Callum Boyd stepped out of the Tussock Tavern into the biting Central Otago air. With every step, the gravel crunched beneath his feet. Through the thick mist, he spotted a wagon waiting in the distance. Though he didn't know it yet, walking toward that wagon meant there was no turning back. As he walked over the loose rocks, figures started to appear through the fog. There were two men in suits, one smaller and one much larger. A cold and raspy voice broke the silence, “You're late! ” Callum stopped a few steps away, burying his hands in his pockets to hide his shaking. “The ice delayed me,” he lied smoothly. The short man stepped forward, a golden watch dangling on his wrist.

“I don't care about the ice, Boyd, I care that you get this cargo to Dunedin untouched!" Now the larger man stepped forward, lifting up the tarp over the wagon, revealing three massive crates and a wooden stock shotgun. The short man spoke up again, “Three hundred kilograms of gold, I threw the shotgun in for good measure, but I bet you have your own toys as well, the local highwaymen already know it's on the move; they will be waiting for you at Rough Ridge, so don't let anyone get near this cart or make sure they can't regret it”. Callum gripped the reins, already losing feeling in his fingers.

He hated taking jobs from men like them but winter is hard and debt is harder. He snapped the reins, and the horses jolted forward into the blinding fog. The gruelling journey down the gorge took hours; the heavy wagon creaked as it jumped along the rugged Dunstan trails. By the time the wagon had crept into Clyde, the numbness from the cold had crept up to his knees. The schist walls of the Dunstan House loomed out of the dark. Callum pulled back hard on the reins, and the horse came to a stop. When Callum stepped down, his legs felt like blocks of wood. Hitting the frozen ground sent a shock straight up his spine.

With no time to waste, he quickly guided the horses to the Dunstan house stable, out of sight of any curious eyes. The horses stood in the stable shivering from the cold; their breath came out as massive plumes of white smoke. Callum leaned against the bitter stone wall, waiting for the feeling to return to his limbs. He tried to relax, but his mind was racing faster than it ever had. The three hundred kilograms of gold, the unimaginable fortune that he alone must protect. The short criminal's words rang in his mind, “The highwaymen already know it's on the move”.

Rough Ridge was a road that he must take to reach Dunedin; it's a brutal, desolate stretch of country, a perfect spot for highwaymen and bandits who know how to attack and disappear without a clue. If they were already waiting for him, a direct route was a suicide mission. As Callum tried to steady his breathing, a rustle came from behind the stable. He drew a weapon ready to do what was necessary to protect the cargo. Through the crack in the door, he saw a pair of young eyes peeping at him through the dark. “Who are you?!” “Don’t-Don’t shoot” A child's voice interrupted from the dark. Callum lowered his revolver instantly.

“What are you doing out here?” “I - I was hiding,” The boy stammered from inside the bushes. He stepped slightly out of the bushes to reveal a thin gray jacket covered in dust. “I was hiding from the scary men in the tavern; they were asking everyone about a wagon coming down from Cromwell”. “Oh, it's ok I won't hurt you” The child came into the icy old stable. “What's your name, kid?” “Charles, my name is Charles” “Ok, Charles, your safe with me for now” Now Callum could hear the men shouting in the tavern, then a gunshot rang out in the silent night.

“No” Charles lunged towards the dusty stable door “My dad is in there” Callum dropped his revolver, he grabbed Charles and put his hand over Charles mouth to muffle the screaming. “Shh, be quiet, if they hear us we are both dead” Then a second shout shatters the dark night's silence. A sharp scream cuts through the air. Now Charles has gone completely rigid and silent, his eyes emotionless and empty in the dark night.” Charles?” Callum asked quietly. The boy didn't answer "Charles?” “He’s not dead” The boy whispers “ my dad's not dead” Callum looked at the boy taking him meant less food, less water and another person to protect.

But every time he looked at him it’s harder to believe that he could ever leave him. Callum was suddenly awoken by a knock on the worn down door, he jumped up throwing Charles off his lap into the damp straw. He walked up to the door and looked through the gap in between the stable doors. Behind the door stood a man with wide, harmless eyes. His clothes worn down and horse manure all over his boots, stared straight back at Callum. He cautiously opened the door “What do you want?” Callum asked “I clean the stable every morning,” answered the man, clearly curious as to why Callum is so tense.

