It was about this time that Macguire thought it necessary to return to the scene of his discomfiture, and view for himself the progress made by his worthy confrères. His arrangement with his men was the not uncommon one of "grubstaking" for half the profits; that is, he kept them in food, and supplied them with all necessary tools in return for a half interest in the wealth of the mines so worked. It is a sufficiently equitable understanding when made between an honestly intentioned capitalist and a down-on-his-luck miner over the development of a wholly questionable prospect; but it is rarely successful on a proved mineral area, and when it is attempted in such a case, it invariably leaks out that those so employed are strongly in the clutches of the "grubstaker," who is usually the local publican. There was a curious rude kind of honour among these men. They respected their chief principally because of his great bodily strength, and if there was an element of fear mixed with this respect, who could blame them? But they admired his sharpness, too; few men could get the better of Macguire; and so these wretched creatures chuckled at the fact that their patron was a power in the land, and could do much to[Pg 152] influence their several careers when he wished. Nevertheless, their leanings towards hard manual labour were not of the strongest; their usual routine in the past had been "jumping" mines when the bulk of the work thereon had been done, but on this occasion their amiable intentions in that direction had received a rude check, and base toil must now be their portion, unless some purchaser for their claims could be found. So it happened that their excavations progressed with exceeding slowness, and Macguire, growing wroth at their failure to strike the wash in a reasonable time, and having now recovered his wonted energy, determined to proceed again to the Flat and direct operations in person. He arrived at a very early hour in the morning, riding Furious. Few of the camp were about, but the ubiquitous Shadow was of course in evidence, seated at his solitary breakfast outside his tent door.

"Blow me," murmured that gentle youth, "if it ain't Macguire."

The recognition was mutual.

"So you got back, you young ruffian?" came the new-comer's greeting, and the Shadow's ire was aroused at once.

"I hope the Warden didn't say nothin' unkind to you when you called on him that morning," said he, with exaggerated solicitude. "I should just hate to think yer feelin's had been hurt."

The horseman's eyes blazed angrily; then, all of a sudden, he threw himself from the saddle and made a rush at his enemy, who agilely dodged at the last moment, with the result that Macguire's great bulk hurled itself against the tent.

[Pg 153]

"I reckon that's as good as house-breakin', it is," protested the Shadow, in injured tones.

With rage in his heart, Macguire made another wild dash at the mocking youngster, who took refuge behind the windlass on his shaft, and eyed his panting aggressor cheerfully. In this position of antagonism, Emu Bill, who had been awakened from his slumbers by the strange sounds without, found them. He took in the scene at a glance, but his set bronzed face did not move a muscle.

"I reckon you has just about met your match this time, Macguire," said he, calmly. "A boy is about your size every time, he is."

Without a word Macguire got back on his horse. "I'll settle you too," he hissed. "You won't know what's struck you when I'm done with you——"

"A bit o' rock, most likely, if you are about," retorted Emu Bill, with grave contempt.

Macguire galloped off.

"Despite his faults, the man's a born hustler," Mackay remarked that same day to his two companions.

They were engaged on the surface, levelling off their ore dump from the shaft mouth, and could scarcely fail to note the unwonted activity shown on the adjoining claim.

"He certainly does make them shift around," agreed Bob. "I suppose long experience has taught him how to handle his type of followers."

Very shortly afterwards it became evident that some unusual excitement prevailed at Number 2 shaft, which adjoined the Golden Promise towards the south. The official numbers of the various claims ran consecutively north and south of the Golden Promise, which was known as the Discovery shaft, though, indeed, Nuggety Dick's[Pg 154] excavation, which was now called Number 4 above Discovery, should have claimed that honour.

