with the tap, so that water could be drawn from the tank as usual. The
job had been carefully done, and had evidently cost Shine much labour.
The searcher had designed the compartment as a hiding-place for his
treasure, the quantity of which convinced Downy that his depredations at
the mine (in conjunction with Rogers, probably) had been of long
standing. The parcels contained sovereigns and there were small bags of
silver and copper--a miser's hoard. The detective dropped the bag, the
nugget, and all the other articles of value out of the tank, and with the
assistance of Keel carried them into the kitchen. He examined the
material in the hide bag, and found it to be washdirt showing coarse gold
freely. The nugget was a magnificent one, containing, as the detective
guessed, about five hundred ounces of gold, and worth probably close upon
two thousand pounds. Nothing nearly so fine had ever before been
discovered in the Silver Stream gutters, although they had always been
rich in nuggets.

When Mrs. Hardy returned home an hour later, Harry had just come in from
work. The shareholders in the Native Youth were so anxious to cut the
stone that they were putting in long shifts. There were traces of tears
about Mrs. Hardy's eyes, and her expression of deep sorrow alarmed her
son.

'Why, what's wrong, mother?' he asked quickly. 'Have you had bad news?'

'No, Henry. I have been with Christina Shine.'

'You. You, mother?' he cried, in surprise. 'Not--' He suddenly
recollected himself and was silent. He knew his mother to be incapable of
a cruel or vindictive action.