e, but the thought of him
reminded me of the fortune his mother told me the day before. The old
gypsy did not like me and said I was so independent I was going to be
forced to depend on other people. It is silly of me to think she could
have had a premonition of my accident, isn't it? Have you seen this
'Gypsy Joe' around the ranch since you have been here, Frank?" Jack
ended.

"Yes, twice. I believe Mr. Colter intends to look him up to-day and make
him clear out. Suppose we rest here a while. Perhaps the girls may come
along this way," Frank replied.

"Frank, there is the very pan 'Gypsy Joe' used when he was hunting for
gold in our creek," Jack explained, pointing ahead. "Do get it for me.
It's battered and ancient enough to look as though it belonged to the
iron age and I'd like to see it."

Glad to see Jack taking an interest in little things again, Frank Kent
hopped obediently out of the cart, giving the reins to Carlos.

"Climb into the rock there where it splits in two and forms a ravine and
see if it's a golden treasure house, as the story books say," Jack
suggested carelessly.

Picking up the old pan, the young man clambered easily into the open
ledge of rock and got down on his knees among the bits of gravel and
loose earth. The sun must have been shining more brilliantly on Rainbow
Creek to-day than it ever shone on the rainbow rocks of the Yellowstone
Park, for Frank imagined he could see tiny yellow veins running like
threads through the big, gray rock and grains of golden dust mixed with
the sand and pebbles in the crevices.

Jack laughed as she saw him hammering off small pieces of the rock with
the end of his pocket knife. "Got the gold microbe too, Frank? Come on,
don't let's wait any longer," she begged.

[Illustration: "THERE IS GOLD IN RAINBOW CREEK, JACK!"]

Apparently Frank Kent, who was a cool, clear-headed fellow, lost his
mind, for he paid not the least attention to his companion, but filled
his pan with bits of stone, sand and gravel from the big rock and
marched to the edge of the creek. Quietly he held the pan on a level
with the surface of the water and let it gradually sink until it filled
with water; then he lifted it out, tipped it to one side and, as far as
Jack could see from the cart, spilled all the water, mud and sand, so
carefully collected, on the ground.

"Please hurry, Frank," Jack called, crossly this time. "I am getting
tired and want to go back home."

When the yo