Callum was still cautious and determined not to let his guard down “We have to get going, so please can you move” When Callum closed the door the man's eyes lingered towards the wagon a moment too long before quietly walking away. He rushed to Charles, “Up Up get up” “What” Charles got up groggily “We have to go now” Grabbing the boy by his shirt, Callum threw him straight onto the wagon. He then sprinted to the stable gates throwing them wide open. He jumps onto the wagon and shouts “Yah!” The horses jolted forward and out of the stable.

Once Callum and Charles have made their way to the road Charles asked “What happened, where are we going?” While gripping the side of the bouncing wagon. “Its too risky to stay here for the day, we're heading to Poolburn” “What, what about my Dad” Charles blurted out "Your dad's dead, kid." Callum replied coldly “No, you don't know that” Charles argued “ Yes I do, no one except the highwaymen came out of that bar alive” The boy didn't speak for several hours after that. The journey from Clyde to Poolburn takes at least 8-10 hours but with 300 kilos of gold this journey is far more challenging. The climb into the hills was a slow torture.

Under the crushing weight of the gold the wooden wagon groaned with every inch of elevation. The horses' hooves slipped on the loose schist track. Callum could have walked faster if he didn't have all this bloody gold. After hours of straining wood and leather, the wagon had finally made it to the top. The incline had eventually levelled out peering down into the desolate valley below. “Sorry kid we couldn't make it too Poolburn shanties before total darkness, so we have to stay the night here” “What, there's nothing here” He moaned “I know, but I can put something together” Callum ripped the canvas off the Wagon and tied it between two schist boulders making a makeshift tent.

Charles ran his fingers over his dad’s watch for what felt like the hundredth time that day. “Was your dad a good man?” He glanced down at his watch “The best in the world” “What did he do?” “Blacksmith” “Must have been strong then” Charles managed to give a little smile “ The strongest ever” As evening settled over the valley, the last light vanished behind the hills and the temperature dropped sharply leaving the pair alone under the stars. The sun rose over the mountains, frost melted from the tussock bringing the valley back to life again. As the first beams of light made their way to Callum's makeshift tent they slowly woke up from their not so good night of sleep.

Callum broke the awkward silence “We haven't eaten in two days, let’s pack up and head down to Poolburn” With that they packed up the makeshift tent and headed down to the township. As the creaking wagon makes its way to the small town everything goes silent, the chatter stops, people stop and stare at the two people on the wagon as if they saw a ghost. Callum notices people falling silent as the wagon rolled past, conversations stopped mid sentence, children ran to their mothers. Maybe the highwaymen have followed them, and have been waiting here for them the whole time.

As the wagon pulls into the inn Callum sees Charles' face light up at the smell of cooking,then his smile faded, “ My dad always made the best stew.” But as they get off the dusty wagon the inn door swings open “That's a lot of gold for one man to protect” And before he can react the man sends a bullet straight at Callum's chest, the impact alone throws him off his feet. Callum’s limp body crashed into the dirt. Charles drops to his knees beside him, trying to stop the uncontrollable bleeding. The man comes closer, clocking his revolver “You can't save kid, but you can save yourself" The man is only a few metres away now, unfazed by the screaming onlookers.

He points his revolver at Callum ready to finish him off. But just as he is pulling the trigger, Charles jumps at the gun knocking the bullet off course, the bullet smashes into the frozen ground centimetres beside Callum's head. “No, you little brat!” The man turns to Charles fury in his eyes, he reloads the revolver now pointing it at the poor little boy. Callum slowly regains consciousness, he sees the revolver pointed at the horrified Charles, he musters all of his strength to move his limp body in between the gun and Charles. “NO, take the gold, just leave the boy!” The expression on the gunman's face instantly changed, three hundred kilograms of gold would bring unimaginable wealth.

He slowly lowered his revolver, his eyes lingering towards the wagon. For a moment nobody moved, but then somebody shouted “Leave the boy alone!” another one followed "You've got the gold, isn't that enough!” At that moment the gunman looked around seeing all of the townspeople stepping forward, farmers carrying shovels, men carrying shovels. Even the inn keeper had a rifle resting in his hands. The gunman looked around. He had come to spread fear but found himself surrounded. “Get lost!” Came a growl came from the crowd. The highwayman looks at the wagon realizing he will never be able to escape with the gold with half the town watching. With this he spat in the dirt and scurried down the dirt road.

Silence settled over the small town once again. Charles drops to his knees beside Callum “Why, why would you sacrifice the gold for me?’ He asked with tears rolling down his cheeks. "Because gold is just metal. You're worth a damn lot more than that." As those words left his mouth he breathed his last breath.