befon: night fell, Dick and
Peterson, hidden with their trusty steeds amongst the
saplings about three hundrt.l \ iirds beyond the toll-bar,
awaited the coming of their compauious in crimt!. They
bad not long to wait; in a few luini'fo,; Jackfit Mack,
Ted, and Phil Doon came ridiiu- iij he Hustv track
on their brave billies. They uero ere imnaiio'd br a
pedestrian, an interloper, who liirktd Inhind ami evi-
dently did not anticipate a friendly reception. Il was
Gable.

' He saw us comin' an' he wonld foUer,' explained
Jacker.

'Yah!' cried Dick in disgust; ' why didn't you
boot him? '

' So I did. Fat lot o' good that done. He on'y
bellered like a bullock, an' kep' on foUerin'. We pre-
tended we wasn't goiu' nowhere, but he just hnng
round an' couldn't be fooled.'

Dick approached the old man threateningly.

' Clear out I ' he said.

Gable put up a defensive elbow and backed away,
knuckling his eye piteouely the while.

' 'R' you goin'? ' cried Dick, and kicked Gable just
as he would have kicked any inconvenient and mutin-
ous youngster in the same case.

.»•■

THE GOLD-STEALEBS.

'You look out whatcher doiu',' mnttered the old
man, skipping about to avoid the second kick. I'll
get someone wliat'll show yon,' lie added darkly.

Dick ran at him with a big stick, but Gable only
retreated a few yards. lie threw ptones, knocking up
the dust about the old man's feet, and Gable hopped
and skipped with the agility of a kiJ ; but after each
attack he returned humbly to the heels of the party
like a too faitliful dog.

'Better let him come, I s'pose,' said Dick at last.
' Come on, nuisance ! '

Gamble jigged up, radiant, and grinning all over
his fiice.

Red Hand selected a suitable clump of saplings
about half a mile from the toll-bar, and the gang
secreted themselves and made preps'ition for the first
attack. They carried their ' cartrit. . " loose in small
bags hung from their belts, in which were thrust tliree
or four of the bone-barrelled pistcls. Black masks
were donned, Fork Lightning was stationed on a stump
near by to give warning of the approach of a victim,
and the others took up suitable positions, while Dick
fitted Gable witli a mask so that his appearance might
not discredit the gang.

' There,' said Dick. ' you're a bushranger now, re-
member.'

'Crickey! ' cried the old man, delighted.

' An' you'll be lianged if you're caught.'

' Oh, crickey ! ' Gable was more delighted still,
and danced up and down, clappii:g his hands.

THE GOLD-STEALERS. 155

Suddenly there was a warning whistle from Fork
Lightning, and that black scoundrel crept utealthily in
amongst his mates.

' Someone's comin',' he said.
' To horse ! ' cried Red Hand. ' When I give the
word, gallop into the road an' cut off their retreat.
Don't fire till I give orders, an', mind, spare the
women an' children.'

Sounds of horses' hoofs were heard approaching.
The gang, masked, and mounted on bridled and
saddled goats, anxiously awaited the word of com-
mand.

' Back, men, back for your lives ! ' cried Dick.
•It's the p'lice, fifteen thousan' strong, an' they're
hot on our track ; but Red Hand's gang will never be
taken alive.'

The bushrangers cowered back into the shadow as
a party of three young men riding tired horses ambled
slowly by, singing dolorously and brandishing bottles.
Red Hand was discreet if valiant. However, another
warning came not a minute later. This time it was
a solitary man in a farmer's cart; his old horse was
shuffling wearily through the dust at a jog-trot, and
tiie boys could just discern the tall gaunt figure of
the driver.

' Surround him, my lads ! ' yelled Red Hand. ' Bail

up ! ' he cried riding forward on Butts and presenting

what passed very well for a pistol in the dusk. ' Your

money or your life ! "

The driver snatched a stick out of the cart and, utter-

it;

156

THE GOLDSTEALERS.

ill

I! I

ing a great yell, began to belabour his poor horse merci-
lessly.

' Fire ! ' shrieked the implacable Bed Hand ; and
a few seconds later six crackers exploded aboat the
unhappy farmer, who instantly fell upon his knees and,
still pounding at his horse, was whirled away amongst
the trees by the startled brute. For some time the bush-
rangers could hear him still hammering his old horse,
and catch the sound of his voice encouraging the
poor animal to more reckless speed, and the crashing
of saplings as the dray pounded its way through the
undergrowth. The boys were delighted; this was
noble sport; the lust of victory was upon them.
Gable was waving his arms and ejaculating ' Oh,
crickey ! ' and the others capered about on their goats,
and felt themselves to be vary large and terrible per-
sons indeed.

' Bushrangin's easy ez snufE,' said Peterson.

'Course it is,' said Phil. 'Wisher few p'lice'd
come along and let's have a go at 'ein.'

'That was splendidly done, men,' said Ecd Hand
with superior coolness. ' Back to your places. Some-
one's comin'.'

The next comer was a man on a grey horse.

' Bail up ! ' cried Red Hand from the cover of the
saplings. ' Stir a foot an' you're a dead man.'

The rider waited for no more, but threw himself
forward on his horse's neck, dug in his spurs, and gal-
loped furiously away in the direction of Cow Flat,
hearing the reports of the boys' crackers only when he

THE QOLD-STEALERS.

157

was far out of range. The next victim was a small
boy on a pony, who, as soon as he heard Hi- terrible
command, fell plump on to the road and then jumped
up and fled in terror after his bolting liorse. The
gang had now spread consternation and dismay along
quite two miles of the highway, and were jubilant in
consequence and primed for any ailventnre however
desperate.

Dick entertained his men with talk of the glory
they had earned by their actions that night, and pre-
dicted a reputation for them beside whicli the repu-
tation of every other gang of bushrangers Australia
had known would fade into insignificance.

The boys listened soberly, very elated and perfect-
ly happy.

'But we mustn't let the nex" one go so easy,' said
the leader.

' Here is someone, ' whispered Fork Liglitning.

Sure enough, a pedestrian could be dimly discerned
approaching from the direction of the toll-gate.

' To yer horses ! commanded Red Hand.

' Why, it's a woman," said Peterson.

' Wlio cares? '

'Thought bushrangers never did nothin' to the
women?'

' Oh,' said Dick, ' tliat's on'y when they're yuung
an' pretty. If this one's young an' pretty I'll 'polo-
gise, an' it'll be all riglit. Tliere ain't no reason not
to bail 'em up when they're big an' strong an' able to
take care o' themselves.'

158

THE QOLD-STEALERS.

This seemed quite reasonable to the gang, and they
saw as tlie lady approached that her size did not give
her any claim upon their gallantry. She was very
tall and stout. In point of fact she was the woman
who had driven through Waddy on thu day after the
goat raid, calling down infamy on the township.

• Bail up! ' cried Red Hand.

Phil, Ted, and Peterson rode up in front, barring
the way. Red Hand and Fork Lightniiii: approached
from either side, and all presented pistols. The wo-
man backed away a few paces, staring at the goat-
monnted, masked apparitions that seemed to have
started out of the ground under her very nose, but
the bushrangers followed her up.

' Be not afraid, madam,' said Diek in his best liter-
ary style; ' I am Red Hand, an' if you obey no in-
jury '11 be done you.'

The woman threw up her hands in amazement.

' Well I never,' she muttered. Without the least
warning she darted at Ted, seized him, pulled him
from the back of his billy, and in epite of his wild
struggles promptly bent him over her knee; then,
with a hand like that of a navvy, backed by a great
muscular arm, began to spank the terrible outlaw.

' You look out ! Vou le' me alone ! ' gasped Ted,
struggling and writhing with all his power; but the
flailing went on, bat— bat— bat— with blows that
might have disturbed an elephant. Ted's feelings
became too strong for words ; he started to howl, and
the night re-echoed with the cries of the outraged

THE GOLD-STEALERS. 159

bushranger. The rest of the gang stood mute, star-
ing at this shocking scene, amazed and deeply ofiend-
ed. It was all so incongruous, so utterly opposed to
rule and precedent ; they could acarcely believe their
senses. Dick was the first to recover,
' Fire! ' commanded Red Hand.
Cracker- wicks were ignited and four explosions fol-
lowed, but when the smoke was gone the gang still
beheld the terrible woman beating away at their un-
happy comrade, too absorbed in a congenial occupa-
tion to care a solitary button for the tire of the out-
laws. This was too much for Jacker. The brothers
were always ready to fight each other's battles, let the
odds be what they might, and the elder rushed to the
rescue. The onslaught did not seem to make the
least difference, however; the woman simply dropped
Ted and grasped his brother. Jacker Mack was a
strong boy and a fierce one, but strength and tricks
availed him nothing iigaiust those powerful arms; in
ten seconds he was in Ted's place, and the massive
hand was dealing with hia- heavily and with startling
rapidity.

'Charge! ' shrieked Red Hand.
But the gang was demoralized. Peterson and Doon
moved back from the danger, and only one member
obeyed the order— Peterson's formidable goat, Hector.
Goodness knows what inspired the animal; possibly a
grateful instinct, probably the sight of means to do
an ill deed. Anyhow, he charged. He rushed the
woman from a commanding position, with force and

160

THE GOLD-STEALEBS.

I'i

If' '

judgment, and a second later Jacker, woman, and goat
were rolling and struggling in the dust. Red Hand
and the faithful Ted dragged. Jacker from the hands
of the enemy, and the gang fled to a safe distance,
and watched the nhadowy form of the woman as she
gathered herself up and shook the dnst out of her
dress. Then for two minutes she stood and addressed
them through the darkness in strident tones and lan-
guage that would have shocked an old drover or a
railway ganger.

' Bnshrangin' ain't up to much,' whimpered Ted,
rubbing himself with both hands.

' It's rot ! ' said Jacker fiercely.
Peterson and Doon muttered words of approval,
and Dick felt that four pairs of reproachful eyes
were turned upon him. Gable was still hopping
about ecstatically murmuring ' Crickey ! Oh,
erickey ! ' as he had been doing all through the en-
counter.

' How'd I know? ' said Dick in self-defence. ' You
fellers onghter had better sense' n to let her get hold
o' you.'

' Ton started it ! ' groaned Ted.

' Pretty lot o' bushrangers you are, anyway,' Dick
sneered, ' howlin' 'cause a woman gave you a bit of
a doin'.'

• How'd you like it? ' asked Jacker sullenly.

Dick disdained to reply ; indeed his attention was
occupied with more important things. Out of the
night came the sound of galloping hoofs and calling

THE GOLD.STEALERS. ui

Dick and Peterson reached the Gaol On»-,v. f i
«cl sat i„ doleful silence waitin. for tlS^r ''^
-ondering if anv had been tak!n Te ^d 7' T
joined them a few nunutes later, and Phi "1^"
l"nping up in the course of a quarter of^ 1
He h*i bad news ^ "^ "" ''°"""-

•J^'Gotr^""'''^"^*''^--^^^--

„ 'f^;'.l' ™«- I fell gettin' over the fence an'
neaked ,nto a hollow tree, an' saw "en, sn verhim

a hi :;ri v'V "^' r' ^''' '''^^ '""^"" -

'Well, he won't split on us Hp «.nn't i,
-ord about it in the' .nornin • We're a 1 ri^r -^
none of us blabs. Vou fellers gointol." ^'"'

163

THE OOLD-STEALEBS.

' I ain't. I'm sick o' bein' a bushranger,' said
Jacker, with a reflective and remoreeful rub at his
hurt place.

' So' in I,' "id Ted.

Phil Dopi- it appeared, had pressing reasons for
returning ' "jine, but Peterson rememberod that he had
still an account to settle with his fathtr, and resolved
to share Dick's fortune.

'Bight you are,' said Dick. ' You fellers bring
some crib to-morrer, an' if you see Parrot Cann tell
him to fetch some too — an', mind, no blabbin'.'

Beverses of this kind did not depress him ; he had
experienced many failures, but the wreck of one en-
terprise only implied the necessity of starting another.

' Say,' he said mysteriously, ' there's a big reason
why we should keep things darker'n ever. Listen.
We've struck the reef! '

The others stared incredulously.

' You're havin' us,' said Jacker.

'Ami? Tell 'em, Billy.'

' No, he ain't,' said Peterson. ' It's true, strike
me breath. We got a specimen this mornin' wif
three colours in it. '

' So if anyone's told where we're hidin' they'll see
the stone an' go an' jump the mine,' said Dick art-
fnliy.

CHAPTER XIV.

NElvasR of the MeKnights nor Parrot came to the
boys on the Sunday morning, and Dick and Billy
whose larder had run short, were compelled to make
a raid on Wilson's garden— which yielded little in
the way of fruit, but carrots and turnips were not de-
spised. At about eleven o'clock, from an outlook
amongst some scrub on the Red Hand tip, Dick and
his mate could see that something unusual was going
on in Waddy. They saw a crowd gathering near the
Drovers' Arms, and could catch the glitter of the ac-
coutrements of a couple of troopers. A little later a
mounted policeman actually came cantering into -he
paddock and forced them to creep stealthily to their
safe retreat at the bottom of the mine. Here they
sat and talked, prey to the most torturing' curiosity.
Dick's theories to explain the apparent sensation were
fine and large, investing himself and his companion
with profound dignity as the heroes of a thrilling ad-
venture; but Billy's for a wonder were somewhat
gloomy, reckoning with parental castipations and ten
years in gaol. This unusual frame of mind was in-
duced, no donbt, by a limited and strictly vegetarian
diet. Dick took into account the pogsibiiity that

1«S

164

THE G0LD-8TEALKRS.

Jacker, Ted, or Phil Doon might divulge the Com-
pany's great secret, although his faith in the loyalty
of his mates was strong. If tlie wornt came to the
worst he meditated a retreat through the hole into the
Red Hand drive, and fliglit from thence down the
ladder-shaft and into the spacious workings of tlie
Silver Stream.

To help pass the time the two worked a little in tlie
drive, breaking down about a hundredweiglit of the
quartz ridge that had cut in across the narrow face.
The stone showed gold freely. At another time this
would have occudioned the wildest jubilation, but now
everything was tccondary to the wonder inspired by
what they had seen in Waddy, combined with their
dread of the results of lu.-t night's work. It was well
on in the afternoon when they were joyfully startled
by the sound of a whistle in the shaft.

' Hello, below there ! ' cried a voice, and a few
seconds later Parrot Cann, too excited to go through
the usual formalities, rattled down and landed in a
heap at Dick's feet.

' "What's up? ' asked Dick eagerly, as I'arrot crept
into the drive.

'Oh, I say,' gasped Parrot, ' youse fellers are in
ferit!'

' How? VTho split? What're the troopers doin' ? '

'They're after youse.'

' After us I ' Peterson's face paled at this corrobo-
ration of his worst suspicions.

'My oath! Gable's in gaol at Yarraman; Phil

!' *

THK GOLD-STEALERS.

165

an' Jacket' an' Ted'i Iwmi tru^t .-' ., .
you. • ' """ "'*>''•« af'ei-

' Fer what?'

' Rol.-ry „n,ler an,,., tl,o feller miJ, a,,' ,l,„oti„„
With inteut'r eomethin' ' ^

was glory. II ,3 favour,te autl„.r8 were justifie, and
yet there wa. the dark .ido; tho,,,,,. jf ,„■, X'
came with a sharp twinge.
' Who went an' epIirLTedy '
' None o- the Con,p„„y,' ,aid I'arrot. ' The troon
ers came to arro.t Gable's ,n.,e., ,hi„ki„- tlev was
men, an' Toll-bar Sam told who yon was. He Z
you all last night.' • xie saw

awly""? ' '''" *"'' '''''' ""■ J'"^''-' -■ ^'M ngl^t

a rlw'on.^l/'s allr^Th ' M, """'l '"°^ ^'^'
n„i, .,. "'''"^™- Them fellers what captured

ttribl fit" '"!" '"'°"'" ^""^ °' •^-■-angi^^. ;

f "m «r Th r" """'l' "•" "'^ •''-dtMrstiest
ot em nil. The 1 arraman Merc,,;, printed a 8,...p!»i
paper this ,..ornin', with all abon, ilZ^ToTl
new gang „' bu.hrangers i„ g-eat big type, an' eve v
one's near mad about it, 'sept thosellfat': laugh'"' '

silence U n "' '"' '"'"'■ '"• '■' '""^ ""^'"-'^ -
ftlts T. '°'"', ""'' '" S^sp theasto„„ding

hS been • ."T' T' '^■"^'"■""S^-' "'eir escapade!
tn. pu« Tk 1 "■":' P-'P'^"' t'-y^-ooetnallybe-
mg pursued by bo,u, Jlde troopers on rte.h-and-blood
torse,^what more could ambitious youth demand

MldOCOrr (ESOIUTION TEST CHAIT

(ANSI ond ISO TEST CHAKT No. 21

[[[[[ 1.0 ^if Mii
||_U_ l."^!!

1125 mil 1.4 i, 1.6

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_^ APPLIED \M/K3B In

^^S '65 J EasI Main Street

BT'.g Rochester. New Yorli 1*609 US*

rr^S ("6) *B2 - 0300 - Pfiore

^^S (^'^) 26a - 5989 - Fo.

166

THE GOLD-STEALEKS.

Dick's unconquerable romanticism upheld Lim; he
had achieved distinction, and the prospect of deluding
and outwitting the police after the manner of his most
brilliant heroes filled him with delight; but Billy
Peterson was awed and out of spirits.

' It's all right, Billy,' said Dick, ' they'll never find
ua here. We can defy 'em all fer weeks.'
' Yes,' said Billy bitterly, ' but I'm hungry ! '
' You didn't bring no crib. Parrot. ' Dick had
made it a rule that the necessities of a shareholder
temporarily in difficulties and hiding in the mine
were to be attended to by the free members of the
Company or others who, like Parrot Cann, were ad-
mitted to the Company's councils.

'Wasn't game,' answered Parrot; 'they'd 'a*
watched me. Had to sneak away as it was.'

Dick puckered his face wisely. It was a very dirtv
face just now ; his red hair, long neglected, hung in
wisps over his forehead and about his ears, giving him
an elfish look in the candlelight.

' Never mind,' he said, 'bring us some to-night,
first chance you get; but be cunniu'. We'll shake
some fruit soon ez it's dark, to keep us goin'.'

' What's the good o' fruit? ' groaned Peterson.
'Fruit ain't grub.'

Dick looked anxiously at his mate. There was an
immediate danger that the outlaws might be starved
out.

'Parrot's goin' to fetch some,' he said brightly.
Parrot promised to do Ills best for them, but, al-

THE GOLD-STEALERS. i67

though they waited till nearly nine o'docli in hungry
anticipation, he did not return that niglit. The last
carrot was eaten, and a cautious excursion to Summers'
orchard produced nothing, Maori's warning bark driv-
ing the boys back to the Gaol Quarry, empty and dis-
consolate. Billy could hold out no longer, but he did
not mediL-^o an open desertion.

' I'll jes' sneak round our house till I g^t a chance
to slip in an' shake a junk o' bread or somethin' ; then
I'll come right back an' we'll go halves,' he said.
' Sure you'll come back, are you? '
"S that wet? 'S that dry?'
Dick accepted the oath. He would have gone home
himself with burglarious intentions, but feared that the
official anxiety to catch the notorious head of the new
gang must have concentrated police vigilance about his
mother's house, and the risk was too great.

' Hurry back ez quick's you can,' he commanded.
' 'N you'll have to be slyer 'n a black snake 'r they'll
nab yon. '

Dick spent the first hour alone under the saplings
in the quarry, and then, as Billy had not returned and
the time hung heavily on his hands, he crept out and
up the hill towards the Red Hand. He prowled about
amongst the old tips for a time, then seated himself
at the foot of a dead butt and gave himself up to
thought. He began to fear that Peterson would prove
unfaithful, or, worse still, that he had fallen into the
hands of the enemy ; and the idea made him very un-
easy. He hesitated about returning to the drive.

168

THE OOLD-STEALEKS.

Altliougli he was eiufriilarly free from the Buperstitious
fears that would make such a place a haunt of horrors
to the average voungster, the notion of sleeping alone
below there did not please liim, and ho had still some
hope of hearing Billj's signal.

He was beginning to feel the pangs of hunger, too,
and now that it was too late recollected that he might
have found a ministering angel in Jlisa Chris. It
would have been an easy matter to have met her when
coming through the paddock from chapel at nine
o'clock, and an easier matter to have appealed to her
tender sympathies with a stbry of hunger and misfor-
tune. The boy's thoughts lingered with Miss Chris;
he found a melancholy satisfaction in the belief that
she would pity him, and probably shed a few tears
over the sorrows of a noble and generous youth driven
to crime by persecution, and outlawed through the
machinations of aa unscrupulous constabulary. So
real could he make these sentimental fancies that her
keen sorrow for him 511ed him with acute emotions of
self-pity, and a large tear actually rolled down his
freckled nose.

Suddenly romance was swept out of his mind, and
wonder and fear possessed him. Throwing himself
forward, he crept noiselessly to a rotten trunk over-
grown with suckers that lay between him and the
Red Hand shaft, and, raising liimself on his hands,
peered through the bushes. A belt of pale golden
light, thrown by the rising moon between the converg-
ing tips, lay right across the mouth of the shaft ; and

THK GOLDSTEALERS I69

up tlirongh tho rnsty bark of tlie door were thrust a
hin ong hand and a bony ar>n. As Dick gazed,
trembling and amazed, a second Land appeared. He
heard the rattle of a chain, the click of a lock; then
the door was thrust upwards and lot noiselessly back
upon the timber. Kow a man's head came into view
and up out of the shaft crawled a figure that Dick
recogmsed in spite of the precautions taken. Reach-
ing ii>to the darkness of the shaft, the man, who re-
mained on his knees in a crouching position, drew up
a 6km bag containing something of considerable weight
apparently; then came another head, and a second
man slid, enake-like, from the shaft. At the sight of
the second, Dick, whose heart seemed to have swoUen
within him to an enormous size, gasped aloud; he
heard a warning ' Hush! ' from the sliaft, and lay
perfectly still. The door was closed, *' lock clicked
again, and when he ventured to loo .he two men
were stealing away towards the quarry. The boy
crept after them to the extent of the trunk behind
which he was hidden, and when he looked again they
had dUappeared. Creeping silently in the shadows
and amongst the scrub ferns, Dick followed until,
resting a moment, he heard distinctly the words :

'Why did you hit him again? Good God! did you
want to kill liim? ' The voice was Ephraira Shine's
' No. That won't kill him. Don't be so blasted
chicken-hearted. I didn't want to be seen, you ass ! '
Dick knew the voice for that of Joe Rogers, whose
face he had seen in the moonlight.

170

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

' The lick I gave liim was enough ; it must 'a'
Btunued liim.' Shine spoke in a low voice.

'D'yer think he recognised you?' asked Rogers
hoarsely.

' No, I was in the shadder. I d'know, though— I
d'know.'

' Listen here, an' take a grip on that screamin'
woman's tongue o' yours. It don't matter whether
he saw you 'r didn't see you, 'cause he won't live t'
tell it.'

' Oh, Heaven ! Oh, Lord ! Oh, Lord ! I didn't
mean that — I swear to Hdaven, I on'y meant to stun
him!'

' I know yer didn't. Pull yerself together, you
quiverin' idiot. D'ye think / meant to do murder? '
' No, no, no; o' course not. P'r.ips he ain't hurt
ez bad ez you think.'

' 'Tain't the hurt, it's this. I on'y thought of it
comin' up the ladders. Did yer notice where he fell ?
He went back down the incline, fallin' with his head
a few feet up from the pumps. Know what that
means? Harry Hardy '11 he found drowned ! '

Dick heard Shine gasping for breath, and Rogers
went on coolly :

'He was in the Sunday afternoon shift at the
pumps. The water in the incline'll rise up over him
before the first workin' shift goes down.'

'Let's go back, an' drag him out. Let's eo
back!' ^

' Sit still, damn you ! Go back an' be trapped, or

THE GOLDSTEALERS. 171

be recognised if liis senses return? His candle was
bnrnin'.'

' But it's murder — it's murder ! '
'Is it? Listen here. I noticed a lump 0' rock
had fallen out o' the roof. It'll be thought he was
stunned by it, an' drowned in the water as it rose.'

