"He's going to be ill," I heard Esau mutter, as he shook me angrily. "I
say, don't, don't have no fevers nor nothink out here in this wild place
where there's no doctors nor chemists' shops, to get so much as an ounce
o' salts. Oh, don't, don't!"
"I'm not ill," I said at last. "There's nothing the matter."
"Then what do you mean by frightening a fellow like that? I say, I like
a game sometimes, but that's too bad."
"I--I didn't want to startle you, Esau," I said, hurriedly, as the giddy
sensation passed away. "Look--look here."
I held my hands open before him, raising one from the other slowly, as I
felt half afraid that it was partly fancy, and that when my hand was
quite open, that which I believed I held would be gone.
"Well?" said Esau, "what of it? Wet stones? Think you'd caught a
little trout?"
"No, no," I cried impatiently. "Look--look!"
I raised one finger of my right hand, and began to separate the little
water-worn stones with my palm raised in the sunshine, and for a few
moments neither spoke. Then as Esau suddenly caught sight of some
half-dozen smoothly-ground scales, and a tiny flattened bead with quite
a tail to it, he uttered a shout.
"Hooray!" he cried. "Gold! That beats old Quong; he never got as much
as that in his tin plate. Yah! 'tain't gold. Don't believe it! it's
what old Gunson called Pyrrymids."
"Pyrites? No," I said. "It's gold; I'm sure of it. Look what a
beautiful yellow colour it is."
"So's lots of things a beautiful yellow colour," said Esau, sneeringly,
as he curled up his lip and looked contemptuously at the contents of my
hand. "Tell you what it is--it's brass."
"How can it be brass?" I said, examining the scales, which looked dead
and frosted, but of a beautiful yellow.
"Very easy."
"Don't be absurd," I cried, bringing my school knowledge to bear; "brass
is an artificial product."
"That it ain't," cried Esau, triumphantly; "why, it's strong as strong,
and they use it for all sorts of things."
"I mean, it's made by melting copper and tin or zinc together. It's an
alloy, not a natural metal."
"Don't tell me," said Esau, excitedly; "think I don't know? It's brass,
and it's got melted up together somehow."
"Nonsense," I cried; "it's gold; I'm sure of it."
"'Tain't. Yah! that isn't gold."
"It is; I'm sure."
"It's brass, I tell you."
"Impossible."
"Then it's copper."
"Copper isn't this colour at all, Esau. It's gold."
"Not it; may be gold outside perhaps. It's gilt, that's what it is."
"You stupid, obstinate donkey!" I cried in a pet.
"Oh, I am, am I? Look here, mister, donkeys kick, so look out."
"You kick me if you dare!" I cried.
"Don't want to kick you, but don't you be so handy calling people
donkeys."
"Then don't you be so absurd. How can a piece of metal out here be
gilt?"
"By rubbing up against other pieces, of course, just the same as your
boots get brazed by rubbing 'em on the fender."
"I believe you think it's gold all the time, only you will not own to
it," I cried.
"'Fraid to believe it, lad; too good to be true. Why, if you can find
bits like that by just wiggling your hand about in the sand, there must
be lots more."
"Yes; enough to make us both rich."
"I say, think it really is gold?" whispered Esau, hoarsely.
"Yes, I feel sure of it."
"Look! there's another bit," he cried, dashing his hand down and sending
the water flying, as he caught sight of a scrap, about as big as a
flattened turnip-seed, in the sand, into which it sank, or was driven
down by Esau's energetic action.
"Gone!" he said, dismally.
"Never mind; we'll come on here with a shovel, and wash for more."
"But, I say, how do you know it's gold? How can you tell?"
"One way is because it's so soft, you can cut it almost like lead."
"Who says so?"
"Gunson told me."
"Then we'll soon see about that," cried Esau, pulling out and opening
his knife. "Sit down here on this stone and give me that round bit."
"What are you 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 see nothing to laugh at in it. All right, then. I don't
grumble, only you can't say as all the country up here is to be yours."
"Of course not. What do you mean?"
"Oh, only that I don't see no fun in your making a fortune and me being
left nowhere. I want a fortune too. I'm going to hunt now for myself."
"Nonsense!" I cried; "what is the use of your going away? Isn't there
enough here for both of us?"
"Dunno," said Esau, scratching his head. "That is what I want to know;
you ain't got much yet."
"Why, Esau," I said, struck by his surly way, "we were the best of
friends when we came out."
"Yes; but we hadn't found gold then--leastwise you hadn't."
"But what difference does that make?"
"Ever so much. You're going to be rich, and I ain't. Every one ain't
so lucky as you."
"But, Esau," I cried, "of course you will share with me. We found it
together."
"Say that again."
"I say that we will share together."
"What, go halves?"
"Of course."
"You mean it?"
"Why, of course I mean it. You've as good a right to the gold we find
as I have."
"Here, shake hands on it."