This Number 2 was the main hope of Macguire's party, for by it alone could they hope to trace the direction of the golden leader. Now it seemed as if they had at last broken through to the golden stratum, men rushed hither and thither carrying gold-pans and dollying-hammers, some clustered around the shaft mouth, then Macguire himself was seen to descend the workings. A hushed air of expectation spread over the whole Flat, and for a brief space all work was suspended. A few minutes passed in anxious silence, then a bellow of joy from Macguire reached the surface; at once one of his waiting aides-de-camp extracted a red flag of huge proportions from a convenient niche near the windlass, where it had been lying in readiness, and its dropping folds soon flaunted in the sunshine, proclaiming to all whom it might concern that Number 2 had bottomed on gold. Almost immediately Macguire ascended to the surface, carrying a large-sized specimen in his hand, the sight of which caused Jack to be convulsed with inward laughter, for its greyish colour proclaimed it at once to be of the same deceptive material which had first been discovered in Emu Bill's claim.

"I'm half inclined to be sorry for the man," spoke Mackay, with some feeling.

Bob had been experiencing a pang or two himself. "It does seem hard lines," he said.

Yet even while they were considering on a magnanimous course of action, the object of their sympathy turned his leering eyes upon them.

"I'll best ye yet!" he cried triumphantly, holding his[Pg 155] treasure at arm's length that all might look. "I've got as much of this stuff as'll keep the battery going for six months. I'll see that Roxton closes down on your wash to-night, I will. I'll starve you out o' the Flat like rats, quick an' lively too."

Now Roxton, the battery owner, was like many other humbler men, heavily in debt to the publican, who along with his other duties acted the part of money-lender in the township. It was quite possible therefore that Macguire could make good his threat about the closing down of the battery, though had he known it, that would at this time scarcely have affected the partners of the Golden Promise to any extent, the bulk of their visible wash having been already treated. Still, the brutal malignancy of the man's intentions was unmistakable, and a shudder of disgust seized Bob, nipping effectually the finer sentiments he had harboured but a moment before. Mackay eyed the jeering man with a look in which a just anger and a wholesome contempt were struggling for mastery.

"You're nothing but a sneaking thief, Macguire," he said, with forced calmness. "An' for twa pins I'd come doon an' burst in a few mair o' your ribs. I'll certainly hae to settle you when I am forced to tackle you again. But what are ye makin' a' the fuss aboot, anyhow? You're clutching to a bit o' clay as if it were a golden nugget. Your battery wouldna thrive vera weel on that sort o' stuff, I'm thinkin'."

Macguire was on the point of launching out into further invective, when his eye happened to glance at his treasure. He hesitated, stammered, and his rotund face grew livid.

[Pg 156]

"Put the water you have ready on your heid instead o' into the gold-pan," advised Mackay, kindly, "it'll maybe keep ye from gettin' apoplexy."

An inarticulate yell of mingled dismay and fury broke from the lips of the too-previous exulter. Hurling the stone from him, he turned and rushed blindly into his tent. Eagerly his followers picked up the rejected specimen; it was dull and dead clay, showing no trace of the precious metal. Muttering maledictions, they fled after their leader.

It quickly became whispered about that all was not as had been hoped at Number 2 shaft, and despite the reticence of those principally concerned, strange rumours were soon current regarding the extraordinary phantom gold formation which had just been struck. Then Macguire raved more wildly than ever, for his chances of disposing of the mine on a sight valuation to some innocent buyer were now hopelessly ruined. He railed savagely against Nature, and all mankind in general; even his own alike suffering and yet sympathetic followers were not spared the flood of his abuse. A trial parcel of the ore was sent to the battery in the hope that whatever free gold contained in the substance might be saved by the mercury, but only further disappointment resulted. Its cohesive nature was such that the stamps merely flattened it like putty, and the whole went over the sluice-box in a dense mass of coagulated slimes, leaving not a trace of gold behind in the riffles.

When Mackay heard this he was filled with misgivings; he had never doubted the efficacy of the stamps as a crushing agency, and he feared for the working of Bob's process on a large scale when hand manipulation would[Pg 157] be impossible. Bob, however, seemed in no way disturbed.

