In Quest of Gold; Or, Under the Whanga Falls

THE BEAUTIFUL CREATURE ROSE TO THE LEAP. ( p. 264. ) Frontispiece.
ALFRED S T JOHNSTON,
Author of Camping among Cannibals, Charlie Asgarde, &c.
WITH EIGHT ORIGINAL ILLUSTRATIONS BY GORDON BROWNE.
SEVENTH THOUSAND.
CASSELL & COMPANY, Limited: LONDON, PARIS & MELBOURNE . 1892.
In Quest of Gold; OR, UNDER THE WHANGA FALLS.

Alec, Alec, a strong, clear, boy's voice rang out from the gully, are you up there? Whatever are you doing at this time of night? And the next moment George Law, a tall, strongly made lad of fifteen or so, left the sandy bed of the dried-up river, and sprang up the great rocks, as lightly and actively as a cat, to where his elder brother was sitting alone.
Hallo, Geordie, lad! is that you? I might have known it; no one else can climb the rocks as you do.
I thought I should find you at 'The Castle.' What have you come for? There's something the matter, I'm sure there is. What is it, old boy? He sat down as he spoke and passed his hand into his brother's arm. Tea is quite ready, and the Johnny-cakes piping hot. Mother and Margaret couldn't think where you were, but I guessed you had ramped off to 'The Castle' for a quiet think. Come, tell us all about it.
For a moment Alec Law did not answer, but sat, as he had been sitting before his brother came, with his chin on his hand and his elbow on his knee, looking with steady gaze over the tops of the wild, great trees that grew below them in a tangled mass of luxuriant greenery, towards that far-away strip of silver on which the moonlight fell, which he knew to be the sea. He was two or three years older than George, and was more developed and of a stouter build, but one could see at a glance that they were brothers: they had the same dark eyes and level brows, and the same dark wavy hair. They were dressed alike, which made the likeness stronger. Just as nine-tenths of Australian bushmen do, they wore white—or what once were white—moleskin breeches, laced boots, gaiters, and red flannel shirts open at the throat, and with the sleeves rolled up to the elbow.