CHAPTER XXV. — THE MIDNIGHT ROBBERY.
The thief had little difficulty in entering the cabin. No one in the mining settlement thought of locking the outer door or closing the windows. In many cases the doors were left ajar; in some cases there were none. It was not necessary, therefore, to become a housebreaker. Entrance then was the least difficulty.
The tramp, however, was not quite easy in his mind. He didn't care for the two boys, but he glanced with apprehension at the reclining figure of the tall gaunt Yankee, who was thin but wiry, and possessed of more than ordinary physical strength.
"If he should tackle me," thought the midnight visitor with a shudder, "it would be all up with me. He could shake the life out of me."
But the stake was a valuable one—it would in all probability make him comfortable for life, if judiciously husbanded—and Obed's slumber seemed so profound that there appeared to be no risk. Nevertheless the tramp trembled, and his heart was in his mouth as he stealthily got in through the open window, and moved toward the nugget, or what he supposed to be such. He had one eye on Obed as he reached for the bundle. It was with difficulty that he could lift it, so heavy was it, but this only encouraged him, and made his eyes sparkle covetously. The heavier it was, the more valuable it must be. Were it twice as heavy, he would be willing to carry it ten miles, enduring cheerfully all the fatigue it might entail. No thought of the rightful owners or of their disappointment disturbed him. That greed of gain which hardens the heart and banishes all scruples, held firm dominion over him.
He lifted the bundle, and as noiselessly as he entered he made his egress through the window.
He thought he was unobserved, but he was mistaken.
Harry Vane was usually a heavy sleeper. He had slept through many a thunder-storm at home, and under ordinary circumstances he would have slept through this entire night. But the thought of the nugget, even in his sleeping hours, weighed upon him and entered into his dreams. Singularly, he was dreaming at this very moment that it was being stolen, and in the intensity of his excitement all at once he became broad awake, just as the thief was disappearing through the window. With a startled look he glanced toward the place where the false nugget had been placed.
It was gone!
Evidently the thief had been taken in, and the thought amused him so much that he almost unconsciously laughed aloud. The sound fell on the ears of the receding thief, and filled his heart with apprehension, though he fancied it was a sound emitted in sleep. Still, it might precede awakening.
Once out of the window he did not stand upon the order of his going, but fled with a speed remarkable considering the weight of the bundle he carried.
Harry rose from his bed, and though he felt sure the thief had been deceived, he still, in order to make sure, opened the trunk and felt for the lump of gold. With a thrill of joy he found it still there. Then he could give way to his sense of amusement, and laughed long and loud. He did not, however, arouse Jack and Obed, who, like himself, were sound sleepers. He didn't like, however, to have all the amusement to himself, so he shook the Yankee till he awoke.
"What's the matter?" asked Obed, in a drowsy tone.
"We've been robbed," answered Harry.
"What!" exclaimed Mr. Stackpole in dismay, bounding from his pallet, now thoroughly awake. "What is that you say?"
"The nugget is gone!" said Harry.
"Confusion!" ejaculated Obed. "When? Who took it?"
"Don't be alarmed, Obed," said Harry quietly. "It's only the bogus nugget. The real one is safe where we hid it."
"Tell me all about it, Harry. What skunk has been in here?"
"You know the man that was spying about our claim—the tramp."
"Did you see him?"
"Not till he was just getting out of the window."
Harry recounted briefly his sudden awakening, and the sight that greeted him as he opened his eyes.
"I wish I'd been awake. I'd have boosted him out of that window," said Obed grimly.
"I have no doubt you would, Obed," said Harry, laughing, "but I think we needn't feel much of a grudge against the poor fellow. When he comes to examine his booty by daylight, it's my impression he'll feel sick enough."
Obed laughed too. "I'd like to be looking on when he makes the discovery," he said. "He'll look green enough, I guess."
"How could the fellow have found out that we had found it?" said Harry, with a puzzled expression.
"He must have been out late and seen us coming from the mine."
"It is lucky we thought of hiding it, and leaving the rock in its place, Obed."
"That's so. The rock came in handy for once."
"Do you think there is any danger of another visit to-night?"
"No; he probably won't discover how he has been tricked till morning."
"And even if he does he may suppose that this rock is what we brought with us."
"Possibly. Still, Harry, I think we'd better keep awake and watch to-night. It will only be for one night, as to-morrow we can make arrangements to send the nugget by express to Melbourne."
