CHAPTER XX. — THE BOYS ARRIVE AT BENDIGO.
"You are entitled to half the reward offered for the apprehension of this man," said the leader of the police to Obed Stackpole. "I congratulate you. Fifty pounds is a sum not to be despised."
"Especially when a man has been robbed of all he possesses by bushrangers," said Obed. "If you'll excuse me, captain, why does your government allow them rascals to roam round the country, plundering and killing honest men?"
The captain of police shrugged his shoulders.
"We can't help it, my good man. We do all we can," he answered.
"In my country we would soon put a stop to it."
"You mean America?"
"Yes; the land of the Stars and the Stripes," said Obed proudly.
"It is more difficult here," observed the police captain. "The nature of the country makes pursuit difficult. Besides, we have had so many convicts sent out here in past years that there is a large proportion of lawless men in the colony. Some of these men have made themselves very formidable. There is Captain Stockton, for instance."
"Was, you mean, captain."
"I don't understand you."
"Captain Stockton is dead."
"Do you mean this? How do you know?" inquired the captain of police eagerly.
"He was killed yesterday by one of his men."
"What evidence have you of this?" demanded the captain incredulously.
"Them two boys saw him shot," said Obed, indicating Harry and Jack.
"Tell me all about it, young man," said the captain to Harry. "It will be good news at Bendigo. Returning miners are always in fear of this famous bushranger, Stockton. He doesn't care so much to attack parties bound to the mines, for they are not supposed to have much with them, but those returning to Melbourne generally carry more or less gold, and are worth capturing."
Harry gave a succinct account of his adventures while in the power of the bushrangers, and the scene of which he had been a witness. The captain of police listened attentively.
"This is good news," he remarked. "There will be a new captain appointed, of course, but there is not another man connected with the gang who can take Stockton's place or do as much mischief as he has done."
"How far are we from Bendigo, captain?" asked Obed.
"Two days' journey, or perhaps more."
"A long distance, considering we have no money."
"You will have half the reward. Your share will be fifty pounds."
"That won't do us any good now, unless you'll be kind enough to advance us a part of that sum."
"I would if I were able, but I am not provided with any money beyond what I need. You and the boys may come with us, however, if you wish."
"I should like nothing better, captain. Once at Bendigo, and we'll manage to shift for ourselves."
"Very well, so let it be."
I pass over the events of the next two days. Obed and the boys, after all their troubles, found themselves provided with an official escort, and on the morning of the third day arrived at the famous gold-fields of Bendigo.
Ballarat and Mount Alexander preceded Bendigo in point of time, but Bendigo has been far more productive. As the little party descended a hill made white by the sandy dirt thrown out of the mines, they saw below them Bendigo Creek, yellow as the Tiber, running sluggishly through the valley, which on either side had been dug up by prospectors for gold. All about on the slopes of the hills and in the valley were rude huts, hastily put together, the homes of the miners. Some of them were built of solid trunks of trees laid horizontally, after the American backwoods order of architecture. The interstices were generally daubed with clay to make them water-tight, and the roofs were covered with sheets of bark, kept down by logs laid upon them. There were tents, also, made of slabs, and covered with canvas. Still others were covered with bullock hides.
To Harry and Jack the sight was a novel one, and they regarded the extemporized village with interest.
Obed's eyes glistened, and he rubbed his hands with delight.
"This seems like home," he said. "It's just like Shantytown in Californy, where I worked three months last year. I say, boys, how do you like it?"
"I shouldn't like to live here very long," said Harry.
"I like shipboard better," said Jack.
"I agree with you, boys," said Obed, "but it'll suit me well enough if I can find enough gold here. When I've made my pile, Australy won't hold me long. I shall make tracks for America. We have no bushrangers there."
"But you have Indians," retorted the police captain, who did not quite relish the strictures upon the colony of which he was an official. "I would rather be captured by a bushranger than scalped by an Indian."
