Consequently the Frenchman was careful not to digress or to take too much upon himself, but did his work promptly and carefully, and soon became quite indispensable to the work of the mine.  In addition to this he had made himself very popular with the men, and as the months rolled on was looked upon quite as a fixture in the Pactolus claim.

As for Pierre Lemaire, he did his work well, ate and slept, and kept his eye on his companion in case he should leave him in the lurch; but no one would have guessed that the two men, so different in appearance, were bound together by a guilty secret, or were, morally speaking, both on the same level as convicts from a French prison.

A whole month had elapsed since Madame had engaged M. Vandeloup and his friend, but as yet the Devil’s Lead had not been found.  Madame, however, was strong in her belief that it would soon be discovered, for her luck—­the luck of Madame Midas—­was getting quite a proverb in Ballarat.

One bright morning Vandeloup was in the office running up endless columns of figures, and Madame, dressed in her underground garments, was making ready to go below, just having stepped in to see Gaston.

‘By the way, M. Vandeloup,’ she said in English, for it was only in the evenings they spoke French, ’I am expecting a young lady this morning, so you can tell her I have gone down the mine, but will be back in an hour if she will wait for me.’

‘Certainly, Madame,’ said Vandeloup, looking up with his bright smile; ‘and the young lady’s name?’

‘Kitty Marchurst,’ replied Madame, pausing a moment at the door of the office; ’she is the daughter of the Rev. Mark Marchurst, a minister at Ballarat.  I think you will like her, M. Vandeloup,’ she went on, in a conversational tone; ’she is a charming girl—­only seventeen, and extremely pretty.’

‘Then I am sure to like her,’ returned Gaston, gaily; ’I never could resist the charm of a pretty woman.’

‘Mind,’ said Madame, severely, holding up her finger, ’you must not turn my favourite’s head with any of your idle compliments; she has been very strictly brought up, and the language of gallantry is Greek to her.’

Vandeloup tried to look penitent, and failed utterly.

‘Madame,’ he said, rising from his seat, and gravely bowing, ’I will speak of nothing to Mademoiselle Kitty but of the weather and the crops till you return.’

Madame laughed pleasantly.

‘You are incorrigible, M. Vandeloup,’ she said, as she turned to go.  ‘However, don’t forget what I said, for I trust you.’

When Mrs Villiers had gone, closing the office door after her, Gaston was silent for a few minutes, and then burst out laughing.

‘She trusts me,’ he said, in a mocking tone.  ’In heaven’s name, why?  I never did pretend to be a saint, and I’m certainly not going to be one because I’m put on my word of honour.  Madame,’ with an ironical bow in the direction of the closed door, ’since you trust me I will not speak of love to this bread-and-butter miss, unless she proves more than ordinarily pretty, in which case,’ shrugging his shoulders, ’I’m afraid I must betray your trust, and follow my own judgment.’