trouble, whilst inviting his neighbours to carry all theirs to the Lord.
Had you 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--'

'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.'

'Yes, yes; we can persuade him. I wonder we did not think of this
before.'

''Twas young Dick Haddon put me up to it, with some yarn of his about a
detective.'

'Bless the boy! he is unique--the worst and the best I have ever known.
Johnnie, how dare you?'

The 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 smartly conveyed a large spoonful of jam from the pot to his mouth.
He choked over it now, and wriggled and blushed like a child taken