"Crushing is unnecessary with the process," said he. "The ore will dissolve in the vat; indeed, it would reduce itself to slime in ordinary water if puddled occasionally, or it would disintegrate very rapidly on exposure to the sun, though that plan would be rather risky, owing to the excessive oxidization which might take place. But in every case the slimes would remain unaffected by battery treatment, and for this one reason which was the basis of all my experiments—the clayey material is a chemical compound, and not a mechanical mixture like ordinary alluvial wash, consequently it will only answer to chemical treatment."

"But," interjected Jack, "there is most likely free gold in the stuff as well as the—the other kind."

"Probably enough, but, as you see, even that cannot be saved by ordinary methods; the soapy nature of the composition, I imagine, is the cause. Oily globules will form around the gold particles and insulate them, so that the mercury on the plates never really gets a chance to exert its power."

Apparently Bob's studies had been complete and exhaustive; his knowledge of his subject impressed Mackay deeply.

"I can follow your reasoning there, Bob," said he, "for the overflow even of the small vat in the tent was more like engine-grease than anything else, an' I can testify that the residue I washed in the pan was a pure and free sand."

The Shadow here broke in on their conversation; he had been away at the other end of the Flat on a tour of[Pg 158] investigation, for it was known that several shafts were nearing the dreaded bottom.

"The whole circus is goin' to break up," he announced sorrowfully. "There's nothin' but Emu Bill's miradgy stuff down there, an' the miners are thinkin' o' giving it best."

The Shadow was not aware that Bob's experiment had proved successful; Emu Bill alone of the original group had been informed, and he certainly had not spoken of it.

"I'll go down and advise them to hang on for a bit," said Mackay, after some deliberation. "An' Bob, you can tell the Shadow anything you like, provided he promises to keep his mouth shut."

"Say boss, does I deserve that?" complained the injured youth, reproachfully.

Jack hastened to assuage his grief. "No one knows yet," said he, "but Emu Bill and ourselves; we didn't want Macguire's crowd to hear that Bob could tackle the mirage."

"An' did ye think that I would give it away?" murmured the Shadow, with emotion, and for a long time he refused to be comforted.

That day six shafts penetrated into the refractory formation, and loud were the lamentations that arose throughout the camp. Surely never was a more scurvy trick played by Dame Fortune upon her toiling votaries. Macguire laughed heartily at the misfortunes of his neighbours; it was as balm to his soul that others should experience the pangs of disappointment as he did, and in the evening he gave the lead to the others by dismantling his windlasses and preparing for departure, having done[Pg 159] not a stroke of work on his claims since the eventful day of his own bitter chagrin. On the following morning he and his associates took their leave of the Flat, and almost as soon as they were out of sight, the abandoned claims were being taken up afresh by a number of hard-working miners, who had before been sinking vain shafts well without the auriferous belt. Jackson had quietly annexed Number 2 shaft, though he was somewhat dubious about it proving of any service to him, and fully a dozen honest toilers swarmed over the remainder of the ground vacated. There was no need to keep the secret longer, and before noon all the Flat had been made aware of Bob's discovery, and excitement was again raised to fever heat. A deputation from among the miners was formed at once to make inquiry into the matter, for news of a scheme of such far-reaching importance could not be received lightly.

They approached the Golden Promise mine shortly after midday, followed en masse by the entire population of the camp.

"We wants to see the inventor o' the process," said the spokesman, addressing Mackay, who was at the windlass, "we wants to ask him if it are a fact that he can save the gold in this stuff." He displayed a piece of the refractory ore in his hand.

Mackay gazed at the speaker kindly, then at the sea of upturned faces in the background.

"I reckon you've come to the right street for your information, boys," he replied, and he shouted down to his companion in the depths below: "Bob, there's a few gentlemen wi' some interest in the welfare o' Golden Flat wanting to speak to you."

