initial commit of ebook 16861HEADmain

9 files changed, 24659 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6833f05
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitattributes
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+* text=auto
+*.txt text
+*.md text
diff --git a/16861-8.txt b/16861-8.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..208aefd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/16861-8.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,8189 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Wedge of Gold, by C. C. Goodwin
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Wedge of Gold
+
+Author: C. C. Goodwin
+
+Release Date: October 12, 2005 [EBook #16861]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WEDGE OF GOLD ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Justin Gillbank, Mary Meehan and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                           THE WEDGE OF GOLD
+
+                            BY C.C. GOODWIN,
+
+                          EDITOR DAILY TRIBUNE
+
+                                  1893
+
+                      TRIBUNE JOB PRINTING COMPANY
+                          SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+     I. The Mineral Kingdom
+
+    II. Indications
+
+   III. Making Money at $4 per day
+
+    IV. Smiles and Tears
+
+     V. The Voyage
+
+    VI. Bonanzas
+
+   VII. A Dinner Party
+
+  VIII. Ways that are Dark
+
+    IX. How Miners are Caught
+
+     X. Enchantment
+
+    XI. Going to Epsom Downs
+
+   XII. Westminster Abbey
+
+  XIII. Two Kinds of Sorrow
+
+   XIV. Tears and Orange Flowers
+
+    XV. Sinister Successes
+
+   XVI. A Trip to Africa
+
+  XVII. On Their Travels
+
+ XVIII. The Soul in Clay
+
+   XIX. The Wedge of Gold
+
+    XX. The Occident and the Orient Meet
+
+   XXI. Shipping a Quartz Mill
+
+  XXII. A Lost Trail Discovered
+
+ XXIII. Back to England
+
+  XXIV. Dealing in Mining Shares
+
+   XXV. A Wedge of Gold Indeed
+
+  XXVI. Fever Visions
+
+ XXVII. Selling Stock Short
+
+XXVIII. Convalescent
+
+  XXIX. Springing a Trap
+
+   XXX. Grand Opera
+
+  XXXI. Marriage Bells
+
+ XXXII. Fruition
+
+
+
+
+THE WEDGE OF GOLD.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+THE MINERAL KINGDOM.
+
+
+The splendor of the world is due to mining and to the perfectness of
+man's ability to work the minerals which the mines supply. The fields of
+the world give men food; with food furnished, a few souls turn to the
+contemplation of higher things; but no grand civilization ever came to an
+agricultural people until their intellects were quickened by something
+beyond their usual occupation.
+
+How man first emerged from utter barbarism is a story that is lost, but
+when history first began to pick up the threads of events and to weave
+them into a record, the loom upon which the record was woven was made
+of gold. One of the rivers that flowed through Eden also "compassed the
+whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; and the gold of that land is
+good."
+
+"Tubal Cain was an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron."
+Abraham and Jacob bought fields with money, and when Pharaoh sought to
+make Joseph next in power to himself, he took the ring from his finger
+and put it upon Joseph's finger; and he put a chain of gold about
+Joseph's neck. Thus the grandchildren of Adam, in Holy Writ, were
+artificers in brass and iron, and when civilization in Egypt began to
+make an impression upon the world, its sovereigns had already discovered
+the omnipotence of gold.
+
+Assyria, that came next to be the concernment of mankind, had men who
+could perfectly fuse gold and glass, and their work is still an object
+of wonder to the world. Their queens wore raiment which was woven from
+threads of gold.
+
+The splendor of the Hebrew nation culminated when the roof of their
+great temple was laid with beaten gold, and when all the magnificent
+furnishings within the temple were wrought from gold and silver and
+brass.
+
+The invincible Greeks had chariots and javelins of iron, helmets of gold
+and brass, and now as their tombs are rifled there is found beside where
+their bones went back to dust the metal implements with which they
+wrought, and the imperishable coins with which they carried on their
+commerce.
+
+The power of Rome came when her artisans learned how to fashion the short
+sword, and her soldiers learned how to wield it, and her splendor came
+when, through conquest, she brought under her dominion the gold fields
+of Spain and Asia, and learned the power which money carries with it. Her
+civilization began to recede when the money supply began to fall off, and
+when it became too precious for the masses to possess it, then the race
+degenerated until the men were no longer fit to be soldiers, the women
+lost the grace to become the mothers of soldiers, and darkness settled
+upon Europe.
+
+England remained little more than a rendezvous for wild tribes until
+her people learned mining and began the study of how to reduce the metals
+which the mines supplied, and her advancement since can be rated exactly
+by the progress she has made in bringing the metals into effective
+forms and combinations. When first the rude Saxon acquired the art to
+mend the broken links in a knight's armor, and how to temper one of the
+old-fashioned two-handed swords, it was possible to comprehend, that from
+that germ would expand the brains that would by and by construct a steel
+ship or bridge; when the first rude spindle was fashioned, all the
+commencement necessary to create and work the world's looms was made.
+
+Out of these accomplishments, commerce was born; foreign commerce
+required ships, and so the ships were supplied; with commerce was
+developed a financial system, and soon it was discovered that after all
+the chiefest power of the world was money; that the swiftest way to win
+money was to perfect machinery so that out of raw material forms of
+beauty and of use could be wrought, and thus in regular chain the majesty
+of England expanded from the first day that an Englishman was able to
+convert from the dull iron ore something which the world would want,
+until ships laden with her wares reached all the world's ports, and to
+barbarous lands she became an iron nation more terrible than the first
+iron nation.
+
+The world's highest civilization does not come from the fruitful fields,
+but from the darkness of the deep mines. Power and independence come with
+the digging and working of the baser metals; full civilization waits upon
+the production of enough of the royal metals to give to the people wealth
+in a form that enables them to command the best attainable talent and
+forces to serve them, and enough of leisure to enable them to put forward
+their best efforts.
+
+Below the surface of the story which makes this book is a deeper story of
+what may be performed by brave hearts when they leave the fruitful fields
+behind them and turn with all their hearts to woo the desert that turns
+her forbidding face to them at their coming, and holds, closely hidden
+within her sere breast, her inestimable treasures.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+INDICATIONS.
+
+
+"What think you of it, Jack?"
+
+"It is growing soft in the drift, Jim; the stringers of ore are growing
+stronger and giving promise of concentrating soon."
+
+"So it strikes me," was the response, "and when Uncle Jimmie Fair was
+down here an hour ago, I put two things together, and they have kept me
+thinking ever since."
+
+"And what were the two things, Jim?"
+
+"Why, Jack, did you hear him sigh as he moved the candle along the face
+of the drift, and hear him say, 'You are doing beautifully, my sons,
+beautifully; I never had better men,' and then sighed again, and added,
+'I fear it's no use; I fear we shall have to drop the work soon?' That
+was one of the things. The other was the light in his eyes when he
+examined the face of the drift. If I were a gambler, Jack, I would
+'copper' what he said and wager all I had on the twinkle of his eyes."
+
+"It looks good in the drift, surely; and, Jim, if we break into an ore
+body any time, it will not surprise me."
+
+"Nor me, either, Jack; and if we strike ore here, it ought to be good,
+because, as I reckon it, since we left the Gould and Curry shaft, we have
+drifted out of the G. & C. ground, clear through the Best and Belcher,
+and some distance into the Consolidated Virginia, and by the trend of the
+lode, if we could find an ore body here, it would be in regular course
+from the Spanish and Ophir croppings."
+
+"How long have you worked here, and how much have you saved, Jack?"
+
+"It is three years and a month since I went to work in the Belcher,"
+was the reply; "I made $400 in Crown Point stocks, and I have saved
+altogether $2,800 and odd."
+
+"I beat you by a year's work, Jack, and I have, I believe, $3,300 or
+$3,400 in the bank. Suppose we try a little gamble in stocks. If we could
+get an ore body here, this stock would double in a week, and it will not
+fall very much lower if we do not find anything."
+
+"All right, Jim, if you say so. Meet me to-morrow at eleven o'clock at
+the California Bank, and we will put in and buy a few shares."
+
+"Agreed," was the answer; "but our twenty minutes are up and we must go.
+But, Jack, _mum_ must be the word."
+
+"Mum goes," said Jack.
+
+It was a queer spot where this talk was held. It was by the air-pipe in
+the drift which was run from the 1,200-foot level of the Gould and Curry
+shaft on the Comstock ledge in Nevada, north toward where the great
+bonanza was found in the Consolidated Virginia Mine. In the face of the
+drift the temperature was 120 degrees, and miners could work for only
+forty minutes and then had to retire to the air-pipe to cool off. It was
+while resting at the air-pipe that these men, James Sedgwick and John
+Browning, talked.
+
+They were stripped from the waist up; all their clothing consisted of
+canvas pantaloons held up by a belt, and miners' shoes; they each had a
+little band around the head in which was fastened a miner's candlestick.
+Thus exposed, in the candlelight, they were handsome men. The excessive
+perspiration caused by the heat of the mine made their faces as fair as
+the faces of women, and as they lounged, half-naked, carelessly in the
+drift, their muscles stood out in knots, and in the dim light of the
+candles, as they rose to return to work, their movements were supple and
+elastic as those of caged lions. The one who answered to the name of
+Browning was shorter than the other by an inch, but deeper-chested; the
+candlelight showed that his eyes were blue, and his mustache and short
+curly hair were of chestnut color. The other was a little taller, but not
+so compactly built, and in the uncertain light his eyes, hair and
+mustache seemed to be black; but really his eyes were gray and his hair
+brown. Both were young, perhaps twenty-seven or twenty-eight years of
+age, and both were perfect pictures of good health and good nature.
+
+Their shift was from four in the afternoon to midnight; but when at
+midnight they went back through the drift to the shaft to be hoisted to
+the surface, the night foreman informed them that there was some trouble
+with the cage; that while they could still hoist rock, it was not deemed
+safe to trust men on the cage, and, accordingly, some blankets,
+mattresses, and supper had been sent down, and they would have to spend
+the night in a cross-cut running from the shaft.
+
+The other miners growled. These two made no complaint, but ate their
+suppers, then took their beds and spread them in the cross-cut. Sedgwick
+and Browning went farthest into the cross-cut, made their beds together,
+and lay down. When they knew by the breathing of the miners nearest them
+that they were asleep, in low tones they began to talk.
+
+Browning was the first to speak. "By Jove, Jim," he said, "that cage
+story is too thin. It worked all right up to ten o'clock, for Mackay and
+Fair both came down and spent a good quarter of an hour in the end of the
+drift and kept tapping around with their hammers. I was mean enough to
+watch them on the sly and saw them both taking samples. If you keep
+awake, you will see John Mackay down here again by six o'clock in the
+morning, and you may make up your mind not to see any more daylight for
+three days or a week to come; that is, if the drift keeps on improving."
+
+"I believe it, Jack," said Sedgwick; "did you notice that the last blast
+left nearly the whole face of the drift in ore? Then, did you notice as
+we met the car coming out, it had long drills in it, and the shift boss
+was following it up close? No blasting will be done to-night, but the
+drillings will be saved for assay, and I tell you the plan is that we
+shall tell no tales out of school. Believe me, that cage will not be
+safe again till as much stock shall be taken in as is needed by those
+in control."
+
+"And so," said Browning, "when we get to the surface our little money
+will not buy enough stock to make it any object."
+
+"I have been thinking of that," said Sedgwick, "and it makes me hot, for
+all day I have been dreaming of doubling my money."
+
+"I have a notion," said Browning, "to try to work my way out on the
+ladders."
+
+"That will not work," replied Sedgwick; "I looked, and all the lower
+ladders have been taken down."
+
+Then a long silence followed, until at last Sedgwick spoke again. "I
+have it, Jack," said he. Lighting his candle, he groped around in the
+cross-cut, and found a splinter from a lagging. Fishing out a stump of
+a pencil from the pocket of his pantaloons, he said, "Where is your
+money, Browning?"
+
+"In the California Bank," he replied.
+
+"All right," was the response. Then on the splinter he wrote for a
+moment, and then said, "How is this?" and in a whisper read: "California
+Bank, Please pay to John W. Mackay whatever funds may be to our
+respective credits."
+
+"What is your idea, Jim?" asked Browning.
+
+"I mean to lay for Mackay, and when he comes down ask him, quietly, to
+read the writing when he gets up into daylight."
+
+"But what will he think we want?" asked Browning.
+
+"He will know mighty quick," said Sedgwick; "he knows where we work; he
+will understand that we know what we see, and that while we do not intend
+to give away the information, at the same time we do not want to 'get
+left out in the cold' on this deal."
+
+"What think you he will do?" asked Browning.
+
+"If he believes it safe, and the right kink is on him, he will draw our
+money and buy us some stock," said Sedgwick. "He made his money that way,
+and it is not long since he was a timberman on this same lode."
+
+"Why not word it differently, and ask him squarely to buy the stock?"
+asked Browning.
+
+"Why, Jack," was the reply, "that would be a dead give-away. He would
+never present such an order at the bank. It would be a notice to every
+man in the bank and every friend of every man in the bank, and that would
+mean everybody in town, that the miners who were kept down in the deeps
+were trying to buy the stock of the mine. I would rather risk it this
+way."
+
+"All right, everything goes," said Browning, and both signed the order.
+
+Then they talked for a long time. They had known each other slightly for
+a couple of years, having met first in the Belcher lower levels, and
+being thrown together in work on the face of the drift from the G. & C.
+shaft, they had, during the previous few days, each found that the other
+was a good and bright man, and had grown more and more intimate, and a
+warm friendship had sprung up between them. As they lay down again,
+Browning said to Sedgwick, "How did you come to be here, Jim?"
+
+"Fate arranged it, I guess," was the reply. "You see, my home was
+in Ohio, in the valley of the Miami. My father had a big farm--400
+acres--but there were two boys older than myself, and they needed the
+land. I took to books naturally, and the plan was to give me an
+education, and then add a learned profession, or set me up in some little
+business. So I went to school, and after awhile was sent to Oberlin
+College. Queer old place, that! Great place for praying and for teaching
+the universal brotherhood of man! The result, I used to think, was that
+a colored man commanded a premium over a white man there. I worried the
+thing through for three years and a half. There was a young mulatto
+student in the school named Deering, who was a great deal too big for his
+clothes. He was inclined to force himself into places where he was not
+wanted, and at anything like the manifestation of a desire to dispense
+with his society, he grew saucy in a moment. I did not mind him, but he
+was vinegar and brimstone to a young student from Tennessee, a slight,
+weakly lad, but as brave a little chap as you ever saw, named Thorne.
+Well, one day, for some impertinence, Thorne struck him. Deering was an
+athlete; he weighed twenty pounds more than I did, fifty more than
+Thorne, I guess; he was quick as lightning, was most handy with his
+props, and in an instant he smashed poor Thorne's face with a blow which
+knocked him half senseless.
+
+"I sprang to Thorne, at the same time telling Deering it was a cowardly
+act for one like him to strike a little fellow like Thorne. He answered
+something to the effect that for a trifle he would smash me a good deal
+worse than he had Thorne, and--well, in a minute more there were lively
+times in that neighborhood.
+
+"It was a tough scrap. It was out on the green; the students gathered
+around us, and while some cried out to stop us, others shouted, 'Fair
+play!' and so we were not interfered with. I remember saying to myself,
+'If I win, it must be a triumph of race and mind over matter;' but, Jack,
+that was mighty lively matter. We both had been rowing and practicing in
+the gymnasium; we were both as hard as iron. Deering was as supple as a
+boa-constrictor, and had a fist like a twelve-pound hammer. Later, the
+boys told me the fight lasted twenty minutes. The last I saw was Deering
+knocked out on the ground, and then my eyes closed, and the boys led me
+to my room. They swathed my eyes with raw beefsteaks and raw oysters,
+rubbed me down, and put me to bed. It was ten days before I got out; it
+was two weeks before Deering did. Then there was an investigation. It
+was shown that I took up a fight that Thorne commenced; that Thorne had
+gone for a gun in case I should get the worst of it. So Deering was
+reinstated, and Thorne and myself expelled. At the time I had a silver
+watch and four dollars in money. I sold the watch for fourteen dollars. I
+wrote the facts to my father, and told him I was going West, for he is a
+straight-laced Presbyterian; I knew he would feel eternally disgraced by
+my expulsion, and I did not want to hear his reproaches. Thorne wanted to
+give me money, but I told him I had plenty.
+
+"I worked my way to Texas, and stopped one night at the house of a big
+cattle man named Thomas Jordan. I had just $1.50 left. He worked out of
+me my history, and when I explained why I was expelled from school, he
+laughed until he cried, and said: 'And yo' licked the coon!' and then
+went off again into a mighty fit of laughter.
+
+"He was a man about thirty years of age, spare built, but wiry as an
+Indian. He had black hair and eyes; he was not educated, but was
+naturally a bright man; was brave as a lion; could ride like a Comanche;
+was a splendid shot, and had been West; took up a gold mine in Arizona,
+opened it, and sold it three years before I met him for $25,000, and with
+that bought the ranch and stock. He was originally from Tennessee; when a
+boy was in the Confederate army; had been knocked about until he was a
+perfect man of affairs, and the heart within him was simply just royal.
+
+"Next morning, as we went out from breakfast, his vaqueros were trying to
+ride a vicious horse. He was a big buckskin stallion, six years old, and
+strong and fierce as a grizzly. The horse tossed three of them, one after
+the other, out of the saddle; neither one lasted a minute on his curved
+back. I was watching the performance when Jordan came up to me and,
+laughing, again said: 'But yo' licked the coon!'
+
+"I said, 'Yes, but that was not much to brag about.'
+
+"'Yo' licked the coon, but was afeerd to meet the governor, eh?' he said.
+
+"I answered, 'That is about the size of it.'
+
+"'And yo' did not go home?' he said.
+
+"'No,' I replied.
+
+"'Did not send for any money?'
+
+"'No.'
+
+"'How much did yo' have?'
+
+"'Four dollars, and a watch which I sold for fourteen dollars.'
+
+"'How much have yo' left?'
+
+"'I believe, $1.50.'
+
+"'What are yo' going to do?'
+
+"'Going to work.'
+
+"'Wat at?'
+
+"'Anything I can get to do.'
+
+"'Will yo' work for me?'
+
+"'Yes.'
+
+"'Know anything about herding and driving cattle?'
+
+"'No, but I can learn it.'
+
+"'All right, what about wages?'
+
+"'Anything you like.'
+
+"'All right,' said Jordan, 'I will have the boys fix yo' up a gentle
+mustang and give yo' a show.'
+
+"I had overheard the cowboys the previous evening telling about a 'gentle
+broncho' that they had given a 'tenderfoot,' and how the tenderfoot was
+'jolted.' I reflected that I was in Texas and might just as well
+establish myself at once. When a boy, I could ride anything on the farm
+or in the township. So I said:
+
+"'Mr. Jordan, let me try the buckskin.'
+
+"'What!' said Jordan, 'would yo' mount that wild beast? He's a devil. My
+best riders cannot sit him. Indeed, he has tossed half the cowboys in
+Texas.'
+
+"'Let me try him,' said I.
+
+"'_All right_,' said Jordan, 'come on.'
+
+"We climbed into the big corral. One of the boys threw a rope upon the
+horse, drew him up to the center post, blinded him, and said to me:
+
+"'Young feller! If you ride him, you'll be a good one, shore 'nough.'
+
+"I took off my coat, vest and suspenders, tied a heavy handkerchief
+around my stomach, fixed the saddle, sprang upon the horse, and the blind
+was drawn off at the same moment. Then for ten minutes I had a game as
+lively as I had experienced with the coon. How he did jolt me! But I sat
+him. Then, when all his other tricks had failed, he started in a run for
+the center post of the corral, with the intention of raking me off. But
+it was his side that struck the post; my knee was on top of the saddle,
+and when the rebound knocked him away from the post it was not a second
+until I was back in the saddle; and then I assumed the offensive and
+drove the rowels into him. Between the shock of the blow and the surprise
+of the rowels, he gave up, made a feeble jump or two, stopped and stood
+trembling.
+
+"I dismounted, and the cowboys threw up their hats and cheered the
+'tenderfoot.' Then I took down the reins of the hackamore (the Mexican
+Jaquema), bent the brute's head around, and tied him in a half circle to
+his own tail. Then, borrowing a cowboy's whip, I tapped him gently with
+it, and kept him turning and tumbling until he was covered with foam, and
+I saw he was completely subdued. Then I untied the rope, gave him his
+head, and then sprang again (without a blind this time) into the saddle.
+He moved off in a walk; then I trotted him, then put him in a gallop, and
+after circling the corral two or three times, reined him up to the
+cowboys, stopped him, and dismounted.
+
+"'No wonder he licked the coon!' said Jordan.
+
+"And one of the cowboys standing near said, 'Bet y'r boots!'
+
+"I went to work and was a cowboy for a year, and it was a happy year, for
+I had no trouble and any number of friends. I could ride and shoot with
+any of them, and soon learned to throw a rope. My riding the big stallion
+gave me a mighty prestige, for I learned later that many had tried him
+and no one had kept the saddle for two minutes. He was my vaquero horse,
+and many a cowboy stopped and looked as I rode by.
+
+"I had been with Jordan but a short time when one evening he brought a
+book and said:
+
+"'Jim! look at this. A preacher-lookin' chap stopped over night har a
+year ago and went off in the mornin', and forgot ter take it. See if yo'
+don't think it's ther durndest stuff yo' ever seen!'
+
+"I looked at the book. It was the Iliad, Pope's translation.
+
+"'Why, Jordan,' I said, 'this is a wonderful book.' Then I briefly
+explained what the great epic was, who the Greeks and who the Trojans
+were, the cause of the war between them, how nations fought in those
+days, what gods they worshiped, and added, 'Let me read you a little
+of it.'
+
+"'Why, in course,' said Jordan. 'If yo' ken make a blamed thing out er
+it, we'd all like to har it; wouldn't we, boys?'
+
+"They all assented. I was just out of school and read pretty well.
+
+"So I opened the volume at random and it happened to be in Book XVI.,
+where Pelides consents that Patroclus shall put on his own armor and lead
+his Myrmidons into the fight, where Achilles arouses and sets in array
+his terrible warriors, has the steeds yoked and prays Dodonian Jove to
+give to his friend the victory, and then to grant him safe return. After
+reading ten minutes, I closed the book, and asked Jordan if I should read
+anymore.
+
+"'Sarten,' he said. 'That war fine. It are like that mornin' at
+Murfreesborough when all thar bugles war callin' 'nd ther big guns war
+beginnin' ter roar.'
+
+"Then I opened at the beginning and read right along for an hour. All the
+company were greatly excited, declaring 'it war fine.'
+
+"I read to them every evening the winter through, read the Iliad entire,
+and in the meantime Jordan had sent to Galveston for more books, begging
+me to select them, and declaring he would fill the house with them if I
+would only 'steer his buyin' so as not by his purchases 'ter make a holy
+show' of himself.
+
+"When finally the great annual round-up came, I held my own with the best
+riders, on trial I could draw and shoot with the quickest and surest
+shots, and could handle a rope fairly well. I enjoyed the life.
+
+"Generally every one was my friend, but there was one rough customer, a
+man named Turner, who did not like me, though I had never done a thing in
+the world to offend him. He made his boasts that no one had ever 'got
+away' with him or ever would. He had a tough record and many people
+feared him, for he was a powerful man physically, and cruel in all his
+instincts.
+
+"One day something was needed from the station, and I rode Buckskin down
+to get it. The station was a couple of miles from Jordan's house. Thirty
+or forty cowboys were there on a lark, and all had been drinking a
+little.
+
+"They hailed me boisterously and wanted me to drink. I laughingly told
+them I never drank, and good-naturedly threatened to make it hot for the
+whole band if they did not behave themselves. I had neither coat nor vest
+on, and they could all see I had no weapons about me. They all laughed,
+for they were a jovial, good-hearted crowd.
+
+"But just then this rough Turner showed up and said: 'Who is threatening
+to make it hot for us?'
+
+"Half a dozen of the boys explained that I was only joking, but Turner
+was bent on mischief.
+
+"'He won't drink with us, hey? Well, we'll drink with him,' he said, and
+turning to me ordered me to call up the crowd and treat, or tell the
+reason why.
+
+"I replied that one reason was that I did not very often drink, and
+another was that I never drank on compulsion.
+
+"He was frantic in a moment, and suddenly drew his revolver. I caught the
+barrel and turned it up just as he fired, then took it from him, handed
+it to one of the boys, and told him to keep it until Turner had time to
+reflect on what a fool he was making of himself.
+
+"He was only the more furious at that. He sprang backward two or three
+feet, then drawing a huge knife made with it a savage lunge at me. I
+seized his wrist, and after a brief struggle wrenched the knife from his
+hand, but still holding his wrist told him that unless he grew quiet I
+should have to box his ears.
+
+"The boys laughed and jeered at this, which only further incensed the
+ungovernable brute, and he declared that he would give $100 for the
+chance to whip me in a fair fist fight.
+
+"At this I released his wrist and told him he should be accommodated. The
+boys gathered in a ring around us. Turner came at me like a wild beast,
+but he had no scientific use of his hands and I had had a little
+practice.
+
+"I knocked aside his blow with my left, and with the open palm of my
+right hand gave him a sounding box on his left ear.
+
+"The cowboys yelled with delight at this, crying, 'Turner, did you hear
+that?'
+
+"Turner rallied and made another rush at me. This time I struck his blow
+aside with my right hand and boxed his right ear with the palm of my left
+hand.
+
+"So the business continued for several seconds. I never closed my hands,
+but just boxed him right and left, the boys fairly screaming with joy,
+until I finally gathered all my strength and gave him one resounding
+cuff that sent him full length to grass, the most abject-looking, baffled
+bully that I ever saw.
+
+"Seeing how completely whipped he was, I went to him, and taking him by
+the arm, said, 'Turner, you were right about my treating; come in and
+take a drink with me. There's nothing like exercise to make one thirsty.'
+
+"But he would not drink. He arose, skulked away, got his gun and knife,
+mounted his mustang, and left that part of Texas.
+
+"Next day the boys told Jordan about the scrap, and he danced for joy. He
+at once rode away to the station to get all the particulars, and when he
+returned at night he called me aside and said, 'Jim, yo' is thinkin' of
+leavin' har. We couldn't get along at all without yo'. I seen my lawyer
+ter-day and told him ter make a deed o' half this ranch 'nd stock ter Jim
+Sedgwick, and so thar firm now war "Tom and Jim" er "Jim and Tom," I
+don't give er continental which.'
+
+"Of course I could not accept the gift, but it took me three days to
+satisfy the great-hearted man why I could not. I told him I was bound
+to go further West, that his heart had run away with his head, and he
+yielded at last, but insisted that the offer was a 'squar' one and would
+last always if I ever came back.
+
+"When the year was up I had saved $212 at regular cowboy wages and would
+accept no more, though Jordan begged me to take 'sunthun decent.'
+
+"I came West, learned a little of mining--how to hold and hit a drill--in
+Colorado, then took a run up into Montana, came down across Idaho and
+finally reached this place. Liking the ways of things here I went to
+work. I have not missed a dozen shifts in three years."
+
+Browning chuckled at the story, and when Sedgwick ceased he said:
+
+"Isn't it jolly queer that we have been thrown together? My home was in
+Devonshire, England. My step-father was a merchant who finally became a
+half banker and half broker. When I was a little kid my mother died, and
+my father after a while married a widow who had a little daughter five
+years younger than myself. My father died, and my stepmother married a
+man named Hamlin.
+
+"When I became twenty-two years old, my step-father wanted me to marry
+this little girl. I declined, first, because she seemed to me a sister,
+and second, I was head and ears in love with the step-daughter of the
+village barrister. The girl was my sister's running mate, so to speak,
+and though I had never said one word of love to her, my heart was on the
+lowest level in the dust at her feet. It was, by Jove!
+
+"In those days I was a bit wild, I guess. I did not get out of school
+with much honor. I used to ride steeple-chase and hurdle races and dance
+all night. Sometimes, too, I had a scrap, and was careless about the
+money I spent. The old barrister--his name was Jenvie--believed I was
+the worst kid in the United Kingdom. One evening Rose Jenvie--her real
+name was Leighton, she was my glory, you know--had been visiting my
+foster-sister, and remaining until after dark, I walked home with her.
+It was a starlit night in summer, and we talked as we walked as young
+people do. The gate to the path leading up to her house was open, and I
+continued to walk by her side until we were almost at the door, when the
+'Governor' sprang up from a bench on the little lawn, where he had been
+sitting, and, rudely seizing his step-daughter by the arm, broke out with
+a torrent of insulting reproaches that she should dare to be walking
+alone at night by the side of the most worthless scapegrace in all
+England.
+
+"The dear girl tried to explain that my part of the affair was merely an
+act of courtesy, but the old chap was hot, and that only made him rave
+the worse.
+
+"I stood it a minute, and then said, 'Never mind, Miss Rose! You go
+within doors, please, and your governor will feel better when he has time
+to think.'
+
+"At this he turned upon me, ordered me off the grounds, and added that if
+I did not go at once he would kick me over the hedge. Then I laughed and
+said: 'Oh, no, Mr. Jenvie, you certainly would not do that.'
+
+"Something in my voice, I guess, vexed him, for he sprang at me like a
+Siberian wolf. He was a big, hearty fellow, about forty years old, and
+the blow he aimed at me would have felled a shorthorn. But I knocked it
+aside, as he made the rush, which swerved him a little to one side, and
+the opportunity was too good. Bless my soul! Before I thought, I planted
+him a stinger on the neck, and he went down like a felled ox. And he lay
+there for fully a minute. The beautiful girl never screamed or uttered a
+word, except, 'O, Jack, I hope you are not hurt!' She had never called me
+Jack before, and by Jove, it sounded sweeter to me than a wedding march.
+The old chap in a dazed way rose up on his hands. I saw he was coming out
+of it, and with a hasty 'Good night, Miss Rose,' I got out of the way. I
+went home and told my governor the whole story, and wasn't he mad! Jenvie
+was his closest friend, you know, and so he ordered me to go and
+apologize to the old barrister. I told him flatly I would not. Then he
+ordered me out of the house, and, first bidding mother and sister Grace
+good-bye, I left. I had four pounds six, and with it I went down to an
+old aunt's of mine in Cornwall. After three days there I met some miners,
+had a night with them, which ended by their initiating me into their
+clan. Next morning, thinking it over, my better self asserted itself, and
+the whim took me to learn the mining business.
+
+"I worked a year, and when off shift I read all the books on geology and
+mining that I could find; I found a pamphlet telling me all about this
+lode and its possibilities. I had worked steadily and had saved money
+enough to pay my way here; I came, and went to work the second day after
+arriving on the lode."
+
+"What are your plans, Browning?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+"I have no certain plans," was the answer. "I have just lived on an
+impossible dream, you know, of making £5,000, then going back, and if
+Rose Jenvie is not married to try to steal her away. If I could make
+a good bit of money I would buy a place, a big tract of downs in
+Devonshire. I could, by draining it and running it my way, make it double
+in value in three years."
+
+"And I," said Sedgwick, "have been nursing just such another dream, which
+is to make $30,000 to go back and cancel the mortgage of $5,000 on the
+old home place, and then to buy old Jasper's farm on the hill. It is a
+daisy. It contains 300 acres and is worth $40 an acre. If I could do
+that, I believe I could reconcile the old gent, and make him think I was
+not so mightily out of the way after all when I fought at college and ran
+away. But $30,000--good Lord! when will a man get $30,000 working for $4
+a day on the Comstock?"
+
+"It is a close, hard game," said Browning. Then there was silence, the
+candle burned out, and in a moment more both miners were asleep.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+MAKING MONEY AT $4 PER DAY.
+
+
+The men awoke early, and, as Sedgwick had predicted, by six o'clock, the
+superintendent of the mine came down and went to the end of the drift.
+On his return to the lower station of the shaft, Sedgwick approached him,
+and holding out the bit of lagging, said in a low voice: "Mr. Mackay,
+there are a few words written on that. Will you not kindly carry them to
+the surface and read them?" Mr. Mackay took it and put it in the pocket
+of the gray shirt which he always wore in the mine, saying jokingly:
+"Tobacco needed on your watch?" "Worse, even," answered Sedgwick, and
+walked away.
+
+When the men were allowed to go above ground, five days later, they found
+that Consolidated Virginia had jumped from $4 to $11 per share. Sedgwick
+and Browning went straight to the bank and asked how their accounts
+stood. They found that $2,800 from one credit, and $3,200 from the other
+had been withdrawn. They looked at each other and smiled, but said
+nothing. Passing outside, they exchanged opinions and both concluded that
+if Mackay had bought the stock promptly, it must have doubled already.
+But both agreed that they would say nothing; rather, would let matters
+drift. So days and weeks rolled by, until finally the stock touched $30
+per share, when one morning each received a note to call at the bank.
+
+They went together, and were informed that 2,000 (old) shares of
+Consolidated Virginia had been placed to their credit, and that it was
+at their discretion to realize upon it, or permit it to remain longer.
+The news fairly took their breath away.
+
+"How about making $30,000 at $4 per day, Jim?" said Browning.
+
+"How about £5,000, the old barrister's step-daughter, and the downs in
+Devonshire, Jack?" said Sedgwick.
+
+They went to their room in the lodging house to talk over what was best
+to do.
+
+"When we sell," said Sedgwick, "I am going to Ohio."
+
+"And I to old England," said Browning.
+
+"And how can we give any expression of our gratitude to John Mackay?"
+asked Sedgwick.
+
+"Let us go down and tender him half our stock," said Browning.
+
+"A good thought," said Sedgwick. So down to the Consolidated Virginia
+office they went at once. They gained an instant interview with Mr.
+Mackay, and, thanking him warmly, told him they had thought it over, and
+determined that he was entitled to half their shares.
+
+"That's clever of you, boys," said Mackay, "but that is too big a
+commission. How much did you say the order on the splinter had brought
+you?"
+
+Sedgwick replied that they had 2,000 shares, and that the stock was
+selling at $30 on a rising market.
+
+"Well," answered Mackay, "that will be $10 for one, will it not?"
+
+They answered, "Yes."
+
+The Bonanza King thought for a moment, and then said: "It is this way,
+boys. I have been picking up a few shares of the stock on my own account
+lately, and do not need any ready money at present, but there are a good
+many sick and bruised miners down in the hospital. If, when you sell, you
+can see your way clear to send them down a few dollars, that will do more
+good than to divide with me, for I would be liable to lose the money any
+day in these crazy stocks."
+
+They thanked him with swimming eyes and broken voices, and started to
+retire, when he called them back, and said: "I bought that stock because
+I noticed that you were not just like some of the others down in the
+mine, and I knew if the money should be lost you would neither of you
+reproach me. But I called you back to tell you that while I do not think
+there is any hurry about selling your stocks, dealing in mining shares is
+a risky business, as a rule, especially when you have nothing but a guess
+to go on; and I do not believe I would, if in your places, take that up
+for a business."
+
+Then some one else came in, and the miners retired.
+
+They determined not to sell just then, and both went back to work at 4 in
+the afternoon of that day.
+
+The young men continued their daily toil. After the stock reached $35
+per share, it hung at that figure for a long time, but they felt no
+uneasiness. They saw the hurry of the work in opening the Consolidated
+Virginia and the C. & C. shafts; they saw a new great quartz mill being
+erected, but they saw something else which pleased them much more, which
+was that the more the great ore body was sunk and drifted upon, the
+bigger it grew. In the early winter of 1874-5, the stock began to climb
+up. It jumped to $80, then $85; then, almost in a day, to $115, and so
+on up to $220. The strain on the minds of the two young miners was very
+great, but they held on. There was another little lull, and then towards
+spring it started up again.
+
+When it reached $480, Browning said to Sedgwick: "Bless my soul, Jim, I
+have not slept for three nights. I have been thinking that hundreds of
+people have been waiting for the stock to touch $500, and when it does,
+they will unload and break it down. Had we not better sell? It will give
+us as much money as we can manage."
+
+"I guess you are right, Jack" said Sedgwick. "I believe it will still go
+a good deal higher, but if it does, let those who buy our stocks make it.
+As you said, it will bring us as much money as we can manage. It takes a
+brave man to sell on a rising market. Let us be brave."
+
+So they gave the order for the sale of the stock, but that day it jumped
+to $520, and when the returns were made, they found to their credit,
+$1,040,000. The stock touched $900 per share a few days later.
+
+The result well-nigh paralyzed them. "At $4 per day, this is not bad,
+Browning," said Sedgwick.
+
+"This secures the hill farm of old Jasper--three hundred acres at forty
+dollars per acre--does it not, Sedgwick?" said Browning.
+
+They ordered $10,000 to be placed to the credit of the hospitals and
+bought exchange on New York and London for $1,000,000. The rest they took
+with them in money.
+
+In dividing there was a little dispute. Browning insisted that he was
+entitled to only forty-six and two-thirds per cent. of the amount, as his
+money was as seven to eight of Jim's.
+
+"Why will you bother me with those vulgar fractions, Browning? Try to be
+a gentleman," said Sedgwick. "We share alike on this business, remember
+that; and say what a country this is to get rich in at four dollars a
+day!"
+
+So it was settled. Their friends were told they had made a little stake,
+and were going home; the good-byes were spoken, and the young men turned
+their faces eastward.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+SMILES AND TEARS.
+
+
+While riding through Nevada, Browning, after a long look from the car
+window, said:
+
+"By Jove, Jim, but is not this a desolate region? It is as though when
+the rocky foundation had been laid, there was no more material to furnish
+this part of the world with, and the work stopped."
+
+"Yes, Jack," was Sedgwick's answer. "I knew an old man once. He was very
+aged and most decrepit. His face was but a mass of wrinkles; his back was
+bent; he always wore a frown on his face, and every relative he had
+wished that he was dead. But his bank account was a mighty one; he had
+given grand homes and plenty of money to each of his six children; he
+still possessed a fortune so large that his neighbors could not estimate
+it. I never look out upon the face of Nevada that I do not think of that
+old man.
+
+"The fairest structures in San Francisco were built of the treasures
+taken from Nevada hills; clear across the continent, in every great city
+are beautiful blocks which are but Nevada gold and silver converted into
+stone and iron and glass; in every State are fair homes which were bought
+or redeemed with the money obtained here in the desert. Beyond that, the
+money already supplied from Nevada mines has changed the calculations of
+commerce, and made itself a ruling factor in prices; it has given our
+nation a new standing among the nations of the world; because of it, the
+lands are worth more money even in the Miami Valley where I was born;
+because of it, better wages are paid to laborers throughout our republic;
+it has been a factor of good, a blessing to civilization; and yet Eastern
+people revile Nevada and look upon it as did the relatives of the old man
+I was telling you of, because it is wrinkled and sere and always wears a
+frowning face."
+
+As Sedgwick and Browning neared Chicago, the former began to grow
+restless, and finally said:
+
+"Jack, old friend, you must go home with me. It is something I dread more
+than riding mustangs or fighting cowboys. It is more than five years
+since I went away, and it will be just worse than a fire in a mine to
+face."
+
+Browning agreed that a few days more or less would not count. "Because,"
+he said, "if Rose Jenvie is still Rose Jenvie, it will not much matter;
+if Rose Jenvie is not Rose Jenvie, then, by Jove, every minute of delay
+in knowing that fact is good. Besides, you know, I want to see that
+three-hundred-acre farm of old Jasper's on the hill which you are to
+buy."
+
+They remained a few hours only in Chicago, and took the evening train for
+the valley of the Miami. The next morning, about seven o'clock, they left
+the cars at a little village station, and started on foot for the old
+home of Sedgwick, a mile away.
+
+"Browning," said Sedgwick, "it was mighty kind of you to come with me.
+I ran bare-footed over this road every summer day of my boyhood. In that
+old school-house I could show you notches which I cut in the tables and
+benches, and it seems now as though I was choking." They came to the old
+churchyard. "Hold, Jack," said Sedgwick, "let us go in here and look to
+see if any more graves have been added since I went away."
+
+They climbed the fence, and Sedgwick led the way to a plot of ground
+where there were three headstones. "Thank God, there are no new graves,"
+he said. "This was my sister; this, my baby brother, and this, my
+mother," pointing to the names on the headstones. "Had my mother been
+alive, I would long ago have come back."
+
+Then, with more calmness, he turned his steps back to the road, but he
+was shaking in every limb when he opened the old gate and walked up
+toward the house. The path was lined with lilacs in full bloom, and a
+robin in a tree near by was calling her mate. "The same old lilacs, the
+same old redbreast, Browning," he said, with white lips.
+
+He did not stop to knock, but pushed the door suddenly open and strode
+within. Walking up to an old man, who was reading his Bible, he said,
+"Father, I am sorry that I fought the mulatto, if it grieved you, but the
+black rascal deserved it, all the same."
+
+The old man surveyed him wildly for a moment, then broke completely down,
+and, wringing the young man's hands, could only sob:
+
+"Thank God, my son, whom I thought was lost, is back again. Thank God!"
+
+Then the brothers and their wives and children came in, and there was
+such a scene that Browning slipped out, seated himself on the piazza, and
+mopping his brow with his kerchief, said, "Bless my soul; I believe I
+will never go home. There is more real enjoyment at a miner's funeral in
+Virginia City; there is, by Jove."
+
+But they found him after a little, and Sedgwick presented him to his
+kinfolk as his close companion, and he was welcomed in a way which
+touched him deeply, and made him conclude that the world was filled with
+good people.
+
+Soon the news spread, and the neighbors began to pour in, and what a day
+it was! What old memories were awakened and rehearsed; what every one had
+done; who had died; who had married; all the history of the little place
+for all the years.
+
+Going home after a long absence is a little like what one might imagine
+of a resurrection from the dead. There is exceeding joy, but mingled with
+it is much of the damp and chill of the tomb. Indeed, going home after a
+long absence "causes all the burial places of memory to give up their
+dead," and through all the joy there is an undertone of sorrow, for all
+the reminders are of the fact that the calmest lives are speedily
+sweeping on; that there is no halting in the swift transit between birth
+and death.
+
+Three days passed, and notwithstanding the enjoyment, Sedgwick found that
+there was a good deal of trouble worrying the family. The old mortgage of
+$5,000 was not paid; rather, it had been doubled to make a first payment
+on a 200-acre farm adjoining, and with fitting up and stocking the old
+place, and with bad crops, the debts amounted altogether to more than
+$20,000. He did not tell any one of his good fortune. He was dressed in a
+plain business suit, without a single ornament. The watch he carried for
+convenience was merely a cheap silver watch.
+
+On the fourth day, Browning said to his friend: "Jim, old pard, I must
+be off to-morrow. You have had a good visit. Come over to England with me
+for a month, and help me through with--Rose and the old man."
+
+"Agreed, Jack," said Sedgwick. "I want to fix up some little things here,
+and I do not want to be around when the fixing shall be understood. It
+will be a good excuse to get away."
+
+Then going to a desk, he wrote a few words, took a bill of exchange
+for $100,000 from his pocketbook, endorsed it, making it payable to his
+father, folded the bill inside the letter, sealed it and directed it to
+his father; then putting the letter in his pocket, said, "That will make
+it all right."
+
+At supper that evening he informed the family that he was going on the
+early train with his friend and might be gone a month or six weeks, after
+which he believed he would return, settle down and become steady. All
+tried to dissuade him, but Browning helped him, telling the family he
+needed his friend's help on serious business; and so that night the
+kindling was put in the kitchen stove, the dough for biscuits for
+breakfast was set, the tea-kettle filled, the chickens fixed for frying,
+and the coffee ground.
+
+It was but a little after daylight next morning when, the breakfast over,
+they were ready to start. They shook hands all round, and when it came to
+saying good-bye to his father, Sedgwick drew out the letter, and giving
+it to the old man, said: "Father, when you hear the train pull out of the
+village, open that letter. It contains a little keepsake for you which I
+picked up by a scratch in Nevada." And they were off.
+
+When that letter was opened, and the astounding figures on the bill were
+read and comprehended, what a time there was at that house, and how the
+neighbors came again to see the wonderful paper, and how it was figured
+how many farms it would buy, what houses it would build and furnish, and
+how the boy who had been expelled from school for fighting had done it
+all! What a smashing of old theories it made, and how every wild boy in
+the neighborhood to whom the evil example of the bad Sedgwick boy had
+been held up as an illustration of total depravity and as proof that
+nothing of good ever came to a youth that would fight and get expelled
+from school, rejoiced! To these, what a day of exultation that bill of
+exchange brought!
+
+But it was only a day, before there began to circulate rumors that the
+whole thing was but a joke; that the bill would be repudiated when
+presented for payment, or at most that it was only for $1,000.
+
+Sedgwick, _pere_, with his sons, lost no time in testing the matter.
+Sedgwick had written in the letter that though the bill was drawn on New
+York, any bank in Cincinnati would cash it. So they repaired to the city,
+and calling on their lawyer, asked him to go with them and identify them
+at some bank, as they desired to get a little check cashed. He complied.
+
+The cashier looked at the bill and asked in what kind of money the
+payment was wanted.
+
+The old man thought he would give his neighbors an object lesson, and
+replied that he would take it in gold.
+
+The cashier smiled and asked him how he would take it away.
+
+The old man said, "I do not understand you."
+
+"It will, in gold, weigh about 400 pounds," said the cashier.
+
+At this the lawyer became interested in a moment and said: "Four hundred
+pounds of gold! What kind of a check have you?"
+
+"It is a bill of exchange on New York for $100,000," said the cashier.
+
+"One hundred thousand dollars!" said the lawyer; "Great heavens! have you
+found an oil well on your farm, robbed a bank, or what?"
+
+"No," said the elder Sedgwick, "but my wild boy has come from Nevada, and
+I guess this is a part of the great bonanza."
+
+Finally $25,000 was drawn in paper, enough to clear up all the home
+indebtedness, and the rest left on deposit until the son and brother
+should return; for, as they talked it all over, they concluded that he
+had left with them all his fortune, except traveling expenses.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+THE VOYAGE.
+
+
+Browning and Sedgwick reached New York and took passage on the first
+outgoing Cunarder. When the ship steamed out of the harbor, it entered at
+once into a lively sea, and the great craft grew strangely unsteady.
+Browning was a good sailor, but Sedgwick found it was all he could do to
+maintain his equanimity. "Jack," he said at last, "this is worse exercise
+then riding a Texas steer." "Did you ever ride a Texas steer?" asked
+Browning. "Indeed I have," said Sedgwick. "The cowboys have a game
+of that kind. When a lot of steers are corraled, they climb up on the
+cross-bar over the gate; the gate is opened, the steers are turned out
+with a rush, and the science is to drop from the cross-bar upon a steer
+and ride him. If you miss, you are liable to be trodden to death. If you
+strike fairly, then the trick is to see how long you can hold on. It is
+rough exercise, but I believe it is preferable to this perpetual rising,
+falling and rolling. The infernal thing seems to work like an Ingersoll
+drill. It turns a quarter of a circle on one's stomach with every blow it
+strikes."
+
+They had sailed into an expiring storm that was fast losing its strength;
+the waves were breaking down, and by the time night came on the ship was
+running nearly on an even keel, only gently rolling as it swept
+magnificently on its voyage.
+
+The two miners walked the deck, or sat by the rail, until far into the
+night, admiring the glorified structure on which they rode; watching the
+stars and the sea, and saw with other things the beautiful spectacle of
+another ship as grand as their own, that swept close by them on its way
+to New York. Its whole 500 feet of length was a blaze of light, and as
+the Titans whistled hoarsely to each other a greeting without abating
+their speed, it seemed to the two landsmen as though two stars had met in
+space, saluted and passed on, each in its own sublime orbit.
+
+Sedgwick and Browning soon made the acquaintance of several passengers.
+A day or two later an animated conversation sprang up in the smoking
+room. An American was declaring that his country was the greatest on
+earth because it could feed the world from its mighty food area.
+
+An Englishman disputed the claim, because the profits of the
+manufacturers of little England were more than all the profits from
+all the lands of the United States.
+
+A Frenchman claimed the palm for France, because in France the people
+were artists; from a little basis, from material well-nigh worthless in
+itself, the Frenchman could, by infusing French brain into it, create a
+thing of beauty for which the world was glad to exchange gold and gems.
+
+Then Browning said: "You are all right, looking from a present horizon;
+all wrong, when the years are taken into account. The great country of
+the world is to be the country that produces the metals in the greatest
+quantity and variety, and whose people acquire the art of turning them to
+the best account. This ship that we are on, a few months ago, was but
+unsightly ore in the ground. Look at it now! Tried by fire and fused with
+labor, it has grown into this marvelous structure. England's greatness
+and wealth are due, primarily, all to her mining. Her civilization can be
+measured by her progress in reducing metals. She will begin to fall
+behind soon, for America has, in addition to such mines as England
+possesses, endless mines of gold and silver, and, after all, the precious
+metals rule the nations and measure their civilization. It has always
+been so and always will be. Those mines in America will build up greater
+manufactures than England possesses; they will create artists more
+skilled than even beautiful France can boast of. A hundred years hence,
+all other nations will be second-class by comparison."
+
+The next day the conversation was resumed and carried on with much
+spirit, until Sedgwick, who had been reading through it all, laid down
+his book, and in a brief pause of the talk said:
+
+"Neither fruitful fields, rich mines, nor skilled artisans, nor all
+combined, are enough to make great nations. A hundred nations existed
+when Rome was founded. They had as fair prospects as did Rome, but ninety
+of the hundred are forgotten; the other ten are remembered but as
+inferior nations. It was the stock of men and women that made Rome's
+grandeur and terror. For five hundred years an unfaithful wife was never
+known in Rome. The result was Rome had to be great and grand.
+
+"I stood once on the crest of the Rocky Mountains in Montana. Near
+together were two springs, out of each of which the water flowed away
+in a creek. One follows the mountains down to the eastward, the other
+to the west. One finds its final home in the Gulf of Mexico, the other
+in the Pacific. The one takes on other streams, its volume steadily
+swells; before it flows far its channel is hewed through fertile fields;
+gaining in power, the argosies of commerce find a home upon its broad
+bosom, and it is a recognized power in the world, a mighty factor in the
+calculations of merchants and shippers.
+
+"But in the meantime it becomes tainted, until at last when it finds its
+grave in the Gulf, so foul are its waters that they discolor for miles
+the deep blue of the sea.
+
+"The other starts with a babble as joyous as the carols of childhood;
+when it reaches the valley it begins its struggle through a lava-blasted
+desert; when the desert is passed, it has to grind its channel through
+rugged mountains that tear its waters into foam, and at last in mighty
+throes, on the stormy bar it finds its grave in the roaring ocean. Its
+existence is one long, mighty struggle; there are awful chasms in its
+path into which it is hurled; the thirsty desert encroaches upon its
+current; mountains block its way; at the very last furious seas seek to
+beat it back, but to the end it holds itself pure as when it starts on
+its way from the mountain spring.
+
+"These rivers are typical of men and of nations. Some meet no
+obstruction; they glide on, gaining in wealth and power; at last, they
+become in one way a blessing, in another a terror; but in the meantime,
+they grow corrupt because of the world's contact; and so pass, gross and
+discolored, into eternity.
+
+"Others have lives that are one long struggle unheard-of obstacles are
+ever rising in their paths, but they fight on and on, and when at last
+their course is run, those who trace them through their careers, with
+uncovered heads are bound to say that they kept their integrity to the
+last, and that all the world's discouragements could not disarm their
+power, break their courage, or dim the clear mirror of their purity."
+
+Sedgwick ceased speaking, but after a moment, looking up, he added: "Not
+very far from the sources of these two streams, there is another fountain
+in the hills, out of which flows another stream as large and fair as
+either of the others. It, too, goes tumbling down the mountain gorge,
+increasing in volume, until it strikes the valley, then grows less and
+less in size, until a few miles below it disappears in the sands.
+
+"This, too, is typical of men and nations. They begin life buoyant and
+brave; they rush on exultingly at first, but the quicksands of vice or
+crime or disease are before them, and they sink and leave no name.
+
+"The man or nation that is to be great must be born great. Those who
+succeed are those who are guided into channels which make success
+possible.
+
+"The strength of the modern world rests on the modern home. That did not
+come of rich mines or fields, but of the sovereign genius of the men of
+northern Europe; and the glory was worked out amid poverty, hardships and
+sorrows."
+
+But the voyage was over at last, and the two miners hastened to take the
+train for the home of Browning in Devonshire. They arrived at the village
+at midnight and went to a hotel, or, as Sedgwick said: "This, Jack, is
+han Hinglish Hinn, is it?"
+
+Next day was Sunday and Browning was up early. He said to Sedgwick: "Wait
+until I go and prospect the croppings about here a little. It is a good
+while since I was on this lead, and I want to see how it has been worked
+since I went away."
+
+He came back in half an hour a good deal worked up. "Do you know, Jim,"
+he said, "by Jove, they are all gone! That old step-father has 'gone
+pards with old Jenvie, and they have all moved to London, and are running
+a banking and brokerage establishment. I have their address and we will
+chase them up to-morrow, but I do not like the look of things at all.
+Why, Rose Jenvie in one season in London would blossom out and shine like
+a gold bar."
+
+"Stuff," answered Sedgwick. "In Texas we always noticed that if we ever
+turned out a blood mare she was sure to pick up the sorriest old mustang
+on the range for a running mate. Your Rose would be more apt to pick up a
+husband here than in London for the first two or three years she might be
+there."
+
+Said Browning: "I say, Jim, did you mean that mustang story to go for an
+excuse for Miss Rose calling me 'Jack?'"
+
+"O, no!" said Sedgwick, "when she called you Jack, she was just a silly
+colt that could not discriminate."
+
+"I see," said Browning, "but I say, Jim, you ought to have been here
+then. By Jove, she might have even fancied you."
+
+"Don't you dare to talk that way," said Sedgwick, "or I will try to cut
+you out when we see her, unless, as is quite possible, she has already
+been some happy man's wife for two or three years."
+
+"Jim, I say, stop that!" said Browning. "It will be time to face that
+infernal possibility when I cannot help it. Bless my soul, but the
+thought of it makes me sea-sick."
+
+They breakfasted together, and were smoking their after-breakfast
+cigars--Nevada-like--when the church bells began to ring.
+
+"When did you attend church last, Browning?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+"I have been a good deal remiss in that," was the reply.
+
+"Suppose we go. It will be a novelty, and you will see more friends there
+than in any other place."
+
+"A good thought, old boy," said Browning, "and we shall have time only to
+dress."
+
+A few minutes later they emerged from the hotel, and proceeded to the old
+church that Browning had attended during all his childhood.
+
+Queerly enough, the sermon was on the return of the Prodigal Son. The
+good clergyman dilated on his theme. He told what a tough citizen the
+Prodigal Son was in his youth, how he was given to boating and
+steeple-chasing, and staying out nights and worrying the old father,
+until finally he ran away. "Photographing you, Jack," whispered Sedgwick.
+When he came to the part where the Prodigal ate the husks, Sedgwick
+whispered again: "He means the hash in that restaurant on the Divide,
+Jack."
+
+Then the picture of the joy of the father on the return of this son, and
+the moral which the parable teaches, were graphically given. At last the
+service was over, and as the congregation filed out there was a general
+rush for Browning, for the whole congregation recognized him, though the
+almost beardless boy that went away had returned in the full flush of
+manhood. He was overwhelmed with greetings and congratulations over his
+safe return, and as Sedgwick was introduced as Browning's friend the
+welcomes to him were most cordial, though there was many a glance at the
+fashionably-cut clothing of the young men.
+
+The people were all in Sunday attire, many of the ladies wearing gay
+colors. The day was warm and sunny and they lingered on the green,
+talking joyously, when suddenly a cry of terror arose, and looking, the
+young men saw a two-year old Hereford bull coming at full speed at the
+crowd, and with the evident intention of charging direct into it. Every
+one was paralyzed; that is, all but one. That one was Sedgwick. Near him
+was a woman who had a long red scarf doubled and flung carelessly over
+her shoulder. In an instant Sedgwick had thrown off his coat, snatched
+the scarf from the woman and dashed out of the crowd directly toward the
+coming terror. He shouted and shook the scarf, and the bull, seeing it,
+rushed directly for it. As he struck the scarf, like a flash Sedgwick
+caught the ring in the bull's nose with his left hand, the left horn in
+his right hand, and twisting the ring and giving a mighty wrench on the
+horn, both man and bull went prone upon the turf. But the man was above
+and the bull below, and clinging to ring and horn and with knee on the
+bull's throat, Sedgwick bent all his might upon the brute's head and held
+him down.
+
+Browning was at his side in a moment, and at Sedgwick's muffled cry to
+tie his forelegs, Browning seized the scarf, lashed the bull's legs
+together, and then both men arose.
+
+Securing his coat quickly, Sedgwick seized Browning's arm, and said, "Let
+us get out of this, old man. You told me this was a bully place, but I
+did not look for it quite in that form."
+
+"Where did you learn that trick?" asked Browning.
+
+"In Texas," said Sedgwick. "It is a game we play with yearlings there,
+but we never try it on an old stager, because, you see, if one should
+fall he would be in the sump, or in a drift where the air would be bad in
+a minute. That was a big fellow, but he had a ring in his nose, which
+made me the more sure of him, and then you see there was nothing else to
+do. I will go to no more churches in England with you without carrying a
+lariat and revolver."
+
+"It was a good job, Jack," said Browning; "by Jove, it was. I am sorry it
+happened, but I am glad you did it. I don't believe I could have managed
+it any better myself."
+
+The feat was the talk of the town, and it grew in size with every
+repetition, and in the next day's paper it was magnified beyond all
+proportions. Fortunately, the printers got both the names of Browning
+and Sedgwick spelled wrong, which was all the comfort the young men had
+out of it.
+
+On Monday morning the friends went out in the country and looked over the
+estate that Browning had been hoping to make money enough to purchase.
+Browning explained his plans for improving it, and the address of the
+owner in London was obtained.
+
+In the evening they took the train for London. The landlord had had a
+great night and day because of callers on Browning and his friend, and
+would take nothing of his guests except a five-pound note to hand to the
+woman from whose shoulder Sedgwick had caught the scarf.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+BONANZAS.
+
+
+It was in the gray of the morning when they entered the mighty city by
+the Thames. They sought a hotel, where they breakfasted; then waiting
+until business men had gone to their work, they called a carriage and
+drove to the home of Browning's step-father.
+
+It was Browning's turn now to tremble and perspire. "Bless my soul, Jim!"
+said he, "no drift on the Comstock was ever half so hot as this, never,
+by Jove!"
+
+They were admitted and shown to the parlor. Browning asked for Mrs. and
+Miss Hamlin, and bade the servant say some friends desired to see them.
+
+Who can picture the joy that followed the coming of those ladies into the
+room! It is better to imagine it.
+
+After an hour had passed, and the tears had dried, and the tremblings
+ceased a little, Browning's sister drew him a little aside and asked him
+why he did not inquire about some one else.
+
+"Because," said he, "I dare not."
+
+"Well," said the dear girl, "she is due here even now. If you will go
+into the library I will meet her, tell her mother has a caller, and
+propose that we go to the library. When we get there I will lose myself
+for your sake, and, like the famous witches, 'dissolve into thin air.'"
+
+"She is not married?" asked Browning.
+
+"No," replied his sister.
+
+"Heart whole?" Browning queried.
+
+"How should I know?" answered his sister; "but there is the door-bell.
+Hurry Jack! This way to the library!"
+
+Rose Jenvie came in. Grace met and greeted her in the hall.
+
+"Why, Grace," said Rose, "you have been crying. What is wrong, dear?"
+
+"Nothing is wrong," said Grace, "nothing at all, and I have not been
+crying." And all the time the tears were running down her cheeks.
+
+"Why," exclaimed Rose, "what in the world is the matter? What has so
+upset you this morning?"
+
+"I tell you, nothing," answered Grace. "Mamma has a caller in the parlor;
+let us go to the library."
+
+Reaching the door, Grace opened it for Rose, and then said, pettishly,
+"There! I have forgotten a letter I wish to show you; go in, and I will
+be back directly."
+
+Rose naturally walked in, when Grace closed the door behind her, turned
+the key noiselessly and fled.
+
+The curtains were half drawn, the day was cloudy, and Rose advanced two
+or three steps into the room before she discovered another occupant.
+That occupant rose as she stopped. She saw a manly fellow with hair cut
+short and full mustache. He saw a woman a little above the medium height,
+with hazel eyes, full and proud, a fair, clear-cut face, a slight but
+perfectly developed form, and the face wore a look which it seemed to him
+was sad, despite its beauty, as though some thought within made a shadow
+on the fair young life.
+
+The young man gazed a moment, then raising and opening his arms, in a
+voice that shook perceptibly, said, "Rose!"
+
+She gazed a moment, then with a joyous cry of "O, Jack!" sprang into the
+outstretched arms, and for the first time in their lives their lips met.
+
+There were tears in Jack's eyes; the tears were raining down Rose's face,
+and both were shaking as with a burning ague. Browning sank upon a sofa,
+still clasping the fair girl in his strong arms, and seating her beside
+him.
+
+"O, Rose," he said, "I have dreamed of this meeting ever since I left
+you, by sea and land, under the sunshine, in the deep mine's depths, by
+day and night. I love you, I do not know when I did not love you; I have
+come for you, will you be my wife?"
+
+Then Rose said: "You went away without a good-bye or any message. You
+never wrote. You have been gone more than four years." But with a smile
+which was enchantment to Jack, she added: "If I could have found any one
+to marry me, I would have shown you, but no one would, because when I was
+young I kept such bad company."
+
+Then how they did talk! Jack repeated all the old inaccuracies which
+lovers have called up since the Stone Age, the burden of which was that
+the memory of her face had been his light in the darkest mine; the memory
+of her voice had been the music for which his soul had been listening for
+years.
+
+And Rose told the enraptured young man how hard her lot had been to
+conceal a love which she had no right to own, because it had never
+been asked; how hard it had been for her to simulate contentment and
+cheerfulness, but after all how it had been her comfort and support,
+because she had never doubted that he would come back.
+
+Then Jack, between kisses, told his charmer that he had worked every day
+for years; that he had gathered up quite a many good pounds; that if she
+would be his wife, if nothing could be done in England, they would bid
+England good-bye and make their home beyond the sea. And she consented,
+adding: "If you have to run away again, see that you do not go alone. You
+were always so wild that from the first you have needed some careful
+person to look after you."
+
+An hour later, Grace came, unlocked the door, and found the happy pair
+arm-in-arm walking up and down the room. Going up to them, and looking
+into their faces, she said:
+
+"Why, Rose, you have been crying; what is wrong, dear?"
+
+"Nothing is wrong," she answered, "nothing is wrong, and I have not
+been crying; have I, Jack? But, Grace, was it fair to give me no hint,
+and thus permit Jack to surprise me into giving away something that I
+ought to have kept him on the rack for a month at least about before
+conferring?"
+
+Grace smiled and said: "Are you quite satisfied, Jack?"
+
+"Quite," he replied.
+
+"And are you as happy as you deserve to be, Rose?"
+
+"Oh, Grace," said Rose, and then the two young women both cried and
+embraced each other until Jack gently separated them, and said: "Come,
+we must find Jim. Jim is my friend. His judgment is perfect, and I must
+submit this business to him."
+
+"Mr. Sedgwick has gone back to the hotel," said Grace, and a serious
+look was in her eyes as she spoke. But in a moment she smiled and said:
+"When I told him where you were and who was with you, he laughed and
+said: 'It is liable to be a case of working after hours. When the young
+lady succeeds in extricating herself, tell Jack, please, that I have gone
+out to take in London, and will see him at the hotel when he finds time
+to call.'"
+
+"And who is Mr. Sedgwick?" asked Rose.
+
+"The best and noblest man in all this world," replied Jack.
+
+"Oh, Jack!" said Rose.
+
+"It is true, all the same, my sorceress," said Browning. "I have seen him
+tested. He has been my close companion for lo! these many months."
+
+"I am jealous of him," said Rose. "But why did he run away? I want to
+know all your friends."
+
+"I suspect the truth is he left out of consideration for you and myself,"
+said Browning. "He knew how I felt, and he hoped I would not be
+disappointed, and I suspect he thought the sacredness of our joy ought
+not to be disturbed."
+
+"Very fine, of course," said Grace; "very thoughtful and considerate, but
+why did he not stop to ask himself if it was quite fair to leave me all
+alone."
+
+"You are right, Gracie," said Browning, "and this act of his shows an
+absence of mind on his part that I did not expect."
+
+Then all laughed, but Grace blushed a little while she laughed.
+
+Then Mrs. Hamlin came in. She warmly congratulated the happy pair.
+
+They strolled into the sitting-room, and soon after the mail was brought
+in. The first things the girls seized upon were the papers from
+Devonshire, for they were like other people. Men and women live in a
+place for years, and daily express the belief that the home paper is the
+worst specimen they ever saw, but let one of them absent himself or
+herself for a week, and the same newspaper from the old home is the one
+thing they want above all others. Glancing over the paper, Grace suddenly
+looked up and said: "Why, they had a wonderfully exciting episode down
+in ---- on Sunday last." She had come upon the account of the exploit
+with the bull, and read it aloud.
+
+The names being misspelled, she never suspected the real facts.
+
+"That was a brave man," she said, when she had finished. "It must have
+been splendid. I wish I could have seen it. How it must have astonished
+those villagers. I would like to kiss the man who performed that feat."
+
+"Would you?" said Jack laughingly. "I will tell him so when I meet him."
+
+"Please do," said Grace. "He must have been a grand matador from Spain,"
+and springing up, she caught a tidy from the furniture, danced around the
+room with it, holding it in both hands as though bating an angry bull,
+and suddenly dropping it, made a grab for an imaginary ring and horn, and
+twisting both wrists quickly, cried out: "Did I not down his highness
+beautifully?"
+
+"Beautifully," said Browning, "and when I meet the man I will tell him of
+your vivid imitation."
+
+"And don't forget to tell him I would like to kiss him," said Grace,
+laughing.
+
+"Maybe I can fix it so you can tell him yourself, Grace."
+
+"Do you know him, Jack?" asked Rose.
+
+Jack smiled and said, "Perhaps."
+
+"What do you mean, Jack?" asked Grace.
+
+"I know the man, Grace; and so do you," said Jack.
+
+"True?" asked Grace.
+
+"True," said Jack.
+
+"I know him?" asked Grace. "Why, who is there in ---- that would do
+anything like that?"
+
+"No one that I know of," said Jack. "But you have forgotten a somewhat
+diffident and reserved young man with whom you were conversing in the
+parlor an hour ago?"
+
+Grace grew pale, and sank into a seat. "O, Jack, you don't mean--?"
+
+"Yes," he said, interrupting her, "it was Sedgwick, and it was splendidly
+done, too. It was, by Jove!"
+
+"Honest?" asked Grace.
+
+"Honest, and I will deliver your message."
+
+Blushing scarlet, Grace sprang up and began to plead.
+
+Browning would promise nothing except that he might possibly put the
+matter off a little while. "But," he added, "I believe Jim would give
+more to see your imitation than you would to see the original performance
+repeated without change of scene."
+
+"Were you not sharp, Jack, to get me to commit myself before ever gaining
+a glimpse of this wonderful man?" asked Rose.
+
+"Indeed, was," he replied. "Why, I recall now that once when we were
+having a friendly dispute, he threatened that unless I came to his terms
+he would come over here, search you out, and try to steal you away from
+me."
+
+"But then he had not seen _me_," said Grace, mockingly.
+
+All laughed at that. Rose spoke first and said: "But, if he is your close
+friend, and has come to England with you, why does he go back to the
+hotel?"
+
+Browning smiled and said, "Why, child, save for three days in his own
+father's house, he has been under no gentleman's private roof for years.
+He does not know our English methods. And that makes me think; I, too,
+must go. My own tenure here was a little uncertain, when I went away, and
+now I, too, am going to the hotel. When my father comes, Grace, you may
+tell him I have been here, that I called, but that I am staying at
+the ---- Hotel. If he comes and calls upon me, I shall be glad to see
+him; if he does not, why, to-morrow at ten, if you girls will have your
+hats and wraps on, I think Jim and myself will be glad to engage you for
+a drive. Jim has not been forbidden the premises, and he can call for you
+while I wait outside."
+
+No persuasion would make him remain. Putting his arm around Rose, he drew
+her to him, and said: "We will give the old folks a chance to do the fair
+thing; if they will not, what then, little one?"
+
+"Henceforth," she answered, gravely, but low and sweet, "your home is to
+be my home, your God my God." Then she bent and touched his hand with her
+lips, and he wended his way back to find Sedgwick.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+A DINNER PARTY.
+
+
+And Sedgwick, what of him? He had gone, as he said, "to see Jack through,
+as Jack had stood by him in Ohio," but when Grace Hamlin--or Grace
+Meredith, which was her real name--at their summons entered the parlor he
+was transfixed. Just medium height was she, slight but perfect in form,
+with darkish-brown eyes and clear-cut features, a golden chestnut curly
+mass of hair, the hand of a queen, and the hand-clasp of a sincere, true
+and happy woman. And poor Jim was lost in a moment.
+
+He called up all his self-possession, and did the best he could, but
+he seized the first opportunity to get away where he could think. Once
+outside the house, he hailed a cab, told the driver to jog around for
+an hour or two, and then land him at the ---- Hotel. Once started, he
+settled back and began to cross-question himself, and to moralize over
+the situation.
+
+"I have seen prettier girls than this one, seen them in Ohio, in Texas,
+in Virginia City, and they never gave me an extra heart-beat. What is the
+matter with me now? When that girl smiled up in my face, welcomed me as
+her brother's friend, and told me she was glad I had come with him, all
+the clutches broke off my cage, and I thought I would in a moment bring
+up in the sump below the 1,700 foot level, smashed so they would have to
+sew the pieces up in canvas to bring me to the surface. It is a clear
+case that I am gone, and what the mischief am I going to do? Suppose I
+brace up and try to win her, and fail, then I shall be done for sure
+enough. The old world so far has had no particular attractions for me,
+and were I to ask her to look at me, and she, like a sensible woman
+that she is, should first look surprised at my assurance, and then
+respectfully decline, what would there be left for me? Suppose again, I
+could fool her into accepting, then what? I, a rough Nevada miner, linked
+for life with a London fairy--beauty and the beast--what would I do with
+her? In this babel, what could I do? What could she do on the old Jasper
+farm on the hill? I have it. I won't see her again. I will go and pack my
+grip, tell Jack I have received a cable which takes me home, and I will
+leave to-morrow.
+
+"But then I could not go as I came. Those steady brown eyes would follow
+me; when the sunlight would turn its glint on gold and purple clouds, her
+chestnut curls would be sure to flash before my eyes, and then there
+would be a voice crying to me ceaselessly: 'You who prided yourself on
+being brave enough to do any needed thing, you on the first real trial
+lowered your flag and fled in a panic. A nice fix I have got myself into.
+All my life, through all my dare-devil days, on the ranges in Texas, down
+amid the swelling clay of the Comstock, everywhere, my soul has been
+equal to the occasion, and I have been able to acquit myself in a way not
+to attract attention to my deficiencies. But now my heart has gone back
+on me; a pair of eyes have confused my vision, and a little hand has
+knocked me out on the first round. I am in a deuce of a fix, surely."
+So he rattled on to himself.
+
+The driver was a garrulous whip. From time to time he had been calling
+down to Sedgwick the names of famous points of interest along the route,
+which had been unheeded by the absorbed occupant of the cab. Finally the
+driver explained that a certain structure was Westminster Abbey.
+
+"And what is Westminster Abbey?"
+
+"It is where kings and queens and great soldiers and scholars are
+buried," said cabbie.
+
+"Burial lots come high there, do they not?" said Sedgwick.
+
+"Why, man, there are no lots sold there," said cabbie. "It is a place
+which was hundreds of years ago set aside for England's great dead to be
+buried in. The brightest dream of an Englishman is to rest there at
+last."
+
+"Do they dream when they get there?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+"Why, man," said cabbie, "when they get there they are dead."
+
+"Great place!" said Sedgwick.
+
+"The greatest in all England," replied cabbie.
+
+"Do you know of any Englishmen who are in a hurry to be carried there?"
+said Sedgwick.
+
+"O, no," said cabbie, "the best of them are not in any hurry about it."
+
+"You Englishmen must be a queer race, to be always dreaming of going to a
+place and still are never anxious to start," said Sedgwick.
+
+Cabbie gave up trying to explain the majesty of the great Abbey to one so
+utterly obtuse as Sedgwick seemed to be. He drove on in silence for half
+an hour or forty minutes before he rallied enough to speak again. Then he
+pointed to a structure and called down to Sedgwick that the place was
+Newgate.
+
+"What is there peculiar about Newgate?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+"Why, it is the famous Newgate prison," said cabbie.
+
+Sedgwick roused himself and asked, "What do they do in Newgate?"
+
+"What do they do?" said cabbie, "what do they do? Why, they hang people
+there sometimes."
+
+"Get down, please, and ask them what they will charge to hang me," said
+Sedgwick. He did not smile; he seemed in sober earnest.
+
+Cabbie looked at him for an instant, then whipped up his horses and
+hurried him to the hotel. Arriving there, he sprang down and said, "This
+is your hotel." Sedgwick got out and was walking off mechanically, when
+cabbie said, "Five shillings, please, sir." Sedgwick, with "O, I had
+forgotten," handed the man a guinea, and passed into the hotel. Cabbie
+looked after him, then tapped his forehead as much as to say, "He is off
+in the upper story," and mounting his box, drove away.
+
+Sedgwick went to his rooms, threw off his coat, opened a window, sat
+down, put his heels on the table, lighted a cigar which went out in a
+moment, and an hour later when Browning, radiant, joyous, and exulting,
+returned, he found him there, still holding the unlighted cigar in his
+mouth, his feet still on the table, and a puzzled, undecided, and
+absorbed look on his face.
+
+Browning rushed up to him, crying, "Jim, congratulate me, I have seen
+her, and it is all settled. She is an angel, Jim, and she has promised to
+be my wife. O, but God is good to me."
+
+"I am glad, old man, I rejoice with you," said Sedgwick. "I hope with all
+my heart no cloud will ever cross the sunshine of your lives." Then he
+relapsed again into his moody way.
+
+"What ails you, Jim?" asked Browning. "Does this great babel oppress your
+spirits?"
+
+"I believe it does, Jack," he answered. "I was just thinking as you came
+in that I had better pull out for home. The atmosphere here is like a
+drift without any air-pipe."
+
+"Nonsense," said Browning; "you cannot go. You must wait for my wedding.
+It would be all spoiled without you. I was planning it on the way. It
+will be in the church, of course, just before midday. You will be the
+best man--as usual. You and my sister shall do the honors that day. All
+my friends will be there. I will have the church smothered in flowers.
+I will corrupt the organist, bribe the choir, double-bank the preacher in
+advance, and we will all have a rousing time. We will, by Jove!"
+
+Sedgwick smiled at his friend's happiness, and said: "Did you ever think
+that maybe I would be a little out of training for a performance of that
+kind? I think I would sooner risk keeping my seat on a wild mustang."
+
+"You can do it, Sedgwick," said Jack. "You must do it. I would not feel
+half married unless you were present, and then, did you not promise to
+come and see me through?"
+
+"Who will give away the bride?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+The question seemed to startle Browning. "That reminds me," he said,
+doubtingly, "that I have neither seen my governor nor old man Jenvie.
+I left home telling mother and Grace that before I went home to live I
+would have to be invited by the governor. And that reminds me, too, Jim,
+there must not be a word about my money. I have only carried the idea
+that I worked for three years in the mines in America. They will reckon
+it up and conclude that if I was prudent I may have saved £400 or £500."
+
+"That reminds me," said Sedgwick, "that no one must know that I have
+anything more than the savings of three or four years' work. It would
+give you away if the facts were known about my little fortune. But, Jack,
+could you not get along just as well without me? You ought to be in your
+own home and ought to enjoy every moment of time, while I am, in this
+vast waste of houses, what one solitary monkey would be in a South
+American wilderness."
+
+"I will not hear of it, old pard," said Browning. "You see, if the
+governor asks me home you will go with me, and we will cabin together as
+of old. We will, by Jove! If he does not, then you must help me hold the
+fort in this hotel until I can bring my wife here," and he blushed like
+a girl when he spoke the word "wife."
+
+The day wore heavily away. It was almost dark when a carriage stopped
+at the hotel and the cards of Archibald Hamlin and Percival Jenvie were
+brought in. Browning received them, and glancing at them handed them to
+Sedgwick, whispering, "They are the old duffers, Jim," caught up his hat,
+said to the servant, "Show me the gentlemen," and followed him out of the
+room.
+
+He was absent a full half-hour. When he returned the two old men
+accompanied him and were presented to Jack. They were very gracious,
+invited Sedgwick to come with his son and make his son's home his home
+while in London.
+
+Sedgwick was shy when there were ladies present, but men did not
+disconcert him.
+
+He thanked Mr. Hamlin for his kind invitation, but begged to be excused,
+adding, "I am but a miner, not yet a month from underground. I have lived
+a miner's life for years. You do not understand, but that is not a good
+school in which to prepare a student for polite society."
+
+"Tut, tut," said the old gentleman, with English heartiness. "We have
+a big, rambling old house. You can have your quarters there. When you
+become bored you can retreat to them. You shall have a key and go and
+come when you please. We should all be hurt were not Jack's friend made
+welcome under our roof so long as he pleased to remain in London."
+
+"Well, let me think it over to-night. If I can gather the courage, maybe
+I will accept to-morrow," said Sedgwick.
+
+Then Jenvie interposed, saying, "Mr. Sedgwick, let us make a compromise.
+My house is but a step from Hamlin's; make it your home half the time.
+Really it should be. In England friends only stop at hotels when
+traveling."
+
+"Come, Jim," said Jack; "you see it must be, and that is the right thing.
+Ours are old-fashioned people, just up from Devonshire. What would you
+have thought had I insisted upon stopping at that hotel at the station
+near your father's house?"
+
+Sedgwick yielded at last. Their trunks were packed in a few minutes, the
+bill settled, and they drove away.
+
+Reaching the Hamlin home they were shown at once to their apartments, and
+were informed that so soon as they were ready dinner would be served.
+
+They were not long in dressing, and together they descended to the
+parlor. Besides the family, the Jenvie family were also present. Grace
+met them at the door, shook hands with Sedgwick, and welcomed him with a
+word and a smile which set all his pulses bounding, and, taking his arm,
+presented him to the strangers; then shouted gaily: "Follow us! dinner
+is waiting."
+
+Sedgwick was given the seat at the right of his host; Grace took the seat
+at his right, with Jack and Rose opposite.
+
+The ladies were radiant in evening costume, and Sedgwick with a mighty
+effort threw off the depression which had burdened the day and appeared
+at his very best.
+
+Mrs. Hamlin, judging shrewdly that perhaps it would relieve the stranger
+from embarrassment to engage him in conversation, with beautiful tact
+brought him to tell the company of his own country, remarking that "We
+insular people have but a vague idea at best of America."
+
+With a smile, Sedgwick replied: "I do not know very much myself of my
+native country, for since I left school (here he glanced at Jack and his
+eyes twinkled) I merely wandered slowly through the southwestern States,
+almost to the Gulf in Texas, then bending north and west again, continued
+until I reached the eastern slope of the Sierras, and then made a dive
+underground and remained there until Jack determined to go home, and I
+came along to take care of him."
+
+Here Miss Jenvie interposed and said: "What was the most precious thing
+you ever found in the mines, Mr. Sedgwick?"
+
+"Considering who asked the question, it would be cruel not to tell you it
+was Jack," he replied.
+
+All laughed, and Miss Jenvie said: "Is it true, did you and Jack first
+meet underground?"
+
+"Indeed we did," said Sedgwick, "and we were neither of us handsomely
+attired. I thought he was a gnome; he thought me a Chinese dragon."
+
+Then Miss Grace interposed; "Mr. Sedgwick," said she, "is not Texas a
+land where there are a great many cattle?"
+
+"Millions of them," was the reply.
+
+"And is not that the region where the cowboy is also found?" she
+continued.
+
+"There are a few there, surely," said Sedgwick, and looking across the
+table he saw a smile on Jack's face.
+
+"They are good riders and good shots, are they not?" Grace asked.
+
+"Some of them ride well, and nearly all of them shoot well," said
+Sedgwick.
+
+"I would like to go there," said Grace, impetuously; "it must be a jolly
+life." Then looking at her mother, she laughed gaily and said: "If ever
+one of those cowboys, with broad hat and jingling spurs, comes this way,
+you had better lock the doors, mamma, if you want to keep me."
+
+Sedgwick kept a steady face, but his heart was throbbing so that he
+feared the company would hear it.
+
+Then Jenvie asked Sedgwick if mining in Nevada was not mostly carried on
+by rough and rude men.
+
+Sedgwick's face became grave in a moment, as he said: "We must judge men
+by the motives behind their lives, if we would get at what they really
+are. There are married men and single men at work in the mines. The
+married men have wives and little children to support. They wish to have
+their dear ones fed and clothed as well as other generous people feed and
+clothe their families. They want their children educated. They have,
+moreover, all around them examples of rich men who a year or five years
+previous were as humble and poor as they now are. The young men have
+hopes quite as sweet, purposes quite as high. This one is to build up a
+little fortune for some one he loves; this one has a home in his mind's
+eye which he means to purchase; this one has relatives whom he dreams of
+making happy, while others have visions of honors and fame, so soon as
+something which is in their thoughts shall materialize.
+
+"Then the occupation itself and the results have a tendency, I think, to
+exalt men. To begin with, the work is a steady struggle against nature's
+tremendous forces. The rock has to be blasted, the waters controlled, the
+consuming heat tempered, the swelling clay confined, and to do this men
+have to employ great agents. A silver mine generally has Desolation
+placed as a watch above it. To work it everything has to be carried to
+it. The forest away off on some mountain side has to be felled and hauled
+to the spot. For many months the great Bonanza has received within it
+monthly 3,000,000 feet of timbers, machinery equal to that in the holds
+of mighty steamships has to be set in place and motion; drills are kept
+at work 2,000 feet underground, from power supplied on the surface;
+hundreds of men have to be daily hoisted from and lowered into the
+depths; there has to be a precision and continuity that never fail, and
+the men who plan and carry on that work emerge from it after a few years
+stronger, brighter, clearer-brained and braver men than they ever would
+have been except for that discipline.
+
+"Then what they produce is something which makes the labor of every
+other man more profitable, for it is something which is the measure of
+values, something which all races of men recognize at once, something
+indestructible and peculiarly precious, which can be drawn into a
+thread-like silk, or hammered into a leaf so thin that a breath will
+carry it away; it is the very spirit of the rock, the part that is
+imperishable. Moreover, it is labor made immortal, for, tried by fire, it
+grows bright and loses no grain of its weight. Could we find a piece of
+the beaten gold that overlaid the temple of Israel's greatest king, it
+would, to-day, represent the labor of one of those miners that toiled in
+Ophir and fell back to dust thirty generations before the Christ was
+born.
+
+"Moreover, it is and has been from the first one of the measures of the
+civilization of nations. Where gold and silver are in general circulation
+among the people they are always prosperous, their children are always
+educated, and the advance is so marked that it can be measured by decades
+of years. A nation's decay or enlightenment can be traced by the
+decreasing or increasing volume of gold and silver in circulation.
+
+"Miners thus engrossed, producing such a substance, and carrying such
+hopes and aspirations in their souls, as a rule, grow stronger, more
+manly and more true.
+
+"I do not say that there are not many rough characters among them. I do
+not say that when the influence of true women is in great part withdrawn
+from any class of men, they do not more and more gravitate toward
+savagery, for they but follow a natural law; but the tenderest, truest,
+bravest, best, most generous and most just men I have ever known have
+been miners in the far West of the United States."
+
+While talking, Sedgwick had seemed to forget where he was, but as
+he ceased he glanced across the table and noticed a look of full
+appreciation on Rose's face, and smiling, he added: "I was talking for
+Jack's sake, Miss Rose."
+
+It was a pleasant dinner, and a pleasant evening followed. There was a
+running fire of conversation, broken only when the young ladies sang or
+played. When Sedgwick first heard Grace sing, he sat, as he said
+afterward, "in mortal terror lest wings should spread out from her white
+shoulders and she should disappear through the ceiling."
+
+In point of fact, she sang well, but she was not nearly ethereal enough
+to want to give up the substantial earth to take to the ether.
+
+But amid all the contending emotions, Sedgwick kept a furtive watch upon
+the two old men. They were exceedingly gracious, but they gave Sedgwick
+the impression that they were striving too hard to be agreeable.
+
+Jack was in the seventh heaven. He tried to conceal his joy, but every
+moment he would glance at Rose Jenvie with a look in his eyes which was
+enough to show any miner where his bonanza was. Sedgwick was wildly
+smitten, himself, but he kept his wits about him enough to watch and try
+to fathom what in the bearing of the old men for some inexplainable
+reason disturbed him.
+
+When the company separated and sought their respective apartments, Jack
+went to his own room, threw off his coat, put on slippers and lighted a
+cigar, crossed the hall, first tapped upon the door of Sedgwick's room,
+then pushed it open, walked in, closed the door, and then burst out with
+"Jim, is she not a glory of the earth?"
+
+"I think she is, indeed," was the reply. Sedgwick was thinking of Grace.
+
+"Is there another such girl in all the world, Jim?" said Jack.
+
+"I don't believe there is, old boy; not another one," said Sedgwick.
+
+"What a queenly head she has! What a throat of snow! What an infinite
+grace! 'Whether she sits or stands or walks or whatever thing she does,'
+she is divine," said Jack.
+
+"She impressed me just that way," said Sedgwick.
+
+"Not too short, not too tall, with just enough flesh and blood to keep
+one in mind that while she is divine, she is still a woman," said Jack.
+
+"Only base metal enough to hold the precious metal in place," said
+Sedgwick.
+
+So Jack rattled on in the very ecstasy of his love, and so Sedgwick,
+quite as deeply involved, replied; the one talking of Rose, the other
+of Grace.
+
+At length, however, Sedgwick roused himself and said: "Jack, old boy,
+tell me how the old men received you."
+
+"With open arms," said Jack. "My step-father grasped both my hands, said
+he was hasty in banishing me as he did, that his heart had been filled
+with remorse ever since, that he had sought in vain to find me. And old
+man Jenvie, with a hearty welcome and jolly laugh, declared that I served
+him exactly right when I floored him; that it had made a better man of
+him ever since, and that he was glad to welcome me back to England."
+
+Sedgwick listened, and when Jack ceased speaking there was silence for
+a full minute, until Jack said:
+
+"What are you thinking of, Jim?"
+
+"Nothing much," said Sedgwick; "only, Jack, I have changed my mind.
+I will stay and help you through the wedding; only hurry it along as
+swiftly as you conveniently can."
+
+"There is something on your mind, Jim," said Jack. "What is it, old
+friend?"
+
+"Nothing, Jack; nothing but a mean suspicion, for which I can give myself
+no tangible excuse for entertaining," asked Sedgwick.
+
+"Suspicion, Jim! Which way do the indications lead?" asked Jack.
+
+"I will tell you, old friend. In Nevada we would say that these old men
+are too infernally gushing in their welcome to you. I fear there is
+something wrong behind it all; though, as I said, it is a mere suspicion
+which I cannot explain to myself; only, Jack, I will stay to the wedding,
+and be sure to give no hint to any soul in England that I have more than
+money enough to make a brief visit, and then to return to America. And do
+not permit what I have said to worry you, for I have no backing for my
+impressions."
+
+Then Jack went to his room to sleep and to dream of Rose Jenvie, and Jim
+went to bed, not to sleep, but to think of Grace Meredith.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+WAYS THAT ARE DARK.
+
+
+As we know, Sedgwick went first with Browning to the hamlet in Devonshire
+where Jack's early home had been. Browning was recognized, of course. An
+old friend of Hamlin's was at the church, spoke to Jack, and witnessed
+Sedgwick's encounter with the bull. He knew under what circumstances
+young Browning left home, and so on that Sunday evening he wrote to
+Hamlin that his step-son was in Devonshire, told him of the episode at the
+church, and informed the old man that the companion of his son, though a
+quiet and refined-appearing man enough, must be a prize-fighter in
+disguise. He further stated that Jack had told him that he and his friend
+had been working in the mines at Virginia City, Nevada, for three or four
+years. He added the strong suspicion that the complexion of the men
+indicated that they had not been in the mines at all. (His idea of a
+miner was a coal-miner, and not one from the Comstock mine, where there
+is no coal dust, and where the thermometer indicates a tropical climate
+always.)
+
+This letter reached Hamlin early on Monday. Being a half banker and half
+broker himself, he turned at once to the page in the bank directory,
+giving American banks and their London connections. He found the Nevada
+branch bank and California branch bank of Virginia City, and what banks
+in London they drew upon, and hastened first to the Nevada bank's London
+agency. He could obtain no news there. Then he sought the other, and
+knowing the management, he explained to one of the directors that his
+son was on the way home, was already in England, and asked him
+confidentially, both as a father and a brother banker, whether any credit
+had come for the boy. The director ran over his correspondence, and,
+looking up with a smile, said:
+
+"Is your son's name John Browning? If it is, he has bills of exchange
+upon us for £100,000."
+
+The old man was paralyzed. "It cannot be possible," he said. "Great
+heavens! £100,000!"
+
+"Those are the figures sent us," said the cashier, "and we received a
+mighty invoice of Nevada bullion by the last ship from New York. There is
+no mistake."
+
+Then an effort was made to see if another man named Sedgwick had any
+credit, but nothing was found. Enjoining upon the banker the utmost
+secrecy in regard to his being at the bank, the old man went away.
+
+The question with him was what to do. His business was not very
+prosperous, because he had not capital enough. Then, too, he was in debt
+to Jenvie. He wanted the lion's share of that money, and, more than ever,
+he wanted Jack to marry Grace.
+
+Then what did Jack mean by bringing a prize-fighter home with him? He was
+worried. Finally he determined to consult with Jenvie, his partner. He
+knew he did not like Jack, and he had, moreover, received hints from him
+that he was getting along well in making a match between Rose and a rich
+broker named Arthur Stetson, who had met her and been carried away by her
+beauty.
+
+So, calling Jenvie into their most private office, Hamlin bolted the door
+to prevent interruption, read him the letter received from Devonshire,
+and told him of the astounding discovery he had made at the ---- bank.
+The question was, what course to take.
+
+"I believe Rose likes Jack," said Jenvie. "She grieved exceedingly when
+he went away, though she hid it so superbly that only her mother knew
+about it, and she has rejected every suitor since except Stetson, and
+I fear when the climax comes she will reject him. The chances are, when
+Jack comes they will rush into each other's arms. At the same time, I do
+not want him for a son-in-law. But I would like to get some of the money
+into the firm, for we need more capital badly."
+
+They plotted all that day, and next morning decided that on the arrival
+of Jack they would welcome him; let the matter between him and Rose take
+its course, but in case of an engagement would prevent an immediate
+marriage, if possible, and see, in the meantime, what could be done
+toward working Jack for a part, at least, of his money. With that
+arrangement decided upon, when a message came from Hamlin's home that
+Jack had returned and had gone to the hotel, they were ready, and in
+company went to greet him and escort him home.
+
+Sedgwick had to be invited also, and that suited them, for they both
+desired to know what kind of a man he was. Both were satisfied, too, that
+he had no money, or he would have obtained a credit where Jack had
+obtained his exchange. When, at the first dinner, Grace had drawn from
+him that he had been in Texas and had seen cowboys, they both guessed
+where he had caught the trick which he had put in practice in Devonshire,
+and, thenceforth, save as a careless friend that careless Jack had picked
+up, they dropped Sedgwick from their calculations.
+
+How Jack got his money was the greatest mystery; and so a few days after
+his coming, his father said to him: "Jack, I hope you have come home to
+stay. Look around and find some business that you think will suit you,
+and I will buy it for you if it does not take too much money."
+
+"Thanks, father," said Jack; "much obliged, but I have a few pounds of my
+own."
+
+"How much are miner's wages in Virginia City?" asked the old man.
+
+"Four dollars a day; about twenty-four pounds a month," said Jack.
+
+"And what are the expenses?" was the next question.
+
+"Four shillings a day for board; three pounds per month for a room, and
+clothes and cigars to any amount you please," said Jack.
+
+"Why, you could not have saved more than £150 or £160 per annum at those
+rates," said the old man.
+
+"No," said Jack; "a good many may not do as well as that; but I had a few
+pounds which were invested by a friend in Con-Virginia when it was three
+dollars a share, and it was sold when it was worth a good bit more."
+
+The old man had learned the secret. He asked one more question. "Did your
+friend Sedgwick do as well as you did?"
+
+Jack thought of Sedgwick's injunction, so answered:
+
+"He made a good bit of money, something like £20,000, but he turned it
+over to his father in Ohio. I think the plan is to buy a place near the
+old home. He only brought a few hundred pounds with him. Indeed, he only
+ran over to oblige me. We were old friends; at one time we worked on the
+same shift in the mine."
+
+The old man was satisfied. Moreover, he saw his opportunity.
+
+"What a wonderful business that mining is," he said. "Stetson, the broker
+over the way, is promoting a mining enterprise in South Africa. According
+to the showing, it is an immense property. Here is the prospectus of the
+company. Put it in your pocket, and at your leisure run over it."
+
+Jack carelessly put the pamphlet in his pocket. That evening he was with
+Rose and remained pretty late. When he sought his room he could not
+sleep, so he ran over the statement. It was a captivating showing. The
+mine was called the "Wedge of Gold." It was located in the Transvaal. The
+main ledge was fully sixteen feet wide, with an easy average value of six
+pounds per ton in free gold, besides deposits and spurs that went much
+higher. The vein was exposed for several hundred feet, and opened by a
+shaft 300 feet deep, with long drifts on each of the levels. The country
+was healthy, supplies cheap, plenty of good wood and water, and the only
+thing needed was a mill for reducing the ore. The incorporation called
+for 150,000 shares of stock of the par value of one pound per share, and
+the pamphlet explained that 50,000 shares were set aside to be sold to
+raise means for a working capital, to build the mill, etc.
+
+Browning read the paper over twice, then tumbled into bed, and his dreams
+were all mixed up; part of the time he was counting gold bars, part of
+the time it seemed to him that Rose was near him, but when he spoke to
+her, every time she vanished away. Between the visions he made the worst
+kind of a night of it, and next morning told Jim that he was more beat
+out than ever he was when he came off shift on the Comstock.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+HOW MINERS ARE CAUGHT.
+
+
+Browning and Sedgwick had been in England two weeks. The question of the
+marriage of Browning and Rose Jenvie had been discussed and decided upon.
+Neither Hamlin nor Jenvie had interposed any objection to the marriage
+except on the point of time. They asked, at first, that it be postponed
+for six months, as Jenvie insisted that he wanted to be certain that Rose
+had not been carried away by a mere impulse on seeing once more an old
+friend who had long been absent. Hamlin agreed with him that the young
+people must be sure not to make any mistake. Jack was impetuous, and
+Rose, while making no pronounced opposition, quietly said that no tests
+were necessary; that she and Jack had been separated for a long time and
+knew their own minds. Sedgwick, when called in, refused to express an
+opinion, it being a matter too sacred to permit of any outside
+interference.
+
+Finally a compromise was made, the time reduced one-half, and the date
+fixed for the first of September, it being then nearly the first of June.
+Jack had only agreed to the postponement on the condition that Sedgwick
+should not desert him, but wait for the wedding. He consented, saying
+carelessly that two or three months would not much matter to him, but the
+truth was that the delay urged by the old men strengthened his suspicion
+that all was not just right. "Those old chaps are too sweet by half," he
+said to himself. "There is some game on hand to get the best of generous,
+simple-hearted, unsuspecting Jack, sure, and while I cannot fathom it I
+will keep watch."
+
+Then, there was the enchantment that Grace Meredith had woven around his
+life. Every morning she greeted him with a smile, a welcome word and a
+hand clasp that set his blood tingling. Her breath was in the air that he
+breathed, and when at night the hand-clasp and the smile were repeated,
+and the good-nights spoken, it all fell upon him like a benediction; and,
+going to his apartment, he would ask himself what his life would be were
+the smile, the word, and the hand-clasp to be his no more.
+
+After a few days there came a change in Grace. She was as cordial as
+ever, as gently considerate as ever, but she seemed to lose vivacity. She
+was often lost in revery; a sadder smile seemed to give expression to her
+face; she did not laugh with the old ringing laugh; there seemed to come
+in her look when she suddenly encountered Sedgwick, something which was
+the opposite of a blush--as opposite as the white rose is to the blush
+rose.
+
+In those days the steady conscience of Sedgwick was undergoing many
+self-questionings. Should he offer his love and be rejected, what then?
+Should the impossible happen and he should be accepted, what then? Should
+he carry the petted London girl to his home and friends in the Miami
+Valley, would there not be reproaches felt even if not spoken? Thus he
+vexed himself day after day; night after night he tossed restlessly, and
+saw no way to break the entanglement that had entwined his life. But he
+kept watch of Jack and the old men.
+
+Meanwhile, Jack had read over and over the prospectus of the "Wedge of
+Gold" Mining Company. It was the lamp and he was the moth that was
+circling around it with constantly lessening circles. His father, to whom
+he had applied for information, told him that he believed the shares were
+going at one pound, but that they threatened to be higher within a week,
+and Jenvie, taking up the conversation, explained that, with a mill
+built, the mine would easily pay sixty per cent on the investment
+annually, which would throw the shares up to at least twenty pounds.
+At the same time both the old men referred Jack to Stetson for full
+particulars, as they had no direct interest in the property.
+
+After a few days more, the mail from South Africa brought a glowing
+account of further developments in "The Wedge of Gold," which account
+found its way into the papers, and one was put where Jack would read it.
+He had not consulted with Sedgwick. His idea was to make an investment,
+and when the profits began to come in, to divide with him.
+
+So one morning he went to the office of Stetson and said to the young
+man: "I have concluded to take the working capital stock of the 'Wedge of
+Gold;'" and sitting down he gave his check for £50,000. The stock for him
+would be ready, he was informed, the next day, so soon as it could be
+properly transferred.
+
+He went out. The real owner of the property was sent for; the property
+was bought for £2,000; the deed, which had been put in escrow, and which
+on its face called for £150,000, was taken up, releasing the stock, and
+then the old men and the young man rubbed their hands and said to each
+other that it had been a good day's work.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+ENCHANTMENT.
+
+
+Sedgwick and Browning had now been several days in London. Every day they
+had been riding and driving--seeing the sights. One morning at breakfast
+Jack mentioned that it was Tuesday; that next day would be the annual
+celebrated Derby Wednesday; that he had made arrangements for as many to
+go as could get away. The number was finally limited to four--Grace and
+Rose, Jack and Jim.
+
+This was talked over, and so soon as the arrangements were determined
+upon, Jack proposed that when the race should be over, instead of coming
+back to London, they should go on beyond Surrey, down to the seashore in
+Sussex, where an old uncle of Rose's resided, for a few days' visit. This
+was, after some discussion, agreed upon; whereupon Jack rose and went out
+to make a few needed little preparations; the young ladies followed to do
+some shopping, while Sedgwick went to his room to write some letters.
+
+He finished his letters and was going out, when he met Mrs. Hamlin in the
+hall. She greeted him and asked him to sit down a moment, saying she
+wanted to talk with him. He swung a chair around for Mrs. Hamlin, and
+when she was seated he took another chair opposite, saying: "Is there
+anything particular this morning, madam, which you desire to talk about?"
+The old lady looked at him a moment, then said:
+
+"Mr. Sedgwick, I have noticed that since you came to my house you seem to
+be worried, as though this London roar and confusion oppressed you; and
+I have seen a look on your face sometimes, which, it seemed to me, if set
+to words would say: 'I would give anything in the world to be out of this
+and back once more free in my native land.' It worries me, and I want to
+ask you if something cannot be done to make your life here more
+pleasant."
+
+"Why, my dear madam," said Sedgwick, "I never was half so kindly
+entertained before as I have been in your house. There is nothing
+lacking, nothing; and when I think of ever returning all this kindness
+my gratitude is made bankrupt."
+
+"Still, you have something on your mind. Is it a business trouble? Will
+you not test our friendship in real truth?" asked the lady.
+
+Sedgwick looked at her seriously a moment, and said: "I have something,
+but it is not business, that distresses me. But, were I to tell you, it
+would test your friendship indeed."
+
+"Well," responded the lady, "I want to know it. I hope we can help you."
+
+"Mrs. Hamlin," said Sedgwick, "I was reared a farmer's son. I was a wild
+boy, I guess. I left school with education not yet completed--left under
+a cloud, but no disgrace attached to my leaving. I went to Texas and was
+a cowboy for a year. From there I wandered west, learned the occupation
+of mining; for four years almost every day I have been underground. I met
+Jack: we were friends; how close at last you do not know. We started
+east; he accompanied me to my childhood's home. After a brief visit I
+came with him to his. I have been three weeks under your roof; I am bound
+by a promise to remain until Jack's marriage, and, in the meantime, in
+spite of myself, I, the farmer, the cowboy, and the miner, have dared to
+look upon your daughter, and my soul is groveling at her feet. I love her
+with such intensity that I have feared sometimes I should break down and
+beseech her to have pity on me. Now you have it all. Tell me, I pray, how
+I can be true to myself and to the hospitality which you have extended me
+until Jack shall be married and I can return to my native land!"
+
+When he once had begun, his words were poured out in a torrent; his face
+was pale; he trembled, and his breath came in half gasps.
+
+Mrs. Hamlin was silent a moment. Then, looking up, she said: "Have you
+spoken of this to Jack?"
+
+"Not one word," he replied.
+
+"Or to Grace?"
+
+"O, Mrs. Hamlin, believe me, not one word."
+
+The lady leaned her head upon her hand for a few moments. Then, looking
+up, she said: "You ask me what to do. I cannot help you. But my judgment
+would be that you go directly to Grace and ask her help. I have not the
+slightest idea of her sentiments toward you, but if she does not care for
+you and thinks she never can, she will frankly tell you. If she does love
+you, she is probably suffering more than you are."
+
+"O, Mrs. Hamlin," said Sedgwick, "are you willing that I shall speak to
+her, that I shall tell her how much she is to me?"
+
+"Quite willing," was the answer; spoken after a moment's thought.
+"Believe me, I never suspected anything of this kind, never in the least,
+or I should not have stopped you here; but if Grace loves you I shall be
+most glad. And one thing more. Should Grace be willing to accept your
+attentions, for the present, please, do not speak to Mr. Hamlin or to
+Jack. I have my special reasons for making this request. I ask it because
+Mr. Hamlin is peculiar, and Grace is my child, in fact, while he is but
+her step-father."
+
+Then she arose, held out her hand and smiled. Then her face became grave,
+and she leaned over the young man, kissed his forehead, and left the
+hall.
+
+When the door closed Sedgwick put his hands before his eyes as though to
+ward off a great light; and when he removed them his lips were moving and
+his face wore a softened and exalted look, such as Saul's might have worn
+after he saw the "great light."
+
+Dinner was hardly over that evening when Jack disappeared. He spent
+nearly all his evenings with Rose, and so his absence was not remarked.
+Mr. Hamlin had been called away to Scotland for two or three days on
+business. Mrs. Hamlin, Grace and Sedgwick passed into the parlor. After a
+little conversation, Sedgwick asked Grace to sing, and as she went to the
+piano Mrs. Hamlin arose and left the room.
+
+Grace struck the instrument softly, and in a moment began to sing. The
+piece she selected was the old one beginning:
+
+  "Could you come back to me, Douglas, Douglas,
+     In the old likeness that I knew,
+   I would be so faithful, so loving, Douglas,
+     Douglas, Douglas, tender and true."
+
+There was a strange thrill in the voice of Grace as the song progressed,
+and when she reached the fourth stanza and sang:
+
+  "I never was worthy of you, Douglas,
+     Not half worthy the like of you;
+   Now, all men beside seem to me like shadows,--
+     I love you, Douglas, tender and true,"
+
+the last words ended in a tone very much like a sob, and the singing
+ceased.
+
+Sedgwick had risen, and walked to the side of Grace while she sang. When
+she ceased he said:
+
+"That is a very touching song, Miss Grace. Your voice vibrates in it as
+though your heart were heavy."
+
+"It is," she frankly answered.
+
+He bent and took an unresisting hand and said: "If you are in trouble,
+may I not try to be your comforter?"
+
+She rose from the piano, and looking up clear and brave into the eyes of
+the young man, said: "You are most kind, but I cannot tell you why my
+heart is heavy."
+
+He looked down into her eyes for a moment and then said: "My heart is
+likewise heavy, Miss Grace; may I tell you why?"
+
+"Surely," she answered, "if you have a sorrow, and if there is any balm
+in this household, it shall be yours."
+
+He took her other hand, and drawing her gently toward him, said: "Come
+near to me Miss Grace. I am involved in a trouble which I never dreamed
+of when I came here. Mine has been a harsh life, but I have always tried
+to meet my fate resignedly. Now I am overborne. Since the first hour I
+met you, first looked into your divine face, first felt your hand-clasp
+and heard your voice, my heart has been on fire. You have become my
+divinity. I worship you. Oh, Grace, can you give me a thread, be it ever
+so slight, out of which I may weave a hope that some time you will bend,
+and sanctify my life by becoming my wife?"
+
+As he spoke, over the pale face of Grace Meredith an almost imperceptible
+glow spread, as when an incandescent lamp is lighted under a translucent
+shade; her eyes grew moist, her lips quivered, she trembled in every
+limb, and, suddenly dropping on her knees, drew his hands to her lips,
+kissed them, and murmured: "O! my king!"
+
+He caught her to him and cried: "Is it true? Is it true? Do you really
+care for me?"
+
+She looked up and said: "O, my blind darling, you are so very, very
+blind! My soul has been calling to your soul since the first hour you
+came."
+
+Half an hour later Grace looked up and with a ravishing smile, said: "Do
+you know, dearest, I believe all my heavy-heartedness is gone."
+
+At last Sedgwick said: "My beautiful, what will your friends say to your
+marrying a rough miner?"
+
+"What," replied she, "will your friends say if you prove foolish enough
+to marry a simple English girl, whose horizon is bounded by Devonshire
+and London?"
+
+His response was: "My adored one!"
+
+Then she crept nearer him, and with serious accent said: "My love, if
+happily our lives shall be united, whom will it be for, our friends or
+ourselves? I will tell you. If ever I shall be permitted to become so
+blessed as to be your wife, it will be with the thought in my heart that
+we are all in all to each other in this world, and in the world to come."
+
+"In this world and in the world to come," he repeated; and then, with
+bowed head, in a whisper, he added: "May I be worthy of such a blessing,
+and God spare to me my idol, that I may praise Him evermore."
+
+And then they began to talk in earnest. One hour like that is due to
+every mortal; no mortal can have more than one such an hour, no matter
+how long may be his life.
+
+Later they came directly to the subject of their marriage. They agreed
+that, if possible, it should be on the same day that Jack and Rose should
+be married. But Sedgwick mentioned Mrs. Hamlin's desire that for the
+present no one should know of his love or of hers (if it should be
+returned), and said he believed it best not to mention their relations
+until the wedding day of Rose and Jack drew near.
+
+Grace agreed with him, except that Rose must be told, saying she would
+find it out even if the attempt were made to conceal it from her, and
+added: "Jack and Rose are completely absorbed in each other. They will be
+with each other most of the time. My father is absent all day, and until
+late at night. My mother is good, and will not much disturb us. I can
+look in your eyes every day, kiss you sometimes, and feel your presence
+like a robust spirit near me all the time." Then, suddenly pausing for an
+instant, she again broke out with, "Oh, how happy I am; it seems as
+though my heart would break with its ecstasy!" and, springing up, she ran
+to the piano, and sang a song which filled the room with melody, and
+caused a linnet that was asleep on her perch to awaken and join her
+trills to the song.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+GOING TO EPSOM DOWNS.
+
+
+The next morning early the young couples started for Epsom Downs.
+Browning had engaged a carriage to take them, and they started a little
+after daylight. Early as it was, the procession which annually empties
+London to witness the great race was in motion. There had been a slight
+shower the previous evening; every bit of herbage was fresh and
+beautiful; the day was perfect and the ride delicious. When part of the
+distance had been traveled, Browning, looking back, said: "Grace, I
+believe I see your destiny coming."
+
+"In what form?" asked Grace, laughing.
+
+"In a typical cowboy," said her foster brother.
+
+Then all looked, and sure enough there, two hundred yards away, was the
+broad hat, the nameless grace, the erect form, the man straight as a line
+from his head to his stirrups, the Mexican saddle, the woven-hair bridle
+with Spanish bit; all complete except the horse. That was not a steed of
+the plains, but a magnificent hunter. The girls clapped their hands in
+delight, and Grace wished he would "hurry up," so that they might get a
+nearer view.
+
+Just then a cry arose in the rear, and a horse attached to a broken
+vehicle was seen coming, running away in the very desperation of fear.
+
+The carriage was driven to the side of the road, and both men sprang out.
+A dense crowd of vehicles, many of them containing women and children,
+were just in front, and the thought of that mad horse dashing among them
+was sickening. But Sedgwick cried out: "Look, ladies, quick!"
+
+What they saw was the hunter under a dead run, his rider urging him on
+apparently, and working something in his right hand. The harnessed horse
+was a good one, but the hunter was gaining upon him, and just as the mad
+runaway was almost opposite the ladies, the right arm of the rider of the
+hunter made a quick curve, the looped end of a rope darted out like a
+bird of prey from the hand; the loop went over the runaway's head; the
+hunter was brought almost to a dead stop; the other animal went up into
+the air, then fell to his knees, then over on his side. Sedgwick and
+Browning sprang to him, unfastened him from the wreck, got the reins and
+secured his head, then took off the lariat, let him up, and tied him to
+the hedge by the roadside.
+
+Browning first turned to the stranger who was coiling up his lariat on
+the saddle's horn, and said: "That was a good morning's work, my friend;
+had that mad horse crashed into the vehicles ahead, he would have killed
+some one."
+
+"I wur afeerd of that, stranger, and that's what made me think he orter
+be stopped," said the horseman.
+
+Sedgwick wheeled quickly round when he heard the man's voice, and,
+looking up, cried: "Hello, Jordan, how did you leave the boys on the
+Brazos?"
+
+The man gave one look; then, springing from his horse, he rushed to
+Sedgwick, and throwing both arms around him broke out with: "Why, Jim;
+bless my broad-horned heart, but I'm glad ter see yo'! How in kingdom cum
+did yo' get heah?" Then he caught both his hands and wrung them, all the
+time exclaiming: "Blame me, but I'm glad. This is the fust luck I've had
+in the Kingdom. Jim, is it sho nuff you?" And he danced like a lunatic.
+And Sedgwick, if not quite so demonstrative, was quite as much rejoiced.
+
+When they quieted down a little, Sedgwick said: "Jordan, I have some
+friends here whom I want to present to you."
+
+His face sobered in a moment. "I forgot, Jim," he said, "thet any one war
+heah savin' ourselves. They must think us two 'scaped lunertics."
+
+"That's all right, Jordan," said Sedgwick, and he formally presented his
+friend to the ladies and to Browning.
+
+The ladies told him how grateful they were that he was near to prevent
+any damage by the fleeing horse, and how glad they were to see the actual
+picture of how a wild horse is caught.
+
+Jordan blushed like a girl. "It war nothin', ladies," he said; "only it
+seemed like it war necessawy sunthin' should be done, and right soon. So
+I interfeerd as well's I could."
+
+"Where the mischief did you get that rig, Jordan?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+"I brung it with me from ther old ranch; that is, all but the hoss. I
+didn't know but I mighter want ter ride, and I knowd I couldn't sit an
+English saddle a minit."
+
+"And why did you come away, Jordan?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+His face saddened for a moment, and then he smiled and said: "I got tired
+of ranchin', sold out; but why I come here I've no idee, 'cept it might
+o' been to stop that thar hoss."
+
+"It was a good idea, anyway, and we are all glad you came," said Rose.
+"We started to see the great race, and we have seen a greater one," and
+she smiled as she spoke, until the dark man again colored and said:
+"Indeed, Miss, it war nothin'."
+
+But the procession grew denser every moment; so Jordan mounted his horse
+again and rode beside the carriage, and a running conversation was kept
+up all the way to the great race track.
+
+Jordan was exceedingly interested in the colts as they were brought upon
+the track.
+
+"They is thoroughbreds, shore. They is beauties," he kept exclaiming; and
+as they were stripped for the race, he picked out the one he thought
+ought to win, and offered to wager hats with Sedgwick and Browning and
+gloves with the ladies that his favorite would win.
+
+And the colt he set his heart upon came near winning; he was third among
+the eighteen starters, and to the last Jordan insisted that he would have
+won if he had been well ridden.
+
+"He orter won," Jordan said. "The trouble war, his jockey lacks two
+things; he don't understand hoss character, 'nd he lacks pluck. He never
+interested ther colt in him, never rubbed his nose and whispered inter
+his ear thet his heart would be broke if ther colt didn't win; so ther
+colt only ran ter please hisself 'nd never thought o' pleasin' his rider.
+Then, from the fust, ther rider believed he wouldn't be nearer nor third,
+'nd ter do anything a man's got ter believe he ken make it. Menny a grand
+hoss's repertation has ben ruined by ther fool man as has hed him in
+charge, and this war ther case ter-day."
+
+Then he was absorbed in thought for a moment, then went on again as
+though he had not ceased: "It wer ther same with men. Ez often ez ever
+ther best men don't win ther prize; meny er blood man hez been distanced
+by er mustang."
+
+The race over, they all had dinner together, and with beautiful tact the
+ladies kept Jordan talking most of the time, and enjoyed his quaint
+sayings exceedingly.
+
+He had been three months from the United States; had made one trip to
+Scotland, one to Wales, one to Paris, and his impressions of the
+different points and the people he had seen were most vivid and unique.
+
+His talk ran a little in this vein: "Yo' see, up in ther Highlands, I
+looked fur the lakes and mountains that yo' read to us about, Jim. There
+is some fine lakes, but mountains! sho, we can beat 'em in America, all
+holler. And ez to broad rivers, why, ther Mississippi cud take um all in,
+and wouldn't know she had a reinforcement; while pour 'um into ther
+Colorado gorge and they'd be spray afore they reached ther bottom. I
+looked for ther pituresk Highland heroes in ther tartans and with ther
+bag-pipes; but they tho't, I reckon, that I war James Fitz, and wur all
+ambushed. But I did see some pretty girls thar, 'an some powerful fine
+black cattle. They war fine--good for twelve hundred pounds neat.
+
+"The blamd'st thing I seen war in Wales. I didn't see that, but hearn.
+That war the language. It's a jor-breaker, if you har me. I don't see how
+the children up thar learn it so blam'd young.
+
+"Paris is a grand place, a genuine daisy; but I believe it is wickeder'n
+Santa Fe wuz when the rush war to New Mexico."
+
+Grace explained to Jordan that they were going down to Sussex to visit
+some relatives of Rose, and begged him to go along, and bespoke for him a
+hearty welcome.
+
+"I'm greatly obleeged, Miss," said Jordan, "but I must beg yo' ter 'scuse
+me. I must see my hoss home. I've been ridin' him and teachin' him a few
+things, like startin' and stoppin', for a month. He war wild when I tuk
+him fust, but since he and I got 'quainted, we agree zactly, and I told
+ther men as own him he should be home ter night, and I must take him. I
+wouldn't send him by the are-apparent hisself. Besides, my society
+accomplishments war neglected some'at when I war young, and I would
+rather break y'r heart, Miss, by declinin' ter go, than hev it broke by
+my arkerdness 'mong y'r friends."
+
+But he told Sedgwick where he was stopping in London, and it was agreed
+that on the return of the party to the great city they should see more of
+each other. So Jordan returned to London, and the young people took the
+train for a little town on the coast, not far from Brighton, in Sussex.
+
+They found the uncle and aunt of Rose. A great welcome was given them,
+and four or five days were delightfully whiled away.
+
+A regiment of English regulars was stationed there. Our party made the
+acquaintance of the officers and their families, and one day a horseback
+ride into the country was proposed for the next morning.
+
+It taxed the capacity of the place to supply the necessary animals, and
+one of the horses brought up, though a magnificent and powerful fellow,
+was but half broken at best, and he snorted and blowed, and reared and
+pawed, and took on a great deal.
+
+The company were looking at him, and each selecting the horse that suited
+him best, when Miss Rose said: "What a pity that Mr. Jordan did not come
+along! He would have selected that wild horse."
+
+The colonel of the regiment, a portly man, and a little inclined to be
+pompous, in a peculiarly English tone said: "Possibly, you know, our
+young American friend would like to mount him."
+
+Sedgwick affected not to notice the tone or the accent, and answered
+simply: "I have ridden worse-looking horses. If I had a Mexican saddle,
+or one of your military saddles, I believe I should like to ride him; but
+I am a little afraid of these things you call saddles."
+
+Strangely enough, the officer thought the objection to the saddle was
+meant merely as an excuse to avoid riding the horse, and so he spoke up
+quickly, saying: "The gentleman shall be accommodated. I always have an
+extra saddle with me; he shall have that," and gave his servant
+directions to go and bring the saddle and bridle. When they were brought,
+Sedgwick looked at them, said they would answer admirably, and throwing
+the trappings over his left arm, went up to the snorting horse, petted
+and soothed him, rubbed his nose, and talked low to him a moment; then
+slipped the bridle on, then gently pushed the saddle and trappings over
+his back; made all secure, and then, without assistance, mounted him
+talking softly to him all the time.
+
+The horse made a few bounds, but quickly subsided. They were enough,
+however, to show the onlookers that the man on the horse was sufficient
+for the task he had undertaken. Riding back, Sedgwick dismounted, still
+talking low to the horse and patting his neck, for, as he explained, "The
+colt has a lovely, honest face and head; he is only timid, and does not
+yet quite understand what is wanted of him, or whether it will do for him
+to give us his entire confidence."
+
+The officer who had sent for the saddle had watched everything; so when
+Sedgwick dismounted he held out his hand and said, heartily: "I beg your
+pardon, Mr. Sedgwick, I was mistaken in you. You do more than ride. When
+mounted, you and the horse together make a centaur."
+
+With a celestial smile, Miss Jenvie said: "I beg your pardon, Mr.
+Sedgwick. Mr. Jordan is not needed, except as a pleasant addition to our
+company."
+
+They all mounted and rode away. It was a jolly party. Grace and Rose rode
+with two of the officers; two of the officers' wives were escorted by
+Sedgwick and Browning.
+
+As they rode, Sedgwick kept patting his horse, and in a little while so
+won his confidence that he was able to rub his whip all about his head.
+
+They stopped at a roadside inn for luncheon, and returned in the cool of
+the afternoon.
+
+By this time Sedgwick's horse had apparently given his rider his full
+faith, and Sedgwick, in sharp contrast with the other gentlemen, sat him
+in true cowboy style. They were riding at a brisk pace, when the hat of
+one of the ladies was caught in a flurry of wind and carried twenty or
+thirty yards to the rear. The others began to pull in their horses, when
+Sedgwick, like a flash, whirled his horse about, and, calling to him, the
+horse sprang forward at full speed. All turned, and the ladies screamed,
+as they thought Sedgwick was falling. He had ridden, not directly for the
+hat, but to one side until close upon it, then, turning his horse, he
+went down at the same moment, seized the plume of the hat, regained his
+upright attitude, and came smiling back, though the horse, not accustomed
+to such performances, was snorting and bounding like a deer.
+
+All hands were delighted, and Grace shot out to Sedgwick such a look of
+pride and love that his heart beat a tattoo for a quarter of an hour.
+
+The officer who owned the saddle was most profuse in his expressions
+of delight. "Give up America, my friend," he said; "come and be an
+Englishman and join my regiment. We will get you a commission, and supply
+every chance for promotion."
+
+Sedgwick thanked him, and assured him that he would duly consider the
+offer.
+
+The old English Colonel took a great fancy to Sedgwick. After dinner, the
+day of the ride, he sought him out, and they conversed together for two
+or three hours; or, rather, the Colonel talked and Sedgwick listened. The
+Colonel had been sent on many a service by his government; he was a keen
+observer, had good descriptive powers, and was an interesting talker.
+Moreover, he liked to hear himself converse.
+
+Having visited South Africa a few months before, he described the
+country minutely, its topography, its flora and fauna, its geological
+presentations, and expatiated upon its promising future. Sedgwick was
+very greatly interested, and with his retentive memory the facts were
+fixed upon his mind.
+
+As they were about separating, Sedgwick said: "You ask me to leave
+my native land and make this my country. I understand you, and
+appreciate the offer, but you do not comprehend the Great Republic at
+all. England, at the beginning of this century, was well-nigh the anchor
+of civilization. By the end of the next century England will be in
+cap and slippers, and her children across the sea will have to be her
+protector. The American who gives up his native land for any other is
+a renegade son."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+WESTMINSTER ABBEY.
+
+
+Next morning Jack and Rose went out for a walk along the beach. Out in
+the little bay a man and a woman were sailing and enjoying themselves,
+for the sound of their laughter came across the water to the shore. Jack
+was just remarking to Rose that they in the boat were carrying a good
+deal of sail, when a sudden squall upset the boat. The man was not a
+swimmer, but as he came to the surface he managed to seize upon the
+overturned boat and support himself.
+
+When the accident happened, Browning shouted to some boatmen farther up
+the beach to come with a boat quickly, and, throwing off coat, vest and
+shoes, he plunged in and swam toward where the boat capsized. Rose was
+left on the beach, wringing her hands and crying. The accident was not
+far from shore, and Jack was a strong swimmer. He reached the spot in
+time to grasp the arm of the woman as she came to the surface. She was
+half smothered by the water, and completely rattled, for the fear of
+death was full upon her, so she madly clung to Browning. He made the best
+struggle that he could, but the woman carried him under before the boat
+arrived. As the two rose to the surface, the boatmen managed to seize
+them and draw them into the boat, but the woman was senseless, and
+Browning was almost so, and fearfully exhausted.
+
+As the boat was rowed to the shore and Rose saw Browning lying limp and
+helpless in it, she went off in a dead faint, and was so upset and
+nervous that it was determined to return to London that evening. When out
+of sight of the place and of the sea, she rapidly recovered, and was soon
+her old self, but she reproached Jack, and with an adorable smile told
+him she never would have believed that he would, on the very first
+opportunity, go off, half kill himself for another woman, and compel her
+to make such a spectacle of herself down on the beach before all those
+villagers.
+
+The old days began again in London; Browning and Rose were all in all to
+each other, and Sedgwick and Grace were likewise in the seventh heaven of
+love's ecstasy.
+
+In Nevada parlance, Sedgwick would have wagered two to one with Browning,
+on the measure of their respective happiness.
+
+The happy couples visited every point of interest in and about London.
+
+One day they went through Westminster Abbey. Sedgwick hardly spoke during
+the visit, and as they entered the carriage to return home, Rose said:
+"Mr. Sedgwick, I am disappointed; I thought our great national chamber of
+death would greatly interest you."
+
+"So did I," said Browning, "but I suppose a foreigner cannot understand
+just how English-born people feel toward that spot."
+
+Sedgwick smiled faintly, and said: "You mistake me, Miss Rose, and you
+too, Jack. That Abbey is the only thing I have seen in England that I am
+jealous or envious of. I see your great works and say to myself, 'We will
+rival all that.' I read your best books and say of myself, 'they are a
+part of our inheritance as well as yours.' But that Abbey is a monument,
+sufficient to itself, it seems to me, to make every Englishman afraid to
+ever falter in manhood or to fail in honor. It is filled with lessons of
+splendor. There slumber great kings and princes, and queens who were
+beautiful in life, but there under the seal of death a higher royalty is
+recognized--the royalty of great hearts and brains; the royalty that
+comes to the soldier when in the face of death he saves his country; the
+royalty of the statesman who turns aside the sword and opens new paths
+and possibilities to his countrymen; the royalty of the poet when he sets
+immortal thoughts to words, which once spoken, go sounding down the ages
+in music forever. And these should have their final couches spread beside
+the couches of kings, for each when called can answer, 'I, too, was
+royal.'
+
+"And when other nations dispute for recognition with Englishmen, your
+countrymen have but to point to that consecrated spot and say: 'There is
+our country's record. It is chiseled there by the old sculptor, Death; go
+and study it; it will carry you through thirty generations of men; from
+it you will learn how Englishmen were strong enough, while subduing the
+world, to subdue themselves; to create to themselves laws and a
+literature of their own, until they at last held aloft the banners of
+civilization when nearly all the world beside was dark; there is the
+record of England's soldiers, statesmen, poets, scholars; read the
+immortal list, and then if you will, come back and renew the argument.'
+
+"That pile ought to be enough to make every Englishman a true man, a
+brave man, a gentleman, for to me the names there make the most august
+scroll ever written.
+
+"Listening within those walls, it seemed to me I could hear mingling all
+the voices of the mighty dead; the battle-cry of soldiers, the appeals of
+statesmen; the edicts of kings; the hymns of churchmen, the rhythm of
+immortal numbers as from poets' harps they were flung off; the glory of
+a thousand years shone before my eyes; the splendor of almost everything
+that is immortal in English history was before me.
+
+"That place ought to impress all who visit it with what mortals must do,
+if they would embalm their memories upon the world.
+
+"You are right to reverence and to feel a solemn joy at that place; it is
+one of the few real splendors of this old world."
+
+"Forgive me, Mr. Sedgwick," said Rose; "I should have known your
+thoughts." While she was speaking, Grace, under the lap-robe, pressed her
+lover's hand.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+TWO KINDS OF SORROW.
+
+
+But as June wore away, one day when Jack visited the office of his
+step-father, he found Stetson there, and was informed by him that some
+evil-disposed persons were 'bearing' the stock of the Wedge of Gold
+Company, which was most unfortunate, as it interfered with the
+arrangements in progress for building the mill.
+
+Browning did not know enough about stocks to see through the deception,
+but bluntly asked what could be done to stop the injury. "The true way,"
+said Stetson, "would be to go on the market and take all the stock
+offered until the bear movement should be broken."
+
+Browning had heard about Captain Kelly "bearing" the bonanza stocks, and
+how the bonanza firm had taken all he offered, so he said: "Why do you
+not go out and put a stopper on the beggars?" Stetson explained that he
+had not the money. "Why, we can fix that," said Jack. So he wrote a note
+to the ---- Bank to honor the orders of Jenvie & Hamlin until further
+instructions, turned the check over to Hamlin and told him to manage it.
+The days went by. There was an excursion of the young people to Wales,
+and another to Scotland, and besides Jack had gone down to Devonshire,
+bonded the place he liked, paid £1,000 down, and was to meet the
+remainder of the obligation--£9,000--when the titles were all looked up
+and transferred to him. Meanwhile, June and the better part of July were
+gone when one morning Jack went to the bank and drew a check for a few
+pounds which he needed for spending money. The cashier as he paid the
+check, informed Browning that the directors would be glad to see him in
+the private office of the bank. A messenger showed him the way, and he
+was there informed that the house of Jenvie & Hamlin had been drawing so
+heavily upon his order that only some £12,000 remained to his credit. The
+news was a paralyzer, but Jack was a game man and said: "That is all
+right," talked pleasantly for a few minutes, then withdrew, and going
+directly to his step-father's office, demanded an explanation.
+
+The old men informed him that they had tried to hold up the stock of the
+"Wedge of Gold," but their efforts had proved of no use. The shares had
+run down to almost nothing. They had even used the reserve fund intended
+for the building of the mill, and it looked, they said, as though they
+could never realize enough to get even.
+
+"Has the stock recently bought been placed to my credit?" asked Jack. He
+was told that it had been. "And how much is it?" he demanded. They
+informed him that it amounted to 83,000 shares, which, with the 50,000
+shares first bought by him, gave him 133,000 shares, or the entire stock
+except 17,000 shares.
+
+Jack was lost in thought a few minutes, then said: "I want all the papers
+except the 17,000 shares, and I want with them your own and Stetson's
+resignation as officers of the company."
+
+The papers were given him, and taking the bundle he carried it to his own
+bank and deposited it, then went home.
+
+He repaired directly to Jim's apartment, found him, and said: "Jim, my
+heart is broken. You have stood by me so far, help me now to arrange
+things so that I can say good-bye to Rose"--here he broke down and
+sobbed--"and then go back to America."
+
+"Why, old friend," said Sedgwick, "if you and Rose are all right, what
+can so upset you?"
+
+"Why, bless my soul, Jim, I'm ruined; my fortune is nearly all gone," he
+answered.
+
+Then Sedgwick drew from him all the dismal story.
+
+When he had finished, Sedgwick said: "Get me that prospectus, Jack: I
+want to see it before I make up my mind." Jack complied, and Sedgwick
+read it carefully through. The statement of the mine, the description
+of its development, and of the value of the ore, had been prepared by an
+expert so eminent that he could not afford to sell his name to bolster up
+a fraud.
