Part 23 (1/2)

”What's the move?” he asked Peters, as soon as breakfast was over

”You're the boss of the show,” Peters answered

”No, h I' a shere I said there'd be a reef, it's ti along the accordion A bit of a stave o for the hill,” Peters said ”We'll prospect any likely looking stone, and if there are no signs of payable quartz, then e on the other side of the rise”

”And so will the tucker,” Tony added ”There's ood three days' journey froe”

”There's tiot to the top of the hill we can talk about that; we may have struck the reef by then, and be able to buy up the townshi+p if ant to”

They left the waterhole to face the steep, thickly ti work for the horses, and the reater part of the day, ever striving to get through the thick undergrowth nearer the sue Whenever any rock was seen to crop out, either Paln of quartz or pyrites, but nothing rewarded their efforts

For three days they clambered and toiled before they reached the summit

Wherever the dry bed of a strea the sand which had lodged in the crevices; but still with the sa of the third day froht and scraggy and the undergrowth ceased there, leaving an open space, rock-strewn and rugged, but from whence a view could be obtained over a wide expanse of country They had had a particularly rough day's journey fronant and stained with soil and dead leaves, had been discovered on a scrub-covered ledge, and there the cas had been filled and the horses had been allowed to drink all they cared for; now that they had reached the top the water in the bags was all they had, for there was none to be seen on the rough, uneven surface Neither was there any vegetation for the horses to eat There was evidently only one thing to be done It was too late to think of atteht, so a fire was lit, a camp was made, and the horses secured Wearied by the heavy climb, the four men had feords for one another, and as soon as each had had his meal, he rolled hi for a smoke

At dawn they awakened to find theathered, and a steady, fine shower had fallen, ue from the previous day had caused theht, but now that they were roused it was to discoed search did they obtain enough dry wood to light another and boil their billy

As they were discussing their breakfast the rain increased, co down steadily and heavily

”Two hours of this and the swamp beloill be flooded,” Peters said

”And the track will be in a fine state too,” Tony added

”This co for a reef here, when the whole countryside hadn't a trace of quartz,” Palely

He had discovered that the rain had soot to his accordion, and as the instrument was not made to stand the wet, it had suffered seriously, nation of its owner

”And noe are here, nobody's even chipped a boulder,” Murray said ”If this is what you call , anyway,” Peters said quietly ”We haven't seen what's on the other side of the slope There's no saying If the creek starts running we may yet strike Palmer Billy's reef”

”Call it after yourself; I ain't boss now I've had ht as well have had another, seeing the result's the sa out of this and see if we can strike so I've not done yet,” Peters, still unruffled, replied

The way up from the previous day's camp had been difficult; the way doas doubly so The parched, dry soil absorbed the rain as quickly as it fell, with the result that the steep surface became loose and slippery, and the horses could scarcely keep their feet They slipped and staggered along in a zigzag fashi+on, thethem, and as the rain continued to fall, there were shreds and patches ofround the hill, which made it more aard to pick a safe road and at the same time keep the direction they desired With their attention iven to their horses--for if one fell it would be almost impossible to save it from serious if not fatal injury--and with their tempers still ruffled by the coue, and disappoint, save that each followed the other, the firstPeters Sometimes they had to ascend and sometimes to descend, as the lay of the land de, until suddenly a sharp cry from the leader roused the others to look up Then they also uttered excla they had only succeeded in travelling round the top of the hill, to eed su in their faces; they were cold and uncomfortable, and their horses as well as themselves were tired by the useless scramble they had just accomplished Peters, with a short-headed miner's pick-axe, which he had used to steady hi beside a small boulder, which loorey rain-clouds It was the first sign of anger or irritation he had displayed, but the expressions of opinion of the other three were not soothing on top of his own feelings, and, with vindictive malice, he struck at the boulder with the blunt head of the pick-axe A sentiment accompanied the blow, but it was incomplete when Peters dropped the pick-axe and went down on his knees on the wet ground to gather up the fragments he had broken off the boulder Then, with a yell, he leaped to his feet

”We've struck it, boys; we've struck it!” he shouted ”It's gold!”

Rain, fatigue, the horses, hunger, bad temper, and disappointment alike vanished from the minds of the three as they heard the words They crowded over to where Peters, laughing in his delight, was hugging the broken frag round the boulder

Palmer Billy, silent as yet, bent down and examined the spot where Peters had struck The fresh-broken face, already e-coloured metal