ors?"

Dick had heard a great deal, and acknowledged the fact.

"Every one seems to think that there will be trouble with them before
very long," he said. "The Fantis, the people on this side of the Pra,
go in terror of their lives. Yes, I know that there is danger
up-country, but then, Mr Pepson, it is not so great as to keep an
Englishman away."

"Nor one of my gread coundry, Meinheer!"

"Quite right! Quite so, Van Somering. Now listen, Mr Dick. We--that
is, Meinheer and myself--are about to march into the interior, to a spot
some miles north and east of the Pra. We are bent on gold-mining, and
we have bought a concession from this King Koffee. Meinheer has had his
agents there for the past six months--a Dutchman and natives--and there
are shafts sunk, a stockade erected, and gold is being obtained. Now I
have come into the venture. The agent is about to retire, and we desire
to see our concession, and to place an agent in charge who can be relied
upon. The post is a dangerous one. It is also one of responsibility,
for many ounces of gold pass through the hands of the man who is in
charge. We have been seeking for a successor, and we believe we have
found him. You are the young man upon whom our choice has fallen."

Dick could have fallen from his chair, so great was his astonishment.

"But--but--I am only eighteen," he stammered. "And I don't know
anything about mining."

"We want a reliable and straightforward man," said Mr Pepson, quietly,
"and we believe you to be that. Your age does not come into the
question. In England you might be just leaving for college, or have
held a commission in the service for a year. You would hardly be deemed
fitted for a post of great responsibility. Out here it is different.
You have pluck and tenacity. Every one in the place says that. You
speak a little of the Fanti language, and you have some knowledge of the
country and the natives. As to the mining, no knowledge is required.
The natives sink the shafts and get the gold. You take charge of it,
and, at stated periods, send it down to the coast. Your greatest task
will be to see that all is secure. To make sure that the Ashantees are
friendly, and in the event of probable trouble, to secrete the gold and
beat a retreat. In other words, we want a sensible individual, with
some command over the natives, and with enough pluck to enable him to
live almost alone in the forests."

The offer was a tempti