‘I shall not go,’ said Edgar; ‘but I have no doubt there will be search made for it, even if Yacka declines to lead the way.’
The evening of Edgar’s arrival at the cottage he had a walk on the cliffs with Wal Jessop, and again looked down upon the terrible rocks where the Distant Shore was dashed to pieces, and himself and Eva were so miraculously saved. As he looked into the depths below, the scene came vividly to mind again, and he could not resist grasping Wal Jessop by the hand, while the tears stood in his eyes.
Wal Jessop knew what he meant better than if he had spoken, and returned the pressure of his hand. They walked back to the cottage, and once more talked over the scenes of that awful night.
When Edgar saw Captain Fife that gentleman received him cordially, and promised to dispose of some of the rubies to the best advantage.
‘They are wonderfully good stones,’ said Captain Fife, ‘and there will be no difficulty in obtaining a stiff price for them. By the way, what are you going to do with yourself now? Are you returning to the station, or would you prefer to remain in Sydney?’
‘If I can obtain a suitable billet,’ said Edgar, ‘I should like to remain here.’
Captain Fife had been on the look-out for a private secretary for some time, and he offered Edgar the post, which he willingly accepted, thinking himself fortunate, as indeed he was, to gain such a position.
Time flies quickly, and when Edgar Foster had been private secretary to Captain Fife for over two years, he had become quite at home in Sydney, and was recognised as one of the best of good fellows. Edgar was fond of sports of all kinds, and he liked fun as well as any young fellow of his age, but he shunned the fast sets in the city, and one of his constant companions was Wal Jessop. Two or three times a week he went to Wal’s cottage to see Eva, who was rapidly growing into a very pretty girl. He heard regularly from home, and also had news from Yanda—for Will Brown was still there. Yacka had tried Sydney life, but quickly tired of it, and returned to the West.
Two or three expeditions had been fitted out to try and find the Cave of Enooma, as it was called, for the adventures of Edgar Foster and Will Brown had been related in the Sydney Mail, and naturally there was a desire to obtain the wealth stated to be there. These expeditions had, however, been failures, and nothing came of them. Yacka refused to lead anyone into the Enooma country, and Edgar and Will, when approached upon the subject, expressed their inability to do so. When the second expedition failed in its object, people said the discovery was a myth, but others knew better, and Edgar only smiled when he heard disparaging remarks made.
Although Edgar stuck well to his work during the time he had been with Captain Fife, he found ample opportunity to indulge in his favourite pastime, cricket, and, much to his delight, had been selected captain of the South Sydney team. In this capacity he not only proved himself a good all-round cricketer, but a splendid leader, and no one, it was generally acknowledged, placed his men to more advantage in the field. He was selected to play for New South Wales against Victoria, but, like many a good cricketer before him, he failed at his first attempt. There was, however, no doubt about his ability, and he now stood an excellent chance of being selected as one of the next Australian eleven. This is the height of every cricketer’s ambition in the colonies, and Edgar felt anxious as to whether his performances during the season would warrant the selection committee including him in the team. So far he had done fairly well. There remained one inter-Colonial match to play against South Australia, and Edgar knew upon this match would depend the final decision as to his being a member of the Australian eleven.