BORN OF FAITH.

Otago Witness, Issue 3005, 18 October 1911, Page 90

BORN OF FAITH.

By Kea.

Margaret Sangster gazed proudly after her stalwart husband as tie walked up the street in his working clothes in the earlv morning to his work in one of the big foundries ia the city. And as she turned to re-enter her cottage door, a smile lit up her pretty face. She was a fair, plump little woman, fresh, brisk, and happy-look-, ing ,and proud of everything,—proud of her husband, proud of her babies,, and proud of her bright little home. Yet, withal, it was an jnnocent pride, and did not vex anyone by its. manifestation. Indeed, it added still another charm to an already sweet personality, and, altogether, she was a lovable woman. But she had one little weakness—if weakness it could be called, —she thought her husband a very clever man, a man who should make his way in the world and rise to be something more than a workman earning his daily wage. She had her little vanities, too—what pretty woman has not? —atnd in their present circumstances she could not gratify them; but this fact did not add a line of worry or a smise discontented frown to her face, for she i'-.ved in hope,—in the hope of great things her husband was going to achieve. Just about this time the dredginjr boom was at its height, and everybody who had money to invest invested it, and those who had none looked on, and sighed for the fortunes their neighbours were going to win., Jim Sansba: had a few pounds saved up for the proverbial rainy day, and, after a long talk with his wife, he, too, invested in dredging shares. Neither his wife nor he had any idea of dredging, but tfchey were quite sure they were the high road to fortune when they were in possession of the scrip. But time passed, and no return came for their money. But the dredge kept on workingr,whioh in itself was some smal comfort, as so many had been shut down, never having got on to payable gold. Jim Sangster was an honest, upright, steady workman, always ready to do his best, but he had no exaggerated ideas about his own capabilities, and, when, at this time, another man was placed above him as assistant foreman, although he woidd have liked the position, he did not think he was unjusty treated. But it was very different with his wife. She was both disappointed and indicant, and more so, when she found it was a near neighbour who had got it. "That man!" she cried, "That quiet mouse of a man, with his nose always in a book !"

Thus the first seeds of discontent were sown, and they needed little nunsinig to grow. The firm was turning out large quantities of machinery for the different dredges, a,nd men were coming and going, and bringing with them the very atmosphere of the goldfields. Many men were wanted for the dredes, and Jim Sanigster made up his mind to go. He gave up his place at tih<j> foundry, much to the regret of the manager, who knew him. to be a hard-workirijg and reliable workman, and who told him he thought he was making a great mistake.

So, one bright crisp Monday morning in winter. Jim Sa.ngster left his snug little home in Dunedin, and was soon speeding through wide plaints and narow gorges on bis way to the goldfields. . The dredgemanager met at the railway station, which was deserted with the exception of the railway officials, the local constable, the paper boy waiting for his daily budioet, and a few old men looking for anything in the shape of news. No arrangements for lodgings having been made, his [guide esoorted him to the hotel, where he secured a room and had lunch. His instructions were 'fco be ready for the 4 o'clock shift as the dredge was working short-handed, but, wishing to have a look round, he went

