The Foundation of the Gold League.
Mr. Crewe sat in the Timber Town Club with his satellite, Cathro, beside
him. The old gentleman was smoking a well-seasoned briar pipe, from
which he puffed clouds of smoke contemplatively, as he watched the
gesticulations of a little man who was arguing with a gentleman who wore
riding-breeches and leggings.
"I tell you, sir," said the little man, "that there is not the vestige
of proof that the mails were stolen, not the slightest scintilla of
truth in the suspicion."
"Then what became of them?" asked the other, as he fixed a gold
horse-shoe pin more securely in his tie.
"What became of them?" exclaimed the little man. "They were washed
overboard, washed overboard and lost."
"But," said the man of horses, "I happened to be riding home late that
night, and, I assure you, there was not a breath of wind; the sea was as
smooth as glass."
"That might be," retorted the little man, who was now pacing up and down
in front of his adversary in a most excited fashion. "That might be, but
there is a lot of surge and swell about a steamer, especially in the
neighbourhood of the screw, and it is very possible, I may say highly
probable, that the missing bags were lost as the mail was being passed
up the side."
"But how would that affect the incoming mail?" asked the other. "Did
that drop over the side, too?"
"No, sir," said the diminutive man, drawing himself up to his full
height. "There is nothing to prove that the incoming mail was anything
but complete. We are honest people in Timber Town, sir. I do not believe
we have in the entire community men capable of perpetrating so vile a
crime." He turned to the Father of Timber Town for corroboration. "I
appeal to you, Mr. Crewe; to you, sir, who have known the town from its
inception."
Mr. Crewe drew his pipe from his mouth, and said, with great
deliberation, "Well, that is, ah--that is a very difficult question. I
may say that though Timber Town is remarkably free from crime, still I
have known rascals here, and infernal dam' rascals, too."
The little man fairly bristled with indignation at this remark. He was
about to refute the stigma laid on his little pet town, when the door
opened and in walked Scarlett, dressed still in his travel-stained
clothes, and with his beard unshorn.
His appearance was so strange, that the little argumentative man
believed an intruder, of low origin and objectionable occupation, had
invaded the sacred precincts of his club.
"I beg your pardon, but what does this mean, sir?" he asked; immense
importance in his bearing, gesture, and tone. "You have made some
mistake, sir. I should like to know if your name has been duly entered
in the visitors' book, and by whom, sir?"
Taking no notice of these remarks, Jack walked straight across the room,
and held out his hand to Mr. Crewe. The white-haired old gentleman was
on his feet in a moment. He took the proffered hand, and said, with a
politeness which was as easy as it was natural, "What is it I can do for
you, sir? If you will step this way, we can talk quite comfortably in
the ante-room."
Jack laughed. "I don't believe you know me," he said.
"'Pon my honour, you're right. I don't," said Mr. Crewe.
Jack laughed again, a thing which in a non-member almost caused the
pompous little man to explode with indignation.
"I'm the fellow, you know, who went to look for the new gold-field,"
said Jack, "and by the lord! I've found it."
"Scarlett! Is it you?" exclaimed old Mr. Crewe. "You have got it? My
dear sir, this is good news; this is excellent news! You have found
the new gold-field? This is really remarkable, this is indeed most
fortunate! This is the happiest day I have seen for a long while!"
"Eh? What? what?" said Cathro, who was on his feet too. "Is it rich?"
"Rich?" said Jack. Taking a bank deposit-receipt from his pocket, he
handed it to Cathro.
"Good God!" cried he, eyeing the figures on the paper, "it's a fortune."
Mr. Crewe had his gold spectacles upon his nose and the paper in his
hand in a moment. "Three thousand one hundred and eighty-seven pounds!"
he exclaimed. "Well, well, that is luck! And where's your mate,
Scarlett? Where is Moonlight?"
"He's on the claim."
"On the claim? Then there's still gold in sight?"
"We've but scratched the surface," said Jack. "This is only the
foretaste of what's to come."
The important little man, who had eagerly listened to all that had been
said, was hovering round the group, like an excited cock sparrow.
"Really!" he exclaimed, "this is most interesting, very interesting
indeed. A remarkable event, Mr. Crewe, a most remarkable event. Do me
the honour, sir, to introduce me to your friend."
"Mr. Tonks, Scarlett," said the old gentleman. "Allow me to introduce
Mr. Tonks."
Jack greeted the little man politely, and then turning to Cathro, said,
"We've pegged off four men's claims; so, Cathro, you'll have to turn
digger, and go back with me to the field."
"But my dear sir," replied Cathro, whose shrivelled form betokened no
great physical strength, "my dear Scarlett, am I to do pick-and-shovel
work? Am I to trundle a barrow? Am I to work up to my waist in water,
and sleep in a tent? My dear sir, I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed."
