At last the time drew near for Vandeloup's departure, when all the
sensation of Kitty's escapade and Villiers' disappearance was
swallowed up in a new event, which filled Ballarat with wonder. It
began in a whisper, and grew into such a roar of astonishment that
not only Ballarat, but all Victoria, knew that the far-famed Devil's
Lead had been discovered in the Pactolus claim. Yes, after years of
weary waiting, after money had been swallowed up in apparently
useless work, after sceptics had sneered and friends laughed, Madame
Midas obtained her reward. The Devil's Lead was discovered, and she
was now a millionaire.
For some time past McIntosh had not been satisfied with the
character of the ground in which he had been working, so abandoning
the shaft he was then in, he had opened up another gallery to the
west, at right angles from the place where the famous nugget had
been found. The wash was poor at first, but McIntosh persevered,
having an instinct that he was on the right track. A few weeks' work
proved that he was right, for the wash soon became richer; and as
they went farther on towards the west, following the gutter, there
was no doubt that the long-lost Devil's Lead had been struck. The
regular return had formerly been five ounces to the machine, but now
the washing up invariably gave twenty ounces, and small nuggets of
water-worn gold were continually found in the three machines.
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