The golden pool — Context and Discussion

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Authors: Freeman, R. Austin (Richard Austin), 1862-1943 Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2025 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: British -- Africa -- Fiction; Mines and mineral resources -- Fiction Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

Edition facts

Words 133,721

Reading time 582 min

Text sections 11

The catalog record for The golden pool — Context and Discussion provides practical reading context through 133,721 words, 9 hr 42 min estimated reading time, and 11 detected text sections.

The text analysis averages about 27.7 words per sentence, while the detected sections provide another way to judge how the source is divided.

Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “British -- Africa -- Fiction,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #76845

In this 1905 adventure, a misplaced matchbox leads a young man into a web of African gold-seeking, secret tunnels, and a forgotten mine. The narrative moves between London and the Gold Coast, with recurring motifs of concealment, treasure transport, and identity shifts.

Editorial Edition Score 4.8/5

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Description quality20 pts
Title & short description10 pts
Source metadata20 pts
Text length15 pts
Chapters / structure15 pts
EPUB file integrity20 pts

Total of 100 points, scaled to a 2.5-5.0 range. Editions with an empty description or a missing EPUB file are not scored.

Edition quality

File: pg76845

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CHAPTER I. In which I Make the Acquaintance of Captain Bithery CHAPTER II. In which I Set Out for Africa CHAPTER III. I Hear Strange Stories and Vague Rumours CHAPTER IV. I Visit a Graveyard and Meet a Blind Man CHAPTER V. I Encounter a Curious Relic CHAPTER VI. The Journal of Captain Barnabas Hogg CHAPTER VII. I Form an Absurd Resolution CHAPTER VIII. I Make a New Acquaintance CHAPTER IX. I Bid Farewell to My Friends CHAPTER X. I Take to the Road CHAPTER XI. I Find Myself among Enemies CHAPTER XII. I Change My Identity CHAPTER XIII. The Golden Pool CHAPTER XIV. I am Led into Captivity CHAPTER XV. The Aboasi Mine CHAPTER XVI. I Assist in a Robbery and Become a Fugitive CHAPTER XVII. The Last of Bukári Moshi CHAPTER XVIII. I Again Become a Fugitive CHAPTER XIX. I Make my Appearance in a New Character CHAPTER XX. I Join a Party of Bohemians CHAPTER XXI. I Meet with Some Old Acquaintances CHAPTER XXII. A Catastrophe CHAPTER XXIII. I Make a Curious Discovery CHAPTER XXIV. I Return to an Old Trade CHAPTER XXV. I Set Out upon My Voyage CHAPTER XXVI. I Put Out into the Darkness CHAPTER XXVII. Ship Ahoy! CHAPTER XXVIII. In which I bid Farewell to the Reader Epilogue

THE GOLDEN POOL. THE STORY OF A FORGOTTEN MINE.

CHAPTER I. IN WHICH I MAKE THE ACQUAINTANCE OF CAPTAIN BITHERY.

It must have been a matter of surprise to most of us who have arrived at, or passed, middle life, on looking back through a vista of years, to note what an astonishingly important part has been played in our lives by entirely trivial circumstances. It has, indeed, become a common-place that “great events from little causes spring”; but we do not realise, until we actually submit our experiences to analysis, how the whole tenour and meaning of our lives has in many cases been determined by some occurrence so unimportant that, at the time, it appears incredible that it should have any consequences at all.

Yet so it is. Not only great and critical events which occupy our attention at the time and impress themselves afterwards upon our memory, but trifling circumstances that pass almost unnoticed and are straightway forgotten generate each its train of consequences; and when in retrospect we retrace our steps through the busy years, we are apt to find the starting-point of the main action of our life in some little incident that had long since passed out of recollection until thus recalled by association.

These reflections are suggested to me as I review the series of strange and well-nigh incredible adventures that befell me in the early years of my manhood--adventures which it is the purpose of this narrative to chronicle; for their occurrence is traceable to an event so insignificant that its mention would appear an impertinence but for this connection.

This event was, in fact, nothing more than the mislaying of a match-box. Yet, but for this trifling accident, not only would those marvellous experiences never have befallen me, but the entire course of my life--indeed, my very personality--would have been quite different.

