Chapter XXIV

"A sad discovery" (wrote the editor and proprietor of _The Princetown Argus_) "was yesterday made on a spot some dozen miles from Princetown, which we hasten to place before our readers in the shape of an extra edition of our journal, the success of the first number of which, we are happy to say, has exceeded our most glowing anticipations. We ask the inhabitants of Princetown to accept the issue of this our first extra edition as a guarantee of the spirit with which we intend to conduct the newspaper which will represent their interests. The facts of the discovery we refer to are as follows:

"At the distance we have named from Princetown runs the Plenteous river, towards which the eyes of our enterprising miners have been already turned as the source from which, when our creeks run dry, we shall have to obtain our water supply. The party of miners who have formed themselves into a company for the purpose of sluicing a portion of the ground in Fairman's Flat, deputed two of their number, Joseph Porter and Steve Fairfax to make an inspection of the lay of the land between Plenteous River and Fairman's Flat, to decide upon the feasibility of cutting a water race, and upon the best means of carrying out the design. The ground they hold has been proved to be highly auriferous, and there is no doubt that rich washings-out will reward their enterprise. It was not to be expected that they would make their examination without prospecting the ground here and there, and the reports they have brought in seem to establish the fact that the whole of the country between Princetown and the Plenteous River constitutes one vast goldfield. The future of our township is assured, and within a short time its position will be second to none in all Australia. The report of Porter and Fairfax is also highly favourable to the contemplated water race, and the work will be commenced at once. It is calculated that there are already six thousand miners in Princetown. We have room for five times six thousand, and we extend the hand of welcome to our new comrades.

"Upon the arrival of Porter and Fairfax at the Plenteous River they naturally concluded they were the first on the ground, no accounts of any gold workings thereabouts having been published in any of the Australian journals. They soon discovered their error. Work had been done on the banks of the river, as was shown by the heaps of tailings in different places, and on one of the ranges sloping upwards from the banks a shaft had been sunk. At no great distance from the shaft a small tent was set up, and the two men proceeded to it for the purpose of making inquiries. Although the tent presented evidences of having been quite recently occupied, no person was visible, and they came to the conclusion that its owner was at work in another direction and would return at the close of day. Their curiosity induced them to examine the shaft which had been sunk on the range, and this examination led to an important result. There was no windlass over the shaft, but a rope securely fastened at the top hung down the mouth. They shook the rope, and ascertained that it hung loose. To their repeated calls down the shaft they received no reply, and they pulled up the rope. To their surprise there were not more than twelve feet of rope hanging down, whereas the stuff that had been hauled up indicated a depth of some forty or fifty feet. A closer examination of the rope showed that it had been broken at a part where it had got frayed and unable to bear a heavy weight. Being provided with a considerable length of rope the men resolved to descend the shaft and ascertain whether an accident had occurred. Having made their rope fast, Fairfax descended, and reaching the bottom was horrified to discover a man lying there senseless and apparently dead. As little time as possible was lost in getting him to the top, a work of considerable difficulty and danger, but it was accomplished safely after great labour. Then came the task of ascertaining whether the man was dead. He was not; but although he exhibited signs of life the injuries he received were of such a nature that they feared there was little hope for him. It was impossible for Fairfax and Porter to convey him to Princetown without a horse and cart, and Fairfax hurried back to the township to obtain what was necessary, while Porter remained at the Plenteous River to nurse the injured man. He has been brought here, and is now being well looked after. The latest reports of him are more favourable, and hopes are entertained that his life may be saved. He has not yet, however, recovered consciousness, and nothing is known as to his name. Neither is anything absolutely precise known of the circumstances of the accident, except that it was caused by the breaking of the rope, a portion of which was found at the bottom of the shaft, tightly clenched in the stranger's hand.

"There is a certain element of mystery in the affair, and we shall briefly allude to one or two points which seem to have a bearing upon it.

"Fairfax and Porter, to whose timely arrival at Plenteous River the stranger undoubtedly owes his life, if it is spared, are of the opinion that there were two men working in the shaft and living together in the tent. Upon the former point they may be mistaken, for the rope was so fixed that a man working by himself could ascend and descend the shaft with comparative ease, although the labour of filling each bucket of stuff below and then ascending to the top to draw it up, would have been excessive. But upon the latter point there can be no doubt, for the reason that the tent contained two beds, both of which must have been lain upon within the last week or two. Inferring that there _were_ two men working in the shaft, is it possible, when the accident occurred, that the man at the top of the shaft made tracks from the place and left his mate to a cruel and lingering death? This is a mere theory, and we present it for what it is worth. An opinion has been expressed that the rope has been tampered with, and that it did not break from natural wear and tear. If so, it strengthens the theory we have presented. Nothing was found in the pockets of the injured man which could lead to his identity, nor was any gold found upon his person or in the tent. Thus, for the present, the affair is wrapt in mystery."

