Chapter 34. We Make A Discovery

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_ CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR. WE MAKE A DISCOVERY

We two lads wandered away one day along a valley down which a stream came gliding here, roaring in a torrent there, or tumbling over a mass of rock in a beautiful fall, whose spray formed quite a dew on the leaves of the ferns which clustered amongst the stones and masses of rock. To left and right the latter rose up higher and higher crowned with fir-trees, some of which were rooted wherever there was sufficient earth, while others seemed to have started as seeds in a crevice at the top of a block of rock, and not finding enough food had sent down their roots over the sides lower and lower to where they could plunge into the earth, where they had grown and strengthened till the mass of rock was shut in tightly in what looked like a huge basket, whose bars held the stone fast, while the great fir-tree ran straight up from the top.

These wild places had a constant attraction for us, the greater that we were always in expectation of hearing a deer rush away, or catching sight of some fresh bird, while there was always a shivering anticipation of our coming face to face with a bear.

The sun came down glowing and hot into the ravine, where the strong aromatic scent of the pines floated to us laden with health as we toiled on higher and higher, leaping from rock to rock, wading or climbing, and often making use of a great pine-trunk for a bridge.

"It's so different to the city," Esau used to say. "The roaring of the water puts you a bit in mind of Cheapside sometimes; but you can't lie down there, and listen and think as you can here."

"What do you generally think about, Esau?" I said.

"Dunno; mostly about getting higher up. Let's get higher up now. I say, look at the trout. Shall we try and get a few for dinner; the old man likes them?"

"As we come back," I said. "Let's go up higher now."

"How far would it be up to where this stream begins?"

"Not very far," I said. "It cannot come from the ice up yonder."

"Why not?" he said sharply. "I think it must."

"It cannot, because it is so clear. We couldn't see the trout if it was a glacier stream."

"Humph, no, I s'pose not. Where does it come from then?"

"Oh, from scores of rills away perhaps in the mountains. How beautifully clear the water is!--you can see every stone at the bottom-- and, look, it's like a network of gold on the sand."

"What makes that?" said Esau.

"The ripple of the water as it runs. How beautiful it all is!"

"Yes; I should like to build mother a cottage up there when she comes."

"That's what you always say. Why don't you set to work and build one ready when she does come?"

"If you talk like that I will," said Esau, irritably. "Of course I always say so--shame if I didn't."

"Well then, select your place and let's begin."

"Shan't! not for you to make fun of me," cried Esau, throwing himself down. "Now then, if you want to quarrel again, go it. I shan't grumble."

We went on by the side of the little stream for quite half-an-hour almost in silence, not from Esau being out of temper, but from the intense satisfaction we felt in being in so beautiful a place, and at last sat down close by a gravelly-looking shallow, where the beautiful clear water tempted us to lie flat down, lean over till we could touch it, and drink.

"That's good water," said Esau, as he wiped his mouth. "I wish plenty of fruit grew here too. What are you doing? Why, you're not going to hunt for gold, are you?"

I did not answer, but went on with what I was doing; scooping up the gravel and sand, and agitating my hand till the light sand was washed away and only the stones remained. It was in imitation of what I had seen Gunson and Quong do scores of times, and in the idlest of moods that I did this, partly, I think, because the water felt cool and pleasant to my hands, and the sensation of the sand trickling between my fingers was agreeable.

"I wonder whether Gunson has found a good place for gold yet?"

"Dunno," replied Esau, with a yawn. "I wish those people would come here, so that we could set to work in real earnest, and be making a house. Shall you come and live with us, or with Mr and Mrs John?"

"Can't say at present. All that sort of thing must be left till they come, and--oh!"

"What's the matter?"

"Nearly slipped in; that's all," I said, selecting a fresh stone for my seat, the one I had been using at the edge of the stream having turned slowly over and pitched me forward.

"Only got wet; you would soon get dry again in the sunshine."

"Yes," I said, taking a fresh handful of gravel and beginning to shake it to and fro in the stream, pausing every now and then to pick out the big stones and throw them away, and the gravel after them, before taking another handful.

"Makes your hands nice and clean, doesn't it?" said Esau. "Nothing like sand for that. Found any gold yet?"

"Not yet," I said.

"No, nor you won't. There's no gold here, only a few little specks like Quong got."

"Oh, there might be," I said carelessly, as I thrust in my hand a little deeper, and brought out a good handful of sand from lower down. "Gunson said he was sure there was plenty if you could--"

"Well, could what?" said Esau, as he lay back with his hands beneath his head, his cap over his eyes, and his voice sounding hollow and strange from having to run round inside his hat.

I did not answer, for I was washing the contents of my hand with a sudden feeling of eagerness.

"Well?" he said again, "could what?"