[Pg 160]

A minute later and Bob arrived on the surface, and at his appearance a faint cheer swept over the awaiting crowd. The young man started in amazement; he could not understand this demonstration, but he quickly recovered himself, and then the speaker of the deputation began his oration afresh, ending with the earnest words: "We are miners every one o' us, with not much to spare in the way o' cash; but if you can help us, and ain't unwilling to help us, you may ask what you like from the returns o' the mines, an' we won't refuse."

Bob was touched, and for the first time a surging feeling of his power came over him, yet when he spoke his voice was calm and even. Briefly he recounted his experiments with the tantalizing material, concluding with the results of the last and final test; then, suddenly, he entered upon a keen technical description of the ore and its peculiarities, dealing with its scientific aspect at critical length. Jack nudged Mackay, who coughed loudly, and Bob, interrupted, lost the theme of his argument, and incidentally remembered that he was not addressing a class of trained mineralogists. He hesitated, and turned to Mackay.

"You can make them understand better," he said.

"I can that," responded that individual, promptly; and he disappeared into the tent, issuing forth immediately with the gold-pan, which still contained the results of the important experiment. He thrust the pan with its gleaming treasure into the hands of one of the deputation. "I saw that go through mysel'," said he. "There's no much o' a phantom aboot that, is there?"

The crowd behind caught a glitter of the gold as the pan was passed round, and now there was no mistake[Pg 161] about the energy of their cheer—a hundred throats echoed it forth. When it had subsided, Mackay again made felicitous utterance.

"We'll have a ten-ton vat rigged up within a couple o' days," he announced, in stentorian tones. "An' Bob, here, wishes me to say that the charges for treatment will no' be in any way extravagant."

A yell of approval rewarded his effort, yet still the assembly showed no signs of departing.

"I think you should sing the 'Muskittie' to them," suggested Jack, "then you'd see them run."

He had to run himself after that, and when he returned, the conclusion of the meeting was near. The leader of the deputation was making strenuous endeavour to justify his position. He harangued the congregated miners with forceful eloquence, pointing out what an inestimable service the young inventor would confer upon the country and themselves.

"And now, boys," he concluded, "let her go again. Three cheers for the discoverer of the process. Hurrah! hurrah! hurrah!" And the Flat thundered with their hearty applause.

When they had gone, Mackay heaved a hearty sigh of relief.

"You're far too open-hearted for this pairt o' the world, Bob," he said dryly. "If there had been one among that crowd wha kent anything aboot chemistry, he would have got as big a knowledge o' your process as you have yourself."

Bob flushed. "I forgot," said he, "that there was any reason for keeping it secret."

The elder man laughed grimly. "My laddie," he[Pg 162] began, with grave earnestness, "are ye no' aware that there should be a fortune in this for you. There may be tens o' thousands o' tons o' the stuff in this Flat, and allowin' ye made a charge of, say, ￡2 a ton—which is little more than battery price—don't you see what a tremendous profit would be made? You canna patent a discovery, Bob; and your only safety is in keeping it secret. The great danger lies in the simplicity o' the process. We must be vera careful, my lad, vera careful indeed."

"But did I really tell them everything?" said Bob, abashed; for in truth he had forgotten the presence of his audience, so wrapped up had he been in the interest of his subject.

"Oh yes, you telt them richt enough; but you clothed your observations in such elegant scientific language that I'm sure not a man among them kent what ye were talkin' aboot."

"You did give them a pretty bad time," grinned Jack. "It was a treat to see them wrestling with hydrocarbonaceous compounds, and electrolytical principles; but didn't they howl when they saw the gold!"

"I reckon that talks every time," said Mackay.

No time was now lost in erecting the vat and other appliances necessary for the bulk treatment of the strange deposit. Wood was obtained from the saw mill, and Mackay, assisted by Jack and the Shadow, started to build the giant trough for the retention of the ore. Only half-sawn, rounded timber was used, for that alone could support the strain that must finally be put upon the structure; a movable bottom was also fixed to allow of the ultimate residue being drawn off easily, and the whole[Pg 163] was mounted on a stout standard of logs raised about five feet from the ground.

