At sound of the strange voice Austin had wheeled about with a fierce look, and heavily the strangers plodded by. The owner turned again to the gold. "Yes," he said curtly, "there's something about that that looks good to most men."
"What I was thinkin'," replied the Boy slowly, "was that it was the only clean gold I'd ever seen—but it isn't so clean as it was."
"What do you mean?" Austin bent and looked sharply into the full hands.
"I was thinkin' it was good to look at because it hadn't got into dirty pockets yet." Austin stared at him an instant. "Never been passed round—never bought anybody. No one had ever envied it, or refused it to help someone out of a hole. That was why I thought it looked good—because it was clean gold ... a little while ago." And he plunged his hands in the water and washed the clinging particles off his fingers.
Austin had stared, and then turned his back with a blacker look than even "Scowl" had ever worn before.
"Gosh! guess there's goin' to be trouble," said one of the gang.
CHAPTER XXI
PARDNERS
"He saw, and first of brotherhood had sight...."