on when the whistles sounded at 3 o'clock. The men were pleased to see him. It meant less hours of labour for them. He was at onoe initiated into some of the mysteries of his work, and thougnt it easy enough. But the dredge was old, having done duty before in another nart of Otago, and everything looked cold, wet, and dirty. However, he was interested, the men were promising companions, and the novelty of the situation held him in it ß gTasp. But before the week had gone by the glamour had begun to fade. The weather was intensely cold, and he missed all his little home comforts, for although the accommodation at the hotel was about the usual for a country township, he did not find the life congenial. Nat a drinker, nor yet a pledged abstainer, he was a man for whom drink had no charm. For him its temptation did not ex ; st. It simply had no bearing on his life, except that in its midst he felt out of his element. So, at the end of the week he betook himself and his belongings to the only boarding-house the township oould boast of. Here he felt more at his ease* though everything was very rough—unnecessarily rough it seemed to him, —for, with what conveniences the woman had, be thought she could have made everything very different, and visions of his own cosy little home, his two pretty children, and his bright little wife with all her dainty ways, rose before him, and he sighed ; and a 6 his thoughts reverted to all the glorified air-castles his wife had built, and was, he was sure, still building, he smiled sadly, and when he thought of the uncongenial surroundings the discomforts, and the hard work with no great remuneration, all leading, as seemed to him,nowhere, he felt sick at heart, and his state of mind was not improved by one of his mates telling him he must have been mad to throw up. his prospects in the city to come to such a place. In his city home he had a tiny workshop, and his leisure hours, when not devoted to his garden, of which he was justly proud, were occupied with some mechanical contrivance or toy—if toy it oould be. called. This was his hobby,—his one great pleasure apart from any thought of profit or gain or the means of making a living, the joy of creative power, and he displayed wonderfuringenuity in some of the things he constructed. But now he had neither garden nor workshiip, and, for the first time, he began to realise how great a part these avocations played in his life's happiness. However, his life at this time was not all dreariness. At his work, and also in his leisure hours, he came in contact with men who had been all over the world, and to listen to their experiences was to him a delight and a fascination as well as an education. Some of the dredgemen preferred a freer life than that of hotel or boarding-house, and they, with others towards economy inclined, made up parties of three or four, and, eo far as house furnishings were concerned, lived the simple life in thatched whares for which they paid a trifling sum per week. To,one or other of those whares Jim would repair when socially inclined, and many a pleasant hour he spent among them, as the men smoked round a big fire, talked, sang, or discussed the news of the day; and many-' a political debate in one corner was mixed up with the friendly arguments of the younger men who were discussing in another corner the requirements of the ejnigiineer's certificate examination for which they were studying. - But Jim was not always socially inclined. The truth was, he was getting weary of it all. The wear and tear cf the changing shifts, the frequent showers of muddy water from overflowing boxes, and the running up and down the ladders between snatches of lunch to keep the boxes clear, was telling on his health and on his temper. Then, when the boiler had to be cleaned out and examined, Jim Avas told off to help. There was just room for him to crawl in, and then another man followed. It was a most unpleasant task and fraught with some danger, as in such utter darkness they had to have a light, .and the material used in their work was most inflammable. It was a strange feeling to be shut in, as it were, in an iron prison, with only the one small means of exit, and he had to fight against terrorising thoughts that crowded through his brain. If it had no been for his majte, who kept whistling lively tunes and singing snatches of comic songs between the pauses in the conversation, Jim felt as if would have become quite unnerved : and it was with feelings "of pleasure, not unmingled 'with disgust, that Be stepped out again to the light of day,—pleasure in the sense of freedom and space, yet disgust at tho thought that his nerves should be inclined to get the upper hand. But when he said something to that effect, and that he had better give up the work, lids mate laughed and tcld him to take no notice of his feelings,—that he did very well—very well indeed.

"Why," continued he, "there are some men who cannot go into the bailer. They get quite unnerved, and if we know, we do not ask them to go' m. But partly for this reason we never send a man in alone. As for myself, I am quite at home in the boiler or out of the boiler, for I love the old dredge much as the sailor loves his ship," and in a good baritone he began to .ling:

The waters rush in a headlong course Through, bosses slowly swinging, As the throbbing dredge to the engine's beat Is its stately movements bringing. We feel the thrill as the engines go, And the dredge with life seems quiv'ring, And our pulses beat with a brighter glow At its happy song's deliv'ring.

The gold of the Eiarth from the clay and dxoss Is but to be had for the asking, As the heavy buckets rise up and cast Their wealth to the waters clasping; And the dross and clay in the fierce embrace Is freed from the golden treasure, "Which slowly sinks to the mats below To the water's rhythmic measure. Then he stopped to exclaim, "Why, man, it is almost like a living creature. It

seems to me to respond to every mood of mine." Then he moved on, and inward from the winches came, above the throbbing of the engines, the sound of his happy voice as ne continued:

Still the sang goes oil, " From the clay and dross We gather Eiaith'a golden treasure, And the ripples tell and the laden mats The oauae o<f our happy measure.

