“Well, I’ve got along,” he said, with one of his most cheerful smiles, “and a precious whack of itself I’ve got piled on the carts.  Here’s a little of every thing.  Cheap for cash, you know.”

“Then you made good trades in Melbourne?” we both demanded.

“I should rather think I had.  There’s three or four American clipper ships in port with cargoes that must be sold, and no demand.  I bought a lot of stuff at auction, and I never paid such a low figure before.”

“But how did you manage to get clear of your wife so soon after marriage?” Fred asked.

“Ah, I see that the lieutenant has been giving you the news,” replied Smith, with a genuine blush.  “Well, the fact of it is, she is too sensible a woman to regret the absence of one whom she knows is bettering himself, so that there were but few tears shed between us.”

The lieutenant, with a consideration that did him credit, rode in advance a few rods, out of hearing, as he rightly judged that we must desire to make a few inquiries of a private nature respecting our business relation.

“Did you get the gold that was in the custody of the old—­”

We were about to say “old convict,” when we recollected that he was Smith’s father-in-law.

“Of course I did,” our partner interrupted, apparently taking no notice of our mistake.  “He read the order over a dozen times, and then made me sign a paper, stating that the money was given up to me on such a day, at such a time, and then called his daughter to witness the delivery.  He wished you both all manner of prosperity, and said that he didn’t want you to think hard of him for not letting you mine on his claim, but hoped to be rich enough before many days to relinquish it entirely, and then you could come and be welcome.”

“Tell him we appreciate his kindness,” returned Fred, with a laugh at the shrewdness of the old fox.

“Yes, I will,” returned Smith, seriously.  “But let me finish with an account of how I spent a portion of the funds, and what I did with the remainder.  I have ten barrels of flour, or a ton as we term it, which I got cheap enough, and if we don’t realize a profit on it I shall be much mistaken—­then I have sugars, molasses, whiskey, wine, spices, boots and shoes, clothing, meal, preserved meats and vegetables, tobacco and cigars, pipes, pork, a cask of vinegar, a barrel of pickles, firkins of butter, and a dozen cheeses, and fifty other things that I don’t recollect, but which I have no doubt will meet with a ready sale after we have once got started.”

“And the price for all these things was low?” we asked, quite amazed at the variety that our partner had selected.

“So low that over two thirds of the money that we subscribed now awaits our order at the Melbourne bank.”  And to confirm his words, Smith pulled from his bosom a small pouch that contained a certificate of deposit.

Of course we congratulated our friend on the prospect that he had afforded us of making a large percentage on his purchases, and by the time that we had finished our interrogations we had reached Ballarat and drew up in front of our new store; and in spite of the warmth of the afternoon, we stripped off our coats, and went to work unloading the carts and arranging the goods to suit our ideas of convenience and display.