“Ain’t that what I told you?” grunted Ben, appealing to Charley.

“You just wait a while, will ye, old feller,” remonstrated Charley.  “Things is working.  I tell ye.”

“We shall be happy to listen to you—­go on,” was all the response Fred returned.

“I s’pose you have all read ’bout the tea tax, a good many years ago, when our revolushinary daddies pitched the darned stuff overboard in Bosting harbor?”

Fred nodded in token of acquiescence.

“Wall, things here is something like the things in them ’ere times, only a darned sight wus.  Now, the miners are taxed a putty considerable sum jist for the chance of digging about on this earth, when by nat’ral rights the fellers hadn’t, orter pay a cent.

“Sometimes the miner is lucky, and then agin he isn’t; but whether he gets a pile or not, he’s got to shell over every month, and if he don’t come down he gets no license, and can’t arn an honest livin’.  Now what do you think of such a state of things, hey?”

“Perhaps that the government don’t know that you feel that the tax is a burden,” Fred answered, evasively.

“O, yes, they do, ’cos we’ve petitioned a dozen times to have ’em abolish it, but no notice has been taken of our papers.  They can’t say that the thing was not correct, ’cos I writ one of ’em and headed it with my name, to let ’em know that we Americans still possessed the spirit of our granddaddies.”

“Then you had better petition again,” remarked Fred, determined to take no part in his schemes at present.

“No, we are tired of that ’ere game, ’cos two can’t play at it.  What we have got to do is, to say to the Britishers, here, we won’t give you another shillin’ to save your old crown, and then we shall bring ’em round.”

“But what say the Englishmen at Ballarat?  Do they refuse or grumble at paying a tax?”

“Of course they do!  There isn’t an Englisher or a foreigner but Jo ready to say we won’t stand the imposition no longer—­things is coming to a head, and no mistake.”

“And what do you wish us to do?” inquired Fred.

“We want you to jine us, and help stir the boys up so that they’ll listen to reason, and stand out like men,” replied Charley, and Big Ben grunted his applause at the sentiment.

“But that we are not willing to do at present.  We are strangers here, and have paid no tax, nor have we been asked to.  We shall not go into the matter blindfolded; therefore, for the present, we must keep aloof from your gatherings and petitions”

Charley sat and listened without interruption.

“Do you know what Australia is?” he asked, in a whisper, dropping his voice as though fearful of being overheard.

Fred replied that he considered it the largest island in the world, and that, if the truth was known, it would not be so well populated as at present.

“That’s it,” replied Charley, “the largest island in the world.  Bigger than all the New England States, and much more valible.  Do you understand me?” and the fellow winked violently.