“‘honesty is the best policy,’ tom, you may depend on it,” said a youth to his companion, one afternoon, as they walked along the margin of one of those brawling rivulets which, born amid the snows of the rocky mountain peaks, run a wild and plunging course of many miles before finding comparative rest in the celebrated goldfields of oregon.

“i don’t agree with you, fred,” said tom, sternly; “and i don’t believe in the proverb you have quoted. the world’s maxims are not all gospel.”

“you are right, tom; many of them are false; nevertheless, some are founded on gospel truth.”

“it matters not,” returned tom, angrily. “i have made up my mind to get back from that big thief gashford what he has stolen from me, for it is certain that he cheated at play, though i could not prove it at the time. it is impossible to get it back by fair means, and i hold it quite allowable to steal from a thief, especially when that which you take is your own.”

fred westly shook his head, but did not reply. many a time had he reasoned with his friend, tom brixton, about the sin of gambling, and urged him to be content with the result of each day’s digging for gold, but his words had no effect. young brixton had resolved to make a fortune rapidly. he laboured each day with pick and shovel with the energy of a hero and the dogged perseverance of a navvy, and each night he went to lantry’s store to increase his gains by gambling. as a matter of course his “luck,” as he called it, varied. sometimes he returned to the tent which he shared with his friend westly, depressed, out of humour, and empty-handed. at other times he made his appearance flushed with success—occasionally, also, with drink,—and flung down a heavy bag of golden nuggets as the result of his evening’s play. ultimately, when under the influence of drink, he staked all that he had in the world, except his clothes and tools, to a man named gashford, who was noted for his size, strength of body, and utter disregard of god and man. as brixton said, gashford had cheated him at play, and this had rendered the ruined man unusually savage.

the sun was down when the two friends entered their tent and began to pull off their muddy boots, while a little man in a blue flannel shirt and a brown wide-awake busied himself in the preparation of supper.

“what have you got for us to-night, paddy?” asked westly.

“salt pork it is,” said the little man, looking up with a most expressive grin; “the best o’ victuals when there’s nothin’ better. bein’ in a luxurious frame o’ mind when i was up at the store, i bought a few split-pays for seasonin’; but it comes hard on a man to spind his gould on sitch things when his luck’s down. you’ve not done much to-day, i see, by the looks of ye.”

“right, paddy,” said tom brixton, with a harsh laugh; “we’ve done nothing—absolutely nothing. see, there is my day’s work.”

he pulled three small grains of gold, each about the size of a pea, from his trousers pocket, and flung them contemptuously into a washing-pan at his elbow.

“sure, we won’t make our fortins fast at that rate,” said paddy, or patrick flinders.

“this won’t help it much,” said westly, with a mingled smile and sigh, as he added a small nugget and a little gold-dust to the pile.

“ah! then, haven’t i forgot the shuggar for the tay; but i’ve not got far to go for to get it. just kape stirrin’ the pot, mister westly, i’ll be back in a minit.”

“tom,” said westly, when their comrade had gone out, “don’t give way to angry feelings. do try, like a good fellow, to look at things in a philosophical light, since you object to a religious one. rightly or wrongly, gashford has won your gold. well, take heart and dig away. you know i have saved a considerable sum, the half of which is at your service to—”

“do you suppose,” interrupted the other sharply, “that i will consent to become a beggar?”

“no,” replied westly, “but there is no reason why you should not consent to accept an offer when it is made to you by an old chum. besides, i offer the money on loan, the only condition being that you won’t gamble it away.”

“fred,” returned brixton, impressively, “i must gamble with it if i take it. i can no more give up gambling than i can give up drinking. i’m a doomed man, my boy; doomed to be either a millionaire or a madman!”

the glittering eyes and wild expression of the youth while he spoke induced his friend to fear that he was already the latter.

“oh! tom, my dear fellow,” he said, “god did not doom you. if your doom is fixed, you have yourself fixed it.”

“now, fred,” returned the other impatiently, “don’t bore me with your religious notions. religion is all very well in the old country, but it won’t work at all here at the diggin’s.”

