ch a misfortune as this?"

"What's the good o' crying about it, my son?" said the man, smiling.
"There's worse disasters at sea. Who says light a fire and have a good
breakfast?"

"Breakfast!" cried Abel; "nonsense! We must go in pursuit at once."

"And leave our traps for some one else to grab? Why, dear boy, we
couldn't get through the forest empty-handed."

"No," said Abel, gazing along the bank of the lake disconsolately.

"He's right, Bel," said Dallas, after shading his eyes and looking down
the lake. "They've got right away."

"Hang 'em, yes," said the Cornishman, smiling merrily. "I say, I wish
we hadn't taken quite so much pains with that there raft. If we'd known
we'd ha' saved all those six-inch spikes we put in it."

"The scoundrels, whoever they are!" cried Dallas. "It's beyond
bearing."

"Nay, not quite, my son," said their new friend good-humouredly,
"because we've got to bear it. Cheer up. Might have been worse. You
see, it was a fresh lot come along while we were asleep and out of
sight. `Hullo!' says one of 'em, `now I do call this kind; some un's
made us a raft all ready for taking to the water. Come along, mates,'
and they all comed."

"I wish I'd heard them," cried Dallas.

"Well, if you come to that, so do I, my sons. But there, we've got our
tackle, and they haven't taken all the wood, so we must make another."

"Yes, and waste two more days," cried Abel angrily.

"Well, we're none of us old yet," said the Cornishman good-humouredly;
"and I don't suppose those who have gone before will have got all the
gold."

"But it is so annoying to think that we lay snoring yonder and let
whoever they were steal the raft," said one of the men.

"So it is, my son," cried his companion; "and I can see that you two are
chock full o' swear words. Tell you what: you two go in yonder among
the trees and let 'em off, while we three light the fire and cook the
rashers. It'll ease your minds, and you'll feel better. I say, what's
about the value of that there raft?"

"I wouldn't have taken twenty pounds for my share of it," cried Abel.

"Humph! Twenty," said the Cornishman musingly. "Well, seeing it's
here, we'll say twenty pound. There's five of us, and that makes a
hundred. All right, my sons; we shall come upon those chaps one of
these days, and they'll have to pay us about a pound and a harf o' gold
for our work; and if they don't there's going to be a fight. Now then,
gentl