nothing of the sort happened, and Pierre continued to vex his eyes
and to follow him about with a dog-like fidelity which arose--not
from any love of the young man, but--from the fact that he found
himself a stranger in a strange land, and Vandeloup was the only
person he knew. With such a millstone round his neck, the young
Frenchman often despaired of being able to get on in Australia.
Meanwhile he surrendered himself to the situation with a kind of
cynical resignation, and looked hopefully forward to the time when a
kind Providence would rid him of his unpleasant friend.

The feelings of Madame Midas towards Vandeloup were curious. She had
been a very impressionable girl, and her ill-fated union with
Villiers had not quite succeeded in deadening all her feelings,
though it had doubtless gone a good way towards doing so. Being of
an appreciative nature, she liked to hear Vandeloup talk of his
brilliant life in Paris, Vienna, London, and other famous cities,
which to her were merely names. For such a young man he had
certainly seen a great deal of life, and, added to this, his skill
as a talker was considerable, so that he frequently held Madame,
Selina, and McIntosh spell-bound by his fairy-like descriptions and
eloquent conversation. Of course, he only talked of the most general
subjects to Mrs Villiers, and never by any chance let slip that he
knew the seamy side of life--a side with which this versatile young
gentleman was pretty well acquainted. As a worker, Gaston was
decidedly a success. Being quick at figures and easily taught
anything, he soon mastered all the details of the business connected
with the Pactolus claim, and Madame found that she could leave
everything to him with perfect safety, and could rely on all matters
of business being well and promptly attended to. But she was too
clever a woman to let him manage things himself, or even know how