“‘Give me drink, drink, I’m burning.’
“I’ve seen many a sight, but never such a one as that, Archie. We carried him back. Yes, we did let him have a mouthful. What mattered it. Next day he was in a shallow grave. I suppose the dingoes had him. They had most of those that died.
“Well, by-and-by things got better with Harry and me; our claim began to yield, we got dust and nuggets. We said nothing to anybody. We built a better sort of shanty, and laid out a morsel of garden, we fished and hunted, and soon learned to live better than we’d done before, and as we were making a bit of money we were as happy as sandboys.
“No, we didn’t keep away from the hotel—they soon got one up—it wouldn’t have done not to be free and easy. But we knew exactly what to do when we did go there. We could spin our bits o’ yarns, and smoke our pipes, without losing our heads. Sometimes shindies got up though, and revolvers were used freely enough, but as a rule it was pretty quiet.”
“Only once, when that little fellow told you to ‘bail up.’”
“What was that, Harry?” asked Archie.
“Nothing much,” said Bob shyly.
“He caught him short round the waist, Johnnie, and smashed everything on the counter with him, then flung him straight and clear through the doorway. When he had finished he quietly asked what was to pay, and Bob was a favourite after that. I reckon no one ever thought of challenging him again.”
“Where did you keep your gold?”
“We hid it in the earth in the tent. There was a black fellow came to look after us every day. We kept him well in his place, for we never could trust him; and it was a good thing we did, as I’m going to tell you.