"I thought we should be carrying it there ourselves."
"No, it would not be safe. To-morrow everybody will know that we have found a nugget, and if we attempted to carry it ourselves we should not get ten miles away without being attacked, and perhaps killed."
"Then we can send it by express?" queried Harry.
"Yes, I have inquired into this—not that I thought we would be lucky enough to need the information. The government escorts charge one per cent., and besides the Crown exacts a royalty of ten per cent."
"That's pretty steep, isn't it, Obed?"
"I will cheerfully bear my part of it," said Obed. "I remember there was an old fellow in our place who owned considerable property—at any rate he was taxed for fifteen thousand dollars. Whenever taxes became due he was always groanin' and predictin' that he'd end his days in the poorhouse. My father, who was only taxed for fifteen hundred, said to him one day, 'Mr. Higgins, if you'll give me half of your property, I'll agree to pay taxes on the whole, so that you'll have nothing to pay.'"
"Did he accept?" asked Harry, with a smile.
"Not much, but he stopped growlin'. It may have given him a new idea of the matter."
"How soon do you think of getting away, Obed?"
"As soon as we have sold the claim," answered the Yankee. "When it gets reported round the camp what we've found there'll be plenty that'll want to buy it on speculation, you may be sure of that."
"I didn't think of that," said Harry, his eyes brightening. "We're luckier than I thought."
"Yes," answered Obed jocularly, "we're men of property now. I'm afraid we'll have to pay taxes ourselves when we get home."
CHAPTER XXVI. — A THIEF'S EMBARRASSMENT.
When the thief left Obed Stackpole's cabin with his booty his heart was filled with exultation. He had been drifting about for years, the football of fortune, oftener down than up, and had more than once known what it was to pass an entire day without food. And all this because he had never been willing to settle down to steady work or honest industry. He had set out in life with a dislike for each, and a decided preference for living by his wits. Theft was no new thing for him. Once he had barely escaped with his life in one of the Western States of America for stealing a horse. He had drifted to Australia, with no idea of working at the mines or anywhere else, but with the intention of robbing some lucky miner and making off with the proceeds of his industry.
Well, he had succeeded, and his heart was light.
"No more hard work for me," he said to himself joyfully, "no more privation and suffering. Now I can live like a gentleman."
It never seemed to occur to him that a thief could by no possibility live like a gentleman. To be a gentleman, in his opinion, meant having a pocketful of money.
He would like to have examined the nugget, but there was no time, nor was there light enough to form an opinion of it. Besides, Obed and the two boys might at any moment discover their loss, and then there would be pursuers on his track. He could not hide it, for it was too large, and anyone seeing what he carried would suspect its nature and character.
The responsibility of property was upon him now. It was an unaccustomed sensation. This thief began now to dread an encounter with other thieves. There were other men, as well as himself, who had little respect for the rights of property, and this he well knew.
"Where shall I go?" he asked himself in perplexity.
It would not do to stay in the neighborhood of the mining camp. By dawn, or as soon as tidings of the robbery should spread, there would be an organized pursuit. In any mining settlement a thief fares hard. In the absence of any established code of laws, the relentless laws of Judge Lynch are executed with merciless severity. Beads of perspiration began to form on the brow of the thief as he realized the terrible danger he had incurred. What good would it do him after all to get away with the nugget if it should cost him his life, and that was a contingency, as his experience assured him, by no means improbable.
"If I were only in Melbourne," he said to himself, "I would lose no time in disposing of the nugget, and then would take the first ship for England—or anywhere else. Any place would be better than Australia, for that will soon be too hot to hold me."
It was one thing to wish, and another to realize the wish. He was still in the immediate vicinity of the mining camp, and there were almost insuperable difficulties in the way of getting far from it with his treasure safe.
The thief kept on his way, however, and after a while reached a piece of woods.
"This will be a good place to hide," he bethought himself. "I may be able to conceal the nugget somewhere."
His first feeling of exultation had given place to one of deep anxiety and perplexity. After, he was not as happy as he anticipated. Only yesterday he had been poor—almost destitute—but at any rate free from anxiety and alarm. Now he was rich, or thought he was, and his heart was filled with nervous apprehension.
He wandered about for two or three hours, weary and feeling great need of sleep, but afraid to yield to the impulse. Suppose he should lose consciousness, and sleep till morning: the first man who found him asleep would rob him of the precious nugget, and then he would be back again where he had been the day before, and for years back. The dream of his life had been fulfilled, and he was in no position to enjoy it. Oftentimes God grants our wishes only to show us how little they add to our happiness.