"Esau, come and look down here," I whispered very huskily.

"Can't," he said, lazily. "Too comfortable to move."

"Come here!" I cried again.

"Shan't. I'm tired. I don't want to be roused up to look at a fly, or some stupid bird in a tree. You can look at it all to yourself."

"Come here, will you?" I said so fiercely that he sprang up.

"What's the matter?"

"Come and look here!"

He rose and came to me, looking wonderingly at my hands, which I held closely clasped together.

"What's the matter?" he said; "cut yourself? Wait till I tear up my hank'chief."

"No, no," I panted, and the excitement I felt made me giddy.

"Well, I thought you hadn't," he cried. "Don't bleed. Here, what is it? What's the matter with you? You look as silly as a goose."

I stared at him wildly, and no answer came.

"He's going to be ill," I heard Esau mutter, as he shook me angrily. "I say, don't, don't have no fevers nor nothink out here in this wild place where there's no doctors nor chemists' shops, to get so much as an ounce o' salts. Oh, don't, don't!"

"I'm not ill," I said at last. "There's nothing the matter."

"Then what do you mean by frightening a fellow like that? I say, I like a game sometimes, but that's too bad."

"I--I didn't want to startle you, Esau," I said, hurriedly, as the giddy sensation passed away. "Look--look here."

I held my hands open before him, raising one from the other slowly, as I felt half afraid that it was partly fancy, and that when my hand was quite open, that which I believed I held would be gone.

"Well?" said Esau, "what of it? Wet stones? Think you'd caught a little trout?"

"No, no," I cried impatiently. "Look--look!"

I raised one finger of my right hand, and began to separate the little water-worn stones with my palm raised in the sunshine, and for a few moments neither spoke. Then as Esau suddenly caught sight of some half-dozen smoothly-ground scales, and a tiny flattened bead with quite a tail to it, he uttered a shout.

"Hooray!" he cried. "Gold! That beats old Quong; he never got as much as that in his tin plate. Yah! 'tain't gold. Don't believe it! it's what old Gunson called Pyrrymids."

"Pyrites? No," I said. "It's gold; I'm sure of it. Look what a beautiful yellow colour it is."

"So's lots of things a beautiful yellow colour," said Esau, sneeringly, as he curled up his lip and looked contemptuously at the contents of my hand. "Tell you what it is--it's brass."

"How can it be brass?" I said, examining the scales, which looked dead and frosted, but of a beautiful yellow.

"Very easy."

"Don't be absurd," I cried, bringing my school knowledge to bear; "brass is an artificial product."

"That it ain't," cried Esau, triumphantly; "why, it's strong as strong, and they use it for all sorts of things."

"I mean, it's made by melting copper and tin or zinc together. It's an alloy, not a natural metal."

"Don't tell me," said Esau, excitedly; "think I don't know? It's brass, and it's got melted up together somehow."

"Nonsense," I cried; "it's gold; I'm sure of it."

"'Tain't. Yah! that isn't gold."

"It is; I'm sure."

"It's brass, I tell you."

"Impossible."

"Then it's copper."

"Copper isn't this colour at all, Esau. It's gold."

"Not it; may be gold outside perhaps. It's gilt, that's what it is."

"You stupid, obstinate donkey!" I cried in a pet.

"Oh, I am, am I? Look here, mister, donkeys kick, so look out."

"You kick me if you dare!" I cried.

"Don't want to kick you, but don't you be so handy calling people donkeys."

"Then don't you be so absurd. How can a piece of metal out here be gilt?"

"By rubbing up against other pieces, of course, just the same as your boots get brazed by rubbing 'em on the fender."

"I believe you think it's gold all the time, only you will not own to it," I cried.

"'Fraid to believe it, lad; too good to be true. Why, if you can find bits like that by just wiggling your hand about in the sand, there must be lots more."

"Yes; enough to make us both rich."

"I say, think it really is gold?" whispered Esau, hoarsely.

"Yes, I feel sure of it."

"Look! there's another bit," he cried, dashing his hand down and sending the water flying, as he caught sight of a scrap, about as big as a flattened turnip-seed, in the sand, into which it sank, or was driven down by Esau's energetic action.

"Gone!" he said, dismally.

"Never mind; we'll come on here with a shovel, and wash for more."

"But, I say, how do you know it's gold? How can you tell?"

"One way is because it's so soft, you can cut it almost like lead."

"Who says so?"

"Gunson told me."

"Then we'll soon see about that," cried Esau, pulling out and opening his knife. "Sit down here on this stone and give me that round bit."

"What are you going to do?" I said.

"Try if it'll cut. Split it like you do a shot when you go a-fishing."