+
+When Sedgwick had finished reading he sat in thought for a few minutes,
+and then said: "Jack, go and find the man from whom this property was
+purchased, get all the facts that you can, even if you have to get him
+drunk; then come to me to-morrow, and by that time we will think
+something out. By the way, first run over to Rose, tell her you have been
+called away on business and may not be home until late, so that she will
+not expect you."
+
+Jack left his friend and met Rose in the hall. She had just come in to
+visit Grace. He caught her up as men sometimes do children, kissed her
+and said gaily: "Don't look for me to-night, sweetheart. I'm going to be
+engaged until late."
+
+She twined both her arms around one of his arms and said teasingly: "Are
+not you and I engaged, and is not ours a prior engagement?"
+
+"O, yes," he said, "but this other engagement is with a man."
+
+"So is mine," she said.
+
+"And sometimes I think he is not much of a man, either," said Jack.
+
+"Don't you dare to slander him," said Rose. "I know him better than he
+knows himself, and I will not permit one word to be breathed against
+him."
+
+"He ought to be most proud of so lovely a champion. He must be the most
+blessed man of all the earth," said Jack, looking fondly down upon her.
+Then he added: "Are you very sure that nothing could ever come between
+his love and you?"
+
+"Why, Jack, how serious you are," the fair girl said. "Nothing, nothing,
+can ever come to break my admiration for him. Death itself can but
+suspend life for a little while. My Jack and myself will be loving each
+other when this world shall be worn out and be floating in space, as does
+a dead swan upon a lake."
+
+Browning bent and kissed her again, said softly
+"Amen," and went out.
+
+The day wore away, and when dinner was announced, Browning had not
+returned. Sedgwick went with Grace to the sitting room and remained
+for a few minutes. Grace chided him upon being moody, and with all her
+caressing ways tried to exorcise the evil spirit that was upon him, but
+with poor success. Finally he asked her to excuse him, telling her he was
+absorbed in a little matter not strictly his own, which he would tell her
+all about after awhile.
+
+She listened, and when he had finished, she put her arms around his neck,
+and said:
+
+"You see when confidence is withheld from me, I become violently angry,
+and punish the culprit by going away." Then she kissed him, arose, backed
+to the door, reached behind her, opened it, passed out, then kissing her
+hand to him, closed the door.
+
+Sedgwick went out, and at once repaired to the hotel where Jordan stopped
+when in the city. He had been out of town following some whim, and
+Sedgwick had not seen him since Derby Day.
+
+Reaching the hotel, he learned that Jordan had returned, and soon found
+him.
+
+Jordan met him joyfully, explained why he had been away, that he was
+thinking all the way home from the Derby that if he remained he might be
+a burden to Sedgwick and his new friends; that the best thing to do was
+to take no chances, and so he had been making the tour of Ireland.
+
+Of that country he had much to say. "Yo' oughter go thar, Jim," he said.
+"Thar's a people wot ken look poverty in ther face 'nd laff it ter scorn;
+whar three squar meals a day ken be made on hope; whar wit grows on ther
+bushes; whar ther air ez filled with songs 'nd full hearts fill ther
+vacancy made by empty stomachs. It's ther most pathetic spot on earth,
+Jim. A race lives ther filled with energy and hope, a race as is generous
+and brave, 'nd warm-hearted, holdin' within 'em vitality enough ter found
+a dozen empires, but chained by poverty 'nd superstition, 'nd hate of the
+bruiser on this side of ther channel; nussin' impossible dreams 'ev a
+nationality which ther kentry couldn't support ef once obtained; proud ez
+Lucifer of a past which hez little in it 'cept wrong 'nd tyranny 'nd
+sufferin'; all ther exertions confined in a narrer groove, all ther work
+of no avail because uv indirection; clingin' ter homes which keeps 'em
+helpless 'nd only accomplishin' somethin' when transplanted to other
+fields, 'nd then carryin' on ther world's work, fiten' ther world's
+battles, sailin' ther world's ships, workin' ther world's mines, subduen'
+ther world's wildernesses, runnin' ther world's primaries, 'nd bein' ther
+world's perlicemen. I tell yo', Jim, it war pitiful.
+
+"When I told 'em I war an American, they opened ther arms ter me ter
+once, 'nd took me in. What questions they asked! And when I told 'em
+about ther broad acres in Texas, how they cud go thar and each in a few
+months or years own his own farm half a mile squar, how ther eyes flashed
+'nd ther faces glowed! It teched my heart, Jim, ter see 'em, 'nd made a
+old fool uv me in one place, shore.
+
+"I stopped in a house one night whar ther war ther old man 'nd woman, a
+grown-up son 'nd a girl who war, maybe, eighteen year old. Thet girl,
+Jim, war fine. Blue eyes 'nd har that war the color which ware 'twixt a
+brown and a flaxen, with er blush rose shadin'; a clear-cut face like
+that of a Greek stater; dainty form 'nd limbs; the roundest arms yo' ever
+seen 'nd a hand like Aferdites. I noticed, too--axidentally in course,
+that ther thick brogans on her feet were little 'nd shapely ef ther war
+thick brogans. But, finest of all war her complexion. Ther warm air as
+blows over the Gulf Stream are good ter all complexions in Ireland, but
+it had done extra fur thet girl. It war perfect.
+
+"Then, over all, she hed a proud, shy, dainty way 'bout her which war
+exquisite.
+
+"We had a jolly evenin' together. I told 'em 'bout America; they told me
+all 'bout Ireland from ther time of ther Irish kings. They fired jokes at
+each other that would sell for forty dollars apiece in Texas, and they
+war ez thick ez though jokes growed on trees.
+
+"At last ther boy wanted his sister to sing, but she got rosy red, 'nd
+told him ter be quiet. I told her ef she'd sing I'd make her a present,
+'nd finally she giv in. Her brother played ther flute, 'nd she sung
+'Tara's Harp,' not scientific, but jest nateral 'nd sweet as iver a
+bobolink sang.
+
+"When she finished I gin her a new guinea. She didn't want ter take it,
+but I flung it inter her lap, 'nd then it war passed from hand ter hand
+ez a curiosity. Ther mother war last. She looked it over and then sed:
+'It's a beauty, shore, 'nd now, Nora, give it back ter ther gentleman.' I
+sed: 'I don't want it. I want Nora ter have it.'
+
+"'Shore nuff?' sed ther mother.
+
+"'Shore,' sed I.
+
+"'Then, Nora,' sed ther mother, 'kiss the gentleman for the gift.' Would
+yer believe it, Jim, thet shy girl come and put her arms around my neck
+and kissed me.
+
+"Blast me, but it took me back, but I rallied 'nd said:
+
+"'Nora, I'd give another guinea for another kiss like thet,' 'nd then she
+come back agin a-sayin': 'Yo ken hev another without any mo' guinea,' 'nd
+kissed me agin, 'nd ther whole family laffed.
+
+"Next mornin' when I come outer my room I found Nora alone. Ther father
+and brother hed gone ter ther field, and ther mother war cookin' my
+breakfast.
+
+"Nora greeted me cordial like, 'nd I sed: 'Nora, ef I war young agin I'd
+camp right here 'nd make love ter yo'.'
+
+"'Out wid yer,' she answered. 'It's a cousin I hev in America, 'nd she
+writes me how foine the land war, but says ivery American is a mortal
+liar when he talks ter ther girls.'
+
+"'The cousin slanders us,' said I.
+
+"'She does not,' said Nora.
+
+"'And how can I prove it?' said I.
+
+"'Yez might make love ter me,' she said
+
+"'I'm too old, Nora,' I answered.
+
+"'Couldn't yez wait and let me tell yez thet?' she asked.
+
+"'I'd rether own it then ter hev yo' tell me,' I answered.
+
+"'O, it's makin' fun of me yez are,' said she. 'I know how far away yez
+are from the loikes of me and will forgit me to-morry, but I'm glad yez
+come, for it gave me a breath of the joy of the great world outside. Here
+hearts be breaking continually, for our lives are narrowed down to a mere
+fight for food. It's jist slavery from the cradle ter ther grave, and
+slavery over which there shines no star of hope.'
+
+"Jest then ther mother called us to breakfast. After breakfast I went ter
+my room and put ten £10 notes in a envelope, wrote a line thet it war to
+take the whole family ter America; told 'em ter go ter Texas, and find
+the old neighbors, given' 'em a lot 'o names; told 'em not ter stay a
+minit in ther cities; then went out and handin' Nora the letter ez I bid
+her good-bye, told her it war a real love letter, shore nuff, which she
+must not read till I war out o' sight; thet she might give me ther answer
+when I cum back, and then I started straight for England.
+
+"I kep thinkin' all thet day, it war sich a girl as thet who after awhile
+become the mother of Pat Cleburne or may be Phil Sheridan."
+
+A moment later he looked up and said:
+
+"But I wanted ter see yo', Jim, to tell yo' all the boys remember yo',
+and all allow yo' were the dol-durndest tenderfoot thet ever crossed a
+hoss or fired a rope or a gun."
+
+"Where can we find a quiet place, Jordan?" Sedgwick asked.
+
+"I know a boss ranch," said Jordan, "whar we can have a private room and
+talk all we wanter, only a few steps away."
+
+They found it a drinking house with private rooms in the rear.
+
+When seated there, Sedgwick soon learned that Jordan had sold everything
+in Texas--stock and land--and had converted all into money in bank--some
+$35,000--and was, to use his own words, "makin' a tower."
+
+"But how came yo' here, Jim?" asked Jordan.
+
+Then Sedgwick told him of his life since the day he left Texas; how he
+formed a friendship for Browning; how the deal in stocks originated, and
+how it resulted.
+
+The Texan went into raptures. "Yo' don't tell me?" he said: "Half a
+milliun! dod rot it, but thet's good; thet's immense! how it would
+tickle ther boys out thar to know it! And yo' give the ole man a cool
+$100,000? What did they think of yo' then? Har, waiter, give us a quart
+of y'r--whatyer call it? O, yes, Widder Clicko (Cliquot); durned if
+we don't sellerbrate."
+
+They drank their wine, lighted their cigars, and settled down for a talk.
+
+All the old times in Texas had been discussed when Sedgwick said:
+"Jordan, I thought you were prosperous and happy, and much loved by all
+who knew you in Texas. What possessed you to sell out and leave?"
+
+"I war prosperous," said Jordan, "doin' fust-class; war contented, and I
+don't believe I hed a enemy in the hull State.
+
+"I hed ther ranch, ther cattle, ther mustangs; didn't owe a dollar, and
+hed money in ther bank. I hed been doin' right pert, and the property war
+a-raisin' every day. Do yo' know the blamed igiots was a-talkin' o'
+sendin' me to ther Legislature. But after awhile something happened. A
+lot o' ther boys cum in one day and said: 'Jordan, it's a blasted shame
+the way the childer is growin' up yere. We orter 'av a school.' 'All
+right,' says I, 'school goes.' So they agreed ter build a school house
+and ter hire a teacher for six months. I flung in more'n my shere, and
+then ther question was whar to build ther school house. I spoke up and
+I says: 'Why not put it down in the angle of my best section?' Yo' know
+whar ther section lines cross thar. It leaves a corner in ther field
+which is a sharp pint in ther road, and broadens as it runs back. 'Well,'
+they said, 'but whar'll the teacher board?'
+
+"Well, yo' know it's only six hundred yards up ter my place; so I says:
+'I han't chick or child, but I'm bound ter stay by ther school; send ther
+teacher up yere. He can do chores enough for his board, if he is techy at
+all on that pint.'
+
+"The school house went up in short order, and one of the Kinsley boys
+came by on a Saturday, and he says, says he: 'Jordan, ther school'll be
+open Monday mornin,' and the teacher'll be down for supper on Monday
+night.' 'Send him 'long,' says I. I thought he gin a queer kind o' a
+igiotic laugh, but he said, 'All right,' and rid along. I went in
+through ther kitchen and told Aunt Sue--yo' remember our old unbleached
+cook--that ther school master war a-comin' to board on Monday night, and
+she must spread herself.
+
+"Her nose went up inter ther air, and she said: 'H'm, guess what we gets
+every day's good 'nuff for one o' doze poor white trash teachurs.'
+
+"Well, 'long 'bout five o'clock Monday evenin' I war readin' ther paper,
+when I hearn a knock at ther door, and same time I hearn Bolus--thet's
+the big collie, yo' remember--kinder whinin' as though he war glad,
+and bangin the door with his tail. I thought maybe some of ther boys is
+cum back; maybe it's Jim Sedgwick, and I gets up and goes and throws ther
+door open, and was jest openin' my mouth to say 'Hello!' when I got
+paralyzed.
+
+"Thar war standin thar a little woman in a black frock thet fitted her
+like a prayer on a nun's lips. She had on a white collar, and when she
+looked up at me yo' never seen sich a majestical pair o' eyes, and I said
+ter myself, 'Blast my broad horns, but I never seen so takin' a face in
+all my life.'
+
+"Jest pale sorter, barrin' a little flush that creeped up over her face,
+as yo' might expect would cum ter thet stater--whatyer call it in ther
+play?--Gal--, O, yes, Galerteer, thet's it--when weakenen' to thet
+feller's pleadin', she shakes ther stone and begins ter warm up ter his
+prayer. She had sorrerful eyes ter look inter, 'cept when she smiled, and
+then, Jim, hed yer seen thet smile once you'd never sarched fur no more
+bernanzers.
+
+"Her nose was straight ez a blood hoss's fore-arm, teeth perfect, and
+white as ther starlight; her har war between yaller and tawny, and lots
+of it. Jest then ther sun shone agin it, and my thot war, 'A smoked topaz
+ez big ez a dinner bucket war fused and then spun inter threads ter make
+thet har.'
+
+"And when she looked up and said, inquirin' like, 'Mr. Jordan?' her voice
+war sweeter'n yo' ever hearn a turtle dove when callin' her mate ter
+breakfast.
+
+"'Thet's me,' sez I.
+
+"She held out her hand thet war soft an' white an' shapely, an' warm, and
+sed:
+
+"'I am Mrs. Margaret Hazleton, ther teacher in ther school, and I was
+directed here.'
+
+"I thot I should o' drop through ther floo', but I braced up--waiter,
+another bottle--ez I war sayin', I braced up and said, 'Bless me, madam,
+I war expectin' ther teacher'd be a man; but walk right in, we'll do ther
+best we ken for yer.'
+
+"I called Aunt Sue, and told her to show ther lady whar ter dump her
+fixins,' and der yo' believe it, thet dog Bolus, thet war generally
+mighty questionin' 'bout strangers, set down 'nd thumped ther floo' like
+he war tickled ter death.
+
+"Aunt Sue had cooked prairie chickens, pertaters, hed made hot bread 'n
+coffee, 'n fried bernanners, and opened can fruit, and brot out ther
+honey 'nd two kinds o' pickles, an' ther supper war fine.
+
+"Ther little woman praised it, gentle like, jest enough an' not o'erdoin'
+it, till Aunt Sue's face war bigger'n a full mune, and filled with
+satisfaction ter ther very corners.
+
+"All ther time ther lady kep talkin' 'bout Texas, askin' questions, 'bout
+ther sile, ther climate, and ther productions, and in course I talked and
+did my best a-entertainin' o' her till nine o'clock, when she got up and
+sed she'd bid me good-night.
+
+"Aunt Sue give her the best room, in course--thet one beyond ther parlor.
+Yo' know I hed it furnished up kinder gorgus with a carpet from
+Shreveport, and spring bed and wash-stand and picters from Galveston,
+and I felt more satisfaction thinkin' mout be she'd be comfortable, than
+I ever hed before since I'd fixed it up.
+
+"When she war gone, I sed: 'Boys, but we is in fur it,' but Aunt Sue
+spoke up, and says she: 'Der am white folks and white folks; but dis
+one's a born lady, sho.'
+
+"And the cowboys said, 'Shore,' and I was shore myself.
+
+"She war up and out d'rectly in the mornin', fixed her own lunchen,
+talked clever a few words to Aunt Sue, petted ther dog a little, and
+asked him questions as though he'd been a kid; stopped on the way out ter
+tie up a rose bush, 'nd so she came and went ev'ry day, and though I
+didn't realize it then, ther house war brighter when she war ther, and
+darker when she war gone.
+
+"Once Aunt Sue hed fever from Friday ter Sunday night, and without any
+fuss thet thar woman did the cookin', and doctored Sue as tho' cookin'
+'nd doctorin' war her regular perfession.
+
+"We found out after a little thet she war a widder, husband dead two
+year.
+
+"After 'bout a week Aunt Sue says ter me one day: 'Mr. Jordan, yo' jest
+cum har!' I followed her ter the woman's room. Der yer believe it, she'd
+downed all ther flash picters that ther impenitent thief at Galveston
+hed coaxed me inter buyin', and in place hed hung up some small
+engravins, not gaudy-like, but jest catchin'; hed taken' off all the
+sassy trimmin's from ther curtains, and the hull room war changed,
+just ez tho' er benediction had been pernounced thar. It war all kinder
+toned down, ez tho' a woman hed slipped a gray ulster over a red frock.
+
+"It made me feel kinder cheap like, and I sed ter myself, says I: 'Thet's
+good taste!' I knowed it in er minit, tho' I'd never seen it afore.
+
+"Next Sunday in church we found out she could sing, and after thet she
+sung for us o' nites, playing a gitaw same time. Then arter awhile she
+got ter readin' ter us. Yo' remember how yo' read, Jim? Well, yer readin'
+war like a grand organ, hern were like ther blendin' o' flutes and harps.
+
+"Well, ther weeks went by, and sech a feelin' cum over me ez I'd never
+'sperienced afore. I thot first 'twar hay fever comin' on. I couldn't
+eat, couldn't sleep. I war restless when thet woman war gone. I war
+skeery like when she war round; and war given to havin' little hot spells
+and then chills, and I said, 'I know it's ther blasted malarier.'
+
+"So I took k'neen and juniper tea, and fancied I hed night sweats--jest
+the cussedest time, Jim, thet yo' ever seen.
+
+"One day when I war a-sittin' in ther house and a-mopin', Aunt Sue cum in
+and looked hard at me, and says she: 'Mr. Jordan, does yo' know what's
+der matter wid ye?'
+
+"I told her I didn't; thet I'd give a band o' cattle ter find out.
+
+"'Laws,' says she, 'I'd tell cheaper'n dat, only yo'd think I is sassy.'
+
+"I said: 'Aunty, yo' goahead. If yo's sassy, I's too sick to care.'
+
+"'Why, bless yo' soul, honey,' says she, 'yo's jest ded in lub wid the
+schoolma'm, Mrs. Margaret. I noze. I's been dar myself.'
+
+"'O, git out,' says I.
+
+"She went out laffin', but at ther door she stopped a second and says:
+
+"'Dat's it, sho, Mr. Jordan,' and after ther door closed I hearn her
+ha-hain'.
+
+"Then I did some thinkin' for the next half hour, and I said ter myself,
+'It's thet, sho nuff.'
+
+"The school term war ter close next day, and ther teacher had made her
+'rangements ter leave right away for her home up No'th--Ierway, I
+b'lieve. The contract war for $100 er month, but when we met ter fix up
+ther money I told ther trustees that some o' ther neighbors hed been thet
+pleased with ther school thet they had put up a little extry puss o'
+money, enough ter pay ther teacher's board and give her $150 extry. It
+war a bald-headed pervarication, Jim, but I thot it jestifiable under the
+sarcumstances, inasmuch as I put up ther hull money myself.
+
+"I war fur gone. She closed ther school next evenin'; cum up ter ther
+house; wus goin' ter remain till the train cum by fur ther No'th at 11:15
+next day. We hed supper and breakfast as usual. After breakfast ther boys
+all went off ter ther wo'k, and Aunt Sue went ter a neighbor's to borrer
+some bakin' powder. I was sittin' on ther verandy when the schoolma'm
+cum out, and walkin' close up, says she: 'Mr. Jordan'--waiter, bring me
+a brandy smash--'Mr. Jordan,' says she, 'I want to thank you for all
+your gentle and generous kindness to me. Except for your thoughtful
+consideration I should have had a much harder time here. I thank you
+with all my heart.'"
+
+Sedgwick noticed that he had repeated the exact words without a mistake
+in pronunciation. They had evidently been burned into his very soul.
+
+He drank the brandy, and then with a husky voice went on:
+
+"'Yo' break me all up, Mrs. Hazelton,' says I. 'We is such rough folks
+down har. Yo' have been er providence ter ther place.'
+
+"She blushed a little at that, and said: 'You are too kind.'
+
+"'Not a blamed bit,' says I, and then realizin' it war my only chance, I
+blurted out: 'I'll be mighty sorrerful when yo' is gone. I don't know how
+others as knows how does it, but I want ter tell yer thet because of yer
+the flowers is brighter, the birds sing sweeter, the sunshine is clearer,
+the sky more smilin', and I cud get down and crawl on the ground yo' has
+walked over, that bad do I worship yer. And if yo' cud stay and marry me
+and civilize me, I'd try to brush up and be a decenter man than I ever
+war; leastways, I'd clar ev'ry rock and thorn outer yer path.'
+
+"Do yo' b'lieve it, Jim, I wus perspirin' wus'n ther buckskin stallion
+did when yo'got thro' with him that fust mornin', and was tremblin' like
+a sick gal.
+
+"She looked down compassionate like, got white about ther lips, 'nd her
+voice shook er little as she sed:
+
+"'I can't do that, Mr. Jordan; there's much that I cannot tell, why I
+cannot, no matter; but I thank you with all my heart and soul, not only
+for your kindness to me, but for this last most generous offer.'
+
+"Then she went on and talked, and cud yo' 'av hearn her, it would ha'
+made yo' think she war the prettiest and sweetest, and most compassionate
+woman as ever a-come ter bless ther world. She seemed ter me like a fur
+off priestess ministerin' to a sinner.
+
+"After awhile I said:
+
+"'Mrs. Hazelton, o' course yo' is pore, or yo' wouldn't a-come down yere
+a-teachin' school among these barbarians; thet is, pore ez fur ez money
+goes. I've been lucky. I've $4,000 in ther bank which I've no need of. If
+you'll let me give you thet, no one'd ever know it, and the reckerlection
+uv it, 'nd ther thot thet it may be doin' yo' some good'll give me heaps
+more pleasure than keepin' of it would.'
+
+"You see, Jim, I war fur gone. But she wouldn't hev it, tho' ther tears
+jumped ter her eyes when I offered it, and she remarked she b'lieved I
+war the best man in ther world. I told her if she ever needed a friend
+and didn't send fer me, I should feel slighted.
+
+"Then I hitched up and druv her down ter the station. She sat side o' me,
+Jim--waiter, more brandy--in course. Lookin' down, I cud see her smooth
+cheek and clear-cut profile, and thinkin' I war takin' my last looks,
+thar was sich a feelin' of all-goneativeness cum over me thet, do yo'
+know, if I cud ha' got outer one side, I b'lieve I would a-bawled like er
+hungry calf.
+
+"We shook hands at ther station, and, not mindin' ther crowd, she reached
+up both her arms, put 'em around my neck, drew my head down 'nd kissed me
+squar on the mouth.
+
+"It perty nigh smothered me, and I said in a low voice: 'Mrs. Hazleton,
+let me give yer ther money. I positively has no use in the world fur it.'
+
+"She give me a sad smile, shook her head and jumped on ther train. As it
+pulled out uv ther station she nodded, wavin' her hankerchiv 'nd dropped
+it axidently. I picked it up. I've got it till yet. I'll allers hev it.
+
+"Thet war ther end. Bolus wouldn't eat fur three days, then he cut me
+dead and went off ter a neighbor's whar ther war a white woman, and would
+niver cum back.
+
+"I stood it three months. I thot I should die uv the blues.
+
+"One day a man from ther No'th stopped off at ther ranch fur the night.
+After supper he said he war a-lookin fur a stock ranch fur his son. I
+said, 'Why not buy mine?'
+
+"Then he asked all 'er 'bout it; how many acres; how much stock; 'bout
+the water, and what my price war.
+
+"I told him $30,000. In the mornin' he gits a hoss, rode round with ther
+boys, and when he cum back, went down inter his pocket, drew out er
+wallet, and counted out thirty $1,000 gold notes, saying: 'I will take
+ther place.'
+
+"'It's a go,' says I.
+
+"We went ter town and hed ther papers fixed up. That war last February.
+Then I started out, went slow round ter New York, then over here; I've
+been up to Scotland, over to Wales; been to France once; jest cum over
+from Ireland, and ev'ry day I ride 'bout twenty miles in this 'ere town,
+and I've never found any end to it yet, 'cept when I went on ther keers'
+'nd thet day I went ter ther races. I believe it's bigger'n all Texas,
+and its very size worries me."
+
+"What have you marked out for the future?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+"Not a blamed thing," was the response.
+
+"How would you like to take a trip with me?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+"I'll go ter any place yo' say, Jim; I don't keer how fur," said the
+candid man.
+
+"Do not promise too quickly," said Sedgwick. "I am thinking of starting
+for South Africa in two or three days."
+
+"South Africa goes, if yo' say so," said Jordan; "I'm yours truly, blast
+my broad-horned heart if I ain't."
+
+"Well, old friend, it is growing late. If you will be here to-morrow
+morning at eight I will tell you all that is on my mind," said Sedgwick,
+rising.
+
+"I'll be har," said Jordan.
+
+Sedgwick stopped to settle the bill, but Jordan pushed him aside, saying,
+"Not to any particular extent, if we knows ourself." He tossed a tip to
+the waiter, paid the bill, and was going to add a shilling for the young
+woman who was the cashier, when, glancing up at her, he changed his mind
+and made it a guinea, because, as he explained, "Her hand war sunthin'
+like Maggie's."
+
+The friends separated at the door.
+
+It was eleven p.m. when Sedgwick reached the Hamlin house. He would not
+have gone at that hour, except that he had been given a pass-key on the
+first day he was there, with a request never to fail to come in, no
+matter how late he might be detained. Moreover, he wanted to see Jack.
+
+Before he could open the door, it was swung back by Grace. She explained
+that she was on the watch so that she might form an idea of what hours
+Sedgwick was in the habit of keeping, and to tell him how very angry she
+still was. Then she gave him a smile such as an angel might, and was
+gone.
+
+Sedgwick went at once to Browning's room, but he was still out. He
+crossed over to his own, threw off his coat, put on a smoking-jacket and
+slippers, and lighting a cigar, sat down to think.
+
+Before very long Browning came in. "I found him," he said. "He was shy
+about giving me the facts, but I ginned him up to the confessional point.
+He told me all the truth at last.
+
+"He received but £2,000 for the mine, and he does not believe that a
+share of it was ever sold to any one but me. He was paid the £2,000 on
+the day I bought the first 50,000 shares. My money paid for the mine;
+then I bought it over again. I furnished the purchase money, and then I
+bought it again, paying an advance of 500 per cent. And the job was put
+up by the old duffers; Stetson was only let in to clear the old chaps
+when the truth should be known. And then Stetson wants to marry my Rose.
+
+"But the man told me that the mine was just as described, only a nasty
+road would have to be built to it that would probably cost £80,000 or
+£100,000, and the mill would have to be built. It looks to me like a
+total loss, Jim; but the swindle is so manifest that I believe we can
+make the conspirators disgorge at least the last half that they robbed me
+of."
+
+The room was still for many minutes. Then Sedgwick said: "Jack, I thought
+those old men meant mischief to you when I first saw them. It was because
+of that--at least, in part that--that I remained. But one is your
+step-father--another the step-father of your affianced bride, and the
+other a mere stool-pigeon. There must be no scandal if we can help it. I
+believe the object on the part of Jenvie was to keep you from marrying
+Rose; what your step-father means I cannot understand. But anyway, if we
+can help it, there must be no scandal. We shared alike in Nevada. I have
+as much money left as both of us need. We share alike still. But no
+matter about that."
+
+"But I have been a hopeless idiot to let these men rob me," said Jack,
+"and except for Rose, I would pull out for America to-morrow. I would, by
+Jove!"
+
+"Your mistake was entirely natural," said Sedgwick. "Had my father wanted
+all my money, he could have got it for the asking. Do not talk about
+going to America; that would be 'conduct unbecoming an officer and a
+gentleman'; it would be a cowardly desertion in the face of the enemy.
+Then, you have never been very well since your ducking down on the Sussex
+coast; and, besides, you have entered into obligations here so sacred
+that you must not permit a little whim, or even a great disappointment,
+to lead you to think about trying to break them. Let us go to sleep now.
+To-morrow we will talk over this matter more fully. I want a few more
+hours to think and to make up my mind what is best to do." Jack returned
+to his room, and the lights were put out.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+TEARS AND ORANGE FLOWERS.
+
+
+In the morning Sedgwick got a cup of coffee early, and was just going
+out, when Grace came running up to him in the hall.
+
+"I believe you were running away," she said gaily, and, seizing his arm,
+declared that he was her prisoner.
+
+He told her that it was true he was running away, but would be back
+before very long, and would then, he thought, explain everything.
+
+"Then I am still very angry," said she. "I am going to my room to make a
+calculation how much I am being slighted, and to consult the fates as to
+what penalties shall be prescribed before you can possibly hope for
+forgiveness." Then she smiled, stretched out her hand to be kissed by
+him, then opened the door and said softly, "Do not be too long away."
+
+Sedgwick went again to Jordan's hotel; found him and told him briefly all
+that had happened; all about Browning, the love affairs of both, and how
+Jack had been taken in on the mine; ran over the prospectus of the "Wedge
+of Gold," and explained that he meant to visit the property; that if it
+could be made available with the means he had, he intended to improve it
+and bring Jack's shares up to cost; that no one but his Grace and her
+mother was to know when he went away, that he was not going to America,
+and that he wanted some one with him who understood gold quartz.
+
+Jordan listened with increasing interest as the story was told,
+interrupting only when Sedgwick spoke of his love for Grace Meredith, and
+when he explained how Jack had been swindled.
+
+To the first he joyfully responded: "I am glad, old boy, blast my
+broad-horned heart if I aint! She's a daisy; she's a real woman; and I
+thank God she found yo' and tuk pity on yo'."
+
+To the other he said: "Well, the dod-durned, Newgate, Rotten Row, British
+thieves! How I would like to 'ave 'em in Texas for one short quarter of a
+hour!"
+
+His enthusiasm was at its height at the close of Sedgwick's story. He
+cried out:
+
+"It'll be glorious, Jim. Ef the mine can be worked up, we'll make it,
+sho'." Then after a pause, he said slowly as to himself, in a low tone:
+"It'll take me outer myself, maybe; that'll be wo'th mo' to me than a
+gold mine."
+
+"But it is a tough time of year," said Sedgwick. "The Red Sea and the
+ocean beyond will be like furnaces at this season."
+
+"Red Sea, ocean, furnace, everything, goes," said Jordan. "I enlist fo'
+ther wah."
+
+Another meeting was arranged for that afternoon, and Sedgwick returned to
+the Hamlin home.
+
+He went direct to Browning's room, tapped on Jack's door, and then walked
+in. Jack was leaning upon the table, thinking, and was so engrossed that
+he did not hear the tap or the opening of the door.
+
+He started up as Sedgwick laid his hand on his shoulder, and said: "I
+don't believe, Jim, that I heard you come in."
+
+"That's all right," said Sedgwick, "but, Jack, you must hear me now."
+Then sitting down close beside his friend, Sedgwick went on:
+
+"I have thought this business all out, Jack. I believe the prime motive
+for this swindle was to separate you and Rose, and prevent your marriage.
+The first thing to do then, is to secure that matter. You must see Rose,
+and if she is willing, you must be married to-morrow. I think she will
+consent, and that her mother will approve it when she shall have been
+told the truth. This must be, Jack; first, because those old scoundrels
+will continue to plot against the marriage until they know it is of no
+more use; and second, I want to go away to-morrow evening."
+
+"It cannot be," said Browning. "They took all my money. They left me but
+a beggarly £12,500."
+
+"How much did you keep thinking through so long a time would be
+sufficient to accumulate before you could come back and 'try to steal
+Rose Jenvie?'" asked Sedgwick.
+
+"O yes, I know," said Browning; "but then it was different."
+
+"What have you told Rose about your money matters?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+"Not one word," was the reply.
+
+"Do you think she expects a no-account boy to go off to America, and with
+nothing but his head and his hands to accumulate more than £12,500 in
+three or four years?" asked Sedgwick. "But this is all foolishness, old
+boy," he continued. "The last half of the money those old men obtained
+from you can be recovered easily, if not all; if that, after awhile,
+proves to be the best thing to do. And, moreover, I tell you that we are
+partners in this, and that we still have as much money as you and I can
+very well handle. I must have my way about this, old friend."
+
+"But if you are going away, why cannot I go with you?" asked Browning.
+
+"For several reasons," replied Sedgwick. "If you remain here, or go down
+on your farm in Devonshire, the conclusion of Jenvie and Hamlin will be,
+that with your money mostly gone, all I could do was to return to
+America.
+
+"Again, no one knows how much more money you have. You must remain. Be
+generous at the club, move among men, keep the prestige that you have won
+since you came here; be entirely independent; keep your eye on the man
+the mine was bought from, even if you have to pay him a salary to insure
+his remaining here, and so be in a position to help through any line of
+action we may agree upon. More, you must restrain yourself and have no
+trouble with young Stetson. He is as much fool as knave.
+
+"Another reason is, that Rose has already waited years for you, and it
+would be a wicked and cruel thing to disappoint her again. It would kill
+her and unman you. No, no, you must be married to-morrow. But Jack, if I
+were you, I would never take my wife back under the Jenvie roof until
+full reparation should be made. See her, and gain her consent to an
+immediate marriage; then go and hire a house or make arrangements at a
+hotel to live, and I want you to promise that you will not, after I
+shall have gone, bring any suit or make any sign that you have suffered a
+loss, or bother yourself much about business until I come back, or you
+receive word of me. I will fix money matters before I go, so that you
+will not be troubled. And now, think it over."
+
+When Jack aroused himself, Sedgwick had disappeared. He sat in silence
+for a few minutes, then rose, went out, secured a conveyance, called and
+asked Rose to go out for a drive.
+
+On the road he explained to Rose all that had happened; how rich he was
+when he came home; how his confidence had been betrayed; how little he
+had left, and then asked if the dear girl was still willing to be his
+wife, and if she would consent to become his wife next day.
+
+She laid her hand on his, and said: "Dear Jack! it was to be for all
+time; your home to be my home; your God my God. I will be ready when you
+come for me. I will go exultingly to become your wife; my joy will be the
+deeper, for it will be chilled with no fear of the future, which it might
+have been had I known you possessed £100,000. What you have is enough for
+us. But, Jack, let me begin to influence you. Do not take a shilling of
+your friend's money unless you know that we can some time return it."
+
+Later, Jack found a lovely furnished house, the owner of which desired to
+vacate for a year; hired it, paid a year's rent in advance, engaged the
+servants of the family, and explained that he would bring his wife on the
+succeeding day.
+
+On that same day, Sedgwick sought Grace, and made clear to her the
+situation, explaining how Jack had been wronged, what he had advised to
+do him, and unfolded his own plan to leave the next day, so soon as
+Browning and Miss Jenvie should be married--with Jordan for South Africa,
+to see if it was worth while to try to bring out the property, explaining
+that if the mine gave no strong promise he would be back in two or three
+months. If, on the other hand, he and Jordan decided it was good, he
+might be absent for a year, and asked her if she would keep the secret of
+where he had gone, and if she were sure enough of her own heart to
+undertake to wait for him.
+
+Grace had grown very white and still while Sedgwick was speaking. When he
+ceased she continued silent for a moment, and then said:
+
+"I agree to it all, my king, all but one thing."
+
+"And what is that, sweet?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+She leaned over, put her arm around her lover's neck, laid her cheek
+against his, and said: "If Jack and Rose are to be married to-morrow, we
+should be married also."
+
+"But I am going away, my child," said Sedgwick.
+
+"I know," was her response, "but one object of my father in trying to
+break off the match between Jack and Rose was to try to have Jack marry
+me. We should complete the work. Then, should you need me, or could you
+send for me, I could go better as your wife than any other way; then,
+when I gave my heart to you I gave it entirely, and should we never meet,
+I would, while I lived, want to keep in thought that you were my husband;
+that I was your wife; that all glory had come to me."
+
+By this time the tears were flowing fast down her cheeks, and with tears
+in his own eyes, Sedgwick said:
+
+"I wanted to ask you, dearest, to become my wife before I went away, but
+thought it a shame to so involve you, with a future so clouded as mine is
+to be for the coming months."
+
+"You forget," she replied, "that it is my right in your absence to think
+of you as my husband."
+
+So it was settled that on the next day, just before noon, they should be
+married; that they should separate at the church, she to return with her
+mother, Sedgwick to start with Jordan on their long journey.
+
+Then Grace called her mother. The matter was explained to her, and she
+readily consented to the marriage, saying to Sedgwick: "You know I asked
+you, in case Grace returned your affection, that the matter might for the
+present be held a secret. My reason was that I felt that something
+sinister, which I could not understand, was at work. I think you and
+Grace have a right to belong to each other; that if you must go away.
+Grace is right in wishing that when you are gone she can think of you as
+her husband."
+
+So arranged, Sedgwick went to find Jordan. A steamer had sailed the
+previous day from Southampton for Port Natal, via the Suez Canal, and
+Sedgwick's plan was to join that ship at Port Said.
+
+He found Jordan, told him of the change in the arrangements; fixed with
+him to have all needed baggage at the Dover depot, to meet him at the
+church at 11:30 next day, and after the ceremony to start with him from
+the church on their long journey.
+
+"I'll be thar, old friend," said Jordan. "Thet's ther sensible business.
+Make ther splendid girl yo'r wife, and pervide for her so thet if
+anything happens she'll be safe agin the petty cares that break women's
+hearts."
+
+Then Sedgwick returned to the Hamlin house, and went straight to Jack's
+room.
+
+Browning greeted him with a smile, and said, "Jim, old pard, it's all
+right. The marriage goes, even as you planned, and I have found and
+secured a nest for my bird."
+
+"Good," said Sedgwick; "but the arrangements have been changed a little;
+or, I might say, enlarged upon a little. As I understand it now, you,
+with Rose and her mother, will be at the church at 11:30 to-morrow. I
+will be there with Mrs. Hamlin and Grace. We will be the witnesses of
+your marriage, and then, Jack, old man, you and Mrs. Browning must be
+witnesses for Grace and me."
+
+Jack sprang from his chair, and cried: "Are you and Grace fond of each
+other?"
+
+"Well, somewhat, I trust," said Sedgwick.
+
+"And you are really engaged?" cried Jack.
+
+"For all this life, at least," said Sedgwick; then added gravely, "and
+heaven itself would be a cold and cheerless place to me without my saving
+Grace."
+
+Then Browning wrung the hand of Sedgwick, embraced him, danced around the
+room; then shook hands again, crying: "This is superb! this is glorious,
+by Jove! Why, of course it would be all wrong any other way. O, Jim,
+bless my soul, how glad I am!"
+
+Then Sedgwick said: "Browning, we have not much time. You understand I
+will leave my wife"--his voice trembled--"at the church door. I am going
+away--where, no matter--with a thought in my mind which, please, do not
+ask me. I may be gone two months, maybe six months.
+
+"Here is my will. Grace will keep it. Here is a check for her, which will
+secure her comfort, so far as money is concerned. Here is a check for
+£10,000 for you and Rose. Grace will return from the church to this
+house. If our marriage cause any friction here, she will go and live with
+you and Rose. I am glad you have secured a house. If I were you, I
+repeat, I would never take Rose under the roof of her step-father until I
+received full restitution from him. Do not discuss this money part of the
+business any more; it will do you no good. And when I am gone, do not get
+low spirited. Make life happy for Rose, and"--he halted a moment--"for
+Grace."
+
+The dinner was not a happy one that day. A cloud was on the Hamlin house.
+As soon as possible the head of the house went out. He was quickly
+followed by Browning.
+
+The eyes of Grace and Sedgwick met. They both rose from the table and
+passed into the hall. Grace twined her arms around one of his and led him
+into the parlor. She swung around an easy chair, made him sit down, then
+seated herself on an ottoman at his feet, and said: "It's going to be
+awfully hard to bear, my love; but I have thought it all over, and I do
+not believe I should ever be quite satisfied if you should not perform
+what you have marked out as your duty. Of course, if the property will
+not bear examination, you will, if nothing wrong happens you, be back in
+two or three months. If it will justify further exertion, I understand it
+will be likely to keep you away for a year, and that will be fearful."
+
+The tears filled her eyes.
+
+"But that will be duty, and then if you conclude to remain, maybe you
+will send for me. It will not matter how I live. I would go now, but I
+know I would be a trouble to you. I should interfere with your work.
+To-day you would want to go here; to-night, there; to-morrow you would
+want to be off on the mountains; and while I do not imagine you would
+think me a burden, nevertheless your very best energies could not be
+exerted, and this time they must be."
+
+She seemed very resolute as she spoke, though her face was sadder than
+Sedgwick had ever seen it. She continued:
+
+"I shall be brave when the hour comes, my love. I shall not vex you with
+a tear when we separate. You shall carry a smile as my last gift away
+with you."
+
+Sedgwick was enchanted. He thought her the grandest, noblest woman on
+earth, and thanked God for his treasure.
+
+After awhile he told her of Jordan, and all that he had learned from him.
+When he rehearsed Jordan's love episode, she kept exclaiming: "Poor, true
+man! Poor, honest fellow!" But when it was finished, she said: "Why,
+love, he is a ninny; that woman would never have left him had he but had
+more faith in himself, and pressed his suit a little. I am glad he is
+going with you. You will be a comfort to him, and his mind will have an
+object to work upon. Poor fellow!" she added with a sad smile. "You men
+are very brave and bright. You tear down mountains, exalt valleys, fight
+battles, navigate great ships, tame wild horses and lasso wild oxen, but
+you do not--the majority of you--know any more about a woman's heart than
+a Fiji islander does of Sanscrit."
+
+To all of which Sedgwick responded by calling her an angel.
+
+Then the matter of their marriage was talked over, and Sedgwick advised
+that in case her step-father should be angry upon learning of the event,
+she should take up her home with Jack and Rose.
+
+"My father will not show much vexation," she said. "If he begins that
+way, I will remind him of the fortune he has taken from your friend, his
+own step-son, and explain that it was his and Jenvie's work that made
+necessary what we shall have done."
+
+But it was agreed that all letters to her should be sent to a private box
+in the post-office, to which Sedgwick gave her the key. It was agreed,
+moreover, that even Jack should not know he had not gone to America,
+because, as he explained, if Jack once suspected he was going to Africa,
+he, too, would insist upon going, which would break Rose's heart, who had
+already waited for years; and then his going would be altogether
+unnecessary, as he and Jordan could do as well as three could. Moreover,
+to go would be to lose what he had advanced on the Devonshire estate.
+
+They both tried to be cheerful, but it was a sad night. When they came to
+separate, Grace broke down, but through her tears promised to be brave
+when the final trial came.
+
+Next morning, from half past nine to half past ten, Sedgwick and Grace
+were saying their final good-byes. It was an hour never to be forgotten
+by them. Grace did not attempt to restrain her tears. In both their
+hearts was the feeling that one has when the last look is being taken of
+the face of a much-loved one who has gone to the final rest. There were
+kisses and embraces and broken words, but there was no faltering on
+either side. Both were supported by the thought that a duty had been
+presented and must not be avoided.
+
+At 10:30 they retired to their respective apartments. Sedgwick dressed
+himself in a business suit of a dark texture. Grace attired herself in a
+traveling suit and hat. The baggage of Sedgwick was sent off at 11:15,
+and both were ready when the carriage came. The carriage with Mrs.
+Jenvie, Rose and Browning came up almost immediately, and the two
+vehicles proceeded to the church. Quite a little company had gathered,
+drawn by curiosity, when the church doors were opened.
+
+Jordan was present, radiant in a new suit, with a flower in his coat
+lapel, and he answered the smile and nod that each couple gave him as
+they passed up the aisle.
+
+As stated before, Grace was in a traveling suit, but Rose was radiant in
+robe and train and orange wreath, and a buzz of admiration at her
+exquisite beauty followed her all the way to her place before the altar.
+
+The ceremony proceeded in the usual order. The mothers gave the brides
+away; the last prayer was finished, the kisses given, the papers duly
+signed and witnessed, the certificates filled out and given to the
+respective brides, and the company turned to leave the church.
+
+Then Jordan came forward. Sedgwick presented the two elder ladies to him,
+and all greeted him most cordially. In response he said:
+
+"It's the whitest kind uv a day. I'm glad ter know yo' all; glad ter
+congratulate yo', and I wanter say ter Mrs. Sedgwick--Grace grew rosy red
+on hearing the appellation--that I've know'd her husband a long time, and
+he's true blue, sho'; there's not a better or a braver man on either side
+o' ther ocean."
+
+With that he drew a package from his pocket, and tendered it to Grace,
+saying: "I wanter give yo' a little keepsake fo' yo' husband's sake."
+
+It was a jewel case and contained a diamond cross worth £300.
+
+At the church door the good-byes were spoken. Browning and his bride
+entered one carriage and were driven away to Jack's home. The two elder
+ladies and Sedgwick's bride entered the other carriage.
+
+True to her promise, Grace gave to her husband, who stood near, a smiling
+good-bye, but when the carriage was driven away, she broke into
+uncontrollable sobs, wrung her hands piteously, and not until she reached
+home did the paroxysm of grief subside. She went to her room, laid by all
+her bright dresses and ornaments, robed herself in simple black--"in
+mourning," she said, "for my lost honey-moon."
+
+Sedgwick and Jordan entered a carriage, and from it boarded the Dover
+train. Not a word was spoken until the train had passed beyond the great
+city's outermost limit, when at last Jordan said:
+
+"Cum, Jim, brace up. It'll be all the sweeter when this accursed bitter
+cup shall be passed."
+
+And Sedgwick answered: "You are right, old friend, but the dear girl will
+suffer. That last smile was such as is given when hearts break."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+SINISTER SUCCESSES.
+
+
+When the old men, Jenvie and Hamlin, reached their homes that evening and
+learned what had transpired during the day, they were dumfounded. Hardly
+tasting any dinner, Hamlin arose from the table and sought the house of
+Jenvie. He met Jenvie at the door who was just going out to find Hamlin.
+They went at once to Jenvie's library, and when Jenvie motioned Hamlin to
+a seat and took another himself, it was a long time before either spoke.
+
+At last Hamlin said: "A bad business, Jenvie."
+
+"I do not see how it could be worse," was the reply.
+
+"I am too confused to think," said Hamlin.
+
+"We got Jack's money from him, and yet he and Rose are married, and it
+seems with Rose's mother's full consent," said Jenvie.
+
+"And a stranger of whom we know almost nothing has married Grace and left
+her at the church door, and it was with her mother's full consent, also,"
+said Hamlin.
+
+"And neither you nor myself is in a position to complain; I have not the
+courage to even storm about it," said Jenvie.
+
+"Nor have I," responded Hamlin. "I did not intend to keep Jack's money. I
+wanted to break off his engagement, and then offer him a little fortune
+if he would marry Grace."
+
+"I was determined that he should not marry Rose, even if I had to rob him
+to prevent it. Curses on him! He knocked me senseless while he was yet a
+mere boy. And now he has given me a harder blow. He has stolen Rose from
+under my spectacles, married her, pauper that he is, and gone to
+housekeeping."
+
+"What shall we do?" asked Hamlin.
+
+"Look here," said Jenvie, "this move is that American's who has married
+your daughter. He is more subtle than Jack. He has engineered this
+business. But I cannot fathom it. Why should he have left his bride
+at the church door and gone off to America?"
+
+"I think I can understand that," said Hamlin. "While Jack has made his
+£100,000, Sedgwick made a little more than £20,000. He left that with his
+father to buy a farm in the States, and came with Jack merely as a lark.
+
+"I think he has gone for as much of that as may be left, and that before
+a month he will return, and will back Jack in a suit to recover from us
+Jack's money."
+
+"Why, what can they hope to recover by a suit?" asked Jenvie. "If mining
+stocks are offered to a man and he buys them, and they do not turn out
+well, whose loss ought it to be? Then we sold nothing. It was Stetson who
+did the business."
+
+"But," said Hamlin, "if a man is induced by false representations to buy
+wild-cat shares, and he seeks recourse through our English courts, will
+he not recover?"
+
+"I made no special representations," said Jenvie.
+
+"That will not answer," said Hamlin. "You made enough representations;
+so did I. It was a direct swindle, and I did my part intending to make
+restitution. This business has practically destroyed the peace of our own
+homes. My wife never gave me a look of thorough contempt until to-day."
+
+"Neither did mine," said Jenvie. Then there was a long silence.
+
+At last Jenvie said: "Hamlin, there is but one thing to do. We must go
+to Jack to-morrow, good-naturedly chide him and Rose for being married
+without our knowledge, each carry a present, and as soon as possible
+settle with Jack, and get his receipt in full, before the return of that
+American devil that tumbles bulls, and might trip two old John Bulls like
+you and me."
+
+"I agree to that," Hamlin responded. "We can tell him that bad news from
+the mine has decided us not to go on with the mill building; that we will
+help bear the loss of the first investment, and tender him back £25,000.
+He will not only be glad to settle with us for that, but will feel
+grateful to us."
+
+So it was agreed that they should go at noon of the succeeding day.
+
+They each next morning purchased a valuable present, and repaired to
+Jack's house.
+
+They were shown in, and their cards sent to Browning.
+
+The servant returned in a moment and said: "Mr. Browning is engaged, and
+declines seeing the gentlemen."
+
+They went out incensed, but with such a mixed feeling of anger, chagrin,
+self-abasement, and apprehension as they had never experienced before.
+
+A day or two later Hamlin met Mrs. Browning face to face on the street.
+He rushed up to her with a joyful cry of "O Rose!" whereupon she drew her
+skirts around her so that they would not touch him, and walked by.
+
+Not long after, Jenvie met Browning and addressed him joyously. Jack
+looked him steadily in the face for a moment and then walked on.
+
+These were unhappy days for the old men. Something had fallen on their
+homes worse than a funeral, and in their souls the fear of the coming of
+Sedgwick became a perpetual haunting specter before their eyes. Stetson
+joined in their apprehensions, and then he realized besides that if he
+had ruined Jack, still Jack had married Rose.
+
+But as the days grew into weeks, they began to have hope. They made two
+or three investments that gave them quick returns and large profits.
+Success begets confidence. The men on change began to look upon them as
+rising bankers; deposits increased heavily, and so many enterprises were
+offered them to promote, that, without using a dollar of their own means,
+their commissions began to be enormous.
+
+"We are on the rising tide," said Jenvie.
+
+"Indeed we are," said Hamlin. "If the suit comes now, we can settle
+without any business or domestic scandal."
+
+"It is nothing to make money when a man once
+gets a start," said Jenvie, "but I would be glad to be
+fully reconciled with my wife and child."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+A TRIP TO AFRICA.
+
+
+Sedgwick and Jordan, with only now and then a few words of conversation,
+reached the coast and embarked on the channel steamer. A fresh wind was
+blowing, and the craft was shamefully unsteady.
+
+"It must uv been heah, Jim, whar ther original mustang learned his
+cussedness," said Jordan. "See how ther steam devil performs, startin' up
+ez tho' it meant to climb a wave and then without er provercation rollin'
+half way over and all ther time shakin hisself an' makin' things thet
+uncomfortable thet ther man aboard, while sayin' nothin', wishes all ther
+time he'd never tackled ther brute. Didn't ther useter call ther sea,
+'Mare?' I know why, she were a mustang shor."
+
+Sedgwick's face kindled with the ghost of a laugh, and he agreed that
+Jordan's theory was not a bad one.
+
+"But, Jim," said Jordan, "this war er famous old place after all."
+
+"Yes," said Sedgwick; "history has compiled some of its wonderful pages
+right here. We are where the Great Armada sailed, the souls of those on
+board believing they were going to make the conquest of England. Here is
+where Howard gave that fleet its first blow; here is where Howard and
+Drake sent their fire ships to play havoc with the hostile fleet. A great
+place indeed! But it was only 300 years ago that Howard and Drake
+performed their part; before their day many a fleet swept over this
+watery way; the Crusaders crossed here; before them, a thousand years,
+the great Julius came and invaded England; before him, a hundred savage
+nations worked their rude boats in these turbulent seas. When the light
+of civilization well-nigh went out in the land where it was first
+kindled, it was re-lighted on these shores, and though it burned slowly
+for a long time it never quite went out; rather, it grew brighter and
+brighter until its sheen began to fill the world. Bright souls have
+peopled both sides of this channel; both are lands of fair women and
+brave men; their literature has made the world gentler and higher; their
+laws dominate mankind; their power is a controlling force among the
+nations; they make the center of the world's wealth; they are each
+examples of how much men may accomplish on small areas of land, provided
+they possess sovereign hearts and brains and souls."
+
+The ship scraped against the pier while Sedgwick was talking, and the
+travelers hurried on their way. At Paris they were detained several
+hours, and Jordan hiring a carriage, they took in as much of the
+beautiful city as possible.
+
+Jordan all the time exerted himself to talk, and by asking questions to
+compel Sedgwick to think of something besides the sad-browed bride whom
+he had left in London.
+
+"What war the special charm 'bout Paris, Jim? I feel it, but blamed ef I
+can splain it even ter myself," said he.
+
+"I do not know," replied his friend, "but I suspect, Tom, it is the
+culmination of something which has for a thousand years been maturing.
+Long ago, a full thousand years, there was an Emperor here who was in
+advance of his generation. He believed that a perfect education meant the
+full enlightenment of the mortal, that his hands and eyes as well as his
+mind must be disciplined, that every useful attribute must be trained. So
+he built cathedrals to improve the taste of the people, established free
+drawing schools, had the people taught the secret of fusing worthless
+material with acute brains and making something valuable--something which
+the rich are glad to give their gold in exchange for. That emperor died,
+but his work continued to live and increase until France became a nation
+of artisans and artists, and that art has now become second nature, and
+therein lies the charm. See how yonder lady picks up her drapery to cross
+the street; not ten women in England could do that little thing as she
+does. Do you know the reason why? She caught the art originally from old
+Charlemagne. That is, thirty generations ago, the old Emperor established
+the schools which made possible the perfection of the present, and the
+graceful art of that lady is in truth a graceful compliment to the old
+soldier-Emperor who more than a thousand years ago fell back to dust."
+
+"I reckon yo' are right, Jim," said Jordan. "When I was heah afore, I put
+up at er tavern whar ther war young women as waited on ther table. I jest
+had plain food, in course, but when one o' them young women brot me ther
+bill, she would hand et out in sech er way thet tho' I knowed she war
+a-robbin' me, I never thot o' pertestin'; rather, she war shor ter git er
+tip in addition. Talk er high art, them girls war daisies, shor. One time
+thar war a row. A dapper feller disputed er bill. He thumped his heart,
+waved his arms, and made er speech like er politician. Ther perprieter
+cum in, then both made speeches. I thot ther would be shootin' or
+cuttin', sartin, but finally one rushed out, and I tho't in course hed
+gone for a gun. While waitin' ter see ther fun, I seen over at er table
+a feller smilin' like, and I tho't by his face he war a Yankee, so I went
+over, and sez I: 'parler vouse Fronsa?' Then he laffed and said: 'Yes, a
+little, but I understand English better.' Then I shuk his hand 'nd axed
+him wot ther row war, an 'nd ef he tho't that thar man hed gone fur a
+wepin. He smiled sort o' quiet-like, and said: 'No, it war jest a
+difficulty about an overcharge of five sous, and it's all settled.' 'All
+that row for five sous?' I asked. 'Yes,' he answered. Then I said, 'My
+God, suppose it hed a-been five francs, it would uv been ez good ez er
+play.' Yo' see, that old trick thet they got from big Charlie, they
+overplay sometimes."
+
+Sedgwick smiled faintly, and Jordan continued:
+
+"But are they not er light-hearted, joyus race, tho'? How they can sing
+'nd dance 'nd play hades! When I war heah they hed a review uv ther
+soldiers, 'nd how ther hull town turned out 'nd yelled 'nd yelled 'nd
+sung ther Marseilles, 'nd yet ther scars and humilitation uv ther mighty
+defeat war still fresh upon them. They'r ez hopeful ez ther Irish, same
+time they is a great deal closer traders. Ther stranger pays fur eny bow
+they make, for any smile they give. Still, they is country-loving; every
+one uv 'em 'r ready ter die fur ther beautiful France, 'nd ther women ez
+jest ez'thuseastic ez ther men. If I war young 'nd cud round up
+ther language a little, I'd camp heah fur six months."
+
+"The place is worth a longer visit," said Sedgwick, "just to study its
+past, to go over the spots made sacred in history, to study the
+monuments, to visit galleries; to dream of all the events which
+transpired to round the present city into form; to trace the city's
+career through wars, revolutions, uprisings, victories and defeats; to
+learn the processes, and count the throes which were necessary before the
+manhood of the people asserted its superiority over the manhood of kings.
+
+"Think! It is but sixty years since the great Corsican led his army out
+of here to his last campaign. One can picture him now in thought, moving
+up this very street, the old familiar sovereign face, eyes straining
+towards the star that even then had become a fallen star, his ears
+thrilled with the plaudits of shouting armies and shouting people, his
+soul imperturbable in its dream of conquest. Then the man was everything,
+the people nothing; now the people are everything, the man--he is asleep
+and his heart is not colder in the grave than it was in life."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+ON THEIR TRAVELS.
+
+
+But at last the hour for leaving came, and Sedgwick and Jordan took
+the train and proceeded without delay to Marseilles, where one of the
+steamers of the French Imperial Messenger Line was about to sail for
+Port Said. They at once secured transportation, went on board, and a
+few hours later the ship proceeded to sea. The weather was fair on the
+Mediterranean, and putting aside any personal sorrows, Jordan exerted
+himself to be cheerful for Sedgwick's sake.
+
+"This are ther water on which men fust learned ter be sailors, arn't it,
+Jim?" he asked. "I mean whar they fust got inter ther notion of venturin'
+out whar ther old shore-shaker could git a good hold on 'em?"
+
+"Yes," replied Sedgwick. "This and the Red Sea. The Egyptians, the
+Carthagenians, the Phoenicians, the Syrians, the Greeks, the Romans,
+and a dozen other nations; later, the Venetians and Spaniards, and no one
+knows how many other nations, all learned how to build, navigate, and
+fight ships on these waters. Think of it, Jordan, there were sea fights
+here almost seven hundred years before the Christ came. On this sea
+floated the fighting Biremes, Triremes, and Quinquiremes of the Greeks,
+Carthagenians, and Romans; and here the Egyptians and Phoenicians
+trained their ships three thousand years before the crucifixion.
+
+"Could this sea give up its dead--its dead men and its dead ships; could
+they all come back as they looked the moment before they sank, they would
+make a panorama of the ages, and would show the progress of the world for
+five thousand years. Every mile square of this sea must be paved with
+things which were once glorious in life and power. Maybe below where we
+are sailing here, helmeted Roman soldiers, being transported to some
+point of contemplated conquest, went down. Here pirate craft have roamed;
+here lumbering wheat ships have ploughed their way; here the watches have
+been set by the crews of a hundred nations; here sailors have been cursed
+in a thousand tongues. Along these shores ship-building had its birth;
+from these shores the ships sailed out over these waters, engaging in
+foreign commerce, and the camel-owner on the land learned to hate the
+thing which on the water could carry the burden of many camels. One could
+sit all day and conjure up the ghosts that these blue waters are peopled
+with."
+
+"Go ahead, Jim," said Jordan. "Thet sounds as it useter when yo' read to
+us in ther old house thar in Texas. What war thet book that told all
+'bout Lissis and Ajax, the hoss-tamer Diamed, and the boss fighters,
+Killes and Hector, and ther pretty gal Helen, that raised all the hel-lo,
+and Dromine, the squar woman thet war Hector's wife, and hed the kid thet
+war afeerd of the old man's headgear?"
+
+"That was the Iliad, Jordan," said Sedgwick, "the first book that we
+read. The story was the siege of Troy. That was a city over on the east
+shore of this very sea, and the Greeks went over there in their boats and
+besieged it for nine years before they captured it."
+
+"How long ago war that, Jim?" asked Jordan.
+
+"Three thousand years," was the reply.
+
+"But they were fighters, them fellers?" said Jordan.
+
+"Yes, great fighters," said Sedgwick.
+
+"And their hosses war thoroughbreds, every one? Isn't thet so, Jim?" said
+Jordan.
+
+"They were great horses, indeed," said Sedgwick.
+
+"Powerful," said Jordan, "good for fo' mile heats, sho'? And thet other
+chap, Nais, didn't he settle round here somewhar?"
+
+"You mean Æneas, Jordan. It was in Virgil that we read that. Æneas was of
+the family of that Priam who was king of Troy when the siege was on. He
+got away in a ship and finally landed and settled in southern Italy, off
+here to our left, and the legend goes that his descendants founded Rome."
+
+"Yo' don't mean ter say he wur ther 'riginater uv ther Dagoes?" said
+Jordan.
+
+"Well," said Sedgwick, with a laugh, "you know at that time there were
+wild tribes in Italy. Then there came in Greek colonies, and all races
+fused and assimilated, even as did the Romans and Sabines when the former
+captured a company of the women of the latter and made them their wives.
+Out of it all arose the mighty Roman nation."
+
+"They inbred with mustangs, so ter speak," said Jordan, "and these common
+Dagoes is whar they has bred back showin' bad stock in ther dam."
+
+"May-be," said Sedgwick.
+
+"Half-breeds is no good, as a rule, but that Nais war a good one."
+
+"A good one, I guess," said Sedgwick.
+
+"He's ther feller that Queen--what's her name?--O, yes, Queen Dido got
+soft on?" queried Jordan.
+
+"Yes, Queen Dido," was the response.
+
+"And she got looney-like when he cum away, and uv nights would go down on
+ther shore and watch for him to cum back?" said Jordan.
+
+"So the legend has come down, and by the way," added Sedgwick, "her
+country was on this sea also, farther east and south, off to the right.
+It was called Carthage."
+
+"Say, Jim," said Jordan, "them folks was a good deal like we is, after
+all, wuzn't they? They'd fight for most nuthin'; they'd get gone on
+wimmen; liked good hosses; they'd trade and work tryin' ter get rich; and
+ef they hed hearn of a gold mine, they'd gone ter Arizony for it."
+
+"I guess you are right, Jordan," said Sedgwick, "you always are. The
+world changes its methods, but the original man is about what he has
+always been."
+
+"Wurn't it from thet place Carthage that ther black feller cum what held
+ther Dagoes so level fur so long?" asked Jordan.
+
+"Hannibal, do you mean?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+"Ther same," replied Jordan.
+
+"Yes," replied Sedgwick, "and a marvelous soldier and leader of men he
+was, to be sure."
+
+"Indeed, he wur; but say, Jim, what do yo' calcerlate his pedigree wur?"
+
+"Why, he came from a family of kings and fighting men," answered
+Sedgwick.
+
+"Yes, I know; but I mean what breed war he? War he one of them ere
+Ethiopians?" said Jordan.
+
+"No, I think not," answered his friend. "He was dark like an Arab or
+a Moor, but he belonged to a race that built cities and ships, tamed
+horses, and fought scientific battles."
+
+"'Zactly," said Jordan. "And he wur a fighter from way back?"
+
+"Yes," responded Sedgwick, "when the few great captains in the world are
+thought of, he is about third or fourth in the list."
+
+"Thay ain't much in men, Jim. Thar's everything in a man," said Jordan.
+
+"That is what Napoleon used to say," was Sedgwick's answer.
+
+"Did Napoleon say thet?" asked Jordan. "He war a brighter man than I
+thought, but it is true, don't yo' think, Jim?"
+
+"I think I understand, but am not quite sure," said Sedgwick.
+
+"I mean this," he answered, and then paused a moment. "Well, yo' see," he
+continued, "I wur at Chickamauga in Hill's division, I wur in thur ranks,
+and wur a boy; but I hed a general idee how things wur. I knowed whar all
+our men war; how your army war 'ranged, and when we went in shoutin',
+and all your right and left melted away like a fog as comes up from the
+gulf melts when the sun comes up in ther mornin', I sed to Ned Sykes, who
+wur next me in ther ranks, 'Ned, we's got 'em,' and Ned answered back,
+'we's got 'em, sho'.'
+
+"Well, it wur a clar field, 'ceptin' your center war still solid, and
+they fell back all but a thin line. We charged up onto thet and broke it,
+killed lot's uf 'em, and gobbled up lots more, but it tuk us a right
+smart time, fur them was stubborn chaps 'nd they fought desperate.
+
+"Then when I looked up, I seen the hull business. Thet line hed been
+flung out ter hold us till ther rest cud fall back on better ground. Thar
+they wuz fixed, and when our lines wuz dressed and other charge ordered,
+and we went in again shoutin' jest like the fust time, they laid down
+flat and they 'gin it ter us so hot we couldn't stand it and hed ter fall
+back.
+
+"And they kept a-entertainin' of us thetway all ther evenin'. Other
+divisions wur called up and sent in, but what wur left uv 'em cum
+streamin' back, jest ez often ez it wur tried; a cavalry charge was
+ordered, but only a remnant cum back, and we hed made no more impression
+seemin'ly than ther waves thet bucks up agin a ledge uv rocks.
+
+"Them wur no better soldiers than ther rest uv ther army, but thar war a
+man directin' 'em, and lookin' all ther time so kinder majistical and
+lofty and so fur away from all fear, and ez tho' he hedn't a thot of
+failin', thet ther men, yo' see, tuk on ther same state o' mind, and ter
+fight 'em war no use. If the fust bullet we fired hed killed thet
+General, we would a-scooped the hull army by four o'clock. Thet's what
+I mean when I say: 'They ain't much in men, thar's everything in a man!'"
+
+"I understand you fully, and you are right, Jordan," said his friend.
+
+Jordan continued "War it not 'round yere somewhar' thet ther Greeks
+lived?"
+
+"Yes, north of this sea, ahead of us, and to the left," said Sedgwick.
+
+"They wur the ones that fit Marathon and Thermoperlee, and it wur from
+ther thet big Aleck cum?" asked Jordan.
+
+"Yes," was the reply. "It was only a little country, but had many states,
+The Spartans and Thespians, mostly the Spartans, fought at Thermopylae.
+Marathon was fought mostly by Athenians, and Alexander was Phillip's son,
+of Macedonia."
+
+"'Zactly," said Jordan. "Athens wur the boss place, wur it not? It had
+ther best talkers, and best public schools, and wur it not thar thet the
+woman Frina kept house?"
+
+"Yes, Phryne was an Athenian, I believe, a woman of a good model, but not
+a model woman," said Sedgwick, with a faint smile.
+
+"I reckon yo' wur right, Jim," said Jordan, "but it wur not singular she
+bested them fellers in her law-suit. Her showin' would ha' brought a
+Texas jury every time, sho', in spite of any 'structions, no matter how
+savage, from ther court."
+
+Then he continued, "Thar wur another bad one 'round here, somewhar. Don't
+yo' reclect readin' 'bout her and ther Roman? They got spoony on one
+another. He neglected his family and business, he wur thet fur gone;
+finally got hisself killed, and then she pizened herself with a sarpent,
+not a moccasin nor rattler, but a little short blue-brown scrub snake not
+a foot long."
+
+"You mean Antony and Cleopatra," said Sedgwick.
+
+"'Zactly, Cleopatra," said Jordan. "She wer ther one. I never liked her,
+not half so well as the one with yaller ha'r thet they called Helen. One
+wur bad on her own account; the other, as I calcerlate, wus bad jest
+because she hed er disposition to be entertainin' and agreeable. One wur
+naterally bad; t'other wur a lady by instinct but her edecation had been
+neglected."
+
+Still he ran on: "Wur it not on this water thet old Solomon fitted out
+ships for ther Ophir diggings?"
+
+"I do not know," was the reply. "It probably was, if, as is believed, a
+canal connected this sea with the Red Sea in his day."
+
+"Which way are Jerusalem from here, Sedgwick?" he asked.
+
+Sedgwick pointed in the direction.
+
+"And Tyre and Venice and Egypt and ther Hellespont?" Jordan asked.
+
+Sedgwick explained.
+
+"The country 'round this sea made ther world once, didn't it?" was
+Jordan's next exclamation.
+
+"Very nearly," answered Sedgwick. "The cradle of civilization was rocked
+more on these shores than anywhere else. Egypt and Greece and Carthage
+and Phoenicia and Syria and Rome, and a score of other nations, grew
+into form on the shores of this sea. The arts had birth here; arts,
+architecture, ship-building, sculpture, poetry, eloquence, law and
+learning, all began on these shores; and Roman soldiers crucified the
+Savior a little beyond where the waves of this sea break against its
+eastern shore."
+
+"Thet's good," said Jordan. "Big region this!"
+
+And so the great-hearted man kept talking to try to lure Sedgwick's mind
+away from the thoughts that possessed him, and which made his heart heavy
+and his face grave.
+
+The ship touched at several ports, and the changing of passengers, the
+different races, the varying scenes, kept the minds of both men diverted
+and their interest all the time awakened, and kept Jordan talking more
+than he had talked before for weeks.
+
+"I'm glad I cum, Jim," he kept saying. "Why, we fellers out in Texas as
+never traveled don't know nuthin', so ter speak; nuthin' 'bout the world
+outside, I mean. We useter think Texas wur almighty big. Tain't nuthin'."
+
+Then after a pause he spoke again, and his next question was: "What did
+yo' call them ships thet ther old fellers sailed?"
+
+"They had many names. There were Galleys, Biremes, Triremes.
+Quadquirimes, Quinquirimes and so on, according to the number of their
+oars and the way they worked them," answered Sedgwick.
+
+"This are a daisy ship thet we is on, don't you reckon?" said Jordan.
+"Suppose yo' and I cud uv cum along heah with this ship when they hed
+ther fightin' fleets out? Wouldn't we hev astonished them old-timers?"
+
+"I think we would, indeed," said Sedgwick, "but, Tom, with the ships that
+they had, they did some fighting that gave the world such a thrill that
+men feel it still when the name of Actium or Salamis is mentioned. As
+long before the coming of the Savior as it has been since, the
+Phoenicians were scouring this sea with their craft, founding colonies,
+and it is said they ventured out upon the Atlantic and went as far north
+as England, while amid the ruins of Tyre models of boats have been found
+with lines as fine as any that any modern ship-builder can draw.
+
+"Nothing of mechanical achievement to me compares with a ship like this
+that we are sailing on. Panoplied in steel, with heart of fire, with iron
+arms picking up the burden of ten thousand horses; facing the storm and
+the night without a quiver except that which comes of its own great
+heart's throbbing, buoyant above the beating of the deep sea's solemn
+pulses, lighted by imitation sunlight, and making its voyages almost with
+the precision of the hours--what could be grander?
+
+"Standing on the deck, with the midnight black above and the ocean black
+below, feeling its regular pulse-beats and its onward plunges over its
+uneven path; it is hard to shake off the impression that it is a grim
+Genie that has come to make ferries of the broad ocean, to draw the
+continents with their freights of nations closer together.
+
+"But suppose, Tom, that the onward rush of this ship should bring us
+close beside three little ships, two with no decks and the larger one
+only ninety feet in length, we would look down upon them with a kind
+of pity, would we not?
+
+"Still, with such vessels, the mystery of the sea was first cleared up;
+with such vessels, the vail was pushed back from the frowning face of the
+ocean; with such vessels, the New World was found.
+
+"It was from over one of those open decks that the cry 'A Light!' rang
+out upon the night; it was from one of those decks that the vision of the
+New World materialized before the eyes of the great Italian; on one of
+those decks he knelt as the vision grew brighter in the dawn, and his
+soul was thrilled as souls are when they feel that a visible answer to
+prayer has been vouchsafed.
+
+"But the man was there, Jordan; the man who could charm the terrors from
+the hearts of a fear-stricken crew; who could convert a meteor's fall
+into an augury of good instead of an omen of terror; who could quell the
+mutinous spirit which was awakened by a varying needle and raging storms.
+
+"It is not the great ship that counts, but the motives in the souls of
+those who build and navigate the ship.
+
+"When on the shores of this sea men first built boats and went forth on
+these waters, they were but rude boats indeed.
+
+"Who knows how many were lost, how many brave souls were drowned?
+
+"But each calamity gave new thoughts to those who escaped; they kept on
+improving, building better and better boats and making longer and longer
+voyages; they found islands and the shores of far-off mainlands; they
+carried back the products of those lands, and so Commerce was born.
+
+"They made at last their ships meet the caravans from the East; the ideas
+as well as the products of the East and West were brought together;
+manufactories were established, robes and dyed garments and flashing
+blades were made that became immortal, and those people made such an
+impression on the world, as brave and capable and alert men of affairs,
+that the impression still remains; even as the strong and true men of
+Venice renewed the impression twenty-five hundred years later.
+
+"The same spirit worked three thousand years ago that has been at work
+in making the transformation from the bungling ships that Nelson fought
+Trafalgar with to this ship under our feet, from the carrying up of ore
+from the deep mines on the heads of peons to the hoisting engine and
+safety cage of to-day."
+
+"That is good, Jim," said Jordan, "it is ther soul of man, after all,
+soul of courage that counts 'nd all ther advancement is only because we
+has better tools ter work with than ther old-timers hed."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+THE SOUL IN THE CLAY.
+
+
+At Port Said the travelers left the French steamer to wait for the
+English ship which was on the way from Southampton. It came in on the
+evening of their arrival, and they went on board. They were glad to do
+so, for the few hours in Port Said convinced them that it was a tougher
+place than they had ever seen on the frontier.
+
+At daylight next morning the ship proceeded on her way through the canal.
+
+Our travelers were on the deck, watching the scenery.
+
+Finally Jordan said: "This looks like Arizony, only more so. Arizony
+looks as though thar war a strike among the mechanics and it war never
+finished. This looks like it were finished once and then ther perprieter,
+not bein' satisfied with ther contractor's job, smashed it. They tell me
+ther mustang is ther blood-horse run down by starvation 'nd abuse, 'nd
+in-breedin', but mostly from in-breedin'. This country looks ez though it
+hed been ruined ther same way precisely. I shouldn't wonder but it wur
+true. Them old Faros wuz big fellers; so war Sesostris and ther hull race
+of the old chaps from ther Shepherd Kings down, and they useter call this
+'the granary of the world,' didn't they?
+
+"And old Cambysis cum here on a robbin' expedition?
+
+"Well, it's clear enough since then things has been goin' ter ther dogs
+heah. I tell yo', Jim, civilization gone to seed is wuss than 'riginal
+barbarism.
+
+"Them chaps as bilt the pyramids and obelisks war powerful men. They
+must er hed sum pride in the kentry or they wouldn't been so everlastin'
+perticelar 'bout their gravestunes, and this must uv been a different
+kentry from what it are now. Yo've seen men as has lived too long. It's
+so, I reckon, with patches of this old world. Anyway, I ain't buyin' no
+sheers in Egypt, leastways not on the showin' these croppin's make."
+
+When the ship passed into the Gulf of Suez the temperature was something
+fearful.
+
+"This wur the water that divided, wur it not?" asked Jordan.
+
+"Yes," said Sedgwick, "this is the water, I believe."
+
+Jordan was silent for several minutes. At last he said: "No mistake 'bout
+thet story, Jim?"
+
+"Why do you ask?" was Sedgwick's response.
+
+"Nothin' much," said Jordan, "only hain't yo' noticed ther newspapers
+don't hardly ever git things right?"
+
+Sedgwick acknowledged that he had known them to make mistakes.
+
+"Hain't it jest posserble," said Jordan, "thet what war really the fact
+war thet the Gipshins war drowned jest ter git 'em outer ther misery in
+this cussed place, and ther Jews war saved jest ter punish 'em?"
+
+"I never thought of that," said Sedgwick. "But if the weather then was
+anything like it is now, the theory is not improbable."
+
+"'Zactly," said Jordan. "From ther other side over there ther Israelites
+started for Canaan, didn't they?"
+
+"I believe so," was Sedgwick's reply.
+
+"It must uv been like goin' from Tuscon to Fort Yuma in August, don't yo'
+think, Jim?" said Jordan.
+
+"Very like, I believe," said Sedgwick.
+
+After a pause Jordan spoke up again: "Jim, it ain't for me ter try ter
+understand much, but ther kentry 'round heah and ther people we has seen
+kinder breaks me up. They tell us over ther to ther right, man fust cum
+outer his wild state; ez yo' has it, that 'ther cradle of civilization
+war fust rocked.' For five thousand year, they has been a-tryin'. Look at
+'em now! Then over on the other side, the chosen people of God pulled
+out; they flourished; they killed their enemies, built cities and
+temples; hed big talkers and writers and fiters; fixed up language thet
+thrills a man's soul jest ter read it now; made a starter thet the
+world's been a-follerin' ever since, and right and left ther whole world
+are blasted, and no one wud ever think thet God's smile once lit this
+region. If this showin' makes ther balance sheet fur five thousand years,
+what's ther use in tryin'?"
+
+"True," said Sedgwick. "In everything, the ancient man was the equal, if
+not the superior, of any men who live to-day. As soldiers, orators, and
+writers, the utmost men hope for is to emulate them, never to excel them.
+A famous English orator not long ago said that he had often been called
+upon to address boisterous men who had gathered in mobs for mischief, and
+that the only time he had ever succeeded in quelling such a gathering and
+turning them completely over to the side of order and peace, was when he
+had repeated to them his own translation of one of the impassioned
+orations that Demosthenes had flung with all the majesty and power of
+his eloquence at an Athenian mob twenty-two hundred years ago. No modern
+sculpture equals the ancient; no modern song or eloquence; and then
+there have come down to us lessons in patriotism, devotion to duty,
+self-abnegation and valor, which will thrill great hearts as long as
+civilization shall last.
+
+"Only in one thing that I can note does the modern man excel his ancient
+brother. The world is more merciful than of old. Prisoners of war are
+no longer sold into slavery or killed; woman has ceased to be first a
+plaything and then a slave; in exalting woman, man has been exalted,
+and the perfect modern home had no parallel in the ancient world. The
+influence that the Cross gave out is still spreading and softening the
+hearts of men."
+
+"May be," said Jordan, "but, Jim, it's a mighty big undertakin' to
+civilize men. Here's all Africa over here ter the right whar only the old
+rule prevails; man is a monstrous brute; woman is wuss nor a slave."
+
+"That is true, Tom," said Sedgwick. "The cruelties practiced there are
+almost enough to make one doubt the divinity of man and the mercy of
+God."
+
+"Yet who knows?" said Jordan. "What are a few thousand years ter God?
+Thar must be somethin' behind, or men wouldn't hev been born. Ther other
+day in London thar war a man carryin' a flag on a short staff thet hed a
+glitterin' p'int. He war preachin' on ther street corners thet men hed no
+souls; thet ther man ez sed he hed a soul war a fool, 'nd he asked whar
+ther souls war, 'nd ef any surgeon hed ever cum upon a soul when
+dissectin' a body, or on ther place whar ther soul hed lodged in ther
+man's lifetime.
+
+"I wur listenin' 'nd thinkin'. After awhile he finished 'nd then a
+gentle, kind-faced man stepped outer ther crowd 'nd sed he: 'What are
+thet bright metal on ther end of y'r flag-staff?' Ther man sed it war
+aluminum. Then the kind-faced man asked what aluminum cum from. Ther
+other answered: 'Clay.' 'Jest common clay?' asked ther man. 'Jest common
+clay,' said ther other. 'How long since ther beautiful metal war
+discovered?' asked ther kind-faced man. 'It war within ther last half
+century,' war the answer. Then the kind faced man made a discourse
+sunthin' like this:
+
+"'Yo' want a wisible proof thet man hez a soul. Ef yo' hed lived sixty
+year ago 'nd men hed told yo' ther wur in common clay a metal ez bright
+ez silver, ez ductile ez gold, with almost ther tensile strength uv
+steel; sunthin' thet could be worked inter eny form, indestructible under
+ther usual destructive agents of ther world, yo' wouldn't ha' believed
+it, would yo'? Yet it war thar all ther time. Fur thousands of years, men
+delved in clay. Ther wheels of ages ground it inter powder, which ther
+winds blew away; when men died, other men sed, 'They is turned ter clay,'
+which signefied ther utter degrerdation o' death; but ther men what bilt
+ther Bable Tower, hed they but known ther secret, mighter from thet same
+material have bilt a dome higher nor St. Paul's, thet would uv shone like
+burnished silver 'nd would hev retained all its strength 'nd splendor,
+notwithstandin' ther erosion uv time 'nd ther abrashin' uv ther ages,
+even till now, tho' since then two hundred generations uv men has lived
+and died.
+
+"Still, yo' think thet ther power thet put thet imperishable,
+indestructible, stainless soul in ther clay at our feet, war less
+thoughtful, less wise, less merciful when he created man in His own
+sublime image? Ther chemist found this property in clay after er thousand
+nations hed spurned it under ther feet; this soul in clay, which will not
+tarnish, which can be drawn out inter finest wires and thinnest leaves;
+hev yo' ther audacity ter proclaim thet ther subtle chemistry of death
+cannot reveal anything bright and indestructible fur man, when these pore
+mortal senses shall have spent ther energies; when this pore body shall
+uv fallen back ter dust 'nd ther clearer light shell 'ave dawned."
+
+"It war a great sermon. The unbeliever shambled shamefaced away, 'nd I've
+been er thinkin' uv it ever since."
+
+"It must be true," said Sedgwick. "Somewhere must be kept the records of
+the hearts that break in silence, of the eyes that grow dim in straining
+at signals on heights beyond the vision of mortal man, of hands that lose
+their hold on immortality, because of the merciless buffetings of the
+world.
+
+"This looks like a wrecked world around us, but there was a splendor here
+once. Here the alphabet of the stars was first traced out, and the order
+of their shining processions made known; here barbarism was first beaten
+back; the first code was made here; here were originated the sciences of
+architecture and of war; here the arts of agriculture and mechanics were
+born; and here was lighted and kept bright the flame of knowledge until
+it became a beacon to the world, that, before that light was kindled, was
+altogether dark.
+
+"The tides of the sea advance and recede. It may be so with nations. The
+earth was made habitable by convulsions that rent its crust, the storms
+that beat upon it, and by the grinding of glaciers; the pressure
+necessary to create the rocks and coal measures was brought to bear; the
+continents were upheaved; the seas were beaten back; the world was loaded
+for a limitless voyage, before the vapors were rolled back, the full dawn
+was born.
+
+"We cannot see far, but if this life is all there is to us, then, indeed,
+it is a pitiful failure. If our thoughts and longings are bounded by this
+little span of life, then there is no balance-sheet for mortality. The
+gift of life is then not worth the expense of supporting it.
+
+"But, if, like the earth, the beatings and upheavals and sorrows are but
+the preparation for the perfect dawn, with peace in its coming, with the
+increase of immortal flowers in its air; if there are to be a time and
+place where there is to be full fruition, then it is different, and we
+can afford to smile as the frosts of disappointment chill us, as the salt
+spray of misfortune is dashed in our faces.
+
+"Tom, with such gifts as are given us, we must do the best we can for
+ourselves and our fellow-men; must do it with faith and courage, do it
+with gentleness and in truth, and with a purpose so high that we shall
+never fear anything except to do the wrong.
+
+"And all the rest we may leave to God."
+
+It was hot and calm all the voyage through the Red Sea, the straits,
+and Gulf of Aden, till, when rounding the stormy cape of Guardafui and
+the ship swept out upon the broader ocean, the barometer dropped rapidly
+and a furious storm came on. It was really a mighty gale, and the
+heavily-laden ship labored exceedingly.
+
+At its height, Sedgwick and Jordan stood watching the majesty of the
+forces exhausting their fury around them, when Jordan said:
+
+"Jim, I needed this. Yo' know how grand ther other ship wur; yo' know how
+great and strong this ship are. Well, watchin' both, a senseless kind uv
+pride cum over me, and I sed ter myself over and over, 'This ere ship cud
+outride any gale whatever blow'd.' Look now! It's only a toy on ther
+water when God's wind goes out ter battle with God's everlastin' seas.
+
+"Cumin' over, I stopped and tuk a look at Niagry. It wur grand, but a
+dozen Niagrys wouldn't make one hurrycane out ter sea. I can't explain
+what I wanter, but I mean as how God's majesty is nowhar else revealed as
+when his hurrycanes is sent ter paint a picter on ther face of a mad
+ocean. Nowhar else did I ever feel thet small as when watchin', as we is
+now, all these forces that is makin' the commotion 'round us. They all
+show us what pitiful weak creaters we is, and ther man who ever watched
+one storm at sea and ever arter dares to hev one feelin' uv pride or
+scornfulness, that thar man are weak somewhar and makes a spectacle of
+hisself."
+
+But the storm was weathered safely; the temperature grew cooler as the
+ship stretched away to the South, and after a generally prosperous voyage
+the steamer dropped anchor in Port Natal roadstead.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+THE WEDGE OF GOLD.
+
+
+The voyagers were glad enough to stand once more on the solid earth. It
+had been twenty-one days since they had left London.
+
+Quickly as they could they made arrangements for a journey inland. They
+chartered conveyances to go to the end of the road and sent forward to
+the capital to charter a train of riding and pack animals, with a full
+corps of attendants, to meet them where they had to take the trail. They
+employed, moreover, a civil engineer and a half-dozen frontiersmen, Boers
+and Kaffirs, who knew the country well.
+
+Studying their maps and the description supplied them by the former owner
+of the mine, they calculated the mine was distant some 250 miles, and
+that it would require some thirty-five days to make the examination and
+return to D'Umber, the town on Port Natal Roadstead.
+
+Sedgwick had written daily to his bride, sending the letters from every
+port called at.
+
+Now he wrote her that it would probably be forty days before he could
+forward her another letter.
+
+When everything was ready they started on their trip. The men were all
+Boers and Kaffirs, except the engineer; all strong, good-natured men, but
+the least bit suspicious of their employers. They had come in an English
+ship, wore English clothing, and if their English accent was not quite up
+to the standard the natives could not make the distinction.
+
+They examined Jordan's saddle with a great deal of curiosity, as it was,
+with the rest of the luggage, put upon the wagon. One of them, in broken
+English, asked about it; where in England he found it.
+
+He laughingly answered that they could not make any such saddle in
+England; that it was a Mexican saddle. Then the Boer wanted to know if he
+were a Mexican.
+
+"Not by a blamed sight," said Jordan. "Do I look like er greaser?"
+
+The Boer looked at him helplessly.
+
+"Did you never har of ther United States?" asked Jordan.
+
+The Boer shook his head. "Never har of America and Americans?" Jordan
+asked.
+
+The Boer smiled. He had heard of Americans, and asked eagerly if Jordan
+and his friend came from America.
+
+"Yo' may bet yo'r everlastin' broken Dutch diaphram that we did," said
+Jordan, at which the Boer hurried to tell his companions that the two
+strangers were not English, notwithstanding their clothing.
+
+The first eight days of the journey, the travelers found excellent roads,
+and averaged twenty-seven miles a day. They did not go by the capital,
+but turned off to the left.
+
+The first day the road lay mostly over the coast mountains. Toward night
+they entered upon the table-lands of Natal, which were generally level,
+except where, here and there, a low mountain spur had to be crossed. It
+was a grassy country, sparsely dotted with palms, with here and there
+timber in sight up ravines that ran down from the hills, and occasionally
+they ran upon clusters of heath-flowers. Indeed, the whole country was
+covered with flowers of rare beauty, but mostly odorless. It was all new
+and strange, and was noted with keen interest by the two Americans. It
+was the rainy season, and the road was soft in places, and some of the
+streams were pretty high. But they got along without serious trouble. One
+had been in Nevada, the other in Arizona, and both in Texas.
+
+The first night they camped by a little stream, ate their supper, and
+spread their beds by some willows on the grass. It was a perfectly calm
+night, and in that clear air the stars shone magnificently.
+
+As they were smoking their pipes after supper Sedgwick pointed out to
+Jordan the constellation of the Southern Cross as a sight which their
+friends in the North-land could never see unless they crossed the
+equator.
+
+Jordan looked at the stars some time in silence, and then said: "Them
+stars is been shinin' thar allus, and yit, Jim, they wuz outer sight o'
+us. To see 'em we had ter cross ther line. Who can tell, Jim, what new
+stars'll shine on us when thet other line, thet men call death, shall be
+crossed, and our eyes shall be given ther new light beyond?"
+
+He paused a moment, and then went on: "I'z been prospered. When I war a
+boy I went to ther wah. I war in many a fight. Men as loved life mightily
+wuz killed all 'round me; many another brave feller tuk sick and died.
+Not a scratch cum ter me.
+
+"I made er stake easy-like in ther mines. I've dun well 'nuff; and yit,
+Jim, if thar should cum ther summons ter-night, and I knowd I'd got ter
+go, I wouldn't hev a sorrer 'cept thet we haven't passed on ther mine
+yit."
+
+Then Sedgwick realized that in the selfishness of his own loneliness at
+leaving his bride, he had forgotten his friend, and that he had all the
+time been concealing a deeper grief and trying to cheer him.
+
+"Dear old Tom," he said humbly. "I have been absorbed and selfish since
+we left England. I did not realize my own selfishness. We have found new
+stars in the sky. Let us trust that no sorrows will come to us that will
+not be cheered by stars behind them, and let us nurse the hope that this
+journey is but a discord in our lives that will make the music of them
+sweeter when it shall be passed."
+
+"Shore enuff," was Jordan's answer. "I war once down at the bottom of
+ther Colorado Cañon. It war terrible. I never seen a place so desolate
+and wild; but, Jim, I looked up along the walls hundreds of feet
+overhead, and thar in ther daylight, away off in ther infinite sky,
+some stars war shinin'."
+
+So there, in the starlight, on that lonely table-land in South Africa,
+the two true men clasped hands in silence, and their hearts drew nearer
+to each other than they had ever been drawn before.
+
+The second day, the road in places skirted a forest in which the yellow
+tree and the great beech were the most prominent trees, creepers grew
+around them, and vines trailed over their branches; marvelously tinted
+flowers mingled with them, and the scene was enchanting.
+
+More than once a band of antelope was seen scudding away in the distance;
+here and there a zebra fled from before them, and once a pair of giraffes
+were discerned afar off over the plain. Though it was the beginning of
+winter, the tsetse fly bothered their stock a good deal, but the Boers
+cut branches from the trees and covered the animals with them when the
+sun was hottest and the insects most troublesome.
+
+After the fourth day the road began to ascend, and at last the point was
+reached where the vehicles had to be given up, and the saddle and pack
+animals from the capital had to be brought into use. The real hills had
+been reached. The trail ran over a succession of sharp mountain ridges,
+and narrow valleys. It was not a well-made trail on the ridges, and the
+flanks of the ridges were so abrupt and rocky that progress was very
+slow; moreover, it was clear that to build a road on the line of the
+trail, over which heavy loads could be hauled, would be a most expensive,
+almost impossible, undertaking.
+
+It required three days to make the trip of forty miles.
+
+Finally, though, the last summit was crossed, and after a heavy descent,
+there spread out another valley, and on a ridge beyond, from the mountain
+side, could be seen something like a dump, with rock piled upon it. The
+two friends recognized the spot at the same moment and stopped their
+animals in the trail to take in the surroundings. They estimated that the
+mountains must be a spur of the Drakenberg Range, that they were within
+the basin drained by the head waters of the Vaal River, and that they
+were in the Southwestern Transvaal. The mountains of that point had a
+general course northeast and southwest, and it was clear that the mine
+was practically over the range in approaching from the direction of Port
+Natal.
+
+"It's all right," said Jordan, "'cept it seems to me like we orter uv cum
+down on ther other side of Africa, and cum in from ther West. From this
+way it would need a pack train of bald eagles ter bring in supplies,
+while ter get a mill in--Good Lord!"
+
+"I fear you are right, as usual, Tom," said Sedgwick, "but if, as I
+suspect, the mine is of no account, it will not matter much."
+
+"'Zactly," said Jordan. "Thar's no use tryin' ter put up collateral on
+which ter borrer trouble 'fore we know anythin' 'bout ther mine."
+
+So they pressed on and made their camp that night near a great spring
+that the miners had lived by while opening the mine. Next morning both
+Americans were up early, and, the breakfast disposed of, they went to the
+mine with buckets of water and hammers.
+
+They kept their natives pounding rock all day, while they washed the
+samples. They took the ore from every part of the dump. The result was
+most satisfactory. "It will assay more than $30," said Jordan. "I believe
+it will work up to $30 by mill process, for it's perfectly free gold ore
+and not too fine."
+
+The next day the inclines were all explored, and samples taken, step by
+step--taken and marked, as they proceeded. The ore body where practically
+exposed was carefully measured, and where any change was discernible it
+was noted and special samples taken. The floor of the lowest level
+reached was not only sampled, but a hole a couple of feet below the
+lowest excavation was dug, and the samples were saved.
+
+The vein was a contact between slate and granite, and was very regular in
+size, and apparently in quality. The vein was exposed for probably 600
+feet, and thence up the hill it was covered with debris. It was almost
+night when the camp was reached, and the men were very tired.
+
+Next morning the samples taken the previous day were crushed and
+carefully washed.
+
+When all was finished, Jordan said: "Jim, it's a honest mine. Ther only
+drawback is ther place. I've no idee what er road would cost, but it
+would take a power o' money, sho."
+
+It was decided to try to explore the slope of the range they were on, up
+and down, to see if a break in it could not somewhere be found. They
+tried it to the north, and soon found themselves in a mighty gorge, with
+great mountains closing them in from every direction except the one from
+which they had come. They returned to camp, and one more day was gone.
+The next morning they started early to the south, and toiled until eleven
+o'clock, to find themselves once more ambuscaded by the precipitous
+hills. Again they made their way back to camp, without comfort, except
+that they had passed through a great forest of beech and yellow wood
+sufficient for fuel and mine timbers for years.
+
+Next morning when they had finished breakfast, Sedgwick asked Jordan what
+his idea was by that time as to the best course to proceed.
+
+Jordan shook his head, and said: "I'm afeerd we must try to build ther
+road or invent a berloon."
+
+From the spring there ran a considerable stream off at right angles from
+the mine, and in exactly the opposite direction from whence they had
+come.
+
+Sedgwick said: "Tom, that stream, unless it sinks, finds its way to the
+sea after awhile. We are in for it; a day or two more will not count.
+Suppose for awhile we follow that stream and see where it leads us."
+
+"Agreed--a good idee," said Jordan. Taking with them two Boers, the
+engineer, and a pack animal with food and some blankets, they bade the
+rest keep the camp, as they might be absent two or three days. They
+started down the stream. It flowed in a general course to the west. After
+a mile or more from the camp, the banks widened out into a wooded valley,
+several hundred yards across, but when six or seven miles had been
+traveled the valley narrowed down again, and the mountains closing in,
+made what, at a little distance, seemed a solid wall in front. "Headed
+off once more, I fear," said Sedgwick.
+
+"The stream keeps up a full head. It must git through ther hills
+somewhar," said Jordan.
+
+"True enough," said Sedgwick. They followed it to the very base of the
+hill, to find that there it made a bend at right angles to the south and
+flowed through a cleft of the mountain not much wider than the stream
+itself. Into this they entered, and pursued their way for about 600
+yards, when the stream again turned through another mighty fissure to the
+west, and ran a quarter of a mile farther, when another large valley
+opened out which was some five miles across. In this valley the stream
+sank in the sands and was lost. The travelers skirted the valley, keeping
+close to the hills where the ground was hard. Reaching the other side
+they found a narrow opening through which the stream had once flowed.
+They followed a winding way for two or three miles, the chasm bearing a
+little west of south, emerging at last into an open country. A fringe of
+willows was seen low on the southern horizon. The Boers said they knew
+the stream, the course of which was marked by the willows; that it was a
+big creek, along which their people had stock farms. They marked the
+obscure opening through which they had traced their way out of the
+mountains and started for the creek and possible ranches. The Boers said
+that farmers' roads ran from these ranches out to the main road over the
+range to the east, the road which they had come up on from Port Natal.
+They pressed on another seven or eight miles, and a rude house, half
+dug-out, came in view, distant a couple of miles.
+
+They approached it, and from the people living there the Boers learned
+that it was seventeen miles out to the main road, over a good farmers'
+road all the way. They camped at the house, or near the house, all night.
+One of the residents brought in a fine young antelope, which they bought
+and cooked, and they suppered royally on antelope, hard tack and coffee.
+Next morning they returned to the mine, reaching there early in the
+afternoon. They had been out from Port Natal seventeen days, had found
+and sampled the mine, and explored a natural pass for a road.
+
+How to proceed was the next question. Sedgwick's idea was that both
+should return to the seashore, proceed to England, and order a mill from
+San Francisco, because they knew that there were no good patterns for
+quartz mill machinery on the continent; and both agreed that should the
+mill be built in England and shipped thence to South Africa, the fact
+would be published and all their plans would be interfered with.
+
+Jordan was silent for awhile; at last he said: "Jim, I ken understand
+thet ther thot uv goin' back ter London ez mighty enchantin' ter yo'. But
+thet's a game girl, thet thar young wife o' yourn; she listed fo' this
+wah ez well ez yo,' er she'd never let yo' cum away. Yo' must go by ther
+straightest track fer San Francisco and bring ther mill. I'll stay and
+hev some rock ready for crushin' when ther mill cums."
+
+"But, dear old friend," said Sedgwick, "it will take a year, perhaps, to
+get a mill here from San Francisco. To leave you here--you would die of
+the horrors with no company but these Boers."
+
+"How d' yer know but I'd make a pretty good Boer or Kaffir my own self
+with er little practice?" asked Jordan. "We'll stay over ter-morrer and
+git some work goin'; then I'll go with yer ter the coast and get some men
+and things I need. I'll cum back; you'll go ter Frisco, and everything'll
+be lovely."
+
+"No," said Sedgwick, "you go to San Francisco, and I will stay and work
+the mine. It was I who proposed this thing; of right I should meet the
+heaviest sacrifices." But Jordan was obstinate, declaring that he would
+enjoy himself at the mine, and after a long discussion his programme was
+agreed to. In the morning Jordan took the engineer and three natives
+to the top of the hill, where the mine was covered with debris; walked
+along to where the mountain, as it sloped to the west, was very abrupt,
+and there set the Boers to making an open surface cut.
+
+They went to work, and Jordan and the engineer went to measuring to see
+where, down the hill, a tunnel would have to be started to tap the lode
+500 feet deep. It was so sharp a hillside that the tunnel site would be
+only 1,260 feet horizontally from a point 500 feet below the open cut.
+Jordan engaged the engineer to remain with all the men who would stay,
+and begin that work if the indications on the hill would justify, and
+also to build a rude stone house at the spring, large enough to
+accommodate a dozen people.
+
+Then they climbed the hill again and found the croppings of the ledge
+uncovered in the cut. Being tested, these croppings were found richer
+than the ore on the dump lower down, where the vein had been opened.
+
+Next morning, with two saddle animals, one pack animal and one Boer to
+ride another horse and lead the pack horse, the two Americans started
+back for Port Natal. They followed over the route they had traced out two
+days before to the ranch, then took a road traveled by the stockmen, and
+on the second night from the mine came to a house on the main road to
+Port Natal, which was six or seven miles nearer their destination than
+the point where they had left the road and taken the trail for the mine.
+
+They hired a Boer to go up and bring back their wagons. They came next
+morning. The best rig was selected, and the two friends started for the
+seashore. In eight days they were back at Port Natal, having made the
+round trip in twenty-eight or twenty-nine days. On arriving at the
+seashore they found that no steamer was in port bound North, but there
+was a fine steamer in the roadstead that was to sail next day for
+Melbourne, Australia.
+
+Sedgwick's plan had been to go back to London, take his wife and go
+thence, via New York, to San Francisco. But no ship was awaiting him, and
+the agent of the Northern Line did not know when a ship would sail. It
+would have to come first, and might return soon, or might lie in port
+fifteen or twenty days. So, talking the matter over with Jordan, both
+concluded that the best thing was to try the voyage via Australia. Again
+Sedgwick begged Jordan to go, yet he kindly, but firmly refused, saying,
+"I must hev my way this time, Jim."
+
+Accordingly, Sedgwick engaged passage to Melbourne, then wrote his wife
+what they had found; that he had decided it was best to go by Australia
+to San Francisco; that, if prosperous, he hoped to reach that port in
+forty-eight or fifty days; that he would be detained there probably sixty
+days, and would then return to Africa via England, hoping to be with her
+in one hundred and twenty days, and to be able to remain with her for a
+month.
+
+Jordan found six English miners and engaged them to go with him, bought
+as full an outfit as possible, through a trader ordered more, including a
+portable saw-mill from England, made an arrangement with Sedgwick how to
+send and receive news, and the two tired men lay down to take their last
+night's rest together for, as they calculated, at least six or seven
+months, perhaps a full year.
+
+It was a memorable night to both, and the confidences they exchanged and
+the sacred trusts they each assumed, they never forgot.
+
+In the morning Jordan started back for the mountains and their solitudes;
+Sedgwick boarded the steamer, which later in the day started on its
+voyage, and the sea for Sedgwick was a counterpart of the solitude which
+the mountains held for Jordan, except that at Port Natal he had received
+from his Grace the greetings which her soul had given his soul through
+the mornings and evenings of the first twenty days of her married life.
+They were to be his balm through all the days of his imprisonment on
+board ship, and he felt that they would be sufficient. But it grieved
+him to think that poor, brave, sorrowing, but cheerful and clear-brained
+Jordan had no such comforters.
+
+"It is very lonely, my glorified one," she wrote; "the roar of the great
+city seems to me an echo of the voice of the ocean, of the wilderness
+that surrounds you; but I would not have it different, for I kept saying
+to myself: 'He is doing his duty, and beyond the horizon that bounds our
+eyes now, I know that higher joy awaits us which comes of a consciousness
+of a great trust bravely executed.' Be of good cheer, my love; it will be
+all right in the end, for the heavens themselves bend to be the stay of
+steadfast souls when with a holy patience they struggle for the right, as
+God gives them to see the right.
+
+"I will wait for you, and in thinking what you have undertaken, and of
+the persistence required to carry your work through, will try to catch
+your own grand spirit, try to exalt myself by imitating your patience
+and faith, and thus be more worthy of you when once more it is given me
+to clasp your dear hands, and to gaze into your true eyes, which are my
+light."
+
+As Sedgwick read, his eyes became suffused until he could not see the
+page before him because of his tears.
+
+"See," he said to himself; "a man's love is selfish; it is a woman's life
+and light, and yet my beautiful wife loses sight of herself, and all her
+words are but an inspiration for me to go on and conquer if I can. Thank
+God for the treasure that has been given me! And may God comfort her and
+comfort brave and true Jordan!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+THE OCCIDENT AND THE ORIENT MEET.
+
+
+The ship was twenty-four days in reaching Melbourne. It caught a gale
+crossing the stormy Bight, and for two days no progress was made. It was
+all that the men in charge could do to hold the plunging craft up into
+the face of the storm and meet the big seas as they rolled, furious, up
+against her stem. But the winds were laid at last, the ship was put upon
+her course and her natural speed resumed. On the afternoon of the
+twenty-fourth day the ship passed between the heads of Port Philip, and
+two hours later came to anchor before Sandridge, three miles below
+Melbourne. Going ashore, Sedgwick cabled to his wife his arrival on his
+way to San Francisco, "as first letters from Port Natal would explain,"
+and added: "Hope to be with you in one hundred days. Write, care
+Occidental Hotel, San Francisco." Then he took the night train for
+Sidney, and arrived there the next night about nine o'clock.
+
+Going to a hotel, he found that the first steamer for San Francisco would
+sail on the next day but one.
+
+He then sought his first sleep in a comfortable house, with modern
+improvements, that he had found since he left London.
+
+Next morning he went early and secured transportation on the steamer,
+then returned and wrote a long letter to his girl-bride; then engaging a
+rig took in as much of Sidney as he could. Next morning he cabled his
+wife that he was just going to sea again, and boarded the steamer early.
+The ship sailed promptly at midday, and as it passed out of the
+beautiful harbor the islands and shores beyond were just putting on the
+vestments of spring. Sedgwick had never before seen spring approaching in
+October; never before had he heard the love-calls of mating birds at that
+season, and apparently had never before realized so keenly that he was on
+the other side of the world from those whom he loved and knew. After
+dinner he went on deck. He knew no one on board, and he was nearer being
+homesick than he had ever been before. It was a balmy night. The sea was
+tumbling a little from the effects of a far-off storm, but the ship was
+riding the waves superbly and making rapid progress, and the stars were
+all out and sweeping grandly on in their never-ending, stately
+processions.
+
+In the midst of his thoughts, when he was fast giving way to a mighty
+fit of the blues, he happened to glance upward. _Corona Australis_
+was blazing with unwonted brilliancy, and, it seemed to him, the
+constellation was making signs to him from its signal station in the
+heavens. Instantly he thought of the night that he and Jordan had
+particularly noticed it, and of what the great-hearted man had said. Then
+he thought of his friend; how unselfishly he had turned his face away
+from the ship that would have carried him to a pleasanter country, and
+had voluntarily gone back into that profound wilderness to work out
+a trust which would require months of time; and he said to himself: "What
+a selfish creature I am to repine, when I have been so blessed; when in
+England an angel is waiting for me; when in the depths of Africa a brave
+soul by his every act is teaching me lessons of self-abnegation."
+
+A moment later another thought came to him which was a delight, and that
+was that with every revolution of the screw he was drawing nearer to his
+Grace. When an hour later he retired to his state-room he hummed a song as
+he went, and the throbbing of the machinery and the wash of the seas
+against the ship's beam made his lullaby, as the long roll of the steamer
+rocked him to sleep.
+
+As before stated, Sedgwick had written his wife fully at Port Natal. Two
+days after he left, the steamer from the North came in. It remained five
+days, and then started North again. Its mails were eighteen days in
+reaching London.
+
+Grace was looking for a letter from Port Natal, when Sedgwick's cable
+from Melbourne reached her. She could not quite comprehend the matter
+until, a day later, his letter came, and the next day his second cable,
+announcing that he was just about to sail for San Francisco. That day she
+did what she had not done since she left school--got a map of the world
+and studied it until she put her finger on a spot between Sidney and New
+Zealand, and said: "He is there now," and bent and kissed the place on
+the map.
+
+That evening she went over from her home to call upon Jack and Rose.
+There she found a gentleman who, with his wife and daughter, were going
+to sail two days later for Australia, via New York and San Francisco.
+Their names were Hobart. Grace had known them ever since her father had
+moved to London. They were talking of their proposed journey, when the
+young lady said gaily: "Mrs. Sedgwick, come along with us as far as New
+York, or San Francisco at least." At this the father and mother together
+seconded the invitation.
+
+"Do you really mean it?" said Grace.
+
+"Indeed we do," said all three.
+
+"And when do you sail?" asked Grace.
+
+"Early, day after to-morrow. That is, we leave here early and sail at
+noon," said Mr. Hobart. "We have two full staterooms engaged. You can
+room with Lottie"--the young lady's name--"and be companion for us all."
+
+"I will be ready day after to-morrow morning," said Grace, seriously.
+
+"Not in earnest?" said Rose.
+
+"In sober earnest," said Grace.
+
+"To New York?" said Browning.
+
+"To New York, and may be farther," was the reply.
+
+"As far as Ohio, I guess," said Jack.
+
+"May be as far as Ohio," said Grace, and she smiled as she spoke.
+
+The Hobarts were delighted, but Jack and Rose looked serious.
+
+"It is a long way, Gracie," said Jack.
+
+"A fearfully long way," said Rose.
+
+"Suppose, Rose, that Jack was as far away, would you think it a long way
+to go to see him?" asked Grace.
+
+"O, Gracie! No, no," said Rose.
+
+"When did you hear last from your husband?" asked Hobart.
+
+"This afternoon," said Grace.
+
+"And how long, Grace, before he will be in England?" asked Jack.
+
+It was the first time any question had been asked of her more than the
+question if she had heard, and if he was well.
+
+"About one hundred days, I think," said Grace; "that is," she added, "if
+I go and find him and bring him home."
+
+Next day Grace made all her arrangements and was ready to leave early on
+the following morning. Parting with her mother was her great sorrow, but
+the mother approved of her going, and the good-byes were not so sad as
+though they did not expect to be soon again reunited.
+
+They made the voyage to New York in nine days. Remaining one day in that
+city, they started West; stopped one day in Chicago, and reached San
+Francisco seventeen days from Liverpool.
+
+Hobart had been in San Francisco before, and wanted to stop at the Lick
+House, but Grace insisted that her friends liked the Occidental best; so
+they went to the Occidental.
+
+Four days after reaching San Francisco, the Hobarts sailed for Australia.
+They urged Grace to accompany them, but she declined, saying, with a
+smile, that she believed for the present she preferred the solid earth to
+the unstable sea. She saw her friends aboard the steamer; then returning
+to the hotel, sent for the manager, Major H.; explained that she expected
+her husband by the first steamer from Australia; that he did not expect
+to find her; so she wished to surprise him, and desired the finest
+apartments in the hotel, including a private dining-room; and requested
+that when it was known that the ship was coming up the harbor, the rooms
+should be elaborately dressed with flowers. She also stipulated that her
+husband, on his coming, should be conducted to his apartments without any
+knowledge that any one was waiting for him.
+
+Major H., captivated by the little English lady, entered into the full
+spirit of the programme and promised that he would personally attend to
+the matter.
+
+Grace was transferred to the new rooms, and thereafter had her meals
+served in her own dining-room.
+
+Three days later, about one p.m., a message came that the Australian
+steamer had at noon been sighted outside the Heads, and was then entering
+the Golden Gate.
+
+The flowers were forthcoming; the apartments were swiftly decorated; then
+Grace, with the utmost painstaking, robed herself in her richest costume
+and seated herself in the private dining-room, with the sliding doors
+slightly ajar so that she could look through into the parlor of the suite
+without being seen.
+
+The suspense was fearful to her for half an hour. Would he really come?
+Separating in London, and he traveling east, would she by coming west
+find him? Would he be well? Had he really escaped the African fever and
+all the dangers that lurked in the weary stretches of treacherous
+billows?
+
+Those were a few of the questions she was asking herself, when, in the
+hall, a well-known voice rang out which made her heart bound. It was
+saying: "There must be an oversight somewhere. I surely ought to have had
+some letters awaiting me."
+
+The door opened, and the hearty voice of Major H. was heard by the
+listener. "These are your apartments, Mr. Sedgwick," he said, "and
+I trust you will find them pleasant."
+
+Then the other occupant said: "But I do not care for any such rich rooms
+as these; any little corner will suffice for me."
+
+"Oh no," said the Major. "Try these quarters for a day or two, and if by
+that time you wish to exchange them for others, we will see to it. We try
+to please our Australian friends, for we hope for more and more of them
+throughout all the years to come."
+
+With that he closed the door.
+
+"Australia!" Grace heard her husband say. "I'm no Australian; I'm a
+full-blooded African, a regular Boer or Kaffir, and no mistake. But,
+bless my soul, this is a fairy spot! A way-up place, surely! From
+the depths of Africa and the society of Boers and Kaffirs to an enchanted
+palace! This must be the bridal chamber of the establishment. I believe
+they have made a mistake and think me the King of the Pearl and Opal
+Islands. I wish dear old Jordan could see this. I wish, O God, I wish my
+Grace, my queen, could see this, that I might first crown her with
+flowers, and then fall down and worship her!"
+
+She could bear the tension no longer. Pushing the doors back quickly, she
+stood pale, but radiant, for an instant, before the astonished man; then
+stretching out her divine arms, said, "O, my darling!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+SHIPPING A QUARTZ MILL.
+
+
+That evening Major H. met Sedgwick in the office, and, with a twinkle of
+the eye, asked him if he was really anxious to take cheaper apartments.
+
+The young man smiled and said he rather thought, as he would probably
+only remain two or three months, it would not be worthwhile to change.
+
+Next morning Sedgwick ordered a forty-stamp gold quartz mill complete,
+with two rock-breakers, the batteries to be of five-stamp each and low
+mortars, with a single pan for cleaning up--a free gold quartz mill.
+Instead of one heavy engine, he ordered two, each of forty-horse power
+to work on the same shaft, to be supplied by six thirty-horse-power
+boilers to be set in two batteries. He ordered also one six-inch and one
+four-inch steam pump, with the necessary boilers, and besides, a donkey
+hoisting engine, good for an eight-hundred hoist. The order included
+all the needed attachments, belting, retorts, duplicates of all parts
+subject to breakage or wear, a forge, and shoes and dies enough to last
+two years.
+
+He stipulated, too, that the wood-work of the battery should be gotten
+out, exactly framed and marked, and that all the pulleys, bolts, etc.,
+should be included.
+
+In two days the specifications were gotten ready, and the contract
+signed, which included a clause that the whole should be ready in sixty
+days, or less, from that date.
+
+Then Sedgwick wrote fully to Jordan, giving him the account of what he
+had done, and sending him a draft of the ground plan of the mill, and
+full details as to the grading, hoping he would receive the letter and
+have the rocks hauled, the battery blocks gotten out, and the grading
+done.
+
+This work under way, the exultant man devoted all his time to Grace,
+except that every day, when in the city, he would make a run two or three
+times to the foundry to mark the progress of the work.
+
+Meanwhile, the happy pair visited every point of interest in and about
+San Francisco. They frequented the theatres, drove to the Park and the
+Cliff House, and both declared that San Francisco was the most delightful
+spot on earth.
+
+They were all the world to each other. In the happiness that filled their
+hearts their eyes were softened, so that everything they looked at took
+on roseate hues--the world had become a throne to them, over which had
+been drawn a cover of cloth of gold.
+
+Once they made a journey to Virginia City, and descended the Gould and
+Curry shaft, and Sedgwick showed his bride where he and Jack first
+discussed the probability of trying to make a little raise in stocks.
+They went and looked at the lodging-house on the Divide where Jack and
+Sedgwick roomed so long; visited the mills, saw crude bullion cast into
+bars, and watched the procession of a miner's funeral, and in their
+rambles Sedgwick stopped many a miner whom he had known, and presented
+his bride.
+
+Returning, they got off at Sacramento and waited over one day. There
+Sedgwick ordered four seven-ton wagons, with four trail wagons of five
+tons each, and four more of three tons each, and twelve sets of team
+harness, a dozen of yokes and no end of chains; also a strong, covered
+spring wagon with harness to match.
+
+After forty days, Sedgwick was informed that everything would be ready in
+ten days. His idea had been to charter a brig or bark, and send the
+machinery to Port Natal by a sailing craft; but in crossing the bay in
+visits to Oakland, Saucelito and San Rafael, he had noticed anchored, out
+in the stream, a small iron bark-rigged steamer which carried the British
+flag, and had read thereon the name "Pallas." One day he asked some men
+on the wharf what ship it was and why it lay so long in the harbor.
+
+The answer was that it was an English tramp steamer that some months
+previously came in loaded with wines and brandies from Bordeaux.
+
+The men also gave the information that, though a tramp steamer, it was
+thought to be a very strong craft, fully bulk-headed, with first-class
+machinery, and was commanded by the owner, a Scotchman named McGregor,
+who, when not on his ship, stopped at the Occidental Hotel.
+
+Sedgwick had already made his acquaintance at the hotel, so when he met
+him that evening he asked him how long he expected to remain in the city.
+McGregor replied that he was waiting to secure a cargo for his ship.
+
+Then Sedgwick drew him out and learned that his steamer was of six
+hundred tons, built with all care for a gentleman's yacht; that after
+awhile the owner tired of his plaything and sold it to him at a mighty
+discount on its first cost; and that he was seeing the world in it, and
+trying at the same time to make the craft pay its own expenses. He said
+also he had a picked crew and private surgeon, and added: "When I secure
+a cargo, if you and the madam will become my guests, I will adopt you
+both as long as you please to follow the seas."
+
+Sedgwick declined with thanks, but said: "You want to see the world; how
+would you like to make a run to the coast of Africa?"
+
+"I would not object," he replied. "I have had the 'Pallas' overhauled
+since we came into port. She is in first-class trim, good for a year if
+no unusual misfortune overtakes her. I would as soon go to Africa as any
+other place."
+
+The result was the "Pallas" was chartered to carry out the machinery,
+some mill-wrights, a couple of engineers, a couple of mill workers, an
+assayer, and any miscellaneous freight that Sedgwick might desire to
+send.
+
+The ship was hauled into the wharf next day, and the loading of what was
+ready was begun. Sedgwick got on board his wagons and trappings from
+Sacramento. He ordered also a great quantity of drill steel, picks and
+shovels, quicksilver, some giant powder and caps, some blankets,
+mattresses, canned fruits, pickles, boots and brogans, and a whole world
+of other supplies such as miners use.
+
+In fifteen days the ship was loaded, and the craft put to sea, as was
+understood and published, with a mixed cargo for Australia.
+
+Sedgwick had insured the cargo; had paid the owner in advance the
+freight, and McGregor estimated that, if prosperous, he could, running
+slow to save coal, and stopping a week or ten days in Australia for coal
+and fresh supplies, make Port Natal in eighty days.
+
+In the meantime Sedgwick and his wife had made the acquaintance of an
+English gentleman and his wife, named Forbes, who a few days previous had
+started for England, but who had promised to visit some English friends
+in Indianapolis, Indiana, until Sedgwick and Grace should overtake them,
+that they might sail on the same ship from New York.
+
+The day after the "Pallas" sailed, Sedgwick and his bride took the
+overland train for the East.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+A LOST TRAIL DISCOVERED.
+
+
+They reached Indianapolis in due time; stopped at a hotel, and Sedgwick
+had no difficulty in finding the Forbeses. He was presented to their
+friends, the Brunswicks, and Mrs. Brunswick insisted that Sedgwick should
+go straight to the hotel and bring his wife to her house.
+
+He thanked the old lady warmly, but begged to be excused, saying they
+could visit without that.
+
+"Very well," said the old lady, "but I will certainly have my way in
+another thing. You must go right off and tell your wife that an old
+English woman up the street says she must waive ceremony and come right
+here for dinner."
+
+This was agreed to, and Sedgwick proceeded to do the errand.
+
+The Sedgwicks were shown into the drawing-room of the Brunswicks, and had
+been for a few minutes conversing when the door opened and a lady
+entered.
+
+A glance was enough to show that she was exceedingly beautiful. She was
+perhaps twenty-six or twenty-seven years of age, not too tall, rounded
+into full maturity, with a most strong but winsome face. Her eyes were
+blue, her hair a golden brown and glossy, and when she spoke, her teeth
+were revealed, perfect and white.
+
+She was presented to the strangers as Mrs. Hazleton.
+
+Dinner was shortly after announced, and after dinner, when the gentlemen
+had returned to the drawing-room, Mrs. Brunswick asked Mrs. Hazleton to
+sing. She did not say "Mrs. Hazleton," but just "Margaret."
+
+Without making any excuses she went to the piano and asked Mrs. Brunswick
+if she desired any particular piece. She answered:
+
+"No, my dear, sing anything you feel like singing; only have it
+old-fashioned and sweet, rather than scientific."
+
+Strangely enough, she struck a few wailing chords on the instrument, and
+then with a pathos and tenderness most touching, sang the old song
+beginning:
+
+  "Could you come back to me, Douglas."
+
+The effect was great on all the company, but to Sedgwick and his bride it
+was intensely thrilling.
+
+The eyes of Grace filled with tears, and Sedgwick, who was near,
+unobserved by the rest, took and pressed her hand.
+
+The company separated early, with an agreement for the ensuing day, which
+was to fill it with rides, luncheon, a matinee for the ladies, and dinner
+afterward.
+
+So soon as Sedgwick and his bride were by themselves, Grace said: "Love,
+did you ever hear anything half as sweet as that singing?"
+
+"Yes," said Sedgwick, "I heard that same song once, more sacredly sung."
+
+"O James!" Grace replied, and a celestial glow warmed her face.
+
+"But that lady has a secret grief, certain," said Grace. "There was real
+sorrow in her tones, and there is a sorrow in her face, despite its
+superb serenity."
+
+"Well, she is a widow," said Sedgwick.
+
+"Yes, I know," was the answer; "but there is more than sorrow; she gives
+me the idea that her thought is that something priceless has been lost
+which she might have saved."
+
+"Now I think, little one, that 'you have struck it,' as the miners say,"
+said Sedgwick.
+
+"How do you mean?" asked Grace.
+
+"Some one who would have made her his wife and worshiped her has gone,
+and she is miserable," said Sedgwick.
+
+"What makes you say that, dearest?" asked Grace.
+
+"Because," replied Sedgwick, "I know it, and I know where he has gone,
+and she does not."
+
+"Why, what do you know of her? Did you ever meet her before?" asked
+Grace.
+
+"No, I have never met her, but I have met some one who has," said
+Sedgwick.
+
+"O, tell me all about it!" said Grace.
+
+"Why, child," Sedgwick said, "that is the lady who went to Texas and
+taught school one season, who set the honest heart of Tom Jordan on fire,
+and burned it half to ashes, made him sell his home because he was so
+wretched, and finally, with my help, or through my fault, set him to
+running a tunnel to a mine in Southern Africa, among the Boers and
+Kaffirs."
+
+"Do you believe that can be true?" asked Grace.
+
+"I know it," said the confident man. "The description an the singing
+tally, and the name is the same. Tom says her singing would make a lark,
+out of envy, 'fall outer a tree'."
+
+"Upon my soul!" said Grace, and then lapsed into silence.
+
+"What are you thinking of, sweet?" asked Sedgwick, after a pause.
+
+"I was thinking what accidents our lives hang upon," she said. "O, love,
+suppose you had not fancied me at all, what would have become of me?"
+
+"And suppose you had, when I did fancy you and you knew my heart was in
+the dust at your feet, that the touch of the hem of your robe upon me
+thrilled me like old wine; suppose then I had pleaded for your love, and
+though you felt it was mine and intended to give it to me, still had
+refused me; might you not be singing, Could you come back to me, Douglas,
+in tones to break any one's heart who might hear you?"
+
+Grace thought a moment, and then said: "There's more than all that
+to this, love; you men do not know much when it comes to the hearts
+of women. She had some other and good reason when she refused the
+true-souled man."
+
+"I believe now that you are right, my little sorceress," said Sedgwick,
+"and I believe that the reason has since been removed, and her great
+grief now is in thinking of Jordan's sorrow and than she cannot find
+him."
+
+"I will tell you what," said Grace; "I will get as near her to-morrow as
+I can, and will try to coax her, hire her--if needs be--to accompany us
+to England."
+
+"A capital thought, my wise little wife!" said Sedgwick. "Then when you
+gain her confidence, if you think it best, we will try and help her find
+the great-hearted man."
+
+"I believe you are an angel," said Grace.
+
+"I know you are," said Sedgwick, and involuntarily they kissed each
+other.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+BACK TO ENGLAND.
+
+
+Before the Sedgwicks left Indianapolis, Grace found her opportunity and
+said: "Mrs. Hazleton, soon after we reach England my husband will go away
+for four or five months. I shall be awfully lonesome. You have never been
+across the sea. Take pity upon me and be my guest for a few months until
+you weary of me."
+
+The lady was startled by the proposition, waited a moment, and then said:
+
+"I do not know how to thank you, but I came here to teach music. I have
+several pupils, and have a contract to sing in the choir of one of the
+churches. I need the little revenue that I receive, but if I could get
+released from my obligations I would most gladly go, for I do covet a
+change exceedingly."
+
+"Then," said Grace, "if I can get that release, and will pay you as much
+as you receive here, and all your expenses out and back, will you go?"
+
+"Indeed, I will," she answered, "and will be grateful to you all my
+life."
+
+The arrangement was easily made, and the further arrangement that
+Sedgwick and his bride should go to Ohio, visit Sedgwick's family for
+three or four days; then should join the Forbeses and Mrs. Hazleton at a
+certain hotel in New York, and all would embark on the steamer that would
+sail on the next week Saturday--ten days from that day.
+
+Then Sedgwick and Grace started for the Miami Valley.
+
+What a welcome was there! The old house had been repaired, modernized,
+refurnished and repainted. A new house had been built on the other farm.
+It was in the first days of February. That year there was good sleighing,
+and the whole town seemed to turn out to celebrate the occasion of Jim
+Sedgwick's bringing home his bride. Four days passed in a whirl of
+pleasure. The first morning after their arrival, Sedgwick asked his
+brother for his trotting team, his new cutter, and the bells, to give
+Grace her first sleigh-ride. The steppers were of the 2:30 class, the
+roads good, and the fair English girl-wife was in ecstacies. They drove
+past the Jasper farm on the hill, and Sedgwick told Grace that it was his
+dream for years to accumulate $30,000 to release the mortgage from his
+father's farm and to buy the Jasper farm.
+
+"Then what would I have done?" asked Grace.
+
+"Married some English banker, or may be some 'My Lord Fitzdoodle,'
+probably," said Sedgwick.
+
+"But, then, suppose a year later I had seen you, what would become of
+me?" she said.
+
+"We should have been very formal and polite, and then have gone our
+several ways," said Sedgwick.
+
+"Yes, because you are a man of principle, and I hope my pride of
+womanhood would have sustained me, but my heart would have broken, for
+with me it was a mad passion which absorbed my life before I had been in
+your presence half an hour," said Grace; and then added: "I do not any
+more wonder at the crimes which come of mismated marriages."
+
+Then Sedgwick told her how, when he left her side the first time, he took
+that ride and asked cabbie how much they would charge at Newgate to hang
+him.
+
+And they both laughed, but there were tears in the eyes of Grace even
+while she smiled. But she rallied in a moment and said:
+
+"Why not buy the place still? Except to leave my mother, I would be on
+that farm with you as happy a wife as ever lived. I would rather live
+upon that hill than in our great modern Babel, London."
+
+Just then the cutter went in and out of a "Thank-ee-mom"--a hollow
+between two snowdrifts--and Sedgwick bent and kissed his wife.
+
+"Thanks," said Grace.
+
+"That was a kiss on principle. That was a pure duty," said Sedgwick.
+Then he explained how venerable was the custom, and elaborated upon the
+respect due it because of its age and its usefulness to bashful lovers,
+because a youth must kiss the girl who goes sleighing with him whenever
+he comes to a "Thank-ee-mom" among the drifts.
+
+"What a poor old country England is," said Grace.
+
+"Why so?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+"Why, had we but had snowdrifts and 'Thank-ee-moms,' I would have made
+you kiss me three weeks sooner than you did," said Grace.
+
+"Did you want me to kiss you sooner than I did?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+"O, you blind darling!" said Grace. "When I read of your exploit before
+the church in Devonshire, I told Jack and Rose that I would like to kiss
+that man. Then he told me who the man was, and after all I had to wait so
+long I began to fear he would never give me a chance to carry out my
+desire."
+
+"Is that true, Gracie?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+"Indeed it is," she replied, and then she quickly continued, "Does it
+drift badly along here?"
+
+"Pretty badly," answered Sedgwick.
+
+"Then, love," answered Grace, "buy the farm by all means and at all
+hazards."
+
+"I believe I will," said Sedgwick. "I believe we need it in our business.
+If when we get back to England it shall be known that we have bought a
+home in America, and are having a house built, it will take all
+suspicions about a possible African enterprise away."
+
+And that day he bought the farm, and the next one to it, and told his
+brother he would send from England plans for a house to be built in the
+spring.
+
+Next day came the parting from the old home. Sedgwick promised to return
+before many months and stay longer, and he and his wife started for New
+York.
+
+They rested over one train at Niagara, and took in its splendor as seen
+in winter-time, and arrived in New York on Wednesday. Forbes had
+purchased the tickets, and secured the rooms on the ship for the whole
+party. Thursday and Friday were devoted to taking in as much as possible
+of the great city. On Saturday they sailed.
+
+The voyage was generally uneventful, except that one day they were
+treated to a beautiful spectacle of rescuing a crew from a water-logged
+craft. The wind was fresh, and there was an uneasy sea on, when a signal
+of distress was noted off across the water. The steamer was headed for
+it, and in half an hour came up to it. It was a little old lumber
+schooner. The sea was washing its deck with every wave. In the meantime,
+the second officer, with six seamen, had taken their places in a boat.
+The boat had been swung out over the water. The sailors were standing by,
+holding the tackle by which a boat is lowered; the commander was on the
+bridge, and when in hailing distance of the craft he dropped his hand and
+the engines stopped. He shouted through his trumpet, asking what was
+wanted. "To come aboard," a voice came back. The commander dropped his
+hand again, and down ran the boat and pulled away for the wreck. It would
+mount a wave, and then sink out of sight of those on the ship's high
+deck; then climb again. It returned in twenty minutes, and it was the
+commander of the great ship that took the hand of the schooner's rough
+skipper as the boat was hoisted, and for the remainder of the voyage the
+shipwrecked skipper had a state-room by himself, and his seat at the
+table was at the commander's right hand.
