The Tale of Timber Town

ked Like

use was a garden-seat, on which

neath her skirt; while Scarlett's eyes were fixed on the magnificent pano

er and more rugged heights. In rear of these rose the twin forest-clad tops of an enormous mo

His enumeration had reached twenty distinct heigh

front of your door," he said, "a

was the gorge through which a rippling, sparkling river escaped from the mo

hills," he said. "We start to-morrow morning, so

led. "I can't cultivate the acquaintance

ingly of diggers. I b

a big nugget when you c

good luck. Give me that, an

favour? If it did, you w

t on the voyag

never had the

eft England thro

d that. Perhaps you'll g

t her eyes were again fixe

d cap on the back of his head, came labouring up the path, and sat heavily on the garden-s

t the Pilot's chaff usually took. "How can you tell such fibs? You forget

e buzzing of a blue-bottle fly. But you're that prim and proper, that staid and straight-laced, you make me tease you, just to rouse you up. Oh! them calm ones, Mr. Scarlett, beware of 'em. It

, slapping the Pilot's broad

, shrinking from her in mock

p, and what they're doing wi

as asking about Sartoris." He had now got himself well in hand. "Sartoris is like a pet monkey in a cage, along o' Chinamen, Malays, Seedee boys, and all them sort of animals. Laff? You should ha' seen me standing up in the boat, hollerin' at Sartoris, and laffin' so as I couldn't hardly keep me feet. 'Sartoris,' I says, 'when do the animals feed?' An' he looks over the rail, just like a stuffed owl in a glass case,

ease they've on boa

another must put his oar in, and say it's something else-dengey fever, break-bone, spirrilum fever, beri-beri, or anything you like. One d

been deaths on b

lf the piebald crew. This morning we buried the Chines

father. He's not likely to be back til

ght you was town-bred. Well, well, so

e heard of this gold th

t in the

if I can find wh

er does he get wrecked than he is shut up aboard this fever-ship. And s'far as I can see, he'll get on no better till he's out o' his streak too. You be careful how you go about for the next six months or so, for as sure as you're born, if you put yourself in the way of it, you'll have some worse mis

ons. He hates to take a ship out of port on a Fri

g the Cape of Good Hope, and two sooty ones near the Campbell Islands. I kept the wing-bo

s me: they don't hurt nobody, and they don't molest the ship, but sail along out of pure love o' company. On the strength o' that you

e had risen, and entered the house. She now r

n which was a slit and a glass prism and lifted the sight-vane, down the centre of which a horsehair stretched perpendicularly to the card of the com

strument from the girl's hand. "To find the real bearing, you m

lly technical. But take the compass: it should

t will be very useful. It'

old gold, and that the mine you are look

ep me warm on frosty nights, and prevent me gettin' cold and all that; and when I gets into the boat one night, and was feeling for a match, bless you if I didn't find a piece o' paper, folded up, in the pocket o' that there cardigan jacket. I took it out and read it by the lantern. It was from my

re missing at dinner-time I know who would grumble. So I'll go, and attend to my duties

ffered hand. "Tha

e, when she looked over her shoulder. "Don'

I get them, you shall have them. I

ngs round at a bargain. And as for gettin' soft on a chap, he ain't come along yet; and when he does, like as not I'll chuck him over this here bank, and break his impident neck. When my gal Rosebud takes a fancy, that's another matter. If she should have a leanin' towards some partic'lar chap, why, then I'd open the door, and lug him in by the collar if he didn't come natural and responsive. I've got my

an burst in

ow you've got a good daughter, stick to her. Chuck every interloper over the b

d streak o' luck, and I believe it. But, mark me here: nothing would please me better than for you to return with a ha

treak? All right. When I work out of that

ll be gladde

, and shook it warmly. "Good-bye," he sa

nd walked down

on the bank, and

atched the retreating figure; "but, for all that, he's like a