'Are you telling us that the moon can affect a tree ? ' asked Tommy suspiciously.
'I am—in this part of the world anyway. Indians won't cut palms for house building when the moon is full, for the same reason. There's one tree that becomes so hard when the moon is full that you can't cut it. It'll turn the edge of an axe. But let's carry on.'
They continued the march to the top, the trees becoming smaller as they ascended, eventually to find themselves gazing across an open plain of stiff wiry grass, broken here and there by a group of pines. For some little distance the ground was reasonably level except for outcrops of rock that ran like waves across it ; but then it began to rise sharply towards some distant hills, the summits of which cut a hard jagged edge against the turquoise heavens.
The relief at once more being able to see the sky and breathe clean fresh air, after the Turkish-. bath atmosphere of the forest floor, to Tommy made the climb worth while.
'Let's find the river,' said Digger, for they had emerged some little distance from it. With the noise of the falls guiding them they soon found it, flowing swiftly through a shallow gorge. Harwin didn't launch his canoe here ; if he had, he'd have gone over the falls,' asserted Digger. It looks smooth enough, but there's a head of water here. Let's keep going.'
Following the river they walked forward for about two hundred yards, when they found themselves above the gorge, with the river, broader now, rippling over a shallow bottom.
It was, moreover, clear, another pleasant picture after the swollen brown liquid of the lower levels. They all waded into it and splashed themselves, knowing that their clothes would soon dry.
Said Digger, as they sat on the bank, 'I think we've come far enough for today. We've seen what we came to see. The thing now is to get the canoe up here, otherwise it will mean turning ourselves into packhorses with food, tools and so on. We'll tackle that tomorrow.'
How about bringing the launch up to that lagoon we found,' suggested Tommy. There's nothing on the river to stop us. Tucked away under those vines no-one would be likely to see it, so no guard would be necessary and the party could keep together.'
I think that's the thing to do,' agreed Digger.
It '11 need all hands to get the canoe up here. I must say I like the look of this country.
We may be the first in the field except for Harwin, in which case anything is possible.
Let's get back.'
Aren't you going to look for gold today ? ' asked Tommy, in a disappointed voice.
We've plenty of time for that. Besides, we've no equipment with us.'
Digger smiled, and glanced at his watch. We can spare a few minutes to see what the luck's like. You never know. Remember the old prospectors'
slogan : "Where it is, there it is." '
So saying Digger got up and waded a little way into the stream to where some flat-topped boulders of water-worn rock broke the surface. The others followed and watched with interest as he sought, and presently found, a cavity filled with sand. Scooping out a handful he examined it closely. There was a slight sparkle.
Diamonds ! ' exclaimed Tommy.
Digger shook his head. No. Diamonds are no use anyway.'
Why on earth not ? '
They're the most strictly controlled objects in the world. If we're to find stones let them be emeralds. They're not controlled. You can sell them for any price you can get.'
What have you in your hand ? '
'Just just the sort of concentrates one would expect to find here, dropped in by the floods.
I can see grains of quartz, jasper, and garnet. They're good signs, but nothing more.'
Holding his hand in the water Digger allowed the contents to trickle out.
He took another handful, digging deeper. 'Nothing doing,' he said presently. If there's colour here it '11 be at the bottom,' he went on, scooping the pothole. TI same procedure was followed. When the sand had nearly all gone, with a finger and thumb he picked out an object rather smaller than a pea. A slow smile spread over his face as he handed it to Tommy. 'There's a present for you.'
What is it ? '
'The stuff you're crazy about. Gold. Gold never before touched by a human hand. You've got your first nugget. It's small, but they usually are.
It's on the pale side. Probably contains some silver or platinum. We'd better test it.'
Tommy was pale with excitement. 'Let's get some more. Where there are little 'uns there must be big 'uns.'
'Maybe. But you might spend the rest of your life digging without finding one.
Remember what I told you at home ? Now you've seen it in practice. This is the easiest way of winning gold, but it wouldn't interest a mining engineer. It's too slow, too haphazard. This piece of gold came from higher up—perhaps from those mountains we can see. It worked loose from the lode, as it's called, and was washed down. Gold, being heavy, sinks ; but sometimes a piece gets trapped in a pothole, like this one, and until it's sucked out by a subsequent flood, there it stays. That little nugget
of yours may have been in that hole for a thousand years, waiting for you to come along. As I say, it wouldn'
t interest the big people, beyond showing them that there is metal here.
They wouldn't wait for the weather to do the work for them. They'd blast the mountains and pulverise the rock. I'd say it was in this way Harwin got his gold. He didn't dig a mine or find one.
He worked his way up the river, getting it here and there. Maybe I can show you something else. Come up here.'
'There's more to this than I thought,' asserted Batty.
Digger laughed.
Without having the least idea of what he was going to do the others followed him to where the river made a sharp bend, the current having at one time struck against a vertical face of rock. This was now dry.
Dropping on his knees Digger began scooping away the sand. 'Under this,'
he explained, 'there will be either rock or clay. If it's clay some gold dust will have stuck to it. Here we are. It's clay.'