As may be imagined, a constant stream of visitors came to view the peculiar erection before it was nearly half completed; but when Bob's important chemical and electrical arrangements were ready to be fitted, Mackay, much to the disgust of the beholders, screened the entire plant from their gaze by building a tall canvas wall around it. By the end of the week everything was in readiness for the trial, which was given out to take place in the evening, and a vast assembly gathered to witness the inauguration of what was now known as the "Hope of Golden Flat." So speedily had the news travelled concerning it, and so vastly interested had even the outside world become in the problematical future of the Flat's odd formation, that by Saturday morning quite a number of men from Kalgoorlie and far outlying townships made their appearance, and a steady stream of buggies and horsemen poured in along the track all day. Indeed, it seemed as if a fresh rush had set in, so keen was the excitement.

But Mackay was ill at ease. Among the throng of new-comers he had recognized several of the cleverest mining engineers in the State, and none of them had reputations for being over-scrupulous.

"There'll be a careful eye kept on us to-night, Bob," said he. "An' I'm just a wee bit dubious o' the intentions o' some o' our visitors."

Bob looked thoughtful. "I'll fix up a dummy battery and an extra generator for their special benefit," he suggested.

"A good idea, my lad, and I'll see that Emu Bill and[Pg 164] the boys are close handy in case o' accident. Jack can stand by an' help you. I'll attend to the dumping o' the ore, and the overflow arrangements, an' flatten out any man wha's troubled wi' an excess o' inquisitiveness."

"An' I," spoke the Shadow, "I reckons I'll keep my blinkers open for any suspicious-lookin' cusses, an'—— Howlin' centipedes! there's one now! Blow me if it ain't that pestiferous son o' a gun back again."

They looked and saw Macguire in close conversation with a short, nattily dressed man of about middle age. Then the crowd closed up again, and hid the plotters—for such they undoubtedly were—from view.

The trial had been arranged to take place at seven o'clock in the evening, chiefly because the great heat of the sun at an earlier period would have been most trying for the spectators and experimentalists alike, but Mackay had also the idea that at such a time the working arrangements would be less visible to the onlookers, and though he did not then think that any danger was likely to arise in this respect, he now congratulated himself on his cautionary scruples. Indeed, if the three partners could have foreseen that so many outsiders were to be present, no public exhibition of the process would have been promised. But it was too late now to alter their plans; the test must go on, come what may; and though Bob was confident of success, his mind was somewhat troubled by the appearance on the scene of so many strangers, and the arrival of Macguire added much to his apprehensions. An hour before the stated time all was in readiness for the ordeal. The gas generators and batteries were placed behind the vat and loosely covered by some old ore-bags, then the enclosing canvas screen was pulled[Pg 165] away. A number of oil lamps hung around gave ample light, while at the same time their reflectors were so arranged as to cast a deep shadow over the lowly placed chemical plant. Every safeguard against prying eyes had been employed before the curtain was taken down, and now the interested spectators gazed curiously on the huge wooden structure which revealed itself to them. Ten tons of the ore to be treated rested on a platform built at the top of the vat; it was all neatly arranged in bags, each of ten claims having provided a ton, while an extra half-dozen tons taken from the Golden Promise lay conveniently near at hand.

Bob stepped with apparent carelessness to the concealed batteries and made the connections secure; Mackay mounted the platform to tip in the ore, and Jack casually stood guard in front of the hidden plant. Then Macguire's harsh voice cackled out in protest—

"We want to see the inside o' the concern before you start; you may have salted it for all we knows."

Bob's lips compressed tightly at the words. "I am not a professional conjurer," he said with dignity, "and I have nothing to gain one way or another from any of you. If you represent the feelings of the miners here, I shall go no further."