"I agree with you, captain, but the Indians won't scalp you unless you go where they are. I never saw one till I was past twenty-one."
"Indeed!" said the captain in evident surprise. "I thought they were all over the country. Why, one of your countrymen told me they would sometimes surprise families within ten miles of your great city of New York, and scalp them all. He said he was brought up—raised, he called it—twenty miles away, and was obliged to barricade the doors and windows every night, and keep a supply of loaded muskets by the side of his bed, to resist the Indians in case they made a night attack."
Obed laughed till the tears came to his eyes, and the two boys also looked amused.
"Did you believe all this, captain?" he asked.
"Why not?" asked the captain, looking offended. "My informant was a countryman of yours."
"He was stuffing you, captain."
"Stuffing me! I don't understand," said the captain, puzzled.
"He saw that you knew very little of America, and he practised a little on your credulity—isn't that the word?"
"How do I know but you are doing the same now? Probably you want to give me a favorable idea of your country."
"I only want you to judge it correctly, captain. Why, there aint no more danger of being scalped in New York than in London."
"I presume not, in New York, but I am speaking of the neighborhood of New York."
"So am I. I'll tell you what, captain, if you can find me a case of a man that's been scalped within five hundred miles of New York within the last fifty years, I'll give you my share of the reward. Of course if it's in Canada, it don't count."
"I can't accept any such wager. I have no means of proving it, even if it is so."
"That's true, squire; but I'll give you an idea. Harry, how many Indians have you ever seen in your life?"
"About half a dozen," answered Harry, after a pause for reflection.
"And you, Jack?"
"I never saw one that I can remember."
"And yet you were both born in the States. You see, captain, Indians are not so abundant in our country as you supposed. Jack has never seen an Indian, but he has seen a bushranger; eh, Jack?"
"I have seen more than I wanted to," answered Jack, smiling.
By this time they had descended the hill, and were on the borders of the mining settlement. They had now attracted the attention of the miners, and when the prisoner was recognized there went up an angry shout, and a band of swarthy, bearded men advanced menacingly to meet them.
"Give him to us!" they cried. "Give up the murderer! We will make short work of him!"
CHAPTER XXI. — BUYING A CLAIM.
The face of the prisoner, as he met the angry glances of the miners, betrayed extreme fear. In spite of his terrible crime, Harry could not help pitying him when he saw the gray pallor that overspread his countenance.
The captain of the police was a brave and determined man, and though his little force was outnumbered five to one he showed no signs of yielding.
"What is it you want, men?" he demanded sternly.
"We want that man—the murderer," was the unanimous cry.
"What would you do with him?"
"String him up to the nearest tree," replied a brawny miner.
"There is no occasion for you to punish him—he is in the hands of the law," replied the captain.
"He may escape. We want to make sure of him."
"I will answer for it that he does not escape. You know me, and you can accept my assurance. Is that satisfactory?"
There was a sullen murmur among the miners. It was evident that they were not wholly satisfied.
The captain of police watched them keenly and saw that there was danger of an attack.
He drew a pistol, and holding it firmly in his hand, said: "The first man that interferes with me in the discharge of my duty, dies. I give you fair warning."
A determined man generally carries his point, even against odds. Had the captain showed the slightest sign of wavering, the mob would have been upon him. But they saw that he was in earnest, and meant what he said.
"How long is he to live?" asked the brawny miner already referred to, after a slight pause.
"I shall take him before the magistrate at once, and you know he is not likely to defer punishment."
The police magistrate who dispensed justice, and frequently injustice, at Bendigo, was noted for his severity, and this assurance seemed to satisfy the miners. They followed the cavalcade, however, to make sure that the captain kept his word. It may be stated here that, at this early period in the history of the colony, the judicial forms which prevail in other countries were for the most part dispensed with, and punishment was swift and certain, especially where life or property had been attacked.
Harry and Jack followed the crowd to a wooden structure more pretentious than most of the buildings roundabout. The magistrate—whom I will call Judge Wood—was at hand. He was a short, stout man, of severe aspect, and had a harsh voice.
