There was great excitement over this, as such a large one had not
been found for some time, and when Slivers heard of its discovery he
cursed and swore most horribly; for with his long experience of gold
mining, he knew that the long-looked for Devil's Lead was near at
hand. Billy, becoming excited with his master, began to swear also;
and these two companions cursed Madame Midas and all that belonged
to her most heartily. If Slivers could only have seen the interior
of Madame Midas's dining room, by some trick of necromancy, he would
certainly not have been able to do the subject justice in the
swearing line.
There were present Madame Midas, Selina, McIntosh, and Vandeloup,
and they were all gathered round the table looking at the famous
nugget. There it lay in the centre of the table, a virgin mass of
gold, all water-worn and polished, hollowed out like a honeycomb,
and dotted over with white pebbles like currants in a plum pudding.
'I think I'll send it to Melbourne for exhibition,' said Mrs
Villiers, touching the nugget very lightly with her fingers.
''Deed, mum, and 'tis worth it,' replied McIntosh, whose severe face
was relaxed in a grimly pleasant manner; 'but losh! 'tis naething
tae what 'ull come oot o' the Deil's Lead.'
'Oh, come, now,' said Vandeloup, with a disbelieving smile, 'the
Devil's Lead won't consist of nuggets like that.
Pages:
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107