A cry of dissent at once arose, and Macguire's safety seemed for the moment imperilled; but in the midst of the uproar, Bob calmly unscrewed the bottom from the vat and pulled it forth for inspection, and he noted that those who came forward at his request were without exception the men whose good intentions Mackay had so much doubted. The interruption did not delay matters for more than a minute or so, then Mackay began to load[Pg 166] the vat, and in a short space the onlookers were listening to its turbulent outbursts in amazed silence. At this stage, Macguire, accompanied by the man he had been seen with earlier in the evening, pushed his way forward until he was almost touching the foaming caldron. But they did not escape the lynx eyes of Emu Bill and the Shadow, whose stern grips were on their shoulders at once.

"Let them stay, Bill, if they want," said Bob, quietly.

"I should just reckon we would, young feller," rasped Macguire, though even as he spoke his companion was whisked abruptly to the rear by the inflexible Shadow.

Bob smiled, and nodded to Mackay, who at once opened the overflow tap, and a spouting rush of oily slimes descended on the bully's head, saturating him in an odoriferous flood. The bystanders roared with glee, and made way hurriedly to allow the dripping man an open passage for his now frenzied retreat. The suddenness of the deluge had utterly taken away his power of speech, and the smarting pain of the saline fluid in his eyes made him howl like a dingo. However, he recovered himself somewhat when he got clear of the jeering crowd. "I'll pay ye back for this!" he snarled; "I'll—I'll——" Then his more fortunate companion took him by the arm and led him away.

The drastic lesson had considerable effect on several other over-inquisitive individuals, and their haste to retire whenever they saw Mackay's hand reach towards the tap was ludicrous in its earnestness.

Again and again the overflow belched out, until it seemed as if nothing solid could have remained. And all this time the assembled miners looked on in silent wonder. At last Bob intimated that the operation was completed.

[Pg 167]

"The vat was built to hold ten tons," he said, "but it could treat fifty tons in a day easily enough——"

"How do you make that out?" interrupted a mining engineer close at hand.

"Why, all you have to do is to keep filling up the vat as the overflow exhausts it. The gold will always be found at the bottom."

Mackay and Jack now busied themselves unscrewing the movable bottom, and the crowd surged round in breathless expectation. Quickly the screws relaxed, a stream of yellow ooze gurgled out, but the only solid matter retained was that which lay encompassed within the flanged edges of the detached wood. It was not inspiring to look upon, merely a layer about two inches deep of a dull gravelly sediment.

Then Bob spoke again. "If the process were kept going long enough," said he, "there would be scarcely any residue other than the gold itself."

"An' does ye think thar's any gold there, mate?" asked a stalwart miner, anxiously.

Bob nodded with easy confidence, "You'll very soon see," he replied.

Mackay was already engaged in the work of demonstration. Raising the shallow receptacle until it lay at a easy incline, he next gently tilted the contents of a kerosene tin full of water over the slope, and behold the muddy casing dissolved away, revealing a rich spangling yellow underneath. A roar of fierce joy burst from nigh on two hundred throats, and for about a minute pandemonium reigned. Hats were tossed into the air, and huzzahs long and loud echoed over the plains. The success of the process had been established beyond all doubt.

[Pg 168]

One of the first to congratulate the young discoverer was Nuggety Dick, but Never Never Dave and old Dead Broke were at his heels.

"You've saved the Flat, Bob!" cried Nuggety.

"An' you've saved us too," murmured Dead Broke, with emotion.

"What I want to know, young man, is by what means do you bring about the expulsion of the oily matter in the compound?"

The voice was patronizing in the extreme: the speaker was the erstwhile associate of Macguire.

Then Mackay's pent-up rage broke forth. "An' are ye sure that is all ye would like to know?" he stormed. "You mean, snivelling sneak, do ye think I don't know who ye are an' what ye're here for? Get out o' my sight, afore I do you damage."

To Bob's surprise, the man fled at once. Emu Bill laughed.

"I'd have liked a word with the skunk myself," said he. "He's one of the measliest rats in the West, he is."

