es the world use you, Mr. Peabody?" inquired Tom.

"Fortune is against me," said Peabody. "I'm tired of River Bend."

Tom glanced at his companion. He could guess what was coming.

"Won't you take me with you, Tom?" entreated the young Bostonian.

"You must ask Mr. Ferguson. He is the head of our party."

Peabody looked appealingly towards Ferguson, but the Scotchman shook his
head.

"You mustn't be offended, Mr. Peabody," he said, "when I tell you that
you are responsible for your own bad luck. You have had just as good a
chance as Tom or I."

"Your claim was better."

"There was no difference that I can see, except that we worked, and you
didn't. You don't expect gold to come to you?"

"You and Tom are more used to hard work than I," murmured Peabody.

"If you did not feel able to work, you should not have come to
California. A man must work harder here than at home, and then he stands
a chance of succeeding better."

"Then you won't take me?" asked Peabody, sadly.

"Are you in debt to Captain Fletcher for board?"

Peabody reluctantly admitted that he was, but had no idea how much he
owed.

"Fletcher tells me that he shall not trust you any longer."

Lawrence Peabody looked frightened.

"What shall I do?" he faltered. "I shall starve."

"You can't blame the captain; he knows that you spend the little money
you do earn at the saloon. But he will give you a chance. There is no
one to wash clothes in the camp, and we have all observed that you keep
yours looking well. If you will set up a laundry, you can make more
money than in any other way."

"But then I should be a common washer-woman," objected Peabody. "What
would my friends in Boston say?"

"They won't hear of it. Besides, a man can do here what he would not do
at home."

It may be stated here that Peabody, finding work absolutely needful,
went into partnership with a Chinaman, who arrived at the camp a day or
two later, and succeeded in making a fair living, which hitherto he had
been unable to do. After he was employed, his visits to the saloon
became less frequent. At times he was disturbed by the fear that his
friends at home might learn the character of his employment; apart from
this he found his new business, with the income it yielded, not
distasteful.

CHAPTER XIV.

A NEW ACQUAINTANCE.

Having made all necessary preparations, Ferguson and Tom set out on
their way. They took a course differing somewhat from that chosen