“We are surrounded by enemies.”

“Seems so,” was the reply, in a very languid tone.

“Labor by day and danger by night.”

“Ay,” but in a most indifferent tone.

“And no Sabbath for us two.”

“No!”

“I’ll do my best for you, and when we have five hundred pounds more you shall go home to Susan.”

“Thank you.  He was a good friend to us that lies there under my coat; he used to lie over it, and then who dare touch it?”

“No! but don’t give way to that, George—­do eat a bit, it will do you good.”

“I will, Tom, I will.  Thank you kindly.  Ah! now I see why he came to me and kept licking my hand so the moment he got the hurt.  He had more sense than we had; he knew he and I were to part that hour.  And I tormented his last minutes sending him into the water and after stones, when the poor thing wanted to be bidding me good-by all the while.  Oh, dear! oh, dear!” and George pushed his scarce-tasted dinner from him, and left the tent hurriedly, his eyes thick with tears.

Thus ended this human day so happily begun; and thus the poor dog paid the price of fidelity this Sunday afternoon.

Siste viator iter—­and part with poor Carlo—­for whom there are now no more little passing troubles—­no more little simple joys.  His duty is performed, his race is run.  Peace be to him, and to all simple and devoted hearts.  Ah me! how rare they are among men!

“What are you doing, Tom, if you please?”

“Laying down a gut line to trip them up when they get into our tent.”

“When—­who?”

“Those that shot Carlo.”

“They won’t venture near me.

“Won’t they?  What was the dog shot for?  They will come—­and come to their death; to-night, I hope.  Let them come! you will hear me cry ‘Carlo’ in their ears as I put my revolver to their skulls and pull the trigger.”

George said nothing, but he clinched his teeth.  After a pause he muttered, “We should pray against such thoughts.”

Robinson was disappointed, no attack was made; in fact, even if such a thing was meditated, the captain’s friends watched his tent night and day, and made such a feat a foolhardy enterprise, full of danger from without and within.

In the course of the next week a good deal of rain fell and filled many of the claims, and caused much inaction and distress among the diggers, and Robinson guarded the tent, and wrote letters and studied Australian politics, with a view to being shortly a member of Congress in these parts.  George had his wish at last and cruised about looking for the home of the gold.  George recollected to have seen what he described as a river of quartz sixty feet broad, and running between two black rocks.  It ran in his head that gold in masses was there locked up, for, argued he, all the nuggets of any size I have seen were more than half quartz.  Robinson had given up debating the point.