to quit mining because his hands got so
sore swinging a pan, so Daggett he kind of scrambled the dirt out after
a fashion, and there at the bottom was our ounce and a half of gold!
Well, I want to tell you there was some movement around there. We
weren't in the same fix of a friend of mine who loaded a pan for a
tenderfoot with four solid ounces, and when he slid the water around on
that nice little yeller new moon in the corner of the pan, "Humph!"
says the tenderfoot, "don't you get any more gold than that out of so
much dirt?"

Four ounces to the pan only means about a hundred thousand dollars a
day income.

"Gooramighty!" says my friend, plumb disgusted. "I'd have had to
borrow all the dust there is on the creek to satisfy you--did you think
it was all gold?"

It broke my heart to see the way that man Daggett washed the fine gold
into the creek, but he was familiar enough with handling the dust to
know that an ounce was good money, even if it did look small. He
turned pale, and begun to dig for dear life. There was no prying him
loose. Well, that's a point Aggy hadn't counted on. He managed to
slide over near me.

"For heaven's sake, Hy!" he whispers, "fly down to Uncle Peters' and
get some more dust or we're ruined! I'll put it in the pan somehow, if
you'll only get it here! Hold the old man up if you have to--but get
that dust!"

I begun to holler very melancholy, and prance around. By and by I
pulled my freight loose and careless down creek.

"Say!" says Johnson, "there goes your friend, Mr. Jones! Shall I ketch
him?"

"Oh, no," says Aggy. "Let him alone--he's used to it around
here--he'll be back right away again."

When I got out of sight I humped for Uncle Peters.

"Sure!" says the old man, when I told him our troubles. "Take the
whole blasted clean-up, Hy. We honest men has got to stand by each and
one another--don't let that rascally tinhorn escape."

So I grabbed Uncle Peters' hard-earned savings and hustled back again.

As soon as I got in good view of the outfit, I knew something was
wrong, by the look of Ag's face; but what it was got me, for there was
both them fellers in the hole now, digging dirt like all possessed.
Daggett had busted his supenders, and the other lad's coat was ripped
up the back; but they didn't care; they were mauling the fair face of
nature like genuine lunatics, and cussing and swearing in their hurry.

"Well, what's the matter with Ag?" thinks I. "T