"Whom have we here?" he asked quickly.
The captain of police answered the question, relating also where and under what circumstances the capture was made.
"What have you to say for yourself, my man?" he asked, turning to the prisoner.
"I am innocent," was the reply in trembling accents.
"Of course. You all are. I never had a man brought before me who was not innocent," said the magistrate with a sneer. "Have you any accomplices?"
"Your honor, I am innocent, as I have already told you."
"Answer my question!" said the magistrate sternly.
"No, your honor."
"Ha! You alone are guilty then. Captain, are there any witnesses? though it is hardly necessary. The man's face shows his guilt."
It will easily be seen how much hope the prisoner had of getting off with such a judge presiding at the trial. Luckily for the cause of justice the man was undoubtedly guilty, and so the judicial proceedings, hurried and one-sided as they were, did not entail any injustice. In half an hour the trial was completed, a conviction was obtained, and the unhappy wretch was sentenced to execution on the following morning. Meanwhile he was to be confined in a structure set apart as a prison.
"Well, are you satisfied?" asked the captain, as he passed the ringleader of the miners.
"I don't see the use of waiting till morning," grumbled the miner. "The job might as well have been finished up at once."
"You can rest satisfied. The man hasn't long to live."
This proved to be the case. During the night Harry and Jack, who were accommodated with beds in a hut near the prison, heard a noise and a sound of men's voices, but they were too fatigued and worn-out to be thoroughly roused. In the morning, when they left the hut, they needed no explanation. From a lofty branch of a gum-tree a hundred yards to the west dangled the body of the unfortunate criminal, a terrible spectacle, contrasting painfully with the bright and cheerful morning. They learned afterward that the prison had been guarded by a volunteer company of miners, who detected, or feigned to detect, the prisoner in an attempt to escape,—probably the latter,—and forcing an entrance, laid violent hands upon him, and saved the law officers the trouble of executing him.
The captain of police didn't learn what had happened till morning. As it chanced, Obed Stackpole was with him when he received the information.
He took it very coolly.
"What are you goin' to do about it, captain?" asked Obed.
"Nothing."
"Do you allow such doin's here?"
"It doesn't matter much. The man was to have been executed this morning at any rate. He only lost a few hours. It has saved us some trouble."
"Suppose he was an innocent man?"
"But he wasn't, you know. And now, Mr. Stackpole, if you will come with me, I will see about your getting your share of the reward."
"Thank you, captain. I won't deny that it'll be particularly convenient, seein' I'm reduced to my last cent."
The police captain exerted himself in a very friendly manner, and owing to the absence of red tape which in an older settlement might have occasioned delay, that same day our Yankee friend was made happy by receiving the sum of fifty pounds.
He called the boys to him, and dividing the money, as well as he could, into three equal parts, he offered one each to Harry and Jack.
"Now we start alike," he said. "There's nearly seventeen pounds apiece. It seems a good deal, but it won't last long here. We must find something to do before long."
"That's just what I want," said Harry, "I came out here to work, and make money, not to loaf about."
"That's the way with me," said Jack, but his tone was not so hopeful or cheerful as Harry's.
"Confess now, Jack," said Harry, "you would rather be on board ship than here at the diggings."
"I would," said Jack; "wouldn't you?"
"Not yet. There is no money to be made on board ship."
"When you've made your pile, my lad," said Obed, "you can go back to Melbourne, and easily get a berth on board some merchant ship bound to Liverpool or New York. There is a great demand for sailors at that port."
This made Jack more cheerful. He was willing to stay a while, he said, and help Harry and Mr. Stackpole, but in the end he must return to his old life.
Mr. Stackpole and the boys took a long walk, and reconnoitred the diggings on both sides of Bendigo creek. Toward the middle of the afternoon they came upon a thin, melancholy looking young man, who was sitting in a despondent attitude with his arms folded.