'Man, it's terrible. Two brothers! Mv sin is
findin' me out, Joe Rogers ! '

'Shut up cant, d'yoa hear! It served him
thunderin' well right. What'd he want to come
pokm' mto the mine at all fer? What the devil did
the other one interfere in what didn't concern him
fer? But we've got it in spite of 'em. ' Rogers had
plunged his hands into the skin bag.

'All, Rogers, all!' For the moment Shine's
cupidity triumphed over his fears. ' Every blessed
ounce. All the stuff I've been puddlin' away in the
floor o' that drive fer weeks. An' the nugget, ain't
it a beauty— ain't it a beauty? An' to think I've
been shepherdin' that daisy fer ten shifts! '

Dick crept closer and, peering through a slit in the
great hollow trunk of the tree, saw that Rogers was
handling the contents of the bag. On his knee lay
a gleaming mass that the boy knew to be a beautiful
nugget.

' What devil's luck brought that young fool to the
"T" drive?'

'He must 'a' heard you splashin'. You wasn't
careful. '

' Ez careful ei I could be. I had to scoop the

172

THE OOLD-STKALERS.

W'i

stuff outer holes in the wet floor o' the drive where
1 <J puddled it away in tlie niud.'

^' Ain't there a chance ter him—not a single hope? '
Oh, yes, hut ifs a bad un fcr us if he recognised
you. Tliere's the cliance o' him recoverin', an'
draggin- himself out o' the water. Hullo! what in
hell s name's happcnin' now? Quick, cut for the
seruh; someone's comin'. m hide the bag here
Come hack when they've passed.'

Dick heard Rogers throw the calfskin bag into the
hollow of the tree and scrape the loose rubbish over
It, and then both glided away in the shadow of the
Ked Hand tips. From beyond the tip- came the beat
of a horse's hoofs, and the sound of human voices
Dick s first thought was of his pursuers, the troopers-
his second of his escape; his third sent the blood
surging through his veins and his heart beating like a
^ston. A grand thought, a magnificent thought'
He could have cried out with exultation as it swept
into his mind. Creeping around the tree he silently
unearthed the gold-stealers' hag and dragged it after
him, retreating to the quarry. At the edge of the
incline he let the bag slide, and it went to the bottom
with the noise a cow might have made moving through
the scrub. Dick followed, scrambling down the rocks
Having recovered the bag, he dragged it under the
scrub to the opening in the wall, ' lastily concealing
his tracks. There was some difficulty in gettin.. the
bag through the space in the rock but he manage!
well; then he swnng it free of the ladder, so that t

THE GOLD-STEALEKS. 173

dropped into the shaft «nd on to the broker reef
below. He c ambered throngb on to the ladder, drew
the loose scrub fern, into their places, and fitted into
the crev.ce the wedge-shaped stone, kept as a last con-
cealment of the retreat.

Standing on the ladder Di.k waited, and presently
heard sounds of ,„en making their way into the Gao'l
yuarry. His suspicions were correct : the party was
seeking him. Presently he heard a voice he recog-
nised as that of ,Tim Peetree, saving :

• This is the spot, boss; I've seen him here scoreao'
times. If he ain't liere I give it up.'

Dick heard the jingle of spurs, and ,n authoritative
yoice.

' Search all about amongst the scrnb and the rocks
Keep my hrrse ready in case the boy makes a boli
for it.

There were three or four men, Peterson and
McKmght amongst them. They searched industri-
ously, coming pretty close to Dick's hiding place more
than once.

'We should have let the other lad go and have
followed him,' said the authoritative voice. ' Fancy
three troopers being kept a whole day and half the
night dancing after a bit of a kid. '

Dick's heart thrilled at this.

'Well, he's not here, that's certain sure,' said
Peterson. ' My boy said he left him in the paddock
an Is pose he can't be fur, but I tell you you won'J
get him, he's that cunnin'. He's fuller o' wicked-

THE GOLDSTEALERS.

If ■ ' '

new an' wisdom, au' good an' bad, than any boy you
ever ere, sergeant.'

' Ah, well, we'll move on and try the other spot;
but I would like to liavo the dear boy for five
minutes now, wliile I feel in the humour to knock some
of the bad out of him.'

They started o£E again, and when the beat of hoofs
was lost in the distance Dick crept from his hiding-
place and climbed up out of the qna-ry. He now stole
to a position from which 1- could command a view of
the hollow tree, w' 'Ist remaining under thick shelter
and leaving himself an excellent opening for retreat.
His blood was full of the excitement of this new ad-
venture, a true adventure dealing with theft and mur-
der. He was afraid, terribly afraid, but it seemed to
hira that all his emotions were held in abeyance : ho
was conscious of their existence, but they no longer
ruled him. One thing was pp.rnmount, his determina-
tion to know cverytiiing of die crime that had been
perpetrated in the main drive of the Silver Stream.
Fragments of thoughts seemed to flicker up like flames
within him and die out again instantly, and he re-
peated constantly under his breath without knowine
why: '

' Her father ! Her father ! Her father ! '
There was something to be done— much to be done,
and one important thing, one thing that meant life
or death ; but these must come after. Now he wae
wild to know all that the thieves might tell.

Rogers was the first to come crawling back to the

THE OOLD-8TEALEE0. 175

tree He scattered tlic ' ^^ n.bbish i„ the hollow
trunk, 8in» uttered a fierce oath.

'It's gone gone, ^one! • ho almost Wonted ,.
blu e joined him.

'You lie, you lie! Vou want to rob ,„e! ' the
long .earcher had flown at his throat, and for a few
jecond, they strng^-Ied together, but no,.er8 threw

lattthTtVe' ''''-'' "" '-'''' "■'- "^ '"«

Shi,.e gomg on his hands and knees, clawed amongst
the rubb.s!,; ,he„, shining and muttering, wont
sc^tclnng abo,u like a dog, seeking high and L, and
Rogerc followed h„„ blaspheming with insensate fnry
It « no good I tell you, yon snuffling, whimper!
ing, white-hvered cur! ' he said. ' Those men have
got away /.-.ih jt, curse them !

But Ephraim continued his search, creeping under
the scrub, scratching in the grass; and aa he searched
h.s whimper grew louder and louder, and he cried like
an old woman at a wake.

'An' wo killed a man, we killed a man ! ' he wailed
again and again.

Rogers rushed at him viciously, and kicked him
heavily m the ribs.

of 'IT "P'^°">! ' he cried hoaisely, with astring
of oaths n. dragged Shine to his feet, and con^
tmu ■ 'Listen to me. Go home an' go to bed fer a
while. Turn up at the mine all right at one, and in

17«

THE OOLDSTEALEHS.

the mornin'. Keep yoi.r mouth .hut, an' wait til'

you hear from me again, or-or ' He did not

finish hu threat. After a moment he continued, in a
more composed tone : ' We'n, in no danger if we've
not been seen. That was the trooper after the cub
Ha^don He's got the gold all right. Bury the key.
Get back to your house, an' lie down fer a while. Be
careful— p'raps we're watched now.'

The two men moved off together. After they had
passed the tips Dick quickly made his way into the
quarry, and from thence to the drive of the Mount of
Uold, '

i¥r

CHAPTER XV.

Her father did it 1 Her fstWI Her fatl.erl •
D,.k contmued to repeat tLese word- as ho procured
candles and prepared himself for a jomnej. into the
deep n„nes. He was conscious of a do, Melty; ho
ma»t rescue Harry Hardv from the rU ; wate^ and
wve the father of Christina Shine f.om a terrihle
crime and yet he went about his task as if moved by
a., external impul^. The work had been mapped out
^rh,m by someone or something apart, and he under-
took U without a thought of its dangers or a hint of
Zl-o .T^"'' '^ """ feverishly anxious to face the

Sw •., J" "'"' "''"'^'''' P"* «=^«^»' pieces in L
pocket with the matches, and started on his journey
He was oblivious to his surroundings, oblivionsTo
everyt nng but the object of his questluarry HTrdv
l.|ng far below in the dripping main drive oh';
Silver Stream. His large dark eyes, staring unbli, fc!

r h "Zf r " "' °" " ^"'°" '>^ "^^ friend prone
on the muddy floor of the drive, with the treacherous

In r T"l^ '"^"'^'' ^" J""'^- The present m"
Bionhad nothing in common with those fanciful ad-

177

IW THE GOLD-STEALERS.

ventures that had served to mate the boy the wonder
and despair of his native township. Richard Haddon
was entirely forgotten for the time being, and this
concentration of mind and energy served to carry the
t)oy bravely over every obstacle.

Ted had fashioned, dropped into the Red Hand drive
beneath and then tnrned with familiar feet and
hastened towards the shaft. A few centres had been
knocked out and ,hrown across the pit as a staging
so that access to the ladder was possible, butnot witfl
ont some risk. The boy paused at nothing, reached
the iron rungs with a bound, and started down the
perpendicular ladder. Down, down he went for
wany mmutee, his candle feebly illuminating a blurred
p.-.tch about hiB head. Above, through a bewildering
Bpace of darkness, the grated opening at the surface
shone hke a faint star in another sphere; below was
Bohd blackness; about him the slime of the dripping
timbers sparkled in the candle's rays. Down, downT
down I The journeymight have seemed interminable
-a long pilgrimage into the earth's black dUtances-
had the boy had a mind for it, but he thought noth-
mgof the task; at length his feet struck the slabs
over the well, and turning he flashed his light into the
cavernous depth of a big drive.

He plunged into the drive without a pause, and
now the way was familiar again. Voyages of discov-
eiy made during crib time when he officiated as tool-
boy in the Silver Stream had often brought him np

THR GOLD-STEALERS. 179

the jnmp-np into the Red Hand drive. Down tliat
jnmp-np he scrambled now, and stood in the first
level of the Silver Stream where the rich gntter had
dipped away. A short journej brought him to a bal-
ance shaft. Down this to the lower level he travelled
withont any diffienlty, and his journey was almost
completed. He was in the bottom drive hastening
towards the face where Rogera and Shine had left
their victim. He could hear the far-off throbbing of
the plunger in the big Stream pumps as it drew the
water into the lifcs, and above it all the strange mur-
mur of a great mine, Uke the voice of a distant sea

Finding an empty truck the boy ran it before him
on the rails. He was experienced miner enongh to
know that one can only travel quickly in this way in
a wet drive full of ruts and pitfalls. Passing the ' S '
dr.ve where the robbers had done their work, Dick
found Harry Hardy jnst as Rogers had described him
on bis back a few feet up the incline from the handl
pump that served to drain the low-lying part of the
drive His arms were thrown out, and his deadly
pale face turned up, the chin pointing to the roof
Upon his forehead were stains of blood, and he lay
lite a corpse in the black water. The flood had risen
above his ears, and the boy knew he had come only
jnst m time. ■'

Dick stuck his candle in the soft clay, ran to
Harry s head, and lifted it from the water, and kneel-
ing ^zed intently into the cold white face. He
thought his friend dead.

180

THE QOLD-STEALERS.

' Her father done it ! ' he murmured. ' Her
father 1 Her father 1'

He looked and listened for signs of life; he called
Harry's name again and again, and felt for the beat-
ing of his heart, having at the same time only a Tague
idea of the location of that organ. He tried to lift
the young man away, but his strength was not equal
to the task; and so, after collecting some pieces of
reef to keep Harry's fav.e above the water, he at-
tempted to drag him out of the reach of the flood.
By putting forth all his power he contrivod to draw
his inanimate friend a fe* feet up the incline; then,
by lifting the shoulders an inch or two at a time, he
succeeded in turning Hardy right round with his head
farthest from the rising stream. The boy was now
smothered from head to foot with yellow clay and his
lustrous eyes shone from a face daubed with a puddled
reef ; and he crouched in the slurry of the drive hold-
ing Hardy's head upon his knee, gazing intently into
his face, muttering ever, in a half-puzzled wav the
same words :

' Her father ! Her father ! '
The sound of a lump of reef falling from the roof
somewhere far down the drive brought Dick sharply
to his feet. His work was not yet accomplished.
The scheme that had come to him without volition
was nevertheless clearly set forth in his mind. He
started dragging at Hardy again, and gradually drew
him to the ordinary level of the drive. Once the
water attained this height it would flow away towards

THE GOLD-STEALEBS. isi

!LVi"fh*°TT '^° '^"' yoD-'ginan no harm. Dick
feared that Harry was dead ; bnt he did not reason

that also bade him avoid the incoming shift. If the
men found hin, there he wonld have to tell all, and
her father had done it_A^ father! A swift
panic seized Dick; he snatched np his candle and ran
back the way he had come. It was honrs, he
imagined, since he lay listening to Rogers and Shine
above the quarry, and he wondered that the night-
shift men were not below long ere this. He reached
the balance shaft without having seen a man, and
climbed swiftly to t)>e npper level. His race was
contmned along these workings to the jump-up
Once in the Red Hand drive he was safe from dis^
^very, bnt the feverish activity still possessed him.
How he chmbed that fearful flight of kdders np the
black wet shaft he never knew. He remembered
nothing of the agony of the toU the day after, when
all seemed hke a dream.

He made his way into the Mount of Gold drive
agam. An impulse moved him to block the opening
connecting the two drives with loose reef, and the
same impulse led him to hide the skin bag containing
the gold away under the dirt in the shaft of the
Mount of Gold. The excitement that had driven
him to the rescue of Harry Hardy sustained him till
he had crawled out into the quarry ; then hb strength
a^l went out of him, and left him sick and wretched.
He was famished, all his limbs ached with a dull in-

188

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

gistent pain after lie had rested for a few minuteB, and
his weariness was so great that it was a terrible task
to drag himself out of the quarry. But he succeeded
in gaining the hillside at length, and hastened as quick-
ly as he could through the trees in the direction of
the Silver Stream, stumbling as he went- and oob-
bing quietly in utter collapse of strenp-tli and spirit.

When Dick reached the vicinity ol the big mine
he was surprised to find the brace deserted. He stole
np and peered through the engine-house window at
the driver's clock, and saw with dull amazement that
it was not yet half-past, twelve. It had taken him
little over half an hour to reach Harry Hardy and
return — it seemed to him that he had been toiling for
many hours. He crept in between the long stacks of
firewood, made a bed on the soft bark, and waited.
The first night shift of the week did not start work
till one o'clock on Monday morning, and the mine was
silent save for the slow pnfiing of the pumping engine
and the deliberate rumbling of the bob.

Lying on his stomach on the bark, the boy fixed
hb eyes upon the mine and suffered through the slow
dragging minutes. Eo wept incessantly, and his teeth
chattered, although the night was warm. A new
fear had taken possession of him, a fear that Harry
Hardy, if alive, would perhaps mo7C and roll down
the incline into the water again before the miners
reached him. He waited in an agony of anxiety, and
his eyes never moved from the cage at the surface.

The miners began to come in at length, with

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

183

heavy footsteps, swinging their crib billies, calling to
each other in gruff voices. Lamps were lit npon the
brace, and in the boiler-house and changing shed, and
Dick saw the iirst cageful of men drop out of sight,
as the engine groaned and the mine took up its busy
duties again.

One cage-load after another went down, and still
Dick waited. At last there came a wild, unusual
beat of the knocker. The boy knew the signal and
started up on his knees. A man rushed past the end
of the stacks to knock up Manager Holden. Others
gathered excitedly about the mouth of the shaft, and
the long flat ropes spinning over the pulleys travelled
at top speed.

Soon Harty was brought to the surface, and placed
upon a hurdle, and four men carried him away across
the paddocks towards Waddy. Dick followed at a
safe distance. Locky McRae, the boss of the shift,
had run on ahead, probably to warn Mrs. Hardy.

The boy saw Harry carried to his mother's house,
saw a man hurry by to call Mrs. Haddon, and waited
for some time after she arrived, hidden in a gutter
near at hand, listening for every word. After about
a quarter of an hour Pete Holden drove his trap to
the door, and Dick heard them talking of the hospital
and Tarraman ; then he knew that Harry was not
dead, and dragged his worn, aching limbs to his own
home, stupefied with suficring, hunger, and fatigue.
"When Mrs. Haddon entered her kitchen an hour
later, carrying a flaming match in her fingers, she was

184

THE GOLD-STEALEBS.

■hocked to see a small, yellow-clad figure croncbed in
her own particular armchair near the chimney, and
BurmonntiDg it a small white face in which burned
two astonishing eyes. The little widow screamed and
dropped the light and then screamed again, but a
feeble voice reassured her.

' Richard Haddon, is that you?' she said severely.
' Oh ! you wicked, bad, vicious boy ! Where have
you been? What've you been doing? '

She -.as busying herself preparing the lamp, and
her tongue ran on.

' You're breakin' your poor mother's heart— break-
in' my heart with your bushrangin' an' villainy, bring-
in' down the police, an' trouble, an' sorrow on me.'
The little woman's nerves had been sorely tried of
late with her own troubles and her neighbours', and she
broke down now and wept.

' An' you don't care,' she sobbed, ' yon don't care
a bit how I suffer ! '

Now the lamp was lit, and the widow turned her
streaming eyes upon her incorrigible young son, and
instantly her whole expression changed. She forgot
to weep, she ceased to complain ; she gazed at Dick a^.d
her bosom was charged with terror, pity, and rc-iorse.
Truly he was a pitiful and ghostly object, sitting there
in his mud, looking very small and pinched, with un-
accustomed hollows in his pale cheeks, and here and
there a nasty bloodstain showing brightly against the
yellow clay.

' Dick! ' screamed Mrs. Haddon.

THE GOLD-STEALERS. 195

The next moment he lay in hi. mother's arms, cling-
ing to her with tenacions fingers, crying hysterically
utterly unlike the Dick she thought she knew so well ■'
• and she kissed him, and wept over him, and murmured
to him as if he were really a baby again. She ascribed
all to terror aroused by the knowledge that the police
were after him. He had covered himself with slurry
m strange hiding-places, and had had a fall probably
or a blow. He wag fed, his clothes were put in water,
and finally he fell asleep in his own bed with his
mother sitting by his side, her hand clasped i i his. If
Dick had been told a week earlier that he would ever
go to sleep clinging to his mother's hand, he would
have Rcouted the idea with indignation and scorn ; and
he remembered the act later with a blush as something
shamefully effeminate or infantile, betraying a weak-
ness in his character hitherto quite unsuspected.

11*

CHJiPTER XVI.

Dick's limbs were all stiff and sore when be awak-
ened, but he was wolflshly hungry, and that fact sat-
isfied his mother that he iiad suffered no particular
physical injury. He was still much paler than usual
and suspiciously re»ervcd, but he ate a good breakfast,
and would have given his mother even more gratifying
evidence of the perfect stAte of his health had not Miss
Chris interrupted his meal by a sudden and disconcert-
ing entrance. The yonng woman came into the room
breathless, eager-eyed, and white to the lips. She
drew herself • i by the door, and made a poor pathetic
effort to compose herself, to frame her plea in conven-
tional woiiU ; but she was too agitated to remember
customary greetings.

' Tell me ! Tell me ! ' she said faintly.

Dick sat stock still, wondering what new thing had
happened, asking himself how much Chris knew of his
secret; but sympathetic little Mrs. Haddon started up
in astonishment.

' Tell you what, my dear? ' Then light came to
her. ' About the accident? '

' Yes, oh, ye? 1 Is it true? They say he is
dying! '

180

THE GOLD-STEALERS. 187

' It wn't true. He is not very badly hurt. His
mother went to the hospital wil Jm, an' has come
, back. It's concussion, the doctors say, an' nothin'
serious. '

Miss r'uis was plnclting ner^-oiisly at the bosom of
her dr., with her left hand, steadying herself against
the table with her right ; now that she knew there was
no occasion for her great alarm, woman-like she trem-
bled on the verge of tears. Mrs. Huddon had re-
snmed her seat, and for a moa.snt the eyes of the
two women met; then, much to the boy's astonish,
nieiit. Miss Chris covered her face with her hands and
darted forward and knelt by his mother's side, and
there was a repetition of the incident in which he had
figured a few hours earlier. Mrs. Haddon clasped
Christina to her tender br,-iist, and spoke little soothing
speeches over the fair head, whilst Chris wept a
little, and laughed a little, and clung tightly to her
friend.

' Yes, yes, I know, my dear,' whispered Mrs. Had-
don. ' I know, I know. But don't you fret. It'll
all come out right.'

The women seemed thoroughly to understand each
other, but to Dick this was quite inexplicable. He
perceived, however, that Miss Chris was troubled in
some way, and all his romantic chivalrous feelings were
stirred, and his determination to spare her at all coste
was strengthened again. Looking at the pair, and
remembering the consolation he had derived from his
mother's strong embrace, the boy wondered what

THE OOLD-8TEALER8.

peculiar virtne I.y in thtt kindly bosom that wemed
to malce it the natural refuge of the afflicted; and,
wondering, he stole out and left the two together

When the women of Waddy had anything excop.
tional to Ulk about they talked amazingly, and on
thK particular Monday there v « «, much of interest
to be discussed that e^en the most voluble could only
do justice to the subject, by neglecting domestic dutiw
•nd devoting themselves to back-gate argumcts.
Uarry Hardy's accident was considered and debated
from many point, of view. Harry was twice reported
dead during the moming_on the authority of Mrs
Den Steven and Mrs. Sloan-but this was contradicted
by Mrs Justin, who declared that the young man still
breathed, but was suffering from many and various
injuries which slie alone was able to minutely describe.
Then Airs. Hardy arrived home from Varraman, and
It bec,me known that the injuries were not likely to
prove mortal j so the subject lost interest and was aban-
doned in favour of Hichard Iladdon and his blood-
thirsty gang. ' The boy Haddon ' had been captured
after a desperate encounter, and would be called upon
to stand his trial, along with the poor lads he had so
grievonsly misled, at Yarraman next day. It was con-
ceded that he was about to meet his deserts at last ; but
there was some slight difference of opinion as to the
exact nature of Dick's deserts. Some of the ladies
thought ten years' imprisonment with various flogKiues
and other heavy penalties in the way of solitary con-
finement, leg-irons, and an unvarying d, t of diy

THE OOLD-STEALERS. 189

broad and water would bo the Mvorc.t punisliinont with
wliich the yoiULful malefactor could reasonably be
• afflicted. Mrs. Ben Steven .tood out resolutely for
hanging, and, Uking into account the thrilling rcjwrt
of hi« crimes supplied by the extraordinary issue of
the Varraman i/frcMry, many of the ladies were com-
pelled to admit that this extreme view was probably
thu correct one; besides, it possessed the advantage of
coinciding admirably with long-establUhed popular
opinion about Dick's end. They generously admit-
ted, however, that they were sorry for liis mother,
poor lady.

The Mercury could not very well hove made more
of what it called ' The Outbreak of a New Gang ' in
its Sunday extraordinary. A whole page was filled
with various accounts of the depredations of the gang,
the terrifying appearance of its members, and certain
moral reflections thrown in by the editor for 'he ben-
efit of the Government and the police. There w»s
' Mr. Billson's account,' 'Mr. Hogan's account,' and
' the account given by Master Mathieson.' Each of
these persons had been stuck up by the gang, and had
escaped most miraculously after displaying great daring
in the face of a bloodthirsty fire. The Mercury ex-
hausted all its resources in the way of large black cap-
itals and dUplay type to do justice to the biggest sen-
sation that had come in its way for years, and the
appearance of the paper created the most profound
amazement throughout the town and district. Gable
was described as a cunning scoundrel whose affecta-

190

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

!■

tions of almoBt imbecile simplicity miglit easily have
deceived intelligences less keen than those at the serv-
ice of the Mercury, and neither Messrs. Billson and
Uogan nor Master Mathiesou hinted that their assail-
ants were anything less than grown men of the largest
size and most ferocious type.

Alas! in Monday morning's Mercury the editor
was reluctantly compelled to repudiate the most en-
tlirall'ng portions of Sunday's story, but he still took
a V. serious view of the affair, and vehemently con-
tended that recent facts did not in any way tend to
relieve the Government of its responsibilities in the
matter of increased police-protection for Yarraman
and district. It had transpired that the perpetrators
of the series of outrages on the Cow Flat road were
boys, undisciplined and dangerous youths, fully armed
and led by the man Gable, whose mental infirmities
were of such a nature as to render him unfit to be at
large in a civilised community. The Mercury was
informed that all the young ruffians who had taken
part in the sticking-np incidents were in custody, and
would appear in the police court on the following
morning.