But Jim Sangster felt none of the buoyancy, the exhilaration, of his comrade, and he almost envied the man his hearty good-nature and jcyous spirits. Still, he felt the better for the other's brightness and joviality, and went to his lodging with a lighter heart, determined to hold out a little longer.

For the next three or four nights the frosts were very severe—the severest for many years. Three of the dredges on the flat were frozen in, and Jim's mate told him they could not hold out longer if there was another such frost. But that night a thaw set in, and the next day came the snow. It was Jim's turn to go on the 12 o'clock shift. As he made his way along- the dark and lonely roads his lantern seemed a mere spark in a wilderness, but he could not do do without it when he left the road and took the track across the diggings. In the comfortable daylight these diggings were nothing but Mound upon tow'ring mound of cold grey stones Like unto cairns with Stygian pools between, In whose black depths reflects the gorse'a green; but at midnight, wiith the winter wind moaning through the gorse bushes and whistling eerily through the archways of the old l it seemed to the townbred man the very embodiment of desolation ; and, as s if 'to heighten the effect, a startled rabbit would now and then scurry away, or an old, horse lift up its head from a more sheltered spot as the snow crunched beneath the footsteps of the passer-by. Jim. was not sorry when he came in full view of the dredge, but, stepping off the plank bridging a race, he missed hds footing, and' was at once waist-deep in the icy water. Scrambling out, he made his way to the dredge, wheire he was provided with dry garments while he dried his own at the furnace. This was the last straw. Nothing would induce him to stay after that night.

•For some time after her husband's departure Margaret Sangeter dreamed wonderful dreams and visions of a dredgemanagership at £1 per day, and a splendid time in, tihie country for herself and the babies loomed large in her mental vision. Butt the awakening ciame when she- began to realise how much poorer they were by the change, and her mind filled with strange misgivings every time she received a letter. from her husband. She felt he wa-s not happy. So it was with feelings of thanksgiving'that, after she Teceived his home-coming message, she made ready for his welcome. By the time everything was ready the house had quite a festive air. Everything, from the bright fire, the daintily-set table, with the° firelight dancing on its 6nowy linen, to the "great bunch* of . fragrant narcissi from the most sheltered spot in the little garden, spoke of the sweet service of loving hands. With wide, expectant eyes the little children waited', up to see. their "daddy." What a pleasure it was to Jim gangster to feel his feet once more on the pavement as he walked briskly along the welllighted streets', and what a joy to he hack to his own dear little home, so bright, so dainty, and so cosy, and it was a sweet solace to know how much he had b&en missed. And Margaret said she would be satisfied henceforth if he could only get back to his place in the foundry. He did get back, an>&, what was perhaps better, he determined to study. His stay on the goldfields had opened his eyes. The knowledge gained by study, combined with the practical work at the foundry and his experiments in his tiny workshop at home, opened up a vast treasury _to him Just at this time the dredging shares in which he had invested his savings began to pay a handsome dividend. The dredge had iitruok a yeary rich vein of gold Experienced miners said, itmeant a fortune to anyone lucky enough to hold shares. The money came at a most opportune time and enabled Jim Sangerto carry out his ideas without reducing the comforts of the home. Now he is taking out two patents—one for a boiler-cleaning and testing apparatus, and another for a -gold-saver an arrangement to secure the gold that the mats and ripples in the boxes cannot catch. Mining experts *ay this latter mSSon will latisfy a long-felt need on the goldfields, and will be warmly welcomed by the hydraulic, sluicing companies as well as by the dredges. Margaret Sander-proud, smiling;Md VTH>Y-*9Ufl her husband that she always K?he was clever, but he laughingly foils her, as he tries to turn the conversation into another channel, that whatever successes he has had have been, through her, born of faith.