Chapter II.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 234, 24 December 1887, Page 4

Chapter 11.

This Christmas Eve old Giles Pearne sat at his door indulging in pleasant dreams and tobacco, while his black-eyed, saucy daughter Bess was flitting about the bar lighting the lamps, and placing bu aches of bright red Christmas flowers, robbed from the shores of Silver Lake, round about the walls. Ona by one the miners having finished their day's labour, strolled up to the hotel and conversed about local topics j then, as the cool night wind swept up the gully, they entered the cheerful kerosene lighted bar and played euchre, Yankee grab, and billiards with the eagerness of men, whose lives are spent in works of severe labour and whose amusements are limited. About midnight the -coach arrived, causing the usual weekly excitement in the small community. It was quite an understood thing in Silver Gully that the coach should spend its Christinas with them, yet Giles, every successive Christmas Eve, expresoed the same surprise and asked the same question of the driver. "JHullo, Sam. Ain't it lucky you should git here for Christmas? How did you manage it ? " "jStrange, Giles," Sam would reply, " but so it is and has bin goin' on nigh on seven years. 1 ' B at' it was not at all strange, for Sam' purposely timed, himself so that he and his old ;irjend Giles could spend their holiday , together. - - Sam's owners ? grumbled the first? year or t\vo> at the 4&y ? - delay, blifc' some slight; accident;. 1 to , coach , or Jiorses ,' would invariably happen about this time, which necessitated a day*s delay, so that they were at .last, glad to "wink at the Icfs of time rather than pay for repairs and lose, a day besides. ..So~naw~.tke. holiday was h quite a Beti&A^gs* Sm#& gfrs J»4 >knowii each other in Yic.tp.ria twenty-five again. One day -on-the Great Koad *an~ kciaent* happened to fche.toach by.,w,hieh; the driver* was .'kitypcL o Sarn^eing jn the.

town at the time got the job. A week afterwards coach pulled up in the Gully, driver .dismounted and entered Pearne's hotel. Sam stared at Giles -Giles stared at Sam, "Fancy I know yer," said Sam. •' D'ye remember Blankit Flat, Victoria, sixteen years ago ? " asked Giles. "Rather," answered Sam, Then they recognised each other and " whiskied up." That -was the reason Long Sam and Fat Giles always spent their Cimstmases together. There were but two outsides and three insides, as Sam put it, this trip. The nsides were a father, mother and daughter, and the outsides an old gentleman with a very red nose and a black handbag, and a young gentleman, evidently a tourist by hie dress and handy baggage. ' The passengers