"Are you sick, my friend?" asked Obed.
"I am very ill," was the answer. "I don't think I shall ever be any better."
Further questioning elicited the information that he had taken a severe cold from exposure two months before, in consequence of which his lungs were seriously affected.
"Why do you stay here, then?" asked Obed.
"I shall go back to Melbourne as soon as I have sold my claim."
"What do you want for it?"
"It is worth fifty pounds. I will take twenty-five."
Obed after careful inquiry judged that it was a bargain. He proposed to the two boys to join him in the purchase of the claim. They felt that they could safely follow his judgment, and struck a bargain. So before twenty-four hours had passed, the three friends were joint proprietors of a claim, and had about eight pounds apiece to meet expenses till it began to yield a return.
CHAPTER XXII. — STRIKING LUCK.
"Now, boys," said Obed, "we have some hard work before us. Mining isn't like standing behind a counter, or measuring off calico. It takes considerable more muscle."
"I am used to hard work," said Jack, "but you'll have to show me how."
"I'll keep up with Jack," said Harry manfully. "You won't have to charge either of us with laziness."
"I believe you, boys. There isn't a lazy bone in either of you. As I have experience, I'll boss the job, and all you'll have to do will be to obey orders."
"All right, captain!" said Jack, touching his cap, with a smile.
This, then, was the understanding between the three, and it was faithfully adhered to. The two boys, sensible of their ignorance, were very ready to obey Obed, and he found them willing workers. They installed themselves in a cabin which had been occupied by the man they bought out. He gave them the use of it, having no further occasion for it himself, and they began to keep house as one family. They lived roughly enough, and yet, so high were all articles of food, on account of the trouble and expense of transportation from Melbourne, that it cost them as much as would have paid for living at a respectable hotel in the States.
All three entered upon their labors with high hopes. The first day and the second day yielded no results, but, as Obed reminded them, a miner needs to be patient. But when one week—two weeks—passed, and the amount of gold found amounted to less than ten dollars, all three began to look sober.
"This is beginning to look serious, boys," said Obed thoughtfully, as they set about their work on the first day of the third week. "Our claim aint pannin' out very rich."
"My store of money is panning out very fast," said Harry, with a faint smile.
"I've got less than two pounds left," said Jack. "What are we going to do when it's all gone?"
"I don't know," said Obed, "unless we catch another murderer."
The boys smiled, but not hilariously. They felt, as Obed expressed it, that matters were indeed becoming serious. To run short of money nearly ten thousand miles from home was no light thing.
"We might sell the claim," suggested Harry.
Obed shook his head.
"I don't think we could," he replied. "Everybody would understand our reason for selling—that we despaired of finding any gold—and instead of getting twenty-five pounds, I doubt if you could get twenty-five shillings for it. You know about how long twenty-five shillings would last us."
"I suppose there is nothing to do but to keep on," said Harry.
Obed nodded. "You've said it," he returned. "Let us keep up good heart, my boys. Don't borrow trouble. When things come to the worst, we'll decide what to do then."
By way of setting the example of cheerfulness, Obed began to whistle "Yankee Doodle," and the boys joined in. It was not altogether a successful effort, but it made them feel a little more cheerful. At all events it attracted a listener—a tall, shabby-looking tramp, who had been wandering about for a day or two, visiting one claim after another, trying to raise a loan.
"I say, you're uncommon jolly, you chaps," he began, as he stood in a lounging attitude watching the little party at their work.
"If we are it's a credit to us," returned Obed dryly, "for there isn't much to be jolly about."
"Isn't your claim a good one?"
"That's what we're trying to find out. Where's yours, stranger?"
The tramp returned an evasive answer and shambled off.
"Do you think he's got a claim, Obed?" asked Jack.
"No; but he's prowling around to see what he can pick up."
"Do you think he's a thief?"
"I think he's willing to be. He heard us whistling, and thought we'd found something."
"We are safe from robbery for the present." said Harry.