It was no light burden—this heavy nugget which he was forced to carry with him, and, drowsy as he was, more than once he stumbled with it and came near falling. But at last he saw before him a cabin—deserted, apparently—and his heart was filled with joy. It would afford him a place to obtain needed repose, and there would be some means of hiding his rich treasure.
He peered timidly into the cabin and found it empty. On the floor in the corner was a pallet. He put the nugget under the upper part, thus raising it and supplying the place of a pillow. It was hard enough, as the reader will imagine, but it was better than nothing; and appeared to combine safety with a chance to rest.
The thief fell asleep, and slept soundly. When he awoke it was bright, and the morning was evidently well advanced. In an instant consciousness came, and with anxious thought he felt for the nugget. It was still there, as he realized joyfully. He was on the point of examining it, when a step was heard. He looked up startled, and saw a man entering the cabin. This man was such another as himself—an adventurer—and the tramp remembered to have seen him about the camp. He was an ill-favored man, poorly dressed, and might have passed for a brother of the first comer so far as his moral qualities and general appearance were concerned.
"Halloa!" the new arrival said, gazing with a little surprise at the prostrate man.
"Halloa," returned the other, surveying the new arrival with apprehension.
"Is this your crib?"
"No, I'm only passing the night here."
"Haven't I seen you at the mines?"
"Yes, I have been there."
"And now you are leaving, are you?"
"I don't know exactly. I haven't made up my mind."
"Well I am. I'm out of luck."
"So am I."
"There's nothing to be done at the mines."
"Just my idea!"
"Humph! what do you think of doing?"
"I don't know. I want to get away for one thing."
"So do I. Suppose we keep company, friend. Two are more social than one, eh?"
This proposal gave the first man anxious thought. If he had a companion, he could not hide for any length of time the fact that he was in possession of the nugget. Yet he did not know how to refuse without exciting suspicion. The new arrival noticed it, and it stirred up anger in him.
"Perhaps I aint good enough for you?" he said, frowning.
"No, no, it isn't that," said the first eagerly.
"Don't you want me to go with you?" demanded the new arrival bluntly. "Yes or no."
"Have you got any money?" asked the thief, "because I haven't."
"No more have I. We'll be equal partners."
"Then I'm afraid we won't get very far."
"You'll get as far as I will. But I say, what is that under your head, pard?"
The question had come at last. The thief trembled, and answered nervously:
"It's—it's—I am using it for a pillow," he faltered.
"Let us see your pillow," said the new arrival suspiciously.
The thief came to a sudden determination, suggested by necessity. Two would make a stronger guard than one, and, though this man was not the one he would have selected, accident had thrown them together, and he would risk it.
"Look here, my friend," he said, "it's a great secret."
"Oh, a secret, is it?"
"Yes, but I am going to make you my confidant. I am greatly in need of a friend and partner, and I'll make it worth your while to stand by me. I'll give you a quarter of—what I have here—if you'll see me safe to Melbourne."
"What is it, pard? Out with it, quick!"
"It's—a nugget, and the biggest one that's been found at Bendigo since they commenced mining."
"A nugget! Great Jehoshaphat! Let me see it!"
The thief drew the bundle—still wrapped in Obed's red bandanna—from underneath the pallet, while his companion in intense excitement bent over to catch a glimpse of the treasure.
CHAPTER XXVII. — BAFFLED CUPIDITY.
An expression of surprise and dismay, almost ludicrous, appeared on the faces of the two adventurers as the contents of the handkerchief were revealed.
"Why, it's nothing but a rock!" exclaimed the new-comer, with an oath.
The thief stared at him in helpless consternation, and was unable to utter a word.
"What does all this mean?" asked the new-comer sternly. "If you are humbugging me, I'll——" and he finished the sentence with an oath.
"I don't know what it means," answered the thief in a disconsolate tone. "I'm just as much surprised as you are."
"Where did you get it? How came you to make such a fool of yourself?" demanded the new-comer, frowning heavily.
"You know that Yankee and the two boys who have a claim next to Pickett's?"
"Well?"
"Last night I was coming from the Hut"—that was the local name of the cabin devoted to gambling purposes—"when I saw them coming from their claim. The Yankee had this —— rock tied up in yonder handkerchief. Of course, I supposed it was a nugget. No one would suppose he was taking all that pains with a common rock."
