ttle of minerals, and we done nothing with
it until the time to put in our legal improvements was nearly up. Then
Morgan struck rich pay ore, and we worked night and day. But we
weren't quite quick enough--one night two jumpers pulled our stakes up.
Oh, yes, they had the law behind them, for says the Crown, 'Unless
you've developed your claim within the legal limit, it lapses; and any
free miner can relocate.'"

"Come to the point," said Thurston. "I'm sleepy."

"I'm coming," Black continued; "Morgan had no grit. He got on to the
whiskey, and talked about shooting himself. I swore I'd shoot the
first of the other crowd who set foot on the claim instead, and half
the boys who started driving pegs all round us heard me. There was a
doubt as to whether the jumpers had hit the time putting their stakes
in, and the boys were most for me, but as usual the thieves had a man
with money behind them. His name was Shackleby."

"Ah! I begin to understand things now," said Geoffrey.

"I was sitting alone in my tent at night when one of them jumpers came
in," Black went on, unheeding. "All the rest were sleeping, and the
bush was very still. He'd a roll of dollar bills to give me if I'd
light out quietly. Said I'd nothing to stand on, but the man behind
him didn't want to figure in the papers if it went to court. Well, I
wouldn't take the money, and ran him out of my tent. When he touched
his pistol, I had an ax in my hand, and it was a poor man's luck that
one of the boys must come along. When he'd slouched off, I began to
hanker for the money, went after the jumper to see if I could raise his
price, missed him and came back again, but I struck his tracks in the
mud beside a creek, with another man's hoof-marks behind them. Well,
next morning that jumper was found in the river with no money in his
wallet, and the boys looked black at me until I had an interview with
Mr. Shackleby. He'd fixed the whole thing up good enough to hang me,
and nailed me down to blame hard terms as the price of my liberty.
You're getting tired--no? Shackleby got the Blue Bird, and kept his
claws on me until his man, Leslie, sent me up to bust your machines;
but Shackleby has worn me thin, until I'm ready to stand my trial
sooner than run any more of his mean jobs for him; and now, to cut the
long end off, do you believe me?"

"I think I do," replied Geoffrey. "What made you bolt from here, and
what do you want from me? Is it the sam