reservoir. We hadn't sunk more 'an four
feet when we struck a darker an' heavier soil, which sparkled as we
shovelled it above ground. We washed out a panful, an' found that the
bottom was fairly covered in gold. This was the top o' the famous
Ophir, had we only known it. We jumped to our feet an' shouted, for it
was the richest placer that had as yet bin found. We gave up our
notion o' the Walker River, an' I began to laugh int' myself at the
Mormon threat, that I should suffer from all the plagues o' Egypt, an'
die an unknown man. We were rich--rich--rich.

"Just as we were finishin' our day's work, Old Pancake rides up. He'd
bin lookin' for a mustang that he'd lost, an' came gallopin' over the
ridge, with his long legs brushin' the sage tops. We tried to hide our
discovery, but his eyes were too sharp for that. He saw the gold from
our last clean-up glistenin' in the bottom o' the pan, as the sunset
lit on it. 'You've struck it, boys,' he cried.

"Jumpin' from his horse, he went down into the pit t' examine for
hisself. He stayed down there some time; when he come up his face was
grave. He'd done a lot of thinkin' in a very short while. He sat down
on the hillside, an' was silent for so long that we began to suspect
there was somethin' up.

"At last he said, 'Now, see here, boys, this spring was old man
Caldwell's. I an' Manny Penrod bought his claim last winter, an' we
sold a tenth to Old Virginia th' other day. If you two fellers'll let
Manny an' myself in on equal shares, it's all right; if not, it's all
wrong.'

"We were a bit afraid o' Old Pancake; he'd bin longer in the district
'an we had. We didn't think to doubt his word, though, as we
afterwards discovered, every word that he spoke was false. Anyhow,
after a lot 'o argiment, we agreed to let him an' Manny Penrod in on
the terms which he'd suggested. That was the beginnin' o' the Johntown
gold-rush, an' I, for the second time, was one o' the discoverers. At
first we named the place Pleasant Hill Camp, an' I can tell you it was
mighty pleasant to be takin' out a thousand dollars a day per man. But
later, when a city commenced t' spring up, it was necessary t' find
some other name. We quarrelled a good deal about what we'd call it;
but one night, when Old Virginia was goin' home with the boys drunk,
carryin' a bottle o' whisky in 'is hand, he stumbled as he reached his
cabin, an' the bottle fell an' was broke. Risin' to his knees, with
the neck o' the bot