+
+They reached Liverpool on the tenth day--Monday--and went up to London
+the same afternoon.
+
+Reaching the city, Sedgwick sent a message to Mrs. Hamlin to meet them at
+the house of Jack and Rose, for he would not go to the Hamlin house.
+
+Sedgwick, with his wife and Mrs. Hazleton, went at once to the home of
+the Brownings.
+
+Rose was wild with delight at their coming. She hugged Grace, kissed her
+and cried over her; kissed Sedgwick, and welcomed Mrs. Hazleton so
+cordially that the lady was sure it was sincere.
+
+Then Mrs. Hamlin came, and the whole business had to be done over again,
+the elder lady reproaching Grace and her husband for not coming to her,
+and scolding even as she embraced them.
+
+Then matters quieted down enough to talk. Rose explained that she was a
+deserted wife; that Jack six weeks before had come home one night and
+told her that he was going to sail for South America next day; that she
+could not go along, but must be good and not be lonesome for six or eight
+weeks.
+
+Then she continued: "That is the kind of monsters these men are. They beg
+and tease and protest until we women take pity on them and marry them,
+and then when the woman's chances for getting a good man are all spoiled,
+they rush off on the slightest provocation to America, or India, or
+Australia, or China, or some other barbarous place, and all a woman can
+do is to mope and threaten that next time she will know better."
+
+And then she laughed, and then as suddenly cried and said: "Poor dear old
+Jack! May the seas be merciful, and may the good ship bring him safely
+back and be quick about it!"
+
+And sure enough, a week later a step was heard outside, someone with a
+night key opened the door, and Rose flew into Jack's arms and cried so
+hysterically that it took Jack a long time to calm her.
+
+Browning explained to Sedgwick that he had been earning a commission by
+going out and reporting on a mine in Venezuela, just over the border from
+British Guiana. He brought to Rose a world of tropical and marine
+curiosities. He was in superb health and seemed to be in good spirits.
+
+It was understood that Sedgwick would have to go away again in a month,
+and it was his wish and that of Grace to find a house and have an
+establishment of their own.
+
+Jack and Rose insisted that during Sedgwick's absence Grace and Mrs.
+Hazleton should be their guests, but Sedgwick said with a laugh: "O Mrs.
+Browning, you and Jack are good, but you both know that no house is big
+enough for two families." And quietly Jack and Rose and Mrs. Hamlin were
+enjoined never in Mrs. Hazleton's presence to mention Jordan's name.
+
+However, the difficulty was finally settled. The house Jack lived in was
+a double house. The other half was occupied by a gentleman, his wife and
+one child. The lady was delicate, and the doctors, baffled by her case,
+ordered her--as usual--to try a change of climate. So Sedgwick hired the
+house as Browning had his; the servants remained, and permission was
+obtained to cut a doorway in the partition walls that divided the two
+halls, so that Rose could visit Grace in the morning and Grace could
+visit Rose in the evening.
+
+Sedgwick and Browning were almost inseparable during the day-time.
+Sedgwick assured Browning that things were working well, begging him not
+to disturb either old man Hamlin, or Jenvie, or Stetson, but to "rig some
+purchase" after he should be gone, to get the remaining shares in 'The
+Wedge of Gold' from them, and also to be sure to keep the former owner of
+that mine in the country, even if he had to raise his salary.
+
+He told him also that he expected next time to be absent four or five
+months.
+
+One morning about thirty-five days after his arrival in London he
+received a cable from McGregor announcing the arrival of the "Pallas" at
+Melbourne and saying he would sail again in four days. Then Sedgwick made
+his final preparations for departure. He sent full plans for a house to
+his brother, with directions where to build. He obtained a promise from
+Mrs. Hazleton that she would not desert Grace during his absence, and
+from Jack that he would not try any prosecutions to obtain his money
+from the old men until his return, explaining that he had made his
+arrangements in America, and was then going to see that African mine and
+work it if it would do.
+
+His wife knew where he was going; the others except Jack, believed he
+meant to return to the United States. He told them he had a little
+business in Paris and would this time take a French steamer.
+
+Grace worried more over the second parting than she had over the first.
+She cried a good deal and was much distressed. But it was over at last,
+and Sedgwick was gone. He did stop over a few hours in Paris, made an
+arrangement which he desired to with the Bank of France, then speeded on
+to Marseilles, caught the Imperial steamer, sailed over the same route as
+before to Port Said, and there embarked on exactly the same steamer that
+he and Jordan sailed for Port Natal in seven months before.
+
+He was twenty days from London to Port Natal. Jordan was at D'Umber
+waiting his coming, and the joy of the meeting was immeasurable. When
+they became calm, Jordan said: "It war a good while, old friend, but I
+knowed as how y'd cum."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+DEALING IN MINING SHARES.
+
+
+The presence of Sedgwick in London greatly excited and alarmed Jenvie,
+Hamlin and Stetson. That mysterious American had returned, and all
+confidently expected each day to be served with a notice of with a suit
+or a warrant of arrest. But finally it leaked out that he had bought a
+home in Ohio and ordered a house built, sending the plans from London,
+and as day after day passed and no sign was given, they gained courage,
+and when Sedgwick once more left England, as they supposed for America,
+they grew jubilant again. The firm was now Jenvie, Hamlin & Stetson.
+Their business was prospering, and they all realized that the way to make
+money was to have money to use, and the prestige which the command of
+large means gives.
+
+About a week after Sedgwick's departure they were seated in their private
+office one morning congratulating themselves, when the former owner of
+'The Wedge of Gold' was announced.
+
+"We cannot afford to snub the origin of our fortune," said Jenvie; "show
+him in." This man's name was Emanuel. He was a Portugese. On this morning
+he presented a seedy and dissipated appearance, as though he had been
+enjoying his fortune too rapidly.
+
+Once ushered in, he did not waste any time, but explained that he had
+very little money left, and had called to see, in case the gentlemen did
+not intend to develop 'The Wedge of Gold,' on what terms they would
+transfer back to him the mine, or any interest they might possess, and
+give him a chance to go over to Hamburg and try to work the capitalists
+of that city to buy a mine down among their second cousins in Boerland.
+
+"How much could you afford to give for the property?" asked Hamlin.
+
+"I sell him for £2,000. I would, for one speculation, buy him back if you
+could sell, and would give £1,000."
+
+"But you always said it was a good mine," said Jenvie.
+
+"Of course," he answered, "an excellent mine, but on ze best of ze mines
+there vos always one selling and then one buying price."
+
+"If we were to sell to you, would you work the property?" asked Jenvie.
+
+"Most certainly," he replied; "I would work it as I did before--on ze
+paper."
+
+"We have sold the control," said Hamlin, "and have only left some shares
+of stock."
+
+"I understand," said the man; "Mr. Browning has the control and is
+unloading the stock cheap. He three days ago tendered me some stock for
+one shilling per share. I said, 'No, but give me one bond at three
+pennies per share for four months, and I will consider ze matter, and try
+to help you close out some unproductive property.' He would not comply,
+but he thought it over very much, and asked me to call again. One broker,
+Mr. Williams, offered to sell me plenty for four pennies, but would not
+make one bond."
+
+"We do not care to bond ours," said Jenvie, "but would sell for four
+pennies."
+
+"I will not give it," said Emanuel, rising to go. "I would give you three
+pennies, but no more," and he started for the door.
+
+The three consulted in private for a moment, and then Jenvie called to
+Emanuel, who was half out of the door, that he might have the stock at
+three pennies for cash, but begged him not to mention that he had
+purchased it. Emanuel paid the money and took the stock, and then said:
+"You ask me not to mention this business. Are you crazy? Suppose Mr.
+Browning by and by bonds me ten thousand shares less than half he has
+got, with this in my pocket who will then have ze control? I want you to
+promise to say nothing about this sale for six months. In the meantime
+I propose to become just so intimate with Mr. Browning as possible."
+
+Then he winked and walked out, and the conspirators looked in each
+other's faces and smiled.
+
+Emanuel went directly to Browning and delivered him the stock, but he
+lied about the price he had paid for it, telling Browning he had given
+five pennies per share for it. But while Browning was sure the man had
+lied, he was satisfied, for he then had all of the stock of "The Wedge of
+Gold."
+
+Browning had, as he told Sedgwick, gone to South America on a commission.
+It was known in London that he was a miner who had made a success in
+America. An Englishman who had a bond on a mine in Venezuela had hired
+him to go over and make a report on it. He fulfilled the trust, but he
+heard while there of another mine in a district ten miles away. He went
+to see it and bought it for £2,000, hired a foreman and ten men; laid out
+the work for them for six months ahead, and left £1,000 in a local bank
+to pay them, with instructions to the foreman to send him a report and
+sample by every steamer.
+
+The first mine was sold on his report, and besides his commission of
+£300, the happy man who had sold the mine called at his house one day
+when Browning was out, and left an envelope directed to him. The envelope
+contained a check for £3,000, and a note saying that the writer thought
+he was entitled to one-tenth of the proceeds of the sale, and that
+Browning must accept the money, for the writer intended that day to
+leave England. Browning turned the money over to Rose as her fee "as
+an expert."
+
+A month later a steamer from Georgetown (British Guiana) brought news
+that the Browning mine was developing superbly, and still a month later
+the foreman estimated that he had five thousand tons of ore in sight
+which would average as well as the samples sent. Browning had the samples
+assayed, and they averaged £5 6s. in gold per ton.
+
+He had a friend named Campbell, who was a broker: Campbell dropped in
+upon him as he was looking over the assays, and he told him all about the
+mine.
+
+"What will you give me to sell that property for you, Browning?" asked
+Campbell.
+
+"Not a penny," said Browning, "but I will give you a bond on it for four
+months for an even £100,000, and you may make as much above that as your
+conscience will allow; you may, by Jove."
+
+"Will you make me a report and map?" asked Campbell.
+
+"I will write you a report, and make you a rough sketch," said Browning,
+"but my drawing lessons were neglected when I was young, and I am not a
+very reliable or finished map-maker."
+
+The conversation closed with an agreement, and the bond and report were
+in due time finished.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+A WEDGE OF GOLD INDEED.
+
+
+Sedgwick and Jordan waited at Port Natal for the coming of the "Pallas."
+Sedgwick explained what the ship would bring, and told Jordan about Grace
+being in San Francisco to receive him, and how while the mill was being
+built, he and his wife had raced around the country.
+
+Jordan was delighted. "I told yo' she war a game girl," he said. "Think
+of her traveling six thousand mile to jine ther man who hed run away from
+her at ther meetin' house do'! But I'm mighty glad she did, all the same.
+It confirms my estermation of ther lady."
+
+Then he explained that he put on eight-hour shifts to run the tunnel, two
+English miners on each shift to handle the drills and gads, and Boers and
+Kaffirs to carry back the debris; that the rock was most favorable, and
+rapid progress was made, averaging a little over ten feet per day; that
+he offered bribes and bounties to the shift that should make most
+progress; and that he had tapped the ledge and cross-cut it in four
+months, "because," he added naively, "we lost all reckonin' o' time, 'nd
+I'm afeerd we worked of er Sunday sometimes;" that the ore was quite up
+to the average, or a little better than what was on the dump; that so
+soon as the vein was struck he had started drifts up and down the ledge
+and an upraise, and had, when he left, probably 1,000 tons of ore on the
+dump, and that as the mine was further opened the daily output was
+steadily increasing. He had, moreover, got the mill site graded, and the
+wall that the battery was to be set in front of, built, comfortable
+quarters put up, and the road through the cañon made so that it would be
+good for heavy teams.
+
+When he heard that Sedgwick had sent some heavy wagons, yokes, harness
+and chains he was glad, saying: "I war afeerd you'd forget it," and at
+once went about to select the stock and drivers for those wagons.
+
+After they had waited eight days, the "Pallas" made the port.
+
+Captain McGregor reported a prosperous voyage, and the next day the
+discharging of cargo into lighters began and was rushed with all speed.
+As soon as the wagons were landed, the work of setting them up began, and
+the training of the teams was likewise inaugurated.
+
+The first full loads were started for the mine in a week. The heavy
+machinery was loaded on the imported wagons, native conveyances were
+secured for the other freight, and in fourteen days everything was in
+transit.
+
+In the meantime another mail had arrived from England, bringing letters
+from Grace to Sedgwick. One had news of special interest. It told that
+the confidence of Mrs. Hazleton had been partly gained; that she had
+learned much of the lady's life; how she was left an orphan at thirteen
+in New Jersey; how at seventeen when at school she had run away and
+married a wild youth; how they left at once for the West; how the wild
+boy settled down, and with a few hundred dollars which he had when they
+were married he had made a few thousand and was doing well when he
+suddenly sickened and died; how then his relatives came forward and made
+a contest for his property, setting up that she had never been married;
+that the showing was so fearful against her that the court in Iowa
+refused her any support from the estate, and in her shame and confusion
+she went away to Texas and taught school for six months to earn money
+enough to make her defense; that there she met an unlettered and
+sensitive man, but at the same time one of the clearest-brained, most
+generous and noble-hearted men in the world, but in whom, from the fact
+he was so sensitive and generous, she could not confide, lest she might
+not be able to vindicate herself; and if she failed, she feared she would
+not only lose his confidence, but that it would make him believe there
+was no truth in the world. How with the money she earned, she was able to
+go to New Jersey, to find in the papers of the old clergyman who had
+married her (and who had in the meantime died), not only a full record of
+the marriage, but the marriage certificate with the names of the
+witnesses attached, which certificate had never been called for. By it,
+too, she was able to find the witnesses of the marriage, and one of those
+witnesses had known her all her life. So when the case came on for
+hearing she was so completely vindicated that her neighbors who had
+turned on her a cold shoulder came back with every outward demonstration
+of joy over her triumph. But she hated the place; converted all she had
+into money; bought a lot in a cemetery outside that State and had her
+husband's remains moved there, because she thought his sleep would be
+vexed in a community so mean; and then wrote to her friend in Texas,
+merely asking if he was well, and if she might explain something to him.
+
+In ten days the letter came back with the endorsement on it by the
+postmaster that her friend had sold his property at a sacrifice and
+disappeared, his nearest friends did not know where. Grace's letter added
+that she was worrying under the fear that perhaps if she had not gone to
+Texas the true man would never have made the sacrifice.
+
+Grace declared that she was in love with the lady; that she was a
+fine scholar, a finished elocutionist, a marvelous musician, and the
+comfort of her life in her husband's absence. The letter closed with an
+injunction that Sedgwick must bring Jordan safely home with him, and not
+be too long about it.
+
+How Sedgwick wanted to show that letter to Jordan! But he realized that
+if Mrs. Hazleton loved him it was for her to tell him so.
+
+He racked his brain to invent a necessity for Jordan's return to London,
+but a little thought convinced him that all such expedients would be in
+vain, because Jordan had, as he said, "enlisted fo' the wah," and
+Sedgwick realized that if on any pretext he sent him away, the suspicion
+might arise in Jordan's mind that the object was a selfish one, now that
+the labor and anxiety of making the enterprise a success had well-nigh
+passed.
+
+So he decided that the thing to do was to hurry the work in hand to
+culmination. The rainy season was pretty well over, and the material for
+the mill was pushed forward with reasonable dispatch. It was all on the
+ground, set up, and in motion in fifty days.
+
+Sedgwick found on reaching the mine that Jordan had built the needed
+houses, and had the mill as nearly completed as it could be before the
+machinery was set in place.
+
+The ore crushed easily, and the mill reduced two tons and a half per
+stamp readily in every twenty-four hours, in thirty days crushing 3,000
+tons. It yielded in the mill $35 per ton, and at the end of thirty days
+there were bars of the value of $100,000 ready for shipment. Then
+Sedgwick said: "Come, Tom, our work is finished here, at least for the
+present; let us seek civilization."
+
+"Agreed, old friend," said Jordan. "I'll get my trophies together and be
+ready ter start in ther morning."
+
+"And what are your trophies?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+"Why, didn't I tell yer?" was the reply. "It got kinder lonesome while
+yo' war away, so I went on a hunt. I've got ther finest pair o' leopard
+skins yo' ever seen, some elephant tusks, 'nd I migh'er brought a sarpent
+skin that war a daisy, but I drew ther line on snakes. But he war
+twenty-three feet long, and ther look outer his eyes war not reassurin'
+by a blamed sight. I migh'er got a giraff skin, too, but she hed her baby
+with her, and I'm not breakin' up no giraffe families."
+
+It was understood that they were to leave in the morning; were to go in
+the covered spring wagon, and were to carry the gold.
+
+One of the English miners was made superintendent of the mine. The
+mill-men from San Francisco agreed to look after the mill for a year,
+and the civil engineer undertook to see to the books, to attend to the
+finances and send an express to the coast once a week.
+
+So Sedgwick and Jordan, with one Boer, started early in the morning. It
+was in the last week in May; the weather was cold for that region, for it
+was the beginning of winter.
+
+They drove out of the narrow valley, through the cañon, out upon the open
+table-land and down to the house or dug-out which they had first found
+when in search of a way out. They rested there, ate some luncheon, fed
+their horses, and after an hour and a half started on.
+
+They had brought with them their repeating rifles and revolvers. Before
+getting into the wagon, Jordan had rolled up and fastened the curtains of
+the wagon, examined closely the guns, and then gave a long, sweeping look
+all around the horizon.
+
+"What are you looking for, Jordan?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+"Nuthin' much," he answered. "Only, Jim, have yer gun whar yo' can reach
+it quick if wanted."
+
+"Why?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+"Nuthin," said Jordan. "Only I never seen this place afore thet thar war
+not a dozen cut-throat-lookin' scoundrels 'round, and they mighter mean
+mischief, knowin' as how we have ther treasure aboard."
+
+They had driven on for perhaps a mile, when the road ran down close to
+the stream. All at once half a dozen shots rang out of the willows, and
+the Boer sprang from the wagon and ran for the bush.
+
+Sedgwick was driving. Jordan in a second caught his gun, and springing
+over the seat, said:
+
+"Drive on quick, Jim, and in ther meantime I'll try ter entertain ther
+varmints."
+
+A Boer stepped out of the willows and raised his gun. He never fired it,
+but threw up his hands and fell on his face. A shot from Jordan's gun had
+changed his calculations.
+
+Three or four more shots were fired from the bush, but they did no harm.
+
+Sedgwick had urged the team into a run, and they had just begun to hope
+the ambuscade had been passed, when three more Boers sprang out of the
+willows nearly opposite them and fired.
+
+Jordan killed two of them in a moment, but the third one fired again, and
+the bullet struck Jordan's left arm, disabling it and making a bad wound.
+
+"Can you drive, think?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+Jordan thought he could, and took the reins; Sedgwick picked up his gun.
+
+Three more Boers just then appeared by the willows opposite. Sedgwick
+could shoot as rapidly and as accurately as Jordan, and he cleared the
+field in a moment.
+
+The road bent away from the stream soon after, back upon the table-land,
+and they were safe. They stopped, and Sedgwick bound up Jordan's arm. The
+bone was not broken, and no great blood-vessel was seriously injured, but
+he had received a nasty flesh wound through the muscles of his fore-arm.
+
+As they proceeded on their journey, Jordan said: "That black guard as I
+first got a crack at hed been working for us two months. He war at his
+work yesterday. He put up this business, but how we sprised him! Ther
+devil that jumped from the wagon when ther scrimmage begun war his
+runnin' pard. Wur it not lucky neither hoss war hit?"
+
+They reached Port Natal in six days without further incident; but despite
+all the care that Sedgwick could give it, Jordan's arm was badly inflamed
+and very painful when they reached the seashore.
+
+No regular steamer was in port, but the "Pallas" was seen at anchor out
+in the roadstead.
+
+Sedgwick engaged a boat, and with Jordan pulled out to the steamer.
+
+McGregor was delighted at their coming, took them on board and said:
+"Now, boys, we will have a night of it."
+
+But Sedgwick said: "First, Captain, I want your surgeon to look at
+Jordan's arm."
+
+"Why, of course," said McGregor. The doctor was called. He examined the
+arm, then tested the man's temperature, and finally said:
+
+"The wound is nothing in itself. Under normal conditions it would heal in
+a fortnight, but Mr. Jordan's system is run down. He has a low fever on
+him now, and needs immediate treatment and careful nursing."
+
+This was a new situation, and one that troubled Sedgwick exceedingly. He
+was silent for a few seconds, and then looking up, said:
+
+"Captain McGregor, where do you go next?"
+
+"I was just going to pull out for Calcutta, Hong Kong, Yokohama and San
+Francisco," he replied.
+
+"And when do you sail?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+"I intended to put to sea to-morrow," was the answer; "everything is
+ready."
+
+"Can I induce you for love and money to make the run at full speed to
+Naples or Marseilles?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+"Not for money, but for love, yes," was the reply.
+
+"And can I have a room for Jordan right now?" was the next question.
+
+"You shall have the bridal chamber of my ship," said McGregor.
+
+"Thanks, Captain," said Sedgwick, "and now let us get the dear old boy to
+bed."
+
+Jordan insisted that he was not ill, but before they could get him
+undressed he was seized with a chill, and they worked upon him an hour
+before he rallied, grew warm and fell asleep.
+
+In the meantime the night had come down, so Sedgwick got a little supper
+and then went back to his friend. The captain, steward, indeed all hands,
+were all attention, for they knew all about both men.
+
+Next morning Jordan was comfortable, but the fever was having its way.
+Sedgwick went ashore, got his own and Jordan's baggage and the bullion,
+and when he returned the ship was at once got under way for her northern
+voyage.
+
+The attentions of Sedgwick to his sick friend were simply incessant. The
+ship's surgeon was also assiduous in his care. Captain McGregor was all
+the time most solicitous. As they approached the equator, they fixed for
+Jordan a bed on deck where the air, even if it was hot, was better in
+motion over him than in the stifling state-room.
+
+The ship rounded the great cape in ten days, and reached the Red Sea on
+the twelfth day. Then the surgeon motioned Sedgwick aside, and said: "The
+case of your friend makes me very anxious. His wound is not of itself
+serious. He has a little fever, but it would not be of a dangerous type
+in an ordinary patient. In this case the sick man acts like one who has
+lost hope, and under the sorrow of his loss his nerve power has ceased to
+exert its force, and the man is liable to die simply because he will make
+no effort to live."
+
+"I know," said Sedgwick, "and I have been dreading such a report as you
+have made me, for the last seven days. If you can keep his life from
+going out until we can reach Naples, I believe we can then find a tonic
+that will save him."
+
+"I will try," was the answer, "but he is growing weaker every day, and I
+am afraid. However, the temperature is growing cooler and it gives us a
+better chance."
+
+Sedgwick tried by talking, by reading, and by drawing rosy pictures of
+what they would do in England and America, to rouse Jordan, but without
+much success.
+
+He lay patient and still on his couch, and to all inquiries would answer:
+"I'm perfectly comfortable, dear friend. Do not worry about me;
+everything is as it should be."
+
+Then Sedgwick tried another experiment. He told the sick man that he must
+exert himself to be better; that sickness was often influenced by the
+will of the patient, and added that the real work of trying to undo the
+wrong perpetrated upon Browning would have to be done when they reached
+England, and that he should then need the best counsel and help of his
+friend.
+
+Jordan listened and said: "I'll do the best I ken, Jim, but it will be
+all right, I'm shor."
+
+So the hours went by, and Captain McGregor told the engineer to crowd on
+all steam, and to bribe the fireman to give the ship all the speed
+possible.
+
+At Suez, Sedgwick went ashore and cabled his wife that he was on the
+"Pallas;" to come at once to Naples; to induce Jack and Rose to come
+also, and, if she thought best, to bring Mrs. Hazleton, for Jordan was
+ill, and he feared nothing but the cheer of friendly faces would arouse
+him and give him the strength to live. He added that she must use her
+woman's wits as to what she would tell Mrs. H., and that to outsiders it
+must all seem but as running over to the continent for a few days'
+outing.
+
+When Grace Sedgwick, very early one morning, received and read that
+message, she held it for many minutes, lost in thought. She had grown
+very near to Mrs. Hazleton, but except when she had drawn from her the
+story of her life, she had never probed in the least to see if in her
+heart she was nursing a vast regret.
+
+But she had noticed some things that led her to believe that the lady had
+an anxiety which she was trying to conceal. She was always ready to visit
+any point of interest that would naturally attract a stranger, or to
+attend any public assemblage that a stranger might be lured to. Again,
+she always approached such places with vivacity, and returned from them
+in silence.
+
+As Mrs. Sedgwick sat with the dispatch doubled up in her closed hand,
+Mrs. Hazleton came into the room. Touching a chair by her side, Grace
+said: "Come and sit by me, Margaret. I want to talk with you."
+
+She complied, merely saying: "What do you want to talk about, love?"
+
+"Are you happy?" asked Grace.
+
+"Indeed, yes. Why do you ask?" was the reply. "Have you not been making
+my life a bed of roses ever since your blessed eyes first rested on me?"
+
+Grace looked at her intently for a moment, then said: "Is there some one
+whom you wish exceedingly to see?"
+
+A rosy flush swept like a wave over her face, which was followed by a
+quick pallor. But she recovered herself almost instantly, and said: "Why,
+Mrs. Sedgwick, do you ask me so strange a question?"
+
+Grace arose, then bending down, took her hand, laid the dispatch upon the
+palm, closed the fingers gently over it and said:
+
+"My dear, there is a paper for you to read. I am going to Rose for a
+few minutes. When I return, you may tell me anything you please, or
+nothing at all, as you please; only let me tell you first that before
+my husband went to Nevada, he went to another State, lived there with
+a great-hearted man for a year, and that man was with him when he left me
+at the church door on my wedding day, and they have been together since,
+except when my husband left him to go to America to buy machinery and
+came back this way to join him again." Then she suddenly bent and kissed
+her friend and was gone.
+
+She went through to Rose's side of the house, found her, and asked where
+Mr. Browning was.
+
+"He is in the library," said Rose; "he has not yet gone out this
+morning."
+
+"Then come with me," said Grace. Once in the library, she said: "I have
+news from my James this morning. He cabled me from Suez. He is coming
+home, and he wants us to meet him at Naples. Mr. Jordan has been with
+him--is coming with him, is ill, I fear very ill, and he wants us to meet
+him, I believe chiefly on that dear man's account. I shall leave this
+afternoon; can you go with me?"
+
+"I can," said Jack.
+
+"I can," said Rose.
+
+"I am so glad," said Grace. "And say, there must be nothing said to the
+servants, except that we have run over to the continent on a lark, for a
+few days. And now good-bye until we are ready."
+
+With that she returned to her own sitting room. Mrs. Hazleton was gone,
+and it was a full half hour before she returned. When she did, she was
+very pale. A look of anxiety was on her face, but a radiant new light was
+in her eyes.
+
+She came straight up to Grace, and in a low voice said: "When do you
+start?"
+
+"To-day," said Grace; "by the first Dover train."
+
+"O, thanks; pray God we be not too late," was the answer; and then the
+poor woman sank into a chair, covered her face with her hands, and broke
+into sobs that were almost hysterical.
+
+Grace stood by her for a few minutes, then knelt down, put one arm around
+her, drew her toward her, gently drew down the hands and laid her cheek
+against the tear-dripping cheek of her friend, and said: "Now you must be
+brave, dear Margaret; it's going to be all well. I feel it in every fibre
+of my being. My husband is with him. He will supply him with the vitality
+to live until the vision of your face above his pillow will bring the
+stimulus that he needs."
+
+The true woman recovered herself at length, and said: "O Mrs. Sedgwick,
+how did you discover my secret, and the great-hearted man whom I have
+sought for and prayed for so long?"
+
+"It was not I," said Grace. "It was my husband. He lived with Mr.
+Jordan a year in Texas. After he had made his little fortune in Nevada,
+he--thanks be to God--came home with Jack. He met his old friend here,
+who frankly told him how he loved you, and why he had sold his home and
+turned wanderer. Just then Jack had been induced by his step-father
+and mine, and the knave Stetson, to invest part of his fortune in a gold
+mine in South Africa; and by a deception, nearly all that was left of his
+fortune was lured away into the same channel. Jack was well-nigh frantic.
+Rose had been waiting for him for four years and a half, so my husband
+insisted upon their marriage and determined to go and see if anything
+could be made out of the wreck, and asked me to wait until his return.
+I agreed, only stipulating that we, too, should be married before he
+went. I left him at the church. My husband was a silver miner; Mr. Jordan
+was a gold miner--I do not know the difference, only the gold miner can
+test gold ore--and they together went to Africa. They found the mine
+good, and found a new road to it, over which the machinery could be
+transported. Then my husband sailed via Australia for San Francisco to
+buy the machinery; Mr. Jordan remained to open the mine. My husband
+cabled me from Australia, and the next day I received his letter from
+South Africa, telling me that he would be two months in San Francisco,
+and then would come by London on his way back to the South Land. I took
+the first ship and reached San Francisco before his ship came in from
+Australia; then when I knew the ship was coming up the bay, I had the
+apartments dressed in flowers, robed myself in attire such as I had meant
+should be my wedding garments, and waited his coming."
+
+Then she paused a moment as the memory of that meeting swept over her,
+while the arms of her friend stole around her.
+
+Continuing, she said: "When ready to start for England, we, as you know,
+made arrangements to stop a day or two with our friends in Indiana. When
+you were presented, my husband recognized you instantly by the name and
+description given of you by his friend. When you sang that first song, he
+guessed your secret and told me his thought, and helped me to work the
+stratagem to lure you here. When he reached Port Natal, he tried to
+invent some plausible reason to induce Mr. Jordan to come here, but he
+could not; and so has hurried to get the mill working, and now both are
+on the way, and I must meet them. Jack and Rose are going with me; will
+you?"
+
+The arms of Margaret Hazleton were clinging to Grace, and the tears were
+raining down her face. So soon as she could speak, she said:
+
+"And so, while I thought you were my best friend, you have really been my
+guardian angel. I came with you because I hoped to find the noble man who
+had self-exiled himself, and all the time when I thought I was disguising
+my heart, your clear eyes have been reading it. I remember now in Texas
+the boys were always talking of a famous Jim who had lived with them, but
+I never dreamed that he was your husband.
+
+"My gratitude to you and your grand husband is bankrupt, but now no
+matter. The first thing to do is to be on our way--only, do Mr. and Mrs.
+Browning also know my secret?"
+
+"Not at all," said Grace. "Until just now they did not even know that Mr.
+Jordan was with my husband, but I will tell Rose all that may be
+necessary."
+
+All left that day, in due time reached Naples, and engaged ample quarters
+before the "Pallas" entered the bay.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+FEVER VISIONS.
+
+
+As the "Pallas" passed out of the canal upon the broad-breasted
+Mediterranean, Jordan noticed the change in the motion of the ship, and
+said to Sedgwick: "Jim, old friend, we is back agin on ther waters whar
+men first learned ter be sailors, aren't we?"
+
+"Yes," said Sedgwick, "and in three days more I hope to gladden your eyes
+with the faces of some dear friends."
+
+"Yo's mighty kind, old friend," said the sick man; "but, Jim, I wanter
+tell yo', if we should be diserpinted, yo'll find inside my trunk a
+little trunk, and in thet yo'll find things all fixed ter tell yer what
+ter do. I 'ranged it when yo' war away, not knowin' what mount be.
+Remember one thing mo': everything's all right 'nd goin' ter be right.
+I'll get well 'nd help yo' ef I ken; ef I don't, yo'll make it easy,
+nuff, without me."
+
+"Indeed I cannot," said Sedgwick. "You must brace up and get well, for I
+tell you, dear old Tom, that I can see better than you, and I have worked
+out a plan which is going to be a delight for you."
+
+"Maybe so, Jim," said the sick man, and dozed off into a troubled sleep.
+The surgeon had been giving the patient some powerful medicine, and told
+Sedgwick it might make him flighty, but not to permit that to alarm him;
+that he thought he could promise to hold the life in his friend for a few
+days more.
+
+Jordan awoke after an hour's sleep, and said: "Jim, I had a mighty quar
+dream, sho. I seen all ther fleets ez hez ever sailed on these waters,
+havin' er grand review. It war ther ghosts ev ther ships, I reckon, but
+they looked mighty real. I seen ther fleets ev Tyre with ther sails like
+calico mustangs; I seen ther Persian fleets thet ther Greeks done up et
+Mycale 'nd Salamis; I seen ther fitin' ships uv Rome, 'nd Carthage, 'nd
+Egypt, 'nd Venice, down ter Nelson's fite on ther Nile. O, but it war a
+grand persession! Thar war calls in a hundred tongues; thar war responses
+in a hundred mo'; thar war decks filled with armed men, with helmets,
+spears 'nd shields; thar war singin' 'nd prayin' 'nd trumpet calls; thar
+war ther rattle ev arms, ther ring ev steel, 'nd ther harsh blast ev
+war-horns, 'nd ther sounds changed from age to age, until thar came at
+last ther roar uv hevy guns in regelar broadsides. All ther echoes uv all
+ther battles uv all ther centeries war in my ears. It war grand; grander
+nor Chatternooga. Thar sea gave up its ded fur me, so fur ez this water
+goes. History held befo' me all its pages, 'nd they wuz all 'luminated.
+Ez thet picter swept befo' my eyes, 'nd all thar clamors filled my ears,
+it war more thrillin' then anything yo' ever dreamed of. I ken har ther
+calls, 'nd ther replies, 'nd ther beatin' uv oars, tho' thar oars war
+broken, 'nd ther calls growed still two 'nd three thousand year ago. It
+war beautiful, Jim, even ef it war all 'lusion ter ther eyes 'nd ears. Do
+yo' remember, yo' read me once 'Ther Midnight Review?' Why, Jim, thet war
+nuthin'. This uv mine war ther review ev all thar ages, er movin' picter
+uv ther world since befo' civilerzation begun."
+
+Then the sick man dozed off into sleep again, and Sedgwick bathed his
+face, and hung over him as a mother watches when the life of her child
+wavers between this world and the next.
+
+After awhile Jordan awoke again. This time there was an eager, joyous
+look in his wan face, and he searched the room around with a most
+expectant gaze.
+
+Sedgwick bent over him, and said softly: "What is it, old friend?"
+
+"Why, Jim, old man," said he, "that war most singler. I hearn _her_ voice
+a-prayin', hearn it jest ez plain 'nd natral ez ever I hearn it afore,
+prayin' thet I might git well. O, Jim, it war music, sho' nuff! and
+ef eny angels war a-listenin', they'd intercede fur me jest outer
+courtesy."
+
+"She was praying, dear friend," said Sedgwick. "I knew it, and her prayer
+is going to be answered. Her soul is trying to call to your soul to rouse
+itself, and you must heed the call."
+
+"I'll try," said the sick man. "But don't worry, old friend; no matter
+what comes, it'll be all right. And, say, Jim, open my grip and put ther
+handkerchief you will see with dots upon it here next my heart."
+
+For the twenty-four hours prior to reaching Naples Jordan was delirious
+most of the time, and did not sleep at all. Finally the surgeon
+administered a powerful opiate, and when the ship came to anchor in the
+beautiful bay, the invalid was in a profound sleep.
+
+Browning was on the lookout for the ship, and was soon upon its deck. He
+and Sedgwick clasped hands, and the first words of Sedgwick were: "Jack,
+are all well, and who is here?"
+
+"All well," said Jack; "and your wife, my wife, and Mrs. Hazleton are
+waiting at the hotel for you. And how is your friend?"
+
+"Desperately ill, but I have hopes of him now," said Sedgwick.
+
+The surgeon was appealed to, and he said it would be better to take
+Jordan ashore while yet he slept.
+
+"I must first send a message that we are coming, and that he is asleep
+under opiates, or we shall frighten those who are watching for us," said
+Sedgwick.
+
+Captain McGregor volunteered to deliver the message as he was going
+ashore for a few minutes to report to the port officials that he brought
+no cargo to be discharged, except the baggage of two passengers. Sedgwick
+thanked him, took his arm, led him aside, and said to him: "Captain, when
+you find my wife, tell her privately that she must keep the other ladies
+from seeing us as we carry Jordan to the house. It would disturb and
+perhaps alarm them, for he is not only wan and poor, but the sleep upon
+him looks like the twin brother of Death."
+
+"I will see to it all," said the captain, and at once went ashore.
+
+Grace saw him and recognized him as he alighted at the hotel, and ran to
+the parlor to meet him alone. He explained to her the situation, and she
+undertook to see that the injunction should be carried out.
+
+"How long before they will come?" asked Grace.
+
+"Perhaps thirty minutes," was the answer.
+
+"Then excuse me, captain," said Grace, "but come back later. I want to
+thank you for all your kindness, and have a visit with you. But now I
+must see to my two charges, that no mistake be made."
+
+McGregor promised to return, shook hands, called Grace a "trump," and
+strode away.
+
+So soon as he had gone, Grace rang, and when a servant came she sent for
+the manager of the hotel. To him she explained that in a few minutes a
+sick man would be brought to the house; that his illness was not at all
+contagious; that No. ---- of her apartments must be prepared for him, and
+he must be carried there at once.
+
+He asked if she was sure there was no danger to guests from the sick man,
+and she answered that he must know that no sick man could be landed
+without a permit from the port surgeon.
+
+He bowed and promised that her wishes should be carried out.
+
+Then she went to find Mrs. Browning, and told her to propose to Mrs.
+Hazleton to go for a drive to kill time, and to be sure to drive in the
+opposite direction from the bay; to hurry up and to be absent for an
+hour or an hour and a quarter. She had before explained to Rose the real
+situation.
+
+Rose complied. As the two ladies came from their rooms attired for the
+ride, Rose said:
+
+"Grace, come and join us; we are going to see Naples a little."
+
+But Grace excused herself for that day, promising to go next morning.
+
+She saw them driven away, and then took up her watch for the expected
+visitors.
+
+She did not wait long. Four sailors were carrying the sick man; while
+Jack, the ship's surgeon, and Sedgwick were walking near. The manager met
+them and directed the way to the room set aside for Jordan. Grace waited
+in the upper hall for the procession. Sedgwick sprang to her, but she put
+a finger on her lips, caught his hand, then circled his neck with her
+arms, swiftly kissed him, and then whispered: "O darling, we must see now
+to our poor dear sick friend," and tore herself away from him.
+
+Jordan was put in bed still sleeping. Then Sedgwick, the surgeon and
+sailors came out. Sedgwick feed the sailors generously, though they did
+not want to accept anything. He then presented Surgeon Craig to his wife.
+
+Grace greeted him and said: "Doctor, when the sick man awakens, will
+there be any danger to him if some one very dear to him shall be sitting
+by his couch?"
+
+"None at all," was the answer. "That is the medicine that he needs. If we
+could find the right friend, I believe it would cure him; if we cannot, I
+fear the result, for it is a sorrow more than the fever, I believe, that
+is killing him."
+
+Half an hour later the ladies returned. Grace had Sedgwick take Browning
+from the sick room; then explained to Mrs. Hazleton that Mr. Jordan was
+in the house very ill and sleeping, but that if she were strong enough
+she ought to be at his bedside when he awoke; asked her if she could bear
+the ordeal, and if she thought she could, whether she would prefer to be
+alone or to have her with her.
+
+"I am strong enough," was the answer, "and I would rather no one would be
+near."
+
+Then Grace led her to the door and said: "Margaret, be brave, and keep in
+thought that you are going to restore your friend to health; and see,
+this room is next to mine. I shall be waiting there; if you need me, tap
+softly upon the partition door." Then she opened noiselessly the door,
+kissed her friend, waited until she passed into the room, closed the
+door, and then ran to her husband, climbed upon his knees, embraced and
+kissed him, and cried with joy.
+
+It was two hours before any sign came from the adjoining room. Then the
+door was softly opened; Mrs. Hazleton came in without speaking, grasped
+Sedgwick's hand, pointed to the room where Jordan lay, and said in a
+whisper: "He wants you." And as Sedgwick passed from the apartment, the
+over-wrought woman fell upon her knees, buried her face in the lap of
+Grace, and said: "Dear friend, help me to thank God."
+
+Later Sedgwick reported that as he approached the bed, Jordan smiled, and
+in a feeble voice said: "Jim, old friend, I'ze mighty weak, but don't
+mind it; I shall pull through easy now. But if I don't, I'll be even;
+ther world's been thet kind ter me thet I'll keep thankin' God ter all
+eternity."
+
+Then in his weakness he wept, but controlling himself at last, he
+continued: "I'ze too powerful weak ter make much noise, but if yo' think
+a loud invercation is heard sooner nor a weak one, thank God fur me in
+your loudest key."
+
+Sedgwick took up his watch by Jordan for the night. He slept much of the
+night, and smiles stole over his face as he slept, but he was awfully
+prostrated with weakness.
+
+After that, a regular order was prescribed. Sedgwick watched at night,
+and the others took turns by day.
+
+Three nights after their arrival, the fever left Jordan. The doctor had
+anticipated it, and had told Sedgwick he would remain with him. The fever
+left him so utterly prostrated that it was all the doctor and Sedgwick
+could do to keep life in him for two or three hours. But the faintness
+finally passed, and the patient dropped into a peaceful sleep; and the
+doctor, with a sigh of relief, said: "The crisis is passed, Sedgwick. He
+is going to pull through."
+
+But it was a wearisome rally. It was several days before the anxiety was
+over. It was a week after the coming of Sedgwick before Sedgwick
+explained to Browning what he had done; how Jordan was an old gold miner;
+and that the reason he had not told Browning much of what he was doing
+was because Jordan was the one to test the ore, and was anxious to go;
+he, Sedgwick, thought it was a shame to separate Jack and Rose; then he
+thought also if Jack knew he had gone to Africa he would worry over it.
+Then he told him of the mill, and finally that he had with him $100,000
+in bullion, the result of the first month's run of the mill; had fixed
+matters so that the mill would be running right along, and that there was
+ore enough in the stopes to insure steady crushing for at least four or
+five years to come.
+
+"And what now?" asked Jack.
+
+"Now your work must come in," said Sedgwick. "You and your wife must go
+to England as soon as Tom is a little better. In your own way, make
+arrangements to have announced, so that Hamlin, Jenvie and Stetson will
+see it, that there is a good deal of movement in 'The Wedge of Gold';
+have substantially the same report, only differently worded, as that
+contained in the prospectus which you were caught on; let it be known
+through what brokers the stock is being handled, and have copies of the
+reports in their hands, only fix the price at £1 per share. If the old
+men please to buy, let them have some of the stock. If they do not, we
+will try to make them sorry that they did not buy when they could. By the
+way, have you still your hand on Emanuel, and can you depend upon him?"
+
+"I think I can," said Jack.
+
+"Well, then," said Sedgwick, "if no news of the mill has been received in
+England, and the conspirators think you are merely trying to unload some
+of your stock on the old report, may be if they can be handled right,
+they may be induced to sell some of the stock short. If they can, perhaps
+we can get back some of the money from them."
+
+"I understand," said Jack, "and I believe I can work it."
+
+"Especially if, when I get to England with the bullion, we can call a
+meeting and declare a dividend," said Sedgwick.
+
+"I see," said Browning. "But, old boy, I wish you had let me help you
+work this thing out. I do, by Jove."
+
+Just then Grace and Rose came out on the veranda, where the old friends
+were talking.
+
+Rose bent over and put her arms around Jack's neck, and said: "Dear old
+Jack, do you know what day this is?"
+
+"Why, little one?" asked Jack.
+
+"O, you stupid!" said Rose.
+
+"What is to-day?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+"Another stupid!" said Rose. "Two beautiful and accomplished ladies go to
+church and give respectability to two of the wild tribe of the West, by
+marrying them, and they forget it in a little year."
+
+"It was this day year, on my soul," said Jack. "It was, by Jove."
+
+"Come here, sweet," said Sedgwick to Grace. Then taking her in his arms
+he kissed her, and said: "My days have been turned into nights of late,
+else I would not have forgotten. Are you glad you are married, Grace?"
+
+"Very glad," Grace whispered. "Are you glad?"
+
+"Very," said Sedgwick, "even as is the ransomed soul when the symphonies
+of Summer Land first give their enchantment to the spirit ear."
+
+"I will tell you why I forgot, Rose," said Jack. "My life did not count
+until you became a part of myself. I am really but a year old, and you do
+not chide one-year-old kids for being forgetful."
+
+"What glorified prevaricators these men are, Grace, are they not?" said
+Rose.
+
+"O, Rose!" said Grace. "The mission of woman is to suffer and be devoted
+in her suffering, and how could we carry out our mission if all men were
+good, and had good memories, and did not run away to Africa and Venezuela
+and Australia, and come home with fevers, and--and--." Then she kissed
+Sedgwick, and jumping up caught Rose by the arm, and said: "Let us punish
+them by running away from them."
+
+As they walked away Sedgwick watched them, and when they turned a corner
+of the veranda, said: "Jack, would you give the year's happiness just
+past for all the gold in Africa?"
+
+"No, indeed," was the reply; "but you had the strength to leave your
+bride on your marriage day for a chance of gaining a little of that
+gold."
+
+"O, no, old friend," said Sedgwick. "We had enough money left, but there
+was a principle at stake. I went to vindicate that principle if I could."
+
+"Pardon me, Jim," said Jack. "But you were stronger than I could have
+been. I could not have left my bride then. I had waited so long, that to
+have parted then would have broken her heart and would have destroyed
+me."
+
+"I realized all that, Jack," said his friend; "so did Grace, and we both
+sympathized with you both, and decided that the cup of bitterness must be
+turned from you."
+
+"Of course," said Jack. "What you did was jolly grand; what you have
+done has been so splendid that I cannot express my thoughts of it yet;
+I can't, by Jove! And Gracie's part through all has been superb. I think,
+too, your sick friend has been pure gold through it all."
+
+"Pure diamonds rather," said Sedgwick. "O Jack, you do not half
+comprehend the grandeur of that sterling man. When his heart was slowly
+shriveling up in his breast, he forgot himself and his sorrow to cheer
+me, and when it was necessary to go for the machinery, he insisted that I
+should go, and he, of his own accord, went back to the depths of that
+South Land wilderness and worked uncomplainingly for months. No grander
+man ever lived."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+SELLING STOCK SHORT.
+
+
+After a few days more Jack and Rose returned to England.
+
+Soon after their return, one of the morning papers had an announcement
+that the banking house of Campbell & Co. (Limited), No. ---- street, was
+promoting the "Wedge of Gold," a mining property in Southern Africa, near
+the border of the Transvaal, which was believed to be a most promising
+property.
+
+The same day Emanuel dropped into the house of Jenvie, Hamlin & Stetson.
+He was seedy-looking, and seemed a good deal run down both in purse and
+spirits.
+
+"What do you think of the 'Wedge of Gold' announcement?" asked Jenvie.
+
+"What is it?" asked Emanuel. He was shown the paper.
+
+"What do I think?" he said. "I think may be the young man needs a little
+money. The mails came in from Port Natal yesterday. Is there any news
+from the mine?"
+
+"None at all that we can find," said Jenvie.
+
+"I have no idea," said the Portuguese, "but if it is more than three
+shillings per share, it is one good chance for a bear to sell it short
+and hug himself for his own act."
+
+With this he went out. The three men were silent for a good five minutes.
+Then Jenvie rang the bell, and when it was answered he said to the
+messenger: "Go to Campbell & Co.'s; find out the price of 'Wedge of Gold'
+stock, and ask what data the house has from the property."
+
+The clerk returned in half an hour, and reported that it was held at £1,
+and he produced a statement of the property.
+
+This was eagerly run over by the three. "Why," said Jenvie, as he
+completed reading it, "this is but a rehash of the statement of a year
+ago; the same depth is given, all the details just as they were. Jack
+must be making a desperate play for money."
+
+"One pound per share!" said Hamlin. "Why, the man must be after some
+other Nevada miner who has more money than judgment."
+
+"The 'Wedge of Gold' was our good fortune," said Stetson. "Through it
+we got a real start. We made a good bit out of it, which we have since
+doubled. Let us try another venture in the stock."
+
+"What! Buy it at £1 per share?" asked Hamlin.
+
+"No, no," said Jenvie. "Let us sell 20,000 shares to be delivered in
+three months at ten shillings. We can send Emanuel and get it at four or
+five shillings."
+
+After weighing the matter in every way they decided to increase the
+amount and sell 30,000 shares.
+
+The offer was taken, the money paid, and the contract to deliver the
+30,000 shares in three months was signed by Jenvie, Hamlin & Co. Then
+each, unknown to the other, sold 10,000 shares more short.
+
+The fact was wired to Sedgwick at once. He showed Grace the dispatch and
+said: "My enchantress, that will leave your mother's husband and Rose's
+mother's husband bankrupt if we wish it; what shall we do?"
+
+"How will it do so?" asked Grace.
+
+"In three months that stock will be worth £5 per share," said Sedgwick.
+"See what it will require to produce 60,000 shares to fulfill their
+contract."
+
+"What did they obtain from Jack?" asked Grace.
+
+"Almost £90,000," said Sedgwick.
+
+"Well," said Grace, "I know very little of business, but it seems to me
+if they would make that good with the year's interest, it would be about
+right, inasmuch as it is a family matter."
+
+"You little bunch of wisdom and justice!" said Sedgwick. "To make them do
+just that thing was what I started to Africa for."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+CONVALESCENT.
+
+
+The "Pallas" had been in port twenty days before Jordan began to sit
+up, a few minutes at a time. He was still very weak, but his face was
+transfigured by an almost divine light. It was reflected radiance from
+the eyes of Margaret Hazleton.
+
+The doctor had thrown away his medicine, telling Jordan that all he
+needed was good nursing and as much food as his stomach could assimilate.
+
+It was a happy little company. Jordan and Mrs. Hazleton, Sedgwick and his
+wife, the doctor and Captain McGregor--for the ship had been left with
+the first officer, and the captain had turned nurse to relieve Sedgwick.
+
+A week later Jordan could sit up most of the day, and Captain McGregor
+had begun to absent himself two or three hours every afternoon. About
+this time Browning's dispatch was received.
+
+Sedgwick was needed in London. What was best to do?
+
+He prepared a statement of the mine, signed it and got Jordan to sign it,
+and he shipped the bullion to a well-known Paris banking house.
+
+Nothing held him back except Jordan's illness. He was growing anxious,
+and his wife, who watched his every mood, quickly discovered it. So soon
+as she did, she went to him, put an arm around one of his, and said.
+
+"What is it, love? What is it that is troubling you?"
+
+He explained that he ought to be in London, but Jordan was yet too weak
+to travel, and he could not leave him--not for twenty mines.
+
+Grace thought the matter over for two or three minutes, and then said
+cheerfully:
+
+"I have it, husband! We will get a nurse for the dear man. I will remain,
+and Margaret and myself and the nurse can see to him, and will follow you
+when he can travel."
+
+Sedgwick looked at her fondly for a moment, and then said:
+
+"You are a great little woman, sure enough; but you are such a one that
+I would rather remain than go without you."
+
+She put her hands upon his lips, and said:
+
+"Duty, love. Hist, we must always be brave and self-forgetful enough to
+do our duty. I am going now to see Margaret." She walked a few steps,
+then turned back and said:
+
+"Why would it not be the right thing for Mr. Jordan and Margaret to be
+married before you leave?"
+
+"I believe it would," said Sedgwick, "only that I have planned that we
+would give them a great wedding in London."
+
+"So had I," said Grace, "and we will."
+
+Just as they were talking, Captain McGregor came from the direction of
+the harbor.
+
+"I have news for you," he said. "I have sold the 'Pallas.' She will sail
+to-morrow, and now I propose to remain with you, and go with you to
+London when you go."
+
+"You have sold the dear ship?" said Sedgwick. "And what of the doctor and
+the crew?"
+
+"They will sail in her. The doctor will be up to make his adieus
+to-night. They wanted to charter the craft for a long voyage. I would not
+go, but offered to sell, and they bought, and re-engaged the officers,
+the surgeon and the crew."
+
+"Let us go on board," said Sedgwick. "I want to bid those good men
+good-bye."
+
+"So do I," said the captain. "I will be grateful if you will go with me."
+
+"Wait a moment until I run down to the bank," said Sedgwick. "While I am
+gone, Grace, get your hat and wrap; and by the way, captain, how many
+men and officers are there?"
+
+The captain replied: "Six officers, the surgeon and steward, three
+waiters, twelve seamen and sixteen men in the firing department."
+
+The company soon set out, and went on board the "Pallas."
+
+All hands were called on deck. Captain McGregor made them a little
+speech; told them that his chief regret in giving up the ship was in
+parting with them, and wished them all happiness and prosperity. They
+gave him three cheers, and all shook hands with him, wishing him long
+life and asking God's blessing for him.
+
+Then Sedgwick stepped forward, and said:
+
+"My Dear Friends:--That I was able to bring one whom I love
+better than a brother to where he could find the strength to get well,
+I owe to you. He is yet too weak to be moved, or he would be here by my
+side to thank you. I was much absorbed on the voyage, but I saw how you,
+officers and seamen, worked to take advantage of every puff of wind and
+every current of the sea. I know how you others were working in the hell
+of the fire-room, and I shall be grateful to you as long as I live. I
+wish you all health, happiness and prosperity in the future.
+
+"You, with your grand captain, carried the machinery to Africa, which has
+made me a good deal of money. You brought home my friend when he was
+making an unequal fight for life. I want each of you to have a little
+souvenir of my gratitude."
+
+With that he undid a package which he had been holding in his hand. It
+contained a bunch of envelopes. He handed one to each of the officers and
+men.
+
+Those for the mates and engineers each contained bank notes of the value
+of £200. Those of the men each contained £50. The doctor's contained
+£1,000.
+
+The men whispered eagerly among themselves for a moment; then the third
+mate said:
+
+"Mr. Sedgwick, the lads want me to ask you how they can best thank you.
+They are not much talkers, and this gift of yours has about beached their
+tongues."
+
+Sedgwick smiled and said: "No thanks are needed, but I want to tell you
+that this is all due to the dearest woman in the world," putting his arm
+around Grace. "If you will each come and shake the hand of my wife, all
+the gratitude you feel will be receipted for."
+
+They joyfully responded, and one old tar, more bold than the rest, said,
+as he took the fair little hand of Grace in the grasp of his own knotted
+hand: "Your mon is a mighty poor hand to save money, but he'll be richer
+nor Rothschild as long as you are spared to him."
+
+They gave their old captain and his friend three cheers as they passed
+over the ship's side, and McGregor wiped his eyes all the way back to the
+hotel.
+
+Grace went at once to the sick-room. Jordan was half reclining in an
+easy-chair. Margaret was sitting where he could see her, and was
+evidently reading to him, when Grace entered.
+
+Jordan spoke: "Take a cheer, madam. Maggie wur readin' 'nd it's mighty
+comfortin'. It's like sipping old wine and hearin' music in thar next
+room same time."
+
+"Don't you mind him, Grace," said Margaret. "He is still very weak, and
+all that he says is not as deep as it might be." But she smiled fondly at
+him while she spoke.
+
+"Don't yo' b'leve her, Mrs. Sedgwick," said Jordan. "We all has weak
+spots in our hearts; she's mine."
+
+Grace put one hand on Jordan's hand, the other on Margaret's cheek, and
+said:
+
+"Say all the pretty things of her that you please, Mr. Jordan, and do not
+mind her, for her heart has been starving for those same words from your
+lips for a long time."
+
+Margaret was silent, but she smiled; and a great flush swept over her
+face as she smiled.
+
+"Everything war right, after all," said Jordan. "Hed I not lost her, I
+mighter grown careless o' her like other men do sometimes uv those they
+luv, but no matter, we has a understandin'."
+
+And again the happy woman smiled and blushed.
+
+Then Grace explained how much her husband was needed in England; that she
+had determined to remain until Mr. Jordan could travel, and let her
+husband go; that Captain McGregor had sold the "Pallas," and she thought
+she would remain with them, and asked Jordan if he thought they, with a
+nurse, could take care of him.
+
+Before he could answer, Mrs. Hazleton interposed and said:
+
+"All this sickness and sorrow came through me. Henceforth my life is to
+be devoted to where it can do most good. We do not want any display. Why
+can we not be married? Then I will be his nurse, and he will need no
+other. You can go with your husband, and we will come when Tom is
+stronger. What say you, love?"
+
+"Do not answer, Mr. Jordan," said Grace. "We have fixed it for you to be
+married where my husband and myself--where Jack and Rose--were married.
+We will remain until you can travel."
+
+"I'd be mighty glad ter call yo' 'wife' now, Maggie," said Jordan; "but I
+don't reckon it's squar for a man ter take advantage of his nuss." Then
+turning to Mrs. Sedgwick, he continued: "Tell Jim I'll be ready ter leave
+ter-morrer evenin'."
+
+So next day they started by easy stages for London. Sedgwick engaged a
+special car to be stopped off at any point he might desire. They rested a
+day in Milan, another in Paris, and there Sedgwick arranged to have the
+bullion that might come from the 'Wedge of Gold' at all times at his
+immediate disposal. They reached London in six days; Jordan had gained so
+much that he walked to the carriage from the Dover depot, and with
+Sedgwick's and McGregor's support, walked up the steps of Sedgwick's
+house.
+
+Rose had dinner waiting for them, and at dinner expressed the sentiments
+of all by saying: "I believe this is just now the happiest house in all
+England."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+SPRINGING A TRAP.
+
+
+Sedgwick found waiting for him advices from the mine, all of which were
+favorable and the output for another month, less the expenses of mining
+and milling, which amounted in the aggregate to something over $90,000,
+had been forwarded to the Bank of France.
+
+The Wedge of Gold Mining Company was reorganized. Browning was made
+president; Sedgwick, treasurer; McGregor, secretary; and all three, with
+Jordan, directors. A regular dividend of two shillings per share, and a
+special dividend of as much more was declared, aggregating in all
+£30,000. This was given to the _Times_ for publication, and attached
+to it was the following note:
+
+"The reporter of the _Times_ was able to obtain the following particulars
+of this wonderful property from the secretary:
+
+"'A forty-stamp mill has been in operation on the property since June
+last. The mill yielded in June, above expenses, £17,000 and 15 shillings;
+in July, £18,000 and 5 shillings. The ore already developed above the
+tunnel level is sufficient to insure the running of the present works to
+their full capacity for five years to come. The ore on the tunnel level
+is equal to any in the mine, and the ore chute has been demonstrated by
+exploration on the tunnel level to be at least 630 feet in length, with
+an average width of 16 feet. The tunnel cuts the mine at a depth of 500
+feet. The office of the company in London is No. ----, ---- Street. The
+officers are John Browning, president; James Sedgwick, treasurer; Hugh
+McGregor, secretary; and these, with Thomas Jordan, make up the directory
+of the company.'"
+
+When, next morning, Jenvie, Hamlin and Stetson read the above in the
+_Times_, they were filled with consternation.
+
+"I feared that man Sedgwick from the first," said Jenvie. "Our first
+account of him, that 'he must be a prize-fighter,' was true. He has
+knocked us out, and he has made no more noise about it than does a
+bull-dog when he takes a pig by the ear."
+
+"What are we to do?" asked Hamlin.
+
+"We must take in enough stock to cover our shortage at once," said
+Jenvie, "even if we have to pay £1 per share for it."
+
+So a messenger was sent to the office of the broker through which the
+stock had been shorted, to buy at any price up to £1.
+
+He returned with the information that the stock could be had, but the
+price was £6 per share.
+
+Then the three men realized for the first time the trap which had been
+set for them, and how fatal had been its spring. The messenger was at
+once sent out again, this time to the office of the company. He found the
+secretary, who referred him to the ---- Bank, from which the dividends
+were to be paid. There he found stock for sale, but the price demanded
+was £6 per share.
+
+He returned home and made his report. The three men gazed at each other
+with blank looks of despair.
+
+"Thirty thousand shares at £6 will take all we have," said Hamlin.
+
+"And I shorted 10,000 shares besides," said Jenvie.
+
+"So did I," said Hamlin.
+
+"So did I," said Stetson.
+
+"It seems clear enough that we are absolutely ruined," said Hamlin.
+
+"I wonder what has become of that Portuguese, Emanuel," said Hamlin.
+
+At that moment he entered the office. He looked like the picture of
+despair. He broke out with: "It is awful! I have just heard ze truth. It
+was that American who did it. When you thought last year that he had gone
+to America, he, with another American, had gone to Africa.
+
+"They found ze mine. They found a way out from it by going in the
+opposite direction from which they came. Sedgwick went by Australia
+to San Francisco, and ordered a forty-stamp mill. The other American
+remained, and opened the mine by a tunnel. Sedgwick came back this way,
+and, left here to meet the mill at Port Natal.
+
+"It has been running three months. Two months' proceeds are here, and pay
+dividends of four shillings, and it is good for two shillings per month
+for years; with machinery doubled, good for four shillings per month for
+years to come. The stock has gone to £6; it will go to £10 so soon as it
+is well understood. And I lost it all, because I had not the sense to
+find that way out from ze mine. The road by the trail would have cost
+£75,000 or £100,000, and I believed only impassable mountains were to ze
+west."
+
+"How did you find all this out?" asked Jenvie.
+
+"From ze Secretary, McGregor. He was master of ze ship that carried the
+machinery from San Francisco, and he brought ze Americans from Port
+Natal. One was very sick with the fever, and came near dying. He had,
+besides, one wound which he received with ze Boers coming out to the
+coast from the mine. They are two devils. Ten or a dozen Boers attacked
+them to get the first month's bullion, and they two killed five of them,
+and drove ze rest away."
+
+"I wish the Boers had killed them both," said Jenvie.
+
+"They are hard men to kill," said Emanuel. "McGregor says, when ashore
+one day at D'Umber, there was a chicken-shooting match. The chickens were
+buried in the ground all but their heads, and the people were shooting at
+ten paces when these men passed. They asked about it, and asked if they
+might shoot with their own pistols; and when permission was given, they
+drew their weapons and killed six chickens each in a minute, and were
+laughing all the time as though it were nothing. They are devils, shure
+enough."
+
+"Do you think Browning knew all about this from the first?" asked Hamlin.
+
+"Not at all," said Emanuel. "No one in London knew where the Americans
+had gone, except his wife. Browning thought he had gone back to America.
+His wife knew. She got a dispatch from Australia, and letters from Port
+Natal ze same day, saying he was going to San Francisco to order
+machinery, and would return this way and be with her in four months,
+and then she left at once and beat him a week into San Francisco.
+
+"And I am ruined. My little stock is all gone. A mine worth £2,000,000 I
+sold for £2,000." And he went out.
+
+"What can we do?" asked Jenvie. "I expect a notice every moment to call
+at the broker's and settle."
+
+"Can we not assign our property?" asked Hamlin.
+
+"We could," said Jenvie, "but to-morrow we should all be looking through
+the bars of a prison."
+
+"And even Grace was in the conspiracy to rob us," said Hamlin, in an
+injured tone.
+
+"She is a brave, true woman, I think," said Jenvie, "and as it looks to
+me, she is the only one to whom we can now appeal."
+
+"May be so," said Hamlin. "Her husband worships her, I am told."
+
+"Suppose we go to your house and persuade your wife to go and bring her
+home where we can see her," said Jenvie.
+
+This was agreed to, and with heavy hearts the three men entered a
+carriage and were driven to the Hamlin house.
+
+As they went up the steps, Grace Sedgwick herself opened the door. She
+had been to see her mother, and was just going out.
+
+"Come back, Grace," said her step-father; "we wish to see you
+particularly."
+
+She returned with them, and her step-father told her how they were
+involved--in what danger they were, not only of absolute ruin, but of
+a criminal prosecution, and begged her to see her husband and intercede
+with him.
+
+"My husband needs no entreaties to do what is right," said Grace.
+"Suppose the case were reversed, what would you grant my husband?"
+
+They all hung their heads. Grace looked at them and continued: "You
+robbed dear, confiding Jack of his fortune, which he had honestly
+acquired. You robbed him for the double purpose of making him a beggar,
+and of breaking his heart, though one of you was his step-father, another
+the step-father of the woman he loved better than his own life. It was
+that which set Jack's nearest friend to be your Nemesis. Our troth had
+just been plighted. It was like death to part us, but he who is my
+husband said to me: 'There must be no scandal, if we can help it, but
+this wrong must be righted. I must go to Africa, and if I can work out
+the dear boy's deliverance, it must be done.' And I consented to it. He
+moved secretly, but with the force and energy of his nature. He and the
+friend who went with him have performed a great work. They have taken
+what was unloaded upon Jack as worthless, and converted it into something
+richer than a little kingdom. It seems, too, that in the blindness of
+your avarice, you dared fate itself to make more money out of that wreck,
+and now you are in the toils. Suppose my husband had done by you as you
+have dealt with Jack, and you had him where you now are, what mercy would
+you show him?"
+
+They were silent. They had not even self-respect to sustain them.
+
+Grace waited a moment, and then went on: "But he is of different
+material. There is no malice in his nature. He cares nothing for the
+triumph which comes through revenge.
+
+"He knew when you dared to sell that stock short, told me of it, and
+asked what would be right. I replied that I thought if you would restore
+to Jack what he had been robbed of, with interest on the money to date,
+it would be fair; and his answer was that to compel you to do that very
+thing was what caused him to leave me and go to Africa.
+
+"In that you can get an idea of him. He had money enough for himself and
+Jack both; he had no desire for revenge, but he was determined that you
+should be made to do justice to his friend, whom you had so greatly
+wronged, and that, if possible, it should be done without any noise."
+
+"Do you think he would settle that way?" asked Jenvie.
+
+"He has no settlement to make," said Grace; "but I think he would
+recommend Jack to settle that way."
+
+"And where could we meet Jack?" asked Jenvie.
+
+"I do not know," said Grace, "nor is it necessary. I think the broker
+with whom you dealt in the stocks has authority to settle. That was a
+little trap set for you. There is not a share of the stock that is not in
+the company's office at this moment."
+
+"I did not mean to rob Jack," said Hamlin. "I wanted to break his
+engagement with Rose, hoping he would turn to you."
+
+"We all understood that from the first," said Grace, "but we had made
+entirely different arrangements--arrangements worth two of that--which
+suited us all around." And bowing, the young wife left the room.
+
+The three men found, upon visiting the broker, that he had received
+orders to settle with them on the terms outlined by Grace, and they
+complied by turning over what money they had and some outside property.
+
+It left them with fair fortunes. But the story got out through Emanuel;
+their prestige was broken, and they closed up their business within a few
+days, and disappeared from the business walks of London. Two months later
+Jenvie died in a moment of apoplexy; the succeeding autumn Hamlin
+succumbed to typhoid fever, and Stetson sailed away to lose himself
+in the depths of Australia.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+GRAND OPERA.
+
+
+Jordan improved rapidly, and soon began to take long drives to different
+points of interest. After a month it was one evening proposed that they
+should all attend the theater. It was agreed to, and it was left to
+Jordan to decide where to go. Queerly enough, he selected a theater where
+the opera of "Tannhauser" was to be performed.
+
+"Did you ever attend a grand opera performance, Tom?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+"No," was the response. "Thet's ther reason I wanter go."
+
+He seemed greatly absorbed throughout the performance. The opera was
+put on with every splendor possible, and the strange man sat almost
+motionless through the mighty rendition, and was unusually silent all
+the way home.
+
+Arriving there, Grace said: "Mr. Jordan, give us your idea of the opera."
+
+"I reckon yo' might laugh at me ef I should," said Jordan.
+
+"No, we will not," said Grace; "for when it comes to that, we are none
+of us quite up to the comprehension of the mystery of a grand opera--at
+least, none but Margaret."
+
+"Well," said Jordan, "mystery are a good word ter use thar. If yo' jest
+occerpy yo'r eyes and ears, yo' hear mostly only a ocean roar uv singin',
+a brayin' uv trumpets, a clashin' uv cymbals, a beatin' uv drums, with
+ther soft strains uv viols, harps 'nd flutes, and not much music. Ef yo'
+set yo'r mind workin' ter foller ther myths outer which ther story of the
+opera war made, then ther tones become voices, 'nd ther music only tells
+er story. But ef yo' give yo'r soul a chance, then it's different. Ther
+music assumes forms of its own; it materializes, as Jim would say, and
+each man as listens understands in his own way its language. It brings
+ter ther human ear the tones uv ther ocean when it sobs agin ther sands;
+it steals ther echo of the melodies thet the winds wakes when they
+touches ther arms uv ther great pines on ther mountain tops and makes 'em
+ther harps; it steals ther babble from the brooks; it calls back all ther
+voices of the woods when within 'em ther matin' birds is all singin' in
+chorus; it borrers ther thunder from ther storm; it sarches ther whole
+world for melodies, 'nd blends 'em all for our use.
+
+"Still, they all ter-night war, ter me, only compniments. Underneath all
+wur a symphony which wur thet of a higher soul singin' ter my soul--may
+be 'twere my mother's singin' ter my soul uv glories thet we hasn't yet
+reached. It war a call fur men ter look higher ter whar thar is melodies
+too solemn 'nd sweet fur ther dull ears uv poor mortality ter hear, ter
+whar ez picters too fair fur our darkened eyes ter see, but which all
+august is a-waitin' fur us.
+
+"When I war sick, I thot one night I hearn Margery prayin' fur me; some
+uv thet music ter-night seemed like a rehearsal uv thet prayer."
+
+"Why, Mr. Jordan, that is better than the opera itself," said Grace; and
+Margaret bent and kissed the brave man's hand, while he blushed like a
+girl, and said, "Sho'."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI.
+
+MARRIAGE BELLS.
+
+
+A month more rolled by, and Jordan became himself again. Grace and Rose
+worked together to make such a wedding for him and Margaret as should be
+a joy in their memories as long as life should last.
+
+The day before the wedding, so soon as breakfast was over, Sedgwick went
+out, telling Grace to tell Jack that he wanted to meet him and Tom at the
+"Wedge of Gold" office at 1 p.m.
+
+Grace went to deliver the message, but learned from Rose that her husband
+had gone an hour before, leaving word for Sedgwick and Jordan to meet
+him at the same place at 12:30 p.m.
+
+They all met there at about the appointed time.
+
+A meeting of the directors of the "Wedge of Gold" Company was called to
+order, and a motion made and carried that another dividend of two
+shillings per share should be declared.
+
+Then Sedgwick arose and said he had an important matter to lay before the
+company. He had received an offer of £7 per share for the property, and
+the proposition had been guaranteed by the Baring Brothers, and asked
+Browning what he thought it best to do.
+
+Browning thought it best to sell.
+
+"Then," said Sedgwick, "there will be no more work for us except to
+resign as officers of the company, our resignations to take place with
+the transfer of the property."
+
+"There is yet another matter," said Browning. "How is the division of the
+proceeds to be made?"
+
+"That all rests with you, Jack," said Sedgwick; "only I think you should
+pay me back what I advanced to put the property on its feet, and you
+should keep in mind that this was made a success by our friend Jordan."
+
+"Not to any great extent," said Jordan. "I war merely a hired man working
+for my board and clothes, and you forget thet because uv it I made a
+fortune sich ez no gold could buy. Treat me, please, ez tho' I war
+already wealthy, _exceedingly_ wealthy!"
+
+"It is all due to you two," said Jack. "When the old men made good their
+robbery, I was even. All the rest is yours."
+
+And they wrangled over the matter for a full hour.
+
+Then McGregor spoke. "Let me help you out, my friends. You are offered
+£1,050,000. It is enough for you all. Divide it into three parts, and
+settle that way."
+
+Then came another wrangle, but it was settled on that basis, except that
+each agreed that Captain McGregor should receive fair compensation for
+bringing Jordan home, and they estimated that to be worth £100,000. That,
+Jordan insisted should be paid out of his share, and it took an hour to
+talk him out of it.
+
+Then it required another half hour for the three to bulldoze McGregor
+into accepting it. The convincing argument was made by Jordan, who said:
+"Supposin' you hedn't a-come, whar would I a-bin now?"
+
+McGregor went out, and then Browning said:
+
+"I have a little matter to speak of. I sold my Venezuela mine yesterday
+for £100,000," and so saying he took a memorandum from his pocket, opened
+it, and tossed to Sedgwick and Jordan each a certificate for one-third of
+the amount, saying: "I feared the way you were behaving you would spend
+all your money, so I went to work to make you a little stake, as the boys
+in Nevada say."
+
+Another wrangle then ensued, both Sedgwick and Jordan declaring that they
+had had nothing in the world to do with making the money; but Jack was
+obstinate and carried his point.
+
+McGregor returned, and all went to Sedgwick's to dinner. About the time
+the coffee was brought, a messenger rang at the door and left a package
+for Mr. Jordan. It was brought in, and then Jordan said:
+
+"Friends, in Africa I found a prospector ez war broke. I give him a
+little outfit ter go down on the Vaal. He came back after a while and
+divied with me, 'nd I want ter divy with yo'."
+
+So saying, he opened the package. Exclamations of surprise arose on all
+sides. Before their eyes was a great heap of diamonds. "I war thinkin',"
+said Jordan, "thet inasmuch ez thar war seven uv us, ther right thing ter
+do would be ter make seven heaps of ther stones," and the only change
+they could make in his plans was that the division should be made by one
+who knew their value. He had secretly had them cut since coming to
+London. They were really worth £10,000.
+
+Next day the wedding of Jordan and Mrs. Hazleton was celebrated with all
+the pomp which Grace and Rose could give it. It was followed by a great
+feast, and numberless rare presents. Jordan never showed off so well. The
+marriage exalted and transformed him.
+
+After the wedding, Mr. and Mrs. Jordan left for
+a month's visit to Scotland.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII.
+
+FRUITION.
+
+
+The syndicate that bought the "Wedge of Gold" put some of the stock on
+the market. A few days later another shipment of bullion was received,
+another dividend was declared, and the stock advanced to £10 per share.
+The happy owners gave an entertainment in honor of the mine, and called
+it "The Wedge of Gold Reception." Sedgwick and Browning with their wives
+and Captain McGregor attended.
+
+As they returned, the dawn was breaking in the East, and mighty London
+with its five millions of people began to awaken. There were confused
+murmurs, which swelled in volume every moment; these were interspersed
+with distinct clamors, as one industry after another took up anew its
+daily work. Then there was the whistle of trains; the deeper calls and
+answers of boats on the river; the louder and louder hum of the awaking
+millions, until with the coming of the full dawn the roar of the swelling
+hosts became a full diapason.
+
+"What a monster this great handiwork of man is, Sedgwick," said McGregor;
+"I wonder if there is anything else like it in this whole world."
+
+"I guess not," was Sedgwick's reply; "but, strangely enough, it reminds
+me of something not at all like it, but which impressed me quite as much
+as does this. As you say, this is man's handiwork. I saw another dawn
+once which had little in it save God's handiwork.
+
+"While mining in Virginia City, I determined one summer day to give up
+work for a week and to make a visit to the high Sierras. One day's ride
+takes you from the Comstock into the very fastnesses of the mountains.
+There were five of us in the party. We went to Lake Tahoe, crossed the
+lake, and kept on to a spring and stream of water beyond, a few miles.
+We had a camping outfit, and determined to sleep in no house while
+absent. We spread our beds in a little grassy glen; to the east there was
+no forest, but on the north and south the trees were immense, and to the
+west, a mile or two away, the mountains rose abruptly to a height which
+held the snows in their arms all the summer long.
+
+"The good-night hoot of an owl or some other sound awakened me just as
+the first streaks of the dawn began to flush the face of the east.
+
+"I sat up, and while my friends were sleeping around me, I watched
+the transformation scene of that dawn. There were not many birds to
+awake--our altitude was too high for them--and so the panorama moved
+on almost in silence. But it was the more impressive because of its
+stillness. The east grew warmer and warmer, and the solemn night began
+to spread her black wings, under which she had brooded the world, in
+preparation for flight. The shadows began to retreat from where they had
+shrouded the nearest trees. The air grew softer; from it a noiseless
+breeze just touched the great arms of the pines as though to waken them
+and gave to them an almost imperceptible motion. The stars and planets
+began to faint in the heavens. As the waves of light increased in the
+east, the snow on the high mountains to the west took on the hue of the
+opal, and when the last shadow fled away and the sun flashed gloriously
+above the eastern horizon, and another day was born, I knew just how
+the ancient Fire Worshipers felt when they bowed their heads in reverence
+before the splendors of the rising sun."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It was a good while ago that the events out of which this story was woven
+transpired.
+
+Now, at different seasons of the year, these families, with two
+gray-haired old ladies and a gray-haired old man with a sailor's rolling
+walk, may be seen, sometimes in London, sometimes on a fair estate in
+Devonshire, sometimes in a stately home in the Miami Valley, and again
+down on the Brazos in Texas.
+
+Around and among them are playing broods of little Jacks, Jims, Toms,
+Roses, Graces, and Margarets, and older children are away at school. All
+the children call the old ladies "Grandma" and the gray man with the
+sailor's walk "Grand-uncle," and all who see them declare that no other
+such a happy company can be found in all the world.
+
+The place on the Brazos is superintended by a shrewd Irishman, while the
+village physician, formerly a ship surgeon, is named Craig, and his
+wife's name is Nora; and the people there say there is not in all Texas
+another woman who is more of a lady or has a complexion so clear, a face
+so fair, or such a wealth of hair, which in color is between flaxen and
+gold.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Wedge of Gold, by C. C. Goodwin
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WEDGE OF GOLD ***
+
+***** This file should be named 16861-8.txt or 16861-8.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        https://www.gutenberg.org/1/6/8/6/16861/
+
+Produced by Justin Gillbank, Mary Meehan and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+https://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+https://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at https://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit https://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including including checks, online payments and credit card
+donations.  To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     https://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
+
+*** END: FULL LICENSE ***
+
diff --git a/16861-8.zip b/16861-8.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..85f5925
--- /dev/null
+++ b/16861-8.zip
diff --git a/16861-h.zip b/16861-h.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3098c91
--- /dev/null
+++ b/16861-h.zip
diff --git a/16861-h/16861-h.htm b/16861-h/16861-h.htm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e0f317e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/16861-h/16861-h.htm
@@ -0,0 +1,8265 @@
+<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
+    "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
+
+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
+  <head>
+    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" />
+    <title>
+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Wedge Of Gold, by C.C. Goodwin,.
+    </title>
+    <style type="text/css">
+/*<![CDATA[  XML blockout */
+<!--
+    p {  margin-top: .75em;
+         text-align: justify;
+         margin-bottom: .75em;
+         }
+    h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 {
+         text-align: center; /* all headings centered */
+         clear: both;
+         }
+    hr { width: 33%;
+	 margin-top: 2em;
+	 margin-bottom: 2em;
+         margin-left: auto;
+         margin-right: auto;
+         clear: both;
+       }
+
+    table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;}
+
+    body{margin-left: 10%;
+         margin-right: 10%;
+        }
+
+    .linenum  {position: absolute; top: auto; left: 4%;} /* poetry number */
+    .blockquot{margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 10%;}
+    .pagenum  {position: absolute; left: 92%; font-size: smaller; text-align: right;} /* page numbers */
+    .sidenote {width: 20%; padding-bottom: .5em; padding-top: .5em;
+               padding-left: .5em; padding-right: .5em; margin-left: 1em;
+               float: right; clear: right; margin-top: 1em;
+               font-size: smaller; background: #eeeeee; border: dashed 1px;}
+
+    .bb       {border-bottom: solid 2px;}
+    .bl       {border-left: solid 2px;}
+    .bt       {border-top: solid 2px;}
+    .br       {border-right: solid 2px;}
+    .bbox     {border: solid 2px;}
+
+    .center   {text-align: center;}
+    .smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
+    .u        {text-decoration: underline;}
+
+    .caption  {font-weight: bold;}
+
+    .figcenter   {margin: auto; text-align: center;}
+
+    .figleft     {float: left; clear: left; margin-left: 0; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top:
+                 1em; margin-right: 1em; padding: 0; text-align: center;}
+
+    .figright    {float: right; clear: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;
+                 margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0; padding: 0; text-align: center;}
+
+    .footnotes        {border: dashed 1px;}
+    .footnote         {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;}
+    .footnote .label  {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;}
+    .fnanchor         {vertical-align: super; font-size: .8em; text-decoration: none;}
+
+    .poem             {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; text-align: left;}
+    .poem br          {display: none;}
+    .poem .stanza     {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;}
+    .poem span.i0     {display: block; margin-left: 0em;}
+    .poem span.i2     {display: block; margin-left: 2em;}
+    .poem span.i4     {display: block; margin-left: 4em;}
+    // -->
+    /* XML end  ]]>*/
+    </style>
+  </head>
+<body>
+
+
+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Wedge of Gold, by C. C. Goodwin
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Wedge of Gold
+
+Author: C. C. Goodwin
+
+Release Date: October 12, 2005 [EBook #16861]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WEDGE OF GOLD ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Justin Gillbank, Mary Meehan and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+<h1>THE WEDGE OF GOLD</h1>
+
+<h2>BY C.C. GOODWIN,</h2>
+
+<h4>EDITOR DAILY TRIBUNE</h4>
+
+<h3>1893</h3>
+
+<h4>TRIBUNE JOB PRINTING COMPANY<br />
+SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH</h4>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS</h2>
+
+<!-- Autogenerated TOC. Modify or delete as required. -->
+<p>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.--<span class="smcap">The Mineral Kingdom</span></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.--<span class="smcap">Indications</span></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.--<span class="smcap">Making Money at $4 per day</span></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.--<span class="smcap">Smiles and Tears</span></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.--<span class="smcap">The Voyage</span></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.--<span class="smcap">Bonanzas</span></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.--<span class="smcap">A Dinner Party</span></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.--<span class="smcap">Ways that are Dark</span></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.--<span class="smcap">How Miners are Caught</span></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X.--<span class="smcap">Enchantment</span></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI.--<span class="smcap">Going to Epsom Downs</span></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII.--<span class="smcap">Westminster Abbey</span></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII.--<span class="smcap">Two Kinds of Sorrow</span></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV.--<span class="smcap">Tears and Orange Flowers</span></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV.--<span class="smcap">Sinister Successes</span></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI.--<span class="smcap">A Trip to Africa</span></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII.--<span class="smcap">On Their Travels</span></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII.--<span class="smcap">The Soul in Clay</span></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX.--<span class="smcap">The Wedge of Gold</span></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX.--<span class="smcap">The Occident and the Orient Meet</span></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XXI">CHAPTER XXI.--<span class="smcap">Shipping a Quartz Mill</span></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XXII">CHAPTER XXII.--<span class="smcap">A Lost Trail Discovered</span></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XXIII">CHAPTER XXIII.--<span class="smcap">Back to England</span></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XXIV">CHAPTER XXIV.--<span class="smcap">Dealing in Mining Shares</span></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XXV">CHAPTER XXV.--<span class="smcap">A Wedge of Gold Indeed</span></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XXVI">CHAPTER XXVI.--<span class="smcap">Fever Visions</span></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XXVII">CHAPTER XXVII.--<span class="smcap">Selling Stock Short</span></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XXVIII">CHAPTER XXVIII.--<span class="smcap">Convalescent</span></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XXIX">CHAPTER XXIX.--<span class="smcap">Springing a Trap</span></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XXX">CHAPTER XXX.--<span class="smcap">Grand Opera</span></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XXXI">CHAPTER XXXI.--<span class="smcap">Marriage Bells</span></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XXXII">CHAPTER XXXII.--<span class="smcap">Fruition</span></a><br />
+</p>
+<!-- End Autogenerated TOC. -->
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="THE_WEDGE_OF_GOLD" id="THE_WEDGE_OF_GOLD"></a>THE WEDGE OF GOLD.</h2>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE MINERAL KINGDOM.</h3>
+
+
+<p>The splendor of the world is due to mining and to the perfectness of
+man's ability to work the minerals which the mines supply. The fields of
+the world give men food; with food furnished, a few souls turn to the
+contemplation of higher things; but no grand civilization ever came to an
+agricultural people until their intellects were quickened by something
+beyond their usual occupation.</p>
+
+<p>How man first emerged from utter barbarism is a story that is lost, but
+when history first began to pick up the threads of events and to weave
+them into a record, the loom upon which the record was woven was made
+of gold. One of the rivers that flowed through Eden also "compassed the
+whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; and the gold of that land is
+good."</p>
+
+<p>"Tubal Cain was an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron."
+Abraham and Jacob bought fields with money, and when Pharaoh sought to
+make Joseph next in power to himself, he took the ring from his finger
+and put it upon Joseph's finger; and he put a chain of gold about
+Joseph's neck. Thus the grandchildren of Adam, in Holy Writ, were
+artificers in brass and iron, and when civilization in Egypt began to
+make an impression upon the world, its sovereigns had already discovered
+the omnipotence of gold.</p>
+
+<p>Assyria, that came next to be the concernment of mankind, had men who
+could perfectly fuse gold and glass, and their work is still an object
+of wonder to the world. Their queens wore raiment which was woven from
+threads of gold.</p>
+
+<p>The splendor of the Hebrew nation culminated when the roof of their
+great temple was laid with beaten gold, and when all the magnificent
+furnishings within the temple were wrought from gold and silver and
+brass.</p>
+
+<p>The invincible Greeks had chariots and javelins of iron, helmets of gold
+and brass, and now as their tombs are rifled there is found beside where
+their bones went back to dust the metal implements with which they
+wrought, and the imperishable coins with which they carried on their
+commerce.</p>
+
+<p>The power of Rome came when her artisans learned how to fashion the short
+sword, and her soldiers learned how to wield it, and her splendor came
+when, through conquest, she brought under her dominion the gold fields
+of Spain and Asia, and learned the power which money carries with it. Her
+civilization began to recede when the money supply began to fall off, and
+when it became too precious for the masses to possess it, then the race
+degenerated until the men were no longer fit to be soldiers, the women
+lost the grace to become the mothers of soldiers, and darkness settled
+upon Europe.</p>
+
+<p>England remained little more than a rendezvous for wild tribes until
+her people learned mining and began the study of how to reduce the metals
+which the mines supplied, and her advancement since can be rated exactly
+by the progress she has made in bringing the metals into effective
+forms and combinations. When first the rude Saxon acquired the art to
+mend the broken links in a knight's armor, and how to temper one of the
+old-fashioned two-handed swords, it was possible to comprehend, that from
+that germ would expand the brains that would by and by construct a steel
+ship or bridge; when the first rude spindle was fashioned, all the
+commencement necessary to create and work the world's looms was made.</p>
+
+<p>Out of these accomplishments, commerce was born; foreign commerce
+required ships, and so the ships were supplied; with commerce was
+developed a financial system, and soon it was discovered that after all
+the chiefest power of the world was money; that the swiftest way to win
+money was to perfect machinery so that out of raw material forms of
+beauty and of use could be wrought, and thus in regular chain the majesty
+of England expanded from the first day that an Englishman was able to
+convert from the dull iron ore something which the world would want,
+until ships laden with her wares reached all the world's ports, and to
+barbarous lands she became an iron nation more terrible than the first
+iron nation.</p>
+
+<p>The world's highest civilization does not come from the fruitful fields,
+but from the darkness of the deep mines. Power and independence come with
+the digging and working of the baser metals; full civilization waits upon
+the production of enough of the royal metals to give to the people wealth
+in a form that enables them to command the best attainable talent and
+forces to serve them, and enough of leisure to enable them to put forward
+their best efforts.</p>
+
+<p>Below the surface of the story which makes this book is a deeper story of
+what may be performed by brave hearts when they leave the fruitful fields
+behind them and turn with all their hearts to woo the desert that turns
+her forbidding face to them at their coming, and holds, closely hidden
+within her sere breast, her inestimable treasures.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II.</h2>
+
+<h3>INDICATIONS.</h3>
+
+
+<p>"What think you of it, Jack?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is growing soft in the drift, Jim; the stringers of ore are growing
+stronger and giving promise of concentrating soon."</p>
+
+<p>"So it strikes me," was the response, "and when Uncle Jimmie Fair was
+down here an hour ago, I put two things together, and they have kept me
+thinking ever since."</p>
+
+<p>"And what were the two things, Jim?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, Jack, did you hear him sigh as he moved the candle along the face
+of the drift, and hear him say, 'You are doing beautifully, my sons,
+beautifully; I never had better men,' and then sighed again, and added,
+'I fear it's no use; I fear we shall have to drop the work soon?' That
+was one of the things. The other was the light in his eyes when he
+examined the face of the drift. If I were a gambler, Jack, I would
+'copper' what he said and wager all I had on the twinkle of his eyes."</p>
+
+<p>"It looks good in the drift, surely; and, Jim, if we break into an ore
+body any time, it will not surprise me."</p>
+
+<p>"Nor me, either, Jack; and if we strike ore here, it ought to be good,
+because, as I reckon it, since we left the Gould and Curry shaft, we have
+drifted out of the G. &amp; C. ground, clear through the Best and Belcher,
+and some distance into the Consolidated Virginia, and by the trend of the
+lode, if we could find an ore body here, it would be in regular course
+from the Spanish and Ophir croppings."</p>
+
+<p>"How long have you worked here, and how much have you saved, Jack?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is three years and a month since I went to work in the Belcher,"
+was the reply; "I made $400 in Crown Point stocks, and I have saved
+altogether $2,800 and odd."</p>
+
+<p>"I beat you by a year's work, Jack, and I have, I believe, $3,300 or
+$3,400 in the bank. Suppose we try a little gamble in stocks. If we could
+get an ore body here, this stock would double in a week, and it will not
+fall very much lower if we do not find anything."</p>
+
+<p>"All right, Jim, if you say so. Meet me to-morrow at eleven o'clock at
+the California Bank, and we will put in and buy a few shares."</p>
+
+<p>"Agreed," was the answer; "but our twenty minutes are up and we must go.
+But, Jack, <i>mum</i> must be the word."</p>
+
+<p>"Mum goes," said Jack.</p>
+
+<p>It was a queer spot where this talk was held. It was by the air-pipe in
+the drift which was run from the 1,200-foot level of the Gould and Curry
+shaft on the Comstock ledge in Nevada, north toward where the great
+bonanza was found in the Consolidated Virginia Mine. In the face of the
+drift the temperature was 120 degrees, and miners could work for only
+forty minutes and then had to retire to the air-pipe to cool off. It was
+while resting at the air-pipe that these men, James Sedgwick and John
+Browning, talked.</p>
+
+<p>They were stripped from the waist up; all their clothing consisted of
+canvas pantaloons held up by a belt, and miners' shoes; they each had a
+little band around the head in which was fastened a miner's candlestick.
+Thus exposed, in the candlelight, they were handsome men. The excessive
+perspiration caused by the heat of the mine made their faces as fair as
+the faces of women, and as they lounged, half-naked, carelessly in the
+drift, their muscles stood out in knots, and in the dim light of the
+candles, as they rose to return to work, their movements were supple and
+elastic as those of caged lions. The one who answered to the name of
+Browning was shorter than the other by an inch, but deeper-chested; the
+candlelight showed that his eyes were blue, and his mustache and short
+curly hair were of chestnut color. The other was a little taller, but not
+so compactly built, and in the uncertain light his eyes, hair and
+mustache seemed to be black; but really his eyes were gray and his hair
+brown. Both were young, perhaps twenty-seven or twenty-eight years of
+age, and both were perfect pictures of good health and good nature.</p>
+
+<p>Their shift was from four in the afternoon to midnight; but when at
+midnight they went back through the drift to the shaft to be hoisted to
+the surface, the night foreman informed them that there was some trouble
+with the cage; that while they could still hoist rock, it was not deemed
+safe to trust men on the cage, and, accordingly, some blankets,
+mattresses, and supper had been sent down, and they would have to spend
+the night in a cross-cut running from the shaft.</p>
+
+<p>The other miners growled. These two made no complaint, but ate their
+suppers, then took their beds and spread them in the cross-cut. Sedgwick
+and Browning went farthest into the cross-cut, made their beds together,
+and lay down. When they knew by the breathing of the miners nearest them
+that they were asleep, in low tones they began to talk.</p>
+
+<p>Browning was the first to speak. "By Jove, Jim," he said, "that cage
+story is too thin. It worked all right up to ten o'clock, for Mackay and
+Fair both came down and spent a good quarter of an hour in the end of the
+drift and kept tapping around with their hammers. I was mean enough to
+watch them on the sly and saw them both taking samples. If you keep
+awake, you will see John Mackay down here again by six o'clock in the
+morning, and you may make up your mind not to see any more daylight for
+three days or a week to come; that is, if the drift keeps on improving."</p>
+
+<p>"I believe it, Jack," said Sedgwick; "did you notice that the last blast
+left nearly the whole face of the drift in ore? Then, did you notice as
+we met the car coming out, it had long drills in it, and the shift boss
+was following it up close? No blasting will be done to-night, but the
+drillings will be saved for assay, and I tell you the plan is that we
+shall tell no tales out of school. Believe me, that cage will not be
+safe again till as much stock shall be taken in as is needed by those
+in control."</p>
+
+<p>"And so," said Browning, "when we get to the surface our little money
+will not buy enough stock to make it any object."</p>
+
+<p>"I have been thinking of that," said Sedgwick, "and it makes me hot, for
+all day I have been dreaming of doubling my money."</p>
+
+<p>"I have a notion," said Browning, "to try to work my way out on the
+ladders."</p>
+
+<p>"That will not work," replied Sedgwick; "I looked, and all the lower
+ladders have been taken down."</p>
+
+<p>Then a long silence followed, until at last Sedgwick spoke again. "I
+have it, Jack," said he. Lighting his candle, he groped around in the
+cross-cut, and found a splinter from a lagging. Fishing out a stump of
+a pencil from the pocket of his pantaloons, he said, "Where is your
+money, Browning?"</p>
+
+<p>"In the California Bank," he replied.</p>
+
+<p>"All right," was the response. Then on the splinter he wrote for a
+moment, and then said, "How is this?" and in a whisper read: "California
+Bank, Please pay to John W. Mackay whatever funds may be to our
+respective credits."</p>
+
+<p>"What is your idea, Jim?" asked Browning.</p>
+
+<p>"I mean to lay for Mackay, and when he comes down ask him, quietly, to
+read the writing when he gets up into daylight."</p>
+
+<p>"But what will he think we want?" asked Browning.</p>
+
+<p>"He will know mighty quick," said Sedgwick; "he knows where we work; he
+will understand that we know what we see, and that while we do not intend
+to give away the information, at the same time we do not want to 'get
+left out in the cold' on this deal."</p>
+
+<p>"What think you he will do?" asked Browning.</p>
+
+<p>"If he believes it safe, and the right kink is on him, he will draw our
+money and buy us some stock," said Sedgwick. "He made his money that way,
+and it is not long since he was a timberman on this same lode."</p>
+
+<p>"Why not word it differently, and ask him squarely to buy the stock?"
+asked Browning.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, Jack," was the reply, "that would be a dead give-away. He would
+never present such an order at the bank. It would be a notice to every
+man in the bank and every friend of every man in the bank, and that would
+mean everybody in town, that the miners who were kept down in the deeps
+were trying to buy the stock of the mine. I would rather risk it this
+way."</p>
+
+<p>"All right, everything goes," said Browning, and both signed the order.</p>
+
+<p>Then they talked for a long time. They had known each other slightly for
+a couple of years, having met first in the Belcher lower levels, and
+being thrown together in work on the face of the drift from the G. &amp; C.
+shaft, they had, during the previous few days, each found that the other
+was a good and bright man, and had grown more and more intimate, and a
+warm friendship had sprung up between them. As they lay down again,
+Browning said to Sedgwick, "How did you come to be here, Jim?"</p>
+
+<p>"Fate arranged it, I guess," was the reply. "You see, my home was
+in Ohio, in the valley of the Miami. My father had a big farm&mdash;400
+acres&mdash;but there were two boys older than myself, and they needed the
+land. I took to books naturally, and the plan was to give me an
+education, and then add a learned profession, or set me up in some little
+business. So I went to school, and after awhile was sent to Oberlin
+College. Queer old place, that! Great place for praying and for teaching
+the universal brotherhood of man! The result, I used to think, was that
+a colored man commanded a premium over a white man there. I worried the
+thing through for three years and a half. There was a young mulatto
+student in the school named Deering, who was a great deal too big for his
+clothes. He was inclined to force himself into places where he was not
+wanted, and at anything like the manifestation of a desire to dispense
+with his society, he grew saucy in a moment. I did not mind him, but he
+was vinegar and brimstone to a young student from Tennessee, a slight,
+weakly lad, but as brave a little chap as you ever saw, named Thorne.
+Well, one day, for some impertinence, Thorne struck him. Deering was an
+athlete; he weighed twenty pounds more than I did, fifty more than
+Thorne, I guess; he was quick as lightning, was most handy with his
+props, and in an instant he smashed poor Thorne's face with a blow which
+knocked him half senseless.</p>
+
+<p>"I sprang to Thorne, at the same time telling Deering it was a cowardly
+act for one like him to strike a little fellow like Thorne. He answered
+something to the effect that for a trifle he would smash me a good deal
+worse than he had Thorne, and&mdash;well, in a minute more there were lively
+times in that neighborhood.</p>
+
+<p>"It was a tough scrap. It was out on the green; the students gathered
+around us, and while some cried out to stop us, others shouted, 'Fair
+play!' and so we were not interfered with. I remember saying to myself,
+'If I win, it must be a triumph of race and mind over matter;' but, Jack,
+that was mighty lively matter. We both had been rowing and practicing in
+the gymnasium; we were both as hard as iron. Deering was as supple as a
+boa-constrictor, and had a fist like a twelve-pound hammer. Later, the
+boys told me the fight lasted twenty minutes. The last I saw was Deering
+knocked out on the ground, and then my eyes closed, and the boys led me
+to my room. They swathed my eyes with raw beefsteaks and raw oysters,
+rubbed me down, and put me to bed. It was ten days before I got out; it
+was two weeks before Deering did. Then there was an investigation. It
+was shown that I took up a fight that Thorne commenced; that Thorne had
+gone for a gun in case I should get the worst of it. So Deering was
+reinstated, and Thorne and myself expelled. At the time I had a silver
+watch and four dollars in money. I sold the watch for fourteen dollars. I
+wrote the facts to my father, and told him I was going West, for he is a
+straight-laced Presbyterian; I knew he would feel eternally disgraced by
+my expulsion, and I did not want to hear his reproaches. Thorne wanted to
+give me money, but I told him I had plenty.</p>
+
+<p>"I worked my way to Texas, and stopped one night at the house of a big
+cattle man named Thomas Jordan. I had just $1.50 left. He worked out of
+me my history, and when I explained why I was expelled from school, he
+laughed until he cried, and said: 'And yo' licked the coon!' and then
+went off again into a mighty fit of laughter.</p>
+
+<p>"He was a man about thirty years of age, spare built, but wiry as an
+Indian. He had black hair and eyes; he was not educated, but was
+naturally a bright man; was brave as a lion; could ride like a Comanche;
+was a splendid shot, and had been West; took up a gold mine in Arizona,
+opened it, and sold it three years before I met him for $25,000, and with
+that bought the ranch and stock. He was originally from Tennessee; when a
+boy was in the Confederate army; had been knocked about until he was a
+perfect man of affairs, and the heart within him was simply just royal.</p>
+
+<p>"Next morning, as we went out from breakfast, his vaqueros were trying to
+ride a vicious horse. He was a big buckskin stallion, six years old, and
+strong and fierce as a grizzly. The horse tossed three of them, one after
+the other, out of the saddle; neither one lasted a minute on his curved
+back. I was watching the performance when Jordan came up to me and,
+laughing, again said: 'But yo' licked the coon!'</p>
+
+<p>"I said, 'Yes, but that was not much to brag about.'</p>
+
+<p>"'Yo' licked the coon, but was afeerd to meet the governor, eh?' he said.</p>
+
+<p>"I answered, 'That is about the size of it.'</p>
+
+<p>"'And yo' did not go home?' he said.</p>
+
+<p>"'No,' I replied.</p>
+
+<p>"'Did not send for any money?'</p>
+
+<p>"'No.'</p>
+
+<p>"'How much did yo' have?'</p>
+
+<p>"'Four dollars, and a watch which I sold for fourteen dollars.'</p>
+
+<p>"'How much have yo' left?'</p>
+
+<p>"'I believe, $1.50.'</p>
+
+<p>"'What are yo' going to do?'</p>
+
+<p>"'Going to work.'</p>
+
+<p>"'Wat at?'</p>
+
+<p>"'Anything I can get to do.'</p>
+
+<p>"'Will yo' work for me?'</p>
+
+<p>"'Yes.'</p>
+
+<p>"'Know anything about herding and driving cattle?'</p>
+
+<p>"'No, but I can learn it.'</p>
+
+<p>"'All right, what about wages?'</p>
+
+<p>"'Anything you like.'</p>
+
+<p>"'All right,' said Jordan, 'I will have the boys fix yo' up a gentle
+mustang and give yo' a show.'</p>
+
+<p>"I had overheard the cowboys the previous evening telling about a 'gentle
+broncho' that they had given a 'tenderfoot,' and how the tenderfoot was
+'jolted.' I reflected that I was in Texas and might just as well
+establish myself at once. When a boy, I could ride anything on the farm
+or in the township. So I said:</p>
+
+<p>"'Mr. Jordan, let me try the buckskin.'</p>
+
+<p>"'What!' said Jordan, 'would yo' mount that wild beast? He's a devil. My
+best riders cannot sit him. Indeed, he has tossed half the cowboys in
+Texas.'</p>
+
+<p>"'Let me try him,' said I.</p>
+
+<p>"'<i>All right</i>,' said Jordan, 'come on.'</p>
+
+<p>"We climbed into the big corral. One of the boys threw a rope upon the
+horse, drew him up to the center post, blinded him, and said to me:</p>
+
+<p>"'Young feller! If you ride him, you'll be a good one, shore 'nough.'</p>
+
+<p>"I took off my coat, vest and suspenders, tied a heavy handkerchief
+around my stomach, fixed the saddle, sprang upon the horse, and the blind
+was drawn off at the same moment. Then for ten minutes I had a game as
+lively as I had experienced with the coon. How he did jolt me! But I sat
+him. Then, when all his other tricks had failed, he started in a run for
+the center post of the corral, with the intention of raking me off. But
+it was his side that struck the post; my knee was on top of the saddle,
+and when the rebound knocked him away from the post it was not a second
+until I was back in the saddle; and then I assumed the offensive and
+drove the rowels into him. Between the shock of the blow and the surprise
+of the rowels, he gave up, made a feeble jump or two, stopped and stood
+trembling.</p>
+
+<p>"I dismounted, and the cowboys threw up their hats and cheered the
+'tenderfoot.' Then I took down the reins of the hackamore (the Mexican
+Jaquema), bent the brute's head around, and tied him in a half circle to
+his own tail. Then, borrowing a cowboy's whip, I tapped him gently with
+it, and kept him turning and tumbling until he was covered with foam, and
+I saw he was completely subdued. Then I untied the rope, gave him his
+head, and then sprang again (without a blind this time) into the saddle.
+He moved off in a walk; then I trotted him, then put him in a gallop, and
+after circling the corral two or three times, reined him up to the
+cowboys, stopped him, and dismounted.</p>
+
+<p>"'No wonder he licked the coon!' said Jordan.</p>
+
+<p>"And one of the cowboys standing near said, 'Bet y'r boots!'</p>
+
+<p>"I went to work and was a cowboy for a year, and it was a happy year, for
+I had no trouble and any number of friends. I could ride and shoot with
+any of them, and soon learned to throw a rope. My riding the big stallion
+gave me a mighty prestige, for I learned later that many had tried him
+and no one had kept the saddle for two minutes. He was my vaquero horse,
+and many a cowboy stopped and looked as I rode by.</p>
+
+<p>"I had been with Jordan but a short time when one evening he brought a
+book and said:</p>
+
+<p>"'Jim! look at this. A preacher-lookin' chap stopped over night har a
+year ago and went off in the mornin', and forgot ter take it. See if yo'
+don't think it's ther durndest stuff yo' ever seen!'</p>
+
+<p>"I looked at the book. It was the Iliad, Pope's translation.</p>
+
+<p>"'Why, Jordan,' I said, 'this is a wonderful book.' Then I briefly
+explained what the great epic was, who the Greeks and who the Trojans
+were, the cause of the war between them, how nations fought in those
+days, what gods they worshiped, and added, 'Let me read you a little
+of it.'</p>
+
+<p>"'Why, in course,' said Jordan. 'If yo' ken make a blamed thing out er
+it, we'd all like to har it; wouldn't we, boys?'</p>
+
+<p>"They all assented. I was just out of school and read pretty well.</p>
+
+<p>"So I opened the volume at random and it happened to be in Book XVI.,
+where Pelides consents that Patroclus shall put on his own armor and lead
+his Myrmidons into the fight, where Achilles arouses and sets in array
+his terrible warriors, has the steeds yoked and prays Dodonian Jove to
+give to his friend the victory, and then to grant him safe return. After
+reading ten minutes, I closed the book, and asked Jordan if I should read
+anymore.</p>
+
+<p>"'Sarten,' he said. 'That war fine. It are like that mornin' at
+Murfreesborough when all thar bugles war callin' 'nd ther big guns war
+beginnin' ter roar.'</p>
+
+<p>"Then I opened at the beginning and read right along for an hour. All the
+company were greatly excited, declaring 'it war fine.'</p>
+
+<p>"I read to them every evening the winter through, read the Iliad entire,
+and in the meantime Jordan had sent to Galveston for more books, begging
+me to select them, and declaring he would fill the house with them if I
+would only 'steer his buyin' so as not by his purchases 'ter make a holy
+show' of himself.</p>
+
+<p>"When finally the great annual round-up came, I held my own with the best
+riders, on trial I could draw and shoot with the quickest and surest
+shots, and could handle a rope fairly well. I enjoyed the life.</p>
+
+<p>"Generally every one was my friend, but there was one rough customer, a
+man named Turner, who did not like me, though I had never done a thing in
+the world to offend him. He made his boasts that no one had ever 'got
+away' with him or ever would. He had a tough record and many people
+feared him, for he was a powerful man physically, and cruel in all his
+instincts.</p>
+
+<p>"One day something was needed from the station, and I rode Buckskin down
+to get it. The station was a couple of miles from Jordan's house. Thirty
+or forty cowboys were there on a lark, and all had been drinking a
+little.</p>
+
+<p>"They hailed me boisterously and wanted me to drink. I laughingly told
+them I never drank, and good-naturedly threatened to make it hot for the
+whole band if they did not behave themselves. I had neither coat nor vest
+on, and they could all see I had no weapons about me. They all laughed,
+for they were a jovial, good-hearted crowd.</p>
+
+<p>"But just then this rough Turner showed up and said: 'Who is threatening
+to make it hot for us?'</p>
+
+<p>"Half a dozen of the boys explained that I was only joking, but Turner
+was bent on mischief.</p>
+
+<p>"'He won't drink with us, hey? Well, we'll drink with him,' he said, and
+turning to me ordered me to call up the crowd and treat, or tell the
+reason why.</p>
+
+<p>"I replied that one reason was that I did not very often drink, and
+another was that I never drank on compulsion.</p>
+
+<p>"He was frantic in a moment, and suddenly drew his revolver. I caught the
+barrel and turned it up just as he fired, then took it from him, handed
+it to one of the boys, and told him to keep it until Turner had time to
+reflect on what a fool he was making of himself.</p>
+
+<p>"He was only the more furious at that. He sprang backward two or three
+feet, then drawing a huge knife made with it a savage lunge at me. I
+seized his wrist, and after a brief struggle wrenched the knife from his
+hand, but still holding his wrist told him that unless he grew quiet I
+should have to box his ears.</p>
+
+<p>"The boys laughed and jeered at this, which only further incensed the
+ungovernable brute, and he declared that he would give $100 for the
+chance to whip me in a fair fist fight.</p>
+
+<p>"At this I released his wrist and told him he should be accommodated. The
+boys gathered in a ring around us. Turner came at me like a wild beast,
+but he had no scientific use of his hands and I had had a little
+practice.</p>
+
+<p>"I knocked aside his blow with my left, and with the open palm of my
+right hand gave him a sounding box on his left ear.</p>
+
+<p>"The cowboys yelled with delight at this, crying, 'Turner, did you hear
+that?'</p>
+
+<p>"Turner rallied and made another rush at me. This time I struck his blow
+aside with my right hand and boxed his right ear with the palm of my left
+hand.</p>
+
+<p>"So the business continued for several seconds. I never closed my hands,
+but just boxed him right and left, the boys fairly screaming with joy,
+until I finally gathered all my strength and gave him one resounding
+cuff that sent him full length to grass, the most abject-looking, baffled
+bully that I ever saw.</p>
+
+<p>"Seeing how completely whipped he was, I went to him, and taking him by
+the arm, said, 'Turner, you were right about my treating; come in and
+take a drink with me. There's nothing like exercise to make one thirsty.'</p>
+
+<p>"But he would not drink. He arose, skulked away, got his gun and knife,
+mounted his mustang, and left that part of Texas.</p>
+
+<p>"Next day the boys told Jordan about the scrap, and he danced for joy. He
+at once rode away to the station to get all the particulars, and when he
+returned at night he called me aside and said, 'Jim, yo' is thinkin' of
+leavin' har. We couldn't get along at all without yo'. I seen my lawyer
+ter-day and told him ter make a deed o' half this ranch 'nd stock ter Jim
+Sedgwick, and so thar firm now war "Tom and Jim" er "Jim and Tom," I
+don't give er continental which.'</p>
+
+<p>"Of course I could not accept the gift, but it took me three days to
+satisfy the great-hearted man why I could not. I told him I was bound
+to go further West, that his heart had run away with his head, and he
+yielded at last, but insisted that the offer was a 'squar' one and would
+last always if I ever came back.</p>
+
+<p>"When the year was up I had saved $212 at regular cowboy wages and would
+accept no more, though Jordan begged me to take 'sunthun decent.'</p>
+
+<p>"I came West, learned a little of mining&mdash;how to hold and hit a drill&mdash;in
+Colorado, then took a run up into Montana, came down across Idaho and
+finally reached this place. Liking the ways of things here I went to
+work. I have not missed a dozen shifts in three years."</p>
+
+<p>Browning chuckled at the story, and when Sedgwick ceased he said:</p>
+
+<p>"Isn't it jolly queer that we have been thrown together? My home was in
+Devonshire, England. My step-father was a merchant who finally became a
+half banker and half broker. When I was a little kid my mother died, and
+my father after a while married a widow who had a little daughter five
+years younger than myself. My father died, and my stepmother married a
+man named Hamlin.</p>
+
+<p>"When I became twenty-two years old, my step-father wanted me to marry
+this little girl. I declined, first, because she seemed to me a sister,
+and second, I was head and ears in love with the step-daughter of the
+village barrister. The girl was my sister's running mate, so to speak,
+and though I had never said one word of love to her, my heart was on the
+lowest level in the dust at her feet. It was, by Jove!</p>
+
+<p>"In those days I was a bit wild, I guess. I did not get out of school
+with much honor. I used to ride steeple-chase and hurdle races and dance
+all night. Sometimes, too, I had a scrap, and was careless about the
+money I spent. The old barrister&mdash;his name was Jenvie&mdash;believed I was
+the worst kid in the United Kingdom. One evening Rose Jenvie&mdash;her real
+name was Leighton, she was my glory, you know&mdash;had been visiting my
+foster-sister, and remaining until after dark, I walked home with her.
+It was a starlit night in summer, and we talked as we walked as young
+people do. The gate to the path leading up to her house was open, and I
+continued to walk by her side until we were almost at the door, when the
+'Governor' sprang up from a bench on the little lawn, where he had been
+sitting, and, rudely seizing his step-daughter by the arm, broke out with
+a torrent of insulting reproaches that she should dare to be walking
+alone at night by the side of the most worthless scapegrace in all
+England.</p>
+
+<p>"The dear girl tried to explain that my part of the affair was merely an
+act of courtesy, but the old chap was hot, and that only made him rave
+the worse.</p>
+
+<p>"I stood it a minute, and then said, 'Never mind, Miss Rose! You go
+within doors, please, and your governor will feel better when he has time
+to think.'</p>
+
+<p>"At this he turned upon me, ordered me off the grounds, and added that if
+I did not go at once he would kick me over the hedge. Then I laughed and
+said: 'Oh, no, Mr. Jenvie, you certainly would not do that.'</p>
+
+<p>"Something in my voice, I guess, vexed him, for he sprang at me like a
+Siberian wolf. He was a big, hearty fellow, about forty years old, and
+the blow he aimed at me would have felled a shorthorn. But I knocked it
+aside, as he made the rush, which swerved him a little to one side, and
+the opportunity was too good. Bless my soul! Before I thought, I planted
+him a stinger on the neck, and he went down like a felled ox. And he lay
+there for fully a minute. The beautiful girl never screamed or uttered a
+word, except, 'O, Jack, I hope you are not hurt!' She had never called me
+Jack before, and by Jove, it sounded sweeter to me than a wedding march.
+The old chap in a dazed way rose up on his hands. I saw he was coming out
+of it, and with a hasty 'Good night, Miss Rose,' I got out of the way. I
+went home and told my governor the whole story, and wasn't he mad! Jenvie
+was his closest friend, you know, and so he ordered me to go and
+apologize to the old barrister. I told him flatly I would not. Then he
+ordered me out of the house, and, first bidding mother and sister Grace
+good-bye, I left. I had four pounds six, and with it I went down to an
+old aunt's of mine in Cornwall. After three days there I met some miners,
+had a night with them, which ended by their initiating me into their
+clan. Next morning, thinking it over, my better self asserted itself, and
+the whim took me to learn the mining business.</p>
+
+<p>"I worked a year, and when off shift I read all the books on geology and
+mining that I could find; I found a pamphlet telling me all about this
+lode and its possibilities. I had worked steadily and had saved money
+enough to pay my way here; I came, and went to work the second day after
+arriving on the lode."</p>
+
+<p>"What are your plans, Browning?" asked Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"I have no certain plans," was the answer. "I have just lived on an
+impossible dream, you know, of making &pound;5,000, then going back, and if
+Rose Jenvie is not married to try to steal her away. If I could make
+a good bit of money I would buy a place, a big tract of downs in
+Devonshire. I could, by draining it and running it my way, make it double
+in value in three years."</p>
+
+<p>"And I," said Sedgwick, "have been nursing just such another dream, which
+is to make $30,000 to go back and cancel the mortgage of $5,000 on the
+old home place, and then to buy old Jasper's farm on the hill. It is a
+daisy. It contains 300 acres and is worth $40 an acre. If I could do
+that, I believe I could reconcile the old gent, and make him think I was
+not so mightily out of the way after all when I fought at college and ran
+away. But $30,000&mdash;good Lord! when will a man get $30,000 working for $4
+a day on the Comstock?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is a close, hard game," said Browning. Then there was silence, the
+candle burned out, and in a moment more both miners were asleep.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III.</h2>
+
+<h3>MAKING MONEY AT $4 PER DAY.</h3>
+
+
+<p>The men awoke early, and, as Sedgwick had predicted, by six o'clock, the
+superintendent of the mine came down and went to the end of the drift.
+On his return to the lower station of the shaft, Sedgwick approached him,
+and holding out the bit of lagging, said in a low voice: "Mr. Mackay,
+there are a few words written on that. Will you not kindly carry them to
+the surface and read them?" Mr. Mackay took it and put it in the pocket
+of the gray shirt which he always wore in the mine, saying jokingly:
+"Tobacco needed on your watch?" "Worse, even," answered Sedgwick, and
+walked away.</p>
+
+<p>When the men were allowed to go above ground, five days later, they found
+that Consolidated Virginia had jumped from $4 to $11 per share. Sedgwick
+and Browning went straight to the bank and asked how their accounts
+stood. They found that $2,800 from one credit, and $3,200 from the other
+had been withdrawn. They looked at each other and smiled, but said
+nothing. Passing outside, they exchanged opinions and both concluded that
+if Mackay had bought the stock promptly, it must have doubled already.
+But both agreed that they would say nothing; rather, would let matters
+drift. So days and weeks rolled by, until finally the stock touched $30
+per share, when one morning each received a note to call at the bank.</p>
+
+<p>They went together, and were informed that 2,000 (old) shares of
+Consolidated Virginia had been placed to their credit, and that it was
+at their discretion to realize upon it, or permit it to remain longer.
+The news fairly took their breath away.</p>
+
+<p>"How about making $30,000 at $4 per day, Jim?" said Browning.</p>
+
+<p>"How about &pound;5,000, the old barrister's step-daughter, and the downs in
+Devonshire, Jack?" said Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>They went to their room in the lodging house to talk over what was best
+to do.</p>
+
+<p>"When we sell," said Sedgwick, "I am going to Ohio."</p>
+
+<p>"And I to old England," said Browning.</p>
+
+<p>"And how can we give any expression of our gratitude to John Mackay?"
+asked Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"Let us go down and tender him half our stock," said Browning.</p>
+
+<p>"A good thought," said Sedgwick. So down to the Consolidated Virginia
+office they went at once. They gained an instant interview with Mr.
+Mackay, and, thanking him warmly, told him they had thought it over, and
+determined that he was entitled to half their shares.</p>
+
+<p>"That's clever of you, boys," said Mackay, "but that is too big a
+commission. How much did you say the order on the splinter had brought
+you?"</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick replied that they had 2,000 shares, and that the stock was
+selling at $30 on a rising market.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," answered Mackay, "that will be $10 for one, will it not?"</p>
+
+<p>They answered, "Yes."</p>
+
+<p>The Bonanza King thought for a moment, and then said: "It is this way,
+boys. I have been picking up a few shares of the stock on my own account
+lately, and do not need any ready money at present, but there are a good
+many sick and bruised miners down in the hospital. If, when you sell, you
+can see your way clear to send them down a few dollars, that will do more
+good than to divide with me, for I would be liable to lose the money any
+day in these crazy stocks."</p>
+
+<p>They thanked him with swimming eyes and broken voices, and started to
+retire, when he called them back, and said: "I bought that stock because
+I noticed that you were not just like some of the others down in the
+mine, and I knew if the money should be lost you would neither of you
+reproach me. But I called you back to tell you that while I do not think
+there is any hurry about selling your stocks, dealing in mining shares is
+a risky business, as a rule, especially when you have nothing but a guess
+to go on; and I do not believe I would, if in your places, take that up
+for a business."</p>
+
+<p>Then some one else came in, and the miners retired.</p>
+
+<p>They determined not to sell just then, and both went back to work at 4 in
+the afternoon of that day.</p>
+
+<p>The young men continued their daily toil. After the stock reached $35
+per share, it hung at that figure for a long time, but they felt no
+uneasiness. They saw the hurry of the work in opening the Consolidated
+Virginia and the C. &amp; C. shafts; they saw a new great quartz mill being
+erected, but they saw something else which pleased them much more, which
+was that the more the great ore body was sunk and drifted upon, the
+bigger it grew. In the early winter of 1874-5, the stock began to climb
+up. It jumped to $80, then $85; then, almost in a day, to $115, and so
+on up to $220. The strain on the minds of the two young miners was very
+great, but they held on. There was another little lull, and then towards
+spring it started up again.</p>
+
+<p>When it reached $480, Browning said to Sedgwick: "Bless my soul, Jim, I
+have not slept for three nights. I have been thinking that hundreds of
+people have been waiting for the stock to touch $500, and when it does,
+they will unload and break it down. Had we not better sell? It will give
+us as much money as we can manage."</p>
+
+<p>"I guess you are right, Jack" said Sedgwick. "I believe it will still go
+a good deal higher, but if it does, let those who buy our stocks make it.
+As you said, it will bring us as much money as we can manage. It takes a
+brave man to sell on a rising market. Let us be brave."</p>
+
+<p>So they gave the order for the sale of the stock, but that day it jumped
+to $520, and when the returns were made, they found to their credit,
+$1,040,000. The stock touched $900 per share a few days later.</p>
+
+<p>The result well-nigh paralyzed them. "At $4 per day, this is not bad,
+Browning," said Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"This secures the hill farm of old Jasper&mdash;three hundred acres at forty
+dollars per acre&mdash;does it not, Sedgwick?" said Browning.</p>
+
+<p>They ordered $10,000 to be placed to the credit of the hospitals and
+bought exchange on New York and London for $1,000,000. The rest they took
+with them in money.</p>
+
+<p>In dividing there was a little dispute. Browning insisted that he was
+entitled to only forty-six and two-thirds per cent. of the amount, as his
+money was as seven to eight of Jim's.</p>
+
+<p>"Why will you bother me with those vulgar fractions, Browning? Try to be
+a gentleman," said Sedgwick. "We share alike on this business, remember
+that; and say what a country this is to get rich in at four dollars a
+day!"</p>
+
+<p>So it was settled. Their friends were told they had made a little stake,
+and were going home; the good-byes were spoken, and the young men turned
+their faces eastward.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV.</h2>
+
+<h3>SMILES AND TEARS.</h3>
+
+
+<p>While riding through Nevada, Browning, after a long look from the car
+window, said:</p>
+
+<p>"By Jove, Jim, but is not this a desolate region? It is as though when
+the rocky foundation had been laid, there was no more material to furnish
+this part of the world with, and the work stopped."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Jack," was Sedgwick's answer. "I knew an old man once. He was very
+aged and most decrepit. His face was but a mass of wrinkles; his back was
+bent; he always wore a frown on his face, and every relative he had
+wished that he was dead. But his bank account was a mighty one; he had
+given grand homes and plenty of money to each of his six children; he
+still possessed a fortune so large that his neighbors could not estimate
+it. I never look out upon the face of Nevada that I do not think of that
+old man.</p>
+
+<p>"The fairest structures in San Francisco were built of the treasures
+taken from Nevada hills; clear across the continent, in every great city
+are beautiful blocks which are but Nevada gold and silver converted into
+stone and iron and glass; in every State are fair homes which were bought
+or redeemed with the money obtained here in the desert. Beyond that, the
+money already supplied from Nevada mines has changed the calculations of
+commerce, and made itself a ruling factor in prices; it has given our
+nation a new standing among the nations of the world; because of it, the
+lands are worth more money even in the Miami Valley where I was born;
+because of it, better wages are paid to laborers throughout our republic;
+it has been a factor of good, a blessing to civilization; and yet Eastern
+people revile Nevada and look upon it as did the relatives of the old man
+I was telling you of, because it is wrinkled and sere and always wears a
+frowning face."</p>
+
+<p>As Sedgwick and Browning neared Chicago, the former began to grow
+restless, and finally said:</p>
+
+<p>"Jack, old friend, you must go home with me. It is something I dread more
+than riding mustangs or fighting cowboys. It is more than five years
+since I went away, and it will be just worse than a fire in a mine to
+face."</p>
+
+<p>Browning agreed that a few days more or less would not count. "Because,"
+he said, "if Rose Jenvie is still Rose Jenvie, it will not much matter;
+if Rose Jenvie is not Rose Jenvie, then, by Jove, every minute of delay
+in knowing that fact is good. Besides, you know, I want to see that
+three-hundred-acre farm of old Jasper's on the hill which you are to
+buy."</p>
+
+<p>They remained a few hours only in Chicago, and took the evening train for
+the valley of the Miami. The next morning, about seven o'clock, they left
+the cars at a little village station, and started on foot for the old
+home of Sedgwick, a mile away.</p>
+
+<p>"Browning," said Sedgwick, "it was mighty kind of you to come with me.
+I ran bare-footed over this road every summer day of my boyhood. In that
+old school-house I could show you notches which I cut in the tables and
+benches, and it seems now as though I was choking." They came to the old
+churchyard. "Hold, Jack," said Sedgwick, "let us go in here and look to
+see if any more graves have been added since I went away."</p>
+
+<p>They climbed the fence, and Sedgwick led the way to a plot of ground
+where there were three headstones. "Thank God, there are no new graves,"
+he said. "This was my sister; this, my baby brother, and this, my
+mother," pointing to the names on the headstones. "Had my mother been
+alive, I would long ago have come back."</p>
+
+<p>Then, with more calmness, he turned his steps back to the road, but he
+was shaking in every limb when he opened the old gate and walked up
+toward the house. The path was lined with lilacs in full bloom, and a
+robin in a tree near by was calling her mate. "The same old lilacs, the
+same old redbreast, Browning," he said, with white lips.</p>
+
+<p>He did not stop to knock, but pushed the door suddenly open and strode
+within. Walking up to an old man, who was reading his Bible, he said,
+"Father, I am sorry that I fought the mulatto, if it grieved you, but the
+black rascal deserved it, all the same."</p>
+
+<p>The old man surveyed him wildly for a moment, then broke completely down,
+and, wringing the young man's hands, could only sob:</p>
+
+<p>"Thank God, my son, whom I thought was lost, is back again. Thank God!"</p>
+
+<p>Then the brothers and their wives and children came in, and there was
+such a scene that Browning slipped out, seated himself on the piazza, and
+mopping his brow with his kerchief, said, "Bless my soul; I believe I
+will never go home. There is more real enjoyment at a miner's funeral in
+Virginia City; there is, by Jove."</p>
+
+<p>But they found him after a little, and Sedgwick presented him to his
+kinfolk as his close companion, and he was welcomed in a way which
+touched him deeply, and made him conclude that the world was filled with
+good people.</p>
+
+<p>Soon the news spread, and the neighbors began to pour in, and what a day
+it was! What old memories were awakened and rehearsed; what every one had
+done; who had died; who had married; all the history of the little place
+for all the years.</p>
+
+<p>Going home after a long absence is a little like what one might imagine
+of a resurrection from the dead. There is exceeding joy, but mingled with
+it is much of the damp and chill of the tomb. Indeed, going home after a
+long absence "causes all the burial places of memory to give up their
+dead," and through all the joy there is an undertone of sorrow, for all
+the reminders are of the fact that the calmest lives are speedily
+sweeping on; that there is no halting in the swift transit between birth
+and death.</p>
+
+<p>Three days passed, and notwithstanding the enjoyment, Sedgwick found that
+there was a good deal of trouble worrying the family. The old mortgage of
+$5,000 was not paid; rather, it had been doubled to make a first payment
+on a 200-acre farm adjoining, and with fitting up and stocking the old
+place, and with bad crops, the debts amounted altogether to more than
+$20,000. He did not tell any one of his good fortune. He was dressed in a
+plain business suit, without a single ornament. The watch he carried for
+convenience was merely a cheap silver watch.</p>
+
+<p>On the fourth day, Browning said to his friend: "Jim, old pard, I must
+be off to-morrow. You have had a good visit. Come over to England with me
+for a month, and help me through with&mdash;Rose and the old man."</p>
+
+<p>"Agreed, Jack," said Sedgwick. "I want to fix up some little things here,
+and I do not want to be around when the fixing shall be understood. It
+will be a good excuse to get away."</p>
+
+<p>Then going to a desk, he wrote a few words, took a bill of exchange
+for $100,000 from his pocketbook, endorsed it, making it payable to his
+father, folded the bill inside the letter, sealed it and directed it to
+his father; then putting the letter in his pocket, said, "That will make
+it all right."</p>
+
+<p>At supper that evening he informed the family that he was going on the
+early train with his friend and might be gone a month or six weeks, after
+which he believed he would return, settle down and become steady. All
+tried to dissuade him, but Browning helped him, telling the family he
+needed his friend's help on serious business; and so that night the
+kindling was put in the kitchen stove, the dough for biscuits for
+breakfast was set, the tea-kettle filled, the chickens fixed for frying,
+and the coffee ground.</p>
+
+<p>It was but a little after daylight next morning when, the breakfast over,
+they were ready to start. They shook hands all round, and when it came to
+saying good-bye to his father, Sedgwick drew out the letter, and giving
+it to the old man, said: "Father, when you hear the train pull out of the
+village, open that letter. It contains a little keepsake for you which I
+picked up by a scratch in Nevada." And they were off.</p>
+
+<p>When that letter was opened, and the astounding figures on the bill were
+read and comprehended, what a time there was at that house, and how the
+neighbors came again to see the wonderful paper, and how it was figured
+how many farms it would buy, what houses it would build and furnish, and
+how the boy who had been expelled from school for fighting had done it
+all! What a smashing of old theories it made, and how every wild boy in
+the neighborhood to whom the evil example of the bad Sedgwick boy had
+been held up as an illustration of total depravity and as proof that
+nothing of good ever came to a youth that would fight and get expelled
+from school, rejoiced! To these, what a day of exultation that bill of
+exchange brought!</p>
+
+<p>But it was only a day, before there began to circulate rumors that the
+whole thing was but a joke; that the bill would be repudiated when
+presented for payment, or at most that it was only for $1,000.</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick, <i>pere</i>, with his sons, lost no time in testing the matter.
