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Chapter 9 Nobble

Word Count: 3025    |    Released on: 18/11/2017

particularly civil each to the other and went to work together, making arrangements at a bank as to their money, taking their places,

should be bygones. Caldigate, on the other hand, acknowledged to himself that he owed some reparation to his companion. Of course he had not bound himself to any special mode of life;- but had he, in his present condition, allied himself more closely to Mrs. Smith, he would, to some extent, have thrown Dick over. And then, as soon as he was on shore, he did feel somewhat ashamed of himself in regard to Mrs. Smith. Was it

thrown herself in his way had she pleased. Strangers residing in such a town are almost sure to see each other before twenty-four hours are gone. But Mrs. Smith was not seen. Two or three times he went up and down Collins Street alone, without his friend, not wishing to see her,- aware that he had better not see her,- but made restless by a nervous feeling

ll at last they were told that they had reached Nobble. Nobble they thought was the foulest place which they had ever seen. It was a gold-digging town, as such places are called, and had been built with great rapidity to supply the necessities of adjacent miners. It was constructed altogether of wood, but no two houses had been constructed alike. They generally had gable ends opening on to the street, but were so different in breadth, altitude, and form, that it was easy to see that each enterprising proprietor had been his own architect. But they were all alike in having enormous advertisement-boards, some high, some broad, some sloping, on which were declared the merits of the tradesmen who administered within to the wants of mining humanity. And they had generally assumed most singular names for themselves 'The Old Stick-in-the-Mud Soft Goods Store.' 'The Pol

walking as the old Quad a

rn,' said Dick, who had just stumbled and nearly came to the gr

sitting a crowd of miners, drinking when our friends were ushered in through the bar or counter which faced to the street. At the bar they were received by a dirty old woman who said that she was Mrs. Henniker. Then they were told, while the convivial crowd were looking on and listening, that they could have the use of

ntance, within some hundred miles. The men around them were not uncivil. Australian miners never are so. But they were inquisitive, familiar, and with their half-drunken good-humour, almost repulsive. It was about noon when our friends reached Henniker's, and they were told that th

go on to Ahalala. 'We're going to have a spell at gold-digging,' said he. What was the use of making any secret of the matter? 'We knowed

owns,' said Di

next month, so as to get help till you know where you are, it may be you'll turn up gold at Ahalala;-

want nothing to dr

the lot myself.' Then the dirty old woman was summoned, and everybody had whisky all round. When that was done,

uided by that feeling, the man who had told the strangers that they need not be afraid of being robbed, at once selected six out of the bowl, and deposited three each before Dick and Caldigate. He helped the others all round to one each, and then was left without any for himself. 'I don't care a damn for that sort of tucker,' he said, as though he despised potatoes from the bottom of his heart. Of all the crew he was the dirtiest, and was certainly half drunk. Another man holloaed to 'Mother Henniker' for pickles; but Mother Henniker, without leaving her seat at the bar, told them to 'pickle themselves.' Whereupon one of the party, making some allusion to Jack Brien's swag,- Jack Brien being absent at the moment,- rose from his seat and undid a great roll lying in one of the corners. Every miner has his swag,- consisting of a large blanket which is rolled up, and contains all his personal luggage. Out

e distributor of the potatoes, nodding his

is he had not spoken a word, nor did he speak again till he had consumed three or four pounds of beef, and had swallowed two pannikins of tea. Then he repeated his speech: 'There isn't so -- -- an infernal, mean, break-hearted a place as Ahalala,-

gold there?' a

you may find it, or you mayn't. That's where it is;- and

work for wages,

go to one of the old-fashioned places,- Bendigo, or the like of that. I've worked for wages, but what comes of it? A man goes

t and hitching up his trousers as he left the room.

ystery of shouting. When one man 'stands' drinks all round, he shouts; and then it is no more than reciprocal that another man shou

body had done well at Nobble, Mr. Crinkett had done well. He was the 'swell' of the place. This informant did not think that Mr. Crinkett had himself gone very deep at Ahalala. Mr. Crinkett had risen high enough in

wo, if he likes,' said the new fri

that he had come to Nobble armed with a letter from a gentl

him there's nothing he wouldn't sell,- not even his grandmother's bones. I like trade, myself,' a

reviously. On the tops of these artificial hills there were sundry rickety-looking erections, and around them were troughs and sheds and rude water-works. These, as the miner explained were the outward and visible signs of the world-famous 'Old Stick-in-the-Mud' claim, which was now giving two ounces of gold to the ton of quartz, and which was at present the exclusive property of Mr. Crinkett, who had bought out the tribute shareholders and was working the thing altogether on his own bottom. As they ascended one of those mounds of upcast stones and rubble, they could see on the other

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Contents

Chapter 1 Folking Chapter 2 Puritan Grange Chapter 3 Daniel Caldigate Chapter 4 The Shands Chapter 5 The Goldfinder Chapter 6 Mrs. Smith Chapter 7 The Three Attempts Chapter 8 Reaching Melbourne Chapter 9 Nobble Chapter 10 Polyeuka Hall Chapter 11 Ahalala
Chapter 12 Mademoiselle Cettini
Chapter 13 Coming Back
Chapter 14 Again at Home
Chapter 15 Again At Pollington
Chapter 16 Again at Babington
Chapter 17 Again at Puritan Grange
Chapter 18 Robert Bolton
Chapter 19 Men Are So Wicked
Chapter 20 Hester's Courage
Chapter 21 The Wedding
Chapter 22 As To Touching Pitch
Chapter 23 The New Heir
Chapter 24 News from the Gold Mines
Chapter 25 The Baby's Sponsors
Chapter 26 A Stranger in Cambridge
Chapter 27 The Christening
Chapter 28 Tom Crinkett at Folking
Chapter 29 'Just by Telling Me that I Am'
Chapter 30 The Conclave at Puritan Grange
Chapter 31 Hester Is Lured Back
Chapter 32 The Babington Wedding
Chapter 33 Persuasion
Chapter 34 Violence
Chapter 35 In Prison
Chapter 36 The Escape
Chapter 37 Again at Folking
Chapter 38 Bollum
Chapter 39 Restitution
Chapter 40 Waiting For The Trial
Chapter 41 The First Day
Chapter 42 The Second Day
Chapter 43 The Last Day
Chapter 44 After the Verdict
Chapter 45 The Boltons Are Much Troubled
Chapter 46 Burning Words
Chapter 47 Curlydown and Bagwax
Chapter 48 Sir John Joram's Chambers
Chapter 49 All the Shands
Chapter 50 Again at Sir John's Chambers
Chapter 51 Dick Shand Goes To Cambridgeshire
Chapter 52 The Fortunes of Bagwax
Chapter 53 Sir John Backs His Opinion
Chapter 54 Judge Bramber
Chapter 55 How the Conspirators Throve
Chapter 56 The Boltons Are Very Firm
Chapter 57 Squire Caldigate at the Home Office
Chapter 58 Mr. Smirkie Is Ill-used
Chapter 59 How The Big-Wigs Doubted
Chapter 60 How Mrs. Bolton Was Nearly Conquered
Chapter 61 The News Reaches Cambridge
Chapter 62 John Caldigate's Return
Chapter 63 How Mrs. Bolton Was Quite Conquered
Chapter 64 Conclusion
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