ar in the night, to contribute what they called their "Widow's mite."

Even the head man of the company up the creek known as the "Gay
Roosters," and who was notoriously the most rough and reckless man in
the camp, jumped a first-class poker game, where he was playing at
twenty dollars ante and pass the buck, to come in and weigh out dust
enough to "call" the Parson and Sandy.

The Forks felt proud of itself for the deed. Men slept sounder and awoke
in a better humor with themselves for the act.

Yet all this time it was pretty well conceded that the gold, and the
Widow too, would very soon fall to the possession of the Parson.

"Set 'em deep, Parson! Set 'em deep!" said the head of the Gay Roosters,
as he shook hands with the Parson that night, winked at the "boys," and
returned to his game of poker.

There had been many a funeral at the Forks; but never a birth or a
wedding. But now this last, with all its rites and mysteries, was about
to come upon the Forks; and the Forks felt dignified and elated. Not one
of all these thousand bearded men showed unconcern. It was the great
topic--the Presidential campaign, the Dolly Varden of the day. The
approaching wedding was the morning talk, the talk at noon, and the talk
at night.

And it was good for the camp. The last fight was forgotten. Monte took a
back seat in the minds of these strange, strong men; and, if the truth
could be told, I dare say the German undertaker, who had set up under
the hill, noted a marked decline in his business.

The "boys" were with the Parson, and the Parson with the "boys." They
all conceded that he was a royal good fellow, and that the Widow could
not well do better.

The amount of gold raised by the men in their sudden and impulsive
charity was in itself, for one in the Widow's station, a reasonable
fortune.

"What if she gits up and gits?"

The man who said that was a narrow-minded, one-eyed, suspicious fellow,
who barely escaped being knocked down by the head of the "Gay Roosters,"
and kicked into the street by the crowd.

There was a poor Dutchman in the camp who had been crippled in the first
settlement of the camp, and who had been all the time too lame to work
and too poor to go away.

The Parson and Sandy were sent in a committee to the Widow with the
gold. She smiled, took the heavy bag in her hand, turned, shut the door
in their faces, but did not say a word. That evening she was seen to
enter the crippled Dutchman's c