+Sedgwick had written in the letter that though the bill was drawn on New
+York, any bank in Cincinnati would cash it. So they repaired to the city,
+and calling on their lawyer, asked him to go with them and identify them
+at some bank, as they desired to get a little check cashed. He complied.</p>
+
+<p>The cashier looked at the bill and asked in what kind of money the
+payment was wanted.</p>
+
+<p>The old man thought he would give his neighbors an object lesson, and
+replied that he would take it in gold.</p>
+
+<p>The cashier smiled and asked him how he would take it away.</p>
+
+<p>The old man said, "I do not understand you."</p>
+
+<p>"It will, in gold, weigh about 400 pounds," said the cashier.</p>
+
+<p>At this the lawyer became interested in a moment and said: "Four hundred
+pounds of gold! What kind of a check have you?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is a bill of exchange on New York for $100,000," said the cashier.</p>
+
+<p>"One hundred thousand dollars!" said the lawyer; "Great heavens! have you
+found an oil well on your farm, robbed a bank, or what?"</p>
+
+<p>"No," said the elder Sedgwick, "but my wild boy has come from Nevada, and
+I guess this is a part of the great bonanza."</p>
+
+<p>Finally $25,000 was drawn in paper, enough to clear up all the home
+indebtedness, and the rest left on deposit until the son and brother
+should return; for, as they talked it all over, they concluded that he
+had left with them all his fortune, except traveling expenses.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE VOYAGE.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Browning and Sedgwick reached New York and took passage on the first
+outgoing Cunarder. When the ship steamed out of the harbor, it entered at
+once into a lively sea, and the great craft grew strangely unsteady.
+Browning was a good sailor, but Sedgwick found it was all he could do to
+maintain his equanimity. "Jack," he said at last, "this is worse exercise
+then riding a Texas steer." "Did you ever ride a Texas steer?" asked
+Browning. "Indeed I have," said Sedgwick. "The cowboys have a game
+of that kind. When a lot of steers are corraled, they climb up on the
+cross-bar over the gate; the gate is opened, the steers are turned out
+with a rush, and the science is to drop from the cross-bar upon a steer
+and ride him. If you miss, you are liable to be trodden to death. If you
+strike fairly, then the trick is to see how long you can hold on. It is
+rough exercise, but I believe it is preferable to this perpetual rising,
+falling and rolling. The infernal thing seems to work like an Ingersoll
+drill. It turns a quarter of a circle on one's stomach with every blow it
+strikes."</p>
+
+<p>They had sailed into an expiring storm that was fast losing its strength;
+the waves were breaking down, and by the time night came on the ship was
+running nearly on an even keel, only gently rolling as it swept
+magnificently on its voyage.</p>
+
+<p>The two miners walked the deck, or sat by the rail, until far into the
+night, admiring the glorified structure on which they rode; watching the
+stars and the sea, and saw with other things the beautiful spectacle of
+another ship as grand as their own, that swept close by them on its way
+to New York. Its whole 500 feet of length was a blaze of light, and as
+the Titans whistled hoarsely to each other a greeting without abating
+their speed, it seemed to the two landsmen as though two stars had met in
+space, saluted and passed on, each in its own sublime orbit.</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick and Browning soon made the acquaintance of several passengers.
+A day or two later an animated conversation sprang up in the smoking
+room. An American was declaring that his country was the greatest on
+earth because it could feed the world from its mighty food area.</p>
+
+<p>An Englishman disputed the claim, because the profits of the
+manufacturers of little England were more than all the profits from
+all the lands of the United States.</p>
+
+<p>A Frenchman claimed the palm for France, because in France the people
+were artists; from a little basis, from material well-nigh worthless in
+itself, the Frenchman could, by infusing French brain into it, create a
+thing of beauty for which the world was glad to exchange gold and gems.</p>
+
+<p>Then Browning said: "You are all right, looking from a present horizon;
+all wrong, when the years are taken into account. The great country of
+the world is to be the country that produces the metals in the greatest
+quantity and variety, and whose people acquire the art of turning them to
+the best account. This ship that we are on, a few months ago, was but
+unsightly ore in the ground. Look at it now! Tried by fire and fused with
+labor, it has grown into this marvelous structure. England's greatness
+and wealth are due, primarily, all to her mining. Her civilization can be
+measured by her progress in reducing metals. She will begin to fall
+behind soon, for America has, in addition to such mines as England
+possesses, endless mines of gold and silver, and, after all, the precious
+metals rule the nations and measure their civilization. It has always
+been so and always will be. Those mines in America will build up greater
+manufactures than England possesses; they will create artists more
+skilled than even beautiful France can boast of. A hundred years hence,
+all other nations will be second-class by comparison."</p>
+
+<p>The next day the conversation was resumed and carried on with much
+spirit, until Sedgwick, who had been reading through it all, laid down
+his book, and in a brief pause of the talk said:</p>
+
+<p>"Neither fruitful fields, rich mines, nor skilled artisans, nor all
+combined, are enough to make great nations. A hundred nations existed
+when Rome was founded. They had as fair prospects as did Rome, but ninety
+of the hundred are forgotten; the other ten are remembered but as
+inferior nations. It was the stock of men and women that made Rome's
+grandeur and terror. For five hundred years an unfaithful wife was never
+known in Rome. The result was Rome had to be great and grand.</p>
+
+<p>"I stood once on the crest of the Rocky Mountains in Montana. Near
+together were two springs, out of each of which the water flowed away
+in a creek. One follows the mountains down to the eastward, the other
+to the west. One finds its final home in the Gulf of Mexico, the other
+in the Pacific. The one takes on other streams, its volume steadily
+swells; before it flows far its channel is hewed through fertile fields;
+gaining in power, the argosies of commerce find a home upon its broad
+bosom, and it is a recognized power in the world, a mighty factor in the
+calculations of merchants and shippers.</p>
+
+<p>"But in the meantime it becomes tainted, until at last when it finds its
+grave in the Gulf, so foul are its waters that they discolor for miles
+the deep blue of the sea.</p>
+
+<p>"The other starts with a babble as joyous as the carols of childhood;
+when it reaches the valley it begins its struggle through a lava-blasted
+desert; when the desert is passed, it has to grind its channel through
+rugged mountains that tear its waters into foam, and at last in mighty
+throes, on the stormy bar it finds its grave in the roaring ocean. Its
+existence is one long, mighty struggle; there are awful chasms in its
+path into which it is hurled; the thirsty desert encroaches upon its
+current; mountains block its way; at the very last furious seas seek to
+beat it back, but to the end it holds itself pure as when it starts on
+its way from the mountain spring.</p>
+
+<p>"These rivers are typical of men and of nations. Some meet no
+obstruction; they glide on, gaining in wealth and power; at last, they
+become in one way a blessing, in another a terror; but in the meantime,
+they grow corrupt because of the world's contact; and so pass, gross and
+discolored, into eternity.</p>
+
+<p>"Others have lives that are one long struggle unheard-of obstacles are
+ever rising in their paths, but they fight on and on, and when at last
+their course is run, those who trace them through their careers, with
+uncovered heads are bound to say that they kept their integrity to the
+last, and that all the world's discouragements could not disarm their
+power, break their courage, or dim the clear mirror of their purity."</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick ceased speaking, but after a moment, looking up, he added: "Not
+very far from the sources of these two streams, there is another fountain
+in the hills, out of which flows another stream as large and fair as
+either of the others. It, too, goes tumbling down the mountain gorge,
+increasing in volume, until it strikes the valley, then grows less and
+less in size, until a few miles below it disappears in the sands.</p>
+
+<p>"This, too, is typical of men and nations. They begin life buoyant and
+brave; they rush on exultingly at first, but the quicksands of vice or
+crime or disease are before them, and they sink and leave no name.</p>
+
+<p>"The man or nation that is to be great must be born great. Those who
+succeed are those who are guided into channels which make success
+possible.</p>
+
+<p>"The strength of the modern world rests on the modern home. That did not
+come of rich mines or fields, but of the sovereign genius of the men of
+northern Europe; and the glory was worked out amid poverty, hardships and
+sorrows."</p>
+
+<p>But the voyage was over at last, and the two miners hastened to take the
+train for the home of Browning in Devonshire. They arrived at the village
+at midnight and went to a hotel, or, as Sedgwick said: "This, Jack, is
+han Hinglish Hinn, is it?"</p>
+
+<p>Next day was Sunday and Browning was up early. He said to Sedgwick: "Wait
+until I go and prospect the croppings about here a little. It is a good
+while since I was on this lead, and I want to see how it has been worked
+since I went away."</p>
+
+<p>He came back in half an hour a good deal worked up. "Do you know, Jim,"
+he said, "by Jove, they are all gone! That old step-father has 'gone
+pards with old Jenvie, and they have all moved to London, and are running
+a banking and brokerage establishment. I have their address and we will
+chase them up to-morrow, but I do not like the look of things at all.
+Why, Rose Jenvie in one season in London would blossom out and shine like
+a gold bar."</p>
+
+<p>"Stuff," answered Sedgwick. "In Texas we always noticed that if we ever
+turned out a blood mare she was sure to pick up the sorriest old mustang
+on the range for a running mate. Your Rose would be more apt to pick up a
+husband here than in London for the first two or three years she might be
+there."</p>
+
+<p>Said Browning: "I say, Jim, did you mean that mustang story to go for an
+excuse for Miss Rose calling me 'Jack?'"</p>
+
+<p>"O, no!" said Sedgwick, "when she called you Jack, she was just a silly
+colt that could not discriminate."</p>
+
+<p>"I see," said Browning, "but I say, Jim, you ought to have been here
+then. By Jove, she might have even fancied you."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't you dare to talk that way," said Sedgwick, "or I will try to cut
+you out when we see her, unless, as is quite possible, she has already
+been some happy man's wife for two or three years."</p>
+
+<p>"Jim, I say, stop that!" said Browning. "It will be time to face that
+infernal possibility when I cannot help it. Bless my soul, but the
+thought of it makes me sea-sick."</p>
+
+<p>They breakfasted together, and were smoking their after-breakfast
+cigars&mdash;Nevada-like&mdash;when the church bells began to ring.</p>
+
+<p>"When did you attend church last, Browning?" asked Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"I have been a good deal remiss in that," was the reply.</p>
+
+<p>"Suppose we go. It will be a novelty, and you will see more friends there
+than in any other place."</p>
+
+<p>"A good thought, old boy," said Browning, "and we shall have time only to
+dress."</p>
+
+<p>A few minutes later they emerged from the hotel, and proceeded to the old
+church that Browning had attended during all his childhood.</p>
+
+<p>Queerly enough, the sermon was on the return of the Prodigal Son. The
+good clergyman dilated on his theme. He told what a tough citizen the
+Prodigal Son was in his youth, how he was given to boating and
+steeple-chasing, and staying out nights and worrying the old father,
+until finally he ran away. "Photographing you, Jack," whispered Sedgwick.
+When he came to the part where the Prodigal ate the husks, Sedgwick
+whispered again: "He means the hash in that restaurant on the Divide,
+Jack."</p>
+
+<p>Then the picture of the joy of the father on the return of this son, and
+the moral which the parable teaches, were graphically given. At last the
+service was over, and as the congregation filed out there was a general
+rush for Browning, for the whole congregation recognized him, though the
+almost beardless boy that went away had returned in the full flush of
+manhood. He was overwhelmed with greetings and congratulations over his
+safe return, and as Sedgwick was introduced as Browning's friend the
+welcomes to him were most cordial, though there was many a glance at the
+fashionably-cut clothing of the young men.</p>
+
+<p>The people were all in Sunday attire, many of the ladies wearing gay
+colors. The day was warm and sunny and they lingered on the green,
+talking joyously, when suddenly a cry of terror arose, and looking, the
+young men saw a two-year old Hereford bull coming at full speed at the
+crowd, and with the evident intention of charging direct into it. Every
+one was paralyzed; that is, all but one. That one was Sedgwick. Near him
+was a woman who had a long red scarf doubled and flung carelessly over
+her shoulder. In an instant Sedgwick had thrown off his coat, snatched
+the scarf from the woman and dashed out of the crowd directly toward the
+coming terror. He shouted and shook the scarf, and the bull, seeing it,
+rushed directly for it. As he struck the scarf, like a flash Sedgwick
+caught the ring in the bull's nose with his left hand, the left horn in
+his right hand, and twisting the ring and giving a mighty wrench on the
+horn, both man and bull went prone upon the turf. But the man was above
+and the bull below, and clinging to ring and horn and with knee on the
+bull's throat, Sedgwick bent all his might upon the brute's head and held
+him down.</p>
+
+<p>Browning was at his side in a moment, and at Sedgwick's muffled cry to
+tie his forelegs, Browning seized the scarf, lashed the bull's legs
+together, and then both men arose.</p>
+
+<p>Securing his coat quickly, Sedgwick seized Browning's arm, and said, "Let
+us get out of this, old man. You told me this was a bully place, but I
+did not look for it quite in that form."</p>
+
+<p>"Where did you learn that trick?" asked Browning.</p>
+
+<p>"In Texas," said Sedgwick. "It is a game we play with yearlings there,
+but we never try it on an old stager, because, you see, if one should
+fall he would be in the sump, or in a drift where the air would be bad in
+a minute. That was a big fellow, but he had a ring in his nose, which
+made me the more sure of him, and then you see there was nothing else to
+do. I will go to no more churches in England with you without carrying a
+lariat and revolver."</p>
+
+<p>"It was a good job, Jack," said Browning; "by Jove, it was. I am sorry it
+happened, but I am glad you did it. I don't believe I could have managed
+it any better myself."</p>
+
+<p>The feat was the talk of the town, and it grew in size with every
+repetition, and in the next day's paper it was magnified beyond all
+proportions. Fortunately, the printers got both the names of Browning
+and Sedgwick spelled wrong, which was all the comfort the young men had
+out of it.</p>
+
+<p>On Monday morning the friends went out in the country and looked over the
+estate that Browning had been hoping to make money enough to purchase.
+Browning explained his plans for improving it, and the address of the
+owner in London was obtained.</p>
+
+<p>In the evening they took the train for London. The landlord had had a
+great night and day because of callers on Browning and his friend, and
+would take nothing of his guests except a five-pound note to hand to the
+woman from whose shoulder Sedgwick had caught the scarf.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI.</h2>
+
+<h3>BONANZAS.</h3>
+
+
+<p>It was in the gray of the morning when they entered the mighty city by
+the Thames. They sought a hotel, where they breakfasted; then waiting
+until business men had gone to their work, they called a carriage and
+drove to the home of Browning's step-father.</p>
+
+<p>It was Browning's turn now to tremble and perspire. "Bless my soul, Jim!"
+said he, "no drift on the Comstock was ever half so hot as this, never,
+by Jove!"</p>
+
+<p>They were admitted and shown to the parlor. Browning asked for Mrs. and
+Miss Hamlin, and bade the servant say some friends desired to see them.</p>
+
+<p>Who can picture the joy that followed the coming of those ladies into the
+room! It is better to imagine it.</p>
+
+<p>After an hour had passed, and the tears had dried, and the tremblings
+ceased a little, Browning's sister drew him a little aside and asked him
+why he did not inquire about some one else.</p>
+
+<p>"Because," said he, "I dare not."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said the dear girl, "she is due here even now. If you will go
+into the library I will meet her, tell her mother has a caller, and
+propose that we go to the library. When we get there I will lose myself
+for your sake, and, like the famous witches, 'dissolve into thin air.'"</p>
+
+<p>"She is not married?" asked Browning.</p>
+
+<p>"No," replied his sister.</p>
+
+<p>"Heart whole?" Browning queried.</p>
+
+<p>"How should I know?" answered his sister; "but there is the door-bell.
+Hurry Jack! This way to the library!"</p>
+
+<p>Rose Jenvie came in. Grace met and greeted her in the hall.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, Grace," said Rose, "you have been crying. What is wrong, dear?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing is wrong," said Grace, "nothing at all, and I have not been
+crying." And all the time the tears were running down her cheeks.</p>
+
+<p>"Why," exclaimed Rose, "what in the world is the matter? What has so
+upset you this morning?"</p>
+
+<p>"I tell you, nothing," answered Grace. "Mamma has a caller in the parlor;
+let us go to the library."</p>
+
+<p>Reaching the door, Grace opened it for Rose, and then said, pettishly,
+"There! I have forgotten a letter I wish to show you; go in, and I will
+be back directly."</p>
+
+<p>Rose naturally walked in, when Grace closed the door behind her, turned
+the key noiselessly and fled.</p>
+
+<p>The curtains were half drawn, the day was cloudy, and Rose advanced two
+or three steps into the room before she discovered another occupant.
+That occupant rose as she stopped. She saw a manly fellow with hair cut
+short and full mustache. He saw a woman a little above the medium height,
+with hazel eyes, full and proud, a fair, clear-cut face, a slight but
+perfectly developed form, and the face wore a look which it seemed to him
+was sad, despite its beauty, as though some thought within made a shadow
+on the fair young life.</p>
+
+<p>The young man gazed a moment, then raising and opening his arms, in a
+voice that shook perceptibly, said, "Rose!"</p>
+
+<p>She gazed a moment, then with a joyous cry of "O, Jack!" sprang into the
+outstretched arms, and for the first time in their lives their lips met.</p>
+
+<p>There were tears in Jack's eyes; the tears were raining down Rose's face,
+and both were shaking as with a burning ague. Browning sank upon a sofa,
+still clasping the fair girl in his strong arms, and seating her beside
+him.</p>
+
+<p>"O, Rose," he said, "I have dreamed of this meeting ever since I left
+you, by sea and land, under the sunshine, in the deep mine's depths, by
+day and night. I love you, I do not know when I did not love you; I have
+come for you, will you be my wife?"</p>
+
+<p>Then Rose said: "You went away without a good-bye or any message. You
+never wrote. You have been gone more than four years." But with a smile
+which was enchantment to Jack, she added: "If I could have found any one
+to marry me, I would have shown you, but no one would, because when I was
+young I kept such bad company."</p>
+
+<p>Then how they did talk! Jack repeated all the old inaccuracies which
+lovers have called up since the Stone Age, the burden of which was that
+the memory of her face had been his light in the darkest mine; the memory
+of her voice had been the music for which his soul had been listening for
+years.</p>
+
+<p>And Rose told the enraptured young man how hard her lot had been to
+conceal a love which she had no right to own, because it had never
+been asked; how hard it had been for her to simulate contentment and
+cheerfulness, but after all how it had been her comfort and support,
+because she had never doubted that he would come back.</p>
+
+<p>Then Jack, between kisses, told his charmer that he had worked every day
+for years; that he had gathered up quite a many good pounds; that if she
+would be his wife, if nothing could be done in England, they would bid
+England good-bye and make their home beyond the sea. And she consented,
+adding: "If you have to run away again, see that you do not go alone. You
+were always so wild that from the first you have needed some careful
+person to look after you."</p>
+
+<p>An hour later, Grace came, unlocked the door, and found the happy pair
+arm-in-arm walking up and down the room. Going up to them, and looking
+into their faces, she said:</p>
+
+<p>"Why, Rose, you have been crying; what is wrong, dear?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing is wrong," she answered, "nothing is wrong, and I have not
+been crying; have I, Jack? But, Grace, was it fair to give me no hint,
+and thus permit Jack to surprise me into giving away something that I
+ought to have kept him on the rack for a month at least about before
+conferring?"</p>
+
+<p>Grace smiled and said: "Are you quite satisfied, Jack?"</p>
+
+<p>"Quite," he replied.</p>
+
+<p>"And are you as happy as you deserve to be, Rose?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Grace," said Rose, and then the two young women both cried and
+embraced each other until Jack gently separated them, and said: "Come,
+we must find Jim. Jim is my friend. His judgment is perfect, and I must
+submit this business to him."</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Sedgwick has gone back to the hotel," said Grace, and a serious
+look was in her eyes as she spoke. But in a moment she smiled and said:
+"When I told him where you were and who was with you, he laughed and
+said: 'It is liable to be a case of working after hours. When the young
+lady succeeds in extricating herself, tell Jack, please, that I have gone
+out to take in London, and will see him at the hotel when he finds time
+to call.'"</p>
+
+<p>"And who is Mr. Sedgwick?" asked Rose.</p>
+
+<p>"The best and noblest man in all this world," replied Jack.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Jack!" said Rose.</p>
+
+<p>"It is true, all the same, my sorceress," said Browning. "I have seen him
+tested. He has been my close companion for lo! these many months."</p>
+
+<p>"I am jealous of him," said Rose. "But why did he run away? I want to
+know all your friends."</p>
+
+<p>"I suspect the truth is he left out of consideration for you and myself,"
+said Browning. "He knew how I felt, and he hoped I would not be
+disappointed, and I suspect he thought the sacredness of our joy ought
+not to be disturbed."</p>
+
+<p>"Very fine, of course," said Grace; "very thoughtful and considerate, but
+why did he not stop to ask himself if it was quite fair to leave me all
+alone."</p>
+
+<p>"You are right, Gracie," said Browning, "and this act of his shows an
+absence of mind on his part that I did not expect."</p>
+
+<p>Then all laughed, but Grace blushed a little while she laughed.</p>
+
+<p>Then Mrs. Hamlin came in. She warmly congratulated the happy pair.</p>
+
+<p>They strolled into the sitting-room, and soon after the mail was brought
+in. The first things the girls seized upon were the papers from
+Devonshire, for they were like other people. Men and women live in a
+place for years, and daily express the belief that the home paper is the
+worst specimen they ever saw, but let one of them absent himself or
+herself for a week, and the same newspaper from the old home is the one
+thing they want above all others. Glancing over the paper, Grace suddenly
+looked up and said: "Why, they had a wonderfully exciting episode down
+in &mdash;&mdash; on Sunday last." She had come upon the account of the exploit
+with the bull, and read it aloud.</p>
+
+<p>The names being misspelled, she never suspected the real facts.</p>
+
+<p>"That was a brave man," she said, when she had finished. "It must have
+been splendid. I wish I could have seen it. How it must have astonished
+those villagers. I would like to kiss the man who performed that feat."</p>
+
+<p>"Would you?" said Jack laughingly. "I will tell him so when I meet him."</p>
+
+<p>"Please do," said Grace. "He must have been a grand matador from Spain,"
+and springing up, she caught a tidy from the furniture, danced around the
+room with it, holding it in both hands as though bating an angry bull,
+and suddenly dropping it, made a grab for an imaginary ring and horn, and
+twisting both wrists quickly, cried out: "Did I not down his highness
+beautifully?"</p>
+
+<p>"Beautifully," said Browning, "and when I meet the man I will tell him of
+your vivid imitation."</p>
+
+<p>"And don't forget to tell him I would like to kiss him," said Grace,
+laughing.</p>
+
+<p>"Maybe I can fix it so you can tell him yourself, Grace."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you know him, Jack?" asked Rose.</p>
+
+<p>Jack smiled and said, "Perhaps."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean, Jack?" asked Grace.</p>
+
+<p>"I know the man, Grace; and so do you," said Jack.</p>
+
+<p>"True?" asked Grace.</p>
+
+<p>"True," said Jack.</p>
+
+<p>"I know him?" asked Grace. "Why, who is there in &mdash;&mdash; that would do
+anything like that?"</p>
+
+<p>"No one that I know of," said Jack. "But you have forgotten a somewhat
+diffident and reserved young man with whom you were conversing in the
+parlor an hour ago?"</p>
+
+<p>Grace grew pale, and sank into a seat. "O, Jack, you don't mean&mdash;?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," he said, interrupting her, "it was Sedgwick, and it was splendidly
+done, too. It was, by Jove!"</p>
+
+<p>"Honest?" asked Grace.</p>
+
+<p>"Honest, and I will deliver your message."</p>
+
+<p>Blushing scarlet, Grace sprang up and began to plead.</p>
+
+<p>Browning would promise nothing except that he might possibly put the
+matter off a little while. "But," he added, "I believe Jim would give
+more to see your imitation than you would to see the original performance
+repeated without change of scene."</p>
+
+<p>"Were you not sharp, Jack, to get me to commit myself before ever gaining
+a glimpse of this wonderful man?" asked Rose.</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed, was," he replied. "Why, I recall now that once when we were
+having a friendly dispute, he threatened that unless I came to his terms
+he would come over here, search you out, and try to steal you away from
+me."</p>
+
+<p>"But then he had not seen <i>me</i>," said Grace, mockingly.</p>
+
+<p>All laughed at that. Rose spoke first and said: "But, if he is your close
+friend, and has come to England with you, why does he go back to the
+hotel?"</p>
+
+<p>Browning smiled and said, "Why, child, save for three days in his own
+father's house, he has been under no gentleman's private roof for years.
+He does not know our English methods. And that makes me think; I, too,
+must go. My own tenure here was a little uncertain, when I went away, and
+now I, too, am going to the hotel. When my father comes, Grace, you may
+tell him I have been here, that I called, but that I am staying at
+the &mdash;&mdash; Hotel. If he comes and calls upon me, I shall be glad to see
+him; if he does not, why, to-morrow at ten, if you girls will have your
+hats and wraps on, I think Jim and myself will be glad to engage you for
+a drive. Jim has not been forbidden the premises, and he can call for you
+while I wait outside."</p>
+
+<p>No persuasion would make him remain. Putting his arm around Rose, he drew
+her to him, and said: "We will give the old folks a chance to do the fair
+thing; if they will not, what then, little one?"</p>
+
+<p>"Henceforth," she answered, gravely, but low and sweet, "your home is to
+be my home, your God my God." Then she bent and touched his hand with her
+lips, and he wended his way back to find Sedgwick.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII.</h2>
+
+<h3>A DINNER PARTY.</h3>
+
+
+<p>And Sedgwick, what of him? He had gone, as he said, "to see Jack through,
+as Jack had stood by him in Ohio," but when Grace Hamlin&mdash;or Grace
+Meredith, which was her real name&mdash;at their summons entered the parlor he
+was transfixed. Just medium height was she, slight but perfect in form,
+with darkish-brown eyes and clear-cut features, a golden chestnut curly
+mass of hair, the hand of a queen, and the hand-clasp of a sincere, true
+and happy woman. And poor Jim was lost in a moment.</p>
+
+<p>He called up all his self-possession, and did the best he could, but
+he seized the first opportunity to get away where he could think. Once
+outside the house, he hailed a cab, told the driver to jog around for
+an hour or two, and then land him at the &mdash;&mdash; Hotel. Once started, he
+settled back and began to cross-question himself, and to moralize over
+the situation.</p>
+
+<p>"I have seen prettier girls than this one, seen them in Ohio, in Texas,
+in Virginia City, and they never gave me an extra heart-beat. What is the
+matter with me now? When that girl smiled up in my face, welcomed me as
+her brother's friend, and told me she was glad I had come with him, all
+the clutches broke off my cage, and I thought I would in a moment bring
+up in the sump below the 1,700 foot level, smashed so they would have to
+sew the pieces up in canvas to bring me to the surface. It is a clear
+case that I am gone, and what the mischief am I going to do? Suppose I
+brace up and try to win her, and fail, then I shall be done for sure
+enough. The old world so far has had no particular attractions for me,
+and were I to ask her to look at me, and she, like a sensible woman
+that she is, should first look surprised at my assurance, and then
+respectfully decline, what would there be left for me? Suppose again, I
+could fool her into accepting, then what? I, a rough Nevada miner, linked
+for life with a London fairy&mdash;beauty and the beast&mdash;what would I do with
+her? In this babel, what could I do? What could she do on the old Jasper
+farm on the hill? I have it. I won't see her again. I will go and pack my
+grip, tell Jack I have received a cable which takes me home, and I will
+leave to-morrow.</p>
+
+<p>"But then I could not go as I came. Those steady brown eyes would follow
+me; when the sunlight would turn its glint on gold and purple clouds, her
+chestnut curls would be sure to flash before my eyes, and then there
+would be a voice crying to me ceaselessly: 'You who prided yourself on
+being brave enough to do any needed thing, you on the first real trial
+lowered your flag and fled in a panic. A nice fix I have got myself into.
+All my life, through all my dare-devil days, on the ranges in Texas, down
+amid the swelling clay of the Comstock, everywhere, my soul has been
+equal to the occasion, and I have been able to acquit myself in a way not
+to attract attention to my deficiencies. But now my heart has gone back
+on me; a pair of eyes have confused my vision, and a little hand has
+knocked me out on the first round. I am in a deuce of a fix, surely."
+So he rattled on to himself.</p>
+
+<p>The driver was a garrulous whip. From time to time he had been calling
+down to Sedgwick the names of famous points of interest along the route,
+which had been unheeded by the absorbed occupant of the cab. Finally the
+driver explained that a certain structure was Westminster Abbey.</p>
+
+<p>"And what is Westminster Abbey?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is where kings and queens and great soldiers and scholars are
+buried," said cabbie.</p>
+
+<p>"Burial lots come high there, do they not?" said Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, man, there are no lots sold there," said cabbie. "It is a place
+which was hundreds of years ago set aside for England's great dead to be
+buried in. The brightest dream of an Englishman is to rest there at
+last."</p>
+
+<p>"Do they dream when they get there?" asked Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, man," said cabbie, "when they get there they are dead."</p>
+
+<p>"Great place!" said Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"The greatest in all England," replied cabbie.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you know of any Englishmen who are in a hurry to be carried there?"
+said Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"O, no," said cabbie, "the best of them are not in any hurry about it."</p>
+
+<p>"You Englishmen must be a queer race, to be always dreaming of going to a
+place and still are never anxious to start," said Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>Cabbie gave up trying to explain the majesty of the great Abbey to one so
+utterly obtuse as Sedgwick seemed to be. He drove on in silence for half
+an hour or forty minutes before he rallied enough to speak again. Then he
+pointed to a structure and called down to Sedgwick that the place was
+Newgate.</p>
+
+<p>"What is there peculiar about Newgate?" asked Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, it is the famous Newgate prison," said cabbie.</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick roused himself and asked, "What do they do in Newgate?"</p>
+
+<p>"What do they do?" said cabbie, "what do they do? Why, they hang people
+there sometimes."</p>
+
+<p>"Get down, please, and ask them what they will charge to hang me," said
+Sedgwick. He did not smile; he seemed in sober earnest.</p>
+
+<p>Cabbie looked at him for an instant, then whipped up his horses and
+hurried him to the hotel. Arriving there, he sprang down and said, "This
+is your hotel." Sedgwick got out and was walking off mechanically, when
+cabbie said, "Five shillings, please, sir." Sedgwick, with "O, I had
+forgotten," handed the man a guinea, and passed into the hotel. Cabbie
+looked after him, then tapped his forehead as much as to say, "He is off
+in the upper story," and mounting his box, drove away.</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick went to his rooms, threw off his coat, opened a window, sat
+down, put his heels on the table, lighted a cigar which went out in a
+moment, and an hour later when Browning, radiant, joyous, and exulting,
+returned, he found him there, still holding the unlighted cigar in his
+mouth, his feet still on the table, and a puzzled, undecided, and
+absorbed look on his face.</p>
+
+<p>Browning rushed up to him, crying, "Jim, congratulate me, I have seen
+her, and it is all settled. She is an angel, Jim, and she has promised to
+be my wife. O, but God is good to me."</p>
+
+<p>"I am glad, old man, I rejoice with you," said Sedgwick. "I hope with all
+my heart no cloud will ever cross the sunshine of your lives." Then he
+relapsed again into his moody way.</p>
+
+<p>"What ails you, Jim?" asked Browning. "Does this great babel oppress your
+spirits?"</p>
+
+<p>"I believe it does, Jack," he answered. "I was just thinking as you came
+in that I had better pull out for home. The atmosphere here is like a
+drift without any air-pipe."</p>
+
+<p>"Nonsense," said Browning; "you cannot go. You must wait for my wedding.
+It would be all spoiled without you. I was planning it on the way. It
+will be in the church, of course, just before midday. You will be the
+best man&mdash;as usual. You and my sister shall do the honors that day. All
+my friends will be there. I will have the church smothered in flowers.
+I will corrupt the organist, bribe the choir, double-bank the preacher in
+advance, and we will all have a rousing time. We will, by Jove!"</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick smiled at his friend's happiness, and said: "Did you ever think
+that maybe I would be a little out of training for a performance of that
+kind? I think I would sooner risk keeping my seat on a wild mustang."</p>
+
+<p>"You can do it, Sedgwick," said Jack. "You must do it. I would not feel
+half married unless you were present, and then, did you not promise to
+come and see me through?"</p>
+
+<p>"Who will give away the bride?" asked Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>The question seemed to startle Browning. "That reminds me," he said,
+doubtingly, "that I have neither seen my governor nor old man Jenvie.
+I left home telling mother and Grace that before I went home to live I
+would have to be invited by the governor. And that reminds me, too, Jim,
+there must not be a word about my money. I have only carried the idea
+that I worked for three years in the mines in America. They will reckon
+it up and conclude that if I was prudent I may have saved &pound;400 or &pound;500."</p>
+
+<p>"That reminds me," said Sedgwick, "that no one must know that I have
+anything more than the savings of three or four years' work. It would
+give you away if the facts were known about my little fortune. But, Jack,
+could you not get along just as well without me? You ought to be in your
+own home and ought to enjoy every moment of time, while I am, in this
+vast waste of houses, what one solitary monkey would be in a South
+American wilderness."</p>
+
+<p>"I will not hear of it, old pard," said Browning. "You see, if the
+governor asks me home you will go with me, and we will cabin together as
+of old. We will, by Jove! If he does not, then you must help me hold the
+fort in this hotel until I can bring my wife here," and he blushed like
+a girl when he spoke the word "wife."</p>
+
+<p>The day wore heavily away. It was almost dark when a carriage stopped
+at the hotel and the cards of Archibald Hamlin and Percival Jenvie were
+brought in. Browning received them, and glancing at them handed them to
+Sedgwick, whispering, "They are the old duffers, Jim," caught up his hat,
+said to the servant, "Show me the gentlemen," and followed him out of the
+room.</p>
+
+<p>He was absent a full half-hour. When he returned the two old men
+accompanied him and were presented to Jack. They were very gracious,
+invited Sedgwick to come with his son and make his son's home his home
+while in London.</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick was shy when there were ladies present, but men did not
+disconcert him.</p>
+
+<p>He thanked Mr. Hamlin for his kind invitation, but begged to be excused,
+adding, "I am but a miner, not yet a month from underground. I have lived
+a miner's life for years. You do not understand, but that is not a good
+school in which to prepare a student for polite society."</p>
+
+<p>"Tut, tut," said the old gentleman, with English heartiness. "We have
+a big, rambling old house. You can have your quarters there. When you
+become bored you can retreat to them. You shall have a key and go and
+come when you please. We should all be hurt were not Jack's friend made
+welcome under our roof so long as he pleased to remain in London."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, let me think it over to-night. If I can gather the courage, maybe
+I will accept to-morrow," said Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>Then Jenvie interposed, saying, "Mr. Sedgwick, let us make a compromise.
+My house is but a step from Hamlin's; make it your home half the time.
+Really it should be. In England friends only stop at hotels when
+traveling."</p>
+
+<p>"Come, Jim," said Jack; "you see it must be, and that is the right thing.
+Ours are old-fashioned people, just up from Devonshire. What would you
+have thought had I insisted upon stopping at that hotel at the station
+near your father's house?"</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick yielded at last. Their trunks were packed in a few minutes, the
+bill settled, and they drove away.</p>
+
+<p>Reaching the Hamlin home they were shown at once to their apartments, and
+were informed that so soon as they were ready dinner would be served.</p>
+
+<p>They were not long in dressing, and together they descended to the
+parlor. Besides the family, the Jenvie family were also present. Grace
+met them at the door, shook hands with Sedgwick, and welcomed him with a
+word and a smile which set all his pulses bounding, and, taking his arm,
+presented him to the strangers; then shouted gaily: "Follow us! dinner
+is waiting."</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick was given the seat at the right of his host; Grace took the seat
+at his right, with Jack and Rose opposite.</p>
+
+<p>The ladies were radiant in evening costume, and Sedgwick with a mighty
+effort threw off the depression which had burdened the day and appeared
+at his very best.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Hamlin, judging shrewdly that perhaps it would relieve the stranger
+from embarrassment to engage him in conversation, with beautiful tact
+brought him to tell the company of his own country, remarking that "We
+insular people have but a vague idea at best of America."</p>
+
+<p>With a smile, Sedgwick replied: "I do not know very much myself of my
+native country, for since I left school (here he glanced at Jack and his
+eyes twinkled) I merely wandered slowly through the southwestern States,
+almost to the Gulf in Texas, then bending north and west again, continued
+until I reached the eastern slope of the Sierras, and then made a dive
+underground and remained there until Jack determined to go home, and I
+came along to take care of him."</p>
+
+<p>Here Miss Jenvie interposed and said: "What was the most precious thing
+you ever found in the mines, Mr. Sedgwick?"</p>
+
+<p>"Considering who asked the question, it would be cruel not to tell you it
+was Jack," he replied.</p>
+
+<p>All laughed, and Miss Jenvie said: "Is it true, did you and Jack first
+meet underground?"</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed we did," said Sedgwick, "and we were neither of us handsomely
+attired. I thought he was a gnome; he thought me a Chinese dragon."</p>
+
+<p>Then Miss Grace interposed; "Mr. Sedgwick," said she, "is not Texas a
+land where there are a great many cattle?"</p>
+
+<p>"Millions of them," was the reply.</p>
+
+<p>"And is not that the region where the cowboy is also found?" she
+continued.</p>
+
+<p>"There are a few there, surely," said Sedgwick, and looking across the
+table he saw a smile on Jack's face.</p>
+
+<p>"They are good riders and good shots, are they not?" Grace asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Some of them ride well, and nearly all of them shoot well," said
+Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"I would like to go there," said Grace, impetuously; "it must be a jolly
+life." Then looking at her mother, she laughed gaily and said: "If ever
+one of those cowboys, with broad hat and jingling spurs, comes this way,
+you had better lock the doors, mamma, if you want to keep me."</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick kept a steady face, but his heart was throbbing so that he
+feared the company would hear it.</p>
+
+<p>Then Jenvie asked Sedgwick if mining in Nevada was not mostly carried on
+by rough and rude men.</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick's face became grave in a moment, as he said: "We must judge men
+by the motives behind their lives, if we would get at what they really
+are. There are married men and single men at work in the mines. The
+married men have wives and little children to support. They wish to have
+their dear ones fed and clothed as well as other generous people feed and
+clothe their families. They want their children educated. They have,
+moreover, all around them examples of rich men who a year or five years
+previous were as humble and poor as they now are. The young men have
+hopes quite as sweet, purposes quite as high. This one is to build up a
+little fortune for some one he loves; this one has a home in his mind's
+eye which he means to purchase; this one has relatives whom he dreams of
+making happy, while others have visions of honors and fame, so soon as
+something which is in their thoughts shall materialize.</p>
+
+<p>"Then the occupation itself and the results have a tendency, I think, to
+exalt men. To begin with, the work is a steady struggle against nature's
+tremendous forces. The rock has to be blasted, the waters controlled, the
+consuming heat tempered, the swelling clay confined, and to do this men
+have to employ great agents. A silver mine generally has Desolation
+placed as a watch above it. To work it everything has to be carried to
+it. The forest away off on some mountain side has to be felled and hauled
+to the spot. For many months the great Bonanza has received within it
+monthly 3,000,000 feet of timbers, machinery equal to that in the holds
+of mighty steamships has to be set in place and motion; drills are kept
+at work 2,000 feet underground, from power supplied on the surface;
+hundreds of men have to be daily hoisted from and lowered into the
+depths; there has to be a precision and continuity that never fail, and
+the men who plan and carry on that work emerge from it after a few years
+stronger, brighter, clearer-brained and braver men than they ever would
+have been except for that discipline.</p>
+
+<p>"Then what they produce is something which makes the labor of every
+other man more profitable, for it is something which is the measure of
+values, something which all races of men recognize at once, something
+indestructible and peculiarly precious, which can be drawn into a
+thread-like silk, or hammered into a leaf so thin that a breath will
+carry it away; it is the very spirit of the rock, the part that is
+imperishable. Moreover, it is labor made immortal, for, tried by fire, it
+grows bright and loses no grain of its weight. Could we find a piece of
+the beaten gold that overlaid the temple of Israel's greatest king, it
+would, to-day, represent the labor of one of those miners that toiled in
+Ophir and fell back to dust thirty generations before the Christ was
+born.</p>
+
+<p>"Moreover, it is and has been from the first one of the measures of the
+civilization of nations. Where gold and silver are in general circulation
+among the people they are always prosperous, their children are always
+educated, and the advance is so marked that it can be measured by decades
+of years. A nation's decay or enlightenment can be traced by the
+decreasing or increasing volume of gold and silver in circulation.</p>
+
+<p>"Miners thus engrossed, producing such a substance, and carrying such
+hopes and aspirations in their souls, as a rule, grow stronger, more
+manly and more true.</p>
+
+<p>"I do not say that there are not many rough characters among them. I do
+not say that when the influence of true women is in great part withdrawn
+from any class of men, they do not more and more gravitate toward
+savagery, for they but follow a natural law; but the tenderest, truest,
+bravest, best, most generous and most just men I have ever known have
+been miners in the far West of the United States."</p>
+
+<p>While talking, Sedgwick had seemed to forget where he was, but as
+he ceased he glanced across the table and noticed a look of full
+appreciation on Rose's face, and smiling, he added: "I was talking for
+Jack's sake, Miss Rose."</p>
+
+<p>It was a pleasant dinner, and a pleasant evening followed. There was a
+running fire of conversation, broken only when the young ladies sang or
+played. When Sedgwick first heard Grace sing, he sat, as he said
+afterward, "in mortal terror lest wings should spread out from her white
+shoulders and she should disappear through the ceiling."</p>
+
+<p>In point of fact, she sang well, but she was not nearly ethereal enough
+to want to give up the substantial earth to take to the ether.</p>
+
+<p>But amid all the contending emotions, Sedgwick kept a furtive watch upon
+the two old men. They were exceedingly gracious, but they gave Sedgwick
+the impression that they were striving too hard to be agreeable.</p>
+
+<p>Jack was in the seventh heaven. He tried to conceal his joy, but every
+moment he would glance at Rose Jenvie with a look in his eyes which was
+enough to show any miner where his bonanza was. Sedgwick was wildly
+smitten, himself, but he kept his wits about him enough to watch and try
+to fathom what in the bearing of the old men for some inexplainable
+reason disturbed him.</p>
+
+<p>When the company separated and sought their respective apartments, Jack
+went to his own room, threw off his coat, put on slippers and lighted a
+cigar, crossed the hall, first tapped upon the door of Sedgwick's room,
+then pushed it open, walked in, closed the door, and then burst out with
+"Jim, is she not a glory of the earth?"</p>
+
+<p>"I think she is, indeed," was the reply. Sedgwick was thinking of Grace.</p>
+
+<p>"Is there another such girl in all the world, Jim?" said Jack.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't believe there is, old boy; not another one," said Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"What a queenly head she has! What a throat of snow! What an infinite
+grace! 'Whether she sits or stands or walks or whatever thing she does,'
+she is divine," said Jack.</p>
+
+<p>"She impressed me just that way," said Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"Not too short, not too tall, with just enough flesh and blood to keep
+one in mind that while she is divine, she is still a woman," said Jack.</p>
+
+<p>"Only base metal enough to hold the precious metal in place," said
+Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>So Jack rattled on in the very ecstasy of his love, and so Sedgwick,
+quite as deeply involved, replied; the one talking of Rose, the other
+of Grace.</p>
+
+<p>At length, however, Sedgwick roused himself and said: "Jack, old boy,
+tell me how the old men received you."</p>
+
+<p>"With open arms," said Jack. "My step-father grasped both my hands, said
+he was hasty in banishing me as he did, that his heart had been filled
+with remorse ever since, that he had sought in vain to find me. And old
+man Jenvie, with a hearty welcome and jolly laugh, declared that I served
+him exactly right when I floored him; that it had made a better man of
+him ever since, and that he was glad to welcome me back to England."</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick listened, and when Jack ceased speaking there was silence for
+a full minute, until Jack said:</p>
+
+<p>"What are you thinking of, Jim?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing much," said Sedgwick; "only, Jack, I have changed my mind.
+I will stay and help you through the wedding; only hurry it along as
+swiftly as you conveniently can."</p>
+
+<p>"There is something on your mind, Jim," said Jack. "What is it, old
+friend?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing, Jack; nothing but a mean suspicion, for which I can give myself
+no tangible excuse for entertaining," asked Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"Suspicion, Jim! Which way do the indications lead?" asked Jack.</p>
+
+<p>"I will tell you, old friend. In Nevada we would say that these old men
+are too infernally gushing in their welcome to you. I fear there is
+something wrong behind it all; though, as I said, it is a mere suspicion
+which I cannot explain to myself; only, Jack, I will stay to the wedding,
+and be sure to give no hint to any soul in England that I have more than
+money enough to make a brief visit, and then to return to America. And do
+not permit what I have said to worry you, for I have no backing for my
+impressions."</p>
+
+<p>Then Jack went to his room to sleep and to dream of Rose Jenvie, and Jim
+went to bed, not to sleep, but to think of Grace Meredith.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII.</h2>
+
+<h3>WAYS THAT ARE DARK.</h3>
+
+
+<p>As we know, Sedgwick went first with Browning to the hamlet in Devonshire
+where Jack's early home had been. Browning was recognized, of course. An
+old friend of Hamlin's was at the church, spoke to Jack, and witnessed
+Sedgwick's encounter with the bull. He knew under what circumstances
+young Browning left home, and so on that Sunday evening he wrote to
+Hamlin that his step-son was in Devonshire, told him of the episode at the
+church, and informed the old man that the companion of his son, though a
+quiet and refined-appearing man enough, must be a prize-fighter in
+disguise. He further stated that Jack had told him that he and his friend
+had been working in the mines at Virginia City, Nevada, for three or four
+years. He added the strong suspicion that the complexion of the men
+indicated that they had not been in the mines at all. (His idea of a
+miner was a coal-miner, and not one from the Comstock mine, where there
+is no coal dust, and where the thermometer indicates a tropical climate
+always.)</p>
+
+<p>This letter reached Hamlin early on Monday. Being a half banker and half
+broker himself, he turned at once to the page in the bank directory,
+giving American banks and their London connections. He found the Nevada
+branch bank and California branch bank of Virginia City, and what banks
+in London they drew upon, and hastened first to the Nevada bank's London
+agency. He could obtain no news there. Then he sought the other, and
+knowing the management, he explained to one of the directors that his
+son was on the way home, was already in England, and asked him
+confidentially, both as a father and a brother banker, whether any credit
+had come for the boy. The director ran over his correspondence, and,
+looking up with a smile, said:</p>
+
+<p>"Is your son's name John Browning? If it is, he has bills of exchange
+upon us for &pound;100,000."</p>
+
+<p>The old man was paralyzed. "It cannot be possible," he said. "Great
+heavens! &pound;100,000!"</p>
+
+<p>"Those are the figures sent us," said the cashier, "and we received a
+mighty invoice of Nevada bullion by the last ship from New York. There is
+no mistake."</p>
+
+<p>Then an effort was made to see if another man named Sedgwick had any
+credit, but nothing was found. Enjoining upon the banker the utmost
+secrecy in regard to his being at the bank, the old man went away.</p>
+
+<p>The question with him was what to do. His business was not very
+prosperous, because he had not capital enough. Then, too, he was in debt
+to Jenvie. He wanted the lion's share of that money, and, more than ever,
+he wanted Jack to marry Grace.</p>
+
+<p>Then what did Jack mean by bringing a prize-fighter home with him? He was
+worried. Finally he determined to consult with Jenvie, his partner. He
+knew he did not like Jack, and he had, moreover, received hints from him
+that he was getting along well in making a match between Rose and a rich
+broker named Arthur Stetson, who had met her and been carried away by her
+beauty.</p>
+
+<p>So, calling Jenvie into their most private office, Hamlin bolted the door
+to prevent interruption, read him the letter received from Devonshire,
+and told him of the astounding discovery he had made at the &mdash;&mdash; bank.
+The question was, what course to take.</p>
+
+<p>"I believe Rose likes Jack," said Jenvie. "She grieved exceedingly when
+he went away, though she hid it so superbly that only her mother knew
+about it, and she has rejected every suitor since except Stetson, and
+I fear when the climax comes she will reject him. The chances are, when
+Jack comes they will rush into each other's arms. At the same time, I do
+not want him for a son-in-law. But I would like to get some of the money
+into the firm, for we need more capital badly."</p>
+
+<p>They plotted all that day, and next morning decided that on the arrival
+of Jack they would welcome him; let the matter between him and Rose take
+its course, but in case of an engagement would prevent an immediate
+marriage, if possible, and see, in the meantime, what could be done
+toward working Jack for a part, at least, of his money. With that
+arrangement decided upon, when a message came from Hamlin's home that
+Jack had returned and had gone to the hotel, they were ready, and in
+company went to greet him and escort him home.</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick had to be invited also, and that suited them, for they both
+desired to know what kind of a man he was. Both were satisfied, too, that
+he had no money, or he would have obtained a credit where Jack had
+obtained his exchange. When, at the first dinner, Grace had drawn from
+him that he had been in Texas and had seen cowboys, they both guessed
+where he had caught the trick which he had put in practice in Devonshire,
+and, thenceforth, save as a careless friend that careless Jack had picked
+up, they dropped Sedgwick from their calculations.</p>
+
+<p>How Jack got his money was the greatest mystery; and so a few days after
+his coming, his father said to him: "Jack, I hope you have come home to
+stay. Look around and find some business that you think will suit you,
+and I will buy it for you if it does not take too much money."</p>
+
+<p>"Thanks, father," said Jack; "much obliged, but I have a few pounds of my
+own."</p>
+
+<p>"How much are miner's wages in Virginia City?" asked the old man.</p>
+
+<p>"Four dollars a day; about twenty-four pounds a month," said Jack.</p>
+
+<p>"And what are the expenses?" was the next question.</p>
+
+<p>"Four shillings a day for board; three pounds per month for a room, and
+clothes and cigars to any amount you please," said Jack.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, you could not have saved more than &pound;150 or &pound;160 per annum at those
+rates," said the old man.</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Jack; "a good many may not do as well as that; but I had a few
+pounds which were invested by a friend in Con-Virginia when it was three
+dollars a share, and it was sold when it was worth a good bit more."</p>
+
+<p>The old man had learned the secret. He asked one more question. "Did your
+friend Sedgwick do as well as you did?"</p>
+
+<p>Jack thought of Sedgwick's injunction, so answered:</p>
+
+<p>"He made a good bit of money, something like &pound;20,000, but he turned it
+over to his father in Ohio. I think the plan is to buy a place near the
+old home. He only brought a few hundred pounds with him. Indeed, he only
+ran over to oblige me. We were old friends; at one time we worked on the
+same shift in the mine."</p>
+
+<p>The old man was satisfied. Moreover, he saw his opportunity.</p>
+
+<p>"What a wonderful business that mining is," he said. "Stetson, the broker
+over the way, is promoting a mining enterprise in South Africa. According
+to the showing, it is an immense property. Here is the prospectus of the
+company. Put it in your pocket, and at your leisure run over it."</p>
+
+<p>Jack carelessly put the pamphlet in his pocket. That evening he was with
+Rose and remained pretty late. When he sought his room he could not
+sleep, so he ran over the statement. It was a captivating showing. The
+mine was called the "Wedge of Gold." It was located in the Transvaal. The
+main ledge was fully sixteen feet wide, with an easy average value of six
+pounds per ton in free gold, besides deposits and spurs that went much
+higher. The vein was exposed for several hundred feet, and opened by a
+shaft 300 feet deep, with long drifts on each of the levels. The country
+was healthy, supplies cheap, plenty of good wood and water, and the only
+thing needed was a mill for reducing the ore. The incorporation called
+for 150,000 shares of stock of the par value of one pound per share, and
+the pamphlet explained that 50,000 shares were set aside to be sold to
+raise means for a working capital, to build the mill, etc.</p>
+
+<p>Browning read the paper over twice, then tumbled into bed, and his dreams
+were all mixed up; part of the time he was counting gold bars, part of
+the time it seemed to him that Rose was near him, but when he spoke to
+her, every time she vanished away. Between the visions he made the worst
+kind of a night of it, and next morning told Jim that he was more beat
+out than ever he was when he came off shift on the Comstock.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX.</h2>
+
+<h3>HOW MINERS ARE CAUGHT.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Browning and Sedgwick had been in England two weeks. The question of the
+marriage of Browning and Rose Jenvie had been discussed and decided upon.
+Neither Hamlin nor Jenvie had interposed any objection to the marriage
+except on the point of time. They asked, at first, that it be postponed
+for six months, as Jenvie insisted that he wanted to be certain that Rose
+had not been carried away by a mere impulse on seeing once more an old
+friend who had long been absent. Hamlin agreed with him that the young
+people must be sure not to make any mistake. Jack was impetuous, and
+Rose, while making no pronounced opposition, quietly said that no tests
+were necessary; that she and Jack had been separated for a long time and
+knew their own minds. Sedgwick, when called in, refused to express an
+opinion, it being a matter too sacred to permit of any outside
+interference.</p>
+
+<p>Finally a compromise was made, the time reduced one-half, and the date
+fixed for the first of September, it being then nearly the first of June.
+Jack had only agreed to the postponement on the condition that Sedgwick
+should not desert him, but wait for the wedding. He consented, saying
+carelessly that two or three months would not much matter to him, but the
+truth was that the delay urged by the old men strengthened his suspicion
+that all was not just right. "Those old chaps are too sweet by half," he
+said to himself. "There is some game on hand to get the best of generous,
+simple-hearted, unsuspecting Jack, sure, and while I cannot fathom it I
+will keep watch."</p>
+
+<p>Then, there was the enchantment that Grace Meredith had woven around his
+life. Every morning she greeted him with a smile, a welcome word and a
+hand clasp that set his blood tingling. Her breath was in the air that he
+breathed, and when at night the hand-clasp and the smile were repeated,
+and the good-nights spoken, it all fell upon him like a benediction; and,
+going to his apartment, he would ask himself what his life would be were
+the smile, the word, and the hand-clasp to be his no more.</p>
+
+<p>After a few days there came a change in Grace. She was as cordial as
+ever, as gently considerate as ever, but she seemed to lose vivacity. She
+was often lost in revery; a sadder smile seemed to give expression to her
+face; she did not laugh with the old ringing laugh; there seemed to come
+in her look when she suddenly encountered Sedgwick, something which was
+the opposite of a blush&mdash;as opposite as the white rose is to the blush
+rose.</p>
+
+<p>In those days the steady conscience of Sedgwick was undergoing many
+self-questionings. Should he offer his love and be rejected, what then?
+Should the impossible happen and he should be accepted, what then? Should
+he carry the petted London girl to his home and friends in the Miami
+Valley, would there not be reproaches felt even if not spoken? Thus he
+vexed himself day after day; night after night he tossed restlessly, and
+saw no way to break the entanglement that had entwined his life. But he
+kept watch of Jack and the old men.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, Jack had read over and over the prospectus of the "Wedge of
+Gold" Mining Company. It was the lamp and he was the moth that was
+circling around it with constantly lessening circles. His father, to whom
+he had applied for information, told him that he believed the shares were
+going at one pound, but that they threatened to be higher within a week,
+and Jenvie, taking up the conversation, explained that, with a mill
+built, the mine would easily pay sixty per cent on the investment
+annually, which would throw the shares up to at least twenty pounds.
+At the same time both the old men referred Jack to Stetson for full
+particulars, as they had no direct interest in the property.</p>
+
+<p>After a few days more, the mail from South Africa brought a glowing
+account of further developments in "The Wedge of Gold," which account
+found its way into the papers, and one was put where Jack would read it.
+He had not consulted with Sedgwick. His idea was to make an investment,
+and when the profits began to come in, to divide with him.</p>
+
+<p>So one morning he went to the office of Stetson and said to the young
+man: "I have concluded to take the working capital stock of the 'Wedge of
+Gold;'" and sitting down he gave his check for &pound;50,000. The stock for him
+would be ready, he was informed, the next day, so soon as it could be
+properly transferred.</p>
+
+<p>He went out. The real owner of the property was sent for; the property
+was bought for &pound;2,000; the deed, which had been put in escrow, and which
+on its face called for &pound;150,000, was taken up, releasing the stock, and
+then the old men and the young man rubbed their hands and said to each
+other that it had been a good day's work.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X.</h2>
+
+<h3>ENCHANTMENT.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Sedgwick and Browning had now been several days in London. Every day they
+had been riding and driving&mdash;seeing the sights. One morning at breakfast
+Jack mentioned that it was Tuesday; that next day would be the annual
+celebrated Derby Wednesday; that he had made arrangements for as many to
+go as could get away. The number was finally limited to four&mdash;Grace and
+Rose, Jack and Jim.</p>
+
+<p>This was talked over, and so soon as the arrangements were determined
+upon, Jack proposed that when the race should be over, instead of coming
+back to London, they should go on beyond Surrey, down to the seashore in
+Sussex, where an old uncle of Rose's resided, for a few days' visit. This
+was, after some discussion, agreed upon; whereupon Jack rose and went out
+to make a few needed little preparations; the young ladies followed to do
+some shopping, while Sedgwick went to his room to write some letters.</p>
+
+<p>He finished his letters and was going out, when he met Mrs. Hamlin in the
+hall. She greeted him and asked him to sit down a moment, saying she
+wanted to talk with him. He swung a chair around for Mrs. Hamlin, and
+when she was seated he took another chair opposite, saying: "Is there
+anything particular this morning, madam, which you desire to talk about?"
+The old lady looked at him a moment, then said:</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Sedgwick, I have noticed that since you came to my house you seem to
+be worried, as though this London roar and confusion oppressed you; and
+I have seen a look on your face sometimes, which, it seemed to me, if set
+to words would say: 'I would give anything in the world to be out of this
+and back once more free in my native land.' It worries me, and I want to
+ask you if something cannot be done to make your life here more
+pleasant."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, my dear madam," said Sedgwick, "I never was half so kindly
+entertained before as I have been in your house. There is nothing
+lacking, nothing; and when I think of ever returning all this kindness
+my gratitude is made bankrupt."</p>
+
+<p>"Still, you have something on your mind. Is it a business trouble? Will
+you not test our friendship in real truth?" asked the lady.</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick looked at her seriously a moment, and said: "I have something,
+but it is not business, that distresses me. But, were I to tell you, it
+would test your friendship indeed."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," responded the lady, "I want to know it. I hope we can help you."</p>
+
+<p>"Mrs. Hamlin," said Sedgwick, "I was reared a farmer's son. I was a wild
+boy, I guess. I left school with education not yet completed&mdash;left under
+a cloud, but no disgrace attached to my leaving. I went to Texas and was
+a cowboy for a year. From there I wandered west, learned the occupation
+of mining; for four years almost every day I have been underground. I met
+Jack: we were friends; how close at last you do not know. We started
+east; he accompanied me to my childhood's home. After a brief visit I
+came with him to his. I have been three weeks under your roof; I am bound
+by a promise to remain until Jack's marriage, and, in the meantime, in
+spite of myself, I, the farmer, the cowboy, and the miner, have dared to
+look upon your daughter, and my soul is groveling at her feet. I love her
+with such intensity that I have feared sometimes I should break down and
+beseech her to have pity on me. Now you have it all. Tell me, I pray, how
+I can be true to myself and to the hospitality which you have extended me
+until Jack shall be married and I can return to my native land!"</p>
+
+<p>When he once had begun, his words were poured out in a torrent; his face
+was pale; he trembled, and his breath came in half gasps.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Hamlin was silent a moment. Then, looking up, she said: "Have you
+spoken of this to Jack?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not one word," he replied.</p>
+
+<p>"Or to Grace?"</p>
+
+<p>"O, Mrs. Hamlin, believe me, not one word."</p>
+
+<p>The lady leaned her head upon her hand for a few moments. Then, looking
+up, she said: "You ask me what to do. I cannot help you. But my judgment
+would be that you go directly to Grace and ask her help. I have not the
+slightest idea of her sentiments toward you, but if she does not care for
+you and thinks she never can, she will frankly tell you. If she does love
+you, she is probably suffering more than you are."</p>
+
+<p>"O, Mrs. Hamlin," said Sedgwick, "are you willing that I shall speak to
+her, that I shall tell her how much she is to me?"</p>
+
+<p>"Quite willing," was the answer; spoken after a moment's thought.
+"Believe me, I never suspected anything of this kind, never in the least,
+or I should not have stopped you here; but if Grace loves you I shall be
+most glad. And one thing more. Should Grace be willing to accept your
+attentions, for the present, please, do not speak to Mr. Hamlin or to
+Jack. I have my special reasons for making this request. I ask it because
+Mr. Hamlin is peculiar, and Grace is my child, in fact, while he is but
+her step-father."</p>
+
+<p>Then she arose, held out her hand and smiled. Then her face became grave,
+and she leaned over the young man, kissed his forehead, and left the
+hall.</p>
+
+<p>When the door closed Sedgwick put his hands before his eyes as though to
+ward off a great light; and when he removed them his lips were moving and
+his face wore a softened and exalted look, such as Saul's might have worn
+after he saw the "great light."</p>
+
+<p>Dinner was hardly over that evening when Jack disappeared. He spent
+nearly all his evenings with Rose, and so his absence was not remarked.
+Mr. Hamlin had been called away to Scotland for two or three days on
+business. Mrs. Hamlin, Grace and Sedgwick passed into the parlor. After a
+little conversation, Sedgwick asked Grace to sing, and as she went to the
+piano Mrs. Hamlin arose and left the room.</p>
+
+<p>Grace struck the instrument softly, and in a moment began to sing. The
+piece she selected was the old one beginning:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Could you come back to me, Douglas, Douglas,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In the old likeness that I knew,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I would be so faithful, so loving, Douglas,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Douglas, Douglas, tender and true."<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">/P<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">There was a strange thrill in the voice of Grace as the song progressed,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">and when she reached the fourth stanza and sang:<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">/P<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">"I never was worthy of you, Douglas,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Not half worthy the like of you;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Now, all men beside seem to me like shadows,&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I love you, Douglas, tender and true,"<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>the last words ended in a tone very much like a sob, and the singing
+ceased.</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick had risen, and walked to the side of Grace while she sang. When
+she ceased he said:</p>
+
+<p>"That is a very touching song, Miss Grace. Your voice vibrates in it as
+though your heart were heavy."</p>
+
+<p>"It is," she frankly answered.</p>
+
+<p>He bent and took an unresisting hand and said: "If you are in trouble,
+may I not try to be your comforter?"</p>
+
+<p>She rose from the piano, and looking up clear and brave into the eyes of
+the young man, said: "You are most kind, but I cannot tell you why my
+heart is heavy."</p>
+
+<p>He looked down into her eyes for a moment and then said: "My heart is
+likewise heavy, Miss Grace; may I tell you why?"</p>
+
+<p>"Surely," she answered, "if you have a sorrow, and if there is any balm
+in this household, it shall be yours."</p>
+
+<p>He took her other hand, and drawing her gently toward him, said: "Come
+near to me Miss Grace. I am involved in a trouble which I never dreamed
+of when I came here. Mine has been a harsh life, but I have always tried
+to meet my fate resignedly. Now I am overborne. Since the first hour I
+met you, first looked into your divine face, first felt your hand-clasp
+and heard your voice, my heart has been on fire. You have become my
+divinity. I worship you. Oh, Grace, can you give me a thread, be it ever
+so slight, out of which I may weave a hope that some time you will bend,
+and sanctify my life by becoming my wife?"</p>
+
+<p>As he spoke, over the pale face of Grace Meredith an almost imperceptible
+glow spread, as when an incandescent lamp is lighted under a translucent
+shade; her eyes grew moist, her lips quivered, she trembled in every
+limb, and, suddenly dropping on her knees, drew his hands to her lips,
+kissed them, and murmured: "O! my king!"</p>
+
+<p>He caught her to him and cried: "Is it true? Is it true? Do you really
+care for me?"</p>
+
+<p>She looked up and said: "O, my blind darling, you are so very, very
+blind! My soul has been calling to your soul since the first hour you
+came."</p>
+
+<p>Half an hour later Grace looked up and with a ravishing smile, said: "Do
+you know, dearest, I believe all my heavy-heartedness is gone."</p>
+
+<p>At last Sedgwick said: "My beautiful, what will your friends say to your
+marrying a rough miner?"</p>
+
+<p>"What," replied she, "will your friends say if you prove foolish enough
+to marry a simple English girl, whose horizon is bounded by Devonshire
+and London?"</p>
+
+<p>His response was: "My adored one!"</p>
+
+<p>Then she crept nearer him, and with serious accent said: "My love, if
+happily our lives shall be united, whom will it be for, our friends or
+ourselves? I will tell you. If ever I shall be permitted to become so
+blessed as to be your wife, it will be with the thought in my heart that
+we are all in all to each other in this world, and in the world to come."</p>
+
+<p>"In this world and in the world to come," he repeated; and then, with
+bowed head, in a whisper, he added: "May I be worthy of such a blessing,
+and God spare to me my idol, that I may praise Him evermore."</p>
+
+<p>And then they began to talk in earnest. One hour like that is due to
+every mortal; no mortal can have more than one such an hour, no matter
+how long may be his life.</p>
+
+<p>Later they came directly to the subject of their marriage. They agreed
+that, if possible, it should be on the same day that Jack and Rose should
+be married. But Sedgwick mentioned Mrs. Hamlin's desire that for the
+present no one should know of his love or of hers (if it should be
+returned), and said he believed it best not to mention their relations
+until the wedding day of Rose and Jack drew near.</p>
+
+<p>Grace agreed with him, except that Rose must be told, saying she would
+find it out even if the attempt were made to conceal it from her, and
+added: "Jack and Rose are completely absorbed in each other. They will be
+with each other most of the time. My father is absent all day, and until
+late at night. My mother is good, and will not much disturb us. I can
+look in your eyes every day, kiss you sometimes, and feel your presence
+like a robust spirit near me all the time." Then, suddenly pausing for an
+instant, she again broke out with, "Oh, how happy I am; it seems as
+though my heart would break with its ecstasy!" and, springing up, she ran
+to the piano, and sang a song which filled the room with melody, and
+caused a linnet that was asleep on her perch to awaken and join her
+trills to the song.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI.</h2>
+
+<h3>GOING TO EPSOM DOWNS.</h3>
+
+
+<p>The next morning early the young couples started for Epsom Downs.
+Browning had engaged a carriage to take them, and they started a little
+after daylight. Early as it was, the procession which annually empties
+London to witness the great race was in motion. There had been a slight
+shower the previous evening; every bit of herbage was fresh and
+beautiful; the day was perfect and the ride delicious. When part of the
+distance had been traveled, Browning, looking back, said: "Grace, I
+believe I see your destiny coming."</p>
+
+<p>"In what form?" asked Grace, laughing.</p>
+
+<p>"In a typical cowboy," said her foster brother.</p>
+
+<p>Then all looked, and sure enough there, two hundred yards away, was the
+broad hat, the nameless grace, the erect form, the man straight as a line
+from his head to his stirrups, the Mexican saddle, the woven-hair bridle
+with Spanish bit; all complete except the horse. That was not a steed of
+the plains, but a magnificent hunter. The girls clapped their hands in
+delight, and Grace wished he would "hurry up," so that they might get a
+nearer view.</p>
+
+<p>Just then a cry arose in the rear, and a horse attached to a broken
+vehicle was seen coming, running away in the very desperation of fear.</p>
+
+<p>The carriage was driven to the side of the road, and both men sprang out.
+A dense crowd of vehicles, many of them containing women and children,
+were just in front, and the thought of that mad horse dashing among them
+was sickening. But Sedgwick cried out: "Look, ladies, quick!"</p>
+
+<p>What they saw was the hunter under a dead run, his rider urging him on
+apparently, and working something in his right hand. The harnessed horse
+was a good one, but the hunter was gaining upon him, and just as the mad
+runaway was almost opposite the ladies, the right arm of the rider of the
+hunter made a quick curve, the looped end of a rope darted out like a
+bird of prey from the hand; the loop went over the runaway's head; the
+hunter was brought almost to a dead stop; the other animal went up into
+the air, then fell to his knees, then over on his side. Sedgwick and
+Browning sprang to him, unfastened him from the wreck, got the reins and
+secured his head, then took off the lariat, let him up, and tied him to
+the hedge by the roadside.</p>
+
+<p>Browning first turned to the stranger who was coiling up his lariat on
+the saddle's horn, and said: "That was a good morning's work, my friend;
+had that mad horse crashed into the vehicles ahead, he would have killed
+some one."</p>
+
+<p>"I wur afeerd of that, stranger, and that's what made me think he orter
+be stopped," said the horseman.</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick wheeled quickly round when he heard the man's voice, and,
+looking up, cried: "Hello, Jordan, how did you leave the boys on the
+Brazos?"</p>
+
+<p>The man gave one look; then, springing from his horse, he rushed to
+Sedgwick, and throwing both arms around him broke out with: "Why, Jim;
+bless my broad-horned heart, but I'm glad ter see yo'! How in kingdom cum
+did yo' get heah?" Then he caught both his hands and wrung them, all the
+time exclaiming: "Blame me, but I'm glad. This is the fust luck I've had
+in the Kingdom. Jim, is it sho nuff you?" And he danced like a lunatic.
+And Sedgwick, if not quite so demonstrative, was quite as much rejoiced.</p>
+
+<p>When they quieted down a little, Sedgwick said: "Jordan, I have some
+friends here whom I want to present to you."</p>
+
+<p>His face sobered in a moment. "I forgot, Jim," he said, "thet any one war
+heah savin' ourselves. They must think us two 'scaped lunertics."</p>
+
+<p>"That's all right, Jordan," said Sedgwick, and he formally presented his
+friend to the ladies and to Browning.</p>
+
+<p>The ladies told him how grateful they were that he was near to prevent
+any damage by the fleeing horse, and how glad they were to see the actual
+picture of how a wild horse is caught.</p>
+
+<p>Jordan blushed like a girl. "It war nothin', ladies," he said; "only it
+seemed like it war necessawy sunthin' should be done, and right soon. So
+I interfeerd as well's I could."</p>
+
+<p>"Where the mischief did you get that rig, Jordan?" asked Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"I brung it with me from ther old ranch; that is, all but the hoss. I
+didn't know but I mighter want ter ride, and I knowd I couldn't sit an
+English saddle a minit."</p>
+
+<p>"And why did you come away, Jordan?" asked Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>His face saddened for a moment, and then he smiled and said: "I got tired
+of ranchin', sold out; but why I come here I've no idee, 'cept it might
+o' been to stop that thar hoss."</p>
+
+<p>"It was a good idea, anyway, and we are all glad you came," said Rose.
+"We started to see the great race, and we have seen a greater one," and
+she smiled as she spoke, until the dark man again colored and said:
+"Indeed, Miss, it war nothin'."</p>
+
+<p>But the procession grew denser every moment; so Jordan mounted his horse
+again and rode beside the carriage, and a running conversation was kept
+up all the way to the great race track.</p>
+
+<p>Jordan was exceedingly interested in the colts as they were brought upon
+the track.</p>
+
+<p>"They is thoroughbreds, shore. They is beauties," he kept exclaiming; and
+as they were stripped for the race, he picked out the one he thought
+ought to win, and offered to wager hats with Sedgwick and Browning and
+gloves with the ladies that his favorite would win.</p>
+
+<p>And the colt he set his heart upon came near winning; he was third among
+the eighteen starters, and to the last Jordan insisted that he would have
+won if he had been well ridden.</p>
+
+<p>"He orter won," Jordan said. "The trouble war, his jockey lacks two
+things; he don't understand hoss character, 'nd he lacks pluck. He never
+interested ther colt in him, never rubbed his nose and whispered inter
+his ear thet his heart would be broke if ther colt didn't win; so ther
+colt only ran ter please hisself 'nd never thought o' pleasin' his rider.
+Then, from the fust, ther rider believed he wouldn't be nearer nor third,
+'nd ter do anything a man's got ter believe he ken make it. Menny a grand
+hoss's repertation has ben ruined by ther fool man as has hed him in
+charge, and this war ther case ter-day."</p>
+
+<p>Then he was absorbed in thought for a moment, then went on again as
+though he had not ceased: "It wer ther same with men. Ez often ez ever
+ther best men don't win ther prize; meny er blood man hez been distanced
+by er mustang."</p>
+
+<p>The race over, they all had dinner together, and with beautiful tact the
+ladies kept Jordan talking most of the time, and enjoyed his quaint
+sayings exceedingly.</p>
+
+<p>He had been three months from the United States; had made one trip to
+Scotland, one to Wales, one to Paris, and his impressions of the
+different points and the people he had seen were most vivid and unique.</p>
+
+<p>His talk ran a little in this vein: "Yo' see, up in ther Highlands, I
+looked fur the lakes and mountains that yo' read to us about, Jim. There
+is some fine lakes, but mountains! sho, we can beat 'em in America, all
+holler. And ez to broad rivers, why, ther Mississippi cud take um all in,
+and wouldn't know she had a reinforcement; while pour 'um into ther
+Colorado gorge and they'd be spray afore they reached ther bottom. I
+looked for ther pituresk Highland heroes in ther tartans and with ther
+bag-pipes; but they tho't, I reckon, that I war James Fitz, and wur all
+ambushed. But I did see some pretty girls thar, 'an some powerful fine
+black cattle. They war fine&mdash;good for twelve hundred pounds neat.</p>
+
+<p>"The blamd'st thing I seen war in Wales. I didn't see that, but hearn.
+That war the language. It's a jor-breaker, if you har me. I don't see how
+the children up thar learn it so blam'd young.</p>
+
+<p>"Paris is a grand place, a genuine daisy; but I believe it is wickeder'n
+Santa Fe wuz when the rush war to New Mexico."</p>
+
+<p>Grace explained to Jordan that they were going down to Sussex to visit
+some relatives of Rose, and begged him to go along, and bespoke for him a
+hearty welcome.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm greatly obleeged, Miss," said Jordan, "but I must beg yo' ter 'scuse
+me. I must see my hoss home. I've been ridin' him and teachin' him a few
+things, like startin' and stoppin', for a month. He war wild when I tuk
+him fust, but since he and I got 'quainted, we agree zactly, and I told
+ther men as own him he should be home ter night, and I must take him. I
+wouldn't send him by the are-apparent hisself. Besides, my society
+accomplishments war neglected some'at when I war young, and I would
+rather break y'r heart, Miss, by declinin' ter go, than hev it broke by
+my arkerdness 'mong y'r friends."</p>
+
+<p>But he told Sedgwick where he was stopping in London, and it was agreed
+that on the return of the party to the great city they should see more of
+each other. So Jordan returned to London, and the young people took the
+train for a little town on the coast, not far from Brighton, in Sussex.</p>
+
+<p>They found the uncle and aunt of Rose. A great welcome was given them,
+and four or five days were delightfully whiled away.</p>
+
+<p>A regiment of English regulars was stationed there. Our party made the
+acquaintance of the officers and their families, and one day a horseback
+ride into the country was proposed for the next morning.</p>
+
+<p>It taxed the capacity of the place to supply the necessary animals, and
+one of the horses brought up, though a magnificent and powerful fellow,
+was but half broken at best, and he snorted and blowed, and reared and
+pawed, and took on a great deal.</p>
+
+<p>The company were looking at him, and each selecting the horse that suited
+him best, when Miss Rose said: "What a pity that Mr. Jordan did not come
+along! He would have selected that wild horse."</p>
+
+<p>The colonel of the regiment, a portly man, and a little inclined to be
+pompous, in a peculiarly English tone said: "Possibly, you know, our
+young American friend would like to mount him."</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick affected not to notice the tone or the accent, and answered
+simply: "I have ridden worse-looking horses. If I had a Mexican saddle,
+or one of your military saddles, I believe I should like to ride him; but
+I am a little afraid of these things you call saddles."</p>
+
+<p>Strangely enough, the officer thought the objection to the saddle was
+meant merely as an excuse to avoid riding the horse, and so he spoke up
+quickly, saying: "The gentleman shall be accommodated. I always have an
+extra saddle with me; he shall have that," and gave his servant
+directions to go and bring the saddle and bridle. When they were brought,
+Sedgwick looked at them, said they would answer admirably, and throwing
+the trappings over his left arm, went up to the snorting horse, petted
+and soothed him, rubbed his nose, and talked low to him a moment; then
+slipped the bridle on, then gently pushed the saddle and trappings over
+his back; made all secure, and then, without assistance, mounted him
+talking softly to him all the time.</p>
+
+<p>The horse made a few bounds, but quickly subsided. They were enough,
+however, to show the onlookers that the man on the horse was sufficient
+for the task he had undertaken. Riding back, Sedgwick dismounted, still
+talking low to the horse and patting his neck, for, as he explained, "The
+colt has a lovely, honest face and head; he is only timid, and does not
+yet quite understand what is wanted of him, or whether it will do for him
+to give us his entire confidence."</p>
+
+<p>The officer who had sent for the saddle had watched everything; so when
+Sedgwick dismounted he held out his hand and said, heartily: "I beg your
+pardon, Mr. Sedgwick, I was mistaken in you. You do more than ride. When
+mounted, you and the horse together make a centaur."</p>
+
+<p>With a celestial smile, Miss Jenvie said: "I beg your pardon, Mr.
+Sedgwick. Mr. Jordan is not needed, except as a pleasant addition to our
+company."</p>
+
+<p>They all mounted and rode away. It was a jolly party. Grace and Rose rode
+with two of the officers; two of the officers' wives were escorted by
+Sedgwick and Browning.</p>
+
+<p>As they rode, Sedgwick kept patting his horse, and in a little while so
+won his confidence that he was able to rub his whip all about his head.</p>
+
+<p>They stopped at a roadside inn for luncheon, and returned in the cool of
+the afternoon.</p>
+
+<p>By this time Sedgwick's horse had apparently given his rider his full
+faith, and Sedgwick, in sharp contrast with the other gentlemen, sat him
+in true cowboy style. They were riding at a brisk pace, when the hat of
+one of the ladies was caught in a flurry of wind and carried twenty or
+thirty yards to the rear. The others began to pull in their horses, when
+Sedgwick, like a flash, whirled his horse about, and, calling to him, the
+horse sprang forward at full speed. All turned, and the ladies screamed,
+as they thought Sedgwick was falling. He had ridden, not directly for the
+hat, but to one side until close upon it, then, turning his horse, he
+went down at the same moment, seized the plume of the hat, regained his
+upright attitude, and came smiling back, though the horse, not accustomed
+to such performances, was snorting and bounding like a deer.</p>
+
+<p>All hands were delighted, and Grace shot out to Sedgwick such a look of
+pride and love that his heart beat a tattoo for a quarter of an hour.</p>
+
+<p>The officer who owned the saddle was most profuse in his expressions
+of delight. "Give up America, my friend," he said; "come and be an
+Englishman and join my regiment. We will get you a commission, and supply
+every chance for promotion."</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick thanked him, and assured him that he would duly consider the
+offer.</p>
+
+<p>The old English Colonel took a great fancy to Sedgwick. After dinner, the
+day of the ride, he sought him out, and they conversed together for two
+or three hours; or, rather, the Colonel talked and Sedgwick listened. The
+Colonel had been sent on many a service by his government; he was a keen
+observer, had good descriptive powers, and was an interesting talker.
+Moreover, he liked to hear himself converse.</p>
+
+<p>Having visited South Africa a few months before, he described the
+country minutely, its topography, its flora and fauna, its geological
+presentations, and expatiated upon its promising future. Sedgwick was
+very greatly interested, and with his retentive memory the facts were
+fixed upon his mind.</p>
+
+<p>As they were about separating, Sedgwick said: "You ask me to leave
+my native land and make this my country. I understand you, and
+appreciate the offer, but you do not comprehend the Great Republic at
+all. England, at the beginning of this century, was well-nigh the anchor
+of civilization. By the end of the next century England will be in
+cap and slippers, and her children across the sea will have to be her
+protector. The American who gives up his native land for any other is
+a renegade son."</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII.</h2>
+
+<h3>WESTMINSTER ABBEY.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Next morning Jack and Rose went out for a walk along the beach. Out in
+the little bay a man and a woman were sailing and enjoying themselves,
+for the sound of their laughter came across the water to the shore. Jack
+was just remarking to Rose that they in the boat were carrying a good
+deal of sail, when a sudden squall upset the boat. The man was not a
+swimmer, but as he came to the surface he managed to seize upon the
+overturned boat and support himself.</p>
+
+<p>When the accident happened, Browning shouted to some boatmen farther up
+the beach to come with a boat quickly, and, throwing off coat, vest and
+shoes, he plunged in and swam toward where the boat capsized. Rose was
+left on the beach, wringing her hands and crying. The accident was not
+far from shore, and Jack was a strong swimmer. He reached the spot in
+time to grasp the arm of the woman as she came to the surface. She was
+half smothered by the water, and completely rattled, for the fear of
+death was full upon her, so she madly clung to Browning. He made the best
+struggle that he could, but the woman carried him under before the boat
+arrived. As the two rose to the surface, the boatmen managed to seize
+them and draw them into the boat, but the woman was senseless, and
+Browning was almost so, and fearfully exhausted.</p>
+
+<p>As the boat was rowed to the shore and Rose saw Browning lying limp and
+helpless in it, she went off in a dead faint, and was so upset and
+nervous that it was determined to return to London that evening. When out
+of sight of the place and of the sea, she rapidly recovered, and was soon
+her old self, but she reproached Jack, and with an adorable smile told
+him she never would have believed that he would, on the very first
+opportunity, go off, half kill himself for another woman, and compel her
+to make such a spectacle of herself down on the beach before all those
+villagers.</p>
+
+<p>The old days began again in London; Browning and Rose were all in all to
+each other, and Sedgwick and Grace were likewise in the seventh heaven of
+love's ecstasy.</p>
+
+<p>In Nevada parlance, Sedgwick would have wagered two to one with Browning,
+on the measure of their respective happiness.</p>
+
+<p>The happy couples visited every point of interest in and about London.</p>
+
+<p>One day they went through Westminster Abbey. Sedgwick hardly spoke during
+the visit, and as they entered the carriage to return home, Rose said:
+"Mr. Sedgwick, I am disappointed; I thought our great national chamber of
+death would greatly interest you."</p>
+
+<p>"So did I," said Browning, "but I suppose a foreigner cannot understand
+just how English-born people feel toward that spot."</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick smiled faintly, and said: "You mistake me, Miss Rose, and you
+too, Jack. That Abbey is the only thing I have seen in England that I am
+jealous or envious of. I see your great works and say to myself, 'We will
+rival all that.' I read your best books and say of myself, 'they are a
+part of our inheritance as well as yours.' But that Abbey is a monument,
+sufficient to itself, it seems to me, to make every Englishman afraid to
+ever falter in manhood or to fail in honor. It is filled with lessons of
+splendor. There slumber great kings and princes, and queens who were
+beautiful in life, but there under the seal of death a higher royalty is
+recognized&mdash;the royalty of great hearts and brains; the royalty that
+comes to the soldier when in the face of death he saves his country; the
+royalty of the statesman who turns aside the sword and opens new paths
+and possibilities to his countrymen; the royalty of the poet when he sets
+immortal thoughts to words, which once spoken, go sounding down the ages
+in music forever. And these should have their final couches spread beside
+the couches of kings, for each when called can answer, 'I, too, was
+royal.'</p>
+
+<p>"And when other nations dispute for recognition with Englishmen, your
+countrymen have but to point to that consecrated spot and say: 'There is
+our country's record. It is chiseled there by the old sculptor, Death; go
+and study it; it will carry you through thirty generations of men; from
+it you will learn how Englishmen were strong enough, while subduing the
+world, to subdue themselves; to create to themselves laws and a
+literature of their own, until they at last held aloft the banners of
+civilization when nearly all the world beside was dark; there is the
+record of England's soldiers, statesmen, poets, scholars; read the
+immortal list, and then if you will, come back and renew the argument.'</p>
+
+<p>"That pile ought to be enough to make every Englishman a true man, a
+brave man, a gentleman, for to me the names there make the most august
+scroll ever written.</p>
+
+<p>"Listening within those walls, it seemed to me I could hear mingling all
+the voices of the mighty dead; the battle-cry of soldiers, the appeals of
+statesmen; the edicts of kings; the hymns of churchmen, the rhythm of
+immortal numbers as from poets' harps they were flung off; the glory of
+a thousand years shone before my eyes; the splendor of almost everything
+that is immortal in English history was before me.</p>
+
+<p>"That place ought to impress all who visit it with what mortals must do,
+if they would embalm their memories upon the world.</p>
+
+<p>"You are right to reverence and to feel a solemn joy at that place; it is
+one of the few real splendors of this old world."</p>
+
+<p>"Forgive me, Mr. Sedgwick," said Rose; "I should have known your
+thoughts." While she was speaking, Grace, under the lap-robe, pressed her
+lover's hand.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII.</h2>
+
+<h3>TWO KINDS OF SORROW.</h3>
+
+
+<p>But as June wore away, one day when Jack visited the office of his
+step-father, he found Stetson there, and was informed by him that some
+evil-disposed persons were 'bearing' the stock of the Wedge of Gold
+Company, which was most unfortunate, as it interfered with the
+arrangements in progress for building the mill.</p>
+
+<p>Browning did not know enough about stocks to see through the deception,
+but bluntly asked what could be done to stop the injury. "The true way,"
+said Stetson, "would be to go on the market and take all the stock
+offered until the bear movement should be broken."</p>
+
+<p>Browning had heard about Captain Kelly "bearing" the bonanza stocks, and
+how the bonanza firm had taken all he offered, so he said: "Why do you
+not go out and put a stopper on the beggars?" Stetson explained that he
+had not the money. "Why, we can fix that," said Jack. So he wrote a note
+to the &mdash;&mdash; Bank to honor the orders of Jenvie &amp; Hamlin until further
+instructions, turned the check over to Hamlin and told him to manage it.
+The days went by. There was an excursion of the young people to Wales,
+and another to Scotland, and besides Jack had gone down to Devonshire,
+bonded the place he liked, paid &pound;1,000 down, and was to meet the
+remainder of the obligation&mdash;&pound;9,000&mdash;when the titles were all looked up
+and transferred to him. Meanwhile, June and the better part of July were
+gone when one morning Jack went to the bank and drew a check for a few
+pounds which he needed for spending money. The cashier as he paid the
+check, informed Browning that the directors would be glad to see him in
+the private office of the bank. A messenger showed him the way, and he
+was there informed that the house of Jenvie &amp; Hamlin had been drawing so
+heavily upon his order that only some &pound;12,000 remained to his credit. The
+news was a paralyzer, but Jack was a game man and said: "That is all
+right," talked pleasantly for a few minutes, then withdrew, and going
+directly to his step-father's office, demanded an explanation.</p>
+
+<p>The old men informed him that they had tried to hold up the stock of the
+"Wedge of Gold," but their efforts had proved of no use. The shares had
+run down to almost nothing. They had even used the reserve fund intended
+for the building of the mill, and it looked, they said, as though they
+could never realize enough to get even.</p>
+
+<p>"Has the stock recently bought been placed to my credit?" asked Jack. He
+was told that it had been. "And how much is it?" he demanded. They
+informed him that it amounted to 83,000 shares, which, with the 50,000
+shares first bought by him, gave him 133,000 shares, or the entire stock
+except 17,000 shares.</p>
+
+<p>Jack was lost in thought a few minutes, then said: "I want all the papers
+except the 17,000 shares, and I want with them your own and Stetson's
+resignation as officers of the company."</p>
+
+<p>The papers were given him, and taking the bundle he carried it to his own
+bank and deposited it, then went home.</p>
+
+<p>He repaired directly to Jim's apartment, found him, and said: "Jim, my
+heart is broken. You have stood by me so far, help me now to arrange
+things so that I can say good-bye to Rose"&mdash;here he broke down and
+sobbed&mdash;"and then go back to America."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, old friend," said Sedgwick, "if you and Rose are all right, what
+can so upset you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, bless my soul, Jim, I'm ruined; my fortune is nearly all gone," he
+answered.</p>
+
+<p>Then Sedgwick drew from him all the dismal story.</p>
+
+<p>When he had finished, Sedgwick said: "Get me that prospectus, Jack: I
+want to see it before I make up my mind." Jack complied, and Sedgwick
+read it carefully through. The statement of the mine, the description
+of its development, and of the value of the ore, had been prepared by an
+expert so eminent that he could not afford to sell his name to bolster up
+a fraud.</p>
+
+<p>When Sedgwick had finished reading he sat in thought for a few minutes,
+and then said: "Jack, go and find the man from whom this property was
+purchased, get all the facts that you can, even if you have to get him
+drunk; then come to me to-morrow, and by that time we will think
+something out. By the way, first run over to Rose, tell her you have been
+called away on business and may not be home until late, so that she will
+not expect you."</p>
+
+<p>Jack left his friend and met Rose in the hall. She had just come in to
+visit Grace. He caught her up as men sometimes do children, kissed her
+and said gaily: "Don't look for me to-night, sweetheart. I'm going to be
+engaged until late."</p>
+
+<p>She twined both her arms around one of his arms and said teasingly: "Are
+not you and I engaged, and is not ours a prior engagement?"</p>
+
+<p>"O, yes," he said, "but this other engagement is with a man."</p>
+
+<p>"So is mine," she said.</p>
+
+<p>"And sometimes I think he is not much of a man, either," said Jack.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't you dare to slander him," said Rose. "I know him better than he
+knows himself, and I will not permit one word to be breathed against
+him."</p>
+
+<p>"He ought to be most proud of so lovely a champion. He must be the most
+blessed man of all the earth," said Jack, looking fondly down upon her.
+Then he added: "Are you very sure that nothing could ever come between
+his love and you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, Jack, how serious you are," the fair girl said. "Nothing, nothing,
+can ever come to break my admiration for him. Death itself can but
+suspend life for a little while. My Jack and myself will be loving each
+other when this world shall be worn out and be floating in space, as does
+a dead swan upon a lake."</p>
+
+<p>Browning bent and kissed her again, said softly
+"Amen," and went out.</p>
+
+<p>The day wore away, and when dinner was announced, Browning had not
+returned. Sedgwick went with Grace to the sitting room and remained
+for a few minutes. Grace chided him upon being moody, and with all her
+caressing ways tried to exorcise the evil spirit that was upon him, but
+with poor success. Finally he asked her to excuse him, telling her he was
+absorbed in a little matter not strictly his own, which he would tell her
+all about after awhile.</p>
+
+<p>She listened, and when he had finished, she put her arms around his neck,
+and said:</p>
+
+<p>"You see when confidence is withheld from me, I become violently angry,
+and punish the culprit by going away." Then she kissed him, arose, backed
+to the door, reached behind her, opened it, passed out, then kissing her
+hand to him, closed the door.</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick went out, and at once repaired to the hotel where Jordan stopped
+when in the city. He had been out of town following some whim, and
+Sedgwick had not seen him since Derby Day.</p>
+
+<p>Reaching the hotel, he learned that Jordan had returned, and soon found
+him.</p>
+
+<p>Jordan met him joyfully, explained why he had been away, that he was
+thinking all the way home from the Derby that if he remained he might be
+a burden to Sedgwick and his new friends; that the best thing to do was
+to take no chances, and so he had been making the tour of Ireland.</p>
+
+<p>Of that country he had much to say. "Yo' oughter go thar, Jim," he said.
+"Thar's a people wot ken look poverty in ther face 'nd laff it ter scorn;
+whar three squar meals a day ken be made on hope; whar wit grows on ther
+bushes; whar ther air ez filled with songs 'nd full hearts fill ther
+vacancy made by empty stomachs. It's ther most pathetic spot on earth,
+Jim. A race lives ther filled with energy and hope, a race as is generous
+and brave, 'nd warm-hearted, holdin' within 'em vitality enough ter found
+a dozen empires, but chained by poverty 'nd superstition, 'nd hate of the
+bruiser on this side of ther channel; nussin' impossible dreams 'ev a
+nationality which ther kentry couldn't support ef once obtained; proud ez
+Lucifer of a past which hez little in it 'cept wrong 'nd tyranny 'nd
+sufferin'; all ther exertions confined in a narrer groove, all ther work
+of no avail because uv indirection; clingin' ter homes which keeps 'em
+helpless 'nd only accomplishin' somethin' when transplanted to other
+fields, 'nd then carryin' on ther world's work, fiten' ther world's
+battles, sailin' ther world's ships, workin' ther world's mines, subduen'
+ther world's wildernesses, runnin' ther world's primaries, 'nd bein' ther
+world's perlicemen. I tell yo', Jim, it war pitiful.</p>
+
+<p>"When I told 'em I war an American, they opened ther arms ter me ter
+once, 'nd took me in. What questions they asked! And when I told 'em
+about ther broad acres in Texas, how they cud go thar and each in a few
+months or years own his own farm half a mile squar, how ther eyes flashed
+'nd ther faces glowed! It teched my heart, Jim, ter see 'em, 'nd made a
+old fool uv me in one place, shore.</p>
+
+<p>"I stopped in a house one night whar ther war ther old man 'nd woman, a
+grown-up son 'nd a girl who war, maybe, eighteen year old. Thet girl,
+Jim, war fine. Blue eyes 'nd har that war the color which ware 'twixt a
+brown and a flaxen, with er blush rose shadin'; a clear-cut face like
+that of a Greek stater; dainty form 'nd limbs; the roundest arms yo' ever
+seen 'nd a hand like Aferdites. I noticed, too&mdash;axidentally in course,
+that ther thick brogans on her feet were little 'nd shapely ef ther war
+thick brogans. But, finest of all war her complexion. Ther warm air as
+blows over the Gulf Stream are good ter all complexions in Ireland, but
+it had done extra fur thet girl. It war perfect.</p>
+
+<p>"Then, over all, she hed a proud, shy, dainty way 'bout her which war
+exquisite.</p>
+
+<p>"We had a jolly evenin' together. I told 'em 'bout America; they told me
+all 'bout Ireland from ther time of ther Irish kings. They fired jokes at
+each other that would sell for forty dollars apiece in Texas, and they
+war ez thick ez though jokes growed on trees.</p>
+
+<p>"At last ther boy wanted his sister to sing, but she got rosy red, 'nd
+told him ter be quiet. I told her ef she'd sing I'd make her a present,
+'nd finally she giv in. Her brother played ther flute, 'nd she sung
+'Tara's Harp,' not scientific, but jest nateral 'nd sweet as iver a
+bobolink sang.</p>
+
+<p>"When she finished I gin her a new guinea. She didn't want ter take it,
+but I flung it inter her lap, 'nd then it war passed from hand ter hand
+ez a curiosity. Ther mother war last. She looked it over and then sed:
+'It's a beauty, shore, 'nd now, Nora, give it back ter ther gentleman.' I
+sed: 'I don't want it. I want Nora ter have it.'</p>
+
+<p>"'Shore nuff?' sed ther mother.</p>
+
+<p>"'Shore,' sed I.</p>
+
+<p>"'Then, Nora,' sed ther mother, 'kiss the gentleman for the gift.' Would
+yer believe it, Jim, thet shy girl come and put her arms around my neck
+and kissed me.</p>
+
+<p>"Blast me, but it took me back, but I rallied 'nd said:</p>
+
+<p>"'Nora, I'd give another guinea for another kiss like thet,' 'nd then she
+come back agin a-sayin': 'Yo ken hev another without any mo' guinea,' 'nd
+kissed me agin, 'nd ther whole family laffed.</p>
+
+<p>"Next mornin' when I come outer my room I found Nora alone. Ther father
+and brother hed gone ter ther field, and ther mother war cookin' my
+breakfast.</p>
+
+<p>"Nora greeted me cordial like, 'nd I sed: 'Nora, ef I war young agin I'd
+camp right here 'nd make love ter yo'.'</p>
+
+<p>"'Out wid yer,' she answered. 'It's a cousin I hev in America, 'nd she
+writes me how foine the land war, but says ivery American is a mortal
+liar when he talks ter ther girls.'</p>
+
+<p>"'The cousin slanders us,' said I.</p>
+
+<p>"'She does not,' said Nora.</p>
+
+<p>"'And how can I prove it?' said I.</p>
+
+<p>"'Yez might make love ter me,' she said</p>
+
+<p>"'I'm too old, Nora,' I answered.</p>
+
+<p>"'Couldn't yez wait and let me tell yez thet?' she asked.</p>
+
+<p>"'I'd rether own it then ter hev yo' tell me,' I answered.</p>
+
+<p>"'O, it's makin' fun of me yez are,' said she. 'I know how far away yez
+are from the loikes of me and will forgit me to-morry, but I'm glad yez
+come, for it gave me a breath of the joy of the great world outside. Here
+hearts be breaking continually, for our lives are narrowed down to a mere
+fight for food. It's jist slavery from the cradle ter ther grave, and
+slavery over which there shines no star of hope.'</p>
+
+<p>"Jest then ther mother called us to breakfast. After breakfast I went ter
+my room and put ten &pound;10 notes in a envelope, wrote a line thet it war to
+take the whole family ter America; told 'em ter go ter Texas, and find
+the old neighbors, given' 'em a lot 'o names; told 'em not ter stay a
+minit in ther cities; then went out and handin' Nora the letter ez I bid
+her good-bye, told her it war a real love letter, shore nuff, which she
+must not read till I war out o' sight; thet she might give me ther answer
+when I cum back, and then I started straight for England.</p>
+
+<p>"I kep thinkin' all thet day, it war sich a girl as thet who after awhile
+become the mother of Pat Cleburne or may be Phil Sheridan."</p>
+
+<p>A moment later he looked up and said:</p>
+
+<p>"But I wanted ter see yo', Jim, to tell yo' all the boys remember yo',
+and all allow yo' were the dol-durndest tenderfoot thet ever crossed a
+hoss or fired a rope or a gun."</p>
+
+<p>"Where can we find a quiet place, Jordan?" Sedgwick asked.</p>
+
+<p>"I know a boss ranch," said Jordan, "whar we can have a private room and
+talk all we wanter, only a few steps away."</p>
+
+<p>They found it a drinking house with private rooms in the rear.</p>
+
+<p>When seated there, Sedgwick soon learned that Jordan had sold everything
+in Texas&mdash;stock and land&mdash;and had converted all into money in bank&mdash;some
+$35,000&mdash;and was, to use his own words, "makin' a tower."</p>
+
+<p>"But how came yo' here, Jim?" asked Jordan.</p>
+
+<p>Then Sedgwick told him of his life since the day he left Texas; how he
+formed a friendship for Browning; how the deal in stocks originated, and
+how it resulted.</p>
+
+<p>The Texan went into raptures. "Yo' don't tell me?" he said: "Half a
+milliun! dod rot it, but thet's good; thet's immense! how it would
+tickle ther boys out thar to know it! And yo' give the ole man a cool
+$100,000? What did they think of yo' then? Har, waiter, give us a quart
+of y'r&mdash;whatyer call it? O, yes, Widder Clicko (Cliquot); durned if
+we don't sellerbrate."</p>
+
+<p>They drank their wine, lighted their cigars, and settled down for a talk.</p>
+
+<p>All the old times in Texas had been discussed when Sedgwick said:
+"Jordan, I thought you were prosperous and happy, and much loved by all
+who knew you in Texas. What possessed you to sell out and leave?"</p>
+
+<p>"I war prosperous," said Jordan, "doin' fust-class; war contented, and I
+don't believe I hed a enemy in the hull State.</p>
+
+<p>"I hed ther ranch, ther cattle, ther mustangs; didn't owe a dollar, and
+hed money in ther bank. I hed been doin' right pert, and the property war
+a-raisin' every day. Do yo' know the blamed igiots was a-talkin' o'
+sendin' me to ther Legislature. But after awhile something happened. A
+lot o' ther boys cum in one day and said: 'Jordan, it's a blasted shame
+the way the childer is growin' up yere. We orter 'av a school.' 'All
+right,' says I, 'school goes.' So they agreed ter build a school house
+and ter hire a teacher for six months. I flung in more'n my shere, and
+then ther question was whar to build ther school house. I spoke up and
+I says: 'Why not put it down in the angle of my best section?' Yo' know
+whar ther section lines cross thar. It leaves a corner in ther field
+which is a sharp pint in ther road, and broadens as it runs back. 'Well,'
+they said, 'but whar'll the teacher board?'</p>
+
+<p>"Well, yo' know it's only six hundred yards up ter my place; so I says:
+'I han't chick or child, but I'm bound ter stay by ther school; send ther
+teacher up yere. He can do chores enough for his board, if he is techy at
+all on that pint.'</p>
+
+<p>"The school house went up in short order, and one of the Kinsley boys
+came by on a Saturday, and he says, says he: 'Jordan, ther school'll be
+open Monday mornin,' and the teacher'll be down for supper on Monday
+night.' 'Send him 'long,' says I. I thought he gin a queer kind o' a
+igiotic laugh, but he said, 'All right,' and rid along. I went in
+through ther kitchen and told Aunt Sue&mdash;yo' remember our old unbleached
+cook&mdash;that ther school master war a-comin' to board on Monday night, and
+she must spread herself.</p>
+
+<p>"Her nose went up inter ther air, and she said: 'H'm, guess what we gets
+every day's good 'nuff for one o' doze poor white trash teachurs.'</p>
+
+<p>"Well, 'long 'bout five o'clock Monday evenin' I war readin' ther paper,
+when I hearn a knock at ther door, and same time I hearn Bolus&mdash;thet's
+the big collie, yo' remember&mdash;kinder whinin' as though he war glad,
+and bangin the door with his tail. I thought maybe some of ther boys is
+cum back; maybe it's Jim Sedgwick, and I gets up and goes and throws ther
+door open, and was jest openin' my mouth to say 'Hello!' when I got
+paralyzed.</p>
+
+<p>"Thar war standin thar a little woman in a black frock thet fitted her
+like a prayer on a nun's lips. She had on a white collar, and when she
+looked up at me yo' never seen sich a majestical pair o' eyes, and I said
+ter myself, 'Blast my broad horns, but I never seen so takin' a face in
+all my life.'</p>
+
+<p>"Jest pale sorter, barrin' a little flush that creeped up over her face,
+as yo' might expect would cum ter thet stater&mdash;whatyer call it in ther
+play?&mdash;Gal&mdash;, O, yes, Galerteer, thet's it&mdash;when weakenen' to thet
+feller's pleadin', she shakes ther stone and begins ter warm up ter his
+prayer. She had sorrerful eyes ter look inter, 'cept when she smiled, and
+then, Jim, hed yer seen thet smile once you'd never sarched fur no more
+bernanzers.</p>
+
+<p>"Her nose was straight ez a blood hoss's fore-arm, teeth perfect, and
+white as ther starlight; her har war between yaller and tawny, and lots
+of it. Jest then ther sun shone agin it, and my thot war, 'A smoked topaz
+ez big ez a dinner bucket war fused and then spun inter threads ter make
+thet har.'</p>
+
+<p>"And when she looked up and said, inquirin' like, 'Mr. Jordan?' her voice
+war sweeter'n yo' ever hearn a turtle dove when callin' her mate ter
+breakfast.</p>
+
+<p>"'Thet's me,' sez I.</p>
+
+<p>"She held out her hand thet war soft an' white an' shapely, an' warm, and
+sed:</p>
+
+<p>"'I am Mrs. Margaret Hazleton, ther teacher in ther school, and I was
+directed here.'</p>
+
+<p>"I thot I should o' drop through ther floo', but I braced up&mdash;waiter,
+another bottle&mdash;ez I war sayin', I braced up and said, 'Bless me, madam,
+I war expectin' ther teacher'd be a man; but walk right in, we'll do ther
+best we ken for yer.'</p>
+
+<p>"I called Aunt Sue, and told her to show ther lady whar ter dump her
+fixins,' and der yo' believe it, thet dog Bolus, thet war generally
+mighty questionin' 'bout strangers, set down 'nd thumped ther floo' like
+he war tickled ter death.</p>
+
+<p>"Aunt Sue had cooked prairie chickens, pertaters, hed made hot bread 'n
+coffee, 'n fried bernanners, and opened can fruit, and brot out ther
+honey 'nd two kinds o' pickles, an' ther supper war fine.</p>
+
+<p>"Ther little woman praised it, gentle like, jest enough an' not o'erdoin'
+it, till Aunt Sue's face war bigger'n a full mune, and filled with
+satisfaction ter ther very corners.</p>
+
+<p>"All ther time ther lady kep talkin' 'bout Texas, askin' questions, 'bout
+ther sile, ther climate, and ther productions, and in course I talked and
+did my best a-entertainin' o' her till nine o'clock, when she got up and
+sed she'd bid me good-night.</p>
+
+<p>"Aunt Sue give her the best room, in course&mdash;thet one beyond ther parlor.
+Yo' know I hed it furnished up kinder gorgus with a carpet from
+Shreveport, and spring bed and wash-stand and picters from Galveston,
+and I felt more satisfaction thinkin' mout be she'd be comfortable, than
+I ever hed before since I'd fixed it up.</p>
+
+<p>"When she war gone, I sed: 'Boys, but we is in fur it,' but Aunt Sue
+spoke up, and says she: 'Der am white folks and white folks; but dis
+one's a born lady, sho.'</p>
+
+<p>"And the cowboys said, 'Shore,' and I was shore myself.</p>
+
+<p>"She war up and out d'rectly in the mornin', fixed her own lunchen,
+talked clever a few words to Aunt Sue, petted ther dog a little, and
+asked him questions as though he'd been a kid; stopped on the way out ter
+tie up a rose bush, 'nd so she came and went ev'ry day, and though I
+didn't realize it then, ther house war brighter when she war ther, and
+darker when she war gone.</p>
+
+<p>"Once Aunt Sue hed fever from Friday ter Sunday night, and without any
+fuss thet thar woman did the cookin', and doctored Sue as tho' cookin'
+'nd doctorin' war her regular perfession.</p>
+
+<p>"We found out after a little thet she war a widder, husband dead two
+year.</p>
+
+<p>"After 'bout a week Aunt Sue says ter me one day: 'Mr. Jordan, yo' jest
+cum har!' I followed her ter the woman's room. Der yer believe it, she'd
+downed all ther flash picters that ther impenitent thief at Galveston
+hed coaxed me inter buyin', and in place hed hung up some small
+engravins, not gaudy-like, but jest catchin'; hed taken' off all the
+sassy trimmin's from ther curtains, and the hull room war changed,
+just ez tho' er benediction had been pernounced thar. It war all kinder
+toned down, ez tho' a woman hed slipped a gray ulster over a red frock.</p>
+
+<p>"It made me feel kinder cheap like, and I sed ter myself, says I: 'Thet's
+good taste!' I knowed it in er minit, tho' I'd never seen it afore.</p>
+
+<p>"Next Sunday in church we found out she could sing, and after thet she
+sung for us o' nites, playing a gitaw same time. Then arter awhile she
+got ter readin' ter us. Yo' remember how yo' read, Jim? Well, yer readin'
+war like a grand organ, hern were like ther blendin' o' flutes and harps.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, ther weeks went by, and sech a feelin' cum over me ez I'd never
+'sperienced afore. I thot first 'twar hay fever comin' on. I couldn't
+eat, couldn't sleep. I war restless when thet woman war gone. I war
+skeery like when she war round; and war given to havin' little hot spells
+and then chills, and I said, 'I know it's ther blasted malarier.'</p>
+
+<p>"So I took k'neen and juniper tea, and fancied I hed night sweats&mdash;jest
+the cussedest time, Jim, thet yo' ever seen.</p>
+
+<p>"One day when I war a-sittin' in ther house and a-mopin', Aunt Sue cum in
+and looked hard at me, and says she: 'Mr. Jordan, does yo' know what's
+der matter wid ye?'</p>
+
+<p>"I told her I didn't; thet I'd give a band o' cattle ter find out.</p>
+
+<p>"'Laws,' says she, 'I'd tell cheaper'n dat, only yo'd think I is sassy.'</p>
+
+<p>"I said: 'Aunty, yo' goahead. If yo's sassy, I's too sick to care.'</p>
+
+<p>"'Why, bless yo' soul, honey,' says she, 'yo's jest ded in lub wid the
+schoolma'm, Mrs. Margaret. I noze. I's been dar myself.'</p>
+
+<p>"'O, git out,' says I.</p>
+
+<p>"She went out laffin', but at ther door she stopped a second and says:</p>
+
+<p>"'Dat's it, sho, Mr. Jordan,' and after ther door closed I hearn her
+ha-hain'.</p>
+
+<p>"Then I did some thinkin' for the next half hour, and I said ter myself,
+'It's thet, sho nuff.'</p>
+
+<p>"The school term war ter close next day, and ther teacher had made her
+'rangements ter leave right away for her home up No'th&mdash;Ierway, I
+b'lieve. The contract war for $100 er month, but when we met ter fix up
+ther money I told ther trustees that some o' ther neighbors hed been thet
+pleased with ther school thet they had put up a little extry puss o'
+money, enough ter pay ther teacher's board and give her $150 extry. It
+war a bald-headed pervarication, Jim, but I thot it jestifiable under the
+sarcumstances, inasmuch as I put up ther hull money myself.</p>
+
+<p>"I war fur gone. She closed ther school next evenin'; cum up ter ther
+house; wus goin' ter remain till the train cum by fur ther No'th at 11:15
+next day. We hed supper and breakfast as usual. After breakfast ther boys
+all went off ter ther wo'k, and Aunt Sue went ter a neighbor's to borrer
+some bakin' powder. I was sittin' on ther verandy when the schoolma'm
+cum out, and walkin' close up, says she: 'Mr. Jordan'&mdash;waiter, bring me
+a brandy smash&mdash;'Mr. Jordan,' says she, 'I want to thank you for all
+your gentle and generous kindness to me. Except for your thoughtful
+consideration I should have had a much harder time here. I thank you
+with all my heart.'"</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick noticed that he had repeated the exact words without a mistake
+in pronunciation. They had evidently been burned into his very soul.</p>
+
+<p>He drank the brandy, and then with a husky voice went on:</p>
+
+<p>"'Yo' break me all up, Mrs. Hazelton,' says I. 'We is such rough folks
+down har. Yo' have been er providence ter ther place.'</p>
+
+<p>"She blushed a little at that, and said: 'You are too kind.'</p>
+
+<p>"'Not a blamed bit,' says I, and then realizin' it war my only chance, I
+blurted out: 'I'll be mighty sorrerful when yo' is gone. I don't know how
+others as knows how does it, but I want ter tell yer thet because of yer
+the flowers is brighter, the birds sing sweeter, the sunshine is clearer,
+the sky more smilin', and I cud get down and crawl on the ground yo' has
+walked over, that bad do I worship yer. And if yo' cud stay and marry me
+and civilize me, I'd try to brush up and be a decenter man than I ever
+war; leastways, I'd clar ev'ry rock and thorn outer yer path.'</p>
+
+<p>"Do yo' b'lieve it, Jim, I wus perspirin' wus'n ther buckskin stallion
+did when yo'got thro' with him that fust mornin', and was tremblin' like
+a sick gal.</p>
+
+<p>"She looked down compassionate like, got white about ther lips, 'nd her
+voice shook er little as she sed:</p>
+
+<p>"'I can't do that, Mr. Jordan; there's much that I cannot tell, why I
+cannot, no matter; but I thank you with all my heart and soul, not only
+for your kindness to me, but for this last most generous offer.'</p>
+
+<p>"Then she went on and talked, and cud yo' 'av hearn her, it would ha'
+made yo' think she war the prettiest and sweetest, and most compassionate
+woman as ever a-come ter bless ther world. She seemed ter me like a fur
+off priestess ministerin' to a sinner.</p>
+
+<p>"After awhile I said:</p>
+
+<p>"'Mrs. Hazelton, o' course yo' is pore, or yo' wouldn't a-come down yere
+a-teachin' school among these barbarians; thet is, pore ez fur ez money
+goes. I've been lucky. I've $4,000 in ther bank which I've no need of. If
+you'll let me give you thet, no one'd ever know it, and the reckerlection
+uv it, 'nd ther thot thet it may be doin' yo' some good'll give me heaps
+more pleasure than keepin' of it would.'</p>
+
+<p>"You see, Jim, I war fur gone. But she wouldn't hev it, tho' ther tears
+jumped ter her eyes when I offered it, and she remarked she b'lieved I
+war the best man in ther world. I told her if she ever needed a friend
+and didn't send fer me, I should feel slighted.</p>
+
+<p>"Then I hitched up and druv her down ter the station. She sat side o' me,
+Jim&mdash;waiter, more brandy&mdash;in course. Lookin' down, I cud see her smooth
+cheek and clear-cut profile, and thinkin' I war takin' my last looks,
+thar was sich a feelin' of all-goneativeness cum over me thet, do yo'
+know, if I cud ha' got outer one side, I b'lieve I would a-bawled like er
+hungry calf.</p>
+
+<p>"We shook hands at ther station, and, not mindin' ther crowd, she reached
+up both her arms, put 'em around my neck, drew my head down 'nd kissed me
+squar on the mouth.</p>
+
+<p>"It perty nigh smothered me, and I said in a low voice: 'Mrs. Hazleton,
+let me give yer ther money. I positively has no use in the world fur it.'</p>
+
+<p>"She give me a sad smile, shook her head and jumped on ther train. As it
+pulled out uv ther station she nodded, wavin' her hankerchiv 'nd dropped
+it axidently. I picked it up. I've got it till yet. I'll allers hev it.</p>
+
+<p>"Thet war ther end. Bolus wouldn't eat fur three days, then he cut me
+dead and went off ter a neighbor's whar ther war a white woman, and would
+niver cum back.</p>
+
+<p>"I stood it three months. I thot I should die uv the blues.</p>
+
+<p>"One day a man from ther No'th stopped off at ther ranch fur the night.
+After supper he said he war a-lookin fur a stock ranch fur his son. I
+said, 'Why not buy mine?'</p>
+
+<p>"Then he asked all 'er 'bout it; how many acres; how much stock; 'bout
+the water, and what my price war.</p>
+
+<p>"I told him $30,000. In the mornin' he gits a hoss, rode round with ther
+boys, and when he cum back, went down inter his pocket, drew out er
+wallet, and counted out thirty $1,000 gold notes, saying: 'I will take
+ther place.'</p>
+
+<p>"'It's a go,' says I.</p>
+
+<p>"We went ter town and hed ther papers fixed up. That war last February.
+Then I started out, went slow round ter New York, then over here; I've
+been up to Scotland, over to Wales; been to France once; jest cum over
+from Ireland, and ev'ry day I ride 'bout twenty miles in this 'ere town,
+and I've never found any end to it yet, 'cept when I went on ther keers'
+'nd thet day I went ter ther races. I believe it's bigger'n all Texas,
+and its very size worries me."</p>
+
+<p>"What have you marked out for the future?" asked Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"Not a blamed thing," was the response.</p>
+
+<p>"How would you like to take a trip with me?" asked Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"I'll go ter any place yo' say, Jim; I don't keer how fur," said the
+candid man.</p>
+
+<p>"Do not promise too quickly," said Sedgwick. "I am thinking of starting
+for South Africa in two or three days."</p>
+
+<p>"South Africa goes, if yo' say so," said Jordan; "I'm yours truly, blast
+my broad-horned heart if I ain't."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, old friend, it is growing late. If you will be here to-morrow
+morning at eight I will tell you all that is on my mind," said Sedgwick,
+rising.</p>
+
+<p>"I'll be har," said Jordan.</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick stopped to settle the bill, but Jordan pushed him aside, saying,
+"Not to any particular extent, if we knows ourself." He tossed a tip to
+the waiter, paid the bill, and was going to add a shilling for the young
+woman who was the cashier, when, glancing up at her, he changed his mind
+and made it a guinea, because, as he explained, "Her hand war sunthin'
+like Maggie's."</p>
+
+<p>The friends separated at the door.</p>
+
+<p>It was eleven p.m. when Sedgwick reached the Hamlin house. He would not
+have gone at that hour, except that he had been given a pass-key on the
+first day he was there, with a request never to fail to come in, no
+matter how late he might be detained. Moreover, he wanted to see Jack.</p>
+
+<p>Before he could open the door, it was swung back by Grace. She explained
+that she was on the watch so that she might form an idea of what hours
+Sedgwick was in the habit of keeping, and to tell him how very angry she
+still was. Then she gave him a smile such as an angel might, and was
+gone.</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick went at once to Browning's room, but he was still out. He
+crossed over to his own, threw off his coat, put on a smoking-jacket and
+slippers, and lighting a cigar, sat down to think.</p>
+
+<p>Before very long Browning came in. "I found him," he said. "He was shy
+about giving me the facts, but I ginned him up to the confessional point.
+He told me all the truth at last.</p>
+
+<p>"He received but &pound;2,000 for the mine, and he does not believe that a
+share of it was ever sold to any one but me. He was paid the &pound;2,000 on
+the day I bought the first 50,000 shares. My money paid for the mine;
+then I bought it over again. I furnished the purchase money, and then I
+bought it again, paying an advance of 500 per cent. And the job was put
+up by the old duffers; Stetson was only let in to clear the old chaps
+when the truth should be known. And then Stetson wants to marry my Rose.</p>
+
+<p>"But the man told me that the mine was just as described, only a nasty
+road would have to be built to it that would probably cost &pound;80,000 or
+&pound;100,000, and the mill would have to be built. It looks to me like a
+total loss, Jim; but the swindle is so manifest that I believe we can
+make the conspirators disgorge at least the last half that they robbed me
+of."</p>
+
+<p>The room was still for many minutes. Then Sedgwick said: "Jack, I thought
+those old men meant mischief to you when I first saw them. It was because
+of that&mdash;at least, in part that&mdash;that I remained. But one is your
+step-father&mdash;another the step-father of your affianced bride, and the
+other a mere stool-pigeon. There must be no scandal if we can help it. I
+believe the object on the part of Jenvie was to keep you from marrying
+Rose; what your step-father means I cannot understand. But anyway, if we
+can help it, there must be no scandal. We shared alike in Nevada. I have
+as much money left as both of us need. We share alike still. But no
+matter about that."</p>
+
+<p>"But I have been a hopeless idiot to let these men rob me," said Jack,
+"and except for Rose, I would pull out for America to-morrow. I would, by
+Jove!"</p>
+
+<p>"Your mistake was entirely natural," said Sedgwick. "Had my father wanted
+all my money, he could have got it for the asking. Do not talk about
+going to America; that would be 'conduct unbecoming an officer and a
+gentleman'; it would be a cowardly desertion in the face of the enemy.
+Then, you have never been very well since your ducking down on the Sussex
+coast; and, besides, you have entered into obligations here so sacred
+that you must not permit a little whim, or even a great disappointment,
+to lead you to think about trying to break them. Let us go to sleep now.
+To-morrow we will talk over this matter more fully. I want a few more
+hours to think and to make up my mind what is best to do." Jack returned
+to his room, and the lights were put out.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV.</h2>
+
+<h3>TEARS AND ORANGE FLOWERS.</h3>
+
+
+<p>In the morning Sedgwick got a cup of coffee early, and was just going
+out, when Grace came running up to him in the hall.</p>
+
+<p>"I believe you were running away," she said gaily, and, seizing his arm,
+declared that he was her prisoner.</p>
+
+<p>He told her that it was true he was running away, but would be back
+before very long, and would then, he thought, explain everything.</p>
+
+<p>"Then I am still very angry," said she. "I am going to my room to make a
+calculation how much I am being slighted, and to consult the fates as to
+what penalties shall be prescribed before you can possibly hope for
+forgiveness." Then she smiled, stretched out her hand to be kissed by
+him, then opened the door and said softly, "Do not be too long away."</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick went again to Jordan's hotel; found him and told him briefly all
+that had happened; all about Browning, the love affairs of both, and how
+Jack had been taken in on the mine; ran over the prospectus of the "Wedge
+of Gold," and explained that he meant to visit the property; that if it
+could be made available with the means he had, he intended to improve it
+and bring Jack's shares up to cost; that no one but his Grace and her
+mother was to know when he went away, that he was not going to America,
+and that he wanted some one with him who understood gold quartz.</p>
+
+<p>Jordan listened with increasing interest as the story was told,
+interrupting only when Sedgwick spoke of his love for Grace Meredith, and
+when he explained how Jack had been swindled.</p>
+
+<p>To the first he joyfully responded: "I am glad, old boy, blast my
+broad-horned heart if I aint! She's a daisy; she's a real woman; and I
+thank God she found yo' and tuk pity on yo'."</p>
+
+<p>To the other he said: "Well, the dod-durned, Newgate, Rotten Row, British
+thieves! How I would like to 'ave 'em in Texas for one short quarter of a
+hour!"</p>
+
+<p>His enthusiasm was at its height at the close of Sedgwick's story. He
+cried out:</p>
+
+<p>"It'll be glorious, Jim. Ef the mine can be worked up, we'll make it,
+sho'." Then after a pause, he said slowly as to himself, in a low tone:
+"It'll take me outer myself, maybe; that'll be wo'th mo' to me than a
+gold mine."</p>
+
+<p>"But it is a tough time of year," said Sedgwick. "The Red Sea and the
+ocean beyond will be like furnaces at this season."</p>
+
+<p>"Red Sea, ocean, furnace, everything, goes," said Jordan. "I enlist fo'
+ther wah."</p>
+
+<p>Another meeting was arranged for that afternoon, and Sedgwick returned to
+the Hamlin home.</p>
+
+<p>He went direct to Browning's room, tapped on Jack's door, and then walked
+in. Jack was leaning upon the table, thinking, and was so engrossed that
+he did not hear the tap or the opening of the door.</p>
+
+<p>He started up as Sedgwick laid his hand on his shoulder, and said: "I
+don't believe, Jim, that I heard you come in."</p>
+
+<p>"That's all right," said Sedgwick, "but, Jack, you must hear me now."
+Then sitting down close beside his friend, Sedgwick went on:</p>
+
+<p>"I have thought this business all out, Jack. I believe the prime motive
+for this swindle was to separate you and Rose, and prevent your marriage.
+The first thing to do then, is to secure that matter. You must see Rose,
+and if she is willing, you must be married to-morrow. I think she will
+consent, and that her mother will approve it when she shall have been
+told the truth. This must be, Jack; first, because those old scoundrels
+will continue to plot against the marriage until they know it is of no
+more use; and second, I want to go away to-morrow evening."</p>
+
+<p>"It cannot be," said Browning. "They took all my money. They left me but
+a beggarly &pound;12,500."</p>
+
+<p>"How much did you keep thinking through so long a time would be
+sufficient to accumulate before you could come back and 'try to steal
+Rose Jenvie?'" asked Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"O yes, I know," said Browning; "but then it was different."</p>
+
+<p>"What have you told Rose about your money matters?" asked Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"Not one word," was the reply.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you think she expects a no-account boy to go off to America, and with
+nothing but his head and his hands to accumulate more than &pound;12,500 in
+three or four years?" asked Sedgwick. "But this is all foolishness, old
+boy," he continued. "The last half of the money those old men obtained
+from you can be recovered easily, if not all; if that, after awhile,
+proves to be the best thing to do. And, moreover, I tell you that we are
+partners in this, and that we still have as much money as you and I can
+very well handle. I must have my way about this, old friend."</p>
+
+<p>"But if you are going away, why cannot I go with you?" asked Browning.</p>
+
+<p>"For several reasons," replied Sedgwick. "If you remain here, or go down
+on your farm in Devonshire, the conclusion of Jenvie and Hamlin will be,
+that with your money mostly gone, all I could do was to return to
+America.</p>
+
+<p>"Again, no one knows how much more money you have. You must remain. Be
+generous at the club, move among men, keep the prestige that you have won
+since you came here; be entirely independent; keep your eye on the man
+the mine was bought from, even if you have to pay him a salary to insure
+his remaining here, and so be in a position to help through any line of
+action we may agree upon. More, you must restrain yourself and have no
+trouble with young Stetson. He is as much fool as knave.</p>
+
+<p>"Another reason is, that Rose has already waited years for you, and it
+would be a wicked and cruel thing to disappoint her again. It would kill
+her and unman you. No, no, you must be married to-morrow. But Jack, if I
+were you, I would never take my wife back under the Jenvie roof until
+full reparation should be made. See her, and gain her consent to an
+immediate marriage; then go and hire a house or make arrangements at a
+hotel to live, and I want you to promise that you will not, after I
+shall have gone, bring any suit or make any sign that you have suffered a
+loss, or bother yourself much about business until I come back, or you
+receive word of me. I will fix money matters before I go, so that you
+will not be troubled. And now, think it over."</p>
+
+<p>When Jack aroused himself, Sedgwick had disappeared. He sat in silence
+for a few minutes, then rose, went out, secured a conveyance, called and
+asked Rose to go out for a drive.</p>
+
+<p>On the road he explained to Rose all that had happened; how rich he was
+when he came home; how his confidence had been betrayed; how little he
+had left, and then asked if the dear girl was still willing to be his
+wife, and if she would consent to become his wife next day.</p>
+
+<p>She laid her hand on his, and said: "Dear Jack! it was to be for all
+time; your home to be my home; your God my God. I will be ready when you
+come for me. I will go exultingly to become your wife; my joy will be the
+deeper, for it will be chilled with no fear of the future, which it might
+have been had I known you possessed &pound;100,000. What you have is enough for
+us. But, Jack, let me begin to influence you. Do not take a shilling of
+your friend's money unless you know that we can some time return it."</p>
+
+<p>Later, Jack found a lovely furnished house, the owner of which desired to
+vacate for a year; hired it, paid a year's rent in advance, engaged the
+servants of the family, and explained that he would bring his wife on the
+succeeding day.</p>
+
+<p>On that same day, Sedgwick sought Grace, and made clear to her the
+situation, explaining how Jack had been wronged, what he had advised to
+do him, and unfolded his own plan to leave the next day, so soon as
+Browning and Miss Jenvie should be married&mdash;with Jordan for South Africa,
+to see if it was worth while to try to bring out the property, explaining
+that if the mine gave no strong promise he would be back in two or three
+months. If, on the other hand, he and Jordan decided it was good, he
+might be absent for a year, and asked her if she would keep the secret of
+where he had gone, and if she were sure enough of her own heart to
+undertake to wait for him.</p>
+
+<p>Grace had grown very white and still while Sedgwick was speaking. When he
+ceased she continued silent for a moment, and then said:</p>
+
+<p>"I agree to it all, my king, all but one thing."</p>
+
+<p>"And what is that, sweet?" asked Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>She leaned over, put her arm around her lover's neck, laid her cheek
+against his, and said: "If Jack and Rose are to be married to-morrow, we
+should be married also."</p>
+
+<p>"But I am going away, my child," said Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"I know," was her response, "but one object of my father in trying to
+break off the match between Jack and Rose was to try to have Jack marry
+me. We should complete the work. Then, should you need me, or could you
+send for me, I could go better as your wife than any other way; then,
+when I gave my heart to you I gave it entirely, and should we never meet,
+I would, while I lived, want to keep in thought that you were my husband;
+that I was your wife; that all glory had come to me."</p>
+
+<p>By this time the tears were flowing fast down her cheeks, and with tears
+in his own eyes, Sedgwick said:</p>
+
+<p>"I wanted to ask you, dearest, to become my wife before I went away, but
+thought it a shame to so involve you, with a future so clouded as mine is
+to be for the coming months."</p>
+
+<p>"You forget," she replied, "that it is my right in your absence to think
+of you as my husband."</p>
+
+<p>So it was settled that on the next day, just before noon, they should be
+married; that they should separate at the church, she to return with her
+mother, Sedgwick to start with Jordan on their long journey.</p>
+
+<p>Then Grace called her mother. The matter was explained to her, and she
+readily consented to the marriage, saying to Sedgwick: "You know I asked
+you, in case Grace returned your affection, that the matter might for the
+present be held a secret. My reason was that I felt that something
+sinister, which I could not understand, was at work. I think you and
+Grace have a right to belong to each other; that if you must go away.
+Grace is right in wishing that when you are gone she can think of you as
+her husband."</p>
+
+<p>So arranged, Sedgwick went to find Jordan. A steamer had sailed the
+previous day from Southampton for Port Natal, via the Suez Canal, and
+Sedgwick's plan was to join that ship at Port Said.</p>
+
+<p>He found Jordan, told him of the change in the arrangements; fixed with
+him to have all needed baggage at the Dover depot, to meet him at the
+church at 11:30 next day, and after the ceremony to start with him from
+the church on their long journey.</p>
+
+<p>"I'll be thar, old friend," said Jordan. "Thet's ther sensible business.
