nd what is that?"

"Nuthin' much, 'cept you'll go with me."

"And why shouldn't I?"

"That's jist the pint about which I ain't sure. Though you've got the
feet of a man, yit from what I gather yer heart an' yer head have
eagle's wings, which'll make ye impatient to foller an old feller like
me, who ain't as spry as he once was, an' whose jints are somewhat
stiff."

"Oh, you needn't worry about that," Reynolds laughingly told him. "I
hope I have a little sense left yet, although it's quite true what you
say about my heart and my head having eagle's wings. You lead on and
I'll follow like a dog."

"Now, look here, young man, thar's something else I want to put to ye.
'Twixt two things, one sartin an' t'other unsartin, which will ye
choose?"

"I do not understand. Explain what you mean."

"Wall, ye see, it's this way: The findin' that gal on which ye've set
yer heart is a mighty unsartin proposition. But thar's another which
is as sure as the sun, an' about which all the men here in camp, an'
the hull world fer that matter, would go crazy over if they knew about
it."

"What is it?'

"It's gold; that's what it is, an' plenty of it, too."

"Where?" Reynolds' eyes were big with excitement.

"Oh, back in the hills. I discovered it over a year ago, an' nobody
knows of it but me."

"Why didn't you report it?"

"H'm, what would be the good of doin' that? Haven't I seen too many
gold strikes already, an' what have they amounted to? Look at this
camp, fer instance. The men have come here an' ruined this place.
They may git some gold, but what good will it do 'em? They'll gamble
it, or waste it in other ways. Oh, I know, fer I've seen it lots of
times."

"Why, then, are you willing to reveal the secret of your mine to me?"
Reynolds asked.

"Did I say I was willin'?"

"That is what I inferred from your words."

"I merely asked ye 'twixt which would ye choose: the findin' that gal,
which is an unsartin proposition, or gittin' the gold, which is as sure
as the sun. That's all I asked."

"But if I choose the gold, then your secret will be known, and there
will be a wild stampede into the place. You don't want that to happen,
do you? It would be the same story of other camps, and perhaps worse."

"No, I don't want it to happen, that's a fact. But, ye see, it's bound
to come sooner or later. Thar are so many men pokin' thar noses into
every hole an' corner, that they are sure to find my mine bef