eld, we returned to camp and gave Jim, who had been packing water from
the granites, the joyful news.

On Monday before daylight we were out, and soon had eighteen acres marked
off by a post at each corner, and our notices posted on a conspicuous
tree, which we had been unable to do the day before, Sunday-pegging being
illegal.

Fresh parties were now arriving daily, and the consequent demand for water
made it necessary for Jim to camp at the rocks, and bring us a supply
whenever he was able.

This was not accomplished without some trouble, for not only were the
soaks we had dug with so much labour, made use of by the new-comers,
which we did not object to, but our right to the water was often disputed
by some who, with small regard for the truth, said that it was they who
had sunk the wells! Jim, however, was not the man to be bluffed, and, in
spite of lameness from sciatica in the loins and hip, managed to keep us
well supplied. Short-handed already, we were further handicapped by Paddy
smashing his thumb, and thus, for a time, I was the only sound workman of
the party.

CHATTER VI

ALONE IN THE BUSH

By March 4th we were satisfied that the appearance of the mine was good
enough to warrant our applying for a lease of the area already marked out.
So leaving Czar behind, to enable Paddy and Jim to pack water, I, riding
Satan and leading Misery, loaded with specimens from the reef, set forth
for Coolgardie, to apply for the lease, and get a fresh supply of
provisions, of which we were sadly in need. My departure for Coolgardie
was taken advantage of by several who wished to bank their gold, and thus
I became an escort.

Coolgardie lay almost due south, 220 miles on the chart, but nearly 300
miles by the track, which deviated from water to water. Speed being an
object, I decided to strike through the bush to George Withers' hole.
Here, by the way, poor Alec Kellis had just been murdered by the
blacks--not the pleasantest of news to hear, as I started on my solitary
journey. I followed a horse pad for fifty-five miles, mostly through thick
scrub, to Cutmore's Well, where several parties were camped, who eagerly
questioned me as to the richness of the new field.

Leaving Cutmore's, I struck through the bush, and before long the sickness
I had had on me for some time past, developed into a raging fever. Every
bone in my body ached and shot with pain. I could neither ride nor walk
for more than a few min