Mr. Stackpole and the boys took a long walk, and reconnoitred the diggings on both sides of Bendigo creek. Towards the middle of the afternoon they came upon a thin, melancholy looking young man, who was sitting in a despondent attitude with his arms folded.
“Are you sick, my friend?” asked Obed.
“I am very ill,” was the answer. “I don’t think I shall ever be any better.”
Further questioning elicited the information that he had taken a severe cold from exposure two months before, in consequence of which his lungs were seriously affected.
“Why do you stay here, then?” asked Obed.
“I shall go back to Melbourne as soon as I have sold my claim.”
“What do you want for it?”
“It is worth fifty pounds. I will take twenty-five.”
Obed after careful inquiry judged that it was a bargain. He proposed to the two boys to join him in the purchase of the claim. They felt that they could safely follow his judgment, and struck a bargain. So before twenty-four hours had passed, the three friends were joint proprietors of a claim, and had about eight pounds apiece to meet expenses till it began to yield a return.