Luck at the Diamond Fields

by Dalrymple J. Belgrave

Mr Bill Jeffson, when he looked back to the incident, as he often did, with feelings of the most bitter disgust at his bad luck and Charlie’s weakness of conduct, always consoled himself with the reflection that he showed the greatest diplomacy in the way he put it, and felt sure that Charlie was struck by the force of his argument. However, his ingenuity was wasted, for Charlie turned round and told him to clear off or it would be the worse for him, and, without saying a word more, went on towards Jim Heap’s.

It was true enough, Charlie thought to himself as Bill Jeffson’s words came back to him, that diamond, if it was worth as much as he thought it must be, would make a good deal of difference to Connie. It was one thing for him to ask her to marry him when she was without means or friends, but it would be different now she had plenty of money and the means of going home and living the life that was suitable for one of her birth. The old General, if he had lived and had found the diamond, would have principally valued his good luck because it would have given him the means of sending Connie home; and he would have been right to have done so. Red Shirt Rush was not a fit place for her, and its inhabitants, who lived dull sordid lives, and whose only ambition was to be successful in their grubbing for diamonds, were not fit society for her. Yet Charlie felt doubtful whether he was fit for any better life than he was leading, and if he persuaded her to marry him he would keep her down to something like it.

Should he leave it to her to decide? Was not he somewhat premature in settling whether or no it would be for her good to marry him when he had no reason to believe that she would accept him?

But Jeffson’s words came back to his mind. People would say that it was a shame if he persuaded a girl—she was only a girl—into such a disadvantageous marriage; it would be taking advantage of her want of knowledge of the world. And as he saw that, as a matter of honour, he ought not to ask her to marry him, he began to feel more confident of his chances with her, and he felt it all the harder to give them up.

He had hardly come to any decision when he arrived at Jim Heap’s house. Jim Heap was standing at the door, and he came out to meet him, and began to tell him about Connie, who was knocked up by the grief and shock of the last few days, and was in bed in a feverish state. Charlie listened to him, and then told the story of his find, and showed Jim Heap the diamond.

“Bless me! if this start don’t beat anything I have ever seen, and I have been digging since gold was first found in Australia, and seen one or two queer freaks of fortune! Fancy, now, the old General was just getting on to the bit of luck he was always talking about, when he was killed! Seems something like fate in it all, don’t it? Well, I suppose you are right; this diamond belongs to Connie right enough. I was telling her she was a bit of an heiress, as she had got that ground—not that I thought it was worth anything, but I wanted to cheer her up, and make her think that she wasn’t under any obligation that she couldn’t pay for in coming to me; but it turns out that she is an heiress after all.”

“I suppose she will go home now, as that’s what her father would have liked?” said Charlie.

“Go home? I never thought of that; but now you say so it’s pretty clear to me that would be right. She has some relations at home, and now she has money they will be civil enough to her; and that stone means money. Nobody knows what a big stone like that is worth—it’s 250 carats, I’d like to bet; and now things are a bit brisker, I guess some of these big dealers would give as much as twenty thousand pounds for it, and make fifty per cent, out of their money.”

“Twenty thousand pounds? Yes, you bet it’s worth all that,” said Charlie; and as he looked at the diamond he thought how it was fated to blast all his hopes. Jim Heap, he saw, was at once of the opinion that it was best for her to go home, and every one else would think so too. She was lost to him unless he did an unfair thing.

“Poor girl! it won’t take her grief away,” said Jim; “and maybe she won’t like leaving us all ’cause she has never known any better place; but, after a bit, she will know what a good turn you have done her in finding this big ’un for her. It’s lucky that one or two men I know on this digging didn’t find it instead of you, my boy, or Connie would have been none the richer for it. Will you come in and give it her yourself? She is asleep now, but I will tell my missis to wake her up; it’s something worth being woke up for.”