Then Jack added his testimony. "He's been dodging around trying to get a look at the battery all evening."

The sound of a strenuous scuffle from behind the vat at this moment drew their attention. With a bound Mackay rushed to investigate, and there he beheld the Shadow engaged in silent conflict with the man they had just been discussing. The crowd had by this time drawn away from the scene of operations, and were talking excitedly among themselves over their now rosy future prospects.

Mackay snorted savagely. "Let me get a crack at him, Shadow," he said, hastening to the fray. But the[Pg 169] struggling man, already safe in the Shadow's sinewy grip, on hearing the new-comer's voice, made a desperate effort to free himself, and literally tore himself from his enemy's grasp, and sped off into the night.

The Shadow gazed ruefully after the vanishing figure. "It was your fault," he said reproachfully to Mackay. "When you chased him away 'bout a minute ago I was watching him, an' saw him do a slide round by the back, so I just sat tight an' waited for the dodger. He was pulling the cover from that there fizzing concern when I gripped him by the neck."

"But who is he, anyhow?" asked Bob, who, with the others, had come to inquire the cause of the disturbance.

"He's a most dangerous man, Bob," answered Mackay, grimly. "His name is Wynberg, an' he's the chief chemist and assayer o' one o' the crookest mining companies in Australia, a clever man in his way, no doubt, but his cleverness seems aye to develop in the wrong direction, as the shareholders o' the company he represents should well ken by this time. He came here wi' that thief Macguire on purpose to steal your brains, Bob—for nothing else."

"Well, I scarcely think he has succeeded," laughed Bob.

The crowd was by this time beginning to disperse, and a number of the miners came up to say good night.

"Why," exclaimed Jack, "we haven't weighed the gold yet!" And neither they had; so keen had been the excitement at seeing the welcome metal that no one had given a thought to estimating its quantity.

"We'll soon make that right," said Mackay, seizing the pair of gold-scales, that had been lying in readiness[Pg 170] beside the generator. He quickly emptied the gleaming dust on to a sheet of calico, which Jack hastily drew forward, and commenced weighing it carefully in ounces.

"I reckon," said one of the men, who had sent a ton for treatment, "I reckon if it goes an ounce we should be mighty well pleased."

"In that case there should be ten ounces saved, then," said Bob, "allowing for no loss."

"There's three times that here," said Mackay, "or my judgment is very far oot." And, indeed, so it proved. Mackay filled the tiny scales exactly thirty-one times, and yet there were some grains over. "Thirty-one ounces," said he, "an' belted out o' the deceivin' stuff inside an hour." A murmur of astonishment ran through the group. This result surpassed even their wildest hopes.

"That means that each man who sent along a ton is entitled to three odd ounces," reflected Bob. "Better weigh it off and let them have it now."

The ten men concerned held a hurried consultation, then one of their number advanced, and laid his hand kindly on Bob's shoulder.

"There's nary one o' us will take an ounce o' the stuff," said he. "Keep the gold, my boy; you're heartily welcome to it. It's the first return o' the discovery, an' it's yours by right. We only hopes you'll get oceans more o' it afore very long."

A babel of concurring voices answered for his comrades, and before Bob could reply the men had gone. Mackay gravely handed a well-filled gold-bag to the hesitating youth.

"They're quite right, Bob," he commented quietly.[Pg 171] "The gold is yours by right—by right o' discovery. Keep it, my laddie—keep it and treasure it, as Jack treasures the first nugget he found. In after years, if you're spared, ye'll maybe remember this night as a vera wonderful experience."

Bob was silent; somehow his companion's words affected him deeply. There was a note of foreboding in them, as if the speaker saw into the future clearly, and was saddened by what he saw. Together they joined the camp-fire circle, where the rest of their acquaintances were gathered; then Mackay appeared to remember something, and hastened back to the vat, and when Jack and the Shadow went in search of him, they found him quietly refixing the canvas wall............