“I am an Englishman,” began the unknown, “and my name is Ralph Granger. When the report reached England of the richness of the Australian goldfields, I sold out my business, and was among the first to come out here. By the sale of my business I realised about five hundred pounds. Three hundred I left with my wife—I have no children—to keep her while I was gone. It is very fortunate that I took this precaution and left her so well provided for, since had I brought all my money with me, it would all have been lost.”
The three adventurers looked at each other soberly. The ill fortune of their new acquaintance did not augur very well for their good fortune.
“Then you had bad luck,” said Harry inquiringly.
“On the contrary I had good luck,” replied the stranger.
“Good luck!” repeated Harry in surprise. “Then how——”
“How did I come into this plight? That is what you were about to ask?”
“Yes.”
“You will soon learn. On reaching this country I was in doubt whether to go to Ballarat or Bendigo but finally decided upon the latter.”
“We are bound for Bendigo,” said Jack.
“So I inferred. Ballarat is in a different direction. Very well, I reached Bendigo three months since. For a time I was unlucky. I found next to no gold, and the prices of living used up about all the money I had left after the expense of getting there. Just when I was on the point of giving up in despair I made a strike, and during the next six weeks I unearthed gold to the value of a thousand pounds.”