“That’s true,” replied the man, making a dive to get the bottle in his possession, but I prevented this, by applying it to my own lips.

“In the next place,” I continued, pausing to take breath, “fire, but not fire-arms is furnished to refractory spirits; and if I am any judge of worldly matters, it was a piece of lead that whizzed past my head half an hour ago.”

“Then you don’t believe that the sound which we considered the report of a gun was produced by evil spirits, who are set here to guard the treasure of Gulpin?”

“It is more likely a bushranger was secreted in the bushes, or behind the trees, and that when he aimed, he intended to make short work of one of us, in hope of frightening the remainder.”

“Then give me another drink, and if the scamp wants a muss he can have one, for I’m not going to remain here, broiling under the hot sun, all day.”

The old man snatched the flask from my hand, and before I could stop him, had nearly drained it of its contents.  I discovered, for the first time, that day, that the stockman was no longer under self-control when he had tasted liquor, and from that period until our acquaintance ceased I never again offered it to him.

I sought to restrain him, but in vain; with a fanatical yell he plunged into the clearing, and waving his long gun over his head, he dared spirit, ghost, or bushranger to meet him on even ground.

There was no response to his challenge, and considering that it was cowardly to let him remain there alone, the rest of us quickly gathered around, and requested him to lie down for a short time.

He repelled us with scorn, at the imputation that he was drunk; and finding that it was impossible to reason with him, we left him digging away as though for life, and throwing the dirt in the form of a parapet.

We separated and scoured the woods within a radius of half a mile, but not a sign of a bushranger could we detect, and somewhat reassured by our search, we returned to the stockman, who was working most industriously, and leaving Smith to remain concealed, and give us warning of the approach of danger, we joined labor with the old man, although not in the same place in which he was at work.

I had reasoned on the subject, and came to the conclusion that if Gulpin had buried his money, he would like to destroy all evidence of its concealment.  He and his gang were on friendly terms with Darnley, and the former had piled up the dead bodies, with the evident intention of consuming them with fire, as we had afterwards done, on our second visit.

Now, it struck me as being likely that the spot where the gold was buried would be chosen by a man who was inclined to be superstitious, for the finale of the grand tragedy, and perhaps impressed with the thought that the dead men would guard his treasure securely.

With this conviction, Fred and myself broke ground amidst a heap of ashes, without a thought or care of the invisible guard, and in a few minutes we had excavated a moderate sized hole, and would have continued working, had not Smith interrupted us by pointing to the sun, and advising a respite, owing to the danger of a sun-stroke.