“Well, young people, what luck?” said the burly mine-owner, as with his hands on his hips, he leant against a she-oak.
“Splendid, father! thirty-five. How is the reef going?”
“Pinched out all together, chick. We can hang the battery up now.”
Kate laid down her rod, and covered her face with her hands, and Gerrard saw the tears trickling through her fingers. For she loved the Gully, as she had loved no other place before.
Fraser stepped over to her, and placed his hand on her bent head.
“Never mind, little girl! We'll strike it rich some day.”
“Yes, father!” she whispered, as she smiled through her tears, “we shall strike a patch some day.”
CHAPTER XVIII
On their way home, Gerrard and Fraser discussed the position, and Kate's heart beat quicker when her father said, “I think you are right, Gerrard. Ill give up the idea of the Gilbert, and shall try my luck on the Batavia.”