No. 2, Jem, whose mate had run away and robbed him, and he was left solus with his tools.

No. 3, Mr. Stevens, an accomplished scholar, and, above all, linguist, broad in the forehead but narrow in the chest, who had been successively rejected by five gangs and was now at a discount.  He picked up a few shillings by interpreting, but it was a suspicious circumstance that he often came two miles from his end of the camp to see Robinson just at dinner-time.  Then a look used to pass between those two good-hearted creatures, and Mr. Stevens was served first and Carlo docked till evening.  Titles prevailed but little in the mine.  They generally addressed the males of our species thus: 

“Hi! man!”

The females thus: 

“Hi! woman!”

The Spartans! but these two made an exception in favor of this reduced scholar.  They called him “Sir,” and felt abashed his black coat should be so rusty; and they gave him the gristly bits, for he was not working, but always served him first.

No. 4, Unlucky Jack, a digger.  This man really seemed to be unlucky.  Gangs would find the stuff on four sides of him, and he none; his last party had dissolved, owing they said to his ill-luck, and he was forlorn.  These four Robinson convened, with the help of Mary McDogherty, who went for Stevens; and made them a little speech, telling them he had seen all their four ill-lucks, and was going to end that with one blow.  He then, taking the direction of brutus’s gold-vein, marked them out a claim full forty yards off, and himself one close to them; organized them, and set them working in high spirits, tremulous expectation, and a fervor of gratitude to him, and kindly feeling toward their unlucky comrades.

“You won’t find anything for six feet,” said the captain.  “Meantime, all of you turn to and tell the rest how you were the unluckiest man in the whole mine—­till you fell in with me—­he! he!”

And the captain chuckled.  His elastic vanity was fast recovering from brutus, and his spirits rising.

Toward evening he collected his whole faction, got on the top of two cradles, made a speech, thanked them for their good-will, and told them he had now an opportunity of making them a return.  He had discovered a vein of gold which he could have kept all to himself, but it was more just and more generous to share it with his partisans.

“Now, pass through this little mine one at a time,” said he, “and look at the roof, where I have stuck the two lighted candles, and then pass on quick to make room for others.”

The men dived one after another, examined the roof, and, rushing wildly out at the other end in great excitement, ran and marked out claims on both sides of the subterranean.

But, with all their greediness and eagerness, they left ten feet square untouched on each side the subterranean.

“What is this left for?”

“That is left for the clever fellow that found the gold after a thief had missed it,” cried one.