On a windy September evening I was standing on the quay of the inner basin of Ramsgate harbour, filling my pipe with the shavings that I cut from a cake of “hard.” I had just descended the worn steps of Jacob’s Ladder, and still lingered in its shelter until my pipe should be fairly alight, and when I had finished stuffing the bowl with the fresh-rubbed, clammy shavings, I thrust my hand into the pocket of my monkey jacket for the matches. But the box was not there. I hastily searched other pockets, but, as I expected, without success; for I am methodical in small things, and that box had its abode in that particular pocket.

I was somewhat vexed at the loss, although the thing was of no intrinsic value, for it was only a copper case, into which an ordinary match-box slipped; but it had been made for me by a friendly shipwright from the sheathing of an old corvette (a portrait of which was etched on the copper), and I set some store by it.

As I walked on, sucking the unlit pipe, I tried to recall the last occasion on which I had used it; and suddenly I remembered having passed it to a collier skipper some evenings ago, in the parlour of the “Hovelling Boat” Inn; so thither I immediately turned my steps.

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The narrator begins by reflecting on how a trivial accident—the mislaying of a matchbox—set in motion a chain of extraordinary events. This opening establishes a structure where small causes yield large consequences, a pattern that recurs throughout the novel. The story quickly moves from London to Africa, where the protagonist encounters Captain Bithery and hears vague rumors of a lost mine. The early chapters alternate between domestic settings and exotic locales, with the narrator’s voice remaining measured even as the plot grows improbable.

The Structure of Consequence

The novel’s structure is built on a series of linked accidents and decisions. The narrator explicitly frames his adventures as stemming from a forgotten matchbox, and this cause-and-effect logic governs the plot. Each chapter title signals a new phase—setting out, hearing stories, encountering relics—creating a linear progression that nonetheless allows for digressions. The journal of Captain Barnabas Hogg (Chapter VI) functions as a nested narrative, providing backstory without interrupting the main timeline. This layered structure gives the impression of a puzzle being assembled, with the reader following the narrator’s gradual discovery of the mine’s location.

Recurring Images of Concealment and Revelation

Throughout the excerpts, images of hiding and uncovering recur. The narrator describes replacing skulls to conceal the chest, filling bags with leaves to disguise their burdens, and burying treasure under bushes. The gold itself is described as “shining baubles” and “spoil,” emphasizing its allure and danger. The act of hoisting manillas up a rough wall and later transporting them across a river creates a rhythm of labor and secrecy. These details reinforce the theme of hidden wealth and the constant threat of discovery. The setting—tunnels, hillsides, riverbanks—becomes a stage for repeated acts of concealment.

Movement Between Scenes: River Crossings and Journeys

The narrative is propelled by physical movement: from London to Africa, from the coast inland, across rivers and through undergrowth. The excerpt shows the narrator and Bukári making multiple journeys between the tunnel and the island, each crossing described with precise bearings—an oil-palm, a tree, a moss-covered knoll. These repeated trips create a sense of urgency and routine. The novel’s chapters often end with a departure or arrival, maintaining momentum. The protagonist’s identity shifts (Chapter XII: “I Change My Identity”) further underscore the theme of movement, both geographical and personal.

Voice and Narrative Distance

The narrator’s voice is retrospective and analytical, often pausing to comment on the significance of events. He uses phrases like “these reflections are suggested to me” and “it is the purpose of this narrative to chronicle,” which establish a reflective tone. This distance allows him to hint at future dangers without revealing too much. The prose is precise, with attention to weights, distances, and quantities—the manillas are “tied up in bundles of about a dozen,” and the treasure requires “five journeys” to transport. This factual style contrasts with the fantastical elements, grounding the story in concrete details.

Readers should pay attention to the way the narrator’s retrospective framing colors the events. The novel rewards those who track the physical details—the routes, the hiding places, the objects—as they often foreshadow later developments. The structure of consequence invites the reader to consider how small choices accumulate into a life-altering adventure.

I finished The Golden Pool feeling the strangeness of a man slipping between names and places, how a hidden tunnel can lead somewhere entirely new. That quiet unraveling of identity reminded me of another conversation about knowing oneself, which I’d once set aside. It sits near me now, the way certain questions do. Alcibiades I — Key Ideas to Explore feels like a similar shadow, patient and unchanged.