going to do?" I said.

"Try if it'll cut. Split it like you do a shot when you go a-fishing."

He picked the little pear-shaped piece from the sand, laid it on the
stone beside us, and placing the edge of the knife upon it, pressed down
hard, with the result that he cut a nick in the metal, which held on
fast to the blade of the big knife.

"There!" I cried, triumphantly.

"I don't believe it yet," said Esau, hoarsely. "Are you sure it ain't
that pyrry stuff?"

"Certain!--that all splinters into dust if you try and cut it. I am
sure that's gold."

"Ain't much of it," said Esau. "Take four times as much as that to make
a half-sovereign."

"Well, if we only got four times as much as that a day, it would mean
three pounds a week. It is gold, and we've made a discovery that Gunson
would have given anything to see."

"And he's gone nobody knows where, and it's all our own," said Esau,
looking cautiously round. "I say, think anybody has seen us?"

"What, up here?" I said, laughing.

"Ah, you don't know. I say, slip it into your pocket."

"Let's pick out the stones first."

"Never mind the stones," cried Esau; "slip it in. We may be watched all
the time, and our finding it may turn out no good. I'll look round."

He looked up and ran back a little way, peering in amongst the
tree-trunks and clumps of berries and fern. Then returning he went
higher up the stream and searched about there before coming back.

"Don't see no one," he said, looking quite pale and excited at me. "I
say, you're not playing any games are you?" he whispered, looking up.

"Games?"

"Yes; you didn't bring that and put it down there, and then pretend to
find it?"

"Esau! As if I should!"

"No, of course you wouldn't. It is all real, ain't it?"

"Yes; all real."

"Then we shall have made our fortune just before they come out to us.
Oh, I say! but--"

"What is it?"

"Shall we find this place again?"

"Yes; we only have to follow up the stream here, and it doesn't matter
about this one place: there must be gold all the way up this little
river right away into the mountains."

"But it will be ours, won't it?"

"I don't know," I said.

"But we found it--leastwise you did. All this land ought to be yours,
or ours. I say, how is it going to be?"

"I don't understand you," I said.

"I mean about that. I s'pose you consider you found it?"

"Well, there isn't much doubt about that," I said.

"Oh, I don't se