"Go on! Did you follow them?"
"Yes; that is, I kept them in sight. They entered their cabin, and I waited, perhaps three-quarters of an hour, till they had time to fall asleep."
"Were you near the cabin all the time?"
"No; I didn't dare to be too near for fear I should be observed. I wanted the nugget, but I didn't want to run any risk."
"I have no doubt you were very prudent," said the second, with an unpleasant sneer. Doubtless he would have done the same, but his disappointment was so great that he could not resist the temptation of indulging in this fling at the man who had unintentionally contributed to it.
"Of course I was," said the first, with some indignation. "Would you have had me enter the cabin while they were all awake, and carry it off under their very eyes? That would be mighty sensible."
"At any rate, then you would have got the genuine nugget."
"What do you mean? Do you think there was a nugget?"
"Of course I do. It's as plain as the nose on your face, and that's plain enough, in all conscience. They've played a trick on you."
"What trick?"
"It appears to me you are mighty stupid, my friend. They hid away the real nugget, and put this in its place. That Yankee is a good deal sharper than you are, and he wasn't going to run no risks."
"Do you believe this?" asked the thief, his jaw falling.
"There's no doubt of it. They've had a fine laugh at your expense before this, I'll be bound."
"Just my luck!" ejaculated the thief dolefully. "After all the pains I've taken, too."
"Yes, it is hard lines on a poor industrious man like you!" said the new-comer cynically. "You're not smart enough to be a successful thief."
"I suppose you are," retorted the other resentfully.
"Yes, I flatter myself I am," returned the other composedly. "When I take anything, at any rate I have the sense to take something worth carrying away—not a worthless rock like this. You must have had a fine time lugging it from the mines."
"It nearly broke my back," said the thief gloomily.
"And now you don't know what to do with it? Take my advice, my friend, and carry it back to the original owner. He may find it handy another time."
"I'll be blessed if I do," growled the unhappy thief.
"I doubt that," said his companion dryly. "However, do as you please. It don't interest me. I don't think on the whole I will accept your offer of a partnership. When I take a partner I want a man with some small supply of brains."
The first looked at him resentfully. He did not like these taunts, and would have assaulted him had he dared, but the new-comer was powerfully built, and evidently an unsafe man to take liberties with. He threw himself back on the pallet and groaned.
"Well," said the second after a pause, "when you've got through crying over spilt milk, will you kindly tell me where I can get something to eat?"
"I don't know."
"Humph! that's short and to the point. It is something I would like very much to know, for my part. I feel decidedly hungry."
"I have no appetite," said the luckless thief mournfully.
"You will have, after a while. Then you can't think of any cabin near by where we could get a breakfast?"
"There's Joe's.'"
"Where's Joe's?"
"About a mile from here on the road to the camp."
"Are you acquainted with Joe?"
"Yes."
"Is your credit good with him?"
"I think he would trust me for a breakfast."
"And me? You can introduce me as a friend of yours."
"You haven't been talking like a friend of mine," said the first resentfully.
"Perhaps not. However, you must make allowances for my natural disappointment. You led me into it, you know."
"If it comes to that, I have done you no harm. Even if the nugget wasn't real, you had no claim to it."
"You excited my hopes, and that's enough to rile any man—that is, when disappointment follows. However, there's no use crying over spilt milk. I have an idea that may lead to something."
"What is it?" asked the thief with some eagerness.
"I will tell you—after breakfast. My ideas don't flow freely when I am hungry. Come, my friend, get up, and lead the way to Joe's. I have an aching void within, which needs filling up. Your appetite may come too—after a walk."
Somehow this man, cool and cynical as he was, impressed his fellow adventurer, and he rose obediently, and led the way out of the cabin.
"I wish I knew what was your idea," he said.
"Well, I don't mind telling you. I believe the Yankee did find a nugget."
"Well?"
"You haven't got it, but you may get it—that is, we may get it."
"I don't see how. He will be on his guard now."
"Of course he will. I don't mean that we should repeat the blunder of last night. You may be sure he won't keep it in his cabin another night."
"Then how are we to get it?"
"Follow him to Melbourne. He'll carry it there, and on the way we can relieve him of it."
"There's something in that."