Scarlett threw back his head, and laughed. "Oh, that's nothing," he
said. "It's the getting there with a 70lb. swag on your back that's the
trouble. The country is a mass of ranges; the bush is as thick as a
jungle, and there's nothing but a blazed track to go by. But your claim
is waiting for you. What do you intend doing with it?"
The attenuated Cathro sank on a couch despairingly. "I think I'll sell
it," he said. "I'll sell it to Tonks here, I'll sell it for L1000 down,
and be content with small profits and quick returns."
The little man, important that he should be referred to as good for so
substantial an amount, strutted up and down, like a bantam on whom the
eyes of the fowl-yard rested. However, the gentleman, dressed for
riding, was beforehand with him.
"It's an open offer, I suppose," he said.
"Certainly," replied Cathro. "I don't care who gets my claim, so long as
I get the money."
"Then it's concluded," said the horsey man. "I buy the claim."
"Done," said Cathro. "The matter is closed. The claim is yours. Now,
that's how I like to do business; just a straight offer and a prompt
acceptance. Scarlett, this is Mr. Chesterman. He takes my place. You can
take him over the ranges and along the blazed track: no doubt, you'll
find him a better bushman than myself. Chesterman is accustomed to carry
a 70lb. swag; he'll make an excellent beast of burden. I wish you luck,
Chesterman."
"But don't you think," said Mr. Crewe, turning to the horsey man, "don't
you think you're rather hasty in buying for such a large sum a property
you have never seen?"
"I've been on several gold-fields," said Chesterman, "and I have had
good luck on all of them. My method has always been to act on the first
information of a discovery. A field is always richest at the beginning
of the rush, and I know by experience that the picked claims, on a new
field that yields such results as this does on the first washing, are
worth having. I start to-morrow. Is it possible to get a horse through?"
"No," replied the pioneer, "not the slightest chance of it. Until a
track is cut, it will be quite impossible; but if you're good in the
bush you can follow the blaze, when once you have struck it."
At this moment, there entered the room a very imposing person. He was
quite six feet high, and broad in proportion; his frank and open face
was adorned with a crisp, gold-coloured beard. He was dressed in a
rough, grey, tweed suit, and carried a newspaper in his hand. Big men
are not usually excitable, but the blue eyes of this Hercules were
ablaze with suppressed emotion. In a voice that sounded like a cathedral
bell, he said, without preface or introduction, so that the room rang
again, "Listen. 'Gold discovery in the Eastern ranges. There has arrived
in town a lucky digger who is said to have sold, this morning, some 800
ounces of gold to the Kangaroo Bank. It is understood that the precious
metal came from a new gold-field on Bush Robin Creek, which lies
somewhere Eastward of the Dividing Range. From accounts received, it
would appear that a field of unequalled richness has been opened up, and
that a phenomenal rush to the new El Dorado will shortly set in. All
holders of Miners' Rights are entitled to peg off claims.' Gentlemen, I
have been to the Kangaroo Bank," continued the giant, "and I have seen
the gold myself. It is different from any sold here hitherto, barring
some 70 ounces, which were brought in a few weeks ago, from the same
locality. So, you see, we have had a gold rush created at our very
doors. I propose that all the men present form themselves into a
committee to wait upon the local representative of the Minister for
Mines--that, I take it, would be the Commissioner for Lands--and urge
the construction of a graded track to the new field."
"A very good suggestion," said Mr. Crewe, "a very good suggestion. For
if you want to get these Government people to do anything, by Jupiter,
you need to commence early. We'll go along, if you are willing,
gentlemen; we'll go in a body to the Red Tape Office, and see what can
be done. But before we go, let us drink the health of Mr. Scarlett,
here. He has done remarkably well in bringing this discovery to light,
and I ask you to drink to his continued good luck, at my expense,
gentlemen, entirely at my expense."
The steward of the club, a thin, dark man, with black eyes which were
watchful and merry, went quietly round the room, which was now filled
with men, and took their orders. Then he disappeared.
"I think, gentlemen," continued Mr. Crewe, "that, as the oldest colonist
present, I may be allowed to express an opinion. I think I may say,
without fear of contradiction, that I have watched the development of
many gold-fields in my time, and have benefited by not a few; and,
gentlemen, from the description given by our friend, here, this new
field is likely to prove the richest of them all. By far the best thing
is for the younger men amongst us to go and prove the thing. I should
recommend a party being formed under the guidance of Mr. Scarlett, and
that it should start as soon as possible. I would go myself if I were a
few years younger, and I _will_ go so soon as the track is cut. I
shall see the field myself. But I am really too old to contend with
supple-jacks and 'lawyers' and the thick undergrowth of the bush. I
should only be in your way. I should only be a nuisance."