+Make ther splendid girl yo'r wife, and pervide for her so thet if
+anything happens she'll be safe agin the petty cares that break women's
+hearts."</p>
+
+<p>Then Sedgwick returned to the Hamlin house, and went straight to Jack's
+room.</p>
+
+<p>Browning greeted him with a smile, and said, "Jim, old pard, it's all
+right. The marriage goes, even as you planned, and I have found and
+secured a nest for my bird."</p>
+
+<p>"Good," said Sedgwick; "but the arrangements have been changed a little;
+or, I might say, enlarged upon a little. As I understand it now, you,
+with Rose and her mother, will be at the church at 11:30 to-morrow. I
+will be there with Mrs. Hamlin and Grace. We will be the witnesses of
+your marriage, and then, Jack, old man, you and Mrs. Browning must be
+witnesses for Grace and me."</p>
+
+<p>Jack sprang from his chair, and cried: "Are you and Grace fond of each
+other?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, somewhat, I trust," said Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"And you are really engaged?" cried Jack.</p>
+
+<p>"For all this life, at least," said Sedgwick; then added gravely, "and
+heaven itself would be a cold and cheerless place to me without my saving
+Grace."</p>
+
+<p>Then Browning wrung the hand of Sedgwick, embraced him, danced around the
+room; then shook hands again, crying: "This is superb! this is glorious,
+by Jove! Why, of course it would be all wrong any other way. O, Jim,
+bless my soul, how glad I am!"</p>
+
+<p>Then Sedgwick said: "Browning, we have not much time. You understand I
+will leave my wife"&mdash;his voice trembled&mdash;"at the church door. I am going
+away&mdash;where, no matter&mdash;with a thought in my mind which, please, do not
+ask me. I may be gone two months, maybe six months.</p>
+
+<p>"Here is my will. Grace will keep it. Here is a check for her, which will
+secure her comfort, so far as money is concerned. Here is a check for
+&pound;10,000 for you and Rose. Grace will return from the church to this
+house. If our marriage cause any friction here, she will go and live with
+you and Rose. I am glad you have secured a house. If I were you, I
+repeat, I would never take Rose under the roof of her step-father until I
+received full restitution from him. Do not discuss this money part of the
+business any more; it will do you no good. And when I am gone, do not get
+low spirited. Make life happy for Rose, and"&mdash;he halted a moment&mdash;"for
+Grace."</p>
+
+<p>The dinner was not a happy one that day. A cloud was on the Hamlin house.
+As soon as possible the head of the house went out. He was quickly
+followed by Browning.</p>
+
+<p>The eyes of Grace and Sedgwick met. They both rose from the table and
+passed into the hall. Grace twined her arms around one of his and led him
+into the parlor. She swung around an easy chair, made him sit down, then
+seated herself on an ottoman at his feet, and said: "It's going to be
+awfully hard to bear, my love; but I have thought it all over, and I do
+not believe I should ever be quite satisfied if you should not perform
+what you have marked out as your duty. Of course, if the property will
+not bear examination, you will, if nothing wrong happens you, be back in
+two or three months. If it will justify further exertion, I understand it
+will be likely to keep you away for a year, and that will be fearful."</p>
+
+<p>The tears filled her eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"But that will be duty, and then if you conclude to remain, maybe you
+will send for me. It will not matter how I live. I would go now, but I
+know I would be a trouble to you. I should interfere with your work.
+To-day you would want to go here; to-night, there; to-morrow you would
+want to be off on the mountains; and while I do not imagine you would
+think me a burden, nevertheless your very best energies could not be
+exerted, and this time they must be."</p>
+
+<p>She seemed very resolute as she spoke, though her face was sadder than
+Sedgwick had ever seen it. She continued:</p>
+
+<p>"I shall be brave when the hour comes, my love. I shall not vex you with
+a tear when we separate. You shall carry a smile as my last gift away
+with you."</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick was enchanted. He thought her the grandest, noblest woman on
+earth, and thanked God for his treasure.</p>
+
+<p>After awhile he told her of Jordan, and all that he had learned from him.
+When he rehearsed Jordan's love episode, she kept exclaiming: "Poor, true
+man! Poor, honest fellow!" But when it was finished, she said: "Why,
+love, he is a ninny; that woman would never have left him had he but had
+more faith in himself, and pressed his suit a little. I am glad he is
+going with you. You will be a comfort to him, and his mind will have an
+object to work upon. Poor fellow!" she added with a sad smile. "You men
+are very brave and bright. You tear down mountains, exalt valleys, fight
+battles, navigate great ships, tame wild horses and lasso wild oxen, but
+you do not&mdash;the majority of you&mdash;know any more about a woman's heart than
+a Fiji islander does of Sanscrit."</p>
+
+<p>To all of which Sedgwick responded by calling her an angel.</p>
+
+<p>Then the matter of their marriage was talked over, and Sedgwick advised
+that in case her step-father should be angry upon learning of the event,
+she should take up her home with Jack and Rose.</p>
+
+<p>"My father will not show much vexation," she said. "If he begins that
+way, I will remind him of the fortune he has taken from your friend, his
+own step-son, and explain that it was his and Jenvie's work that made
+necessary what we shall have done."</p>
+
+<p>But it was agreed that all letters to her should be sent to a private box
+in the post-office, to which Sedgwick gave her the key. It was agreed,
+moreover, that even Jack should not know he had not gone to America,
+because, as he explained, if Jack once suspected he was going to Africa,
+he, too, would insist upon going, which would break Rose's heart, who had
+already waited for years; and then his going would be altogether
+unnecessary, as he and Jordan could do as well as three could. Moreover,
+to go would be to lose what he had advanced on the Devonshire estate.</p>
+
+<p>They both tried to be cheerful, but it was a sad night. When they came to
+separate, Grace broke down, but through her tears promised to be brave
+when the final trial came.</p>
+
+<p>Next morning, from half past nine to half past ten, Sedgwick and Grace
+were saying their final good-byes. It was an hour never to be forgotten
+by them. Grace did not attempt to restrain her tears. In both their
+hearts was the feeling that one has when the last look is being taken of
+the face of a much-loved one who has gone to the final rest. There were
+kisses and embraces and broken words, but there was no faltering on
+either side. Both were supported by the thought that a duty had been
+presented and must not be avoided.</p>
+
+<p>At 10:30 they retired to their respective apartments. Sedgwick dressed
+himself in a business suit of a dark texture. Grace attired herself in a
+traveling suit and hat. The baggage of Sedgwick was sent off at 11:15,
+and both were ready when the carriage came. The carriage with Mrs.
+Jenvie, Rose and Browning came up almost immediately, and the two
+vehicles proceeded to the church. Quite a little company had gathered,
+drawn by curiosity, when the church doors were opened.</p>
+
+<p>Jordan was present, radiant in a new suit, with a flower in his coat
+lapel, and he answered the smile and nod that each couple gave him as
+they passed up the aisle.</p>
+
+<p>As stated before, Grace was in a traveling suit, but Rose was radiant in
+robe and train and orange wreath, and a buzz of admiration at her
+exquisite beauty followed her all the way to her place before the altar.</p>
+
+<p>The ceremony proceeded in the usual order. The mothers gave the brides
+away; the last prayer was finished, the kisses given, the papers duly
+signed and witnessed, the certificates filled out and given to the
+respective brides, and the company turned to leave the church.</p>
+
+<p>Then Jordan came forward. Sedgwick presented the two elder ladies to him,
+and all greeted him most cordially. In response he said:</p>
+
+<p>"It's the whitest kind uv a day. I'm glad ter know yo' all; glad ter
+congratulate yo', and I wanter say ter Mrs. Sedgwick&mdash;Grace grew rosy red
+on hearing the appellation&mdash;that I've know'd her husband a long time, and
+he's true blue, sho'; there's not a better or a braver man on either side
+o' ther ocean."</p>
+
+<p>With that he drew a package from his pocket, and tendered it to Grace,
+saying: "I wanter give yo' a little keepsake fo' yo' husband's sake."</p>
+
+<p>It was a jewel case and contained a diamond cross worth &pound;300.</p>
+
+<p>At the church door the good-byes were spoken. Browning and his bride
+entered one carriage and were driven away to Jack's home. The two elder
+ladies and Sedgwick's bride entered the other carriage.</p>
+
+<p>True to her promise, Grace gave to her husband, who stood near, a smiling
+good-bye, but when the carriage was driven away, she broke into
+uncontrollable sobs, wrung her hands piteously, and not until she reached
+home did the paroxysm of grief subside. She went to her room, laid by all
+her bright dresses and ornaments, robed herself in simple black&mdash;"in
+mourning," she said, "for my lost honey-moon."</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick and Jordan entered a carriage, and from it boarded the Dover
+train. Not a word was spoken until the train had passed beyond the great
+city's outermost limit, when at last Jordan said:</p>
+
+<p>"Cum, Jim, brace up. It'll be all the sweeter when this accursed bitter
+cup shall be passed."</p>
+
+<p>And Sedgwick answered: "You are right, old friend, but the dear girl will
+suffer. That last smile was such as is given when hearts break."</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV.</h2>
+
+<h3>SINISTER SUCCESSES.</h3>
+
+
+<p>When the old men, Jenvie and Hamlin, reached their homes that evening and
+learned what had transpired during the day, they were dumfounded. Hardly
+tasting any dinner, Hamlin arose from the table and sought the house of
+Jenvie. He met Jenvie at the door who was just going out to find Hamlin.
+They went at once to Jenvie's library, and when Jenvie motioned Hamlin to
+a seat and took another himself, it was a long time before either spoke.</p>
+
+<p>At last Hamlin said: "A bad business, Jenvie."</p>
+
+<p>"I do not see how it could be worse," was the reply.</p>
+
+<p>"I am too confused to think," said Hamlin.</p>
+
+<p>"We got Jack's money from him, and yet he and Rose are married, and it
+seems with Rose's mother's full consent," said Jenvie.</p>
+
+<p>"And a stranger of whom we know almost nothing has married Grace and left
+her at the church door, and it was with her mother's full consent, also,"
+said Hamlin.</p>
+
+<p>"And neither you nor myself is in a position to complain; I have not the
+courage to even storm about it," said Jenvie.</p>
+
+<p>"Nor have I," responded Hamlin. "I did not intend to keep Jack's money. I
+wanted to break off his engagement, and then offer him a little fortune
+if he would marry Grace."</p>
+
+<p>"I was determined that he should not marry Rose, even if I had to rob him
+to prevent it. Curses on him! He knocked me senseless while he was yet a
+mere boy. And now he has given me a harder blow. He has stolen Rose from
+under my spectacles, married her, pauper that he is, and gone to
+housekeeping."</p>
+
+<p>"What shall we do?" asked Hamlin.</p>
+
+<p>"Look here," said Jenvie, "this move is that American's who has married
+your daughter. He is more subtle than Jack. He has engineered this
+business. But I cannot fathom it. Why should he have left his bride
+at the church door and gone off to America?"</p>
+
+<p>"I think I can understand that," said Hamlin. "While Jack has made his
+&pound;100,000, Sedgwick made a little more than &pound;20,000. He left that with his
+father to buy a farm in the States, and came with Jack merely as a lark.</p>
+
+<p>"I think he has gone for as much of that as may be left, and that before
+a month he will return, and will back Jack in a suit to recover from us
+Jack's money."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, what can they hope to recover by a suit?" asked Jenvie. "If mining
+stocks are offered to a man and he buys them, and they do not turn out
+well, whose loss ought it to be? Then we sold nothing. It was Stetson who
+did the business."</p>
+
+<p>"But," said Hamlin, "if a man is induced by false representations to buy
+wild-cat shares, and he seeks recourse through our English courts, will
+he not recover?"</p>
+
+<p>"I made no special representations," said Jenvie.</p>
+
+<p>"That will not answer," said Hamlin. "You made enough representations;
+so did I. It was a direct swindle, and I did my part intending to make
+restitution. This business has practically destroyed the peace of our own
+homes. My wife never gave me a look of thorough contempt until to-day."</p>
+
+<p>"Neither did mine," said Jenvie. Then there was a long silence.</p>
+
+<p>At last Jenvie said: "Hamlin, there is but one thing to do. We must go
+to Jack to-morrow, good-naturedly chide him and Rose for being married
+without our knowledge, each carry a present, and as soon as possible
+settle with Jack, and get his receipt in full, before the return of that
+American devil that tumbles bulls, and might trip two old John Bulls like
+you and me."</p>
+
+<p>"I agree to that," Hamlin responded. "We can tell him that bad news from
+the mine has decided us not to go on with the mill building; that we will
+help bear the loss of the first investment, and tender him back &pound;25,000.
+He will not only be glad to settle with us for that, but will feel
+grateful to us."</p>
+
+<p>So it was agreed that they should go at noon of the succeeding day.</p>
+
+<p>They each next morning purchased a valuable present, and repaired to
+Jack's house.</p>
+
+<p>They were shown in, and their cards sent to Browning.</p>
+
+<p>The servant returned in a moment and said: "Mr. Browning is engaged, and
+declines seeing the gentlemen."</p>
+
+<p>They went out incensed, but with such a mixed feeling of anger, chagrin,
+self-abasement, and apprehension as they had never experienced before.</p>
+
+<p>A day or two later Hamlin met Mrs. Browning face to face on the street.
+He rushed up to her with a joyful cry of "O Rose!" whereupon she drew her
+skirts around her so that they would not touch him, and walked by.</p>
+
+<p>Not long after, Jenvie met Browning and addressed him joyously. Jack
+looked him steadily in the face for a moment and then walked on.</p>
+
+<p>These were unhappy days for the old men. Something had fallen on their
+homes worse than a funeral, and in their souls the fear of the coming of
+Sedgwick became a perpetual haunting specter before their eyes. Stetson
+joined in their apprehensions, and then he realized besides that if he
+had ruined Jack, still Jack had married Rose.</p>
+
+<p>But as the days grew into weeks, they began to have hope. They made two
+or three investments that gave them quick returns and large profits.
+Success begets confidence. The men on change began to look upon them as
+rising bankers; deposits increased heavily, and so many enterprises were
+offered them to promote, that, without using a dollar of their own means,
+their commissions began to be enormous.</p>
+
+<p>"We are on the rising tide," said Jenvie.</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed we are," said Hamlin. "If the suit comes now, we can settle
+without any business or domestic scandal."</p>
+
+<p>"It is nothing to make money when a man once
+gets a start," said Jenvie, "but I would be glad to be
+fully reconciled with my wife and child."</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI.</h2>
+
+<h3>A TRIP TO AFRICA.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Sedgwick and Jordan, with only now and then a few words of conversation,
+reached the coast and embarked on the channel steamer. A fresh wind was
+blowing, and the craft was shamefully unsteady.</p>
+
+<p>"It must uv been heah, Jim, whar ther original mustang learned his
+cussedness," said Jordan. "See how ther steam devil performs, startin' up
+ez tho' it meant to climb a wave and then without er provercation rollin'
+half way over and all ther time shakin hisself an' makin' things thet
+uncomfortable thet ther man aboard, while sayin' nothin', wishes all ther
+time he'd never tackled ther brute. Didn't ther useter call ther sea,
+'Mare?' I know why, she were a mustang shor."</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick's face kindled with the ghost of a laugh, and he agreed that
+Jordan's theory was not a bad one.</p>
+
+<p>"But, Jim," said Jordan, "this war er famous old place after all."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Sedgwick; "history has compiled some of its wonderful pages
+right here. We are where the Great Armada sailed, the souls of those on
+board believing they were going to make the conquest of England. Here is
+where Howard gave that fleet its first blow; here is where Howard and
+Drake sent their fire ships to play havoc with the hostile fleet. A great
+place indeed! But it was only 300 years ago that Howard and Drake
+performed their part; before their day many a fleet swept over this
+watery way; the Crusaders crossed here; before them, a thousand years,
+the great Julius came and invaded England; before him, a hundred savage
+nations worked their rude boats in these turbulent seas. When the light
+of civilization well-nigh went out in the land where it was first
+kindled, it was re-lighted on these shores, and though it burned slowly
+for a long time it never quite went out; rather, it grew brighter and
+brighter until its sheen began to fill the world. Bright souls have
+peopled both sides of this channel; both are lands of fair women and
+brave men; their literature has made the world gentler and higher; their
+laws dominate mankind; their power is a controlling force among the
+nations; they make the center of the world's wealth; they are each
+examples of how much men may accomplish on small areas of land, provided
+they possess sovereign hearts and brains and souls."</p>
+
+<p>The ship scraped against the pier while Sedgwick was talking, and the
+travelers hurried on their way. At Paris they were detained several
+hours, and Jordan hiring a carriage, they took in as much of the
+beautiful city as possible.</p>
+
+<p>Jordan all the time exerted himself to talk, and by asking questions to
+compel Sedgwick to think of something besides the sad-browed bride whom
+he had left in London.</p>
+
+<p>"What war the special charm 'bout Paris, Jim? I feel it, but blamed ef I
+can splain it even ter myself," said he.</p>
+
+<p>"I do not know," replied his friend, "but I suspect, Tom, it is the
+culmination of something which has for a thousand years been maturing.
+Long ago, a full thousand years, there was an Emperor here who was in
+advance of his generation. He believed that a perfect education meant the
+full enlightenment of the mortal, that his hands and eyes as well as his
+mind must be disciplined, that every useful attribute must be trained. So
+he built cathedrals to improve the taste of the people, established free
+drawing schools, had the people taught the secret of fusing worthless
+material with acute brains and making something valuable&mdash;something which
+the rich are glad to give their gold in exchange for. That emperor died,
+but his work continued to live and increase until France became a nation
+of artisans and artists, and that art has now become second nature, and
+therein lies the charm. See how yonder lady picks up her drapery to cross
+the street; not ten women in England could do that little thing as she
+does. Do you know the reason why? She caught the art originally from old
+Charlemagne. That is, thirty generations ago, the old Emperor established
+the schools which made possible the perfection of the present, and the
+graceful art of that lady is in truth a graceful compliment to the old
+soldier-Emperor who more than a thousand years ago fell back to dust."</p>
+
+<p>"I reckon yo' are right, Jim," said Jordan. "When I was heah afore, I put
+up at er tavern whar ther war young women as waited on ther table. I jest
+had plain food, in course, but when one o' them young women brot me ther
+bill, she would hand et out in sech er way thet tho' I knowed she war
+a-robbin' me, I never thot o' pertestin'; rather, she war shor ter git er
+tip in addition. Talk er high art, them girls war daisies, shor. One time
+thar war a row. A dapper feller disputed er bill. He thumped his heart,
+waved his arms, and made er speech like er politician. Ther perprieter
+cum in, then both made speeches. I thot ther would be shootin' or
+cuttin', sartin, but finally one rushed out, and I tho't in course hed
+gone for a gun. While waitin' ter see ther fun, I seen over at er table
+a feller smilin' like, and I tho't by his face he war a Yankee, so I went
+over, and sez I: 'parler vouse Fronsa?' Then he laffed and said: 'Yes, a
+little, but I understand English better.' Then I shuk his hand 'nd axed
+him wot ther row war, an 'nd ef he tho't that thar man hed gone fur a
+wepin. He smiled sort o' quiet-like, and said: 'No, it war jest a
+difficulty about an overcharge of five sous, and it's all settled.' 'All
+that row for five sous?' I asked. 'Yes,' he answered. Then I said, 'My
+God, suppose it hed a-been five francs, it would uv been ez good ez er
+play.' Yo' see, that old trick thet they got from big Charlie, they
+overplay sometimes."</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick smiled faintly, and Jordan continued:</p>
+
+<p>"But are they not er light-hearted, joyus race, tho'? How they can sing
+'nd dance 'nd play hades! When I war heah they hed a review uv ther
+soldiers, 'nd how ther hull town turned out 'nd yelled 'nd yelled 'nd
+sung ther Marseilles, 'nd yet ther scars and humilitation uv ther mighty
+defeat war still fresh upon them. They'r ez hopeful ez ther Irish, same
+time they is a great deal closer traders. Ther stranger pays fur eny bow
+they make, for any smile they give. Still, they is country-loving; every
+one uv 'em 'r ready ter die fur ther beautiful France, 'nd ther women ez
+jest ez'thuseastic ez ther men. If I war young 'nd cud round up
+ther language a little, I'd camp heah fur six months."</p>
+
+<p>"The place is worth a longer visit," said Sedgwick, "just to study its
+past, to go over the spots made sacred in history, to study the
+monuments, to visit galleries; to dream of all the events which
+transpired to round the present city into form; to trace the city's
+career through wars, revolutions, uprisings, victories and defeats; to
+learn the processes, and count the throes which were necessary before the
+manhood of the people asserted its superiority over the manhood of kings.</p>
+
+<p>"Think! It is but sixty years since the great Corsican led his army out
+of here to his last campaign. One can picture him now in thought, moving
+up this very street, the old familiar sovereign face, eyes straining
+towards the star that even then had become a fallen star, his ears
+thrilled with the plaudits of shouting armies and shouting people, his
+soul imperturbable in its dream of conquest. Then the man was everything,
+the people nothing; now the people are everything, the man&mdash;he is asleep
+and his heart is not colder in the grave than it was in life."</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII"></a>CHAPTER XVII.</h2>
+
+<h3>ON THEIR TRAVELS.</h3>
+
+
+<p>But at last the hour for leaving came, and Sedgwick and Jordan took
+the train and proceeded without delay to Marseilles, where one of the
+steamers of the French Imperial Messenger Line was about to sail for
+Port Said. They at once secured transportation, went on board, and a
+few hours later the ship proceeded to sea. The weather was fair on the
+Mediterranean, and putting aside any personal sorrows, Jordan exerted
+himself to be cheerful for Sedgwick's sake.</p>
+
+<p>"This are ther water on which men fust learned ter be sailors, arn't it,
+Jim?" he asked. "I mean whar they fust got inter ther notion of venturin'
+out whar ther old shore-shaker could git a good hold on 'em?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," replied Sedgwick. "This and the Red Sea. The Egyptians, the
+Carthagenians, the Phoenicians, the Syrians, the Greeks, the Romans,
+and a dozen other nations; later, the Venetians and Spaniards, and no one
+knows how many other nations, all learned how to build, navigate, and
+fight ships on these waters. Think of it, Jordan, there were sea fights
+here almost seven hundred years before the Christ came. On this sea
+floated the fighting Biremes, Triremes, and Quinquiremes of the Greeks,
+Carthagenians, and Romans; and here the Egyptians and Phoenicians
+trained their ships three thousand years before the crucifixion.</p>
+
+<p>"Could this sea give up its dead&mdash;its dead men and its dead ships; could
+they all come back as they looked the moment before they sank, they would
+make a panorama of the ages, and would show the progress of the world for
+five thousand years. Every mile square of this sea must be paved with
+things which were once glorious in life and power. Maybe below where we
+are sailing here, helmeted Roman soldiers, being transported to some
+point of contemplated conquest, went down. Here pirate craft have roamed;
+here lumbering wheat ships have ploughed their way; here the watches have
+been set by the crews of a hundred nations; here sailors have been cursed
+in a thousand tongues. Along these shores ship-building had its birth;
+from these shores the ships sailed out over these waters, engaging in
+foreign commerce, and the camel-owner on the land learned to hate the
+thing which on the water could carry the burden of many camels. One could
+sit all day and conjure up the ghosts that these blue waters are peopled
+with."</p>
+
+<p>"Go ahead, Jim," said Jordan. "Thet sounds as it useter when yo' read to
+us in ther old house thar in Texas. What war thet book that told all
+'bout Lissis and Ajax, the hoss-tamer Diamed, and the boss fighters,
+Killes and Hector, and ther pretty gal Helen, that raised all the hel-lo,
+and Dromine, the squar woman thet war Hector's wife, and hed the kid thet
+war afeerd of the old man's headgear?"</p>
+
+<p>"That was the Iliad, Jordan," said Sedgwick, "the first book that we
+read. The story was the siege of Troy. That was a city over on the east
+shore of this very sea, and the Greeks went over there in their boats and
+besieged it for nine years before they captured it."</p>
+
+<p>"How long ago war that, Jim?" asked Jordan.</p>
+
+<p>"Three thousand years," was the reply.</p>
+
+<p>"But they were fighters, them fellers?" said Jordan.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, great fighters," said Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"And their hosses war thoroughbreds, every one? Isn't thet so, Jim?" said
+Jordan.</p>
+
+<p>"They were great horses, indeed," said Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"Powerful," said Jordan, "good for fo' mile heats, sho'? And thet other
+chap, Nais, didn't he settle round here somewhar?"</p>
+
+<p>"You mean &AElig;neas, Jordan. It was in Virgil that we read that. &AElig;neas was of
+the family of that Priam who was king of Troy when the siege was on. He
+got away in a ship and finally landed and settled in southern Italy, off
+here to our left, and the legend goes that his descendants founded Rome."</p>
+
+<p>"Yo' don't mean ter say he wur ther 'riginater uv ther Dagoes?" said
+Jordan.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Sedgwick, with a laugh, "you know at that time there were
+wild tribes in Italy. Then there came in Greek colonies, and all races
+fused and assimilated, even as did the Romans and Sabines when the former
+captured a company of the women of the latter and made them their wives.
+Out of it all arose the mighty Roman nation."</p>
+
+<p>"They inbred with mustangs, so ter speak," said Jordan, "and these common
+Dagoes is whar they has bred back showin' bad stock in ther dam."</p>
+
+<p>"May-be," said Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"Half-breeds is no good, as a rule, but that Nais war a good one."</p>
+
+<p>"A good one, I guess," said Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"He's ther feller that Queen&mdash;what's her name?&mdash;O, yes, Queen Dido got
+soft on?" queried Jordan.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Queen Dido," was the response.</p>
+
+<p>"And she got looney-like when he cum away, and uv nights would go down on
+ther shore and watch for him to cum back?" said Jordan.</p>
+
+<p>"So the legend has come down, and by the way," added Sedgwick, "her
+country was on this sea also, farther east and south, off to the right.
+It was called Carthage."</p>
+
+<p>"Say, Jim," said Jordan, "them folks was a good deal like we is, after
+all, wuzn't they? They'd fight for most nuthin'; they'd get gone on
+wimmen; liked good hosses; they'd trade and work tryin' ter get rich; and
+ef they hed hearn of a gold mine, they'd gone ter Arizony for it."</p>
+
+<p>"I guess you are right, Jordan," said Sedgwick, "you always are. The
+world changes its methods, but the original man is about what he has
+always been."</p>
+
+<p>"Wurn't it from thet place Carthage that ther black feller cum what held
+ther Dagoes so level fur so long?" asked Jordan.</p>
+
+<p>"Hannibal, do you mean?" asked Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"Ther same," replied Jordan.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," replied Sedgwick, "and a marvelous soldier and leader of men he
+was, to be sure."</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed, he wur; but say, Jim, what do yo' calcerlate his pedigree wur?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, he came from a family of kings and fighting men," answered
+Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I know; but I mean what breed war he? War he one of them ere
+Ethiopians?" said Jordan.</p>
+
+<p>"No, I think not," answered his friend. "He was dark like an Arab or
+a Moor, but he belonged to a race that built cities and ships, tamed
+horses, and fought scientific battles."</p>
+
+<p>"'Zactly," said Jordan. "And he wur a fighter from way back?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," responded Sedgwick, "when the few great captains in the world are
+thought of, he is about third or fourth in the list."</p>
+
+<p>"Thay ain't much in men, Jim. Thar's everything in a man," said Jordan.</p>
+
+<p>"That is what Napoleon used to say," was Sedgwick's answer.</p>
+
+<p>"Did Napoleon say thet?" asked Jordan. "He war a brighter man than I
+thought, but it is true, don't yo' think, Jim?"</p>
+
+<p>"I think I understand, but am not quite sure," said Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"I mean this," he answered, and then paused a moment. "Well, yo' see," he
+continued, "I wur at Chickamauga in Hill's division, I wur in thur ranks,
+and wur a boy; but I hed a general idee how things wur. I knowed whar all
+our men war; how your army war 'ranged, and when we went in shoutin',
+and all your right and left melted away like a fog as comes up from the
+gulf melts when the sun comes up in ther mornin', I sed to Ned Sykes, who
+wur next me in ther ranks, 'Ned, we's got 'em,' and Ned answered back,
+'we's got 'em, sho'.'</p>
+
+<p>"Well, it wur a clar field, 'ceptin' your center war still solid, and
+they fell back all but a thin line. We charged up onto thet and broke it,
+killed lot's uf 'em, and gobbled up lots more, but it tuk us a right
+smart time, fur them was stubborn chaps 'nd they fought desperate.</p>
+
+<p>"Then when I looked up, I seen the hull business. Thet line hed been
+flung out ter hold us till ther rest cud fall back on better ground. Thar
+they wuz fixed, and when our lines wuz dressed and other charge ordered,
+and we went in again shoutin' jest like the fust time, they laid down
+flat and they 'gin it ter us so hot we couldn't stand it and hed ter fall
+back.</p>
+
+<p>"And they kept a-entertainin' of us thetway all ther evenin'. Other
+divisions wur called up and sent in, but what wur left uv 'em cum
+streamin' back, jest ez often ez it wur tried; a cavalry charge was
+ordered, but only a remnant cum back, and we hed made no more impression
+seemin'ly than ther waves thet bucks up agin a ledge uv rocks.</p>
+
+<p>"Them wur no better soldiers than ther rest uv ther army, but thar war a
+man directin' 'em, and lookin' all ther time so kinder majistical and
+lofty and so fur away from all fear, and ez tho' he hedn't a thot of
+failin', thet ther men, yo' see, tuk on ther same state o' mind, and ter
+fight 'em war no use. If the fust bullet we fired hed killed thet
+General, we would a-scooped the hull army by four o'clock. Thet's what
+I mean when I say: 'They ain't much in men, thar's everything in a man!'"</p>
+
+<p>"I understand you fully, and you are right, Jordan," said his friend.</p>
+
+<p>Jordan continued "War it not 'round yere somewhar' thet ther Greeks
+lived?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, north of this sea, ahead of us, and to the left," said Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"They wur the ones that fit Marathon and Thermoperlee, and it wur from
+ther thet big Aleck cum?" asked Jordan.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," was the reply. "It was only a little country, but had many states,
+The Spartans and Thespians, mostly the Spartans, fought at Thermopylae.
+Marathon was fought mostly by Athenians, and Alexander was Phillip's son,
+of Macedonia."</p>
+
+<p>"'Zactly," said Jordan. "Athens wur the boss place, wur it not? It had
+ther best talkers, and best public schools, and wur it not thar thet the
+woman Frina kept house?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Phryne was an Athenian, I believe, a woman of a good model, but not
+a model woman," said Sedgwick, with a faint smile.</p>
+
+<p>"I reckon yo' wur right, Jim," said Jordan, "but it wur not singular she
+bested them fellers in her law-suit. Her showin' would ha' brought a
+Texas jury every time, sho', in spite of any 'structions, no matter how
+savage, from ther court."</p>
+
+<p>Then he continued, "Thar wur another bad one 'round here, somewhar. Don't
+yo' reclect readin' 'bout her and ther Roman? They got spoony on one
+another. He neglected his family and business, he wur thet fur gone;
+finally got hisself killed, and then she pizened herself with a sarpent,
+not a moccasin nor rattler, but a little short blue-brown scrub snake not
+a foot long."</p>
+
+<p>"You mean Antony and Cleopatra," said Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"'Zactly, Cleopatra," said Jordan. "She wer ther one. I never liked her,
+not half so well as the one with yaller ha'r thet they called Helen. One
+wur bad on her own account; the other, as I calcerlate, wus bad jest
+because she hed er disposition to be entertainin' and agreeable. One wur
+naterally bad; t'other wur a lady by instinct but her edecation had been
+neglected."</p>
+
+<p>Still he ran on: "Wur it not on this water thet old Solomon fitted out
+ships for ther Ophir diggings?"</p>
+
+<p>"I do not know," was the reply. "It probably was, if, as is believed, a
+canal connected this sea with the Red Sea in his day."</p>
+
+<p>"Which way are Jerusalem from here, Sedgwick?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick pointed in the direction.</p>
+
+<p>"And Tyre and Venice and Egypt and ther Hellespont?" Jordan asked.</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick explained.</p>
+
+<p>"The country 'round this sea made ther world once, didn't it?" was
+Jordan's next exclamation.</p>
+
+<p>"Very nearly," answered Sedgwick. "The cradle of civilization was rocked
+more on these shores than anywhere else. Egypt and Greece and Carthage
+and Phoenicia and Syria and Rome, and a score of other nations, grew
+into form on the shores of this sea. The arts had birth here; arts,
+architecture, ship-building, sculpture, poetry, eloquence, law and
+learning, all began on these shores; and Roman soldiers crucified the
+Savior a little beyond where the waves of this sea break against its
+eastern shore."</p>
+
+<p>"Thet's good," said Jordan. "Big region this!"</p>
+
+<p>And so the great-hearted man kept talking to try to lure Sedgwick's mind
+away from the thoughts that possessed him, and which made his heart heavy
+and his face grave.</p>
+
+<p>The ship touched at several ports, and the changing of passengers, the
+different races, the varying scenes, kept the minds of both men diverted
+and their interest all the time awakened, and kept Jordan talking more
+than he had talked before for weeks.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm glad I cum, Jim," he kept saying. "Why, we fellers out in Texas as
+never traveled don't know nuthin', so ter speak; nuthin' 'bout the world
+outside, I mean. We useter think Texas wur almighty big. Tain't nuthin'."</p>
+
+<p>Then after a pause he spoke again, and his next question was: "What did
+yo' call them ships thet ther old fellers sailed?"</p>
+
+<p>"They had many names. There were Galleys, Biremes, Triremes.
+Quadquirimes, Quinquirimes and so on, according to the number of their
+oars and the way they worked them," answered Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"This are a daisy ship thet we is on, don't you reckon?" said Jordan.
+"Suppose yo' and I cud uv cum along heah with this ship when they hed
+ther fightin' fleets out? Wouldn't we hev astonished them old-timers?"</p>
+
+<p>"I think we would, indeed," said Sedgwick, "but, Tom, with the ships that
+they had, they did some fighting that gave the world such a thrill that
+men feel it still when the name of Actium or Salamis is mentioned. As
+long before the coming of the Savior as it has been since, the
+Phoenicians were scouring this sea with their craft, founding colonies,
+and it is said they ventured out upon the Atlantic and went as far north
+as England, while amid the ruins of Tyre models of boats have been found
+with lines as fine as any that any modern ship-builder can draw.</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing of mechanical achievement to me compares with a ship like this
+that we are sailing on. Panoplied in steel, with heart of fire, with iron
+arms picking up the burden of ten thousand horses; facing the storm and
+the night without a quiver except that which comes of its own great
+heart's throbbing, buoyant above the beating of the deep sea's solemn
+pulses, lighted by imitation sunlight, and making its voyages almost with
+the precision of the hours&mdash;what could be grander?</p>
+
+<p>"Standing on the deck, with the midnight black above and the ocean black
+below, feeling its regular pulse-beats and its onward plunges over its
+uneven path; it is hard to shake off the impression that it is a grim
+Genie that has come to make ferries of the broad ocean, to draw the
+continents with their freights of nations closer together.</p>
+
+<p>"But suppose, Tom, that the onward rush of this ship should bring us
+close beside three little ships, two with no decks and the larger one
+only ninety feet in length, we would look down upon them with a kind
+of pity, would we not?</p>
+
+<p>"Still, with such vessels, the mystery of the sea was first cleared up;
+with such vessels, the vail was pushed back from the frowning face of the
+ocean; with such vessels, the New World was found.</p>
+
+<p>"It was from over one of those open decks that the cry 'A Light!' rang
+out upon the night; it was from one of those decks that the vision of the
+New World materialized before the eyes of the great Italian; on one of
+those decks he knelt as the vision grew brighter in the dawn, and his
+soul was thrilled as souls are when they feel that a visible answer to
+prayer has been vouchsafed.</p>
+
+<p>"But the man was there, Jordan; the man who could charm the terrors from
+the hearts of a fear-stricken crew; who could convert a meteor's fall
+into an augury of good instead of an omen of terror; who could quell the
+mutinous spirit which was awakened by a varying needle and raging storms.</p>
+
+<p>"It is not the great ship that counts, but the motives in the souls of
+those who build and navigate the ship.</p>
+
+<p>"When on the shores of this sea men first built boats and went forth on
+these waters, they were but rude boats indeed.</p>
+
+<p>"Who knows how many were lost, how many brave souls were drowned?</p>
+
+<p>"But each calamity gave new thoughts to those who escaped; they kept on
+improving, building better and better boats and making longer and longer
+voyages; they found islands and the shores of far-off mainlands; they
+carried back the products of those lands, and so Commerce was born.</p>
+
+<p>"They made at last their ships meet the caravans from the East; the ideas
+as well as the products of the East and West were brought together;
+manufactories were established, robes and dyed garments and flashing
+blades were made that became immortal, and those people made such an
+impression on the world, as brave and capable and alert men of affairs,
+that the impression still remains; even as the strong and true men of
+Venice renewed the impression twenty-five hundred years later.</p>
+
+<p>"The same spirit worked three thousand years ago that has been at work
+in making the transformation from the bungling ships that Nelson fought
+Trafalgar with to this ship under our feet, from the carrying up of ore
+from the deep mines on the heads of peons to the hoisting engine and
+safety cage of to-day."</p>
+
+<p>"That is good, Jim," said Jordan, "it is ther soul of man, after all,
+soul of courage that counts 'nd all ther advancement is only because we
+has better tools ter work with than ther old-timers hed."</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII"></a>CHAPTER XVIII.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE SOUL IN THE CLAY.</h3>
+
+
+<p>At Port Said the travelers left the French steamer to wait for the
+English ship which was on the way from Southampton. It came in on the
+evening of their arrival, and they went on board. They were glad to do
+so, for the few hours in Port Said convinced them that it was a tougher
+place than they had ever seen on the frontier.</p>
+
+<p>At daylight next morning the ship proceeded on her way through the canal.</p>
+
+<p>Our travelers were on the deck, watching the scenery.</p>
+
+<p>Finally Jordan said: "This looks like Arizony, only more so. Arizony
+looks as though thar war a strike among the mechanics and it war never
+finished. This looks like it were finished once and then ther perprieter,
+not bein' satisfied with ther contractor's job, smashed it. They tell me
+ther mustang is ther blood-horse run down by starvation 'nd abuse, 'nd
+in-breedin', but mostly from in-breedin'. This country looks ez though it
+hed been ruined ther same way precisely. I shouldn't wonder but it wur
+true. Them old Faros wuz big fellers; so war Sesostris and ther hull race
+of the old chaps from ther Shepherd Kings down, and they useter call this
+'the granary of the world,' didn't they?</p>
+
+<p>"And old Cambysis cum here on a robbin' expedition?</p>
+
+<p>"Well, it's clear enough since then things has been goin' ter ther dogs
+heah. I tell yo', Jim, civilization gone to seed is wuss than 'riginal
+barbarism.</p>
+
+<p>"Them chaps as bilt the pyramids and obelisks war powerful men. They
+must er hed sum pride in the kentry or they wouldn't been so everlastin'
+perticelar 'bout their gravestunes, and this must uv been a different
+kentry from what it are now. Yo've seen men as has lived too long. It's
+so, I reckon, with patches of this old world. Anyway, I ain't buyin' no
+sheers in Egypt, leastways not on the showin' these croppin's make."</p>
+
+<p>When the ship passed into the Gulf of Suez the temperature was something
+fearful.</p>
+
+<p>"This wur the water that divided, wur it not?" asked Jordan.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Sedgwick, "this is the water, I believe."</p>
+
+<p>Jordan was silent for several minutes. At last he said: "No mistake 'bout
+thet story, Jim?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why do you ask?" was Sedgwick's response.</p>
+
+<p>"Nothin' much," said Jordan, "only hain't yo' noticed ther newspapers
+don't hardly ever git things right?"</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick acknowledged that he had known them to make mistakes.</p>
+
+<p>"Hain't it jest posserble," said Jordan, "thet what war really the fact
+war thet the Gipshins war drowned jest ter git 'em outer ther misery in
+this cussed place, and ther Jews war saved jest ter punish 'em?"</p>
+
+<p>"I never thought of that," said Sedgwick. "But if the weather then was
+anything like it is now, the theory is not improbable."</p>
+
+<p>"'Zactly," said Jordan. "From ther other side over there ther Israelites
+started for Canaan, didn't they?"</p>
+
+<p>"I believe so," was Sedgwick's reply.</p>
+
+<p>"It must uv been like goin' from Tuscon to Fort Yuma in August, don't yo'
+think, Jim?" said Jordan.</p>
+
+<p>"Very like, I believe," said Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>After a pause Jordan spoke up again: "Jim, it ain't for me ter try ter
+understand much, but ther kentry 'round heah and ther people we has seen
+kinder breaks me up. They tell us over ther to ther right, man fust cum
+outer his wild state; ez yo' has it, that 'ther cradle of civilization
+war fust rocked.' For five thousand year, they has been a-tryin'. Look at
+'em now! Then over on the other side, the chosen people of God pulled
+out; they flourished; they killed their enemies, built cities and
+temples; hed big talkers and writers and fiters; fixed up language thet
+thrills a man's soul jest ter read it now; made a starter thet the
+world's been a-follerin' ever since, and right and left ther whole world
+are blasted, and no one wud ever think thet God's smile once lit this
+region. If this showin' makes ther balance sheet fur five thousand years,
+what's ther use in tryin'?"</p>
+
+<p>"True," said Sedgwick. "In everything, the ancient man was the equal, if
+not the superior, of any men who live to-day. As soldiers, orators, and
+writers, the utmost men hope for is to emulate them, never to excel them.
+A famous English orator not long ago said that he had often been called
+upon to address boisterous men who had gathered in mobs for mischief, and
+that the only time he had ever succeeded in quelling such a gathering and
+turning them completely over to the side of order and peace, was when he
+had repeated to them his own translation of one of the impassioned
+orations that Demosthenes had flung with all the majesty and power of
+his eloquence at an Athenian mob twenty-two hundred years ago. No modern
+sculpture equals the ancient; no modern song or eloquence; and then
+there have come down to us lessons in patriotism, devotion to duty,
+self-abnegation and valor, which will thrill great hearts as long as
+civilization shall last.</p>
+
+<p>"Only in one thing that I can note does the modern man excel his ancient
+brother. The world is more merciful than of old. Prisoners of war are
+no longer sold into slavery or killed; woman has ceased to be first a
+plaything and then a slave; in exalting woman, man has been exalted,
+and the perfect modern home had no parallel in the ancient world. The
+influence that the Cross gave out is still spreading and softening the
+hearts of men."</p>
+
+<p>"May be," said Jordan, "but, Jim, it's a mighty big undertakin' to
+civilize men. Here's all Africa over here ter the right whar only the old
+rule prevails; man is a monstrous brute; woman is wuss nor a slave."</p>
+
+<p>"That is true, Tom," said Sedgwick. "The cruelties practiced there are
+almost enough to make one doubt the divinity of man and the mercy of
+God."</p>
+
+<p>"Yet who knows?" said Jordan. "What are a few thousand years ter God?
+Thar must be somethin' behind, or men wouldn't hev been born. Ther other
+day in London thar war a man carryin' a flag on a short staff thet hed a
+glitterin' p'int. He war preachin' on ther street corners thet men hed no
+souls; thet ther man ez sed he hed a soul war a fool, 'nd he asked whar
+ther souls war, 'nd ef any surgeon hed ever cum upon a soul when
+dissectin' a body, or on ther place whar ther soul hed lodged in ther
+man's lifetime.</p>
+
+<p>"I wur listenin' 'nd thinkin'. After awhile he finished 'nd then a
+gentle, kind-faced man stepped outer ther crowd 'nd sed he: 'What are
+thet bright metal on ther end of y'r flag-staff?' Ther man sed it war
+aluminum. Then the kind-faced man asked what aluminum cum from. Ther
+other answered: 'Clay.' 'Jest common clay?' asked ther man. 'Jest common
+clay,' said ther other. 'How long since ther beautiful metal war
+discovered?' asked ther kind-faced man. 'It war within ther last half
+century,' war the answer. Then the kind faced man made a discourse
+sunthin' like this:</p>
+
+<p>"'Yo' want a wisible proof thet man hez a soul. Ef yo' hed lived sixty
+year ago 'nd men hed told yo' ther wur in common clay a metal ez bright
+ez silver, ez ductile ez gold, with almost ther tensile strength uv
+steel; sunthin' thet could be worked inter eny form, indestructible under
+ther usual destructive agents of ther world, yo' wouldn't ha' believed
+it, would yo'? Yet it war thar all ther time. Fur thousands of years, men
+delved in clay. Ther wheels of ages ground it inter powder, which ther
+winds blew away; when men died, other men sed, 'They is turned ter clay,'
+which signefied ther utter degrerdation o' death; but ther men what bilt
+ther Bable Tower, hed they but known ther secret, mighter from thet same
+material have bilt a dome higher nor St. Paul's, thet would uv shone like
+burnished silver 'nd would hev retained all its strength 'nd splendor,
+notwithstandin' ther erosion uv time 'nd ther abrashin' uv ther ages,
+even till now, tho' since then two hundred generations uv men has lived
+and died.</p>
+
+<p>"Still, yo' think thet ther power thet put thet imperishable,
+indestructible, stainless soul in ther clay at our feet, war less
+thoughtful, less wise, less merciful when he created man in His own
+sublime image? Ther chemist found this property in clay after er thousand
+nations hed spurned it under ther feet; this soul in clay, which will not
+tarnish, which can be drawn out inter finest wires and thinnest leaves;
+hev yo' ther audacity ter proclaim thet ther subtle chemistry of death
+cannot reveal anything bright and indestructible fur man, when these pore
+mortal senses shall have spent ther energies; when this pore body shall
+uv fallen back ter dust 'nd ther clearer light shell 'ave dawned."</p>
+
+<p>"It war a great sermon. The unbeliever shambled shamefaced away, 'nd I've
+been er thinkin' uv it ever since."</p>
+
+<p>"It must be true," said Sedgwick. "Somewhere must be kept the records of
+the hearts that break in silence, of the eyes that grow dim in straining
+at signals on heights beyond the vision of mortal man, of hands that lose
+their hold on immortality, because of the merciless buffetings of the
+world.</p>
+
+<p>"This looks like a wrecked world around us, but there was a splendor here
+once. Here the alphabet of the stars was first traced out, and the order
+of their shining processions made known; here barbarism was first beaten
+back; the first code was made here; here were originated the sciences of
+architecture and of war; here the arts of agriculture and mechanics were
+born; and here was lighted and kept bright the flame of knowledge until
+it became a beacon to the world, that, before that light was kindled, was
+altogether dark.</p>
+
+<p>"The tides of the sea advance and recede. It may be so with nations. The
+earth was made habitable by convulsions that rent its crust, the storms
+that beat upon it, and by the grinding of glaciers; the pressure
+necessary to create the rocks and coal measures was brought to bear; the
+continents were upheaved; the seas were beaten back; the world was loaded
+for a limitless voyage, before the vapors were rolled back, the full dawn
+was born.</p>
+
+<p>"We cannot see far, but if this life is all there is to us, then, indeed,
+it is a pitiful failure. If our thoughts and longings are bounded by this
+little span of life, then there is no balance-sheet for mortality. The
+gift of life is then not worth the expense of supporting it.</p>
+
+<p>"But, if, like the earth, the beatings and upheavals and sorrows are but
+the preparation for the perfect dawn, with peace in its coming, with the
+increase of immortal flowers in its air; if there are to be a time and
+place where there is to be full fruition, then it is different, and we
+can afford to smile as the frosts of disappointment chill us, as the salt
+spray of misfortune is dashed in our faces.</p>
+
+<p>"Tom, with such gifts as are given us, we must do the best we can for
+ourselves and our fellow-men; must do it with faith and courage, do it
+with gentleness and in truth, and with a purpose so high that we shall
+never fear anything except to do the wrong.</p>
+
+<p>"And all the rest we may leave to God."</p>
+
+<p>It was hot and calm all the voyage through the Red Sea, the straits,
+and Gulf of Aden, till, when rounding the stormy cape of Guardafui and
+the ship swept out upon the broader ocean, the barometer dropped rapidly
+and a furious storm came on. It was really a mighty gale, and the
+heavily-laden ship labored exceedingly.</p>
+
+<p>At its height, Sedgwick and Jordan stood watching the majesty of the
+forces exhausting their fury around them, when Jordan said:</p>
+
+<p>"Jim, I needed this. Yo' know how grand ther other ship wur; yo' know how
+great and strong this ship are. Well, watchin' both, a senseless kind uv
+pride cum over me, and I sed ter myself over and over, 'This ere ship cud
+outride any gale whatever blow'd.' Look now! It's only a toy on ther
+water when God's wind goes out ter battle with God's everlastin' seas.</p>
+
+<p>"Cumin' over, I stopped and tuk a look at Niagry. It wur grand, but a
+dozen Niagrys wouldn't make one hurrycane out ter sea. I can't explain
+what I wanter, but I mean as how God's majesty is nowhar else revealed as
+when his hurrycanes is sent ter paint a picter on ther face of a mad
+ocean. Nowhar else did I ever feel thet small as when watchin', as we is
+now, all these forces that is makin' the commotion 'round us. They all
+show us what pitiful weak creaters we is, and ther man who ever watched
+one storm at sea and ever arter dares to hev one feelin' uv pride or
+scornfulness, that thar man are weak somewhar and makes a spectacle of
+hisself."</p>
+
+<p>But the storm was weathered safely; the temperature grew cooler as the
+ship stretched away to the South, and after a generally prosperous voyage
+the steamer dropped anchor in Port Natal roadstead.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" id="CHAPTER_XIX"></a>CHAPTER XIX.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE WEDGE OF GOLD.</h3>
+
+
+<p>The voyagers were glad enough to stand once more on the solid earth. It
+had been twenty-one days since they had left London.</p>
+
+<p>Quickly as they could they made arrangements for a journey inland. They
+chartered conveyances to go to the end of the road and sent forward to
+the capital to charter a train of riding and pack animals, with a full
+corps of attendants, to meet them where they had to take the trail. They
+employed, moreover, a civil engineer and a half-dozen frontiersmen, Boers
+and Kaffirs, who knew the country well.</p>
+
+<p>Studying their maps and the description supplied them by the former owner
+of the mine, they calculated the mine was distant some 250 miles, and
+that it would require some thirty-five days to make the examination and
+return to D'Umber, the town on Port Natal Roadstead.</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick had written daily to his bride, sending the letters from every
+port called at.</p>
+
+<p>Now he wrote her that it would probably be forty days before he could
+forward her another letter.</p>
+
+<p>When everything was ready they started on their trip. The men were all
+Boers and Kaffirs, except the engineer; all strong, good-natured men, but
+the least bit suspicious of their employers. They had come in an English
+ship, wore English clothing, and if their English accent was not quite up
+to the standard the natives could not make the distinction.</p>
+
+<p>They examined Jordan's saddle with a great deal of curiosity, as it was,
+with the rest of the luggage, put upon the wagon. One of them, in broken
+English, asked about it; where in England he found it.</p>
+
+<p>He laughingly answered that they could not make any such saddle in
+England; that it was a Mexican saddle. Then the Boer wanted to know if he
+were a Mexican.</p>
+
+<p>"Not by a blamed sight," said Jordan. "Do I look like er greaser?"</p>
+
+<p>The Boer looked at him helplessly.</p>
+
+<p>"Did you never har of ther United States?" asked Jordan.</p>
+
+<p>The Boer shook his head. "Never har of America and Americans?" Jordan
+asked.</p>
+
+<p>The Boer smiled. He had heard of Americans, and asked eagerly if Jordan
+and his friend came from America.</p>
+
+<p>"Yo' may bet yo'r everlastin' broken Dutch diaphram that we did," said
+Jordan, at which the Boer hurried to tell his companions that the two
+strangers were not English, notwithstanding their clothing.</p>
+
+<p>The first eight days of the journey, the travelers found excellent roads,
+and averaged twenty-seven miles a day. They did not go by the capital,
+but turned off to the left.</p>
+
+<p>The first day the road lay mostly over the coast mountains. Toward night
+they entered upon the table-lands of Natal, which were generally level,
+except where, here and there, a low mountain spur had to be crossed. It
+was a grassy country, sparsely dotted with palms, with here and there
+timber in sight up ravines that ran down from the hills, and occasionally
+they ran upon clusters of heath-flowers. Indeed, the whole country was
+covered with flowers of rare beauty, but mostly odorless. It was all new
+and strange, and was noted with keen interest by the two Americans. It
+was the rainy season, and the road was soft in places, and some of the
+streams were pretty high. But they got along without serious trouble. One
+had been in Nevada, the other in Arizona, and both in Texas.</p>
+
+<p>The first night they camped by a little stream, ate their supper, and
+spread their beds by some willows on the grass. It was a perfectly calm
+night, and in that clear air the stars shone magnificently.</p>
+
+<p>As they were smoking their pipes after supper Sedgwick pointed out to
+Jordan the constellation of the Southern Cross as a sight which their
+friends in the North-land could never see unless they crossed the
+equator.</p>
+
+<p>Jordan looked at the stars some time in silence, and then said: "Them
+stars is been shinin' thar allus, and yit, Jim, they wuz outer sight o'
+us. To see 'em we had ter cross ther line. Who can tell, Jim, what new
+stars'll shine on us when thet other line, thet men call death, shall be
+crossed, and our eyes shall be given ther new light beyond?"</p>
+
+<p>He paused a moment, and then went on: "I'z been prospered. When I war a
+boy I went to ther wah. I war in many a fight. Men as loved life mightily
+wuz killed all 'round me; many another brave feller tuk sick and died.
+Not a scratch cum ter me.</p>
+
+<p>"I made er stake easy-like in ther mines. I've dun well 'nuff; and yit,
+Jim, if thar should cum ther summons ter-night, and I knowd I'd got ter
+go, I wouldn't hev a sorrer 'cept thet we haven't passed on ther mine
+yit."</p>
+
+<p>Then Sedgwick realized that in the selfishness of his own loneliness at
+leaving his bride, he had forgotten his friend, and that he had all the
+time been concealing a deeper grief and trying to cheer him.</p>
+
+<p>"Dear old Tom," he said humbly. "I have been absorbed and selfish since
+we left England. I did not realize my own selfishness. We have found new
+stars in the sky. Let us trust that no sorrows will come to us that will
+not be cheered by stars behind them, and let us nurse the hope that this
+journey is but a discord in our lives that will make the music of them
+sweeter when it shall be passed."</p>
+
+<p>"Shore enuff," was Jordan's answer. "I war once down at the bottom of
+ther Colorado Ca&ntilde;on. It war terrible. I never seen a place so desolate
+and wild; but, Jim, I looked up along the walls hundreds of feet
+overhead, and thar in ther daylight, away off in ther infinite sky,
+some stars war shinin'."</p>
+
+<p>So there, in the starlight, on that lonely table-land in South Africa,
+the two true men clasped hands in silence, and their hearts drew nearer
+to each other than they had ever been drawn before.</p>
+
+<p>The second day, the road in places skirted a forest in which the yellow
+tree and the great beech were the most prominent trees, creepers grew
+around them, and vines trailed over their branches; marvelously tinted
+flowers mingled with them, and the scene was enchanting.</p>
+
+<p>More than once a band of antelope was seen scudding away in the distance;
+here and there a zebra fled from before them, and once a pair of giraffes
+were discerned afar off over the plain. Though it was the beginning of
+winter, the tsetse fly bothered their stock a good deal, but the Boers
+cut branches from the trees and covered the animals with them when the
+sun was hottest and the insects most troublesome.</p>
+
+<p>After the fourth day the road began to ascend, and at last the point was
+reached where the vehicles had to be given up, and the saddle and pack
+animals from the capital had to be brought into use. The real hills had
+been reached. The trail ran over a succession of sharp mountain ridges,
+and narrow valleys. It was not a well-made trail on the ridges, and the
+flanks of the ridges were so abrupt and rocky that progress was very
+slow; moreover, it was clear that to build a road on the line of the
+trail, over which heavy loads could be hauled, would be a most expensive,
+almost impossible, undertaking.</p>
+
+<p>It required three days to make the trip of forty miles.</p>
+
+<p>Finally, though, the last summit was crossed, and after a heavy descent,
+there spread out another valley, and on a ridge beyond, from the mountain
+side, could be seen something like a dump, with rock piled upon it. The
+two friends recognized the spot at the same moment and stopped their
+animals in the trail to take in the surroundings. They estimated that the
+mountains must be a spur of the Drakenberg Range, that they were within
+the basin drained by the head waters of the Vaal River, and that they
+were in the Southwestern Transvaal. The mountains of that point had a
+general course northeast and southwest, and it was clear that the mine
+was practically over the range in approaching from the direction of Port
+Natal.</p>
+
+<p>"It's all right," said Jordan, "'cept it seems to me like we orter uv cum
+down on ther other side of Africa, and cum in from ther West. From this
+way it would need a pack train of bald eagles ter bring in supplies,
+while ter get a mill in&mdash;Good Lord!"</p>
+
+<p>"I fear you are right, as usual, Tom," said Sedgwick, "but if, as I
+suspect, the mine is of no account, it will not matter much."</p>
+
+<p>"'Zactly," said Jordan. "Thar's no use tryin' ter put up collateral on
+which ter borrer trouble 'fore we know anythin' 'bout ther mine."</p>
+
+<p>So they pressed on and made their camp that night near a great spring
+that the miners had lived by while opening the mine. Next morning both
+Americans were up early, and, the breakfast disposed of, they went to the
+mine with buckets of water and hammers.</p>
+
+<p>They kept their natives pounding rock all day, while they washed the
+samples. They took the ore from every part of the dump. The result was
+most satisfactory. "It will assay more than $30," said Jordan. "I believe
+it will work up to $30 by mill process, for it's perfectly free gold ore
+and not too fine."</p>
+
+<p>The next day the inclines were all explored, and samples taken, step by
+step&mdash;taken and marked, as they proceeded. The ore body where practically
+exposed was carefully measured, and where any change was discernible it
+was noted and special samples taken. The floor of the lowest level
+reached was not only sampled, but a hole a couple of feet below the
+lowest excavation was dug, and the samples were saved.</p>
+
+<p>The vein was a contact between slate and granite, and was very regular in
+size, and apparently in quality. The vein was exposed for probably 600
+feet, and thence up the hill it was covered with debris. It was almost
+night when the camp was reached, and the men were very tired.</p>
+
+<p>Next morning the samples taken the previous day were crushed and
+carefully washed.</p>
+
+<p>When all was finished, Jordan said: "Jim, it's a honest mine. Ther only
+drawback is ther place. I've no idee what er road would cost, but it
+would take a power o' money, sho."</p>
+
+<p>It was decided to try to explore the slope of the range they were on, up
+and down, to see if a break in it could not somewhere be found. They
+tried it to the north, and soon found themselves in a mighty gorge, with
+great mountains closing them in from every direction except the one from
+which they had come. They returned to camp, and one more day was gone.
+The next morning they started early to the south, and toiled until eleven
+o'clock, to find themselves once more ambuscaded by the precipitous
+hills. Again they made their way back to camp, without comfort, except
+that they had passed through a great forest of beech and yellow wood
+sufficient for fuel and mine timbers for years.</p>
+
+<p>Next morning when they had finished breakfast, Sedgwick asked Jordan what
+his idea was by that time as to the best course to proceed.</p>
+
+<p>Jordan shook his head, and said: "I'm afeerd we must try to build ther
+road or invent a berloon."</p>
+
+<p>From the spring there ran a considerable stream off at right angles from
+the mine, and in exactly the opposite direction from whence they had
+come.</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick said: "Tom, that stream, unless it sinks, finds its way to the
+sea after awhile. We are in for it; a day or two more will not count.
+Suppose for awhile we follow that stream and see where it leads us."</p>
+
+<p>"Agreed&mdash;a good idee," said Jordan. Taking with them two Boers, the
+engineer, and a pack animal with food and some blankets, they bade the
+rest keep the camp, as they might be absent two or three days. They
+started down the stream. It flowed in a general course to the west. After
+a mile or more from the camp, the banks widened out into a wooded valley,
+several hundred yards across, but when six or seven miles had been
+traveled the valley narrowed down again, and the mountains closing in,
+made what, at a little distance, seemed a solid wall in front. "Headed
+off once more, I fear," said Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"The stream keeps up a full head. It must git through ther hills
+somewhar," said Jordan.</p>
+
+<p>"True enough," said Sedgwick. They followed it to the very base of the
+hill, to find that there it made a bend at right angles to the south and
+flowed through a cleft of the mountain not much wider than the stream
+itself. Into this they entered, and pursued their way for about 600
+yards, when the stream again turned through another mighty fissure to the
+west, and ran a quarter of a mile farther, when another large valley
+opened out which was some five miles across. In this valley the stream
+sank in the sands and was lost. The travelers skirted the valley, keeping
+close to the hills where the ground was hard. Reaching the other side
+they found a narrow opening through which the stream had once flowed.
+They followed a winding way for two or three miles, the chasm bearing a
+little west of south, emerging at last into an open country. A fringe of
+willows was seen low on the southern horizon. The Boers said they knew
+the stream, the course of which was marked by the willows; that it was a
+big creek, along which their people had stock farms. They marked the
+obscure opening through which they had traced their way out of the
+mountains and started for the creek and possible ranches. The Boers said
+that farmers' roads ran from these ranches out to the main road over the
+range to the east, the road which they had come up on from Port Natal.
+They pressed on another seven or eight miles, and a rude house, half
+dug-out, came in view, distant a couple of miles.</p>
+
+<p>They approached it, and from the people living there the Boers learned
+that it was seventeen miles out to the main road, over a good farmers'
+road all the way. They camped at the house, or near the house, all night.
+One of the residents brought in a fine young antelope, which they bought
+and cooked, and they suppered royally on antelope, hard tack and coffee.
+Next morning they returned to the mine, reaching there early in the
+afternoon. They had been out from Port Natal seventeen days, had found
+and sampled the mine, and explored a natural pass for a road.</p>
+
+<p>How to proceed was the next question. Sedgwick's idea was that both
+should return to the seashore, proceed to England, and order a mill from
+San Francisco, because they knew that there were no good patterns for
+quartz mill machinery on the continent; and both agreed that should the
+mill be built in England and shipped thence to South Africa, the fact
+would be published and all their plans would be interfered with.</p>
+
+<p>Jordan was silent for awhile; at last he said: "Jim, I ken understand
+thet ther thot uv goin' back ter London ez mighty enchantin' ter yo'. But
+thet's a game girl, thet thar young wife o' yourn; she listed fo' this
+wah ez well ez yo,' er she'd never let yo' cum away. Yo' must go by ther
+straightest track fer San Francisco and bring ther mill. I'll stay and
+hev some rock ready for crushin' when ther mill cums."</p>
+
+<p>"But, dear old friend," said Sedgwick, "it will take a year, perhaps, to
+get a mill here from San Francisco. To leave you here&mdash;you would die of
+the horrors with no company but these Boers."</p>
+
+<p>"How d' yer know but I'd make a pretty good Boer or Kaffir my own self
+with er little practice?" asked Jordan. "We'll stay over ter-morrer and
+git some work goin'; then I'll go with yer ter the coast and get some men
+and things I need. I'll cum back; you'll go ter Frisco, and everything'll
+be lovely."</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Sedgwick, "you go to San Francisco, and I will stay and work
+the mine. It was I who proposed this thing; of right I should meet the
+heaviest sacrifices." But Jordan was obstinate, declaring that he would
+enjoy himself at the mine, and after a long discussion his programme was
+agreed to. In the morning Jordan took the engineer and three natives
+to the top of the hill, where the mine was covered with debris; walked
+along to where the mountain, as it sloped to the west, was very abrupt,
+and there set the Boers to making an open surface cut.</p>
+
+<p>They went to work, and Jordan and the engineer went to measuring to see
+where, down the hill, a tunnel would have to be started to tap the lode
+500 feet deep. It was so sharp a hillside that the tunnel site would be
+only 1,260 feet horizontally from a point 500 feet below the open cut.
+Jordan engaged the engineer to remain with all the men who would stay,
+and begin that work if the indications on the hill would justify, and
+also to build a rude stone house at the spring, large enough to
+accommodate a dozen people.</p>
+
+<p>Then they climbed the hill again and found the croppings of the ledge
+uncovered in the cut. Being tested, these croppings were found richer
+than the ore on the dump lower down, where the vein had been opened.</p>
+
+<p>Next morning, with two saddle animals, one pack animal and one Boer to
+ride another horse and lead the pack horse, the two Americans started
+back for Port Natal. They followed over the route they had traced out two
+days before to the ranch, then took a road traveled by the stockmen, and
+on the second night from the mine came to a house on the main road to
+Port Natal, which was six or seven miles nearer their destination than
+the point where they had left the road and taken the trail for the mine.</p>
+
+<p>They hired a Boer to go up and bring back their wagons. They came next
+morning. The best rig was selected, and the two friends started for the
+seashore. In eight days they were back at Port Natal, having made the
+round trip in twenty-eight or twenty-nine days. On arriving at the
+seashore they found that no steamer was in port bound North, but there
+was a fine steamer in the roadstead that was to sail next day for
+Melbourne, Australia.</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick's plan had been to go back to London, take his wife and go
+thence, via New York, to San Francisco. But no ship was awaiting him, and
+the agent of the Northern Line did not know when a ship would sail. It
+would have to come first, and might return soon, or might lie in port
+fifteen or twenty days. So, talking the matter over with Jordan, both
+concluded that the best thing was to try the voyage via Australia. Again
+Sedgwick begged Jordan to go, yet he kindly, but firmly refused, saying,
+"I must hev my way this time, Jim."</p>
+
+<p>Accordingly, Sedgwick engaged passage to Melbourne, then wrote his wife
+what they had found; that he had decided it was best to go by Australia
+to San Francisco; that, if prosperous, he hoped to reach that port in
+forty-eight or fifty days; that he would be detained there probably sixty
+days, and would then return to Africa via England, hoping to be with her
+in one hundred and twenty days, and to be able to remain with her for a
+month.</p>
+
+<p>Jordan found six English miners and engaged them to go with him, bought
+as full an outfit as possible, through a trader ordered more, including a
+portable saw-mill from England, made an arrangement with Sedgwick how to
+send and receive news, and the two tired men lay down to take their last
+night's rest together for, as they calculated, at least six or seven
+months, perhaps a full year.</p>
+
+<p>It was a memorable night to both, and the confidences they exchanged and
+the sacred trusts they each assumed, they never forgot.</p>
+
+<p>In the morning Jordan started back for the mountains and their solitudes;
+Sedgwick boarded the steamer, which later in the day started on its
+voyage, and the sea for Sedgwick was a counterpart of the solitude which
+the mountains held for Jordan, except that at Port Natal he had received
+from his Grace the greetings which her soul had given his soul through
+the mornings and evenings of the first twenty days of her married life.
+They were to be his balm through all the days of his imprisonment on
+board ship, and he felt that they would be sufficient. But it grieved
+him to think that poor, brave, sorrowing, but cheerful and clear-brained
+Jordan had no such comforters.</p>
+
+<p>"It is very lonely, my glorified one," she wrote; "the roar of the great
+city seems to me an echo of the voice of the ocean, of the wilderness
+that surrounds you; but I would not have it different, for I kept saying
+to myself: 'He is doing his duty, and beyond the horizon that bounds our
+eyes now, I know that higher joy awaits us which comes of a consciousness
+of a great trust bravely executed.' Be of good cheer, my love; it will be
+all right in the end, for the heavens themselves bend to be the stay of
+steadfast souls when with a holy patience they struggle for the right, as
+God gives them to see the right.</p>
+
+<p>"I will wait for you, and in thinking what you have undertaken, and of
+the persistence required to carry your work through, will try to catch
+your own grand spirit, try to exalt myself by imitating your patience
+and faith, and thus be more worthy of you when once more it is given me
+to clasp your dear hands, and to gaze into your true eyes, which are my
+light."</p>
+
+<p>As Sedgwick read, his eyes became suffused until he could not see the
+page before him because of his tears.</p>
+
+<p>"See," he said to himself; "a man's love is selfish; it is a woman's life
+and light, and yet my beautiful wife loses sight of herself, and all her
+words are but an inspiration for me to go on and conquer if I can. Thank
+God for the treasure that has been given me! And may God comfort her and
+comfort brave and true Jordan!"</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XX" id="CHAPTER_XX"></a>CHAPTER XX.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE OCCIDENT AND THE ORIENT MEET.</h3>
+
+
+<p>The ship was twenty-four days in reaching Melbourne. It caught a gale
+crossing the stormy Bight, and for two days no progress was made. It was
+all that the men in charge could do to hold the plunging craft up into
+the face of the storm and meet the big seas as they rolled, furious, up
+against her stem. But the winds were laid at last, the ship was put upon
+her course and her natural speed resumed. On the afternoon of the
+twenty-fourth day the ship passed between the heads of Port Philip, and
+two hours later came to anchor before Sandridge, three miles below
+Melbourne. Going ashore, Sedgwick cabled to his wife his arrival on his
+way to San Francisco, "as first letters from Port Natal would explain,"
+and added: "Hope to be with you in one hundred days. Write, care
+Occidental Hotel, San Francisco." Then he took the night train for
+Sidney, and arrived there the next night about nine o'clock.</p>
+
+<p>Going to a hotel, he found that the first steamer for San Francisco would
+sail on the next day but one.</p>
+
+<p>He then sought his first sleep in a comfortable house, with modern
+improvements, that he had found since he left London.</p>
+
+<p>Next morning he went early and secured transportation on the steamer,
+then returned and wrote a long letter to his girl-bride; then engaging a
+rig took in as much of Sidney as he could. Next morning he cabled his
+wife that he was just going to sea again, and boarded the steamer early.
+The ship sailed promptly at midday, and as it passed out of the
+beautiful harbor the islands and shores beyond were just putting on the
+vestments of spring. Sedgwick had never before seen spring approaching in
+October; never before had he heard the love-calls of mating birds at that
+season, and apparently had never before realized so keenly that he was on
+the other side of the world from those whom he loved and knew. After
+dinner he went on deck. He knew no one on board, and he was nearer being
+homesick than he had ever been before. It was a balmy night. The sea was
+tumbling a little from the effects of a far-off storm, but the ship was
+riding the waves superbly and making rapid progress, and the stars were
+all out and sweeping grandly on in their never-ending, stately
+processions.</p>
+
+<p>In the midst of his thoughts, when he was fast giving way to a mighty
+fit of the blues, he happened to glance upward. <i>Corona Australis</i>
+was blazing with unwonted brilliancy, and, it seemed to him, the
+constellation was making signs to him from its signal station in the
+heavens. Instantly he thought of the night that he and Jordan had
+particularly noticed it, and of what the great-hearted man had said. Then
+he thought of his friend; how unselfishly he had turned his face away
+from the ship that would have carried him to a pleasanter country, and
+had voluntarily gone back into that profound wilderness to work out
+a trust which would require months of time; and he said to himself: "What
+a selfish creature I am to repine, when I have been so blessed; when in
+England an angel is waiting for me; when in the depths of Africa a brave
+soul by his every act is teaching me lessons of self-abnegation."</p>
+
+<p>A moment later another thought came to him which was a delight, and that
+was that with every revolution of the screw he was drawing nearer to his
+Grace. When an hour later he retired to his state-room he hummed a song as
+he went, and the throbbing of the machinery and the wash of the seas
+against the ship's beam made his lullaby, as the long roll of the steamer
+rocked him to sleep.</p>
+
+<p>As before stated, Sedgwick had written his wife fully at Port Natal. Two
+days after he left, the steamer from the North came in. It remained five
+days, and then started North again. Its mails were eighteen days in
+reaching London.</p>
+
+<p>Grace was looking for a letter from Port Natal, when Sedgwick's cable
+from Melbourne reached her. She could not quite comprehend the matter
+until, a day later, his letter came, and the next day his second cable,
+announcing that he was just about to sail for San Francisco. That day she
+did what she had not done since she left school&mdash;got a map of the world
+and studied it until she put her finger on a spot between Sidney and New
+Zealand, and said: "He is there now," and bent and kissed the place on
+the map.</p>
+
+<p>That evening she went over from her home to call upon Jack and Rose.
+There she found a gentleman who, with his wife and daughter, were going
+to sail two days later for Australia, via New York and San Francisco.
+Their names were Hobart. Grace had known them ever since her father had
+moved to London. They were talking of their proposed journey, when the
+young lady said gaily: "Mrs. Sedgwick, come along with us as far as New
+York, or San Francisco at least." At this the father and mother together
+seconded the invitation.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you really mean it?" said Grace.</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed we do," said all three.</p>
+
+<p>"And when do you sail?" asked Grace.</p>
+
+<p>"Early, day after to-morrow. That is, we leave here early and sail at
+noon," said Mr. Hobart. "We have two full staterooms engaged. You can
+room with Lottie"&mdash;the young lady's name&mdash;"and be companion for us all."</p>
+
+<p>"I will be ready day after to-morrow morning," said Grace, seriously.</p>
+
+<p>"Not in earnest?" said Rose.</p>
+
+<p>"In sober earnest," said Grace.</p>
+
+<p>"To New York?" said Browning.</p>
+
+<p>"To New York, and may be farther," was the reply.</p>
+
+<p>"As far as Ohio, I guess," said Jack.</p>
+
+<p>"May be as far as Ohio," said Grace, and she smiled as she spoke.</p>
+
+<p>The Hobarts were delighted, but Jack and Rose looked serious.</p>
+
+<p>"It is a long way, Gracie," said Jack.</p>
+
+<p>"A fearfully long way," said Rose.</p>
+
+<p>"Suppose, Rose, that Jack was as far away, would you think it a long way
+to go to see him?" asked Grace.</p>
+
+<p>"O, Gracie! No, no," said Rose.</p>
+
+<p>"When did you hear last from your husband?" asked Hobart.</p>
+
+<p>"This afternoon," said Grace.</p>
+
+<p>"And how long, Grace, before he will be in England?" asked Jack.</p>
+
+<p>It was the first time any question had been asked of her more than the
+question if she had heard, and if he was well.</p>
+
+<p>"About one hundred days, I think," said Grace; "that is," she added, "if
+I go and find him and bring him home."</p>
+
+<p>Next day Grace made all her arrangements and was ready to leave early on
+the following morning. Parting with her mother was her great sorrow, but
+the mother approved of her going, and the good-byes were not so sad as
+though they did not expect to be soon again reunited.</p>
+
+<p>They made the voyage to New York in nine days. Remaining one day in that
+city, they started West; stopped one day in Chicago, and reached San
+Francisco seventeen days from Liverpool.</p>
+
+<p>Hobart had been in San Francisco before, and wanted to stop at the Lick
+House, but Grace insisted that her friends liked the Occidental best; so
+they went to the Occidental.</p>
+
+<p>Four days after reaching San Francisco, the Hobarts sailed for Australia.
+They urged Grace to accompany them, but she declined, saying, with a
+smile, that she believed for the present she preferred the solid earth to
+the unstable sea. She saw her friends aboard the steamer; then returning
+to the hotel, sent for the manager, Major H.; explained that she expected
+her husband by the first steamer from Australia; that he did not expect
+to find her; so she wished to surprise him, and desired the finest
+apartments in the hotel, including a private dining-room; and requested
+that when it was known that the ship was coming up the harbor, the rooms
+should be elaborately dressed with flowers. She also stipulated that her
+husband, on his coming, should be conducted to his apartments without any
+knowledge that any one was waiting for him.</p>
+
+<p>Major H., captivated by the little English lady, entered into the full
+spirit of the programme and promised that he would personally attend to
+the matter.</p>
+
+<p>Grace was transferred to the new rooms, and thereafter had her meals
+served in her own dining-room.</p>
+
+<p>Three days later, about one p.m., a message came that the Australian
+steamer had at noon been sighted outside the Heads, and was then entering
+the Golden Gate.</p>
+
+<p>The flowers were forthcoming; the apartments were swiftly decorated; then
+Grace, with the utmost painstaking, robed herself in her richest costume
+and seated herself in the private dining-room, with the sliding doors
+slightly ajar so that she could look through into the parlor of the suite
+without being seen.</p>
+
+<p>The suspense was fearful to her for half an hour. Would he really come?
+Separating in London, and he traveling east, would she by coming west
+find him? Would he be well? Had he really escaped the African fever and
+all the dangers that lurked in the weary stretches of treacherous
+billows?</p>
+
+<p>Those were a few of the questions she was asking herself, when, in the
+hall, a well-known voice rang out which made her heart bound. It was
+saying: "There must be an oversight somewhere. I surely ought to have had
+some letters awaiting me."</p>
+
+<p>The door opened, and the hearty voice of Major H. was heard by the
+listener. "These are your apartments, Mr. Sedgwick," he said, "and
+I trust you will find them pleasant."</p>
+
+<p>Then the other occupant said: "But I do not care for any such rich rooms
+as these; any little corner will suffice for me."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh no," said the Major. "Try these quarters for a day or two, and if by
+that time you wish to exchange them for others, we will see to it. We try
+to please our Australian friends, for we hope for more and more of them
+throughout all the years to come."</p>
+
+<p>With that he closed the door.</p>
+
+<p>"Australia!" Grace heard her husband say. "I'm no Australian; I'm a
+full-blooded African, a regular Boer or Kaffir, and no mistake. But,
+bless my soul, this is a fairy spot! A way-up place, surely! From
+the depths of Africa and the society of Boers and Kaffirs to an enchanted
+palace! This must be the bridal chamber of the establishment. I believe
+they have made a mistake and think me the King of the Pearl and Opal
+Islands. I wish dear old Jordan could see this. I wish, O God, I wish my
+Grace, my queen, could see this, that I might first crown her with
+flowers, and then fall down and worship her!"</p>
+
+<p>She could bear the tension no longer. Pushing the doors back quickly, she
+stood pale, but radiant, for an instant, before the astonished man; then
+stretching out her divine arms, said, "O, my darling!"</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXI" id="CHAPTER_XXI"></a>CHAPTER XXI.</h2>
+
+<h3>SHIPPING A QUARTZ MILL.</h3>
+
+
+<p>That evening Major H. met Sedgwick in the office, and, with a twinkle of
+the eye, asked him if he was really anxious to take cheaper apartments.</p>
+
+<p>The young man smiled and said he rather thought, as he would probably
+only remain two or three months, it would not be worthwhile to change.</p>
+
+<p>Next morning Sedgwick ordered a forty-stamp gold quartz mill complete,
+with two rock-breakers, the batteries to be of five-stamp each and low
+mortars, with a single pan for cleaning up&mdash;a free gold quartz mill.
+Instead of one heavy engine, he ordered two, each of forty-horse power
+to work on the same shaft, to be supplied by six thirty-horse-power
+boilers to be set in two batteries. He ordered also one six-inch and one
+four-inch steam pump, with the necessary boilers, and besides, a donkey
+hoisting engine, good for an eight-hundred hoist. The order included
+all the needed attachments, belting, retorts, duplicates of all parts
+subject to breakage or wear, a forge, and shoes and dies enough to last
+two years.</p>
+
+<p>He stipulated, too, that the wood-work of the battery should be gotten
+out, exactly framed and marked, and that all the pulleys, bolts, etc.,
+should be included.</p>
+
+<p>In two days the specifications were gotten ready, and the contract
+signed, which included a clause that the whole should be ready in sixty
+days, or less, from that date.</p>
+
+<p>Then Sedgwick wrote fully to Jordan, giving him the account of what he
+had done, and sending him a draft of the ground plan of the mill, and
+full details as to the grading, hoping he would receive the letter and
+have the rocks hauled, the battery blocks gotten out, and the grading
+done.</p>
+
+<p>This work under way, the exultant man devoted all his time to Grace,
+except that every day, when in the city, he would make a run two or three
+times to the foundry to mark the progress of the work.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, the happy pair visited every point of interest in and about
+San Francisco. They frequented the theatres, drove to the Park and the
+Cliff House, and both declared that San Francisco was the most delightful
+spot on earth.</p>
+
+<p>They were all the world to each other. In the happiness that filled their
+hearts their eyes were softened, so that everything they looked at took
+on roseate hues&mdash;the world had become a throne to them, over which had
+been drawn a cover of cloth of gold.</p>
+
+<p>Once they made a journey to Virginia City, and descended the Gould and
+Curry shaft, and Sedgwick showed his bride where he and Jack first
+discussed the probability of trying to make a little raise in stocks.
+They went and looked at the lodging-house on the Divide where Jack and
+Sedgwick roomed so long; visited the mills, saw crude bullion cast into
+bars, and watched the procession of a miner's funeral, and in their
+rambles Sedgwick stopped many a miner whom he had known, and presented
+his bride.</p>
+
+<p>Returning, they got off at Sacramento and waited over one day. There
+Sedgwick ordered four seven-ton wagons, with four trail wagons of five
+tons each, and four more of three tons each, and twelve sets of team
+harness, a dozen of yokes and no end of chains; also a strong, covered
+spring wagon with harness to match.</p>
+
+<p>After forty days, Sedgwick was informed that everything would be ready in
+ten days. His idea had been to charter a brig or bark, and send the
+machinery to Port Natal by a sailing craft; but in crossing the bay in
+visits to Oakland, Saucelito and San Rafael, he had noticed anchored, out
+in the stream, a small iron bark-rigged steamer which carried the British
+flag, and had read thereon the name "Pallas." One day he asked some men
+on the wharf what ship it was and why it lay so long in the harbor.</p>
+
+<p>The answer was that it was an English tramp steamer that some months
+previously came in loaded with wines and brandies from Bordeaux.</p>
+
+<p>The men also gave the information that, though a tramp steamer, it was
+thought to be a very strong craft, fully bulk-headed, with first-class
+machinery, and was commanded by the owner, a Scotchman named McGregor,
+who, when not on his ship, stopped at the Occidental Hotel.</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick had already made his acquaintance at the hotel, so when he met
+him that evening he asked him how long he expected to remain in the city.
+McGregor replied that he was waiting to secure a cargo for his ship.</p>
+
+<p>Then Sedgwick drew him out and learned that his steamer was of six
+hundred tons, built with all care for a gentleman's yacht; that after
+awhile the owner tired of his plaything and sold it to him at a mighty
+discount on its first cost; and that he was seeing the world in it, and
+trying at the same time to make the craft pay its own expenses. He said
+also he had a picked crew and private surgeon, and added: "When I secure
+a cargo, if you and the madam will become my guests, I will adopt you
+both as long as you please to follow the seas."</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick declined with thanks, but said: "You want to see the world; how
+would you like to make a run to the coast of Africa?"</p>
+
+<p>"I would not object," he replied. "I have had the 'Pallas' overhauled
+since we came into port. She is in first-class trim, good for a year if
+no unusual misfortune overtakes her. I would as soon go to Africa as any
+other place."</p>
+
+<p>The result was the "Pallas" was chartered to carry out the machinery,
+some mill-wrights, a couple of engineers, a couple of mill workers, an
+assayer, and any miscellaneous freight that Sedgwick might desire to
+send.</p>
+
+<p>The ship was hauled into the wharf next day, and the loading of what was
+ready was begun. Sedgwick got on board his wagons and trappings from
+Sacramento. He ordered also a great quantity of drill steel, picks and
+shovels, quicksilver, some giant powder and caps, some blankets,
+mattresses, canned fruits, pickles, boots and brogans, and a whole world
+of other supplies such as miners use.</p>
+
+<p>In fifteen days the ship was loaded, and the craft put to sea, as was
+understood and published, with a mixed cargo for Australia.</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick had insured the cargo; had paid the owner in advance the
+freight, and McGregor estimated that, if prosperous, he could, running
+slow to save coal, and stopping a week or ten days in Australia for coal
+and fresh supplies, make Port Natal in eighty days.</p>
+
+<p>In the meantime Sedgwick and his wife had made the acquaintance of an
+English gentleman and his wife, named Forbes, who a few days previous had
+started for England, but who had promised to visit some English friends
+in Indianapolis, Indiana, until Sedgwick and Grace should overtake them,
+that they might sail on the same ship from New York.</p>
+
+<p>The day after the "Pallas" sailed, Sedgwick and his bride took the
+overland train for the East.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXII" id="CHAPTER_XXII"></a>CHAPTER XXII.</h2>
+
+<h3>A LOST TRAIL DISCOVERED.</h3>
+
+
+<p>They reached Indianapolis in due time; stopped at a hotel, and Sedgwick
+had no difficulty in finding the Forbeses. He was presented to their
+friends, the Brunswicks, and Mrs. Brunswick insisted that Sedgwick should
+go straight to the hotel and bring his wife to her house.</p>
+
+<p>He thanked the old lady warmly, but begged to be excused, saying they
+could visit without that.</p>
+
+<p>"Very well," said the old lady, "but I will certainly have my way in
+another thing. You must go right off and tell your wife that an old
+English woman up the street says she must waive ceremony and come right
+here for dinner."</p>
+
+<p>This was agreed to, and Sedgwick proceeded to do the errand.</p>
+
+<p>The Sedgwicks were shown into the drawing-room of the Brunswicks, and had
+been for a few minutes conversing when the door opened and a lady
+entered.</p>
+
+<p>A glance was enough to show that she was exceedingly beautiful. She was
+perhaps twenty-six or twenty-seven years of age, not too tall, rounded
+into full maturity, with a most strong but winsome face. Her eyes were
+blue, her hair a golden brown and glossy, and when she spoke, her teeth
+were revealed, perfect and white.</p>
+
+<p>She was presented to the strangers as Mrs. Hazleton.</p>
+
+<p>Dinner was shortly after announced, and after dinner, when the gentlemen
+had returned to the drawing-room, Mrs. Brunswick asked Mrs. Hazleton to
+sing. She did not say "Mrs. Hazleton," but just "Margaret."</p>
+
+<p>Without making any excuses she went to the piano and asked Mrs. Brunswick
+if she desired any particular piece. She answered:</p>
+
+<p>"No, my dear, sing anything you feel like singing; only have it
+old-fashioned and sweet, rather than scientific."</p>
+
+<p>Strangely enough, she struck a few wailing chords on the instrument, and
+then with a pathos and tenderness most touching, sang the old song
+beginning:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Could you come back to me, Douglas."</p></div>
+
+<p>The effect was great on all the company, but to Sedgwick and his bride it
+was intensely thrilling.</p>
+
+<p>The eyes of Grace filled with tears, and Sedgwick, who was near,
+unobserved by the rest, took and pressed her hand.</p>
+
+<p>The company separated early, with an agreement for the ensuing day, which
+was to fill it with rides, luncheon, a matinee for the ladies, and dinner
+afterward.</p>
+
+<p>So soon as Sedgwick and his bride were by themselves, Grace said: "Love,
+did you ever hear anything half as sweet as that singing?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Sedgwick, "I heard that same song once, more sacredly sung."</p>
+
+<p>"O James!" Grace replied, and a celestial glow warmed her face.</p>
+
+<p>"But that lady has a secret grief, certain," said Grace. "There was real
+sorrow in her tones, and there is a sorrow in her face, despite its
+superb serenity."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, she is a widow," said Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I know," was the answer; "but there is more than sorrow; she gives
+me the idea that her thought is that something priceless has been lost
+which she might have saved."</p>
+
+<p>"Now I think, little one, that 'you have struck it,' as the miners say,"
+said Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"How do you mean?" asked Grace.</p>
+
+<p>"Some one who would have made her his wife and worshiped her has gone,
+and she is miserable," said Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"What makes you say that, dearest?" asked Grace.</p>
+
+<p>"Because," replied Sedgwick, "I know it, and I know where he has gone,
+and she does not."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, what do you know of her? Did you ever meet her before?" asked
+Grace.</p>
+
+<p>"No, I have never met her, but I have met some one who has," said
+Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"O, tell me all about it!" said Grace.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, child," Sedgwick said, "that is the lady who went to Texas and
+taught school one season, who set the honest heart of Tom Jordan on fire,
+and burned it half to ashes, made him sell his home because he was so
+wretched, and finally, with my help, or through my fault, set him to
+running a tunnel to a mine in Southern Africa, among the Boers and
+Kaffirs."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you believe that can be true?" asked Grace.</p>
+
+<p>"I know it," said the confident man. "The description an the singing
+tally, and the name is the same. Tom says her singing would make a lark,
+out of envy, 'fall outer a tree'."</p>
+
+<p>"Upon my soul!" said Grace, and then lapsed into silence.</p>
+
+<p>"What are you thinking of, sweet?" asked Sedgwick, after a pause.</p>
+
+<p>"I was thinking what accidents our lives hang upon," she said. "O, love,
+suppose you had not fancied me at all, what would have become of me?"</p>
+
+<p>"And suppose you had, when I did fancy you and you knew my heart was in
+the dust at your feet, that the touch of the hem of your robe upon me
+thrilled me like old wine; suppose then I had pleaded for your love, and
+though you felt it was mine and intended to give it to me, still had
+refused me; might you not be singing, Could you come back to me, Douglas,
+in tones to break any one's heart who might hear you?"</p>
+
+<p>Grace thought a moment, and then said: "There's more than all that
+to this, love; you men do not know much when it comes to the hearts
+of women. She had some other and good reason when she refused the
+true-souled man."</p>
+
+<p>"I believe now that you are right, my little sorceress," said Sedgwick,
+"and I believe that the reason has since been removed, and her great
+grief now is in thinking of Jordan's sorrow and than she cannot find
+him."</p>
+
+<p>"I will tell you what," said Grace; "I will get as near her to-morrow as
+I can, and will try to coax her, hire her&mdash;if needs be&mdash;to accompany us
+to England."</p>
+
+<p>"A capital thought, my wise little wife!" said Sedgwick. "Then when you
+gain her confidence, if you think it best, we will try and help her find
+the great-hearted man."</p>
+
+<p>"I believe you are an angel," said Grace.</p>
+
+<p>"I know you are," said Sedgwick, and involuntarily they kissed each
+other.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIII" id="CHAPTER_XXIII"></a>CHAPTER XXIII.</h2>
+
+<h3>BACK TO ENGLAND.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Before the Sedgwicks left Indianapolis, Grace found her opportunity and
+said: "Mrs. Hazleton, soon after we reach England my husband will go away
+for four or five months. I shall be awfully lonesome. You have never been
+across the sea. Take pity upon me and be my guest for a few months until
+you weary of me."</p>
+
+<p>The lady was startled by the proposition, waited a moment, and then said:</p>
+
+<p>"I do not know how to thank you, but I came here to teach music. I have
+several pupils, and have a contract to sing in the choir of one of the
+churches. I need the little revenue that I receive, but if I could get
+released from my obligations I would most gladly go, for I do covet a
+change exceedingly."</p>
+
+<p>"Then," said Grace, "if I can get that release, and will pay you as much
+as you receive here, and all your expenses out and back, will you go?"</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed, I will," she answered, "and will be grateful to you all my
+life."</p>
+
+<p>The arrangement was easily made, and the further arrangement that
+Sedgwick and his bride should go to Ohio, visit Sedgwick's family for
+three or four days; then should join the Forbeses and Mrs. Hazleton at a
+certain hotel in New York, and all would embark on the steamer that would
+sail on the next week Saturday&mdash;ten days from that day.</p>
+
+<p>Then Sedgwick and Grace started for the Miami Valley.</p>
+
+<p>What a welcome was there! The old house had been repaired, modernized,
+refurnished and repainted. A new house had been built on the other farm.
+It was in the first days of February. That year there was good sleighing,
+and the whole town seemed to turn out to celebrate the occasion of Jim
+Sedgwick's bringing home his bride. Four days passed in a whirl of
+pleasure. The first morning after their arrival, Sedgwick asked his
+brother for his trotting team, his new cutter, and the bells, to give
+Grace her first sleigh-ride. The steppers were of the 2:30 class, the
+roads good, and the fair English girl-wife was in ecstacies. They drove
+past the Jasper farm on the hill, and Sedgwick told Grace that it was his
+dream for years to accumulate $30,000 to release the mortgage from his
+father's farm and to buy the Jasper farm.</p>
+
+<p>"Then what would I have done?" asked Grace.</p>
+
+<p>"Married some English banker, or may be some 'My Lord Fitzdoodle,'
+probably," said Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"But, then, suppose a year later I had seen you, what would become of
+me?" she said.</p>
+
+<p>"We should have been very formal and polite, and then have gone our
+several ways," said Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, because you are a man of principle, and I hope my pride of
+womanhood would have sustained me, but my heart would have broken, for
+with me it was a mad passion which absorbed my life before I had been in
+your presence half an hour," said Grace; and then added: "I do not any
+more wonder at the crimes which come of mismated marriages."</p>
+
+<p>Then Sedgwick told her how, when he left her side the first time, he took
+that ride and asked cabbie how much they would charge at Newgate to hang
+him.</p>
+
+<p>And they both laughed, but there were tears in the eyes of Grace even
+while she smiled. But she rallied in a moment and said:</p>
+
+<p>"Why not buy the place still? Except to leave my mother, I would be on
+that farm with you as happy a wife as ever lived. I would rather live
+upon that hill than in our great modern Babel, London."</p>
+
+<p>Just then the cutter went in and out of a "Thank-ee-mom"&mdash;a hollow
+between two snowdrifts&mdash;and Sedgwick bent and kissed his wife.</p>
+
+<p>"Thanks," said Grace.</p>
+
+<p>"That was a kiss on principle. That was a pure duty," said Sedgwick.
+Then he explained how venerable was the custom, and elaborated upon the
+respect due it because of its age and its usefulness to bashful lovers,
+because a youth must kiss the girl who goes sleighing with him whenever
+he comes to a "Thank-ee-mom" among the drifts.</p>
+
+<p>"What a poor old country England is," said Grace.</p>
+
+<p>"Why so?" asked Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, had we but had snowdrifts and 'Thank-ee-moms,' I would have made
+you kiss me three weeks sooner than you did," said Grace.</p>
+
+<p>"Did you want me to kiss you sooner than I did?" asked Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"O, you blind darling!" said Grace. "When I read of your exploit before
+the church in Devonshire, I told Jack and Rose that I would like to kiss
+that man. Then he told me who the man was, and after all I had to wait so
+long I began to fear he would never give me a chance to carry out my
+desire."</p>
+
+<p>"Is that true, Gracie?" asked Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed it is," she replied, and then she quickly continued, "Does it
+drift badly along here?"</p>
+
+<p>"Pretty badly," answered Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"Then, love," answered Grace, "buy the farm by all means and at all
+hazards."</p>
+
+<p>"I believe I will," said Sedgwick. "I believe we need it in our business.
+If when we get back to England it shall be known that we have bought a
+home in America, and are having a house built, it will take all
+suspicions about a possible African enterprise away."</p>
+
+<p>And that day he bought the farm, and the next one to it, and told his
+brother he would send from England plans for a house to be built in the
+spring.</p>
+
+<p>Next day came the parting from the old home. Sedgwick promised to return
+before many months and stay longer, and he and his wife started for New
+York.</p>
+
+<p>They rested over one train at Niagara, and took in its splendor as seen
+in winter-time, and arrived in New York on Wednesday. Forbes had
+purchased the tickets, and secured the rooms on the ship for the whole
+party. Thursday and Friday were devoted to taking in as much as possible
+of the great city. On Saturday they sailed.</p>
+
+<p>The voyage was generally uneventful, except that one day they were
+treated to a beautiful spectacle of rescuing a crew from a water-logged
+craft. The wind was fresh, and there was an uneasy sea on, when a signal
+of distress was noted off across the water. The steamer was headed for
+it, and in half an hour came up to it. It was a little old lumber
+schooner. The sea was washing its deck with every wave. In the meantime,
+the second officer, with six seamen, had taken their places in a boat.
+The boat had been swung out over the water. The sailors were standing by,
+holding the tackle by which a boat is lowered; the commander was on the
+bridge, and when in hailing distance of the craft he dropped his hand and
+the engines stopped. He shouted through his trumpet, asking what was
+wanted. "To come aboard," a voice came back. The commander dropped his
+hand again, and down ran the boat and pulled away for the wreck. It would
+mount a wave, and then sink out of sight of those on the ship's high
+deck; then climb again. It returned in twenty minutes, and it was the
+commander of the great ship that took the hand of the schooner's rough
+skipper as the boat was hoisted, and for the remainder of the voyage the
+shipwrecked skipper had a state-room by himself, and his seat at the
+table was at the commander's right hand.</p>
+
+<p>They reached Liverpool on the tenth day&mdash;Monday&mdash;and went up to London
+the same afternoon.</p>
+
+<p>Reaching the city, Sedgwick sent a message to Mrs. Hamlin to meet them at
+the house of Jack and Rose, for he would not go to the Hamlin house.</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick, with his wife and Mrs. Hazleton, went at once to the home of
+the Brownings.</p>
+
+<p>Rose was wild with delight at their coming. She hugged Grace, kissed her
+and cried over her; kissed Sedgwick, and welcomed Mrs. Hazleton so
+cordially that the lady was sure it was sincere.</p>
+
+<p>Then Mrs. Hamlin came, and the whole business had to be done over again,
+the elder lady reproaching Grace and her husband for not coming to her,
+and scolding even as she embraced them.</p>
+
+<p>Then matters quieted down enough to talk. Rose explained that she was a
+deserted wife; that Jack six weeks before had come home one night and
+told her that he was going to sail for South America next day; that she
+could not go along, but must be good and not be lonesome for six or eight
+weeks.</p>
+
+<p>Then she continued: "That is the kind of monsters these men are. They beg
+and tease and protest until we women take pity on them and marry them,
+and then when the woman's chances for getting a good man are all spoiled,
+they rush off on the slightest provocation to America, or India, or
+Australia, or China, or some other barbarous place, and all a woman can
+do is to mope and threaten that next time she will know better."</p>
+
+<p>And then she laughed, and then as suddenly cried and said: "Poor dear old
+Jack! May the seas be merciful, and may the good ship bring him safely
+back and be quick about it!"</p>
+
+<p>And sure enough, a week later a step was heard outside, someone with a
+night key opened the door, and Rose flew into Jack's arms and cried so
+hysterically that it took Jack a long time to calm her.</p>
+
+<p>Browning explained to Sedgwick that he had been earning a commission by
+going out and reporting on a mine in Venezuela, just over the border from
+British Guiana. He brought to Rose a world of tropical and marine
+curiosities. He was in superb health and seemed to be in good spirits.</p>
+
+<p>It was understood that Sedgwick would have to go away again in a month,
+and it was his wish and that of Grace to find a house and have an
+establishment of their own.</p>
+
+<p>Jack and Rose insisted that during Sedgwick's absence Grace and Mrs.
+Hazleton should be their guests, but Sedgwick said with a laugh: "O Mrs.
+Browning, you and Jack are good, but you both know that no house is big
+enough for two families." And quietly Jack and Rose and Mrs. Hamlin were
+enjoined never in Mrs. Hazleton's presence to mention Jordan's name.</p>
+
+<p>However, the difficulty was finally settled. The house Jack lived in was
+a double house. The other half was occupied by a gentleman, his wife and
+one child. The lady was delicate, and the doctors, baffled by her case,
+ordered her&mdash;as usual&mdash;to try a change of climate. So Sedgwick hired the
+house as Browning had his; the servants remained, and permission was
+obtained to cut a doorway in the partition walls that divided the two
+halls, so that Rose could visit Grace in the morning and Grace could
+visit Rose in the evening.</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick and Browning were almost inseparable during the day-time.
+Sedgwick assured Browning that things were working well, begging him not
+to disturb either old man Hamlin, or Jenvie, or Stetson, but to "rig some
+purchase" after he should be gone, to get the remaining shares in 'The
+Wedge of Gold' from them, and also to be sure to keep the former owner of
+that mine in the country, even if he had to raise his salary.</p>
+
+<p>He told him also that he expected next time to be absent four or five
+months.</p>
+
+<p>One morning about thirty-five days after his arrival in London he
+received a cable from McGregor announcing the arrival of the "Pallas" at
+Melbourne and saying he would sail again in four days. Then Sedgwick made
+his final preparations for departure. He sent full plans for a house to
+his brother, with directions where to build. He obtained a promise from
+Mrs. Hazleton that she would not desert Grace during his absence, and
+from Jack that he would not try any prosecutions to obtain his money
+from the old men until his return, explaining that he had made his
+arrangements in America, and was then going to see that African mine and
+work it if it would do.</p>
+
+<p>His wife knew where he was going; the others except Jack, believed he
+meant to return to the United States. He told them he had a little
+business in Paris and would this time take a French steamer.</p>
+
+<p>Grace worried more over the second parting than she had over the first.
+She cried a good deal and was much distressed. But it was over at last,
+and Sedgwick was gone. He did stop over a few hours in Paris, made an
+arrangement which he desired to with the Bank of France, then speeded on
+to Marseilles, caught the Imperial steamer, sailed over the same route as
+before to Port Said, and there embarked on exactly the same steamer that
+he and Jordan sailed for Port Natal in seven months before.</p>
+
+<p>He was twenty days from London to Port Natal. Jordan was at D'Umber
+waiting his coming, and the joy of the meeting was immeasurable. When
+they became calm, Jordan said: "It war a good while, old friend, but I
+knowed as how y'd cum."</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIV" id="CHAPTER_XXIV"></a>CHAPTER XXIV.</h2>
+
+<h3>DEALING IN MINING SHARES.</h3>
+
+
+<p>The presence of Sedgwick in London greatly excited and alarmed Jenvie,
+Hamlin and Stetson. That mysterious American had returned, and all
+confidently expected each day to be served with a notice of with a suit
+or a warrant of arrest. But finally it leaked out that he had bought a
+home in Ohio and ordered a house built, sending the plans from London,
+and as day after day passed and no sign was given, they gained courage,
+and when Sedgwick once more left England, as they supposed for America,
+they grew jubilant again. The firm was now Jenvie, Hamlin &amp; Stetson.
+Their business was prospering, and they all realized that the way to make
+money was to have money to use, and the prestige which the command of
+large means gives.</p>
+
+<p>About a week after Sedgwick's departure they were seated in their private
+office one morning congratulating themselves, when the former owner of
+'The Wedge of Gold' was announced.</p>
+
+<p>"We cannot afford to snub the origin of our fortune," said Jenvie; "show
+him in." This man's name was Emanuel. He was a Portugese. On this morning
+he presented a seedy and dissipated appearance, as though he had been
+enjoying his fortune too rapidly.</p>
+
+<p>Once ushered in, he did not waste any time, but explained that he had
+very little money left, and had called to see, in case the gentlemen did
+not intend to develop 'The Wedge of Gold,' on what terms they would
+transfer back to him the mine, or any interest they might possess, and
+give him a chance to go over to Hamburg and try to work the capitalists
+of that city to buy a mine down among their second cousins in Boerland.</p>
+
+<p>"How much could you afford to give for the property?" asked Hamlin.</p>
+
+<p>"I sell him for &pound;2,000. I would, for one speculation, buy him back if you
+could sell, and would give &pound;1,000."</p>
+
+<p>"But you always said it was a good mine," said Jenvie.</p>
+
+<p>"Of course," he answered, "an excellent mine, but on ze best of ze mines
+there vos always one selling and then one buying price."</p>
+
+<p>"If we were to sell to you, would you work the property?" asked Jenvie.</p>
+
+<p>"Most certainly," he replied; "I would work it as I did before&mdash;on ze
+paper."</p>
+
+<p>"We have sold the control," said Hamlin, "and have only left some shares
+of stock."</p>
+
+<p>"I understand," said the man; "Mr. Browning has the control and is
+unloading the stock cheap. He three days ago tendered me some stock for
+one shilling per share. I said, 'No, but give me one bond at three
+pennies per share for four months, and I will consider ze matter, and try
+to help you close out some unproductive property.' He would not comply,
+but he thought it over very much, and asked me to call again. One broker,
+Mr. Williams, offered to sell me plenty for four pennies, but would not
+make one bond."</p>
+
+<p>"We do not care to bond ours," said Jenvie, "but would sell for four
+pennies."</p>
+
+<p>"I will not give it," said Emanuel, rising to go. "I would give you three
+pennies, but no more," and he started for the door.</p>
+
+<p>The three consulted in private for a moment, and then Jenvie called to
+Emanuel, who was half out of the door, that he might have the stock at
+three pennies for cash, but begged him not to mention that he had
+purchased it. Emanuel paid the money and took the stock, and then said:
+"You ask me not to mention this business. Are you crazy? Suppose Mr.
+Browning by and by bonds me ten thousand shares less than half he has
+got, with this in my pocket who will then have ze control? I want you to
+promise to say nothing about this sale for six months. In the meantime
+I propose to become just so intimate with Mr. Browning as possible."</p>
+
+<p>Then he winked and walked out, and the conspirators looked in each
+other's faces and smiled.</p>
+
+<p>Emanuel went directly to Browning and delivered him the stock, but he
+lied about the price he had paid for it, telling Browning he had given
+five pennies per share for it. But while Browning was sure the man had
+lied, he was satisfied, for he then had all of the stock of "The Wedge of
+Gold."</p>
+
+<p>Browning had, as he told Sedgwick, gone to South America on a commission.
+It was known in London that he was a miner who had made a success in
+America. An Englishman who had a bond on a mine in Venezuela had hired
+him to go over and make a report on it. He fulfilled the trust, but he
+heard while there of another mine in a district ten miles away. He went
+to see it and bought it for &pound;2,000, hired a foreman and ten men; laid out
+the work for them for six months ahead, and left &pound;1,000 in a local bank
+to pay them, with instructions to the foreman to send him a report and
+sample by every steamer.</p>
+
+<p>The first mine was sold on his report, and besides his commission of
+&pound;300, the happy man who had sold the mine called at his house one day
+when Browning was out, and left an envelope directed to him. The envelope
+contained a check for &pound;3,000, and a note saying that the writer thought
+he was entitled to one-tenth of the proceeds of the sale, and that
+Browning must accept the money, for the writer intended that day to
+leave England. Browning turned the money over to Rose as her fee "as
+an expert."</p>
+
+<p>A month later a steamer from Georgetown (British Guiana) brought news
+that the Browning mine was developing superbly, and still a month later
+the foreman estimated that he had five thousand tons of ore in sight
+which would average as well as the samples sent. Browning had the samples
+assayed, and they averaged &pound;5 6s. in gold per ton.</p>
+
+<p>He had a friend named Campbell, who was a broker: Campbell dropped in
+upon him as he was looking over the assays, and he told him all about the
+mine.</p>
+
+<p>"What will you give me to sell that property for you, Browning?" asked
+Campbell.</p>
+
+<p>"Not a penny," said Browning, "but I will give you a bond on it for four
+months for an even &pound;100,000, and you may make as much above that as your
+conscience will allow; you may, by Jove."</p>
+
+<p>"Will you make me a report and map?" asked Campbell.</p>
+
+<p>"I will write you a report, and make you a rough sketch," said Browning,
+"but my drawing lessons were neglected when I was young, and I am not a
+very reliable or finished map-maker."</p>
+
+<p>The conversation closed with an agreement, and the bond and report were
+in due time finished.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXV" id="CHAPTER_XXV"></a>CHAPTER XXV.</h2>
+
+<h3>A WEDGE OF GOLD INDEED.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Sedgwick and Jordan waited at Port Natal for the coming of the "Pallas."
+Sedgwick explained what the ship would bring, and told Jordan about Grace
+being in San Francisco to receive him, and how while the mill was being
+built, he and his wife had raced around the country.</p>
+
+<p>Jordan was delighted. "I told yo' she war a game girl," he said. "Think
+of her traveling six thousand mile to jine ther man who hed run away from
+her at ther meetin' house do'! But I'm mighty glad she did, all the same.
+It confirms my estermation of ther lady."</p>
+
+<p>Then he explained that he put on eight-hour shifts to run the tunnel, two
+English miners on each shift to handle the drills and gads, and Boers and
+Kaffirs to carry back the debris; that the rock was most favorable, and
+rapid progress was made, averaging a little over ten feet per day; that
+he offered bribes and bounties to the shift that should make most
+progress; and that he had tapped the ledge and cross-cut it in four
+months, "because," he added naively, "we lost all reckonin' o' time, 'nd
+I'm afeerd we worked of er Sunday sometimes;" that the ore was quite up
+to the average, or a little better than what was on the dump; that so
+soon as the vein was struck he had started drifts up and down the ledge
+and an upraise, and had, when he left, probably 1,000 tons of ore on the
+dump, and that as the mine was further opened the daily output was
+steadily increasing. He had, moreover, got the mill site graded, and the
+wall that the battery was to be set in front of, built, comfortable
+quarters put up, and the road through the ca&ntilde;on made so that it would be
+good for heavy teams.</p>
+
+<p>When he heard that Sedgwick had sent some heavy wagons, yokes, harness
+and chains he was glad, saying: "I war afeerd you'd forget it," and at
+once went about to select the stock and drivers for those wagons.</p>
+
+<p>After they had waited eight days, the "Pallas" made the port.</p>
+
+<p>Captain McGregor reported a prosperous voyage, and the next day the
+discharging of cargo into lighters began and was rushed with all speed.
+As soon as the wagons were landed, the work of setting them up began, and
+the training of the teams was likewise inaugurated.</p>
+
+<p>The first full loads were started for the mine in a week. The heavy
+machinery was loaded on the imported wagons, native conveyances were
+secured for the other freight, and in fourteen days everything was in
+transit.</p>
+
+<p>In the meantime another mail had arrived from England, bringing letters
+from Grace to Sedgwick. One had news of special interest. It told that
+the confidence of Mrs. Hazleton had been partly gained; that she had
+learned much of the lady's life; how she was left an orphan at thirteen
+in New Jersey; how at seventeen when at school she had run away and
+married a wild youth; how they left at once for the West; how the wild
+boy settled down, and with a few hundred dollars which he had when they
+were married he had made a few thousand and was doing well when he
+suddenly sickened and died; how then his relatives came forward and made
+a contest for his property, setting up that she had never been married;
+that the showing was so fearful against her that the court in Iowa
+refused her any support from the estate, and in her shame and confusion
+she went away to Texas and taught school for six months to earn money
+enough to make her defense; that there she met an unlettered and
+sensitive man, but at the same time one of the clearest-brained, most
+generous and noble-hearted men in the world, but in whom, from the fact
+he was so sensitive and generous, she could not confide, lest she might
+not be able to vindicate herself; and if she failed, she feared she would
+not only lose his confidence, but that it would make him believe there
+was no truth in the world. How with the money she earned, she was able to
+go to New Jersey, to find in the papers of the old clergyman who had
+married her (and who had in the meantime died), not only a full record of
+the marriage, but the marriage certificate with the names of the
+witnesses attached, which certificate had never been called for. By it,
+too, she was able to find the witnesses of the marriage, and one of those
+witnesses had known her all her life. So when the case came on for
+hearing she was so completely vindicated that her neighbors who had
+turned on her a cold shoulder came back with every outward demonstration
+of joy over her triumph. But she hated the place; converted all she had
+into money; bought a lot in a cemetery outside that State and had her
+husband's remains moved there, because she thought his sleep would be
+vexed in a community so mean; and then wrote to her friend in Texas,
+merely asking if he was well, and if she might explain something to him.</p>
+
+<p>In ten days the letter came back with the endorsement on it by the
+postmaster that her friend had sold his property at a sacrifice and
+disappeared, his nearest friends did not know where. Grace's letter added
+that she was worrying under the fear that perhaps if she had not gone to
+Texas the true man would never have made the sacrifice.</p>
+
+<p>Grace declared that she was in love with the lady; that she was a
+fine scholar, a finished elocutionist, a marvelous musician, and the
+comfort of her life in her husband's absence. The letter closed with an
+injunction that Sedgwick must bring Jordan safely home with him, and not
+be too long about it.</p>
+
+<p>How Sedgwick wanted to show that letter to Jordan! But he realized that
+if Mrs. Hazleton loved him it was for her to tell him so.</p>
+
+<p>He racked his brain to invent a necessity for Jordan's return to London,
+but a little thought convinced him that all such expedients would be in
+vain, because Jordan had, as he said, "enlisted fo' the wah," and
+Sedgwick realized that if on any pretext he sent him away, the suspicion
+might arise in Jordan's mind that the object was a selfish one, now that
+the labor and anxiety of making the enterprise a success had well-nigh
+passed.</p>
+
+<p>So he decided that the thing to do was to hurry the work in hand to
+culmination. The rainy season was pretty well over, and the material for
+the mill was pushed forward with reasonable dispatch. It was all on the
+ground, set up, and in motion in fifty days.</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick found on reaching the mine that Jordan had built the needed
+houses, and had the mill as nearly completed as it could be before the
+machinery was set in place.</p>
+
+<p>The ore crushed easily, and the mill reduced two tons and a half per
+stamp readily in every twenty-four hours, in thirty days crushing 3,000
+tons. It yielded in the mill $35 per ton, and at the end of thirty days
+there were bars of the value of $100,000 ready for shipment. Then
+Sedgwick said: "Come, Tom, our work is finished here, at least for the
+present; let us seek civilization."</p>
+
+<p>"Agreed, old friend," said Jordan. "I'll get my trophies together and be
+ready ter start in ther morning."</p>
+
+<p>"And what are your trophies?" asked Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, didn't I tell yer?" was the reply. "It got kinder lonesome while
+yo' war away, so I went on a hunt. I've got ther finest pair o' leopard
+skins yo' ever seen, some elephant tusks, 'nd I migh'er brought a sarpent
+skin that war a daisy, but I drew ther line on snakes. But he war
+twenty-three feet long, and ther look outer his eyes war not reassurin'
+by a blamed sight. I migh'er got a giraff skin, too, but she hed her baby
+with her, and I'm not breakin' up no giraffe families."</p>
+
+<p>It was understood that they were to leave in the morning; were to go in
+the covered spring wagon, and were to carry the gold.</p>
+
+<p>One of the English miners was made superintendent of the mine. The
+mill-men from San Francisco agreed to look after the mill for a year,
+and the civil engineer undertook to see to the books, to attend to the
+finances and send an express to the coast once a week.</p>
+
+<p>So Sedgwick and Jordan, with one Boer, started early in the morning. It
+was in the last week in May; the weather was cold for that region, for it
+was the beginning of winter.</p>
+
+<p>They drove out of the narrow valley, through the ca&ntilde;on, out upon the open
+table-land and down to the house or dug-out which they had first found
+when in search of a way out. They rested there, ate some luncheon, fed
+their horses, and after an hour and a half started on.</p>
+
+<p>They had brought with them their repeating rifles and revolvers. Before
+getting into the wagon, Jordan had rolled up and fastened the curtains of
+the wagon, examined closely the guns, and then gave a long, sweeping look
+all around the horizon.</p>
+
+<p>"What are you looking for, Jordan?" asked Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"Nuthin' much," he answered. "Only, Jim, have yer gun whar yo' can reach
+it quick if wanted."</p>
+
+<p>"Why?" asked Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"Nuthin," said Jordan. "Only I never seen this place afore thet thar war
+not a dozen cut-throat-lookin' scoundrels 'round, and they mighter mean
+mischief, knowin' as how we have ther treasure aboard."</p>
+
+<p>They had driven on for perhaps a mile, when the road ran down close to
+the stream. All at once half a dozen shots rang out of the willows, and
+the Boer sprang from the wagon and ran for the bush.</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick was driving. Jordan in a second caught his gun, and springing
+over the seat, said:</p>
+
+<p>"Drive on quick, Jim, and in ther meantime I'll try ter entertain ther
+varmints."</p>
+
+<p>A Boer stepped out of the willows and raised his gun. He never fired it,
+but threw up his hands and fell on his face. A shot from Jordan's gun had
+changed his calculations.</p>
+
+<p>Three or four more shots were fired from the bush, but they did no harm.</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick had urged the team into a run, and they had just begun to hope
+the ambuscade had been passed, when three more Boers sprang out of the
+willows nearly opposite them and fired.</p>
+
+<p>Jordan killed two of them in a moment, but the third one fired again, and
+the bullet struck Jordan's left arm, disabling it and making a bad wound.</p>
+
+<p>"Can you drive, think?" asked Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>Jordan thought he could, and took the reins; Sedgwick picked up his gun.</p>
+
+<p>Three more Boers just then appeared by the willows opposite. Sedgwick
+could shoot as rapidly and as accurately as Jordan, and he cleared the
+field in a moment.</p>
+
+<p>The road bent away from the stream soon after, back upon the table-land,
+and they were safe. They stopped, and Sedgwick bound up Jordan's arm. The
+bone was not broken, and no great blood-vessel was seriously injured, but
+he had received a nasty flesh wound through the muscles of his fore-arm.</p>
+
+<p>As they proceeded on their journey, Jordan said: "That black guard as I
+first got a crack at hed been working for us two months. He war at his
+work yesterday. He put up this business, but how we sprised him! Ther
+devil that jumped from the wagon when ther scrimmage begun war his
+runnin' pard. Wur it not lucky neither hoss war hit?"</p>
+
+<p>They reached Port Natal in six days without further incident; but despite
+all the care that Sedgwick could give it, Jordan's arm was badly inflamed
+and very painful when they reached the seashore.</p>
+
+<p>No regular steamer was in port, but the "Pallas" was seen at anchor out
+in the roadstead.</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick engaged a boat, and with Jordan pulled out to the steamer.</p>
+
+<p>McGregor was delighted at their coming, took them on board and said:
+"Now, boys, we will have a night of it."</p>
+
+<p>But Sedgwick said: "First, Captain, I want your surgeon to look at
+Jordan's arm."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, of course," said McGregor. The doctor was called. He examined the
+arm, then tested the man's temperature, and finally said:</p>
+
+<p>"The wound is nothing in itself. Under normal conditions it would heal in
+a fortnight, but Mr. Jordan's system is run down. He has a low fever on
+him now, and needs immediate treatment and careful nursing."</p>
+
+<p>This was a new situation, and one that troubled Sedgwick exceedingly. He
+was silent for a few seconds, and then looking up, said:</p>
+
+<p>"Captain McGregor, where do you go next?"</p>
+
+<p>"I was just going to pull out for Calcutta, Hong Kong, Yokohama and San
+Francisco," he replied.</p>
+
+<p>"And when do you sail?" asked Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"I intended to put to sea to-morrow," was the answer; "everything is
+ready."</p>
+
+<p>"Can I induce you for love and money to make the run at full speed to
+Naples or Marseilles?" asked Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"Not for money, but for love, yes," was the reply.</p>
+
+<p>"And can I have a room for Jordan right now?" was the next question.</p>
+
+<p>"You shall have the bridal chamber of my ship," said McGregor.</p>
+
+<p>"Thanks, Captain," said Sedgwick, "and now let us get the dear old boy to
+bed."</p>
+
+<p>Jordan insisted that he was not ill, but before they could get him
+undressed he was seized with a chill, and they worked upon him an hour
+before he rallied, grew warm and fell asleep.</p>
+
+<p>In the meantime the night had come down, so Sedgwick got a little supper
+and then went back to his friend. The captain, steward, indeed all hands,
+were all attention, for they knew all about both men.</p>
+
+<p>Next morning Jordan was comfortable, but the fever was having its way.
+Sedgwick went ashore, got his own and Jordan's baggage and the bullion,
+and when he returned the ship was at once got under way for her northern
+voyage.</p>
+
+<p>The attentions of Sedgwick to his sick friend were simply incessant. The
+ship's surgeon was also assiduous in his care. Captain McGregor was all
+the time most solicitous. As they approached the equator, they fixed for
+Jordan a bed on deck where the air, even if it was hot, was better in
+motion over him than in the stifling state-room.</p>
+
+<p>The ship rounded the great cape in ten days, and reached the Red Sea on
+the twelfth day. Then the surgeon motioned Sedgwick aside, and said: "The
+case of your friend makes me very anxious. His wound is not of itself
+serious. He has a little fever, but it would not be of a dangerous type
+in an ordinary patient. In this case the sick man acts like one who has
+lost hope, and under the sorrow of his loss his nerve power has ceased to
+exert its force, and the man is liable to die simply because he will make
+no effort to live."</p>
+
+<p>"I know," said Sedgwick, "and I have been dreading such a report as you
+have made me, for the last seven days. If you can keep his life from
+going out until we can reach Naples, I believe we can then find a tonic
+that will save him."</p>
+
+<p>"I will try," was the answer, "but he is growing weaker every day, and I
+am afraid. However, the temperature is growing cooler and it gives us a
+better chance."</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick tried by talking, by reading, and by drawing rosy pictures of
+what they would do in England and America, to rouse Jordan, but without
+much success.</p>
+
+<p>He lay patient and still on his couch, and to all inquiries would answer:
+"I'm perfectly comfortable, dear friend. Do not worry about me;
+everything is as it should be."</p>
+
+<p>Then Sedgwick tried another experiment. He told the sick man that he must
+exert himself to be better; that sickness was often influenced by the
+will of the patient, and added that the real work of trying to undo the
+wrong perpetrated upon Browning would have to be done when they reached
+England, and that he should then need the best counsel and help of his
+friend.</p>
+
+<p>Jordan listened and said: "I'll do the best I ken, Jim, but it will be
+all right, I'm shor."</p>
+
+<p>So the hours went by, and Captain McGregor told the engineer to crowd on
+all steam, and to bribe the fireman to give the ship all the speed
+possible.</p>
+
+<p>At Suez, Sedgwick went ashore and cabled his wife that he was on the
+"Pallas;" to come at once to Naples; to induce Jack and Rose to come
+also, and, if she thought best, to bring Mrs. Hazleton, for Jordan was
+ill, and he feared nothing but the cheer of friendly faces would arouse
+him and give him the strength to live. He added that she must use her
+woman's wits as to what she would tell Mrs. H., and that to outsiders it
+must all seem but as running over to the continent for a few days'
+outing.</p>
+
+<p>When Grace Sedgwick, very early one morning, received and read that
+message, she held it for many minutes, lost in thought. She had grown
+very near to Mrs. Hazleton, but except when she had drawn from her the
+story of her life, she had never probed in the least to see if in her
+heart she was nursing a vast regret.</p>
+
+<p>But she had noticed some things that led her to believe that the lady had
+an anxiety which she was trying to conceal. She was always ready to visit
+any point of interest that would naturally attract a stranger, or to
+attend any public assemblage that a stranger might be lured to. Again,
+she always approached such places with vivacity, and returned from them
+in silence.</p>
+
+<p>As Mrs. Sedgwick sat with the dispatch doubled up in her closed hand,
+Mrs. Hazleton came into the room. Touching a chair by her side, Grace
+said: "Come and sit by me, Margaret. I want to talk with you."</p>
+
+<p>She complied, merely saying: "What do you want to talk about, love?"</p>
+
+<p>"Are you happy?" asked Grace.</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed, yes. Why do you ask?" was the reply. "Have you not been making
+my life a bed of roses ever since your blessed eyes first rested on me?"</p>
+
+<p>Grace looked at her intently for a moment, then said: "Is there some one
+whom you wish exceedingly to see?"</p>
+
+<p>A rosy flush swept like a wave over her face, which was followed by a
+quick pallor. But she recovered herself almost instantly, and said: "Why,
+Mrs. Sedgwick, do you ask me so strange a question?"</p>
+
+<p>Grace arose, then bending down, took her hand, laid the dispatch upon the
+palm, closed the fingers gently over it and said:</p>
+
+<p>"My dear, there is a paper for you to read. I am going to Rose for a
+few minutes. When I return, you may tell me anything you please, or
+nothing at all, as you please; only let me tell you first that before
+my husband went to Nevada, he went to another State, lived there with
+a great-hearted man for a year, and that man was with him when he left me
+at the church door on my wedding day, and they have been together since,
+except when my husband left him to go to America to buy machinery and
+came back this way to join him again." Then she suddenly bent and kissed
+her friend and was gone.</p>
+
+<p>She went through to Rose's side of the house, found her, and asked where
+Mr. Browning was.</p>
+
+<p>"He is in the library," said Rose; "he has not yet gone out this
+morning."</p>
+
+<p>"Then come with me," said Grace. Once in the library, she said: "I have
+news from my James this morning. He cabled me from Suez. He is coming
+home, and he wants us to meet him at Naples. Mr. Jordan has been with
+him&mdash;is coming with him, is ill, I fear very ill, and he wants us to meet
+him, I believe chiefly on that dear man's account. I shall leave this
+afternoon; can you go with me?"</p>
+
+<p>"I can," said Jack.</p>
+
+<p>"I can," said Rose.</p>
+
+<p>"I am so glad," said Grace. "And say, there must be nothing said to the
+servants, except that we have run over to the continent on a lark, for a
+few days. And now good-bye until we are ready."</p>
+
+<p>With that she returned to her own sitting room. Mrs. Hazleton was gone,
+and it was a full half hour before she returned. When she did, she was
+very pale. A look of anxiety was on her face, but a radiant new light was
+in her eyes.</p>
+
+<p>She came straight up to Grace, and in a low voice said: "When do you
+start?"</p>
+
+<p>"To-day," said Grace; "by the first Dover train."</p>
+
+<p>"O, thanks; pray God we be not too late," was the answer; and then the
+poor woman sank into a chair, covered her face with her hands, and broke
+into sobs that were almost hysterical.</p>
+
+<p>Grace stood by her for a few minutes, then knelt down, put one arm around
+her, drew her toward her, gently drew down the hands and laid her cheek
+against the tear-dripping cheek of her friend, and said: "Now you must be
+brave, dear Margaret; it's going to be all well. I feel it in every fibre
+of my being. My husband is with him. He will supply him with the vitality
+to live until the vision of your face above his pillow will bring the
+stimulus that he needs."</p>
+
+<p>The true woman recovered herself at length, and said: "O Mrs. Sedgwick,
+how did you discover my secret, and the great-hearted man whom I have
+sought for and prayed for so long?"</p>
+
+<p>"It was not I," said Grace. "It was my husband. He lived with Mr.
+Jordan a year in Texas. After he had made his little fortune in Nevada,
+he&mdash;thanks be to God&mdash;came home with Jack. He met his old friend here,
+who frankly told him how he loved you, and why he had sold his home and
+turned wanderer. Just then Jack had been induced by his step-father
+and mine, and the knave Stetson, to invest part of his fortune in a gold
+mine in South Africa; and by a deception, nearly all that was left of his
+fortune was lured away into the same channel. Jack was well-nigh frantic.
+Rose had been waiting for him for four years and a half, so my husband
+insisted upon their marriage and determined to go and see if anything
+could be made out of the wreck, and asked me to wait until his return.
+I agreed, only stipulating that we, too, should be married before he
+went. I left him at the church. My husband was a silver miner; Mr. Jordan
+was a gold miner&mdash;I do not know the difference, only the gold miner can
+test gold ore&mdash;and they together went to Africa. They found the mine
+good, and found a new road to it, over which the machinery could be
+transported. Then my husband sailed via Australia for San Francisco to
+buy the machinery; Mr. Jordan remained to open the mine. My husband
+cabled me from Australia, and the next day I received his letter from
+South Africa, telling me that he would be two months in San Francisco,
+and then would come by London on his way back to the South Land. I took
+the first ship and reached San Francisco before his ship came in from
+Australia; then when I knew the ship was coming up the bay, I had the
+apartments dressed in flowers, robed myself in attire such as I had meant
+should be my wedding garments, and waited his coming."</p>
+
+<p>Then she paused a moment as the memory of that meeting swept over her,
+while the arms of her friend stole around her.</p>
+
+<p>Continuing, she said: "When ready to start for England, we, as you know,
+made arrangements to stop a day or two with our friends in Indiana. When
+you were presented, my husband recognized you instantly by the name and
+description given of you by his friend. When you sang that first song, he
+guessed your secret and told me his thought, and helped me to work the
+stratagem to lure you here. When he reached Port Natal, he tried to
+invent some plausible reason to induce Mr. Jordan to come here, but he
+could not; and so has hurried to get the mill working, and now both are
+on the way, and I must meet them. Jack and Rose are going with me; will
+you?"</p>
+
+<p>The arms of Margaret Hazleton were clinging to Grace, and the tears were
+raining down her face. So soon as she could speak, she said:</p>
+
+<p>"And so, while I thought you were my best friend, you have really been my
+guardian angel. I came with you because I hoped to find the noble man who
+had self-exiled himself, and all the time when I thought I was disguising
+my heart, your clear eyes have been reading it. I remember now in Texas
+the boys were always talking of a famous Jim who had lived with them, but
+I never dreamed that he was your husband.</p>
+
+<p>"My gratitude to you and your grand husband is bankrupt, but now no
+matter. The first thing to do is to be on our way&mdash;only, do Mr. and Mrs.
+Browning also know my secret?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not at all," said Grace. "Until just now they did not even know that Mr.