“my experience has proved the contrary,” returned westly, “for religion—or, rather, god—has saved me from drink and gaming.”

“if it be god who has saved you, why has he not saved me?” demanded brixton.

“because that mysterious and incomprehensible power of free will stands in your way. in the exercise of your free will you have rejected god, therefore the responsibility rests with yourself. if you will now call upon him, life will, by his holy spirit, enable you to accept salvation through jesus christ.”

“no use, fred, no use,” said tom, shaking his head. “when you and i left england, three years ago, i might have believed and trusted as you do, but it’s too late now—too late i say, so don’t worry me with your solemn looks and sermons. my mind’s made up, i tell you. with these three paltry little lumps of gold i’ll gamble at the store to-night with gashford. i’ll double the stake every game. if i win, well—if not, i’ll—”

he stopped abruptly, because at that moment paddy flinders re-entered with the sugar; possibly, also, because he did not wish to reveal all his intentions.

that night there was more noise, drinking, and gambling than usual at lantry’s store, several of the miners having returned from a prospecting trip into the mountains with a considerable quantity of gold.

loudest among the swearers, deepest among the drinkers, and most reckless among the gamblers was gashford “the bully,” as he was styled. he had just challenged any one present to play when brixton entered the room.

“we will each stake all that we own on a single chance,” he said, looking round. “come, that’s fair, ain’t it? for you know i’ve got lots of dust.”

there was a general laugh, but no one would accept the challenge—which brixton had not heard—though he heard the laugh that followed. many of the diggers, especially the poorer ones, would have gladly taken him up if they had not been afraid of the consequences if successful.

“well, boys, i couldn’t make a fairer offer—all i possess against all that any other man owns, though it should only be half an ounce of gold,” said the bully, tossing off a glass of spirits.

“done! i accept your challenge,” cried tom brixton, stepping forward.

“you!” exclaimed gashford, with a look of contempt; “why, you’ve got nothing to stake. i cleaned you out yesterday.”

“i have this to stake,” said tom, holding out the three little nuggets of gold which he had found that day. “it is all that i possess, and it is more than half an ounce, which you mentioned as the lowest you’d play for.”

“well, i’ll stick to what i said,” growled gashford, “if it be half an ounce. come, lantry, get out your scales.”

the storekeeper promptly produced the little balance which he used for weighing gold-dust, and the diggers crowded round with much interest to watch, while lantry, with a show of unwonted care, dusted the scales, and put the three nuggets therein.

“three-quarters of an ounce,” said the storekeeper, when the balance ceased to vibrate.

“come along, then, an’ let’s have another glass of grog for luck,” cried gashford, striking his huge fist on the counter.

a throw of the dice was to decide the matter. while lantry, who was appointed to make the throw, rattled the dice in the box, the diggers crowded round in eager curiosity, for, besides the unusual disparity between the stakes, there was much probability of a scene of violence as the result, brixton having displayed a good deal of temper when he lost to the bully on the previous day.

“lost!” exclaimed several voices in disappointed tones, when the dice fell on the table.

“who’s lost?” cried those in the rear of the crowd.

“tom brixton, to be sure,” answered gashford, with a laugh. “he always loses; but it’s no great loss this time, and i am not much the richer.”

there was no response to this sally. every one looked at brixton, expecting an outburst of rage, but the youth stood calmly contemplating the dice with an absent look, and a pleasant smile on his lips.

“yes,” he said, recovering himself, “luck is indeed against me. but never mind. let’s have a drink, lantry; you’ll have to give it me on credit this time!”

lantry professed himself to be quite willing to oblige an old customer to that extent. he could well afford it, he said; and it was unquestionable truth that he uttered, for his charges were exorbitant.

that night, when the camp was silent in repose, and the revellers were either steeped in oblivion or wandering in golden dreams, tom brixton sauntered slowly down to the river at a point where it spread out into a lakelet, in which the moon was brightly reflected. the overhanging cliffs, fringed with underwood and crowned with trees, shot reflections of ebony blackness here and there down into the water, while beyond, through several openings, could be seen a varied and beautiful landscape, backed and capped by the snow-peaks of the great backbone of america.

it was a scene fitted to solemnise and soften, but it had no such influence on tom brixton, who did not give it even a passing thought though he stood with folded arms and contracted brows, gazing at it long and earnestly. after a time he began to mutter to himself in broken sentences.

