ung man returned to her he held out the tin pan she had
wished for a souvenir, with an expression so unusual that the girl
stared at him.

"What is it, for goodness' sake, Frank?" she demanded petulantly. Then
even her indifferent eyes beheld small particles of a yellow metal
clinging to the bottom of the old tin pan.

"There is gold in Rainbow Creek, Jack!" Frank remarked with the quiet
self-control she once disliked in him. "I don't know how much, of
course, and it may be in such small quantities that it will amount to
nothing. We must not get too excited, but I have not been studying gold
mining in Colorado all summer without learning something about it. Let's
don't say anything of our discovery just yet. I will take you home now
and come back this afternoon to see what I can find out. If Rainbow
Creek is bringing gold down from the mountains back of it or gathering
it from the rocks and soil along its shores you may be able to do some
placer mining that will make you richer than your wildest dreams."

The two young people hardly dared speak of their hopes on their drive to
the rancho, and Carlos was solemnly sworn to secrecy. They were both
excited, but Frank feared he had done wrong in agitating Jack before he
was sure of his discovery, and Jack dared not trust herself to think of
what the finding of gold on their ranch might mean in its effect on
their future.

As soon as Jack was safe at home with Olive, Jean and Frieda, Frank
disappeared. At supper time he had not come back to the rancho; the
evening wore on until it was the hour for the invalid to be put to bed,
and still he had not come. Jack was feeling sure that Frank had made a
mistake and glad they had kept their idea to themselves so that no one
should share their disappointment, when the door of the small sitting
room at the rancho opened and Frank Kent walked quietly in. His first
glance was for Jack, and his face was so pale and serious the others
feared some misfortune.

The living room of the rancho was an odd place and yet a fitting one for
Frank's disclosure. The room was small, of rough pine boards, with
bright chromos and photographs of famous horses tacked on its walls. The
chairs were worn and the other odd bits of furniture as primitive as
possible. But to-night a bright fire glowed in the big fireplace. Jack
lay on an old leather lounge with a rose-colored shawl draped over her,
Jean sat at her feet, and Frieda and Olive were on sofa cus