The dumb man rose slowly to his feet, and pointed to the cliffs frowning above them.  The other answered his thought with a careless shrug of the shoulders.

‘We must climb,’ he said lightly, ’and let us hope the top will prove less inhospitable than this place.  Where we are I don’t know, except that this is Australia; there is gold here, my friend, and we must get our share of it.  We will match our Gallic wit against these English fools, and see who comes off best.  You have strength, I have brains; so we will do great things; but’—­laying his hand impressively on the other’s breast—­’no quarter, no yielding, you see!’

The dumb man nodded violently, and rubbed his ungainly hands together in delight.

‘You don’t know Balzac, my friend,’ went on the young man in a conversational tone, ’or I would tell you that, like Rastignac, war is declared between ourselves and society; but if you have not the knowledge you have the will, and that is enough for me.  Come, let us make the first step towards our wealth;’ and without casting a glance behind him, he turned and walked towards the nearest headland, followed by the dumb man with bent head and slouching gait.

The rain and wind had been at work on this promontory, and their combined action had broken off great masses of rock, which lay in rugged confusion at the base.  This offered painful but secure foothold, and the two adventurers, with much labour—­for they were weak with the privations endured on the voyage from New Caledonia—­ managed to climb half way up the cliff, when they stopped to take breath and look around them.  They were now in a perilous position, for, hanging as they were on a narrow ledge of rock midway between earth and sky, the least slip would have cost them their lives.  The great mass of rock which frowned above them was nearly perpendicular, yet offered here and there certain facilities for climbing, though to do so looked like certain death.  The men, however, were quite reckless, and knew if they could get to the top they would be safe, so they determined to attempt the rest of the ascent.

‘As we have not the wings of eagles, friend Pierre,’ said the younger man, glancing around, ’we must climb where we can find foothold.  God will protect us; if not,’ with a sneer, ’the Devil always looks after his own.’

He crept along the narrow ledge and scrambled with great difficulty into a niche above, holding on by the weeds and sparse grass which grew out of the crannies of the barren crag.  Followed by his companion, he went steadily up, clinging to projecting rocks—­long trails of tough grass and anything else he could hold on to.  Every now and then some seabird would dash out into their faces with wild cries, and nearly cause them to lose their foothold in the sudden start.  Then the herbage began to get more luxurious, and the cliff to slope in an easy incline, which made the latter part of their ascent much easier.  At last,