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D Adcfitonal comments / Commentaires suppl^mentares: This ittffl it filmwl at tht rtduction ratio chaeked btlow/ Cc documtnt tsi f Mmi au taux dt rMuction indiqui ci-dtssous. lox ux 1SX sx 26X 30X J 12X t«x 20X 2«X 28X 32X Tha copy filmtd har* hat baan raproduead thanks to ::^PLIED IIVHGE li ^^ 1653 Eoil Moin Street ^S RocH«St8r, New York U609 USA •j:B ("6) *82 - OJOO - Phone ^S (^'6) 288 - S989 - Fox f- ,r, ' 3% 'i'MS'S;- ■t- ' ■ .' / 1 ■ .. 'i',: -> ■ - ' 1 ;- 1 ""- VVj -- ,-.,W; .. ''A^ '■''^?'^- / '^ I: ■ .' - ; , #-.-■; ■ . • , ■ ■ . ' i^.ic:.--- ' ; -„_. u-^-^ ,. ,., t";: ■4, , t>^;r Ji --■■■* j^r,.'i y.-k;5*;^-j4>i ■■"■!,' i4rV; .'"-..:'. VPS: ::/ S'i ';:^^-^'":^-. I .V- '<-a?': n^-f.' -^ iVv, i/.i' «S-^--i ;7,2-^-f .'^^^^ 7y ;»:, H m ^^i^-^i ' :'c: •'i;A la° /' < f V^' (yS' ' .s-^- (^ / ^.v^-/' XV (}> ^/>' aJ ^"' J^-c /■(^ ■y // 1^^-) I r I h IP ^ ^ THE GOLD-STEALERS Copyright, 1901, BY 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 r 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- J> 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. 8 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 6 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 0' 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 8 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 ^ 10 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. 11 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 u 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.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- 16 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 2 18 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.' 20 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. 84 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 86 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?' S8 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. ' 30 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. --" 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 33 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 3 84 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. 36 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 36 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. 37 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, 38 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 40 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. 41 f ' 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. i 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. 43 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. 4S 46 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. 47 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 48 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 i 50 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. sa 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 SS S4 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. 55 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- 56 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. 67 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 68 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. sn 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. 61 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. ' A 6S ' 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. I 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^: 64 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. M 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 68 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 ,„ "•!""; 70 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. n 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: '=°"«<=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 fi 76 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 ! ' HI 78 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 79 80 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- 6 THE GOLli-STEALEKS. Ill 1 1 I 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. 85 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 ; 86 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. 87 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 88 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. 89 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 90 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 91 99 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. r rr k '^ 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, 7 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 I if 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. 4 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 lU 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. m 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' » 1* '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. In fi '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 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. .1 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. 10 146 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