"Yes, there's that advantage about being poor. It reminds me of old Jack Pierce in our village."
"What about him?" asked Harry.
"He read in the paper one day that a certain bank had burst. So he went home in a hurry to see if he had any bills on that bank. He found that he had no bills on that bank or any other—and then he felt better."
Harry laughed.
"It was a poor consolation, I think," he said. "I remember hearing a sermon from our minister at home in which he said that riches were a great responsibility, but I don't think I should mind taking the responsibility."
"That's my idee, Harry. I am afraid there isn't much chance of our having that responsibility, but there's one thing we can do if we don't make the claim pay."
"What's that, Obed?"
"We can join the bushrangers."
"Will you set us the example?" asked Harry, smiling.
"I'm not quite desperate enough yet. We'll try the claim a little longer. But I'm gettin' tuckered out. We'll go and get some dinner and then start diggin' again."
They repaired to their cabin, and solaced themselves with food. Then they threw themselves down in the shadow of the cabin to rest, and Obed pulled out his pipe. This was a solace which the boys didn't enjoy. They were sensible enough to know, that, whatever may be said of men, boys only receive injury from the use of tobacco. In the resolution to abstain, they were upheld and encouraged by Obed, who, veteran smoker as he was, did not approve of smoking.
"You're better off without it, boys," he said. "It won't do you no good. I wish I could leave it off."
"Why don't you?" asked Harry.
"Easier said than done, my boy. Let me see, I was only turned of thirteen when I used to slink off to the barn and smoke, for I knew father wouldn't let me if he knew it. It made me sick at first, but I thought it was makin' a man of me, and I kept on. Well, the habit's on me now, and it's hard to break. It don't hurt a man as much as a boy, but it don't do him any good, either. Jack, did you ever smoke?"
"No, Obed; but one of the sailors gave me a piece of tobacco to chew once. I didn't like it and spit it out."
"The best thing you could do. I wish all boys were as sensible."
In their hours of rest the three often chatted of home. Their conversation was generally of one tenor. They liked to fancy themselves returning with plenty of money, and planned how they would act under such pleasant circumstances. Instead of the barren hills among which they were encamped, familiar scenes and faces rose before them, and the picture was so attractive that it was hard to come back to the cheerless reality.
"Well, boys," said Obed, at the end of an hour, "we may as well go to work again. The gold's waitin' for us."
It was an old joke, and scarcely elicited a smile now. In fact, the boys felt that they had waited a long time for the gold. It was not, therefore, with a very hopeful feeling that they obeyed the summons and returned to the claim. Though of a sanguine disposition, they began to doubt seriously whether their efforts would ever be rewarded. They had pretty much lost the stimulus of hope.
About four o'clock, when Jack was at work with the pick, something curious happened. Instead of sinking into the earth it glanced off, as from something hard.
"What is it, Jack?" asked Obed quickly.
"I must have struck a rock, Obed."
"Here, give me the pick," said Obed eagerly.
He struck, and lo! a yellow streak became plainly visible.
"Boys," said he in an agitated voice, "I believe our luck has come."
"What do you mean, Obed?"
"I believe we've found a nugget;" and to the boys' intense surprise he immediately began to cover it up with dirt.
"What's that for?" asked Harry.
"Hush! we mustn't take it out now. Somebody might be looking. We'll wait till it's darker."
Just then the tramp before mentioned strolled up.
"What luck, friends?" he asked.
"Same as usual," answered Obed, shrugging his shoulders. "Don't you want to buy the claim?"
"Not I," and the tramp, quite deceived by his manner, kept on his round.
CHAPTER XXIII. — RAISING THE NUGGET.
"It's lucky we covered up the gold," said Obed, in a low voice. "That's the last man I wanted to discover our good luck."
"Shan't we keep on working?" asked Harry, in excitement.
"I will just probe a little to form some idea of the size of the nugget," answered Obed.
"Then you think it is a nugget?" asked Jack eagerly.