+Jordan was with my husband, but I will tell Rose all that may be
+necessary."</p>
+
+<p>All left that day, in due time reached Naples, and engaged ample quarters
+before the "Pallas" entered the bay.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVI" id="CHAPTER_XXVI"></a>CHAPTER XXVI.</h2>
+
+<h3>FEVER VISIONS.</h3>
+
+
+<p>As the "Pallas" passed out of the canal upon the broad-breasted
+Mediterranean, Jordan noticed the change in the motion of the ship, and
+said to Sedgwick: "Jim, old friend, we is back agin on ther waters whar
+men first learned ter be sailors, aren't we?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Sedgwick, "and in three days more I hope to gladden your eyes
+with the faces of some dear friends."</p>
+
+<p>"Yo's mighty kind, old friend," said the sick man; "but, Jim, I wanter
+tell yo', if we should be diserpinted, yo'll find inside my trunk a
+little trunk, and in thet yo'll find things all fixed ter tell yer what
+ter do. I 'ranged it when yo' war away, not knowin' what mount be.
+Remember one thing mo': everything's all right 'nd goin' ter be right.
+I'll get well 'nd help yo' ef I ken; ef I don't, yo'll make it easy,
+nuff, without me."</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed I cannot," said Sedgwick. "You must brace up and get well, for I
+tell you, dear old Tom, that I can see better than you, and I have worked
+out a plan which is going to be a delight for you."</p>
+
+<p>"Maybe so, Jim," said the sick man, and dozed off into a troubled sleep.
+The surgeon had been giving the patient some powerful medicine, and told
+Sedgwick it might make him flighty, but not to permit that to alarm him;
+that he thought he could promise to hold the life in his friend for a few
+days more.</p>
+
+<p>Jordan awoke after an hour's sleep, and said: "Jim, I had a mighty quar
+dream, sho. I seen all ther fleets ez hez ever sailed on these waters,
+havin' er grand review. It war ther ghosts ev ther ships, I reckon, but
+they looked mighty real. I seen ther fleets ev Tyre with ther sails like
+calico mustangs; I seen ther Persian fleets thet ther Greeks done up et
+Mycale 'nd Salamis; I seen ther fitin' ships uv Rome, 'nd Carthage, 'nd
+Egypt, 'nd Venice, down ter Nelson's fite on ther Nile. O, but it war a
+grand persession! Thar war calls in a hundred tongues; thar war responses
+in a hundred mo'; thar war decks filled with armed men, with helmets,
+spears 'nd shields; thar war singin' 'nd prayin' 'nd trumpet calls; thar
+war ther rattle ev arms, ther ring ev steel, 'nd ther harsh blast ev
+war-horns, 'nd ther sounds changed from age to age, until thar came at
+last ther roar uv hevy guns in regelar broadsides. All ther echoes uv all
+ther battles uv all ther centeries war in my ears. It war grand; grander
+nor Chatternooga. Thar sea gave up its ded fur me, so fur ez this water
+goes. History held befo' me all its pages, 'nd they wuz all 'luminated.
+Ez thet picter swept befo' my eyes, 'nd all thar clamors filled my ears,
+it war more thrillin' then anything yo' ever dreamed of. I ken har ther
+calls, 'nd ther replies, 'nd ther beatin' uv oars, tho' thar oars war
+broken, 'nd ther calls growed still two 'nd three thousand year ago. It
+war beautiful, Jim, even ef it war all 'lusion ter ther eyes 'nd ears. Do
+yo' remember, yo' read me once 'Ther Midnight Review?' Why, Jim, thet war
+nuthin'. This uv mine war ther review ev all thar ages, er movin' picter
+uv ther world since befo' civilerzation begun."</p>
+
+<p>Then the sick man dozed off into sleep again, and Sedgwick bathed his
+face, and hung over him as a mother watches when the life of her child
+wavers between this world and the next.</p>
+
+<p>After awhile Jordan awoke again. This time there was an eager, joyous
+look in his wan face, and he searched the room around with a most
+expectant gaze.</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick bent over him, and said softly: "What is it, old friend?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, Jim, old man," said he, "that war most singler. I hearn <i>her</i> voice
+a-prayin', hearn it jest ez plain 'nd natral ez ever I hearn it afore,
+prayin' thet I might git well. O, Jim, it war music, sho' nuff! and
+ef eny angels war a-listenin', they'd intercede fur me jest outer
+courtesy."</p>
+
+<p>"She was praying, dear friend," said Sedgwick. "I knew it, and her prayer
+is going to be answered. Her soul is trying to call to your soul to rouse
+itself, and you must heed the call."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll try," said the sick man. "But don't worry, old friend; no matter
+what comes, it'll be all right. And, say, Jim, open my grip and put ther
+handkerchief you will see with dots upon it here next my heart."</p>
+
+<p>For the twenty-four hours prior to reaching Naples Jordan was delirious
+most of the time, and did not sleep at all. Finally the surgeon
+administered a powerful opiate, and when the ship came to anchor in the
+beautiful bay, the invalid was in a profound sleep.</p>
+
+<p>Browning was on the lookout for the ship, and was soon upon its deck. He
+and Sedgwick clasped hands, and the first words of Sedgwick were: "Jack,
+are all well, and who is here?"</p>
+
+<p>"All well," said Jack; "and your wife, my wife, and Mrs. Hazleton are
+waiting at the hotel for you. And how is your friend?"</p>
+
+<p>"Desperately ill, but I have hopes of him now," said Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>The surgeon was appealed to, and he said it would be better to take
+Jordan ashore while yet he slept.</p>
+
+<p>"I must first send a message that we are coming, and that he is asleep
+under opiates, or we shall frighten those who are watching for us," said
+Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>Captain McGregor volunteered to deliver the message as he was going
+ashore for a few minutes to report to the port officials that he brought
+no cargo to be discharged, except the baggage of two passengers. Sedgwick
+thanked him, took his arm, led him aside, and said to him: "Captain, when
+you find my wife, tell her privately that she must keep the other ladies
+from seeing us as we carry Jordan to the house. It would disturb and
+perhaps alarm them, for he is not only wan and poor, but the sleep upon
+him looks like the twin brother of Death."</p>
+
+<p>"I will see to it all," said the captain, and at once went ashore.</p>
+
+<p>Grace saw him and recognized him as he alighted at the hotel, and ran to
+the parlor to meet him alone. He explained to her the situation, and she
+undertook to see that the injunction should be carried out.</p>
+
+<p>"How long before they will come?" asked Grace.</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps thirty minutes," was the answer.</p>
+
+<p>"Then excuse me, captain," said Grace, "but come back later. I want to
+thank you for all your kindness, and have a visit with you. But now I
+must see to my two charges, that no mistake be made."</p>
+
+<p>McGregor promised to return, shook hands, called Grace a "trump," and
+strode away.</p>
+
+<p>So soon as he had gone, Grace rang, and when a servant came she sent for
+the manager of the hotel. To him she explained that in a few minutes a
+sick man would be brought to the house; that his illness was not at all
+contagious; that No. &mdash;&mdash; of her apartments must be prepared for him, and
+he must be carried there at once.</p>
+
+<p>He asked if she was sure there was no danger to guests from the sick man,
+and she answered that he must know that no sick man could be landed
+without a permit from the port surgeon.</p>
+
+<p>He bowed and promised that her wishes should be carried out.</p>
+
+<p>Then she went to find Mrs. Browning, and told her to propose to Mrs.
+Hazleton to go for a drive to kill time, and to be sure to drive in the
+opposite direction from the bay; to hurry up and to be absent for an
+hour or an hour and a quarter. She had before explained to Rose the real
+situation.</p>
+
+<p>Rose complied. As the two ladies came from their rooms attired for the
+ride, Rose said:</p>
+
+<p>"Grace, come and join us; we are going to see Naples a little."</p>
+
+<p>But Grace excused herself for that day, promising to go next morning.</p>
+
+<p>She saw them driven away, and then took up her watch for the expected
+visitors.</p>
+
+<p>She did not wait long. Four sailors were carrying the sick man; while
+Jack, the ship's surgeon, and Sedgwick were walking near. The manager met
+them and directed the way to the room set aside for Jordan. Grace waited
+in the upper hall for the procession. Sedgwick sprang to her, but she put
+a finger on her lips, caught his hand, then circled his neck with her
+arms, swiftly kissed him, and then whispered: "O darling, we must see now
+to our poor dear sick friend," and tore herself away from him.</p>
+
+<p>Jordan was put in bed still sleeping. Then Sedgwick, the surgeon and
+sailors came out. Sedgwick feed the sailors generously, though they did
+not want to accept anything. He then presented Surgeon Craig to his wife.</p>
+
+<p>Grace greeted him and said: "Doctor, when the sick man awakens, will
+there be any danger to him if some one very dear to him shall be sitting
+by his couch?"</p>
+
+<p>"None at all," was the answer. "That is the medicine that he needs. If we
+could find the right friend, I believe it would cure him; if we cannot, I
+fear the result, for it is a sorrow more than the fever, I believe, that
+is killing him."</p>
+
+<p>Half an hour later the ladies returned. Grace had Sedgwick take Browning
+from the sick room; then explained to Mrs. Hazleton that Mr. Jordan was
+in the house very ill and sleeping, but that if she were strong enough
+she ought to be at his bedside when he awoke; asked her if she could bear
+the ordeal, and if she thought she could, whether she would prefer to be
+alone or to have her with her.</p>
+
+<p>"I am strong enough," was the answer, "and I would rather no one would be
+near."</p>
+
+<p>Then Grace led her to the door and said: "Margaret, be brave, and keep in
+thought that you are going to restore your friend to health; and see,
+this room is next to mine. I shall be waiting there; if you need me, tap
+softly upon the partition door." Then she opened noiselessly the door,
+kissed her friend, waited until she passed into the room, closed the
+door, and then ran to her husband, climbed upon his knees, embraced and
+kissed him, and cried with joy.</p>
+
+<p>It was two hours before any sign came from the adjoining room. Then the
+door was softly opened; Mrs. Hazleton came in without speaking, grasped
+Sedgwick's hand, pointed to the room where Jordan lay, and said in a
+whisper: "He wants you." And as Sedgwick passed from the apartment, the
+over-wrought woman fell upon her knees, buried her face in the lap of
+Grace, and said: "Dear friend, help me to thank God."</p>
+
+<p>Later Sedgwick reported that as he approached the bed, Jordan smiled, and
+in a feeble voice said: "Jim, old friend, I'ze mighty weak, but don't
+mind it; I shall pull through easy now. But if I don't, I'll be even;
+ther world's been thet kind ter me thet I'll keep thankin' God ter all
+eternity."</p>
+
+<p>Then in his weakness he wept, but controlling himself at last, he
+continued: "I'ze too powerful weak ter make much noise, but if yo' think
+a loud invercation is heard sooner nor a weak one, thank God fur me in
+your loudest key."</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick took up his watch by Jordan for the night. He slept much of the
+night, and smiles stole over his face as he slept, but he was awfully
+prostrated with weakness.</p>
+
+<p>After that, a regular order was prescribed. Sedgwick watched at night,
+and the others took turns by day.</p>
+
+<p>Three nights after their arrival, the fever left Jordan. The doctor had
+anticipated it, and had told Sedgwick he would remain with him. The fever
+left him so utterly prostrated that it was all the doctor and Sedgwick
+could do to keep life in him for two or three hours. But the faintness
+finally passed, and the patient dropped into a peaceful sleep; and the
+doctor, with a sigh of relief, said: "The crisis is passed, Sedgwick. He
+is going to pull through."</p>
+
+<p>But it was a wearisome rally. It was several days before the anxiety was
+over. It was a week after the coming of Sedgwick before Sedgwick
+explained to Browning what he had done; how Jordan was an old gold miner;
+and that the reason he had not told Browning much of what he was doing
+was because Jordan was the one to test the ore, and was anxious to go;
+he, Sedgwick, thought it was a shame to separate Jack and Rose; then he
+thought also if Jack knew he had gone to Africa he would worry over it.
+Then he told him of the mill, and finally that he had with him $100,000
+in bullion, the result of the first month's run of the mill; had fixed
+matters so that the mill would be running right along, and that there was
+ore enough in the stopes to insure steady crushing for at least four or
+five years to come.</p>
+
+<p>"And what now?" asked Jack.</p>
+
+<p>"Now your work must come in," said Sedgwick. "You and your wife must go
+to England as soon as Tom is a little better. In your own way, make
+arrangements to have announced, so that Hamlin, Jenvie and Stetson will
+see it, that there is a good deal of movement in 'The Wedge of Gold';
+have substantially the same report, only differently worded, as that
+contained in the prospectus which you were caught on; let it be known
+through what brokers the stock is being handled, and have copies of the
+reports in their hands, only fix the price at &pound;1 per share. If the old
+men please to buy, let them have some of the stock. If they do not, we
+will try to make them sorry that they did not buy when they could. By the
+way, have you still your hand on Emanuel, and can you depend upon him?"</p>
+
+<p>"I think I can," said Jack.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, then," said Sedgwick, "if no news of the mill has been received in
+England, and the conspirators think you are merely trying to unload some
+of your stock on the old report, may be if they can be handled right,
+they may be induced to sell some of the stock short. If they can, perhaps
+we can get back some of the money from them."</p>
+
+<p>"I understand," said Jack, "and I believe I can work it."</p>
+
+<p>"Especially if, when I get to England with the bullion, we can call a
+meeting and declare a dividend," said Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"I see," said Browning. "But, old boy, I wish you had let me help you
+work this thing out. I do, by Jove."</p>
+
+<p>Just then Grace and Rose came out on the veranda, where the old friends
+were talking.</p>
+
+<p>Rose bent over and put her arms around Jack's neck, and said: "Dear old
+Jack, do you know what day this is?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, little one?" asked Jack.</p>
+
+<p>"O, you stupid!" said Rose.</p>
+
+<p>"What is to-day?" asked Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"Another stupid!" said Rose. "Two beautiful and accomplished ladies go to
+church and give respectability to two of the wild tribe of the West, by
+marrying them, and they forget it in a little year."</p>
+
+<p>"It was this day year, on my soul," said Jack. "It was, by Jove."</p>
+
+<p>"Come here, sweet," said Sedgwick to Grace. Then taking her in his arms
+he kissed her, and said: "My days have been turned into nights of late,
+else I would not have forgotten. Are you glad you are married, Grace?"</p>
+
+<p>"Very glad," Grace whispered. "Are you glad?"</p>
+
+<p>"Very," said Sedgwick, "even as is the ransomed soul when the symphonies
+of Summer Land first give their enchantment to the spirit ear."</p>
+
+<p>"I will tell you why I forgot, Rose," said Jack. "My life did not count
+until you became a part of myself. I am really but a year old, and you do
+not chide one-year-old kids for being forgetful."</p>
+
+<p>"What glorified prevaricators these men are, Grace, are they not?" said
+Rose.</p>
+
+<p>"O, Rose!" said Grace. "The mission of woman is to suffer and be devoted
+in her suffering, and how could we carry out our mission if all men were
+good, and had good memories, and did not run away to Africa and Venezuela
+and Australia, and come home with fevers, and&mdash;and&mdash;." Then she kissed
+Sedgwick, and jumping up caught Rose by the arm, and said: "Let us punish
+them by running away from them."</p>
+
+<p>As they walked away Sedgwick watched them, and when they turned a corner
+of the veranda, said: "Jack, would you give the year's happiness just
+past for all the gold in Africa?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, indeed," was the reply; "but you had the strength to leave your
+bride on your marriage day for a chance of gaining a little of that
+gold."</p>
+
+<p>"O, no, old friend," said Sedgwick. "We had enough money left, but there
+was a principle at stake. I went to vindicate that principle if I could."</p>
+
+<p>"Pardon me, Jim," said Jack. "But you were stronger than I could have
+been. I could not have left my bride then. I had waited so long, that to
+have parted then would have broken her heart and would have destroyed
+me."</p>
+
+<p>"I realized all that, Jack," said his friend; "so did Grace, and we both
+sympathized with you both, and decided that the cup of bitterness must be
+turned from you."</p>
+
+<p>"Of course," said Jack. "What you did was jolly grand; what you have
+done has been so splendid that I cannot express my thoughts of it yet;
+I can't, by Jove! And Gracie's part through all has been superb. I think,
+too, your sick friend has been pure gold through it all."</p>
+
+<p>"Pure diamonds rather," said Sedgwick. "O Jack, you do not half
+comprehend the grandeur of that sterling man. When his heart was slowly
+shriveling up in his breast, he forgot himself and his sorrow to cheer
+me, and when it was necessary to go for the machinery, he insisted that I
+should go, and he, of his own accord, went back to the depths of that
+South Land wilderness and worked uncomplainingly for months. No grander
+man ever lived."</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVII" id="CHAPTER_XXVII"></a>CHAPTER XXVII.</h2>
+
+<h3>SELLING STOCK SHORT.</h3>
+
+
+<p>After a few days more Jack and Rose returned to England.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after their return, one of the morning papers had an announcement
+that the banking house of Campbell &amp; Co. (Limited), No. &mdash;&mdash; street, was
+promoting the "Wedge of Gold," a mining property in Southern Africa, near
+the border of the Transvaal, which was believed to be a most promising
+property.</p>
+
+<p>The same day Emanuel dropped into the house of Jenvie, Hamlin &amp; Stetson.
+He was seedy-looking, and seemed a good deal run down both in purse and
+spirits.</p>
+
+<p>"What do you think of the 'Wedge of Gold' announcement?" asked Jenvie.</p>
+
+<p>"What is it?" asked Emanuel. He was shown the paper.</p>
+
+<p>"What do I think?" he said. "I think may be the young man needs a little
+money. The mails came in from Port Natal yesterday. Is there any news
+from the mine?"</p>
+
+<p>"None at all that we can find," said Jenvie.</p>
+
+<p>"I have no idea," said the Portuguese, "but if it is more than three
+shillings per share, it is one good chance for a bear to sell it short
+and hug himself for his own act."</p>
+
+<p>With this he went out. The three men were silent for a good five minutes.
+Then Jenvie rang the bell, and when it was answered he said to the
+messenger: "Go to Campbell &amp; Co.'s; find out the price of 'Wedge of Gold'
+stock, and ask what data the house has from the property."</p>
+
+<p>The clerk returned in half an hour, and reported that it was held at &pound;1,
+and he produced a statement of the property.</p>
+
+<p>This was eagerly run over by the three. "Why," said Jenvie, as he
+completed reading it, "this is but a rehash of the statement of a year
+ago; the same depth is given, all the details just as they were. Jack
+must be making a desperate play for money."</p>
+
+<p>"One pound per share!" said Hamlin. "Why, the man must be after some
+other Nevada miner who has more money than judgment."</p>
+
+<p>"The 'Wedge of Gold' was our good fortune," said Stetson. "Through it
+we got a real start. We made a good bit out of it, which we have since
+doubled. Let us try another venture in the stock."</p>
+
+<p>"What! Buy it at &pound;1 per share?" asked Hamlin.</p>
+
+<p>"No, no," said Jenvie. "Let us sell 20,000 shares to be delivered in
+three months at ten shillings. We can send Emanuel and get it at four or
+five shillings."</p>
+
+<p>After weighing the matter in every way they decided to increase the
+amount and sell 30,000 shares.</p>
+
+<p>The offer was taken, the money paid, and the contract to deliver the
+30,000 shares in three months was signed by Jenvie, Hamlin &amp; Co. Then
+each, unknown to the other, sold 10,000 shares more short.</p>
+
+<p>The fact was wired to Sedgwick at once. He showed Grace the dispatch and
+said: "My enchantress, that will leave your mother's husband and Rose's
+mother's husband bankrupt if we wish it; what shall we do?"</p>
+
+<p>"How will it do so?" asked Grace.</p>
+
+<p>"In three months that stock will be worth &pound;5 per share," said Sedgwick.
+"See what it will require to produce 60,000 shares to fulfill their
+contract."</p>
+
+<p>"What did they obtain from Jack?" asked Grace.</p>
+
+<p>"Almost &pound;90,000," said Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Grace, "I know very little of business, but it seems to me
+if they would make that good with the year's interest, it would be about
+right, inasmuch as it is a family matter."</p>
+
+<p>"You little bunch of wisdom and justice!" said Sedgwick. "To make them do
+just that thing was what I started to Africa for."</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVIII" id="CHAPTER_XXVIII"></a>CHAPTER XXVIII.</h2>
+
+<h3>CONVALESCENT.</h3>
+
+
+<p>The "Pallas" had been in port twenty days before Jordan began to sit
+up, a few minutes at a time. He was still very weak, but his face was
+transfigured by an almost divine light. It was reflected radiance from
+the eyes of Margaret Hazleton.</p>
+
+<p>The doctor had thrown away his medicine, telling Jordan that all he
+needed was good nursing and as much food as his stomach could assimilate.</p>
+
+<p>It was a happy little company. Jordan and Mrs. Hazleton, Sedgwick and his
+wife, the doctor and Captain McGregor&mdash;for the ship had been left with
+the first officer, and the captain had turned nurse to relieve Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>A week later Jordan could sit up most of the day, and Captain McGregor
+had begun to absent himself two or three hours every afternoon. About
+this time Browning's dispatch was received.</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick was needed in London. What was best to do?</p>
+
+<p>He prepared a statement of the mine, signed it and got Jordan to sign it,
+and he shipped the bullion to a well-known Paris banking house.</p>
+
+<p>Nothing held him back except Jordan's illness. He was growing anxious,
+and his wife, who watched his every mood, quickly discovered it. So soon
+as she did, she went to him, put an arm around one of his, and said.</p>
+
+<p>"What is it, love? What is it that is troubling you?"</p>
+
+<p>He explained that he ought to be in London, but Jordan was yet too weak
+to travel, and he could not leave him&mdash;not for twenty mines.</p>
+
+<p>Grace thought the matter over for two or three minutes, and then said
+cheerfully:</p>
+
+<p>"I have it, husband! We will get a nurse for the dear man. I will remain,
+and Margaret and myself and the nurse can see to him, and will follow you
+when he can travel."</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick looked at her fondly for a moment, and then said:</p>
+
+<p>"You are a great little woman, sure enough; but you are such a one that
+I would rather remain than go without you."</p>
+
+<p>She put her hands upon his lips, and said:</p>
+
+<p>"Duty, love. Hist, we must always be brave and self-forgetful enough to
+do our duty. I am going now to see Margaret." She walked a few steps,
+then turned back and said:</p>
+
+<p>"Why would it not be the right thing for Mr. Jordan and Margaret to be
+married before you leave?"</p>
+
+<p>"I believe it would," said Sedgwick, "only that I have planned that we
+would give them a great wedding in London."</p>
+
+<p>"So had I," said Grace, "and we will."</p>
+
+<p>Just as they were talking, Captain McGregor came from the direction of
+the harbor.</p>
+
+<p>"I have news for you," he said. "I have sold the 'Pallas.' She will sail
+to-morrow, and now I propose to remain with you, and go with you to
+London when you go."</p>
+
+<p>"You have sold the dear ship?" said Sedgwick. "And what of the doctor and
+the crew?"</p>
+
+<p>"They will sail in her. The doctor will be up to make his adieus
+to-night. They wanted to charter the craft for a long voyage. I would not
+go, but offered to sell, and they bought, and re-engaged the officers,
+the surgeon and the crew."</p>
+
+<p>"Let us go on board," said Sedgwick. "I want to bid those good men
+good-bye."</p>
+
+<p>"So do I," said the captain. "I will be grateful if you will go with me."</p>
+
+<p>"Wait a moment until I run down to the bank," said Sedgwick. "While I am
+gone, Grace, get your hat and wrap; and by the way, captain, how many
+men and officers are there?"</p>
+
+<p>The captain replied: "Six officers, the surgeon and steward, three
+waiters, twelve seamen and sixteen men in the firing department."</p>
+
+<p>The company soon set out, and went on board the "Pallas."</p>
+
+<p>All hands were called on deck. Captain McGregor made them a little
+speech; told them that his chief regret in giving up the ship was in
+parting with them, and wished them all happiness and prosperity. They
+gave him three cheers, and all shook hands with him, wishing him long
+life and asking God's blessing for him.</p>
+
+<p>Then Sedgwick stepped forward, and said:</p>
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">My Dear Friends</span>:&mdash;That I was able to bring one whom I love
+better than a brother to where he could find the strength to get well,
+I owe to you. He is yet too weak to be moved, or he would be here by my
+side to thank you. I was much absorbed on the voyage, but I saw how you,
+officers and seamen, worked to take advantage of every puff of wind and
+every current of the sea. I know how you others were working in the hell
+of the fire-room, and I shall be grateful to you as long as I live. I
+wish you all health, happiness and prosperity in the future.</p>
+
+<p>"You, with your grand captain, carried the machinery to Africa, which has
+made me a good deal of money. You brought home my friend when he was
+making an unequal fight for life. I want each of you to have a little
+souvenir of my gratitude."</p>
+
+<p>With that he undid a package which he had been holding in his hand. It
+contained a bunch of envelopes. He handed one to each of the officers and
+men.</p>
+
+<p>Those for the mates and engineers each contained bank notes of the value
+of &pound;200. Those of the men each contained &pound;50. The doctor's contained
+&pound;1,000.</p>
+
+<p>The men whispered eagerly among themselves for a moment; then the third
+mate said:</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Sedgwick, the lads want me to ask you how they can best thank you.
+They are not much talkers, and this gift of yours has about beached their
+tongues."</p>
+
+<p>Sedgwick smiled and said: "No thanks are needed, but I want to tell you
+that this is all due to the dearest woman in the world," putting his arm
+around Grace. "If you will each come and shake the hand of my wife, all
+the gratitude you feel will be receipted for."</p>
+
+<p>They joyfully responded, and one old tar, more bold than the rest, said,
+as he took the fair little hand of Grace in the grasp of his own knotted
+hand: "Your mon is a mighty poor hand to save money, but he'll be richer
+nor Rothschild as long as you are spared to him."</p>
+
+<p>They gave their old captain and his friend three cheers as they passed
+over the ship's side, and McGregor wiped his eyes all the way back to the
+hotel.</p>
+
+<p>Grace went at once to the sick-room. Jordan was half reclining in an
+easy-chair. Margaret was sitting where he could see her, and was
+evidently reading to him, when Grace entered.</p>
+
+<p>Jordan spoke: "Take a cheer, madam. Maggie wur readin' 'nd it's mighty
+comfortin'. It's like sipping old wine and hearin' music in thar next
+room same time."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't you mind him, Grace," said Margaret. "He is still very weak, and
+all that he says is not as deep as it might be." But she smiled fondly at
+him while she spoke.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't yo' b'leve her, Mrs. Sedgwick," said Jordan. "We all has weak
+spots in our hearts; she's mine."</p>
+
+<p>Grace put one hand on Jordan's hand, the other on Margaret's cheek, and
+said:</p>
+
+<p>"Say all the pretty things of her that you please, Mr. Jordan, and do not
+mind her, for her heart has been starving for those same words from your
+lips for a long time."</p>
+
+<p>Margaret was silent, but she smiled; and a great flush swept over her
+face as she smiled.</p>
+
+<p>"Everything war right, after all," said Jordan. "Hed I not lost her, I
+mighter grown careless o' her like other men do sometimes uv those they
+luv, but no matter, we has a understandin'."</p>
+
+<p>And again the happy woman smiled and blushed.</p>
+
+<p>Then Grace explained how much her husband was needed in England; that she
+had determined to remain until Mr. Jordan could travel, and let her
+husband go; that Captain McGregor had sold the "Pallas," and she thought
+she would remain with them, and asked Jordan if he thought they, with a
+nurse, could take care of him.</p>
+
+<p>Before he could answer, Mrs. Hazleton interposed and said:</p>
+
+<p>"All this sickness and sorrow came through me. Henceforth my life is to
+be devoted to where it can do most good. We do not want any display. Why
+can we not be married? Then I will be his nurse, and he will need no
+other. You can go with your husband, and we will come when Tom is
+stronger. What say you, love?"</p>
+
+<p>"Do not answer, Mr. Jordan," said Grace. "We have fixed it for you to be
+married where my husband and myself&mdash;where Jack and Rose&mdash;were married.
+We will remain until you can travel."</p>
+
+<p>"I'd be mighty glad ter call yo' 'wife' now, Maggie," said Jordan; "but I
+don't reckon it's squar for a man ter take advantage of his nuss." Then
+turning to Mrs. Sedgwick, he continued: "Tell Jim I'll be ready ter leave
+ter-morrer evenin'."</p>
+
+<p>So next day they started by easy stages for London. Sedgwick engaged a
+special car to be stopped off at any point he might desire. They rested a
+day in Milan, another in Paris, and there Sedgwick arranged to have the
+bullion that might come from the 'Wedge of Gold' at all times at his
+immediate disposal. They reached London in six days; Jordan had gained so
+much that he walked to the carriage from the Dover depot, and with
+Sedgwick's and McGregor's support, walked up the steps of Sedgwick's
+house.</p>
+
+<p>Rose had dinner waiting for them, and at dinner expressed the sentiments
+of all by saying: "I believe this is just now the happiest house in all
+England."</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIX" id="CHAPTER_XXIX"></a>CHAPTER XXIX.</h2>
+
+<h3>SPRINGING A TRAP.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Sedgwick found waiting for him advices from the mine, all of which were
+favorable and the output for another month, less the expenses of mining
+and milling, which amounted in the aggregate to something over $90,000,
+had been forwarded to the Bank of France.</p>
+
+<p>The Wedge of Gold Mining Company was reorganized. Browning was made
+president; Sedgwick, treasurer; McGregor, secretary; and all three, with
+Jordan, directors. A regular dividend of two shillings per share, and a
+special dividend of as much more was declared, aggregating in all
+&pound;30,000. This was given to the <i>Times</i> for publication, and attached
+to it was the following note:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The reporter of the <i>Times</i> was able to obtain the following particulars
+of this wonderful property from the secretary:</p>
+
+<p>"'A forty-stamp mill has been in operation on the property since June
+last. The mill yielded in June, above expenses, &pound;17,000 and 15 shillings;
+in July, &pound;18,000 and 5 shillings. The ore already developed above the
+tunnel level is sufficient to insure the running of the present works to
+their full capacity for five years to come. The ore on the tunnel level
+is equal to any in the mine, and the ore chute has been demonstrated by
+exploration on the tunnel level to be at least 630 feet in length, with
+an average width of 16 feet. The tunnel cuts the mine at a depth of 500
+feet. The office of the company in London is No. &mdash;&mdash;, &mdash;&mdash; Street. The
+officers are John Browning, president; James Sedgwick, treasurer; Hugh
+McGregor, secretary; and these, with Thomas Jordan, make up the directory
+of the company.'"</p></div>
+
+<p>When, next morning, Jenvie, Hamlin and Stetson read the above in the
+<i>Times</i>, they were filled with consternation.</p>
+
+<p>"I feared that man Sedgwick from the first," said Jenvie. "Our first
+account of him, that 'he must be a prize-fighter,' was true. He has
+knocked us out, and he has made no more noise about it than does a
+bull-dog when he takes a pig by the ear."</p>
+
+<p>"What are we to do?" asked Hamlin.</p>
+
+<p>"We must take in enough stock to cover our shortage at once," said
+Jenvie, "even if we have to pay &pound;1 per share for it."</p>
+
+<p>So a messenger was sent to the office of the broker through which the
+stock had been shorted, to buy at any price up to &pound;1.</p>
+
+<p>He returned with the information that the stock could be had, but the
+price was &pound;6 per share.</p>
+
+<p>Then the three men realized for the first time the trap which had been
+set for them, and how fatal had been its spring. The messenger was at
+once sent out again, this time to the office of the company. He found the
+secretary, who referred him to the &mdash;&mdash; Bank, from which the dividends
+were to be paid. There he found stock for sale, but the price demanded
+was &pound;6 per share.</p>
+
+<p>He returned home and made his report. The three men gazed at each other
+with blank looks of despair.</p>
+
+<p>"Thirty thousand shares at &pound;6 will take all we have," said Hamlin.</p>
+
+<p>"And I shorted 10,000 shares besides," said Jenvie.</p>
+
+<p>"So did I," said Hamlin.</p>
+
+<p>"So did I," said Stetson.</p>
+
+<p>"It seems clear enough that we are absolutely ruined," said Hamlin.</p>
+
+<p>"I wonder what has become of that Portuguese, Emanuel," said Hamlin.</p>
+
+<p>At that moment he entered the office. He looked like the picture of
+despair. He broke out with: "It is awful! I have just heard ze truth. It
+was that American who did it. When you thought last year that he had gone
+to America, he, with another American, had gone to Africa.</p>
+
+<p>"They found ze mine. They found a way out from it by going in the
+opposite direction from which they came. Sedgwick went by Australia
+to San Francisco, and ordered a forty-stamp mill. The other American
+remained, and opened the mine by a tunnel. Sedgwick came back this way,
+and, left here to meet the mill at Port Natal.</p>
+
+<p>"It has been running three months. Two months' proceeds are here, and pay
+dividends of four shillings, and it is good for two shillings per month
+for years; with machinery doubled, good for four shillings per month for
+years to come. The stock has gone to &pound;6; it will go to &pound;10 so soon as it
+is well understood. And I lost it all, because I had not the sense to
+find that way out from ze mine. The road by the trail would have cost
+&pound;75,000 or &pound;100,000, and I believed only impassable mountains were to ze
+west."</p>
+
+<p>"How did you find all this out?" asked Jenvie.</p>
+
+<p>"From ze Secretary, McGregor. He was master of ze ship that carried the
+machinery from San Francisco, and he brought ze Americans from Port
+Natal. One was very sick with the fever, and came near dying. He had,
+besides, one wound which he received with ze Boers coming out to the
+coast from the mine. They are two devils. Ten or a dozen Boers attacked
+them to get the first month's bullion, and they two killed five of them,
+and drove ze rest away."</p>
+
+<p>"I wish the Boers had killed them both," said Jenvie.</p>
+
+<p>"They are hard men to kill," said Emanuel. "McGregor says, when ashore
+one day at D'Umber, there was a chicken-shooting match. The chickens were
+buried in the ground all but their heads, and the people were shooting at
+ten paces when these men passed. They asked about it, and asked if they
+might shoot with their own pistols; and when permission was given, they
+drew their weapons and killed six chickens each in a minute, and were
+laughing all the time as though it were nothing. They are devils, shure
+enough."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you think Browning knew all about this from the first?" asked Hamlin.</p>
+
+<p>"Not at all," said Emanuel. "No one in London knew where the Americans
+had gone, except his wife. Browning thought he had gone back to America.
+His wife knew. She got a dispatch from Australia, and letters from Port
+Natal ze same day, saying he was going to San Francisco to order
+machinery, and would return this way and be with her in four months,
+and then she left at once and beat him a week into San Francisco.</p>
+
+<p>"And I am ruined. My little stock is all gone. A mine worth &pound;2,000,000 I
+sold for &pound;2,000." And he went out.</p>
+
+<p>"What can we do?" asked Jenvie. "I expect a notice every moment to call
+at the broker's and settle."</p>
+
+<p>"Can we not assign our property?" asked Hamlin.</p>
+
+<p>"We could," said Jenvie, "but to-morrow we should all be looking through
+the bars of a prison."</p>
+
+<p>"And even Grace was in the conspiracy to rob us," said Hamlin, in an
+injured tone.</p>
+
+<p>"She is a brave, true woman, I think," said Jenvie, "and as it looks to
+me, she is the only one to whom we can now appeal."</p>
+
+<p>"May be so," said Hamlin. "Her husband worships her, I am told."</p>
+
+<p>"Suppose we go to your house and persuade your wife to go and bring her
+home where we can see her," said Jenvie.</p>
+
+<p>This was agreed to, and with heavy hearts the three men entered a
+carriage and were driven to the Hamlin house.</p>
+
+<p>As they went up the steps, Grace Sedgwick herself opened the door. She
+had been to see her mother, and was just going out.</p>
+
+<p>"Come back, Grace," said her step-father; "we wish to see you
+particularly."</p>
+
+<p>She returned with them, and her step-father told her how they were
+involved&mdash;in what danger they were, not only of absolute ruin, but of
+a criminal prosecution, and begged her to see her husband and intercede
+with him.</p>
+
+<p>"My husband needs no entreaties to do what is right," said Grace.
+"Suppose the case were reversed, what would you grant my husband?"</p>
+
+<p>They all hung their heads. Grace looked at them and continued: "You
+robbed dear, confiding Jack of his fortune, which he had honestly
+acquired. You robbed him for the double purpose of making him a beggar,
+and of breaking his heart, though one of you was his step-father, another
+the step-father of the woman he loved better than his own life. It was
+that which set Jack's nearest friend to be your Nemesis. Our troth had
+just been plighted. It was like death to part us, but he who is my
+husband said to me: 'There must be no scandal, if we can help it, but
+this wrong must be righted. I must go to Africa, and if I can work out
+the dear boy's deliverance, it must be done.' And I consented to it. He
+moved secretly, but with the force and energy of his nature. He and the
+friend who went with him have performed a great work. They have taken
+what was unloaded upon Jack as worthless, and converted it into something
+richer than a little kingdom. It seems, too, that in the blindness of
+your avarice, you dared fate itself to make more money out of that wreck,
+and now you are in the toils. Suppose my husband had done by you as you
+have dealt with Jack, and you had him where you now are, what mercy would
+you show him?"</p>
+
+<p>They were silent. They had not even self-respect to sustain them.</p>
+
+<p>Grace waited a moment, and then went on: "But he is of different
+material. There is no malice in his nature. He cares nothing for the
+triumph which comes through revenge.</p>
+
+<p>"He knew when you dared to sell that stock short, told me of it, and
+asked what would be right. I replied that I thought if you would restore
+to Jack what he had been robbed of, with interest on the money to date,
+it would be fair; and his answer was that to compel you to do that very
+thing was what caused him to leave me and go to Africa.</p>
+
+<p>"In that you can get an idea of him. He had money enough for himself and
+Jack both; he had no desire for revenge, but he was determined that you
+should be made to do justice to his friend, whom you had so greatly
+wronged, and that, if possible, it should be done without any noise."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you think he would settle that way?" asked Jenvie.</p>
+
+<p>"He has no settlement to make," said Grace; "but I think he would
+recommend Jack to settle that way."</p>
+
+<p>"And where could we meet Jack?" asked Jenvie.</p>
+
+<p>"I do not know," said Grace, "nor is it necessary. I think the broker
+with whom you dealt in the stocks has authority to settle. That was a
+little trap set for you. There is not a share of the stock that is not in
+the company's office at this moment."</p>
+
+<p>"I did not mean to rob Jack," said Hamlin. "I wanted to break his
+engagement with Rose, hoping he would turn to you."</p>
+
+<p>"We all understood that from the first," said Grace, "but we had made
+entirely different arrangements&mdash;arrangements worth two of that&mdash;which
+suited us all around." And bowing, the young wife left the room.</p>
+
+<p>The three men found, upon visiting the broker, that he had received
+orders to settle with them on the terms outlined by Grace, and they
+complied by turning over what money they had and some outside property.</p>
+
+<p>It left them with fair fortunes. But the story got out through Emanuel;
+their prestige was broken, and they closed up their business within a few
+days, and disappeared from the business walks of London. Two months later
+Jenvie died in a moment of apoplexy; the succeeding autumn Hamlin
+succumbed to typhoid fever, and Stetson sailed away to lose himself
+in the depths of Australia.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXX" id="CHAPTER_XXX"></a>CHAPTER XXX.</h2>
+
+<h3>GRAND OPERA.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Jordan improved rapidly, and soon began to take long drives to different
+points of interest. After a month it was one evening proposed that they
+should all attend the theater. It was agreed to, and it was left to
+Jordan to decide where to go. Queerly enough, he selected a theater where
+the opera of "Tannhauser" was to be performed.</p>
+
+<p>"Did you ever attend a grand opera performance, Tom?" asked Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>"No," was the response. "Thet's ther reason I wanter go."</p>
+
+<p>He seemed greatly absorbed throughout the performance. The opera was
+put on with every splendor possible, and the strange man sat almost
+motionless through the mighty rendition, and was unusually silent all
+the way home.</p>
+
+<p>Arriving there, Grace said: "Mr. Jordan, give us your idea of the opera."</p>
+
+<p>"I reckon yo' might laugh at me ef I should," said Jordan.</p>
+
+<p>"No, we will not," said Grace; "for when it comes to that, we are none
+of us quite up to the comprehension of the mystery of a grand opera&mdash;at
+least, none but Margaret."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Jordan, "mystery are a good word ter use thar. If yo' jest
+occerpy yo'r eyes and ears, yo' hear mostly only a ocean roar uv singin',
+a brayin' uv trumpets, a clashin' uv cymbals, a beatin' uv drums, with
+ther soft strains uv viols, harps 'nd flutes, and not much music. Ef yo'
+set yo'r mind workin' ter foller ther myths outer which ther story of the
+opera war made, then ther tones become voices, 'nd ther music only tells
+er story. But ef yo' give yo'r soul a chance, then it's different. Ther
+music assumes forms of its own; it materializes, as Jim would say, and
+each man as listens understands in his own way its language. It brings
+ter ther human ear the tones uv ther ocean when it sobs agin ther sands;
+it steals ther echo of the melodies thet the winds wakes when they
+touches ther arms uv ther great pines on ther mountain tops and makes 'em
+ther harps; it steals ther babble from the brooks; it calls back all ther
+voices of the woods when within 'em ther matin' birds is all singin' in
+chorus; it borrers ther thunder from ther storm; it sarches ther whole
+world for melodies, 'nd blends 'em all for our use.</p>
+
+<p>"Still, they all ter-night war, ter me, only compniments. Underneath all
+wur a symphony which wur thet of a higher soul singin' ter my soul&mdash;may
+be 'twere my mother's singin' ter my soul uv glories thet we hasn't yet
+reached. It war a call fur men ter look higher ter whar thar is melodies
+too solemn 'nd sweet fur ther dull ears uv poor mortality ter hear, ter
+whar ez picters too fair fur our darkened eyes ter see, but which all
+august is a-waitin' fur us.</p>
+
+<p>"When I war sick, I thot one night I hearn Margery prayin' fur me; some
+uv thet music ter-night seemed like a rehearsal uv thet prayer."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, Mr. Jordan, that is better than the opera itself," said Grace; and
+Margaret bent and kissed the brave man's hand, while he blushed like a
+girl, and said, "Sho'."</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXI" id="CHAPTER_XXXI"></a>CHAPTER XXXI.</h2>
+
+<h3>MARRIAGE BELLS.</h3>
+
+
+<p>A month more rolled by, and Jordan became himself again. Grace and Rose
+worked together to make such a wedding for him and Margaret as should be
+a joy in their memories as long as life should last.</p>
+
+<p>The day before the wedding, so soon as breakfast was over, Sedgwick went
+out, telling Grace to tell Jack that he wanted to meet him and Tom at the
+"Wedge of Gold" office at 1 p.m.</p>
+
+<p>Grace went to deliver the message, but learned from Rose that her husband
+had gone an hour before, leaving word for Sedgwick and Jordan to meet
+him at the same place at 12:30 p.m.</p>
+
+<p>They all met there at about the appointed time.</p>
+
+<p>A meeting of the directors of the "Wedge of Gold" Company was called to
+order, and a motion made and carried that another dividend of two
+shillings per share should be declared.</p>
+
+<p>Then Sedgwick arose and said he had an important matter to lay before the
+company. He had received an offer of &pound;7 per share for the property, and
+the proposition had been guaranteed by the Baring Brothers, and asked
+Browning what he thought it best to do.</p>
+
+<p>Browning thought it best to sell.</p>
+
+<p>"Then," said Sedgwick, "there will be no more work for us except to
+resign as officers of the company, our resignations to take place with
+the transfer of the property."</p>
+
+<p>"There is yet another matter," said Browning. "How is the division of the
+proceeds to be made?"</p>
+
+<p>"That all rests with you, Jack," said Sedgwick; "only I think you should
+pay me back what I advanced to put the property on its feet, and you
+should keep in mind that this was made a success by our friend Jordan."</p>
+
+<p>"Not to any great extent," said Jordan. "I war merely a hired man working
+for my board and clothes, and you forget thet because uv it I made a
+fortune sich ez no gold could buy. Treat me, please, ez tho' I war
+already wealthy, <i>exceedingly</i> wealthy!"</p>
+
+<p>"It is all due to you two," said Jack. "When the old men made good their
+robbery, I was even. All the rest is yours."</p>
+
+<p>And they wrangled over the matter for a full hour.</p>
+
+<p>Then McGregor spoke. "Let me help you out, my friends. You are offered
+&pound;1,050,000. It is enough for you all. Divide it into three parts, and
+settle that way."</p>
+
+<p>Then came another wrangle, but it was settled on that basis, except that
+each agreed that Captain McGregor should receive fair compensation for
+bringing Jordan home, and they estimated that to be worth &pound;100,000. That,
+Jordan insisted should be paid out of his share, and it took an hour to
+talk him out of it.</p>
+
+<p>Then it required another half hour for the three to bulldoze McGregor
+into accepting it. The convincing argument was made by Jordan, who said:
+"Supposin' you hedn't a-come, whar would I a-bin now?"</p>
+
+<p>McGregor went out, and then Browning said:</p>
+
+<p>"I have a little matter to speak of. I sold my Venezuela mine yesterday
+for &pound;100,000," and so saying he took a memorandum from his pocket, opened
+it, and tossed to Sedgwick and Jordan each a certificate for one-third of
+the amount, saying: "I feared the way you were behaving you would spend
+all your money, so I went to work to make you a little stake, as the boys
+in Nevada say."</p>
+
+<p>Another wrangle then ensued, both Sedgwick and Jordan declaring that they
+had had nothing in the world to do with making the money; but Jack was
+obstinate and carried his point.</p>
+
+<p>McGregor returned, and all went to Sedgwick's to dinner. About the time
+the coffee was brought, a messenger rang at the door and left a package
+for Mr. Jordan. It was brought in, and then Jordan said:</p>
+
+<p>"Friends, in Africa I found a prospector ez war broke. I give him a
+little outfit ter go down on the Vaal. He came back after a while and
+divied with me, 'nd I want ter divy with yo'."</p>
+
+<p>So saying, he opened the package. Exclamations of surprise arose on all
+sides. Before their eyes was a great heap of diamonds. "I war thinkin',"
+said Jordan, "thet inasmuch ez thar war seven uv us, ther right thing ter
+do would be ter make seven heaps of ther stones," and the only change
+they could make in his plans was that the division should be made by one
+who knew their value. He had secretly had them cut since coming to
+London. They were really worth &pound;10,000.</p>
+
+<p>Next day the wedding of Jordan and Mrs. Hazleton was celebrated with all
+the pomp which Grace and Rose could give it. It was followed by a great
+feast, and numberless rare presents. Jordan never showed off so well. The
+marriage exalted and transformed him.</p>
+
+<p>After the wedding, Mr. and Mrs. Jordan left for
+a month's visit to Scotland.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXII" id="CHAPTER_XXXII"></a>CHAPTER XXXII.</h2>
+
+<h3>FRUITION.</h3>
+
+
+<p>The syndicate that bought the "Wedge of Gold" put some of the stock on
+the market. A few days later another shipment of bullion was received,
+another dividend was declared, and the stock advanced to &pound;10 per share.
+The happy owners gave an entertainment in honor of the mine, and called
+it "The Wedge of Gold Reception." Sedgwick and Browning with their wives
+and Captain McGregor attended.</p>
+
+<p>As they returned, the dawn was breaking in the East, and mighty London
+with its five millions of people began to awaken. There were confused
+murmurs, which swelled in volume every moment; these were interspersed
+with distinct clamors, as one industry after another took up anew its
+daily work. Then there was the whistle of trains; the deeper calls and
+answers of boats on the river; the louder and louder hum of the awaking
+millions, until with the coming of the full dawn the roar of the swelling
+hosts became a full diapason.</p>
+
+<p>"What a monster this great handiwork of man is, Sedgwick," said McGregor;
+"I wonder if there is anything else like it in this whole world."</p>
+
+<p>"I guess not," was Sedgwick's reply; "but, strangely enough, it reminds
+me of something not at all like it, but which impressed me quite as much
+as does this. As you say, this is man's handiwork. I saw another dawn
+once which had little in it save God's handiwork.</p>
+
+<p>"While mining in Virginia City, I determined one summer day to give up
+work for a week and to make a visit to the high Sierras. One day's ride
+takes you from the Comstock into the very fastnesses of the mountains.
+There were five of us in the party. We went to Lake Tahoe, crossed the
+lake, and kept on to a spring and stream of water beyond, a few miles.
+We had a camping outfit, and determined to sleep in no house while
+absent. We spread our beds in a little grassy glen; to the east there was
+no forest, but on the north and south the trees were immense, and to the
+west, a mile or two away, the mountains rose abruptly to a height which
+held the snows in their arms all the summer long.</p>
+
+<p>"The good-night hoot of an owl or some other sound awakened me just as
+the first streaks of the dawn began to flush the face of the east.</p>
+
+<p>"I sat up, and while my friends were sleeping around me, I watched
+the transformation scene of that dawn. There were not many birds to
+awake&mdash;our altitude was too high for them&mdash;and so the panorama moved
+on almost in silence. But it was the more impressive because of its
+stillness. The east grew warmer and warmer, and the solemn night began
+to spread her black wings, under which she had brooded the world, in
+preparation for flight. The shadows began to retreat from where they had
+shrouded the nearest trees. The air grew softer; from it a noiseless
+breeze just touched the great arms of the pines as though to waken them
+and gave to them an almost imperceptible motion. The stars and planets
+began to faint in the heavens. As the waves of light increased in the
+east, the snow on the high mountains to the west took on the hue of the
+opal, and when the last shadow fled away and the sun flashed gloriously
+above the eastern horizon, and another day was born, I knew just how
+the ancient Fire Worshipers felt when they bowed their heads in reverence
+before the splendors of the rising sun."</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>It was a good while ago that the events out of which this story was woven
+transpired.</p>
+
+<p>Now, at different seasons of the year, these families, with two
+gray-haired old ladies and a gray-haired old man with a sailor's rolling
+walk, may be seen, sometimes in London, sometimes on a fair estate in
+Devonshire, sometimes in a stately home in the Miami Valley, and again
+down on the Brazos in Texas.</p>
+
+<p>Around and among them are playing broods of little Jacks, Jims, Toms,
+Roses, Graces, and Margarets, and older children are away at school. All
+the children call the old ladies "Grandma" and the gray man with the
+sailor's walk "Grand-uncle," and all who see them declare that no other
+such a happy company can be found in all the world.</p>
+
+<p>The place on the Brazos is superintended by a shrewd Irishman, while the
+village physician, formerly a ship surgeon, is named Craig, and his
+wife's name is Nora; and the people there say there is not in all Texas
+another woman who is more of a lady or has a complexion so clear, a face
+so fair, or such a wealth of hair, which in color is between flaxen and
+gold.</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Wedge of Gold, by C. C. Goodwin
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WEDGE OF GOLD ***
+
+***** This file should be named 16861-h.htm or 16861-h.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        https://www.gutenberg.org/1/6/8/6/16861/
+
+Produced by Justin Gillbank, Mary Meehan and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+https://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+https://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at https://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit https://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including including checks, online payments and credit card
+donations.  To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     https://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
+
+*** END: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+</body>
+</html>
+
diff --git a/16861.txt b/16861.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..290f477
--- /dev/null
+++ b/16861.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,8189 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Wedge of Gold, by C. C. Goodwin
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Wedge of Gold
+
+Author: C. C. Goodwin
+
+Release Date: October 12, 2005 [EBook #16861]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WEDGE OF GOLD ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Justin Gillbank, Mary Meehan and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                           THE WEDGE OF GOLD
+
+                            BY C.C. GOODWIN,
+
+                          EDITOR DAILY TRIBUNE
+
+                                  1893
+
+                      TRIBUNE JOB PRINTING COMPANY
+                          SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+     I. The Mineral Kingdom
+
+    II. Indications
+
+   III. Making Money at $4 per day
+
+    IV. Smiles and Tears
+
+     V. The Voyage
+
+    VI. Bonanzas
+
+   VII. A Dinner Party
+
+  VIII. Ways that are Dark
+
+    IX. How Miners are Caught
+
+     X. Enchantment
+
+    XI. Going to Epsom Downs
+
+   XII. Westminster Abbey
+
+  XIII. Two Kinds of Sorrow
+
+   XIV. Tears and Orange Flowers
+
+    XV. Sinister Successes
+
+   XVI. A Trip to Africa
+
+  XVII. On Their Travels
+
+ XVIII. The Soul in Clay
+
+   XIX. The Wedge of Gold
+
+    XX. The Occident and the Orient Meet
+
+   XXI. Shipping a Quartz Mill
+
+  XXII. A Lost Trail Discovered
+
+ XXIII. Back to England
+
+  XXIV. Dealing in Mining Shares
+
+   XXV. A Wedge of Gold Indeed
+
+  XXVI. Fever Visions
+
+ XXVII. Selling Stock Short
+
+XXVIII. Convalescent
+
+  XXIX. Springing a Trap
+
+   XXX. Grand Opera
+
+  XXXI. Marriage Bells
+
+ XXXII. Fruition
+
+
+
+
+THE WEDGE OF GOLD.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+THE MINERAL KINGDOM.
+
+
+The splendor of the world is due to mining and to the perfectness of
+man's ability to work the minerals which the mines supply. The fields of
+the world give men food; with food furnished, a few souls turn to the
+contemplation of higher things; but no grand civilization ever came to an
+agricultural people until their intellects were quickened by something
+beyond their usual occupation.
+
+How man first emerged from utter barbarism is a story that is lost, but
+when history first began to pick up the threads of events and to weave
+them into a record, the loom upon which the record was woven was made
+of gold. One of the rivers that flowed through Eden also "compassed the
+whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; and the gold of that land is
+good."
+
+"Tubal Cain was an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron."
+Abraham and Jacob bought fields with money, and when Pharaoh sought to
+make Joseph next in power to himself, he took the ring from his finger
+and put it upon Joseph's finger; and he put a chain of gold about
+Joseph's neck. Thus the grandchildren of Adam, in Holy Writ, were
+artificers in brass and iron, and when civilization in Egypt began to
+make an impression upon the world, its sovereigns had already discovered
+the omnipotence of gold.
+
+Assyria, that came next to be the concernment of mankind, had men who
+could perfectly fuse gold and glass, and their work is still an object
+of wonder to the world. Their queens wore raiment which was woven from
+threads of gold.
+
+The splendor of the Hebrew nation culminated when the roof of their
+great temple was laid with beaten gold, and when all the magnificent
+furnishings within the temple were wrought from gold and silver and
+brass.
+
+The invincible Greeks had chariots and javelins of iron, helmets of gold
+and brass, and now as their tombs are rifled there is found beside where
+their bones went back to dust the metal implements with which they
+wrought, and the imperishable coins with which they carried on their
+commerce.
+
+The power of Rome came when her artisans learned how to fashion the short
+sword, and her soldiers learned how to wield it, and her splendor came
+when, through conquest, she brought under her dominion the gold fields
+of Spain and Asia, and learned the power which money carries with it. Her
+civilization began to recede when the money supply began to fall off, and
+when it became too precious for the masses to possess it, then the race
+degenerated until the men were no longer fit to be soldiers, the women
+lost the grace to become the mothers of soldiers, and darkness settled
+upon Europe.
+
+England remained little more than a rendezvous for wild tribes until
+her people learned mining and began the study of how to reduce the metals
+which the mines supplied, and her advancement since can be rated exactly
+by the progress she has made in bringing the metals into effective
+forms and combinations. When first the rude Saxon acquired the art to
+mend the broken links in a knight's armor, and how to temper one of the
+old-fashioned two-handed swords, it was possible to comprehend, that from
+that germ would expand the brains that would by and by construct a steel
+ship or bridge; when the first rude spindle was fashioned, all the
+commencement necessary to create and work the world's looms was made.
+
+Out of these accomplishments, commerce was born; foreign commerce
+required ships, and so the ships were supplied; with commerce was
+developed a financial system, and soon it was discovered that after all
+the chiefest power of the world was money; that the swiftest way to win
+money was to perfect machinery so that out of raw material forms of
+beauty and of use could be wrought, and thus in regular chain the majesty
+of England expanded from the first day that an Englishman was able to
+convert from the dull iron ore something which the world would want,
+until ships laden with her wares reached all the world's ports, and to
+barbarous lands she became an iron nation more terrible than the first
+iron nation.
+
+The world's highest civilization does not come from the fruitful fields,
+but from the darkness of the deep mines. Power and independence come with
+the digging and working of the baser metals; full civilization waits upon
+the production of enough of the royal metals to give to the people wealth
+in a form that enables them to command the best attainable talent and
+forces to serve them, and enough of leisure to enable them to put forward
+their best efforts.
+
+Below the surface of the story which makes this book is a deeper story of
+what may be performed by brave hearts when they leave the fruitful fields
+behind them and turn with all their hearts to woo the desert that turns
+her forbidding face to them at their coming, and holds, closely hidden
+within her sere breast, her inestimable treasures.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+INDICATIONS.
+
+
+"What think you of it, Jack?"
+
+"It is growing soft in the drift, Jim; the stringers of ore are growing
+stronger and giving promise of concentrating soon."
+
+"So it strikes me," was the response, "and when Uncle Jimmie Fair was
+down here an hour ago, I put two things together, and they have kept me
+thinking ever since."
+
+"And what were the two things, Jim?"
+
+"Why, Jack, did you hear him sigh as he moved the candle along the face
+of the drift, and hear him say, 'You are doing beautifully, my sons,
+beautifully; I never had better men,' and then sighed again, and added,
+'I fear it's no use; I fear we shall have to drop the work soon?' That
+was one of the things. The other was the light in his eyes when he
+examined the face of the drift. If I were a gambler, Jack, I would
+'copper' what he said and wager all I had on the twinkle of his eyes."
+
+"It looks good in the drift, surely; and, Jim, if we break into an ore
+body any time, it will not surprise me."
+
+"Nor me, either, Jack; and if we strike ore here, it ought to be good,
+because, as I reckon it, since we left the Gould and Curry shaft, we have
+drifted out of the G. & C. ground, clear through the Best and Belcher,
+and some distance into the Consolidated Virginia, and by the trend of the
+lode, if we could find an ore body here, it would be in regular course
+from the Spanish and Ophir croppings."
+
+"How long have you worked here, and how much have you saved, Jack?"
+
+"It is three years and a month since I went to work in the Belcher,"
+was the reply; "I made $400 in Crown Point stocks, and I have saved
+altogether $2,800 and odd."
+
+"I beat you by a year's work, Jack, and I have, I believe, $3,300 or
+$3,400 in the bank. Suppose we try a little gamble in stocks. If we could
+get an ore body here, this stock would double in a week, and it will not
+fall very much lower if we do not find anything."
+
+"All right, Jim, if you say so. Meet me to-morrow at eleven o'clock at
+the California Bank, and we will put in and buy a few shares."
+
+"Agreed," was the answer; "but our twenty minutes are up and we must go.
+But, Jack, _mum_ must be the word."
+
+"Mum goes," said Jack.
+
+It was a queer spot where this talk was held. It was by the air-pipe in
+the drift which was run from the 1,200-foot level of the Gould and Curry
+shaft on the Comstock ledge in Nevada, north toward where the great
+bonanza was found in the Consolidated Virginia Mine. In the face of the
+drift the temperature was 120 degrees, and miners could work for only
+forty minutes and then had to retire to the air-pipe to cool off. It was
+while resting at the air-pipe that these men, James Sedgwick and John
+Browning, talked.
+
+They were stripped from the waist up; all their clothing consisted of
+canvas pantaloons held up by a belt, and miners' shoes; they each had a
+little band around the head in which was fastened a miner's candlestick.
+Thus exposed, in the candlelight, they were handsome men. The excessive
+perspiration caused by the heat of the mine made their faces as fair as
+the faces of women, and as they lounged, half-naked, carelessly in the
+drift, their muscles stood out in knots, and in the dim light of the
+candles, as they rose to return to work, their movements were supple and
+elastic as those of caged lions. The one who answered to the name of
+Browning was shorter than the other by an inch, but deeper-chested; the
+candlelight showed that his eyes were blue, and his mustache and short
+curly hair were of chestnut color. The other was a little taller, but not
+so compactly built, and in the uncertain light his eyes, hair and
+mustache seemed to be black; but really his eyes were gray and his hair
+brown. Both were young, perhaps twenty-seven or twenty-eight years of
+age, and both were perfect pictures of good health and good nature.
+
+Their shift was from four in the afternoon to midnight; but when at
+midnight they went back through the drift to the shaft to be hoisted to
+the surface, the night foreman informed them that there was some trouble
+with the cage; that while they could still hoist rock, it was not deemed
+safe to trust men on the cage, and, accordingly, some blankets,
+mattresses, and supper had been sent down, and they would have to spend
+the night in a cross-cut running from the shaft.
+
+The other miners growled. These two made no complaint, but ate their
+suppers, then took their beds and spread them in the cross-cut. Sedgwick
+and Browning went farthest into the cross-cut, made their beds together,
+and lay down. When they knew by the breathing of the miners nearest them
+that they were asleep, in low tones they began to talk.
+
+Browning was the first to speak. "By Jove, Jim," he said, "that cage
+story is too thin. It worked all right up to ten o'clock, for Mackay and
+Fair both came down and spent a good quarter of an hour in the end of the
+drift and kept tapping around with their hammers. I was mean enough to
+watch them on the sly and saw them both taking samples. If you keep
+awake, you will see John Mackay down here again by six o'clock in the
+morning, and you may make up your mind not to see any more daylight for
+three days or a week to come; that is, if the drift keeps on improving."
+
+"I believe it, Jack," said Sedgwick; "did you notice that the last blast
+left nearly the whole face of the drift in ore? Then, did you notice as
+we met the car coming out, it had long drills in it, and the shift boss
+was following it up close? No blasting will be done to-night, but the
+drillings will be saved for assay, and I tell you the plan is that we
+shall tell no tales out of school. Believe me, that cage will not be
+safe again till as much stock shall be taken in as is needed by those
+in control."
+
+"And so," said Browning, "when we get to the surface our little money
+will not buy enough stock to make it any object."
+
+"I have been thinking of that," said Sedgwick, "and it makes me hot, for
+all day I have been dreaming of doubling my money."
+
+"I have a notion," said Browning, "to try to work my way out on the
+ladders."
+
+"That will not work," replied Sedgwick; "I looked, and all the lower
+ladders have been taken down."
+
+Then a long silence followed, until at last Sedgwick spoke again. "I
+have it, Jack," said he. Lighting his candle, he groped around in the
+cross-cut, and found a splinter from a lagging. Fishing out a stump of
+a pencil from the pocket of his pantaloons, he said, "Where is your
+money, Browning?"
+
+"In the California Bank," he replied.
+
+"All right," was the response. Then on the splinter he wrote for a
+moment, and then said, "How is this?" and in a whisper read: "California
+Bank, Please pay to John W. Mackay whatever funds may be to our
+respective credits."
+
+"What is your idea, Jim?" asked Browning.
+
+"I mean to lay for Mackay, and when he comes down ask him, quietly, to
+read the writing when he gets up into daylight."
+
+"But what will he think we want?" asked Browning.
+
+"He will know mighty quick," said Sedgwick; "he knows where we work; he
+will understand that we know what we see, and that while we do not intend
+to give away the information, at the same time we do not want to 'get
+left out in the cold' on this deal."
+
+"What think you he will do?" asked Browning.
+
+"If he believes it safe, and the right kink is on him, he will draw our
+money and buy us some stock," said Sedgwick. "He made his money that way,
+and it is not long since he was a timberman on this same lode."
+
+"Why not word it differently, and ask him squarely to buy the stock?"
+asked Browning.
+
+"Why, Jack," was the reply, "that would be a dead give-away. He would
+never present such an order at the bank. It would be a notice to every
+man in the bank and every friend of every man in the bank, and that would
+mean everybody in town, that the miners who were kept down in the deeps
+were trying to buy the stock of the mine. I would rather risk it this
+way."
+
+"All right, everything goes," said Browning, and both signed the order.
+
+Then they talked for a long time. They had known each other slightly for
+a couple of years, having met first in the Belcher lower levels, and
+being thrown together in work on the face of the drift from the G. & C.
+shaft, they had, during the previous few days, each found that the other
+was a good and bright man, and had grown more and more intimate, and a
+warm friendship had sprung up between them. As they lay down again,
+Browning said to Sedgwick, "How did you come to be here, Jim?"
+
+"Fate arranged it, I guess," was the reply. "You see, my home was
+in Ohio, in the valley of the Miami. My father had a big farm--400
+acres--but there were two boys older than myself, and they needed the
+land. I took to books naturally, and the plan was to give me an
+education, and then add a learned profession, or set me up in some little
+business. So I went to school, and after awhile was sent to Oberlin
+College. Queer old place, that! Great place for praying and for teaching
+the universal brotherhood of man! The result, I used to think, was that
+a colored man commanded a premium over a white man there. I worried the
+thing through for three years and a half. There was a young mulatto
+student in the school named Deering, who was a great deal too big for his
+clothes. He was inclined to force himself into places where he was not
+wanted, and at anything like the manifestation of a desire to dispense
+with his society, he grew saucy in a moment. I did not mind him, but he
+was vinegar and brimstone to a young student from Tennessee, a slight,
+weakly lad, but as brave a little chap as you ever saw, named Thorne.
+Well, one day, for some impertinence, Thorne struck him. Deering was an
+athlete; he weighed twenty pounds more than I did, fifty more than
+Thorne, I guess; he was quick as lightning, was most handy with his
+props, and in an instant he smashed poor Thorne's face with a blow which
+knocked him half senseless.
+
+"I sprang to Thorne, at the same time telling Deering it was a cowardly
+act for one like him to strike a little fellow like Thorne. He answered
+something to the effect that for a trifle he would smash me a good deal
+worse than he had Thorne, and--well, in a minute more there were lively
+times in that neighborhood.
+
+"It was a tough scrap. It was out on the green; the students gathered
+around us, and while some cried out to stop us, others shouted, 'Fair
+play!' and so we were not interfered with. I remember saying to myself,
+'If I win, it must be a triumph of race and mind over matter;' but, Jack,
+that was mighty lively matter. We both had been rowing and practicing in
+the gymnasium; we were both as hard as iron. Deering was as supple as a
+boa-constrictor, and had a fist like a twelve-pound hammer. Later, the
+boys told me the fight lasted twenty minutes. The last I saw was Deering
+knocked out on the ground, and then my eyes closed, and the boys led me
+to my room. They swathed my eyes with raw beefsteaks and raw oysters,
+rubbed me down, and put me to bed. It was ten days before I got out; it
+was two weeks before Deering did. Then there was an investigation. It
+was shown that I took up a fight that Thorne commenced; that Thorne had
+gone for a gun in case I should get the worst of it. So Deering was
+reinstated, and Thorne and myself expelled. At the time I had a silver
+watch and four dollars in money. I sold the watch for fourteen dollars. I
+wrote the facts to my father, and told him I was going West, for he is a
+straight-laced Presbyterian; I knew he would feel eternally disgraced by
+my expulsion, and I did not want to hear his reproaches. Thorne wanted to
+give me money, but I told him I had plenty.
+
+"I worked my way to Texas, and stopped one night at the house of a big
+cattle man named Thomas Jordan. I had just $1.50 left. He worked out of
+me my history, and when I explained why I was expelled from school, he
+laughed until he cried, and said: 'And yo' licked the coon!' and then
+went off again into a mighty fit of laughter.
+
+"He was a man about thirty years of age, spare built, but wiry as an
+Indian. He had black hair and eyes; he was not educated, but was
+naturally a bright man; was brave as a lion; could ride like a Comanche;
+was a splendid shot, and had been West; took up a gold mine in Arizona,
+opened it, and sold it three years before I met him for $25,000, and with
+that bought the ranch and stock. He was originally from Tennessee; when a
+boy was in the Confederate army; had been knocked about until he was a
+perfect man of affairs, and the heart within him was simply just royal.
+
+"Next morning, as we went out from breakfast, his vaqueros were trying to
+ride a vicious horse. He was a big buckskin stallion, six years old, and
+strong and fierce as a grizzly. The horse tossed three of them, one after
+the other, out of the saddle; neither one lasted a minute on his curved
+back. I was watching the performance when Jordan came up to me and,
+laughing, again said: 'But yo' licked the coon!'
+
+"I said, 'Yes, but that was not much to brag about.'
+
+"'Yo' licked the coon, but was afeerd to meet the governor, eh?' he said.
+
+"I answered, 'That is about the size of it.'
+
+"'And yo' did not go home?' he said.
+
+"'No,' I replied.
+
+"'Did not send for any money?'
+
+"'No.'
+
+"'How much did yo' have?'
+
+"'Four dollars, and a watch which I sold for fourteen dollars.'
+
+"'How much have yo' left?'
+
+"'I believe, $1.50.'
+
+"'What are yo' going to do?'
+
+"'Going to work.'
+
+"'Wat at?'
+
+"'Anything I can get to do.'
+
+"'Will yo' work for me?'
+
+"'Yes.'
+
+"'Know anything about herding and driving cattle?'
+
+"'No, but I can learn it.'
+
+"'All right, what about wages?'
+
+"'Anything you like.'
+
+"'All right,' said Jordan, 'I will have the boys fix yo' up a gentle
+mustang and give yo' a show.'
+
+"I had overheard the cowboys the previous evening telling about a 'gentle
+broncho' that they had given a 'tenderfoot,' and how the tenderfoot was
+'jolted.' I reflected that I was in Texas and might just as well
+establish myself at once. When a boy, I could ride anything on the farm
+or in the township. So I said:
+
+"'Mr. Jordan, let me try the buckskin.'
+
+"'What!' said Jordan, 'would yo' mount that wild beast? He's a devil. My
+best riders cannot sit him. Indeed, he has tossed half the cowboys in
+Texas.'
+
+"'Let me try him,' said I.
+
+"'_All right_,' said Jordan, 'come on.'
+
+"We climbed into the big corral. One of the boys threw a rope upon the
+horse, drew him up to the center post, blinded him, and said to me:
+
+"'Young feller! If you ride him, you'll be a good one, shore 'nough.'
+
+"I took off my coat, vest and suspenders, tied a heavy handkerchief
+around my stomach, fixed the saddle, sprang upon the horse, and the blind
+was drawn off at the same moment. Then for ten minutes I had a game as
+lively as I had experienced with the coon. How he did jolt me! But I sat
+him. Then, when all his other tricks had failed, he started in a run for
+the center post of the corral, with the intention of raking me off. But
+it was his side that struck the post; my knee was on top of the saddle,
+and when the rebound knocked him away from the post it was not a second
+until I was back in the saddle; and then I assumed the offensive and
+drove the rowels into him. Between the shock of the blow and the surprise
+of the rowels, he gave up, made a feeble jump or two, stopped and stood
+trembling.
+
+"I dismounted, and the cowboys threw up their hats and cheered the
+'tenderfoot.' Then I took down the reins of the hackamore (the Mexican
+Jaquema), bent the brute's head around, and tied him in a half circle to
+his own tail. Then, borrowing a cowboy's whip, I tapped him gently with
+it, and kept him turning and tumbling until he was covered with foam, and
+I saw he was completely subdued. Then I untied the rope, gave him his
+head, and then sprang again (without a blind this time) into the saddle.
+He moved off in a walk; then I trotted him, then put him in a gallop, and
+after circling the corral two or three times, reined him up to the
+cowboys, stopped him, and dismounted.
+
+"'No wonder he licked the coon!' said Jordan.
+
+"And one of the cowboys standing near said, 'Bet y'r boots!'
+
+"I went to work and was a cowboy for a year, and it was a happy year, for
+I had no trouble and any number of friends. I could ride and shoot with
+any of them, and soon learned to throw a rope. My riding the big stallion
+gave me a mighty prestige, for I learned later that many had tried him
+and no one had kept the saddle for two minutes. He was my vaquero horse,
+and many a cowboy stopped and looked as I rode by.
+
+"I had been with Jordan but a short time when one evening he brought a
+book and said:
+
+"'Jim! look at this. A preacher-lookin' chap stopped over night har a
+year ago and went off in the mornin', and forgot ter take it. See if yo'
+don't think it's ther durndest stuff yo' ever seen!'
+
+"I looked at the book. It was the Iliad, Pope's translation.
+
+"'Why, Jordan,' I said, 'this is a wonderful book.' Then I briefly
+explained what the great epic was, who the Greeks and who the Trojans
+were, the cause of the war between them, how nations fought in those
+days, what gods they worshiped, and added, 'Let me read you a little
+of it.'
+
+"'Why, in course,' said Jordan. 'If yo' ken make a blamed thing out er
+it, we'd all like to har it; wouldn't we, boys?'
+
+"They all assented. I was just out of school and read pretty well.
+
+"So I opened the volume at random and it happened to be in Book XVI.,
+where Pelides consents that Patroclus shall put on his own armor and lead
+his Myrmidons into the fight, where Achilles arouses and sets in array
+his terrible warriors, has the steeds yoked and prays Dodonian Jove to
+give to his friend the victory, and then to grant him safe return. After
+reading ten minutes, I closed the book, and asked Jordan if I should read
+anymore.
+
+"'Sarten,' he said. 'That war fine. It are like that mornin' at
+Murfreesborough when all thar bugles war callin' 'nd ther big guns war
+beginnin' ter roar.'
+
+"Then I opened at the beginning and read right along for an hour. All the
+company were greatly excited, declaring 'it war fine.'
+
+"I read to them every evening the winter through, read the Iliad entire,
+and in the meantime Jordan had sent to Galveston for more books, begging
+me to select them, and declaring he would fill the house with them if I
+would only 'steer his buyin' so as not by his purchases 'ter make a holy
+show' of himself.
+
+"When finally the great annual round-up came, I held my own with the best
+riders, on trial I could draw and shoot with the quickest and surest
+shots, and could handle a rope fairly well. I enjoyed the life.
+
+"Generally every one was my friend, but there was one rough customer, a
+man named Turner, who did not like me, though I had never done a thing in
+the world to offend him. He made his boasts that no one had ever 'got
+away' with him or ever would. He had a tough record and many people
+feared him, for he was a powerful man physically, and cruel in all his
+instincts.
+
+"One day something was needed from the station, and I rode Buckskin down
+to get it. The station was a couple of miles from Jordan's house. Thirty
+or forty cowboys were there on a lark, and all had been drinking a
+little.
+
+"They hailed me boisterously and wanted me to drink. I laughingly told
+them I never drank, and good-naturedly threatened to make it hot for the
+whole band if they did not behave themselves. I had neither coat nor vest
+on, and they could all see I had no weapons about me. They all laughed,
+for they were a jovial, good-hearted crowd.
+
+"But just then this rough Turner showed up and said: 'Who is threatening
+to make it hot for us?'
+
+"Half a dozen of the boys explained that I was only joking, but Turner
+was bent on mischief.
+
+"'He won't drink with us, hey? Well, we'll drink with him,' he said, and
+turning to me ordered me to call up the crowd and treat, or tell the
+reason why.
+
+"I replied that one reason was that I did not very often drink, and
+another was that I never drank on compulsion.
+
+"He was frantic in a moment, and suddenly drew his revolver. I caught the
+barrel and turned it up just as he fired, then took it from him, handed
+it to one of the boys, and told him to keep it until Turner had time to
+reflect on what a fool he was making of himself.
+
+"He was only the more furious at that. He sprang backward two or three
+feet, then drawing a huge knife made with it a savage lunge at me. I
+seized his wrist, and after a brief struggle wrenched the knife from his
+hand, but still holding his wrist told him that unless he grew quiet I
+should have to box his ears.
+
+"The boys laughed and jeered at this, which only further incensed the
+ungovernable brute, and he declared that he would give $100 for the
+chance to whip me in a fair fist fight.
+
+"At this I released his wrist and told him he should be accommodated. The
+boys gathered in a ring around us. Turner came at me like a wild beast,
+but he had no scientific use of his hands and I had had a little
+practice.
+
+"I knocked aside his blow with my left, and with the open palm of my
+right hand gave him a sounding box on his left ear.
+
+"The cowboys yelled with delight at this, crying, 'Turner, did you hear
+that?'
+
+"Turner rallied and made another rush at me. This time I struck his blow
+aside with my right hand and boxed his right ear with the palm of my left
+hand.
+
+"So the business continued for several seconds. I never closed my hands,
+but just boxed him right and left, the boys fairly screaming with joy,
+until I finally gathered all my strength and gave him one resounding
+cuff that sent him full length to grass, the most abject-looking, baffled
+bully that I ever saw.
+
+"Seeing how completely whipped he was, I went to him, and taking him by
+the arm, said, 'Turner, you were right about my treating; come in and
+take a drink with me. There's nothing like exercise to make one thirsty.'
+
+"But he would not drink. He arose, skulked away, got his gun and knife,
+mounted his mustang, and left that part of Texas.
+
+"Next day the boys told Jordan about the scrap, and he danced for joy. He
+at once rode away to the station to get all the particulars, and when he
+returned at night he called me aside and said, 'Jim, yo' is thinkin' of
+leavin' har. We couldn't get along at all without yo'. I seen my lawyer
+ter-day and told him ter make a deed o' half this ranch 'nd stock ter Jim
+Sedgwick, and so thar firm now war "Tom and Jim" er "Jim and Tom," I
+don't give er continental which.'
+
+"Of course I could not accept the gift, but it took me three days to
+satisfy the great-hearted man why I could not. I told him I was bound
+to go further West, that his heart had run away with his head, and he
+yielded at last, but insisted that the offer was a 'squar' one and would
+last always if I ever came back.
+
+"When the year was up I had saved $212 at regular cowboy wages and would
+accept no more, though Jordan begged me to take 'sunthun decent.'
+
+"I came West, learned a little of mining--how to hold and hit a drill--in
+Colorado, then took a run up into Montana, came down across Idaho and
+finally reached this place. Liking the ways of things here I went to
+work. I have not missed a dozen shifts in three years."
+
+Browning chuckled at the story, and when Sedgwick ceased he said:
+
+"Isn't it jolly queer that we have been thrown together? My home was in
+Devonshire, England. My step-father was a merchant who finally became a
+half banker and half broker. When I was a little kid my mother died, and
+my father after a while married a widow who had a little daughter five
+years younger than myself. My father died, and my stepmother married a
+man named Hamlin.
+
+"When I became twenty-two years old, my step-father wanted me to marry
+this little girl. I declined, first, because she seemed to me a sister,
+and second, I was head and ears in love with the step-daughter of the
+village barrister. The girl was my sister's running mate, so to speak,
+and though I had never said one word of love to her, my heart was on the
+lowest level in the dust at her feet. It was, by Jove!
+
+"In those days I was a bit wild, I guess. I did not get out of school
+with much honor. I used to ride steeple-chase and hurdle races and dance
+all night. Sometimes, too, I had a scrap, and was careless about the
+money I spent. The old barrister--his name was Jenvie--believed I was
+the worst kid in the United Kingdom. One evening Rose Jenvie--her real
+name was Leighton, she was my glory, you know--had been visiting my
+foster-sister, and remaining until after dark, I walked home with her.
+It was a starlit night in summer, and we talked as we walked as young
+people do. The gate to the path leading up to her house was open, and I
+continued to walk by her side until we were almost at the door, when the
+'Governor' sprang up from a bench on the little lawn, where he had been
+sitting, and, rudely seizing his step-daughter by the arm, broke out with
+a torrent of insulting reproaches that she should dare to be walking
+alone at night by the side of the most worthless scapegrace in all
+England.
+
+"The dear girl tried to explain that my part of the affair was merely an
+act of courtesy, but the old chap was hot, and that only made him rave
+the worse.
+
+"I stood it a minute, and then said, 'Never mind, Miss Rose! You go
+within doors, please, and your governor will feel better when he has time
+to think.'
+
+"At this he turned upon me, ordered me off the grounds, and added that if
+I did not go at once he would kick me over the hedge. Then I laughed and
+said: 'Oh, no, Mr. Jenvie, you certainly would not do that.'
+
+"Something in my voice, I guess, vexed him, for he sprang at me like a
+Siberian wolf. He was a big, hearty fellow, about forty years old, and
+the blow he aimed at me would have felled a shorthorn. But I knocked it
+aside, as he made the rush, which swerved him a little to one side, and
+the opportunity was too good. Bless my soul! Before I thought, I planted
+him a stinger on the neck, and he went down like a felled ox. And he lay
+there for fully a minute. The beautiful girl never screamed or uttered a
+word, except, 'O, Jack, I hope you are not hurt!' She had never called me
+Jack before, and by Jove, it sounded sweeter to me than a wedding march.
+The old chap in a dazed way rose up on his hands. I saw he was coming out
+of it, and with a hasty 'Good night, Miss Rose,' I got out of the way. I
+went home and told my governor the whole story, and wasn't he mad! Jenvie
+was his closest friend, you know, and so he ordered me to go and
+apologize to the old barrister. I told him flatly I would not. Then he
+ordered me out of the house, and, first bidding mother and sister Grace
+good-bye, I left. I had four pounds six, and with it I went down to an
+old aunt's of mine in Cornwall. After three days there I met some miners,
+had a night with them, which ended by their initiating me into their
+clan. Next morning, thinking it over, my better self asserted itself, and
+the whim took me to learn the mining business.
+
+"I worked a year, and when off shift I read all the books on geology and
+mining that I could find; I found a pamphlet telling me all about this
+lode and its possibilities. I had worked steadily and had saved money
+enough to pay my way here; I came, and went to work the second day after
+arriving on the lode."
+
+"What are your plans, Browning?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+"I have no certain plans," was the answer. "I have just lived on an
+impossible dream, you know, of making L5,000, then going back, and if
+Rose Jenvie is not married to try to steal her away. If I could make
+a good bit of money I would buy a place, a big tract of downs in
+Devonshire. I could, by draining it and running it my way, make it double
+in value in three years."
+
+"And I," said Sedgwick, "have been nursing just such another dream, which
+is to make $30,000 to go back and cancel the mortgage of $5,000 on the
+old home place, and then to buy old Jasper's farm on the hill. It is a
+daisy. It contains 300 acres and is worth $40 an acre. If I could do
+that, I believe I could reconcile the old gent, and make him think I was
+not so mightily out of the way after all when I fought at college and ran
+away. But $30,000--good Lord! when will a man get $30,000 working for $4
+a day on the Comstock?"
+
+"It is a close, hard game," said Browning. Then there was silence, the
+candle burned out, and in a moment more both miners were asleep.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+MAKING MONEY AT $4 PER DAY.
+
+
+The men awoke early, and, as Sedgwick had predicted, by six o'clock, the
+superintendent of the mine came down and went to the end of the drift.
+On his return to the lower station of the shaft, Sedgwick approached him,
+and holding out the bit of lagging, said in a low voice: "Mr. Mackay,
+there are a few words written on that. Will you not kindly carry them to
+the surface and read them?" Mr. Mackay took it and put it in the pocket
+of the gray shirt which he always wore in the mine, saying jokingly:
+"Tobacco needed on your watch?" "Worse, even," answered Sedgwick, and
+walked away.
+
+When the men were allowed to go above ground, five days later, they found
+that Consolidated Virginia had jumped from $4 to $11 per share. Sedgwick
+and Browning went straight to the bank and asked how their accounts
+stood. They found that $2,800 from one credit, and $3,200 from the other
+had been withdrawn. They looked at each other and smiled, but said
+nothing. Passing outside, they exchanged opinions and both concluded that
+if Mackay had bought the stock promptly, it must have doubled already.
+But both agreed that they would say nothing; rather, would let matters
+drift. So days and weeks rolled by, until finally the stock touched $30
+per share, when one morning each received a note to call at the bank.
+
+They went together, and were informed that 2,000 (old) shares of
+Consolidated Virginia had been placed to their credit, and that it was
+at their discretion to realize upon it, or permit it to remain longer.
+The news fairly took their breath away.
+
+"How about making $30,000 at $4 per day, Jim?" said Browning.
+
+"How about L5,000, the old barrister's step-daughter, and the downs in
+Devonshire, Jack?" said Sedgwick.
+
+They went to their room in the lodging house to talk over what was best
+to do.
+
+"When we sell," said Sedgwick, "I am going to Ohio."
+
+"And I to old England," said Browning.
+
+"And how can we give any expression of our gratitude to John Mackay?"
+asked Sedgwick.
+
+"Let us go down and tender him half our stock," said Browning.
+
+"A good thought," said Sedgwick. So down to the Consolidated Virginia
+office they went at once. They gained an instant interview with Mr.
+Mackay, and, thanking him warmly, told him they had thought it over, and
+determined that he was entitled to half their shares.
+
+"That's clever of you, boys," said Mackay, "but that is too big a
+commission. How much did you say the order on the splinter had brought
+you?"
+
+Sedgwick replied that they had 2,000 shares, and that the stock was
+selling at $30 on a rising market.
+
+"Well," answered Mackay, "that will be $10 for one, will it not?"
+
+They answered, "Yes."
+
+The Bonanza King thought for a moment, and then said: "It is this way,
+boys. I have been picking up a few shares of the stock on my own account
+lately, and do not need any ready money at present, but there are a good
+many sick and bruised miners down in the hospital. If, when you sell, you
+can see your way clear to send them down a few dollars, that will do more
+good than to divide with me, for I would be liable to lose the money any
+day in these crazy stocks."
+
+They thanked him with swimming eyes and broken voices, and started to
+retire, when he called them back, and said: "I bought that stock because
+I noticed that you were not just like some of the others down in the
+mine, and I knew if the money should be lost you would neither of you
+reproach me. But I called you back to tell you that while I do not think
+there is any hurry about selling your stocks, dealing in mining shares is
+a risky business, as a rule, especially when you have nothing but a guess
+to go on; and I do not believe I would, if in your places, take that up
+for a business."
+
+Then some one else came in, and the miners retired.
+
+They determined not to sell just then, and both went back to work at 4 in
+the afternoon of that day.
+
+The young men continued their daily toil. After the stock reached $35
+per share, it hung at that figure for a long time, but they felt no
+uneasiness. They saw the hurry of the work in opening the Consolidated
+Virginia and the C. & C. shafts; they saw a new great quartz mill being
+erected, but they saw something else which pleased them much more, which
+was that the more the great ore body was sunk and drifted upon, the
+bigger it grew. In the early winter of 1874-5, the stock began to climb
+up. It jumped to $80, then $85; then, almost in a day, to $115, and so
+on up to $220. The strain on the minds of the two young miners was very
+great, but they held on. There was another little lull, and then towards
+spring it started up again.
+
+When it reached $480, Browning said to Sedgwick: "Bless my soul, Jim, I
+have not slept for three nights. I have been thinking that hundreds of
+people have been waiting for the stock to touch $500, and when it does,
+they will unload and break it down. Had we not better sell? It will give
+us as much money as we can manage."
+
+"I guess you are right, Jack" said Sedgwick. "I believe it will still go
+a good deal higher, but if it does, let those who buy our stocks make it.
+As you said, it will bring us as much money as we can manage. It takes a
+brave man to sell on a rising market. Let us be brave."
+
+So they gave the order for the sale of the stock, but that day it jumped
+to $520, and when the returns were made, they found to their credit,
+$1,040,000. The stock touched $900 per share a few days later.
+
+The result well-nigh paralyzed them. "At $4 per day, this is not bad,
+Browning," said Sedgwick.
+
+"This secures the hill farm of old Jasper--three hundred acres at forty
+dollars per acre--does it not, Sedgwick?" said Browning.
+
+They ordered $10,000 to be placed to the credit of the hospitals and
+bought exchange on New York and London for $1,000,000. The rest they took
+with them in money.
+
+In dividing there was a little dispute. Browning insisted that he was
+entitled to only forty-six and two-thirds per cent. of the amount, as his
+money was as seven to eight of Jim's.
+
+"Why will you bother me with those vulgar fractions, Browning? Try to be
+a gentleman," said Sedgwick. "We share alike on this business, remember
+that; and say what a country this is to get rich in at four dollars a
+day!"
+
+So it was settled. Their friends were told they had made a little stake,
+and were going home; the good-byes were spoken, and the young men turned
+their faces eastward.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+SMILES AND TEARS.
+
+
+While riding through Nevada, Browning, after a long look from the car
+window, said:
+
+"By Jove, Jim, but is not this a desolate region? It is as though when
+the rocky foundation had been laid, there was no more material to furnish
+this part of the world with, and the work stopped."
+
+"Yes, Jack," was Sedgwick's answer. "I knew an old man once. He was very
+aged and most decrepit. His face was but a mass of wrinkles; his back was
+bent; he always wore a frown on his face, and every relative he had
+wished that he was dead. But his bank account was a mighty one; he had
+given grand homes and plenty of money to each of his six children; he
+still possessed a fortune so large that his neighbors could not estimate
+it. I never look out upon the face of Nevada that I do not think of that
+old man.
+
+"The fairest structures in San Francisco were built of the treasures
+taken from Nevada hills; clear across the continent, in every great city
+are beautiful blocks which are but Nevada gold and silver converted into
+stone and iron and glass; in every State are fair homes which were bought
+or redeemed with the money obtained here in the desert. Beyond that, the
+money already supplied from Nevada mines has changed the calculations of
+commerce, and made itself a ruling factor in prices; it has given our
+nation a new standing among the nations of the world; because of it, the
+lands are worth more money even in the Miami Valley where I was born;
+because of it, better wages are paid to laborers throughout our republic;
+it has been a factor of good, a blessing to civilization; and yet Eastern
+people revile Nevada and look upon it as did the relatives of the old man
+I was telling you of, because it is wrinkled and sere and always wears a
+frowning face."
+
+As Sedgwick and Browning neared Chicago, the former began to grow
+restless, and finally said:
+
+"Jack, old friend, you must go home with me. It is something I dread more
+than riding mustangs or fighting cowboys. It is more than five years
+since I went away, and it will be just worse than a fire in a mine to
+face."
+
+Browning agreed that a few days more or less would not count. "Because,"
+he said, "if Rose Jenvie is still Rose Jenvie, it will not much matter;
+if Rose Jenvie is not Rose Jenvie, then, by Jove, every minute of delay
+in knowing that fact is good. Besides, you know, I want to see that
+three-hundred-acre farm of old Jasper's on the hill which you are to
+buy."
+
+They remained a few hours only in Chicago, and took the evening train for
+the valley of the Miami. The next morning, about seven o'clock, they left
+the cars at a little village station, and started on foot for the old
+home of Sedgwick, a mile away.
+
+"Browning," said Sedgwick, "it was mighty kind of you to come with me.
+I ran bare-footed over this road every summer day of my boyhood. In that
+old school-house I could show you notches which I cut in the tables and
+benches, and it seems now as though I was choking." They came to the old
+churchyard. "Hold, Jack," said Sedgwick, "let us go in here and look to
+see if any more graves have been added since I went away."
+
+They climbed the fence, and Sedgwick led the way to a plot of ground
+where there were three headstones. "Thank God, there are no new graves,"
+he said. "This was my sister; this, my baby brother, and this, my
+mother," pointing to the names on the headstones. "Had my mother been
+alive, I would long ago have come back."
+
+Then, with more calmness, he turned his steps back to the road, but he
+was shaking in every limb when he opened the old gate and walked up
+toward the house. The path was lined with lilacs in full bloom, and a
+robin in a tree near by was calling her mate. "The same old lilacs, the
+same old redbreast, Browning," he said, with white lips.
+
+He did not stop to knock, but pushed the door suddenly open and strode
+within. Walking up to an old man, who was reading his Bible, he said,
+"Father, I am sorry that I fought the mulatto, if it grieved you, but the
+black rascal deserved it, all the same."
+
+The old man surveyed him wildly for a moment, then broke completely down,
+and, wringing the young man's hands, could only sob:
+
+"Thank God, my son, whom I thought was lost, is back again. Thank God!"
+
+Then the brothers and their wives and children came in, and there was
+such a scene that Browning slipped out, seated himself on the piazza, and
+mopping his brow with his kerchief, said, "Bless my soul; I believe I
+will never go home. There is more real enjoyment at a miner's funeral in
+Virginia City; there is, by Jove."
+
+But they found him after a little, and Sedgwick presented him to his
+kinfolk as his close companion, and he was welcomed in a way which
+touched him deeply, and made him conclude that the world was filled with
+good people.
+
+Soon the news spread, and the neighbors began to pour in, and what a day
+it was! What old memories were awakened and rehearsed; what every one had
+done; who had died; who had married; all the history of the little place
+for all the years.
+
+Going home after a long absence is a little like what one might imagine
+of a resurrection from the dead. There is exceeding joy, but mingled with
+it is much of the damp and chill of the tomb. Indeed, going home after a
+long absence "causes all the burial places of memory to give up their
+dead," and through all the joy there is an undertone of sorrow, for all
+the reminders are of the fact that the calmest lives are speedily
+sweeping on; that there is no halting in the swift transit between birth
+and death.
+
+Three days passed, and notwithstanding the enjoyment, Sedgwick found that
+there was a good deal of trouble worrying the family. The old mortgage of
+$5,000 was not paid; rather, it had been doubled to make a first payment
+on a 200-acre farm adjoining, and with fitting up and stocking the old
+place, and with bad crops, the debts amounted altogether to more than
+$20,000. He did not tell any one of his good fortune. He was dressed in a
+plain business suit, without a single ornament. The watch he carried for
+convenience was merely a cheap silver watch.
+
+On the fourth day, Browning said to his friend: "Jim, old pard, I must
+be off to-morrow. You have had a good visit. Come over to England with me
+for a month, and help me through with--Rose and the old man."
+
+"Agreed, Jack," said Sedgwick. "I want to fix up some little things here,
+and I do not want to be around when the fixing shall be understood. It
+will be a good excuse to get away."
+
+Then going to a desk, he wrote a few words, took a bill of exchange
+for $100,000 from his pocketbook, endorsed it, making it payable to his
+father, folded the bill inside the letter, sealed it and directed it to
+his father; then putting the letter in his pocket, said, "That will make
+it all right."
+
+At supper that evening he informed the family that he was going on the
+early train with his friend and might be gone a month or six weeks, after
+which he believed he would return, settle down and become steady. All
+tried to dissuade him, but Browning helped him, telling the family he
+needed his friend's help on serious business; and so that night the
+kindling was put in the kitchen stove, the dough for biscuits for
+breakfast was set, the tea-kettle filled, the chickens fixed for frying,
+and the coffee ground.
+
+It was but a little after daylight next morning when, the breakfast over,
+they were ready to start. They shook hands all round, and when it came to
+saying good-bye to his father, Sedgwick drew out the letter, and giving
+it to the old man, said: "Father, when you hear the train pull out of the
+village, open that letter. It contains a little keepsake for you which I
+picked up by a scratch in Nevada." And they were off.
+
+When that letter was opened, and the astounding figures on the bill were
+read and comprehended, what a time there was at that house, and how the
+neighbors came again to see the wonderful paper, and how it was figured
+how many farms it would buy, what houses it would build and furnish, and
+how the boy who had been expelled from school for fighting had done it
+all! What a smashing of old theories it made, and how every wild boy in
+the neighborhood to whom the evil example of the bad Sedgwick boy had
+been held up as an illustration of total depravity and as proof that
+nothing of good ever came to a youth that would fight and get expelled
+from school, rejoiced! To these, what a day of exultation that bill of
+exchange brought!
+
+But it was only a day, before there began to circulate rumors that the
+whole thing was but a joke; that the bill would be repudiated when
+presented for payment, or at most that it was only for $1,000.
+
+Sedgwick, _pere_, with his sons, lost no time in testing the matter.
+Sedgwick had written in the letter that though the bill was drawn on New
+York, any bank in Cincinnati would cash it. So they repaired to the city,
+and calling on their lawyer, asked him to go with them and identify them
+at some bank, as they desired to get a little check cashed. He complied.
+
+The cashier looked at the bill and asked in what kind of money the
+payment was wanted.
+
+The old man thought he would give his neighbors an object lesson, and
+replied that he would take it in gold.
+
+The cashier smiled and asked him how he would take it away.
+
+The old man said, "I do not understand you."
+
+"It will, in gold, weigh about 400 pounds," said the cashier.
+
+At this the lawyer became interested in a moment and said: "Four hundred
+pounds of gold! What kind of a check have you?"
+
+"It is a bill of exchange on New York for $100,000," said the cashier.
+
+"One hundred thousand dollars!" said the lawyer; "Great heavens! have you
+found an oil well on your farm, robbed a bank, or what?"
+
+"No," said the elder Sedgwick, "but my wild boy has come from Nevada, and
+I guess this is a part of the great bonanza."
+
+Finally $25,000 was drawn in paper, enough to clear up all the home
+indebtedness, and the rest left on deposit until the son and brother
+should return; for, as they talked it all over, they concluded that he
+had left with them all his fortune, except traveling expenses.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+THE VOYAGE.
+
+
+Browning and Sedgwick reached New York and took passage on the first
+outgoing Cunarder. When the ship steamed out of the harbor, it entered at
+once into a lively sea, and the great craft grew strangely unsteady.
+Browning was a good sailor, but Sedgwick found it was all he could do to
+maintain his equanimity. "Jack," he said at last, "this is worse exercise
+then riding a Texas steer." "Did you ever ride a Texas steer?" asked
+Browning. "Indeed I have," said Sedgwick. "The cowboys have a game
+of that kind. When a lot of steers are corraled, they climb up on the
+cross-bar over the gate; the gate is opened, the steers are turned out
+with a rush, and the science is to drop from the cross-bar upon a steer
+and ride him. If you miss, you are liable to be trodden to death. If you
+strike fairly, then the trick is to see how long you can hold on. It is
+rough exercise, but I believe it is preferable to this perpetual rising,
+falling and rolling. The infernal thing seems to work like an Ingersoll
+drill. It turns a quarter of a circle on one's stomach with every blow it
+strikes."
+
+They had sailed into an expiring storm that was fast losing its strength;
+the waves were breaking down, and by the time night came on the ship was
+running nearly on an even keel, only gently rolling as it swept
+magnificently on its voyage.
+
+The two miners walked the deck, or sat by the rail, until far into the
+night, admiring the glorified structure on which they rode; watching the
+stars and the sea, and saw with other things the beautiful spectacle of
+another ship as grand as their own, that swept close by them on its way
+to New York. Its whole 500 feet of length was a blaze of light, and as
+the Titans whistled hoarsely to each other a greeting without abating
+their speed, it seemed to the two landsmen as though two stars had met in
+space, saluted and passed on, each in its own sublime orbit.
+
+Sedgwick and Browning soon made the acquaintance of several passengers.
+A day or two later an animated conversation sprang up in the smoking
+room. An American was declaring that his country was the greatest on
+earth because it could feed the world from its mighty food area.
+
+An Englishman disputed the claim, because the profits of the
+manufacturers of little England were more than all the profits from
+all the lands of the United States.
+
+A Frenchman claimed the palm for France, because in France the people
+were artists; from a little basis, from material well-nigh worthless in
+itself, the Frenchman could, by infusing French brain into it, create a
+thing of beauty for which the world was glad to exchange gold and gems.
+
+Then Browning said: "You are all right, looking from a present horizon;
+all wrong, when the years are taken into account. The great country of
+the world is to be the country that produces the metals in the greatest
+quantity and variety, and whose people acquire the art of turning them to
+the best account. This ship that we are on, a few months ago, was but
+unsightly ore in the ground. Look at it now! Tried by fire and fused with
+labor, it has grown into this marvelous structure. England's greatness
+and wealth are due, primarily, all to her mining. Her civilization can be
+measured by her progress in reducing metals. She will begin to fall
+behind soon, for America has, in addition to such mines as England
+possesses, endless mines of gold and silver, and, after all, the precious
+metals rule the nations and measure their civilization. It has always
+been so and always will be. Those mines in America will build up greater
+manufactures than England possesses; they will create artists more
+skilled than even beautiful France can boast of. A hundred years hence,
+all other nations will be second-class by comparison."
+
+The next day the conversation was resumed and carried on with much
+spirit, until Sedgwick, who had been reading through it all, laid down
+his book, and in a brief pause of the talk said:
+
+"Neither fruitful fields, rich mines, nor skilled artisans, nor all
+combined, are enough to make great nations. A hundred nations existed
+when Rome was founded. They had as fair prospects as did Rome, but ninety
+of the hundred are forgotten; the other ten are remembered but as
+inferior nations. It was the stock of men and women that made Rome's
+grandeur and terror. For five hundred years an unfaithful wife was never
+known in Rome. The result was Rome had to be great and grand.
+
+"I stood once on the crest of the Rocky Mountains in Montana. Near
+together were two springs, out of each of which the water flowed away
+in a creek. One follows the mountains down to the eastward, the other
+to the west. One finds its final home in the Gulf of Mexico, the other
+in the Pacific. The one takes on other streams, its volume steadily
+swells; before it flows far its channel is hewed through fertile fields;
+gaining in power, the argosies of commerce find a home upon its broad
+bosom, and it is a recognized power in the world, a mighty factor in the
+calculations of merchants and shippers.
+
+"But in the meantime it becomes tainted, until at last when it finds its
+grave in the Gulf, so foul are its waters that they discolor for miles
+the deep blue of the sea.
+
+"The other starts with a babble as joyous as the carols of childhood;
+when it reaches the valley it begins its struggle through a lava-blasted
+desert; when the desert is passed, it has to grind its channel through
+rugged mountains that tear its waters into foam, and at last in mighty
+throes, on the stormy bar it finds its grave in the roaring ocean. Its
+existence is one long, mighty struggle; there are awful chasms in its
+path into which it is hurled; the thirsty desert encroaches upon its
+current; mountains block its way; at the very last furious seas seek to
+beat it back, but to the end it holds itself pure as when it starts on
+its way from the mountain spring.
+
+"These rivers are typical of men and of nations. Some meet no
+obstruction; they glide on, gaining in wealth and power; at last, they
+become in one way a blessing, in another a terror; but in the meantime,
+they grow corrupt because of the world's contact; and so pass, gross and
+discolored, into eternity.
+
+"Others have lives that are one long struggle unheard-of obstacles are
+ever rising in their paths, but they fight on and on, and when at last
+their course is run, those who trace them through their careers, with
+uncovered heads are bound to say that they kept their integrity to the
+last, and that all the world's discouragements could not disarm their
+power, break their courage, or dim the clear mirror of their purity."
+
+Sedgwick ceased speaking, but after a moment, looking up, he added: "Not
+very far from the sources of these two streams, there is another fountain
+in the hills, out of which flows another stream as large and fair as
+either of the others. It, too, goes tumbling down the mountain gorge,
+increasing in volume, until it strikes the valley, then grows less and
+less in size, until a few miles below it disappears in the sands.
+
+"This, too, is typical of men and nations. They begin life buoyant and
+brave; they rush on exultingly at first, but the quicksands of vice or
+crime or disease are before them, and they sink and leave no name.
+
+"The man or nation that is to be great must be born great. Those who
+succeed are those who are guided into channels which make success
+possible.
+
+"The strength of the modern world rests on the modern home. That did not
+come of rich mines or fields, but of the sovereign genius of the men of
+northern Europe; and the glory was worked out amid poverty, hardships and
+sorrows."
+
+But the voyage was over at last, and the two miners hastened to take the
+train for the home of Browning in Devonshire. They arrived at the village
+at midnight and went to a hotel, or, as Sedgwick said: "This, Jack, is
+han Hinglish Hinn, is it?"
+
+Next day was Sunday and Browning was up early. He said to Sedgwick: "Wait
+until I go and prospect the croppings about here a little. It is a good
+while since I was on this lead, and I want to see how it has been worked
+since I went away."
+
+He came back in half an hour a good deal worked up. "Do you know, Jim,"
+he said, "by Jove, they are all gone! That old step-father has 'gone
+pards with old Jenvie, and they have all moved to London, and are running
+a banking and brokerage establishment. I have their address and we will
+chase them up to-morrow, but I do not like the look of things at all.
+Why, Rose Jenvie in one season in London would blossom out and shine like
+a gold bar."
+
+"Stuff," answered Sedgwick. "In Texas we always noticed that if we ever
+turned out a blood mare she was sure to pick up the sorriest old mustang
+on the range for a running mate. Your Rose would be more apt to pick up a
+husband here than in London for the first two or three years she might be
+there."
+
+Said Browning: "I say, Jim, did you mean that mustang story to go for an
+excuse for Miss Rose calling me 'Jack?'"
+
+"O, no!" said Sedgwick, "when she called you Jack, she was just a silly
+colt that could not discriminate."
+
+"I see," said Browning, "but I say, Jim, you ought to have been here
+then. By Jove, she might have even fancied you."
+
+"Don't you dare to talk that way," said Sedgwick, "or I will try to cut
+you out when we see her, unless, as is quite possible, she has already
+been some happy man's wife for two or three years."
+
+"Jim, I say, stop that!" said Browning. "It will be time to face that
+infernal possibility when I cannot help it. Bless my soul, but the
+thought of it makes me sea-sick."
+
+They breakfasted together, and were smoking their after-breakfast
+cigars--Nevada-like--when the church bells began to ring.
+
+"When did you attend church last, Browning?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+"I have been a good deal remiss in that," was the reply.
+
+"Suppose we go. It will be a novelty, and you will see more friends there
+than in any other place."
+
+"A good thought, old boy," said Browning, "and we shall have time only to
+dress."
+
+A few minutes later they emerged from the hotel, and proceeded to the old
+church that Browning had attended during all his childhood.
+
+Queerly enough, the sermon was on the return of the Prodigal Son. The
+good clergyman dilated on his theme. He told what a tough citizen the
+Prodigal Son was in his youth, how he was given to boating and
+steeple-chasing, and staying out nights and worrying the old father,
+until finally he ran away. "Photographing you, Jack," whispered Sedgwick.
+When he came to the part where the Prodigal ate the husks, Sedgwick
+whispered again: "He means the hash in that restaurant on the Divide,
+Jack."
+
+Then the picture of the joy of the father on the return of this son, and
+the moral which the parable teaches, were graphically given. At last the
+service was over, and as the congregation filed out there was a general
+rush for Browning, for the whole congregation recognized him, though the
+almost beardless boy that went away had returned in the full flush of
+manhood. He was overwhelmed with greetings and congratulations over his
+safe return, and as Sedgwick was introduced as Browning's friend the
+welcomes to him were most cordial, though there was many a glance at the
+fashionably-cut clothing of the young men.
+
+The people were all in Sunday attire, many of the ladies wearing gay
+colors. The day was warm and sunny and they lingered on the green,
+talking joyously, when suddenly a cry of terror arose, and looking, the
+young men saw a two-year old Hereford bull coming at full speed at the
+crowd, and with the evident intention of charging direct into it. Every
+one was paralyzed; that is, all but one. That one was Sedgwick. Near him
+was a woman who had a long red scarf doubled and flung carelessly over
+her shoulder. In an instant Sedgwick had thrown off his coat, snatched
+the scarf from the woman and dashed out of the crowd directly toward the
+coming terror. He shouted and shook the scarf, and the bull, seeing it,
+rushed directly for it. As he struck the scarf, like a flash Sedgwick
+caught the ring in the bull's nose with his left hand, the left horn in
+his right hand, and twisting the ring and giving a mighty wrench on the
+horn, both man and bull went prone upon the turf. But the man was above
+and the bull below, and clinging to ring and horn and with knee on the
+bull's throat, Sedgwick bent all his might upon the brute's head and held
+him down.
+
+Browning was at his side in a moment, and at Sedgwick's muffled cry to
+tie his forelegs, Browning seized the scarf, lashed the bull's legs
+together, and then both men arose.
+
+Securing his coat quickly, Sedgwick seized Browning's arm, and said, "Let
+us get out of this, old man. You told me this was a bully place, but I
+did not look for it quite in that form."
+
+"Where did you learn that trick?" asked Browning.
+
+"In Texas," said Sedgwick. "It is a game we play with yearlings there,
+but we never try it on an old stager, because, you see, if one should
+fall he would be in the sump, or in a drift where the air would be bad in
+a minute. That was a big fellow, but he had a ring in his nose, which
+made me the more sure of him, and then you see there was nothing else to
+do. I will go to no more churches in England with you without carrying a
+lariat and revolver."
+
+"It was a good job, Jack," said Browning; "by Jove, it was. I am sorry it
+happened, but I am glad you did it. I don't believe I could have managed
+it any better myself."
+
+The feat was the talk of the town, and it grew in size with every
+repetition, and in the next day's paper it was magnified beyond all
+proportions. Fortunately, the printers got both the names of Browning
+and Sedgwick spelled wrong, which was all the comfort the young men had
+out of it.
+
+On Monday morning the friends went out in the country and looked over the
+estate that Browning had been hoping to make money enough to purchase.
+Browning explained his plans for improving it, and the address of the
+owner in London was obtained.
+
+In the evening they took the train for London. The landlord had had a
+great night and day because of callers on Browning and his friend, and
+would take nothing of his guests except a five-pound note to hand to the
+woman from whose shoulder Sedgwick had caught the scarf.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+BONANZAS.
+
+
+It was in the gray of the morning when they entered the mighty city by
+the Thames. They sought a hotel, where they breakfasted; then waiting
+until business men had gone to their work, they called a carriage and
+drove to the home of Browning's step-father.
+
+It was Browning's turn now to tremble and perspire. "Bless my soul, Jim!"
+said he, "no drift on the Comstock was ever half so hot as this, never,
+by Jove!"
+
+They were admitted and shown to the parlor. Browning asked for Mrs. and
+Miss Hamlin, and bade the servant say some friends desired to see them.
+
+Who can picture the joy that followed the coming of those ladies into the
+room! It is better to imagine it.
+
+After an hour had passed, and the tears had dried, and the tremblings
+ceased a little, Browning's sister drew him a little aside and asked him
+why he did not inquire about some one else.
+
+"Because," said he, "I dare not."
+
+"Well," said the dear girl, "she is due here even now. If you will go
+into the library I will meet her, tell her mother has a caller, and
+propose that we go to the library. When we get there I will lose myself
+for your sake, and, like the famous witches, 'dissolve into thin air.'"
+
+"She is not married?" asked Browning.
+
+"No," replied his sister.
+
+"Heart whole?" Browning queried.
+
+"How should I know?" answered his sister; "but there is the door-bell.
+Hurry Jack! This way to the library!"
+
+Rose Jenvie came in. Grace met and greeted her in the hall.
+
+"Why, Grace," said Rose, "you have been crying. What is wrong, dear?"
+
+"Nothing is wrong," said Grace, "nothing at all, and I have not been
+crying." And all the time the tears were running down her cheeks.
+
+"Why," exclaimed Rose, "what in the world is the matter? What has so
+upset you this morning?"
+
+"I tell you, nothing," answered Grace. "Mamma has a caller in the parlor;
+let us go to the library."
+
+Reaching the door, Grace opened it for Rose, and then said, pettishly,
+"There! I have forgotten a letter I wish to show you; go in, and I will
+be back directly."
+
+Rose naturally walked in, when Grace closed the door behind her, turned
+the key noiselessly and fled.
+
+The curtains were half drawn, the day was cloudy, and Rose advanced two
+or three steps into the room before she discovered another occupant.
+That occupant rose as she stopped. She saw a manly fellow with hair cut
+short and full mustache. He saw a woman a little above the medium height,
+with hazel eyes, full and proud, a fair, clear-cut face, a slight but
+perfectly developed form, and the face wore a look which it seemed to him
+was sad, despite its beauty, as though some thought within made a shadow
+on the fair young life.
+
+The young man gazed a moment, then raising and opening his arms, in a
+voice that shook perceptibly, said, "Rose!"
+
+She gazed a moment, then with a joyous cry of "O, Jack!" sprang into the
+outstretched arms, and for the first time in their lives their lips met.
+
+There were tears in Jack's eyes; the tears were raining down Rose's face,
+and both were shaking as with a burning ague. Browning sank upon a sofa,
+still clasping the fair girl in his strong arms, and seating her beside
+him.
+
+"O, Rose," he said, "I have dreamed of this meeting ever since I left
+you, by sea and land, under the sunshine, in the deep mine's depths, by
+day and night. I love you, I do not know when I did not love you; I have
+come for you, will you be my wife?"
+
+Then Rose said: "You went away without a good-bye or any message. You
+never wrote. You have been gone more than four years." But with a smile
+which was enchantment to Jack, she added: "If I could have found any one
+to marry me, I would have shown you, but no one would, because when I was
+young I kept such bad company."
+
+Then how they did talk! Jack repeated all the old inaccuracies which
+lovers have called up since the Stone Age, the burden of which was that
+the memory of her face had been his light in the darkest mine; the memory
+of her voice had been the music for which his soul had been listening for
+years.
+
+And Rose told the enraptured young man how hard her lot had been to
+conceal a love which she had no right to own, because it had never
+been asked; how hard it had been for her to simulate contentment and
+cheerfulness, but after all how it had been her comfort and support,
+because she had never doubted that he would come back.
+
+Then Jack, between kisses, told his charmer that he had worked every day
+for years; that he had gathered up quite a many good pounds; that if she
+would be his wife, if nothing could be done in England, they would bid
+England good-bye and make their home beyond the sea. And she consented,
+adding: "If you have to run away again, see that you do not go alone. You
+were always so wild that from the first you have needed some careful
+person to look after you."
+
+An hour later, Grace came, unlocked the door, and found the happy pair
+arm-in-arm walking up and down the room. Going up to them, and looking
+into their faces, she said:
+
+"Why, Rose, you have been crying; what is wrong, dear?"
+
+"Nothing is wrong," she answered, "nothing is wrong, and I have not
+been crying; have I, Jack? But, Grace, was it fair to give me no hint,
+and thus permit Jack to surprise me into giving away something that I
+ought to have kept him on the rack for a month at least about before
+conferring?"
+
+Grace smiled and said: "Are you quite satisfied, Jack?"
+
+"Quite," he replied.
+
+"And are you as happy as you deserve to be, Rose?"
+
+"Oh, Grace," said Rose, and then the two young women both cried and
+embraced each other until Jack gently separated them, and said: "Come,
+we must find Jim. Jim is my friend. His judgment is perfect, and I must
+submit this business to him."
+
+"Mr. Sedgwick has gone back to the hotel," said Grace, and a serious
+look was in her eyes as she spoke. But in a moment she smiled and said:
+"When I told him where you were and who was with you, he laughed and
+said: 'It is liable to be a case of working after hours. When the young
+lady succeeds in extricating herself, tell Jack, please, that I have gone
+out to take in London, and will see him at the hotel when he finds time
+to call.'"
+
+"And who is Mr. Sedgwick?" asked Rose.
+
+"The best and noblest man in all this world," replied Jack.
+
+"Oh, Jack!" said Rose.
+
+"It is true, all the same, my sorceress," said Browning. "I have seen him
+tested. He has been my close companion for lo! these many months."
+
+"I am jealous of him," said Rose. "But why did he run away? I want to
+know all your friends."
+
+"I suspect the truth is he left out of consideration for you and myself,"
+said Browning. "He knew how I felt, and he hoped I would not be
+disappointed, and I suspect he thought the sacredness of our joy ought
+not to be disturbed."
+
+"Very fine, of course," said Grace; "very thoughtful and considerate, but
+why did he not stop to ask himself if it was quite fair to leave me all
+alone."
+
+"You are right, Gracie," said Browning, "and this act of his shows an
+absence of mind on his part that I did not expect."
+
+Then all laughed, but Grace blushed a little while she laughed.
+
+Then Mrs. Hamlin came in. She warmly congratulated the happy pair.
+
+They strolled into the sitting-room, and soon after the mail was brought
+in. The first things the girls seized upon were the papers from
+Devonshire, for they were like other people. Men and women live in a
+place for years, and daily express the belief that the home paper is the
+worst specimen they ever saw, but let one of them absent himself or
+herself for a week, and the same newspaper from the old home is the one
+thing they want above all others. Glancing over the paper, Grace suddenly
+looked up and said: "Why, they had a wonderfully exciting episode down
+in ---- on Sunday last." She had come upon the account of the exploit
+with the bull, and read it aloud.
+
+The names being misspelled, she never suspected the real facts.
+
+"That was a brave man," she said, when she had finished. "It must have
+been splendid. I wish I could have seen it. How it must have astonished
+those villagers. I would like to kiss the man who performed that feat."
+
+"Would you?" said Jack laughingly. "I will tell him so when I meet him."
+
+"Please do," said Grace. "He must have been a grand matador from Spain,"
+and springing up, she caught a tidy from the furniture, danced around the
+room with it, holding it in both hands as though bating an angry bull,
+and suddenly dropping it, made a grab for an imaginary ring and horn, and
+twisting both wrists quickly, cried out: "Did I not down his highness
+beautifully?"
+
+"Beautifully," said Browning, "and when I meet the man I will tell him of
+your vivid imitation."
+
+"And don't forget to tell him I would like to kiss him," said Grace,
+laughing.
+
+"Maybe I can fix it so you can tell him yourself, Grace."
+
+"Do you know him, Jack?" asked Rose.
+
+Jack smiled and said, "Perhaps."
+
+"What do you mean, Jack?" asked Grace.
+
+"I know the man, Grace; and so do you," said Jack.
+
+"True?" asked Grace.
+
+"True," said Jack.
+
+"I know him?" asked Grace. "Why, who is there in ---- that would do
+anything like that?"
+
+"No one that I know of," said Jack. "But you have forgotten a somewhat
+diffident and reserved young man with whom you were conversing in the
+parlor an hour ago?"
+
+Grace grew pale, and sank into a seat. "O, Jack, you don't mean--?"
+
+"Yes," he said, interrupting her, "it was Sedgwick, and it was splendidly
+done, too. It was, by Jove!"
+
+"Honest?" asked Grace.
+
+"Honest, and I will deliver your message."
+
+Blushing scarlet, Grace sprang up and began to plead.
+
+Browning would promise nothing except that he might possibly put the
+matter off a little while. "But," he added, "I believe Jim would give
+more to see your imitation than you would to see the original performance
+repeated without change of scene."
+
+"Were you not sharp, Jack, to get me to commit myself before ever gaining
+a glimpse of this wonderful man?" asked Rose.
+
+"Indeed, was," he replied. "Why, I recall now that once when we were
+having a friendly dispute, he threatened that unless I came to his terms
+he would come over here, search you out, and try to steal you away from
+me."
+
+"But then he had not seen _me_," said Grace, mockingly.
+
+All laughed at that. Rose spoke first and said: "But, if he is your close
+friend, and has come to England with you, why does he go back to the
+hotel?"
+
+Browning smiled and said, "Why, child, save for three days in his own
+father's house, he has been under no gentleman's private roof for years.
+He does not know our English methods. And that makes me think; I, too,
+must go. My own tenure here was a little uncertain, when I went away, and
+now I, too, am going to the hotel. When my father comes, Grace, you may
+tell him I have been here, that I called, but that I am staying at
+the ---- Hotel. If he comes and calls upon me, I shall be glad to see
+him; if he does not, why, to-morrow at ten, if you girls will have your
+hats and wraps on, I think Jim and myself will be glad to engage you for
+a drive. Jim has not been forbidden the premises, and he can call for you
+while I wait outside."
+
+No persuasion would make him remain. Putting his arm around Rose, he drew
+her to him, and said: "We will give the old folks a chance to do the fair
+thing; if they will not, what then, little one?"
+
+"Henceforth," she answered, gravely, but low and sweet, "your home is to
+be my home, your God my God." Then she bent and touched his hand with her
+lips, and he wended his way back to find Sedgwick.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+A DINNER PARTY.
+
+
+And Sedgwick, what of him? He had gone, as he said, "to see Jack through,
+as Jack had stood by him in Ohio," but when Grace Hamlin--or Grace
+Meredith, which was her real name--at their summons entered the parlor he
+was transfixed. Just medium height was she, slight but perfect in form,
+with darkish-brown eyes and clear-cut features, a golden chestnut curly
+mass of hair, the hand of a queen, and the hand-clasp of a sincere, true
+and happy woman. And poor Jim was lost in a moment.
+
+He called up all his self-possession, and did the best he could, but
+he seized the first opportunity to get away where he could think. Once
+outside the house, he hailed a cab, told the driver to jog around for
+an hour or two, and then land him at the ---- Hotel. Once started, he
+settled back and began to cross-question himself, and to moralize over
+the situation.
+
+"I have seen prettier girls than this one, seen them in Ohio, in Texas,
+in Virginia City, and they never gave me an extra heart-beat. What is the
+matter with me now? When that girl smiled up in my face, welcomed me as
+her brother's friend, and told me she was glad I had come with him, all
+the clutches broke off my cage, and I thought I would in a moment bring
+up in the sump below the 1,700 foot level, smashed so they would have to
+sew the pieces up in canvas to bring me to the surface. It is a clear
+case that I am gone, and what the mischief am I going to do? Suppose I
+brace up and try to win her, and fail, then I shall be done for sure
+enough. The old world so far has had no particular attractions for me,
+and were I to ask her to look at me, and she, like a sensible woman
+that she is, should first look surprised at my assurance, and then
+respectfully decline, what would there be left for me? Suppose again, I
+could fool her into accepting, then what? I, a rough Nevada miner, linked
+for life with a London fairy--beauty and the beast--what would I do with
+her? In this babel, what could I do? What could she do on the old Jasper
+farm on the hill? I have it. I won't see her again. I will go and pack my
+grip, tell Jack I have received a cable which takes me home, and I will
+leave to-morrow.
+
+"But then I could not go as I came. Those steady brown eyes would follow
+me; when the sunlight would turn its glint on gold and purple clouds, her
+chestnut curls would be sure to flash before my eyes, and then there
+would be a voice crying to me ceaselessly: 'You who prided yourself on
+being brave enough to do any needed thing, you on the first real trial
+lowered your flag and fled in a panic. A nice fix I have got myself into.
+All my life, through all my dare-devil days, on the ranges in Texas, down
+amid the swelling clay of the Comstock, everywhere, my soul has been
+equal to the occasion, and I have been able to acquit myself in a way not
+to attract attention to my deficiencies. But now my heart has gone back
+on me; a pair of eyes have confused my vision, and a little hand has
+knocked me out on the first round. I am in a deuce of a fix, surely."
+So he rattled on to himself.
+
+The driver was a garrulous whip. From time to time he had been calling
+down to Sedgwick the names of famous points of interest along the route,
+which had been unheeded by the absorbed occupant of the cab. Finally the
+driver explained that a certain structure was Westminster Abbey.
+
+"And what is Westminster Abbey?"
+
+"It is where kings and queens and great soldiers and scholars are
+buried," said cabbie.
+
+"Burial lots come high there, do they not?" said Sedgwick.
+
+"Why, man, there are no lots sold there," said cabbie. "It is a place
+which was hundreds of years ago set aside for England's great dead to be
+buried in. The brightest dream of an Englishman is to rest there at
+last."
+
+"Do they dream when they get there?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+"Why, man," said cabbie, "when they get there they are dead."
+
+"Great place!" said Sedgwick.
+
+"The greatest in all England," replied cabbie.
+
+"Do you know of any Englishmen who are in a hurry to be carried there?"
+said Sedgwick.
+
+"O, no," said cabbie, "the best of them are not in any hurry about it."
+
+"You Englishmen must be a queer race, to be always dreaming of going to a
+place and still are never anxious to start," said Sedgwick.
+
+Cabbie gave up trying to explain the majesty of the great Abbey to one so
+utterly obtuse as Sedgwick seemed to be. He drove on in silence for half
+an hour or forty minutes before he rallied enough to speak again. Then he
+pointed to a structure and called down to Sedgwick that the place was
+Newgate.
+
+"What is there peculiar about Newgate?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+"Why, it is the famous Newgate prison," said cabbie.
+
+Sedgwick roused himself and asked, "What do they do in Newgate?"
+
+"What do they do?" said cabbie, "what do they do? Why, they hang people
+there sometimes."
+
+"Get down, please, and ask them what they will charge to hang me," said
+Sedgwick. He did not smile; he seemed in sober earnest.
+
+Cabbie looked at him for an instant, then whipped up his horses and
+hurried him to the hotel. Arriving there, he sprang down and said, "This
+is your hotel." Sedgwick got out and was walking off mechanically, when
+cabbie said, "Five shillings, please, sir." Sedgwick, with "O, I had
+forgotten," handed the man a guinea, and passed into the hotel. Cabbie
+looked after him, then tapped his forehead as much as to say, "He is off
+in the upper story," and mounting his box, drove away.
+
+Sedgwick went to his rooms, threw off his coat, opened a window, sat
+down, put his heels on the table, lighted a cigar which went out in a
+moment, and an hour later when Browning, radiant, joyous, and exulting,
+returned, he found him there, still holding the unlighted cigar in his
+mouth, his feet still on the table, and a puzzled, undecided, and
+absorbed look on his face.
+
+Browning rushed up to him, crying, "Jim, congratulate me, I have seen
+her, and it is all settled. She is an angel, Jim, and she has promised to
+be my wife. O, but God is good to me."
+
+"I am glad, old man, I rejoice with you," said Sedgwick. "I hope with all
+my heart no cloud will ever cross the sunshine of your lives." Then he
+relapsed again into his moody way.
+
+"What ails you, Jim?" asked Browning. "Does this great babel oppress your
+spirits?"
+
+"I believe it does, Jack," he answered. "I was just thinking as you came
+in that I had better pull out for home. The atmosphere here is like a
+drift without any air-pipe."
+
+"Nonsense," said Browning; "you cannot go. You must wait for my wedding.
+It would be all spoiled without you. I was planning it on the way. It
+will be in the church, of course, just before midday. You will be the
+best man--as usual. You and my sister shall do the honors that day. All
+my friends will be there. I will have the church smothered in flowers.
+I will corrupt the organist, bribe the choir, double-bank the preacher in
+advance, and we will all have a rousing time. We will, by Jove!"
+
+Sedgwick smiled at his friend's happiness, and said: "Did you ever think
+that maybe I would be a little out of training for a performance of that
+kind? I think I would sooner risk keeping my seat on a wild mustang."
+
+"You can do it, Sedgwick," said Jack. "You must do it. I would not feel
+half married unless you were present, and then, did you not promise to
+come and see me through?"
+
+"Who will give away the bride?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+The question seemed to startle Browning. "That reminds me," he said,
+doubtingly, "that I have neither seen my governor nor old man Jenvie.
+I left home telling mother and Grace that before I went home to live I
+would have to be invited by the governor. And that reminds me, too, Jim,
+there must not be a word about my money. I have only carried the idea
+that I worked for three years in the mines in America. They will reckon
+it up and conclude that if I was prudent I may have saved L400 or L500."
+
+"That reminds me," said Sedgwick, "that no one must know that I have
+anything more than the savings of three or four years' work. It would
+give you away if the facts were known about my little fortune. But, Jack,
+could you not get along just as well without me? You ought to be in your
+own home and ought to enjoy every moment of time, while I am, in this
+vast waste of houses, what one solitary monkey would be in a South
+American wilderness."
+
+"I will not hear of it, old pard," said Browning. "You see, if the
+governor asks me home you will go with me, and we will cabin together as
+of old. We will, by Jove! If he does not, then you must help me hold the
+fort in this hotel until I can bring my wife here," and he blushed like
+a girl when he spoke the word "wife."
+
+The day wore heavily away. It was almost dark when a carriage stopped
+at the hotel and the cards of Archibald Hamlin and Percival Jenvie were
+brought in. Browning received them, and glancing at them handed them to
+Sedgwick, whispering, "They are the old duffers, Jim," caught up his hat,
+said to the servant, "Show me the gentlemen," and followed him out of the
+room.
+
+He was absent a full half-hour. When he returned the two old men
+accompanied him and were presented to Jack. They were very gracious,
+invited Sedgwick to come with his son and make his son's home his home
+while in London.
+
+Sedgwick was shy when there were ladies present, but men did not
+disconcert him.
+
+He thanked Mr. Hamlin for his kind invitation, but begged to be excused,
+adding, "I am but a miner, not yet a month from underground. I have lived
+a miner's life for years. You do not understand, but that is not a good
+school in which to prepare a student for polite society."
+
+"Tut, tut," said the old gentleman, with English heartiness. "We have
+a big, rambling old house. You can have your quarters there. When you
+become bored you can retreat to them. You shall have a key and go and
+come when you please. We should all be hurt were not Jack's friend made
+welcome under our roof so long as he pleased to remain in London."
+
+"Well, let me think it over to-night. If I can gather the courage, maybe
+I will accept to-morrow," said Sedgwick.
+
+Then Jenvie interposed, saying, "Mr. Sedgwick, let us make a compromise.
+My house is but a step from Hamlin's; make it your home half the time.
+Really it should be. In England friends only stop at hotels when
+traveling."
+
+"Come, Jim," said Jack; "you see it must be, and that is the right thing.
+Ours are old-fashioned people, just up from Devonshire. What would you
+have thought had I insisted upon stopping at that hotel at the station
+near your father's house?"
+
+Sedgwick yielded at last. Their trunks were packed in a few minutes, the
+bill settled, and they drove away.
+
+Reaching the Hamlin home they were shown at once to their apartments, and
+were informed that so soon as they were ready dinner would be served.
