The gold-stealer fell upon his knees and tried to call, but a mere gasp was the only sound that escaped his lips.

He remained for a minute or two gazing helplessly into the pitch blackness of the shaft; then, recovering somewhat with a great effort, he rose to his feet, untied the remainder of the rope from the skid and dropped it into the shaft, and turning his back on the mine fled away through the paddocks towards Waddy.

As he issued from the bush a quarter of an hour later, and crossed the open flat, a slim figure slipped from the furze covering the rail fence and followed him noiselessly at a distance.
CHAPTER XVIII.
WHEN Rogers reached his hut he sat for some time in the dark, thinking over his position.

It had been his intention all along to make his escape from the district the moment he succeeded in recovering the gold, and now, in his horror at the consequences of his last act, he was incapable of cold reason.

His one desire was to get away as far as possible from the scene of his crimes.