Mrs. Haddon, who still believed Dick's strange re-
serve and lack of spirits to be due to his fear of the
law and the dread prospect of having to appear in
court, endeavoured indirectly (and very cleverly, as
she imagined) to ease his mind. She did not wish
him to think he had done no wrong, or that she did
not regard his conduct as most reprehensible ; but his

jlSI

THE GOLD-STEALERS. 191

mute misery appealed to her motherly heart, and she
heaped derision on those ' fool men ' wlio had been
deluded by the silly pretence of a pack of boys, and
who would be the laughing-stock of tlie whole coun-
tryside when the truth was made known in court and
the magistrates abused them for cowards and simple-
tons. This was comforting to Dick ; but in truth he
thought little of the pending court case, and it gave
him no concern even when he found liimself in the
troopers' hands. Uis secret weighed heavily upon
him, and the sight of Mrs. Hardy, erect and brave
and composed as ever, but with traces of suffering in
her face that the boy could not fail to detect, brought
home to him an aspect of the case that he had not
considered up to now. Her son Frank was a prisoner
suffering for a crime committed by Ephraim Shine :
in protecting Shine for Christina's sake he must sacri-
fice Mrs. Hardy, Frank, and Harry.

The problem tried Dick sorely, but he had plenty
of time to think it over and he determined to wait
for Harry's story. He must be true to Chris in any
case, and he knew her love and admiration for her
father were deep and sincere. He could not under-
stand it: he admitted to himself that affection for
such a man as the searcher was quite absurd and un-
called for; but he knew full well that the blow would
fall upon the girl with crushing force, and his heart
fought for her, and every romantic impulse hecherished
bade him be leal and bold in the ,ase of the queen of
her sex. In the end he resolved that if Harry had

193

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

not recognised his assailants he would warn Shine in
some way, and when the searcher had made good his
escape he would tell the whole truth. This, accord-
ing to his boyish logic, was fair treatment to all
parties, so the resolution brought him some peace of
mind.

The appearance of the Waddy bushrangers in the
police court excited extraordinary interest at Yarra-
man, and Tuesday morning witnessed something very
like an exodus from Waddy. Every man and woman
who could possibly get away made the journey to
Yarraman, all as partisans of the prisoners. In Waddy
Dick and his fellow imps could not be too severely
condemned; but Waddy refused to recognise the
right of outsiders to abuse them, and however vicious
they may have been, it was felt to be the duty of the
township to stand by its own as against the ' townies '
and the witnesses from Cow Flat.

The court was packed, and most of the people of
Waddy had to be content to stand with the crowd
that filled the street. An attempt had been made at
the last moment to alter the charge against the boys to
insulting behaviour, or something equally trivial, and
all in court looked for much amusement. In fact, the
tremendous bushranging sensation had degenerated into
something very like a farce.

The witnesses for the prosecution were the three
young men from Mclvor's run, who made the gallant
attack upon the gang and captured Gable ; Billaon, the
farmer who had been bailed up in his cart ; Hogan, the

THE GOLD.STEALERS. 193

horseman; the boy Mathieeon, the tolhna., and the

woman, Cox by name.
The young men were now sober and snbdned, and

the evidence they gave differed materially from the

story told to the police on Saturday night when they
cantered mto Yarr^man with their prisoner, drunk
and va.nglonous. :^ v admitted now that the gang
did not make a very .'rennous resistance to their gal-
lant r .rge, but insisted that the boys were armed

7^,*rfr''' ""' ^""^'^ '''"eS'"-^ "ke a demon ;
and the old man, standing amongst his fellow prisoners,
evidently immensely delighted with the part he wa
paying, smiled brightly upon the court and ejaculated
parti'culaT' ^'^ ^^"^^^ ^ '« i'-^-^ nothing in

PofS"! *'"f.^ '" """"e been bailed up on the
Cow Fla road by a gang of bushrangers, who de-
manded his money or his life and fired upon bin-
He described his hairbreadth escape with primitive
e oquence, and was certain the gang meant to murder

wh ;., l^T l°° '^^^'^ '' "^« '*■"« *° notice
whether the bushrangers were 3n or boys. It was
he who overtook the three young men, but they could
not be induced to turn back till the boy Mathieson
came up with them and declared the highwaymen to
be a mob of boys. b J

Hogan wa^ equally positive about tlie firearms, and
though he heard the bullets whistling past his ea™,
but could not swear to it. At this stage the defend!
ants lawyer, who had been harrowing the witnesses

194

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

with many questions and heaping ridicule upon their
devoted heads, called for the prisoners' arras to be pro-
duced, and the siglit of the toy pistols with their mut-
ton-boned barrels provoked yells of laughter in the
court, which were presently echoed in the streets.

But it was not till brawny Mrs. Cox took her stand
in the witness-box that the absurdity of the MercuryU
story and the charge was exposed fully to a delighted
audience. Mrs. Cox marched into the box in an
aggressive way, saluted the book with an emphatic
and explosive kiss, and then stood erect, square-
shouldered and defiant, giving the court and all con-
cerned to understand by her attitude that it mast not
be imagined any advantage could be taken of her.
She told her story in a bluff dogmatic way. She was
bailed up by the miscreants and scared out of her
seven senses They demanded her money or her life,
and she believed that it was their intention to lea^e
her ' welterin' in her gore ' ; and having said as much
she squared round upon the lawyer, arms akimbo and
head thrown back, inviting him to come on to his
inevitable destruction.

'Come, come, madam,' said the barrister, 'you
must not tell us you imagined for a moment you
were ever in any serious danger from these terrible
fellows.'

'Mustn't! mustn't!' cried Mrs. Cox. 'An',
indeed, why not, sir? Who' re you to tell me I
musn't? '

Mrs. Cox stopped deliberately and carefully rolled

THE GOLD-STEALERS. 195

np both deeves of her drese. Then, unhampered and
m customary tnm, she smote the cedar in front of her
and cned :

'Mustn't, indeed! '

'No offence, ma'am,' ,aid the small lawyer in a
eoncihatory tone; 'no ofiFence in the world. Please

What d I do? First I said a prayer for me soul. >
And then ?

^^nd then I grabbed one o' the young imp,, an'

Here Mrs. Cox's actions implied that she had a
strugghng bushranger in her grip. She drew him
orer her knee, and then, for the education and edifi-
cation of the court, went through the task of enthusi-
asf-cally spanking a purely imaginary small boy.

rJ^TTTr T '"°'' """""^ing. and provoked
roars of laughter that completely drowned the shrill
pipe of the pohceman fiercely demanding order ; when
the no.se had subsided Gable, flushed with excitement
and with dancing eyes and jigging limbs, cried out
Oh, cnckey! with such gusto that the laughter
broke loose agam in defiance of all resiraint, and was
mamtamed until the chairman of the bench, himself
almost apoplectic from his eiforts to swallow his mirth
arose and talked of clearing the court ; then the crowd'
fearful of missing the fun to come, quietened in a few
seconds and the case was resumed

lawvlr" ?r'"^^,.*« y'-"^g "P' Mrs. Cox,' said the
lawyer. ' You did . A pity you did not serve

196

THE QOLD-STEALERS.

Im;

them all alike and save us the folly of this most ridic-
ulous coie.'

' I did grab another,' said the witness,' au' I '

Mrs. Cox repeated her eloquent pantomime.

' Oh, crickey I ' cried Gahle. ' Oh, I ss.v, here's
a lark!'

' Silence in court,' squealed the asthmatical police-
man.

'Excellent,' said the lawyer. ' And so, madam,
you drove off this desperate and bloodthirsty gang by
simply slapping them all round':" '

' Yes, a'ter I'd been assaulted with a goat,' cried
the witness, flushing with a recollection of her wrongs
and shaking a formidable list at the prisoners. ' After
I'd been ass ilted with a goat sooled on by one o' the
bla' guards."

The lawysr apoke a few soothing words :

' Yon deserve the thanks of the community, Mrs.
Cox, for the businesslike way in which you suppressed
this diabolical gang. Y'our method is in pleasing con-
trast with the ridiculous effeminacy of the previous
witnesses. I have no doubt you would treat an adult
bushranger in exactly the same way.'

' Or a lawyer cither,' said Mrs. Cox, detecting
sarcasm.

The case was practically decided when Mrs. Cox
stepped down. The bench desired to have some evi-
dence as to Gable's character, and leading residents of
Waddy described his infirmity, and spoke of him as
an entirely harmless and innocent old man. The case

THE GOLD-STEALKRS. 197

W88 dismissed; but the cliairraan, in acquitting the
prisoners, took occasion to remind clieir j-.rents that
If the excellent example set by Jlrs. Cox were fol-
lowed by thorn all, it would probably tend to the
moral advantage of the boys and the benefit of society
at large.

The return to M'adily was something in the nature
of a triumphal march in which the late prisoners fig-
ured as heroes, but they lost importance immediately
after reaching the township. A new to,,ic of great
mterest had sprung up during the absence of' the
crowd; news hadarrivedof Harry Hardv's recovery
and it was known that his injuries were not the result
of a fall of reef, but were intlieted by gold-stealers
who had got into the mine in some mysterious way
and had escaped again just as mysteriously. Already
Waddy had decided upon the identity of the culprits
who. It was confidently asserted, would be found
amongst the small community of Chinamen whose
huts were situated on the bank of the creek at a dis-
tance of about two miles from the towaship, and who
made a precarious living by fossicking and growing
vegetaMes. Waddy always settled matters of this kind
out of hand, and the presence of those Chinamen
saved It much mental trouble in accounting for thefts
small 01- great.

I^te that niglit Joe Rogers and the searcher sp,t to-
gether in a hidden place in the corner paddock dis-
cussing the turn events had taken. The last three
days had told upon Shine, who was pallid, hollow-

198

THE OOLD-STEAI.ERS.

clieeked, and iiervoue; lie fumbled always with hu
bent bony fingers bunched behind liira, and when in
the presence of others twisted and turned his curious
feet continuously with a dull anxiety that irritated the
men beyond bearing. Now, crouched amongst the
scrub by the side of his mate, he whined about their
danger.

' We should 'a' cleared. We oughter clear now.
We'll be nabbed if we stay.'

'We'll bo nabbed if wo bolt,' replied Rogers.
' The man as cleared now would be spotted as the
guilty party, an' half the p'lice in the country 'd be
np an' after him. No, here we are, an' here we stick
fer better or worse. '

' But if they've got the gold, wliy don't they do
somethin'? There's no word of it. Rogers, if
you're foolin' me over this '

' Will you stop twiddlin' those cursed feet of yours
an' listen to me? They haven't got the gold, but I
think I've guessed who has. That young whelp
Haddon.'

' Dickie Haddon? How, how? Where's it now? '

' How in thnnder should I know? But I know the
troopers didn't get it. They would have made some
noise about it afore this. See here, they were huntin'
that kid when they went into the quarry. He must
'a' hid somewhere about when he heard them comin' ;
p'raps in that very tree. Then he dragged the gold
away before we got back, an' hid it. That's my idea. '

' An' d'ye think he saw us? '

THE GOLDSTEALKHS.

199

' I don't. He'd "a' eplit at once.'

' Well, well, an' wliut'll you do? '

' Collar young Iladdon, an' frighten the truth out
o' liiin or break every bone in his cursed skin.'

' But he'd know then, you fool. '

' Will he? I'll take all sorts o' care ho doesn't
know me, you can take your colonial oath on that.'

' An' if you get the gold back, no dirty tricks.
It's halves, you know — fair halves!'

' Yes, an' haven't you always got your share all
fair an' square? An' what've you ever done fer it
but whimper an' cant an' snuffle, like the cur yon
are?'

' I was goin' to give it up after this,' whined Shino,
disregarding Joe's outburst, ' an' get married again,
an' live God-fearin' an' respectable.'

Rogers glared at him in the darkness, and laughed
in an ugly way.

' Marry ! ' he sneered. ' Man, the little widow
wonldn't have yon. She's waitin' fer Frank Hardy ;
an', as fer yer God-fearin' life, you're such an all-
fired hippercrit. Shine, that I believ j you fool your-
self that you're a holy man in spite o' everythin,' 'pou
me soul I do ! '

' Ah, Joseph 1' ogers, the devil may triumph fer a
while, but I'm naturally a child o' grace, an' if you'd
on'y turn '

Rogers uttered an oath, and drawing back struck
the searcher in the face with his open hand.

'Enough o' that" he cried. 'None o' your

200

THE OOLD-STEALERS.

sick'nin' Sunday-school humbug fer me, Mr. Super-
intendent. We've talked o' that before.'

Shine arose, and moved back a few paces.

' I'd bettor be goin',' he said. ' 'Taint fer us to
quarrel, Joseph. Leave the usual sign when we're
to meet again.'

Bent over his unconscionable feet, he stole away
amongst the trees, aud a few minutes later Rogers
moved off slowly in another direction, towards the
lights of the Drovers' Arms. His thoughts as he
strolled were not very favourable to his fellow
criminal.

'Let me once get my hands on that gold,' he
muttered, 'an' I'll bolt for 'Frisco.

CHAPTER XVH.

Dick remained very eiibdued tliroughout tlie next
day; his bead was full of the oppressive secret, and
i;e had no heart for new enterprises. At ecliool hia
mates found him taciturn and uncompanionable, and
Joel Ham was astonished at his obedience and indus-
try. Harry Hardy returned home on the Wednes-
day evening, and visited Mrs. Haddoii's kitchen th it
night. His head was swathed in blindages, and ho
was pale and hollow-eyed. Dick felt strange towards
his friend and shrank from conversation with him,
but listened eagerly when Harry described hia ex-
periences in the mine on the night of the attack.

'I'd stopped the pump for a spell,' he said, 'an'
presently thought I heard sounds like someone work-
ing in the " T " drive. I crept quietly to the month
of the drive, an' could see a man witli a candle
crouched down at work on the floor. I was making
towards him when another darted out of the darkness
beside mo, an' brought me a fearful lick on the head.
I staggered back into the main drive an' had a sort o'
confused idta ' running feet an' loud voices, an'
then came another welt an" over I went. They must

«0l

THE G0LI)-STEALEH8.

have dragged me up above tlio water level, an' I
ought to tliuiik them for tliat, I »'poee.'

'An' you couldn't recognise either of them?'
asked Mrs. Iladdon.

' No, 1 haven't the sliglitest notion who it was hit
me, an' the figure of tlie otlicr was just visible an' no
more. I could swear to nothing except this.' He
touclied his head and smiled.

' The cowardly wretches ! ' cried Mrs. Iladdon, her
bosom swelling with indignation.

'They're all that,' said Harry, 'but this is some-
thing to be grateful for. Can't you see what it
means? It means that everyone is ready to believe
Frank's story now, an' a broken head's worth liaving
at that price, ain't it?'

' You're a good fellow, Harry,' said the little
widow softly. ' Do you think they might let Frank
go now?'

' No, worse luck, not without further evidence ;
but the company'U probably go in for a big hunt, an'
that may be the saving of him.'

This latter piece of news gave Dick further cause
for agitation, and his mother's distress grew with his
deepening melancholy. She was alarmed for his
health, and had been trying ever since the return
from Yarraraan to induce him to drink copious
draughts of her favorite specific, camomile tea, but
without success; the boy knew of no ailment and
could imagine none that would not be preferable to
camomile tea taken in large doses.

THK GOLD-STEALEKS.

SOS

On the following morning at about eleven o'clock a
visitor called upon Mr. Joel Ham at the reliool, a
Blightly-built ikinnjf inau in a drab suit. He carried
a small parcel, and this he opened on the master's
desk as he talked in a slow sleepy way, the sleepiness
accented by his inability to lift his eyelids like other
people, so that they hung drowsily, almost veiling the
eyes. After a few minutes Joel stepped forward and
addressed the Fifth Class:

' Boys, attend ! Each of you take off his left boot. '
The boys stared incredulously.
'Your left boots,' repeated the master. 'This
gentleman is— eh— a chiropodist, and eh— come,
come ! ' Joel Ham slashed the desk : the boys
hastened to remove tlieir left boots, hniidcd t!^..-n to
the stranger, and watched him curiously as he ex-
amined them at the desk. The astonished scholars
could see little, but the man in drab had two plaster
casts before him and he was deliberately comparing
the boys' boots with these. When he came to Dick's
boot he turned carelessly to the master and said :
' This is our man. '

' Richard Haddon, the first boy on the back seat.'
The chiropodist did not look up.
' Boy with red hair,' he said. ' Mixed up in that
Cow Flat road affair. Evidently an euteri)ri8ing
nipper, on the high road to the gallows.'

Joel Ham drew thumb and forefinger from the
comers of his mouth to the point of his ohin, and
blinked his white lashes rapidly.

204

THK GOLD-STEALERS.

'No,' he said, quite emphatically; ' I don't often
give advice— sensible people don't need it, fools won't
take it-but you might waste time by regarding that
boy 8 share in this business from a wrong point of
view. If he lias had a hand in it-and I have no
doubt of It since his foot appears-think of him at
the woi-st as the accomplice of some scoundrel cun-
ning enough to impose upon the folly of a romantic
youngster stuffed with rubbishy fiction, and gifted
witli an extraordinarily adventurous spirit.'

This was perhaps the longest speech ever made by
Joel Ham in ordinary conversation since he came to
Waddy, and it quite exhausted him. The stranger
yawned pointedly.

' Where does lie live? ' he asked.
' Third house down the road. Mother a widow. '
Uight. You might make an excuse to send him
home presently. You are a discreet man, :\rr. Ham. '
' In everybody's business but my own, Mr. Downy.
The stranger took up hU parcel and marched out,
and the boots having been restored to their owners
work was resumed. About twenty i.-inutes later
Dick was called out, and .Toel presented him with an
envelope.

'Take that note to your mother. Ginger, will yon?
Stay a moment,' he said, as Dick turned away. He
took the boy by the coat and blinked at him com-
plaisantly for a moment.

' When in doubt, my boy, always tell the truth '
he said. '

THE GOI,,.. STEALERS. 205

Notiug a puzzled xpre^sion in L-ick's face, he cou-
descendcd to explaij .

' When you're asked many ,,.,c8tions and want an
answer, tell the truth. Lies, my boy, are for fools
and rogues— remcnibei-, fools and rogues.'

Dick set hie lips and nodded; and the master, after
regarding liim curiously for a moment, actuallv patted
his head— an uncommon exhibition of feeling on his
part that caused the scholars to gape with wonder-
ment.

When Dick reached Ms home lie was astonished to
hnd his mother seated in the front room with her
handkerchief to her eyes, crying quite violently ( )p.
posito her sat the man in diab. swin<ring his hat be-
tween his knees and looking exactly as if he had jnst
been awakened from a nap. The man walked to the
door, locked it, and then resumed his seat.

' Now, my lad, ' he said, ' attend to me. My name
18 Downy. I am a detective, and .' have found you out. '
The admission was not a wise one; it blanched
Dick's lips, but it closed them like a spring-trap.

'I have found you out,' continued the detective
'ffe has been arrested.' The detective emphasised
the ' he,' and watched the effect. Dick stood before
him, white and silent, his heart beating with quick
blows, and his blood humming in his ears, 'Who?
Who? Who?'

' The man who went down with you has been ar-
rested, my lad, and now you must tell me the whole
truth to save yourself. Ho says you liammered Harry

206

THE GOLDSTEALEES.

J{I

ill

Hardy on the head with an iron bar, and if you do not
clear yourself I must take you to gaol.'

Dick answered nothing ; his eyes never moved from
tlie green bee on the wall even to glance at his mother
sobbing in the corner.

' Come, come, come ! ' cried Downy impatiently,
' it's no good your denying that you were in the mine
on Sunday night. You came home covered with slurry,
marked with blood, and very frightened. Your
mother admits that, and we have found your footprints
in the clay of the Silver, Stream drives at both levels.
Besides, the man says you were there. Now, tell me
this, and I will let you go free : who has the key of
the grating over the mouth of the old Red Hand? '

' Oh ! Dickie, ray boy, my poor boy — why don't
you answer? ' sobbed Mrs. Haddon.

The detective tried again, threatened, pleaded, and
cajoled, and Mrs. Haddon used all her motherly arti-
fices ; but not one word came from the boy's locked
lips. Dick was possessed by a vivid hallucination;
he seemed to be standing in the centre of a whirlwind.
Downy and his mother were dim figures beyond, seen
through the dust ; and like shreds of paper whirled in
the vortex, visions of Miss Chris's face, netted in fair
hair, passed swiftly before his eyes, and the expression
on each face was beseeching and sorrowful. Nothing
could have dragged the truth from him at that
moment.

Downy stood up and hung over Dick, scratching his
head in a dpspairing way.

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

20r

I'm sorry, ma'am,' he saiJ, ' but I'll hove to take

him.

'He's sliieldin' some villain,' moaned Mrs. Had-
don.

Tliu detective took the widow aside and whispered
with her for a few minutes, with the result that she
dried her eyes and was much consoled.

Dick was taken away in Manager Holden's trap and
lodged in gaol at Yarraman ; and when the news leaked
out, as it did towards evening, Waddy had a new sensa-
tion, and quite the most startling one in its experience.
Before the women went to bed that night they had
found Dick guilty of robbing the Silver Stream of
thousands of ounces of gold and perpetrating a mur-
derous assault on Harry Hardy. The news brought
Joe RogerD and Ephraim Shine together at their secret
meeting-place in the corner paddock — Rogers much
disturbed and puzzled, Shine shaken almost out of his
wits.

' I'm goin' to bolt, T tell you! ' cried the searcher.

Rogers gripped him roughly.

'Bolt,' he said, 'an' you're doomed — done for.
Hell! man, can't you see you'd be grabbed in less'n a
day? With that mug an' that figure you'd be spotted
whatever hole you crept into. '

'I know, I know; but it'll come anyhow — it'll
come ! '

'Not 80 sure, unless yon blab in one of these
blitherin' fits. What does that kid know? Nothin'.
He's found our gold, an' he's hid it away. He

208

THE GOLD-STEALEKS.

wants to keep it, an' you know what a stubborn devil
he is. Tliis is just a try on, an' they'll get nothin'
out o' Dick Iladdon. If they do they get the gold,
an' we're all right if we don't play the fool.'

Rogers's reasoning was very good as far as it went;
but the discovery of the boy's footprints in the drives
had been kept a close secret, or even he might have
admitted the wisdom of bolting without delay.

Dick spent a day and two nights in the cell at the
watch-house in Yarraman. Public report at AVaddy
was to the effect that every influence short of torture
had been used in the effort to induce him to divulge
the truth, and not a word had he spoken. His mother
and Mrs. Hardy and Harry had all visited him in the
cell, and had failed to persuade him to open his lips.
His callousness in the presence of his poor mother's
distress was described in feeling terms as unworthy of
the black and naked savage. All this was much nearer
the truth than speculation at Waddy was wont to be ;
and when Dick was restored to his home in the flesh on
Saturday at noon and permitted to run at large again
without let or hindrance, Waddy was amazed and indig-
nant, and "Waddy's criticism of the methods of the
police authorities was scathing in the extreme.

The boy was driven home by the sergeant, the same
who had been commissioned to quell the Great Goat
Riot.

'He's looking pulled down,' sail the trooper, de-
livering him into his mother's arms. ' It's the con-
finement. Let him run about as usual, Mrs, Haddon ;

THE OOLD-STEALERS. 209

let him have lots of fresh air, particularly night air,
and he'll soon he all right. At night, Mrs. Haddon
the air is fresh and liealthy. Let him run ahout in
the evenings, you know.'

Mrs. Haddon was very grateful for the advice and
promised to act upon it. But Dick was a new boy;
he remained in doors all Saturday and Sunday, wan-
dering about the house in an aimless manner, trying
to read and failing, trying to divert Jiimself in unu-
sual ways and f-:ling in everything. He presented
all the symptoms of a guilty, conscience-stricken
wretch; and his mother, who had been priming him
with camomile surreptitiously, began to lose confidence
in tiiai wonderful herb.

Meanwhile a very interesting stranger had made his
appearance at Waddy ; he was believed to be a drover,
and he was on the spree and ' shouting ' with sponl
taneity and freedom. His horse, a fine upstanding
bay, stood saddled and bridled under McMalion's shed
at the Drovers' Arms by day and night. His beha-
viour in drink was original and erratic. He would
fraternise with the man at the bar for a time, and
then go roaming at large about the township in a des-
ultory way, sleeping casually in all sorts of absurd
places; but Waddy had a large experience in
' drunks,' and made liberal allowances.

