Chinamen. Mostly
Chinamen do the cooking in gold camps, but we haven't any, so we'll
have to have a girl. She can be Jan."

"There's a Chinaman who washes shirts and collars in our town," remarked
Ted. "Maybe we could get him to cook for us."

"No! What's the use when we've got Jan? Anyhow it'll be only
make-believe cooking, and I don't guess that shirt-Chinaman would want
to come here just for that. Anyhow we'd have to pay him and we haven't
any money."

"We'll get some out of the gold mine," Ted answered.

"Well, maybe we won't find any gold for a week or so."

"Does it take as long as that?"

"Oh, yes. Sometimes longer. And that Chinaman would want to be paid for
his cooking every week, or every night maybe. We won't have to pay Jan."

"That's so. Well, then I guess she can come. But we can get my mother or
Nora to make us sandwiches and we won't have to cook much of anything."

"That's what I thought, Teddy. But we can let Jan set the table and
things like that when she isn't digging. She'll help a lot."

"Yes, she's almost as strong as I am," agreed Ted. "Hurry up, Jan!" he
called. "Got those shovels yet?"

"Yes, but I can't carry 'em all. You must help. Come on!"

Jan was walking back toward the boys, dragging two heavy shovels. Seeing
this, Hal hurried to help her and Ted followed. They got another shovel
and a hoe and with these they started off toward the cave, about which
Ted had told Hal.

"That'll be the place where the gold is," decided the visitor. "The
tramps must have been looking for it there. We'll start our gold mine
right near the cave."

"What about something to eat?" asked Ted, pausing as they started up the
path that led to the hole out of which the cave opened.

"That's so. We ought to have something. I'm getting hungry now,"
remarked Jan, though it was not long since they had had a meal.

"So'm I," announced Ted.

"Better not stop to go back for anything to eat now," decided Hal. "Your
mother or grandma might make us stay in camp. Did you tell them we were
going to dig for gold, Jan?"

"No. I didn't see any of them when I got the shovels."

"Well then, we'll go on up to the cave. One of us can come back later
and get something to eat. They call it 'grub' in the books."

"Call what grub?" Ted asked.

"Stuff the miners eat. We'll send Jan back for the grub after we start
the gold mine. You're going to be the cook," Hal informed Ted's sister.

"I am not!" she cried, droppi