"We shall be together, and he won't take me in as readily as he did you. After breakfast, if we are lucky enough to get any, we must go back to the camp, and find out what we can about his plans. Do you think anyone saw you last night when you were in the cabin?"
"No."
"That is well. Then you won't be suspected. But I can't say a word more till I have had breakfast."
After half an hour's walking—it was only half a mile, but the soil was boggy, rendering locomotion difficult—they reached a humble wayside cabin, which was in some sort a restaurant, and by dint of diplomacy and a promise of speedy payment, they secured a meal to which, despite their disappointment, they did ample justice.
Breakfast over, they resumed their fatiguing walk, and reached the mining camp about ten o'clock.
CHAPTER XXVIII. — THE NUGGET IN SAFETY.
Fatigued by their exertions of the previous days and the late hours they had kept, Obed and the boys rose at a later hour than usual. About eight o'clock Obed opened his eyes, and noticed that his two young companions were fast asleep.
"It's time to get up, boys," he said, giving them a gentle shake.
The boys opened their eyes, and realized, by the bright sunshine entering the cabin, that the day was already well advanced.
"What time is it, Obed?" asked Harry.
"Past eight o'clock. We shall be late at our work."
He smiled, and his smile was reflected on the faces of the boys. Their success of the day before made it a matter of indifference whether they accomplished a good day's work or not.
"What are we going to do about the nugget, Obed?" asked Harry.
"After breakfast we will carry it to the office of the commissioner, and get his receipt for it."
"I shall be glad to get it out of our hands," said Jack.
"If that is the case, Jack, suppose you give your share to me," said Harry, in joke.
"I didn't mean to get rid of it in that way," said the young sailor.
"You would be as ready to give it as I to accept it," said Harry. "No, Jack, I want you to have your share. I am sure you will have a use for it."
After breakfast the three emerged from the cabin, bearing the precious nugget with them. They did not meet anyone on their way to the office of the commissioner, for all the miners had gone to their work. This suited them, for until they had disposed of the nugget, they did not care to have their good luck made public.
The royal commissioner was a stout Englishman with a red face and abundant whiskers of the same color. He chanced to be at the door of the office as the party appeared.
"Well, can I do anything for you?" he asked.
"Yes, sir; you can give us a receipt for this nugget."
"Nugget!" ejaculated the commissioner, fixing his eyes for the first time on the burden which Mr. Stackpole carried. "Bless my soul! you don't mean to say that you have found a nugget of that size!"
"That's just what we've done," answered Obed.
"When did you find it?"
"Well, we took it from the mine about midnight. We found it in the afternoon, but calculated we'd better take possession when there wasn't so many lookin' on. I say, Mr. Commissioner, I don't think it would agree with me to be a rich man. I got broken of my rest last night, from havin' the nugget in the cabin."
"You ran very little risk. No one could have found out that you had it in your possession," remarked the commissioner.
"That's where you are mistaken, commissioner. We came near being robbed of it only an hour after we brought it home."
"Bless my soul! How did that happen?"
"A pesky thief sneaked in, and carried it off, as he thought."
"How could he think he carried it off when he did not?"
Upon this Obed explained the trick to which he had resorted, and the commissioner laughed heartily.
"Do you know the man—the thief, I mean?" he asked.
"Yes, it is, a man that has been prowlin' round the camp for some weeks, not doin' anything, but watchin' for a chance to appropriate the property of some lucky miner. I'd like to see the fellow's face when he opens the handkerchief this morning, and finds the rock."
"It appears you have lost a handkerchief, at any rate," said the commissioner, with a smile.
"He's welcome to it," answered Obed, "if it will comfort him any. I brought it away from home two years ago, and now I can afford to buy another."
By this time the nugget had been carried into the office and exposed to view.
"It is a splendid specimen," said the commissioner admiringly. "It is certainly the largest that has ever been found in this camp."
"Has any been found before?" asked Harry.
"Yes; six months ago a Scotch miner, named Lindsay, found one weighing twenty-two pounds and some ounces."
"Is he here now?"
"Yes, and without a shilling."
"Didn't his nugget benefit him any then?" asked Harry.
"It became a curse to him. He obtained some thousands of dollars for it, and all went in three months."
"How did he get rid of it?"
"In drinking and gambling. Two months since he drifted back to the camp in rags. He did not have money enough to buy a claim, but being a good practical miner he got a chance to work a claim on shares for another man, who had just come out from Melbourne, and who knew very little of mining. I hope you will make better use of your money. Are these boys your partners?"
