Evening star., 1917-05-20

a hill revealed the wider expanse OF a
little valley, perhaps a half mile broad.
of shallow water. bordered by a mar
row expanse of pebbly beach that in
time of flood would be entirely covered
with a yellow, swirling torrent.
In trice the wagon stopped. the oxen
were unhitched and galloping toward
the water. into the center of which they
waded knee deep, drinking greedily of
the precious fluid This done, they pro-
ceeded to wallow in the stream, after
which they turned their attention to
the more succulent grass growing near
by
Although the nearby kopjes were cast
ing long shadows eastward. there was yet
more than an hour Of daylight.
Methodically and silently the younger
native proceeded to unpack the scanty
camp utensils and build a fire, while
joey. taking gun from the bed OF the
wagon, sneaked off upstream in quest of
an Gland, hartebeeste, or klipspringer
buck.
The white man. leaving all these details
to his boys strobe off in the contrary
direction downstream, apparently at ram
com and as though he were likewise look
ing for game, until out of sight around a
bend. Then his whole derneanor changed.
He attentiveiy studied the dried-up shore
ON either hand. crossing the exposed river
beach diagonaily from the farther mar
gin OF caked bluish clay to the strip of
coarse gravel and pebbles that bordered
the waters edge.
Apparently the Indications were salts
factory. Bending nearly double. he eager
" scanned the patches of pebbles
scra tching here and there with his fingers,
and letting the stuff winnow through his
hand.
Suddenly. with an ejaculation of pleas
ure and triumph. he dropped his weapon
and began to pick up pebbles here and
there. Curious. rtylooking stones they
were. grayish white and rusty, but hav-
ing strange, fiery CLEANS In their depths.
With feverish haste he produced stout
canvas bag. holding perhaps quart, tied
with leathern thongs. Greedily he con-
tinued his quest, picking up stones ap-
parently at haphazard. but really with the
quick selection of the expert. Some of
them were hardly bigger than pea. many
others were as large as a marble or a
haZelnut. few even larger.
Now, it is a blessed peculiarity of
precious stones. cut or uncut, rough or
polished set or unset. that a fortune may
be contained in a very small compass.
And although mere size does not always
count in assessing the value of a stone.
yet those which our prospector had gath
cred might be expected to be worth any
where from a hundred to a thousand
pounds apiece. For, in his knocking about
the diamond fields he had become some
thing of a connoisseur, and in picking
over this new field he had, with quick
decision, selected only the finest speci-
mems. albeit only in the rough.
The whole claim when properly ex-
plotted, would doubtless prove to be
very rich, and of this claim he was. of
course, the owner by right of discovery.
in which the drastic mining laws of
the colony would jealousy protect him.
An hour sufficed to fill the bag, the
mouth of which he quickly fastened and
flung it on the sand. Then. raising his
clenched fist toward the heavens, he
cried in voice lloarse with excitement
and triumph:
"At last! At 1ast!"
With grim smile lifting the corners
of his tawney mustache he gave the
bag a kick and thus apostrophized its
contents:
There you are, my beauties! This is
my claim, and I'm one of the richest
men in South Africa"
For that dirty canvas bag held twice
double handful of diamonds. and the
claim would be worth no man could say
ended; he had found a virgin deposit of
those precious white stones, for which.
not 200 miles away, in Kimberley, an
army of white men and kaffir slaves
were madly tearing out the bowels of
the continent.
Dysart picked up the bag. walked to
where he had thrown down his Win
chester and turned his face toward
camp. A distant rife shot rang out at
that instant and apprised him that
Joey had probably brought down their
supper.
"Confound the fellow" he muttered
II wish he hadn't fired the gun!'
The sun had disappeared below the
hills to the westward, and in less than
a quarter of an hour it would be dark
Coming in sight of camp, he discov-
cred Joey in the act of skinning and
cutting up a young buck, while the
other boy was tending cheerful fire
built Of driftwood left high and dry on
the river bank.
Flinging himself down by the fire,
the precious bag by his side. Dysart re-
moved his helmet, barring his white
forehead to the cooling night breeze,