The quick-eyed steward, who, by a method of memory known only to
himself, had retained in his mind the correct list of the strange and
various liquors ordered, now appeared with a gigantic tray, on which he
bore a multitude of glasses. These he deftly handed round, and then all
present rose to their feet.
"Mr. Scarlett," said the Father of Timber Town. "I ask you to drink his
health and continued good luck."
The ceremony over, Jack stood up.
"It's awfully good of you," he said, "to give me the credit of this new
'find,' but as a matter of fact I have had little to do with it. The
real discoverer is the man who came in from the bush, some six weeks
ago, and painted the town red. After doing him justice, you should pay
your respects to my mate, Moonlight, who is more at home in the bush
than he is in town. To him you owe the declaration of the new field. I
shall be returning in a day or two, and I shall be glad to take with me
any of you who care to come. I promise you a rough journey, but there is
good gold at the end of it."
He raised his glass to his lips, drained it, and sat down.
"We must organise," said the giant who had read from the newspaper, "we
must form ourselves into some sort of a company, for mutual strength and
support."
The notion of so big a man calling upon his fellows for help did not
seem to strike anybody as peculiar, if not pathetic.
"Chair, chair," cried the pompous Mr. Tonks. "I propose that Mr. Crewe
be placed in the chair."
"Hear, hear."
"Unity is strength."
"Limited liability----"
"Order! ORDER!"
"Let me have my say."
"Sit down, old fellow; nobody wants to hear you."
Amid this babel of voices, old Mr. Crewe rose, and waited for the
attention of his audience.
When every eye was riveted on him, he said, "Though I discerned the
importance of this discovery, I was not prepared, gentlemen, for the
interest you have so warmly expressed. It is a fact that this is the
commencement of a new era in the history of Timber Town. We are about
to enter upon a new phase of our existence, and from being the centre
of an agricultural district, we are to become a mining town with all the
bustle and excitement attendant upon a gold rush. Under the mining laws,
each of you has as much right as my friend Scarlett, here, to a digger's
claim upon this field, provided only that you each obtain a Miner's
Right and peg off the ground legitimately. But I understand that the
desire is to unite for mutual benefit. That is to say, you desire to
pool your interests and divide the proceeds. The first thing, then,
is for each man to peg off his claim. That done, you can work the
properties conjointly under the supervision of a committee, pay the
gross takings into a common account, and divide the profits. In this
way the owner of a duffer claim participates equally with the owner of
a rich one. In other words, there is less risk of failure--I might say,
no risk at all--but also much temptation. Such a scheme would be quite
impossible except amongst gentlemen, but I should imagine that where men
hold honour to be more precious than money, none will risk his good name
for a little gold. First, it must be the association of working miners;
secondly, a company of gentlemen. Unless a man feels he can comply with
these two conditions, he had best stand aside."
"It would be too late for a man to think of backing out," interrupted
the bearded Hercules, "after he had turned thief by performing the
Ananias trick of keeping back part of his gains: that man would probably
leave the field quicker than he went, and poorer."
"Or possibly he might not leave it at all," interjected Chesterman.
"However that might be," continued Mr. Crewe, "the object of all present
is, I understand, to act in unison. There will be hundreds of diggers on
the field before very long, and in many cases claims will be jumped and
gold will be stolen, in spite of the Warden and the constabulary. You
will be wise, therefore, to co-operate for mutual protection, if for no
other reason."
"Name, title?"
"What shall the association be called?"
A dozen names were suggested by as many men. Some were offered in jest,
some in earnest; but none met with approval. When the tempest of voices
was past, Mr. Crewe said, "The association must have a name; certainly,
it must have a name. It is not to be a company, registered under the
Act. It is not to be a syndicate, or a trust. It is simply a league,
composed of gentlemen who intend to stand beside each other, and divide
the profits of their enterprise. If you cannot consolidate your claims,
you must work them individually. I shall therefore suggest that you call
yourselves The Timber Town Gold League. Your articles of agreement can
be drawn up in half-an-hour, and you can all sign them before you leave
this room." Here Scarlett whispered to Mr. Crewe, who scrutinised his
hearers, and then said, "To be sure; certainly. Whilst Bulstrode, here,
who is a lawyer and should know his business, is drawing up the
document, Scarlett asks you to drink to the prosperity of the new
league."
The suggested ceremony necessitated more speeches, but when they were
finished the lawyer read the articles of association. Strangely enough,
they were devoid of legal technicalities, and consisted of four
clearly-worded clauses, destitute of legal fiction, to which all
present readily subscribed their names.
That done, they drank to the prosperity of The Timber Town Gold League.