"Yes, I think our luck has come at last, boys. I think we will be able to pull up stakes and go back to America. But about keeping on now, we shall need to be cautious. Someone might come by, and see what we are about."
Then Harry made a suggestion.
"Let Jack go up to the top, and if anyone comes he can whistle. That will put us on our guard."
"A good idea!" said Obed.
So Jack threw himself on the ground in a listless posture, and the other two continued their explorations. They dug all about the boulder, which proved to be about a foot in diameter. It was embedded in clay, from which it was separated with some difficulty. It was encased in quartz, but the interior was bright, glittering gold.
"It's a regular beauty," said Obed in a low tone, his eyes glittering with excitement. "It isn't once in a dog's age that so big a nugget is discovered."
"How much do you call it worth, Obed?" asked Harry in the same low tone.
"That's hard tellin', Harry; but it's worth ten thousand dollars easy."
"Thank God!" ejaculated Harry fervently. "That will release us from our imprisonment, and enable us to go back to America."
"You are right, Harry, but the hardest job lies before us."
"What's that?"
"To get it out without observation, and keep it secure from thieves."
"We'll do our best. Only you give the orders, Obed."
"Then, first and foremost, we'll cover it up again, and go up till evening, when we will secure it, and carry it to our cabin."
So said, so done. They joined Jack at the limit of the excavation.
"Is it all right?" asked the young sailor eagerly.
"Yes," answered Harry.
"Is it really a big one?"
"Yes; we can all go back to America, Jack."
"And I can once more be a sailor?"
"Yes, if you like it."
Jack was told of their plan of removing the nugget by night, and saw at once that it was a wise one.
"Shall we go to the cabin now?" he asked.
"No, Jack; it won't do to leave our treasure unguarded. We will lounge here and make sure that no one robs us of our discovery."
So they sat down, and Obed lighted his pipe once more.
A neighbor strolled up and sat down beside them.
"You are leaving off work early," he said.
"Yes," answered Obed with a yawn, "we might as well take it easy. It's hard work—this mining."
"What luck?"
"Our luck is to come," said our Yankee friend. "How is it with you?"
"I have got out seventy-five dollars this week," answered the other complacently.
"Whew! that's good! What do you say to swapping claims?"
"Oh, no," answered the neighbor, wagging his head jocosely. "I'm not so green. The fact is, Mr. Stackpole, I don't want to discourage you, but I don't believe you'll ever see the money you put into this hole. Come now, what did you pay?"
"Five and twenty pounds."
"If you can get five pounds for it, my advice is, sell."
"I don't know but you're right," said Stackpole in a rueful tone. "Will you give me five pounds for it?"
"Ho, ho! I might give you five shillings, though it would be a risk."
"Then I don't think we'll sell, eh, Harry?"
"We had better give it away than take that sum," said Harry, carefully veiling his inward exultation.
They went to their cabin at the usual time and indulged themselves in a better supper than usual, feeling that they could afford to do so. It is wonderful how success stimulates the appetite.
"I don't know when I have been so hungry, Obed," said Harry.
"I feel the same way," chimed in Jack.
"A light heart increases the appetite, boys, but sometimes I've felt wolfish when my heart was heavy. Fifteen months ago I was in Californy, and down on my luck. Things had been goin' contrary, and I hadn't money enough to buy a square meal. I didn't like to tell my friends, bein' a bit proud. One day when I was feelin' so hungry that I wouldn't have turned up my nose at a Chinaman's diet—rat pie—an old acquaintance met me and asked me to dine with him. Did I accept? Well, I should smile. I did smile all over my face, as I sat down to the table. You'd better calculate that I made my knife and fork fly. Finally my friend remarked, looking kind of queer, 'You've got a healthy appetite, Stackpole.' I answered, 'It sort of runs in our family to eat whenever we get a chance.' 'Good joke!' said he, laughing. But it was no joke when he came to pay the bill, I tell you."