+
+They were not long in dressing, and together they descended to the
+parlor. Besides the family, the Jenvie family were also present. Grace
+met them at the door, shook hands with Sedgwick, and welcomed him with a
+word and a smile which set all his pulses bounding, and, taking his arm,
+presented him to the strangers; then shouted gaily: "Follow us! dinner
+is waiting."
+
+Sedgwick was given the seat at the right of his host; Grace took the seat
+at his right, with Jack and Rose opposite.
+
+The ladies were radiant in evening costume, and Sedgwick with a mighty
+effort threw off the depression which had burdened the day and appeared
+at his very best.
+
+Mrs. Hamlin, judging shrewdly that perhaps it would relieve the stranger
+from embarrassment to engage him in conversation, with beautiful tact
+brought him to tell the company of his own country, remarking that "We
+insular people have but a vague idea at best of America."
+
+With a smile, Sedgwick replied: "I do not know very much myself of my
+native country, for since I left school (here he glanced at Jack and his
+eyes twinkled) I merely wandered slowly through the southwestern States,
+almost to the Gulf in Texas, then bending north and west again, continued
+until I reached the eastern slope of the Sierras, and then made a dive
+underground and remained there until Jack determined to go home, and I
+came along to take care of him."
+
+Here Miss Jenvie interposed and said: "What was the most precious thing
+you ever found in the mines, Mr. Sedgwick?"
+
+"Considering who asked the question, it would be cruel not to tell you it
+was Jack," he replied.
+
+All laughed, and Miss Jenvie said: "Is it true, did you and Jack first
+meet underground?"
+
+"Indeed we did," said Sedgwick, "and we were neither of us handsomely
+attired. I thought he was a gnome; he thought me a Chinese dragon."
+
+Then Miss Grace interposed; "Mr. Sedgwick," said she, "is not Texas a
+land where there are a great many cattle?"
+
+"Millions of them," was the reply.
+
+"And is not that the region where the cowboy is also found?" she
+continued.
+
+"There are a few there, surely," said Sedgwick, and looking across the
+table he saw a smile on Jack's face.
+
+"They are good riders and good shots, are they not?" Grace asked.
+
+"Some of them ride well, and nearly all of them shoot well," said
+Sedgwick.
+
+"I would like to go there," said Grace, impetuously; "it must be a jolly
+life." Then looking at her mother, she laughed gaily and said: "If ever
+one of those cowboys, with broad hat and jingling spurs, comes this way,
+you had better lock the doors, mamma, if you want to keep me."
+
+Sedgwick kept a steady face, but his heart was throbbing so that he
+feared the company would hear it.
+
+Then Jenvie asked Sedgwick if mining in Nevada was not mostly carried on
+by rough and rude men.
+
+Sedgwick's face became grave in a moment, as he said: "We must judge men
+by the motives behind their lives, if we would get at what they really
+are. There are married men and single men at work in the mines. The
+married men have wives and little children to support. They wish to have
+their dear ones fed and clothed as well as other generous people feed and
+clothe their families. They want their children educated. They have,
+moreover, all around them examples of rich men who a year or five years
+previous were as humble and poor as they now are. The young men have
+hopes quite as sweet, purposes quite as high. This one is to build up a
+little fortune for some one he loves; this one has a home in his mind's
+eye which he means to purchase; this one has relatives whom he dreams of
+making happy, while others have visions of honors and fame, so soon as
+something which is in their thoughts shall materialize.
+
+"Then the occupation itself and the results have a tendency, I think, to
+exalt men. To begin with, the work is a steady struggle against nature's
+tremendous forces. The rock has to be blasted, the waters controlled, the
+consuming heat tempered, the swelling clay confined, and to do this men
+have to employ great agents. A silver mine generally has Desolation
+placed as a watch above it. To work it everything has to be carried to
+it. The forest away off on some mountain side has to be felled and hauled
+to the spot. For many months the great Bonanza has received within it
+monthly 3,000,000 feet of timbers, machinery equal to that in the holds
+of mighty steamships has to be set in place and motion; drills are kept
+at work 2,000 feet underground, from power supplied on the surface;
+hundreds of men have to be daily hoisted from and lowered into the
+depths; there has to be a precision and continuity that never fail, and
+the men who plan and carry on that work emerge from it after a few years
+stronger, brighter, clearer-brained and braver men than they ever would
+have been except for that discipline.
+
+"Then what they produce is something which makes the labor of every
+other man more profitable, for it is something which is the measure of
+values, something which all races of men recognize at once, something
+indestructible and peculiarly precious, which can be drawn into a
+thread-like silk, or hammered into a leaf so thin that a breath will
+carry it away; it is the very spirit of the rock, the part that is
+imperishable. Moreover, it is labor made immortal, for, tried by fire, it
+grows bright and loses no grain of its weight. Could we find a piece of
+the beaten gold that overlaid the temple of Israel's greatest king, it
+would, to-day, represent the labor of one of those miners that toiled in
+Ophir and fell back to dust thirty generations before the Christ was
+born.
+
+"Moreover, it is and has been from the first one of the measures of the
+civilization of nations. Where gold and silver are in general circulation
+among the people they are always prosperous, their children are always
+educated, and the advance is so marked that it can be measured by decades
+of years. A nation's decay or enlightenment can be traced by the
+decreasing or increasing volume of gold and silver in circulation.
+
+"Miners thus engrossed, producing such a substance, and carrying such
+hopes and aspirations in their souls, as a rule, grow stronger, more
+manly and more true.
+
+"I do not say that there are not many rough characters among them. I do
+not say that when the influence of true women is in great part withdrawn
+from any class of men, they do not more and more gravitate toward
+savagery, for they but follow a natural law; but the tenderest, truest,
+bravest, best, most generous and most just men I have ever known have
+been miners in the far West of the United States."
+
+While talking, Sedgwick had seemed to forget where he was, but as
+he ceased he glanced across the table and noticed a look of full
+appreciation on Rose's face, and smiling, he added: "I was talking for
+Jack's sake, Miss Rose."
+
+It was a pleasant dinner, and a pleasant evening followed. There was a
+running fire of conversation, broken only when the young ladies sang or
+played. When Sedgwick first heard Grace sing, he sat, as he said
+afterward, "in mortal terror lest wings should spread out from her white
+shoulders and she should disappear through the ceiling."
+
+In point of fact, she sang well, but she was not nearly ethereal enough
+to want to give up the substantial earth to take to the ether.
+
+But amid all the contending emotions, Sedgwick kept a furtive watch upon
+the two old men. They were exceedingly gracious, but they gave Sedgwick
+the impression that they were striving too hard to be agreeable.
+
+Jack was in the seventh heaven. He tried to conceal his joy, but every
+moment he would glance at Rose Jenvie with a look in his eyes which was
+enough to show any miner where his bonanza was. Sedgwick was wildly
+smitten, himself, but he kept his wits about him enough to watch and try
+to fathom what in the bearing of the old men for some inexplainable
+reason disturbed him.
+
+When the company separated and sought their respective apartments, Jack
+went to his own room, threw off his coat, put on slippers and lighted a
+cigar, crossed the hall, first tapped upon the door of Sedgwick's room,
+then pushed it open, walked in, closed the door, and then burst out with
+"Jim, is she not a glory of the earth?"
+
+"I think she is, indeed," was the reply. Sedgwick was thinking of Grace.
+
+"Is there another such girl in all the world, Jim?" said Jack.
+
+"I don't believe there is, old boy; not another one," said Sedgwick.
+
+"What a queenly head she has! What a throat of snow! What an infinite
+grace! 'Whether she sits or stands or walks or whatever thing she does,'
+she is divine," said Jack.
+
+"She impressed me just that way," said Sedgwick.
+
+"Not too short, not too tall, with just enough flesh and blood to keep
+one in mind that while she is divine, she is still a woman," said Jack.
+
+"Only base metal enough to hold the precious metal in place," said
+Sedgwick.
+
+So Jack rattled on in the very ecstasy of his love, and so Sedgwick,
+quite as deeply involved, replied; the one talking of Rose, the other
+of Grace.
+
+At length, however, Sedgwick roused himself and said: "Jack, old boy,
+tell me how the old men received you."
+
+"With open arms," said Jack. "My step-father grasped both my hands, said
+he was hasty in banishing me as he did, that his heart had been filled
+with remorse ever since, that he had sought in vain to find me. And old
+man Jenvie, with a hearty welcome and jolly laugh, declared that I served
+him exactly right when I floored him; that it had made a better man of
+him ever since, and that he was glad to welcome me back to England."
+
+Sedgwick listened, and when Jack ceased speaking there was silence for
+a full minute, until Jack said:
+
+"What are you thinking of, Jim?"
+
+"Nothing much," said Sedgwick; "only, Jack, I have changed my mind.
+I will stay and help you through the wedding; only hurry it along as
+swiftly as you conveniently can."
+
+"There is something on your mind, Jim," said Jack. "What is it, old
+friend?"
+
+"Nothing, Jack; nothing but a mean suspicion, for which I can give myself
+no tangible excuse for entertaining," asked Sedgwick.
+
+"Suspicion, Jim! Which way do the indications lead?" asked Jack.
+
+"I will tell you, old friend. In Nevada we would say that these old men
+are too infernally gushing in their welcome to you. I fear there is
+something wrong behind it all; though, as I said, it is a mere suspicion
+which I cannot explain to myself; only, Jack, I will stay to the wedding,
+and be sure to give no hint to any soul in England that I have more than
+money enough to make a brief visit, and then to return to America. And do
+not permit what I have said to worry you, for I have no backing for my
+impressions."
+
+Then Jack went to his room to sleep and to dream of Rose Jenvie, and Jim
+went to bed, not to sleep, but to think of Grace Meredith.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+WAYS THAT ARE DARK.
+
+
+As we know, Sedgwick went first with Browning to the hamlet in Devonshire
+where Jack's early home had been. Browning was recognized, of course. An
+old friend of Hamlin's was at the church, spoke to Jack, and witnessed
+Sedgwick's encounter with the bull. He knew under what circumstances
+young Browning left home, and so on that Sunday evening he wrote to
+Hamlin that his step-son was in Devonshire, told him of the episode at the
+church, and informed the old man that the companion of his son, though a
+quiet and refined-appearing man enough, must be a prize-fighter in
+disguise. He further stated that Jack had told him that he and his friend
+had been working in the mines at Virginia City, Nevada, for three or four
+years. He added the strong suspicion that the complexion of the men
+indicated that they had not been in the mines at all. (His idea of a
+miner was a coal-miner, and not one from the Comstock mine, where there
+is no coal dust, and where the thermometer indicates a tropical climate
+always.)
+
+This letter reached Hamlin early on Monday. Being a half banker and half
+broker himself, he turned at once to the page in the bank directory,
+giving American banks and their London connections. He found the Nevada
+branch bank and California branch bank of Virginia City, and what banks
+in London they drew upon, and hastened first to the Nevada bank's London
+agency. He could obtain no news there. Then he sought the other, and
+knowing the management, he explained to one of the directors that his
+son was on the way home, was already in England, and asked him
+confidentially, both as a father and a brother banker, whether any credit
+had come for the boy. The director ran over his correspondence, and,
+looking up with a smile, said:
+
+"Is your son's name John Browning? If it is, he has bills of exchange
+upon us for L100,000."
+
+The old man was paralyzed. "It cannot be possible," he said. "Great
+heavens! L100,000!"
+
+"Those are the figures sent us," said the cashier, "and we received a
+mighty invoice of Nevada bullion by the last ship from New York. There is
+no mistake."
+
+Then an effort was made to see if another man named Sedgwick had any
+credit, but nothing was found. Enjoining upon the banker the utmost
+secrecy in regard to his being at the bank, the old man went away.
+
+The question with him was what to do. His business was not very
+prosperous, because he had not capital enough. Then, too, he was in debt
+to Jenvie. He wanted the lion's share of that money, and, more than ever,
+he wanted Jack to marry Grace.
+
+Then what did Jack mean by bringing a prize-fighter home with him? He was
+worried. Finally he determined to consult with Jenvie, his partner. He
+knew he did not like Jack, and he had, moreover, received hints from him
+that he was getting along well in making a match between Rose and a rich
+broker named Arthur Stetson, who had met her and been carried away by her
+beauty.
+
+So, calling Jenvie into their most private office, Hamlin bolted the door
+to prevent interruption, read him the letter received from Devonshire,
+and told him of the astounding discovery he had made at the ---- bank.
+The question was, what course to take.
+
+"I believe Rose likes Jack," said Jenvie. "She grieved exceedingly when
+he went away, though she hid it so superbly that only her mother knew
+about it, and she has rejected every suitor since except Stetson, and
+I fear when the climax comes she will reject him. The chances are, when
+Jack comes they will rush into each other's arms. At the same time, I do
+not want him for a son-in-law. But I would like to get some of the money
+into the firm, for we need more capital badly."
+
+They plotted all that day, and next morning decided that on the arrival
+of Jack they would welcome him; let the matter between him and Rose take
+its course, but in case of an engagement would prevent an immediate
+marriage, if possible, and see, in the meantime, what could be done
+toward working Jack for a part, at least, of his money. With that
+arrangement decided upon, when a message came from Hamlin's home that
+Jack had returned and had gone to the hotel, they were ready, and in
+company went to greet him and escort him home.
+
+Sedgwick had to be invited also, and that suited them, for they both
+desired to know what kind of a man he was. Both were satisfied, too, that
+he had no money, or he would have obtained a credit where Jack had
+obtained his exchange. When, at the first dinner, Grace had drawn from
+him that he had been in Texas and had seen cowboys, they both guessed
+where he had caught the trick which he had put in practice in Devonshire,
+and, thenceforth, save as a careless friend that careless Jack had picked
+up, they dropped Sedgwick from their calculations.
+
+How Jack got his money was the greatest mystery; and so a few days after
+his coming, his father said to him: "Jack, I hope you have come home to
+stay. Look around and find some business that you think will suit you,
+and I will buy it for you if it does not take too much money."
+
+"Thanks, father," said Jack; "much obliged, but I have a few pounds of my
+own."
+
+"How much are miner's wages in Virginia City?" asked the old man.
+
+"Four dollars a day; about twenty-four pounds a month," said Jack.
+
+"And what are the expenses?" was the next question.
+
+"Four shillings a day for board; three pounds per month for a room, and
+clothes and cigars to any amount you please," said Jack.
+
+"Why, you could not have saved more than L150 or L160 per annum at those
+rates," said the old man.
+
+"No," said Jack; "a good many may not do as well as that; but I had a few
+pounds which were invested by a friend in Con-Virginia when it was three
+dollars a share, and it was sold when it was worth a good bit more."
+
+The old man had learned the secret. He asked one more question. "Did your
+friend Sedgwick do as well as you did?"
+
+Jack thought of Sedgwick's injunction, so answered:
+
+"He made a good bit of money, something like L20,000, but he turned it
+over to his father in Ohio. I think the plan is to buy a place near the
+old home. He only brought a few hundred pounds with him. Indeed, he only
+ran over to oblige me. We were old friends; at one time we worked on the
+same shift in the mine."
+
+The old man was satisfied. Moreover, he saw his opportunity.
+
+"What a wonderful business that mining is," he said. "Stetson, the broker
+over the way, is promoting a mining enterprise in South Africa. According
+to the showing, it is an immense property. Here is the prospectus of the
+company. Put it in your pocket, and at your leisure run over it."
+
+Jack carelessly put the pamphlet in his pocket. That evening he was with
+Rose and remained pretty late. When he sought his room he could not
+sleep, so he ran over the statement. It was a captivating showing. The
+mine was called the "Wedge of Gold." It was located in the Transvaal. The
+main ledge was fully sixteen feet wide, with an easy average value of six
+pounds per ton in free gold, besides deposits and spurs that went much
+higher. The vein was exposed for several hundred feet, and opened by a
+shaft 300 feet deep, with long drifts on each of the levels. The country
+was healthy, supplies cheap, plenty of good wood and water, and the only
+thing needed was a mill for reducing the ore. The incorporation called
+for 150,000 shares of stock of the par value of one pound per share, and
+the pamphlet explained that 50,000 shares were set aside to be sold to
+raise means for a working capital, to build the mill, etc.
+
+Browning read the paper over twice, then tumbled into bed, and his dreams
+were all mixed up; part of the time he was counting gold bars, part of
+the time it seemed to him that Rose was near him, but when he spoke to
+her, every time she vanished away. Between the visions he made the worst
+kind of a night of it, and next morning told Jim that he was more beat
+out than ever he was when he came off shift on the Comstock.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+HOW MINERS ARE CAUGHT.
+
+
+Browning and Sedgwick had been in England two weeks. The question of the
+marriage of Browning and Rose Jenvie had been discussed and decided upon.
+Neither Hamlin nor Jenvie had interposed any objection to the marriage
+except on the point of time. They asked, at first, that it be postponed
+for six months, as Jenvie insisted that he wanted to be certain that Rose
+had not been carried away by a mere impulse on seeing once more an old
+friend who had long been absent. Hamlin agreed with him that the young
+people must be sure not to make any mistake. Jack was impetuous, and
+Rose, while making no pronounced opposition, quietly said that no tests
+were necessary; that she and Jack had been separated for a long time and
+knew their own minds. Sedgwick, when called in, refused to express an
+opinion, it being a matter too sacred to permit of any outside
+interference.
+
+Finally a compromise was made, the time reduced one-half, and the date
+fixed for the first of September, it being then nearly the first of June.
+Jack had only agreed to the postponement on the condition that Sedgwick
+should not desert him, but wait for the wedding. He consented, saying
+carelessly that two or three months would not much matter to him, but the
+truth was that the delay urged by the old men strengthened his suspicion
+that all was not just right. "Those old chaps are too sweet by half," he
+said to himself. "There is some game on hand to get the best of generous,
+simple-hearted, unsuspecting Jack, sure, and while I cannot fathom it I
+will keep watch."
+
+Then, there was the enchantment that Grace Meredith had woven around his
+life. Every morning she greeted him with a smile, a welcome word and a
+hand clasp that set his blood tingling. Her breath was in the air that he
+breathed, and when at night the hand-clasp and the smile were repeated,
+and the good-nights spoken, it all fell upon him like a benediction; and,
+going to his apartment, he would ask himself what his life would be were
+the smile, the word, and the hand-clasp to be his no more.
+
+After a few days there came a change in Grace. She was as cordial as
+ever, as gently considerate as ever, but she seemed to lose vivacity. She
+was often lost in revery; a sadder smile seemed to give expression to her
+face; she did not laugh with the old ringing laugh; there seemed to come
+in her look when she suddenly encountered Sedgwick, something which was
+the opposite of a blush--as opposite as the white rose is to the blush
+rose.
+
+In those days the steady conscience of Sedgwick was undergoing many
+self-questionings. Should he offer his love and be rejected, what then?
+Should the impossible happen and he should be accepted, what then? Should
+he carry the petted London girl to his home and friends in the Miami
+Valley, would there not be reproaches felt even if not spoken? Thus he
+vexed himself day after day; night after night he tossed restlessly, and
+saw no way to break the entanglement that had entwined his life. But he
+kept watch of Jack and the old men.
+
+Meanwhile, Jack had read over and over the prospectus of the "Wedge of
+Gold" Mining Company. It was the lamp and he was the moth that was
+circling around it with constantly lessening circles. His father, to whom
+he had applied for information, told him that he believed the shares were
+going at one pound, but that they threatened to be higher within a week,
+and Jenvie, taking up the conversation, explained that, with a mill
+built, the mine would easily pay sixty per cent on the investment
+annually, which would throw the shares up to at least twenty pounds.
+At the same time both the old men referred Jack to Stetson for full
+particulars, as they had no direct interest in the property.
+
+After a few days more, the mail from South Africa brought a glowing
+account of further developments in "The Wedge of Gold," which account
+found its way into the papers, and one was put where Jack would read it.
+He had not consulted with Sedgwick. His idea was to make an investment,
+and when the profits began to come in, to divide with him.
+
+So one morning he went to the office of Stetson and said to the young
+man: "I have concluded to take the working capital stock of the 'Wedge of
+Gold;'" and sitting down he gave his check for L50,000. The stock for him
+would be ready, he was informed, the next day, so soon as it could be
+properly transferred.
+
+He went out. The real owner of the property was sent for; the property
+was bought for L2,000; the deed, which had been put in escrow, and which
+on its face called for L150,000, was taken up, releasing the stock, and
+then the old men and the young man rubbed their hands and said to each
+other that it had been a good day's work.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+ENCHANTMENT.
+
+
+Sedgwick and Browning had now been several days in London. Every day they
+had been riding and driving--seeing the sights. One morning at breakfast
+Jack mentioned that it was Tuesday; that next day would be the annual
+celebrated Derby Wednesday; that he had made arrangements for as many to
+go as could get away. The number was finally limited to four--Grace and
+Rose, Jack and Jim.
+
+This was talked over, and so soon as the arrangements were determined
+upon, Jack proposed that when the race should be over, instead of coming
+back to London, they should go on beyond Surrey, down to the seashore in
+Sussex, where an old uncle of Rose's resided, for a few days' visit. This
+was, after some discussion, agreed upon; whereupon Jack rose and went out
+to make a few needed little preparations; the young ladies followed to do
+some shopping, while Sedgwick went to his room to write some letters.
+
+He finished his letters and was going out, when he met Mrs. Hamlin in the
+hall. She greeted him and asked him to sit down a moment, saying she
+wanted to talk with him. He swung a chair around for Mrs. Hamlin, and
+when she was seated he took another chair opposite, saying: "Is there
+anything particular this morning, madam, which you desire to talk about?"
+The old lady looked at him a moment, then said:
+
+"Mr. Sedgwick, I have noticed that since you came to my house you seem to
+be worried, as though this London roar and confusion oppressed you; and
+I have seen a look on your face sometimes, which, it seemed to me, if set
+to words would say: 'I would give anything in the world to be out of this
+and back once more free in my native land.' It worries me, and I want to
+ask you if something cannot be done to make your life here more
+pleasant."
+
+"Why, my dear madam," said Sedgwick, "I never was half so kindly
+entertained before as I have been in your house. There is nothing
+lacking, nothing; and when I think of ever returning all this kindness
+my gratitude is made bankrupt."
+
+"Still, you have something on your mind. Is it a business trouble? Will
+you not test our friendship in real truth?" asked the lady.
+
+Sedgwick looked at her seriously a moment, and said: "I have something,
+but it is not business, that distresses me. But, were I to tell you, it
+would test your friendship indeed."
+
+"Well," responded the lady, "I want to know it. I hope we can help you."
+
+"Mrs. Hamlin," said Sedgwick, "I was reared a farmer's son. I was a wild
+boy, I guess. I left school with education not yet completed--left under
+a cloud, but no disgrace attached to my leaving. I went to Texas and was
+a cowboy for a year. From there I wandered west, learned the occupation
+of mining; for four years almost every day I have been underground. I met
+Jack: we were friends; how close at last you do not know. We started
+east; he accompanied me to my childhood's home. After a brief visit I
+came with him to his. I have been three weeks under your roof; I am bound
+by a promise to remain until Jack's marriage, and, in the meantime, in
+spite of myself, I, the farmer, the cowboy, and the miner, have dared to
+look upon your daughter, and my soul is groveling at her feet. I love her
+with such intensity that I have feared sometimes I should break down and
+beseech her to have pity on me. Now you have it all. Tell me, I pray, how
+I can be true to myself and to the hospitality which you have extended me
+until Jack shall be married and I can return to my native land!"
+
+When he once had begun, his words were poured out in a torrent; his face
+was pale; he trembled, and his breath came in half gasps.
+
+Mrs. Hamlin was silent a moment. Then, looking up, she said: "Have you
+spoken of this to Jack?"
+
+"Not one word," he replied.
+
+"Or to Grace?"
+
+"O, Mrs. Hamlin, believe me, not one word."
+
+The lady leaned her head upon her hand for a few moments. Then, looking
+up, she said: "You ask me what to do. I cannot help you. But my judgment
+would be that you go directly to Grace and ask her help. I have not the
+slightest idea of her sentiments toward you, but if she does not care for
+you and thinks she never can, she will frankly tell you. If she does love
+you, she is probably suffering more than you are."
+
+"O, Mrs. Hamlin," said Sedgwick, "are you willing that I shall speak to
+her, that I shall tell her how much she is to me?"
+
+"Quite willing," was the answer; spoken after a moment's thought.
+"Believe me, I never suspected anything of this kind, never in the least,
+or I should not have stopped you here; but if Grace loves you I shall be
+most glad. And one thing more. Should Grace be willing to accept your
+attentions, for the present, please, do not speak to Mr. Hamlin or to
+Jack. I have my special reasons for making this request. I ask it because
+Mr. Hamlin is peculiar, and Grace is my child, in fact, while he is but
+her step-father."
+
+Then she arose, held out her hand and smiled. Then her face became grave,
+and she leaned over the young man, kissed his forehead, and left the
+hall.
+
+When the door closed Sedgwick put his hands before his eyes as though to
+ward off a great light; and when he removed them his lips were moving and
+his face wore a softened and exalted look, such as Saul's might have worn
+after he saw the "great light."
+
+Dinner was hardly over that evening when Jack disappeared. He spent
+nearly all his evenings with Rose, and so his absence was not remarked.
+Mr. Hamlin had been called away to Scotland for two or three days on
+business. Mrs. Hamlin, Grace and Sedgwick passed into the parlor. After a
+little conversation, Sedgwick asked Grace to sing, and as she went to the
+piano Mrs. Hamlin arose and left the room.
+
+Grace struck the instrument softly, and in a moment began to sing. The
+piece she selected was the old one beginning:
+
+  "Could you come back to me, Douglas, Douglas,
+     In the old likeness that I knew,
+   I would be so faithful, so loving, Douglas,
+     Douglas, Douglas, tender and true."
+
+There was a strange thrill in the voice of Grace as the song progressed,
+and when she reached the fourth stanza and sang:
+
+  "I never was worthy of you, Douglas,
+     Not half worthy the like of you;
+   Now, all men beside seem to me like shadows,--
+     I love you, Douglas, tender and true,"
+
+the last words ended in a tone very much like a sob, and the singing
+ceased.
+
+Sedgwick had risen, and walked to the side of Grace while she sang. When
+she ceased he said:
+
+"That is a very touching song, Miss Grace. Your voice vibrates in it as
+though your heart were heavy."
+
+"It is," she frankly answered.
+
+He bent and took an unresisting hand and said: "If you are in trouble,
+may I not try to be your comforter?"
+
+She rose from the piano, and looking up clear and brave into the eyes of
+the young man, said: "You are most kind, but I cannot tell you why my
+heart is heavy."
+
+He looked down into her eyes for a moment and then said: "My heart is
+likewise heavy, Miss Grace; may I tell you why?"
+
+"Surely," she answered, "if you have a sorrow, and if there is any balm
+in this household, it shall be yours."
+
+He took her other hand, and drawing her gently toward him, said: "Come
+near to me Miss Grace. I am involved in a trouble which I never dreamed
+of when I came here. Mine has been a harsh life, but I have always tried
+to meet my fate resignedly. Now I am overborne. Since the first hour I
+met you, first looked into your divine face, first felt your hand-clasp
+and heard your voice, my heart has been on fire. You have become my
+divinity. I worship you. Oh, Grace, can you give me a thread, be it ever
+so slight, out of which I may weave a hope that some time you will bend,
+and sanctify my life by becoming my wife?"
+
+As he spoke, over the pale face of Grace Meredith an almost imperceptible
+glow spread, as when an incandescent lamp is lighted under a translucent
+shade; her eyes grew moist, her lips quivered, she trembled in every
+limb, and, suddenly dropping on her knees, drew his hands to her lips,
+kissed them, and murmured: "O! my king!"
+
+He caught her to him and cried: "Is it true? Is it true? Do you really
+care for me?"
+
+She looked up and said: "O, my blind darling, you are so very, very
+blind! My soul has been calling to your soul since the first hour you
+came."
+
+Half an hour later Grace looked up and with a ravishing smile, said: "Do
+you know, dearest, I believe all my heavy-heartedness is gone."
+
+At last Sedgwick said: "My beautiful, what will your friends say to your
+marrying a rough miner?"
+
+"What," replied she, "will your friends say if you prove foolish enough
+to marry a simple English girl, whose horizon is bounded by Devonshire
+and London?"
+
+His response was: "My adored one!"
+
+Then she crept nearer him, and with serious accent said: "My love, if
+happily our lives shall be united, whom will it be for, our friends or
+ourselves? I will tell you. If ever I shall be permitted to become so
+blessed as to be your wife, it will be with the thought in my heart that
+we are all in all to each other in this world, and in the world to come."
+
+"In this world and in the world to come," he repeated; and then, with
+bowed head, in a whisper, he added: "May I be worthy of such a blessing,
+and God spare to me my idol, that I may praise Him evermore."
+
+And then they began to talk in earnest. One hour like that is due to
+every mortal; no mortal can have more than one such an hour, no matter
+how long may be his life.
+
+Later they came directly to the subject of their marriage. They agreed
+that, if possible, it should be on the same day that Jack and Rose should
+be married. But Sedgwick mentioned Mrs. Hamlin's desire that for the
+present no one should know of his love or of hers (if it should be
+returned), and said he believed it best not to mention their relations
+until the wedding day of Rose and Jack drew near.
+
+Grace agreed with him, except that Rose must be told, saying she would
+find it out even if the attempt were made to conceal it from her, and
+added: "Jack and Rose are completely absorbed in each other. They will be
+with each other most of the time. My father is absent all day, and until
+late at night. My mother is good, and will not much disturb us. I can
+look in your eyes every day, kiss you sometimes, and feel your presence
+like a robust spirit near me all the time." Then, suddenly pausing for an
+instant, she again broke out with, "Oh, how happy I am; it seems as
+though my heart would break with its ecstasy!" and, springing up, she ran
+to the piano, and sang a song which filled the room with melody, and
+caused a linnet that was asleep on her perch to awaken and join her
+trills to the song.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+GOING TO EPSOM DOWNS.
+
+
+The next morning early the young couples started for Epsom Downs.
+Browning had engaged a carriage to take them, and they started a little
+after daylight. Early as it was, the procession which annually empties
+London to witness the great race was in motion. There had been a slight
+shower the previous evening; every bit of herbage was fresh and
+beautiful; the day was perfect and the ride delicious. When part of the
+distance had been traveled, Browning, looking back, said: "Grace, I
+believe I see your destiny coming."
+
+"In what form?" asked Grace, laughing.
+
+"In a typical cowboy," said her foster brother.
+
+Then all looked, and sure enough there, two hundred yards away, was the
+broad hat, the nameless grace, the erect form, the man straight as a line
+from his head to his stirrups, the Mexican saddle, the woven-hair bridle
+with Spanish bit; all complete except the horse. That was not a steed of
+the plains, but a magnificent hunter. The girls clapped their hands in
+delight, and Grace wished he would "hurry up," so that they might get a
+nearer view.
+
+Just then a cry arose in the rear, and a horse attached to a broken
+vehicle was seen coming, running away in the very desperation of fear.
+
+The carriage was driven to the side of the road, and both men sprang out.
+A dense crowd of vehicles, many of them containing women and children,
+were just in front, and the thought of that mad horse dashing among them
+was sickening. But Sedgwick cried out: "Look, ladies, quick!"
+
+What they saw was the hunter under a dead run, his rider urging him on
+apparently, and working something in his right hand. The harnessed horse
+was a good one, but the hunter was gaining upon him, and just as the mad
+runaway was almost opposite the ladies, the right arm of the rider of the
+hunter made a quick curve, the looped end of a rope darted out like a
+bird of prey from the hand; the loop went over the runaway's head; the
+hunter was brought almost to a dead stop; the other animal went up into
+the air, then fell to his knees, then over on his side. Sedgwick and
+Browning sprang to him, unfastened him from the wreck, got the reins and
+secured his head, then took off the lariat, let him up, and tied him to
+the hedge by the roadside.
+
+Browning first turned to the stranger who was coiling up his lariat on
+the saddle's horn, and said: "That was a good morning's work, my friend;
+had that mad horse crashed into the vehicles ahead, he would have killed
+some one."
+
+"I wur afeerd of that, stranger, and that's what made me think he orter
+be stopped," said the horseman.
+
+Sedgwick wheeled quickly round when he heard the man's voice, and,
+looking up, cried: "Hello, Jordan, how did you leave the boys on the
+Brazos?"
+
+The man gave one look; then, springing from his horse, he rushed to
+Sedgwick, and throwing both arms around him broke out with: "Why, Jim;
+bless my broad-horned heart, but I'm glad ter see yo'! How in kingdom cum
+did yo' get heah?" Then he caught both his hands and wrung them, all the
+time exclaiming: "Blame me, but I'm glad. This is the fust luck I've had
+in the Kingdom. Jim, is it sho nuff you?" And he danced like a lunatic.
+And Sedgwick, if not quite so demonstrative, was quite as much rejoiced.
+
+When they quieted down a little, Sedgwick said: "Jordan, I have some
+friends here whom I want to present to you."
+
+His face sobered in a moment. "I forgot, Jim," he said, "thet any one war
+heah savin' ourselves. They must think us two 'scaped lunertics."
+
+"That's all right, Jordan," said Sedgwick, and he formally presented his
+friend to the ladies and to Browning.
+
+The ladies told him how grateful they were that he was near to prevent
+any damage by the fleeing horse, and how glad they were to see the actual
+picture of how a wild horse is caught.
+
+Jordan blushed like a girl. "It war nothin', ladies," he said; "only it
+seemed like it war necessawy sunthin' should be done, and right soon. So
+I interfeerd as well's I could."
+
+"Where the mischief did you get that rig, Jordan?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+"I brung it with me from ther old ranch; that is, all but the hoss. I
+didn't know but I mighter want ter ride, and I knowd I couldn't sit an
+English saddle a minit."
+
+"And why did you come away, Jordan?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+His face saddened for a moment, and then he smiled and said: "I got tired
+of ranchin', sold out; but why I come here I've no idee, 'cept it might
+o' been to stop that thar hoss."
+
+"It was a good idea, anyway, and we are all glad you came," said Rose.
+"We started to see the great race, and we have seen a greater one," and
+she smiled as she spoke, until the dark man again colored and said:
+"Indeed, Miss, it war nothin'."
+
+But the procession grew denser every moment; so Jordan mounted his horse
+again and rode beside the carriage, and a running conversation was kept
+up all the way to the great race track.
+
+Jordan was exceedingly interested in the colts as they were brought upon
+the track.
+
+"They is thoroughbreds, shore. They is beauties," he kept exclaiming; and
+as they were stripped for the race, he picked out the one he thought
+ought to win, and offered to wager hats with Sedgwick and Browning and
+gloves with the ladies that his favorite would win.
+
+And the colt he set his heart upon came near winning; he was third among
+the eighteen starters, and to the last Jordan insisted that he would have
+won if he had been well ridden.
+
+"He orter won," Jordan said. "The trouble war, his jockey lacks two
+things; he don't understand hoss character, 'nd he lacks pluck. He never
+interested ther colt in him, never rubbed his nose and whispered inter
+his ear thet his heart would be broke if ther colt didn't win; so ther
+colt only ran ter please hisself 'nd never thought o' pleasin' his rider.
+Then, from the fust, ther rider believed he wouldn't be nearer nor third,
+'nd ter do anything a man's got ter believe he ken make it. Menny a grand
+hoss's repertation has ben ruined by ther fool man as has hed him in
+charge, and this war ther case ter-day."
+
+Then he was absorbed in thought for a moment, then went on again as
+though he had not ceased: "It wer ther same with men. Ez often ez ever
+ther best men don't win ther prize; meny er blood man hez been distanced
+by er mustang."
+
+The race over, they all had dinner together, and with beautiful tact the
+ladies kept Jordan talking most of the time, and enjoyed his quaint
+sayings exceedingly.
+
+He had been three months from the United States; had made one trip to
+Scotland, one to Wales, one to Paris, and his impressions of the
+different points and the people he had seen were most vivid and unique.
+
+His talk ran a little in this vein: "Yo' see, up in ther Highlands, I
+looked fur the lakes and mountains that yo' read to us about, Jim. There
+is some fine lakes, but mountains! sho, we can beat 'em in America, all
+holler. And ez to broad rivers, why, ther Mississippi cud take um all in,
+and wouldn't know she had a reinforcement; while pour 'um into ther
+Colorado gorge and they'd be spray afore they reached ther bottom. I
+looked for ther pituresk Highland heroes in ther tartans and with ther
+bag-pipes; but they tho't, I reckon, that I war James Fitz, and wur all
+ambushed. But I did see some pretty girls thar, 'an some powerful fine
+black cattle. They war fine--good for twelve hundred pounds neat.
+
+"The blamd'st thing I seen war in Wales. I didn't see that, but hearn.
+That war the language. It's a jor-breaker, if you har me. I don't see how
+the children up thar learn it so blam'd young.
+
+"Paris is a grand place, a genuine daisy; but I believe it is wickeder'n
+Santa Fe wuz when the rush war to New Mexico."
+
+Grace explained to Jordan that they were going down to Sussex to visit
+some relatives of Rose, and begged him to go along, and bespoke for him a
+hearty welcome.
+
+"I'm greatly obleeged, Miss," said Jordan, "but I must beg yo' ter 'scuse
+me. I must see my hoss home. I've been ridin' him and teachin' him a few
+things, like startin' and stoppin', for a month. He war wild when I tuk
+him fust, but since he and I got 'quainted, we agree zactly, and I told
+ther men as own him he should be home ter night, and I must take him. I
+wouldn't send him by the are-apparent hisself. Besides, my society
+accomplishments war neglected some'at when I war young, and I would
+rather break y'r heart, Miss, by declinin' ter go, than hev it broke by
+my arkerdness 'mong y'r friends."
+
+But he told Sedgwick where he was stopping in London, and it was agreed
+that on the return of the party to the great city they should see more of
+each other. So Jordan returned to London, and the young people took the
+train for a little town on the coast, not far from Brighton, in Sussex.
+
+They found the uncle and aunt of Rose. A great welcome was given them,
+and four or five days were delightfully whiled away.
+
+A regiment of English regulars was stationed there. Our party made the
+acquaintance of the officers and their families, and one day a horseback
+ride into the country was proposed for the next morning.
+
+It taxed the capacity of the place to supply the necessary animals, and
+one of the horses brought up, though a magnificent and powerful fellow,
+was but half broken at best, and he snorted and blowed, and reared and
+pawed, and took on a great deal.
+
+The company were looking at him, and each selecting the horse that suited
+him best, when Miss Rose said: "What a pity that Mr. Jordan did not come
+along! He would have selected that wild horse."
+
+The colonel of the regiment, a portly man, and a little inclined to be
+pompous, in a peculiarly English tone said: "Possibly, you know, our
+young American friend would like to mount him."
+
+Sedgwick affected not to notice the tone or the accent, and answered
+simply: "I have ridden worse-looking horses. If I had a Mexican saddle,
+or one of your military saddles, I believe I should like to ride him; but
+I am a little afraid of these things you call saddles."
+
+Strangely enough, the officer thought the objection to the saddle was
+meant merely as an excuse to avoid riding the horse, and so he spoke up
+quickly, saying: "The gentleman shall be accommodated. I always have an
+extra saddle with me; he shall have that," and gave his servant
+directions to go and bring the saddle and bridle. When they were brought,
+Sedgwick looked at them, said they would answer admirably, and throwing
+the trappings over his left arm, went up to the snorting horse, petted
+and soothed him, rubbed his nose, and talked low to him a moment; then
+slipped the bridle on, then gently pushed the saddle and trappings over
+his back; made all secure, and then, without assistance, mounted him
+talking softly to him all the time.
+
+The horse made a few bounds, but quickly subsided. They were enough,
+however, to show the onlookers that the man on the horse was sufficient
+for the task he had undertaken. Riding back, Sedgwick dismounted, still
+talking low to the horse and patting his neck, for, as he explained, "The
+colt has a lovely, honest face and head; he is only timid, and does not
+yet quite understand what is wanted of him, or whether it will do for him
+to give us his entire confidence."
+
+The officer who had sent for the saddle had watched everything; so when
+Sedgwick dismounted he held out his hand and said, heartily: "I beg your
+pardon, Mr. Sedgwick, I was mistaken in you. You do more than ride. When
+mounted, you and the horse together make a centaur."
+
+With a celestial smile, Miss Jenvie said: "I beg your pardon, Mr.
+Sedgwick. Mr. Jordan is not needed, except as a pleasant addition to our
+company."
+
+They all mounted and rode away. It was a jolly party. Grace and Rose rode
+with two of the officers; two of the officers' wives were escorted by
+Sedgwick and Browning.
+
+As they rode, Sedgwick kept patting his horse, and in a little while so
+won his confidence that he was able to rub his whip all about his head.
+
+They stopped at a roadside inn for luncheon, and returned in the cool of
+the afternoon.
+
+By this time Sedgwick's horse had apparently given his rider his full
+faith, and Sedgwick, in sharp contrast with the other gentlemen, sat him
+in true cowboy style. They were riding at a brisk pace, when the hat of
+one of the ladies was caught in a flurry of wind and carried twenty or
+thirty yards to the rear. The others began to pull in their horses, when
+Sedgwick, like a flash, whirled his horse about, and, calling to him, the
+horse sprang forward at full speed. All turned, and the ladies screamed,
+as they thought Sedgwick was falling. He had ridden, not directly for the
+hat, but to one side until close upon it, then, turning his horse, he
+went down at the same moment, seized the plume of the hat, regained his
+upright attitude, and came smiling back, though the horse, not accustomed
+to such performances, was snorting and bounding like a deer.
+
+All hands were delighted, and Grace shot out to Sedgwick such a look of
+pride and love that his heart beat a tattoo for a quarter of an hour.
+
+The officer who owned the saddle was most profuse in his expressions
+of delight. "Give up America, my friend," he said; "come and be an
+Englishman and join my regiment. We will get you a commission, and supply
+every chance for promotion."
+
+Sedgwick thanked him, and assured him that he would duly consider the
+offer.
+
+The old English Colonel took a great fancy to Sedgwick. After dinner, the
+day of the ride, he sought him out, and they conversed together for two
+or three hours; or, rather, the Colonel talked and Sedgwick listened. The
+Colonel had been sent on many a service by his government; he was a keen
+observer, had good descriptive powers, and was an interesting talker.
+Moreover, he liked to hear himself converse.
+
+Having visited South Africa a few months before, he described the
+country minutely, its topography, its flora and fauna, its geological
+presentations, and expatiated upon its promising future. Sedgwick was
+very greatly interested, and with his retentive memory the facts were
+fixed upon his mind.
+
+As they were about separating, Sedgwick said: "You ask me to leave
+my native land and make this my country. I understand you, and
+appreciate the offer, but you do not comprehend the Great Republic at
+all. England, at the beginning of this century, was well-nigh the anchor
+of civilization. By the end of the next century England will be in
+cap and slippers, and her children across the sea will have to be her
+protector. The American who gives up his native land for any other is
+a renegade son."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+WESTMINSTER ABBEY.
+
+
+Next morning Jack and Rose went out for a walk along the beach. Out in
+the little bay a man and a woman were sailing and enjoying themselves,
+for the sound of their laughter came across the water to the shore. Jack
+was just remarking to Rose that they in the boat were carrying a good
+deal of sail, when a sudden squall upset the boat. The man was not a
+swimmer, but as he came to the surface he managed to seize upon the
+overturned boat and support himself.
+
+When the accident happened, Browning shouted to some boatmen farther up
+the beach to come with a boat quickly, and, throwing off coat, vest and
+shoes, he plunged in and swam toward where the boat capsized. Rose was
+left on the beach, wringing her hands and crying. The accident was not
+far from shore, and Jack was a strong swimmer. He reached the spot in
+time to grasp the arm of the woman as she came to the surface. She was
+half smothered by the water, and completely rattled, for the fear of
+death was full upon her, so she madly clung to Browning. He made the best
+struggle that he could, but the woman carried him under before the boat
+arrived. As the two rose to the surface, the boatmen managed to seize
+them and draw them into the boat, but the woman was senseless, and
+Browning was almost so, and fearfully exhausted.
+
+As the boat was rowed to the shore and Rose saw Browning lying limp and
+helpless in it, she went off in a dead faint, and was so upset and
+nervous that it was determined to return to London that evening. When out
+of sight of the place and of the sea, she rapidly recovered, and was soon
+her old self, but she reproached Jack, and with an adorable smile told
+him she never would have believed that he would, on the very first
+opportunity, go off, half kill himself for another woman, and compel her
+to make such a spectacle of herself down on the beach before all those
+villagers.
+
+The old days began again in London; Browning and Rose were all in all to
+each other, and Sedgwick and Grace were likewise in the seventh heaven of
+love's ecstasy.
+
+In Nevada parlance, Sedgwick would have wagered two to one with Browning,
+on the measure of their respective happiness.
+
+The happy couples visited every point of interest in and about London.
+
+One day they went through Westminster Abbey. Sedgwick hardly spoke during
+the visit, and as they entered the carriage to return home, Rose said:
+"Mr. Sedgwick, I am disappointed; I thought our great national chamber of
+death would greatly interest you."
+
+"So did I," said Browning, "but I suppose a foreigner cannot understand
+just how English-born people feel toward that spot."
+
+Sedgwick smiled faintly, and said: "You mistake me, Miss Rose, and you
+too, Jack. That Abbey is the only thing I have seen in England that I am
+jealous or envious of. I see your great works and say to myself, 'We will
+rival all that.' I read your best books and say of myself, 'they are a
+part of our inheritance as well as yours.' But that Abbey is a monument,
+sufficient to itself, it seems to me, to make every Englishman afraid to
+ever falter in manhood or to fail in honor. It is filled with lessons of
+splendor. There slumber great kings and princes, and queens who were
+beautiful in life, but there under the seal of death a higher royalty is
+recognized--the royalty of great hearts and brains; the royalty that
+comes to the soldier when in the face of death he saves his country; the
+royalty of the statesman who turns aside the sword and opens new paths
+and possibilities to his countrymen; the royalty of the poet when he sets
+immortal thoughts to words, which once spoken, go sounding down the ages
+in music forever. And these should have their final couches spread beside
+the couches of kings, for each when called can answer, 'I, too, was
+royal.'
+
+"And when other nations dispute for recognition with Englishmen, your
+countrymen have but to point to that consecrated spot and say: 'There is
+our country's record. It is chiseled there by the old sculptor, Death; go
+and study it; it will carry you through thirty generations of men; from
+it you will learn how Englishmen were strong enough, while subduing the
+world, to subdue themselves; to create to themselves laws and a
+literature of their own, until they at last held aloft the banners of
+civilization when nearly all the world beside was dark; there is the
+record of England's soldiers, statesmen, poets, scholars; read the
+immortal list, and then if you will, come back and renew the argument.'
+
+"That pile ought to be enough to make every Englishman a true man, a
+brave man, a gentleman, for to me the names there make the most august
+scroll ever written.
+
+"Listening within those walls, it seemed to me I could hear mingling all
+the voices of the mighty dead; the battle-cry of soldiers, the appeals of
+statesmen; the edicts of kings; the hymns of churchmen, the rhythm of
+immortal numbers as from poets' harps they were flung off; the glory of
+a thousand years shone before my eyes; the splendor of almost everything
+that is immortal in English history was before me.
+
+"That place ought to impress all who visit it with what mortals must do,
+if they would embalm their memories upon the world.
+
+"You are right to reverence and to feel a solemn joy at that place; it is
+one of the few real splendors of this old world."
+
+"Forgive me, Mr. Sedgwick," said Rose; "I should have known your
+thoughts." While she was speaking, Grace, under the lap-robe, pressed her
+lover's hand.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+TWO KINDS OF SORROW.
+
+
+But as June wore away, one day when Jack visited the office of his
+step-father, he found Stetson there, and was informed by him that some
+evil-disposed persons were 'bearing' the stock of the Wedge of Gold
+Company, which was most unfortunate, as it interfered with the
+arrangements in progress for building the mill.
+
+Browning did not know enough about stocks to see through the deception,
+but bluntly asked what could be done to stop the injury. "The true way,"
+said Stetson, "would be to go on the market and take all the stock
+offered until the bear movement should be broken."
+
+Browning had heard about Captain Kelly "bearing" the bonanza stocks, and
+how the bonanza firm had taken all he offered, so he said: "Why do you
+not go out and put a stopper on the beggars?" Stetson explained that he
+had not the money. "Why, we can fix that," said Jack. So he wrote a note
+to the ---- Bank to honor the orders of Jenvie & Hamlin until further
+instructions, turned the check over to Hamlin and told him to manage it.
+The days went by. There was an excursion of the young people to Wales,
+and another to Scotland, and besides Jack had gone down to Devonshire,
+bonded the place he liked, paid L1,000 down, and was to meet the
+remainder of the obligation--L9,000--when the titles were all looked up
+and transferred to him. Meanwhile, June and the better part of July were
+gone when one morning Jack went to the bank and drew a check for a few
+pounds which he needed for spending money. The cashier as he paid the
+check, informed Browning that the directors would be glad to see him in
+the private office of the bank. A messenger showed him the way, and he
+was there informed that the house of Jenvie & Hamlin had been drawing so
+heavily upon his order that only some L12,000 remained to his credit. The
+news was a paralyzer, but Jack was a game man and said: "That is all
+right," talked pleasantly for a few minutes, then withdrew, and going
+directly to his step-father's office, demanded an explanation.
+
+The old men informed him that they had tried to hold up the stock of the
+"Wedge of Gold," but their efforts had proved of no use. The shares had
+run down to almost nothing. They had even used the reserve fund intended
+for the building of the mill, and it looked, they said, as though they
+could never realize enough to get even.
+
+"Has the stock recently bought been placed to my credit?" asked Jack. He
+was told that it had been. "And how much is it?" he demanded. They
+informed him that it amounted to 83,000 shares, which, with the 50,000
+shares first bought by him, gave him 133,000 shares, or the entire stock
+except 17,000 shares.
+
+Jack was lost in thought a few minutes, then said: "I want all the papers
+except the 17,000 shares, and I want with them your own and Stetson's
+resignation as officers of the company."
+
+The papers were given him, and taking the bundle he carried it to his own
+bank and deposited it, then went home.
+
+He repaired directly to Jim's apartment, found him, and said: "Jim, my
+heart is broken. You have stood by me so far, help me now to arrange
+things so that I can say good-bye to Rose"--here he broke down and
+sobbed--"and then go back to America."
+
+"Why, old friend," said Sedgwick, "if you and Rose are all right, what
+can so upset you?"
+
+"Why, bless my soul, Jim, I'm ruined; my fortune is nearly all gone," he
+answered.
+
+Then Sedgwick drew from him all the dismal story.
+
+When he had finished, Sedgwick said: "Get me that prospectus, Jack: I
+want to see it before I make up my mind." Jack complied, and Sedgwick
+read it carefully through. The statement of the mine, the description
+of its development, and of the value of the ore, had been prepared by an
+expert so eminent that he could not afford to sell his name to bolster up
+a fraud.
+
+When Sedgwick had finished reading he sat in thought for a few minutes,
+and then said: "Jack, go and find the man from whom this property was
+purchased, get all the facts that you can, even if you have to get him
+drunk; then come to me to-morrow, and by that time we will think
+something out. By the way, first run over to Rose, tell her you have been
+called away on business and may not be home until late, so that she will
+not expect you."
+
+Jack left his friend and met Rose in the hall. She had just come in to
+visit Grace. He caught her up as men sometimes do children, kissed her
+and said gaily: "Don't look for me to-night, sweetheart. I'm going to be
+engaged until late."
+
+She twined both her arms around one of his arms and said teasingly: "Are
+not you and I engaged, and is not ours a prior engagement?"
+
+"O, yes," he said, "but this other engagement is with a man."
+
+"So is mine," she said.
+
+"And sometimes I think he is not much of a man, either," said Jack.
+
+"Don't you dare to slander him," said Rose. "I know him better than he
+knows himself, and I will not permit one word to be breathed against
+him."
+
+"He ought to be most proud of so lovely a champion. He must be the most
+blessed man of all the earth," said Jack, looking fondly down upon her.
+Then he added: "Are you very sure that nothing could ever come between
+his love and you?"
+
+"Why, Jack, how serious you are," the fair girl said. "Nothing, nothing,
+can ever come to break my admiration for him. Death itself can but
+suspend life for a little while. My Jack and myself will be loving each
+other when this world shall be worn out and be floating in space, as does
+a dead swan upon a lake."
+
+Browning bent and kissed her again, said softly
+"Amen," and went out.
+
+The day wore away, and when dinner was announced, Browning had not
+returned. Sedgwick went with Grace to the sitting room and remained
+for a few minutes. Grace chided him upon being moody, and with all her
+caressing ways tried to exorcise the evil spirit that was upon him, but
+with poor success. Finally he asked her to excuse him, telling her he was
+absorbed in a little matter not strictly his own, which he would tell her
+all about after awhile.
+
+She listened, and when he had finished, she put her arms around his neck,
+and said:
+
+"You see when confidence is withheld from me, I become violently angry,
+and punish the culprit by going away." Then she kissed him, arose, backed
+to the door, reached behind her, opened it, passed out, then kissing her
+hand to him, closed the door.
+
+Sedgwick went out, and at once repaired to the hotel where Jordan stopped
+when in the city. He had been out of town following some whim, and
+Sedgwick had not seen him since Derby Day.
+
+Reaching the hotel, he learned that Jordan had returned, and soon found
+him.
+
+Jordan met him joyfully, explained why he had been away, that he was
+thinking all the way home from the Derby that if he remained he might be
+a burden to Sedgwick and his new friends; that the best thing to do was
+to take no chances, and so he had been making the tour of Ireland.
+
+Of that country he had much to say. "Yo' oughter go thar, Jim," he said.
+"Thar's a people wot ken look poverty in ther face 'nd laff it ter scorn;
+whar three squar meals a day ken be made on hope; whar wit grows on ther
+bushes; whar ther air ez filled with songs 'nd full hearts fill ther
+vacancy made by empty stomachs. It's ther most pathetic spot on earth,
+Jim. A race lives ther filled with energy and hope, a race as is generous
+and brave, 'nd warm-hearted, holdin' within 'em vitality enough ter found
+a dozen empires, but chained by poverty 'nd superstition, 'nd hate of the
+bruiser on this side of ther channel; nussin' impossible dreams 'ev a
+nationality which ther kentry couldn't support ef once obtained; proud ez
+Lucifer of a past which hez little in it 'cept wrong 'nd tyranny 'nd
+sufferin'; all ther exertions confined in a narrer groove, all ther work
+of no avail because uv indirection; clingin' ter homes which keeps 'em
+helpless 'nd only accomplishin' somethin' when transplanted to other
+fields, 'nd then carryin' on ther world's work, fiten' ther world's
+battles, sailin' ther world's ships, workin' ther world's mines, subduen'
+ther world's wildernesses, runnin' ther world's primaries, 'nd bein' ther
+world's perlicemen. I tell yo', Jim, it war pitiful.
+
+"When I told 'em I war an American, they opened ther arms ter me ter
+once, 'nd took me in. What questions they asked! And when I told 'em
+about ther broad acres in Texas, how they cud go thar and each in a few
+months or years own his own farm half a mile squar, how ther eyes flashed
+'nd ther faces glowed! It teched my heart, Jim, ter see 'em, 'nd made a
+old fool uv me in one place, shore.
+
+"I stopped in a house one night whar ther war ther old man 'nd woman, a
+grown-up son 'nd a girl who war, maybe, eighteen year old. Thet girl,
+Jim, war fine. Blue eyes 'nd har that war the color which ware 'twixt a
+brown and a flaxen, with er blush rose shadin'; a clear-cut face like
+that of a Greek stater; dainty form 'nd limbs; the roundest arms yo' ever
+seen 'nd a hand like Aferdites. I noticed, too--axidentally in course,
+that ther thick brogans on her feet were little 'nd shapely ef ther war
+thick brogans. But, finest of all war her complexion. Ther warm air as
+blows over the Gulf Stream are good ter all complexions in Ireland, but
+it had done extra fur thet girl. It war perfect.
+
+"Then, over all, she hed a proud, shy, dainty way 'bout her which war
+exquisite.
+
+"We had a jolly evenin' together. I told 'em 'bout America; they told me
+all 'bout Ireland from ther time of ther Irish kings. They fired jokes at
+each other that would sell for forty dollars apiece in Texas, and they
+war ez thick ez though jokes growed on trees.
+
+"At last ther boy wanted his sister to sing, but she got rosy red, 'nd
+told him ter be quiet. I told her ef she'd sing I'd make her a present,
+'nd finally she giv in. Her brother played ther flute, 'nd she sung
+'Tara's Harp,' not scientific, but jest nateral 'nd sweet as iver a
+bobolink sang.
+
+"When she finished I gin her a new guinea. She didn't want ter take it,
+but I flung it inter her lap, 'nd then it war passed from hand ter hand
+ez a curiosity. Ther mother war last. She looked it over and then sed:
+'It's a beauty, shore, 'nd now, Nora, give it back ter ther gentleman.' I
+sed: 'I don't want it. I want Nora ter have it.'
+
+"'Shore nuff?' sed ther mother.
+
+"'Shore,' sed I.
+
+"'Then, Nora,' sed ther mother, 'kiss the gentleman for the gift.' Would
+yer believe it, Jim, thet shy girl come and put her arms around my neck
+and kissed me.
+
+"Blast me, but it took me back, but I rallied 'nd said:
+
+"'Nora, I'd give another guinea for another kiss like thet,' 'nd then she
+come back agin a-sayin': 'Yo ken hev another without any mo' guinea,' 'nd
+kissed me agin, 'nd ther whole family laffed.
+
+"Next mornin' when I come outer my room I found Nora alone. Ther father
+and brother hed gone ter ther field, and ther mother war cookin' my
+breakfast.
+
+"Nora greeted me cordial like, 'nd I sed: 'Nora, ef I war young agin I'd
+camp right here 'nd make love ter yo'.'
+
+"'Out wid yer,' she answered. 'It's a cousin I hev in America, 'nd she
+writes me how foine the land war, but says ivery American is a mortal
+liar when he talks ter ther girls.'
+
+"'The cousin slanders us,' said I.
+
+"'She does not,' said Nora.
+
+"'And how can I prove it?' said I.
+
+"'Yez might make love ter me,' she said
+
+"'I'm too old, Nora,' I answered.
+
+"'Couldn't yez wait and let me tell yez thet?' she asked.
+
+"'I'd rether own it then ter hev yo' tell me,' I answered.
+
+"'O, it's makin' fun of me yez are,' said she. 'I know how far away yez
+are from the loikes of me and will forgit me to-morry, but I'm glad yez
+come, for it gave me a breath of the joy of the great world outside. Here
+hearts be breaking continually, for our lives are narrowed down to a mere
+fight for food. It's jist slavery from the cradle ter ther grave, and
+slavery over which there shines no star of hope.'
+
+"Jest then ther mother called us to breakfast. After breakfast I went ter
+my room and put ten L10 notes in a envelope, wrote a line thet it war to
+take the whole family ter America; told 'em ter go ter Texas, and find
+the old neighbors, given' 'em a lot 'o names; told 'em not ter stay a
+minit in ther cities; then went out and handin' Nora the letter ez I bid
+her good-bye, told her it war a real love letter, shore nuff, which she
+must not read till I war out o' sight; thet she might give me ther answer
+when I cum back, and then I started straight for England.
+
+"I kep thinkin' all thet day, it war sich a girl as thet who after awhile
+become the mother of Pat Cleburne or may be Phil Sheridan."
+
+A moment later he looked up and said:
+
+"But I wanted ter see yo', Jim, to tell yo' all the boys remember yo',
+and all allow yo' were the dol-durndest tenderfoot thet ever crossed a
+hoss or fired a rope or a gun."
+
+"Where can we find a quiet place, Jordan?" Sedgwick asked.
+
+"I know a boss ranch," said Jordan, "whar we can have a private room and
+talk all we wanter, only a few steps away."
+
+They found it a drinking house with private rooms in the rear.
+
+When seated there, Sedgwick soon learned that Jordan had sold everything
+in Texas--stock and land--and had converted all into money in bank--some
+$35,000--and was, to use his own words, "makin' a tower."
+
+"But how came yo' here, Jim?" asked Jordan.
+
+Then Sedgwick told him of his life since the day he left Texas; how he
+formed a friendship for Browning; how the deal in stocks originated, and
+how it resulted.
+
+The Texan went into raptures. "Yo' don't tell me?" he said: "Half a
+milliun! dod rot it, but thet's good; thet's immense! how it would
+tickle ther boys out thar to know it! And yo' give the ole man a cool
+$100,000? What did they think of yo' then? Har, waiter, give us a quart
+of y'r--whatyer call it? O, yes, Widder Clicko (Cliquot); durned if
+we don't sellerbrate."
+
+They drank their wine, lighted their cigars, and settled down for a talk.
+
+All the old times in Texas had been discussed when Sedgwick said:
+"Jordan, I thought you were prosperous and happy, and much loved by all
+who knew you in Texas. What possessed you to sell out and leave?"
+
+"I war prosperous," said Jordan, "doin' fust-class; war contented, and I
+don't believe I hed a enemy in the hull State.
+
+"I hed ther ranch, ther cattle, ther mustangs; didn't owe a dollar, and
+hed money in ther bank. I hed been doin' right pert, and the property war
+a-raisin' every day. Do yo' know the blamed igiots was a-talkin' o'
+sendin' me to ther Legislature. But after awhile something happened. A
+lot o' ther boys cum in one day and said: 'Jordan, it's a blasted shame
+the way the childer is growin' up yere. We orter 'av a school.' 'All
+right,' says I, 'school goes.' So they agreed ter build a school house
+and ter hire a teacher for six months. I flung in more'n my shere, and
+then ther question was whar to build ther school house. I spoke up and
+I says: 'Why not put it down in the angle of my best section?' Yo' know
+whar ther section lines cross thar. It leaves a corner in ther field
+which is a sharp pint in ther road, and broadens as it runs back. 'Well,'
+they said, 'but whar'll the teacher board?'
+
+"Well, yo' know it's only six hundred yards up ter my place; so I says:
+'I han't chick or child, but I'm bound ter stay by ther school; send ther
+teacher up yere. He can do chores enough for his board, if he is techy at
+all on that pint.'
+
+"The school house went up in short order, and one of the Kinsley boys
+came by on a Saturday, and he says, says he: 'Jordan, ther school'll be
+open Monday mornin,' and the teacher'll be down for supper on Monday
+night.' 'Send him 'long,' says I. I thought he gin a queer kind o' a
+igiotic laugh, but he said, 'All right,' and rid along. I went in
+through ther kitchen and told Aunt Sue--yo' remember our old unbleached
+cook--that ther school master war a-comin' to board on Monday night, and
+she must spread herself.
+
+"Her nose went up inter ther air, and she said: 'H'm, guess what we gets
+every day's good 'nuff for one o' doze poor white trash teachurs.'
+
+"Well, 'long 'bout five o'clock Monday evenin' I war readin' ther paper,
+when I hearn a knock at ther door, and same time I hearn Bolus--thet's
+the big collie, yo' remember--kinder whinin' as though he war glad,
+and bangin the door with his tail. I thought maybe some of ther boys is
+cum back; maybe it's Jim Sedgwick, and I gets up and goes and throws ther
+door open, and was jest openin' my mouth to say 'Hello!' when I got
+paralyzed.
+
+"Thar war standin thar a little woman in a black frock thet fitted her
+like a prayer on a nun's lips. She had on a white collar, and when she
+looked up at me yo' never seen sich a majestical pair o' eyes, and I said
+ter myself, 'Blast my broad horns, but I never seen so takin' a face in
+all my life.'
+
+"Jest pale sorter, barrin' a little flush that creeped up over her face,
+as yo' might expect would cum ter thet stater--whatyer call it in ther
+play?--Gal--, O, yes, Galerteer, thet's it--when weakenen' to thet
+feller's pleadin', she shakes ther stone and begins ter warm up ter his
+prayer. She had sorrerful eyes ter look inter, 'cept when she smiled, and
+then, Jim, hed yer seen thet smile once you'd never sarched fur no more
+bernanzers.
+
+"Her nose was straight ez a blood hoss's fore-arm, teeth perfect, and
+white as ther starlight; her har war between yaller and tawny, and lots
+of it. Jest then ther sun shone agin it, and my thot war, 'A smoked topaz
+ez big ez a dinner bucket war fused and then spun inter threads ter make
+thet har.'
+
+"And when she looked up and said, inquirin' like, 'Mr. Jordan?' her voice
+war sweeter'n yo' ever hearn a turtle dove when callin' her mate ter
+breakfast.
+
+"'Thet's me,' sez I.
+
+"She held out her hand thet war soft an' white an' shapely, an' warm, and
+sed:
+
+"'I am Mrs. Margaret Hazleton, ther teacher in ther school, and I was
+directed here.'
+
+"I thot I should o' drop through ther floo', but I braced up--waiter,
+another bottle--ez I war sayin', I braced up and said, 'Bless me, madam,
+I war expectin' ther teacher'd be a man; but walk right in, we'll do ther
+best we ken for yer.'
+
+"I called Aunt Sue, and told her to show ther lady whar ter dump her
+fixins,' and der yo' believe it, thet dog Bolus, thet war generally
+mighty questionin' 'bout strangers, set down 'nd thumped ther floo' like
+he war tickled ter death.
+
+"Aunt Sue had cooked prairie chickens, pertaters, hed made hot bread 'n
+coffee, 'n fried bernanners, and opened can fruit, and brot out ther
+honey 'nd two kinds o' pickles, an' ther supper war fine.
+
+"Ther little woman praised it, gentle like, jest enough an' not o'erdoin'
+it, till Aunt Sue's face war bigger'n a full mune, and filled with
+satisfaction ter ther very corners.
+
+"All ther time ther lady kep talkin' 'bout Texas, askin' questions, 'bout
+ther sile, ther climate, and ther productions, and in course I talked and
+did my best a-entertainin' o' her till nine o'clock, when she got up and
+sed she'd bid me good-night.
+
+"Aunt Sue give her the best room, in course--thet one beyond ther parlor.
+Yo' know I hed it furnished up kinder gorgus with a carpet from
+Shreveport, and spring bed and wash-stand and picters from Galveston,
+and I felt more satisfaction thinkin' mout be she'd be comfortable, than
+I ever hed before since I'd fixed it up.
+
+"When she war gone, I sed: 'Boys, but we is in fur it,' but Aunt Sue
+spoke up, and says she: 'Der am white folks and white folks; but dis
+one's a born lady, sho.'
+
+"And the cowboys said, 'Shore,' and I was shore myself.
+
+"She war up and out d'rectly in the mornin', fixed her own lunchen,
+talked clever a few words to Aunt Sue, petted ther dog a little, and
+asked him questions as though he'd been a kid; stopped on the way out ter
+tie up a rose bush, 'nd so she came and went ev'ry day, and though I
+didn't realize it then, ther house war brighter when she war ther, and
+darker when she war gone.
+
+"Once Aunt Sue hed fever from Friday ter Sunday night, and without any
+fuss thet thar woman did the cookin', and doctored Sue as tho' cookin'
+'nd doctorin' war her regular perfession.
+
+"We found out after a little thet she war a widder, husband dead two
+year.
+
+"After 'bout a week Aunt Sue says ter me one day: 'Mr. Jordan, yo' jest
+cum har!' I followed her ter the woman's room. Der yer believe it, she'd
+downed all ther flash picters that ther impenitent thief at Galveston
+hed coaxed me inter buyin', and in place hed hung up some small
+engravins, not gaudy-like, but jest catchin'; hed taken' off all the
+sassy trimmin's from ther curtains, and the hull room war changed,
+just ez tho' er benediction had been pernounced thar. It war all kinder
+toned down, ez tho' a woman hed slipped a gray ulster over a red frock.
+
+"It made me feel kinder cheap like, and I sed ter myself, says I: 'Thet's
+good taste!' I knowed it in er minit, tho' I'd never seen it afore.
+
+"Next Sunday in church we found out she could sing, and after thet she
+sung for us o' nites, playing a gitaw same time. Then arter awhile she
+got ter readin' ter us. Yo' remember how yo' read, Jim? Well, yer readin'
+war like a grand organ, hern were like ther blendin' o' flutes and harps.
+
+"Well, ther weeks went by, and sech a feelin' cum over me ez I'd never
+'sperienced afore. I thot first 'twar hay fever comin' on. I couldn't
+eat, couldn't sleep. I war restless when thet woman war gone. I war
+skeery like when she war round; and war given to havin' little hot spells
+and then chills, and I said, 'I know it's ther blasted malarier.'
+
+"So I took k'neen and juniper tea, and fancied I hed night sweats--jest
+the cussedest time, Jim, thet yo' ever seen.
+
+"One day when I war a-sittin' in ther house and a-mopin', Aunt Sue cum in
+and looked hard at me, and says she: 'Mr. Jordan, does yo' know what's
+der matter wid ye?'
+
+"I told her I didn't; thet I'd give a band o' cattle ter find out.
+
+"'Laws,' says she, 'I'd tell cheaper'n dat, only yo'd think I is sassy.'
+
+"I said: 'Aunty, yo' goahead. If yo's sassy, I's too sick to care.'
+
+"'Why, bless yo' soul, honey,' says she, 'yo's jest ded in lub wid the
+schoolma'm, Mrs. Margaret. I noze. I's been dar myself.'
+
+"'O, git out,' says I.
+
+"She went out laffin', but at ther door she stopped a second and says:
+
+"'Dat's it, sho, Mr. Jordan,' and after ther door closed I hearn her
+ha-hain'.
+
+"Then I did some thinkin' for the next half hour, and I said ter myself,
+'It's thet, sho nuff.'
+
+"The school term war ter close next day, and ther teacher had made her
+'rangements ter leave right away for her home up No'th--Ierway, I
+b'lieve. The contract war for $100 er month, but when we met ter fix up
+ther money I told ther trustees that some o' ther neighbors hed been thet
+pleased with ther school thet they had put up a little extry puss o'
+money, enough ter pay ther teacher's board and give her $150 extry. It
+war a bald-headed pervarication, Jim, but I thot it jestifiable under the
+sarcumstances, inasmuch as I put up ther hull money myself.
+
+"I war fur gone. She closed ther school next evenin'; cum up ter ther
+house; wus goin' ter remain till the train cum by fur ther No'th at 11:15
+next day. We hed supper and breakfast as usual. After breakfast ther boys
+all went off ter ther wo'k, and Aunt Sue went ter a neighbor's to borrer
+some bakin' powder. I was sittin' on ther verandy when the schoolma'm
+cum out, and walkin' close up, says she: 'Mr. Jordan'--waiter, bring me
+a brandy smash--'Mr. Jordan,' says she, 'I want to thank you for all
+your gentle and generous kindness to me. Except for your thoughtful
+consideration I should have had a much harder time here. I thank you
+with all my heart.'"
+
+Sedgwick noticed that he had repeated the exact words without a mistake
+in pronunciation. They had evidently been burned into his very soul.
+
+He drank the brandy, and then with a husky voice went on:
+
+"'Yo' break me all up, Mrs. Hazelton,' says I. 'We is such rough folks
+down har. Yo' have been er providence ter ther place.'
+
+"She blushed a little at that, and said: 'You are too kind.'
+
+"'Not a blamed bit,' says I, and then realizin' it war my only chance, I
+blurted out: 'I'll be mighty sorrerful when yo' is gone. I don't know how
+others as knows how does it, but I want ter tell yer thet because of yer
+the flowers is brighter, the birds sing sweeter, the sunshine is clearer,
+the sky more smilin', and I cud get down and crawl on the ground yo' has
+walked over, that bad do I worship yer. And if yo' cud stay and marry me
+and civilize me, I'd try to brush up and be a decenter man than I ever
+war; leastways, I'd clar ev'ry rock and thorn outer yer path.'
+
+"Do yo' b'lieve it, Jim, I wus perspirin' wus'n ther buckskin stallion
+did when yo'got thro' with him that fust mornin', and was tremblin' like
+a sick gal.
+
+"She looked down compassionate like, got white about ther lips, 'nd her
+voice shook er little as she sed:
+
+"'I can't do that, Mr. Jordan; there's much that I cannot tell, why I
+cannot, no matter; but I thank you with all my heart and soul, not only
+for your kindness to me, but for this last most generous offer.'
+
+"Then she went on and talked, and cud yo' 'av hearn her, it would ha'
+made yo' think she war the prettiest and sweetest, and most compassionate
+woman as ever a-come ter bless ther world. She seemed ter me like a fur
+off priestess ministerin' to a sinner.
+
+"After awhile I said:
+
+"'Mrs. Hazelton, o' course yo' is pore, or yo' wouldn't a-come down yere
+a-teachin' school among these barbarians; thet is, pore ez fur ez money
+goes. I've been lucky. I've $4,000 in ther bank which I've no need of. If
+you'll let me give you thet, no one'd ever know it, and the reckerlection
+uv it, 'nd ther thot thet it may be doin' yo' some good'll give me heaps
+more pleasure than keepin' of it would.'
+
+"You see, Jim, I war fur gone. But she wouldn't hev it, tho' ther tears
+jumped ter her eyes when I offered it, and she remarked she b'lieved I
+war the best man in ther world. I told her if she ever needed a friend
+and didn't send fer me, I should feel slighted.
+
+"Then I hitched up and druv her down ter the station. She sat side o' me,
+Jim--waiter, more brandy--in course. Lookin' down, I cud see her smooth
+cheek and clear-cut profile, and thinkin' I war takin' my last looks,
+thar was sich a feelin' of all-goneativeness cum over me thet, do yo'
+know, if I cud ha' got outer one side, I b'lieve I would a-bawled like er
+hungry calf.
+
+"We shook hands at ther station, and, not mindin' ther crowd, she reached
+up both her arms, put 'em around my neck, drew my head down 'nd kissed me
+squar on the mouth.
+
+"It perty nigh smothered me, and I said in a low voice: 'Mrs. Hazleton,
+let me give yer ther money. I positively has no use in the world fur it.'
+
+"She give me a sad smile, shook her head and jumped on ther train. As it
+pulled out uv ther station she nodded, wavin' her hankerchiv 'nd dropped
+it axidently. I picked it up. I've got it till yet. I'll allers hev it.
+
+"Thet war ther end. Bolus wouldn't eat fur three days, then he cut me
+dead and went off ter a neighbor's whar ther war a white woman, and would
+niver cum back.
+
+"I stood it three months. I thot I should die uv the blues.
+
+"One day a man from ther No'th stopped off at ther ranch fur the night.
+After supper he said he war a-lookin fur a stock ranch fur his son. I
+said, 'Why not buy mine?'
+
+"Then he asked all 'er 'bout it; how many acres; how much stock; 'bout
+the water, and what my price war.
+
+"I told him $30,000. In the mornin' he gits a hoss, rode round with ther
+boys, and when he cum back, went down inter his pocket, drew out er
+wallet, and counted out thirty $1,000 gold notes, saying: 'I will take
+ther place.'
+
+"'It's a go,' says I.
+
+"We went ter town and hed ther papers fixed up. That war last February.
+Then I started out, went slow round ter New York, then over here; I've
+been up to Scotland, over to Wales; been to France once; jest cum over
+from Ireland, and ev'ry day I ride 'bout twenty miles in this 'ere town,
+and I've never found any end to it yet, 'cept when I went on ther keers'
+'nd thet day I went ter ther races. I believe it's bigger'n all Texas,
+and its very size worries me."
+
+"What have you marked out for the future?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+"Not a blamed thing," was the response.
+
+"How would you like to take a trip with me?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+"I'll go ter any place yo' say, Jim; I don't keer how fur," said the
+candid man.
+
+"Do not promise too quickly," said Sedgwick. "I am thinking of starting
+for South Africa in two or three days."
+
+"South Africa goes, if yo' say so," said Jordan; "I'm yours truly, blast
+my broad-horned heart if I ain't."
+
+"Well, old friend, it is growing late. If you will be here to-morrow
+morning at eight I will tell you all that is on my mind," said Sedgwick,
+rising.
+
+"I'll be har," said Jordan.
+
+Sedgwick stopped to settle the bill, but Jordan pushed him aside, saying,
+"Not to any particular extent, if we knows ourself." He tossed a tip to
+the waiter, paid the bill, and was going to add a shilling for the young
+woman who was the cashier, when, glancing up at her, he changed his mind
+and made it a guinea, because, as he explained, "Her hand war sunthin'
+like Maggie's."
+
+The friends separated at the door.
+
+It was eleven p.m. when Sedgwick reached the Hamlin house. He would not
+have gone at that hour, except that he had been given a pass-key on the
+first day he was there, with a request never to fail to come in, no
+matter how late he might be detained. Moreover, he wanted to see Jack.
+
+Before he could open the door, it was swung back by Grace. She explained
+that she was on the watch so that she might form an idea of what hours
+Sedgwick was in the habit of keeping, and to tell him how very angry she
+still was. Then she gave him a smile such as an angel might, and was
+gone.
+
+Sedgwick went at once to Browning's room, but he was still out. He
+crossed over to his own, threw off his coat, put on a smoking-jacket and
+slippers, and lighting a cigar, sat down to think.
+
+Before very long Browning came in. "I found him," he said. "He was shy
+about giving me the facts, but I ginned him up to the confessional point.
+He told me all the truth at last.
+
+"He received but L2,000 for the mine, and he does not believe that a
+share of it was ever sold to any one but me. He was paid the L2,000 on
+the day I bought the first 50,000 shares. My money paid for the mine;
+then I bought it over again. I furnished the purchase money, and then I
+bought it again, paying an advance of 500 per cent. And the job was put
+up by the old duffers; Stetson was only let in to clear the old chaps
+when the truth should be known. And then Stetson wants to marry my Rose.
+
+"But the man told me that the mine was just as described, only a nasty
+road would have to be built to it that would probably cost L80,000 or
+L100,000, and the mill would have to be built. It looks to me like a
+total loss, Jim; but the swindle is so manifest that I believe we can
+make the conspirators disgorge at least the last half that they robbed me
+of."
+
+The room was still for many minutes. Then Sedgwick said: "Jack, I thought
+those old men meant mischief to you when I first saw them. It was because
+of that--at least, in part that--that I remained. But one is your
+step-father--another the step-father of your affianced bride, and the
+other a mere stool-pigeon. There must be no scandal if we can help it. I
+believe the object on the part of Jenvie was to keep you from marrying
+Rose; what your step-father means I cannot understand. But anyway, if we
+can help it, there must be no scandal. We shared alike in Nevada. I have
+as much money left as both of us need. We share alike still. But no
+matter about that."
+
+"But I have been a hopeless idiot to let these men rob me," said Jack,
+"and except for Rose, I would pull out for America to-morrow. I would, by
+Jove!"
+
+"Your mistake was entirely natural," said Sedgwick. "Had my father wanted
+all my money, he could have got it for the asking. Do not talk about
+going to America; that would be 'conduct unbecoming an officer and a
+gentleman'; it would be a cowardly desertion in the face of the enemy.
+Then, you have never been very well since your ducking down on the Sussex
+coast; and, besides, you have entered into obligations here so sacred
+that you must not permit a little whim, or even a great disappointment,
+to lead you to think about trying to break them. Let us go to sleep now.
+To-morrow we will talk over this matter more fully. I want a few more
+hours to think and to make up my mind what is best to do." Jack returned
+to his room, and the lights were put out.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+TEARS AND ORANGE FLOWERS.
+
+
+In the morning Sedgwick got a cup of coffee early, and was just going
+out, when Grace came running up to him in the hall.
+
+"I believe you were running away," she said gaily, and, seizing his arm,
+declared that he was her prisoner.
+
+He told her that it was true he was running away, but would be back
+before very long, and would then, he thought, explain everything.
+
+"Then I am still very angry," said she. "I am going to my room to make a
+calculation how much I am being slighted, and to consult the fates as to
+what penalties shall be prescribed before you can possibly hope for
+forgiveness." Then she smiled, stretched out her hand to be kissed by
+him, then opened the door and said softly, "Do not be too long away."
+
+Sedgwick went again to Jordan's hotel; found him and told him briefly all
+that had happened; all about Browning, the love affairs of both, and how
+Jack had been taken in on the mine; ran over the prospectus of the "Wedge
+of Gold," and explained that he meant to visit the property; that if it
+could be made available with the means he had, he intended to improve it
+and bring Jack's shares up to cost; that no one but his Grace and her
+mother was to know when he went away, that he was not going to America,
+and that he wanted some one with him who understood gold quartz.
+
+Jordan listened with increasing interest as the story was told,
+interrupting only when Sedgwick spoke of his love for Grace Meredith, and
+when he explained how Jack had been swindled.
+
+To the first he joyfully responded: "I am glad, old boy, blast my
+broad-horned heart if I aint! She's a daisy; she's a real woman; and I
+thank God she found yo' and tuk pity on yo'."
+
+To the other he said: "Well, the dod-durned, Newgate, Rotten Row, British
+thieves! How I would like to 'ave 'em in Texas for one short quarter of a
+hour!"
+
+His enthusiasm was at its height at the close of Sedgwick's story. He
+cried out:
+
+"It'll be glorious, Jim. Ef the mine can be worked up, we'll make it,
+sho'." Then after a pause, he said slowly as to himself, in a low tone:
+"It'll take me outer myself, maybe; that'll be wo'th mo' to me than a
+gold mine."
+
+"But it is a tough time of year," said Sedgwick. "The Red Sea and the
+ocean beyond will be like furnaces at this season."
+
+"Red Sea, ocean, furnace, everything, goes," said Jordan. "I enlist fo'
+ther wah."
+
+Another meeting was arranged for that afternoon, and Sedgwick returned to
+the Hamlin home.
+
+He went direct to Browning's room, tapped on Jack's door, and then walked
+in. Jack was leaning upon the table, thinking, and was so engrossed that
+he did not hear the tap or the opening of the door.
+
+He started up as Sedgwick laid his hand on his shoulder, and said: "I
+don't believe, Jim, that I heard you come in."
+
+"That's all right," said Sedgwick, "but, Jack, you must hear me now."
+Then sitting down close beside his friend, Sedgwick went on:
+
+"I have thought this business all out, Jack. I believe the prime motive
+for this swindle was to separate you and Rose, and prevent your marriage.
+The first thing to do then, is to secure that matter. You must see Rose,
+and if she is willing, you must be married to-morrow. I think she will
+consent, and that her mother will approve it when she shall have been
+told the truth. This must be, Jack; first, because those old scoundrels
+will continue to plot against the marriage until they know it is of no
+more use; and second, I want to go away to-morrow evening."
+
+"It cannot be," said Browning. "They took all my money. They left me but
+a beggarly L12,500."
+
+"How much did you keep thinking through so long a time would be
+sufficient to accumulate before you could come back and 'try to steal
+Rose Jenvie?'" asked Sedgwick.
+
+"O yes, I know," said Browning; "but then it was different."
+
+"What have you told Rose about your money matters?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+"Not one word," was the reply.
+
+"Do you think she expects a no-account boy to go off to America, and with
+nothing but his head and his hands to accumulate more than L12,500 in
+three or four years?" asked Sedgwick. "But this is all foolishness, old
+boy," he continued. "The last half of the money those old men obtained
+from you can be recovered easily, if not all; if that, after awhile,
+proves to be the best thing to do. And, moreover, I tell you that we are
+partners in this, and that we still have as much money as you and I can
+very well handle. I must have my way about this, old friend."
+
+"But if you are going away, why cannot I go with you?" asked Browning.
+
+"For several reasons," replied Sedgwick. "If you remain here, or go down
+on your farm in Devonshire, the conclusion of Jenvie and Hamlin will be,
+that with your money mostly gone, all I could do was to return to
+America.
+
+"Again, no one knows how much more money you have. You must remain. Be
+generous at the club, move among men, keep the prestige that you have won
+since you came here; be entirely independent; keep your eye on the man
+the mine was bought from, even if you have to pay him a salary to insure
+his remaining here, and so be in a position to help through any line of
+action we may agree upon. More, you must restrain yourself and have no
+trouble with young Stetson. He is as much fool as knave.
+
+"Another reason is, that Rose has already waited years for you, and it
+would be a wicked and cruel thing to disappoint her again. It would kill
+her and unman you. No, no, you must be married to-morrow. But Jack, if I
+were you, I would never take my wife back under the Jenvie roof until
+full reparation should be made. See her, and gain her consent to an
+immediate marriage; then go and hire a house or make arrangements at a
+hotel to live, and I want you to promise that you will not, after I
+shall have gone, bring any suit or make any sign that you have suffered a
+loss, or bother yourself much about business until I come back, or you
+receive word of me. I will fix money matters before I go, so that you
+will not be troubled. And now, think it over."
+
+When Jack aroused himself, Sedgwick had disappeared. He sat in silence
+for a few minutes, then rose, went out, secured a conveyance, called and
+asked Rose to go out for a drive.
+
+On the road he explained to Rose all that had happened; how rich he was
+when he came home; how his confidence had been betrayed; how little he
+had left, and then asked if the dear girl was still willing to be his
+wife, and if she would consent to become his wife next day.
+
+She laid her hand on his, and said: "Dear Jack! it was to be for all
+time; your home to be my home; your God my God. I will be ready when you
+come for me. I will go exultingly to become your wife; my joy will be the
+deeper, for it will be chilled with no fear of the future, which it might
+have been had I known you possessed L100,000. What you have is enough for
+us. But, Jack, let me begin to influence you. Do not take a shilling of
+your friend's money unless you know that we can some time return it."
+
+Later, Jack found a lovely furnished house, the owner of which desired to
+vacate for a year; hired it, paid a year's rent in advance, engaged the
+servants of the family, and explained that he would bring his wife on the
+succeeding day.
+
+On that same day, Sedgwick sought Grace, and made clear to her the
+situation, explaining how Jack had been wronged, what he had advised to
+do him, and unfolded his own plan to leave the next day, so soon as
+Browning and Miss Jenvie should be married--with Jordan for South Africa,
+to see if it was worth while to try to bring out the property, explaining
+that if the mine gave no strong promise he would be back in two or three
+months. If, on the other hand, he and Jordan decided it was good, he
+might be absent for a year, and asked her if she would keep the secret of
+where he had gone, and if she were sure enough of her own heart to
+undertake to wait for him.
+
+Grace had grown very white and still while Sedgwick was speaking. When he
+ceased she continued silent for a moment, and then said:
+
+"I agree to it all, my king, all but one thing."
+
+"And what is that, sweet?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+She leaned over, put her arm around her lover's neck, laid her cheek
+against his, and said: "If Jack and Rose are to be married to-morrow, we
+should be married also."
+
+"But I am going away, my child," said Sedgwick.
+
+"I know," was her response, "but one object of my father in trying to
+break off the match between Jack and Rose was to try to have Jack marry
+me. We should complete the work. Then, should you need me, or could you
+send for me, I could go better as your wife than any other way; then,
+when I gave my heart to you I gave it entirely, and should we never meet,
+I would, while I lived, want to keep in thought that you were my husband;
+that I was your wife; that all glory had come to me."
+
+By this time the tears were flowing fast down her cheeks, and with tears
+in his own eyes, Sedgwick said:
+
+"I wanted to ask you, dearest, to become my wife before I went away, but
+thought it a shame to so involve you, with a future so clouded as mine is
+to be for the coming months."
+
+"You forget," she replied, "that it is my right in your absence to think
+of you as my husband."
+
+So it was settled that on the next day, just before noon, they should be
+married; that they should separate at the church, she to return with her
+mother, Sedgwick to start with Jordan on their long journey.
+
+Then Grace called her mother. The matter was explained to her, and she
+readily consented to the marriage, saying to Sedgwick: "You know I asked
+you, in case Grace returned your affection, that the matter might for the
+present be held a secret. My reason was that I felt that something
+sinister, which I could not understand, was at work. I think you and
+Grace have a right to belong to each other; that if you must go away.
+Grace is right in wishing that when you are gone she can think of you as
+her husband."
+
+So arranged, Sedgwick went to find Jordan. A steamer had sailed the
+previous day from Southampton for Port Natal, via the Suez Canal, and
+Sedgwick's plan was to join that ship at Port Said.
+
+He found Jordan, told him of the change in the arrangements; fixed with
+him to have all needed baggage at the Dover depot, to meet him at the
+church at 11:30 next day, and after the ceremony to start with him from
+the church on their long journey.
+
+"I'll be thar, old friend," said Jordan. "Thet's ther sensible business.
+Make ther splendid girl yo'r wife, and pervide for her so thet if
+anything happens she'll be safe agin the petty cares that break women's
+hearts."
+
+Then Sedgwick returned to the Hamlin house, and went straight to Jack's
+room.
+
+Browning greeted him with a smile, and said, "Jim, old pard, it's all
+right. The marriage goes, even as you planned, and I have found and
+secured a nest for my bird."
+
+"Good," said Sedgwick; "but the arrangements have been changed a little;
+or, I might say, enlarged upon a little. As I understand it now, you,
+with Rose and her mother, will be at the church at 11:30 to-morrow. I
+will be there with Mrs. Hamlin and Grace. We will be the witnesses of
+your marriage, and then, Jack, old man, you and Mrs. Browning must be
+witnesses for Grace and me."
+
+Jack sprang from his chair, and cried: "Are you and Grace fond of each
+other?"
+
+"Well, somewhat, I trust," said Sedgwick.
+
+"And you are really engaged?" cried Jack.
+
+"For all this life, at least," said Sedgwick; then added gravely, "and
+heaven itself would be a cold and cheerless place to me without my saving
+Grace."
+
+Then Browning wrung the hand of Sedgwick, embraced him, danced around the
+room; then shook hands again, crying: "This is superb! this is glorious,
+by Jove! Why, of course it would be all wrong any other way. O, Jim,
+bless my soul, how glad I am!"
+
+Then Sedgwick said: "Browning, we have not much time. You understand I
+will leave my wife"--his voice trembled--"at the church door. I am going
+away--where, no matter--with a thought in my mind which, please, do not
+ask me. I may be gone two months, maybe six months.
+
+"Here is my will. Grace will keep it. Here is a check for her, which will
+secure her comfort, so far as money is concerned. Here is a check for
+L10,000 for you and Rose. Grace will return from the church to this
+house. If our marriage cause any friction here, she will go and live with
+you and Rose. I am glad you have secured a house. If I were you, I
+repeat, I would never take Rose under the roof of her step-father until I
+received full restitution from him. Do not discuss this money part of the
+business any more; it will do you no good. And when I am gone, do not get
+low spirited. Make life happy for Rose, and"--he halted a moment--"for
+Grace."
+
+The dinner was not a happy one that day. A cloud was on the Hamlin house.
+As soon as possible the head of the house went out. He was quickly
+followed by Browning.
+
+The eyes of Grace and Sedgwick met. They both rose from the table and
+passed into the hall. Grace twined her arms around one of his and led him
+into the parlor. She swung around an easy chair, made him sit down, then
+seated herself on an ottoman at his feet, and said: "It's going to be
+awfully hard to bear, my love; but I have thought it all over, and I do
+not believe I should ever be quite satisfied if you should not perform
+what you have marked out as your duty. Of course, if the property will
+not bear examination, you will, if nothing wrong happens you, be back in
+two or three months. If it will justify further exertion, I understand it
+will be likely to keep you away for a year, and that will be fearful."
+
+The tears filled her eyes.
+
+"But that will be duty, and then if you conclude to remain, maybe you
+will send for me. It will not matter how I live. I would go now, but I
+know I would be a trouble to you. I should interfere with your work.
+To-day you would want to go here; to-night, there; to-morrow you would
+want to be off on the mountains; and while I do not imagine you would
+think me a burden, nevertheless your very best energies could not be
+exerted, and this time they must be."
+
+She seemed very resolute as she spoke, though her face was sadder than
+Sedgwick had ever seen it. She continued:
+
+"I shall be brave when the hour comes, my love. I shall not vex you with
+a tear when we separate. You shall carry a smile as my last gift away
+with you."
+
+Sedgwick was enchanted. He thought her the grandest, noblest woman on
+earth, and thanked God for his treasure.
+
+After awhile he told her of Jordan, and all that he had learned from him.
+When he rehearsed Jordan's love episode, she kept exclaiming: "Poor, true
+man! Poor, honest fellow!" But when it was finished, she said: "Why,
+love, he is a ninny; that woman would never have left him had he but had
+more faith in himself, and pressed his suit a little. I am glad he is
+going with you. You will be a comfort to him, and his mind will have an
+object to work upon. Poor fellow!" she added with a sad smile. "You men
+are very brave and bright. You tear down mountains, exalt valleys, fight
+battles, navigate great ships, tame wild horses and lasso wild oxen, but
+you do not--the majority of you--know any more about a woman's heart than
+a Fiji islander does of Sanscrit."
+
+To all of which Sedgwick responded by calling her an angel.
+
+Then the matter of their marriage was talked over, and Sedgwick advised
+that in case her step-father should be angry upon learning of the event,
+she should take up her home with Jack and Rose.
+
+"My father will not show much vexation," she said. "If he begins that
+way, I will remind him of the fortune he has taken from your friend, his
+own step-son, and explain that it was his and Jenvie's work that made
+necessary what we shall have done."
+
+But it was agreed that all letters to her should be sent to a private box
+in the post-office, to which Sedgwick gave her the key. It was agreed,
+moreover, that even Jack should not know he had not gone to America,
+because, as he explained, if Jack once suspected he was going to Africa,
+he, too, would insist upon going, which would break Rose's heart, who had
+already waited for years; and then his going would be altogether
+unnecessary, as he and Jordan could do as well as three could. Moreover,
+to go would be to lose what he had advanced on the Devonshire estate.
+
+They both tried to be cheerful, but it was a sad night. When they came to
+separate, Grace broke down, but through her tears promised to be brave
+when the final trial came.
+
+Next morning, from half past nine to half past ten, Sedgwick and Grace
+were saying their final good-byes. It was an hour never to be forgotten
+by them. Grace did not attempt to restrain her tears. In both their
+hearts was the feeling that one has when the last look is being taken of
+the face of a much-loved one who has gone to the final rest. There were
+kisses and embraces and broken words, but there was no faltering on
+either side. Both were supported by the thought that a duty had been
+presented and must not be avoided.
+
+At 10:30 they retired to their respective apartments. Sedgwick dressed
+himself in a business suit of a dark texture. Grace attired herself in a
+traveling suit and hat. The baggage of Sedgwick was sent off at 11:15,
+and both were ready when the carriage came. The carriage with Mrs.
+Jenvie, Rose and Browning came up almost immediately, and the two
+vehicles proceeded to the church. Quite a little company had gathered,
+drawn by curiosity, when the church doors were opened.
+
+Jordan was present, radiant in a new suit, with a flower in his coat
+lapel, and he answered the smile and nod that each couple gave him as
+they passed up the aisle.
+
+As stated before, Grace was in a traveling suit, but Rose was radiant in
+robe and train and orange wreath, and a buzz of admiration at her
+exquisite beauty followed her all the way to her place before the altar.
+
+The ceremony proceeded in the usual order. The mothers gave the brides
+away; the last prayer was finished, the kisses given, the papers duly
+signed and witnessed, the certificates filled out and given to the
+respective brides, and the company turned to leave the church.
+
+Then Jordan came forward. Sedgwick presented the two elder ladies to him,
+and all greeted him most cordially. In response he said:
+
+"It's the whitest kind uv a day. I'm glad ter know yo' all; glad ter
+congratulate yo', and I wanter say ter Mrs. Sedgwick--Grace grew rosy red
+on hearing the appellation--that I've know'd her husband a long time, and
+he's true blue, sho'; there's not a better or a braver man on either side
+o' ther ocean."
+
+With that he drew a package from his pocket, and tendered it to Grace,
+saying: "I wanter give yo' a little keepsake fo' yo' husband's sake."
+
+It was a jewel case and contained a diamond cross worth L300.
+
+At the church door the good-byes were spoken. Browning and his bride
+entered one carriage and were driven away to Jack's home. The two elder
+ladies and Sedgwick's bride entered the other carriage.
+
+True to her promise, Grace gave to her husband, who stood near, a smiling
+good-bye, but when the carriage was driven away, she broke into
+uncontrollable sobs, wrung her hands piteously, and not until she reached
+home did the paroxysm of grief subside. She went to her room, laid by all
+her bright dresses and ornaments, robed herself in simple black--"in
+mourning," she said, "for my lost honey-moon."
+
+Sedgwick and Jordan entered a carriage, and from it boarded the Dover
+train. Not a word was spoken until the train had passed beyond the great
+city's outermost limit, when at last Jordan said:
+
+"Cum, Jim, brace up. It'll be all the sweeter when this accursed bitter
+cup shall be passed."
+
+And Sedgwick answered: "You are right, old friend, but the dear girl will
+suffer. That last smile was such as is given when hearts break."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+SINISTER SUCCESSES.
+
+
+When the old men, Jenvie and Hamlin, reached their homes that evening and
+learned what had transpired during the day, they were dumfounded. Hardly
+tasting any dinner, Hamlin arose from the table and sought the house of
+Jenvie. He met Jenvie at the door who was just going out to find Hamlin.
+They went at once to Jenvie's library, and when Jenvie motioned Hamlin to
+a seat and took another himself, it was a long time before either spoke.
+
+At last Hamlin said: "A bad business, Jenvie."
+
+"I do not see how it could be worse," was the reply.
+
+"I am too confused to think," said Hamlin.
+
+"We got Jack's money from him, and yet he and Rose are married, and it
+seems with Rose's mother's full consent," said Jenvie.
+
+"And a stranger of whom we know almost nothing has married Grace and left
+her at the church door, and it was with her mother's full consent, also,"
+said Hamlin.
+
+"And neither you nor myself is in a position to complain; I have not the
+courage to even storm about it," said Jenvie.
+
+"Nor have I," responded Hamlin. "I did not intend to keep Jack's money. I
+wanted to break off his engagement, and then offer him a little fortune
+if he would marry Grace."
+
+"I was determined that he should not marry Rose, even if I had to rob him
+to prevent it. Curses on him! He knocked me senseless while he was yet a
+mere boy. And now he has given me a harder blow. He has stolen Rose from
+under my spectacles, married her, pauper that he is, and gone to
+housekeeping."
+
+"What shall we do?" asked Hamlin.
+
+"Look here," said Jenvie, "this move is that American's who has married
+your daughter. He is more subtle than Jack. He has engineered this
+business. But I cannot fathom it. Why should he have left his bride
+at the church door and gone off to America?"
+
+"I think I can understand that," said Hamlin. "While Jack has made his
+L100,000, Sedgwick made a little more than L20,000. He left that with his
+father to buy a farm in the States, and came with Jack merely as a lark.
+
+"I think he has gone for as much of that as may be left, and that before
+a month he will return, and will back Jack in a suit to recover from us
+Jack's money."
+
+"Why, what can they hope to recover by a suit?" asked Jenvie. "If mining
+stocks are offered to a man and he buys them, and they do not turn out
+well, whose loss ought it to be? Then we sold nothing. It was Stetson who
+did the business."
+
+"But," said Hamlin, "if a man is induced by false representations to buy
+wild-cat shares, and he seeks recourse through our English courts, will
+he not recover?"
+
+"I made no special representations," said Jenvie.
+
+"That will not answer," said Hamlin. "You made enough representations;
+so did I. It was a direct swindle, and I did my part intending to make
+restitution. This business has practically destroyed the peace of our own
+homes. My wife never gave me a look of thorough contempt until to-day."
+
+"Neither did mine," said Jenvie. Then there was a long silence.
+
+At last Jenvie said: "Hamlin, there is but one thing to do. We must go
+to Jack to-morrow, good-naturedly chide him and Rose for being married
+without our knowledge, each carry a present, and as soon as possible
+settle with Jack, and get his receipt in full, before the return of that
+American devil that tumbles bulls, and might trip two old John Bulls like
+you and me."
+
+"I agree to that," Hamlin responded. "We can tell him that bad news from
+the mine has decided us not to go on with the mill building; that we will
+help bear the loss of the first investment, and tender him back L25,000.
+He will not only be glad to settle with us for that, but will feel
+grateful to us."
+
+So it was agreed that they should go at noon of the succeeding day.
+
+They each next morning purchased a valuable present, and repaired to
+Jack's house.
+
+They were shown in, and their cards sent to Browning.
+
+The servant returned in a moment and said: "Mr. Browning is engaged, and
+declines seeing the gentlemen."
+
+They went out incensed, but with such a mixed feeling of anger, chagrin,
+self-abasement, and apprehension as they had never experienced before.
+
+A day or two later Hamlin met Mrs. Browning face to face on the street.
+He rushed up to her with a joyful cry of "O Rose!" whereupon she drew her
+skirts around her so that they would not touch him, and walked by.
+
+Not long after, Jenvie met Browning and addressed him joyously. Jack
+looked him steadily in the face for a moment and then walked on.
+
+These were unhappy days for the old men. Something had fallen on their
+homes worse than a funeral, and in their souls the fear of the coming of
+Sedgwick became a perpetual haunting specter before their eyes. Stetson
+joined in their apprehensions, and then he realized besides that if he
+had ruined Jack, still Jack had married Rose.
+
+But as the days grew into weeks, they began to have hope. They made two
+or three investments that gave them quick returns and large profits.
+Success begets confidence. The men on change began to look upon them as
+rising bankers; deposits increased heavily, and so many enterprises were
+offered them to promote, that, without using a dollar of their own means,
+their commissions began to be enormous.
+
+"We are on the rising tide," said Jenvie.
+
+"Indeed we are," said Hamlin. "If the suit comes now, we can settle
+without any business or domestic scandal."
+
+"It is nothing to make money when a man once
+gets a start," said Jenvie, "but I would be glad to be
+fully reconciled with my wife and child."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+A TRIP TO AFRICA.
+
+
+Sedgwick and Jordan, with only now and then a few words of conversation,
+reached the coast and embarked on the channel steamer. A fresh wind was
+blowing, and the craft was shamefully unsteady.
+
+"It must uv been heah, Jim, whar ther original mustang learned his
+cussedness," said Jordan. "See how ther steam devil performs, startin' up
+ez tho' it meant to climb a wave and then without er provercation rollin'
+half way over and all ther time shakin hisself an' makin' things thet
+uncomfortable thet ther man aboard, while sayin' nothin', wishes all ther
+time he'd never tackled ther brute. Didn't ther useter call ther sea,
+'Mare?' I know why, she were a mustang shor."
+
+Sedgwick's face kindled with the ghost of a laugh, and he agreed that
+Jordan's theory was not a bad one.
+
+"But, Jim," said Jordan, "this war er famous old place after all."
+
+"Yes," said Sedgwick; "history has compiled some of its wonderful pages
+right here. We are where the Great Armada sailed, the souls of those on
+board believing they were going to make the conquest of England. Here is
+where Howard gave that fleet its first blow; here is where Howard and
+Drake sent their fire ships to play havoc with the hostile fleet. A great
+place indeed! But it was only 300 years ago that Howard and Drake
+performed their part; before their day many a fleet swept over this
+watery way; the Crusaders crossed here; before them, a thousand years,
+the great Julius came and invaded England; before him, a hundred savage
+nations worked their rude boats in these turbulent seas. When the light
+of civilization well-nigh went out in the land where it was first
+kindled, it was re-lighted on these shores, and though it burned slowly
+for a long time it never quite went out; rather, it grew brighter and
+brighter until its sheen began to fill the world. Bright souls have
+peopled both sides of this channel; both are lands of fair women and
+brave men; their literature has made the world gentler and higher; their
+laws dominate mankind; their power is a controlling force among the
+nations; they make the center of the world's wealth; they are each
+examples of how much men may accomplish on small areas of land, provided
+they possess sovereign hearts and brains and souls."
+
+The ship scraped against the pier while Sedgwick was talking, and the
+travelers hurried on their way. At Paris they were detained several
+hours, and Jordan hiring a carriage, they took in as much of the
+beautiful city as possible.
+
+Jordan all the time exerted himself to talk, and by asking questions to
+compel Sedgwick to think of something besides the sad-browed bride whom
+he had left in London.
+
+"What war the special charm 'bout Paris, Jim? I feel it, but blamed ef I
+can splain it even ter myself," said he.
+
+"I do not know," replied his friend, "but I suspect, Tom, it is the
+culmination of something which has for a thousand years been maturing.
+Long ago, a full thousand years, there was an Emperor here who was in
+advance of his generation. He believed that a perfect education meant the
+full enlightenment of the mortal, that his hands and eyes as well as his
+mind must be disciplined, that every useful attribute must be trained. So
+he built cathedrals to improve the taste of the people, established free
+drawing schools, had the people taught the secret of fusing worthless
+material with acute brains and making something valuable--something which
+the rich are glad to give their gold in exchange for. That emperor died,
+but his work continued to live and increase until France became a nation
+of artisans and artists, and that art has now become second nature, and
+therein lies the charm. See how yonder lady picks up her drapery to cross
+the street; not ten women in England could do that little thing as she
+does. Do you know the reason why? She caught the art originally from old
+Charlemagne. That is, thirty generations ago, the old Emperor established
+the schools which made possible the perfection of the present, and the
+graceful art of that lady is in truth a graceful compliment to the old
+soldier-Emperor who more than a thousand years ago fell back to dust."
+
+"I reckon yo' are right, Jim," said Jordan. "When I was heah afore, I put
+up at er tavern whar ther war young women as waited on ther table. I jest
+had plain food, in course, but when one o' them young women brot me ther
+bill, she would hand et out in sech er way thet tho' I knowed she war
+a-robbin' me, I never thot o' pertestin'; rather, she war shor ter git er
+tip in addition. Talk er high art, them girls war daisies, shor. One time
+thar war a row. A dapper feller disputed er bill. He thumped his heart,
+waved his arms, and made er speech like er politician. Ther perprieter
+cum in, then both made speeches. I thot ther would be shootin' or
+cuttin', sartin, but finally one rushed out, and I tho't in course hed
+gone for a gun. While waitin' ter see ther fun, I seen over at er table
+a feller smilin' like, and I tho't by his face he war a Yankee, so I went
+over, and sez I: 'parler vouse Fronsa?' Then he laffed and said: 'Yes, a
+little, but I understand English better.' Then I shuk his hand 'nd axed
+him wot ther row war, an 'nd ef he tho't that thar man hed gone fur a
+wepin. He smiled sort o' quiet-like, and said: 'No, it war jest a
+difficulty about an overcharge of five sous, and it's all settled.' 'All
+that row for five sous?' I asked. 'Yes,' he answered. Then I said, 'My
+God, suppose it hed a-been five francs, it would uv been ez good ez er
+play.' Yo' see, that old trick thet they got from big Charlie, they
+overplay sometimes."
+
+Sedgwick smiled faintly, and Jordan continued:
+
+"But are they not er light-hearted, joyus race, tho'? How they can sing
+'nd dance 'nd play hades! When I war heah they hed a review uv ther
+soldiers, 'nd how ther hull town turned out 'nd yelled 'nd yelled 'nd
+sung ther Marseilles, 'nd yet ther scars and humilitation uv ther mighty
+defeat war still fresh upon them. They'r ez hopeful ez ther Irish, same
+time they is a great deal closer traders. Ther stranger pays fur eny bow
+they make, for any smile they give. Still, they is country-loving; every
+one uv 'em 'r ready ter die fur ther beautiful France, 'nd ther women ez
+jest ez'thuseastic ez ther men. If I war young 'nd cud round up
+ther language a little, I'd camp heah fur six months."
+
+"The place is worth a longer visit," said Sedgwick, "just to study its
+past, to go over the spots made sacred in history, to study the
+monuments, to visit galleries; to dream of all the events which
+transpired to round the present city into form; to trace the city's
+career through wars, revolutions, uprisings, victories and defeats; to
+learn the processes, and count the throes which were necessary before the
+manhood of the people asserted its superiority over the manhood of kings.
+
+"Think! It is but sixty years since the great Corsican led his army out
+of here to his last campaign. One can picture him now in thought, moving
+up this very street, the old familiar sovereign face, eyes straining
+towards the star that even then had become a fallen star, his ears
+thrilled with the plaudits of shouting armies and shouting people, his
+soul imperturbable in its dream of conquest. Then the man was everything,
+the people nothing; now the people are everything, the man--he is asleep
+and his heart is not colder in the grave than it was in life."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+ON THEIR TRAVELS.
+
+
+But at last the hour for leaving came, and Sedgwick and Jordan took
+the train and proceeded without delay to Marseilles, where one of the
+steamers of the French Imperial Messenger Line was about to sail for
+Port Said. They at once secured transportation, went on board, and a
+few hours later the ship proceeded to sea. The weather was fair on the
+Mediterranean, and putting aside any personal sorrows, Jordan exerted
+himself to be cheerful for Sedgwick's sake.
+
+"This are ther water on which men fust learned ter be sailors, arn't it,
+Jim?" he asked. "I mean whar they fust got inter ther notion of venturin'
+out whar ther old shore-shaker could git a good hold on 'em?"
+
+"Yes," replied Sedgwick. "This and the Red Sea. The Egyptians, the
+Carthagenians, the Phoenicians, the Syrians, the Greeks, the Romans,
+and a dozen other nations; later, the Venetians and Spaniards, and no one
+knows how many other nations, all learned how to build, navigate, and
+fight ships on these waters. Think of it, Jordan, there were sea fights
+here almost seven hundred years before the Christ came. On this sea
+floated the fighting Biremes, Triremes, and Quinquiremes of the Greeks,
+Carthagenians, and Romans; and here the Egyptians and Phoenicians
+trained their ships three thousand years before the crucifixion.
+
+"Could this sea give up its dead--its dead men and its dead ships; could
+they all come back as they looked the moment before they sank, they would
+make a panorama of the ages, and would show the progress of the world for
+five thousand years. Every mile square of this sea must be paved with
+things which were once glorious in life and power. Maybe below where we
+are sailing here, helmeted Roman soldiers, being transported to some
+point of contemplated conquest, went down. Here pirate craft have roamed;
+here lumbering wheat ships have ploughed their way; here the watches have
+been set by the crews of a hundred nations; here sailors have been cursed
+in a thousand tongues. Along these shores ship-building had its birth;
+from these shores the ships sailed out over these waters, engaging in
+foreign commerce, and the camel-owner on the land learned to hate the
+thing which on the water could carry the burden of many camels. One could
+sit all day and conjure up the ghosts that these blue waters are peopled
+with."
+
+"Go ahead, Jim," said Jordan. "Thet sounds as it useter when yo' read to
+us in ther old house thar in Texas. What war thet book that told all
+'bout Lissis and Ajax, the hoss-tamer Diamed, and the boss fighters,
+Killes and Hector, and ther pretty gal Helen, that raised all the hel-lo,
+and Dromine, the squar woman thet war Hector's wife, and hed the kid thet
+war afeerd of the old man's headgear?"
+
+"That was the Iliad, Jordan," said Sedgwick, "the first book that we
+read. The story was the siege of Troy. That was a city over on the east
+shore of this very sea, and the Greeks went over there in their boats and
+besieged it for nine years before they captured it."
+
+"How long ago war that, Jim?" asked Jordan.
+
+"Three thousand years," was the reply.
+
+"But they were fighters, them fellers?" said Jordan.
+
+"Yes, great fighters," said Sedgwick.
+
+"And their hosses war thoroughbreds, every one? Isn't thet so, Jim?" said
+Jordan.
+
+"They were great horses, indeed," said Sedgwick.
+
+"Powerful," said Jordan, "good for fo' mile heats, sho'? And thet other
+chap, Nais, didn't he settle round here somewhar?"
+
+"You mean AEneas, Jordan. It was in Virgil that we read that. AEneas was of
+the family of that Priam who was king of Troy when the siege was on. He
+got away in a ship and finally landed and settled in southern Italy, off
+here to our left, and the legend goes that his descendants founded Rome."
+
+"Yo' don't mean ter say he wur ther 'riginater uv ther Dagoes?" said
+Jordan.
+
+"Well," said Sedgwick, with a laugh, "you know at that time there were
+wild tribes in Italy. Then there came in Greek colonies, and all races
+fused and assimilated, even as did the Romans and Sabines when the former
+captured a company of the women of the latter and made them their wives.
+Out of it all arose the mighty Roman nation."
+
+"They inbred with mustangs, so ter speak," said Jordan, "and these common
+Dagoes is whar they has bred back showin' bad stock in ther dam."
+
+"May-be," said Sedgwick.
+
+"Half-breeds is no good, as a rule, but that Nais war a good one."
+
+"A good one, I guess," said Sedgwick.
+
+"He's ther feller that Queen--what's her name?--O, yes, Queen Dido got
+soft on?" queried Jordan.
+
+"Yes, Queen Dido," was the response.
+
+"And she got looney-like when he cum away, and uv nights would go down on
+ther shore and watch for him to cum back?" said Jordan.
+
+"So the legend has come down, and by the way," added Sedgwick, "her
+country was on this sea also, farther east and south, off to the right.
+It was called Carthage."
+
+"Say, Jim," said Jordan, "them folks was a good deal like we is, after
+all, wuzn't they? They'd fight for most nuthin'; they'd get gone on
+wimmen; liked good hosses; they'd trade and work tryin' ter get rich; and
+ef they hed hearn of a gold mine, they'd gone ter Arizony for it."
+
+"I guess you are right, Jordan," said Sedgwick, "you always are. The
+world changes its methods, but the original man is about what he has
+always been."
+
+"Wurn't it from thet place Carthage that ther black feller cum what held
+ther Dagoes so level fur so long?" asked Jordan.
+
+"Hannibal, do you mean?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+"Ther same," replied Jordan.
+
+"Yes," replied Sedgwick, "and a marvelous soldier and leader of men he
+was, to be sure."
+
+"Indeed, he wur; but say, Jim, what do yo' calcerlate his pedigree wur?"
+
+"Why, he came from a family of kings and fighting men," answered
+Sedgwick.
+
+"Yes, I know; but I mean what breed war he? War he one of them ere
+Ethiopians?" said Jordan.
+
+"No, I think not," answered his friend. "He was dark like an Arab or
+a Moor, but he belonged to a race that built cities and ships, tamed
+horses, and fought scientific battles."
+
+"'Zactly," said Jordan. "And he wur a fighter from way back?"
+
+"Yes," responded Sedgwick, "when the few great captains in the world are
+thought of, he is about third or fourth in the list."
+
+"Thay ain't much in men, Jim. Thar's everything in a man," said Jordan.
+
+"That is what Napoleon used to say," was Sedgwick's answer.
+
+"Did Napoleon say thet?" asked Jordan. "He war a brighter man than I
+thought, but it is true, don't yo' think, Jim?"
+
+"I think I understand, but am not quite sure," said Sedgwick.
+
+"I mean this," he answered, and then paused a moment. "Well, yo' see," he
+continued, "I wur at Chickamauga in Hill's division, I wur in thur ranks,
+and wur a boy; but I hed a general idee how things wur. I knowed whar all
+our men war; how your army war 'ranged, and when we went in shoutin',
+and all your right and left melted away like a fog as comes up from the
+gulf melts when the sun comes up in ther mornin', I sed to Ned Sykes, who
+wur next me in ther ranks, 'Ned, we's got 'em,' and Ned answered back,
+'we's got 'em, sho'.'
+
+"Well, it wur a clar field, 'ceptin' your center war still solid, and
+they fell back all but a thin line. We charged up onto thet and broke it,
+killed lot's uf 'em, and gobbled up lots more, but it tuk us a right
+smart time, fur them was stubborn chaps 'nd they fought desperate.
+
+"Then when I looked up, I seen the hull business. Thet line hed been
+flung out ter hold us till ther rest cud fall back on better ground. Thar
+they wuz fixed, and when our lines wuz dressed and other charge ordered,
+and we went in again shoutin' jest like the fust time, they laid down
+flat and they 'gin it ter us so hot we couldn't stand it and hed ter fall
+back.
+
+"And they kept a-entertainin' of us thetway all ther evenin'. Other
+divisions wur called up and sent in, but what wur left uv 'em cum
+streamin' back, jest ez often ez it wur tried; a cavalry charge was
+ordered, but only a remnant cum back, and we hed made no more impression
+seemin'ly than ther waves thet bucks up agin a ledge uv rocks.
+
+"Them wur no better soldiers than ther rest uv ther army, but thar war a
+man directin' 'em, and lookin' all ther time so kinder majistical and
+lofty and so fur away from all fear, and ez tho' he hedn't a thot of
+failin', thet ther men, yo' see, tuk on ther same state o' mind, and ter
+fight 'em war no use. If the fust bullet we fired hed killed thet
+General, we would a-scooped the hull army by four o'clock. Thet's what
+I mean when I say: 'They ain't much in men, thar's everything in a man!'"
+
+"I understand you fully, and you are right, Jordan," said his friend.
+
+Jordan continued "War it not 'round yere somewhar' thet ther Greeks
+lived?"
+
+"Yes, north of this sea, ahead of us, and to the left," said Sedgwick.
+
+"They wur the ones that fit Marathon and Thermoperlee, and it wur from
+ther thet big Aleck cum?" asked Jordan.
+
+"Yes," was the reply. "It was only a little country, but had many states,
+The Spartans and Thespians, mostly the Spartans, fought at Thermopylae.
+Marathon was fought mostly by Athenians, and Alexander was Phillip's son,
+of Macedonia."
+
+"'Zactly," said Jordan. "Athens wur the boss place, wur it not? It had
+ther best talkers, and best public schools, and wur it not thar thet the
+woman Frina kept house?"
+
+"Yes, Phryne was an Athenian, I believe, a woman of a good model, but not
+a model woman," said Sedgwick, with a faint smile.
+
+"I reckon yo' wur right, Jim," said Jordan, "but it wur not singular she
+bested them fellers in her law-suit. Her showin' would ha' brought a
+Texas jury every time, sho', in spite of any 'structions, no matter how
+savage, from ther court."
+
+Then he continued, "Thar wur another bad one 'round here, somewhar. Don't
+yo' reclect readin' 'bout her and ther Roman? They got spoony on one
+another. He neglected his family and business, he wur thet fur gone;
+finally got hisself killed, and then she pizened herself with a sarpent,
+not a moccasin nor rattler, but a little short blue-brown scrub snake not
+a foot long."
+
+"You mean Antony and Cleopatra," said Sedgwick.
+
+"'Zactly, Cleopatra," said Jordan. "She wer ther one. I never liked her,
+not half so well as the one with yaller ha'r thet they called Helen. One
+wur bad on her own account; the other, as I calcerlate, wus bad jest
+because she hed er disposition to be entertainin' and agreeable. One wur
+naterally bad; t'other wur a lady by instinct but her edecation had been
+neglected."
+
+Still he ran on: "Wur it not on this water thet old Solomon fitted out
+ships for ther Ophir diggings?"
+
+"I do not know," was the reply. "It probably was, if, as is believed, a
+canal connected this sea with the Red Sea in his day."
+
+"Which way are Jerusalem from here, Sedgwick?" he asked.
+
+Sedgwick pointed in the direction.
+
+"And Tyre and Venice and Egypt and ther Hellespont?" Jordan asked.
+
+Sedgwick explained.
+
+"The country 'round this sea made ther world once, didn't it?" was
+Jordan's next exclamation.
+
+"Very nearly," answered Sedgwick. "The cradle of civilization was rocked
+more on these shores than anywhere else. Egypt and Greece and Carthage
+and Phoenicia and Syria and Rome, and a score of other nations, grew
+into form on the shores of this sea. The arts had birth here; arts,
+architecture, ship-building, sculpture, poetry, eloquence, law and
+learning, all began on these shores; and Roman soldiers crucified the
+Savior a little beyond where the waves of this sea break against its
+eastern shore."
+
+"Thet's good," said Jordan. "Big region this!"
+
+And so the great-hearted man kept talking to try to lure Sedgwick's mind
+away from the thoughts that possessed him, and which made his heart heavy
+and his face grave.
+
+The ship touched at several ports, and the changing of passengers, the
+different races, the varying scenes, kept the minds of both men diverted
+and their interest all the time awakened, and kept Jordan talking more
+than he had talked before for weeks.
+
+"I'm glad I cum, Jim," he kept saying. "Why, we fellers out in Texas as
+never traveled don't know nuthin', so ter speak; nuthin' 'bout the world
+outside, I mean. We useter think Texas wur almighty big. Tain't nuthin'."
+
+Then after a pause he spoke again, and his next question was: "What did
+yo' call them ships thet ther old fellers sailed?"
+
+"They had many names. There were Galleys, Biremes, Triremes.
+Quadquirimes, Quinquirimes and so on, according to the number of their
+oars and the way they worked them," answered Sedgwick.
+
+"This are a daisy ship thet we is on, don't you reckon?" said Jordan.
+"Suppose yo' and I cud uv cum along heah with this ship when they hed
+ther fightin' fleets out? Wouldn't we hev astonished them old-timers?"
+
+"I think we would, indeed," said Sedgwick, "but, Tom, with the ships that
+they had, they did some fighting that gave the world such a thrill that
+men feel it still when the name of Actium or Salamis is mentioned. As
+long before the coming of the Savior as it has been since, the
+Phoenicians were scouring this sea with their craft, founding colonies,
+and it is said they ventured out upon the Atlantic and went as far north
+as England, while amid the ruins of Tyre models of boats have been found
+with lines as fine as any that any modern ship-builder can draw.
+
+"Nothing of mechanical achievement to me compares with a ship like this
+that we are sailing on. Panoplied in steel, with heart of fire, with iron
+arms picking up the burden of ten thousand horses; facing the storm and
+the night without a quiver except that which comes of its own great
+heart's throbbing, buoyant above the beating of the deep sea's solemn
+pulses, lighted by imitation sunlight, and making its voyages almost with
+the precision of the hours--what could be grander?
+
+"Standing on the deck, with the midnight black above and the ocean black
+below, feeling its regular pulse-beats and its onward plunges over its
+uneven path; it is hard to shake off the impression that it is a grim
+Genie that has come to make ferries of the broad ocean, to draw the
+continents with their freights of nations closer together.
+
+"But suppose, Tom, that the onward rush of this ship should bring us
+close beside three little ships, two with no decks and the larger one
+only ninety feet in length, we would look down upon them with a kind
+of pity, would we not?
+
+"Still, with such vessels, the mystery of the sea was first cleared up;
+with such vessels, the vail was pushed back from the frowning face of the
+ocean; with such vessels, the New World was found.
+
+"It was from over one of those open decks that the cry 'A Light!' rang
+out upon the night; it was from one of those decks that the vision of the
+New World materialized before the eyes of the great Italian; on one of
+those decks he knelt as the vision grew brighter in the dawn, and his
+soul was thrilled as souls are when they feel that a visible answer to
+prayer has been vouchsafed.
+
+"But the man was there, Jordan; the man who could charm the terrors from
+the hearts of a fear-stricken crew; who could convert a meteor's fall
+into an augury of good instead of an omen of terror; who could quell the
+mutinous spirit which was awakened by a varying needle and raging storms.
+
+"It is not the great ship that counts, but the motives in the souls of
+those who build and navigate the ship.
+
+"When on the shores of this sea men first built boats and went forth on
+these waters, they were but rude boats indeed.
+
+"Who knows how many were lost, how many brave souls were drowned?
+
+"But each calamity gave new thoughts to those who escaped; they kept on
+improving, building better and better boats and making longer and longer
+voyages; they found islands and the shores of far-off mainlands; they
+carried back the products of those lands, and so Commerce was born.
+
+"They made at last their ships meet the caravans from the East; the ideas
+as well as the products of the East and West were brought together;
+manufactories were established, robes and dyed garments and flashing
+blades were made that became immortal, and those people made such an
+impression on the world, as brave and capable and alert men of affairs,
+that the impression still remains; even as the strong and true men of
+Venice renewed the impression twenty-five hundred years later.
+
+"The same spirit worked three thousand years ago that has been at work
+in making the transformation from the bungling ships that Nelson fought
+Trafalgar with to this ship under our feet, from the carrying up of ore
+from the deep mines on the heads of peons to the hoisting engine and
+safety cage of to-day."
+
+"That is good, Jim," said Jordan, "it is ther soul of man, after all,
+soul of courage that counts 'nd all ther advancement is only because we
+has better tools ter work with than ther old-timers hed."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+THE SOUL IN THE CLAY.
+
+
+At Port Said the travelers left the French steamer to wait for the
+English ship which was on the way from Southampton. It came in on the
+evening of their arrival, and they went on board. They were glad to do
+so, for the few hours in Port Said convinced them that it was a tougher
+place than they had ever seen on the frontier.
+
+At daylight next morning the ship proceeded on her way through the canal.
+
+Our travelers were on the deck, watching the scenery.
+
+Finally Jordan said: "This looks like Arizony, only more so. Arizony
+looks as though thar war a strike among the mechanics and it war never
+finished. This looks like it were finished once and then ther perprieter,
+not bein' satisfied with ther contractor's job, smashed it. They tell me
+ther mustang is ther blood-horse run down by starvation 'nd abuse, 'nd
+in-breedin', but mostly from in-breedin'. This country looks ez though it
+hed been ruined ther same way precisely. I shouldn't wonder but it wur
+true. Them old Faros wuz big fellers; so war Sesostris and ther hull race
+of the old chaps from ther Shepherd Kings down, and they useter call this
+'the granary of the world,' didn't they?
+
+"And old Cambysis cum here on a robbin' expedition?
+
+"Well, it's clear enough since then things has been goin' ter ther dogs
+heah. I tell yo', Jim, civilization gone to seed is wuss than 'riginal
+barbarism.
+
+"Them chaps as bilt the pyramids and obelisks war powerful men. They
+must er hed sum pride in the kentry or they wouldn't been so everlastin'
+perticelar 'bout their gravestunes, and this must uv been a different
+kentry from what it are now. Yo've seen men as has lived too long. It's
+so, I reckon, with patches of this old world. Anyway, I ain't buyin' no
+sheers in Egypt, leastways not on the showin' these croppin's make."
+
+When the ship passed into the Gulf of Suez the temperature was something
+fearful.
+
+"This wur the water that divided, wur it not?" asked Jordan.
+
+"Yes," said Sedgwick, "this is the water, I believe."
+
+Jordan was silent for several minutes. At last he said: "No mistake 'bout
+thet story, Jim?"
+
+"Why do you ask?" was Sedgwick's response.
+
+"Nothin' much," said Jordan, "only hain't yo' noticed ther newspapers
+don't hardly ever git things right?"
+
+Sedgwick acknowledged that he had known them to make mistakes.
+
+"Hain't it jest posserble," said Jordan, "thet what war really the fact
+war thet the Gipshins war drowned jest ter git 'em outer ther misery in
+this cussed place, and ther Jews war saved jest ter punish 'em?"
+
+"I never thought of that," said Sedgwick. "But if the weather then was
+anything like it is now, the theory is not improbable."
+
+"'Zactly," said Jordan. "From ther other side over there ther Israelites
+started for Canaan, didn't they?"
+
+"I believe so," was Sedgwick's reply.
+
+"It must uv been like goin' from Tuscon to Fort Yuma in August, don't yo'
+think, Jim?" said Jordan.
+
+"Very like, I believe," said Sedgwick.
+
+After a pause Jordan spoke up again: "Jim, it ain't for me ter try ter
+understand much, but ther kentry 'round heah and ther people we has seen
+kinder breaks me up. They tell us over ther to ther right, man fust cum
+outer his wild state; ez yo' has it, that 'ther cradle of civilization
+war fust rocked.' For five thousand year, they has been a-tryin'. Look at
+'em now! Then over on the other side, the chosen people of God pulled
+out; they flourished; they killed their enemies, built cities and
+temples; hed big talkers and writers and fiters; fixed up language thet
+thrills a man's soul jest ter read it now; made a starter thet the
+world's been a-follerin' ever since, and right and left ther whole world
+are blasted, and no one wud ever think thet God's smile once lit this
+region. If this showin' makes ther balance sheet fur five thousand years,
+what's ther use in tryin'?"
+
+"True," said Sedgwick. "In everything, the ancient man was the equal, if
+not the superior, of any men who live to-day. As soldiers, orators, and
+writers, the utmost men hope for is to emulate them, never to excel them.
+A famous English orator not long ago said that he had often been called
+upon to address boisterous men who had gathered in mobs for mischief, and
+that the only time he had ever succeeded in quelling such a gathering and
+turning them completely over to the side of order and peace, was when he
+had repeated to them his own translation of one of the impassioned
+orations that Demosthenes had flung with all the majesty and power of
+his eloquence at an Athenian mob twenty-two hundred years ago. No modern
+sculpture equals the ancient; no modern song or eloquence; and then
+there have come down to us lessons in patriotism, devotion to duty,
+self-abnegation and valor, which will thrill great hearts as long as
+civilization shall last.
+
+"Only in one thing that I can note does the modern man excel his ancient
+brother. The world is more merciful than of old. Prisoners of war are
+no longer sold into slavery or killed; woman has ceased to be first a
+plaything and then a slave; in exalting woman, man has been exalted,
+and the perfect modern home had no parallel in the ancient world. The
+influence that the Cross gave out is still spreading and softening the
+hearts of men."
