on't stop, sir," cried the policeman; "up with it, or the devil may
carry it off before our eyes."

I did not feel so superstitious; and in spite of the warning managed to
get a glimpse of the lump that had almost turned the brains of the
Irishman and Fred.

At the first glance, I almost let go my hold of the windlass, I was so
overpowered. My eyes appeared to blur over, and my brain grew dizzy. I
did not seem to possess the strength of an infant, and for a moment I
paused, and tried to rally my senses.

My heart beat so wildly that I thought it would burst, for the single
glance that I had cast towards the bucket revealed to me a sight that
would have driven half the miners of Ballarat crazy, and the remaining
portion frantic with delight, provided, of course, they had seen and
owned what I saw.

CHAPTER LXI.

THE RESULT OF GROWING RICH TOO RAPIDLY.

My officious friend lifted the nugget from the bucket and laid it before
me, and for a few minutes I gloated over and passed my hand over its
unequal surface, and weighed it in my imagination until I was roused
from my reverie by those in the shaft.

"Send down the bucket, so that we can get up," shouted Fred; "we don't
want to stop here all night!"

I hurried to relieve my friend, and by the time that he was safe out of
the shaft, and the bucket had re-descended for Mike, I was comparatively
calm.

Fred and myself shook hands over our prize, and then lifted it, and
sought to form some idea of its weight, in which we were aided by the
official of the law.

"It will weigh forty pounds," cried Fred, after a moment's handling.

"More than that, sirs," answered the policeman, with a dogmatical air
that was charming to us, because every additional ounce made us richer.

"I've seen a few nuggets since I've been stationed here, and I had
oughter know about such things," he continued, turning our prize over
and over, and scrutinizing it with the air of a connoisseur. "Do you
see, there's not an ounce of quartz stuck to the whole piece, and gold
is awful heavy when it comes in the lump style."

We assented to his remarks without a word of opposition. We could have
listened to him for hours, it seemed so good to have him extol, instead
of depreciate, the nugget.

"How much, then, do you think that it will weigh?" I demanded.

"Well," replied the officer, after a moment's pause, and another lifting
operation, "I should say about fifty pounds, if my opinion