In the next week's number of the _Princetown Argus_ the incident was again referred to in a leading article, in which a number of other matters found mention:

"The man who was found at the bottom of a shaft on a range at the Plenteous River and was brought to Princetown to have his injuries attended to, is now conscious and in a fair way of recovery. But, whether from a set purpose or from the circumstance that his mental powers have been impaired from the injuries he received, he is singularly reticent about the affair. He has volunteered no information, and his answers to questions addressed to him throw no light upon the mystery. It is expected that several weeks will elapse before he can recover his strength. Meanwhile we have to record that gold has been found in paying quantities in the banks of the river and in the adjacent ranges, and it is calculated that there are already five hundred men at work there. Gold is also being discovered in various parts of the country between Princetown and the river, and a great many claims are being profitably worked. The rush of gold-diggers to Princetown continues, and men are pouring in every day. Yesterday the gold escort took down 4,300 ounces; it is expected that this quantity will be doubled next week. Our enterprising townsman, Mr. John Jones, of the famous Beehive Stores, is having a wooden building erected in which his extensive business will in future be transacted. We direct the attention of our readers to Mr. Jones' advertisement on our front page. The enterprising proprietor of the Royal Hotel has determined to construct a movable theatre, also of wood, which will be put up every evening in the cattle sale-yards adjoining his hotel when the sales of the day are over, and taken down after every performance to allow of the sales being resumed the next morning. This is a novel idea, and will be crowned with success. A first-class company is on its way to Princetown, and it is announced that the first performance will be given in a fortnight. Fuller particulars of these matters will be found in other columns. Our readers will observe that we have doubled the size of the _Princetown Argus_, which now consists of four pages. We have ordered an entire new plant, and upon its arrival shall still further enlarge our paper. Our motto is Onward."

It will be seen from these extracts that Newman Chaytor had carried out his cruel scheme to what he believed and hoped would be the end of the comrade he had plotted against and betrayed. But what man proposes sometimes fails in its purpose, and it was so in this instance. The merciful arrival of the two gold-diggers upon the scene saved Basil's life.

This last act of Chaytor's was easily accomplished. While Basil slept he crawled to the shaft, and by the moon's light weakened the strands of the rope some ten feet down. Then he crawled back to his bed, and tossed to and fro till the dawn of day.

"We'll work the claim till the end of the week," he said to Basil over breakfast, "and if it turns out no better, we will try the banks of the river again."

"Very well," said Basil. "I am truly sorry I don't bring you better luck, but we have something to go on with, at all events."

They walked to the shaft together, and Basil prepared to descend. Grasping the rope, he looked up at Chaytor, and Chaytor smiled at him. He responded with a cheerful look, for although the hopes in which he had indulged of returning to England with a fortune were destroyed, he had not abandoned his wish to leave the colony. He was sick of the life he was leading, and he yearned for a closer human sympathy. His share of the gold they had obtained would be close upon five hundred pounds--that was something; it would enable him to take passage home, to find Annette perhaps, to see and speak with her and renew the old bond; and if the worst happened, if he could not find Annette, or found her only to learn that the woman was different from the child, he could come back to Australia and live out his life there.

"Don't lose heart," he said to Chaytor; "we may strike the vein again this week. There's a bright future before you, I am certain."

"I half believe so myself," said Chaytor; "hoping against hope, you know." And thought, "Will he never go down?"

Basil gave one upward look at the floating clouds and descended. Chaytor bent over the mouth of the shaft, looked down, and listened.

"Is the rope firm?" Basil cried out.

"Quite firm," said Chaytor. Then there came a terrified scream, and the sound of a heavy body falling. Then--silence.

Chaytor, with white face and lips tightly set, still bent over the mouth of the shaft, still looked down the dark depths, still listened. Not a sound--not even a groan.

"It is done," he muttered.

He pulled up the severed rope, and thought that it might have happened without his intervention. He had read of a parallel instance, and of the death of a miner in consequence.

"It was an accident," he said, "as this is. The rope would have given way without my touching it. Such things occur all over the world. Look at the colliery accidents at home--hundreds of men are killed in them, here there is only one."

These thoughts were not prompted by compunction; he simply desired to shift the responsibility from his own shoulders. It was a miserable subterfuge, and did not succeed. In the first flush of his crime its shadow haunted him.

He let the rope fall from his hand down the shaft. "I could not go to him," he said, "if I wanted. How quiet he is!"

A mad impulse seized him.

"Basil Basil!" he cried in his loudest tone; and as no reply reached him, he said, looking around, "Well, then, is it my fault that he does not answer me?"

He paced to and fro, a dozen steps this way, a dozen that, counting his steps. Fifty times at least he did this, always with the intention of going to the tent or the river, and always being drawn back to the mouth of the shaft, over which he hung and lingered. It possessed a horrible fascination for him.

"I _will_ go this time," he said, but he could not. He remained an hour--the longest hour in his life. At length he went down to the river, and as he gazed upon it thought, "Men die by drowning. What does it matter the kind of death? Death is death: it is always the same."

The interminable hours lagged on till night came. He sat in the tent weighing the gold and getting ready for flight. Once in Sydney he would take the first ship for England. The flickering candle cast monstrous shadows upon the walls and ceiling, and in his nervous state he shrank shudderingly from them, and strove to ward them off, as though they were living forms hovering about him with fell intent. The silence appalled him; he would have given gold for the piping of a little bird.

Thus passed the miserable night, and in the morning he visited the shaft again. The same awful stillness reigned.

"It is all over," he said. "Newman Chaytor is dead; I, Basil Whittingham, live. No one will ever know. Now for England!"