Miss Chris called in at Mrs. Haddon's home on
Sunday evening shortly after tea. She had not been
to chapel, and was anxious about her father, who had
RbEonted himself from his duties as superintendent of

210

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

late and whose behavionr had been most extraordinary
when slie called on liim on two or three occasions dur-
ing the week. She was afraid of fever, and sought
advice from Mrs. Iladdon, who unhesitatingly recom-
mended camomile tea. Then Dick's ailment was dis-
cussed and Chris, much concerned, went and sat by
the boy, who cowered over his book, too full to
answer her kind inquiries. She put an arm about
him and talked with tender solicitude; she sympa-
thised with him in his troubles, and was angry with
ail liis enemies, more especially the police, whose folly
amazed lier. Here a large tear rolled down Dick's
nose and splashed upon the open page, and when she
pressed liim to tell all he might know and not to suffer
abuse and shame to shield some wicked villain, he
quite collapsed, and sat with his head sunk upon his
arms, sobbing hysterically. This was so unlike the
boy that Christina was quite amazed, and her eyes
travelled anxiously to and from Dick's bowed head
and liis mother's distressed face. Then the women,
to give him time to recover himself, sat together talk-
ing of other matters — Harry Hardy mainly — and
Dick, ashamed of his tears, crept away to bury his
effeminate sobs amongst the Cape broom in the
garden.

Dick had not sat alone more than a minute when
he heard a sharp whistle from the back. It was
Jacker Mack's whistle and at first Dick did not re-
spond, but sat mopping his tears with his sleeves.
The whistle was repeated three or four times, and at

THE GOLD-STEALEHS. 2u

length he dctennined to meet Jacker, thinking there
-night be some news about the reef in the Muunt of
<^old lie passed out through the si.ie gate, and
along to the fowl-hou.e at the corner, behhid which
he expected to find his mate sitting. B„t when he
reached the corner a pair o£ strong ar,ns snatched him
from the ground, and he was borne away at a rapid
pace in the direction of Wilson's pad.lock. Ilis face
was crushed against the breast of the man who held
h.m, m such a way that it was i.apossible for him to
utter the sliglitest sound.

Across the rtat in the shallow quarry he was thrown
to the ground and for a moment he caught a glimpse
of h.s captor m the darkness, a powerfully built man
wearmg a viator cap that covered the whole of his
face and head, witli the exception of the eyes

'Let one yelp out o" you an' Til crush ver l,ead
with a rock: • whispered the man ferociously

Biek was blindfolded and gagged, and his arms and
egs were tied with rope, his enemy kneeling on him
the while and hurting him badly in his brutal haste

The boy was caught up again and thrown on the
rnau's shou der, and the journey was continued at a
t.ot. He knew when the bush was reached, because
here a fence had to be climbed. Fie tried to under-
tand what this adventure might mean, but his
thoughts were all confused and the gag made breatli-
uig 80 difficult that once or twice helped he wasgo-
ing to die. *

When at last the man stopped and Dick was

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

dioppcd to the ground, they had travelled about a
mile and a half into the bush. He lieard the sound
of timbers being moved, and presently was caught up
again ; after much fumbling and an oath or two from
his companion the latter withdrew his support, and
Dick felt himself to be dangling in the air from the
rope that tied his limbs. Now the bandage was pulled
from his eyes, and the boy, after staring about
through the starlit night for a few moments, terrified
and amazed, began to realise his position.

' Know where you are, me beauty? ' asked the big
man who stood before him, and who spoke as if with
a pebble on his tongue.

Dick knew where he was. He was hanging over
the open shaft of the Piper Mine, another of Wnddy'e
abandoned claims, suspended from one of the skids
by a stout rope.

' Look down,' commanded the man.

Dick obeyed and saw only the black yawning shaft.

' Know she's deep, don't yer? There's three hun-
dred feet o' shaft below yon there. That's the short
road to hell. Kow look here.'

He flashed the bright blade of a large knife before
the eyes of his prisoner; then, seating himself on a
broken truck near the shaft he began deliberately to
sharpen the knife on his boot. The operation was not
in the least hurried — the man was desirous of making
a deep impression.

'There,' he said at length, 'that's beautiful.
Feel! ' He cut the skin of Dick's nose with a touch

THE GOLD-STJiALEKS. ai3

of the keon edge. ' Now, listen hero. I'm goin' to
take this l)andage off yer moutli, 'cause I've .1 icw
perticular questions to ask au' jou must answer 'cm,
but understand first that one little yell from you, an'

' lie mai'o a bhod-curdling pretence of cuttiiio'

at the rope above Dick's head. ' Vou'd go plug to
the bottom an' be smashed to fifty bits ! '

Tlie man removed the gag and reseated himself on
the old truck. As he talked he toyed with the ugly
knife, making occasional passes on the side of his left
boot resting on his knee.

' I'Oo'* ''ere, young feller,' he said, ' if you tell me
lies dowu you go, understand? D'ye believe me? '
he asked with sudden ferociiy.
' Yes,' whispered Dick.

'AVell then listen, an' answer quick an' lively.
Where's the bag of gold you stole outer tliat big tree
beyond the Red Hand ? '

Dick's heart jumped like a startled hare. Hr
recognised his enei r now in spite of his cap and his
disguised voice. It was Joe Rogers.

'D'ye deny takin' it? ' asked tlie man sharply.
' Yes,' said Dick, cold at heart and quaking in ev-
ery limb.

'Damn you for a young liar! Fer two pins I'd
send you straight to smash. I know you've got that
gold stowed somewhere. AVhere? '

The boy gave him no answer, and Rogers sprang
to his feet, and tickled him again with the knife.

'You whelp! 'he said hoarsely. 'I'd think ez

TIIK GOLD-STEALERS.

much of slaughteriu" you ez 1 would of brainin' a cat.
Speak, if you want to live ! 'Wlierc'B that gold? '

Dick was convinced that the man would be as good
as his word, but he still lingered, casting about help-
lessly for an excuse, a hope of escape.

' Bhist you, won't you speak? '

Dick felt the knife cut into the rope above liis
head, and shrieked aloud in a ])aroxysin of terror.

'Stop, stop! riltelM'

' Tell then, an' be quick. That's one strand o'
the rope gone; there's two more. Speak!' He
raised the knife threateningly.

' It's under tli:i " ig Hat stone near the spring in
the Gaol Quarry." I'he liu came almost involuntarily
from the boy's lips in instantaneous response to a new
impulse. But he was doomed to disappointment.

' Good ! ' ejaculated the man. ' Now, you go
with nie. I don't trust you; you're too smart a kid
to be trusted.' As he spoke he twisted the gag into
Dick's mouth again. ' No,' he cried with a sudden
change of intention, 'you'll stay where you are.
You're safe enough here. While I'm away think o'
■what's below yn there, an' pray yer hardest in case
you've lied to me, because if you have you're done
fer. I'll kill you, s'elp me God, I will ! '

Rogers took a bee li.ie through the scrub in the
direction of the quarry, leaving Dick hanging over
the open shaft. The Gaol Quarry was not more than
half a mile off, and Rogers ran the whole of the dis-
tance. He made his May clumsily down the rocky

THE OOLD.ST£ALEKS. Jis

•ide from the hill, falling heavily from half the height
and bruiring himself badly, but paying no attention
to hia injuries in the anxiety of the moment. lie
found the big flat stone after a minute's search, and
succeeded in turning it only after exerting his great
strength to the utmost. There waf nothing niider-
neath. Yes, there was something; a snake hissed at
him in tlie darkness and slid away amongst the broken
rock. Rogers fell upon Lis knees and groped about
blindly, but the ground was hard. Tliiie was no
sign of the gold anywhere, and not another stone in
the quarry that answered to the boy's description.
Possessed with a stupid blundering fury against Dick,
Rogers turned bacK towards the I'iper. Ho breathed
horrible blasi)hemies as he ran, and struck at the scrub
in his insensate rage. He was a man of fierce pas-
sions, and meant murder during those first few min-
utes—murder swift and ruthless. He reached the
Piper breathless from his exertions and wild with pas-
sion. He did not even pause to resume his disguise,
but ran to the shaft, cursing as he went. There he
stojjped like a man shot, his figure stiffened, his arms
thrown out straight before him ; his eyes, wide and
full of terror, stared between t..2 skids rising from
the shaft to the brace above.

Dick Haddon was not there. The space was empty,
the rope's end moved lazily in the wind.

The revulsion of feeling was terrible : it left the
strong man as weak as a child, it turned the desperate
criminal into a mumbling coward. Rogers staggered

216

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

to tlie shaft and oxamiued the rope. It bad broken
wliere one atrand waa out ; the otlier Btrandii were
fra^-ed ont. The goldstcaler fell upon hi« knees and
tried to eall, but a mere gasp was the only sound that
escaped his lips. lie remained for a minute or two
gazing helplessly into the pitch blackness of the shaft j
then, recovering somewhat with a groat effort, he
rose to his feet, untied the remainder of the rope
from the skid and dropped it into the shaft, and turn-
ing his back on the mine fled away through the pad-
docks towards Waddy. As he issued from the bush a
quarter of an hour laten, and crossed the open flat, a
slim figure slipped from the furze covering the rail
fence and followed him noiselessly at a distance.

ill

**HB BNATCllED HIS GUN tUOM A COKKUU ASD BTEPl'KD OUT."

CHAPTER XViri.

Whex Rogers reached his hut he eat for some
time in the dark, thinking over his position. It liad
been his intention all along to make his escape from
the district the moment he succeeded in recovering
the gold, and now, in his horror at the consequences
of his last act, he was incapable of cold reason. His
one desire was to get away as far as possible from the
scene of his crimes. He lit a caudle, and the drunken
drover, peeping through a crack, saw him spread a
blanket on the floor and set to work hastily to make a
swag. The drover watched hun for a rainu! and
then sped ofif in the darkness. Shortly after this
Rogers was startled at the sound of a shrill and pecu-
liar whistle. Jumping up on the impulse of the
moment, with the quick suspicion of a criminal, he
snatched hb gun from a corner and stepped out.
Standing in the light thrown from his hut door, he
heard the tramp of horses' hoofs and a voice calling :
' Stand and deliver ! You are my prisoner ! '
Joe slipped into the shadow, sheltering himself
behind the chinmey, and saw two troopers riding at
him. Instinetivo'y his gun was lifted to his shoulder.
' Bail up ! ' he cried. ' A step nearer an' I fire ! '

318

THE GOLD-STEALEBS.

The troopers spurred their horses, liogers clinched
his teeth, his eye ran along the barrel, he covered the
leading man and fired. The trooper was flung for-
ward on his horse's neck, his arms dangling limply on
each side. His horse sprang to a gallop, and a minute
later the man slid over its shoulder and fell, rolling
almost to Joe's feet as the animal rushed past.

The second trooper fired a revolver, and the bullet
chipped a slab at the gold-stealer's ear. Rogers had
him covered, and his finger was on the trigger when
the gun was whirled from his hands and a man who
had stolen up from the back closed with him. The
new-comer was slim, and Rogers felt that he might
break him between his'hands if he could only get a
proper grip ; but the drnnken drover — for it was he-
was as sinuous as an eel, and a moment later Joe was
on the broad of his back with the ' darbies ' on his
wrists and a trooper kneeling on his chest, while the
drover, transformed into Detective Downy, stood
over them, mopping his face witli bis big false beard.

The wounded trooper had recovered somewhat, and
was on his hands and knees, with down-hanging head,
in the light of the open door.

'How are you, Casey?' asked the detective
anxiously.

'Aisy, sor. I'm jist wonderin' if I'm dead or
alive,' said the trooper in a still email voice, watching
the blood-drops falling from his forehead.

'Then the devil a bit's the matter with you,
Casey.'

THE OOLD-STEALERS. 219

'Thank yon, sor,' said the trooper, with a trained
man's confidence in his superior. ' Thin I'd best git
up, p'raps.' And he arose and stood dnbionsly
fingering the furrow plowed along the top of his
head by the gold stealer's bullet.

'Get him into the hnt,' said Downy, indicating
Rogers with a nod; 'and hobble the bruto— he's
dangerons. '

Rogers, sitting on the edge of his bunk, hand-
cuffed and leg-ironed, gazed sullenly at the detective.
'Well,' he said, 'an' now you've got me, what's
the charge? '

'A trifle of gold-stealing,' replied Downy, 'and
this,' indicating Casey's bleeding head. 'To say
nothing of the murder of your accomplice.'

Rogers blanched and glared at the detective, liis
face contorted and his eyes big with terror.

'Shine,' he murmured, 'd'ye mean Shine? It's
a lie; he's not dead! '

Harry Hardy, who had just come upon the sceue
and was stauding in the doorway, cried out at this.

' Great God ! ' he said. ' Then it was Ephraim
Shine, after all ! '

' Pooh ! ' cried Rogers, ' it was a trick to trap me
into givin' his name. You needn't "a' troubled yer-
self. I don't want to shield him — damn him ! '

' Do you know where this Shine's to be got at? '
asked Downy, appealing to Harry, who had been
working in concert with the detective ever since his
appearance in Waddy.

380

THE OOLD-STEALEES.

' I know his house. He'll

' Yes, ' was the reply,
be easily taken.'

li'7t" ^°J'^ ^'"^ '"'«"'"'• ■r"'^" Casey's horse.
ItU be with the other. Here,' he threw Harry a
revolver. < Case of need, you know, but no shooting
II It can be avoided.' ''

Harry thrust the weapon in his belt, and a minute
ater he and Sergeant Monk rode off in company to
take Ephraim Shme in the name of the Queen

Meanwhile Dick was not at the bottom of the Piper
Bhaft, as Rogers concluded in his haste. Joe had not
left the boy half a minute when a second man made
"^•3 appearance on tl* other side of the shaft This
MS Downy, in his drover disguise. The detective
wnose sole object in assuming the disguise was to watch
Dick, behevmg that the boy would be sure to com-
mumcate with the real tliieves, had witnessed his
capture by Rogers and had followed in the latter's
tracks; and now, after being entertained and in-
structed by the words that hud passed between Rogers
and h.s captive, he cut Dick down, quickly frayed
^e end of the rope between two stones, and cut away
D.^ck s bonds, throwing the rope and gag into the

T.l^°'^'.r ^'' ^"""'^ '*^™'y' 'after that man.
Take me the nearest track to the quarry you spoke of
as quick as yon can cut, and don't make noise enough
to wake a cat or I'll hand yon over to him when we
get tnere.

Dick did as he was bid; and they were in time to

THE GOLD-STEALERS. 231

overlook Rogers as he searched amongst the stonrn,
and to overlicar some of the language that announced
his failure. At this stago the detective, who had re-
tained his grip of Dick's wrist, wliispered :

' You can go now, but you must take a message
from me to Harry Hardy. Go straight to his house
and say, "Downy says 'Ready.' " Can I trust you? '
Dick nodded.

' You're a plucky lad,' said Downy, ' and I'll take
your wcid. Off you go, but make no noise. '

Dick crept quietly along the grass till he wa. (Tell
beyond hearing, and then ran down by Wilson's
ploughed land and out into the open country. He
understood that the career of Joe Rogers as a gold-
Btealer was drawing to ft close, and the knowledge
brought him a certain sense of relief in spite of the
fact that he quite realised Shine's danger, and was
more than ever devoted to the searcher's daughter,
more than ever pleased with the idea of her hearing
some day how faithful and bold he had been, how trne
a knight to his liege lady.

He burst into the room where Mrs. Hardy and
Harry and Mrs. Haddon were seated, hatless and
breathless, and filled his friends with alarm.

' Please, Harry, Downy says " Ready ! " ' blurted
Dick.

Harry sprang to his feet and made for the door.
'That means he's discovered something important,
mother, ' he said as he passed out.
Dick followed, leaving the women astonished and

828

THE GOLD-STEAIERS.

BJilt

cnnon, shpped awaj around the fence enclodng
Harry s home, and n.ade off towards the other end of

Shine of the danger that threatened. He did not
donbt but that Roge.., if he fell into the hands f the
troopers, would tell all.

D..ks knock was answered by Miss Chris, who wore
at^ktrs-:^"'''"'''«^°^"'°^'-'"«^-'-'>o.e

'I want your father,' said Dick quickly 'The
troopers 'r' after him. Tell him to bolt '

'Dickie-Dickie, wliateyer do you mean?' cried
l^liristma, greatly agitated.

aoJeared''! "•"""' ','" ""^ *'-"^' ""'''' ''"^ S^ine
appeared, showing a drawn gaunt face, the skin of

which looked crinkled and yellow in the candle light,

like old parchment. '^ '

' What's that? • he gasped. ' Who wants me? '

Ion re found out,' said Dick, drawing back

Bhoeked by the ghastly appearance of the man!

They re after Rogers. They've got him by this, I

expect an> they'll soon have yon if you don^ make

a bolt fer it.

Shine nttered a wailing cry and Dick turned and
fled again, afraid of being seen in the vicinity of the
searcher s abode by Downy or any of his men. Look-
ing back he saw that the house was now in darkness
and surmised that Ephraim had taken advantage of
his warning to escape into the bush.

THK GOLD-STEALEfiS.

383
When Ha.Ty Hardy and the trooper rode up to

deserted. The door was on the latch, and the inte-
mr gave no indication of a hurried departure, but the
searcher was nowhere to be seen

'It's all right,' said Harry, 'he'll be somewhere
about the township. I'll take a n-in .„, i ,
if r p»n J,-. 1 • :, P '^'"""' "" see

watch.' °" "'' " ^''"'" '''y ''^^« «■>' k««P

on'lS^'"'' '"iV"? '"■«"•"'• ' ''"' ^°«''' best drop in

of whir." '"'It '"°"- " °""- "»" eets wL
of what's happened he'll skedaddle '

„" be doesn't we'll nab him at the mine ftt one.'
Harry found that Downy had disposed of his pris-
oner, having converted the cellar at the Drovers'
Arms into a lock-up for the time being, and s.nugjkd
Joe Rogers m so artfully that JIcMahon's patrons in
the bar were quite ignorant of the p.o.xin,ity of the
prisoner and of the presence of the guardian anJ
sutmg patiently in the next room, tenderly nurs.nga
broken head and a six-barrelled Colt's i^volver

Harry and Downy searched Waddy from end to
end m quest of Ephraim Shine, and L- notMng oi
hun. Do,vny interviewed Christina without betfay-

t.on of any value; and when the missing man failed
to put in an appearance at the Silver Stream to search
the miners from the pump coming off work, the hunt
was abandoned for the time being

'He's got wind of my game and cleared,' said

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

ti«lfr,^°«,°°°'v ^' ^'"'^^''^^^d Harry, unp,.
tient to lay Shine by the heels. ^

. ' May have heard the shots. May have been bid

TrL7 T ^"*' "''"" '"''' -'" --d up yot

fnend, my boy. .len of his make and shape Le Z

easy to track as a hay waggon. ' i^" »re as

In the early hours of the morning Downy dn>ve his

local Mercury contained a thrilling description of thl

ca,ta.oftheWaddygpld-stealeLadesc%tionti
created an unprecedented demand for the Mercu^
and qmte compensated the gifted editor for the
he^tburnmgB he had endu,^ over the bushrangJng

f. I^f^ '^'^ d""bfonnded when the Meroury came
to hand and horribly disgusted to .hink the stirring
«.o.dent described had happened right under its no^^
without Its havmg the satisfaction of witnessing the
least movmg adventure or catching even a glfmpse
ofthepnsoner. Joe Rogers a free man was a famiL
and commonplace object, but Joe Rogers handcuffed
a»d Ieg..roned m the custody of the law was a person
of absorbmg mterest, and Waddy would have h.nied
Id-off'! """ '"'' '""""" *° ^'' ^™ "" appropriate
There, before their eyes, set forth in the columns of
the Mercury, were the details of Detective Downy's
ruse, and valuable remarks enlarging upon the almost

THK GOLD-STEALEHS.

its
iuperliuman Mtntenesg of tl,o ^m

rage- Detective nZ ' ''"■"^' »" °"'-

and congregated tl.ere, di.cus«ing, argui„/and . ^

bled in defence of his connto. w" Of coj^ '^.'^^
boy Haddon ' whs a favourite theme, and „ow'd ck
appeared as a public benefactor r\L \? .
stolen gold hai ,et to be tZ, J^'^t^ If/

f:;^^S^?i:=';tusJS:r;

a bit wild and a little mischievous^bu ^ X"
boy worth his «.U was not ? and, in spite o/Sitg

«M

THE GOLDSTEALERS.

they hart <ill goen long ago that Widow Haddon'a young
•on w^ a good Ud at bottom. Hi* conduct in delud-
ing Joe RogeiK in the face of so terrible a ''anger re-
flected credit upon Wuddy, and Waddy gratefuUy
responded by being hoartUy proud of him. A crowd
marched to Mrs. Iladdon'g back fence ezpreaaly to
cheer Dick; and cheer him they did, in a aolemn,
matter-of-fact way, like a people performing a high
public duty. Dick was not in the least moved by thii
display of feeling, but hu mother was delighted and
kissed him heartily, and responded on his behalf by
shaking a towel out of the back window with great
energy and much genuine emotion.

fif

CHAPTER XIX.

The detective had Mked Harry to keen «ir,fnl
wa^ upon Dick, .ut the bo, betrjod n^S

L w J^"" ''" ^'^ ^•"""^ «»' it was to can
npon Harry hiu,«,If. Dick's spirit, had recove^d
marvellously, and if it were not for an occ^on J fit

H "wtuM trr^''""'^'''* "^ chri^ri,

WltT ^r"}^" 1"i'« "Stored to his former
healthy e«v,ng for devilment, and eager to caiu!
^ther the shareholders of the MounVtf 0^. .h ^
view to arranging further adventu^s. Harry oo
no longer felt the ill effects of hU injuries Lt'

The recent ducovenes had served to lighten his hear!
and yet thoughts of Christina welled bitterne^ T, u
hu mother was happy in the confidence that at W
ju,.^ would be done and her son «»tored t b .

and^H . !^""^ """^"^ ^'""•'^g i° «'« garden
and addressed him through the fence '

'What d-ye think?' h3 said, with the air of one
propoundmg a conundrum. *

Harry was „oi in a guessing mood ; he gave it ud
at once and Dick took another course ^ ° " "?
i got somethin' p'tickler to tell you,' he said.

THE OOLD-STEALKRS.

'Have you, Ginger? ' H.rry wa. quite .lert now.
About thii gold-atealin' ? '

'No— o, not quite about that. I'm ;-,•„' to tell
all that to Downy, but it's eonicthin' jist ao p'tickler
— about a reof we found.'

a r'ei?"*" ^°"'*"»«' ^^''^- "<'«^ «>nld yon find

T ' ^^ *"*^n ' ^""' "' ^ ''''~"- "'•""■'^ y°» think if
I wid we fellem've got a n,ine_a really mine-me
an Jacker lack, an' Ted McKnigbt, an' Billy Peter-
•on, an' Hiil Doon? Wliat'd you «ay, eh? '

' T-1 My you didn't know what yon were talkinir
8. Kut, Ginger, my boy.'

' But if I took yon down the shaft an' showed you
the reef, an' showed you stone with gold stickin' in it
—suppose I done that, how then? '

' Where is this reef? ' asked Harry, becoming im-
pressed by the boy's earnestness
'Tellin's!'

' But didn't you come to tell me? '
'Come to toll you we'd found it, an' to ask what
to do, bo's no one can jumj, it. We want it took up
on a proper lease, all right fer me an' the rest o' the
fellers, an' we'll let yon stand in.'

'I can't take np a lease unless I know where the
reef is, can I?'

' Well, it ain't far from the Red Hand.'
'Nonsense, Dick! The bottom must be over three
hundred feet deep there. You couldn't cut a reef any
shallower than that. '

THE OOLD-STEALEHS.

820

'On'y weh»ve.'