Digger clawed out two handfuls and put the stuff in his hat. This he carried to the stream and, holding it just below the water, crushed the mass with his fingers. From the hat flowed a stream of muddy water. This went on until only a little sediment was left in the hat. This he swished round once or twice, and then held the hat for the others to see the contents.
Across the mud was a yellow streak.
Gold dust.' Tommy could hardly get the words out.
'I'd say it came down there.' Digger pointed to a dry watercourse.
Anyway, we know there's gold here. With the proper tools we shall work faster, but even so, gathering it like this, one would be a long time making a fortune, unless one was lucky enough to strike a pocket.' He walked to the bank and then stopped suddenly. Stand still, everybody,' he ordered in a different tone of voice.
What is it ? ' asked Tommy.
Indians. Two. There they go. I don't think they've seen us, and it would be better if they didn't. It must have been somewhere about here that Harwin ran into trouble.'
Turning his eyes Tommy saw the Indians a quarter of a mile off, walking away from them. Each carried a spear and a bow.
Had they seen us they would either have come over to us or hidden themselves to watch us,' said Digger. 'White visitors up here can't be an everyday occurrence.'
They sat down and watched the natives until they disappeared from sight in a ravine.
Let's be getting back,' said Digger, serious now. This business may be fun, as you seem to think, but it can have its awkward moments.'
Saying little, keeping a watchful eye for Indians, they walked briskly to the cliff, and so down to the canoe, which they found as they had left it.
'If we hurry we should be able to get the launch up here before nightfall,' said Digger, as they started off down the river. If we could do that we should be more or less on the spot to make an early start in the morning. We'll try it anyway.'
What about th
ese Indians ? ' asked Batty a trifle anxiously. Are they really wild. I mean, would they be likely to attack us ? '
I shouldn't think so. Whites must have made contact with them before.
Their behaviour would probably depend on their mood, and what's gone on here in the past. Some may have old scores to wipe out. Most of these up-river tribes are unreliable, so even if they appeared friendly I wouldn't trust them too far. We have some trade-goods stuff for presents should we encounter any. One thing's certain—if they turned against us we shouldn't be able to stay on the plateau. But we shall see.'
They went on down to the launch, to find Pompey recovered from his bout of fever, with nothing to report. They told him of their intention, so without loss of time they cast off, and with the canoe in tow set off for the lagoon.
They arrived at sundown and, putting the Sprite behind the curtain of vines where it could not be seen from outside, just had time to make all snug for the night before darkness fell.
There's just one little job we'd better do,' said Digger, taking from his kit a small green bottle labelled poison.
What's that ? ' queried Tommy.
Nitric acid. Give me your nugget.'
The nugget was placed in a saucer. Digger poured a spot of the acid on it. There was no reaction. He handed it back to Tommy. Okay,' he said.
That's all we need to know. It's gold all right.'
CHAPTER 7
ON AND ON
TOMMY was awakened the next morning after a rather uncomfortable night, for the flies and mosquitoes had been legion, by the harsh screaming of parrots greeting the sunrise.
He was out of his hammock in a flash, for this, he felt, was going to be an exciting day.
Loading the canoe took some time, for in addition to the tent, tools and equipment, enough food for some days would be required ; yet with the portage in mind everything had to be kept to a minimum. Getting everything to the plateau was likely to be hot work anyway. By eight o'clock, however, they were on their way and, having only a short distance to go to the falls, they were soon involved in the heaviest work they had so far undertaken.
As a result of Digger's planning it proceeded in an orderly manner.
First, everything in the canoe was carried up. While the last loads were on their way Sunny cut short lengths of round timber over which it was intended the canoe should roll instead of having to be carried. They saw the poles used by Harwin but they were rotten. It was during this final operation, on the fringe of the cedar forest, that there occurred the only interruption.
It will of course have been realised that if the vertical height of the falls was in the order of two hundred feet, the path to the top, by traversing and zigzagging on a gentle gradient, was a fairly long one. It was, in fact, more than a quarter of a mile. They were resting at one of the hairpin bends, fortunately the one farthest from the falls, otherwise the matter would have been more serious in that they might not have heard the sound that gave them warning, when Sunny suddenly sprang to his feet, staring along a mossy glade in an attitude that could only mean danger.
Conversation ceased, and the others then heard what the sharp-eared Negro had heard. To Tommy it sounded as if someone was rattling a lot of bones.
The noise was continuous.
Digger was up in an instant. ' Peccaries ! ' he exclaimed. 'They're coming this way. Up the trees! Here's an easy one.'
A wild scramble followed, but in a few minutes they were all astride one or other of the branches of the tree Digger had indicated. They were only ten or twelve feet from the ground, but Digger said they were high enough. 'Luckily the little brutes can't climb trees,' he remarked grimly.
'Why do they make that noise ? ' asked Batty.
'Don't ask me, I'm not a pig,' retorted Digger. 'All I know is they have a habit of vibrating their lower jaws and the noise is made by their tusks knocking together. Here they come.
Keep quiet now.'