“fred is mistaken—must be mistaken. there is no law here. law must be taken into one’s own hands. it cannot be wrong to rob a robber. it is not robbery to take back one’s own. foul means are admissible when fair—yet it is a sneaking thing to do! ha! who said it was sneaking?” (he started and thrust his hands through his hair.) “bah! lantry, your grog is too fiery. it was the grog that spoke, not conscience. pooh! i don’t believe in conscience. come, tom, don’t be a fool, but go and—mother! what has she got to do with it? lantry’s fire-water didn’t bring her to my mind. no, it is fred, confound him! he’s always suggesting what she would say in circumstances which she has never been in and could not possibly understand. and he worries me on the plea that he promised her to stick by me through evil report and good report. i suppose that means through thick and thin. well, he’s a good fellow is fred, but weak. yes, i’ve made up my mind to do it and i will do it.”

he turned hastily as he spoke, and was soon lost in the little belt of woodland that lay between the lake and the miner’s camp.

it pleased gashford to keep his gold in a huge leathern bag, which he hid in a hole in the ground within his tent during the day, and placed under his pillow during the night. it pleased him also to dwell and work alone, partly because he was of an unsociable disposition, and partly to prevent men becoming acquainted with his secrets.

there did not seem to be much fear of the big miner’s secrets being discovered, for lynch law prevailed in the camp at that time, and it was well known that death was the usual punishment for theft. it was also well known that gashford was a splendid shot with the revolver, as well as a fierce, unscrupulous man. but strong drink revealed that which might have otherwise been safe. when in his cups gashford sometimes became boastful, and gave hints now and then which were easily understood. still his gold was safe, for, apart from the danger of the attempt to rob the bully, it would have been impossible to discover the particular part of his tent-floor in which the hole was dug, and, as to venturing to touch his pillow while his shaggy head rested on it, no one was daring enough to contemplate such an act although there were men there capable of doing almost anything.

here again, however, strong drink proved to be the big miner’s foe. occasionally, though not often, gashford drank so deeply as to become almost helpless, and, after lying down in his bed, sank into a sleep so profound that it seemed as if he could not have been roused even with violence.

he was in this condition on the night in which his victim made up his mind to rob him. despair and brandy had united to render brixton utterly reckless; so much so, that instead of creeping stealthily towards his enemy’s tent, an act which would probably have aroused the suspicion of a light sleeper, he walked boldly up, entered it, raised gashford’s unconscious head with one hand, pulled out the bag of gold with the other, put it on his shoulder, and coolly marched out of the camp. the audacity of the deed contributed largely to its success.

great was the rage and consternation of gashford when he awoke the following morning and found that his treasure had disappeared. jumping at once to the conclusion that it had been stolen by brixton, he ran to that youth’s tent and demanded to know where the thief had gone to.

“what do you mean by the thief?” asked fred westly, with misgiving at his heart.

“i mean your chum, tom brixton,” shouted the enraged miner.

“how do you know he’s a thief?” asked westly.

“i didn’t come here to be asked questions by you,” said gashford. “where has he gone to, i say?”

“i don’t know.”

“that’s a lie!” roared the miner, clenching his fist in a threatening manner.

“poor tom! i wish i did know where you have gone!” said fred, shaking his head sadly as he gazed on the floor, and taking no notice whatever of the threatening action of his visitor.

“look here now, westly,” said gashford, in a low suppressed voice, shutting the curtain of the tent and drawing a revolver from his pocket, “you know something about this matter, and you know me. if you don’t tell me all you know and where your chum has bolted to, i’ll blow your brains out as sure as there’s a god in heaven.”