"Yes, Mr. Commissioner, they are equal partners. What's one's luck, is the luck of all."
Meanwhile the commissioner was weighing the nugget on a pair of scales. The three awaited the result with great interest.
"It weighs seventy-four pounds and four ounces," he announced. "My friend, it will be famous in the annals of Australia. If I am not mistaken, when it is known it will create a stampede to our mines."
"About how much do you think it will realize?" asked Obed.
"At a rough guess, I should say fifteen thousand dollars. It may be more and it may be less."
Obed Stackpole's rough face was fairly radiant.
"I say, boys," he remarked, turning to Harry and Jack, "that's a pretty good day's work, isn't it?"
"I should say so, Obed."
The commissioner made out a receipt, which Obed put away carefully in his pocket.
"That's better than carrying the nugget round," he said.
"I suppose you will go to Melbourne," said the commissioner.
"Yes, we shall start in a day or two."
Here Obed paused, for it occurred to him that there were practical difficulties in the way of carrying out his plan.
"That is," he added slowly, "if we can raise the money. I suppose we can't borrow on the nugget?"
"No, but I can suggest a way out of your difficulties. You can sell your claim. It will realize a good round sum, as the one from which the nugget has been taken."
"That's so, Mr. Commissioner. Thank you for the suggestion. Boys, there is still some business before us. We'll realize something extra, it seems. I don't care how much, if it's only enough to take us to Melbourne."
Just then a miner entered the office, and seeing the nugget instantly made it his purpose to report the lucky find throughout the camp. The effect was instant and electrical. Every miner stopped work, and there was a rush to the commissioner's office to see the nugget. All were cheered up. If there was one nugget, there must be more. Confidence was restored to many who had been desponding. Obed and the two boys were the heroes of the hour, and the crowd came near lifting them on their shoulders, and bearing them off in triumph.
Obed felt that this was a good time to sell the claim.
"Boys," he said, "we struck it rich and no mistake. How rich I don't know. There may be other nuggets where this came from. But I and my partners want to go back to America. The claim's for sale. Who wants it?"
CHAPTER XXIX. — SELLING THE CLAIM.
"Let's adjourn to the mine," said Tom Lewis, a short, sturdy Englishman.
"Yes, let's see the place where the nugget was found," echoed another.
"All right! I'm agreeable," said Obed.
Followed by a crowd of miners, Obed Stackpole strode to the claim where he had "struck it rich." In spite of his homely face and ungainly form there was more than one who would have been willing to stand in his shoes, homeliness and all. The day before little notice was taken of him. Now he was a man who had won fame at a bound.
They soon stood around the lucky claim.
"It isn't much to look at, gentlemen," said Obed, "but looks is deceptive, as my old grandmother used to tell me. 'Handsome is as handsome does,' and this 'ere hole's done the handsome thing for me and my partners, and I venture to say it hasn't got through doin' handsome things. It's made three of us rich, and it's ready to make somebody else rich. Who'll be the lucky man? Do I hear a bid!"
"Fifty pounds," said Tom Lewis.
"That'll do to start on, but it won't do to take. Fifty pounds I am offered. Who says a hundred?"
A German miner offered a hundred, and Tom Lewis raised ten pounds.
A Scotch miner, Aleck Graham, offered a hundred and twenty-five.
From that time the bids rose slowly. Obed showed himself an excellent auctioneer—indeed he had had some experience at home—and by his dry and droll remarks stimulated the bidding when it became dull, and did not declare the claim sold till it was clear no higher bid could be obtained.
"Three hundred pounds, and sold to Frank Scott," he concluded. "Mr. Scott, I congratulate you. I calculate you've made a pretty good investment, and I shouldn't wonder if you'd find another nugget within a week. 'Birds of a feather flock together,' as my writing-book says, and 'it never rains but it pours.'"
Frank Scott came forward and made arrangements for the payment of the sum he had offered. Within five minutes he was offered an advance of twenty-five pounds for his bargain, which put him in good humor, though he declined it. I may as well say here, since we are soon to bid farewell to Bendigo, that the claim yielded him double the amount of his investment, and though this was not up to his expectations, he had no reason to regret his purchase.
The little crowd of miners were just separating when two new-comers appeared on the scene. They were the well-matched pair who had met earlier in the morning at the deserted cabin. For convenience' sake we will call them Colson and Ropes, the former being the man who had stolen the nugget, as he supposed.