He picked the little pear-shaped piece from the sand, laid it on the stone beside us, and placing the edge of the knife upon it, pressed down hard, with the result that he cut a nick in the metal, which held on fast to the blade of the big knife.

"There!" I cried, triumphantly.

"I don't believe it yet," said Esau, hoarsely. "Are you sure it ain't that pyrry stuff?"

"Certain!--that all splinters into dust if you try and cut it. I am sure that's gold."

"Ain't much of it," said Esau. "Take four times as much as that to make a half-sovereign."

"Well, if we only got four times as much as that a day, it would mean three pounds a week. It is gold, and we've made a discovery that Gunson would have given anything to see."

"And he's gone nobody knows where, and it's all our own," said Esau, looking cautiously round. "I say, think anybody has seen us?"

"What, up here?" I said, laughing.

"Ah, you don't know. I say, slip it into your pocket."

"Let's pick out the stones first."

"Never mind the stones," cried Esau; "slip it in. We may be watched all the time, and our finding it may turn out no good. I'll look round."

He looked up and ran back a little way, peering in amongst the tree-trunks and clumps of berries and fern. Then returning he went higher up the stream and searched about there before coming back.

"Don't see no one," he said, looking quite pale and excited at me. "I say, you're not playing any games are you?" he whispered, looking up.

"Games?"

"Yes; you didn't bring that and put it down there, and then pretend to find it?"

"Esau! As if I should!"

"No, of course you wouldn't. It is all real, ain't it?"

"Yes; all real."

"Then we shall have made our fortune just before they come out to us. Oh, I say! but--"

"What is it?"

"Shall we find this place again?"

"Yes; we only have to follow up the stream here, and it doesn't matter about this one place: there must be gold all the way up this little river right away into the mountains."

"But it will be ours, won't it?"

"I don't know," I said.

"But we found it--leastwise you did. All this land ought to be yours, or ours. I say, how is it going to be?"

"I don't understand you," I said.

"I mean about that. I s'pose you consider you found it?"

"Well, there isn't much doubt about that," I said.

"Oh, I don't see nothing to laugh at in it. All right, then. I don't grumble, only you can't say as all the country up here is to be yours."

"Of course not. What do you mean?"

"Oh, only that I don't see no fun in your making a fortune and me being left nowhere. I want a fortune too. I'm going to hunt now for myself."

"Nonsense!" I cried; "what is the use of your going away? Isn't there enough here for both of us?"

"Dunno," said Esau, scratching his head. "That is what I want to know; you ain't got much yet."

"Why, Esau," I said, struck by his surly way, "we were the best of friends when we came out."

"Yes; but we hadn't found gold then--leastwise you hadn't."

"But what difference does that make?"

"Ever so much. You're going to be rich, and I ain't. Every one ain't so lucky as you."

"But, Esau," I cried, "of course you will share with me. We found it together."

"Say that again."

"I say that we will share together."

"What, go halves?"

"Of course."

"You mean it?"

"Why, of course I mean it. You've as good a right to the gold we find as I have."

"Here, shake hands on it."

I laughingly held out my hand, which he seized and pumped up and down.

"I always thought your father was a gentleman," he cried. "Now I feel sure as sure of it. Halves it is, and we won't tell a soul."

"But we must," I cried.

"What, and let some one come and get it all?"

"I should only tell some one who has a right to know: Mr Raydon."

"What right's he got to know?" cried Esau. "I say, don't go and throw it all away."

"I consider that Mr Raydon, who has welcomed us here and treated us as friends, has a perfect right to know."

"But it's like giving him a share in it."

"Well, why not?"

"But, don't you see, it will be thirds instead of halves, and he'll want to bring some one else in, and it 'll make it fourths."

"Well, and if he did? Sometimes a fourth is better than a half. I mean with the help of a clever man we should get more for our fourth than we should if we had half apiece."

"Oh, all right. I s'pose you know," he cried; "but I wouldn't tell any one else."

"Of course I'm right," I said, sharply.

"And we couldn't go on getting the gold here without his knowing it. So you'd better tell him."

"That's a nice selfish way of looking at it, Master Esau," I said.

"Dessay it is," he replied; "but gold makes you feel selfish. I dunno that I feel so glad now that we've found it."

And I don't think I felt quite so excited and pleased as I had a short time before.

"It ain't my fault," said Dean; "it's your thinking I didn't want to play fair."

"Don't talk like that," I cried, angrily. "Who thinks you don't want to play fair? No, no; don't say any more about it. Now then: can we recollect this spot exactly?"

"Why, you said that there must be gold all along."

"Yes, I know," I cried; "but Mr Raydon may want to see the place, and we must bring him where we can find some and show him directly."

"Well," said Esau, "there's a clump of fir-trees on this side, and a clump of fir-trees on that side."

