hard work. Isn't there any luck there?"

"The luck may be on the side of the poor boy," was the reply. "He is
further removed from temptation."

John Miles laughed.

"Well, at any rate, it seems you believe in luck after all. I am sure
you both wish me to be prosperous, whether you call it luck or by some
other name. Tom, if I meet with any good opening that I think will suit
you, I shall write you. You don't want to stay here, particularly?"

"No; the place is not so pleasant since these new people have come here.
Missouri Jack isn't a neighbor that I like."

"He is exerting a bad influence," said Ferguson. "I am afraid Peabody
visits him too often for his own good."

"He ought to have stayed in Boston," said Miles. "He is not the man for
such a life as ours. He is too delicate to work, or thinks he is, and I
see no other reliable road to success."

"I saw Peabody reeling out of the saloon this afternoon," said Tom. "I
asked him if he considered it was 'high-toned' to drink in a saloon, as
that is the word he is always using, but he said it didn't make much
difference out here, where he wasn't known."

"Peabody isn't overstocked with brains, though he does come from
Boston," said Miles.

Ten o'clock came, and Miles rose to go.

"I must have a good night's rest," he said, "for to-morrow night must
see me many miles on my road. Tom, I will attend to that commission of
yours just as soon as I have the opportunity."

"Thank you, Mr. Miles."

John Miles walked slowly toward his tent. Arrived there, he threw
himself down on his rude couch, and in less than fifteen minutes, he was
sound asleep. He had done his usual day's work, and made some
preparations for his journey besides, and these made slumber sweet and
refreshing.

Before settling himself for the night, however, Miles carefully
deposited a bag of gold-dust under his head, wrapped up in an extra pair
of pantaloons. Had he known that Bill Crane had formed a plan to rob him
that very night, he would have taken extra precautions, but he was not
inclined to be suspicious, or to anticipate danger.

Perhaps an hour later, Tom, who found himself unusually restless, got up
from his hard couch, leaving Ferguson fast asleep, and went out into
the air, thinking that a walk would do him good and dispose him to
sleep. The night was dark, but not wholly so. There was no moon, but a
few stars were shining; and as his eyes became accustomed to the faint
light, he c