nd
nothing there, I gives you varning. Come and hassist me, and we shall
find all the gold!"

"Cease your cries," said Smith, sternly; "do you wish to bring a band of
bushrangers upon us in this lonely spot, where they can murder us
without opposition?"

"There's no fear of 'um," retorted the fellow, raising his voice to an
unnecessary pitch; "but listen to my varning--you'll find not a bit of
gold there."

We paid no attention to his words, but worked with energy, and while
Smith examined with his hands every shovelful of dirt that was thrown
out, so that we should not miss any thing, Fred and myself dug along the
edges of the ground, carefully, yet rapidly.

Still Steel Spring persisted in calling to us that we were wasting time,
and that we should find nothing; and just as he echoed his words for the
third or fourth time, my shovel struck upon some tough substance.
Breathless with hope, I stooped and felt of it with my hands, and to my
joy I discovered a small canvas bag, which appeared to be stuffed with a
heavy substance, for I found some trouble in lifting it.

"I have found it!" I cried, so excited that I could hardly stand;
"here--feel of it, lift it, and see if its contents are not gold!"

I was about handing the bag to Fred, when a wild, shrill scream,
apparently proceeding from our very midst, was heard, startling us by
its unnatural character.

Fred dropped the bag, and sprang for his rifle, which was lying near
him, ready for use, while Smith and the stockman appeared paralyzed with
terror.

"For God's sake what noise was that?" asked the stockman.

Before we could reply, we heard an answering yell, which appeared to be
distant about a quarter of a mile, while near at hand, the rustling of
the bushes showed that either an enemy or a wild beast was regarding our
movements.

"Who goes there?" cried Fred, bringing his rifle to his shoulder.

There was no reply, but I thought I detected a chuckling laugh which
sounded familiar. Before I could interpose, Fred had fired at the moving
bushes, and for a brief second the clearing was lighted up with the
flash of his rifle. I glanced towards the hole in which Steel Spring had
been at work; it was empty; that notorious liar and singular genius had
made himself scarce.

Hardly had the echo of the rifle died away, before another yell, more
searching and protracted than the first, again started our party, for it
seemed to proceed from a tree not more than