"Oh, you old stupid," I cried, "when there are clumps of fir-trees everywhere. That won't do."

"Well then, let's make a cross with our knives on those twisting ones."

"What, to tell people this is the very place? That wouldn't do."

"Well then," he cried, peevishly, "you find out a better way."

I stood thinking a few minutes, but no better way came. Then I thought I had hit out the plan.

"Look here," I said, "we'll make the two crosses on the other side of the trees. No one would notice them then."

Esau burst into a hoarse laugh.

"Of course they will not," he said, "nor us neither. Why, you keep on coming to trees like these over and over all day long. We shan't find 'em again."

I felt that he was right, and thought of plan after plan--putting stones in a heap, cutting off a branch, sticking up a post, and the like, but they all seemed as if they would attract people to the spot, and then induce them to search about and at last try the sand as Quong did, and I said so.

"Yes," said Esau, "that's right enough. There ain't many people likely to see 'em but Indians, and I s'pose they won't go gold-washing, nor any other washing, for fear of taking off their paint."

"Well, what shall we do?" I cried. "We mustn't lose the place again now we have found it, and we shall be sure to if we don't mark it. I've seen hundreds of places just like this."

"Well then, why not make a mark?" said Esau. "Because whoever sees it will be sure that it means something particular, for some one to stop and search."

"Make a mark then on that big tree which will tell 'em to go on," said Esau, grinning.

"But how?"

"I'll show you," he said; and he took out his big knife from its sheath. "Let's look round again first."

We looked round, but the silence was almost awful, not even a bird's note fell upon our ears. Once a faint, whistling sound came from the far distance, that was all; and Esau went up to the biggest fir-tree whose trunk was clear of boughs, and he was about to use his knife, when we both jumped away from the tree. For from close at hand came a sharp, clear tap, as if somebody had touched the ground with a light cane.

"What's that?" whispered Esau, with his eyes staring, and his mouth partly opened.

I shook my head.

"Some one a-watching us," he whispered. "Here, let's dive right in among the trees and see."

But I held his arm, and we stood in that beautiful wild ravine, listening to the rippling of the water, and peering in among the tall pines, expecting to see the man who had made the sound.

"I say," whispered Esau, "I can't see or hear anything. Ain't it rather rum?"

He said "rum," but he looked at me as if he thought it very terrible, with the consequence that his fear was contagious, and I began to feel uncomfortable as we kept looking at each other.

"Shall we run?" whispered Esau.

At another time such an idea would not have occurred to him. The forest and the streams that run up the valleys were always solitary, but we felt no particular dread when going about, unless we saw the footmarks of bears. But now that we were in possession of the secret of the gold, the same idea of our being watched impressed us both, and we turned cold with fear, and all because we had heard that faint blow on the ground.

I don't know whether I looked pale as I stood by Esau, when he asked me if we should run, but I do know that the next moment I felt utterly ashamed of myself, and in the reaction--I suppose to conceal my shame for my cowardice--I struck Esau heavily on the shoulder and made a false start.

"Run--run--the Fort!" I cried. Esau bounded off, and I hung back watching him till he turned to see me standing there laughing, when he stopped short, looking at me curiously, and then came slowly to where I was.

"What did you say run for?" he cried, angrily.

"You asked me if you should," I replied.

"Then there ain't no one coming?"

"No."

"What a shame!" he cried. "It's too bad."

"Yes, for us to be frightened at nothing. Do you know what that noise was?"

"No, I don't know."

"It was a squirrel dropped a nut or a fir-cone. Why, it's just the same noise as you hear in the country at home when they drop an acorn."

"Then why didn't you say so? I've never been in no countries where squirrels shies nuts and acorns at people. I've always seen 'em in cages spinning round and round."

"That's what it was, Esau. There's nobody watching. Now then, how are you going to mark the tree?"

He looked at me rather sulkily, but began to smile directly, as he drew his keen-edged knife across the trunk of the great tree upon which he was going to operate before. Then, making a parallel incision close to the first, he produced a white streak where he removed the bark.

"Well," I said, "that's as bad as anything."

"No, it ain't: wait a bit," he said; and carving away at the thick bark, he made four deep incisions at one end so as to form an arrow-head, and eight at the other end for the feathering of the arrow, so that when he had ended there was a rough white arrow on the red bark pointing down the river, and of course in the direction of the Fort.

"There!" he said, triumphantly. "No brave will think that means gold in the stream, will he?"

I confessed that it was most unlikely, and we started off home.

"Wouldn't old Quong like to know of that?" I said.

"Yes; he'd give something--half of what he found I dare say," cried Esau; "but he isn't going to know, nor anybody else, from me." _

Read next: Chapter 35. "On My Word Of Honour"

Read previous: Chapter 33. Leave-Taking

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