Harry sat for a mom.,,: lo8t in thought. He had
.uddenly recalled old Ulk about m,,teriou. indVcItioM

of which would have been in ope,, opposition To

mmmg tradition,, and cont^r, to !ill lo^*^ Z^n

heorje. of «ientiflc mining. He ^.nembered he:

ng of a .haft that had been put down by a few be-

.ever., .„ defiance of local derision; he rLlled tol

^e eccentnc and unheard-of drive thrown out by tTe

Bed Hand m ,o,ne such absurd quest, and hi. respect

forjhe boy s op.n.on grew into «.mething like con-

'It', very queer, Dick,' he said; 'bnt if you'll
show It to me I'll do all I can for you ' ^

'That's good! You see we're all in it. AVe'ro
the Moun of Gold Quartz-minin' Company-me an'
Jackeran' them-but it's on'y a make beLvHom
pany an- IM like Mr. McKnight, an' Mr. PeteZ
•n Mr Doon to come, an' the detective cove too

;rk.;::r.~™^''"'"'^'^"^''---''^'«'^

'When they laugh we'll show 'cm this,' said Dick
producing a lump of quart;:. '

Harry took the stone in his hand ; it was not larger
han a hen s egg and of a dark colour, but studded

1 fL"b """f '"' "'"" " ""^ S-^J"' " ^- pipe
tell from h« mouth aud his eye. rounded. He pu«ed

tt - : aH JMiu l i I

330

THE G0LD-8TEALEBS.

his hps to wlnstle hie astonishment, and forgot to do
■t; he hfted his hand to scratch his head and it stuck
half-way ; he turned and turned the stone, stupid with
surprise.

'By the holy, your fortune's made if there's much
o this!' he blurted at length.

' Think there's lieaps of it,' said Dick coolly.

' When can we go to it? '

' When the detective cove comes, an' I've told him
bout somethin'.'

' Somethin' good for ns, Dick? ' asked Hnrry anx-
iously. ''

Dick nodded his head slowly several times.

' Well, if this don't lick cock-fighting. Have you
told your mother? '

' No,' said Dick.

' Nothing about this either? How's that? '

'Oh,' said Dick with a man's superiority, 'she
W|; didn't understand. She don't know nothin' 'bout
minin', you know.'

Harry looked down upon his young friend curious-
ly for a moment.

'D'you know,' he said, 'you're a most amazins
kind of a kid?' *

' How? ' asked Dick shortly.

' Why in the way you get mixed up in things.'

' 'Tain't my fault if things happen, is it? ' asked the
boy in an injured tone.

' S'pose it ain't, ' replied Harry with a grin ; ' but
th-y all seem to come your way somehow. Look

THE GOLD-STEALEKS. 031

hermit <»n't .natter now-tell me how you came to
oe in the Stream drive that night? '

Dick kicked up a tuft of gras8, bored one heel into
the soft turf, and answered nothing.
' Come on, old man, I won't turn dog '
'I'm goin' to tell it to Detective Downy first.
Twasn t nothm' much anyhow. I Jes' went down.'
Dick would say nothing more. He found himself
on the side of the law for the first time, and felt
he owed a duty to Downy, whom he regarded as al-
most as great a m.n as Sam Sagacious. Downy had
come to hw rescue in an hour [ dire peril, Downy had
trusted him and taken him into his confidence to some
extent, and he waa determined to do the fair and
square thing by the detective, at least so far as ho
could do so without interfering with his sacred obli™-
tion to handsome, unhappy Christina Shine.

The detective returned to the township in the after-
noon to prosecute the seareh for Ephraim, of whom
noiiing had yet been heard. In the presence of his
mother and Mrs. Hardy and Harry, Dick faced the
officer to teU h^ story ; but he found it hard to begin.
Well, my lad,' said Downy, ' you're going to tell
all you know?' 6 8 "wu

Dick nodded, abashed by his new importance
' Out with it then. You were in that drive? '
' Yeg.'

' Yon went down with Rogers and Shins? •

'I didn't.'

' Very well, my boy, how did yon go? '

iS'i

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

' "Went by myself. Out of a drive what I know
into the Red Hand workiu's, an' down the Eed Hand
ladders.'

' But why ? Go ahead— why ? '

' To — to drag Harry out o' the water.'

There were three distinct gasps at this, and even the
detective's eyelids went up a trifle.

' Go on, Dick.'

Now having started, Dick told his story in full.
The incidents were not told consecutively, and be
needed considerable cr6ss-examining before the tale
was properly fitted together and his audience of four
had grasped the full details. Then Mrs. Hardy arose
from her seat and moved towards him somewhat un-
steadily; knelt by his side, took him in her arms
softly and quietly, kissed him, and said in a very low
voice :

' God bless you, Eichard ; God bless you, my brave
boy.'

This, for some reason quite incomprehensible to the
boy, caused a lump to swell in his breast and gave him
an altogether uncalled-for inclination to blubber ; but
he swallowed it down with an effort, and then his
mother hugged him in that billowy energetic way of
hers. After which Harry took liis hand and shook it
for quite a long time without speaking a word. The
detective alone was undemonstrative.

'Now,' said he, 'what about this gold? You
hid it? '

'Te». In our shaft.'

THE G0LD.8TEALEKS.

233

' Look here, Master Dick, why have you kept all
this so quiet? Why did you go down tliat mine in-
stead of running for help? Come, there is something
at the back of all this ; out with it ! '

Dick's lips closed in a familiar way, and their col-
ourlessness indicated a stubborn defiance of all ar-
gument and persuasion.

' Did you want to steal the gold yourself? '

' No,' cried the boy angrily.

' Then you were afraid of something. By heaven !
I have it. You rip! 'twas you gave warning to
Ephraim Shine. You deserve six months. '

' Shame ! ' murmured Mrs. Hardy.

' 'Tisn't fair ! ' expostulated Dick's mother.

Dick's lips were closed again, and he stared de-
fiantly at the detective.

'Well, well,' groaned Downy, 'this is the most
extraordinary thing in boys that I have ever en-
countered, but he's a mass of grit — for good or bad,
all grit. Shake hands, Dick.'

Dick brightened up, and shook hands cheerfully.

' You're quite sure about that gold? You hid it
securely?' queriod the detective.

' Yes, I buried it under the reef quite safe. '

' And nobody knows of this hole but yourself? '

' Yes, Jacker knows, an' Ted, an' Billy Peterson,
an' '

'Bless my soul, the whole township knows! We
won't get an ounce of that gold — not a colour. We'd
better make the search at onee, Mr. Hardy. You'll

234

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

■aUmi

need a rope and tools, I suppose. Hunt up the men
yon spoke of as quickly as possible, will you? '

Harry and Dick started off together in quest of
McKnight. He was on the night shift, and they
found him in bed. Harry explained. McKnight
was scornful and profane.

' "What — that boy Haddon again? ' he cried. ' Now
what's his little game ? What devilment's he up to ? '
' But this looks all right,' Harry expostulated.
'AH right, ray granumother's cat! You'll be
findin' qnartz reefs in a gum-tree next.'

' You ask Jacker an' Ted,' put in Dick resentfully,
hurt to find his well-intentioned efforts so ungracious-
ly received.

' Ask Jacker, is it? If Jacker comes play in' any
of your monkey tricks with me, my lad, I'll make
him smell mischief, I tell you. '

' But hang it all. Mack ! you might as well come
an' see. I own the chances o' finding a shallow reef
in that locality look blue, but you know there was
talk o' something of the kind years ago. '

' Yes, talk by fellers that didn't know a qnartz lode
from a load o' bricks or a stone wall. Get out, I'm
sleepy. '

' Show him the specimen,' said Dick.
Harry handed it over.

' The boy says this is from his show. How's that? '
he said.

McKnight took the stone indifferently, cast his eye
over it, and then sat up with a jerk. He moistened

THE G0LD-STEALEK8. 235

the gtone here and there, glared again in a strained
silence, and one leg shot out of bed. He weighed
the specimen in his hand, and the second leg followed.
Then McKnight fell to dressing himself; he literally
jumped into his clothes, and as he buttoned his vest
all askew, he gasped :

' Hold on there— I'll be with you in two twos ! '
' Wouldn't break my neck about it, old man,' said
Harry sarcastically, ' p'raps the boy made that speci-
men out of a door knob an' a bit of brick.'

' Bid he, but That's just the same class o'

atone as the specimen Henderson found in the back
paddock twelve years ago, that sent everyone daft
after a reef there. Come on.'

MoKiiight was now much the most eager of the
three, and led the way at a great pace to Peterson's
house. Peterson was more easily convinced, and in a
few minutes the four joined Downy at Mrs. Hardy's.
The detective had borrowed a coil of rope, the neces-
sary tools were provided, and the party set ofi. The
five no sooner appeared on the flat with their burdens
than they were sighted by many of the people of
Waddy, now eagerly on the lookout for adventure,
and before they reached the bush they had quite a
mob at their heels, fed by a thin stream of men, wo-
men, and children hurrying to witness the newest
development of Waddy's latest and greatest
affair.

Dick led the men into the Gaol Quarry, and at the
spring turned and pointed the way through the scrub

S86

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

growth under wliich he and his mates always crawled
to get at the opening leading into the Mount of
Gold.

' In there,' he said, ' agin tlie wall.'

Harry and J[cKnight broke a passage through the
saplings and ti-tree.

' 'Tween them two rocks,' said Dick; ' low down
under the fern.'

'Yes, 'cried Harry, 'here we are! Let's have the
hammer, Peterson.'

Harry broke away projecting pieces of stone,
widenmg the aperture, and Dick and the detective
jomed them at the opening.

'I'll go first,' said the boy. 'I can go down the
ladder we made, but it mightn't bear a man.'

Dick went below and lit a couple of candles
JNothmg had been touched in the drive, and he peeped
into the shaft and saw that the loose dirt there was as
he left it. Harry joined him in a few miiintes and
McKnight followed. The men came down on the
boys' curious ladder, but with a rope about their
waists, paid out from above. Downy was the last to
go below, Peterson remaining on the surface to keep
the crowd back from tlie entrence.

McKnight seized a candle, crawled to the extremity
of Dick's diminishing drive, and examined the place
curiously.

' It's right,' he cried, ' right as the bank. She's
a dyke formation, I should say, an' rich. By the
holy, -we're made men— made men. Hardy ! '

THE OOLD-STEALERS. 237

Detective Downjr was too deeply interested in hii
own quest to pay much attention to the miners.
' Now, my lad,' he said, ' where are we? '
'The bag's tliere under tliem lumps.' Dick held
his candle low, throwing iu liglit into the shaft
Downy dropped from the slabs placed across from
drive to drive into the bottom, and going on his
knees threw aside the lumps of mullock indicated by
the boy. Dick followed him holding the candle, and
watchmg his movements, anxiously at first, and then
with terror. Ho ttang himself down beside the
detective, and plunged his hand amongst the mbble
then ceased and faced the detective, mute, despairing!
' Well, well,' cried l')nwny in alarm, ' what is it? '
' Gone ! ' whispered Dick.

'Gone? Are you sure? We have not searched
yet.'

' It's gone ! '

'You may have made
Knight, lend a hand here.'

'No good,' said Dick, 'it's gone— it's stolen. I
put It right here, covorin' it with this flat junk an' a
lot o' small stuff. I know— I know quite well. '

Harry and McKuight went into the shaft with
shovels, and turned over the dirt stowed there to the
depth of two feet, but the bag was gone.

' Show a light here,' Downy said suddenly, looking
np at Dick from the slab on which he was seated
above the two workers. He took the candle and
examined the edge of the slab closely.

mistake. Hardy, Mc-

238

THE GOID-8TEALEH8.

' You said the bag containing the stolen gold wm
made of hide.'

'Yes,' said the boy, 'green hide— just a calfskin
bag, with the hair on.'

' Humph ! Then here is proof that part of your
story is true anyhow.' He held up a little tuft of
reddish hair.

'Rogers had a skin bag, a red-an'-white one.
Used to use it fer hanlin' in the shallow alluvial at Eel
Creek. I' ve seen it at his hut often, ' said McKnight.
'But, I say, mister, if, you'll take the advice of an
old miner you'll get out o' this just as quick as you
can lick. See, the timber's been taken out o' this
•haft, an' it's a wonder to me it ain't come down in
a lump an' buried them kids long since. It's damn
dangerous, I tell you.'

'Very good,' said Downy. 'First have a look
into these drives and then we'll clear. Show me how
yon got through into the Red Hand workings, Dick.'
Dick led him along the drive and pointed out the
little heap covering the opening where he had broken
through.

' Do you think that dirt's been touched by anyone
since you piled it there? ' asked Downy.
' Ko,' said Dick, ' it seems jist the same.'
'Then the thief did not come that way.' The
detective scattered :^^ heap and examined the rough
edges of the opening carefully. 'No cow hair
tliere,' he said. ' We must hunt for that skin bag
somewhere up aloft, Dick.'

THE GOLD-STEALERS. 239

When Dick reached the surface he found Hardy,
McKnight, and Peterson standing apart from the
crowd, with elate faces, talking earnestly.

'She's a rich dyke,' McKnight was saying, 'an'
she'll go plnmb down to any depth. We mnst get
the pegs in at once, an' apply fer a lease. She just
misses Siker Stream ground, an' the ole Red Hand
is forfeit long ago. Boys, it's a fortune fer us. '

'Remember Phil Doon's a shareholder, too; hi*
father's got to be in it,' said Dick.

' To be sure, lad, to be sure; all honest an' fair to
the boy pioneera. '

Dick felt little enthusiasm about the Mount of Gold
just then, for the loss of the bag of stolen gold troubled
him sorely. He feared that Detective Downy regarded
him as a liar and a cheat.

CHAPTER XX.

Aftir coming np Downy examined the opening in
the rock critically.

' Do yon think a man miglit have made hia way
through that hole before you broke tlio edges down? '
he asked Harry.

'Well, yea, with' some crowding I think lie
might' ve.'

' Yet the boy said he had to squeeze his way
through. Did you notice if the opening had been en-
larged recently? Were there indications of recent

' Yes, the etone had been broken in places. I
s'posed the boys did that.'

'Perhaps. Here, Dick.'

Dick was quite sure neither lie nor any of his mates
had increased the opening. They kept it small because
It was easier to hide ; besides, he said, it was more fun
having to squeeze through.

' Which of your mates took that bag ? ' asked Downy
sharply.

'Koneof 'em.'

' Why are yon eo positive? '

• 'Cause I know they wouldn't be game.'

240

THE OOLD-STEALERS.

' Afraid of the durknew or the mine? '
'No, afraid o' me.' Diclc squared hi. .honlder.
manfully.

^ Get out— why .hould they be afraid of you ? •
^ ' Wajm't I legal an' minin' manager an' clmirman
o the directors? If one did what I told him not to
he'd get the (ack an' a lickin', too.'

'Oh, he would, eh? Well, you'd better give me
then- namet anyhow. And now,' he continued after
jotting down the name, of the shareholder, of the
Mount of Gold, ' show me the track vou took when
yon di-agged the hide bag through the quarry.'

Dick went back over hu tmcks, and Downy fol-
owed slowly on hands and knees, rescuing a hair or
two from the edges of the rockor from a bramble here
and there.

' Fortunately that bag of your, shed its hair freely.

^vhoT' T." 'f ■ ' "*"''• ''°"obo"«-e evidence
anyhow. The bag went down all right-now let's
»ee what proof there is that it came np again '

He returned to the hole in the rock and commenced
another search, with his nose very close tothegnjund,
moving Ucwly, and peeHng diligently into every little

aru7r°"^!! *'".' T"*- ^' '»Kth, after travelling
about ten yards in the direction of the spring in thb
fashion, he called sharply : *- 8 "■ ">»

here?'' ^'"^ ' '^^^ """^ ^"^ ''"'"« '^"' ^^at bag

242

THE GOLD-.STEALKKS.

'Come, recollect; you put it down for a spell.'

'Didn't,' taid Dick. 'Went (traight along the
side, an' dropped it into the shaft.'

' But look — there's hair on the top of this rock and s
tuft on the corner. Mustn't tell me a cow wonld roost
there, my lad.'

' Don't care — 'twasn't lue.'

Downy sat on the rock for a moment in a brown
study, and the crowd, which had made itself comfort-
able in one end of the quarry and up one side, sat in
awed silence, watching him closely, like a theatre au-
dience waiting for some wonder-worker to perform hi«
feats of magic.

The detective did nothing astonishing. After col-
lecting a portion of the hair he deposited it carefully
in his pocket-book, deposited the book just as carefully
in his breast-pocket, and then climbed out of the quarry
and marched away towards the township; and the
crowd, relieved from the restraint imposed by the
law as personified in him, gathered about the stone
and examined it wisely, discovering a much longer and
more significant sermon in it than Downy had ever sus-
pected, and finding marrow-freezing snggestiveness in
the marks of rust upon the face of the rock, which
were declared by common consent to be bloodstains.
Waddy confidently expected the gold-stealing case to
culminate in the discovery of a particularly atrocious
murder, and Ephraim Shine was selected as the prob-
able victim. It was held by many that so good a man
as the superintendent bad seemed to be could not ra«-

TUE GOLD-STJiALKIiS. o 3

My be .U8pected of consorting witii a «„„«, Hke

S "e L'i"'''"^ eircu,„stancea wa. L, Id to bo nu,,.
tory from a dramatic point of vicv,
The investigation, of the p«.,.,e „„;,p„,, ,,„ ,, „,

g^^ard and warned them off in .1,0 name ..f the la«-

out the land preparatory to applying f „■ .. l^,[ , ^
Downy went straight from the quarry to Shine'a
b<«se,and mneh to his surprise, found 'thii.g
man s daughter there. Christina had altered ,nuch
dunug the last few hours: her face was now qS
colours, grief had robbed it of its sweet sim^ic^
•nd the buoyant wgenuous.,ess had fled from her evi
A new character was legible there, a s.renXf w^l
7~ '" ^^^P'"^ -th •- fine pres nee The a Los
chaWhke sympathy was gone, and i„ its ,^fZl',

:=rnnt*^-'--"-----Sstr
wJe:Mtih!::.ti::;:'"''^°'*-'---

Chrutma merely bowed her head

8*« THE GOLD-STEALERS.

,l„I7r' "T^ '^^ ^'■' '^"'^"■>'' """^ ^'W«d frow the
door to make way for him.

Downy entered and commenced his erarch at once
He exammed the whole place minutely, foolishly it
«emed to Chnatina. who stood by the door apparently
.mpaasrve bat following all hia movements with her
eyes He waa particularly careful in overhauling a
coa t at her father had worn, and having gfne
through the three rooms he walked out and rou'nd'the

h.de but m the tank, and that was full of water, .a
he cautiously noted. He faced Christina for a ^o-
ment, « >f with the intention of questioning her, bat
changed h>s mind, wished her 'Good K' Z
moved off. ■''

„f ^fiK-*° "'V'tf" ""' '^^ "°*'"g '"•" been heard
mann 't,' h""^. "^'"appeared in a most astonishing
manner. The police of the whole country were aler!
to capture him, and it was thought that e8<ipe for him
was impossible, if only on account of his physicri
pecuharmes, which should have mnde him a marked
man anywhere in Victoria or in either of the neigh-
bonnng provmces. Sergeant Monk and several
troopers were stationed at Waddy, and were kept
bnsy bunting in the old mines and all the nooks and
corners of the district. Harry Hardy joined in the
hunt throughout Tuesday. He had a feverish desire
for employment-occupation for his mind which in

of Ephraun Shine and the wrong he had done Frank,

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

245

and the good reasons he Lad to hate hi,n, would revert
«ga.n and again to Christina; and then a w,^ a
cowardl, .ish traitorous to his brother, crucTrhi
mot er and false to himself, stole into his heart, and
he felt for one bnrn.ng ,„oment a hope that the

eweetChr, , whose victory over him he acknowledged
and nmsed .n secret wi,h a wealth of feeling that
amazed h>m, with a passion he had never drL ed
i"iftlTh'"^ of. He fought this wish furiZ'

Harry saw Chris for a nioment on the mornin. after

tnn'i 'r /.'""*'! "P> ""d Pi'7 '-e at his heart-

r h?r aTrf 7f """ "*'="■"« """^ *--

times rat) t . '^ ''""^ '''= "■°''''' '*=" ^''O-^^'"!
.mes ather have borne what misfortune might have

h. brother's enemy, and they were conquered insweat
and agony ; and s.nce his loyalty to his own kin could
on jr be mamtan>e,l at a fever heat, he stood forth a
the most bUter and implacable foe of Ephraim Shine
Com,ng f ji... Hardy's gate on that nigh I;
abou mne o'clock, Dick Haddon collided wi h a
hreat^Uess boy running at top speed in the directioi o
the Drovers' Arms, and the two went down together
When D,ck had quite recovered he reeognifed , e

346

THE GOLD-STBALERS.

other, whom he had gripped with vengeful iDtentions,
as Billy Peterson.

'Lemrae go,' cried Billy. 'Quick, can't yer!
I'm goin' fer the troopers.'

' Who for?' asked Dick, hanging to his friend.

'Find out.'

'Oh, right you are; but you won't go, that's all.'

' Well, I'm goin' to tell 'em that Tinribs is up at
his house.'

' How d'yer know? '

' I was sneakin' round to get a shot at a cat, an' I
heard 'em. Lomme go 'r he'll bo gone, you fool.'

'Won't,' said Dick, masterfully. -Yon ain't
goin'.'

'Who'll stop me?'

' I wiU.'

' 'Tain't in yer. '

A struggle commenced between the boys and rap-
idly merged into a stand-up fight. M'hen Hariy
Hardy appeared on the scene, attracted by their cries,
he found the combatants locked in a fierce embrace,
each clinging desperately to a handfnl of the other's
liair and hammering vigorously at his opponent's ribs.
Harry pulled them apart as if tliey had been terriers.

' Here, here, what's all this about? ' he cried.

'Dick stopped me goin' fer the troopers,' said
Billy indignantly.

' The troopers? '

' Yes, fer Mr. Shine. He's up in his house. I
hoard him— he was talkin' to Miss Chris in the dark.'

it I

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

' Stop ! ' said Harry ; but Billy, who had broken
away, picked up his heels and ran.

Harry did not linger, but turned and sped off to-
wards Shine's home, leaving Dick cowering against
the fence. The young man had no defined intention
— he did not know what he should do if he found
Shine in the house. His divided interests left his
mind confused at the crucial moment, but he did not
relax his speed until he was within a few yards of the
searcher's door. Then, to his astonishment, he found
lights burning in the house, and Christina confronted
him in the doorway as he was about to enter. He
drew back a step and his eyes sought the ground.
He stood panting and speechless.

' What do you want, Harry? " she asked.

Had she been bitter or angry it might have been
easier for him, but her voice was low and kiuJly, and
he was abashed. He was compelled to force himself
to his purpose, as he might have pushed a backing
horse at a stiff fence.

' I want your father. He is here.' His voice wa»
harsh and strained.

' My father is not in here.'

' He has been seen. Let me pass."

'No, Harry, you have no right.' She barred the
way, tall and calm and strong.

' No right? No right to take the man who has
gaoled my brother — who would have nnirdcred me? '
His blood had mounted to his head ; he had put aside
his love as something that tempted him to evil, put it

248

THE GOLD-STEALEBS.

aside by an almost lieroic effort of renunciation. ' I
will have him,' he cried ; ' the would-be murderer, the
thief.'

' No,' said Christina firmly facing him.
< Then he's here — he it here? '
'No.'

' You lie thinking to save him, but the troopers are
coming.' He pointed back into the night. From
where he stood the back door was visible, and he
watched it intently.

' The troopers are the officers of the law. I can-
not deny them, you I can. Hari7, yon are fierce
and cruel — fierce and unforgiving.' The reproach
was not spoken fretfully ; it was quite dispassionate,
but it struck him like a blow and he bent before it,
conscious of its injustice but not daring to deny it.
They remained so in silence for a few minutes, and
then heard the rush of the troopers' horses coming up
the grass-grown back road at a gallop.

'They're coming,' said Harry in a low voice.
Christina neither stirred nor spoke, and Monk
at the head of four horsemen swept up to the
house.

' To the front, Donovan and Keel,' cried Monk.
' He may make for cover in those quarries if he bolts.
Casey, stay here. Managan, follow me.'

He dropped from his horse and led the animal to
Harry, to whom he threw the rein. Christina did
not attempt to bar his passage, and he and M.ina-
gan passed into the house. Chi-is stood by the door

'^mmsm

— :>3V....^,„__^^^^^_^^^

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

249

jamb, facing Harry, erect and

erect
f^inet tlie big galvaiiised-iron

pale; Harry leant

the head of the

tank, absently fondling

trooper's horse. Suddenly,

^ , r-- " ""■■«;. ouuueniy, a mo-

ment after the troopers had entered the honse. he
heard nght at his elbow the sound of something strik-
.ng upon the iron of the tank i„,/rf«. He started
for«.ard with . low cry, and his eyes flew to the face
of the g,rl. ,«f,e, too, had heard the sound, and their
eyes met. T«e terror in hers told him that he ha.l
discoTered the tmth.

