fire was extinguished, and the ground around
us a complete lake district. If there was
anything that my companions particularly
hated it was rain, for their umbrellas were
unfortunately left in London. It occurred to
me that our best course was to build a hut
which should be quite as sound as an
umbrella. This was proposed and agreed to;
we arranged to work at the pits and the hut
alternately. We had by that time come to
the bottom of one pit about twenty feet deep,
without getting anything more satisfactory
out of it, than if we had gone out to dig on
Putney Common. Therefore we set to work
on fresh holes.

After a time we wanted flour, and one
evening, after our day's work was finished, I,
and another of our party went to purchase it.
Knowing how quickly darkness succeeds
sunset there, we walked as fast as we could
to the store, which was about two miles
distant. Having made our purchases, we
returned, but were soon unable to see the
path. The light had faded into darkness, and
the intricacy of so many paths as there were
winding among the excavations, puzzled us
completely. To make matters worse, we did
not know how to describe the position of our
camp. The nearest known point was the
Commissioner's station, and our hut was a
mile distant from it. We certainly could lie
down where we were, and wait until morning,
but as we could not camp down properly, for
want of blankets, axe and matches, we did
not like the option.

After spending some time over experimental
trips, we spied a camp fire, and went up to it
to ask of the inmates, at any rate, could they
be so kind as to tell us the way to the
Commissioner's? On our approach two bull-dogs,
chained to a stake, sprang forward and almost
choked themselves in their attempt to get at
us. They were Bendigo watchmen. I knew
an unfortunate man out late at night, who,
passing on his way between two tents, was
seized by the dogs belonging to them, and had
his flesh nearly torn from his bones before he
was rescued. Well, when we had told our
story, a man very kindly said that he would
go with us himself, and show us the way on:
just as he might have done in London.
Setting out again at a sharp pace, he led us
along a path, still winding between deep pits
that were dug on either side. I was
congratulating myself on our escape from a great
risk of being lost among them, when, stepping
on what appeared to be dry, level ground, I
sank down, in an instant, to my chest. As I
was altogether vanishing I shouted out, and
our conductor, turning round, had time to
catch my hand. There was no time lost, and
I was just struggling out, as my companion,
who followed closely at my heels, went in
behind me. We pulled him also out, and
although it was but a dirty joke, we could
not help laughing at our own condition. We
were both encased in a thick coating of wet
clay, nearly up to our necks; for we had sunk
into a worked out hole, which had been filled
up with the wet refuse of other pits. We
had become a pair of plaster images, and only
wanted an Italian boy to put us on a board,
and sell us as Greek slaves.

In a few minutes more we came to the
Commissioner's, and our guide repeating his
regret for our misfortune took his leave. Left
to ourselves, we again tried to find the way
to our hut, crossing and recrossing in different
directions. At last, when it was nearly
midnight, we gave up our search as hopeless. But
what could we do? We could not lie down in
night-dresses of wet clay, and we could light
no fire. I proposed that we should go to the
police camp at the Commissioner's, and ask
leave to lie down by the fire there until
morning. The suggestion was approved, and,
ascending the hill on which their watch-fires
blazed, we considerably surprised the police
force by the extraordinary appearance of two
plaster casts in search of a bed. Leave to
rest was of course readily granted, but there
was no spare blanket or horsecloth with
which we poor images might cover ourselves.
We lay down by the fires, cold to the bones,
or the wires, if we were really casts. Then
one of the sentinels (a good fellow), with an
oath declaring that he could not see men in
such a state, took off his great-coat and placed
it at our disposal. We thanked him heartily,
stripped off our wet clothes, and covered
ourselves over with it.

In spite of my fatigue I could not sleep:
sometimes the wind would come rushing and
eddying, now driving the flame almost over us,
and the next minute taking all the warmth
out of our marrow. The scene around, too,
was very novel and exciting to the fancy. Out
of the wall of gloom, beyond the glare of the
fire, tall military figures, well-armed, came
and went, frequently stopping to examine us
—as if they thought of buying us—with some
degree of curiosity. At half-hour intervals,
a sentinel close to our ears called out in a
loud voice, "Number one—all's well!" which
was immediately answered from a distant spot,
by " Number two—all's well!" Then Number
three, and, lastly, Number four vouched for
the well-being of their respective posts. And
so that long night passed. At the first dawn of
morning I jumped up, and as the plaster on
my clothes had set quite hard, I began banging
them upon a log close by. This knocked it
off, and knocked up my companion, who soon
followed my example. A fine cloud we raised
together, in which we were both concealed,
as though we had been really heathen gods,
Cupids or Apollos made of other stuff than
plaster. Before leaving, we each offered to
the good-natured sentinel some money as a
return for his kindness, but he positively
refused it, nor could we prevail upon him to
accept anything more than a hearty shake of
the hand, as we bade him a cordial goodbye.
With the light came a release from our