"I'll remember that, Obed," said Harry, smiling, "and when I invite you to dinner, I'll first inquire whether you've had anything to eat for a week back."
"I generally eat for a weak stomach," returned Obed, venturing on a little joke at which the boys felt bound to laugh.
As they sat at the door of their cabin, they kept a good lookout in the direction of their claim. They could not afford, now that success was in their grasp, to have it snatched away. But they discovered no suspicious movements on the part of anyone. In fact, no one suspected that they had "struck it rich." So poor was the general opinion of their claim, that they would have found it hard to obtain a purchaser at any price. Had there been the least suspicion, the camp would have been greatly excited.
As a rule, the miners retired early. They became fatigued during the day, and sleep was welcome. There was, indeed, a gambling saloon at some distance, frequented by the more reckless, but generally good hours were observed in the camp.
About half past eleven, Obed nudged Harry and Jack, who had fallen asleep.
"What is it?" asked Harry, in a drowsy tone.
"Hush!" whispered Obed. "Don't make any more noise than you can help. I think it will be safe to go and secure the nugget now."
This was enough. Harry was wide awake in an instant, and he in turn roused Jack.
There was no elaborate toilet to make, for they had thrown themselves down in their day attire. They left the cabin, and by the faint light of the moon, which was just ready to retire for the night, they found their way to the claim without being observed.
Fifteen minutes' work, and the task was accomplished. The nugget was raised, and wrapped in a red bandanna handkerchief, which Obed had brought all the way from his New England home.
"It must weigh seventy-five pounds," whispered Obed exultantly. "Boys, we're in tall luck. It was worth coming out to Australy for. We'll keep it in the cabin over night, and to-morrow we'll put it where it will be safe."
They gained the cabin without having been seen so far as they knew. Of the hundreds of men sleeping within a furlong's distance, not one dreamed of a discovery which was to draw the attention of the whole colony to Bendigo. But they had not wholly escaped observation. One pair of eyes had detected them in their midnight walk.
CHAPTER XXIV. — THE NUGGET IN DANGER.
The tramp, who has already been introduced to the reader, had spent the evening at the gambling house, having come into possession, during the day, of a small sum of money, given him by a compassionate miner. He had risked it, and for a time been successful, so that at the end of an hour he might have left off with twenty pounds. But the fatal fascination of the game drew him on till all his winnings melted away, and he left the cabin at midnight without a penny in his pocket, so far as he knew. There was, however, a shilling which he had overlooked, and did not discover till he was already some distance away. He was tempted to return, and probably would have done so, had not his roving eyes discovered Obed and the two boys returning from their claim with the nugget.
"What are they up to," he asked himself in amazement, "that keeps them out of bed till after midnight? There's something up. I wonder what it is."
He had reason to be surprised. With the exception of those who, like himself, spent the night in gambling (when he was in funds), no one in the camp was awake or stirring. And of all, none kept more regular hours than Obed and the two boys.
Casting about for some explanation, the tramp's attention was drawn to the burden that Obed carried.
"What can it be?" he asked himself wonderingly. Then, with a flash of conviction, he said to himself: "A nugget! They've found a nugget as sure as I'm a sinner!"
The tramp was intensely excited. His covetous soul was stirred to its depths. The opportunity he had been waiting for so long had come at length. It meant fortune for him. Qualms of conscience about appropriating the property of another troubled him not at all. He meant to have the nugget, by fair means or foul.
The would-be thief understood well, however, that there would be difficulties in the way of accomplishing his design. Obed and the two boys were broad awake, and half an hour—perhaps an hour, must elapse before he could feel sure that they would be asleep. In the meantime it would be best to keep away from the cabin, lest someone inside might see him lurking near, and suspect his purpose.
While he is keeping watch from a distance, let us enter the cabin.
Obed and the boys are sitting on their rude pallets, congratulating themselves on having secured the nugget, and removed it from the mine unobserved. Harry had made a remark to that effect, when Obed Stackpole responded, "Do you know, boys, I feel sort of uneasy to-night."
