Give the
shepherd what I said and he will attend to you, but go a day or two too
soon, for the margin of one day was not enough to allow in case of a
fresh in the river; if the water is discoloured you must not cross it--not
even with Doctor. I could not ask George to come up three days running
from Sunch'ston to the statues and back."
Here he became exhausted. Almost the last coherent string of sentences I
got from him was as follows:-
"About George's money if I send him 2000 pounds you will still have
nearly 150,000 pounds left, and Mr. Cathie will not let you try to make
it more. I know you would give him four or five thousand, but the Mayor
and I talked it over, and settled that 2000 pounds in gold would make him
a rich man. Consult our good friend Alfred" (meaning, of course, Mr.
Cathie) "about the best way of taking the money. I am afraid there is
nothing for it but gold, and this will be a great weight for you to
carry--about, I believe 36 lbs. Can you do this? I really think that if
you lead your horse you . . . no--there will be the getting him down
again--"
"Don't worry about it, my dear father," said I, "I can do it easily if I
stow the load rightly, and I will see to this. I shall have nothing else
to carry, for I shall camp down below both morning and evening.
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