The Moth Message by Laurence Manning Page 4

  about the weight of one thousand men! Do

  “What has happened ?”

  you understand, old man? Billions of dollars’

  “You lost too much blood—that cut on

  worth of gold! Enough to end this depression your hand, you know. Fainted, that’s all. And as suddenly and completely as when half a I’m afraid your thumb is gone. Funny you

  century ago the gold strikes in California and didn’t think to bandage it sooner!”

  Australia startled the world and caused such a long period of rising prosperity as the nations Of that amazing voyage with Val-Bel and her had never before imagined!

  old father I cannot write—it would make a

  “So you see that this adventure of ours

  story all by itself. The ship was heavy, for is not over. I shall need help from all three of besides the extra passengers we carried two you. There’s all that gold to be got together hundred pounds of gold—$70,000 at the new and transported to the assay office and when price. Every new town we passed over was the the money is in hand, we must get it

  signal for exclamations of delight from Val-distributed, Where? I don’t know. I might use Bel and for puzzled and suspicious frowns a million myself, but that would be my limit.

  from the old man. At New York Seeman and I Well, think it over. We’ll be back in New left the ship and returned to our occupations, York in about a month.

  Wonder Stories

  16

  “Val-Bel sends her love and hopes that

  friend,

  your hand is better.

  “Your

  “La

  Brot.”