‘An’ you are the mother of a thief, I am a thief’s brother; Frank is a convict, an’ we must grin an’ gammon we like it.’

’We must be discreet, we must be cunning, if we wish to prove we are no thieves and no kin to thieves.’

‘Right you are, mother—­always right.’  The young man spread his rough, brown hand caressingly upon the small hand upon his knee.  ’My fist always moves before my head, but I know your way is best, an’ I don’t mean to forget it.’

‘Ephraim Shine seemed to be tryin’ to do his best for Frank at the trial,’ said Mrs. Haddon.  ‘I think he’s a well-meanin’ man, if he is a bit near an’ peculiar in his ways.  He always says it was his duty he did, an’ that’s true.  We know Frank’s not guilty, because—­because we’re fond of him’—­here the little widow wiped her eyes, and her voice trembled—­’ an’ know him better than others, but the case was black against him.  Frank came straight up from below and into the searcher’s shed, an’ Shine found the gold in his crib bag, which was rolled up, an’ forced under the handle of his billy.’

’Where it’d been for half the shift, the billy hanging in a dark drive where any man below might ’a ‘got at it.’

’They found gold in a little box-place made in the heel of one of his workin’ boots.’

’A boot that was always left in the boiler-house when he was off work.

‘He had sold coarse water-worn gold to a Jew at Yarraman.’

’Yes, I know, I know.  Got, he said, fossicking down the creek where nobody had ever won anything but fine gold before.  Whoever put that gold in his crib bag an’ faked his boot-heel salted Frank’s puddling-tub.  It was easy done.  He on’y worked there now’n again when on night or afternoon shift, an’ it was open to anyone.  It was salted with Silver Stream gold by some double-damned cunning scoundrel.’

’We know it, Harry, and we have to prove it.  To do that we must have all our wits about us.’

’Yes, mother, we must; but if that man ever is found I hope I may have the handling of him.  Dick!’ said the young man, turning suddenly.

Dick came forward somewhat diffidently, like a detected criminal.

‘You know all about this business, eh?’

The boy nodded his head solemnly.

‘Who do you think worked that dirty trick on my brother?’ asked Harry gravely.

Dick had not thought of the matter in that light, but he answered, without hesitation: 

‘Ole Tinribs, I expect.’

‘Dickie!’ cried Mrs. Haddon, reprovingly.

‘Why, why, Dick?’ queried the young man.

Oh, I dunno; on’y he seems that sort, don’t he?’ Dick had been subjected to a grave indignity at the hands of the superintendent, and was not in a frame of mind to form a just estimate of the character of that good man.  He spoke with the cheerful irresponsibility of youth.

’I’m afraid you won’t be much good to us, Copper-top, old man, if you rush at conclusions in that desperate way,’ said Harry.