It was about two o’clock of the morning following the night in which so many events were crowded. The moon had gone down, and great masses of black clouds completely hid the stars. The wind blew violently from seawards, and the waves dashed furiously against the massive piers which the enterprise of the San Franciscans have carried far into the bosom of their glorious Bay.

‘Well, if this ain’t a hell of a night, I’m d—d,’ said a powerfully built man, who might have been recognized as Montgomery had it not been so dark that a negro could not have been discerned from an albino.

‘By Vere in ’ell is Blodget a keepin’ hisself,’ said his companion, whose unmerciful treatment of the v’s and w’s announced him to be a genuine Cockney, and such he was; but previous to visiting California, he had paid Botany Bay a flying visit, his wrists graced with these bracelets, so much more useful than ornamental.

These two men were in a large yawl, under a wharf near Davis street.

‘Boat a-hoy!’ cried Blodget, on the wharf.

‘All right!’ responded Montgomery from beneath it.

‘Vere’ve you been this jolly long vile,’ said the cockney, as he opened the slide of a dark lantern, while Montgomery drew the boat along to a place where an opening in the planking admitted Blodget’s dropping into the boat.

‘Hold her steady,’ said Blodget, as he leaped square into the centre of the boat.

‘Who else is vith ye?’ said Jobson, the Londoner.

‘Step down here, Belcher,’ said Blodget.

As he spoke a man leaped lightly into the boat. To the casual observer there was nothing in the appearance of this individual to attract particular attention, but one accustomed to gauge men’s figures by the eye, could not have failed to be struck by the broad shoulders, the full rounded chest, the muscular limbs, and the easy grace of every movement. Pity that a form so full of manliness should hold so black a heart.

‘Pull straight for the big wooden store, at the foot of Sacramento street. Old Vandewater, thinking he was d—d sharp, had the kegs of specie, packed in barrels of mackerel by Monteagle and put in the old store, thinking some of us might hear of the sale of the steamer, and break into his store. Brown, to-day, accidentally overheard the carman speak of moving some mackerel, and as it tallied with the day the money was moved, guessed the rest. We can easily get into the store,’ continued Blodget.

‘Give way!’ said the man we have called Belcher, and at the same moment he dipped the blades of a pair of oars into the water and the yawl flew forward.

Few words were spoken, although there was small chance of their being overheard, so loudly howled the gale.

When they reached the wharf upon which stood the store, they proceeded between the piles until all chance of their light being observed was destroyed. An auger was now produced, a hole bored in the planking, then a sharp well greased key-hole saw was introduced and in less than a quarter of an hour a hole sufficiently large to admit a man, was made.

Belcher Kay easily raised himself by his muscular arms into the store; he then assisted Blodget up. The others remained in the boat.

A very few moments sufficed for Blodget and his companion to saw the hoops of the mackerel barrels, and thus get possession of the boxes of gold.

They were quickly lowered into the boat, and the thieves got safely off with their booty.

‘Vell if old Wandevater don’t svear in the morning, I hopes I may never see old Hingland again,’ cried the patriotic Briton as he saw the Golden ballast stowed in the bottom of the boat.

‘Pull for Mission creek,’ said Blodget, ‘they’ll give Sydney Valley an awful searching to-morrow.’

The robbers made good their escape, with the thirty thousand dollars in specie, that had been so ingeniously hidden as Mr. Vandewater supposed.

Great was the surprise of the worthy merchant, when summoned, early in the morning, by the storekeeper and informed that the store had been entered.—‘But,’ said his informant, ‘they gained nothing by all their trouble, and out of spite destroyed the few barrels of mackerel that were brought to the store the other day.’

‘Then they have got all the money.—Where’s Monteagle?’ cried Mr. Vandewater.

‘I tried to find him at his lodgings,’ said the man, ‘but he had not been at home all night, I was told.’

At this moment Brown, Mr. V’s partner, entered, and expressed great surprise at the fact of the money being in the store of which he had not been informed. ‘’Tis very remarkable that Monteagle should be out all night, the very time of the robbery. Was Monteagle aware of it being concealed in the barrels, and placed in the store?’ continued Brown interrogatively, to Vandewater.