' He's there, ' he w!ii»pered.

the^S'''"^"f f'"^ '"^ '"pporting herself against
he wall, and fell mto a seat under the window, the
hght from wluch streamed upon her fair hair and il-
umined her as she sat, .Tushed by her misery into an
attitude ..f profound despair, her head bowed upon
her breast, her clasped hands thrust out rigidly be-
yond her knees. "

Harry stood silent and motionless, his eves fixed
upon the grief-stricken figun, of the girl, hi^ brain in
a tumult. H,s heart was driving him to forget every-
thing but that he lo.ed her. to take her in his anns
and swear to shield her and cherish her, come what
might. At this moment Sergeant Monk came from
the house.

' Not a sign of him, ' he said. ' Did you see any-
tlmig of him. Hardy?' '

' Not a glimpse,' answered Harry mechanically.
Uid you go inside?'
'No; Miss Shine refused admittance."

sso

THE GOLD-STEALEBS.

HI.

' Why are you here, miw? ' asked Monk, tnnmg
sharply to Christina.

' I am here because it is my home,' she answered
unsteadily.

'But don't you ;./i with the Summers fainUy? '
' People may w care to shelter the daughter of—
of one 8usi)ecte.l of robbery and almost murder '
The girl's head sank lower still and a convulsive sob
shook her frame; but she controlled herself with a
brave effort of will and sat immovable.

Monk's horse was nosing in the bucket under the
tap of the tank, and Harry stooped and turned the
tap. The water ran swiftly, filling the bucket in a
few seconds. While the horse drank the sergeant
gave whispered orders to Casey; and Christina, with
steadfast eyes and locked fingers, sat waiting for
Harry to speak the dreaded words, wondering at his
silence. Monk moved round the house, peering into
all the corners, and came to the tank agaiu. It stood
on a small platform raised on four uprights, and all
was open underneath. The sergeant examined it.
He climbed to the top, removed the lid and, striking
a light, looked in. The tank was full of water.

'I am going to hunt over the quarries,' said the
trooper in a low voice, as he mounted. ' Donovan
and Keel are taking a run in the paddock, Casey will
try the houses about here. Yon might keep your
eyes open, Hardy. Perhaps that boy was mistaken,
but we mustn't miss a chance. '

Harry nodded, scareely comprehending what the

THE GOLD-STEALERS. 1,51

man said, and Monk rode off leaving the two alone
For a minute or more they continued in the same
position; then Harry stole to Chris, and kneeling in
the shadow by hor side took her hand lirinly in his.

'He is there,' he whispered.

' What are you going to do? • she added in a strange
voice.

'Why don't you get him away? '

' Away? ' she murmured vaguely.

' Yes, yes ; I will help yon. ' His left arm clasped
her closely, and his breath was on her cheek.

She turned her face towards him, and there was a
new hope in it, another spirit in her glorious eyes.

' You are not going to give him up.'

'I can't — I can't do it! '

' Thank God ! ' she murmured, and there wa« some-
thing more than relief for her father's sake in her
tone. He had made a revelation that filled her with
a passion of joy which for a moment drove out the
fears and anxieties that had possessed her heart,

' I love you— I love you, dear,' he continued in a
voice ardent, caressing; 'an' I can't bear to see yon
suffer. '

She let her face sink to his and kissed him on the
mouth, and he clasped her to his breast and held her,
repeating again and again expressions of liis devotiorl
that love made eloquent. Her pale face turned to
him seemed luminous with the ecstaey of the moment.
For a brief sweet minute she abandoned herself to
that ecstaey and forgot everything beside.

353

THE GOLD-STEALEHS.

'I havB always loved you, my darling! my
darling!' she whispered— ' always. That night at
the gate I thought you cared and I was happy, but
afterwards I was afraid. I thought yon might hate
me for Ait sake, and I was wretched.'

' I did try to, Chris— I tried to hate you. I was a
fool. I couldn't do anything but love in spite of
myself, an' now I'll help you, dear.'

'No, no, no, Harry; no— yon must not!' She
put him from her with her strong arms. ' It is
wrong. I cannot let yon. It is right that I should
fight for him-he is my father. He has been a good
father to me, and I have loved him and believed in
him. It is my duty to fight lor Lim, but yon must
not, my dear love. In you it would be a wrone a
crime.'

' He is your father — I love you ! '
' Ves, yes, and oh, I am glad you love me; but
you must leave me to do what I can alone. It is not
your duty to help him. Think of your mother, your
brother, your own honour.'

'We can save Frank now without this.'
'You cannot be sure of that, Harry—you only
hope so.'

' Am I to tell tha troopers, then ? '
' No, no — oh, no ; I am not brave enough to say
that ! I cannot bear to think of you as his hunter,
his bitterest foe. 'Twas that thought made my
shame and my sorrow so terrible a burden ; but I can
caiTy it bettor now.'

THE GOLD-STEALERS. 853

' My poor girl ! my poor girl ! '
He bent Lis lipi to the white hand npon hia .houl-
der and kissed it tenderly.

' God ble«: you, Harry ! ' she faltered, tears spring-
ing to her eyes. ' I know ho^ generous you are.
As a boy you had a bia; brave heart, and I admired
yon and loved you for it ; but I can take no sacrifice
that might bring more sorrow upon your mother, that
might wrong your brother and bring shame to yon.'

' But Frank's innocence will be known. Dickie
Haddon heard them as good as admit it. '

' Yes, I know the story. I made Mrs. Haddon tell
me all, and I know that they left yon to drown; and
now for my sake you would save him, run the risk of
being discovered assisting him to escape from justice
—and the risk is great, dear. Think what it would
mean if that became known, how it would blacken
poor Frank's case. People would say they had all
been in league to rob the mine; you would be de-
spised, your mother's heart would break. Harry
that miut not be. The shame is mine now ; vou and
yours have borne enough. I cannot drag you into it
again. I cannot have your precious love for me made
a source of danger and dishonour to you. No, no;
1 We you too weU for that—mnch too well for that'
dear.'

She spoke in little more than a whisper, but there
was the intensity of deep feeling in every word.

He drew her to her feet and into his arms again
with tender reverence, and softly kissed her tired eye-

MldOCOPY mSOWTION TIST CHMT

(ANSt ond ISO TEST CHART No. 2)

13.2

1^
III I I I >^' IIIIIM

I^IIJ4li^

^ /APPLIED IN/HGE Inc

^^ 1653 Eost Uain Street

S rjS RocheslBr. Ne» York 1 *609 USA

\^S (716) 48; - 0",J- Phone

^S (716) 290-5969 - Fc.

384

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

Ill !•<

-■ i

lids. She was only a girl, and the strife of the last
two days had told upon her strength. It was sweet
to rest so, knowing and feeling his strength, confident
of his devotion.

' But I love yon — I love you, Cliris,' he said.

'Yes, yon love me and 1 love you.' Her hand
stole to his neck. ' Ah, how happy we might have
been ! '

' Might have been ? We must be happy — we must ! '
he said vehemently. ' I love you, an' your sorrow is
mine, your trouble is mine. I won't let anything
interfere. I must help you ! '

' No, Harry, I will not take your help. You do
not stand alone. Before I would have yon do that I
would tell the truth myself. My father is ill ; he may
never get away. I think he will not. What would be
left to me if he were taken after all, and you were
known to have assisted him in his endeavours to elude
the police? I could not bear it. No, no, dear, you
must leave us alone to that. Promise.'

They were standing in the darkness by the wall.
He drew her more closely to him and his only answer
was a kiss.

' If he does escape,' she said, ' I will go into court
and tell what I know, if it will help your brother.
Perhaps I ought to tell the truth now in justice and
honour, but I cannot desert my father. There is
something here will not let me do that.' She pressed
a band to her bosom.

' No, you cjn't do that. I'm torry for yon, Chris.

THE OOL])-STEALEES. 255

It's a hard fight. I want to fight with you. By
Heaven ! yon don't know how I could fight for yon."
Her head had fallen upon his breast again ; he felt
her sob, and broke into vehement speech — passionate
assurances of love half spoken, ejaculations, fierce
endearments, tender words — then was as suddenly
silent again, and stood over her with his Ups amongst
her hair until her mood passed.

'I will come to-night,' he whispered, when at
length she ceased weeping.

' No,' she said, and she was strong again. ' In
asking you to be silent I make yon false to yonr peo-
ple. I do ask that, but no more. Harry, you must
not come again. Promise me you will not.'
' You'll come to me — we'll see each other? '
' No, dear. Better not, till this terrible buaines* ia
over.'

' Chris, I can't part like that.'
' You must, you must. Would you make it harder
for me? "Would you give me a now burden of shame
and grief? '

' I'd die for you ! There's nothing I wouldn't do
for you ! '

' Then do this, my true love. Promise me yon
will not come here again.'
' Will it be for long? '

' No, it cannot be for long. Promise me. Prom-
ise me. Promise 1 '

' You know if he's taken an' tried I will have to
give evidence against him.'

3S6

THE GOLD-STEALEES.

' I do,' she answered, slinddering.
' An' that'll make no difference to onr love? '
' I will always love you, Harry.'
•This trouble's making a great change in you,
Chris, he said yearningly. "Ton're pale and ill.
It'll wear yon out. '

She felt herself weakening again, bnt summoned
all her resolution and stood true to her purpose

'I can bear it, 'she said. 'I must! Promise me.
Harry, the troopers are coming— your promise ! '

'I promise.' He held her a moment canght to his
heart, they exchanged a long kiss, and she slipped
from him and into tile house.

CHAPTER XXI.

A MiKrTE later, when Casey rode up out of the
da knees Harry was sitting alone by the window
You ve seen nothing? ' he said

• Dml a see 'replied the trooper. ' Ifs sartin to
Zlr ^'' "'°"" "^ "^ '"^ blessed

'The man ud be twin idyits what nd do it, knowin'
we d be sartrn sure to nab him, Misther Hardy '

h/TTr^'' "°' '^''^"'^^ *° """^' ■°'^««'J te scarcely
he ded Casey's word; >e thought he detected a faint
sound of weepmg wiv...n the house, and his heart was
filled with a passionate longing to stand by his dear
lore m dehance of everything. Casey, looking down
npon hun, noted the convubive movements of his
clenched hands, and said with a laugh •

Shme If you laid th.m hands on him now, me boy '
Harry started to hU feet and commenced to fondle

thought that had possessed him lest he should betray
himself. Shortly after Sergeant Monk returned.

17 m

253

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

' .

' No go, ' lio said. ' Auytliiiig turned up liere,
Casoy?'

' Niver a shinell av anj'thin', sor,' answered the
trooper.

' Well, we can raise this siege, Hardy. That boy
was miFtaken, sure enough.'

'If he wasn't liaving a game with us,' answered
Harry.

' Um, yes; that's likely enough among these young
heathens of Waddy. But Downy will be here again
in the n:oming; we'll see what he makes of it.'

Harry followed the police as they rode away, and
returned slowly to liis home. His anxiety for Chris's
sake, and his profonnd sympathy for her, did not
serve to quell the wild elation dancing in his veins,
the triumphal spirit awakened by the knowledge of
her love and fired by her kisses.

Chris, sitting al me in the house, her face buried in
her hands, felt, too, something of this exultation;
but she nerved herself to look into the future, and
saw it grim and stanecs. She saw herself the daughter
of the convicted thief, the thief who had only nar-
rowly escaped having to stand his trial for murdering
her lover ; the thief who had shifted the burden of his
guilt on to the shoulders of an innocent man, the
brother of her love. Could she ever consent to be
Harry's wife after that? she asked herself with sud-
den terror. Then she shut out the thought, and her
heart sang : ' He loves me ! He loves me ! ' and there
was joy in that no danger could destroy.

THE GOLD-STEALKRS. 2S9

Detective Downy wag in Waddy again on the follow-
ing morning, Li8 trip to Yarraman having been taken
with the idea of interviewing Joe Rogers in prison
and endeavouring to worm out of him some intelligence
«mt might assist in the discovery of Ephraim Shine
But Rogers either knew nothing or could n,t be per-
suHded to tell wLat he knew, so the effort was fruit-
less.

After hearing the story of the previous night,
Do,vny sent for Billy Peterson and qnestioned him
closely; bnt the boy insisted that he had told the
truth, and was quite positive it was the searcher's
voice he heard. The detective was puzzled.

' You made a close hunt about the house? ' he said
to Sergeant Monk.

' In every nook and corner.'
'Yet there must bo something in this boy's yarn
Shine IS certainly in hiding somewhere near here If
he had made a run for it he must have been seen, and
we should have heard of him before this. There
might be a dozen holes in those quarries into which a
man could creep. We must go over them. Don't
leave a foot's space unsearched.'

The troopers spent several hours in t;,e quarries
moving every stone that might hi<ie the entrance to a
small cave and leaving no room for a suspicion that
bhine could be lying in concealment there. For a
time Dick, who, in consideration of the seriousness
of recent events with which he had been directly con-
cerned, was enjoying a week's holiday, superintended

360

THE GOLDSTEALERS.

{

the hunt from the banks; but he wearied of the work
at length and crowed the paddocks to join the men
busy .n the new shaft. Harry Hardy, McKnight,
Peterson, and Doon were sinking to cut the dyke disl
covered by the Mount of Gold Quartz-mining Com-
pany Tl>e mine had been christened the Native
Youth ; D,ck, as the holder of a third interest, felt
himself to be a person of some .o, sequence about the
claim, and discussed its prospects with the elder
mmen, like a person of vast experience and consider-
able expert knowledge, using technical phrases liber-
ally, and not forgetting to drop a word of advice here

.^ „ u '"'^''' ''"' •'''" *'"'»gl^t presumptuous
in the small boy, but was nothing of the kind in the
prospector and discoverer of the lode

The big shareholder did not disdain even to assist
in the work and it was a proud and happy youth,
clay-smirched and wearing < bo-yangs ' below his knee^
Ike a full-blown working miner, who marched through
the bush with the otlier owners of the Native Youth
at crib-time. Being their own bosses the men of the
new mine went home to dinner, and dined at their
leisure like the aristocrats they expected to be

Prouder still was Dick when he discovered brown-
ha,red, dark-eyed little Kitty Cxrey loitering amongst
the trees, regarding Lim with evident admiration and
awe. He felt at that moment that he needed only
a black pipe to make hie triumph complete, and had a
momentary resentment against the absurd prejudice
that denied a boy of his yeare tl , right to smoke in

THE OOLD-STEALJiKS. sai

pnblie. Kitty l.ad scarcely dared to lift l,er eyes to her
hero for some fme past : the wonderful .torfes told o
h.m seemed to exalt him to snch a,, altitude that sll
could hopo for nothing better than to worship mLklv
a a great distance. She was hraver now, sheTc u"
a ly approached hin, and spoke to Imn, ye tin ^
enough tohavesoftened a heart of adan.ant ; but D k
tung by a laughing comment fron. McKnight, wouM

o li i I^ '^ "" "^'^ °^ ^^ ^"•'■'■n^ '"PeHority
to h tie girls, no .natter hovv large and dark and ao

pea..^the.r eyes might be. Then she actual.J'lTd

Tou'' MLfr.'^f '''^^ '»'<^' 'I"""' "'^Peak to
you. JUiss Christina sent me '

thfnl,'/ r ". ""'"''"■ "^ ^''"^""^ Shine's class at
the chapel, and was one of half a dozen to whom Mil
Chns represented all that was beautiful and mosTto be
desired man angel. The mention of Christina's name
«erv^ to divest Dick of «!! pretentiousness.
What IS It, Kitty? 'he asked eagerly
She wants you. She says you're her friend an'
you'll go to her.- Kitty spoke in a whisper, ^Igb
the m.n were now well beyond earshot. '^

les,' said Dick; Til go now.'

She says have your dinner an' then go. An' oh
B-ckie, she. been crying, an' she's an'whitetL'^
too.~~ " ""'' '"^""■e- tegan to cry

fll

I 1

882 THE 00LD-STEALER8.

'Is she?' said Dick, sadly. 'When my mine
turns out rich I'm goiu' to give her a fortune.'

' Oh, are you, Dickie ? ' said Kitty, beaming thi'ougb
her ttiars.

'Yes,' answered he gravely; 'and then she'll
marry Harry Hardy an' be happy ever after.'

'My, that will be nio*:,' mnrmured Kitty, much
comforted.

' Yon ain't a bad Uttle girl.' He felt called upon
♦■> reward her. ' You can walk as far as the fence
with me if you like.'

Kitty was properly grateful, and they walked to-
gether to the furze-covered tence.

' Please don't tell anyone you're going to see her,
Miss Christina says,' whispered Kitty, at parting.

' Right y'are,' Dick said, delighted with the myg-
tery. ' I siy, Kitty, I think p'raps I'll give you a
fo. tune toe.'

'Oh, Dickie, no; not a whole fortune, I'm too
little, ' cried K'tty, overwhelmed.

' Yes, a whole fortune,' he persisted grandly; 'an'
maybe I'll mtiry yon.'

'Will you, Dickie, will you? Oh, that is
kind!'

' Here.' He had turned over the treasures in liig
pocket and found a scrap of gilt filagree off a gor-
geous valentine. ' Here's sometliin'.'

Kitty thought the gift very beautiful, and accepted
it thankfully for its own sake and the sake of the
giver, as an earnest of the fortune to come ; and went

THE GOIiU-STKALKUS.

202

her way li, pp^ but daly impressed with u sense of tlie
responsibilities tliose riches must impose.

Harry Hardy had loitered behind liis mates on the
flat, and when the boy c, ught up to him again lie
turned to him with norvoas anxiety.

'What did tliat girl want with you, Dick?' lie
asked. I heard lier mention Miss Shine's name.'

Ho noted the set, stubborn look with which he was
now familiar fall upon the boy's face like a mask, and
he questioned no more on that point.

' Dick,' he said earnestly, ' you'll help her if yon
can. She's all alone, you know ; not a soul to stand
by her, not a soul. Yon might get a chance some-
times to make things easier for her. Wonld you? '
' My word ! ' said Dick simply.
Harry wrung his hand, and Dick, looking into his
face, was paz.'led by its expression ; lie looked, Dick
thought, as he did ou that Sunday morning when he
wished to flog the superintendent before the whole
congregation.

' You're a brick — a perfect brick ! ' said Harry.
'I'd do anythin' fer her,' Dick repliea'.
' Thanks, old man. I'll never forget it.'
It did not surprise the b^y that Harry should thank
him for services to be rendered to Misa Chris; he
though he understood the situation perfectly, and it
was all very sad and perfectly consistent with his ro-
mantic ideas of such matters.

'Look here, Dick,' said Harry, before parting, 'I
owe you an awful lot, my liTe, p'raps; bnt for every

T I.

864

THE OOLD-STEALEHS.

little thing you do for her I'll owe yon a thousand
times more — a thousand thousaud times more. '

Dick's wise sympathetic eyes looked into his, and
the boy nodded gravely.

' Yon can swear I'll stick up fer her,' he said.
Dick, whilst feehng quite a profound sorrow for
Christina Shine, derived no little satisfaction from the
position in which he found himself as the cliampion
of oppressed virtue and the leal friend of a devoted
young couple, the course of whose true love was run-
ning in devious ways. This was a r61e he had fre-
quently played in failcy; but it was ever so much
more gratifying in serious fact, and he took it up with
romantic earnestness, a youthful Don Quixote, heroic
in the service of his Dulcinea.

At dinner he favoured his mother with the latest
news from the mine and glowing opinions on its pros-
pects; and Mrs. Haddon, more than ever suggestive
of roses and apples, beamed across the table upon her
wonderful son, perfectly happy in the belief that
Frank Hardy would presently be released, that their
fortunes were practically made, and that she was the
mother of the most astonishing, the cleverest, the
bravest, and the handsomest lad that had ever lived.
Dick's claims to beauty were perhaps a little dubious,
but it must be admitted that local opinion, as ex-
pressed in local gossip a thousand times a day, went
far to justify Mrs. Iladdon's judgment on all the
above points.
Dick escaped immediately after dinner, and went

THE GOLD-STKALERS. 265

•treiglit to Sliine'B house. Fortunately the troopers,
in respoDBO to information received, were searching a
worked-out alluvial flat about a mile of!, and Downy
was pursuing a del ive clue as far as Cow Flat, so
his visit excited no particular attention.

The appearance Chris presented when slie admitted
liim shocked tlie boy, and stirred his heart with ten-
derest pj Her eyes were deep-set in dark shadows,

her cheeks sunken, and tliere was a peculiar drawn
expression about her mouth. She who had always
been a miracle of neati.ess was negligently dressed,
and her beauiiful ha • hung in pathetic disorder!
She seated herself anc rew Dick to lier side.

' Dick,' she said, ' x am in great trouble.'

' Yes,' he answered, ' I know— I'm sorry.'

' And you are my only friend. '

'No fear, Hany Hardy'd di inythiu' Tor
you.'

' He cannot, Dick; it is impossible. He is gen-
erous and noble, but he cannot help me. Dick," she
drew him closer to her side, and held his hand in'hers,
' tell me why you would not speak about the gold!
stealers and that crime below. Was it because of me
— because you wanted to spare me? '

'Yes,' he whispered.

' God bless you ! God bless you, Dickie ! ' she said
catching him to her heart and kissing his cheek. ' I
guessed it. I do not know if it was right, but it was
brave and true, and I love you for it. '

' Don't cry,' Dick said consolingly; ' it'll all come

$66

t I

THE G0LD-STEALER8.

out happy — it always does you know. ' Tliis was the
philosophy of the Waddy Library, and Dick had the
most perfect faith in its teachings.

' Thank yon, dear. I am going to ask you to do
something more for me. I am afraid this is not right
either. I know it is not right, bnt we cannot always
do what is right — our hearts won't let us sometimes.
Will you help me? '

'Yes,' he said valiantly, and would have liked
nothing better at that moment than to have been
called upon to face a fire-breathing dragon on h>,r be-
half.

' I want yon to go to Yarraman and buy these things
for me. '

She gave him money and a list of articles with the
help of which she hoped to effect a disguise for her
father that would enable him to leave the district. It
was a very prosaic service, Dick thought, but he un-
dertook it cheerfully.

' I want you to tell no one what you are going for.
Catch the three-o'clock coach near the Bo Peep, and
answer no qnestions.'

' I know a better way'n that,' said the boy, after a
thoughtful pause. ' Mother wants some things from
Yarraman. I'll get her to let me go fer 'em this
afternoon. '

' Yes, yes; that is clever. But you won't tell.'

' Not a blessed soul. '

' And when you get back it will be late — bring the
things to me as secretly as you can. The troopers

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

267

would be suspicious if they saw yon — be careful of
tliem. '

Dick had no doubt of his ability to deceive the whole
police force of the province, and undertook the mission
without a misgiving, his only regret being that it was
making no great demands upon his courage and in-
genuity.

' Dickie,' said Chris, kissing him again at parting,
' I hope some day, when you are older, it will be a
great happiness to yon to think you helped a poor
heartbroken girl in a time of terrible trouble.'

The boy would have liked to have framed a fine
speech in answer to that, but he could only say softly
and earnestly :

' I'm fearful glad now, s'elp me 1 '

Mrs. Haddon was easily deceived, and Dick caught
the three-o'clock coach. The Waddy coach took two
hours to do the jourrey to Yarraman and did not start
back till after eight, but this was not the first time the
boy had made the journey alone, and his mother had
no misgivings.

Downy returned to the Drovers' Arms late in the
evening, having discovered that his supposed clue led
only to a half-demented sundowner living in a hollow
log near Cow Flat, and having nothing whatever in
common with the missing man. The search of the
troopers had been fruitless, too, and at this crisis the
opinion of McKnight as a pioneer of Waddy was so-
licited. McKnight's belief was that Shine was hiding
away somewhere in the old workings of one of the

" ■ - i

868

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

deepmJnes—theSaverStream perhaps— andherecalled
the case of a criminal who got into the old stopes of a
mine at Bendigo, and subsisted there for two
weeks on the cribs of the miners, stolen while the
latter were at work. The detective considered this a
very probable supposition, and an invasion of the
Silver Stream workings was planned for next morning.

CHAPTER XXII.

Shobtlt after eight o'clock on the night of Dick's
journey to Yarraman the figure of a woman ap-
proached the searcher's house and knocked softlj at
the front door. Tliere was a light hnrning within,
but the knock provoked no response. The visitor
knocked again with more vigour ; presently a bolt was
withdrawn and the door opened a few inches, and
Christina Shine, seeing her visitor, uttered a low cry
and staggered back into the centre of tlie room, throw-
ing the door wide open. It was Mrs. Hardy who
stood upon the threshold.

