om the terraces above," said
Jack.

"I think not."

"Where does it come from then?"

"I can't say, unless it is from some reef in the ranges. You must not
forget that there's the lower end of the valley to be prospected yet--we
have done nothing below the gorge."

Talking thus, they ate their "damper" and stewed pigeon, and drank their
"billy" tea. Then they lit their pipes, and strolled towards the scene
of their labours.

The place chosen for the workings was selected by circumstance rather
than by the diggers. At this particular point of its course there had
been some hesitation on the part of the river in choosing its bed,
and with but a little coaxing it had been diverted into an old
channel--which evident signs showed to be utilised as an overflow in
time of flood--and thus by a circuitous route it found its way to the
mouth of the gorge.

All was ready for the momentous operation of washing up, and the men's
minds were full of expectation.

The bottom of fine silt, which had been laid bare when the boulders had
been removed, stood piled on the bank, so as to be out of harm's way in
case the river burst through the dam. Into the old bed a trickle of
water ran through the sluice-boxes. These were set in the dry bed of the
stream, and were connected with the creek by a water-race. They were
each twelve feet in length, and consisted of a bottom and two sides,
into which fitted neatly a twelve-foot board, pierced with a number of
auger-holes. These boxes could be joined one to another, and the line
of them could thus be prolonged indefinitely. The wash-dirt would be
shovelled in at the top end, and the water, flowing down the "race,"
would carry it over the boxes, till it was washed out at the lower end,
leaving behind a deposit of gold, which, owing to its specific gravity,
would lodge in the auger-holes.

Moonlight went to the head of the "race," down which presently the water
rushed, and rippled through the sluice-boxes. Next, he threw a shovelful
of wash-dirt into the lower part of the "race," and soon its particles
were swept through the sluice, and another shovelful followed.

When Moonlight tired, Scarlett relieved him, and so, working turn and
turn about, after an hour they could see in the auger-holes a small
yellow deposit: in the uppermost holes an appreciable quantity, and in
the lower ones but a few grains.

"It's all right," said Moonlight, "we've struck it." He looked at the
great heaps of