“Yes; heard that they’d been seen by somebody, my son. There’d been a poor fellow done for up the country, and some gold carried off. They got the credit of it; but give a dog a bad name and—you know the rest. I should say they’re all dead by now.”
“But why didn’t you send for us?” said Abel.
“Why didn’t you send for me?”
“Well,” said Dallas drily, “it was out of good fellowship. We were afraid it would be more than you could bear to get so rich. But where are your comrades?”
“Gone home,” said Tregelly, in a tone of voice that the two young men took to mean, “Don’t ask questions!”
“But you’ve found a lot?” said Dallas.
“Well, yes, my sons; we managed to scrape a good deal together, some here and some there, for we changed about and travelled over a good deal of ground.”
“And you have sent it home?”
“Nay–y–ay! I’ve got it here on the sledge.”
“Oh!” said Abel, looking at the shabby kit their visitor had left close to the door of the hut.