Read Online A Tale Of Three Lions by H. Rider Haggard - Free Book Online Page B

two thousand dollars in value of
experience.’
    “Then he went just in time, for in another moment I should have gone for
him, and I saw his face no more.
    “Well, I set to work on the old claim with my boy Harry and half a dozen
Kaffirs to help me, which, seeing that I had put nearly all my worldly wealth
into it, was the least that I could do. And we worked, my word, we did work
—early and late we went at it—but never a bit of gold did we
see; no, not even a nugget large enough to make a scarf-pin out of. The
American gentleman had secured it all and left us the sweepings.
    “For three months this went on, till at last I had paid away all, or very
near all, that was left of her little capital in wages and food for the
Kaffirs and ourselves. When I tell you that Boer meal was sometimes as high
as four pounds a bag, you will understand that it did not take long to run
through our banking account.
    “At last the crisis came. One Saturday night I had paid the men as usual,
and bought a muid of mealie meal at sixty shillings for them to fill
themselves with, and then I went with my boy Harry and sat on the edge of the
great hole that we had dug in the hill-side, and which we had in bitter
mockery named Eldorado. There we sat in the moonlight with our feet over the
edge of the claim, and were melancholy enough for anything. Presently I
pulled out my purse and emptied its contents into my hand. There was a
half-sovereign, two florins, ninepence in silver, no coppers—for
copper practically does not circulate in South Africa, which is one of the
things that make living so dear there—in all exactly fourteen and
ninepence.
    “‘There, Harry, my boy!’ I said, ‘that is the sum total of our worldly
wealth; that hole has swallowed all the rest.’
    “‘By George!’ said Master Harry; ‘I say, father, you and I shall have to
let ourselves out to work with the Kaffirs and live on mealie pap,’ and he
sniggered at his unpleasant little joke.
    “But I was in no mood for joking, for it is not a merry thing to dig like
anything for months and be completely ruined in the process, especially if
you happen to dislike digging, and consequently I resented Harry’s light-
heartedness.
    “‘Be quiet, boy!’ I said, raising my hand as though to give him a cuff,
with the result that the half-sovereign slipped out of it and fell into the
gulf below.
    “‘Oh, bother,’ said I, ‘it’s gone.’
    “‘There, Dad,’ said Harry, ‘that’s what comes of letting your angry
passions rise; now we are down to four and nine.’
    “I made no answer to these words of wisdom, but scrambled down the steep
sides of the claim, followed by Harry, to hunt for my little all. Well, we
hunted and we hunted, but the moonlight is an uncertain thing to look for
half- sovereigns by, and there was some loose soil about, for the Kaffirs had
knocked off working at this very spot a couple of hours before. I took a pick
and raked away the clods of earth with it, in the hope of finding the coin;
but all in vain. At last in sheer annoyance I struck the sharp end of the
pickaxe down into the soil, which was of a very hard nature. To my
astonishment it sunk in right up to the haft.
    “‘Why, Harry,’ I said, ‘this ground must have been disturbed!’
    “‘I don’t think so, father,’ he answered; ‘but we will soon see,’ and he
began to shovel out the soil with his hands. ‘Oh,’ he said presently, ‘it’s
only some old stones; the pick has gone down between them, look!’ and he
began to pull at one of the stones.
    “‘I say, Dad,’ he said presently, almost in a whisper, ‘it’s precious
heavy, feel it;’ and he rose and gave me a round, brownish lump about the
size of a very large apple, which he was holding in both his hands. I took it
curiously and held it up to the light. It was very heavy. The
moonlight fell upon its rough and filth-encrusted surface, and as I looked,
curious