+
+"May be," said Jordan, "but, Jim, it's a mighty big undertakin' to
+civilize men. Here's all Africa over here ter the right whar only the old
+rule prevails; man is a monstrous brute; woman is wuss nor a slave."
+
+"That is true, Tom," said Sedgwick. "The cruelties practiced there are
+almost enough to make one doubt the divinity of man and the mercy of
+God."
+
+"Yet who knows?" said Jordan. "What are a few thousand years ter God?
+Thar must be somethin' behind, or men wouldn't hev been born. Ther other
+day in London thar war a man carryin' a flag on a short staff thet hed a
+glitterin' p'int. He war preachin' on ther street corners thet men hed no
+souls; thet ther man ez sed he hed a soul war a fool, 'nd he asked whar
+ther souls war, 'nd ef any surgeon hed ever cum upon a soul when
+dissectin' a body, or on ther place whar ther soul hed lodged in ther
+man's lifetime.
+
+"I wur listenin' 'nd thinkin'. After awhile he finished 'nd then a
+gentle, kind-faced man stepped outer ther crowd 'nd sed he: 'What are
+thet bright metal on ther end of y'r flag-staff?' Ther man sed it war
+aluminum. Then the kind-faced man asked what aluminum cum from. Ther
+other answered: 'Clay.' 'Jest common clay?' asked ther man. 'Jest common
+clay,' said ther other. 'How long since ther beautiful metal war
+discovered?' asked ther kind-faced man. 'It war within ther last half
+century,' war the answer. Then the kind faced man made a discourse
+sunthin' like this:
+
+"'Yo' want a wisible proof thet man hez a soul. Ef yo' hed lived sixty
+year ago 'nd men hed told yo' ther wur in common clay a metal ez bright
+ez silver, ez ductile ez gold, with almost ther tensile strength uv
+steel; sunthin' thet could be worked inter eny form, indestructible under
+ther usual destructive agents of ther world, yo' wouldn't ha' believed
+it, would yo'? Yet it war thar all ther time. Fur thousands of years, men
+delved in clay. Ther wheels of ages ground it inter powder, which ther
+winds blew away; when men died, other men sed, 'They is turned ter clay,'
+which signefied ther utter degrerdation o' death; but ther men what bilt
+ther Bable Tower, hed they but known ther secret, mighter from thet same
+material have bilt a dome higher nor St. Paul's, thet would uv shone like
+burnished silver 'nd would hev retained all its strength 'nd splendor,
+notwithstandin' ther erosion uv time 'nd ther abrashin' uv ther ages,
+even till now, tho' since then two hundred generations uv men has lived
+and died.
+
+"Still, yo' think thet ther power thet put thet imperishable,
+indestructible, stainless soul in ther clay at our feet, war less
+thoughtful, less wise, less merciful when he created man in His own
+sublime image? Ther chemist found this property in clay after er thousand
+nations hed spurned it under ther feet; this soul in clay, which will not
+tarnish, which can be drawn out inter finest wires and thinnest leaves;
+hev yo' ther audacity ter proclaim thet ther subtle chemistry of death
+cannot reveal anything bright and indestructible fur man, when these pore
+mortal senses shall have spent ther energies; when this pore body shall
+uv fallen back ter dust 'nd ther clearer light shell 'ave dawned."
+
+"It war a great sermon. The unbeliever shambled shamefaced away, 'nd I've
+been er thinkin' uv it ever since."
+
+"It must be true," said Sedgwick. "Somewhere must be kept the records of
+the hearts that break in silence, of the eyes that grow dim in straining
+at signals on heights beyond the vision of mortal man, of hands that lose
+their hold on immortality, because of the merciless buffetings of the
+world.
+
+"This looks like a wrecked world around us, but there was a splendor here
+once. Here the alphabet of the stars was first traced out, and the order
+of their shining processions made known; here barbarism was first beaten
+back; the first code was made here; here were originated the sciences of
+architecture and of war; here the arts of agriculture and mechanics were
+born; and here was lighted and kept bright the flame of knowledge until
+it became a beacon to the world, that, before that light was kindled, was
+altogether dark.
+
+"The tides of the sea advance and recede. It may be so with nations. The
+earth was made habitable by convulsions that rent its crust, the storms
+that beat upon it, and by the grinding of glaciers; the pressure
+necessary to create the rocks and coal measures was brought to bear; the
+continents were upheaved; the seas were beaten back; the world was loaded
+for a limitless voyage, before the vapors were rolled back, the full dawn
+was born.
+
+"We cannot see far, but if this life is all there is to us, then, indeed,
+it is a pitiful failure. If our thoughts and longings are bounded by this
+little span of life, then there is no balance-sheet for mortality. The
+gift of life is then not worth the expense of supporting it.
+
+"But, if, like the earth, the beatings and upheavals and sorrows are but
+the preparation for the perfect dawn, with peace in its coming, with the
+increase of immortal flowers in its air; if there are to be a time and
+place where there is to be full fruition, then it is different, and we
+can afford to smile as the frosts of disappointment chill us, as the salt
+spray of misfortune is dashed in our faces.
+
+"Tom, with such gifts as are given us, we must do the best we can for
+ourselves and our fellow-men; must do it with faith and courage, do it
+with gentleness and in truth, and with a purpose so high that we shall
+never fear anything except to do the wrong.
+
+"And all the rest we may leave to God."
+
+It was hot and calm all the voyage through the Red Sea, the straits,
+and Gulf of Aden, till, when rounding the stormy cape of Guardafui and
+the ship swept out upon the broader ocean, the barometer dropped rapidly
+and a furious storm came on. It was really a mighty gale, and the
+heavily-laden ship labored exceedingly.
+
+At its height, Sedgwick and Jordan stood watching the majesty of the
+forces exhausting their fury around them, when Jordan said:
+
+"Jim, I needed this. Yo' know how grand ther other ship wur; yo' know how
+great and strong this ship are. Well, watchin' both, a senseless kind uv
+pride cum over me, and I sed ter myself over and over, 'This ere ship cud
+outride any gale whatever blow'd.' Look now! It's only a toy on ther
+water when God's wind goes out ter battle with God's everlastin' seas.
+
+"Cumin' over, I stopped and tuk a look at Niagry. It wur grand, but a
+dozen Niagrys wouldn't make one hurrycane out ter sea. I can't explain
+what I wanter, but I mean as how God's majesty is nowhar else revealed as
+when his hurrycanes is sent ter paint a picter on ther face of a mad
+ocean. Nowhar else did I ever feel thet small as when watchin', as we is
+now, all these forces that is makin' the commotion 'round us. They all
+show us what pitiful weak creaters we is, and ther man who ever watched
+one storm at sea and ever arter dares to hev one feelin' uv pride or
+scornfulness, that thar man are weak somewhar and makes a spectacle of
+hisself."
+
+But the storm was weathered safely; the temperature grew cooler as the
+ship stretched away to the South, and after a generally prosperous voyage
+the steamer dropped anchor in Port Natal roadstead.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+THE WEDGE OF GOLD.
+
+
+The voyagers were glad enough to stand once more on the solid earth. It
+had been twenty-one days since they had left London.
+
+Quickly as they could they made arrangements for a journey inland. They
+chartered conveyances to go to the end of the road and sent forward to
+the capital to charter a train of riding and pack animals, with a full
+corps of attendants, to meet them where they had to take the trail. They
+employed, moreover, a civil engineer and a half-dozen frontiersmen, Boers
+and Kaffirs, who knew the country well.
+
+Studying their maps and the description supplied them by the former owner
+of the mine, they calculated the mine was distant some 250 miles, and
+that it would require some thirty-five days to make the examination and
+return to D'Umber, the town on Port Natal Roadstead.
+
+Sedgwick had written daily to his bride, sending the letters from every
+port called at.
+
+Now he wrote her that it would probably be forty days before he could
+forward her another letter.
+
+When everything was ready they started on their trip. The men were all
+Boers and Kaffirs, except the engineer; all strong, good-natured men, but
+the least bit suspicious of their employers. They had come in an English
+ship, wore English clothing, and if their English accent was not quite up
+to the standard the natives could not make the distinction.
+
+They examined Jordan's saddle with a great deal of curiosity, as it was,
+with the rest of the luggage, put upon the wagon. One of them, in broken
+English, asked about it; where in England he found it.
+
+He laughingly answered that they could not make any such saddle in
+England; that it was a Mexican saddle. Then the Boer wanted to know if he
+were a Mexican.
+
+"Not by a blamed sight," said Jordan. "Do I look like er greaser?"
+
+The Boer looked at him helplessly.
+
+"Did you never har of ther United States?" asked Jordan.
+
+The Boer shook his head. "Never har of America and Americans?" Jordan
+asked.
+
+The Boer smiled. He had heard of Americans, and asked eagerly if Jordan
+and his friend came from America.
+
+"Yo' may bet yo'r everlastin' broken Dutch diaphram that we did," said
+Jordan, at which the Boer hurried to tell his companions that the two
+strangers were not English, notwithstanding their clothing.
+
+The first eight days of the journey, the travelers found excellent roads,
+and averaged twenty-seven miles a day. They did not go by the capital,
+but turned off to the left.
+
+The first day the road lay mostly over the coast mountains. Toward night
+they entered upon the table-lands of Natal, which were generally level,
+except where, here and there, a low mountain spur had to be crossed. It
+was a grassy country, sparsely dotted with palms, with here and there
+timber in sight up ravines that ran down from the hills, and occasionally
+they ran upon clusters of heath-flowers. Indeed, the whole country was
+covered with flowers of rare beauty, but mostly odorless. It was all new
+and strange, and was noted with keen interest by the two Americans. It
+was the rainy season, and the road was soft in places, and some of the
+streams were pretty high. But they got along without serious trouble. One
+had been in Nevada, the other in Arizona, and both in Texas.
+
+The first night they camped by a little stream, ate their supper, and
+spread their beds by some willows on the grass. It was a perfectly calm
+night, and in that clear air the stars shone magnificently.
+
+As they were smoking their pipes after supper Sedgwick pointed out to
+Jordan the constellation of the Southern Cross as a sight which their
+friends in the North-land could never see unless they crossed the
+equator.
+
+Jordan looked at the stars some time in silence, and then said: "Them
+stars is been shinin' thar allus, and yit, Jim, they wuz outer sight o'
+us. To see 'em we had ter cross ther line. Who can tell, Jim, what new
+stars'll shine on us when thet other line, thet men call death, shall be
+crossed, and our eyes shall be given ther new light beyond?"
+
+He paused a moment, and then went on: "I'z been prospered. When I war a
+boy I went to ther wah. I war in many a fight. Men as loved life mightily
+wuz killed all 'round me; many another brave feller tuk sick and died.
+Not a scratch cum ter me.
+
+"I made er stake easy-like in ther mines. I've dun well 'nuff; and yit,
+Jim, if thar should cum ther summons ter-night, and I knowd I'd got ter
+go, I wouldn't hev a sorrer 'cept thet we haven't passed on ther mine
+yit."
+
+Then Sedgwick realized that in the selfishness of his own loneliness at
+leaving his bride, he had forgotten his friend, and that he had all the
+time been concealing a deeper grief and trying to cheer him.
+
+"Dear old Tom," he said humbly. "I have been absorbed and selfish since
+we left England. I did not realize my own selfishness. We have found new
+stars in the sky. Let us trust that no sorrows will come to us that will
+not be cheered by stars behind them, and let us nurse the hope that this
+journey is but a discord in our lives that will make the music of them
+sweeter when it shall be passed."
+
+"Shore enuff," was Jordan's answer. "I war once down at the bottom of
+ther Colorado Canon. It war terrible. I never seen a place so desolate
+and wild; but, Jim, I looked up along the walls hundreds of feet
+overhead, and thar in ther daylight, away off in ther infinite sky,
+some stars war shinin'."
+
+So there, in the starlight, on that lonely table-land in South Africa,
+the two true men clasped hands in silence, and their hearts drew nearer
+to each other than they had ever been drawn before.
+
+The second day, the road in places skirted a forest in which the yellow
+tree and the great beech were the most prominent trees, creepers grew
+around them, and vines trailed over their branches; marvelously tinted
+flowers mingled with them, and the scene was enchanting.
+
+More than once a band of antelope was seen scudding away in the distance;
+here and there a zebra fled from before them, and once a pair of giraffes
+were discerned afar off over the plain. Though it was the beginning of
+winter, the tsetse fly bothered their stock a good deal, but the Boers
+cut branches from the trees and covered the animals with them when the
+sun was hottest and the insects most troublesome.
+
+After the fourth day the road began to ascend, and at last the point was
+reached where the vehicles had to be given up, and the saddle and pack
+animals from the capital had to be brought into use. The real hills had
+been reached. The trail ran over a succession of sharp mountain ridges,
+and narrow valleys. It was not a well-made trail on the ridges, and the
+flanks of the ridges were so abrupt and rocky that progress was very
+slow; moreover, it was clear that to build a road on the line of the
+trail, over which heavy loads could be hauled, would be a most expensive,
+almost impossible, undertaking.
+
+It required three days to make the trip of forty miles.
+
+Finally, though, the last summit was crossed, and after a heavy descent,
+there spread out another valley, and on a ridge beyond, from the mountain
+side, could be seen something like a dump, with rock piled upon it. The
+two friends recognized the spot at the same moment and stopped their
+animals in the trail to take in the surroundings. They estimated that the
+mountains must be a spur of the Drakenberg Range, that they were within
+the basin drained by the head waters of the Vaal River, and that they
+were in the Southwestern Transvaal. The mountains of that point had a
+general course northeast and southwest, and it was clear that the mine
+was practically over the range in approaching from the direction of Port
+Natal.
+
+"It's all right," said Jordan, "'cept it seems to me like we orter uv cum
+down on ther other side of Africa, and cum in from ther West. From this
+way it would need a pack train of bald eagles ter bring in supplies,
+while ter get a mill in--Good Lord!"
+
+"I fear you are right, as usual, Tom," said Sedgwick, "but if, as I
+suspect, the mine is of no account, it will not matter much."
+
+"'Zactly," said Jordan. "Thar's no use tryin' ter put up collateral on
+which ter borrer trouble 'fore we know anythin' 'bout ther mine."
+
+So they pressed on and made their camp that night near a great spring
+that the miners had lived by while opening the mine. Next morning both
+Americans were up early, and, the breakfast disposed of, they went to the
+mine with buckets of water and hammers.
+
+They kept their natives pounding rock all day, while they washed the
+samples. They took the ore from every part of the dump. The result was
+most satisfactory. "It will assay more than $30," said Jordan. "I believe
+it will work up to $30 by mill process, for it's perfectly free gold ore
+and not too fine."
+
+The next day the inclines were all explored, and samples taken, step by
+step--taken and marked, as they proceeded. The ore body where practically
+exposed was carefully measured, and where any change was discernible it
+was noted and special samples taken. The floor of the lowest level
+reached was not only sampled, but a hole a couple of feet below the
+lowest excavation was dug, and the samples were saved.
+
+The vein was a contact between slate and granite, and was very regular in
+size, and apparently in quality. The vein was exposed for probably 600
+feet, and thence up the hill it was covered with debris. It was almost
+night when the camp was reached, and the men were very tired.
+
+Next morning the samples taken the previous day were crushed and
+carefully washed.
+
+When all was finished, Jordan said: "Jim, it's a honest mine. Ther only
+drawback is ther place. I've no idee what er road would cost, but it
+would take a power o' money, sho."
+
+It was decided to try to explore the slope of the range they were on, up
+and down, to see if a break in it could not somewhere be found. They
+tried it to the north, and soon found themselves in a mighty gorge, with
+great mountains closing them in from every direction except the one from
+which they had come. They returned to camp, and one more day was gone.
+The next morning they started early to the south, and toiled until eleven
+o'clock, to find themselves once more ambuscaded by the precipitous
+hills. Again they made their way back to camp, without comfort, except
+that they had passed through a great forest of beech and yellow wood
+sufficient for fuel and mine timbers for years.
+
+Next morning when they had finished breakfast, Sedgwick asked Jordan what
+his idea was by that time as to the best course to proceed.
+
+Jordan shook his head, and said: "I'm afeerd we must try to build ther
+road or invent a berloon."
+
+From the spring there ran a considerable stream off at right angles from
+the mine, and in exactly the opposite direction from whence they had
+come.
+
+Sedgwick said: "Tom, that stream, unless it sinks, finds its way to the
+sea after awhile. We are in for it; a day or two more will not count.
+Suppose for awhile we follow that stream and see where it leads us."
+
+"Agreed--a good idee," said Jordan. Taking with them two Boers, the
+engineer, and a pack animal with food and some blankets, they bade the
+rest keep the camp, as they might be absent two or three days. They
+started down the stream. It flowed in a general course to the west. After
+a mile or more from the camp, the banks widened out into a wooded valley,
+several hundred yards across, but when six or seven miles had been
+traveled the valley narrowed down again, and the mountains closing in,
+made what, at a little distance, seemed a solid wall in front. "Headed
+off once more, I fear," said Sedgwick.
+
+"The stream keeps up a full head. It must git through ther hills
+somewhar," said Jordan.
+
+"True enough," said Sedgwick. They followed it to the very base of the
+hill, to find that there it made a bend at right angles to the south and
+flowed through a cleft of the mountain not much wider than the stream
+itself. Into this they entered, and pursued their way for about 600
+yards, when the stream again turned through another mighty fissure to the
+west, and ran a quarter of a mile farther, when another large valley
+opened out which was some five miles across. In this valley the stream
+sank in the sands and was lost. The travelers skirted the valley, keeping
+close to the hills where the ground was hard. Reaching the other side
+they found a narrow opening through which the stream had once flowed.
+They followed a winding way for two or three miles, the chasm bearing a
+little west of south, emerging at last into an open country. A fringe of
+willows was seen low on the southern horizon. The Boers said they knew
+the stream, the course of which was marked by the willows; that it was a
+big creek, along which their people had stock farms. They marked the
+obscure opening through which they had traced their way out of the
+mountains and started for the creek and possible ranches. The Boers said
+that farmers' roads ran from these ranches out to the main road over the
+range to the east, the road which they had come up on from Port Natal.
+They pressed on another seven or eight miles, and a rude house, half
+dug-out, came in view, distant a couple of miles.
+
+They approached it, and from the people living there the Boers learned
+that it was seventeen miles out to the main road, over a good farmers'
+road all the way. They camped at the house, or near the house, all night.
+One of the residents brought in a fine young antelope, which they bought
+and cooked, and they suppered royally on antelope, hard tack and coffee.
+Next morning they returned to the mine, reaching there early in the
+afternoon. They had been out from Port Natal seventeen days, had found
+and sampled the mine, and explored a natural pass for a road.
+
+How to proceed was the next question. Sedgwick's idea was that both
+should return to the seashore, proceed to England, and order a mill from
+San Francisco, because they knew that there were no good patterns for
+quartz mill machinery on the continent; and both agreed that should the
+mill be built in England and shipped thence to South Africa, the fact
+would be published and all their plans would be interfered with.
+
+Jordan was silent for awhile; at last he said: "Jim, I ken understand
+thet ther thot uv goin' back ter London ez mighty enchantin' ter yo'. But
+thet's a game girl, thet thar young wife o' yourn; she listed fo' this
+wah ez well ez yo,' er she'd never let yo' cum away. Yo' must go by ther
+straightest track fer San Francisco and bring ther mill. I'll stay and
+hev some rock ready for crushin' when ther mill cums."
+
+"But, dear old friend," said Sedgwick, "it will take a year, perhaps, to
+get a mill here from San Francisco. To leave you here--you would die of
+the horrors with no company but these Boers."
+
+"How d' yer know but I'd make a pretty good Boer or Kaffir my own self
+with er little practice?" asked Jordan. "We'll stay over ter-morrer and
+git some work goin'; then I'll go with yer ter the coast and get some men
+and things I need. I'll cum back; you'll go ter Frisco, and everything'll
+be lovely."
+
+"No," said Sedgwick, "you go to San Francisco, and I will stay and work
+the mine. It was I who proposed this thing; of right I should meet the
+heaviest sacrifices." But Jordan was obstinate, declaring that he would
+enjoy himself at the mine, and after a long discussion his programme was
+agreed to. In the morning Jordan took the engineer and three natives
+to the top of the hill, where the mine was covered with debris; walked
+along to where the mountain, as it sloped to the west, was very abrupt,
+and there set the Boers to making an open surface cut.
+
+They went to work, and Jordan and the engineer went to measuring to see
+where, down the hill, a tunnel would have to be started to tap the lode
+500 feet deep. It was so sharp a hillside that the tunnel site would be
+only 1,260 feet horizontally from a point 500 feet below the open cut.
+Jordan engaged the engineer to remain with all the men who would stay,
+and begin that work if the indications on the hill would justify, and
+also to build a rude stone house at the spring, large enough to
+accommodate a dozen people.
+
+Then they climbed the hill again and found the croppings of the ledge
+uncovered in the cut. Being tested, these croppings were found richer
+than the ore on the dump lower down, where the vein had been opened.
+
+Next morning, with two saddle animals, one pack animal and one Boer to
+ride another horse and lead the pack horse, the two Americans started
+back for Port Natal. They followed over the route they had traced out two
+days before to the ranch, then took a road traveled by the stockmen, and
+on the second night from the mine came to a house on the main road to
+Port Natal, which was six or seven miles nearer their destination than
+the point where they had left the road and taken the trail for the mine.
+
+They hired a Boer to go up and bring back their wagons. They came next
+morning. The best rig was selected, and the two friends started for the
+seashore. In eight days they were back at Port Natal, having made the
+round trip in twenty-eight or twenty-nine days. On arriving at the
+seashore they found that no steamer was in port bound North, but there
+was a fine steamer in the roadstead that was to sail next day for
+Melbourne, Australia.
+
+Sedgwick's plan had been to go back to London, take his wife and go
+thence, via New York, to San Francisco. But no ship was awaiting him, and
+the agent of the Northern Line did not know when a ship would sail. It
+would have to come first, and might return soon, or might lie in port
+fifteen or twenty days. So, talking the matter over with Jordan, both
+concluded that the best thing was to try the voyage via Australia. Again
+Sedgwick begged Jordan to go, yet he kindly, but firmly refused, saying,
+"I must hev my way this time, Jim."
+
+Accordingly, Sedgwick engaged passage to Melbourne, then wrote his wife
+what they had found; that he had decided it was best to go by Australia
+to San Francisco; that, if prosperous, he hoped to reach that port in
+forty-eight or fifty days; that he would be detained there probably sixty
+days, and would then return to Africa via England, hoping to be with her
+in one hundred and twenty days, and to be able to remain with her for a
+month.
+
+Jordan found six English miners and engaged them to go with him, bought
+as full an outfit as possible, through a trader ordered more, including a
+portable saw-mill from England, made an arrangement with Sedgwick how to
+send and receive news, and the two tired men lay down to take their last
+night's rest together for, as they calculated, at least six or seven
+months, perhaps a full year.
+
+It was a memorable night to both, and the confidences they exchanged and
+the sacred trusts they each assumed, they never forgot.
+
+In the morning Jordan started back for the mountains and their solitudes;
+Sedgwick boarded the steamer, which later in the day started on its
+voyage, and the sea for Sedgwick was a counterpart of the solitude which
+the mountains held for Jordan, except that at Port Natal he had received
+from his Grace the greetings which her soul had given his soul through
+the mornings and evenings of the first twenty days of her married life.
+They were to be his balm through all the days of his imprisonment on
+board ship, and he felt that they would be sufficient. But it grieved
+him to think that poor, brave, sorrowing, but cheerful and clear-brained
+Jordan had no such comforters.
+
+"It is very lonely, my glorified one," she wrote; "the roar of the great
+city seems to me an echo of the voice of the ocean, of the wilderness
+that surrounds you; but I would not have it different, for I kept saying
+to myself: 'He is doing his duty, and beyond the horizon that bounds our
+eyes now, I know that higher joy awaits us which comes of a consciousness
+of a great trust bravely executed.' Be of good cheer, my love; it will be
+all right in the end, for the heavens themselves bend to be the stay of
+steadfast souls when with a holy patience they struggle for the right, as
+God gives them to see the right.
+
+"I will wait for you, and in thinking what you have undertaken, and of
+the persistence required to carry your work through, will try to catch
+your own grand spirit, try to exalt myself by imitating your patience
+and faith, and thus be more worthy of you when once more it is given me
+to clasp your dear hands, and to gaze into your true eyes, which are my
+light."
+
+As Sedgwick read, his eyes became suffused until he could not see the
+page before him because of his tears.
+
+"See," he said to himself; "a man's love is selfish; it is a woman's life
+and light, and yet my beautiful wife loses sight of herself, and all her
+words are but an inspiration for me to go on and conquer if I can. Thank
+God for the treasure that has been given me! And may God comfort her and
+comfort brave and true Jordan!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+THE OCCIDENT AND THE ORIENT MEET.
+
+
+The ship was twenty-four days in reaching Melbourne. It caught a gale
+crossing the stormy Bight, and for two days no progress was made. It was
+all that the men in charge could do to hold the plunging craft up into
+the face of the storm and meet the big seas as they rolled, furious, up
+against her stem. But the winds were laid at last, the ship was put upon
+her course and her natural speed resumed. On the afternoon of the
+twenty-fourth day the ship passed between the heads of Port Philip, and
+two hours later came to anchor before Sandridge, three miles below
+Melbourne. Going ashore, Sedgwick cabled to his wife his arrival on his
+way to San Francisco, "as first letters from Port Natal would explain,"
+and added: "Hope to be with you in one hundred days. Write, care
+Occidental Hotel, San Francisco." Then he took the night train for
+Sidney, and arrived there the next night about nine o'clock.
+
+Going to a hotel, he found that the first steamer for San Francisco would
+sail on the next day but one.
+
+He then sought his first sleep in a comfortable house, with modern
+improvements, that he had found since he left London.
+
+Next morning he went early and secured transportation on the steamer,
+then returned and wrote a long letter to his girl-bride; then engaging a
+rig took in as much of Sidney as he could. Next morning he cabled his
+wife that he was just going to sea again, and boarded the steamer early.
+The ship sailed promptly at midday, and as it passed out of the
+beautiful harbor the islands and shores beyond were just putting on the
+vestments of spring. Sedgwick had never before seen spring approaching in
+October; never before had he heard the love-calls of mating birds at that
+season, and apparently had never before realized so keenly that he was on
+the other side of the world from those whom he loved and knew. After
+dinner he went on deck. He knew no one on board, and he was nearer being
+homesick than he had ever been before. It was a balmy night. The sea was
+tumbling a little from the effects of a far-off storm, but the ship was
+riding the waves superbly and making rapid progress, and the stars were
+all out and sweeping grandly on in their never-ending, stately
+processions.
+
+In the midst of his thoughts, when he was fast giving way to a mighty
+fit of the blues, he happened to glance upward. _Corona Australis_
+was blazing with unwonted brilliancy, and, it seemed to him, the
+constellation was making signs to him from its signal station in the
+heavens. Instantly he thought of the night that he and Jordan had
+particularly noticed it, and of what the great-hearted man had said. Then
+he thought of his friend; how unselfishly he had turned his face away
+from the ship that would have carried him to a pleasanter country, and
+had voluntarily gone back into that profound wilderness to work out
+a trust which would require months of time; and he said to himself: "What
+a selfish creature I am to repine, when I have been so blessed; when in
+England an angel is waiting for me; when in the depths of Africa a brave
+soul by his every act is teaching me lessons of self-abnegation."
+
+A moment later another thought came to him which was a delight, and that
+was that with every revolution of the screw he was drawing nearer to his
+Grace. When an hour later he retired to his state-room he hummed a song as
+he went, and the throbbing of the machinery and the wash of the seas
+against the ship's beam made his lullaby, as the long roll of the steamer
+rocked him to sleep.
+
+As before stated, Sedgwick had written his wife fully at Port Natal. Two
+days after he left, the steamer from the North came in. It remained five
+days, and then started North again. Its mails were eighteen days in
+reaching London.
+
+Grace was looking for a letter from Port Natal, when Sedgwick's cable
+from Melbourne reached her. She could not quite comprehend the matter
+until, a day later, his letter came, and the next day his second cable,
+announcing that he was just about to sail for San Francisco. That day she
+did what she had not done since she left school--got a map of the world
+and studied it until she put her finger on a spot between Sidney and New
+Zealand, and said: "He is there now," and bent and kissed the place on
+the map.
+
+That evening she went over from her home to call upon Jack and Rose.
+There she found a gentleman who, with his wife and daughter, were going
+to sail two days later for Australia, via New York and San Francisco.
+Their names were Hobart. Grace had known them ever since her father had
+moved to London. They were talking of their proposed journey, when the
+young lady said gaily: "Mrs. Sedgwick, come along with us as far as New
+York, or San Francisco at least." At this the father and mother together
+seconded the invitation.
+
+"Do you really mean it?" said Grace.
+
+"Indeed we do," said all three.
+
+"And when do you sail?" asked Grace.
+
+"Early, day after to-morrow. That is, we leave here early and sail at
+noon," said Mr. Hobart. "We have two full staterooms engaged. You can
+room with Lottie"--the young lady's name--"and be companion for us all."
+
+"I will be ready day after to-morrow morning," said Grace, seriously.
+
+"Not in earnest?" said Rose.
+
+"In sober earnest," said Grace.
+
+"To New York?" said Browning.
+
+"To New York, and may be farther," was the reply.
+
+"As far as Ohio, I guess," said Jack.
+
+"May be as far as Ohio," said Grace, and she smiled as she spoke.
+
+The Hobarts were delighted, but Jack and Rose looked serious.
+
+"It is a long way, Gracie," said Jack.
+
+"A fearfully long way," said Rose.
+
+"Suppose, Rose, that Jack was as far away, would you think it a long way
+to go to see him?" asked Grace.
+
+"O, Gracie! No, no," said Rose.
+
+"When did you hear last from your husband?" asked Hobart.
+
+"This afternoon," said Grace.
+
+"And how long, Grace, before he will be in England?" asked Jack.
+
+It was the first time any question had been asked of her more than the
+question if she had heard, and if he was well.
+
+"About one hundred days, I think," said Grace; "that is," she added, "if
+I go and find him and bring him home."
+
+Next day Grace made all her arrangements and was ready to leave early on
+the following morning. Parting with her mother was her great sorrow, but
+the mother approved of her going, and the good-byes were not so sad as
+though they did not expect to be soon again reunited.
+
+They made the voyage to New York in nine days. Remaining one day in that
+city, they started West; stopped one day in Chicago, and reached San
+Francisco seventeen days from Liverpool.
+
+Hobart had been in San Francisco before, and wanted to stop at the Lick
+House, but Grace insisted that her friends liked the Occidental best; so
+they went to the Occidental.
+
+Four days after reaching San Francisco, the Hobarts sailed for Australia.
+They urged Grace to accompany them, but she declined, saying, with a
+smile, that she believed for the present she preferred the solid earth to
+the unstable sea. She saw her friends aboard the steamer; then returning
+to the hotel, sent for the manager, Major H.; explained that she expected
+her husband by the first steamer from Australia; that he did not expect
+to find her; so she wished to surprise him, and desired the finest
+apartments in the hotel, including a private dining-room; and requested
+that when it was known that the ship was coming up the harbor, the rooms
+should be elaborately dressed with flowers. She also stipulated that her
+husband, on his coming, should be conducted to his apartments without any
+knowledge that any one was waiting for him.
+
+Major H., captivated by the little English lady, entered into the full
+spirit of the programme and promised that he would personally attend to
+the matter.
+
+Grace was transferred to the new rooms, and thereafter had her meals
+served in her own dining-room.
+
+Three days later, about one p.m., a message came that the Australian
+steamer had at noon been sighted outside the Heads, and was then entering
+the Golden Gate.
+
+The flowers were forthcoming; the apartments were swiftly decorated; then
+Grace, with the utmost painstaking, robed herself in her richest costume
+and seated herself in the private dining-room, with the sliding doors
+slightly ajar so that she could look through into the parlor of the suite
+without being seen.
+
+The suspense was fearful to her for half an hour. Would he really come?
+Separating in London, and he traveling east, would she by coming west
+find him? Would he be well? Had he really escaped the African fever and
+all the dangers that lurked in the weary stretches of treacherous
+billows?
+
+Those were a few of the questions she was asking herself, when, in the
+hall, a well-known voice rang out which made her heart bound. It was
+saying: "There must be an oversight somewhere. I surely ought to have had
+some letters awaiting me."
+
+The door opened, and the hearty voice of Major H. was heard by the
+listener. "These are your apartments, Mr. Sedgwick," he said, "and
+I trust you will find them pleasant."
+
+Then the other occupant said: "But I do not care for any such rich rooms
+as these; any little corner will suffice for me."
+
+"Oh no," said the Major. "Try these quarters for a day or two, and if by
+that time you wish to exchange them for others, we will see to it. We try
+to please our Australian friends, for we hope for more and more of them
+throughout all the years to come."
+
+With that he closed the door.
+
+"Australia!" Grace heard her husband say. "I'm no Australian; I'm a
+full-blooded African, a regular Boer or Kaffir, and no mistake. But,
+bless my soul, this is a fairy spot! A way-up place, surely! From
+the depths of Africa and the society of Boers and Kaffirs to an enchanted
+palace! This must be the bridal chamber of the establishment. I believe
+they have made a mistake and think me the King of the Pearl and Opal
+Islands. I wish dear old Jordan could see this. I wish, O God, I wish my
+Grace, my queen, could see this, that I might first crown her with
+flowers, and then fall down and worship her!"
+
+She could bear the tension no longer. Pushing the doors back quickly, she
+stood pale, but radiant, for an instant, before the astonished man; then
+stretching out her divine arms, said, "O, my darling!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+SHIPPING A QUARTZ MILL.
+
+
+That evening Major H. met Sedgwick in the office, and, with a twinkle of
+the eye, asked him if he was really anxious to take cheaper apartments.
+
+The young man smiled and said he rather thought, as he would probably
+only remain two or three months, it would not be worthwhile to change.
+
+Next morning Sedgwick ordered a forty-stamp gold quartz mill complete,
+with two rock-breakers, the batteries to be of five-stamp each and low
+mortars, with a single pan for cleaning up--a free gold quartz mill.
+Instead of one heavy engine, he ordered two, each of forty-horse power
+to work on the same shaft, to be supplied by six thirty-horse-power
+boilers to be set in two batteries. He ordered also one six-inch and one
+four-inch steam pump, with the necessary boilers, and besides, a donkey
+hoisting engine, good for an eight-hundred hoist. The order included
+all the needed attachments, belting, retorts, duplicates of all parts
+subject to breakage or wear, a forge, and shoes and dies enough to last
+two years.
+
+He stipulated, too, that the wood-work of the battery should be gotten
+out, exactly framed and marked, and that all the pulleys, bolts, etc.,
+should be included.
+
+In two days the specifications were gotten ready, and the contract
+signed, which included a clause that the whole should be ready in sixty
+days, or less, from that date.
+
+Then Sedgwick wrote fully to Jordan, giving him the account of what he
+had done, and sending him a draft of the ground plan of the mill, and
+full details as to the grading, hoping he would receive the letter and
+have the rocks hauled, the battery blocks gotten out, and the grading
+done.
+
+This work under way, the exultant man devoted all his time to Grace,
+except that every day, when in the city, he would make a run two or three
+times to the foundry to mark the progress of the work.
+
+Meanwhile, the happy pair visited every point of interest in and about
+San Francisco. They frequented the theatres, drove to the Park and the
+Cliff House, and both declared that San Francisco was the most delightful
+spot on earth.
+
+They were all the world to each other. In the happiness that filled their
+hearts their eyes were softened, so that everything they looked at took
+on roseate hues--the world had become a throne to them, over which had
+been drawn a cover of cloth of gold.
+
+Once they made a journey to Virginia City, and descended the Gould and
+Curry shaft, and Sedgwick showed his bride where he and Jack first
+discussed the probability of trying to make a little raise in stocks.
+They went and looked at the lodging-house on the Divide where Jack and
+Sedgwick roomed so long; visited the mills, saw crude bullion cast into
+bars, and watched the procession of a miner's funeral, and in their
+rambles Sedgwick stopped many a miner whom he had known, and presented
+his bride.
+
+Returning, they got off at Sacramento and waited over one day. There
+Sedgwick ordered four seven-ton wagons, with four trail wagons of five
+tons each, and four more of three tons each, and twelve sets of team
+harness, a dozen of yokes and no end of chains; also a strong, covered
+spring wagon with harness to match.
+
+After forty days, Sedgwick was informed that everything would be ready in
+ten days. His idea had been to charter a brig or bark, and send the
+machinery to Port Natal by a sailing craft; but in crossing the bay in
+visits to Oakland, Saucelito and San Rafael, he had noticed anchored, out
+in the stream, a small iron bark-rigged steamer which carried the British
+flag, and had read thereon the name "Pallas." One day he asked some men
+on the wharf what ship it was and why it lay so long in the harbor.
+
+The answer was that it was an English tramp steamer that some months
+previously came in loaded with wines and brandies from Bordeaux.
+
+The men also gave the information that, though a tramp steamer, it was
+thought to be a very strong craft, fully bulk-headed, with first-class
+machinery, and was commanded by the owner, a Scotchman named McGregor,
+who, when not on his ship, stopped at the Occidental Hotel.
+
+Sedgwick had already made his acquaintance at the hotel, so when he met
+him that evening he asked him how long he expected to remain in the city.
+McGregor replied that he was waiting to secure a cargo for his ship.
+
+Then Sedgwick drew him out and learned that his steamer was of six
+hundred tons, built with all care for a gentleman's yacht; that after
+awhile the owner tired of his plaything and sold it to him at a mighty
+discount on its first cost; and that he was seeing the world in it, and
+trying at the same time to make the craft pay its own expenses. He said
+also he had a picked crew and private surgeon, and added: "When I secure
+a cargo, if you and the madam will become my guests, I will adopt you
+both as long as you please to follow the seas."
+
+Sedgwick declined with thanks, but said: "You want to see the world; how
+would you like to make a run to the coast of Africa?"
+
+"I would not object," he replied. "I have had the 'Pallas' overhauled
+since we came into port. She is in first-class trim, good for a year if
+no unusual misfortune overtakes her. I would as soon go to Africa as any
+other place."
+
+The result was the "Pallas" was chartered to carry out the machinery,
+some mill-wrights, a couple of engineers, a couple of mill workers, an
+assayer, and any miscellaneous freight that Sedgwick might desire to
+send.
+
+The ship was hauled into the wharf next day, and the loading of what was
+ready was begun. Sedgwick got on board his wagons and trappings from
+Sacramento. He ordered also a great quantity of drill steel, picks and
+shovels, quicksilver, some giant powder and caps, some blankets,
+mattresses, canned fruits, pickles, boots and brogans, and a whole world
+of other supplies such as miners use.
+
+In fifteen days the ship was loaded, and the craft put to sea, as was
+understood and published, with a mixed cargo for Australia.
+
+Sedgwick had insured the cargo; had paid the owner in advance the
+freight, and McGregor estimated that, if prosperous, he could, running
+slow to save coal, and stopping a week or ten days in Australia for coal
+and fresh supplies, make Port Natal in eighty days.
+
+In the meantime Sedgwick and his wife had made the acquaintance of an
+English gentleman and his wife, named Forbes, who a few days previous had
+started for England, but who had promised to visit some English friends
+in Indianapolis, Indiana, until Sedgwick and Grace should overtake them,
+that they might sail on the same ship from New York.
+
+The day after the "Pallas" sailed, Sedgwick and his bride took the
+overland train for the East.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+A LOST TRAIL DISCOVERED.
+
+
+They reached Indianapolis in due time; stopped at a hotel, and Sedgwick
+had no difficulty in finding the Forbeses. He was presented to their
+friends, the Brunswicks, and Mrs. Brunswick insisted that Sedgwick should
+go straight to the hotel and bring his wife to her house.
+
+He thanked the old lady warmly, but begged to be excused, saying they
+could visit without that.
+
+"Very well," said the old lady, "but I will certainly have my way in
+another thing. You must go right off and tell your wife that an old
+English woman up the street says she must waive ceremony and come right
+here for dinner."
+
+This was agreed to, and Sedgwick proceeded to do the errand.
+
+The Sedgwicks were shown into the drawing-room of the Brunswicks, and had
+been for a few minutes conversing when the door opened and a lady
+entered.
+
+A glance was enough to show that she was exceedingly beautiful. She was
+perhaps twenty-six or twenty-seven years of age, not too tall, rounded
+into full maturity, with a most strong but winsome face. Her eyes were
+blue, her hair a golden brown and glossy, and when she spoke, her teeth
+were revealed, perfect and white.
+
+She was presented to the strangers as Mrs. Hazleton.
+
+Dinner was shortly after announced, and after dinner, when the gentlemen
+had returned to the drawing-room, Mrs. Brunswick asked Mrs. Hazleton to
+sing. She did not say "Mrs. Hazleton," but just "Margaret."
+
+Without making any excuses she went to the piano and asked Mrs. Brunswick
+if she desired any particular piece. She answered:
+
+"No, my dear, sing anything you feel like singing; only have it
+old-fashioned and sweet, rather than scientific."
+
+Strangely enough, she struck a few wailing chords on the instrument, and
+then with a pathos and tenderness most touching, sang the old song
+beginning:
+
+  "Could you come back to me, Douglas."
+
+The effect was great on all the company, but to Sedgwick and his bride it
+was intensely thrilling.
+
+The eyes of Grace filled with tears, and Sedgwick, who was near,
+unobserved by the rest, took and pressed her hand.
+
+The company separated early, with an agreement for the ensuing day, which
+was to fill it with rides, luncheon, a matinee for the ladies, and dinner
+afterward.
+
+So soon as Sedgwick and his bride were by themselves, Grace said: "Love,
+did you ever hear anything half as sweet as that singing?"
+
+"Yes," said Sedgwick, "I heard that same song once, more sacredly sung."
+
+"O James!" Grace replied, and a celestial glow warmed her face.
+
+"But that lady has a secret grief, certain," said Grace. "There was real
+sorrow in her tones, and there is a sorrow in her face, despite its
+superb serenity."
+
+"Well, she is a widow," said Sedgwick.
+
+"Yes, I know," was the answer; "but there is more than sorrow; she gives
+me the idea that her thought is that something priceless has been lost
+which she might have saved."
+
+"Now I think, little one, that 'you have struck it,' as the miners say,"
+said Sedgwick.
+
+"How do you mean?" asked Grace.
+
+"Some one who would have made her his wife and worshiped her has gone,
+and she is miserable," said Sedgwick.
+
+"What makes you say that, dearest?" asked Grace.
+
+"Because," replied Sedgwick, "I know it, and I know where he has gone,
+and she does not."
+
+"Why, what do you know of her? Did you ever meet her before?" asked
+Grace.
+
+"No, I have never met her, but I have met some one who has," said
+Sedgwick.
+
+"O, tell me all about it!" said Grace.
+
+"Why, child," Sedgwick said, "that is the lady who went to Texas and
+taught school one season, who set the honest heart of Tom Jordan on fire,
+and burned it half to ashes, made him sell his home because he was so
+wretched, and finally, with my help, or through my fault, set him to
+running a tunnel to a mine in Southern Africa, among the Boers and
+Kaffirs."
+
+"Do you believe that can be true?" asked Grace.
+
+"I know it," said the confident man. "The description an the singing
+tally, and the name is the same. Tom says her singing would make a lark,
+out of envy, 'fall outer a tree'."
+
+"Upon my soul!" said Grace, and then lapsed into silence.
+
+"What are you thinking of, sweet?" asked Sedgwick, after a pause.
+
+"I was thinking what accidents our lives hang upon," she said. "O, love,
+suppose you had not fancied me at all, what would have become of me?"
+
+"And suppose you had, when I did fancy you and you knew my heart was in
+the dust at your feet, that the touch of the hem of your robe upon me
+thrilled me like old wine; suppose then I had pleaded for your love, and
+though you felt it was mine and intended to give it to me, still had
+refused me; might you not be singing, Could you come back to me, Douglas,
+in tones to break any one's heart who might hear you?"
+
+Grace thought a moment, and then said: "There's more than all that
+to this, love; you men do not know much when it comes to the hearts
+of women. She had some other and good reason when she refused the
+true-souled man."
+
+"I believe now that you are right, my little sorceress," said Sedgwick,
+"and I believe that the reason has since been removed, and her great
+grief now is in thinking of Jordan's sorrow and than she cannot find
+him."
+
+"I will tell you what," said Grace; "I will get as near her to-morrow as
+I can, and will try to coax her, hire her--if needs be--to accompany us
+to England."
+
+"A capital thought, my wise little wife!" said Sedgwick. "Then when you
+gain her confidence, if you think it best, we will try and help her find
+the great-hearted man."
+
+"I believe you are an angel," said Grace.
+
+"I know you are," said Sedgwick, and involuntarily they kissed each
+other.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+BACK TO ENGLAND.
+
+
+Before the Sedgwicks left Indianapolis, Grace found her opportunity and
+said: "Mrs. Hazleton, soon after we reach England my husband will go away
+for four or five months. I shall be awfully lonesome. You have never been
+across the sea. Take pity upon me and be my guest for a few months until
+you weary of me."
+
+The lady was startled by the proposition, waited a moment, and then said:
+
+"I do not know how to thank you, but I came here to teach music. I have
+several pupils, and have a contract to sing in the choir of one of the
+churches. I need the little revenue that I receive, but if I could get
+released from my obligations I would most gladly go, for I do covet a
+change exceedingly."
+
+"Then," said Grace, "if I can get that release, and will pay you as much
+as you receive here, and all your expenses out and back, will you go?"
+
+"Indeed, I will," she answered, "and will be grateful to you all my
+life."
+
+The arrangement was easily made, and the further arrangement that
+Sedgwick and his bride should go to Ohio, visit Sedgwick's family for
+three or four days; then should join the Forbeses and Mrs. Hazleton at a
+certain hotel in New York, and all would embark on the steamer that would
+sail on the next week Saturday--ten days from that day.
+
+Then Sedgwick and Grace started for the Miami Valley.
+
+What a welcome was there! The old house had been repaired, modernized,
+refurnished and repainted. A new house had been built on the other farm.
+It was in the first days of February. That year there was good sleighing,
+and the whole town seemed to turn out to celebrate the occasion of Jim
+Sedgwick's bringing home his bride. Four days passed in a whirl of
+pleasure. The first morning after their arrival, Sedgwick asked his
+brother for his trotting team, his new cutter, and the bells, to give
+Grace her first sleigh-ride. The steppers were of the 2:30 class, the
+roads good, and the fair English girl-wife was in ecstacies. They drove
+past the Jasper farm on the hill, and Sedgwick told Grace that it was his
+dream for years to accumulate $30,000 to release the mortgage from his
+father's farm and to buy the Jasper farm.
+
+"Then what would I have done?" asked Grace.
+
+"Married some English banker, or may be some 'My Lord Fitzdoodle,'
+probably," said Sedgwick.
+
+"But, then, suppose a year later I had seen you, what would become of
+me?" she said.
+
+"We should have been very formal and polite, and then have gone our
+several ways," said Sedgwick.
+
+"Yes, because you are a man of principle, and I hope my pride of
+womanhood would have sustained me, but my heart would have broken, for
+with me it was a mad passion which absorbed my life before I had been in
+your presence half an hour," said Grace; and then added: "I do not any
+more wonder at the crimes which come of mismated marriages."
+
+Then Sedgwick told her how, when he left her side the first time, he took
+that ride and asked cabbie how much they would charge at Newgate to hang
+him.
+
+And they both laughed, but there were tears in the eyes of Grace even
+while she smiled. But she rallied in a moment and said:
+
+"Why not buy the place still? Except to leave my mother, I would be on
+that farm with you as happy a wife as ever lived. I would rather live
+upon that hill than in our great modern Babel, London."
+
+Just then the cutter went in and out of a "Thank-ee-mom"--a hollow
+between two snowdrifts--and Sedgwick bent and kissed his wife.
+
+"Thanks," said Grace.
+
+"That was a kiss on principle. That was a pure duty," said Sedgwick.
+Then he explained how venerable was the custom, and elaborated upon the
+respect due it because of its age and its usefulness to bashful lovers,
+because a youth must kiss the girl who goes sleighing with him whenever
+he comes to a "Thank-ee-mom" among the drifts.
+
+"What a poor old country England is," said Grace.
+
+"Why so?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+"Why, had we but had snowdrifts and 'Thank-ee-moms,' I would have made
+you kiss me three weeks sooner than you did," said Grace.
+
+"Did you want me to kiss you sooner than I did?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+"O, you blind darling!" said Grace. "When I read of your exploit before
+the church in Devonshire, I told Jack and Rose that I would like to kiss
+that man. Then he told me who the man was, and after all I had to wait so
+long I began to fear he would never give me a chance to carry out my
+desire."
+
+"Is that true, Gracie?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+"Indeed it is," she replied, and then she quickly continued, "Does it
+drift badly along here?"
+
+"Pretty badly," answered Sedgwick.
+
+"Then, love," answered Grace, "buy the farm by all means and at all
+hazards."
+
+"I believe I will," said Sedgwick. "I believe we need it in our business.
+If when we get back to England it shall be known that we have bought a
+home in America, and are having a house built, it will take all
+suspicions about a possible African enterprise away."
+
+And that day he bought the farm, and the next one to it, and told his
+brother he would send from England plans for a house to be built in the
+spring.
+
+Next day came the parting from the old home. Sedgwick promised to return
+before many months and stay longer, and he and his wife started for New
+York.
+
+They rested over one train at Niagara, and took in its splendor as seen
+in winter-time, and arrived in New York on Wednesday. Forbes had
+purchased the tickets, and secured the rooms on the ship for the whole
+party. Thursday and Friday were devoted to taking in as much as possible
+of the great city. On Saturday they sailed.
+
+The voyage was generally uneventful, except that one day they were
+treated to a beautiful spectacle of rescuing a crew from a water-logged
+craft. The wind was fresh, and there was an uneasy sea on, when a signal
+of distress was noted off across the water. The steamer was headed for
+it, and in half an hour came up to it. It was a little old lumber
+schooner. The sea was washing its deck with every wave. In the meantime,
+the second officer, with six seamen, had taken their places in a boat.
+The boat had been swung out over the water. The sailors were standing by,
+holding the tackle by which a boat is lowered; the commander was on the
+bridge, and when in hailing distance of the craft he dropped his hand and
+the engines stopped. He shouted through his trumpet, asking what was
+wanted. "To come aboard," a voice came back. The commander dropped his
+hand again, and down ran the boat and pulled away for the wreck. It would
+mount a wave, and then sink out of sight of those on the ship's high
+deck; then climb again. It returned in twenty minutes, and it was the
+commander of the great ship that took the hand of the schooner's rough
+skipper as the boat was hoisted, and for the remainder of the voyage the
+shipwrecked skipper had a state-room by himself, and his seat at the
+table was at the commander's right hand.
+
+They reached Liverpool on the tenth day--Monday--and went up to London
+the same afternoon.
+
+Reaching the city, Sedgwick sent a message to Mrs. Hamlin to meet them at
+the house of Jack and Rose, for he would not go to the Hamlin house.
+
+Sedgwick, with his wife and Mrs. Hazleton, went at once to the home of
+the Brownings.
+
+Rose was wild with delight at their coming. She hugged Grace, kissed her
+and cried over her; kissed Sedgwick, and welcomed Mrs. Hazleton so
+cordially that the lady was sure it was sincere.
+
+Then Mrs. Hamlin came, and the whole business had to be done over again,
+the elder lady reproaching Grace and her husband for not coming to her,
+and scolding even as she embraced them.
+
+Then matters quieted down enough to talk. Rose explained that she was a
+deserted wife; that Jack six weeks before had come home one night and
+told her that he was going to sail for South America next day; that she
+could not go along, but must be good and not be lonesome for six or eight
+weeks.
+
+Then she continued: "That is the kind of monsters these men are. They beg
+and tease and protest until we women take pity on them and marry them,
+and then when the woman's chances for getting a good man are all spoiled,
+they rush off on the slightest provocation to America, or India, or
+Australia, or China, or some other barbarous place, and all a woman can
+do is to mope and threaten that next time she will know better."
+
+And then she laughed, and then as suddenly cried and said: "Poor dear old
+Jack! May the seas be merciful, and may the good ship bring him safely
+back and be quick about it!"
+
+And sure enough, a week later a step was heard outside, someone with a
+night key opened the door, and Rose flew into Jack's arms and cried so
+hysterically that it took Jack a long time to calm her.
+
+Browning explained to Sedgwick that he had been earning a commission by
+going out and reporting on a mine in Venezuela, just over the border from
+British Guiana. He brought to Rose a world of tropical and marine
+curiosities. He was in superb health and seemed to be in good spirits.
+
+It was understood that Sedgwick would have to go away again in a month,
+and it was his wish and that of Grace to find a house and have an
+establishment of their own.
+
+Jack and Rose insisted that during Sedgwick's absence Grace and Mrs.
+Hazleton should be their guests, but Sedgwick said with a laugh: "O Mrs.
+Browning, you and Jack are good, but you both know that no house is big
+enough for two families." And quietly Jack and Rose and Mrs. Hamlin were
+enjoined never in Mrs. Hazleton's presence to mention Jordan's name.
+
+However, the difficulty was finally settled. The house Jack lived in was
+a double house. The other half was occupied by a gentleman, his wife and
+one child. The lady was delicate, and the doctors, baffled by her case,
+ordered her--as usual--to try a change of climate. So Sedgwick hired the
+house as Browning had his; the servants remained, and permission was
+obtained to cut a doorway in the partition walls that divided the two
+halls, so that Rose could visit Grace in the morning and Grace could
+visit Rose in the evening.
+
+Sedgwick and Browning were almost inseparable during the day-time.
+Sedgwick assured Browning that things were working well, begging him not
+to disturb either old man Hamlin, or Jenvie, or Stetson, but to "rig some
+purchase" after he should be gone, to get the remaining shares in 'The
+Wedge of Gold' from them, and also to be sure to keep the former owner of
+that mine in the country, even if he had to raise his salary.
+
+He told him also that he expected next time to be absent four or five
+months.
+
+One morning about thirty-five days after his arrival in London he
+received a cable from McGregor announcing the arrival of the "Pallas" at
+Melbourne and saying he would sail again in four days. Then Sedgwick made
+his final preparations for departure. He sent full plans for a house to
+his brother, with directions where to build. He obtained a promise from
+Mrs. Hazleton that she would not desert Grace during his absence, and
+from Jack that he would not try any prosecutions to obtain his money
+from the old men until his return, explaining that he had made his
+arrangements in America, and was then going to see that African mine and
+work it if it would do.
+
+His wife knew where he was going; the others except Jack, believed he
+meant to return to the United States. He told them he had a little
+business in Paris and would this time take a French steamer.
+
+Grace worried more over the second parting than she had over the first.
+She cried a good deal and was much distressed. But it was over at last,
+and Sedgwick was gone. He did stop over a few hours in Paris, made an
+arrangement which he desired to with the Bank of France, then speeded on
+to Marseilles, caught the Imperial steamer, sailed over the same route as
+before to Port Said, and there embarked on exactly the same steamer that
+he and Jordan sailed for Port Natal in seven months before.
+
+He was twenty days from London to Port Natal. Jordan was at D'Umber
+waiting his coming, and the joy of the meeting was immeasurable. When
+they became calm, Jordan said: "It war a good while, old friend, but I
+knowed as how y'd cum."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+DEALING IN MINING SHARES.
+
+
+The presence of Sedgwick in London greatly excited and alarmed Jenvie,
+Hamlin and Stetson. That mysterious American had returned, and all
+confidently expected each day to be served with a notice of with a suit
+or a warrant of arrest. But finally it leaked out that he had bought a
+home in Ohio and ordered a house built, sending the plans from London,
+and as day after day passed and no sign was given, they gained courage,
+and when Sedgwick once more left England, as they supposed for America,
+they grew jubilant again. The firm was now Jenvie, Hamlin & Stetson.
+Their business was prospering, and they all realized that the way to make
+money was to have money to use, and the prestige which the command of
+large means gives.
+
+About a week after Sedgwick's departure they were seated in their private
+office one morning congratulating themselves, when the former owner of
+'The Wedge of Gold' was announced.
+
+"We cannot afford to snub the origin of our fortune," said Jenvie; "show
+him in." This man's name was Emanuel. He was a Portugese. On this morning
+he presented a seedy and dissipated appearance, as though he had been
+enjoying his fortune too rapidly.
+
+Once ushered in, he did not waste any time, but explained that he had
+very little money left, and had called to see, in case the gentlemen did
+not intend to develop 'The Wedge of Gold,' on what terms they would
+transfer back to him the mine, or any interest they might possess, and
+give him a chance to go over to Hamburg and try to work the capitalists
+of that city to buy a mine down among their second cousins in Boerland.
+
+"How much could you afford to give for the property?" asked Hamlin.
+
+"I sell him for L2,000. I would, for one speculation, buy him back if you
+could sell, and would give L1,000."
+
+"But you always said it was a good mine," said Jenvie.
+
+"Of course," he answered, "an excellent mine, but on ze best of ze mines
+there vos always one selling and then one buying price."
+
+"If we were to sell to you, would you work the property?" asked Jenvie.
+
+"Most certainly," he replied; "I would work it as I did before--on ze
+paper."
+
+"We have sold the control," said Hamlin, "and have only left some shares
+of stock."
+
+"I understand," said the man; "Mr. Browning has the control and is
+unloading the stock cheap. He three days ago tendered me some stock for
+one shilling per share. I said, 'No, but give me one bond at three
+pennies per share for four months, and I will consider ze matter, and try
+to help you close out some unproductive property.' He would not comply,
+but he thought it over very much, and asked me to call again. One broker,
+Mr. Williams, offered to sell me plenty for four pennies, but would not
+make one bond."
+
+"We do not care to bond ours," said Jenvie, "but would sell for four
+pennies."
+
+"I will not give it," said Emanuel, rising to go. "I would give you three
+pennies, but no more," and he started for the door.
+
+The three consulted in private for a moment, and then Jenvie called to
+Emanuel, who was half out of the door, that he might have the stock at
+three pennies for cash, but begged him not to mention that he had
+purchased it. Emanuel paid the money and took the stock, and then said:
+"You ask me not to mention this business. Are you crazy? Suppose Mr.
+Browning by and by bonds me ten thousand shares less than half he has
+got, with this in my pocket who will then have ze control? I want you to
+promise to say nothing about this sale for six months. In the meantime
+I propose to become just so intimate with Mr. Browning as possible."
+
+Then he winked and walked out, and the conspirators looked in each
+other's faces and smiled.
+
+Emanuel went directly to Browning and delivered him the stock, but he
+lied about the price he had paid for it, telling Browning he had given
+five pennies per share for it. But while Browning was sure the man had
+lied, he was satisfied, for he then had all of the stock of "The Wedge of
+Gold."
+
+Browning had, as he told Sedgwick, gone to South America on a commission.
+It was known in London that he was a miner who had made a success in
+America. An Englishman who had a bond on a mine in Venezuela had hired
+him to go over and make a report on it. He fulfilled the trust, but he
+heard while there of another mine in a district ten miles away. He went
+to see it and bought it for L2,000, hired a foreman and ten men; laid out
+the work for them for six months ahead, and left L1,000 in a local bank
+to pay them, with instructions to the foreman to send him a report and
+sample by every steamer.
+
+The first mine was sold on his report, and besides his commission of
+L300, the happy man who had sold the mine called at his house one day
+when Browning was out, and left an envelope directed to him. The envelope
+contained a check for L3,000, and a note saying that the writer thought
+he was entitled to one-tenth of the proceeds of the sale, and that
+Browning must accept the money, for the writer intended that day to
+leave England. Browning turned the money over to Rose as her fee "as
+an expert."
+
+A month later a steamer from Georgetown (British Guiana) brought news
+that the Browning mine was developing superbly, and still a month later
+the foreman estimated that he had five thousand tons of ore in sight
+which would average as well as the samples sent. Browning had the samples
+assayed, and they averaged L5 6s. in gold per ton.
+
+He had a friend named Campbell, who was a broker: Campbell dropped in
+upon him as he was looking over the assays, and he told him all about the
+mine.
+
+"What will you give me to sell that property for you, Browning?" asked
+Campbell.
+
+"Not a penny," said Browning, "but I will give you a bond on it for four
+months for an even L100,000, and you may make as much above that as your
+conscience will allow; you may, by Jove."
+
+"Will you make me a report and map?" asked Campbell.
+
+"I will write you a report, and make you a rough sketch," said Browning,
+"but my drawing lessons were neglected when I was young, and I am not a
+very reliable or finished map-maker."
+
+The conversation closed with an agreement, and the bond and report were
+in due time finished.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+A WEDGE OF GOLD INDEED.
+
+
+Sedgwick and Jordan waited at Port Natal for the coming of the "Pallas."
+Sedgwick explained what the ship would bring, and told Jordan about Grace
+being in San Francisco to receive him, and how while the mill was being
+built, he and his wife had raced around the country.
+
+Jordan was delighted. "I told yo' she war a game girl," he said. "Think
+of her traveling six thousand mile to jine ther man who hed run away from
+her at ther meetin' house do'! But I'm mighty glad she did, all the same.
+It confirms my estermation of ther lady."
+
+Then he explained that he put on eight-hour shifts to run the tunnel, two
+English miners on each shift to handle the drills and gads, and Boers and
+Kaffirs to carry back the debris; that the rock was most favorable, and
+rapid progress was made, averaging a little over ten feet per day; that
+he offered bribes and bounties to the shift that should make most
+progress; and that he had tapped the ledge and cross-cut it in four
+months, "because," he added naively, "we lost all reckonin' o' time, 'nd
+I'm afeerd we worked of er Sunday sometimes;" that the ore was quite up
+to the average, or a little better than what was on the dump; that so
+soon as the vein was struck he had started drifts up and down the ledge
+and an upraise, and had, when he left, probably 1,000 tons of ore on the
+dump, and that as the mine was further opened the daily output was
+steadily increasing. He had, moreover, got the mill site graded, and the
+wall that the battery was to be set in front of, built, comfortable
+quarters put up, and the road through the canon made so that it would be
+good for heavy teams.
+
+When he heard that Sedgwick had sent some heavy wagons, yokes, harness
+and chains he was glad, saying: "I war afeerd you'd forget it," and at
+once went about to select the stock and drivers for those wagons.
+
+After they had waited eight days, the "Pallas" made the port.
+
+Captain McGregor reported a prosperous voyage, and the next day the
+discharging of cargo into lighters began and was rushed with all speed.
+As soon as the wagons were landed, the work of setting them up began, and
+the training of the teams was likewise inaugurated.
+
+The first full loads were started for the mine in a week. The heavy
+machinery was loaded on the imported wagons, native conveyances were
+secured for the other freight, and in fourteen days everything was in
+transit.
+
+In the meantime another mail had arrived from England, bringing letters
+from Grace to Sedgwick. One had news of special interest. It told that
+the confidence of Mrs. Hazleton had been partly gained; that she had
+learned much of the lady's life; how she was left an orphan at thirteen
+in New Jersey; how at seventeen when at school she had run away and
+married a wild youth; how they left at once for the West; how the wild
+boy settled down, and with a few hundred dollars which he had when they
+were married he had made a few thousand and was doing well when he
+suddenly sickened and died; how then his relatives came forward and made
+a contest for his property, setting up that she had never been married;
+that the showing was so fearful against her that the court in Iowa
+refused her any support from the estate, and in her shame and confusion
+she went away to Texas and taught school for six months to earn money
+enough to make her defense; that there she met an unlettered and
+sensitive man, but at the same time one of the clearest-brained, most
+generous and noble-hearted men in the world, but in whom, from the fact
+he was so sensitive and generous, she could not confide, lest she might
+not be able to vindicate herself; and if she failed, she feared she would
+not only lose his confidence, but that it would make him believe there
+was no truth in the world. How with the money she earned, she was able to
+go to New Jersey, to find in the papers of the old clergyman who had
+married her (and who had in the meantime died), not only a full record of
+the marriage, but the marriage certificate with the names of the
+witnesses attached, which certificate had never been called for. By it,
+too, she was able to find the witnesses of the marriage, and one of those
+witnesses had known her all her life. So when the case came on for
+hearing she was so completely vindicated that her neighbors who had
+turned on her a cold shoulder came back with every outward demonstration
+of joy over her triumph. But she hated the place; converted all she had
+into money; bought a lot in a cemetery outside that State and had her
+husband's remains moved there, because she thought his sleep would be
+vexed in a community so mean; and then wrote to her friend in Texas,
+merely asking if he was well, and if she might explain something to him.
+
+In ten days the letter came back with the endorsement on it by the
+postmaster that her friend had sold his property at a sacrifice and
+disappeared, his nearest friends did not know where. Grace's letter added
+that she was worrying under the fear that perhaps if she had not gone to
+Texas the true man would never have made the sacrifice.
+
+Grace declared that she was in love with the lady; that she was a
+fine scholar, a finished elocutionist, a marvelous musician, and the
+comfort of her life in her husband's absence. The letter closed with an
+injunction that Sedgwick must bring Jordan safely home with him, and not
+be too long about it.
+
+How Sedgwick wanted to show that letter to Jordan! But he realized that
+if Mrs. Hazleton loved him it was for her to tell him so.
+
+He racked his brain to invent a necessity for Jordan's return to London,
+but a little thought convinced him that all such expedients would be in
+vain, because Jordan had, as he said, "enlisted fo' the wah," and
+Sedgwick realized that if on any pretext he sent him away, the suspicion
+might arise in Jordan's mind that the object was a selfish one, now that
+the labor and anxiety of making the enterprise a success had well-nigh
+passed.
+
+So he decided that the thing to do was to hurry the work in hand to
+culmination. The rainy season was pretty well over, and the material for
+the mill was pushed forward with reasonable dispatch. It was all on the
+ground, set up, and in motion in fifty days.
+
+Sedgwick found on reaching the mine that Jordan had built the needed
+houses, and had the mill as nearly completed as it could be before the
+machinery was set in place.
+
+The ore crushed easily, and the mill reduced two tons and a half per
+stamp readily in every twenty-four hours, in thirty days crushing 3,000
+tons. It yielded in the mill $35 per ton, and at the end of thirty days
+there were bars of the value of $100,000 ready for shipment. Then
+Sedgwick said: "Come, Tom, our work is finished here, at least for the
+present; let us seek civilization."
+
+"Agreed, old friend," said Jordan. "I'll get my trophies together and be
+ready ter start in ther morning."
+
+"And what are your trophies?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+"Why, didn't I tell yer?" was the reply. "It got kinder lonesome while
+yo' war away, so I went on a hunt. I've got ther finest pair o' leopard
+skins yo' ever seen, some elephant tusks, 'nd I migh'er brought a sarpent
+skin that war a daisy, but I drew ther line on snakes. But he war
+twenty-three feet long, and ther look outer his eyes war not reassurin'
+by a blamed sight. I migh'er got a giraff skin, too, but she hed her baby
+with her, and I'm not breakin' up no giraffe families."
+
+It was understood that they were to leave in the morning; were to go in
+the covered spring wagon, and were to carry the gold.
+
+One of the English miners was made superintendent of the mine. The
+mill-men from San Francisco agreed to look after the mill for a year,
+and the civil engineer undertook to see to the books, to attend to the
+finances and send an express to the coast once a week.
+
+So Sedgwick and Jordan, with one Boer, started early in the morning. It
+was in the last week in May; the weather was cold for that region, for it
+was the beginning of winter.
+
+They drove out of the narrow valley, through the canon, out upon the open
+table-land and down to the house or dug-out which they had first found
+when in search of a way out. They rested there, ate some luncheon, fed
+their horses, and after an hour and a half started on.
+
+They had brought with them their repeating rifles and revolvers. Before
+getting into the wagon, Jordan had rolled up and fastened the curtains of
+the wagon, examined closely the guns, and then gave a long, sweeping look
+all around the horizon.
+
+"What are you looking for, Jordan?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+"Nuthin' much," he answered. "Only, Jim, have yer gun whar yo' can reach
+it quick if wanted."
+
+"Why?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+"Nuthin," said Jordan. "Only I never seen this place afore thet thar war
+not a dozen cut-throat-lookin' scoundrels 'round, and they mighter mean
+mischief, knowin' as how we have ther treasure aboard."
+
+They had driven on for perhaps a mile, when the road ran down close to
+the stream. All at once half a dozen shots rang out of the willows, and
+the Boer sprang from the wagon and ran for the bush.
+
+Sedgwick was driving. Jordan in a second caught his gun, and springing
+over the seat, said:
+
+"Drive on quick, Jim, and in ther meantime I'll try ter entertain ther
+varmints."
+
+A Boer stepped out of the willows and raised his gun. He never fired it,
+but threw up his hands and fell on his face. A shot from Jordan's gun had
+changed his calculations.
+
+Three or four more shots were fired from the bush, but they did no harm.
+
+Sedgwick had urged the team into a run, and they had just begun to hope
+the ambuscade had been passed, when three more Boers sprang out of the
+willows nearly opposite them and fired.
+
+Jordan killed two of them in a moment, but the third one fired again, and
+the bullet struck Jordan's left arm, disabling it and making a bad wound.
+
+"Can you drive, think?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+Jordan thought he could, and took the reins; Sedgwick picked up his gun.
+
+Three more Boers just then appeared by the willows opposite. Sedgwick
+could shoot as rapidly and as accurately as Jordan, and he cleared the
+field in a moment.
+
+The road bent away from the stream soon after, back upon the table-land,
+and they were safe. They stopped, and Sedgwick bound up Jordan's arm. The
+bone was not broken, and no great blood-vessel was seriously injured, but
+he had received a nasty flesh wound through the muscles of his fore-arm.
+
+As they proceeded on their journey, Jordan said: "That black guard as I
+first got a crack at hed been working for us two months. He war at his
+work yesterday. He put up this business, but how we sprised him! Ther
+devil that jumped from the wagon when ther scrimmage begun war his
+runnin' pard. Wur it not lucky neither hoss war hit?"
+
+They reached Port Natal in six days without further incident; but despite
+all the care that Sedgwick could give it, Jordan's arm was badly inflamed
+and very painful when they reached the seashore.
+
+No regular steamer was in port, but the "Pallas" was seen at anchor out
+in the roadstead.
+
+Sedgwick engaged a boat, and with Jordan pulled out to the steamer.
+
+McGregor was delighted at their coming, took them on board and said:
+"Now, boys, we will have a night of it."
+
+But Sedgwick said: "First, Captain, I want your surgeon to look at
+Jordan's arm."
+
+"Why, of course," said McGregor. The doctor was called. He examined the
+arm, then tested the man's temperature, and finally said:
+
+"The wound is nothing in itself. Under normal conditions it would heal in
+a fortnight, but Mr. Jordan's system is run down. He has a low fever on
+him now, and needs immediate treatment and careful nursing."
+
+This was a new situation, and one that troubled Sedgwick exceedingly. He
+was silent for a few seconds, and then looking up, said:
+
+"Captain McGregor, where do you go next?"
+
+"I was just going to pull out for Calcutta, Hong Kong, Yokohama and San
+Francisco," he replied.
+
+"And when do you sail?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+"I intended to put to sea to-morrow," was the answer; "everything is
+ready."
+
+"Can I induce you for love and money to make the run at full speed to
+Naples or Marseilles?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+"Not for money, but for love, yes," was the reply.
+
+"And can I have a room for Jordan right now?" was the next question.
+
+"You shall have the bridal chamber of my ship," said McGregor.
+
+"Thanks, Captain," said Sedgwick, "and now let us get the dear old boy to
+bed."
+
+Jordan insisted that he was not ill, but before they could get him
+undressed he was seized with a chill, and they worked upon him an hour
+before he rallied, grew warm and fell asleep.
+
+In the meantime the night had come down, so Sedgwick got a little supper
+and then went back to his friend. The captain, steward, indeed all hands,
+were all attention, for they knew all about both men.
+
+Next morning Jordan was comfortable, but the fever was having its way.
+Sedgwick went ashore, got his own and Jordan's baggage and the bullion,
+and when he returned the ship was at once got under way for her northern
+voyage.
+
+The attentions of Sedgwick to his sick friend were simply incessant. The
+ship's surgeon was also assiduous in his care. Captain McGregor was all
+the time most solicitous. As they approached the equator, they fixed for
+Jordan a bed on deck where the air, even if it was hot, was better in
+motion over him than in the stifling state-room.
+
+The ship rounded the great cape in ten days, and reached the Red Sea on
+the twelfth day. Then the surgeon motioned Sedgwick aside, and said: "The
+case of your friend makes me very anxious. His wound is not of itself
+serious. He has a little fever, but it would not be of a dangerous type
+in an ordinary patient. In this case the sick man acts like one who has
+lost hope, and under the sorrow of his loss his nerve power has ceased to
+exert its force, and the man is liable to die simply because he will make
+no effort to live."
+
+"I know," said Sedgwick, "and I have been dreading such a report as you
+have made me, for the last seven days. If you can keep his life from
+going out until we can reach Naples, I believe we can then find a tonic
+that will save him."
+
+"I will try," was the answer, "but he is growing weaker every day, and I
+am afraid. However, the temperature is growing cooler and it gives us a
+better chance."
+
+Sedgwick tried by talking, by reading, and by drawing rosy pictures of
+what they would do in England and America, to rouse Jordan, but without
+much success.
+
+He lay patient and still on his couch, and to all inquiries would answer:
+"I'm perfectly comfortable, dear friend. Do not worry about me;
+everything is as it should be."
+
+Then Sedgwick tried another experiment. He told the sick man that he must
+exert himself to be better; that sickness was often influenced by the
+will of the patient, and added that the real work of trying to undo the
+wrong perpetrated upon Browning would have to be done when they reached
+England, and that he should then need the best counsel and help of his
+friend.
+
+Jordan listened and said: "I'll do the best I ken, Jim, but it will be
+all right, I'm shor."
+
+So the hours went by, and Captain McGregor told the engineer to crowd on
+all steam, and to bribe the fireman to give the ship all the speed
+possible.
+
+At Suez, Sedgwick went ashore and cabled his wife that he was on the
+"Pallas;" to come at once to Naples; to induce Jack and Rose to come
+also, and, if she thought best, to bring Mrs. Hazleton, for Jordan was
+ill, and he feared nothing but the cheer of friendly faces would arouse
+him and give him the strength to live. He added that she must use her
+woman's wits as to what she would tell Mrs. H., and that to outsiders it
+must all seem but as running over to the continent for a few days'
+outing.
+
+When Grace Sedgwick, very early one morning, received and read that
+message, she held it for many minutes, lost in thought. She had grown
+very near to Mrs. Hazleton, but except when she had drawn from her the
+story of her life, she had never probed in the least to see if in her
+heart she was nursing a vast regret.
+
+But she had noticed some things that led her to believe that the lady had
+an anxiety which she was trying to conceal. She was always ready to visit
+any point of interest that would naturally attract a stranger, or to
+attend any public assemblage that a stranger might be lured to. Again,
+she always approached such places with vivacity, and returned from them
+in silence.
+
+As Mrs. Sedgwick sat with the dispatch doubled up in her closed hand,
+Mrs. Hazleton came into the room. Touching a chair by her side, Grace
+said: "Come and sit by me, Margaret. I want to talk with you."
+
+She complied, merely saying: "What do you want to talk about, love?"
+
+"Are you happy?" asked Grace.
+
+"Indeed, yes. Why do you ask?" was the reply. "Have you not been making
+my life a bed of roses ever since your blessed eyes first rested on me?"
+
+Grace looked at her intently for a moment, then said: "Is there some one
+whom you wish exceedingly to see?"
+
+A rosy flush swept like a wave over her face, which was followed by a
+quick pallor. But she recovered herself almost instantly, and said: "Why,
+Mrs. Sedgwick, do you ask me so strange a question?"
+
+Grace arose, then bending down, took her hand, laid the dispatch upon the
+palm, closed the fingers gently over it and said:
+
+"My dear, there is a paper for you to read. I am going to Rose for a
+few minutes. When I return, you may tell me anything you please, or
+nothing at all, as you please; only let me tell you first that before
+my husband went to Nevada, he went to another State, lived there with
+a great-hearted man for a year, and that man was with him when he left me
+at the church door on my wedding day, and they have been together since,
+except when my husband left him to go to America to buy machinery and
+came back this way to join him again." Then she suddenly bent and kissed
+her friend and was gone.
+
+She went through to Rose's side of the house, found her, and asked where
+Mr. Browning was.
+
+"He is in the library," said Rose; "he has not yet gone out this
+morning."
+
+"Then come with me," said Grace. Once in the library, she said: "I have
+news from my James this morning. He cabled me from Suez. He is coming
+home, and he wants us to meet him at Naples. Mr. Jordan has been with
+him--is coming with him, is ill, I fear very ill, and he wants us to meet
+him, I believe chiefly on that dear man's account. I shall leave this
+afternoon; can you go with me?"
+
+"I can," said Jack.
+
+"I can," said Rose.
+
+"I am so glad," said Grace. "And say, there must be nothing said to the
+servants, except that we have run over to the continent on a lark, for a
+few days. And now good-bye until we are ready."
+
+With that she returned to her own sitting room. Mrs. Hazleton was gone,
+and it was a full half hour before she returned. When she did, she was
+very pale. A look of anxiety was on her face, but a radiant new light was
+in her eyes.
+
+She came straight up to Grace, and in a low voice said: "When do you
+start?"
+
+"To-day," said Grace; "by the first Dover train."
+
+"O, thanks; pray God we be not too late," was the answer; and then the
+poor woman sank into a chair, covered her face with her hands, and broke
+into sobs that were almost hysterical.
+
+Grace stood by her for a few minutes, then knelt down, put one arm around
+her, drew her toward her, gently drew down the hands and laid her cheek
+against the tear-dripping cheek of her friend, and said: "Now you must be
+brave, dear Margaret; it's going to be all well. I feel it in every fibre
+of my being. My husband is with him. He will supply him with the vitality
+to live until the vision of your face above his pillow will bring the
+stimulus that he needs."
+
+The true woman recovered herself at length, and said: "O Mrs. Sedgwick,
+how did you discover my secret, and the great-hearted man whom I have
+sought for and prayed for so long?"
+
+"It was not I," said Grace. "It was my husband. He lived with Mr.
+Jordan a year in Texas. After he had made his little fortune in Nevada,
+he--thanks be to God--came home with Jack. He met his old friend here,
+who frankly told him how he loved you, and why he had sold his home and
+turned wanderer. Just then Jack had been induced by his step-father
+and mine, and the knave Stetson, to invest part of his fortune in a gold
+mine in South Africa; and by a deception, nearly all that was left of his
+fortune was lured away into the same channel. Jack was well-nigh frantic.
+Rose had been waiting for him for four years and a half, so my husband
+insisted upon their marriage and determined to go and see if anything
+could be made out of the wreck, and asked me to wait until his return.
+I agreed, only stipulating that we, too, should be married before he
+went. I left him at the church. My husband was a silver miner; Mr. Jordan
+was a gold miner--I do not know the difference, only the gold miner can
+test gold ore--and they together went to Africa. They found the mine
+good, and found a new road to it, over which the machinery could be
+transported. Then my husband sailed via Australia for San Francisco to
+buy the machinery; Mr. Jordan remained to open the mine. My husband
+cabled me from Australia, and the next day I received his letter from
+South Africa, telling me that he would be two months in San Francisco,
+and then would come by London on his way back to the South Land. I took
+the first ship and reached San Francisco before his ship came in from
+Australia; then when I knew the ship was coming up the bay, I had the
+apartments dressed in flowers, robed myself in attire such as I had meant
+should be my wedding garments, and waited his coming."
+
+Then she paused a moment as the memory of that meeting swept over her,
+while the arms of her friend stole around her.
+
+Continuing, she said: "When ready to start for England, we, as you know,
+made arrangements to stop a day or two with our friends in Indiana. When
+you were presented, my husband recognized you instantly by the name and
+description given of you by his friend. When you sang that first song, he
+guessed your secret and told me his thought, and helped me to work the
+stratagem to lure you here. When he reached Port Natal, he tried to
+invent some plausible reason to induce Mr. Jordan to come here, but he
+could not; and so has hurried to get the mill working, and now both are
+on the way, and I must meet them. Jack and Rose are going with me; will
+you?"
+
+The arms of Margaret Hazleton were clinging to Grace, and the tears were
+raining down her face. So soon as she could speak, she said:
+
+"And so, while I thought you were my best friend, you have really been my
+guardian angel. I came with you because I hoped to find the noble man who
+had self-exiled himself, and all the time when I thought I was disguising
+my heart, your clear eyes have been reading it. I remember now in Texas
+the boys were always talking of a famous Jim who had lived with them, but
+I never dreamed that he was your husband.
+
+"My gratitude to you and your grand husband is bankrupt, but now no
+matter. The first thing to do is to be on our way--only, do Mr. and Mrs.
+Browning also know my secret?"
+
+"Not at all," said Grace. "Until just now they did not even know that Mr.
+Jordan was with my husband, but I will tell Rose all that may be
+necessary."
+
+All left that day, in due time reached Naples, and engaged ample quarters
+before the "Pallas" entered the bay.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+FEVER VISIONS.
+
+
+As the "Pallas" passed out of the canal upon the broad-breasted
+Mediterranean, Jordan noticed the change in the motion of the ship, and
+said to Sedgwick: "Jim, old friend, we is back agin on ther waters whar
+men first learned ter be sailors, aren't we?"
+
+"Yes," said Sedgwick, "and in three days more I hope to gladden your eyes
+with the faces of some dear friends."
+
+"Yo's mighty kind, old friend," said the sick man; "but, Jim, I wanter
+tell yo', if we should be diserpinted, yo'll find inside my trunk a
+little trunk, and in thet yo'll find things all fixed ter tell yer what
+ter do. I 'ranged it when yo' war away, not knowin' what mount be.
+Remember one thing mo': everything's all right 'nd goin' ter be right.
+I'll get well 'nd help yo' ef I ken; ef I don't, yo'll make it easy,
+nuff, without me."
+
+"Indeed I cannot," said Sedgwick. "You must brace up and get well, for I
+tell you, dear old Tom, that I can see better than you, and I have worked
+out a plan which is going to be a delight for you."
+
+"Maybe so, Jim," said the sick man, and dozed off into a troubled sleep.
+The surgeon had been giving the patient some powerful medicine, and told
+Sedgwick it might make him flighty, but not to permit that to alarm him;
+that he thought he could promise to hold the life in his friend for a few
+days more.
+
+Jordan awoke after an hour's sleep, and said: "Jim, I had a mighty quar
+dream, sho. I seen all ther fleets ez hez ever sailed on these waters,
+havin' er grand review. It war ther ghosts ev ther ships, I reckon, but
+they looked mighty real. I seen ther fleets ev Tyre with ther sails like
+calico mustangs; I seen ther Persian fleets thet ther Greeks done up et
+Mycale 'nd Salamis; I seen ther fitin' ships uv Rome, 'nd Carthage, 'nd
+Egypt, 'nd Venice, down ter Nelson's fite on ther Nile. O, but it war a
+grand persession! Thar war calls in a hundred tongues; thar war responses
+in a hundred mo'; thar war decks filled with armed men, with helmets,
+spears 'nd shields; thar war singin' 'nd prayin' 'nd trumpet calls; thar
+war ther rattle ev arms, ther ring ev steel, 'nd ther harsh blast ev
+war-horns, 'nd ther sounds changed from age to age, until thar came at
+last ther roar uv hevy guns in regelar broadsides. All ther echoes uv all
+ther battles uv all ther centeries war in my ears. It war grand; grander
+nor Chatternooga. Thar sea gave up its ded fur me, so fur ez this water
+goes. History held befo' me all its pages, 'nd they wuz all 'luminated.
+Ez thet picter swept befo' my eyes, 'nd all thar clamors filled my ears,
+it war more thrillin' then anything yo' ever dreamed of. I ken har ther
+calls, 'nd ther replies, 'nd ther beatin' uv oars, tho' thar oars war
+broken, 'nd ther calls growed still two 'nd three thousand year ago. It
+war beautiful, Jim, even ef it war all 'lusion ter ther eyes 'nd ears. Do
+yo' remember, yo' read me once 'Ther Midnight Review?' Why, Jim, thet war
+nuthin'. This uv mine war ther review ev all thar ages, er movin' picter
+uv ther world since befo' civilerzation begun."
+
+Then the sick man dozed off into sleep again, and Sedgwick bathed his
+face, and hung over him as a mother watches when the life of her child
+wavers between this world and the next.
+
+After awhile Jordan awoke again. This time there was an eager, joyous
+look in his wan face, and he searched the room around with a most
+expectant gaze.
+
+Sedgwick bent over him, and said softly: "What is it, old friend?"
+
+"Why, Jim, old man," said he, "that war most singler. I hearn _her_ voice
+a-prayin', hearn it jest ez plain 'nd natral ez ever I hearn it afore,
+prayin' thet I might git well. O, Jim, it war music, sho' nuff! and
+ef eny angels war a-listenin', they'd intercede fur me jest outer
+courtesy."
+
+"She was praying, dear friend," said Sedgwick. "I knew it, and her prayer
+is going to be answered. Her soul is trying to call to your soul to rouse
+itself, and you must heed the call."
+
+"I'll try," said the sick man. "But don't worry, old friend; no matter
+what comes, it'll be all right. And, say, Jim, open my grip and put ther
+handkerchief you will see with dots upon it here next my heart."
+
+For the twenty-four hours prior to reaching Naples Jordan was delirious
+most of the time, and did not sleep at all. Finally the surgeon
+administered a powerful opiate, and when the ship came to anchor in the
+beautiful bay, the invalid was in a profound sleep.
+
+Browning was on the lookout for the ship, and was soon upon its deck. He
+and Sedgwick clasped hands, and the first words of Sedgwick were: "Jack,
+are all well, and who is here?"
+
+"All well," said Jack; "and your wife, my wife, and Mrs. Hazleton are
+waiting at the hotel for you. And how is your friend?"
+
+"Desperately ill, but I have hopes of him now," said Sedgwick.
+
+The surgeon was appealed to, and he said it would be better to take
+Jordan ashore while yet he slept.
+
+"I must first send a message that we are coming, and that he is asleep
+under opiates, or we shall frighten those who are watching for us," said
+Sedgwick.
+
+Captain McGregor volunteered to deliver the message as he was going
+ashore for a few minutes to report to the port officials that he brought
+no cargo to be discharged, except the baggage of two passengers. Sedgwick
+thanked him, took his arm, led him aside, and said to him: "Captain, when
+you find my wife, tell her privately that she must keep the other ladies
+from seeing us as we carry Jordan to the house. It would disturb and
+perhaps alarm them, for he is not only wan and poor, but the sleep upon
+him looks like the twin brother of Death."
+
+"I will see to it all," said the captain, and at once went ashore.
+
+Grace saw him and recognized him as he alighted at the hotel, and ran to
+the parlor to meet him alone. He explained to her the situation, and she
+undertook to see that the injunction should be carried out.
+
+"How long before they will come?" asked Grace.
+
+"Perhaps thirty minutes," was the answer.
+
+"Then excuse me, captain," said Grace, "but come back later. I want to
+thank you for all your kindness, and have a visit with you. But now I
+must see to my two charges, that no mistake be made."
+
+McGregor promised to return, shook hands, called Grace a "trump," and
+strode away.
+
+So soon as he had gone, Grace rang, and when a servant came she sent for
+the manager of the hotel. To him she explained that in a few minutes a
+sick man would be brought to the house; that his illness was not at all
+contagious; that No. ---- of her apartments must be prepared for him, and
+he must be carried there at once.
+
+He asked if she was sure there was no danger to guests from the sick man,
+and she answered that he must know that no sick man could be landed
+without a permit from the port surgeon.
+
+He bowed and promised that her wishes should be carried out.
+
+Then she went to find Mrs. Browning, and told her to propose to Mrs.
+Hazleton to go for a drive to kill time, and to be sure to drive in the
+opposite direction from the bay; to hurry up and to be absent for an
+hour or an hour and a quarter. She had before explained to Rose the real
+situation.
+
+Rose complied. As the two ladies came from their rooms attired for the
+ride, Rose said:
+
+"Grace, come and join us; we are going to see Naples a little."
+
+But Grace excused herself for that day, promising to go next morning.
+
+She saw them driven away, and then took up her watch for the expected
+visitors.
+
+She did not wait long. Four sailors were carrying the sick man; while
+Jack, the ship's surgeon, and Sedgwick were walking near. The manager met
+them and directed the way to the room set aside for Jordan. Grace waited
+in the upper hall for the procession. Sedgwick sprang to her, but she put
+a finger on her lips, caught his hand, then circled his neck with her
+arms, swiftly kissed him, and then whispered: "O darling, we must see now
+to our poor dear sick friend," and tore herself away from him.
+
+Jordan was put in bed still sleeping. Then Sedgwick, the surgeon and
+sailors came out. Sedgwick feed the sailors generously, though they did
+not want to accept anything. He then presented Surgeon Craig to his wife.
+
+Grace greeted him and said: "Doctor, when the sick man awakens, will
+there be any danger to him if some one very dear to him shall be sitting
+by his couch?"
+
+"None at all," was the answer. "That is the medicine that he needs. If we
+could find the right friend, I believe it would cure him; if we cannot, I
+fear the result, for it is a sorrow more than the fever, I believe, that
+is killing him."
+
+Half an hour later the ladies returned. Grace had Sedgwick take Browning
+from the sick room; then explained to Mrs. Hazleton that Mr. Jordan was
+in the house very ill and sleeping, but that if she were strong enough
+she ought to be at his bedside when he awoke; asked her if she could bear
+the ordeal, and if she thought she could, whether she would prefer to be
+alone or to have her with her.
+
+"I am strong enough," was the answer, "and I would rather no one would be
+near."
+
+Then Grace led her to the door and said: "Margaret, be brave, and keep in
+thought that you are going to restore your friend to health; and see,
+this room is next to mine. I shall be waiting there; if you need me, tap
+softly upon the partition door." Then she opened noiselessly the door,
+kissed her friend, waited until she passed into the room, closed the
+door, and then ran to her husband, climbed upon his knees, embraced and
+kissed him, and cried with joy.
+
+It was two hours before any sign came from the adjoining room. Then the
+door was softly opened; Mrs. Hazleton came in without speaking, grasped
+Sedgwick's hand, pointed to the room where Jordan lay, and said in a
+whisper: "He wants you." And as Sedgwick passed from the apartment, the
+over-wrought woman fell upon her knees, buried her face in the lap of
+Grace, and said: "Dear friend, help me to thank God."
+
+Later Sedgwick reported that as he approached the bed, Jordan smiled, and
+in a feeble voice said: "Jim, old friend, I'ze mighty weak, but don't
+mind it; I shall pull through easy now. But if I don't, I'll be even;
+ther world's been thet kind ter me thet I'll keep thankin' God ter all
+eternity."
+
+Then in his weakness he wept, but controlling himself at last, he
+continued: "I'ze too powerful weak ter make much noise, but if yo' think
+a loud invercation is heard sooner nor a weak one, thank God fur me in
+your loudest key."
+
+Sedgwick took up his watch by Jordan for the night. He slept much of the
+night, and smiles stole over his face as he slept, but he was awfully
+prostrated with weakness.
+
+After that, a regular order was prescribed. Sedgwick watched at night,
+and the others took turns by day.
+
+Three nights after their arrival, the fever left Jordan. The doctor had
+anticipated it, and had told Sedgwick he would remain with him. The fever
+left him so utterly prostrated that it was all the doctor and Sedgwick
+could do to keep life in him for two or three hours. But the faintness
+finally passed, and the patient dropped into a peaceful sleep; and the
+doctor, with a sigh of relief, said: "The crisis is passed, Sedgwick. He
+is going to pull through."
+
+But it was a wearisome rally. It was several days before the anxiety was
+over. It was a week after the coming of Sedgwick before Sedgwick
+explained to Browning what he had done; how Jordan was an old gold miner;
+and that the reason he had not told Browning much of what he was doing
+was because Jordan was the one to test the ore, and was anxious to go;
+he, Sedgwick, thought it was a shame to separate Jack and Rose; then he
+thought also if Jack knew he had gone to Africa he would worry over it.
+Then he told him of the mill, and finally that he had with him $100,000
+in bullion, the result of the first month's run of the mill; had fixed
+matters so that the mill would be running right along, and that there was
+ore enough in the stopes to insure steady crushing for at least four or
+five years to come.
+
+"And what now?" asked Jack.
+
+"Now your work must come in," said Sedgwick. "You and your wife must go
+to England as soon as Tom is a little better. In your own way, make
+arrangements to have announced, so that Hamlin, Jenvie and Stetson will
+see it, that there is a good deal of movement in 'The Wedge of Gold';
+have substantially the same report, only differently worded, as that
+contained in the prospectus which you were caught on; let it be known
+through what brokers the stock is being handled, and have copies of the
+reports in their hands, only fix the price at L1 per share. If the old
+men please to buy, let them have some of the stock. If they do not, we
+will try to make them sorry that they did not buy when they could. By the
+way, have you still your hand on Emanuel, and can you depend upon him?"
+
+"I think I can," said Jack.
+
+"Well, then," said Sedgwick, "if no news of the mill has been received in
+England, and the conspirators think you are merely trying to unload some
+of your stock on the old report, may be if they can be handled right,
+they may be induced to sell some of the stock short. If they can, perhaps
+we can get back some of the money from them."
+
+"I understand," said Jack, "and I believe I can work it."
+
+"Especially if, when I get to England with the bullion, we can call a
+meeting and declare a dividend," said Sedgwick.
+
+"I see," said Browning. "But, old boy, I wish you had let me help you
+work this thing out. I do, by Jove."
+
+Just then Grace and Rose came out on the veranda, where the old friends
+were talking.
+
+Rose bent over and put her arms around Jack's neck, and said: "Dear old
+Jack, do you know what day this is?"
+
+"Why, little one?" asked Jack.
+
+"O, you stupid!" said Rose.
+
+"What is to-day?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+"Another stupid!" said Rose. "Two beautiful and accomplished ladies go to
+church and give respectability to two of the wild tribe of the West, by
+marrying them, and they forget it in a little year."
+
+"It was this day year, on my soul," said Jack. "It was, by Jove."
+
+"Come here, sweet," said Sedgwick to Grace. Then taking her in his arms
+he kissed her, and said: "My days have been turned into nights of late,
+else I would not have forgotten. Are you glad you are married, Grace?"
+
+"Very glad," Grace whispered. "Are you glad?"
+
+"Very," said Sedgwick, "even as is the ransomed soul when the symphonies
+of Summer Land first give their enchantment to the spirit ear."
+
+"I will tell you why I forgot, Rose," said Jack. "My life did not count
+until you became a part of myself. I am really but a year old, and you do
+not chide one-year-old kids for being forgetful."
+
+"What glorified prevaricators these men are, Grace, are they not?" said
+Rose.
+
+"O, Rose!" said Grace. "The mission of woman is to suffer and be devoted
+in her suffering, and how could we carry out our mission if all men were
+good, and had good memories, and did not run away to Africa and Venezuela
+and Australia, and come home with fevers, and--and--." Then she kissed
+Sedgwick, and jumping up caught Rose by the arm, and said: "Let us punish
+them by running away from them."
+
+As they walked away Sedgwick watched them, and when they turned a corner
+of the veranda, said: "Jack, would you give the year's happiness just
+past for all the gold in Africa?"
+
+"No, indeed," was the reply; "but you had the strength to leave your
+bride on your marriage day for a chance of gaining a little of that
+gold."
+
+"O, no, old friend," said Sedgwick. "We had enough money left, but there
+was a principle at stake. I went to vindicate that principle if I could."
+
+"Pardon me, Jim," said Jack. "But you were stronger than I could have
+been. I could not have left my bride then. I had waited so long, that to
+have parted then would have broken her heart and would have destroyed
+me."
+
+"I realized all that, Jack," said his friend; "so did Grace, and we both
+sympathized with you both, and decided that the cup of bitterness must be
+turned from you."
+
+"Of course," said Jack. "What you did was jolly grand; what you have
+done has been so splendid that I cannot express my thoughts of it yet;
+I can't, by Jove! And Gracie's part through all has been superb. I think,
+too, your sick friend has been pure gold through it all."
+
+"Pure diamonds rather," said Sedgwick. "O Jack, you do not half
+comprehend the grandeur of that sterling man. When his heart was slowly
+shriveling up in his breast, he forgot himself and his sorrow to cheer
+me, and when it was necessary to go for the machinery, he insisted that I
+should go, and he, of his own accord, went back to the depths of that
+South Land wilderness and worked uncomplainingly for months. No grander
+man ever lived."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+SELLING STOCK SHORT.
+
+
+After a few days more Jack and Rose returned to England.
+
+Soon after their return, one of the morning papers had an announcement
+that the banking house of Campbell & Co. (Limited), No. ---- street, was
+promoting the "Wedge of Gold," a mining property in Southern Africa, near
+the border of the Transvaal, which was believed to be a most promising
+property.
+
+The same day Emanuel dropped into the house of Jenvie, Hamlin & Stetson.
+He was seedy-looking, and seemed a good deal run down both in purse and
+spirits.
+
+"What do you think of the 'Wedge of Gold' announcement?" asked Jenvie.
+
+"What is it?" asked Emanuel. He was shown the paper.
+
+"What do I think?" he said. "I think may be the young man needs a little
+money. The mails came in from Port Natal yesterday. Is there any news
+from the mine?"
+
+"None at all that we can find," said Jenvie.
+
+"I have no idea," said the Portuguese, "but if it is more than three
+shillings per share, it is one good chance for a bear to sell it short
+and hug himself for his own act."
+
+With this he went out. The three men were silent for a good five minutes.
+Then Jenvie rang the bell, and when it was answered he said to the
+messenger: "Go to Campbell & Co.'s; find out the price of 'Wedge of Gold'
+stock, and ask what data the house has from the property."
+
+The clerk returned in half an hour, and reported that it was held at L1,
+and he produced a statement of the property.
+
+This was eagerly run over by the three. "Why," said Jenvie, as he
+completed reading it, "this is but a rehash of the statement of a year
+ago; the same depth is given, all the details just as they were. Jack
+must be making a desperate play for money."
+
+"One pound per share!" said Hamlin. "Why, the man must be after some
+other Nevada miner who has more money than judgment."
+
+"The 'Wedge of Gold' was our good fortune," said Stetson. "Through it
+we got a real start. We made a good bit out of it, which we have since
+doubled. Let us try another venture in the stock."
+
+"What! Buy it at L1 per share?" asked Hamlin.
+
+"No, no," said Jenvie. "Let us sell 20,000 shares to be delivered in
+three months at ten shillings. We can send Emanuel and get it at four or
+five shillings."
+
+After weighing the matter in every way they decided to increase the
+amount and sell 30,000 shares.
+
+The offer was taken, the money paid, and the contract to deliver the
+30,000 shares in three months was signed by Jenvie, Hamlin & Co. Then
+each, unknown to the other, sold 10,000 shares more short.
+
+The fact was wired to Sedgwick at once. He showed Grace the dispatch and
+said: "My enchantress, that will leave your mother's husband and Rose's
+mother's husband bankrupt if we wish it; what shall we do?"
+
+"How will it do so?" asked Grace.
+
+"In three months that stock will be worth L5 per share," said Sedgwick.
+"See what it will require to produce 60,000 shares to fulfill their
+contract."
+
+"What did they obtain from Jack?" asked Grace.
+
+"Almost L90,000," said Sedgwick.
+
+"Well," said Grace, "I know very little of business, but it seems to me
+if they would make that good with the year's interest, it would be about
+right, inasmuch as it is a family matter."
+
+"You little bunch of wisdom and justice!" said Sedgwick. "To make them do
+just that thing was what I started to Africa for."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+CONVALESCENT.
+
+
+The "Pallas" had been in port twenty days before Jordan began to sit
+up, a few minutes at a time. He was still very weak, but his face was
+transfigured by an almost divine light. It was reflected radiance from
+the eyes of Margaret Hazleton.
+
+The doctor had thrown away his medicine, telling Jordan that all he
+needed was good nursing and as much food as his stomach could assimilate.
+
+It was a happy little company. Jordan and Mrs. Hazleton, Sedgwick and his
+wife, the doctor and Captain McGregor--for the ship had been left with
+the first officer, and the captain had turned nurse to relieve Sedgwick.
+
+A week later Jordan could sit up most of the day, and Captain McGregor
+had begun to absent himself two or three hours every afternoon. About
+this time Browning's dispatch was received.
+
+Sedgwick was needed in London. What was best to do?
+
+He prepared a statement of the mine, signed it and got Jordan to sign it,
+and he shipped the bullion to a well-known Paris banking house.
+
+Nothing held him back except Jordan's illness. He was growing anxious,
+and his wife, who watched his every mood, quickly discovered it. So soon
+as she did, she went to him, put an arm around one of his, and said.
+
+"What is it, love? What is it that is troubling you?"
+
+He explained that he ought to be in London, but Jordan was yet too weak
+to travel, and he could not leave him--not for twenty mines.
+
+Grace thought the matter over for two or three minutes, and then said
+cheerfully:
+
+"I have it, husband! We will get a nurse for the dear man. I will remain,
+and Margaret and myself and the nurse can see to him, and will follow you
+when he can travel."
+
+Sedgwick looked at her fondly for a moment, and then said:
+
+"You are a great little woman, sure enough; but you are such a one that
+I would rather remain than go without you."
+
+She put her hands upon his lips, and said:
+
+"Duty, love. Hist, we must always be brave and self-forgetful enough to
+do our duty. I am going now to see Margaret." She walked a few steps,
+then turned back and said:
+
+"Why would it not be the right thing for Mr. Jordan and Margaret to be
+married before you leave?"
+
+"I believe it would," said Sedgwick, "only that I have planned that we
+would give them a great wedding in London."
+
+"So had I," said Grace, "and we will."
+
+Just as they were talking, Captain McGregor came from the direction of
+the harbor.
+
+"I have news for you," he said. "I have sold the 'Pallas.' She will sail
+to-morrow, and now I propose to remain with you, and go with you to
+London when you go."
+
+"You have sold the dear ship?" said Sedgwick. "And what of the doctor and
+the crew?"
+
+"They will sail in her. The doctor will be up to make his adieus
+to-night. They wanted to charter the craft for a long voyage. I would not
+go, but offered to sell, and they bought, and re-engaged the officers,
+the surgeon and the crew."
+
+"Let us go on board," said Sedgwick. "I want to bid those good men
+good-bye."
+
+"So do I," said the captain. "I will be grateful if you will go with me."
+
+"Wait a moment until I run down to the bank," said Sedgwick. "While I am
+gone, Grace, get your hat and wrap; and by the way, captain, how many
+men and officers are there?"
+
+The captain replied: "Six officers, the surgeon and steward, three
+waiters, twelve seamen and sixteen men in the firing department."
+
+The company soon set out, and went on board the "Pallas."
+
+All hands were called on deck. Captain McGregor made them a little
+speech; told them that his chief regret in giving up the ship was in
+parting with them, and wished them all happiness and prosperity. They
+gave him three cheers, and all shook hands with him, wishing him long
+life and asking God's blessing for him.
+
+Then Sedgwick stepped forward, and said:
+
+"My Dear Friends:--That I was able to bring one whom I love
+better than a brother to where he could find the strength to get well,
+I owe to you. He is yet too weak to be moved, or he would be here by my
+side to thank you. I was much absorbed on the voyage, but I saw how you,
+officers and seamen, worked to take advantage of every puff of wind and
+every current of the sea. I know how you others were working in the hell
+of the fire-room, and I shall be grateful to you as long as I live. I
+wish you all health, happiness and prosperity in the future.
+
+"You, with your grand captain, carried the machinery to Africa, which has
+made me a good deal of money. You brought home my friend when he was
+making an unequal fight for life. I want each of you to have a little
+souvenir of my gratitude."
+
+With that he undid a package which he had been holding in his hand. It
+contained a bunch of envelopes. He handed one to each of the officers and
+men.
+
+Those for the mates and engineers each contained bank notes of the value
+of L200. Those of the men each contained L50. The doctor's contained
+L1,000.
+
+The men whispered eagerly among themselves for a moment; then the third
+mate said:
+
+"Mr. Sedgwick, the lads want me to ask you how they can best thank you.
+They are not much talkers, and this gift of yours has about beached their
+tongues."
+
+Sedgwick smiled and said: "No thanks are needed, but I want to tell you
+that this is all due to the dearest woman in the world," putting his arm
+around Grace. "If you will each come and shake the hand of my wife, all
+the gratitude you feel will be receipted for."
+
+They joyfully responded, and one old tar, more bold than the rest, said,
+as he took the fair little hand of Grace in the grasp of his own knotted
+hand: "Your mon is a mighty poor hand to save money, but he'll be richer
+nor Rothschild as long as you are spared to him."
+
+They gave their old captain and his friend three cheers as they passed
+over the ship's side, and McGregor wiped his eyes all the way back to the
+hotel.
+
+Grace went at once to the sick-room. Jordan was half reclining in an
+easy-chair. Margaret was sitting where he could see her, and was
+evidently reading to him, when Grace entered.
+
+Jordan spoke: "Take a cheer, madam. Maggie wur readin' 'nd it's mighty
+comfortin'. It's like sipping old wine and hearin' music in thar next
+room same time."
+
+"Don't you mind him, Grace," said Margaret. "He is still very weak, and
+all that he says is not as deep as it might be." But she smiled fondly at
+him while she spoke.
+
+"Don't yo' b'leve her, Mrs. Sedgwick," said Jordan. "We all has weak
+spots in our hearts; she's mine."
+
+Grace put one hand on Jordan's hand, the other on Margaret's cheek, and
+said:
+
+"Say all the pretty things of her that you please, Mr. Jordan, and do not
+mind her, for her heart has been starving for those same words from your
+lips for a long time."
+
+Margaret was silent, but she smiled; and a great flush swept over her
+face as she smiled.
+
+"Everything war right, after all," said Jordan. "Hed I not lost her, I
+mighter grown careless o' her like other men do sometimes uv those they
+luv, but no matter, we has a understandin'."
+
+And again the happy woman smiled and blushed.
+
+Then Grace explained how much her husband was needed in England; that she
+had determined to remain until Mr. Jordan could travel, and let her
+husband go; that Captain McGregor had sold the "Pallas," and she thought
+she would remain with them, and asked Jordan if he thought they, with a
+nurse, could take care of him.
+
+Before he could answer, Mrs. Hazleton interposed and said:
+
+"All this sickness and sorrow came through me. Henceforth my life is to
+be devoted to where it can do most good. We do not want any display. Why
+can we not be married? Then I will be his nurse, and he will need no
+other. You can go with your husband, and we will come when Tom is
+stronger. What say you, love?"
+
+"Do not answer, Mr. Jordan," said Grace. "We have fixed it for you to be
+married where my husband and myself--where Jack and Rose--were married.
+We will remain until you can travel."
+
+"I'd be mighty glad ter call yo' 'wife' now, Maggie," said Jordan; "but I
+don't reckon it's squar for a man ter take advantage of his nuss." Then
+turning to Mrs. Sedgwick, he continued: "Tell Jim I'll be ready ter leave
+ter-morrer evenin'."
+
+So next day they started by easy stages for London. Sedgwick engaged a
+special car to be stopped off at any point he might desire. They rested a
+day in Milan, another in Paris, and there Sedgwick arranged to have the
+bullion that might come from the 'Wedge of Gold' at all times at his
+immediate disposal. They reached London in six days; Jordan had gained so
+much that he walked to the carriage from the Dover depot, and with
+Sedgwick's and McGregor's support, walked up the steps of Sedgwick's
+house.
+
+Rose had dinner waiting for them, and at dinner expressed the sentiments
+of all by saying: "I believe this is just now the happiest house in all
+England."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+SPRINGING A TRAP.
+
+
+Sedgwick found waiting for him advices from the mine, all of which were
+favorable and the output for another month, less the expenses of mining
+and milling, which amounted in the aggregate to something over $90,000,
+had been forwarded to the Bank of France.
+
+The Wedge of Gold Mining Company was reorganized. Browning was made
+president; Sedgwick, treasurer; McGregor, secretary; and all three, with
+Jordan, directors. A regular dividend of two shillings per share, and a
+special dividend of as much more was declared, aggregating in all
+L30,000. This was given to the _Times_ for publication, and attached
+to it was the following note:
+
+"The reporter of the _Times_ was able to obtain the following particulars
+of this wonderful property from the secretary:
+
+"'A forty-stamp mill has been in operation on the property since June
+last. The mill yielded in June, above expenses, L17,000 and 15 shillings;
+in July, L18,000 and 5 shillings. The ore already developed above the
+tunnel level is sufficient to insure the running of the present works to
+their full capacity for five years to come. The ore on the tunnel level
+is equal to any in the mine, and the ore chute has been demonstrated by
+exploration on the tunnel level to be at least 630 feet in length, with
+an average width of 16 feet. The tunnel cuts the mine at a depth of 500
+feet. The office of the company in London is No. ----, ---- Street. The
+officers are John Browning, president; James Sedgwick, treasurer; Hugh
+McGregor, secretary; and these, with Thomas Jordan, make up the directory
+of the company.'"
+
+When, next morning, Jenvie, Hamlin and Stetson read the above in the
+_Times_, they were filled with consternation.
+
+"I feared that man Sedgwick from the first," said Jenvie. "Our first
+account of him, that 'he must be a prize-fighter,' was true. He has
+knocked us out, and he has made no more noise about it than does a
+bull-dog when he takes a pig by the ear."
+
+"What are we to do?" asked Hamlin.
+
+"We must take in enough stock to cover our shortage at once," said
+Jenvie, "even if we have to pay L1 per share for it."
+
+So a messenger was sent to the office of the broker through which the
+stock had been shorted, to buy at any price up to L1.
+
+He returned with the information that the stock could be had, but the
+price was L6 per share.
+
+Then the three men realized for the first time the trap which had been
+set for them, and how fatal had been its spring. The messenger was at
+once sent out again, this time to the office of the company. He found the
+secretary, who referred him to the ---- Bank, from which the dividends
+were to be paid. There he found stock for sale, but the price demanded
+was L6 per share.
+
+He returned home and made his report. The three men gazed at each other
+with blank looks of despair.
+
+"Thirty thousand shares at L6 will take all we have," said Hamlin.
+
+"And I shorted 10,000 shares besides," said Jenvie.
+
+"So did I," said Hamlin.
+
+"So did I," said Stetson.
+
+"It seems clear enough that we are absolutely ruined," said Hamlin.
+
+"I wonder what has become of that Portuguese, Emanuel," said Hamlin.
+
+At that moment he entered the office. He looked like the picture of
+despair. He broke out with: "It is awful! I have just heard ze truth. It
+was that American who did it. When you thought last year that he had gone
+to America, he, with another American, had gone to Africa.
+
+"They found ze mine. They found a way out from it by going in the
+opposite direction from which they came. Sedgwick went by Australia
+to San Francisco, and ordered a forty-stamp mill. The other American
+remained, and opened the mine by a tunnel. Sedgwick came back this way,
+and, left here to meet the mill at Port Natal.
+
+"It has been running three months. Two months' proceeds are here, and pay
+dividends of four shillings, and it is good for two shillings per month
+for years; with machinery doubled, good for four shillings per month for
+years to come. The stock has gone to L6; it will go to L10 so soon as it
+is well understood. And I lost it all, because I had not the sense to
+find that way out from ze mine. The road by the trail would have cost
+L75,000 or L100,000, and I believed only impassable mountains were to ze
+west."
+
+"How did you find all this out?" asked Jenvie.
+
+"From ze Secretary, McGregor. He was master of ze ship that carried the
+machinery from San Francisco, and he brought ze Americans from Port
+Natal. One was very sick with the fever, and came near dying. He had,
+besides, one wound which he received with ze Boers coming out to the
+coast from the mine. They are two devils. Ten or a dozen Boers attacked
+them to get the first month's bullion, and they two killed five of them,
+and drove ze rest away."
+
+"I wish the Boers had killed them both," said Jenvie.
+
+"They are hard men to kill," said Emanuel. "McGregor says, when ashore
+one day at D'Umber, there was a chicken-shooting match. The chickens were
+buried in the ground all but their heads, and the people were shooting at
+ten paces when these men passed. They asked about it, and asked if they
+might shoot with their own pistols; and when permission was given, they
+drew their weapons and killed six chickens each in a minute, and were
+laughing all the time as though it were nothing. They are devils, shure
+enough."
+
+"Do you think Browning knew all about this from the first?" asked Hamlin.
+
+"Not at all," said Emanuel. "No one in London knew where the Americans
+had gone, except his wife. Browning thought he had gone back to America.
+His wife knew. She got a dispatch from Australia, and letters from Port
+Natal ze same day, saying he was going to San Francisco to order
+machinery, and would return this way and be with her in four months,
+and then she left at once and beat him a week into San Francisco.
+
+"And I am ruined. My little stock is all gone. A mine worth L2,000,000 I
+sold for L2,000." And he went out.
+
+"What can we do?" asked Jenvie. "I expect a notice every moment to call
+at the broker's and settle."
+
+"Can we not assign our property?" asked Hamlin.
+
+"We could," said Jenvie, "but to-morrow we should all be looking through
+the bars of a prison."
+
+"And even Grace was in the conspiracy to rob us," said Hamlin, in an
+injured tone.
+
+"She is a brave, true woman, I think," said Jenvie, "and as it looks to
+me, she is the only one to whom we can now appeal."
+
+"May be so," said Hamlin. "Her husband worships her, I am told."
+
+"Suppose we go to your house and persuade your wife to go and bring her
+home where we can see her," said Jenvie.
+
+This was agreed to, and with heavy hearts the three men entered a
+carriage and were driven to the Hamlin house.
+
+As they went up the steps, Grace Sedgwick herself opened the door. She
+had been to see her mother, and was just going out.
+
+"Come back, Grace," said her step-father; "we wish to see you
+particularly."
+
+She returned with them, and her step-father told her how they were
+involved--in what danger they were, not only of absolute ruin, but of
+a criminal prosecution, and begged her to see her husband and intercede
+with him.
+
+"My husband needs no entreaties to do what is right," said Grace.
+"Suppose the case were reversed, what would you grant my husband?"
+
+They all hung their heads. Grace looked at them and continued: "You
+robbed dear, confiding Jack of his fortune, which he had honestly
+acquired. You robbed him for the double purpose of making him a beggar,
+and of breaking his heart, though one of you was his step-father, another
+the step-father of the woman he loved better than his own life. It was
+that which set Jack's nearest friend to be your Nemesis. Our troth had
+just been plighted. It was like death to part us, but he who is my
+husband said to me: 'There must be no scandal, if we can help it, but
+this wrong must be righted. I must go to Africa, and if I can work out
+the dear boy's deliverance, it must be done.' And I consented to it. He
+moved secretly, but with the force and energy of his nature. He and the
+friend who went with him have performed a great work. They have taken
+what was unloaded upon Jack as worthless, and converted it into something
+richer than a little kingdom. It seems, too, that in the blindness of
+your avarice, you dared fate itself to make more money out of that wreck,
+and now you are in the toils. Suppose my husband had done by you as you
+have dealt with Jack, and you had him where you now are, what mercy would
+you show him?"
+
+They were silent. They had not even self-respect to sustain them.
+
+Grace waited a moment, and then went on: "But he is of different
+material. There is no malice in his nature. He cares nothing for the
+triumph which comes through revenge.
+
+"He knew when you dared to sell that stock short, told me of it, and
+asked what would be right. I replied that I thought if you would restore
+to Jack what he had been robbed of, with interest on the money to date,
+it would be fair; and his answer was that to compel you to do that very
+thing was what caused him to leave me and go to Africa.
+
+"In that you can get an idea of him. He had money enough for himself and
+Jack both; he had no desire for revenge, but he was determined that you
+should be made to do justice to his friend, whom you had so greatly
+wronged, and that, if possible, it should be done without any noise."
+
+"Do you think he would settle that way?" asked Jenvie.
+
+"He has no settlement to make," said Grace; "but I think he would
+recommend Jack to settle that way."
+
+"And where could we meet Jack?" asked Jenvie.
+
+"I do not know," said Grace, "nor is it necessary. I think the broker
+with whom you dealt in the stocks has authority to settle. That was a
+little trap set for you. There is not a share of the stock that is not in
+the company's office at this moment."
+
+"I did not mean to rob Jack," said Hamlin. "I wanted to break his
+engagement with Rose, hoping he would turn to you."
+
+"We all understood that from the first," said Grace, "but we had made
+entirely different arrangements--arrangements worth two of that--which
+suited us all around." And bowing, the young wife left the room.
+
+The three men found, upon visiting the broker, that he had received
+orders to settle with them on the terms outlined by Grace, and they
+complied by turning over what money they had and some outside property.
+
+It left them with fair fortunes. But the story got out through Emanuel;
+their prestige was broken, and they closed up their business within a few
+days, and disappeared from the business walks of London. Two months later
+Jenvie died in a moment of apoplexy; the succeeding autumn Hamlin
+succumbed to typhoid fever, and Stetson sailed away to lose himself
+in the depths of Australia.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+GRAND OPERA.
+
+
+Jordan improved rapidly, and soon began to take long drives to different
+points of interest. After a month it was one evening proposed that they
+should all attend the theater. It was agreed to, and it was left to
+Jordan to decide where to go. Queerly enough, he selected a theater where
+the opera of "Tannhauser" was to be performed.
+
+"Did you ever attend a grand opera performance, Tom?" asked Sedgwick.
+
+"No," was the response. "Thet's ther reason I wanter go."
+
+He seemed greatly absorbed throughout the performance. The opera was
+put on with every splendor possible, and the strange man sat almost
+motionless through the mighty rendition, and was unusually silent all
+the way home.
+
+Arriving there, Grace said: "Mr. Jordan, give us your idea of the opera."
+
+"I reckon yo' might laugh at me ef I should," said Jordan.
+
+"No, we will not," said Grace; "for when it comes to that, we are none
+of us quite up to the comprehension of the mystery of a grand opera--at
+least, none but Margaret."
+
+"Well," said Jordan, "mystery are a good word ter use thar. If yo' jest
+occerpy yo'r eyes and ears, yo' hear mostly only a ocean roar uv singin',
+a brayin' uv trumpets, a clashin' uv cymbals, a beatin' uv drums, with
+ther soft strains uv viols, harps 'nd flutes, and not much music. Ef yo'
+set yo'r mind workin' ter foller ther myths outer which ther story of the
+opera war made, then ther tones become voices, 'nd ther music only tells
+er story. But ef yo' give yo'r soul a chance, then it's different. Ther
+music assumes forms of its own; it materializes, as Jim would say, and
+each man as listens understands in his own way its language. It brings
+ter ther human ear the tones uv ther ocean when it sobs agin ther sands;
+it steals ther echo of the melodies thet the winds wakes when they
+touches ther arms uv ther great pines on ther mountain tops and makes 'em
+ther harps; it steals ther babble from the brooks; it calls back all ther
+voices of the woods when within 'em ther matin' birds is all singin' in
+chorus; it borrers ther thunder from ther storm; it sarches ther whole
+world for melodies, 'nd blends 'em all for our use.
+
+"Still, they all ter-night war, ter me, only compniments. Underneath all
+wur a symphony which wur thet of a higher soul singin' ter my soul--may
+be 'twere my mother's singin' ter my soul uv glories thet we hasn't yet
+reached. It war a call fur men ter look higher ter whar thar is melodies
+too solemn 'nd sweet fur ther dull ears uv poor mortality ter hear, ter
+whar ez picters too fair fur our darkened eyes ter see, but which all
+august is a-waitin' fur us.
+
+"When I war sick, I thot one night I hearn Margery prayin' fur me; some
+uv thet music ter-night seemed like a rehearsal uv thet prayer."
+
+"Why, Mr. Jordan, that is better than the opera itself," said Grace; and
+Margaret bent and kissed the brave man's hand, while he blushed like a
+girl, and said, "Sho'."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI.
+
+MARRIAGE BELLS.
+
+
+A month more rolled by, and Jordan became himself again. Grace and Rose
+worked together to make such a wedding for him and Margaret as should be
+a joy in their memories as long as life should last.
+
+The day before the wedding, so soon as breakfast was over, Sedgwick went
+out, telling Grace to tell Jack that he wanted to meet him and Tom at the
+"Wedge of Gold" office at 1 p.m.
+
+Grace went to deliver the message, but learned from Rose that her husband
+had gone an hour before, leaving word for Sedgwick and Jordan to meet
+him at the same place at 12:30 p.m.
+
+They all met there at about the appointed time.
+
+A meeting of the directors of the "Wedge of Gold" Company was called to
+order, and a motion made and carried that another dividend of two
+shillings per share should be declared.
+
+Then Sedgwick arose and said he had an important matter to lay before the
+company. He had received an offer of L7 per share for the property, and
+the proposition had been guaranteed by the Baring Brothers, and asked
+Browning what he thought it best to do.
+
+Browning thought it best to sell.
+
+"Then," said Sedgwick, "there will be no more work for us except to
+resign as officers of the company, our resignations to take place with
+the transfer of the property."
+
+"There is yet another matter," said Browning. "How is the division of the
+proceeds to be made?"
+
+"That all rests with you, Jack," said Sedgwick; "only I think you should
+pay me back what I advanced to put the property on its feet, and you
+should keep in mind that this was made a success by our friend Jordan."
+
+"Not to any great extent," said Jordan. "I war merely a hired man working
+for my board and clothes, and you forget thet because uv it I made a
+fortune sich ez no gold could buy. Treat me, please, ez tho' I war
+already wealthy, _exceedingly_ wealthy!"
+
+"It is all due to you two," said Jack. "When the old men made good their
+robbery, I was even. All the rest is yours."
+
+And they wrangled over the matter for a full hour.
+
+Then McGregor spoke. "Let me help you out, my friends. You are offered
+L1,050,000. It is enough for you all. Divide it into three parts, and
+settle that way."
+
+Then came another wrangle, but it was settled on that basis, except that
+each agreed that Captain McGregor should receive fair compensation for
+bringing Jordan home, and they estimated that to be worth L100,000. That,
+Jordan insisted should be paid out of his share, and it took an hour to
+talk him out of it.
+
+Then it required another half hour for the three to bulldoze McGregor
+into accepting it. The convincing argument was made by Jordan, who said:
+"Supposin' you hedn't a-come, whar would I a-bin now?"
+
+McGregor went out, and then Browning said:
+
+"I have a little matter to speak of. I sold my Venezuela mine yesterday
+for L100,000," and so saying he took a memorandum from his pocket, opened
+it, and tossed to Sedgwick and Jordan each a certificate for one-third of
+the amount, saying: "I feared the way you were behaving you would spend
+all your money, so I went to work to make you a little stake, as the boys
+in Nevada say."
+
+Another wrangle then ensued, both Sedgwick and Jordan declaring that they
+had had nothing in the world to do with making the money; but Jack was
+obstinate and carried his point.
+
+McGregor returned, and all went to Sedgwick's to dinner. About the time
+the coffee was brought, a messenger rang at the door and left a package
+for Mr. Jordan. It was brought in, and then Jordan said:
+
+"Friends, in Africa I found a prospector ez war broke. I give him a
+little outfit ter go down on the Vaal. He came back after a while and
+divied with me, 'nd I want ter divy with yo'."
+
+So saying, he opened the package. Exclamations of surprise arose on all
+sides. Before their eyes was a great heap of diamonds. "I war thinkin',"
+said Jordan, "thet inasmuch ez thar war seven uv us, ther right thing ter
+do would be ter make seven heaps of ther stones," and the only change
+they could make in his plans was that the division should be made by one
+who knew their value. He had secretly had them cut since coming to
+London. They were really worth L10,000.
+
+Next day the wedding of Jordan and Mrs. Hazleton was celebrated with all
+the pomp which Grace and Rose could give it. It was followed by a great
+feast, and numberless rare presents. Jordan never showed off so well. The
+marriage exalted and transformed him.
+
+After the wedding, Mr. and Mrs. Jordan left for
+a month's visit to Scotland.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII.
+
+FRUITION.
+
+
+The syndicate that bought the "Wedge of Gold" put some of the stock on
+the market. A few days later another shipment of bullion was received,
+another dividend was declared, and the stock advanced to L10 per share.
+The happy owners gave an entertainment in honor of the mine, and called
+it "The Wedge of Gold Reception." Sedgwick and Browning with their wives
+and Captain McGregor attended.
+
+As they returned, the dawn was breaking in the East, and mighty London
+with its five millions of people began to awaken. There were confused
+murmurs, which swelled in volume every moment; these were interspersed
+with distinct clamors, as one industry after another took up anew its
+daily work. Then there was the whistle of trains; the deeper calls and
+answers of boats on the river; the louder and louder hum of the awaking
+millions, until with the coming of the full dawn the roar of the swelling
+hosts became a full diapason.
+
+"What a monster this great handiwork of man is, Sedgwick," said McGregor;
+"I wonder if there is anything else like it in this whole world."
+
+"I guess not," was Sedgwick's reply; "but, strangely enough, it reminds
+me of something not at all like it, but which impressed me quite as much
+as does this. As you say, this is man's handiwork. I saw another dawn
+once which had little in it save God's handiwork.
+
+"While mining in Virginia City, I determined one summer day to give up
+work for a week and to make a visit to the high Sierras. One day's ride
+takes you from the Comstock into the very fastnesses of the mountains.
+There were five of us in the party. We went to Lake Tahoe, crossed the
+lake, and kept on to a spring and stream of water beyond, a few miles.
+We had a camping outfit, and determined to sleep in no house while
+absent. We spread our beds in a little grassy glen; to the east there was
+no forest, but on the north and south the trees were immense, and to the
+west, a mile or two away, the mountains rose abruptly to a height which
+held the snows in their arms all the summer long.
+
+"The good-night hoot of an owl or some other sound awakened me just as
+the first streaks of the dawn began to flush the face of the east.
+
+"I sat up, and while my friends were sleeping around me, I watched
+the transformation scene of that dawn. There were not many birds to
+awake--our altitude was too high for them--and so the panorama moved
+on almost in silence. But it was the more impressive because of its
+stillness. The east grew warmer and warmer, and the solemn night began
+to spread her black wings, under which she had brooded the world, in
+preparation for flight. The shadows began to retreat from where they had
+shrouded the nearest trees. The air grew softer; from it a noiseless
+breeze just touched the great arms of the pines as though to waken them
+and gave to them an almost imperceptible motion. The stars and planets
+began to faint in the heavens. As the waves of light increased in the
+east, the snow on the high mountains to the west took on the hue of the
+opal, and when the last shadow fled away and the sun flashed gloriously
+above the eastern horizon, and another day was born, I knew just how
+the ancient Fire Worshipers felt when they bowed their heads in reverence
+before the splendors of the rising sun."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It was a good while ago that the events out of which this story was woven
+transpired.
+
+Now, at different seasons of the year, these families, with two
+gray-haired old ladies and a gray-haired old man with a sailor's rolling
+walk, may be seen, sometimes in London, sometimes on a fair estate in
+Devonshire, sometimes in a stately home in the Miami Valley, and again
+down on the Brazos in Texas.
+
+Around and among them are playing broods of little Jacks, Jims, Toms,
+Roses, Graces, and Margarets, and older children are away at school. All
+the children call the old ladies "Grandma" and the gray man with the
+sailor's walk "Grand-uncle," and all who see them declare that no other
+such a happy company can be found in all the world.
+
+The place on the Brazos is superintended by a shrewd Irishman, while the
+village physician, formerly a ship surgeon, is named Craig, and his
+wife's name is Nora; and the people there say there is not in all Texas
+another woman who is more of a lady or has a complexion so clear, a face
+so fair, or such a wealth of hair, which in color is between flaxen and
+gold.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Wedge of Gold, by C. C. Goodwin
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WEDGE OF GOLD ***
+
+***** This file should be named 16861.txt or 16861.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        https://www.gutenberg.org/1/6/8/6/16861/
+
+Produced by Justin Gillbank, Mary Meehan and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+https://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+https://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at https://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit https://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including including checks, online payments and credit card
+donations.  To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     https://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
+
+*** END: FULL LICENSE ***
+
diff --git a/16861.zip b/16861.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..193f417
--- /dev/null
+++ b/16861.zip
diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6312041
--- /dev/null
+++ b/LICENSE.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
+Procedures for determining public domain status are described in
+the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org.
+
+No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in
+jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize
+this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright
+status under the laws that apply to them.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a779588
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #16861 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/16861)