"She didn't want to trouble us. I'm not sure that Margaret has not known since she came back from Brisbane. But things have come to a climax now. The price of wool has gone down lower than ever, and our last shearing hardly realised enough to cover the working expenses of the run. Mother wrote to tell Mr. Crosby how it was, and that she hoped to be able to pay him next year; but this has just given him the very opportunity he wanted, and he is down on to us at once."

"What can he do?"

"Why, sell Wandaroo straight off. Don't you see, he lent us money on the security of the run, and if we can't pay the interest he can sell everything right over our heads?"

"Sell Wandaroo!" said George, in a voice of the utmost astonishment and grief. "But it is ours. We were born here. I could live nowhere else. Oh, I love it so, Alec."

"So do I, so do we all," said the elder brother, in a pained but steady voice; "but he has the law on his side, and he can rob us of everything—for it is robbery."

"Has he said that he will not wait?"

"Yes. Macleod rode to Bateman yesterday, to get some more of that new sheep dip, and he brought a letter up from the steamer. Mr. Crosby says that he is very sorry that he can't wait, and that he must have the money at once; and, if we can't pay it to his agent in Parra-parra before a month, he shall put his men in possession, and we must turn out."

"How much do we owe him?"

"Oh, more than we can possibly get. The interest is £600. He has lent us £4,000, at 15 per cent., the miserly old Jew. Think of that, and he called himself our friend. Oh, Geordie, lad, I cannot bear to think of leaving Wandaroo. I love every mile of it;" and the poor fellow buried his face in his hands. "I think it would almost kill mother to have to go away."

"'GOLD, GOLD! CHEER UP, ALEC; OF COURSE WE'LL HAVE IT.'" (p. 5.)

"When did she tell you all this?"

"About two hours ago, when you were in the wool shed. I came out here; I could not bear to see her grief, as I could not help her; and I have been thinking, thinking till my brain burns."

"Ah, poor mother! I saw there was something wrong, though she tried to hide it, and to smile when I came in to tea. And Margaret never said my hair was rough, or anything. Have you thought of any plan, Alec?"

"No, I can think of nothing. If we sold every sheep on the run we could not raise the money. If I could be up and doing anything I should not care, but to sit here absolutely helpless will kill me. Nothing short of a gold mine can save us."

He spoke with the bitterness of despair in his voice, for life seemed very hopeless to him just then. He sat moodily gazing at the great, distant, purple hills, over which the golden round of the full moon was rising in the rich silence of the Australian night. But his words had a different effect upon George, who still sat with his sun-browned hand on his brother's arm.

The younger boy sprang up with a shout.

"Gold, gold! Cheer up, Alec; of course we'll have it. Do you mean to say that you have forgotten the story father used to tell us of how, when he and mother first came to Wandaroo, they found Black Harry with a nugget of pure gold slung round his neck on a bit of green cow-hide?"

"Yes, I remember that."

"And don't you recollect that father used to say that there was a huge fortune lying where that came from for the man that could find the place? He used to say that he should not try to find it himself, for he believed he could do better by honestly working on the run than by rushing off on a wild-goose chase after gold he might never find."

"But that was years ago, and Black Harry is dead long since."

"I know, I know," said George, eagerly; "but that old gin" (woman), "Ippai, was his wife, and she will be sure to know all about it. There are several boys of the tribe still on the run, and we can get them to go with us. They never forget a path, and can lead us back to the north-west, where they came from."

He had sprung up in his excitement, and talked rapidly and earnestly to Alec, who had turned round in astonishment at Geordie's glad voice. At first the more sober elder brother shook his head at George's wild proposition, but slowly the doubt seemed to fade from his face, and he seemed to catch some of the enthusiasm of the younger fellow. George Law was often the quicker of the brothers, but once let Alec make up his mind to anything, and nothing could turn him aside from carrying it out.

"Why not? Why not, Alec?" George pleaded. "What is the use of sitting here and doing nothing? If we fail, as you seem to think we shall, we shall be no worse off than we were before, and if we succeed, why——"

Here language failed him, he could only point across the gully in the direction of the home where he knew their mother was grieving.

Then Alec sprang up; he had caught fire at last. Geordie was right—no good could come of inaction. His face was all aglow with excitement now, and his strong right hand was clenched.

"I believe you, Geordie. It is our only chance. It seems to me very improbable that we shall find the gold, but we can do our best and try. Anything is better than staying here and doing nothing. Come, let us go in now or we shall have mother getting anxious about us. After tea I will go down to the native camp and see old Ippai, and find out all I can about that nugget. There is no time to be lost."

"When can we start, Alec?"

"To-morrow."

"Hurrah; but that is rather soon, isn't it?"

"What is the use of delay. If we are going we may as well go at once. Shearing is over and there is nothing to be done on the run that Macleod cannot see to. There's only the shepherding, and that can be done without us, particularly now that Yesslett is living with us; he can do ration-carrier's work. Don't tell mother what we are after; it would only frighten her and buoy her up with what may be a false hope. I will tell her that we are going away for some time."

George nodded, and without another word they turned and descended the steep dark rocks into the blackness of the gully. It was a dangerous place, for the side of the ravine on which the fantastic pile of rocks, which they called "The Castle," was placed, was of a great height, and the rocks themselves were bare and steep. But the two boys descended with sure and fearless tread; "The Castle" had been their favourite playing place when they were children, and custom had quite driven fear away.

Alec led the way with a firm, manly step, and George followed close upon him. Geordie saw that Alec was thinking and did not wish to be disturbed, so he followed him without a sound. There was a perfect confidence between these two, which was marred by no little jealousies or selfishnesses. Brought up alone on the station with no other companion, for their sister was older than either of them, and had been away in Brisbane to be educated, they had become all in all to one another, and loved each other as very few brothers do. From this great affection a perfect understanding had grown up between them, and each one read the other as a well-loved book.

They had never been away from each other for more than a day, and they were never so happy as when together. Their father had been unable to afford to send them to school, as he had his daughter, for the early settlers in Queensland had not had very prosperous times, so they had learned from him the little that they knew. They were not very clever, these two lads; many an English boy of twelve knows more Latin and history and mathematics than they did, but they were fine, strong, healthy fellows, with pure and honest hearts; and they had learned from their father, both by example and precept, the maxims