to keep all the wild gold-seeking scoundrels
away from my peaceful happy valley; and in spite of all I have done to
welcome you for my sister's sake, you give me evil for good."

"Indeed you are wrong, sir; I have not told a soul," I cried.

"Bah!" said Mr Raydon, furiously. "How can I think otherwise, when I
see you holding half-secret meetings with that man Gunson, who returns
in force to destroy this place? Well, my lad, I wish you joy of your
share, but, mark my words, this gold-seeking is miserable gambling, the
work of men who will not see that the real way to find gold is in
genuine honest work. Take the gold-seekers all round, and they would
have made more of the precious metal by planting corn than by this
digging and washing in the river-beds."

"Then you will not believe me, sir?"

"I cannot, my lad, after what I have seen," he said. "Your conduct has
not seemed to me manly and frank."

"I have tried to be, sir," I cried.

"And failed, boy. The temptation of the gold has proved to be too much
for you."

I stood silent now, for I could not speak. I wanted to say a great
deal, but there was a swelling in my throat--a hot feeling of
indignation and misery combined kept me tongue-tied, and above all there
was a guilty feeling that he was just.

"As for you," Mr Raydon continued, turning to Esau, "I shall not waste
words upon you. Of course you agreed with your companion, but you would
both have done better for yourselves as lads, and earned better
positions in life, by being faithful to me, than by letting yourselves
be led away by this miserable temptation."

"I ain't done nothing," said Esau; "I only--"

"That will do," cried Mr Raydon, fiercely, cutting him short. "Now
go."

"All right, sir," said Esau; and now I found my tongue again.

"Yes, Esau, we had better go," I said, bitterly. "Mr Raydon will some
day find out how unjust he has been to us."

"That will do," cried Mr Raydon, sternly. "No hypocrisy, sir. Once
for all, I know that you gave Gunson either full particulars or hints,
such as enabled him to bring a gang to this peaceful place."

"Well, if you won't let a fellow speak," began Esau.

"Silence, sir!" cried Mr Raydon, as I moved towards the door. "And
you, Gordon, where are you going?"

"I don't know, sir," I said.

"Then I do. You are going to join that wild crew up at the
gold-washings."

"I was going to see and tell Mr Gunson of what had happened, sir."

"