The Rich Woman by Edgar wallace

THERE was a gentleman in New York who sold mining stock. The stock was beautiful, being printed in four colours, but the mines were as bad as black and white could describe them. He came to the Territories, as one of her annual guests, and as he was well supplied with letters of introduction, this Mr. Liberbaum was well received. He was a nice man with an extensive range of superlatives, and since he was agreeable to his hosts they bore him no grudge, even when, as they discovered three months later, he applied for and received a government concession to dredge the river, for gold.

"Gold! " smiled Sanders. "The only gold in the river is my unfortunate cigarette -- case -- and that would not be there if Bones had not been such a goop."

Bones was so interested by the information that he I did not attempt to justify the slight error of judgment -- it happened during the conjuring trick that he was giving as they came downstream on the Zaire.

"That's curious," said Captain Hamilton thoughtfully, "this fellow Liberbaum started questioning me about some native legend. He said he had heard that there was a mysterious gold mine in the country."

"Perfectly true, dear old officer," said Bones promptly. "I have heard it, too, dear old Ham. Bosambo has heard it -- "

"Bosambo has heard anything that he can get money out of," said Sanders sardonically. "Did he try to sell you stock?"

Bones was hurt.

"Of course he has heard it -- it is an old -- established native yarn! " Sanders scoffed. "Sometimes it is gold, sometimes it is diamonds. Once they had a story that in the N'gombi there was a big hole in the ground, out of which you could draw a cloth ready woven!"

It was a considerable time after, and the visit of Mr. Liberbaum had been forgotten when there arrived an urgent telegram from headquarters.

Liberbaum selling Stock in New York Gold Dredging Company states you said river alluvial.

Sanders was sufficiently broken to the ways of official correspondence not to reply, "He is a liar," instead he sent a long and decorous denial, and added his views that there was not sufficient gold in the whole of the river to make a shirt stud of respectable size.

But so far as Bones was concerned, the mischief was done. Since the mention of gold he had devoted himself, with all the enthusiasm and energy of which he was capable, to his new hobby. With a huge pipe clenched between his teeth, and three groaning paddlers, he had been searching the foreshores of the river from its mouth to Lumbiri, and native people came miles to stare awe -- stricken, watching the perspiring young man sifting and washing the sand.

"If you found gold you would not know what it looked like," said Hamilton.

Bones smiled pityingly.

"If I come to you, dear old boy, with a couple of hands full of auribilous metal, dear old thing."

"Auriferous' is the word you want," said Hamilton coldly, "and if you came with not only a hand, but your mouth full, and that would hold enough to keep a widow woman in luxury -- I should simply hand you over to headquarters for trying to obtain money by a trick!"

Again Bones smiled.

"I can only tell you, dear old septic, that all these johnnies along the river know that there is gold! The naughty old lads keep it dark, naturally, dear old Ham, but I am a bit of an authority, dear old septic -- "

"Sceptic," murmured Sanders, lounging in his chair, with his eyes closed.

"Thank you, Excellency," with extravagant gratitude. "What I mean to say is, that for somebody who has got the confidence of the indigenous native, there is a fortune -- millions, old Excellency -- perhaps billions. I have got a great idea."