"Why?" asked Jack.
"I'm afraid someone might have seen us on our way from the mine."
"I couldn't see anybody," Harry remarked.
"Nor I, but there may have been someone, nevertheless. The fact is, I never expected to be uneasy on account of my wealth, but that's the way the case stands just at present. When we were poor I slept like a top."
"I suppose you wouldn't care to get rid of your care by throwing the nugget away," Harry said with a smile.
"I'm not so uneasy as that yet, but I should feel a little safer if we and the nugget could be transported to Melbourne in five minutes."
"Suppose someone did see us?" queried Jack.
"Then we may expect a visit some time tonight."
"One of us might remain awake, Obed."
"That would be rather hard on us, for we are all tired. I don't believe I could stay awake all night if I tried."
"Is there any way of concealing the nugget?"
"I don't know. If we had a cellar that would be a good place, but——"
"Stop, I have an idea!" cried Harry eagerly.
"Well, Harry, out with it."
"We can put the nugget in the trunk."
There was an old trunk, covered with hair, which had been left by the last occupant of the cabin. The lock was broken, and it was not of much use or value, but the boys occasionally used it as a seat.
"What security would that be?" said Obed. "It is easy enough to open the trunk."
"I know it, but I have another idea. Wrap up that stone in the handkerchief in place of the nugget. The thief—if one should come—would see it, and make off with it without stopping to examine its contents."
Obed smiled grimly.
"That's a good idea," he said. "I believe you're right, boy. It's dark, and the thief couldn't tell the difference till he came to examine it."
Stones and fragments of rock are rare in that part of Australia, and I am not prepared to explain how this particular rock found its way into the mining village. The boys had found it, however, and thinking it might be of some use had carried it to the cabin. Never, however, in their wildest imaginings had it entered into their minds to conceive the use to which they were now putting it.
No sooner said than done. The nugget was taken from the enfolding bandanna, and dropped into the trunk, which Obed placed at the head of his pallet.
"I wish there was a lock and key," he said. "I should somehow feel safer."
"It's no use wishing," said Harry. "We've got to take things as we find them."
"That's true philosophy, boy. Now get the rock, and tie it up."
Harry did so.
"Where shall I put it?" he asked.
"Anywhere where it can be seen easily. We won't trouble the thief to look round much. We'll make everything easy for him."
When the transfer was effected, the boys laughed with glee.
"Do you know, Obed," said Harry. "I shall be rather disappointed now if the thief doesn't come."
"I can get along without him," said Obed dryly.
"But it'll be such a good joke, Obed."
"I don't care so much about jokes as I did when I was your age, Harry. I used to be a great feller for jokes when I was along in my teens. Did I ever tell you the joke I played on the schoolmaster?
"Well, I was attendin' the district school the winter I was sixteen, and I expect I was rather troublesome, though there wasn't anything downright bad about me. But I remember one day when I stuck a bent pin in the chair the master usually sot in, and I shan't forget till my dyin' day how quick he riz up when he sot down on it."
Obed chuckled at the recollection, and so did the boys. Their sympathies ought to have been with the schoolmaster, but I am sorry to say that did not prevent their enjoying the joke.
"Were you found out?" asked Jack.
"Not exactly, but I think the master always suspected me. At any rate he was always cuffin' me and pullin' my hair. I didn't mind the fust so much as the last. So one day I got my mother to cut my hair close to my head. When I went to school the master gave me a queer look. He knew what made me have my hair cut. The next time I got into mischief he called me up, and instead of pullin' my hair he pulled my ears till I hollered. 'Now go home and get your ears cut off,' he said, but I didn't."
"It seems to me the joke was on you that time, Obed."
"I've surmised as much myself," said Obed, laughing quietly. "But I'm tired, boys, and I believe I shall have to go off to sleep, nugget or no nugget."
"All right! Good-night, Obed."
"Good-night, boys."