"What's all this crowd?" said Colson in a tone of curiosity.
Ropes put the question to Tom Lewis, who chanced to be passing.
"Haven't you heard about the nugget?" asked Lewis.
"What nugget?" asked Colson innocently.
"That slab-sided Yankee, Obed Stackpole, found a nugget last night—a regular monster—and he's been selling his claim. I bid for it, but I didn't bid high enough."
"Where's the nugget?" asked Colson eagerly.
"In charge of the commissioner, who will send it under escort to Melbourne."
Colson expected this intelligence. Still he looked downcast. The chance of getting hold of it under such circumstances seemed very small.
"What did the claim go for?" questioned Ropes.
"Three hundred pounds. Frank Scott bought it."
"That's a pretty steep price."
"Yes, but there may be another nugget."
"And there may not."
"Then he'll be a loser. Of course there's a risk."
"Is the Yankee going to stay around here?" asked Colson.
"No; he and the two boys are going to Melbourne. I believe they are going back to America."
"It's a shame that such a prize should go to Americans," said Colson, in a discontented tone.
He would have been very glad to head a movement for robbing Obed and the boys of the proceeds of their lucky discovery, on this flimsy ground. But Tom Lewis was a fair-minded man.
"I don't see what that has to do with it," said he. "They found it, and they have a right to it. Of course, I'd rather it had been me; but it wasn't, and there's an end of it."
"Some people are born lucky!" grumbled Colson, as Lewis walked away. "I never had any luck."
"The nugget you found wasn't quite so valuable," returned Ropes grimly.
"No; I tugged away for nothing. My arms and shoulders are stiff enough this morning. And now the nugget is out of our reach."
"But not the three hundred pounds," said Ropes significantly.
"The price of the claim?"
"Yes."
"That's true, but it won't do us any good."
"The Yankee will carry that with him. It's worth trying for."
The suggestion seemed to strike Colson favorably. The two held a whispered consultation, which seemed to yield mutual satisfaction. They were, indeed, congenial spirits, and agreed upon one point, that it was better to make a living by knavery than by doing honest work for honest wages. Yet there is no harder or more unsatisfactory way of living than this. Ill-gotten gains seldom benefit the possessor, and the plans of wicked men often fail altogether.
Gradually the two had drawn near to the claim, and at last drew the attention of Obed and the boys.
Obed's thin face lighted up with satisfaction as he recognized the man who had attempted to steal the nugget.
"Good-mornin', squire," he said politely. "You look kind of tired, as if you was up late last night."
Colson eyed him sharply. "Does he suspect?" thought he. "Yes," he answered, in an indifferent tone, "I didn't rest very well."
"Where did you pass the night?"
"'Round here," he answered vaguely.
"You look as if you had been taking a long walk."
"You are very observing," said Colson, not over pleased.
"I always was. It pays a man—sometimes."
"I hear you've struck it rich," said Colson, not caring to take notice of the other's significant tone.
"Found a nugget, they tell me," interpolated Ropes. "How big was it?"
"Weighs about seventy-five pounds!"
"That is luck!" said Colson, with a sickly smile. He could scarcely help groaning as he thought of his loss.
"Well, yes, it is tolerable hefty. I reckon me and the boys will be able to take it easy for a few years. But we came near losin' it, after all."
"How's that?" Colson asked, but he did not venture to meet Obed's glance.
"Some skunk saw us bringin' back the nugget, and prowled round till he thought we was all asleep. Then he got into the cabin and carried it off. That is, he thought he did, but we was a little too sharp for him. We tied up a big rock in my handkerchief, and I guess he had a sweet time carryin' it off."
"Ha, ha! A good joke!" said Colson, but his laughter was mirthless.
"I thought you'd enjoy the joke, squire," said Obed. "How I pity the poor fellow! His arms must ache with luggin' the old rock. The best of it is we know the fellow that took it."
"You do?" ejaculated Colson, his jaw dropping.
"Yes, Harry woke up just in the nick of time and saw him scootin' out of the cabin. If I should tell the boys 'round here, I reckon they'd lynch him!" added Obed quietly.
"Just so," assented Colson, but his face was of a sickly hue, and taking Ropes by the arm he hurried him away.
"That fellow's well scared," said Obed, turning to his two young companions. "I reckon he'll make himself scarce till we're out of the way."