“i thought,” said westly, quietly, and without the slightest symptom of alarm, “you held the opinion that there is no god and no heaven.”

“come, young fellow, none o’ your religious chaff, but answer my question.”

“nothing is farther from my thoughts than chaffing you,” returned westly, gently, “and if the mere mention of god’s name is religion, then you may claim to be one of the most religious men at the diggings, for you are constantly praying him to curse people. i have already answered your question, and can only repeat that i don’t know where my friend brixton has gone to. but let me ask, in turn, what has happened to you?”

there was no resisting the earnest sincerity of fred’s look and tone, to say nothing of his cool courage. gashford felt somewhat abashed in spite of himself.

“what has happened to me?” he repeated, bitterly. “the worst that could happen has happened. my gold has been stolen, and your chum is the man who has cribbed it. i know that as well as if i had seen him do it. but i’ll hunt him down and have it out of him with interest; with interest, mark you—if i should have to go to the ends o’ the ’arth to find him.”

without another word gashford thrust the revolver into his pocket, flung aside the tent curtain, and strode away.

meanwhile tom brixton, with the gold in a game-bag slung across his shoulder, was speeding down the valley, or mountain gorge, at the head of which the pine tree diggings lay, with all the vigour and activity of youthful strength, but with none of the exultation that might be supposed to characterise a successful thief. on the contrary, a weight like lead seemed to lie on his heart, and the faces of his mother and his friend, fred westly, seemed to flit before him continually, gazing at him with sorrowful expression. as the fumes of the liquor which he had drunk began to dissipate, the shame and depression of spirit increased, and his strength, great though it was, began to give way.

by that time, however, he had placed many a mile between him and the camp where he had committed the robbery. the valley opened into a wide, almost boundless stretch of comparatively level land, covered here and there with forests so dense, that, once concealed in their recesses, it would be exceedingly difficult if not impossible, for white men to trace him, especially men who were so little acquainted with woodcraft as the diggers. besides this, the region was undulating in form, here and there, so that from the tops of many of the eminences, he could see over the whole land, and observe the approach of enemies without being himself seen.

feeling, therefore, comparatively safe, he paused in his mad flight, and went down on hands and knees to take a long drink at a bubbling spring. rising, refreshed, with a deep sigh, he slowly mounted to the top of a knoll which was bathed at the time in the first beams of the rising sun.

from the spot he obtained a view of intermingled forest, prairie, lake, and river, so resplendent that even his mind was for a moment diverted from its gloomy introspections, and a glance of admiration shot from his eyes and chased the wrinkles from his brow; but the frown quickly returned, and the glorious landscape was forgotten as the thought of his dreadful condition returned with overwhelming power.

up to that day tom brixton, with all his faults, had kept within the circle of the world’s laws. he had been well trained in boyhood, and, with the approval of his mother, had left england for the oregon goldfields in company with a steady, well-principled friend, who had been a playmate in early childhood and at school. the two friends had experienced during three years the varying fortune of a digger’s life; sometimes working for long periods successfully, and gradually increasing their “pile;” at other times toiling day after day for nothing and living on their capital, but on the whole, making what men called a good thing of it until tom took to gambling, which, almost as a matter of course, led to drinking. the process of demoralisation had continued until, as we have seen, the boundary line was at last overstepped, and he had become a thief and an outlaw.

at that period and in those diggings judge lynch—in other words, off-hand and speedy “justice” by the community of miners—was the order of the day, and, as stealing had become exasperatingly common, the penalty appointed was death, the judges being, in most cases, the prompt executioners.

tom brixton knew well what his fate would be if captured, and this unquestionably filled him with anxiety, but it was not this thought that caused him, as he reclined on the sunny knoll, to spurn the bag of gold with his foot.

“trash!” he exclaimed, bitterly, repeating the kick.

but the love of gold had taken deep root in the fallen youth’s heart. after a brief rest he arose, slung the “trash” over his shoulder, and, descending the knoll, quickly disappeared in the glades of the forests.