The advance guard of the peccaries now appeared in a broad line, nosing the moss as without haste they made their way through the forest. Behind followed the main body, and so many were there that the ground was alive with their small dark bodies. The appalling smell of which Digger had previously spoken preceded them, and even Pompey made a grimace of disgust.
What caused the stampede they never knew. Sunny said afterwards that it was the taint of human beings on the canoe ; and this might have been the right answer, for the pigs had nearly reached the canoe when they took fright. There were snorts and squeals, and the next instant the herd was in full flight down the slope, making a considerable noise as they crashed through the undergrowth lower down.
'Okay,' said Digger. 'It's all over. They won't come back. Good thing none of us was in the path of that little lot. Guns wouldn't have stopped
'em. Let's get on.'
The hard labour continued, for it was not enough to carry everything to the plateau. It had to be carried on again to a point of safety above the gorge that ended in the falls. However, by noon, always keeping an eye open for Indians, with everything complete they were at the spot reached the previous day. Here they stopped to wash and have a meal.
Tommy was all for staying there and exploring potholes, but Digger said that it would be better to push on, for it was reasonable to suppose that the higher they got the nearer they would be to the matrix from which the gold had come ; and the nearer they got to that the more gold they might expect to find. His advice was accepted and all went well for about an hour, the canoe making good progress, particularly over shallow sections of the river where they took turns to get out and tow. The river narrowed slowly, but the water was clear and ran for the most part over a gravel bottom, although boulders and outcrops of rock were frequent. On either side the banks rose steadily.
Disappointment awaited them. Pompey, who was on the tow rope with Sunny, stopped and, pointing ahead, shouted, ' Say ! Can you see what I see ?
We've come to a tunnel.'
This was true. A high mass of rock appeared at right angles to the river, and would have corn-pletely blocked its path had there not been, at the base, a dark arched tunnel from which it emerged.
'We'll carry on,' decided Digger. 'The tunnel may not be very long.'
Reaching it, Pompey and Sunny were forced to get into the canoe, which went on under the power of the paddles, with navigation becoming more and more difficult. For one thing it was dark. Again the river took several sharp bends and, sometimes narrowing, the current became faster. In places it became necessary to help the paddles by clawing along the rocky side of the subterranean passage with the aid of a torch. This showed that in times of flood the water filled the tunnel to the roof, for branches and weeds had been caught up at all levels overhead. However, after about twenty minutes of this, daylight appeared ahead, much to Tommy's relief, for while he was happy in the thought that this was real exploring it had been an uncanny experience, and the idea of being wrecked in the inky water was by no means a comfortable one.
Before them, as the canoe emerged, there appeared an even more remarkable formation.
On each side of the stream rose rock walls, nearly perpendicular, of considerable height, ledged and ridged to provide a roothold for all manner of plants, ferns, creepers and flowering shrubs, and so presented an astonishing and unique spectacle. Caves, in almost regular lines, could also be seen. So evenly spaced were the ledges that Tommy remarked it was possible to imagine they had been made by hand.
I don't think it needs much imagination,' returned Digger. 'It's my guess that at some time in the past a race of cave dwellers lived here. Similar places, not as beautiful as this, occur in the United States and in South America. This should be a paradise for an archaeologist.'
Why didn't Harwin tell you about it ? 'queried Batty.
Either because he didn't get as far as this, or because he died before he could go into details. I fancy he didn't go through the tunnel although he must have seen it.'
As there co
uld be no question of landing on the sheer rock face the journey was continued, and it was not until an hour later that the walls slowly broke down once more to open savannah. Behind them towered the massif through which they had passed. A gravel beach at a bend in the river offered possibilities as a camping ground, and as Digger considered they had done enough for one day camp was accordingly made after a reconnaissance from the top of a short incline that backed the beach.
Batty ran up, and returned to say there was no-one in sight.
While things were being made ship-shape for the night Tommy tried his hand at prospecting on his own account by exploring the potholes as he had seen Digger do it. He had one tremendous thrill, but it ended in an even greater disappointment. While he was standing in the river a flash on a landslide of rock on the far side caught his eye. His thoughts never being far from precious stones he went over to it. He stared. His hands, unaccountably, began to tremble. He hurried back to the others and, nearly incoherent with excitement, informed them that he had found a diamond as big as a coconut. It was sticking out of a rock.
Digger smiled with sympathetic toleration. 'I can guess what you've found,' he said without emotion. Where is it ? '
Tommy pointed. They all went over.
Digger took one look and said nonchalantly, As I thought, it's a quartz crystal. You can find those at home. Sorry, laddie, but it's worth precisely nothing—except as a curio.'
Tommy returned to his pothole hunting, putting his finds in a small leather purse which he had taken for the purpose. At sundown, satisfied with results, he returned to camp and displayed his collection.
Not bad,' said Digger, after examining several small nuggets, a few flakes and a little dust. But it's not good enough.'
Not good enough ! ' Tommy looked pained.
You've got nearly two ounces, worth, let us say, after being refined, fifteen pounds. That would be very good in some places that are easy to get at ; but if you work out what it has cost us to get here, and would cost to bring up stores to stay for any length of time, you'd only just about be paying expenses. But don't be discouraged. We shall do better than that when we really get going.'
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