"I seem to care for nothing except that the intolerable weight has gone, which has crushed me down for ten interminable years," was the reply, "but I expect I shall take the first opportunity of getting rid of anything that is mine in Wild Goat Gully. I never want to see the place again." "You won’t have many offers," said Mr. Pratt, with a knowing nod. "Not worth anything, I suppose," answered Gerald. "Well, I thought as much, only I don’t seem to care." "There are not a dozen men in the world who could bid for it," returned Mr. Pratt. "Do you understand, Mr. Barker, that you are now the Silver King?" It was indeed with feelings of astonishment that Gerald and Madelaine listened to the account of the Good Hope mine, with that tell-tale orange streak across its rocky wall, and learned that its rich treasures were indisputably their own. Not till a week later were they able to grasp the reality of what it all meant, when they were called to the dying bed of the man who had robbed them not only of their heritage but of their peace. Broken and penitent, Thomas Field made full confession of his sin, praying those he had injured to forgive him for the wrong which he had done. It was Gerald Barker who supported the sick man’s head in that last dread struggle for breath, and Madelaine who closed his eyes as he passed away from the world he had so much misused. "You promised you would be good to my boy," he gasped a few minutes before the end. "He is blameless, though he must suffer for his father’s evil deeds, poor little chap." "He is going to be our boy now," answered Madelaine, putting her arm round the sobbing child. "Robin and he will be brothers in everything, and Julius shall share with him both our home and our love." To the utmost did Gerald and his wife fulfil their promise to the erring parent, and brighter days dawned for little Julius than he had ever experienced before. To a stranger’s eyes, no difference could be seen in their loving care for the two lads. "They shall share and share alike," said Gerald. "It was Julius’ father who first exploited the mine, and his enterprise that carried it on, so it is only fair that his son should reap some of the reward. I hold this wealth as a trust from God. I am but a steward of His to see that it is spent as He would desire, and my wish is that the boys may be brought up to use rightly what will one day be theirs." As for Benjamin Green, who helped so largely in bringing the truth at length to light, his energies could not long be confined to quiet Sunbury. When Mr. Barker offered him an important position in connection with the "Good Hope" he accepted gladly, and for many years proved himself not only a capable servant, but a faithful friend.