‘He is the only person to whom I entrusted the matter. As it was funds with which the firm had nothing to do, I did not deem it necessary to trouble you about the affair. Indeed, it was Monteagle that suggested the mode and place of concealing the money,’ said Mr. Vandewater.

‘Why this is the most remarkable set of coincidences I ever heard of. A letter addressed to him, evidently brought by that fellow who afterwards stabbed a man—he proposes a way and place of hiding the money—the money is stolen, and on the very night of its being taken, he, Monteagle, is absent all night. Yet, he may clear himself,’ said Brown.

‘It is too clear,’ said Mr. Vandewater sorrowfully. ‘I would have trusted that youth with my life, and feel at this moment far less regret for the loss of the money than losing all faith in the integrity of my fellow-men.’

‘We have both, I fear, been greatly deceived in Monteagle. Within the last few days I have heard that he gambled heavily, and was in the constant habit of visiting houses of ill-fame,’ remarked Brown.

‘Well, what steps had we best take in regard to this unfortunate affair,’ said the merchant.

‘There are suspicious circumstances sufficient to warrant the arrest of Monteagle,’ replied Brown.

‘No—no—I cannot think of that.—He has been misled by others, and though I never wish to employ, or even see him again, I would not wish him to be arrested. So justly indignant are the citizens at the numerous robberies and fires that have lately taken place, that his conviction would be closely followed by his execution. The respectability of his position would be no bar to this, for the Vigilance Committee have determined to make an example of the first man that is fairly proven guilty.’

‘Be it as you will, sir,’ said Brown, inwardly congratulating himself that in this manner all inquiry would be stopped with respect to the robbery.

‘Let nothing more be said about this unfortunate affair, Mr. Brown. Let the store-keepers version pass as the true one—that thieves finding no booty in the store, departed after destroying some of the goods which were of too little value for them to remove.’

Leaving Mr. Vandewater to make arrangements for replacing the stolen money, let us return to Monteagle, who, the reader will recollect, we left safe on the beach after his escape from the cavern of the robbers.

It was with the greatest difficulty, that he continued to drag his wearied limbs along over the hills and through the valleys that lay between him and the city, and it was late in the morning before he appeared at the counting house of his employer, who was conversing with his partner at the moment.

‘And this you think is Monteagle’s cap,’ said Vandewater.

‘I know it to be his, and saw it on his head last evening, as he passed up Pacific street,’ responded Brown.

‘Ah, yes—yes. Too true—too true! Here are his initials, under the lining, in his own writing. This destroys my last hope of his innocence. And you say it was found close by the hole by which the robbers effected an entrance to the store.’

‘Yes; it was handed me by the storekeeper. It was evidently dropped in the hurry and forgotten when too late. But here is the young gentleman himself,’ said Brown, not a little surprised and alarmed at the appearance of Monteagle, whom he had supposed safely secured in the cavern.

‘Mr. Monteagle,’ said Vandewater, in a stern voice, slightly tremulous, however, with regret, ‘Your services are no longer needed in this establishment, nor do I ever wish you to tread upon the threshold of my house again. Great God! what an escape poor Julia has had. It was to this man I wished to entrust the keeping of your happiness!’

Before Monteagle could recover from his surprise, Brown broke in: ‘But perhaps, after all, Mr. Monteagle will explain from whom he received the note the other day, and what was the nature of the appointment it made.’

Monteagle blushed, hesitated, stammered but knew not how to reply.—‘This, then,’ thought he, ‘is the cause of my dismissal. Mr. Vandewater has learned of my associating with wantons, and justly dismisses me from his confidence.’

Meanwhile, Mr. Vandewater who had been closely watching him, and with sorrow saw what he supposed were convincing evidences of Monteagle’s complicity in the robbery. Not giving the youth time to recover from his confusion, he waved him out of his office with a cool, haughty gesture, which roused Monteagle’s pride, as he thought that he was not worse than thousands of other young men. And this feeling of hurt pride was greatly increased as he reflected upon the manner in which he had suffered, the previous evening, all but death sooner than divulge the secret of this man who now treated him so ungenerously. Turning upon his heel he slowly withdrew from the office, and wended his way to his lodging.