' May I come in, my dear? ' she asked in a kindly
tone.

Christina, standing with one hand pressed to her
throat and her burning eyes fixed intently upon the
face of the elder woman, nodded a slow afiSrmative.
Mrs. Hardy entered, closing the door behind her, and
stood for a moment gazing pitifully at the distracted
girl, for Chris had a wild hunted look, and weariness
and anxiety had almost exhausted her. She faced her
visitor with terror, as if anticipating a blow.

' My poor girl,' Mrs. Hardy said gently; ' I sup-
pose you wonder why I have come? '

r
i.

S70

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

Again Chris moved her head in vague acquiescence.

' I have heard how heavily this blow has fallen upon
yon, and my heart bled with pity. I felt I might be
able to comfort you. '

Chris put her back with a weak fluttering hand.

' My dear, I am an old woman ; I have seen much
trouble and have borne some, and I know that hearts
break most often in loneliness. '

' You know the truth?' asked the girl, through
dry lips.

' I know Richard Haddon's story.'

' And you have not cotie to— to '

' I have come to offer you all a woman's sympathy,
my girl; to try to help you to be strong.'

Mrs. Hardy took the weary girl in her arms and
kissed her pale cheek.

' You are good ! You are very good ! ' murmured
Chris brokenly, clinging to her. But she suddenly
thrust herself back from the sheltering arms and ut-
tered a cry of despair.

The door communicating with the next room had
been opened and a grim' figure crept into the kitchen,
the figure of Ephraim Shine. The man was cbd only
in a tattered shirt and old moleskins ; his face wa« as
gaunt as that of death, and his skin a ghastly yellow.
He moved into the room on his hands and knees,
seeking something, and chummered insanely as he
scratched at the hard flooring-boards with his claw-like
fingers, and peered eagerly into the cracks. He moved
about the room in this way, searching in the comers,

"SCRATCHED AT THE HAUD PLOORINO ROARDS WITH H
FINGEHS."

IS CLAW-LIKK

■i:

THE GOLD-STEALERS. 271

dragging his way about with his face dose to the
floor.

'I'll find it, I'll find it,' he muttered; 'oh! I'll
find it. Rogers is cunnin', but I'm more cunnin'.
I know where it's hid, an' when I get it it'll be mine
— all mine ! '

Mrs. Hardy stole close to the girl, and they clasped
hands.

' Is he mad? ' asked the elder woman hoarsely.
' He has taken a fever, I think,' answered the girl,
' and I can hide him no longer. I cannot help him
now.' She sank back upon a cliair and followed
her father's movements with tearless, hopeless
eyes.

' Rogers U a liar ! ' muttered Shine. ' A liar he is,
an' he'd rob me ; but I'll beat him. It's hid down
here, down among the rocks. The gold is mine, mine,
mine ! ' His voice rose to a thin scream and he beat
fiercely upon the boards witli his bony hand.

' He has been ill ever since Rogers was taken, but
he only took this turn this evening. Oh! I tried
hard to help liim ; I tried hard ! He b my father.
Oh, my poor father ! my poor, pooi- father ! '

' Hush, hush, dear,' said Mrs. Hardy. ' We must
help him on to his bed. Come ! '

Each took an arm of the sick m<tn and raised him to
his feet. He offered no resistance, but allowed tliem
to lead him to the bunk in the other room and place
him upon it, althongh he continued to utter wild
threats against Joe Rogers and to chummer about the

27t

THE GOtD-STEALEES.

1 i * ii

gold, snd move his hands about, scratching amongst
the bedclothes.

Mrs. Hardy brought the light from the kitchen, and
busied herself over the delirious man, making hun as
comfortable as possible upon his narrow bed. She
gave directions to Chris and the girl obeyed them,
bringing necessary things and making a fire in the
kitchen. She seemed inspired with a new hope, a d
presently she moved to Mrs. Hardy's side again.

' Do yon think he will die? ' she asked.

' I do not think so, dear. It is brain fever, I be-
lieve.'

' How good you are— you whom he has wronged so
cruelly 1 '

She ceased speaking and gripped her companion's
arm. The latch of the back door clicked, a stoi
sounded upon the kitchen floor, and the next moment
Detective Downy appeared within the room. He
glanced from the women to the bunk, and then strode
forward and laid a hand upon Ephraim Shine.

' This man is my prisoner,' he said.

Shine sat up again, moving his arms and mutter-
ing:

' Tes, yes, down the old n.ine ; that's it ! Let me
go. It's hid in the old mine— my gold, my beautiful
gold I '

'Tou cannot take him in this state,' bsid Mrs.
Hardy; ' it would be brutal.'

The detective examined him closely, and, being sat-
isfied that the man was really ill and unUkely to escape,

THE GOLD-STEALERS. 273

went to the kitchen door and blew a shrill blast of his
wh«tle m the direction of the quarries. When he
returned Chistmawas on her knees by the bunk, as if
prayng, and Mrs. Hardy was bathing the patient's
temples. After a few minutes Sergeant Monk rode
up and jomed them in the room.

'Here is our man,' said Downy quietly. Send
Donovan for the covered-in waggon at the hotel. We
will have to take him on a mattress '

'Shot?' cried Monk.

'Ko; off his head. Send a couple of your men
m^her. I think I'll get „y hands on LgoM

' It's a bad business, miss, ' he said. ' You made a
plucky fight, but this was inevitable. Will you tell
me where he wna hidden? '

Chris arose and stood with her back to the wall and

intility of further evasion.

'He hid in the tank,' she said. ' It has a false
bottom, and you get in from below.'
breath ^^^"^"^ expressed incredulity in a long

'Well, that fairly beats me, ' he said. ' When did
he Ax the tank? '

'Idonotknow. I had no idea it was done until the
mght of the arrest of Rogers.'
At this moment Cmey and Keel entered.

!•,

274

THK GOLU-STEALEBS.

' Stand by the man, Casey,' said the detective.
'Keel, follow me.'

Downy went straight to the tank and, creeping
nnder it, struck a match and examined the floor above
on which it rested. Two of the boards had been
moved aside, and in the bottom of the tank there wari
an opening about eighteen inches in diameter with a
sheet of iroc to cover it, in such a way as to deceive
any but the most careful seeker. The detective or-
dered Keel to bring a candle, and when it was forth-
coming he drew himself up into the tank and struck a
ligiit. An ejaculation of delight broke from his lips,
for there at his hand lay a skin bag covered with red-
and-white hair, and by its side shone a magnificent
nugget shaped like a man's boot. This the detective
recognised as the nugget described by Dick Haddon.
There were also a pickle bottle containing much rough
gold, and two or three small parcels.

The compartment in which Downy sai was just high
enough to allow of a man sitting upright in it, and large
enough to enable him to lie in a crescent position with-
out discomfort. A pipe from the roof was connected
with the tap, so that water could be drawn from the
tank as usual. The job had been carefully done, and
had evidently cost Shine much labour. The searcher had
designed the compartment as a hiding-place for his
treasure, the quantity of which convinced Downy that
his depredations at the mine (in conjunction with
Rogers,probably)hadbeenof long standirg. Theparcels
contained sovereigns and there were small bags of silver

THK 00LD-8TEALERS.

2T8

•nd copper— n m' ••(hoard. The detective dropped
the bag, the nugget, and all the other article» of value
out of the tank, and with the aseUtance of Keel
carried them into the kitchen. He examined the
material in the hide bag, and found it to be washdirt
showing coarse gold freely. The nugget was a mug-
nificentone, containing, as the detective guessed, about
five hundred ounces of gold, and worth probably dose
upon two thousand pounds. Nothing nearly so tine
had ever before been discovered in the Silver
Stream gutters, although they had always been rich in
nuggets.

When Mrs. Hardy returned home an hour later,
Harry had just come in from work. Tlie sharehold-
ers in the Native Youth were so anxious to cut the
stone that they were putting in long shifts. There
were traces of tears about Mrs. Hardy's eyes, and her
expression of deep sorrow alarmed her son.

' Wliy, what's wrong, mother? ' he asked quickly.
' Have you had bad news? '

' No, Henry. I have bcou with Christina Shine.
' You. ^ You, mother? ' he cried, in surprise.

' Not ' He suddenly recollected himself and was

silent. He knew his mother to be incapable of a
cruel or vindictive action.

' Mrs. Haddon told me how the poor giri was snf-
fering for her father's villainy, and I was deeply sorry
for her. I thought that under the circumstances my
sympathy might strengthen her.'

' God bless you for that, - '.nr ! ' said Harry fer-

276

THE OOLD-STEALERS.

I f-

vently, and liia mother Ux>ke<l at him sharply, inrpriied
bj his tone.

'Siiine has been arrested,' she said. 'The police
have taken him in to Yarrainnn.'

' Taken — Shine taken ! '

* He was captured while I was there.' ^frs. Ilgrdjr
told her son the story of Shine's arrest, and Harry
sat with set teeth and eyes indent for some minutes
after she had finislied.

'My boy,' his mother said, placing a hand
upon his shoulder, ' this does not £eem to please
you.'

His head fell a little, and he opened and clencht:..
again the strong hands gripped between his knees.

'And yet,' she continued, 'it confirms sus-

picions. It may mean the assertion of Fro. inno-
cence. '

' I love her 1 ' he said with some passion.

His mother was greatly startled, and stood for a
moment regarding him with an expression of deep
feeling.

' You love her — his daugliter? '

' With all my heart, mother.'

' Since when ? '

' I don't know. Since that Sunday in the chapel,
I believe.'

' And she? '

' She loves me.'

Mrs. Hardy moved to a chair, sat down with her
face turned from him, and stayed for many minutes

■ ! ''

TUB GOLD-STKALKBS.

277

She •tartod, hearing

apparently lo«t iu thought.
Harry at the door.

' Where are you going ? ' ihe a«kcd.
'To nee Cliri«.' He answered in a tone hinting
defiance, aa if exinjcting antagonisiu ; but hia mother
said nothing more, and lie pawed out.

Harry found Chris sitting alone in her father's
liouse. A candle burned on the table by her side, her
liands lay idly in hor lap. Ho had expected to find
her weeping, surrounded by wonitii, but licr eyes
were tearless and the news of Shine's arrest was not
yet known in the township. Harry fell on liis knees
by her side and clasped her alout the waist. There
was a sort of dull ai)athy in her face that awed hiui.
He did not kiss her.

' Tve heard, dear,' he whispered. ' All's over.'
'Yes,' she said, looking at him for the first time,
without surprise.

' Why are you sitting hcrey ' lie f '.ed.
'lam waiting for Dickie Haddon,' she said listlessly.
'Ho went to Varraman to buy some things to make a
disguise. It is only fair to wait.'

He was touched with profound pity ; but her mood
chilled him, he dared not offer a caress.
' And then ?'

' And then? Oh, then I will go to the homestead.
I want rest — only rest, rest ! '

' Did Summers know the truth, Chris? '

She shook her head slowly.

'No,' she said. 'I deceived him— I deceived

278

THE CtOLD-STEALERS.

' ';

} I

.1 ;i
K

them all. I lied to everybody. I used to pride my-
self once, a fortnight ago, when I was a girl, on not
being a liar.

' You Mustn't talk in this despairing way, dear.
Let me take you home. I will meet Dick an' tell
him.'

' Tell him it is too late, but I am grateful all the
same — very, very grateful.'

'Yes, yes. Come. You are weary; you'll be
stronger to-morrow an' braver.'

He led her away, and they walked across the flat
and through the paddock in silence. It seemed to
Harry that she had forgotten their avowals of love.
Her attitude frightened him, he dreaded lest she
should be on the eve of a serious illness; he had
sore misgivings and tortured himself with many
doubts. Her words rang in his head with damnable
iteration : ' I deceived them all. I lied to every
boay.'

Maori welcomed them under the firs, capering heav-
ily and putting himself very much in the way, but
with the best intentions. Summers came to the
verandah and greeted Chris with warmth.

' Eh, but ye're pale, lassie,' he said, having drawn
her into the light.

'Take her in,' whispered Harry; 'she's quite
worn out.'

' "Will ye no come in yersel' ? '
' No, no, thanks. Come back here, Mr. Summers ;
I want to speak to you.'

THE GOLD-STEALEES. 279

Summers led the girl into the house and returned
after 8 few moments.

' What's happened tae the girl ? She's not herself
at all,' he said.

' Her father's been taken.'

'Ay, have they got him? Weel, 'twas sure to
be.'

' 'Twas she who hid him, but he went light-headed

with some sickness, an' the police came down on him.

She feels it awfully, poor girl, being alone in a way.'

' Not alone, not while Jock Summers moves an'

has his bein'.'

Harry had been fishing for this. He knew the
man, and that his simple word meant as much as if
it had been chiselled deep in marble.

' Good night,' he said, throwing out an impetuous
hand. While he hastened away under the trees Sum-
mers stood upon the door-sill, gazing after him
ruefully shaking the tingling fingers of his right
hand.

Harry returned to the skilliou and loitered about
for ten minutes without discovering anything of Dick
Haddon, but at the expiration of that time Dick stole
out of the darkness and approached him with an affec-
tation of the greatest unconcern. His greeting was
very casual, and he followed it with a fishing inquiry
intended to discover if the young man knew anything
of Christina's v- jreabouts.

' Never mind, Dick, old man,' said Harry kindly
'it's all UP.' ''

280

THE GOLD-STEALEES.

'All up?' cried Dick.

' Yes, I know why you went to Yarraman ; bnt
It's been a wasted journey. Dick. Shine was ar-
rested a couple of hours ago, an' she's broken-
hearted.'

Dick received the news in silence, and they walked
homewards together.

'What'U I do with this?' asked Dick at Hardy's
gate, producing a parcel from under hU rest.

' Hide it away, an' keep it dark. Not a word must
be said to hurt her. '

'Good,' answered the boy. 'I know a cunnin'
holler tree. So long, Harry.'
' So long, mate. '

Dick liked the word mate; it touched him nearly
with its fine hint of equality and community of inter-
ests ; it seemed to suit their romantic conspiracy, too,
and sent him away with a little glow of pride in hi^
heart.

When Harry re-ent»red his own home he found his
mother seated as he had left her. She arose and ap-
proached him, placing a hand on either shoulder

'Well, my boy?'

' Well, mother? '

' You have seen her? '

' Yes. I've taken her to the homestead. She is
dazed. It seems as if she no longer cared. '

' It will pass, Henry. '

' You think my love will pass? '

' AH this seeming great trouble. '

bnt
ar-

Iked
ifs
last

THE GOLD-STEALEBS. jgi

'It'U pass, mother, if she comes back to me-
never nnleas. ' '

' The sins of the fathers,' sighed Mrs. Hardy as he
turned from her to his own room, like a wounded
animal seeking darkness. ' The sins of the fathers '

irly
;er-

00,

his

his
ip-

CHAPTER XXIII.

Nkt morning all Waddy know of the arreet, and
it was felt that the game was nearly played out.
Dick 8 confession was published in the same issr- of
the Yarraman Mercuiy, and public opinion in the
township had decided against the searcher in spite of
lu8 long and faithful service as teacher and super-
IbaTdoned '""'''"" '^"""^ ""^ reluctantly

Harry Hardy called at the homestead to inquire
aiter Chris before going to work, and was told that
she was much rested but not yet up. At dinner-time
he heard that she had been drive:i into Yarraman by
Jock Summers to be near her father; the fact that
she had left him without a word or a line seemed to
confirm his worst suspicion, and again her words 'I
deceived them all. I Hea to everybody,' returned
to mock him. Harry had no quality of patience: he
was impetuous, a %h»er, not a waiter on fortune-
but here was nothing to fight, and in his desperation
he did battle on the hard ground.

They had cut the dyke in the new shaft at a
shallower depth than Dick's Mount of Gold drive
and here Harry expended those turbulent emotions

THE GOLD-STEALERS. 283

that welled within him, working furiously. Whether
handhng pick or sho.el, toiling at the windlass, or
nnging the heavy hammer on the drill, he wrought

-xenbed it aU to an excusable but rather insane
an»e y to test the value of their mine in the mill
For their part they were very well satisfied with the
golden prospects, and quite content to 'go slow ' in
the certain hope of early affluence.

The next important piece of news the Mercury had
to offer .-eferred to Ephraim Shine, who had recovered
consciousness in the gaol hospital but was declared to
be dymg from an old ailment. Steps were to be
taken to secure his dying deposition. On the Satur-
day morning came the information that Shine was
dead, and with this came the full text of his depo-
s.t.on-a complete confession, setting forth his crimes
and those of Joe Rogers without reservation, and com-
pletely exonerating Frank Hardy. Rogers and Shine
had been working together to rob the mine for two
years. Their apparent hostility was a blind to deceive
the people^ They had conspired to fix the crime upon
J< rank at Rogers' suggestion, for the reason that his
vigilance was making it unsafe foi the faceman to eon-
tmue his thefts, and because they hoped his conviction
would arrest the growing suspicions. Shine agreed
for these reasons, and because he cherished a desire to
marry Mr,. Haddon and found Hardy in tU way
i'or a . time the pair had been content with such
gold gers could hide about hi., clothes, but his

381

THE GOLD-STEALEKS.

discovery of the big nugget, wliioh he bid in the
drive, gave them the idea of attempting robbery on
a large scale, and for weeks Rogers had hidden such
gold as he could lay his hands on in holes in the
muddy floor of the workings, to be carried away
when opportunity offered via the Red Hand ladder-
shaft. Tnat was to have been their last venture
together, and Shir.e had in*,onded to induce Mrs.
Haddon to marry him, and then to take her away
somewhere where he was unknown, and where it
would have been possible to sell the gold in small
parcels without exciting suspicion. Rogers had hidden
the gold in Frank Hardy's boot, and Shine salted his
washdirt on the creek with Silver Stream gold, and
the slug he pretended to take from Frank's crib bag
was hidden in the palm of his hand when he took up
the faceman's billy from the floor of the searching
shed.

Joe Rogers appeared before the bench of magis-
trates at Yarraman on the following Monday. Harry
and Dick were in attendance as witnesses; Chris was
also present in court, and there Harry saw her for
the first time since the night of Shine's arrest.
She sat beside Mrs. Summers, a stout, grey, motherly
woman, and was dressed in deep mourning. Harry
thought she had never looked so beautiful. But how
changed she was from the simple gentle girl of a few
days back ! She sat as she did when he found her in
the skillion after her father had been taken, with
intent eyes bent upon the floor. When called upon

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

886

to giro her evidence f'le eave it clearly and fully, in
a firm distinct voice, like t, person without interest or
feeling. She seemed to have no desire to shield the
cliaracter of her father, but told the whole truth
respecting him, and left the Court with her com-
panion immediately on being informed that her serv-
ices were no longer required, so that Harry was
unable to speak with her. This was a bitter blow to
him ; lie believed that she was taking precautions to
avoid him, and saw in that action further reason for
his suspicion that her declaration of affection had
been a mistake or perhaps a deliberate deception. ' I
deceived them all. I lied to everybody,' she said.
The young man stiffened himself with chill comfort-
less pride, and made no effort to seek her out. He
loved her, he told himself, but was no whimpering
fool to abase himself at the feet of a woman who was
careless, or might be even worse — pitiful.

Joe Rogers reserved his defence and was commit-
ted to stand his trial at the forthcoming sessions in
about a fortnight's time, charged with gold-stealing,
wounding Harry Hardy, and shooting at Trooper
Casey.

Harry returned to his work. He made no further
calls at the homestead to inquire after Christina, but
heard from Dick that she had not returned to Waddy,
but was staying in Yarraman till after the trial. Mrs.
Haddon expressed an opinion that the poor girl felt
the disgrace of her position keenly, and dreaded to
face the people of the township where her father had

- H

fl:

286

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

been accepted as a shining light for so many years, and
wliere she had always commanded respect and affec-
tion.

As the time for the trial approached Harry found
himself hungering for a eight of lier face again.
Pride and common-sense were no weapons with which
to fight love. At best they afforded only a poor dis-
guise behind which a man might hide his sufferings
from the scoffers.

The trial occupied two days. The prisoner was de-
fended by a clever young lawyer from Melbourne,
who fought every ppint pertinaciously and strove with
all his energy and knowledge and cunning to repre-
sent Joe Bogers as the victim of circumstances and
Gphraim Shine — especially Ephraim Shine — who was
a monster of blackened iniquity, capable of a diaboli-
cal astuteness in the pursuit of his criminal intentions.
The litory of the boy Haddon was absolutely false in
representing Bogers as having assisted in the theft of
the gold produced. The boy was a creature of Shine's ;
that was obvious on the face of his evidence and the
evidence of Miss Shine and Detective Downy. Shine
had had the lad in his toils, otherwise why had he
taken such precautions to shield the man, and why
had he given him warning of the approach of the
troopers? Bogers' story was entirely credible, he saij.
It was to the effect that Shine had confessed to him
that hi had robbed the mine of a quantity of gold and
had been robbed in turn by the boy Haddon, who was
his real accomplice. He solicited the aid of the un-

THE OOLD-STEALERS.

287

fortunate prisoner to recover the treasure, and offered
him half the gold as a reward. The prisoner was
tempted and he fell. His action towards the boy at
the Piper Mine was taken merely to induce him to
disclose the whereabouts of the lost booty, and the
shooting at Trooper Casey was an accident. Rogers
had acted on blind and unreasoning impulse in snatch-
ing up the gun on the approach of the police, believ-
ing his complicity with Shine in the effort to recover
the hidden loot had come to light, and the discharge
of the weapon was purely involuntary.

To give an air of plausibility to this plea it was
necessary to represent Ephraim Shine in the worst
possible light, and that conscientious and hard-work-
ing young lawyer spared no pains on his own part or
the part of the dead man's daughter to make every
point that would tell for his client ; but Chris was not
more moved than at the preliminary investigation.
She told the truth simply, and no effort on the part of
the barrister could shake her evidence or break
through the unnatural calm in which she appeared to
have enveloped herself. Harry saw her several times
during the course of the trial, and found a desolate
anguish in her white immobile face, that stirred np in
his heart again a fury against fate, the law, and every
lorce and condition that added the smallest pang to
her sorrow. If he could have only interposed his
body between her and all this trouble it would have
been keen joy to him to have felt raining upon his
flesh, with heavy material blows, the shafts directed

288

THE G0LD-STEALEB8.

against her tender heart ; but his strength was of no
avail, he coald think of nothing that he might do bnt
take that insolent lawyer by the throat and choke him
on the floor of the Court. He was helpless to do any-
thing but love her, and every sight of her, every
thought of her, added fuel to his passion.

She went to him once outside the Court with out-
stretched hands and swimming eyes, murmuring in-
articulate words, and he understood that she meant io
thank him for the efforts he had made to spare her in
his evidence on the previous day. In truth she had
been touched by the change in him, and she, too, was
fighting with her love a harder battle than his.

' I'm sorry for you, Chris,' he said, ' bnt time mil
heal all this, never fear.'

She gazed at him and slowly shook her head.

' Never, Harry,' she said.

'It will, it will! ' ho persisted. 'Chris, you're
coming back after it's all over? '

' Yes,' she said, ' I must.'

' An' you've not forgotten? '

' No, Harry, I have not forgotten anytliing.'
There was a strain of firmness in her voice that jarred
him, and he looked at her sharply; but her face gave
him no comfort. A moment later she was joined by
Mrs. Summers and another friend, and he left her,
his heart unsatisfied, his mind shaken with doubts
and perplexities.

Joe Rogers was found guilty and sentenced to
twelve years' hard labour. Close upon eight hundred

THE GOLD-STEALKRS. 289

ounce, of gold were handed over to the Silver Stream
Company, and the Company, ' in recognition of tl.e
valnable ^jrvices of Master Richard Uaddon,' pre.
«inted him with a gold watch and chain-which for
many months after was a source of ceaseless worry to
hrs httle mother, who firmly believed that its fame
must have inspired every burglar and miscellaneous
tinef m Victoria with an unholy longing to posscM it,
was continually devising new hiding-places for the
treasure, and arose three or four times a night to at-
tack hy^thetical marauders.

Returning from scliool at dinner-time on the day
following, Dick found Frank Hardy sitting in the
parlour holding his mother's hand. Mrs. Hardy and
Harry were also there, and a few people were loiter-
ing about the front, having called to congratulate
Frank Hardy on hU release; for Frank had been
given a free pardon in the Queen's name for the
crunes it was now known he had never committed.