were soon comfortably settled in their rooms, everything was made snug, and ' silence reigned over Silver Gully. Your tourist is generally the last to go to bed and the first up in the morning ; he is wise and sees all he can which cannot be don© in bed ; so that it was not surprising our tourist of the coach should be up and out before the mist, had rolled off the Jake. Giles was up too, not that he wished to admire the scenery — not he, but he had several matters to supervise and prepare for the day's sports, notably the wrestling ring, for he was an old Cumberland man and never tired of relating his exploits. "Landlord," said the tourist, "I have been watching that hut yonder shaded by that gigantic fern tree. May I inquire whose nest that 13? It looks strangely isolated from the rest of the township." " Ah, he's a queer cbap, he is," answered Giles. "He works on the road, but we only see him once a week, when he fetches his tucker. He makes no friends." •'Ah, an old miser or misanthrope," laughed the tourist. " He ain't old," said Giles ; " about your own age, I reckon." "One of Froude's Oxford young gentlemen. Too exclusive for ue, no doubt." This was too much for Gilee, who went on roping-in a circular sawdust-strewn piece of ground for the wrestlers to knock themselves about in. Breakfast was early this morning ; everyone looked bright and cheery as the ' Merry Christmases " were freely and heartily wished. Sam appeared in a white waistcoat, stiff and respectable, and going up to Giles took his hand and wished him "Merry Christmas and Hapoy New Year, and long might he live to enjoy 'em." This was a time-honoured ceremony, and had to be done in a manner suitable to the occasion. In Sam's hands, it lost nothing in importance. They were a very merry party ; even the insides thawed from their exclusive respectability and entered into the fun j our tourist was in his glory. Bess was seen earnestly whispering to Giles at the conclusion of the meal, and that obese gentleman rose from his chair with a puzzled expression on his jolly red face. "Ladies and gentlemen, and Sam : My Bess has jusfc put a question to me which I thinks should be put to the meeting. You sir (to the tourist) was asking me about that hut on the hill yonder, I told you all I know'd about him, only we calls him Mr Dismal, as he won't chum up with any on us. You, sir, called him a ' proud ox of a gentleman ' or summat. I keeps my opinion to myself. For two years and six months he has been working on the road, only coming here once a week for his tucker, and once a month for his wages from the overseer. My Bess, says she, oughtn't we at this here blessed time o' the year to ask him down here to make friends. Ladies and gentleman, and Sam, I propose we form a depitation to wait on Mr Dismal this blessed minute and put the matter before him in a Christian spirit." Prolonged applause greeted Giles' proposal. ()ur tourist thought it fun ; Sam, great kindness on his friend's part to think so much of others, and the ladies said it was quite proper that at tJaiB~se~ason of the year peace should reign oh earth and goodfellowahip reign among men. Then they looked hard at Bees and smiled knowingly at that demure young lady. No interested motive had prompted her request, only the interest of a sympathetic nature that wished to see everyone around her happy at this period of rejoicing. The deputation, consisting of Giles, Sam, and the tourist, struck the trail leading towards Mr Dismal's hut, though not without misgivings as to the manner that surly individual would receive their visit. , The tourist never forgot that walk "through the sweet-smelling ti-treo and luxuriant fern that early Christmas morning. Above, in the branches of the crimson- ! berried kaikatea, whitechokered tuis whistled a morning greeting ; large '.fafc~ blue pigeons stolidly stared at the intruders, and bright green paraquets darted from bough to bough. J paused at the door 6f the^ hut, 1 viciously slapped his cheek, thus spoiling the breakfast of a swarm of^K?sting sandflies, took off his hat obsequiously, and cleared his throat ' Sam straightened his i waistcoat, and looked important j the tourist felt highlyamueed. •' Mr Blank," said Giles in. an insinuating voice. \ No answer, " t " Sir," called he/raising his voice higher. •- Still all was silent in the hiiti ''"Giles stepped r nearer, and' looked in. Those behind saw hisjat neck turn ghastly .white, and his knees, .shake and; knock together as though ague-struok, "Sam," gurgled Giles hoarsely, "the depitation's come too-late. Go in, for God's sake j he?s;g(hofc, hisnssif dea,d'4" r' I * > «t vs> 1 1 Sam and the ,tourM s T»$tiwU?V M»W W _our foolish fiUeiM- beifwe'etrMs "*knees v and, the muzzle. resting, against his deact-^b t ut 'f{^"toWfi. r ' At *$»$ !,|ppreip,e.'^niept{ whenT^'^u^den'.^e'rki o£

the big toe remained between Dismal and Qternity,, nature had kindly stepped in and sent him' fast asleep. You' must remember he bad been up all night, and was wearied out by harassing reflections. Sam cut the cord and placed the gun in a corner. Giles scill stood trembling at the door j the tourist was eagerly bending over the sleeping man. Dismal moved and opened his eyes, looking straight into those bending over him. With a cry of delight that nearly killed excited Giles, ho sprang into the tourist's arms. "My friend ! My friend ! At last ! At last !" was all he could utter. " Arthur, dear old fellow !" was all the tourist could reply. Verily, men are sometimes weaker than women. Sam and Giles looked on wonderingly, then considerately withdrew outside. As soon as Mr Dismal, or Arthur, whichever you will, recovered from the first de-

