“Indeed you have not,” I cried earnestly, as I held out my hand to him. “You have been very generous to us both, sir, and I am most grateful.”
“Then prove it,” he cried, gripping my hand.
“How, sir? What shall I do?”
“Hold your tongue. Do not say a word of your discovery to a soul. Above all, that friend of yours, Gunson, the prospector, must never know.”
“Not tell any one, sir? Not make use of our discovery?”
“No,” he said, firmly. “Promise.”
“Oh, I say!” cried Esau.
“And you too, sir!” said Mr Raydon.
I stood looking at him for a few minutes, thinking as he fixed his eyes on mine, and then I pressed his hand firmly.
“Yes, sir; I promise.”