Dick found Frank looking older and graver, much
more like his mother, whom he resembled in disposi-
tion too. He greeted the boy quietly but with evi-
dent feeling.

' It seems I owe my liberty to your devilment, old
boy, ' he said later.

Dick was beginning to find the role of hero rather
wearisome, and would gladly have returned to liisold
footing with the people of Waddy, but there was
nevertheless a good deal of satisfaction in appearing
as a person of importance in the eyes of the Hardies

19 '

tto

THE 00LD-8TEALEKS.

»iid he accepted the implied gratitude without any «z-
cesi of nneasineu.

'Well, I've got to pay yon out, my lad,' Frank
continued. ' Your mother has been fooliah enough
to promise to be my wife, and that will place me in
the responsible position of fatlier to the most ungov-
ernable young scamp in Christendom ; and one of the
conditions your n. ;ther makes is that I am to prevent
you from saving any more lives and reputations.
What do you think of that? '

' Oh, you'll make a rippin' father,' said iJick.
'That'll be all right.'

' Good. Then it's settled. We have your con-
sent? '

Dick nodded gravely.

' Thanks for your confidence," said Frank langhing.
' I think you'll find me a fairl> s^ood soit us step-
fathers go.'

Dick had no fears whatever on that point ; he and
Frank had been excellent friends for as long as he
could remember, and Frank had been his champion in
many semi-public disagreements about billy-goats;
and besides, he was a reader whose judgment the boy
held in the highest respect, and that counted for a
great deal.

The boy had a message for Harry, and delivered it
with great secrecy at the earliest opportunity.

'She's back at Summers's, Harry,' he whispered.
'She gave Kitty a letter to give to me to give
you.'

TUE OOLD-STEALERS. 391

Harry tore the envelope with trembling impatient
h<>nd». It contained only a short note: ' Will you
conie to me at the gutj under the firs to-night at
eight?' and was coldly signed, 'Vour true friend,
0. 8.'

:H I

m ■

CHAPTER XXIV.

Harry awaited the approach of evening with burn-
ing impatience, and his heart was lighter than it had
been for wcelcs. He tliought that now the distraction
induced by l»er fatlier's danger, his arrest and his
death, and tlie subsequent trials had departed, he
would find her with a clear mind and responsive to his
love, and it would be his pride and joy to teach her to
forget her troubles and to make her happy. Harry,
who up to the time of meeting Cliris after his return to
"Waddy, had been even more unromantic and lacking
in poetry than the average bush native, had, under
the influence of his passion, evolved a strong vein of
both romance and poesy; and the sudden develop-
ment of this uBknown side of his nature induced novel
sensations. He thought of his previous self almost as
a stranger, for whom he felt some sentiment of pity
not untouched with contempt, and even when hope
was feeblest he hugged his love and brooded over it
secretly with the devotion of a tender girl.

He was at the trysting-place a quarter of an hour
before the time appointed, but Christina was already
there. Her greeting chilled and subdued him. He
went towards her, smiling, elate, with eager arms.

THE QOLD-STEALERS.

203

callintr
ham J.

ticed ■ i

- :r rnue ; 6he put liiin back with extended

no, lUrrr, not that,' bIio Baid, and ho no-
'.^l■ voicp the strength of some resolntion, tlic
firmness that had jarred upon him wlien last they met.

'Not that!' he repeated. Chris, you love me.
For God's sake say it! You have said it. You told
me so, an' it was true — oh, my darling, it was true ! '

He could see her distinctly : she stood in a shaft of
moonlight falling between the sombre firs, and her
face was marble-like; her whole pose was statuesque,
all the girlish gentleness of the other days seemed to
have flfcj from her, and her hour of tribulation liad
invested her with a dignity and force of will that sf.t
well upon her stately figure. Harry beheld her with
something like terror. This was not the woman he
loved. His cause had never seemed so utterly hope-
less as now, and yet he felt that it was not the true
Chris with whom he was dealing; that the trne Chris
was the soft-eyed clinging girl safely enshrined in his
heart.

'Chris,' he said, 'you have changed—but you'll
come to me again ? '

Her face was turned towards him ; she shook her
head with passionless decision.

'No, Harry,' she answered, 'that is all past. I
sent for you to tell you that we must forget.'

' Forget ! ' he cried, springing forward and seizing
her hand, ' how can I forget? Can a man forget that
he loves? '

I'r:

F •. ,

14 '

? J

'.t
■(

I J

i^. 1:

294

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

« Ton will forget. It ifl better, and you will live to
be glad that you did.'

'Never, never! Chris, what do you mean?
Why're you talking to me of forgetting— why, why ? '

' Because I know in my heart that it must be. I
came here to tell yon so, to ask you to waste no more
thought on nie.'

' Yon do not care for me, then. Is that what you

mean?'

She gave him no answer, but her steadfast eyes
looked into his and their light was cold, there was no
glimmer of afEection in them.

' You never loved me, Chris? '

She continued sihnt; she had wrought herself to
a certain point, to what she believed to be a duty, and
she could onlv maintain the tension by exerting all her

energies.

' What have I done to be treated like this? ' he
continued. ' I did all I conld to spare you. I would
have spared him, too, if it'd been in my power.'

' You were generous. Yes, you did all you could ;
for that I will be grateful to you all my life.'

' And I love yon— I love you ! I want love, not
gratitude, Chris— your love.'
' You must forget me ! '

He approached her more closely, and his voice had
lost its pleading tone.

' On the night of the arrest,' he said, ' you told me
you had deceived all— lied to all; did you lie to
me?'

_II8 •■'■

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

295

lie paused for a reply, but she did not speak, and
he continued fiercely :

' Did you lie to me when you said you loTed me?
Was that a lie r Was it a trap? '

' It does not matter now, Harry ; all is over, all. *

' An' you did lie to me. You lied because you
thought I'd give your father up if my love was not
returned. My God ! you thought I took advantage
of '

' No, no, no ! ' she cried, ' not that. I thought no
ill of you, I think none. Think what you w 111 of me.'

' But I was fooled — cruelly, bitterly fooled. Yon
needn't have done it, Chris. I'd rather have died
than have added to your sufferings. Your trick
wasn't necessary. I cared more for yon than you'll
ever know. '

Her hands trembled at her sides and her lips moved,
but her eyes remained steadfast.

' I know your good heart, Havy, ' she said in a voice
almost harsh from the restraint put upon her. ' Iwill
bless you and pray for you while I live, but I can
never be your wife. You are mad to think of me.
Some day you will be glad I refused to bsten to you,
and grateful to me for what I have done. '

' Grateful ! ' he cried. ' To be grateful I must learn
to hate you. I'll go an' learn that lesson.'

He turned from her and strode towards the gate,
but there he paused with his arm upon the bar, and
presently he moved back to her side.

'I can't go like that, dear,' he said, seizing her

l.il.

396

THE GOLD-STEALEES.

It!

§ 1^

hand again, ' notliing on earth can ever make me any-
thing but your lover, an' nothing can make me believe
you lied when you said you loved me. Your kisses
were not lies. Speak to me — say that you did love
me a little ! '

' Good-bye, Harry, ' she said in the samfe constrained
tone.

'For God's sake be fair to me, Chris.'
' I am fair to yon. Go ; learn to love someone who
will bring you happiness. Good-bye.'

' There is one woman who could bring me happiness,
an' she stabs me to the heart. I won't give you up,
I won't forget, I won't say good-bye. When this
misery's gone from you, you will be your old self
again, an' we'll be happy together.'

' Do not think that, Harry ; you must put me out
of your heart.'

' Never — never while I live ! '
He looked into lier strong pale face for a moment,
and lifting her yielding hand to liis lips kissed it.
' Good-night,' he said gently. ' I'll come again.'
' Good-bye, Harry,' she whispered.
He hastened away, carrying his trouble into the
sleeping bush. She stood for a few moments after he
had gone, erect, with her hands pressed over her eyes,
then walked towards the house with firm steps ; but
at the verandah uncontrollable sobs were breaking
in her throat; she turned and fled into the planta-
tion, and lying amongst the long grass wept unre-
servedly.

THE GOLD-STEALEUS.

297

Harry's mind was in a tiiranlt ; he tried in vain to
compose his faculties, to discover some reason for
Miss Chris's action apart from the dreadful possibility
that she had really never cared for him. Kow that
he had it from her own lips that she could b<! nothing
to him, he refused to accept the situation. There
were barriers raised between them, he would beat
them down ; there were mistakes, illusions, he would
overcome them; he was strong, he would conquer.
Anything was possible but that she had lied to him,
but that her warm loving kisses were false and schem-
ing. Ills heart scouted that idea with a blind rage
that impelled him to hit out in the darkness. This
spiritual fight tore the man of action, racked him limb
from limb. Oh ! to have been able to settle it, bare-
armed and abreast of a living antagonist in the child's
play of merely physical strife. He found tears on his
cheek and this weakness amazed him, but his thoughts
followed each other quickly, disconnectedly, like those
of a drunken man ; he went home baffled, but cling-
ing to hope with the tenacity of one who feels that
despair means death.

Next morning Harry found himself utterly miser-
able, but still trusting that timij would serve to restore
Chris her natural cheerful temperament, and bring
home to her again the conviction that she really loved
him, and then all would be well.

At about half- past two that afternoon Dick Haddon,
in his capacity of faithful squire to the two lovers,
visited the mine hot-foot, with news for his friend.

Ii'

398

THE GOLD-STEALEES.

Harry was below, but he hastened to answer the boy'g
message. He had dreamed of a sudden repentance on
his sweetlieart's part, and his heart beat fast as Dick
beckoned him away from McKnight, who was at the
windlass.

' She's gone away,' said the boy eagerly.

'Chris away? Where's she gone? '

'She's goin' to Melbourne— goin' fer years an'
years. Mr. Summers is drivin' her into Yarraman
now. She left a letter for yon with mother. Thought
I'd come an' tell you, 'case you might want to go after
her.'

'Gone for good!' This possibility had not oc-
curred to the young man. ' She left a letter for me?
Are you sure it's for me? '

' Yes, yes; mother's got it. If I was yon I'd get

it at once; an' I'd— I'd ' Dick was much more

excited than Harry ; he was eager to spur his friend
to action.

' How long have they been gone? ' asked Harry, as
he hastened towards the township. He felt that this
was a crisis, that action was called for, but the news
had confused him. He was fighting with the fear
that she was taking this course to avoid him for the
reason that his connection with her misfortunes had
made him hateful to her. He burned to read her
letter, but he had no mind for heroic schemes or proj-
ects.

' On'y about a quarter of an hour,' said Dick in
answer to his question. ' They can't'vo gone far,'

THE GOLD-STEALEllS. 209

' You're sure she wag going to Melbonmfr-goinK
for good? ' * *

'Certain sure— heard her tell mum.'

Mrs. Haddon was standinj, at the door when they
reached the house, and Harry followed her into the
kitchen.

' Give it to me, Alice, ' he said. ' Quick ! Can't
yon see I'm half mad? '

Mrs. Haddon handed him the letter, and he tore the
envelope with awkward impatient fingers. The note
was brief :

'Dear Harry,— I write this to bid you good-bye
again, and thank you again for all your kindness and
goodness. I am going away because I can no longer
bear to live amongst people who know me as the
daughter of one who was a thief and almost a murderer.
Don't think bitterly of me. All that I have done I
did for the best, according to my poor light. We may
never meet again, but it would make me happier some
day to know that you had forgiven me, and that you
remembered me without anger in your own happiness.
— Your very true friend,

'Christina Shine.'

Harry sank into a chair and sat for a minute staring
blanklj at the letter, and Mrs. Haddon stood by his
side staring curiously at him. Suddenly she slapped
firmly on the table with her plump hand and asked
sharply :

'■Well, Harry, well?'

: I

300

THE G0LD-STEALER8.

M
•^j'

It-

He turned his blank eyes upon her.

' Do you care a button for that girl? '

' Care ? ' he said. ' I care my whole life an' soul
for her ! '

' Well, then, what're you goin' to do? ' 'Re you
goin' to lose her? '

' In the name o' God, Alice, what can I do?
She doesn't want me; she is going away to be rid of
me.'

'Not want you? Yon great, blind, blunderin'
man-creature, you; she loves you well enough to
break her heart for you. Can't you see why she's
going away? Of course you can't. She's goin' be-
cause she thinks she'nan object of shame an' disgrace;
because she feels on her own dear head an' weighin' on
her own great, soft, simple heart all the weight of the
shame that belonged to that bad devil of a father of
hers ; because all that the papers, an' the lawyers, an'
the judge said about the sins o' Ephraim Shine she
feels burnin' in red letters on her own sweet face.
That's why she's goin' ; an' if she is leavin' you it's
because she feels this whole villainous business makes
her unfit to be your wife. Now what're you goin' to
do, Harry Hardy?'

Harry had risen to his feet ; his face was flushed, he
trembled in every limb.

'Do?' he gasped. 'Do?'

' Do ! ' Repeated the widow in a voice that had
grown almost shrill. ' There's a horse an' saddle an'
bridle in McMahon's stable.'

THE GOLD STEALERS. 301

Harry turned and ran from the house ; and the lit-
tle widow, standing at the door flushed and tearful,
lookiug after him, murmured to herself:

' An' if you lose her, Harry Hardy, you're not
the man I took you for, an' I'll never forgive you—
never.'

She looked down and encountered Dick's eyes —
seeming very much larger and graver than usual — re-
garding her with solemn admiration. The boy had
conceived a new respect for his mother within the last
two minutes, and had discovered in her a kindred
spirit hitherto unsuspected.

' My colonial I that was rippin', mum! ' he said.

CHAPTER XXV.

Habrt took Frentii leave in McMabon's stable.
He saddled Click, Mac's favourite hack, mounted him,
and started down the dusty Yarraman road at a gallop.
To Harry that ride was ever afterwards a complete
blank. He started out with his mind full of one
thought, an overpowering resolution. He would seek
Chris, he would take her iu his arms and defy every
f".ATor scheme or power that might be directed against
i'.ijir love and happiness to part tliem again. Thatwas
his determitiatiou, and, having made it, be rode on
blindly, pushing the horse to his best pace.

After passing the Bo Peep the road ran out into
treeless open country, slightly undulating. There
were a few trickling rock-strewn creeks to cross, and
Harry rushed Click through them like a man riding
for his life. Half an hour's gallop brought the vehicle
in sight, and ten minutes later he came abreast of the
buggy and brought his foaming horse to a trot.
' Stop ! ' he cried ; and Summers, much amazed, pulled
up his pair.

Ha'-ry threw himself from the saddle, leaving the
horse his freedom, and, going to the buggy, seized
Chris by the hand and drew her down towards him.

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TlIK (fOLD-STKALERS. 303

.nulu'""' ^ ''*°' '" '^'^ '" ^■""- '^'"" ""■«'. y""
He helped her from the vehicle. His attitude was
stern and nmtorful, and Chris yiM.d with a sense o{
awe. 8u,nme« regarded the pair for a ....ment with
pursed hp, and heat brows ; then a grim smile dawned
about h>s mouth, and he touched his horses with the
whip and drove slowly away down the road

Harry and Chris stood u,,on the plain facing eaoh

other, the g.rl's hands olas,.ed firndy in those of the
nan. Harry was dressed just as he had con.e from

the ,m„e; her neat black frock was nmrked with the

had'mor 7 ''^'""r- Hewastlushcd; his eve!
ad more of power than of love in then,. She stUl
trove but felt his strength great... „„.„ ,.e„, andher
heart beat painfully. She whispered a pitifu'l prot^
when he drew her to his breast and clasped her closely
m his irresistible arms.

'I won't let you go, my dear love-I swear I
won't ! he whispered vehemently
^J You must. Oh, why do you make my task so

'I won't let you go from me, Chris '
She looked into his glowing eyes, and struggled a
little, murmuring incoherently.

'Never Chris, never ! ' he continued. ' You love
"e! Look into my face an' deny it if yon cal
Un can't! > he cried, with a flush of triumph

'Tislt:,:en:v;i:!iiv^-^^=>'-i-tgo.

304

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

1 t

He langhed suddenly with the elation of s con-
queror, and stopped her mouth with kisses.

' You love me, an' you'd leave me. Why? Tell
me why, my darling, my dear love 1 '

She threw back her head and gazed into his eyes.
' I will tell you,' she said. ' I would leave you be-
cause I am the daughter of Ephraim Shine, the man
whose memory is hated everywhere ; the man whose
crimes ycu and yours can never forget; the man who
sent your innocent brother to prison, who whitened
your mother's hair with grief, who left yon to die in
the waters of the mine — who was a triple thief and a
hypocrite. He was my father and I loved him. I
cannot do anything else but love him now, but yon
must hate and loathe him. Think of me as your wife
— me, the thief's daughter, whispered about, pointed
at. Think, as I have done, of that possible time when
you might love me less because of him and the wrong
he did you, when you might be ashamed to be seen
with me. People don't forget crimes like his, Harry ;
they talk of them to their children. Think of your
mother and your brother. Think, think — oh, Harry,
think, for my strength is gone. '

He only clasped her closely and kissed her cheek.

' Think of your mother, ' she continued. ' Harry,
I would die to serve her. I would rather die tlian
bring shame or grief into her life. '

' I love yon ! I love you ! ' he said.

' Think, think of the people pointing at us, whis-
pering about my disgrace.'

THE GOLD-STEALERS. nor.

' No, dear, yon think. Tliink of me without yon
— onrsed, rained, without a care for anything on
earth. Chris, there's not for me one ray of sunlight,
not one smile in the world without you.'

Her forehead was bent upon his shoulder. He felt
her strength leaving her, and continued with low
vehement words :

' Dear, yon love me, an' you think it's your duty
to leave me. I tell yon there's no man on God's
earth here'd be so desolate. I'd rather be dead than
lose you. To lose you is the only sorrow I can
imagine. I care more for one smile of yours, one
touch of your dear fingers, than for anything else in
all the world. If you hate me an' want to ruin my
hfe, you'U go. Chris, if you love me, can't you see
what the loss of you would mean? i ^ried to think of
it last night an' conldn't, it was too terrible. I was
like a child facing a great black cavern peopled with
devils. '

His words, his earnestness, brought her new light-
she had not realised the depth of his love, she had
thought that the blow might be heavy at first, but
that he would soon learn to forget. She understood
him better now; his love was like her own, and she
knew that to be imperishable. She no longer strug-
gled, but clung to him with trembling fingers.

'I did not think yon loved me like that, dear,'
she said softly.

' I worship you! And yon, my wife, my sweet
wife?'

306

THE GOLD-STEALEHS.

She slid her arms about his neck and drew his face
to hers.

They stood in the centre of an open plain above
which the yellow sun hung gleaming like a ball of
gold ; there was silence everywhere : Harry's horse
stood still with his nose to the gronnd, at a distance
Summers' buggy dipped slowly down into the bend
of an old waterconrse, and far off in the dim simmer-
ing background there was a hazy suggestion of trees.
The solitude was complete.

' Then yon won't go, Chris? ' he said.

' Yes, ' she answered, smiling into his face, ' but
not for ever. '

He drew her closer at the suggestion.

' But why must you go? Why should we part? '

' Please, please, dear, for a time. I — I want to be
away for a little while, till 1 can bear it better — yon
know what I mean. Ah! ' she cried with sadden
warmth, ' I thought I was going to be strong and
brave and bear it all alone ; but I was only a girl, not
a heroine — my heart was crying out against it by day
and night.'

' We'll be very happy, Chris, in spite of those silly
terrors. 'Twas Mrs. Haddon sent me after you.'

'I'm glad. Oh, I'm glad!'

He gathered her to his heart, and kissed her again
and again.

'Chris,' he said, 'you're not quite fair to the
people of Waddy ; not a man or woman of them
thinks a mean thought of you.'

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

307

' But I cannot bear to face them. Let me go foi' a
time, and I will come back.'

' An' be my wife? '

' Yes, if you etill want mo.'

'If! You'll write often.'

' Every day if you wish it, dear.'

'Every day then. Good-bye, my darling. I'll
let yon go, but not for long. If yon don't come to
me soon, I will come to you.'

The parting was long and loving, and then Harry
recalled Jock Summers with a loud cooey. After
Chrb had been helped into the buggy the old man
glanced sharply at Harry.

' Well, Maister Highwayman? ' he said.

' She has promised to be my wife, sir,' said Harry.

Summers looked into the girl's brimming eyes, and
his face softened.

' I'm right glad,' he said simply.

Harry rode by the trap as far as the town ; then
there was another parting, and he returned to Waddy
like a man in a dream. That evening he told his
mother that Christina Shine had promised to be his
wife. Her answer surprised him.

' She is a brave, beautiful, genuine woman, and I
would not have it different. '

' She said you were the best woman in the world,
mother, and I believe she was right.'

'No, no, Henry; I will be content now to have
yon think me the second best,' said his mother,
smiling.

308

THE G0LD-8TEALERS.

'!l

Chris, who was staying with a relation of Summers'
in Melbourne, wrote to say their parting should be
for six months; but it did not last more than half
that time, and meanwhile two or three matters of
interest had happened in Waddy. There had be>.j
several crnshings from the Native Youth, and the
yields justified the highest expectations ; Frank Hardy
and Mrs. Iladdon had been married, and Joel Ham
had departed from Waddy under interesting circum-
stances. One evening when reading the Mercury in
the bar at the Drovers' Arms, Ham looked up from
his paper and addressed several members of the
School Committee who were present :

' Gentlemen,' he said, ' I'll have to get you to fill
my position within a fortnight.'

' What,' cried Peterson, ' throwin' up your billet? '
' I'm wanted in England,' said the master, tapping
the paper.

There ws a roar at this, which Joel treated with
sublime indifference, but curiosity prompted Peterson
to examine the paper closely when tlio teacher had
set it aside, and he found the following advertise-
ment:

'If this should meet the eye of Joel Hamlyn,
second brother of Sir Just Hamlyn, of Darustable,
he is hereby informed of the death of his brother and
of his succession to the title and estates. Any infor-
mation respecting the above Joel Hamlyn will be
thankfully received.' Then followed a description of
Joel Hamlyn that was decidedly applicable to Joel

THE GOLD-STEALEES.

309

Ham, and the address of a firm of Melboarne
Bolicitors.

The school .uaster said nothing to satisfy the curios-
ity of his co'jamittee, but was more communicative in
the presence of Frank Hardy.

' I am Sir Joel Hamlyn now,' lie said, grinning
down at his white moleskins and broken boots. ' Just
and I hated each other like brothers. He was emi-
nently respectable, I was eminently otherwise. We
parted with nmtual satisfaction, but he had two boys
when I left England, both of w^ have since died,
or there would Iiave been no anxious and respectful
inquiries for my disreputable self. '

'Well, I congratulate you,' said Frank. 'It will
be an agreeable change. '

' I do not know, ' said Sir Joel ; ' I have got drunk
on beer here, I shall get drunk on champagne there.
That's all the difference. '

Later, when parting with Frank for good, he said :

' I have a long journey before me, and I have got
to make up my mind in that time in what useful
capacity I shall figure in Damstable teetotal circles,
whether as a shining light or a shocking example —
whether, in short, it b better to live respectable or
die drunk.'

The people of Waddy never heard what Sir Joel's
conclusion was, but they had an emphatic opinion
about his end ; which conclusion, however reasonable
it may have been in the light of past events, let us
hope was the wrong one.

310

THE GOLD-STEALERS.

Harry wrote to Chri. before twelve weeks had
passed: 'I can stand this parting no longer. I am
coming to yon.> Chris answering him said, ' Come ,'
and ho went; and when he returned to •Waddy Chris
accompanied him. Tiey were married very quietly
at Yarraman a few months later, and Dick Haddon
was the only absentee amongst their immediate friends
who have figured in this story. When Harry and
Chns were restored to happiness, his interest in them
lost Its keen edge, but he was considerate enough to
send an apology to t^e bridegroom.

'Dear Harry,' he wrote, ' I'm sorry I can't come
and be best man at your wedding, but there is to be a
great race to-day-my grey billy, Butts, against
Jacker Mack's black billy, Boxer, for two p^ket-
kmv^ and a joey 'possum, owners up_andof course
X couldn't get away.— Your mate, Dick.'

THE Einj.

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PSINTED FROM AMERICAN PLATES AT
THE ABERDEEN UNIVERSITV PRESS LIMITED.