lightful shock, he learnt from his friend his name was cleared, his mother longing for his return. His fiiend had been sent to fetch the prodigal, and on his way to the city to institute inquiries, had thus accidentally found him. And Edith ! Ah ! I had forgotten her. A special meesage, sealed by her own fair hand, was placed in Dismal's eager fingers and proved the sweetest Christmas card he had ever received. Giles poked his jolly red face in at the door, and Sam backed ifc up with hislong lean one. " Mister Arthur, may we come in ':" "Certainly." " S'pose he'll come down now without the whole depitation ?"' said Giles to the tourist. " No, wait ; we'll all go together," eaid he. Gile* had gone through a grest deal of excitement during the last half hour, so that when a loud ehout from Sam in the corner of the room, startled the echoes around, it seemed that he ha dreceived his coup-de-grace, but upon feebly turning and eyeing the piece of rough stone in his old mate's hand he bounded to his side, elec trißed, and eagerly examined the specimen. " "Where did you get this, young man ?" excitedly asked Sam of Dismal. " Well, take that way to the gully, and I'll show you the spot,' 5 returned the \\ ould be suicide. The tour men passed down the track where we first became acquainted with our solitary friend, and soon came upon a large hole where he had been quarrying stone for road repairing. "This is the spot. I have been using this for the road, hut found it too hard for working, .so meant to have shifted further away." The two old men were instantly on their knees examining the rocky ground. They were evidently satisfied, for they shook hands, smiled benevolently at each other, then shouted lustily, and altogether behaved in an extravagant manner, unbecoming to such venerable old gentlemen. " You've been putting this on the road, did you say, Mister?" shouted Giles, excitedly. "A little," answered Dismal. " Well, young man, shut your e3'es and listen ! You've been paving this road with gold, for you've struck a leef, and a rich one too." * It was true enough, and not at all strange either, for the country abounded in quartz reefs that only required systematic prospecting to be discovered. " Sam," whispered Giles to his friend as they neared the township, " just fancy him a-wanting to blow his brains out with a pilolike that under his hand. It's just slinging ' mullock ' at Providence, it is." Sam winked sympathetically. Bess was waiting, radiant and happy, the miners were gathered round the hotel awaiting Giles, who was the master of ceremonies; the insides and outsidea were organising racee for the youngsters, and everybody made merry. Suddenly our four friends appeared and a general .«hout ! welcomed them. Old Giles mounted the [ bench near his door and removing his hat, demanded silence. "Ladies and gentlemen, Sam, miners, and Bess ; This is, as you all know, Christmas Day, and a blessed day it is. It is a day we shall all long remember. We formed a depitation this morning to wait on Mr Dismal— you all know him — to invite him to our sports. Well ! What says the Immortal Bard, { Providence moves in a myscerous manner to perform her wonders,' or summat o' that kind. And she worked this morning in Silver Gully by taking this gentleman with us who found his boyhood's friend a sleeping the sleep o' innocence. And he awoke this Christmas morning in his friend's arms. What d'ye think o' that ? Now listen to^ what's coming ! Mr Dismal— God bless him, has— discovered- a rich gold-bearing reef near Finger tip Hill. .Steady,- boys ! Wait a bit ! I'll show you all the spot by and by. He's found' that reef, and has given it over to us to work as ■ a jint stock company— there, boys. NYhat d'ye fhinkV that!" Wliat they; thought of it was proved j effectively by ttie boisterous manner they cheered Mr Dismal, shook his hands nearly 1 off, and finished up by hoisting' him 1 Upon their shoulders' and carrying hind' found the, township i amid the accldmatjohs of "the eotnmunityV ' ' v< ,»<-*■. Tjiai" was a Christmas Day" long rem'einber^d in the annals of Silver Gully. .The dinner" that Giles served up and spread out ' tori lj>ng tables 'beneath the. sheltering blue quins qclipsed ' all previous efforts'. ' The 'miners nev ? eV' ! fßrgot how, thd/ftlt^nose'd 'outride* sHfig'and-.aSnced a jiikjfly '%Ws; f sibs jig," *$V tiie v , inside' gentleman; yikjS -Madly Übe'ralityV' gave' 1 big" prizes 'to '80, confee'focl i oA J ahdW yo,u% 'itisid&W,: to/ fchejidjr^t alt, 'produced "k vipKn* tchittb she 1 .plate fcftfte cteligWcfr all^hb;dmicecl^;; '■ -Giles- and, Sam shook, hagfltf .«ftferV Uvo' :minutes", r tl\e bl^edlJ«JrW^; ,aM failed 1

Bess their guardian angel for thinking of that lucky deputation ; and Dismal and his friend were happy because they wera , together once again, with the knowledge that a few weeks hence would see them homoward bound. And while the fun was at its height and Silver Lake was sparkling in the midday sun, the waiting mother sat by the evening fire listening to the roaring wind fiercely dashing flakes of frozen snow against the shuttered windows. "Edith, dear,'' said the sweet voice, "I feel to-night that our boy is found, and I shall soon embrace my darling again." "Auntie, dear," whispered ' the demure young lady, " I feel so too ! "

Faith is sometimes personified as a drenched female clinging to a sea-washed rock ; but a. better personification would be a bald-headed man buying a bottle of patent hair restorer.