“Ha!” cried Gerrard, “so that gang is here? I know a good deal about _them,_” and he told Vale of what had occurred on board the _Gambier_ when Fraser had thrown Capel across the deck.
“I thought they were a fishy crowd, and there are lots of men here who believe they are gold-stealers, but so far they have been too clever and have escaped detection.”
“Well, I can tell you that Capel, otherwise Barney Green, is one of the most notorious gold thieves in Australia, and served a sentence in New South Wales.”
“Certainly. It should be known. You can call upon me to repeat what I have told you to the whole camp.”
“Very well, but not to-day. They'll be sure to be here to-night at the shivoo, and as some of the boys are certain to be pretty groggy they might half-kill the whole gang. But I'll go for them in the morning, if you'll back me up.”
“Of course I will. But I don't think they will show up to-night, if they know I am here.”
In this surmise Gerrard was correct, for Forreste and his companions kept away, being particularly anxious not to come into personal contact with him, and in pursuance of a plan of their own. After the cattle had been killed, they sent a neighbouring digger to buy some beef, and remained at their claim for the rest of the day. Forreste, however, went to several of the other claims, and told the owners that he and his mates thought of clearing out in a day or so, and would sell their claim cheap.
In an hour or two he came back, and found Cheyne outside the tent, repairing their saddles. Green and Pinkerton were busy at the claim, cradling the last of the wash-dirt taken out.
“Better than I expected. Old Sandy MacParland and his party are coming here to-morrow morning, and are going to give the claim a day's trial. If they like it, they will buy us out for one hundred pounds.”
“Pity we haven't got time to salt it,{ *} and get a bigger price.”
* “Salting” a gold mine is a common practice of dishonest miners not entirely unknown even to magnates of the Stock Exchange--as the records of the London Law Courts have shown for many years past.
“MacFarland is too old a hand to be got at that way,” replied the captain, as he walked on to the claim to tell Green and Pinkerton his news.