Page 135 - In A New World

CHAPTER XXIV.

THE NUGGET IN DANGER.

The tramp, who has already been introduced to the reader, had spent the
evening at the gambling house, having come into possession, during the

day, of a small sum of money, given him by a compassionate miner. He had
risked it, and for a time been successful, so that at the end of an hour he

might have left off with twenty pounds. But the fatal fascination of the
game drew him on till all his winnings melted away, and he left the cabin at
midnight without a penny in his pocket, so far as he knew. There was,

however, a shilling which he had overlooked, and did not discover till he
was already some distance away. He was tempted to return, and probably

would have done so, had not his roving eyes discovered Obed and the two
boys returning from their claim with the nugget.

"What are they up to," he asked himself in amazement, "that keeps them
out of bed till after midnight? There's something up. I wonder what it is."

He had reason to be surprised. With the exception of those who, like
himself, spent the night in gambling (when he was in funds), no one in the

camp was awake or stirring. And of all, none kept more regular hours than
Obed and the two boys.

Casting about for some explanation, the tramp's attention was drawn to the
burden that Obed carried.

"What can it be?" he asked himself wonderingly. Then, with a flash of

conviction, he said to himself: "A nugget! They've found a nugget as sure
as I'm a sinner!"

The tramp was intensely excited. His covetous soul was stirred to its
depths. The opportunity he had been waiting for so long had come at

length. It meant fortune for him. Qualms of conscience about appropriating
the property of another troubled him not at all. He meant to have the
nugget, by fair means or foul.