The pool of St Branok

There was more talk about gold than ever in the past. The men were constantly discussing veins and placers. Veins, Gervaise told me, were like other deposits of metals. In the alluvial deposits—the placers—the metal was found embedded in the soil usually in chambers worn away by water. The fact that it was actually discovered in the creek must show that it was very plentiful in that spot. That was what had aroused Ben's excitement.

I had watched the men panning many times. There was a special method of doing it—a certain shaking and twisting and gyrating movement, and great care had to be taken to wash away the soil and lose none of the precious metal which might be there.

There were what they called cradles for treating larger quantities of soil; and there was another complicated one called a Tom.

Ben had all methods working. He paid some of the miners to help him and several of them were glad to earn money that way.

More than ever I wanted to get away. I felt there was something evil in this search for gold. I often thought of David Skelling who could not resist the temptation to steal gold which had been found by others, and how he had met his wretched end because of this.

Sometimes I went to the graveyards and looked at the rough stones which had been set up. James Morley. David Skelling. Two who had died since I had come. I shuddered to think that Morwenna or her baby might have been here ... but for the grace of God, and the skill of Dr. Field ... not forgetting Mrs. Bowles.

Then came the night when Justin was in our shack for a game of cards with Gervaise. More frequently they joined other players in the saloon but this was an evening when it was to be just a friendly game of poker between the two of them.

Before Pedrek's birth when they had played in one of the shacks, Morwenna and I would be together. We usually went into the bedroom and talked while they played.

On this occasion I was alone as Morwenna was still sleeping at Golden Hall.

I left them and went into the bedroom. I wanted to get away. I found the scene sordid—not so much the shabby room with the candles guttering in their iron sticks, as the intent looks on the faces of the two. It sickened me. It was an outward sign of all that had brought us here away from our families, our homes and a gracious way of life.

Suddenly I heard a shout from the other side of the partition, the sound of a chair's being pushed back, raised voices.

I ran into the next room. The two men were on their feet glaring at each other across the table.

"Cheat!" Gervaise was shouting. "I saw that. You can't deny it."

Justin's face was very white. He said nothing. I saw the cards on the table. The ace and king of hearts were uppermost.

Gervaise said in a cold voice: "So this is it. This is the reason for your winnings. You're a cheat, Cartwright. A card sharper ..."

Justin stammered: "It was ... a mistake ..."

"A mistake to get caught." Gervaise walked round the table. He pulled Justin up by his coat. He was several inches taller than Justin. He lifted him and shook him as though he were a dog. Then he threw him from him. Justin stumbled and went sprawling against the wall.

He stood up slowly. I thought he was going to run at Gervaise, who stood there waiting for him.

I put myself between them. "Stop it," I cried. "Stop it. I won't have fighting here."

"He's a cheat and a liar," said Gervaise. I had never seen him cold like that before. He was a different man. Never had I seen him so furiously angry. But this was because I had never been present when the rules of this sacred matter had been violated.

I said: "Justin, I think it would be better if you left ... now."

"I shall never play with him again," declared Gervaise. And I had never heard such coldness in his voice as I did then.

Justin did not speak. He was deflated. I thought: It's true then. He cheats at cards. It is why he has the luck. Oh, poor Morwenna. Gervaise was a gambler but at least he was an honest one.

Justin slunk out. The door shut behind him.

"This," I said, "is very upsetting." I scooped up the cards on the table and put them into a drawer. "I don't suppose you will want to play again in a hurry," I said.

"Not with that card sharper. He will not play again in this place. Nobody will play with him when they know."

Gervaise sat down and stared ahead of him. I sat opposite him. I said: "Shall you tell them?"

"What else can I do? How can I let him sit down at a table knowing what I do?"

"Perhaps he only did it once ... in sudden temptation."

He shook his head. "He was too practiced for that. I wondered some days ago. His luck was almost too good to be true. I think he has been doing it for years. He's too good at it. It must be long practice. I wondered the other night when he kept coming up with the right cards. Then I watched. He's clever. You have to be sharp. Well, tonight I was sharp."

I was silent for a while. I thought: How I hate this gambling. How I hate this place. I want to leave and never see it again.