"Money down," said the seller; "these here fellers 'll witness it's all
reg'lar."
The money was paid in notes, and the purchasers were about to commence
possession by taking the tin-dish out of his hand.
"Wait till he's emptied. I promised yer the dish, but not the stuff in
it," and turning out the dirt into a small tub the two worthies
departed, carrying the tub away with them.
Not a grain of gold did the buyers find in the pit next morning.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2. - This day found the four hard at work at an early
hour, and words will not describe our delight when they hit upon a
"pocket" full of the precious metal. The "pocket was situated in a dark
corner of the hole, and William was the one whose fossicking-knife
first brought its hidden beauties to light. Nugget after nugget did
that dirty soil give up; by evening they had taken out five
pounds weight of gold. Foolish Richard! we all regretted his absence at
this discovery.
As the next day was the Sabbath, thirty-six hours of suspense must
elapse before we could know whether this was but a passing kindness
from the fickle goddess, or the herald of continued good fortune.
This night, for the first time, we were really in dread of an attack,
though we had kept our success quite secret, not even mentioning it to
our shipmates; nor did we intend to do so until Monday morning, when
our first business would be to mark out three more claims round the
lucky spot, and send our gold down to the escort-office for security.
For the present we were obliged to content ourselves with "planting"
it - that is, burying it in the ground; and not a footstep passed in our
neighbourhood without our imagining ourselves robbed of the precious
treasure, and as it was Saturday night - the noisiest and most riotous at
the diggings - our panics were neither few nor far between. So true it is
that riches entail trouble and anxiety on their possessor.
Chapter VIII.
AN ADVENTURE
SUNDAY 3. - A fine morning. After our usual service Frank, my brother,
and myself, determined on an exploring expedition, and off we went,
leaving the dinner in the charge of the others. We left the busy throng
of the diggers far behind us, and wandered into spots where the sound
of the pick and shovel, or the noise of human traffic, had never
penetrated. The scene and the day were in unison; all was harmonious,
majestic, and serene. Those mighty forests, hushed in a sombre and
awful silence; those ranges of undulating hill and dale never yet
trodden by the foot of man; the soft still air, so still that
it left every leaf unruffled, flung an intensity of awe over our
feelings, and led us from the contemplation of nature to worship
nature's God.
