few mines scattered
about. Mostly Chinese mines. The storekeeper there's a great soaker,
nearly always on the drink. Name's Sampson. He'll tell you where to find
Tommy Prince. Prince and his mates have a claim twelve miles out from
there, and if Tommy ain't gone to the Oriental, he might go down with
you."

"Supposing Tommy's at his claim, twelve miles out," said Hugh, "how can
I get out?"

"I dunno," said the storekeeper, who was getting tired of talking so
long without a drink. "I dunno how you'll get out there. Better have a
drink--what'll you have?"

Hugh walked out of the store in despair. He found himself engaged in
what appeared to be an endless chase after a phantom Considine, and the
difficulties in his way semed insuperable. Yet how could he go back and
tell them all at home that he had failed? What would they think of him?
The thought made him miserable; and he determined, if he failed, never
to go back to the old station at all.

So he returned to his hotel, packed his valise, and set out to look
for the pack-horse man. He found him fairly sober; soon bargained to be
allowed to ride one of the horses, and in due course was deposited
at the Margaret--a city consisting of one galvanised-iron building,
apparently unoccupied. His friend dismounted and had a drink with him
out of his flask. They kicked at the door unavailingly; then his mate
went on into the indefinite, leaving him face to face with general
desolation.

The Margaret store was the only feature in the landscape--a small
building with a heap of empty bottles in the immediate foreground, and
all round it the grim bush, a vista of weird twisted trees and dull
grey earth with scanty grass. At the back were a well, a windlass, and a
trough for water, round which about a hundred goats were encamped. Hugh
sat and smoked, and looked at the prospect. By-and-by out of the bush
came two men, a Chinaman and a white man. The Chinaman was like all
Chinamen; the white man was a fiery, red-faced, red-bearded, red-nosed
little fellow. The Chinee was dragging a goat along by the horns, the
goat hanging back and protesting loudly in semi-human screams; every now
and again a black mongrel dog would make sudden fiendish dashes at the
captive, and fasten its teeth in its neck. This made it bellow louder;
but the Chinaman, with the impassibility of his race, dragged goat, dog,
and all along, without the slightest show of interest.

The white man trudged ahead, st